Oh The Cuteness!

Hiatus For A Couple Weeks

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am going on a hiatus for a couple weeks because my sister is very ill and I am helping her with that. I will be posting recipes again in a couple weeks. I hope everyone is well.

Homemade Ginger Ale

I made this recipe up one night because I had a ton of ginger that I didn't know what to do with... So, this is my version of ginger ale, I hope you can all enjoy it as much as my parents and I have.

Makes 1 1/2 cups of syrup

3 cups sugar
3 cups water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sliced ginger
1 2-liter bottle club soda

In a medium saucepan over high heat, add the sugar and water and bring to a soft boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add the sliced ginger and lemon juice and simmer covered for 30 minutes, or until the syrup has reduced down in half.

Allow syrup to cool and add 1 - 2 tablespoons of syrup, depending on how flavourful you like it, to a tall glass with ice and add club soda. Enjoy!

*NOTE: I have boughten some squeeze bottles from a local kitchen store for $0.95 that work great for storing and squirting the syrup out whenever you want a drink. In case you're not sure what I mean, here is a link for you so you know what kind of bottle to get.

Link for Squeeze Bottle

Sourdough English Muffins

I made these sourdough english muffins this morning and they turned out really good... The original recipe doesn't call for a sourdough starter, it calls for yeast, in which case I will post both recipes in case there are some people out there who don't have a sourdough starter.

Sourdough English Muffins:

2 cups sourdough starter
1/2 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons whole milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
Non-stick vegetable spray

Special equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings, see Cook's Note*

In a saucepan over low heat combine milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and butter, and stir until the butter is melted and the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool to 95 - 100 degrees. Once the milk mixture is cooled add it to the sourdough starter, mixing well. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 60 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F, or a cast iron pan over medium-low heat.

Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Pour 1/2 batter into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and take out the rings with tongs, they should remove easily from the steam created from the lid, using a spatula, turn over each english muffin. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, and cool. Split with knife and serve.

*Cook's Note: Small waterchest nut cans with tops and bottoms removed, and washed thoroughly work well for metal rings.

Active Yeast English Muffins:

1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup hot water
1 envelope dry yeast
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Non-stick vegetable spray

Special equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings, see Cook's Note*

In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, butter, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool to 95 - 100 degrees. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water and rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F, or a cast iron pan over medium-low heat.

Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Pour 1/2 batter into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and take out the rings with tongs, they should remove easily from the steam created from the lid, using a spatula, turn over each english muffin. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, and cool. Split with knife and serve.

*Cook's Note: Small waterchest nut cans with tops and bottoms removed, and washed thoroughly work well for metal rings.

Biff Pajs (Swedish Meat Pies)

These are a popular food item at the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City, Oregon. I love those meat pies, they are traditionally called Biff Paj's... They taste great and I honestly like this recipe better than the Biff Paj's at the Scandinavian Festival. I found this recipe on the net, but I've made my own changes to it and I like it the way I've changed it.

Yield: 6 meat pies
Prep Time: 40 Min
Cook Time: 20 Min

Ingredients:

* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 pound ground beef (I use ground chuck roast)
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder (NOT GARLIC SALT!!!)
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
* 1 pinch ground nutmeg
* 2 large red potatoes, grated
* 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cup butter
* 1 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Melt the 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in the ground beef and add parsley, allspice, dill, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and grated potatoes. Cook and stir until the meat is browned. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese and 1/2 cup sour cream until melted. Set aside to cool.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix in the 1 1/4 cup butter with a fork or pastry cutter until only pea sized lumps remain. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream a little bit at a time until the dough holds together. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Divide into six equal portions, and pat into balls.

4. Roll out each ball of dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Place a heaping 1/2 cup of filling onto each one. Fold over into half circles, and seal by moistening the edges with warm water and pressing together. Place on a baking sheet.

5. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.

Pad Thai

Okay. Here it is. Hands-down the MOST popular Thai dish known to mankind. It is served in almost EVERY Thai restaurant.

Ingredients:

1 pack dried rice stick noodles or "sen lek"
1/2 cup dried shrimp
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/2 cup chives cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pound chicken meat cut into small bite-sized pieces
6 eggs
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons smashed garlic
2 tablespoons smashed onion
1/2 cup of water

Preparation:

1. Soak the rice stick noodles in tepid water for roughly 15 minutes. Then cut the noodles into 4-inch pieces. Strain the noodles, then set them aside.

2. Using a large skillet (preferably a wok) heat the vegetable oil and add in the garlic, and onion.

3. After stirring for 2 minutes, add in the dry shrimp, and stir. Then, one at a time add in the peanuts, fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, pepper and chicken, stirring the mixture the entire time.

4. Add the eggs and continue to stir the mixture. Then add in 1/2 cup of water.

5. Add the noodles, and be sure to stir! The noodles tend to burn if not continuously stirred.

6. Check to see if the taste of the dish is suitable to you, if not, then add in either fish sauce (salty), sugar (sweet), vinegar (sour), or soy sauce (salty). Here is where a matter of preference comes into play.

7. The final step is to add in the bean sprouts and chives, just before turning off the burner.

Pad Thai is normally garnished with a heaping portion of uncooked bean sprouts on the side as well as a sprig of cilantro on top and wedges of lime to squeeze on top of the final dish.

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

I made up this recipe one night about a month ago when I was in the mood for some tortellini soup, but I had never made it before, so I decided I'd make it the way I thought it would be made from past experiences in eating it at restaurants... I'm not sure if this is authentic or not, but it turned out very good and I was surprised at how well all the flavours melded together. I used fresh herbs out of my garden and tortellini I had made the previous day, although you could use frozen or fresh tortellini from the supermarket.

1 lbs. Italian sausage, or mild turkey Italian sausage (I used the turkey sausage)
3 tbsp. Olive oil
1 carrot, diced
6 basil leaves, chopped
3 sage leaves, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 onion, pureed
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes, half the can pureed with onions
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
1 14 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup red wine
7 cups beef broth
4 cups fresh cheese tortellini
Fresh Romano cheese for garnish


In a large saucepan, coat the bottom with the olive oil over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, add the carrots and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the chopped basil, sage, and Italian seasoning and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add the Italian sausage and garlic, and cook until sausage is browned.

Add the pureed tomato and onion mixture along with the other half can of diced tomatoes and the can of tomato paste. Stir; add the red wine, beef broth, salt, and garbanzo beans.

Simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.

Bring soup to medium heat and when a soft boil emerges, add the tortellini and cook according to the packaged directions.

When the tortellini is cooked, dish and sprinkle with Romano cheese and serve.

Serves 8

Potato-Broth Bread

I love this bread, by far it's the best basic yeast bread I've ever made... It's great for sandwiches and wonderful toasted. The crumb is so soft and moist. Although, I wouldn't recommend baking this bread to a darker colour, I know a lot of people like their bread dark, but if you over bake this bread it will dry out. This recipe is from 'The Fannie Farmer Baking Book' and the original recipe says it makes two 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaves, but I was able to make 3 loaves easily and I shaped and froze the other two loaves unbaked...

3 cups warm potato water
1 pkg. yeast
1 cup mashed potatoes, room temperature
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. butter, softened
7 1/2 to 8 1/2 cups bread flour

Stir the potato warm water (100 - 110 degrees Fahrenheit) and yeast together in a large bowl; let stand for a minute or so. Add the mashed potato, salt, sugar, and butter, and beat to blend well. Add 6 cups of the flour and beat vigorously. Add enough additional flour to make a manageable dough, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or so. Let rest 10 minutes. Resume kneading, adding just enough additional flour to keep the dough from being too sticky to handle, until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for an hour. Punch the dough down, divide in thirds, and shape into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans, cover loosely, and let rise to the tops of the pans, about forty-five minutes. Bake in a preheated 350-degree Farenheit oven for 40-45 minutes. During first 10 minutes of baking, place a hot water bath in oven with bread loaf(s). Remove from pans and cool on racks.

Sesame Szechuan Chicken Noodles

I just made this for dinner tonight for the first time, and it was amazing, it only took me about 20 - 25 minutes to make and it was so delicious! I got the recipe off the net, but made a lot of changes to the recipe. If you were to make this for a group of 4 people, you could be expected to pay no more than $8.00 for the amount of ingredients for the entire meal. Where I live, I was able to make the entire thing for $4.00! What a cheap and extremely tasty meal! No more than $2.00 a person! You can't go wrong with a cheap meal like that and it was very good. I hope you all enjoy it! :)

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1 lbs. diced chicken breast
8 ounces thin dried rice noodles
4 1/2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
3 tablespoons chopped peanuts
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
6 tablespoons bottled teriyaki sauce, Yoshiba's is a great brand
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 cup thick sliced green onions
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced and cut in half
1 8 oz. can sliced waterchest nuts
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Preparation:

Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, about 3 minutes. Drain; return noodles to same pot. Mix in 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil and peanuts.

Heat 3 tablespoons sesame oil in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add ginger and garlic; stir 10 seconds. Add teriyaki sauce, lime juice, chili sauce, salt, and pepper; simmer 30 seconds. Add chicken, red bell peppers, and onions; simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add waterchest nuts, stir; Mix cornstarch and water until you get a thin liquid the colour of watered down milk, and mix into the sauce, bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for 2 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Mix sauce into noodles. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato

I love this recipe, it's so smooth and creamy and almost better than American ice cream! You can use the base of this recipe without the Nutella to make any flavour of gelato you like. I've made rose gelato by just adding 2 tbsp. rose water to the base and a few drops of red food colouring to make a pink colour. So, play around with it, but at least try the Nutella before you make other flavours.

2 cups half & half
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed, for garnish, optional

In a saucepan combine the milk, half & half, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir.

Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves.

Chill mixture for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze.

To serve, scoop gelato in waffle cones, or waffle bowls and top with hazelnuts.

Gebrannte Mandeln (Sugared Almonds)

I love Traditional Gebrannte Mandeln. They are a German roasted and sugared almonds. I go to a local Scandinavian festival here in Oregon in Junction City and there is a woman who sells these Gebrannte Mandeln and they are incredible, I love them so much that I decided to make them myself and they turned out great.

3/4 cups sugar
4 tablespoons water
3/4 cups whole almonds
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Simmer the sugar, water, and cinnamon until syrupy. Remove from the heat and add the almonds. Stir until the sugar crackles. Heat and repeat the melting and hardening process twice. Pour the mixture out an a greased baking sheet and separate with a fork.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

I absolutely LOVE pretzels and I've always wanted some that tasted better than the kind you get in the mall or at Costco... Haha. Well, I found an amazing recipe by Alton Brown, and they turned out wonderfully. I like my pretzels with a little melted butter and cinnamon and sugar, so feel free to substitute anything or just eat them plain without anything on them!

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 12 pretzels
User Rating: 5 Stars

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt, optional

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 aluminum sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 18-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined aluminum sheet.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 15 seconds on each side. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the aluminum sheet without the parchment paper and lightly brush each pan with olive oil, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 10 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Eggs Benedict

I've had this recipe in my family for years and it's one of my absolute favourites! I hope you will all enjoy this as much as I do.

Makes 3 Servings

6 eggs
2 teaspoons vinegar (this will help keep the eggs from separating in the water)
3 english muffins
6 oz. canadian bacon, or fresh sliced ham

Hollandaise Sauce:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted and hot
1 egg, or 3 egg yolks (strictly egg yolks produces a very thick sauce, I usually go for 1 egg)
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, bring water with vinegar to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and add eggs, poaching for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt your butter and in a blender whirl on high the egg, mustard, lemon juice, paprika, salt, and pepper. Stream the butter while the blender motor is running, slowly until all the butter has been used and turn off the blender.

Toast your english muffins and fry your canadian bacon or ham on medium-high for 1 - 2 minutes or until heated through.

On each plate, place two english muffin halves. On top of each english muffin half, place 1 oz. canadian bacon or ham. Place one poached egg on top of each and finish off with a drizzle of the hollandaise sauce over the eggs.

Sourdough Starter

I am going to start a sourdough starter before Autumn sets in so I can bake some yummy bread during the colder months.... I will post a link to the recipe that I am using, but I would greatly appreciate it if anyone out there could give me pointers on this sort of thing. I know a true sourdough connoisseur would never use yeast to make their starter, but unfortunately I live in an area that even professional pastry chefs have to use a little yeast to kick start their sourdough starter because there isn't enough wild yeast in the air in Oregon.

Here is the link to the sourdough starter recipe that I will be using...

Cherry Almond Tart

I am in the process of making up a recipe for a cherry almond frangipane tart... I went to a local bookstore around here where I live and it's one of the largest books stores in the country with new and used selections.

Well, when I went to this store there was an espresso stand that had pastries in addition to beverages. I ordered a cherry almond tart and it had an incredible texture and not to mention delicate, but intricate flavours. It was an odd thing for me because at this time I was in the middle of trying to make that exact kind of tart, but with raspberry instead of cherry.

Anyway, I went out to a grocery store and bought the ingredients to make an almond paste and pastry dough and fill a tart pan with the pastry dough and the paste and top it with sweetened crushed raspberries.

Well, in my efforts I have to say it wasn't what I was hoping for. The center texture was nothing compared to the tart I had at the bookstore and I mused over the cherry tart and couldn't get it out of my mind.

So, I plan to make a cherry version, but do some research on how to get a wet and almost paste like center to my tart.

Wish me luck!

.<3
Stephanie

P.S. When I have perfected my recipe, I will possibly post it.

Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

This recipe has some wonderful flavours and is from a popular magazine in the Pacific NW called, "Sunset". I found that the recipe was a bit spicy, but if you like the spice, you can put as much cayenne as you would like, but I have reduced the amount of cayenne for my own personal taste. I have also made some other changes and I hope you will all enjoy this recipe.

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
4 carrots (12 oz. total), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch lengths
2 1/2 cups diced peeled eggplant
2 1/2 cups sliced (1/2 in. thick) zucchini
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 cup diced onion (about 5 oz.), pureed
2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) stewed tomatoes
1 can (15 oz.) garbanzos, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup dried currants, or raisins
1 cup chopped toasted almonds
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
Serve with Couscous

1. Pour olive oil into a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and spices and cook, stirring often until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes, being careful not to scorch the garlic. Scrape the mixture into a slow-cooker (at least 5 qt.).

2. Add broth, carrots, eggplant, zucchini, cauliflower, onion, stewed tomatoes (with juices), garbanzos, currants, almonds, and salt, and stir to combine.

3. Cover slow-cooker and cook on high until vegetables are tender to bite and flavors are blended, 8 to 9 hours.

4. Ladle about 3 cups of the vegetable mixture into a blender. Holding lid down with a towel and taking care to avoid steam, whirl until smooth. Return purée to slow-cooker and stir to blend. Ladle stew into a tureen or individual bowls.

Yield: Makes 12 cups; 6 to 8 servings

CALORIES 292 (43% from fat); FAT 14g (sat 1.4g); PROTEIN 10g; CHOLESTEROL 2.3mg; SODIUM 741mg; FIBER 8g; CARBOHYDRATE 36g

Gaufres de Liege (Sugar waffles)

I love to make food from all different parts of the world and I have heard of gaufres before and decided that I would find a recipe...

These sweet delicacies are so popular in Brussels, Belgium that you can find a waffle stand on almost every corner! You should never eat these like a regular breakfast waffle, these are more like a snack and the most you should do with it is maybe sprinkle a light dusting of confectioners' sugar on them and eat them plain.

This recipe was too loose and a friend of mine from Brussels told me it should be like a soft bread dough almost. So, I made some changes to the recipe that I found and they turned out great!

Serves 4

SPONGE:

2 packages ( 1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups warm milk
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten to mix

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Add 1 tablespoon of flour and the sugar; set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy.

2. Sift the remaining flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture and egg. With a wooden spoon, stir well to make a smooth batter.

3. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for 2 hours to rise until the batter has doubled or tripled in bulk.


DOUGH:

9 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 cups flour, give or take until you get the texture of a non-sticky smooth dough
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup pearl sugar, or white decorating sugar, or raw sugar
Extra flour (for sprinkling)

1. In a bowl with a wooden spoon, work the butter, vanilla, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, and pearl sugar into a paste.

2. Work the butter mixture into the sponge mixture until well combined. Slowly work your flour into the dough until you get the consistency of a non-sticky light and fluffy dough. Cover, and set aside for 10 minutes.

3. With floured hands, shape the dough into 10 balls. Flatten one slightly and dust it with flour.

4. Heat a waffle iron until medium hot. Place a flattened ball in the middle of the iron; close the top. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes. If the waffle iron is too hot, the sugar will burn. Some electric waffle irons bake on such a high temperature, it may be necessary to unplug the waffle iron intermittently to cool it off. Continue baking until all the waffles are done.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Autumn is near and I can see the leaves turning already and the cool weather is going to be setting in soon... So, in celebration of this wonderful time of year, I have made up a version of the beloved pancake, but with an Autumn flavour. :)

Pumpkin Pancakes:

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Ready In: 40 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs, seperated
2 tablespoon butter (only the real stuff!!), melted

See below for a syrup recipe to serve with these autumnlicious pancakes!

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin, egg yolks, and melted butter. With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine. Fold in the egg whites into the mixture just until barely mixed in.

2. Heat a lightly buttered griddle or frying pan over medium-low heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the hot griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Spiced Brown Sugar Syrup:

1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cup water
2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, or cinnamon

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer at a gentle boil for 30 minutes or until syrup is as thick as maple syrup. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes before serving with pancakes.

Dobby and Winky's Butterbeer

I found this recipe on the internet, and it's really good, but I've made my own revisions to it and I also made my own butterscotch sauce for this recipe. This is from the famous Harry Potter series.

Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 7 min
Serves 1

Butterbeer:
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon mixed spice (I like pumpkin pie spice from trader joes)
1 1/2 tablespoons hot chocolate powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 - 1/4 cup butterscotch sauce (measure depending on how sweet you like it), see recipe below

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butterscotch sauce and honey together. Next add milk and vanilla. Remove from heat and mix in hot chocolate powder and mixed spice. Enjoy!


Butterscotch Sauce:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1 cup half & half

Boil the butter, sugar and corn syrup very gently for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in cream and mix until smooth and silky. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container/jar in the refrigerator.

Vegetarian Fusilli with Pesto

This is a recipe I made up... I was trying to figure something out for dinner one night and I decided to throw some stuff together... :)

Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 20 min

1 lbs. fusilli pasta a.k.a. spiral pasta, cooked
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 cup cream (you can substitute this with half&half if you wish, but please don't use milk)
4 tbsp homemade or store bought pesto
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
3 tbsp tapenade, or chopped kalamata olives
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into strips
8 tbsp romano cheese, for garnish

After cooking and draining your cooked pasta, it should be al dente which means still a little bit chewy and firm when bitten.

In the same large saucepan you cooked your pasta in, place it over medium-low heat and melt your butter. Add the pecans and toast for 3-5 minutes.

Add your pasta back to the large saucepan over medium-low heat, and add your pesto, cream, salt, and pepper to taste and stir gently until well incorporated. Once the mixture is warm, add your beaten eggs and stir for 3-5 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Remove from heat once your sauce has thickened and add your tapenade and sun-dried tomatoes, and stir to heat the tapenade and sun-dried tomatoes throughly.

Serve in pasta bowls and garnish each plate with romano cheese.

I hope you all enjoy this delicious mediterranean inspired pasta dish!

Mrs. Weasley's Rock Cakes

I had read about rock cakes in Harry Potter and always thought they were something made up for the book, kind of like cauldron cakes or butterbeer.

Although, these light and fluffy delicacies are not made up, in fact they are a very popular tea cake in Britain, eaten cold with a nice hot cup of tea.

I have done you all the liberty of finding a recipe on the internet, from britain and converted it to imperial and even tested them out on myself before I posted the recipe, just to see if they'd turn out.

Oh, and I am sure you are wondering by now why they are called rock cakes.... It's not because they are hard. In Harry Potter, Hagrid's rock cakes are so hard, you will practically crack a tooth on his rock cakes. The reason they are called rock cakes is because when you drop them on to an aluminum sheet, they resemble the shape of a rock. :) I hope some of you out there will at least try my recipe... If you're not from the United States, I will post the recipe like this "4 cups / 450g flour" that way everyone from everywhere can make this recipe! :)

EDIT: July 15th, 2009 - After realising that my metric to imperial conversion skills are horrible, I realise that this recipe should nearly be doubled for the correct conversion. It is great the way it is, it's actually a half recipe, so underneath this I will post the correct conversion and fix the recipe I've posted.


Makes 6 Large or 8 Medium Rock Cakes

This is the half recipe version!

2 cups / 240g self-raising flour (or plain flour, plus 2 tsp / 10 mL baking powder)
1/2 cup(1 stick) / 120g butter
1/4 tsp / 1.25 mL kosher salt
1 tsp / 5 mL mixed spice (if you know what trader joe's is, I highly encourage you to go to that store and buy the pumpkin spice they sell, it works very well for this and it's a mixed spice blend)
1/2 cup / 100g granulated sugar
1/2 cup / 75g dried fruit (I used dried cranberries, most recipes call for currants or sultanas which are a white turkish or persian raisin)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk / 60 mL
1/8 cup / 25g granulated sugar (for sprinkling)



This is the full version!

Makes 12 Large or 16 Medium Rock Cakes


4 cups / 480g self-raising flour (or plain flour, plus 4 tsp / 20 mL baking powder)
1 cup(2 sticks) / 240g butter
1/2 tsp / 2.5 mL kosher salt
2 tsp / 10 mL mixed spice (if you know what trader joe's is, I highly encourage you to go to that store and buy the pumpkin spice they sell, it works very well for this and it's a mixed spice blend)
1 cup / 200g granulated sugar
1 cup / 150g dried fruit (I used dried cranberries, most recipes call for currants or sultanas which are a white turkish or persian raisin)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk / 120 mL
1/4 cup / 50g granulated sugar (for sprinkling)



Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Grease a large aluminum sheet.

Sift the flour, salt and mixed spice together in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the flour until it has the consistency of large crumbs.

Stir in the sugar and dried fruit. Beat the egg and milk together.

Pour the egg mixture evenly over the flour/fruit mixture in the bowl. Using a large metal tablespoon, blend the mixtures together to form a rough dough. Try not to over mix, this causes the rock cakes to come out hard and tough, just mix it enough until the flour is mixed in, I even had some dry bits of flour in mine and they cook out when you bake them, just make sure most of the flour is wet.

Using the spoon, dollop portions of dough onto the aluminum sheet. They will fall off the spoon in a rather rough fashion - resist the urge to smooth them out! Make sure to leave 1 1/2 inches/4 cm between the mounds as they will spread when baked. Sprinkle each mound with plenty of granulated sugar. This gives both good crunch and shine when baked.

Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes - smaller rock cakes will take about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack immediately and let cool fully before eating. Best eaten within 2 days!

*NOTE: When I baked mine, I had my rack in the center of the oven and the bottoms got a little too brown for me, so when I baked my second batch, I put the rack a little higher, not all the way, but as high as I could go without having a hard time getting the aluminum sheet in and out of the oven. The second batch seemed to get a little less brown, but if you like yours to be darker than golden brown just follow the instructions the way it says, if you like them more on the golden brown side, put your rack up about 1 or 2 slots above the center.

I hope you all like these and will at least try them... They are easy to make and they are a great beginners recipe. Most young girls in Britain start out with this recipe when they are learning how to cook. So, if a 10 year old can make them, you can make them too! (Wink wink, that was directed towards you Matthew...)