Irish Soda Bread

I am back working in an office. I love my co-workers and even more, I love that none of them are gluten free! So, what do I do? I take requests on what to bring in. This week, it's Irish Soda Bread. What's not to love about something that reminds me of a giant biscuit!

Dough

4 c All purpose flour

1/2 c Butter, softened

1 Egg

1 c Buttermilk

5 tbs Granulated sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking soda

1 tbs Baking powder

Wash

1/4 c Buttermilk

1/4 c Butter, melted

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and then cut in the butter. Stir in 1 c buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. 

Form dough into a round and place on greased baking sheet (or baking stone). Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' on the top of the loaf.

In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 c buttermilk and brush loaf. Continue to brush with butter mixture while baking. 

Bake at 375º for 45-50 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 minutes. 

Bread & Butter Pickles

Going into Penzy's for me is like a kid going into a candy store. On my last visit, the store clerk need some help opening a jar of something she had made...bread and butter pickles. They were delicious! I had to go and make a batch of my own. 

10 cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 Medium sweet onions, thinly sliced

1 green bell peppers, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup salt

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds

1 teaspoons celery ssalt

1/2 tablespoon ground turmeric

In a large bowl, mix together cucumbers, onions, green bell peppers, garlic and salt. Allow to stand approximately 3 hours then drain excess liquid from the cucumber mixture. Place in Jar(s).

In a large saucepan, mix the cider vinegar, white sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, whole cloves and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Pour hot vinegar over cucumber mixture in the jar(s). Seal and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Ribbon Quiche | Zucchini & Prosciutto, dairy free!

The Pie-off: 
Everyone at the office brings in a pie. In the afternoon, all the pies are presented and tasted. Figuring that most of the office would go with sweet, I would go with savory.

I found a Ribbon Quiche on Pinterest (below) that looked beautiful and delicious. The only problem is that although I love quiche, being lactose intolerant, it doesn't really like me. 

I adjusted the recipe a little bit and have found that with this savory quiche, it's hard to tell there isn't any!

Crust
1 1/4c Flour
1/2c Shortening (or butter)
3 tbsp chilled water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried Rosemary, chopped
1 tsp dried Thyme. chopped

Filling
Green and Yellow Zucchini, sliced
Prosciutto
1c coconut milk (or cream)
3 eggs
1/4 tsp garlic salt

Combine flour herbs and salt in a bowl. Scatter chilled shortening (or butter) pieces over the flour mixture and cut in. When coarse crumbs form, drizzle in water until dough becomes an evenly moist mass; not a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill. Roll out the dough and form a pie Crust and set aside.

Slice the zucchini in a mandoline and blanche the strips. Pat them dry and them begin coiling them, alternating between colors of zucchini and ham. Place coil lying flat in the pie pan and make sure there is even space between the coils.

Beat the eggs, coconut milk and garlic salt together and pour in the pie pan. Fill the pie pan, but do not over fill. If you need more or less liquid, use the ratio of 1/3c coconut milk to 1 egg. Add garlic salt to taste.

Bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes, until set.

Lobster Roll

Going to school in New England, I developed the taste for good Lobster Rolls. Until recently it was a hard thing to find when outside of the region without paying an arm and a leg. With the  food truck craze, Lobster Trucks are the easy way to get my fix of the the delicious sandwich, at an affordable price. However every so often I like to make them myself.

Filling
3 lbs Steamed Lobster, Chopped meat
1-2 tbs Mayonaise
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tsp Chopped Parsley
1.5 tsp Lemon juice
1 stalk Chopped celery
dash of ground cumin

Cover and chill lobster in the fridge for a couple hours. Lightly butter and grill bun/bread in a pan until slightly brown and spoon heaping Lobster Filling in. Enjoy with a side of kettle cooked potato chips :P

Apple Pie Cashew/Almond Butter

Back when I lived in Minnesota, I loved the peanut butter at Hell's Kitchen. When I moved back to California, I then started making my own in this style. Life was good until one day I was wandering the Brentwood farmer's market. There was a nut butter stand which mixed dried fruit in their nut butters, Banana & Chocolate (almost like a nutella) and my latest obsession Apple Pie!!!

2oz Apple Chips
1c Cashews, roasted
1/4c Almonds
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tbs Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Mace
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
2-3 tbs Grapeseed oil

Put all ingredients in the food processor and pulse until desired even smoothness.

Almond Peach Upsidedown Cake

I order CSA boxes and every week I get an assortment of seasonal fruits and vegetables. What you get in the box is always a little bit of a surprise. Summertime is the BEST because there are usually more fruits. I've been getting Peaches in the last few, so for the latest BBQ, I use a couple in an upside-down cake. 

The inspiration for this round was this picture on pinterest, which came from the blog use real butter. I liked how they laid out the peaches in a cast iron skillet but made a few adjustments to the recipe in my version.

Fruit:

4-5 Ripe Peaches, medium sized and sliced evenly

1/2 c Brown Sugar, packed

1 tbs Rum

Cake:

1/2 c Butter

3/4 c Granulated Sugar

4 Egg Yolks

1/3 c Milk

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 1/2 tbs Almond Extract

1 c All purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tbs Cornstarch

1/4 tsp Salt

Since I buy organic fruit, I leave the skin on when cutting them into slices. Then toss the cut fruit with brown sugar and Rum in a large bowl until evenly coated. Place arrangement in the cast iron skillet and pour excess syrup over the fruit.

Cream the butter and Sugar. Add wet ingredients and stir in the dry ingredients. Pour cake batter on top of the arranged fruit. Bake at 350º for 40-50 minutes, until done.

Flip over on a plate and let cool.

Butternut Squash Polenta with Mushrooms + Leeks

Polenta
3/4 c Cornmeal
2c Chicken stock (or water and bullion)
1 c Butternut squash
1 tsp Salt
2 tbs Butter
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

1 c Mushrooms, assorted sliced
2 cloves Garlic
1 stalk Leek
1 Shallot
1 tbs Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste