PESTO

PESTO

I got some beautiful basil at my farmer’s market and decided it was time for PESTO making.
I didn’t have any pine nuts, as usual. I’ve used cashews in the past, but didn’t have any of those, so I used what I had, almonds and pecans.
So here’s my current recipe, and it turned out great!

3 Cups of fresh basil leaves
some grated parmesan, about 2 T (mine was coarsely shredded with my mueli grater and was maybe a tad more than this. I think you can do more or less.)
3 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup of nuts (I slivered my whole almonds and broke the pecan halves into bits to make work easier in the processor)
1/8 C water
1/8 C olive oil, or more as you like
½ teaspoon of lemon juice
salt

Process the nuts in your machine (I used a food processor but a blender will work) then add some water, and blend more. After that I added the cheese and garlic and processed a bit before gradually adding the basil leaves. Add your lemon juice (or not) and then gradually add the olive oil & some salt. Taste. Add more olive oil until you get the texture and taste you like.
You can easily play with the proportions.

This is very yummy! And healthy.

Apple Cake

Cinnamon Apple Cake (from Paula Smith)
Ingredients
• 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup stick margarine, softened (I used butter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 ounces block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened (about 3/4 cup)[ I used regular ]
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups chopped peeled Rome apple (about 2 large) [I used other apples]
• Cooking spray
Preparation
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, margarine, vanilla, and cream cheese at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, beating at low speed until blended.
• Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Combine 2 tablespoons cinnamon mixture and apple in a bowl, and stir apple mixture into batter. Pour batter into an 8-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray, and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture.
• Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack, and cut using a serrated knife.
• Note: You can also make this cake in a 9-inch square cake pan or a 9-inch springform pan; just reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.
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This recipe came from my friend Paula.

Turtle Cookies

The original name of these cookies is Snappy Turtle cookies & is a Bake-Off© Classic, which we didn’t know. We thought Mom made up the recipe!

Process - Cream: ½ C butter, 1/2C brown sugar (packed)

Add: 1 egg + 1 egg yolk (save the egg white) & 1/4t vanilla (optional from original recipe 1/8t maple flavoring)

Sift & add: 1 ½ C flour, ¼ t baking soda, ¼ t salt

Roll 1t of dough into a ball. Dip bottom in egg white. Place 3 pieces of pecan into the bottom.

Bake: 12 – 15 minutes on greased baking sheet (I have a non-stick so could eliminate grease)     Frost when cool.

Frosting: Cream 2 T softened butter, 1 C of powdered sugar

Add: ¼ C cocoa,  2 T water, ½ t vanilla

Mix Well.

We three daughters of my mother, grew up thinking that this was our mother’s original recipe. I even entered into a bake-off a number of years ago using it. Last year, my older sister shared an article with me that showed the originator of the recipe and told her story. The original name of the cookies was Snappy Turtle Cookies by Beatrice Harlib of Chicago, Illinois. She was the 1952 Grand Prize winner of the Bake-Off© contest #4. It has now earned the title of Bake-Off© Contest classic. What a hoot to learn the history of this favorite cookie of ours.  Beatrice used a different frosting. Here is the original frosting: 1/3 c semi-sweet chocolate chips, 3 T milk, 1 T margarine or butter, 1 C powdered sugar. Melt the chips with the butter & milk. Remove from heat, add powdered sugar. Mix well.  We can’t tell mom about this, as she doesn’t have the mental capacity to remember where she got the recipe, or appreciate this story.

English Toffee squares

This gallery contains 5 photos.

I decided to warm up the kitchen with some baking on this chilly day. Snow is still on the ground, it’s wintery wonderland out there.   English Toffee Squares 1 C butter or margarine, softened1 C sugar 1 egg, separated … Continue reading →

Mica’s vegan Apple Cake

This is what Mica sent me:I think I may have just made the best Apple Cake ever.

Made 2 round pans (but could also do one large sheet cake or 2 small loafs, i bet!) I (Mim) used a bundt pan.

2/3 C Oil

1.5 C Brown Sugar (or other dry sweetner)

3C Apple Sauce (I made the apple sauce – I think that might be key)

4 C Flour

1t Salt

3 t Baking Powder

2 t Baking Soda

2T Cider Vinegar

2t Cinnamon (1t Nutmeg, 1t Allspice or other similar spices)

Pre-heat oven 350 Degrees F.

Mix Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt and Spice in one large bowl. Mix Oil, Sugar, Apple Sauce in another bowl. Add vinegar and gently stir into wet ingredients.  Slowly mix Dry mix into wet mix. Pour into oiled and lightly floured pan/s.

Bake 35-40 min or until knife comes out clean from center of cake.

Because I (Mim) used the bundt pan, I ended having to bake the cake for 50 or 60 minutes. It’s a dense cake, very moist, not too sweet, and my honey says that it tastes good heated in the toaster with a shmear of cream cheese on it.

Banana Cake, circa 1965, redux

This is from the Settlement Cookbook. It’s really good.  This is a second posting of this recipe. You can scroll down and see photos of my process, but here is the recipe again. It’s just so basic and good.

1/2 C butter, 1 1/4 C sugar, 2 eggs, 1 t baking soda, 4 T sour cream, 1 C mashed  bananas, 1 1/2 C cake flour, 1/4 t salt, 1 t vanilla

I never have cake flour, so here’s what I do. Measure out the flour as in the recipe, then take away 3 T of the flour and replace with 3/4 T of corn starch.

Okay, here’s how to make the cake. Dissolve the baking soda in the sour cream. Cream the butter with the sugar, added slightly beaten eggs, and add the sour cream/soda mix. Beat well. Add bananas, flour, salt, and vanilla. Mix well.  Bake in a well-greased and floured 9″ tube pan. Bake at 350F for 35 to 45 minutes. Test with a toothpick to see when done. Cool for a few minutes in pan before turning out onto a plate.

Sorry for the confusion with my photo. I didn’t take any of the banana cake but it pretty much looks like the sweet potato cake, ha ha ha!

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

I recently scored a bunch of organic sweet potatoes from our local farmer and made this cake for the gathering we had at our house for the visiting Iranian musical group, Shanbezadeh. They played at the Richmond Folk Festival this past weekend. I’ve possibly posted this recipe before, maybe last winter, but it’s worth repeating. I served it with unsweetened whipped cream. Yum. A big hit.

Sweet Potato Pound Cake (from Caryn Phillips)

3 C flour

¾ C of oil (or 1 C butter or soy margarine)

2 ½ C mashed sweet potatoes (I used 1 ½ & it worked okay)

2 C sugar

½ C shredded coconut

4 eggs

1 t vanilla extract

2 t baking powder

¼ t salt

1 t cinnamon

½ t nutmeg

1 t baking soda

½ C chopped pecans

350° oven, 10 C greased Bundt or similar pan

Cream together the oil (or softened butter) and the sugar. Stir in the mashed sweet potatoes, beating until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and spices. Gently add the flour mixture to the sweet potato mixture.  Add vanilla and mix gently. The batter should be thick. Stir in the chopped nuts and coconut. Spoon into the Bundt pan. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. When cool, dust with powdered sugar or make an icing to pour over the hot cake.

Icing: grated rind of 1 orange or lemon

Juice of one lemon

Powdered sugar

Mix ingredients adding enough powdered sugar to create desired consistency.

Spread over HOT cake.

Note: I used sweetened cocoanut and wowee this cake is mighty sweet so if you want a less sweet result, use unsweetened cocoanut or decrease sugar a little, though I’m not sure about the chemistry of reducing dry sweetener in a baked item.