Vacation Baby Muffins

     A friend sent me this recipe after I posted my first muffin recipe that I tested out for Wren.  We are leaving for Maine in the morning so I figured why not fire up the oven so we can have a tasty snack for the road-the temperature in our house is only 89 degrees!  Needless to say, I worked up a greater sweat baking than I do kickboxing.  As soon as Wren saw them on the counter she began clicking her tongue, her signal that she is hungry.  I cut her off at three mini muffins. 

Carrot, Apple, Coconut Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 carrots, peeled and grated (about 1 cup)
1 apple, peeled and grated (about 1/2 cup)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup honey

Method
Preheat oven 350 degrees
1. Combine first seven ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl. 
3. Stir the dry ingredients with the wet.
4. Prepare a mini muffin tin by placing liners or spraying with cooking spray.  Fill each with one tablespoon of batter.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.

Pretzel Rolls

     Earlier this week, Arnauld sent me an email about the lunch of the day at his cafeteria- roast beef sandwiches on pretzel rolls.  When I first started reading the email, I thought he was going to ask me if I wanted him to bring me one home and I was thinking to myself, "since when do I eat roast beef?"  But as I read more, I found out that he had never heard of a pretzel roll before and he had found a recipe for us to try on the weekend.   I've never actually had a pretzel roll myself, but my friend Heather had suggested them as a good addition for the sweet potato burgers I made a while back. The recipe Arnauld sent was a great surprise since Arnauld doesn't often give suggestions and I like a little help in the idea department.  The blog that the recipe came from, Stresscake, was also amazing.  The pictures were so clear, the dishes were all unique and looked delicious.  A new source for inspiration!
     So this morning we stopped at the grocery store to buy some yeast, the only ingredient we were missing.  While Arnauld mowed the lawn and got stung by at least two bees, I baked pretzel rolls in the 90+ degree weather at nearly 10 months pregnant.  Needless to say, I needed a shower after this adventure.

Pretzel Rolls

Ingredients
Dough
1 1/2 cups warm water (I just used hot tap water)
1 tbsp active dry yeast (1 package) – not quick rise yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Poaching and Glazing
1/4 cup baking soda
large saucepan of water
1 egg, lightly beaten
pretzel salt (or coarse Kosher salt)

Method
1. Add yeast and warm water to your mixing bowl.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes and become frothy.  Then add the sugar, salt, flour, and butter.  Mix using a stand mixer and the hook attachment.
2. Remove the dough from the bowl.  Cover with a towel and allow to sit and rise for an hour.
3. Next, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Cut the dough, using a pizza cutter, into 15-18 pieces.
4. Create dough balls by pulling up the sides of the dough and pinching.  Repeat this process until you have formed a round ball.  Place the balls on parchment lined baking sheets, one inch apart.  Cover the rolls with a thin towel and allow to sit and rise for 30 minutes.
5. Next, preheat the over to 425 degrees.  Arrange the oven racks on the lowest and middle settings.
6. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.  Add the baking soda and reduce the heat to a simmer.
7. Drop a few of the rolls into the water at a time for poaching, pinched side down.  After 30 seconds, use a slotted spoon to flip the rolls over.  After 30 seconds, remove the rolls and return to baking sheets.
8. After all of the rolls have been poached, use a basting brush to completely coat the rolls with a layer of egg.  Then top each roll off with a pinch of salt.
9. Place trays in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.  Halfway through baking, rotate and swap the trays for even baking.
10. Remove rolls from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Rolls can be tightly wrapped and frozen.

We made our rolls into sandwiches for dinner.

The Taste Test

     I was definitely a little nervous about making these rolls.  After first reading the steps, I was a bit intimidated, especially by the poaching.  If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you may recall my first attempt at poaching eggs... But everything went a lot smoother than anticipated and the end result was chewy and amazing-just like a real pretzel.

Otis, all groomed and ready for his sister to arrive, hence the pink collar...

Moose is also ready.

Grandma's Zucchini Bread

    So today was the day I finally made zucchini bread with my grandma.  Her garden graced her with a few large zucchinis that she managed to keep safe from her worst nightmare, a relentless woodchuck.  When I got to her house she had all of the ingredients lined up, the nuts chopped, and the zucchini shredded.  She was ready and as excited as I was to make zucchini bread together.  You may recall my own attempt a few weeks back, with Rosemary Lemon Zucchini Bread.  Grandma told me I used too much baking soda.  So today we went back to the basics.  My Grandma doesn't mind getting a little messy in the kitchen-I must take after her!  She even encouraged using your hands to mix, especially when mixing in the nuts and zucchini.  She said she lost a few hand-held mixers to zucchini bread over the years.  

Grandma's Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup oil
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups zucchini
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Method
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
1. Beat eggs until fluffy.
2. Add sugar, vanilla, and oil. Blend well.
3. Sift in all of the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Stir in zucchini and nuts.
5. Pour mixture between two greased and floured loaf pans.
6. Bake for 1 hour or until done.

The Taste Test
   The way zucchini bread should be!

My Gram getting her hands dirty. 

Grandma's garden (the upper level).  It has shrunk over the years but it's still an amazing work of art for 84 year old woman.

Squash

Peppers

Eggplant

The lower level.  The right hand side is usually covered in beans but this year a chubby woodchuck ate them all.  Gram was not too happy.  She tried replanting the beans three times!

Gram plants a variety of different tomatoes.  Here are the first few red ones.

One lonely bean plant.

Figs

Apples

 

Pears

Rosemary and Lemon Zucchini Bread

     I read a lot of food blogs these days.  I know I've said it before, but I love blogs!  It is so neat to get a glimpse into the lives of other people, through their posts and pictures.  I get a lot of my inspiration for my own cooking adventures from what I read.
     I recently found an app for my iPhone that makes managing all of my blogs so easy.  It's called Pulse.  You can use it to manage anything you read online, in one place. Using Pulse, I found this recipe for Rosemary Lemon Zucchini Bread from Simply Recipes.  I knew I had to try it because it made me think of my Grandma.  It is garden season and Gram has been working hard to keep her plants safe from woodchucks and sharing her bounty with the people she loves.  Just this week I was gifted the first yellow squash from her garden.  Nothing makes Gram happier than sharing her vegetables or a nickel tour of her land. 
     My Gram always grows zucchini in her garden and a favorite in my family is zucchini bread.  I'm not sure what's in it or how she makes it, but it is sweet and delicious.  Now the zucchini bread that I made today, I know will taste nothing like my grams.  Her zucchini bread never includes rosemary or lemon, but I wanted to give it a try.  I reluctantly shared some of the bread I made with my Grandma-reluctantly because once she tries it, there will surely be lectures for weeks to come about all of the things I did wrong, even though I wasn't trying to replicate her recipe!  No one can ever do it as good as Gram.  After I dropped the bread off, she did say that once her zucchinis are ready, we can make her recipe together.  I'll be taking notes!

Rosemary Lemon Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest
3 cups zucchini, grated (about 1 pound)

Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, rosemary, and salt.  Set aside.
2. Beat the eggs and then beat in the sugar.  Next beat in the butter and olive oil.  Stir in the lemon zest and zucchini.
3. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, 1/3 of a cup at a time until everything is mixes well.
4. Divide the batter between two greased loaf pans (4x9).
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

The Taste Test
  This next statement may not be a selling point, but anyone who knows the source will dismiss this.  My brother asked if I used fish in the recipe.  This idea probably came because he associates the taste of rosemary with fish.  Silly boy.  My sister said, "this isn't Grandma's."  The rosemary added a savory quality to this sweet bread, which some people will enjoy.  I thought it was a nice change and would have been even tastier with a handful of walnuts thrown in the mix.  However, my family is partial to Grandma's recipe so next time that's what I will aim for.

Happy Mother's Day!

     To celebrate Mother's Day today, we had my Mom, Grandma, and Arnauld's Mom over for brunch.  We wanted to do something to bring everyone together for some low key quality time together and honor our mom's for always being there for us.  I was finally able to make crepes, something I've had in mind since we celebrated my Mom's birthday with breakfast for dinner back in March.    Arnauld requested biscuits since he planned to make some eggs.  It was a pretty simple spread, that grew because of course my Grandma brought over her own additions including stuffed artichokes, cantaloupe, and her now famous zucchini and eggs. 

Crepes
This recipe came from allrecipes.com.

I doubled this recipe and made about 14 crepes.

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup almond milk
2/3 cup flour
1 pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
1. In the food processor, combine all of the ingredients and blend until smooth.
2. Let the mixture sit, in a covered container, in the fridge for at least an hour.
3. When ready to make crepes, heat a medium skillet over medium heat.  Spray with cooking spray and pour 1/4 cup of the mixture into the skillet.  Roll the mixture around until it is covering the entire bottom of the skillet.  Cook 2-5 minutes, until golden, flipping once.  Repeat with the remaining mixture.

You can fill your crepes with anything.  We had bananas, strawberries, Nutella, walnuts, and whipped cream.  Our guests were able to build their own crepes.

Biscuits
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

I also doubled this recipe and made about 18 biscuits

Ingredients
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup light butter
1 egg
2/3 cup almond milk

Method
Preheat oven to 450
1. Combine dry ingredients.  Chop in cold butter until the mixture is crumbly.
2. Beat together the eggs and milk.  Combine with the dry ingredients.
3. Move the mixture to a well floured surface and knead about 20 times.
4. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough, until it is about 3/4 of an inch think.  Use a biscuit cutter, or an empty tin can to cut the dough into biscuits.
5.  Place the biscuits onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve warm

The Taste Test
     I have three skillets and ended up using the medium size for the crepes because the biggest one was just too big and the batter didn't cover the whole thing.  I was nervous about flipping these because they seemed so thin, but it was surprisingly easy.  You can even see my Grandma about to flip the crepe in the air in the picture below.  I made my crepe with Nutella and bananas and it was delicious.  It was fun to look around the table and see everyone experimenting with different combinations of ingredients, all looking equally tasty.  These might be fun to try as a savory dish, adding cheese and veggies.
    I was also nervous about the biscuits.  The dough was pretty sticky so I had to add a lot of flour to my rolling surface.  I was also skeptical of my makeshift biscuit cutter.  Luckily, it all seemed to work out and the biscuits were a big hit!  The original recipe called for shortening but I read some reviews that suggested butter, so that's what I tried.  I think this would be another recipe that could be doctored up a bit, maybe by adding some spices or other ingredients.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms, especially my mom and sister!  

Love you Both!

Friendship Bread

    This recipe comes from grouprecipes.com.  I have never been on this site before but when I googled the ingredients I was hoping to use to make a bread, I was pleasantly surprised.  On the site, this recipe is called Cranberry Oatmeal Bread.  I am going to rename it Friendship Bread.  The recipe called for walnuts and grated orange peel.  I did not have either.  I used sliced almonds instead and forgot about the orange.

Friendship Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup old fashioned oatmeal 
• 1-1/4 cup hot water 
• 3/4 cup softened butter 
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1-1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp grated orange peel
• 1 egg
• 2-1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1-1/4 cup chopped cranberries (I used dried)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used 1 cup of slivered almonds)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease and flour 2 (8" x 4") loaf pans and set aside
3. In medium bowl, combine oats and hot water
4. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes
5. In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy
6.Add oat mixture, sour cream, orange peel and egg, blend well
7.  Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, mix gently
8. Fold in cranberries and walnuts
9. Spoon batter evenly into prepared pans and smooth to level
10. Combine 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together and sprinkle over batter I skipped this.
11. Bake for 55-65 minutes until bread is golden brown and pulls away from the sides of pan
12.Cool 5 minutes in pan. Carefully run a knife around the edges of the bread and remove to wire rack to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap to store.

Update: So my friend Heather has demanded more feedback on how my recipes turn out.  I often blog while things are cooking/baking.  I do this to kill time and also to avoid cleaning the kitchen!  My blog is usually posted before I have even had a chance for a taste test. In an effort to please my best pal, who is too far away to enjoy any of my endeavors, I will try to add a bit more about how my recipes turn out.  Here it goes...


The Taste Test
    This friendship bread smelled SO good baking in the oven.  Fortunately this recipe made two loaves because as soon as I flipped the bread onto the cooking rack, I hacked off a chunk...just to make sure it was edible.  This was a sweet treat that wasn't too dry.  Because of the almonds and cranberries, it had a nice mix of chewiness and crunch.  Unfortunately I was in such a rush to taste it that my cut came out uneven so I just had to cut off and eat a bit more to even things out.    It took a few cuts to get it just right but now I'm happy to report that everything is in order and I still have one loaf of bread to share with a friend.

Happy Halloween!

      I've been looking forward to today for a few weeks now.  When Dee announced that Dan was going to be in Connecticut for the weekend and that she wanted to bring the kids trick-or-treating around my neighborhood, I knew that it would be a great time to get the whole family together.  I've been scouring my magazines, emails, and websites for fun fall dishes to give a try.  Not so easy...I saw so many things that I wanted to make but they all seemed so random.  I wanted a fall themed dinner, that would feed a lot of people (about 10-15), and would also appeal to everyone.  Below you will find the recipes that made the final cut.  My eyes can hardly stay open as I type this...it's been a long day of cooking.  It's a really satisfying feeling making food for the people you love and everyone having a good time together.

Carved by Mackenzie and Annie.

So my mom wanted to help with the cooking so her and my dad worked together to make pulled pork in their crock pot.  I requested that they use apple cider to fit with the fall theme of my dinner party.  The results were delicious although my dad did not stick to the recipe I sent him, which is fine considering I have never made pulled pork and he has.  He'll have to supply the recipe for this one if anyone is interested...although while I need to follow recipes my dad can just throw things in a pot, working with what he has and it usually comes out delicious.

    My brother loves guacamole, so for an appetizer, I went with a a Tombstone Taco Dip Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.  I made some fresh tortilla chips by cutting Halloween shapes from tortillas.  I received a years worth of cookie cutters at my bridal shower earlier this year but was disappointed to find that there weren't many Halloween shapes in the mix.  That's why I added a Christmas tree to my guacamole grave yard.  I also used scissors to cut my own shapes.  Jaxson got a kick out of my star and pumpkin shaped "chippies".

Ingredients

• 1    16-ounce can refried beans with green chiles
• 1/4  cup  bottled salsa
• 2/3  cup  bottled ranch salad dressing
• 2  teaspoons  taco seasoning
• 1 1/2  cups  finely chopped cooked chicken
• 1    7-ounce pouch refrigerated guacamole I used fresh avocados that I mashed with a little salt and pepper.
• 1/2    of a 2 1/4-ounce can chopped pitted ripe olives, drained
•     shredded lettuce
•     10-inch tortillas

Directions

In a small bowl, combine refried beans and salsa. Spread refried bean mixture in a 2-quart rectangular dish. In a small bowl, combine ranch salad dressing and taco seasoning; stir in chicken.

Spoon on top of the beans in an even layer. Spoon guacamole in small mounds on top of the chicken mixture. Carefully spread to an even layer.

Cover and chill at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours before serving. Just before serving, place tombstone characters into dip. Sprinkle the graves with chopped olives and shredded lettuce.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Tortilla Graveyard Characters: Using cookie cutters or a knife, cut 10-inch tortillas of any flavor into gravestones, cats, owls, bats, fence rails, and a tree. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until firm and crisp. Cool on rack.

     It wouldn't be a complete day without a little baking.  Earlier in the week I googled ideas for what to serve with pulled pork and came up with corn bread.  I did a little online searching and finally settled on a recipe for Golden Sweet Cornbread from allrecipes.com.   This was super yummy.  As you can see from the first picture, one of the pans did not cook all the way through.  So that was an interesting surprise when I turned the pan over.  I just cut around this gooey mess and the results were delicious.  Never make boxed cornbread from a mix again....Mom!

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

     Going along with the fall theme, I also chose a pasta dish that had butternut squash in it.  I found a recipe for  Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta.  For all my vegetarian friends, I think this would also be great minus the bacon.  My family consists of a lot of "manly" men who probably would have never given this dish a chance without the bacon. 

  

Ingredients

• 3/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1/2  teaspoon  dried rosemary
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 3  cups  (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• Cooking spray
• 6  sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices (raw)
• 1  cup  thinly sliced shallots
• 8  ounces  uncooked mini penne (tube-shaped pasta)
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• 2  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese
• 1/3  cup  (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.

Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Combine squash mixture, bacon, and shallots; set aside.

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.

Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

     Annie and my mom both made very pretty Halloween cupcakes that I forgot to snap a picture of.  With all of the cooking I was doing, there was a lot of time management things I needed to think about but I love making dessert.  So I went to one of my slow cooker cookbooks, Crock Pot: Classic Recipes, and found a recipe for Pumpkin Bread Pudding.  I have never had bread pudding before and it really didn't sound appealing to me but it went with my theme and I could just throw it in the pot for a few hours and hope that it would magically transform into something great. It was interesting and everyone seemed to like it.  Dan said it tasted good but felt like it had been regurgitated.

Ingredients

Bread Pudding

• 2 cups milk
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 16 slices cinnamon raisin bread torn into small pieces (8 cups total)

Sauce

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp bourbon (optional) Yeah...I didn't use this

1. Lightly coat crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.
2. To make pudding, place milk and butter in microwavable bowl.  Heat on high for 2.5-3 minutes or until very hot.
3. Combine eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in large bowl.  Whisk until well blended.  Add hot milk; stir until well blended.  Add bread cubes; toss gently to coat completely.
4. Place mixture in crock pot and cover.  Cook on high for 2 hours or until a knife inserted comes out clean.  Turn off heat.  Uncover and let stand for 15 minutes.
5. To make sauce, stir butter, sugar, and cream in saucepan.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Remove from heat.  Stir in bourbon if desired.  Spoon bread pudding into individual bowls and top with sauce.

Moose and Otis in their Halloween costumes.  Moose is the bat and Otis is the pumpkin.  Needless to say, the hats didn't stay on long! The pups did come along trick-or-treating. 

Buzz wearing his "eyes" and carrying his woobie.  "To Infinity and Beyond!"

Ace the lobster taking a nap before trick-or-treating.

One very tired Halloween-er...who isn't ready to stop being Buzz quite yet.