While I was looking for the perfect pumpkin bar recipe this week, I surprised myself with a long-sought find: the perfect shortbread crust. My crust had some variations on the original recipe (big surprise!) and I'm sharing them here along with my superfast shortbread method.
After I made these bars and tasted that crust, my mind was adrift with all the yummy things you could put on top of the shortbread layer. Pecan pie, melted chocolate, chocolate and caramel, chocolate and peanut butter, cheesecake. Yum...the possibilities are virtually endless.
My girls and I look forward to developing many shortbread-crusted creations (And yes, the pumpkin bars made a great start. Pumpkin pie on top, shortbread on the bottom, frozen pumpkin from last autumn finally put to good use.)
Ingredients
1/2 cup almond meal (this is something I stock from Trader Joe's and often have on hand, but you could also use coconut flour or mild-tasting finely ground unsalted nuts that you happen to have on hand. I think peanut butter would be a little too strong in taste)
1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick butter cut into 6 or 7 pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp molasses (I never have brown sugar on hand so I always add a little molasses to white sugar instead)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or almond extract
Superfast Directions
In your food processor, combine the almond meal, flour, salt & sugar.
Pulse in the butter chunks until the mixture looks like small crumbs.
Add the molasses and vanilla or almond extract and pulse until the mixture starts to cling together like a dough.
Press into a pie pan or a 9 x 9 (give or take) baking pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes to set the crust before adding your topping.
Pumpkin Filling Ingredients
Just in case you're curious what I did for the pumpkin filling, read on!
In my food processor, I combined:
2 cups cooked pumpkin, pureed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. molasses
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups cream (I had to use evaporated milk this time)
I topped the lightly baked shortbread crust with this mixture and baked for another 30-40 minutes.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
amish leftover oatmeal coffee cake
While I can't attest to whether or not this recipe is actually Amish in origin, I can attest that is darn good and darn useful! My children always leave some of their oatmeal in their bowls when I make it, so I love having a recipe to use up the extra.
Ingredients
2 cups leftover breakfast oatmeal
2/3 cup fruit (apples, raisins, blueberries, blackberries)
3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar (or use my usual trick - 1 cup white sugar + 1 Tbls. molasses)
1/2 cup oil or melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Directions
After water has boiled, add the fruit to the water. If using dried fruit, let the fruit sit for 10 minutes. Add the oatmeal to the water and stir until smooth.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Make a small well in the center. Pour in the brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and oatmeal/fruit mixture. Mix just until combined.
Pour into a greased and floured 9" x 13" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Ingredients
2 cups leftover breakfast oatmeal
2/3 cup fruit (apples, raisins, blueberries, blackberries)
3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar (or use my usual trick - 1 cup white sugar + 1 Tbls. molasses)
1/2 cup oil or melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Directions
After water has boiled, add the fruit to the water. If using dried fruit, let the fruit sit for 10 minutes. Add the oatmeal to the water and stir until smooth.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Make a small well in the center. Pour in the brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and oatmeal/fruit mixture. Mix just until combined.
Pour into a greased and floured 9" x 13" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Friday, December 16, 2011
honey wheat sandwich bread
As I've mentioned before, I love love love my KitchenAid Stand Mixer
. Reason #157: I can make 3 loaves of true bread - yeasted, kneaded, risen, formed - in less than 15 minutes hands-on time.
The recipe I use most comes from my friend Kathryn, of Forsyth's Frosted Fancies. I've made it so often now that it has become habitual and second nature, which probably cuts my hands-on time to somewhere around 10 minutes or less. It's a little sweet, so the children love it. We use it most for sandwiches and breakfast toast, but I've also used the same recipe for pizza crust and dinner rolls, both of which turned out to be excellent.
Ingredients (for 3 loaves)
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar or honey
1 Tbls. dry active yeast
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbls. oil or melted butter
1/4 cup sugar or honey
2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups wheat flour
1/4 cup "extras" (wheat germ, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, oats, etc.)
Directions
Combine the warm water, the first 1/4 cup sugar or honey, the yeast and the all-purpose flour in the mixer bowl.
Using the dough hook, mix until smooth on lowest speed (marked "Stir" on my mixer).
Remove the dough hook, cover loosely and let sit until dough has doubled in size. (30 minutes or so)
After dough has doubled, add oil, the second 1/4 cup sugar or honey, salt, wheat flour and extras.
Using the dough hook, mix on the lowest speed while carefully watching. If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add a little more flour, a Tbls or two at a time, until the dough is staying in a ball on the dough hook and no longer sticking to the sides. We call this the point where the dough is "cleaning the sides of the bowl."
When the dough cleans the sides of the bowl, turn the mixer to Speed 2.
Allow the mixer to knead the dough for exactly 2 minutes. I always set the timer to be sure I don't allow the dough to be over-kneaded.
Remove the dough hook. Rub a little oil on top of the ball of dough. Flip it over gently inside the bowl and rub a little oil on the other side to cover the whole ball.
Cover the bowl loosely until it has doubled in size. (45 to 60 minutes or so)
Prepare your bread pans by greasing with butter or oil and dusting with flour.
When dough has doubled in size, gently remove it from the bowl and place it on a floured surface.
Cut it into 3 roughly equal portions, then shape each one and place it in the prepared bread pan. Remember to be gentle with the dough at all times!
Cover the bread pans loosely and let the dough rise in them until it has doubled in size (about 30 minutes).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bake the bread loaves at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake!
Remove from the oven and immediately turn each load out onto a cooling rack.
Tips
Setting the kitchen timer takes even more work out of making bread for me - I don't even have to keep track of time! But this often makes the difference between success or not on a project that stretches out over a couple hours, like this one, so I would highly suggest using your kitchen timer to remind you when to check on your dough.
To get thinner slices from a loaf of freshly baked bread, refrigerate it first, then cut it when it is very cool.
If you don't have wheat flour on hand, or you don't like wheat for certain things (like pizza crust), you can use all white flour in this recipe as well.
. Reason #157: I can make 3 loaves of true bread - yeasted, kneaded, risen, formed - in less than 15 minutes hands-on time.The recipe I use most comes from my friend Kathryn, of Forsyth's Frosted Fancies. I've made it so often now that it has become habitual and second nature, which probably cuts my hands-on time to somewhere around 10 minutes or less. It's a little sweet, so the children love it. We use it most for sandwiches and breakfast toast, but I've also used the same recipe for pizza crust and dinner rolls, both of which turned out to be excellent.
Ingredients (for 3 loaves)
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar or honey
1 Tbls. dry active yeast
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbls. oil or melted butter
1/4 cup sugar or honey
2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups wheat flour
1/4 cup "extras" (wheat germ, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, oats, etc.)
Directions
Combine the warm water, the first 1/4 cup sugar or honey, the yeast and the all-purpose flour in the mixer bowl.
Using the dough hook, mix until smooth on lowest speed (marked "Stir" on my mixer).
Remove the dough hook, cover loosely and let sit until dough has doubled in size. (30 minutes or so)
After dough has doubled, add oil, the second 1/4 cup sugar or honey, salt, wheat flour and extras.
Using the dough hook, mix on the lowest speed while carefully watching. If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add a little more flour, a Tbls or two at a time, until the dough is staying in a ball on the dough hook and no longer sticking to the sides. We call this the point where the dough is "cleaning the sides of the bowl."
When the dough cleans the sides of the bowl, turn the mixer to Speed 2.
Allow the mixer to knead the dough for exactly 2 minutes. I always set the timer to be sure I don't allow the dough to be over-kneaded.
Remove the dough hook. Rub a little oil on top of the ball of dough. Flip it over gently inside the bowl and rub a little oil on the other side to cover the whole ball.
Cover the bowl loosely until it has doubled in size. (45 to 60 minutes or so)
Prepare your bread pans by greasing with butter or oil and dusting with flour.
When dough has doubled in size, gently remove it from the bowl and place it on a floured surface.
Cut it into 3 roughly equal portions, then shape each one and place it in the prepared bread pan. Remember to be gentle with the dough at all times!
Cover the bread pans loosely and let the dough rise in them until it has doubled in size (about 30 minutes).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bake the bread loaves at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake!
Remove from the oven and immediately turn each load out onto a cooling rack.
Tips
Setting the kitchen timer takes even more work out of making bread for me - I don't even have to keep track of time! But this often makes the difference between success or not on a project that stretches out over a couple hours, like this one, so I would highly suggest using your kitchen timer to remind you when to check on your dough.
To get thinner slices from a loaf of freshly baked bread, refrigerate it first, then cut it when it is very cool.
If you don't have wheat flour on hand, or you don't like wheat for certain things (like pizza crust), you can use all white flour in this recipe as well.
Monday, December 12, 2011
tomato gravy
Last week, when we were visiting Karla, my Amish friend, she mentioned that they often have tomato gravy over eggs for breakfast. This was the second time she had talked about "tomato gravy" and it sounded so interesting, I had to try it.
From what I gather, it's an Amish thing. It makes a regular appearance at meals at all times of the day, and it's quite versatile. You can serve it over eggs (which I did last Wednesday and let me just say - YUM. It's no wonder her family eats eggs every morning if she's serving tomato gravy over them!), you can serve it over rice (did that tonight), you can put it over toast, over noodles, over biscuits, over roasted chicken....and many more, I'm sure.
I'm going to give you my ingredient list, which is different from hers. Hers calls for a can of diced tomatoes (roughly 14 oz.). For mine, I used tomato juice.
Ingredients
3 Tbls. butter
3 Tbls. white flour
tomato juice (about a cup)
whole milk or cream (about a half cup)
3 Tbls. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Melt the butter over medium heat.
Whisk in the flour until it begins to brown.
Pour in the tomato juice and milk all at once.
Whisk until smooth and thickened. If it is too thick for your liking, add more tomato juice.
Stir in the sugar and salt and pepper.
Serve with a variety of side dishes or meats, but especially with eggs.
From what I gather, it's an Amish thing. It makes a regular appearance at meals at all times of the day, and it's quite versatile. You can serve it over eggs (which I did last Wednesday and let me just say - YUM. It's no wonder her family eats eggs every morning if she's serving tomato gravy over them!), you can serve it over rice (did that tonight), you can put it over toast, over noodles, over biscuits, over roasted chicken....and many more, I'm sure.
I'm going to give you my ingredient list, which is different from hers. Hers calls for a can of diced tomatoes (roughly 14 oz.). For mine, I used tomato juice.
Ingredients
3 Tbls. butter
3 Tbls. white flour
tomato juice (about a cup)
whole milk or cream (about a half cup)
3 Tbls. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Melt the butter over medium heat.
Whisk in the flour until it begins to brown.
Pour in the tomato juice and milk all at once.
Whisk until smooth and thickened. If it is too thick for your liking, add more tomato juice.
Stir in the sugar and salt and pepper.
Serve with a variety of side dishes or meats, but especially with eggs.
garlic and ginger black beans
Black beans and rice are staples in our pantry - we almost always have some on hand. Tonight, Sassy (my eldest daughter) asked for "plain rice with butter and salt" for supper. I put together a black bean dish to go with it that featured some of our favorite spices. Water chestnuts added the crunch that made everyone ask for seconds.
Ingredients
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bulb garlic (about 10 cloves)
1/4 cup freshly grated ginger root
1 can sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
2 Tbls. salsa
oil for sauteeing
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Separate and peel the cloves of garlic. Finely chop each clove. Try the 10 second garlic peeling technique if you haven't yet. (yes, it really works)
Saute the onion, garlic, ginger and water chestnuts until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are no longer white.
Stir in the drained and rinsed black beans and the salsa. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve with rice or tortilla chips.
Ingredients
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bulb garlic (about 10 cloves)
1/4 cup freshly grated ginger root
1 can sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
2 Tbls. salsa
oil for sauteeing
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Separate and peel the cloves of garlic. Finely chop each clove. Try the 10 second garlic peeling technique if you haven't yet. (yes, it really works)
Saute the onion, garlic, ginger and water chestnuts until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are no longer white.
Stir in the drained and rinsed black beans and the salsa. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve with rice or tortilla chips.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
easy summer veggie roast
I don't know what was in your CSA box this week, but ours had potatoes, green beans & spring onions, among other early summer harvest. So when my lovely, dear & ever helpful friend came to visit today, we had a summer veggie roast.
Ingredients
1-2 lbs potatoes
Quart green beans
20 green onion bulbs
10 cloves garlic, peeled (optional)
Olive oil
Sea Salt
Directions
Cut potatoes into small wedges. Cut off green onion tops & clean bulbs. Trim green beans.
Mix potatoes, onions, beans & optional garlic cloves in a large bowl with a generous swirl of olive oil. Be sure all veggies are coated. Salt to taste.
Spread evenly on one or more roasting pans, and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
My daughter Sydney has her own variation on this dish where she adds whole cloves of garlic, and although I didn't do it today due to time constraints, I must admit, it wasn't the same without the garlic. Next time, I'll make time for the garlic prep.
And a final note, you might notice a new tag down below: ministry. I struggled for a name for what I'm tagging, and ultimately chose this over service or charity. After the recent birth of my third baby, I realized that there are certain times in a person's life where a friend showing up at the door with a dish makes all the difference between feeling alone and unloved and feeling supported by a community. I think it's important that I make time to show the friends in my community that they are supported and cared for in their vulnerable times.
Yet, it's so hard to find time for "food ministry" when you have to think of what to fix each and every time. This is the part that has always been my downfall in the past, for both potlucks and friends in need.
So I'm tagging it. Hopefully a database of easy, quick "comfort foods" will be just what I need to provide this for my people.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
green onion recipes
This morning, I harvested over 100 green onions to send to the farmer's market with our partners at WindDance farm, and there are still dozens more in the field. Time to post a couple good green onion recipes!
P.S. I also sent these recipes out to our market email subscribers. What? You didn't know we sent out a market email? Well, if you're local and you'd like to get an email about what we'll have at market each week, let me know and I'd be happy to sign you up! :-)
Sauteed Fresh Green Onions
This recipe is as simple as can be, but really brings out the sweetness of fresh spring onions.
Ingredients:
Green onions, with tops cut off to 2 inches above onion (reserve tops for green onion dip!)
Olive oil
1 Tbls. butter (optional)
Sea Salt
Pepper
Directions:
Wash and dry onions
Cut off green tops leaving only about an inch or two above bulb
Heat large fry pan to medium
Swirl oil once or twice around pan
Add butter, if desired
Add onions and stir gently until slightly brown
Remove from pan and add kosher salt and white pepper to taste
Serve as a side dish - great with new potatoes!
Green Onion Dip
Mix into sour cream or yogurt:
Chopped green onion tops
Chopped garlic scapes
Dill
Sea Salt
P.S. I also sent these recipes out to our market email subscribers. What? You didn't know we sent out a market email? Well, if you're local and you'd like to get an email about what we'll have at market each week, let me know and I'd be happy to sign you up! :-)
Sauteed Fresh Green Onions
This recipe is as simple as can be, but really brings out the sweetness of fresh spring onions.
Ingredients:
Green onions, with tops cut off to 2 inches above onion (reserve tops for green onion dip!)
Olive oil
1 Tbls. butter (optional)
Sea Salt
Pepper
Directions:
Wash and dry onions
Cut off green tops leaving only about an inch or two above bulb
Heat large fry pan to medium
Swirl oil once or twice around pan
Add butter, if desired
Add onions and stir gently until slightly brown
Remove from pan and add kosher salt and white pepper to taste
Serve as a side dish - great with new potatoes!
Green Onion Dip
Mix into sour cream or yogurt:
Chopped green onion tops
Chopped garlic scapes
Dill
Sea Salt
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