Tag Archives: snack

Midweek In Michigan – Moravian Fruit Coffeecake: Peach Variation!

26 Wednesday Sep 2018

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from Tracey G.

So, I’d had other ideas for this week’s post, but I just made this Moravian Coffee Cake from King Arthur Flour again over the weekend, with peaches instead of strawberries and what a fantastic twist! I just had to report about it! It reminded me of peach pie all the way! Oh my goodness, it’s fabulous. It was a big hit with the boys as well. Once again, not that pretty, but you can not go by looks on this one in judging how it tastes!

The alternative directions in the recipe say you can use about 4 cups chopped peaches, nectarines, apples or pears. Well, I don’t know exactly how much I had, as I had some fresh peaches from a local orchard that I had to use up, so they all were made use of in this, which made me happy. Instead of chopping them, I sliced them thinking maybe I’d arrange them prettily, but in the end once the brown sugar stuff gets sprinkled on top, you can’t see them. Oh well. It was worth a shot!

As I’d said in our original post from last Monday, in case you missed it you can find it here, Mix It Up Monday – Left To Our Own Devices…, it’s an easy recipe that I can foresee making rather regularly, it’s just very simple and big on flavor! If you haven’t tried it yet, do! You won’t be disappointed!

Food Friday – Cake, Anyone?

02 Saturday Jun 2018

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from Kris B.

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Don’t let the healthy sounding nature of bananas and peanut butter fool you.  These cupcakes are pure decadence!  I have always been a yellow cake and chocolate frosting kind of girl when it comes to cupcakes, but these put my old favorite to shame!  All I can say is yum…and, try them!

The banana flavor is all in the cake.  The ingredients are:
  •  butter
  •  sugar
  •  eggs
  • ripe bananas
  • honey
  • yogurt or buttermilk
  • vanilla extract or banana flavor, optional
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • salt
  • cinnamon
  • ground nutmeg, optional
  • flour
  • King Arthur Flour Cake Enhancer, optional, for moist texture

I followed the recipe as written using vanilla rather than the banana flavoring.  I do love bananas, but banana flavoring?  Not so much.  I feel like using two good-sized ripe bananas gave the cupcakes plenty of banana flavor.  The cinnamon and nutmeg are  a perfect enhancement to that flavor.

I also used yogurt rather than buttermilk.

Because I am always looking to try something new, whether it be a recipe or a product, I ordered the optional King Arthur Flour Cake Enhancer that the recipe suggests.  Its purpose is to help create a more moist product and top increase the shelf life of your baked goods.

From the King Arthur website:

“And what IS Cake Enhancer, exactly? It’s rice starch, polyglycerol ester, and mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids – complicated looking words, but nothing to be afraid of. These fatty acids come from vegetable fats, and act as emulsifiers, allowing fats and liquids to combine more easily. They also serve as stabilizers and texture enhancers. Widely used in commercial baked products, they keep baked goods fresh and soft, and help cakes stay light and fluffy.”

The banana cupcakes definitely had a great texture.  Unfortunately, since I have never made this recipe before, I have no means of comparison with and without the Cake Enhancer.  I am going to try it on a tried and true recipe and see if I can see or taste a discernible difference.

And then there is the frosting!  How can you go wrong with peanut butter anything?

  • confectioners’ sugar
  • peanut butter, creamy or chunky
  • vanilla extract
  • salt, optional, to taste
  • milk or half & half

This frosting is perfect for these banana cupcakes.  But I have to say, it would probably be equally as tasty on a chocolate cupcake as well.  And maybe even my favorite yellow cake.  All that to say that it is a really good frosting!  This from a person who does not normally enjoy frosting.

Honey roasted peanuts are used as a garnish.  The instructions say to dip the freshly frosted cupcakes into the peanuts.  Because frosting, the noun and the verb form of that word, and I are not the best of friends, I was not going to dip the cupcakes!  I was proud of myself for getting fairly neat swirls of frosting on the top of the cupcakes.  Turning them upside down was not a risk I was willing to take!  I opted to sprinkle the crushed peanuts on top instead.

The printed recipe says that it makes a dozen cupcakes.  I got fourteen and that was with over-filling a couple of places in the pan and leaving a little extra batter in the bowl for my husband to enjoy. 🙂  I could easily have gotten fifteen, and maybe even sixteen, cupcakes from this recipe.

Confession: I made enough frosting to cover only three of the cupcakes.  I put the rest of the unfrosted cupcakes in the freezer.  I may eat them as is, or pull them out as needed and again make smaller batches of the frosting.

Because I found this recipe so delicious, I am going to work on a “redux” to see if I can bring its calorie count down a little.  If I am successful with that, I will share it in a later post!

For now, may your June be full of sunshine and cake!

from Tracey G.

King Arthur Flour’s Original Cake Pan Cake

I had planned a different cake for this week, one I’ve been wanting to make, KAF’s Caribbean Rum Cake. I had the recipe printed out ready to go, as it was my last one to make in their Year Of The Bundt series from a year ago or so. But then, somehow I saw this one, again, for Cake Pan Cake. I’ve looked at it before in passing, but never really gave it serious attention. I noticed they even have a post about it on their Flourish Blog, that they shared as THE recipe to share to mark their 225th Birthday.

What caught my attention was that it’s one that emerged from WW2 era, concocted during the time when ingredients were subject to rations. So, this cake has no eggs, milk or butter. (When I told Jeremy that before I made it, his comment was “oh, so therefore not good”) This something my grandmother would have made. I’d actually bet money on it!

The other wonderful thing about this cake is, if you wanted, you can mix it right in the pan. I chose the updated version, where you mix dry in one bowl, and wet in another, then combine. I also liked the fact I could do this by hand – no mixer required. And, it was fast to come together, I believe I told Kris that it wasn’t much more effort than making a cake from a mix! The “frosting” is a simple ganache of chocolate chips and half and half. And honestly, this would be good without it too! The whole of this recipe is so simple and fast, it will make a nice recipe for those times when you want or need something fast and simple, with ingredients you generally have already in your pantry!

CAKE

ICING

  • semisweet chocolate chips
  • half & half

I used a square pan, but you could use a round pan too. They suggest cutting it into 16 pieces, and I at first thought – “No! That’s too small!” – but really, it’s not. It’s good sized piece for this cake. Just right actually. Granted, I could always eat more chocolate cake, but this size works nicely. It’s moist and chocolatey without being overly sweet.

After Jeremy’s comment that it can’t possibly be good with no milk, eggs or butter – he changed his tune quickly when he tasted it. Both of my boys were extremely complimentary of this cake, and that’s a pretty good stamp of approval! I had to limit seconds until I could get the photo of it taken! It won’t last long around here, I even had a piece for brunch with my coffee!!

This is one recipe you have to try – it’s one of the easiest and yummiest things I’ve made! In fact, I plan on teaching Harry how to make it – he could just dust it with powdered sugar and call it done and it would still be yummy.

As Kris mentioned wanting to try a redux on her recipe, I want to try it on mine too. I’d like to try swapping some of the vegetable oil for applesauce. The recipe, as made, and cut into 16 pieces, clocks in at 220 calories. I want to see if I can do a bit better than that, BUT not compromise the cake! I will definitely let you know what happens when I do!

Food Friday – Good Morning!

18 Friday May 2018

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Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins

Good morning!  Well, it may not be morning right this minute, but we are doing our best this week to share some recipes that will help to make your mornings good!

Breakfast is my favorite meal.  And breakfast baked goods are some of the best – doughnuts, coffee cakes, cinnamon rolls.  And we won’t even talk about pancakes, waffles, and french toast.  Unfortunately, these morning baked goods can also be some of the highest in calories.  Who knew that degree of deliciousness and caloric content are directly proportionate. 🙂  And muffins, a breakfast staple, are some of the worst offenders when it comes to “not the best choice” as far as nutrition goes.

My goal this week was to try to find a delicious tasting muffin that would not break the “relatively healthy for you” bank.  I found King Arthur Flour’s Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins.

The basic ingredients are:

  • milled flax seeds
  • 100% bran cereal (not flakes)
  • skim milk
  • applesauce
  • brown sugar
  • salt
  • oil
  • an egg
  • unbleached all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • raisins
  • dried apricots
  • shredded carrot

That’s a wholesome list of ingredients.  I did make a few substitutions.  I used almond milk instead of skim milk, olive oil, and dried pears instead of the apricots because I already had the pears.

The wet ingredients are mixed together and then , in a separate bowl, the dry ingredients.are combined.  The wet ingredients are then added to the dry.  All can be easily mixed with a spoon.  The batter is the scooped by 1/4 cupfuls into 12 prepared muffin tins.  (I got 14 muffins and my tin was filled to the top before baking.)

The Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins have a slightly chewy texture.  They are not overly dense, but definitely don’t have the same texture as a muffin batter made with more fat and sugar.  In my opinion, this makes them seem more filling, more meal-like.  I have eaten a muffin with my morning coffee and been satisfied until lunchtime.  Granted, I am getting up a little later than I do during the school year (7:30 seems decadent compared to 5 am) so breakfast and lunch are a little closer together. 🙂

If I make this recipe again, the one thing that I will definitely do is add a touch of cinnamon.  The recipe calls for no added flavor – spices or extracts.  I do think that there is plenty of room in the basic recipe to customize it to your particular liking – variations in the choice of fruits and flavorings.

If you make these muffins, please share your customized recipes!

Wishing you all a summer filled with good mornings!

For those who are interested, each muffin is 6 Weight Watchers points.

King Arthur Flour’s Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins

 

Roasted Strawberry Cream Cheese Rolls

My wonderful partner in crime, Kris of course, gifted me with the latest edition of KAF’s Sift Magazine a few weeks ago. As soon as I saw it, right on the front cover was this photo of these wonderful looking rolls, cinnamon roll-esque, not with cinnamon filling but strawberry filling – I knew I HAD to make these. I would have made them regardless if I was making them for our Food Friday, but making them for this was much more fun!

I present to you King Arthur Flour’s Roasted Strawberry Cream Cheese Rolls. I think what grabbed me even more than the photo that had me drooling, was the fact that it says “Roasted Strawberry”, I’ve never roasted strawberries. I was intrigued. And then, as if I needed more of an incentive, you can use either fresh OR frozen berries! This is something that can be made year-round, not just during strawberry season since frozen berries are acceptable.

The ingredient list looks lengthy, but it’s really not. Most items are likely already in your pantry:

DOUGH

  •  milk
  •  cream cheese
  • unsalted butter
  •  granulated sugar
  • large egg
  •  active dry or instant yeast
  •  salt
  •  King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

FILLING

  •  fresh or frozen strawberries
  •  granulated sugar
  •  Instant ClearJel
  •  ground cinnamon
  •  grated orange peel (zest)

FROSTING

  •  cream cheese
  •  confectioners’ sugar
  •  vanilla extract
  •  milk or cream

I actually did this in 2 days, not because it was long and complicated, but because of time constraints I was working with, it just was easier for me. So, I roasted the berries one day, took them to the point just before thickening them and popped them into the fridge, to be finished the next day. And it worked well!

The only out of the ordinary ingredient is KAF’s Instant ClearJel. I happen to have it around because once I tried it for other projects, I’ve grown to really appreciate a thickener that’s instant – no heat required.

And cheated a bit, as I used was my latest acquisition from KAF, the Orange Citrus Oil. I used it in place of the of the orange zest called for in the berry filling. Worked wonderfully! (I now have the trio as I already have the Lemon Oil and Lime Oil, they have come in handy so many times and little goes a long way!)

So it was really easy to pull together, I roasted the berries and got the filling mixed up in a jiffy, the dough was easy to prepare as well. The dough was also really easy to work with, nice texture and it behaved beautifully. I hate it when I have to argue and fight with a dough I need to do certain things!

Once I patted (then I used my rolling pin because it actually was quicker!) the dough into the prescribed shape, I slathered the filling on and rolled it up.

Now, after you get that done, it’s time to cut the rolls. I had a super sharp knife, but still wish I’d gotten some dental floss to use to cut them, less mushing. And I wish I’d known about the idea (I read it in the reviews after the fact!) to refrigerate the roll for a bit BEFORE cutting – less smushing out of the filling.

Once they’re cut and in the pan, you let them rise for about an hour, then bake! While they’re baking, I mixed up the frosting in a small bowl. After they come out of the oven, you let them cool to lukewarm then put the icing on. I think mine were a bit too cool, as it really didn’t “melt” a bit, but that’s ok – tastes just fine!

I absolutely love these rolls, they are so yummy! The roasted berries are a wonderful thing, I wasn’t sure about what they would  bring to the party, but they are definitely a star guest! Wow, they add all kinds of yummy goodness. Jeremy is already asking for more and has all kinds of ideas for fillings, I’m in trouble I think…

 

Mix It Up Friday – Circles and Bars

29 Sunday Apr 2018

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from Tracey G

Buttermilk Doughnut Mix from King Arthur Flour

I’m really glad it was mix week – I’ve had one heck of a week that has not left me in the best of dispositions! To give you an example, one of the mornings getting Harry’s breakfast ready before school, I went to get the new Hershey’s syrup out of my cabinet. Somehow, my 90% full KAF Vanilla fell, the cap shattered and I watched at the very least, 1/3 of it pour out onto my kitchen floor. Now, I’m sure you’re all aware of vanilla prices these days so I know you’ll understand when I say I was literally almost in tears!

And that’s just one of the things this past week, so yep, I was ready for something easy and yummy. Enter the King Arthur Flour Buttermilk Doughnut Mix. This qualified as easy and it gave me a chance to play with my Doughnut Pan I’d bought from them awhile ago! Yes!

Ingredients you supply are simple:

  • Eggs
  • Melted Butter or Vegetable Oil
  • Milk or Water

That’s it. As most of you know since I mention it enough, I am watching my cholesterol, so I used the vegetable oil instead of melted butter, and water instead of milk. Mixed it up in one bowl, poured into my prepared-with-cooking-spray doughnut pan and baked about 10 minutes. I got 8 out the batch, they state 6 as the norm. Another thing about their doughnut mixes, I know Kris has mentioned before, is that they give you two individual packages of mix – and each makes 6. Which works out really nicely I think!

I just made an easy glaze I kind of whipped up by winging it, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and some corn syrup, and added some pink color. Spooned it over and added white sprinkles. Done.

This is not necessarily a “plain vanilla-type” doughnut, it does have a hint of cinnamon as well. So, don’t expect a “plain” doughnut, even though it’s very light, it’s still there. But I guess I will leave this on the review of Harry-the-9-year-old:

“I love your doughnuts mom!!” and he ate 3-4 of the 8… ’nuff said.

from Kris B.

Trail Bar Mix

I too am thankful that this was mix week, but not because my vanilla shattered all over the kitchen floor; it was just a super busy week (as is evidenced by the fact that we are posting Food Friday on Sunday. :-))

I go in fits and spirts of making homemade granola, but have never gotten on the granola bar making bandwagon.  When I saw the King Arthur Flour Trail Bar Mix, I figured it would be a good first step toward homemade trail bars.

The Trail Bar Mix contains whole grain oats, cane sugar, oat flour, cranberries, whole millet, chia seeds, molasses, flax seeds, cornstarch and salt.

To this mix you add:

  • 1/2 stick melted butter *
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon water*

*The mix offers slight variations in the amounts of added ingredients depending on whether you prefer chewy or crunch bars.  I made the chewy bars using the above list of ingredients.  For crunch bars, the water is eliminated and the amount of butter is increased to 3/4 of a stick.

One of the reasons that I have shied away from making bars is that I don’t regularly keep all of the grains and seeds in my pantry.  Making the bars from a mix relieves that burden!

I loved the texture of these bars.  anything with oatmeal in almost always is a winner for me.  I found these bars to be a tad too sweet.  But I must add here that I have not had any sugar other than that which is naturally occurring in fruit for six weeks or so.  No cookies or baked goods!  It’s killing me, but the scale is happy. 🙂  Anyway, that may be why these bars tasted overly sweet to me.  That said, the rest of my family gobbled them up!

 

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Food Friday – Whose Side Are You On?

13 Friday Apr 2018

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  • from Kris B.

Parmesan Puffs

I haven’t been baking loaves of bread lately because I don’t want to be eating entire loaves of bread, but I wanted a littler something more interesting than crackers to have with soups and salads.  In my search of the King Arthur website, I found these Parmesan Puffs.  They seemed to fit the bill!

I am traveling this weekend so I had to bake before I left.  Because of a crazy work and performance schedule, the time that I had to do this was at 9:00pm on Tuesday evening.  I wasn’t thrilled about this, but you gotta do what you gotta do.  As I look back, this was actually a good thing.  It made me realize just how quick and easy this recipe is – an hour from start to finish!

To make the dough, water, butter, salt and pepper, are placed in a saucepan and brought to a rolling boil.  At that point, the flour is added immediately and stirred until it forms a cohesive ball.  The moisture is then removed from the heat and transferred to a mixer bowl.  The cheese is beat in and then the eggs, one at a time.  You want the dough to be smooth and shiny, with a pudding-like texture.

My daughter, you is a professionally trained pastry chef, asked if I did “the snot test” on my dough.  “The what?” She said that in school they were taught to do this dough to test the dough of their Gougeres (the fancy names for these puffs).  To perform this test, pinch a small amount of dough between your thumb and index finger.  The dough should stick and stretch as your fingers are moved apart.  If it does, your dough passes the snot test and should puff in the oven.

Using a tablespoon scoop, the dough is portioned onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.  The recipe makes 30 puffs.  You will need two baking pans to allow space between the individual puffs.  PLace them in a 425 degree oven and bake.  The instructions say to bake for 35-45 minutes.

I feel like my oven is on the “cool side,” and I baked mine for a little over 30 minutes, with both pans in the oven), and they puffed nicely and were plenty done.

Oh my goodness!  This things are delicious…and addictive!

As a testament to that, tonight while visiting my friend, we decided to make these again.  The catch was there are only two of us and we didn’t need thirty of these things!  We tried making only a quarter of the recipe.  The only problem was that we ended up with such a small amount of dough that it didn’t warrant breaking out the big mixer.  I whisked it by hand, but I didn’t do as good a job as the mixer.  This small batch did not puff as much as the full batch that I made at home, but they were equally as flavorful.

If you are looking for a snack, an appetizer, or a side for soup or salad, give these Parmesan Puffs a try.  You will not be disappointed!

from Tracey G.

Deviled Eggs

I was going to be making some Deviled Eggs this week one day, and then I saw King Arthur Flour’s recipe for Deviled Eggs, and I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone! The treat for Jeremy and my recipe for the week! Boom! Done!

I also happen to think that Deviled Eggs are another one of those recipes everyone should have in their recipe arsenal, because for me it seems, it ‘s been one of those things that have always eluded me in getting the end result I was after. In discussing making said Deviled Eggs, Jeremy made the comment “Well, you can’t go wrong with Deviled Eggs right?”. Well, yes, yes you can. I made the same mistake over and over it seems, through the years, of trying to make them too “fancy” or something, different seasonings etc. And usually they were a fail. I have found, that most, but most certainly not all, prefer a good old-fashioned Deviled Egg.

This is a really good basic recipe, not much different than my usual go-to recipe that I’ve recently discovered, by the way. The difference mostly in this one is it adds the sweet pickle relish – which also is totally optional, and Worcestershire Sauce – again, that too is totally optional. But I used both because they sounded like good additions. Another addition I do like that isn’t on the “plain” side, but doesn’t overpower the Deviled Egg’s integrity, is chopped green pimento-stuffed olives.

This recipe was super easy, the only difficult part was I had a couple eggs that were difficult peelers, but had I read this blog post on the KAF site in their Flourish blog, entitled “Deviled Eggs: Simple Tricks For Perfect Results”, I would likely have not had as much of hard a time with them!! It’s a great post, with a lot to great ideas that make total sense, and made me shake my head and say “why didn’t I think of that?”!

This recipe calls for:

  • 6 eggs, hard boiled
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons prepared mustard; or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons sweet pickle relish, pressed dry; optional
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, optional, for enhanced flavor

The preparation involves peeling and halving the eggs. I then mashed the yolks with a fork and then added the rest of the filling ingredients. It then gets spooned  back into the egg halves. Then, garnish as desired (I did the tried-and-true paprika and little bit of dried parsley for color). I used a pastry bag fitted with a tip, and I’ve also put the filling in a zip-top bag and snipped a corner off and piped it into the egg half that way. Plus,I’ve also read that you can just mix by mashing all the ingredients together in a zip-top bag, then snipping the corner off and continuing from there, I’ve not tried that yet – but I will!

These were deemed very good by my taste-tester, Jeremy. Although the comment “I’m not sure I care for the crunchy bits” was made in regards to the sweet pickle relish. But that’s ok , I can do with or without it as I like them both ways!

Food Friday – In, On, and Around

06 Friday Apr 2018

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from Kris B.

Creamy Artichoke-Zucchini Dip

Yep, this is another recipe that I chose based on my ongoing attempt to be more intentional about what I eat with the hope that I will lose some unneeded and unwanted weight.  I am following the Weight Watchers plan which, at least in the first three weeks, has proven to work for me.  We’ll see if over the next few months the rest of the weight comes off as easily.

Fruits and veggies are “free” foods on the Weight Watchers plan so I figured a recipe that has veggies as its primary ingredients would be a good place to start.  I have always been a fan of spinach-artichoke dip.  In fact, I will eat spinach with, on, or in just about anything.  I was a little surprised by this recipe’s use of zucchini instead of spinach; but hey, I like zucchini too so what is there to lose?  And if my garden produces like it did last year, I should have an abundance of zucchini.  I’m always grateful for new ways to use it!  So, Creamy Artichoke-Zucchini Dip it is!

You may think that a recipe that uses both cream cheese and sour cream would not be  “figure friendly.”  This recipe actually uses both low-fat cream cheese and low-fat sour cream.  The use of these low-fat ingredients is not a high calorie recipe re-do; they are used because full fat of both of these ingredients would make the dip way too rich.

The full list of ingredients is:

  • 1 14oz can of artichoke hearts
  • 1 small zucchini
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 scallions
  • 8 oz. of low-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)
  • 1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
  • 1/4 tsp salt

In addition to the twist of zucchini rather than spinach, this recipe also suggests an interesting means of preparation.  It calls for the dip to be cooked in a bread machine on the jam setting.  I don’t have a bread machine because, well, using a bread machine takes all of the fun out of making bread.  That said, I had no idea that you can use a bread machine for making something other than bread.  To be honest, as intriguing as this sounds, even if I did have a bread machine with a jam setting, I don’t know why you would choose to cook this dip that way.

To make the Creamy Artichoke-Zucchini Dip, all of the ingredients are placed in a food processor.  I pulsed them until the large chunks of vegetables were small  You don’t want a completely smooth paste.  Then place the dip in an oven-safe dish and bake it for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  It’s that simple!

For some reason, I don’t seem to have an oven safe dish the proper size for the three cups of dip that the recipe makes.  Everything I have is either too big or too small.  I felt like Goldilocks in the kitchen!  Lol!  In the midst of this dilemma, I decided to calculate the Weight Watchers point value for the dip.  It turns out to be a reasonable 5 points for a half cup serving.  And with that discovery, my baking problem was solved.  I used six half-cup ramekins making it very easy to control portion size!

Weber and I had the dip on celery for lunch.  It is quite tasty.  I did use the lesser amount of Tabasco; he requested more next time I make it I use “a lot” more.  The 1/2 of a teaspoon wasn’t even noticeable.  And this is not because are Texas taste buds are numb to heat.  So, next time I make this, a little more hot and hopefully some homegrown zucchini!

Snack, appetizer for guests, lunch, a dinner side…the Creamy Artichoke-Zucchini Dip is up for the challenge!

My next experiment with it may be as a topping for a flatbread pizza.  I’ll let you know how that works!

from Tracey G.

Lemon-Garlic Butter

As I looked through recipes for this week, a thought struck me that, sometimes, simple is better. Something super easy to make is something we don’t usually think of. This week, the compound butter recipe from King Arthur Flour for Lemon-Garlic Butter felt like that kind of thing – simple, yet something I don’t usually make or have on hand, which is crazy because it’s an easy and quick thing to make and use! And this recipe is really just a jumping off point to all the possibilities. As I was combining the ingredients, my brain was already ahead of myself as to the variations that this could be put through…chili powder for something different, or even sweet versions adding honey for biscuit topping or whatever else you like. The possibilities are endless, and butter is a good vehicle for all kinds of flavors!

This recipe uses the KAF Lemon Juice Powder, but you can use fresh if you desire. I have the powder on hand, so wanted to give it a try that way first. And, me being me, I sometimes cannot leave well enough alone, and, I added a splash of extra-virgin olive oil as the butter was blending in the mixer and a drop or two of my Lemon Oil that I get from KAF. But seriously, none of that is necessary and it’s my own thing I felt compelled to do! And, ok, I added some dried parsley as it, admittedly, would (hopefully) help it photograph better! A little bit of green in a sea of butter-colored butter!

This is recipe that is actually more of a method, and in this instance the method has amounts of particular ingredients. If you wing it on some other flavor, you can make it to your taste!

This, method/recipe involves:

  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1 tbsp of garlic
  • 1 tbsp of Lemon Juice Powder, or 1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp salt if you use unsalted butter.

You put all ingredients into the mixer bowl and blend until the butter is fluffy. I then dumped it out onto a piece of waxed paper, and proceeded to make a roll out of it, twisted the ends of the wax paper, then back in the refrigerator it went!

It’s just that easy to have flavored butter around for whatever you desire. I am planning on using this on hot pasta and possible a pat of it on a nice steak! And since you can freeze butter beautifully, this would keep well in smaller portions frozen, ready to be pulled out as needed!

 

Mix It Up Friday – Spring Mixes

30 Friday Mar 2018

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country blueberry muffin mix

I am thankful that this is mix week because it is also Holy Week.  As a church musician, that means little free time between singing for the Triduum services in addition to my regular work responsibilities.  Simplicity is the motto that has gotten me to the end of the week still upright and fairly coherent!

Blueberries are a favorite at my house making King Arthur Flour’s Country Blueberry Muffin Mix seemed like a nice treat to have around during the busy weekend.  The mix requires that you add to it oil or butter, eggs, and milk.  I used almond milk and oil.  All of the ingredients are mixed together, poured into a prepared muffin tin, and baked for 18-22 minutes.  That’s it!  It doesn’t get much simpler than that!

We are still being careful about eating too many sweets and snacks at my house, so I decided that rather than making the dozen regular sized muffins that the mix makes, I would make mini muffins.  I got 60 mini muffins. I used about a TBS or a little more for each muffin.  They baked for only 10 minutes.

This is a great mix to keep in your pantry “just in case.”  Whether you need a quick breakfast or a snack, these muffins are quick and easy to make…and delicious!  They have a strong flavor of blueberries, which is what you want from a blueberry muffin, right?

To those of you that celebrate Happy Easter.

Happy spring to everyone!

from Tracey G.

Lemon Coffee House Cake Mix

Well, this week has been quite the adventure, with Easter coming up, an unexpected illness or two, so let me say I was extra double happy that it was Mix Week! Not only was I in need of a yummy treat, I was also in need of something fast and easy!

This Lemon Coffee House Cake Mix from King Arthur Flour was all of those things rolled into one – easy, fast and yummy! It’s a lovely lemon pound cake-style cake, with a yummy lemony icing they provide to top it with.

The cake mix required very little by way of extra ingredients  for the cake you provide:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 stick of softened butter
  • 1/3 cup milk

For the icing:

  • 1 tbsp of butter, melted
  • 1 tbsp of milk (or more depending on the desired thickness of your icing)

Everything gets dumped into the mixer to be combined, then poured in the pan and baked about 45-55 min, mine needed about 50 minutes. You let it cool, mix up your icing ingredients and spread or pour it on. Done. Slice and eat! I should mention that, they also have an alternative preparation with involving these ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil instead of butter
  • 1/3 cup water instead of milk

I did notice that online, the back of the package has those amounts for oil and water reversed, but the product page has the ingredients as I listed out, which made more sense to me.

But that’s all there is to it. It’s very easy way to have a yummy informal treat that does go great with coffee! I have a feeling that on their next mix sale I will be picking up a couple to have around on hand!

Food Friday – Taking Hold of Whole Grain

23 Friday Mar 2018

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from Tracey G.

Tasting Is Believing Whole-Grain Brownies

This week I tried King Arthur Flour’s Tasting is Believing Whole-Wheat Brownies.  And, as I type this I am munching happily on one of these brownies and first thought was “oh my gosh these are wonderful!” Second thought was “I still can’t believe they’re whole wheat!”. They use King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, which has quickly become a favorite of mine as it’s a great way to get the whole grain goodness, without the whole wheat “taste”, for lack of a better term!

The trick aside from the  White Whole Wheat Flour, is to let the brownies sit overnight before cutting them. It gives the wheat bran a chance to soften and blend in seamlessly – I cannot tell these were made with a whole grain flour at all!

The usual ingredients apply, nothing out of the ordinary, aside from the whole grain flour. These include:

The recipe is easy to do:

  1. Melt the butter (either in a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl) and add the brown sugar so that some of it melts a bit (this gives your brownies a shinier top after they’ve baked).
  2. Add that to a bowl, stir in the cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, espresso powder if you’re using it and the vanilla.
  3. Mix in the eggs until well blended, then add the flour and chips.
  4. Pour into your prepared pan (I lined mine with parchment paper so I could take them out to cut them), and bake at 350° F for 30 minutes.
  5. Allow to cool completely, then cover and let sit overnight before cutting.

Not only are these fantastic, they are easy which makes them fabulously fantastic in my opinion! If you didn’t tell anyone they were made with a whole grain flour, they would never guess it all – so it’s a treat that can be a sneaky way to get whole grains into everyone’s diet!

 

from Kris B.


Bacon-Onion Rye Rolls

Spring has sprung in Dallas!  We’ve had temperatures in the 70-80s for the last couple weeks.  There is a chance we will make it to 90 degrees this weekend.  This seems crazy considering what all of you in the northeast have been enduring this winter!  With this warm weather comes the wearing or short sleeves and the potential for shorts.  Unfortunately the effects of all my winter baking and hibernating rather than going to the gym are revealing themselves in the form of “thunder thighs” and “flying squirrel arms.”  LOL!  In an effort to address these things, I’m trying to be a little more conscious and careful with our food choices at home.

Carbs continually get bad press, but they are nutritionally important.  And there is no way, thunder thighs or not, that I can give up eating carbs even for a finite period of time.  Again, I’m trying to be intentional about the ones I do it.  Enter this week’s recipe for Bacon-Onion Rye Rolls.  I was drawn to this recipe because of its use of rye flour and the fact that it contains a little protein.  One of these rolls with some fruit and, or course, coffee makes for a filling and satisfying breakfast.

Despite its name, this recipe only uses 1/2 cup of rye flour to its 3 2/4 cups of all-purpose flour so it doesn’t have much rye flavor.  In the recipe’s defense, however, it does call for an optional ingredient, Deli Rye Flavor from King Arthur Flour, which I did not have.  I suspect that this flavor enhancer is caraway seeds and perhaps some other “secret” ingredients.  The King Arthur Flour website does not give any specifics on the ingredients of the Deli Rye Flavor.  Despite not having this, the dough is delicious!  It’s hearty but not heavy.  It was also the easiest dough I’ve worked with in a long time.  It was a little sticky during the initial kneading process, but I used the dough hook on my stand mixer, which made the kneading easy.  The dough rose beautifully.  When it came to roll it out to add the filling, it was a breeze rolling it into its 12×18 rectangle.  Because of its stickiness, I did roll it on a generously floured board.

Another deviation from the recipe for me was that I used unsweetened almond milk instead of regular milk.  Best I can tell, this caused no issues.  And if there were issues, I’m going with they had a positive impact!  Lol!

The Bacon-Onion Rye Rolls recipe makes eighteen rolls.  The 12×18 rectangle of dough is rolled from the long side and then cut into eighteen one inch rolls.  It is important to spread the filling all the way to the edge of the twelve-inch sides or your rolls on those ends will have no filling!  That’s not a good thing! 🙂

This dough is a flavorful all around dough.  Though the recipe calls for it to be filled with bacon and onions, I suspect that there are many savory combination of meat and/or vegetables.  I think bacon or ham and spinach would be quite tasty.  I’ll let you know when I try it!

If you are still considering your menu for Easter brunch or some other spring gathering, these rolls would definitely be a nice addition!

For those of you digging out of the spring snow, I hope warm weather heads your way soon!  Happy spring, everyone!

 

Food Friday – March 2018 King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge: Gruyere-Stuffed Crusty Loaves

16 Friday Mar 2018

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from Tracey G

Gruyere-Stuffed Crusty Loaves King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge #19

Well, another King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge accomplished! This bread is a simple recipe, and should have been really simple to accomplish – and it was. But it was fraught with some craziness from the get-go for both of us!

Here is how it went.  Our experience with this month’s Bakealong Challenge as experienced in our text messages throughout the week.  Enjoy! 🙂

MONDAY

Tracey: The Bakeslong requires an overnight starter, I see.

Kris: I just looked at the Bakealong.  I’ll make the starter tonight.

Tracey: I have no idea when I’ll get to the Bakealong.  I need the cheese.  LOL!

Kris: Ha!  We stopped for coffee on the way to the grocery store for just regular housed stuff and I remembered to look at the Bakealong ingredients while we were sitting there.  Good thing!

TUESDAY

Kris: I made the starter for the Bakealong last night.  It is not bubbly at all this morning.  It seemed WAY too dry when I made it.  I’m not sure where I’ll go from here.  It will be late today either way before I can do anything with it.

Tracey: It seems that I read somewhere around the recipe that it would be a much drier starter than we’re used to…I wish I could remember where I read that.  It was just yesterday!  Lol!

Kris: I am going to read through all of the comments.  It says it should bubble some.  Mine isn’t at all/

And, its fresh yeast so I’m fairly sure that that’s not the problem.

Tracey: I’m booting up my laptop now to see if I can find that tip, or whatever it was.  Or, it’s going to make me crazy!!!

Kris: I may try it and see what happens.  The worst thing is wasting the cheese.

Tracey: Ouch!  Wasting cheese is a crime!  Maybe it needs a bit more time to develop???

Kris: I’ll give it until this afternoon to grow into a respectable starter. 🙂

…

My starter never bubbled.  I’ll make another tonight.

I know salt kills yeast.  I wonder if the fact that they call for the salt and yeast to be added consecutively in the starter recipe was an issue.

Tracey:  Hmmm…That’s a good question.  I wonder why theirs worked and yours didn’t do what it was supposed to do?  Maybe you don’t have too much wild yeast floating around your environment! 🙂

Kris: Probably user error.

WEDNESDAY

Tracey:  Good morning!  I’ve hit a Bakealong snag!  Jeremy and Harry ran to town yesterday and were going to get the Gruyère for me.  Our little grocery didn’t have it!  Ugh!  In the mean time, thinking they’d bring it home and I could get the bread made today, I made the starter last evening while they were gone.  I checked it this morning and it’s nice and bubbly…It’s mocking me because I don’t have the cheese!

Kris: We need to get together; I have cheese and no starter!  I’ll give the starter another try today.  I seriously don’t know what the deal was with mine.

Tracey: I have alternate plans, but I want Gruyère!  LOL!  I sent Jeremy a text asking him to check the grocery store that is on his way home, but 40 minutes away for me.  If they don’t have it, I’ll get creative with cheddar and mozzarella, or mozzarella and swiss.

Well..other, usually well-supplied, grocery store – no Gruyère.  So, it will be alternate cheese for me.

Kris: I made another starter.  We’ll see what happens this time.

Tracey: I hope it worked.  My poor starter is just sitting and waiting.  I guess I’ll go to plain cheese tomorrow.

THURSDAY

Kris: I made a decent (not great) starter yesterday, but did not get the bread made.  I put the starter in the fridge last night and will make the bread tonight.

Tracey: I’ve got my dough rising.  It was chilly here today so it’s kind of slow going.  I’m using mozzarella and pizza seasoning as it mentions and I made garlic oil since I can’t have Gruyère.  Lol!  I’m just happy my starter lived for two days!

Kris: I have the pizza seasoning and the KA dough seasoning.  And, I keep garlic oil made.  We’ll see what happens.  My expectations are low.

Tracey: Well…I got two “pretty” loaves (and that’s even debatable) and two uglies that will be had for dinner.  At least there are two for photos.  Lol!

Kris: Mine are on their first rise.

Tracey: Sooo..decided to cut one of the mini loaves in sort of slices…my serrated knife slipped and I cut through my fingernail and drew blood.  What a dummy!!!  Scared the crap out of me.  Jeremy came running and declared that I would live.  Lol!  I’ve never had THAT kind of ouchy before!

But…The bread is yummy!  My cheese got kind of over-dark waiting for the bread part to brown, but I will make them again.

I should say that I cut into my nail bed and it’s ouchy!

Kris: OUCH! I’m glad the bread was worth it! 🙂

Tracey: Yes!  This food was definitely worth spilling blood for.  But hey, it’s bread.  I LOVE BREAD!

…

Kris: My bread…#ugly   I’m not sure how to photograph it.

And, I burnt the crap out of my hand taking it out of the oven!

FRIDAY

Tracey:  I’m unsure myself – Mine may be best photographed with the lens cap on or with my finger in front of the phone lens!

Maybe we should call this the “Bread of Doom” since we were both wounded in its making!

Kris:  LOL!  I suspect that this one will most definitely have a “rustic” look. 🙂

Tracey: Photos done.  Now to see if I got anything that’s workable.

Kris: My bread is ugly brown, not really any shine.

Tracey: No shine to mine either.  Not as pretty as KAF’s!

Kris: Time to work on a photo.

Tracey: Good luck!

Kris: Ha! Thanks. 🙂

Here’s what Tracey learned:

  • I can’t always find Gruyère cheese. Two grocery stores and no Gruyère. Stupid odds!
  • Make sure you make the starter the night before and to my surprise mine lived for an extra day while waiting to see if I could find Gruyère cheese.
  • Mozzarella is always a good substitution.
  • I had 2 of the extra ingredients on hand – Pizza Seasoning and Pizza Dough Flavor
  • Garlic Oil is very easy to make at home – I heated some olive oil with some garlic cloves cut in half on low until desired flavor was achieved. That’s it. No amounts, just winged it.
  • All-Purpose flour worked well, as I didn’t have any bread flour.
  • It went together easily – very easy recipe to do and work with.
  • For some reason my cheese over-browned while waiting for the bread to catch up in color.
  • If you wish to cut your loaves in pieces to serve, make sure it’s on a sturdy and stable surface, otherwise your serrated knife will cut through your nail bed and draw blood when it slips… ouch.

Here’s what Kris learned:

  • I found the Gruyère cheese, smoked which was even better, but realized when I got it home that it was processed Gruyère.  Oh well; it worked.  Next time I’ll read the labels more carefully.
  • I put my second starter in the fridge overnight and it worked just fine.
  • The King Arthur Flour Pizza Seasoning and Pizza Dough Flavor are a tasty addition.
  • Always keep garlic oil in your pantry!
  • User error seemed to be the biggest issue in making this recipe.
  • Don’t judge a loaf of bread by its looks!
  • This bread is heavenly hot out of the oven.
  • Pay attention to which part of your hand your oven mitt is covering and which part it’s not when removing pans from the oven.

HAPPY BREAD BAKING!

Food Friday – All That They Are Crackered Up To Be

06 Saturday Jan 2018

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from Kris B.

Happy New Year everyone!  We hope that you enjoyed your holiday time, got some rest, and are ready to face 2018.  We are off to a slow start here at Sifted Together.  Tracey is taking some time off this week to be with her family.  We are both firm believers in no matter what other obligations you may have, the first is always to your family.  So, it’s only one recipe this week.

I still have no desire to make or eat anything sweet.  Somehow I definitely overindulged in the sweets over the holidays.  What does it say that the other day I was craving Cheetos and Cheez-its crackers.  Just to state the obvious…I’m not tired of less than healthy eating; I’m just tired of sweet less than healthy eating.  In an effort to satisfy my cravings, I decided to try to make a homemade version of Cheez-Its.  I’m not sure that Cheetos are even a real food, so trying to make them seemed out of the question.  But, if any of you have done it, please let me know!

I never bought the Cheez-Its, so I didn’t have an ingredient list to work from so I went to the King Arthur Flour website and did a search for crackers.  The Crunchy Parmesan Crackers looked fairly close to Cheez-Its, so I settled on them.  And, because they require only basic ingredients, I already had everything that I needed on hand.

The ingredients are white whole wheat flour, butter, parmesan cheese, milk, salt, and pepper.  As an option, you can top the crackers with herbs before baking.

To make the dough, the dry ingredients, including the cheese, are whisked together in the mixer bowl.  The butter is then added.  At this stage the dough is coarse crumbles.  Milk is then added slowly to bring the dough together.  The dough is then divided into three equals parts.  Each part is rolled into a 1/8 inch thick 10 inch by 10 inch square. It is then cut into 100 one inch squares.

The instructions say to transfer the rolled dough to a sheet of parchment paper before cutting.  Once the crackers are cut, the  parchment paper is lifted onto a baking sheet.  The recipe says that the crackers should not be separated.  My first thought was that this is to keep them from spreading.  They don’t spread at all.  I did separate one of my three portions of dough when I baked them.  I preferred this batch because it allowed all four sides of the crackers to crisp.The other thing that I noticed about the recipe is that, at least for my oven, the directed 15 minute baking time is too long.  Mine were ready to come out of the oven having turned golden brown at about 13 1/2 minutes.  Please not that my oven often requires longer cooking times on most recipes.  The upshot here is that pay close attention to your first pan of crackers while they are in the oven.  Watch carefully for their edges to turn a nice golden color.  Remove them at this point regardless of the elapsed cooking time.

I topped one pan of crackers with just salt and pepper; to the others, I also sprinkled a little more parmesan cheese on the top.  They were delicious both ways!

The Crunchy Parmesan Crackers did satisfy for my craving for Cheez-Its!

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