Tag Archives: Good to the Grain

Winter Squash and Kale Rye Galette

January blog posts tend to be full of lofty resolutions and unrealistic goals about how to live a better life. I promise you, this is not one of those posts. I admit that I have have been guilty of exactly this, every January for the past 8 years. Check out my January healthy eating blog posts, if you like (2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014 ).

This year, I just can’t seem to get my ass in gear. I’m feeling particularly unmotivated and blah. I feel like this guy. Can’t get off the couch to stop bingeing on Bonus Family and Working Moms on Netflix. Very addictive. I know I’m not alone. Almost every single person I have spoken to in the past 2 weeks is feeling this way. I’m here to give you permission to forgo goal setting this year. Treat yourself kindly and ease back in at a pace that makes you feel comfortable.

I eased back in gently by choosing a galette for my first January post. Made with butter and cheese! I am a big believer in small steps. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

We’re taking baby steps here with this galette. I incorporated some whole grains into the crust with the addition of rye flour. I snuck in a layer of Gruyere and ricotta cheese between the kale and the butternut squash. It’s all about moderation.

This rye crust could go sweet or savoury. It is flaky AF. I learned how to make it from Kim Boyce in her book, “Good to the Grain”. If you’re interested in incorporating more whole grains into your baking, this is a fantastic resource. I love the lyrical way she describes this dough.

“The method for making this dough is similar to that for a rough puff pastry, a method I learned while working with Sherry Yard at Spago. It calls for letting a rough dough, made from chunks of butter and moist clumps of flour, rest in the refrigerator to give the gluten time to relax and the flour time to absorb the water. After an hour, the dough is rolled and folded a few times to create long “laminated” layers of butter throughout the dough, which give it its flakiness.”

Feel free to enjoy with a small glass of wine, if you are so inclined. Tell them saltandserenity told you to be kind to yourself!

Click here to print recipe for Squash-and-Kale-Rustic-Rye-Galette Download

Asparagus Ricotta Galette

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Once local asparagus shows up, you know that flip flops and a chilled glass of rosé can’t be too far behind. This tart is a splendid way to showcase asparagus, Post-Asparagus Stinky-Urine Disorder, be damned.Mild, milky ricotta is the ideal partner for asparagus. They complement each other perfectly. Ricotta can be a bit bland, so I added lemon zest, lemon juice and red pepper flakes to ramp up the flavour. Some grated Gruyere cheese and a beaten egg add some heft to the filling.

For the dough, I decided to use Kim Boyce’s Rustic Rye Dough, from her book Good to the Grain. The hearty rye dough stands up quite well against asparagus’ strong flavour.

This dough takes a bit of time and needs several hours to chill. If you don’t have the time or the inclination, I think that this tart would still be very delicious using my go-to simple Galette Dough.Rye flour, all purpose flour sugar and salt are sifted. Cold butter is worked in with your hands. Ice water and cider vinegar bring it all together.Once the dough comes together, let it rest in the fridge for about an hour, then roll it into a rectangle, and fold the rectangle into thirds, like a letter. This is similar to the process of making puff pastry. The dough gets rolled and folded two more times and is then chilled for an additional hour. You can make the dough and the filling components a day ahead and then just assemble and bake before you are ready to eat. I decided to roll the dough into a rectangular shaped tart, but feel free to to roll it into a circle. I have a strong aesthetic sense and I prefer the linear way the asparagus line up in a rectangular tart.

To punch up the flavour profile even more, I spread the tart with a pistachio pesto (recipe from Anna Jones’ A Modern Way to Cook.) Whole grain dijon mustard or a jarred basil pesto would be good substitutes.The border of the tart just gets folded over the filling. No need to be too precise or precious about it. It’s supposed to be rustic. This would be great as a light lunch or dinner, or cut up into smaller squares and served for aperitivo with a freezing cold glass of Prosecco, on the dock. (I have big plans for this tart!)

Click here to print recipe for Aspsaragus and Ricotta Galette.

Click here to print recipe for Rustic Rye Dough or here to print recipe for Galette Dough.

Maple Oat Waffles

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Don’t know what the weather’s like in your neck of the woods, but here in Ottawa we’ve been under siege. Earlier this week we set a one-day-record for snowfall with over 50 centimetres (that’s almost 20 inches) burying the city. The old record of 41 centimetres was set in 1947. Whoopee for us!

Perfect time to cocoon, binge watch Netflix and make oat and maple waffles. I finished off all five seasons of Friday Night Lights in a few short weeks and I’m having Tim Riggins withdrawal. My husband can’t believe that after watching all those episodes, I still don’t understand football.

We started watching House of Cards, but my husband doesn’t understand the concept of binge watching. He restricts us to one episode a night. The man has incredible self-control. I decided to see if I could break down his will power with waffles. These waffles are the creation of whole grains maven Kim Boyce. Her 2011 book “Good to the Grain” is a veritable whole grains baking bible. Kim and co-author Amy Scattergood go beyond just substituting whole grains for all-purpose flour. They delve into 12 different whole grain flours and teach us what each one has to offer. I love that they are not whole grain militants. Many of the recipes have some all-purpose flour in the mix, because the lightness that you get from AP flour is sometimes necessary for superior taste. And first and foremost this book is focused on good taste!

Start with sifting the oat flour, oat bran and all purpose flour. The batter is sweetened with maple syrup. They are light and fluffy, thanks to beaten egg whites.Make sure you preheat the waffle iron to high and brush on lots of butter. We topped ours with a fried egg, because everything tastes better with a fried egg on top! This is one food trend I am happy to follow.

Salt and Serenity

Tales from my kitchen