pumpkin loaf

Original recipe makes 3 - 7x3 inch loaf pans 

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Zuchinni and cheddar muffins

3 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tablespoons chopped scallions
2 tablespoon chopped dill

1 cup grated sharp cheese
1 cup grated zuchinni
3 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with lemon juice)
1/4 melted butter

bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes
makes 18 muffins

Quinoa muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil, such as safflower, plus more for pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook until water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, 11 to 13 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, brush a standard 12-cup muffin pan with oil; dust with flour, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, raisins, and 2 cups cooked quinoa; reserve any leftover quinoa for another use.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, milk, egg, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until combined; divide batter among prepared muffin cups.
4. Bake until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool muffins in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

*****I added chopped dates and chocolate chips (lightly coated with flour)

Chicken Pot Pie

Crust

All Butter Crust for Sweet and Savory Pies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 6 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Add one egg if you are making it fresh, otherwise place in fridge overnight.

Filling: (simmer till cooked)

Cubed chicken

onion

carrot

peas

corn

vegi stock

butter

flour

potato (Optional)

Bake 375 for 40 minutes

Thai pumpkin soup

2 cups carrots, peeled and diced

1 1/2 cups cubed pumpkin or a small 14oz. can of pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 can coconut milk (light or regular)
4 cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp. green Thai curry paste
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
1 oz. shredded coconut, about 1/4 cup

In a large pot, sweat carrots and pumpkin on medium heat for 10 minutes (**if using canned pumpkin, just sweat the carrots and reserve pumpkin puree for later)

Add garlic, Thai curry, salt, pepper, cumin and ginger. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, canned pumpkin (if using), coconut milk and coconut (if using).

Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 35 minutes or until carrots are cooked.

If you prefer a perfectly smooth soup, puree with an immersion blender or in small batches in a blender. I like it with a bit of texture so I usually just mash it a bit with a potato masher.

Taste, and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary.

Serve, garnished with a dollop of sour cream and lime peel. Very nice with a rustic, crusty bread.

oat bread

• 1/2 cup unsweetened multi-grain cereal (such as 7-grain)
• 2 cups boiling water

• 1 envelope dry yeast
• 4 1/3 cups (about) bread flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons flax seeds*
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds

• 2 cups water

preparation

Place cereal in large bowl. Pour 2 cups boiling water over. Let stand until mixture cools to between 105°F. and 115°F., about 20 minutes.

Sprinkle yeast over cereal. Add 1 cup bread flour, oil, sugar and salt and stir until smooth. Gradually mix in enough remaining bread flour to form dough. Cover dough; let rest 15 minutes.

Turn out dough onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 10 minutes. Oil large bowl. Add dough to bowl; turn to coat. Cover bowl with clean kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm area until doubled, about 1 hour.

Mix all seeds in bowl. Punch down dough. Turn out onto lightly oiled surface. Knead briefly. Shape into 12x4-inch loaf.Sprinkle baking sheet with 2 teaspoons seeds. Place loaf atop seeds. Cover with towel. Let rise in warm area until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.

Position 1 oven rack in center and 1 just below center in oven. Place baking pan on lower rack and preheat oven to 425°F. Brush loaf with water. Sprinkle with remaining seed mixture. Using sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal slashes in surface of loaf. Place baking sheet with loaf in oven. Immediately pour 2 cups water into hot pan on lower rack in oven (water will steam).

Bake loaf until golden and crusty and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.(Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic; store at room temperature.)

chicken pot pie with cream cheese biscuits

Chicken Pot Pie with Cream Cheese and Chive Biscuits

adapted from cookingforengineers and kingarthurflour

Makes one 9×13-inch dish with 12 biscuits

Print this Recipe!

For the Biscuits:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (depending on how spicy you like your biscuits)

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

4 ounces (half of a brick) cream cheese, cold

3/4 cup buttermilk, cold

For the Filling:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups whole milk

4 ounces (half of a brick) cream cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

3 cups shredded chicken meat

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 cup thinly diced carrots

1 cup diced zucchini (optional)

1 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

Start by making the biscuits. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, black pepper, and chopped chives.

Add butter and cream cheese to the dry ingredients. Use your fingers to quickly incorporate the fat into the flour. Break up the butter and cream cheese with your fingers until some of the fat is the size of oat flakes and some of the fat is the size of small pebbles.

Make a small well in the center of the fat and flour mixture. Add the buttermilk. Using a fork, combine the wet and dry ingredients. Try to moisten all of the flour bits with the liquid. Dump the shaggy biscuit dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead together until dough forms a disk about 1 1/2 inches thick.

Use a round, 1 1/2-inch biscuit cutter to cut biscuits. Gather the dough scraps, knead for a few turns, and cut out more biscuits until no dough remains. Place biscuits on a small cookie sheet and place in the fridge until ready to bake.

Next, make the filling. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Dice onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini, and thaw the frozen peas. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in the flour. Mixture will be very thick. Heat for 1 minute. Turn flame to low and add the chicken stock. Whisk until no flour bits remain. Whisk in the milk and add the cream cheese. Heat over medium low heat, stirring often, untilcream cheese has melted and the mixture is the consistency of warm, thick pudding. Add chicken, lemon, and nutmeg. Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove mixture from heat and set aside.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter (or olive oil, if using). Add onions and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute for one minute more. Add carrots, zucchini, and peas. Cook for about 3 minutes. The vegetables will not be entirely cooked through. That’s ok! Remove from heat and add vegetable mixture to the creamy chicken mixture. Stir to combine.

Spoon filling into a 9×13-inch pan. Remove the biscuits from the fridge and place them on top of the filling. Brush the tops of the biscuits with heavy cream, buttermilk, or egg wash.

Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until biscuits are puffed and golden, and the sides of the pot pie are bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

To reheat, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Cover dish with foil and bake until warmed through, about 15 minutes. Serve.

Chicken Pot Pie will last, well wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.