Parmesan Dutch Baby with Creamy Mushrooms

Lately I’ve been working my way through a cookbook I’ve had for several years, Smitten Kitchen Every Day. The Vegetarian Mains section has won my heart (and appetite). Every recipe I’ve made has been delicious and weeknight doable. Yay!

The book even includes a recipe that makes two (and only two) large oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies. You can satisfy your big cookie craving without having to fight not to keep eating cookie after cookie, which is what usually happens when I bake.

Last summer Dutch baby pancake recipes seemed to be everywhere, and I finally tried a breakfast version. Wow! The special treat that pancakes bring, but without the hands-on stove-top flipping they require. Plus, they were so darned cool looking with their rumpled one pan presentation. 

A Dutch baby isn’t going to feed a crowd but is plenty for two with a tossed salad or four as a side dish with a main course. This recipe is a nuanced, hearty concoction that won’t leave you feeling weighed down. I sub homemade cashew cream for the called-for heavy cream; use whichever you prefer—I’m not sure you’d be able to tell the difference. Enjoy!

• Servings: 2-4
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Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen Every Day by Deb Perelman

Creamy Mushrooms:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium shallot, minced

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned and chopped small

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dry white wine or dry vermouth (I used vermouth)

3 tablespoons heavy cream or cashew cream (cashew cream recipe can be found as part of this recipe)

Dutch Baby:
4 large eggs, room temperature

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup milk, room temperature (I’ve made this with both skim and whole milk and really couldn’t tell the difference)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or parsley, for garnish

Place a 10- or 12-inch cast iron pan (or other similar sized ovenproof skillet) in your oven and preheat it to 425 degrees F.

To make the creamy mushrooms, heat a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat and add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add the shallot, and cook until soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste, and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms have released their liquid and it has cooked off.

Add the wine, reduce the heat to medium-low, scrape up any brown bits and cook off the wine, which will take a minute or two. Stir in the cream, and as soon as it simmers, which will be almost immediately, remove from heat. You’ll be briefly heating this up again so it’s warm when you top the Dutch baby with it.

To make the Dutch baby, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, salt, and pepper until well combined. Add the flour and whisk until mostly smooth, then whisk in the milk. It’s okay if there are lumps.

Remove the hot skillet from the oven (use thick hot pads!) and add the three tablespoons of cubed butter. Swirl it around in the pan until it melts. Pour the batter into the pan and, carefully, return the pan to the oven. Cook for 15 minutes when the pancake should be brown in places and rumpled. Sprinkle with Parmesan and return it to the oven for a minute or two to melt the cheese. During the last few minutes of the Dutch baby cooking, heat the mushrooms over medium-low heat so they are warm.

Remove the pancake from oven and spoon the creamy mushrooms over it. Garnish with chives or parsley and cut into wedges. Serves 2 as a main dish with a tossed salad or 4 as a side dish with a main course.

Panettone Muffins

A few weeks ago, I ordered a new-to-me ingredient from King Arthur Baking Company, Fiori di Sicilia. It’s a blend of citrus and vanilla with a subtle floral aroma that reminds me of an Orange Julius. This secret ingredient can be added to cakes, cookies, sweet breads, muffins, and scones for a lovely mysterious flavor that you just can’t quite put your finger on when describing.

Eager to bake something with it, I turned to the King Arthur website for a recipe and chose Panettone Muffins. Perfect for the season and I had all the ingredients on hand. Fiori di Sicilia (flowers of Sicily) is traditionally used in Panettone, which is a classic Italian Christmas yeast bread. If you don’t have the Fiori di Sicilia, you can sub orange extract or orange essence, or just leave it out. You won’t get that special “je ne sais quoi,” but will still have a mighty tasty muffin.

The recipe calls for soaking the dried fruit in ¼ cup of apple juice, orange juice, or rum, but after reading the comments, I followed a suggestion and used Cointreau, an orange flavored liqueur (plan ahead and start the soaking the day before—it’s worth the extra time). To make the muffins partially whole-grain, I subbed in whole wheat pastry flour for some of the white all-purpose. If you don’t have the whole wheat, just use all-purpose for the full flour amount.

Made on a Saturday morning, we had them with scrambled eggs for a delicious treat that tasted like Christmas. Wanting to use my pretty muffin papers that hold more batter than a typical muffin pan, we ended up with a size in between regular and jumbo. If you do that too, you’ll need to increase the baking time.

Enjoy! And merry Christmas!

• Servings: 12
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Adapted from this King Arthur Baking Company Recipe

1 ½ cups diced dried fruit (I used a combination of dried cherries, cranberries, gold and regular raisins)

¼ cup apple juice, orange juice, or rum (or do what I did and use Cointreau or another orange liqueur)

4 tablespoons butter, at room temp

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used grapeseed—any neutral oil will do)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temp

¼ teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia (you can sub orange extract or orange essence, or just omit)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon fine grain salt

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup milk

Several tablespoons of coarse sugar (turbinado, demerara, or sparkling sugar)

In a small bowl, mix the dried fruit with the juice or booze. Cover and let it rest overnight, stirring it up occasionally so the fruit is evenly saturated. You can speed this up by heating the fruit and liquid in the microwave until very hot and then letting it cool to room temperature, although I think it really benefits from the longer soaking time.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. (or 350 on a convection setting). Lightly grease a 12-cup or two 6-cup muffin tins. If you use muffin papers, lightly spray them before adding the batter so the paper will come off the muffins easily.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter, oil, and sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs and beat to combine. Stir in the Fiori di Sicilia and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together the baking powder, salt, and flours. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour mixture and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Stir in the dried fruit and include any remaining liquid.

Spoon the batter evenly into prepared muffin pans or cups. Sprinkle the tops generously with the coarse sugar. Bake for 18-20 minutes (for standard muffins. If making larger ones, the cooking time will need to be increased), until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it.

Remove muffins from the oven and let them sit in the pan for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Makes 12 standard muffins, or in my case, with the larger muffin papers, 7.

One comment after the recipe on King Arthur’s webpage said they are even better the next day and we’ll find out tomorrow if that’s true. With the boozy fruit and Fiori di Sicilia, I’m betting that will be the case.

Falafel with Creamy Tahini-Yogurt Sauce

I don’t know why, but earlier this summer I started craving falafel. And Foxy Falafel, my go-to source for truly great falafel, is limited to curbside pick-up during the pandemic. Deep-fried food just doesn’t travel well, and I’m thinking it wouldn’t be as amazing by the time I got it home.

This led me to look for an authentic recipe that would satisfy my craving. I found it and must share—it’s that good! Plus, it’s not deep-fried–yay! Golden brown and crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside with all those signature falafel herbs and spices, it’s served with a creamy tahini-yogurt sauce, thinly sliced radishes, cucumber, red onion, and tomatoes from our garden. All piled on a whole wheat tortilla or, if you have time, stuffed in my whole wheat pita bread, it’s a nutritious, delicious all-in-one meal.

There’s nothing difficult or time-consuming about this other than the need to plan ahead and start soaking the dried chickpeas the night before (canned chickpeas won’t work here). And after soaking, you don’t have to cook the beans, which makes this recipe even easier! Everything else comes together quickly enough for a weeknight meal. A very special weeknight meal! Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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Adapted from this Downshiftology recipe
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and all that’s needed to make it vegan is to use a tahini sauce without the yogurt, like this one.

1 cup dried chickpeas (canned won’t work in this recipe)

About half of a medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 cup fresh parsley, in between loosely and tightly packed

1 cup fresh cilantro, in between loosely and tightly packed

1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Several grinds of black pepper

2 tablespoons chickpea flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

Grapeseed or avocado oil for pan-frying (or another neutral oil of choice)

Tahini-yogurt sauce, recipe follows

Flour or corn tortillas or my whole wheat pita bread

Accompaniments:
Thinly sliced radishes, cucumbers, red onion, diced tomato

The night before you plan to make the falafel, place the chickpeas in a pot and cover with water by 2-3 inches (the chickpeas will triple in size and you want to make sure they stay submerged). Cover pot and set aside.

The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to your food processor (after draining, I dump them onto a clean kitchen towel and pat them dry before putting them in the food processor).

Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, cumin, salt, cardamom, and black pepper to the food processor and process until the mixture is the texture of coarse sand (you may have to stop and scrape down the sides a couple times).

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the chickpea flour and baking soda. Cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and place it in oven.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons oil. When oil is hot, form falafel mixture into balls (I used a #30 cookie dough scoop, which is about 1 ½-2 tablespoons) and place in hot pan. Flatten slightly with a spatula. You’ll have to do this in batches—don’t crowd the falafels.

If the mixture seems too wet, add another tablespoon of chickpea flour. If it seems too dry, add a tablespoon of water (I didn’t need to do either both times I have made this recipe).

Cook the falafels for about 3 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook another 3 minutes. Remove to rack in oven to stay warm. Repeat with remaining falafel mixture. You will probably need to add more oil to the pan.

Serve in warm tortillas or pita with a swoosh of tahini-yogurt sauce, several falafels, tomato, radish, cucumber, or other toppings of choice. Makes about 4 servings or 18-20 falafel.

Creamy Tahini Yogurt Sauce
From this Feasting at Home recipe

¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (I used 2%)

¼ cup tahini

2 garlic cloves, grated on a micro-plane

Juice of one medium lemon

½ to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (my tahini was salt-free, so I used the full teaspoon)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Wisk all ingredients in small bowl until thoroughly combined and creamy. Can make a day or two ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until use.

 

Cherry Tomato Quick Kimchi

I recently read an article in which the author ponders the word kimchi not as a singular noun, but as a verb, in that you can kimchi just about anything. And “quick kimchi” at that! If  you can quick pickle, why not quick kimchi?

Having made kimchi before, I know it’s a process—chopping, brining, packing, and then the fermenting—it’s at least a week before you can enjoy this addicting Korean side dish. So to see an article that offered a recipe for a speedy option, I was intrigued.

The article included three quick kimchi recipes: smacked cucumber, fennel, and grape tomato. I had picked up an heirloom cherry tomato medley package the other day and had all the other ingredients, so that’s the version I went with.

This doesn’t have quite the funk of traditional kimchi, but it’s still delicious, addicting even. A little smoky, a little nutty, with the sweetness of cherry tomatoes and the heat of Korean chili pepper (gochugaru), it’s a unique dish with lots of uses. I served it with arugula over buttered baked potatoes and called it a meal. The next morning it was on homemade toasted bread and topped with a fried egg. I imagine it would be great with rice and crispy tofu or grilled portabella mushrooms. It’s even wonderful eaten out of the bowl all by itself while you’re waiting for your potatoes to bake! I see myself making this often throughout the summer as my cherry and pear tomato plants start producing. Enjoy!

• Servings: 2 1/2 cups
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From this NYT Cooking recipe

Note: Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) is not the same as crushed red pepper flakes. It’s slightly sweet and smoky and has less heat than crushed red pepper or cayenne. You can probably find it at a well-stocked grocery store or Asian market, but if not, it’s easily available online.

1 pound cherry or grape tomatoes (about 2 to 3 cups), halved lengthwise

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar

½ teaspoon finely grated garlic

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)

2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce (can sub fish sauce if not vegetarian)

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Thinly sliced scallions, chopped chives, cilantro, or flat-leaf parsley leaves for garnish (optional)

In a medium bowl, toss the tomatoes with the salt, transfer to a colander, and let sit in the sink to drain, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in the same bowl, add the vinegar and garlic and set aside.

After 30 minutes, add the sesame oil, gochugaru, soy or fish sauce, and sugar to the bowl with the vinegar and garlic and whisk to combine. Use a paper or cloth kitchen towel to pat the tomatoes dry, then add the tomatoes to the dressing and toss until well coated.

Garnish with the optional scallions or herbs before serving. This is best eaten right away, but can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Makes about 2 ½ cups.

Strawberry Dutch Baby

It just doesn’t seem appropriate now to write about light-hearted things like recipes and food with the recent murder-by-cop of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the ensuing riots (not to be lumped in with the peaceful protests), which have now spread across the country. I want to share recipes, but it seems so frivolous and unimportant at this time. However, we all need to eat, so here goes…

I’ve heard of Dutch babies before but had never had or made one. Lately it seemed recipes were everywhere I looked, and I took that as a sign I should join the party.

Apparently Dutch babies aren’t actually Dutch. They are a German pancake that earned the moniker Dutch when someone confused the word Deutsch with Dutch. So, there you have it.

Regardless of the name or origin, they are easy, versatile, and delicious. I’ve made sweet versions with both apples and strawberries and I plan to make a savory one soon (just omit the sugar in the batter and add a few grinds of black pepper) with some veggies and a sprinkling of grated cheese when done. And unlike regular pancakes, you can relax while it’s baking with no need to stand over the stove flipping flapjacks. Enjoy!

• Servings: 2-4
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Adapted from New York Times Cooking

One Dutch baby serves two generously and four for a lighter meal. You’ll get more of the signature puffing and rumpling if your milk and eggs are at room temperature to start.

3 eggs, room temperature

½ cup milk, room temperature (I used skim)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon (optional if using strawberries, but a must with apples)

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

About 3/4 cup of sliced strawberries or apples

Pure maple syrup, for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. and place a 10-inch cast iron pan in the oven.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until very well combined (could also do this in a blender, but I didn’t want to have a blender to clean).

When oven reaches 425, carefully remove pan from oven and add butter. Once it’s melted, scatter strawberry slices on bottom of pan. Pour batter into pan and carefully return to the oven. Cook for about 18 minutes, until pancake is puffed and golden (do not open the oven door—try to determine if it’s done through the window). Turn oven off and leave pancake in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into wedges. Serve with pure maple syrup or whatever toppings you’d like. Makes 2 generous or 4 smaller servings.

 

Layered White Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

Last week I cooked up a pot of cranberry beans with a little onion, carrot, and celery and then couldn’t decide what to do with them, so they sat in the fridge for a few days until I got some inspiration. With it no longer being wise to run to the grocery store on a whim, cooking during a pandemic has become adjusting recipes to what you have on hand. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, with mostly good results.

Not sure what made me think of a recipe I cooked a few years back for layered enchiladas. The original recipe calls for chicken and I probably made it with seiten or mock duck in its place. I figured the cranberry beans in the fridge could be the “meat” and spinach would be included too because when I ordered a package of baby spinach in my co-op curbside pick-up order, they gave me a one-pound package. That’s a lot of spinach to use up while it’s still fresh—it’s been going in everything lately!

I made a quick homemade enchilada sauce, but you could use store-bought if you’d rather. Because my cooked beans already had onion in them, I didn’t add more, but I included them in the recipe instructions assuming most people will either use canned beans or won’t have added onion when they cooked their dried beans.

Cranberry beans (also called borlotti beans) are soft and dense with a velvety, rich texture. I ordered mine from Rancho Gordo, which I’m told has some of the best heirloom beans around. You could use any dried white bean or pinto bean, and canned would work as well, but the texture will be a little different.

Out of necessity, pretty much all recipes right now are flexible, so you can vary the cheeses, the additional vegetables, and as I mentioned, the bean variety. Not being sure how all these flavors would come together, I was fully prepared for this to not really work. But it did. It was damned delicious, in fact, and was actually one of the best twists on a recipe I’ve ever made. Pete and I agreed it needs to be shared. Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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Adapted from this Williams Sonoma recipe.

1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 cups cooked cranberry beans or other white beans (or substitute rinsed, drained canned beans)

1 3/4 cups red enchilada sauce (canned or homemade—this is the recipe I used)

9 corn tortillas, each about 6 inches in diameter (mine were 5” and worked fine)

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Sliced green onion tops for garnish

Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, 6 to 7 minutes. Add beans and spinach to pan and cook until spinach has wilted and reduced.

Spread 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 3 1/2-quart round Dutch oven. Arrange 3 tortillas in a single layer on the sauce, overlapping them as needed to cover the sauce. Top with a generous 1 cup of the bean-spinach mixture, 1/2 cup of the sauce and 1/4 cup of each cheese. Repeat the layering 2 more times, alternating the direction of the tortilla layers and finishing with 1/2 cup sauce and 1/4 cup of each cheese.

Transfer to the oven and bake until the ingredients are heated through and the cheese is melted and the sauce bubbly, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with green onions and cilantro. Slice into wedges. Makes about 4 servings.

Big Crunchy-Lidded Blueberry Muffins

Last weekend, while preparing for what feels like the apocalypse (Covid-19 pandemic), I turned to the comforting task of baking, thinking it would be nice to have something on hand I could freeze and take out for a little treat here and there. We all still need treats!

Recently I made muffins for a work party welcoming a new staff member and they were delicious. With blueberries still in the fridge, making blueberry muffins was the obvious choice, but I had run out of grapeseed oil, my go-to neutral oil when a recipe calls for canola or vegetable oil.

Having made some cakes and sweet breads with olive oil, I thought that might make a suitable substitute, but wasn’t sure if the flavor would overwhelm the blueberries. What I ended up using was a mixture of olive oil and melted butter, and I actually think it made for an even better muffin than the original. Also, instead of the coarse sugar the recipe suggested sprinkling on the muffins prior to baking, I opted for cinnamon sugar. And to make the muffins lean a little healthy, I used whole wheat pastry flour for half of the all-purpose flour the recipe called for.

Off to the freezer these muffins went. We’ll dig into them once the Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Irish Whiskey Buttercream I made for the office birthday party that was cancelled because we’re all now working from home are gone. I hope this social distancing thing doesn’t result in packing on a few extra pounds—I am making sure to work out a little longer each day now that I don’t have drive time.

Enjoy these treats if you make them, and by the way, frozen blueberries will work equally well. Wishing you all good health in the days to come!

• Servings: 8 large or 14 regular muffins
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Adapted from this Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe, one of my go-to sites for all things baking. I used these muffin/cupcake molds and they make a large, but not jumbo muffin. They stand by themselves on a baking tray. You could also use a large muffin tin. If you want standard size muffins, the baking time will need to be shorted and I have listed the different times in the recipe instructions.

1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature

¼ cup (half a stick) butter, melted

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen (do not defrost) blue berries, divided

Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling (1/4 cup granulated sugar mixed with one tablespoon cinnamon)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. If not using muffin molds or liners, spray your muffin pan with non-stick spray or butter it.

In a large bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar buttermilk, butter, oil and vanilla extract.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Mix together until just combined—don’t over mix. Batter will be thick. Gently fold in 1 ¼ of the 1 ½ cups blueberries.

Scoop batter into prepared molds or muffin pans, filling about ¾ of the way full. Top each muffin with a few blueberries from the reserved ¼ cup. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar (you will probably not use it all—save for cinnamon toast on a rainy morning).

If making large muffins, bake at 425 degrees F. for 5 minutes, and then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick or tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean. If making regular-sized muffins, cook 5 minutes at 425 degrees F., reduce oven temp to 375, and continue baking for another 12 minutes or so.

Set pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove muffins from pan and continue cooling on rack. Makes about 8 large or 14 regular muffins.

 

Spiced Pear Butter

A while back I spied some beautiful organic Bartlett pears on sale at Whole Foods and decided to buy a big bag of ‘em. I left them on the counter to ripen and then put them in the crisper drawer of the fridge with plans for lots of pear snacking. Fast forward a week or so and that bag o’ pears was still in the crisper, said snacking had not happened, and the pears were starting to lose their beauty.

A dessert using all those pears would be mighty big and I certainly don’t need those calories, so I decided to see if there was such a thing as pear butter. Pears are kind of like apples, and apple butter is delicious, so pear butter must be a thing. Sure, enough, I found several recipes online.

The result is wonderful! Full of warm fall spices with a richness from the brown sugar and vanilla—I’ll be finding many uses for this deliciousness! On ice-cream, English muffins (paired with peanut butter it’s especially good!), mixed in with plain yogurt, a sweet touch to a savory grilled cheese sandwich, pancake topping, a smoothie mix-in—so many ways to use this concoction! Enjoy!

• Servings: three 12-ounce jars
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Adapted from this USA Pears recipe

3 pounds ripe Bartlett pears

¼ cup water

¾ to 1 cup light brown sugar, use the lower amount for a less sweet version

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ of a vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract*

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Wash, quarter, and core pears (if you do not have a food mill, mentioned later in the recipe, peel pears after washing, and skip the food mill step).

Place pear quarters and water in a large stockpot, over medium heat, until water starts to simmer. Cover pot and adjust heat to maintain a simmer, and cook until pears are soft, about 20 minutes. It may seem like you should add more than a quarter cup of water, but the pears will release liquid as they soften—I assure you there’s no need for more water.

Remove pot from heat and mash pears with a potato masher (if you don’t have a potato masher, carefully mash the pears with the bottom of a large drinking glass).

Place a food mill over a large bowl and run mashed pears, in batches, through mill, discarding pear skins that are left in the mill. Dump the bowl of pear pulp back into the stockpot, add the brown sugar, the vanilla bean, and the spices.

*If you are using pure vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean, add the vanilla later, after the cooking process, where the instructions have you remove the vanilla bean.

Cook pear mixture, uncovered, at a simmer, for about an hour, until desired thickness. Stir every few minutes to prevent scorching. Mixture will thicken somewhat as it cools.

Spoon mixture into jars and, if freezing, leave about an ½ to an inch of headspace in jars for expansion. Will keep in refrigerator for a couple weeks and in freezer for a couple months. Makes about three 12-ounce jars.

 

Ultimate Zucchini Bread

Up until recently, if you mentioned zucchini bread to me, I would have said, “Meh.” It was okay, but nothing I would have chosen to make unless I was desperate to use up some zucchini and wasn’t feeling a savory recipe.

So when I saw a zucchini bread recipe pop up on the Smitten Kitchen, the only reason I didn’t skip right over it was the word “ultimate” in the title. Deb Perelman doesn’t throw around words like that without the goods to back ‘em up.

With that in mind, and some farmers’ market zucchini in the crisper, I baked a loaf that Pete and I enjoyed the heck out of. Soon after, another one when I had a tooth pulled and needed something moist and soft that didn’t require actual chewing (and kept this one all to myself). And another loaf after that to serve with breakfast when my parents were visiting. And, again, to take to take to the cabin. In between, I was craving this stuff. Crazy, right? Never in a million years did I think I’d actually be craving zucchini bread!

The nice thing is, this loaf of yumminess is so quick to mix up and pop in the oven. A one-bowl feat of ease with no need to wring the moisture out of the zucchini. And it freezes beautifully!

Deb mentions using a neutral oil, melted, butter, or olive oil. Wanting to maximize the health factor, I opted for olive oil. With the first loaf, I think I used whole wheat pastry flour for ½ cup of the 2 cups flour, and each time I made it, I increased the percentage of whole wheat till there was no white flour included. Totally whole grain without any heaviness or grainy texture—yay!

The only hard part about this recipe is the suggestion requirement of waiting 24 hours after baking to dig into it. Be assured, though, this is necessary in order for it to live up to the “ultimate” moniker. Once you’ve waited that excruciatingly long full day, I think you’ll agree, the delay was worth it.

In order to keep the crunchy dome of this treat crunchy, don’t cover it, just let it sit out on the counter in the pan in which it was baked—no need to do anything else—I’ve got four (or more by now) loaves under my belt, so am speaking from experience. Just wrap the cut end in foil and return it to the pan and keep it on the kitchen counter. I pretty much guarantee it won’t last long–it’s that good!

Eaten plain or slathered with whatever spread, butter, or topping you please, let this warmly-spiced sweet treat ease you into fall. And if you happen to have made a batch of the Smitten Kitchen’s Peach Butter like I did, it will elevate this “ultimate” zucchini bread to super ultimate status. Enjoy!

Amazing Zucchini Bread

• Servings: 8-10
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Slightly adapted from this Smitten Kitchen Recipe

2 cups (13 ounces or 370 grams) grated, packed zucchini, not wrung out, grated on the large holes of a box grater

2 large eggs, room temperature

2/3 cup (160 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, butter, or a neutral oil like safflower or grapeseed

½ cup (95 grams) packed dark brown sugar

½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt

1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

2 cups (9.65 ounces or 275 grams) whole wheat pastry flour (I like Whole Foods 365 Organic)

2 tablespoons raw or turbinado sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. or 335 if you have a convection oven. Lightly coat a 6-cup or 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

Place grated zucchini in a large bowl and add oil, eggs, brown and granulated sugars, vanilla, and salt. Mix with a fork until combined.

Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and baking powder over the surface of the batter and mix until combined. Then, to ensure ingredients are well-dispersed, mix an additional 10 or so stirs.

Add flour and mix until combined, with no pockets of flour remaining. Pour into prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the raw or turbinado sugar—use it all—it will make that awesome crunchy dome.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick or tester inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out batter-free. Because I have a history of quick breads being doughy in the middle, to ensure doneness, I also use an instant read thermometer to test the internal temperature. If it’s not between 195 and 200 degrees F., I put it back in the oven until it reaches that temperature range.

Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Leave in the pan, unwrapped, overnight or 24 hours. Remove loaf carefully from pan, being careful not to ruin the crunchy lid, and cut into slices. Zucchini bread keeps 4-5 days at room temperature. Only the cut end of the loaf needs to be wrapped in foil; store the bread in the baking pan.

Makes 8-10 servings.

 

Buttermilk Chive Bread

After returning from an all-too-short cabin trip over the 4^th of July, we had a big bag of cabin chives to use. I’ve written about our cabin chives before—they come from the most prolific chive plant I’ve ever seen, and it’s situated smack dab in front of the cabin. The Lake Superior air must be good for it.

You can cut chives from this plant almost any time of the year. We’ve even dug through the snow to find fresh chives in winter. Seriously!

A couple years ago after bringing a bag of chives home, I got to thinking about chives and buttermilk pairing so well together and wondered how that would translate into bread. I found a recipe online, tweaked it some, including incorporating whole wheat flour and doubling the chives (hey, when you’ve got good chives, flaunt ’em!), and the rest is history. It’s become a staple in our house whenever we bring home chives. Perfect for either sandwiches or toasted and spread with good butter, it’s got a pleasant tang from the buttermilk and an oniony hint that lots of chives bring. I see sandwiches in your future! Enjoy!

By the way, if you’re lucky enough to have the chive flowers, in addition to being pretty, they add a delicious delicate flavor to whatever you add them. We love the on salads!

• Servings: 2 loaves
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Adapted from this Iowa Housewife recipe

4 cups bread flour, divided

2 cups whole wheat flour

4 teaspoons instant yeast (if using active dry yeast instead, double rising times)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

¼ cup neutral oil (grapeseed, avocado, canola) or melted butter

1 ¼ cup warm water, about 110 degrees F.

1 cup warm buttermilk (I use low-fat), about 110 degrees F.

½ cup chopped chives

2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing on cooked loaves (optional)

Grease two 4 ½ x 8 ½ inch loaf pans. Set aside.

Place three cups of the bread flour, the whole wheat flour, yeast, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until combined (if you don’t have a stand mixer, use a whisk).

With mixer on low speed, add the oil/butter, water, and buttermilk. Gradually add the remaining cup of bread flour and mix until dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn speed up slightly and mix for about two minutes. If you don’t have a stand mixer, mix all ingredients together using a wooden spoon.

Add chives and change to the dough hook, and, at low speed, knead about five minutes (if you don’t have a stand mixer, knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes). Cover bowl and let rest in a warm place for about 10 minutes. Turn dough out of bowl onto a floured surface and divide in half. Form into loaves and place in prepared pans. Loosely cover the pans with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

While dough is rising, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake loaves for 25-30 minutes. Remove loaves from pans onto a cooling rack. Brush tops with melted butter. Slice and eat either warm or room temp. Loaves freeze well. Makes two loaves.