I have a little problem. I'm addicted to cookbooks, food writing, recipe collecting, and cooking. I have a lot of recipes waiting for me to try them, and ideas from articles, tv, and restaurants often lead to new dishes. I started losing track of what I've done. So now I'm taking photos and writing about what I've prepared—unless it's terrible in which case I forget it ever happened.
I’m trying to remember my first encounter with hippie food. I know that I’d eaten whole wheat bread and home-grown vegetables my whole life, but my first memory of eating food that was created as a countercultural statement was when I was a student at the University of Illinois. There was a little, vegetarian cafe in Urbana called Nature’s Table, and I fell for their garbanzo spread sandwich on whole grain bread. I hadn’t thought about that place in years, but it came back to me as I read a review copy of Hippie Food: How Back-to-the-Landers, Longhairs, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat. This book looks back at the origins of what we’ve come to call “hippie food” and how many products that used to be hidden away in health food stores became mainstream. It all might have started in the 1950s in California where optimum health and trust in nature became linked to food choices. Soon thereafter, interest in macrobiotic diets were on the rise and a demand for organically-grown brown rice developed. At first, there weren’t always scientific reasons to back up various nutritional claims, but the idea that food grown without harsh chemicals is better for people and the planet began to resonate in health food circles. Just when industrialized farming was taking off, this nascent call for doing things the old-fashioned way arrived. It was interesting to read how the Lundberg family in California became a leader in growing rice organically. Following the interest in brown rice came the return to whole wheat. White bread became a symbol of the industrial, over-commercialized food system. Recipes for baking whole wheat bread at home began circulating. All the while, more health food stores and cafes cropped up around the country. Health food buying coops appeared as well, and I was interested to read about the start of Austin’s own Wheatsville Coop that is still in business today. Speaking of Austin, all of this also led to Whole Foods Market that started here as well. Hippie food often has a negative connotation as bland or boring in its meatlessness, but it’s come a long way. I’m so glad ingredients like all sorts of whole grain flours, brown rice, and organic produce have gained popularity and can be found everywhere. And, I’m thrilled that we now have so many cookbooks and magazines to inspire delicious ways to use those ingredients. This book and memories of Nature’s Table had me craving a vegetarian sandwich on whole grain bread. I’d just seen the Edamame Pate Sandwich in Clean Eating, and I decided to bake my own bread for it.
When I read A New Way to Bake, I had marked the page for Molasses Oat Bread, and this was a perfect use for it. It’s an easy bread to make too. Boiling water was poured over some oats, and molasses was added. While it sat, more oats were coarsely ground in a food processor and then added to a bowl with whole wheat flour, bread flour, dry milk, and salt. Yeast was added to the oat-molasses mixture before it was combined with the flour mixture. The dough was kneaded and left to rise before being shaped and left to rise again. Before baking, the loaf was scored, brushed with egg white, and topped with oats. For the edamame pate, thawed shelled edamame were pureed with walnuts, mint, green onion, salt, lemon juice, and a little water. I made a few different sandwiches. Some were made with pea sprouts, some had home-grown arugula, and some were open-faced with just tomato.
The molasses oat bread was a fitting and delicious vehicle for the edamame pate. It’s been too long since I last had that vegetarian sandwich at Nature’s Table, so I would be able to compare the two. But, I do know that Nature’s Table wasn’t using fresh, local tomatoes on their sandwiches back then, and that gave my edamame sandwich a big boost. Is this modern hippie food? Evolved hippie food? Whatever the label for this kind of eating, I hope the concept continues.
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During strawberry season, I always think of shortcakes. And while I had some of the very freshest, best milk and cream on hand, strawberry shortcakes with vanilla ice cream quickly became a fantastic idea. I volunteer with Slow Food Austin, and we recently hosted a tour at Richardson Farms where they’re operating a newly-opened dairy. This is a small, family-run farm that sits about an hour’s drive outside of Austin. To give you a sense of the scale of this dairy, the milking operation is set up for four cows at a time.
We visited the pretty bovine gals as they waited their turn outside, and then we watched as they came in and the milking began. Richardson’s guarantees that all their cows are of the A2 genetic variety, and as they breed the next generation, they are also guaranteed to be A2. That designation refers to a type of beta-casein protein, and cows in the US can be A1 or A2. Larger farms could have some cows of both types and don’t typically check which is which. The A2 beta-casein is thought to be more easily-digestible and to lead to fewer adverse health issues than A1. It was fascinating to learn that the farm has taken the steps to ensure that all their milk is A2. During the tour, we also visited the hungry, little calves and fed them from bottles before touring the milk tank room and seeing the pasteurizing machine. Here in Texas, raw milk can only be purchased at a farm. It can’t be sold at farmers’ markets or in stores. So, while Richardson’s offers raw milk to customers who visit the farm, everything they sell elsewhere is low-heat pasteurized. While there, I was able to purchase raw milk that had just entered the tank from the cows I saw being milked, and I also brought home some raw cream. I couldn’t wait to put it to good use.
I should mention, the farm also produces meat including beef, pork, and chicken. They sell eggs, and they mill their own whole wheat flour and cornmeal from non-GMO plants. When I readA New Way to Bake, the Cornmeal Drop Biscuits caught my eye, and I knew they’d be great platforms for strawberry shortcake. I made them with whole wheat pastry flour, Richardson’s cornmeal and raw milk, and some grass-fed butter. The batter was scooped onto baking sheets, and they baked until golden. For the ice cream, as usual I followed the recipe for Vanilla Gelato from Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts . I used more of that fabulous milk that was heated gently and added to egg yolks. The custard was then poured through a sieve into a measuring pitcher, and the beautiful raw cream was added with some salt. I chilled the base overnight before churning the ice cream. For the strawberries, I just stemmed and halved them, tossed them with a little sugar, and waited for the juices to run.
After visiting the farm, seeing what they’re doing, and hearing the trouble they’ve gone to to make the best product they can, I wanted to tell everyone I know to go buy their milk. I hope they’re able to sell raw milk as an option at our farmers’ markets soon. And, I hope more people take an interest in this incredible milk made right here in central Texas. I can report the milk and cream were sublime in all the ways I used them: in a spring chowder, splashed into some cold-brew coffee, and in these biscuits and ice cream for strawberry shortcakes.
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Baking with a mix of flours and various types of natural sweeteners has become my new standard. I love trying different types of grains and nuts in flour form for breads, pancakes, and cookies, and all kinds of treats. So, it was a delight to see the newest book from the Kitchens of Martha Stewart, A New Way to Bake: Classic Recipes Updated with Better-for-You Ingredients from the Modern Pantry, that focuses on just that kind of baking. I recently received a review copy. Not all of the recipes are gluten free, but some are. And, not all of the sweet recipes are free of refined sugar, but less-refined organic sugar is recommended when granulated sugar is used. It’s a collection of mostly traditional, comforting recipes that have been amped up a bit in the nutrition department with a reduced use of white flour. The accompanying photo with every recipe will make you want to taste each one. At the very beginning of the book, I couldn’t wait to try the Gluten-Free Quinoa Pancakes sweetened only with maple syrup and the Vegan Banana-Oat Pancakes made with shredded coconut and orange juice. Still in the Breakfast chapter, I want to try the Double-Chocolate Rye Muffins, the Pumpkin Spelt Scones with Maple Glaze, and the Seeded Breakfast Rolls. Beyond breakfast, there are also cookies, brownies, pies, tarts, cobblers, cakes, breads, and more. I’ve marked many, many pages including the dairy-free Chocolate-Coconut Pie made with coconut oil and coconut milk, the Molasses-Oat Bread, and the Seeded English Muffins. So far, I’ve made two recipes from the book. I’ll be writing about the Cornmeal Drop Biscuits soon, and today I want to tell you about the Granola Cookies. They’re actually not made with granola. Instead, they’re made from a lot of the same things that go into granola.
These are dairy-free cookies since no butter is used. Coconut oil was combined with brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. I used less-refined muscovado sugar rather than regular brown sugar since I had some on hand. Eggs and vanilla were added next followed by flour and I used whole wheat pastry flour. Baking soda and salt were also added. Last, oats, flaxseed meal, pumpkin seeds, large unsweetened coconut flakes, chopped dark chocolate, and unsweetened dried cherries were folded into the dough. Once mixed, the dough was refrigerated to firm up, and then it was scooped onto baking sheets and baked for about 14 minutes.
This cookie checks every item on the desirability list: chewy, nutty, fruity, chocolaty, and delicious. And, there’s lots of room for personalization since you can use a different type of nut or seed, choose your favorite kind of chocolate, and pick a different dried fruit if you like. In fact, at the beginning of the book, there’s a suggestion to experiment with all of the recipes by trying different combinations of flours, milks, sweeteners, or fats. There’s even a handy chart and more ingredient info at the back of the book to help with making substitutions. Tinkering with and tasting all of these recipes is going to be fun.
Granola Cookies Recipe reprinted with publisher's permission from A New Way to Bake: Classic Recipes Updated with Better-for-You Ingredients from the Modern Pantry. Coconut oil takes the place of butter in this brown-sugar–based dough. Wholesome granola mix-ins—coconut flakes, dried cherries, pepitas—are added alongside bittersweet chocolate chunks for an irresistible old-fashioned drop cookie that’s a great energy-boosting snack.
MAKES ABOUT 40 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil 1 cup packed light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon coarse salt 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats 1/4 cup flaxseed meal (ground flaxseeds) 1/2 cup hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) 3/4 cup large unsweetened coconut flakes 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup) 1 cup unsweetened dried
cherries or cranberries, chopped
In a bowl, with an electric mixer, beat oil and brown sugar on medium until well combined, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, and salt, and beat until combined. Stir in oats, flaxseed meal, pumpkin seeds, coconut, chocolate, and cherries until well combined. Refrigerate dough until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough, 2 inches apart, onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden, 13 to 14 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool completely.
(Cookies can be kept in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.)
To make the cookie whole grain, swap in spelt flour for the all-purpose. To make gluten-free, substitute 1 cup of Wholesome Flour from Cup 4 Cup (available at cup4cup.com) for the all-purpose, and use gluten-free oats.
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. This book looks back at the origins of what we’ve come to call “hippie food” and how many products that used to be hidden away in health food stores became mainstream. It all might have started in the 1950s in California where optimum health and trust in nature became linked to food choices. Soon thereafter, interest in macrobiotic diets were on the rise and a demand for organically-grown brown rice developed. At first, there weren’t always scientific reasons to back up various nutritional claims, but the idea that food grown without harsh chemicals is better for people and the planet began to resonate in health food circles. Just when industrialized farming was taking off, this nascent call for doing things the old-fashioned way arrived. It was interesting to read how the Lundberg family in California became a leader in growing rice organically. Following the interest in brown rice came the return to whole wheat. White bread became a symbol of the industrial, over-commercialized food system. Recipes for baking whole wheat bread at home began circulating. All the while, more health food stores and cafes cropped up around the country. Health food buying coops appeared as well, and I was interested to read about the start of Austin’s own Wheatsville Coop that is still in business today. Speaking of Austin, all of this also led to Whole Foods Market that started here as well. Hippie food often has a negative connotation as bland or boring in its meatlessness, but it’s come a long way. I’m so glad ingredients like all sorts of whole grain flours, brown rice, and organic produce have gained popularity and can be found everywhere. And, I’m thrilled that we now have so many cookbooks and magazines to inspire delicious ways to use those ingredients. This book and memories of Nature’s Table had me craving a vegetarian sandwich on whole grain bread. I’d just seen the Edamame Pate Sandwich in Clean Eating, and I decided to bake my own bread for it. 
, I had marked the page for Molasses Oat Bread, and this was a perfect use for it. It’s an easy bread to make too. Boiling water was poured over some oats, and molasses was added. While it sat, more oats were coarsely ground in a food processor and then added to a bowl with whole wheat flour, bread flour, dry milk, and salt. Yeast was added to the oat-molasses mixture before it was combined with the flour mixture. The dough was kneaded and left to rise before being shaped and left to rise again. Before baking, the loaf was scored, brushed with egg white, and topped with oats. For the edamame pate, thawed shelled edamame were pureed with walnuts, mint, green onion, salt, lemon juice, and a little water. I made a few different sandwiches. Some were made with pea sprouts, some had home-grown arugula, and some were open-faced with just tomato. 
. I used more of that fabulous milk that was heated gently and added to egg yolks. The custard was then poured through a sieve into a measuring pitcher, and the beautiful raw cream was added with some salt. I chilled the base overnight before churning the ice cream. For the strawberries, I just stemmed and halved them, tossed them with a little sugar, and waited for the juices to run. 
