Baked Oatmeal

Our favorite 'working' coffee shop serves a baked oatmeal/cake thing for breakfast that I love. It's not what I normally think of as 'baked oatmeal' (which would just be oatmeal that's cooked via baking) - it's way better. And I say this as someone who loves oatmeal. They serve it with fresh fruit on top and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

My dad and step-mother are in town right now, so I auditioned a version of this dish for them (we'll probably end up serving it at a big potluck brunch in a few weeks). I started with this recipe, but made some modifications. Chances are good I'll make it with a layer of bananas on the bottom next time (inspired by the coffee shop version).

Baked Oatmeal

• 4 C rolled oats
• .5 C oat bran
• 1 C brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1.5 tsp salt (I used homemade lemon salt)
• 1.5 C milk (I used skim) - if you don't warm it, your butter will congeal. your call.
• .75 C / 6 oz melted butter
• 3 beaten eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 C dried currants

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Mix oats, oat bran, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, mix together the milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix in the currants. Pour into the prepared baking dish.

Bake until slightly brown around the edges and pretty dry, about 40 minutes.

serves 8

buttermilk scones

This is my sister-in-law's scone recipe, producing what are to me the perfect scones: plain, very slightly sweet, terrific plain with tea. Not having to buy cream is an added bonus (I always have buttermilk powder on hand, which works wonderfully here).

Buttermilk Scones

Ingredients:

3 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 c (6 oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 c buttermilk

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it lightly and set aside.
2. Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then lightly whisk. Use a pastry blender, 2 knives, or your fingers to cut or work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles fine crumbs.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture and add the buttermilk all at once. Stir the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Using lightly floured hands, gather the dough into a soft ball and turn it out onto a lighltly floured work surface. Divide into 4 parts and pat each one into a 3/4 inch thick circle. Cut each circle into four wedges.
4. Transfer the wedges to the prepared baking sheet, and bake in the center of the oven until the scones rise and are golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Remove and cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a rack. Serve warm, split and spread with jam. The scones are best eaten within several hours of baking.
Notes: Sometimes I chop up dried currants or raisins and mix in the batter after the buttermilk. Sometimes I also sprinkle raw sugar on the top of the scones right before placing in the over.
Yield: 16 scones.
Source: Holiday Baking by Sara Perry

Bacony PB Cookies

Made following this recipe from the brown-eyed baker; substituting bacon drippings for the shortening gives them a subtle bacony flavor.

Muffin Season (belated)

I know, it's technically been "muffin season" for quite some time. I got a little derailed this year, but I'm catching up. I woke up this morning thinking about a muffin with dates and pecans; when I got downstairs and looked at the pantry, I decided they'd be great in a spiced sweet-potato batter. This is what I came up with, aided by the always-fabulous King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking.

Sweet Potato Muffins with Pecans and Dates
adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

• 8 oz (2 C) whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• fresh nutmeg, grated to yield about 1/4 tsp
• 3 oz (3/4 C) chopped pecans, toasted lightly
• 4 1/2 oz (3/4 C) chopped dates
• 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 7 1/2 oz (1 C) brown sugar (any kind; I actually used muscovado)
• 1 3/4 oz (1/4 C) cane sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 9 1/2 oz (1 C) pureed sweet potato (mine was canned)

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease every other well in two 12-muffin tins.

Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. Mix in the pecans and dates. Cream together until fluffy the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, then the vanilla and sweet potato. Add the dry ingredient mixture, stirring until evenly moistened.

Pour the batter into the prepared tins (I used two pans so the muffins would rise more evenly). Bake 20-24 minutes, until a tester inserted into a muffin comes out cleanly.

yield: about a dozen muffins

literary muffins

This recipe originates from a mystery novel by Kerry Greenwood. The main character is a baker; her apprentice comes up with the idea of making a "plum pudding" muffin. It sounded fantastic when she described it and I was thrilled to discover that Greenwood included the actual recipe at the end of the book. It's been a few weeks since I finished Earthly Delights, but I only got around to making the muffins this weekend. They were easy and tasty and I will definitely be making them again.

Plum Pudding Muffins

• 2 C AP flour (I believe you could substitute white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour as well)
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 C chopped dried fruit (I used a combination of candied lemon rind, golden raisins, and raisins)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch allspice
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 C milk (I used skim)
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 Tbsp rum (or brandy)

Heat oven to 300F. Spray muffin tins with oil (or my favorite, oil-and-flour baking spray). Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour through allspice) and wet ingredients in another bowl. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir. Pour batter into prepared tins. Bake for about 15-20 min, until they smell cooked and are lightly browned on top.

yield: about 12 muffins

Cranberry-Orange Buttermilk Rolls

I was just trying to find this recipe so I could make my shopping list for the week, and it looks like I somehow neglected to post it here. I made this last year for Thanksgiving, and actually ended up baking another big batch the next day to eat with our leftovers. It's a tweaked version of the raisin bread recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes.

orange-cranberry buttermilk rolls: 
The basic method is described here: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dining/211brex.html

The recipe theoretically makes 3- 1 1/2lb loaves; I instead made plum-sized balls of dough and bunched them together in a pan.  You could do smaller batches in a brownie pan or pie plate.  If you don't use the dough all at once, it will keep for a week in the fridge in a lidded container.

• 2 C lukewarm water
• 1 C buttermilk
• 1 1/2 Tbsp yeast (1 1/2 packets)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp salt
• 1/3 C white sugar
• 6 1/2 C AP flour
• 1 C (or so) dried cranberries
• zest from two large organic oranges
  
• butter or something to grease the pan (I usually use this stuff: http://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Canola-Baking-Spray-Flour/dp/B001HTNBNG)

Mix all the dry ingredients together.  Mix in the cranberries and orange zest.  Mix in the liquids; keep going until ALL the flour is incorporated.  Cover loosely and allow to rise until the dough rises and collapses (or at least flattens on top): 2-5 hours.  (It's much easier to use the dough when it's allowed to cool in the fridge overnight, but you can go on to the next step right away if you need to.)

Shape the dough, and put it in your greased baking pan.  Allow to rise for at least an hour (up to about 4 hours should be fine - 2 hours or so is ideal).  Twenty minutes before you're going to bake the rolls, preheat the oven to 375F.  Bake the rolls on a center rack for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown.

Banana-Coconut Muffins

I've been making banana bread the same way for over a decade. It's one of the first things I ever baked (which for me means college-age, not preschool....), and I've dallied with other banana bread recipes since, but I always come back. I've been making it a lot again recently, though in muffin form (I want to eat it over several days versus gobbling it up in a day or two, and I think muffins keep a bit better). I was inspired to add some coconut recently, and I think I've come up with a new favorite. It's on the sweet side - I think it would make a good cupcake with the addition of some cream cheese frosting - but that's how I roll. You could probably cut the brown sugar back to 1/2 C without changing the texture too much.

Banana-Coconut Muffins
loosely adapted from 1001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes

• 1/4 C coconut butter (aka creamed coconut)
• 1/4 C applesauce
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 C shredded unsweetened coconut, soaked in 1/4 C skim milk (soak overnight if possible) - could use coconut milk here, too
• 3/4 C packed light brown sugar
• 1 C mashed banana (2-3 bananas)
• 1 3/4 C AP flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

Put coconut oil, applesauce, eggs, soaked coconut mixture, and brown sugar in large mixer bowl and beat until smooth. Add banana and blend at low speed to combine; beat at high speed 1 to 2 minutes.

Combine remaining ingredients in small bowl; mix well. Mix into batter.

Pour batter into muffin tins (which will be pretty full). Bake until golden (the toothpick test is useful here), about 20-25 min.

makes 12 muffins

Friendship & Herby Bread

A friend brought this amazing dill-y bread to a potluck we hosted many years ago. I basically couldn't stop eating it, even though conceptually it sounded a little strange: dill, honey, and yogurt bread? It was delicious; when I asked, it turned out to be from Molly Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest. Later (I think after hearing me pine away after the cookbook, mostly because I wanted to make this recipe), another friend got me the book as a gift. I generally make this bread when I have some leftover dill, and every time I do, I think about my friends and feel very loved. It is supremely comforting.

Yogurt & Herb Bread
from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest

• butter, oil, or oil+flour spray for the pan
• 1 C white flour
• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 C firm yogurt
• 5 Tbs butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 C sugar, honey, or agave nectar
• 2 Tbsp fresh dill, minced (or 2 tsp dry)
• 1 - 3 tsp dried herbs (oregano, thyme, marjoram, and basil are all good bets)

Grease a medium-sized loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350F.

Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Put the butter in a medium bowl and melt it in the microwave (on high, stirring after every 15 sec). Beat the yogurt and sweetener into the melted butter. Beat in the eggs. Mix in the herbs.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture into it. Mix until completely blended.

Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserted all the way into the center comes out clean. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack for at least 20 min before slicing.

yield: 1 medium-sized loaf

Chicken and Fennel Potpie

I hinted at this recipe once before; I'm not sure why I waited so long to make it again, as it is delicious.

Although the original recipe has a specific crust, it's pretty similar to the one we learned in our pie-making class a few years ago. Since we're both comfortable making that recipe, that's what we used (although we used bacon drippings in place of lard, both because it's what we had and because, well, why the hell not?). (Kate's basic recipe can be found many places on the web; she discusses both the recipe and a bit of the technique here.)

Basically any kind of poultry could work here; although it's nice to have the ham, too, it's definitely not necessary. Leftovers make sense, but when I made this last I didn't have leftover chicken, so I poached a large breast in a mix of broth and white wine and used that. The amounts are very much approximate, too.

Chicken & Fennel Pot Pie
adapted from As American As Apple Pie

• pie dough (enough for one crust - probably half a recipe, since most make enough for both a top & bottom crust, and this pie just has the top crust)
• 1 potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 fennel, cut into small cubes
• 1 carrot, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 C peas (optional)
• 1 1/4 C chicken stock (approximately)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp anise seeds
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (I always use Wondra for making gravies/sauces)
• 1 C cream or half-and-half
• 1 Tbsp Pernod (optional)
• 3/4 C ham, cut into small cubes
• 1 1/2 C cooked chicken or turkey, cut or shredded into bite-sized pieces
• dash of Tabasco
• salt & freshly-ground pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Melt the butter and add the onion and anise; cook 5 min. Whisk in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, about 2 min. Whisk in the 1 C warm broth and keep whisking until smooth. Heat to boiling; simmer 4 minutes. Whisk in the cream and continue cooking until thickened, 5-6 min longer. Remove from heat; stir in Pernod if using. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally, about 10 min.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add potatoes, and cook until tender (about 8 min). Drain and stir into gravy.

Combine fennel and broth in a medium saucepan and heat to boiling. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until tender (about 4 min). Drain, but reserve the broth. (Add more broth, if needed, to make 1 C.) Stir into gravy.

Stir in the chicken and ham and add a dash of Tabasco and a little salt & pepper, to taste. Transfer to a large buttered pie plate (9" or 10").

Roll out the dough and transfer it to cover the pie. Trim and flute the edges. Brush with the milk. Cut a vent (or vents) in the center of the pie.

Bake until golden brown, about 25 min. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

serves 6

Bubbie's Sponge Cake

Direct quote of my grandmother's email to me:

Bubbie's Sponge Cake  (Bubbie is Yiddish for grandma):  6 eggs separated    1/2 cup cold water   1 1/2 C sugar   1 tsp vanilla  1 1/2 C Cake flour ( 1 C of cake flour=7/8 C all purpose flour sifted)   1/4 t salt   1 t baking powder   3/4 t cream of tartar

         Separate eggs. Beat yolks 10 minutes or until thick and lemon colored.  Add water slowly and continue beating then add vanilla and sugar slowly while beating.  By hand fold in dry ingredients  (except Cream of Tartar) into yolk mixture.  Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff but not dry.  Fold into yolk mixture. Bake at 325 1 hour in an ungreased angel cake pan.  Test with a toothpick.  Cake should be nicely tan and the toothpick dry.  Invert pan on the neck of a empty wine or soda bottle.   Carefully remove cake when the pan is cool to the touch.  Use a table knife to very gently loosen  around the perimeter and around the center cone.  If your pan comes in 2 sections loosen around the perimeter and separate the pan from the interior section.  Use the table knife to loosen the bottom of the cake and around the cone. It should slide out. Let me know how it comes out.  Bake your cake when there are no guests in the house. Banging a door or the oven door can cause a cake to collapse.  I seldom baked this cake when the kids were little because they just did not understand the dynamics.  Have fun.  Much love,  Grandma  (Bubbie)

well, that worked out pretty well

Sunday: Braised White Beans; sauteed greens; bread. Apple Sharlotka for dessert.

I made all the recipes pretty much as-written.

For the braised beans: It took about 45 minutes on medium-high before I was satisfied with the beans' caramelization. They smelled amazing - the finished recipe was good, but wasn't quite able to live up to their initial aroma. I added about 1.5 Tbsp strong Dijon mustard, lots of salt, a bit of better-than-bouillon (chicken flavor), and a bunch of pepper. I ended up simmering the beans for just under two hours (I started with the saddest looking bag of discount beans from the grocery store, but then soaked them for two days. YMMV.)

The greens were a bunch of semi-random greenery that had been floating around the fridge - a half-bag of Trader Joe's prewashed greens that I picked up in a moment of panic on Christmas Day and a bag of greens from last week's farmer's market excursion. I cut up a single strip of bacon, fried it 'til crispy, and then cooked two garlic cloves a bit before adding the greens, some smoked paprika, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. I added some water to steam, and kept cooking 'til we were ready to eat.

Because we decided (somewhat last minute) to have someone over for dinner, I made Smitten Kitchen's Apple Sharlotka as well. I LOVE this recipe, and I don't even know if I cooked it enough. Was it really supposed to be creamy in the center and crisp around the edges? Does it matter? It was delicious, and I'll definitely be making this again. But for the time it takes to cut up the apples, it's very low-effort, and the ingredients are minimal.

I can't speak for my dinner companions, but for me, this meal was a total success.

Purim cookies

As part of my continuing cookie-baking adventures, we made hamantashen last week. Hamantashen (or "hamentashen" - various spelling abound) are triangular filled cookies served for the Jewish holiday of Purim. I have many fond childhood memories of eating my grandmother's hamantashen, which she made in great quantities every year. Her cookies were generally denser and less floury than the ones I've eaten elsewhere, and she stuck with the traditional poppy and prune fillings, although in later years she branched out and also used apricot jam and cherry pie filling.

I opted to use her recipe for the cookie dough (actually Grandma's friend Ruth's recipe), but for the filling I went non-traditional and used some Roasted Tangelo Marmalade. (Looking back, I see that I'd intended to do that all along!) We overcooked them very slightly, but these hew pretty closely to the cookies I remember from my childhood.

Hamantashen
Ruth's recipe from the Heirloom Cookbook, adapted and expanded

• 1/3 C vegetable oil
• ¼ C orange juice
• 1 C sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 (plus) C flour, plus extra to achieve correct consistency
• 1-2 C very thick jam or other filling
  

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, juice, sugar, and eggs. In a smaller bowl, sift together the baking powder, salt, and 3 C flour. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ones. After the initial flour is mixed in, keep adding more flour until the dough is thick enough to roll out (it will probably still be sticky).

Form the dough into a flat disk and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours (or even overnight).

Roll out dough on a lightly-floured surface, until 1/2"-1/8" thick (the thickness really just depends on your personal preference - ours were on the thicker end of that range).

Use a glass or biscuit-cutter to cut dough into rounds. Place a small amount of jam on the center of the dough rounds, and pinch into a triangular shape. Place on a parchment paper or Silpat-covered baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes or until dough is a light golden brown.

cookie time

I haven't made many cookies - this is part of the reason I still claim that I "don't really bake" despite all indications to the contrary - but a friend and I recently decided to start making cookies with her 2-year-old. We began with some simple molasses cookies. It was a blast; all three of us had a great time, and the cookies are delicious. I think that I'll add some orange peel (or possibly a bit of orange extract) the next time I make them, as they're a tad too simple for me.

Sugar and Spice Drop Cookies
adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 C sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 C molasses
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 C traditional whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter together with sugar and spices. Beat in the molasses and then the egg. Finally, beat in the flour. Refrigerate the dough, covered, for at least 30 minutes.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.

yield: approx. 53 cookies if no one eats any dough
(we got 44 cookies)

your house will smell amazing!

Although this year I've resolved to "put up" more pickles and whole fruits, I still have a lot of jams and sweet preserves from last year (and a few from the year before that, truth be told). I'm trying to use them in new ways. One I hadn't really thought of previously is in baking, but when I saw this recipe for Marmalade Gingerbread, I knew the Lemon-Ginger Marmalade I canned last winter would be perfect for it.

I brought a loaf with me to the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat (which I've gone to every year I've been in Washington); the gingerbread was a hit with my knitting buddies.

Marmalade Gingerbread
adapted from Sensational Preserves

• 1 1/4 C dark brown sugar
• 1 1/4 C skim milk
• 1/2 C butter, melted
• 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce *
  
• 2/3 C marmalade (any kind - each will be a bit different, obviously, but all should work, including store-bought) *
  
• 3 C all-purpose flour
• 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 7 pieces preserved ginger in syrup, chopped *
  
• 2/3 C plump raisins

Preheat oven to 310F. Prepare two loaf pans (I use baking spray with flour) and set aside.

Mix the milk and sugar together until sugar is dissolved. Add melted butter, marmalade, and applesauce, stirring until marmalade dissolves. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients together and form a well in the center. Mix the marmalade mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring to make a smooth batter. Stir in the eggs. Stir in the chopped ginger and raisins.

Pour into your prepared pans and bake for 60-90 minutes, until risen and firm to the touch in the center. Leave to cool in the pan.

Store in an airtight container. From the recipe's headnotes: "This gingerbread is best kept for a couple of days before being eaten."

makes 2 full-sized loaves

* If you have some home-canned versions of these, this would be a great recipe to use them in.

piroshki eat you!

Saturday: piroshki!

Since Victor was the one who first introduced me to piroshki (as opposed to pierogies, which I grew up eating), it seems only fitting that he was the one to decide that we should make our own piroshki. Although Seattle has some kickin' piroshki options, we both miss St. Paul's funky-yet-awesome Russian Tea House, so this is something of a nostalgia thing for us, I guess.

Victor also was the one who ended up making them from start to finish. He combined two recipes to begin to approximate the Russian Tea House ones, which are somewhat doughy and beefy. The filling is from this recipe; the dough from this one (we were skeptical about the "sunshine sauce" and skipped it entirely).


They were delicious and made the house smell wonderful. Seattle's on track to have its warmest January ever recorded, so we didn't really need this hearty winter fare, but it was comforting nonetheless.

not-quite-a-muffin

The pear bread, it turns out, was even better than it smelled. Yum! And now I have tasty breakfast goodness for the rest of the week. I only modified the recipe slightly, replacing some of the butter with applesauce. I think next time (and, boy howdy! there will be a next time) I will sub oil instead, and go up to 1/2 C applesauce (thus, only using 1/4 C oil).

Pear Bread

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 to 4 pears firm, ripe pears, depending on size (you’ll need 2 grated cups total, but I don’t recommend you grate them until you are about to use them, so they don’t brown)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  

Heat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl, and stir with a fork to mix everything well. If you’re using nuts, scoop out about 1/4 cup of the flour mixture and combine it in a small bowl with the chopped walnuts, stirring and tossing to coat the nuts with the flour.

Peel and core pears, then grate them. You’ll want two grated cups total; set them briefly aside. In a medium bowl, combine the butter or oil, applesauce, eggs, sugar, grated pear, nuts (if using), and vanilla, and stir to mix everything well. Scrape the pear mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until the flour disappears and the batter is evenly moistened.

Quickly scrape the batter into the prepared pans and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the bread is handsomely browned and firm on top and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack or folded kitchen towel for about 10 minutes. Then turn it out onto a plate or a wire rack to cool completely, top side up. Serve it as is, sprinkle it with confectioners sugar or drizzle it with a simple glaze made from whisking 3 tablespoons buttermilk, a dash of vanilla and 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar together.

must be fall...

I know that whole equinox thing is traditionally the determining factor for when fall starts, but my annual urge to bake muffins is nearly as reliable. I may make braised chicken all summer long, but somehow muffins don't appeal until fall, either for baking or for eating. Today my internal cook apparently flipped over to "fall," and I woke up with a strong desire to bake muffins.

Muffins and quick breads are somewhat equivalent in my mind, but I only make quick breads when I'm sure we'll eat them right away - it's just easier to freeze and reheat muffins than quick breads, at least for individual portion sizes. We had a bunch of blueberries from the market on Sunday that absolutely needed to get used right away, so I went ahead and made two batches.

Blueberry Oat Muffins
adapted from The Kitchn

• 1 cup blueberries, washed and dried
  
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
  
• 1/2 C white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats [I ground them up a bit in my mini-prep]
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk [I used powdered buttermilk, adding the powder with the dry ingredients and one cup of water to the wet ones]
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fiori di sicilia [or just use all vanilla]

Pre-heat the oven to 325°. Prepare muffin tins.

Toss the berries with 1/4 cup of AP flour. This will help keep them from sinking in the batter.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining flours, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar in a small bowl. In separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and fiori di sicilia. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir gently until you see no more dry flour. Fold the blueberries into the batter.

Spoon into the muffin tins (you can fill them nearly to the top - I found that this recipe didn't rise a ton) and let rest for 5 minutes. Bake for 30-40 minutes. They're done when the tops are puffed and dry, and when a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.

makes about 14 regular-sized muffins

Penzey's Blueberry Muffins
adapted from Penzey's

• 1/4 C butter, softened
• 1/4 C unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp fiori di sicilia [or just use all vanilla]
• 2 eggs, beaten
  
• 1 1/2 C AP flour, divided
• 1/2 C white whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 C buttermilk [I used powdered buttermilk, adding the powder with the dry ingredients and one cup of water to the wet ones]
• 2 C blueberries

Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare muffin tins.

Toss the berries with 1/4 cup of AP flour. This will help keep them from sinking in the batter.

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar, then blend in apple sauce, extracts, eggs, and buttermilk. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Mix the liquids into the dry ingredients and stir gently until smooth. Fold the blueberries into the batter.

Spoon into the muffin tins (fill them about 2/3 full) and let rest for 5 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.

yield: 14-18 muffins

Finally, Tomatoes

Monday: Tomato Salad; Corn on the Cob; bread; Cherry Buttermilk Cake

When we went to the farmer's market yesterday, it was obvious that summer had finally arrived: peaches, corn, AND tomatoes! Very exciting. We ate all our peaches yesterday, but didn't end up having the corn and tomatoes.

The corn I just microwaved (if I'm not going to be grilling, this is my favorite way to make corn): you don't need to shuck it - just put the corn (silk, husks, and all) into the microwave. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes/ear. Use oven mitts when peeling the husks off - you will find that the silk just comes off with the husk.

We had two gorgeous but slightly bruised heirloom tomatoes (the exact variety escapes me right now). They were "seconds," so half-price and really ripe. I cut them up and (gently) tossed them with salt, pepper, fresh basil (chopped), and a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Today was cool enough that I finally decided it was worth using the oven to bake a cake I've been meaning to try for a while, the Raspberry Buttermilk Cake that Deb of the Smitten Kitchen recently adapted from Gourmet magazine's recipe. We have had the most luscious cherries recently, and I wanted to give them a try with this recipe. She apparently had to adjust the cooking time downward, but it took the very upper end of the time range for my cake to even begin to look done. I think this may have been because the cherries added some extra moisture. Anyway, this recipe is definitely a keeper. I think you could get away with serving it as part of a brunch in lieu of coffee cake, even. Excuse me while I dash downstairs for another piece.

Cherry Buttermilk Cake
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1/2 stick (56 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup (146 grams) sugar
1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large (57 grams) egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved (about 5 oz)
1 1/2 tablespoons (22 grams) turbinado sugar (aka "Sugar in the Raw")

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup (146 grams) sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes, then beat in vanilla and zest, if using. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter cherries evenly over top and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25-35 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.

Serves about 6

Summer Squash, take #1

Thursday: summer squash gratin; simple cornmeal cherry crumble

I often have trouble figuring out what to do with summer squash. When we had a CSA and it was a regular part of our box, we usually alternated grilling it with grating it into marinara sauce (seriously guys, you have no idea how much marinara sauce I eat).

I can't say I'll be putting it into the regular rotation (it was way too rich for an every-day dish), but this summer squash gratin is delicious and gave me a chance to have some fun with my mandoline.

We had some truly amazing cherries, too. They didn't need any further adornment, to be honest, but I was feeling like having a real dessert. I just pitted enough cherries to make a single layer in the bottom of my 8x8 pyrex, mixed them with a bit of cornstarch, and topped them with a mixture of cornmeal, butter, and brown sugar. I baked the crumble for about 20 minutes in a 400F oven.

"My Favorite Recipe!!"

I can't actually say that this is *my* favorite recipe, though it is very good, but that's the title on the newspaper clipping. My mom slipped it into my bag the last time I was visiting, so I'm not sure which newspaper it was from; it was submitted by Gladys M. Metzger of New Columbia, PA, and it is her favorite recipe.

I have had some rhubarb languishing in the back of the fridge; I intended to make some chutney with it, but haven't gotten to it yet. So it seemed fortuitous that I re-discovered this clipping in my wallet earlier in the week. I lightened it up a bit (swapped apple sauce for some of the oil) and subbed in white wheat flour. They still rose beautifully, and I think the slight nuttiness of the whole wheat is a nice complement to their tangy sweetness. These muffins would also be delicious with fresh cherries or other summer berries.

Rhubarb Muffins
(adapted from G. Metzger's recipe)

• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1/4 C apple sauce
• 1/4 C oil
• 1/2 C buttermilk
• 2 1/2 C white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 C sliced rhubarb
• small amount of raw sugar for sprinkling on top*

Preheat oven to 400F.

Sift the dry ingredients into a medium bowl. Combine the brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla, and buttermilk in a large bowl. Beat well. Toss sliced rhubarb with a little (~ 1/2 C) of the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Stir remaining dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Add rhubarb, stirring to coat.

Spoon into pre-greased muffin tins and top with a little raw sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

* The original recipe calls for a streusel-type topping, which I omitted. For the topping, mix together 1 Tbsp slightly melted butter, 1/2 C brown sugar, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Top the muffins with this mixture instead of the raw sugar.