Lavender Lemonade

1/4 cup dried lavender buds
6 3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup honey
1 cup lemon juice
1/2 pound dry ice

Steep the lavender buds in the water for at least 10 minutes. Strain out and discard the buds. Stir in the honey to dissolve while the water is still warm. Stir in the lemon juice. Add any more water if necessary to make 2 quarts. Add the dry ice. Serve after allowing to carbonate for about 15 minutes, or to store, wait for all the dry ice to dissolve, then store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Tzatziki

1/2 cucumber
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (or strain normal yogurt to make it thicker)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbls. chopped mint leaves, or dill weed
pepper as desired

Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Grate the cucumber into a bowl. Stir in all the other ingredients.

It gets better as the flavors combine over time (like 30 minutes), but you can use it immediately.

Felix Felicis

1" piece of ginger root
pineapple, canned or fresh (if using fresh, peel and cut into pieces)
apples
1/3 cup lemon juice (or a peeled lemon to juice)
1 cup water
1/2 lb. dry ice

Makes about 2 liters

Put the lemon juice in the measuring bowl (or run a lemon through the juicer into the bowl). Juice the ginger with the first apple, then continue to juice apples until you have 4 cups of juice. Juice the pineapple (you can use the juice in the can too) until you have 8 cups of juice. Transfer to a serving bowl or to a larger container if necessary. Stir in the water and stir around to help diffuse any foam that may have formed from juicing. Add the dry ice. You can start serving it after 15 minutes (to make sure it's all carbonated). Or, you can take out the ice after 15 minutes (or wait for it to all dissolve) and transfer the potion to an airtight container for storage. Store in the fridge.

German Pancake

4 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbls. butter

Preheat oven to 425 F. Put the butter in a cake pan (8"x8" for a thick pancake, bigger for a thinner one) and put in the oven to melt.

Beat eggs until light. Add flour and milk and mix until smooth.

Pour the batter into the cake pan with the melted butter, and bake for 20-25 min. until brown.

Serve immediately. Top with what you prefer, such as maple syrup, powdered sugar, jelly/jam, warm applesauce with cinnamon, any kind of fruit topping, whipped cream, etc.

The milk can be substituted with fruit juice for a variation. I like using orange juice.

Pepper Cookies

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup or corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
1/2 Tbls. vinegar
1 egg
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sprinkles (optional)
2 1/2 cups flour

Cook the sugar, maple/corn syrup, butter and vinegar in a pot over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and it boils. Pour into a bowl and chill down to room temperature. Beat in all the other ingredients. It will make a smooth paste.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and freeze for 20 minutes or chill longer. It rolls out much easier when it is hard/cold.

Preheat oven to 350 F, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

On a floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/4" thick, then cut out shapes. Place them in the baking sheet with about 1" in between, because they do expand a little.

Bake for 7 minutes. (if they are thicker, or the pan is too crowded, they will require a few more minutes.) They should be slightly golden brown around the edges and look puffed up. Let them repose on the baking sheet until they are relaxed and more cool, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. They should be thin and hard enough to snap, but slightly chewy when eating.

Makes about 36 cookies.

Orange Rolls

1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tbls. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup lukewarm water (110 degrees)
4 to 4½ cups flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 Tbls. orange zest

Sauce:
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbls. cornstarch


Heat milk with butter, salt and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Heat until butter melts, but do not boil. Let cool to tepid. Whisk in egg and vanilla.

Dissolve yeast in water with 1 teaspoon sugar. Combine 3½ cups of flour with yeast mixture and milk mixture, stirring to form dough. Turn dough onto lightly floured board. Clean and butter bowl.

Knead dough about 8 minutes until smooth and resistant, adding flour if necessary.

Return to bowl. Cover and place in warm place to rise until double in size, 1 to 2 hours.

Punch down dough. Roll out on lightly floured board to a large rectangle about 1/2" thick. Brush with melted butter. Mix 1/4 cup sugar with orange zest and sprinkle on.

Roll dough like jelly roll. Use a sharp knife to cut thick slices to make the rolls. Place in a greased cake pan.

Mix together the sauce ingredients and pour over the rolls. Cover and let rise in warm place until nearly doubled in size.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake rolls 45 minutes, until light golden brown.

Buttermilk Syrup

3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda

Choose a pot that is twice the size as you think you will need. I used a 2 quart pot and had to be extremely careful while making not to let it spill over as this recipe foams and triples in volume while cooking.

Mix ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and stir for 8 minutes. Do not look away, just diligently stir as this can boil over easily or harden if neglected. Enjoy pouring it over anything and everything or even eat it with a spoon.

Buttery Pancakes

2 eggs
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup water or milk
1 1/2 Tbls. baking powder
2 Tbls. butter

2 Tbls. honey or sugar

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg (optional)

In a small bowl, beat the eggs until smooth. In a medium bowl, combine flour, butter, baking powder, and nutmeg. Cut the butter in with a pastry cutter until it is small chunks. Add the eggs and the rest of the ingredients, stirring until the is no dry flour.

Use 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Cook on a lightly greased skillet over medium heat.

Cucumber Water

 

 8 cups filtered water

1 cucumber, about 8" long

Run the cucumber through a juicing machine. You should get about 1 cup of juice. Discard the pulp. Combine juice with the water. Served chilled.

For a brighter flavor, add 1/4 cup lemon juice or lime juice, and 1/4 cup sugar or honey.

Drop Biscuits

2 3/4 cup flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
 3 Tbls. Olive oil
3 Tbls. Coconut oil or butter
1 1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450° F.

Stir the flour, baking powder and salt together. Cut in the butter, or grate it & stir it in. Stir in the milk and yogurt. For whole wheat flour, you might need 1 or 2 more tablespoons of milk. It should be a very soft, sticky dough. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Makes 12.

Variations:

Reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp. Add a bit of honey or sugar, and other things like nuts, oats, and dried fruit to make scones.

Use olive oil instead of butter. Add 1 tsp. rosemary and 1 tsp. black pepper and roll out into thin pizza crusts (recipe is enough for 2 medium-large pizzas). It makes a nice crackery crust.

Make vegan by using coconut oil instead of butter and water instead of milk. The biscuits still turn out soft and fluffy.

Add 3/4 cup of grated cheese.

Redwall Abbeyscones

From Legend of Luke, these scones are meant to resemble the bricks from which the abbey is built.

1 cup whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or white wheat flour
1 cup oats
pinch of salt
1/4 cup butter
2 Tbls. crystallized honey
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup preserved cherries with juice (Not cherry jam or pie filling, just canned cherries) or fresh cherries, pitted and mashed
1 Tbls. beet juice, or beet powder, or juice from any red berry, optional
allspice

Preheat oven to 425.

Stir flour, oats, and salt into a bowl. Cut in butter and honey until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add nuts and cherries. Add a few tablesoons more cherry juice if necessary to make a dough, but not too sticky. Beet juice or powder or berry juice may be added if a stronger red color is desired.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead a little until it's cohesive. Place the dough on a baking sheet that is either greased or lined with parchment, and roll or press it into a rectangular shape. Cut it into smaller rectangles. Sprinkle allspice on top.

Bake for 10 minutes.

The batch pictured here didn't turn out very red because canned cherry juice doesn't have a strong color, and I didn't have any of those other colorants on hand. Still delicious, of course.

Creamy Tomato Soup

4 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup - 1 cup diced onions
4 lbs tomatoes, diced
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 Tbls. flour
2 cups vegetable stock or chicken broth
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3 Tbls. sugar
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1/2 tsp. salt
6-10 slices of bacon

In a large saucepan, saute the onions in the butter until tender, about 10 minutes (do not brown). Add the tomatoes, thyme, basil and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes. Whisk the broth and flour together and add to the soup mixture. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, fry the bacon until crispy and let cool, then crumble. Puree the soup in a blender, then return to the stove. Stir in the baking soda, sugar, milk, salt, and bacon. Heat, stirring, to a bare simmer. Serves 3-4 people.

Upside Down Cake

For the cake pictured, the fruit was half apple pieces and half pie cherries. The syrup was a mixture of purreed cherries, water, and about 1 Tbls. of honey.

2 cups of apples, pears, stone fruits, and/or berries--fresh, canned, or frozen
1/4 cup or to taste of honey
1 1/4 cup water, fruit juice, or a combination
2 Tbls. flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk or nut milk
1/2 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350.

If using canned fruit, drain the liquid. Use the liquid to partially replace the water, if desired. Place fruit in a buttered 9x13" pan.

Place water in a small saucepan. Add honey to taste and stir in the 2 Tbls. flour. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute. Pour over the fruit and set in the oven.

Beat together eggs, applesauce, and 1/2 cup honey.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add in 3 alterations with the milk to the egg mixture. Pour over the fruit and bake for 35-45 minutes.

Wild Cherry and Meadowcream Pie

Pastry for 2-crust 9-inch pie
1/2 cup honey
3 Tbls arrowroot powder
3 cups various cherries (tart pie, Queen Anne, and black). If using canned, drain syrup
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
Sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350ºF (220ºC). Prepare the pie crust in the baking tin. Line the bottom of the crust with a single layer of sliced almonds.

Mix flour and spices in large mixing bowl. Stir in cherries and honey. Pour into a pastry-lined pie plate. Cover with the top crust.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble.

Serve with Meadowcream.

Honey Bread

4 cups whole wheat flour or white wheat flour
2 cups warm water
1 Tbls. salt
2 tsp. Dry yeast or .6 oz fresh yeast
about 1/4 cup honey

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve 2 tsp honey in the water. Stir in the yeast. When it is starting to foam, add 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing completely after each addition. On the third cup, add in the salt as well.  Dump the fourth cup of flour onto the clean counter, then dump the dough on the flour and knead it. You may not need to knead in all of the flour, just until the dough is no longer sticky clumps. Knead the dough until it is smooth and stretchy. Coat the inside of the bowl with oil, coat the outside of the dough with oil, put it in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled.

Roll out the dough into a large rectangle between 1/2" and 3/4" thick. Drop globs of honey randomly onto the dough. Don't spread it in an even layer. Roll up the dough into a log and form into a loaf. Grease the inside of the bread pan and put in the dough. Cut a slash along the top of the loaf. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 30 minutes.

Put the bread pan in the oven, then set the temperature for 350° f. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the top is a deep golden brown & the loaf sounds hollow when you tap the bottom.

Irish Soda Bread

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup soft butter
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with a bit of vinegar)
1 tablespoon melted butter


Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a small baking sheet or dust with coarse cornmeal.

In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt. Cut in the softened butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Add buttermilk. Mix with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn out on a lightly floured board and knead gently until smooth - about 1 minute. Shape into a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten into a 7 inch circle. Dough will be about 1.5 inches thick. Press a large floured knife into the loaf (almost cutting through to the bottom) making quarters.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove to wire rack to cool. Brush top with melted butter. Can be dusted with flour at this point if you wish (authentic, but not to everyone's taste).

White Mountain Frosting

A classic and old-fashioned frosting that's thick and marshmallowy.

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 Tbls. water
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, corn syrup and water in a saucepan. Cover, heat to a rolling boil over medium heat. Uncover and keep boiling rapidly until it reaches 242 on a candy thermometer, or is forms a firm ball which holds its shape until pressed when dropped in cold water.

As mixture boils, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Pour the hot syrup very slowly in a thin stream into the egg whites, beating constantly on medium speed. Add vanilla, beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Variations!

Use any fruit juice instead of water.

Use honey instead of corn syrup.

Cherry Nut: stir in 1/4 cup candied cherries and 1/2 cup chopped nuts.

Chocolate Revel: stir in 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips or 1 ounce of baking chocolate, coarsely grated.

Cocoa: sift 1/4 cup cocoa over finished frosting and fold in.

Lemon: Substitute 1 Tbls. lemon juice for the vanilla and beat in 1/4 tsp. lemon zest.

Maple Pecan: Stir 1/4 tsp. maple flavoring and 1/2 cup chopped pecans into Satiny Beige frosting (below).

Peppermint: stir in 1/3 cup coarsely crushed peppermint candy, or 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract.

Pineapple: Substitute 1 tsp. lemon vest for the vanilla, and stir in 1 can (8 ounces) of crushed pineapple, drained.

Pink Mountain: use maraschino cherry juice instead of water.

Raisin Nut: Stir in 1/4 cup chopped raisins and 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts.

Satiny Beige: Use packed brown sugar instead of of white sugar and use 1/2 tsp. vanilla instead of 1 tsp.

Tutti Frutti: Fold in chopped nuts and dried and candied fruits equal to 1/4-1/2 cup.

Fruit Cobbler

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
1 cup apple sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups chopped fruit

Preheat oven to 350° F. Melt the butter in a 9"x13" pan in the oven. 

Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, apple sauce, and salt. 

Pour half of the batter into the pan with the melted butter. Pour the fruit over the top in an even layer. Spread the rest of the batter over the top. 

Bake at 350 F for 45-60 minutes or until crust is golden.

Use any kind of fruit you like!

For gluten-free, replace 2 cups flour with 1 cup almond meal and 1 cup gluten-free flour mix.

No-Bake Cookies

2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup peanut butter
3 cups oats
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine sugar, milk, butter, salt and cocoa in a pan and bring to a boil. Once it has reached a full boil, time it for 1 minute and remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until the peanut butter is all melted in, then add the oats. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool until hardened (it should only be a few minutes).

Artisan Whole Wheat Bread

For 3 loaves of bread:
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk or evaporated milk
1 1/2 Tbls. yeast
1 Tbls. + 1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup honey
5 Tbls. oil

6 2/3 cup whole wheat flour

For 1 loaf of bread:

1/2 cup lukewarm water

1/2 cup milk or evporated milk

1/2 Tbls. yeast

1/2 Tbls. salt

3 Tbls. honey

1 1/2 Tbls. oil

2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

In a very large bowl with a lid, or some other lidded container, mix together the water, milk, yeast, salt, honey and oil.

Stir in the flour (without kneading it).

Cover it (not airtight) and let it sit for 2-3 hours, until the dough has risen and fallen.

Either use it now, or refrigerate it (with the lid on, but not airtight) to make several loaves of dough throughout the week. It's easier to handle when it's cold.

When you want to bake it, scoop out about 1.5 lbs of dough (the size of a cantaloupe, or about 1/3 of the dough). Have your hands be wet with water to prevent the dough from sticking. Form the dough into a ball. Place the ball of dough into a greased loaf pan (it should fill the pan just over halfway). Let the dough rest/rise for 1 hour 40 minutes.

Coat the top of the dough with flour and cut slashes into it. Preheat the oven to 350. Place the loaf into the middle of the oven, with another pan on the side with some hot water in it. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until very brown and firm.

Let cool completely before slicing, to prevent crumbling.