There are two tricky parts to making this cake. The first is separating and successfully whipping egg whites, which still makes me a little nervous. (Folding them into the chocolate is tricksy too, I guess.) The second is rolling the cake without breaking it. I can say that I succeeded at perfectly whipping egg whites, but my cake did break some as I tried to assemble it. Luckily, as long as a cake tastes good (as this one did), I forgive it its appearance.

Heavenly Chocolate Cake Roll

Making the cake only took a few steps. The first thing I did was separate the 6 eggs, and let them come to room temperature. [Egg whites need to be at room temperature to be whipped properly.] Once they were ready, I melted 1 cup chocolate chips with 3 tablespoons water in the microwave. I let the chocolate cool a little so it wouldn’t cook the egg yolks once I combined them.

Next, I lined a jelly roll pan with parchment. I hate lining with parchment paper and so I generally avoid it, but I wanted my cake to be easy to remove from the pan, so it was necessary. I cut strips as necessary to fit into gaps, and I must say that spraying the pan with oil before applying parchment really helped it to stay in place. Make sure your pan is the right size as specified in the recipe (10×15 inch); too big and the batter will bake too quickly, and if you use a smaller pan, it won’t all fit.

Once my pan was ready, my eggs were room temperature, and my chocolate was cooled, it was time to actually make a cake. I whipped the egg yolks with 2/3 cup sugar in my stand mixer, trying to get them to lighten. Then I added the cooled chocolate to the egg yolk mixture.

I used my hand mixer to whip the egg whites with a little salt (1/4 tsp) in a metal bowl. You want them to form stiff peaks. I’ve found whipping egg whites to be intimidating in the past. If you don’t beat enough air into them then your cake could deflate, but if you overbeat them, your cake can be dry. I’ve overbeaten them before, which helps me determine now when they are done. Basically, you remove your beaters from the egg whites, turn it over, and the egg white peaks should not flop over. If they do, beat a little more. [Check out this slideshow if you want a little more guidance; seeing it is really the only way to know how they should be.]

I stirred 1/4 of my egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. The important part for this first addition of egg whites is to completely mix the chocolate into egg whites. Don’t worry about deflating egg whites yet; worrying about deflation is what you do when you add the rest. Fold the remaining egg whites into the chocolate in 3 additions. You basically use a spatula to drape the chocolate from underneath and alongside the egg whites on top of the egg whites without deflating them. (At least, that’s the best I can describe it without pictures or video.)

I carefully poured and spread the batter in the pan, then baked it at 350F for 15 minutes. My oven was actually a little below temperature according to my oven thermometer, and I checked it a few times as the cake baked.

Once the cake was done (toothpick comes out clean), I removed it from the oven and covered it with a damp towel. After cooling it for 10 minutes, I rubbed some cocoa powder along the top of my cake. I placed my pastry cloth over the top and inverted the cake onto my largest baking sheet to remove it from the pan; this was easy because the edges of the cake had shrank back. I peeled away and threw out the parchment and rubbed cocoa on that surface as well. Using the towel, I rolled the cake up (perhaps too tightly?) and let it cool.

At dinner time, 5 hours later, I combined heavy cream (1 cup) with powdered sugar (2 tbsp) and vanilla (1/2 tsp) and beat it with my hand mixer until it was whipped cream. This part was easy – just make sure you don’t whip the cream into butter. I unrolled the cake, perhaps not carefully enough, because it developed great cracks at this point. Undeterred, I spread the whipped cream along the cake and rolled it back up. The cake retained its rolled shape, and honestly didn’t look too badly, considering it developed cracks down its length.

The lengthwise crack along the top of the roll made a great place for me to put remaining whipped cream after I took this picture

I’m not sure why my cake broke because I thought I had followed the instructions. I’m thinking I may have rolled it too tightly, or unrolled it too quickly. It may not look perfect, it tasted great! This was a very light cake with a rich chocolate flavor. Alex was surprised that there was no flour in it, and no cocoa powder in the cake, either – no kind of starch that one would expect to use to build and structure a cake. The cake itself was tender and moist, even without the whipped cream. It was chocolately, but not overly sweet. This cake had a nice balance between cake and whipped cream.

Overall, this was a great, delicious cake. My cake was very presentable even broken, and the texture and flavor were excellent. It’s definitely a recipe worth trying again.

I made sure we ate some noodles for longevity (don’t bite or break them!). For dinner for the new year, I made Hainan Chicken and Rice, because it sounded delicious and had a simple ingredient list.

In spite of the simple ingredient list, I made a mess of my kitchen making this. First you poach a chicken. You set aside the chicken, and use the rendered chicken fat and stock in the rice. You also make dipping sauce(s) for the chicken. None of these steps are particularly difficult, but it does mean you’ll mess up a few dishes in the process. Or at least, that’s how I felt.

Hainan Chicken and Rice

You start by poaching a whole chicken in water with a half an onion, some ginger, and salt. The original recipe called for a 3.5 pound bird, but I had a cut-up chicken weighing 5.5 pounds; I put it in the largest pot I have, added the seasonings, and topped it off with enough water that all the meat was just covered. I poached it for about 20 minutes once the water reached a simmer.

Next, you’re supposed to submerge the chicken in ice water to get the skin to firm up with gelatin underneath; I wasn’t going to eat the skin regardless, but I dumped some ice on my chicken so Alex could get the full effect.

I added a little soy sauce to the broth (instead of fish sauce), and boiled the broth until it reduced by about a third. I don’t have a fat skimmer, so I put my broth in the fridge to try to solidify the fat so I could use it to cook the rice.

Later on, I made the rice. I sauteed onion, ginger, and garlic in chicken fat, then added rice. I added cold broth, brought it up to a boil, and cooked it… until it was done. I honestly didn’t time this, but I assume it took about 20 minutes on my gas range.

In the meantime, I made a ginger sauce and a soy-chile dipping sauce. Both were incredibly simple. For the ginger sauce, I blended 2 inches of ginger root, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons broth. For the soy-chili sauce, I mixed together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha.

I served this with cilantro and slices of cucumber. You’re supposed to chop up the chicken to serve it, bones and all, but Alex and I just took the chicken pieces we wanted. I think the chicken should be served cold, but I prefer mine warm so I heated it. You’re also supposed to serve the rest of the broth on the side, but I’m saving it for later this week to do something or other with.

This was pretty tasty. The chicken itself was tender, juicy, and gently flavored. The rice was flavorful, although perhaps a little more oily than I’m used to since I didn’t separate the fat from the broth. Alex and I both really enjoyed the rice. In some ways, I felt like the dipping sauces were the highlight of this dish, because they were just so tasty. I liked the brightness of the ginger sauce, and the sweet spiciness of the soy-chili sauce (which Alex preferred); the chicken and the cucumber went well with both sauces.

Last night, while I was cleaning the kitchen, I wasn’t sure if I’d make this again, but today I think I would. Although prep spanned some time, it didn’t take a lot of hands-on time, and the recipe yielded 4-5 meals (I split my lunch into two smaller portions). These leftovers were still good the next day, and I still have some stock left that I look forward to using in more rice or as soup.

As an adult, I’ve discovered that I like several vegetables that I hated as a kid. Most of this comes down to textural issues. As a child, I learned to tolerate broccoli, but now I enjoy it, as long as it’s still relatively crisp after it’s cooked. Brussels sprouts are another of those vegetables that earned a bad reputation to my young self. Little did I know, until a few years ago, that they are delicious when they retain their structure and texture, and when flavored boldly with soy sauce or garlic. Roasting the vegetable brings out a hint of sweetness and mellows out their bitter tendencies.

I was definitely interested when I came across the recipe for Garlic Roasted Salmon and Brussels Sprouts. It had a satisfyingly short ingredient list (garlic, olive oil, white wine, oregano) and would be fast to make. It was the perfect thing to make with the pound of salmon that I’d bought but had no clue what I wanted to do with. The original recipe made 6 servings, but I decided that it would be best if I halved it.

Garlic Roasted Salmon with Brussels Sprouts, straight from the oven

Garlic Roasted Salmon and Brussels Sprouts

7 cloves garlic (1 minced, 6 whole, which you then sliver)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano (original called for more, fresh oregano, but dried worked fine)
1/2 tsp salt, divided
3/8 tsp pepper
3 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced (I bought mine by weight, but bought too many. This should be no more than a pound)
3/8 cup white wine (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp, I used leftover Pinot Grigio)
1 lb salmon (original says in 3rds, but I had 4 pieces)

Combine 1 minced clove garlic, olive oil, oregano, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper. Combine sliced Brussels sprouts and 6 cloves slivered garlic. Toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons flavored oil. Roast at 450F for 15 minutes, stirring once. Add wine to remaining oil. Place salmon pieces on top of Brussels sprouts, and drizzle wine mixture over salmon. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Roast for 5-10 minutes more, until salmon is done. I served this with unseasoned long-grain rice.

Garlic Roasted Salmon and Brussels Sprouts with rice

This was tasty. Honestly, I love roasted garlic, and I find it difficult to go wrong if a recipe includes it. The salmon was perfectly done after the minimum time of 5 minutes, which is perhaps the most perfectly I’ve ever cooked salmon. The Brussels sprouts had mellowed from roasting, and tasted deliciously of salt and garlic. This recipe didn’t yield a lot of sauce, but I drizzled what there was over the salmon and rice on my plate, and it minimally flavored the rice with a hint of garlic and oregano. And, like I said, there were slivers of roasted garlic that were a pleasure to eat.

This was a very simple recipe to make, and it took very little time. I made the half recipe, but I can tell it would be a great recipe to make if you have company over, due to the simple ingredients, simple cooking method, and mostly hands-off cooking time when your guests would be arriving. This will become one of my go-to recipes for salmon.

What exactly is melon pan? It’s a soft, sweet yeast roll topped with cookie dough before baking. I didn’t realize until recently that there was a separate cookie topping on it – that’s one more mystery of my life, solved. If I’d realized that melon pan was just a roll topped with a cookie, I would have made them long before now!

I fell in love with melon pan,  and in addition to being delicious, it always brings back good memories of my time spent abroad. Thus I was particularly excited when the King Arthur Flour blog wrote about the recipe for Lemon Sugar Crunch Buns, which are essentially melon pan. I had to make them.

Lemon Sugar Crunch Buns, so incredibly similar to melon pan

First, I made the dough in my stand mixer. Not difficult. I dumped in all the ingredients (flour, sugar, yeast, melted butter, warm milk, salt, vanilla, an egg, and some oil because I ran out of butter), mixed it until it formed a dough, and kneaded it for about 5 minutes in the mixer. I set the dough aside in a greased bowl and let rise for an hour, until doubled.

However, I had trouble getting my dough to rise. I let my salt come into contact with some of the yeast, which I’ve heard kills it, although I’ve never had trouble doing that before. My yeast was active dry yeast instead of instant yeast which they call for, but again, I haven’t had trouble with that in the past. Although I raise all my dough in the oven, Thursday was simply cold, and that might have slowed down my dough.

In any case, once my dough was doubled in size, I divided it into 8 equal-weight pieces and shaped them into balls.

I made a cookie dough to go on top of my bread. I mixed together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, citrus zest, and soft butter, and added an egg and 1 tablespoon milk to form a sticky dough. I only had one lemon, so I zested a grapefruit to go with it to yield the 2 tablespoons I needed. [Honestly, I wouldn't mix the ingredients in this order again. I'd make it like I usually make cookie dough (adding butter to sugar, then wet ingredients, then dry), or I'd simply combine the butter with the egg and milk rather than to the flour. I just think that would be easier.]

Next, you use wet fingers to coat the yeast dough with cookie dough. The recipe suggests 2 tablespoons of dough, but I think you should use a tiny bit more than that because I had a little extra dough at the end (which I then just added back onto the rolls). The water keeps the dough from sticking to you, and helps smooth the dough as you coat the rolls. I spread the dough down the sides, but not completely underneath the roll. To make the roll pretty, you should completely cover the yeast dough, bottom and all. The yeast dough and the cookie dough are about the same color, so eventually you can’t tell where which dough ends, but they bake differently. If you don’t coat the rolls completely, you’ll end up with browned yeast roll toward the bottom, with lighter cookie dough ending above it – not entirely pretty (although still delicious).

At this point, you proof the rolls for about 30 minutes, and then bake. Even if my dough proofed how it was supposed to and was fully risen at 30 minutes, this would mean that the bread would be done at 11:30 at night. I decided to put the pan of rolls in the fridge and bake them the next morning.

The next day, I pulled the rolls out and let them proof for about 90 minutes before I baked them. They didn’t get full and puffy during that time, but I think they rose a little and I had to bake them anyway. I baked them at 350F for 25 minutes, turning the pan once. They rose dramatically in the oven. I waited about 15 minutes before I ate one.

Lemon Sugar Crunch Buns, straight from the oven

This bread was delicious. It was exactly like melon pan, a sweet, tender yeast roll topped with crunchy sugar cookie. It was best fresh and warm, like most tender yeast breads, although it was still yummy later. The topping was gently citrusy from the lemon and grapefruit zest. Mine were a little dense, but I think that’s because I had trouble getting my rolls to rise. This was really good, and I would make it again. I may double the vanilla in the yeast dough to make the roll extra flavorful, but they’re also good just as they are.

That leaves the other 8 or so that we haven’t eaten.

Applesauce is the perfect thing to make with old-ish apples, and it’s the perfect thing to make in a slow cooker. I think you’d have to work hard to overcook the apples. They gently steam and break down. You don’t have to do any work after you peel and cut them – and an apple peeler/corer makes this so much easier as to be practically no work at all. (My friend Kate got me one similar to this years ago, and I rediscovered it this year. It’s amazing!)

Also, you don’t have to add sugar to it. You pay a premium at the grocery store for no-sugar-added applesauce. I find that if I buy a jar of applesauce, I’m never in the mood for it and forget to eat it. Not so with this stuff. When I make applesauce, it disappears from my fridge within two days.

Slow Cooker Applesauce. I love the way perspective disappears with the closeup. This could be a 6-cup Pyrex, but it's really just a little 1-cup bowl.

Slow Cooker Applesauce (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

9 apples, peeled and cored, and sliced into rings (I used Jonathans and 3 Granny Smiths)
2 wide peels of lemon rind (omit if using Granny Smiths)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup water (or apple cider/juice or orange juice for naturally sweeter applesauce)
[1/4 cup brown or granulated sugar is optional, but consider it if you want to counter the tartness of Granny Smiths]

Combine sliced apples with cinnamon in 4-quart slow cooker. Add 1/4 cup water. Nestle lemon zest among toward the bottom of the slower cooker so it sits in the water.  Cook on low for 6 hours. Remove lemon peel. Mash and stir applesauce so that apples fall apart, or blend/puree if desired.

Since there’s not a lot of liquid in this, the apples toward the edges will caramelize and stick to the side of the slow cooker. This won’t be a problem. Just scrape them down and mash them up.

Honestly, you can hardly make something easier than this. This recipe yields tasty, wholesome applesauce. I’ve made applesauce with Granny Smiths (and more of them) before, but this applesauce seemed more tart than any others I’ve tried, so I don’t think lemon peel is necessary with them.  I also don’t think sugar is necessary, and if I wanted to sweeten this applesauce my first choice would be to use juice or cider, and then I’d move on to brown sugar.

Try making applesauce! You’ll be happy that you did.

One of the things Sue brought in now and then was Chocolate Chip Pie. She would bring in the pie with some whipped cream, and we’d all cut little wedges of pie, warm them up, and enjoy, usually at about 9 in the morning. I didn’t ask for the recipe from her, unfortunately, but I think the recipe that I’ve linked to here may be the one that she would bring in.

Chocolate Chip Pie

This pie is incredibly simple to make. I used a whisk to mix together eggs, brown and granulated sugar, and vanilla. I added (lots of) melted butter and whisked in a little flour. I was afraid that the pie crust left in my freezer from when I made the Ginger-Pumpkin Pie last week might be too shallow, so I only added half of the chocolate chips and walnuts to start. This was a good idea, because the filling barely fit; I think Sue bought and used pie crust dough, rather than frozen shells. I sprinkled the rest of the chocolate chips on the pie and baked it for 1 hour at 325F. I’m glad that I kept the pie shell on a pizza pan, because some filling spilled out of the pie shell due to my slanted oven.

Chocolate Chip Pie, with a layer of gooey chocolate chips

You should serve this pie warm. I heard that all the chocolate chips sink to the bottom to form a chocolate layer on top of the crust – and they do, even though I sprinkled them on top of the pie. You can see how all the chocolate chips clumped together toward the center, and I wish they’d been a little more spread out. There would be a little more filling topping that chocolate if my oven was flat and even.

This pie was delicious. It was rich, just like a chocolate chip cookie, and a little gooey; I may have slightly underbaked it. Alex thought the pie would have been fine without walnuts, which help to cut the sweetness a little; if you like nuts in your chocolate chip cookies, include them. ["Does the crust serve any purpose?" Alex asks. "Without it, it would just be a cookie cake," I reply. His response? "That would be okay." I respectfully disagree with him; I think the crust helps balance the sweetness as well.]

I recommend giving this pie a chance. It’s rich, delicious, easy to make, and a little different from other pies.

I’d never come across a recipe for grapefruit scones before, and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to look. Why shouldn’t I come up with my own recipe for it? When I did a cursory search last year, there weren’t many grapefruit scones recipes around. The few I found were grapefruit-and-fruit scones, which means that they take grapefruit zest as a flavoring (much like lemon zest is used), but the primary flavor will be whatever berry you add. Not really what I wanted. I wanted a scone that tasted only of grapefruit, nothing else.

Grapefruit Scones with Grapefruit Glaze

So I adapted the scones recipes I’d used a few times from Joy of Baking. I increased the baking temperature to 425F but decreased the baking time to get the scones to begin to brown (although not too much). Grapefruit zest was a must in this recipe, as it would add lots of flavor. I replaced some of the milk with grapefruit juice, and made sure to use some baking soda to react with it. These two additions gave the scone a gentle citrus flavor, but I wanted them to have a little more oomph, so I added a grapefruit glaze after the scones are baked. The grapefruit flavor is brighter that way, but not overwhelming.

Grapefruit Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter or margarine (1/2 cup)
zest of 1 large grapefruit (I zest down to the white)
1/3 cup grapefruit juice
1/3 cup buttermilk or yogurt, or 1/3 milk + 1 tsp vinegar; plus extra as needed

Glaze:
~1/2 cup powdered sugar
~1 tablespoon grapefruit juice (use a few drops more for a thin glaze to give it a sheen; use a little less for a thicker, opaque glaze)

Heat oven to 425F. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in grapefruit zest; I zest the grapefruit right over the bowl. Cut in margarine with a pastry cutter or 2 knives.  Combine grapefruit juice and buttermilk/yogurt/sour milk, and stir into flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix.

If mixture does not come together, gently use your hands to work in the rest of the flour mixture, adding a little more milk if necessary. If you have to do this, do not knead. If dough comes together easily, knead gently, about 5 times. I do this by folding the dough in half. This can be done on a floured surface, or as I do it, in the mixing bowl by dusting the dough with just enough flour that the outside surface doesn’t stick.

Pat into a 7-inch circle and cut into 8 wedges. Separate wedges on lined baking sheet and brush with milk. Bake 16 minutes, rotating pan once halfway through, until tops begin to brown and toothpick inserted in center of scone comes out clean. Mix glaze, and brush over tops of scones while still warm.

Grapefruit Scones, with top removed so you can see the texture inside

I think these scones, as with all scones, are best served warm. They were tender and flaky – a little biscuit-like, actually. These scones are citrusy without being overwhelming. The glaze is essential because it coats the scones with grapefruit juice that doesn’t cook out; I only sprinkled sugar on the first batch, and they didn’t have the same bright flavor. Your guests may not realize these are scones made from grapefruit unless you tell them, because they have a gentle citrus flavor.

I’m pretty happy with how this recipe turned out. It’s not a difficult scone recipe to make, since the only addition to a basic scone recipe is to zest and juice a grapefruit. Please give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

I wrote the majority of the following in July and August, while I was preparing to move from our house and while we were house-sitting, and in fact, before we had rented our current apartment.

*****

Most people, when they think about packing up their entire house, think of furniture, clothes, books, and all their other belongings that will need to be piled into boxes and carried from one residence to another. While I thought about these things as well, for months I also thought about the things that I do not want to take with me. Things to get rid of, things to use up.

Naturally, these thoughts turn to my pantry. As you can tell, I keep my pantry well-stocked. I freeze extras that I make. I buy some things in bulk (like the 12-pack of cocoa powder I ordered). I didn’t want to move all of this stuff with me – particularly since I wasn’t sure how big my kitchen would be and what kind of storage I would have. My apartment kitchen is roomy, but I still miss my old kitchen.

But since I had to move, many of my thoughts focused on clearing out my pantry. I knew I couldn’t use up or get rid of everything, but I wanted to do what I could.

I already told you about the Green Pea Soup I made to help clear my freezer. I also blogged about the Lavender Angel Food Cake, which used the egg whites I froze. Now it’s time to tell you more about what I did with specific baking ingredients I had around the house.

*****

Once again, I made Almond-Honey Power Bars. Twice. I originally made them in January 2010, and meant to return to the recipe at some point but never did. In July 2011, I had lots of oats and fruit and nuts to use up. Power Bars time!

Both times I’ve made them, I more or less followed the recipe. The first batch featured almonds, apricots, and currants. The second batch featured the same, but also included a few cashews and a little almond extract. Let me just tell you – almond extract in place of vanilla really adds oomph to this recipe. They were tasty before, but I think the almond extract made them special.

Almond-Honey Power Bars, on vacation in January 2010

Give the Power Bars a chance. Use almond extract if you have it and like it. With nuts, oats, and dried fruit, they pack a whole lot of goodness and yumminess into a small package. They’re very portable, so they’re great for road trips (which we also took them on) and to add to lunches.

*****

I’ve made granola a few times in the past. With a full canister of rolled oats, and bags of dried blueberries, cherries, and cranberries, I decided it was time to make granola again. My timing could have been better – I made granola during some of the hottest weather we’ve had – but granola in the morning is refreshing. It’s great with milk or yogurt.

My favorite, most versatile recipe that I’d made was the Cherry, Almond, and Cinnamon Granola, so I decided to adapt it. It seemed like it took a lot of oil, so I wanted to see how 1/3 cup oil would do (equal parts oil and honey) – the answer was great. I followed the proportions in the recipe, excepting the oil.

This is what I used. I mixed:

4 cups oats
3 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
1 cup pecans/walnuts (odds and ends of nuts I had)
1/3 vegetable oil
1/3 honey
a dash of cinnamon

together in a bowl. I poured it onto a sheet pan and baked it at 350F, stirring once or twice, for no more than 20 minutes because it was starting to get a little extra brown. I removed it from the oven, and sprinkled on top:

1 cup dried cherries
1 cup chopped dried apricots

After it was cool, I mixed it all together and stored it in some glass jars I had around. I left half of this with my in-laws, and Alex and I made quick work of the rest of it. It was very delicious, but I think that I may have used a little too much coconut in it.

I still wanted granola, so I made it again. This time, I baked the mixture for 25-30 minutes at 300F because I was toasting something else at the time. This time, the ingredients were:

4 cups oats
2 cups coconut
2 cups almonds (maybe with a little coconut substituted in)
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
a dash of cinnamon
~ 1 cup dried blueberries (1 bag)
1 heaping cup diced dried apricots

This is pretty tasty too. I adore the combination of oats and honey. Toasted coconut is wonderful in granola.

I still had some oats, dates, and coconut left after we moved into our friend’s house to house-sit for a month before we could move to St. Louis. After we finished off our last batch of granola, I made another recipe. This time I decided to adapt the Olive Oil Granola recipe I tried last year. I remember that when I made it last year, it was incredibly sweet. This time, I decided to leave out the brown sugar that went into the recipe. Here’s the ingredients I used:

3 cups rolled oats
2 cups cashew pieces
1.5 cups flaked unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup maple syrup/honey (mostly honey, because I only had a little maple syrup left)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon each salt, cinnamon, and cardamom
1 cups dates (added after granola is baked)

I mixed together the ingredients in a baking sheet (too lazy for a bowl), and baked it for about 45 minutes at 300F, stirring each 15 minutes. The mixture was very sticky from the honey. The granola was a deep golden color when it was done. I tossed on there about a cup of diced dates (an open bag I had). After the granola cooled, I put it in containers. It was very clumpy, and stuck together in the glass jars. Not very pourable although it tasted good. The cashews were an unusual element to this granola.

Granola with Olive Oil, Honey, Maple Syrup, Cashews, and Dates

*****

That sums up what I wrote last year. I wish I could tell you more about the last granola. August was a hectic time, and you’ll note that I didn’t blog much then. I can’t remember much about that granola; I think it was kind of sweet. I was surprised at how well the mixture went together. I think it was a richer, earthier flavor than the other granola recipe I tried.

What have I learned from my experiments with granola? It’s only as good as what you put in it. Much like with fruitcake, you’ll only like a granola if you like its components.

I prefer granola that:

- Isn’t too sweet. Probably no more than 1/2 cup of honey per 8 cups of granola mixture
- Uses honey, rather than maple syrup (because I love honey)
- Uses cherries, apricots, or blueberries – fruit that tastes brighter than raisins or dates
- Has toasted coconut, but not too much. There’s such a thing as too much coconut
- Uses no more than a 1:1 ratio of oil to sugar/honey, to cut down on calories

Thus, I use a lot of vanilla extract. Real vanilla extract is expensive in the grocery store. Sometimes you’re lucky and you find a sale on it; the best sale I’ve ever found has been a dollar for a 1 ounce bottle. If you’re a baker, you buy about 5 bottles to stock up.

I don’t know exactly how I came across the how-to on making vanilla extract. I don’t even remember what gave me the idea, but once I learned that I could make vanilla extract at home, I had to.

I first started making my own vanilla extract two and a half years ago (May 2009, to be exact). I got the tutorial from Vanilla Review, which doesn’t seem to be updated very much anymore. It’s a nice walk-through that I’ve linked to, with lots of great pictures. I ordered my vanilla beans (both then and now) from a store on eBay, but you could get yours from Amazon.com or other places.

Regular vanilla beans that you buy in the grocery store are usually for baking or cooking. For extract, you actually want extract grade beans, which have less water content and aren’t as plump or nice-looking – and they should be cheaper. You could make vanilla with regular vanilla beans, but it would kind of be a waste unless that’s all you could get your hands on.

So, you know what vanilla beans are. What makes them extract? Basically, you steep vanilla beans in alcohol of some kind (usually vodka, sometimes rum or another clear liquor). The extract you buy in the grocery store usually has a little sugar or corn syrup added to it as well, but it’s really not necessary.

Doesn’t that sound simple? Yes, it is actually that easy.

Vanilla extract at 3 months. This is minus some extract decanted into 1 oz bottles, but plus some extra vodka

Step 1: Decide how much extract to make.

Generally, you use 1 ounce of vanilla beans for 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) of alcohol. Add a little sugar to it, and you’ve imitated store-bought vanilla. I use 4 ounces of vanilla beans for roughly 3 cups of alcohol (24 fluid ounces) to make a slightly stronger vanilla extract.

I go through a lot of vanilla extract when I bake. Case in point: I bought 1 pound of vanilla beans in May 2009. I gifted a quarter of them, and made vanilla extract out of 12 ounces of them. That means I made 72 ounces of vanilla extract! I gave away some extract – maybe 6 ounces? Otherwise, though, I used the rest – around 66 ounces of vanilla extract – by May 2011. Yes, over 8 cups of vanilla extract! Remember, a 1 ounce bottle of vanilla extract isn’t very tall.

Considering I can easily use 3 ounces of extract within a month when I’m on baking kick, I decided to make roughly 3 cups of extract, using 4 ounces of vanilla beans.

Preparation for vanilla extract: full bottle of no-name vodka; 4 ounces extract grade vanilla beans, cut in half with sharp knife; digital scale to weigh vanilla beans. Also shown: wrapped up vanilla beans on left; unwrapped package of vanilla on right; apples and pears I was too lazy to move

Step 2: Prepare ingredients

I have a digital scale that I use to weigh my ingredients, so I used it to weigh out 4 ounces of vanilla beans.

I cut the vanilla beans in half, and then slit them length-wise. The tutorial says to scrape the vanilla seeds from the bean, but I don’t think that’s necessary. As you shake the mixture and it macerates, seeds will come loose from the bean. I cut the pieces in half again to make them easier to dump out of the bottle later on. I used a good knife, but it still took me about 20 minutes to cut up all those vanilla beans.

I use vodka to make extract because it’s “flavorless.” I’ve made vanilla extract from white rum before and it’s particularly nice for baked goods, but I want an all-purpose vanilla extract. If you start with a full bottle of vodka, you won’t have room for the beans. Yes, this is obvious, but I just didn’t think about that the first time I made extract. Empty your bottle into measuring cups so that you can see how much you add back into the extract.

A close-up of vanilla beans, if you were curious

Step 3: Combine

Put the vanilla bean pieces in the empty bottle. Top with vodka. I suggest using a funnel; otherwise, pour carefully, perhaps over your sink. I aimed for 3 cups of vodka, but I was only able to pour in about 2 2/3 cups.

Put the top on and tighten well. Shake the bottle. You’ll see that the liquid already starts to change color. I doubt it tastes any different from vodka – I wasn’t going to try it – but it’s a start! As you shake it, you’ll free a few little air pockets that existed in the vanilla beans. You can top it off with a tiny bit more vodka, either now or at a later point. Don’t get the bottle too full, though, or it might leak when you shake it.

Shake the bottle a few (or several) times a day every day. I generally shake it whenever I walk by it (which is often, since I’m the kitchen often). I’ve heard you can shake it well for a week, and then shake occasionally afterward, but I just can’t leave it alone.

That said, you should store your vanilla extract in a cool location. My kitchen is definitely not cool when I cook, thanks to my old oven and stove, but I like to keep my vanilla extract where I can remember to shake it.

Step 4: Wait

I’ve heard that you can start using the extract as soon as a month after you start it. It’s true – you can use it, but it will continue to age and the flavor will intensify if you wait longer. I think the tutorial says to wait 6 months, and that the extract can age indefinitely.

Vanilla extract after 2 weeks (in May 2009)

As you use a little, you can add more vodka to it. You’ve made extra-strong vanilla extract, so you won’t really weaken it as long as you don’t add too much – in my case, more than an extra cup since I used 4 ounces vanilla beans. The vanilla beans will flavor the fresh vodka. I’m saving my extra vodka in a glass jar to do just that – top off my extract as I use it.

I usually just store mine in the vodka bottle on the counter, filling up empty 1 or 2 ounce vanilla extract bottles as necessary for easier use when I bake. It’s fun to have a giant bottle labeled (vanilla extract) on my kitchen counter – visitors usually ask me about it if they’re in my kitchen.

You can use your extra vodka, a spare vanilla bean or two, and some sugar to make a vanilla cordial. I made one once (I’ll make it again and review it on here sometime), and it’s worth trying.

Not only is making vanilla extract fun – if you use as much as I do, it’s cost effective! For the 3 cups of extract I made above, I spent around 8 dollars on vanilla beans and 10 dollars on a cheap (but by no means the cheapest) bottle of vodka. That’s 18 dollars for 24 ounces of vanilla extract that will be much better than anything I would buy! It’s also a cool gift to give to any friends who like to cook or bake if you have extra bottles for the extract.

I decided this winter weather made tonight perfect for soup. As always, I just happened to have some potatoes and bacon around, and thought that a hearty and thick bacon and potato soup was exactly what the change in weather demanded.

I’m a somewhat picky eater, and discounted all recipes involving any kind of cream cheese, shredded cheese, or sour cream in the broth. That essentially brought me to this Baked Potato and Bacon Soup recipe, which I’ve adapted below. I liked the simplicity of the ingredient list – potatoes, bacon, onion, garlic, milk, and chicken broth, with a few seasonings.

Baked Potato and Bacon Soup

Baked Potato and Bacon Soup

2 3/4 pounds baking potatoes
1/3 pound bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 bay leaf
3 1/2 cups 2% milk (add more for a thinner soup)*
1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
salt (maybe 1/2 teaspoon? I didn’t measure)
pepper to taste
toppings of your choice (cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions – whatever you’d put on your baked potato)

Scrub and pierce potatoes, and bake in a 400F oven for about an hour; they’re done once you can stick a fork in them without much resistance. Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise and slice.

Fry bacon in a large Dutch oven. Remove bacon and reserve for topping. Saute onion in bacon drippings for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and bay leaf and saute for a few minutes longer. Add chopped baked potatoes with skins, milk, chicken broth, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and mash potatoes with potato masher – mash a lot for thicker puree, and only a little for a thinner but chunkier soup. Top with reserved bacon and other toppings as desired. Yields 5-6 full bowls.

*Edit: I mistakenly wrote 3 cups instead of 3 1/2 cups of milk, which is how much I actually used.

This is exactly how I want a potato soup. It had just the right amount of onion in it. I enjoyed the texture and flavor of the potato skins. I mashed the potatoes enough that the soup really thickened up, becoming creamy, but the soup still had chunks of potato for texture. This soup had a good flavor without being overwhelming, and I get the feeling it would be versatile. (Steak-and-potato soup, anyone?)

This is a delicious, hearty, filling soup, perfect for a cold winter day. It was easy to make with just things I happened to have around the house. I’ll make this, and variations on it, again and again.