Happy halloween! It's the season for pumpkins and other squash, so I was in the mood to make pumpkin bread last weekend. And it turned out fantastic! The bread was moist and spicy and the nuts added a lovely crunch. And the icing! I've never made it before and it was the best part! Browning the butter added a rich, nutty flavor to the icing. Regular powdered sugar icing has nothing on it. It would be fantastic on all other sorts of sweet breads, like banana and zucchini.

Makes 2 loaves.



For the bread:

Blend together 1 15 oz. can pumpkin, 3 eggs, 2/3 cup vegetable oil, and 2 cups sugar. Mix in 3 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg just until combined. Divide into 2 9X5 greased loaf pans. Sprinkle 1/2 - 1 cups chopped pecans over the top of the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Let loaves cool for 10 minutes then remove from the pan. Let cool completely before icing.

For the icing:

Heat 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until deep golden. DO NOT BURN! Add the butter to 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, stirring well. Put in a pastry bag or a ziploc bag with a tiny bit of the corner snipped off and drizzle over the loaves. Let set.

Enjoy! :)

Tasty stuff I made recently (okay, one is really meant for birds, but I bet you could eat it if you really wanted to...)

Oat bars with apple cranberry jam
(My coworker loves to cook - she has a garden, bakes bread every weekend for her family, and cans lots of fruits, pickles, and jams. She gave me some apple cranberry jam last year and I finally used it as a filling for these simple oat bars. Any jam would work in this recipe. Yum!)

Combine 1 1/2 sticks softened butter and 1 cup packed brown sugar until creamy. Add 1 1/2 cups oats, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, mix until combined. Put 2/3 to 3/4 of the mixture in a greased 13 X 9 inch pan, spread out and press down to make a bottom layer. Mix up 10 ounces (about 1 cup or so) of jam in a bowl and spread over the bottom layer. Sprinkle the rest of the mixture over the top and press down lightly. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool completely before cutting!

Rhubarb compote

(I was cleaning out the freezer today and found a container of rhubarb from gods know when. It was probably past its prime to make into pie or crisp, so I just made it into sauce instead. My mom always made this when I was little - so pungent and sweet and delicious!)

Combine 3-4 cups of chopped rhubarb with 1/4-1/2 cup sugar. Let sit for 15 minutes to release some rhubarb juices. Bring everything to a boil and let simmer for 10-12 minutes. Serve warm or cold.


Birdie cornbread
(It's like cornbread except there's a whole bunch of add-ins, no sweetener, and you use the entire egg - shells and all. I don't think it's very appealing, but Kiwi loves it.)

Mix together 2 cups cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 cup juice, 1 entire egg (wash the shell), and a variety of chopped veggies, fruits and nuts like broccoli, grated carrots, dried fruit, and sunflower seeds. Press into a 8 X 8 pan and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let cool, cut into single serving pieces, and freeze until needed.


There must be something about fall. I've baked at least one yummy item for the past 3 weekends. First key lime pie bars, then peanut butter brownies, then snickerdoodles, now this. I think I'm going to make rice krispy bars and that pineapple upside down cake for this weekend. Yay! :)

I love cookie bars. They're just as good as cookies (often better if you prefer your cookies soft to crispy), and they're far easier to dump everything in a pan and bake instead of spooning out dough all those times. My chocolate chip cookie bars were a favorite among my committee members. (One time I had the apparent gall to bring butterscotch blondie bars instead, to which one member piped up in a quiet voice, "oh, no chocolate?" Never did that again.)

And I found a great cookie bar recipe that I had to share, courtesy of Martha Stewart. I present: The Rocky Ledge cookie bar!




Chock full of chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, mini marshmallows, and caramels. Whew! I was worried that they would be almost all candy with just a bit of cookie baked in, but surprisingly everything balances out quite nicely! Definitely one of our new faves!

To make:

-Cream together 1 stick unsalted butter and 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar. Add 3 large eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla, mix well. Blend in 2 1/4 cups flour, 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt just until combined. Add 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate), 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate), 1/2 cup butterscotch chips, 1/2 cup mini marshmallows, and 9 soft caramel candy cubes coarsely chopped. Mix briefly to blend.

-Dump into a greased 13 X 9 pan and spread to make even. Mix together another 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate), 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate), 1/2 cup butterscotch chips, 1/2 cup mini marshmallows, and 9 soft caramel candy cubes coarsely chopped in a bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the spread dough.

-Bake at 350 degrees for roughly 35 minutes. Let cool completely. Fridge for about 30 minutes to set the chocolate before cutting bars.

Happy Easter!

Since I've been stuck in the lab this weekend, I decided to make a batch of my grandma's lemon crescent rolls traditionally served by my mum on Easter. Yum!



Makes 3 dozen crescents.

-Cream together 1 cup butter and 1/2 cup white sugar. Add 3 eggs, one at a time until blended. Add the grated zest of one lemon and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
-Dissolve one packet of yeast in 1 1/2 cup warm milk. Let stand for five minutes. Add to the butter mixture.
-Slowly beat in 4 1/2 to 5 cups** AP flour. Cover batter and let rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours or until doubled.
-Punch down batter, wrap well in plastic wrap or place in a sealable container, and stick it in the fridge to chill. This takes at least 2 hours, but can be kept in the fridge for up to a week.
-Divide dough into quarters. Roll each quarter into a circular shape 1/4 inch thick and slice (I used a pizza cutter) into eight pieces like a pizza. Roll each piece a bit flatter and roll up the dough starting with the widest end to make a crescent. Place on a cookie sheet, spacing rolls far enough to not stick together when risen. Repeat with other dough.
-Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
-Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
-To frost, mix together I tablespoon softened butter, 1-2 tablespoons milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup powdered sugar. Stick the frosting in a plastic bag and use scissors to snip off the tiniest bit of one corner of the bag. Use the snipped corner as the pseudo pastry bag hole and frost the rolls. Let stand until frosting is set.
-Serve! I've found that reheating the rolls for about 15 seconds in the microwave gives them the best taste without melting the frosting.


**Note, I used this amount of flour because the recipe called for it, but the batter was so exceedingly sticky that I worried that I wouldn't be able to shape it. I added about 1 cup more flour, which didn't adversely affect the results but may have not been needed because of the fridge chill.

What the title says. Done in 5-10 minutes and oh so good. :)




Add to a pot:
-2 (15 oz) cans black beans, undrained. Partially mash beans with a potato masher.
-1 (26 oz) can chicken or vegetable broth
-1/2 cup salsa, whatever kind and however hot you want
-1 tablespoon chili powder
-I clove minced garlic (optional)
-1/2 to 1 minced jalapeno, include or discard seeds to vary hotness (optional)

Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Stick in a blender or use an immersion blender if you want a smoother soup. That's it!!

Serve with sour cream, chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes and black olives, fresh pico de gallo, shredded cheddar cheese or a Mexican cheese like Queso Oaxaca, and/or crumbled taco chips. (SHOWN: crumbled Doritos. Heh.)

YUM! :)

Applesauce Gingerbread with Brown Sugar Frosting

This is one of my favorite quick cakes - flavorful and very moist thanks to the applesauce. The cake is great plain or dusted with powdered sugar, but I was in the mood for frosting so I made this brown sugar one. Excellent!



For the cake (makes one 8 X 8 inch cake):

-Bring 1 cup applesauce to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup molasses and then 1 teaspoon baking soda. The soda will make the mixture foam quite a bit. Let cool slightly.
-Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
-In another bowl, mix together 2 large eggs and 3/4 cup white sugar until pale yellow and thick. Gradually beat in 1/3 cup vegetable oil. Fold in the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the applesauce mixture in 2 parts. Scrape into a 8 X 8 inch square pan and bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes. Let cool.

For the frosting (makes 1 cup, I used 3/4 cup for this cake):

-Combine 1 cup packed brown sugar, 4 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat just until the mixture begins to simmer.
-Remove from the heat and whisk in 2 egg yolks, beating continuously. Return to the heat for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Let cool to room temperature, beat until spreadable, and frost.

Here's a simple recipe for beer battered fish. The batter is light and crisp with a pleasant beer flavor.



This makes enough to dip at least 4 servings of fish fillets.


-Combine 1 cup flour, 2/3 - 1 cup beer** (whatever kind you like - darker beer will give a stronger flavor), 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons oil, and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl big enough for dipping.

-Dip the fish fillets (a white, firm variety of fish is best) into the batter, let the excess drip off, and fry in 365 degree oil. Turn fish when golden brown, about 2-4 minutes per side. Drain on rack/paper towels. Serve hot!

-Served in this photo with frozen french fries (cheater!) and a bottle of Leinenkugels (the proper midwest beer :P ).


**The original recipe called for 1 cup beer, but I found that the resulting batter was a bit thinner than I would like. 2/3 cup will produce a thicker batter and more coating on the fish.

Yum, the bf and I love this dish! Stir-fried tender beef and al dente veggies in a savory and spicy sauce. And it's so quick and easy to make!




Makes 2 servings, but doubles easily. Best served over rice or noodles.


-Slice up 3/4 - 1 pound of beef into 2 inch strips. I prefer flank or skirt steak, but almost any lean steak will do. Cut against the grain of the meat and cut as thinly as possible, briefly freezing the meat helps make thin slices.

-Cut up your veggies. I don't use measured values for the vegetables - just use as much as you'd like and use whatever veggie combination you'd prefer! I like to use julienne sliced carrots, small pieces of broccoli tops, sliced mushrooms, and diced green onion. Other good choices are cut baby corn, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and snow peas.

-Mince a clove of garlic and grate 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger.

-Make your sauce. Combine 1/2 cup chicken broth, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sherry (NOT the cooking kind, yuck), 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon rice vinegar. I like to also add 1 teaspoon of chili paste (Rooster sauce) for an added spicy punch. Mix thoroughly.

To cook:
-Heat your wok (you can substitute a large pan with curved edges if you must) over the highest heat until the wok just begins to smoke. Add a dollop of oil (I use corn but peanut is the best) and swirl around the wok. Add the sliced beef, stirfry until barely or no pink remains. Remove the beef to a plate.
-Add another dollop of oil. Stirfry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds. Add the vegetable mix and stirfry for 2-4 minutes. Add the beef back into the wok. Add the sauce. Cook everything until the sauce is thickened to your liking. Serve immediately.

This is one of my favorite sweet yeast breads. It stands out from other cinnamon breads because of two things - it is assembled to look like three large cinnamon buns and it has a tart apricot glaze that provides an interesting contrast to the typical sweet frosting.



( Make it yourself behind the cut! )

I successfully made grape juice!



( Click here for the tutorial (with pics, natch!) )