Apple or Pear Cream Pudding

The original recipe appears in Pleyn Delit, and I made tiny changes.

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1/4 c corn starch

1/4 c chopped raw nuts
2 c milk, cream, buttermilk, or nut milk
3 apples or pears, cored and finely diced
1/4 c honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg

Mix the corn starch, nuts, milk, apples, and honey in saucepan and bring slowly to low boil. Boil, stirring for 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Can be served warm or chilled.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble

For the topping:
1 1/3 cup flour (whole wheat, whole wheat pastry, or white wheat)
3 Tbls. brown sugar
1 Tbls. ground ginger
1/4 cup butter

For the filling:
2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups strawberries, stems removed and cut into quarters
1/4 cup honey
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt

Heat oven to 375°F.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, brown sugar and ginger. Cut in the butter until the texture is crumbly. Refrigerate until needed.

Toss rhubarb, strawberries, honey, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.

Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a baking sheet, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Cup of Cheer

 

 2 1/2 lb. rhubarb
2 qt. Water
1/2 c. honey

Cut rhubarb in 1 inch pieces. Cook in hot water until soft (not boiling). Strain out the rhubarb pieces. Stir in the honey. Chill.


You can add more honey to taste. I found that 1/2 cup was sufficient, as it sweetened it without overwhelming the rhubarb with honey flavor. However, you can add more honey if you want.

The rhubarb can be used again in recipes that call for cooked rhubarb. I made mine into a crumble, but it was more mushy than it would have been normally because it had already been cooked. A simple dessert is to stir honey or sugar and cinnamon into the rhubarb.

Apple Fritters Baked in Honey

 

1 cup pastry flour or semola flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 cup butter
1 egg

3/4 cup plain yogurt, or sour cream, or a mixture

1 Tbls. honey
 2 cups apples, diced small
about 1/2 cup honey

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Stir together the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter. In a separate bowl, beat the egg, yogurt/sour cream, and honey. Gently stir the wet mixture and apple pieces into the dry mixture.

Grease a muffin tin. Spoon 1-2 tsp. of honey into each cup. Spoon the batter into each cup, dividing evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Oat Scones

3/4 cup cold buttermilk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour (white wheat, whole wheat, or whole wheat pastry)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup oats
1 small egg, lightly beaten
cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine the first three ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Combine flour and salt, in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the oats. Add milk mixture, stirring just until moist.

Place dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly until the dough is all together. Place on a baking sheet that is either greased, or lined with parchment. Form dough into an approximately 3/4" thick, 9-inch circle. Cut dough into 12 wedges all the way through.

Brush the small egg over the dough and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake until golden, 18-20 minutes. Serve warm.

Apple Tart

Crust:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 Tbls. powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup yogurt

Filling:
1 cup (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tbls. honey
1 large egg

Topping:
2-4 apples, cored and cut into 1/4" slices
cardamom
allspice
honey

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Grease 9 inch pie pan. For nicer presentation and serving, a springform pan is good, but a regular pie tin or cake pan is fine.

Crust: Stir together flour and sugar. Cut in butter and yogurt until the dough forms. Press the dough onto the bottom and one inch up the sides of the pan.

Filling: Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the honey and mix well. Blend in the egg. Pour the filling into the crust.

Toss the apple slices, a small amount of honey, and a sprinkle each of cardamom and allspice together, to coast the apple slices. Place apple slices in a decorative fashion on the top of the tart. You want it to be about double layered with apple slices.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees F and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown (apples are soft when pierced with a fork), and filling is almost set. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

Wheat Flour

A note on the different flours I have in the recipes.

The goal is to use all whole grain flours. But there are different options for texture, color, and flavor.

Whole wheat flour: This is the basic whole wheat flour that we are all familiar with. It can be used in the yeast bread recipes, and other baked goods except for those requiring a lighter texture, like cake. Milled from red wheat berries, it can be ground to different textures, but it is the densest and heartiest flour.

White wheat flour: This is a whole wheat flour that has been milled from white wheat berries, ground to a finer texture and lighter flavor and color. This can basically be used to replace whole wheat flour in any instance, according to your desires. It's a softer coffee than red wheat for pastries. Sometimes I will specify white wheat flour in the recipe, if the book description specifies that the bread is white, but you can use it basically whenever you want.

Whole wheat pastry flour: Similar to the white wheat flour, it has a lighter texture and flavor. This has less gluten than regular whole wheat flour, so should not be used for yeast bread. This is used mostly in cake and pastry recipes to obtain a texture and flavor similar to using all-purpose white flour.

Other flours: In non-bread, non-pastry recipes that call for flour for the sake of making gravy or thickening soup or anything like that, it doesn't really matter what kind of flour you use. For simplicity I put whole wheat flour in the recipe, but you can use the other kinds, or even non-wheat flours like corn meal.

Laverbread

This is somewhat different from the traditional Welsh laverbread/lava bread recipes you'll find out on the net.

1 cup prepared laver, or nori sheets torn up and soaked in water until soft (drain off excess water)
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup corn meal, corn flour, or oat flour
vegetable oil
salt
pepper
malt vinegar

Stir together the laver/nori, oats, and corn flour. It should make a "dough" that holds together, and is not runny or extremely sticky.

Warm the oil in a pan for frying. Form the dough into thin patties about 2" across. Fry them for a few minutes on each side, until golden and crisp. Place on a wire rack over paper towels to drain off excess oil.

Serve sprinkled with salt, pepper, and vinegar.

Makes about 9 patties.


Where I live, it's a lot easier to find nori, seaweed that has been toasted and rolled flat in a sheet. It is the same species of the seaweed used in Wales, but it's been prepared differently. As stated in the recipe, you can just soak it in water to soften (only takes a minute or so) for good results.

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.