Lemon Sponge Pie

 

This pie has a light fluffy texture and a very subtle lemon flavor.

1 single batch pie crust
1 cup sugar
1 Tbls butter
2 Tbls flour or corn starch
3 large eggs (or 4 medium eggs)
1 cup milk
2 Tbls lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare the pie crust in a large tin and bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, run the eggs under warm water to bring up their temperature. Heat a medium-sized metal or glass bowl with hot water.

In another medium bowl, cut the butter into the sugar and flour. Separate the eggs, reserving the whites. With a wire whisk, beat the egg yolks, milk, and lemon juice into the sugar mixture, until completely mixed and smooth.

Dry out the warm bowl and put in the egg whites. Beat with a machine beater until stiff peaks form. Fold the whites into the rest of the filling.

Pour into the pie crust. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 5-10 minutes, until top is lightly golden and the filling is slightly jiggly. It will continue to solidify as it cools. Can be served warm or chilled.

Variations:
Use different fruit juices. Use concentrated juice for stronger flavor.
Try different pie crusts.
Add spices to the crust.

Brazilian Limeade

4 limes
4 cups cold water
1 12-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Wash the limes and peel two of them. Combine the lime and water in a blender. Blend for about 10 seconds.

Strain the juice through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the pulp to extract all the juice.

Return the liquid to the blender and the sweetened condensed milk. Blend until creamy and frothy.

Add some ice and blend again until cold. You can add more water to taste if it is too strong for you.

Fried Chicken

Chicken:
Needs to be thawed. Doesn't have to be room temperature, but can't be frozen.
Cut out any bones.
Cut or pound the meat so it is no more than 3/4" thick.

First dredge:
Flour and/or cornmeal.

Second dredge:
Buttermilk, or milk with some acid added. Generally vinegar, but you can amp the flavor by adding salsa, steak sauce, or whatever.

Third dredge:
Mostly bread crumbs. Panko for most crunch, but any kind will work.
Add lots of salt, pepper, and seasonings. (Red pepper flakes, Rosemary, onion powder, Garlic powder, cumin, what you want)

Frying:
I use plain canola oil. Type of oil doesn't necessarily matter as long as it can get hot.
Use at least 1/2" of oil.
Put it over high heat in a frying pan. Once it gets hot, turn the heat to medium to maintain heat.

Process:
Use tongs to handle everything.

First, coat the chicken piece with flour/cornmeal. Then dip it quickly into the milk. Then put it in the breadcrumb mixture, coat it & press the crumbs onto it.

Put the chicken directly into the hot oil. Let it fry, without moving it, for several minutes until the bottom is deep golden brown. Then flip it and fry the other side the same.

Don't have more than 2 or 3 pieces frying at a time so they have space & a more stable temperature.

When you take out the chicken, put the pieces on a cooling rack atop a baking sheet. Extra oil will drip off, and the chicken will cool without getting soggy.

Peppermint Peach Punch

2 cups water
2 mint teabags
1 Tbls ginger root
1/2 cup sugar
3 large peaches
1 Tbls lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
2 liters sparkling water

Boil 2 cups water. Remove from heat. Add the tea bags and steep for 10 minutes.

Chop the peaches and ginger root, removing peach pits. Combine all ingredients except the sparkling water, and let sit for 10 minutes. Liquefy the mixture in blender, then strain out the solids, which will basically only be bits of peach skin. Return the mixture to heat, and heat it to boiling point. Remove from heat and chill thoroughly. To serve, mix it with 2 liters of sparkling water. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and frozen peach chunks.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

3 Tbls butter
1 cup hot water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 Tbls salt
.6 oz fresh yeast or 2 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 cup room temp water or milk
1 egg
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour

Filling:
Softened butter
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Optional: dried fruit, chopped nuts, shredded apple, shredded coconut, other spices, etc.

Directions for stand mixer. You can mix by hand if desired.

Stir together the hot water, butter, sugar, and salt in the stand mixer bowl. Mix in 1 cup of flour with the dough hook on medium speed. Mix in the yeast and lukewarm water/milk. Mix in the egg. Mix in the rest of the flour one cup at a time.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead it. It will most likely only need a tiny bit of flour and not very much kneading to get it smooth and buoyant. Coat the outside of the ball of dough with water or oil, cover with plastic wrap or a lightweight cloth, and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled.

Roll out the dough out into a large rectangle, no thinner than 1/2". Spread the entire surface with soft butter, then sprinkle liberally with brown sugar, cinnamon, and other desired fillings.

Roll up the dough longways into a log. Cut it into 12 pieces and place them in a greased 9"×13" pan. Cover and let rise again for 30 minutes or until large.

Preheat oven to 475° f. Bake the rolls for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° f and bake another 5-7 minutes to brown them.

Cover them with your favorite glaze, icing, or cream cheese frosting. I like to put it on while the rolls are still hot in the pan so the frosting melts into them.

Orange Almond Cake

Period: Medieval in Spain, Italy, Middle East

Sources: (I need to do research)

 1 lb whole oranges, left whole
6 eggs
2 cups almond meal
1 cup raw sugar
1 tsp baking powder

Place the oranges (I used 1 small sweet orange, 3 tiny lemons, and a grapefruit) in a saucepan and barely cover them with water. Bring to a boil, lower the water to a simmer and leave on low heat, covered, for 1 hour. (I saw a recipe that said they can be microwaved in a covered container for 8 minutes instead of boiling, but I haven't tried it.) When done, remove the oranges from the pan and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter and flour, with semolina flour, a 10-inch springform tin. 

Chop the fruit into chunks, removing seeds. Puree them in a blender. Make sure they are completely pureed and there are no chunks of peel. Measure 3 cups of fruit puree and discard any extra. Then thoroughly blend the eggs with the 3 cups of fruit.

In a large bowl, mix the almond meal, sugar and baking powder, then stir in the egg-orange mixture, just until it is mixed. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes. The cake is done when it turns a deep golden brown, has come away slightly from the sides of the tin, and a tester comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin before turning it out gently on the serving plate. It is good served plain, or with cream or syrup.  It can be stored in the refrigerator.

Basbousa

 

 

Cake batter:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup raw sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups fine semola
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup plain yogurt
12-15 almonds, halved; or 1/4 cup finely chopped almonds

Syrup topping:

2 cups raw sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 Tbls fresh orange zest 

1 tsp dried floral tea

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 300 F. Grease a large cake pan.

In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well.

Mix the semola, baking powder and baking soda in another bowl. Add this slowly into the butter mixture alternately with yogurt.

Spread batter into the cake pan. Put the almonds on top of the cake at equal distances so that when you cut into pieces later, each piece has an almond topping in the center; or sprinkle chopped almonds over the top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

For the syrup, dissolve sugar in water over medium heat, add the lemon juice and the rose essence and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 5-7 minutes, then set it in a container filled with cold water to cool the syrup.

When the cake is done, slowly pour the cooled syrup over the hot cake. This works best to keep it in the pan so the syrup can be soaked into the cake. Serve the cake once it is completely cool.

Classic Bread Pudding

4 cups dry bread, cubed small
1 cup fruit, fresh or dried, in small pieces (I used raisins)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds)
2 1/2 cups milk, cream, half & half, or a combination
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar or brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease a 9"x13" baking pan ( I believe I actually used an 8"-12" or slightly smaller size). Put the fruit in an even layer in the dish, then the bread cubes, then sprinkle the nuts evenly over it.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Heat the milk until just before the boiling point. Allow to cool slightly.

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the warm milk into the egg mixture. Then pour it evenly over the bread in the baking pan.

Baked 25-30 minutes, until puffed and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean. Allow to repose for another 5 minutes.

Gooseberry Preserve Scones

1 1/2 cup flour (whole wheat, white whole wheat, or whole wheat pastry)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 egg
1/2 cup gooseberry jam
1/2 cup cold buttermilk
Spiced sugar to garnish

Preheat oven to 375°.

Stir together the flour, almond meal, salt, and baking powder.

Cut in the butter until it  thoroughly mixed, no chunks of butter.

Stir in the buttermilk, egg, and jam. It will be a very soft and wet dough. Turn it out onto a floured counter and knead it, very gently, adding in enough flour to make the dough cohesive. Roll it out to about 1/2"-3/4" thick and cut out rounds.

Sprinkle spiced sugar on the top of each round, place them on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, and bake for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown.

Peaches & Cream Crumb Cake

4 cups peaches, sliced thin and pit removed
1 1/2 Tbls sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbls unflavored gelatin or collagen
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup corn meal or masa harina
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup cream or half & half
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8" square or circular cake pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the peaches, 1 1/2 Tbls sugar, gelatin, and ground ginger. If the fruit is frozen, it needs to be thawed.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes, then cut it into the flour mixture until the butter is all small pieces. Stir in the eggs and cream to make a thick, clumpy dough. Add more liquid if necessary, so there is no loose powder in the dough.

Put 1/2 of the crumb mixture into the bottom on the cake pan, in an even layer. Put the peach mixture in an even layer over the crumbs. Top with a layer of the remaining crumb mixture, sprinkling it in large clumps.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until lightly golden on top.

Spiced Almond Biscuits

1/2 cup cold butter

1/4 cup coconut oil or lard

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 cups almond meal

about 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease it.

Cut the butter into small cubes. In a medium bowl, put in the butter, coconut oil/lard, and sugars. Use a pastry cutter to mix the butter and shortening into the sugar. When it is somewhat creamy, a beater can be used to mix it to a smooth, creamy texture. 

Beat in the vanilla and eggs until creamy again. Then stir in the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Stir in the almond meal one cup at a time. It will create a very soft, sticky dough.

Form the dough into small balls, the volume of about 2 tablespoons. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar until they are completely coated. Place the balls on the baking sheet at least 2" apart, as they spread quite a bit while baking. Gently compress the top of each ball, so it is just barely flat.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until they are golden-brown around the edges.

Makes about 20 cookies.

Variations:

Use other spices or a mixture of spices.

Use other nut flours or a mixture of nut flours. I can sometimes find a mix of almond, coconut, pecan, and walnut, which is delicious.

Raspberry Seedcake

1/2 cup cream
8 oz. butter (1/2 cup)
6 Tbls. honey
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground mace
1 Tbls. caraway seeds
3 eggs
1/4 cup elderflower cordial (or 1 Tbls. elderflower syrup + 3 Tbls. water or carbonated water)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup raspberries

Put the cream in a small pan over med-high heat. Stir it every 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat when it reaches a boil, turn the heat to med-low, and return the cream to heat. Stir gently but constantly until it scrapes clean from the bottom of the pan and is thickened--about 15 minutes from the start. Remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream together the butter, honey, and cream. Stir in the spices and seeds. Add the eggs and cordial, beating to combine. Gently break the raspberries into several pieces, and coat them all with flour.  Add the 2 cups flour gradually to the batter, mixing it in completely before adding more. Add the baking powder with the flour. Then gently stir in the raspberries.  The batter will be very thick.

Line a bread pan with buttered baking paper. Pour in the batter and spread to smooth. Bake it for 1 hour, or until it tests done (probe comes out clean).

Moroccan Harchas

Period: 1200s, Spain, Morocco
Sources: About Morrocan Food, Medieval Spanish Chef

2 cups fine semola flour
3 tablespoons coarse raw sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup soft or melted butter
1/2 - 3/4 cup milk

In a mixing bowl, stir together the semola, sugar, and salt. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture is like damp sand. Stir in 1/2 cup milk. The dough needs to be very soft, like very wet cookie dough. Add more milk if necessary. It will look too wet to a baker's eye.

Let the dough rest for a few minutes. It will stiffen as the semolina absorbs moisture.

Meanwhile, preheat the frying pan over high heat, then turn heat to medium-low.

Prepare a pressing folder by cutting open 3 edges of a plastic storage bag, or cutting a rectangle of baking parchment and folding in half into a square.

Form a small ball of dough, place on one half of the pressing folder, fold over the other half, and use a flat-bottomed plate to press the dough into a circle about 1/4" thick. Peel off the top half, flip the dough onto one hand and peel off the other half of the folder.

Cook them over medium-low heat for several minutes on each side until each side has patches of deep golden brown. try to flip it only once.

Serve with toppings as with pancakes or scones, such as butter, syrup, jam, cream, or savory with cheese and meat.

Cecina (Farinata de Ceci)

Period: 1200s Italy
Sources: Chickpea Flour on Wikipedia, A Tuscan Foodie in America

1 1/2 cup chickpea flour
2 1/2 cup water
6 Tbls. olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Stir together the chickpea flour and water. Put in a covered container and let sit for 2-6 hours. It will start out very lumpy, but as it sits, the lumps will absorb water and dissolve.

Preheat oven to 450 F. Coat a 9"x13" baking pan with 2 Tbls. olive oil.

Stir the batter and mix in the salt and pepper. Pour the batter into the pan. Fold 4 Tbls. olive oil into the batter.

Bake for 15 minutes, then broil the top for 5 minutes.

Grape Scones

3 1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour)
6 Tbls. butter
3 Tbls. honey
1 cup grapes, halved
2 eggs
5 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Put the flour into a large bowl and add the butter and honey. Mix with a pastry cutter to create a breadcrumb-like mixture. Gently stir in the grape halves. Add the eggs and baking powder and use a wooden spoon to turn the mixture gently. Add half of the milk and keep turning the mixture gently with the spoon to combine. Then add the remaining milk a little at a time and bring everything together to form a very soft, wet dough. 

Sprinkle flour onto a clean counter. Put the soft dough onto the floured counter and sprinkle some flour on top. Chaff the dough by folding the dough in half, then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. Do this a few times until you’ve formed a smooth dough. Sprinkle more flour onto the work surface and on top of the dough if necessary. Roll the dough out to about 1" thick. 

Use a cookie cutter to cut out scones. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking parchment paper. Leftover dough can be rolled again for more scones. Just don't work the dough too much. Let the scones rest for a few minutes. You can glaze the top with egg, milk, or sugar, or leave them plain. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the scones are risen and golden-brown.

I got 32 small scones from this recipe.

Apple and Cinnamon Pie

1 double pie crust 

Cinnamon sugar 

 

Filling: 

1 Tbls. arrowroot powder 

6 cups apples, chopped small (not peeled) 

3 tsp. ground cinnamon 

1/4 cup honey 

 

 Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix the filling ingredients in a pot over med-low heat, stirring occasionally. The apples will get a little soft, but this is more about melting the honey and creating a thick cinnamon syrup. Pour the filling into the crust. Cover with a top crust, you can make it decorative or whatever. Make sure it has slits or holes. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

Toffee Apples / Honey Toffee Pears

This makes enough honey toffee to cover 6 smallish apples

1/4 cup water
1 cup honey
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbls. butter

First prepare your apples and pears by removing the wax. Dip them in steaming hot water for about 30 seconds each, then rub with a rough cloth until the skin is smooth and not tacky. It may change the color of the skin, but the toffee will stick better. Remove the stems, and push a stick/large skewer into the top down to the center (or plastic forks, in my case). Place out a piece of foil and smear butter on it. Get a deep bowl of cold water ready.

Use a medium saucepan--larger than you think you need, because it foams up a lot when it boils. Cook the water, honey, vinegar, and butter over high heat. Let it boil until it reaches about 280 F. Honey cooks faster than cane sugar so be really careful; this is as hot as it gets before burning. Remove from heat and dip the apples/pears immediately and quickly once it reaches this temperature. Tilt the pan to make a pool, then stick in one apple at a time, twirling it around to cover with toffee. Then quickly plunge the apple into the cold water, then set down to harden on the buttered foil.

Plum Wine

*Not actually wine.

1 pound of plums, pitted
1 Tbls. honey
1 1/2 to 2 cups water

Cook the plums and honey over medium heat, stirring, until the plums are dark, the honey is melted, and the plums have only started to get mushy.

Put the plums in a blender. Use 1/2 cup water to deglaze the pan and add that to the blender. Blend until liquefied. Strain the liquid into a bowl or pitcher through a cloth bag, You have to really squeeze out as much juice as possible--it will be thick--and remaining in the bag will basically be plum mush.

Dilute the juice with about 1 1/2 cups water. At this point it is still somewhat thick, but it has a strong, sweet flavor. Adding more water to change the consistency, even just a little like 1/2 cup, will lessen the flavor, more than I like, but you can do it to taste.

Plum and Apple Pudding

2 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs*

1/4 cup brown sugar

4 Tbls. butter

1 pound of apples
1/2 pound of plums
1 tsp. ground ginger

3 Tbls. Honey

1 cup whipping cream

2 Tbls. brown sugar

Cut the butter into smaller pieces. Place breadcrumbs, butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a non-stick pan on low heat. Cook gently while constantly stirring until the butter has all melted and it’s dark golden. Transfer into a bowl and set aside.

Core and slice the apples. Combine the apples and honey. Cook, covered, over medium heat until the apples are soft enough to easily poke through with a knife, but before they get mushy. Add the ginger. Mash the apples, or put them in a food processor on a low setting, until it is have pureed and half chunks of apple. Basically make a chunky applesauce.

Pit the plums and cut into fourths. Mash/process them in the same way. 

Divide each of those ingredients into thirds.

In a glass dish, layer the ingredients. Starting at bottom: apples, plums, crumbs. Repeat to have 3 sets of layers.

Chill in the fridge until cool, even overnight.

Before serving, whip the cream with the 2 Tbls. brown sugar, and spread that over the top. Garnish with plum jam, if available.


*I made bread crumbs with a mixture of whole wheat bread and white potato bread. Basically any plain bread, biscuits, rolls, etc. will work. The easiest way to make bread crumbs is to tear up pieces of bread and process in a blender/food processor until it is all crumbs.

Grumm's Experiment

From Martin the Warrior.  Grumm mixes together wheat flour, wild oats, wild plums, wild honey, and apples chopped small, then shapes the dough into cakes and cooks on a stone over a fire.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup apple, minced
1 cup plums, stones removed, and cut into quarters

 Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, oats, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the honey and fruit.

Warm the plum pieces to soften them (30 seconds in microwave), then mash them, focusing on separating the flesh from the skin and liquefying the flesh. Stir into the flour mixture. The dough should be very sticky and wet.

Drop spoonfuls onto a baking sheet that is greased or lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden-brown.