nw2s

• 12 oz tomato paste
• 1/4 c honey
• 1/4 c good red wine vinegar
• 1/8 c worchestershire sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• cayenne to taste (optional)

Mix together and chill for a few hours. Adjust to your own tastes – ketchup is really just a sweet/salty/tangy perhaps spicy condiment made from tomato paste. Maybe you like it a little tangier or sweeter. The vinegar will have a big effect on the outcome so make sure you find something that you like.

Then, eat lots of hot dogs.

• 330 g flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 400 g sugar
• 1 1/2 c butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 c raspberries, slightly mashed
• 1/2 c sunflower seeds
• 1/2 c flax seeds
• 1/2 c oats

Vegan version:

• substitute 1 1/2 c oil for butter
• substitute 1/2 c flax meal processed with 3/4 c water for egg

We picked another 3 lbs of raspberries this weekend. I used about 2 lbs making 4 loaves of bread! I’m going to a friend’s house for some grilling whose wife is vegan. I’ve never cooked vegan before (on purpose, anyway), so gave it a shot.

For the vegan version, combine the flax meal and water in a food processor and process until it becomes thick. Refrigerate until needed.

Grease 2 5×9 bread pans. Mix dry ingredients including the nuts and oats. In a separate bowl, mash the raspberries with a potato masher and combine with the sugar, melted and cooled butter (or oil), and eggs (or flax meal concoction). Combine with the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325.

• 320 g bread flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks butter
• 50 g white sugar
• 248 g dark brown sugar
• 1 egg and 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• 1 12 oz package semisweet or milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 package toffee chips (optional)
• 1 c  buckwheat groats (optional, but oh so good)

Melt the butter in a saucepan and allow to cool. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Combine the sugar and butter in a stand mixer and beat at a medium speed until whipped up. Add the eggs, vanilla and milk on a slower speed and mix until combined. Use the mixer to mix in the dry ingredients. By hand mix in the extras – chocolate chips, toffee, and groats.

Katrina asked me if the groats made them more healthy. My guess – no. They taste good tho. They’re nutty and crunchy, but not as heavy as walnuts or hazelnuts.

• 330 g flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 400 g sugar
• 1 1/2 c. butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 c sliced strawberries, slightly mashed
• 1/2 c sunflower seeds
• 1/2 c flax seeds
• 1/2 c oats

This is a little different from most strawberry breads I found. I reduced the sugar a little, changed the oil to butter, and added some grains and nuts. Overall it’s a little less sweet, and if you cook it the full 1:15, it turns out a little chewier than you’d expect, but I like that.

Slice the strawberries and add 100g of the sugar. Allow to macerate for an hour or so and speed the process along a little bit by mashing them up with a potato masher.

Grease 2 5×9 bread pans. Mix dry ingredients including the nuts and oats. In a separate bowl combine the remaining sugar, melted and cooled butter, eggs, and macerated strawberries. Combine with the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325.

For the potatoes:

• ‘B’ size red potatoes (about a peck’s worth, or enough to fill your roasting pan)
• olive oil
• 2 tbsp ground curry powder
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• pinch of ground cinnamon
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• pinch of ground cloves
• hefty pinch of kosher salt

For the yogurt:

• 8oz strained yogurt
• half of a bunch of cilantro
• 1/4 tsp salt
• juice of one lime

Preheat the oven to 425 – we’re roasting the potatoes, not baking them! Rinse the potatoes and slice them into 8ths – once each in the x, y, and z planes. Dump them into the roasting pan and toss with enough olive oil to coat. Add spices and salt and toss. Roast for about 45 – 50 minutes, stirring them (scrape the bottom!) once every 10 – 15 minutes. Turn on the broiler for another 10 – 15 minutes, shaking every few minutes for even browning.

While the potatoes are in the oven, finely chop the cilantro and mix with yogurt, salt, and lime juice. Allow to set in the fridge for the remaining time.

I’ve made a couple of batches of peanut butter and cashew butter. I don’t know what got into me, but I thought If just peanuts taste good, it’s gotta taste better with everything in it! Honestly, I think I need to add a lot more oil to the butter than I’m comfortable doing. What I’ve been making should be rolled in parchment paper and sliced instead of spread out of a tub. I should probably use peanut oil instead. We’ll see next time.

• 5 oz peanuts
• 5 oz cashews
• 5 oz almonds
• 1/2 c sunflower seeds
• 1/2 c flax meal
• 1/2 c cappings
• 1/2 c honey
• 1/4 c vegetable oil

Roast the nuts and seeds in a 425 degree oven until they start to smell toasty.  In a food processor combine the cooled nuts and seeds, flasx meal, honey, cappings, and vegetable oil. Process until it’s smooth. I’m seriously considering rolling it up in some parchment paper next time, but for now, it’s sitting in my fridge in a 24oz jar.

Serve with raspberry preserves that you made from your roadside raspberries.

Last year when barb and I were biking around so much, I think we just missed prime raspberry season before we had everything together enough to notice. Raspberry collecting involves an amount of patience. First, you need to be traveling by a means that’s slow enough to realize you’re passing patch after patch of the bright red berry. Second, you need to have a little extra time to stop and collect them. Lest you forget, you’ll also need something to collect them in — unless you want to gorge yourself on the spot.

Yesterday, we were walking the Briarcliff-Peekskill trailway and took a detour along the road a little ways to avoid some of the muddier sections. We filled up a 1-liter Nalgene bottle… Great excuse to have ice cream for dessert.

I thought I’d take advantage of the short span of sun and 80+ degree weather to make some summery sodas. I’d been wanting to make some sort of tea soda, but it felt a little odd just making green tea alone, so here’s my recipe…

• 1 tbsp (or more to taste) grated ginger
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• 4 bags green tea
• 3/4 c white sugar
• 2 liters water
• 1/4 c lime juice

Heat the water to near boiling and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to dissolve the sugar and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Use a few layers of cheese cloth and a coffee filter to strain the tea into a 2 liter soda bottle. I had some trouble with my Chemex filter clogging, so I’d use cheese cloth next time just to make it go a little faster. You don’t want any pulp, though, as it’ll cause the soda to go flat faster.

Chill for a few hours, carbonate, and allow to settle.

I finally got a soda contraption together. With a 10lb cylinder of CO2, a regulator, ball lock tap, and carbonator, I can carbonate pretty much anything you can put in a plastic soda bottle! I started with some easy stuff that will probably get me through most of the summer including lime and grapefruit soda, but am also trying to push the envelope a little… I’ve been threatening to carbonate milk product as long as I’ve been tracking down the bits to do it with. Here’s my recipe for a vanilla egg cream or just cream soda if you’re not from New York.

• 3/8 c granulated sugar (6 tbsp)
• 1 c whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 c  warm water
• cold water to fill a 1 liter soda bottle

Pour the granulated sugar in the bottle and put about a cup of warm water in and shake to dissolve. Add the rest to fill up the bottle with a little space on top. Refrigerate until well chilled and carbonate to about 40psi. Give it some time to rest in the fridge. If it’s settled some, turn over a couple of times to mix it up. Be sure to release the pressure on the carbonator cap before opening as this is likely to foam up.

Good stuff. Here’s a picture of my rented CO2 cylinder and beer regulator under the sink and the finished product.

This is my version of a couple of different cakes we had when we were in Argentina. I’d link to the cafes, but Barb’s not here and I have no idea which places they were. It’s a little involved, but worth it. It’s essentially a yellow bundt cake with butter rum sauce poured over it and served topped with dulce de leche whipped cream. MMMmmm… it’s in the oven right now.

Cake

• 426g all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

• 1 c butter
• 396g sugar
• 4 tbsp powdered buttermilk
• 4 eggs
• 1 c water (subst. real buttermilk or plain milk + lemon juice depending on availability)
• 2 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Cream sugar and butter. Add powdered buttermilk. Beat eggs in a bowl and add vanilla. Slowly add egg mixture, allowing to incorporate completely. Alternate adding dry ingredients and water until just combined. If you can’t find the powdered buttermilk which is super handly to have around, use real buttermilk, or worst case, use milk with some lemon juice, as you need a little extra acid.

Grease a bundt pan – with melted butter to work into all the crevaces. Bake at 325 for 55-65 minutes.

Butter Rum Sauce

• 1 c sugar
• 0.25 c water
• 0.25 c butter
• 3 (or so) tbsp dark rum

While the cake’s in the oven, combine the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and take off the heat. If you want more of the alcohol flavor, don’t add the rum until you take it off the heat. I like the rum taste, but don’t like the alcohol, so cook most of it off.

While the cake is still warm, poke it with a skewer (a lot) and pour the sauce over it. Allow it to soak in for an hour or two and then turn the cake over to allow it to fall out of the pan. If you have a torch, a hit with that will help, otherwise let it sit as long as you can stand it and the give it a few good shakes. Don’t try too hard or it’ll come apart.

Dulce de Leche Mousse

• 1.75 c whipping cream
• 12 oz dulce de leche
• 1 tbsp dark rum
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp gelatin powder

Chill bowls, cream, and mixing implements thoroughly beforehand.

Gently melt the butter and add the rum and dulce de leche to soften. Allow to cool a bit.

Combine 1/4 c cream and gelatin in a small metal bowl or measuring cup to allow the gelatin to dissolve. Genltly warm on a burner to complete, but do not bring to a boil. Stir into the dulce de leche.

In a mixer, beat the cream to medium peaks. I never can tell… do it till it looks good and tasty. Combine some of the whipped cream with the dulce de leche mixture to lighten. Then fold in that into the whipped cream in two stages. Don’t over mix, if it’s not perfectly combined, that just adds character.

Allow to chill covered for at least 8 hours before you get your grubby hands in it.

Serve the cake slices with heaping portions of the mouse. Sleep well.