Raspberry Sparkler

I'm not big drinker of anything but water.

An occasional lemonade in the summer.

A really good root beer on the Fourth.

A Mountain Dew when I've got a migraine.

But some people in my house live for the holidays when there is sparkling juice in abundance. (And egg nog, but that's another post.)

But the other week, we figured out how to make our very own sparkling juice.

Sparkling Juice

2 liter bottle of sparkling WATER (It's with the bottled water in the grocery store, and it only costs about seventy-five cents. And when you are driving home from the grocery store, don't let it roll under your seat because it just might puncture and then you'll have a mess on your hands).

1 can of frozen 100% juice concentrate (don't let me catch you buying juice cocktail).

Mix them up and you've got a tasty drink.

In the picture above, I used raspberry-white grape juice and popped a few frozen raspberries in the glasses before I poured the drink.

New bread recipe

My sister-in-law loaned me her mixer for awhile...and I don't think I can ever go back to being mixer-less. I've celebrated with a lot of chocolate chocolate chip cookies, and this week I made whole wheat bread with a mixer. It was SO EASY and so much better than the whole wheat 90 minute bread. I didn't even have to use gluten or dough enhancer.

My mixer isn't big enough for a whole batch, and I don't have that many bread pans anyway. But the recipe halves very nicely.
Here's a pic from Safely Gathered In. Doesn't it make you want to run to your kitchen and make some??

Baked Oatmeal

Two things:

First. I bought a 25 pound bag of oats. It was SO CHEAP. I had to. So now I also have to find things to do with oats.

Second. We were eating cold cereal for breakfast every morning. That had to stop. Boo's favorite is Chex, and she proudly announces to J, "I had sex this morning!" (darn that difficult 'ch' sound). So now cold cereal mornings are interspersed with oatmeal and egg mornings, and she says those fine.

I've been roaming the internet looking for something to spice up our oatmeal. And I found Baked Oatmeal for the crockpot. This picture is from the recipe site. And it looks like a no-bake cookie. Who wouldn't want that for breakfast?

Mine did not look like that. After I fished it out and cut it up, it was more like a dense cake. I've been eating it in the mornings with my peppermint tea and I love it. BUT I still really want that fake no-bake cookie for breakfast.

So I learned that crock pots really only cook the way they are supposed to if they are mostly full. So I'm guessing my baked oatmeal (that only filled the crockpot halfway) got way overcooked. And my crockpot cooks pretty fast anyway.

So if you try this, use a 4 quart crockpot. Since I am 4 quart crockpot-less, I'm going to double the recipe and try it again today.

Also: I would add more raisins and more cinnamon. But then I'm a cinnamon junkie. You should see my big mama cinnamon jar.

Homemade Granola

I love to make granola. It makes my house smell so nice. And I love to eat it.
Here is the recipe I've been using lately. I've modified it some, so here is what I do:

3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut flakes, unsweeteened or sweetened
1/2 cup toasted nuts (I usually use sliced almonds, but lately have used chopped pecans)
2+ teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Add dried fruit (raisins) after it is done baking.

We tend to go through this pretty fast, so I usually make a quadruple batch so I only have to make it every couple of weeks. I keep it in a plastic cereal storage container and it keeps great.

Pita

(photo from AB in 5)

If you love pita (or hummus), you've gotta give this a try. I made this last week with homemade falafels and hummus, and it was fabulous. I used the basic artisan bread recipe:

Mix together 1 1/2 TB yeast, 1 1/2 TB salt, 3 cups lukewarm water, 6 1/2 cups flour (I used 2 cups wheat flour and the rest white, and it turned out great).

Allow to rise for 2 hours (lidded, but not airtight bowl), then throw it in the fridge.

When you are ready to make your pita, follow these directions - there are pictures and everything!

I will admit that I was completely skeptical about this pita recipe. I've looked into making pita before, and it takes ALL DAY. But now I'm a believer - the dough rolls out fast, the pita puffs up like magic, and tastes almost as good as the pita from Taste of Jerusalem in Bloomington.

If you don't like falafels or hummus, they make great pita pockets for a turkey sandwich or for a scrambled egg and bacon.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

I finally got my Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes from the library, and I am in love. It must be returned in a week, and I think I'm ready to commit to buying my own copy. I've tried the whole wheat bread, light wheat artisan bread, pita, sticky caramel pecan rolls, and challah, and have been very pleased with the ease and great taste of all of the recipes. Next on my list: English muffins, soft pretzels, chocolate filled beignets, and cinnamon raisin bread.

My first couple of tries at the whole wheat bread did not go well - I had flat and burned bread. I was cooking it too long and not filling the bread pan enough. But I think I have it figured out now, and it is by far the best whole wheat bread recipe I've tried. Although there is a lot of rising time involved, the hands on time is pretty minimal. And no kneading! The full recipe is supposed to make 3 loaves (but I only get 2 loaves and a couple pitas out of mine), and the dough will last up to five days in the fridge. I love being able to make just one loaf at a time. So check it out:

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1 1/2 TB yeast
1 TB plus 1 tsp salt (I use kosher)
1/2 cup honey
5 TB neutral-flavored oil (I use canola)
6 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
12 tsp gluten (this is my own addition, I have only used it in one batch so far, but that batch turned out the best..I use a little less flour when I put in the gluten - which you can buy in the baking aisle at the grocery store for about $1.50)

1. Mix the yeast, salt, oil, and honey with the milk and water.

2. Mix in the dry ingredients, without kneading. I do it by hand (still haven't decided between Bosch and KitchenAid), but you can use a mixer with a dough hook. The dough will be really wet, but it's supposed to be.)

3. Cover with a tight fitting lid, but not an air tight lid. (I don't have a lid for a big bowl that is not air tight, so I just cover it with Glad Press and Seal, and that seems to do the trick). Allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2-3 hours. (I've never seen my dough collapse, I just leave it for 3 hours).

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, or refrigerate the dough in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days.

5. TO BAKE: Lightly grease a 9x4x3" nonstick loaf pan. Using wet hands (weird, I know, but the dough is so wet, you really have to have wet hands to be able to handle it) scoop out a cantaloupe-size handful of dough. Sprinkle with flour and shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating as you go. (So I'm not very good at this part - see this video to watch the authors do it. I do the best I can, and try to end up with an oval loaf shape after about 45 seconds).

6. Drop the loaf into the prepared pan, filling the pan slightly more than half full.

7. Allow the dough to rest for 1 hour and 40 minutes (if it's non-refrigerated dough, it's usually good to go after an hour and a quarter, with refrigerated dough I let it rise 2 hours plus). Flour and slash the top of the loaf (I don't do this part).

8. Place loaf on a rack near the center of the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until deeply browned and firm. (WARNING: I burned a few loaves by using this time frame. My loaves only take 25-30 minutes).

9. Remove from pans while hot, cool completely before slicing.

I read somewhere that if you grind your own wheat, grind some just prior to mixing the flour into the bread. The warmth of the freshly ground wheat will help with rising.

With my bit of leftover dough after my 2 loaves, I make a couple of pitas. The pitas are the easiest thing in the world, and they are SO GOOD. Post to come.

If you are into bread making, or bread eating, I recommend you check out this book, or at least check out the authors' website. It has a lot of tips and they post new recipes every now and then.

This roast will make you happy

We rarely eat red meat. But this last weekend, after 6 years of marriage, I got up the courage to cook a roast for Sunday dinner. I thought it might be a disaster, and I'm pretty sure J thought so too. But it turns out you can't go wrong with a crockpot. What would I do without the internet? The roast turned out fantastic, it was even better for lunch leftovers.

CROCKPOT ROAST

Mix together 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp seasoned salt, 1/4 tsp ground cayenne, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder.

Rub mix over the surface of a 3 lb. roast (I used a rump roast). Throw it in the crockpot with 1 1/2 cups of water, 3 beef bouillon cubes, 1/4 cup grated onion, and another 1/4 tsp pepper.

Cook on high in a crockpot with 1 1/2 cups of water for about 4 hours (or on low for 8 hours or so).

I steamed my potatoes and carrots separately.

Serve the roast with the potatoes, carrots, and juice from the crockpot.

Grand Raspberry Trifle

I saw this on Martha Stewart's Everyday Baking and gave it a try last weekend. For not being a chocolate dessert, it was awesome. Here is the original recipe, and here is what I did:

1. In a small saucepan, bring 1/4 cup sugar, 1/8 cup water, and 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice to a boil. Boil and stir 1-2 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved.

2. Combine 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam with 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries, mashing the raspberries slightly.

3. Whip 1 cup of heavy cream with 1 TB sugar to stiff peaks.

4. Slice about 3/4 of a loaf of pound cake. Brush both sides of cake slices with the lemon syrup, then cut the slices into chunks.
5. Place chunks from 1 slice of pound cake in the bottom of a glass (I used short and wide tumblers, but parfait glasses or wide goblets would be very pretty). Drop a spoonful of raspberry mixture on top of the cake chunks, followed by a spoonful of whipped cream. Repeat twice more, so you have three sets of layers.

6. Garnish the top with fresh raspberries. Refrigerate until serving, up to 24 hours.
As I was making it, it seemed like there was too much pound cake and not enough raspberry sauce, but when we actually ate it I think it was the perfect ratio. A great Valentine's Day dessert!

Nestle's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I went to a cooking activity last week and my friend said that she baked her cookies on a PIZZA STONE. And her cookies were the best texture ever, so I wanted to give it a try.

So Boo and I made chocolate chocolate chip cookies this evening and they turned out GREAT, if I do say so myself. I preheated the stone with the oven. And since my pizza stone is pretty seasoned, I put the cookies on parchment paper, then slid them onto the stone to bake (totally not my idea, it's all Ellen). I imagine it would work with any type of cookies - give it a try. BTW, the recipe works great halved. Here's the recipe:

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
2/3 c cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c softened butter
3/4 c sugar
2/3 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 c chocolate chips

Mix flour, cocoa, soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in another bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheet or stone. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes until centers are set. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes

My friend Diane told me about this book this week, and I was completely skeptical. But she was glowing in her praise, so I did some internet research and found this excellent video tutorial (by the authors) and the Master Recipe (which I was hoping to link, but now can't find). I also spent a lot of time on their website and reading various food blogs critiquing the book.

Since it didn't take a lot of ingredients and wasn't super labor intensive, I gave the Master Recipe a try this weekend. Here's how it went...

Mix together 1 1/2 TB yeast, 1 1/2 TB salt, 3 cups lukewarm water, 6 1/2 cups flour. (This is the full recipe, but I halved everything and used 1/3 part wheat flour.) The dough really did come together in 5 minutes, even with Boo helping me. Boo and I like to taste the dough, and I was upset by how salty it was (Boo, on the other hand, didn't care - she would eat salt plain). This would not be first time I had oversalted something. But I popped it in the fridge anyway and didn't worry about it again until evening when I sliced off a chunk of dough and set it to rise. I tasted the dough again and it wasn't nearly so salty.

After about 1 hour and 40 minutes of rising, on my well-floured cutting board (you should use a pizza peel and cornmeal if you have them) it was time to slash and bake. I preheated the pizza stone for 20 minutes (middle rack) before sliding the round loaf in (450 degrees). I also added a cup of water to a metal pan on the rack beneath the stone. I overcooked it a tiny bit, but it tasted decent. J tried some this afternoon and said it was EXACTLY like the bread he used to eat everyday in Portugal.

Today I cooked the second half of the dough. This part is, I think, the beauty of this kind of bread. I came home from church, pulled out the rest of the dough, set it to rise while I made some soup, and then popped it in the oven an hour and a half later. Although it takes time for it to rise and bake, my actual hands on time was probably less than 2 minutes. Supposedly the dough will last in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. So you make the dough one day (in five minutes) and then over the next two weeks, just cut off a chunk of dough when you need a new loaf. The longer it sits, the more of a sourdough taste you get. Food blogs say the prime taste is at about 3 days. FYI, all the clever things about this recipe (cooking it on a stone, water on the lower rack, etc.) came from the tutorial.

I got a prettier loaf the second time around. And the extra time in the fridge really did make a difference - it tasted GREAT. The bottom and top crusts were perfect.

Looks just like a Panera Bread loaf. :)

I got on the waiting list at the library, but it looks like it will be a few months before my turn. We happened to be at Barnes and Noble last night, so I browsed the book for a few minutes. And it looks fantastic. The whole wheat bread looks just as easy, and not too different, so I will give that a try this week. The pastry section had me drooling (ganache filled something or other, OH MY), and a ton of other recipes for pizza crust, soft pretzels, challah, and the list goes on.

Dark Chocolate Cake & Frosting

I found a fabulous recipe for dark chocolate cake that I made for our New Year's party. I halved the recipe and it made one cake pan plus a little loaf pan (the original recipe made three cake pans, that seemed like a weird number to me...and too much cake).

I had a lot of drama deciding on the frosting, but after consulting with Sara and Andy, I went with this dark chocolate frosting, and it was perfect. It's not buttercream (blah), but it's not ganache (which I wanted, but didn't have the ingredients). And it was super easy.

I was really happy with the end result - moist cake, great frosting, and dark chocolate overload. But I realize that not everyone is the dark chocolate purist that I am, so next time I think I will add a little something to all that chocolate goodness. I would make a two layer cake and slather raspberry jam between the layers, and then add raspberries to the frosted cake.

Maybe the best pumpkin pie ever

I tried this last night and it. was. awesome. It was actually an emergency substitution - sweetened condensed milk for part of the evaporated milk and the sugar. But it turned out great.



1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
2 eggs
1 can pumpkin (15 oz.)
1 small can evaporated milk (5 oz.)
1 small can sweetened condensed milk (7 oz)
1 unbaked 9" deep dish pie crust

Mix the spices and set aside. Beat the eggs, add the pumpkin and spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated and sweetened condensed milk. Pour into pie shell and cook at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and cook for 45-50 minutes more.

Veggie Stir Fry

Here's a link to the stir fry I tried last night. Really I just used the recipe for the sauce, which was excellent. For the rest of the stir fry, I cooked chicken with minced garlic and set it aside. Then I sauteed a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables in olive oil, then added the sauce and chicken and sauteed it altogether for a couple of minutes.

We had Brazilian fried rice to go with it - saute the brown rice in olive oil before cooking it, then cook it in a rice cooker (or stove top) as you usually would, adding some chicken bouillon to the water.

Sweet Cornbread

I love chili and cornbread. Here's my favorite cornbread recipe. It is awesome baked in a cast iron skillet.

1 1/2 cups flour (you can do all wheat, but 1 cup wheat and 1/2 cup white is good too)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 TB baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup canola oil
3 TB melted butter
(you could throw a couple TB of ground flaxseed in too if you want)
2 TB butter for the skillet

Combine dry ingredients, then combine wet ingredients in separate bowl.

Add wet mixture to flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Melt 2 TB butter in a 8 or 9 inch cast-iron skillet on the stovetop. Don't allow the butter to smoke.

Pour batter into hot skillet and allow batter to cook until bubbles around the edge of the batter begin to look a little dry 30-60 seconds).

Remove from burner and put into preheated 400 degree oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove skillet from oven, loosen edges and remove the cornbread from the skillet.

Cut and serve immediately.

ALTERNATE BAKING METHODS:
Pour into 8" square baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

OR:
Pour into muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

90 Minute Bread with a twist

I had a great bread talk with Ellen a few weeks ago, and so I tried a new thing with my 90 minute bread. Instead of 4 1/2 cups of flour, I used 2 cups of blended up quick oats, 1 1/2 cups white wheat flour, and 1 cup white flour. My intent was to make a less crumbly, but still mostly whole grain bread. The bread tasted great...still a bit crumbly though.

Gingersnap Ice Cream...and Cookies

J is generally the ice cream maker of the family, but I gave it a try this week and was very pleased with the end product. I'm already scheming my next batch of ice cream.

This is a recipe we initially tried in Bloomington a few years ago, and thanks to the enthusiastic approval of the Christensens, we put it on our list of successes. It's been awhile since we made it, but I think it will have to become a regular flavor.

We'll start with the gingersnap cookies.

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c butter, softened
1 c brown sugar
1 medium egg
1/3 c molasses

Mix dry ingredients, set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar, when creamy beat in egg and molasses. Stir in flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Cover and chill until firm, an hour or longer. Bake in 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes (8 1/2 minutes is perfect for my oven) until just dry on top by slightly soft in the middle.

Note: You can dip the tops in white sugar before baking, but if you're using them for ice cream,it's best if they're not dipped in sugar.

Another Note: These gingersnaps are more molasses-ey than ginger-ey, so depending on how you like your gingersnaps, adjust the molasses and ginger accordingly.

THE ICE CREAM:
This is a great french vanilla base that I use for most of my ice creams, and just use add-ins according to what I'm making.

Ingredients:
4 c half and half
3 capfuls of vanilla
8 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
ginger
molasses
gingersnaps

Instructions:
1. In a medium bowl, beat together the yolks and half of the sugar. You can beat by hand using a whisk or using a hand mixer or egg beater. Beat until thoroughly smooth and creamy. (A couple of minutes by hand.)

2. Put 3 1/2 cups of half and half, the remaining half of the sugar, and the salt into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture until just before it starts to simmer (do not let it simmer). Remove mixture from heat and let stand 10 minutes.

3. While the mixture is standing, prepare an ice water bath in a bowl large enough to set another bowl easily inside of it. Set aside.

4. Whisk in 1 cup of the half and half mixture in a slow stream into the yolk mixture to temper it. Add another cup of the half and half mixture; continue to whisk. Transfer the egg yolk mixture back to the saucepan with the remaining half and half mixture. Add vanilla. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon and an instant-read thermometer registers 180°, 5 to 7 minutes. (You can run your finger in a line over the back of the coated spoon. If the mixture doesn't run, but stays in place on the spoon, it should be thick enough.) I usually start at medium-high heat, then lower the heat as I go as it gets thick fast at the end and I don't want it overcooked. Remove from heat and mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of milk to stop the mixture from overcooking.

5. Pour custard through a medium-mesh sieve into a stainless steel bowl set in the ice-water bath. Add 2 tsp (or less) of ground ginger. Let cool completely, stirring until completely chilled. OR, pop it in the fridge for an hour or two, or til the next day.

6. Freeze custard in an ice cream maker. When it has finished churning, drizzle in some molasses and crumble in 5-6 gingersnaps. If you don't mix it too much, you get a great marbled effect with the molasses. It needs to harden in the freezer for a bit after it comes out of the ice cream maker. Make sure you put it in an airtight container in the freezer. Makes 1 1/2 quarts.

Seriously good ice cream.

Happy Birthday Pie

We recently celebrated J's birthday, and what says 'happy birthday' better than a banana cream pie?? Isn't it beautiful? I love the toasty meringue peaks. Check here for the recipe.

I had a bit of cream and bananas that wouldn't fit in the crust, so I made some banana cream cups that turned out pretty well. Boo enjoyed them.
I have to admit I'm a little disappointed that my family isn't into the traditional birthday cake thing. I have been looking forward to using my creative genius to make some great birthday cakes. But J opted for the pie rather than the cake. I spent days searching for the perfect puppy cake for Brookie's birthday, but after finally finding it, it occurred to me that she doesn't even like cake. As fun as it is to make cakes, it's a little disappointing if no one wants to eat it. So I think I'll do a layered ice cream cake for Boo instead of the brilliant puppy cake.

I wonder if my mom felt the same way - once I got to be 12 or so, I never wanted a birthday cake either.

Flag Cake

The link to the Flag Cake is a limited link, so here is the actual recipe. I can't say enough great things about this cake. I can't wait to make it. The recipe is from The Barefoot Contessa from the Food Network site.

FLAG CAKE

18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
For the icing:
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
To assemble:
2 half-pints blueberries
3 half-pints raspberriesHeat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.

Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

I serve this cake right in the pan. If you want to turn it out onto a board before frosting, use parchment paper when you grease and flour the pan.

Banana Milk

Boo loves banana milk. Blend a frozen banana with 8 oz of milk, a splash of vanilla and a bunch of cinnamon. A great summer treat.

Two straws are better than one.

S'mores at home

Em and I made one of my favorite treats this weekend - s'mores. Give them a try, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Ingredients:
graham crackers
peanut butter
marshmellows
chocolate chips

Spread a graham cracker with peanut butter. Sprinkle on marshmellows and chocolate chips (I go light on the marshmellows and heavy on the chocolate). Broil it in a toaster oven or regular oven until the marshmellows get toasted on top. You can eat it warm, or even better...stick it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and eat it frozen. Yum!