Pumpkin Bread

I found this recipe more than two decades ago in a country baking book before Sarah was born and have been making this pumpkin bread ever since. I like it because it is not overly spiced. I have an aversion to any food that is drowned by the cinnamon or nutmeg in it.

 

 

 

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups pumpkin puree

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. ground allspice

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

2/3 cup water

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans or five mini loaf pans. Set aside.

 

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil, eggs, and pumkin and blend well.

 

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and cloves. Alternately add flour and water to the pumpkin mixture, beginning and ending with flour, blend well after each addition.

 

4. Pour into greased pans and bake for  1 1/2 hours for the regular loaf pans and 30 - 40 minutes for the mini loaf pans or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 

5. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then invert onto wire rack to cool completely.

Toasted Coconut & Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I found and modified this recipe for an Olympic luncheon at work and loved the combination of soft cookie, tender coconut and dark chocolate. These cookies will be making many an appearance in our house!

 2 cups flaked sweetened coconut

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Arrange coconut in a single layer on a large cookie sheet lined with foil. Bake for about 7 minutes, making sure to stir every few minutes to prevent over-browning. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

3. Mix together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

4. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.

5. Add flour and mix well. Add toasted coconut and chocolate chunks and blend until well combined.

6. Drop by level tablespoons on an ungreased baking stone and bake for 13 minutes until cookies are lightly browned on the bottoms. If you are using a cookie sheet, lightly spray it before dropping the dough on it.

7. Remove cookies from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

This recipe makes about 48 cookies if you use a level tablespoon but about 38 if you use a melon baller.



Grilled Salmon

Got this recipe out of a low-carb cookbook ... yup ... trying to follow doctor's orders -- "eat more protein ... cut down on carbs and sugar".

Brush the glaze on the salmon pieces and let sit for a few minutes

The cooked salmon

12 oz. salmon, cut into 2 or 3 serving pieces

2 Tbsp. Splenda or regular sugar

1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar

1/4 tsp. blackstrap molasses

Pinch of pepper and salt

 

1. Mix together the Splenda, mustard, soy sauce, vinegar, and molasses in a small dish. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the mixture in a separate dish.

2. Place the salmon pieces in a flat dish and pour the larger amount of sauce over the fish, turning each fillet so that both sides come into contact with the sauce. Let the fish sit for a few minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, spray lightly with vegetable oil and place salmon pieces on it. Bake in oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

4. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of leftover sauce over salmon before serving.

Note: The glaze can be easily doubled for larger pieces of salmon.

Osso Buco

There is nothing like slow cooked lamb, falling off the bone ... so when we got fresh Virginia lamb ... I made osso buco in the crockpot. I've cooked it in the oven before but any kind of slow cooking can be done just as easily in the crockpot. Besides with the heat wave that we are having now ... crockpot cooking was looking mighty good!

1 1/2 lbs bone-in lamb stewing pieces or 4 lamb shanks

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, diced same size as carrots

1 medium sized yellow onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 heaping tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. Penzeys Old World seasoning

Salt and Pepper

2 - 3 tbsp. olive oil

2 heaping tbsp. tomato paste

1 cup beef stock

1/4 cup red wine

1. Place lamb in bowl, season well with salt and pepper and Old World seasoning; sprinkle with flour to coat well.

2. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Brown lamb in pan, making sure not to crowd the pieces. You can brown your lamb in batches. When the lamb is done, place in large platter and set aside.

3. Saute onions in the pan that you used for the lamb (you may have to add more oil), add the diced carrots and celery, garlic , tomato paste and cook for about two to three minutes. The vegetables should not be cooked all the way through.

4. Place the vegetables on the bottom of the crockpot and put the browned lamb on top of the vegetables. Pour the beef stock and wine over everything and cook on low for 5 - 6 hours.

5. Remove lamb pieces from crockpot carefully. Puree or mash the vegetables in the crockpot and spoon over the lamb. Serve the lamb over mashed potatoes or rice. Grate one lemon, mince one small clove garlic, a sprinkle of coarse salt, and tablespoon minced parsley, mix together and sprinkle on lamb before serving.





Easter Eggs

These eggs are so easy to make, I don't know why I never made them when Sarah was younger. Well, now that I've discovered my candy Easter Egg-making skills, we will be having these every Easter. This year I started with three different centers -- peanut butter, coconut and cookie dough.

Coconut Eggs

2 cups flaked unsweetened coconut
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/3 cup condensed milk

1. In a large bowl, combine milk and softened butter, add confectioners' sugar and then the coconut, until all ingredients are combined well.

2. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper. Shape coconut mixture into egg shapes and place on parchment lined tray.

3. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.

Cookie Dough Eggs

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
7 oz. condensed milk or half 14 oz. can
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, milk and vanilla.

2. Stir in the chocolate chips. Form into eggs and place on wax or parchment lined cookie tray.

3. Loosely cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Peanut Butter Eggs

1/2 smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1. In a mixing bowl, beat peanut butter and butter until smooth. Beat in confectioners sugar until well combined.

2. Shape into eggs and place on parchment lined cookie tray. Cover loosely and place in refrigerator for at least two hours.

Coating the eggs: 1 lb. 2 oz of semisweet chocolate melted over a double boiler. I melt 8 oz. at a time. I worked with one tray of eggs at a time. I started with the coconut eggs -- skewer the back end of the egg with a wooden skewer, and using a tablespoon, pour chocolate over, dip bottom of egg in a spoonful of chocolate, ease gently off the wooden skewer and back onto the parchment lined tray. Do not dip the egg into the chocolate -- this will melt the egg. When all the eggs have been coated, place in freezer while working on the other trays.

Coat the cookie dough eggs next. Place the cookie dough eggs in the freezer, and transfer the coconut eggs to the fridge. Follow the same rotation for the peanut butter eggs.

Once all the chocolate coating on the eggs has hardened, transfer eggs to a covered container or tin and store in the fridge. You can decorate the eggs the next day.

Samoa Bark

Those people who don't eat coconut, don't know what they are missing. I grew up surrounded by coconut trees. After running around in the hot blazing sun, we would pluck young coconuts from my grandfather's dwarf coconut trees -- Uncle Tambi who often helped with the gardening would slice off the top and make a small hole in the shell and we would drink the cool sweet water. Then he would chop the coconut open and fashion a scoop from the hard outer skin and we would happily spoon the tender translucent flesh. We drank, ate, cooked and baked with coconut.

We did not have anything like this bark ... chocolate just didn't do well in the tropics. Chocolate and coconut are a lethal combination. This recipe will be around in our family for quite a while.

The finished product waiting to be cut

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
35 shortbread cookies or sugar cookies
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
6 - 11 oz caramel sauce
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

1. In a large skillet over medium hear, toast both coconuts. Be sure to stir frequently to ensure uniform browning. When coconut is lightly toasted, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2. Over a double boiler, melt chocolate. Pour into lined cookie tray and smooth out into a thin layer.

3. Place cookies on the melted chocolate, pressing down slightly to make sure cookies will stay firmly attached. Place in freezer for a few minutes while the coconut is being prepared.


4. Place the toasted coconut in a small bowl, pour part of caramel sauce and mix well until all of coconut is evenly coated.


5. Remove cookie sheet from freezer. With your hands, spread coconut evenly over the cookies. Return the sheet to the freezer for about 10 minutes.

6. Melt 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate over a double boiler. Drizzle the chocolate over the coconut layer and return to freezer until glaze is set.

7. Remove from freezer and slice with a very sharp knife. Store in a wax/parchment paper lined tin.

Lemon Chicken

We like the combination of lemon and chicken. This is a recipe that Sarah found in one of her wanderings on the Internet but I modified it so much that it became my own. Everyone liked it and this recipe is definitely a keeper!

2 boneless chicken breasts

2 cloves minced garlic

Zest of 1 lemon

juice from half a lemon

half a lemon sliced into four

1/3 cup white wine

1/2 tsp. dried tarragon

1/2 tsp. dried basil

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

salt & pepper

1. Salt and pepper chicken. Heat up a skillet; add two tablespoons butter and saute chicken 2 -3 minutes per side, until chicken has a nice brown crust. Remove chicken to a baking dish.

2. Reduce heat to low; add minced garlic to skillet and stir for a couple of seconds. Add white wine, tarragon and basil. Lastly add lemon juice and zest. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes. Pour over chicken.

3. Place two lemon quarters on each chicken breast. Place in a 350 degree oven for about 30 - 40 minutes.

4. Spoon pan juices over chicken and serve with roasted potatoes and green beans.