Cranberry Gingerbread Bundt

Christmas parties. So many Christmas parties. Which means, so many opportunities for baking yummy things!! Woo! So I get pretty excited. Plus, it's nearly finals week, and I'll use whatever distraction I can grab at to give me a study break. Hence the bundt. And, who doesn't love to say the word "bundt"?! It's so fantastic! I'll make a bundt any day just so that I can say the word a zillion times over. Oh, and it's real pretty, quite the crowd-pleaser. Apparently my friends also said that it actually tasted delicious as well. So you really can't go wrong. If you're in need of a Christmas baked good, give this a go.

Ingredients:

3 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1tsp. baking soda
1 (heaping) Tb. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. butter (melted&cooled)
1c. brown sugar
1c. molasses
1/2 c. buttermilk
3 eggs
12 oz. fresh cranberries

1/4 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. chopped dark chocolate
dash of cinnamon

Create:

bake at 350. butter & flour a bundt pan.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
Beat butter, molasses, eggs, brown sugar, and buttermilk. Add gradually to the dry ingredients.
Fold in the cranberries.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until it's set.
Let it cool completely, then take it out of the mold, place it on a pretty platter.

In a double boiler, melt up the chocolate and add in the heavy cream, stirring continually. Add the bit of cinnamon if you're feelin brave (it makes the chocolate taste even more "dark").
Pour over the cake, and serve.

Yes, I am certainly wearing my ugly Christmas sweater.

God bless us, everyone. 

Enjoy!

Guiness Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Who doesn't love a lil' liquor in their baked goods? I know I do! And of all things, Guiness, Whiskey, and dry robust red wine all make me think of being warm and cozy. So I chose to work with Guiness this time. This recipe creates a rich, moist cupcake with a light creamy frosting which is sure to tickle your fancy.

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. bottle of Guinness
1/2  cup chocolate pudding (or milk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tb vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tspn baking soda

Okay Go:

note to self: don't put open bowl of frosting in fridge.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine cocoa powder, sugar, flour, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, combine Guinness, pudding (milk), oil, and vanilla.
3. Beat eggs into wet ingredients one at a time.  Mix in sour cream.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet.
5. Pour batter into lined cupcake pans (or make sure to butter your pans if they are not lined), about 2/3 full.  6. Bake for 25 minutes if making regular sized cupcakes and 15-18 minutes if making mini sized ones.  Allow to cool before removing from tins.

Mascarpone cheese frosting

1/2 lb. mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream

1. Place all ingredients in an electric mixer bowl.
2. Beat on medium high until soft peaks form. Do not overmix!  Use immediately.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Beet Cake

So I watched this video, and it inspired me. Though my experience of making this cake was much less whimsical and dreamlike, I still played the music as I whisked to get a similar effect. (in case you're wondering, the song is "Babe" by Evenings.

I love vegetables, I love red (and pink fingers), I love heart-shaped cakes, and most of all, I love chocolate. Thus, I love this recipe.

The cake turned out so moist and delicious, with just a soft hint of beet, which was surprisingly lovely. My dog Bear really wanted to try it. I think that's a good sign.

ingredients:
2 c. beets (pureed)
2 c. flour (I used whole wheat pastry)
1.5 c. dark brown sugar
4 oz. semisweet chocolate (melted)
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. butter
3 eggs

create:
1) preheat oven at 375
2) puree the beets (fresh is best!) in a processor, then add in the butter, vanilla, and eggs.
3) in a large bowl, whisk in the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.
4) then add the wet ingredients, plus the melted chocolate.
5) scoop into a pan, and bake for ohhh about 30 minutes. mine seemed to take a long while.



oh that's good...


(don't tell them it has veggies in it until after they eat) 

Pumpkin Granola

To make use of the excess pumpkin puree on my shelf, I've decided to whip up some granola with it. And who doesn't love granola? The breakfast (and snack) of champions. Here's the yumtastic recipe!

ingredients:
5 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
¾ tsp. salt
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pepitas (or hazlenuts, walnuts...)

ready go:
1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats, spices, and salt. Mix that up.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Pour wet ingredients into oat mixture and stir until the oats are evenly coated. They will be moist. Evenly spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and stir. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the granola is golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and stir in dried cranberries and pepitas. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

don't forget to share! ;)

Homemade Sweet Potato & Spinach Gnocci

Ya'll, this is delicious and so very easy. Truly, easiest homemade pasta ever.

Grab some sweet potatoes, some spinach, some flour and voila! Pasta.

So what I did was this:

3lb. sweet potatoes
15 oz. frozen spinach
~3c. whole wheat flour

-Peel and boil up the sweet potatoes. Throw them in a processor to puree (also a cheap way to make babyfoods...).
-Thaw frozen spinach, and get out the excess water by dabbing with a paper towel.
-Trow that spinach into the processor too.
-Now just add in whatever spices you wish... oregano, basil, salt&peppa, rosemary, etc.
-Put the puree into a wide bowl and add about 2 cups of flour, and then slowly add the rest. You want to create a pliable dough that is dry enough to knead without getting sticky stuff all over your fingers.
-Roll out pieces at a time into dough-logs and then slice off about an inch of dough at a time.
-Toss dough pieces into boiling water.
-It'll only take the pasta bits about a minute until they rise to the surface of the water, and when they do, you can take them out and set them aside to be eaten.

Now it's all finished, but if you want, you can toss the gnocci in a skillet of olive oil and garlic, to give it a bit of a browning, but this isn't necessary.

Pesto White Wine Sauce:

2 Tbsp. organic pesto
1/3 c. white wine
4 Tbsp. cream
1 Tbsp. butter
S&P

-Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

Now you can add whatever else you like to the gnocci... sauteed mushrooms, zucchini, etc.

Enjoy!

Figgy Cake

It didn't take much for me to fall in love with this recipe. I love figs... I love the beautiful mauve color of their flesh, the soft way that you have to cut them, their delicate sweetness... mmm their just amazing in every way. AND to top it off: this recipe seems to be infused with fall. If you're not in the mood for fall yet, well, this should help.

Recipe:


2. cups flour (I used WWpastry)
1 1/2 c. sugar
1tsp. salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon
3 eggs
1c. veg oil
1c. buttermilk
1tsp. vanilla
1c. fresh figs (halved)
honey to top with

Oven at 325. Butter/flour/or just spray an 8inch round cake pan... or a heart pan... whatever makes you happy.

Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon. Whisk in eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in figs, then pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Let it cool completely, then drizzle that delicate creation with honey before serving. Maybe cut up a few figs to put on top, just because it looks pretty.

(recipe from alwaysbutter)

Pumpkin Whooooopie Pies!

Well, twas my week to bring treats to The Canvas (twenty-somethings ministry in Btown), and of course I couldn't make just anything. I had to try making something new! And for once... I followed the entire recipe, without making any adjustments at all. Crazy! And they actually turned out absolutely amazing. I mean seriously, these are just melt-in-your-mouth amazing. And I'm not just saying that because I made them. Credit that to the recipe-maker. Since I needed a lot of these, I didn't actually "pie" them up by sandwiching them like they were supposed to be. But golly, they were just fine without that gesture.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

(The recipe says this makes 12 pies, I ended up with more like 20. I guess it depends on the size of the cookies. These are rich and I can’t imagine them being any bigger than what I made.)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 2 cups packed dark brown sugar (I used light and they still turned out good)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups chilled pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk sugar and oil together until combined. Add the chilled pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.
Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.
Scoop out little half-spheres of dough about an inch apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for 10 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool completely.
Once cool, form sandwiches using Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting.


Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

(it looks like mashed potatoes to me..)

• 1 pound box of confectioners sugar, divided (about 3 c. powdered sugar, unpacked)
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8oz cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 stick of butter at room temperature

Sprinkle 1/2 cup powdered sugar over bottom of small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar melts (do not stir). Continue cooking until sugar turns deep amber, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Carefully stir in 1/2 cup cream, vanilla, and salt (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir until any caramel bits dissolve. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon cream. Strain into small bowl. Cool caramel to room temperature.
Sift remaining powdered sugar into medium bowl. Using electric mixer (or by hand, as I did) beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Add cooled caramel and beat well. (I only used about 3/4 of the caramel, taste as you add it until it gets to desired amount of caramel flavor.) Cover and chill frosting until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours (or just put in the freezer for 20 min).

I was especially impressed by my ability to make caramel on my first try. This recipe is so fun to make! Good luck ;)

Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

Welp, fall has officially fallen upon us, ya'll. I was wandering through the farmers market this weekend, and the butternut squash just looked oh-so-delightful when I thought about them being chopped and pureed into a yummy soup... so that's what I did! And honestly, this recipe was so effortless (you can do it!)

1 med. yellow onion (chopped)
1 carrot (chopped)
2 Tb. butter
1 butternut squash (peeled & chopped into smallish pieces)
1 1/2 tart green apple (peeled & chopped)
(squash to apple ratio should be about 3:1)
3 c. of chicken broth, veg broth (I didn't have either so I just used water)
1 c. water
spiced with cinnamon, cloves, cayenne, nutmeg, S&P
if you feel that it needs a bit more sweetness (I did):
-add a few drops of vanilla extract & about a tsp. of pure maple syrup

step 1: heat butter (don't let it brown though, because the soup would get a burny-taste)
step 2: add onion & carrots (plus whatever else you find intriguing to add)
step 3: add squash, apple, broth/water and it all to a boil. lower the temp and let it simmer for 30ish mins
step 4: puree this fabulous mixture in a food processor or blender or whateva you got around (or just leave it chunky if you feel so inclined!)
step 5: add those delicious spices (a lot)

serve with hot apple cider, rich red wine, or your favorite book.
oh, and I also added a dabble of plain yogurt on top of mine. it's real good like that.

enjoi!

Maple-Lavender Choco-Chip Tea Cookies

I know it's a mouthful, but bare with me. They're light, fresh and pop-in-your-mouth tasty. Perfectly paired with a cup of Twinnings Earl Grey.

1/2 c. All-Purpose Flour
2 c. Whole Wheat Pasty Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 full stick of butter
3/4 c. Pure (dark) Maple Syrup (local, preferred, hehe)
1/4 c. White Sugar
2 Large Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 c. chopped orange-dark chocolate bar
1/4 c. sunflower seeds (good for you!)
a few sprigs of fresh lavender
and then I added some pretzel crumbs, just for fun

bake at 375 for about 22 minutes

now: if I were to do this recipe over again, I would have probably added a stick and half of butter, to make them a bit more moist. Probably more chocolate too. Always more chocolate. And, lastly, if you can find dried lavender flowers, that would probably bring about a more pronounced lavender-taste... as it is, it just tastes very fresh, though it's hard to tell that there's much lavender in it.

All that to say,
I loved the cookies, and they disappeared in two days, so I'm guessing that my roommates liked them as well.

Enjoi!

Grilled Cowboy Shrimp Salad

For a quickie dinner that still turns out delish...

Fresh shrimp, doused in a cilantro-lime salad dressing. Throw those babies over the grill and be sure to flip them often so they don't get too dry and burnt. Seafood grills super fast. (learned that lesson the hard way last week with my over-cooked tilapia)

Pair that with some Cowboy Salad

(all raw)
2 cups Chopped Red, Yellow, and Green Peppers
1/2 cup chopped Red Onion
1 large cucumber, chopped
a bit of EVOO
some Cayenne Peppa
some taco seasoning
teensy bit of suga (cane)
a few sprigs of cilantro (I use a lot)
salt, peppa

Mix it all and voila! yumminess

Now, put a heaping scoop of the Cowboy Salad over some Mixed Greens and then throw those grilled shrimps on top. One scoop of salsa (I used Cherry Salsa, so good straight from Michigan!), some Cholula Hot Sauce (duh), and a hefty few squeezes of fresh lime atop all of that.

I also had some grilled corn on the cob. It's pretty simple. Keep it in the husk (with a single slit in the husk) and flip it continually. It's good to get grill marks on the husk. I found that it took quite a while to get that corn to be fully grilled, so be sure that you allot enough time.

Oh, and of course a nice orangey beer (I had Oberon).

fresh n good :)

Quinoa-Cornmeal Beer Loaf

Don't let the name intimidate you. This side dish has potential. For dinner tonight, I grilled up some wild salmon (again... my family loves salmon), rubbed in a tequila-lime spice mix and then slathered with a mango tequila lime vinaigrette. Served over (or on the side of) a mixed greens salad with freshly grated organic Gruyere cheese and chopped cinnamon-cayenne nuts.

I got the idea for this loaf because I saw a recipe for a Quinoa skillet-bread. Tonight I was originally just going to make quinoa and keep it simple, but then as the time kept ticking without my fam showing up, I just kept adding more and more to the saucepan. I decided, hey, it's summertime.. why not some cornmeal? So I stirred that up. And it just didn't look very good... and then it started soaking up so much water, but I didn't want to add more water because I could tell it would taste bland. So I got to thinking.. what's liquidy and tasteful and summery and fresh?

Oh, Bud Light with Lime, of course! So I poured in enough to allow the quinoa and cornmeal to soak up. And it still didn't look complete at all. And no one was home yet. So I stuck it in a loaf pan, chucked some butter chunks on top, more salt, some Craisins, the juice of half an orange, and some orange rinds. Then put it in a 350 oven until the top turned golden. Then serve with honey dribbled over it.

All in all, it turned out pretty good!
But this is what I would change:

-more beer!! We could hardly taste it. I would honestly put in at least half a bottle. It has a really nice flavor pairing with the cornmeal.
-more salt... don't be fearful (like I was)... the beer will need it.
-add about 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour to thicken it up (mine was less of a loaf and more of a mush)
-more orange juice (only fresh though, of course). use the juice of a whole orange rather than just one half. and more orange rinds on top.

Sooo just more of everything. I guess it's good to go safe the first time, because now I know.

Homely Fish/Veg + Cherry Pie

I asked Dad what he had a taste for to have for dinner tonight, and he responded with "fish and asparagus". This is a classic Gough meal, so I had to do it right. We've just recently gotten a new electric grill (we tried grilling shish-kebabs indoors last night... my eyes burned all night from the smoke). So the grill was brought outside (as all grills should be).

I picked two fillets of Wild Salmon, two fillets of talapia, a bunch of asparagus, and two zucchini.

After going home and looking around to see what was in our kitchen, I formulated a plan for my meal.

Both the salmon and tilapia were smothered in Salad Girl Lemony Herb dressing. I cut the zucchini into long spears, and smothered them in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Roast Vegetable & Fries herb blend. Similarly, I olive-oiled the asparagus and covered them in salt and pepper. All of this was simply thrown on the grill, until they got beautiful brown grill-lines on them (I love grill-lines). Voila!

Oh and then I just boiled up some brown rice.
And to make it all more unique, I made a buttery sauce that would cover the asparagus and rice.
Into a saucepan, I put in...
about 1/5 of a tub of organic sweet cream butter,
about a 1/2 cup of vegetable broth,
about a 1/2 cup of unbleached organic white flour,
about 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil,
and about 1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomato pesto

stir it all together and keep the saucepan over low heat. Sooo yummy.
(it would also be really amazing as an eggs benedict topper).

It had a very home-like taste to it, while also being suitable for summer (fish and grilled veggies, always a summer-must).

And to top it off, I made my first ever fruit pie today!

The crust (make two):
1 c. all-purpose organic white flour
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp. cane sugar
1 tsp. milk
and as much cold water as is needed to make it into dough

then put it in a ball (flattened), wrap in plastic, stick in the freezer for an hour to cool

The mid bit of the pie:
A full bag of bing cherries (pit them all)
1 tbsp. all-purpose white flour
1 tbsp. cane sugar
1/2 tsp. pure almond extract

stir it all together and throw it in the flattened/molded pie crust!

But my filling just looked really short, so I wanted to add some height to it. In searching my kitchen, I found a bag of cinnamon covered assorted nuts. I chopped them with my wonderful Slap Chop contraption, and spread a thin layer of the bity nuts over top of the cherry mixture.

Lastly, with the second pie crust, I flattened it out, cut a few shapes in it (which allows the pie to "breathe" in the oven... make sure to put a circle in the middle) and then laid it over top of the cherry mixture. Crimp the edges however you'd like, just make it tight. After about 20 minutes it should be done. Look for it to start bubbling out of the middle design in the pie.

Success! Everyone liked it, including myself.