Dog Hill Kitchen

Butternut Squash and Brown Rice Porridge (congee-style)

2009-11-29T18:36:00.003-05:00

Before diving into making Christmas sweets I needed some detox food to recover from my Thanksgiving indulgences. My mother made a wonderfully simple squash and rice soup for our Black Friday brunch and I couldn't resist playing with the idea when I got home. I used up one of my smaller butternut squash with short grain brown rice. After they cooked together to make a creamy porridge I topped it with green onions, fresh ginger, soy sauce and fried locally-grown shiitake mushrooms. It was savory and comforting and was the perfect stomach healing food I craved. I also tried out a variation with brown sugar and Earth Balance margarine for my son. Alas, he objected to the squash, which is usually a favorite vegetable of him. I thought it was pretty tasty myself but not as appealing as the savory version. Here is what I did:

Butternut Squash and Brown Rice Porridge
Based on this recipe for Yum Yum Brown Rice Congee
Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup short brown rice
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup peeled and diced (1/2 inch dice) butternut squash, other squash or pumpkin
toppings (suggestions listed at the end)

-Add the brown rice, salt and water to a small soup pot. Bring to a boil, stir and then reduce the heat to a strong simmer. Cook covered for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
-Add in the squash and bring back to a strong simmer. Cook covered for another 30-45 minutes until the squash is tender.
-Top with your desired toppings and serve warm.

Optional toppings:
-sliced green onion, fried shiitake mushrooms, freshly grated ginger, soy sauce, chili oil
-brown sugar and butter (or EB)
-if I had some I would have tried some kim chee and a poached egg or maybe

Another variation with brown sugar and Earth Balance margarine
(real butter or a splash of cream would be even better if you can have them)
This week's 9 Bean Rows share: (clockwise from top)
bok choi, parsley and rosemary, rye bread (my favorite), apples, potatoes, salad greens and kale
*note the cat tail and rear, they were eager to be fed
It's been ages since I posted a shot of Abbie.
She likes to annoy me by sitting on the counter, where she isn't supposed to be, and chewing on the squash stems.

DB Cannoli, done dairy-free

2009-11-27T07:04:00.000-05:00

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

Cannoli. My prior experiences with this pastry were that the taste never lived up to the pretty image they presented. However, a chance to try making something new is always welcome and so I dove in hoping for the best. The shells themselves didn't have any dairy ingredients and I made just as the recipe stated. They were time consuming to roll and fry, since I could only roll up four at a time and only fry one or two at a time but it all went relatively well. Can fried dough ever *really* disappoint? The filling is where I dropped the ball.

I decided to try two experiments. Number one, make a typical tofu pudding with silken tofu and melted chocolate. I've been making this pudding since my college days and made with dark chocolate it's always fairly decent. But since my dairy-allergic son isn't a fan of dark chocolate he hasn't liked the tofu pudding I've made in the past. So, I tried making a "Milkless" milk chocolate pudding...big mistake. I used up the last of his leftover Halloween chocolate skulls, which I had ordered from Premium Chocolatiers. They were a lot of fun to watch melt! Along with the melted chocolate, I added a smidge of soy milk, a pinch of salt and splash of vanilla to blend together with a block of silken tofu. Warm it tasted ok but it was too runny to pipe into the cannoli and after it chilled it looked nice enough but had a very harsh soy taste. The pudding did look pretty piped into the cannoli though.

My second experiment was tastier but visually and texturally even a bigger failure. I decided to try and make an almond creme using soaked almonds. I took a chance and left the skins on the almonds knowing that they would make the texture a little rough, but I thought more texture might be good. Then I added a little coconut oil along with powdered sugar and almond extract to make what I hoped would be a ricotta-like, creamy filling. The coconut oil added smoothness to the warm blended mixture. Again my experimenting fell apart when I chilled the creme so that it would be better suited to fill the cannolis. The coconut oil separated out and left tiny fat blobs floating in pureed nuts and liquid. Ah well, it did still taste good.

I've never had a bought cannoli that I loved and although I hoped differently I had a suspicion that it would end up this way. Maybe they just aren't the dessert for me. Thanks to Lisa for the experience, it's always fun to deep fry things!

Links:
-The full recipe for cannoli (including what is surely a much tastier filling than mine made with ricotta cheese) can be found HERE at Lisa's blog Parsley, Sage Desserts and Lineups.
-For the recipes Lisa adapted to create the challenge check out these two cookbooks: Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook: As Compiled by Artie Bucco by Allen Rucker and Michele Scicolone
-Are you curious about how to become a Daring Baker yourself? Visit the Daring Kitchen! There you can also check out all the other cannoli made this month by browsing the Daring Baker Blogroll.

"Milkless" chocolate skulls from Premium Chocolatiers
Die you evil chocolate spawn of Satan!
My finished cannoli, tofu pudding filled (bottom) and almond creme filled (top)

This year's pumpkin and squash lineup

2009-11-24T21:17:00.002-05:00

My squash and pumpkin pile is growing significantly smaller and soon the rest will get stored out of sight to make room for Christmas decorations. (I'm itching to start playing Christmas music and making gingerbread!) Inspired by this post on the blog Popcorn Homestead, I took a quick shot of the varieties I grew this year to post my thoughts on each.

Long Island Cheese, I fell in love with this variety during the years I lived without enough space to grow pumpkins. A farm stand down the road sold them and I loved their flavor and deep orange-colored flesh. It performed moderately well this year but I only got one really big one. Musque de Provence, I bought this variety because I liked the look of the deep ribs, very Cinderella's carriage I thought. Though they didn't ripen to the tan color expected (probably due to my late start) they produced quite a few exceptionally large pumpkins. It was easily the most prolific pumpkin in the garden this year, pound for pound. When I first picked them after frost killed the plants, the flesh was pale and not terribly flavorful. However, after a few weeks of curing the flesh is now a gorgeous color (the top photo is a cut Musque de Provence) and very tasty. A batch of roasted puree from one of these monsters is waiting in the fridge for Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I'll be planting these again and I can see them replacing the Long Island Cheese in my garden.
Marina di Chioggia, these didn't do well. I only was able to harvest two usable pumpkins and I thought the flesh seemed overly starchy. Plus, mine didn't get the interesting bubbled look.
Bliss, the "frog skin" description coerced me into trying this pumpkin. It produced lots of small fruit but many of them were not mature inside. They did make attractive decorations stacked on top of each other. The less sweet flavor of the flesh has me struggling to find a recipe to make with them that my whole family will like. This Quick Asian-Spiced Kabocha (Winter Squash) from One Frugal Foodie is a recipe I plan on trying.
Waltham Butternut Squash, with all the pumpkin seeds I purchased I hadn't planned on growing squash as well, but my husband surprised me with a heirloom seed collection that included this butternut squash. Well I'm very glad I planted it, the plants produced a ton of squash! A few were large but many of them are the perfect size just for a single meal.

*With my substantial harvest, I've gone through many recipes for soup, muffins, roasted, and bread with squash and pumpkins. Of those I've tried so far this year these two are my favorites:

Pumpkin Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls, I made these with maple frosting and soy milk and margarine in place of the milk and butter.

Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars, A Paula Dean recipe without a pound of butter! These bars are very moist and plenty sweet and rich enough without the frosting. I topped mine with a little powdered sugar instead. I liked them best with two of the eggs swapped out for flaxseed meal and I bet they would be good made vegan with all flax.

**For next year I'd like to add these to my garden:

American Tondo, I saw these at the farmer's market and love the look of them.

Table Gold Acorn Squash, I grew these many years ago and liked them cooked young like patty pan squash as well as mature. I missed having acorn squash to serve stuffed this year.

This week's 9 Bean Rows Share

2009-11-21T18:58:00.004-05:00

This week's 9 Bean Rows share: (clockwise from top)
kale and parsley,
argula/rocket (I have to get the name of this variety because I really like the taste),
whole wheat bread, radishes, big bag of potatoes,
apples (a little too sweet for fresh eating-I'm thinking pie),
eggs!!!,
collards and salad greens

It was pretty basic cooking this week though Alex and I managed to eat our way through two more squash. I think I should move the rest of my pile into the garage to store them after I get out Christmas decorations next week. Will they get too cold? I have no idea. We're heading down south for Thanksgiving and so I have to figure out what what I can bring that will taste good chilled and reheated. Or maybe it'll just bring baked goods...

There aren't any pictures of food I cooked this week and I don't really think too many of you want to see the photo of the dead squirrel Fritz dragged home. Instead here's a Lego minifig my son Alex made that I really like. He built the entire body out of little pieces.

Another beautiful Indian summer week

2009-11-15T20:25:00.005-05:00

This week's 9 Bean Rows box (clockwise from top right):
small collard leaves, kale,
bread (which was really great this week and couldn't make it whole into the shot),
apples (huge and really juicy),
a rocket variety, red potatoes, parsley and rosemary,
mizuna (which I ate Saturday morning with this Warm Miso, Maple and Bacon Dressing),
mixed salad greens, and
a large head of bok choi (which I think I'm going to try in some egg foo young/an Asian omelet-- my plan is to somehow combine these two recipes Shiitake, Sweet Potato and Zucchini Foo Yung and Mushroom Egg Foo Young with Gravy and swap in the bok choi for one of the vegetables.)

We had another week of beautiful weather and I made a serious dent in my pumpkin/squash collection. The huge butternut squash from last week went into a roasted vegetable mix. Then I used it in pasta and with apples in a salad. I also baked off some turban squash and made a batch of vegan pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. I thought they were great but my son Alex drove me nuts by loving the raw batter but only eating one of the cooked muffins!?

I attempted a cinnamon cupcake with an apple leather swirl (inspired by this ginger pumpkin cake) but they were overfilled and I shouldn't have let the apple leather stick out. They spilled all over and the leather stuck out too much, back to the drawing board...
Today we stayed in. Alex and I played several games of Jenga Max, which is very fun but maybe a tad to easy to beat. Alex helped make pizza for lunch. He's determined to be super creative with his pizza shapes and has been making balls and rolls. Today he came up with this pizza "Fortune Cookie", it was quite tasty.

9 Bean Rows share and the Dog Hill dogs

2009-11-06T20:23:00.001-05:00

This week's 9 Bean Rows box and my plans: (clockwise from top right)
salad greens - more cashew/tamari dressing on these
Swiss chard - lots of caramelized onions is how I make this, my least favorite green, edible
bread - my son Alex stole most of the soft middle and John and I are sharing the crust
curly parsley - with apples in a quinoa salad with fennel bulbs from my garden
walnuts - added to the pile for my Christmas nut bowl and some for the above salad
apples - see parsley, plus it has been FAR too long since I made some cupcakes and I need to think of an entry for this month's Iron Cupcake Earth: Apple
garlic - I'm feeling a pot roast urge coming on
radishes - ume plum vinegar, black pepper and honey dressing
fingerling potatoes - pot roast as well
butternut squash - Crap, I already have 10 sitting on my counter and that's not including the pumpkins!! This one isn't in great shape so it has to be used quickly, maybe roasted in cubes and tossed with pine nuts and pasta...or more pumpkin bread.
kale - in bean soup later this week
pak choi - in miso soup

Now that I've gotten my autumn olive jam and leather done for this year, I've moved on to what's left in my garden. I harvested the Late Flat Dutch Cabbage on the left and they're in my crock becoming sauerkraut. Our dog Karmal is making sure there aren't any stray chipmunks that could cause me grief.
Most of my husk cherries are already jam but I keep finding a few strays while cleaning up. Maybe even enough for a torte. I have this recipe saved, it's on the list all the way at the bottom and husk cherries are called their other name, cape gooseberries but the almond/husk cherry combination sounds good so I'd like to give it a try.
Roxy helped consume some of the apples from the many trees on our land.
The criticism of CAFOs is becoming more main stream. If you missed it, last night's Bones episode dealt with factory farming. I'm a fan of the show as well as Kathy Reichs's novels and was happy to see them touch on a topic I care about. If you missed it, you can watch Bones: The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken on Hulu. Do you know where your chicken came from or how it was raised?

Smoky Collard Greens (no meat version)

2009-11-05T20:20:00.005-05:00

No rain for trick-or-treating, sun peeking out from behind the clouds all week long and bearable temperatures even though we saw a few snowflakes. I'm a happy girl.

So between tests of every pumpkin cake/bread recipe I can find, to use up some of my squash-load from the garden, I made some greens today and thought I'd share my recipe. Now, I have no moral problem with pork and I love when someone else makes a big pot of collard greens with ham hocks. My mouth waters just thinking about driving through South Carolina and finding a really good BBQ joint. But, since I'm the only green lover in my house I've learned to make do with small batches, that means a slice of bacon or this version which has no meat at all. Smoked paprika (pimenton) is one of my most beloved of spices and can give a slice of bacon some competition.

Smoky Collard Greens
Makes ~1 1/2 cups of cooked collards

1 bunch collard greens (~8 leaves)
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 teaspoon pimenton (Spanish smoked paprika)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Frank's RedHot, optional*

*Note that my bottle is nearly empty, I go through the stuff like my son goes through ketchup. It's killer on buttered (or EBed - Earth Balanced) popcorn.

-Sweat the diced onions in a tablespoon or so of olive oil, the pimenton, a few grinds of pepper and a pinch of salt until translucent.
-Remove the collard stems, roll and chop the leaves and then wash them well in a lot of water. Do several changes of water for dirty greens.
-When the onions are soft, add the greens, vinegar and a splash or two of water. Cover and let the greens wilt over medium heat. In a minute or two check the greens and give them a stir. Add more water if needed to keep the greens moist, you want some liquid in the pot but not a soupy mess since we aren't cooking these very long. Cover and reduce the heat to low.
-Cook for 20 minutes or until the greens are tender enough for you.
-Taste for seasoning and serve with Frank's RedHot on the side.

Other collard recipes:
Gina Neely's Best Collard Greens
Crock Pot Collards from Mother's Kitchen
Braised Collard Greens from The Kitchn
Veganized Southern-style Collard Greens, with shiitakes

My son Alex was happy to find the milkweed pods are finally ripe.

Fall and winter food plans w/ 9 Bean Rows share

2009-10-31T16:21:00.002-04:00

October will end in a few hours. We had a monster of a windstorm last night and all our trees were left bare sticks. And this morning was the last outdoor farm market day *sniff* Whether I like it or not, winter is coming.

I'm always an avid canner and I try to use the freezer to store what I can't use right away from my vegetable garden but this year I'm really trying to cover all the bases. I have a freezer that includes not just my usual homemade pasta sauce, stocks and frozen vegetables but also major load of local meat. I spent more time drying herbs for tea and spicing. I have dried pumpkin from my garden, dried apples from our land and a batch of local shiitakes drying as we speak (to replace the tasty but slightly dubious Asian market ones I love). And for the first time I committed to a CSA share for the fall and winter.

Yes, I'm late to the CSA party but I was reluctant to give up the pleasure of market shopping and the freedom to not eat Swiss chard. But the damn good bread and allure of permaculture treats (as well as the H1N1 factor and not wanting to be out and about as much this coming winter) made me want to give 9 Bean Rows a try. Plus, as much as I would have loved to get a hoop house up and running this year on my new garden it just wasn't in the cards. So now I'm all set for the winter with someone else to do the work.

Pictured above is this week's haul: (clockwise from top) fingerling potatoes, French breakfast radishes, bread, chestnuts, onions, apples, carrots, lettuce mix and collards (with a garlic bulb hidden underneath). I roasted half of the chestnuts for a Halloween party last night and I'm nibbling on a bowl of hot ones right now. The onions, radish tops and collards are going in a coconut red curry and the carrots will be roasted with a chicken and some other root vegetables from my garden for two meals later this week. I've been dressing my salads with a cashew-tamari dressing though I might switch to apples and cheddar this week with mustard vinaigrette. The rest of the apples and radishes will be snacked on. Oh and don't bother asking about the bread, my son and husband circle like sharks to snatch it out of the box. Sometimes they leave me an end to eat with olive oil.

My load of beef and pork from Gallagher's Centennial Farm from a few weeks back,
John is seriously addicted to their burgers and I love their arm roasts as pot roast.
See that pile of squash and pumpkins behind the boxes? That's just part of the haul from my garden.

Happy Halloween!
I've been listening to this soundtrack all day, despite constant complaints from
the grumpkid to turn off the "crazy music". He should be thanking me for
not digging out my Magenta costume for this evening.

DB French Macaroons

2009-10-28T15:34:00.010-04:00

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

This is a last minute effort but I'm glad I gave it at least a quick try. Of course I got no feet, the little base that all French macaroons should have, and they didn't puff as much as I would have liked. However the cinnamon in the batch I made went over extremely well with my son Alex. Another day and I *will* try these again...

Links:
-Get yourself a copy of The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern by Claudia Fleming for this recipe and more.
-Or see the recipe at our host's site, Baking Without Fear
-If you'd like to join in on the fun visit the Daring Kitchen. There you can also check out all the participants by browsing the Daring Baker Blogroll.

In case you're wondering what I've been doing since I clearly wasn't busy perfecting my macaroon technique,
here's my son Alex in his haunted tree Halloween costume.

Since it's relevant, there is a super cute commercial I posted last year that's for my husband's game Chuzzle and it features macaroons! *BTW, Chuzzle for iPhone/iPod Touch will hopefully be out before Christmas for those interested.

Popcorn picking for the Leelanau Conservancy

2009-10-20T07:56:00.011-04:00

My blogging groove has eluded me all summer so here's an attempt to jump back in. Yesterday we had a fun time picking popcorn for the Leelanau Conservancy. There were several varieties and we got to take a few ears home to cure and pop, including the ear of calico corn pictured to the left. I thought I'd post some more of the pictures from the event.

My vegetable garden is mostly cleaned up. The only things left are the Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale and some root vegetables. In the freezer are zucchini, peppers and lots of homemade tomato sauce from the final cleanup. I've started working on the squash and pumpkins we grew this year and have some roasted and in the freezer but most of them are forming a decorative pile on the counter for now. My son Alex and I have been picking apples from the many trees on our property. We've been lucky to find some really nice apples despite the neglected state the trees are in. I canned a batch of sauce yesterday after Alex did all the work cutting up the apples. I also canned 9 quarts! of Concord grape juice from my father-in-law's grapes. As usual, this is a mess but the grapes were super sweet. My parents visited us this past weekend and helped collect and husk the husk cherries/ cape gooseberries. The results are waiting for me in the garage. I think I'll make couple batches of jam and one batch of chutney with them. After the husk cherries are dealt with there are plenty of autumn olive berries to harvest as well.

Oh and did I mention we got a new puppy? His name is Fritz.
He's a 9 week old long-haired Dachshund and he likes corn stalks.
Eat your heart out.
Alex picking popcorn
Shucking the corn
Some of the different varieties from the cobs we took home
Alex with his friends that came to pick corn, they all loved this horse chestnut tree.
Alex brought home 93!! chestnuts. He counted them all. So far we've planted seven on our land.Pumping a drink of water, Alex's friend Phoebe is fond of Fritz :)

DB Dobos Torte

2009-08-27T00:18:00.005-04:00

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

As painful as leaving the new house was I enjoyed my beach vacation a lot. My new garden survived though I've been fighting to regain control of the weeds that took advantage of my absence. The growth while I was gone has had me busy freezing and drying herbs and vegetables but I couldn't skip the Daring Baker challenge!

I had a chance to make this months challenge just shortly after we got back from the vacation when we had some new friends over for dinner. However I had a new twist thrown into to my typical dairy-free adaption because one of the guests doesn't eat soy. Out went ol' standby Earth Balance... (We can't use the soy-free EB because of the pea protein in it.) After a little grumbling and worrying, a kind soul on the Daring Baker forums mentioned Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs. I purchased her book Sweet Freedom earlier this summer but hadn't had a chance to do more than light skimming. A quick look brought me to her Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, a coconut oil based frosting sweetened with agave nectar. With some soy-free almond milk the recipe was safe for both my little dairy avoidee and the soy-free guest.

Well, I loved the frosting and so did my son Alex! It was just sweet enough and very chocolaty. I thought this torte was a good pick since it's been awhile since the Daring Bakers have made a fussy cake. The thin sponge layers were something I've never made and the caramel coated layer was fun to make and pretty. Sadly, the summer humidity made the caramel very chewy by the time I served. Also, I really didn't get why the caramel had all that lemon juice in it. Caramel shouldn't be tangy! Still, it looked nice. Thanks to the Daring Bakers I've tried something new and enjoyed myself baking.

Links:
-Visit our hosts, Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella and Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar for copies of the recipes to make your own Dobos Torte.
-If you'd like to join in on the fun visit the Daring Kitchen. There you can also check out all the participants by browsing the Daring Baker Blogroll.
-To get the recipe for the agave-sweetened chocolate butter cream get yourself a copy of Sweet Freedom by Ricki Heller. Since I cracked it open for the buttercream recipe I've also started regularly making her Lemon-Blueberry Scones. I can't even begin to tell you what a hit they are and it's a perfect recipe for the Michigan blueberries in season now! Ricki also has an online collection of recipes to try at the DDD recipe index.
-You can find more European sweets, including the original recipe for the Dobos Torte in Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

My son Alex and a walking stick bug we found on the house.

DB Mallows and Milanos

2009-07-28T12:37:00.003-04:00

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

Ah, sweet summer! The Michigan cherries are wonderful this year, late but huge and flavorful. The nights are chilly and I'm loving the summer even more than ever before since moving up north. So I've let another month pass and I've been too busy hiking, gardening, playing and laying in the sun to cook a whole lot or blog. How do people who live in year round sun get anything done?

I did check in early in the month to see what the Daring Baker challenge would be. The Milan cookies (like the infamous Pepperidge Farm Milanos) were very intriguing to me. I made my first batch early in the month but struggled with the runny batter. I was making 1/3 batches because the recipe calls for 6 egg whites and it divided easily that way. I triple checked my measurements but couldn't make that batter pipable without an extra tablespoon of flour. No matter, they were a HUGE hit with my son Alex despite the slightly heavier texture. Maybe we were supposed to whip the egg whites? That was the only thing I didn't try but Alex's admiration for this cookie will have me researching and trying other recipes.

The mallow cookies were another matter, I really didn't want to make them. I dread coating things with chocolate. Even when a recipe lets you off the hook and you don't have to temper chocolate it's still a tedious, messy chore. But I felt like I was cheating if I didn't even give the recipe one go so I whipped up a batch yesterday at the last minute. True to form I made a mess with the chocolate but they tasted good enough. They just aren't a favorite cookie for me. I did like the chance to make a batch of homemade marshmallows, which I haven't done in a couple of years. Alex wasn't interested in the cookies but loved the extra marshmallow

At the end of this week I'm heading out for a beach vacation in South Carolina but know that my new land and already beloved vegetable garden won't be far from my mind. Here are some more photos to show you what I've been up to.

Links:
-Visit our host this month, Nicole, at her blog Sweet Tooth or come on over to the Daring Kitchen to join in on the fun. You can see the other versions of this month recipe by browsing the Daring Baker Blogroll for the other versions of this month's recipe.
-The complete recipes can be found at Food Network's website. Here are the links for both: Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies
**To accommodate my son's dairy allergies I replaced the butter called for with Earth Balance margarine and used dairy-free chocolate. My chocolate ganche for the Milanos is made by melting 4 ounces of chocolate with 4 teaspoons of soy milk and 2 teaspoons of margarine. This ratio doubles or halves very easily.
The dogs of Dog Hill (Roxy and Karmal) romping in the grassMy cat Nelson in the corn rows
Alex with a grasshopper
Spotted knapweed, a scratchy invasive whose pretty flowers are a hit with the bees
My prolific husk cherries, I'd better start looking for recipes. I have six plants.
Three-lined potato beetles have been a nuisance. They are terribly fond of the husk cherries.
Peppers almost ready to pick
Pumpkins, sunflowers and sweet corn

DB Bite-sized Bakewells w/Autumn Olive Berry Jam

2009-06-27T22:14:00.007-04:00

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

This month represents several Daring Baker firsts for me: my first Bakewell tart (a first taste as well as my first ever baked) and my first challenge completed on the posting day. Distractions from the new house still have me disconnected from the blogging world. We were lucky enough to close a deal on our old house in the Metro-Detroit area--which was no small feat in this economy! This lead to a big clean out and our second Uhaul move with the furniture and flotsam we left for staging. Moving is exhausting work but more enjoyable hard work has been occupying me in my newly built vegetable garden!! It's off to a late start and so it's hard for me to spend even a single day lit hour not poking around in it. In Michigan, if you blink too long you can miss summer completely.

I was very interested in the Bakewell tart/pudding. Most British desserts are an enigma to me and this was one I hadn't even heard of before. I love working with almond meal and have been sneaking it into quick breads and cookies to up their nutritional density. How could I resist the chance to make a tart that revolves around almonds? A Bakewell tart requires jam but I only just bought strawberries to begin preserving this morning so I used the last half of the final jar of autumn olive jam from last year.

Since I didn't have a use for a whole tart today, I made mini tarts using a mini cheesecake pan (I used it for tarts here as well). I halved the pastry dough to insure I would have enough, rolled it out and cut 2 1/2 inch diameter circles for each compartment. I only made a third of the frangipane and used 1/3 cup of jam which worked out to a little more than a teaspoon of jam per tart and a little over a tablespoon of frangipane topping each. My divisions created a full 12 tarts and each was a perfect 2-3 bites. I loved how light both the pastry and the frangipane were and the touch of almond extract in both was lovely. I will definitely be digging out that bottle of extract more often. I would have liked a little more jam for more tart contrast but I think the autumn olive berry jam color looked great in these.

I do have a few things to post because it would be a crime to not use my new kitchen but I can't bear to sit at the computer when there are other things to be done. Maybe we'll finally get some rain...or fall and winter will come eventually and I'll have more time on my hands.

Links:
-Our hostesses this month are Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar
-Visit the Daring Kitchen to join in and take a look at the Daring Baker Blogroll for the other versions of this month's recipe.
-The complete recipe can be found here. Due to my son's dairy allergies I replaced the butter called for with Earth Balance margarine. I also downsized the recipes as described above and cut the baking time down to 17 minutes.

My newly built and planted vegetable garden
Abbie gets supervised outings. She likes sniffing around for chipmunks.

DB Rhubarb-Strawberry Strudel

2009-05-27T17:44:00.000-04:00

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

My blogging is still on the back burner but I couldn't let this month's Daring Baker challenge pass me by. I waited until this past weekend when my parents were up for their first look at our new house and then recruited my mom to lend a hand.

For the filling I used local rhubarb fresh from the farmer's market with strawberries that were left over from a previous meal. I spiced the strudel with Penzey's ground ginger and the flavor came through beautifully in the roasted rhubarb but got lost a little once the strawberries were added. I might ditch the strawberries next time. Per my mom's suggestion I kept the filling tarter than I normally would have but I was glad I listened to her suggestion. It made the finished strudel lighter.

The dough wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. My biggest mistake was over-flouring the tablecloth. This came to my notice because after baking the top had a powdery look that I could have easily avoided by brushing off the extra flour from the rolled dough before brushing it with the melted Earth Balance (my butter substitute in this recipe). The strudel dough was thin, flaky and tender but didn't have the crispy crackle that you get with phyllo. I'd like to try this recipe with less oil or a homemade phyllo dough recipe because I missed that sharp crackle.

Thanks to Courtney and Linda for a great challenge! Making strudel dough from scratch was a fun project. We finally have our internet access settled at the new house and things are getting less hectic. However, with the woods surrounding the new house to explore and all the gardening I've been doing (and all I want to do next) I'm not finding time for the computer. I'm currently trying to find the perfect balance of all the things I want to do. I will be back blogging and there will be pictures of the house and the new kitchen in time. See the end of this post for a link to more pictures of what I've been up to on my new personal blog, Living on Dog Hill.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Strudel Filling
This is my spring-inspired filling for strudel. If you are interested in making the strudel dough from scratch take a look at the apple strudel recipe on Coco Cooks. Or you can cheat and use store bought phyllo dough. This amount of filling should work well for two phyllo strudels following my directions for Apple Phyllo Strudel. This is a tart filling, if you like your rhubarb sweeter please increase the amount of sugar.
Makes ~2 1/2 cups of filling, enough for one large from-scratch strudel or two smaller phyllo strudels

4 cups cut rhubarb, 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces
3/4 cup sugar, more if desired
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 cups diced strawberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon corn starch

-Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
-Wash, cut and then measure your rhubarb. Place the rhubarb, sugar and ginger in a baking pan with at least 1 inch high sides. I used an 8"x14" glass cake pan. Toss the ingredients together and then spread the rhubarb in a single layer.
-Bake the rhubarb for 15 minutes. Remove and cool until close to room temperature, ~15-20 minutes.
-Toss the diced strawberries, vanilla and cornstarch in with the cooked rhubarb. Place this mixture in a colander over a bowl for 10 minutes to draw out some of the juices from the strawberries and collect the juices.
-Take the collected juices and bring them to a boil in a small saucepan. Once the juice come to a boil and thicken carefully fold the cooked juices back in with the rhubarb and strawberries. Do this gently so that the pieces of rhubarb remain mostly whole.
-The filling is now ready to place in the strudel dough.

Links:
-For the complete recipe for Daring Baker Apple Strudel challenge, visit Courtney at Coco Cooks or Linda at make life sweeter!
-Or take a look at the book that was their inspiration, Kaffeehaus by Rick Rodgers
-Visit the Daring Kitchen to join in and take a look at the Daring Baker Blogroll for the other versions of this month's recipe.

Rolling out the strudel dough
The finished strudel
Spring on Dog Hill on my new personal blog, Living on Dog Hill

DB Toasted Almond and Honey Tofu Cheescake w/ Pretzel Crust

2009-04-27T21:15:00.001-04:00

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I'm celebrating a full year of being a Daring Baker this month! This month brings me back to my beginning with the group since my first challenge was last April's Cheesecake Pops. As a new member last year I didn't want to change much to the recipe so I trudged ahead and used Tofutti cream cheese but this year Jenny of Jenny Bakes wanted us to the be creative so I went for a less processed version using almond butter, honey and silken tofu. It was my variation on the great looking cheesecake from Diet, Dessert and Dogs. Even though I made several changes to her recipe I think the spirit remained and it was awesome! The honey and toasted nuts worked well together and the flavor and texture definitely satisfied my cheesecake cravings without dairy. Best of all I got to add in my new pet project, perfecting a pretzel crust. I last used this crust on the bottom of the vegan turtle cupcakes but didn't have the ingredient proportions quite right. After a few more trials I'm quite happy with recipe now and it was PERFECT with the honey and almond cheesecake filling. Salty, sweet, nutty--mmm!

Toasted Almond and Honey Tofu Cheesecake
Here are the changes I made to the Diet, Dessert and Dogs recipe for Vegan Farmer's Cheesecake:
-raw honey (thick set) for the light agave nectar
-roasted almond butter for the cashew butter
-no lemon zest (called rind in her recipe)
-no lemon extract
-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, instead of 1
-I baked the cheesecake in a 6-inch springform and it needed more baking time. Even with the extra baking time mine was a smidge runnier in the middle than would have been perfect. I plan on using a larger pan next time.
-And the last change was...

The Pretzel Crust!
Here are the amounts for the best version I've made so far.
For one 6-inch pan (double for larger) take 1 cup of fine pretzel crumbs, 1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Blend all the ingredients together and press into the pan before adding the filling.

*Don't forget to take a look at the other cheesecake creations by visiting more blogs in the Daring Baker Blogroll!

**Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs has a cookbook called Sweet Freedom that is currently going into production and should be available for purchase by late May. With her creative mind, it looks like a must have for those looking for "sweet things free of wheat, eggs, dairy and refined sweeteners". I've been very happy with all of her recipes I've tried and the cheesecake recipe is going to be in the upcoming book. Click on either of her links to learn more.

House update:
I'm moved! This past Friday I finished what packing I could and we moved about 80% of our stuff into our new house. After the exhausting weekend packing, unpacking and enjoying our new house I'm back down state while a few new house details get finished and we get the old house ready to go on the market. I'm still too busy to have time to spend online but the end of the craziness is in sight AND I got to cook in my new kitchen for the first time this past weekend!! Lots more pictures will be coming soon, in the meantime enjoy a glimpse of my box filled life.

Virtual Great American Bake Sale Kickoff and some kitchen pictures

2009-04-14T09:09:00.005-04:00

I almost forgot to post about the Virtual Great American Bake Sale Kickoff! The bake sale is a collection of recipes from across the blogosphere and beyond. For the virtual bake sale, the recipes are being made available in ebook form with donations requested, with the donation amount completely up to you. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of these ebooks will go toward Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale program. Funds raised through Great American Bake Sale are donated to after-school and summer feeding programs--food programs that many kids depend on when school is not in session. The Great American Bake Sale is a program of Share Our Strength, a national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry.

I joined in at the request of Kate who is another Michigan food blogger who writes at Cooking During Stolen Moments. Because file size may be an issue for some people, you can purchase the complete collection or choose just 1 or 2 of your favorites from 4 categorized ebooks. My recipe is Savory Pumpkin-Caramelized Onion Muffins which will be in the complete collection as well as the Muffin and Breads ebook. Update: The complete book is 5.09 MB and took about 20 seconds on my cable modem to download.

The Complete 2009 VGABS Recipes Ebook

Features all 170 of the submitted recipes. Many of the recipes include pictures.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Shopping cart courtesy of E-Junkie.

Muffins & Breads

Features 24 recipes, including my Savory Pumpkin-Caramelized Onion Muffins
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Cookies, Candy, Cakes, Bars & Brownies

Features 50 recipes.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Desserts

Features 49 recipes.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Beyond Baked Goods (Appetizers, Breakfast, Main Dishes, etc.)

Features 47 recipes.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

And now for unfinished kitchen business...
I'm still packing and running around like a proverbial headless chicken but I am making headway. We'll hear tomorrow if we passed the final occupancy inspection, cross your fingers that it goes well! I had some pictures from last week sent by the builders of the kitchen backsplash that I wanted to share. I love these tiles, which came from Trikeenan Tileworks.

More about my new kitchen:
-Kitchen Lights
-More progress on my new kitchen
-Pantry Plans
-Building a dream kitchen feels like...
-Plans for my new kitchen

See more about the house in general at Building on Dog Hill or browse the Flickr set to see all the pictures from the beginning
Our builders, Steinorth Fine Homes

This year's Easter eggs

2009-04-12T21:49:00.007-04:00

We to celebrate both Easters (Orthodox and Western) because my husband and his family are Greek Orthodox. Though our celebration on Western Easter is more low key, the Easter bunny and multicolored eggs come then. These are my food-dyed eggs for this year: red/pink = beets, purple = blackberries, yellow = turmeric, blue= red cabbage, green = red cabbage + turmeric. I attempted using onion skins for a dark red but they ended up dark brown, as always. I also tried using spinach in water and in oil but neither mixture transferred the color so I went with a double dip to get a greenish color.

Happy Easter/Palm Sunday!

P.S. I'm woefully behind in my blog visiting/reading because I'm packing like crazy for our move. I hope to find some time to catch up soon because I know there are a ton of great food and ideas I don't want to miss!
P.P.S. I didn't get around to trying all the Easter Ideas but I did make the homemade vegan creme eggs and my son Alex LOVED them!! They were the stars of this morning's Easter basket.

Hrudka (Slovak egg cheese for Easter)

2009-04-10T15:10:00.006-04:00

The Slovak traditions for Christmas and Easter have imprinted certain taste memories that I can't avoid craving every year. One of the things I wonder why I desire is hrudka. Hrudka is also called cirek, sirets, sirok, sirecz, as well as just Easter egg cheese (by those who have trouble trilling their Rs) and it is basically a ball of scrambled eggs served at Easter. Some people put a slice of it on sandwiches but I always ate it plain with salt.

My family is always generous and I know that there would be a ball of hrudka for me to take at Easter. But this year things are a little crazy with our move coming up and I don't know for sure what our plans will be. Plus, the hrudka my family makes has cow's milk and my son has never been able to taste it. So this year I asserted my independence and made my own. It was fairly easy and the flavor only barely changed with my soy milk substitution. That is it still tasted like a ball of scrambled eggs. What can I say, it's tradition and somehow makes sense to my springtime taste buds.

I also was inspired by the posts on Bittersweet, a vegan blog. There she made soy cottage cheese spread and used the soy whey in bread for the following post. It's probably terrible for me to un-veganize an idea but in this I'm trying to respect the gifts of the eggs and not let any part go to waste. So I used my whey in the traditional paska (Easter bread), now made non-traditional with my dairy-free soy milk. Using the whey is apparently common but it's not something my grandmother did so I didn't know about it before. I'm waiting to taste the bread until Easter morning but it looks gorgeous this year and has a richer smell than my previous versions with just soy milk. Now that I've had my hrudka fix I can start playing with homemade soy cottage cheese!

Hrudka (Slovak Easter Egg Cheese)
Adapted from the recipe found in "Our Best to You", the 1st edition Sacred Heart Byzantine Catholic Church cookbook of Livonia, Michigan. The original recipe was submitted by Mrs. Helen Rapasky. Hrudka is served for Easter along with ham, kielbasa, beet horseradish, and paska (Easter bread). Some people put it on a ham or kielbasa sandwich but I always eat a slice plain with a little salt. This savory version is what my family makes but sweet variations are common, some are listed at the end of the recipe.
Makes 1 large ball of cheese, ~1 3/4 pounds

1 dozen eggs
1 quart milk (dairy-free for us, I used soy)
1 teaspoon salt

-Set up a large double boiler or make one using two pans or a pan and a bowl. I used a large stainless steel bowl over a saucepan. Fill the lower pan with an inch of water. Bring the water to a boil and turn down the heat so that it is strongly simmering.
-Off the heat, beat the eggs in the upper pan or bowl and then add the milk and salt. Beat all the ingredients to combine and then place over the pan of simmering water.
-Cook the egg and milk mixture stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until the mixture curdles, this will take approximately 20-30 minutes. You'll see curds separated out and leave a thin, watery whey. Stop once it seems like no more whey is being produced, IE coming out of the curds.
-Line a colander with a square, double layer of cheesecloth and place over a large bowl or pot. Pour the curds and whey carefully onto the center of the cheesecloth.
-Gather the cheesecloth together to form a large ball with the curds. Twist the top and press to remove more whey and then tie with kitchen twine.
-Tie the ball to a wooden spoon and suspend it over a pot to drain further and cool. Other directions recommend tieing the ball to your kitchen faucet to drain.
-When the ball is mostly cooled and not dripping any more whey place it in the fridge to set overnight. You can save the whey to make paska (Easter bread), links to paska recipes follow.
-After chilling overnight, remove the cheesecloth. Store in the fridge wrapped with plastic or waxed paper. Serve slices on sandwiches or on their own sprinkled with a little salt.

Hrudka variations:
I have never had anything but the plain unsweetened hrudka but sweet recipes are common, just Google hrudka recipe. These recipes have anywhere from 1 tablespoon to 1 cup of sugar added to the one dozen egg recipe and most of the sweet versions also have vanilla extract. There are also recipes that call for any one of the following: cloves, caraway seeds, cinnamon, pepper or saffron. For a drier cheese you can bake the drained ball for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. Baked ball of scrambled eggs sounds even more bizarre to me.

Paska bread recipes:
My grandmother never used the whey for her paska bread but I like the idea of not wasting it. Plus, since I'm using soy milk in place of the traditional cow's milk I'm hoping it will add more flavor to my bread. I used the paska recipe from the same Sacred Heart church cookbook but only made the plain dough. The plain dough gave me enough for three small loaves. Here is another simple paska recipe that is similar to others from my grandmother's church cookbook. For something different you could try this paska recipe using whey and whole wheat flour.

Cooking the hrudka (counter clockwise from top left): starting cooking the egg and milk mixture, curds begin to form, curds and whey
A closeup of the hrudka curds and whey
The colander and cheesecloth ready to strain the hrduka curds from the whey Hanging the hrudka
This year's paska bread

Crossposted on Michigan Lady Food Bloggers (MLFB)

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Trailer

2009-04-06T23:46:00.005-04:00

Right off the bat I can tell you that my husband will probably hate it and my son will almost surely love it-- me, who knows? All three of us are big fans of the book but I have my doubts as to whether they can create a cohesive story line that can carry a movie length feature. What do you think?

Thanks to i bake for you for posting this on foodgawker, where I found it. The movie comes out in the US on September 18th 2009, more information can be found on the Sony Pictures site.

What will be next? Maybe another pick from My favorite children's books with food

Savory Pumpkin-Caramelized Onion Muffins

2009-04-05T21:57:00.003-04:00

Even though the sardine cupcakes weren't really savory (or real sardines for that matter), I *have* wanted to make a savory cupcake/muffin for awhile. A giant butternut squash I acquired this weekend prompted me to try making the flavors of this pizza into savory muffins. These are subtly sweet and moist with the intoxicating aroma of caramelized onions. The smell reminds me of the good Jewish onion rolls my parents used to buy. I really like the salt and crunch the pepitas give to the tops, analogous to a sweet muffin's crumb topping. I'm sure they would be good with butter (Earth Balance margarine) or some cream cheese but today I preferred nibbling on them plain. I plan on having one for breakfast tomorrow with some Fakin' Bacon or maybe a slice of ham if I'm in the mood for the real stuff. I also would love to try this with some other flours like quinoa or some soy flour for higher protein.

I'm submitting this recipe to the Virtual Great American Bake Sale hosted by Kate of Cooking During Stolen Moments. Kate just so happens to be another Michigan foodblogger and I'm all for mitten state solidarity! On April 13th, the recipes submitted will be collected together in an ebook for sale with all the proceeds going to Share Our Strength.

Savory Pumpkin-Caramelized Onion Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

1 1/2 cups diced cooking onion
1 tablespoon Earth Balance Margarine (or butter)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2/3 cup milk (we use soy)
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 tablespoons shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin or squash puree
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup maple syrup

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
-Cook the diced onion with the margarine, thyme and a pinch of salt in a pan over medium high heat until caramelized. To get good color stir often and cook for at least 15 minutes. Set aside to cool in a medium bowl.
-Mix together the milk and vinegar and set aside while the onions cool.
-Spray another skillet with oil and add the pepitas (pumpkin seeds). Carefully toast the pepitas over medium heat until a few begin to make popping sounds and color a light golden brown. Remove and toss with a pinch of salt.
-In a large bowl, stir together the two flours, baking powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
-Add the soy milk mixture, the pumpkin, the oil and the maple syrup to the caramelized onions. Stir until combined.
-Dump the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
-Spray a muffin pan with oil and spoon the batter in, filling each compartment 2/3 of the way full. Sprinkle the toasted pepitas on top.
-Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes and then remove from the muffin pan and cool the rest of the way on a baking rack.
-Good for breakfast, a snack or serve like rolls for a meal.

How to make a fondant sardine

2009-04-02T07:43:00.005-04:00

For the full-sized pictures, a list of supplies needed and directions go to:
How to make a fondant sardine
a Flickr set

Also see them on the Spinach and Sardine Cupcakes

Spinach and Sardine Cupcakes

2009-04-01T00:01:00.008-04:00

I'm been wanting to make a savory cupcake for a while but needed some inspiration to get me started. When my son Alex showed some interest in a can of sardines at the store recently I knew I had to make something special with them. The spinach pasta for the recent Daring Baker lasagna made me think of the perfect combination, spinach and sardines!

For the cake, I chose a simple onion and thyme flavored sponge cake that wouldn't overpower the toppings. The trick was to have just enough sugar to keep the cake tender and yet remain savory. If I made it again I might use caramelized onions in place of the onion puree to give a richer flavor but using sweet onions was good enough for this first try. For the frosting, I would have loved to use whipped cream with spinach puree but with Alex's dairy allergies that wasn't an option. Instead I made up fresh mayonnaise lightened with extra lemon juice to cut through the fattiness of the sardine.

Yes, these will be intimidating for your kids to take the first bite. Encourage them to go for the head first and the brave ones will step up to the challenge. Just think of how packed with minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D these little fish are!

Links:
-Nutritional facts for sardines
-Pacific sardines get a best choice rating from Seafood Watch
-If eating the whole fish isn't for you, try this Sardine Pate recipe on TriniGourmet

Update: Of course, don't really make this recipe. Any cupcake flavor with green frosting will do. The fish on top are fondant with luster dust and black food color and here's how to make them. They did look disgustingly realistic once you bit the head off though. Special thanks to Rachel from one of my favorite sites, Cupcakes Take The Cake for this post. You can't fool all of the people all of the time but fooling even just one on April Fool's Day is the best!

Spinach and Sardine Cupcakes
For Oscar
Makes 12 cupcakes

Cake ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 large sweet yellow onion, peeled
1/4 cup melted margarine (or butter)
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar

Topping ingredients:
1 cup neutral oil (if you prefer you can use a flavorful oil like extra virgin olive oil)
1 egg (to be safest use a pasteurized egg)
2-3 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons smooth pureed spinach
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
canned whole sardines for garnish

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake tin with papers.
-Sift together the flour, baking powder, thyme, onion powder and salt and set aside.
-Take the onion and the melted margarine and process together in a food processor until it forms a smooth pulp. Set this aside as well.
-Separate the eggs for the cake and place the yolks in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and beat until very light in color and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they foam. Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar while whisking until the whites form stiff peaks.
-Add the margarine and onion pulp to the yolks and beat to incorporate. Fold the flour mixture into the yolk mixture just until combined. You don't have to be very careful with your folding at this point.
-Take one third of the whipped whites and mix into the yolk and flour combination. Add another third of the whites and carefully fold until only a streak of white is left. Add the final third and fold until no whites are visible.
-Spoon into the cupcake papers filling only half way. These will rise quite a lot.
-Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick entered in comes out clean.
-Cool completely.
-Make the spinach mayonnaise to frost the cupcakes by beating the egg with the salt and half of the lemon juice and then drizzling in the oil gradually until a thick and creamy base is created. Once the mayo is nice and thick add the spinach puree and more lemon juice and salt as desired.
-Frost each cupcake with the spinach mayo and then top with a plump whole sardine. Be sure to pat the sardines off with a paper towel to remove any excess oil before adding.
-Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for later.

My son Alex is fearless and went right for the head.
There was no way to keep Abbie away from these during the picture taking.

Kitchen Lights

2009-03-31T16:07:00.000-04:00

Nope, not finished yet... but our new house (and my new kitchen) are getting very close to being done. We went up to visit last week and got to see a lot of the lighting going in. It was also our first look at the faucets and countertops. With all the work going on a lot of things were covered up but I did get some pictures to show. This coming week they'll be finishing up in some rooms and soon it will be ready for the final inspection. Here's what I have to share.

This is a photo from the builders sent after the counter tops and sinks were installed. For those who asked the island is a little more than 4 foot x 8 foot.I had to pull away some of the cardboard to take a peek while I was there. I love the modern looking drain board on the main sink. And my view!!The range is in place but not hooked up yet.Ovens in place, ignore the dust.My son and husband love the ice maker. Alex kept snatching ice cubes.The tile for the backsplash was delivered. It's from Trikeenan Tileworks and will look similar to this in place.The breakfast nook light, pulled up to be out of the way it will be lowered laterThe schoolhouse style lights over the islandCheck out the cute hat from Christo (aka doggybloggy) of ChezWhat?
Thanks Christo! I love that it makes Alex look like a little lizard.

Other posts about my new kitchen and some links:
More progress on my new kitchen
Pantry Plans
Building a dream kitchen feels like...
Plans for my new kitchen
More about the house at Building on Dog Hill or browse the Flickr set to see all the pictures from the beginning
Our builders, Steinorth Fine Homes

Vegan Cupcake Trio for the Mammafish Project

2009-03-29T12:12:00.004-04:00

When I read that Shelly of Musings from the Fishbowl was looking for volunteers to help create a birthday surprise for her mom I knew I had to join in. Shelly is a vegan foodblogger and former Michigander who currently lives in France. Her mom's 60th birthday was coming up and she still lives in my neck of the woods in MI. I don't think you could get me to turn down an opportunity to bake a birthday surprise for someone.

Shelly gave me the clues that her mom used to like turtle candies and wasn't a big fan of lots of butter cream. Even though I do bake with eggs and eat meat occasionally, I wanted to play the surrogate daughter and bake some vegan cupcakes in Shelly's place. With my husband as a sounding board I came up with a turtle cupcake with a pretzel crust bottom for saltiness, chocolate cake, my vegan caramel cooked softer for a filling, freshly toasted pecans, and a blob of fudge frosting for the turtle body. Since my son was hanging around looking for samples I made a vegan version of the yogurt cake he's been so fond of lately. Half I flavored with lemon and half I added matcha (powdered green tea) to. The matcha got Alex's new favorite frosting, dairy-free white chocolate ganache, and a little slice of candied ginger to make them pretty. The lemon cakes I topped with strawberry filling reminiscent of pie filling. Great strawberries are finally coming in, though it's still months before they are the best local ones. I grabbed a bunch of fragrant organic ones on my last trip up north.

My favorite cupcakes were the strawberry/lemon ones. They are brightly-flavored and make me think of spring and summer on the way. Alex loved the lemon cake but would have preferred the white chocolate ganache with it. I guess I have an Easter cake pairing all set there. The matcha cakes still needed a little more green tea flavor and I would chop the ginger into finer pieces next time because the bite with the ginger was just perfect. Alas, I was only somewhat satisfied with the turtle cupcakes. The caramel was lighter than I would have liked and the flavor was lost in the chocolate cake. The pretzel crust was tasty but it needed a little more margarine and sugar to be perfect. My husband John isn't eating sweets right now but I made sure to freeze some of the extras so he can try them and give me a solid critique. The turtle cupcakes will be getting a second run with a different caramel method, improved pretzel crust and vanilla cake. I'll post the recipe when I'm happy with it. Until then here are pictures of my baking and the recipe for the strawberry/lemon cakes.

Happy Birthday Mammafish!

Strawberry-Topped Vegan Lemon Mini Cupcakes
Inspiration taken from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen recipe Strawberry Snack Cake and the Tofu for Two recipe Fragrant Lemon Cake.
Makes 12 mini cupcakes

Cake ingredients:
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 ounces (1/2 container) vanilla So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy milk
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons almond meal

Strawberry topping ingredients:
8 ounces strawberries, hulled and diced
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a mini cupcake pan with papers or lay out your mini nut cups on a baking sheet. I use Wilton Mini Nut Cups and I always snip the rolled edge in two spots so that the papers can be ripped off easier. Make the snip just through the edge and you won't be able to tell. You will have to inform the recipients to pull at the snipped spots.
-Prepare the strawberry topping by placing the strawberries, sugar from the topping ingredient list and cornstarch in a cold saucepan. Gently toss the strawberries in the sugar and cornstarch to coat. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally gently, until the strawberries release some of their juices and the juices bubble and thicken. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice to taste. Cooked strawberries lose some of their brightness and the lemon juice will pick that back up. Place the strawberry topping in a bowl, cover and refrigerate. You want the topping cold or it will slide off the cupcakes.
-Begin making the cupcake batter by beating the margarine and powdered sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.
-Add the yogurt a tablespoon at a time, beating between each addition. Add the soy milk, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla one at a time and beat again until everything is incorporated well and the mixture is fluffy like frosting. You will need to scrape the bowl a couple of times.
-In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the margarine mixture and beat until mostly incorporated. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat just until smooth.
-Fold in the almond meal. Spoon (or scoop with a small disher) the batter into the snipped nut cups or lined mini cupcake pan. Fill each cup three quarters full.
-Place in the center of the preheated oven and back for 14-17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely. The cakes will fall some while cooling.
-Top each cooled cupcake with a spoon of strawberry topping and serve.

The Mammafish cupcake project: (clockwise from top left) the trio of vegan cupcakes, laying out the pecan turtle legs, the matcha cupcake w/ white chocolate ganache and candied ginger, prepping the pretzel crust for the turtle cupcakes

DB Lasagna with Tempeh and Celeriac

2009-03-27T20:01:00.003-04:00

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

I was surprised to learn this month's Daring Baker challenge. Baking to me means cookies, cakes, bread, and pie--I guess sweets just naturally dominate my brain. Making lasagna seems more like cooking than baking and it's one of those dishes that relies on cheese to make it so delicious. I've made a few dairy-free lasagnas for my son but they were bare bones dishes: layers of meat with sauce, a layer of broccoli (one of the two green vegetables he deems edible) thrown together with dairy-free soy cheese and noodles from a box. Certainly nothing exciting enough to post.

However the challenge of making my own spinach lasagna noodles kept me motivated. I've made a lot of pasta for homemade ravioli and pierogi and occasionally for hand cut noodles but have never attempted spinach pasta or making the large sheets needed for lasagna. So I took that spark of excitement and decided to wing the rest.

A look at my mostly bare fridge gave me the idea to replace the meat ragu with a tempeh version. This I spiced with a secret ingredient of mine, Italian sausage seasoning. The fennel and pepper taste is great with green vegetables and in homemade meatballs for soup. Poking further I found a forgotten celery root and had another bright idea. Typically vegans and those who eat dairy-free replace soy milk in the milk-based bechamel sauce found in lasagna, but the taste has never been top on my list. The flavor of celery goes so well with tomatoes and I knew it can be made into a super smooth puree. So I spiced it up bechamel-style with nutmeg and white pepper to use in my lasagna.

The spinach pasta wasn't the walk in the park I expected. I'm not sure if I chopped my spinach too fine or if I just had very juicy spinach but I needed a lot of bench flour to get the pasta dough workable. It was really sticky! Eventually it worked out and I was really happy with how thin I got my sheets of lasagna noodles. The color on the cooked noodles was impressive too. It has me ready to try again and make spinach tagliatelle with basil pesto.

I thought about replacing the Parmesan called for in the recipe with oil and garlic toasted breadcrumbs, something I'd seen on Kalofagas recently, but laziness won out and I used some Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella cheese. The melded taste of the spinach pasta, rich tempeh sauce with the creamy cheese and celeriac puree was wonderful. Everything was gooey and the flavors mingled so well. The celeriac bechamel has renewed my interest in making dairy-free lasagna. Once again, I'm happy the Daring Bakers pushed me in a new direction.

Links:
-For the complete original recipe visit this month's hosts: Enza of da grande, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Mary of Beans and Caviar.
-The author of the original recipe is Lynne Rossetto Kasper, you can find her online at The Splendid Table.
-See more lasagna creations by visiting the Daring Bakers' Blogroll.
-If you'd like to join in or learn more about the group, come see the gorgeous new site: The Daring Kitchen.

My Instructions for Lasagna
This is my adaptation of Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno) from The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food by Lynne Rossetto Kasper.
Makes one 8-inch square lasagna that will serve 4

Ingredients:
1 half-recipe of Spinach Egg Pasta or one full recipe of Vegan Pasta, spinach variation, see links for recipes*
1 recipe of Celeriac Puree for Lasagna, see below for recipe (increase amount as desired)
1 recipe Tempeh Ragu, recipe below
5 ounces Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella cheese

*You can begin by making your pasta and letting it dry while you make the fillings or by making the fillings and then setting them aside or refrigerating and reheating them while you make the pasta. I made the pasta first and allowed it to dry only slightly. That is how these directions are written so I can remember what I did for next time.

1. Prepare your lasagna noodles. I used half of the provided recipe for Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde). You can see the complete recipe with instructions here. The ingredient amounts for a half recipe are: 1 egg, 5 ounces of fresh spinach, and 1 3/4 cups (7 ounces) of all-purpose flour. I needed more flour to make the dough workable and not crazy sticky. There will be a little dough leftover. You can cut it into noodles and save it for later or just cook it, throw some butter/EB on it and have a snack. For a vegan/egg-free option, try this Vegan Pasta Recipe, scroll down for the spinach version. This should give you more than enough and some extra pasta as well.
2. After your pasta is made and set aside to dry a little, make your fillings. My recipes are included below. Set the finished fillings aside.
3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water comes to a boil, prepare a large bowl of ice water and spray an 8-inch square baking pan with spray oil.
4. Grate 5 ounces of Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella cheese and set aside.
5. Boil the lasagna noodles for 2 minutes. *If you dried the noodles overnight or longer, then you should boil them for 4 minutes. Cook just 3-4 noodles at a time, transfering them with a handled strainer to the ice water when done.
6. When your noodles are ready, lay a thin layer of the celeriac puree onto the bottom of the baking pan and cover it with a few layers of noodles. If you get your noodles very thin use 2-3 layers of noodles. If they didn't come out as thin, use just 1-2. I recommend straining and patting the noodles a little with a clean dish towel or paper towel to avoid making your lasagna watery.
7. Add another layer of puree and top it with a layer of ragu then sprinkle on 1/3 of the cheese. Add another couple layers of noodles and repeat the puree, ragu, and 1/3 of the cheese. Top with a final layer of noodles. Spread the remaining celeriac puree on to the top of the lasagna and sprinkle over the rest of the cheese.
8. Cover with aluminum foil, making sure the foil doesn't touch the surface of the lasagna. Bake in the center of the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
9. Turn on your broiler and raise the lasagna to the top rack. Broil for 1-3 minutes to brown the vegan mozzarella, checking every minute so that it doesn't burn.
10. Remove the lasagna from the oven and cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut and serve.

Celeriac Puree for Lasagna
For use as a dairy-free bechamel sauce replacement in a 8-inch square lasagna. I plan to make this again and use a slightly larger celeriac or two roots because I think more would be good in the lasagna. This amount melded in nicely though.
Makes ~1 1/4 cups

8 ounces of peeled celery root (celeriac), from ~12 ounces unpeeled root
1 clove of garlic, whole and peeled
2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine (or butter if you want/can)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

-Chop the peeled celeriac into a 3/4 - 1 inch dice. Place in a pot with the garlic clove and add enough water to cover. Season the water with salt until it tastes as salty as tears.
-Bring the pot to a boil and boil ~7-9 minutes, until the celery root is tender all the way through. You can check this by stabbing a piece with the tip of a knife.
-Remove the pot from the heat and drain the water off. Save 1/4 cup of the cooking water.
-Place the drained celeriac and garlic into a food processor and add the margarine (or butter) and 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Process until smooth. This could be done in a blender as well.
-Check the puree to see that it is the consistency of soft mashed potatoes, add more cooking water if needed. Add the nutmeg and pepper and process to distribute. Taste for seasoning and add salt, more nutmeg or pepper if desired.
-Store for assembly later in the fridge or use shortly. The puree should be warm when added to the lasagna.

Tempeh Ragu for Lasagna
Makes ~2 cups, enough for one 8-inch square lasagna

8 ounces of tempeh (I used LightLife 3 grain but I really like their flax and wild rice versions too)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 clove of garlic, grated on a microplane or smashed into a paste with a knife or garlic press
1/2 teaspoon Penzey's Italian Sausage Seasoning*
1 1/2 cups pasta sauce (I used my homemade sauce, look for a sauce that isn't very chunky and is fairly thick)
*This is a mixture of ground fennel seed, salt, pepper and a little sugar. You can replace it with a home mixed version of those ingredients or just use whatever pasta herb/spice seasoning you prefer, just add to taste.

-Pulse the tempeh in a food processor until it forms a coarse meal, think Grape Nut size. You can also grate the tempeh on the large holed side of a grater.
-Heat the oil in a skillet until a crumb of tempeh sizzles a little when added. Add all the ground tempeh and cook over medium-high heat until at least half is golden brown, stir often. This should take 2-3 minutes.
-Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the garlic and sausage seasoning. Stir to distribute and heat just until the garlic becomes fragrant.
-Add the pasta sauce. Cook on medium high until bubbling and hot, cook and additional 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly or store in the fridge for use later. Like the celery root puree this should be added to the lasagna warm.

Making the spinach pastaRolling out the lasagna noodlesA slice of finished lasagna