Apricot Quick Bread

So the in-laws visited this past weekend, and with them they brought pounds and pounds of fruit. Cherries (5 lbs), plums (1 lb), cherry plums (3 lbs),  kumquats (1 lb), tangerines (3 lbs), pineapple (2 lbs), angelcots ( 2lbs), and apricots (3 lbs). We already had our own fruit-- mangoes, necarines, apples, and bananas, so it suffices to say we are overwhelmed and the threat of rotting fruit and flies is weighing heavily on us. When I opened the bag of apricots, some of them were already starting to go. What to do? I'd already made an apricot cherry crumble just a few weeks ago, and I didn't want to go that route again. I was already plotting a pie with the cherries, so I didn't want another pie. I wanted something quick too, something I could whip up for brunch on a Sunday morning before the in-laws left. After much searching, I found this, from the Sun Sentinel website:

Easy Apricot Bread

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 / 2 cup firm-packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 / 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 pounds fresh apricots, peeled, pitted and pureed*

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 / 4 cup vegetable oil (we use canola)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour well a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and cinnamon.

In another smaller bowl, combine the apricot puree, eggs, oil and vanilla; mix well.

Add the apricot mixture to the dry ingredients, mixing just until blended. Do not over mix. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan 8 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate overnight for easy slicing. Makes 16 servings.

Per serving: 143 calories, 29 percent calories from fat, 5 grams total fat, .5 grams saturated fat, 27 milligrams cholesterol, 23 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total fiber, 11 grams total sugars, 20 grams net carbs, 4 grams protein, 168 milligrams sodium.

*Use a food processor fitted with the metal blade or a good blender to puree the apricots.

My thoughts:

1. First off adjustments. I put in a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon, and I used half a teaspoon of almond extract and one and a half teaspoons of vanilla extract. I also baked the bread in two loaves because it did NOT fit in a 9" by 5" loaf pan. It needed the full hour. I left about a half an inch of space for the bread to rise, and that was fine.

2. Overall taste? Nothing exciting. The apricot flavor was really overwhelmed by the bitterness of the whole wheat flour and then extracts. But it was soft and not very sweet, which apparently pleased the in-laws

3. It basically reminds me of a pumpkin bread-- the fruit puree is providing the moisture in the place of more oil or butter. 

4. It may be better with white flour, and perhaps with a cream cheese glaze or something to add a little more flavor or tartness.

Nectarine-Cobbler Cornmeal Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 ounces (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 medium ripe peaches (about 1 1/4 pounds), skins on, pitted, and cut into 3/4-inch wedges
• 1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal or polenta
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh lavender, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, using a pastry brush to coat sides with butter as it melts. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar evenly over bottom of skillet, and cook until sugar starts to bubble and turn golden brown, about 3 minutes. Arrange peaches in a circle at edge of skillet, on top of sugar. Arrange the remaining wedges in the center to fill. Reduce heat to low, and cook until juices are bubbling and peaches begin to soften, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat. 
2. Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, lavender, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat remaining stick of butter and 3/4 cup sugar with a mixer on high speed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl. Mix in vanilla and cream. Reduce speed to low, and beat in cornmeal mixture in 2 additions.
3. Drop large spoonfuls of batter over peaches, and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer skillet to a wire rack, and let stand for 10 minutes. Run a knife or spatula around edge of cake. Quickly invert cake onto a cutting board. Tap bottom of skillet to release peaches, and carefully remove skillet. Reposition peach slices on top of cake. Let cool slightly before serving.

Death by Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

So I wanted to make the "Artpark Brownie" recipe from Ruth Reichl's hilarious memoir Tender at the Bone for the bookclub meeting were having to discuss the book, but life got in the way.

So, these cookies:

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 9 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, cut up
• 3 large eggs

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
• 6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter four cookie sheets.
• 2
  Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Melt the semisweet chocolate and butter in a double boiler over barely simmering water. Beat the eggs and granulated and brown sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until creamy. Beat in the chocolate mixture and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients, chocolate chips, pecans, and white chocolate.
• 3
  Drop tablespoons of the dough 4 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Use the bottom of a glass to flatten the cookies slightly. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 8-10 minutes, or until cracked on top. Transfer to racks to cool. Yield 24 cookies.

Link: http://www.rd.com/food/death-by-chocolate-cookies-recipe/















My Thoughts:

Beet Burger

So this weekend, we came back from a long vacation to a sparsely stocked fridge. But we did have a few beets and I knew it was time to make these beet burgers from the post punk kitchen that had caught my eye a long, long time ago.


The recipe:

1 1/4 cups cooked, cooled brown rice 
1 cup cooked brown or green lentils, cooled, drained well
1 cup shredded beets
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme, rubbed between your fingers
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel (or finely crushed fennel seed)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons very finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons smooth almond butter
1/2 cup very fine breadcrumbs

Olive oil for the pan

Peel beets and shred with the shredder attachment of your food processor, then set aside. Change the attachment to a metal blade. Pulse the brown rice, shredded beets and lentils about 15 to 20 times, until the mixture comes together, but still has texture. It should look a lot like ground meat:

Now transfer to a mixing bowl and add all the remaining ingredients. Use your hands to mix very well. Everything should be well incorporated, so get in there and take your time, it could take a minute or two.

Place the mixture in the fridge for a half hour to chill.

Preheat a cast iron pan over medium-high. Now form the patties. Each patty will be a heaping 1/2 cup of mixture. To get perfectly shaped patties, use a 3 1/2 inch cookie cutter or ring mold (I have pics of how to do it here.) Otherwise, just shape them into burgers with your hands.

Pour a very thin layer of oil into the pan and cook patties for about 12 minutes, flipping occasionally. Do two at a time if you’re pan isn’t big enough. Drizzle in a little more oil or use a bottle of organic cooking spray as needed. Burgers should be charred at the edges and heated through.

Serve immediately. But they taste pretty great heated up as well, so if you want to cook them in advance, refrigerate, then gently heat in the pan later on, then that is cool, too.

My Photos:

My Notes:

1. Used the food processor and it was clutch in shredding those beets.
2. Brown rice was good-- I didn't really wait for it to cool before I mixed it in.
3. I used several cloves of garlic and upped the amount of dry spices used and almond butter
4. The dough was very sticky and easy to mold. Made for easy cooking.
5. The DH fried them on the pan, and complied after several reminders to try for 8 minutes per side,
6. Delicious. Crunchy on the outside, but not dry on the inside at all. Not sweet. Great flavor-- I really like the fennel.
7. We doubled the recipe and had about 16 small-medium patties.


 

Apricot Blueberry Cherry Crisp.

Ahh, fruit season is heeeeere! Apricots? Check. Half flat of strawberries? Yes, please. Oranges, apples, bananas, cherries, blueberries, plums, nectarines, pluots, peaches, melons, pineapple... do you even have to ask? Organic Bartlett pears? Hand them over! Just because the weather in the city has been dreary this Memorial Day weekend, doesn't mean the kitchen has to be.

So we may or may not have gone a little overboard on the produce purchases, and rather than risk the decay of a pound of apricots, I made an apricot blueberry cherry crisp.

The recipe I used was basically this one from The Kichn, copied below:

Blueberry and Apricot Crumble

Fruit
1 1/2 pounds fresh apricots
1/2 pint (6 to 8 ounces) fresh blueberries 
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
1 (4-ounce) stick chilled butter, cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350°F and have ready an 8x10-inch baking dish.

For the fruit
Halve, pit, and quarter the apricots and combine in a bowl with the blueberries, lemon zest and juice, brown sugar, and nutmeg. Set aside to macerate while you prepare the topping.

For the topping
In another bowl, combine flour, oats, almonds, brown sugar, nutmeg, and salt. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the mixture until it forms clumps.

Give the fruit a stir and then pour it into the baking dish, making sure apricots and blueberries are evenly distributed. Evenly sprinkle the topping over the fruit.

Bake in the oven until topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling around the sides, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit at least 20 minutes before serving.

MY NOTES:
1. I didn't really measure the fruit. I think I used about a cup and a half of blueberries, a pound of apricots, and two large handfuls of cherries. Here they are looking all lovely together as they macerate:

2. No lemons in the house. After thinking about it, I consulted with the DH and we agreed to try orange juice. I'm the more cautious of the two of us when it comes to substitutions, so when he immediately pulled out the lemon press and cavalierly started juicing the orange into the fruit mix, no measuring cups in sight, I may have shoved him to the side and threatened physical violence. But only out of love-- for him and for the delicate summer stone fruit. Because I had spent the better part of the past hour pitting cherries and apricots, and couldn't handle the thought of this dish coming out tasting like oranges. Anyway, lesson learned: orange juice works. I wish I could say how much went in but it couldn't have been more than juice from half an orange. No zest.

3. No sliced almonds, so I just used a mix of roasted pecans, raw walnuts, raw almonds, and roasted cashews all chopped up-- way more than a fourth of a cup-- and it turned out fine. I forgot about the nutmeg in the topping, so it lacked some flavor. Mixed everything by hand.

4. It came out fine. The filling was VERY liquidy which makes me think perhaps I should've tossed the fruit in a tablespoon or so of flour. I forgot to take a pic of the crisp when it was whole (of course), but here it is after I drained all the extra juice... into my mouth.

5. The combination works! The cherries are especially lovely as they plump up with the juice from the other fruit.

6. Would I make this particular recipe again? Probably not. Nothing really stood out about it. But was it yummy-- yes, with all those fruits and nuts, how could it not be.

7. The DH was in charge of the mutter aloo tofu and here's a gratuitous shot of that. What a talented man he is!

Banana Pancakes

Sunday morning was pancake morning in my house. Every week, after five days straight of oatmeal or cream of wheat, Saturday would be cereal day and Sunday would be pancake morning. I woke up when my mom did and would help her in the kitchen. She used a mix-- usually the Betty Crocker Just Add Water kind, although occasionally we'd buy Aunt Jemima or Bisquick.-- and would mix the water in and go. The first one would always be too light, but then after that she always got them that perfect Denny's-commercial-worthy golden brown color.  We used Parkay Squeeze margarine on top of the pancakes and topped it heavily with the Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin sugar syrup. 

And although now I scoff at box mixes, margarine, and fake syrup, I still love pancakes. Thus the ongoing search for the best recipe. Last week, the DH and I made breakfast for dinner after a long work week. He cooked the frittata and I made pancakes using this recipe: 

Everyday Pancakes, by Mark Bittman

(http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1893-everyday-pancakes)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar, optional
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ to 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons melted and cooledbutter (optional), plus unmelted butter for cooking, or use neutral oil

PREPARATION

1. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Beat eggs into 1 1/2 cups milk, then stir in 2 tablespoons melted cooled butter, if using it. Gently stir this mixture into dry ingredients, mixing only enough to moisten flour; don't worry about a few lumps. If batter seems thick, add a little more milk.
2. Place a teaspoon or 2 of butter or oil on griddle or skillet. When butter foam subsides or oil shimmers, ladle batter onto griddle or skillet, making pancakes of any size you like. Adjust heat as necessary; usually, first batch will require higher heat than subsequent batches. Flip pancakes after bubbles rise to surface and bottoms brown, after 2 to 4 minutes.
3. Cook until second side is lightly browned. Serve, or hold on an ovenproof plate in a 200-degree oven for up to 15 minutes.
4. MY NOTES:
5. 1. I smashed in a very ripe banana into the batter-- delicious as always. I also added walnuts and some chocolate chips and served warm real maple syrup on the side. 
6. 2. I also made these on a Griddler because it allows me to make several at once. I set both plates for 350 degrees. 
7. 3. I halved the recipe, but otherwise really made no adjustments. I left out the tablespoon of sugar. 
8. 4. These ended up being a little dry, even with the banana-- probably because I let them sit too long on the griddler. And ask the pictures show, they didn't turn out that beautiful even tan color that my mother's pancakes had. 
9. 5. I've also included a picture of the DH's frittata because he's rather proud of it. 
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Quick Food Processor Pizza Dough (Bread Flour)

Okay, so I have wanted a food processor for THE LONGEST TIME. I had an inkling that something big was missing from my life in the kitchen, but I didn't really know what until I had a glimpse of a food processor in use at my college roommate's mom's kitchen when we went back to her home in Minnesota for Easter and watched it shred carrots, chop onions, and make homemade nutella in a single weekend visit. But really, the ode to the food processor by Mark Bittman is what really alerted  me to how much better life would be with a food processor in it. Of course food processors are expensive, and bulky, and a pain to clean, so really, did I need one? No. But did I practically salivate every time I saw one in the store? It's possible. Finally, eight or so years later, my time came, and I have to say that it is everything I thought it would be. So far the DH and I have made pie crust, hummus, muhummara, sliced vegetables, and pesto. And last night we tried this recipe! 

Quick Pizza Dough

SUZANNE LENZER

 

• TimeAbout 30 minutes
 
• Yield2 crusts (4 servings)

Karsten Moran for The New York Times

The trouble with most homemade pizza dough recipes is that they’re sort of a pain. You have to plan ahead. Knead the dough. Let it rise. Clean up after it. This might be the pizza dough recipe that finally persuades you it’s worth the effort — what little effort is required. With the help of two allies in the kitchen — your food processor and your freezer — now homemade pizza dough is nearly as simple as taking a chicken breast out of the freezer to thaw on your way out the door in the morning.

Featured in: Receta Para La Pizza Casera, Fácil Y Rápida. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ¾ cups/390 grams bread flour
• 2 ½ teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast(1 packet)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 or 3 tablespoons medium or coarse cornmeal

PREPARATION

MAKE THE DOUGH:

1. Put the flour, yeast and salt in a food processor. With the machine running, pour the oil through the feed tube, then add the water in a slow, steady stream. Continue to process for 2 to 3 minutes (the dough should form a rough ball and ride around in the processor). The finished dough should be soft, slightly sticky and elastic. If too dry, add a bit more water; if too wet, a tablespoon or so more flour.
2. Lay a 12-inch-long piece of plastic wrap on a clean work surface. Work the dough into a rectangle on the plastic, about 8 inches long and 6 inches wide. Press your fingers into the top of the dough all over, making indentations as though it were a focaccia. Fold the left third of the dough over (as you would a letter) and repeat the indentations. Fold the right third over and make the indentations again. Cover the folded dough with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes.
3. Cut the dough in half, form each piece into a neat ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and transfer to the freezer. The morning before you want to make pizza, transfer the dough to the refrigerator to thaw.

MAKE THE PIZZA:

1. Bring the dough to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes. Put a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 550 degrees. (If you don’t have a stone, oil a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.) Dust a peel or the greased baking sheet generously with cornmeal. Working with the dough in your hands (not flat on a work surface), gently begin to stretch the dough into a circular shape, pressing your fist into the center of the dough and pulling at the edges with your other hand. With both hands, stretch the dough, being careful not to tear it. Working in a circular motion, pull the thicker edges of the dough outward, letting gravity help you. Continue to stretch the dough until it’s relatively even in thickness (the edges will be thicker) and you have the size you want. Carefully lay it on the peel or baking sheet.
2. Top the pizza as desired and either slide it off the peel and onto your heated stone, or place the baking sheet into the oven. Cook the pizza for 6 to 10 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling.

3. So we used it to make a simple "Mexican Pizza" -- a black bean spread (black beans food processed with canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce sauce adding as little water as possible), sauteed mushrooms and onions, green bellpeppers, tomatoes, cheese, and avocado and cilantro to top it off. 

4. My thoughts on the dough:

5. 1. Easy enough in the food processor. Pour all the liquid in at once just like the recipe says--- I was nervous that all the dough wasn't coming together and added a bit of water at the end which resulted in some patches of super sticky dough while the rest was just as it should be. 

6. 2. This dough was easy stretch out and pretty resilient. Crust did not super poof. 

7. 3. We had this wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge over night, and perhaps we wrapped it too tight because it broke through the plastic wrap and started to pouch it. So strange. Next time, wrap it a little more loosely?
8. 4. Would definitely make again as it's pretty standard-- not super flavorful or anything on it's own, though. I'd love to try some whole wheat flour in it next time or maybe through some herbs in there. 
9. Pictures are below. Of course I forgot again to take a picture of it before the DH and I dug in, so there's only half a pizza left. 
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     And here's a close up of the pizza crust.
    
    
    
    
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