Pound Cake with Strawberries

My dear friend Emily was visiting from California this weekend and I wanted to fix her a beautiful Sunday brunch for our visit. Not remembering what were her favorites or can live without foods, wanted to play it safe and come up with something somewhat healthy and somewhat decadent. So this RICH pound cake finished off a lovely brunch. Even with the hour change, time went far too quickly. The only downside, she had to catch a plane.

Here is the recipe below which I snagged from my favorite www.tastespotting.com site and some side notes. One thing for certain, if I owned a behemoth of a mixer, which I can still live without (mostly due to a big space grabber) would have been really super easy. The butter at room temperature during winter was a workout. Photos are of each of the eggs, one at a time, and don’t brag how silky this mixture became.

Ingredients

3 cups sugar

2 sticks butter, room temperature

7 eggs, room temperature

3 cups cake flour, measured then sifted three times

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Generously spray a 10″ bundt pan with baking spray – ensure all the nooks -&- crannies are coated.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
  Alternate adding in half of the flour, the cream, then the remaining flour.  Mix well after each addition.

Add the extracts and combine thoroughly.
Pour batter into the prepared pan the place pan into COLD oven and set the temperature to 350°F.   Do NOT place the pan on a baking sheet as bundt pans require heat circulating thru the center core  (a baking sheet will prevent this and your cake will not bake properly).

Bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until a long sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
 Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. 
Invert and cool completely on a wire rack.

This really turned out nice. The only thing I would recommend is that you use a spray to grease the pan, and not just oil. (Just exactly as was recommended!!) It was tough to get out and would have been easier that way. Don’t miss the sifting step as well. You won’t regret it.

 I dusted with confectioners sugar and served with delicious strawberries. A great ending to a visit that ended far too soon.

I wore an old Farmers Market favorite, my Sonoma Olive monogrammed apron!! Love helping small businesses get their logo’s out there.

Bon Appetit!

See more photos of this cake at: www.chanteusedesigns.com/kathleen’sblog

Carrot Cake

Our most handsome and talented Kyle was visiting from Atlanta this week and I wanted to make something different and special, but something that I knew would be a crowd pleaser too. When you’re six feet 3 inches tall at 18 and still growing (can you imagine……..can we just adopt him??;-))  you want something healthy but that will keep them coming back all year long!

This didn’t disappoint! It was perfect. I feel that a carrot cake without pineapple or pecans is not worth baking. So enjoy this recipe. It is really not a time-consuming cake as you can see you can throw it together quite quickly.
Of course I snagged this from www.tastespotting.com and Michelle’s at  http://culinography.wordpress.com.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups grated carrots
1 8oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped pecans, plus extra (whole and/or chopped) for garnish
Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 8-9 inch round or one 9×13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, applesauce, sugars and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in carrots and pineapple. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan(s).

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 50 minutes (depending on pan size), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3.5 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake and garnish with extra pecans.

We had so much fun that we could hardly make room for this wonderful cake. It was a great breakfast item with hot coffee too! Moist and delicious. May Kyle visit more often and I will promise more goodies like this to come. Look out summertime, a new Spielberg is on the loose!

And I wore my favorite apron, my Napa Ruffle. So much fun, so little time!

Bon Appetit.

Banana Pancakes

The best banana pancake recipe I have found in a long time. Granted, I haven’t been looking because I just really have a hard time switching from my all time favorite French Toast if I am going to switch from something “light” or eggy for breakfast.  But I have been enlightened with this one.

This was so easy, and is perfect for that Sunday morning lazy day breakfast. It is so filling that afterwards you want to just relax and read a good book. It used to be the Sunday paper, but all that’s changed now. ;-)

You can make most of this the night before (like I did), then in the morning or after that wake me up run with the dogs, throw these together and serve with some fresh squeezed orange juice. Ah, spring has sprung for sure.

Double Banana Pancakes
(I’ve lost the original source, but I believe it was from a book of pancakes)
Makes 4-8 servings
2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups buttermilk

4 large eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas [originally 3/4 cup]

Cooking spray or vegetable oil for the pan
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.
In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir by hand until the batter is evenly moistened. (At this point, the batter can be covered and refrigerated for up to 12 hours, or used right away.)
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and grease it lightly by brushing or spraying with oil. Right before you make the pancakes, fold the mashed bananas into the batter. Drop about 1/4 cup of pancake batter into the hot pan, spreading them slightly into circles. Leave about 2″ between pancakes.
Cook until small bubbles appear and the edges are set, about 2 minutes, then flip using an offset spatula. Cook on the second side an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the pancakes are golden brown. Serve at once with Triple Berry Maple Syrup.
Triple Berry Maple Syrup
Makes 2 cups
4 cups mixed berries, fresh or frozen

Zest of one lemon

1 cup maple syrup

It was so good and filling I couldn’t eat but half of them. Yes, I was going for the photo op and normally would only have two, but hey –  a picture is worth a thousand words. These were great and stacked beautifully.

Uh-oh, I wore my running gear and got out of cleaning duty!!

Kapeeesh!

Fried Chili Cabbage

I love Indian food and can’t wait to visit my favorite restaurant in Menlo Park soon. As much as I try to cook as though I am in one of those delicious restaurants, I am still missing the magic. If you cook vegetarian, it seems to come a bit closer but I figure with a little more time I will master their spices and fool myself thinking I am actually there. For now, enjoy this light and healthy meal. This recipe comes from off my cook book shelf; “Complete Indian Cooking” by Hamlyn and its a wonderful introduction to Indian cooking.

2 TB of olive oil
1 small onion
6 cloves garlic
1 t white cumin seeds
1 t turmeric
1 white cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 cup diced potatoes
1 cup shelled peas
1 cup sliced carrots
8 oz tomatoes, skinned and sliced
1 t green mango powder
1 fresh green chile, chopped
1 T grated ginger
1 t garam masala
1 T chopped cilantro
2 T melted butter

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion and garlic with the cumin seeds for 5 minutes. Add the turmeric and shake the pan for a few seconds.

Add the cabbage, potatoes, peas, and carrots. Cook, stirring continuously, 5 minutes. Cover the pan and continue to cook gently over a low heat for a further 10 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, mango powder, chile and ginger. Stir well and then replace the lid and continue cooking for 10 more minutes.

Sprinkle the garam masala and cilantro into the saucepan and stir well. Heat through over a low heat for about 5 minutes. Serve hot with the melted butter poured over top.

Serves 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes

If you have some hot Chai Tea,
all the better will this meal be!

I wore my Napa Apron, and we dined feeling ever so happy and healthy.

Bon Appetit.

Steaming Hot Chicken Asparagus Soup

It was one of the nights, or rather beautiful days where I just couldn’t get warm and really missed making my soups. Since the dogs were not well this week I went out and bought them a chicken. Lazy me, I picked it up at Costco so I could get back to work and get Jessie back on his feet quickly (it worked wonderfully too). Jessie was back on his feet in no time, sorta like chicken soup for a dog.

I needed to continue my best efforts at being a born again vegetarian…….again. Being the recycle queen, the dogs got the chicken,  but I had to make soup out of the bones ..well yes for me. And the great benefit was a super healthy, super easy and super clean and yummy soup. So, I wasn’t exactly cheating, but I totally was.

In a large pot I sauteed one onion and about 6 cloves of garlic in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. After which I then poured in 4 – 6 cups of pure filtered water and the chicken carcass, along with salt, pepper, and some white wine. Simmering covered for about an hour. Debone the chicken, or what’s left and remove from the soup. I then added 3 cups of asparagus, 2 cups of sliced carrots, and lastly some cilantro. Depending on how cooked you want your carrots and asparagus you can cook for only 10 minutes, or 30 minutes before serving.  Serves 4 for dinner or 6 as an appetizer.

I served with my home made black sesame seed bread, toasted and some wine!! Sunday warm yourself up dinner. Plenty of room for dessert.

Simple, quick and my low carbon footprint strikes again. Nothing left on the bones, so there was very little to put in my trash bin.
If you are composting, most everything else can be placed there or in your worm bins. Nothing like the great smell of earthly mother nature.

Don’t you just loove being green??? If you haven’t seen the documentary “No Impact Man” I really recommend you seeing it. How a New Yorker did what he did was so admirable. Ya gotta love him. Reminded me of when I bought my Hybrid and kept getting flipped off in the HOV lane! Humans, can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

I wore my Poupon Apron, which is warm and happy. Mission accomplished. 

Bon Appetit!

Vegetarian Udon Noodles

While perusing my cabinets and finding more of those lovely and delicious udon noodles, found a favorite recipe of mine (yes on www.tastespotting.com) and threw this quick and easy dish together. I didn’t have the chili oil, but have some wonderful sesame oil with this exquisite chili powder we picked up at the Asian market in San Francisco. I used about 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon and it was hardly spicy hot. So if you are looking for a little kick, go for half a teaspoon if you don’t have the original chili oil requirement.

Literally takes fifteen minutes to prepare. This would be great for a surprise last minute dinner guest.

Easy 15 min vegetarian meals

3 bundles udon noodles
1 large red bell pepper
1 cup frozen shelled edamame (I used frozen peas….worked great!)
2 cups chopped cabbage
3/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, (Used button mushies, worked great)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 carrots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon sesame chili oil (Chinese chili, or even red pepper flakes, may also be used)
5 green onions, sliced in half lengthwise, and cut into 2-inch lengths, for garnishing

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the udon noodles according to the directions on the package. When the noodles are done cooking, drain them, rinse them thoroughly under cold water, and set them aside.

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage, mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, edamame, garlic, and ginger. Saute the vegetables until they become crisp tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the vegetable broth, soy sauce, and sesame chili oil. Continue cooking for another minute or so. Toss the udon noodles in the skillet until they are warmed through. Garnish with the green onions and serve.

This was even better the next day for lunch served cold. Sign of a great dish. The peas were a wonderful substitute but if you love edamame, like I do, make sure you include on your grocery list. Nowadays you can get them at any grocery store.

I wore my Napa favorite! Though my Asian would have been a pretty stylish act!

Bon Appetit!