Seasonal Sensations - Eggs

Spring has arrived in Northern California with warm breezes, tulips and plum blossoms, and roadside signs that say 'Fresh Eggs for Sale". The perfect time for another guest blogger. This time my dear friend Hildegard delights with musings on eggs, breakfasts, and family traditions:

Eggs
December of 2010, when we in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia were hit much harder than those in New England (because we’re that much farther south, apparently), we watched with some amusement as local shoppers tore around the supermarkets in preparation for the first flakes. The 2% milk, white bread, batteries, and flashlights disappeared from the shelves within hours of the forecast. Having grown up in New England, this seemed like overkill. Our house is high above a long, steep driveway with three hairpin curves. We have a very deep well (515 feet) with an electric pump. The three things we get anxious about in situations like this are toilet paper, water (for flushing the toilets), and eggs.

We try to keep about three dozen eggs in the refrigerator (usually six of them hard boiled) even in fair weather. We regularly buy our eggs at a gas station, the egg station we call it. It is run by two permanently bed-headed, extremely personable brothers who also raise the egg-producing chickens on their farm and rent out U-hauls from their gas station, which has the cheapest gas in town. This makes it a busy place, with only four gas pumps (one of which has not been working), and if you come in the afternoon, it’s usually too late for eggs. Their eggs have the most orange yolks you’ve ever seen, and the eggs themselves are often so large that they come with large rubber bands wrapped around the cardboard containers; otherwise they wouldn’t stay closed.

J fixes eggs for our breakfast every other day, and we eat them sitting at a low, collapsible table in front of a west-facing window in our library that looks out for miles across hills and cow-covered fields to peaks of Allegheny Mountains in the distance. The weather always comes from the west, and the light changes constantly the way it does over the sea. The eggs keep changing as well, a condition that J promised when—as we agreed to begin living together—I voiced some concern about the possibility of growing bored over time. I meant with one another of course, but he heard it as a thoroughgoing concern. Hence the enormous variety in the ingredients of our alternate-day eggs.

There was no breakfast as I was growing up. My mother was manic/depressive (nowadays she’d be bipolar, but without meds that doesn’t improve the conditions for anyone in the family) and, as I look back on it, I feel there must be a causal connection between those two things: her mental health and the absence of breakfast. Neither we nor anyone else I knew discussed mental health in personal terms as I was growing up in the 1950s; my mother simply didn’t have a breakfast function. My father and maternal grandmother constantly reminded us children never to upset her, because “she is so sensitive” and “don’t forget she is a Barnard graduate.”

Indeed her IQ was incredibly high and remained so throughout a very long life, despite frequent psychotic episodes, infrequent hospitalizations and occasional electroshock therapies. Each time she was hospitalized—the last time she was well into her eighties—she would be part of some statistical study about the long-term effects of mental illness upon intelligence, and each time the studiers would be amazed at the fact that her IQ remained so high. Lately it occurs to me that whenever life became stressful, my mother would simply duck out of reality, thereby avoiding wear and tear on her brain.

We did have lunch. Grade school (K-8, no such thing as middle school then) was about two miles away, and there were no school buses at the time where we lived, so we all walked, roller skated, or biked to and from, and we all went home for lunch the same way. Even my father came home for lunch. He taught at the local junior college (they weren’t known as community colleges at the time, but that’s what they really were) and went back and forth via a quiet little motor scooter that he kept stocked with small round stones to ward off the many barking dogs that followed him. Lunch was often bologna sandwiches on sliced white bread and didn’t take long.

So when did we have eggs at all? On Saturdays my father would make a huge production, attired in pajamas, bathrobe either knotted or not, and soft brown leather slippers. It was always piles of bacon and scrambled eggs and might be ready around noon. Again, more like lunch.

From the first I was consistently an “A” student at school. There were hardly any rules at home, but lots of confusion. Rules at school were clear and simple. I never had a course I didn’t love and school was smooth sailing. I quickly added chorus, orchestra, drama, and all the possible activities that kept me at school and away from home most of the time. In high school I took the public bus to a friend’s house (very early, since there was no breakfast and no one was up at my house) where I joined Marcy and her mother for cigarettes & coffee before walking the few remaining blocks to school. I became a thespian, had the lead in all the plays (rehearsing until midnight last weeks before the show) directed by a single woman named Ruth with wild curly graying red hair who walked around with her playbook drinking coffee, coffee, coffee, out of a huge thermos. By that time I began to believe that it was rather chic to forego breakfast (and sometimes lunch as well) in favor of coffee.

By the time of college it had become positively déclassé among my friends to go to breakfast at all: better to study all night, take a quick wink and a shower at dawn and drag yourself to class stretching and yawning.

All was to change dramatically when I married into a large non-religious but culturally consistent Jewish family. My mother-in-law had devoted her life to her children’s health and welfare and was a somewhat begrudging slave to her husband’s schedule. She had no pretenses about enjoying or excelling at cooking but regularly provided ample meals (often from nearby good Jewish delis) three times daily. For the better part of her married life, her husband the doctor had his office in a part of their Sheepshead Bay house, so he was very much “under foot” and at home for the three meals. Whether serving her own family or the extended family (twenty-five or thirty), she would forever admonish all present to eat—more and more—but was rarely persuaded to seat herself at the table where everyone else was eating.

Clearly I needed to fix a daily breakfast, all the more so when our first child was born before our first anniversary. Now we were three people who needed to start the day with a healthy breakfast; and in another seventeen months, four. I had always enjoyed cooking, experimenting with new cuisines and ingredient, but no experience with breakfast. This was also the time of cookbook writers such as Beatrice Moore Lappé, who urged us to eat lower on the food chain, and Ewell Gibbons told us how to eat foods that we foraged. I made oat cakes from scratch, cottage cheese with walnuts and raisins, brown bread, even home-made bagels. My kids were adventurous eaters from the first, and they never ate baby food. My daughter scarfed down caviar at the traditional extended family Thanksgiving feast when she was barely a year old, and they both ate fresh caught and cooked frogs’ legs when they were still toddlers.

As life got busier and more scheduled for all of us, I thought to make my breakfast life easier. I had always been fairly unconscious during my first waking hour. Whether I rose early or late, it was always the same—my brain and body didn’t play out their inherent interconnection well for about an hour. At some point I remembered my father’s eggs, and it turned out everyone loved eggs: eggs fried over lightly, poached (with ketchup for the other three, much to my horror), shirred and scrambled, and even boiled, soft but better hard. All things considered, this turn of events worked well, though my now grown offspring love to remind me of a few mishaps I had with the eggs. Once or twice I apparently cracked a raw egg and instead of dropping it into the frying pan tossed it over my shoulder. And the kids were standing there watching. It was first thing in the morning.

Hard-boiled eggs turned out to be more dangerous. We had all discovered that we liked them cold as well as fresh cooked. We kept half a dozen in the refrigerator, marked “HB” on the blunt end to avoid messy mistakes or assumptions. What was even better from the cook’s point of view was that they could be made in advance and didn’t have to be stirred, added to, or watched. I could do something else simultaneously, like read a book or have a conversation somewhere else in the apartment or on the telephone. Or so I thought. It was usually someone other than myself, someone coming home from school, opening the door who yelled, “What stinks?” Then we would all rush to the kitchen, where we would see the eggs exploding high in the air, bits of white but mostly yolk adhering to the high ceiling. And it wasn’t even early in the day when it happened.



Thank you Hildegard for a wonderful foray into your memorable times with (and without) eggs!


Dear readers, do share egg related stories, if you will, in the comments. XOXO Elle

How Sweet It Is

March is just full of sweet opportunities. A number of my scholarship sisters have March birthdays, so does Sweetie, and so do other family members and friends.

For Sweetie's birthday we had a deluxe dinner at home...just the two of us...and I made a variation of the March Daring Baker challenge...so I'll tell you about it when I post about the challenge later in the month. I can tell you that the birthday version included shamrock cookies since it was St. Patrick's day. I can show you a photo of those cookies.

Then the Darling Mother had her birthday...and DM asked for a vanilla cake with chocolate icing. My Mom (who is darling in her own way, but not DM) teased me about having to make a boring, same old same old cake.

Now I could have made a yellow cake from a mix and swirled on some chocolate icing from a can. But, really, can you imagine that I would? Much more fun to delve into some cookbooks and old files and come up with something just a little different and way more sophisticated.

For starters I took the Perfect Party cake that the Daring Bakers baked last year and made it a vanilla instead of lemon cake. I think I over baked it because it was drier than I would have liked,but had great flavor.

For the filling I made a chocolate custard from a recipe in a great cookbook called Butter Sugar Flour Eggs by Gale Gand that was like a very deep, dark chocolate cornstarch pudding.

I used some Bensdorp Dutch-process cocoa from King Arthur...very delicious stuff...and it made the filling very intensely chocolate.

When I filled the layers it slipped a bit so the cake was a bit lopsided. I was worried that the filling wouldn't set up enough and that when it was cut that it would fall apart. Fortunately the cake was dry...I guess it soaked up some of the custard's extra moisture.

The top and sides were slathered with semi-sweet chocolate ganache. I love the stuff, but it sure is messy to work with.

There was some left after the top and sides were finished so I chilled it a little bit and then whipped it to use to decorate the bottom edge with tiny stars and to make some swirls on the top to hold candles.

It was a hit with the birthday girl and sure did look pretty.

Now I want to try making the full recipe that the filling came from. It's called Brooklyn Blackout Cake and is a cocoa chocolate cake with the cocoa filling and crumbled cake on the top and sides. Sounds wicked good! Might have to make it for one of those later in the month birthdays.

Jazzy Vanilla and Chocolate Party Cake

Vanilla Party Cake
based on Perfect Party Cake in Baking: from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan

2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (if you want a really white cake, use clear vanilla extract)

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl or a stand mixer bowl, cream the sugar and the butter, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, and beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.

Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.

Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.

Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean.

Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.

Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

Chocolate Custard Filling
from Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs by Gale Gand

3 cups water
2 ½ cups sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 ½ cups cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process
Scant 2/3 cup cornstarch
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pour 2 ½ cups of the water, the sugar, corn syrup, and cocoa powder into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. Dissolve the cornstarch in ½ cup of water. Whisk into the cocoa mixture in the saucepan and return the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking constantly, until very thick, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.
Fills a three or four layer 9 inch cake.

Ganache Frosting
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (use your favorite…you will really taste the chocolate)
8 ounces heavy cream (I use whipping cream)

Set the chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl.

Pour on the cream and mix well.

At half power in the microwave, heat the mixture for a minute. Stir well. Repeat until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Let the ganache stand and come to room temperature before using.

If it thickens too much to frost with and get a nice shiny glaze, reheat at half power for 30 seconds and stir. If it is too thin, let cool some more to thicken a bit.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. (I was sooo glad I used wax paper strips because the ganache was sooo messy...or else it was because I was sooo tired that I was messy...either way, use the strips)

Spread it with one cup of the chocolate custard.

Top with another layer, spread with one cup chocolate custard and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used about half the custard - reserve the rest for another use).

Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake.

Pour the ganache frosting over the top and use a thin spatula to spread evenly. Use the spatula to frost the sides with more ganache. If it seems too liquid, let cool a bit until firmer before frosting the sides. Let remaining ganache, if any, cool some more until firm, then use to pipe a shell or other decorative border where the cake meets the serving plate.

Chill until frosting is firm, about 15 minutes, then remove the wax or parchment paper strips (if using) and discard them.

The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is chilled, but you can let it sit and set for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; the ganache is too firm when served cold.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Seafood Chowder for Chilly Weather

This St. Patrick's Day passed with no corned beef and cabbage, nor Irish soda bread. We had a nice green salad with cucumbers and oranges and walnuts, some potatoes roasted with rosemary and garlic (there's the bit of Irish for 'ya), and a steak cooked on the grill. The rain has stopped long enough to uncover the grill and put it to use.

Since none of those seem worthy of a post, I'm going to tell you about the seafood chowder I made when it was still cold and rainy and wintry. It will probably get cold and rainy again, so I'll be prepared...and so will you if spring is still playing hard to get.

Trader Joe's makes a really nice frozen mixed seafood concoction. It has some squid, some baby scallops, and some small shrimp. Along with a can of chopped clams in their juices those mixed seafood goodies were the basis for the chowder.

A true chowder, in my opinion, needs both onions and potatoes. I also like to add some celery, carrot and, if I have it on hand, some red pepper cut into a fine dice. A little butter, a good quantity of milk, and some flour and water to thicken things up all add to the finished product.

Seasonings are pretty personal. I added some garlic, some minced Italian (broad leaf) parsley, and a bit of thyme. Lots of people also add a dash (or more) of hot pepper sauce. I added a dash of cayenne pepper instead. A good grind or two of black pepper finished it off.

The taste of the sea is in every warm, creamy, delicious bite.

I didn't use a recipe book for this, just sort of threw it together one night.

Mixed Seafood Chowder

Serves 4-6

1 medium onion, finely diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup carrot, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 medium russet potatoes
1 cup water
2 cups milk
1 package frozen mixed seafood ( about 1/2 pound each squid, small scallops and small shrimp)
2 cans chopped clams in their juices
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley - Italian flat leaf if best for flavor
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
dash cayenne pepper (or more if you like it with more spice)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the onions, celery, carrots and garlic in the olive oil until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add the russet potatoes and the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover pot and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add the milk, seafood mixture, clams, parsley, thyme, cayenne pepper and stir to combine. Cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl mix together the butter and flour. Add to the chowder and stir to combine with the chowder. Turn heat up to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until the chowder is thickened. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Serve at once.

Asparagus Dish Bears Repeating

Springtime brings fresh asparagus at reasonable prices around here. Although I love them steamed with a little garlic, roasted with a little olive oil and some pepper, and blanched, cut in bite sized pieces, chilled and added to salads, my favorite dish that includes asparagus is a pasta dish that includes long, thin pasta, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, asparagus, garlic and some spices. It is simple but delicious. It turns out that I blogged about it last spring, but a recipe this good bears repeating.

Lately I've been turning to familiar recipes that I know work and are not too time consuming. Work has been eating up a lot of time lately, but we should soon be back to normal, whatever that is. I've also been doing some graphics at work, this week in relation to an FDA application, so that's been fun. On the home front we are still trying to find the leak by the window on the south wall and it looks like the window itself needs to be replaced. Planning has also begun on a bathroom remodel. Since the bathroom is over 25 years old it is probably mature enough for a face lift...and maybe a new shower enclosure. I'm the kind of girl who loves hardware stores almost as much as kitchen ware stores, so this is exciting.

To make this yummy asparagus dish this time I used angel hair pasta because that is what was in the pantry and it turned out to work very well with this sauce. Once you mix it with the sauce you pile it up on a platter. Since the asparagus is scattered on top of the pasta, then sprinkled with grated Parmesan, you don't have to worry about mixing it into the pasta. Although I didn't do it this time, sometimes I garnish this with pine nuts that I've toasted in a small cast iron skillet. A great dish becomes even better that way.

The quality of your ingredients shine with a dish this simple. Use the best asparagus you can find, fresh ricotta, good garlic, and grate the nutmeg right into the sauce if you have nutmegs and a grater. Freshly ground black pepper is a big plus, too.

The photos of the finished dish on this post are terrible. My only excuse is that it was late, I had worked all day and it smelled so good I didn't take many photos. Also this dish is best served right away...how's that for rationalization?

Pasta with Ricotta and Asparagus
from the Mediterranean Diet Cookbook

3/4 lb tender young asparagus
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tablespoons olive oil
(optional - 2 tablespoons fresh mint, minced)
1 pound long pasta - fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti, angel hair are all good
6 quarts water
1/2 pound fresh creamy ricotta (or mild goat cheese)
dash nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper to taste (I like a lot)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Trim tough ends off asparagus. Cut tender parts into 1 inch lengths. In a saute pan, gently stew the garlic and asparagus in the oil until the vegetables are tender, but not brown (about 15 minutes). Stir in mint if using. Set aside.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in lightly salted water. While pasta cooks, extract 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and mix it in a small saucepan with the ricotta. Set saucepan over low heat and gently cream the ricotta and cooking water. When the ricotta is warm, taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Add nutmeg and1 tablespoon grated cheese. Stir to combine.

Drain the pasta and combine immediately with the cheese sauce, tossing to mix well. Arrange on a warm platter and pour asparagus and oil mixture over the top. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and serve at once.

Serves 6

A Very Merry Un-Group To Us

While it is fun to belong to groups like the Daring Bakers or Daily Tiffin or Bread Baking Babes (and Buddies) or The Cake Slice, to name a few, sometimes it is nice to think about being part of an un-group.

What's that? you say.

Well, it has no rules to speak of, no chosen recipe, not deadlines for posting and, most importantly, it does require that you stretch yourself culinarily and challenge yourself. If you do, you get a high five (the badge) and the approbation of the other un-groupies.

If you challenge yourself ten times this year you'll get the satisfaction of doing so and maybe conquering some cooking and/or baking fears, add to your skills in the kitchen, and be part of the round up at the end.

Sound like fun? Want to push yourself a bit? Go on over to Cookie Baker Lynn's and get the skinny on this endeavor...and pick up the badge you'll award yourself while you are at it. She came up with this great idea! As you can see, this is a very low maintenance un-group...saving lots of energy for the main thing...the challenge you give yourself.

Have not figured out my first challenge to myself yet, but look for the badge in the next week or so on one of my posts. That's how you'll know I Did It!

Sourdough Pizza

Sweetie had a fire board meeting on Wednesday evening and I was the dinner cook. To challenge myself I decided to see if I could make pizza from scratch in under two hours so that he would be on time for his meeting.

Fortunately I had used the 'toss off' when I fed my starter on Monday and mixed it (1 cup sourdough starter) with a slurry of a cup of all purpose flour mixed with a cup of water. That mixture had been in the 'fridge' for a couple of days and was ready to bake with.

After putting the mixture in the stand mixer bowl, I added some sugar, olive oil and salt and stirred it around with a spatula. A little over two cups of all-purpose flour was easily absorbed as I used the dough hook to incorporate the flour and knead the dough. I sprinkled about another 1/4 cup flour on the board I used for final kneading, then the dough went into the rising bucket to rise until doubled in bulk. Since I put it in the warmer part of the living room near but not next to the stove, it took about an hour to double.

While the little yeasties were doing their thing, I made a tomato based pizza sauce. based on my favorite spaghetti sauce. I also added about a 1/4 cup of very finely diced mushrooms. The sauce simmered for almost an hour, with lots of stirring to keep it from scorching. I wanted it to be thick and not to have much loose liquid which coudl ruin the crisp crust.

While the sauce was simmering, I cooked some Italian turkey sausages from Willie Bird's in a pan with a little water over medium-low heat. I took a couple of them, once cooked, and sliced them to put on as pizza toppings. This was also a good time to find the shredded mozzarella cheese and to finely grate some Parmesan cheese, and to preheat the oven to 500 degrees with the pizza stone in the oven.

Once the pizza dough had doubled, I cut it into 4 pieces. Since the dough was still a bit sticky, I was liberal with the flour on the board I used to make the dough circles for the pizza. It's a good idea to keep the rim a bit thicker than the base of dough.

The final shaping was done on a piece of baking parchment, then the toppings went on: some sauce, applied in a thin layer, the sausage slices, the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Using a pizza peel which I slid under the baking parchment, I slid the parchment and pizza onto the preheated baking stone. About 5 minutes later I used a corner of the paper to turn the pizza on the stone 180 degrees for more even baking.

The resulting pizza was delish! The crust was tangy with sourdough flavor and the bottom crust was crisp and firm enough to hold the toppings without drooping. The sauce and toppings went perfectly together. With a nice salad this made a fine meal...and it was ready in under 2 hours, including baking time.

If you don't have sourdough starter at hand, substitute rapid acting yeast...a full packet should do it...and 1 1/2 cups warm water. You may need to add a little more or less flour with either method due to differences in weather and flour. You want a dough that is still a little sticky but smooth and elastic.

If you don't care for tomato sauce and Italian sausage, substitute your favorite toppings. Bechemel sauce or ricotta cheese make a nice base for non-tomato pizzas and the sky's the limit for what to top them with, including meat, poultry, fish, and veggies, plus herbs and all kinds of cheese.

Simple Sourdough Pizza Dough

1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup barely warm water
½ teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 – 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Mix the sourdough starter with the slurry and whisk to combine thoroughly. Let this mixture sit at room temperature for two hours. If you will be making the rest of the dough another day, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate this starter mix.

When you are ready to make the dough and make pizza, put the starter mix into a stand mixer bowl and stir the sugar, olive oil and salt into the starter mix. Using the dough hook, gradually add the flour until a dough forms. Knead with the mixer for 4-5 minutes, adding more flour a tablespoon at a time as needed.

(If not using a stand mixer, put two cups of the flour in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the mixture of starter, sugar, olive oil and salt that you’ve whisked together in another bowl. Stir to mix the wet mix into the flour until a dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in enough flour to make a smooth and elastic dough which can still be a little sticky.)

Once dough is smooth and elastic, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for another minute, adding flour if necessary to fully blend the dough.

Form dough into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl or other container good for dough to rise in. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

When it is about 45 minutes before you plan to bake the pizza, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and if you have one place a baking stone in the oven to preheat, too.

On a lightly floured surface place ¼ of the dough. Using floured hands, stretch the dough into a rough circle, keeping a rim of thicker dough around the edges. Some people like to toss the dough to do this, but mine always ends up on the floor if I do, so I just push the dough or hold it by the edge and work my way around. Place the stretched dough (about 9-10 inches in diameter0 on a piece of baking parchment.

Top the dough as desired. I used a tomato based sauce that included canned tomato sauce, canned diced tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, basil, oregano and garlic, all cooked together over low heat for an hour until most of the liquid had evaporated. The topping over the sauce was sliced cooked Italian turkey sausages, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

To bake, slide the parchment paper holding the pizza onto the preheated baking stone. If no stone is available, turn a jelly roll pan upside down on an oven rack in the preheated oven and immediately slide on the parchment paper holding the pizza.

Bake about 5 minutes, then turn the pizza around 180 degrees for even baking. Bake until golden brown. Remove from oven to cutting board, cut and serve. If you are making more than one pizza (recipe makes 4 crusts) prepare it on another piece of parchment and once you remove one pizza, put the next one in the oven.

You can also make breadsticke: use one of the dough pieces, spread out or roll to about the same diameter as a pizza, but keep the thickness pretty even. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and cut into strips. Place the strips a small distance apart on the baking parchment and bake like the pizzas!

I'm sending this to Susan at Wild Yeast for her popular Yeastspotting event. Check it out!

Thank you Jeanne! Spice Bar Cookies

I love fancy cookies like linzer tarts and shortbread dipped in chocolate and crescents coated in powdered sugar, but I also like simpler cookies like classic chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies and gingersnaps.

My friend Jeanne recently gave me a recipe for a homey but delicious bar cookie, so simple, that combines spices like cinnamon and nutmeg with lots of raisins and nuts. The surprise ingredient is brewed coffee. To carry the flavor further, I also added coffee to some half and half which I mixed with confectioners sugar to make the glaze.

These cookies are not very tall but they are soft, moist, not too sweet, have just enough spice to highlight the raisins and nuts and that touch of coffee ties the flavors together. They go really well with a cup of coffee...just perfect for a pick me up.


Frosted Coffee Bars
From Jeanne Nahmens

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ cup strong coffee, cooled
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup raisins
¼ cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
2 tablespoons half and half
2 tablespoons brewed coffee, cooled
enough confectioners to make a glaze, about 1 cup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Blend together the butter, brown sugar and egg. Add the coffee and mix to incorporate.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add to butter mixture and blend.

Add the raisins and nuts and stir to combine.

Turn batter into a greased and floured 9” x 13” pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until bars start pulling away from the side and are golden brown.

Let cool and then frost with a glaze made by combining the half and half, coffee, and powdered sugar.

Cut into bars to serve.

Makes 18 long bars or 36 smaller squares

Butternut Squash Calzone with Sage and Leeks

A week has passed since my last blog post (over at the Bread Baker's Dog), which isn't surprising to me. I don't know how all you full-time working people, especially ones with children, too, find the time to blog and take gorgeous photos and everything. I worked every day this week, but not full days on Monday and Friday and I still seemed to not have a spare moment for blogging, nor the energy. My hat is off to y'all who do it all!

The garden has also been calling. Seeds were pre-sprouted over a week ago and were finally put into soil filled little cells yesterday. Today some had already sprouted above the soil! The sugar snap peas sprouted more quickly, so they were tucked into soil filled paper coffee cups mid-week and will be ready to plant by this Wednesday...if I can find the time.

Yesterday and today were full of shopping for plants weeding, planting seedlings and sowing a few seeds directly into soil outside.

There is still a whole lot of weeding to do while the ground is still soaked...they come up much easier...and then mulch to put down. Plum trees are blossoming and spring seems to be coming. I know that there is deep snow in many parts of the country and world, but I am a spoiled Calgirl who expects spring flowers in mid-February.

Also woke early this morning and went west to the beach. There was a very high tide today and big surf so lots of surfers were having fun in the water. Going places with Sweetie is always the best and we both love Doran beach. Xam would have like it better with less surf...too much noise.

Since not much cooking or baking of note has been going on, I'm going to post a dish that I baked over a month ago. Sometimes good things come with time :)

Squash is a vegetable that I love, both summer squash and winter squash. Butternut squash is a favorite because of the deep orange color, mellow taste, and because once you prepare the whole squash, you have a lot of ready to cook with deliciousness at hand.

You can read about the other things I made with the squash here. That is also the post where I give tips for roasting halves of butternut squash.

This calzone was inspired by a pizza I had at a restaurant in January. It combines squash, pancetta, cheese and sage. I also added sauteed leeks that I cooked down with a splash of white wine. With pizza dough both over and under it seemed like a good idea to boost the flavor elements of the filling. I didn't have any pancetta and do believe that it would have been even better with the intense and savory flavor pancetta provides. I used some crisp cooked bacon instead and it was delicious but mellower. You can also eliminate the bacon/pancetta for a vegetarian version.

If you don't have a pizza stone bake this n a parchment lined baking sheet or jelly roll pan turned upside down and placed in the lower part of your oven. Just watch either way to make sure the bottom crust doesn't burn.

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~ To Use for Calzone
Original recipe for the dough taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 12 calzone or 6 pizza (9-12 inch) crusts
Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).
2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.
The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces for calzone(or 6 pieces if you want to make pizzas).
NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.
NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.
NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil (a few tablespoons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make calzone, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO
8. On the day you plan to eat calzone, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).
NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

Note: In case you would be having trouble rolling the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.

On a lightly floured surface roll each dough ball into a circle about 8 or 9 inches in diameter. Place on a sheet of baking parchment paper. Fill as desired. For the Butternut Squash with Sage and Leeks Calzone, fill as described below.

Butternut Squash Calzone with Sage and Leeks
Makes 6

1/2 recipe of the pizza dough described above

12 thin slices cooked and peeled butternut squash, about 3 1/2 to 4 inches by 1 1/2 to 2 inches
1 cup ricotta cheese - if very moist, drain for 1/2 hour in cheese cloth over a sieve
1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 egg,lightly beaten, divided
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 large or two small leeks, washed well, quartered, and sliced in thin slices
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine
1/4 lb bacon or pancetta
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
additional Parmesan if desired

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, fresh sage, Italian parsley, half of the egg (reserve the other half to glaze the tops of the calzone), and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

In a medium skillet, over low heat cook the leeks in the olive oil until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the white wine, adjust heat to high, and, stirring constantly, cook the leeks until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside.

Wipe out the skillet and cook the bacon until crisp. If using pancetta, cook until crisp, but watch carefully to not burn it. Once crisp, remove to paper towels and let the towels absorb any fat.

To assemble the calzone, roll out as described above and place on pieces of baking parchment. Spread about 1 - 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture over half of the dough circle. Top with a sixth of the leeks, distributing the leeks over the ricotta. Do the same with the bacon or pancetta, breaking the crisp pieces into small pieces as necessary.

Top with one or two of the butternut squash pieces, having the curved side toward the outside of the circle and the flat side toward the middle of the circle of dough. Sprinkle on one sixth of the mozzarella cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Fold the plain half of the dough over the filled half. Run a finger that you have dipped in water around the edge of the filled section and press the top dough to seal. Use the tines of a fork to press all around the edge to seal further. If desired, glaze the dough with some of the beaten egg and sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Set aside and make the other five calzone. If there are dough balls left, save for pizza or more calzone. They can be frozen to be used later, too.

Once all the calzone have been filled, check to make sure that the pre-heated oven is hot.
If you are using a baking stone, slide the calzone, still on its parchment onto the stone and bake until the dough is golden brown. Repeat with each of the other calzone.

Let cool a couple of minutes, then remove from the paper to a cutting board and cut each into four pieces. Serve at once.

Lemon-Pomegranate Tango

Convergence is a wonderful thing. Just yesterday I was looking at a number of the Bread Baking Babes sites to see what bread they had baked this month. Since Karen of Bake My Day is hostess this month, if you want to see what she chose, go here. While on another Babe's site I saw that Gretchen had gathered a list of upcoming food blogger events. One that had immediate appeal for me was the one celebrating lemons, particularly Meyer lemons. Since a friend recently gave me some Meyer lemons I knew I wanted to participate. Now the convergence part...a box of bottles of POM Wonderful Pomegranate juice arrived yesterday, too. If I couldn't figure out a way to combine Meyer lemons and pomegranate juice then I shouldn't call myself a food blogger!

Today for lunch the lemon and pomegranate flavors did a tango with each other resulting in a flavorful sweet-tart dressing which went really well with fresh salad greens, chunks of cooked chicken, Braeburn apple slices, and chopped walnuts.

Since I used not only the Meyer lemon juice but also the Meyer lemon zest, the dressing was bursting with crisp citrus flavor which played up the delightful fruitiness of the POM Wonderful pomegranate juice. The dressing also had freshly ground black pepper for bite, and some olive oil, plus a small amount of dried thyme. It went together quickly. Why even consider using a bottled dressing when you can put this delightful dressing together in a flash, and enjoy the goodness of pomegranate juice and the zing of fresh lemon. If you don't have Meyer lemons, use whatever lemons you have available. Be sure to include some zest and make sure to use only the colored part. After you taste the shaken dressing, you may want to adjust the amount of any of the ingredients to suit your own taste buds. I threw this together without a recipe, but it is quite likely that there are other similar recipes elsewhere.

For a further convergence, not only will I send this along to Wine Imbiber for the Lemon Lovefest event, but I'll also send it to Annie for the Grow Your Own event created by Andrea of Andrea's Recipes and hosted this month by House of Annie. The round up for Grow Your Own can be found here. I think of it as cross pollination and a way to introduce bloggers to each other...something very appropriate for this time of year. Check out these events and their participants and you may find some new wonderful blogs to visit as winter turns to spring. For the Lemon Lovefest event, you can see the round up at the Lemon Lovefest Library here.

Lemon-POM Tango Dressing

1/2 cup POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
1/4 cup olive oil
zest and juice of 1 medium Meyer lemon (or regular lemon)
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a jar or other container with a sealed lid, place all of the ingredients. Seal with lid and shake vigorously to emulsify the oil in the rest of the ingredients. Check for taste and add more pepper if needed.

Use to dress any salad that will taste good with a slightly sweet dressing. I used mixed salad greens, sliced Braeburn apples, chunks of cooked chicken and chopped walnuts.

Jems

These gems are not the sparkly kind...they are the eating kind, and sweet eating at that. There is something very appealing about a small treat. That is one of the reasons why cupcakes are so popular as well as scones, donuts, and muffins.

Recently I made a batter specifically to make a small cake called a gem. In old cookbooks I've seen recipes for jems and they are usually for muffins but with creamed butter instead of melted butter or oil. Sometimes they were just made with a regular cake batter. I don't think that modern books even recognize gems as a different little cake, but they are so cute that they should be.

Last fall we had a grand birthday celebration in the small town of Benecia near Vallejo. While wandering in a shop that had antiques combined with newer items, I found a genuine gem pan! The storekeeper said it had been her grandmothers pan. Not sure if that was something she said to sell it or not, but it was well used (and had to be cleaned quite a bit before I could use it) and there is an inscription that says Ekco Chicago Patent Pend. I got pretty excited when I saw the pan because I had read about gems but had never seen a gem pan! I love the little ribs up the sides and the small round indentation at the top. I think the cups hold a little less than a muffin cup does (although I haven't measured it).

Since I only have the one pan with six gems, I baked the rest of the batter in 4 small loaf pans. One was enjoyed by Sweetie and Straight Shooter and the other three traveled to Seattle with me as gifts for my friends and daughter.

It's been a while since I've baked a Dorie Greenspan recipe, but, as usual, it is perfect and worked really well for the gems and little loaves. This is a hot milk cake recipe which has been enriched with coconut and lime for a tropical flavor.

I added an extra dollop of fun by doing a warm coconut glaze which went on the gems and loaves while they were still warm and after I had poked them well with a toothpick to allow the glaze to seep into the cakes. You really taste the coconut that way and the cakes stay moist and delicious!

Coconut Gems
Based on Coconut Tea Cake in Dorie Greenspan's Baking:from my home to yours

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk, stirred well before measuring
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter at room temperature
the juice of one lime
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
the zest from one lime
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons dark rum
3/4 cup shredded coconut

For Glaze:
1/3 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk, stirred well before measuring
2 tablespoons rum
1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the gem pan and four small loaf pans (or use a 10 - 12 cup Bundt pan instead).

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Pour the coconut milk into a small saucepan, add the butter and heat over gentle heat until the milk is hot and the butter is melted. Remove from the heat, let cool a few minutes and add the lime juice and stir to combine. Keep the mixture warm.

Put the sugar into a large mixing bowl and, using your clean fingers, rub the lime zest into the sugar until well combined. Using a whisk attachment on an electric mixer (or muscle power and a hand whisk) beat the eggs and sugar and medium-high speed until pale, thick and almost doubled in volume, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and the rum. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and stopping just when the flour disappears.

Keeping the mixer on low, add the coconut, mixing only until it is blended, then steadily add the hot milk and butter. When the mixture is smooth, stop mixing and give the batter a couple of turns with a rubber spatula, just to make certain that all ingredients are incorporated. Pour the batter into the pans, filling them about 3/4 full.

Bake in the preheated oven about 20-25 minutes for the gems and about 1/2 hour for the small loaves. Test by pressing center with a finger...if cake springs back it is done. For full size Bundt pan bake for about an hour or until cake is golden brown and tests done.

Transfer cakes to a rack and cool five minutes. While cakes are cooling prepare the glaze:
In a small saucepan warm the coconut milk over low heat. When warm, add the rum and the corn syrup and whisk to combine.

Once cakes have cooled about five minutes, place pan with gems in it on a rack with a pan under it to catch drips. Place the small loaves, still in their pans, on the rack, too. Use a toothpick or small skewer to poke holes into the cakes about every inch. Slowly pour the glaze over each, using more of the glaze for the loaves than the gems. I used a 1/3 cup measuring cup for pouring so that I could pour a small amount at a time. Use all the glaze and let cakes sit for 10 minutes.

Unmold the gems and loaves. Leave gems with the small indentation side up and take the small loaves and turn them upright. Let all the cakes cool completely, then serve. Leftovers can be stored airtight for four days at room temperature. Otherwise freeze leftovers...although it is unlikely you will have any!

No photos of the small loaves...guess I was so excited about giving them away that I neglected to take photos...baaaad blogger :) These were baked at night, too, so the lighting is terrible, hence poor photos, but good enough to see that these are yummy little treats.

Valentine's Weekend in Seattle

Although I've only been in Seattle 4 or 5 times, I still feel like I've come home when I arrive...who knows why.

Took the light rail from Sea-Tac up to the International District stop, which is actually closer to the Seahawks stadium than the Stadium stop. It was great! You really get to see the neighborhoods south of the city. At this time of year the trees are bare although there are plenty of evergreens. Here and there you can see plum trees in blossom. Unlike last year when it was amazingly snowy, apparently this year has been a mild winter. There was still rain and drizzle and sprinkles all of the days except today, but it didn't put a damper on the trip.

No recipes this post. For those of you who are interested, here is a brief of the trip highlights:

My daughter has a wonderful offbeat sense of humor...and so does her friend Miss A. We had wine and pizza and then expressed our creativity by making fused glass pieces in a party setting at Paint Away in Renton area. There is lots to paint, too, if you prefer ceramics painting. Great vibe at this store and good instructions for newbies like me.

The next morning we met up with Lynn and Peabody for breakfast at Portage Bay Cafe' in Ballard. Had such a good time gabbing that I forgot to take any photos, even though I really liked the porridge with dried fruits and nuts and mixed grains. The time flew by! It is such a treat to spend time with both of these wonderful women...maybe next time I'll be able to stay longer and cook or bake with them. Thanks for the cookbook Lynn...cookie recipes from the Cookie Baker and an amazing red velvet/vanilla cupcake toe eat!

Ballard is a neighborhood that I wasn't at all familiar with. It has dozens of interesting shops and restaurants and fun architecture, too. The photo at the top of the post is of the window display of one of the businesses there. There is also a smoked salmon 'outlet' right next to Portage Bay Cafe' with good prices on the kind of smoked salmon that goes into gift baskets.

That evening we had a girls night in, watching a movie and some Netflix TV episodes, too. We decided to have nibbles, including the corn, bean, and tomato salad, some hummus from Trader Joe's, sea salt pita chips from the same place, apple slices, red pepper strips and mini carrots. A bottle of Washington State red wine was too much for the two of us, but a delightful drink with our nibbles.

One morning we walked to Fremont and ate breakfast at Homegrown. What a great place - the egg and bacon 'sandwich' included local eggs, very very yummy bacon and a house made roll. The oatmeal comes with it, is served in a coffee cup and had crystallized ginger and currants on top. The coffee is delicious. Surprising that I needed some of theirs after having a latte' from Kuma Coffee the same morning, but when you are in Seattle, coffee drinking to excess seems somehow appropriate.

My birthday present was a trip to the IMAX too see the movie Avatar...I had waited to see it with my daughter. I loved it and got energized by watching all of that creativity and imagination on screen. It helps that I love science fiction and have read everything that Anne McCaffery has written...although there were lots of other influences in this movie, too. The message of interconnectedness is very appealing.

Our Valentine's day brunch at a small Seattle neighborhood restaurant, Avila, was delicious, too. The watercress salad was an unusual side dish with an omelet, but quite delightful. We even tried their elbeskivers that were filled with cream cheese and huckleberries and topped with powdered sugar...yum!

According to Wikipedia, ebleskivers are somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover. We found ours to be more like a donut crossed with a fluffy muffin. They are not particularly sweet, but the fruit added some and so did the powdered sugar. I could see these becoming the next scone or mega-muffin if marketed properly. They are baked on the stovetop in a special pan, so have the delight of a warm donut but are not deep fried. They can seemingly be filled with all sorts of things. Any energetic business person want to run with this idea? BTW I’d skip the powdered sugar for takeout.

Back home safe and sound. Thank you dear daughter for a delightful trip!

Happy Birthday to Me

I won't tell you the exact date, but I will tell you that my lovely and talented daughter has given me a trip to Seattle for my birthday so there will be few posts until next Monday. I'm really excited! We will be seeing Avatar in IMAX and I've been waiting to see it with her. I'll get to meet one or more of her friends, do some glass fusing, do some shopping and eating out and walking around her neighborhood. She and I are also slated to have breakfast with two of my favorite bloggers...Lynn of Cookie Baker Lynn (now a blogazine author at Simple Bites) and Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, one of the most drool worthy sites you will ever find and home to excellent photography, too. Even if it rains...and it probably will...I will be having a blast!

As far as birthdays go, my take on it is every year I celebrate a birthday means that I have lived and experienced another year...and usually learned wonderful things and had fun with great people and often helped some other human beings along the way.

Bread has been baked, delicious dishes cooked and photographed and posts made on this blog. Other blogs have been visited, often with delight and laughter...most bloggers seem to be far funnier than I am. Walks will have been taken with Sweetie and the bread baker's dog. Project will have been undertaken and time spent in hardware stores (almost as much fun as cookware stores :) Books have been read and conversations taken place. This year has included a new haircut, too, after many years of more or less the same old same old. Life is a never ending source of amusement and fascination to me. Ever year I want another one, so here's to my next birthday, too!

Some days at work I get a surprise like I did today. I didn't bake my birthday cake, or even a Valentines cake, but I did get to bake a cake for Walter. He wanted a cake with pineapple and whipped cream. I went online and looked at a lot of pineapple cakes. Although some were similar, none were exactly like the one I ended up making, so I'm calling it Walter's Pineapple Cloud Cake.

Since I wasn't expecting to bake today I didn't bring my mixer with me. It seemed best, since all the batter would be hand mixed, that I use cake mix from a box. I changed it a bit by using melted butter and Greek yogurt instead of vegetable oil. That provided both moisture and fat. Considering all of the whipped cream, it was probably gilding the lily, but should taste wonderful that way!

Speaking of the whipped cream, I'm here to tell you that a whisk will do the trick quite well, but my wrist was tired by the time I did two batches. If you are using an electric or stand mixer, you can beat it all at once and then divide it.

This cake is a vanilla cake baked in a baking pan (normally I would use a 9" x 13" pan, but this was going to the home of an ill man and I didn't want them to have to worry about keeping track of the pan). A can of crushed pineapple in juice is drained while the cake bakes, and the juice is used to moisten the baked cake while it is still warm. The remaining pineapple is folded into half of the whipped cream (one of my batches) and spread over the cake...it ends up being about an inch thick. Then the remaining whipped cream is spread over the pineapple mixture and given some pretty swirls. Once it has chilled for a while it is ready to eat.

Since I didn't have an opportunity to either cut a piece of this cake or to photograph or taste a piece, you'll have to go with my photo of the top of the cake and the assurance that it is a delicious cake, simple and elegant and light as a cloud!

Walter's Pineapple Cloud Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 pint Greek style yogurt, plain
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups water
1 can pineapple in it's own juice (about 15 oz)
1 pint heavy whipping cream, chilled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare the cake mix according to package directions, but use the yogurt and butter in place of oil. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven about 30 minutes, or until cake springs back when you poke the center.

While cake is baking, drain the pineapple, reserving the juice.

When the baked cake is removed from the oven, use a skewer to poke holes all over the top, about 1/2 inch apart. Pour the drained pineapple juice evenly over the cake, letting it seep into the poked holes. Set pan in the refrigerator to cool while you whip the cream.

In a large bowl whip the cream. Divide in half.

To one half of the whipped cream add the drained crushed pineapple and fold in with a spatula until well blended. Spread this mixture over the top of the cake and smooth the top evenly.

To the second half of the whipped cream, add the vanilla extract and beat that in until combined.
Place dollops of the whipped cream over the pineapple mixture on the cake and spread over the cake, making decorative swirls or peaks as desired.

Chill cake for at least an hour to combine flavors and set the whipped cream. Keep refrigerated if there is any left to store after serving.

Sweets for Your Valentine

My birthday comes near Valentines Day, so I have a special fondness for the holiday. I love heart shaped cakes and cookies, red and pink and lilac...although mostly not together. Romantic movies like Sleepless in Seattle and Notting Hill where, despite the odds, the girl gets the guy in the end are never too sappy for me to watch again. Fluffy romance novels provide reading without any effort at all...and sometimes that's exactly the kind I need...hearts and flowers and an inevitable happy ending.

Life is a bit more messy. There is no inevitable happiness...you get lucky if you find relationship happiness and then you put effort into keeping it. Even with effort sometimes the happiness slips away like water down the drain.

I wish I had words of wisdom that would give the secrets to keeping it, but I don't. I am still often mystified when my Sweetie bears the brunt of my temper and yet still loves me even though cross words really hurt him. He is still amazed when I laugh at his jokes...sometimes jokes I've heard a few times before, but they still bring true laughter...how fun is that? When you have the benefit of over 30 years with the same partner and have weathered the ups and downs that all relationships seem to bring, it's time to be grateful...and I am.

If you are thinking about Valentine's Day and want to surprise your sweetie with an unusual bread then you have come to the right place.

This may not lead to wild monkey love…or it may…but rest assured, this coffee cake is a winner, especially if you like coconut and raspberry flavors.

Traditionally Monkey Bread is made with small balls or pieces of dough dipped in butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar, with some nuts sometimes thrown in. It is delicious but can be super sweet if a lot of the cinnamon sugar is used. But you can monkey around with the flavors and ingredients if you want to.

I gave sweetie the option of the traditional flavors or of this version. He chose the coconut raspberry combo. It is a little more complicated (not much) and is more subtle…doesn’t hit you over the head with a blast of spice or sugar…but it is charming. The tint of pink that the coating takes on makes it just right for Valentine’s Day.

I made the dough and held it overnight but you could make it the same day if you plan on serving it in the late afternoon or in the evening. Getting all those chunks of dough dipped and then dipped in the coconut takes some time. My dough also took longer than average to rise because it is stormy here and chilly…and perhaps because I used all sour dough starter and it sometimes is slower than if I beefed it up with a little dry yeast.

If you used quick rise yeast and if your kitchen was warm and if you started at 8 am, this could be ready by lunch time.

Unlike the traditional version, this kind doesn’t have as much gooeyness to it, but it is a great flavor combo with the coconut, raspberry and almond flavors playing off the sweet yeast bread. Some people like to ice their Monkey Bread once it has cooled slightly, but I served it the way it came from the oven and everyone wanted seconds, so I think icing is delightful, but optional. If you use icing, you may want to tint it pink with some food coloring to make it even more of a Valentine delight.


Coconut Raspberry Monkey Bread
Makes 1 Bundt or coffee cake Variation on recipe from Marcy Goldman of BetterBaking.com
Dough:
1 1/3 cups warm water
4 1/2 tsp instant yeast
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
5 tbsp butter, melted
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-2 cups bread flour

Note: I used 1 cup sourdough starter and 1 cup warm water instead of the amount of water and instant yeast given above. I added less than 2 cups bread flour, trying to keep the dough soft and with not too much flour.

Filling:
1/2 cup melted butter
¼ cup coconut milk (I used the canned Thai style, unsweetened)
½ cup seedless raspberry jam, melted and cooled a little
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup grated coconut (I used ½ cup fresh grated and ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut)
1/2 cup whole almonds, chopped

Optional Icing:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2-3 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 tbsp of sugar for 2-3 minutes. Add in melted butter, remaining sugar, salt and the all purpose flour. Mix it in by hand or using a dough hook until it forms a soft mass, adding bread flour as needed to form a soft dough, not too much flour! Let rise, covered, in a warm place for 30-45 minutes until almost doubled.

2. Make coating: Put melted butter in a bowl and stir in the coconut milk. In another bowl, mix melted raspberry jam and the corn syrup. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons raspberry mixture and half the almonds into a well greased and floured Bundt pan or Monkey Bread pan. On the counter, gently deflate dough and divide into 1/2" pieces. Roll into balls. Mix the melted butter mixture with the raspberry mixture and stir well to combine. Place the coconut in a shallow bowl. Dip balls in raspberry butter mixture, then roll in coconut. Layer them in the prepared Bundt pan. Sprinkle remaining chopped almonds over the dough balls halfway through the layering. My Monkey Bread pan from King Arthur only needed two layers to use all of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes in pan then invert. Cool 20 minutes. If desired, while bread is cooling make the icing: In small bowl, combine icing ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over slightly cooled bread. Serve at once.
Verdict: I like the contrast between the tang of the sourdough bread and the sweetness and richness of the butter/raspberry/coconut/almond combination. If I did it again I might make the dough balls smaller and use more raspberry jam, pouring some straight melted raspberry jam directly over the first layer of dough balls. That would mean setting aside some raspberry jam and not adding it to the butter mixture. This might give it a bit more of the ooey-gooey factor that was missing with this recipe. Adding some mini chocolate chips could be fun, too…I mean, when is it a bad thing to add chocolate?

I’m sending this over to Susan at Wild Yeast for this weeks’ Yeastspotting event. Check it out! You might get lots of Valentines ideas.

More Black Beans

So you get a phone call from a friend who is looking for a dish for a luncheon and it has to be something that a non-cook can make. It would be nice if it is also vegan and not too expensive. Even better would be something that doesn’t need to be re-heated or even refrigerated. Oh, yes, can it also be delicious?

If you get that kind of phone call I have just the thing for you. We served it to our scholarship group yesterday and it was a hit! We had a four person committee and three of them were non-cooks, but they did a great job with this salad. Parkay made a great chairwoman! We served it on lettuce leaves accompanied by a gorgeous big strawberry that had been fanned out, plus fresh blueberries and some bakery rolls. Delish!

Black beans and corn work together here to make a complete protein, plus they taste great together and look colorful, too. Add tomatoes, red pepper and Italian parsley (the flat leaf kind), plus some red onion and you have a very jazzy looking salad. A red wine and olive oil based dressing ties it all together and a hint of cayenne makes it sing. Since it uses frozen corn and canned beans and tomatoes, the only cooking is some chopping of peppers, onions and parsley.

Even if you are a proficient cook, this is a great meal to have in your repertoire, especially if you keep some of the ingredients on hand. You can pull it together at a moment’s notice when you have unexpected guests or are just too tired to do ‘real’ cooking. Just remember, the best reason to make this salad is that it tastes great!

Black Bean, Corn and Tomato Salad

1 (16 oz.) bag frozen corn, thawed
½ - 1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced, plus any juices that collect (you can remove the skin and seeds or not, as you prefer) OR 1 (14 to 15 oz ) can diced tomatoes and their juice
½ cup red pepper, cored and diced
½ medium red onion, diced
½ cup fresh parsley, finely minced – flat leaf gives a stronger flavor than curly leaf
1 14 to 15 oz ) can black beans, rinsed and drained
Dressing
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
(OR ½ cup red wine vinegar and NO balsamic vinegar)
½ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

Place thawed corn, tomatoes, diced pepper, red onion, parsley and beans into a bowl.

Shake the dressing ingredients together in a small jar with tightly fitting lid. Pour dressing over salad and stir to mix ingredients thoroughly.

Cover salad and chill for at least an hour and up to 12 hours until thoroughly chilled.

Serves 6-8.

Note: Sometimes you can find frozen corn that has red pepper bits already in it. If you do, you can skip dicing the fresh red pepper…just use the frozen corn with red peppers.