Black Forest Bread Pudding

Measurements are approximate. Any bread pudding recipe that you like can be adapted.

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
3/4 c. milk
3/4 c. heavy cream
6 T. sugar, divided (or more to taste)
1/4 c Sharffenberger cocoa, sifted
8 slices white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 – 3 T unsalted butter
8 oz frozen Cascadian Farm organic cherries (or pitted fresh cherries) – reserve 4-6 cherries for garnish, if desired.
Garnish: whipped cream and 4-6 cherries, drained & reserved

Directions:

Generously butter a 2-quart baking dish, or 9″ pie plate in a large bowl
Whisk together eggs, milk, cream, 1/2 cup sugar, & Sharffenberger cocoa.
Stir in bread cubes and cherries to mix evenly. Let stand 10 minutes or more to let bread absorb custard mixture. (if it seems a little dry, add another tablespoon or two of milk & mix gently)
Pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with 2 T sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees  for about 20 min, until pudding is puffed and set.

Cut into 4 to 6 pieces. serve warm, garnished with whipped cream & reserved cherries if desired

Notes:

• This is a really satisfying way to get the flavors of black forest cake without the fuss and bother. You can whip this up just about any day.
• If you have guests, you could get fancy with the garnishes, adding (Sharffenberger) chocolate shavings to the cherries and whipped cream, for example, or baking them in individual souffle dishes/custard cups.

Margaret Lukens CPO®, owner of New Leaf + Company LLC, is a professional
organizer and productivity trainer who takes her clients from overwhelmed to
organized with her “Getting Organized for Business” program. Visit her
website at www.newleafandcompany.com.
Her first foray into entrepreneurship was starting a gourmet food store in
New England, where she was allowed to exercise her love of cooking. The
store was sold years ago, but the love remains. She has written about food
(and the business of food) for many publications, including Bay Food,
Pacific Sun, Santa Rosa (CA) Business Journal, and Litchfield (CT) Times.

Wine Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 C sherry (any white-ish dessert wine is also good)
4 eggs
3/4 C oil (canola is good)
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix (3.5oz.)
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F (or 325F for a dark non-stick pan).
Add all ingredients to a bowl, and beat 3 minutes on medium speed. Put in a greased & floured bundt cake pan.
Bake 45-50 minutes. Test with a skewer – when it comes out cleanish, it’s done. This cake is very moist!

Cool 5 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. When cool, sift powdered sugar over top.

Other ideas:
- Try using other flavors of pudding like cheese cake or french vanilla
- Instead of all oil, try 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce + 1/4 cup oil.  I haven’t noticed much difference in flavor or texture.
- Use a glaze: whisk powdered sugar an a teaspoon or two of lemon or orange juice, to the consistency of buttermilk. Drizzle on cooled cake. (I do this in a measuring cup with a spout so it’s easy to pour.)
- If you’re a citrus nut, try adding lemon or orange zest to the batter.  In this case, just use the sifted powdered sugar on the top.

Last night I was a little stressed, and decided to do a little stress baking.  I found this recipe on the back of the flour bag.  I adapted it a bit, and offer it here for you to enjoy. 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C butter
1/2 C unsweetened applesauce (or pear if you can find it)
1 t vanilla
1 egg
2 C quick-cooking oats
1 C all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 whole wheat pastry flour*
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
12 oz. chocolate chunks (or chips)

1. Heat oven to 350F. Beat brown sugar, butter, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended, and pale in color. Add oats, flours, baking soda & salt. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chunks.

2. Drop dough in rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet (or parchment/silpat lined), 2 inches apart.

3. Bake 9-11 minutes (I baked them 10 1/2 minutes) until golden brown – more if you like a crispier cookie. Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Yield: About 3 1/2 dozen cookies

* or you can use all-purpose for all the flour

(recipe adapted from Gold Medal Flour recipe)

I keep it traditional, but play with it just a bit.

Because I love this holiday menu so much, I rarely stray from it.  So, no southwest turkey, tofurkey or turducken for this gal.  I like to keep the flavors simple, complimentary and local whenever possible.  However, I do like to play with things a little bit.  This year I’ll be putting my pumpkin pies in the shrinking machine.  Our pie will be in the size of muffin cups.  How fun!

My mini pumpkin pie game plan:

This is my favorite pumpkin pie recipe.  Because most of us are lactose-intolerant, I can use soy milk in place of the regular ol’ milk (and no one knows the difference, so shhhhh….).

I’ll use my standard pie crust recipe.  Why mess with a good thing?

The cooking method. I learned that one should preheat the oven to be nice an hot.  So, I’ll preheat at 425F and then turning it down to 375F when the pies go in.  Also, I’ll try baking them for about 30 minutes.

How will it turn out?  We’ll see when I try it out a couple days early. 

It was quite a sight…

Fall is in the air… and the lovely children of our neighborhood were out raking up the leaves.  I was also proud to learn that my little one was the instigator!  He was the “boss”, and was out directing his friends to work together and rake up all the leaves in our yard.  Then, they proceeded to move to the next house.  I watched him for a while, with pride in my heart at his enterprising and helpful spirit. 

A reward & a recipe…

After a while, my son came inside and was preparing to make nametags for all of his “employees”.  Then, I got an idea… think of it as positive reinforcement.  They were doing a wonderful job, and I had a recipe I was dying to try out.    So, I fired up the waffle iron and busted out the recipe.  Let’s just say the kids liked it… as evidenced by the empty plate below.  Well done kiddos! 

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Waffle Cookies

Notes:   These whip up in a hurry, using a minimal amount of dishes.  The one thing I added the second time I made them (about 30 minutes ago) was a couple dashes of cinnamon.  I would highly recommend you do the same.  Delish!

Here’s my mish-mashed personal recipe (it took about three or four recipes and a fair amount of experimenting).  Enjoy!

Classic Apple Pie

Pastry:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cup unbleached unsifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoon  unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup  vegetable shortening, chilled
6 tablespoons  very cold water
2 teaspoons  apple-cider vinegar

Filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup  granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon  ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon  fresh-grated nutmeg
2-3 tablespoon  tapioca flour or cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon  salt
3 pounds  apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4-inch wedges (about 5 or 6 apples)
1 tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon  unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

cinnamon sugar: 1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

Prepare Filling:
In a large bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, tapioca flour, and salt. Add apple slices and toss to combine. Drizzle lemon juice over apple filling, toss again to combine.
Pour apples into colander placed over a large bowl.  Leave them to drain while you prepare the rest.

Make pie crust:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with chopping blade, process flour & salt about 5 seconds. Add butter & pulse 4 times. Divide shortening into 4 chunks and add to bowl. Pulse 4 times & scrape bowl. Combine vinegar & cold water.  With machine running, slowly add water/vinegar mixture in steady steam through the feed tube and pulse just until dough almost gathers together. (It will be a lumpy mess – this is a good thing!) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Press together gently & then divide into two pieces – one slightly larger than the other. Shape each piece into a small disk, wrap in plastic.  Refrigerate 60-90 minutes.

Put the pie together:
When ready to bake, place one oven rack in lowest position and another in the center of the oven.   Place a heavy baking sheet on the lower rack and heat oven to 450 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out larger crust disk into a 13-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate, being careful not to stretch.  Leave the excess dough hanging over edge.  Roll out remaining disk into about a 12-inch circle.

Fill ‘er up!
Remember your draining apples?  Spoon them gently into your pastry lined pan, mounding the apples in the center.  Dot the filling evenly with the butter bits. Lightly brush overhanging edge of pastry with water. Place remaining disk over top, and press edges to firmly seal.  Trim excess pastry to about 1/2 inch of rim.  Flute (or fork) the edges. Lightly brush the top crust with water and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. With a sharp knife, cut a few vents in the top crust.

Bake the pie:
Place pie on baking sheet (on the lower rack in oven) and bake 15 minutes. Transfer the pie and baking sheet to center rack and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue baking until crust has browned and thickened juices are bubbling — about 1 hour more. Transfer pie to wire rack; let cool completely before serving.  (Completely – not warm, or you’ll have a runny mess!)

I like it served at room temperature, which isn’t a problem because it rarely lasts 3 days around here. 

I think I’ve found it – the holy grail of chocolate chip cookie recipes.  It’s soft, chewy and a little fluffy.  I started with the Sunset magazine recipe, and messed with it a little (because I just can’t leave well enough alone).  These are fab, easy and sooooo yummy.  I think it’s the absence of the white sugar that gives them their chewy yumminess.  But hey, that’s my opinion. 

Note:  You can certainly use all-purpose flour for all of the flour (2 1/2 cups total).  Also, play with peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips or whatever suits you!

Now for that recipe…

Holy Grail Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped

Preparation

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and chopped chocolate.

3. Drop dough in 2-tablespoon (1/8-cup) portions, 2 inches apart, onto buttered (or parchment/silpat lined) 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

4. Bake in a 400° oven until cookies are lightly browned and no longer wet in the center (break one open to check), about 6 to 8 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking.

5. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool. If hot cookies start to break, slide a thin spatula under them to release; let stand on pan to firm up, 2 to 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

(Adapted from Sunset, NOVEMBER 2003)

I have a new obsession:  Amanatto

My husband and I were at a local asian market, and ran across these.  I happen to love beans, of pretty much any flavor.  It wasn’t always so, and sweet beans were something that had to grow on me.  Almost two decades later, I’m all in with the sweet beans!  These little beauties go quite nicely with a cup of green tea.  The sweetness of the beans and the fresh grassy flavor of the green tea…. ah, heaven! 

Want to try them and don’t have an asian market close by?  Here’s a recipe I found so you can make them yourself!

Homemade Amanatto

Have you tried some sweet beans today?

Sauteed Spinach Eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon butter or earth balance (if desired)
1 crushed garlic clove
3 handfuls of spinach (about 1/2 a small bag or bunch)
splash of lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

4 eggs (or 8 egg whites), beaten with splash of milk

Heat olive oil in pan with butter over medium heat, until butter melts.  Saute garlic (swirling around pan in olive oil) until fragrant, about one minute.  Remove garlic clove (if desired) and add all of spinach.  Saute spinach quickly, until slightly wilted (about 30 seconds).  Add lemon juice and reduce heat to medium low.  Add beaten eggs and milk and cook, stirring eggs slowly until almost set.  (Eggs should be soft and not dry.) Remove from pan and serve immediately with salt & pepper to taste. Serves 2-3 people.

Sometimes you’re stuck…

… stuck in a cooking rut or stuck in a snow and ice storm. This week, both are predicted for our household! A snow and ice storm hit our area and two more storms are expected to hit over the next five days, one more powerful than the last. This means me, my husband, our two kids (ages 4 and 1) and dog are homebound for about a week. That’s a recipe for madness, madness I tell you! My family tends to gather around the kitchen, and during times like these the kitchen holds even more meaning. Yet being stuck at home can also easily lead to a cooking rut, which could then help perpetuate more madness.

Preparation & the Pantry.

You’ve heard that the key to successful meal planning is a well-stocked pantry. Never has this been more true when you know you are going to be stuck indoors for a week. For the next 5 days, I have the following homemade meals planned, all staples in our meal rotation:

Veggie Pizza

Mediterranean Chickpea Soup

Teriyaki Orange Chicken

Tri-Pepper Turkey Pasta

Jerk Pork Cutlets.

Meal Planning?  Uh….

Here’s the thing you should know about me: I despise meal planning with a deep passion. My husband and I are not keen on sticking to meal plans, so I’ve learned that the key for us is to stock our pantry and fridge with versatile ingredients that cater to our fickle appetites and allow for variations of our favorites.

For instance, Mediterranean Chickpea Soup is one of my husband’s favorite main dishes; it is not, however, one of mine. So if I decide I’m not in the mood for the soup the same day he’s in the mood for it (the soup, that is; mind out of gutters, people), I’ll make myself a Mediterranean Chickpea Pasta or Salad dish instead. All call for ingredients that can be stocked for months safely in the pantry: olive oil, canned chickpeas, canned tomatoes, chicken stock, and spices, along with one of our refrigerator staples: onions.

Mediterranean Chickpea Soup:  To make the soup into a pasta dish, simply prepare the onions, spices, chickpeas and tomatoes minus the chicken stock and water in a skillet and add cooked pasta once ready. The same ingredients minus the liquids can be used for a salad.

Requiring the same type of versatility for all of our weekday staples truly helps for times when you’re stuck in a cooking rut, stuck indoors due to the weather, or both!

About the Author:

Marlynn Jayme Schotland is a serial mamapreneur, blogging & social media addict, and a happily imperfect mother with a very loud, happy house.  She owns Mamapreneurs Inc. com, a resource, support & networking organization, as well as Urban Bliss, a design, PR and gifts studio.  She is also editor of Mama Lit, a book review site for moms, and a freelance writer. She is married to her college sweetheart and they live in Portland, OR with their two young kids.

Where you can find Marlynn:
Twitter: @designmama
www.mamapreneursinc.com
www.urbanblissdesign.com