BIZZY BAKES

The month does fly by.  I can't believe, it is time to post another Ina recipe but I am happy about it.  I always find a number of recipes, I want to make, and it happened again, this time.  There was a coffeecake and an orange cake which I knew my hubby would love and of course, there was chocolate for me.  I decided on the lemon because I had lemons in the house and I love the fragrance of the zest. Lemon Cake (adapted from I na Garten) Ingredients : 7 ounces oil 2  cups granulated sugar, 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature 1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons) 3 cups gluten-free flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice  3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Method: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans.  Mix the oil  and 2 cups granulated s...

This week, the I Heart Cooking Club made sandwiches but not your traditional sandwiches. If you look at the linkys,  you will find a yummy variety, some you might not have thought of making but will now.  What is your Sandwich Sensation? I chose Donna Hay, the present chef's Fried Mozzalrella and Red Pepper Finger Sandwiches. Actually, instead of red pepper, the recipe called for an olive tapenade. We like roasted pepper dip so much more than olive that I subbed this in and I am glad about this decision. If you make French Toast, you will know how easy this was to make.  Spread the dip on the bread.  Cover it with a slice of cheese.  Mix the egg,milk and black pepper (I added a little parsley.) and dip and fry in a little butter.  Oh, you also dip it into Parmesan cheese.  It flowed easily and it was scrumptious. fried mozzarella and red pepper finger sandwiches    (adapted) Ingredients: 8 slices gluten-free challah, crusts remove...

It is Donna Hay time again and I selected this week's recipe, this interesting bread.  I have to be honest, I made this weeks ago and I have completely forgotten what it is like.  I hope, I can find the photos.  I hope the other bakers liked it.  I will learn NOT to be so organized. I hope this is the bread. banana, hazelnut and chocolate bread  (adapted) 125g butter, softened 1 cup  brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 eggs 2 cups mashed banana ½ cup  toasted hazelnuts, chopped 1 cup  chopped dark chocolate 1¾ cups  plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted 1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ⅓ cup  maple syrup Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F). Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer and beat for 8–10 minutes or until pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually add the eggs and beat well to combine. Add the banana, hazelnuts, cho...

***You are right.  This is not My Sweet and Savory which is going to take a vacation while I put my efforts here.  For at least a while, you will find My Meatless Mondays, located here.*** It has gotten a lot colder in NewYork and that signals soup weather.  At the first sign of cold, hubby starts muttering, "Soup, soup, soup, " which becomes his mantra for the entire winter and actually until hot weather is a reality, which means after Spring.  It is a good thing, soup is easy to make and that I enjoy making different combinations. Tonight, as you could guess, if you know our weather, the mantra was repeated often until I got myself into the kitchen and started making soup.  I must put a disclaimer here.  My husband is not at all demanding although I make him sound that way.  He vacuums, throws in a wash, empties the dishwasher and is always there, when I need him.  It is my pleasure  to provide food he wants. When I started cooking...

The latest bake for THB, the Home Bakers is Cranberry-Oatmeal-Walnut Cake , selected by Kit from I-Lost In Austen.  The recipe is on her blog.  She made these huge muffins.  What a treat! I made mine gluten-free so I never know how to compare it to those are baking with "real" flour.  This cake called for a full one and a half cups of oats.  All in all, it was not sweet enough for my taste.  Some of the bakers used dried cranberries which are sweeter and had a better cake.  The fresh cranberries are quite tart and even hubby commented on it. Hop on over here . to see what the other bakers have made.

I won Nigella Kitchen when it first came out and I was really excited about this particular prize. Nigella inspires me and this book inspires me even more. She has many helpful hints throughout the book and I find myself learning new techniques and better methods. The recipes appeal to me and I see how I go back to many of them, over and over again. I have a list of recipes, from Nigella Kitchen that I want to make and hopefully, I will be sharing them with you. Right now, I am going to share her meatball recipe which I made, recently. Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Ingredients: For the sauce: 1 onion, peeled 1 celery stalk 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 2 x 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes 3 1/3 cups (2 full cans) water 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt Pepper, to taste For the meatballs: 1 pound ground turkey 1 egg 3 tablespoons potato chip crumbs 2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion and celery (from the tomato sauce ingredients above) 1 teaspoon Worc...

We were excited to hear that Barilla is now selling gluten-free pasta but it has not arrived at our local stores.  Ronzoni has and tonight, I used their penne, for the first time.   Barillas has many shapes, as well.    I am not sure but I think that the Ronzoni penne which I used tonight is better than the brands, I have cooked with.  I want to make more dishes and also to use Barilla. I am not sure how to do a taste test using the four brands I have access to.  Too much eating.    Tonight, I cooked this dish using roasted red and orange peppers, penne pasta, roasted tomatoes, and shredded chicken.  The minimal sauce was made of oil, vinegar, tomato paste, oregano, basil, sugar, black pepper and salt.  I thought I would want additional sauce but it was fine, coating the pasta and nothing more.  Hubby and I both enjoyed this and hubby had seconds.  I would make this again. Check out the other Donn...

  This week, the Donna Hay cooks at I Heart Cooking Clubs are making breakfast dishes.  Instead of using my books, I went online and looked up breakfast recipes and found too many.  I printed several, knowing I could not make them all, but wanting to. I don't think Donna Hay had ever failed me with her easy recipes and good combination of ingredients.  I knew, beforehand, I would love this recipe.  It has potatoes and eggs.  What could go wrong?  My hand slipped and it was a little too spicy but even my hubby who avoids spices, liked this. This was another "late coming home" night and I rushed in, took off my shoes, dropped the groceries on the table and took out a frying pan.  In the middle, I realized I had forgotten to stop at another store so I turned off the stove and ran to do my errand.  I was late. Hubby ran late which meant that I actually had dinner ready as he walked in the door.  Good timing.     ...

While our group is called Wednesdays with Donna Hay, I cook on Tuesdays and usually post on Tuesday, as well.  I guess that is being prepared. This week, Kayte has chosen what I considered an unusual dish but when we sat down to eat, we found it to be a nicely balanced meal.  I used salmon instead of the white fish called for only because that is what I have in the house. As usual, this was an easy dish to prepare and as I rushed in the house, later than planned for, I still had plenty of time to get dinner on the table, on time.  I had planned to serve it with a salad but found I had no greens so substituted cucumber slices. Check with   Gaye , M argaret , Sarah and Kayte  to see what they have done with this dish.  Kayte will have the recipe on here blog. Linked to Foodie Friday

We adore apples in anything, apple crumble, crisp, pie, pancakes, cakes, muffins, cupcakes, etc.  Apples have a nice sweetness and a crisp crunch.  It is a gift of the Fall.   When I was choosing recipes, for the SRC, I had come down to two, I wanted to make which I did.  I posted the soup as my choice for the SRC but I also made the German Apple Cake which hubby could not stop raving about. German Apple Cake adapted from Jenny's Cookbook Makes 16 slices Gluten-free Ingredients: 2 large eggs ½ cup canola oil ½ cup Tofutti sour cream 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups gluten-free flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 4 medium apples, peeled, cored and diced   Method: Preheat oven to 350F and grease and flour a bundt pan (or a 9x13 square). Beat the eggs, oil and sour cream on medium speed with mixer until creamy. Beat in sugars and vanilla until well combined. Combine...

By now you know, I love Secret Recipe Club Reveals, and it is that time again.  I had such fun exploring my assigned blog, Jenny's Cookbook.   She has a plethora of wonderful looking dishes and I ended up selecting two.  It was hard enough to get down to just two and I hope to get back there and make some more.  Thanks Jenny for offering such a great selection.  I made another lentil soup, a few days ago and both hubby and I loved it so I decided to try another one and we love this one, even more. Lentil Soup  ( adapted from Jenny's Cookbook) Ingredients 1 onion diced 1 large carrot diced 2 celery stalks diced 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 1/2 cups dry lentils 1 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp cumin 1 tsp dry dill 1 tsp chili powder salt & pepper to taste 5 cups water 1 19oz can diced canned tomatoes with juice 1 cup chopped fresh parsley Lemons Method:   Cook the vegetables in oil until they're tender. Stir in lentils to coat and stir in sp...

Yeah, I am finally back with my Donna Hay Group, WWDH,  It feels good and the soup we made, this week, was delicious.  I was hesitant with the combo, Lentils, Lemon and Yogurt Soup with Spinach but I jumped right in and was rewarded with a creamy and warming soup. This was yet another easy soup from Donna and with the addition of the spinach, it went right to the top of the list. Gaye selected this recipe and personally, I think, she has great taste.  Thanks Gaye. See what my sisters in cooking have done, this week, with their soups.  Gaye , M argaret , Sarah and Kayte .  Gaye will have the recipe on here blog. See Ya in the Gumbo Tuesday’s Table   Simple Supper Tuesday Real Food Forager Simply Sugar and Gluten Free The Gathering Spot Hearth and Soul My Sweet and Savory

This is the location of my grandson's wedding.  It was held outside high up in the California mountains.  That is just one of the distant views.  It was majestic. We flew to California, Thursday night, arriving in CA at 4:00 AM, our time, 1:00 AM, in California, to find a line of about 75 people waiting for cars and no cars available.  Yes, we had a reservation and so did everyone else.  The people working there, were rude, and would not give us the number of another car rental.  That was the start of an interesting few days. We got ourselves to another car rental, got a car and went off to out hotel.  With GPS, this should have been easy but it took us to the wrong place.  When we finally located the right place, we did not see a hotel.  This must be one of the smaller hotels around since it didn't look much different than the stores surrounding it. We checked in and then had to wait for one of the employees to move another car so we...

After the holidays, leftovers are the main dishes, for a while.  Last night, I looked and found about one half pound of sliced corned beef, a package of cabbage and a bag of potatoes.  Throw it together and you have a modified corned beef and cabbage. I have been eating yummy lunches from food that my daughter-in-law brought to us which made it so much easier on me.  Not only did she bring a lot of food, she brought tasty dishes that everyone loved.  Having a few pieces left of these has made three small meals for me . Skillet Corned Beef and Cabbage Ingredients : 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, thin sliced 1 bag of shredded cabbage 1 cup water 4 medium potatoes, thin sliced 2 cups sliced corned beef, roughly chopped in 1 inch pieces Method: In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil. When translucent,  add cabbage and stir. Pour water over, cover and simmer gently on medium low for ten minutes. Add potatoes and mix into c...