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Raspberry Muffins 21 Jul 2012 10:01 PM (12 years ago)

I tossed together these delicious muffins tonight after dinner for a bit of dessert and so I can have some to grab for breakfast in the morning before leaving for church. I had a few handfuls of raspberries leftover from last weekend's Farmer's Market that really needed to be used up, as I just bought several more pint boxes of them at today's market.

I found these muffins absolutely perfect. Soft in the middle yet with a slight crunch to the crust. Not too sweet or syrupy, satisfying as a dessert but not so sweet that you feel guilty eating them for breakfast (like I tend to feel after eating leftover brownies for breakfast.) These also have a pleasantly lemony taste, thanks to the lemon zest and juice. It is not a overpowering lemon flavor, just enough to compliment the raspberries. However if you are not a lemon lover or happen to not have a lemon in the refrigerator, feel free to leave it out.

Note: I just recently became a consultant for the Demarle At Home products and I am developing and testing my recipes to suit these fun baking forms. If you have the Straight Muffin Tray that I used for this recipe, then great, use it! If not, not to worry, a conventional metal muffin pan works just fine too. And, suppose you'd like to learn more about the Demarle At Home products or even buy some for yourself? Well, then I could help you with that.

So, here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Makes 12 muffins (I made only 8 muffins since I overfilled my cups to make large muffins)

 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
zest of 1 whole lemon
juice of 1/2 of lemon, about 2 Tbsp
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup raspberries, lightly crushed

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease and flour muffin cups, or use paper liners. ***If using a Demarle At Home muffin tray, there is no need to grease or flour the cups, or even use liners.***

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg until pale and frothy. Add the vanilla, sugar, zest and juice and whisk vigorously until thick and well combined. Slowly, whisk in the melted butter. Then add the buttermilk and whisk until just combined.

Fold the egg mixture into flour until nearly combined. Add the raspberries and give it a few stirs. Batter will be very thick.

Spoon into muffin cups. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean, or with a few dry crumbs attached. I popped these muffins out of the Demarle At Home muffin tray as soon as the tray cooled (5min) but you can leave these in the muffin tin for up to 20 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Strawberry scones 26 Jun 2012 12:49 PM (12 years ago)

Scones, again. Same formula as for my other scone recipes on here, but this time baked with some fresh Oregon Strawberries thrown in. Enjoy!

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 cup diced strawberries

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl. Toss in strawberries. Pour in cream and mix with wooden spoon. Batter will be very thick and may not look mixed. That's okay.

Turn out onto floured surface, knead a few turns, just until the dough holds together and is cohesive. With strawberries in the dough, it will be very sticky and messy. Use a bench scraper and extra flour for dusting if needed.

Pat dough with your hands into a round shape about an inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges, place on cookie sheet.

Bake 22 minutes.

Note: I found that I had to bake these scones longer than I do for plain scones. It is because of the extra moisture from the berries. I would check them after 20. You want the scones to be light golden in color and not gooey in the middle. Crack open one if you need to and check the middle. Keep baking until done and be sure to note how long they took so you will know for next time.

Also, these are not super sweet. If you prefer a sweeter scone, almost dessert like, add more sugar up to 1/2 cup.

New recipes coming soon! 7 Jan 2012 2:21 PM (13 years ago)

I just jumped on here and realized that I haven't had a post since October! Yikes! Sorry about that. I'm sure you all know how it goes... Thanksgiving, then Christmas, the kids home on holiday, etc.

I did a whole bunch of baking this Christmas of some new recipes. They all came out very well and I've decided to share the recipes here in the next few weeks. Something to look forward to, so check back soon!

In the meantime, check out the button to the right. One of my recipes was featured on Rose's blog, Random Creative. She put together some of her favorite bookmarked recipes from 2011, and apparently she really likes my Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Scones. So nice to be featured, thank you Ms. Rose!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies 18 Oct 2011 11:14 PM (13 years ago)

Last night, I decided to toss together some pumpkin cookies. I have made them in the past but I am not sure just what recipe I had used before because I couldn't seem to find one amongst my books. So I did the usual internet search on the look out for something that looked promising. Now, the thing about a pumpkin cookie is that it is more of a mini cake than a cookie. Depending on the recipe, they can come out of the oven like a smooth muffin top, a lonely whoopie pie half or a misshapen glob of bread. They are usually pretty moist and tender. And most of the time they are yummy, even if they are not very cookie-like.

I found this recipe that was a bit different than all the others. The lady that posted the recipe noted that her in-a-rush-accident of forgetting to to cream the butter and sugar together yielded more of a chewy cookie than the typical cake-like contributions of the pumpkin cookie sphere. I was a bit skeptical, but the recipe looked essentially sound, so I gave it a try.

The results were tasty. On the chewy side, but still very bread-like if not quite cake-like. They did not rise very much, so in size they were just right for a cookie. I added some extra spices and reduced the amount of chocolate chips originally called for. Also, the original recipe called for the use of parchment paper lined baking sheets, but I found that this did not allow the bottoms to brown thus making my first batch too soft for my liking. For the second batch I did away with the parchment and this resulted a nice golden bottom that held the cookie together better.

Yeild: 40 two inch cookies

3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Measure the flour, baking powder and all spices into a bowl. Use a wire whisk to stir it.

In a large bowl, beat the egg, then add the butter, sugar, pumpkin and vanilla. Beat until just blended together. With a wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients until just blended.

Add chocolate chips and fold in gently.

Use a 2 tablespoon scoop to drop cookies onto a baking sheet 1 inch apart. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until tops are starting to golden. Cool on the pan for 2 minutes then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Roasting a Fresh Pumpkin 17 Oct 2011 11:07 PM (13 years ago)

I neglected to weigh this but it was so large that I could only roast one half at a time.

This would have been a good time to use a 12 cup Cuisinart if I had one.

In all, I processed 24+ cups of pureed pumpkin. That works out to be about 12 regular sized cans of store bought pumpkin. I divided it all up into 2 cup portions in freezer safe containers and put them away into the freezer.  I then promptly made a batch of my mother's famous pumpkin bread.

It's important to note that pureed pumpkin and pumpkin butters/jams must be refrigerated or frozen to properly store it. Pumpkin is a low acid food and you can NOT can it in a boiling water bath. Even pressure cooker canning it is not safe. Be safe and healthy--store your lovely pumpkin puree in the freezer.

Also good to know is that depending on the variety, fresh roasted pumpkin has more water content than canned pumpkin. To get it to the correct consistency you will need to allow the roasted pumpkin to drain. And after pureeing if it is still too watery, you can drain some more liquid off by using some layers of cheesecloth or a very fine sieve.

During my internet search before I actually roasted my pumpkin, I saw numerous ways that intrepid people puree their cooked pumpkin. If you don't have a blender or food processor you can use a sieve and a spoon, pressing and stirring until you've got a nice puree. Alternatively, you could put the roasted pumpkin through a ricer or even use a simple masher.

However which way you do decide to make your pureed pumpkin, make sure to plan for several hours to complete the job. This whole process took me 5 1/2 hours from start to finish. Have your children help out too. I found this to be a lot of fun and I will certainly buy a huge pumpkin next year and do this all over again.

Peach Blackberry Cobbler 18 Aug 2011 4:14 PM (13 years ago)

I have been making this recipe for years now. I originally found it in the July 2007 issue of a Cooking Light magazine.  It is absolutely fabulous! The drop biscuit topping is tender and fluffy and the whole thing comes together in almost no time at all. You can literally just toss it together while you are cooking dinner, or just before, and you'll have dessert to look forward to once you've eaten all your veggies.

You can easily make this an all peach cobbler. Or an all blackberry cobbler. Or a blueberry peach, or a triple berry, and etc. I use this recipe as the base standard for all my summer cobblers. The amount of sugar and flour called for in the filling below is a good amount for berries/fruit that are sweet and not too juicy. If you have some fruit that is more tart than sweet, like wild blackberries, you will need to add a bit more sugar to the mix. Likewise, if your fruit is very juicy, you may need to add more flour to the filling, up to about 4 tablespoons.

Serves 8

Filling:
1/2 c sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp salt
2 peaches, sliced (you may leave the peels on if desired, I do)
2 dry pints blackberries
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Biscuit Topping:
1 1/3 c flour
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 c buttermilk (or plain milk if you don't have buttermilk)
1 1/2 Tbsp turbinado sugar, reserved to sprinkle on top of biscuits

Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine first 4 filling ingredients in a large bowl. Add peaches, blackberries and lemon juice. Toss gently. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the topping. Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups and level off with a knife. Using a wire whisk, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. With clean hands, rub butter into the flour mix using your fingertips until the mix looks like coarse meal. You could also do this with a pastry blender if you prefer. Make a well in the middle of the mix and add the buttermilk all at once. Stir, with a wooden spoon in a circular motion, just until moist.

Remove the baking dish from oven after the 15 minute pre-bake. Drop the biscuit topping onto the hot fruit mixture in 8 spots. Sprinkle the dough with the turbinado sugar. Bake for another 25 minutes or until it's bubbly and the biscuits are golden.

Zucchini Bread with Candied Ginger 9 Aug 2011 4:06 PM (13 years ago)

I'm an avid Farmer's Market shopper; and being one requires me to eat with the seasons. Which means that for the majority of the year, I eat whatever produce is locally in season at the time. Practically, what this looks like is weeks of eating a certain vegetable, say zucchini, in creatively different ways as to not get bored or tired of eating the same thing.

Last year I came across this cookbook that nearly called out my name from the shelf. It's perfect for my eating lifestyle. Called Eating Local, it highlights great recipes that help to make the most out of the local produce that is available at the farmers markets or through a CSA subscription. This is where I found this amazing recipe for zucchini bread; it has since become my very favorite.

Don't be scared off with the addition of the candied ginger, it really makes this bread into an almost gourmet experience. I find candied ginger at my local Fred Meyer. There's a brand called Naturally Preferred that they carry in the "healthy food" section that I like the best, but any will do.

Makes two 8 inch loaves

3 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup minced candied ginger
3 large eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
(For a variation, try 1 cup grated carrot and 1 cup grated zucchini. It's just as tasty and more colorful.)

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.

Sift the flour before measuring. With a wire whisk, sift together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. Then stir in the candied ginger.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light and foamy. Add the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk vigorously until the sugar dissolves. Then whisk in the zucchini (or the zucchini and carrots if doing that variation.)

Add the dry ingredients all at once to the egg mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon just until blended. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared pans.

Bake for about one hour, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out loaves from the pans and leave them to finish cooling, right side up, on the rack.

Loaves should keep well, wrapped in plastic or wax paper, for about 3 days.

Chocolate chip hazelnut Scones 7 Apr 2011 3:32 PM (13 years ago)

Here's another scone recipe for you, the perfect foil for a cup of coffee. It's one of my favorites and so easy to whip up when you want a treat for your coffee break.

I started out using my British Scone recipe, then adapted it for the addition of the chocolate chips and hazelnuts. After a few trials, I finally had it down to this perfect recipe.

Enjoy!

Makes 8 wedges

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet
1 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips. Making a well in the middle of this, pour in the cream. Mix together using a wooden spoon. This dough will be very thick. You may add just a touch more cream if the mix is too dry.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Shape and pat into a round, 1 inch high. Using a floured knife, cut the round into 8 equal sized wedges.

Place wedges onto a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 375° for 16 minutes. The bottoms of the scones will be golden, but the tops will still be pale. Leave on the cookie sheet for a minute and then remove to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm if you like.

***Revised this recipe April 17,  2011. *** Oops! A friend brought to my attention that I failed to include the sugar in this recipe. She had made these scones, and thought them wonderful, but wondered at that they didn't call for any sugar. My recipe was supposed to have sugar, I told her. And so, alerted to the mistake in this post, I have made the necessary changes. So, evidently, these scones still taste lovely with less (or no) sugar, if you feel so inclined to make them that way.

A British Cob 6 Jan 2011 9:22 PM (14 years ago)

A cob is simply a crusty round loaf of bread. The name "cob" comes from England, it's Anglo Saxon for "head." I guess the theory is that the round loaf looks like the shape of a head when baked.

I enjoy making bread in this cob form, it cuts down on the amount of pans I have to wash later. Plus, it's a lot of fun to handle these round loaves as opposed to our (USA) traditional rectangular loaves. To get this round shape you simply bake it on a cookie sheet instead of in loaf pan.

This bread has become a family favorite around here. I found the idea for this recipe in a baking book called The Best-Ever Book of Bread. Through some trial and error I finally settled on this adapted recipe. It is especially lovely served warm, just from the oven for dinner. It also makes a great tasting sandwich bread.

Just a note for those of you who may be new to baking with yeast (as I was just about a year ago): Yeasted breads take a bit of practice. It's wholly different than baking up a quick batter bread. The whole process (kneading, rising, resting) will take you on a sharp learning curve. I recommend buying or borrowing a good bread baking book. It will help you visually, showing you various steps, and it will also help you to troubleshoot for when something goes wrong as it usually will until you've had more practice. Don't give up. Bake some bread once a week and before long you will be a pro!

Makes 1 round loaf

1 1/4 c milk
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or one packet)
1/4 c lukewarm water
3 c whole wheat flour
1 c all purpose unbleached flour

Topping:
2 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt
rolled oats

Scald milk in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir into the milk the butter, salt and sugar. Set aside until cooled to lukewarm.

In a small bowl, stir together the yeast and 1/4 c water. Set aside

In a large bowl, mix both flours together and reserve about a cup to use later during kneading. Make a well in the middle of the flour. Add into the well the cooled milk mixture and the yeast mixture. Stir until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Flour a board (or whatever surface you will be doing your kneading on) with some of the reserved cup of flour. Turn out the dough onto this floured surface. Knead the dough for 10 minutes, until it's smooth and elastic, using the reserved flour as needed on your surface. Place dough in a large oiled bowl, turning dough over once to coat. Cover with damp, lint-free towel and leave to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down and turn out onto a floured board again. Knead another few minutes, about 3-5.


With the dough on the board, shape into a round. Press your lightly fisted hand into the center of the round. Then pick up the dough, turning it over so the pressed side is on the bottom and lightly cup and shape it into a compact ball shape. **see photo at side**
 
Place dough ball onto the middle of a floured cookie sheet. Cover with a large inverted bowl and leave to rise for 30-45 minutes.

For the topping: Mix water and salt together. Brush over the top of the risen dough and sprinkle with rolled oats.

Bake in a preheated 450° oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 400° and bake for another 20 minutes, until the cob feels firm and when thumped on the bottom, sounds hollow. Or until a thermometer in the middle reads 205°-210°. Cool on a wire rack or slice into it and enjoy warm.

Spiced Pear Cake 13 Oct 2010 8:59 PM (14 years ago)

This cake is the perfect thing to make with all the fresh, ripe, local pears that are in season right now. It is so wonderfully divine that I was hard pressed to share this with my family. I could have happily ate the whole thing myself. It also makes for a lovely treat for breakfast, if you have any left over, that is.

I used ripe Bartlett pears for this cake since that is what I had on hand. It made this cake very sweet and soft. Bosc pears would very work well, they hold their shape when cooked and do not have that candy sweetness that ripe Bartlett's do. Any pear variety will work.

Serves 10

11 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice (or nutmeg if you prefer)
1/4 tsp salt
2 lg eggs
2/3 cup milk

Place 3 Tbsp of the butter in a 9-inch round cake pan. Place the pan in the oven while preheating it to 325°. When the butter is melted, remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the sugar. Place pear slices in a fan pattern in the bottom of the pan, overlapping if needed.

In a medium sized bowl whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, cloves, allspice and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl with an electric beater, beat remaining 8 Tbsp butter with the remaining 1 cup of sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add half the flour mixture and mix it in. Then mix all the milk, followed by the remaining flour. Beat just until smooth. Pour batter over the fanned pear slices in the pan.

Bake the cake at 325° for 1 hour, or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Run a thin knife around the edges of the cake then invert onto a plate. Remove the pan, replacing any pear slices stuck to the pan, and allow to cool slightly.

Serve warm with freshly whipped cream if you like.

Meatball Kale Soup 2 Oct 2010 10:43 PM (14 years ago)

I was in the kitchen the other afternoon. It was a Thursday, with my market shopping Saturday still two days away. I was looking at what dwindling fresh produce I had left in the refrigerator and trying to come up with something for dinner. One bunch of kale, a couple turnips, a few carrots and a pound of hamburger meat. Hmm.... So this is what I came up with. I was delighted with my results, it was so good! My husband, who had been working late and hadn't watched me prepare it, even had to ask me where I got the meatballs; he said they looked so perfect and were so tasty that I must have bought them from the store. I smiled and said,

"No store bought, factory made, frozen meatballs for my family, I'm a homemaker and I have plenty of time to actually cook for my family."

Pair this soup with some nice thick slices of freshly made whole wheat bread and you've got the perfect Autumn dinner for your table.

A note about the meatballs: The one pound of hamburger made 33 one inch meatballs, way too many for my soup to handle. I ended up putting 17 meatballs into my soup (a little less then what my recipe says below because I have two little boys who don't eat much.) While the soup was simmering, I cooked up the rest of the meatballs in a skillet and then froze them for use in a future meal.

Another note about the beef base: I keep a jar of beef base in my refrigerator. I make a lot of soups and other things that require broth. I have found the Better Than Bouillon paste products to be the best tasting broths or stocks out there, hands down 100% better than something out of a can. I find this at my local Costco; it carries the organic reduced sodium base that I like the best.

Soup Serves 4

Meatballs:

1 lb. ground hamburger
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
a few sprinkles of garlic powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lg egg


Into a large bowl, put the hamburger, bread crumbs, spices and Worcestershire sauce. In a small, tall-sided bowl, beat the egg until good and frothy with a wire whisk. Add the egg to the hamburger and mix up all ingredients with a fork.

With clean hands (free of wedding rings and such) pinch off just enough hamburger mixture to measure about an inch. Without putting pressure on it, roll the hamburger in a circle between the palms of your hands until you have a uniform 1 inch round meatball. Place onto a large rimmed cookie sheet. Repeat until all meatballs are made. You should have about 32-33 meatballs when done. Place the sheet into the refrigerator until ready to use.

Soup:

1 celery rib, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped

1 small onion, chopped
12 c. water
8 tsp Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
2 turnips, chopped
1 small bunch of kale, well rinsed and shredded

In a dutch oven, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped celery, carrots and onion and saute them for 5 minutes. Add the beef base paste and warm, stirring, for about a minute. Then add the 12 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Once the soup begins to boil add the turnips, kale and drop in 20 meatballs. Bring back to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Serve with a hunk of whole grain bread.

Corn, Zucchini & Sweet Pepper Saute 1 Sep 2010 11:50 PM (14 years ago)

I came up with this recipe this summer, partly because I wanted to do something different with the sweet local corn I buy at the farmers markets, and partly because my seven-year-old son has lost his front top teeth, making it difficult to eat an ear of corn. This side dish has become a new favorite. I've made it numerous times at home, I've made it for friends and I even got my mother into making it. It has a very nice sweet and fresh flavor.

Cutting fresh uncooked corn off the cob is messy but it's so worth it. Here's how I handle this chore: get a large bowl and a short but sharp knife. Shuck the corn, remove all the silk strings. Using one hand, hold the ear of corn standing up in the bowl and with the other hand using the sharp knife, cut the kernels off, slashing straight down, rotating the cob until you get all the corn cut off. The kernels will fall down into the bowl where you want them. It's still kind of messy, you'll have corn juice all over you hands, but it's better than having corn kernels all over you kitchen counter tops, corn juice splattered all over (that was my scenario the first time I made this.)

The picture above is of the ingredients given below; I grew banana peppers this year in my garden and heirloom Italian zucchinis. The zuc variety known as Mexican squash is very tasty in this too. Feel free to change things up a bit to make things as colorful as you like. I've made this dish with a large red bell pepper with a dark green zucchini and the colors were amazing. It would be fun with a chocolate bell pepper too. Use what you like best, any fresh sweet pepper will do.

Also note: I use my enameled cast iron dutch oven for everything, including this dish. If you don't have one, use a large pan or pot with a wide bottom. The point is to saute the vegetables, not steam them, so the larger the cooking surface, the better. If you use a small tall pot the veggies will end up stewing and steaming in their own juices, giving you mush as a side dish; not at all what you're going for here. Cooked perfectly, it should be crisp yet tender.

Serves 4

2 ears of fresh sweet local corn
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 large sweet banana peppers, chopped with seeds and membranes removed
2-4 Tbsp butter (you could do half butter and half olive oil if you prefer)

Heat your pan, pot or dutch oven over med-high heat until hot. Add the butter. When melted, add all three vegetables.

Saute, stirring with a wooden spoon, for about 5-7 minutes. Corn will start to glisten, the zucchini will be just to the tender but still intact stage, and the pepper will still have some crunch. Give it a taste to check the doneness.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired.

British Scones 30 Aug 2010 10:47 PM (14 years ago)

I love the idea of afternoon tea. I very much enjoy a cup or pot of hot black tea and tasty English tidbits. I was fortunate, years ago, to take Afternoon Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC and it was a magical experience (even though, strictly speaking, it was not British but Canadian.) Even before, and ever since, I've enjoyed playing the lady in my own home; brewing up a pot of tea, warming up my favorite tea pot, using my best antique china and whipping up a batch of something baked to serve alongside.

I came across this recipe awhile ago on one of my trips to the local library. A favorite pastime of mine is to check out a dozen cooking and baking books and peruse them for hours at my leisure. This particular book was about a well loved tea house in a hole-in-the-wall place in New York. The woman who owns the place is a crazy wild British woman. The thing I liked about the book was the true and authentic recipes for all the British favorites. This recipe for scones was among them.


The taste and texture of these are truly delightful. The outsides have a slight crisp, with the insides being fluffy and soft, yet sturdy with a good crumb. I ate rather too many of these, they are delicious. Serve with fresh whipped cream and jam to top.

Makes 8 triangles

2 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp organic sugar
1 tsp finely ground sea salt
1 1/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the heavy cream and mix very gently with either your hands or a wooden spoon. Do not over mix. If the dough is very sloppy, you may add a bit of flour.

Lightly flour a board, or counter top. Using your hands, turn out the dough onto the floured surface and spread and pat the dough into a round shape, with 1 inch thickness.

With a knife, cut the round into 8 wedges. Place each wedge onto an un-greased baking sheet a few inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes, just until the scones no longer look wet in the crevices and the bottoms are golden.

Fresh from the Farm dinner 21 Aug 2010 7:56 PM (14 years ago)

Raspberry Lemon Tart with crumble topping 17 Aug 2010 3:34 PM (14 years ago)

If you love sweet and sour desserts, you are sure to love this one. This divine tart starts with a thick layer of sweet and flaky shortbread crust, then piled with lemon curd and raspberries, then topped with more crumbled shortbread. Pair it with a cup of coffee and you will have yourself a little slice of heaven.

This recipe comes from The Grand Central Baking Book, from the bakers at the Grand Central Bakery in Portland, Oregon. An inspiring book, one of my favorites. I actually combined two of it's recipes to make this one awesome dessert.
 
To save myself time and effort, I used a jar of lemon curd that I bought at my local farmers market. One of the vendors there makes small batch jams, relishes, chutneys and lemon curd in the authentic British way. The following recipe tells how to make the lemon curd from scratch. I suggest that you make it in advance; the lemon curd will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Also, note: the picture above is of an unfinished tart, before I baked it with the crumble topping on. Once it was baked, it was so quickly devoured that I didn't get a photo. Next time.


Serves 8

Crust:
2 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached organic flour
3/4 tsp sea salt, finely ground
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Lemon Curd:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp finely chopped lemon zest
4 egg yolks
6 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 tsp sea salt, finely ground

1 pint fresh raspberries
3 Tbsp granulated sugar

3-4 Tbsp confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°. Assemble a 10-inch spring-form pan.

For the dough:
Whisk the flour and salt together. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or a hand beater like I did, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until light in color and fluffy. Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate. Reduce he speed to low and add the dry ingredients, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl several times. Stop mixing when the dough is still crumbly. This happens quickly; the mixture will look dry and floury, then little clumps will suddenly appear. Don't over mix, or you will end up with a ball of dough that will be difficult to use.

Set aside 1 cup of the dough, then sprinkle the rest (about 2 1/2 cups) on the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Distribute it evenly, without pressing it. Bring the dough slightly up the sides of the pan to contain the lemon curd, then lightly press the dough to hold it in place. Refrigerate the reserved cup of dough. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The crust should be toasty brown.

To make the lemon curd:
Combine the sugar, lemon zest, and egg yolks in a bowl or the top of a double boiler and whisk together immediately; don't delay or the mixture will coagulate. Put the bowl over a pan or the bottom of the double boiler with about an inch of lightly simmering water and whisk continuously until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon juice and, still whisking continuously, cook for about 5 minutes. Add the butter and salt, then use a spatula to stir constantly until the mixture is the consistancy of sour cream, which will happen at about 170°.

Strain the curd through a fine mesh sieve. If you won't be using it right away, cover with plastic wrap, placing it directly on the surface so the curd doesn't form a skin, and refrigerated for up to one week.

Fill and bake:
Spoon the curd into the baked crust, smoothing with a spatula. Scatter raspberries onto the lemon curd, sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Crumble the reserved 1 cup of dough over the top. Bake for 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The berries will collapse and the topping will be slightly brown. Immediately dust the warm tart with the confectioners sugar, then let cool slightly before removing the sides of the sprinform pan.

Mediterranean Kale 29 Jul 2010 2:18 PM (14 years ago)

Our family is relatively new to greens; collard, kale, mustard. Neither I, nor my husband, grew up eating the stuff. However, you can call us converts now.

Having researched the nutritional values of kale and other greens, I was amazed to learn that they are considered superfoods. Kale has very high amounts of vitamins K, A and C; it is a good source of manganese, fiber, calcium and many other vitamins and minerals; all with very low calories (36 per one cup serving). Added to this powerhouse of nutrition, kale as well as collards are known to prevent the occurrence of various forms of cancer, they aid in eye health and they have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. What is not to like about this food?

This summer, I have been buying bunches of kale from my local farmers market, of course organic or "better than organic" as some of my farmers say. Looking for creative recipes, I ran across one that sounded delicious in one of my new cookbooks, Eating Local. Looking through another coookbook my mother loaned me, Mediterranean: Food of the Sun, I realized that this type of recipe is traditional in Italy, Spain and many others. In Spain, it seems to be made with spinach. The traditional recipes also call for pine nuts, but as I didn't have any on hand, I did without.

Serves 4

2 Tbsp raisins, golden if you have them
1/4 cup hot water
1 1/2 lbs or a large bunch kale, any variety
3 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 large shallot, chopped
sea salt

Put raisins in a small bowl, add the hot water, and let soften 10-20 minutes-until plump.

Rinse kale well, removing all traces of dirt, bugs, weed seeds, etc. **Remember, organically produced food may not be the prettiest, but it is so much better for you.

Put a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.

Remove and discard (in your compost) the tough center ribs from the kale. I do this by laying the kale on a cutting board, folding the leaf in half along the rib line, and slicing the rib clean off with a sharp knife.

Add kale to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately run cold water over kale until it is cool. Drain and press or squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely with a sharp knife.

Heat a large stainless steel pan over medium to medium high heat. Add the olive oil and heat until hot, about a minute. Add the garlic and shallot. Saute for about one minute, stirring with a wooden utensil. The shallot will be tender while the garlic will turn golden and slightly crisp. Add the kale and drained raisins. Cook, stirring, 1-2 minutes; until kale is coated in olive oil and the whole is hot throughout. Serve immediately.

Pancake Crepes with Raspberries 27 Jul 2010 11:39 PM (14 years ago)

This is not a true crepe, rather my experiment with a pancake recipe forgoing any rising agent. True crepes have a large liquid to flour ratio. I have had crepes before, however, I do not prefer them. I love a good pancake and so do my sons; we make them frequently around here. I have, for some time now, wanted to see what happens when you leave out the chemical rising agent (baking soda, baking powder) when making fluffy pancakes. Our home has increasingly become a chemical free zone as we have replaced our usual grocery store products with, from-nature-as-God-had-intended, natural and organic products. I read food and product labels religiously and even if there is one thing objectionable in the mix I will not buy it.

Anyhow, back to my recipe. These pancake crepes turned out so well, I will be making them all the time in the future. As sometimes happens with fluffy pancakes, these are not dry or pasty, nor do they require one to douse the whole bottle of maple syrup on top. These come out moist, tender and sweet.

Makes six 5" pancake crepes:

1 large free-range egg
1 cup all purpose, unbleached organic flour
3/4 cup milk, non-homogenized
2 Tbsp organic sugar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Beat the egg in a medium sized glass, ceramic or metal bowl until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients until just smooth. Do not over mix; too much mixing will give these a gummy texture.

Heat a stainless steel pan over medium heat. When the pan is heated up, add a small swirl of olive oil, turning pan to coat the bottom. Let oil heat for a few seconds.

Pour pancake crepe batter onto hot pan until roughly 4-5 inches in diameter across (or the size you prefer.) Cook cake-crepe until edges are dry and only the middle seems uncooked. Flip and cook on other size for a very short time, until golden on bottom.

Watch cake-crepes carefully. Stainless steel pans cook more efficiently, so it may be necessary to turn down the heat a bit to avoid burning the cake-crepes.

If not serving cake-crepes as they come off the pan, hold in a pre-heated warm (200°) oven, in a single layer on a towel covered cookie sheet.

Serve hot, with a drizzle of pure maple syrup and a few raspberries on top.