great dates

I bought some dates this weekend at the Farmer's market and have never really baked w/dates but wanted to incorporate them into a breakfast food. As of late, I've been in a baking rut, using the same tired recipes, so I wanted something unique and chocolate-less. The recipe I used was found (Walnut Date muffins)  on Regina Rae's blog to which I made no changes except I made a struesel topping, since I figured w/little sugar the recipe may lack for sweetness.
For me dates have a special meaning  because as a child and young adult at about this time every year my family would make the annual and quite lengthy trek to the Indio Date Festival. A place that was once responsible for much of the nations date crops also became home to a festival honoring and even blessing the date as part of opening ceremonies. Because of the arid climate and a little engenuity on the part of farmers, dates flourished. And even though Indio was once responsible for a larger part of the nations date crop, they've since otherwise been overcome by  large companies like Sunsweet.
The festival features various foods made with dates including and not limited to date cookies and date shakes. The festival boasts and Arabian theme and still features Arabian themed plays like tales of 1001 Arabian nights. As children our favorites were the play and the camel and ostrich races.
The dates and this little recipe took me back to those cherished days gone by spent w/family and food.

Walnut Date Muffins
Ingredients:3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (preferably dark)
heaping 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
scant 1/2 teaspoon all spice
scant 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
scant 1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (or other alternative or milk)
1/3 cup molasses*
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 free-range eggs
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped, pitted dates
few pinches of extra all purpose flour

Streusel Topping:
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp. soft butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. chopped nuts
*Cool trick for the molasses: to avoid having the molasses stick to the measuring cup, simply grease the inside of the cup with a thin layer of vegetable oil.  Then, measure desired amount of molasses into the cup.  When you pour the molasses into other liquids it will slide right out and leave little-to-no residue in the bottom of the cup.

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease preferred muffin tin.  Because I was making these muffins for dinner (as a side dish, rather than a breakfast-style main dish) I made 16 small muffins.  Alternatively, grease two 6-muffin containers, or one mongo-muffin container and vary the cooking time.
2.  Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir with a fork to combine.
3.  In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg.  Add soy milk and vegetable oil.  Grease the 1/3 cup with vegetable oil (see above note) and measure molasses.  Whisk with a fork and incorporate into dry ingredients.  Fold in walnuts.  Before folding in chopped dates, because they’re gooey when cut and prone to sticking together, I tumbled the chopped dates in a sprinkling of white flour and then folded them into the batter.  That way the were able to move uniformly throughout the dough and not clump together. Roll dates in flour and fold into batter.
4.  Spoon batter into muffin trays 3/4 full.  If you desire more of a muffin-top (as I did), fill 4/5ths of the way but be sure to grease the top of the pan, too, because the muffins will rise over the top.
5. Mix together struesel ingredients and sprinkle evenly over the top of each muffin.
6.  Depending on the muffin size, the baking time will vary.  For small muffins, mine were set in the middle and clean (from the “knife test”) within 18-20 minutes.  For large muffins, I imagine they’ll need to bake close to 30 minutes.
7.  Once removed from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack so they set.  To remove muffins, carefully take a dull knife and run around the edge of each container (and very carefully under the muffin top, if you filled them a bit higher) and gently pry out.

My husband thought the muffins were not sweet enough, but I found them to be just right w/ that mild sweetness of the dates and the sugary crunch on top.  I think they would probably be amazing w/a little  tangy orange marmalade. Until next time, Au Revoir!

Enveloped in cheesy comfort

So I haven’t baked for a couple weeks, because I’m trying to shed some of my winter weight. Come to think of it I’ve not been cooking much either, so I decided to treat Mikey to a comfort meal.  And although the sun was out here in Socal. today, it’s still been winter in the evenings, hence perfect weather for comforting.

I got the recipe for the Mac n’ cheese  from Allrecipes  and tweaked it to my liking. I really don't like my mac n' cheese creamy (tramatized from Kraft mac n' cheese from childhood-sorry mom.)  I guess I'm a mac n' cheese snob of sorts. So if you like the artificial boxed stuff, this is not the recipe for you.


Classic Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

•  12 ounces of macaroni
• 1 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, sliced*
• 1 tablespoon butter melted
• one clove of garlic pressed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Place a quarter of the macaroni in the bottom, followed by an even layer of one-quarter of the cheese slices. Dot with garlic and  butter mix and season with salt and pepper. Repeat layering three times. Pour evaporated milk evenly over the top of all.
3. Cover with baking sprayed aluminum foil  and bake for 45 minutes* and then uncover for additional 15 minutes or until top is golden brown.

* I like to use various types of cheese.  I have tried grating it also, but I prefer the sliced method as it seems to bond better.Today I used half jalapeno jack and half extra sharp cheddar.
Also, I stir the macaroni at 30 min. and 45 min. to blend everything well as the milk has the tendency to sink and sit at the bottom.

To contrast the heaviness of this oh so heavenly comfort food I made a nice Italian salad. I got that recipe from Once Upon a Chef blog.

Big Italian Dinner Salad

Serves 4 as a starter

IngredientsFor the Dressing1 cup loosely packed fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped (about one small bunch)*
10 big leaves fresh basil
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, peeled
¼ cup red wine vinegar, good quality such as Pompeian Gourmet
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil, good quality such as Lucini or Colavita
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ teaspoons honey

For the Salad
1 large (or 2 small) head(s) romaine lettuce, washed, patted dry and cut into large, bite-size pieces
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped hothouse cucumbers
1 large carrot, peeled into ribbons
Handful grape tomatoes, halved or whole
Handful pitted olives
Ricotta Salata* (or Feta for a Greek twist), crumbled to taste

Directions

1. Make the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a food processor and blitz to blend.

2. Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Right before serving, add about half of the dressing and toss well. Add more dressing little by little as necessary; be sure to dress greens very generously, otherwise salad will be bland. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Reserve leftover dressing for another use.

*Ricotta salata is an Italian sheep's milk cheese that has a salty, slightly tangy flavor, almost like a dry Italian feta. It is not the same as the wet ricotta in the tub. You can find it at Whole Foods, gourmet grocers or specialty cheese shops.

*I couldn't find fresh parsley at my local grocer and I was too lazy to go to Trader Joe's , so I had to use dried and it worked out fine. Also, I used feta instead of ricotta slata and it was fine.

The homemade dressing was divine and pretty darn easy to make w/the food processor. I just may make this my go to salad for italian meals.

Until later, Ciao'!

Non-traditional V-day

So lets face it ladies V-day is a girl's holiday and there really is not much in it for the guys and I already spotted the bag of Godiva in our fridge, yes. . . .that makes me giddy, bc I'm such a girl. I like chocolate, flowers, and champagne.
When I asked hubby what he wanted I got the same answer I always get. . . . . .oh, nothing.  So I'm not cooking, bc well it's Vday, but I am of course baking and torturing myself with what I least like to bake, but the DH loves the most and that's carrot cake. I know it's not very valentiney like chocolate covered strawberries or chocolate cupcakes, but it's his favourite and we all should get our favourite things on this day of love, February 14, 2011.

Here's the recipe I got from Allrecipes w/the alterations I made:

4 cups grated carrots

2 cups + 4 T cake flour

2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 eggs

1 cups vegetable oil

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Icing:

1 (250 g) package Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Last time I made this it made a 1/4 sheet plus a small round cake, so I put the excess in a heart pan. I'm also going to double the icing, so I can split the 1/4 sheet and fill it. The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 c oil, which is way too much, so I cut it down and you can even sub. applesauce, which I did for 1/2 the oil last time and it worked out fine.

It's not LA Fitness, but it's sure convenient. . . .

So one of the many reasons, I've not been baking (besides grading horrendous stacks of papers) is this garage/gym project, which we've been working on for the past month or so. We moved a crap load of stuff/junk from our garage to this little shed and in the process threw junk away that I didn't even know we had.

The reason: To begin with was for Mike to have a little workout area, which of course turned into (our) little workout area. Today, we finally received the elliptical machine which took several hours to assemble and I can't wait to jump on in the morning, instead of making my early trek to LA Fitness.

We moved our TV to the garage along w/cable hook up, so we are now wired and ready to "Just Do it"! LOL  It's been almost cathartic to rid ourselves of so much junk and start with a clean slate for the new year.

Tastes like home

It's amazing how just a subtle wafting through the air of just one particular food can transport me back to my childhood. The smell of apple pie, that buttery crust, those tart apples are one of many olfactory stimulis that reminds me of simpler times. My mom was a great apple pie baker and my grandma also baked pies, but what I remember the most was how she would cut off the excess crust, spread the little remnants with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and roll them into pinwheels for us. Sometimes she would even let us put them in our little oven, which made them extra special. After a busy weekend of grading and readying garage for gym equipment I needed some comforting.

My mom's recipe:
crust:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. shortening
5 T water
Cut with pastry cutter until dough forms. Roll dough out
onto floured surface until big enough to cover pie pan. Crimp edges and
prick inside pie w/ fork. sprinkle bottom w/1T flour and some cinnamon.

5-6 granny smith apples peeled and  sliced.

Place sliced apples in crust and press down to even w/hands.

streusel topping:

3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. margarine
Cut w/ pastry cutter until crumbly(I admit I usually eventually
use my hands.) Pour struesel over apples and press down gently.

Bake at 400 for 35-40 min or until golden brown.

I paired my slice with some Dreyers vanilla bean ice cream(and bold coffee)  and it added just the right amount of sweet to those tart granny smiths.
Bon Appetit!

Lalalala. . . .LEMON!

Although, it's been a busy weekend, four hours of grading: check, three dogs to groomer: check, 90 gallon fishtank emptied and refilled by my DH: check, and  storage shed purchased and under construction as I type: . . . . . check,  I decided to check my citrus trees and I hit the jackpot. Not only did I have ripe lemons and oranges, but I had a bounty and my lemons are ginormous. Ripe lemons on the tree=lemon bars for the win!

I got the recipe from the Food Network's Ina Garten, and tweaked to my liking:

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

• 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup flour
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, (mine took 29 minutes, but I think it's hotter than the temp. sometimes)until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

shortbread crust:

 Lemon bars are naturally not very yellow unless you add yellow food coloring to the filling.

 When you take them out of the oven the filling will jiggle a little; if you wait until the filling sets it will be too rubbery  upon cooling. Don't worry the filling will set in a couple hours. We like our lemon bars to make your mouth pucker, so I cut back on the sugar and they were indeed tart and tasty.  Until next time, adieu.

From bliss. . . . . to this.

So, I have come to the conclusion if I wait until I bake again to blog, it may be a while. I'm trying to keep myself from hyperventilating as we speak because my husband in his infinite wisdom has decided to upgrade fishtanks and anyone who has ever worked with fishtanks knows what that means (puddles of water everywhere) and if you know my husband (Mike) you would know that not only his office which always look like a tornado hit it and missed every other room in the process, but now every other room in the house is suffering the after-effects. The fish tank was delivered yesterday and this is day two. I tried to tell him this is wreaking havoc on my OCD, so he took some boxes downstairs, but it will be several days before everything is back to semi-normal.

Just frazzled.

Two weeks ago I was basking in the bliss of winter break and because of the  non-stop rain, I enjoyed cuddling up with the dogs with a cup of hot cocoa. Now, I'm two weeks back to work, with a heap of grading beckoning to me, and not only is the house turned upside down, but I start some on the job admin training this week, which means working through my preps. to get some job experience under my belt before seriously deciding to apply for an open position. I'm a little freaked out about leaving the known stress of (classroom chaos and grading) to a new adventure in administration.  Mike says I thrive on being over-productive and he knows me better than he thinks, but I'd like to go back to those quieter moments on occasion., I I could please.