Double Apple Bundt Cake

I found this near perfect recipe in Dorie Greenspan's "Baking". Superfabulous and it uses up apples, which is always a blessing when I get over-eager and come home with a bushel of Macs. You can make the applesauce fresh (we use the slow cooker overnight to caramelize it well) or use last year's quarts which seem to be hogging the pantry shelves now.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup apple-butter or thickened applesauce
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and grated (I used Macs)
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 cup plumped raisins

Steps:

1. Center rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Butter a 9-to-10 inch (12-cup) Bundt pan.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.
4. Working with a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, thick and pale.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition; you'll have a light, fluffy batter.
6. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the apple butter - don't worry if it curdles the batter.
7. Still on low, add the grated apples and mix to completely blend.
8. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter.
9. Fold in the nuts and raisins.
10. Roll the batter into the Bundt pan and smooth the top of the batter with the rubber spatula.
11. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a thin knife instered deep into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
12. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 10 minutes before un-molding.

Ab-Fab ColeSlaw

Coleslaw is a sorta shredded "salad" of some member of the broccoli/cabbage family - usually cabbage, but also broccoli (and even cheese?!?). It is never pickled, but regardless of whether it is garnished with a vinegar-based sauce or a mayo-based sauce, it should always be crisp.

Here is a recipe with a mayo-based sauce (which according to WikiP could not have arisen any earlier than the first mayo, which was invented in Europe in the 18th Century). I found this over at the infrequently updated "Toast", which has some fabulous recipes, especially of hearty things (like this and this).

Toast says that she got this recipe from a Peter Reinhart cookbook and it has the 'perfect' proportions. I agree - tastes just like the Marie's Coleslaw Dressing from the store if you add celery seeds.

Ingredients:

• 1 small or 1/2 large head of cabbage, finely shredded (I use the processor)
• 3 carrots, finely chopped (again with the processor, different blade)
• 1 1/2 cup of Hellman's Mayo (only the best, no Miracle Whip Need Apply)
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1/4 cup of cider vinegar
• 1 tsp of coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tsp of celery seeds
• salt to taste (ours is about 1 tsp)

Steps:

1. If you have one, use the food processor to shred your cabbage. I core mine and then cut it into quarters. They get dropped onto the disk blade that has one long open groove. Voom voom done.
2. Then use the disk blade with the small holes and send the carrots through the processor. We like carrots a lot, so I add more than I wrote above.
3. In the large bowl you will be letting your slaw rest in, add the rest of the ingredients and mix together well.
4. Add the cabbage and carrots and toss until the whole thing is well coated.
5. Chill for 2 hrs at least in the fridge and then serve. Yum.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Easy skeezy, lemon peasey - we mostly just boil our fresh sweet corn for 3 minutes, drain and serve with butter and salt. It should be sweet, salty, buttery and smokey! The great thing is that by soaking the husk, you steam the corn first before you grill it - this insures your corn cooks in a reasonable amount of time.

But on camping nights, we cook out at the firepit and this is how we make grilled corn. You could also do this on a barbecue grill in almost the same way (I would add a few more minutes to a normal load of briquettes or add 25% more briquettes to make it hotter while the corn cooks, definitely cover the grill while it cooks to increase the temp and the smokey flavor).

Steps:

1. Sorta husk the corn - pull back the green outer leaves without pulling them off.
2. Remove the silks and the first one or two layers of pale inner husks.
3. Push the outer husk back down over the corn again.
4. Submerge in a pot of water for 15-30 minutes.
5. Once you have a good hot fire, place the corn on a grate 12-18 inches over the fire and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes. The husk will begin to blacken. This is good.
6. Carefully remove the corn and husk it properly.
7. Place the corn back on the grate and cook for another 10 minutes, turning it once or twice. Some blackening may occur.
8. Serve hot with butter and salt.

THE Banana Muffin Recipe

I am always on the hunt for the perfect muffin recipe - a base recipe that you can add any base flavor and it still turns out great. I think it found it here - this base recipe uses bananas (and matches them against pecans and chocolate chips!) and makes a great earthy base to the bananas sweetness and moistness. This recipe has much less sugar than usual muffins call for, but remember that the chips and the bananas both give some sweetness.

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup of chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Steps:

1. Mix the mashed banana, sugar, egg and oil together. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Mix wet and dry ingredients all together until just mixed. Lumpy is good.
4. Add pecans and chips - mix just enough to disperse them.
5. Pour into greased muffin tins, and bake in 350 degrees oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Variations:

1. Substitute 1 cup of pumpkin or squash puree for banana. Add cinnamon and nutmeg (1 t of each for our spicy household) to kick it up - skip chips and add raisins. Keep pecans.
2. Substitute 1 cup of applesauce for the banana and the oil. Add cinnamon (2 tsp) and skip the chips but add 1/2 cup of raisins instead.
3. Substitute 1 cup of grated zucchini for banana. Definitely keep the pecans, but add raisins, 1 tsp each of cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Also possible to skip raisins and add the chocolate chips (zucch and choc - woohoo!).

Making Catnip-Fennel Tincture

Using herbs is just as serious and dangerous as using any medication, but here we use several herbal combinations that are safe enough to use almost every day. Standard disclaimers about talking to your doc first before using any new herb should be obvious - YMMV with any treatment.

My favorite one (and useful to food-o-philes) is a Catnip-Fennel tincture that settles the digestive system very quickly (especially for gas, but boy does those burps taste of fennel). Probably pretty similar to the practice of drinking mint tea (catnip is in the mint family) and the South Asian practice of eating fennel seeds after eating.

NEVER EVER TAKE IF YOU ARE PREGNANT - catnip can cause abortion in pregnant mammals of all kinds.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces of dried fennel seeds
• 2 ounces of catnip leaves
• about 24 to 30 fluid ounces of 80-proof vodka
• 1 quart jar with lid

Steps:

1. Weigh out the fennel and catnip.
2. Pour the herbs into the quart jar carefully - my catnip always seems to dribble everywhere.
3. Pour in enough vodka to cover the herbs and then another inch more.
4. Shake, shake, shake the herb mixture.
5. Each day for 6 weeks, shake the jar and flip it upside down. Store in a dark place away from direct sunlight.
6. After the 6 weeks, drain the liquid out and keep it. I like to line Mason jar ring with a very with very fine cheesecloth (like you use to make cheese, double or triple up that gauzy stuff you buy at a store) - then I invert the jar over a container and let the liquid drain out slowly. I let the tincture brew in a regular width jar and then nest it inside a wide mouth jar to drain (more stable that way).
7. Add the "drunk herbs" to your compost pile.
8. The alcohol should keep the tincture stable and germ-free for at least a year or longer. If the temperature stays pretty constant, it should remain at full potency.
9. I take about a tablespoon by mouth when I feel full or gassy.

Next on the list of tinctures to try out:

1. Ginseng tincture - not sure if it is cheaper, but it would be fresher than what you find at the Asian groceries.
2. Immune-booster tincture - Molly's Herbs makes this and we use it on our goats when they need a bit more immune boost. It is out of stock right now, so I am going to compound up my own this week. Probably a good idea to take daily during flu season, especially since you need to get echinacea into your system right at the start of the infection.
3. More everyday tincture ideas here.

Nana's Gooseberry Coffeecake

Gooseberries are a member of the currant group - small fruits on upright bushes that make "mushroom" shaped shrubs that are just this side of indestructible. They do have trouble with white pine blister rust around us (they are an alternate host species that doesn't die, just looks crappy come August), so we choose a resistant variety after NYS allowed gooseberries to be sold in state again.

Gooseberries are a source of much face-puckering around the house - Carol is not a fan of gooseberries at all. Why not? Because they are intensely sour when cooked and must be given some sugar or they will twist your yer face right off.

But they are very dependable - they don't have mast years and weather doesn't seem to make a difference on yield much at all. In fact, we neglect these shrubs intensely (the thorns help with that) and the deer completely ignore them. 3 shrubs yield about 3 gallons of berries every year. Every year.
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of fresh or thawed, frozen gooseberries, topped and tailed
• 1/2 cup sugar (less or more to taste)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp of good cinnamon
  

STEPS:

Gooseberry Filling:

1. In a saucepan, combine gooseberries and sugar.
   
2. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. This should break open the gooseberries and make a multi-colored, seed-y stew.
   
3. Bring to a boil and then remove 1/2 cup of juice and mix with cornstarch; stir into saucepan.
   
4. Let sit on heat for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cake Batter:

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
   
2. Cut in butter until dry mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
   
3. Beat together buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and then stir into crumb-y mixture.
   
4. Spread half of the batter evenly into a buttered 9 inch cake pan.
   
5. Carefully spread gooseberries on top.
   
6. Then drop the remaining batter by tablespoonfuls over filling, sealing it in.
   

Topping and Baking:

1. Melt butter over low heat. and then remove from heat.
2. Stir in flour, sugar, and cinnamon until mixture resembles crumb topping.
   
3. Sprinkle over batter evenly.
   
4. Place coffee cake on middle rack; bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes.
   
5. Cool in pan. Cut in squares.
   

Yield: 8-10 servings.

"Not Quite BBQ" Pork and Steak Marinade

This recipe is nicknamed NQBBQ - not quite BBQ - because it is a transition between just adding steak sauce and the Green Vampire marinade. NQBBQ is salty and sweet at the same time - you really want to try it before you marinate with it.

It is a balancing act of what tastes just right, the ketchup should go in last to taste (this 2 Tbsp is to my taste).
When I marinate withe NQBBQ, I like to set the meat in it for 1-4 hrs. More for tougher cuts and less for lighter ones - time doesn't seem to make a huge difference in flavor, just in tenderizing the meat (might be the saltiness acts quickly no matter what).

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp ketchup
  

Steps

1. Blend all ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. It will keep for up to a month in the fridge - if you want to hold it for longer, don't add the ketchup until you need it. The salt will keep the solution for months.
   
3. If you marinate, let it go for several hours (there is little acidity here, just salt to tenderize).