The Charmed Kitchen

Fresh Raspberry Bread

This simple bread is studded with fresh raspberries and the flavor is so good. It can be eaten plain or served up with fruit topping or maybe some whipped cream.  I have used it as the base for a pretty good shortcake. I topped slices of the raspberry bread with ice cream, more berries and a dollop of whipped cream. Like most quick breads it is better if you wrap it up in plastic or foil, once cooled, and eat it the next day, if you can wait that long!!

Fresh Raspberry Bread

1 ¾ c. flour
½ t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
½ t. cinnamon
½ c. butter, at room temperature
¾ c. sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
½ c. sour cream, room temperature
1 t. vanilla
1 c. fresh raspberries
¾ c. chopped nuts, optional

Grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Set aside. In small bowl beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat 1 minute. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until just moistened. Fold in berries and nuts and place batter in prepared pan. Bake 60-65 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf. Freezes well.

Pulled Pork with Plum and Pomegranate Sauce

I had plums and wanted to use them with some pork I was cooking. I like pairing fruits with meats and other savory ingredients. I pureed the plums, then used them as the base for a sauce I needed for pulled pork. One of the dinner guests was not a big fan of more tomato based barbecue sauces, so I  figured plum sauce might be a better option. I added pomegranate syrup for more tang- and for its pretty color, along with a handful of other ingredients. I let it simmer down until nice and thick, then stirred it into my pulled pork. Even the guest who said she is not normally a fan of pulled pork liked it with this sauce. It would also go well with poultry and lamb.

Plum and Pomegranate Sauce

3 T. oil- you could use butter or bacon fat, if you like
1 medium onion, minced
2 gloves garlic, minced
2 c. plum puree*
½ c. pomegranate molasses**
½ c. apple cider vinegar
2 T. honey- or a little more to taste
2 t. hot sauce- or to taste
1 t. grated ginger
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in pan and cook onions until very tender. Add the garlic and cook another minute or two, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add remaining ingredients and cook until sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes. I simmer the sauce and stir more often as it reduces to avoid scorching. You should cook it down to around 2 cups. Adjust seasonings once it is cooked down. Use with pulled pork, on chicken or as a glaze for duck or even lamb.
* To make the plum puree- dip plums in boiling water for 30 -60 seconds. Remove them to a bowl with ice water to cool. Slip off skins and discard. Remove pits and discard them, too. Place plums in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. You’ll need about 1½ pounds of plums for 2 cups of puree.
** Pomegranate molasses can be found in some grocery stores and in specialty stores. It is pomegranate juice that is boiled down until it becomes thick and syrupy.

Raspberry Crumb Cake

When I was a kid we had a patch of raspberries in the back of the yard. It was always a special treat to go out on a summer day and harvest the raspberries, warm from the sun. We did lose berries to birds and squirrels and it became my Father’s mission to save as many berries as he could. When we got a new dog, my Dad was sure berry theft would go down. But we seemed to be getting even fewer berries. One day, my Mom caught the dog eating raspberries right off the plants. Mystery solved. I love using fresh raspberries to make this crumb cake, but frozen will work, too. This is a great summer dessert- eaten just the way it is. You can also serve it topped with additional berries, ice cream or whipped cream.

Raspberry Crumb Cake

For cake batter:
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
½ stick (¼ cup) butter, softened
¾ c. sugar
1 egg
½ c. sour cream
2 t. vanilla
2 cups raspberries – I like fresh but frozen work
For topping:
½ c. sugar
¼ c. flour
½ t. cinnamon
½ stick (¼ c. butter, chilled and cut into bits)

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, sour cream and vanilla. Add flour mixture gradually until just mixed in. Fold in raspberries. Grease and flour an 8 or 9-inch pan and add prepared batter. Combine topping ingredients until they resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter in pan and bake in a preheated 375-degree oven and bake for 35-45 minutes. Use toothpick to test.

Gluten-Free Brownies

These brownies are everything you want in a brownie. Sweet, moist and very tender. The fact they are also flour and gluten-free is a nice bonus for those who can’t have gluten. You might think, when you read the ingredients, that I left something out. I didn’t. They baked up beautifully and had a wonderful texture. I made them for a dinner with friends and everyone liked them, a lot.  I think the next time I make them, I might also add some chopped nuts.

Gluten-Free Brownies

1½ c. shredded zucchini
1 c. almond butter- but you could use peanut butter instead
1 c. chocolate chips
1/3 c. honey – but you can use 1/2 cup if you want a sweeter brownie
¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. allspice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×9 inch pan, set aside. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until well blended. Pour batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool before cutting. Makes 16.

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

On a hot summer day I am not sure anything is better than ice cream. When it comes to topping ice cream, hot fudge sauce is one of my favorites. The warm, rich sauce on the cold ice cream is such a great combination. When I was a kid, getting a hot fudge sundae was the ultimate treat. This simple recipes duplicates that sauce. It is easy to make and will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge. I doubt it will last that long once you taste it, though.

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
1/8 t. salt
1-c. heavy or whipping cream
½ c. butter, cut into pieces
1 t. vanilla extract

In saucepan , stir together dry ingredients then stir in cream and butter. Heat to boiling and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat, cool 5 minutes and stir in vanilla. Store leftovers in fridge. Rewarm before using.  Makes 2 ½ cups.

Herb and Garlic Sandwich Rolls

Friends are coming over later for a cookout. One of my guests is bringing sausages so I wanted to have a nice roll to serve them in. I made an herb, shallot and garlic dough and used it to make these buns.  I thought it would be nice to have homemade rolls and they really aren’t difficult to make. Plus, the herb and garlic flavors in the bread should go nicely with the flavor of the brats. We are having pulled pork, too, in a plum  and pomegranate barbecue sauce. The rolls will pair well with the pork, too. I just divided the dough into 16 pieces and rolled them into hot dog shapes. These could also be used as hamburger buns by forming the dough into balls and flattening them slightly. If you haven’t made your own hot dog buns before- give it a try sometime. They are so much better than what you can find at the store.

Herb and Garlic Sandwich Rolls

3 ½ -4 ½ c. flour
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 packages quick rising yeast*
½ c. sauteed shallots or onions, cooled
2 T. each dried marjoram and parsley
1 T. each dried oregano and minced garlic
1 T. honey
2 t. dried thyme
2 t. salt
¼ c. olive oil
2 ¼ c. hot water

In a mixing bowl combine 2 cups of flour with the rest of the ingredients (except whole wheat flour) and mix until smooth. Beat with electric mixer 4 minutes then add 1-cup whole wheat flour and beat 1 minute longer. Stir in the remaining cup of whole wheat flour, ½ cup at a time, until soft dough forms. Turn onto surface and knead, adding flour gradually until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in lightly greased bowl and turn to cover. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and cut in half. Cut each half into eight pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a cylinder shape- about 5-6 inches long. Place rolls on greased baking sheets and cover until doubled in size, about 20 minutes. You should have 16 rolls in all. I put 8 on each baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until rolls sounds hollow when tapped lightly.

*Regular yeast can be used, but rising times will be longer and water should be warm, not hot.

Succotash Salad

I remember having succotash a few times when I was a kid. I didn’t like Lima beans all that much- but I did like saying succotash. Just one of those fun words to say. I do like Lima beans now and use them often in soups and stews. For a cookout with friends I decided I needed one more salad. I had several ears of sweet corn and a bag of Lima beans in the freezer so it seemed natural to make this salad. The addition of sweet pepper, sweet onion, fresh chopped parsley and a simple apple cider vinegar dressing and it was good to go. Here is the recipe.

Succotash Salad

1 lb. lima beans, cooked and cooled

4 ears of corn, cooked, and kernels cut off the cobs

1 sweet pepper, seeded and diced

1 small sweet onion, diced

3-4 T. chopped fresh parsley

Dressing:

2/3 c. apple cider vinegar

1/3 c. oil

1/4  c. honey

1 t. cumin

dash of hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Combine veggies and parsley in a medium bowl. In small bowl whisk together dressing ingredients. Adjust seasonings and pour over the Lima bean mixture. Cover and chill for at least several hours before serving. Serves 6-8.

Strawberry Pie

When I was a kid there was a local restaurant known for its strawberry pie. It became a favorite of mine back then and strawberry pie is still a favorite. This pie is always a big hit. It wouldn’t be June if I didn’t make at least one. A nice benefit, over most other pies, is that only the crust has to be baked- that takes just a few minutes- so you don’t need the oven on for very long and the house stays cooler. I used a homemade crust that really works for this particular pie. Directions for blind baking (pre-baking) the crust are included below, along with the recipe for the crust I used.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

1 (9-inch) pie crust, baked and cooled -recipe follows*
1 qt strawberries (1¼ lbs), hulled
1 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
¼ c. water
1 T. butter
4 oz. cream cheese
Whipped cream, optional

Select about 25-30 berries to be placed in pie crust, large side down and set aside. Puree or crush remaining berries. Place in a saucepan with the sugar and bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and stir until smooth. Add to the strawberry mixture and cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and gets clear. Simmer about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Set aside. Place cream cheese in a small bowl and mash with about a tablespoonful of the puree. Spread on the crust and arrange the reserved berries on the crust pointy side up. Put the largest berry in the middle and arrange the rest around it decoratively. Spoon the puree over the berries and allow the pie to cool down a little before putting in the fridge. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
Note: other berries can also be used including raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, or a combination. This recipe can also be used as a filling for tarts and tartlets.

*What is blind baking?
Some recipes call for pre-baking the crust. Sometimes this is because the filling is either un-baked, like a fresh strawberry pie or very moist, like custard pie. Blind baking is placing foil on an un-baked crust and then weighing it down. Then the crust is baked either a little, or until done depending on what the recipe calls for. The weights, often dry beans or rice keep the crust from getting air bubbles in it when it bakes. >^..^<
How to blind bake (pre-bake) a pie crust
The prepared pie crust should be pricked all over with a fork. Cover the surface with foil and then pie weights. Pre-heat oven to 425-degrees. For a crust that is only being partially baked allow 15-20 minutes, but remove before the outer edges get brown. If the crust is to be fully baked remove it after 15-20 minutes. Remove weights and foil and return crust to oven for an additional 20 minutes, but watch carefully so it doesn’t over-brown.

Half and Half Dough**

This is a great crust for liquid fillings like custard type pies and fresh fruit pies.
¼ c. butter, room temp
½ c. shortening, room temp- you can use lard or chilled coconut oil instead
¼ c. sugar
½ t. salt
2½ c. pastry or all purpose flour
1/8 t. baking powder
¼ c. milk
1 t. lemon juice
Cream together the first 4 ingredients until smooth. Mix together the flour and baking powder. Set aside. Combine milk with the juice and set aside. Stir ½ c. of the flour into butter mixture. Stir until smooth. Add a little of the milk, stirring until smooth. Add remaining ingredients alternately until finished. Dough will firm up once chilled. Chill at least 4 hours before using. Makes 2 crusts.

** this recipe makes 2 crusts- which makes me think you should just make 2 pies. If you don’t want to do that- the other half of the dough will freeze well for a few months. Seriously though, just make 2 pies!!!

Easy Homemade Granola

One of the advantages of making stuff from scratch is that you get to control what goes in it. This is really true for granola. The stuff in the store is often full of way too much sugar for my taste. The base is toasted oats but after that you can get creative. I use plenty of nuts and seeds and finish it off with an assortment of dried fruits. I prefer my granola less sweet than most commercial brands so I also get to control what and how much sweeteners to add. I know granola is most often thought of as a breakfast food, but it makes a great snack and sprinkled on yogurt it can also be a tasty choice for lunch. Great to take along when hiking. I actually like to sprinkle some on ice cream, too.

Easy Homemade Granola

3 c. rolled oats

1/4 -1/2 c. each of any of the following to equal 1-2 c. total

Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, wheat germ, peanuts, pecans, almonds, hazel nuts, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, coconut… you get the idea. Don’t forget to chop up any big pieces.

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. orange peel

1/2 t. nutmeg

pinch of salt, optional

1/4 c. oil

1/4 c. honey- or add a little more if you like a sweeter granola

2 t. vanilla

Dried fruit to equal 1 -1 1/2 cups. Some choices could include: raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, pineapple, dates, figs, apricots, bananas, blueberries etc.

In large bowl combine oats with seeds and nuts and toss well with seasonings. Heat together oil, honey and vanilla and pour over oat mixture, tossing to coat evenly. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes. Halfway through the baking time stir mixture so the edges won’t burn. Remove from oven and return to large bowl. Toss with the dried fruit and allow to cool before storing in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Use in 1 month or store in freezer or fridge to keep longer. Makes 5-7 cups.