Sweetie Pie

Tuscan (I love Lemon) Muffins

Crunchy on top, tender and light in the center, and singing with lemon flavor, this recipe is a treat.  I usually have all the ingredients on hand so it's going into the permanent rotation of breakfast bakes.  Please use plain yogurt - not vanilla or any other flavor which has a lot of sugar added.  The original recipe calls for ricotta cheese, so you could use that instead.  You'll need to plan on using two lemons for the zest and juice.  If you do not have a microplane zester, you can use the fine grate side of a box grater.  The yellow rind or zest is where the lemon oil and flavor is, so do not skip this step.  The turbinado sugar on top adds a nice sparkly, crunchy top.  This can be found in the baking aisle with the other sugars. 

 

Tuscan Lemon Muffins

recipe slightly varied from Cooking Light 2011 Best Baking Recipes

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspooon baking soda

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tablespoon grated (organic) lemon rind

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 egg

2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar for topping

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prepare muffin cups.

Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl and stir with a fork or whisk. 

Combine the yogurt, water, olive oil, lemon rind and juice and egg in a separate container.  Mix these well with a fork or whisk.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold it all together with a spatula.  The batter will be light a a little fluffy.  Spoon the batter into muffin cups and sprinkle each with turbinado sugar. 

Bake for about 16 minutes or until lighlty browned on top.  Cool in pans for 5 minutes before turning out and serving.

 

Crostata

I tried two new recipes this weekend, both from The Wednesday Chef by blogger Luisa Weiss.  She wrote a book in my favorite genre, food stories.  My Berlin Kitchen is on my shelf and has proven to be a reliable source for straightforward recipes. 

Crostata is a jam filled cakey tarty type baked good.  It's very dry and mild, reminiscent of scones or biscotti.  It's very easy to make and looks great.  The finished product looks like something scrumptious, so my family gobbled it up even though it's not very sweet or rich.  Master chefs are fond of saying that 'we eat with our eyes first', and I've found this to be true with this recipe.

Click through for the complete description and recipe.  I made this twice in just a few days.  The first time I followed the recipe exactly.  The second time I subbed some almond meal for part of the flour and added a few blueberries to the jam.  These changes didn't make a big difference in the result.  I love a recipe like this that is simple, easy, not too decadent, and impressively pretty.  The crostata gets most of its flavor and sweetness from the jam, so be generous if you want it sweet.   We enjoyed our crostatas as a great breakfast alternative and for snacking. 

Post Script:

While looking for a quote about 'eating with our eyes first' I came across an interesting tidbit. According to Visualology.net there was a study done in the late '70s which showed that when we find food more appealing, not only do we enjoy it more but we also absorb more nutrients from it.  In my own kitchen I've found the importance of presentation in our regular meals.  For example, it doesn't matter to my family how much cheese is in a dish.  What matters is if they can see the cheese on top.  Likewise, a small bit of bacon crumbled on top of any soup makes it an appealing dish.  Does this work for you?

Coconut Macaroons for Easter

Coconut Macaroons are a traditional dessert for Passover.  There are two basic recipes with variation in the use of sweetened condensed milk and egg whites.  I chose a recipe that calls for both.

Coconut Macaroons

3 cups coconut flakes - I chose unsweetened for a mildly sweet treat, but either variety would work.

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

seeds from 1 vanilla bean

2 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Beat the egg whites with the 1/4 teaspoon salt to stiff peaks.  In a separate bowl, combine the coconut, vanilla bean, vanilla extract, and sweetened condensed milk.  If you do not have a vanilla bean, just leave it out - no biggie.  Add about one third of the beaten egg whites to the coconut mixture and stir to combine.  Then add the remaining  egg whites and fold gently until everything is fluffy and mixed.

Scoop tablespoon sized balls onto the baking sheet.  A mini ice cream scoop works wonderfully for even portions.  You can make large snowball macaroons, but I prefer the minis. 
Bake at 325 for about 25 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  Cool on the pans, then store in an airtight container.  Do not refrigerate.  Coconut macaroons are extra decadent with a little dip in some melted chocolate.  Just melt a little of  your favorite chocolate by 30 second increments in the microwave, then dip thebottom of each macaroon and return it to the parchment sheet to cool.

Almond Short Cake

This recipe combines three of my favorite ingredients which are almonds, oranges, and the cast iron skillet.  Although I love Almond Crescents and make them often, sometimes I don't want to go to the trouble to roll, cut and shape the cute little cookies.  I saw a recipe for Skillet Almond Shortbread in Trisha Yearwood's Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen and went from there.  I took inspiration from the Almond Crescents recipe by adding citrus and almond flour.  The result was scrumptious and clean from the flavor of orange, dense, moist texture from the almond flour and dark brown edges from the cast iron skillet.

Almond Short Cake

3/4 cup unsalted butter - very soft

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

zest and juice of one small orange - or substitute any other citrus fruit

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cups almond flour - also known as almond meal

1/2 cup sliced almonds for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 10 inch cast iron skillet with a circle of parchment paper and grease well. 

In a large mixing bowl, stir the sugar and butter together.   Zest the orange directly into the bowl.  Purchase organic fruit for this recipe because you will be consuming the skin.   Add the eggs and beat vigorously.  Squeeze the orange and add 4 or 5 Tablespoons fresh juice to the batter, stirring to combine.  Fold in the flour and salt, stirring until just combined.  Add the almond meal and fold in gently.  Pour the batter into the cast iron skillet and spread it evenly in the pan.  Top with the sliced almonds and gently press the nuts onto the surface of the cake.

Bake for 35 minutes or until slightly brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool the cake in the pan until it's easy to handle, then run a knife around the edges before inverting on to a cooking rack.  Remove the parchment and invert again to serve.

 

Pumpkin Bread

Welcome to the season of Pumpkin Everything.  This pumpkin venture was inspired by a decadent recipe from White on Rice Couple for Pumpkin Spiced Coffecake.  The cake is rich and full of flavor with an extra delicious crumble topping.  However, it seemed a bit too indulgent for a weekday breakfast.  I wanted a straightforward quick bread that's not too sweet, is vaguely nutritious, and uses the entire can of pumpkin puree.

This turned out to be uncomplicated and I was happy with the results.  It is based on my Grandmother's Banana Bread recipe, but with the addition of some fall spices.  The recipe makes two loaves of pumpkin bread and uses a whole can of pureed pumpkin. 

Pumpkin Bread

14 Tablespoons unsalted butter ( that's 1 stick plus 6 Tablespoons) - melted

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 Tablespoons molasses

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups pumpkin puree (or 1 can)

4 cups all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare the baking pans with butter and flour.  This recipe will make two large loaves; I made one large and three mini loaves. 

Mix the melted butter, sugar and molasses until smooth and fluffy. ( If you do not have molasses, you can substitute brown sugar for the white sugar.  Brown sugar has molasses in it for that caramel color and earthy taste.  )  Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended.  Add the vanilla and pumpkin puree and mix.  The batter might look a little, um, gross at this point so just keep going and don't worry about it. 

Sift the flour and all the spices and dry ingredients together. I like to sift straight into the wet ingredients.  It's important to sift the flour so the final product isn't too heavy or dense, and it's important to mix the spices and leavening ingredients in for even distribution through the batter.  Stir and gently fold the flour mixture into the batter until just blended.  Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly.  Bake for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Enjoy with coffee for a breakfast treat or afternoon snack.  I love the barely sweet and subtle pumpkin flavors of this quick bread.

Weirdly Wonderful Watermelon Salad

Watermelons are rolling in to the square of our small town by the truckload from south Georgia.  Any weekend morning this time of year you may have your pick of scented cantaloupes or big heavy watermelons sold off truck beds parked around the square.  I like watermelon just fine, but I certainly don't care to eat it by the truckload.  So what's a southern girl to do when the summer season is here and she can't resist hauling home a very heavy green and stripey melon?

Well, I don't know if you've heard about this salad that combines watermelon and feta, but I tried it a long while ago at a friend's house in South Carolina.  I would never have picked this recipe up and thought to myself, 'hmm, watermelon and feta cheese, sounds delicious!"  Cheese and watermelon just don't sound like a good combo.  However as I said, I tried it and it was very good.  Then I forgot about it for approximately two years.

This Saturday I stopped by the square to look for plums and cucumbers, and the watermelons piled in trucks sparked the memory of a sweet and salty salad.  I picked one that looked smallish and later looked up recipes for watermelon salad.  I settled on a recipe from the Shiksa in the Kitchen which uses watermelon, feta, mint and lime juice. 

It was with some trepidation that I served this to my husband and child at dinner.  I was pleasantly surprised that my man was elated with this 'wonderful treat!'  "It's so refreshing!" he said.  Truly, the mint is delightful, and the combination of sweet and salty can't be beat.

After reading the full post and recipe, I decided to keep the watermelon, dressing, and cheese all separate in the refrigerator.  I mix up just as much as we will eat in one or two servings so that it stays fresh and crisp.  One watermelon goes a long way, so this would be a great dish to serve to a crowd on a hot summer day.  Click through for the recipe and enjoy a seasonal summer treat. 

Later that same day...

We introduced our chickens to the delights of watermelon rind. They approached with caution.

 

Banana Bread

Some people may wonder why home baking is important enough that we should put aside time and make a mess in the kitchen.  There is such a variety of baked goods available in so many places from the grocery store to coffee shops and restaurants.   It may seem like too much trouble to try baking anything 'from scratch' at home.  However, some of the most satisfyingly homey and wonderful recipes are also the most simple, easy, and foolproof.
When you take the time to bake at home, you get so much more than the instant gratification of buying and eating a treat.  Memories are connected to sights, smells, and recipes.  This is my grandmother's recipe and every single time I have ever baked it, it has both turned out beautifully and gotten rave reviews.  I'm always surprised by how much it is appreciated because it is so simple to make.  I finally realized that it's because when it's baked at home and served warm, banana bread is nothing like anything you can purchase at a store ready made.  This is one of those foods that will never be the same from a mix, and maybe that's why this recipe and the aroma of it baking in the oven will always feel like home. 
This is a yummy and comforting treat that I love baking for my son.  Banana bread is one of his very favorite foods, and this is another reward of baking at home.  Even though I don't recall ever seeing my grandmother make this recipe, every time I get it out of the recipe box I see that it's from her kitchen.  Then I remember her unloading groceries at her house and washing the milk jug and the bananas in the sink before putting them away.  I remember her mixing up cornbread and wasting nothing, carefully scraping every drop into the pan.  I remember her sitting at her table with a tall glass of water, and sharing meals with her.  This is the power of recipes:  even though distance separates us from people we love, we are connected by the tastes, scents, and rituals of preparing favorite foods.  My son doesn't know his great grandmothers very well, but he is linked to them by a few recipes.

Banana Bread

Grandmother Patterson's recipe

3 ripe bananas, mashed and beat

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare your loaf pan by smearing the butter wrapper into it, paying special attention to the corners. 

Peel the bananas and cut them up a bit in a large bowl.  Mash them against the sides of the bowl until you are satisfied with their smoothness.  This can be done with an electric mixer, but I always use a fork for the entire recipe.  If your bananas are a little small, add an extra one.  Use bananas that are ripe with brown and blackish spots, the uglier the better. 
Next, add the sugar and mix it all up.  Pour in the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and stir well.  Finally add the flour, baking soda and baking powder and stir to combine.  Scrape the batter into your greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.  Yes, it will take the entire hour.  The crust will become deeply golden brown, with a beautiful crack along the top where you can see the golden center.  A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean when it's done.  It may even take a few minutes more than an hour.  Let the bread cool in the pan for just a few minutes and then turn it out onto a rack to cool.
This is the recipe just as I have it written down, but please note that it's very adaptable.  For example, you don't have to use butter, but can substitute all or part of it for another oil.  I usually use part butter and part olive oil.  I never add the milk.  I often forget to add the vanilla.  I used to only make this recipe using self rising flour and omitting the baking powder and soda.  It is always good.
It is so good that when I went to take a picture, this is what I found.  

 

Almond Cranberry Muffins

The downside of using almond flour for baking muffins is that the texture is more coarse than with wheat flour.  The upside is that they are gluten free (if that's what you're into) and very high in protien.  These muffins are a nice golden brown with bright lemon flavor and tart cranberries.  They are great for breakfast or a snack; the kiddo gobbles them up with gusto.

Almond Cranberry Muffins

recipe slightly altered from Elana's Pantry (check out her blog for lots of other great recipes)

2 cups almond flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1/4 cup oil

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

zest and juice of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 12 cup muffin pan.

Combine the eggs, sugar, oil, lemon zest and juice and mix well.  Add the dry ingredients and stir, then fold in the cranberries.  If you are using frozen cranberries, defrost them by rinsing in hot water.  The batter will be very wet and look different from most of the muffin batters you may be used to.  Fear not.  Divide into the muffin tin and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  A toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin should come out clean when they are done.  These muffins will not puff up and be as light and airy as others, but they will be super moist and very tasty. 

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.

 

Candy Cane Cookies

It's cookie time!  It just doesn't feel like Christmas without some special home made cookies.  I don't usually make more than one variety these days, so I've narrowed the holiday cookie selection down to my favorite: Candy Cane Cookies.  These are a simple butter cookie that's not too sweet, but fun to make (and eat) with kids and they look festive too. 

I usually make the dough a day or two before I plan to bake the cookies.  It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.  This keeps the kitchen much neater and divides up the labor so it's more of a fun event than a holiday chore.

As with all baking projects, let's begin by assembling all the ingredients and making sure everything is ready.  You can't see in this photo, but I also have several sheets of parchment paper cut and ready to go.  As you can see, you'll nee two sticks of butter.  Soften these until they're easy to stir up with the sugar and eggs.  Then add the peppermint extract.

Next it's time to add the dry ingredients.  When you are baking it's important to measure accurately. This recipe is pretty forgiving, but it's still a good idea to practice proper measurements.  For dry ingredients like flour and baking powder, you can use the scoop and level method.  Scoop a heaping cup or teaspoon of the ingredient, then sweep the excess off and back into the container for a level and accurate measurement.  Like so:

Now, there are some who may say that this is not the most accurate way to measure flour.  They may say that you can get a more accurate measurement by scooping the flour into the cup by the spoonful until it's heaping and then sweeping off the excess.  However, the straightforward scoop and sweep was good enough for Julia Child, and it's good enough for me.

Once all the flour and dry ingredients are incorporated, you will have a pretty stiff dough.  At this point you need to divide the dough so that you can make different colors.  I like to take about half the dough out and leave it white, then divide the remaining dough into two bowls to make red and green.  Squirt some food coloring on the dough and mix until you're happy with the colors.  Then place each color on paper or plastic wrap and seal it up.  The dough needs to be thoroughly chilled before you move on to the next step.  I usually wrap each color separately, then seal them up together in a zip top bag or plastic wrap.
When you're ready to bake the cookies, take the dough out of the refrigerator and get some helpers ready to roll it out and shape it.  Begin by pinching off small chunks of each color and rolling out some 'snakes'.  Then twist the different colors together and shape them into candy canes on parchement lined baking sheets. 
You can make these cookies large or small, and of course it's okay to make different shapes like circles or hearts.  Use a little bit of flour if the dough gets too sticky.  Bake the cookies for 7 to 10 minutes, or until they are puffed and very lightly brown at the edges.  Baking time will depend on the thickness of your candy canes.

Candy Cane Cookies

recipe from Mom's kitchen

1 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon peppermint flavoring

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

red and green food coloring

Mix the butter, sugar, eggs and peppermint flavoring first.  Add the flour and baking soda and baking powder and mix well.  Divide the dough and add food coloring. Wrap each color well and place in refrigerator for at least 8 hours and up to a week.

Roll out the dough into small log or snake shapes and twist colors together to make candy canes.  Bake on parchment lined baking sheets at 375 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes. 
These are perfect for dipping in hot chocolate or coffee, but enjoy them right away because they will disappear quickly!