Strawberry Cake

My baby girl just had her first birthday. I decided to make this cake from scratch, following an EatingWell cupcake recipe. The recipe is definitely healthier than a store-bought cake mix, with whole wheat pastry flour and real fruit and without all of the extra ingredients from a mix. It also tastes pretty darn good. The texture is spongier than a box mix, but more delicate than a muffin. Since I wanted to decorate the cake I used the Wilton buttercream frosting recipe instead of one of the frostings suggested on EatingWell. The frosting isn't healthy, but honestly, it's one of the only things that I EVER use shortening in. So I'm ok with it.

I really liked the cake. Well, at least after it was thawed. I had it frozen for ease of decorating and to preserve it until the party, but forgot to pull it out in time. One hour is not enough time to thaw this cake so it was solid and my husband could barely cut through it. I learned that babies make much less mess with frozen cake. Also, strawberries taste better thawed.

Strawberry Cake
(adapted from the Blueberry Cupcakes recipe that can be located at http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/easy_healthy_cupcake_recipes)

2 large yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (I didn't have any so I did the ol' 1 cup minus 2 tbsp a.p. flour trick)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk or soured milk (1 tbsp lemon juice + enough milk to make 1 cup)
2 cups strawberries, 1/2" dice

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease pans and place parchment on bottom of cake pans for ease of removal.
2. Boil potatoes in water until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and mash until smooth. If you have a potato rice, now would be the time to break it out. Measure out 1 1/2 cups and let cool.
3. Whisk whole-wheat pastry flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
4. Beat sugar and oil in a large mixing bowl until combined. Beat in egg, vanilla, and potato until combined. Alternately add your dry ingredient mixture and your buttermilk, starting and ending with dry ingredients, scraping down sides as needed, just until combined (don't overmix it!) Gently fold in strawberries.
5. Divide batter between two 8"x8" square pans (or whatever pan your heart desires) and bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted towards the center comes out clean. (Sorry I'm not sure how long this took.  The cupcakes take 22-24 minutes, so I know it's at least 5 minutes longer than that.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Freeze before frosting to reduce crumb issues and to extend shelf life (only keeps 1 day at room temp). Just remember to remove it from the freezer well before you serve it.

Rosemary

Rolls so soft they'll think you bought them

This is the best rolls recipe I've ever run across. They come out so soft. The first time that we had them, my husband was sure that our friend had bought them and not made them as she claimed. Once he was convinced, he had to have the recipe. Now when we make it, people always ask for the recipe. I figure it's time to post it here.  I'll list the basic recipe along with my modifications in parentheses.

Rolls

6-8 cups flour (I used 5 cups whole wheat plus one heaping tbsp of vital wheat gluten; the rest was a.p. flour; once I get some dough enhancer, I'm going to try going 100% whole wheat)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp yeast
3 eggs or 6 egg whites
1 tbsp salt
1 cup powdered milk
2 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tbsp melted butter, optional (I skipped it)

Mix together sugar, yeast, salt, powdered milk, and water. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

Add the oil, then the eggs, and gradually add the flour. Knead until smooth.

Let the dough rise for one hour (or until doubled in size; if you let it go too long it will taste yeasty).

Roll out to 1/4 or 3/8" thick and cut into rounds. Dip the rounds in melted butter and fold. (I tore off the right-sized hunks and formed a nice ball by pulling the sides around to the bottom. I skipped the butter altogether.)

Arrange in two 17 x 11 x 2" pans (jelly roll pans).

Let the rolls rise for 45 minutes (or until about doubled in size; again, don't let it go too long or it'll taste yeasty).

Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.

Can also be used for cinnamon or orange rolls.

Rosemary

Peanut Butter Cookies Resurfaced

So I was looking through our blog to try to find a peanut butter cookie recipe I just KNEW I had posted somewhere. It was hard work (by that I mean I had to throw in a couple of extra clicks, but still!). I found it hiding as a comment and decided this recipe deserves a more prominent, tagged position on the blog. So now, should you desire some delicious peanut butter cookies you can find it under "peanut butter" or "cookies".

Posted in response to a request for a great peanut butter cookie recipe:

If you have been on the fence regarding your opinion of peanut butter cookies behold the recipe that just might make up your mind! I have tried it twice and had ooey, gooey and deliciously soft peanut butter cookies. Both times. Mmm....

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup salted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Combing your flour, soda and salt with a whisk and set it aside. In another bowl blend your sugars and butter and you'll get a grainy paste. Add the eggs and peanut butter and vanilla. Now it should get light and fluffy and you can mix in your dry stuff but just until it is mixed.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a sheet and with a wet fork do your little crisscross deal.

Bake 15 or so minutes or until just brown on the edges then don't let them sit on the pan too long. Get 'em on the wire rack right away. They may still seem a bit underdone but they will keep from getting crumbly this way.

Cayenne

Chewy Granola Bars!

Finding snacks that pack well, taste good, and will actually fill up little tummies is hard work. My son loves granola bars, but they can get expensive (not to mention sugary), particularly when he eats 6 of them at a time. I found a recipe at Kitchen Stewardship for granola bars. The whole family agrees that they're delicious (minus the baby who can't have honey yet). They hold together well. And while the ingredients can get rather expensive (1 cup honey and 1 cup butter per recipe), I don't think they'll end up costing any more than store-bought granola bars (probably less). However, they are much more wholesome and filling. So it should take us longer to go through them and actually tide us over for longer. They're not hard to make either. It's a good thing to throw together while you're baking something else anyways.

Chewy Granola Bars


4 1/2 cups rolled oats (toast ahead of time for some extra flavor)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup honey
2 cup add-ins such as chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, coconut, and sunflower seeds

 Grease a 9x13 or large jelly roll pan.  In a large mixing bowl combine butter and honey.

Add all ingredients except add-ins.  Beat hard until combined.  Stir in add-ins.  Press mixture into pan — really jam it in there so your bars don’t fall apart.  (Getting your hands wet and then using them is the most effective method that I've found.)  Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into bars.  Let bars cool completely in pan before removing and serving.

Variations:

• Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder and skip the chocolate chips
• Use 1/2 cup natural peanut butter in place of 1/2 cup of butter

Rosemary

BTW, if anyone finds a recipe for something like a Clif Kid Z Bar, please let me know! I think they're pretty great, but they're EXPENSIVE.

Strawberry-Cucumber-Lime Jam

We had more cukes than we knew what to do with, and they weren't good for pickling. So combine that with a recipe I found for cucumber lime jam and the pureed strawberries I had saved for jam, and I had an idea.

I'd finally braved the world of canning a couple of weeks ago (a half bushel of tomatoes will do that to a girl), and so I thought I could manage jam. I've made freezer jam before, to great acclaim, but never cooked/canned jam. And of course, I couldn't just follow a regular recipe, could I.

Strawberry-Cucumber-Lime Jam

4 cups pureed cucumber (seeded, peeled, about 3 large cucumbers)
3 limes
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
3 cups strawberries, pureed or crushed
7 cups sugar
1 package liquid pectin

I cubed and then pureed two of the limes (the whole lime), and then pureed the cucumbers in with them. (I actually had to do this in two batches). Then I grated the fresh ginger in and added the juice from the third lime. Then I tossed all the fruit/veg mix into a pot with the sugar. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the liquid pectin, bring back to a boil, and boil for one more minute. Skim the foam off the top and let it sit while you finish all of your canning prep.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has great instructions on how to can, so I won't even try to get into that here, so I'm such an amateur I'd probably mess up the instructions and someone would try to hold me liable. Go to another resource, like the one above, for the canning part of things. I'll simply say that I did the 5 minute boiling water bath.

So far (I just barely finished up and the jam is still setting and cooling), the only thing I think I would change is to puree only 1 lime, and juice two. The lime is a bit strong (which I like, but not everyone is a fan), so a bit less lime zest/pith would probably be better. I'd be hesitant to go with less lime juice overall, though, just because I'm not so good at guessing how much acid I need to balance the cucumbers.

The boys are currently eating the jam foam with some fresh gluten-free/allergen free "graham" crackers the hubster just made.

-Thyme

Potato and Kale Hash

The only cruciferous vegetable that did well in my garden this year was a curly-leafed kale. Kale is a wonderfully nutritious and flavorful leafy green. It also tends to be really bitter if you don't treat it just right. In this rendition, it added a nice flavor and no bitterness. It also helped me use up my potatoes, something I'm always forgetting to do.

Potato and Kale Hash

5-6 medium potatoes, medium to large dice
4 oz bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 or so cups chopped kale (could have done more, but this was a nice amount)
salt and pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil as needed

Pre-cook potatoes in the microwave for about five minutes (I used a microwave vegetable steamer with some water in the bottom to prevent them from drying out or getting tough). Meanwhile, render bacon in a frying pan. Add onion and some salt and sweat for a few minutes until just becoming translucent. Add potatoes and cook for a few more minutes. Add kale and continue to cook, adding olive oil as needed to keep things from sticking too badly, until potatoes are soft. Salt and pepper to taste.

Great for breakfast or dinner.

Rosemary

Asian BBQ Marinade

I found this one on another food blog and have LOVED it! It has been delectable on pork, chicken, and tofu (more on that later). Here's the original recipe and link.


Asian BBQ Chicken
Adapted from Cooking Light

1/4 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C soy sauce
2 T lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t curry powder
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 t grated fresh ginger
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Combine everything but the chicken in a small bowl. Whisk to dissolve brown sugar. Place marinade and chicken in a zip-lock bag. Pop that bag in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or longer if you have it (even overnight)
 

Preheat a grill (or an indoor grill pan or broiler). Spray cooking surface with cooking spray and place chicken on it to cook. Cook for 5-10 minutes on each side depending on the thickness.  Optional:  garnish with sliced green onions

*Tip:  When I make this I usually make 1 1/2 times the marinade.  I reserve some of the marinade before adding the chicken and then use it in the last few minutes of grilling, or just brush it on after for extra flavor.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/05/asian-bbq-chicken/

Now, as I promised, here is more on the tofu. We are a tofu eating family. We haven't always been, but I've been trying to incorporate it for some time. At first, it just wasn't coming out well. But my techniques have improved and now the results are turning out fantastic. Tonight I made up two 14-oz packages of extra firm tofu and there was barely enough left for hubby's lunch. My 3-year-old loved it as much as the adults did. The 9-month-old can't give much of an opinion on the grilled tofu but she did have some silken tofu which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Why tofu? Tofu is inexpensive and good for you! It's also very versatile. It can be used as a meat alternative; just don't expect it to have the exact same taste and texture any more than you'd expect an egg (another meat alternative) to have the same taste and texture as meat. Silken tofu is great for smoothies, desserts, and more. So don't let all of the bad tofu-based meat substitute products put you off. When you take tofu on its own merits, it can be wonderful!

For great tofu "steaks", buy extra firm tofu. Drain the water from the tofu (most tofu is water-packed) and freeze. Freezing helps give the tofu a meatier texture. When you thaw the tofu, wrap it in a clean towel (tea towels are best) and place between two plates or cutting boards with weights on top. This presses out excess liquid so that the tofu is ready to take on the marinade flavors and, again, have a meatier texture. Once thawed and pressed, slice tofu into desired size and shape of steaks (I first cut mine in half to make it thinner kind of like you would a layered cake then cut in half width-wise to give 4 steaks per 14 oz package). Place steaks in an airtight bag with the marinade and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes; the longer the better.  Grill for 5-6 minutes over medium heat. Enjoy!

Rosemary