Wheat Scones with Candied Pear

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup butter, chopped into little pieces
1/2 cup candied pear pieces
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

ground nutmeg

sugar

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Stir together flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in butter and honey until crumbly and there's no more dry powder. Stir in pear pieces, milk, sour cream and egg until combined.

Knead the dough on a floured surface until it holds together and is not so sticky. It's okay to knead flour into it.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Press the ball of dough into a large circle on the baking sheet. Cut it into 8 wedges. Sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until they are golden and the middle is firm. 

Candied Pear

Candying fruit is a very long and involved process, so here's my relatively fast and easy version. I used canned pears for this because they are already soaked in sugar from being canned in syrup.

Get some canned pears. Chop them up into smallish pieces. Line a baking sheet with foil, then dust with powdered sugar. Spread the pear pieces in a single layer on the baking sheet. Put in the oven at 200° F for 4-6 hours. I honestly don't know how long it took me. I just kept coming back to check it. They need to be not wet anymore, only slightly sticky, and with a gummy texture like raisins or other dried fruits.

Buttermilk Jam Scones

This makes a soft, tender pastry with delicious sweet globs inside.

 

3/4 cup cold buttermilk
1/4 cup jam or jelly
1 egg
2 cups flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
spiced sugar

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt, in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk, jam, and egg, 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 wedges all the way through.

Sprinkle spiced sugar on top. Bake until golden and firm in the middle, 20-30 minutes. Serve warm.

Cilantro Guacamole

6 avocados
2 limes
 1 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, stems removed as convenient, chopped

Peel avocados and remove seed. Juice the limes. Combine all ingredients and mash.

Breakfast Oatmeal Scones

3/4 cup cold buttermilk
2 Tbls honey
1 egg
2 cups flour (white wheat, whole wheat, or whole wheat pastry)
1 cup cooked oatmeal*
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
sugar
cinnamon or nutmeg

*the point of this is to use leftover oatmeal, so it's okay if there's stuff in the oatmeal (nuts, fruit, spices, sweetener). Reduce the amount of sweetener in the recipe if the oatmeal had enough in it already. You can add nuts, fruit, or spices to the recipe if you are using plain oatmeal. Or leave it plain. Whatever you like.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter and honey until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the oatmeal. Add milk and egg, stirring just until moist.

Place dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly until the dough is all together.

Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment.

Form the dough into little balls, place on the baking sheet, and gently press into circles.  Sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg, and sugar on top. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.

Baked Salsa Chicken

Chicken pieces (boneless and skinless is easiest)
salsa
shredded cheese (such as cheddar, mozzarella, colby jack, pepper jack, monterey jack)
oil or butter
spices (Mexican style, such as cayenne, cumin, cilantro)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Warm the oil/butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add in the chicken pieces. Sprinkle the tops of the chicken with spices. Let brown on the bottom side until the chicken seems cooked about halfway through.

Transfer chicken and all drippings from the pan into a baking pan. Cover the chicken with salsa, then cover with shredded cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. (Check with a thermometer for larger pieces like breasts. Chicken needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F.)

Carrot and Turnip Bake

1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup half-and-half
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. hotroot pepper (or a mix of cayenne and black pepper)
1 tsp. salt
1 lb carrots
1 lb turnips
1 cup grated cheese (I used a mix of cheddar, mozzarella, and pecorino)
1 Tbls fennel leaves
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 Tbls. butter

Preheat the oven to 375 F and butter a 9"x13" baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the milk, half-and-half, garlic, hotroot pepper, and salt.

Cut the carrots and turnips into thin slices, no more than 1/8" thick. Put half the slices in the baking pan, then pour over half the milk mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese over it. Layer the remaining vegetable slices on top and pour over the remaining milk mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.

Mix together the flour and fennel. Cut in the butter until it is crumbly and there are no more chunks of butter. Stir in the cheese.

Remove dish from oven. Sprinkle on the topping and bake again, uncoveres, for 20-25 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.

Cabbage and Fennel Bake & Pasties

1 lb cabbage ( about 1/2 head)
1 lb. fennel bulb (about 2 bulbs)
1 Tbls. butter
1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried thyme leaves, or 1 Tbls. fresh
1/2 tsp. hotroot pepper (or to taste)
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1 Tbls. vinegar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp salt


Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Chop the cabbage and fennel bulbs into thin slices.

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion, cabbage, and fennel, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Pour into a 9"x13" baking pan, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.

Ingredient notes: I used green cabbage, yellow onion, balsamic vinegar, and 2% milk. I think you could switch the cabbage, onion, and vinegar, to whatever varieties you like. I would suggest using 2% milk at the lowest. Whole milk, half-and-half, or even cream would work. I haven't perfected my blend for hotroot pepper, so in the meantime, use cayenne or what you like. It shouldn't be too spicy; just have a bit of zing.

Use leftover cabbage and fennel bake to make pasties.

Take pie crust dough, roll into small circles, and fill each one with cabbage and fennel bake. Fold each circle in half and pinch the edges closed. Bake them at 350 F for 20-30 minutes.

Medieval Chicken Pie

This is not a redaction, nor is it based on any specific, documentable, medieval recipe. I was inspired by a couple of different recipes, and all the ingredients are period.

Use a 9" deep dish pie tin. You also want a meat thermometer.

Pie crust:

3/4 cup butter
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or semola flour
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt (if using unsalted butter)
beaten egg whites

Filling:

2 Tbls. honey
1/2 cup dried fruits, minced (I used fancy raisins, blueberries, prunes, cherries)
1 Tbls. ground cinnamon
2-3 egg yolks, depending on the size of eggs (I used 3 "medium")
2 Tbls. minced nuts (I used pecans)
1 cup carrots, finely chopped
3/4 cup fennel bulb, finely chopped
2 cups chicken, cut into about 1" cubes (I used the dark meat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. mace

Crust:
Cut the butter into the flour until it is crumbly and there is no more dry powder. Dissolve the salt (if using) in the water, and stir into the flour to make a soft dough. Knead it a bit to get it all together. Form a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in fridge to chill until hard.

Mix the chicken pieces, salt, pepper, thyme, and mace. Set aside, let chill.

Stir together the rest of the filling ingredients.

When the crust dough is hard, divide it in half. Place a piece of waxed paper on the counter, and sprinkle with flour. Roll out half the dough to a circle big enough to fit in the pie tin. It should be somewhat thick crust. Place the tin upside-down on the dough, and flip it over with the dough and waxed paper to get the dough inside. Remove the waxed paper and press the dough down into the tin.

Around this time, set the oven to preheat to 350 F.

Stir the chicken mix into the rest of the filling. Spread the filling into the pie tin.

Roll out the rest of the crust in the same way, using the waxed paper to lift it and place it on the top of the pie. Trim the edge of the crust and pinch the top and bottom together.

Brush the beaten egg whites onto the crust. Make a cool design on the top crust with the remaining dough! Make sure there are some cuts in the top crust. Brush the design with egg whites as well.

Bake for about 1 hour, until the internal temperature reaches or exceeds 165 F.

Apple Raisin Tart

Crust:
1 cup white wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
6 Tbls. butter
1/4 cup water

Filling:
2 lbs. apples
1/2 cup dried fruits (this time I used prunes, raisins, dried cherries, dried blueberries, crystallized ginger)
1/2 cup sugar, brown or white (I tried it with 1/4 cup honey instead, but didn't like that as much)
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground mace
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
pinch of saffron powder (if available)

Cut the butter into the flour until it is crumbly and there are no more large chunks of butter. Stir the water into the flour. Knead it a little bit to make a dough, using flour if necessary to keep from sticking. Roll it thin and place in a 9" pie or tart dish. Chill until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Core the apples and chop them into small pieces. Mince the dried fruits. Combine the apples and dried fruits with the spices and sugar, stirring to coat. Place into the tart crust.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, removing the foil toward the end of baking time.

Apple and Strawberry Crumble

Filling:
3 apples
2 tsp. honey
1 lb. strawberries
1 Tbls. honey
1 Tbls. arrowroot powder
pinch of salt

Topping:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour, white wheat flour, or whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup rolled oats or oat flour
4 Tbls. butter
2 Tbls. sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. poppy seeds


Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Coat bottom of an 8" cake pan with butter.

Slice apples into cubes, removing the core. Place in a small pot with 2 tsp. honey and cook, covered, over medium heat, for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, hull and halve the strawberries. Place them in a large bowl with the rest of the honey, arrowroot powder, and salt. Stir to coat the berries with powder.

Put the apple mixture in the cake pan, then the strawberry mixture.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and poppy seeds. Cut in the butter until there are no large chunks of butter and no dry flour. Sprinkle this mixture over the fruit in the pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden.

Creamy Carrot Soup

2 1/2 cups carrots, sliced into about 3/4" pieces
1 cup milk, half-and-half, or evaporated milk
1 Tbls. butter
1 Tbls. flour
1 tsp. sage
1 Tbls. cilantro
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbls. minced green onion
1/4 cup chopped tomato
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper

Boil carrots in salted water until soft, ie there is no resistance to being pierced with a fork. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup of broth. Put carrots, broth, milk, and tomato in the blender.

In the pot, cook over low heat the butter, flour, sage, cilantro, and green onion. Add this to the blender and blend until it is completely smooth.

Return to the pot. Stir in the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Bring the soup back up to a hot temperature, and serve.

Makes 2-4 servings.

Cheese and Apple Salad

Apples: cut into smallish pieces.
Cheese: choose sharp cheese, like goat cheese or sharp cheddar. Cut into small pieces, smaller than the apple pieces, or crumble. You want about half the amount of the apple.
Drizzle of honey: I used about 1 Tbls. per apple in the salad.
Sprinkling of herbs: choose mild, sweetish herbs, like fennel seed or leaves, poppy seed, lavender buds, a tiny bit of mint (minced if fresh).

Hotroot Pepper & Hotroot Essence

In the Redwall universe, this is actually made from a red-colored root with a hot flavor (seen in Outcast of Redwall). I'm not sure such a plant exists in real life (if it does, let me know), so I've blended different peppers and spicy roots to make this spice.

cayenne pepper
black pepper
ground ginger
ground horseradish
paprika

Combine equal amounts of the spices.

I added the paprika to make it a more red color. Most paprika available is sweet and not very spicy, but there are spicy kinds available, so use that if you can find it.

To make hotroot essence, mix the powder with cold water to make a thick liquid, let it sit a few minutes, then add a small amount of vinegar.

Cherry and Damson Pudding

Cake:
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbls. butter
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk or nut milk
3/4 cup pitted cherries
3/4 cup chopped damson plums
1/2 cup nuts, whole or roughly chopped

Sauce:
1 cup cherry juice--I got cherry juice from pitting the cherries (add some water if you can't get a full cup)
2 tsp. honey
1 Tbls. corn starch
1 Tbls. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a square 9 x 9-inch baking dish.

Beat honey and butter until smooth. Add egg and mix well. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt, then add to mixing bowl alternatively with milk. Stir in cherries, plums, and chopped nuts. Pour batter into buttered pan and smooth out the surface. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and solid.

Make the sauce by combining cherry juice and honey in a small saucepan. In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with a bit of water to make a smooth liquid, then pour into the pan while stirring. Boil for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thick. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon butter and vanilla extract.

Pour the sauce over the baked cake and let sit while it cools, to soak in the sauce. Serve with yellow meadowcream.

Beetroot and Mushroom Pasties

1 batch of pie crust dough 1/4 cup butter 1 cup mushrooms, chopped small 1 cup beets, chopped small 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. pepper 1/2 tsp. dried sage 1/2 cup flour (any kind) 2 Tbls. water Preheat the oven to 350 F. Roll the pie dough into 4 small crusts, round or square, about 5-6 inches across. Combine the butter, mushrooms, seasonings, and flour in a large skillet and cook over medium-low heat until the mushrooms are soft, and most of the moisture has been absorbed by the mushrooms and flour. Remove from heat. Add the beets and the water. Spoon this filling into the crusts. Fold the crust over and pinch the edges closed.If desired, glaze the top of the crust. Cut small slashes in the tops. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Plum Pie

1 cup chopped nuts
2 pounds plums
1/3 cup honey
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 Tbls. fresh sage, minced
3 Tbls. arrowroot powder
Double batch of pie crust

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Roll out the pie crust, place in pie tin, and chill until ready to use.

Pit the plums. Mix the plums with the rest of the ingredients.  Pour into the pie tin and cover with the top crust, crimping the edges of the crusts together. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Carrot, Mushroom, and Onion Hotpot

Crust:
1 1/4 cup flour (white wheat or whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbls. butter
1/2 cup milk
mint leaves
bit of milk

Filling:
1 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1 1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 cup onions, chopped small
1 cup potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbls. corn starch
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. basil

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Chop the carrots. Parboil them until they are bright colored and slightly soft. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the water.

Cube the potatoes. Boil them until they're soft. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the water. Mash the potatoes with the milk.

Stir together the carrots, onions, mushrooms, cornstarch, rosemary and basil. Put in a 9" square or circular baking pan. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top. Pour in the carrot and potato water.


Stir the flour, salt, and baking soda together. Cut in the butter, then stir in the milk. Knead to made a cohesive dough. On a piece of waxed paper, roll out the dough until it is big enough to cover the pan. Use the waxed paper to place the dough on top, tucking in the edges. Brush a small amount of milk on the crust, then sprinkle liberally with mint.



Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the crust is golden.

Cheese and Onion Flan

Crust:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white wheat flour
1 tsp. dried ground tomato
1/2 tsp. dill weed
6 Tbls. butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup water

Filling:
5 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 Tbls. oil
3/4 cup cheese, shredded or cubed small
1 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Put the onion and oil in a small pan over medium-low heat. Cover and let cook until they are translucent (it takes a while).

Stir together the flour and spices for the crust. Cut in the butter until there are no more large chunks. Dissolve the salt in the water and stir into the flour mixture until it forms a dough. Press the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9" square or circular baking pan. (Or you can roll the crust out on a floured surface.) Chill until needed.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, and pepper until it is completely mixed, then stir in the cheese.

Spread the onions in the bottom of the crust. Pour in the egg mixture.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until top and crust are lightly browned.

Arrowroot Plum Sauce

4 plums, pitted
1 Tbls. arrowroot powder
1 1/2 cups water

Puree together the plums, arrowroot and 1/2 cup water, until it is smooth.  Pour into a pot and stir in the remaining water. Cook over medium heat, letting it simmer without coming to a true boil, stirring, until it has thickened.