Eat Veggies, save the planet

My grandmother cooked this, my mother cooked this, I cook it and now my daughter cooks it too. My granddaughter likes it and may someday cook it too.

It is a family recipe made vegan by me.  Buckwheat groats are high in energy, low in starch, easily digestible and nutritious. They are tasty too, imho.

Ingredients

• 1 cup kasha
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 TBSP  olive oil
• I medium onion , chopped
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp.  black pepper

Directions

1. Either use toasted kasha or toast kasha dry in a cast iron pan until it releases a toasted smell.
2. Heat your cast iron pan to medium, add oil, then onions and mushrooms.  Sauté until onions are golden brown. Mushrooms put in last so they only cook  slightly.
3. Add kasha and stir
4. Add salt and pepper and the 2 1/2 cups of boiling water. Stir.
5. Cover and cook for 20 minutes at a simmer.
6. Kasha should be dry and fluffy.
7. Serve.

Making challah in the bread machine is a no brainer. All you need to remember is how much of each ingredient to use. Trying to show Max how to make it today from memory was a challenge, so I decided to write it down.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of water
• 6.5 cups of all purpose flour, organic
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup organic sugar
• 4 tsps. baking yeast
• 2 tsps. salt
• soy or almond milk for brushing
• sesame or poppy seeds for top

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to the bread machine in any order, but add the flour last.
2. Put the bread machine on a 45 minute cycle just to mix. No baking.
3. Let dough rise in bread machine until double.
4. Take dough from machine and divide it into 2 parts.
5. Divide each part into four parts.
6. Make snakes out of each part.
7. Braid 4 strands together to make 2 challahs. Put on a grease cookie sheet.
8. Cover and let rise until double in size. Brush with soymilk or almond milk and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds
9. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven on top shelf for 25 minutes.
10. Cool on rack