ORANGE SWEET BREAD

 If you like the texture of the raisin bread you’ll like the orange sweet bread. It bakes easy, tastes great and stores really well. Perfect with morning coffee or after meal as a desert. I don’t put too much of the orange marmalade so the orange flavor is not overpowering, but that can be easily altered individually. Its good on its own, with a little butter, ice cream or more marmalade for the ultimate sugar fix.

INGREDIENTS:

4 ½ cups - all purpose flour
¾ cup - granulated sugar
4 ½ tsp - dry yeast
1 tsp - salt
½ cup - unsalted butter
2 - eggs
¾ cup - milk
½ cup - water
1 tsp - vanilla extract
¾ cup - orange peel marmalade

EQUIPMENT:

1 large bowl,
1 large wooden spoon,
2 5”x 9” bread baking pans,
1 cotton cloth towel.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix all dry ingredients (including yeast) in a bowl, melt butter,

2. Wisk eggs in a separate bowl, add to the dry mixture; add milk and water, then add the melted butter. Mix all with big wooden spoon until the dough is smooth,

3. Cover the bowl with the cotton cloth towel and place in the warm place for the dough to rise for 1 to 1 ½ hours. It should double the volume.

4. Oil baking pans (5“ x 9“), dust with flour.

5. After the dough rose, spread it on the flat surface dusted with a little flour so the dough wouldn’t stick (clean table surface works great). Shape to about 18” square, spread thin layer of jam on top of the dough, then carefully roll the dough. Cut in half and place both portions in the baking pans.

6. Cover with cotton cloth towel and place in a warm place to raise. The dough should raise almost to the top edge of the pan.

7. Bake in 350F for 25 minutes.

8. Take out of the pan, cool on side, enjoy with tea or coffee.

 

LENTIL CREAM SOUP

 Hot cup of creamy lentil soup always feels good to eat. The recipe is very simple and requires only few ingredients. I usually buy 1-2 lb of red lentil, grind it into powder in the blender and keep in a glass container in my pantry. Yes, it takes about 25 min to cook, but its genuine ingredients will beat the artificially flavored and preserved instant version anytime.
Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup - red lentil powder (ground from lentil beans)
4 cups - water
1 tsp - dry minced onion
1 tsp - all purpose seasoning of choice
Salt

EQUIPMENT:

2 qt pot
12 oz glass, cup or other dish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour 3 cups of water into the pot and bring to boil. Add dry minced onion and good pinch of salt.

2. Mix lentil powder in the remaining 1 cup of water. Mix well so the mixture is not lumpy, add to the boiling water with spices.

3. Bring to boil stirring continuously. When boiling, lower the heat and simmer for 20 min stirring occasionally. After 20 min turn off the heat and let sit for another 5-10 minutes.

4. Serve with croutons, slice of bread, or on its own.

COFFEE LIQUEUR

I probably wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning if I wasn’t looking forward to having a coffee… It is a real treat and coffee flavor (natural of course), whether it’s ice cream, cookies, cake, chocolate or others, makes every dish a treat for me. Coffee liqueur is one of them too. Did I say it’s easy to make…?  There we go:


INGREEDIENTS:

375 ml - 40% vodka
1/8 cup - coffee beans
1/4 cup - granulated sugar
500 ml - water (boiled and cooled to room temperature)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put the coffee beans into the bottle or jar containing vodka. Leave them soaking for 24 hours only,

2. Strain, run through the coffee filter for clarity,

3. Add water and sugar.

4. Age for 2 hours, enjoy with moderation.


You can add more sugar if you prefer sweeter taste and use coffee instead of water for darker color. Have fun experimenting. It can be served chilled, on its own, or on ice with a tbsp of a very fresh heavy creamer. After you taste it, you may wonder why you paid so much for the fancy coffee liqueurs at the store…

EASY CRAPES

Crapes are very easy to make. They take few minutes each to cook, but the versatility and flavor make up for that. I usually make bigger batch and keep them in the refrigerator. They can be prepared with a variety of spreads or stuffing and served as a main course, an appetizer or a snack.

INGREDIENTS:

Dough:
2 cups - whole wheat flour
3 cups - water (24 oz)
1 egg
2 tbsp - canola or other cooking oil
½ tsp - salt
Cream Cheese Stuffing:                                         
8 oz - cream cheese
3 tbsp - granulated sugar
1 tsp - vanilla extract

EQUIPMENT:

- 2 qt bowl
- 1 qt bowl
- whisk
- 4 oz ladle
- spatula,
- 9” non stick frying pan

DIRECTIONS:

1. In 2 Qt bowl whisk together flour, water, egg, oil and salt,

2. Warm up the frying pan on medium heat,

3. Pour batter with the ladle, about 3 oz of it, onto the preheated frying pan tipping the pan in circular motion to evenly distribute the thin layer of batter on the pan.

4. Cook one side for 2-3 minutes or when the crape peels off the pan on its own. It should slide freely on the surface of the non stick pan. Flip it on the other side and let cook for another 3-4 minutes. The crape should have light brown irregular marks on both sides but every one will look different, so don‘t look for the pattern. The best way to check if the crape is cooked well is to taste the first one and get the idea how long they need to cook. The time will depend of the heat and the thickness of the crape.

5. In smaller bowl, mix the cream cheese with sugar and vanilla. Fork works really good for that task. Spread the mixture with the spoon on the crapes after they cool down and roll each one tight. Recipe makes about 8 crapes.

The recipe here calls for the whole wheat flour for the benefit of the fiber, but I have to admit that the all purpose unbleached wheat flour is my favorite for the crapes. Other options of stuffing the crapes would include a jam of choice (sweet version) or meat or fish paste.

LAZY COFFEE CAKE

I always loved the yeast coffee cake my grandmother made. I tried to make it myself, but it always seemed like a chore. Messing with yeast starter, looking for warm place to accommodate raising of the cake… too much trouble. Today, I still love grandma’s yeast coffee cake, but I found an easier way to make it. 

INGREDIENTS:

Dough:

4 ½ cups - all purpose flour
¾ cup - granulated sugar
4 ½ tsp - dry yeast
1 tsp - salt
½ cup - unsalted butter
2 - eggs
¾ cup - milk
½ cup - water
1 tsp - vanilla extract

Optional: 8oz - Jam of choice

Crumbs:

½ cup - granulated sugar
½ cup - all purpose flour
¼ cup - unsalted butter

EQUIPMENT:

1 Large bowl,
1 Small bowl,
1 Large wooden spoon,
1 Wisk or fork,
13” x 15” baking pan,
1 Cotton cloth towel.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix all dry ingredients (including yeast) in a bowl, melt butter,

2. Wisk eggs in a separate bowl, add to the dry mixture; add milk and water, then add the melted butter and vanilla. Mix all with big wooden spoon until the dough is smooth,

3. Cover the bowl with the cotton cloth towel and place in the warm place for the dough to rise for 1 to 1 ½ hour. It should double the volume.

4. Prepare the crumbs. Mix flour with sugar, then add melted butter. Mix until crumbs form. The mixture should be somewhat dry and sticky to form clusters.

5. Oil baking sheet (13“ x 15“), dust with flour.

6. After the dough rose spread it in the pan, spread thin layer of jam on top of the dough, then scatter crumbs evenly.

PEAR LIQUEUR

Pear liqueur is quite sweet. It goes well with a desert or on its own. Quick and easy to prepare.

24oz - Pear Syrup

24oz - vodka of choice

24oz - water (boiled for 10 min and cooled)

1 clove, ½” of cinnamon stick and a pinch of nutmeg can be added for more flavor. I like the pure and delicate pear flavor so no additional spices for me. Age 24-48 hours. Enjoy with moderation.


Tip: For clarity, filter the Pear Syrup through the coffee filter.

PEAR SYRUP and SLICED PEARS IN SYRUP

I do have a soft spot for pears… so pear syrup is a frequent in my kitchen. It’s delicate flavor complements many other dishes and deserts or gently pleases the palate on its own when used in a beverage.

The syrup is just one of the products. It can be used as beverage when mixed with water or tea, or used to make the pear liquor - my favorite. The sliced up, cooked pears are perfect for the pear pie.

The ingredients below are very simple by design. Some spices like cinnamon, clove or nutmeg can be added. The amount of water in the recipe is designed to make the syrup for the beverages. If you prefer thicker syrup reduce the amount of water in the recipe. 

INGREDIENTS:

3 lb - pears (5-6 average pears), firm not soft,
3 lb - granulated sugar
48 oz - water
Juice from 1 lemon

EQUIPMENT:

- 12 Qts, non reactive pot
- 4 Qt glass bowl or pot
- Strainer,
- Funnel,
- Clean jars or bottles: 2 x 24oz bottles or jars for the syrup, 2 x 32oz jars for sliced pears (2 x 24oz jars or bottles will be enough for the syrup if you will use the rest of the syrup to preserve the sliced pears),

DIRECTIONS:

1. Clean pears, cut in 8ths, remove cores, leave the skin for more flavor and … fiber.

2. Bring water with sugar to boil.

3. Add cut up pears and lemon juice, bring to boil then simmer for 25 minutes.

4. Run the mixture through the strainer to separate syrup. If using syrup to make a pear liquor, filter the syrup through the coffee filter for better clarity.

5. For preserves, bring back to boil and carefully pour hot syrup to jars or bottles. I leave the small burner on under the pot to maintain the hot temperature of the syrup. Pour until ~½” from the top of the jar/bottle and close the lid tightly. The jars and bottles will be hot. Use gloves or towels to keep from getting burned.

6. The cooked, sliced pears can be also preserved: place sliced pears in a smaller pot, pour syrup over them just to cover the fruits. Usually 24oz will do the trick. Bring to boil, carefully place in jars while hot, close the lids tightly.
 

Note there are no preservatives added. The hot temperature is the key to making preserves without adding chemical preservatives. Cooling contents in the jars/bottles will create vacuum and assure freshness of the contents for several years. Store in cool room.

Coming next: Pear Liqueur