Ricotta Doughnuts!

I always make homemade doughnuts on Conference weekend. It's an indulgence for sure, but I look forward to them as much as the kids, even though I can't enjoy as MANY as they do! I usually stick with my mom's tried and true recipe, but I'm also a sucker for new recipes so we tried these ricotta doughnuts for a change.  With eggs and ricotta, these do have some protein to balance the sugar. Not health food by any means, but we did have green smoothies to go with them! I added a bunch of extra spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves) to the batter and they were delicious. It's hard to go wrong with  homemade doughnuts though.



Ricotta Doughnuts

 Ingredients
6 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 pound whole or skim milk ricotta
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (any whole grain flour works fine)
1 heaping tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Canola or vegetable oil for frying
Powdered sugar in a shaker or cinnamon sugar

Instructions
1. In a large bowl, together the eggs, sugar, ricotta, flour, baking powder, and vanilla extract until combined, being careful not to over mix the batter.
2. Heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a deep, heavy pot to 325°F. Drop the batter by small ice cream scoopfuls or small spoonfuls (use 2 teaspoons) into the oil and fry for 3 minutes, turning often, until golden brown on each side. You may need fry the doughnuts in two batches to avoid crowding the pot. Break open doughnut to make sure it’s cooked all the way through. Scoop out the doughnuts with a slotted spoon and transfer to paper towels or a brown paper bag to drain. Let the oil come back up to temperature and repeat with remaining batter.

3. Dust  with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar and serve hot.


This recipe made quite a bit so the kids were stoked to have doughnuts two times!! Who kidnapped our mom, the children asked?


Somebody wants to be just like his big brother. Look at that cute little thumb!

Every time I make green smoothies, I think of this video . My friend, Darcie, shared this gem (made by her cousins) with me. It's hilarious!

Lemon Pancakes

 Thank you, Erin! My sister sent me the recipe for these delicious lemon pancakes. We all loved them, but Zig, who typically doesn't eat pancakes, thought they were fantastic.


The kids were so eager to eat these that they couldn't even wait for the berries to defrost, hence the frosty raspberries!


Lemon Pancakes
 Combine the dry ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Combine the wet ingredients:
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
Zest of 2 lemons
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix wet and dry ingredients together and prepare the pancakes. Erin said maple syrup would overpower the lemon flavor, which is the special part of these pancakes, so we served them with raspberries and drizzled some lightly sweetened creme fraiche on them (Rollin still wanted a little maple syrup on his). The rest of us thought they were plenty sweet with just a slight sprinkle of raw sugar at the end. Pretty tasty! Oh, and I also added a few drops of lemon oil to the batter. Definitely not necessary, but that stuff is extremely powerful and really ups the intensity of the lemon flavor.

And speaking of breakfast, Zig typically goes for savory breakfasts like this one, all from our garden. We have some amazing tomatoes right now and these little yellow ones are our favorite.

pumpkin scones and halloween

The kids love Halloween. And why wouldn't they...they get to have a week of fun festivities, parties at school, work, and church. Candy, candy and more candy! Halloween seems to get bigger and bigger every year with the hoopla stretching out for weeks prior. So I must say I feel some relief when we finally get the actual day behind us. This year it fell on Sunday so we opted to stay home and keep it low key. I left that decision up to the kids, and it seemed like a fairly simple choice for them. They already had way more candy than they were going to be allowed to keep at this point anyway. Since Halloween was on Sunday and Zig was feeling a little bit obligated, we did the Friday Microsoft trick-or-treating for the first (and last) time. Way too much candy for far too little work :)

We stopped by Zig's office. I always loved going to my Dad's office when I was a kid, and my children are no different.



chubby fish


It was all too much for Evan. He was a mad fishie when he couldn't eat candy to his heart's content.


We  had our neighbors over for dinner on Sunday evening which was very fun. I always make Dad's chili, cornbread, salad, and pumpkin scones. This year I tried a new pumpkin scone recipe and it's definitely a keeper. Lots of spice and tastes so yummy right out of the oven.

Pumpkin Scones with Autumn Spiced Glaze

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground all spice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 7 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 large egg

For the spiced glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• A pinch of all spice
• A pinch ginger
• A pinch ground cloves

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.

With your hands, mix the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

In a medium bowl combine the pumpkin, sugar, cream and egg with a whisk. Fold into the dry ingredients and mix with a large spoon until the dry bits at the bottom of the bowl have been incorporated.

With your hands, pat the mix into a ball and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Continue to shape into a ball, then gently press down and out, forming the dough into a flattened circle about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. If the edges of the circle start to crack just place the palm of your hand against the edge and gently press the dough back in. Dust a large, sharp knife with flour and cut the dough into six triangles. Slide the knife under each triangle to help you lift and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet.

I think I've finally got your chili recipe down, Dad! I got the Rotel and I think of you every time I chop the heck out of those veggies!

The kids chose their costumes and I only made one last minute run to one store this year for a pacifier and bottle for Sela who changed her costume idea many, many times. I made it to all the class parties and really enjoyed watching the kids and all their friends celebrating.

 
Sela becoming a baby.




Sela and friends

Sela's friend, Treela, with her precious baby sister.


I love this shot...both fourth graders in Sela's class! The girls are obviously having their growth spurts a bit earlier than the boys!


Nina, Maisy & Sydney


Nina's red carpet moment


Nina and her best little buddy, Kate!

And last but not least, Zig and I went to the Hansen's international themed Halloween party. I had one decent outift that would fit the theme so India it was!

Zig is a good sport. He loves dressing up. I mean just look at that face! Okay, yes, I bribed him...again.

Happy Halloween!

savory breakfasts

I've been trying to add more savory breakfast ideas (preferably vegetarian) to my repetoire. Now that the kids are back in school, I am saving pancakes for the weekend and trying to curb their little sweet tooths (teeth?) to prepare for flu season and to put them in the best frame of mind for learning and staying focused. I'm also re-reading a book about cancer and there is such a huge connection between over-consumption of  sugar (even in natural forms), the immune system, and ultimately disease. I think we can all do better in this area, Zig and I included. So anyway, the point of this post is that I tried a new recipe this weekend that is a perfect easy, healthy breakfast and it fits my criteria for savory breakfasts. I don't mind spending a little extra time in the morning to prepare breakfast because it is such an important meal, but this recipe is super fast. The recipe is for Okonomiyaki, or Japanese Pizza and it disappeared in a flash! Cabbage is one vegetable that everyone in our family totally loves and the bulk of this pizza is leeks and cabbage.  It got the thumbs up from the three oldest. Evie had already eaten his peaches and eggs by the time I made the real breakfast (he's my earliest bird), but I think he would like it too. When I read some of the reader comments on 101 Cookbooks, I noticed many said this pizza is served with a sauce made of mayonaise and tamari in Japan, or at least some mayonaise/soy sauce concoction. So I mixed some tamari and mayonaise and this simple sauce did make the dish perfect. We had chives from our garden for garnish and toasted almond slices. And ours looked just like the picture on 101, only my camera is broken and had to be sent back to Nikon to hopefully be fixed. Sadness.

Anyway, I'll post more keepers as I find them. I'm on the hunt!

* I also found this recipe at Mothering with some additional ideas for Okonomiyaki.

berry + dark chocolate muffins

I love this recipe because the muffins are only slightly sweet. These taste like muffins should taste, which in my opinion, is not like cupcakes. I use strawberries, raspberries or a mixture. And I use more berries than the recipe calls for. We often sprinkle little bits of dark chocolate and berries on the tops and if we're really getting fancy (pretty much all the time), a little bit of turbinado (raw cane sugar) to make them have a bit of a crunch. Sugar sprinkling is a coveted job around here. Rollin did the honors this morning.

raspberry & chocolate

strawberry & chocolate

Muffins à la Framboise, Eclats de Fève de Cacao

- 4 Tbsp (75 g) butter
- 2 C (230 g) all-purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
- 1/2 C (100 g) sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 C (125 ml) plain yogurt
- 1/2 C (125 ml) buttermilk / fermented milk / kefir
- 1 C raspberries (or more!)
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate pieces

Yield : 12 muffins

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease (or line with paper cups or leave alone if they are silicon) a set of muffin tins.

Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan, and set aside to cool. In a small bowl, combine the cacao nibs and brown sugar. Set aside.

In a medium mixing-bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt) and stir to mix. In another medium bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (butter, egg, yogurt and buttermilk). Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients, and stir with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix. The mixture will be lumpy, that's okay. Fold in the berries and dark chocolate bits.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tins and into the oven to bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until risen and golden. Turn out on a rack to cool, and wait for 10-15 minutes before removing from the tins. Serve warm or completely cooled.

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

For the past 8 years, we've headed to the strawberry patches each spring to pick (and eat) those incredible sun-ripened berries. There is nothing like a fresh, perfectly-ripe strawberry. One of the things I first loved about springtime in Washington was the abundance of berries! We get them all...strawberries in June, followed by raspberries (both golden and red) and blueberries in July, and blackberries in August. The kids also pick wild salmon berries along the trails when we are mountain biking or hiking.


This year, instead of traveling to a strawberry farm, we simply had to cross the yard to our garden to harvest pounds and pounds of luscious, juicy strawberries! I won't lie, it's been heaven!



















With an unusually warm winter and cooler than average spring, the rest of the garden and fruit trees are seriously confused and floundering a bit. But the berries exploded. We've canned nearly 30 jars of jam and have almost filled the freezer full of gallon sized bags of frozen strawberries. We can pick and pick and pick and still not finish. We have the ever-bearing strawberries which produce all summer, so this certainly won't be the last strawberry recipe I share, but it might be the best!

I found this recipe in the Edible Seattle Magazine May/June issue. I love that magazine! The instructions are quite detailed, and you could make the biscuits, whip the cream, slice the berries and assemble and it would be fine, but after reading the article which devoted an entire page discussing the way to turn an ordinary shortcake into a memorable one, I decided to follow the recipe exactly and slice, macerate, and smash the berries. The author pointed out that you need lots of juices to make the best shortcake, and after trying it this way, I totally agree. These were heavenly. I made them for breakfast for the kids and their friends who had spent the night. They all licked their bowls clean, surprise surprise.

Jon Rowley's Super Sumptious Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake with Drop Biscuits


Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour (I'm sure you could use whole wheat pastry or spelt)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (one stick) butter, chilled
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons cream

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.

Put all the dry ingredients together in a food processor. Pulse. Chop a stick of butter into small cubes. Add them to the flour and pulse till the mixture resembles rough meal. Add the milk and pulse until the dough starts to pull away from the bowl. DO NOT OVERMIX!

Spoon the dough in six equal portions onto the baking sheet. Brush the tops lightly with cream. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.


Berries
3 pints of ripe strawberries (they need to be juicy!)
1-4 tablespoons of sugar

Hull and slice 1/3 of the strawberries into large, irregular chunks. Cut any small berries in half vertically. Add a tablespoon or two of sugar and let the berries macerate for an hour.

10-15 minutes before you're ready to eat the shortcakes, tear 1/3 of the berries. Hold a small handful of berries in one hand, place your other hand on top and gently apply pressure while twisting over a bowl, this motion pulls the fruit apart into soft pieces without crushing their structure. Add a small amoutn of sugar to taste.
Slice and add the remaining 1/3 of your fresh berries. Combine all berries and add sugar to taste. Reserve some smaller whole berries to garnish.

Whipped Cream
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
2 tablespoons sugar or to taste

Using electric mixture or wire wisk, whip the cream and sugar until it forms soft, but slightly firm peaks.

Assembly
Slice a biscuit in half. Place bottom half on a plate. Top with a moderate pile of berries, a little extra juice and a big spoonful of whipping cream. Cover with the top half of the biscuit, anothe rlayer of berries and c ream in slightly smaller quantities than the first layer. For the final touch, drizzle a tablespoon of juice over the top and garnish with a small, whole strawberry.



Mmmm, mmmm, good! A big mosquito bite on the cheek and strawberry shortcake in the mouth, that's about as summer as it gets!

Be Bop Breakfast

Yesterday, Zig got up with Evan and made the both of them breakfast. So what's a sane mother to do when the early bird is occupied? Sleep in, of course. But I can never really go back to sleep in the morning so I walked a couple steps to my computer and visited one of my favorite cooking sites. I can't rave enough about Cynthia Lair, but suffice it to say she's the real deal. I've seen her lecture, been in a class of hers at Bastyr, attended her cooking classes, and own her cookbooks. She's fantastic.

But anyway, after just a few minutes browsing her breakfast recipes, I was totally inspired to try this new breakfast called Be Bop Breakfast. And it did not disappoint. It's a take on a Korean dish that I love as well. In fact I had to run find Zig out in the yard afterwards and tell him about the awesome breakfast I was going to make for him the next day. We eat eggs and kale a lot in the mornings, but this recipe had rice and the condiments really make it sing, especially the Thai Chili sauce. A definite new favorite. In fact, I just made it again!

Pan Apple Pancake

I can't remember if I've posted this recipe before, but this is one of my favorite breakfast recipes. I love rustic looking dishes and this one is delicious and takes about as long to prepare as oatmeal, making it a great weekday breakfast. I served slices with a little whipped cream and maple syrup. I like using Granny Smith apples in this dish.

The recipe is from www.mothering.com



Pan Apple Pancakes
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (whole wheat pastry works fine too)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
3 medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/4 cup brown sugar
Powdered sugar for dusting
Maple syrup

Combine the eggs, milk, flour, granulated sugar, and vanilla in a blender. Blend until smooth, and set aside.
Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet that can later be placed in the oven. Then add the sliced apples and the brown sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about ten minutes or until the apples begin to turn a golden brown. Remove pan from heat.
Pour the blended mixture over the apples in the pan, and move the pan to the oven. Immediately put the pan into the oven at 425°F. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until the batter is browned and slightly raised. Once you remove the pan from the oven, dust with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges and serve with maple syrup.

Frittata

One of the (few) perks of having 1 o'clock church is having time to prepare a Sunday brunch. I give the kids a small bowl of cereal when they wake up to hold them over and we eat a couple hours later.

I've had my eye on the fritatta recipe below for a couple months and I finally got around to making it Sunday. I forgot to buy the cilantro so I couldn't make the chili sauce, but I made the fritatta with white, red, and purple potatoes, cauliflower and feta cheese instead of goat (I didn't have any). Oh, and some chopped and sauteed kale sprinkled on at the end. I squeezed lemon on it just before serving. Seriously, this is my favorite frittata yet! I can't wait to make it with the cilantro chili sauce.

101cookbooks delivers once again!



A Tasty Frittata Recipe

Cilantro Chile Sauce
2 large cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 small bunch cilantro
1 green (serrano) chile, seeds removed
2 pinches ground cumin
a couple big pinches of salt

Frittata
6 large organic eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 small potatoes, very very thinly sliced
1/2 cup yellow zucchini or cauliflower,1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
couple pinches of salt
Preheat your oven to 450F degrees. Make the cilantro chile sauce by pureeing the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, cilantro, chile, cumin, and salt until very smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk the eggs with a small pinch of salt. Set aside. In a (small) 8 1/2-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat add the olive oil, onion, and another pinch of salt. Saute, stirring constantly, until the onion starts to brown, 5 - 7 minutes. Add the potatoes and zucchini (or cauliflower), cover, and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Slide everything out of the skillet onto a plate and set aside.

Turn down the heat a bit. Using the same skillet, add the eggs and cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until the eggs are just set and there isn't a lot of liquid running around the pan. To facilitate this, run a spatula underneath the sides of the frittata and tilt the pan so the uncooked eggs run to the underside and cook. Drizzle the eggs with a few tablespoons of the cilantro chile sauce, now sprinkle the potato onion mixture over the top.

Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 9 minutes, or until well set and puffy. Add a crumble of goat cheese and the pumpkin seeds across the top of the frittata in the final 2 minutes of baking. Remove from oven (be careful the handle is hot!), cut into wedges and serve.

Serves 2 to 4.

Breakfast Muffins

I tried a new muffin recipe this morning. I love muffins and these were super delish! The recipe made 12 regular sized muffins and 24 mini-muffins, perfect for snacking.

Apple-Carrot Muffins

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup flaxseed meal
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup brown sugar
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 T cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 1/2 c carrots
2 apples, shredded
1/2 cup raisins, optional
1 cup walnuts, chopped or ground
3/4 cup 1% milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin pans or line with paper cups. Mix together flours, flaxseed meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir in carrots, apples, raisins and walnuts. Combine milk, beaten eggs and vanilla in another bowl. Pur liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until ingredients moistened. Do not overmix. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

zucchini muffins

I don't think I'll ever find a zucchini muffin recipe that I could love anymore than this one. I have my everyday zucchini chocolate chip muffin recipe that I can whip up in five minutes for the kids. But this recipe is a little more grown up. It requires a tiny bit more time, but it is just an awesome combination of textures and flavor. Of course, you have to like poppy seeds, walnuts, ginger and curry. I love them all so this is my kind of muffin. The recipe made like 60 mini muffins so there are plenty to share with friends and neighbors.



















Zucchini Curry Muffins
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, plus a few to sprinkle on top
1/3 cup poppy seeds (optional)
zest of two lemons (optional)
1/2 cup crystalized ginger, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large (preferably organic) eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini (about 3 medium), skins on, squeeze some of the moisture out and then fluff it up again before using
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or apf flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon curry powder (optional)



Special equipment: two 1 pound loaf pans (5 x 9 inches) I used mini-muffin tins.
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter the two loaf pans, dust them with a bit of flour and set aside. Alternately, you can line the pans with a sheet of parchment. If you leave a couple inches hanging over the pan, it makes for easy removal after baking. Just grab the parchment "handles" and lift the zucchini bread right out.
In a small bowl combine the walnuts, poppy seeds, lemon zest, and ginger. Set aside.
In a mixer, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat again until mixture comes together and is no longer crumbly. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Stir in the vanilla and then the zucchini (low speed if you are using a mixer).
In a separate bowl, combine the whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and curry powder. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two batches, stirring between each addition.
By hand, fold in the walnut, poppy seed, lemon zest, and crystalized ginger mixture. Save a bit of this to sprinkle on the tops of the zucchini loaves before baking for a bit of texture. Avoid over mixing the batter, it should be thick and moist, not unlike a butter cream frosting.
Divide the batter equally between the two loaf pans. Make sure it is level in the pans, by running a spatula over the top of each loaf. Bake for about 40-45 minutes on a middle oven rack. I like to under bake my zucchini bread ever so slightly to ensure it stays moist. Keep in mind it will continue to cook even after it is removed from the oven as it is cooling. Remove from the oven and cool the zucchini bread in pan for about ten minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to finish cooling - if you leave them in their pans, they will get sweaty and moist (not in a good way) as they cool.
Makes 2 loaves.

*This recipe is from 101 cookbooks.