Put some homemade snap on cheese plate

THIS May, Food Matters Manitoba is launching the Dig In Challenge, a local food initiative designed to help Manitobans learn more about buying and preparing healthy local food. FMM will be doing some of its own recipe-swapping at www.diginmanitoba.ca.

To get a taste of what will be happening, we have a recipe for whole grain crackers from littlecityfarm.blogspot.com. Joyce Slater, a registered dietician and mother or two, contributes a recipe for sunshine cookies, which are a good lunch-box choice.

In the request department, Kim Bobko would love a recipe for seafood crepes like they used to make at The Garden Creperie. If you can help with a recipe request, have your own request, or a favourite recipe you'd like to share, send an email to recipeswap@freepress.mb.ca, fax it to 697-7412, or write to Recipe Swap, c/o Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6. Please include your first and last name, address and telephone number.

Wholegrain nutty crackers

500 ml (2 cups) whole spelt flour

250 ml (1 cup) pumpkin seeds, ground into fine flour

125 ml (1/2 cup) seeds (any combination of sesame, flax, poppy, hemp)

5-15 ml (1-3 tsp) fresh herbs, minced fine, or about 1/3 the amount of dried (rosemary, basil, dill, etc.)

5 ml (1 tsp) sea salt or 2 ml (1/2 tsp) regular salt

125 ml (1/2 cup) oil

125 ml (1/2 cup) water

Preheat oven to 175C (350F). In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Form dough into 4 balls and knead each ball lightly on a floured surface. Roll out each ball until dough is very thin, less than 3 mm (1/8 in). Cut into rectangles with a sharp knife or use cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for about 15 minutes or until crisp and slightly browned on bottom. Makes about 4 dozen crackers, depending on size.

Tester's notes: I'd never made crackers before, and these were tasty and surprisingly easy. The best places to source ingredients like spelt flour would be organic, health food or bulk food stores. I ground the pumpkin seeds in my food processor and couldn't achieve a flour-like consistency: Mine remained a little granular but seemed to work fine.

I used hemp and flax seeds -- Manitoba is a centre for both -- and they added a crunchy texture and a deep, nutty flavour. I used about 10 ml (2 tsp) of minced fresh rosemary -- it's a strong-tasting herb so you don't need much. Do use sea salt if you can -- the coarse grains add a distinct taste.

Enlarge Image

Wholegrain nutty crackers are tasty and easy to make with a crunchy texture and deep, nutty flavour. (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

Sunshine cookies

375 ml (1 1/2 cups) rolled or large flake oats (not quick or instant)

250 ml (1 cup) whole wheat flour

2 ml (1/2 tsp) baking soda

2 ml (1/2 tsp) baking powder

2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt

5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon

114g (1/2 cup) butter or margarine, softened

175 ml (3/4 cup) brown sugar, lightly packed

1 egg

30 ml (2 tbsp) water

5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla

250 ml (1 cup) raisins of chocolate chips

60 ml (1/4 cup) sunflower or pumpkin seeds

60 ml (1/4 cup) flax seeds

Preheat oven to 190C (375F). In medium bowl, whisk together oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Blend in egg, water and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Add raisins or chocolate chips and seeds and stir just until combined.

Drop batter by tablespoonfuls (15 ml) onto greased baking sheets, spacing cookies about 5 cm (2 in) apart. For crispier cookies, flatten with a moistened fork. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until golden. Let cool on racks for about 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.

Tester's notes: This cookie is not too sweet, and packed with good taste. The flax and sunflower seeds add a nutty taste without nuts (which are usually off limits for school lunches). If you want to go local, Joyce recommends butter from Notre Dame Creamery, oats from Bruggemann Organic Farms, flour from Prairie Flour Mills, and flax from DeRuyck's Organic Farm.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 2, 2012 C5