raspberry cranberry crumb breakfast bar

The other day I saw some good-looking raspberries on sale, so I bought a few pints and was looking up some ideas for how to utilize them. I came upon this recipe from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, and realized I needed to make and eat this, but I didn't have enough raspberries. As soon as my wheels started turning, I remembered I had some frozen cranberries, and I sure do love cranberries mixed with other berries. And I always like a little more tart with my sweet. At first, I wasn't sure I should make it because of the word "breakfast" in the title of the recipe, but in reading the intro, it looks like this bar is good for any time. And that sure came out to be true. These were the perfect texture and consistency, and very much hit the spot. In fact, I'm craving some right now...

Raspberry Cranberry Crumb Breakfast Bar
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

For the crust and crumb:
1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cup rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the Raspberry Cranberry filling:
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 pound raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 pound cranberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Make the crust and crumb:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of 9-by-13 inch pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.

Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.

Reserve 1 cup of the mixture and set aside. Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hands or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer in the bottom of the pan. The crust should touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.

Make the Raspberry filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, cinnamon, and flour together.

Add the raspberries, lemon juice, and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated.

Assemble and bake the bars:
Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved 1 cup crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around edges.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

masoor dal

I realize this doesn't fall under the category of baking, but since I'm short on time for a while, I'm putting up stuff I'm making to sustain myself on the weekends that I'm home. I have a very dear friend who is an expert at making this Dal dish, and he made it for me a lot, but now he's back in the dumb ole U.K., so I had to take matters in my own hands when I was craving this super delicious dish. I googled a ton of recipes and this one looked closest to what seemed like my friend's recipe. This is my first try making anything like this, and I really liked it! It takes a lot of spices that aren't readily in your local grocery store, so you might need to venture out to an Indian market, if you have one. Some Asian markets carry some of these spices as well. Also, sorry the picture isn't more legit, I was just trying to eat, you know? So, it's taken from my phone.

Ingredients:
2 cups masoor dal (red lentils)
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 onions, chopped
1 head garlic, separated, chopped (I used probably about 2 cloves)
1 (1-inch piece) ginger root, chopped
2 jalapeno chiles, chopped (I didn't have these so I just added about 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch coriander (cilantro), chopped
Water

Preparation:
• Rinse massor dhal thoroughly, until water is clear. In pot bring1 quart water to boil. Add massor daal.
• Cook half way, about 10 to 15 minutes, add 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and salt. As massor dhal cooks, uncovered, water will evaporate and mixture will thicken.
• Add more water to keep dal loose, like texture of thick cream. When dal is soft, turn off heat. Heat oil in wok. When oil is very hot, add onions and cook until tender and translucent but not browned.
• Add garlic, ginger and chiles. Continue to fry until onions are deep-yellow. Add remaining 1 teaspoon each garam masala and turmeric.
• Do not allow spices to burn. Keep stirring until mixture starts to stick. Add tomatoes and cilantro. Cook until tomato softens.
• Pour in pot of masoor dal and simmer to blend flavors. Taste and add more salt if needed.


**coming soon is a post on raspberry cranberry crumb bars. they were so good!

christmas 2010

Here are some of the best things I ate over the break. When can it be Christmas again??

yummy Cranberry Walnut Pear Salad

 Sauteed Apple Cider Brussel Sprouts

buttery Butterhorns

the whole sha-bang

 

the miraculous and very secret Chocolate Pecan Torte

Pumpkin Bread cooling for the Pumpkin Bread Pudding

one of my very favorite things ever: Coconut Buns from Chinatown

homemade Liege Waffles

UPDATE: pumpkin bread pudding

Ok, seriously dudes, you need to make this. It will blow people's minds and you will get marriage proposals (sort of a true story there, folks). I made this again recently, but I changed a few things from the last time, and it's even better than before. It was gone within minutes at the party I brought it to. So, I'm re-posting the recipe with the changes. There was always a lot of custard left over and I felt like that was wasteful so I cut that part of the recipe down by 1/4 [(fraction math is so hard.) I had to ask my Dad for help because my brain doesn't work that way.)] I also added a water bath, which I think added a lot to the texture. This is a thing of beauty. Take my word for it... or just make it and see for yourself.

Pumpkin bread pudding recipe:
6 Large eggs
2 2/3rd(-) cups milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1(+) cups whipping cream
3/4 t. vanilla
1 1-lb loaf pumpkin bread (Use this recipe, as it's the best ever. Also, the recipe makes two loaves, so I made the whole recipe and just did one plain for the bread pudding and added a pecan/brown sugar streusel for the other and it was ridiculously good, especially paired with my ginger pear butter I just made)

** (Because of the divisions by even numbers with the odd number amounts of milk and cream, I put in a plus or minus to indicate that it is a bit more or less than the listed amount.)

Butter a 3 quart baking dish. Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Add milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla. Whisk to blend well. stir in bread. Let sit covered, in the refrigerator, for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven
to 350°. Scoop coated bread chunks into prepared baking dish, push down the bread crumbs, compacting the mixture. Add a little extra custard on top, and press down some more. Toss any extra custard. Fill a 9x13 pan filled halfway with water and place on the bottom rack, place the bread pudding on the middle rack. Cook for 1 hour, 45 minutes, or until it is set. Before serving, dribble some cinnamon caramel sauce over the top. Freak out.

Cinnamon Caramel Sauce Recipe:
1 cup (packed ) golden brown sugar
1 cube butter
½ cup whipping cream
¾ t. cinnamon

Stir brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add cream and cinnamon and bring to simmer. simmer until sauce thickens and is reduced to 1 ½ cups, about 5 minutes. Serve warm.

all-day apple butter

 The first thing I made in my crock pot is this "All-Day Apple Butter", from this cookbook my parents gave me called, "Fresh From The Vegetarian Slow Cooker". I've been wanting to make crock-pot apple butter for so long, ever since my old, super crappy crock-pot burned a first attempt a few years ago. Burned apples are just sad. So, I went for it right away with my shiny and new crock-pot. Apple butter is such a comfort food, so of course I want to eat it in mass quantity. Also, it makes a delicious gift, which is always helpful this time of year. I highly recommend this fantastic recipe.

3 pounds cooking apples, such as Granny Smith, Rome Beauty or Gala, cored, left unreeled, and cut into eighths

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup apple juice

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 ground cloves

Combine apples, brown sugar, apple juice, and lemon juice in a 4-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours, until the apples are very soft.

Remove the lid, turn the heat setting to High, and stir in the spices. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 2 hours (I did this about 3 hours because it didn't look thick enough), stirring once about halfway through, if possible, until the mixture thickens.

Press the apples through a metal strainer into a large mixing bowl to remove the peels, or process the apples through a food mill. (I actually just used my immersion blender blend everything together, and that worked perfectly)

After cooling to room temperature, the apple butter may be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator in clean jars, where it will keep for several weeks.

caramelized baked pears

(This photo is from my phone so it's not bad, but it could be way better. Apologies)

As it turns out, the majority of what I eat is based on a completely out of the blue hankering I get. Sounds like I'm pregnant, I know, but this blessing/affliction has been with me since childhood. It's just how I do. If I don't get the thing I'm craving, I'll think about it for weeks until the particular thirst is satiated. This is pretty much the reason why I learned to bake and cook. I would be away at college and call up my Mom and have her coach me on how to re-create whatever childhood concoction I needed to eat at the time. Thanks, Mom! (She's a very patient woman, and the apple fell very far from the tree in that regard.) Anyway, that's how this particular dessert came about. I knew I'd be staying in SF over the weekend, so I emailed my Mom and asked her if she remembered how she used to make these yummy caramelized baked pears back in the day and if we could maybe perhaps make them this weekend? She's always a good sport so she agreed. Problem was, she couldn't remember where the recipe was. We had an idea about what the measurements were, that the oven temp. was hot and the type and amount of pears needed. We just weren't positive on the timing and the exact oven temperature. We called my Aunt who had the recipe and it was very close to what we remembered (what's up memory skills?!) so here it is. Soooo good. The perfect cozy winter night dessert.

Caramelized Baked Pears

6 medium sized Bosc pears
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cube butter
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 450°. Peel, core, and quarter pears, then place in a 9x13" baking pan. Sprinkle sugar over pears and cut butter into chunks and place over pears. Bake for 45 minutes; spooning the syrup over the pears every 10 minutes (once the sugar melts and forms the syrup). When sauce thickens, and turns golden, pour in the cream. Continue to bake and baste pears until syrup and pears turn golden brown. Serve hot over vanilla (or other appropriate flavored ice cream—I'm looking at you, butter pecan).

you should go to here

 

(photo via Sheena Jibson of http://inthelittleredhouse.blogspot.com/)

Please click on this link to see what I've been up to lately...

Along with my crazy traveling full-time job, I've been working with the amazing Fluer De Sel catering talents of Elizabeth Gilman and the gorgeous decor and event planning talents of Jana to create some full-service events. Also, we are selling pies for Thanksgiving. So buy some! Let us feed you! We are way better than the alternative.

Thanks to the amazing Sheena Jibson for the beautiful photos!

things i've made recently

As discussed earlier, I don't have a whole lot of time/energy/ability anymore to bake new things and blog about them. It's not like I can bring a hot plate and a toaster oven to my hotel room and whip things up. Occasionally, I've made something on the weekends that I'm home but they've been my old stand-bys. So as a reminder to you all, I'm re-posting some links to these must-make recipes.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake
Coconut Macaroons
Banana Oat Shake (lately I've been adding frozen blueberries into the mix with this)
Plum Jam
and Pumpkin Pie 
(lots of pumpkin ideas here, if you are as excited as I am that pumpkin is back in town)

But, don't you worry about me, I've been eating very well. Too well. Remember how much I love San Francisco food?

Also, as soon as I figure my life out and am in a more permanent situation, wherever that may be, I'm going to make this the winter of crock-potting. Would you guys be interested in more than just baking recipes? Or should I stick to what I know best?

As it turns out, I really need this cookbook.

wheat germ chocolate chip cookies

My sister offered to make me dinner a few Sundays ago, and asked if I could bring a treat. I figured this would give me the opportunity to actually bake again and try my current obsession, a recipe that is like my personal form of crack: the Wheat Germ cookie at Specialty's Bakery. The best part about my traveling situation right now is that I get to eat all my favorite foods, including this ridiculous cookie. I found a recipe online that claims to be the same as Specialty's. After searching online for a recipe I found this one, which seemed to be fairly close. While this cookie is pretty exceptional it's not quite the same. I must figure this out, many test batches must be made…
(note: with my add-ons/changes in parenthesis, it actually is fairly similar)


Also, sorry there is no picture, I couldn't get any pictures taken in good lighting, but I figured a post with no pictures is better than no post? Maybe?

3/4 cup old fashioned whole rolled oats
1 cup whole-wheat flour (I used 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour, and 1/4 cup almond meal)
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup raw wheat germ
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes (I would chop this up or use flaked coconut so it's in smaller pieces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (I would actually use half of this next time I make these)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
(I added 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons honey)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (Specialty's uses mini chocolate chips)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I used very, very finely chopped pecans)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray (not required if your using non-stick pans or a silpat)
2. Mix oats and flour in a medium bowl. Add baking soda and salt and whisk until mixed in. Whisk in wheat germ, flax and coconut.
3. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. With the mixer running, add the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and walnut pieces using a wooden spoon or spatula. Chill the dough in a refrigerator for at least 1 hour. The dough should be firm before proceeding with step 4.
4. Force a spoon into the dough to remove about 2-3 tablespoonfuls per cookie, at least 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies, until firm around the edges and golden on top, about 12 minutes. (I actually decided to bake for 9 minutes on the second batch and preferred that). Remove baking sheets from the oven immediately and cool the cookies for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks with a spatula to cool.

**Specialty's version of this cookie is tall and rectangular. If you prefer that shape then mold the chilled dough into a 2" x 2" rectangular log and cut into 1.5" pieces to form the cookie. (I will try this note from the original author next time, I think).