Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Oatmeal Scones/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.

In Marlfox, these are served for breakfast by making a diagonal cut into the scone, filling it with a gob of honey, and topping with a thin slice of crystallized plum.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

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.



Monday, March 17, 2014

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.

In Taggerung, they 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.