​YouTube Short

I've taken my scone recipe that my family really enjoys, and created a sourdough version. 
​
I hope you enjoy!

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick vegan butter (or butter), cold cut into cubes
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup rhubarb, chopped
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup active sourdough starter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons almond milk (milk or cream)

Topping:
1 egg
1 Tablespoon water

Watch video for instructions. Bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

Happy Baking!

With love,
Wendy Irene

Having the opportunity to spend some time at home baking brings me immense joy. In a world full of convenience there's something really special about homemade. I hope the videos relax you, and inspire you to make time for the things that light up your heart.

Hi there!

This week I used the sourdough starter I made at the beginning of March to try making sourdough hamburger buns. I am really happy with how they came out. I'll share the ingredients I used, and the recipe link I followed for inspiration.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup active sourdough starter
3/4 cup warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup earth balance (vegan butter substitute), melted
3 Tablespoons honey (use local to help with allergy season)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 egg 
Egg Wash:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon of water

As you can see from my ingredient list I didn't make these buns vegan because I used local honey and organic eggs, but you could easily replace the honey with sugar and omit the egg, making the dough a little less rich but I think it should still work. 

For recipe inspiration -
Farmhouse on Boone: Sourdough Hamburger Buns https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/sourdough-buns

Last week, I attempted making sourdough bagels. They came out a little flat. I didn't let the dough rise nearly as long as I probably needed to for making a sourdough bagel without added yeast. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup active sourdough starter
1 1/3 cups water
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt

Wishing you a beautiful day!

"The sight and scent of a newly baked loaf has a romantic appeal that transcends all other culinary achievements." ~ Elizabeth Luard

With love,
Wendy Irene

"If baking is any labor at all, it's a labor of love. A love that gets passed down from generation to generation."
​~  Regina Brett

Baking brings me so much joy! There is something so deeply rewarding about creating with your hands and heart. This year I really want to fit more baking back into my life. The past several years I've been so busy with work I haven't made enough time for the things that create a lot of happiness in my life.

I recently decided I wanted to learn something new and try making my own sourdough.

​On March 3rd I began my first sourdough starter.

Many days later I had my first loaf of sourdough bread. It took patience and daily care to go from a new starter to a loaf of bread, but it lit me up inside and I'm so excited about it I had to share!

"God gives us the ingredients for our daily bread, but he expects us to do the baking!" ~ Chip Ingram
​

In case you're wanting to try something new and baking appeals to you, these are the two links that helped me the most in creating my first sourdough bread.

How To Make Sourdough Starter - Good Housekeeping 
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/cooking/a32416409/how-to-make-a-sourdough-starter/

​Beginner’s Sourdough Recipe - Farmhouse on Boone
https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/beginners-sourdough-bread-recipe

There's so many sourdough recipes to try, and much more to learn! 

"The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight." ~ M. F. K. Fisher

Warmest Wishes,
Wendy Irene

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups pecans, large pieces or halves
½ cup water
1 cup cane sugar
½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ginger
1 Tbsp. vegan butter substitute (I used Earth Balance Organic Whipped Buttery Spread)
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
You Will Also Need:
Candy thermometer
Silpat Silicone Cookie Sheet Liner (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line baking sheet with a silpat (optional).

Spread pecans out evenly on the baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes (set your timer!).

Turn the oven heat down to 250 degrees F and place pecan pieces aside on a plate or in a bowl. Allow baking sheet to cool down. Once cooled, wipe off the remaining crumbs so it is ready to use again. Reline the baking sheet with the silpat if using. Grease the baking sheet or silpat with 1 Tbsp. vegan butter substitute.

In a large non-stick saucepan, or in a regular saucepan greased with vegan butter substitute, clip a candy thermometer to the side.  Add water, cane sugar, sea salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Turn heat to medium high and stir frequently until sugar comes to a boil, use caution as it becomes very hot. Once the sugar is boiling stop stirring and cook over medium heat until the candy thermometer reads 235 degrees F. On my thermometer this is just about at soft ball stage.

Using caution, remove the hot caramel from the heat, and quickly stir in vanilla, followed by the pecan pieces. Poor the candied pecans onto the greased baking sheet.

Bake at 250 degrees F for 30 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes and 20 minutes.

Allow to cool completely on the silpat if you lined your baking sheet, or if not cool pecans on waxed paper.

Store in an airtight jar or container.

Ingredients:
Nut layer:
1 Tbsp. vegan butter substitute, room temperature
½ cup pecans
Caramel layer:
¾ cup vegan butter substitute, I used Earth Balance Organic Whipped Buttery Spread
¾ cup cane sugar
1 ½ cups almond milk
¾ light organic corn syrup (organic recommended to avoid GM corn)
¾ tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Chocolate layer:
1 - 10 oz. (283.5g) bag semi-sweet non-dairy chocolate chips
You Will Also Need:
Candy thermometer


Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.

Place pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes.

Add toasted pecans into a food processor, and pulse a few times until the pecans are coarsely ground. Alternatively, you can chop pecans or crush them in a zip top bag.

Grease generously a 9x13 inch pan with 1 Tbsp. vegan butter substitute.

Sprinkle the chopped pecans evenly over the bottom of the greased pan. Set aside.

Measure 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and set aside so it is ready to add to the caramel as soon as it comes to temperature.

In a deep sided pot over medium heat add ¾ cup vegan butter substitute, sugar, almond milk, corn syrup, and salt. When the ingredients combine turn heat up and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Insert a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature of the caramel. Continue to boil and stir the caramel until the temperature reaches 285 degrees F, soft crack stage. Please use caution it is very hot.

When the caramel has reached 285 degrees F, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Poor the caramel over the chopped pecans. It helps to spread the caramel by pouring it around the pan because it hardens quickly. You may want a second set of hands to hold the pot while you scrap the caramel out. Spread the caramel as evenly as you can with a metal spatula or butter knife. You’ll need to move quickly.

Set aside and allow the caramel layer to harden.

Meanwhile, in a food processor add the chocolate chips. Pulse the chocolate chips about 40 times until they resemble crumbs. Scrap down the sides, and run the food processor for one minute. Scrap down the sides and allow the chocolate to rest for 1 minute. The chocolate will become a solid mass.

Using a clean, dry spatula break the mass apart.

The process of running the food processor for 1 minute, scrapping down the sides and letting the chocolate rest for 1 minute is going to be repeated 4 or 5 times until the chocolate becomes a smooth, fluid consistency. This is a method for tempering chocolate that I learned from watching Alton Brown.

Ideally you want the chocolate to reach the temperature of 88 - 91 degrees F but not rise above 94 degrees F. When the chocolate becomes a melted consistency use a candy thermometer to check the temperature. If it is not close to 90 degrees F you can run the food processor for 30 seconds or so longer, and check the temperature again.

Tempering the chocolate gives the chocolate a pretty shine and makes it snap when it is hardened and you break it.

If you don’t have a food processor you can alternatively melt the chocolate in a double broiler, or in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds until melted.

Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the hardened caramel, and allow the chocolate to set and become firm. I did this by placing it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Using a thin metal spatula or butter knife, pop the toffee out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Using a heavy sharp knife cut the chocolate caramel pecan toffee into large chunks. Start by cutting the toffee into large chunks because you can always break them smaller if desired.

​My personal favorite way to store the toffee is in an airtight container in the fridge. Toffee makes a wonderful homemade Christmas or hostess gift.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, the thicker around the better for shapes
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. white pepper
*Cayenne pepper (optional), a small sprinkling for spicy version

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with a silpat, or parchment paper to prevent sticking.

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into ½ inch thick rounds.

Using a paring knife, or a small pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter, cut rounds into a pumpkin shape, making a stem, and trimming the bottom slightly. Each one will be different and unique, just like real pumpkins!

​In a large bowl, gently toss the pumpkin-shaped sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Place the sweet potatoes, spaced evenly apart on a baking sweet.

*Spicy Version – Add a small sprinkling of cayenne pepper to the pumpkins for a boost in flavor!

Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a fork can be easily inserted into the sweet potatoes.

Ingredients:
4 lbs. apples, approximately 8 large apples
½ cup + ½ tsp. coconut sugar, divided
2 Tbsp. brown rice syrup
2 Tbsp. lemon juice (juice from ½ a lemon)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. vegan butter
2 Tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. apple pie spice
¼ tsp. sea salt
2 disks pie dough 

Directions:

Peel, core, and thinly slice apples about ¼ inch thickness.

In a large bowl toss the apple slices with lemon juice, brown rice syrup, coconut sugar, and vanilla.

In a very large skillet melt ¼ cup vegan butter.

Sauté the apples over medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Juices will be released as the apples soften and that’s OK.

Add the flour, apple pie spice and sea salt and continue to sauté for 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Cool the filling completely in the fridge. The filling can be prepared the day before if desired!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Put first disk of pie dough into the pie plate, and prick the bottom with a fork a few times.

Add the apple filling, and dot with the remaining 2 Tbsp. vegan butter.

Carefully roll out the top crust over the filling, and pinch along the sides to close the top and bottom crust together. Cut a few slits in the top crust.

*Decorative Option – Roll out the top crust with flour. Using a cookie cutter cut out 3 shapes, such as hearts. Place the top crust over the filling mixture. Pinch along sides to close top and bottom. Gently place the shapes back over their holes slightly off center so there are still openings to allow the pie to vent.

Brush a light amount of water over the top of the pie and sprinkle with ½ tsp. coconut sugar.

Put the pie in the oven and turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F.

Cook for 1 hour.