Irish Soda Bread / Bundt

This is 2 c. of flour, in a cast iron pan

This recipe is from a book I picked up from a Little Free Library, The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook by Sharon Kramis. I have modified it for a 10" skillet, using 2 cups of flour.

1 egg

1 c. buttermilk

2 c mixed flour (can include wheat germ, flax seed, etc)

1/2 t. baking soda 

1 t  baking powder 

4 oz butter, softened 

1/2 c raisins 

9/7, 2022 - New Yonim at ECP

1/4 c sugar

Pinch salt

Heat oven at 350.

Olive oil or butter a 10" cast iron skillet. 

In large bowl, mix flours, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, currants, and salt. To break up any lumps, I now use a small sieve instead of a sifter. Add soft butter and work it in.

In a smaller bowl, whisk eggs and buttermilk. Make a well in the flour, adding the butter (cut it into small pieces in winter when room temperature butter is colder) and the buttermilk/egg. Stir with a spoon until it comes together, incorporating the flour from the periphery.

Knead right in the bowl (really not much different than stirring) until it's a shaggy dough that holds together. It's quite sticky.

Place the dough in the skillet and spread into the pan. Score a large X, going the full depth, and separating the sections if possible. (This allows the baking to reach the center.) Take a knife and tap each quadrant to let the fairies out. (I saw that on YouTube!)

Bake about 32-35 minutes, covering with tin foil if it browns too quickly (the norm if you bake in the Breville). Test with a toothpick. 

Grandmother Kramis's Irish Soda Bread (3 cup recipe) from the cookbook

Grease/Flour a bundt pan (baker's spray) - my adaptation

1½ c. regular flour
1½ c. whole wheat flour (my change to the recipe) - a small portion can be wheat germ and flax seed
¾ t. baking soda
1½ t. baking powder
⅜ c. sugar (you could decrease this)
⅜ c. currants or ¾ c. raisins
Pinch salt
6 oz unsalted butter, melted 
2 eggs
1½ c. buttermilk (powdered works OK)

In large bowl, mix flours, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, currants, and salt. To break up any lumps, I now use a small sieve instead of a sifter.

In a smaller bowl, whisk eggs and buttermilk. Make a well in the flour, adding the butter and the buttermilk/egg. Stir with a spoon until it comes together, incorporating the flour from the periphery.

Knead right in the bowl (really not much different than stirring) until it's a shaggy dough that holds together. It's quite sticky.

Place the dough in the bundt pan. 

Bake about 32-35 minutes, covering with tin foil if it browns too quickly Test with a toothpick. 

Yum!

Here is an old version from the NYTimes that was posted on the Coronobake FB Group. It has no sugar or butter but more raisins:

Diane Casteel

2 C all purpose flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1 t caraway seeds

1/2 C raisins

1 C buttermilk

Sift dry ingredients together. Add the rest. Knead on floured board for 5 min [or in the bowl]. Shape into rounded loaf. Cut an "X" in the top of the loaf, half an inch deep. Place on greased baking sheet. Preheat oven to 375°. After placing baking sheet with loaf in the oven, turn the oven down to 350°. Bake 45-50 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Dosas: Laurie Hertz Style

Laurie lives near Devon Avenue, the epicenter of South Asian American immigrant groceries. The "diaspora" comes from all over the Midwest to shop in these stores for their families and also for restaurants. It's so fun to shop there.

You can buy dosa batter, traditionally fermented lentil/rice, either powdered or liquid. You can also use chickpea flower for a variation. I just ordered a tawa that can be used on the induction stovetop, so will be experimenting.

Laurie chops scallions, carrots, zucchini, and adds peas. You can use any combo, of course. You add a little oil to the tawa and spread the dosa batter. While it's setting, lay on the grated vegies and peas. Let them set in, and flip. This is hard to do - if it falls apart, no worries. They main thing is to have enough oil, hot enough, so the batter crisps. 

These are fast, nutritious, and delicious. Serve with condiments. It's really a full meal.

Cranberry Pistachio Icebox Cookies

These are based on a Martha Stewart recipe for Cranberry Noels. They are easy to make and swapping pistachios for her original pecans, really colorful.

They barely spread so you can get a lot on a tin - but the do spread some. Don't bake too long or the bottoms burn. They are lovely with white icing drizzled over them.

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature -              this is challenging if it's a cold day!
3/4 cup sugar
2 T milk
1 t  pure vanilla extract or orange or lemon zest
2  c all-purpose flour

1/4 c whole wheat
1/2 t salt
3/4 c dried, chopped cranberries
1/2 c chopped pistachios

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. [Unless the butter is soft, this doesn't work!]

Add milk and vanilla or zest. Beat until just combined. 

With mixer on low, gradually add flour, salt, cranberries, and pistachios; continue beating until fully combined.

Turn dough out onto a clean work surface, and divide into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece into  8-inch square or rectangular logs, about 2 inches in diameter. No need to cover. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a sharp knife, cut logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Transfer to oil-sprayed baking sheets, fairly close together, but leave some space. Bake until edges are golden, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through. They crisp as they dry, so resist the temptation to overbake.

When cooled, compact them on a cookie tin and drizzle royal icing. The fancy way to make it is with meringue powder but you can just use powdered sugar, some vanilla, and a little milk. Use a heavy ziplock. The hard part is transfering the icing into the ziplock. Put a pinhole in the tip of the ziplock, and squeeze & drizzle. One cup of powdered sugar with as little liquid as you need is plenty. Add the liquid 1/2 t at a time. 

Or, drip with a spoon. I am still working on this. The icing glops from the spoon and then flows smoother....

I brought these to Frieda Naumburg's bat mitzvah, mostly in a tent in Judy and Chayim's backyard as it was still COVID. These were a big hit with Chayim, David, and Zach.

Chocolate Orange Cake

I found this on the net - there are multiple posters. It's a version of the clementine cake. Like that cake, it is gluten-free by chance, and without the baking powder it will be great for Pesach. I wouldn't even bother separating and beating the eggs. It is dense, moist, and EASY. 

It makes a big heavy cake in the springform; next time I might make two smaller springforms.

For Passover: one big one will move!

Chocolate Orange Cake

2 oranges
6 large eggs
1½ c granulated sugar (David says, use more!)

2 c almond meal/flour
1/2 c cocoa
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Glaze
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Cointreau or Grand Marnier

    (or a jar of ready-made!)

Or - 

1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 c. cocoa powder, sifted

A little brandy or whatever Kosher for Passover liqueur you have

Finely chopped pistachios are a nice extra on top.

Gradually add water, a few drops at a time, until you can spread it. This isn't stiff enough to frost the sides but makes a nice chocolately top.

• Place oranges in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 1-1½ hours, until fork tender. 
• Cool, cut open and remove pips/seeds if any. Cool.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place oranges in a food processor and puree until pulpy. Add remaining ingredients, and blitz until completely incorporated. (if your food processor is too small, just do the eggs and orange and move it to a bowl to add the rest. Or use an immersion blender).
• Grease a 9" springform. Pour batter into pan, and place in oven for 50-60 minutes, or until middle of cake is firm to the touch.
• Allow to cool to room temperature before un-molding.
• Pour glaze over cake, and garnish with orange zest.

Glaze

Place ingredients for glaze in a a saucepan on low on the induction stove-top. Stir until completely melted.

Pasta Grannies Lemon Pudding

 I love watching Pasta Grannies, a YouTube channel produced by a British food ethnographer, Vicky Bennison, who interviews elder cooks all over Italy to learn their regional specialties.

I never make anything from their brief vignettes but this lemon pudding really spoke to me, and it's delicious. Low sugar - basically eggs and lemon. Double it for this quartet of pictures - baked for Passover 2022 in Chestertown.

3 eggs, separated in bowls you can beat in 

2 to 3 T sugar

1 lemon

option: add 1/2 cup of berries. I tried blueberries and it worked.

Boil the lemon until it is soft, and puree in a food processor. Let it cool. (Since you mix it with the egg yolks, if it's hot it will cook the yolks.)

Spray an 8" springform or souffle pan. The grannies also sugar the pan.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar, and mix in the puréed lemon.

Beat the whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the yolks until the batter is uniform in color. Add berries if you like.

Bake at around 365 for a half hour or so in the Breville. Cover with foil if the top browns too fast.

It puffs up and deflates, making a nice concave holder for fresh berries. The nonnas serve it with whipped cream. Not my thing.

(The boiled citrus is like the clementine cake, but this is very light, hence more like a pudding.)

This would be fun to make on Pesach - refreshing, not too hard, and even parve/ gluten free.

Check out Claudia Roden's yogurt cake, which is the same basic idea with the addition of, you guessed it, yogurt. You can also add blueberries.

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Moroccan Spinach Chickpea Soup

 https://www.greenprophet.com/2013/01/eat-like-a-sustainable-moroccan-chickpea-and-spinach-soup-recipe/

Pretty simple, hearty soup, not that thick - yet another combo of spinach, tomato, chickpea, onion, garlic....  Modified with less chickpeas and added carrots

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste

2 cups diced fresh or crushed canned tomatoes (1 can)

3 carrots, diced

1 can chickpeas,drained (2 cans)

3 to 4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4 cups fresh spinach, rinsed, drained, and chopped

Choose a large pot. Heat the olive oil in it and add onion, garlic, cinnamon, paprika, cumin and cayenne.

Cook, stirring occasionally 5 minutes or until the onions wilt.

Add tomatoes, chickpeas, vegetable broth and sugar.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let the soup simmer for 45 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper.

Just before serving, place equal quantities of spinach into 6 soup bowls. Ladle hot soup on top of the spinach.