The Charmed Kitchen

Pumpernickel Bread

There are few aromas I like more than freshly baked bread. I like to bake all sorts of bread.  I don’t bake much during the hot summer months and look forward to cool Autumn days and fresh baked bread. Today I made Pumpernickel Bread. The dark color comes from a mixture of rye flour, strong coffee, cocoa powder and molasses. These ingredients also give this bread a richness and texture I adore. It’s hard for me to find a store bought Pumpernickel bread that comes close to this one. Some store bakeries rely on caramel coloring for the color in the bread. For real flavor you need the real ingredients.

Pumpernickel Bread

2 Packages active dry yeast

½ c. warm water

2 c. lukewarm strong coffee

¼ c. each molasses and unsweetened cocoa

2 T. Caraway seeds

2 t. salt

5-6 c. flour- I use bread flour

2 c. rye flour

Cornmeal

1 egg white, slightly beaten

In large bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in coffee, molasses, cocoa, seeds, salt and 3 cups of flour. Beat with wooden spoon about 2 minutes. Stir in rye flour and enough of the remaining regular flour to make soft dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead until dough is smooth, about 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top, cover and let rest until doubled, about 1 hour. Grease large baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Set aside.

Punch down dough, divide in 2, and form into balls. Place on baking sheet and cover. Let rise until double, brush with egg whites, slash tops and bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.

Curry Roasted Cauliflower

I have been on a cauliflower kick lately. I keep seeing beautiful, big heads of cauliflower at the local markets. I can’t resist. I bring them home and start hacking away. I might sliced some off to add raw to a salad. Sometimes, I cook it up and mash like potatoes, adding butter and milk. Stir fries, soups, even a low carb pizza crust. Cauliflower is so versatile.

One of my favorite ways to prepare cauliflower is roasted.  The roasting brings out a whole different taste and texture.  Simple and very tasty. I made some for a recent brunch with friends. I often pair up cauliflower with curry- so it was natural to add it to this preparation. You can also make this dish ahead of time- even a day ahead- and warm it when ready to eat.

Curry Roasted Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1-2 T. curry powder- or more to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash cauliflower and break up into flowerets. Place in roasting pan and drizzle with oil. Use a spoon to toss the cauliflower with the oil. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and curry powder. Toss to coat evenly. Place in oven and roast until cauliflower is tender and has gotten some color on it. Takes about 35-45 minutes. Spoon into serving dish. Adjust seasonings. Serves 6.

Candy Spider

This is the only kind of spider I want in my house. If you are looking for a quick spooky decoration/treat idea, you might want to make some candy spiders. These are about the size of a tarantula. Super simple and kids can make them, too. You only need a few ingredients. The body is made from marshmallows, the legs are chow mein noodles and the eyes are small candies. I used melting chocolate, but you can use any kind of chocolate you like.

To start, melt some chocolate. Dip the chow mein noodles in the chocolate and tap gently to remove excess. I leave one end un-dipped to make it easier to stick in the marshmallow later. Allow to harden up before going to the next step. I set them on a flexible cutting board, but wax paper is good, too. You have to peel them off later, a flexible surface is best. You’ll need 8 for each spider- so be sure to make enough. Allow for breakage.  Set a marshmallow flat side down and poke 4 holes in each side, 8 total. I used a bamboo skewer. Stick a noodle “leg” in each hole. Spoon chocolate over the marshmallow until coated. Whatever drips off can be re-melted and used again. While the chocolate is still soft, press 2 candy eyes into place. Hold them for a minute to be sure they are secure. Now, you can decorate cakes with them, use them on a dessert tray- or just eat them.

Chow mein noodle legs

Insert legs into marshmallow

Spoon chocolate over the marshmallow to cover it.

Kitty Cupcakes

If you want a simple dessert your kids can brew up for Halloween, these kitty cat cupcakes are pretty cute. You can use a box mix, or make the cupcakes from scratch (kitty reference). A recipe for cupcakes follows. Then, just top with chocolate frosting, and use a couple of dollops of frosting to form the ears. I just used chocolate frosting as is, (recipe follows), but you could add some black food coloring, if you like. Use little candies for eyes and a nose and cut out fruit roll-ups for a tongue and whiskers. You can also cut out little triangles of fruit roll ups for the ears. Super easy- and not too scary for the little ones.

Classic White Cupcakes

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 12paper liners. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cupcakes are done when they springs back to the touch. Makes12.

Easy Chocolate Butter Cream

6 T. butter, softened
1/3 – 3/4 c. cocoa, depending on how dark you want your frosting.
2 2/3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
Cream butter. Combine cocoa and sugar. Beat cocoa mixture in alternately with the milk until frosting is spreading consistency. Beat in vanilla. You may need an additional tablespoon of milk. Makes about 2 cups.

Rice and Beans Enchiladas – Vegan

When my niece and her boyfriend were in town recently, I invited them for brunch. They are vegan, which is always more of a challenge for me. I am comfortable with cooking vegan, but I always want to make them something new and fun. I decided to make enchiladas. Not a difficult dish to make, but a  little more challenging without cheese.  I ended up making a creamy tomato sauce using almond milk. The dish came out great. They liked it so much they asked for the leftovers for home. Here is the recipe.

Rice and Bean Enchiladas –Vegan

Filling:
1½ c. brown rice
3 c. vegetable broth
2 T. oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 sweet pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 can beans, any type you want, drained and rinsed (I like black beans in this recipe)
2 T. chili powder
1 T. paprika
2 t. cumin
2 t. oregano
1 t. smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce to taste

9 – 10 (8-inch) flour tortillas

Sauce:
3 T. oil
3 T. flour
1½ c. almond milk (you could also use coconut, soy or rice milk)
1 can ( 14.5 oz.) canned tomatoes, I used a pint jar of home canned tomatoes
1 t. cumin
1 t. oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce to taste

Place rice and broth in saucepan and cook, covered, over medium low heat until rice is cooked, about 40 minutes. While rice is cooking heat oil in skillet and cook onions until golden. Add peppers and garlic and cook until peppers are tender. Combine pepper mixture with the rice, once cooked, the beans and the seasonings. Adjust seasonings. Lightly oil a 13×9-inch baking dish. Spoon some filling into a tortilla and roll up. Place seam side down in baking dish and continue with remaining tortillas and filling. Dish will be pretty full. Start sauce. Combine oil and flour in a saucepan. Add almond milk and cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture comes to a simmer. Cook until mixture thickens and is bubbly. Add tomatoes and seasonings, adjusting to your taste. Pour sauce over the tortillas in the pan. Try to get sauce down in between the tortillas as much as you can. At this point you can bake them or cover and put in fridge until ready to bake. These can be made a day ahead, if you like. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Cover pan with foil and bake for 45 minutes, if freshly made, 55 minutes if cold from the fridge. Uncover and let enchiladas cook 10 minutes longer. Allow to stand 10 minutes before cutting. Makes 9-10.

Apple Pie Blintzes

I had friends over for brunch yesterday and wanted a dessert to go along with the meal.  I looked at what I had on hand and decided to use flour tortillas and fresh apples. I ended up with apple-filled tortillas that tasted like warm apple pie.

I soaked the tortillas in milk – actually I soaked them in almond milk because my guests are vegan- but you could use regular milk if you prefer. By soaking the tortillas in milk, they soften up and can be used like a crepe. Soak them for at least 30 minutes, or up to an hour. I placed the tortillas in a shallow baking pan and made sure to drizzle each one with almond milk as I added them to the pan.

For the filling, I peeled a couple of large apples and cored them. Then I sliced them thin and placed them in a skillet with sugar, cinnamon and a tablespoon of water. I cooked the apples until they were just soft.  The amount of sugar depends on how sweet the apples are and how sweet you want your filling. Same thing with the amount of cinnamon. Add the amount that tastes right to you. I also added a little lemon juice and a pinch of salt. I wanted them moist, but not too watery.

To assemble the blintzes, place a softened tortilla on your work surface and spoon a little apple filling in the middle. You can do this with hot filling, or even make the filling ahead of time and use it cold. Don’t over fill them or you won’t be able to fold them up. I used 8-inch tortillas and used about 1/4 cup of filling for each one. Fold the sides in until they almost meet in the middle and them roll the tortilla up to cover the filling. Place seam side down until ready to fry them.

Heat oil ( or butter if you like), in a skillet,  and brown the blintzes over medium heat until lightly toasted on both sides. They will be crispy on the outside, but tender in the middle. Put on a serving plate, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve while warm.

My guests really liked them and said they did not realize they were made from tortillas. I have made these before and use different fruit fillings. I’ve even made a cheese filled version a few times. It seems I usually have a package of tortillas, so it is a go-to dessert for me in a pinch.

Vegan Banana Muffins

My niece and her boyfriend are visiting from out of town.  They are both vegan and I invited them over for brunch. I use their visits as a chance to try out new recipes. They are great testers. They give two thumbs up to these muffins. Moist, tender, and really tasty, they would be enjoyed by vegans and non-vegans alike. I liked them a lot, too.

Vegan Banana Muffins

3 c. flour

1 c. brown sugar

2 t. baking powder

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

2 c. mashed bananas

1 c. oil

1 c. almond milk

2 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin pans with paper liners, or grease lightly. Set aside. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and set aside. In medium bowl combine bananas with oil, milk and vanilla until smooth. Make a well in dry ingredients and pour in banana mixture. Stir until smooth, but don’t over mix. Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling just over half full. Bake 28-30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool a little before serving. Makes 24. Freeze well.

Giant “Pumpkin” Cinnamon Sugar Cookie

This is a fun treat for kids to make for Halloween. It is a large cinnamon sugar cookie, baked in a pizza pan, and decorated to look like a Jack o Lantern. They are fun to make for a Halloween party, but can also be made by kids at the party. If you get aluminum (disposable) pizza pans, you can have each kid bake and decorate their own cookie to take home. Once the cookie dough is made, it is spread in a pizza pan, then baked. When the cookie is cooled, spread with orange-tinted buttercream and let the kids make a face on it with assorted candies or frosting, tinted different colors.

Giant “Pumpkin” Cinnamon Sugar Cookie

½ c. butter, softened
½ c. packed brown sugar
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 c. flour
2 t. cinnamon

Orange tinted buttercream- recipe follows

Peanuts, M&M’s or candy corn

Beat together butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour and cinnamon then press into ungreased 12-13-inch pizza pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and cool down before frosting. Use remaining ingredients to make a Jack-o-lantern face on the pumpkin. Makes 12 servings.

Classic Butter Cream

1/3 cup butter
4 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a bowl beat butter or margarine until fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in the 1/4 milk and vanilla. Slowly beat in remaining sugar. Beat in additional milk, if needed, to make of spreading consistency. Tint with food color, if desired.