sweet pretzels

First on the First: Pretzels

Funny how I find myself completing my #FirstOnTheFirst assignment at the last minute on the eve of celebrating the birthday of a co-worker who is gluten-free. Well, not so funny for him, of course. I thought that actually would have been a great take on the challenge–trying to coax a soft pretzel out of new-to-me …

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carrot cake pie

Happy Birthday to The Big Guy

We are well into birthday season here! Sunday was my husband’s 35th birthday and while he was out on a mountain bike ride with a buddy, my daughter and I whipped this up for our intimate celebration: Carrot Cake Pie with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Carrot cake is one of my husband’s favorites. I rarely …

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IMG_4301-2

#BrunchWeek: Margarita for Mama (& Lots of #Giveaways!) #ad

Disclosure: Giveaways are sponsored by The Food and Wine Conference and #SundaySupper, Stonyfield Organics, Bob’s Red Mill, Whole Foods Orlando, Blackgold Farms, Flavors of Summer, California Walnuts, and Lodge Cast Iron. All opinions and recipes remain my own, unless otherwise noted.

Mother’s Day is next Sunday and in honor of Mom, I have joined …

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broccoli cheddar soup

Cozy Comforts of Home

When the semester is in full-swing, you’ll often find me at Panera Bread, sprawled across an armchair in front of the gas fireplace. I can concentrate on my assignments without my children interrupting me and soak up some of that warmth; a pseudo-hominess in the most unlikely place.

Most of the time, I try …

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strawberry coffee cake

Perfect Companion to Your Breakfast Coffee

There are the days when you are eager to meet the world. Jumping out of bed, you are ready to greet the day.

Then there are most mornings. The ones where you slap the snooze button on your alarm clock, not even conscious of what you’re doing, while you pull the covers over your head, …

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First on the First: PretzelsHappy Birthday to The Big Guy#BrunchWeek: Margarita for Mama (& Lots of #Giveaways!) #adCozy Comforts of HomePerfect Companion to Your Breakfast Coffee

Sep 24 2012

#MuffinMonday: Orange Pumpkin Muffins

Categories:

Baking, Food, Muffin Monday, Recipes

Pumpkin is a tough sell in our house. The kids love it but my husband is not a fan. Can’t stand the smell of it, doesn’t want to look at it, and he better not hear it’s in anything I’ve tried to feed him. He will not budge.

Orange Pumpkin Muffins - poet in the pantry

This makes it difficult to experiment much with pumpkin. I know I shouldn’t eat all of whatever I make, but if the kids don’t like it, I’m stuck, and I hate wasting food. As a child, my mother always insisted upon cleaning your plate at meals and ever since, I feel guilty if there’s a crumb left behind. While others consider pumpkin recipes the herald of Fall, in our house, we stick with apples–they’re safer.

Orange Pumpkin Muffins - poet in the pantryAn chose pumpkin this week, though, so pumpkin it was. I was a bit stumped on variations with this one–again, lack of experience utilizing pumpkin put me at a disadvantage–but thought it was a safe bet to change out the sugars for raw sugar and maple syrup. I sprinkled some raw sugar over the tops just before baking to give them a nice touch, but that seemed to get absorbed by the batter instead. They didn’t develop the crunchy crust I envisioned–perhaps a chunkier sugar crystal would have worked better?

Orange Pumpkin Muffins - poet in the pantry

A word of advice: don’t forget the baking soda. While my muffins taste just fine, they are dense like hockey pucks. This is a rookie mistake that we all make from time to time. Don’t do it!

Orange Pumpkin Muffins
 
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Recipe type: Breakfast/Brunch
Serves: 12

Ingredients
  • 1¾ cups white whole wheat flour
  • 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ cup raw (turbinado) sugar
  • ¾ cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 large eggs
  • ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup organic canned pumpkin
  • ⅓ cup orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated dried orange peel
  • 1-2 Tablespoons raw (turbinado) sugar for sprinkling

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, maple syrup, eggs, and oil.
  4. Add the pumpkin, orange juice, and orange peel, whisking until smooth.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined.
  6. Using a large cookie scoop, portion out the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.
  7. Sprinkle each with some raw sugar.
  8. Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed.
  9. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Let’s take a look at the other pumpkiny muffins this week!

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Sep 19 2012

#BundtaMonth: Almost “Health Food” Dark Chocolate (Zucchini) Cake

Categories:

Baking, Bundt a Month, Food, Recipes

I’ve never had a bundt pan. I know this is shocking. I seem to have every other kitchen contraption you can think of, from a citrus juicer to a baguette pan, but for some reason, a bundt pan never managed to creep its way into my kitchen. Which is really kind of sad when you think about it–all those delicious bundt cakes I’ve missed out on!

Almost "Health Food" Dark Chocolate (Zucchini) Cake - poet in the pantry

No more! I just happened to see the #BundtaMonth hashtag on Twitter last week and I’m so happy I did. The experience was just the instigator I needed. I promptly visited my coveted Ocean State Job Lot, picked out the best $4 bundt pan I could find, and was well on my way. No looking back now!

So how does this work exactly? An of Baker Street and Lora of Cake Duchess pick an ingredient or theme and we have to make a bundt cake recipe that utilizes it. Every month will be different. This month, they chose zucchini. Great timing with all that fresh zucchini available at the farmers’ markets right now!

shredded zucchini - poet in the pantry

Remember my frazzled muffin experience on Monday? Part of what contributed to the frenzy was the intent to bake my bundt cake immediately following the muffins. I figured that if I was going to be shredding zucchini, I may as well multi-task and kill two birds with one stone. Plus I really wanted to make my mom a cake for our birthdays party (we celebrate my three siblings’, my mom’s, and my birthdays all at one party). I had the perfect excuse!

Almost "Health Food" Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake - poet in the pantry

It came out of the pan in one piece!

I was very nervous at the end and ran out of time to make a glaze. Despite the time constraints and last minute change to the recipe, it went well. The cake effortlessly slid out of the pan when I plated it at my parents’ house–my grandmother was impressed, I could tell–and looked great after a light dusting of confectioners sugar. Oh yeah, and I found out that chocolate zucchini cake is my mom’s favorite. How did I not know this before? This was kismet!

Almost "Health Food" Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake - poet in the pantry

I was surprised by the taste. I expected it to be kind of…health food-y…given the ingredients. Instead, it’s incredibly rich and multi-dimensional. The confectioners sugar adds the perfect amount of sweetness. No trace of the zucchini aside from the moistness. Even on day two, it’s still really good. I highly recommend this.

Almost “Health Food” Dark Chocolate Chocolate (Zucchini) Cake
 
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Author:
Serves: 12

Ingredients
  • 2½ cups white whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cups ground flax meal
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1½ cup raw (turbinado) sugar
  • ½ cup cinnamon applesauce (I used homemade)
  • ½ cup raw milk (you can use buttermilk, too)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup shredded zucchini (1 large or 2 small)
  • 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 3-4 Tablespoons confectioners sugar

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 10-cup bundt pan well and dust with cocoa powder. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, flax meal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
  3. In another large bowl, stir the sugar and applesauce until well-blended.
  4. Add to it the raw milk, eggs, and vanilla extract, whisking until smooth.
  5. To the wet ingredients, add half the dry ingredients. Add the zucchini and stir until just incorporated.
  6. Pour the rest of the dry ingredients over the wet, add the chocolate chips, and again, stir until just incorporated.
  7. Pour into the prepared bundt pan.
  8. Place bundt pan on baking sheet and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched.
  9. Cook on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
  10. Run a knife around the edges and then place a plate over the top, invert, and gently lift the bundt pan, releasing the cake.
  11. Cool completely before dusting with confectioners sugar.

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Almost "Health Food" Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake - poet in the pantry

Interested in joining in?

Here’s how to bake with #BundtaMonth:

  • Bake your September #BundtaMonth Zucchini Bundt.
  • Post it before September 30, 2012.
  • Use the #BundtaMonth hashtag in your title. (For ex: title should read – #BundtaMonth: Chocolate Zucchini Bundt)
  • Join the Bundt baking party! Share your link it to our blog hop by clicking here or here.
  • Link back to both Lora‘s and An‘s posts.

It’ll be… bundt-tastic. Alright, maybe that’s a bit dorky. But this will be fun! And tasty! That’s all I need. :)

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Sep 17 2012

#MuffinMonday: Whole Grain Zucchini Lemon & Lavender Muffins

Categories:

Baking, Food, Muffin Monday, Recipes

On the first try, I was a little too ambitious. I was stressed out from a last-minute need to bathe the dog (I don’t want to talk about it). During the bathing, the kitchen sink AND the bathtub drain started leaking. And our comforter was in desperate need of a wash. Oh yeah, AND we had a birthday party looming, getting closer and closer by each passing chaotic minute. Too much to do in too little time.

So I tried to get creative and this is what I got for trying to do too much at one time:

Zucchini Lemon & Lavender Muffins - poet in the pantry

Or as a former co-worker would say, “Haste makes waste.” Too many changes to the base recipe left me with something that looked okay on the outside, but was a gooey mess on the inside. It would not bake all the way through. They were doughy and pretty disgusting. Yuck.

Sunday afternoon, I had to try again.

Whole Grain Zucchini Lemon & Lavender Muffins - poet in the pantry

This time, I took my time. Tried to limit my distractions and disruptions, which is not easy with 2 kids. And returned to the roots of the recipe, making only a couple small changes to preserve the integrity of it. They baked up higher and looked better. Sort of. They won’t win any beauty contests, that’s for sure.

Whole Grain Zucchini Lemon & Lavender Muffins - poet in the pantry

The flavor is intensely lemon with a good lavender accent. It was a little too Pledge for me (I thought subbing the lemon juice for lemon extract and using less zest would cut down on that, but I guess not), but they complemented each other quite well. I know I will have a hard time getting the kids to eat these this week–too frou-frou for them. Still, it’s not bad if you have a lot of zucchini and you’re looking for something different to use it for instead of the usual bread recipes.

Whole Grain Zucchini Lemon & Lavender Muffins
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast/Brunch
Serves: 6

Ingredients
Dry
  • ½ cup white whole wheat flour
  • ¼ cup almond meal
  • ¼ cup old fashion rolled oats
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried lavender
Wet
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • zest of 1 medium lemon
  • juice of 1 medium lemon
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup grated zucchini

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 6 cups of a muffin tip with paper liners and set aside.
  2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
  3. In another large bowl, beat the wet ingredients (except the zucchini) until well incorporated. Set aside.
  4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet. Add the zucchini and stir until just incorporated.
  5. Using a large cookie scoop, portion out the dough evenly among the muffin cups.
  6. Place tin in preheated oven and drop the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  7. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned.
  8. Cool on a wire rack.

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Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Now…what did the other #MuffinMonday bakers make this week? Let’s see…

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