Do you say Pudding or Pud'ng?

I love to watch the PBS (Public Broadcasting Station) channel, especailly the cooking shows. We were watching Rachel Allen's PBS show, Rachel’s Favorite Food at Home last Saturday and saw this really easy recipe she made. It looks so good that I had to make it right away. Except, I was missing 1 ingredient, so I had to put the recipe on hold.
I have read from a few blogs that this is not her recipe but a recipe by Bill Granger. But she has this recipe in her cookbook(Rachel's Favorite Food at Home) because she just loves it so much. After I made it, I love it so much as well!!!
Ok, ok, I will now tell you what recipe I am talking about. It is a Banana Butterscotch Pudding Cake. It is a pudding and it is a cake, what more can you ask for? Here is the recipe and you can now go make it and enjoy it.

Ingredients (translated into US measurements from a UK recipe)
For the pudding:
1/2 cup + 1 TBSP plain flour
3 level tsp baking powder
1/2 cup + 1 TBSP sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 banana, mashed (I used 2 bananas)
1 cup milk (I used 1/2 milk and 1/2 Half & Half)
1 tsp vanilla extract
7 TBSP butter, melted
For the topping:
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
2 TBSP light corn syrup (I used dark corn syrup and this was the ingredient I didn't have on hand!)
1/2 cup + 2 TBSP boiling water

Instructions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2) Mix the wet ingredients (egg, butter, mashed banana, milk + vanilla) into one bowl.  In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar + baking powder).  Incorporate the wet mixture into the dry.
3) Pour into a well-greased baking dish (has to be at least 2" deep and 9" wide) (Note – the 2″ sides are important.  If you use a 1 1/2″ side pie dish the mixture will boil over and spill out into your oven.)
4) To make the topping, in a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, corn syrup and water to a boil.  Pour immediately (and carefully!) over the pudding/cake batter, distributing evenly in a figure 8 motion.  Don’t worry when the “topping” inevitably sinks to the bottom.  Bits of it will rise to the top while it’s baking and will form a nice crust. (Let me warn you ahead of time, when I poured mine in the batter, it didn't look very good at all)
5) Bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a skewer.  Let cool for at least 15-20 minutes before serving to allow everything to set properly.
6) Serve warm. You can serve it with whip cream or ice cream. I like it just by itself.

Golden Fall Friday

Happy Fall everyone. Fall is our favorite time of the year. Fall is apple picking time, pumpkin picking time, apple cider and apple donuts time, pumpkin pies/cakes/donuts, fall foliage time and best of all,

Fall is snuggle time!

Do you love Fall season? What is your favorite Fall activity?

I wanted to share with you this delicious pumpkin bars recipe. I made these yummyness 2 weeks ago, if you love pumpkin, you would LOVE these! I found the recipe here. It is so easy (now a days, I am all about easy recipes that I can whip up quickly or make it with my little boy).

Old World Pumpkin Bars

CRUST:

1 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. quick oatmeal
1/2 c. butter

Mix and press in bottom of 9"x12" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

FILLING:

2 c. canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 c. evaporated milk
3/4 c. white sugar
1/2 tsp. ginger

Mix and pour over crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

TOPPING:

1/2 c. pecans
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar

Mix and sprinkle on top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes more.

Cool before serving. Serve with Cool whip or whipped cream. 

Zucchinis

If you are a gardener, by now you probably have zucchinis coming out of your ears! What to do with all that zucchinis? You can eat them right away, or freeze them for later use, give some away to families and friends but you are still left with loads and loads of zucchinis!

Have no fear my friends. I've got some recipes for you to help you "get rid" of those zucchinis. I was over at my friend's Lena's blog and saw her grandmother's recipes for pickles. I thought I would give that a try but use zucchinis instead(I don't have as much cucumbers yet). I hope they will taste good.

I've also went online and searched for some Zucchini Pickles and Zucchini Relish. I've never made these recipes before. If you do try them, please write back to me and let me know how they turn out.

You can also make zucchini bread(s). Hubby loves zucchini bread, that's the only way he would eat zucchinis. The recipe I have is actually a Banana bread recipe, I just adapted it to make zucchini bread. It's not a very sweet bread. If you like them to be sweet, please increase the sugar amount. I've also heard that zucchini & blueberries bread is pretty good. I've found a recipe but have not try it out yet.

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
• 1 1/2 AP flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 5(or smaller) loaf pan and set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well and scrape the sides of bowl after each addition.
• Stir in shredded zucchini and vanilla.
• Combine all dry ingredients(except nuts) and add to wet mixture. Mix well.
• Fold in chopped nuts if desired.
• Pour into prepare pan and bake for 30-35 minutes(for 9 x 5 pan).

Please also check out Vegetable Gardener In the Kitchen section and search for zucchini. There are some mouth-watering recipes.

Wings

Have you ever had grilled wings? If you haven't, you must give it a try. It's very good and so much healthier then fried wings.

It has been very hot here lately. So instead of cooking inside, I've decided to cook on the grill. I've been wanting to try grilling some wings instead of frying them. So last night for dinner, that's what I made - grilled wings. I'll write down what I put in my wings, again, the ingredients are just rough measurements. Please season the wings to your own taste.

Grilled Wings

Ingredients

• 2 dozens wings
• 3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon cajun seasonings

For Garlic Parmesan Wings (I made mine Garlic Parmesan and I only put in 12 wings, please adjust the recipe accordingly)

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2-3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions:

• Combine wings, worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper and cajun seasonings. You can marinade the wings overnight. I didn't.
• Preheat your grill. Clean and oil the grill grates.
• Grill the wings on medium low heat for 20 - 30 minutes. Turning the wings frequently to avoid burning. I was afraid that I'd get flare ups and burn the wings but keeping the flame at medium low to low prevent them from burning up and it also ensured that the wings are cooked through. Hubby went out to check and turn them every 5-10 minutes or so.
• While the wings are cooking(maybe during the last 5-10 min), melt butter and add the garlic powder. Set aside.
• When the wings are done, remove them from the grill. Immediately toss them with melted butter and garlic powder mixture and parmesan cheese. Serve.
• Hubby made his own BBQ sauce for his wings. Don't ask me what he put in them, I saw steak sauce and BBQ sauce. If you have your own BBQ sauce recipe, I bet they would be good. Just toss the sauce with the wings and eat!
• These wings are finger lickin' good!

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Remember a few weeks ago I got some rhubarb from a co-worker? I still have some in the fridge and wanted to find ways to use them up. So I went online searching for rhubarb desserts recipes. I found a few rhubarb coffee cake recipes and this was one of them: Big Crumb Coffee Cake. I saw this recipe over at Smitten Kitchen and her scrumptious photos of this coffee cake made me drooled all over my desk(well, not really).

I made this recipe for a pic-a-nic last Saturday and it was a hit! There was no leftover at all, so the next day I made another one, except I used frozen blueberries this time instead of rhubarb. It tastes just as delicious!

Here's the recipe, adapted from Smitten Kitchen:

‘Big Crumb’ Coffeecake with Rhubarb
Adapted from The New York Times 6/6/07

Not rhubarb season? Don’t fret. I think this cake would be amazing with a blueberry, raspberry, sour cherry or any other tangy fruit filling you can think of. Simply adjust the sugar level accordingly–most of these will need far less than rhubarb does to make them palatable.

Butter for greasing pan

For the rhubarb filling:
1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed (I didn't have a scale, so I use 2 1/2 cups of chopped rhubarb)
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

For the crumbs:
1 3/4 cups cake flour (I used All Purpose Flour and I only used 1 1/4 cup)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, melted

For the cake:
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour (I used AP flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan.
For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

2. To make crumbs: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugars, spices and salt. Add melted butter and mix it with a fork. The mixture will be slightly wet. Set aside.

3. To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup batter and set aside.

4. Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.

5. Using your fingers, break up the topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Weekly Menu

Sorry about the lack of posting last week. To make it up to you, I am going to share with you a delicious, make-your-mouth-watery dessert recipe. If you make it, your mouth will thank you and your family will thank you but your hips probably won't thank you(but who cares?).

This week's menu:

Sunday - Hot dogs

Monday - Grilled Chicken and Green bean Casserole

Tuesday - Bucatini all'Amatriciana

Wednesday - Steak and Roasted Potatoes

Thursday - Nachos, my version

Friday - Mac and Cheese

Saturday - ???

Roasted Potatoes - My version

Ingredients:

• 1 pounds potatoes, unpeeled, quartered into 1-inch chunks
• coarsly chopped garlic, quantity depends on how much you love garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• a pinch or two of cajun seasonings
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Mix everything in a large bowl and pour it on a baking sheet.
• Bake for about 40 minutes or until the inside is cooked and the outside is golden brown, stir once after 20 mins.
• Remove from oven, re-season if nessassary and serve.

And now to the wonderful world of dessert. I ♥ chocolate! When I saw this Chocolate Cobbler recipe, I think I drooled all over my desk! I printed the recipe right away and made it that evening. Goodness, it was so delicious and so sinful! Sorry, I think I sinned by eating it...

Weekly Menu

I did not do much planning for this week's menu and I also need to grocery shop, therefore there won't be much of a menu. I do, however, will share with you, 2 pasta salad recipes. One is my own version and the other is from Taste of Home(I have not tested this recipe yet but it's on my "to-try" list.

Sunday - Sausage & Pepper with pasta salad

Monday - Chicken Parm

Tuesday - I will have to stop at my local butcher and get some meat. I'm thinking Pork Tenderloin with green bean casserole and Garlic Corn Saute(click here for the recipe)

Wednesday thru Saturday - ????

Sicillian Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 package (7 ounces) small pasta shells
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 cup cubed part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/3 cup sliced ripe olives, drained
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 to 1-1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  

Instructions:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water.
• In a large salad bowl, combine the pasta, tomatoes, cheese, onion, olives and parsley. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Yield: 8 servings.

Pasta Salad (my version)

Ingredients:**

• 1 package (1 Lb.) small pasta(whatever shape that suits your fancy: pipette/campanelle/elbows/fiofi)
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green/red pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped jarred hot pepper salad
• 1/4 cup juice/marinade from the pepper salad
• 1/2 stick(about 1/2 cup) of pepperoni, cut into bitesize chunk
• Shredded Italian cheeses (I used parmesan, romano & fontina), about 2 hands-full/Sometimes I use cubed sharp cheddar cheese
• A hand-full of black olives, drained and sliced in half
• Italian hern seasoning, about 2 pinches
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Olive and Red Wine Vinegar to taste

** As always, I don't measure, so you'll have to "eye-ball" the ingredients and seasonings and taste as you go.

Instructions:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water.
• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Drizzle with the reserved hot pepper juice(from jar), oil,vinegar; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Serve at room temp.
  

Weekly Menu

Sunday - Hot dogs and hamburgers

Monday - Chicken Burritos (my version)

Tuesday - Pork Tenderloin wrapped with bacon

Wednesday - Spaghetti and Meatballs

Thursday - "Philly" Cheesesteaks

Friday - We have a wedding to attend this evening

Saturday - Maybe Fish Fry

Do you like Mexican food? I like Mexican food but hubby doesn't. He had a very bad experience eating mexican food once and he would never eat mexican food again(he also hates beans). So as a "compromise", I make my version of Chicken Burrito. It's very easy to make. You are welcome to try it if you have a "picky one" who wouldn't go to a mexican restaurant.
This recipe makes 4 burritos.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 medium green pepper(more if you like pepper), sliced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 box Zatarian rice pilaf or your favorite brand of boxed rice
• About 3 cups(or more, just "eye-ball" it; now I sound like Rachel Ray) shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 large tortilla wraps
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Taco seasoning, optional
• Olive oil/butter for cooking

Instructions:

• Cook the boxed rice according to the box instuctions. Set aside cooked rice.
• Heat(on med high) 1 tablespoon oil/butter in a saute pan. Saute onions and garlic for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add chicken pieces and season with salt & pepper and/or taco seasoning. Cook chicken until it's no longer pink.
• Add green pepper and cook until the pepper is slightly soft.
• Taste and re-season if needed.
• Preheat oven to 350F.
• To assemble: Place a tortilla wrap on a cutting board or on your counter or on a plate(If you buy the refrigerated tortilla wraps, heat the wrap in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it a little so it's workable). Divide the chicken mixture as well as the rice into 4 portions. Place 1 portion each of the rice and chicken mixture in the middle of the tortilla, top with a handfull of shredded cheese. Wrap the tortilla wrap(this sounded funny) and place it in a baking dish. Continue wrapping the remaining wraps. **
• Sprinkle more shredded cheddar cheese on top of the wraps and bake in the oven for about 15min or until the cheese is melted. You can then broil it(quickly) to brown the melted cheese. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

** This recipe makes 4 big burritos. You can make 6 smaller sized burritos with lesser fillings in each.

Blueberry Muffins Anyone?

Do you like blueberry muffins? If you do, you're in for a treat. I am sharing with you this great blueberry muffins recipe. I have tried several recipes before and this is the one that I am keeping and I have been using this recipe over and over.

I first saw this recipe on Cook's Country on TV. The muffins look so delicious that I just had to try it myself. Here are a few notes from Cook's Country about making delicious blueberry muffins:

• To prevent a streaky batter, leave the blueberries in the freezer until the last possible moment.
• Wyman's brand frozen wild blueberries are their first choice.
  

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

For the Streusel

• 1 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon(tsp) ground cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 7 tablespoons(tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

For the Muffins

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for preparing muffin tins
• 2 cups AP flour, plus extra for preparing muffin tin
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

Instructions:

1. For the streusel: Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in bowl. Drizzel with melted butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout.

2. For the muffins: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 F degrees. Grease and flour muffin tins(12 small or 6 jumbo. Instead of greasing, you can also use cupcake liners, easier that way). Whisk egg in medium bowl for about 30 seconds until pale and combined. Add vanilla, sugar and zest and whisk vigorously until think, 30sec. Slowly whisk in melted butter; add buttermilk and whisk until combined.

3. Reserve 1 tbsp flour. Whisk remaining flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Fold in egg mixture until nearly combined. Toss blueberries with reserved flour and fold into batter until just combined.

4. Divide batter in muffin tin and top with streusel. Bake until light golden brown and toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out with few dry crumbs attached, about 20-25mins. (I normally make the jumbo sized muffins, those take about 30-35mins) Cool muffins in tin for 10min then remove to wire rack.

Mangia!

Raise your hands if you love to eat. (Me me me - raising my hand and the dogs raising their paws)

Recently I have been trying at least one new recipe each week and I would like to share them with you. You'll notice that most of my recipe selections are Italian, what can I say, I love Italian food and I love pasta.

1) Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina(picture above) by Giada De Laurentiis from The Food Network.

2) Bucatini All' Amatriciana by Lidia Bastianich from Lidia's Italy. This dish is so good that hubby asked for it again 2 days after I made it! He doens't normally want to eat the same thing within a few days.

3) Cajun Chicken Pasta by The Pioneer Woman

4) Carolina-Style Pulled Pork by Jen Yu from Use Real Butter. I cook mine in a crockpot for at least 10 hours. It is so so so good. I think it's time to make another.

5) Horseradish Coleslaw by Emeril Lagasse from The Food Network. I didn't use apple and green onions when I made mine.

6) Marla's Maple Pork from The Taste of Home Magazine (recipe below)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Lbs. pork tenderloin

For the marinade:

• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (I used spicy mustard)
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoon each curry powder and ground coriander (I have neither, so I used ground celery seeds. Hubby doesn't like curry.)
• 2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

1. Trim pork of all visible fat. Place pork in a large resealable plastic bag or a bowl.
2. Whisk together all the marinade ingredients and pour over pork. Marinate pork in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Turn over pork several times to coat with marinade.
3. Transfer pork and marinade to a roasting pan or baking dish. Roast, uncovered, at 350F for 40 minutes or until thermometer inserted registers 155 to 160 degrees.
4. Let pork rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice pork and serve with extra sauce.

Note: When we made this, we were a little short of time, so instead of roasting the pork, we sliced the raw pork thinly(about 1/2") and pan-roasted the pieces. It cooked in just minutes and we served it as a pork sandwich with onions.

Mangiamo! (p/s: Simona, I hope I wrote that right.)

Porky Pig

The initial title for this post was "Pork on Pork" but then I thought it really sounded like porn so I changed it.


Anywho, I have a recipe I would like to share with you. We eat pork tenderloin quite often and most of the time we just grill it. It was cold the other evening, I didn't feel like going out to grill and I wanted to try something different. So I came up with an idea using what I have in the fridge(bacon, hence the "pork on pork" title), freezer(shrimp) and pantry(cajun seasoning, rum). This is NOT a lean dish, in fact just reading it may cause weight gain. Please proceed at your own risk.

I'm sure you already know by now that most of my recipes do not really have exact measurements, so please use this recipe as a basic guideline(if you would like to try it) for this delicious pork dish.

Pork Tenderloin and Shrimp wrapped in Bacon

Ingredients:

• 2 Pork tenderloins (about 1 Lb. each), cut into 1 1/2" pieces
• Shrimp, the amount of shrimp to use depends on how many pork pieces you get from cutting them into 1 1/2"
• Bacon slices, also depends on the amount of pork pieces
• Cajun seasoning mix (or your favorite kind of seasoning mix)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• A pinch or more of Parsley
• Toothpicks
• 1/4 cup or more Rum or water or chicken broth (This was hubby's idea. Good idea hon!)
• About 1 to 1 1/2 cup sliced onions
• About 1 cup of sliced mushrooms (you can leave out the mushroom if you don't eat fungi)

Instructions:

1) Put the pork tenderloin pieces and shrimp in a large bowl(or you can use 2 separate bowls) and season with cajun seasoning mix, S&P and parsley.

2) Take a piece of pork and a piece of shrimp, put them together and wrap them with bacon. Secure them with a toothpick. Continue wrapping the rest.

3) Place the pork pieces in a large skillet and cook them on medium to medium high heat. Keep an eye on them and flip them to different sides every 2-3 minutes. Cook them for about 15-18 minutes total.

4) Remove the pork pieces and set aside. Keep an eye out for food stealing dogs or humans.

5) In the same skillet, scoop and discard some of the bacon fat(or you can just leave them in) and add the onions and mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes on medium high heat until the onions and mushrooms are soft and a little caramalized.

6) Return the pork pieces to the skillet of onions and mushrooms yummy goodness, add the rum(how much rum or water depends on how saucy you like your dish) and cook everything for about 1-2 minutes more. Don't forget to taste for seasonings. Remove from heat and serve.

I served this dish with mashed potatoes(well, boxed mashed potatoes. Sorry, are you shock in horror?). I'm sure it's good with rice pilaf or wild rice or even egg noodles.

From my kitchen to yours, happy cooking!

Rabbit Food

If you guessed Carrot Cake, you've got the right answer! Your reward for guessing it right would be: a look at this Carrot Cake and a taste of this fine cake. Oh wait, you can't eat this cake through your computer. Don't worry, I took the liberty to eat it for you and it was very delicious, you'll just have to take my words for it. :-)

If you really really want to eat this cake, you can make it using the recipe below. I do not remember where I printed it from.

Carrot Cake With Fresh Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

From The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy

For the cake:

• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup of canola oil
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 pound freshly grated carrots
• 3/4 cup of chopped walnut (I used chopped pecans)

For the frosting:

• 12 oz. of cream cheese, at room temp. (I used 16oz.)
• 1/2 pound of butter, at room temp. (I used 1/4 lb, 1 stick)
• Zest of one orange
• 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Butter and flour 2 8x2" round cake pans and line with parchment paper, set aside. (I used 2 9" round pan)

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs on high speed until light and fluffy. Decrease the speed to medium and add the oil, sugar and salt. Mix to combine. Decrease the speed to low and gradually add the flour.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the carrots and nuts with a rubber spatula.

Divide the batter evenly among the pans. Spin the pans to level the batter. Bake for 45 minutes(shorter time if you use 9" pan) or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.

Frosting:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with the paddle attachment, beat together cream cheese, sugar and zest. Start on low speed and then gradually increase speed to med-high and beat until smooth and fluffy.

On medium speed add the butter and mix until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Do not over beat.

Note: I forgot to get an orange so I made a pecan cream cheese frosting instead. I used the same recipe for frosting but added 1/2 cup of finely chopped pecans and skipped the orange zest.

Bread and Butter

Bread and Butter, a common phrase, but do you know that this common phrase is also a superstitious phrase? I googled "Bread and Butter" and found out from Wikipedia that:

"Bread and butter is a superstitious phrase from the 19th and early 20th
centuries, typically used by young couples walking together when temporarily
separated by an obstacle, such as a pole or another person."

Guess we all learn something new everything. But today's post is really about making bread and making butter.

Nothing beats a homemade bread with a smear of homemade butter. Mmm mmm! I love freshly made Artisan bread(next to pasta and rice, bread is my other favorite carb.). I enjoy making bread at home but I don't do that too often. I don't buy bread too often either. This is simply because most Artisan breads come in a big loaf, even a small loaf/boule is too much for the two of us and it's not as good the next day(good for french toast though).

Anyhow, I saw this recipe for Italian Bread on King Arthur Flour and gave it a try. This recipe is a keeper! It is easy to make(even if you are a beginner in bread making) and it is delicious. When I first made this recipe, I made a braided loaf(just like the recipe) but I also saved a small portion of the dough and shaped them into 2 small dinner rolls.
I'm going to make this bread again this weekend but this time I'm going to freeze half of the dough for future use, hopefully it will work out.
If you would like to give this recipe a try, please go to: Italian Bread 101

Now on to the topic of making butter. I have read an article about making butter in a magazine a few months back and I have thought of giving it a try but haven't got around to it. A few days ago I saw a post at Achorn Farm about making butter and I would like to share it with you: Making Butter

So, the next rainy/stormy weekend you get and you are "trapped" inside the house, why not give bread making a try?

Have a wonderful weekend!

And The Answer Is....

This (picture below) . Thank you all for playing/guessing, that was fun!

But what is it you asked? It's a Pistachio Cake. You make it with these things(minus the shells):

And you get this:

And after you frost it you get this: And if you would like to make it, here's the recipe(I got the recipe from a friend):

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O Pistachio Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I used vanilla extract)
1 cup chopped pistachio(optional but what's a

pistachio cake if there is no real pistachio nuts in it, right?)
For frosting(this is my version):

1 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O Pistachio Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling

1 pkg. (8oz) cream cheese, softened

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

1-2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Greased and floured 10-inch tube or bundt pan.

Mix all the ingredients(excluding the frosting ingredients) in a large bowl.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely.

Make the frosting by creaming the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and pudding mix until creamy.

Gradually add in confectioners' sugar. Add in as much or as little of the confectioners' sugar, depending on your taste.

Frost the cake and decorate it anyway you like it.

Enjoy!

Test Batch

These are the test-batch-Spritz cookies I made 2 weeks ago. It's a new recipe, so I wanted to try it out first. I made the recipe but I reduced it to 1/2 recipe. As you can see, the edges are quite brown(I'm not very good at taking food pictures), so I made a note to shorten the baking time. The real batch came out much better. I have taken some pictures of what I made, will post them next week.

Note from Samantha & June: We didn't think there was anything wrong with those cookies. They were very yummy. Perhaps we should distract mom when she's baking so that she messed up and we get the "reject cookies". ;)

Corny

One of the things I love to eat in the summer time is corn on the cob. I used to steam them but lately I have been addicted to grilling them, husk and all.

When I eat corn on the cob, I like to eat them by the rows. Call me weird if you will. But I like to eat them, say, 4 rows at a time lengthwise like a typewritter. Hubby eats them around the cob. Samantha and June love corn as well. Samantha eats the whole corn, including the cob. June is a princess, she only eats the corn kernels and she eats it like a human.

Ok now here's what I would like to find out: How do you eat corn on the cob?

Sad to say, corn season is over. No more fresh corn on the cob. When corn is not in season, I buy frozen corn. Here's how I like to prepare the frozen corn:

Garlic Corn Saute

Ingredients:

2 tablesppon olive oil or butter

1 bag frozen corn kernels, 1Lb. bag

1 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup

2 cloves garlic, minced

A handfull of chopped chives (told you I never measure when I cook)

A handfull of chopped parsley

Salt & Pepper to taste

A few dash of crushed hot pepper, optional

Instructions:

1) In a 10-12" skillet over medium heat(I have 8 settings and I usually set it at 4), heat oil/butter. Add all the ingredients in the skillet starting with the chopped onion in the bottom and ending with frozen corn. Season with salt & pepper and crushed hot pepper.

2) Cook on medium heat without stiring for about 3-5 minutes. Check it at 3 minutes, making sure it's not burnt. If it's starting to burn, turn the heat down a notch. What you want is for the onions to caramelized(at the same time the heat will thaw the corn). Then stir and let cook for another 3-5 minutes. Keep stiring every few minutes and cooking the corn mixture until the corn is caramelized(golden brownish). Taste and re-season if necessary.

This is a great side dish to serve with grilled steak, pork or chicken. Enjoy!

Please come back this Friday for a very special Golden Friday edition!

Fishy

I have started typing this post a few weeks ago but never got around to finish it. It's finally done and over due.

One of the things we like to do while camping is fishing. We usually fish from shore, right at our campsite during the morning or evening and at night time we would go out in our canoe and fish about 50ft from shore. I, for some unknown reason, has a slight fear of darkness on the water. I'm fine during the day while in a canoe but I really don't like to be on the water when it's dark out (for fear that there might be a sea monster or something that would eat me. Did you just call me a wuss?).

Hubby went out in the canoe on the last night of camp and caught a small-mouth Bass! It has got to be at least 12" long, as you can see from the pictures, he is as long as the cooler. We took it home for future consumption.

Here's how I made it, please know that I don't normally measure anything, so the seasoning is pretty much taste as I go. It's simple to make and it's healthy!

This recipe is for one serving pouch.

Ingredients:

Fish, 1 fillet or 1 whole. I used 1 whole fish minus the head and guts.

A few pieces of cabbage leaves, depending on the size of your fish. The cabbage acts like the wrapper.

1 clove garlic, chopped

5-6 slices of ginger, or you can julienne the ginger

1 small jalapeno, sliced or julienned thinly (This is totally optional if you don't like it spicy, you could use green pepper instead)

1 whole green onions, chopped (You could use some thinly sliced onions)

You could also add in some veggies like snowpeas, green beans or zucchini. Just make sure that you slice them thin so that they cook quickly.

A dash or two of soy sauce, optional

Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1) Place a sheet of aluminium foil on the counter. You may have to use 2 sheets depending on the size of your fish. Lay some of the cabbage leaves on top on the foil, about the length of your fish. Sprinkle 1/2 of the chopped garlic, ginger and green onions on top of the cabbage leaves.

2) Season your fish with salt and pepper and place it on top of the cabbage leaves. Sprinkle the remaining garlic, ginger and green onions on top of the fish. If you are adding some veggies, place them on top of the fish. Add a dash or two of soy sauce, not too much as the fish might already be salty from the salt. Then lay the remianing cabbage leaves to "cover up" the fish.

3) Fold the foil to make a package.

4) You can now cook the fish in the oven at 350 or on the grill or in a steamer. I cooked mine on the grill because I was using the grill for something else. For the whole fish, it took about 20min. For a fillet, I think 10-15min would do.

Bone-a-petit!

Got Zucchini?

First thing first, today is my mom's birthday.

Happy Birthday Mama! Love you and miss you much!

Got zucchini? Got apples? Make Zucchini Apple Bread!

Do you have so many zucchinis that your neighbors and friends and co-workers hide from you because you gave them way too many zucchinis? Well, I bet they won't hide from you with this Zucchini Apple Bread!

You know the 2 big holidays that we have coming up in November and December? I bet your friends will love you if you make them this Zucchini Apple Bread.

Ok, I guess you get the idea, here's my recipe for(everyone say it with me) -
Zucchini Apple Bread

Ingredients:
½ cups Canola Oil Or Melted Butter
¾ cups Sugar
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Zucchini, Shredded
½ cups Homemade Apple Pie Filling Or Chopped Apple
1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
¾ teaspoons Baking Soda
¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Ground Cloves
¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
½ teaspoons Salt
½ cups Chopped Nuts (optional)

Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F. Generously grease the bottom and sides of a 9″ loaf pan.
2) In a large bowl, mix Canola oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in shredded zucchini and apple.
3) In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg and salt. Add to zucchini mixture.
4) Fold in chopped nuts, if desired.
5) Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-50min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.

I do not have pictures for this, actually I did take some pictures but they came out too bright, so I have decided not to use them.

On another note, we would like to send our warm thoughts to Woodrow from NY Bully Rats. He is very sick. If you haven't already done so, please go over to give some words of encouragement to his mom, Deb.

Da Wooster, we hope you get better and get back to your usual mischievious self. We know you CAN survive this sickness.

Am I A Celebrity Now?

Last week when I posted my Double-berry Cheesecake recipe, I received a rather exciting comment:
"Hi there, I love your double berry cheesecake recipe! I represent cheesecake-recipes.org and we have selected this recipe to be in our Featured Cheesecake Section. Please email me so I can give you further details...Thanks and Keep On Cookin'..."

For real? My recipe was picked to be featured? That's so exciting! So I immidiately emailed April for more info. Long story short, my recipe is now featured on this site:
If you love cheesecakes, please check out this site for yummy recipes.

Last Friday was my stepson's 21th birthday! I made him a cake, eggless cake, because he is allergic to eggs. I found this recipe on eHow.com

Instead of using eggs, the recipe uses vinegar and I was a little worried about that. But after tasting the cake, I must say it's quite tasty, couldn't taste the vinegar at all.

Here's the recipe for this delicious Eggless Chocolate Cake:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp white vinegar
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water (I used 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup milk)
1/2 tsp salt
Cocoa Frosting (See step 3)

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" square pan with vegetable spray. (I used a 9" round and I greased and floured the pan)

2) Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Then add vanilla, vinegar, oil and water. Hand mix well. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. (I baked it for only 25 min and I thought the cake was a little on the dry side, so next time I would bake it for 20min and keep checking the toothpick every minute after that)
3) FROSTING:

1/2 cup margarine or butter

2 cup granulated sugar

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

While the cake is baking, cream the margarine or butter, sugar and cocoa powder in a sauce pan. Add milk and bring to a rolling boil for one minute. Remove from heat and immediately beat the mixture, in the sauce pan, with an electric mixer until it begins to thicken to a yogurt-like consistency.

4) Once the cake is done, immediately pour the hot frosting over the hot cake. Let cool.

*Note: Instead of using the cocoa frosting, next time I would use Chocolate Ganache.

Cheesecake and Swimming Dog

A few weeks ago I posted that I wanted to make some jams and liqueur. Here's the update:

1) Made 6 jars (8oz) of cherry jam.

2) Made 6 jars (8oz) of double-berry (Blueberry & Raspberry) jam.

3) Prepared 2 pint size jars of each Cherry and Red Raspberry for liqueur. Will be straining the fruits out this weekend and add sugar to the vodka. Then let it "age" for 6 months and I'll have Cherry liqueur and Raspberry liqueur.

Also made a cheesecake using the Blueberry & Raspberry jam 2 weeks ago. It was delicious! Here's the recipe for the cheesecake, it's really a very simple recipe from kraftfoods.com. This is my "go to" recipe for cheesecake and I always add different things to it to "spice" it up.

Double-berry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 premade graham cracker crust

2 pkg (8oz each) cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 - 1/2 cup blueberry-raspberry jam

A handful of fresh blueberries, crushed

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add in eggs, 1 at a time, mix well. Scrape sides of bowl. Add vanilla.

3) This next step is totally up to you: you could mix the jam and the crushed blueberries in with the cream cheese or you could pour 1/2 of the mix in the crust and mix the other 1/2 with jam and blueberries.

4) Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool and refrigerate for at least 4 hrs before serving.

Now go make this cheesecake and your family will love you even more! :)

I will leave you with a video of Samantha, taken during our June camping trip.