Peach Crumble

After making the Plum Crumble I decided to make a Peach Crumble just like the one that Martha Stewart had on her site, because Marta is fabulous. 

 Ingredients for the Filling
2 pounds of peaches, peeled, pitted and quatered
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Ingredients for the Topping
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

To make the filling add the sugar to the peaches

Add the lemon juice

Add the cornstarch

Mix it all together

And pour the filling into your baking dish.  I chose to use a 9-inch pie plate because it's pretty.

Preheat the oven to 375° while you make the topping.  In a stand mixer combine the butter and brown sugar on medium until light and fluffy. 

Add the flour and salt

Mix with your clean hand to combine

Place the crumble on top of the peach filling, and bake for 40-50 minuted or until the top is a golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

 Let the crumble cool for 20 minutes before serving




Recipe source: marthastewart.com

Plum Crumble

I should have added to my, why I have not been blogging list, that I spent the entire months of June and July picking up plums of the damn ground, and also plucking them from the tree. I estimate that I collected at least 12 thousand tons of plums from both the tree and the ground (hyperbole warning).

I had planned to purchase and use a ice cream maker to make ice cream from my plums (and apricots), but you need money to buy stuff now a days and the Veggie Mom is sadly too broke at the moment for kitchen purchases.  So, I went to Martha Stewart for inspiration and I came back with this crumble recipe. I changed on the fruit used as Martha's recipes are supremely vetted and always delicious.

The Ingredients

The Filling 
2lbs plums, peeled, pitted and cut into halves
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 teaspoons cornstarch

The Crumble
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and combine the plums, white sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a medium sized glass bowl

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter and brown sugar on medium until light and fluffy.

 Add the flour and sea salt to the butter mixture

 Using your hand lightly kneed together the dough

Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the plums and bake for 40-50 minutes or until center is bubbling.  Tent loosely with foil and allow to cool for 20 minutes.  Serve with ice cream!

Recipe source: MarthaStewart.com

Pizza Bread with Baked Better

This bread recipe starts very simply with a bread mix.  Now, those of you who read my blog regularly know that I generally make my bread from scratch.  I would rather get in the kitchen and get my hands dirty, at least when it  comes to bread.  I take plenty of shortcuts with other dishes, but there is just something about bread that I want to be fully involved with.  Maybe its the yeast or the feel of the dough, honestly I don't know, but I love it.  When I got an email from Baked Better, I thought hmmmm? I don't really do bread mixes, but what the heck I need to learn to think outside the box.  I must say when I received the product, I was beyond excited to learn that while one need only add water to the Baked Better mixes you also get to use yeast and you get to experience allowing the bread to proof/rise.  

This particular mix, is the Park Sloped Staple which is a base bread to which one can add virtually any additional ingredients.  The Baked Better website and the product bag does offer you some suggestions, but I decided to attempt to recreate the flavors of pizza in my bread. 

The Ingredients

Baked Better Park Slope Staple

Envelope of instant yeast (included with mix)

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 cup blend of Italian cheeses

3 cloves of garlic, minced

The Tools

large mixing bowl

loaf pan

The Baking

Add the yeast to the Park Slope Staple dry mix

Add the water,

the honey,

the salt, 

the wine, 

the cheese, 

the garlic, 

and the sun-dried tomatoes

Stir until well combined

Place the dough in a warm area and allow it to rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled in size

Here it is all poofy! Preheat the oven to 400 degrees 

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until the top is golden brown and the ENTIRE house smells like a pizza.  Seriously, it even fooled the kids!

Super Jumbo Red Velvet Cupcakes

The youngest Veggie Son just celebrated his 4th Birthday.  In celebration we held a Polar Express themed party.  We had the usual, cake, juice and pizza.  Unlike many people, I NEVER want left over cake in my house, because leftover cake soon becomes eaten cake.  So, I always buy the smallest cake needed to feed my guest and then any left over pieces are tagged for the kids.  This year, we had very little cake left and none of it made it to his actual birthday.  How sad is that I thought, no cake on ones actual birthday!  I immediately hatched a plan.  I would make him some huge cupcakes.  I have a large muffin tin which makes only 6 very large muffins.  When asked what type of muffin he would like my son instantly said: Red!  What can I say?  The boy has born and raised in California, but his taste buds are clearly Southern.  

I did some hunting through my cookbooks and online, but in the end I went with my mom's recipe for Red Velvet Cake.  Many of the recipes on line left out things I consider integral to success of this type of cake, namely cake flour and buttermilk.  Here is the thing about Red Velvet Cake, it can turn out really good OR really bad.  A bad Red Velvet Cake can range from dry to dense.  What you want, in my opinion, is a combination of moist and light, with a rich flavor.  To get this one needs to use cake flour and buttermilk.  The cake flour allows for a tender texture, and the buttermilk gives that cake that extra leavening. 

And, of course you have to top the whole thing with Cream Cheese Frosting, but EVERYTHING is better with Cream Cheese Frosting.

The Ingredients
1 cup Crisco vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 ounce red food coloring
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

The Ingredients for the Cake, that I Forgot in the First Photo
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

The Tools
stand mixer
medium sized bowl
small bowl
spooncula or scrapper spoon
muffin tin liners or parchment paper

The Baking

Preheat the oven to 350° and prepare your muffin tin. Cream the Crisco and the sugar together in a stand mixer (or with a hand held mixer or by hand) with the paddle mixer attachment, until well combined and fluffy. 

STOP the mixer and add the red food coloring. 

Slowly, very slowly begin to mix in the red food coloring.  This is were things begin to look a little like an episode of CSI.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing between additions. 

Turn off the mixer and add in the buttermilk. Then, run the mixer for about 5 minutes until the buttermilk is completely incorporated and that the batter is nice and smooth. 

While the buttermilk is mixing into the batter, combine the cocoa and the cake flour together in a medium sized bowl. 

Place the cocoa/flour mixture into a sifter

and sift it together

Your end product will be a light, airier and better combined mixture.

Gradually and slowly add the flour into the batter until it is well incorporated and the batter is smooth. 

Once the batter is done mixing and is smooth it is time to add the baking soda and vinegar.  Remove the bowl form the mixing stand and have a spooncula at the ready.  In a small bowl, combine the baking soda and vinegar.  It will bubble immediately, and the second the two items are completely combine, fold the mixture into the waiting batter.  You want those bubble to add their lightness the cake. 

Gentle spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins.  I could not find liners to fit my large muffin tin, so I used parchment paper.  Next time I will look harder for the liners.  I was not a big fan of the parchment paper.  Bake the cupcakes on 350° for 25 to 30 minutes.  If you are using smaller muffin tins, reduce your time to 20 minutes. 

 Allow the baked cupcakes to set on the counter until completely cooled before icing.  Also wait until the oven it cooled down as well. Nothing is sadder then dippy frosting. 

While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. 

The Frosting Ingredients
8 ounces light cream cheese (at room temp)
1 stick unsalted butter (at room temp)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
16 ounces powdered sugar

 The Tools
a stand mixer
zip loc bag
icing tip of choice

The Making of the Icing!

 Thoroughly cream together the butter and cream cheese

Add in the vanilla extract one teaspoon at a time, mixing in between additions

Add the powdered sugar to the cheese mixture 1/4 or 1/2 cup full at a time.  This takes a while, but it avoids lumps.  Mix until well combined. 

Place the frosting into a zip loc bag with its tip cut off and a icing tip in place.  Use this bag to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.