Delicious Fall Things

Last night I made Cinnamon Snaps from Vegetarian Planet and Kim's Best Pumpkin Bread from Cooking Light. Both are super super yummy. Mike ate six of the snaps right away but didn't like the pumpkin bread much because it was less like candy-pumpkin and more savory. I think the bread is delicious. I will definitely make both again. Oh, and my changes to the bread: I left out the pecans and the raisins, because why mess up a good thing with crap?

Cinnamon Snaps
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 egg
1) In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice, and mix well.
2) With an electric mixer or by hand, beat the butter. When it is cream, add the 1/2 cup white sugar and all of the brown sugar. Beat the mixture until it is soft and fluffy. Add the egg, and beat well again.
3) With a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the butter and sugar, bit by bit, until the flour is fully incorporated. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
4) Preheat the oven to 350. Put the remaining 1/3 cup white sugar onto a plate. Form the dough into 1-inch balls, and roll each ball in the sugar. Place the cookies at least 3 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet, and lightly press down on each cookie. Bake the cookies for 6 t0 8 minutes, then let them cool on racks.
Makes 24 cookies.

Kim's Best Pumpkin Bread
1/3 cup fat-free milk
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Cooking spray

1)Preheat oven to 350°.
2) Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk.
3) Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in raisins and pecans.
4) Spoon batter into 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
5) Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on rack.

Asparagus Wasabi Tempura

I have been horrible at updating this thing, but, frankly, I have not been doing too much cooking lately. Studying and the stupid job have kept me far too busy, sadly. The other night--I can't even remember what night--I attempted to make Asparagus Wasabi Tempura from Didi Emmon's Vegetarian Planet to pair with the Vietnamese Noodle Salad that I have made before. Unfortunately, my wasabi powder was weaksauce and the tempura was completely without wasabi flavor. The stuff was still tasty, but not at all what I was hoping for. I will definitely make this again sometime with stronger, better wasabi powder. The Vietnamese Noodle Salad was as tasty as it was before.
Asparagus Wasabi Tempura
16 asparagus spears
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 to 2 teaspoons wasabi powder
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup beer (any kind will do)
About 2 cups canola or corn oil
1) Break off the tough ends of the asparagus, and discard the end pieces.
2) In a bowl, mix together the flour, cornstarch, salt, sugar, baking powder, ginger, and wasabi.
3) Add the water and beer to the flour mixture, and whisk slowly until the batter is smooth. Transfer the batter into a pan at least 8 inches wide.
4) In a saucepan or skillet at least 8 inches in diameter, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Test the oil by dropping in a 1/2 teaspoon of the batter. If it immediately bubbles and fizzes, the oil is ready. Dip one asparagus spear into the batter, then drop it into the oil, being careful not to splash the oil too much. Add 7 more batter-dipped asparagus spears, and let them fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove them to paper towels with a large slotted spoon. Dip and fry the remaining asparagus spears, and blot them on the paper towels. Serve the tempura immediately.

Big Apple Pancake

For breakfast/brunch today I made the Big Apple Pancake I saw on desertculinary, using one of the Mutsu apples we got apple-picking last weekend. This pancake is yummy, although I will use more cinnamon next time I make it. Oh, and I ate it with maple syrup, which Mike and I agreed tastes better than the powdered sugar that was suggested. I am having some of my girlfriends over to make cupcakes this afternoon and I am making my birthday cake, Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, into cupcakes. Everyone else is bringing a cupcake mix/recipe and we are swapping. Yummm.

Big Apple Pancake
4 tablespoons butter
1 large Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4" slices
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar to dust when done

1) Preheat oven to 450
2) Melt butter in 11" oven proof skillet over medium heat, then transfer 2 tablespoons to a blender. Add apple wedges to skillet and cook, turning over once, until beginning to soften, 3 to 5 minutes.
3) While apples are cooking, add milk, flour, cinnamon, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt to butter in blender and blend until smooth.
4) Pour batter over apple and place skillet in the oven. Bake until pancake is puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Sift confectioners sugar over the top and serve.

Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate pudding is delicious. I love it. I have always relied on the Jello instant kind, but today I wanted chocolate pudding and I had no mix. Although I was too lazy to walk to the store, I was not too lazy to make something with what I had on hand. So, for the first time ever, I made chocolate pudding of the no-fat, very quick variety. This stuff is so simple I almost feel silly posting it. However, for anyone with a serious chocolate craving in need of a quick fix, this is a good recipe to have.

Uber-easy Chocolate Pudding
1 cup fat-free milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon (or a little more) cocoa powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1) Whisk everything together in a saucepan.. Be sure to get rid of all the clumps.
2) Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until mixture is close to desired thickness (about 10-15 minutes).
3) Refridgerate to thicken pudding more, or eat warm.
Serves one. Yum.

Apple Season

Mike and I went camping in the Berkshires this weekend and it was a lot of fun, although we froze our butts off due to our problems creating fire. We also went apple-picking at Bartlett's in Richmond, MA. It was great! I had never been apple-picking before and I was bouncing around like a kid in a candy store. We got Cortlands, Empires, MacIntoshes, some Red Delicious, and Mutsu apples, which are my new favorites. No Granny Smiths, but I will survive. So now I have twenty pounds of apples and I need to use them! (Oh, and we also went vegetable picking at his aunt's farm, but more on that later). I plan on using a lot of the apples for apple butter, but for now I have made Norwegian Apple Cake (again) and this yummy Buttery Apple Loaf Cake from Desert Culinary. This loaf cake thing is super tasty. We have enjoyed it a lot this morning with some coffee. There is a lot of butter, so one should not eat it all the time. However, it is a nice treat.

Buttery Apple Loaf Cake
For the topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons cinnamon

For the batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 3/4 cups peeled and diced tart apples

1)Preheat oven to 350.
2) For the topping: in a medium bowl, mix together flours, sugar, butter and cinnamon until crumbly.
3) For the batter: in a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter and milk. Add to the dry ingredients and mix just until moistened.
4) Place half of the batter into a 9 x 5" loaf pan coated with nonstick spray. Cover the top with half of the apples and half of the topping mixture. Place the remaining batter on top and spread to cover. Scatter with another half of the topping mixture, the remaining apples and finish with the leftover topping.
5) Bake until golden and a toothpick placed in the center comes out mostly clean - about 70-80 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then carefully remove. Let cool completely.

Ten Minute Cornbread and a Repeat

On Friday I made Tortilla Soup and Ten Minute Cornbread from Vegetarian Planet. I made the cornbread in a loaf pan instead of in squares like I have done with other recipes, and it took a while to cook as a result of this. It was pretty good and I liked the addition of scallions, which I had never tried before. Still, it lacked punch--it definitely needed more salt or something. I will make more cornbread, because it is delicious, but I don't know if it will be this recipe.

Ten Minute Cornbread
2 cups ground cornmeal
1 cup whole-wheat flour or unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons honey
4 eggs
6 tablespoons canola oil, corn oil, or melted butter
1 bunch scallions, both white and green parts, minced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1) Grease a 9-by-5-by-3 inch or a 13-by-9-inch pan. Preheat the oven to 400. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, honey, eggs, and oil or butter. Make a well in the cornmeal mixture, and pour the liquid mixture into it. With a whisk, stir the liquid mixture slowly, gradually incoporating the cornmeal mixture. Once it is totally incorporated, stir in the scallions.
2) Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the bread 45 minutes if you are using a loaf pan, 35 minutes if you are using the larger pan. The bread is ready when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve and eat the bread as soon as possible.