The Original Reason for My Hiatus...

...was that I was doing a site design. This one:

 Heaven's Pavement is a promotional web site for the book of the same title. I coded it from scratch, and spent quite a bit of time with the site's owner getting the art just right and making the layout perfect. We went live right around Veterans' Day.

I didn't want to take time out from the design process to edit and post anything. Things began to gather. I got intimidated. I put it off a couple of weeks, with the very best of intentions.

And then, it was the Thanksgiving holiday. As everyone with small children knows, school holidays are not holidays at all for parents. For us, it was a full week of nonstop parenting and turkey wrangling, the latter of which went very well indeed, for my very first turkeybird  in over 16 years, and the very first I have cooked with my spouse.

I also made my usual pumpkin "pie" in a springform pan. This year, due to developing food sensitivities, it was eggless. It came out quite well, except that Eggless Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie needs about 48 hours, rather than 24, for the spice flavors to develop properly. It was great the day after Turkey Day and even better the third day.

Recipe for Eggless Pumpkin Cheesecake "Pie"


Ahead of time: 
Prepare and bake your favorite baked pastry crust in a 9" springform pan. I make a recipe for an 8" double crust pie , then put the crust bottom in and cut strips the same width as the pan is deep. Set them in the pan, sealing the seam with a little water, and crimp lightly close to the top. Line with aluminum foil folded lengthwise into a strip as deep as the vertical wall to prevent slumping and prick the bottom or weight. Pre-bake according to your crust recipe. Cool before using.

Ingredients:

• 3.5 cups cooked pumpkin
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 3 tbsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp of egg replacer (or 4 tbsp cornstarch)
• 1 tbsp soy lecithin
• 1 package cream cheese
• 1/3 cup powdered milk
• 1tsp "pie spice"
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinches of ginger, nutmeg mace to taste
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup brown sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Mix all dry ingredients, then beat in all wet ingredients.
3. Pour into your pre-baked shell, and set it on a cookie sheet.
4. Place in oven, and bake for 25 minutes at 450 degrees F. 
5. Turn oven down to 350 degrees F for an hour and a half. Pie is done when a toothpick can be inserted and pulled out fairly cleanly.
6. Cool on the counter in pan.
7. Cover and refrigerate 48 hours.

Serve with whipped cream.

After that, I was just out of the groove. I have a couple dozen posts queued up, and partially edited, but I had let everything slide. Excuses aside, I think I'm back now!

Savory pies for a cool summer evening

So, today I made pies. These are basically made by the method used for making calzone, out of my favorite basic yeast dough (use your favorite dough or pizza dough recipe), and filled with sausage and mushrooms, chicken alfredo, or cheese and ham (that last one is for the kids). 

Make your dough, divide it into handful-size balls (I get a dozen or more out of a single recipe), set on an oiled cookie sheet or tray, cover with plastic and rise in the fridge for 3-8 hours, then roll out into roundish, flat shapes. Think tortilla-thickness, they will rise a bit after filling and sealing. do one at a time, roll out, fill, seal. Fill with about half of what you think you need to fill each pie. Seal the edge with water and pinch closed, then move onto a cookie sheet and snip a small hole to keep it from blowing up. When the sheet is filled, bake at 375 F for 20 or so minutes.

All fillings are cooked and ready to eat before filling the pies, since they only need to bake for 20 or 30 minutes to cook the bread. Use whatever strikes your fancy. I think curried chicken or savory lentil pies would be great for next time. You can even use slices of fruit and sugar and spices.

One pie filled me up, two was enough for my hungry husband who skipped lunch, and one and half was enough for our older, fast-growing, ever-hungry boy.

I took the last two doughballs and cut them in half and filled them with berries mixed with sugar and cornstarch, the dusted the half-sized pies with more sugar and baked them.

We're all full now, so I think I did a good job.

Summer Popsicle Bites!

Don't these look wonderful?



We love smoothies in summer. I like to use a mix of fresh and frozen fruit and juices, so we get a nice slushie type smoothie. No matter how much we make, though, after I fill the cups, there's always a little bit left, and it's not fair to give one person extra.

So, I put it in a fun-shape ice tray (mine are from Ikea, but you can get them just about anywhere) and freeze it overnight. Sometimes I do this with juices, too, but those melt so fast the kids don't really like them as much. Of course, you can use a regular ice tray, but the fun shapes get a response that's an order of magnitude greater than a regular icecube shaped fruit pop.

Today's fruit pops are hearts made from a mix of peaches, plums and tropical fruit with apple and orange juice and a star made with apple juice. Here they are dished up for tonight's dessert, perfect to keep two overheated little boys happy on a nearly record-hot day:

Play Dough!

I made this lovely play dough from this recipe over at Cooks.com. There are easily a hundred different play clay recipes there, but this one was similar to an old one that I had tried before and really liked, but no longer had a copy of (isn't that always the way?).

It's a cooked corn starch salt dough, with a little oil for consistency and to help prevent sticking. This version has you color AFTER cooking.

I made a few small changes, of course, because I'm one of those cooks, and I can never leave anything alone. Here's how I did it, based on this classic recipe.

First, measure out the cornstarch and salt. Do not pack the cornstarch down or you'll need more water! Then put the dry ingredients in your pot and mix well. Next measure your water and oil. Drizzle your water in and stir with a narrow spoon or silicone mixing spatula. Keep going until all the water is incorporated. it'll get kind of hard to stir, which is normal for cornstarch. It'll also be kind of gritty. That's the salt. That's normal too.

NOTE: I omitted the shortening and wintergreen oil and just used salad oil. One tablespoon goes in the pot, the rest is kneaded in later. Add the oil and mix it in a little, then turn on the heat. A medium-low burner is best, and it has to be stirred constantly until it's all cooked. It will get harder to do, and you have to keep scraping the bottom and sides of the pan (remember that spatula? You really need one for this part)or you risk scorching to uneven cooking of your dough. It'll get lumpy, mushy and translucent. Eventually almost all of it will be cooked, and then turn off the heat and just keep stirring it around the pan until any opaque or runny spots start to blend with the rest.

At this point, cover it tightly - a plate is fine if your chosen pot has no lid - and let it sit until it's cool, about an hour. Don't refrigerate it.

Take it out of the pan and knead it in a medium sized salad bowl to work out any lumps that have occurred, slowly adding the remaining oil. You can drizzle in a little more oil or a little water as needed if it's dry or crumbly, but remember that coloring will add moisture too and don't go overboard! Keep kneading it until it's nice and smooth, then divide it up into as many hunks as you want colors and put each into a ziplock bag.

You can either color it now, or let it sit overnight and color it in the morning. I used washable tempera paints to color mine. To do that, put a couple squirts of paint into each bag, seal, and knead until mixed. Add more paint until you like the color, but remember that the more intense the color, the more likely the dough is to stain, even with a washable pigment color. My bags took three double squirts for red, three for blue and two for yellow and they are relatively non-staining.

Store in plastic bags in a cool place.

Dough Knots!

I made Dough Knots for breakfast the other day. While I wanted to share this recipe immediately, it has taken a bit for me to get the camera and its cable together. I did so today, and I am finally able to post this!

The night before, I filtered my deep fryer oil and the next morning I made eggless doughnut balls (basically sweet quickbread dough) for the boys for breakfast.

They were delicious.

Dough Knots

3 3/4 cups or so of all purpose flour
7 tsp baking powder
2 cups milk (I used dry milk and then used filtered water), you could probalby use soymilk too
1/4 cup sugar (less or more to taste)
1 tsp salt
On this day, I tossed in a huge dash of cinnamon and looked for my vanilla but it was hiding. I would also make these with shredded cheese or raisins or nuts or whatever mixed in. They might also be tasty with some chopped garlic, for a savory variation.

Preheat oil in deep fryer, if using electric fryer.

Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly (I use a whisk), adding any mix-ins with the dry ingredients.

Add liquid, mix well with a spatula or spoon.

Get a small scoop or spoon and set it in a glass of water for spooning out portions.
If you are using oil in a deep pan on your stovetop, heat it now. The batter can sit for a bit.

When your oil is at 350, "drop" 1 tbsp or so at a time into the oil until the fryer is full (it's really more of an easing motion, you drop from right above the oil, to prevent splashing; there should be room for the knots to move around). Dip spoon into water between scoops to prevent excessive sticking.

Cook until knots are a dark golden brown. They may have one side that's less done, but that's okay. Remove with a slotted spoon, mesh skimmer, etc and set aside on paper towels for 5-10 min, then move to a colander to cool.

Allow to cool between 10 and 20 minutes before eating, because the residual heat is still cooking the dough.

Keep going until you are done with all the batter, follow kitchen safety rules, etc.

Makes about 30-40 knots, depending on size of spoon.

"Crayola Toast!" or leftovers for breakfast

I made French toast with our leftover sweet cornbread and a sweet seasoned egg batter and jokingly called it "Creole toast." My four-year old took this and ran with it, proclaiming that were going to have "Crayola Toast! Crayola Toast!"

We had:

• "Crayola Toast" (Pain Perdu, except made with the cornbread I made for T-day).
  
• Sliced and lightly fried sweet ham (sliced from our T-day Brown Sugar Ham)
  
• Patties, or "croquettes" made of leftover cornbread dressing.
  

The "Crayola Toast" is made using any sweet-batter french toast recipe, and any light, sweet cornbread (It must have at least 1:2 flour:cornmeal, though a lighter recipe of 1:1 flour:cornmeal would work better). It should be baked in a loaf pan to get the right shape. My recipe, from today (normally I wing it on my egg batter, depending on my mood), is:

• 1 loaf of light, sweet cornbread, sliced and buttered, cooled overnight, missing a slice or two
  
• 3 eggs (or 4 egg whites and 2-3 yolks, maybe with a dash of cream or milk)
  
• 2 tsp sugar (superfine is bast, or dissolve it first a little hot water and let cool)
  
• a little vanilla (I like Bourbon Vanilla), maybe 1/2 tsp
  
• a very little nutmeg, and likewise cinnamon (pinch of each)
  

Mix all ingredients except cornbread, then put in a shallow dish big enough to coat a slice of bread without crowding. Warm a griddle or wide, flat pan, and butter or oil it (according to your custom), using your usual heat setting for cooking eggs.

Take each slice of bread and coat both sides,placing in the pan when coated. Only coat as many as will fit in the pan without crowding, and do not let the bread soak too long (cornbread becomes friable when wet).

Cook a minute or two each side until you are satisfied with how the egg coating looks. Remove from pan and serve with syrup, powdered sugar, jam, or cinnamon sugar.

The dressing patties are fairly self-explanatory. I think they might have held together a bit better if mixed with a bit of egg, but they held together just fine just from being pressed together in my palms and lightly toasted on the griddle.

The fried ham is obvious - slice, fry on a griddle or pan until warm, serve. If you cook it just after the Pain Perdu, you should not need to use more oil on the pan.

Pancakes from the Pet in the Jar

Note: A key ingredient in this recipe is sourdough. Go meet Herbert.


Sourdough Potato Pancakes
Get your sourdough out and feed it the night before. It should be the texture of stirred sour cream. If it's low, feed it for a couple of days ahead of time. You'll need 2 cups of good active sourdough for this recipe.

In addition to your sourdough, will need:

• 1/2 cup cold mashed potatoes (cooled is fine)
  
• 2 eggs, beaten
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 2-3 tbsp sugar
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1 tbsp melted butter or oil
  
• 1 1/3 cups self-rising flour OR 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour and 1tsp baking powder
  
• 1/2 tsp baking soda, dissolved in a little bit of warm water

Mix the potatoes, sourdough, milk, eggs, sugar and salt thoroughly until creamy. Add the flour (or flour and baking powder). Mix until incorporated. Grease the pan and heat until hot.

When the griddle is hot, add the soda/water and stir well. IMMEDIATELY begin cooking pancakes. Serve as they come off the griddle, with your favorite pancake treatment.

Feeds 3-6 people, depending on level of hunger. Number pancakes depends on size of cakes you make.

Catsup Recipe

My son loves catsup. We are trying to avoid HFCS and that makes it difficult to make everyone happy.

So, I make my own. This is for a small quantity, since this has no preservative additives.

Spiced Catsup

• 2 tbsp Cider Vinegar
• One 12 ounce can Tomato Paste
• 1 cup brown sugar or other granulated sugar.
• 1/2 cup strong coffee or black tea
• 1 tbsp mustard or 1 tsp dry mustard and 1 additional tsp vinegar
• A dash (to taste) of each:
• salt
• pepper
• garam masala (optional)
  
• coriander
• allspice
• cloves (less of this than the others!)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly (in a food processor if desired), add more vinegar or spice to taste. Put in a clean, sterile jar and refrigerate.

Molasses can be substituted for sugar, but you need to set half of both the vinegar and coffee/tea aside, add molasses, and then thin with equal parts vinegar and coffee/tea until it reaches a consistency you like.
All seasonings are to taste, of course. Feel free to remove some and add others. If you start with fresh tomatoes, drain off some of the juice and omit the coffee/tea.

Venison Lentil Molé Stew

This is a wonderful cold-weather dinner, and serves fabulously the next day. It can be made spicy or not, but the cocoa really gives this dish a depth and richness that makes it extra-satisfying.

You will need:

• 4 cups lentils
  
• 1-2 lbs very lean meat (95% lean or better, like venison, but mutton or beef work equally well), minced or ground
  
• 2 medium sweet onions, diced finely
  
• 2 cloves garlic, diced finely
  
• 1/4 cup peanut or olive oil
  
• 1 tsp tarragon
  
• 1/2 tsp ground sage
  
• 1 tsp savory
  
• 1/2 tsp thyme
  
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1 to 2 blocks mexican cocoa (one is mandatory, add more to deepen the flavor)
  
• OPTIONAL: chilies, chopped finely. I'd use 2-4 small, fresh jalapeno peppers as a basic option for this. These must be added during cooking.
  
• OPTIONAL: instead of chilies, add some of your favorite prepared salsa or chili sauce to taste just before serving.
  
• 1 lemon, sliced thin
  
• sour cream, grated cheese or butter
  

Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed stew pot. Saute onions and garlic in oil until clear. Deglaze pan w 2-4 cups water, then add meat and stew until brown, breaking up any clumps that form.

Add more water (between 2 and 6 cups) then add lentils andall seasonings except for cocoa. Stir. bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and stir periodically. When lentils have cooked for 1 hour, add cocoa. Stir until cocoa is melted and completely incorporated, or it will settle to the bottom and scorch. Simmer for 1 to 2 more hours, until lentils are very soft and breaking up.

While stew is simmering, stir every few minutes, to check that the stew is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add water (or cold coffee) as needed to increase moisture - this should be a thick stew, but still have a distinct broth.

Serve in heavy bowls or mugs. Top with lemon slices and butter, grated cheese or sour cream.

If you don't eat meat, this can also be made meatless. Simply omit the meat.