Christina's Oatmeal Wheat Bread

from Epicurious

This bread is sturdy enough to work for sandwiches. Yay!


2 cups milk
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats plus additional for topping (optional)
1/2 cup warm water (105-115°F)
7 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup mild honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus additional for buttering pans
3 cups stone-ground whole-wheat flour
About 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 TBSP flax seed meal
2 TBSP wheat germ
2 TBSP vital wheat gluten
1 tablespoon salt
Olive oil or butter for oiling bowl
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water (optional)

Heat milk in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan over low heat until hot but not boiling, then remove pan from heat and stir in oats. Let stand, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooled to warm.

Stir together water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon honey in a bowl; let stand until foamy, 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.) Stir yeast mixture, melted butter, and remaining honey into cooled oatmeal.

Stir together whole-wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour, flax seed meal, wheat germ, gluten and salt in standing-mixer bowl. Add oat mixture and knead with dough hook, adding just enough of remaining unbleached flour to keep from sticking (up to 1/4 cup), until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes (dough will be slightly sticky). Form dough into a ball and transfer to an oiled or buttered large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel; let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly butter loaf pans. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times to remove air. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a loaf, then place 1 loaf in each buttered pan, seam side down, tucking ends gently to fit. Cover loaf pans loosely with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly brush tops of loaves with some of egg wash and sprinkle with oats, then bake until bread is golden and loaves sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 35 to 40 minutes. (Remove 1 loaf from pan to test for doneness. Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen.)

Remove bread from pans and transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

Christina's Beet Ravioli with Poppyseed Butter

adapted from Bon Apetit

2 large red or golden beets (about 14 ounces)
1/2 cup fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese (1/2 homemade batch)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs (can also used seasoned or Italian), possibly more depending on consistency of beetss
1 1/4 pounds fresh egg pasta (or wonton wrappers or spring roll wrappers cut in fourths)
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap beets individually in foil; place on baking sheet. Roast until tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Open foil carefully (steam will escape). Cool. Peel beets; finely grate into medium bowl (or use a grater/shredder attachment on food processor--much faster! Add ricotta cheese and season with salt and pepper. Stir in breadcrumbs; I used an extra tablespoon of breadcrumbs since the filling still seemed watery to me.

Optional (if creating pasta dough from scratch): Roll Fresh Egg Pasta dough into sheets according to recipe. Place 1 dough sheet on work surface. Using 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut sheet into 7 rounds. Transfer rounds to lightly floured baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough for total of 56 rounds.
Sprinkle 2 smooth kitchen towels with flour. Place 8 pasta rounds on work surface, keeping remaining dough covered with plastic. Place small bowl of water next to work surface. Spoon 1 teaspoon beet filling onto half of each round (for spring roll wrappers cut in fourths, I used 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons). Dip fingertip into water and dampen edge of 1 round. Fold dough over filling, pushing out as much air as possible and pressing edges firmly to seal. Transfer to prepared towels. Repeat with remaining rounds. DO AHEAD Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and place in freezer until frozen solid, about 6 hours. Transfer ravioli to resealable plastic bags.
Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat and stir in poppy seeds; keep warm. Working in batches, cook ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water until cooked through, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to skillet with melted butter; toss to coat. Divide ravioli among 8 plates; sprinkle with Parmesan.

Christina's Homemade Ricotta Cheese

from Smitten Kitchen



3 cups 2% milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (or less if using from concentrate)


Pour the milk, cream and salt into a 3-quart nonreactive saucepan. Attach a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Heat the milk to 190°F, stirring it occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it once or twice, gently and slowly. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.


Line a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl (to catch the whey). Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let the curds strain for at least an hour. At an hour, you’ll have a tender, spreadable ricotta. At two hours, it will be spreadable but a bit firmer, almost like cream cheese. Eat the ricotta right away or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use. If making for use in beet ravioli, allow to drain for two hours. 


Serve: On 1/2-inch slices of baguette that have been run under the broiler until lightly bronzed. Serve it simply with honey and a pinch of flaky sea salt, a couple grinds of black pepper, pinch of salt and drizzle of olive oil, and/or a few droplets of an aged balsamic. Or with zucchini ribbons: start with about half a pound of miniature zucchini. Larger ones will work just fine, but you might want to first cut a big one in half lengthwise. Peel them into ribbons and toss them with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and let them drain in a colander for a while (this wilts them), about 20 minutes. Rinse and pat them dry. Toss with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and black pepper to taste. Arrange in piles on ricotta crostini.

Christina's Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones

from Smitten Kitchen

If you have white whole wheat, you can use two cups of it instead of the split flour ratio here.


1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta
1/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.

Add the butter and use the blender to both cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas. Toss in raspberries and use the blender again to break them into halves and quarter berry sized chunks.


Add the ricotta and heavy cream together and stir them in to form a dough with a flexible spatula.Using your hands, gently knead dough into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl.\

With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch square about 1-inch tall. With a large knife, divide the dough into 9 even squares. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s best to cool them about halfway before eating them, so they can set a bit more.

Christina's Clafoutis

adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

2 whole pears (or plums, or the equivalent of cherries or whatever)
2 teaspoons minced/grated ginger (if using pears)
2 Tablespoons sugar
3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 whole eggs, beaten
2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Peel/core/slice fruit as needed and place on bottom of baking dish (casserole dish). Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar and minced ginger over the top. Sprinkle brandy over the top if using.
Whisk together flour, salt, eggs, sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Pour over the top of the pears.
Bake for 45 minutes or until poufy and no longer overly jiggly. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve with freshly whipped cream flavored with sugar and cinnamon.

Christina's Butternut Squash Risotto

adapted from Williams-Sonoma

4 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. minced fresh sage (or 1 tsp dry sage)
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups butternut squash puree
2 Tbs. olive oil
2/3 cup Arborio rice
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary (1/2 tsp dry)

1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In large saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together stock and squash puree. Bring to a simmer; maintain over low heat.

In risotto pan over medium heat, warm oil. Add onions and rice; stir 3 minutes. Stir in 1 Tbs. sage (or 1/2 tsp dry sage) and rosemary. Add wine; stir until absorbed. Add stock mixture a ladleful at a time; stir frequently. Wait until stock is almost completely absorbed before adding more. When rice is tender to bite but slightly firm in center, after about 30 minutes, stir in butter, cheese, salt and pepper. Add more stock if needed so rice is creamy. Let stand 2 minutes. Serves 6.

Christina's Braised Leeks

from Smitten Kitchen

6 large leeks
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup sliced shallots
1 tbsp thyme leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken stock

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Peel any bruised outer layers from leeks. Trim roots, leaving root end intact. Trim off tops on diagonal, leaving two inches of green. Cut in half lengthwise. Clean very well in water to remove internal grit. Pat dry with towel.

3. With cut sides up, season with salt and black pepper.

4. Heat pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Pour in 1/4 cup oil and wait 1 minute. Place leeks, cut side down, in pan with crowding them. Make in two batches and use more oil, if necessary. Sear them 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper and turn over to cook 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer them, cut side up, to a gratin dish.

5. Pour 1/4 cup oil into pan and heat over medium heat. Add shallots, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Cook about 5 minutes, until just beginning to color. Add wind and reduce by half. Add 1 1/2 cups stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour over leeks, without quite covering them.

7. Braise in oven 30 minutes, until tender.

Christina's Spiced Banana Bread

adapted from Sherbet Blossoms

1 1/2 cups sugar
2½ cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup oil (or applesauce)
3 eggs
2 cups mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Mix together and pour into greased bread pans (2). Bake for 1 hour at 350°.

Christina's Green Detox Smoothie

1 cup baby spinach
1 cup kale
1 1/2 cups orange juice
2 frozen bananas
1 apple or pear, chopped
1 TBSP chia seeds

optional: flax seed meal, wheat germ, whatever other healthy stuff you want to add

Christina's Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

1 frozen banana
1/4 C peanut butter
1/4 C milk
1/4 C cream
dash cinnamon
splash vanilla
1 TBSP wheat germ
1 TBSP flax seed meal

optional: cocoa powder, honey, spinach, whatever

Blend it all together and serve. Add more milk or cream as needed for consistency.