Pantry Jam Crumb Cake

I recently came across the notion of depleting ones larder full of preserves from the previous year.  A  revelation! I've been canning since my Grandmother taught me while I was pregnant with Jake. At first, so proud of my preservation projects, I saved them. Some may use the word - hoarded. With years of experience, I've realized each season comes again and with it the joy of preserving more. No need to save (okay, hoard). Give, share, enjoy, repeat.

I am an avid collector of basic buttermilk crumb cake recipes.With berry season barreling down the pike, I took the opportunity to incorporate some of my homemade jam into my favorite kind of cake.

For the first cake, I chose a mixed berry jam full of local blueberries, raspberries and wild blackberries of foraged last summer. The second time around it was strawberry-tarragon. I vote for mixed berry.

Butter, sugar and cinnamon = A delicious crumble topping.

Cake. Delicious, delicious cake.

Only six more jars - of mixed berry - left.

For more idea for using your stock, check out Food in Jars and the Preserves in Action page.

Hurry! Summer is just around the corner.  

My Pantry Jam Crumb Cake

for the cake:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/3 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 t. vanilla extract
8oz. fruit jam of your choice

for the topping
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. butter, melted

Butter an 8" square baking pan. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the topping
In a small bowl stir flour, sugar and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over and stir into chunky crumbs.

To make the cake
Whisk together flour, soda, powder, and salt. In a large bowl beat butter until fluffy. Add sugar and beat until well combined. Add egg, sour cream and vanilla extract and beat until just smooth. Stir in flour mixture until just combine to form a thick batter.

Smooth the batter into the prepared pan. Dollop jam on top and evenly spread with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the cake with crumb mixture.

Bake in the center of the oven approximately 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cook in the pan on a wire rack 15-20 minutes.

Lovely warm but equally delicious room-temperature.

 

Orange Braised Fennel

In case you may have missed it, I love fennel. It's a vegetable obsession I've not had for many years but have definitely made up for lost time.

Recently, I made Orange Braised Fennel to accompany a lovely meal reminiscent of childhood - salmon cakes.  Obviously, beyond the fennel was the orange juice. I sprung for a tiny bottle of freshly squeezed - worth every penny.

Once quartered and cored, a nice brown crust adds caramel-y flavor.

Juice, a bit of wine and slow even heat to render the fennel silky smooth and thicken the sauce.

It was truly delicious.

The essence of spring when paired with asparagus. I smashed the new potatoes and topped them with cottage cheese like my mom used to do.

The sophisticated me likes to think the fennel and asparagus elevated this humble meal.

The real me doesn't care. It included everything I love on a plate - memory, comfort, freshness and flavor.

If your sophisticated self needs a "just" side dish -  make the fennel. Your real self will love it, too.

A Killer Egg Dish for All Seasons

Every recipe box needs to a "go-to" egg dish. A strata, frittata or bake to get you through the holidays. We hosted Easter brunch for many this year and I was looking for something easy. Something that didn't require last minute work, but would be served hot and wouldn't be bad cold. I wanted something different so I scratched frittata off the list. It also couldn't include too much starch so a strata didn't fit the bill either.

A fast search brought me to this lovely dish. It was the perfect way to highlight the eggs from the yellow hen house and the chives from my garden. It saved the day - or at least a bit of my sanity.

 

The custard came together quickly in the Vitamix and I made it about an hour in advance. Once popped into a hot oven, it was on the table in about forty minutes. Gotta love an egg dish like that.

Special thanks to Doug for having the forethought to ask if I would be photographing before the masses hit the table. Gotta love a guy like that. 

Baked Egg Custard with Gruyère and Chives 

I've added a few of my own notes but it's modified in verbiage only
from Epicurious.com
 

6 oz. Gruyère, grated (1 1/2 c.) 1/2 c. chives, chopped 10 large eggs, pastured if possible 1 1/2 c. whole milk 4 oz. cream cheese, softened 1/4 t. grated nutmeg 1/2 t. salt 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in middle. Butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Sprinkle Gruyère and chives evenly in the dish. Blend eggs, milk, cream cheese, and nutmeg in a blender with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth. Pour egg mixture over Gruyère and chives in the dish. Bake until puffed, set, and golden, 35 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Immunity Solution

Back when my beloved Borders was closing I scored Homemade Soda by Andrew Schloss. After  playing with some root beer and concocting my own herbal sodas last summer this tome of 200 recipes, well, you can imagine how excited I was at the prospects. The first one I attempted, Immunity Solution is nothing like the infamous cure-all, cod liver oil and way less sugar-y than Emergen-C. Full of vitamins A and C, beta-carotene, bioflavnoids and polyphenols you need this as you battle the balance of cold season.

Here we go....pay attention cuz this is really involved. Throw your whole fruit - this recipe calls for blueberries - and juice along with a bit of sweetener, in this case honey, into a pan.

Add a squeeze of citrus for brightness.

Mash the berries to to release flavor then sprinkle over a bit of fresh ginger and cinnamon.

Heat the mixture slowly over low heat, stirring often so the berries release their juice then allow this potion to sit at room temperature before straining through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the solids and store the syrup in a mason jar so it's always at the ready. Pre-mixed in an up-cycled bottle it makes a great gift for under the weather friends. They'll lub you.

You'll never buy soda again. (except for Pepsi Throwback because, my world would be dim once a month without it). I've also found this healthy habit is really, really good with true ginger beer as an afternoon pick-me-up.

I am also certain the addition of your favorite clear libation would make for a terrific cocktail - with health benefits. Remember these are not just for sickness but in health, too. You'll never look at a cold the same way again.

Achhoooo! Is it 5 o'clock?

Immunity Syrup
Homemade Sodas by Andrew Schloss

1 pt. blueberries or elderberries (I used blue)
1/2 c. carrot juice, preferably fresh
1/2 c. unsweetened purple grape juice
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 c. honey
1 cinnamon stick, broken into small pieces
1" length of fresh ginger root, coarsely chopped

Combine the berries, carrot juice, grape juice, lemon juice and honey in a small saucepan. Mash the mixture with a vegetable masher (or the back or a spoon), then stir in the cinnamon and ginger. Heat over low heat, stirring often, until the berries have released their liquid. Let cool to room temperature, and strain. You should have about 2 cups of syrup.

This syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. (though I keep it longer)

Enough for 3 servings

To mix with seltzer:
2/3 c. immunity syrup
2/3 c. seltzer

Pour the syrup in to a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.

Yield: 1 serving.

Cheers to health!

Memories in the Grocery Store Aisles

Does anyone remember the Brach's bulk bin in the grocery store? Bins of candy bought buy the pound; as a child the temptation to sneak just one was great. The hope mom would give change to put in the locked metal box allowing you to pick was palpable. Sour balls, bull's eyes, Sunkist jellies, root beer barrels, caramels and Neapolitan.

In the summer, my grandmother would host four grandchildren and there was always copious amounts of ice cream. Not just any ice cream - Neapolitan ice cream. Not usually a favorite of mine but she scooped your bowl to order. Lots of chocolate, some strawberry and a little vanilla. At the end, the cardboard half gallon container had deep wells surrounded by the remaining flavor. Just a really cool thing Grandma's can do that a mother never would. It made the ice cream so much more delicious.

It never occurred to me to make Neapolitan candy but when I happened across a recipe I had to try it. So many of my memories are tied to food (or is it the reverse?) and this candy of acquired taste is a fine example.

Especially fabulous if you are a coconut freak, this candy covers all bases with vanilla, chocolate and er...pink. No mind because its striped results are a tasty blast from the past. With all its assumed kitch, the recipe includes vanilla bean seeds. Classy.

 

Melt white chocolate with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla beans seeds. Be sure to save those pods for the extract bottle or sugar bowl. Once it's melted smoothly, fold in the shredded coconut.

This white love is divided into three parts. One third becomes a lovely shade of pink. The last is flavored with best-quality unsweetened cocoa,

I used an 8x8 pan lined with the wonder-stuff called quick release foil. Chocolate. Vanilla.

Then pink.

After a setting period, it's ready to cut into rectangles and be coveted by old Gen X-ers. My homemade had softer, smoother and more consistent texture. And, just as I recalled from childhood didn't really taste too chocolatey or vanilla-y or pink.

Bummer. In my excitement and Christmas nirvana - I never took pictures of these little goodies cut up and stripey.

But the next time you're at the grocery store, hit up the bulk bins. Don't forget your 33 cents to put in the locked box. They'll look and taste same but with presumably with more filler-crap.

You could make your own by consulting Martha recipe.

Either way, it's worth a walk down memory lane.

Cake in a Can

Cake is my favorite food. In any shape. In any flavor. Cakes me supremely happy. Supremely. Now that's happy.

When working on my kitchen gifts class for nourish I came across some inspiration via Martha. Big surprise. Cake in a can. Come on.

I also love to recycle tin cans. Remember? How does she get into my head?

Could cake in a can get any better as a sweet gift? Yes. There is beer in it. We're so in tune - Martha and I.

Simple would be an understatement. An easily  tossed together quick cake full of pantry spicy goodness...and stout. Generously buttered 19oz. cans are the baking vessel.

 

In my excitement to do this project, I grabbed 4 pop-top cans of soup. Without thinking, the proper size was procured but see that little rim? Trouble.

When I explained my situation to my dear in-need-of-distraction-friend Kelli, she directly asked, "Will they come out?" My direct response was "I have no idea."  Long story short they did not and it didn't matter much because I dug them out and ate them anyway. Call it a purposeful illustration for class attendees. Call it an unthinking oversight. Whatever. It's cake.

Per Martha the cakes are removed from the cans, the cans washed and dried and then the cakes are returned to the can for giving. The show must go on and I made my tasty cakes darling for giving. A simple parchment circle punched with a $1 star stamp with a bright green rubber band to secure it. The other can I wrapped in scrapbook paper and placed in a cello bag with a cute handmade tag.

Let's return to the issue of cake. This cake tastes like Christmas. If there were an official taste of Christmas this is it. Really. Plus it's cake. AND it's baked in a can.

First, buy the right kind of can.

Then, read this great blog by a baker with cans of the right size.

Happy Christmas Cake!

The Roots of the Garden

During our last Midwestern warm spell, I spent some time in the garden. I treated myself to the digging of my first parsnip. It was humongous - freakishly so but I'll proudly eat it anyway. This is the first time I've ever grown parsnips and I am going to leave them in the ground covered with a cozy layer of straw. I love the idea of going out to harvest food from my snow covered yard. Parsnips are an oft overlooked vegetable. Look for them at your local green market. Roast, puree or bake them in bread. Add them to your rotation and I promise you'll be thrilled

My other first attempt this year was celery root. I bought tiny plants, set them in the ground and left them alone. The occassional top off of dirt and that's it. Today I will be bringing them all in where I am sure I will cook them in quick succession. This first dug was a bit smaller than I had hoped. The can get really big and knarly looking. Slipped into a stew or pot of buttery mashed potatoes. Heaven.

Though modest, I am happy with the new additions to my garden this year. I will definitely include them again next year. Until them I will eat.

Looking for something to do with parsnips? Try thinking "outside the recipe box" recipe.

Spiced Parsnip Bread
Something unusual & delicious from Relish

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1`/2 t. ground allspice
1/4 t. ground cloves
3/4 t. salt
1 c. sugar
1/2# parsnips (about 2 medium), peeled and finely shredded
1/4 c. walnut or canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x5 or 8x4 loaf pan.

Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon,allspice, cloves and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, parsnips, oil, egg and vanilla. Slowly stir parsnip mixture into flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake 55-65 minutes, until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool in pan on wire rack.

A Honey of a Cookie

I spend a lot of time baking cookies for my kids' lunch boxes. I ask for requests and it goes something like this:

Me: "What kind of cookies do you want in your lunch boxes this week?"

Ella: "Chocolate chips, extra chips"
Henry: "Chocolate chip, lots of chips."
Doug: "Chocolate chip, few chips"
Max "Chocolate chip"
Jake: "Chocolate chip, no chips"

Last week, getting a little crazy in a stay-at-home-mom way, I went against the grain and resurrected one of my favorites. Honey-Oatmeal.

Honey is as near and dear to my heart as are the dear bees producing it. I have always wanted to be a beekeeper and long story short, after one good year, my inexperienced eye sent my bees to a new neighborhood in search of  more living space. I am not yet ready to throw in my veil but until it's time to harvest yellow house honey, I'll buy from the locals.

It's good for our environment, our food system and our personal health. Honey is a great source of antioxidants and a beneficial antiseptic. Think of local honey is an allergy shot increasing your body's ability to fight allergens most prevalent in your neck of the woods. Preventative medicine in a cookie. I always knew it was possible.

By the way, this cheap kitchen gadget is the only way to measure sticky ingredients. Get one.

The recipe is easy and offers stellar results. It can be made without thinking or while talking on the phone, adding to the every growing/never diminishing to-do list or listening to what seems like the 100th time Lance Armstrong visits Elwood City.

If I were a better food blogger, I'd have step-by-step photos illustrating a properly softened stick of sweet cream butter.  Documentation of the technique to utilize for exquisitely creaming said butter and notations on the virtues of weighing flour.

I am not though.

I am just a mom making lots and lots of cookies.

Honey-Oat Cookies
1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
2/3 c. honey, preferably local
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 c. rolled oats
2 c. all-purpose flour
1. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk dry ingredients together.

In the bowl of stand mixer beat butter, sugar and honey together until fluffy. Add eggs and beat well.

Stir in dry ingredients til combined.

Scoop balls of dough about 2 T. in size onto a cookie sheet about 3" apart.

Bake 9-11 minutes. (watch Francine ride her bike)

Cool on sheet pan several minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely.

Henry's 8th Most Important Picture

We had Henry's party on Saturday evening. Henry requested  "ground beef" tacos. Mommy and Daddy added some chicken, a pot black beans, Spanish rice and lots o' guac. Of course, the ubiquitous chocolate birthday cake I've made for the last um-teen birthdays in the yellow house was served. The chocolate frosting was this one, covering the last um-teen birthday cakes. I am hoping someday, they'll break out of the mold.

Henry thoughtfully decorated his chocolate cake with chocolate frosting using Han Solo, Princess Leila and Yoda picks. Nice to have them in attendance.

And, of course, regardless of what I cake I bake (over and over and over) I am blessed to celebrate each and every one of them.

Happy 8th Birthday, H.D!

The Mother & Apple Sauce (Cake) Prevail

A week or two ago I made a big batch of apple sauce with a bunch of apples gotten for a steal at an end-of-the-season market. My children love apple sauce so I try to keep it around in season for lunch boxes, morning oatmeal or to add fruit to (or extend) a meal. After making quarts and quarts of applesauce I have used several different methods. Peeling, not peeling, food processor, masher, immersion blender, food mill. All have been well received with no complaining. Most recently, I used a method I can't recall but know I didn't include peeling. I planned to spin it through the Vitamix to see what it would turn into. Stopping just short of completely obliterating the thought this sauce ever had anything to do with an apple, I was happy with the color and flavor. The texture was a bit too silky of my taste but it was an experiment. Truth be told I was not remotely concerned with the small flecks of apple skin. It's never been an issue before. This should have been my first clue it would be an issue.

Of course, I was wrong and after attempting to serve it one more time Doug told me the kids didn't like it because there are skins in it. Seriously? They say when life gives you lemons make lemonade. I made applesauce cake.

Brown sugar, bit of butter, eggs. Some flour, leavening and warm spices. Can you see the skins because I can't.

 I chose to bake it in a Bundt pan because Bundt cakes look special. A bit rough on the top but nonetheless lovely. Though it calls for raisins and nuts - I did without. Can you imagine the consequences of those textural issues?

This recipe from Gale Gand is moist, delicious and simple. Try it for yourself with rejected homemade (or purchased) apple sauce. An autumnal treat from a hometown baker, the kids have been scarfing it down.

HA! Who's eatin' apple skin now?

A mother always prevails.

Apple-Ginger-Cranberry Pie - Two Ways

Last week I taught a pie making class. I love pie and never make them often enough. In my head it becomes this lengthy process and mess. It's not. It never is. My show/tasting pie was this one...

It's is a William-Sonoma recipe for an Apple, Ginger, Cranberry Pie made for a William-Sonoma class. Can you say Thanksgiving? The recipe can be found here. At class's end there were apples and cranberries leftover. Since I don't like to waste food I decided to make pie at home, too.

And then I thought - since there are many of us why not make two pies? I already had a double crust made, so it was immediately easy to get a case of lazy and not make two more crusts. I didn't have much crystallized ginger left either but always have lots and lots of cinnamon of all types. (if the world is truly ending I am your cinnamon source). I added a sprinkle of ground ginger, too just...because.

A crumb or streusel top pie seemed to be the ticket to pie land. It screams dessert AND breakfast. Some flour, grated butter and brown sugar rubbed together was lovely. More cinnamon and ginger. Some of the ginger was crystallized.

About an hour later I had dessert (to accompany this beef stew) and the next day's breakfast.

The moral (or morals) of the story? Recipes aren't always necessary. Necessity is the mother of invention and can force you to think outside the recipe box. Additionally, crumb toppings are an easy way to throw a pie together quickly. And finally, note that with the addition of vanilla ice cream this pie is pretty much like eating a super healthy breakfast cereal.

Remember this: make pie, be creative, enjoy the process and Wheaties are not the only healthy way to start your day.

Yellow Tomato and Basil Jam/I Love Food In Jars

One night I stayed up late working on a blog I was really excited about. A few key strokes....and it was gone. In the blogshere, never to be seen again. Or so I thought. While tweeking a few things I recently happened to notice a blog written in 2001. In 2001, I had three very busy children 5 and under. To say the house was a "fixer-uper" is generous. If I had a computer I don't know where it was. I had struck gold (or yellow) and found my missing story.

Though no longer seasonal, this humble homage to one of my favorite bloggers needs to be published. If you aren't a food preserver hopefully you'll be inspired. My advice? Remember there truly is no season for canning.

*****

Marisa, the writer of the fabulous blog, Food In Jars reads my mind. Something exploding in the garden? Went a bit nut-so at the fruit stand? No time to search for the the answer to "what should I do?"  Food In Jars saves the day.

Several weeks back the yellow tomatoes were taking over the yellow house. The red ones I could manage but the yellow I am certain were reproducing on the kitchen counter in the night. I love a good yellow tomato but honestly, I prefer a more acidic bite. So while I diligently ate a tomato sandwich every day they were getting the best of me.

Marisa had my answer. Cut, add sugar and macerate for 24 hours in the fridge. I love food projects with easy steps that allow you time to fully commit.

A bit of cooking and brightening with lemon zest.

I can't get better. No, wait - it does. Boat loads of basil growing on plants pressed between monstrous caged tomatoes? The crowning glory.

I told you she was good.

I know it is late but if you get your hands on a bunch of yellows and are sick of fighting the basil you really need to try this it's delicious. It's applications are endless. Or maybe just remember next year when there are illicit things happening on your kitchen.

Did I mention it's Food In Jars?

Little Skywalker's Eggs

Henry is a hard core Star Wars fan. He knows the characters and the plots. He knows which one is number one and which one used to be number one but is now number six. Amazing.

It's fairly typical for there to be many very large Star Wars books around that he's hauled home from the library. This last time, he brought a cookbook. Finally, Star Wars on a level I can understand - or so I thought.

After reading through the book Hen decided he would make Twin Sun Toast for breakfast one morning before school.

He read through the recipe and gathered the ingredients. He decided we should use Lily's eggs since they are smaller. I glanced at the recipe - not really paying too much attention. It's a kid's book, right?

My fancy $5 circle cutter set was pressed into service. These are the sun holes. Junie got the insides.

He pre-heated.

He carefully broke the eggs.

 

He seasoned.

Despite his care and my cooking experience it didn't work for a few reasons. The eggs - any eggs, (even Lily's) are way to big for the holes - if you want it to look like the picture. The instructions don't include toasting one side of bread in the pan before flipping it over to add the eggs. In the picture the top of the bread is very toasty.

After realizing the flaws I overlooked, I told my very sad little Skywalker, I would make it with a few modifications.

Bottom line - it can't be made without copious changes to the recipe for it look remotely like the picture. Kids want expect it to look like the picture. And it should. No cook book should be this way.

When attempting a recipe or selecting a cookbook any cook, should read carefully and thoughtfully, sometimes they aren't right. Sometimes it takes more than once to figure that out. He was so very disappointed. Sad eyes over Twin Sun Eggs are a horrible way to start the day.

We won't make this mistake when we make our R2D2 treats.

Now, is he the gold one or the one that looks like a garbage can?