New Tricks

Over the last few months, I've been up to a lot and I've been up to nothing, all at the same time.  The upside about an injury is that you have a lot of time to read and bake and mostly just putz around. The truth is, I like to putz. But I'm quickly learning I like to intermittently putz around. When those moments where you have nothing to do are sprinkled between moments when you have a lot to do.  Mostly, I miss having a lot to do.  Luckily, my days of lounging are winding down.  With a little luck and lots of elbow grease, after three weeks of physical therapy, I'll be back at it.  Well, back at a lot of it, and back to enjoying those periodic moments with nothing to do and nowhere to go.

Don't get me wrong, I feel like I've been using my time.  Most of my allotted standing time has been spent in my kitchen.  Nothing too fancy, just old recipes with new tricks.

Like theses.  The peanut butter cookies I've made forever, with some new milk chocolate chips.

Or this lemon tart, now with a whole wheat short bread crust. 

So, I'll admit a good bit of all this has been fun and I've definitely learned some things. Some valuable things.  I've learned that these peanut butter cookies really are better with chocolate chips and that four year old boys really appreciate scooping out the dough and picking out all the chocolate chips.  I've also learned that I am obsessed with whole wheat short bread crusts. Like really really into everything about them-- texture, taste, and color.  

I've got some work to do, but hey- I've got some time. 

The last of the huckleberries

As a kid we had several blueberry bushes in our yard, mostly they were just for show, the birds would eat most of the bounty, but we were never short of berries. Between the backyard and our down the street neighbors Pick-your-own-blueberry farm, our pancakes never went without and our freezer was full all winter long. My sister used to eat the frozen berries straight from the bag until her teeth and fingers were numb and her hands and mouth stained a purple you were sure would last weeks.

I, on the other hand, preferred the cakes and breads and pies. I'm still a firm believer in blueberries and this summer when I return home to the east coast to visit my oldest sister and her newest baby boy, I fully intend on eating my fair share-- and then some. 

But, for the past two summers, as I've made my home here in the Pacific Northwest, I've developed a taste for a new type of berry... Huckleberries.  At the end of last summer I had five pounds in my freezer and despite surviving a move across town, I am finally nearing the last of the huckleberries. 

In fact, I'm pretty sure this will be the last baked good I make with them- I have plans to use the leftovers to make huckleberry sipping vinegar for summer cocktails. Huckleberry and Gin anyone? But until then I  leave you with yet again another dessert you can justifiably eat for breakfast. 

Huckleberry Crumb Bars. 

This recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen's  adaptation of this recipe from Allrecipes. I liked the first adaptions, but cut down the sugar and upped the lemon a little, to brighten up my frozen huckleberries. Also, since my berries were frozen I kept them that way, but if you have fresh ones, use those. 

1 cup sugar 

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

8 ounces butter (cold) 

1 egg

zest of one lemon

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice 

3 tablespoons cornstarch 

4 cups (frozen) huckleberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch pan

In a bowl mix together 1 cup sugar, flour, and baking powder, then add salt and lemon zest.  Work in cold butter and egg with a knife or pastry cutter. The dough will be crumbly, however take care not to leave large chunks of butter.  Pour half of the dough into the prepared pan and press it down, with your fingers is fine, to form a bottom crust.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl mix 1/3 cup sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch until the corn starch is well incorporated. Mix in berries. Spread berries evenly over bottom crust. Crumble the remaining crust over top, but do not press down

Bake for 45 minutes or until top is slightly golden brown.  Let chill completely before cutting. 

Until next summer, I bid you adieu, Huckleberries. You'll be missed. 

For the days I don't eat cake

It's probably not a surprise, but I really don't like savory breakfast. Some day's I'll have an egg, but only if I get to eat it with pancakes or waffles.  Really, I prefer cookies. Sometimes the healthy kind with jam, but somedays (usually Mondays) I go straight for the chocolate chip I often get to take home from work on Sunday nights. Usually there's only a half left over, because contrary to anything any parent or health care professional has told you, chocolate chip cookies make great late night snacks too.

But there comes a day, and it doesn't come often, where you wake up and think-- I should really eat something that is not a cookie for breakfast.  For those days, I've discovered this:

Ginger Granola with Almonds, Flax, and Cranberries.


It's delicious, it really is. Also it makes me eat healthier things in the morning like the goat milk yogurt I've recently become obsessed with.  I loosely followed a granola recipe from Bon Appétit and it really is a better granola.  I know this doesn't mean a lot from the girl who eats cookies for breakfast, but sometimes I like granola to just be granola.   The secret here is the egg white. It gives the granola a good crunch without adding too much of the stuff you'd find in my chocolate chip cookie.... butter...ummmm.

For my version I skipped the brown sugar and used a heavy 1/2 cup of good maple syrup. I also used slivered almonds and toasted flax seeds for my nuts. And added a lot of ground ginger.  Next time I make this I may even use two egg whites for even more crunch.

The above recipe from Bon Appétit is meant to be experimented with. The only thing I would suggest would be to keep the general proportions of oats, to nuts, to oil, to sugar/syrup.  

Here's what I did: 

Ginger Almond Flax Granola

2 egg whites, beaten

3 cups oats

1 cup slivered toasted almonds

1/2 cup toasted flax seeds 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

2 teaspoons ground ginger 

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch nutmeg

pinch ground clove 

1/4 melted coconut oil (could use olive oil)

1/2 cup maple syrup 

1 cup dried unsweetened cranberries (added in after granola is cooked) 

Mix all ingredients except cranberries together and cook for about an hour at 300 degrees, stirring and rotating pan every ten minutes. Mostly you are looking for a golden brown color not a crisp, because the granola will continue to crisp as it cools. 

Also, I feel like this would make good Christmas gifts (get ready everyone) especially when you put it in pretty jars like this. 

In Celebration

I really like Birthdays. Especially when it's your good friend's and it's one drawn out day of indulgent celebration. Because turning a quarter century old is a big deal and I for one am down for a good PARTY.

Especially a party that involves pizza and lots of dessert.

People have serious opinions about brownies.  There are people who like their brownies fudgey, some cakey, some with walnuts, and still others with frosting on top.  But whatever your preference, I think we can all agree, we brownie lovers are continuously on the hunt for the most perfect one. 

Personally, I like blondies, a whole different kind of brownie, but that's for a different day...

So in celebration of birthdays and the search for the most perfect brownies- I have one to add to the pile.  

Salted Caramel Brownies. 

I am not sure if these take the award or not. They're a little decedent for your everyday brownie consumption, but I think there just right for birthday celebrations. 

I didn't change a thing, and followed this recipe to the tee, both for the brownies and for the salted caramels.  The only thing I will suggest, is that my caramels turned out a little on the softer side- and although I don't have anything to compare it too- I liked it. A lot. So don't fret if you plan on making it all in one day and don't have the patience to let your caramels completely set.  But, if you do have the time, or are not prone to procrastination, by all means let them get fully firm and then make your batter. 

Cheers! 

Year of Happiness

I don't want to knock to 2012, nor do I want to sound cliche, but I am pretty certain 2013 is going to be a great one.  A really great one.  Mostly because it started with this:

Meyer Lemon Bread Pudding.  Right?

It's gonna be a good year.  Full of lemons, resourcefulness, and happiness.  I never really make resolutions, mostly because I feel all the little things we're supposed to resolve to do, or not do,- eat fewer sweets, run more, be a better person, etc. etc. get old too quickly. But I do like intentions.  So for the sake of declarations: this year I intend to live purely in happiness. Oh yeah, that and eat more bread pudding.  I've got to say, so far, I'm off to a good start.

It may seem obvious, but the key to good bread pudding lies in, you guessed it, the bread. I used two day old Columbia City Levin bread, which is as delicious fresh as it is in bread pudding. As I've found myself in possession of a decent amount of stale bread lately, bread pudding was the obvious choice.  One of the things I like most about bread pudding is how it comes to fruition. It's the proverbial making of lemonade, the spinning of straw to gold version of a dessert.  We make the best of what we have, and then we make it better.  I didn't even plan this, but really it's a great metaphor for the new year.

Thanks 2012 you were great, but I'll take what you've got and raise you an even better year in 2013.


I'm a firm believer that all things made with Meyer lemons are infinitely better than any similar version made without them.  I'm working on scientifically proving it too.

As always, I made lemon curd this way.  I doubled the recipe thinking I'd need more than usual, however it wasn't necessary, one batch will be plenty. Side note: Lemon curd freezes well in an airtight container if somehow you can't think of enough other things to eat the leftovers on. So far I've done french toast, a broken piece of leftover chocolate chip cookie, and in honor of a clean slate New Year,  a spoon on two separate occasions.

Also, if your lemon custard is a little soft that's totally fine for bread pudding because you'll bake the whole thing over again. In fact, I would suggest undercooked the first time is much much better than taking your custard too far to start. Additionally, I would make your lemon custard the day before or at least several hours before you want to bake the pudding so it has time to set up properly.

Now for the pudding, pudding.

Begin with your bread. I cut up 3/4 of a loaf of Columbia City Levin into one inch squares with the crust still intact.  Many recipes call for the de-crusting of the bread, but I think the crust gives the dessert a little more texture.  I compensate for the presence of crust by letting my bread soak in the pudding custard for 20-25 minutes before baking it.

Basic Bread Pudding Custard: 

4 eggs
1/2 - 3/4 granulated sugar (depending on where you fall on the sweet to sweet-tart scale) I found that since your adding lemon curd you don't need more than 1/2 cup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 quart whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons of finely finely diced lemon zest


In a bowl whisk eggs plus 1/4 cup sugar together, set aside. In a sauce pan bring milk and 1/4 sugar to a  simmer.  Remove from heat and pour into egg mixture slowly while continuously whisky to keep the eggs from cooking. Add salt and lemon zest.  Mix to combine.  Pour mixture over bread pieces and let sit for 20-25 minutes. I used a large roasting or baking pan for this step to ensure all of the bread was covered in custard.

After the bread has absorbed the majority of the liquid, transfer 3/4 of the bread into a buttered 9 inch cake round.  Spread evenly with lemon curd. Cover the curd with the rest of the bread mixture and pour any remaining pudding custard over top.  Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the sides begin to pull away from the edge of the pan.  Personally I think bread pudding is best served warm, but be my guest; eat it any way you like.

Hopefully, this recipe goes as perfectly with your new years resolutions as it does with mine...

I was meaning to say this earlier, but here you go.

It's the first day of December.  I can't believe it. As we leave thoughts of turkey's and cranberry sauce behind, and march on into anticipation of twinkle lights and tinsel (yes, I love Christmas right down to the very last holiday themed napkin), I still have some things to say about Pie.

Besides the obvious (that it's always amazing, even when it isn't that amazing) to me it's a dessert full of history. Chalk full of tradition and reminders of home.  Where I'm from Pie is a thing.  Everyone's family has their own version of the standard Apple (cheddar cheese anyone?) and any number of holiday and non holiday reasons to eat them. Don't even get me started on how we feel about our crusts, or rather, the best way to make dough. I imagine there have been hard feelings felt over lard v. butter, or more v. less water debates.  However, what I miss most about Vermont, are the truck stops linning I-90 brimming with pie slices of every variety slowly spinning in rotating glass cases.  It's fantastic.  We all had our favorites. My dad loved chocolate cream. My sister Hazel had a passion for Key Lime pie that persisted above all else. And my oldest sister Rose still prefers pumpkin over pecan. 

I've always been a fan of pies that showcase what I love most... sugar.  So I thought I would try my hand at a New England specialty.  Maple Sugar pie.  It's exactly as it sounds. And I have to say it's  possibly the best and by the far the sweetest pie I've ever had.  I have strong opinions on maple syrup, thoughts that I thoroughly and often express to anyone who will listen, but Sugar Pie may just be the crown jewel, the icing on the cake, the king of the mountain, I could go on, of maple syrup desserts.

The filling is simple. The crumble is easy. The whole thing takes maybe, excluding the crust making, fifteen minutes.  I got the recipe from a cookbook aptly tittled Pie, which includes 300 pie recipes from all over the country, compiled by a mustached man who resembles an older looking Brawny man.

The only amendment I made was making a little extra crumble, which I added towards the end of the baking time, mainly to keep the pie looking pretty.  Also, I ended up baking the pie for about 40 minutes, despite the author's warning to resist baking over 30 minutes.  While I have nothing to compare it to, I don't regret it. Not at all.

Sugar Pie
Adapted from Pie 

Crumble:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Mix dry ingredients in bowl and work in butter with hands or pastry cutter until you reach a sand like texture. Pour 1/3 of the crumble on top of a pre-baked pie crust. Side Note: To pre- bake your pie crust make sure your rolled out crust is completely frozen, and make sure you wrap tin foil tightly down over the crust.  You can use pie weights, but dried beans work just as well.

Filling:
1 cup Vermont Maple Syrup (the recipe did not say Vermont, but let's get serious here shall we?)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the Maple Syrup over burner until warm, turn off heat and whisk in baking soda, whisk in eggs and vanilla. Pour filling into the shell. Top with the second third of the crumble.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes then rotate 180 degrees and continue to make for another 10 minutes. Pull pie from oven, spread the rest of the crumble evenly overtop of the pie and bake for the remaining 10 to 20 minutes. Pie will still look considerably jiggly, however it will continue to thicken and set up as it cools and as the crumble expands.

While Sugar Pie can be served warm, I think it's best room temp.  Feel free to serve with fresh whipped cream, but make sure it's not too sweet because it's name speaks for itself. It's sweet. Really, really sweet.