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

Orange Sheet Cake

I recently made sheet cake for my friends' baby shower.  The co-host made a delicious Texas sheet cake, and I made an orange sheet cake.  And we all ate a slice of each, because --you know-- sheet cake is pretty flat, only like half the thickness of a regular slice of cake.  So a slice of each is really only like having a whole slice of "regular" cake--right?

 I made this orange sheet cake with orange cream cheese Icing from Wilton, but made a few changes.

First, I left out the orange extract, because it's totally not necessary.  That is a typical standard American diet kind of ingredient.  There is fresh orange zest in the cake and frosting, as well as orange juice in the frosting.  That is plenty "orangey" enough.  If you add the extract I'll bet you wouldn't be able to make it through a whole slice because the flavor would become overbearing.  Subtlety is a virtue that a lot of food lacks these days.

Also, the recipe said to bake it in a 9x13 pan.  Obviously that would make a 9x13 cake, not a sheet cake.  Wilton is just trying to advertise one of their pans, but it's a completely wrong opportunity to do so.  I baked this recipe in a half sheet baking sheet.  That's the normal thick jelly roll-type pans that everyone got for wedding gifts from Cosco members. (That's not a dis, I love and use all three I got weekly, and particularly love the two with lids.)

Finally, the recipe for the delicious orange cream cheese frosting makes at least twice as much as you need for a sheet cake.  I can't imagine spreading that much frosting on the smaller 9x13 size cake they suggested baking--it would be half frosting. 

So here are the recipes, with my suggested changes:

Orange Sheet Cake Recipe:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 tablespoons orange zest 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 stick) butter, softened 
• 1-3/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 3 eggs 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 
•  1-1/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease sheet pan.


In medium bowl, combine flour, orange zest, baking powder and salt. In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add sugar 1/4 cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed; when combined, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla extract. Add half of flour mixture; beat on low speed until nearly combined. Add buttermilk to moisten; add in remaining flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Spread batter evenly in pan.

Bake 25-33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan completely before icing.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe:

•  1/4cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened 
• 1 1/2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice 
• 1 tablespoon orange zest 
•  2 to 2 1/2  cups confectioners' sugar

In large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, juice and zest with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar one cup at a time, beating until icing is light and fluffy.

Where I'm From

I am from heat, dry and wavy.
From cactus, rocks and transplanted palms.
I am from feet burning hot on the concrete.
I am from gliders on the back porch,
and the call of mourning doves.

I am from trees with painted white bark,
dangling large yellow globes from their branches.
I am from grapefruit, eaten with serrated spoons
(They aren't even sour if you eat them first thing.)
I am from a tree house surrounded by fruit,
carried home in the trunk in brown paper bags.

I am from wind chimes
and the glug of fresh water delivered by truck.
I'm from a window sunny and large,
watching small birds in the bath,
and humming birds drinking.

I'm from Chester and Virginia
From the sound of fingernails clicking on keys
as the piano is played.
From scriptures read and long evening prayers. 
I'm from "Goodbye until next time--
We'll see you again."





* * *
I took this prompt to write about where I'm from (while not actually writing about "where" I'm from) It's more like what I come from--if you get my semantic difference. I decided to focus on just one part of where I'm from. 

Enjoying citrus season has had me thinking about childhood visits to my grandparent's home in Phoenix a lot recently, so I wrote just about that.  I'd love to use this prompt again to write about when my family lived in Germany, and also for my childhood as a whole.  Exploring "where I'm from" is a fun exercise for someone like me who doesn't have a certain place to call "home". 

Read more "Where I'm From" here.

Breakfast Sausage

We enjoyed the homemade sausage links with biscuits for Sunday morning breakfast. The sausages tasted just like they should. So flavorful with fresh herbs, but no artificial ingredients or nitrates or anything we didn't choose.



We used instructions from Alton brown--going all out with a meat grinder and sausage stuffer.  It was great, but we've now made this a number of times using just plain ground pork and adding the seasonings as well..  I just try not to overwork the ground pork, and it has turned out fine and easy.



Breakfast Sausage Recipe-adapted from Alton Brown

2 pounds pork butt (2 1/2 pounds with bone), diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 pound fat back, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Combine diced pork with all other ingredients and chill for 1 hour. Using the fine blade of a grinder, grind the pork. Form into 1-inch rounds. Refrigerate and use within 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. For immediate use, saute patties over medium-low heat in a non-stick pan. Saute until brown and cooked through, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. 

Instant Hot Cocoa

I should just restrain myself.  I keep turning over long-enjoyed food products and finding things on the ingredients label I just don't like. Most recently it was hot cocoa mix which contains sucralose.

I'm just not a fan of artificial sweeteners.  They are all created as a sugar alternative to be sweet but to have no (or less) calories.  In the first place I don't believe it is calories per se that are the enemy to good health, and secondly if I wanted to find a replacement for sugar I would go the other direction on the processing spectrum and instead choose to replace it with honey or maple syrup.

So after returning the canister of hot chocolate to the store shelf, we returned home to revisit Alton Brown's "Art of Darkness II: cocoa" to seek out our solution, and were not disappointed.  It's a yummy mug of hot cocoa very rich and dark--very un-American. It's a nice big batch that we can store in a canister for quick and easy use.   A frugal replacement for something fairly overpriced in the store(especially if you buy individual packets) and one in which I can control each of the ingredients. 
 

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

• 2 cups powdered sugar 
• 1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred) 
• 2 1/2 cups powdered milk 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch 
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (if you like that kick)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and sift together (we use a whisk). Seal in an airtight container.

To use, fill your mug one third to half full with the hot cocoa mix and pour in hot water.

Note: LDS Cannery dry milk is a little different than the "instant" powdered milk they sell at the grocery store.  If you are using cannery milk use only 1 1/2 cups dry milk.  Then the amount of mix you'll add to your cup will probably be on the lower end as well.  Just experiment with it--we always do!

Orange Sherbet

Owen has been obsessed with an idea lately.  We try to encourage any interest the boys show towards food or cooking and Owen was obsessed with making homemade orange sherbet.  We watched Alton Brown make it on Good Eats and since then Owen asked about it almost daily.

I cannot even describe how delicious it turned out.  It tastes so orange and the flavor is so clear.  As I was eating it I was thinking about how so many people and us included just don't even know what the "real thing" tastes like.  And I wondered if we sat a bunch of people down in a room and fed them the real thing if they wouldn't just instantly be converted to real food because they simply hadn't known what they had been missing?

Unfortunately for some people their taste buds have been assaulted with too much added salt, and too much added sugar, and too many artificial "natural flavorings"  for so long they can overlook real food upon first re-taste.   But I've seen my homemade chocolate pudding rock people's worlds before, and I'm going to bet that this orange sherbet would do the same.

It sure rocked mine.

Orange Sherbet Recipe

7 ounces sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice, (2 to 3 pounds oranges)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups very cold whole milk

In the bowl of a food processor combine all of the ingredients except the milk and process until the sugar is dissolved, approximately 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and whisk in the milk. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator until the mixture reaches 40 degrees F or below, approximately 1 hour. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process until it is the consistency of soft serve ice cream. You may serve now or transfer to a lidded container and place in freezer until firm, approximately 3 hours.

SERVES 8 (1/2 cup serving);

Red Beet Risotto (And Mushroom Variation)

Jeremy goes to school for 12 straight hours on Mondays, so that meant we definitely did not have some amazing Valentine's Day planned.  In fact a student asked Jeremy what his plans were and he told her he was in class until 7:30.  So she asked what his plans were for after that.  Jeremy said, "I dunno--maybe watch a movie?"

I told Jeremy that I'm sure he completely crushed that poor girl's dreams about life after marriage!  Because after you get married you're supposed to have romantic special Valentine's Days forever--right?!

Well since we had zero plans for actually doing anything special I thought the least I could to was make a celebratory dinner.

I saw some ideas online for using beets to make "pink" rice salads for Valentine's Day.  I loved the idea but wanted to be sure it would actually be enjoyable to eat not just look at so I really didn't want to experiment with a new recipe.   I thought about just making rice balls, but since Owen wasn't a huge fan of the beets last time I served them (just steamed with butter and salt) I thought I would need to flavor them a little more.  Then I realized the perfect recipe to use.
 

   Risotto.  My family loves risotto.  It's very basic, but the broth and cheese make it very flavorful--I knew it would be perfect to add beets to.  All I did to make it red was add the raw beets to simmer in the broth and they bled their color into the broth which I was using to cook the rice.  Thus we ended up with striking red rice.  And cute little heart-shaped beets as well. 

And it was as big a hit as I hoped for.  Owen ate the beets up (of course he did have to remind me before trying them that he didn't like beets last time), Jeremy got a special dinner, though it wasn't the candle-lit sit down dinner of anyone's dreams, and I was satisfied with a job well done--it's always nice when things turn out like you hope. 

For the sake of interest, beets aren't the only thing you can cut into hearts either.  I also put heart-shaped carrots in Owen's lunch Monday.

Red Heart Risotto

1 medium beet-washed and peeled
3 tablespoons butter-separated
1/2 cup onion-diced
1 cup rice (traditionally Arborio)
1/2 cup white wine (or substitute with more broth)
4 cups chicken broth
2oz fresh Parmesan cheese--grated (matchbook sized piece ungrated about 1/4 cup grated)

Put 2 tbsp butter in a large saute pan.  Add diced onions and cook until softened.  Meanwhile put broth in a pot over medium low heat an bring to a simmer.  Cut beets and add to simmering broth.

I cut the beet into 1/4 inch round slices.  Then cut each round like a pizza into 6 wedges.  Then shaped each wedge into a heart.  I tossed all the hearts and all the little trimmings into the broth.

When onions are softened, add the rice and stir for 1 minute to absorb any extra butter.  Add the wine and stir until rice has absorbed all the liquid.  Keeping the broth at a low simmer, adding it to the rice 1/2 cup at a time, waiting each time to add more until the liquid is mostly absorbed, stirring often.  The whole process should take about 30 minutes.  With the last 1/2 cup of broth transfer the beets into the rice pan as well.  When all the liquid is mostly absorbed turn off the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the cheese.  Add salt if needed and pepper.  Serve hot!

This is a good recipe without the beets as well, often I use mushrooms instead.  Put two tablespoons of butter in a different saute pan and 1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms.  I cook those down and add them when I add the cheese.  Delicious and creamy and we'll eat it for our main dish.

Cranberry Salsa

 Cranberry salsa.  A bit tangy, kind of sweet with a kick of spiciness.  Sooo good.

And adorable with little Christmas tree chips made from spinach tortillas.

Another great thing about this recipe--it was a Christmas "treat" I could share with my friend who doesn't eat dairy, eggs or chocolate. 

Cranberry Salsa with "Tree" Chips

12 oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, cut in eighths
1/2 large red pepper, cut in large chunks
1/2 medium red onion, cut in large chunks
3/4 C sugar
1/3 C apple juice
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. chopped pickled jalapeno pepper
1 tsp. grated lime zest

1 pkg. spinach flour tortillas (green)

Put cranberries, apple, red pepper and onion in food processor; pulse until chopped. Transfer to a large glass bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients until blended. Cover and refrigerate or spoon into crocks or jars and refrigerate. (I suggest dividing into two processor batches to avoid pureeing the ingredients too much. Can use a food chopper instead. Adjust amounts of onion and/or jalapeno according to your desire for spiciness and apple juice according to your desire for juiciness.)

For chips, heat oven to 375°. Use a 3" cookie cutter to cut out tree shapes. (Or just slice with a pizza cutter into abstract triangle trees.) Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 8 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Put in plastic bags; give with the salsa. Can be made up to 2 weeks ahead. Store chips airtight at room temperature.

Makes 4 C salsa; 36 chips

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.

Cranberry Wassail

This is my mom's recipe for cranberry wassail.  The cranberry wassail is a great drink if you want something different, or are sick of the hot apple cider served all fall, but still want a festive winter drink.

We had a great time last night and were happy our friends made it out despite the blizzarding conditions outside!


Cranberry Wassail

4 Cups Cranberry Juice
4 Cups Water
2 Cups Orange Juice
1 Cup Pineapple Juice
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1 Cup Sugar
3 Cinnamon Sticks

Combine in a large pot and simmer 15 minutes.

Snow Cones

We got snow! Last night. And this morning. And supposedly it's going to keep coming down all evening.

Luckily we just picked up snow boots for Owen yesterday, so he had to go break them in.

He put a lot of concentration into making tracks all over the back yard.

And when he was all tuckered out, it was time to come in for a snack.

Snow cones can't be made every day of the year--they're a special treat! My dad used to make them for us when we were little. Fill a bowl with fresh snow that is "clean" and above ground. I got the top layer off the snow on our patio table.

Pour syrup over the top. My dad used to use fruit-flavored pancake syrups. I used fruit juice concentrate.

Add a bit more fresh snow and mix up.

The boys loved these. It's all about the novelty, what kid wouldn't?!