Wow, our summer has passed quickly.  it didn't take long for us to settle in and find a rhythm of our own here in this little house on second street.  we played a lot of games, did some fishing, camping, slept in a lot oh, and did I mention we went to Mexico? I have myriads of amazing photos from our trip, I will have to share them later.

In the meantime our autumn has been busy.  School and homework take up most of our time.  I have also been busy preparing for a very dear friends wedding.  I am so excited for her and I daresay it is going to be a lovely wedding.  

We also have been making and consuming massive quantities of zucchini bread.  When I say we, I mean I have been making it and Aidan has been eating up to a loaf a day.  Breakfast, lunch, snacks, he just can't get enough.  Or rather, he couldn't.  Last week he informed me he needs "a break from zucchini bread and would prefer I make him some pumpkin bread now that autumn is here and all ........."     Really?  I think we have about 20 loaves in the freezer and as many bags of shredded zucchini.  But sure,  any excuse to use the oven in the house.  (the oven in this house is the original 1950'2 oven.  It is slow to heat up, but once it is hot it is amazing and my bakes goods have never looked this good.)

So in case you have zucchini's waiting to be used up I will share my favorite recipe from the Smitten Kitchen.

Zucchini Bread 

Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins

3 eggs

1 cup olive or vegetable oil

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 cups grated zucchini

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans, liberally.  Alternately, line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.

Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.

Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake far more quickly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

  

Midnight Stress Reliever

Bake cookies.





Chop your own chocolate.

Thank you

Thank you Bake it Pretty.

I can do alot of things but I cannot decorate a cake.

That is why I love you.

Kits like these make birthdays perfect.

They also have all those little kits and packaging supplies you see in magazines - things that take your homemade gifts up a notch.

In the Kitchen

The best part about making a birthday cake.

That and the cake-batter-kisses you get when he is done.

Coconut Orange coffee cake

My mom used to make this coffee cake for us kids as a special breakfast treat before school.

I have made it a few times lately and it is always met with rave reviews so I thought I would share the recipe. (Although Aidan won't eat it because I told him it was coffeecake, so he thinks I have literally put coffee in it and refuses to try it. I guess next time I make it I will have to make it with him so he can see there is absolutely no coffee in it!)

Orange Coconut Coffeecake

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 8 oz carton of orange yogurt

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Mix wet together, add dry, trying not to over mix.

Pour into a greased 8 x 8 pan.

Arrange 1 8oz can of well drained mandarin oranges on top of cake.

Next, mix 1/2 cup of coconut with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and then place that mixture on top of the oranges.

Bake at 350 for 20-40 minutes, or until cake is done. If you use the toothpick check method it will be a little "wet" on the toothpick because of the oranges, so I usually jiggle the cake, and when it is solid in the middle you know it is done.

Also, sometimes it is hard to find orange yogurt, so then I just use vanilla. Just make sure you are using real yogurt that has no artificial sweeteners because they don't have predictable outcomes when baking.

It's true.

I made these bars.

They don't look like anything special. Aidan turned up his nose at them.

I am sure that if I gave you a plate of cookies you would pass them by in favor of something chocolaty or frosted.

But they. are. so. good.

Really. You should try them. In case you need some more persuading, Aidan did eventually eat one, and now he loves them too. Plus he thinks they are a healthy option. In face, yesterday he even tried to say he didn't need to eat a vegetable or fruit for lunch because he had enough fruit in his bar.

Best Ever????

Really???

That was my reaction when my neighbor told me I made the best pumpkin pie he had ever had. (And mind you, he isn't exactly what you would call a spring chicken.) So if Mitch says it is the best, I guess I will take his word for it. And I will share the recipe with all of you so that you too can be lavished with compliments at your families Christmas. (You can find the original here.)

I also must put a little disclaimer out there. One of the reasons I chose this recipe was the crust. I am not very good at making eye-appealing pie crusts, so I like pies that call for graham cracker crusts. I also didn't follow the recipe and I used a pre-made crust.

My second confession is that I did not cook the pie in a hot water bath. I just cooked it at 325 until it seemed done. Pretty helpful information, right?

Vanilla-Bourbon Pumpkin Tart

Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 cookie sheets)
1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Cooking spray

Filling:
1 cup (8 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Remaining ingredients:
1/3 cup cold heavy cream
2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare crust, combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle butter over crumb mixture; stir with a fork. Firmly press into bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until lightly browned; cool on a wire rack.

3. To prepare filling, beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add pumpkin and eggs; beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add bourbon and the next 5 ingredients (through ground allspice); beat 1 minute or until combined. Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan. Place pan in a large roasting pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until center barely moves when side of pan is tapped. Cool completely on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Place cream and powdered sugar in a small bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Serve sweetened whipped cream with tart.

Chocolate anyone?

Recently a friend and I were discussing dessert ideas and somehow she reminded me of one of my favorite dessert recipes that has been "in my pocket" the last few years.

I had a bunch of ladies over for dessert the other night and we enjoyed them again - although I had forgotten how rich they were and I could barely eat half of mine! I must be getting older.

Sadly, I did not take a picture for you, but I am sure you can imagine gooey chocolate goodness, and I usually serve them with ice cream and fudge sauce.

Also - they are a great make-in-advance type of recipe. I actually used to be so into being ready for guests I always had a dozen in the freezer. But then I found that the dough tastes amazing frozen when you need a before bedtime chocolate snack, so I had to put a stop to my over-preparedness before it caught up with me.

I found the original recipe here. I hope you enjoy them!

Ingredients:
Makes 4 servings
Butter for ramekins
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cup superfine sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Place baking sheet in an oven preheated to 400°. Butter four 2/3-cup ramekins and set aside.Using a microwave oven or double boiler, melt together the semisweet chocolate and the butter. Set aside to cool.In a separate bowl, combine eggs, sugar and flour. Add cooled chocolate mixture, and mix until blended. Fold in white chocolate chips.Divide mixture evenly among ramekins and place on baking sheet. Bake until tops are shiny and cracked and chocolate beneath is hot and gooey, about 20 minutes. Place each ramekin on a small plate with a teaspoon and serve, reminding children that ramekins and chocolate are hot.

(P.S. I have tried varying the recipe many times. I love using dark chocolate and ancho chili powder, using mint chips, adding espresso powder, vanilla, etc. All with fabulous results!)

Strawberries!

We picked thirty-five pounds! I don't know why, but once we started picking we just didn't stop. I had not one, but two great berry-picker's with me.

We ate lots and lots of them in the field, and quite honestly after working on them all day yesterday I really have no desire to eat another for quite awhile. But hopefully I will recover from my aversion to strawberries soon because we have lots and lots of them in the freezer now to be enjoyed in smoothies and baking all year.

I did manage to enjoy a slice of fresh strawberry pie last night. This is my mom's recipe (with a few adaptations) and it is always light and refreshing. Now you can enjoy it too!

Strawberry Pie:

One 9" crust, prepared. (I like to glaze mine with a little egg yolk mixed with milk and sugar so it stays nice and flaky and it also gives the crust a pretty golden hue.)

3 cups fresh strawberries, in halves or slices.

Arrange these evenly on your crust

3 cups strawberries, mashed

2 Tbsp Lemon juice

3 Tbsp corn starch

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Whisk together until corn starch dissolves, then bring to a boil. When mixture has boiled until sugar is dissolved and juices are clear, (not opaque) your sauce is ready to pour over the berries. Chill 2-3 hours, or until set, then serve with whipped cream and enjoy!

(making jam)

Best Banana Bars yet

I have tried many, many recipes over the years. (If you don't believe me, ask my Kitchen Aid. Right now the gears groan even when I bake a simple cake like this one.) But I have to say this may be my new favorite-use-up-old-banana's recipe.



I tried this last week for a friends birthday, and it was absolutely delicious! Aidan thought mashing the banana's was the most fun ever, and we both agreed, while licking the bowl, that this was sure to be a winner. I know summer doesn't really seem like the time of year to bake with banana's, but this recipe is very light and summery, I think it may have something to do with the thick layer of whipped cream frosting.



This recipe is meant to be made into bars, but I think it would be great as a layer cake too, with mounds of white frosting peaking out between the golden layers.......... I am making myself hungry, good thing we don't have any banana's in the house.



Bars -


Ingredients:
½ cup butter, softened

1 ½ cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (I used three ripe bananas)

8 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 x 15 inch jellyroll pan or one 9X13 pan and an additional 8X8 pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan(s). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.




Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting



Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
Directions:
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside. In another medium bowl, beat whipped cream until stiff peaks form (it helps to use a chilled bowl and chilled beaters). Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.

Summer baking

So do yourself and the economy a favor and buy this book.

I usually don't bake alot in the summer, (partly due to our lack of central air) but also because I want to just eat all the fresh fruit and not really mess with it. But this book has inspired me to set some new goals this summer. My husband has goals too, about running, working out, and lowering golf scores, my new goal is a little different than his - I would like to try every recipe in this book. I have already crossed a few items off, and I am looking forward to receiving my CSA box tomorrow so I can try making rhubarb fools. The only problem is..... I am home alone the next few days, which mean I will be the only fool eating all the dessert.

Got rhubarb?

My neighbor gave me a huge box full this week - perfect timing as I was going to buy some plants this year. He told me I shouldn't harvest any this year or the next, which I assume is the reason that all the other rhubarb I planted all these years didn't make it. I was always harvesting it as soon as the ruby stalks were ready.

I have a bunch sitting in my fridge too, waiting to be made into this cake.

Sunday.

Sunday I should have some time..... Mmmm.

Chocolate for Breakfast?

That's right. I found this yummy recipe here, and it is the perfect combination of chocolate and sweetness for breakfast, (or as a late night snack at the computer with yogurt. Yes, that is what I am eating right now!)

French Chocolate Granola

3 cups rolled oats

½ cup raw almonds, chopped

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

6 Tbsp. mild honey

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

½ cup, or more, finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (Molly recommends Trader Joe's Bittersweet Pound Plus bar, which is what I used and it was perfect!)

Preheat the oven to 300°F.In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, coconut, sugar, and salt. Stir well to blend.In a small saucepan, warm the honey and oil over low heat, whisking occasionally – watch out! the oil will want to splash - until the honey is loose. Pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to combine well.Spread the mixture evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden. Set a timer to go off halfway through the baking time, so that you can give the granola a good stir; this helps it to cook evenly. When it’s ready, remove the pan from the oven, stir well – this will keep it from cooling into a hard, solid sheet – and cool completely.When cool, transfer the granola to a large bowl, storage jar, or zipper-lock plastic bag. Add the chocolate, and stir (or shake, if using a jar or bag) to mix.Store in an airtight container.

Yield: about 5 cups

Tuesday morning the Minnesota skies were grey and snowy so we stayed inside and had an indoor breakfast picnic with all of Aidan's toy utensils and dishes, and enjoyed big bowls of homemade granola. You should make some too! It's a wonderful accompaniment to a morning cup of coffee.

Valentine treats

We made two kinds of treats to give away. First we tried this chocolate chip recipe. I have a standby recipe I have used for years and it is almost identical, except this one uses butter and shortening. Yum. Aidan added sprinkles to them all too. Lots and lots of sprinkles. But hey - it made him very happy.



We also made these meringue cookies from Martha Stewart. But instead of making sandwiches we added some chopped chocolate and a tiny bit of espresso powder. They are so light and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. And they are really easy to make. You should try sometime!








Ingredients

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
Pinch of cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract








Directions
For meringue: Put egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. Add vanilla; mix until combined. Use immediately. (At this point we folded in 1/2 cup chopped chocolate and 1 tsp espresso powder)
Preheat oven to 200. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
Scoop a spoonful of meringue onto large oval soup spoon, and use another soup spoon to form meringue into shape of small egg. Use second spoon to push meringue oval off first spoon and onto parchment. Spoon 12 ovals onto each prepared baking sheet.

Bake cookies until they are crisp on outside but have marshmallow consistency inside, about 1 hour. Reduce oven to 175 if meringue starts to brown.



Turn off oven, and return meringues to oven to dry, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on parchment on wire racks.

Going Banana's?

I found this recipe while doing a google search for banana muffins. They were so good I thought I would share! (And trust me, they do not taste anything like coffee. Anytime something tastes even remotely like coffee Aidan spits it out in disgust, and he ate these like it was his job.)

Michael's Banana Coffee Muffins
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients:

1/3 cup melted butter
4 ripe bananas, smashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons strong coffee
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted or raw
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 12 cup capacity muffin tin or use paper liners.
With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, coffee and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, mix until it is just incorporated. Fold in the chopped pecans. Pour mixture into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack.
*Cook's note: To check to see if the muffins are done; with a toothpick insert into the center of a muffin, if it comes out clean, it's done.

Bread Baking

This post is for Jenica. I tried her bread recipe for dinner tonight and it was soooo good! I had to plan ahead a little.... (the bread has to rise for almost a whole day) but I must say my result was much better than all the recipes I have attempted out of this book. And, Jenica's bread only takes a few minutes to make, whereas these breads sucked days out of my life.

So, if you are looking for a great recipe to make crispy-crusted, yet moist and chewy artisan bread, click on Jenica's link. I tried mine with half whole wheat and some oat bran, and tonight Aidan and I mixed up another loaf with apples and cinnamon for dinner tomorrow.

Note- I was trying to take a picture of the loaf of bread, but Aidan and James thought that would be too boring, thus Aidan's head is in the pictures. But I think that makes the bread look even better, don't you?

You can

have your happiness in a box......

















or you can make your own.

Coconut Cupcake

(18 to 20 large cupcakes)
Photo: Melanie Acevedo

Recipe: Ina Garten

3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups sugar

5 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer running on low, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In three parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each cup to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely. Frost with cream cheese icing and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

CREAM CHEESE ICING

for 18 to 20 large cupcakes

1 pound cream cheese at room temperature

3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.It is very important that the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature and that the confectioners’ sugar is sifted to ensure no lumps in the icing.

September Days

This year fall seems to be right on schedule. Labor Day was over and suddenly our temps were in the 60's. I can't say that I mind. We rely on a window unit in the kitchen to try and keep our house cool, so I am glad to be able to sleep at night with out having our network of fans set up. I love being able to eat breakfast without sweat dripping off my lips, and most of all I am excited to be able to cook again!

This week has been a fun one in the world of cooking! I caught an episode of "Splendid Table" while driving in Iowa last weekend, and Lynne Rossetto Kasper has me all inspired! I made this recipe earlier this week. You can read the website and learn all about orange flower water.

Who knew that it was a by-product of perfume making, and it adds amazing flavor to cakes and baking? I found some at one of our local Mediterranean grocers, and I have been playing with it all week!

I also made this yummy pasta dish that she talked about on her last program. (You have to listen to the podcast for the recipe, you can fast-forward to minute 43:00) My neighbor had just given me a big box full of grape tomatoes, and I think it is one of the best ways I have ever eaten them.

And I am trying my hand at artisan bread. I bought this book earlier this summer and I have been waiting for the weather to cool off so I can give it a try. The downside is, it takes a few days to make a loaf of bread - I hope the flavor is amazing as the book says it is - but it is a whole new approach to baking, and I am excited to see the results. I will have to keep you posted!

Malted Peanut Butter Bars

Last night we had A LOT of people over for dinner - lots of James' friends from MBA school, and other people he has met networking over the past few years at Carlson. I spent most of my evening either cooking or comforting a sick kid, so I wasn't able to really enjoy all of our guests, but I always enjoy cooking and trying to set a pretty feast. I have all these lovely french linens from a favorite aunt that look beautiful in our backyard setting.... I meant to take some photos, but the evening was over before I remembered. Maybe next time you come for dinner I can try and recreate the atmosphere!

Since we had around 40 people, I thought it would be much easier to have a self-serve dessert, instead of trying to pass out dessert plates and forks to everyone. I made three different bars, wrapped them individually, and placed them in a basket so that people could eat as much (or as little) as they wanted while they chased their kiddos around. You can find one recipe here, another here, and this one is my own. So yummy!

Malted Peanut Butter bars

1 cup shortening

2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup malted milk powder

1 bag peanut butter chips

Cream brown sugar and shortening. Add eggs, vanilla, fold in dry ingredients, add chips. Bake in greased 9 x 13 for 30 minutes, or until golden. They are best if you slightly under bake.

I also have become a fan of beets recently, thanks to one of my neighbors making the most delectable beet salad at one of our weekly neighborhood barbecues. Last night I made a delicious beet salad too, but the dressing was something I purchased at our local farmers market. So I will have to see if I can recreate it so I can post it online. It must have been a big hit, because the bowl was totally empty, and I had made a lot hoping for leftovers....... Oh well. James better watch out, the beets may soon take the place of bruschetta this summer!

I also found it works quite well to let guests use my sewing room to change their kids diapers. Rather good for business!

Birthday Cake

Aidan was very concerned that my birthday passed by without a cake, so tonight while I was enjoying a pedicure and a dinner out with a good friend James and Aidan were busy in the kitchen.

I found these pictures on the camera and this cake on the counter. Thanks guys.

Anyone want the recipe?