Wild Rice Crackers & a Giveaway!

First of all, I apologize for the lack of posts the past couple of weeks. It's not that I haven't been baking cooking (in fact I have been doing so more than usual), it's just that I can never seem to get around to taking photos. It seems a silly excuse, but Mikey recently got a paid internship and now works all day so I try to have dinner ready when he walks in the door. Of course after 10 hours of work he is not quite up to an intensive photo session with his dinner.


That said, I have a few really great posts coming up that I'm excited about, and perhaps another giveaway!


A few weeks ago, Nicole from Goose Valley contacted me about possibly sampling some of their wild rice after noticing my Wild Rice and Lentil Salad. Considering how much I love whole grains, I simply couldn't refuse (not to mention they process their rice in organically-certified facilities and practice sustainable agriculture which is always a plus to me).


I'm all about using ingredients in new and interesting ways, so I decided to incorporate Goose Valley's Natural Wild Rice into my baking in the form of crackers!


These crackers are really something. They are crunchy, chewy, slightly sweet, and best of all- really good for you! One thing I noticed off the bat was the unique nuttiness that the rice had in comparison to other wild rices that I have tried. I thought it paired wonderfully with the sweet dried currants/raisins and crunchy almonds. They are AWESOME with some goat cheese, or as I have here, some fresh honey-flavored Farmer's cheese, but I can imagine that cream cheese or even mascarpone would be equally as satisfying.

Goose Valley has kindly provided me with extra samples of their rice that I want to pass on to you! I'm giving away a pack of Goose Valley Organic Wild Rice, and a pack of Goose Valley Brown and Wild Rice Fusion. To enter the giveaway, simply comment on this post telling me about your favorite unconventional way to use rice in your cooking (or baking!). No more entries after 12 a.m. on Thursday, September 2. A winner will  be chosen at random later on that day!

Wild Rice Crackers

recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour (or just 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups lowfat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup dried currants/golden raisins
• 1 cup cooked wild rice, chilled and dry
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped raw almonds
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
• Himalayan Pink Sea Salt (you don't have to get this fancy- just use what you have)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 standard size loaf pans; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the buttermilk, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Mix in the wild rice, dried currants/raisins, sesame seeds, and almonds.
4. Pour the mixture into the loaf pans (which will only be 1/4 or less full) and bake for roughly 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the loaves thoroughly.
5. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
6. Slice the loaves into extremely thin slices (about the thickness of the cracker you want). Try not to eat too much of the warm bread with butter... Lay slices onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle the salt over each cracker.
7. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the crackers over and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until crispy and golden.