Pete and Repeat were in a boat.

I've already posted this recipe, but I feel the need to now show off my stellar photography skills and share the epiphany that was the version I made last night. Fasten your seatbelts—it's devil's food cake, another time.

So it doesn't look like much. Who cares? How many times have I had a pretty little bit of pastry or cake and it tastes, well, bad? This is not gorgeous, no, but it will make your tastebuds sing.

So what did I do differently?

• The fat. Butter, my friend. Butter.
• The cocoa powder. My go-to cocoa powder is the Dutch-process cocoa powder from Penzey's, but I haven't had the occasion to stop in the store or place a mail order recently, so this time I used Hershey's Special Dark. But here's the thing—I haven't liked the results of the Penzey's cocoa powder much. Hershey's Special Dark is a blend of Dutch-process and natural cocoa powders, and maybe therein lies the difference, as different types of cocoa have different levels of alkalinity. Whatever happened this time around, the chocolate flavor was richer than other attempts at the recipe.
• The flour. Because I'm a sucker for a low price-per-unit, I've been baking with Ultragrain flour from my beloved Costco. I've had pretty good results with it. The texture of the finished products can be crumbly, as with whole wheat, while at the same time becoming tough easily. It's a tricky flour to use, but it worked with this recipe.
• The sugar. Due to an unfortunate run-in with red wine vinegar, my white sugar met an untimely demise, so I used brown sugar.
• The icing. Since it's not likely that I have unsweetened chocolate and cream lying around my house, I threw some things together and ended up with the icing I wanted all along. It's pretty much a whipped ganache, but it is made of much less fancy ingredients than you'd expect.

Some might say I've created a whole new recipe. I say it's just an improvement. 

Beatrice's devil's food cake, improved

Cake: 

2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. milk

3 heaping T. cocoa

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. baking powder

2 T. baking soda

3 c. flour

1 c. boiling water

Icing:

1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 c. half and half

1/2 c. brown sugar

3 T. butter

1/4 t. vanilla

1. Using a stand mixer, cream the brown sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add salt, milk, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder, and baking soda and mix to combine.
2. Mix in the flour at a low speed, one cup at a time. 
3. Gradually mix in the boiling water. Mix until smooth.
4. Pour into a prepared 9x13 pan (greased/floured or sprayed with nonstick spray). Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. 
5. Meanwhile, make the icing. In a saucepan on medium heat, combine the chocolate chips, half and half, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, and boil for four minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in butter and vanilla. In a stand mixer with a wire whip attachment, whip the icing until it is cool and begins to become fluffy and lighter in color. This should take at least 15 minutes.
6. Cool and spread icing on the top. 

My grandma's Amish cookies

My grandma was (well, is) the kind of grandma who had a jar (or, more accurately, a giant, green Tupperware container with a ridged lid) of cookies on her counter for hungry little hands to place into hungry little mouths. Her standards were chocolate chip cookies and these "Amish" cookies, which are flaky, tender sugar cookies. She would use a glass to press the cookies down, leaving a starburst shape on each.

But now, it's the end of an era. Really, the era's been gone for awhile, because my grandma hasn't been baking like she used to, but now it seems the door is officially closed. My grandma has moved out of her house, which has now been sold, and her stuff has moved out as well. My mom hauled a bag of goods to my house, and this bag included two cookie stamps—one of a bunch of tulips and another of the sort of owl that was retro before it was cool. In retrospect, I wish I would've told my mom I wanted one of those glasses. The cookie stamps are nice, and since there are two of them, my older kids could do the stamping without any arguments, but they just aren't the same.

Since I'm a sucker for old-fashioned recipes, I'll reproduce it as she wrote down on a recipe card long ago. The "double it and share" suggestion always gives me a chuckle. I did exactly that the first time I made the cookies, and it was certainly a batch that was worthy of that underlined "a lot."

I did not have margarine in the house, so I used butter. They would be better with margarine, since it lends a lightness. Shortening might do this, as well, but might not have the right flavor. (But, go ahead, use butter-flavored Crisco. I won't judge.) I baked these at 350 degrees until they just barely started to brown at the edges.

My Grandma's Amish Cookies

Beat 2 eggs and set aside.
Beat 1 c. oil and 1 c. margarine, 1 c. powdered sugar, 1 c. white sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. soda, 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar. Add eggs and 4 1/2 c flour. Cool. Roll into balls and press with cookie stamp or sugared glass. Makes a nice sized batch. Double it and share. It makes a lot.

Carrot cake from someone who knows carrot cake

I make the best carrot cake ever, no lie. It's even almost healthy, if you pretend that frosting has no calories. I looked long and hard for a carrot cake recipe that met my basic requirements: it must not have pineapple or raisins; it must use oil; it must not contain egg substitutes or anything else to make it "light," since I have my own ideas about that stuff. The result is this recipe, adapted from something I found on Recipe Source and can't find again because there are approximately 500 carrot cake recipes.

My modifications are to use some whole wheat flour, substitute applesauce for half the oil, and substitute flax seed meal and water for two of the eggs. This makes three layers, one 13x9 pan, or 24 cupcakes. I'll bet you could make a good zucchini cake if you use that instead of the carrots. I leave out the nuts these days, since I have a little dude who isn't quite at the nut-eating stage yet.

The 501st recipe for carrot cake on the Internet
Cake:
2 c. flour (I use half whole wheat and half white)
2 c. sugar
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
1/2 t. allspice
2 eggs
2 T. flax seed meal
6 T. water
1 t. vanilla
3/4 c. applesauce
3/4 c. oil
3 c. grated carrots
1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 t. vanilla
4 c. powdered sugar

1. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside. 
2. Mix sugar, eggs, flax seed meal, water, vanilla, applesauce, and oil. 
3. Gently mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. 
4. Fold in carrots. 
5. Bake in a 350 degree oven in a greased 13x9 pan for about 40 minutes (timing will obviously vary if you use a different sort of format), or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Cool completely.
6. For frosting, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Frost cake and enjoy!

Canned fruit army

Hear me, o peaches and o pears! Thou are not safe from me! I shall turn you all into an army of perpetually preserved produce.

Yet another thank-you to Amy of Crazy Boy Farm for organizing the second round of bulk buying of the most gorgeous fruit my palate has ever laid into. I bought two boxes of pears and peaches, which weighed about 22 pounds each.

Here are the results of my can-stravaganza, peach-and-pear style:

4 pints, 4 half-pints, 1 quart, and a quart-sized container that is living in my fridge of peach salsa; 8 quarts and 3 pints of sliced peaches (one of which did not seal)

15 quarts of pear halves

I've also got three gallon bags full of sliced peaches in the freezer because I ran out of jars and had a bunch of peaches that needed tending to before they'd get overripe.

Peach salsa
The basic idea came from this recipe. I ended up with enough to fill the equivalent of 10 pints.
16 peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, finely chopped
The zest and juice of 3 limes
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
6 banana peppers, finely chopped (note: please don't wimp out and use these peppers; get yourself some jalapenos)
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt

1. Throw all of the ingredients together in a large pot and bring to a boil for five minutes. Take pot off of the heat and let everything sit another five minutes.
2. Process in sterilized jars.

Getting in the swing of CSA things

We're trying the CSA thing again this year, after trying Harmony Valley Farm a couple of years ago and finding it not quite what we wanted (great communication and produce and a wonderful fruit share, but too much variety and too many exotic things). This year we've chosen Treasured Haven Farm. It's much closer to the Cities, so maybe we'll have the opportunity to visit this year, and it offered a dropsite very close to our house. Unfortunately, that dropsite didn't work out, but Peg at Treasured Haven switched us to another without a problem.

We had many, many weeks of not much but lettuce, and a lot of it went to waste. We're just not big salad people. But now the produce season is kicking into full gear in Minnesota, and we've had a few weeks of the most delicious potatoes ever, cucumbers, zucchini/squash, and finally tomatoes (and amazing tomatoes they are).

I tried a new potato salad recipe and was very pleased with the results. My usual potato salad is the normal celery-and-onions-and-mustard-and-mayo fare, but lacking celery and being awash in cucumbers, I needed an alternative. This is a keeper.



Cucumber potato salad
Found here. Without the cucumbers it would taste very much like German potato salad for a lot less effort (and vegetarian, too).
1 English cucumber, sliced paper thin
Salt
2 pounds Austrian crescent or other fingerling potatoes (I used red potatoes)
Pinch caraway seeds (If you don't have these, leave them out; I didn't notice a huge difference in flavor)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock (I used vegetable stock)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup cider vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon canola or sunflower seed oil (I left this out)
2 tablespoons sour cream, crème fraîche or plain yogurt, optional (I used yogurt)

1. Put cucumber slices in bowl, toss with 2 teaspoons salt, and set aside.
2. Put potatoes in saucepan, cover with water, add generous pinch salt and caraway, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are just tender. Drain, peel, and slice into a bowl while still warm. Season with salt and pepper.
3. In a saucepan, bring stock and onion to a simmer. Add to potatoes, and toss gently until silky and lightly thickened. Fold in mustard, vinegar and oils.
4. Drain cucumbers well, squeezing out excess liquid. Fold cucumbers into potato salad. Add more salt, pepper and vinegar if needed. Add sour cream, crème fraîche or yogurt if wanted.

Ach, who needs health food?

A big thank-you to my fairy god-gardener, who made this spinach happen.

Creamed spinach
Sure, you could have healthy spinach. Or you could have THIS spinach. And here's a tip: The sauce, sans spinach and with rehydrated sundried tomatoes makes an awesome pasta sauce.
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
Chopped garlic, scallions, shallots, onions - whatever you have on hand
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. shredded or grated hard cheese, such as parmesan, romano, or asiago
2 T. cream cheese
1 lb. fresh spinach, blanched and chopped, or 1 bag frozen spinach, thawed

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and garlic, etc. and cook for a few minutes.
2. Whisk in the milk and cream and cook until very thick.
3. Turn off the burner, add cheeses, and stir until melted.
4. Add spinach and heat through.

You will thank me for this pizza recipe.

The Penzey's catalog arrived in the mail the other day, and I was drawn to the homemade pizza recipe because the ingredients list included a 12 oz. can of beer. "Interesting," I thought. I get my yeast proofing and pull out the flour and start mixing things together, and upon reading, and re-reading, the recipe, find out that there is no beer used. So, thanks, Penzey's, for your poor editing, which led me to this amazing dough recipe. I found that I only needed about six and a half cups of flour, and swapped sugar for the honey so the baby could eat it. (And eat it he did - a slice and a half!)

Beerless pizza dough
If I had to hazard a guess, the beer was supposed to be for drinking. This makes two large or four medium pizza crusts.
2 c. warm water
2 T. yeast
2 T. sugar
6 c. all-purpose flour (may need a tad bit less or more)
4 T. olive oil
1 t. salt
Cornmeal for dusting

1. Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in your mixing bowl. Allow bubbles to form.
2. Add olive oil and salt, and begin adding flour. Continue to add flour until the dough is just past being sticky. 
3. Knead by machine or hand until the dough is soft, smooth, and elastic.
4. Place in bowl (I'm a rebel and use the same bowl I mixed in) and cover with a damp towel. Allow to rise 45-60 minutes or until doubled.
5. Dust a pizza peel or other smooth, rimless surface with cornmeal. Roll out and/or stretch half or a quarter of the dough until it's the desired thickness. Place on the cornmeal and add toppings. Slide onto a baking stone in a 450 degree oven and cook about 10 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

The top pizza was made with olive oil, roasted garlic, sauteed spinach and mushrooms, and fresh mozzarella. The bottom one, which I would marry if it were legal, began with grape tomatoes tossed with olive oil, bouquet garni, and salt, roasted in a 200 degree oven for a few hours, with fresh mozzarella slices on top, and sprinkled with torn basil after coming out of the oven. Bliss.

Tiramisu of love

My first thought upon hearing that the Daring Bakers challenge for February was tiramisu was, "OMG. Valentine's Day!" My husband looooooooves the tiramisu at Buca di Beppo, as it is very booze-filled and rich. I had visions of a beautiful, molded tiramisu with cocoa-powder hearts upon it, an edible testament to my love. The challenge involved making the tiramisu entirely from scratch - ladyfingers/savoiardi, pastry cream, zabaglione, whipped cream, and even the mascarpone. This is certainly a dessert worthy of being served on Valentine's Day.

Apparently my love is oozy and not very boozy, extremely high-maintenance (we knew that) and a lot of work, but still pretty tasty.

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

The mascarpone was a pain. It would not thicken, which I figured about an hour into it might be due to using a glass bowl instead of a metal one, but even after I switched bowls and decided I'd just cook the dickens out of it, it never reached the point described. I ended up sticking it in the fridge and it came out resembling soft cheese and was edible (though very tangy due to the extra lemon I added out of desperation).

The pastry cream did not thicken, either, which baffled me. It's not like I've never made it before. I ended adding more flour, cornstarch, and sugar mixed with a touch more milk.

The man of the house said that he thought my ladyfingers were storebought. What a compliment! I don't know if I folded the batter too much or made them too big or what, but I got about half of what I should have and the tiramisu showed it. It would've been a little bit more structured and a lot more delicious (it was lacking coffee and booze flavor as it was) if I had more ladyfingers. Instead of using rum extract, by the way, I used actual rum. I just barely dipped the biscuits in the coffee (which was espresso made in a drip coffee maker, as I am not fancy enough to have an actual espresso machine, and was too cheap to buy some from a coffee shop), as instructed, and they were not nearly soaked enough.

All lessons to take to my next attempt, eh?

Mezze? Yezze!

One of my ongoing projects for this year is participating in the Daring Cooks and Daring Bakers challenges through The Daring Kitchen. Each month, secret challenges are revealed, and we must cook/bake the challenge recipe(s) and post about the deliciousness that ensues. Today I reveal my very first Daring Cooks challenge.

The 2010 February Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

Mezze (pronounced "mez" or "mez-ay" - I simply pronounce it "delicious") is the Middle Eastern version of Spanish tapas. My mezze ended up rather Syrian in flavor, due to making the e-acquaintance (i.e., I read his blog) of Tony Tahhan, who does not lack in deliciousness himself, if you know what I mean. I adapted his recipes for kebab, spinach fatayer, garlic sauce, baklava, and fattoush. The challenge recipes were hummus and pita. I rounded things out with falafel, an option challenge recipe, and olives from Holy Land.

Pita Bread – Recipe adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

This was some delicious pita bread, and kept for a couple of days after cooking. I found that rolling out the dough thickly made for a better poof. I wish the bread had more color, but I set off the smoke alarm three times as it was, and I'm not sure my oven could've handled more heat.
Prep time: 20 minutes to make, 90 minutes to rise and about 45 minutes to cook

2 teaspoons regular dry yeast (.43 ounces/12.1 grams)
2.5 cups lukewarm water (21 ounces/591 grams)
5-6 cups all-purpose flour (may use a combination of 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose, or a combination of alternative flours for gluten free pita) (17.5 -21 ounces/497-596 grams)
1 tablespoon table salt (.50 ounces/15 grams)
2 tablespoons olive oil (.95 ounces/29 ml)

Directions:

1. In a large bread bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups flour, a cup at a time, and then stir 100 times, about 1 minute, in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.
   
2. Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Rinse out the bowl, dry, and lightly oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least doubled in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
   
3. Place a pizza stone, or two small baking sheets, on the bottom rack of your oven, leaving a 1-inch gap all around between the stone or sheets and the oven walls to allow heat to circulate. Preheat the oven to 450F (230C).
   
4. Gently punch down the dough. Divide the dough in half, and then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide the other half into 8 equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4 inch thick. Keep the rolled-out breads covered until ready to bake, but do not stack.
   
5. Place 2 breads, or more if your oven is large enough, on the stone or baking sheets, and bake for 2 to 3 minutes, or until each bread has gone into a full balloon. If for some reason your bread doesn't puff up, don't worry it should still taste delicious. Wrap the baked breads together in a large kitchen towel to keep them warm and soft while you bake the remaining rolled-out breads. Then repeat with the rest of the dough.

Hummus – Recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden

Behold! Hummus that doesn't suck! This is the first time I made edible hummus. If we ate more hummus in my family, I'd make it all the time. I'm sure to make it again because I had the totally brilliant idea of cooking a whole two pounds of chickpeas for this challenge, which means I have a metric ton of them in my freezer now.

Prep Time: Hummus can be made in about 15 minutes once the beans are cooked. If you’re using dried beans you need to soak them overnight and then cook them the next day which takes about 90 minutes.

1.5 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight (or substitute well drained canned chickpeas and omit the cooking) (10 ounces/301 grams)
2-2.5 lemons, juiced (3 ounces/89ml)
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
a big pinch of salt
4 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) OR use peanut butter or any other nut butter—feel free to experiment) (1.5 ounces/45 grams)
additional flavorings (optional) I would use about 1/3 cup or a few ounces to start, and add more to taste

Directions:

1. Drain and boil the soaked chickpeas in fresh water for about 1 ½ hours, or until tender. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.
   
2. Puree the beans in a food processor (or you can use a potato masher) adding the cooking water as needed until you have a smooth paste.
   
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Falafels - Recipe from Joan Nathan and Epicurious.com

These are fantastic. Boy, do I wish I had a food processor, though. I had to use my blender and it was not an easy task. My cookie dough scoop made them the perfect size.

Prep Time: Overnight for dry beans and 1 hour to make Falafels

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight OR use well canned drained chickpeas (7 ounces/100 grams)
1/2 large onion (roughly chopped, about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped OR use a couple pinches of dried parsley (.2 ounces/5 grams)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped OR use a couple pinches of dried cilantro (.2 ounces/5 grams)
1 teaspoon table salt (.1 ounce/5 grams)
1 teaspoon dried hot red peppers (cayenne) (.1 ounce/2 grams)
4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon cumin (.1 ounce/2 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder (.13 ounces/4 grams)
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour (1 ounce/24 grams) (you may need a bit extra)
tasteless oil for frying (vegetable, canola, peanut, soybean, etc.), you will need enough so that the oil is three inches deep in whatever pan you are using for frying

Directions:

1. Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, and then drain. Or use canned chickpeas, drained.
   
2. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed. If you don’t have a food processor, then feel free to mash this up as smooth as possible by hand.
   
3. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough bulgur or flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.
   
4. Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts.
   
5. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees (190C) in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
   
6. Drain on paper towels.

Note: These can also be baked on a nonstick pad (silpat or the like) at 325F (160C), just until they’re firm, about 20 minutes.

The garlic sauce was so delicious and so potent. I tried to double the recipe so used about 10 cloves of garlic, but I was only able to incorporate about 3/4 cup of oil into the egg whites anyway. Let's just say that there weren't any vampires around here the night we dined on this. My daughter loved the fatayer. My dough ended up a lot thicker and I had a lot less filling than Tony's do, so should I make them again, more rolling will be in order.



I wish I would have been able to grill the kebab, but 25 minutes at 425 did the trick. The more allspice the better with these; I didn't have nearly enough.








I had to fudge the baklava because I forgot to buy orange blossom water, which, of course, was one of the main reasons I made the trek to Holy Land. Instead, I added about 1/4 cup of honey to the syrup. It could've used a bit more baking for color, but after two and a half hours in the oven, I wanted to go to sleep, so I gave up on that. More syrup would've been nice, too, maybe just by a half cup.

As far as fattoush goes, this version was basically romaine, radish, cucumber, red bell pepper, and the dressing. It was very refreshing and crisp, and the sumac brings instant Middle Eastern flavor.

All in all, a pretty yummy challenge, wouldn't you say?

...and more baking

I made more bread today, since we were having company and beef stew, and that necessitates bread. Brilliant me forgot the salt until mid-knead, but sprinkling in between kneads appeared to have been sufficient to prevent disaster. It's not as good as the last batch, but definitely edible.

And then I made cake!

DEVILS FOOD CAKE

2 C. WHITE OR BROWN SUGAR, 1/2 C. SHORTENING, 2 EGGS, A PINCH OF SALT, 1/2 C. SWEET MILK, 3 HEAPING TBSP. COCOA, 1 TSP VANILLA, 1/2 TSP. BAKING PWD., 2 TSP. SODA, 1 C. BOILING WATER. CREAM SUGAR, SALT AND SHORTENING. ADD EGGS AND MIX WELL. THEN ADD MILK. SIFT FLOUR, BAKING PWD., COCOA AND SODA TOGETHER. ADD VANILLA AND THEN THE BOILING WATER LAST. BAKE IN MOD. OVEN (350 DEG.)

ICING FOR DEVILS FOOD

1 BAR GERMAN'S SWEET CHOCOLATE, 1/2 C. SUGAR, 1/2 C. CREAM, 1 HEAPING TABLESPOON BUTTER, 1 TSP. VANILLA. BOIL THE CHOCOLATE, SUGAR AND CREAM FOR 4 OR 5 MINUTES. ADD TE BUTTER AND VANILLA AND BEAT WELL.

BEATRICE MOHAM

This recipe is from the old church cookbook, as we call it. It's from the mid-1950s and everything is set in uppercase, with signatures of the women who wrote the recipes - all in the same hand. There are advertisements in the back, too: "Compliments Of TIME THEATER Douglas Ingalls Phone 88-R11 Pepin Wisconsin." My grandma added notes, certain recipes have a box drawn around them (like the cake above), and some recipes from newspapers are pasted on the blank pages. My husband complains about the way I write recipes, but I write them just like these church ladies did, with estimates and shorthand and vagueness.

You'll notice (or will you?) another charming quirk: a total lack of proofreading. There's no amount listed for the flour in the recipe. 2 1/2 cups appears to be the correct amount. And you can substitute some whole milk (or maybe even non-whole milk) for the cream and it'll still work. I substituted three tablespoons of cocoa plus another tablespoon each of butter and sugar for the bar of chocolate (which I am taking to mean a one-ounce bar of chocolate), too. The icing will thicken as it cools, but no one'll kick you out of the house if you feed them this cake with drippy icing. It's still delicious.

A day for baking

It's day two of a four-day weekend and rain's been falling all day, so it was the perfect time for baking.

I started out making pizza dough, which turned into homemade deep-dish pizza for dinner. It turned out satisfactorily. The tomatoes I used (Red Gold brand) weren't as rich-tasting as I had hoped, parts of the crust were tough because I really had to manhandle it, and the sausage was subpar because I was using what the grocery store had to offer, but it's certainly edible, if not really photogenic.

Then it was onto English muffins, using half wheat and half white flour, and by golly, they taste like English muffins, if a bit denser than storebought. I followed that up by making waffles with a topping of bananas, brown sugar, maple syrup, and butter, plus some pecans on the grownups' (not pictured). Then I made bread dough, and oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies.

The bread turned out to be, possibly, my best ever. I credit being more patient and more distracted than usual. Here's the recipe, for posterity:

Whole wheat bread
(modified from the Dakota Maid whole wheat bread recipe)

4 cups whole wheat flour
2-1/2 cups bread flour
2 pkg. dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1 1/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup oil
1 T salt

Dissolve yeast milk and water. Add honey, oil, and salt. Beat in 1 cup whole-wheat flour. Add remaining wheat flour.

Turn out on counter and knead, adding enough all-purpose flour to make a soft dough. Place in lightly greased bowl and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk (about 45 min). Punch down dough, divide and form into two balls. Cover and let rest about 5 min. Roll each ball on lightly flour-dusted surface into a 10x6 in. rectangle. Roll up jellyroll fashion and pinch ends together. Place in two lightly greased 81/2 x 41/2 in or 9x5 in loaf pans, with seam sides down. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 40 min or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pans immediately. Cool on wire rack.

Yield: 2 loaves

I think we're covered on the carb front for awhile.