It’s Spring ~ Pea, Mint and Parmesan Crostini

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I brought home some delicious homemade bread from Sur La Table’s artisan bread class, so we decided to make a spring crostini dish with one of the baguettes. I think there is something extraordinary about peas and fresh mint together. Top that slightly sweet combination with salty Parmesan, and it’s a really special dish. Simple, fresh and delicious. A recipe from Bon Appétit magazine inspired me, but we made it our own. Just add as much or as little of each component until it tastes good to you. 🙂 This is really more of an idea than an actual recipe to follow.

Pea, Mint and Parmesan Crostini

Adapted from Bon Appétit magazine

Fresh baguette

1 ½ cups frozen peas

Handful of fresh mint

Salt and pepper

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Blanch the peas in salty water for about a minute. Drain well. In a food processor, add blanched peas, mint, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Process until it is blended, but still has some texture. Scrape down the bowl to ensure it is all evenly mixed.

Slice the baguette into thin slices, and grill lightly on a grill pan.

Spread a dollop of the pea mixture onto the baguette slices, and then top with thinly sliced Parmesan cheese. Garnish with extra mint and some freshly ground pepper if you’d like.

These would be great appetizers for a spring cocktail party, or even for an Easter meal. They are so easy to make that they would also be perfect for a late night snack with a nice bottle of wine. Or in this case, they were a part of one of our little anniversary celebrations. Saturday marked the day that Rob and I met 14 years ago. We do something special every year on that date when we unknowingly met our future spouse. 🙂 These little crostini definitely felt like a treat fitting for a special celebration.

Snow Day = Muffin Day

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Seattle woke up to quite a bit of snow today, which is a rare treat for us! It is so gorgeous and white outside of my window.

The snow inspired me to bake some muffins to warm up our kitchen and make the house cozy :). After several batches, these banana buttermilk muffins were our favorite. I used all whole-wheat pastry flour instead of mixing it with all-purpose flour. I think banana muffins can stand up well to the nuttier flavor of whole-wheat flour. Other than that, I followed the recipe pretty closely. They are tender from the buttermilk and nice and sweet from the ripe bananas I pulled out of our freezer. It will definitely be a good one to go with our morning coffee even after the snow melts :).

Banana Buttermilk Muffins

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma

1 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 cup well-mashed ripe banana

2 Tbs. canola oil

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat an oven to 375°F. Spray 12 standard muffin cups with canola-oil cooking spray, or use paper liners.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.

In another bowl or a large, glass measuring pitcher, whisk together the buttermilk, banana, oil, egg and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Do not over mix. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full. Sprinkle the tops evenly with the walnuts.

Bake the muffins until they are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then turn out onto the rack and let cool completely. The muffins will keep in a zippered plastic bag at room temperature for 2 or 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Makes 12 muffins.

A little holiday treat ~ Pumpkin Muffins

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I have tried many pumpkin muffin recipes since pumpkin is one of my favorite fall flavors, but this is the one I keep coming back to. They are now an autumn/holiday treat that I make every year. (Sometimes I even make them in the spring or summer since they are so good, and canned pumpkin is available year round!) I follow the original recipe pretty closely, except I use 100% whole-wheat pastry flour instead of any white flour. I think the spices and the pumpkin combine well with the nuttier flavors in the whole grain flour. I hope you’ll give these a try! They are definitely a favorite at our house :).

Pumpkin Muffins

Adapted from Ellie Krieger’s book The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life

Cooking spray

2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons unsulphered molasses

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, molasses, oil and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

PS. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, reduced fat sour cream can be a good substitute.

Lots to be thankful for ~ Roasted Pheasant with Chestnuts, Wild Rice and Fennel, Frisée Salad with Blue Cheese, Walnut and Cranberry Crostini and a Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Happy Thanksgiving!

We celebrated a little early with family this year, so Rob and I had a quiet and cozy Thanksgiving for two on the actual holiday. I decided to shake things up a bit since we had the traditional turkey and sweet potatoes and all of that last week. For our own little celebration, we had Roasted Pheasant with Chestnuts, Wild Rice and Fennel, Frisée Salad with Blue Cheese, Walnut and Cranberry Crostini and a Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting. If you would like to try something off the beaten path for your holidays, we both thought all three were exceptional! The recipes were twists on the traditional fare, so it still felt like Thanksgiving, but it was fun to try a few new things.

The frisée salad was a festive little starter for our meal. I have to admit, I am not a big cranberry sauce fan, and so the addition of dried cranberries on the crostini was my version of “cranberry sauce.” 😉 I used quite a bit less blue cheese than the original recipe called for, and I was actually able to find a reduced fat cheese by Stella that had a very full flavor. I also used a baguette instead of ciabatta since I liked the size better, and it has fewer holes to let the goodies fall through ;). I made the whole recipe for the crostini, so as to have leftovers as snacks in the coming days.

 

Frisée Salad with Blue Cheese, Walnut, and Cranberry Crostini

Adapted from Bon Appétit magazine

24 ½ or ¼ inch-thick slices of a French baguette, depending on your preference

3 tablespoons walnut oil, divided

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

1/4 cup reduced fat blue cheese, crumbled

5 tablespoons minced shallots, divided

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1 bunch of frisée lettuce

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange bread slices on baking sheet. Brush bread slices on top side with 2 tablespoons walnut oil. Bake until crisp, about 5 minutes.

Mix walnuts, cheese, 4 tablespoons shallots, and dried cranberries in medium bowl. Sprinkle mixture on toasts. Bake until cheese melts, about 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine frisée, 1 tablespoon shallots, 1 tablespoon walnut oil, and vinegar in bowl. Serve with crostini on top of the frisée.

For the pheasant dish, I followed the recipe pretty closely. I did omit the butter when called for and used olive oil instead. I also needed to cook the pheasant longer than 40 minutes to get the breast meat to 160 degrees. If you haven’t ever had pheasant before (like we hadn’t) it has a very mild taste, but it is definitely not chicken or turkey. It was less gamey than I expected. A nice refreshing change from our usual poultry choices :). The sizes of the pheasants were also perfect for two with leftovers. I used two little 2 lb birds. (If you are in the Seattle area, Don and Joe’s Meats in Pike Place Market carries pheasant along with many other specialty meats. It’s a fun place to visit if you are looking for a little culinary adventure!)

 

Roasted Pheasant with Chestnuts, Wild Rice and Fennel

Adapted from MarthaStewart.com

2 cups fresh chestnuts

3/4 cup wild rice

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

2 pheasants (about 2 pounds each)

1/4 cup fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

6 shallots, 2 minced and 4 slivered lengthwise

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil

2 fennel bulbs (about 8 ounces each), sliced thinly crosswise

1 cup homemade chicken stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. With a sharp knife, make two crosscut gashes on flat side of chestnuts. Place on a baking sheet, and roast for 15 to 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel off skins and set aside.

Rinse rice well. In a medium saucepan, combine with 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover loosely, and allow to simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from heat, add 1/2 teaspoon salt, and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.

Rinse pheasant, and pat dry. Combine rosemary, garlic, minced shallots, and salt and pepper to taste. Rub cavity with mixture. Season outside with salt and pepper. Tie pheasant’s legs together with kitchen twine. Tuck wings under breast.

Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Pour 1 tablespoon oil in a roasting pan over medium heat. Brown bird evenly on all sides, about 15 minutes. Place breast side up; transfer to oven. Cook for about 40 more minutes, basting often, until legs are a little loose when you shake them.

Meanwhile, pour 1 teaspoon oil in a skillet. Add slivered shallots, and cook over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer shallots to a bowl.

Pour another 1 teaspoon oil in skillet. Add fennel slices, and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl.

Pour remaining tablespoon oil in skillet. Add chestnuts; cook for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup stock and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until reduced to a glaze, about 10 minutes. Add remaining stock; simmer until again reduced to a glaze, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add rice, shallots, fennel, and 1 cup water to skillet and cook for 5 minutes. Add chestnuts. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with pheasant.

For dessert, we had a pumpkin cake roll with cream cheese frosting. I reduced the sugar from the original recipe and I made a simple Neufchatel frosting for the middle instead of the traditional full fat cream cheese filling. The presentation was quite beautiful, but I must say, it looks harder to make than it actually was. My favorite kind of recipe! 😉

 

Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Cook’s Country magazine

1
cup cake flour, sifted

2
teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2
teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

5
large eggs

1
cup sugar

1
cup canned pumpkin puree

16 ounces Neufchatel, room temperature

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for garnish

For the Cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 18- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet and line with greased parchment paper. Whisk flour, spice, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; set aside. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat eggs and sugar until pale yellow and thick, 6 to 10 minutes. Add pumpkin and mix on low until incorporated. Fold in flour mixture until combined. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until cake is firm and springs back when touched, about 15 minutes. Before cooling, run knife around edge of cake to loosen, and turn out onto clean sheet of parchment paper that has been dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Gently peel off parchment attached to cake and discard. Roll cake and fresh parchment into log and cool completely, about 1 hour.

For the Filling: Place the room temperature Neufchatel cheese in a food processor, and blend with ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar until smooth.

To Assemble: Gently unroll cake and spread with frosting, leaving 1-inch border at edges. Re-roll cake snugly, leaving parchment behind. Wrap cake firmly in plastic wrap and chill completely, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. Remove plastic, dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Halloween Season ~ Applesauce Spice Muffins

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I made a couple of batches of applesauce spice muffins to warm up the house on chilly October days. The original recipe was from Gourmet magazine, and it can be found at Epicurious.com. I used a few tricks to make these treats a little healthier, though ;).  I substituted whole-wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour, I reduced the sugar a little and I replaced the butter with a blend of canola oil and light sour cream.

Applesauce Spice Muffins

Muffin Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

2 large eggs

1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

¼ cup canola oil

¼ cup and 3 tablespoons light sour cream

1 cup unsweetened applesauce (cinnamon or plain work well)

1 cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

Topping Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ cup sliced almonds (optional)

Put your oven rack in the middle position and preheat to 400 degrees. Grease the muffin pan or line it with cupcake papers.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar, then whisk in the canola oil and sour cream until well combined. Stir in the applesauce. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture until the flour is just moistened. Stir in the nuts at this point if you are using them. Divide the batter between 12 muffin cups.

For the topping, stir together all of the topping ingredients with the almonds if you are using them.  Sprinkle evenly over the muffins.

Bake until the muffins are puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. A wooden skewer inserted should come out clean.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Thanksgiving ~ Wild Rice and Goat Cheese Stuffing with Chorizo

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Happy Thanksgiving!

For one of my favorite holidays, we hosted a little family get together at our house this year, and we made all of our traditional favorites – Slow roasted turkey breast with gravy (I tried a new recipe from America’s Test Kitchen this year for the main course, which I would highly recommend. The breast is my favorite part of the turkey, and this is a way to make sure it stays moist and flavorful), cauliflower and cheese, green beans with mushroom sauce, marshmallow sweet potatoes, wild rice and goat cheese stuffing with chorizo, and of course, pumpkin pie! I started making this stuffing for Thanksgiving a few years ago when we celebrated the holiday in Palm Springs and I was looking for a Southwest twist on the traditional recipe. It has since become a favorite that I make every year. The original recipe came from the Food Network, and I follow it fairly closely. I make it a pinch healthier by omitting the butter and using low sodium free-range chicken broth. I use real chorizo since it only requires a little bit, and it is a holiday after all :).

Wild Rice and Goat Cheese Stuffing with Chorizo

1 1/2 cups wild rice

5 cups water

Salt to taste

1/2 cup finely ground chorizo

1 finely diced large onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 finely chopped carrots

3 finely chopped celery stalks

3/4 pound cubed stale hearty white bread

6 ounces goat cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 1/2 cups low sodium free-range chicken stock

Boil the rice, water, and a little salt to taste in a medium saucepan until the grains open and the rice is tender. Drain. (This can be done a day ahead if you desire.)  Cook the chorizo in a large saucepan over medium heat. Pour the chorizo over a bowl lined with a paper towel to drain the excess fat. In the same pan, add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and cook until the onion is tender but not browned. Add the rice, chorizo, bread, cheese, parsley, thyme, and stock and combine it all together. Season to taste with a little salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking dish and bake at 350, uncovered, until golden brown on top, about 25 to 30 minutes.

We paired dinner with our two house wines – Sofia Blanc de Blancs from California and Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington. American wines for an American holiday! 🙂

Happy Birthday ~ Truffled Asparagus Crostini

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Happy birthday to Rob! On this day, I usually make him dinner with his favorite ingredients including beef tenderloin, asparagus and carrot cake. This year he said it might be fun to try a less traditional main course to shake things up :). After searching my favorite markets, I found a rabbit! The menu included recipes that were new as well as a couple of old favorites – Braised rabbit with mustard sauce, truffled asparagus crostini, golden beets in a cider vinaigrette and carrot cupcakes. I have already written about our favorite carrot cupcakes on this blog, and the truffled asparagus crostini are also one of our favorite appetizers. They are simple to make and they have a touch of class for any special occasion.

Truffled Asparagus Crostini

Baguette, sliced into ¾ inch pieces

1 pound asparagus

2 teaspoons truffle oil

Salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup fontina cheese, grated (or any semi-hard cheese that you like)

Preheat you broiler.

Place the slices of bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil for about 1 minute or until they are lightly browned. Turn them over and do the same on the other side. Cool on the pan.

Steam the asparagus for about 2 minutes or until slightly tender. Place in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Chop the asparagus into small pieces. Add oil, salt and pepper, and toss well.

Top each piece of bread with the asparagus mixture. Sprinkle the cheese over each crostini. Broil for about 1 minute or until the cheese melts a little. Serve warm.

We paired the meal with one of Rob’s favorite wines from Columbia Winery called Otis Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. I decided on this wine since we held our wedding reception at Columbia Winery, and both Rob’s birthday and our anniversary fall on the 2nd of a month. I almost always try to find some special significance with any bottle of wine I choose for a special occasion :). Cheers!

Happy Seafair ~ Blueberry Blue Angel Muffins

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*About the photos

This is Seafair weekend in Seattle, which is an annual summer celebration including hydroplane racing and an air show featuring the Blue Angels. We live very close to the flight path where the Blue Angels fly, so I get a great view of the synchronized air show from my kitchen. Occasionally, the jets come close to breaking the sound barrier and they cause the kitchen to rumble and shake a bit as they fly over!

This year happens to be a cooler and wetter weekend than usual.  I find that when the weather cools down I like to make our home cozy and warm with baked goodies. That along with all of the Seafair festivities inspired me to bake what I’d like to call “Blueberry Blue Angel Muffins!” 🙂

I found a really good blueberry muffin recipe from America’s Test Kitchen and I changed a few things to make it a little healthier. (I used less sugar, I substituted whole-wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour and I switched the butter to applesauce.) It takes advantage of the fresh summer blueberries at the market now. The extra non-traditional step of swirling homemade blueberry jam into the muffins makes them very flavorful and special. The lemon zest and sugar topping also gives them a fresh and crunchy finishing touch.

Blueberry Blue Angel Muffins

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1/2 tablespoon lemon zest

2
cups fresh blueberries

1
cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon, plus 2 tablespoons

2 1/2
cups whole-wheat pastry flour

2 1/2
teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2
eggs

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4
cup canola oil

1
cup buttermilk

1 1/2
teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees with the rack in the upper middle position. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

Bring 1 cup of blueberries and 1 teaspoon of sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mash the berries with a potato masher and stir frequently until the mixture is a little thickened and reduced to about ¼ cup. Take off the heat, and let cool.

For the topping, stir together 2 tablespoons of sugar and the lemon zest in a small bowl until combined.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup of sugar and the eggs together until they are well incorporated. Slowly whisk in the applesauce and oil. Then whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla until everything is blended well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg mixture and the remaining blueberries into the flour mixture until everything is just moistened.

Divide the batter equally into the 12 muffin cups. Each cup should be completely full. Then put about a teaspoon of the cooked berry jam mixture onto the center of each muffin. Using a chopstick or other skewer, swirl the jam into the batter. Then sprinkle the lemon sugar equally over the muffins.

Bake about 17 minutes, until the muffin tops are firm and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool slightly before serving.

Happy Seafair!

*Watching the Blue Angels air show while enjoying a plate of blueberry muffins on the deck :). As a funny side note, the right photo would have been very very cool since the plane on the right proceded to come straight over our house, but I ran into the kitchen when he got closer! Ha ha! They are *loud.*

Tropical Banana Coconut Bread

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I have a tendency to buy a bunch of bananas that we can’t finish before they get really really ripe. That’s why I make a lot of banana bread and banana muffins! Peeling and freezing them stops them from ripening too far, and then I always have some ready to grab whenever I want. One of our favorite recipes for these bananas is banana coconut bread. As the weather gets warmer, I get more and more in the mood for something tropical, so I’ve made quite a few loaves so far this spring :). The original recipe was from Cooking Light magazine, and it can be found at MyRecipes.com. I changed it slightly to make it a little simpler (using things I usually have in the kitchen) and to make it a little healthier. For example, I substitute one more banana for the yogurt, since I usually have a lot of bananas to use. I also substitute canola oil for the butter, and it works just fine. This bread recipe is pretty forgiving, so you can add some extra goodies if you like, such as chopped macadamia nuts. They are one of my favorite additions.

Banana Coconut Bread

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 cup granulated sugar (a little less if the bananas are very very ripe)

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cups mashed ripe banana (about 4 bananas)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut, plus a little more for the top

Cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 350. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and oil until they are well blended. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Add the mashed banana and vanilla, and whisk until they are incorporated. Add the flour mixture, and mix until everything is moist. Stir in 1/2 cup of coconut and any other dry goodies you think would be yummy. Spoon the batter into a 9×5 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with a little coconut on top. Bake for about 1 hour and 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

A slice of this bread goes very well with a cup of coffee in the morning, since coffee is tropical too! 🙂

PS. Our backyard squirrel, who is a frequent visitor, also enjoyed a little of the stale end of one loaf. So cute!

Happy Easter! Homemade Bread

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Happy Easter! This Easter Sunday I decided to try my hand at a homemade loaf of bread since bread and Easter naturally go together. My first try with a different recipe didn’t go so well, but my second with the recipe below turned out better than I had hoped! It still amazes me when I put something in the oven and it transforms into something yummy. The wonders of cooking science! We really thought it tasted like something from a fine artisan bakery. This recipe is adapted a little from Bon Appétit magazine. The original can be found at Epicurious.com. It really isn’t that hard to make…Just a little bit time consuming. But really, is there anything quite as inviting as fresh baked bread? 🙂

Sesame and Sunflower Whole Wheat Bread

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 envelope dry yeast

1 1/2 cups skim milk

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 egg (separated)

1/2 cup cracked wheat (also called bulgur wheat) or bran

2 teaspoons salt

1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour (approximately)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds (shelled)

2 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons rolled oats

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

(Or whatever other seeds you have on hand that you think might go well on top of the loaf)

Combine 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour and the yeast in a large bowl. Heat milk, honey and sesame oil in a saucepan over medium heat until it feels very warm to the touch, but not too hot to put your finger in. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir in egg yolk, remaining 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour, bulgur wheat or bran (whatever choice you are using), and salt. Mix in enough all-purpose flour a little at a time to form a soft, slightly sticky dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface about 10 minutes, adding more all-purpose flour if it is very sticky.

Lightly oil a large bowl. Add the dough, turning to coat the entire surface. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm draft-free area until it has doubled in volume. (About 1 3/4 hours).

Grease a cookie sheet. Punch the dough down. Mix in the sunflower seeds and 2 1/2 tablespoons of sesame seeds. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth. Divide the dough in half. Pat each half into 1 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Cover and let them rise again in a warm draft-free area until they are almost doubled in size. (About 1 1/4 hours).

Preheat your oven to 375. Beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the mixture over the loaves. Sprinkle oats, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, or whatever seeds you choose to use on top.

Bake until the loaves are brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 40 minutes.