Category Archives: Fruit

30-minute meals, Fruit, Miscellaneous, Vegetarian main dishes

Whole Wheat Belgian Waffles with Raspberry Puree

Ask my husband, ask my mom, ask my coworkers: I am not a morning person. Despite my middle age, I still have to set an alarm clock every day, even weekends, or risk sleeping until lunchtime. Most days the only reason I want to drag myself out of bed is the promise of strong coffee and kid cuddles.  Not surprisingly, I usually skip breakfast. With that being said, I adore this recipe and wanted to share it. It is one of my tried and true, never fails me dishes. If you spend the night at my house, this is one of three things I will serve you when you wake up. And if you are questioning why a dinner blog might post a waffle recipe, consider it your next “breakfast for dinner” meal idea.

I was skeptical of 100% whole wheat waffles but these are incredibly light and almost crisp. I promise! Serve with fresh raspberries, maple syrup, whipped cream, and raspberry puree or your favorite waffle toppings.

Whole Wheat Belgian Waffles

from King Arthur Flour

This recipe makes about 4 large waffles. I always double it, cook up the extra waffles then freeze them wrapped in wax paper inside freezer bags. Homemade freezer waffles! Much healthier and cheaper than Eggos.

  • 1 1/2 cups (170g) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 cups (340g) lukewarm milk
  • 5 tablespoons (71g) melted butter or 1/3 cup (67g) vegetable oil

Preheat your iron while you make the waffle batter. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter or oil.

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. The batter will be a bit lumpy. Cook the waffles as directed in the instructions that came with your waffle iron.

Raspberry Puree

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

  • 1 pint fresh raspberries or 10 ounces frozen raspberries defrosted
  • 1/4 — 1/2 cup sugar, honey, or maple syrup (to taste)

Blend ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth.

Cakes, Desserts, Fruit

Nigella Lawson’s Store Cupboard Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Cookbook writers and TV chefs are always talking about dishes to serve when unexpected guests pop in or if you’re having friends round for a midweek dinner party. Seriously? Who on earth has a dinner party in the middle of the week? And who calls in unannounced and expects to have some little treat fresh out of the oven set down in front of them? I’m a third generation Virgo and consider myself to be fairly well organised, but I would be hard pressed to rustle up much more than some stale crackers unearthed from the back of the pantry if someone dropped by out of the blue.

Until, that is, I discovered this cake. It’s my favorite kind of cake recipe — the kind where the butter is melted and then everything gets stirred together in one pot, meaning you don’t even have to plan ahead to let the butter soften first. I always have the baking basics on hand (flour, butter, sugar, eggs), and if you just add a jar of raspberry jam and a bar of dark chocolate to that list, then this is truly a store cupboard cake, one you can breezily whip together at a moment’s notice if a craving for cake suddenly strikes — or if, like Nigella, you just so happen to be throwing an effortless-looking dinner party on a school night.

Store Cupboard Chocolate Raspberry Cake
adapted from How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson

The original recipe is actually called Store Cupboard Chocolate Orange Cake, since it calls for marmalade instead of raspberry jam. I’ve made it that way too but as much as I love marmalade, I like the raspberry jam version even better.

1/2 cup (125 g) unsalted butter
4 oz (100 g) dark chocolate, broken into pieces
3/4 cup (300 g) good-quality raspberry jam (or apricot jam or marmalade)
3/4 (150 g) sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups (150 g) self-raising flour
confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar), to decorate (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter and flour an 8 inch (20 cm) Springform pan and set aside.

Put the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and set over a low heat to melt. When it’s almost melted, stir in the chocolate and allow it to melt a little. Take the pan off the heat and stir until the butter and chocolate are smooth and melted. Add in the jam, sugar, salt and eggs and stir well until everything is combined. Sift in the flour and stir again (taking care not to overmix), then pour the batter into the prepared Springform pan. Bake in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set the pan on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before you turn it out. Once it’s completely cooled, sift over some confectioners’ (icing) sugar to decorate.

Cakes, Desserts, Fruit

Chocolate Orange Marble Cake

We’re eating citrus in our house like it’s going out of style–or at least out of season. Although February food can be rather bleak notwithstanding the plethora of root vegetables you can scrounge up, at least we can still find great oranges and grapefruit. I love the combination of chocolate and orange, especially in cake form. And of course I’m a sucker for a cake that is moist tender and without frosting (see for example maple yogurt pound cake, raspberry buttermilk cake, and lemon yogurt cake). This marble cake, which I usually bake as a loaf, maintains its moistness for days thanks to a post-bake drizzle of orange juice and sugar syrup. Make it now, before April rolls around and oranges become pithy and expensive.

 

Chocolate Orange Marble Cake
adapted from allrecipes.com

Serves 10

1 cup (225 g) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups (250 g) white sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) plain or vanilla yogurt
1 3/4 cups (210 g) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
2 ounces (60 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted [Note: I use a microwave for melting]
4 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and flour a loaf pan or 10 inch tube pan.

In a large bowl, cream the butter with 1 cup (200 g) of the white sugar. Beat in the eggs, then the vanilla and the yogurt.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat the flour mixture into the creamed ingredients. Turn 2/3 of the batter into another bowl. Add the orange zest to that bowl and the melted chocolate to the remaining batter. Alternately spoon the orange and chocolate batters into the greased and floured pan. Gently swirl through the two batters with a knife to create a marbled effect.

Bake for 45–50 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. While the cake bakes, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar and the orange juice, making sure the sugar dissolves completely. As soon as the done cake is removed from the oven, pour the juice/sugar mixture over the still hot cake. Let the cake finish cooling on a rack before serving.

Fruit, Poultry

Baked Chicken with Plums, Ginger and Soy

Last week I went to visit a local cheesemaker, Peter Thomas, who makes the award-winning Bellingham Blue cheese. He also has a big garden and the beginnings of a small orchard, and after admiring all the fruit, he promptly pulled up more rhubarb than I could carry and sent his daughter out to pick a big bowlful of plums and apples to send home with me. With such unexpected bounty (not to mention half of wheel of cheese!), I pulled out this old favorite for dinner. Kids like it because of the sweetness from the jam and fruit. It’s the perfect dish for this time of year, when plums are in season — especially if you’re lucky enough to get them fresh off a tree that’s so laden down with fruit that its branches are breaking from the weight.

 

Baked Chicken with Plums, Ginger and Soy
adapted from Avoca Café Cookbook 

Serves 6

If you can’t get plum jam or fresh plums, try using apricot jam and fresh apricots instead.

olive oil
6 chicken breasts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a knob of butter
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 x 12 oz (350 g) jar of plum or damson jam
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
6 to 8 fresh plums, stoned and quartered
cooked plain rice, to serve
steamed broccoli, to serve

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Heat some olive oil in a pan over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken breasts on both sides and brown them in the pan, then set aside. Add a knob of butter to the pan and turn the heat down to medium. Saute the onion for 10 minutes, until soft but not browned (add a pinch of salt to the onions to help prevent them from browning). Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add in all the remaining ingredients except the plums and simmer for 15 minutes.

Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer in a large baking dish. Cover with the sauce and scatter over the quartered plums. Cook in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the chicken is cooked through. Serve with rice and some steamed broccoli on the side.

Cakes, Fruit, Miscellaneous

Old South Jelly Roll Cake (and my favorite canning recipes)

As odd as this is to admit, I’ve developed an addiction to canning. It all started quite innocently with a batch of strawberry lemonade concentrate a couple years ago. Then last year Kristin helped me put up a batch of garlic dill pickles. Now I’ve worked my way up to pickled peppers, spicy dilly beans, green tomato relish, and, finally this year, jam. Strawberry jam, though not the easiest thing I’ve ever cooked, may be one of the best things to come off my stove top. Even the extra emergency trip to the store to buy more Sure Jell (Anabelle had hidden mine in the microwave) didn’t bother me after tasting the final product.

But what can you do with such a treasure? Surely it could not live up to its potential merely spread on wheat toast. Leave it to Sam to come up with a solution — a jelly roll. How a four-year-old even knows about this old-fashioned dessert is beyond me, but I’m glad he does. The light sponge cake highlights the sweet, ruby red jam beautifully, a tasty and lovely looking treat, perfect for a picnic.

Old South Jelly Roll Cake
From Paula Deen, Food Network

4 eggs, separated
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup (75 g) cake flour, sifted
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (250 ml) jam, stirred well
confectioners’ sugar (a.k.a. icing sugar), for dusting, sifted
whipped cream, to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry and set aside. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks until light. Gradually add the sugar and vanilla, and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the sifted flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture. Fold the egg whites into the egg mixture and pour the batter into a 15 x 10 x 1‑inch jelly roll (Swiss roll) pan lined with waxed paper. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cake is golden.

Loosen the edges of cake and invert the cake onto a dish towel dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Gently and slowly peel the wax paper off the cake. Trim 1/4 inch of hard crust off each long side of the jelly roll cake. Begin with the narrow side and roll the cake and towel up together. Cool the cake on a rack, seam side down, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Once the cake has cooled, gently unroll and spread the cake with jam and re-roll. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Cakes, Fruit

Maple Yogurt Pound Cake with Berries

Was anyone else disappointed by the lackluster weather on the summer solstice? I can usually depend on June 21st (my half-birthday) for some decent weather. But sadly, this year I can count the number of warm, sunny days on one hand. Our CSA box did brighten my week though, full of tender greens, succulent strawberries and even a jug of maple syrup. The maple syrup was especially welcome. It’s hard to believe the amount of maple syrup our family goes through. We love it in yogurt, on oatmeal, and, of course, on waffles and other breakfast treats. I also bake with it whenever possible, preferring it to more processed sweeteners.

Though not every dessert recipe is suitable for maple syrup, this pound cake recipe is an ideal platform. I loved the subtle maple flavor in the batter. I can’t even begin to describe how good it smelled while baking, like pancakes and vanilla and freshly baked bread all at once. Using yogurt and oil instead of pound cake’s traditional butter base results in a lighter cake that stays lusciously moist for days — and won’t destroy your summer “I have to wear a bathing suit in public” diet. The pound cake is perfect for pairing with the season’s berries, sliced or slightly macerated. I also like this pound cake for breakfast, lightly toasted and spread with my friend Alex’s amazing homemade raspberry jam. Jam recipe forthcoming if I can ever talk her into sharing it.

Maple Yogurt Pound Cake with Berries
adapted from food52

Makes 1 loaf

For a healthier and more substantial loaf (pictured above), substitute 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour. I prefer white whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour for a lighter texture.

1/2 cup (120 ml) Grade B maple syrup
3/4 cup (180 ml) yogurt, preferably not non-fat
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (125 ml) oil [Note: I use canola]

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (180°C). Generously butter a 8 1/2 × 4 1/2 × 2 1/2‑inch metal loaf pan.

Combine the yogurt, syrup, sugar, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest. Stir or whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to incorporate. Add the oil and fold in gradually until the oil absorbs completely into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in its pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Cut around the pan sides to loosen the cake, then turn out onto the rack. Turn the cake upright on the rack and cool completely.

Fruit, Pork

Sausages Braised in Cider with Apples and Juniper

There’s been a lot of bad news about Ireland in the world media these past few months, but I’m determined to focus on the positives about my adopted country and there are plenty of them, including the vibrant food scene. One such Irish success story is L. Mulligan Grocer, a gastropub started by another food blogger, Seáneen of 9 Bean Row, in 2010 with her two partners. Open only since July, it’s already been named one of the top 100 restaurants in Dublin, got a great review in the Sunday Tribune and from Tom Doorley in the Daily Mail and has become the meeting place of choice for food bloggers in Dublin. Caroline and I didn’t have to think twice about where to have a dinner out to celebrate the launch of the Irish Food Bloggers Association — it was practically just assumed it would be Mulligan’s. At the IFBA launch dinner back in November, our menu — with a matching craft beer menu to complement each course — included potted crab with sourdough soldiers; bangers and mash with TJ Crowe’s free-range sausages with wholegrain mustard mash and O’Hara’s stout gravy; and toffee apple sundae with Cuinneog butterscotch, spiced apple, Kilbeggan cream and Murphy’s sea salt ice cream. In short, it’s the kind of place you wish was your local. Feeling inspired by the dinner at Mulligan’s and my orchard apple tour in October, I pulled out this recipe. Made with sausages from my local butcher, Irish cider and Irish apples, it was a perfect reminder of some of the things I love best about Ireland — good food made by good people.

Sausages Braised in Cider with Apples and Juniper
adapted from Delia’s How to Cook Book One by Delia Smith

Serves 4

Delia calls for Bramley and Cox’s apples, but if you can’t get those, use one each of any cooking apple and eating apple. And if you can’t find juniper berries, don’t worry about leaving them out, this is still worth making without them.

olive oil
8 to 10 large pork sausages, weighing about 1 lb (450 g)
2 onions, peeled and sliced into rings
8 oz (225 g) lean smoked bacon, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Bramley apple, cored and sliced into rings (unpeeled)
1 Cox’s apple, cored and sliced into rings (unpeeled)
1 tablespoon plain flour
2 cups (500 ml) dry cider (hard cider)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
a few springs of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon juniper berries, crushed slightly in a pestle and mortar or with the back of a spoon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
mashed potatoes, to serve

Heat a splash of olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. As soon as it’s hot, fry the sausages until they are nicely browned on all sides, then transfer them to a plate and set aside. Add the onions and bacon to the frying pan and cook for about 10 minutes, until the onions have softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

Meanwhile, place a casserole pot (a.k.a. Dutch oven) or large heavy-bottomed pot onto a medium heat. Add a splash of olive oil, and when it’s hot, add the apple rings and brown them on both sides, which will take 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sausages, followed by the bacon, onion and garlic, then sprinkle the flour in to soak up the juices, stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Next add the cider and cider vinegar a little at a time, stirring after each addition. Add the thyme, bay leaves and crushed juniper berries and season with salt and pepper, but not too much salt because of the bacon. Put the lid on and simmer very gently on the lowest possible heat for 1 hour. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Entertaining, Fruit, Pork

Pan-roasted Pork Chops with Cranberries and Swiss Chard

I am ashamed to admit that despite living in a state where cranberries are the state fruit and number one produce export, I’ve never cooked with fresh cranberries.  Because I’m not a fan of cranberry sauce, a Thanksgiving staple here in the United States, I generally tend to ignore the bags of cranberries piled high in the produce section each November. But this year, the tiny ruby red berries looked too attractive to bypass, so on a whim I bought a single humble bag and vowed to try out some new recipes.

After a successful batch of cranberry applesauce, I tried this pork chop recipe out on my brother, Michael, for his birthday dinner. Normally I don’t test drive new recipes on dinner guests, especially on their birthdays, but Michael, bless his heart, never leaves a morsel on his plate, can be talked into second and third helpings, and always thanks me “for the best dinner” even if it wasn’t my best, or even close. Lucky for Michael and the rest of us, the pork chop cranberry experiment was successful. The sauce is complex and savory, balanced nicely with the garlicky Swiss chard and the simply roasted chop. I served the dish with salad and quinoa pilaf but a crusty baguette and glass of red wine would be just as good.

Pan-roasted Pork Chops with Cranberries and Red Swiss Chard
adapted from Gourmet, November 2001

Serves 4

for the Swiss chard:
2 medium shallots, minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 lb (450 g) red Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately

for the pork chops:
4 x 1 1/4‑inch-thick rib pork chops
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

for the sauce:
2 medium shallots, minced
1/2 cup (120 ml) dry red wine
5 oz (150 g) fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
3/4 cup (180 ml) chicken stock or broth
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried, crumbled
2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

To prepare the Swiss chard, cook the shallots and garlic in butter in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over a moderate heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the chard stems and center ribs and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chard leaves and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Season the chard with salt and pepper, then transfer it to a bowl, cover the bowl with a lid or foil (to keep the chard warm), and wipe out the skillet.

Pat the pork chops dry and season them with salt and pepper. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet over a moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown the chops, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the chops until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally 2 inches into the meat registers 155°F, 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer the chops with tongs to a platter, leaving the fat in the skillet, and cover the chops loosely with foil to keep warm.

Make the sauce by sauteing the shallots in the fat remaining in the skillet over a moderately high heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and deglaze by boiling over a high heat, scraping up any brown bits, until reduced by half. Add the cranberries and stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries begin to burst, about 2 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar and thyme and simmer, stirring, until the berries are collapsed, about 3 more minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the butter until incorporated, then season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the dish, divide the chard among 4 plates and top with the chops, then spoon the sauce over.