Ypsi Cooks

We used the bread dough to make witch's fingers (roll up skinny little bread sticks and stick an almond on the end, point out for the finger nail, let rise an hour or more, pop in the oven, set to 350* and pull out 20 min later. The boys went nuts over these. A fun way to be goulish without increasing the sugar insanity.

We were out to dinner with some friends and their friends and the question was asked “What kind of pumpkin is best?” The result? It depends, of course, on whether you're carving, or cooking. And a friend of a friend said, “And the best pumpkin for pumpkin pie is butternut squash.” And I thought, well of course it is. A butternut squash is is so much more flavorful than any of the pumpkins we've cooked so far. But I've heard Blue Hubbard is truly THE BEST. So we bough a (huge!!!) Blue Hubbard squash at the market, sliced and roasted it, and mashed it up for use in all of our favorite “pumpkin” recipes. For E

We've been doing some great cooking, but it's been tough to tear myself away from school work (as teacher and student) and family life to write about it.But I want to… so many delicious things to share. Reading this blog (and having the laundry put away at 11:00 on a Saturday morning) got me a little inspired. So here goes.

We've been using this bread dough for a while now (having created our own whole grain version before the new <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312545525?ie=UTF8Apple Sticky Buns [Using 1 1/2 lbs of the Artesian bread in 5 Whole Grain Master Recipe (I replace some of the white flour with random grains: steel cut or rolled oats, brown rice flour, etc. I always replace by weight. 1 cup of flour is about 5 oz., so I just set my container on the scale and start dumpin. It couldn't be simpler).]

Caramel Topping:
5 T butter, room temp
1/4 t salt
1/3 c. sugar
1 T blackstrap molasses
Pecans

Filling:
5 apples, thinly sliced (I leave the peel on, but love peel on apples)
3 T butter
3 T sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger
pinch of salt
pinch of cloves or black pepper

For the topping, cream all ingredients except pecans until fluffy (2-3 min), spread into an 8×8 pan and press in pecans (20-30 or so)

For the filling, saute the apples in butter. As they begin to soften add all other ingredients until approximately pie filling-ish (or a little less).
As the apples cook, roll out 1 1/2 lbs of dough (I do this on one of my silpats that is about 12×18 ish. I find that seems to be a good size).
Spread the apple filling (add some chopped pecans or walnuts if you're really nutty) over all the dough except the far edge so you can get a good seal). Roll it up and seal it along the long edge. Cut into 9 equal pieces and place on top of the caramel topping with the swirl showing.
Let rise for 1 1/2 hours. (For breakfast, we make the rolls the night before, put them in the fridge, and pull them out as soon as the first little one crawls into our bed in the morning). There will be some rise, but not as much as with regular, kneaded dough.
Bake at 350 for 45-50 min (I put the buns in a cold oven and set the time for 50). Let cool 5-10 min. Turn out onto a lovely platter and serve.

Crockpot Apple Sauce: core, peel and chop 25 or so mixed apples. Place in crock pot, put the lid on and cook on high for 2-3 hours. Add 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ginger, 3/4-1 tsp of cinnamon

I happened to post my facebook status as saying I had just processed some of our kale. Who knew that would draw the most response I think I've ever gotten (both online1. Make veggie cake (see May 2009).
2. Make Quick-a-veggie-dillas (see previous post).
3. Add it to your tomato sauce in lasagna (or in your anything).
4. Stir the kale, finely chopped, in with bulgar and some other veggies and/or herbs

We make A LOT of brown rice. Sometimes, when I don't know what to make, I'll put on a pot of brown rice and it gives myself a time constraint: 35 minuets to figure out what else is happening for dinner. Last night I actually knew ahead of time what we were going to have: a sort of Asian rice salad. Because brwon rice takes a little while, and because it reuses and even freezes well, we make a rather large quantity at a time. I did 4 1/2 cups of water

I've been snacking on this tasty little trio for almost a year now, quietly wrapping the sweet little apricot around that crunchy little almond and popping it in my mouth with a little slice of some nice white cheddar. The combination of flavors and textures always transports me somewhere. Where, I don't know, but somewhere other than my desk at work. It's not really Spain (that would be manchego, quince and almonds), and it seems like Turkey would be perhaps pistachio & figs, but in any case, I've been enjoying this combination since my 9 month old was kicking around asking for more food every moment. I didn't really share it with anyone because, admittedly, I didn't really think others would like the combination. But I was having a little snack the other day, and Eli LOVES almonds and apricots, so I pulled an apricot in half and wrapped it around an almond for him (oh how kids love hidden foods). He thought that was awesome. Tom came in to see what caused the elation, and I made him one, plus the slice of cheddar. Well Tom liked that so much Eli had to have one, and so it continued until I had to cut them off for fear of “spoiling their appetites.”
While I think there are several cheeses & nuts that work, stick to UN-SULFURED and unsweetened fruits. Start with apricots. It is so fun to pull one in half and wrap it around the nut, and the taste and texture are really unlike any other, but I could be convince to venture into the figs mentioned above thinly sliced), or perhaps cherries or dates. Maybe pine nuts could work in this fruit-cheese-nut combo. I feel that waxy, coherent quality in almonds, pistachios and pine nuts is important. Brazil nuts fit the qualifications, but that lack the one bite factor that I find endearing about these. Maybe that's because it was such a secret affair for so long…

It seems ridiculous to eat a cold breakfast on a Saturday morning when there are so many delicious breakfast options. Pancakes with blueberries, banana slices, chunks of peach, or whatever deliciousness is hanging around. Eggs with veggies and cheese, homemade granola with homemade yogurt, fruit and a little maple syrup. The breakfast options are endless. Today Elijah declared it a muffin day. So I looked in our Whole Family Recipes cookbook and found “Oatmeal Raisin Muffins.” Of course I couldn't leave well enough alone, but the end result still needs some tweaking. Here is what I will try next time:

3/4 c. rolled oats*
1 c. white whole wheat flour (Available at most grocery stores, we use King Arthur brand)
1/4 c. rice, oat, bean, potato, etc. flour
2 TBSP nutritional yeast
2 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 TBSP cinnamon

1 c. milk*
2 eggs
1/3 c. honey
1″ of fresh, peeled ginger, grated
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c. raisins plumped in boiling water
1/2 c. slice almonds

Preheat the oven to 370 and grease a 12 cup muffin tin. Mix the dry ingredients (not a bad idea to sift the flour and leaveners) and make a well in the center. In a separate bowl, blend the wet ingredients. Pour the wed ingredients into the well and stir until just moistened. Add the almonds and raisins. divide the batter into the muffin cups. Bake until toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs, about 17 min.
*Ideally, soak the oats in the fridge milk overnight