focaccia!

mmmm, october! this is my favorite month. the leaves are changing, it's windy and cold (my least favorite part is the cold), and the smell of autumn is in the air.

what's the best thing to do on a cold windy day? bake, of course!

i like making breads. sometimes i make our own sandwich bread. turns out perfect every time, big and fluffy. sometimes i make buns, or biscuits, sometimes i make a small loaf of bread to snack on. but today i'm making focaccia.

i've only ever made it once before, and it wasn't the best. it came out kind of hard and crunchy. it's in the oven as i type this so we have yet to see how it comes out! it smells amazing.

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oooh, it's out.

nom.

recipe? sure thing!

garlic rosemary focaccia (from the herb companion, oct/nov 2011 issue)

1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup very warm water (105-110 degrees)
1 & 3/4 cups unbleached flour
1/8 cup ground flaxseed
2 cloves minced garlic
1-2 tsp fresh minced rosemary (you can use dried)
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
oil spray
vegan parmesan cheeze, for sprinkling (recipe will follow)

in a small bowl, combine water, yeast and sugar. give it a little stir and let sit about 10 minutes.

in a large bowl, mix together the flour, ground flax, garlic, rosemary, and salt. add 1/8 cup of olive oil and the yeast mixture and stir until combined. turn out onto a floured surface and knead about 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed, until dough is soft and elastic.

coat the large bowl with oil spray and place the dough in, turning once to coat. cover with a towel and let sit in a warm space for about an hour. dough will double in size. punch down.

form dough into a rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. place on parchment paper on a baking sheet. brush with a tablespoon of olive oil. cover with towel and let sit about a half hour. preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

poke the dough with your fingers to make deep indentations. brush with 1 more tablespoon of olive oil, making sure to brush the edges. sprinkle with some more sea salt, a few more sprigs of chopped rosemary leaves, and vegan parmy cheeze.

bake for 18-20 minutes (mine took 18) or until golden. let cool for about 5 minutes then cut into pieces and munch!

vegan parmesan cheeze:

this is easy and only requires 3 ingredients.

1 cup of almonds
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt

in a food processor, chop the almonds until they are in tiny pieces. add the nutritional yeast and salt and pulse until mixed well.

this needs to be kept refrigerated. what i like to do is save the containers of nutritional yeast and dump this stuff in there, then it can be used to sprinkle on whatever you like! i put it on pretty much everything from pastas and rice dishes, veggies, soups, etc.


speaking of it being october now, lookie what i picked up at the farmer's market this morning!

i love these little ones. are they not the cutest things ever?!!



happy october :D