20 lbs of apricots

I saw a listing on craigslist for 20 lbs of apricots for $15, which seemed too good of a deal to pass up. I planned on making apricot lavender jam, but quickly decided upon realizing how many apricots make up 20 lbs that I needed some other quick things to use up all of the lovely produce. I found this recipe and changed it by omitting the vanilla bean (although that would also be perfectly wonderful), doubling the recipe, and adding 5 tsp of culinary lavender buds that I ground up in a coffee grinder with some of the sugar. I also left the peelings on because I love the color and didn't want to peel that many apricots, and after combining all of the ingredients I let it sit overnight in the fridge (covered of course) to really let the flavors meld. This jam is fantastic - on a spoon, on bread, or mixed with some vinegar to make a lovely apricot vinaigrette for a salad. So that's the jam.

Then I saw this recipe for apricot ice cream and decided to puree a bunch of the apricots, add a bit of lemon juice to preserve the color, and freeze the puree in ice cube trays (which were later emptied into gallon freezer bags) so that we can eat apricot ice cream all year long. I haven't made any yet, but it looks quite good.

Apricot pie also sounded idea but rather than make the entire pie I decided to just make the filling, put it in a gallon ziplock bag, shape it in a pie dish and freeze. Once frozen I removed the pie dish and now when I need a pie I can just make the crust, pop in the filling, and bake it. I haven't tasted the finished product yet, but the filling is very good.

4 c apricots, peeled
1 T lemon juice
1 c sugar
1/3 c flour
nutmeg to taste
1 to 2 t vanilla extract

Just toss to combine and you are ready to go.

By this point I had just enough apricots to fill a cookie sheet, so I lined the cookie sheet with parchment, spread out the apricot halves, drizzled them with 2 T olive oil, 1/2 c melted honey,
1 t vanilla, and a sprinkling of cinnamon. I then roasted them in a 375 degree oven for about 35 to 45 minutes, until meltingly soft and a bit caramelized. These are delicious on their own, but especially over French Toast.

DB Challenge - Mexican Chocolate Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

For this challenge we had to make 2 kinds of ice cream - the recipes given in the challenge were for vanilla and chocolate, but I decided instead to make dulce de leche and cinnamon. I also made caramel sauce for serving, and it was the perfect accompaniment to the cake. This is quite divine. My only regret is not thoroughly reading the recipe when making the Swiss Roll. That led to quite the catastrophe, but I managed to piece it together and still roll it up with the whipped cream.

Recipes from the challenge:

Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 10 - 12 minutes
Rolling and cooling time: at least 30 minutes
Filling: 5 - 8 minutes
Filling and rolling: 5 - 10 minutes

Ingredients:
6 medium sized eggs
1 C / 225 grams caster sugar /8 oz + extra for rolling
6 TBS. / 45 grams/ a pinch over 1.5 oz of all purpose (plain) flour + 5 TBS. /40 gram / a pinch under 1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together
2 TBS. /30 ml / 1 fl oz of boiling water
a little oil for brushing the pans
For the filling:
2 C / 500 mls/ 16 fl oz of whipping cream
1 vanilla pod, cut into small pieces of about ½ cm (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
5 TBS. / 70 grams / 2.5oz of caster sugar

Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven at 200 deg C /400 deg F approximately. Brush the baking pans (11 inches by 9 inches) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

3. Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.
4. Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans.
5. Place a pan in the center of the pre-heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the center is springy to the touch.
6. Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it. Very important. I didn't use sugar on my towel and it was not good!
7. Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.
8. Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.
9. Repeat the same for the next cake as well.
10. Grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar on its own and then add the sugar and extract to the cream.
11. In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick.
12. Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes.
13. Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to
the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine).
14. Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down.

Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation time: 5 minutes + freezing
I have made the ice cream without an ice cream maker.
Ingredients
2 and ½ C / 625 ml / 20 fl oz of whipping cream
1 vanilla bean, minced or 1 tsp/ 5 ml/ .15 fl oz vanilla extract
½ C / 115grams/ 4 oz of granulated sugar
Directions:
1. Grind together the sugar and vanilla in a food processor. In a mixing bowl, add the cream and vanilla –sugar mixture and whisk lightly till everything is mixed together. If you are using the vanilla extract, grind the sugar on its own and then and the sugar along with the vanilla extract to the cream.
2. Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze till firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

Hot Fudge Sauce
Preparation time: 2 minutes
I made this just after adding the layer of vanilla ice cream to the cake.
Cooking time: 2 minutes
Ingredients:
1 C / 230 grams / 8 oz of caster sugar
3 TBS. / 24 grams /1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2 TBS. /15 grams / 1 oz of corn flour/cornstarch
1 ½ C / 355 ml /12 fl oz of water
1 TBS. /14 grams/ 1 oz butter
1 tsp/ 5 ml / .15 fl oz vanilla extract
Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, corn flour and water.
2. Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth (for about 2 minutes).
3. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Keep aside to cool.

Chocolate Ice Cream
Preparation time: 5 minutes + freezing
Ingredients:
2 C / 500 ml whipping cream
1 C / 230 grams / 8 oz caster sugar
3 TBS. / 24 grams / 1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:
1. Grind together the sugar and the cocoa powder in a food processor.
2. In a saucepan, add all the ingredients and whisk lightly.
3. Place the pan over heat and keep stirring till it begins to bubble around the edges.
4. Remove from heat and cool completely before transferring to a freezer friendly container till firm around the edges. If you are using an ice cream maker, churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instruction, after the mixture has cooled completely.
5. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

Assembly:
1. Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices
(approximately 2 cms each).
2. Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in
which you are going to set the dessert with
cling film/plastic wrap.
3. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan,
with their seam sides facing each other.
Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl,
with the seam sides facing away from the
bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and
freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30
minutes).
4. Soften the vanilla ice cream. Take the bowl out
of the freezer, remove the cling film cover
and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices.

Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the

bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap

and freeze till firm (at least 1 hour)
5. Add the fudge sauce over the vanilla ice
cream, cover and freeze till firm. (at least an
hour)
6. Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it
over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap
and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely
set.
7. Remove the plastic cover, and place the
serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it
upside down and remove the bowl and the
plastic lining. If the bowl does not come
away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl
with a kitchen towel dampened with hot
water. The bowl will come away easily.
8. Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least
10 minutes before slicing, depending on
how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp
knife, dipped in hot water.

Additional recipes I used:

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/dulce-de-leche-ice-cream/

Dulce de Leche: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2005/11/dulce_de_lechec.html

Cinnamon Ice Cream adapted from recipe by Emily Luchetti in A Passion for Ice Cream

2 3/4 c heavy whipping cream

1 c milk

2/3 c sugar

3 cinnamon sticks

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp kosher salt

Combine the cream, milk, sugar, cinnamon sticks, cinnamon, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until almost simmering. Pour into a bowl and cool over ice bath to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Strain cream, discard cinnamon sticks, and church in ice cream machine.

Caramel Sauce adapted from recipe by Emily Luchetti in A Passion for Ice Cream

2 c sugar

1/2 c water

1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream

1/8 tsp salt

2 ounces (4 T) unsalted butter

1 T very good vanilla

Stir the sugar and water together in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to high and continue to cook, without stirring, until the sugar is medium amber in color. Remove pot from heat and slowly stir in about 1/4 c of the cream. (It will sputter, so be careful. At this point I always think I've ruined it, but just keep stirring.) Continue adding the cream and then add the salt and butter and whisk until smooth. Add the vanilla last. This can be stored in the fridge, just microwave for 10 to 30 seconds and stir before serving.

***I could drink this straight, that's how good this is, so consider yourself warned.

Pavlova Parfaits

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.

I actually layered these in goblets initially, and they looked exquisite, but then we had eaten about half when I realized I hadn't taken a photo! So I quickly scraped together what was remaining and made a mock up for the photo, which Bryant happily ate. I chose to make the meringues in disc form and then break them into pieces to layer in the parfait because Bryant is not a huge meringue fan. But apparently he is a huge chocolate meringue fan, so now I know. The chocolate mascarpone mousse is amazing, and something I would eat daily if I could. This isn't hard at all to make, but it does have several components and require a bit of prep work. It is very much worth it. I added the strawberries to the recipe and I am very glad I did because it went perfectly with all of the other flavors.

Recipe 1: Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavlova):
3 large egg whites

½ cup plus 1 tbsp (110 grams) white granulated sugar

¼ cup (30 grams) confectioner’s (icing) sugar

1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder

Directions:
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside.

Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.)

Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come together.) Fill a pastry bag with the meringue.

Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire. Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon. Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe 2: Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse (for the top of the Pavlova base):
1 ½ cups (355 mls) heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent)

grated zest of 1 average sized lemon9 ounces (255 grams) (I used orange zest instead)

72% chocolate, chopped1 2/3 cups (390 mls) mascarpone

pinch of nutmeg

2 tbsp (30 mls) Grand Marnier (or orange juice, which is what I used)

Directions:
Put ½ cup (120 mls) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool.

Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier (or orange juice) and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks. (DO NOT OVERBEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK.) Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.

Recipe 3: Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling):
1 recipe crème anglaise

½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone2 tbsp (30 mls)

Sambucca (optional - I used 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract instead)

½ cup (120 mls) heavy cream

Directions:
Prepare the crème anglaise. Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the Sambucca (or vanilla) and let the mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Recipe 4: Crème Anglaise (a component of the Mascarpone Cream above):
1 cup (235 mls) whole milk

1 cup (235 mls) heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

6 large egg yolks

6 tbsp (75 grams) sugar

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.
Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat.

Pour about ½ cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from making scrambled eggs. Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture and put the heat back on medium. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. DO NOT OVERCOOK.

Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.

Assembly:Pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle with the mascarpone cream over the top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and fresh fruit if desired.

For my assembly I broke all of the chocolate meringues, and then layered each component with sliced strawberries in a tall goblet. This is truly divine.

What we've been eating.

I have a friend who is gluten/dairy/egg/sugar/nut intolerant, and this friend has some serious chocolate cravings. So I came up with this recipe and it is my new favorite quick chocolate fix. These cookies remind me of the chocolate macaroons at the Boise Co-op, minus the guilt.

No Bake Cookies
1 c old fashioned rolled oats (do not just quick cooking!!!)
1/2 c unsweetened coconut (I suppose this is optional, but if you don't like coconut you need to try harder.)
1 T coconut oil
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c light agave syrup
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine oats and coconut. Set aside. In a small saucepan whisk the coconut oil, cocoa powder, and agave over medium heat until thick and smooth. When hot to the touch remove from heat and add vanilla. Add oats and coconut and stir until evenly mixed. Drop by tablespoonful onto parchment/silpat lined baking sheet and cool in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or until firm. This only makes 12 or so (perfect for the binge eater that I am) so feel free to try doubling or tripling. You may need to play around with the amount of coconut oil if you double the recipe because I'm not sure if that will have to be doubled. These are quite divine.

My new favorite sandwich requires a grill of some sort. I just use my grill pan and it works perfectly. For each sandwich you will need:

1 demi baguette, sliced and brushed lightly with olive oil
1 slice of young eggplant, peeled, brushed lightly with olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and basil
a bit of butter
4 to 6 mushrooms, sliced
handful of fresh spinach, torn
1 oz pepper jack cheese (or any cheese of your choice)

Heat grill pan and grill eggplant on both sides until juicy and no longer tough. Grill baguette halves and set on plate. In a small fry pan heat a bit of butter and add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add spinach just to wilt. To assemble place grilled eggplant on bread, top with slices of cheese, top with mushroom/spinach mixture, and finish with other baguette. Even my carnivorous husband is in love with this sandwich.

Another great vegetarian dish is yam and bean burritos. You can use canned beans, but try to cook your own dried beans. I soaked a cup of pinto beans overnight and then covered them with water and boiled for 10 minutes, added a chopped onion, reduced the heat to a simmer and simmered for a bout 20 minutes until tender. Then I drained them and seasoned them with salt and garlic powder. To serve 4 to 6 you will need:

Tortillas (might I recommend the Garden of Eatin organic whole wheat tortillas - very good)
2 medium yams
Tomato Salsa (I used medium hot)
1 to 2 T olive oil or canola oil
Chili Powder (only use if you use a mild salsa, start out with 1 tsp and add more until you get the heat you like)
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 onion, thinly sliced (I've used red, white, and yellow onions)
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced
Cooked beans (black beans would also work, I just used the pinto beans for kicks)
Avocado or cheese
Lettuce

Wash and prick yams with a fork and microwave until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. They will soften as they sit so don't over cook because you don't want them to be mushy! In a large fry pan heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, add the garlic for 1 minute, add the cumin, yams, beans, and salsa (I used about 1/3 c because it was very hot) and cook until fragrant and warmed through. Fill tortilla with mixture, top with avocado, cheese, or lettuce (or all three!) and prepare to fall in love with a burrito.

Two fun cookbooks to look for at your library are The Gluten Free Vegan (obviously I got this one to try to find some recipes to cook for my friend with all of the food allergies, but I've loved it and if you aren't gluten sensitive you can easily use wheat produces instead, but it has good recipe ideas) and V Cuisine, The Art of New Vegan Cooking. Again, I use dairy instead of soy and add meat to some of the recipes instead of meat substitutes, but really good recipes.

Raw Desserts

My mom and I are doing a 30-day no sugar challenge and in order to satisfy my need for something sweet I have been experimenting with a few raw recipes. These taste fabulous, are very filling, and leave me quite satisfied. They also happen to be egg/dairy/gluten free by virtue of being raw. Here's what I've been making:

Cardamom Tapioca Parfaits with Mango and Toasted Coconut

Strawberries and Cream

Mexican Chocolate Banana Coconut Cream Pie

I have had several requests for the banana cream pie recipe so here it is!

Crust for a 9" tart

1 c raw walnuts

1 c raw almonds

1 c wide-chip unsweetened coconut

11 dates

2 T really good cocoa powder

2 T light agave (you can substitute additional dates to increase the sweetness)

1 t pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until it comes together in a ball. Taste and adjust for sweetness/chocolate flavor. Press into a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom. Cover and refrigerate.

Filling

1 1/2 c raw walnuts (soaked for at least 2 hours in cold water)

5 to 10 dates (adjust according to desired sweetness - may also add some agave syrup_

1 banana

1/4 to 1/2 c lite coconut milk

1 to 2 t pure vanilla extract

1/4 to 1/2 t cinnamon

1 t fresh lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and fluffy, adding more coconut milk as needed to reach desired consistency.

Assembly

2 to 3 bananas

1 oz unsweetened chocolate

1 t to 1 T agave or honey (mixed with melted unsweetened chocolate to desired sweetness)

Cocoa powder and Cinnamon

Slice bananas to cover bottom of tart. Top with 1/2 of the filling and repeat. Dollop melted chocolate all over top layer of filling and gently smooth to cover tart. Sprinkle with cocoa powder and cinnamon until lightly covered. Freeze for 20 minutes and then serve.

Chicken & Dumplings

Have you made Chicken in a Pot yet? When you do, save your leftover meat and juice to make dumplings. Heat some olive oil in a large pot. Add some chopped onion, carrot, and celery. Saute until carrot is just tender and add minced garlic. Add whatever meat you have leftover, and some frozen or fresh corn kernels if you have them handy. Now add the leftover juice from your chicken in a pot, chicken stock, and evaporated milk until you have a good liquid to solid ratio. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Now make your dumplings.

1 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c buttermilk
2 T canola or olive oil

Mix dry ingredients. Combine milk and oil and stir into flour mixture until just moistened. Drop by spoonful into boiling soup mixture, cover with lid, reduce heat to a simmer, and let simmer for 15 minutes. No peaking!!! They will soak up a lot of liquid so make sure you add enough. Sorry, it isn't an exact recipe, but it makes for great variations.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

These are very very good. The original recipe is from Vegetarian Times but I added some chocolate chips to the batter and they now double as a semi-healthy breakfast/mostly-healthy dessert. The best part? No eggs, which means you can lick the bowl clean without an ounce of guilt.

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c buttermilk
3/4 c mashed banana
1/3 c canola oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and dust with sugar for an extra sweet crunch.

Whisk together all dry ingredients. In another bowl combine the buttermilk, banana, oil, and vanilla. Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Gently add chocolate chips.

Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes. SO GOOD.