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winter fruit compote

November 7th, 2010 | 9 Comments »

My apologies for starting this post out using the word ‘Winter’ in the title. Those of us in the northern climes are still experiencing a gorgeous Fall- and the sunshine that we’ve had through the early part of November is dazzling. And so unexpected. November around here is equated with a dense gray expanse of sky that rarely seems to break. It’s a gloomy month, usually, and for the sun and blue sky to be greeting us each morning is a gift. A true weather gift. One that I am savoring with all my might.

But then I go and say ‘Winter’.


But bear with me friends, as you know I wouldn’t steer you wrong. Even with the still mild days of November to wrap around us, my mind is gearing up for cold. It’s inevitable, and I think people are taking bets around here on when the first real snowfall will drop from that leaden sky that we know so well. The first snow that sticks, snarls traffic, makes people grumble inside…. we know how it is around here. We may have resided here all our lives but there comes that first coating of white and it’s like folks have wiped any memory of it clear from their heads.

Like who could forget something like this?

Sorry, there I went and did it again.

But the thing is, it’s coming and when it does, and we wake on those chilly Winter mornings craving all forms of comfort food to fill our Minnesota bellies with warmth, what you should be making is this simple and delicious compote. It tops so many winter breakfast foods like it was meant to be, like the way Winter will eventually lead us to Spring. A spoonful in your Oatmeal is heavenly; a spread across your pancakes, waffles or french toast is worthy of your best food-lovin’ eye roll and exclamations of ‘Oh dear! This is good!’. It’s endlessly versatile and needs no special ingredients. And if you make it in your flannel jammies, with thick slippers on your feet while the furnace hums it’s way to warming your home, it might just make those Winter mornings a bit more pleasant.

And as Minnesota goes, in the wintertime, we need as much of that as we can get.

Winter Fruit Compote
by Kate

1 medium tart apple, washed, cored and diced fine
1 c. chopped pecans
1/3 c. currants
1 T. butter
1/2 c. pure maple syrup

In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the apple. Saute for a few minutes until the apple is soft, then stir in the pecans and cook, stirring regularly, until the nuts are slightly toasted and fragrant. Pour in the maple syrup and reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally until the maple syrup has been absorbed. Stir in the currants and heat through. Serve warm over pancakes or waffles. Will keep refrigerated for several days. If you can resist. Reheat in the microwave if desired. This tastes amazing if sprinkled with a light dusting of sea salt prior to serving. Something about that salty sweet crunch…..

KATE’S NOTES:
Winter pears, like Anjou or Red or even the Bosc would make a good substitute for the apple in this. Change up the nuts, use raisins instead of currants, or add other dried fruit. Toss in some shredded coconut if it’s your thing. Or even chop up an orange, mix it with dried cranberries and chopped pistachios and a dash of cardamom for an exotic option. The possibilities are endless, people. Endless.

magnetic poetry

November 6th, 2010 | Comments Off on magnetic poetry

Remember Magnetic Poetry? Those kits with all the tiny magnetic words that you could put on your fridge and get creative with?

Well I had a book- a magnetic poetry book with a pouch and a magnet board. I used to like to keep it in the car when Griffin was younger, and sometimes he would play with it and try to make words, but really, he wasn’t much of a poet at 5 or 6.

I was though. Sort of. I enjoy poetry and have written some pretty decent words, some that date back to 1987. I guess that ability to paint pictures with words flows from that into this writing here, hmm?

But recently, I pulled that old magnetic poetry book out of the bookshelf. I swear I haven’t looked at it in a decade. I opened the cover and found this inside:

Not bad, huh?

appreciation

November 5th, 2010 | 2 Comments »

It doesn’t take much to change your perspective, the view from our eyes. A moment, a turn of the head, a glance in the other direction, a good night’s sleep, a loved one’s calming words. We rarely see our life’s moments in the same light as others, and it helps for us to step outside our heads when challenged with the bumps of everyday life.

These photos were from the sunset Wednesday night, taken one right after the other with separate settings on my camera. They’re the same, but they’re completely different. Like perspectives. Both are beautiful regardless.

the after effects

November 4th, 2010 | 5 Comments »

Remember this?

Yeah, no big deal, right? A little fender bender, yep. At least on the 22nd, that’s what it appeared to be.

Well it’s not. Not at all in any way.

That’s an Audi. An import. They are awesome vehicles but we’re finding that they don’t come cheap. We knew this, really. Yet this minor fender bender racked up enough damage to this car to make the insurance company want to write it off as a total loss.

But we love the car. It’s a 2003 and it’s worth fixing to us so we’re going to keep it and pray that when they take it apart to do the repairs that they don’t find anything else wrong. We’re pretty sure they won’t. Hopefully, anyway.

Then there’s me. Because I’m damaged too from that 20mph fender bender, the accident that put barely a noticeable dent in the other person’s car. The first symptoms started to show up the Sunday following the Friday accident. On Monday the 25th I was in the chiropractor’s office starting treatment. The left shoulder and left side of my neck are out of whack. When I saw the fact that the car had stopped in front of me, I yanked the wheel to the right, and reflexively cringed when I missed. You can’t help it. Then of course, in the aftermath your body floods with cortisol, the stress hormone and your muscles fill with lactic acid. It’s normal and what happened to my neck and shoulder is not that big of a deal.

It’s what happened to my head that’s starting to be an issue. Apparently, I am unbalanced.

Well now….. we sort of knew that, didn’t we?! 😉

This past week I’ve been dealing with increasing motion sickness symptoms- and not just when I’m driving. I get motion sick just going through my normal daily activities. And it gets worse in the car. I can be 5 minutes from home and I start to feel nauseated, my head begins to throb and my eyes get all buggy. If I drive too much, it gets way worse. Yesterday I tried to go grocery shopping and once I got all the bags in the car, after weaving through the market for an hour, I sat in the parking lot and forced myself to focus so I could drive the short way home. Once home and organized, I had to lay down. This is how my days have gone. By early afternoon the headache and nausea can be bad enough to plop me on the sofa until dinnertime.

So tomorrow, Friday I am having an MRI. And I’m glad. I need to know what the heck is wrong with my head.

feet first into november….. and NaBloPoMo

November 3rd, 2010 | 2 Comments »

I probably should let you in a on some information, lest you wonder why I’ve suddenly gotten a tad more verbose these days; I’m participating in National Blog Posting Month, or NaBloPoMo. Every November, bloggers are challenged to post daily to their sites, and I last jumped into this fray in 2008. My NaBloPoMo then had a theme; daily food holidays. It was fun, challenging and a wonderful learning experience as I gained knowledge of new foods and kitchen experiences through that exercise.

This year, I don’t have a theme, but I do have a desire to not bore you to death and I hope I succeed. So there will be photos, some stories, likely a sharing of ideas and things that inspire me and probably recipes, of course. Some will be new and some likely will be resurrected from my Archives. I’ve been writing this blog for 4-1/2 years and my recipe index is pretty huge. There’s a lot of gems in there, including this one for Curried Chickpeas.

Interestingly enough, when I went searching for some inspiration to help me out today, I spotted this photo and then went scanning for the actual recipe on my blog, only to find that I posted it exactly a year ago. Weird. But in a good way. This recipe is super-fast, and incredibly flavorful, with warming spices for the chilly November days ahead.

Curried Chickpeas
From The Los Angeles Times, 10/21/09

1 medium onion, diced
1 t. turmeric
1 t. coriander seed
1 t. cumin seed
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 T. chopped cilantro (more to taste)
1 T. each fresh squeezed lemon juice and zest (lime would work fine, in fact I think it might be better)

With a mortar and pestle, or a spice grinder, crush the coriander and cumin seed into coarse powder.

In a saute pan, heat oil of choice and add onions over medium-high heat. Saute onion until deep golden brown and crispy, about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the turmeric, coriander, cumin and cayenne. Cook, stirring frequently until aromatic and toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas, cilantro and lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Remove from heat and taste. Season with salt if desired. Allow to cool, transfer to a container and chill prior to serving. Adjust lemon juice and seasoning if you wish.

KATE’S NOTES:
I like the fresh flavors of using whole coriander and cumin seed in recipes. If you don’t keep a mortar and pestle, or spice grinder on hand, use pre-ground spices in the same quantity.

Iron Foodie Challenge

November 2nd, 2010 | 2 Comments »
The Foodie Blogroll is pairing up with Marx Foods and sponsoring an Iron Foodie Challenge, where 25 chosen contestants will receive a ‘Mystery Box’ with 8 ingredients from Marx Foods in it to prepare a signature dish. You must use only three of the ingredients only.
Iron Foodie 2010 | Here's Why that will be me:
MarxFoods.com -- Fine Bulk Foods The Foodie BlogRoll
This challenge has my name all over it. Read on for my answers to their initial questions. I have until November 5th to submit this first step.
  1. Why do you want to compete in this challenge?
    I can’t imagine being better suited to a cooking challenge like this. My husband regularly calls me ‘Iron Chef’ at home due to my ability to magically create meals from what’s stashed in our pantry, or hanging around left over in our fridge. In fact, there are times when faced with no dinner plan and the contents of my cupboard that my heart starts racing in anticipation and excitement as I attempt to pull a meal together. I love the ‘challenge’ part of it, the mystery of the unknown, the potential awaiting from some simple ingredients and having the skills to make something out of what’s on hand.
  2. Limitations of time/space notwithstanding, whose kitchen would you like to spend the day in & why? Julia Child, Thomas Keller, Ferran Adria, James Beard, Marie-Antoine Careme, or The Swedish Chef?
    It would be Julia Child. She had such a winsome appeal, and such a devil-may-care attitude about cooking. She took the good with the bad, she made it all work and gave so many people the confidence to step up their cooking in their own kitchens. I love the ‘Go with the flow’ style she had, and her love and desire to just enjoy cooking for what it was.
  3. What morsel are you most likely to swipe from family & friends’ plates when they aren’t looking?
    I’m always snitching meat bones to nibble on, to get those last perfect morsels of meat off. The meat tastes best when it’s right on the bone.
  4. Sum your childhood up in one meal.
    Meat loaf, baked potatoes and green beans.
  5. The one mainstream food you can’t stand?
    Polenta. The creamy kind. I can’t explain it because I love cornbread and muffins, and I don’t mind polenta when it’s firm and baked. But mushy? Ew. No thanks.

I’m hoping to make it into the Challenge round! Wish me luck!!

moving on, with baking

November 1st, 2010 | 7 Comments »

“October gave a party, the leaves by hundreds came.
The Chestnuts, Oaks and Maples, and leaves of every name.
The sunshine spread a carpet, and everything was grand.
Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind, the band.”

Goerge Cooper, ‘October’s Party’

That sums up our October, doesn’t it? A more glorious month has yet to be seen, if you ask me. This year has shown us some amazing weather, and I know that many, many people thought summer was too hot, too muggy, too much ‘Summer’, I guess, but to me, it was just what Summer should be. And then for our reward, the heat index fell, the nights became more comfortable and we got October. Blessed, glorious, magnificent October.

“Bittersweet October.  The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause
between the opposing miseries of summer and winter“
~Carol Bishop Hipps

For what it’s worth, Summer wasn’t miserable. Just normal. And Winter is only miserable if you choose to look at it that way. Several years ago, I took up Cross Country skiing again, having not touched the skinny skis since I was a young girl. I forgot how magical it is to slide over the snow, in a quiet wood or on the trails and I’ve loved the benefits it gives me from the exercise. So I tend not to dread Winter like I’ve done in the past. And of course that means I really pray for a good snow cover. My apologies to those who hate everything that happens between now and Springtime.

But here we are in November, and it’s often a fairly gloomy month. That’s just not my cup of tea. There’s no eye-popping color, no crunching through ankle deep leaves, or mind-boggling glimpses of cobalt blue sky. It’s just November, the countdown to holidays and crazy chaos and the beginning of the dark season.

So I do what any other sane and hardened Northern dweller will do to combat these coming days. I turn on the oven, fling items like flour, baking powder, cinnamon, milk and eggs all over the kitchen and come up with something comforting and slightly sweet, something to draw me back. To rein me in, so to  speak. Last year I made a big effort to try and embrace Winter and all it’s darkness, with it’s amethyst sunsets and opalescent snowfalls. It made a huge difference so I am hoping it works again this year.

Along with a heightened attempt to change my attitude about Winter, so my baking has taken on a new aspect, and changed so dramatically from when I was little. I balk at making baked goods laden with shortening, oil and tons of refined sugar. Delicious, yes. Healthy- not at all. So I’m always on the lookout for recipes that support that, yet offer abundant flavor and comfort.

Like Peanut Butter Banana Bread.

These are two of my favorite tastes, together in a moist, tender load studded with chopped peanuts. While it’s not health food at all, it’s created with a lean towards the ‘Better for You’ angle, using very little fat and only a small amount of sugar.

I’ve been experimenting with sugar content in a lot of my baking recently. Instead of using white sugar, I’ve subbed in maple syrup, or honey or brown sugar for my recipes, often reducing the amount drastically. The results have been wonderful- good flavor and texture without the item being so sweet as to cross your eyes. Now I am not ignoring the fact that subbing one sugar for another is actually better, but instead I am focusing on removing white refined sugar from my diet completely. Sugar is sugar, yes. The goal is to remove refined products, which also includes white flour. All my baked goods are also being made with whole wheat flour too, including this bread.

I love the balance of peanut butter and banana in this bread. The PB is a subtle undertone to the delicious banana taste, and the addition of chopped peanuts (in this case, they were honey-roasted which I can’t recommend enough) adds a nice textural crunch to the moist bread. This recipe calls for ground flaxseed, and while I often add that to my baked goods even when it isn’t called for, in this recipe it’s a vital component and adds a nice nutty touch. Here’s the original recipe, with my substitutions in parentheses.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread
from All Recipes

  • 1 1/2  cups  mashed ripe banana (I used 3-1/2 large bananas- more than it called for but delicious nonetheless)
  • 1/3  cup  plain fat-free yogurt
  • 1/3  cup  creamy peanut butter
  • 3  tablespoons  butter, melted (I subbed canola oil)
  • 2  large eggs
  • 1/2  cup  granulated sugar (I omitted this)
  • 1/2  cup  packed brown sugar (I increased this to 3/4 c. and it was perfect)
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour  (I used all whole wheat)
  • 1/4  cup  ground flaxseed
  • 3/4  teaspoon  baking soda
  • 1/2  teaspoon  salt
  • 1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
  • 1/8  teaspoon  ground allspice
  • 2 T. chopped roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350° and spray a standard loaf pan with cooking spray. Alternatively, you could use an 8×8 baking pan too, with adjusted baking time.

In a large bowl, combine bananas, yogurt, peanut butter, butter, eggs and sugar and stir until thoroughly combined. In another bowl, whisk together flour, flaxseed, baking soda, salt, spices and chopped nuts until uniform. Add to wet ingredients and stir just until blended. Do not over-mix. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Baking time will be shorter if using the 8×8 square baking pan.

If desired, sprinkle chopped peanuts over the top of the loaf prior to baking. I loved how this added a nice crunchy touch to the finished product.

crazy highs and lows

October 24th, 2010 | 12 Comments »

Do you ever have one of those days that re-define crazy? Do you ever experience something that both jars you senseless, yet lifts you to the highest high? Ever tried to reconcile the two? It isn’t easy, my friends.

I did. And it was so weird that I can’t NOT talk about it. This blog has never been the kind where I recount the experiences of my day to day life. I don’t post that regularly, but like I said, this day begs to be shared. It’s how I can decompress from something so odd, yet so exhilarating.

Curious? I hope so. Oh, and a fair warning. This day involved swearing, which I might recreate here. You have been warned.

I spent a few days at our lake home, Loveless Lake in Wisconsin, taking advantage of maybe the last of October’s glorious and awe-inspiring weather. I gathered food that I love, my hiking shoes and a few good books and took off. It was nice to get away, and even in the throes of Autumn, with trees stripped bare of leaves and nothing but rust and brown for as far as the eye can see, the lake is still utterly enchanting. Especially when you can capture a sunset like this:

I know!! How amazing is that? And then there was this, but 10 minutes later:

The clouds reflected in the water are stunning, yet this photo doesn’t even begin to capture the true beauty that happened, right before my eyes. I was humbled. I felt small and yet so blessed that I could stand there and see it with my own eyes.

The next day I was excited to be participating in a Twitterview with Joel E. Carlson. Basically, it’s an Interview on Twitter, and Joel does them every week, and Friday is when he likes to talk to a local food lover for Food Friday. I had to be at the computer at 2:00pm, ready to talk food. I’m always ready to talk about food.

But I need to digress. Just a little, because when I was getting my lunch ready around 12:30 I heard a terrific commotion outside under our deck. And lots of terrified squeaking. We have chipmunks galore around our place. I thought a hawk had swooped down to grab one, but stepping outside, I heard even more noise and ruckus going on under the deck, which meant whatever was chasing that chipmunk had to be able to get under there too. We’d seen a stray cat around the property before, and sure enough, she eventually came out with a large rodent in her jaws. I say ‘Her’ because we know that for certain; Mike saw her a few months back and she had a big round belly. But now there was no belly, so that meant there were babies somewhere. I watched her walk off across the back yard, over the road, up a hill and disappear behind a shed about 50 yards from our property. I took my lunch onto the deck, and sure enough, she came back. No chipmunk, thank goodness. She was friendly. And hungry. I did the only thing I could do for her at that time; I scrambled her some eggs. It was all I had and she ate half of them, filling her belly tight. And after some time exploring our place, she went back out and walked off. I half-jokingly said to her as she disappeared “Bring back your babies!!”

Yeah. I’m sure by now you see where this is going. But wait, and keep reading. Because it gets really weird, I promise.

By now, it’s 2:00pm and I am on Twitter, talking with Joel. I hear something though, outside our screen porch. A crunching of leaves, and it’s too steady to be a squirrel. I go to the door and look out, and there is Mama Cat sitting with a tiny gray and white kitten. Upon further exploration, I find another kitten under the steps. Bear in mind, my Twitterview is going on at this very moment. I need to be on the computer and be focused and a whole world of cute had just showed up at my door. Mama brought her babies inside and led them straight to the plate on the floor with the remaining eggs. Which they ate while she watched. I’m Twittering, trying to keep an eye on the babies, and even running outside trying to see if maybe there were more. Seriously. How weird do you think it was for me? Likely it was weirder than anything you could conjure up. I was so darn glad that this Twitterview wasn’t being conducted through video. How would THAT have looked? Sheesh.

But hey…. it’s not over yet.

The interview ended, and I contacted the closest animal shelter because, you see, this isn’t the first cat we’ve found abandoned around our lake home. It’s the third. In fact, earlier this summer we found a male cat, in all likelihood the father of this litter because he was gray and white like one of the babies. So I call the shelter and tell them I am coming with a Mama Cat and two babies. I boxed them up and got them in the car, and in my distracted state of trying to find the street to turn on once I got to town, I made a horrible mistake.

F–k!!  And double f–k, like pounding my hands on the steering wheel F–K!  I couldn’t believe it. I felt so stupid! For reference, and why the double F-bomb is even necessary, folks I have NEVER had an accident in my entire 30 years of driving experience. None. Nada. Zip. I have never even been in a car that was involved in an accident. Double F–K!!!! Aaaargh! And here I am, in small town America, Wisconsin to be exact (in a car with Minnesota license plates) and I just plowed into a woman because I was looking for an animal shelter to try and help these homeless babies. Who were so stinkin’ cute that just moments before the accident I remember thinking “I want to take their picture!!”

Yep. Double F–K! I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had been given a citation for being certifiably insane.

But I guess if there is a good side to an auto accident, it was the fact that I was able to react enough to swerve and avoid hitting her head-on, potentially damaging the car so badly that we would need to tow it from SmallTown USA to our service garage 60 miles away. Because I drive an Audi. There was not a foreign service station anywhere within a 50 mile radius of where I was because these folks are from the Heartland through and through, born and bred pick-up truck people. They do farm chores, haul wood and boats and they don’t do Audis. I crushed the left headlight and the side panel, decimating the washer fluid reservoir but otherwise sustaining no engine or radiator damage. The fender was pried away from the tire and I was able to drive off. That is, after being delivered to the animal shelter with a box of cats in a squad car. A squad car, people. And for the record also, that was the first time I have ever ridden in a squad car. And I carried cats on my lap. Cats. In a box. In a squad car.

Well, if that wasn’t weird enough- and believe me, THAT was way weird- it got weirder.

Mike had come to my rescue, jumping into his car at home and driving to where I was, and by the time I arrived back at our lake home, he was there and I was able to wrap my arms around him and let the tears flow over what I’d done to my beautiful car. I’d been able to control those tears up until then, but could hold out no longer. He helped me gain a better perspective though; no one was hurt, thank God, and it was just a car. And I saved three lives in the process. So we sat down on our screen porch and I was telling him the story when I heard the unmistakeable sound of a tiny cat meowing.

You really didn’t think the story was over, did you?

Sure enough, our neighbors, who blessedly happened to be there, had found three more kittens.

((Itty Bitty Kitty Rescue Committee))

Don’t let my smile fool you. I was a sloppy, freaked out mess- puffy eyed, pink cheeks and nose messy. But look at those baby faces! How adorable are they? The sad part was, they were all much too thin. It was clear they were in a pretty dire situation. The gold and white kitten was so emaciated that I could feel every bone in it’s tiny body. And I think that the stuff around their mouths was dried blood. But I won’t go there….. (remember the chipmunk?)

Mike and I had no idea what to do with these little creatures. The shelter was closed, and wouldn’t re-open again until noon the next day. I had a wild hair to call the officer who assisted with my accident, who had kindly driven me and my box of homeless cats to safety, and she contacted the shelter and made arrangements for us to bring the kittens there- so back to SmallTown USA we went- where they were placed in a night drop cage. She assured me that a volunteer would be along shortly to get them reunited with their Mom and siblings.

And yes, I did get a photo of them……

So the day ended with me and our neighbors daughter (who was mostly responsible for finding the other three babies) saving the lives of six creatures who would have all surely perished with the coming cold weather. I just shudder to think of it, that poor Mama, who was barely even grown herself, trying to do what she could for five babies, living under a shed and eating rodents to survive. And November right around the corner. And my car…. well, it’s all cosmetic damage really. A blessing in disguise because I know that it could have been much, much worse, for both the car and for me. As Mike said while holding me tight, soothing my pounding heart  “I can handle a wrecked car but I wouldn’t be able to handle a wrecked wife.”

Truer words were never spoken. All of it turned out well. For car, and for cats. Oh yeah- and if you’re interested in reading the transcript of my chat with Joel, please go here to do that.

coffee cake, with a twist

October 21st, 2010 | 1 Comment »

I love finding new purposes for old, familiar products. Like Rice Krispies.

I loved this cereal as a kid, and of course, who doesn’t love the gooey marshmallow treats made with it? Loved those too, and my sisters and I would easily make pans of them to devour, as well as my friends and I as we got older. I recently was gifted with a large sack of Rice Krispies and have been searching for ways to use them up. Even if it’s free, waste is not something I’m comfortable with.

Griffin and I made a pan of Rice Krispie treats, and as an added flavor, I stirred about a half cup of butterscotch sauce into the butter/marshmallow mix. What a nice flavor! It added a lot of warmth and depth to them. We’re going to try hot fudge next and are expecting those to be equally as decadent.

I also love finding new recipes for old favorites. Coffee cake and I go wayyyyyy back; back to the little girl who quizzically looked at her Mom when offered a piece of coffee cake and said something to the extent of  “But Mommy, I don’t drink coffee.” We had a tried and true Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe growing up. It was a stalwart, a non-negotiable breakfast/dessert that we trusted and utilized without question. Once my Mom found something in recipe format that she could trust, that her five darlings would eat without some form of revolt or complaint, she rarely deviated from it. But it’s been a while since I made that particular recipe of Mom’s because the last time I stirred it together and baked it, I found that I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I remember. It was good, but it wasn’t what I wanted in a coffee cake. I wanted moist and crunchy to work together; I wanted cake but I wanted muffin too, and I wanted fruit but I wanted more than just fruit. In short, I didn’t know what the heck I wanted. Or even how to make it happen.

Then the past, the present and the coincidence of having 2 pounds of Rice Krispies on hand to use up all came crashing together in one perfect serendipitous event.

I’m not sure where I came across this recipe for a Coffee Cake made with Rice Krispies as part of the base, but I printed it off and finally got mixing on it one morning. It’s certainly a simple concept; make a batter, top it with prepared jam, a bit more batter and then a crumb topping. Simple!

And delicious too! Here it was, the perfect, angels singing, clouds parting for the blazing sunshine coffee cake that my mind had conjured up before my hands had known how to create it. The Universe made it happen. Amen and amen. With this recipe, and the moist yet crunchy, cakey but sort of more muffin like, fruit but a whole lot more coffee cake that came from it will now be a regular occurrence in our kitchen. And the bonus part is, I know that Mom would agree. It was alchemy, magic and flavor all rolled into one.

Although the recipe called for blueberry jam, you could use any fruit spread you wish, and I imagine that pie filling would also be an acceptable substitute. It’s a perfect brunch option, or weekend treat and makes for an excellent dessert as well. We all agreed that it was a terrific way to use up some of the excess Rice Krispies we had on hand.

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

3 c. Rice Krispies (or similar type) cereal
1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 T. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground nutmeg
2 T. ground flaxseed (optional)
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 t. each baking soda and baking powder
1/4 t. sea salt
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
1 T. grated lemon peel
2 t. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 c. prepared blueberry jam
1 c. frozen blueberries (optional)

Spray a 9” springform cake pan with cooking spray. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine cereal, flour and sugar. With a pastry cutter or two forks, cut in butter until crumbly. Remove 3/4 c. and set aside.

To remaining cereal/flour mixture, add the baking soda, powder and salt and blend thoroughly.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, lemon peel and juice. Pour into the larger amount of cereal/flour mix and stir only until just combined. Spread about 2/3 of the batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Evenly spread jam over batter to 1/2” of pan edge. Sprinkle blueberries over jam (if using). Dot remaining batter over fruit and gently spread to edge of pan. Sprinkle with reserved cereal/flour mix.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 20-30 minutes, then release spring and gently slide cake onto platter.

apple time of year

October 18th, 2010 | 7 Comments »

Apples are on everyone’s mind right about now.

In the oven, on the stove, in the crisper drawer, in hand and crunching away….. it’s mid-October and it’s Apple time and it’s a beautiful thing.

There’s a gorgeous apple orchard near our lake home- Baker Orchard in Centuria, WI–  that we visit several times a year, the owners being good friends of ours. It’s a simple place, has a century-old barn that was renovated a few years back and a lovely art gallery on the property. The orchard hosts community events each year; an art festival, a cyclocross race and the occasional wedding inside the lovely old barn. There’s hiking trails through gorgeous woods, and a huge gentle team of horses that will languidly pull you through the laden trees, branches close enough for you to reach out and snatch a ripe apple for snacking. They make their own fresh-pressed apple cider, an incredible treat. John is exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable about apples, even taking the time to assess a mystery apple brought in by a visitor to determine what exactly it was.

He’s always ready to do his apple-juggling act, complete with biting the apples as he tosses them through the air.

He encourages treks through the orchard and doesn’t mind a sampling here and there of the fruit. It’s a simple, family-owned business. Last year, Mike and I re-designed their website into a blog format, and the reward for our work was complimentary apples. Payment in food for a job well-done is my kind of reward. So if I’m talking about apples here, it’s fairly certain they came from Baker Orchard.

The orchard sustained hail damage this past summer, and the last time we visited, John gave me a sack of hail-damaged Haralson apples to take home, making me promise I wouldn’t photograph them. I agreed, and unfortunately, once broken and damaged by hail, the apples don’t last that long. I barely managed to salvage enough of them (my fault, really- I left them too long once they came home) to make a few delectable options with them, namely an Apple Cheddar and Almond muffin, and a pan of Apple Streusel Bars. Try as I might, I simply could not photograph those muffins and make them look even close to having the exceptional flavor they did. But those bars?

Oh dear.

These bars are something else. It’s like a pie that you can eat with your hands. It’s like Apple Crisp in your fingertips. It’s heaven in apple and butter and crumbs. It’s simple and sweet and easy to make and tastes like Autumn. You don’t need a thing out of the ordinary pantry supplies and as good as they are simply out of the pan, they are another bit of heaven altogether when you warm them slightly and crumble them over a bowl of yogurt, or even ice cream. And did I mention that they were simple?

Apple Streusel Bars

Pastry:

2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. real butter, softened
1 egg, beaten

Apple Filling:

1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 c. (about 3 medium) sliced, peeled baking apples

To prepare crust, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles. Gently mix in beaten egg.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Gently pat about 2/3 of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish. Preheat oven to 350° and set aside.

To prepare apple filling, combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon and toss with apples.

Spread apples out on prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over apples evenly and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

And for good measure, even though there is no photo- here is the Apple Cheddar and Almond Muffin recipe. Because it’s just THAT good.

Apple Cheddar Muffins with Almonds
from Real Food magazine, Lunds/Byerlys

1/2 (1 stick) c. unsalted butter (room temperature)
1/2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 c. whole milk
2-1/2 c. flour
2-1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. sea salt
2 large apples, cored, peeled and diced small
1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 c. chopped almonds (can sub in any nut, really; pecans or walnuts would also be wonderful)

Heat oven to 350°. Prepare muffins tins with cooking spray or paper liners (I got 18 muffins from this recipe). Combine milk and eggs in large measuring cup and whisk lightly to blend. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a second bowl. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then whisk in milk/egg mixture. Add flour, apples, cheese and nuts and gently fold together until just combined. Scoop into muffin tins and bake 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes, then remove from pans.