Like Strawberry Wine...

This month I decided to go savory rather than sweet.  The shipping period happened to coincide with Hanukkah so I figured, why not bagels?  I’m not into deep frying so no donut-making for me, and I’m sure there are some guys out there who would appreciate something other than Christmas cookies this time of year…

For years there has been a bagel debate – New York or Montreal?  Seriously, check out this article dating back to 1987: 

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/13/garden/in-montreal-bagels-like-none-other.html

And this one from 2009: 

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/montreals-bagels-square-off-against-new-yorks/

Well, the answer to that question may depend on the answer to what you like on your bagel.  Cream cheese or butter?  What do you like it topped with?  Cheese, salt, poppy seeds, plain (c’mon, who likes plain??), everything, even jalapeños or spinach these days.  The Canadians go simple.  There are generally only three varieties – plain, sesame or poppy seed.  The major difference between the bagels you and I are used to (New York) and the Montreal style is honey.  There’s honey in the dough and honey in the water you boil them in.  Because of that mild sweetness, the preferred way to eat them is toasted with butter – again, simple, and I gotta say – pretty darn delicious.

I’m afraid I can’t share the recipe with you this time.  I bugged my Montreal bagel expert for his recipe multiple times, which is one his family has used for years, and I said I would keep it under wraps.  The recipe in the first article above is quite similar to what I used though, so at least you’ll be able to get close!  Since I’m not all that familiar with what these are supposed to taste like, I brought in the expert for a critique (nerve-wracking!) and here’s the verdict:

APPEARANCE:  Good color, good seed disbursement (should be on both sides), good size, but not quite the crisp crust they should have.  Argh!  I have learned that a baking stone is the way to go rather than cookie sheets.  And no need to preheat it as you usually do with pizza - just put the bagels on and put it all in the oven at once.

SMELL:  This made me nervous.  The initial assessment was, “These don’t smell like Montreal bagels.”  Uh oh.  I totally blame the bag.  I had made them earlier in the week and froze them for a few days so they wouldn’t go stale – I think the smell test was unfair J

UNTOASTED FLAVOR:  Good reaction!  They tasted the way they should and even warranted me a high-five.  Nice.

And the final test…

TOASTED WITH BUTTER:  Immediate reaction - “MMMM!”  Score, me!  That was all I needed to hear.

I definitely think I can perfect these bagels – not in flavor, but in technique.  I have some baking tricks up my sleeve that I have yet to pull out.   The good thing is, while time consuming, they are really fun to make – the kneading, the rolling, the boiling, the seeding…it’s a process but definitely one that pays off.

Believe it or not, I did not make up the name of this dessert.  And quite frankly I have no idea why it’s called this because I made an apple pie a couple months ago and this pie/cake was just as involved, if not more so.  It’s an odd recipe – for one thing, it was in metric measurements and for us here in the US who are not engineers, metric makes no sense, not to mention it just says to bake “at medium heat” – wtf?!?  Also, there is virtually nothing in the recipe to flavor the cake, except for "vanilla sugar" which doesn’t even have a measurement listed next to it.  I converted the measurements to terms I could understand and took the flavoring into my own hands.  All in all, not bad.  Not a cake I would crave or likely make again anytime soon, but it was fun to do something different, and the birthday boy I made this for (who is Serbian) was quite pleased – in the end, that’s all that matters.  

Ingredients

14 Tbsp margarine/butter (1 ¾ sticks)

7 Tbsp lard (I used vegetable-based Crisco)

1 ¾ cup sugar

4 eggs, separated

2 cups milk

2 ½ -2 ¾ cups AP flour

2 tsp baking powder

2+ lbs sour apples, grated (I used granny smith)

Powdered sugar for topping after baking

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract – my addition

Cinnamon & Nutmeg – my additions

Instructions

Stir together the margarine/butter and lard.  Add 10 Tbsp and egg yolks and continue stirring until well mixed.

Add milk, vanilla extract (if using), flour and baking powder.  Stir well.  Batter will be thick.

Pour slightly more than half the batter into a greased 9x13” baking pan.

Beat the egg whites with the remaining 4 Tbsp sugar just until you get firm peaks.  Spread the egg whites over the batter in the pan.

Mix grated apples with cinnamon and nutmeg (I highly recommend the spices here) to taste.  Distribute evenly over the egg whites.

Pour the remaining batter over the apples and with a rubber scraper/greased spatula, spread the batter evenly to completely cover the apples.

Bake at 350º for about an hour, but start checking it after about 25 min and keep adding 5 minutes at a time until the top is browned, a little crackly, and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool for about 5 minutes then sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar.  Let cool another 15-20 minutes or so then sprinkle with another coating of sugar.  Enjoy!

Link to the original recipe:  http://www.serbiancookbook.com/food-recipes/desserts/sweet-pies/lazy-apple-pie/

*Ed. note - sorry for the picture quality this time around...not the best lighting!

[Ding ding ding!] RAMEN: ROUND 3! [More boxing bells]  Yes yes, yet another ramen shop has recently opened in DC, this time on the other end of Adams Morgan on Columbia Road (www.taandc.com).  Since I’ve reviewed the other two major players (Toki Underground and Sakuramen), of course I had to check this place out too.  Sooooo….

The décor is nice.  There’s a warm funky feel to it.  Good ambient lighting with old cameras and doors adorning the walls and shelves.  Not sure what theme they are going for exactly, but I’m someone who enjoys antiquing (no, not the urban dictionary definition though that’s kinda funny) on occasion (I know, how old am I?!?!  Just an old soul, I swear) so I like things like that.

The service was great. I went on a cold night and the only available seating was right by the front door.  There was a space heater pointed directly towards me and the hostess said they were “working on a curtain” for that area.  As soon as a table opened up further back in the restaurant, she offered it to us and we gladly accepted!

On to the food.  We started with corn fritters for an appetizer – basically some corn mixed in a batter and fried.  Pretty tasty – the corn flavor came through the grease flavor which is essential!  There was a spicy aioli type sauce served with them – kind of like a sriracha mayo – and it was a nice accompaniment.

I ordered their basic triple stock ramen, but substituted the pork belly for chicken confit.  The chicken was super tender and really tasty.  The soup?  Not so much.  It was good, for sure, but the broth just wasn’t as rich as I’d hope it would be.  It was in fact a little bland.  

My dining buddy got the vegetarian ramen and as you can see, it was cream based.  The menu did specify that it was “cream corn soup” but this was some thick cream.  Not necessarily a bad thing, but a little strange for a noodle soup.  And while also good, there was the same issue with blandness.  

We requested salt and our waitress said she would look for some – really?  A restaurant doesn’t have salt back in that kitchen?  Maybe not as she returned to the table with some chili powder, sesame oil, sriracha sauce and soy sauce.  I used 3 of the 4 and was able to achieve more of what I was looking for.  My veggie friend did the same and was able to improve the flavor as well but we agreed that we shouldn’t have to be adding so much extra flavoring in order to enjoy the food!  I don’t want to totally knock the ramen as it was certainly still edible.  The noodles were cooked perfectly, it was filling and there were some tasty add-ins in mine such as pickled cucumbers and a soft egg.  Also, had we actually gotten salt, that may have been all we needed to bring out the other flavors.  Here’s the final breakdown:

Would I go back?  Yes – I’d try it one more time after they’ve been open a little longer to see if they’ve worked out the kinks.  But if I had to judge now, I’d say Toki #1, Sakuramen #2 and Taan #3 – with potential to move up.

Cornbread meets cinnamon muffins – that’s how I’d describe this one.  I was reading through the tons of recipes I’ve flagged to try recently and discovered the stand-out ingredient in these bars…cornmeal – huh?!  I’ve had polenta cake, in fact I’ve made polenta cake in a cooking class once, but anytime I’ve seen recipes for that they generally include lemon and poppy seeds.  I’ve never seen one that includes my favorite spice.  Obvs, I had to make it.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a good lemon poppy seed muffin or cake, but vanilla and cinnamon are much more fall-like.  And just for those who may not know, cornmeal and polenta are the same exact thing – most definitely interchangeable in a recipe.  The only difference is the packaging they come in at the store and the name on the label.

This recipe comes together really quickly – no mixing dry ingredients separately then adding alternatively with liquids….its super simple.  Mix the wet ingredients, add all the dry into the bowl, stir, pour into a pan and bake.  Done.  Well except for the glaze.  Glazes are like my signature by this point – one I’m quite proud of too!

The texture of these bars is really interesting.  They’re definitely a little crumbly like cornbread, but have enough flour to still keep them cakey enough not to fall apart.  Without the glaze I think they’d be a little dry, but with it – perfect.  These won’t become a staple for me, but they are definitely worth a try when you want something a little off the beaten path.

Recipe adapted from www.pastryaffair.com  - Vanilla Bean Cinnamon Bars

Ingredients

1 cup dark brown sugar

6 Tbsp butter, melted

¼ cup milk – I used 1%

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup finely ground cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2-3 tsp milk (or more, if you want a runnier consistency)

Couple shakes of cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease 8x8” pan.  In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, milk, egg and vanilla until smooth.  Stir in the cornmeal, flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt, and mix until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 30 min or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool before glazing.

For the glazing, mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir.  Cut the bars into even pieces and using a spoon drizzle the glaze on each piece.  Let the glaze set before serving, assuming you can wait that long.

I’m willing to bet that even if you’re not hungry, you’d start salivating a little when you get a whiff of fresh garlic hitting a hot pan.  We’re talking Pavlov style here.  There are a few things that always do it for me – garlic, the sound and smell of sizzling onions, and on the sweet side – the scent of cinnamon wafting from the oven - I’m a sucker for it.

This super simple recipe starts out with sautéing some chopped fresh garlic.  If you like to cook as I do, the smell invokes instant relaxation and puts everything swirling around in your head to rest, at least for the 30 minutes it takes to put this together. (Kind of how the sound of a running dishwasher makes you want to curl up on the couch with a blanket and nap….no?  Just me?)  It’s perfect for a quick weeknight meal and can easily be adapted as you’ll see below.  After cooking up the garlic and some peppers for a couple minutes, it’s really just a matter of tossing everything into one pot and letting it go.  Healthy, flavorful and high in protein, you can’t argue with that.

Recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats: 

(http://www.annies-eats.com/2012/11/05/mexican-quinoa/) 

Ingredients

2-3 tsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced – I used 3 medium sized cloves

3-4 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped – I subbed about 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained – I used red, but color doesn’t matter

1 ¼ cups vegetable broth – I used chicken broth

1 can (about 1 ½ cups) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes, with juice

1 cup frozen corn (or kernels from 2 cobs)

½ tsp kosher salt

⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro – I used about 1 tsp dried cilantro

Squeeze of fresh lime juice

3 scallions, thinly sliced – my addition

Instructions

Heat olive oil in large saucepan (one that has a lid) over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and jalapeños/crushed red pepper and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in the quinoa and let it toast for 2-3 minutes.  Add broth, black beans, tomatoes, corn and salt and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and let simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the liquid is fully absorbed.  If using dried cilantro, add it when you have about 5 minutes of simmering left.  Once the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat.  Add the fresh cilantro and lime juice.

*Couple notes:  I had a leftover chicken breast, so I chopped that up and added it at the same time as everything else.  Nothing wrong with even more protein, right?  I also couldn’t believe this recipe didn’t include onion of some sort so I chopped up a few scallions and tossed them in for the simmer as well.  I think it adds a flavor that would have been lacking.

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream/plain Greek yogurt, salsa, avocado, etc.  Enjoy!

Thai X’ing - the not-so-secret secret Thai place you definitely want to check out.  The restaurant is located in a row house on Florida Avenue tucked away behind grape-vine covered trellises.  Unless you’re looking for it, you could easily pass it by.  Until recently, the only way to get a reservation was to call and call and call and hope they would return your increasingly more desperate messages.  Then, as of a few days ago, when I was trying to retrieve my wallet that I inadvertently dropped on the floor the night I ate there, an email address popped up on their site (and they responded within an hour!).  However, their website seems to change on an almost daily basis, so don't be surprised if only a phone number is available.  Not sure what’s up with that, but here is the site (www.thaix-ing.com) - do your best to get a reservation and try it, it is totally worth the time and trouble.

Here’s the deal:  This isn’t a fancy place.  You’re basically sitting in someone’s house as a few servers scurry around bringing you plates of food and walkie-talkie messages to the kitchen.  As far as I know, they only serve water, so bring your own alcohol if you prefer.  Some nights are vegetarian and some nights have meat.  There is never a menu.  When I went, we had a group of 4 people and received 9 dishes, including a whole fish and it was more than we could eat.  Here’s a rundown of what we were served:

In addition to all of this, you are given a large bowl of white rice to sop up all of the amazing sauces.  I think I could pour that pumpkin curry sauce on anything and it would be good.  

Bottom line – try Thai X’ing.  It’s family run, authentic and an experience.  At $30-$40 it is well worth your money. 

Oh my f*#&ing god.  That was almost what I entitled this post…seriously.  Alas, I maintained my cool – barely.  It’s been a long time since I tried out a new recipe and was totally blown away.  I don’t know if it’s that this combo of flavors really just works, or if they were just hitting the spot for me today or very likely a combo of the two, but this recipe should definitely go on your “must make” list. (Come on, I can’t be the only one who has one of those right?!) 

I’ve known for a while that orange and cardamom are a great combination.  The floral scent/taste of cardamom just fits with sweet floral oranges.  My mom makes Scandinavian orange cardamom bread at Christmas, often per my insistent request.  It’s considered a sweet bread, but it has just a hint of sweetness to it.  Toast it up, add a little butter and (here we go again), oh my f*#&ing god, it’s so good.  I’ll have to attempt to make that myself someday, but for now I’ll leave it as a mom specialty.  Anyway, back to this cake.

I like to try to make something seasonal for the guys so they can really get a taste of home, especially in the fall since fall flavors are so rich and warm.  How can you not feel cozy, even if just for a second, when eating some apple pie or pumpkin bread or butternut squash ravioli – yum.  I saw the name of this recipe and was intrigued.  However, as you can tell by the pictures I didn’t make this in bundt cake form.  I’ve only sent one cake overseas and it was tricky to pack.  It was probably tricky to share as well, so I thought I’d stick with something easier in both departments, hence the muffins.  Be jealous people, these are awesome – and fellas, eat your hearts out!

**Note**  Cardamom is my “secret spice”.  I like to slip it into random recipes (even once in chocolate chip cookies!).  It is used a lot in both Indian cooking as well as Scandinavian.  Considering my parents lived in India for several years and my mom’s family is Norwegian, I grew up with her using it quite a bit.  I made an apple pie for someone this past weekend, and after deliberating with my mom about whether it would work with apples or not, I decided to chance it and throw some in.  The verdict?  Well, I was told the pie was “mindblowing”.  ‘Nuff said – thank you cardamom!

I definitely was supposed to have been born Jewish.  Or at least have a bunch of Jewish friends or something to make my weird obsession legit.  Well I do have several, so that makes me feel a little better I guess.  Or f*** it, why can’t I just love their food and traditions?!

I’ve made lots of Jewish foods over the years – apricot babka, latkes, hamentashen (several times trying to get the dough to taste the way I want!), honey cake (epic fail, or is it just not good?), brisket, etc.  Never challah though.  While my mom is a phenomenal bread maker, it always intimidates me, even though one of the absolute best feelings (in the kitchen) is kneading dough with your hands.  It’s soft, has great elasticity and smells so good.  You can work out some aggression or angst on the dough if necessary too!

I found this recipe for fig challah a couple weeks ago and I knew I had to make it soon.  It seemed like the perfect baking challenge for me in my new kitchen.  And the result?  Success!!  I had a lot going on in the kitchen yesterday and I added way more orange zest than the recipe called for.  When I tried the filling it was all I could taste, so I added a few prunes to try to regain a little sweetness.  I think it worked out well – the citrus flavor came through but wasn’t at all overpowering and the fig flavor was strong as well.  The bread itself?  So good.  It had a nice crumb – soft, chewy, slightly flaky crust and while it was a teeny tiny bit dry for my taste, it was nothing a little butter or honey couldn’t fix.  Definitely not reach-for-some-milk-quick kind of dry. 

I’ll be making this again, for sure, despite the tricky braiding process – I mean, check out the pictures – gorgeous!!  Worth every minute of effort.  Bring it Joan Nathan.  (Ok, so maybe that’s a little aggressive)

Ingredients

Bread

2 ¼ tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast

¼ cup plus 1 tsp honey

⅔ cup warm water (110-116 degrees)

⅓ cup olive oil plus a little more for the bowl

2 large eggs

2 tsp flaky sea salt such as maldon – I used fleur de sel

4 cups AP flour

Fig Filling

1 cup stemmed and roughly chopped dried figs – I used a combination of calimyrna and black mission

½ cup water

⅛ tsp freshly grated orange zest

¼ cup orange juice – I just squeezed the orange I had zested, no idea how much juice it was

⅛ sea salt

Few grinds black pepper

Egg Wash

1 large egg, beaten

Sea salt for sprinkling – I also used coarse sparkling sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

See Smitten Kitchen’s website for instructions and excellent photos of the braiding process:

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/09/fig-olive-oil-and-sea-salt-challah-book-tour/

Heecctiiccc!  That has how the last 2 months have been for me, hence the lack of posting.  I went on two trips this last part of the summer and have moved apartments after being in the same one for 4+ years.  First the trips – one was to see my parents in Cape Cod, my annual pilgrimage which I generally love.  This year the weather was crappy!!  A friend was supposed to join which would have made it fun despite the clouds, but then her flight got all screwed up so I was left to entertain myself with my parents.  It was still a nice visit, but a bit of a let-down. 

Next up was North Carolina with that same friend.  Her family has a house near Wilmington and they go every August.  Finally – beach weather!!  We took full advantage, laying out for at least 5 hours a day, soaking in the rays, drinking up some delicious cocktails (basically vodka and sprite zero – super tasty, refreshing and figure friendly!) and eating lots of great food.  Throw in a boat ride and vacation was complete.

When I got home, I started the long arduous process of purging my belongings.  I knew there was probably plenty that I no longer needed that I had stored away.  Boy was I right – ummm, why on earth would I need an entire bag of paid bills dating as far back as 2005….seriously?!?  Hello shredder bin.  I had a storage area in the basement that was packed to the brim – I think I kept the equivalent of one box full of stuff.  When did I become such pack-rat?  No mas, my friends.  I donated a ton of clothes & shoes and threw out at least 10 large bags of useless things.  I’m looking around at the minimal storage space in my new place and thankful that I took the time to do such a big cleanse.  Everywhere except in the kitchen of course….and now we get back to the food.

My mom said it best.  When I told her I had baked a co-worker a birthday cake her response was “Well its home – you’ve baked there, so now its home.”  Saying something as simple as that really settled me, it’s amazing how much power moms have!

Ok, onto the Baking GALS treat for this month.  I actually didn’t have to bake for it at all.  This recipe is sort of an easy way to make granola bars.  You basically melt some butter, sugar and peanut butter then pour it over the oats, mix it and let it set.  Simple simple.  Though I gotta say, while tasty, these are very sweet – I mean really sweet.  I also think there is too much butter, they tasted a little greasy.  Not to knock this recipe completely as I love the idea of these bars, but I feel like there could definitely be some improvements.

At any rate, I hope the guys enjoyed them – and had some milk to wash them down!  Next month, not something so sickly sweet, perhaps something seasonal – apples or pumpkin...hmm.  And sorry for the mediocre pictures, I’m trying to get better!

Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker  (http://tinyurl.com/9ktshzc)

11^th Street NW has been exploding lately – as has my never-ending list of places to check out, one of which was El Chucho which opened in late June.  They describe themselves as “a small neighborhood cantina serving modern Mexican food”.  The restaurant is managed in part by Jackie Greenbaum whom some of you may know from Jackie’s restaurant in Silver Spring, MD.  I went to Jackie’s years ago and remembered it fondly so I was curious to try her new venture. 

My trusty taste testers, Jermaine, Leon and Carburetor, were kind enough to give up a Tuesday night and try the place out with me.  Ummm yeah, those are most definitely aliases.  At any rate, Jermaine was particularly vocal about the experience right off the bat. “What’s with this menu?  I can’t even read it.”  “I thought it was going to be all Mexicans working here, I’m a little disappointed.”  And the comments continued….  To explain those comments – the menu was a little confusing aesthetically.  The font changed multiple times, it was divided into hard to distinguish sections, some words were bolded for no apparent reason, some were surrounded by shaded-in shapes, etc.  Definitely a little overwhelming at first glance.  We bombarded our waitress with questions and she was gracious enough to help us navigate everything and offer suggestions of her favorites, a few of which we did order.  As for the employees – well we had heard that this was an “authentic” Mexican restaurant, unlike many in DC, and most employees did not appear to be Mexican.  However, upon further research on the restaurant I’ve learned that the chef’s family is from Mexico and she herself had training there.  That’s good enough for me.

Let’s get down to the business of the food.  First and foremost was the corn on the cob.  I think this picture says it all – smoky grilled flavor, cheesy salty cilantro-y goodness, not at all overcooked (which definitely makes or breaks corn) – delicious!  Only problem?  The price tag.  I know there is an upcharge on everything when you eat out, but this time of year in the mid-Atlantic you can easily find local corn at the grocery store for about $0.25/ear – this was $4 – ouch!

After the corn, we just ordered a mish-mash of things and shared it all – here’s what we got:

Takeaways:

Upon arrival there was a 30 minute wait.  They took my name and cell number and said feel free to wander, they’d call me when the table was ready.  Considering they are placed along a 2-3 block stretch of bars and restaurants and their own bar is quite small, I thought this was a nice touch.  We ended up getting seated within a couple minutes of their estimate.

The Juan Rose cocktail is delicious.  Fruity, tart, strong.  Don’t be afraid by the “apple shrub” listed in the ingredients – there are no plants in your drink.

Plates.  With each dish that came out we indicated that we were sharing everything, yet we never got any plates.  Granted we didn’t specifically ask, but as a former waitress, I don’t think we should have to…

My tasters provided ratings based on a 0-100% scale, 100% being excellent:

Jermaine – 72%

Carburetor – 61%

Leon – 68-69% (if I remember correctly)

Trust these at your own risk; however I can attest to the fact that they all really like food, including mine, meaning they deserve at least 90% credibility.  J

Note - it doesn't appear that they have a website yet, but you can find El Chucho on Facebook.

Round 12?  Really?!  I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for a year already.  It’s definitely been one of the most fulfilling things I have done this past year.  And when something you do for fun because you love it ends up also being rewarding, that is one of the greatest feelings.  Enough about me though – thanks again to all the troops who are putting their lives on the line every day.  I hope the treats you’ve received from this organization bring you at least a small piece of the comforts of home.

On to the cookies.  Salted Espresso Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies – wow, now that’s a mouthful.  These cookies are pretty basic, but with a couple little touches to amp up the flavor.  Everyone has had oatmeal chocolate chip at some point in life, but with the addition of a little espresso powder to enhance the chocolate and some salt sprinkled on top to create a great salty-sweet balance, you get something super tasty.  Something new but familiar enough to comfort…perfect.

*I’m taking the lazy way out today – for the recipe check out Brown Eyed Baker -  http://tinyurl.com/6oeu5zw

Its summer and that means its serious fruit season.  Stop eating the apples and citrus that have been in cold storage since they were actually in season months ago and move on to the good stuff – stone fruits and berries.  I eat fruit in some way shape or form almost every day – in a salad, in a smoothie (my blender is going to throw in the towel soon if I don’t cool it) or just straight up.  But it was high time for pie (say that with your best southern accent).

Recipe adapted from Crepes of Wrath (www.crepesofwrath.net)

Ingredients

1 batch pie dough (recipe below)

5-6 stalks rhubarb, washed and thinly sliced (I substituted about 1 ½ pints fresh blueberries)

3 ½ cups strawberries (I used a one pound container)

¾ cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup corn starch

2 Tbsp AP flour

½ tsp lemon zest (I zested a whole lemon)

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp coriander (I omitted)

½ tsp ground cardamom (my addition – just love it)

1 egg, lightly beaten

Sugar for sprinkling (I used coarse sparkling sugar for a little crunch)

Pie Dough

*Note – I generally like to do half shortening/half butter for a flakier crust, but since these are hand pies all butter works better – less mess!

Instructions

*Note – the recipe calls for using a 1 ½ inch cookie or biscuit cutter to make the rounds.  I opted to use a soup mug about 5 inches across and make half-moon shaped pies instead.  Either works fine.

 Serve with ice cream and enjoy the taste of summer!

Do I need to say anything more?  The name of this cake sounds delicious enough.  So summery and light – god, I wish I could have tasted it!  This month’s recipient of my Baking GALS treat has a birthday in a couple weeks so I thought it was only appropriate to send some sort of cake rather than cookies.  Everyone needs cake on their birthday…only problem is- no samples.  I hope it’s good!  Though from the little bit of batter I tried when I licked the beater (come on, who doesn’t lick the beaters?), it was pretty damn good.  I will definitely be making this for myself and my friends soon.

The best part about this cake is that it’s actually quite healthy – the recipe only uses a few tablespoons of butter and even incorporates whole wheat flour, which I try to sneak into most baked goods anyway.  The worst part of the whole thing is the amazing sounding cream cheese glaze.  I subbed this out for a traditional glaze (powdered sugar and lemon juice in this case) only because I was shipping it and who knows how long it takes to get to its destination.  When I make this again, I’m definitely trying that cream cheese glaze – that alone makes my mouth water…

Try this recipe, and tell me how it is, will ya?

Recipe adapted from www.ambitiouskitchen.com.

Ingredients

1 ¾ cup AP flour

¾ cup whole wheat flour (I use white whole wheat, it’s a little more tender)

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 cup skim milk (or whatever milk you have on hand)

¾ cup fat-free plain greek yogurt

1 pint fresh blackberries

Zest of 1 lemon

Glaze:

4 oz cream cheese, softened (recipe calls for reduced fat – use what you like)

½ tsp finely grated lemon zest

⅓ cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º.  In a bowl, whisk both flours with baking powder and salt, set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla, beating well.  Add lemon zest.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together milk and lemon juice; add in yogurt and stir to combine.  Next, combine all wet ingredients together.  Slowly add flour with mixer on low.  Mix just until combined.

In a bowl, gently smash blackberries (I left some whole for more texture in the cake) into smaller pieces and mix with a teaspoon or two of flour.

Coat a 12-cup bundt pan with cooking spray.  Here, the recipe calls for layering of batter and blackberries, but I opted to just mix the blackberries into the batter and pour it all in and it worked out just fine.

Bake cake in lower half of oven until a toothpick/knife comes out clean.  About 40-50 min, depending on your oven.  Mine took about 44 min.  Cool in the pan for 20 minutes then invert the cake onto a rack to cool completely, rounded side up.

For topping – dust with powdered sugar or drizzle on glaze.  Serve once glaze is set!