Eat This: Polar Vortex Doughnuts

You may have heard: it's really, really cold in Minnesota right now--some sort of polar vortex weather phenomena is hovering over the state--just like a dementor waiting to suck out all of your happy.  Luckily,  I have figured out that doughnuts are the perfect antidote to happiness-sucking weather.  Makes perfect sense, no?   When a tornado hits, head to the basement, and when a besieged by a polar vortex, make doughnuts.

So, I dug out my as-yet-unused doughnut baking pan (best $8 investment ever...), toasted up some coconut and got down to business.  I actually started thinking about making something like this back when I made Joy's doughnut muffins...and through some adaptation of the doughnut recipe found on the back of the actual doughnut pan packaging, came up with this recipe.

This dough comes together in about 5 minutes, and the glaze took about the same.  You bake the doughnuts for 15 minutes and suddenly there you have it--ta-da!--cake doughnuts!  No standing over hot frying oil, little extra fat beyond what you choose to grease the pan with, and so little time invested!

I will caution you to only fill your doughnut pan about 3/4 of the way full--while I did leave a little space in mine, they cooked over and actually eclipsed their holes.   They also have what I think of as a very narrow doughnut tutu.  No matter, I just got a paring knife and cut out the holes and gobbled those up while still warm.  I then triple-dipped them in the vanilla bean glaze and sprinkled heavily with the toasted coconut.  I would recommend letting them set up for an hour so the glaze will not ooze all over your fingers, dropping a party of coconut confetti after each bite--but this did not deter my family.  We oozed, we partied, we tucked into the doughnuts with wild abandon while shaking our fists out the window at the scowling polar vortex.

So, what are you waiting for?  You do not need a polar vortex of your own to make these--just a doughnut baking pan and 30 minutes and you are on your way to world filled with warm and happy thoughts no matter the weather.  Now go on...

DOWNLOAD BAKED COCONUT DOUGHNUTS RECIPE

A Glut of Tomatoes

Our tomatoes around here have been a little lazy about getting around to ripening, but suddenly we have heirloom tomatoes stacking up on the window sills and tumbling out of overly full bowls on the counter.  Each day is another day to find a way to use fresh tomatoes in whatever we are cooking--this morning, it was in my most favorite ever omelette.  What we do not eat, I am slow-roasting and freezing for later, less seasonable enjoyment (honestly, one of of the loveliest ways to save tomatoes--sort of like sun-dried, but less chewy, and sweeter--read more about it here).  

What are your favorite things to do with a crazy glut of tomatoes?

Eat This: Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Last summer, when we visited Madeline Island, we had the pleasure of meeting a friend's 11-year-old niece, Lily.  She was a caring baby sitter, a fearless cliff jumper (evidence here, 3rd photo from the bottom), and a happy baker of this bread--which she made from memory.  We were quite smitten with her, as well as this chocolate zucchini bread.  We ate it for breakfast, mid-afternoon snacks with tea, and for dessert--we ate so much of it, we actually had to ask her if she would kindly bake a second batch.  Then we asked for the recipe.  

So, here it is--for all of you.  Because it is high zucchini season and gives you something delicious to do with a glut of zucchini--or with that enormous foot long zucchini you see at the farmer's market for $1.  

You can whip the batter together in 15 minutes--grating the zucchini is the hardest part, although, really--how hard is it to grate a zucchini?  Exactly. (You should know that you can grate your zucchini and freeze it for use later in the year for this bread too--it will seem watery when you thaw it out but throw it all in and it will work just as well as freshly grated zucchini).

I admit I did add an extra tablespoon of cocoa powder and an extra 1/2 tsp of vanilla to her recipe--just because it makes the flavor a little deeper.  Oh, okay--I also added an extra 1/4 cup of chocolate chips--no need to get technical. (my modifications are included in the recipe)

I made one large loaf of this bread--as opposed to dividing it between a couple of pans.  If you make one large loaf, you will have to watch the baking time and stick it with a skewer to check that it is cooked through--mine took about 1 hour and 15 minutes but I think I could have given it another 5-10 minutes because it was just a little gooey in a small spot in the center.

We brought this on a picnic and served it up for dessert topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.  Then we ate the remainders straight up for breakfast.  Don't tell anyone I said so, but it is also really good with store bought chocolate frosting slathered on top--and just think, because it has all that zucchini in it, you can still count it as a serving of vegetables.

DOWNLOAD CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD RECIPE

Eat This: Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

If I was going to marry a soup--it would be this one.  That's how much I love it.  It so luscious without being overbearing, hearty without being heavy, healthy without hitting you over the head with how wholesome it tastes.  It was actually inspired by a soup I once had at the now defunct Figlio restaurant here (oh, how I miss Figlio)--it was this silky, lemony soup with a touch of basil.  Then I found a recipe for a lemon chicken soup and worked from there to try to recreate what I once had at Figlio--and this is pretty close.  I did go for the traditional greek addition of dill rather than basil (but it is just as good with basil if you would rather, so feel free to use it if you have it).

Of course, you can make other substitutions, like white rice instead of brown (you will just need less cooking time for the rice), more veggies, or even more chicken and rice if you want this to become almost stew-like.  I do recommend making your own chicken broth--I have a recipe for how to do that with old chicken bones here.

This soup is mostly easy to make.  The trickiest part is just whisking the 2 cups of hot broth into the lemon-egg mixture so the eggs will not curdle--but even this isn't all that tricky.  You just need to get a good brisk whisking action going before you pour in the broth.  And the best part is when you add the eggs mixture to the soup--it is like magic how it suddenly takes on this lovely muted color and the texture becomes just a little thicker and a whole lot creamier...

If there is one soup I recommend you try yet while it is still winter around this part of the world--it is this one.  Really.  You won't regret it.  

DOWNLOAD GREEK LEMON CHICKEN SOUP RECIPE

Eat This: Sweet Corn Cakes

Sweet corn cakes.  Like pancakes hooked up with some corn bread and rolled out of bed to greet you on your breakfast plate.  Seriously, I know.  These make perfect autumn into winter breakfast fare--hearty, yes, but mostly because they are such a luscious golden color it will bring back memories of warmer summer days.  Until they hit your tongue--then all you will think about is how you can hoard the stack in the center of the table all for you, only you.

Ingredients?  Feel free to use frozen or fresh corn kernels in the batter--just make sure you cook them first.  Actually, I'm not sure why I add the corn kernels at the very end instead of with the other wet ingredients--but I do and it seems to work all right so why mess with it?

And the best thing you can do, if you really want to know, is top these with real maple syrup and a sprinkling of grated cotija cheese. This is how they serve them up at Maria's Cafe, a Colombian breakfast joint here and the inspiration for this recipe.  The dry and salty flavor of Cotija perfectly complements the tender sweetness of these cakes and makes your breakfast transcendant.  Or, just really, really good.  

Happy breakfasting.

DOWNLOAD SWEET CORN CAKES RECIPE

Eat This: Tripleberry Jam

First off, you should know that I meant to post this like 6 full weeks ago or something--back when it was still berry picking season around here.  But, of course, I procrastinated on making the jam since our kitchen is not air conditioned (welcome to living in a home from the 1920's) and it felt like you were living inside someone's mouth about 6 weeks ago while that terrible heat wave was breathing all hot and heavy on the U.S.  So, I froze the berries and waited--then I went away for a weekend to a dear friend's house and she not only had central air, but also a beautiful kitchen--so she kindly let me go to work and do my canning while I was there.  But since then, sheer laziness has taken hold as the summer wanes and the jam sits in quiet little rows in the basement.

Oh, but here I am!  I have the recipe all typed up and ready for download now.  So, if you are still up for making some jam, try some of this--Tripleberry.  It is a lovely little blend of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.  I used what I had when I made this--which was a lot strawberries from when we picked them earlier in the summer, a lot of raspberries from our own urban patch, and some blueberries from the store when they were on sale.  You could, however, add in blackberries and make quadrupleberry if you prefer, or adjust the measurements of berries if you would like it to be a bit more blueberry-y, for instance--as long as you have 8 total cups of berries all will be good.  A little late, but have at it...

DOWNLOAD TRIPLEBERRY JAM RECIPE

What I Ate for Breakfast Today

What'd you eat for breakfast today?  Betcha what I ate was better than what you ate--meaning, better tasting, not better for your health.  Because this is definitely not good for your health--but is probably good for your momentary Saturday morning breakfast happiness--which must do something good for your body in some way, right?

The recipe came from Joy the Baker.  It is Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread and works and tastes exactly like the name sounds.  Which is delicious.  I saw this on Joy's blog, momentarily lost my mind, then had to go to the grocery store at 9pm last night to get some yeast so I could make up the dough and have it all ready for today's breakfast.

The scent of it baking in the your kitchen bright and early on a Saturday is enough to make your day better.  It tastes like eating the love child of toast sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and the soft doughy interior of a cinnamon roll.  You do not need the distraction of icing with this.  Pour yourself a cup of coffee, pull off a chunk and thank the gods for the gift that Joy the Baker is to this world--or better yet, just go to her blog and thank her directly.

Call me crazy but I am already thinking about how I could jerry-rig this recipe to make a pull-apart chocolate babka...

Eat This: Best Brownie Made Even Better

First off, trust me--these are the best brownie you will ever bake.  I picked up the recipe from Bliss recently and made an excuse to bake some and was almost down on my knees with gratitude that I had finally found the one brownie recipe I could go to for the rest of my days.  My search was done.  And what is so great about these is that they mix up and are in the oven in about 20 minutes flat--and all in one bowl, thank you very much.  I followed the recipe pretty much as outlined with the exception that I mixed half of the chocolate chips (1 cup) in right away before baking, and then added the second half (1 cup) of the chips about 15 minutes into baking.

But it gets better--these brownies are both fudgey and cakey and have that lovely crackly crust on the top that makes your teeth squeal with pleasure when they sink into one.  

Oh, and then I decided to just put these completely over the top by adding some cream cheese frosting heavily sprinkled with shredded coconut and topped each square with one bright lush raspberry (used Ina's frosting recipe--but you need only make about 1/4 of the recipe for this purpose).  I was thinking about Hostess Sno Balls when I added that coconut--but don't let that scare you.  And do you want to know what is even better yet about these brownies?

This.

Have a Sweet Christmas

I got my candy making mojo on a couple of days ago and with a little assistance from Mr Beeper.  We managed to produce this assortment of candies over a couple of evenings.  Having personally taste tested all of them, I can vouch for their edibility.  In fact, perhaps they may be a little too edible.

Which is why we have packaged most of it up in these sweet pale blue boxes from Martha and delivered them around to friends and family.  But if you get a little hankering to make some candy for yourself, here are links to all of the recipes we used:

Bourbon Pecan Truffles

Coconut and grapefruit gumdrops

Fleur de Sel Caramels

Mint Marshmallows 

(adapted by adding 1/2 tsp mint extract to the basic recipe and then dipped half in milk chocolate)

Movie Theatre Bark

Nuts and Seeds Fleur de Sel Dark Chocolate Bark

Pistachio, Dried Cranberry and Toasted Coconut White Chocolate Bark

Toffee Fleur de Sel Truffles

Winter Bark

The cookie lollies on top of the boxes were inspired by the look of this recipe--but are actually an entirely different creation.  They were made with oreos that I pushed a lolly stick into, then dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with the red winter berries.

Hope you have a sweet holiday filled with love, laughter and some lovely treats.

Use What You Have: Bread Ends and Leftovers

I don't know if you are like me, but I always seem to have all sorts of bread leftovers lurking in my kitchen--heels from otherwise used-up loaves, remains from artisan loaves I bought at my co-op that I could not bear to toss out so I just tossed them in a bag in the freezer, and other freezer burnt-bread has-beens just taking up space. Okay, and I still do--but they now have a their own mission in life other than obstructing the view of whatever else is in my freezer: I make homemade bread crumbs from them.  

Yes, even your stale, freezer-burnt and otherwise unwanted bread pieces can be put to use.  I keep a plastic bag in my freezer at all times and simply toss these sad bread pieces in (you name it, we save it--hot dog buns, rock hard pieces of french bread, stale heels...)--and once I have a full bag, I pull them out, defrost, cut into chunks, process into crumbs, and toast in my oven.

Voila!  Bread crumbs that are perfectly delicious and useful.  I use them to make breadings for chicken, to add to meatballs, to top casseroles...whatever your heart desires.  And, if you can believe it--they will keep endlessly in a plastic bag in your freezer.  Seriously--at one point, we had a HUGE bag of bread crumbs and I think I worked from that bag for over a year...with no apparent detriment to taste (do not ask me why this is true, but it is--really.  Would I lie to you, honey?).  I sometimes even season a large quantity of the crumbs all at once so I have my fave breading at the ready when needed with no fuss or muss.  Give it a try:

DOWNLOAD BREADCRUMB RECIPE

And here is a little tasty dish to get you started: stuffed peppers. I love these--they are full of veggies and are like a moist and flavorful meatball all mounded up in a bell pepper. And the recipe makes lots--enough for a family dinner, or enough for dinner and then some leftover to freeze since these do freeze and reheat nicely.

DOWNLOAD STUFFED PEPPER RECIPE

And if stuffed peppers are not your thing, think about making this fantastic faux-fried chicken that is a perpetual favorite at our house. 

It really is amazing what you can make from foods you might otherwise be inclined to toss out or add to the compost heap--so check out my other how-to's on: what to do with a glut of tomatoes, what to do with over-ripe fruits, and what to do with chicken bones.  Make the most from what you have and bon appetit.

Further Adventures in Jam Making: Apricot

One year later, here I am, still making jam.  For those of you who may not be aware, I kind of went on a jam-making binge last summer--and undeterred by stifling heat and humidity, I have been back at it again.  I have already canned a year's supply of blubarb (my recipe here), and again have raspberry and raspberry jalapeno (those recipes here) on the docket--but then I also added apricot to the repetoire this year.  Do you think I have a jam-making problem?  Like, one that requires a licensed therapist?  Anyway...

...As you can see here, it all worked like a charm--apricots cooked down, jam jelled, tastes like summer in a jar.

So thought I would share the recipe with you too--just in case you were interested and suddenly realized that you too needed to go on a jam-making bender.  I am more than happy to be your jam enabler (or pusher, whatever works for you)--here's the recipe I used for my apricot:

DOWNLOAD APRICOT JAM RECIPE

And if you do make some apricot jam--here is my very strong recommendation--make yourself a loaf or two of irish brown bread (that recipe is right here too) and serve that up this weekend with your freshly concocted apricot jam and some lovely european butter.  Because these things are meant for each other--you can feel them holding hands and reading Shakespearean sonnets to one another as they glide over your tongue.  Apricot jam and irish brown bread are food soul mates, I tell you.  Try it--you'll see.  Like love in your tummy.

May Day Brunch

The first Sunday of every May we host our annual May Day brunch and group trek to the crazy liberal May Day Parade that ends at Powder Horn Park, just down the way from us. Here are a few photos from our lovely day...

(big jar of Sangria)

(rainbow cupcakes made by Adrian)

(flower lollies--later handed out by the kiddies at the parade--more about how to make them here)

(colorful faces for the kiddies)

(lemon sticky buns--recipe here)

(laughter with the girls over prosecco around the table)

(smashed crispy potatoes--one of my favorite recipes for casual gatherings--recipe here)

(scenes from the parade put on by the amazing In the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre)

(kiddies up close with the parade animals)