Delicious Nut Bread

I seem to be following a bit of a bread theme this week, but let’s face it, we all need a bit of post-holiday comfort – and what better comfort food is there than fresh homemade bread?

This recipe is loosely based on a Toasted Macadamia Nut bread recipe from Sonia Allison’s The Complete Bread Machine Book, and I do use macadamia nuts in it often. I don’t bother to toast them though. However this bread is also delicious with any other chopped nuts you might like - walnuts, pecans, even cashew or pistachio nuts - and of course you can also make it with a mixture of nuts as well. 

If you don’t have an automatic raisin and nut dispenser on your bread machine, you will need to listen out for the ‘raisin beep’ so you can add the nuts. I use olive oil in this recipe, but I have used walnut oil when I have made this bread with walnuts in the past - it gives a really walnut-y flavour hit. This bread goes really well with just about anything, and makes a great side for a hearty stew. It’s also delicious lightly toasted and spread with butter and jam for breakfast or at teatime.

¾ cup chopped nuts

1¼ cups water

3 tablespoons vegetable or nut oil

3 cups strong white bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 teaspoons instant or fast-acting dried yeast

Pour the water into the bread maker bucket. Add the oil and then sprinkle half the flour over top. Sprinkle with the salt and sugar and then put the rest of the flour on top. Mound the yeast into the centre.

Fit the bucket into the bread maker and set it to the cycle recommended in your bread maker manual - the raisin or fruit loaf setting is a good one. On some bread machines this is called the ‘special’ setting.

When the bread is ready, carefully shake it out of the bucket on to a wire cooling rack and stand right way up. Leave the loaf for at least an hour before cutting (and removing the paddle if necessary).

You can brush this loaf with a little melted butter while it is still hot if you like, or with a bit of warmed jam or honey. Apricot jam glaze tastes amazing on walnut nut, and honey makes a great glaze if you have used pecans in this bread.

The 21st Century Housewife's© Banana Walnut Muffins

The cold and rainy autumn weather always makes me want to bake muffins and fruit loaves. They are delicious for breakfast or a snack, and the ones that involve fruit and nuts do actually qualify as pretty nutritious, although they are fairly high in sugar.

This is a really easy recipe to throw together, and is a great way to use up over-ripe bananas. It may seem odd to have both buttermilk and milk in a recipe, but trial and error has led me to the discovery that in the case of banana muffins, using all buttermilk can make the flavour slightly too rich. Having said that, buttermilk really adds something to muffins so I didn’t want to leave it out entirely - hence my compromise of half and half.

I love the spicing in these muffins, and the smell of them when they are baking makes them hard to resist. Try to use freshly grated nutmeg if you can - it really does make a huge difference to the flavour. Another tip - use the ready chopped walnut pieces that you can buy in most grocery stores. They are cheaper than walnut halves and it saves time and mess if you don’t have to do the chopping yourself.

My recipe makes a big batch of 24 large muffins, but that is no problem as they freeze very easily once cooled. If you really don’t want 24 muffins, just pour half the mixture into a loaf tin and make a banana walnut loaf instead of all muffins. You just have to remember to bake it for longer - about 50 to 60 minutes, instead of the 20 to 25 minutes the muffins take.

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup oil
(sunflower or mild olive oil works well, but not extra virgin olive oil)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup milk

Measure the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and walnuts into a large bowl and stir to mix.

Place the mashed bananas in a medium bowl and add the sugars, eggs, oil, buttermilk and milk. Mix thoroughly.

Add the banana and sugar mixture to the flour mixture and stir thoroughly until well blended, but don’t beat. Divide the mixture between 24 large lined (or greased and floured) muffin cups.

Bake at about 350℉ or 170℃ for 20 to 25 minutes or until a piece of dry spaghetti inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean (ie. with no batter clinging to it). Keep an eye on these in the last five minutes or so of cooking or they will over-brown.

Take the muffin pans out of the oven. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool on wire racks. I feel obliged to mention here that these are delicious warm from the oven with a nice hot cup of tea!

Once cooled, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator if possible. (Bring to room temperature or warm in the microwave before eating.) To freeze, wait until completely cool and then seal in freezer bags or containers before freezing.

Autumn Salads

It is autumn in England and the hedgerows and orchards are full of nature’s bounty. Blackberries, plums, apples and pears are ripe and plentiful. Apple varieties with evocative names like Ellison Orange, Peasgood Nonsuch, Norfolk Royal and Micklemas Red are easily available, as is the ever-popular English Cox apple. Pears start with the early Onward variety followed later in the season by Beurre Hardy and Conference. It is also a great season for nuts, particularly chestnuts, walnuts and cobnuts.

Now, the words ‘autumn’ and ‘salad’ might not immediately spring to mind as ones that go together, but trust me, they do. By combining autumn fruits, nuts and leaves you can make wonderful side - and even main course - salads that are perfect for the autumn season.

This recipe is one of my favourite side salads for this time of year. It juxtaposes the tart, crisp flavour of the fruit against pungent nuts and tangy Balsamic vinegar. Even people who normally don’t like salad like this one. It’s also incredibly good for you. Aside from the nutrients and antioxidants in the fruit, walnuts also contain good for you omega three fatty acids and antioxidants.

For some reason I always peel the pears but never the apples. I find pear skin can be a bit tough, but apple skin gives a nice crunch to the salad and I love the colour it adds. Be sure to prepare the fruit at the last minute though, just before you toss the salad in the dressing, to prevent it from going brown. I also like the way whole walnut halves look in this salad, but if you prefer to chop them, or only have walnut pieces to hand, that is absolutely fine too. This recipe makes enough for four to five generous servings.

The 21st Century Housewife's©
Nutty Apple and Pear Salad with Balsamic Dressing

2 crisp red skinned apples, cored and chopped
2 pears, peeled, cored and chopped
½ cup walnut halves
1 large bag of ready to use mixed salad leaves

For the dressing:-
3 tablespoons walnut oil
2 tablespoons good Balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon white sugar

Shake the dressing ingredients together in a jam jar or other container with a lid.

Put the salad leaves in a serving bowl and add the walnuts and chopped fruit. Pour the dressing over the salad and lightly toss to mix. Serve immediately.