Posts from the “Random Recipes” Category

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

1. Melt three quarters of a stick of unsalted butter in a cast iron skillet. If you only have half a stick, use that plus a quarter of a stick of salted butter. No one needs know and this is not a sign that things are going to go badly.

2. While the butter is melting get the brown sugar out of the pantry. When reaching for the sugar, knock the chia seeds on the floor. Since you didn’t close the container all the way last time you used it, you will need to sweep up the chia that’s now all over the floor. Which is about as easy as sweeping up feathers. Also yell at the dog because she is playing in the chia on the floor. Kick the uncooperative chia under a counter or stove. Add the brown sugar to the butter and do not burn it. Trust me. It’s bad.

3. Arrange the pineapple pieces on the butter-sugar concoction. Bear in mind that this will be the top of the cake and you may want it to look “nice” and not at all like a crazy-quilt.

4. Sift together the dry ingredients. Wonder why you have to sift anything ever. Wonder about the freshness of the baking powder. Dismiss that thought. It can’t be that important.

5. Beat three quarters of a stick of unsalted softened butter until light and fluffy. Revisit item number one regarding the unsalted butter. Since you probably neglected to set the butter on the counter to soften, you may want to employ the microwave. Remember the idea is to soften it though, not to melt it. Good luck with that.

6. Gradually add granulated white sugar. Remember that you used the last of the white sugar the last time you baked. Consider the options: honey or raw sugar. Go with the raw sugar. How different can it be?

7. Add room temperature eggs one at a time. No, you didn’t put the eggs out either, but you did have the foresight to put them in warm water when you started this. So you’re good to go.

8. Add vanilla and rum. When measuring them assume that the cap to the vanilla is half a teaspoon and the cap to the rum is one teaspoon. Let someone else prove otherwise. Taste the rum for freshness. This is much more important than the baking powder. Oh and speaking of baking powder, never substitute baking soda for baking powder or vice versa. Just trust me on this one.

9. Mix in half the dry ingredients. Since you didn’t get out the big mixer (too much trouble) and the hand mixer only operates at fast and very fast, you will now have flour pretty much everywhere. Still easier than getting out the big mixer.

10. Mix in pineapple juice. Since it comes in a six ounce can and you only need four ounces, you now have something to add to your test rum.

11. Mix in the rest of the dry ingredients. You will once again be misted with flour. But you don’t have to clean the big mixer.

12. Pour the batter over the pineapple topping and bake. Every dish in your kitchen is now dirty so if you don’t have a dishwasher, now may be a good time to run out and get one. Or just enjoy your rum and pineapple juice. And the fact that your kitchen smells like a tropical heaven.

Also, you might want fortify yourself since you still have to flip that sucker out of a hot cast iron skillet onto an appropriately festive, and probably delicate, plate. You’ll be fine. Oh and any of the pineapple that sticks to the pan will have it’s place handily outlined on the top of the cake, but remember you’re dealing with hot butter and sugar so use a utensil for goodness sake.

Later, when you think what’s that smell, and not in the good way, it may be the clean iron skillet that you set on a hot burner to dry. Take it off immediately.

The recipe I use is from Smitten Kitchen and really is delicious.

No dogs were harmed in the baking of this cake.

Pumpkin, Leek, and Goat Cheese Quiche with Spelt Crust

td Whittle

Posted on September 2, 2013

My husband has named this Heavenly Quiche because he loves it. No wonder, since it’s got so many of his favourite things in it, not the least of which is Meredith Dairy’s Goat Cheese. For pastry, I use a King Arthur Flour recipe that has been adapted by Casey Barber, which I am inserting here. But if you would like to read a PDF, from a 2011 blog post written by her, on the details of making a fine pie crust, click here. This recipe makes two crusts, so I usually save one to make a dessert pie. Also, I typically use a mixture of white and wholemeal organic spelt flour, rather than all-purpose flour. For those who do not know what a “stick” of butter is, don’t worry. It’s 113.5 grams per stick; so, if you are making two crusts, use 227 grams of unsalted butter. I have not measured the flour in grams, but simply use the old-school measuring-cup routine of piling flour delicately into the cup, and then scraping the top off so it’s butter-knife-even. However, it’s about 298 grams, if you want to weigh it.

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Almond Meal Chocolate Cake

td Whittle

Posted on June 6, 2013

“You can keep your willpower, Frog. I am going home to bake a cake.”

– Arnold Lobel, Frog and Toad Together

This is my husband’s and my favourite chocolate cake these days. It is just the right amount of richness and decadence. It’s good with the cream and strawberries but we enjoy it in winter time, out of berry season, with just a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients

180g dark chocolate, chopped
200g unsalted butter, chopped
¼ cup boiling water
2 T cocoa powder, sifted
4 lg eggs, separated
1 cup caster sugar *
2 cups almond meal *
cocoa powder, for dusting cake
fresh strawberries and cream, to serve

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Our Favourite Spelt Bread Recipe (Using Bread Machine + Oven)

td Whittle

Posted on January 20, 2013

spelt-bread

To our surprise, Robin and I discovered recently that we love spelt in breads, pastas, and other goods where it replaces conventional flours. We were surprised because we did not expect such a flavour difference. Since we had been enjoying the bread machine that we bought last year, we decided to try baking our own spelt bread just a few months ago. Initially, this was a failure, due to the recipes that we tried not being quite to our liking, and (even more crucially) due to the quickly-realised problem that spelt bread does not bake properly in bread machines. It is fine to use the machine to make the dough and put the dough through the first rise (so, load the machine and set it for “dough”). But then, you must remove the dough for the second rise, and bake it in a conventional oven. It is lovely if you follow this procedure.

The reason I am posting this recipe and these guidelines are because most of the dozens of recipes that you find when you Google Spelt and Bread Machine Recipes do not tell you this! People post these recipes and comment that their bread machine spelt bread is the best thing since … well … sliced bread. I do not know whether they have bread machines with super powers, or whether they are just lying. In our experience, which is now rich and varied, spelt dough in a bread machine rises like the Sun, but then craters catastrophically, so that you end up with a flat and too- dense loaf that is not very nice at all. Bread machines are fine, and very useful, for making the dough for a spelt loaf, but not adequate for baking the bread.

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Spanish Rice with Seafood

td Whittle

Posted on January 6, 2013

Spanish Rice with Seafood

This is my version of Spanish Rice with Seafood, a favourite dish around our house. The one thing you really must have, besides the ingredients, is a large, flat-bottomed, shallow pan that heats evenly, in order for this dish to cook properly. I use my electric skillet, and it works every time. It is an unusually shallow and flat one made by an obscure company, and I bought it second hand.

Disclaimer: this is not an authentic paella, nor does it have any pretensions towards being authentically Spanish. However, I am authentically (at least part) Spanish, so I make no apologies for borrowing this recipe from my own family tradition of a meaty Spanish Rice, and altering it to suit my husband’s and my taste for all things seafood. This dish is always a hit with guests, too. I just made another version of this for New Year’s Day, and as it is a very hot summer here in Australia, everyone enjoyed its satisfying light-but-tasty qualities.

This recipe will serve 3-4 as a main dish, or 6-8 as a side dish.

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A Winter Soup: Celeriac, Potato, Leek, and Onion

td Whittle

Posted on July 25, 2012

While the Northern Hemisphere is enjoying (or suffering through) Summer, we here in the Southern parts of the world are in our final stretch of Winter. If, like me, you enjoy a simple meal of soup and toast at times like these, when it’s cold outside and the days are short, then you might appreciate this creamy soup featuring celeriac. The potatoes provide a substantial but plain base, and the onion and leek are beautiful accompanying notes, but it’s the celeriac that sings out in this dish. I tossed in a parsnip, simply because I like parsnip and I had a leftover one that needed to be used; but that’s optional.

This recipe will serve 3-4 people, as a main course, or more if used as an entree to accompany a larger meal. I recommend a hearty sourdough toast with a spread of fresh butter, or a drizzle of olive oil, as an accompaniment. I would like to thank my friend Monique for introducing me to this beautiful soup! I have to admit, though, that hers was better; but then, it was my first try.

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Four Cheese Vegetable Lasagne

td Whittle

Posted on March 15, 2012

Four Cheese Vegetable Lasagne

Thanks for this recipe goes to Simon Whalley, who calls his version “The Superfruit Mega Vegie Lasagne.” Simon is the owner of the wondrous Superfruit in Ivanhoe, where we get all of our fruits and vegetables, as well as many other good things. I have altered the recipe a bit from the original, which is why I changed the name, but it’s much the same as his version.

What I love about this dish is that it is rich and nuanced in flavour, and most importantly, it is not watery, because you cook the vegetables before assembling the layers. A watery lasagne is not one worth eating, in my opinion.

As with most recipes, the quality of your ingredients will largely determine your outcome, so I recommend fresh vegetables, fresh herbs, good quality cheeses, good quality oil, etc. The kinds of vegetables used, as well as the amounts, can certainly be altered; so go with what best suits your tastes, and good luck with it!

This recipe makes nine generous servings.

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Yum-Yum Breakfast Toast

td Whittle

Posted on February 6, 2012

Yum-Yum Breakfast Toast, which we enjoyed under the stars this evening

Yum-Yum Breakfast Toast, to enjoy any time of day.

When life’s slings and arrows seem too many, and its happy fortunes too few, I usually bake a chocolate cake. But then again, nothing says comfort quite like hot buttery toast, does it? (I would bet a hundred bucks that no one brought up in the good ole USA can hear “nothin says lovin” without mentally responding “like somethin from the oven,” while picturing gooey cinnamon rolls, poppin’ fresh biscuits, rolls of chocolate chip cookie dough, and the giggly Pillsbury Dough Boy getting his belly poked. If you are not American, this may make no sense to you, but you can see what I mean here.)

We are taking a brief respite from our usual posts – fiction, poetry, personal essays, etc. – in order to bring you this recipe for a restorative treat, which promises to uplift both body and soul; unless you hate toast, but who hates toast? Or, I suppose you could be antipathetic to bananas, loathe avocados, and believe that capsicums are a fruit of the Devil. In that case, we cannot help you. You will have to seek succor elsewhere.

This recipe is my husband Robin’s sole contribution to the culinary arts, and it is worthy of its good name: Yum-Yum Breakfast Toast. Don’t let the timing of breakfast constrain you, as it is delicious for afternoon tea or an evening snack as well. The ingredients you will need are in bold.

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