common weights

These are mostly based on my own measurements, but a few also come from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Some products' weight vary by company, so if in doubt, do double-check. All flours listed are La Milanaise organic flour except where indicated by an asterisk. A good intro to weighing ingredients is here.

Weighing ingredients ensures accuracy (sifting flour is unnecessary) and efficiency (no having to scrape and wash measuring cups with honey, molasses etc.!). You can get a good electronic scale for about $10 at Canadian Tire - what are you waiting for? I write the weight of ingredients called for right into my recipe books next to the volume given - and of course, UK recipes all use weight, so all your bases are covered with a scale!

When cooking, just put your mixing bowl right on the scale, measure in, mix, return to scale, measure in, and so on. 

I keep this chart in my pantry cupboard, and I encourage you to print this off for your own use, adding whenever you see fit.

Whole wheat bread flour: 142g/c
White wheat flour: 141g/c
Whole wheat pastry flour: 153g/c
Buckwheat flour: 160g/c
Spelt flour: 147g/c (I didn't note whether this was whole or white, but I think it was white!)
White kamut flour: 154g/c
Whole kamut flour: 137g/c
Sprouted spelt flour*: 130g/c
Quick oats: 93g/c
Wheat bran: 59g/c
Cocoa powder: 80g/c (Camino brand - I think No Name is 110g/c - I have both weights written down on my list but I didn't note which the 110g/c refers to, so I'm going on memory - if using a different brand, measure it once and write the result and brand in your chart.)
Brown sugar: 206g/c packed
Molasses, fancy: 320g/c
Honey: 333g/c
Maple syrup grade #2: 333g/c (note that the weight does change depending on grade - I have tried grade #1 as well and there was definitely a difference, but unfortunately I didn't write it down!)
Yogurt: 280g/c (full-fat homemade)
Butter: 250g/c
Liquid vegetable oil: 220g/c
Coconut oil: 180g/c
Water: 225g/c
Chicken egg, shell off: 52g/egg (large size)
Duck egg, shell off: 85g/egg

Feel free to submit weights of products not listed here - nut flours, blackstrap molasses, and other brands' weights would all be useful to have, for starters!

Sacred Heart party

Yesterday was our household anniversary of the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart - I also blogged about it last year! I made beef & vegetable stromboli to celebrate, complete with a little heart dish full of mustard and sriracha. I also threw together a simpler version of last year's lemon cake at the last minute - I skipped the syrup and glaze altogether, and just increased the sugar to a slightly heaping 1/2 c instead of a 1/3 c. I also used all spelt flour, as we had no almonds. It turned out really well, not too sweet but sort of extra crunchy and amazing toward the circumference. Yum! We're making that cake our official Sacred Heart celebration cake. :)

date night & more!

no leeks were used, but I wanted to show you I bought some, cause you know, that's our blog name and whatnot. see see! I really buy leeks :D (using in soup tonight)

frog legs!

garlic, butter & parsley sauce

breadsticks with oil and balsamic vinegar

ready for nomming

Ambrose really enjoyed the breadsticks.

I'm experimenting with breakfast pies! These were apple, egg & cheese. I want to make some with sausage and spinach for tomorrow. they are basically like mini quiches. The little casseroles are 2$ apiece at the Dollarama, and have lids. They are microwave, oven & dishwasher safe.

Tony accidentally threw out my kefir grains a couple of weeks ago, so when I was cleaning out the fridge the other day, I decided to dig out some old kefir grains from months ago I'd been using to ferment juice. They were stored in a solution of sugar-water with ginger and cardamom. They've been dyed brown from juice, so you can see them clearly here - and you can clearly see that THEY STILL WORK! Incredible! I don't know if this is because "gingerroots are rich in yeasts and lactic acid bacteria", as are "other similar rhizomes, specifically turmeric and galangal" (Sandoz Katz, The Art of Fermentation, Chelsea Green 2012, pgs 150-151), which helped keep the SCOBY alive, or what, but... I'm impressed! I've been so sad about my lack of dairy kefir in my life I actually bought some commercial kefir made by Pinehedge Farms. It was delicious but WEIRD! Really thick and sweet, not in a sugary way but just in a mild way. The fermentation agent listed on the label is simply "live bacterial cultures", which I find a little suspicious, as real kefir SCOBYs also have yeast. I know some stores sell technically real kefir starters, as all of the components are on the label, but it comes in powder form and can't be resued the way a SCOBY can. I wonder how Pinehedge Farms, or any other large-scale kefir producer, make their products? Anyway. I'm a happy hippie here with my kefir!

As a housekeeping note to the LG crew, please try to remember to use labels in your posts so the blog is easier to navigate. Before publishing, click "labels" on the right menu, then select whatever ones we already have that apply to your post, or inventing a new one/new ones if nothing really fits. Thanks!

super simple cookies

I follow a wonderful fitness blogger named Casey Ho Her main thing is short workout youtube videos, along with having a fitness apparel and bag line, but she also blogs a lot about what she eats. She's all about eating "clean" (her word not mine) which usually means no sugar. But she loves to eat, and always shares things that look delicious. Here is my version of her healthiest cookie in the world recipe.

1 banana
1 cup oats

--> mush together

add:
a handful raisins
a handful of coconut shavings
top with a pecan!

bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes

These cookies dont even require raisins. They're good just oats and banana, kinda like a baby cookie. They filled my sweet craving for the afternoon. My current tea love is Creme Brule Rooibos a David's Tea blend. Looooove it hot and cold with honey or without.

Bipity Bopity...BOOOOOO!

just say no... to canned pumpkin

I have this weird fascination with canned goods, even though I should know better.

I always imagine the contents to taste amazing, as magically tasty as the packaging makes them look.

I am weak.

But I can attest that this. Stuff. SUCKS. Stay away from it. It also has an odd, bitter after-taste. I was also expecting a completely different consistency than home-roasted squashes, but alas, the result is the same. Roast your own magic pumpkin and have the bonus of having the house smell like pumpkin pie heaven, too.

Now, back to (holy) sex....