“We have this semi-farm, group buying, jamming, canning group of people who like to learn about food and food related items.

The reason we started The Collective is because we love the people who want community and we value what it is your needs are.”

One of the main operations of the group is group buying of goods like organic butter, flour, oats, nuts, fruit, and other goodies.  Today our shipment of butter, flour, and oats came in and I was there to pick up 6 pounds of organic unsalted butter and 10 pounds of low-gluten flour.  Which brings me to this post.  I came home  with an urge to bake, and since I am hosting a get together tomorrow night at the studio, I figured I would throw something easy and yummy together.  Here we have the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread.  These come from the book Mother’s Best by Lisa Schroeder.  She is the chef/owner of my favorite restaurant in Portland, Mamma Mia.  Definitely try these at home, they are a cinch to make and are very tasty.

1 stick of butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat at medium-high speed until fluffy and pale in color, about 2 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour, mixing just until incorporated, about 1 minute.  Add the peanut butter and vanilla and continue mixing until incorporated.  Add the chocolate chips and mix by hand.

Using a large piece of plastic wrap, scrape the dough into the center of the wrap and gather the dough into a ball.  Fold one of the long ends of the wrap over onto the dough and use it to help you press and shape the dough into a 12 inch long log.  Wrap the plastic around the log and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or freeze and bake later.

To bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Position the racks in the upper and lower third of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the plastic wrap and cut the log into 1/4 thick slices.  Place the slices on the prepared pans, 1 inch apart, and bake until they just start to turn golden around the edges, 12 to 14 inches, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and gront to back midway through baking.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pistachio Chai Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 chai blend tea bags, opened
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 2 TBSP butter, melted
• 2 TBSP unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 1/3 cup shelled dry-roasted pistachios, chopped

• 1. Preheat oven to 375°.
• 2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut open tea bags; add tea to flour mixture, stirring well. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, butter, applesauce, vanilla, and egg in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
• 3. Place 12 muffin-cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle nuts evenly over batter. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

Running a groupon for the business was definitely a complete game changer for the business.  Not only was it one of the best things I have done for the business, it was also the hardest thing I have ever done.  The last two months are kind of a complete blur now, and I know that working 80+ hours a week and barely sleeping for those months made me really appreciate the more manageable business I have now.  Kirk, who at the time was in school, saw the doors of Oregon Photo close in October after working there for about 8 years.  It proved to be a blessing for him the last few months before he graduated, allowing him to focus on just his studies.  However, a few weeks of unemployement turned into months, and here we are 9 months later, hoping and praying every day that the right job would come along.  Thankfully I can now say that Kirk will be starting his new job at the Bank of Oswego Monday morning!  I am so proud of him and excited for him to start a new career and journey.  It also means many more exciting things for us in the future as well.  It has been a huge weight lifted now that he has a position

Now, on to the food.  I am coming back to the blog with a post about granola.  I know its not that exciting of a dish, but it is yummy and healthy, so that’s what you get  I put my own twist on this batch, making it with pumpkin puree and spices to give it more of an autumn flavor.  I know its the middle of July, but I am always up for anything pumpkin flavored.  I seriously think all pumpkin flavored foods should be featured year round.  We are going on a hike tomorrow with the family, so I thought this would be a good snack to bring along.  Homemade granola is SO easy to make, so give this a whirl.  You can easily sub out the pumpkin puree for more applesauce as the binding agent, and feel free to throw in your favorite dried fruit, nuts, and other grains.

Pumpkin Spice Granola

adapted from Bakingbites.com

3 1/2 cups rolled oats

2 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal

1/3 cup shredded coconut

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix

pinch ground cardamom

3/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup plain pureed pumpkin

1/4 cup plain applesauce

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla extract

up to 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds)

nut suggestions: almonds, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds
dried fruit suggestions: cranberries, raisins

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet (or two smaller sheets) with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine oats, puffed rice cereal, coconut and nuts. In a medium bowl, whisk together spices, salt, sugar, applesauce (do not use chunky applesauce), pumpkin puree, maple syrup and vanilla. Whisk until very smooth.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir with a spatula or large spoon until mixture is evenly coated. Spread on prepared baking sheet(s) in an even layer.
Bake for 30 minutes, then turn over the granola carefully using a large wide spatula. Sprinkle the nuts onto the granola, then bake everything for additional 10-15 minutes, until crisp and golden. Watch carefully during the second round of baking to make sure it does not burn.  Depending on the size of your baking sheet, the center might not be fully dried if your granola layer is thick, so if necessary remove the edges of the cooked granola to a cooling rack and let the rest cook for another 10-15 minutes until done.
Cool on pan or on a fine wire rack.
Break granola up as desired and store in an airtight container. Add dried fruit before serving.

Makes about 8 servings, more depending on add-ins.

My breakfast was pretty good.  I had a banana, coconut, walnut, and chocolate waffle, all of my favorite flavors!  The only thing that would have made it better would have been a thicker waffle.  Otherwise the flavor combo was amazing!

Kirk had a savory crepe with a bunch of stuff that I can’t remember in it.  He wasn’t crazy about it, but it satisfied him for the morning.

The next place on our stop was this place called Bakery Nouveau, a place I like to call HEAVEN.  I had been wanting to stop here to get one of their famous Twice Baked Almond Croissants.  I am not even a croissant fan, I will always go for the muffin, donut, or scone before the croissant.  But these croissants made me a believer.  They were quite possibly the BEST pastry I have ever had.  I am seriously thinking about driving back up there just for the sole purpose of getting more croissants.

Here I am devouring my first croissant.  Promptly 20 seconds later I was back in the bakery purchasing two more to take home.

We then walked around that cute little neighborhood called West Seattle and took some pictures….no cupcakes for me though the croissant was more than satisfying.

Then into the city and to the main attraction, Pike’s Market.  It was rainy, but that was ok since we are used to it.  It was fun to stroll and check out the vendors and take more photos…

Look at the cookies in the window!

Later that afternoon (because we were still stuffed from breakfast!) we rolled into Dahlia Bakery to try the famous Coconut Cream Pie.  They had these adorable bite sized versions, so we opted for those to not spoil our dinner.

We finally ended the evening with the most amazingly delicious dinner at Bizarro’s Restaurant.  We found this place on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, and my good friend Jen had recommended it.  It was so yummy, I think Kirk’s dish of Spinach Ravioli is the best pasta dish I’ve ever tasted.  Kirk has those pictures, so I can’t post them now , but I’ll update this later.  Thanks for reading about my V day weekend-hope yours was good too!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

(I made my version a little healthier with applesauce and egg sub.  You can use butter and whole eggs if you wish)

Today I had the pleasure of visiting my friend Hollie who just gave birth to her first son, little Johnny Junior!  He is seriously one of the cutest babies, and I am so happy for Hollie and Johnny.  Instead of showing up with a bouquet of flowers, I thought I would take her a bunch of her favorite cupcakes.  They smelled AMAZING as I was making them, and it seriously took everything inside of me to resist totally pigging out on them.  The recipe I used is from MarthaStewart.com, for Devil’s Food Cupcakes.  I then added a Vanilla Buttercream frosting to top it off.  I think I might just make these again  VERY soon, they looked so yummy.

Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Taken from MarthaStewart.com – I halved this recipe to get 13 cupcakes.

• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
4. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and garnish with chocolate curls just before serving.

From Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting– this recipe makes 5 cups, but I halved it and had more than enough frosting for my 13 cupcakes.

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 5 large egg whites
• 4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Combine sugar and egg whites in mixer bowl. Place bowl over pot of simmering water; whisk until hot and sugar is completely dissolved, 3 minutes. Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat mixture on high until cooled, about 15 minutes.
2. Using paddle attachment, add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until completely incorporated. Stir in vanilla. If not using immediately, refrigerate in airtight container up to a week, or freeze up to a month. Bring to room temperature, and rebeat or stir vigorously before using.

From Martha Stewart Baby, Spring 2001

Here are some snapshots I took during the visit:

]]> https://culinaryquest.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/donuts-scones-and-the-cutest-little-bundle-of-joy/feed/ 0 Christy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones donuts donuts donuts cupcakes cupcakes cupcakes cupcakes cupcakes J Mentesana J Mentesana J Mentesana https://culinaryquest.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/winter-blues/ https://culinaryquest.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/winter-blues/#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:12:07 +0000 http://culinaryquest.wordpress.com/?p=434 I am ready for spring.  I don’t know why, but this year I have gotten so sick of the cold weather and rain.  I never really understood why the rain could make people depressed, I have spent most of my life in Oregon and just gotten used to rain.  But something is different this year.  I find myself tired, lazy, bored and just in a funk.  And I think its largely due to the holidays being over, getting back into the work grind (or lack of work right now), the cold and ugly weather, and just being overall unmotivated to do anything.  So I am hoping that come February 2nd the little groundhogs will fail to see their shadows, thus signifying that winter is at its end.  I can’t wait for the beautiful spring light and the cherry trees to bloom!

This winter funk has also begun to affect my baking and blogging.  I have been making some things, but by the time I am finished with the project, the thought of getting out my big camera bag, loading the card and battery, setting up shots, and then uploading them seems like a daunting task.  Sad, I know, especially since photography is my way of making a living.  So instead, I might snap one or two shots (sometimes with my Iphone, which is a sad excuse for a camera) and call it good while I indulge in whatever goodie I just made.  I will say that the things I have made have all turned out fantastic, and I have new favorites that I will replicate over and over in the future.

Because of the heightened sense of laziness, I started a conquest to find a universal online “recipe box”, a place where I could manage and store all of my online recipes.  I was getting very annoyed when I had saved recipes at 4 different recipe sites, random bookmarks in my Firefox browser, and countless recipes that I had emailed to myself over the last year.  I wanted somewhere that I could organize all of them at once.  This brought me to a great discovery, www.Delicious.com

If you don’t have an account with the, GET ONE!  Its pretty cool, and is saving me SO much time and energy when I am searching for recipes.  It pretty much works like this:

You sign up for an account and you can save all your bookmarks in here.  You can download the toolbar that is integrated into your web browser, which allows you to add a webpage to your bookmarks with the click of one button.

Once you have added bookmarks, you can “tag” them with keywords that describe that page.  For example, my Coconut Banana Bread recipe page has the following tags: Banana, Bread, Breakfast, Coconut, Fruit  This means that I pull up any of these tags, this recipe will be in those categories.  Its really cool because then you can do searches for say, coconut, and it will show you all your saved recipe pages with coconut in them.

The last, and possible the COOLEST part of it, is that you can share your bookmarks with other people!  So if you have an account, I can give you my delicious user name, and you can add me to your friends list.  Then you can go and see all of my bookmarks, and copy any of my recipes that you want!  I love this feature, but I need to get some friends that use it as well!  SO, if you get a Delicious account, Facebook me and we can exchange info.  Then we can see each other’s recipes!

Here’s what I’ve been up to in my winter blues….

Lemon-Scented Coconut Macaroon Bars

Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine and Myrecipes.com

This year I decided to host my first Cookie Exchange.  I will fully admit that I went way overboard, and I am now learning to accept the fact that I am becoming an “old lady”.  I had so much fun collecting decorations, making recipe booklets, searching for different/unique cake stands and plates, and planning the party.  The night itself seemed to go by so quickly, but it was great to see all my close friends and family together for one night before the holidays made everyone’s lives so busy.  I also got to try out a number of new recipes for the party, and I think everyone (including myself) left the party totally overloaded on sugar   I definitely think that I want to do this every year now!

I’ll start off the recipes with the cookie exhange ones.  Unfortunately I didn’t take my own pictures of these, but here is what I made:

White Chocolate Candy Cane Drops

Taken from Better Homes and Gardens

• 8 ounces white chocolate baking squares with cocoa butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup finely crushed chocolate-filled peppermint candy canes

Coconut Orange Snowballs

These are my new all time favorite cookies.  They are so light and melt in your mouth yummy!  Please, if you try any new cookies this year, let it be these ones!  They are to die-for, especially if you like coconut and orange flavors.

Taken from Bon Appétit | December 2003

White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

Taken from Better Homes and Gardens

• 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup cold butter
• 12 ounces white chocolate baking squares with cocoa butter, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 drops red food coloring (optional)
• 2 teaspoons shortening
• White nonpareils and/or red edible glitter (optional)

This sangria is delicious and SO easy to make!

This recipe was taken from the most recent issue of Cooking Light magazine.  Instead of making it in a baking dish, I made it in two cake rounds, then used 3 inch cake rings to cut out mini layers.  I then make miniature cakes with two layers held together by the cream cheese frosting.  It was SO good!