For Camden's 1st birthday party we made the following cake - it was more than enough for 12 guests! We made a third more than the recipe to make an extra cake just for Camden (which she proceeded to eat 1/2 of). But we ended up with plenty left over. This cake has been in the family for a long time - I'm not even sure where it originally came from. Oh, and before cake we had Oscar pasta (see recipe in previous entries) and grilled hot dogs and brats.
Perfect Devil's Food Cake
2 1/4 c. sifted flour
2 tsp. Bkg soda
1/2 c. butter
2 1/2 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
3 -1oz. sq. chocolate
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
1 c. boiling water
Grease bottom and sides of three 8" pans. Dust with flour. Sift flour, baking soda and salt. Cream butter and sugar til fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Beat hard after each addition. Melt chocolate over hot water in double boiler. Add to batter and mix well. Add 1/4 c. flour and 1/3 c. buttermilk and mix. Repeat, ending with flour. Mix in vanilla and boiling water. Bake 350 degrees til toothpick is clean.
Frosting
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. cocoa
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Mix together and let stand in fridge for 2 hours. Then whip and frost cake.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Roasted Root Vegetable Soup and Maple Soy Tilapia
Both delicious dishes, but I'm not sure that they went well together. I combined a few different soup recipes to come up with the following. It was absolutely wonderful. The kids loved this dinner - it was like candy for supper. The best part is that it was very healthy!
Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
about 12 cups/4lbs variety chopped root vegetables (such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, parnsips, carrots, turnips, beets, radishes)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup fresh heirloom celery
2 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped
6 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups tomatoes, chopped and seeded
1/2 tsp fresh gingerroot, minced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp curry
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine vegetables in a large pot or Dutch oven. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread vegetables evenly on jelly roll pan. Roast in the preheated oven until the vegetables are easily pierced with a fork, 30 to 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in your previously used large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in the celery and onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour in broth and bring to a simmer, uncovered. Add tomatoes. Stir in the roasted vegetables and continue simmering for 10 minutes. Puree the soup. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary. If the soup becomes too thick, add more vegetable broth.
Maple Soy Tilapia
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp maple syrup
couple squirts of lemon juice
3 tilapia filets
Cook filets with oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper for about 2 minutes on each side. Add maple syrup cook another 2 minutes per side.
Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
about 12 cups/4lbs variety chopped root vegetables (such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, parnsips, carrots, turnips, beets, radishes)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup fresh heirloom celery
2 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped
6 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups tomatoes, chopped and seeded
1/2 tsp fresh gingerroot, minced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp curry
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine vegetables in a large pot or Dutch oven. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread vegetables evenly on jelly roll pan. Roast in the preheated oven until the vegetables are easily pierced with a fork, 30 to 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in your previously used large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in the celery and onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour in broth and bring to a simmer, uncovered. Add tomatoes. Stir in the roasted vegetables and continue simmering for 10 minutes. Puree the soup. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary. If the soup becomes too thick, add more vegetable broth.
Maple Soy Tilapia
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp maple syrup
couple squirts of lemon juice
3 tilapia filets
Cook filets with oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper for about 2 minutes on each side. Add maple syrup cook another 2 minutes per side.
Fresh Greens Pasta Pie
This was really delicious and fairly easy. The whole family enjoyed it. I didn't have vermicelli or spaghetti, so I used rotini and make it in a casserole dish. In the second step I pureed the 3 eggs with beet & radish greens. We can't wait for leftovers!
Fresh Greens Pasta Pie
6 oz vermicelli
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
5 eggs
2 tsp cooking oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 c chopped fresh spinach or other greens
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 c milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a large pie plate. Cook vermicelli according to package directions; drain. Stir butter and Parmesan cheese into hot vermicelli. Beat 2 of the eggs and stir well into pasta. Spoon mixture into pie plate, and use a spoon to shape vermicelli into a pie shell. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 10 minutes. Set aside. Heat oil in small skillet, add onion and saute until tender. Beat the remaining 3 eggs and combine with spinach, mozzarella, milk, seasonings, and sauteed onions. Spoon spinach mixture into pasta shell. Cover pie with aluminum foil. Bake 35 minutes; uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Makes 6 servings.
* Recipe in From Asparagus to Zucchini by Crystal Lake Gardens
Fresh Greens Pasta Pie
6 oz vermicelli
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
5 eggs
2 tsp cooking oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 c chopped fresh spinach or other greens
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 c milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a large pie plate. Cook vermicelli according to package directions; drain. Stir butter and Parmesan cheese into hot vermicelli. Beat 2 of the eggs and stir well into pasta. Spoon mixture into pie plate, and use a spoon to shape vermicelli into a pie shell. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 10 minutes. Set aside. Heat oil in small skillet, add onion and saute until tender. Beat the remaining 3 eggs and combine with spinach, mozzarella, milk, seasonings, and sauteed onions. Spoon spinach mixture into pasta shell. Cover pie with aluminum foil. Bake 35 minutes; uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Makes 6 servings.
* Recipe in From Asparagus to Zucchini by Crystal Lake Gardens
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)