Sweetie Pie

Bicycle Bars

I am calling these Bicycle Bars because I don't think anyone who reads this blog is likely to know who Christian Vande Velde is.  He is a professional bicyclist who is married to a chef and this recipe is from Bicycling magazine sometime last year.  This recipe is his favorite energy bar which his wife Leah makes.
The recipe is simple to make, nutritious, and 100% approved by our 4 year old, so you know it's yummy.  He helped stir this up and gobbled any cranberries that strayed from the bowl.  You will need tahini, which is a paste of ground sesame seeds.  I buy it at Earth Fare, where it can be found with the other nut butters.  It's a great alternative to peanut butter and useful in all kinds of recipes from hummus to salad dressing.  If tahini is not available, any other nut butter would work well as a substitute.

Christian Van Velde's Favorite Bar

from Bicycling magazine

4 cups crispy rice cereal

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup sesame tahini

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, combine the cereal, cranberries, sunflower and pumpkin seeds and wheat germ.

In a small pan, combine the tahini, brown sugar and honey and heat on low until bubbling.  Stir continuously to prevent the sugar from burning.

Pour this hot mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until well coated.  Press into a 9X13 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Cool for one hour and cut into 12 bars.  Each bar will have 273 calories, 11.5 grams of fat, 7 grams protien and 41 grams carbs.

 

Pear Frangipane Tart

Frangipane is a filling made from or flavored like almonds, usually as a custard or cream.  Some recipes use almond paste, some use almond meal, and a few allow for marzipan.  Frangipane can be found in various desserts and is often paired with fruit to make a beautiful tart.  I found lovely organic Anjou pears at the grocery store and decided to try this classic combination.   Many recipes include poaching the pairs in a flavorful syrup before using them in the tart.   However, the pears I used were fully ripe, soft and sweet so I chose one with no poaching required. 

I used some of the one pie dough to rule them all from my freezer, but you could also use a sweeter tart dough.  Whatever you choose, you will need to blind bake it before adding the filling.  Instructions for this process as well as the full recipe can be found at Williams Sonoma. 

Preparing the crust is the by far the most difficult part of this recipe.  The filling is simple to mix up, and then you can artfully arrange the pears on top and slip it all into a hot oven.

The frangipane will puff up slightly and become deeply golden brown.  This dessert is great for almond lovers and the finished product looks really fancy.  Next time I make it I will alter the recipe slightly by cutting back on the rum, which I found overpowering.  The pears were really nice when baked this way, but I would also like to try this recipe with another fruit.

 

 

 

 

Apple Chai Muffins

We love a good muffin for breakfast around here.  Our favorite way to start a nice day off is with some fresh muffins and hot coffee.  This recipe is adapted from my trusty old Betty Crocker's Cookbook.  I had some apples which turned out to be less than ideal for eating fresh, so I decided to use them in place of blueberries and the results were so delicious.
My little helper is old enough to actually be helpful now, so we got everything ready at the table where he could reach and got to work.  He was in charge of placing the paper muffin cups in the tin and also in charge of the streusel topping.  I was in charge of cutting up the apples, measuring and mixing, but he helped out with that too.

Apple Chai Muffins

Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons cold butter

Muffins:

3/4 cup milk ( I used a dollop of sour cream in with the milk and I think yogurt or buttermilk would also be great.)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 chai teabag, opened and poured out

1 heaping cup (or about two small apples worth) chopped apples

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Line 12 muffin cups with papers.

Make the streusel topping in a small bowl first and set it aside.

Beat the milk, oil and egg in a large bowl.  Stir in the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and chai tea until the batter is just barely moistened.  Gently stir in the apples.  The batter will be very thick and lumpy.  Divide evenly between the muffin cups and sprinkle each with about 1 Tablespoon topping.  Press the topping down gently on each muffin. 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Enjoy a homebaked breakfast treat that's not too sweet and full of healthy apples!

Tangelo Marmalade

Welcome to a new year and new possibilities.  We suffered through a traditional southern New Years Day meal of black eyed peas, rice, greens and cornbread.  I'm sorry to say that I still don't like greens (sorry Mom).  I've had a series of false starts and missteps in the kitchen so far this year.  Despite some dubious attempts at new recipes I am undaunted because as Albert Einstein said, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."  

Along with our dinners of partially burned steaks, greasy pork and other disappointing dishes, we've been enjoying the most wonderful, juicy and sweet tangelos.  This citrus fruit is a hybrid of tangerines and either grapefruits or pomelos.  There are several different varieties, but all are known for their juiciness and mild sweet taste.  Knowing that citrus season won't last much longer, and thinking about all that juice, and because these are organic tangelos, it only made sense to try my luck at some marmalade. 
It's important to use organic fruit when you're making marmalade because you will be using the whole fruit, peel and all.  Last January I took my first step into the world of preserving and canning with Meyer Lemon Marmalade and enjoyed the bright taste of lemon for months after.  Citrus fruits become ripe in the wintertime, so this is when you can find great deals on beautiful fresh and organic lemons, limes, oranges and other varieties.  With my experience making marmalade last year, and lots more canning practice, I just knew this project would be a success.  The process is simple,  all you need is citrus fruit, water, sugar and time.

The first step is to thoroughly wash all the fruit and slice it as thinly as possible.  I find it's easiest to cut each piece in half and remove the seeds and pith first, then use a mandoline for fine slicing.  Save the seeds, and try to keep all the juice.  The next step is to soak the fruit in water over night.  This helps to soften the rinds.  Some recipes instruct you to tie up the seeds in some cheesecloth and let them soak too.  The seeds contain pectin which will help the marmalade to 'jell'. 

Most recipes call for a lemon too so I threw one in.  The next day you're all ready to make that marmalade.  First, the fruit and water boil until the peels are teeth tender.  Then the sugar (lots of sugar) is added and it's all boiled until it reaches the mysterious 'jelling point'.  This is a few degrees higher than the boiling point of water, and can be tested in many ways.  Apparently, I have not completely mastered these methods of watching and testing because my first batch turned out to be something more of a very thick syrup than a jammy consistency.  In my eagerness to avoid overcooking the marmalade like I did last year, I was too quick to pull the pot off the heat.  I'm guessing that it only needed another minute or two for perfection.  My second batch I think I got it right.

A good marmalade should have yummy peels suspended in a golden, wobbly jelly.  If you cook it too long, it will become very thick and candy like.  If you don't cook it quite long enough, it will be syrupy.  I had to divide this recipe in half and cook it in two batches because I don't have a saucepan big enough to accommodate the large quantity.  I guess the only way to find that balance between too thin and too thick is to practice.  After the two batches that were too thick last year, and the first that was too thin this year, I think the final jars this year are just right.  The good news is that every single batch is absolutely scrumptious.

Tangelo Marmalade

recipe modified from the Ball Blue Book guide to preserving 

7 1/2 cups very thinly sliced tangelos;  I used one 3lb bag

1 lemon sliced thin

seeds tied in a cheesecloth

1 1/2 quarts water ( that's 6 cups)

sugar; about 10 cups

Day One:

Wash and slice all the fruit and collect the seeds.

Combine all ingredients except sugar in a large pot and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes.  Cover and let stand in a cool place for 12 -24 hours.  This can be left for 2 to 3 days according to some sources. 

Day Two

Put the pot of fruit and water back on the stove and boil until the peel is tender. 

Now, measure the fruit/water combination again.  You'll nee another large bowl or pot to transfer everything into while you're measuring.  Measure about 1 cup of sugar for each cup of fruit/water mixture.  Now mix it all up and place everything back on the heat.  Bring to a full boil and cook, stirring constantly until the jelling point is reached. Remove from heat and ladle into hot jars.

If you divide this recipe and make a small batch, you can simply ladle the marmalade into clean jars and store it in the refrigerator.  If you're making the full recipe, you'll probably want to can it.  To do this, you'll need to ladle it into hot, sanitized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Close with new lids and screw on the rings, then place in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes at a full boil.  Remove from the water and let stand undisturbed for 24 hours.  You will hear the lids pop quietly as they seal.  If any do not seal, store in the refrigerator.