Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Zucchini is in abundance at this time of year so I pulled out my MIL's recipe, got all the ingredients together and got to baking. Hubby and I enjoyed some for dessert at supper..(minus the flower and leaves of course). The rest will be shared! Hmm..who would like some??

Here are some of the ingredients for:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups finely shredded zucchini..(peel and all)
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts, I used pecans
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter, oil and sugar, blend in vanilla, eggs and buttermilk. Mix dry ingredients and shredded zucchini and mix in with the moist ingredients except for the nuts and choc chips.
Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Srinkle with nuts and choc chips.
Bake in preheated 325 oven for 45 min.

This is how the cake looks when baked.

BERRY CRUMBLE (or Apple Crumble/Crisp)

I got this recipe from the Mennonite Treasury and usually make it with apples, but lately I’ve liked using a combination of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.
I also like to make a larger batch of the crumble mix and freeze some for a quick dessert another day. Sometimes I add slivered or sliced almonds.

Ingredients:
3 - 4 cups berries or chopped apples
(Granny Smith & Graffenstein apples are good)
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cups rolled oats

Place fruit in a pie or Pyrex dish dish. Blend the rest of the ingredients with a pastry blender until all the butter is blended in and pastry is all crumbs. Sprinkle over fruit and bake at 350F about 30 min. Serve hot, with ice cream.

Pie by the yard

Well technically the pie is only about one foot long.
With the transparent apples ready in our region, the apple peelers are going full throttle.
This little apple peeler has peeled many apples.
After school snacks, apple sauce and of course pies. . .it's the handiest little tool.

Dough

• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 egg yolks
• enough buttermilk to make 3/4 cup with the egg yolks in the cup

1. Mix together the flour and the soda and the salt
2. Cut the butter into the flour mixture
3. add the yolk and the buttermilk which has been stirred together
4. Stir together with a fork as well as you can
5. turn the dough onto the countertop and form into a ball
6. flatten into a rectangular disc and put it in the refrigerator for an hour
7. Peel and slice enough apples to make 8 cups.

Toss the apples with 1 1/2 tablespoons minit tapioca.

Add 3/4 cup sugar.

Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 F

1. Divide the dough into two pieces.
2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
3. Roll each piece of dough roughly the size of the cookie sheet.
4. Roll the dough onto a rolling pin and transfer onto the two cookie sheets.
5. Divide the apple mixture between the two pieces of dough.
6. Fold first one long side over and then the other and then fold the ends onto the top last.
7. Take the two egg whites and beat them until soft peaks form.
8. With your fingers spread the egg white over top the pies as shown.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

I do both of mine at the same time in the convection oven . . but with a regular oven I would do one at a time.
I would completely put together one. . slip it in the oven and put together the second one while the first one is baking.

Glaze

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• a drip of vanilla

Stir together until no lumps remain and then drizzle over the pie as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let cool completely and then slice. .

They'll come on bended knee to have a slice of this when they smell it baking. . even if they have no teeth. . .smirk

Lemon Lassies

This recipe comes from a well used set of Pillsbury cookbooks. The combination of cinnamon spiced cookie and creamy lemon coconut filling is wonderful and is my youngest son's favourite cookie. They are a change from the familiar drop cookie and they keep very well both in the cookie jar (although they often disappear before they get there) and in the freezer


Lemon Filling
2 eggs
1/2cup sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp. butter
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup medium sweetened coconut

In small sauce pan or microwavable bowl, combine all filling ingredients except coconut. Cook over low heat until thickened stirring constantly, or in microwave for 1 minute intervals stirring well in between.
Remove from heat; add coconut. Cool.

Cookie dough:
1/2 cup butter or margarine softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt

In large mixer bowl combine margarine, sugar egg and molasses. Add dry ingredients Blend well with mixer.
Divide dough into 4 parts.


Shape each part into a 12-15 inch roll. Place 2 rolls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten each roll to a 2 1/2 inch strip. Repeat with the other 2 rolls on a second cooke sheet.


Spread 1/4 of the filling down the centre of each roll and using a spatula, roll long edges to the centre to cover filling. (I find that they look nicer if you let some of the filling show)



Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.




Cut while warm into 1 inch pieces. Remove from pans and cool.

Spicey BBQ Meatballs or Farmer Sausage

This is a great sauce served with meatballs or this post is with farmer sausage which our family all loves. I made this recipe even before I was married so that is over 25 years. I have tried a number of others and keep coming back to this.

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 chopped onion

1 cup ketchup

1 cup water

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp paprika or may use part chili powder

1 tbsp. dry mustard

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup vinegar

Saute onion in olive oil, add 1 whole farmer sausage if using. Combine remaining ingredients and boil for 5 minutes. Pour over two lbs of meatballs, Bake for 40 minutes or place meatballs/farmer sausage in crock pot and cook on low 4-6 hours. The longer the meat sits in the sauce the tastier it is. Great the next day. Serves well with mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.

Trudy's Granola

Living healthy becomes important as we have so many choices today.
I have a sister-in-law who always shares some wholesome healthy recipes.
I started making this granola a few years back,
and this has become one of my staples in our home for our grandkids.
He calls granola, "Crumbs"
Whenever the little one is hungry he says,
"Oma, can I have some yogurt with Crumbs?"

5 Cups Quick Oats
1/2 Cup Sesame Seeds
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Seeds
1 Cup unsweetened med-coconut
1 Cup Sunflower seeds
1 Cup almonds
1 Cup cashews

Mix all these ingredients in a large stainless steel bowl.
I make sure that I chop my almonds and cashews coarsely.
In fact I use any nuts, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts etc. that will equal two cups.

In a small bowl, I mix the following ingredients.
2 tsp. almond flavor
1/4 Cup water
1/4 Cup oil (not virgin oil)
3/4 Cup honey
I stir these ingredients and blend them together with my Brown mixer.
It makes the right consistency.
Then mix the wet ingredients with the dry.
Stir till all the ingredients are moist.

Bake in the oven in a 9x12 cake pan at 350'
Stir every three minutes for up to 30 minutes.
I prefer my granola crunchy.

When cool, pour Granola into a container and freeze.

Serve over yogurt, add some fresh berries,
(In winter I add frozen berries)
Cover with a large spoonful of Granola.
This has been a life saver for many a quick healthy snack.

MY FAVORITE PIE CRUST

We had a family gathering and I baked three Rhubarb pies since we all have our personal favorites. Try them all and decide for your self......mine is rhubarb cream. The other two had even ties. I wouldn't know I didn't get to taste them, sigh.

This is truly a wonderful crust, I always always have success with it.

5 cups flour

pinch of salt

1 lb of lard or shortening, chilled

1 cup of cold ginger ale or 7-up

Mix flour and salt, cut in the lard and pour in the ginerale. Try not to over work the dough and have all the ingredients cold.

If you make a one crust pie, put it into the pie plate and chill before baking. Make at 375 for about 12-15 minutes or it has reached desired doneness. (it helps keep it from shrinking).

Double 9" crust rhubarb pie filling;

2 tbsp. flour

1-11/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp.butter

mix and pour over 2 c. rhubarb (cut up strawberries are always nice added as well)

Brush top of crust with egg or cream, sprinkle with a little more sugar and back at 425 for 10 minutes on bottom rack then at 350 for about 40-45 minutes.

Cover top of pie with foil if it is getting to brown to ensure rhubarb being cooked.

ENJOY

Rhubarb Cream Pie

Hey mom can we have pie?
sure just wait til I take.........never mind.
TEENAGERS!



When my youngest daughter was born I recieved some wonderful meals and this pie was part of a fabulous dinner and is my personal favorite.
Baked pie shell, filled with a Rhubarb custard. Delish!
3c. rhubarb
1-11/2 c. sugar
2 tbsp. flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
2-4 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine rhubarb, half the sugar and cook til rhubarb is softened about 10 min. Mix remaining sugar, flour, salt, egg and milk. Add a little cooked rhubarb to mixture to temper the egg, then mix in with remaining rhubarb, cook a few minutes til thick . Add vanilla and butter. Pour into baked pie shell. Cool and serve with whip cream.

Rhubarb,Strawberry Streusel Pie

Line 9" pie plate with pastry.
Fill with 3 c. of cut up rhubarb
and a few strawberries.
Mix with:
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. flour
mix and pour over the fruit
Top with streusel:
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. butter
Bake at 450 for 10 minutes then at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

apple pie squares

There’s nothing quite like apple pie in July! Yellow transparents are an early apple and ready for the picking…and make a wonderful, old-fashioned apple pie. I like to make 'apple-pie-by-the-pan' to feed a crowd...or simply to freeze and take out a few pieces at a time.

Apple Pie Squares

1 ½ cup margarine

3 ¾ cup flour

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 egg yolk and milk to make 1 cup

6 cups peeled, sliced apples

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

Cut margarine into flour and salt.

Add egg yolk and milk.

Roll out half the dough and place on large bar pan...about 12 x 16 inches.

Spread apple slices evenly over bottom pastry.

Sprinkle with sugar, flour, and cinnamon mixture.

Roll out other half of dough and place on top…pinch edges.

Beat egg white until foamy and spread over crust.

Bake at 400 for fifteen minutes…reduce heat to 325 and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Chicken Crepes

These crepes often bring back memories of the couple who was teaching/mentoring us when we were in a young marrieds class. Hank and Joyce modeled true caring and hospitality to all of us and often had a large group at their house on Sundays for brunch. We learned so much from them! I remember large cookie sheets of crepes coming out of their oven and being so impressed with the ease and joy they served us with, together. It made me want to be like that. I have altered the recipe a bit, although I think I would like to try it again in the way that they made them, with a little dry white wine in the sauce. For now I will just write it out the way I’ve made them. Always good! Use leftover, turkey, roast chicken or rotisserie chicken (when it's too hot to cook). Cubes best once it's been refrigerated. The meat goes a long way. I usually serve these with stovetop and/or rice, steamed broccoli and a cucumber salad.

CREPES
2 eggs
1 cup milk
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup flour
Beat with whisk or electric beater.
Fill ladle with 3 Tbsp of batter and pour into a small, heated (7”) Teflon pan, holding it slightly at an angle and then rotating to cover. Cook just below med heat. Usually no need to grease, maybe spray for first crepe. Makes about 10.


CHEESE SAUCE
Melt 2-3 Tbsp margarine on low heat, then with whisk,
stir in 2 Tbsp flour (mine are rounded, so maybe 3 to be exact)
add 1 1/2 cups milk, starting slowly, stirring until smooth.
As sauce heats, add:
2 Tbsp cheezwhiz (or 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese) and
1/2 Knorr chicken bouillon cube (use other half in rice)
Stir until sauce begins to bubble

Mix 1/1/2 – 2 cups cooked, cubed chicken with cheese sauce, saving some of the sauce for topping.
Spoon into crepes, roll up and lay side by side into pyrex casserole dish.
Spoon saved cheese sauce over center of crepes and bake at 350 F, 20 min. I usually cover with foil to prevent drying out. You can probably heat them for 10 min without foil. These can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.

Summer Cake

Lisa's Summer Cake
3/4 c flour
1 tsp baking powder -			dry stuff
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c milk			wet stuff
1/8 c veg oil (canola) -
1 egg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbl brown sugar -			topping
dot with butter
- whisk up your wet stuff until combined.
-add your dry and fold in.
-pour into a greased 9" round pan and spread evenly
-cut up fruit
and put thickly on cake, or sprinkle with berries.
-sprinkle toppings over fruit
-bake @ 400F for 25 min or until done.
-Serve warm with vanilla ice cream for best results.
Note: Blueberry and Nectarines are my favorite combo! finished! unbaked

Smooth Vanilla Cheesecake

I've always loved the smooth creamy taste of a baked cheesecake .. . .

I've experimented with many different methods and I've found the secret.

No cracks. . . not a one.

It is one of the easiest and classiest desserts to serve.

Creamy Vanilla Cheesecake

• Preheat oven to 325

Roughly cut a piece of parchment paper to fit larger than a 9 inch spring form pan. Lay the parchment paper on to the bottom and put the edge around and squeeze the pan shut leaving the excess paper on the outside of the pan. I do this because it makes it really easy to transfer onto a serving plate once it is very well chilled. .

• 1 1/4 cups graham wafer crumbs
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Mix together the crumbs and the butter and press into the pan. I use a flat bottomed glass to make it nice and smooth and firmly pressed.

Bake the crumbs in the pan for about 10 minutes or until they are a bit fragrant.

Filling

• 4 packages cream cheese. . . total 2 pounds .. . . room temperature
• 5 farm fresh eggs
• 1 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• a squeeze fresh lemon juice. . maybe a couple of teaspoons

Topping

• 1 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Make sure that all your ingredients are room temperature.

Preheat oven to 500 F

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese on low for a minute or two until it is smooth and creamy.

Add the salt and the sugar and beat another minute or two until it is smooth. Never beat the cheese to death. Incorporating too much air will cause your cheesecake to rise and then fall and the .. .well you know what happened to humpty dumpty.

Stop your mixer in between to scrape down the sides so that all the cream cheese and sugar is evenly mixed.

Add the flour and mix until incorporated. . .not more than a minute. Now. . you don't really absolutely need flour but it helps to bind the custard. . .and keep the cheesecake stable.

Now. . .the eggs should be cracked into a bowl and at room temperature. Add one egg at a time. . they'll naturally slip in one at a time if you don't dump your bowl to quickly.

Mix the eggs in just until smooth. Add the cream and and the vanilla and lemon juice. . .another mix for half a minute.

Take your pan with the cooled crumb crust and wrap it in heavy aluminum foil. It doesn't need to be anything fancy .. .sometimes the fat will ooze a bit and the foil also helps to insulate the pan a bit. (well that's why I do it)

Now. . .

Gently pour the cheesecake batter into your pan and set it in the 500 degree oven. Set your timer for 10 minutes. At 10 minutes turn your oven to 200 degrees. Bake for another hour and 10 minutes. Don't peek.

While the cheesecake is baking, stir together your sour cream, sugar and vanilla.

After the hour and ten, the cake should be fairly set. . open up the oven and pour your topping (which really is optional but I love it) on your cake smooth it out and put it back in your oven for another 10 minutes.

Put an instant read thermometer in the center of the cheesecake. Your aim is to have it read 150.

The total baking time shouldn't be more than about an hour and a half up to an hour and forty minutes but you really need the instant read thermometer to help you with knowing when it is done. The jiggly in the center is also a good judge but it is hard to get it perfect with this test. I hate to say the exact time because every oven is a wee bit different. . you need the thermometer .. .150

Take the cheesecake out of the oven and let it sit in a draft free room temperature spot for a few hours and then chill it completely in the fridge.

Blueberry Sauce

• 2-3 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar or to taste
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water

Combine all this and cover and put in the microwave for a minute, stir and cook for another minute or two until bubbly.

I also made some raspberry coulis which is 2 cups of raspberries and a half cup of sugar in the blender. .

Pool a little raspberry sauce on your plate, put on your cheesecake and cover with a good tablespoon or two of blueberry sauce. . .and a dollop of whipped cream for good measure.

Have ONE piece. . .and share the rest. ( that is my heart healthy tip)

Cola Marinade for Rotisserie Beef

I love trying new things and I found this recipe for Cola Marinade at Foodgeeks.com. I tweaked it a bit and tossed my roast in the zip loc bag.

Cola Marinade
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon fresh ground salt
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 can cola
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

Put your large zip loc bag inside a measuring cup, folding the edges over the cup. Add all the ingredients into the bag.
Remove the bag from the measuring cup careful not to spill. Add a 4-5 pound sirloin beef roast.
Seal the bag, put the bag in a bowl and put it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Let the roast sit at room temperature 1 hour before putting on the grill.

Tie the roast onto your rotisserie. Preheat the grill to 400 and insert the rotisserie onto the grill. Add a drip pan underneath with 1 cup of water, check to make sure the water doesn't run dry, or you will have very scorched drippings.

Grill with the lid closed for 1 hour, check the temperature. You will aim to have the internal temp at 135 - 140. We let ours cook to 154 and it was completely done, no pink left. Next time we will take it off the grill at 140. Remove from the heat and wrap in foil for 15 minutes.

During the resting time we grilled our chopped up veggies in a grill basket. I simply toss the veggies with veggie seasoning and olive oil and stir them once in a while. They only need 10 - 15 minutes on the grill.

Peach Custard Pie

I adapted this recipe from CD Kitchen online.

Preheat your oven to 425 F.
1 9 inch unbaked pie shell

Peel and slice enough peaches to fit into the bottom of the shell, they will float about a bit once you pour the custard on top but it won't affect the outcome.

I used 5 peaches each one cut into eight.

Custard

• 1 cup of 5 % unflavoured yogurt
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and beat until smooth. I had my food processor out so I whipped it up in there. A blender would work perfectly too.

Pour the custard on top of the peaches and bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes.

Lower temperature to 375 and bake for an additonal for 30 minutes. The original recipe does not ask you to lower the temp, but I did, so you probably don't need to.

Meanwhile make your streusel.

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar

Combine with a pastry cutter until you have it combined and made crumbs, refrigerate until you are ready to put it on the pie. (I found it easier to crumb after it chilled a bit)

After the pie has baked for 1/2 hour and the filling is somewhat set, drop the little pieces of struesel on top of the pie.

Continue to bake until the streusel is golden brown, about another 15 - 25 minutes.

Remove the pie to a cooling rack and serve warm or completely chilled.

Grilled Peppers with Tomato and Feta

These peppers are as tasty as they are attractive and are a great addition to your summer BBQ.
My sister passed this recipe idea on to me and they've become a summer favourite at our house.

3 large yellow bell peppers

2 Tbsp. olive oil

grape tomatoes

4 leaves fresh basil

1 garlic clove minced

salt and pepper

Feta cheese

Cut peppers into 3 or 4 sections along indentations so that each piece can be filled.

Cut grape tomatoes in half. Place in a bowl.

Chop basil leaves and mince garlic and add to tomatoes with olive oil , salt and pepper.

Crumble feta cheese into bowl and mix gently.

Grill pepper pieces, cut side down on medium hot BBQ.

When they begin to blacken around the edges, turn them over and fill each piece with some of the tomato mixture.

Continue to grill until tomatoes are heated through and bottom of peppers begin to blacken.

Remove from grill and serve.

Raisin Bread

This recipe is a variation of one found in the

Mennonite Treasury:

Ingredients:

2 well beaten eggs
1 cup warm milk
1 tsp salt
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp instant yeast
3 c raisins (rinsed with hot water)
½ tsp cinnamon
½ c melted butter
½ c sugar
flour to make a manageable dough
(about 2 more cups)

Method:
Mix in order given. Let rise until double in bulk. Shape into loaves ( 3 small or 2 large) cover, and rise again. For a shiny look, brush with mixture of 1 beaten egg and 2 Tbsp milk. Bake at 325F, 30 - 45 min., depending on size of pans. Remove from pans to cool.



RAISIN/APPLE BREAD

An updated version of old fashioned raisin bread – idea I gleaned from “Cobs Bread." Obviously don't have that recipe, but this is a wild guess. Served it to our guests from Ontario this morning and they are hoping to find it on this blog. =)
Peel and chop 2 granny smith apples. Cook with 1Tbsp butter, a few Tbsp white sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon until soft (about5 – 10 min) Use above recipe, divided into three parts.

(Two apple recipe is for one loaf. I did two plain loaves and one apple)
Roll out to about 12”x12” and spread with apple mixture. Roll up jelly roll fashion. Cover, rise, do eggwash, and bake at 325F about 35 min or until bottom and top are browned. Dust with icing sugar when cooled.

Barbequed Salmon with Sundried Tomatoes

I would guess that I’m not the only one, who would say that
most of my favorite recipes are those that we’ve enjoyed in
someone’s home. Our good friends, Harv and Bonnie love to
cook together and we have been the lucky recipients of their
hospitality over many years now. This is just one of the great
recipes that they have shared with us.

Ingredients:
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped fine
3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley (I use more)
3 sundried tomatoes (packed in oil) drained and chopped
(can also use dried tomatoes, blanch 2 - 3 min)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 c olive oil
1 (2-3 lb) salmon fillet with skin on underneath side

Combine garlic, parsley, salt, tomatoes and oil in jar.
Let stand overnight in refrigerator.
(overnight is best, but if you only have a few hours, that’s OK too)
Place salmon on greased foil, on low heat on BBQ. Close lid and cook 10 min. Spread garlic mixture over fillet. Close top and raise temp. to medium. Cook an additional 15-25 min, until fish flakes easily when tested with fork.

I often just buy the Wild Ocean Caught salmon fillet in the frozen section at Safeway,
when it's two for the price of one or something like that.

Rhubarb Orange Almond Cake

This delightful cake caught my eye a couple of months ago in the spring/summer issue of Appeal Magazine put out by Save-On Foods. I knew then that it would be a perfect birthday cake for my husband...whose birthday it is today! As I was not familiar with the recipe I did not change a single thing. Therefore all the credit goes to the magazine EXCEPT for the photos...which were a HUGE hit as a slide show in my home this afternoon while anticipating the cake later on.

4 stalks fresh rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
(okay I DID change something...
I only had frozen rhubarb so that would be about four cups that I used.)
1 cup granulated sugar - later divided into two
1/2 cup butter at room temp.
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup all-purpose four (I used unbleached)
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup ground almonds
Finely grated peel of 1 small orange, plus 2 Tbsp juice
1/4 cup blanched sliced almonds.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9" springform pan and line the base with parchment paper. Place the rhubarb in a bowl and cover with 1/4 cup of the sugar. Let stand while you prepare the cake batter. Mix butter and remaining 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and beat well.

In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients. Gently fold the dry mixture into the butter mixture. Stir in the orange peel and juice. Sitr the sugared rhubarb into the cake batter and spoon into prepared springform pan. Spread batter evenly in pan; sprinkle the top with the sliced almonds. Bake cake for 25 minutes. Then reduce the oven temp to 350 degrees and bake another 20 - 25 minutes or until the cake is FIRM!!!!

Let cool in pan for at least ten minutes....slide knife along inner sides of edge of springform pan. Remove edge of pan. Serve warm or cold with a dollop of whipped or ice cream!!! YUM!

Bran Muffins

Betty often tells me about these wonderful Bran Muffins she is serving for breakfast. This weekend she emailed me the recipe. This yummy picture is the result of baking those for our breakfast this morning.

Bran Muffins

1/2 cup soft butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbsp molasses(optional)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 cups bran

Add enough buttermilk to make a smooth batter but still quite thick..approx 1 cup

3/4 cup raisins or blueberries

Beat butter and sugar till creamy, beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and dump in bowl alternately with buttermilk and mix just until moistened. Fold in raisins or berries.

Bake at 350 for 30 min

12 large muffins or 18 regular size
(note: If making regular size or smaller reduce cooking time to 20 minutes)

Rhubarb Muffins or Loaves

Another winner from Betty's kitchen...this muffin recipe is sure to please those who may wish a bit more of a 'cake' like muffin. However, you can always use some whole wheat flour in this recipe. I would suggest that if you do, you keep it to no more than 1/4 of the total flour.

Rhubarb Muffins or Loaves

1/2 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chopped rhubarb (other fruit can be used)
Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon


Combine flour, soda and salt. In separate bowl blend sugar with oil. Whisk in egg, buttermilk and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients along with rhubarb just till moistened.
Spoon in greased muffin tins or 2 greased 8x4 loaf pans.

Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter.

Bake 350 for 25 min or until done when tested with toothpick. Cool in pans 10 min before removing.

Impossible Pie

I've been watching a number of these 'pies' and pastry recipes on the MGCC blog with great interest but also with fear. Sooner or later I knew I should make one, but I simply cannot make a pie! A couple of weeks ago a colleague, noting with interest this phenomenon of baked goods appearing at work every Monday morning, brought in a armful of old cookbooks and handwritten recipes from her aunt and grandmother for me to browse through. Very interesting books indeed and a good read.

I found a recipe in one book called Impossible Pie. Hmmm...I think. This is something I can do. It looks real simple. So I tried it whilst my boys relaxed over a movie tonight and hey...it worked. It is so simple ...well.. you just won't believe it.

Impossible Pie

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup coconut

Put all ingredients in blender (food processor). Put on High speed and count to ten slowly. Pour into well greased Pyrex pie plate. Bake at 40 minutes in a 350 oven. After it is baked you have a definite crust, a custard filling and a rich butter coconut topping.

Millie Janzen Market Vendor for 23 years
From City Market est 1892
94th year Cookbook
New Westminster, B.C.