Home gardening offers ways to trim grocery costs [Survival Today, an on going thread]

Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick

Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.

At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."

Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.

A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."

She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.

"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."

http://www.slashfood.com/2008/06/17/cattails-the-supermarket-of-the-swamp-part-two/

Cattails: The supermarket of the swamp part two

Posted Jun 17th 2008 11:01AM by Neil Goldstein
Filed under: Frugal Food, Vegetables, Spring, Wild Edibles
cattail flowers
Back when I first wrote about cattails, I promised a return to the subject soon for something I described as cattails on the cob. Allow me to explain this delicacy to you. In the late spring, if you watch cattail plants, you will notice that the well known sausage-like fruits of the cattail plant start to mature inside of the central leaves. Look at the leaves for a swelling and pull them out of the plant. If you slowly peel the husks away, you will find the two parts of the cattail flower inside. The upper, or male part of the flower is what we’re after. These green spikes will bloom and produce pollen once they emerge from the husk which makes the season very short. If you find too many already blooming, don’t fret, because the pollen is another of the offerings of this amazing plant.

Amy, Alec, and I journeyed Saturday once again to The Great Vly Swamp, in West Camp, New York. While Amy and Alec sought after dragonflies and birds to photograph, I started checking the cattails. I had just caught the season at the tail end, as many of the flowers were covered with pollen, and some of the sausage-like seed heads had already started to form. Even this late in the season, I still managed to harvest enough of the flower spikes to make an interesting side dish. Before we left the swamp, I grabbed a clean bag and collected some pollen by carefully bending the stem of the pollen covered flower into the bag and hitting the stem a couple of times. I managed to get about half a cup, but could have collected a lot more.

A quick look around before leaving gave me some other reasons to return to the swamp at a later date. Pickerelweed which will produce a nutty snack food in the early fall, and arrowheads, which produce a good wild potato substitute.
To cook the flower spikes, remove any remaining husks, and wash well. Boil or steam for 10 to 15 minutes, and drain. The spikes usually need something to offset a slightly dry texture. I simply used garlic butter this time, but olive oil with salt and pepper, or even a cheese sauce works too. The central core is inedible, like its distant relation corn, but much smaller. Strip the covering off of the core with your teeth to eat. You will find the flavor vaguely reminiscent of corn, but unique to itself. Everyone at the table enjoyed them, and I’m sure your family will too.

I have also read that you can strip the spikes after cooking, chop well, and mix with eggs and cheese into an excellent souffle. If I can find more of these, I will definitely report back on this recipe. I’m sure there are plenty of other uses for the spike material too.

I didn’t get to use the pollen yet. I usually add it to pancake or biscuit flour. It gives whatever you add it to a golden color, and adds protein. There are so many uses for this plant. It is definitely one of the best wild foods available. This fall we will return to the swamp to get some of the tubers for making flour, or just roasting and eating. Please remember to leave some seed heads so that the plants can develop, and as always, please forage in a safe place, far from heavy pollutants. See you on the trail!

Neil Goldstein
Photos by Amy Goldstein

http://www.slashfood.com/category/wild-edibles/

Wild Edibles: Red & White Clover

Posted Aug 31st 2008 11:01AM by Jonathan M. Forester
Filed under: Summer, Wild Edibles

Red & White Clover are both edible raw in salads, as cooked greens, and more. The young and tender shoots and greens can be tasty, but older ones can get tough. Just stick to ones that look fresh and haven’t gone grass-like and you should be fine. The flower heads are nutritious and full of protein but they should either be soaked in salty water for a few hours or briefly boiled or cooked before eating; so that they are easier to digest. Eating them raw is usually not as good an experience. I like them stir fried or sauteed until well done, or lightly battered and made into fritters or tempura. I find that the saltiness of the tempura dipping sauce works well with them. If the blossoms seem past their prime, or even going to seed, all the better. Because then you can dry them and grind them into a protein rich and nutritious flour. Just don’t try to cook and eat them unless they are soft and fresh, or they will be quite unappetizing.

I was personally introduced to them when I was studying wilderness survival, and one day we had to prepare and eat them every way we could. It wasn’t a high point of the week long course, but not the low point either.

One time when I was leading a three week trip in the wilderness and it was near the end of the course. Most of the food was gone and we had been living off the land for a few days. Most of spices were gone, as well as the staples, but we still had a liter bottle of soy sauce and of cooking oil, that had been hidden at the bottom of a food pack; and a few pounds of biscuit mix. I sent half the students off to pick berries. Raspberries, Blackberries, and June Berries; all of which were growing near our camping spot that night. The rest I split up and asked to go into the meadow and pick the biggest, fattest, best looking red clover blossoms they could find; as well as any wild onions. That night for dinner we had Red Clover fritters, some with wild onions, some plain; dipped in a sweetened and spiced soy sauce. For desert were fruit biscuits. Everyone ate until they were full, a hearty appetite the best sauce of all.

http://www.slashfood.com/2008/12/09/slashfood-ate-8-ways-to-add-muscovado-sugar-to-a-recipe/

Slashfood Ate (8): Ways to add muscovado sugar to a recipe

Posted Dec 9th 2008 5:00PM by Max Shrem
Filed under: Slashfood Ate, Bakeries, Sugar
Dark muscovado sugar
I have been on a wild sugar kick the past couple of months. It started with demerara sugar. I used this sugar instead of ordinary white sugar or brown sugar, and I was shocked at the difference. The flavor was extraordinarily sweet and syrupy in a way I had never been used to in past culinary endeavors. What makes different sugars unique is how they’re processed. For instance, demerara sugar is unrefined sugar coming from pressed sugar cane that’s steamed .

Now, I’m on to the next sugar: muscovado. Muscovado is also unrefined but, compared to demerara, it has a more pronounced molasses flavor. Unlike brown sugar which is refined white sugar with molasses added to it, muscovado’s brown color and flavor come directly from sugarcane juice. Recently, I have been using muscovado as a replacement for brown sugar. Its exquisite long lingering flavor makes it perfect for other rich flavors when baking ginger bread cookies, chocolate cakes, fudges, and much more.

Below are 8 ways to add muscovado sugar to a recipe next time your baking:

1. Martha Stewart’s muscovado soy biscuits
2. Muscovado and hazelnut tart with yoghurt sorbet
3. Butterscotch Pots de Crème
4. Gingerbread cookies - Substitute the brown sugar with muscovado
5. Muscovado sugar cookies
6. Christmas Pudding - I highly recommend making this decadent fruity pudding this holiday season.
7. Caramelized Nectarines
8. Pigs’ ears - These delicious confections are in the shape of pigs’ ears.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/archives/243

Peanut Butter Fudge Treats
Posted by joythebaker on December 5th, 2008. Filed under: Creamy, Holiday, Recipes.

Peanut Butter Fudge Krispy Treats

Some things are over the top for even me. Some things are so good that they actually hurt. I’m a real sucker for all chocolate and peanut butter combinations… but really!? Chocolate, peanut butter AND Rice Krispy Treats? Out of control. I think I pulled a baking muscle. These bars are so rich, so over the top, so peanut buttery, that I think I need to stick to only baking broccoli this weekend. I think I hurt myself.

These are just the treats I want to pawn off on my neighbors and coworkers. They’ll thank me, and they’ll hate me. I can live with that.

Peanut Butter Fudge Krispy Treats

This recipe comes in three parts. Three crazy good, belly busting, lick the spoon over and over and over again parts. And they’re easy too! Yea.. this recipe is nothing but trouble.

I made these bars in a 9×13-inch pan and cut the bars into 1-inch squares, although I think even those were too large.

Rice Krispy Treats

* 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
* 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
* - OR -
* 4 cups miniature marshmallows
* 6 cups Rice Krispy Cereal (or any puffed rice cereal)

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.2. Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. ( You may want to line your pan with parchment paper or waxed paper large enough to have flaps hanging over the sides. This will make it easy to pull the giant block of goodness out of the pan when it’s done. I just forgot this step.) Cool. Make Peanut Butter Fudge.

Peanut Butter Fudge Krispy Treats

Peanut Butter Fudge

recipe from Alton Brown

* 1 cup butter, plus more for greasing pan
* 1 cup peanut butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 pound powdered sugar

Peanut Butter Fudge Krispy Treats

Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. Add vanilla and powdered sugar to peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Pour over the Rice Krispy treats in the pan and spread evenly. Let cool in the fridge while you make the Chocolate Fudge.
Peanut Butter Fudge Krispy Treats

Easy Chocolate Fudge

* 2 Tbsp butter
* 2/3 cup evaporated milk
* 1 2/3 cups sugar
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 2 cups miniature marshmallows
* 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter Fudge Krispy Treats
Combine butter, milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, chocolate, vanilla, and nuts. Beat for about 1 minute, or until marshmallows melt and mixture is thoroughly combined. Pour over peanut butter fudge, spread evenly and place in the fridge to harden and cool. Cut into 1-inch pieces or smaller and give to your friends. They’ll thank you, sort of.
Peanut Butter Fudge Krispy Treats

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/archives/168

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola or corn oil

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup butterscotch chips

Position a rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.

Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. You could also simply use a 1/4-cup measuring cup if you don’t have a scoop. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool cimpletely.

Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/archives/128

Keep reading, I have a story to tell you about this pie.

I met this girl. Ok, maybe ‘met’ is a strong work. She’s in Alabama, I’m in California. We’re blog buddies. Her name is Evan and she might be one of the most darling people of the face of the planet. Evan has a new blog called Buttercakes by Evan. If you love me at all you’ll hop on over there right now and show Evan some love.

Evan was recently kind enough to send me her grandmothers cookbook Panache at Rose Hill. See, Evan’s grandmother and her business partner bought a southern planters home of 25 acres of land. With a few loans, help from husbands, and a lot of elbow grease, they transformed the home into a beautiful restaurant and event site. The cookbook is an account of that journey, a brief history of the land and the house, and an absolutely amazing Southern cookbook.

I’m so honored to have this book. Thank you so much Evan.

I knew I had to try the Buttermilk Pie with Warm Blackberry Sauce. It sounded like the perfect southern treat. The pie bakes up pale and sweet, with just a hint of tang from the buttermilk. I served mine chilled with warm blackberry sauce. It’s gorgeous. Right now, it’s just the thing to cure my nap hangover.

Thank you Evan. Thank you bunches!

Buttermilk Pie with Warm Blackberry Sauce

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 stick melted butter, slightly cooled.

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons pur vanilla extrct

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Beat eggs slightly. Mix sugar and flour well and add to the eggs. Mix until creamy. Add melted butter, mixing well. Add buttermilk and vanilla extract. Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour (my pie took about 1 hour and 15 minutes) until the custard sets. Tip: the custard will still jiggle a bit in the oven even when it’s set. Just make sure that the middle does not jiggle a lot more than the sides. That means it needs more time.

Blackberry Sauce

1/2 cup seedless blackberry preserves

1 Tablespoon Chamborde liqueur, also consider orange liqueur or a bit of Triple Sec

Pour the preserves in a saucepan and arm on medium heat, stirring constantly with wire whip until smooth. Remove from heat and add liqueur. Let cool slightly and drizzle over pie.

Pie Dough

2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk, cold

Cut butter into 1 inch pieces and place in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.

Sift together the flour and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Sifting eliminates lumps and aerates the mixture, making the dough tender and lighter. Add the partially frozen butter and the salt. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes, or until the butter is reduced to the size of broken walnut meats. Stop the machine and by hand pinch flat any large pieces of butter that remain.

Turn the mixer on low speed and add the buttermilk all at once. Mix until the dough comes together, about 15 seconds. The dough should be tacky, but not sticky, and still rather shaggy.

Remove the dough from the bowl and quickly form into a rough disk. Wrap in plastic. Try not to overowrk the dough. Chill for at least 1 hour before rolling out. At this point the dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. For freezing roll the dough into sheets and wrap them in airtight plastic film first.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/archives/161

I’m giving you the heads up. It’s pumpkin time people. Are you with me?

Consider this pumpkin recipe as your Fall lemon bar. Think of this pumpkin recipe as reason not to have to roll out a pie crust. Think of this pumpkin recipe when you want a nip from the Bourbon bottle while you’re baking. Is that a crime? I think not.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

adapted from Kraft
1-1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) cold butter or margarine
1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons bourbon (optional)
a handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips for sprinkling on top (optional)

HEAT oven to 350°F. Line 13×9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides; grease foil. Mix flour, 1/4 granulated sugar and brown sugar in medium bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats and nuts.

RESERVE 1 cup oat mixture; press remaining onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min. Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla, bourbon, pumpkin and spice with mixer until well blended. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture and a handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips (if desired).

BAKE 25 min.; cool 10 min. Use foil to transfer dessert from pan to wire rack; cool completely.

Can’t find pumpkin pie spice? Simply mix 1 tsp. each ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and allspice, then use as directed.
AddThis

Some recipes are good enough to serve at the church picnic. Some recipes are fine enough to take to the family barbecue. Other recipes you know will satisfy your office coworkers. Those savages will eat just about anything.

Then there’s the recipe that you pull out of your back pocket when you’re looking for love.

This beautifully simple Apple Crisp recipe is that “get a man (or woman!) and hold on to him (or her!) recipe”. If you already have that man, consider this your “it’s time for a ring” recipe, or your “sorry I scratched the bumper of our new car” recipe, maybe even the “thanks for working so hard today honey… I made the house smell like warm apples with this apple crisp just for you” recipe. See, I’m looking out for you.

This recipe is the perfect balance of warm memories and good love. The warm apples tossed with sugar and cinnamon beautifully collide with the toasted, crunchy topping.

It’s a dream come true.

So the Bake a Warm Apple Crisp and Get a Man experiment hasn’t yet worked for me. That’s mostly because I haven’t tried it yet.

But Ann, the generous lady at Fidget who was kind enough to share this recipe with me, has had oodles of success. She wooed her husband with this very recipe and still has requests for the apple crisp from Mr. Fidget six years later. It works!

Sit and Stay Awhile Apple Crisp

recipe from Ann of Fidget

bake in an 8×8 baking dish or double the recipe and bake in a 9×13 dish

Filling:
5 to 6 medium-size apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices. (About 7.5 cups)
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1.5 tsp cinnamon

Topping:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, well-softened
2/3 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
1/3 cup quick oats

Preheat the oven to 350. Generously grease an 8×8 baking pan with butter.

Place a layer of apple slices in the bottom of the pan and dust with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Continue layering apples and dusting with cinnamon/sugar until done. Toss the apple mixture until evenly coated in cinnamon sugar. The apples should be just about to the top of the pan (they will cook down).

For the topping, place the flour, brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon and oats in a large bowl and stir well with a wooden spoon. Work the butter into the mixture with your fingertips until evenly distributed. Take one full handful of the topping and toss it into the sugared apple mixture. Spread the rest of the topping evenly over the apples. (I usually end up with a dough-like topping that I just lay on top of the apples).

Bake the crisp in the dish on a baking sheet on the center oven rack until the topping is crunchy and the apples are bubbling, 55-60 minutes.

Serve hot; it’s excellent with vanilla ice cream.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/archives/167

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/archives/84

I’ll admit, I think olive oil is sexy. Extra Virgin Olive Oil especially, sends me over the moon. The rich, full and nutty smell, the beautiful translucent green color, and the way the taste coats my mouth. It’s just gorgeous. I’ve been known to buy a fresh baguette on the way home from work and simply eat warm bread with plates full of olive oil. I think I’ve also put the stuff in my hair as a conditioner, and on my hands as a lotion. But that’s sounding like a whole other blog, so let’s not get into that.

Lemon Scented Olive Oil Cookies with Almond Glaze. Sounds like there’s a lot going on in one humble cookie, right? It’s amazing how the flavors and sweetness meld together to create a unique, yet strangely familiar taste treat. These essentially taste like a darling lemon sugar cookie, but with a slight (sexy) hint of olive oil. I tested these on unsuspecting, but die hard cookie fans, and they couldn’t put their finger on the olive oil without me pointing it out. The verdict- two thumbs up.

Not only does olive oil smell gorgeous and taste great, it’s also good for you! There’s a reason why the Italians are so beautiful, and I think it’s something in the olive oil. Olive oil has less fat than butter, and has mono-saturated fats which are good for you heart. It’s a great substitute for butter in these cookies.

I found that the batter for these cookies comes out a little wet, almost like cake batter. I spooned the batter onto a greased and floured cookie sheet by the tablespoonful, and baked them up. They turned out just lovely! Try them, I’d love to hear what you think!

Lemon Scented Olive Oil Cookies with Almond Glaze

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

generous pinch of salt

1 cup sugar

zest of 1 lemon

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup good quality olive oil

3/4 cup whole milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Zest 1 lemon and rub the zest into the granulated sugar, creating a slightly fragrant sugar. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla extract, olive oil and milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. If the mixture is stiff (I didn’t have this problem, I thought it might have been too wet) then add a touch more milk.

Drop by tablespoonful onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack. When cooled completely, drizzle with almond glaze.

Almond Glaze

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

splash of pure almond extract (about 1/4 teaspoon)

2 Tablespoons of milk, more as needed to create desired thickness

Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/archives/26

I took this apple tarte tatin, that wasn’t so much a tarte tatin at all, to a lovely dinner party of Sunday night. What was so fun about this tart was that I cooked the apples in a cast iron skillet with butter and sugar before I left the house. I let them cook in the pan while I rolled out a 10-inch circle of pie crust. I packaged up the cast iron skillet and the pie dough and we went to the dinner party. After dinner, I heated up the apples on our hosts stove, and tucked the refrigerated crust over the slightly warm apples, then popped the whole thing in the oven for 30 minutes. When the crust was browned and the juices underneath bubbling, I took the skillet from the oven, let it sit for a few minutes, then turned all of the warm apples and buttery crust upsidedown and onto a serving dish. Everyone was super impressed, and I made their home smell like apple pie, which is just an added bonus. This is the kind of dish that will get you invited for dinner again and again.

To talk about this tart we really should talk about pie crust. I used to be intimidated by pie crust: was I cutting the butter right? Am I adding enough buttermilk? How do I know if it will be flaky? Pie crust has very simple ingredients: butter, flour, sugar, salt and liquid. The secret is the technique of bring all those things together. So no more intimidation for me. I learned a technique that involves rolling the cold, cubed butter out with a rolling pin, creating flattened butter sheets, that ensures a flaky crust every time.

Flaky Pie Crust

makes 2, 9 to 10-inch pie doughs

2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter

2 1/2 (12 ounces) cups all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (5 to 6 ounces) buttermilk

1. Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes. Measure out the buttermilk and store in the refrigerator to keep it cold (you could even put it in the freezer for a few minutes too).

2. Sift together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Take the cold butter from the freezer and toss it with the flour mixture.

3. Dump the cold butter cubes and flour mixture onto a large work area for rolling. With a rolling pin, roll the mixture, flattening the butter cubes with the flour into long, thin, floured butter sheets. Work quickly to ensure that the butter stays cold. Below is what the rolled butter and flour look like after I’ve gathered them together on the work surface a bit.

4. Place the flour and flattened butter back in the large bowl and chill for 10 minutes. When the butter is cold, remove the bowl from the refrigerator, make a small well in the center of the flour and butter mixture. Add the cold buttermilk to the bowl all at once. Begin to bring the dough together with one hand ( keep the other hand free to answer the phone). Moisten all of the flour with the milk, using your hand to break up large clumps of milk and flour. The dough will be rather shaggy, but you can add another tablespoon of buttermilk, if you see that all your flour isn’t moistened. Form the dough into two disks. The disks will be rough, and hard to shape together, but once they rest in the fridge for an hour, they’ll be easier to roll out.

5. Chill the dough for at least an hour in the refrigerator. At this point, the dough will keep in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three weeks. For freezing, roll the dough out into sheets and wrap them in plastic film.

Apples for Tart

7 Fuji apples, medium size, peeled and cored and cut into fourths

3- 4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon cinnamon.

1. Melt 3 Tablespoons of butter in a 9 or 10-inch cast iron, or oven safe skillet. When the foam subsides, add the apple chunks, arranging them so they fit snugly together and fan out around the pan.

2. Cook the apples, over medium low heat, without stirring the apples to disturb the pattern. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top, and add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Lastly, sprinkle the cinnamon on top. ( I periodically lifted an apple slice to see how it was browning, and notices that the center of the pan was browning faster than the edges of the pan. To correct for this, I simply positioned the edges of the pan more directly over the flame, moving the pan over the flame until all the apples were slightly browned.)

3. Cook the apples until they are slightly browned on the bottom, about 15 minutes. A knife inserted into the apples will reveal a firm apple, that’s great! They’ll cook completely in the oven. Remove the pan from the flame and let the apples and the pan cool.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out one disk of pie dough into a 9 or 10- inch circle. Put the dough in the freezer for about 10 minutes before the next step. Carefully pick up the pie dough and place it over the apples in the cast iron skillet. Tuck the dough down along the inside of the pan, next to the apples. Brush the top of the dough with ice water.

5. Place the cast iron skillet on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Place the baking sheet and the skillet in the oven to bake, turning the oven down to 400 degrees F just after you put the tart in. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned, and the juices bubbling.

6 . Remove the pan and skillet from the oven. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Run a blunt butter knife along the edges of the pan, separating the crust from the pan. Place a large serving platter over the cast iron skillet, and, using pot holders, invert the tart out onto the platter. If an apple or two stick to the pan, just fish them out and place them nicely on the tart. Serve immediately with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/archives/24

While they may not be the prettiest muffins you’ve ever laid eyes on, they just might be the healthiest. These little gems are packed with banana, apple and flax seed goodness. For those of you who aren’t nutrition obsessed California dieters, flax seed are rich in fiber and Omega-3 fatty acids which helps protect against heart disease and cancer. In these muffins, flax seed meal (ground up flax seeds) replace butter and oil. How great is that!? No butter, no oil muffins! Just healthy fats in a yummy, moist, fruit muffin!

The fruit in this recipe help to keep the muffins deliciously moist. I used grated apples and mashed bananas, although the recipe calls for carrots instead of bananas. Really, use any reasonable fruit of veggie you like: zucchini, apple, carrot, banana, pear, pineapple. Go crazy!

And! This is also my entry into February’s Weekend Breakfast Blogging Event- created by Saffron Trail and hosted by Tasty Palettes. This month features Healthy Eats, and what could be healthier than fresh fruit and flax seed muffins? Serious Yum.

Gnarley Muffins

adapted from Bob’s Red Mill

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup flax seed meal (if you live near a Trader Joe’s, you can get flaxseed meal and oat bran there!)

3/4 cup oat bran

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 cups carrots, shredded

2 apples peeled and shredded

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Using a wooden spoon, mix together flour, flax seed meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

2. Stir in carrots, apples, raisins and nuts.

3. Combine milk, eggs and vanilla. Pour liquid all at once into the dry/fruit mixture. Stir until ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix.

4. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Yields 15 medium sized muffins.

Healthy trans fat free muffins. Your heart say ‘Thanks!’

http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/1940s/1942/06/honey-refrigerator?printable=true

1940s Recipes + Menus
Honey Refrigerator Cookies
June 1942
Honey Refigerator Cookies
T

This wonderful cookie ran right next to a cartoon of a woman getting out of a car in front of a very fancy restaurant, looking at the 30 minute parking sign and saying to her husband, “Sometimes I think you park in these restricted areas so we won’t have time to order the de luxe (sic) dinner.” We found that many early cookie recipes were either barely sweet or toothachingly sugary; these fall into the former category, and their delicate flavor only improves with age. They would fit just as nicely with the cheese course as they would on the dessert plate. We found that rather than shaping the cookies with molds, it worked well to roll them into 2-inch logs, then slice and bake.

This is just one of Gourmet’s Favorite Cookies: 1941-2008. Although we’ve retested the recipes, in the interest of authenticity we’ve left them unchanged: The instructions below are still exactly as they were originally printed.

Cream together 1/2 cup each of honey, brown sugar, and shortening.

Beat in 1 egg; then add 2 1/2 cups flour sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup nut meats.

Shape the dough into a roll or loaf, or press it into refrigerator cookie molds.

Allow the dough to ripen for a day or two in the refrigerator before you slice and bake it in a hot oven (400°F.) for 10 to 12 minutes.

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