something old, something new.

Apple season is nice in that it goes on a long while. Some things are in season for such an instant that it feels like I must run run run to save it all while I can. Having a few months for apples means we can not only preserve and save, but also enjoy now. So, for apple season, here is a new recipe, as well as several from the archives that I make every year. An apple a day?


::baked cinnamon apples::

This recipe is my tweaked version of the one found in Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros.

3 Tbsp butter
4 baking apples, cored & halved
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
grated fresh nutmeg
pinch allspice
2 Tbsp ruby port
1/2 cup fresh apple cider

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Butter an oven proof dish, just large enough to fit 8 apple halves quite compactly (a pie dish worked perfectly). Place your apples in a baking dish cut side up.

Put a bit of butter on each apple center. Mix the sugar, cinnamon and allspice and sprinkle over the apples. Grate fresh nutmeg over the top, and drizzle with port. Pour the apple cider in the pan around/under the apples.


Bake for 30 minutes, then dribble the pan juices over the apples and add some more (hot) cider to the dish if needed. Bake for another 20-30 minutes until the apples are creamy on the inside and brown on the top. (time may vary a little based on the type of apple you are using)

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a spoon full of freshly whipped cream. Or, if you like take the juices from the bottom of the baking dish after the apples come out of the oven. Pour the liquid into a saucepan and heat on high to boil. Reduce heat, simmer a bit, and reduce slightly. Drizzle this thickened essence of apple over the top. SO GOOD!

+ + + + +

Some of my favorite recipes that I go back to often. I may tweak and poke around with different spices or types of apples, but the basic recipes always stay the same.

::carmelized apple tart::


::baked apples::


::apple butter::


::applesauce::

What are your favorite apple recipes?

an apple a day:: "Apple polyphenols are standout nutrients in this widely loved fruit. These polyphenols include flavonols (especially quercetin, but also kaempferol and myricetin), catechins (especially epicatechin), anthocyanins (if the apples are red-skinned), chlorogenic acid, phloridizin, and several dozen more health-supportive polyphenol nutrients. Apple is a good source of fiber, including the soluble fiber pectin, and it's also a good source of vitamin C."

sunflower butter cookies.

Peanut butter cookies are a favorite in this house, but today we wanted something different...sunflower butter cookies! I adapted our favorite tried and true PB cookie recipe and sure enough, super delicious - slightly crispy with a little chewiness. Perfect! We will definitely make these again.


ingredients::
1 c. unsalted butter, room temp
1 c. creamy sunflower butter (a nut butter would be fine too!!)
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar (I used raw sugar)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. finely ground whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp finely ground sea salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

directions::
Cream together the butter, nut butter and sugars. Then beat in the eggs, molasses and extract.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Stir that into the batter. Mix well and then refrigerate for a bit.

Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Flatten each ball with a fork - classic peanut butter cookie pattern.

Bake at 375ºF for about 10-11 minutes or so. Cool on a rack.

sunflower seeds/butter:: In addition to linoleic acid (an essential fatty acid), sunflower seeds are also an excellent source of dietary fiber, some amino acids, Vitamin E, B Vitamins (especially vitamin B1 or thiamine, vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid and folate), and minerals such as copper, manganese, potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, selenium, calcium and zinc. Additionally, they are rich in cholesterol-lowering phytosterols!

pizza.

I like recipes that my boys can make. They love to measure, pour, knead and bake. I particularly like recipes that use metric measurements and not only the US cups...not only is it more accurate for baking, but we can pull out the scale and the boys can set the scale to the correct measurement (g/oz) and then weigh each item themselves. They are learning about ounces and cups and grams and milliliters and pounds. They are learning the relative measurements and understanding the relationships between 250 grams of flour vs. 2 cups of flour. They are looking at the scale and comparing quantities on the recipe to the scale readout. Perfect.

Today we made pizza. We have been loving the recipes from the book "Baking Bread with Children" by Warren Lee Cohen. This pizza recipe fit the bill. It was quick and easy, and it had measurements listed in all of the above. The boys did all of the measuring, kneading and rolling. We only tweaked the recipe a bit using our favorite flours for pizza. Turned out great!


::pizza::

250g (2 cups) strong 00 Italian pizza flour (or strong white bread flour)
250g (2 cups) whole wheat pastry flour (recipe calls for 'plain' or pastry flour, I used whole wheat pastry)
15 ml (1 Tbsp) honey
10ml (2 tsp) sea salt
10ml (2 tsp) good yeast
300 ml (10 oz = about 1 1/4 cups) warm water (body temp or so)
45 ml (3 Tbsp) olive oil

pizza sauce, cheese and toppings.

In large bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the honey. Let it sit in a warm spot for about 10 minutes until it is bubbly and smells yeasty.

Add the salt, olive oil, and then slowly add in the flour. The dough will start to come together - it should still be slightly sticky to touch. You can use your hands for this part, or use a Kitchen Aid with a dough hook just to incorporate it.

Sprinkle some flour on your counter and hand knead the dough for about 10 minutes.


Oil a bowl with olive oil. Put the kneaded dough (ball) into the bowl and cover it with a moist towel - put in a warm spot. Let it rise for 1.5 - 2 hours until double in size.

Pull the dough out of the bowl and cut into two pieces (or 4 pieces if you want little individual pizzas).

Roll or stretch into a round or whatever shape you want and put onto a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal or semolina flour (to keep from sticking) ...

Pre-heat the oven to 400ºF.

Put on the sauce, toppings and cheese. Let the prepped pizzas sit and rise for 15 minutes while the oven pre-heats.

Bake for 7-15 minutes or so, depending on how thinly you rolled your dough...bake until golden and cheese bubbly.

Let cool a bit before slicing.



ingredient tip:

00 pizza flour is a high gluten finely ground flour. It is usually called Italian Tipo "00" flour. It looks like baby powder - it is a finer ground than normal flour, is high gluten, and it will give your dough an incredible super-smooth texture. I find it at the local Italian deli. I liked this recipe using the '00' flour mixed with the whole wheat white flour. It was a great texture and was still a light crust with the whole grain bonus. It is really good - my kids will eat it, and they are picky about pizza dough!

whole wheat strawberry-orange muffins.

We have a freezer full of delicious strawberries we picked last June. We have been working our way through them for desserts and smoothies - but there is something extra wonderful about the color, taste and smell of strawberries once January hits. I opened the bag today and the smell was spectacular. Yum.

I used this basic muffin recipe for the base, but tweaked it a bit to add additional liquid so that I could use whole wheat flour rather than all purpose white flour. By using the juice of a mandarin, I got that extra liquid as well as a really good flavor boost. The muffins are so good - the flavor is more like a tea bread...not too sweet. But the texture and crumb is all muffin.


I sprinkled unsweetened organic shredded coconut on top before baking. Nice combination with the strawberries.

::whole wheat strawberry-orange muffins::

ingredients::
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup turbinado (granulated) sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup milk (room temp)
1/4 cup softened butter
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
zest and juice of one organic mandarin (small orange or clementine would be fine too)
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped frozen strawberries
unsweetened shredded organic coconut (optional)

directions::
Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

In a second bowl, beat together the milk, butter, vanilla, and eggs until creamy. Squeeze in the juice and add the zest.

Toss your chopped frozen strawberries (not cut too small, but not whole) into the flour. Turn to coat. Putting the fruit in the flour first will help keep it from sinking to the bottom during baking.


Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Lightly stir to incorporate. Do not overmix. Let the mix sit a few minutes.

Fill paper muffins cups or a lightly greased muffin tin about 2/3 full. Sprinkle on coconut (optional). Put in the middle rack into your pre-heated oven. Bake about 15-20 minutes...until done.

Makes about 18 normal sized muffins.


If you use normal all purpose flour (and not whole wheat), leave out the mandarin juice (keep the zest if you like) or the batter may be too thin.

::molasses-spice cookies::

We have been looking for a good dark cookie that the boys like but that isn't overly sweet or too spicy. Today we had success with these Molasses-Spice cookies. These are not the traditional molasses heavy cookies (my boys will not eat them!). These cookies are a little chewy in the middle, crisp on the edges, slightly sweet with a gingerbread richness. I love that they all cooked so perfectly and evenly - which is great for cookie exchanges or gift bags!

This recipe is slightly adapted from the recipe in this book. Rather than using all purpose flour we used an organic whole wheat pastry flour - which keeps the rich nuttiness of a whole wheat flour, while still being light and tasty. We also used a rich organic dark brown sugar, and organic turbanado for the granulated sugar.


::molasses-spice cookies::

ingredients:
2 1/4 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
Some extra turbinado sugar for rolling (the larger crystals are great)

directions:
Pre-heat oven to 375º F.
Stir the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together in a bowl.
In your mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup turbinado sugar until light and fluffy - a few minutes on medium speed.
Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Add the egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Slowly add in the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
Put some turbinado sugar in a bowl.
Roll dough into 1-2 Tbsp balls.
Rolls the balls in the sugar and put on ungreased baking sheets - space a few inches apart.
Bake for about 7 minutes and then rotate the cookie sheet and bake for an additional 4-6 minutes. For soft chewy cookies pull out when they still look soft - longer time means more crispy!
When you remove them from the oven let them cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a cooling rack via spatula.



ingredient tip:
I always feel that if we are going to take the time to bake something sweet, then we should use the good stuff! We try to avoid using refined sugars. But with cookies, you need sugar! By using organic less refined sugars, you are retaining more of the natural vitamins and minerals present in the sugar cane, and not getting any chemical by-products of the refining process. Or, what she said:

"I was on the lookout for sweeteners produced from crops that had been farmed without chemicals and pesticides. I was looking for sweeteners that didn’t contain additives and preservatives, and were as close to their original source ingredient in form and flavor as possible. I want to spend my money supporting sustainably minded producers, working in concert with the environment and giving a fair shake to their workers in fields and factories to produce great tasting products and ingredients."

pumpkin time.

We went to a farm last weekend to pick up our first batch of pie pumpkins. We love to make our own pumpkin puree, which we use for all of our fall baking. I like doing a few pans of pumpkin at a time to economize on time. Making fresh pumpkin puree is simple and has such a great flavor.


Take your small sweet pie pumpkins and cut off top/stem, then cut them in half. Scoop out the seeds and drizzle with a little oil. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350º face down 30 minutes, turn them over, bake face up 30 minutes. The inside should be soft. Let cool and then scoop out the insides. You can take the pulp and run it through a food processor or a food mill to get it the consistency of canned pumpkin (smooth & creamy).

So with all the fresh pumpkin we had to make something - pumpkin bars! These are nice in that they are moist and flavorful but not too sweet.


::pumpkin bars::

Preheat oven 350º

2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups sugar or maple syrup
3/4 cup butter
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

Beat the above ingredients together in a bowl.

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Add the rest of the above ingredients into the mixture and stir. Pour into a lightly buttered 9x13" pan. Bake at 350º for about 35-40 minutes! Let cool and cut into squares.



ingredients tip::

"Pumpkin and winter squash is an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), a very good source of vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber and manganese. In addition, winter squash and pumpkin is also a good source of folate, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B1, copper, vitamin B6, niacin-vitamin B3 and pantothenic acid."

cherry muffins.

Each weekend we preserve from our garden, bake, and try to make at least one meal that will also work for a few lunches throughout the week. My husband likes taking things to work to snack on and for lunch, and it is easiest for him if everything is ready and available. This weekend we continued our tomato preservation madness (they never stop coming!), but also made a few things for the week.

I have been looking for a good recipe for cherry muffins, and baked a batch of these today (click for recipe). We used the cherries we froze a few weeks back for this recipe, and since they are tart, I whizzed them a bit in the food processor first so that the chunks were smaller and spread evenly throughout. I also put a crumb topping on half of them -- using oats, butter, and brown sugar. They are moist, tender, not too sweet, and as I used organic whole wheat flour and coconut oil, extra good!

Cherry Season.

We have cherries! We were only able to get one 10 pound bucket for now, but that was enough to get started! They are tart cherries - nice and tangy and super juicy. I froze several bags for fall, made 4 pint jars and 4 quart jars of cherry pie filling to use for baking, and am making cherry dessert topping as well as some yummy cherry syrup for drinks (to add to fresh lemonade, plain soda, or mixed drinks). Yum.


::cherry pie filling::

ingredients:
4 cups fresh cherries with their juice - pitted
1 cup water
1 cup sugar (or sweetener such as honey or agave)
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
2 Tbsp corn starch or arrowroot powder

directions:
Put everything but the corn starch into a pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Extract some hot juice into a cup, add the cornstarch/arrowroot powder, and stir until smooth. Stir back into the pot. Remove from heat. Remove the cinnamon stick. Can immediately, or let cool and put into containers for the fridge or freezer.



::cherry crisp::

ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cherry pie filling
3/4 cup organic brown sugar
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup steel cut oats
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into small chunks
1/2 tsp cinnamon
freshly ground nutmeg

directions:
Using a square baking pan - spread your pie filling across the bottom of the buttered pan. In a bowl, put the dry ingredients - cut in your butter using a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture is crumbly. Spread over the top of the pie filling. Bake at 350º for about 40 minutes - should be golden and bubbly. Let cool and eat.

Super good with homemade vanilla ice cream!


ingredient tip::
If you don't like genetically modified corn in your baking ingredients, here is a 100% certified organic and completely GMO-free cornstarch. We have found it at our local coop but you can also get it online!

Why use arrowroot powder?

"This starch thickener has several advantages over cornstarch. It has a more neutral flavor, so it's a good thickener for delicately flavored sauces. It also works at a lower temperature, and tolerates acidic ingredients and prolonged cooking better. Sauces thickened with arrowroot can be frozen and thawed with impunity."

i love beets.

I love beets. I grate them raw for salads or slaw. They are great in soup, with stir fry, sautéed with other root veggies, or juiced for breakfast. But my favorite way to prepare beets is baking. It brings out their natural sweetness.

To prepare, I scrub the beets, cut them in half and put them in a baking pan. After a drizzle with olive oil and sea salt I bake them at 350ºF or so for about 45 minutes to an hour (depends on how big the beets are) until tender. Once cool the outer skin easily peels off. Serve warm with another drizzle of good olive oil and some fresh thyme. So good!


beets::

"Beets are an excellent source of the B vitamin, folate, and a very good source of manganese and potassium. Beets are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus. They also contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer."

fresh currant scones.

We love scones. It is one of those things that both kids and adults like for breakfast or snacks. Each year we get a small amount of currants in our CSA box. It isn't enough to make jam or sauce for a whole dinner - and so what to do with the currants is a question people often ask me. Most recipes call for dried currants, which is a whole different taste and texture. Today we made scones using our fresh currants (and a few gooseberries) - they turned out perfectly. This recipe makes a very moist and tasty scone with only a slight tang and a nice fruit flavor.

Yes, this recipe uses whole wheat pastry flour and oatmeal and is still light and moist!


fresh currant scones::

2 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup steel cut oats
6 Tbsp raw sugar (you could also use rapidura or honey)
3 Tbsp ground flax
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
10 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (make your own fresh butter!)
1/2 cup currant mix (see below)
3/4 cup cold buttermilk (make your own buttermilk)

Preheat the oven to 375ºF

In a bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, flax and salt. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut the chilled butter into the dry ingredients until the dough is crumbly. Fold in the currant mix (see below). Add the buttermilk and stir lightly with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together to form a ball. (The dough will be sticky, but don't overwork it - you want a moist tender scone!)

I like to use scone pans. It keeps me from overworking the dough and also creates nice child sized neatly shaped scones - which is good for my picky eaters. If you have a scone pan, at this point gently scoop the dough into your greased scone pan (I like using coconut oil). Gently smooth.

If you don't have a scone pan, no biggie. On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a large circle about 2 inches thick. Cut the dough into wedges. With a spatula, transfer the wedges to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

If you like, before baking brush the top of the scones with cream and sprinkle raw sugar over the top to add a bit of sweetness.

Bake for 22 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Best served warm - we ate ours with the strawberry freezer jam we made a few weeks back. Oh so good.



currant mix:
Currants tend to be very tangy and tart. To sweeten them a bit and break the berries down to smaller bits throughout the scone, I like to make a quick blend to use in the recipe:

3/4 cup fruit...I used fresh red currants (with a few gooseberries)
1 tbsp honey

In a skillet heat the fruit and honey for a minute on high to bubble. Take off of heat immediately, smash fruit a little with fork. Scoop out into a bowl right away to cool. Use this mix in the scones!



ingredient tip::
We used fresh heavy cream to make our own butter and buttermilk for this recipe. This is a fun way for the kids to participate. Click here to find out how!

home made granola.

I love really good fresh granola. I make a huge batch a few times a year - it is never the same recipe twice, but I always write it down. I love variations in texture, crunch, sweet vs. salt. This batch is awesome - which is good, because I made 5 pounds! The good thing is that it is perfect with home made yogurt from our fresh milk - so we made some of that too! YUM.

Here is the recipe -- but remember that with granola you can substitute or tweak anything. Add what you have, what is in season, what you like. I use a variety of sugars so that there are many good nutrients added to the mix, but you can keep it simple and use just what you have!

It sounds like a lot of ingredients and expensive when using all organic. BUT, we calculated the cost for us was about 22-25 for ingredients, and it made 5 pounds. That is a lot less per pound than the organic bulk fruit & nut granola at our local coop - and it is fresh!

ingredients::
4 cups thick steel cut organic oats
1/4 cup ground flax
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup unsweetened organic shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups crushed raw walnuts
2 cups sunflower seeds (you can use raw, I used honey roasted)
1 cup organic oat cereal (per special request from my husband...)
1 Tbsp molasses
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp crushed sea salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup oil (I used organic sunflower)
8 oz can organic crushed pineapple (no sugar added)
1 cup hemp milk (or use water, rice, etc.)
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup agave
1/4 cup brown sugar
10 oz. bag natural peanut butter chips
5 oz dried cranberries
5 oz dried cherries
3 oz raisins
1 cup organic/FT dried banana chips

I used organic ingredients...makes for better taste and quality.


directions::

Mix together all of the seeds, oats, coconut & nuts in a big bowl. In a separate bowl, combine oil, hemp milk, vanilla, honey, agave, pineapple, salt & molasses. Stir. Pour over the dry mix, and stir quickly to get all over everything evenly. Spread onto a non-stick cookie sheet. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the top. Place in a pre-heated 350º oven for 15 minutes. Carefully stir and turn over the mix. Bake again for another 15-20 minutes and stir again. Lower the oven temp to 225º and bake for 1.5 hours or so, until dry (but not burned or hard as a rock - keep an eye on it!). Let cool. Once cool, add in the dried fruits, banana chips and peanut butter chips. Stir gently. Store in airtight container!

peanut butter cookies.

The boys have been asking to bake cookies lately. We cook every day, but cookies are infrequent. SO, today, by popular request, we baked cookies. Peanut Butter Cookies. Goooood.

ingredients::
1 c. unsalted butter, room temp
1 c. creamy organic UN-sweetened peanut butter (or a raw nut butter like almond...)
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar (I used raw sugar)
2 eggs
2 1/2 c all purpose flour (I used whole wheat pastry)
1/2 tsp finely ground sea salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder




directions::
Cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugars. Then beat in the eggs.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Stir that into the batter. Mix well and then refrigerate for an hour or so.

Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Flatten each ball with a fork - classic peanut butter cookie pattern. Add carob or organic chocolate chips on top before baking if you like that extra something...

Bake at 375ºF for about 10-11 minutes or so. Cool on a rack.

oatmeal wheat bread.

We usually bake a loaf of bread once a week or so. When we have time, we do the longer proofing sourdough or 24-hour type of bread. When we are busy, we rely on our bread machine. The boys love to help with bread - they measure, pour, scoop and peek as often as possible during the rising stages.

This recipe is a bread machine recipe that we made this week. It is a slightly nutty tasting sweet loaf, which is good as both a breakfast and a lunch bread. The boys love it toasted with fresh butter and honey, or at lunch as a panini with peanut butter and honey. My husband likes it toasted with nutella!

ingredients::
1 1/4 c room temp milk (you can also use water)
2 Tbsp butter, room temp
2 Tbsp honey (or agave)
1 tsp ground sea salt
3 cups of flour (I use whole wheat)
1/2 c rolled oats
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp ground flax
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten (you don't need this if you use white bread flour...only with whole wheat)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

directions::
Add the ingredients to your bread machine in the order it recommends. Since I use whole wheat flour, I use the whole wheat setting, of course. It makes a 1 1/2 lb loaf. I like the medium crust setting.

orange pound cake.

Sunday is one of our baking days - usually bread and sometimes something sweet. Today I baked an orange pound cake - it is a great not-too-sweet cake, stores well, and the flavor actually gets better over the few days it takes the family to finish it.

orange pound cake

ingredients::
2 cups sifted pastry flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp finely ground sea salt
1 c granulated sugar (I used turbinado)
1 Tbsp grated orange zest
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs - room temperature
2 tsp fresh orange juice
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

optional: I like to sprinkle a few tablespoons of organic coconut flakes over the top before baking...tastes good with the orange, and makes the top nice and crunchy.

prep::
Preheat oven to 325°F with rack in the middle. Butter an 8.5- by 4.5 - inch loaf pan.

Sift together the dry - flour, baking powder, and salt.

Mix together sugar and orange zest with an electric mixer at low speed until zest is totally mixed into the sugar (smells wonderful). Add butter and beat at high speed until it pale and fluffy - 3-4 minutes or so.

Add the eggs 1 at a time at medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, then add the juice and vanilla. At a low speed mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated.

Pour batter into the loaf pan and spread evenly (tap out air bubbles if needed). Sprinkle the coconut on top.

Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean - about 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes.

Cool in the pan on a rack for about 30 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan and pop out the pound cake and then let it cool completely on a rack.

You can serve as is, or add more sweetness as desired. Dust confectioner's sugar on the top, or make an orange glaze by mixing confectioner's sugar and orange juice. We like it as is - just right!


ingredient tip::
When using the rind or zest in a recipe, it is especially important to use organic fruit!

cornbread.

I like cornbread that has a mix of flours, so that it isn't as grainy/crumbly as a corn meal only bread. To add a nutty flavor, I used a sunflower millet flour for this one, and it matches the texture and flavor of the corn meal - tasty!


ingredients::
1/3 c honey
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
4 Tbsp melted butter or coconut oil
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c organic corn meal
1 c organic whole wheat pastry flour (I used sunflower millet bread flour - YUM!)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground sea salt


directions:
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Beat together egg, buttermilk and honey. Stir in melted butter.
Stir together the dry ingredients in a different bowl.
Combine two mixtures and stir.
Bake in greased square cake pan or muffin tins.
Bake about 20 minutes for a pan, and 15 - 17 for muffins (until golden).


Cool, then slice and eat with butter and a drizzle of honey. SO good!

ingredients::
Remember this flour? That is what I used for this bread!

quiche.

Mmmm Mmmm quiche. Quiche is one of those things that is good for most meals, and is nice on its own or with a fresh salad or bowl of soup. With spring comes more fresh eggs - and quiche!


easy quiche::

6 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used Gruyere, and Gloucester cheeses)
salt & pepper to taste
dash paprika

Whatever fillings you want::caramelized onions, veggies, sausage...add about 1/2 to 1 cup

1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust or, make your own

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Combine the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Layer your fillings and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture on top. Sprinkle a little cheese on top too.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set! Cool and cut into wedges.


ingredient tip::

Eggshells, like coffee grounds, are a good addition to your garden. Save your shells - rinse them in some hot sudsy water, drain, bag, and save in your freezer until spring. You can crumble them and add to your garden beds. The eggshells add calcium and other minerals to the soil (great for tomatoes), and if you sprinkle them in a circle around your plants, they help deter slugs and snails too!

sunflower millet bread.

A blog I read posted about this basic bread recipe today. Since I was planning on baking bread today but was running a bit behind on everything, I thought this would be good to try.

I tried out a new flour today with this loaf. I used Great River Organic Milling 100% Organic Sunflower Millet Flour - which has stone-ground wheat, stone-ground corn, hulled millet, ground sunflower seeds and ground flaxseed. WOW. It is a rich, nutty bread with a lot of flavor! So good!

1/1/1/1/1 bread::

1 c of warm water
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast

... and enough flour to make a workable, kneadable dough

Add ingredients into a mixer in order and use a dough hook to mix well - or use your knead cycle on your bread machine. When it starts looking pliable, take it out and knead by hand a bit.

Form a ball and put it into an oiled bowl. Cover and leave in a warm place until dough is doubled in size (It was about 1.5 - 2 hours for me today). You will know it is ready when it has doubled in size and you can poke your finger into the dough and it will leave an impression.

At this point punch dough down and re-form into a ball. Let it rise again, about half as much time as the first rise.

When ready, punch it down again, and gently form a long loaf and place on a cookie sheet or cooking stone. Let rise one last time - about the same amount of time as your second rise, or until dough looks ready to go.

Brush the top of the loaf with a mix of egg white and water, and make a few slashes along the top.

Place in an oven preheated to 350ºF and bake for about 45 minutes.


ingredient tip::
I used a sunflower millet flour today - great flavor and good for you. Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of vitamin E. They are also a very good source of vitamin B1, manganese, magnesium, copper, selenium, phosphorous, vitamin B5 and folate.

honey custard.

I love finding good egg recipes both savory and sweet, and this honey custard is delicious. Today the boys helped me make it, and it is so quick and easy - and the results is melt in your mouth creamy and sweet.

honey custard::

5 eggs
1/2 c honey
2 c fresh milk
1 tsp finely ground sea salt
ground cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

Beat together all ingredients thoroughly in a casserole dish (I used square cake pan) - sprinkle cinnamon/nutmeg over the top. Place the dish in a larger cake pan filled with water. Bake at 350ºF for about 45 minutes or until it is set and firm.

We drizzled a tiny bit of fresh maple syrup over the top of our warm custard before eating. Mmmm. And extra bonus - the eggs, honey and milk I used are all local!


ingredient tip::
See how golden our custard is? The eggs we get are super fresh and local from healthy hens and the yolks are so fat and orange they look like the sun. Eggs from free range hens actually are healthier than factory farmed eggs not to mention they just taste better!

sourdough.

Mmmm. Sourdough.Turned out great. This is the first of 3 small loaves we baked on Sunday.

sourdough, round 01.

Our experiments with bread baking have of course led us to sourdough. We tried a few times to create our own wild starter in the fall, but it didn't work out for us (we plan to try again in spring). So, we bought a sourdough starter and baked our first loaves.


We were encouraged to take our sourdough slowly. It was recommended that when first using it, bakers start with a sourdough recipe which includes yeast. This will help introduce you to the sourdough process, doesn't take quite as long, gives a lighter loaf, and yet still has that good sourdough flavor. This is our beginners loaf. It turned out great - good flavor, not too dense!


Sourdough Bread with Yeast

ingredients::
1 cup (9oz) "fed"sourdough starter (meaning ready to go starter)
1½ cup (12oz) lukewarm water
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp (or packet) active dry yeast
5½ cup (to 6 cups) flour (I used organic whole wheat--you can also use bread flour)
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp Vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)
cornmeal to sprinkle on baking pans

instructions::

Combine all of the ingredients, using only 5 cups of the flour. Using your hands or a bread machine (dough cycle), knead until you form a smooth soft dough. Add additional flour as needed while you knead. Put dough in an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour.

Divide the dough and shape into two loaves. I did one oval loaf and one loaf in a bread pan. Put the loaves into an oiled, cornmeal sprinkled baking sheet or bread pan. Cover again, and let rise another hour - until doubled. Pre-heat oven to 450ºF.

Slash the top of the loaves and bake in your pre-heated oven at 450ºF for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack before slicing.

Sourdough doesn't brown much, so to make the loaf have that nice golden color, brush the loaves lightly with vegetable oil (I used coconut oil) about half way into the baking time.



ingredient tip:
If you would like to make your own wild starter, then read this or this.

Prefer buying one? Here is the one we are using...or see here...or here...

Beyond using yeast with the starter and want a good sourdough recipe? Try here.

This is our first round - I'll be posting on this topic again when we move on to the classic sourdough recipe.