back to school muffins •

I was roused from my bed this morning with the sweet sounds of intense bickering emerging from the main bath. Yes, it’s that wonderful time of year. The days become cooler, the notebooks are new, the backpack is packed, sitting at attention by the front door. The mornings become...well, hell. One of my indulgences of motherhood is to let my girls have a pretty laid back summer holiday. This tends to come back and bite me when school starts. I cringe listening to the shrieks of indignation coming from one daughter about the wearing of her clothes without permission. The other brings up the usage of her personal hair gel or mascara. My husband sheepishly ducks and quickly scoots out the house, avoiding the whole scene. The last thing I want to hear from them in the morning is the lack of food for breakfast. I spent last weekend filling the freezer with waffles and other quick-to-grab goodies. If you, unlike me, are feeling energetic at that time of day, a little icing made with cream cheese would be a perfect topping for these muffins. Or you can just do what I do, put out a plate of cream cheese with a knife.

Back to School Muffins •

Whisk together in a medium mixing bowl:

1/2 cup vanilla soy milk

1 cup wet okara (this is referring to the okarastraight from your machine, not drained or dried)

1/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1-1/2 cup grated carrots

Sift together in a large mixing bowl:

1-1/4 cups unbleached white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Toss in:

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped raisins

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. DO NOT OVER MIX. Fill your muffin tins with enough paper liners for 16 muffins, or generously grease and flour your tins. Spoon the batter into the liners about two-thirds full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until lightly brown. You can test them with a wooden toothpick; if it comes out clean take them out. Depending on the wetness of your okara, the baking times might be slightly different. Cool for 10 minutes, take muffins out of tins and place on wire racks to cool completely. If you use paper liners, you must cool the muffins completely or the muffins will stick to the liner. Makes one and a half dozen.

okara olympics •

Today I ran out of soy milk, and realized that I had a container of okara still in the refrigerator from my last batch of soy milk. Rather than chuck another container of okara in there, I took a deep breath and started a baking marathon. I put my KitchenAid mixer, my waffle iron, and bread maker  in service all at the same time. After making a big batch of Buttermilk Waffles, I left them to cool. I wrapped them individually in foil packages, and placed the waffles in freezer bags. The little darlings can now pull them out of the freezer and toast them up in a hurry. I used my KitchenAid to mix and knead dough for Quick Dinner Rolls. I had delicious, warm rolls to accompany our supper that evening, with leftovers for this week’s sandwiches. The bread maker was doing it’s thing with all the ingredients for Multigrain Bread, which we can use for sandwiches or toast. Now all I have left to do is figure out what to do with my new batch of okara. Definitely something chocolate.

Buttermilk Waffles •

Preheat waffle iron.

In a large mixing bowl combine:

4 eggs

2-1/2 cups buttermilk

1 cup oil

1 cup wet okara (this is referring to the okara straight from your machine, not drained)

In another mixing bowl sift together:

2 cups white unbleached flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Make waffles according to your waffle iron’s manual. I use a well-rounded 1/2 cup of batter. Bake until golden brown, about three to three and a half minutes. Makes approximately 14 (7") waffles.

Multigrain Bread for your Bread Maker •

Find Recipe Here.

Quick Dinner Rolls •

1 cup vanilla soy milk

1 cup wet okara (this is referring to the okara straight from your machine, not drained)

1/2 cup safflower oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 to 2-1/2 cups white unbleached flour

2 tablespoons yeast

In a large mixing bowl (your KitchenAid bowl if you are using it), stir together 2 cups of flour and the yeast. In a small saucepan, heat soy milk, okara, oil, honey and salt until very warm (125 degrees). Pour into flour/yeast mixture. Beat approximately 2 - 3 minutes with your KitchenAid (or by hand 300 strokes). Switch to the dough hook and add the rest of the flour to make a soft dough. Knead well for 10 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Pinch off dough into golf-ball sized balls. Place on greased baking sheets and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven, until lightly browned. Makes approximately 12 - 15 rolls.

cinnamon raisin bread •

Vegan Cinnamon Raisin Bread •

After my success with Multigrain Bread for my bread machine, I wanted to come up with a recipe utilizing soy milk and keep it vegan. This cinnamon raisin bread is not too sweet, is healthy, and toasts up beautifully. Follow your machine’s instructions for layering wet and dry ingredients. All ingredients should be at room temperature or warm. I usually pour hot water into my bread pan first to warm it, assemble my ingredients, then empty the water. I layer my ingredients in this order:

1 cup warm vanilla soy milk

1 cup warm wet okara (this is referring to the okara right from your machine, not drained) or tofu

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons canola oil

2-1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour

2/3 cup rolled oats

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2-1/4 teaspoons yeast

1 to 1-1/2 cups raisins (set aside)

Use the setting on your bread machine for a large rapid rise whole wheat loaf. When the bread machine starts the kneading cycle, add the raisins a 1/4 cup at a time, until incorporated. After your machine kneads the dough, open the lid and check that it is coming together into a ball. If not, add warm water, a little at a time, waiting a few minutes in between. If the ball looks too sticky in the beginning of kneading, add some flour a little at a time. 

puffed apple pancake •

I know from reading food blogs and conversing on Twitter that a lot of you put a mighty fine dinner on the table every night. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. You will find me, more often than not, parked in front of the refrigerator or pantry at 6:00 p.m. staring blankly at what is inside. I have great intentions, of course. I read cooking blogs, bookmarking tons of recipes. I gather my cookbooks and read them for entertainment. I love to thumb through magazines drooling over photos, and conjuring up fabulous meals. In my dreams. The reality is that usually I am missing a vital ingredient, or I forgot to defrost, or I am just too tired to face that elaborate recipe. Yesterday evening was just that sort of evening. I came home from work tired, hungry and cold. The little darlings were circling the kitchen, stressing me out. I eyed the bright green apples on the counter in the stages of getting mushy. “Who wants a pancake?”

Puffed Apple Pancake •

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together:

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup unbleached white flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon coriander (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a small mixing bowl whisk:

2 large eggs

1/2 cup wet okara (this is referring to the okara straight from your machine, not drained)

2/3 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until mixed. Set aside.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 cups sliced Granny Smith apples

1/4 cup brown sugar

Melt the butter in an iron skillet. Cook the apples and brown sugar (over medium heat) for approximately ten minutes. Pour the batter entirely over all the apples in the skillet. Place in hot oven and reduce temperature to 425 degrees. Bake until browned, about 15 to 18 minutes. Run a knife around edges of skillet, and flip over onto a plate or platter. Dust with Confectioners' sugar. Serve warm with maple syrup.

multigrain bread for bread machine •

I have been trying to come up with an okara recipe that I could use in my bread machine for quite some time. I have been making bread since I was in art school many (many) years ago. It was a wonderful stress releaser, spending all afternoon tending to that dough. Kneading and punching my way through my (as it turns out now) very small problems, which seemed catastrophic at that time. How I wish that my problems were that small and that I had all afternoon to tend to bread dough. Responsibilities change, and life throws you a curve ball (or two or three).  One of your children is diagnosed with a rare and incurable disease, your talented and creative husband is unemployed, your two used cars need major work, no health insurance. So you take on as much extra work as you can, your blog gets pushed to the back burner, and you start cutting deep corners on the grocery bill. Starting with a loaf of bread. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time paying $4.00 on a loaf of healthy bread when I can make it myself for so much less (and it tastes so much better)! Since time is at a premium, I find myself in the kitchen every evening using my bread machine to bake those healthy loaves. One drawback - it is hard to resist that aroma rising out into the atmosphere. We have been known to tear into that steamy goodness right out of the machine, leaving us with a mangled mess. Over the past year, I have tried to increase both the whole wheat flour and okara with less than stellar results. However, this recipe will yield a loaf that is not too dense or stunted. Follow your machine’s instructions for layering wet and dry ingredients. All ingredients should be at room temperature or warm. I usually pour hot water into my bread pan first to warm it, assemble my ingredients, then empty the water. I layer my ingredients in this order:

Multigrain Bread for your Bread Machine •

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup wet okara (this is referring to the okara right from your machine, not drained)

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons honey

2-1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour

2/3 cup rolled oats

2-1/4 teaspoons yeast

Use the setting on your bread machine for a large whole wheat loaf. When the bread machine kneads the dough, open the lid and check that it is coming together into a ball. If not, add warm water, a little at a time, waiting a few minutes in between. If the ball looks too sticky in the beginning of kneading, add some flour a little at a time. Enjoy!

okara egg bake •

I tend to make this dish when I can’t bear to hear any more complaints in my day. Any one of my readers with children old enough to speak will know where I am coming from. Now, I know they are darlings. Of course you love them. Unconditionally. But after one of those days where you bounce from one crabby darling  to the next, and your patience was left down in the laundry room where you picked up another hamper full of supposedly dirty clothes, the last thing you want to hear out of their mouths is how much they really don’t like the dinner that you just spent two hours on. Now, this doesn’t happen very often in my house. Because frankly, if it did, they would be cooking their own dinners. But it does happen, usually when we are all too hungry, too tired (nap times were abandoned long ago) and too hormonal to show each other some common courtesy. The darlings love this recipe; it is not too spicy, it is full of their favorite vegetable and cheese. Their only complaint (you knew there had to be one) is that there isn’t more to enjoy the next day. I think I can live with that one.

Okara Egg Bake •

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons unbleached white flour

1 cup milk 

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 cup grated extra sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup wet okara (this is referring to the okara straight from your machine, not drained or dried)

3 egg whites, beaten until stiff but not dry

3 cups chopped broccoli, cooked and drained

1/2 of a red bell pepper, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

3 green onions, sliced thinly

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and salt, and quickly whisk in milk. Stir constantly until thickened. Add cheddar cheese to white sauce and stir until melted. Add okara, and mix well. Add egg yolks slowly, whisking well. Add nutmeg, parsley and black pepper, broccoli, red pepper and onions. Fold in beaten egg whites. Butter a casserole dish (approximately one and a half quart), sides and bottom. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese, pressing it up on the sides of casserole. Set the casserole dish inside a 13" x 9" baking pan that has water in it one inch deep. Pour in egg mixture. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until puffy, golden brown and center is set.

okara apricot scones with pecans •

I took the original recipe for my favorite scones from the community cookbook  Creekside Two. The recipe was submitted by a good friend, Deb, who is an excellent cook. I have wanted to experiment with okara in it for a long time, and yet I hesitated. This is a great recipe just as it is, always getting such good results, and frankly I didn’t want to mess up a good thing. But I do have this mountain of okara to constantly deal with. And then I came across another fun event: Waiter, there’s something in my...which is hosted by Andrew from Spittoon Extra. This month featured dried fruit and nuts. Finally, a great excuse to adapt my favorite scone recipe. I am happy to report that the scones baked up just beautifully! 

Okara Apricot Scones with Pecans •

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl combine:

2 cups unbleached white flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

Stir this with a fork to mix well. Then add:

1/2 cup dried chopped apricots

1/4 cup golden raisins

In a small mixing bowl combine:

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup wet okara (this is referring to the okara straight from your machine, not dried or drained)

Set aside for top of dough:

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. DO NOT OVER MIX. The dough will be quite sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured board. Knead 8 or 9 times, then pat into a 8 inch circle. Spread 3 tablespoons melted butter on top and sides of dough circle; and sprinkle sugar and chopped pecans on top. Cut circle into 8 wedges; put them on an ungreased cookie sheet roughly 1 inch apart. Bake 15 minutes, or until golden brown around edges.

Original Scone Recipe •

2 cups unbleached white flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup dried fruit

1/4 cup golden raisins

1-1/4 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

Follow mixing directions above.

tastes to remember • apple bars

Sarah over at Homemade: Experiences in the Kitchen has started a new event called Tastes to Remember. I have so many tastes to remember (most of them fondly, except for the occasional “wild game” that my father brought home) as my mother was/is a great cook. Not only did she cook, she baked AND preserved food. AND she did all this with six monsters under her feet. AND her house was cleaner than mine will ever be. *Sigh*  These bars were one of our favorites growing up. My mother always had a plate of these goodies ready with a big glass of cold milk when we arrived home from school. She knew that all that learnin’ gave us an appetite. A great recipe to have at hand,  because it has NO DAIRY ingredients. So when you run out of eggs, milk, and butter and are craving something sweet—reach for this recipe...it will not let you down. Of course, I added okara (the whole point of my blog) but the original recipe follows my altered one. 

Apple Bars •

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together:

1-1/2 cups applesauce (homemade if you have it!)

1 cup safflower oil 

1 cup wet okara (this is referring to the okara straight from your machine, not dried)

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla

In another large mixing bowl combine:

4 cups unbleached white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup nuts (I usually use pecans or English walnuts)

1 cup raisins

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons liquid (milk, cream, soy milk or water)

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry; mixing until dry ingredients are incorporated. Grease a 10-1/2" x 15-1/2" jelly roll pan. Spread the batter (it will be thick) evenly in the pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and center tests done. Let cool in pan for approximately one hour, and frost with powdered sugar glaze. Cut into bars.

Original Apple Bar Recipe •

2 cups applesauce

1-1/2 cup oil

2 cups granulated sugar (you can cut back on this)

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla

5 cups flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cloves

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup nuts

1 cup raisins

Follow directions above for baking and Powdered Sugar Glaze.

scaling the okara mountain •

Blogs happen for many reasons. Truth be told, I never aspired to be...a blogger. I work on computers all day long. Every few years, a new software program comes along that I have to learn; more commands to command, more updates to remember...the last thing I wanted to do was run home and jump on my computer. I had too many hobbies already.

That all changed when I began to make homemade soymilk with my brand spankin’ new machine from Sanlinx Inc.—the SoyaPower™. Within no time I was holding two cups of okara, the by-product of soy milk making. “No problemo”, I said to myself, and promptly threw it away. On the second batch, my hand froze, it actually trembled, and my conscience got the better of me. This stuff had to be good for something! I decided to read the manual. It turns out that this okara, this soybean mush, is very nutritious. I diligently began to save it, scooping the okara into bags and chucking it into the freezer. The bags began to pile up, and I ignored them, too busy making soy milk to deal with it.

My hubby walked into the kitchen one day with a few bags in his hand. Turns out that my chest freezer in the garage was threatening to do what my hips have been in the last few years—blow the seams. Something had to be done. I started looking for recipes. I perused my vegetarian cookbooks—plenty of tofu, some cooked soybeans and TSP, slim pickings on okara. I googled okara recipes. Oh, I found a few, but I didn’t want to go out and buy too many odd ingredients, at least not right away.  Along with a hungry husband I have three kids to feed and needed recipes that they would eat, too. I am always trying to sneak more vitamins and fiber into them. And so Okara Mountain was born...a blog to save the recipes I test, to share the ones that pass muster. Let the Adventure begin!