Apple crisp season melded into pumpkin goody time, and it is now the era of gingerbread. So far, all these baking opportunities have passed me by. I prefer baking to cooking, but man (and woman, and child) does not live by dessert alone. As with many things, it is hard to find the time for what I enjoy amongst the pressures of what must get done. However, some yummy desserts made their way to our home this season. Nanaimo bars (a decadent Canadian confection), biscochitos (a New Mexican specialty), and caramels are among them. The latter two came from the quarterly get-together that I enjoy with my local female in-laws. We convene at regular intervals to cook or bake and generally hang out. The caramels are from a recipe originating with Jon's great-grandmother. My MIL hadn't made it since she was a girl, so this was a great adventure. We learned, for example, that the caramel should only boil to 230 F (soft ball stage), not 245 F (medium ball). When it came time to cut up the slabs of caramel it was so hard we resorted to throwing it on the granite counters to break it into shards. Jon preferred using a hammer and knife, but I think that took too long. He also likes these caramels rock hard - no accounting for taste, is there?
Anna and I decorated a gingerbread house (no pics - camera is a bust and I'm still not sure how to get photos off my phone), and I hope to make gingerbread men. I want Anna to help with the cookies, but her enthusiasm is inconsistent. Since I'm not all that interested in eating them (I prefer actual gingerbread) cookies may not happen. Perhaps better to focus on the inevitable: cinnamon buns (a must have for Christmas morning, according to all the males in my family), and matrimonial cake. You may not have heard of the last one. It's a common dessert at potlucks where Mennonites are found: a yummy oatmeal cake with a layer of cooked dates in the middle. Dates are important this year, since they seem common in Mauritanian cooking. Mauritania is our "Christmas country," but I'll explain this further in a separate post. It is a big country, after all.
In other, non-baking, news... I guess there isn't much news. Jon was away for a couple of days this week, and I'm finding these trips to be less bothersome than when the kids were younger. The usual sicknesses have been around: runny noses, vomit, coughing, etc. And the snow levels have reached pathetic lows. Maybe that's why I haven't been baking as much. It's hard to get into a gingerbread mood when the temps are in the 60s.
We did manage to go swimming today, and I was pretty proud of myself for pulling this off. We had a great time, and Anna is getting closer to sticking her head under water. Alas, things ended on a sad note when Isaac split his lip on the stairs of the baby slide. Lots of blood, and he keeps sucking on the wound. Yuck! He got over it, of course, and now is having an extra long nap. So, I still count our trip a victory.
Only eight sleeps until Christmas!
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Friday, December 17, 2010
Friday, December 11, 2009
Food, Glorious Food
There is lots of snow on the ground, and the last few days it was quite cold for the Denver region (-15 to -10 C). Felt like winter back home. And homey feelings bring to mind baking.
As summer turns to fall turns to winter there's a progression of foods that I like to make. Early fall brings crisps and crumbles and various muffins. Late fall brings pumpkin in the form of pies and baked good. Christmas brings on the gingerbread (cakes, cookies, yeast breads).
This year I seem to be focused on pumpkin. Perhaps because I've had many half-eaten cans in the fridge (Isaac likes pumpkin puree with a bit of vanilla and spices. At least, he doesn't spit it out.)
The thing is, I rarely follow a recipe as written. I have a habit of amalgamating recipes and improvising when I'm out of some ingredient. Additionally, when I'm baking some goody for myself, I try to reduce the amount of fat and sugar without compromising on taste too much (full disclosure: I don't like as much sugar as most people, so I probably compromise a little more some might like.)
I really like experimenting with recipes. My ideal job would be working in a test kitchen, although admittedly I'm not so great at documentation. So, the downside of my "experiments" is that every time I make something it comes out a little different.
This season a couple of recipes worked out rather well, so I've recorded them below (if for no other reason than to have them handy for myself when I'm up north for Christmas). A victory for documentation.
Maple Pumpkin Custard (low-fat)
Adapted from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food, The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, and a recipe I came across in Real Simple Magazine.
1 cup evaporated milk (fat free)
2 tsp. flour
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
2 eggs, or one egg and one egg white
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1 1/2 tsp brandy (optional; haven't tried it with the brandy yet, but I think this would be excellent)
Whisk 1/4 cup of the milk and the flour in a small saucepan. Heat over low until boiling, then slowly add the rest of the milk. Return to a boil.
Mix the pumpkin, eggs, syrup and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix the spices.
Combine milk mixture, pumpkin mixture, spices, brandy.
Pour into a pie plate (no crust) and bake at 375 F for about 45 minutes, until the center is almost set.
Pumpkin Scones (reduced fat)
Adapted from The Cheese Board Collective Works
1/2 cup half-and-half (fat free), or evaporated milk (fat free)
3/4 cup skim milk combined with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Whisk together wet ingredients. In bowl of food processor or mixer combine the dry ingredients (not butter). Cut in (combine) the butter with the dry ingredients, until the butter is pea sized. Make a well in the center of the butter mixture and add the wet ingredients. Mix briefly, just until combined.
Drop batter, about 2 Tbsp at a time, onto prepared sheet. Bake about 20 minutes.
Very tasty with pumpkin-apple butter.
As summer turns to fall turns to winter there's a progression of foods that I like to make. Early fall brings crisps and crumbles and various muffins. Late fall brings pumpkin in the form of pies and baked good. Christmas brings on the gingerbread (cakes, cookies, yeast breads).
This year I seem to be focused on pumpkin. Perhaps because I've had many half-eaten cans in the fridge (Isaac likes pumpkin puree with a bit of vanilla and spices. At least, he doesn't spit it out.)
The thing is, I rarely follow a recipe as written. I have a habit of amalgamating recipes and improvising when I'm out of some ingredient. Additionally, when I'm baking some goody for myself, I try to reduce the amount of fat and sugar without compromising on taste too much (full disclosure: I don't like as much sugar as most people, so I probably compromise a little more some might like.)
I really like experimenting with recipes. My ideal job would be working in a test kitchen, although admittedly I'm not so great at documentation. So, the downside of my "experiments" is that every time I make something it comes out a little different.
This season a couple of recipes worked out rather well, so I've recorded them below (if for no other reason than to have them handy for myself when I'm up north for Christmas). A victory for documentation.
Maple Pumpkin Custard (low-fat)
Adapted from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food, The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, and a recipe I came across in Real Simple Magazine.
1 cup evaporated milk (fat free)
2 tsp. flour
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
2 eggs, or one egg and one egg white
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1 1/2 tsp brandy (optional; haven't tried it with the brandy yet, but I think this would be excellent)
Whisk 1/4 cup of the milk and the flour in a small saucepan. Heat over low until boiling, then slowly add the rest of the milk. Return to a boil.
Mix the pumpkin, eggs, syrup and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix the spices.
Combine milk mixture, pumpkin mixture, spices, brandy.
Pour into a pie plate (no crust) and bake at 375 F for about 45 minutes, until the center is almost set.
Pumpkin Scones (reduced fat)
Adapted from The Cheese Board Collective Works
1/2 cup half-and-half (fat free), or evaporated milk (fat free)
3/4 cup skim milk combined with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Whisk together wet ingredients. In bowl of food processor or mixer combine the dry ingredients (not butter). Cut in (combine) the butter with the dry ingredients, until the butter is pea sized. Make a well in the center of the butter mixture and add the wet ingredients. Mix briefly, just until combined.
Drop batter, about 2 Tbsp at a time, onto prepared sheet. Bake about 20 minutes.
Very tasty with pumpkin-apple butter.
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