Rosemary Curry Pork Chops

When the boys were younger I never really felt that summer slow-down. It felt more hectic because preschool was on hiatus, and the kids needed to be entertained all day, made more difficult by the hot prairie temperatures. They couldn't stay up later without unpleasant consequences for all of us and we found ourselves craving those grownup only/post-bedtime hours even more.

Summer was an excuse to eat more ice cream, but it didn't really change much of our routine.

When school ended in May this year I expected the same thing, especially with a cross-country move looming.

Instead, I've been pleasantly surprised. The boys handle staying up later so much better than they did last year. We can stay out playing in the cooler hours of dusk, and have more leisurely meals without worrying about grumpy early risers the next morning.

We're grilling a lot, and relying on family favorite recipes at dinnertime. That keeps things low-key and all of us more relaxed during the pre-dinner hours. During the school year that was the witching hour for our family. This summer, especially the last few weeks, it's been different. The adults enjoy a glass of wine and catch up about the day and the kids are usually involved in an elaborate Lego Batman/Ninjago mashup.

The hard days are still there, but they aren't all I remember, because the good days are really good.

Recipes like this go so well in this season. The rub comes together in a matter of moments, and can sit on the pork chops for as long as you need it to. As long as you give it at least 15 minutes, you will still get a good flavor. Adults and children both love it, and if you are grilling it would be an easy meal to cook for company. It's the food version of a little black dress-change the accessories and it becomes dinner party ready. Tone things down and it's just as good to eat on paper plates on the patio, while the kids run through the sprinklers.


Rosemary Curry Rubbed Pork Chops
adapted from The Kitchn

4 tbs brown sugar
1 tbsp chopped rosemary
1 tbsp ground curry
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground pepper
5-6 boneless pork chops

(Optional- 2 tbs olive oil if cooking in a skillet)

Pour all ingredients except pork chops into a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Rub mixture over both sides of the pork chops. Set aside for at least 15 minutes for the rub flavors to start soaking into the meat. If you have the time, feel free to let sit for several hours before cooking.

You can either grill the chops or cook them in a skillet on the stovetop.

To cook in a skillet, warm the oil over medium high heat. Cook chops about 6 minutes each side (add a minute or two each side for thick or well-done chops). Interior temperature for pork should be 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

On the grill: preheat grill to 400 degrees and then cook chops for 5-6 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of the chops. Again, they will be done when the interior temp of the chop is 145.

Book Club Bites: The Paris Wife

This is the beginning of a new series! Once a month I'm going to write a post about a book perfect to discuss at your book club and match it to a recipe. Sometimes it will be a book I read for my own local book club and sometimes it will just be a book I think would make for great discussion. I'm going to include a link to discussion questions, and other books to read for more information or to continue the theme.

I'm really excited to start with The Paris Wife by Paula McClain, which just happens to be my real life book club's pick for February. This is the story of Ernest Hemingway's early years in Paris as he was beginning his career, told through his first wife Hadley. They had a whirlwind courtship in the United States before heading abroad as newlyweds. They became part of the circle of intellectual ex-pats living in Paris they socialize with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound (among others). McClain brings their relationship through it's complete arc with respect and intimacy. It's heartbreaking to watch each of them struggle with their values and sense of self as they navigate their troubled marriage.

The first thing I did when I finished this book was run to my computer and Google Hadley Hemingway. I needed to see a picture of her and find out what happened after the end of the book. Being inspired to find out more about a subject is one of my favorite parts of historical fiction. I added two books to my reading list after I finished The Paris Wife. The first was Paris Without End by Gioia Diliberto, the non-fiction story of Hadley and Ernest's marriage and the second was A Moveable Feast by Hemingway himself. This was the last book he wrote before his death and he finally tells the tale of those early years in his own words.

To get your own discussion started here is a list of book club questions from Random House.

Now on to what food to serve at your book club for The Paris Wife. I wanted something French, since the city of Paris is almost more character than setting, but I needed to keep it simple. I looked through cookbooks, decided to make a dessert (because, well…dessert!) and then began debating what fit best with the book. Crepes are lovely but more complex than either Hadley or I would be capable of. Then I stumbled on Clafloutis. It is a simple dish- a little bit cake, a little bit custard. It reminded me of the contrast between Hadley and flashy Jazz Age Paris. This is simple and unpretentious.
It is traditionally made with cherries but I wanted to experiment a little. It was the perfect excuse to use the end of last summer's rhubarb in my freezer, something I am very stingy about! I can't wait to try more variations as different fruit and vegetables come into season. The leftovers will be perfect the morning after book club with your coffee!


Rhubarb Clafoutis
adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck

Ingredients:
3 cups chopped rhubarb (about 1 inch pieces)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
pinch salt
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk

In a saucepan (oven proof preferable) place the rhubarb and sugar and cook over medium-low heat until the rhubarb begins to caramelize-about 10-15 minutes.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the eggs and whisk until combined. Then pour in the milk and vanilla and stir until completely combined. It will be a very loose batter so don't panic.

Take the rhubarb off the heat and let it cool for 2-3 minutes. Pour the batter over the fruit. Bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes. It is done when a cake tester comes out clean and the cake has browned slightly. It will fall a little as it cools and just before serving dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Simple Pizza Sauce

I'm a worrier by nature. My mind inevitably races through all the different outcomes to an event and fixates on the potential issues. Because I'm also a planner, I next launch into figuring out plans A, B, and C. Given that the Air Force is often involved in the potential issues I have learned that it's best to make plans D, E and F as well. Rarely do we need anything beyond Plan A, but it gives me comfort to work out all the different possibilities just in case. 

Motherhood has exacerbated this habit in me. I spend a huge chunk of each day making sure the boys are taken care of. Did we remember everyone's winter hat? Are they eating enough lunch at school? Are they getting enough sleep? 

I had an epiphany while reading Ginger's blog a few weeks ago. She started a series called a "Happier Healthier Us" and in her first post on the subject equated the way we as mothers neglect to take of ourselves to how we take care of our children. I would never let the boys stay up too late every night or not exercise but I'm full of excuses for why I let myself do this. 

I also find myself more likely to make life easier for all of us if I can justify it as good for the kids too. We'll be moving sometime this year (who knows where or when), my youngest started some new therapies and life in general is changing faster than I can blink. I found myself talking to my husband this weekend about how much the kids like it when we do pizza on Fridays consistently and how it would be good to start more routines like this as we navigate all these changes. It hit me a few hours later that it would be really good for me too. That's one meal every week that I know the whole family will eat. I make the dough in big batches so it's always in the freezer. We always have cheese. Why is it so hard to pursue things that make my life easier but so easy to do it when it's on behalf of someone else? 

It might seem counterintuitive that I follow up a declaration to simplify my life with a recipe for homemade pizza sauce. After all, that's one of the few organic things I can find here regularly. Why make it? 

Well, just like pizza dough, it's a lot easier to make than it sounds. Start to finish it took about 20 minutes and the most complicated thing was chopping an onion. It also made a good amount of sauce, so now I have several pizza's worth of sauce in my freezer. 

And of course, it tastes better. This is one of those recipes that every family is going to make slightly differently. I took the basic flavors and played around until I had a combination that was just right for us. You might like it a little sweeter-add a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. In summer, use fresh herbs and tomatoes. Add some pureed veggies to sneak in extra nutrients. Make it work for you. 

I feel better already :) 

What can you do this week to take care of yourself and add a little comfort to your life? 

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp olive oil

28 oz can crushed tomatoes 

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 tsp dried basil

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and black pepper

Pour the olive oil into a saucepan and then add the diced onion and garlic. When the onion has softened, add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, tomato paste. Stir until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste (I used 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper). Simmer for 7-10 minutes until slightly reduced and remove from heat. Use immediately or store in fridge or freezer for use later. 

*If you prefer a totally smooth pizza sauce or have a picky eater who doesn't like to see onions you can use an immersion blender at the end. 

**You can also use fresh tomatoes, but then you'll need to puree with the immersion blender for sure.

Mustard Balsamic Roast Chicken

I almost didn't post this recipe because let's be honest…it's not a pretty dish. No matter the angle I photographed it from or how I styled the dish, it just wasn't pretty. Since it was dinnertime on a cloudy day I knew the battle was over. I was a bit grumpy about it after finally getting some photographs accepted to FoodGawker and Tastespotting last week but I got over it when I sat down to eat.  I immediately knew this recipe would stay in our dinner rotation.

This is the kind of dish that brightens dreary days, and goodness knows there have been plenty of those lately. It's hearty and filling but it doesn't weigh you down. The chicken is tender and and delicately flavored, despite the fact that the two main ingredients are bold. You could easily mix this up with whatever vegetables are on hand or in season. Think asparagus in the spring, and zucchini and squash in the summer.

This does require a fair amount of time in the oven, but the prep is really easy and could be done well in advance.  This made a lovely dinner on a lazy Sunday, but I could see this working well for us during the week by prepping it earlier in the day and popping it in the oven when I get home.

What are you favorite ways to brighten up a dreary winter's day? 

Mustard Balsamic Roast Chicken Thighs
adapted from Joyful Healthy Eats

1 1/2-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cups baby carrots, halved
1/2 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cups fingerling potatoes, halved (or 3-4 larger potatoes, quartered)
1 bell pepper, sliced

For Marinade:
2 tbsp stoneground mustard
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, roughly chopped (or 2 1/2 tbsp dried rosemary, chopped)
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375.

In a bowl mix all the marinade ingredients together. The chicken needs to marinate for at least 30  minutes, though longer is great. You can either add the chicken to the bowl and mix well so it's covered in the marinade or put the marinade and the chicken in a gallon Ziploc-style bag. Set aside while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

In a 9x13in baking dish, pour the potatoes, carrots and bell pepper. Spread them out so they are in one layer. When the chicken is finished marinating, pour the chicken and sauce over the vegetables. Position the chicken so it's in a single layer on top of the vegetables.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This week has been frigid in Oklahoma. We've had snow and ice (much less than our northern counterparts of course!) and subzero wind chills. Oh that wind! Rogers and Hammerstein were not kidding when they wrote those famous lyrics: "Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain!"Some days I feel like it is just going to sweep us all right over the border into Texas.

In the midst of these cold dreary days this week I wanted to make something with a bright flavor for contrast. Somewhere around Tuesday my brain became fixated on lemons and I could not stop thinking about them until I had made something with them. Am I the only that happens to? Yes? That's what I was afraid of.

Lemon cakes are one of those recipes that work in almost any occasion. It will brighten things up in the dead of winter and cool you down in the worst of the summer heat. It's like the little black dress of the food world: always appropriate and chic.

I've tried a number of lemon cakes over the years and while they were all good, they weren't quite what I wanted. So I took my favorite pound cake and started tweaking. I added some lemon zest to the cake to bring the flavor in there without it going over the top lemon. Then I made a glaze to soak into the top layer of the cake and make the flavor pop without making the whole cake sticky. The result was perfect. It was crisp and bright without being cloyingly sweet or overly tart.

What are your favorite ways to brighten up these dreary winter days? 




Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook and Cup of Jo
Ingredients

For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter softened (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 2 lemons
4 eggs

For the glaze:
juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp water plus more if needed
1 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep a loaf pan by spraying with a nonstick spray.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer beat the softened cream cheese for one minute. Add in the butter and the sugar and beat for 3-4 more minutes until it gets light in color and fluffy in texture. Add the vanilla and the lemon zest and beat until mixed through.

Next, add eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each one is added in. Scrape down the sides if needed between additions.

Add flour mixture and slowly beat until it is just incorporated. Finish mixing by hand.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Check the pan every 30 minutes and rotate so it browns evenly. When a skewer comes out clean, the cake is done.

To make the glaze, whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Add more water as needed to get the right consistency. It shouldn't be too thick so it will be absorbed into the cake itself.

As the cake cools, use a skewer to poke holes over the top and pour the glaze over so that it soaks into the cake. Let cake finish cooling and slice to serve.

Cranberry, Almond and Toasted Coconut Granola Bars

Last time I made granola bars on the blog I was mostly worried about getting the kids to eat them, which means lots of chocolate was involved. Recently I've been looking for more snacks for myself to eat. Snacks that might be a tad healthier than an entire batch of cinnamon sugar scones…hypothetically speaking of course. I shared one or two with the children, I swear.

I dug through my pantry and cobbled together enough half empty bags to make up one of my favorite flavor combinations. Almond, cranberry and coconut happens to be my favorite Kind bar so I figured the three would go together just as well in a traditional granola bar. I took my old granola bar recipe (please excuse the pictures-it was early blog days then) and tweaked it a little.

The combination worked really well. The toasted coconut added a nice balance to the sweetness but despite the honey and the sugar it isn't overly sweet. Don't feel like you need to toast your coconut, but if you do want to all you need to do is spread it on a baking sheet for a few minutes while you're oven warms up. Keep an eye on it and as soon as it starts to brown take it out. Burnt coconut is not an enticing odor: I speak from experience. The texture of these bars is soft rather than crunchy. If you find these a bit too crumbly, cool them in the refrigerator before slicing and store them there as well.

What are your favorite grown up snack foods? 


Cranberry, Almond and Toasted Coconut Granola Bars
adapted from my adaption of a Smitten Kitchen recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup toasted shredded coconut
1 cup almonds  ( I used slivered because that's what I had on hand but whole would be great too)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp water
1/3 cup almond butter

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, and try to keep just a little hanging over the side.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Mix the melted butter, vanilla, honey and water together and then pour them into the dry ingredients. Stir together until combined and then add in the almond butter. Mix thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread out until it covers the whole pan and the top is smoothed.

Bake for 20 minutes until the top just begins to brown. Cool in the pan. Let sit in the refrigerator for a few minutes if they seem crumbly before cutting. Wait to cut into squares or slices until it has completely cooled.

Gingerbread

I had a moment of panic this morning when I realized that Christmas is the beginning of next week not the end. Which means as soon as I hit "publish" on this post I will be in a whirlwind of wrapping followed by standing in giant lines with other panicked people at the UPS store and/or Post Office. Yikes. Someday, we'll be back on the east coast near family and I will be able to finish my shopping on the 24th like I prefer to :)

Yes, I wrote all my papers the night before they were due in college and grad school too.

This gingerbread is a winter favorite. It's a bit sticky and the flavor is stronger than other recipes due to the fresh ginger in it. I love to wrap this up as gifts, serve it for dessert around the holidays and eat it for breakfast with a cup of tea. I'll keep making it until the weather warms up in the spring too! It's too good to keep around for only a month every year.

Are you a last minute shopper/baker/shipper too? 

Gingerbread
adapted from Nigella Christmas

1 stick plus 3 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
3/4 cup molasses
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking dish with parchment paper and butter or nonstick spray the sides of the pan.
Over medium heat, melt the butter, sugar, syrup, molasses, and spices in a saucepan until they are combined.
Off the heat add in the milk, eggs and baking soda dissolved in water.
Pour the flour into a large bowl, and add in the liquid ingredients mixture. Beat the mixture until totally mixed together-make sure to watch out for flour clumps. Don't panic that the batter is too liquid either-it's supposed to be.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. Cool in the pan before slicing and sprinkling with powdered sugar if you'd like.

Simple Cranberry Sauce

What kind of cranberry sauce did you grow up with? Did you even eat it? As we moved around the country I've discovered that it seems to be a much less important part of the Thanksgiving meal outside of New England.

Despite growing up in an area full of cranberry bogs (we used to ice skate on them every winter!) I was a die-hard canned cranberry sauce girl until a few years ago. I decided to try making it myself one year, but once I realized that making jellied cranberry sauce is a bit of a pain, I went the relish route. In fact, I discovered that you can use an immersion blender or food processor to get rid of the big chunks of berries. That makes it a whole lot easier to convert lovers of canned sauce. And children!  My boys can't be the only ones who need to dissect every food that is even slightly chunky to determine what every bite contains.

The cranberry flavor shines through in this simple sauce. The ginger and orange complement the berries, and there is just enough sugar to tone down the tartness. I suggest tasting it as you cook so that you can be sure that the sweetness level is what you prefer. Initially I tried to eliminate the white sugar completely, but I realized you need just a little bit more than the brown sugar to get it right so I played around with the proportions to get it right.
As a bonus you can even make this the day before to help ease the cooking burden on the big day.

Are your menus all set? Turkey's defrosting? 

Simple Cranberry Sauce
adapted from A Cozy Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 bag cranberries 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 tbsp white sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup water zest and juice of one orange (I used 2 clementines) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp grated fresh ginger 1 cinnamon stick 1 star anise

Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes (stirring regularly) until all the cranberries have popped and started to break down. Taste it and adjust seasoning-especially the sugar. Add more white sugar if it's too tart, but one tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go. Once you have it the way you want it, set it aside to cool and thicken.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: 2 ways

Happy Halloween everyone! I know today is a bit crazy for everyone with preparations for trick or treating, whether you're hitting the cul-de-sacs with your little ones or grabbing last minute candy to hand out. For once I managed to get the candy ahead of time and stash it away where no one found it-which means no last minute Walmart trip for me! Side note: when I did buy our candy earlier this week, the cashier told me I really should only buy enough to get to midnight when it all goes on sale for 50% off. Then I could replenish in time for "the majority" of trick or trickers. Seriously?!!?! Who goes trick or treating at 1 AM?! Or answers the door at 1 AM?!?! Oh, Walmart. You never disappoint.

Even though today is all kinds of crazy, I still wanted to pop in with a quick recipe. We carved two enormous pumpkins Tuesday night and ended up with tons of seeds. I wanted to try something slightly different when roasting them. I made half with a simple sea salt topping, and half with sweet and spicy topping.

The one down side is there really is no easy way to clean the seeds. Despite what November's Martha Stewart Living claims…I'm not going to roast them with all the pumpkin goo still on there. I'm just not. Instead, I filled the bowl of seeds/goop with water and skimmed the seeds off the top as they floated to the surface. Once the easy ones were in the colander, I was able to separate the seeds stuck to the goop. Then I rinsed the seeds in the colander and did the whole process over again. After the second time in the water bath, almost all of the seeds were clean. Then I poured them into a pan of salt water, brought it to a boil and then turned the heat down to simmer them for 10  minutes. This will help get that nice crispy outer shell while roasting.

Pour them all into the colander again, and then dry gently with a paper towel. They won't be bone dry after this and that's ok. At this point they are ready to bake, so pour them onto your baking sheets and season them how you like. The basic seasoning is a little oil (I used coconut, but olive or canola will work great too), and some sea salt. Bake for 8-10 minutes, check and then mix around the pan and bake a little more if need be. The second batch I did was the sweet and spicy version (recipe below) and they were just as addictive as the plain salted ones. Not too spicy that my picky eater would complain, but with a nice kick.

What are you doing tonight? What are you or your little ones dressing up as? My boys will be Darth Vader and the Red Power Ranger! Pictures tomorrow :)

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
adapted from Oh She Glows and Savour Fare

For Salted version:
1 cup pumpkin seeds cleaned and prepped as noted above
1-2 tsp oil (coconut, olive, or canola)
Sea Salt to taste (start with a teaspoon and go from there)

Arrange cleaned and dryish pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Drizzle oil over them and mix until they are all coated. Generously sprinkle salt over them until you are happy with the flavor.
Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350. Stir and test a seed to check doneness. If not ready, bake for 8-10 more minutes but check again at the 5 minute mark and the 8 minute one. They can go from perfect to burnt very quickly, and if your oven temperature varies that can be a problem.

For Sweet and Spicy version:
1 cup pumpkin seeds cleaned and prepped as noted above
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of sea salt
pinch of cayenne pepper

Arrange clean and dryish pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil.

Combine all other ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Drizzle over the seeds until they are thoroughly coated.
Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350. Stir and test a seed to check doneness. If not ready, bake for 8-10 more minutes but check again at the 5 minute mark and the 8 minute one. They can go from perfect to burnt very quickly, and if your oven temperature varies that can be a problem.

Vegan Pumpkin Bread

The calendar says it's been fall for weeks, but it's just starting to feel like it here. Saturday I nearly froze on the sidelines watching my son play soccer...though to not embarrass myself I won't tell you exactly how cold it was (not very) and how many layers I was wearing (too many) to stay warm.

It's back up to a balmy 80 degrees today but I can't shake the feeling that fall is finally here. I've got a cinnamon and clove candle burning, I'm on a house cleaning and rearranging kick (sorry about the rearranging part honey!) and I want to cook all those fall dishes that just feel weird when you make them in August.

This pumpkin bread is one of my standby's year round. It doesn't have an overwhelming pumpkin flavor, but is more like a spice cake with just a touch of pumpkin. It stays moist for days, and the texture is more delicate than I expect from a quick bread. The fact that it's vegan is a nice bonus, but taste wise this beats any other pumpkin bread I've tried in the last few years. This recipe makes two loaves so it's perfect for sharing...or stashing an extra in the freezer for yourself!

Pumpkin Bread
adapted from Joy The Baker


Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
3/4 tsp ground cloves
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 cup canola oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep two loaf pans by spraying them with nonstick spray.

In one large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda and powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and cloves.

In a second bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: pumpkin, canola oil, maple syrup, and water.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry with a spatula until combined. There is usually flour stuck to the bottom of my bowls, so make sure to check before you finish mixing.

Pour the batter into the two loaf pans and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes then finish cooling on a rack.

Biscoff Fudge

I was going to save this recipe until next week but after eating pretty much the whole container in the last 48 hours I decided it wasn't very nice to make you wait for it. When I first discovered Biscoff I made what became my favorite cookie recipe and I didn't bother to try any other recipes because I had the one. Earlier this week I planned on making those cookies, but I was out of oats. Since we're in the midst of this lovely government shutdown, the commissary is closed and I just couldn't bear to go to Walmart at lunchtime. Ugh. The craziness there makes my head spin. 

So I dug around a little bit until I found some other recipes that used Biscoff and then found this fudge. SCORE. Like the cookies, it's no bake, and comes together in a matter of minutes. It tastes just like you'd expect-a more solid, portable form of the spread. That's pretty awesome for those of us who could eat Biscoff by the spoonful out of the jar. It's sweet and a little bit rich, but that didn't stop us from eating most of the batch in one sitting! 

Somehow I don't think the leftovers will make it through the rest of today. 

Biscoff Fudge
adapted from Sugarcrafter

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup biscoff
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Prep an 8x8 pan by lining it with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil. Cut the piece so that some hangs over the edges of the pan. (This will make it easier to list the fudge out of the pan.) Spray the paper/foil with a nonstick spray and set aside.
Melt butter and biscoff in a saucepan together over medium heat, stirring continuously. Once completely smooth, add in the vanilla and salt. Slowly pour in the powdered sugar, mixing as you go. Once it is totally incorporated, pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth the surface with a knife or the back of a spoon.
Put the pan in the fridge to cool until firm. Cut into bite size pieces and serve!

English Muffin Bread

Last weekend my husband and I brewed our first batch of beer. Dear friends came over for football and dinner and walked us through the process. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the brewing until I realized how similar it is to baking. It's all about getting each ingredient added in the right proportion at the right time to get the final product the way you want it. The scientific element of baking never fails to appeal to my inner nerd.

One of the things we talked a lot about while brewing was the yeast. I was curious as to how similar it was to baking yeast...especially because I have a giant container of yeast in my freezer that I am not baking my way through fast enough! I'd hate for the yeast to die before I used it all.

Since it doesn't sound like I could use it to brew, I am determined to start baking more with it. I make breads and rolls occasionally that use yeast, but I don't think any have actually made it up on the blog yet. In an effort to get myself out of my baking comfort zone, I'm going to try to bake bread of some type once a week. Do you have any favorite bread recipes or ones you'd like to see here on the blog?

This English Muffin Bread has been on my radar for a while. It's fast and really simple for a yeast bread. Everything gets mixed up in two bowls and rises once for about an hour. Then it bakes for a little over 20 minutes. No kneading. No all day processes. It's not intimidating at all! I used my stand mixer for this, but it could be done with a handheld as well. The key to getting that traditional english muffin texture is the high speed mixing-it's what creates those air bubbles. The taste is the just like I hoped too. Perfect for breakfast or a little snack in the afternoon!


English Muffin Bread
adapted slightly from Brown Eyed Baker and King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp instant yeast
1 cup milk
1/4 water
2 tbsp vegetable oil



Put dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl if using a hand held mixer) and briefly mix together.

Combine wet ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heat until the temperature reaches between 120 and 130 degrees. (It will be hotter than lukewarm, but not so hot that you can't dip a finger in for more than a few seconds.)

Pour wet ingredients into dry and immediately begin beating for 1 minute at a high speed.

Prep a loaf pan with butter or non-stick spray and dust it with cornmeal. Pour the soft dough into the pan and cover with a piece of plastic wrap or tinfoil that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

Set aside to rise for about 45 min to an hour. The dough needs to rise just to the top of the pan, and be peeking over by no more than 1/4 inch.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes. Mine was done exactly at 20 minutes, but my oven runs hot. You'll want to keep an eye on the top to make sure it doesn't over brown, and the interior temperature will be at about 160 degrees if you measure.

Cool for about 5 minutes in the pan and then turn the bread out and let it finish on a cooling rack.

Apple Slab Pie

I had never heard of a slab pie until earlier this summer. I was totally intrigued by the idea and started digging around to find more. The regular pie shape does not lend itself well to picnics or potlucks. The slab pie works perfectly though. You can cut it up in advance so people can serve themselves and you could even eat it without utensils in a pinch. It also has the distinct advantage of a higher crust vs. filling ratio for those of us who really like pie crust-especially the part that's all gooey from the filling.

I used the pie crust recipe that I fell in love with last week (find it here) and just rolled it out to fit a jelly roll pan. It took me a while to get it to the right dimensions, and had I not already prepped that pan I would have seriously considered switching to a smaller one. It was a bit of a pain, but I'm so glad I persevered. The crust was flakey and delicate and was a perfect match for my grandmother's apple pie recipe. Naturally everyone prefers their own family recipe, but I really do love the play of this blend of spices with a fresh fall apple.

It might also taste really good with a cup of tea for breakfast. Any dessert I'm still thinking about the next morning is a winner in my book :)


My Grandmother's Apple Pie Filling:
6 cups Apples, roughly chopped
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2- tbsp clearjel powder, flour or tapioca
1 tbsp butter, chopped into small pieces
Enough of your favorite pie crust recipe to cover a double pie. (Here's my go-to recipe)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all the ingredients except butter in a large bowl and let sit while you roll out the crust. For a traditional round pie, roll into 2 circles about 1/8 in thick and 2 inches larger than your pie plate. For a slab pie, roll into a rectangle about 1/8 in thick and 1-2 inches larger than the pan. (Unless you are really comfortable rolling out pie dough, I would start with a 9x9 or 10x13 pan)

Once the bottom layer of crust is in the dish pour the fruit mixture in. Dot the butter over the mixture and then cover with the top crust and seal the edge. Cut several slits in the crust and bake for 45-50 minutes when the crust is crisp and slightly browned. (The slab pie version will be done on the earlier end and a traditional pie will be slightly longer. Check around 40 and watch the top for browning.)

Just for fun, I drizzled a little caramel sauce I had in the fridge over the pie. It was a yummy bonus, but don't go buying or making caramel for such a little drizzle.