Orange Cake

Well, I still have copious amounts of Orange Simple Syrup in my fridge and am attempting to use it up. The decadently written book Under the Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes is scattered with chapters of Tuscan recipes (one major reason I love travel/food books). Mayes just happened to include a recipe for lemon cake and as I read, my mind said, "Ah Ha! Use orange instead of lemon!" So I did and the result was better than I could have imagined. The cake is still super moist after several days and the orange flavor is so crisp and indulgent all at once.

In honor of Mayes, here is her lemon cake recipe with my adaptations to follow:

"Cream together 1 cup of sweet butter and 2 cups of sugar. Beat in 3 eggs, one at a time. The mixture should be light. Mix together 3 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and incorporate this with the butter mixture alternately with 1 cup buttermilk. (In Italy, I use one cup of cream since buttermilk is not available.) Begin and end with the flour mixture. Add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and the grated zest of the lemon. Bake in a nonstick tube pan at 300 for 50 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick..." 

Mayes, F. (1996). Under the Tuscan Sun. New York: Broadway Books, 238-239.

 Creaming together sugar and butter:

Add 3 eggs, 1 at a time.

I also used cream (instead of buttermilk), since I had it on hand. 

 

I substituted the zest of an orange and 3 T orange syrup. 

I used most (3/4) of the zest in the cake, reserving some (1/4) for the icing. 

I greased and floured my nonstick pan, just to be on the safe side.

 

The icing on the cake!

To make icing:

Whip the following ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk and pour icing over cake.*

3 c powdered sugar
1/2 c cream
reserved orange zest from cake recipe
3 T orange syrup
3 T  softened butter

*This makes more than enough...use the extra on some left-over Christmas sugar cookies

Tiny Treats

 Miniature Pumpkin Pies and Orange Chocolate Truffles

Need I say more???

These tiny pies are so cute and will look smashing with a dollop of 

Bourbon-Maple Whipped Cream on top. 

The chocolate truffles were simple to make and I used the orange-infused simple syrup that resulted from my candied orange peels.

 Some I covered in cocoa powder, others with powdered sugar.

 They make a perfect gift wrapped up in parchment paper!

 Now for the recipes:

Pie filling:

Thanks to Bobby Flay's Throwdown

The Bourbon-Maple Whipped cream recipe is there as well, but I at least double what is called for regarding maple syrup and bourbon.  

Pie crust:

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons water

• Cut together with a hand-held pastry blender and roll out on a floured counter top. Cut circles to the size of your muffin tin. 

• Butter and flour muffin pan. Place pie crust circles into muffin pan and fill almost to the top with pie filling. Bake at 425 for about 30 minutes. Watch carefully as these small pies may cook up more quickly than you expect. Test with a toothpick for done-ness.

Orange Chocolate Truffles

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Jan/Feb 2012 edition

• melt 1 bag dark chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli's chips) in microwave

• mix 3 T orange simple syrup and a pinch of salt into 1/2 cup heavy cream

• barely warm cream mixture in mircowave

• pour cream mixture over melted chocolate and stir together. 

• Pour into a parchment paper lined baking dish.Cover and set on counter to cool for 2 hours, then place in refrigerator to chill for another 2 hours.

• Remove, cut into 1-inch squares, rolls squares into balls and cover in cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, walnuts, sprinkles...

Candied Orange Peels

Thanks go out to my brother for inspiring and guiding this recipe! 

This is such a tasty treat and as simple as boiling water. 

Take them to your next holiday shindig for a real crowd pleaser.

Start by peeling your oranges. I used 4 and worked in 2 batches.

Removing the pith will reduce bitterness, but that is a personal preference. 

Fill sauce pan half-way full of water and bring to a boil. 

Add peels and boil for 5 minutes.

Drain water and repeat boiling process.

Drain water and refill sauce pan with water one more time. 

This time use 2 cups of water and and 1 1/2 cups sugar and (optional) 1 T ginger.

Boil peels for another 5 minutes.

Drain once again.

Look at that sugary goodness!

Who knew making candy was as easy as boiling water?!?!

Tip: 

Place a large bowl under the colander to catch the "Orange Infused Simple Syrup" 

that you have inadvertently made during this last boiling process.

My will be used in Chocolate Truffles.

Stay tuned...

The cherry on top:

Dip candied orange peels in chocolate.

Then, dip the orange sections in chocolate.

If I were better at picture taking. This last photo would look delicious. I just couldn't get them to not look like slugs. My husband is kinder: he says they look like peppers in this pic.

Tomatoes

Unfortunately, this post is unseasonably late, but I'm am so going to love having all these tomatoes as winter comes in a hurry. 

I was inspired by my favorite tomato sauce to grow and can my own tomatoes this year. I had a decent crop with my 3 plants, but still needed to supplement with my mom's tomatoes, her neighbor's tomatoes and a couple boxes from the local fruit stand. 

Canning took way longer than I expected. The actual peeling, cutting, and filling jars was a breeze, it was the hours of processing time (filled jars in boiling water to seal the lids and kill bacteria) that was a beast.

Beautiful red jewels

Peeled and ready for dicing.

After dicing the tomatoes, they were place in jars with salt, lemon juice, and a little extra water.

Ready for lids and processing. 

To can raw tomatoes:

1) dip tomatoes in boiling water, allow to cool to the touch, peel skins and dice.

2) put diced tomatoes into clean, hot quart jars (we wash our jars in the dishwasher and remove them for filling while still hot) with 2 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp salt. We added a bit of water to level off the jars. 

3) simmer lids and seals in boiling water, then tighten onto jars.

4) submerge jars in boiling water bath. Water level should be at least 1-inch above the top of the cans. 

5) process jars in boiling water for 50 minutes. Check to make sure the lids pop down to seal (they just need a tap on top if they don't pop down themselves).

Signs of Fall

Well, the rumor mill around work last week was all about how the temperature is going to drop this week. So, I decided I needed to start "winter-izing" the garden. Or at least save all the wonderful herbs I lost to an early frost last year. So my dutiful husband and I sheared back all the garden herbs and picked what was left of the vegetables...mostly carrots, though I think they would survive in colder temps. Plus, stay tuned for canning tomatoes. (On a side note, many of those lovely seedlings I planted in the spring never developed into vegetables. Oh well, c'est la vie. Next year, we'll try, try again.)

 Currently, my kitchen is hardly usable due every surface being covered by towels, cookie sheets, baking dishes and assorted platters that are serving as drying racks for all the herbs. I need to get them tied up and hanging! Geesh! Good thing they'll keep for now.

Herbs covering the counter and stove tops

Sage smells so good

Then again, so does rosemary

Two Varieties of Oregano

Crockpot Applesauce

Apparently I have been on a blog hiatus! 

It's back-to-school time, and I swear it was just last week that school started. I'm still not sure what happened to the month of September...where did it go? But, I have 24 bright-eyed first graders keeping me hopping during the day and pool supervising to keep me busy in the evening. But enough about that! 

We have apples!

Yum! 

I bought a box of the produce my state is famous for (Washington Apples, ya'll!), shared half with my mother, and last night I made applesauce. This is so easy that I slept through most of it. So dig out your Crockpot and let's get that heavenly aroma started!

Diced Fugi Apples

Dice up enough apples to fill your Crockpot all the way up to the top. This will reduce by two-thirds as it cooks. The peeling of apples is left up to your personal preference. I happen to have peeled every-other apple I diced.

Add 1/4 cup of sugar.

And a tablespoon of cinnamon.

Looks good enough to eat already!

Put the lid on, and turn your Crockpot to low.

Now go to sleep (that's what I did, anyway), or go to work. Or do whatever you want for the next 8-10 hours. The timing all depends on how chunky or mushy you like your sauce. Whatever you do, it will turn out yummy. This is practically no fail!

 This morning, I woke up to the mouthwatering aroma of fall.

(See how much it cooked down.)

 A quick breakfast of toast topped with applesauce before my Yoga class.

Alternative recipe, equally easy:

Apple Butter

My mom took a different route with her apples, she made apple butter (and shared with me!)

This is basically the same process, with a couple of adjustments: 

Use a 1/2 cup of sugar, peel all your apples, and when everything is mushy, use an immersion blender to smooth it out.

I think I'll have to make some Oatmeal Pancakes to use as a vehicle for yummy apple-goodness!

Quinoa Salad #2

This is inspired by a salad made at one of my favorite local restaurants. I think they added a lovely piece of salmon to the mix, which I chose to omit for this post.  

Start with salad greens freshly washed and torn. 

I used garden-fresh spinach, 

but in the middle of winter when that's not readily available, 

I'll use a bag of mixed baby greens.

 Top with a cup of cooked and cooled quinoa.

 Add 1/2 cup each dried cranberries and dried, diced apricots.

 Top with sunflower seeds (or sliced almonds).

 I tossed this salad with a store-bought champagne vinaigrette. 

Someday I will learn to make my own...

Corn is in Season!

Corn is available everywhere right now: co-workers giving it away, trucks on the side of the road selling it for next to nothing, crates piled high at the local produce stand. 

Well, this is officially my new favorite way fix it. Delicious!

 

 Shuck and wash the corn placing each ear in the center of a square of tin foil. 

 

Squeeze a section of lime over the top.

Top with pat of butter, minced garlic, salt, pepper and cotijas (or feta) cheese*. 

 Roll the foil over the corn and cook on the grill. About 5 minutes. 

 Served here with salmon and couscous.

Cheater method:
(equally delicious)

Prepare corn: shuck, rinse and cook
Saute garlic in butter (one clove/pat per ear of corn), pour over corn
Squeeze sections of lime over corn
Top with salt, pepper and cotijas cheese.

*Note about grilling corn in foil: the cheese tends to stick to the foil.
There are two simple solutions to this problem:
1. top corn with cheese after it has been grilled and removed from foil.
2. scrape cheese off of foil and place onto corn (this solution allows all the flavors to mingle together during the cooking process).

The Only Way I Will Eat A Banana

OR...Stawberry-Banana Shake

So I went to yoga class this morning for the first time in months (Yay Me!). 

I always feel super inspired to be healthier after a yoga session 

(a need to atone for last night's supper of grilled cheese and fries didn't hurt either).

 This is one of my favorite quick and healthy treats. 

 One banana and a cup of strawberries in the blender.

 If you've got 'em, add or substitute other berries as well.

 Add one cup of OJ. 

This provides my liquid and sweetener in one. I don't add any other sugars.

 2 heaping scoops of yogurt (probably about 3/4 cup).

I use plain Greek yogurt, but any will do.

 A handful of ice cubes will help make it frothy.

Blend together. Start with pulses to break up the ice cubes, then puree until smooth. 

This will make two large servings (as seen above) or 4 smaller servings.

Enjoy!