Not-your-Grandma's applesauce cake

This recipe was originally called Grandma's applesauce cake, but it didn't come from my grandmother. It came from one of the Country Living magazine editor's grandmothers... I assume. In any case, a good cake that is made great with a bit of cream cheese icing (not pictured) and a wonderful glaze.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups applesauce
3/4 cup strongly brewed hot coffee
1 1/2 cups dark raisins
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Lightly butter a round baking pan. Dust with flour and tap out any excess. Set aside.

Combine the flour, 1/4 cup of the cocoa powder, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cloves in a large bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl using a mixer set on medium-high speed until light and flurry. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture by thirds, alternating with the applesauce and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and increase the mixer speed to medium. Quickly add 1/2 cup of the hot coffee, beating until thoroughly combined— about 30 seconds. Fold in the raisins and walnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake in prepared oven at 350° until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean—40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack until slightly warm. Use a knife to loosen the cake from the edges of the pan and invert the cake onto the wire rack to cool completely.

Optional: Frost with cream cheese icing.

Sift the confectioners' sugar and remaining cocoa together into a medium bowl. Make a well in the center and quickly pour in the remaining hot coffee. Whisk until well blended and smooth. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake, allowing it to soak in. Serve immediately. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Sweet and sour fish

Mmm...my favorite recipe of the sweet-n-sours

2lbs tilapia, cod, halibut or any other whitefish (cut into 1” chunks)
1 green pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 red pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 large onion, sliced into 8-12 wedges
1 can pineapple chunks or rings, with juice
oil for frying



Breading
2 cups flour
6 Tbsp oil
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 cups water

Sweet and sour sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice from can
1/4 cup ketchup



First, make the make sweet and sour sauce. In a large frying pan, mix vinegar, sugar, salt, orange juice, pineapple juice and ketchup. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until it has evaporated to the consistency of maple syrup. Add pineapple chunks to the sauce and set aside.

In a bowl whisk together flour, 6 Tbsp of oil, baking powder, seasoning salt, and cayenne pepper. Add 2 cups of water, whisking until the batter is smooth. Dunk fish into batter to coat.

In a deep frying pan over medium-high heat, fry fish pieces in batches for four minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in the oven.

Heat a dash oil in a large frying pan. Stir fry green and red peppers, carrot and onions for three minutes. Add to sweet and sour sauce and heat.

Serve the fish over hot white rice, with sweet and sour sauce pour over the top.

III's French toast

My husband's recipe - goooood stuff.

1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
8 thick slices day-old or stale loaf, brioche or challah bread
butter

Whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour mixture into a pie pan and set aside.

Over medium-low heat, melt a small pat of of butter in a large nonstick frying pan.

Dip a slice of bread into egg mixture. Allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, then place in frying pan. Cook 2 slices of bread at a time in the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on rack in warm oven. Repeat with all 8 slices.

Serve immediately with maple syrup, powdered sugar, whipped cream or fruit.

Inspiration...

I just read my Cooking Light newsletter and wanted to pass on the link to their suggested 20 Mediterranean Recipes. Oh yum. I am inspired!

Bacon, mushroom and cheese breakfast bread

This recipe is more on the fluffy biscuit side rather than a dense breakfast casserole.

1 recipe Southern Girl's Biscuits
5 eggs, beaten
6 strips bacon, crumbled
3-4 white mushrooms, washed and quartered
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of rosemary
a bit of cubed or grated cheese, maybe Gouda or Emmental, Cheddar or Swiss

Spread biscuit dough evenly in baking dish. Top with bacon, mushrooms, rosemary, salt, then cheese. Pour eggs over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until firm and golden. As it bakes, the egg mixture will sink and the fluffy biscuit dough will rise the the top!

Black bean hummus

This recipe came from Cooking Light. We ate it with a garlicky chickpea hummus and the variety in tastes was great.

1 garlic clove, peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small jalapeño pepper, chopped
Dash of crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
Dash of ground red pepper

Place garlic in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt, black beans, jalapeño pepper, and crushed red pepper; process until smooth. Spoon bean mixture into a medium bowl, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with ground red pepper. Serve with pita or tortilla chips.

Snow-chilled peppermint bark

4 bars dark chocolate
4 bars white chocolate
4 candy canes
1 tsp peppermint extract



Break dark chocolate into pieces and melt slowly over a double boiler.



Pour into a greased or lined 11x13 pan. Cover and let cool outside in the snow (or fridge).



Now, break white chocolate into pieces and melt slowly over a double boiler.



Add peppermint extract to the white chocolate.



Unwrap the candy canes and put them in a plastic bag. Crush them into small pieces. Sift the pieces over the white chocolate so that the fine powder mixes in.





Pour the white chocolate over the cooled dark chocolate. Sprinkle with remaining candy cane pieces, pressing them in gently. Cover and cool.







The finished product!

Roasted beet salad with goat cheese

I fell in love with this recipe as soon as I read the ingredients.

1 head lettuce, rinsed and dried
2-3 beets, roasted or boiled, then peeled and diced
Goat cheese
Lemon vinaigrette
Freshly ground pepper

It's hard to go wrong making this salad. I do recommend assembling it on each plate though rather than in a serving bowl.

Pepper, onion and sausage omelets

1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 Trappista cheese, shredded (can use Gouda or Cheddar)
1/4 tsp salt
pinch pepper
sour cream



Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Add sausage and veggies, cooking until red pepper is just beginning to soften.

In a bowl, beat the eggs, then mix in the milk, salt and pepper. Pour over the veggies in the frying pan. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Reduce heat to medium-low. As eggs set, lift edges, letting uncooked portion flow underneath. Once done, serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream.

Compost

Our batch this week included:

Orange peels
Carrot peelings
Sweet potato peelings
Celery leaves
Coffee grounds
Red pepper stems
Banana peels
Egg shells

For your own batch, you can compost anything that was once living, but not meat, dairy and cooked food. Get started here.

Willie Rae's fish tacos

My favorite item on the menu at Willie Rae's!

Oil for frying
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg
1 cup water
1 pound fresh tilapia (or other white fish), cut into 8 strips
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1/6 head green cabbage, shaved or very finely sliced
1 chopped tomato
Lime wedges
Chopped fresh cilantro
Cilantro jalapeño tartar sauce

Pour 1/2 inch oil in a fryer or pan and heat to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, salt, paprika and cayenne. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg and water. Dip the tilapia pieces in the egg wash, and then roll in the cornmeal. Fry about three minutes per side, until lightly browned and cooked through, and then drain on paper towels.



To assemble the tacos, warm the tortillas in a dry pan or directly over the flame of a gas stove; do not let burn. In the center of each tortilla, place a dollop of the tartar sauce (about 2 teaspoons) and about 1/4 cup shaved cabbage. Top with two pieces of fried fish. Garnish with a spoonful of tomatoes, a squirt of lime juice and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro.

Cilantro jalapeño tartar sauce from Willie Rae's

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon capers (or chopped dill pickle)
1 teaspoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon pickled jalapeño peppers, chopped
Zest of 1/2 lime

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, cilantro, mustard, capers, onion, jalapeño and lime zest. Adjust flavors to taste. Chill for 30 minutes.

Cornmeal griddle cakes

This recipe came from my mom's cookbook, but as I started tmaking it I decided to tweak a bit. The cornmeal we had was a very coarse grind so I used less than the recipe called for, then added more flour to bind it. The result was a light, almost lacy, griddle cake.



3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp melted butter

Combine dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl just until blended. Whisk the buttermilk and melted butter into the eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk to blend. Do not overmix - a few lumps are ok.

Lightly grease a griddle with oil before making each batch of cakes. Use 1/3 cup measure to pour batter onto the hot griddle.

The griddle cakes are ready to flip when they look dry around the edges and bubbles break to form holes that don't close.

Serve with butter and syrup, honey or preserves.

Mother-in-law's Mounds cake

This cake is definitely one of our favorites. The recipe comes from my mother-in-law and usually make it for our birthdays.

Mix and refrigerate (covered) overnight:
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 cups sour cream (crème fraîche épaisse)
12 oz flaked coconut

Bake a 2-layer devil's food cake. Cool completely. Frost with coconut mixture. Cover and refrigerate 3-4 days before serving.

Mom's chicken fiesta soup

1 cup cooked chicken, cubed
3 cups chicken broth
2 cans white beans, drained
3 1/2 cups salsa
1 cup grated mozzarella
hot sauce to taste

Combine in a large saucepan and heat slowly. Olé!

Hungarian kolache pastries

1/8 cup hot water
1/6 cup melted butter
3/4 milk, warm
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp yeast
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups flour
sugar
cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix together water, butter, milk and sugar. Sprinkle yeast on top and stir once. Wait about ten minutes until the top is foamy.

Add egg and salt, beating well. Stir in 2 cups flour and mix well. Wait ten minutes.

Knead in flour one half cup at a time until smooth and elastic. Don't add in more flour than needed - you want these to be nice and fluffy!

Put the dough back in the bowl (oiled) and cover gently with plastic wrap. Let rise an hour or until doubled in size. Punch the dough down.



Lightly flour a clean countertop. Roll the dough out into a rectangle. It should be about a pinkie finger's thickness. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into eight long strips.



Using a brush, paint oil onto the kolache stick. While one person holds the stick, the second person can wrap a strip of dough around it. Leave a thin space between the strips to where you can just barely see the wood. Keep going, pinching the ends of each strip to make them stick to each other.



Sprinkle sugar onto a cookie sheet and roll the dough to lightly coat it.



Bake the kolache over hot coals, turning slowly the whole time to avoid burning. Once the strips puff up and start to brown, they are done.





Sprinkle cinnamon sugar onto a cookie sheet and roll the hot kolache through it to coat. Eat hot!







This recipe make 2-3 kolache pastries.

Pan grilled zucchini and red peppers

My friend Kendra made this for us the other day and we loved it!

2 zucchini
1 large red pepper
olive oil
salt
herbes de Provence



Rinse and dry the zucchini and red pepper.

Cut the ends off the zucchini. Cut into three sections. Slice each section lengthwise into fourths.

Cut out the core of the red pepper and remove seeds. Cut into large pieces.

Heat 1 tsp olive oil over high heat in a cast iron skillet. Once hot, place v cut veggies in the skillet to form one layer. Cook carefully, being sure not to burn them. Flip over every few minutes to ensure even cooking. Once they begin to soften and blacken, remove from skillet and season with salt and herbes de Provence. Serve hot.

Buckwheat pancakes

I had other plans for dinner tonight, but someone came home and said he was in the mood for pancakes. So we pancaked it. :)

2 eggs
1 tablespoon oil
1 1/4 cup milk + 1 Tbsp vinegar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, oil and buttermilk.

In another bowl, combine the flours, baking powder and sugar. Add the egg mixture and stir until the flour 'disappears'.

Place a nonstick frying pan or griddle over medium heat. When a drop of water sizzles as it hits the pan, spoon 1/2 cup pancake batter into the pan. Cook until the top surface of the pancake is covered with bubbles and the edges are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook until the bottom is well browned and the pancake is cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Repeat with the remaining pancake batter.

Honeyed PB and and bananas

4 slices sandwich bread (we used buckwheat and flaxseed bread)
1-2 bananas
natural peanut butter
honey

Spread peanut butter on each piece of bread. Top with sliced bananas. Drizzle honey on top. Smush together to make a sandwich. Should probably grab a napkin.