Apple Cobbler

Nothing says "All-American" like a nice dutch oven apple cobbler on the Fourth of July--right? 

That's what I told myself at least.  I slightly modified the cobbler topping of Baked Bree, and used delicious apples from our recent field trip to Grandma Hoerners

Apple Cobbler Topping Recipe

1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
6 Tablespoons cold butter
1/4 cup cold water

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugars, salt, and baking powder. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or a fork. Pour in 1/4 cup cold water. Mix until combined.

Put apples in a dutch oven  (Mine was pre-made, but I would use 4-6 cups of apples, 1-2 T lemon juice, 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1 T starch.) Spread the apples in a dutch oven
Drop cobbler batter on top of apples by the spoonful to resemble cobbles.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the apples are bubbly. Or put lid on dutch oven and bake outside with hot coals until golden brown and bubbly. 

Whole Wheat Honey Applesauce Muffins

We needed a snack for a group in a hurry today, these were quick and easy to put together, and delicious.

Whole Wheat Applesauce Spice Muffins
Yields: 12 Muffins 24 mini-muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup unsweetened applesauce


Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease muffin pan or place muffin liners. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large bowl, set aside. Melt honey in a med bowl.  Whisk in eggs, honey, and applesauce until combined well.  Then fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until muffins are puffed and golden brown, about 18-20 minutes (13 for minis).  Adapted from this recipe.

Orange Spiced Syrup

We came across this recipe from Martha Stewart for Orange Spiced Syrup. It's perfect for winter pancakes.  We had some with pumpkin pancakes the other day--it was even better!

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch of ground cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 In a small saucepan, mix brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in corn syrup and orange juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally; cool until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool; stir in vanilla.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Honey Wheat Zucchinni Muffins

I tried a recipe from Me and My Pink Mixer for honey wheat zucchini muffins.  I chose her recipe, though it looked almost exactly the same as another, because hers used 3/4 instead of a full cup of honey.  (I'm trying to wean us from the need for everything to be super sweet--a little sweet is enough)

This recipe is made with 100% whole wheat flour.  Because muffins use chemical leaveners to rise, instead of yeast and gluten, there's no reason to use anything but the wheat.

Honey Wheat Zucchini Muffins

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups shredded zucchini

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup honey

2 eggs

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and baking powder.  Stir and then add zucchini and toss together.  In a separate bowl, melt butter, stir in honey and eggs.  Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the wet, and mix just until moistened. Scoop dough into paper-lined muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes.

This recipe made 1 dozen muffins plus 1 dozen mini muffins.   We cooked the minis for 10 minutes and the regular for 16 min. 

Spring Carrot Cupcakes

It's not Owen's birthday, nor is it his half birthday (they both occur during school breaks) but today we took in cupcakes for Owen's "April Fool's--Not really my birthday--Day". We had a lot of discussion back and forth about what might be a good idea to take in for his special snack, and what was not.  Another idea he had that I was totally on board with was pancakes and syrup--I would totally have let him take in homemade pancakes for his birthday snack.

In the end though, he went with one of my suggestions-- carrot cake cupcakes.  It is technically for the whole class' "morning snack", so I feel good about the veggie content of these treats.  I also thought they would be fun and celebrating spring, since we really didn't need "birthday cupcakes" since it is not actually Owen's birthday. 

The cupcakes are yummy and have frosting made from real butter and cream cheese, and as I piped the little carrots on top for decoration I thought, "Yep, that is quite enough artificial food coloring for one treat."  And as was noted in the comments of my other blog, yes--this non-birthday cupcake makes me a Birthday Scrooge.

So if you are interested in being a birthday scrooge--or if you just want to enjoy a seasonal homemade treat, here is my recipe for Spring Carrot Cupcakes, adapted from Lion House Desserts:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 8oz can crushed pineapple (in juice), pressed dry in a strainer
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400*.  Prepare 12 muffin cups with grease or papers.  Combine sugar and oil in a medium mixing bowl.  Add eggs, mix well.  Add grated carrots and pineapple.  Set aside.  In a large bowl sift together flour, salt, soda, and cinnamon.  Make a well,.  Add wet mixture, and mix to combine.  Spoon into muffin cups, and bake for 20 minutes of until they test done.

When cool frost with cream cheese frosting:  1 8-oz package of cream cheese, softened; 1/4 cup butter, softened; 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar.  Cream together in a mixer bowl.  If needed add a teaspoon of hot water at a time to get to spreading consistency.  (I didn't need water--I have a hot kitchen.)

Cardamom Sweet Potato Puree

While visiting my parents I was reminded of my dad's love of cardamom.  (It reminds him of Finland--but that's a story for another day.)  So when I received a sample of the new Knorr Homestlye Stock, with a challenge to use it in a recipe of my own creation, I immediately wondered how I could also use my dad's favorite Cardamom.  This is the recipe I came up with.  My family and I have enjoyed it twice now--I hope you'll give it a try.

Cardamom Pureed Sweet Potatoes
Cook Time: 20 min  ---  Total Time: 35 min
Serves: 8 half cup servings

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes (1.5 lbs total)
2 cups apple juice
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Fresh ground pepper

Peel Sweet potatoes with a vegetable peeler, and cut into a half to one inch pieces.

In a three-quart pot bring apple juice and chicken broth to a boil. Add sweet potatoes, cardamom and cinnamon.  Cover and simmer at a low boil for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Puree the sweet potatoes with a stick blender, or in batches in a food processor. 

Serve with a grind of fresh cracked pepper on top.

Variation: For a more rustic texture, omit 1/2 cup apple juice and mash with a potato masher instead of pureeing.

I Eat Weeds (and so can you)

 Weeds?

I noticed a new young patch of lamb's quarters growing in the back yard, so I thought we would give them a try.  I'd heard that you cook them up and eat them like you would spinach.  But I usually eat spinach raw, so I needed to look up a recipe.

Sandra Lee had a recipe for Parmesan Creamed Spinach, with pumpkin pie spice.  That sounded too interesting to not try.

 We picked the leaves off their stems and washed them in a big sink of water.  (Owen spun them dry--he's the resident salad spinner.)  Then added the lamb's quarter to the cream sauce.

Jeremy walked by and decided what it needed was toast. . . and perhaps a fried egg?

 It was delicious.  They just tasted like greens with a cream sauce.  No strong flavor in any direction.  Not bitter like dandelion greens.  Jeremy suggested next we could try them baked in lasagna--that's the only other cooked spinach recipe we can think of and it should work fine.

Eaten anything adventurous lately?

Creamed Lambs Quarter Recipe:

2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
large bowl of fresh lambs quarter

 In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk the flour into the butter and cook for 2 minutes to make a roux. Whisk in the warm milk a bit at a time to avoid lumps. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the pumpkin pie spice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Turn the heat to low, stir in the cheese, and let melt. Stir in the lambs quarter and cook until greens are wilted.

Banana Oat Drops

When we could tell Wyatt was ready for some food of the teething biscuit variety I started looking for recipes. I found some recipes on this baby food website which is also where we got the info on making the rice cereal.  I wanted a non-wheat recipe, no extra sugar, and having no eggs was a good thing too.

The recipe we tried out recently --Oat and Banana Drops-- was a hit.  It made a biscuit that was soft and mushy in the baby's mouth (as opposed to the type that is hard and dissolves as the baby sucks on it).  They were delicious--tasting similar to a banana-walnut-type muffin but with 753 less calories a piece (estimated) and containing only happy baby ingredients.  And they made for one satisfied baby.

This is the only picture I have because the entire family ate up the half batch within 12 hours.  (Had to let the baby share his nourishing snack with the rest of us--we need it too!)


Oat and Banana Drops -- Baby Biscuit Recipe:


1 c old-fashioned oats
1 c ground oats (oat flour)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 t baking powder
1 c (2-3) ripe bananas, mashed
1 t vanilla extract
3 T oil


Mix dry ingredients together, set aside.  Mix wet ingredients, pour into to dry mixture. Drop by the spoonful onto parchment paper or greased baking sheet, or use a piping bag to make long bars. Bake 12-15 min at 350.

This is (before cooking) how I made mine.  I piped them into bars because Wyatt likes to be able to grab on and have something sticking out of his fist to chew on.  This was a half batch and made 16.  A full batch should make about 32 bars or 64 drops and should hopefully last more than a day. 

Cranberry Meringue Pie

 I made this cranberry meringue pie for Thanksgiving dinner.  I love this recipe because we are used to lemon meringue pies, so substituting the lemon for a different sour, tart fruit is a really clever idea that actually translated into a good thing.

 It's a Martha Stewart Recipe for mini pies that I modified into a full pie recipe.

 So delicious. . almost makes you want to eat more cranberries.  Yes, there will be more cranberries.

Cranberry Meringue Pie
(overnight for best results)

1 pie crust dough

3 1/4 cups fresh cranberries (12 ounces)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped blood orange zest, plus 1/4 cup blood orange juice (Can use any kind of orange)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie dough to 1/8 inch thick. Place in a deep 9-inch pie plate. Pierce bottom with tines of a fork. Freeze 15 minutes.  Line shell with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 15 minutes. Remove weights and parchment. Return to oven; bake until bottom is just turning golden, 5 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack; let cool 5 minutes. Remove shells from tin; let cool completely.
 

Bring 2 cups cranberries, 1 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have burst, about 5 minutes. Pour through a coarse sieve, then a fine sieve; discard solids. (You should have about 1 3/4 cups; if you have less, add water).

Bring strained cranberry juice, 1/4 cup sugar, the zests, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and remaining 1 1/4 cups cranberries to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries are soft but have not burst, about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir cornstarch, blood orange juice, and 1/4 cup water in a bowl; whisk into cranberry mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, until translucent, about 1 minute. into pie shell. Refrigerate until set, a few hours to overnight.
 

Preheat broiler. Put egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup sugar into the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water; whisk until sugar has dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch. Attach to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium speed until foamy. Raise speed to high. Add cream of tartar; beat until medium, glossy peaks form. Spread meringue on pie.
Set pie under broiler until top is browned, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Sourdough Banana Bread

1/2 C shortening
1 C sugar
1 egg
1 C. ripe soft bananas, mashed
1 C sourdough starter
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
(optional 3/4 C walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together the sugar and shortening. Add egg and mix until well blended. Stir in the bananas, starter and vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients. Create a "well" in the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture in. Stir just until combined.

Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake one hour, or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean