Overheard in the kitchen

After spending the afternoon making cranberry-tangerine sauce, two cakes and a pumpkin pie:


Erin: No, I'm not done in here yet.
Rich: Wait, WHAT?
Erin: I still have to make that layer cake I promised for the church bake sale on Friday.
Rich: You don't HAVE to to do that, it's CHURCH, not the GesTAPo.
Erin: Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.

Yet another BAKING recipe

We had borscht at Matt and Sarah's last night, and I'll be doing a bit of preparing for all of the Thanksgiving guests who have suddenly and slightly last-minutely accepted our invitations, so I've not been doing a lot of cooking. (Although this looks delicious...)

What we have been doing is decluttering our house, starting back when we thought we'd be moving from our current two-bedroom sprawler into a refrigerator box with no storage, and continuing, even after we got the stay-notice, through this weekend, when we realized how satisfying it's been!

The suddenly large rooms with minimal furniture and no surface clutter had left me, at the end of the weekend, feeling a little frazzly about my "workspace", most specifically my spices and recipes area. I have two spice areas, since the first area we set up was too small for my incredible collection of pretty much every spice there is except for...(Hmm...I can't think of one I don't have. Challenge me, anyone? I'm about spices like some women are about shoes and if there's one I don't have, I'd sure like to know about it so I can get it! I even have REAL Hungarian paprika, thanks to Emma!) The two areas are on opposite sides of the baking counter, and sometimes the Basil would be here, sometimes it'd be over there, but mostly it's wherever I put it down the last time I used it. (Which would be in a precarious balance on the edge of that narrow shelf by the stove, because I'd just made soup...) Rinse, repeat for every other bottle and jar.

Yesterday I organized the spices. Baking spices on the right hand side, above the jars of flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda, and the weeny jar of crystallized ginger I use for muffins, cooking spices on the left, farther from the stove, but there's more room for them there.

Today, I bravely unhooked my recipe clipboard from its nail between the spice shelves, and spent the morning sorting through the pile of recipes that have been accumulating for a looooong time. "Keep and file", "keep, and copy into my little notebook I put The Favorites in, and file", or "realize that this particular project will never happen and recycle it to someone else".

In the process, I found this recipe for Apple Cake that Matt Newhall helped me make the last time he was here. Which was the end of October, and that paper was not even halfway down the stack! I think it's from allrecipes.com.

Apple Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease and flour a Bundt pan.

Combine 2 c peeled, cored and diced apples with 1 tbs white sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, and set aside.

Sift together 3 c flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine 2 c white sugar (I usually use half white half brown, actually, when baking with apples of pears), 1 c vegetable oil , 1/4 c orange juice, 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 4 eggs. Beat until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture, then fold in 1 c chopped walnuts.

Pour a third of the batter into the pan, and top with 1/2 the apple mixture. Repeat. Top with remaining third of batter.

Bake 55-60 minutes, or until the top springs back when gently touched. Cool in pan ten minutes before turning onto rack.

Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar. (We actually did not do this.)

This cake was moist and delicious, with a crispness to the edges that was absolutely dreamy!

Pushing the Envelope

Nothing is affirmed yet, but Matt think we should do deep fried turkey this year. If we can get a 32 quart deep fryer in three days, without buying one, that is. Stay tuned.


Update: Probably not. Unless, of course, some kind soul answers my ad on Craigslist...

The rest of the story

Well, Sarah and I are a rousing success as bakers! Two different people told us we should open our own bakery, especially when they found out that the goodies that they were scarfing down were mostly vegan!! (There are quite a lot of older people in our parish, and we were being cholesterol-conscious!)

Bonus recipes, for you.

Amazing Apple Cake from allrecipes.com

• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 5 1/2 cups chopped apples

I added a half cup of cranberries, only used 2 1/2 c. apple, and used half white, half brown sugar.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Add the eggs, oil and vanilla, mix well. Add the nuts and apple, mix until all of the apples are evenly coated. (Apparently, you DON'T have to oil the pan, because it doesn't say to, and I didn't...) Pour into a 9x9 inch pan.
3. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Serve warm or cool.

Vegan Alert!!
Cinnamon Raisin Bread from theppk.com.

Oil 2 loaf pans, preheat oven to 350.

Soak 1 1/2 c. raisins in 1/2 c. apple or orange juice.

Whisk together 3 c flour, 3 tsp baking POWDER, 1 tsp baking SODA, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 tsp cinnamon, 2 c. oats and 1 1/2 c brown sugar.

Add 2 1/2 c applesauce, 1/2 c vegetable oil, 4 tbs ground flax seed mixed with 12 tbs water {which equals 4 eggs}, and 1/2 c soymilk (I used almond milk for the nuttier flavor).

Mix until just combined. Fold in raisins/juice. Divide into loaf pans, and bake 50-60 minutes, until a knife comes out clean. (I don't know if it was necessary, but I did rotate the pans halfway through the baking process.)

There were NOT many leftovers!

Business and pleasure

It's my turn to provide the refreshments for the church coffee social. I have been hoarding the leftover fruit from the Guest House and downloading and testing all sorts of cake, muffin and quick bread recipes from The Internet. Here's one I made yesterday, which I found here.

It is sitting in the freezer, alongside a loaf of Cinnamon-Apple Bread and Cinnamon-Apple-Pear bread (same original recipe, but I had a LOT of pears, and limited apples).

Now I'm off to the grocery store to pick up more flour, sugar and apples and pears, and some soy yogurt and vegan butter, so I can make "heart-healthy" muffins.




Fresh Pear Bread

* 2 or 3 fresh pears
* 1/2 cup salad oil
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 cups flour -- sifted
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2 cup walnuts -- chopped


Pare, halve and core pears; chop to make 1 cup. In large mixer bowl, beat oil and sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs, one at a time; add sour cream and vanilla. Sift together flour, salt, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to oil-sugar mixture and continue to beat until well blended. Add nuts and pears; mix well with a large spoon. Spoon into well-greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 to 15 minutes. Turn out and cool on rack.
From "Just a Spoonful" by Phyllis Harper

To-Do Thursday

There are three doubled breakfast bread recipes waiting for me in the kitchen. That's where I'll be.

Ta!

New things with old stuff.

An undisclosed friend of ours in an undisclosed location received a still for his birthday from another friend of his, whom we don't know (but beLIEVE me, we are angling for an introduction!), and whipped up a batch of grappa as his first experiment. Matt and Andrew, who was still with us at the time, LOVED the 375 ml bottle of it that we were given. I still have my reservations about it. I think it smells like grape-turpentine and tastes like grape-nail polish remover*. There's about half that bottle left, at the moment.**

But then I carted home a fruit bowl's worth of "not-perfect" pears from work, googled pear recipes and found this. Move over, rum-cake! (Text below, in small, in case the link dies.)

It smells HEAVENLY in this house right now. I cannot WAIT until after dinner (chicken pot-pie at Matthew and Sarah's) to see how it tastes!

(And, yes, there will be an update to let y'all know!)


UPDATE: Yeah, it was awesome.





*Not that I know what that TASTES like, but...
**Even with the cake in the oven!



For pear cake:
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon grappa
1 firm-ripe Bose pears
1/2 cup raisins or chopped pitted prunes
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted lightly and cooled

For grappa sauce:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon grappa
Preparation
Make pear cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch springform pan, knocking out excess flour.

In a bowl whisk together flour, cinnamon, and baking powder. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy and beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until just combined after each addition, and stir in grappa. Peel and core pears and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Fold pears int batter with raisins or prunes and pine nuts.

Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle top with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake cake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack and remove side of pan.

Make grappa sauce:
In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together eggs, sugar, and cinnamon until thick and pale. In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt butter and stir in egg mixture. Cook sauce, stirring constantly, until thickened and it registers 165°F on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes. Remove bowl from pan and stir in cream and grappa.

Serve cake with warm sauce.

Fettuccine and Saffron Butter with Spinach and Roasted Peppers

From The Greens Cookbook.

Slice 2 bell peppers in half, removing seeds and cores, and brush both sides with light olive oil. Bake cut side down in hot oven until skins are wrinkled and loose. When they are cool enough to handle, scrape off skins and cut them into narrow strips.

While peppers are baking, put the pasta water on to boil. Cream 6 tbs unsalted butter with 1 large shallot, diced fine, 1 tbs fresh marjoram or basil and 1 tbs parsley, roughly chopped, 1/8 tsp saffron thread, soaked in 1 tsp hot water, a pinch of cayenne pepper, grated peel of either 1 lemon of 1/2 orange and 1/4 tsp salt. Cover and set aside.

Stem one bunch of spinach, wash well and cut into wide strips. Quarter and slice thin one red onion. Chop finely three cloves of garlic.

Add 1 package fettuccine to boiling water, gradually, to avoid sticking. (Fettucine is one sticky pasta.)

Fry the onion over medium heat in 1 tbs olive oil for one minute, then ass 1 cup water, garlic, and 1/2 tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook together another minute, and then add the spinach. Stir with a pair of tongs until the spinach wilts. Lower the heat and add all but a tablespoon of the saffron butter. (Add a little more water if the first cup has evaporated, so that the butter and pan juices create a sauce.)

In a smaller pan, over medium heat, toast 1/4 cup pine nuts until golden.

Add the cooked noodles to the vegetables, along with the remaining tablespoon of saffron butter. Mix well, transfer to serving bowl, top with pine nuts and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Nom nom.

New Things for Fall

In-depth research has shown that there is a Farmer's Market somewhere within a twenty mile radius EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK. (Except Sunday, that one's forty miles away.) Sometimes there's two. Or three.

The past several Mondays have seen trips out to the sleepy little beach town of Los Osos with Sarah and Baby Rebekah, with lots of raspberries that don't make it back to the car unconsumed, and some mild heckling from those really annoying people who stand at the entrances to these markets trying to get you to sign something (and most likely being paid for it rather than really caring about the issue. I really dislike those people). We never buy the baked goods, though, because we've also been meeting up at the house for "Baking Days". I don't know how to make bread, which makes the gas oven kind of wasted on me; she was having the devil's own time making their bread in the electric oven at their house. It's kind of a perfect partnership that way.


Our bibles are The Greens Cookbook (mine), the Laurel's Kitchen books (hers, and I'm jealous, but not for long, seeing as there's now a second income in this house...), with a smattering of Ranch House wisdom and Julia Child. (And, of course, the internet.)

Our next big project is the baked goods for the coffee social at church a week from Sunday. Last year I hadn't prepared nearly enough food*. Here's hoping this year is different with an extra set of hands.

Her husband, Matthew, shot a deer last hunting season, so our job is also to help them eat it, since she's getting tired of preparing it. You can all imagine how thrilled my husband was at the prospect of handling and preparing WILD GAME!! Like a kid in a candy store, he got down HIS cookbooks and started downloading recipes for sauces and reductions like a house afire. He's hoping Matthew will bag another one this year, so that the fun will never stop.

I'll keep you posted.





*At least, according to the kids, when we ran out of chocolate chip cookies and all that remained were molasses and applesauce-walnut. The horror!