Bars! Brown Sugar Meringue Bars! Oh My Gosh, Bars!

Yep, I'm officially hooked on making bars, or maybe I just love that Pillsbury booklet from the 50's. No matter, here's another delightful serving of bars suitable for pot-lucks, basement church supper, or just impressing the heck out of your family. I skipped the nuts in the recipe and substituted a cup of dried (dried out, actually in the back of the fridge) currants. This is a good way to use up egg whites left over from making ice cream every other day...Oh I know, you'd never eat nothing but ice cream for five days straight...but if you did, why, you'd have quite a few egg whites looking to be used-up.

Adapted from:
Pillsbury's Best Butter Cookie Cookbook (circa 1950)

You Will Need:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flaked (or shredded) coconut
1 cup dried currants
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. You will need a 9x13 inch pan, but don't grease it.

Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Stir in the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Press evenly into the pan. Bake 15 minutes. While it bakes, prepare the topping.

For the meringue layer:

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff (I use a copper bowl and it goes much easier). Gradually add the brown sugar and continue beating until it forms stiff, straight peaks. Stir in the dry ingredients, then fold in the coconut, currants and vanilla.

Spread evenly over the first layer and bake 25-30 minutes until done. The top should be quite brown. It will be soft and chewy, so don't expect it to be like a baked meringue with egg whites and sugar. At least, mine didn't have any crackle to it.

When they are still warm, dip a sharp knife in water and cut into squares. Cool completely in the pan before removing.

Ravioli Filled With Cheese and Pea Shoots

The completed dish
Pea shoots before butter and heat...
...and after.


Here's the filling part.

I served the ravioli with pea pods and shallots in a sauce of butter and olive oil.


Well, that was interesting. Still trying to feed my family with what I have in the garden, I devised this little meal using pea shoots like spinach. Everyone liked it. At this point in the season, the greens are getting a bit tough, so cooking them in half a stick of butter first really seemed to do the trick. Funny how cooking vegetables in half a stick of butter will make things taste better. Really, isn't it just amazing? Hey,Dairy Board-hire me, I'm your best customer!

It looks like a bit of work, but really it took just over an hour start to finish.

For the pasta:

3 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg (I used large) Reserve egg whites for sealing edges of ravioli
3 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semolina
1-1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Beat the eggs until light. Add the water and salt and mix well. Add the semolina with a mixer, then by hand add enough all purpose flour to make a stiff dough. Divide into four pieces, and flatten into rectangles. Let stand a few minutes to dry out. It helps to keep the work surface floured as it lets the dough pass through the pasta maker easier. You can make these by hand with a rolling pin (I've done it) but they won't get quite as thin). While the pasta firms up, prepare the filling.

For the filling:

2 cups 4% cottage cheese, drained
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried garlic granules (I prefer them to fresh garlic in this)
Black pepper
4 cups trimmed pea shoots, tough stems discarded
1/2 stick butter

Combine the cottage cheese, Swiss cheese and garlic in a bowl. Grind in the pepper. In a pan, melt the butter and then cook the peas shoots until soft and wilted. Remove from heat, stir into cheese mixture.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper and dust lightly with flour. Run the sections of dough through a pasta maker until reasonably thin. You don't want them to burst when filled, or tear in the water, but they shouldn't be so thick that they are difficult to chew. Lay the strips on a floured surface and dot with filling leaving space to seal. This is a matter of taste, I prefer quite a bit of pasta overlap, but some people do not. They are your ravioli-don't let some food snob bastard tell you how to enjoy your ravioli. You go ahead and roll them any way you like.

Using your reserved egg whites, brush the edges and around the ravioli and then fold the dough over. This is the tricky part-you want to seal out as much air as possible around the filling. Once that is done, take a sharp knife and cut them apart. Lay them on the prepared baking sheet and let them dry out for a few minutes while you heat a pot of boiling water.

Once the salted water has come to a boil, reduce it to medium high-they don't need a hard, rapid boil. Cook about ten minutes, or until done to your liking.

I topped mine with pea pods and shallots in butter and oil.

Carmelised Tofu With Carrots, Corn, and Currants

By now it should be obvious I haven't been shopping in a while. That's OK. I find it really satisfying to use the last carrot and ear of corn leaving the bins free for a fresh refill. Oh, don't worry, we have plenty of home-canned and frozen items-no one will starve.

We have tons of peas and tomatoes in the garden that are not-quite-ready, but I suspect we'll be enjoying them soon. The rocket has taken off as well...yeah, that was a lame joke, but I couldn't resist. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight had I not made that joke, so indulge me.

I served this over brown rice. No one complained, or scrunched up their faces, but I could tell they'd have preferred white. I cooked the tofu earlier in the day and kept it covered in the fridge. I also cut the carrots and parsley ahead. Some people can manage rice, tofu and vegetables all on the stove at once, but I can't. Adjust as you see fit.


You Will Need:

1 block extra firm tofu, pressed reasonably dry of liquid
Olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar

6 carrots, thinly sliced in ovals on the diagonal (OK I'm kidding, slice them as you please)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chopped parsley (yes, it is a large amount)
1 ear of corn, kernels scraped off with a knife (about a cup)
2 tablespoons chopped ginger root
Dried currants
Salt
Olive oil
Brown rice, cooked

To carmelise tofu:

Cut the tofu into cubes (after patting it as dry as possible first) and heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan. I used cast iron. Don't use your best olive oil for this as it will smoke. Over medium heat, brown the tofu on all sides until a nice golden colour. If oil starts to smoke, turn it down. Remove browned tofu to a plate. Add about a tablespoon more oil to the pan and stir in the brown sugar. You can add a bit of salt at this point as well. Make a smooth paste with a wooden spoon and then add the browned tofu. Cook until well-coated and the caramel starts to adhere and brown. Remove again to a dish and keep chilled until ready to use.

For the vegetables:

Heat a bit of oil (a couple tablespoons) in a large frying pan and cook the carrots, garlic, ginger, corn and half the parsley until softened. Add the already cooked tofu and the rest of the parsley and cook until carrots are soft to your tastes. Toss in a handful of currants in the last couple minutes adding more oil and salt if needed. Serve over hot rice.

Dill Bread-James Beard Version

Almost identical to the dill casserole bread HERE, save for the whole wheat in this one. My sense is that these were pretty popular in the early 70's (my mother-in law once asked if I'd made them) though I didn't grow up with anything of the sort.

With only one rise, the bread is quick and simple to get made, and on a warm day like today, it rose like crazy in an hour.

I used dill weed rather than dill seed, and as I didn't have dry cottage cheese on hand, I drained some creamed style and it worked just fine. I suspect if you had some paneer sitting in the fridge you could crumble it into the dough as a decent substitute. My bread came out lovely.

It won't last long, so try to use it quickly. The recipe makes one smallish loaf.

You Will Need:

2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup lukewarm water
8 ounces large curd cottage cheese-dry style or drained if using creamed-at room temperature
1 egg at room temperature
2 teaspoons grated onion
2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons dill weed

Dissolve the yeast with the sugar and water in a large mixing bowl, and let stand five minutes. Stir the cottage cheese into the yeast and add the egg beating well. Blend in the onion, melted butter, salt, and baking soda. Beat in the whole wheat flour. Add the dill and beat in the all purpose flour, half a cup at a time. You may not need all of it, or may need more.

Knead until; smooth, about five minutes.

Grease a 9x5x3 inch bread pan. Fit the dough into it, cover loosely and let rise until doubled.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake bread 30-40 minutes or until it sounds hollow when rapped on the bottom. The bread will be quite dark.

Cool on a rack before slicing.

For My Rural Readers...

Danny has devised a neat little sign to get rid of flies-assuming your flies can read. Feel free to download the picture to your computer and print it off. Then, post it by your livestock and watch those pesky, winged nuisances take off. They'll know they are no longer welcome when they see the depiction of a dead fly with a circle and line drawn through it.

The machine on the left is the "Fly Busters Car", sort of like Ghostbusters, except they bust flies.

Danny's first (sort of) sentence when he was learning to speak was:
"Fwies, mama, fwies!"
-And he wasn't talking about potatoes.

Granola

The food section at the Boston Globe has a "recipe" for granola parfaits today. I had to laugh, but it is a good way to get a child to eat yoghurt, fresh fruit and granola for breakfast. I mash the berries in the plain yoghurt rather than layering them, but I'm not about to offer instructions on layering a granola parfait.

Anyone remember when the newspapers had food sections you looked forward to reading each week? Been a while, eh?

So the granola recipe. Looking at the ingredients and technique in the Globe, I thought I'd offer my recipe as well since it is quick, adaptable and really pretty good. In fact, I just made a new batch today. It lasts about a week, but it needs to be in an airtight container. I use an old metal coffee tin. A while back I happened upon a trick that I think works well with granola. When you pull the sheet out of the oven, immediately transfer it to another baking sheet that is cool. This helps the granola cool and crisp better. Make sure it is completely cool before mixing in the fruit and chocolate. yes, chocolate. The world won't come crashing to an end if you throw a handful of chips, or M&M's into it, but your child will eat it enthusiastically for the chance of an odd piece of chocolate buried in the parfait.

I prefer my granola made with maple syrup, but that is expensive. You can do honey, or half honey half maple, or even half brown sugar. I have not tried golden syrup or molasses because they are both on the expensive side around here (more than maple). I've forgotten from time to time and simply used 1/4 cup of maple syrup and it turned out fine. Adjust according to your tastes. I don't use seeds or nuts in mine, but if you do, take their salt content into consideration before adding salt in the recipe. Sometimes I toss in coconut, but again, if you're using sweetened coconut, you need to adjust for that in the sweetner. I probably sound like I'm over-complicating it-it really is quite simple.

You Will Need:

4 cups old fashioned oats (the type you cook)
1/4 cup oil (I used soybean)
1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey, or brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit
a few pieces of chopped crystalised ginger
Chocolate chips or candy, flaked coconut, etc. if you like

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix the oats, oil, syrup, salt and extract together in a bowl. Mix well to coat the oats evenly. Spread them out on a large jelly roll pan and bake for ten minutes. After ten minutes, stir and turn the granola with a spatula (you need not be overly exacting about this) and return it to the oven for another ten minutes. Check it. The granola should be golden and toasted. If not, stir it again and return it to the oven for a few more minutes.

Remove from oven and transfer to another pan that is cool. Let cool at room temperature, and then stir in the fruit, candy and anything else you like. Store in an airtight container for about a week (the oil does make it perishable).

Starlight Sugar Crisps

I think with a couple extra turns these rolls would have been even better-but they are pretty darn good as they are. I made mine larger than the recipe indicated as I wanted them as sweet rolls, not cookies. I will post the original instructions and you can adapt as necessary.

Like the caramel brownies, these come from the ancient Pillsbury cookie booklet. The recipe itself was the Senior First Prize Winner in Pillsbury's 8th Grand national Recipe and baking Contest. That should give you an idea how old this pamphlet is! I'm so glad I was able to dry it out and rescue it after the tornado.

I followed the directions and used vanilla sugar, but I can't help but think it would be excellent with cinnamon or cardamom. I might try these again as jam twists-wouldn't they be heavenly with some homemade apricot jam?

The recipe was clear and easy to follow. If you're not used to working with puff-style pastry this is a nice compromise as you don't have to fold the moulded butter into the dough and do numerous turns. You sacrifice flakiness, but for these, I think it works well. The crisps remind me of the sour cream cinnamon rolls we used to get in Illinois, though those were shaped in crescents and larger. That was the one pastry my mother didn't dare bring in the house because she'd eat them all. We'd split one if we were out (usually following a heavy brunch...because you've already blown a million calories, you might as well have a sour cream cinnamon roll, right?) but they were just too dangerous to have around in any quantity. I hadn't thought about them in years until I took a bite of these, and the texture immediately reminded me. Sort of like Proust eating the madeline and remembering his childhood...except I haven't felt compelled to take to bed and write thousands of pages of painfully boring prose. I still resent the time I wasted over the summer of 1982 reading that rubbish in entirety.

So....back to the Starlight Sugar Crisps (come for the recipes, stay for the off-topic blathering!). The recipe says you can get five dozen. I had just over two, but again I did them larger.

Predictably, Danny is calling them "Star Wars Sugar Crisps" and waving them around like a light sabre.

You Will Need:

1/4 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons granulated dry yeast
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup (!) butter
1/2 cup sour cream
2 beaten eggs (I used large)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Soften the yeast in the warm water and set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Cut in the butter until it is in fine pea-sized lumps. Add the yeast, sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Cover with cling film and chill at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Divide dough in half. Mix sugar and vanilla extract together in a bowl. On a work surface, spread about half a cup of the vanilla sugar to dust the surface. Pat out half the dough into a rectangle and then roll to a 16x8 rectangle. Fold one end of the dough over the centre. Fold other end over to make three layers. Give the dough a 1/4 turn and repeat two more times, sprinkling with additional sugar as needed. Roll dough out to 16x8 and about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 4x1 inch strips and twist a couple times before placing on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining dough, or keep in the fridge for use at a later date (The recipe says dough will last four days).

Bake until golden-about 20 minutes, but start checking at 15. Remove to rack to cool.

Chickpeas, Corn and Carrots With Pasta Shells

The vegetables before adding pasta
This is how I do prep work for dinner through the day-a bowl here and there. I can't stand for long stretches, so this is a big help with getting dinner together. I cover them with cling film and then stick them in the fridge until needed.
Here it is completed. The light was pretty bad in the kitchen today, but you get the idea.


I mean really, what the heck was I to call this? Cleaning out the vegetable bins? I was aiming for something reminiscent of a corn relish, but hot and served over pasta. I think this turned out well, and it would be just as good cold as it was warm.

You Will Need:

1 package pasta shells, cooked
4 cups cooked chick peas, skins removed
6 carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped
10 sage leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 ears corn, removed from cob
Olive oil
Swiss cheese
Salt and Pepper

In a large frying pan heat about 4 tablespoons of oil, cook the carrots, celery, onion, and half the parsley, until carrots begin to soften. Add the sage, thyme, corn and remaining parsley and cook until carrots are soft. Add the chick peas and cook a few more minutes adding more oil if needed. Adjust salt and pepper. Toss with cooked pasta shells and serve topped with a sprinkling of Swiss cheese.

Croutons and the Best French Dressing

A couple techniques to try next time you're stumped for a way to dress a salad of simple greens (we had rocket, pea shoots and watercress).

For the dressing:

1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced fine
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil

Place in a jar and shake until blended.

For the croûtons:

Thickly cubed bread, crusts removed
Clarified butter
Salt to taste

Dry the bread out in a slow oven. This should take about 20 minutes at 225 degrees F.

Heat a generous amount of clarified butter over moderate heat in a heavy frying pan. Toss the croûtons in and cook until nicely browned. Toss in salt and remove to a bowl for serving.

Pineapple Star Anise Sorbet

This is a very strongly flavoured sorbet, so go easy with the star anise if you're not crazy about licorice. The texture is good, almost creamy like a sherbet. The recipe may be found HERE, but I skipped roasting the remaining pineapple.

Lamb Filled Pastry

This is a multi-part recipe that is best done over a couple of days. I'm giving approximate measurements because the amount of lamb you get off of a bag of cooked bone-in neck and rib pieces will vary. You can also change the seasonings around. This would have been just as delicious with Madras curry powder as it was with a ton of sage and thyme.

The pastry is a breeze, and wonderful to handle, provided you let it chill for several hours and only bring out as much as you can roll quickly. If it gets the tiniest bit soft, the cream cheese will get gummy-and you don't want that. So keep it chilled and roll quickly.

I made three dozen puffs for the freezer, and plenty of the mixture left over to be served over noodles for dinner. You could toss extra into pot pies, a burrito, or use it as the base for a barley soup. You get the idea.

For the money, this makes a tonne of food-but be warned, it is quite a bit of work and time.

To Cook the Lamb:

2 1/4 pounds of bone-in lamb necks and ribs

1 large onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, smashed

10 peppercorns

1 tablespoon dried rosemary

Oil for browning

1 cup flour

Salt and pepper

Heat a small amount of oil in a heavy pot/Dutch oven. Dredge the lamb in flour, salt and pepper and brown well on all sides (work in batches adding more oil if needed) and remove to a plate. When all the lamb is browned, add a bit more oil and add the onion, garlic, rosemary, and peppercorns. Cook until onion softens a bit and then return the lamb to the pot. Add enough water to cover and bring to a simmer. Skim any yuckiness (you won't get it all, but no big deal, you can skim here and there as it cooks)and simmer on low heat until fork tender-about two to three hours.

When lamb is tender, place a strainer over a large, heatproof bowl and strain, reserving liquid. Remove lamb pieces to a baking sheet and let cool. Strain the liquid again through a cheesecloth lined sieve and set the strained liquid aside.

When lamb is cool enough to handle, carefully begin removing the pieces from the bone. At this point, you can either shred the meat fine with your fingers, or just leave it in chunks. I do a bit of both, but that's a matter of taste. I also pull off the extra fat, but again, do as you see fit.

When you have removed all the meat from the bones, being heating about a tablespoon of solid vegetable shortening in a heavy frying pan. You can use oil, or lard, but I really believe I get the best results from the shortening. When melted, add the meat and fry it for a minute or two over medium heat to soak up the fat, and dry a bit. Slowly, add the reserved broth to the pan and simmer until just about all the liquid has been absorbed. Cool, and refrigerate until needed.

To make the filling:

5 carrots, peeled and diced very tiny

5-6 small red potatoes, diced small

About 1/2 cup chopped fresh sage (this is quite a bit-adjust as you like)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

10 shallots, sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup unsalted butter

Boil the potatoes in a small pan until just tender-they should still have firmness to them. Drain.

In a large frying pan, heat the butter over medium heat and cook the carrots, shallots, garlic and sage until softened. Add the potatoes and thyme. Cook until potatoes are soft and then add the reserved lamb. Mix well and cook a few more minutes for flavours to combine. Cool and refrigerate until needed.

For the pastry:

3 tablespoons cream cheese

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the flour and knead by hand until combined. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill until ready to use-but at least four hours.

To assemble:

Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a round biscuit cutter, cut out circles. Roll each circle, as you need them again with a pin until they are larger and about 1/4 inch thick. Fill with a bit of the lamb mixture and crimp closed. Prick the tops to vent and place on an ungreased baking sheet. When you have a sheet filled, transfer to the fridge to keep cool until ready to bake. You can also freeze them a few at a time on a plate before transferring to freezer bags with waxed paper between layers. Then, just bake from frozen when you need them.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and bake puffs 10-15 minutes or until nicely browned.

Caramel Oatmeal Brownies

From an undated (I'd guess 50's) pamphlet of butter cookie recipes by Pillsbury.

You Will Need:

Base:
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup melted butter

Sift flour, soda, oatmeal, sugar, and salt together. Melt butter and mix into mixture.
Press into an ungresed 8x8 pan and bake in a 350 degree F. oven for ten minutes.

Brownie Layer:

2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift together flour, soda and salt. In a double boiler over hot water (or in the microwave like I did) melt together the chocolate and butter. Beat in the sugar slowly. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture and mix well. Add the milk and vanilla and mix. Spread over oatmeal layer and bake an additional 30-35 minutes. Cool, cut into bars or squares.

Shortcake

I had a quart of strawberries and two perfect peaches. I haven't enjoyed a dessert this much in years. I never make this sort of thing, but Danny is currently enchanted by The Pokey Puppy, and he really thinks the fact that they eat strawberry shortcake is a hoot. I hope he doesn't want rice pudding next-I can't stand over a double boiler in July. Anyway, this turned out to be fantastic. I adapted the recipe from the good old little red book...no, not that little red book, silly! The Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, 1950.

You Will Need:

For the cake:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted, cold butter
2/3 + cup whole milk
Extra butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Grease an 8 inch round pan.

Sift together dry ingredients. Cut in butter until fine crumbs. Slowly add milk and stir until you have a soft dough. I use my hand for this because it is so very easy to go from too soft to too dry with a spoon.

Divide dough in half. Pat one half into the bottom and dot with about a tablespoon of extra butter. Top with second half and bake until lightly browned-about 12-15 minutes. Remove from pan, Cool slightly and carefully split. Fill and top with fruit. Add whipped cream before serving.

For the fruit:

1 quart strawberries, sliced
2 ripe peaches
1/2 cup vanilla sugar

Cover fruit with sugar and let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or until fruit begins to give up juice. Stir well before using.

About That Halvah...

I had to dispose of it before getting photos. Oh, it worked, turned out really well, looked lovely...and it sent my child to the hospital with a severe allergic reaction. I guess it was the sesame. At least, now we know. That's a pretty lousy allergy to have as there's sesame in so many things from tahini to Chinese food.

Having a severe allergy to nuts myself, I was probably a little better prepared for what happened, but that doesn't make it any less awful. We're off to see his regular doctor today, but for the next few days it will be steroids and antihistamines...and comic books. You get comic books when you're sick in this family.

Anyway, the recipe is HERE, but if you've never had if before, go easy and have a very tiny taste to see if your tongue swells up and you begin puking (sorry, that wasn't a nice thing to say at a food blog).

Ever Wonder What a Billion Calories Look Like?

-Stay tuned, I made a (very) large batch of homemade halvah. Because I clearly need more fat in my diet. You wouldn't want me to waste away, now would 'ya? I didn't think so.

It is cooling, and I'll try to get pictures tonight, but we probably won't be trying it until morning as it really needs to set.

It has a cup of tahini and 1/2 cup of oil, 3/4 cup of honey and a bunch of other stuff-how can it not be good? OK, it did actually look a bit on the oily side, but that might have been my tahini, so it may need tweaking, we'll see.

Updates later.

Cheddar Topped Herbed Scones

These are one of the best things I make, and I've been making them for years. I adapted them from an old soda bread recipe.

You Will Need:

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet.

Mix dry ingredients and then slowly add the milk-you may not need it all. Work as little as possible until combined. Turn out on a floured surface and pat into a rectangle. Cut into triangles. Place each piece on baking sheet and brush with beaten egg. Top with cheese.

Bake about 20 minutes, checking frequently., The tops should begin to bubble and colour and the bottoms darken. This will vary depending on how large you cut them. Remove to a rack to cool. Best served the day they are made.

Quick Bread With Yogurt and Olive Oil

If I couldn't have butter and milk, this cake might be a nice substitute for pound cake. Since I can have butter and milk, I was kind of unimpressed with it. I guess it was sort of a novelty thing. The boys liked it quite a bit. I substituted lemon zest for the lime, but otherwise followed the recipe, which may be found HERE.

The cherry sauce was a complete experiment, and it worked fine. Basically, I under-cooked some jam.

For the Sauce:

4 cups pitted cherries (any kind)
1 cup granulated sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup water

Pit the cherries, place them in a bowl and cover with sugar. Let stand about an hour. Once the juices begin to run, toss the cherries and sugar into a pot and add the water and lemon juice. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly until it reduces. You don't want to take this to the gelling point, so test it with a cold, metal spoon. If it dribbled off in thick droplets you're good. You don't want it to break in sheets. If it does, no big deal, you have preserves.

This makes about a pint. I cooled mine in a heat-proof casserole dish on the counter and then transfered it to an open jar that I let cool completely in the fridge before closing. Use it within a week or so. I doubt it will be around that long.

Pesto Pizza Continued

Just a couple more photos of it cut. It was a huge hit with the boys.

Pesto Pizza

I had a bit of frozen pesto left from last year in the freezer, so I used it as a base for pizza. I also used a couple cups of cooked white beans, Mozzarella cheese, Roma tomatoes, and olives. Neat huh? I know what you're thinking...beans on a pizza? I guess I've always thought meat on a pizza was a bit strange. To each their own.

I doubled my regular pizza dough recipe and put it in a deep, round pan. This is much too much pizza, and we'll probably be eating it all weekend. Oh well, at least I used up some of last year's pesto.

Vintage Saturday

My glasses.

I bought these for a few dollars at a thrift store in rural Wisconsin. I've been wearing them for years, but now they have new bifocal lenses in them.

I can see again! I really didn't realise just how badly I needed new lenses. Now I don't have to hold my arm a mile away to read the label on a bottle of aspirin. Driving is much better too-I can look down to see how fast I'm going and look up at the road again without it taking my eyes five minutes to fully recover. I've been sewing again as well.

You Are My Sunshine

Sometimes I like to get creative with the Friday challah. I could not seem to get a good photograph, after many tries I settled on this one. The picture does not quite do justice to the size of this bread-it is huge. I figure we can eat the rays as rolls tonight and slice the centre for sandwiches all weekend.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Marble Cake and Bitter Chocolate Frosting

I had five egg whites left from the gelato, so here's a cake that uses exactly that amount. The cake is adapted from The Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, 1950 and the frosting from Hershey's 1934 Cookbook


You Will Need:

For the cake ( makes a 9x13 sheet cake):

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 7/8 cups sugar (odd, I know)
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup softened butter
1/3 cup softened shortening
1 1/4 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 unbeaten egg whites

After mixing remove 1/3 of the batter and mix in:
1 square melted unsweetened chocolate
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons warm water

Grease and flour a 9x13 pan. Set aside. preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients in first part of recipe. Add shortening and butter and cream together. Add the milk and extract, mix well. Add the egg whites, mix well. Remove 1/3 of batter. Mix in second set of ingredients. Pour first part of batter in pan. Pour second part over, here and there and then run a knife through to create a marble effect. You can see by the photo I am not very good at that technique.

Bake 35 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool in pan.

For the frosting:


frosting does best spread on a slightly warm cake and then chilled before serving.

You Will Need:

1/2 cup butter
2 cups confectioner's sugar (icing sugar)
2 tablespoons (I needed more like 6) cream
4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

Cream butter and sugar together. Add cream and beat well. Add chocolate and beat to get spreading consistency. You will probably need to add more cream. The frosting hardens nicely as it chills.

Note: A small pinch of salt wouldn't hurt, even though the recipe does not call for it.

Green From The Garden, and blog housekeeping

Sage, watercress, rocket, and pea shoots. Not a bad harvest for the end of June. The tomato plants are doing great. The peppers are struggling, but digging in despite the odds and the basil seems determined to live. Not bad, all in all.

I'm noticing some un-cool referrer stuff via the tracker. Because of this I have changed the commenting format to require approval. It may be completely innocent, or the person's computer may be compromised. Either way, I don't want to deal with it, so I've enabled moderation. If I'm not approving your comments, it is because your visits to my site are showing as coming from those referrers. Sorry.

Chocolate Coconut Milk Gelato

I wanted to try the chocolate gelato recipe with a cup and a half of coconut milk as a substitute (I had it left from the curry on Monday night).

It worked! I swear, this gelato recipe is the best. I tried it with white chocolate and had great results as well (though you need to cut the sugar in half for that one).

Polenta

Yet another way to beat the heat-making a large batch of polenta at six AM. Wrapped tightly, it keeps for days in the fridge, and can be reheated in the microwave. I prefer mine fried in a bit of oil, but a few minutes in a pan shouldn't heat up the kitchen too terribly.

Polenta is versatile. I'm serving it with carrots, spinach, shallots and white beans-but you could easily top it with a red sauce and cheese.

Thirty minutes of cooking over very low heat on the stove will provide a generous base for many dishes throughout the week. Just make certain to use a very long spoon for stirring as the stuff has a tendency to sputter. I use the butter because it gives it an overall better texture , but you could easily skip it.

Other things I've done with polenta: HERE, HERE, HERE.

You Will Need:

6 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups polenta (corn grits-not corn meal)
3 tablespoons butter (optional)

Bring water and salt to a rolling boil. Stir in polenta and reduce heat to a very low simmer. Stir frequently for 30 minutes until thickened. Some of it will stick to the bottom of the pan no matter how well you stir-no worries, just soak it and it comes out easily (unless you burn it on. Then, frankly you're screwed).

Beat in the butter at the end if using it.

Butter a large casserole dish.

Tip out the polenta into dish, and let stand ten minutes. Invert onto a large plate and let stand another five minutes. When slightly cooled, transfer to fridge, uncovered on plate and chill well. Cut into 3-4 meal sized servings and wrap tightly in foil.

To fry:

Cut polenta into squares and heat a frying pan over moderate heat. Add a small amount (maybe a tablespoon) of olive oil and fry on each side until dark and crispy. The inside stays wonderfully creamy and that crunchy crust is really divine.