Misc. Recipes

Shortly after Christmas a friend of mine and her husband went to Hawaii. While they were there they shipped back some fresh pineapples and they were kind enough for share one with me. The day she brought it to me I had just found a recipe that called for fresh pineapple.... funny how things like that work out!?
If you aren’t lucky enough to have had a friend that brought you a fresh pineapple I’m sure you can find one at Van’s IGA! When you do I would highly recommend the following recipe - if you have a juicer. If you don’t I’m guessing you could put everything in a blender but be sure and peel and core the pineapple.

Liquid Carrot Cake
Source: KayoticKay.com

2 medium carrots
2 golden delicious apples
 1/2” slice fresh
1 thick pineapple slice - (unpeeled)
1 large banana
good pinch cinnamon & cardamom and - or pumpkin spice
1/2 cup almond milk
ice cubes - (optional)
You can just as well make this using store-bought juice. Just skip the juicing part and take it straight to your blender.
Clean the fruit. Don’t remove the pineapple peel because, it contains bromelain, as does the surrounding flesh and particularly the core; a potential anti-inflammatory agent.
Run it through the juicer.
Add a banana to your blender and pour the juice in there as well.
Top it with the creamy almond milk. Add a good pinch of cinnamon and cardamom and/or pumpkin pie spice.
Blitz! Pour the juice into two glasses that are filled with ice.

A few months ago I purchased a bread machine and a new bread machine cookbook. I tried a few recipes for white bread in it and decided the one I like the best - so far - is the following:

Instant Potato Bread
Source: The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine

1/2 c. water
1 1/4 t. salt
2/3 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 T. dark honey
2 1/2 c. bread flour
1/3 c. instant potato flakes
1 T. gluten
3/4 t. malt powder - optional
1 3/4 t SAF yeast - OR
2 1/4 t. bread machine yeast
Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on light and program for the Basic cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer.) The dough ball will be nicely formed and slightly sticky but stiff at the same time when tested. It should feel a bit sticky, so take care not to add any more than an extra tablespoon of flour. The potato flakes will soak up the extra moisture during the rises and will become smooth during the risings.
When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. let cool to room temperature before slicing.
When I make this I mix all the liquids plus the salt together in one bowl and all the dry ingredients, except the yeast in another. I pour the liquid in the bread machine bowl first, pour the dry ingredients over the liquid and then sprinkle the yeast over the top. I then set the machine to “dough cycle.” When it beeps I remove the dough, form it into a loaf, let it rise for 1 hour, cut three-1/2 inch deep slices across the top of the loaf with a razor blade and place it in a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes. Remove and let cool on a rack.

Last week I put in a recipe that my son made for beef soup. I had left-overs so I thickened some of it to make more of a stew and put dumplings on top. The following is my favorite recipe for dumplings:

Dumplings
Source: Cuisine Oct 2007

2/3 c. buttermilk
3 T. unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. cake flour
1 T. chopped fresh parsley
2 1/2 t. baking powder
2 t. kosher salt
Warm buttermilk and 3 T. butter for the dumplings in a saucepan over low heat until butter melts (do not worry if buttermilk curdles).
Combine cake flour, parsley, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Stir buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients to form a wet dough, then drop dough onto simmering stew with a cookie scoop or spoon. Cover, transfer pot to the 375 degree oven, and steam 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the dumplings comes out clean.
OR - steam them in a basket over the simmering soup or stew.

Super Moist Cornbread

1 cup corn meal
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
4 eggs - at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 (8.75-ounce) can corn kernels - drained
6 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese - freshly grated
1 tablespoon pickled jalapeño pepper - finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, roasted, skinned, seeded and finely chopped
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
When the temperature has reached 400°F, place a 12-inch cast iron skillet in the oven and heat it while preparing the cornbread batter.
In a bowl, combine the flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift these ingredients.
In a mini-blender (or a regular blender if you don’t have a mini), coarsely pulse the corn kernels with ¼ cup of milk.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs with granulated sugar until you get a pale, yellow foam. Add the maple syrup and roasted jalapeño pepper. Using a wooden spatula, continuously stir while adding the dried ingredient mix, corn meal, melted butter, buttermilk, remaining milk, olive oil, pickled jalapeño, brown sugar and coarsely puréed corn kernels. Stir well until smooth and wet. Do NOT over-mix for a light result.
Place the shortening in a small piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper. Open the oven and remove the skillet. Immediately swirl and spread the shortening inside the cast iron skillet. Add the remaining shortening from the aluminum foil to the cornbread batter.
Transfer the cornbread batter into the hot skillet. Bake for about 10 minutes at 375°F, then lower the heat to 350°F for another 20 minutes. Open the oven; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, rotate the skillet for a homogenous result and cook for 10-15 more minutes. A skewer or a toothpick inserted into the cornbread should come out clean. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool. Flip out the cornbread, then transfer to a cooling rack. Print this post