Golden Fruitcake

You have been led to believe that fruitcake is icky. You have been told that it is heavy and leaden and will sit like an anvil in your stomach. You have been told that only German grandmothers like fruitcake, and that they make too much of it and that you'd better run and hide when the mailman limps up to your door hauling a ten pound, loaf-shaped package from Oma. People, you have been misled.

As it turns out, fruitcake can be delightful. This particular fruitcake is actually pretty light, considering it's 50% dried fruit soaked in brandy. My mom (hi mom!) got a bee in her bonnet about fruitcake a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, so after the big day we hauled out the mixer and made a double batch of this recipe from King Arthur Flour. And lo, it was delicious. Plus it glows like a stained glass window:



Golden Fruitcake
adapted from King Arthur Flour

Mom had a longish list of people who should receive a fruitcake, so we made a double batch and I measured by weight (regular sized batch appears below). I have a Pro series KA mixer with a 6 quart bowl and the double batch filled it to the brim, so heads up. Also, a double batch filled 12 mini loaf pans (5"x2"), plus 2 small loaf pans (7"x2.5") and 1 regular loaf pan (8.5"x4.5"). I assume a regular sized batch will fill, uh, half that? The point is, it's a large recipe already. Mini loaves are easier for giving to other people, though, I think. Incidentally, this recipe uses a really interesting extract called Fiori di Sicilia which to me smells like excellent panettone.

We also bought mixed dried fruit from KAF; in addition to the fruits below it includes pineapple and date, so if you want to chop your own, feel free to include those as well.Feel free to mix and match fruit to your heart's delight, but please don't skip the candied cherries. They are the prettiest.

Fruit:
5 cups mixed dried fruit of your preference (20-25 ounces), OR:
  2 cups golden raisins (10ish ounces)
  1 cup dried cranberries (4ish ounces)
  1 cup dried apricots, diced small (4ish ounces)
  1 cup chopped candied citrus peel (4ish ounces)
1 1/2 cups candied cherries (10ish ounces)
1/2 cup brandy (or rum or yes I suppose you could use apple juice, but why?)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the fruit (except the cherries), booze and extract in a bowl. Stir to combine and let sit overnight.

Cake:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 3/4 cups sugar (12.25 ounces)
1/4 cup light corn syrup (2.75 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmet
1/8 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia if you have it
5 large eggs
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour (13 3/4 ounces)
1 cup whole milk
2 cups chopped pecans 
More brandy (or the liquor of your choice) for brushing

Preheat the oven to 300. Spray your chosen loaf pans with non-stick spray. You may wish to have a few extra loaf pans around, I was surprised at just how many we got out of the batch.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and corn syrup. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour in three additions alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. When the last flour addition is mostly incorporated but you can still see some white spots, add the booze-soaked fruit, then the cherries and the nuts, allowing the mixer to do its thing and not adding everything all at once lest it spill all over the dang counter.

Fill the sprayed loaf pans 3/4 full. I suggest you put them all on a sheet pan for ease of transfer from counter to oven. Bake for as long as it takes for them to get golden, and for a tester inserted in the center to come out clean. Small ones will take about an hour, mediums ten minutes more and large loaves probably in the 90 minute range. Don't be afraid to put them back in for a few minutes if they're not golden all over. Fruitcake is a slow, old fashioned confection that can't be rushed.

Once they're out of the oven, let them cool for 15 minutes or so, brush them with more brandy, then pop them out of the pans and let them cool to room temp. Feel free to brush them more than once (I did!). Allow to cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic. We popped ours back into the mini paper pans we baked them in so they'd be cuter for gifting. Fruitcake will keep for a month as long as you brush it with more brandy once a week or so.

Slice thinly when serving, preferably alongside a cup of coffee or tea or maybe a hot toddy. Be filled with holiday cheer.

Fruitcake Teaser

Having some computer troubles, sorry to be a tease. Fruitcake tomorrow!

Pickled Cherries

I spent half an hour at the end of last week sitting outside pitting a couple of pounds of these sweet cherries from Kimball Fruit Farm. This activity taught me that somebody needs to invent a functioning cherry pitter; I made it through about half of them before I switched to a paring knife.



The cherry halves went into a pie of sorts, but the whole cherries (well, except for the pits) took a bath in brine. The recipe comes from the June issue of Bon Appetit, the one with Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover. Did the celebrity on the cover of a food magazine bother anyone else? It's weird, I'm not a big fan of the new design of the magazine; to me it feels like they're trying way too hard to be hip what with all the letterpress styling and what not. On the other hand, I've been tempted by more of the recipes in the last couple of issues than over the winter... but that might have more to do with me finishing school and having time to read magazines again than Adam Rapoport's takeover.



ANYWAY, enough ruminating on the state of food publishing. Pickled cherries! Deliciously odd, peppery sweet, perfect with the last jar of duck rillettes we had in the house. If you've got cherries around, why not pickle them?

Pickled Cherries
Adapted only slightly from Bon Appetit

BA suggests pairing these with pate or as part of a salumi platter, which was great, but I think I'm going to serve some with seared duck breast later this week, too. I'd love to know how you would use them.

12 ounces (3/4 pound) sweet cherries
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 sprig rosemary

First, wash and pit the cherries. If you use a pitter you'll end up with whole cherry pickles, but halves would work fine, too, if you'd rather use a paring knife.

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, pepper, coriander and red pepper flakes in a medium sauce pan (use stainless steel or another non reactive pan, aluminum will react with the vinegar). Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for five minutes. Strain the brine through a sieve into a bowl to remove the solids, then return the liquid to the pan and add the cherries and rosemary. Simmer for a few minutes until the cherries are just barely tender.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cherries and rosemary sprig to a one pint mason jar. Carefully pour enough of the brine into the jar to cover the cherries. Let the jar cool at room temperature for a couple of hours, then cover and chill. Makes about 2 cups.

Chocolate Orange Brownies

Do you remember Terry's Chocolate Orange? This UK import is most popular in the states around the holidays, when I think it's supposed to evoke some prehistoric memory of when an orange in your stocking was a highly coveted prize from the man in red. In case you've never seen one, it's a spherical milk chocolate confection flavored with orange oil and separated into segments in the style of an actual orange. To eat one, you follow the directions on the label: whack and unwrap! Give the butt of the faux-range a solid thwack on the table, then peel off the foil. If you've hit it right, the segments will fall away from each other in 20 identical pieces for you to share with 19 friends or to savor over the course of 20 days or, let's be serious, to eat all at once in front of an Ab Fab marathon.


The one and only time I had a Chocolate Orange of my own was at least 10 years ago. I don't remember where it came from, but I do remember sitting in my high school drama coach's classrom and giving the orange a timid tap on the desk in front of me. Someone told me I had to hit it harder, and when I did, the whole thing shattered instead of separating neatly. It was so traumatizing I never had another one.

Ok, not really. I mean, it was not traumatizing, but I haven't eaten a Chocolate Orange since high school - that part's no joke. Given that it's been so long since I've eaten one, I'm not sure why this recipe in the letters section at the beginning of this month's Bon Appetit caught my eye the way it did, but boy am I glad it did. These brownies are cakey, not fudgey which is my usual preference, but they pack a real whallop of orange flavor, and it sets off the bitterness of the natural unsweetened cocoa powder quite nicely. The chopped toasted pecans add an interesting texture, but if you're nut sensitive or just out of pecans, chocolate chips would make a nice substitute, or you could just skip the textural bits all together.
 
Chocolate Orange Brownies
adapted from Bon Appetit, March 2010, which was adapted fromthe Homepage Cafe in Bozeman, MT
makes 16 cake-like brownies

Nonstick spray
1/2 cup hot water (almost boiling)
6 Tbsp natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
2 large eggs
10 Tbsp butter (1 1/4 sticks) melted and cooled
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one orange

Preheat the oven to 350˚. Melt the butter so it has time to cool off while you  prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Spray an 8x8 or 9x9 square metal baking pan with 2 inch sides with nonstick spray. (I used 8x8 and I had to adjust the baking time up by a few minutes; the recipe is written for a 9x9 pan but I don't have one of those.)

Whisk the 1/2 cup hot water with the cocoa powder in a small bowl (I used the same mug I microwaved the water in). In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking bowder, baking soda and salt until they are well combined. Stir in the pecans. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then add the butter, orange zest and vanilla and whisk to combine. Whisk in the cocoa mixture. (While you're adding the warm things - the butter and cocoa mixture - make sure you add them slowly while whisking, so the heat doesn't scramble the eggs.) Add flour mixture, switch to a spatula or spoon and stir just until the flour disappears - don't overmix it.

Pour the batter into the oiled pan, and bake in the center of the oven, turning once for even baking, for 30 minutes. If using an 8x8 pan they may require another 2 minutes or so. A toothpick or small knife inserted in the center should have a couple of small crumbs attached. Cool the brownies completely in the pan on a cooling rack, then cut into 16 squares and enjoy.

Maple Coconut Granola

I've always thought it's a little weird, resolving to eat better and get healthy right as we enter the deepest part of winter. There are so few really fresh vegetables available in January (and February and March, here in Boston anyway), and it seems clear to me that eating more fruit and vegetables and less crap is one of the easiest (and tastiest) ways to get healthy.

 

And with that, I bring you the pomegranate. I'm sure you've seen it before (at least in a bottle); it's a weird little fruit. You eat the seeds which fill the inside, not the nasty white pith that holds them. And they're blood red, and they stain. Oh, and they're a superfood, with higher levels of antioxidants than tea or red wine!

 

But about that staining thing. There's no way to get out of taking that initial cut into the fruit, and you're going to get red juice on your cuttingboard, and you have to sort of worry the seeds out of the pith with your fingers, which is a good way to get them to burst and get red juice all over you and your kitchen. So here's a trick I learned from Alton Brown: pick the seeds out underwater. They sink, and the pith floats. Ta-da! (Word to the wise: don't use frigid cold water from your tap if you want to keep your fingers. Lukewarm, please.)

 

But how do you eat the pomegranate seeds once you have them? You can toss them on a salad, or in cous cous or rice pilaf, use them to garnish a cocktail, or, like me, you can top your yogurt + granola breakfast with the little gems.

Maple Coconut Granola

adapted from Alton Brown

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups other nuts - I used a mix of pecans and cashews
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup (the real stuff, please)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or other neutral tasting oil)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup raisins (you could add other dried fruit, chopped to raisin size, if you like)

Preheat oven to 250F.

Combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar (do this in a large bowl so you can toss it all around. Combine maple syrup, oil, and salt in a measuring cup and add to oat-nut mixture, tossing to distribute syrup evenly. Spread mixture out on a large sheet pan (or two).

Bake at 250 for an hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15-20 minutes so it browns evenly. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, then stir in raisins.

You should see my kitchen floor.

Guys. Seriously. I have got it BAD. You see, after a Cantacular experience at the Can-O-Rama, I can't. stop. Let me just give you a little run down of the stuff I've been making but not yet eating in the last week:

I made more sauerkraut. I brought a big jar of this home to my dad last weekend, and we ate it on red hot dogs. Awesome.

I pickled eight pints of cucumbers with dill from my mom's garden. And it just dawned on me that I forgot to give some to my sister when she was here an hour ago. Oops. Julia, come back for pickles!

I made raspberry jam.

I preserved some plums in honey syrup. Cannot WAIT to eat these on ice cream. And yogurt. And with cake. (Mmm, cake...)

I also roasted five pounds of plum tomatoes, and put most of them in the freezer. I made five pints of salsa, which, knowing Adam, will last about another month. I made some experimental spicy carrot pickles, and I put up four quarts and a pint of crushed tomatoes.

Lest you think I've lost sight of the trees for the forest, allow me to say I have been actually eating some of the summer's gorgeous produce, not just squirrelling it all away for winter. I made the wonderful gin-spiked tomato soup from September's Gourmet, but I forgot to take pictures. Sometimes we have popcorn and crudites while playing cribbage. Most often we just throw some veggies in a bowl with a simple vinaigrette and call it salad. I did, however, turn on the stove for something other than the canner and made something quite similar to this pasta last night, though I used some of those roasted tomatoes. I guess what I really want to say is, please bear with me while I get the madness out of my system. Even if I'm not blogging about it, you can keep up with the food I'm eating/canning through the photos on my Flickr stream if you are so inclined.

The Can-o-rama Cantacular

Perhaps you've heard it? The hustle and buzz around the interwebs? America's plugged-in home cooks and food-obsessed are all talking about the Canvolution. It started in Seattle and it has spread east with a frenzy, culminating last weekend in canning and preserving parties all over the country. I was lucky enough to attend the Boston area event in Somerville on Sunday. Organized and led by Linsey of Cake and Commerce, 20 plus canvolutionaries gathered in a borrowed Thai restaurant to discuss boiling water canning, pressure canning, and lactofermentation. Things got hands on (and messy!) and we all went home happy with jars of tomato sauce, dill pickles, sauerkraut, and mixed berry jam. (Actually, I stuck around to help clean up and was rewarded with an extra jar of jam for my troubles, wee!). Linsey, who taught boiling-water canning, wrapped up the experience on her blog here; Nika, who demonstrated pressure canning, discusses the day on her blog, too. Oh, and if you're interested in the sauerkraut, check out Alex's blog as well.

Of course, now I've got the canning bug and I went out and bought a big ol' canning pot and some jars the other day. I can't wait to hit the markets this week, and I sure as heck hope my friends and family like jam, because I know what everybody's getting for the holidays this year!

So tell me, friends: Do you can? Have you got any favorite pickle recipes?What about drying? Freezing? How do you keep summer's bounty preserved for the chilly days of winter?

Currant Cakes (plus a winner and MORE books!)

I went up to the market at Government Center on Wednesday around noon, looking for sour cherries. I had plans to start a liqueur. I found myself at the booth for Silverbrook Farms from Dartmouth, where I was drawn in by some lovely (purple!) spring onions. The farmer had some raspberries, but no cherries, so as I handed over my cash for the onions, I asked if he knew whether anyone at the market with cherries. He pointed me in the direction of the Keown Orchard booth (they did have cherries!), but then he asked if I would like to try the currants. I put a tiny red berry in my mouth and it exploded in a burst of tart, vaguely citrusy pink juice that actually made me say aloud "Whoa!" After a discussion of what they could be used for (muddled into drinks, reduced into syrup or jam, baked goods). I handed the man $3 and went on my merry way with a small carton of currants.

After a brief poll of the twitterverse, I decided on a batch of cakes. Well, cupcakes. Muffins? We ate them for dessert last night but then again for breakfast this morning, so I don't know what to call them. Anyway, I adapted this from Bea's recipe on La Tartine Gourmande, and next time I will almost certainly mix a few berries into the batter instead of just putting them on top, because they were such a nice foil to the sweetness of the cake that I wanted more! more! more!

And about that book giveaway! The random number generator has selected from 17 eligible comment the winner: number 7! Congratulations actionmoviegirl! Shoot me an email with your address (adriennebruno AT gmail DOT com) and I'll get your books in the mail. But wait, there's more!
Because I like you guys, and because I have a bookshelf that STILL needs clearing, here are two more books you can win. This time the theme is gourmets. One, the Amateur Gourmet Adam Roberts and the other, a professional gourmet - food critic and frequent Iron Chef America judge Jeffrey Steingarten. Leave a comment on this post by midnight (Boston time) on Tuesday, July 14th and I'll select a winner on Wednesday. To get you started: what weird food item have you bought with no plans on how to use it? And what did you end up doing with it? Now, about those cakes....

Red Currant Cakes
I used a small muffin tin with six regular sized cups in it, but if you only have a full sized muffin pan, fill the empty cups with water so they don't scorch in the oven.

1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup almond meal (pulverize some blanched almonds in a food processor if you don't have this on hand)
scant cup of sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
two eggs
large handful red currants
2 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly

Preheat your oven to 350. Generously butter six muffin cups or line them with paper cupcake liners

In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. (I use a whisk because I'm a cheater and I hate sifting.) Beat the two eggs in a small bowl, then add them to the dry ingredients and stir gently with a wooden spoon. Before the eggs are completely combined, add the melted butter and stir just until it all comes together. If you're adding any currants to the batter, do so when you add the butter, but save some for the tops of the cakes.

Distribute the batter among six muffin cups, and gently press a tablespoon or more of currants on top of the batter. I started baking these for 25 minutes but I lost count of how many times I added five more minutes to the timer because they were still jiggly. I would start checking them at half an hour, but the may take as long as 45 minutes. Bake until the tops are risen and a thin knife inserted in the center just has a crumb or two clinging to it. Serve with ice cream for dessert or jam for breakfast.

Make your own gummy candies! Sort of.

Ok so technically they're called orangettes. But they taste like orange flavored gummy candy, except way, way better. (It's a good thing I have this space to unleash my brilliant writer's mind, because I am so descriptive.)

I'm not really sure what posessed me to make these. My mom sent me a link to somebody's blog which linked me to the Martha Stewart recipe and I thought oh hey, those look nice.

Plus someone at work had mentioned that the oranges in the grocery store are really good right now. I cut Martha's recipe in half (I only used three oranges) and then I ate THREE oranges in a 24 hour period. They are really good right now.

Getting the peel off was a little tricky, and trimming the excess bitter pith was sort of a pain, but I think the end result was worth it. I had a birthday party for myself on Saturday night (birthday on a Saturday, word) and these were a hit.

Also a hit: the birthday cake Adam made! He made two and layered them into one cake with raspberry jam - highly recommended. And no butter! What?

I didn't take a photo of the dredging in sugar step, because, well, my hands were covered in sugar. In the summer, I plan to garnish girly cocktails with these. And I can't wait to try them with other citrus fruits. I think grapefruits would be killer.


Candied Orange Peel
adapted from Martha Stewart

3 medium navel oranges
3 cups granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
3 cups water

Directions:

Using a paring knife, make six shallow cuts in each orange from top to bottom, cutting through the rind but not into the fruit. Use your fingers to gently loosen the six sections of rind off each orange. Use a longer, sharp knife to carefully slice off any extra white pith. Slice rind sections lengthwise into 1/4-inch to 1/8-inch strips. I got four strips out of each section of peel. Place strips in a pot, cover with cold water, cook on high heat just until the water starts boiling. Drain and repeat (cover with cold water, bring to a boil, drain and set aside).

Combine water and 3 cups sugar in a large, wide-mouth pot, cook over medium-high heat until mixture is boiling and sugar has completely dissolved. Carefully add sliced rinds into pot, turn heat down to medium, leave on a rapid simmer for about an hour, until rinds are translucent. Remove pot from heat, use tongs or a slotted spoon to fish out all the slices from the syrup & arrange in a single layer on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet or old newspaper. Pat a couple of paper towels on top of rinds to lightly blot up any excess syrup but do not dry completely. Dredge slices in extra granulated sugar until well coated, return to wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Dimply Plum Cake

Every time I go to the farmer's market at Government Center, I try to pick up something I've never cooked with before. This time it was teeny weeny damson plums from Noquochoke Orchards. I had recently read Luisa's post about Dorie Greenspan's Dimply Plum Cake (as you can see, LOTS of people have made and loved it) and I wanted to try it with these little gems.


Alas, I had no cardamom. This lack led me on an interesting search this weekend at Christina's spice shop in Inman Square. If you are in Boston and looking for an unusual spice at a reasonable price, I must recommend it most highly - plus the same-owner ice cream shop next door is great! But I digress.... I made this cake last week when I had no cardamom, so I subbed in garam masala, an Indian spice blend which listed cardamom as the second ingredient.


The original recipe also called for sweet Italian prune plums, and damson plums are VERY tart. I like tart so I like them on this cake, but I'm sure it's delicious in its original incarnation as well. As an aside - I have to thank Adam for his help with this cake: emergency canola oil run and (!) pitting the plums. The tiny, multitudinous plums. He's so patient.


The cake itself has a wonderful flavor - the garam masala lends an interesting exotic note to a fairly straightforward cake with a sturdy crumb. I've been eating it for breakfast topped with plain yogurt. It's not going to make anybody dance and sing, I don't think, but if you're looking for something interesting that isn't a muffin or coffee cake, give this dimply plum cake a try.



Dimply Plum Cake

1 1/2 cups all purpose four
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
Grated zest of one lemon (I used the zest of half a lemon, but I should have used the whole thing!)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 lb damson plums, halved and pitted

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an 8x8 baking dish (or pie plate).

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and garam masala.

Using an electric or stand mixer, cream the butter with the brown sugar. Beat in the eggs, mixing to combine well, then beat in the oil, lemon zest and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the buttered baking dish, lay the plums cut side up on top and bake for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let cool and serve with plain yogurt, if desired. Cake keeps for several days at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap.

Perfect for Summer Sundays: Peach Crisp

But then we had a visitor from a far away land (L.A.), and I had the perfect excuse to finally make this cake. It was to act as phase II of our wine & cheese extravaganza Friday night.

I subbed in Gluten free flour, and it turned out to be delicious, if a bit crumbly. It may have been because I cooked it too long, but I'll try it again using regular AP flour and an 8 inch cake pan, as directed. I only have 9 inch pans. (Side note: I just re-read the comments section from Molly's original post, and it appears cocoa powder would have also been a good substitute.)

The weekend weather was lovely and we spent a good portion of Saturday on the beach and Sunday afternoon on the roof deck, sunning ourselves silly. (Yes, I wear sunscreen. Can't say the same for Hugh.*)

Sunday afternoon came upon us too fast, much like the end of this summer. T^2 had invited us over for ribs and I had some lovely fuzzy peaches sitting on the counter getting soft, so I started slicing, peeling, and chopping.

Don't peach pits seem rather like organs? I think they're lovely, but they also creep me out a bit. Perhaps it's just because I've been reading this book.

Anyway, I adapted a recipe from 101 cookbooks for a peach and plum crisp, and it was a hit indeed. We stopped on the way at Cafe Arpeggio to pick up some homemade vanilla ice cream (consider yourselves warned, they overstuff the pint containers!) and it was a very nice end to the evening. This topping is quite chewy, like an oatmeal cookie, which I liked a lot. If you're looking for a crispier, more traditional topping you might want to up the butter and use less yogurt.

Peach Crisp
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

2 lbs ripe peaches (about six)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch

3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
4 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel and pit the peaches, and cut them into bite sized pieces. I cut them into wedges first since it was easier to peel. Mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar and the cornstarch in a bowl, add the peaches, and give it a stir to make sure all the fruit is coated and the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed in. Pour this into an 8x8 baking dish.

In another bowl, mix the oats, flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and yogurt and stir to combine. Top the fruit with the oat mixture. Bake for 25 minutes until the top is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Hugh is not my roommate's real name.

This banner is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

You may have noticed I have a new logo of sorts. Banner? Logo? Anyway, it's up there and I hope you like it.

Last Saturday afternoon Adam and I spent a few hours setting it up: tying parsley into the letter B and carrots into an R and generally making a small mess of his kitchen.

Adam does not bake, ergo, Adam does not have a sifter... so I used this "rubbing my hands together" technique over the stencils that he made (he might not make muffins but the boy can make signs, I tell you what.) Yes, it was very technical. A technical... technique. Mm hm. Well anyway, we messed about with stencils and lighting and also we tried this spoon "stencil," too:


Which ended up looking like this when we picked up the spoon:

I thought that made the whole thing too, well, stencily. What do you think? After some back and forth and re-setting the whole shebang three or four times, I picked the handwritten design you see at the top of the page. But THEN I had leftover fruit and vegetables, and what's a girl to do with three past-their-prime bananas?


Ok, they don't look so bad in this photo but I KNOW I won't eat them in the next two days, so banana bread it was. I smushed several recipes together, and here's what I came up with.


Bruno's Banana Bread
I'm not a huge fan of nuts in my banana bread, but if you wanted to add 1/2 cup of toasted walnut pieces, stir them in with the flour at the end. You could also use all brown sugar, but I ran out, so I made up the difference with white.

3-4 ripe to very ripe bananas
5 tbsp unsalted butter, very soft or melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and butter a loaf pan.

Mash the bananas roughly in a medium bowl with a fork or potato-masher. Add the very soft or melted butter and the sugar, beat with an electric mixer until blended. [Note: I like to blend the bananas; I feel like it lightens the crumb of the bread, but by all means feel free to mash with a fork only and add to the mix with the flour.]

Add the egg, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda, mix to blend. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until just blended.

Pour batter (it is quite gloopy) into loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes to one hour until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in pan ten minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.

I like this banana bread with peanut butter for breakfast, or a la mode for dessert!

Please pass the Catch Up

What an incredibly lame attempt at a pun. And you know what? I prefer mustard.


So I HAVE been cooking, although I went to Maine for the weekend. Back in the day I was a member of the Windham Chamber Singers and this weekend was the 20th anniversary concert for the group. About 85 singers came back to the new (well, new to me) auditorium and we sang all day and put on a concert on Saturday night. The music was great (many songs were great in that cheesy choral music way) and it was a fun day.... kind of like a reunion but not of the kids I graduated with, just the kids I used to hang out with. Also, I ended up running into a WCS alumna on the bus who couldn't come to the show because she's getting married! So Ellen, if you did come visit, hi! And congratulations. Have fun in Belize!


I made that yogurt cake again. This time, I chopped up some pineapple I had in the fridge and layered it (half the batter, then about 1.5 cups of chopped pineapple, then the other half of the batter) into the cake. It turned out better than the last time, I think, despite Christy accidentally shutting off the oven part way through. I think I might add a little less baking powder next time, or maybe some honey. It tastes a little powdery once it cools. Or maybe I'll up the yogurt and add less oil... the possibilities are endless.



I also made some delicious penne:

1/2 lb dried penne
1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
olive oil
1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends removed, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces
3 chicken sausages, I used sun-dried tomato & basil flavored, cut into small pieces
12 oz ricotta cheese
parmiggiano reggiano cheese
salt & pepper

Put a big ol' pot of salted water on to boil.

Once it boils, add the penne. My pasta box said 'al dente perfection in 11-12 minutes!' So take note of the time.

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil (couple of tablespoons) in a large skillet and add the cut up sausage. I let the chicken sausage cook till it gets a little color on it, so don't stir too much - if it's moving all the time it can't get brown. I may have also added a clove of chopped garlic, so by all means do, if you like garlic. I like garlic. When the chicken is cooked to your liking, set it aside off the heat.

When the pasta is 4 minutes from done (7-8 minutes in) add the asparagus.

Reserve a cup of the pasta/asparagus cooking water. Drain the pasta and asparagus. While it sits in the colander, add 1/4 cup of the cooking water, a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and the ricotta cheese to the warm pot. Stir it around a bit so it melts into a sauce. Add the penne, asparagus and sausage, season with salt and pepper. You could add a little grated parmiggiano here if you want. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little more of the reserved cooking water to thin it out.

I put the pasta in a bowl and sprinkled the top with the sliced cherry tomatoes, but you could mix them in if you like. Sprinkle with grated parm and serve.

Serves 2 for dinner with enough for 2 lunches leftover.... so four. Serves 4.

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I made a makeshift soup tonight and also stuffed some dates with and wrapped them in turkey bacon. The soup was just ok, because I overdid the oregano, so I'll tell you more about it when it tastes better.

Here is what the dates looked like with cheese inside, before I cooked them:


And again, after I wrapped a basil leaf and 1/3 of a piece of turkey bacon around them, stabbed them with a toothpick and baked in my toaster oven at 45o degrees for about 12 minutes:

And here is what they looked like approximately four seconds later:

I suggest you try it.