Ever since my nutrition class (that happened longer ago than I care to think about) told me how important sesame seeds were to the vegetarian diet because they are high in iron, I've liked them. Not that I didn't love sesame hamburger buns before. But I really had interest in them after that. Which is why this very recent recipe from the New York Times food blog got my attention.
We--Paul and I--have been on a mission. We'd like to serve Nora crackers with a little less additives and that are a little healthier. Some people might call that "processed" but I hasten to clarify. After all, if I'm using a food processor, it seems like the recipe is rather processed. My goal is to have fewer ingredients, adding more whole wheat flour when possible. And hopefully creating a cheaper product while I'm at it.
Recipe for Dilled Havarti Whole Wheat Crackers
Based on Smitten Kitchen's Cheddar Cracker recipe.
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
6 oz. (3/4 block from Aldi or 1 1/2 cups coursly grated) Havarti cheese, grated
1-2 Tablespoons fresh dill
1/8 teaspoon herbed salt
Combine ingredients in a food processor. Run until a ball of dough forms. (The original recipe says 2 minutes. Mine was faster than that in two smaller batches.) If dough feels too soft or difficult to handle, wrap in parchment and freeze about 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut cracker shapes as desired. Bake about 1/2 inches apart on cookie sheet, preferably lined, at 350 for 12-17 minutes. You want the crackers to be slightly browned on the edges.
Just before New Year's Amazon.com had a great sale on some organic berry-flavored apple sauce. A couple of weeks ago, we got Plum Organics Peaches. While previously I was not interested in such convenience foods, even as a working mom, I've learned that Nora enjoys them because sucking solids is a new action for her mouth. The packaging intrigues her, and its shelf stable for when I'm on the go.
On my list for using up our Michigan apples was to try my hand at dehydrating apple slices into chips. I found an improved source of information for how to do so effectively at Seasonal Chef.
