Spiced Squash Muffins

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month is Burnt Apple.  The name of the blog makes me think of this Cinnamon Apple Dutch Baby I made for a previous SRC post - slightly darker than it should have been but still yummy.  However, on this blog, the term refers to recipe fails, where it all started.  And who hasn't had a good recipe fail?  But since that first brick muffin that went through a wall, the busy cook behind Burnt Apple has come a long way - from someone who could not cook to save her life to "master recipe manipulator", adapting favorite recipes and the fun foods kids want to eat to make them more healthy - all using regular ingredients and even possible on a strict budget.

Traci works, goes to school, has three kids to keep up with, and still somehow finds time to make some yummy (and usually healthy) food and share her recipes.  Her blog focuses on healthy, budget friendly and delicious recipes, with just enough sweet treats thrown in for good measure. (She had a bit of a deprived childhood, so there's some making up to be done.) I especially love the Burnt Apple recipe index which clearly indicates the recipes that have been adapted and offer variations for different dietary needs.

Suddenly it's October, and the weather is beginning to cool down so of course it's time for recipes that say Fall.   There are plenty of apple recipes, lots of pumpkin recipes - she's kind of obsessed with pumpkin this time of year - and she's a big fan of anything with cranberries (me, too!), so if you're looking for recipes that scream Fall, be sure to check out Burnt Apple.

Of course, there are lots of amazing sounding recipes for all the other seasons, too.  Here's my short list of recipes to try:

• KFC Healthy Fried Chicken
• 30 Minute Apple Pie Pretzels
• Cranberry Pecan Steel Cut Oats
• Coconut Pineapple Lime Ice Cream (!!!)
• Homemade Horchata
• Sausage, Eggplant, and Feta Penne

Spiced Squash Muffins
from Burnt Apple

Ingredients:

• Topping:
  * 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  * 2 T oats
  * 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  * 2 T cold butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated cane sugar
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup butternut squash puree
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Lightly grease muffin tin.  (12-15 muffins)
2. In a small bowl mix together the topping ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together the yogurt and sugar until smooth. Stir in the eggs and butternut squash and mix until smooth; add milk.
4. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Stir into wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.
5. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 of the way full. Sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons of topping over the top of each muffin.
6. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to sit for five minutes in the muffin tins before moving to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

Measure flour and the rest of the dry ingredients on top of wet ingredients,
then lightly mix them together before stirring them in.

These are the perfect muffins for Fall! (They most definitely are not bricks.)  All those spices are so perfect, and that topping is to die for.  It was hard not just nibbling that off the top of all the muffins when they came out of the oven.  I kind of overfilled my muffin tins - the recipe said 12 muffins, so I made my batter all fit - so the muffins overflowed a bit and there were bits of topping to be picked off the muffin tins once I took the muffins out of them.  It's a tough job...

I would suggest greasing the cups for 12 muffins and having another smaller muffin tin standing by and just grease the cups you may need based on the amount of batter and how it fits.  These are just a bit too full...

Store any leftover muffins in the refrigerator because they are very moist, and then just heat them up in the toaster oven for about 5 minutes (or 15-30 seconds in the microwave if you use one) to enjoy.  And since they're healthy, it's OK to have more than one!  Right?

An InLinkz Link-up

Margarita Sour Cream Muffins

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month is Karen's Kitchen Stories.  Karen likes to try recipes that are a bit of a challenge, and she's constantly learning new cooking techniques which she shares with her blog readers so we can all learn something new.  She's especially in love with all things bread and has been known as the Bread Queen by other members of the SRC, though she considers herself more of a Bread Geek.  Judging by the long list of bread recipes on her blog, I can't argue with either!  There were definitely some bread recipes that caught my eye.
 

Of course, there are plenty of recipes for other things on Karen's blog, too.  Here are some that I really want to try:

• Pecan Kringle
• Kahlua Cake
• Strawberry Whiskey Sour
• Green Tea Ice Cream

They all sound so good, but in the end I came back to the first recipe that caught my eye, these lovely Margarita Sour Cream Muffins.  It's OK to have tequila for breakfast with these!  Nobody disillusion me by telling me that the alcohol will bake off, all right?

Margarita Sour Cream Muffins
from Karen's Kitchen Stories

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup tequila
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/8 teaspoon lime oil (optional)
• zest of 1 lime
• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Coarse sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.  Generously grease muffin tin or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg, sugar, sour cream, tequila, orange juice, lime juice, lime oil, and lime zest together.
3. Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt together and then stir it into the egg mixture. mixing until just combined.
4. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin;  sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a pinch of sea salt.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until browned.  Cool 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins

These were really fun to mix up.  When you stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, there's a great chemical reaction between the baking soda and the citrus juices.  Preheating the oven is very important because you will want to get these into the oven immediately.

The flavor of these muffins does remind me of margaritas.  They're really tasty, and I love the texture that the cornmeal adds.  While they were good on their own, I thought the muffins could use a little something extra, so I mixed together 2 ounces softened cream cheese, 1 tsp. brown sugar, and about 1/2 tsp. grated lime zest and used that as a spread.  Yum!  (It wasn't quite enough; I really should have mixed up twice as much)

Next time I think I'll use more lime and orange juice and cut down on the tequila - use just enough to get the flavor.  The tequila makes the muffins taste good - you really do get the flavor - but I'm back to thinking that all my alcohol is baking away, and I think I'd rather use my tequila for actual margaritas. I do love a good margarita.

An InLinkz Link-up

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month is Thyme for Cooking Blog which is all about the food, and life in France.  I wish, wish, wish I had more time to spend poring through this lovely blog.  I want to know about restoring a French farmhouse, and I want to know how Katie, who started in Minnesota and Wisconsin, managed to end up in France - with a few other interesting stops along the way.  We lived in Wisconsin for 15 years, but I do not think there's any chance we'll be ending up in France.  I will most definitely be reading through Katie's posts more thoroughly whenever I find the time!  I love how all her posts include not only the recipe but also an interesting story about what is going on in her life.

For now, I'm glad she loves healthy food, healthy ingredients, and most of all Simple Recipes.  Of course, simple (but tasty) recipes are a big favorite of mine, but this month I really needed something simple.  I spent a week cooking dinners for approximately 90 people at Camp Outreach, and the weeks prior to that were spent planning, shopping, and cooking chicken and taco meat in advance.  If only I could have used a recipe from Thyme for Cooking Blog for camp...   That would have been awesome!  So, Katie, when you read this, feel free to point me to any of your recipes that may have been great camp fare.  There's always next year.  Maybe.

This Italian Beef and Cabbage might have been good.  I am definitely going to try that soon.  Chicken with Red Beets and Cabbage is on my 'to make' list too, along with Beef, Cabbage, and Feta on Barley.  I seem to see a cabbage theme here.

In the end I picked this Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread, because chocolate.  And not only chocolate, but double chocolate.  And also zucchini, and it's one of those simple recipes which I thought would be perfect to share, because, with the slightly longer 4th of July weekend, we decided to go visit my parents, and I always try to take something so Mom doesn't have to fix all the food.  This Apple Bread was also a possibility, but the chocolate won out.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
from Thyme for Cooking Blog

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups shredded zucchini
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 6-8 oz. chocolate, chopped (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Butter 2 large loaf pans, then line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. Combine butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla in a large bowl and mix well.  Stir in zucchini.
4. Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together; stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir gently to combine.
5. Add chocolate chunks and walnuts and stir just until combined. 
6. Divide batter between prepared loaf pans.
7. Bake 55-60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven and let rest for at least 5 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before slicing.

This recipe is a definite keeper.  Deep, dark chocolatey, chunky and super moist.  The first words that came to mind when I bit into my first piece were, "Oh, Baby."  It is so good.  I stored it in the refrigerator because of the moistness, and I think that made it even better.  The two loaves did not last long when I put them out to be shared.  It really was hard to resist grabbing just one more piece.  And it didn't look like anyone was actually trying to resist.

Thanks for the recipe, Katie.  I will be making this again.  And again.  I see why you make it often.

An InLinkz Link-up

10 Grain Muffins with Apples & Cinnamon

I've been using either a 7 Grain or a 10 Grain cereal in my Whole Grain Sourdough bread for ages now.  That's pretty much why I've started calling it whole grain instead of whole wheat - never mind that the recipe still says whole wheat.  On the Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal package there's a recipe for muffins.  For some reason I've never made those muffins, but I was reminded of the recipe when I bought a new package this week.  Usually I keep my cereal in a peanut butter jar, so I don't see the recipe unless I happen to buy a new package, and it usually lasts me quite a while because I use about 2 T each time I make bread.

This time I decided to make the muffins, but of course I changed them up a bit.  I've got lots of apples right now, so I decided to add some diced apples.  And some cinnamon.

10 Grain Muffins w/ Apples & Cinnamon
adapted from Bob's Red Mill

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup 10-grain cereal
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chopped apples
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Combine milk and cereal; let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Cream sugar and butter together.  Add egg and mix well. Stir in chopped apples, then mix in milk and cereal mixture.
4. Combine dry ingredients and stir in; just until mixed.
5. Pour into greased muffin tin and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and muffins are browned to your liking.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

I am really enjoying these muffins, especially with a little butter and a drizzle of honey.  I think my favorite apple muffins are still these Oatmeal Apple Muffins (seriously, try those; they are awesome), but I am enjoying these for a change.  They're nice and moist, and the 10 Grain Cereal adds a nice texture and a slight chewiness.  I am thinking that I'll at least double the cinnamon next time, because I can't really taste it in these.  For now sprinkling a little cinnamon on top of the honey really does the trick.  So good!  

I also think either all whole wheat flour or at least half would be good.  I just used the unbleached white flour the recipe called for because I figured all the grains in the cereal would be enough, but I'm a sucker for whole wheat flour in my muffins, so I'm trying that next time.

Now I'm going to check out all the other recipes on the Bob's Red Mill site and see what else I've been missing out on.

Related articles

• simple savorings : apple-cinnamon oatmeal muffins

Strawberry Muffins

I saw this recipe on Facebook, and I just had to try it. I don't think I've ever had strawberries in muffins before, but they just looked so good.  And I happened to have some strawberries in the fridge...

Fresh Strawberry Muffins
from Home of My Heart

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup coconut (optional)
• 1-1/2 cups chopped strawberries
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well.  Add vanilla and milk.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together.  Stir into butter/sugar mixture, just until mixed. Gently stir in strawberries and coconut.
3. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan.
4. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over muffins.
5. Bake at 400º for 30-35 minutes, or until browned.  Cool 5 minutes in pan, then remove to wire rack to cool.

Makes one dozen muffins.

I cut the sugar down just a bit, because I don't like my muffins too sweet, and strawberries are plenty sweet by themselves.  I also added the coconut, which is sweetened. 

I also increased the bake time. I baked the muffins for 25 minutes, like the original recipe said, but even though they were technically done, they just weren't browned as well as I would have liked.  Baking them the extra 5 to 10 minutes gives them a nice crunch around the edges and enhances the flavor nicely.

I'm thinking of adding rhubarb next time - or adding strawberries to my Rhubarb Muffins.  Some kind of combination of the two.  I bet that would be really good.

Cranberry Gingerbread Loaf

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Hun... What's for Dinner? a blog full of recipes inspired by the best recipes from magazines, cookbooks and the web.  Cindy is a stay-at-home mom of two adorable kids.  She married a professional chef thinking he'd be the one doing the cooking in their relationship.  When that didn't pan out, Cindy became an excellent cook in her own right and has even won some cooking and baking contests and been published in several cookbooks.  No wonder I had such a hard time choosing a recipe from her blog!

Here are a few of the recipes that caught my eye:

• Stuffed Zucchini
• Sam & Cat Sloppy Waffles
• Spring Medley Creamer Potatoes
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars
• Strawberry Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Banana Toffee No Bake Cheesecake

There were more, but I just had to stop myself from looking.  I'm sure you know how that is.  I finally decided on this Cranberry Gingerbread Loaf because I just can't resist anything with cranberries.
 

Cindy made this for something called the Crazy Ingredient Challenge, which sounds like a lot of fun.  She's also got something called Simple Supper Tuesday going on every week which is a round-up of, you guessed it, simple recipes. I will definitely have to be checking that out again!

Cranberry Gingerbread Loaf
from Hun... What's for Dinner

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 1 egg
• 2-1/2 cups flour, divided (part white wheat)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1 cup frozen cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Generously grease a loaf pan, or line with parchment paper (making sure there is plenty hanging over the edges).
2. In a bowl, mix together the oil, molasses, brown sugar and boiling water. Let mixture cool to room temperature and then mix in the egg.
3. Combine 2-1/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix into wet ingredients until just combined.  Toss the cranberries with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour and gently fold them into the batter.
4. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes; until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar while still warm.

Cindy's recipe called for 2 T of powdered sugar dusted on the top, but I used a little less than 1 T.  After that it was just going everywhere and making a mess.  It really does look pretty, but I think next time I'm going to sprinkle a little turbinado sugar on top of the loaf before baking and see how that turns out.

I really loved this loaf.  Is it breakfast?  Bread?  Dessert?  A snack?  I'd say all of the above!  Seriously, really good - great flavor, nice texture, and the tart bites of cranberry really make it special.  Nothing crazy about cranberries and gingerbread together.  The flavors are perfect!  I will definitely be making this again.  My husband wasn't a huge fan of the gingerbread spices, but that just means more for me.  Every time.

An InLinkz Link-up

Review: Make Ahead Bread

I received a free digital copy of the new cookbook Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day by Donna Currie through NetGalley.

I have been baking bread for as long as I can remember, but I never get tired of looking at and trying new recipes, which is why I was happy to take a look at this book.  Just flipping through it and looking at the gorgeous pictures makes me want to try every single one of the recipes.

The book begins with a chapter on the basics of bread-making, including ingredients and equipment.  Even though I've been baking bread for ages, I learned a thing or two.

I love the premise of the book - breaking up the process of baking bread  into multiple parts, meaning that the bulk of the actual work - the mixing, kneading and forming - can be done whenever the baker has time.  It means that, no matter how busy your schedule may be, you can still make and enjoy homemade bread.  Mixing, kneading, and the first rise are done on the first day - Prep Day.  Then the magical step in the process is refrigeration - the dough is kept in the refrigerator for anywhere from 8 to 24 hours, or longer - which improves both the flavor and the texture of the bread.  As well as allowing the baker to bake the bread on his or her own schedule.  Baking Day is usually pretty simple - remove the bread from the refrigerator and bake it.  And then enjoy, of course!

I bake sourdough most of the time anymore, which requires a longer rise time than breads made with active dry yeast, so I know that extra time does something special to the bread.  The author does include a few sourdough recipes and a very thorough explanation of starting your own sourdough starter.  There are also a few gluten free recipes included.

Once I started paging through the book, I could hardly make myself stop.  Here are a few of the recipes that caught my eye:

• Page 30 - Fresh Corn and Cheddar Loaf
• Page 32 - Sauerkraut Rye
• Page 38 - Stuffing Bread with Dried Cranberries - because cranberries are definitely my thing.
• Page 80 - Cheesy Breadstick Twists
• Page 94 - Sourdough English Muffins
• Page 99 - Oatmeal and Orange Buns with Toasted Coconut

I'm sure I will be making some variation of several of these!

I also enjoyed all the pictures throughout this book.  While I can picture a lot of recipes just by reading through them, having gorgeous full-color pictures in a cookbook definitely take it to the next level.  I do wish there was a picture for every recipe and that the pictures were better labeled, (sometimes the picture is on the page before the recipe; sometimes on the page after) but it wasn't too hard to figure out which picture was for which recipe. 

It also would have been nice to see the book start with the most basic loaf - something for people who have never really baked bread to ease into it with - and for the recipes to be somehow labeled for difficulty, so those same people could easily pick some simpler recipes.  I don't think any of the recipes look terribly hard, and Currie does a good job of breaking them into manageable pieces and sharing handy information and tips for success, but I would hate for someone to be turned off of bread making because the recipe that was a bit harder than they were ready for.  For those of us who have been baking bread for a while or those who would bake bread if only they had the time, this book is an excellent resource.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffins

When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. I love anything with cranberries (I previously made these amazing Lemon Cranberry Muffins from the same blog), and the addition of the cream cheese just sounded amazing.

I've made these twice this week.  The flavor is really amazing.  It reminds me of this Almond Tart a bit - probably because of the almond extract and the cranberries.  Those flavors just go together so well.  The soft, slightly sweetened cream cheese is just a bonus.

If you want, you can take a knife (or your finger) and spread that soft cream cheese all over your muffin. Yum!

Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffins
adapted from The Pajama Chef

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided 
• 6 oz. fresh cranberries (or frozen)
•  2 eggs
•  1/4 cup brown sugar
•  1/4 cup oil
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1-1/2 cup flour, part whole wheat (or use all white whole wheat)
• 1 T ground flax seed (optional)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Line muffin tin with paper liners or grease well.
2. Mix cream cheese with 2 T sugar; set aside
3. In small saucepan, combine another 2 T sugar with the cranberries.  Heat on medium, stirring occasionally, until cranberries pop.  Mash slightly with a wooden spoon and set aside.
4. In mixing bowl, beat eggs then stir in the rest of the granulated sugar and the brown sugar.  Mix in oil, vanilla, and almond extract.
5. Stir flour, flax seed (if using), baking powder, and salt together; mix into wet ingredients.  Then gently fold in cranberries, being careful not to over-mix or your batter will turn pink.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan, filling muffin cups about 2/3 full.  Use a spoon to scoop cream cheese mixture into the center of each muffin, pressing down gently.
7. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes in muffin tin then remove to wire rack to cool.

Makes 12 muffins

I like my muffins dense and not too sweet, so I used the white wheat flour and flax seed and cut the sugar down just a touch.  They were still plenty sweet, but if you like your muffins sweet and light, use 1 cup of sugar in the batter, with an additional 2 T sugar for both the cream cheese and the cranberries.  And use white flour instead of the whole wheat, though white wheat isn't as heavy as regular whole wheat would be.  I would also recommend using cupcake liners because, even with the wheat flour, these muffins wanted to stick to my muffin pan just a little.

The reason I made these twice in one week wasn't just because I love the flavor - which I do - it was because the recipe, as first posted, called for about 1/2 the flour it should have.  (Sarah weighed all her ingredients, so she got it right, but then she used an online conversion calculator when she wrote the recipe post)  I did not even bother to check, just followed the recipe - and they still turned out really good!  Just very delicate.  And hard to stop eating.  Very hard to stop eating.

I will definitely be making these again!

Rhubarb Focaccia

It's time again for  Secret Recipe Club (Secret Recipe Club) reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Culinary Adventures with Camilla.  As the name of her blog suggests, Camilla is very adventurous with her cooking.  She loves trying new ingredients and exploring the cuisine of different countries, and she hopes to inspire the readers of her blog to try something new, too.

I found several recipes that looked interesting.  Here are a few of them:

• Curried Chicken with Vanilla
• Boozy Spiced Cranberry Sauce
• Pumpkin Potato Pepper Enchiladas
• Chocolate Zucchini Brownies 

I actually did make the Chocolate Zucchini Brownies.  They were more like a dark chocolate cake than actual brownies and not too sweet, so I really liked them.  BUT, they weren't really something new or adventurous, so I thought I should take Camilla's challenge and make something I'd never made before.  I chose her Rhubarb Focaccia because I have a hard time resisting anything with rhubarb - rhubarb is not my new ingredient.  What's new is that I had never made Focaccia before - savory or sweet.  I'm not sure I'd ever even eaten it, either.

Rhubarb Focaccia
from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Ingredients:
Sweet Focaccia Dough

• 4-1/2 to 5 cups flour (divided)
• 2-1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 pkg.)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1-3/4 cups warm water
• 1 T raw organic honey
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup coconut oil 

Topping

• 2 cups chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• additional sugar and olive oil

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, salt, and yeast.
2. Combine the warm water, olive oil and honey in a small bowl or 2-cup measuring cup. 
3. Stir the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture; gradually add remaining flour, mixing in as much as you can with a spoon and then kneading until it becomes smooth and soft (5 to 6 minutes).
4. Coat the inside of the bowl with olive oil and return the dough to the bowl; turn to coat. Cover and allow dough to rise until it has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
5. When dough has risen, punch down and allow to rest 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, coat a jelly roll pan with the coconut oil.  (If your coconut oil is solid, place the pan in the oven on low until it has melted.)
6. Slightly flatten dough and place it in the jelly roll pan, turning once to coat with coconut oil.  Begin pressing and stretching the dough to fit the pan.  Then press your fingers through the dough, making dimples all the way to the pan, all over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with chopped rhubarb, pressing it into the dough, and 1/4 cup sugar.
7. Cover and let dough rise until it has doubled in size again, about 1 hour. 
8. When focaccia is ready to bake, preheat oven to 425° and generously sprinkle the top with some more sugar and lightly drizzle a little more olive oil on top.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the top of the loaf is golden brown. Cool before cutting and serving.

This stuff is really good.  The crust is kinda flaky and crunchy, and the texture of the dough is nice and soft.

The first time I made it, my husband wasn't really impressed.  He felt like there wasn't enough fruit and that it was basically just bread.  He's not quite as crazy about bread as I am - and this is good bread.  Mostly the problem was that my  frozen rhubarb had been thawed, so most of the juice was gone - I saved it and used it in a smoothie, but that didn't do the focaccia any good.  And, a lot of the rhubarb fell off when I cut it,  so a lot of it really was 'just bread' even if it was good bread.

So I made it again.

This time I used frozen rhubarb - without allowing it to thaw - and pressed it into the dough.  And I split the dough and made two so I'd have more of that lovely crust.  What made my husband especially happy is that I made a simple powdered sugar glaze - melted butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, milk - and drizzled it on top.

Totally yummy and hard to stop eating - with or without the glaze!  Thanks, Camilla, for getting me to try something new!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Pineapple Coconut Rum French Toast

It's time again for  Secret Recipe Club (Secret Recipe Club) reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Daily Dish Recipes, a really great blog written by Nicole, a crazed mom of 5 teens who loves cooking, writing, photography, blogging, and scrapbooking, among other things.  And in her spare time, she...  Well, never mind - on to the recipes!

Again, I had a difficult time choosing just one.  Having no idea what kind of recipe I wanted to try, I just started scrolling through Nicole's blog.  Her Green Onion Egg & Toast Tarts look really good, and so does this Coconut Vanilla Kahlua Cow.  I must admit, I'm a bit jealous of those posts sponsored by Kahlua.  I've loved Kahlua ever since my college roommate introduced me to it - for breakfast, on her cornflakes! (with milk)

Speaking of breakfast, when I saw this recipe for Pineapple Rum French Toast, I knew it was the one!   And, oh, was I right.  This stuff is amazing!  Sweet and crunchy and gooey and just plain yummy!

Pineapple Coconut Rum French Toast
Adapted from Daily Dish Recipes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 12 slices bread
• 1 cup brown sugar, divided into two ½ cup measurements
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided into 1 teaspoon measurements
• 1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained or ½ cup to 1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
•  5 eggs
• 1/4 cup Malibu coconut rum
• 1-1/4 cup milk
• shredded coconut, optional (I used about 2 T. unsweetened coconut)

Instructions

1. Melt the butter and pour into a 9×13 pan.
2. Lay 6 pieces of bread in the pan, and spread 1/2 of the pineapple across all the slices of bread.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup of brown sugar on top of the pineapple and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cinnamon across everything.  If desired, sprinkle shredded coconut on top.
   
3. Place the remaining 6 pieces of bread on top of each of the original slices, like a sandwich, and repeat the process again - layer of pineapple, layer of brown sugar. Sprinkle the other teaspoon of cinnamon across the top and then the coconut.
4. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, coconut rum, and milk together. Pour this over the entire dish.
5. Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
6. When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator, leave covered and bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and return to oven for 10-15 more minutes or until lightly browned.
7. Remove from oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. 

Serves 6

Nicole's recipe called for coconut milk and rum extract, but I didn't have any coconut milk, and my rum extract didn't smell like I thought it should.  So, I used the Malibu for the rum and coconut flavors and added the shredded coconut to get more coconut flavor.

With the brown sugar and the butter in this, you don't really need any extra syrup, but it's also good with a little extra drizzled over the top.  I made some with brown sugar, water and coconut oil that was really good, with that extra bit of coconut flavor.  I will definitely be making this again! 

And, since I always have such a hard time picking a recipe - have you noticed what amazing recipes all of our Secret Recipe Club member post? - I made Nicole's Potluck Corn, Black Bean & Cilantro Salsa Dip, too.  Be sure to visit her blog for that recipe, but let me tell you, it is really good!

The Best Sourdough Bread

I usually make my Whole Grain Sourdough.  But pasta still calls for a white sourdough.  My old recipe was OK - I tweaked the sourdough bread recipe from one of my cookbooks to come up with a bread we liked.  Mainly I think I just didn't use packaged yeast, because why would I want to use packaged yeast in my sourdough bread?  That kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?  And I let it raise longer, to develop the sourdough flavor.

Well, this time I tweaked it a bit more, and I think it turned out perfect! 

The Best Sourdough Bread

The night before you want bread:

• bring starter to room temperature
• measure 1 cup starter
• in large bowl, mix starter with 1 cup lukewarm water, then stir in 1-1/2 cups unbleached flour.
• mix well, cover, and let sit overnight

The next morning:

• your mixture should be all bubbly
• mix in: 1/2 t. salt and 2 T olive oil
• add 2 to 2-1/2 cups unbleached flour, mixing in as much as you can with a spoon and then kneading the rest in
• knead on a floured surface until you have a smooth, elastic dough
• put into greased bowl, cover and set in warm place to rise

When dough has doubled in size

• Punch down and turn out onto floured surface
• Cover and let dough rest for 10 minutes, then shape dough into a ball
• Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more cornmeal; cover with the other end of the towel, or another towel.
• Let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
• About a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450°. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 5 to 10 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

The flavor is so good, and the texture is perfect.  The crust is that perfect chewy crust I have been trying to achieve since the beginning of my sourdough adventure. What did I do differently?  I omitted the sugar, and I baked it in a covered pan, the same way I bake the Whole Grain Sourdough.  Can it really be that simple?  Maybe. It certainly turned out well this time.  I will definitely be making this bread again.

Jacked Up Pumpkin Butter

It's time again for  Secret Recipe Club (Secret Recipe Club) reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Searching for Dessert. Shannon believes baking should be fun and even the most simple recipes can come out beautiful and amazing.  I have to tell you, her recipes really do look beautiful and amazing.  All of them.  As always, I had a hard time choosing.

Here are some that caught my eye:

• Black Bean Breakfast Burritos - with or without enchilada sauce, these look amazing.
• Warm and Crusty Garlic Boule - you had me at crusty! and garlic.
• Apple Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches - Snickerdoodles and apple pie ice cream?  Oh, wow!

I finally decided to try this Pumpkin Pecan Bourbon Butter because it's the season for all things pumpkin, right?  Only, instead of bourbon I added some Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey.  We're kind of a Jack Daniel's house around here.  And I used orange juice instead of apple.

Jacked Up Pumpkin Butter
adapted from Searching for Dessert

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup pecans
• 1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons Jack Daniel's (or apple juice)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons orange juice

Directions:

1. Lightly toast the pecans in an oven or skillet until fragrant, 2-3 minutes, cool slightly. Scoop the pumpkin into a food processor and add the remaining ingredients. Puree until smooth.
2. Place the pumpkin mixture into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it starts to bubble, stirring frequently.  Cook until mixture thickens.
3. Serve pumpkin butter warm, or refrigerate for later use.

Makes 2 cups

I'd never made pumpkin butter before, so this was a new experience for me.  It was really good on some fresh-baked whole grain sourdough bread, and on that same bread toasted.  I gave my grandson some, and he pretty much licked the pumpkin butter off the toast and wanted more - so I'd say that's a pretty good endorsement.

I am thinking that the only thing I'll change next time I make it, is to add some ginger and nutmeg too, just to give it more of that pumpkin pie flavor.  I need to make some biscuits, too.  I bet this would be great on biscuits.  I keep thinking of new things I can spread it on!