Pumpkin Muffins

Lately, a friend has been on a health kick. She's a huge fan of the Jillian Michael's cookbook and sent a recipe for Pumpkin muffins over saying they were good but her batch came out a little flat. As I've been trying to do some healthier baking, I've adjusted the recipe slightly and came out with these delicious morning treats. Separated my batch and made half with blueberries mixed in, which came out even better!

1 15oz can Pumpkin Puree
2 Large Eggs
1/2 c Maple Syrup
1/4 c Coconut Cream (or milk)
1/2 c Olive Oil (or Grapeseed Oil)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tbs Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
2.5 c Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 c Pumpkin Seeds 
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
1/4 Ground Nutmeg
2 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Freshly Grated Ginger (optional)
1/2 c Frozen Blueberries (optional)
1/4 c Pepitas (optional)
1 tbs sugar for dusting

Mix all wet ingredients stir in dry ingredients, flour last.

Place liners in muffin pan and scoop about 3/4 full.

Bake @325º for about 20 minutes

Apple Leige Waffles

In Amsterdam, around all the coffee shops are little bakery stands that sell belgian waffles. The yeast ones where the pearl  sugar melts and forms a thin caramelized crust on the outside of the waffle. Then they put chocolate on one side or with a little more powdered sugar and sell them all sorts of different ways. Needless to say I was a fat kid who ate them all.

1 pkg Active-dry yeast
1/3 c Warm water
1½ tbs Sugar
1/8 tsp Salt
2 c Bread flour
3 Eggs
1 c Butter, softened
1 c Pearl sugar
1/2 c Fuji Apple, diced apple

Mix yeast, water, and sugar and let develop for 15 minutes.

Place flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well, pour in yeast mixture, and begin to knead. Continue to knead, add eggs, one at a time, and add soft butter mixing well. Let dough rest in bowl until doubled.

Gently mix in pearl sugar and apple. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Heat waffle iron. When hot, butter waffle iron, pour in 3 tablespoons dough per waffle. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until waffles lightly brown on top.

Yuzu-wasabi Asparagus

1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp Yuzu
1/2 tsp wasabi
1 tbs Kewpie mayonnaise
1 lb Asparagus, trimmed

In a medium pan, heat up olive oil. Add yuzu and wasabi. Sautee asparagus tips until al dente. Toss in mayonnaise. Serve warm. 

Bacon Jalapeno Corn Bread

Growing up, my grandmother would always make us 'care packages' where she'd cook us dinner. We'd stop by her house after school to pick them up on the way home. These straight out of the oven was always one of my favorite after-school snacks. 

I use her basic recipe and often mix in other ingredients for various flavors. Lets face it, bacon goes with everything. This version goes particularly well with seafood and chili.

2 c Flour
1 c Butter
1 c Sugar
1 c Milk
2 Eggs
3½ tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 c Corn Meal
5 strips of Bacon, diced and fried
1 medium Jalapeno Pepper, diced
1/4 c Corn kernels

Fry the bacon and set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Mix wet ingredients and fold in the remaining dry ingredients.

Pour in a greased 9x9 pan. Bake @ 325º for 20-25 minutes.

Peach Shortbread Bars

Sometimes, I use my favorite shortbread recipe for ice cream sandwiches. Today it became Peach Bars. I couldn't resist the peaches at the farmer's market this morning and made these...I suppose I could still add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and make them into sandwiches.

Shortbread Dough
2 3/4 c All purpose flour
1 c (2 sticks) Butter, softened
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1 egg
2 Fresh yellow peaches, sliced thinly.

In a medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients: sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices. Use a pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg into the flour mixture. It will be crumbly. Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of a parchment lined 9x13 pan, pressing firmly. 

Tile peach slices over crumb base in a single layer. Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches. Bake at 375º for about 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Wild Mushroom Mac + Cheese

1/2 c Uncooked large elbow macaroni
2 c Milk, room temperature
1/4 c All purpose flour
4 tbs Butter
 
3/4 lb Mixed wild mushrooms (Crimini, Portobello, Shitake, etc)
1 stalk of Leek
1/4 c Dry white wine
1/2 c Parmesean, grated plus more for top of casserole
1 tbs Olive oil
1 tbs butter
pinch of nutmeg
2 tsp Chopped garlic
2 tsp Fresh Thyme
2 tbs butter
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the macaroni until al dente, approximately 8-10 minutes. Set aside. 

Meanwhile, in a medium sauté pan, melt butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Saute mushrooms over medium heat until softened and then add garlic and thyme. When garlic is fragrant, about 30-45 seconds, add white wine and cook until most of the wine is evaporated. Check seasoning and set aside.

To make the sauce, melt remaining butter in a medium pot. Whisk in flour to create a white roux. Cook for a moment and then whisk in the milk, stirring to prevent lumps. Cook until the raw flour taste is gone and the sauce is thickened, about 6-8 minutes. The sauce is thick enough when it coats the back of a spoon. Stir in nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, Parmesan, mushrooms and macaroni. Stir together and then move to a casserole dish. Top with remaining Parmesan and bake until bubbly, 25-35 minutes.

Corn + Bacon Griddle Cakes

I'm always looking for different ways to use more Bacon in my cooking. Here we have another winner.

 

1 egg
2/3 c milk
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt and pepper
1 c flour
8 strips bacon fried and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 c corn, frozen or fresh
2 tbs chives, chopped
1/2 small onion, diced and sauteed
maple syrup, for serving

In a pan, fry bacon until crisp. Use the bacon grease to cook onion until it is softened. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the bacon mixture for topping the griddle cakes upon serving- and set it aside.
 
While the bacon is cooking, combine the flour, chives, baking powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in the milk, egg and oil, just until moistened. Stir in the bacon mixture, corn and cheese. The mixture will be thick. If you'd like the griddle cakes to be slightly thinner, add a little more milk to thin out the batter.

Heat and grease a griddle or large skillet. Pour a heaping 1/4-cup of the batter onto the griddle and cook until it is golden brown- 3 to 4 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve stacks of griddle cakes topped with a sprinkle of the reserved bacon/onion and a good dose of warm maple syrup.