Squash Cake

After receiving a semi-threatening comment on my former blog, Deliciously-Organic, I made the switch to a fresh start. With this came going through unfinished posts, like this gem. So thank you Carrie Vitt for making a fuzz over the little people using your "phrase".

I know what your thinking... Squash, in cake? But trust me, it is delicious. I found myself with a couple leftover squash from our CSA last season that were needing some attention. After baking and pureeing them up, I hunted for the perfect way to use them up. I was open to anything, sweet, savory, spicy, just not wasteful. Then I came across pumpkin cakes and thought yes please! Lucky for me, I had made Salted Caramel Sauce a few days before, the perfect topping for Acorn Squash Bundt Cake. This is my take on the Chow's Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake w/ Salted Caramel Sauce, enjoy!

Acorn Squash Bundt Cake

3 1/4 cup Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
2 3/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs
1 3/4 cups Pureed Squash

-Start by coating a bundt pan with oil and flour
-Mix together Flour, Baking Powder, Spices, Baking Soda and Salt
-Mix Sugar, Oil, Eggs and Squash together, then incorporate well with the dry ingredients
-Fill budt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1hour to 70 mins
-Let cool for 15 min, then invert on cooling rack
-When completely cool, serve with Salted Carmel Sauce

The Beginning

I love reading food blogs! They always give me such great ideas for the meals and treats ahead of me.

I bake and cook, a lot. It's what I do for fun, to relax, to escape, to show my love. I grew up baking, for fun and professionally, and fell in love with it. Being a “starving student” with a live in fiancé, cooking became, or is becoming, part of my life out of survival. Regardless of skill, it’s what I do and my friends & family all think I should share my passion of culinary creation and recipe hunting with the rest of the world… so here it goes!

My local Co-Op has had an amazing deal on strawberries and raspberries lately... Thank you summer! This week I believe we have already gone through 4 lb of strawberries and am fighting the urge to get more. Besides just popping them in my mouth one after another, there are a few things I love to do with them.

First is topping them on any desert. Last weekend we had company over and made chocolate cheesecake with fresh whipped cream and raspberries pilled on top. A definite crowd pleaser.

                                                 All that was left at the end of the night...

Tonight we are having individual Straw/Rasp Crumbles!

For Christmas a few years back, my mom bought me these adorable baby ramekins. I use them for everything... French Onion Soup, Chicken Pot Pie, Apple Pies, Ice Cream, and whatever else you may think of, they are just the perfect size. 

For the Straw/Rasp Crumbles

   1/2 c sugar, divided

   1/2 teaspoon baking powder

   1 c flour

   1/4 teaspoon salt

   1/2 stick of butter, cold and cut into pieces

   2 teaspoons flax seed meal

   1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

   1 small egg

   2-3 c strawberries (cut into quarters) and raspberries

   2 teaspoons corn starch

Pre-heat oven to 375 and grease 4 ramekins

In a food processor, combine 1/4 c sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and flax seed meal. Then add the egg, vanilla and butter. Pulse until pea sized.

In a bowl, gently mix the berries, 1/4 c sugar and corn starch.

Divide the berry mixture between the 4 ramekins and top with the crumble.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Best served warm with vanilla ice cream!

Wedding Countdown

T Minus 22 Days!

With Wedding plans coming into view, I thought I'd share the Deliciously Organic Menu for our special event.

The Wedding Menu

   Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

   Spanikopita, prepared on site by my Uncle

   Greek Salad
   Couscous with Sun dried Tomatoes 

   Organic Tossed Green Salad

   Assorted Fruits and Cheeses

   Pita and Hummus 

  

 This is the plan at least. My mom, sister and I are preparing it all. Luckily we are keeping things small and there shouldn't be more than 75 mouths to feed... wee ones included.

My mom isn't as organic and locally produced crazed as I am, but it's my big day so I get to call all the shots... Wish us luck!

We are getting married on my hometown island at the local vineyard.

 Building and Stairs from which I will be walking down from

Hopefully the North West Washington rain will refrain from attending!

Archway where our guests will enter

 But of course, regardless of what the weather holds for us, we will remember it is about the marriage, not the the wedding day.

Are you attending any weddings or special summer events?

What is your favorite meal for a big event?

Finally Catching Up with Life

Sorry to be so scatterbrained when it comes to keeping up on the blogging, but life always seems have something a bit more pressing.

Life recap of the past 4 months:

     The Wedding was AMAZING! Almost everything went according to plan, but it couldn't have been more perfect and all the in-laws and random relatives got along wonderfully.

                                                    Sister (maid of honor), Bride and Groom

                                                                           The Food!

  

                                             One of our favorites since we are so un-photogenic!

     We finished up the summer, went to Bumbershoot, our annual end of summer celebration for the past four years, in Seattle and stayed with our awesome Seattle buddies. Fall quarter started and Christian ( my husband ) and I both got some life plan changes handed to us; my major didn't come through so I am now working towards Bio-Cultural Anthropology and the hubby had a bit of legal problems, not so much fun but part of life.

      We ended up hosting a pre- Thanksgiving diner at our house with two sets of in-laws since we were heading to Montana for the real holiday, and everything went wonderfully!

     We took the train out to Montana and we celebrated the holiday with Christian's mom's side of the family and visited his dad's side as we traveled home in our new car! ( A wedding gift from his maternal grandparents! )

     Winter Break is now upon us and that means lots of free time for making delicious cookies. A friend of mine doesn't have a sweet tooth, but loved these cookies after a birthday ski adventure.

Sugar Cookies

   2/3 cup softened butter

   3/4 cup sugar

   1 egg

   1 tablespoon milk

   1 teaspoon baking powder

   1/4 teaspoon salt

   1 teaspoon vanilla

   2 cups flour

  

   Beat the butter until fluffy, then add the sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until combined. Add the egg, milk and vanilla until combined. Then add in the flour, mixing any by hand if it becomes too thick. Divide the dough in half and chill for two hours ( just enough time to make some more cookies and tidy up the kitchen! )

   Preheat the oven to 375f. Roll out the dough on a flour dusted surface about 1/4 inch thick. Pull out the various cookie cutter and get cutting! ( These guys shrink down a bit so you can fit them pretty close on the pan, just don't touch )

   Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown a bit.

Hope the Holiday Season is treating everyone well!

Happy Holidays

The build up to Christmas is always huge and then its just over..  Always seems to bring me down a bit, but at least I have a few awesome gifts to keep my spirits high!

   We always go to my mom's for Christmas, momma's girl through and through and this year was a pretty quick trip. As some of you know, my family lives out on an island that requires a ferry to get to, not some much fun with busy holiday work schedules but we were able to get out there Christmas Eve afternoon, but had to jet back the next night. 

   While on the island, along with spending time with the family and doing the Christmas thing, we always make sure to visit family friends, even if just for a few minutes, and boy do they appreciate even that!

This year I got some pretty awesome swag for my kitchen, now that I'm a full fledged wifey!

Check out these adorable aprons my mom made for my sister and I! She just started sewing like a year ago and is seriously making an outfit a day, and her stuff is so stinkin' cute!

   But my favorite gift has to be my BEAUTIFUL Le Creuset Dutch Oven!

   I can't wait to cook up something delicious in this bad boy... Can you say Coq au Vin!?! Yum Yum. Well time to do some more relaxing, I may even be ready to eat again, last night was the annual Prime Rib Dinner with Yorkshire Pudding, Texas Potatoes and all the yummy sides :)

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Last Days of Sanity

What I mean is the last days of the year and the last week of winter break is upon us. Time to get in some final sleeping, movie watching, stress free morning Yoga sessions, home work free evenings and baking, and get my list of crock pot ready meals together, can you say dinner ready when you walk in the door!?! Yes please :)

   But before I get into the haze that is Winter Quarter, I'll share with you some very versatile tasty cookies. The original recipe I found for these called for chocolate covered caramels, but I had miniature peanut butter cups on hand and my man loves his peanut butter. I later tried them with crushed up peppermint/peppermint bark ( pictured below ) and they were also a hit. 

   Take away message: These are some good chocolate cookies that will work with anything!

Stuffed Chocolate Cookies 

   2 3/4 cup flour

   3/4 cup cocoa powder

   1 teaspoon baking soda

   1 cup softened butter

   1 cup sugar

   1 cup brown sugar

   1/4 teaspoon salt

   2 eggs

   2 teaspoons vanilla

   *Fillings: around 3 dozen miniature peanut butter cups, caramels, chocolate covered fruit, or crushed candy, whatever you have around

   Beat the butter for about 30 seconds, then add in the sugars until combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Follow with the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. If using crushed candy, add it in now. If the dough seems to soft to work with chill for about an hour.

   Preheat your oven to 375F and begin shaping the dough into 1 inch balls or so. Press in your filling and enclose. Bake for 8-10 minutes, two inches apart. 

   For an added treat, drizzle melted chocolate or caramel over the cookies, maybe even a sprinkle of course sea salt!

   Another awesome Christmas gift this year.... The Whole Foods Market Cookbook. I will have to dig in and share some of it's awesomeness. ( Maybe even a look at my kitchen resources... )

   Until next time, relax and get in that kitchen!

Kitchen Resources

While I haven't even cracked the surface of my newest kitchen read, The Whole Foods Market Cookbook, I did promise to share with you where I find my recipes and inspiration.

   Over the years I have collect family recipes and those seemingly cheesy, but actually meal saving cookbook magazines, along with print outs and rip outs of magazines. These provide me with hours of entertainment loads of meal ideas.

   I also have a few books to remind me where I'm from. The Lopez Island Cookbook is a collect of recipes from locals, including my great-grandmother, great aunts, grandmother and cousins. Its filled with obscure favorites with a semi-homemade twist. Also, as some of you know, I worked at the local bakery, Holly B's, for four years and while I know most of my favorites by heart, it always helps to have a hard copy. 

   The rest have been collected and gifted and are definitely prized possessions.

      La Dolce Vegan! - Sarah Kramer

      The Everything Vegetarian Cookbook - Jay Weinstein of NPR

      Favorite Recipes the Costco Way ( free after Thanksgiving steal! 0

      With Love and Butter - Holly Bower

      The Lopez Island Cookbook - Barbara Pickering and Nikki Giard

      The Whole Foods Market Cookbook - Steve Petusevsky

      Serving up the Harvest - Andrea Chesman

      The Comfort Table - Katie Lee

      The Penguin Companion to Food - Alan Davidson

      The New Vegetarian Epicure - Anna Thomas

      The Flavor Bible - Karen Page and Andrew Dorenburg

   Along with cookbooks, I also follow a few lovely food themed blogs; you should definitely check these ladies out!

      Lee at Fit Foodie Finds 

      Elsie at Simply Recipes 

      Pam at For the Love of Cooking 

Essentials...

With the craziness of the holidays; traveling and not being home, I have definitely been flaking out on my weekly bread making. That Ends Now. Usually just a day long process, I started by sourdough sponge Tuesday night thinking I would make bread yesterday. Wrong. Christian had a surprise day off, so we hit the town to pick out our Christmas presents for ourselves... Thank You Christmas Money! 

   We ended up finding an amazing deal on a 26 inch Sharp TV and Vizio wireless blue-ray player. We originally thought we would get a game system of some kind as a DVD player that hooks up to Netflix since that is all we do, but Wii doesn't play DVDs and EVERYONE had already gotten there first on the PS3 and Xbox. I'm not much of a gamer, so this is fine by me and we ended up stopping by his parents house on the way home and playing on their Wii for a bit!

   Now that its back to being just me and my kitchen, the baking begins! While my bread was rising for the second of three times, I whipped up some Croissant Dough ( to come later ) and prepped by veggies we got at the Co-Op last night.. Yum Yum!

   Holly's Sourdough

      -Holly B, Holly B's Bakery

   This is a three part recipe: Starter, Sponge and Finally Dough. Each build on each other and your Starter can last you a lifetime is you keep it fed at least every 2 weeks! The sour flavor will come with a more mature Starter.

   Starter

   1 Cup Milk

   1 1/4 Cup Flour

   Sponge

   2 1/2 Cups Warm Water

   1 Cup Starter

   4 Cups Flour

   Dough

   Sponge Batter

   2 Tbsp Honey ( I use Agave )

   1/2 Tbsp Quick Yeast

   1 1/2 Tbsp Salt

   4 Cups Flour

   Glaze

   1/2 Cup Cold Water

   1 1/2 Tsp Cornstarch

   Mix your milk and flour in a lidded container that can hold double the continents. Leave at room temperature for a day and then refrigerate for at least a day.

   After 48 hours, mix the Sponge water, 1 cup of Starter and the flour together until smooth. Replanish your Starter with the original ratio. Cover your Sponge and leave at room temperature for at least 9 hours. 

   When ready, mix the Sponge, honey, yeast, salt and flour with a dough hook until smooth and firm ( 4-5 minutes ). Place in an oiled bowl and let double in size for about 3-4 hours. ( My house is so cold it sit it in front of the heater all day long! )

   Once its good and big, divide ( I usually do half so my loafs are nice and big, but Holly claims you can get 3 good loafs! ) and knead each. Shape into rounds or load into a loaf pan and let rise, yet again, a few hours until double.

   Pre-heat the old oven to 400F and whisk together your glaze over med-high heat until it comes to a boil. Make a few diagonal slashes on each loaf and brush on some glaze. Bake the loafs 20 minutes, rotate and 15 more. They should be deep brown and sound hollow!

   Thank You Holly!

While my dough was rising, I got our delicious veggies ready for the week. Look at these guys.

Organic Red Chard and Local Red Lettuce

Organic Brussels Sprouts and Radishes

This weeks compost pile thus far

   I love cooking and baking ( and just munching ) on the best ingredients I can get my hands on. I love knowing that what I'm putting in my body, my husband's and everyone I cook for is the best it can be. Christian's step mom has become extremely sensitive to conventional foods and I always like to make sure she can enjoy everything I create as well. 

   Some ask how to choose between local and organic when it comes down to it, since this area is home to a plethora of farms, dairies and gardens. I try to stick with organic at all costs, but in the dead of winter I hate buying produce from across the world. If its in season, local and looks good the organic aspect sometimes needs to be ignored. I know a lot about the farmers in my community and they are pretty open about their farming practices and the staff at my Co-Op knows more than me. Knowing where your food comes from and how its produced is probably the best piece of advice I can offer. It all comes down to what you feel is more important.

Baked Fluffy Butter...

Okay, well not really, but Croissants could be called this. Layer after layer of flaky goodness. Oh how I miss my early bakery morning! This, in case you haven't picked up on, is another Holly recipe I thought I might share with you. 

   A lot of people run away in fear of the thought of making homemade croissants, but not I. These guys are SO easy and SO delicious how could you not want to make them..?!?

   With Love and Butter Croissants

   1/2 Cup Warm Water

   1 1/2 Tbsp Quick Yeast

   2 1/4 Cups Milk

   1/4 Cup Mild Veggie Oil

   1 Tbsp Honey ( Again, I use Agave )

   1 Tbsp + 1/2 Tsp Salt

   5 3/4 Cups + 1/3 Cup Flour

   1 1/2 Cups Butter ( Room Temp )

   Like the bread, this requires some planning. Usually an evening and following morning or two days are required to complete this recipe!

   Swish the water adn yeast together in your mixing bowl. Add the milk, oil, honey, salt and 5 3/4 cups flour. Mix together until smooth and satiny with a dough hook, about 3 minutes. Let in rest on a floured surface and scrape your bowl well.

   Cream the butter and remaining flour in the same bowl so its whipped smooth ( who wants even MORE dished to wash.. ). Roll out your dough in a rectangle about 18 x 11 and 1/2 inch thick.

    Now the fun part. Fling bits of butter over 2/3 of your dough, evenly spreading it out. 

   Fold the bare third over half the butter section, dust off any extra flour and fold the rest to get a neat rectangle. 

   Roll out the dough again and fold into thirds like you would a letter.Cover in plastic and place on a floured cookie sheet in the fridge fro 20 minutes.

    Once its chilled, flour the dough and roll it out to the original rectangle size. Fold into thirds, roll, fold into thirds, and again place in the fridge for 20 minutes. 

      After the second round, pull the dough out and, you guessed it, roll it out and fold into thirds one last time. This time encase it in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours. The next morning, pre-heat your oven to 400F ( or take our your Sourdough you just baked ) and prepare two cookie sheets. 

   Unwrap the dough and roll out the whole thing, or a section.  ( This dough can freeze up to 2 weeks ) If using the whole batch, roll out a rectangle about 20 x 30 and use a pizza cutter to make 12 squares. Cut each diagonally to make 24 triangles. 
   At this point you can fill at the base of each with cheese, jam, meat, chocolate... or roll up into a crescent for plain ones. 
   Whisk together an egg and 1 Tbsp of water and glaze each one before baking 10 minutes, rotate, 5 more or until golden. Holly suggests serving them, with you guessed it, more butter!

Look at those flaky layers...

  

A Year in Review

Its been a while, I know, but I'm still here and ready to get back into the swing of thing.
This past year has been busy and exciting.
            Over the summer we moved out of our home of 3+ years to a cute home closer to both of our jobs. Christian's new promotion also helped with this move, meaning this winter was Ski Shop Free.
            Just weeks after the move we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary and as I write this, the 18 month mark is quickly approaching.
            Once summer left us, my final year at school started, bitter-sweetly. Along with no more classes and homework and professors driving me insane, my job will also come to an end. I'm hoping they find some position here that I need to fill... and quickly.
            We heading back to my hometown for Thanksgiving and were finally able to bring back my favorite little fluff head. My puppy Golgi, a.k.a. Mr Frodo. While he did just celebrate his ninth birthday on New Years day, he will always be a puppy to me. Even Christian can't resist his snuggles.
How could you not love that face!

          







       
            With another year behind us, that also means another year full of kitchen based Christmas gifts, which once again I was spoiled with.
            As far as food, a new home means a new kitchen to move into and become familiar with. So for the past 5 1/2 months, that is exactly what I have been doing, when I'm not pulling my hair out over school that is.
           I have been following more and more Foodie Blogs and as I prep for the next post I leave you with some of my favorites by some of my favorites. You should really check these ladies out... They rock!

              Emily's Squash Soup
              Lisa's Favs for Thanksgiving... or Anytime
              Elsie's Delish Pumpkin Gnocchi

Chocolate Nutella Cake

Winter has left and Spring has arrived. With its return another quarter has past and I find myself with free time on my hands. My husband knows this as a dangerous predicament, as when he returns from work wonderfully fattening and delicious goodies await him that I want nothing to do with. Poor him right.
I recently stumbled across an awesome recipe that even I could not resist; hot, delicious pretzels. Joanne at Fifteen Spatulas can show you how: Hot Buttered Pretzels
Aside from pretzels, last week I was, for no reason, dying to make chocolate cake. So I did. Below are the results.

Chocolate Cake with Nutella-Coconut Icing
1 cup Butter
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Water
2 cups Flour
1 3/4 cups Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
In a small saucepan, melt butter and mix in cocoa, salt and water.
In a mixing bowl, or stand mixer, combine flour, sugar and baking soda. Mix in one half of the butter mixture, followed slowly by the rest.
Beat in, one at a time, the two eggs. Next the sour cream and finally the vanilla. Whisk together until smooth.
Pour mixture into a buttered and floured pan. I used my springform with great results.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, toothpick test for doneness.
Let cool then invert and remove from pan onto a large plate or cake dish.

For the icing:
Melt together 1/4 cup Coconut Oil,  1 tbsp Nutella, 1/4 cup Chocolate Chips and 1 tsp Vanilla Extract.
Pour over cake and let flow down the sides.

As always, Enjoy!

Ultimate Comfort Food

Sometimes I just want food that feels like a nice big hug. You know that type of craving,. Luckily, I have a go to recipe for that hankering... Homemade Mac & Cheese
Whats great about this recipe, aside from being so delicious and comforting, is that you can add anything to it. Last night i chopped up some baby spinach and grilled some apple sausages and threw that in for some added color and flavor.

Homemade Mac & Cheese
2 cups of Your Choice of Pasta, cooked according to package (We prefer Orecchiette, little ears)
3 tbsp Butter
3 tbsp Flour
2 1/2-3 cups Whole Milk
3 cups Cheese, grated
3 tbsp Parmesan, grated
Pepper
1 tbsp Good Mustard
1/4 cup Breadcrumbs

-Cook up your pasta according to the package. These can wait around a bit since they whole thing will be baked later.
-Melt your butter and whisk in the flour, making a roux, over med-high heat.
Let the roux cook for a minute then slowly whisk in your milk.
-Once this thickens up a bit, 2 minutes or so, add in 3/4 of your grated cheese, followed by the parmesan, pepper and mustard. -Don't tell Christian, but I also added a bit of crumbled bleu cheese at this point.
- Now you can mix the pasta and sauce all together. If adding anything else, like spinach or meats, this would be the time. I usually just pour everything into the baking dish I'm going to cook it in to prevent extra mess.
-Once well mixed, top with remaining cheese and breadcrumbs. 
-Into the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes.
-We like to garnish with green onions and shaved parmesan. 

Traditional NW Foods

For a class project I worked on creating a blog educating people about NW Traditional Native Foods. One of the recipes included was this delicious Salmon coated in Hazelnuts.. You have to try it.

Nut Crusted Salmon

You can use any type of salmon for this dish. Typical seasons are June/July for Sockeye Salmon, July-November for Coho Salmon, and August/September for Chinook Salmon.
Acorns can easily be substituted for hazelnuts at your discretion.  Best served along with cooked, fresh, in-season vegetables, like asparagus.

1 1/2 cups Acorns or Hazelnuts
2 Eggs
2 filets of Salmon
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place nuts in food processor and pulse until fine.
Whisk together the two eggs in a dish.

Season filets with salt and pepper.

Then coat each in the egg mixture, followed by the nut mixture. Repeat until all are coated and wrap in aluminum foil.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, and allow fish to rest.
Serve with brown rice and roasted asparagus.

Enjoy!