Rye Soda Bread

This is quick and easy bread.  It is a bit dense and very satisfying with a dab of butter, along side a bowl of soup.  This is the the kind of things that Autumn is made of, at least for me!

Rye Soda Bread

2 1/3 cups (9.75 ounces) rye flour
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 cups (475 mL) buttermilk
1 tablespoon pretzel salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

In a bowl combine flours, salt and baking soda.  All at once add buttermilk, mix and knead for about a minute, till it all comes together.
Press the dough into a flat disk. Sprinkle the top of the dough disk with about 1 tablespoons of pretzel salt. 
Make 4 deep cuts into the dough, about two-thirds of the way through. Be careful not to cut all the way through.

Bake for 30 minutes, and then move the dough to the top rack of the oven. Bake for another 20 minutes to crisp up the surface.

Let cool on a wire rack completely before serving with salted butter. Okay, I know you want to have a slice warm with butter oozingly, melting all over the top.

Blueberry Muffins

These muffins are dah blueberry BOMB.  So good.  They did a disappearing act here in my kitchen.  I literally had 1 muffin. Presto, poofo! Gone.

Blueberry Muffins

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups blueberries

topping:
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
3 teaspoon cinnamon

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon.  Mix together with fork and pastry blender until a bit like sand with little clumps.  This will be your topping, set aside.

Combine 3 cups flour, add 4 teaspoon baking powder and sugar, stir together. In a separate bowl combine eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry.  Then, finally, add the frozen blueberries. Scoop into muffin cup holders, 2/3 full.

Bake at 400° F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Cheddar Biscuits

It's almost that time here for comfort food, stews and baked goods.  I love this time of year. Everything about it.  The colors, the pumpkins, the harvest, the weather...  And, yes, admittedly I love pumpkin and am one of those people on Pinterest that can't get enough of pumpkin. My board is called Pumpkin Palooza. 

These biscuits are very soft and tender.  Melt in your mouth goodness.  One of the things that makes these biscuits is amazing is the cheddar cheese.  Pick the best cheddar you can get.  The sharper, the better.


Cheddar Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F . Grease a baking sheet.

Combine flour, Cheddar cheese, baking powder, salt, onion powder and garlic powder in a bowl.
In another bowl combine milk, 1/3 cup butter, and egg in a separate bowl. Mix into the flour mixture until chunky; don't over mix. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Brush melted butter on top and continue baking until golden brown, about 5 minutes more.

Flat Bread Pizzas

Super quick and super delicious.  Having your flatbreads all cooked up on the weekend means a quick meal on a week night. It can all be done at once if  you so choose.  Either way, they are delicious with whatever toppings  yo choose.  Here I did a basil pesto with mozzarella and a peach, prosciutto and mozarella.  Sprinkle it with some fresh arugula when it exits the oven.

Super quick and super delicious.  Having your flatbreads all cooked up on the weekend means a quick meal on a week night. It can all be done at once if  you so choose.  Either way, they are delicious with whatever toppings  yo choose.  Here I did a basil pesto with mozzarella and a peach, prosciutto and mozarella.  Sprinkle it with some fresh arugula when it exits the oven.

Flatbread

4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
7 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups milk

In a microwave safe dish or a pot on the stove, heat the butter with the milk.  You wanted it to bubble a little, not boil. Let cool so that you can stick your finger in it comfortably.  Pour into flour and salt.  Mix until it comes together.  Turn out on a floured surface and knead.  Set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes.  Prep you pizza toppings whatever they may be.

Divide dough into approximately 18 balls for smaller type flatbreads, less if you want them larger.  Roll out to circles.  Make sure you cover the dough as you are rolling out your discs.  It will dry quickly.

Place on heated skillet and cook until the dough is not shiny anymore.  Flip and heat a few mroe minutes. Stack on a dish. 

Gerbeaud Cake

If you like sweet cake, this is not your cake, move on.  If you like European low sugar type cakes, rich in nuts, this is your cake.  We really liked it.  I am totally going to make it again.  Maybe for a birthday coming up in September. Mwa ha ha.

Gerbeaud Cake 

A Traditional Hungarian Dessert

For the dough: 

1 packet instant yeast 

4 cups all-purpose flour 

½ cup sugar 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 egg 

7 ounces butter, melted 

½ cup milk 

For the filling: 

7 ounces apricot preserves 

7 ounces walnuts, chopped 

For the chocolate topping: 

5 ounces dark chocolate 

2 ounces butter 

Instructions: 

1. In a medium bowl combine flour, yeast and baking powder. 

2. In a large bowl whisk together egg, warm milk, sugar and melted butter. Gradually stir in flour and yeast mixture and knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and place it in a warm place to rise for 30-40 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix together walnuts and apricot preserves. 

4. Preheat the oven to 355 F. 

5. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with a parchment paper. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. 6. Lightly dust a working surface with a flour and roll out the first piece of dough to be the size of your baking pan. I used a ruler for convenience. 

7. Transfer first layer of dough into the baking pan and spread half of the apricot-walnut mixture on top. Repeat with the remaining 2 layers of dough. 

8. Pierce the top layer with a fork 10-15 times. 

9. Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes until top is golden brown. 

10. Remove cake from the oven and let it cool. 

11. In a small bowl combine butter and chocolate and microwave in 10-15 seconds intervals until melted. Give it a stir and evenly spread the chocolate on top of the cake. 

12. Chill for an hour or until chocolate is set.

Cabbage Rice

I have decided that I need to stop buying ingredients.  I love to try new recipes and this often means that I have to buy ingredients to make these recipes, obviously.  But I am talking about ethnic things.  The things that I wasn't educated on how to use or have a wealth of recipes in which to pull from to use it up or make use of it.  Like coconut flour.  I just recently finished it off.  I did not like the recipes necessarily that I used that for and coconut flour isn't exactly on my radar.  I also did not know that coconut flour can be drying.  You cant necessarily just replace it for flour in a recipe.  Tricky tricky.  

This recipe has everything I have in my pantry.  Unless you have Indian spices, this may not be things you have in your spice rack. But you can replicate some of them.  Like the asafetida, a little onion and garlic will nearly create that flavor. The curry leaves although I love them and can snort their intoxicating aroma for hours is not crazy important to this recipe. If you take much else away, it will be a different recipe I am afraid but you fo course can tailor it how you like and make it yours!

Cabbage Rice

2 cups Basmati rice, cooked
2 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon asafetida optional for gluten free
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
15-20 curry leaves
2 tablespoon ginger grated
4 green chilies minced
8 cups shredded cabbage packed
2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
3 tablespoon fresh coconut grated


Heat oil, add asafetida and mustard seeds and allow them to pop. This may take 3 to 4 minutes.  Add peanuts and sauté for a minute. Add turmeric, curry leaves, ginger and green chili. Mix everything together and cook until peanuts are golden brown.  Add grated cabbage and salt. Mix again. Add cooked rice and mix everything together.

Sprinkle cilantro and coconut over top before serving.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake with Mint Italian Meringue Frosting

Long time, no see!   I am back with chocolate cake!  Yeah.  Italian meringue seems to be a bit of a pain but it is actually quite easy.  Just get everything ready and it will go super fast.

Old Fashioned Italian Chocolate Cake

3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 buttermilk
1/2 cup water
1 cup oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°.  Combine dry ingredients, set aside.  In a large bowl mix sugar and oil, beat in eggs, then add vanilla.  Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to oil and sugar mixture. Combine.  Add buttermilk and water. Combine.  Finally add the remainder of the flour mixture. Pour into well greased and floured pans or into a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake at 350° F for about 35 to 45 minutes.  Insert toothpick in center of cake to check to see if it is done.

Mint Italian Meringue Frosting

8 egg whites
1 3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup water
1 pound butter
2 teaspoons peppermint extract.
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon green coloring

In a saucepan pour sugar in.  Drizzle water over sugar evenly.  Do not stir.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Separate all of the eggs, insuring no yolk gets in the white. Place egg whites in bowl of mixer.  When the sugar and water begin to boil place candy thermometer in.  At 230°F, start beating egg whites. When the sugar water reaches 250°F slowly pour into whipped egg whites as the mixer runs.  Continue whipping for 8 to 10 minutes.  Side of mixer bowl should feel cool to the touch when ready to add butter. Add butter a little at a time.  Once all butter is in, add extract and coloring.  Beat until combine.  If it looks curdled just let it keep mixing, it will come back together.