Pound Cake

This variation on the Butter Pound Cake recipe in Bakin' Without Eggs has a wonderful texture.

Pound Cake

1 Cup butter (room temperature)

2 Cups sugar

1 1/2 Cups buttermilk

1 Tablespoon vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 1/4 Cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

handful of mini chocolate chips (optional)

How to:

Preheat oven to 325 and prepare a Bundt cake pan. 

Cream the butter and sugar. 

Beat in the buttermilk, vinegar, and vanilla.

Sift in the flour, leavening and cinnamon. 

Beat until completely smooth.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes.

Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes or so and then turn out onto plate.

Notes and variations:

I added the cinnamon and chocolate to jazz up the original recipe. I use the Enjoy Life brand chips which are small enough to not sink too much in the dough. Other mini chips would work equally well. 

For more classic pound cake flavor, scrape in a vanilla bean instead of cinnamon and chocolate. 

For more zing, use ginger instead of cinnamon and small chunks of crystallized ginger instead of chocolate 

Citrus zest, lemon or orange or both, would also be a nice variation.

Eggless Pumpkin Pie

Eggless Pumpkin Pie

This originates from a recipe on cooks.com, which I am not linking to because it didn't work very well for me. After repeatedly baking and tweaking the liquid and starch ratios in this pie, we are now pretty happy with the results. 

Start by stashing a pie pan in your freezer to get it nice and cold. 

Make a single-crust pie crust from any basic recipe. I typically use my food processor and make half of the basic crust recipe from Joy of Cooking, using 1 Cup flour, 1/3 Cup plus 1 Tablespoon of butter for the fat, 2 Tablespoons of liquid plus just a little more if necessary. I use whatever neutral or fruity hard alcohol we have handy in lieu of water (which makes for a more tender crust). Or use the Pillsbury premade dough if that's your pleasure. Chill the dough a little if you are making your own crust. Roll it out. Put it in your pie pan and pretty up the edges. 

Then stash the pie pan with raw crust in your fridge and preheat your oven to 450 degrees while you make the filling.

1 can pumpkin puree (15 or 16 ounces)
1 tsp cinnamon *
5 Tablespoons corn starch
1 1/2 Cup milk
2/3 Cup brown sugar

Add cinnamon and corn starch to the pumpkin. Stir in the brown sugar. Stir in the milk. 
Bake in an unbaked shell. 
Start for 10 minutes in a 450 degree oven. 
Then reduce to 350 for an additional 1 hour. 
Check it and it may need 5 minutes more. 
Mine often does.

Tip: 
For flaky tender crust, keeping the dough cold at every step is important. As is starting with a hot oven. If your oven isn't fully up to temperature by the time you have the filling prepared and in the crust, you can stash the unbaked pie (filling and all) in the fridge until the oven is hot enough.

Flavor options: 
If you aren't a cinnamon hound like me, you can use just 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
For more complex flavor, use your favorite "pie spice" blend instead.

Or if you don't have that handy, wing it with any or all these additions:
Scrape in a vanilla bean with the sugar or a splash of vanilla extract with the milk. 
Grate in a little bit of nutmeg.
Add just a little ginger or a very small pinch of cloves. 
Add a bit of zest from a lemon or orange. Cooks.com called for 1/2 tsp lemon extract. I never buy that. So I omit or add zest from fresh fruit instead. 

Combinations work nicely. For example, making pie Thanksgiving dinner tonight, I made the crust using orange cordial as the liquid. With the filling I used the full dose of cinnamon, a vanilla bean, just bit of nutmeg, and a the zest from one mandarin orange.

Making it vegan: You can use other liquids instead of milk to make the filling vegan. 
And shortening or coconut oil can be used to make vegan crusts. 

Simple Slurpies

Sometimes simple hits the spot. 

This summer, Anchorage broke records for consecutive days with temperatures above 70. degrees. All that gorgeous heat stretched our imaginations for more refreshing warm weather treats (after all the Popsicles, sorbets and ice creams that we had already eaten). We have moved well past that now to the cold rains of August, but for those of you who still have hot sunny days ahead:

This recipe comes from my son who first called the results Slushies and then renamed it Slurpies once he got a straw into the action.

How to do it:

Throw a tray full of ice cubes in your food processor and pulse until they are reduced so those ice-y granules that he calls snow. 
Use your favorite ice cream scoop to transfer some "snow" to a juice glass. 
Pour some juice over the top. 
Slurp away.

We like cherry juice. Or to really pucker up try pure cranberry. Something with bold color makes it more fun. 

Fig Jam

Fig Jam

Figs really don't grow here in Alaska. But I ordered fresh figs as an add on to my produce order from Full Circle this week. They were incredible, sweet and tender and so luscious that I could easily have eaten lots and lots of them plain as hand fruits. Instead I ate some and put the rest up as this fig jam. It tastes great. Looks lovely in the jar. And has definitely turned me on the to concept of balsamic adding a depth of flavor to other fruit jams. 

What you need:
2 pounds figs
1 Cup water
1 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup balsamic vinegar (you don't need super fancy aged sipping balsamic)
1/4 Cup bottled lemon juice

Important Note: Do not squeeze lemons for juice. 
You need the reliable acidity of bottled for safe storage.


What you do:
Stem and quarter the figs.
Bring water and figs to a boil in a large nonreactive pot.
Simmer for 5 minutes, smashing the fruit a little to soften and break it up.
Add the sugar, vinegar and lemon juice.
Return to a boil then reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes until thick and jammy.
Remove from heat.
Wait 5 minutes.
Stir to remove air bubbles.

How to store:
Then either ladle into jars to keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Or use the boiling water bath canning method to preserve for up to a year. 

The specs for canning:
Use four ounce or half pint jars.
Leave 1/4 inch of headroom.
Processing time at a rolling boil is 10 minutes. 
Then turn off water and let rest for 5 minutes before removing to a kitchen towel on the counter to sit for 24 hours. 

How much?
For me, this produced a little less than the 4 Cups predicted in the original recipe from Put 'em Up! But start with sufficient clean hot jars to handle that quantity. I may have reduced it a little too much and you might get slightly more. Better to have the jars ready and need them, then to find when you are almost done that you are short a jar. If you do end up with a partial jar, pop it in the fridge and use it within 3 weeks. 

Asian Slaw

This variation is based on the slaw recipe presented as the companion for Marinated Flank Steak in The Essential New York Times Cookbook. The two foods echo each other with similar flavors and good texture contrast.

Asian Slaw

Foods to cut:
3 Cups thinly sliced red cabbage
2 carrots peeled and thinly sliced
2 shallot minced
2 scallions thinly sliced
1 Cup thinly sliced Thai basil leaves (the original recipe would have used sweet basil)

To measure for the dressing:
2 Tablespoons oil (we use canola, the original recipe called for peanut oil)
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt (the original recipe called for 3/4 tsp but we cut it back a little)

How to: This dish is really all about the prep work and measuring. Just get it all in a bowl and toss well so the veggies are well coated with the dressing.

Variations: The original recipe also called for 2 small hot chiles, seeded and minced.

Marinated Flank Steak

The original recipe from The Essential New York Times Cookbook calls for marinating the meat for 6 to 36 hours. We don't have much experience with that full range of times. My husband puts it together one evening with plans to serve it the next.

Flank Steak

Put a 2 pound flank steak in a large plastic bag to marinate overnight (ish) with:
1/4 Cup rice vinegar
1/4 Cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.

When ready to cook, broil until it is done the way you like, several minutes per side works for us. Transfer to a cutting board. Let rest 10 minutes or so. Then slice thinly on the bias.

Ginger Chick Peas

Based on the recipe for Chickpeas in Ginger Sauce from The Essential New York Times Cookbook.

Ginger Chick Peas

1/4 Cup oil
2 Cups chopped onion
2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons lemon juice
pinch cayenne
a little black pepper
4 Cups cooked or canned chick peas plus 1 Cup of their liquid
1/3 Cup water

In a large skillet, brown the onion in the oil on medium high.

Turn the heat down a little and add the ginger and garlic.

A couple of minutes later, add the coriander, cardamom, cayenne and black pepper. Stir to combine.

Then add the reserved chick pea liquid, water and lemon juice. Cook for 10 more minutes.

Then add the chick peas and cook for 10 more minutes, until heated through.

Leftovers keep well for tomorrow's lunch.

Variations:
The original recipe calls for adding a chopped tomato just after the spices and for serving with thinly sliced onion and shredded green chile (seeded). To please a picky child, we omit all of that. I am sure it would taste marvelous though.