I just listened to a wonderful TEDx talk by Sarah Britton, the author of one of my very favorite food blogs, My New Roots. The TEDx talk was called “One Change” and in it, Sarah talks us through the idea that one small change in the kitchen can have life changing consequences. Food, she argues, is life sustaining and life changing. What you reach for in the grocery store is an important choice with long term consequences. ‘More than fuel, food can be a powerful medicine.’ Sarah reminds us that whole foods make us feel better and they simply taste better. At the end of the talk, Sarah shows the audience how, in a matter of minutes and with the most basic of kitchen tools, you can make your own nut milk at home. Not only is it cost-effective, it tastes better and it empowers you, both in the kitchen and in your life.
I must have nodded my head 98 times while I was listening to that talk. I couldn’t agree more. It is so fulfilling and empowering to me to make my own foods from scratch. I get so much joy from experimenting in the kitchen and my successes are shared with friends and family as I make the rounds calling and urging them to please try this at home.
Coincidentally, I was listening to Sarah’s talk while making this week’s Food Matter’s Project recipe (chosen by the ever-adventurous and darling Margarita at Let’s Cook and Be Friends). Coincidentally, it was my very first time making biscotti. And perhaps not coincidentally, I plan to continue making my own biscotti for years to come. One change.
Biscotti rarely calls to me at a bakery. Next to all of the more gooey, more creamy, more sweet sweets, biscotti fails to convince. Maybe it was smelling the biscotti baking in my own kitchen, maybe it was discovering just how easy it is to make, or maybe it was simply the fact that I made it myself (!) that I find myself hooked. Biscotti instantly found its way onto my list of food gifts to make for friends and family at the holidays. Biscotti instantly found its way into my heart and into my Sunday morning coffee routine.
This recipe is great because there isn’t too much sugar (next time I will experiment with using agave or sucanat and see how that goes) but it still ends up being satisfying. For my holiday gifting, I plan to dip some biscotti in dark chocolate to make it more enticing but for me, this simple version is the perfect starting point and perfect in itself. Sitting in my window seat with my cup of pour-over coffee, I’m in a happy place.
Please share with me any of your own cooking revelations. Is there anything you always used to buy but now only make at home? In the meantime, please try this at home!
To read about what other great biscotti ideas the Food Matter’s Project bloggers came up with, head here. To get a quick visual scan of everyone’s creations, head on over to our Pinterest site.
Walnut Biscotti; from Mark Bittman’s Food Matters Cookbook
Makes 2 to 3 dozen; Time: 1 and 1/4 hours, mostly unattended
Even without eggs and butter, these biscotti aren’t too dry, and they maintain their pleasant texture for days. Serve with coffee or tea.
- 1 and 1/3 cups walnut halves
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 and 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup honey
- Vegetable oil for greasing pan
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Put half the walnuts in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl and add the remaining walnuts along with the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well. Add the honey and 3/4 cup water and mix until just incorporated, adding a little extra water if needed to bring the dough together.
- Lightly grease 2 baking sheets with a little oil and dust them with flour; invert the sheets and tap them to remove the excess flour. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a 2-inch wide log. Put each log on a baking sheet. Bake until the loaves are golden and beginning to crack on top, 30 to 40 minutes; cool the logs on the sheets for a few minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 250°F.
- When the loaves are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to cut each on a diagonal into 1/2-inch thick slices. Put the slices on the sheets, return them to the oven, and leave them there, turning once, until they dry out, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks. Store in an airtight container for up to several days.
I can’t believe I have never made biscotti before!! This looks fabulous!
good for you that you attempted these and they turned out so beautifully! and dipping them in chocolate to gift to people? lovely.
i have been making my own chicken stock (and if i collect enough, beef) for a number of years now. i collect scraps of veggies and bones for weeks and when the gallon zip lock bag is full i know that it’s time to make stock. the process has evolved from doing it on the stove top all day to letting it simmer in a crock pot all night, but the end result is always wonderful: full of nutrients and the peace of mind knowing exactly what went into it.
something else that has been a revelation for me is homemade tomato paste. i still keep store bought on hand for big stews but for the smaller batches of pasta or to top on pizza, the homemade stuff is amazing… summer tomatoes simmered down to a small jar = taste of august in the winter.
Thank you so much for your comment, Lan! I still can’t believe that I don’t make my own stock. And after seeing your comment and a previous one, I am seeing just how easy it would be to collect my veggie scraps and make stock. I’m convinced 🙂
i collect the most random vegs, things that i normally would not eat & so therefore chuck: carrot nubs, celery and fennel fronds. i tried to make turnips once, hated it but couldn’t bear to throw out the rest so i threw them in the bag.
Oh, and the tomato paste sounds wonderful! Great idea to capture the essence of summer. I make strawberry freezer jam and in the middle of winter, the taste of fresh Michigan strawberries makes me swoon 🙂
i keep meaning to do that for fruits, especially blueberries which my beloved looooves.
my tomato paste recipe
Love your biscotti! I will make it again, many times….my post will be up tomorrow.
Thanks, Lexi! I’m looking forward to seeing your savory biscotti–sounds delicious.
i am so glad you made this aura! can you believe how good it is without milk and eggs and butter??? i even forgot to add another 1/3 cup of sugar and it was still good. so it’s like substituting half the sugar with orange juice and it worked! i, too, have decided that i am giving away biscotti to friends for Christmas. it’s so easy and it makes a lot and you can do so many different things!
Thanks for your comment, Margarita! Yes, so easy and so tasty. I was so pleasantly surprised. I love having others pick out recipes for this project because I am forced to make things that I would normally not even think to make myself. Take a picture of your Christmas biscotti for me 🙂
I had a similar empowering experience with making my own vegetable stock. Such a simple thing – but that feeling of creating something out of scraps you have (something wonderful and useful, no less) – was pretty incredible. I’m going to have to listen to this Tedx Talk.
Thanks so much for the comment, Shannon. I hate to admit it but I still almost exclusively use bouillon (Rapunzel brand or Better Than Bouillon). Every time, I feel kind of sill doing it because I know I can make my own. Thanks for the inspiration. I’m going to commit to making my own stock this week.
Oh, great! I hope it goes well!
Walnuts and Cinnamon,what agreat combination.Love both of them!
Thanks for the comment! I do hope you try this recipe. Let me know if you do 😉
My cooking revelation was tomato sauce. I certainly knew one could make it homemade, but that was something my grandmother and mom did for huge family gatherings, and it took all day on the stove. That doesn’t really seem accessible when you’re a single cook, so I always bought the jarred version. But it makes such a difference, and freezing leftovers is so easy! If I don’t have time to make sauce, I’ve found even just a light sauce of tomatoes and olive oil is leaps and bounds ahead of the jarred stuff.
Meg, that is awesome! I couldn’t agree more. I will sometimes just saute some garlic and onions, add tomatoes, a pinch of crushed pepper, and a pinch of sugar and it is simple and perfect. Much better than a jar! It’s been so fun watching you try new things in the kitchen through the Food Matters Project, BTW 🙂
Same to you — you always have such creative takes and gorgeous photos!
Thank you 🙂