Puddin'

I absolutely love pudding. Any kind, I'll eat it! I am always trying out different recipes to find the

Pudding Whisk-er Extraordinaire  

'perfect' one...well, I think I finally did! I always look for a pudding recipe that has eggs in it, because I find they are richer, smoother, and all around yummier. This recipe has eggs and you don't have to temper them or be afraid of  scrambling them, it is a simple recipe that can be made in minutes. You can doctor it up any way you want or just have straight up chocolate pudding. You won't be disappointed!
The pudding needs to be whisked constantly so its handy to have someone in your home who likes to stir, Annie Rose filled in for the trial run of the recipe, but I should mention that Zoe is also a fantastic whisk-er.

Basic Pudding
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp butter, cubed
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a medium size pot, off heat, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Very gradually whisk in the milk. Whisk in the egg yolks.
Cook the mixture over medium heat until the first big bubble forms and the splatters (think lava). Turn the heat down and cook for 1 minute.
Off heat whisk in the butter and vanilla.
Pour into one big bowl or 6 little bowls. Cover with plastic wrap and chill till cool.

Notes:
- We have been known to eat this pudding when it's not cool, but still quite hot, it is delicious.
-For chocolate pudding, mix in 1/3 cup cocoa powder with the cornstarch and sugar.
-For butterscotch pudding, instead of the white sugar use 1/2 cup brown sugar. And splash in a bit of scotch or rum at the end. Or use 1 tsp rum extract.

A Nana recipe

I tried a recipe from my Nana's recipe box yesterday and thought I would share it here today! I picked one of the more worn and spotty cards, thinking the most used recipe would probably be delicious! The recipe came together so quickly, it was probably in the oven in 10 minutes and as it baked smelled SO good.
In case you can't read the card here is the recipe as it is written.

Date Pudding (in its own sauce)
1 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, sifted together. 1/2 cup sweet milk, 1 cup chopped dates. Pour into a deep baking pan and pour over this 1 cup brown sugar, 2 cups hot water, 1 tbls. butter, and a little vanilla. Bake in a moderate oven about 40 min.

I really appreciate a simple recipe with just the basics.
Here is a bit of filler information:
1. Sweet milk, upon investigation, means fresh/not sour milk. The internet says to use whole milk. I didn't have any, so I just used regular 2%.
2. A moderate oven to me is 350F.
3. For those of you who have never made a 'in it's own sauce' cake, where you pour boiling water over batter, warning...it looks really gross. But proceed and you will be rewarded with a delicious caramel sauce.

Something to make Monday a little more delicious

All weekend I had been planning making chocolate truffles, three times I pulled out the ingredients and three times I put them away a few hours later. Well, this morning it really happened. It was a good way to start the week, a little sweetness to help fight the chill (-44 with a windchill today!).

Now, these aren't 'real' truffles, actual truffles contain just chocolate and cream, but these are still fun and delicious. And they whip up very quickly!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
10 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (or chocolate chips)
1/2 cup peanut butter
icing sugar and/or cocoa

Cream the cream cheese in a mixer on medium speed.
Melt the chocolate using the double boiler method (a bowl on top of a pot of boiling water) or in the microwave. Stir the peanut butter into the chocolate.
Now mix together the chocolate and cream cheese. I did this by turning the mixer on low and drizzling the chocolate mixture in. But you could also just stir it in. Mix until there are no streaks of white cream cheese.
Spread into a 8x8 pan and place in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours (it only took about an hour for me).
Scoop teaspoon sized pieces of truffle out of the pan and quickly roll them into balls between your palms, work quickly because the chocolate will start to melt. Place the truffles back into the fridge while  you get the coatings.
Put some icing sugar and/or cocoa into separate bowls. Take a truffle and give it a tumble in the coating of your choice, remove it to a clean plate and continue till they are all coated.
Keep the truffles in the fridge/freezer.

They are pretty rich, or so I told Zoe, but then I proceeded to eat three in a row...peanut butter and chocolate is one of my favorites.

On a completely other note, it was light when I left work today!! It looks a little dark in the picture, but I assure you it was quite light. It was definitely a highlight on this very cold day.

Hope you stayed warm where ever you were today!

Tis' the season for trifle!

Berry season is upon us! And some berries have already finished their season (did anyone get to Strawberries in time to can/freeze?). This is the perfect time for summer trifles, we ate one yesterday and so I thought I'd do a little how-to. Trifle's are highly enjoyable and once you've got all your ingredients ready, very easy! They are also great when feeding a crowd, our family punch bowl has been filled many times with trifle, probably more with trifle than actual punch!
Here is what you need:

• Sponge cake or angel food cake, for this particular trifle I used two angel food cakes
• Creme de Cassis (black currant liqueur), this is my family's go-to trifle booze, but I've heard of people using sherry, I'm sure you could use anything you fancy. 
• Berries and fruit 
• Whipped cream, I used 2 cups whipping cream
• Pastry Cream, recipe at the end of the post

Ready?
Okay, cut the cake into chunks.

Drizzle the pieces with Creme de Cassis, be generous. 

 I was really generous because it's apparently hard for me to pour and take pictures...oh well! If you ever eat trifle with my Gramps he will find the bottle of Creme de Cassis and as he scoops out portions of trifle he will add a few extra glugs to each bowl. It becomes more like Creme de Cassis with a bit of cake and berries floating in it.

 Start the layering. First smear a bit of pastry cream in the bottom of your bowl. Top with pieces of soaked cake.

Next some berries and fruit, I used saskatoons, raspberries and nectarines for this trifle.

Then a layer of whipped cream.

 And start again. Pastry cream, cake, fruit, whipped cream. Repeat until the bowl is filled up!

The top is where you get to be creative! Decorate how ever you would like, and honestly whatever you do will look amazing, fresh fruit has that ability!

Chill in the fridge for a few hours so everything gets really mushy and happy and then EAT!

Pastry Cream
Makes 2 1/2 cups

2 cups milk (if you usually drink 1% I would recommend either buying some 2% or whole milk for this recipe, or doing half 1% and half half/half cream)
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

In a medium pot, combine the milk, 1/4 cup sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a simmer.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, remaining sugar and cornstarch. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the hot milk into the eggs. Continue slowly adding the hot milk to the eggs and whisking constantly (or else the eggs will scramble. But don't be scared!).  Pour the mixture back into the pot and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 3-5 minutes.
Remove the pot from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour into a bowl.
Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of it to prevent a skin from forming. Chill for 2 hours.

Rhubarb...the food really schmecks!

A few weeks I wrote all about crisps and my love for them. Well, here I am again with a different recipe, all because of rhubarb (which I also expressed my love for in a previous post). This is a recipe specific to rhubarb. It's the one my Granny uses, my Dad uses, Zoe uses and the one that Bread & Circuses used. How's that for a guarantee of deliciousness?
It's from this book:

Schmeck is a Mennonite word used to describe something yummy and flavorful. Schmecker is slang for something else that is not yummy or delciouus, so just beware. It's schmeck, not schmecker.
With the last of my rhubarb from Brenda I whipped up 4 of these crisps to have in the freezer for spontaneous treats. I thought I'd share the recipe and also encourage you to seek out some rhubarb! If you don't know any who has a rhubarb plant and if you don't have one of your own, the do sell it at Tall Grass Bakery at the Forks.
Edna Staebler's Rhubarb Crisp
Makes 1 9x9 pan

1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cold water
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
3 cups chopped rhubarb
1 1/2 cups sliced peeled apples

In a bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir in the butter. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch square baking pan.
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with the cornstarch. Whisk in the water and the orange zest. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes, whisking constantly.
In another bowl, toss together the rhubarb and apple pieces. Arrange over the base. Pour the sauce over the top; sprinkle with the remaining crumble mixture. Bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes or until the top is golden and fruit is tender.
Serve with ice cream or greek yogurt!
Enjoy!

Crisp

I have a thing for crisps, I will eat them at anytime and with any kind of fruit. When my Mom used to bake for us crisps were frequent, they were usually sweetened with honey and maple syrup and therefore made a perfect breakfast. At the bakery they used to make rhubarb crisp, which for me is the ultimate, I ate many bowlfuls.
I noticed a few brown pears in the fruit bowl, neither Zoe and I are brown fruit eaters...in fact I prefer my fruit quite green. So instead of waiting till their were complete mush I turned them into a crisp!
Crisps are so handy for using up "older" fruit, the flavor combinations are endless.  You can do it with fresh fruit, frozen fruit, dried fruit, I just love it! This is a loose recipe, meaning it is very adaptable and can be made for two people or ten and with any kind of fruit!
For my crisp this morning I combined my three brown pears, an apple, some orange zest, a splash of vanilla extract and a tablespoon of brown sugar. Then tasted it, and adjusted. No crisp you make this way will ever be the same. Depending on the season you will need more or less sweetener, sometimes if you are using frozen fruit or 'juicy' fruit you will need to add a tablespoon or so of flour to thicken the juices as it cooks. If you want to make enough crisp to fill a 9x13 pan, use the pan to measure how much fruit you need cut. Just cut the fruit right into the pan and stop when its full, add you extras (sweetener, zests, extracts, spices) and voila the base for a crisp!
Now for the topping! Here is the basic recipe I use. It makes enough topping to cover a 9x13 crisp. Depending on the size of you dish you can halve it or just make the full recipe and freeze the remaining for a later crisp.

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
pinch of salt
nuts (optional) - I added walnuts to mine
1 cup butter

Mix the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter, either with a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingers, until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the nuts in. Sprinkle on top of the fruit. Bake at 375 until brown and bubbly, a 9x13 pan will probably take around 45 minutes.

I prefer my crisps with greek yogurt, both for breakfast and dessert. But it works with ice cream, plain, or with vanilla sauce. And enjoy!

Did you know that pretty bowls make food taste even better?

If you make this please let me know, I'd love to hear your fruit combinations! Be creative!

New Orleans

As you are reading this I am strolling the streets of New Orleans, hopefully with a few beignets in hand!
I will be back on Friday with lots of new pictures, a full belly, and some funny stories I'm sure!
Last weekend I cooked a dinner party at my Ant's house and surprise, I picked a southern theme! For dessert I made chocolate chess pie, a dessert I picked mostly because of it's name and also because it's delicious. No one knows for sure why it's called 'chess pie' but my favorite theory is that because it's such a simple pie (eggs, butter, sugar and in this case chocolate) it was called 'just pie'. If you say 'just pie' with a southern accent it starts to sound like 'chess pie'. Cool, eh?
So, unearth your rolling pins and grab you favorite pie crust recipe and bake!

Chocolate Chess Pie

1 single pie crust
1/2 cup butter
1 oz square unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt.

Preheat oven to 325F.
Heat the chocolate and butter in a saucepan until melted and smooth. Remove from the burner and stir in the sugar. Stir in the eggs, vanilla and salt. Pour the filling into the crust. Bake until the filling is puffed and the center is just a little bit jiggly. 40-50 minutes.
Let the pie cool for at least 20 minutes.
Serve with whipping cream or ice cream.

A Christmas recipe!

As requested by Isabelle here is a Christmas cookie recipe! I made these this morning and theywere a hit! They went to school for a trip meeting and were devoured. They are delicious and SO festive.

Candy Cane Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies

*Note*: Since I was sending these into a school I didn't use almond extract but instead swapped it for peppermint extract, which is more real anyway!

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup icing sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

red food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Beat the butter for 2 minutes. Beat in the icing sugar and egg. Then add the extracts.

3. Add in the flour and salt. Mix till combined.

4. Remove half the dough to a bowl. With the remaining dough stir in enough food coloring to turn the dough red (or close enough!).

5. To form each candy cane make small-ish (about 1 teaspoon) balls of each color. Roll them into snakes about 4 inches long. Twist the two strands together, bending the top down to make a candy cane shape. Place on a baking sheet. Continue with remaining dough. I found that rolling a bunch of red and white balls and then making them into snakes was the fastest way.

6. Bake the cookies for 9 minutes. Remove from the baking pan onto a cooling rack.

Happy Baking! Let me know if you try the recipe!

Finally a recipe! ~Cranberry Bars~

Hi Everyone! Sorry I have been M.I.A. for, oh my, over a week!! But it was a good thing, really. I was able to earn some cash by doing a major catering job!

Are you ready for a recipe?

This one is perfect for this time of year when fresh cranberries are everywhere and yummy!

Cranberry Bars

1 lb fresh cranberries

7 oz sweetened condensed milk (that's not quite a full can but I adore sweetened condensed milk so I threw in the whole can)

1/4 fresh lemon juice

3 egg yolks

3/4 cup flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. For the filling: Bring the cranberries and 1/2 cup of water to a simmer in a saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 1o minutes, until the cranberries burst. Cool slightly. Blend in a blender until smooth. Strain the mixture through a sieve. Cool.

2. While the cranberries are cooling make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 8-inch

pan with foil or parchment paper.

4. Whisk together flours, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Press into bottom and prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300F.

5. While the crust is baking, whisk the condensed milk, lemon juice, and egg yolks into the pureed cranberries. Pour into the baked crust and pop back into the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool, and then chill in the fridge until firm (a few hours).

6 .Use the foil/parchment to lift the bars out of the pan and then cut them into 25 squares, or 12, or 4 :) They're good.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Here is the recipe I promised! I have a catering job coming up and there are a few people that have food intolerance's so I've been testing out some recipes. This one turned out great and is wheat-free! They can easily become gluten-free if you choose to use gluten free oats (which you can find at most health food stores).

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

adapted from Mennonite Girls Can Cook

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup peanut butter (I used the no sugar stuff)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups oats

1/2 cup coconut, I didn't actually have coconut in the house when I made these but I'm 100% certain that it would be such a delicious addition! You could also add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, nuts, or raisins.

1. Preheat the oven 375F.

2. In an electric mixer (or by hand if you have big guns, or want to) beat the butter and sugars for 2 minutes. Add in the peanut butter, egg and vanilla, beat for 30 seconds.

3. Add the baking soda and oats to the mixer. Mix until just combined. Stir in the coconut.

4. Drop by teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Let set on the pan for a few minutes before moving them onto a cooling rack.

Make for all your wheat-free buddies!

It's not too late...

FOR PUMPKIN!

This is what we had for dessert yesterday and even though Thanksgiving sunday is over the month of October isn't and there is still many weeks left of pumpkin eating! So make these parfaits! Pumpkin Mousse, whipped cream, and crushed gingersnap cookies...yum! This can be made individually in pretty glasses or in a big bowl like a trifle.

Pumpkin Parfaits

Serves 8

1 envelope unflavored gelatin (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1/4 cup cold water

1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cup chilled whipping cream, divided

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, divided

20 good quality gingersnap cookies, coarsely crushed

Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small saucepan and let soften 1 minute. Bring to a bare simmer, stirring until gelatin has dissolved. Whisk together gelatin mixture, brown sugar, spices, and salt in a large bowl.

Beat 1 cup of cream with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla till it hold soft peaks, then fold into pumpkin mixture gently but throughly.

Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream with remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla until it holds soft peaks.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of pumpkin mixture into the bottom of 8 glasses or a big dollop in the bottom of a bowl.Then sprinkle in some cookies and top with 2 tablespoons of whip cream for each glass or a big dollop in the bowl. Repeat until cups are filled.

Chill until set, at least 2 hours. This can be made 2 days ahead! Yum!