Almost Gwen's Harvest Bread

My friend Gwen Ericson brought me the most wonderful loaf of bread when I was recovering from surgery last year. She's such a generous lady that she happily gave me the recipe. I've modified the ingredients to reflect my pantry and changed her instructions a bit- I'm lazier than I ought to be and found I could throw everything together in my Kitchen Aid mixer with good results.   I also adjusted it to make just one very large loaf instead of the three or four her original recipe made. This is a lovely, light multi-grain loaf with a beautiful texture. I like it with sunflower seeds, but others here don't, so I leave them out. Adding a quarter cup of dried cranberries would be nice too. I haven't tried it "Regular", so if you try the "Regular Instructions" and find something in the method that needs to be changed, let me know!

3 cups white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons whole flax seed
2 Tablespoons oatmeal
2 Tablespoons Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal
2 Tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds (optional)
1 1/2 cups very warm water
1 large egg
1/4 cup lard (or 1/3 cup vegetable/Canola oil)
2 Tablespoons oil

*Kitchen Aid Instructions:

Put all ingredients except the last 2 Tablespoons of oil into largest mixer bowl. Mix on lowest speed with dough hook for about 10 minutes. Add more flour if necessary, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until dough no longer sticks to your fingers when you test it.

Take dough off dough hook, and form into a ball with your hand. Remove from bowl, (either hold in one hand or rest on clean breadboard) and add 2 Tablespoons of oil to bottom of bowl. Put dough in bowl, swishing it around to cover the bottom with oil, then flip the dough to cover the other side.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, 1.5- 2 hours.

When bread dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and shape into loaf/loaves, and place in lightly greased bread pan(s). Set in warm place to rise again until bread is about doubled in size- 1-1.5 hours.

Preheat oven to 350*F, then bake the loaves for 30- 50 minutes until nicely golden.

Take the pans out of the oven, and carefully tip the bread out of the pans. Cool on baking racks.

Yield: 1 very large loaf, 2 small loaves, 1 good sized loaf + a couple of buns (hamburger/hot dog/ dinner roll shaped)

*Regular Instructions:

Measure water, salt, yeast, sugar, lard, egg and 2 cups of the flour into large mixing bowl. Using electric hand mixer/ beaters, beat batter together until lard and flour are incorporated, and mixture looks gelatinous, (kind of gooey/ glue-y) It will be very sticky.

Measure in 3rd cup of flour and the rest of the ingredients except the last 2 Tablespoons of oil.

Using a wooden spoon or your hands, mix dough together. As the ingredients are incorporated, the dough will get stiffer and you'll find it easier to just transfer it to a lightly floured board and mix with your hands.

When the dough starts to feel less sticky, and the flour is mixed in, begin to knead the dough, adding flour a Tablespoon at a time as needed to keep dough from sticking to your hands. As you knead it, the dough will get less sticky and the less flour you add, the lighter your bread will be.

To knead: Gather the dough into a ball. With the heel of your hands, push the dough away from you. Now with your fingers pull the dough back towards you into the ball. Repeat with pushing away and pulling it back 4 or 5 times. The dough should start to get longer, side to side. Rotate the dough, (1/4 turn), so it is long-wise to you; gather the longer end up into a ball with your fingers, then push it back out in the kneading motion as before. Continue kneading and turning the dough for at least 10 minutes. The longer you knead, the better your bread will be.

Put the 2 Tablespoons of oil in the bottom of the bowl. Put the dough in the bowl, swishing it around to cover the bottom with oil, then flip the dough to cover the other side.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, 1.5- 2 hours.

When bread dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and shape into loaf/loaves, and place in lightly greased bread pan(s). Set in warm place to rise again until bread is about doubled in size- 1-1.5 hours.

Preheat oven to 350*F, then bake the loaves for 30- 50 minutes until nicely golden.

Take the pans out of the oven, and carefully tip the bread out of the pans. Cool on baking racks.

Yield: 1 large loaf, 2 small loaves, 1 good sized loaf + a couple of buns (hamburger/hot dog/ dinner roll shaped)

Barbecued Pork Roast

I tried one of my slow cooker recipes on the barbecue... and it was wonderful! "South Pacific Pork Roast", from the 1976 Better Homes And Gardens Crockery Cooker Cook Book, is my favourite pork roast recipe and I am happy to find that it made the barbecued roast equally tasty. (You can make the marinade, marinate the meat overnight & cook for about 4 hours on high or 8 hours on slow in the slow cooker.) We also tried the new Kraft "Mango Chipotle" salad dressing tonight and together with the barbecued roast? Magnificent! 

a  3 pound pork roast (my preference is a pork loin when it's on sale)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry (apple juice will also work)
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/4 tsp dry garlic)
1 Tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

Place the pork roast in a heavy plastic (freezer) bag, set in a deep bowl. Thoroughly blend the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the meat in the bag. Close the bag, pressing out as much air as you can, and seal it tightly. Place the roast in the refrigerator and marinate all day, (or do the prep in the evening and let it marinate overnight).

An hour before you want to eat, fire up the barbecue; heat it up on "high" for about 10 minutes. Lower heat on one side of the barbecue to "low", and on the other side to "medium". Using tongs or a meat fork, remove roast from bag and place on the low-heating side of the grill. Discard marinade.  Let it cook slowly for 15-20 minutes; turn the roast over and continue cooking until it's well grilled on the outside, and doesn't look pink when you cut into the middle. (the times I've given are for a pork loin- if you have a thick pork roast, cook it slowly until it's done, turning when the bottom half of the roast looks brown and cooked.)

If meat is cooked before you're finished the rest of your meal prep, turn the "medium" side of the grill to "low", and turn the "low" side right off. Keep the lid closed and hurry with the rest of the meal so the meat doesn't get dried out.

Serves 4-8

Trifle

I had some loaves left over after an event a few months ago, so I froze them for later. With another event looming at the beginning of next week, "Trifles" came up, and so I'm going to convert the leftover loaves into a couple of trifles.  I think the beauty of "trifle" is that, with a little imagination, you have limitless possibilities.  Kraft Canada has a great Trifle "formula" style recipe; they've made a chart and the 3 main components have been broken down, giving you ideas for mixing and matching what you have on hand. It's a good place to start if you're a first time Trifle maker.

To make a Basic Trifle, you need:
A clear/glass bowl
A cake/cookie layer
A fruit/jam layer
A pudding/custard layer
Whipped topping
A garnish

Start with a layer of cake on the bottom of the bowl.Traditional English Trifles have liqueur or sherry sprinkled over the cake. The older and drier the cake, the more liquid (whether alcohol or fruit juice) it will soak up. If you are using frozen or tinned fruit, you could drain the juice and sprinkle it over the cake. If you're using fresh fruit, you might spread the cake with a complimentary jam. Layer the fruit over the cake, followed by a layer of pudding or custard. A few inches of whipped cream is next.

I like at least 2 layers of everything, so I would try to use half of each item, and then layer it all again. If you have a tall trifle bowl, you might like to do 3 or 4 layers of everything. Top off the last layer of whipped cream with your garnish.

Trifle Ideas:

Tropical Trifle- banana bread/cake with crushed pineapple and coconut custard (Bird's Custard made with coconut milk), whipped cream with a toasted coconut garnish.

Banana Split Trifle- banana bread/cake with strawberries on one layer and crushed pineapple on another, chocolate pudding and whipped cream, garnished with fresh sliced strawberries & shaved chocolate, or chocolate sundae sauce drizzled over the whipped cream.

Leftover Waffle Trifle- Breakfast waffles, any kind of frozen fruit or jam, vanilla custard or pudding, and whipped cream with coloured candy sprinkles on top.

Leftover Loaf Trifle- how about Orange-Cranberry loaf with tinned mandarin orange segments, vanilla custard or pudding, whipped cream and orange sugar sprinkles, grated orange rind or maraschino cherries on top? 
Lemon-Poppyseed loaf or muffins with peaches or mandarin orange segments, lemon pudding, whipped cream and grated lemon peel on top.

Chocolate Trifle- chocolate cake, cherry pie filling, raspberries or strawberries, chocolate pudding, whipped cream with crushed Oreo cookies for a garnish.

Vanilla Trifle- white cake, strawberries or raspberries, vanilla pudding or custard, whipped cream with fruit to garnish.

*Use your imagination and share your trifle ideas in the comments.

Granola Squares

My friend Susan gave me this recipe. It's one of those "never exactly the same twice" recipes that is always good. The key is the "extras"- use whatever your people like and leave out what you don't have or what you need to if allergies are an issue. This is one of the few recipes I've done that doesn't work with homemade sweetened condensed milk, but "light" condensed milk works well. If the squares don't hold their shape when you cut them up, the resultant crumble can be used as dessert/yogurt topping, or you could add milk and eat it like granola cereal. I sometimes wrap the squares in plastic as soon as they're cooled, and store them pre-wrapped and ready for school lunches. Be careful, though, these granola squares are a little addictive... Easy to make, yummy to eat- enjoy!


1.5 cups rolled oats

1.5 cups Rice Krispies

Extras to equal 4 cups: raisins, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, sesame seeds, chopped dried fruit, wheat germ, flax seeds ...

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup butter or hard margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 325*. Line a jelly roll pan or your largest cookie sheet with tin foil; grease the foil. 

Mix cereal and the rest of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together sweetened condensed milk and melted butter, then add to dry ingredients. Spread well combined mixture over prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool slightly, then invert pan onto clean cutting board. Remove pan and peel off foil. Cut into squares while still warm. Store in a cool place in an airtight container. Save the crumbled bits to use as a yogurt topping.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

I went searching for a poppyseed muffin recipe, but couldn't find any that matched the vision in my head; I envisioned something lemony with a lemon-sugar glaze, like my favourite, old-fashioned lemon loaf. When I stumbled upon "Lemonade Muffins" in the Better Homes And Gardens "Homemade Bread Cook Book" from 1973, I knew I had found what I was looking for. I adjusted the ingredients just enough to add poppyseed and remove walnuts, and to make 18 muffins instead of 12. Very quick to assemble and a delightful addition to any tea party, I hope you'll try them. If you like lemon and poppyseed, you'll like these.

3/4 cup frozen lemonade, thawed
1/3 cup milk
3 Tablespoons poppyseed
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs, well beaten
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Combine lemonade, milk and poppyseed in a small bowl. Let stand.

Thoroughly combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.

Add egg and oil to lemonade mixture. Pour into well in dry ingredients and stir just to moisten.

Divide batter into 18 greased or paper lined muffin cups. Bake at 400*F for about 20 minutes. Remove from pans, and brush tops with additional thawed frozen lemonade concentrate then sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.

Makes 18 muffins.

NOTE: A can of frozen lemonade made 2 1/2 dozen muffins with a good amount left over for brushing the tops. To do the extra 1 dozen, follow directions using 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup lemonade, 2 Tablespoons poppyseed, 1/3 cup oil, 1 egg, 1 3/4 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 cup salt.

Potato Scones

Top o' the mornin' to ya, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

1  1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon water
1 teaspoon margarine
1/8 cup + 1 Tablespoon milk
1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon instant potato flakes
1/8 cup butter or hard margarine melted
3/4-1 cup milk
1/2 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400*F.

In small saucepan heat water and the teaspoon of margarine. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in first amount of milk and potato flakes with a fork. Don't over stir.

Mix together flour and baking powder. Stir in cooled mashed potatoes (those you've made from instant flakes OR 1 cup leftover, cold mashed potatoes). Moisten with second amount of milk* and melted butter to form a soft dough. *Start with 3/4 cup; if dough is very stiff, add up to 1/4 more milk.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough lightly, then divide into 8 pieces. Roll pieces into strips, and shape into knots. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Brush with a little milk, and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden and cooked through.

Serve warm with butter.
Yield: 8 large scones.

Peanut Butter-Butterscotch Squares

Everybody's old Auntie has a recipe for peanut butter-butterscotch squares, and this is mine. Company's Coming 150 Delicious Squares has a "Butterscotch Confetti" recipe that I've sort of sharpened up; this is basically doubled, but I've "rounded up" some of the ingredients too. These squares are SO easy, they freeze well, and are always the first thing to disappear from a tray of sweets. Give them a try. 

1/2 cup hard margarine

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1- 300g package butterscotch chips

1-250 g package mini marshmallows (4 1/2 cups)

Melt margarine and peanut butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in butterscotch chips. Cool until you can hold your hand on the bottom of the pot. 

Add marshmallows and stir until all are well coated. Pack into a 9 x 13 inch (ish) plastic container or a 9 x 13 inch foil lined pan. Refrigerate/chill. 

The size of the container you use will determine how fat/tall the squares are. Cut them into the size of square you desire. My recipe uses about half of the marshmallows that the original recipe called for, because my guys seem to like it less marshmallowy, and more "fudge"-like. You can add more marshmallows- up to twice as many if you like.