Yesterday I took the boys out to a local farm to pick up some lovely blue potatoes and tomatoes. Alistaire was asleep in the van, Ford stayed there with him, so Walker came with me and checked out everything. He was being very shy for once, so unlike him! Annette, the lady who runs the farm, dug us up a couple of pounds of potatoes while we poked around:
We checked out part of their chickens – the older hens were in the fenced yard while the younger ones were out in the sun. She keeps them apart to keep down bickering. Walker was very fascinated, I don’t think he had seen a live chicken up close before!
When we got home I made this pan of bread. Consider it a focaccia style bread. It is creamy, moist and flavorful. A little goes a long way! It wraps up well and stores for a couple of days. While I spent the money for both goat cheeses used, you could substitute, in theory, cream cheese for the soft cheese and any hard cheese for the hard goat cheese. It won’t be the same but would be a lot cheaper. Still, if I am going to indulge in bread like this, buying the best just seems worth it.
Walker (our toddler) enjoyed the bread quite a bit. He ate the same size square as us!
Grain-Free Almond Herb Bread
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Almond Meal/Flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup finely shredded hard goat cheese
- 4 ounces soft goat cheese
- 3 whole eggs, preferably organic & local
- 3 Tbsp walnut oil or other cold-pressed oil
- 1 Tbsp minced onion (fresh or rehydrated dried)
- 4 ounces soft goat cheese
- Fine sea salt for topping
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°, lightly oil a 9×13″ glass baking pan with a bit more oil, set aside.
Stir the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs smooth, add the soft goat cheese and beat in, then the remaining ingredients. Add to the dry, stir to mix. Spread evenly in the prepared pan. Dust very lightly with a pinch more salt on top.
Bake for 30 minutes, until golden on top. Let cool on a rack, then cut into wedges or squares, pop out with a small spatula. Store leftovers in the refrigerator wrapped up.
The bread is sturdy enough it can be split in half for use as a sandwich bread as well. And served with fresh tomatoes!
Well…here is something to admit: I hadn’t ever bought a Parsnip before. I know….sheesh. I finally found some nice looking ones that were not limp (I am looking at you local Safeway! Your Parsnips could be tied into bows!!) This is a very pretty dish, and yes, it is egg-centric, but I have so many lovely eggs to use up from the farmers market and Saturday is fast approaching! This is a nice way to approach vegetables in children.
But alas, my Garden Frittata needs a little more work. I had baked it and it was a bit soft in the center for my taste (but done on the outside). I ended up crisping it in a skillet in a bit of oil – and then it was quite tasty – and crispy. Back to the drawing, er, recipe board!
~Sarah