Campus Sweeties

 Most universities and colleges are known for their educational programs and spotrts team.. Yet there is one school that is known for it;'s sweet treats and the students who bake them. It's a great place to unwind and enjoy a break from intense studies and exams.

New contributor and finance writer Ron Lieber wrote this article on Carleton Collge in yesterday's New York times Wednesday Food section. This is a small liberal arts college in Northfield ,Minnesota, forty miles south of Minneapolis. A college like this, which emphasizes the humanities and the arts in a small town setting somehow should have an on campus kitchen where students can come and bake.,It attracts students and local alike, most taking the variety of different chocolate chips cookies from the classic to the oatmeal to spiced double cowboy along with butter chocolate chips  and the loaded cowboy ones. Yet there are other treats that baked there. Seraphina Shott  has baked her great grandmother's shredded apple pie recipe along with the family recipe of buttermilk biscouits baked in a cast iron skillet.Bakers leave the extra flour and other ingredients behind so other campus bakers can also bake a fun snack. Another house rule is that any leftover baked goods have to remain in the house for other students to enjoy. 

This is not a new concept for Carleton College which began in 1877 . It started over a century ago in 1922 when Candace Kelley Moses, or Dace or Dacie moved in to the house that was eventually named for her. She first worked for the treasurer's office  and then for the library until 1969 when she retired in 1969 at the age of sixty-sixFor a while she had a kind of salon where she even  welcomed an  cappella group The Singing Knights who practiced there. She baked for them and in return named their 1967 album "Dace and KNights" She also served Sunday brunch to the "Carls' as they students call themselves. To reduce her workload students came to help her , They helped with chores along baking such treats as bran and beef muffins served with either coffee or juice.. when she died in 1901 she left her house to the college;s alumni association (her husband and son had already passed) Dace Moses House is also used as a guest house run by Carleton students Luis Olvedo and Sean Zheng along with bring supervised by  fellow student Holly Ketchner. All three live in the house with Holly upstairs and the men downstairs.They have their own spins.,Mr Olvedo makes his grandmother;s tortilla while Mr Zheng brings an Asian flair to their breakfasts.

Candace Kelley Moses would be proud of the tradition and legacy she created. There will always be fresh baked treats for students and visitors. Her house is a great house , full of sweetness and memories for future alumni.

Home Baked Breakfast Treats

 Breakfast sould be the most important meal of the day. It's sometimes the most boring , thanks to an every day rote of toast or cereal. Try home baked treats that are both healthy and nutritious to liven up the first meal of day . Another plus  - they can be eaten on the go.

One of the most fun breakfast treats is a good for you muffin.  Use healthy ingredients like honey and orange juice for sweetening and flavor along with mixing whiole oats with flour,. They can even be made eggless by subbing in flax seed or Just Egg vegan substitute and employing plant or nut milks for dairy. can a chocolate muffin be just as healthy? Yes!!!! You can even pack them with veggies for extra goodness. Spinach, kale, carrots or bananas can be added for extra vitamins and minerals. cooca powder, which doesn't have eany extra sugar or even fat is mixed into the recipe. You can amp up the flavor with tossing in chocolate chips. If these are too sweet then think about the classic bran muffin. This has whole wheat pastry flour along with wheat bran in it. Blackstrap molasses and apple sauce give the classic batch their deeply rich and fruity flavor.Blackstrap molasses is rich in antioxidants and helps with bone and hair health as well as alleviating anemia. Make ti an important part of breakfast baking.

Another tasty and healthy breakfast treat are breakfast bars. These are fun and a bit easier to make than muffins. Tne ingredients are basically the same as the muffins. Rolled oats give the bars their base and crunch while maple syrup or honey lend it sweetness. Flax eggs or regular ones are added along with bananas.As with any baked good, baking powder and soda are also tossed in  for lift and body. Peanut butter gives the bars a silky texture . Some home bakers put coconut oil in their bars to grve the bars a flakiness,It's a butter or margerine substitute. Add ins are encouraged. You can try dark chocolate chip or dried cranberries like "Craisins" for more color and flavor.  For more nutrition , try a half cup of pitted and chopped dates or raisins.Even though  it's not baked museli can still be made at home. it';s a nice change up from some of the store bought kind and better for the kids than all those high in sugar commerical cereals.Muesli starts with grains of any kind. You can use anything from rolled oats to quinoa flakes to millet puffs. Then it's adding dried seeds and dried fruits.agains there's a wide range to choose from. Try a combo of craiosns and pistachios or dried cheries and almonds.

Home baked and homemmade breakfast treats are just that - treats. They not only delicious but a great healthy bite. Make muffins or bars or whip of batch of muesli for a great way to start the day.

Making Healthy Appetizing

Anything healthy for you can be daunting - and off putting. Even a healthy, chock full of goodness whole grain bread may not be as appealing as its' white cousin. How to change that? By creating a loaf similar to much loved white sliced bread. Can it be done? yes. Can it be loved? Yes.

Regular contributor Amelia Nierenberg wrote about this problem and its' solution in yesterday's New York Times Food section.It seems that whole grain breads, despite all that they offer are just not as popular as the standard preservative laced ones made by national brands.Even some of brown breads have chemical preservatives or additives plus sugars to make them more appealing. Companies like the famed King Arthur Flour of Norwich Vermont sells a loaf that's whole grained and sliced. It's popular selling 350 loaves a week.Another artisan bread company , The Bread Lab,a research center associated with Washington State University offers a version that is more or less your standard sandwich bread. People love it because it's easy to handle and a way to sneak wholesome ingredients into kids' diets. It's crusty and sliced, exactly what's great for making sandwiches. It's not going to be those bricks of whole wheat whatever that hippies baked back in the Sixties and early seventies according to the director who runs the Bread Lab, Stephen Jones.

How did we wind up being a nation heavily reliant on white bread? It started in the late 19th Century when a new process came over from Europe. The process changed how American flour was milled. It started with roller mills which separate the bran - the "whole" part of the whole wheat from the kernel.Without the bran's oils and proteins the chalky all purpose flour we know today is inert and easy to preserve. Even though it does last longer, white flour is less nutritious as the bran hold's most of the kernel's fiber. Certain chemicals and preservatives are also added to stave off mold and staleness. Luckily the approachable bread movement is changing all that.  Bread eaters and bread lovers can have the best of both worlds. The Bread Lab has set strict parameters for its' loaves. The flour used has to be sixty per cent or more whole wheat. There cannot be any  chemical additives and must contain seven or less ingredients. It also has to cost under six dollars a loaf and not be sold at an exorbitant price as some other artisan bread companies do. Still it can be expensive for families on a budget looking for a loaf as cheap as Wonder Bread which sells for about $1.80 a loaf at some stores.

America is a country that does love natural foods. Yet trying to sell it on the idea of whole grain bread is a hard one.Thanks to the approachable bread movement and the people who make it happen, like Dr Jones , Americans may be switching over to a slice of brown goodness soon.

Hooked On Produce

This is the start of the summer harvest season.It's the perfect time to introduce the little ones to the joys of healthy eating while weaning the older ones off junk food and candy.Take advantage of these harvests to impress the importance of right choices.

Peaches are in abundance right now and they 're the perfect and versatile fruit for any little foodie. One is the perfect snack, perfect if it's cut into slices. (always make sure they're pitted.If you want, save the pits  to plant them -a good lesson on gardening) Since the weather is getting warmer, think popsicles. Chop them up in a food processor and then blend with orange or tangerine juice along with agave syrup. A quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract can be added for more flavor. Peaches can be turned into edible cups for yogurt sundaes. You could hollow them out for more space and mix the scooped out flesh with the yogurt. Add some chopped almonds or sunflower seeds for crunch.Another fruit that's out in full display these days is watermelon.Of course , kids love chomping down on a slice , enjoying a watermelon bath, one of the most joyous summer memories.Yet it can also be made into a cooling ade, perfect for a beach day or picnic.it's just pureeing the fruit in a blender You can strain out the fruit or add it in for a thicker drink. Add half a cup of cold water along with a teaspoon of agave syrup . Mix and chill.

Cherries and berries are also in season and these are the most versatile. Washington State cherries are big right now. They're great snacks on their own (although be careful with pits and stems. Be sure that they're pitted and destemmed before giving to kids). A bowl of fresh washed ones are a simple but tasty dessert.Dip them in dark chocolate and then roll in oats or grated coconut for a healthy but decadent snack. Add pitted chopped ones to salsa for a sweet and zesty tortilla dip. The ruby gems are also great baked in oat or bran muffins too.Make mini ones for hungry little mouths. Berries, both strawberries and blueberries are  ripe and ready to be used in a variety of fun dishes. Start with breakfast and a few in a bowl of Rice Krispies or plain corn flakes. Kids will appreciate the fresh, fruity taste and it weans them off of those sugar saturated kiddie ones.Make a salad pop with the addition of sliced strawberries or a vinaigrette made more exciting with a cup of crushed berries. Blueberries can also make for an interesting catsup. It's just cooking them with honey , lime juice, shallots and seasoning along with red wine vinegar. Kids will flip over putting this blue goo on burgers or dogs or just dipping tortilla or pita chips into a small bowlful.

Get the kids hooked on produce. They'll take on a new love while eating healthy.It's a step on the path to a lifetime of good and nutritious eating.

Treat Yourself To Whole Wheat

Whole wheat has always had a "crunchy granola" reputation. People usually associate it with aging hippies or health nuts. However its; one of the best tasting and best for you kinds of breads out there. Nowadays whole wheat has also expanded into crackers and even bagels. It's easy to forego anything white when you have nutritionally better brown and wholesome.

Two hundred years ago whole wheat was the only bread around. For centuries bakers baked bread with flour that the bran, endosperm and germ before milling came about . The bran is the hard outer coating or husk, it contains vital nutrients such as dietary fibers and essential fatty oils.  The endosperm part of the plant is reproductive part that is ground into white flour( barley endosperm is responsible for beer production). Germ is the embryo part of the wheat plant and it's often used in making cereals. All three are high in calcium , iron and fiber and the mineral selenium known for its' different properties. Whole wheat does have a drawback - a short shelf life. It doesn't last as long as white bread and can get moldier and staler quicker than the other.

Whole wheat is not just relegated to bread. There are all sorts of yummy treats to try . It's  also a good idea to get off white floured products from an early age. Whole wheat bagels are popular and are a healthier alternative to regular ones. Pastas as well as "going brown." Many companies including stores are offering whole wheat spaghetti and vermacelli along with a variety of other kinds. Are there whole wheat cookies?Surprisingly yes! There is even a Nestle's Tollhouse recipe for crunchy  chocolate chip cookies. There are also variations involving different kinds of nuts and dried cranberries. However whole wheat cookies do have sugar(albeit brown or molasses)  can be fattening so be careful. Unfortunately there are no  national brands. Most whole wheat cookies come form individual bakeries and bakers at farmer's market.

Whole wheat is a treat. It's also better for you than processed white flour.it;s also tasty no matter what way you have it. Try if for your morning toast or evening pasta.