It's a Knock Out

This past week I had been given an assignment. No, not Trig homework or a dreaded research paper on the anatomy and comparison of Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Siberian Huskies (True story), but my homework was to bake cupcakes. Specifically chocolate and/or carrot. So hard right? Let me just say, baking cupcakes gives a whole new sound and liking to the word "homework". This is what I really call being out of high school. (For now at least)

My sister will be serving cupcakes at her outdoor wedding in beautiful Crested Butte, Colorado, the kind stated above, and she needed someone who was willing to dig, delve, and discover some of the best wedding worthy chocolate and carrot cupcake recipes out there. I was flattered to be put on this job since she knows I like to bake, but I am sure she also took into thought that testing out a few recipes here and there would entail lots and lots of cupcake throw downs. This also meant that my poor dad , brother, and brother-in-law would also be on the job, making sure these tiny cakes don’t go wasted. That was not hard, not too hard at all. SO simple, a 24 batch was made and there are now to be EXACT four cupcakes left. Were going on day two here. You get the picture.

I went online to browse some carrot cake recipes and I stumbled across a Carrot Cake by the now beloved Alton Brown. Some times weird, unusual, and annoying, but he really knows is Carrot Cake. These cupcakes were rated at a five star, which gave me the assurance that they would be somewhat Wedding Worthy. And yes, in my belief they truly were. So, I threw on my recently created apron (Scrapes from Grandma’s shed I might add–what better way to use them!) and got to work on my “dreadful” assignment.

I have never been a die hard fan for carrot cake, but these were close to perfection. The fresh nutmeg (In my opinion, the most important ingredient here besides maybe the carrots:) gives these cakes a refreshing nutty flavor. The added yogurt makes these delicate's so moist and silky, but the walnuts lend texture and crunch. And what could be better than to top these with a buttery cream cheese frosting-Need I say more? There are so many outlandish things going on here, from nutty to spicy to moist and crunchy, these sure are a knock out.





Carrot Cake Cupcakes
From Alton Brown’s Carrot Cake.

Cupcake liners
2 1/2 cups, all-purpose flour
6 medium carrots, medium grate
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups white sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
6 ounces plain yogurt
6 ounces vegetable oil
Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line two cupcake pans with liners.
Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for 5 seconds. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.
In the bowl of the food processor combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.
With the processor still running drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into prepared cupcake pans 3/4 + full.
Bake until knife inserted comes out clean and the tops are lightly browned, Anout 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove the pan(s) from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes remove cupcakes from pans. Frost with cream cheese frosting after cake has cooled completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 ounces powdered sugar, sifted, approximately 2 cups
In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter on medium just until blended. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. With the speed on low, add the powdered sugar in 4 batches and beat until smooth between each addition.
Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using.
Yield: approximately 2 cups

Makes standard cupcakes

Alterations. I added 1 1/4 cup walnuts to give these cakelets a bit more texture (pecans would be good too) With that being said, I added 8 ounces of yogurt instead of six for added moisture. I also decided to use 2 teaspoons of maple syrup instead of vanilla in the frosting. This gave the frosting a unique flavor. Quite delicious! Raisins may be added if your a raisin fan, but I left them out.

Another note: Fresh nutmeg is the star in the show. Be sure to find a nub of this stuff before you get onto any cupcake adventures.

Never Enough Chocolate

I’ve been kind of going cookie crazy lately trying out a few new recipes here and there. There is something comforting about chocolate chip cookies. It’s almost like going back to the basics of baking. Every baker should have some sort of chocolate chip cookie recipe on hand. Can you imagine a baker without a slick recipe for this stuff around? I’ve got boxes and boxes of recipes around. Loose, grubby, hard-to-read recipes on newspaper clippings and 3 x 5 cards lurk the basement back-room, the bedroom dressers; some even peek out under the bed. I would be glad to celebrate each evening baking a new treat from a new recipe I found in the house stash, but I am kind of hesitant on some of them. Many are from great aunt’s and long past relatives I don’t know and others are given from church-goers I don’t reckon of. All sound certainly delish, but something pulls me back, my conscious nags at my shoulder saying there is a better option for tonight’s sugar dish. So what would that be? What could possibly be better than Sharon Locey’s rhubarb bars or Grandma’s peanut brittle? Well, the same chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have made countless times for several years jumps into my mind as THE very dessert to make. I hate to say that nothing else has out shined this tender little treat.

A few years ago, my sister Laura claimed her Cookie Dough fame and told me that she had created her own recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I thought to myself, heck, how would YOU make up your own cookie dough concoction? She assured me she did everything right, and she made the best cookie recipe I would ever lay my senses upon. I don’t know why I would have trusted her for she was not an avid baker, but I decided to give it a go. I hate to say it, but she was right. Whether she came up with the recipe herself or not, it sure is good. To this day, I have this recipe scribbled down on a little note sheet of paper in Laura’s handwriting. This is by far the most used cookie recipe in the Schouweiler household. Unlike some things in life, it never seemed to let us down. These cookies are so tender and delicate, lending a smooth and creamy chocolaty taste. I could take a chocolate bath with the amount of brown bite-fulls that are in these cookies. They are baked to perfection; just underdone in the center with a nice caramelized rim.


Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips ( Good quality preferably)
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Stir with a whisk until well mixed. Set aside. (Helpful hint: Stir the flour, baking soda, and salt mixture well to ensure that the baking soda is distributed evenly. Baking soda distributed evenly ensures that your cookies rise and expand the same.)

In a stand mixer combine the butter and sugars. Using the paddle, mix until the mixture is smooth and fluffy (four to five minutes). Add 1 egg at a time and mix to incorporate. Add the vanilla and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix a few seconds longer. Gently mix dry ingredients into the batter being sure not to over mix. Fold in chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for 1-2 hours. You can even make these several days ahead and chill the batter.
When ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll dough with your hands into balls. (About 2 tablespoons each)
Bake cookies for about 12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and slightly soft and “undercooked” in the center. Remove pan from oven. The centers will continue to cook even when out of the oven. Let cool for a few minutes and transfer to a cookie sheet or paper bag that has been cut flat.

Cookie craziness has put me in the position to try yet another cookie recipe. I’m not making large amount of sweets here to share with the neighbors or take to a pot-luck, but they do go mighty fast with two boys around the house. This is all the more reason to make another batch. These cookies, here me, aren’t trying to replace Laura’s, but they are a bit different, and they are sure good to have around. These are oatmeal cookies-slightly different in taste and a 9 yard run in texture. I was a bit confused when I read the recipe because I have never encountered a mix of flour and sugar before adding the butter? I was crossed at the idea of deviating away of my go-to cookie. My mom assured me these are very unique-flat oatmeal cakelets that are crispy on the outside but smooth and soft on the inside. It’s all that a Chips Ahoy wishes to be. So I took her word and these cookies came into kitchen light.

Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside . These sure are delish—so scrumptious, they were gone in one day. I think I’ll keep these guys around.


Oatmeal Cookies

1 C. Flour
½ C. Sugar + additional sugar for rolling
½ C. brown sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup butter
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
¾ cup oats
¼ c. walnuts or ½ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Whisk together first 6 ingredients. With a stand mixer, mix in butter, egg, and vanilla until incorporated. Form batter into small balls and roll in sugar.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are brown and centers are soft.

Note: I was told to use quick oats with this recipe and they turned out great. Although, when I make them again I want to use rolled oats to see the difference. Just a bit of an experiment that’s all. Also, I used chocolate chips because my family can never get enough chocolate.

Missed You

I have fallen in love with my bike. Through dirt and mud to pavement and roads, it has been with me. Granted, I have only had it for one year now, but it has been a heck of a year. This bike, who has no name at this point, has pleased me beyond belief. If I am having a bad day. I go bike. If I feel tired, believe it or not, I go bike. When I am bored, well, you guessed it, I hit the trails. So, you get the picture here. Through good times and bad, biking never lets me down. I've never been much into the Zen of yoga. Such exercise frightens me. I don't know how it is done. Tree pose, maybe. But gravity has sadly defeated my efforts of lifting my body off of the floor while my palms spread wide, hold me upward. For now, its just not going to happen. While on a bike, my behind sits happily centered on a bike chair, my hands gracefully reach the handle ,and my toes glide easily onto the pedals with a slight bend in the knee. All positions of which my body has been accustomed too. My joints are intact and my body is saying YES! IT'S TIME TO RIDE! I'm not putting down yoga, I guess I am just slamming myself for the incapability of this art. So anyhow, its been a long two weeks without my bike. My two weeks have been filled with not enough time in the kitchen, at the dinner table, in my bath tub, and in bed. Instead high school filled with final exams, research papers, and graduation prep has occupied my mind. Its sad that the very things I dislike are the very subjects that were granted the most attention. But, I am graduated now, so there is more time to spend doing what I love to do. Shouldn’t life always be that way?

Today being a free day, I got to ride my nameless friend. I don't know if I should name it? It's a custom to name your car, so why not your other (or only..) prize possession. Should it be a boy or a girl? I don't know. Rumor is most cars are named after a she. Why is that? Maybe I should give the male gender a chance. I need some suggestions for names. I'll ask around.

It was a good ride today. Very, very hot. I wound my way around Otter Lake and back, just enough to be drenched in mud and sweat. Yes I traversed across a few mud holes and ponds on the way, just to get a few bugs and bites.
My ride was wonderful, just what I needed to end the day. I even got to take a dip in the pool. It was bliss.

Hunger quickly grew and my mother had fired up the grill. It was a beautiful evening with sun and clear skys, so there is not one excuse for cooking inside. You may be thinking we sat down to have some burgers or maybe even a few slabs of grilled chicken ,but I wouldn't settle for that, not after what was on our dinner special. Yes, we indulged in none other than grilled Brat Pizzas. %^*&%@##$#WHAT! That’s a mouth full. Yes, it was truly delicious. Mound full’s of bratwurst over a Greek pita, olive tapenade, garlic, and tomato sauce, smothered in mozzarella cheese, and carmelized onions. It was my mother who was in charge of this grill creation. Since, Italian sausage wasn't remnant in the house, what better substitution than bratwursts? The brat's gave it a nice salty/greasy sensation. Not always the healthy way to go, brat's not being my favorite, but every once in awhile your belly needs the Great Brat Awakening. Brat pieces were mounded atop the crusty pitas. The pitas caramelized to perfection around the edges, and the top was smothered with golden hughed mozzarella. These little pitas were absolutely stunning and even more than that, truly delish! So I encourage all who have some brat's on hand, especially those of you from Wisconsin, to try this easy dinner mouthfuls. Italian sausage no more, wer'e having a brat party!

To counteract the grease feast, I decided to take on a salad. A few mixed greens and green onions did the trick. Toss that with some cumin clove gouda,toasted almonds, and candied walnuts, and you've got yourself a treat. What better way to use the cheese in the back corner of your fridge than toss it in a salad, especially those with unique flavors.



Grilled Brat Pizzas

2 Greek pitas sliced in half
Olive Oil
Tomatoes sauce (3/4 cup or so)
2 to 3 giant bratwurst cooked and chopped.
1 onion sliced
4 tablespoons Olive tapenade
1-2 cloves garlic chopped
About 2 cups of mozzarella cheese

Heat bratwursts in a sauce pan with water or beer(which is the best option) until cooked through. When cool, chop bratwurst into small pieces. In a frying pan, saute onions in a bit of olive oil, on low heat until soft and carmelized.

Fire the grill on high. Slice 2 Greek pitas in half. Drizzle them with a bit of olive oil. Smother in tomatoes sauce (just enough to coat the pitas.) Top each pita slice with 1 tablespoon. olive tapenade, garlic, and onion. Lather the pitas with chopped bratwurst following mozzarella cheese. With a spatula, transfer pitas onto the grill, and turn the grill to medium.

Grill until outer crust is golden and mozzarella cheese is nicely melted.

Serves Four




Walnut Salad

8 or so cups of mixed greens
1/3 cup green onions chopped
1 cup Walnuts (or pecans..)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1 cup walnuts (Enough for leftovers)
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/2 cup Cumin Clove gouda shredde6
salt


In a saucepan heat the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sugar until sugar has disolved. Mix in walnuts and coat with sauce. Transfer to parchment lined cookie sheet and cool in freezer until the sugar has hardened. (10 minutes or so..) Heat frying pan on high. Toast almonds with a pinch of salt until just golden. Be sure not to leave the stove; these burn quickly!

Toss the greens,onion,cheese, and nuts. Serve with favorite dressing.

Note: I usually make my own salad dressing, but I fell in love with Salad Girl's Pomegrante Pear dressing. Fruity and sweet, and healthy too; a perfect compliment to fresh greens. I would love to try their other dressings as well! They all look very unique and delicious. You can take a look here. Regarding the cheese, a blue cheese or parmesan will do. I just so happened to have Marieke Gouda's Cumin Clove in the fridge. A very exotic combination; the cumin lends spice to the age old cheese while the clove gives it a nutty, bold flavor. My mom and I found this first generation cheese farm near Chippewa Falls, WI. Marieke and her children happily greeted us on their Dutch farm with dozens of samples that took me to cheese heaven. If you wish, check these out here. Or if your in that area, stop by and she may just give you a cheese tour.

Another note...You will have leftover walnuts for future use. You do not by all means have to use both almonds and walnuts. I was just feeling real nutty;)

No Show Asparagus and Rhubarb

Ahhhh. The joys of the bright sun peaking through my small window, birds conversing a nice tune, and best of all zero alarming buzz sounds echoing in my bedroom. What's this? A Sunday morning of course. A Peaceful Sunday morning. You can't beat it. No plans for the day, no grueling obligations. Just one clean kitchen and one growling stomach. So, what's the dish gonna be this morning? The only plants sprouting from the garden happen to be a nice bundle of rhubarb and asparagus. My mom assured me there were some green veggies in the garden. This excited me! This thrilled me! I LOVE asparagus and there is nothing better than fresh chopped greens in a batch of scrambled eggs. However, as she hauled in the nice load of rhubarb, what lay amidst in her hands were two tiny sprigs of asparagus, the size of two little fingers. I guess we'll just have to wait till next Sunday; maybe then three or four shoots will sprout up. Let's just keep our hopes up! Let down by my favorite "what I call pee greens", I got resourceful on what I had to work with. Rhubarb. I found a nice little recipe from a cookbook I was so anxious to get while I was in Duluth, Minnesota. My mom and I at a place called Hell's Kitchen right near Canal Park. And yes, it seemed that for an evening we entered into the gates of fire, but the food was anything but. I vaguely remember what we had. I believe it was a grilled fish. White fish, being we were near Lake Superior, would be the most probable guess. But, it was absolutely delicious! It had some sort of rice and bean with it as well. Anyway, the food was…I guess you could say HOT. ON FIRE. Yes, very, very scrum-didily-umtious! If you choose to visit this daunting and, oh so rebellious place don't be alarmed by the atmosphere. You may walk out feeling like a sinner, but no worries, the food was heavenly. I heard their breakfasts are even better- I guess I missed that boat.

Anyway, what lay lonely on the top shelf of the restaurant was none other than the Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook. And yes, it was the store's copy, but I couldn't resist. The recipes looked spectacular, the stories seemed unforgettable. The cashier was kind enough to sell it to me. After all it needed a home, and Hell's Kitchen was not its kind of place. So, today, (Ahhem, months later) I decided to pull the Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook off of my shelf and ... use it! I am embarrassed to say that dust has revisited the cover of the book. It sat untouched and uncared for. I felt sorry for it being so out of place at the restaurant and now I dejectedly failed to treat it any better! It needed to be cared for and out of good will (it is Sunday) I decided to become a Good Samaritan and treat it with love and care.

It just so happens that this neglected book had one single rhubarb recipe. I think it was a sign. It looked delicious and it needed to be made. So, that is exactly what I did. On went the apron, out came the kitchen weaponry and ingredients, and into the oven went some delish Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins.




This recipe was adapted from a woman by the name of Joan Halquist. She and her husband Jim own the Ellery House Bed and Breakfast near Duluth, Minnesota. They serve their guests breakfast in the deep wooded ravines of the Ellery House, where raccoons, deer, and bear occasionally visit. (Bliss)

After roughly 20 minutes, these muffins came out of the oven with golden faces. They were absolutely divine. Light, fluffy, and healthy with a settle taste of rhubarb and a sweet sensation of strawberry. Orange scented frosting, with preference, was pooled over the delicate cakelets to make these light options a more decadent breakfast. The nutty flavor of the added whole-wheat flour complimented the asparagus-less bacon and scrambled eggs with mozzarella. A perfect breakfast for a chipper Sunday morning. This book really did have something to show for it. I am pleased to say that I will be treating this book with some adoration from now on. 


Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins
Adapted from Joan Halquist
From the Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup plain yogurt (or Milk - I used yogurt)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup rhubarb
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl mix the egg, yogurt, oil, and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Fold in rhubarb and chopped strawberries.

Divide into 12 buttered muffin cups. Sprinkle with sugar before baking OR glaze with frosting after baking. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Frosting
1/2 pound powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk or half and half.

Makes 12 muffins

Molly's Note- I used half whole wheat flour and half white flour with a small dose of psyllium husk for added fiber. Next time I am going to add some walnuts to the batter for some extra texture and crunch. I would also like to try these with a cinnamon orange streusel. For the frosting I added a nub of butter, some cream cheese, and orange zest to make the rhubarb and strawberries pop with flavor.


Asparagus-less Bacon and Egg scramble
Molly's concoction

8 fresh eggs
4 to 5 tablespoons of water
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
5 slices of bacon (or more if you are a mad bacon eater)
1 small medium chopped onions
Olive Oil or butter
1/2 cup packed cheese (I used what I had around which happened to be mozzarella)
Pepper to taste

Beat fresh eggs with water, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Fry bacon on medium heat until crisp, remove bacon, and dispose all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of grease from pan. Crumble bacon when cooled. Turn heat to low and add onion. Allow onion to caramelize for 5 t0 6 minutes or until soft. Add a tablespoon of oil or butter and pour egg mixture into pan. Do not scramble until the egg has set slightly and the outer edges have come away from the pan. Stir eggs every so often until just done and scramble to preferred consistency. Add cheese and crumble bacon and allow to melt.

Serves four.

Butter and...Drum Roll Please... Chocolate

I think I may have created something profound. At least my taste buds told me so. Something subtly sweet. A drop of stevia, if that, a nub of butter, and some decadent dark chocolate. This creation, folks, is what I call Chocolate Butter. If there were two things I had to have in my kitchen it would be A. Amish churned butter and B. Dark chocolate. With these two simple yet delicious ingredients, the kitchen is fully equipped. I don't know where the Amish got their mad butter churning skills, but let me tell you, this butter is unlike anything you will find in the store. Its not packaged in rectangular bricks, it doesn't have fancy packaging, and Mrs. Land-O-Lakes isn't gracing the cover, but it does have a taste that out does any European cream I have ever tasted. Combine that with some Lindt dark chocolate and you got yourself a nice spread that's creamier than Nutella. You could even add a slight drop of stevia or some sugar, as I did, for a slightly sweeter taste. Some peanut butter and sliced bananas would be good too.

So how did this Chocolate Butter come to mind you may ask? Today was cake day. Yes, I am making the cakes for my own graduation. High school that is. I've been told you shouldn't have to make your own cake for your own celebration, but I couldn't resist. People have fallen in love with this special cake that is so easy and irresistable . I have made this cake several times, and I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to make it again. So, a nice Saturday afternoon was spent in the kitchen making a heaping amount of cake batter(to serve 50) made up of butter (Amish Butter that is), dark chocolate, eggs, sugar, and flour. That's it. Five simple ingredients. I have Molly Wizenberg to thank for that. This cake is called none other than The Winning Hearts and Minds Cake. And yes, it does win hearts, and minds. You just wait and see.

So, back to the the Chocolate Butter creation. As I was mixing the creamy Amish style butter and the dark chocolate, some of the mixture made its way out of the glass bowl and onto the kitchen table. It sat there lonely and left out and hung out long enough to harden ever so slightly. This is when the bright idea of Chocolate butter surpassed my mind. I scooped the lonely drippings into a bowl and added a slight drop of stevia. Into the freezer it went to harden a bit more.

Some french toast was remnant on the stove from this morning's breakfast. When these two objects came into contact it was like love at first sight. (Cliche I know) Crusty thick french toast with a wad of silky chocolate butter. It couldn't be a happier marriage. The perfect afternoon snack was invented. I believe it was meant to be. Like peas and carrots. Or better yet, bread and butter. Except add some french toast batter and chocolate. If you have some leftover French toast on hand and some good butter and chocolate, I encourage you to try it out. You may just like it.


Chocolate Butter

Lindt Dark Chocolate (or other good quality dark chocolate) about 1 ounce or so.

2 to 3 tablespoons of of butter

A bit of sugar to taste

Left over French toast

Melt the butter, chocolate, and sugar in a microwave safe bowl or double boiler. Put in fridge or freezer until it comes to a spreadable consistancy. Spread on toasted or cold french toast (I toasted it slightly until it was warm.)

Double or triple recipe as you wish.

Serves one to two.

Note: Use a good quality butter such as European style butter or Amish churned butter. I got my butter from my local cheese shoppe.

Benefits of Amish Butter

• Made from cows milk without artificial hormones
• Does not have any artificial ingredients or preservatives
• Holds well in the refrigerator and even better in the freezer
• Free from potentially dangerous pesticides and antiobiotics
• According to the Pesticide Action Network of North America, nonorganic butter was ranked #1 as the food most contaminated with pollutants.
• Nonorganic butter contains POPs which are toxic chemicals that stay in the environment and our bodies for up to decades.

All the more reason to indulge in Amish butter! Bon Appetit.