Swedish Cinnamon Twists

September 10, 2014September 13, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

A friend recently gave me this recipe and since it’s a dreary, rainy day I thought baking would be a good idea. The house smells wonderful. I know, this is the Finnish Dish and these are Swedish twists so if I make them for my Dad I will put cardamom seeds in them and tell him it’s an old Finnish recipe. The recipe is fairly simple and made enough for a very large coffee klatch. Thanks to my friend and neighbor for sharing this recipe with me.

Let’s get started with our Swedish Twists.

Two .25-oz packages active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp if you buy yeast in jars like I do).

1/2 c warm water

Dissolve yeast in warm water.

8 T unsalted butter, melted

2 c warmed buttermilk

2 large eggs

6 T granulated sugar

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Add the warmed buttermilk, butter, sugar, eggs, salt and baking soda to the dissolved yeast. Mix well.

7 1/2 c all purpose flour

Stir in flour to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 6-8 minutes).

Place dough in a greased bowl turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 1/2 hours). I always think that using my grandmother’s bread bowl makes my yeast breads extra special.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each into a 16×19 inch rectangle. For the filling:

4 T unsalted butter melted

1 c packed brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Brush each rectangle of dough with the melted butter and then sprinkle with the brown sugar cinnamon mixture.

Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise and pinch edges to seal. Cut into one inch strips and twist each strip a few times. Place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. While the dough is rising a second time preheat your oven to 375.

Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Combine the following ingredients to make a glaze and drizzle over twists while they are still warm.

1 c powdered sugar

1 T unsalted butter melted

1 T hot water

Whisk together and drizzle over warm twists.

When I’m baking or cooking I find it easier to prep all my ingredients before I start…measuring out everything so I don’t have to stop and start continually and so I don’t forget if I’ve added something.

Whenever I make a recipe the first time I mostly following the instructions. I will try adding some cardamom seed to my dough next time and perhaps a tablespoon of orange juice in place of the water and some orange zest to the glaze. But these are awfully good just as they are. Tomorrow I’ll pack some up and take them with me to share with my knitting lady friends. Thanks for sharing your recipe Deb.

Corn Bread

September 4, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Nothing goes better with chili than cornbread! I used to think I made pretty good corn bread but my daughter gave me her recipe and, hands down, her cornbread recipe is definitely better. It’s easy to make and so good warm from the oven.

Chili and cornbread….it’s what’s for dinner.

Preheat oven to 375

Whisk together until well blended:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter melted…use real butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

Add and whisk into butter and egg mixture:

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp baking soda

Stir in gently:

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

Batter should have some lumps.

Put batter in a greased 8×8 pan or large muffin tin (6 muffins). I like to make muffins.

Bake in a preheated oven – 20 minutes for muffins, 30 minutes for 8×8 pan.

Enjoy!! You can add some cubes of cheddar cheese and jalapeños to the middle of each muffin if you’d like. Put half the batter in each cup, add the cheese and chilies, and top with remaining batter.

Pineapple and Coconut Rum

September 4, 2014September 10, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Take a fresh pineapple, remove the peel and dice into medium size cubes. Put the diced pineapple into a glass jar (mine filled a 2-quart canning jar) and add coconut rum until the pineapple is completely covered. Keep the jar on your counter and invert it a couple times a day until you are ready to partake. Serve straight up or over ice. And make sure none of that pineapple goes to waste.

Tomatillo and Pork Chili

September 3, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

I love to go through cooking magazines and find recipes that look interesting, have lots of veggies, and different spice combos. I’m fortunate that I have a husband who eats almost everything and anything. This is a recipe that I found in Eating Well. I’ve made a couple modifications…one on purpose, another quite by accident. But I’ve made it several times and we always enjoy it.

Tomatillo and Pork Chili…it’s what’s for dinner tonight.

In a large Dutch oven heat 3T of olive oil over medium heat. Add:

1 large onion diced

1# ground pork (I used ground pork breakfast sausage)

Cook until meat is no longer pink.

Add:

3 cups diced tomatillos

1 cup diced pablano pepper (about 2 medium)

Now add your seasoning:

2 T minced chipotle chilies in adobo sauce

3 T dried oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

Now add the canned goods:

1 15 oz can cannelloni beans (white kidney beans)

1 15 oz can white or yellow hominy

Rinse the beans and hominy before adding.

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes (I used my home canned stewed tomatoes)

Finally, add the liquid:

4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

OR, as I mistakenly did,

3 cups reduced sodium chicken broth and

1 12-oz bottle lager style beer 🙂

Bring to a boil and reduced heat to a simmer. Cook on low partially covered for about 50 minutes until the liquid is reduced and thickened.

Serve this chili with any or all of the following garnishes:

Sliced black olives , cheddar or jack cheese, diced green onions, diced avocado, or jalapeños. Like me, you can modify to your personal taste. I’m fortunate that I have an awesome organic farm very near by where I get excellent meats. I love their breakfast sausage and tried that as an experiment and it worked!

Now I need to make us some cornbread to go with the chili. I’ll post the cornbread later.

Overnight Pickles

August 28, 2014September 13, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Last night I experimented with “overnight” pickles. A recipe a good friend shared with me after enjoying the pickles in California while visiting family. If she loved them I was sure I would too. I like crisp, fresh tasting pickles and these fit the bill. No canning experience necessary. Here goes…

10-12 Kirby cucumbers scrubbed clean and sliced into approximately 1/2 inch slices

1small Vidalia onion sliced thinner than the cucumbers

1 sweet red pepper julienned

4-5 cloves of garlic

fresh dill fronds

Combine:

2 c white vinegar

2 c sugar

2 T kosher or canning salt

2 tsp dill seed

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Pour dressing over the vegetables and toss. Pack the vegetables and dill fronds in a large glass jar and add dressing to cover the veggies. Refrigerate and enjoy! I made a double batch.

I tasted one with my coffee in the morning and they’re great! They were even better in the afternoon.

Granola

August 25, 2014August 25, 2014 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

Granola is great with yogurt and fruit, as a topping on ice cream, adding a little crunch and texture to hot cereal, or just as a snack by itself. I’m sure there are many other ways to enjoy it!

I made a batch this morning and am looking forward to having some with my yogurt as soon as I’m done posting this recipe.

In a large mixing bowl combine:
3 cups of oats (I use old fashion oats)
1 1/2 c nuts, rough diced (I use a combination of pecans, walnuts, and almonds)
1 1/2 c coconut shavings (not the sweetened coconut you find in the baking aisle)
1/2 c wheat germ, quinoa flakes, or flax seed…I used flax seed in this batch
2 T brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a smaller bowl combine wet ingredients:
1/4 c coconut oil (warmed), mild olive oil or canola oil (I like to use the coconut oil)
1/2 c agave syrup, honey, or maple syrup (I used 1/4 c each of agave and honey)

Pour over dry ingredients and, using a wooden spoon, stir well. Pour mixture onto a large jelly roll pan (a cookie sheet with sides) and spread evenly.

Bake at 300 for 30 minutes stirring mixture every 10 minutes. Granola should be a light golden brown when it’s done.

I spread butcher paper or parchment paper on my counter top and spread the granola out to cool.

While it is still warm stir in:
1 c dried cherries
1 c golden raisins
Or 2 cups of your favorite dried fruits (apricots, cranberries, figs, etc)

Once the granola has cooled store in tightly sealed containers.

Enjoy!!!

White Enchiladas

August 25, 2014September 13, 2014 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

Enchiladas with a little twist. Red on the inside, white on the outside. It’s what was for dinner tonight.

Chicken breast
2 cups chicken broth
2 cloves of garlic

Poach a chicken breast (mine was approx 12oz) in chicken broth along with a couple cloves of garlic. Once the chicken is done set it aside to cool and save the broth to use in the sauce.

1 medium onion diced
1 sweet red pepper diced
1T olive oil
Sauté over medium heat in olive oil.

1 cup fresh or frozen corn (thawed)
1 cup black beans
1 small can mild green chilies chopped
1 can or jar of stewed tomatoes
2 chipotle chilies in Adobe sauce finely diced

Stir into onion/pepper mix and simmer over low heat.

2 T cumin
1tsp garlic powder
1 T oregano
Salt to taste
Stir into veggie mix.

Using two forks shred the chicken breast.

Add the chicken to the veggies. Remove from the heat.

Now for the sauce.

4 T butter
4 T flour
1 1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c half-n-half
1 T Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
1 1/2 c shredded cheese (sharp white cheddar, Monterey Jack, any combination of your choosing)

Melt butter and whisk in flour. Continue whisking for a bit over medium heat to work in the flour. Gradually stir in the broth and half-n-half and continue whisking until the sauce begins to thicken. Reduce heat and add cheeses a little at a time stirring to blend. Stir in Frank’s Red Hot Sauce.

Now it’s assembly time. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread about a third of the sauce in a 9×13 pan. I line mine with the magical non stick Reynolds foil.

10 tortillas (flour or yellow or white corn)
Warm the tortillas in the microwave or over a flame on the stove.

Spoon a generous amount of filling in the center of the tortilla and roll. Place the filled tortilla seam side down in the prepared pan. Continue filling the warmed tortillas until you’ve used all the filling.

Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas and top with additional grated cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and browning on top.

Use as many garnishes as you like:
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Lime
Avocado
Black olives
Jalapeños
Salsa

Enjoy!!

For those of you that would rather go meatless add additional beans, corn and other veggies such as mushrooms, summer squash, etc) and omit the chicken. Veggie broth can be substituted for chicken broth.

I’m a little shy of really spicy dishes but you could add more chipotle chilies or a T of hot chili powder.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

August 24, 2014October 1, 2014 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This morning I made chocolate chip cookies. I had an admirer who, years ago, studied for the priesthood. He said my chocolate chip cookies were quintessential…apparently Latin for an A-one cookie! My daughter says they are the best…sweet and a little salty.

Here we go. You too can make the quintessential cookie!

Preheat oven to 375°F

Cream together:
1 c shortening (I use butter flavored Crisco)
1 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs
2 tsp good vanilla

With a wooden spoon stir in:
2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 generous cups chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)

Using a small scoop, place dough on un-greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 11 minutes.

Enjoy!!

A couple notes:
I use Airbake cookie sheets exclusively. I love them!

Once you put the cookies in the oven, don’t open and close and open and close the oven door to check on their progress.

These cookies, like most, are best right out of the oven. But I’ve found the best way to store them is to package individual servings (three or four cookies) in Ziploc sandwich bags in the freezer.

Canned Stewed Tomatoes

August 21, 2014September 13, 2014 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

Today was a canning day. Stewed tomatoes for lots of soup and chili days this winter. I bought a bushel of beautiful tomatoes from the farm market yesterday.

Because I was making stewed tomatoes the first thing I did was diced one large sweet onion, two sweet peppers and three or four stalks of celery. I did red and yellow peppers but green will work too.

Next step was to peel and core the tomatoes. I core and then put them in a pot of boiling water for a minute or so until the skins crack and slide off easily.

I core and peel about a quarter bushel at a time. Then I did a bite size dice and put them in a large stainless steel kettle over medium heat.

Once the tomatoes begin to simmer I stir in my diced vegetables and simmer them about 30 minutes.

We like garlic so I stir minced garlic into the tomatoes just before I begin filling my jars.

I use a canning funnel to ladle the hot tomatoes into jars that have been sterilized in boiling water. Once the jars are filled I add 1/2 tsp of sea salt and 1/8 tsp of citric acid.

The last step is putting the jars into a hot water bath making sure I have a couple inches of water over the jar lids. Once the water comes back up to a boil set the timer…35 minutes for pints, 45 minutes for quarts.

Now I have awesome tomatoes to enjoy all winter long.

Canning is a bit time consuming but not difficult at all. A half bushel of tomatoes yielded about 28 pints of stewed tomatoes. I will omit all the veggies for the second half bushel and hot pack a simple diced tomato.

Home-canned tomatoes make the best soups and chili and tomato sauce!

Pesto

August 21, 2014August 25, 2014 / featherheadlady / 2 Comments

A good friend gave me a beautiful bouquet of fresh basil from her garden.

I find my salad spinner to be the best tool for washing fresh herbs.

Once the basil is clean and dry it goes into the food processor:
2 cups of packed basil leaves
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup pine nuts
and pulse until leaves are finely chopped. With food processor running on low add in a slow, steady stream:
1/2 cup good olive oil

Add salt and pepper to taste.