Apple Cake- a variation of Ottolenghi’s recipe

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I found this recipe here – at Zeb Bakes.

And it looked really good.  I’ve been wanting some apple cake, and I gave

my daughter in law, Willow, Ottolenghi- The Cookbook for her birthday- and I

felt a little bad, because he is based in the UK, in London, and his recipes are

all in grams and millilitres. ( Not to mention the temperature in Celcius and

gas marks!)  So I decided to use a conversion table from food.com and convert the

recipe for average American cooks- into cups and ounces.

And then after I got the measurements right= I discovered I didn’t have any almond

meal and that the walnuts turned the cake kind of pink.  So I decided to use Macadamia

nuts- which changed the look of the cake – plus I sprinkled some Pampered Chef Cinnamon1

Sparkles on top before baking. (And I just remembered that I used one small tub of chopped

pears and one medium sized golden apple for the fruit.)

Ingredients:

1 medium apple, peeled and diced

1 pear, peeled and diced ( or 1 lunch size tub of diced pears, drained)

Zest of lemon- juice of 1/2 lemon

1 3/4 cup AP flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup ground nut meal ( I used macadamia and it was wonderful- you could use almond, if you prefer)

2/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup toasted, chopped nuts( again I used macadamia nuts- but you could use walnuts.)

3 large eggs, separated

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

Streusel /crumb topping :

1/4 cup of soft butter

2 Tbs sugar

2/3 cup AP flour

Method:

First put together the crumb topping, 

mix all three items in a bowl and rub the butter into the flour and sugar

with your fingers until well incorporated- refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 340 degrees F, and grease and flour several loaf pans.

Put fruit into small bowl with lemon zest and vanilla and squeeze half of lemon over apple.

Add roasted nuts and set aside.

Sift flour and baking soda and ground nuts into a large bowl, add cinnamon and whisk

into the flour mixture, set aside,

In two smallish bowls, separate 2 of the eggs whites in one bowl, yolks into the other.

Add the 3rd egg into the yolks.

Mix the sugar and the oil in a large measuring cup, it will be very stiff, but mix together until

the sugar is almost completely dissolved.  Add the yolks into the oil and sugar mixture.

Add the fruit mixture to the flour mix and stir until the flour is incorporated and them pour

the sugar/oil into the large boil and stir until all the flour . Mix together- the dough will be stiff

and hard to stir.  Beat the reserved egg whites and the pinch of salt into stiff peaks and carefully fold

into cake mixture.  Do not over mix- the whites are to help  give the cake a little extra rise.

Pour batter into greased and floured loaf pans, and spoon the crumb topping onto the top of the batter.

Bake at 340 degrees F for about an hour- checking with bamboo skewer to test for doneness,

( skewer should come out of center of cake, dry.)

002I took this to my knitting group whilst it was still hot from the oven.

We ate half of it- amidst much smacking of lips and yumming it up! ;D

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It is light and delicious and very apple-y!

A perfect Autumn Apple Cake.

Saffron and honey Sun bread- recipe and photos

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My son and grandson read me a story about a baker who baked a bread that lit up her kitchen.

I have made sun shaped bread before- and I wanted to make one

for Aidan to see!

So here is the recipe!

1 cup scalded milk

4 oz. margarine or butter

1 tsp saffron, crushed into powder in your mortar

1/4 cup honey

2 tsps rapid rise yeast ( or you could use regular yeast- just put it into the water

with a 1/2 tsp sugar to proof)

1 cup HOT water

5 1/2 to 6 cups bread flour

3/4 cup rye flour

1 tsp salt

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Scald the milk, add the saffron and honey, and butter and stir- let the margarine melt,

and give the saffron a chance to turn the milk yellow. Open-mouthed smile

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Mix the flours, salt, and yeast in a large bowl, make a well in the center of the flour

mix and pour both the milk mixture and hot water into the well and stir into the flour.

The dough should be a little sticky- if it is too dry add a little more water.

You don’t need to knead this dough- just mix all the flour into the dough and

put a smear of butter in the bowl.  Flour your hand, pick up the dough and fold it

back into the bowl.  Fold several times smearing the butter around the surface of the

dough and then cover and let it sit for about 10 minutes.  Fold again, at least four times.

Cover and leave it alone for another 10-20 minutes.  Fold again- it should be rather smooth

by now, wipe a little butter across the top of the dough and cover  and leave alone for

about 90 minutes, until doubled in size.

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Now shape 9 small oblong pieces and place in a circular shape.

Make a large dough ball and fit it over the ends of the pieces.

Pinch the ends of the pieces so they look like a sun’s rays.

Roll out small ropes of dough and build a face and attach with  the sharp end of a

bamboo skewer- pushing the ropes into place and securing them by going under

the surface lightly.  Brush the top with an egg wash and cover- let raise for about 45

minutes, until it is almost double- and puffy looking and then bake at 375 F until

golden brown- around 35 minutes.

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You can shape this dough easily into any form you want-

I also made some star bursts, rolls and a small loaf.

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And they turned out quite deliciously beautiful, as well

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What to do with a glut of tomatoes?

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Sausage and fresh roasted tomato sauce on

3 color Rotini!

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Turkey and black bean chili w/ fresh and roasted

tomatoes cooked into the meat.

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Tomato and cheddar pie (or quiche!)

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Roasted tomatoes and garlic with basil-

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Spread on fresh made bread!  So good.

So far I’m keeping up with the tomatoes- but

then again I didn’t go into the garden today.

I think I’m going to be roasting up another

couple of batches and freezing them for later

in the winter tomorrow!

Got any suggestions?

Psalm 3 “ GOD! LOOK!”

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Psalm 3

1-2 God! Look! Enemies past counting! Enemies sprouting like mushrooms,
   Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery:
   "Hah! No help for him from God!"
3-4 But you, God, shield me on all sides;
   You ground my feet, you lift my head high;
   With all my might I shout up to God,
   His answers thunder from the holy mountain.
5-6 I stretch myself out. I sleep.
   Then I’m up again—rested, tall and steady,
   Fearless before the enemy mobs
   Coming at me from all sides.
7 Up, God! My God, help me!
   Slap their faces,
   First this cheek, then the other,
   Your fist hard in their teeth!
8 Real help comes from God.
   Your blessing clothes your people!

Of all the psalms and psalmists- I must admit I like David the best.

I like his perspective- I like the names he gives for God.

I like the way he partners with God.

I like his praise.

I like his advice.

I LIKE David.

And I believe God does, too.

God “said” in both I Samuel 13:13 and Acts 13:22- that David was

a man after God’s own heart.

I’m not totally sure what that means.

I’ve heard plenty of sermons by people who have told me what

They believed it means.  And some of what they say is legitimate-

But it is an open-ended statement.

I think it may mean that God and David agreed on some very

important issues. 

I think it may mean that David was a man that accepted his need

for forgiveness and guidance.

God also said “ Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated.”- Romans 9:13.

And 

Psalm 115:3 MSG

“Our God is in heaven doing whatever he wants to do.”

I’m not going to be real quick to ascribe the reasons for God’s approbation

and love for the guy.

I just know, that I LIKE DAVID– a lot.

I resonate well with his psalms- I understand a lot of his decisions-

and even his sins make a lot of sense to me.

So- I’m going to be looking at the psalms of David – and the life of David-

to take a closer look at David’s view of God.

Interested in coming along on the journey?

Tempura, tempura! recipe for fried basil leaves!

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Or maybe-“Batter’s up!” ?

I was reading a favorite blog , Chopinandmysaucepan,

and found the recipe for stuffed zucchini flowers the other day.

They looked really good, and I had at least a dozen flowers (with no

real hope for squash-just flowers) on my plants.  So I decided to make

them.

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I went out and picked my flowers and prepared them to stuff.

Apparently the stamen inside the flower is bitter and needs to be

removed.  (I hadn’t known this before- glad I read Chopin’s post!)

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Take these out- I found it worked well to use a serrated butter knife.

 

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Mix together:
1 TBS of ricotta cheese for each flower.

I used 12 TBS for my flowers.

The juice from  lemon or lime-depending on your preference.

I used half of a lemon and half a lime. Smile

a handful of flat parsley, chopped

a pinch of fine sea salt

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I was going to show you the stuffing process, but I

couldn’t stuff and take a picture at the same time,

and Jordan wasn’t available

to be cameraman.  Open up the flower carefully and gently

stuff one tablespoon of mixture into the center.

Mold flower around the cheese and then give the tips of

the flower a twist and it will stay closed.

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Next comes the tempura batter.

You can buy a mix.  I have done that in the past,

but it is just as easy to make.

Although there are a lot of recipes out there that are

very different from each other.

Flour, egg,and water…flour, cornstarch,water and soda…

flour, cornstarch, and seltzer water…?

I used a little of each:

1 egg separated

1 cup flour

1 heaping TBS cornstarch

1 cup ice water

Mix together flour and cornstarch, beat egg white until fluffy,

mix yolk and water together and stir into flour mix until all

incorporated and fold in egg white.

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Heat up cooking oil (3/4 cup –1 cup in pan) until a drop of tempura

starts to sizzle and then dip each flower into batter and place in

pan so that they don’t touch.

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Fry until lightly browned- turn over and fry other side.

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Eat while still warm- these are truly delicious!

BUT- I still had a lot of batter left!

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So I fried up chicken pieces for a salad topper.

AND then I still had a lot of batter.

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I remembered hearing some where how good basil is fried in

tempura batter- so I fried up a leaf.

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It was so very good !

021SO VERY GOOD!

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That one wasn’t even close to enough!

The basil was fantastic.  The flavor burst with the frying- it was crisp

and fulsome in your mouth.  Really- it was better than the stuffed zucchini

blossoms.  I made up at least  2 dozen basil leaves and we ate them- every

one!

Tempura batter and basil leaves- my newest obsession in appetizers.

Give it a try- you will like it!

Psalm 43- the altar of God, to God my joy and my delight.

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Psalm 43

Give judgement for me, O God,
take up my cause against an ungodly people :
deliver me from deceitful and wicked men.
For you are God my refuge
why have you turned me away? :
why must I go like a mourner because the enemy oppresses me?
O send out your light and your truth, and let them lead me :
let them guide me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Then I shall go to the altar of God,
to God my joy and my delight :
and to the harp I shall sing your praises,
O God, my God.
Why are you so full of heaviness, my soul :
and why so unquiet within me?
O put your trust in God :
for I will praise him yet, who is my deliverer and my God.

 

This is the psalm we read at my son, Luke’s, ordination last Saturday.

It was a very special day- the beginning of his lifetime desire to serve

the Lord and God’s people.  His journey took him into the Episcopal Church

where he is now a priest. 

We traveled by plane, because the roads in Eastern Pennsylvania were

washed out.  There were extra inspections because it was Sept. 11,2011-

And the planes weren’t very full- because not a lot of people were traveling

by plane on that particular weekend.

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And we were privileged to play a part in the ordination- Frank and I were presenters-

(along with several mentoring priests),  standing before the bishop, we said,

”Lawrence, Bishop in the Church of God, on behalf of the clergy and people of the Diocese of

Long Island, we present to you Lucas Franklin Fodor to be ordained a priest in Christ’s holy

catholic Church .

Then, after the bishop questioned us further-

We certify to you that he has satisfied the requirements of the canons, and we believe him

qualified for this order.”

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And then after much prayer and song, and the laying on of hands, and the reading of

this psalm and other scripture,

 

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Luke got this great big hug of welcome from the bishop.

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There was a whole lot of liturgy going on- and at the end- we had Communion.

It was a beautiful ceremony and I loved it- seeing my son become a priest.

But the very best part happened the next morning.  When we went to the morning service,

Luke served the communion- I don’t have the correct terms- but you know what I mean.

And at the end of the service, the rector, David Ware, and Luke came down the aisle together,

as we waited in our pews for the last song.  And they were smiling and bumping shoulders

as they walked together- FILLED with the the joy of the Lord!  The looks on their faces were so happy-

like something you would see on a soccer field when one of them has just scored the winning

goal.

Seeing them like that, brought back the words of this psalm, Psalm 43,

”O send out your light and your truth, and let them lead me :
let them guide me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Then I shall go to the altar of God,
to God my joy and my delight : “

I wish I had taken my camera on Sunday morning- because that is the picture

I most want to post.  You will have to see it in your mind’s eye.

Two men, coming from the altar of God,

…God, their joy and delight!

Feeding the Russians on the roof.

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Today was one of those days.

Things just weren’t going right.

I’m still not feeling well after getting blitzed with

a bug on our plane trip to New York.

The internet connection went out after I had finished

up on Facebook, but before I had gotten to read even one

of my daily blogs.

It’s cold.  Generally I like cold.

But not when I’m sick and shivering with the cold.

There was a terrible banging in my head and over my head.

We are getting a new roof.

And these guys were here quite early banging and hammering

on the roof.

So, I decided to make some chicken soup to make me happier.

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That has helped considerably.

Next I set about getting back on the net.  Checked out my system- clear.

Checked out the black box- plugged in and solid green lights- clear.

Checked out the router box- unplugged!

BAD!  I plugged it back in and realized the roofers had started banging

and hammering just before I lost service.

Decided to forgive them for a frustration they didn’t realize they caused-

knocking my plug out of the socket with all their pounding.

So I baked them some chocolate chip cookies.

They are a crew of Russians who don’t speak much English.

 

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But they are very fluent in Chocolate chip cookies.

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And now my day is just a lot better.

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Especially since my husband came home and started clearing up the roofing

mess all about the yard-008

And the Russians decided to finish up tomorrow so the banging and

hammering has finally stopped.

Funny how chicken soup and chocolate chip cookies can make your day happier.

In my Kitchen- September

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Corn- glorious –corn.

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I cleaned the silk and outer husks and put it into these special vegetable

bags to keep them fresh before I get to roasting the ears.

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In my kitchen-

Whole wheat bread bears in large and small sizes!  I made them up to

use as hostess gifts for the wonderful people who shared their homes

with us during my son’s ordination. ( I also made the little ones for the

grandsons!)

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In my kitchen-

I recently found this at a yard sale- I’m going to use it to cut homemade noodles!

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In my kitchen-

A whole pile of yummies from Australia!  Macadamia nuts by the bagful and jarful!

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– honey with strong names and flavors and colors!

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AND Tim Tams!!! lovely Tim Tams!

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In my kitchen-

is a batch of nutty granola ready to bake.

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In my kitchen – are teas flowers ready to bloom in my new glass pot.

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In my kitchen- are black, pink and red salts.  I’m not sure about the

correct recipe for the black yet, but the Himalaya pink is rather delicate

and I generally use it in rice for a quiet little salt.  The Hawaiian red I

use in making pulled pork.  A little smoke flavor and this salt gives

a pretty authentic flavor!

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In my kitchen- are scoops of all sizes and types!

I never met a scoop I didn’t like!

Well– that is what is in my kitchen this September.  What is in yours?

To see others in this series , check out Celia’s blog Fig Jam and Lime Cordial-

and see what bloggers are sharing from their kitchens, this month.

It’s all about FOOD!

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Today’s blog, that is.

ALL about the purchasing,making, preparing,

baking and enjoying of good food.

I am an admitted foodie!

I love all kinds of food- but I tend not to go too

heavy with sauces or pricey dishes.

I’d love to experiment and play with sauces and

expensive items- but my husband likes plain food

fixed well.  So that is how I cook. Mostly how I cook,

anyway.

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grilled pork chop with a stripe of homemade salsa, basmati

and wild rice and fresh corn on the cob.

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roast beef on grinder roll ,green salad with olives and

freshly grated Romano cheese, and creamy Italian sausage and

flat bean soup.

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We went to Wayne County- Farm country- to get the beans

and the sausage.  This is a bulk food store run by the Mennonites.

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I love the sign on the door.  Definitely an indicator of what is

inside.   From God’s blessing on modest dressing to being –

Closed to Closed on Sunday. 

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It has a deli- a baked goods area- a small produce table-

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packaged bulk items- and fresh eggs from local farms and frozen meats

from local butchers.

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And Lots of Mennonite ladies !

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(also quite local!)

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The market is right across the street from the church.

013 I bought the broad Italian beans  and

sausage and went home to make a really delicious soup.

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Really delicious.

Creamy Italian sausage and bean soup

Ingredients:

1 lb of bulk Italian sausage

2 large handfuls of Italian broad beans- almost 2 lbs.

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and julienned

5 cups chicken broth

Oregano and Basil, dried 1 tsp each

fresh 2 TBS each chopped finely

1 handful of fresh spinach

3/4 cup half and half- or cream

Method:

Sautee sausage and onions together, add carrot and continue cooking until

sausage is browned, onion translucent and carrots shiny and cooked.

Add chicken broth and herbs and simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes.

Taste to see if it needs salt and pepper.  Mine didn’t – although I ALWAYS add

fresh pepper at the table. Smile

Throw in your handful of spinach- this added a beautiful color and texture- and

put a lid to cover and cook for another 10 minutes or so.

Then add the cream, allow the soup to heat back up but don’t let it get to a boil!

Serve with a salad or sandwich. 

Enjoy!

Marbled Sourdough Rye- recipe

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I broke the rules and cut the bread whilst it was still warm- I couldn’t

help myself.  I was hungry.

It was lunchtime and I wanted –

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This for lunch.  Avocado with lots of black pepper on rye!

This is one of my ALL-TIME favorite sandwiches.

But first I had to make the bread.

My starter had been complaining of not being used enough.

My bread had become rather white and boring- mostly toast bread for my husband’s

breakfast.

And so I decided to make a marble that he could toast and I could enjoy.

I made a classic sourdough rye-

1 cup starter (sorry Celia and Joanna- I don’t know the saturation- but I had been feeding

it a cup of water (approx) to a cup of flour (again, approximate)- for several days before I

used it.)

2 cups dark rye flour

1 cup white rye flour

1 cup high gluten white bread flour

1 tsp yeast

I- 1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tsp sugar

1 TBS salt

2 TBS molasses

3 TBS butter

1/2 cup milk scalded

3 tsp caraway seeds

I added all the flours to the starter and mixed in the water with the sugar and yeast

proofed into it at once.  ( Did I mention I wanted to eat the avocado sandwich for lunch?)
Then I scalded the milk for 2 minutes on high in the microwave, added the butter and molasses

and mixed that into the dough, adding the salt and seeds last.

Mixed it well, kneaded it for about 10 minutes and shaped into a ball to raise.

Then I made a quick white bread-

3 cups bread flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

1 1/2 cups water

– proofed the yeast with the water, added flour and salt- and kneaded for about

5 minutes and then put into greased bowl and allowed to raise.

After about 45 minutes- I divided the dough in half and made two loaves (it wasn’t actually

in half I had a Large ball and a medium ball) –one a long loaf and one shaped in the banneton.

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For the shaping, I rolled out the rye, and then place a smaller piece of white dough on top and

rolled it up, pinching it very severely to keep it in shape.

Slashed the long loaf and let them both raise for another 45minutes to an hour.

I then preheated the oven very hot- 500 F degrees and put in a tin of hot water

and placed the long loaf into the oven.   I should have turned the heat down to 450 F but I

was distracted with the banneton loaf and was busy transferring it to a parchment papered

pan.

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The slashes were too deep and the white bread broke through and the oven WAS

too hot, so the first loaf was quite dark.

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I had turned down the temp for the second loaf- and it was quite pretty (which

was fortunate because I’m giving this loaf to some friends!)

 I ended up baking the first loaf for about 45 minutes, the second loaf for almost

the same time- but at a lowered temperature.

But I did get my sandwich – only a little late for my regular lunch time- and it was

exactly what I wanted!

And that is part of the reason I love baking bread-

EATING BREAD!