Good to the Grain

We are very excited to have pastry chef Kim Boyce baking for ChildRoots. Kim will be providing two delicious, whole grain baked goods for us each week. This week our students have enjoyed banana oat bars and pumpkin cookies. Sweetened without sugar and packed with whole grain goodness, the kids love them! 

When Kim Boyce, a former pastry chef at Spago and Campanile, left the kitchen to raise a family, she was determined to create delicious cakes, muffins, breads, tarts and cookies that her kids (and everybody else) would love. She began experimenting with whole-grain flours and Good to the Grain is the delicious result. Boyce has truly reinvented the wheel with her collection of 75 recipes that feature 12 different whole-grain flours, from amaranth to teff.

Want a copy for yourself (you do) and learn tips from a profession pastry chef? Kim has two upcoming speak engagements....

Pastaworks

Saturday, October 16, 2010 01:00 PM

Bob's Red Mill

Good to the Grain Brunch with Pastry Chef Kim Boyce! Tuesday, October 19, 2010 5:00-7:00 p.m. 

How to make clouds

"Tofu! I love tofu! That is the stuff that tastes like chicken and looks like clouds" - ChildRoots Student

Tofu is not only popular, but nutritious as well. It is low in calories, contains a relatively large amount of iron, and has little fat as well. Our tofu comes from Surata Soyfoods. Based in Eugene, Surata has been making soy products using organic, U.S. grown, non-GMO soybeans since 1977. It takes 24 blocks of tofu, roughly 24 pounds total, to feed the hungry little mouths at ChildRoots. The best method we have found for cooking that volume of tofu in a small oven, and in a relatively short time, involves roasting it. At home I like to use Wildwood brand firm tofu, which is available at most major groceries and co-ops around town. If you can not find that particular brand, make sure to get firm tofu.

The process is simple: 

1. It important to have a very hot oven, 450 degrees.

2. Strain and rise the tofu.

3. Depending on the desired consistency, cube the tofu or cube and crumble by squeezing the tofu through your fingers (this is kind of fun, I am sure kids would love to help with this part).

4. Coat the tofu olive oil and desired seasonings. We use salt-free stock powder, dried thyme, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, and salt. Tofu has basically no flavor of its own, so any spices you like will work. For roasted tofu tacos, I like to crumble the tofu and use cumin, coriander, chili powder and a little lime juice and use it. 

5. Pop the tofu in the oven. One of these from a restaurant supply store work great because they have a raised lip that a regular cook sheet doesn't. A casserole dish will work as well. Roast for 15 minutes and give the tofu a shake and a stir. Keep roasting until tofu is nicely browned.