Sunday, August 16, 2009

Laughing Brownies

I found another recipe for beans. I really like beans. I like brownies too. Put them together and you get a lower fat brownie with added fiber and protein. I had to try it.

You need three things to make Laughing Brownies.
1. A brownie mix
2. A can of black beans
3. Water

Open the brownie mix and dump it in a bowl. I know you know that but I am trying to be thorough.Rinse, Rinse, Rinse the beans. The better they are rinsed the less likely you and your family are to experience the joys of the musical fruit. Put the rinsed, drained beans in a blender. Add one cup of water. (The recipe I found said to put the beans back in the can, then add water to the beans to fill the can. I did that, then I dumped the water off and measured it. It was just about one cup. It was annoying to me to put them back in the can. If you do decide to put them back in the can, rinse your can or you will have musical brownies.)
Puree the beans and water. It smells beany, but your brownies will not when they are done.
Add the bean puree to the dry brownie mix. Mix. The beans will almost disappear if you pureed them well enough. The brownie batter will look about the same as if you follow the recipe on the back of the box. It tastes yummy too. Go ahead and lick the spoon.
I baked my brownies according to the recommendations on the back of the box. I separated mine into two different pans because my big pan was dirty. I used it the night before and it was full of leftovers.I decided that I like real brownies better. I could get used to these though. Maybe I'll get on a health kick and love them. I was disappointed with the texture of the Black Bean Brownie. It tasted like a microwave cake. My husband agreed the real thing is better, although he did eat several. My daughter did not seem to notice. She would have eaten the whole pan. I rinsed my beans well, so we did not notice any extra gas. I would eat the batter over the actual brownies.
Why do I call them Laughing Brownies? My daughter tried to say Black Bean Brownies and out came Laughing Brownies. I thought the name was funny. Make some, you might be surprised.

White Wheat Bread

I have been wondering about the difference between Hard Red Wheat and Hard White Wheat. I read a little about it online. In my reading I found that white wheat has a milder flavor, but all the same nutrients of red wheat. The length of storage is the same. The difference is in the coloring of the bran. White wheat has a lighter color. I decided that I wanted to try it out. So, I bought some.

I used the same bread recipe. It is hard to tell the difference between red wheat flour and white wheat flour. The loaves of bread made from the white wheat are a lighter color after baking. Not as light as white bread made from white flour.

My conclusion: I will still use a little white wheat. I will use it for tortillas and pizza dough and cinnamon rolls. We learned that our family actually prefers the "wheat" taste in our bread.

My suggestion is if you want to have white bread with higher nutritional content use a mixture of white wheat flour and white flour (bleached flour from the store). I think it would be hard to tell if you sneaked in a cup or two into your loaves. Gradually you could build up the amount of white wheat flour and then mix in the red wheat flour.

If you are considering purchasing wheat and want to get a great price, check out http://www.ldscatalog.com/. They have Hard Red Wheat. There prices are great and shipping is free in the US. Another great thing is there is no minimum weight required for shipment. I think you have to purchase one case of six #10 cans. The current price is just over $22.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Free on Fridays

Most Fridays the Shelf Reliance blog has a give away contest. The winners get great prizes from food storage rotation shelves to food storage foods. Who wouldn't want to win something like that. Check it out for yourself. It is easy to enter. Just go to the Shelf Reliance Blog and follow the instructions. You might be the winner. Then again maybe it will be me. Good luck! Go to www.shelfreliance.com/blog/ to enter.