Pumpkin Streusel Bread

(marks on top are from turning out onto rack)

I saw a recipe for Vegan Pumpkin Walnut Bread floating around facebook the other day.  Since I've learned the hard way not to trust "recipes" on facebook, I tracked down an original version from 2009 by Joy the Baker.  I was fully prepared to follow the vegan recipe, but then I decided I just didn't want to.  There is no reason at all for me to forgo eggs and butter and dairy products, especially when the tradeoff is a cup or two of vegetable oil.  I asked in a comment what the substitutions would be...to get the recipe back from vegan.  Well, that was four days ago and I'm still waiting for an answer.  (I know the post is four years old, but still!  Don't I try to answer all your comments here, no matter how old the post?)  Anyway, I do hope I get an answer some day but I just couldn't wait any longer! 

So I did some more searching.  Shell has a recipe on here for Pumpkin Bread.  I found several other recipes around the internet too, each calling for different ingredients (sour cream, milk, oil, butter, etc.) and different spices in different proportions.  I decided to pick and choose the ingredients I wanted and equalize the proportions to make two loaves of pumpkin bread.  I also naturally wanted to use my own roasted pumpkin puree that I had in the freezer.  (directions for roasting pumpkin are within my Fresh Pumpkin Pie post--which the boys requested when they saw the pumpkin thawing!)  Unfortunately I didn't have walnuts, so I went with a streusel topping instead.  Next time I will definitely add walnuts along with the streusel topping, so they are listed below. 

This recipe worked perfectly for me!  I have two beautiful loaves of Pumpkin Streusel Bread cooling right now, although the boys have tasted it and proclaimed it delicious.  The bread is tender and the texture is just right.  I'll definitely be making this one again, and I'm so glad I have two whole loaves!  Okay, a loaf and a half...

 

Pumpkin Streusel Bread

makes 2 loaves

4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger (I am out of ginger at the moment, but I fully intend to add it next time)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar

4 large eggs

4 cups fresh roasted pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 tablespoon lemon juice + milk to equal 1 cup)

2 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Streusel topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°F.

Butter two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans.

 Stir dry ingredients together in a medium bowl, set aside. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light, about 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually beat in brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla.

Whisk sour cream and buttermilk in small bowl. Beat flour and sour cream mixtures alternately into batter in 2 additions each. Fold in 2 1/2 cups of nuts. Spoon batter equally into pans; smooth tops.

For streusel topping, stir together flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Cut in butter, stir in walnuts.  Sprinkle tops of loaves with streusel topping. Bake bread until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Loosen edges with a butter knife, turn out onto rack and cool.

Kaali Daal (Creamy Black Lentils)

My latest favorite recipe, modified from an Indian cookbook my teenage son gave me for Christmas a few years ago.

Kaali  Daal  (Creamy  Black  Lentils)

Serves 6 to 8

1 ½ cups (12 ounces) whole black lentils, soaked 6 to 24 hours

½ cup (4 ounces) split red lentils, rinsed

Water

1 cup heavy cream

7 to 8 ounces plain Greek yogurt, preferably Fage Total

2 teaspoons cornstarch

4 tablespoons ghee, vegetable oil, or butter, or a combination, divided

2 onions, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped

6 to 8 serrano or jalapeño peppers, seeded, pithed, and diced

5-inch piece of fresh ginger, finely grated with microplane

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon or more salt, divided

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream for garnish

1. Drain the black lentils and place in heavy 5-quart pan with the rinsed red lentils. Add water to pan until it is about 1 inch above lentils.

2. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pan, and simmer until lentils are tender, approximately 1½ hours. Check occasionally to make sure the pot is simmering. If water seems low, add a cup of water.

3. Meanwhile, in medium-sized bowl, mix together cream, yogurt, and cornstarch. Set aside.

4. In small frying pan, heat remaining 1 tablespoon ghee over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and stir until fragrant but not burnt. Set aside.

5. When lentils are done, drain some of the cooking water, leaving about a cup. The lentils then may be mashed, partially mashed, or neither. Set lentils aside to cool.

6. Heat three tablespoons of ghee in wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Sauté onion, garlic, tomatoes, chilies, and ginger until onion is soft.

7. To onions, add turmeric, chili powder, ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon salt, and cook over medium heat 2 minutes.

8. When lentils have cooled to close to room temperature, stir in toasted cumin seeds.

9. Stir in cream mixture until well-combined

10. Stir in sautéed onion mixture.

11. Stir in 2 teaspoons or more salt to taste.

12. Warm daal over medium heat without allowing it to boil.

13. Serve in bowls and, if desired, place a dollop of yogurt or sour cream on top and a few cilantro leaves.

BRUSCHETTA CHICKEN BAKE

I cannot remember where I found this recipe originally, but it was a good fall/winter night type dish so I filed it and finally tried it with a few modifications.  Hubs loved it and I will be making it again!

BRUSCHETTA CHICKEN BAKE

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 can diced tomatoes with garlic & herbs, undrained

1 package Chicken Stove Top Stuffing

1 KNORR chicken bouillon gel tub

1 cup hot water

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Gourmet Garden Basil paste

4 slices or 1 cup grated  mozzarella cheese

• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Whisk together hot water, bouillon tub, garlic and basil paste until well blended.
• In a mixing bowl mix together the stuffing mix, tomatoes and bouillon mixture until stuffing is moistened.
• In a 9x9 baking dish sprayed with PAM, layer evenly first the chicken, then the cheese and topped with the stuffing mixture.
• Bake 45 minutes - chicken will be cooked through and stuffing will be beginning to crust.
• Cut it like a lasagna and serve with salad.

S'mores Brownies

This month, the blog I was assigned for Secret Recipe Club was:

Smells Like Brownies

Originally I was planning to make Melissa's Peach Ice Cream, but I was going to make it with apricots since my tree was producing a ton and my peach tree wasn't ripe yet.  I didn't get around to it quickly enough, and before I knew it my apricots were no longer in season.  Peaches still aren't in season around here.

So I decided to search for a brownie recipe.  For obvious reasons.  ;-)

I didn't get past the very first brownie recipe in the category before my mind was made up:

S'mores Brownies.

The bottom brownie recipe is a bit fussy, but goes together quickly and turns out delicious!  Easier if you have all your ingredients ready to whisk in ahead of time.  Next time, I will sprinkle the chocolate chips on brownies before adding the marshmallows and graham crackers so they melt a bit more.

The brownies were a hit!  Everyone loved them!

S’mores Brownies

originally adapted from The Science of Good Cooking
makes 24

Brownie Ingredients:
⅓ cup cocoa powder
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
2 oz. unsweetened Baker’s chocolate, finely chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons. vanilla extract
2½ cups sugar
1¾ cups flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
½ cup mini marshmallows (optional)

Topping Ingredients:
3 cups mini marshmallows
5 graham crackers, broken
½ cup milk chocolate chips

Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13ʺx9ʺ pan with foil and grease the foil.

 Whisk cocoa and boiling water together in a large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk unto chocolate is melted. Whisk in oil and melted butter (mixture may look curdled).

Add the eggs, yolks, and vanilla. Continue to whisk until smooth and homogenous. Whisk in the sugar until fully incorporated.

With a rubber spatula, stir in the flour and salt. Fold in the milk chocolate chips and marshmallows, if using.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

Bake 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.

Meanwhile, combine the marshmallows and the graham crackers in a medium bowl.

Pull the brownies out of the oven and sprinkle the marshmallow mixture evenly over the surface. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the marshmallows.

Return the brownies to the oven and bake another 10–15 minutes, until the marshmallows are puffed and golden.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the brownies from the pan using the foil liner. Set them back on the wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Cut into squares and serve.

CHICKEN PARMESAN MEATBALLS

This makes 12 or so meatballs

CHICKEN PARMESAN MEATBALLS
1 1/4 pounds ground chicken

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste
pepper to taste

1 clove garlic, minced

1 egg, whisked

zest of half a lemon

3 tablespoons sesame oil
Marinara pasta sauce
3-4 slices mozzarella

• Preheat oven to 400°F, setting rack to upper third part of oven.
• In a large bowl, using your hands, gently mix together first 10 ingredients. 
• Shape into golf-ball size balls and place a few inches from each other on a foil-lined baking sheet. 
• In a small bowl, mix one spoonful of your pizza sauce with olive oil. 
• Brush this mixture on top of each meatball. 
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove meatballs from oven, spoon some sauce on top of each meatball, and cover each with a slice of cheese. 
• Broil another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden.  
• Heat remaining sauce in a small saucepan. 
• Serve meatballs with pasta and a dollop of sauce.

SALTED CARAMEL CHEESECAKE CUPS

Every recipe we tried recently was excellent, but this dessert was melt-in-your-mouth decadently good!  It was also rich so I'm very glad I made it in these small ramekins for individual servings!

SALTED CARAMEL CHEESECAKE CUPS

CHEESECAKE

1/2 pound softened cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

2 JUMBO eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

CARAMEL

6 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth.
• Add eggs, beating until incorporated after each egg.
• Beat in sour cream.
• Pour into ramekins.
• Set ramekins in a baking dish and add water to midway up the ramekins.
• Place in the center of the oven and bake 15-20 minutes until the edges are set, but the centers are still jiggly.
• Turn off oven and leave cheesecakes undisturbed for 1 hour.
•  After 1 hour transfer ramekins to cooling rack and cool completely before covering.
• Cover and chill cheesecakes in the refrigerator at least several hours, preferably overnight.

• Meanwhile make the caramel.

• In a heavy saucepan heat the corn syrup.
• Stir in the sugar until well incorporated and cook over a moderately high heat, undisturbed until a deep amber caramel forms.
• Turn off heat and carefully stir in butter with a long spoon.  Careful, it will spit.
• Add the heavy cream in a thin stream, stirring constantly until smooth.
• Add salt and blend well.
• Transfer the caramel to a heatproof container and allow to cool.

To serve:

• Heat caramel in small increments until desired temperature.
• Pour a spoonful over each cheesecake and serve.

LEMON CREAM CHICKEN

When I first started blogging it was about home renovations that were forced on us when we bought some investment property.  Soon after though I realized that my favorite blogs to read and the women I met were those of the foodie genre.  Since then I have made more recipes from the scraps of paper I collected over the years.  Some were real duds, but some shone brightly.

Tonight the Lemon Cream Chicken shined the brightest of all recent recipes I've tried. So, I'm going to share it with you and hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

LEMON CREAM CHICKEN
1/3 cup WONDRA flour
salt and pepper to taste
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves**
3 tablespoons butter
1 KNORR chicken homestyle stock tub
3/4 cup hot water
1 cup whipping cream
Juice of 1 large lemon
1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

• Wash and dry chicken pieces.
• Generously salt and pepper each side.
• Dredge in the flour, pressing to coat well.
• In a large skillet, melt butter.
• Add chicken pieces and brown on each side.  Remove chicken and keep warm.
• Add KNORR stock and hot water, whisking into drippings until well blended.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat and simmer about 10 minutes until reduced by half.
• Whisk in the lemon juice and whipping cream until well blended.  
• Reduce heat and add mushrooms cooking about 5 minutes until mushrooms are tender.
• Simmer to desired consistency.
• Pour over chicken and mashed potatoes.

**I use thinly sliced chicken steaks which are basically chicken breasts that are sliced at least once and many times 3 times.  This helps for portion control and works wonders!  Since my last surgery and for medical reasons I'm supposed to eat less each meal and eat more meals.  This it happens allows me to try even more recipes as long as I adjust them to feed 2.

Grilled Pineapple Chicken

This month, my assignment for Secret Recipe Club was:

Close to Home.

Maria has lots of great-sounding recipes, but it's summer and it's hot and I wanted to cook something on the grill.  So I made my choice:  her Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabob Foil Packets.  While the name is a mouthful, the recipe is pretty darn good.  Easy to put together, I had just about everything in my kitchen to whip these up.  We make Campfire Potatoes a lot, but I don't remember doing any packets with meat in them, not sure why.

I packaged mine up ahead of time, then tossed them on the grill just before dinner. 

My husband didn't make it home for dinner, so I had two younger taste-testers.  My oldest boy liked it and ate his whole dinner.  I should have made rice to go with these!  My youngest said he didn't like the chicken, but he did eat a couple bites.

These would be very good with rice, and I think next time I'll cook them just a bit less.  I used my own peach jam from last summer, and I decided to coat the chicken with the preserve mixture first, instead of piling it on with the vegetables.  It worked great.

Before grilling, 1 serving

Grilled Pineapple Chicken Foil Packs
Adapted from Close to Home 
Makes 4 servings
 
1/3 cup pineapple, peach or apricot preserves (I used my own peach jam)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I used a pinch)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch cubes (1 lb)
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes (I used 2 yellow peppers I had)
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 red onion, cut in 1 inch cubes (I only used 1/2 an onion)
salt, to taste

Heat grill on medium heat.  In small bowl, stir together pineapple preserves, brown sugar, soy sauce and crushed red pepper.  Add chicken breast chunks and toss until coated.

Cut 8 (12×12-inch) sheets of heavy-duty foil. Divide coated chicken, bell peppers, pineapple chunks and onion evenly among foil sheets. Sprinkle each lightly with salt. Seal edges tightly, folding and rolling in toward the center three or four times.  Seal opposite sides, then fold edges in on last two sides and roll in a similar fashion, taking care not to package the food too snugly but sealing edges carefully so juices don't leak out when flipped.

Reduce grill to low.  Place packets on grill over low heat. Cover grill; cook 6 minutes. Using tongs, carefully turn packets over, taking care not to puncture foil. Cook 10 to 12 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink in center and vegetables are crisp-tender.

***If you're looking for a fun new food blog event, look no further!  Taste & Create is a fabulous monthly blog event in which participants are randomly paired off to choose and prepare a dish from their partner's blog. 

 If you'd like to join us, please email me at 
cowgirlmin07 [at] gmail [dot] com for more information!  

We'd love to have you.***

Olive and Eggplant Spread

Olive and Eggplant Spread

Serves 8

2 eggplants, each 1 to 1.5 pounds, washed and dried

½ cup olive oil, divided

¾ cup pitted Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted

2 to 3 tablespoons drained capers, rinsed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Halve eggplants lengthwise. Then score flesh ½-inch deep in a crosshatch pattern.

2. Rub eggplant halves all over with ¼ cup olive oil. Place cut sides down on a baking sheet.

3. Bake on the middle rack of a 375°F. oven until flesh is browned and very tender, about 1 hour. Let cool slightly.

4. Scoop flesh from eggplant into a large food processor; discard skin.

5. Into food processor, also add olives, capers, remaining ¼ cup olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

6. Process until mixture is smooth.

7. Transfer to a bowl and serve at room temperature with Pita Toasts, baguette slices, or water crackers.

NOTE: From the Gourmet Cookbook, which says, “This is very similar to the Provencal olive condiment known as tapenade, but it’s beefed up with eggplant, which gives it a more luxurious texture and, not incidentally, makes it less expensive to prepare.

Original recipe called for extra-virgin olive oil, but I used regular olive oil, and I thought the spread turned out deliciously.

The spread can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.

BBQ HERBED CHICKEN

It was another scorcher here today of 112 degrees and monsoony humid so we stayed inside and painted the bathroom and a bedroom.  I'm exhausted though so decided to make this simple recipe for the grill.  It was made even simpler by having the lime juice in the freezer.  I buy the fruit and then squeeze it all at once making it into cubes for future recipes. And then even simpler yet by converting the fresh herbs into dry measurements and using a mortar & pestle to revive them.  This was a substitute for tonight, but I highly recommend using the fresh when you can.

HERBED BBQ CHICKEN
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
4 chicken thighs, about 1 pound*
4 chicken drumsticks, about 1 pound*

• In a small food processor mix together everything except the chicken.
• Wash and dry the chicken pieces.
• Pour herb mixture into a large ziploc bag and add chicken pieces.  Marinate chciken for 30 minutes to 24 hours.

• Heat grill and spray with PAM for grilling especially if using skin free pieces.
• Place chicken pieces on grill, reserving the marinade.
• Cook on one side and then turning to other side.  Time will vary drastically based on type of chicken pieces you are using.

• Pour reserved marinade into a small saucepan.
• Bring to a boil over a medium-high heat and then remove from heat.
• Brush over chicken pieces.

*I use whatever I have on hand - breasts, tenders, etc....