Whats delicious and makes a fabulous lunch wrap?

Pitas of course!

I was racking my brain for a lunch idea today, i didn't want to bake an entire loaf of bread and i thought about making tortillas when i realized, "eh, i can make pitas!" So i went in search of a recipe and found one to my liking, it was SIMPLE and EASY to do!


Note: I replaced HALF of the white flour with organic whole wheat and left the other half white (used unbleached organic flour)

Ingredients

• 1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Now the instructions are for use with a bread machine, yes i have one, but i tend to use it less and less unless time is a problem or i'm making just plain white bread (which is not very often)

so i will do the first step the way *I* did it.

In my kitchen aid (or in a bowl) place the warm water , yeast and sugar. Let it proof for at least 10 minutes or until frothy. Then add the oil (i used olive) and then add the flour with the salt premixed in (i use 2 grinds from my seasalt grinder)

then complete as follows:

1. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
2. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas are softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.

Now, MY pita circles once rolled out and covered for 30 minutes did not really seem to rise...at all. I thought ohhhh wonderful they are going to be flat as heck...boy, was I wrong or what?!

Raspberry Almond Torte

Ok the recipe calls it a tart...but i prefer the fancy name of Torte :)


this was the dessert i made for Jackson's birthday/homecoming from his surgery trip to Toronto. It was DELICIOUS!
it was moist and chewy on the inside with a bit of a crunch on the upper crust. the flavour was wonderfully sinful.  AND it gave me an excuse to buy a set of tart pans with removable bottoms which i did not own previously.

my whipped cream placement was a wee bit off oops.

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1 cup butter or margarine, divided
• 3 eggs, divided
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam, divided
• 1 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and 1/3 cup sugar. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until fine crumbs form. Beat 1 egg; add to mixing bowl and stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Press dough evenly into bottom and up the sides of 9-in. x 1-1/2-in. tart pan with removable bottom. Spread 1/4 cup of jam over dough. Cover with plastic wrap and chill.
2. Meanwhile, cream together remaining sugar and butter; stir in almonds and extract. Add remaining eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; spoon filling over jam. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes. Cool in pan, then carefully remove sides from pan. Spread remaining jam on top. Combine confectioners' sugar and lemon juice; drizzle over the top.

This is where I add that I did NOT use a drizzle on top, and I used a LOT more jam. 

Boston Baked Beans....Northwestern Ontario Style

I was sitting here the other morning thinking to myself, gee what can I make from scratch that I know Jackson loves and will enjoy muchly? Then it dawned on me. BAKED BEANS. That boy eats more canned beans than you can shake a stick at. So I went hunting online until I found a recipe and instructions that I thought best suited the style of beans we will both enjoy. They are currently getting awesome epic in the slow cooker. So here is the recipe I used along with the instructions. I also have pictures of the prepping process.

Slow Cooked Boston Baked Beans Recipe

• Cook time: 8 hours

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound (2 to 2 1/4 cups) dry white beans such as Navy beans or Great Northern beans (can also use kidney beans)
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3-4 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 cups hot water
• 1/2 pound salt pork (can sub bacon), cut into 1/2-inch to 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, (1 1/2 cups) chopped

METHOD

1 Place beans in a large pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Soak overnight and drain. Alternatively, bring a pot with the beans covered with 2 inches of water to a boil, remove from heat and let soak for a hour, then drain.

2 Mix the molasses, brown sugar, mustard, and ground cloves with 3 cups of hot water.


3 Line the bottom of a slow-cooker (or a Dutch oven if you are cooking in the oven) with half of the salt pork (pick the fattiest pieces). Layer over with half of the drained beans. Add all of the onions in a layer, then top with another layer of beans and the remaining salt pork. Pour the molasses water mixture over the beans to just cover the beans.

Everything set up and ready!!

 layering the bacon (thick cut)

second layer, the beans go in!

Third layer, the onions go in!!

Layers finished, bacon on top

Liquid is poured on top, yum!

4 Cover and cook in a slow-cooker on the low setting for 8 hours (or in a 250°F oven), until the beans are tender. Check the water level a few hours in, and if the beans need more water, add some. Add additional salt to taste if needed. Note that fresher beans will cook faster than older beans. Your beans may be ready in less than 8 hours, or they may take longer. Best the next day.

Serve with Boston brown bread.

Yield: Serves 5-6 as a main dish or 10-12 as a side.