Baking

Now that I live in New England again, after twenty-two years in California, I felt duty bound to revisit one of the great New England breads, anadama, and to come up with a definitive version. There are conflicting stories of the origin of the name. Judith and Evan Jones, in their wonderful The Book of Bread, tell the story of a Rockport, Massachusetts, man who was upset with his wife not only for leaving him, but also for leaving behind only a pot of cornmeal mush and some molasses. The angry husband tossed the mush and molasses together with some yeast and flour and muttered, “Anna, damn ’er!” This was later amended by the more genteel local Yankees, as they retold the story, to anadama. Sounds likely to me. Traditional formulas for this bread are usually given as a direct-dough method, but this version utilizes a soaker and a sponge to evoke more flavor from the grain. Corn is chock-full of natural sugars, trapped in the complex carbohydrate starch base, so any trick we can employ to break the sugars free can only improve the already wonderful flavor.

Swiss chard and a Swiss-like (Jarlsberg) cheese combine to make a yummy crustless quiche. While it bakes, toss a salad to complete the meal.

Is this recipe for a side dish or a dessert? It’s your call—either way provides a serving of fruit for each diner. You might want to make a double batch of the walnut crunch and use the extra to top fat-free yogurt or hot cereal for breakfast.

It won’t take you long to do the actual preparation for this aromatic bread. During its resting and baking times, you can take a walk, fix dinner, or just relax.

Get back to basics, and take pleasure in baking your own nourishing bread.

Banana, cranberries, and orange zest give this bread a lively flavor that will get your day off to just the right start.

Lemon-scented muffins with plump blueberries really hit the spot for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Homemade corn muffins make mealtime special. Try them with Lima Bean Soup with Ham Bits and Crisp Sage (page 70) or Pecan-Crusted Catfish with Zesty Tartar Sauce (page 106). Any leftover muffins are super for a grab-and-go snack.

These muffins boast more nutrition than a high-calorie snack bar. Pack two muffins in your lunchbox, and share your heart-healthy treat with a friend.

The raspberries or blueberries peek through the top of this coffee cake, giving a hint of what’s inside.

A wonderfully moist cake (partly because of baby-food prunes), it’s perfect all on its own—no icing required!

This hefty snack cake gives you a double dose of carrots—such a scrumptious way to eat your vegetables!

Adding fresh apple gives this gingerbread a deep sweetness.

You’ll know the holidays have arrived when the spicy aroma of gingerbread cookies fills your home!

A rustic whole-wheat biscuit topping complements the lightly sweetened fruit of this homey dessert.

Sliced almonds add crunch to the crumbles topping plump slices of sweet, firm-fleshed nectarines in this fragrant dessert.

Spoon sliced peaches or nectarines and caramel topping over these extra-creamy flans for a special treat.

When berries are at their peak, use them to make a gorgeous dessert fit for an emperor—or your family! The crisp wonton wrappers are a low-fat stand-in for the puff pastry typically used to make napoleons.

Bananas are a good source of potassium, which is an important nutrient for lowering blood pressure. These bananas, enhanced with brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract, crown brown rice pudding, which is served barely warm.