Naan Bread for One

You might want to double this recipe--this luscious quick bread is moist and wonderful, and you'll be sorry when it's gone! 

¼ cup  all-purpose flour or wheat flour

Dash of salt

Pinch of baking powder

Pinch of baking soda

Big pinch of sugar

1 TBLSP warm almond or soy milk

1 TBLSP soy or coconut yogurt

(optional add-ins include:

            ¼ teaspoon garlic powder OR 1 clove, roasted and diced fine

            ¼ teaspoon caraway seeds

            ¼ teaspoon ground dried rosemary

¼ teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon of dried raisins, chopped OR currents OR other dried fruit made small

1 teaspoon chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, tarragon, or cilantro)

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom with ¼ teaspoon crushed lavender blooms

Water

1.      Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar in a small bowl.

2.      In another small bowl, combine the almond milk and yogurt.

3.      Blend the wet ingredients into the dry until a soft dough is made. Once it’s well combined, toss in any add-ins (I like garlic powder, caraway seeds, and dried rosemary).

4.      Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let it sit in a warm place for about 1 hour—until there is a skin on the surface.

Tra-la-la.

1.      Dust a working surface with flour. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes.

2.      Roll the dough into a ball and flatten it into a roughly oval shape about 5 inches long. I like to use my knuckles to leave trenches in the dough.

3.      Brush the top of the dough with water. I just use my fingers dabbled in tap water.

4.      Put a heavy skillet with a lid on high heat. Place the naan on the HOT pan wet-side-down and cover it with a lid. In about 30 seconds, you should see bubbles forming. It will take a couple of minutes to begin to brown.

5.      Pull the bread out, wet the top side, and flip it over in the pan with a spatula. There should be charred spots when it’s done. If you have a gas stove, you could pick the bread up with tongs and hold it just over the flame for the second side. That’s a little closer to traditional. 

It's not quite big enough to fold around sandwich fillings, but perhaps you could get yours a little larger. than I did. It would be good with a smear of avocado, some cucumber, and sprouts! (It's also good with nothing at all on it.)

The top picture is of a caraway, rosemary, and garlic powder version with a smear of vegan cream cheese, and the bottom picture is "plain" with almond butter. Yummy! 

Peach Pie for One

This little pie is labor-intensive, and you will spend MUCH longer making it than eating it, but boy oh boy is it worth it! Peaches are in season now, so go and get yourself some ripe ones!

Dough

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 pinch salt

2 TBLSP shortening or vegan butter

2 teaspoons ice water

2 1/2 teaspoons vodka (you can use all ice water, if you prefer)

Filling

1 TBLSP granulated sugar

½ TBLSP brown sugar, packed

1 very ripe fresh peach, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

A sprinkle of ground nutmeg

A sprinkle of ground cinnamon

A shake of salt (less than a pinch)

Juice of one lemon wedge

½ teaspoon vegan butter

Topping

            1 teaspoon almond milk

            1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Make the Dough

• In a small bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in the butter or shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Then add the water and vodka and mix until it holds together in a very soft dough. (Vodka is a pie-maker’s trick. If you use it the crust will be a little lighter. In such small quantities, though, you may not notice the difference. The alcohol burns off, so you don’t taste it, but, like the water, it evaporates and leaves little fluffy openings in the dough.)
• Form the dough into a ball. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Just squish it together until it holds. If it's a hot day, refrigerate it for 15 minutes or so. 
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough ball into a 7- or 8-inch circle or square.
• Put the dough, still flat, in the refrigerator for an hour or two (overnight is fine). I use the same waxed paper that I roll it on (speeds clean-up), slide it onto a plate, and cover with another sheet of waxed paper. You might prefer plastic wrap if you have a lot of stinky things in your fridge.  

Make the Filling

•  Combine the sugars in a small bowl.
•  Put the peach pieces into the sugars with as much juice as you can capture, and give it a gentle stir. Cover and let it stand for a half hour. (After the half hour, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a ramekin. )
•  Drain the peaches, capturing the juice in a small saucepan. Set the fruit pieces aside while you deal with the juice.
•  To the small saucepan of juice, add the cornstarch, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Stir it up and bring it to a boil. Keep stirring. This should thicken quickly—in about a minute.
•  Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and butter. 
•  Gently fold in the peaches.

Your oven should be preheated to 375 degrees and your ramekin already greased. If you didn't do it before the third step in Make the Filling, do it now.  

Assemble the Pie

• Cut out a section of dough large enough to cover the bottom and sides of your ramekin, with about a half-inch extra at the top for folding over. You may have to do some trimming to avoid thick places.
• With the remaining dough, make enough thin strips (cut them with a floured knife) to make a lattice top, or cut a circle to place on top of the pie. I like to assemble the lattice on my waxed paper, and then lift it onto the filling. That way, the filling spends the least amount of time making the bottom crust soggy.
• Pour the filling into the crust.
• Assemble the lattice on top of the pie or place the crust. Crimp the edges to the ½ inch of extra dough from the bottom crust.
• Brush the top lattice or crust with milk. I just slopped some into a small bowl and did it with my fingers. Sprinkle the crust lightly with the sugar, just enough to make it sparkly. If you made a solid crust on top, prick it with a fork in several places.
•  Put the ramekin on a baking sheet (it can get messy), and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Let it cool on a rack. If you can wait until it's completely cool, it will taste better. (I had to leave the house in order to resist temptation.)