I've been following The Kitchen Magpie for quite awhile. Love the stuff she makes. I was hungry for pancakes this morning, and remembered a recent post of hers for Apple Pie Pancakes.
Made them, loved them. Even husband, on first few bites, said "MMMMMM".
go, make apple pie pancakes. Your tummy will thank you.
November 14, 2010
July 18, 2010
orange cream
Take half a cantaloupe, that's still a little unripe and crunchy. Peel and chop it into pieces, throw it in a blender or food processor. Add half a cup of cold water, 2 TBSP orange juice concentrate, and half a cup vanilla yogurt. Blend.
Drink, and remember being a child and the orange creamsicles you got from Senn's Dairy. :)
Drink, and remember being a child and the orange creamsicles you got from Senn's Dairy. :)
July 1, 2010
cupcake yum!
We had a work function yesterday, and I was feeling the desire to bake. So I made cupcakes. Many cupcakes. Yummy cupcakes. Cupcakes that were devoured quickly. So quickly I wasn't able to get a picture.
In my hunt to find cupcakes that were unique and yummy, I came across about 5 recipes that fit the bill. Then narrowed it to two - Lemonade cupcakes & Coconut cupcakes.
I pretty much followed the recipes as given, though I did make my own cream cheese frosting. For the lemonade cupcakes, I added about a tablespoon of the lemonade. I wanted sour lemon gummies, but couldn't find any, so I just topped them with colored sprinkles. And for the coconut cupcakes, I added about an eighth of a cup of the coconut milk, and a very small splash of coconut extract. And I toasted the coconut I sprinkled on the top, which I definitely think added more flavor. (Next time I'd toast it all first, then add it.)
The coconut seemed to be everyone's favorite. It had good flavor and was moist. Not too sweet. And yes, the recipe really does make 30 cupcakes! (I got 32 out of it!)
The lemonade cupcakes were a bit on the sweet side. I added some yellow food coloring to the cupcake and the frosting. Made it a nice summery color. They were definitely moist. It did not make 30 cupcakes - only 24. I'm gonna have to play with the recipe to see if I can come up with one that uses fresh squeezed lemonade and not a cake mix...
In my hunt to find cupcakes that were unique and yummy, I came across about 5 recipes that fit the bill. Then narrowed it to two - Lemonade cupcakes & Coconut cupcakes.
I pretty much followed the recipes as given, though I did make my own cream cheese frosting. For the lemonade cupcakes, I added about a tablespoon of the lemonade. I wanted sour lemon gummies, but couldn't find any, so I just topped them with colored sprinkles. And for the coconut cupcakes, I added about an eighth of a cup of the coconut milk, and a very small splash of coconut extract. And I toasted the coconut I sprinkled on the top, which I definitely think added more flavor. (Next time I'd toast it all first, then add it.)
The coconut seemed to be everyone's favorite. It had good flavor and was moist. Not too sweet. And yes, the recipe really does make 30 cupcakes! (I got 32 out of it!)
The lemonade cupcakes were a bit on the sweet side. I added some yellow food coloring to the cupcake and the frosting. Made it a nice summery color. They were definitely moist. It did not make 30 cupcakes - only 24. I'm gonna have to play with the recipe to see if I can come up with one that uses fresh squeezed lemonade and not a cake mix...
Cah-razy cat
Last night we're heading to bed. I wonder aloud where our cat Norman is. Husband says he may be in the garage, as he'd gone in and out. Since I was still up, I went downstairs to look.
Open the garage door, call Norman. I hear a meow, some rustling. No cat. I turn on light, hear more rustling, still no cat. Look around.
here's how I found him
He's managed to climb up onto our shelves we built last summer. Standing on tip toes, my fingers reach maybe 2 inches above the wood.
Norman just sat there and meowed at me. I tried to figure out how he got up there, because I couldn't help him down. I looked at the other side, and he wandered back through the boxes, across the shelves, then down onto the top of the car, and onto the floor.
yes, my cat is crazy.
Open the garage door, call Norman. I hear a meow, some rustling. No cat. I turn on light, hear more rustling, still no cat. Look around.
here's how I found him
He's managed to climb up onto our shelves we built last summer. Standing on tip toes, my fingers reach maybe 2 inches above the wood.
Norman just sat there and meowed at me. I tried to figure out how he got up there, because I couldn't help him down. I looked at the other side, and he wandered back through the boxes, across the shelves, then down onto the top of the car, and onto the floor.
yes, my cat is crazy.
May 30, 2010
da BOMB of banana breads
Our bookclub's pick this month, thanks to Renee, is A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg. For a number of years now I've been sporadically reading Molly's blog, Orangette. I have enjoyed her blog, and was excited to read the book. One local library only has it via audiobook, and the other one I'm number 15 or something on the list. I'm not a big book buyer, even if they are cheap at Costco. So I got it by audiobook and started listening to it Friday afternoon as I cleaned the kitchen & made Sabbath lunch.
Oh my. It's delightful. Molly talks of all sorts of food, and her life, and it's in such a personal way, I feel like she's right here talking with me about it all. I'm ready to pour over her recipes and start trying new things, she makes them sound so delicious. While listening on Friday, she spoke of Glenn's banana bread. Served with whipped cream.
I LOVE banana bread. It is the one sweet quick bread that I make most often. I enjoy zucchini, pumpkin, rhubarb, and other sweet quick breads, but banana bread is the one I get cravings for, the one that keeps coming to mind when I think of what to make for Sabbath morning breakfast, the one I really need to have.
And cream - cream is my friend. I LOVE cream. I've actually said that if I could eat cereal & cream for breakfast, all the better. And yes, I'll have some coffee with my cream, thank you. However, in order to try to lead a healthier lifestyle, I don't do this often.
But on Friday afternoon, Glenn's banana bread with candied ginger & chocolate chips, along with a healthy dose of fresh whipped cream, sounded absolutely scrumptious to me.
I had looked through Renee's copy of the book, and thought I'd remembered there was a recipe in there for it, but since I've got the audiobook, they skipped the recipes. Not helpful when this banana bread was calling my name. I also thought maybe I'd seen it on her blog once too. So I pulled up Orangette and sure enough, there it was.
We were having friends over for lunch on Sabbath, and I considered making it for dessert. But our friends can't eat dairy, and up until recently couldn't eat soy, and I didn't have enough flax seeds to make egg replacement, and no non-dairy/soy milk, so decided to skip it.
However, it came back to haunt me again today. We were getting together with people to picnic & play kickball. Bar desserts or quick breads are the less time intensive potluck foods. And usually the ones that are sure to be eaten. So I decided to make it.
FAN.TAS.TIC. And I forgot the walnuts (you have to have nuts in banana bread!), and it cooked for 20 minutes extra (somehow it took us 80 minutes to go to the gym & get gas, rather than the normal 45 minutes), and I didn't even eat it with whipped cream. And still, delicious bread! I got a number of compliments on it, and friends telling me they'd eaten at least 3 slices. Sadly, I came home with only 1 slice. And I'm out of candied ginger. (hmm, somewhere to ride my bike tomorrow - the grocery store to get some more... ah ha!)
At some point, I had found another banana bread recipe that had dried apricots in it. I had never tried it, but it sounded good, and I remembered this today - dried apricots seemed they would be a good fit in this bread. I doubled the recipe, and in one loaf I added some chopped up dried apricots - maybe 2/3 cup. I think I liked it even better.
So seriously, if you're looking for a no-fail banana bread, this is the one to try!
Glenn’s Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Candied Ginger
straight from Orangette
(vegan version substitutions appear in parentheses)
1 cup granulated sugar (for vegan version, use raw sugar)
1 large egg (or 1 ½ tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 2 Tbs warm water, says Glenn)
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (or ½ c non-hydrogenated margarine), at room temperature
2 ripe medium-size bananas
3 Tbs milk (or soy milk)
2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips [A.H. note: I used mini chocolate chips]
Small chunks of candied ginger, to taste [A.H. note: I used over 1 cup]
½ cup chopped walnuts, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with butter or cooking spray, and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar, egg, and butter.
In a separate bowl, mash bananas; then mix with milk.
In another separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in three parts, alternating with banana-milk mixture in two parts, stirring by hand until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips, ginger, and optional nuts.
Turn batter into loaf pan, smoothing top with the back of a spoon, and bake for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes; then remove bread from pan and cool on a wire rack.
Eat. Remember that I warned you it was fantastic!
Oh my. It's delightful. Molly talks of all sorts of food, and her life, and it's in such a personal way, I feel like she's right here talking with me about it all. I'm ready to pour over her recipes and start trying new things, she makes them sound so delicious. While listening on Friday, she spoke of Glenn's banana bread. Served with whipped cream.
I LOVE banana bread. It is the one sweet quick bread that I make most often. I enjoy zucchini, pumpkin, rhubarb, and other sweet quick breads, but banana bread is the one I get cravings for, the one that keeps coming to mind when I think of what to make for Sabbath morning breakfast, the one I really need to have.
And cream - cream is my friend. I LOVE cream. I've actually said that if I could eat cereal & cream for breakfast, all the better. And yes, I'll have some coffee with my cream, thank you. However, in order to try to lead a healthier lifestyle, I don't do this often.
But on Friday afternoon, Glenn's banana bread with candied ginger & chocolate chips, along with a healthy dose of fresh whipped cream, sounded absolutely scrumptious to me.
I had looked through Renee's copy of the book, and thought I'd remembered there was a recipe in there for it, but since I've got the audiobook, they skipped the recipes. Not helpful when this banana bread was calling my name. I also thought maybe I'd seen it on her blog once too. So I pulled up Orangette and sure enough, there it was.
We were having friends over for lunch on Sabbath, and I considered making it for dessert. But our friends can't eat dairy, and up until recently couldn't eat soy, and I didn't have enough flax seeds to make egg replacement, and no non-dairy/soy milk, so decided to skip it.
However, it came back to haunt me again today. We were getting together with people to picnic & play kickball. Bar desserts or quick breads are the less time intensive potluck foods. And usually the ones that are sure to be eaten. So I decided to make it.
FAN.TAS.TIC. And I forgot the walnuts (you have to have nuts in banana bread!), and it cooked for 20 minutes extra (somehow it took us 80 minutes to go to the gym & get gas, rather than the normal 45 minutes), and I didn't even eat it with whipped cream. And still, delicious bread! I got a number of compliments on it, and friends telling me they'd eaten at least 3 slices. Sadly, I came home with only 1 slice. And I'm out of candied ginger. (hmm, somewhere to ride my bike tomorrow - the grocery store to get some more... ah ha!)
At some point, I had found another banana bread recipe that had dried apricots in it. I had never tried it, but it sounded good, and I remembered this today - dried apricots seemed they would be a good fit in this bread. I doubled the recipe, and in one loaf I added some chopped up dried apricots - maybe 2/3 cup. I think I liked it even better.
So seriously, if you're looking for a no-fail banana bread, this is the one to try!
Glenn’s Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Candied Ginger
straight from Orangette
(vegan version substitutions appear in parentheses)
1 cup granulated sugar (for vegan version, use raw sugar)
1 large egg (or 1 ½ tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 2 Tbs warm water, says Glenn)
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (or ½ c non-hydrogenated margarine), at room temperature
2 ripe medium-size bananas
3 Tbs milk (or soy milk)
2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips [A.H. note: I used mini chocolate chips]
Small chunks of candied ginger, to taste [A.H. note: I used over 1 cup]
½ cup chopped walnuts, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with butter or cooking spray, and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar, egg, and butter.
In a separate bowl, mash bananas; then mix with milk.
In another separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in three parts, alternating with banana-milk mixture in two parts, stirring by hand until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips, ginger, and optional nuts.
Turn batter into loaf pan, smoothing top with the back of a spoon, and bake for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes; then remove bread from pan and cool on a wire rack.
Eat. Remember that I warned you it was fantastic!
May 28, 2010
May 23, 2010
Triple Cinnamon Scones
As I was perusing King Arthur Flour the other day, I came across Triple Cinnamon Scones. I like scones, but I haven't made them very much. And when I have, they haven't ended up as tender, crisp-toppped, "perfect" as I expected, though they have been tasty. These sounded so good, I felt I needed to make them.
I tweaked the recipe a bit. The recipe calls for cinnamon Flav-R-Bites & Baker's Cinnamon Filling, which are special products King Arthur Flour makes & sells. I wasn't interested in purchasing those items, so I used my own items to make something of similar substance.
These were great. Husband ate two last night right out of the oven, and I had one for breakfast. The innards of cinnamon filling spilled out in the baking process, but still clung around the edges. I didn't put the glaze on. So technically I guess they weren't Triple Cinnamon, rather Double Cinnamon, but whatever. Cinnamon Scones = yum!
Triple Cinnamon Scones
Original recipe by King Arthur Flour, with my tweaks below
Ingredients
Filling
1/2 c butter, very soft, but not melted
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
1 1/2 TBSP ground Saigon Cinnamon
Scones
1/4 c milk
1/4 c heavy cream
1 c cinnamon chips
2 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground Saigon cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pats
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract (I didn't add it, don't know that it misses it)
Optional Glaze
3 1/2 c confectioners' sugar
1 tsp ground Saigon cinnamon
7 TBSP water
Directions
For filling:
1. Take softened butter, and combine w/ remaining ingredients, stirring well to incorporate. Leave and prepare scone dough.
For scones:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
2. Cut in the butter just until the mixture is crumbly; ok if larger chunks of butter are still showing. Toss in the cinnamon chips.
3. Combine beaten eggs, milk & vanilla.
4. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients lightly stirring until all is moistened and holds together. (you may need a splash or two more of milk)
5. Place dough out onto a heavily floured work surface. Pat it into a rough 9" square, around 3/4" thick.
6. Take the filling & spread it over half the dough. Fold dough in half over filling. Pat down to about 8"x10" and about 1/2" thick.
7. Cut the rectangle into whatever sizes you want. I did kind of triangles that I then cut in half. Ended up with 10 scones that were about 7" long & 3" at widest. You can cut them into long rectangles, bite-sized pieces, triangles, etc. Place scones on a lined baking sheet, leaving about 1/2" between each.
8. For the best texture and highest rise, place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered.
9. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
10. Bake scones for 16 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and leave to cool on the pan.
For glaze:
1. Stir together sugar, cinnamon, and water until combined.
2. Coat each scone with glaze by dipping into glaze or drizzling or brushing glaze over the entire scone.
3. Transfer the scones to a rack (scones will drip glaze, so be prepared with a covering under them, or a cloth to clean up later)
May 22, 2010
Lime & White Grape Iced Tea
I found this recipe for Lime & White Grape Iced Tea who knows when in who knows what newspaper. Recently while going through my zillions of recipes, trying to find one specifically, I came across the Lime & White Grape Iced Tea recipe. Decided it was time to make it.
And I'm glad I did. It's quite tasty. I've made two batches in the last week.
Lime & White Grape Iced Tea
2-4 servings
2 c chilled green tea (I've used Stash Fusion Green & White)
2 c chilled white grape juice
6 TBSP freshly squeezed lime juice** (2-4 limes, depending on size)
Sugar to taste, optional
Ice cubes
Small lime wedges, lime slices or grapes, for garnish
Put green tea, grape juice and lime juice in a medium-size pitcher; stir well. Add sugar if desired.
Pour tea mixture into glasses filled with ice. In each glass, float lime wedges or add a bamboo skewer threaded with grapes or lime slices.
** I'd start w/ about 3 TBSP, then adjust by taste. With 6 TBSP it was definitely strong on the lime flavor.
And I'm glad I did. It's quite tasty. I've made two batches in the last week.
Lime & White Grape Iced Tea
2-4 servings
2 c chilled green tea (I've used Stash Fusion Green & White)
2 c chilled white grape juice
6 TBSP freshly squeezed lime juice** (2-4 limes, depending on size)
Sugar to taste, optional
Ice cubes
Small lime wedges, lime slices or grapes, for garnish
Put green tea, grape juice and lime juice in a medium-size pitcher; stir well. Add sugar if desired.
Pour tea mixture into glasses filled with ice. In each glass, float lime wedges or add a bamboo skewer threaded with grapes or lime slices.
** I'd start w/ about 3 TBSP, then adjust by taste. With 6 TBSP it was definitely strong on the lime flavor.
April 20, 2010
pink yummy flowers
So each year these lovely pink flowers bloom. They smell like lilacs, but they're a little ground thing. They make the whole house smell pretty...
(anyone know what they are?)
toe-foo
We don't eat tofu very often in our household. We like it, I just don't think of it often, and don't always know how to prepare it. (I'd be content with tofu and hoisin sauce, or tofu & sriracha hot sauce.) I found some at Cash & Carry awhile back though, and it is seriously some of the best tofu around! It's firm, not mushy, has good flavor even plain, and works well in the different dishes I've tried. At times I crave it, so have to go buy some, and I have to make conscious effort to not try to down the whole thing :)
March 14, 2010
Magpie's Kitchen Sink Chili
I like a good chili. One with the right mix of beans, spice, flavor, meat, tomatoes, etc. And I'm always looking for a good recipe.
Last week I found the following recipe and knew I had to try it. So with Kevin's help, I set about to get it together. I also set out to make cornbread to go with it, but alas, I had no cornmeal. Bah!
However, turns out it's a fantastic recipe. Just the right spice, chili flavor, veggies - yum! I did not even miss the cornbread.
Magpie’s Kitchen Sink Chili, adapted from Country Living, City Style
one can of kidney beans, drained
one can of black beans, drained (I threw in about 3 cups home cooked mixed beans)
one can of crushed tomatoes (I used stewed, mexican style)
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 orange pepper
1/2 green pepper (I did a combo of red & green)
1-2 cups of mushrooms
1/2 white onion diced (ended up adding a whole one accidentally)
2 carrots
2 celery (skipped this, I wasn't interested in celery)
3 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I added this, next time I would add less, or maybe omit)
1/3 cup of ketchup
ground beef or turkey, pre-cooked (skipped it, I didn't feel like it)
Chop everything, throw it together, cook in the oven at 300 for 2-3 hours or for 5-6 hours in the crock pot on high. (I did about 4 hrs in the crockpot)
Once everything has cooked together for a bit, and is soft, take about 1 1/2 cups of the chili, and puree it. Add it back in, and continue to cook it for another 30 minutes or so. This gives it a thicker, tastier base.
Serve with shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream or nothing on top.
Last week I found the following recipe and knew I had to try it. So with Kevin's help, I set about to get it together. I also set out to make cornbread to go with it, but alas, I had no cornmeal. Bah!
However, turns out it's a fantastic recipe. Just the right spice, chili flavor, veggies - yum! I did not even miss the cornbread.
Magpie’s Kitchen Sink Chili, adapted from Country Living, City Style
one can of kidney beans, drained
one can of black beans, drained (I threw in about 3 cups home cooked mixed beans)
one can of crushed tomatoes (I used stewed, mexican style)
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 orange pepper
1/2 green pepper (I did a combo of red & green)
1-2 cups of mushrooms
1/2 white onion diced (ended up adding a whole one accidentally)
2 carrots
2 celery (skipped this, I wasn't interested in celery)
3 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I added this, next time I would add less, or maybe omit)
1/3 cup of ketchup
ground beef or turkey, pre-cooked (skipped it, I didn't feel like it)
Chop everything, throw it together, cook in the oven at 300 for 2-3 hours or for 5-6 hours in the crock pot on high. (I did about 4 hrs in the crockpot)
Once everything has cooked together for a bit, and is soft, take about 1 1/2 cups of the chili, and puree it. Add it back in, and continue to cook it for another 30 minutes or so. This gives it a thicker, tastier base.
Serve with shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream or nothing on top.
Yogurt & Banana pancakes
As I've mentioned before, I do love pancakes, but they need to be light & fluffy. I sometimes slice bananas into my pancakes, or I will put raisins & chocolate chips into them. Kevin's not that into sweet pancakes, so most of the time they're plain. I eat them with plain yogurt & fruit, peanut butter & applesauce, or a fried egg.
I found this recipe the other day, and hadn't ever thought to put mashed banana into my pancakes. These sounded so great, I needed to try them. I made a few changes, as I didn't want fatty sour cream, I like applesauce in my pancakes, and the pancakes I made last week with my homemade yogurt were fantastic.
Yogurt & banana pancakes
Adapted from Edna Mae’s Sour Cream Pancakes from Sugar & Spice by Celeste
I doubled this recipe, and got about 13 5" pancakes
Ingredients:
7 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt, thinned w/ 1 tsp water or milk
1 banana, mashed
3 TBSP applesauce
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional:
Butter
Maple syrup
Peanut butter
Directions:
Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat.
Stir together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Mix yogurt, banana, applesauce, eggs & vanilla in a separate bowl. Pour over dry ingredients, gently mix, lumps are ok. Be careful not to overmix.
If desired, spread melted butter or oil over base of skillet or griddle. Pour 1/3 cup at a time. Cook until bubbles begin to appear over the surface, flipping them carefully and cooking for about a minute on the other side. Repeat.
Serve topped with butter & maple syrup, or peanut butter & maple syrup.
Voilà - fantastic pancakes!