Blueberry Streusel Cake

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Preheat oven 350º and spray non-stick cooking spray onto a 9″ baking pan.

Streusel

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter (cut into cubes)

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1) Combine flour, salt and brown sugar in a medium bowl.

2) Cut in the butter, by using your hands or a pastry blender, until large moist crumbs appear.

3) Chill for fifteen minutes.

The Cake

4 Tbsp butter (softened)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp allspice

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

2/3 cup buttermilk * (I used whole milk and lemon juice 3/4 cup)

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (toss rinsed and dried fruit with 1 Tbsp flour, just prior to adding to the mixed batter) *(Next time I will rinse the blueberries and toss them in sugar instead of flour)

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1) Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and allspice together in a medium bowl.

2) In a large mixing bowl and using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.

3) Add large egg and beat well.

3) Alternating the dry ingredients and the liquid, add to the mixing bowl and blend, ending with the liquid.

4) The batter will appear stiff.

5) Toss the fresh blueberries with the flour and gently add and fold them into the batter.

6) Spread into baking pan and cover the top with the streusel.

7) Place baking pan into oven on top of a cookie sheet. This will prevent the bottom of the cake from burning.

8) Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until toothpick come out clean.

9) Allow cake to cool on baking rack for at least 10 to 15 minutes and then sift 10X sugar on top, if desired.

Serve while still warm, perhaps fifteen minutes after removing from the oven.

* Adapted from a Martha Stewart’s recipe.

Theresa’s Rum Bread Pudding

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Visit Half Hour Meals to get my recipe. Here is the recipe for the bread loaf.

We sliced some for our brunch and added heavy cream. Notice how moist the bread is. It is better after it sets up. (I had to add the photos to the first batch in the slide show)

 

Been Busy

Been checking out Member Recipes on Half Hour Meals and checking in with some friends there. It’s free to sign up and I invite you to join in the fun.

Tiny Life

 

Tiny Life

 

Within the walls of my tiny life

There is much significance

And heartfelt meaning

Intention for quality

In everything I do

But most of all is the joy

Of family friends and you

 

And as my life draws toward

The end I won’t pretend

I’ve had no sorrows because

Without them I would have

Never truly known

The extreme joys of loving

Family friends and you

 

 

Rocking Dinner Rolls

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I have to tell you how wonderful these taste. Try this recipe from Sugar Pies yourself and wrap your family round your little finger. They’ll be begging for more. Check out my post on Half Hour Meals and get the recipe there. You will be very happy you did!

Kitchen Phobia … Really?

Fortunately for me and my family, cooking and practically living within the confines of my kitchen comes naturally. I feel at home there. It is almost like an embrace from my Grandmother and my Father, both long gone. I feel most comfortable there and work on remote control in doing the relatively routine tasks. My late Mother had been adopted and pampered by Mama. She was never allowed to do anything in the kitchen, just keep her Mother company and reap all of the rewards. Thank goodness my Father knew his way around all of the food groups, and his pots and pans. Plus he had a great palate and that magic touch for making everything taste wonderful.

My husband thinks that cooking is a waste of time. He’d rather slap some canned tuna between two slices of bread, grab some chips and then scram. It is left to me to do everything else. He does help with dishes, but that’s about it, in the kitchen. He helps do other tasks about the home, so I am not complaining, just making observations.

There are times I really need him to step up to the plate and help me, and I have to tell you just as with my Mother, a curtain of helplessness would drop over their faces. All of a sudden these intelligent and smart people would crumble. They seemed to grow two left feet and all at once were clumsy. Entering the kitchen would prove to be very hard and while I would lose patience with them, in the back of my mind I wondered if they might suffer from Kitchen Phobia. Is there such a thing?

There are things I avoid, things which I used to do without thought. Now I do my darnedest to stay as far away from them as possible. There are many people who have phobias and wishing it wasn’t so doesn’t help. So now … today, it has dawned on me that perhaps there are people in the world who don’t cook because they actually suffer from Kitchen Phobia. Perhaps my Mother’s not doing very much in this most hallowed of rooms, and my husband saying it is a waste of time, but devouring my cooking, is an avoidance mechanism for them. Could be they were not making excuses to get out of doing work, but rather really felt that shut-down feeling.

I know this feeling. Start talking about how something complex works … like communication equipment, computers, televisions and I shut-down. A veil covers my mind and I close explanations out. My mind tells me I have no need to understand the inner workings of a thing, I simply need to know how to operate it. I wonder if more people out there have these reactions, too. Let me know because I want to understand and I won’t shut you out.

The Golden Globes

Tonight I watched The 68th Golden Globe Awards. I thought it was good, with the exception of a poor performance given by the host Ricky Gervais who seemed bent on putting people down from the beginning of the event up until his parting shot of the ceremony and I quote: “And I want to thank God for making me an atheist.”

This is what Tom Hanks and Tim Allen said as they reached the stage microphone:  Mr. Hanks said, “I can recall back when Ricky Gervais was a slightly chubby but very kind comedian.” Mr. Allen chimed in, “Neither of which he is now.” I feel they both delivered their stern words to an appreciative audience, including the ones at home.

I will say that while I have long enjoyed Ricky Gervais as a comedian and actor, his last HBO special (the one where he shows off his new svelte and muscular body) was hard for me to watch. He has changed and become so cynical and downright mean at times. I was really looking forward to being entertained by him tonight. Sadly, I along with many others, was just disappointed. I want the old Ricky Gervais back!

We’ve been discussing this on BlogCatalog. You can join in there.

Do You Eat Cheese?

I cannot believe how many cheeses there are! I love this food group and I hope you do, too. Please check out my post at Half Hour Meals and I hope I encourage you to find out as much as you are able about this wonderful subject. Plus it might urge you to try different kinds and expand your culinary horizons.

 

You can buy this poster here

Here is a photo of cheese sticks I prepared in culinary school 2005.

The Joys of Lemon Curd

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Lemon Curd

Custards and Creams

Lemon Curd is a paste which resembles a hot marmalade. It can be made into a mousse by folding it into freshly whipped cream. It is used in tarts and tartlets and may be eaten alone. It is also used on top of shortbread cookies.

 

4 fresh lemons separated into zest and juice

8 oz butter chopped

12 oz sugar

4 large eggs

 

1) Combine butter and lemon juice in a stainless steel pan.  Heat until butter is melted and liquid is at a simmer.

2) In a separate bowl blend eggs and sugar throughly but without adding air.

3) Temper the egg mixture with 1/3 hot liquid and then add remainder and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

4) Return to heat, and adding zest, continue to stir and bring to a boil.  Cook at a boil for 4 to 8 minutes.

5) Reduce the heat and continue to cook slowly.  It won’t get thicker if you cook it longer.  Play piano (on and off the heat) until the mixture is smooth, shiny and the bubbles are big and soft.

6) Strain into clean stainless steel bowl, cover and store in refrigerator.  Use as needed.

 

Store covered in refrigerator for up to 1 week.  Use in recipes or as a topping. Always smell and taste it prior to using the lemon curd, to insure its freshness.

 

Yield is 3 cups.

 

Cookie Monster

Toll House Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

 

1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups (12-ounce package) NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

 

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COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: PREPARE dough as above. Spread into greased 15″x10″ jelly-roll pan. Bake in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (>5,200 feet): INCREASE flour to 2 1/2 cups; add 2 teaspoonfuls water with flour; reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookies for 17 to 19 minutes.

 

 

 

Friday Night Food

For the ravioli recipe please visit Half Hour Meals and scroll down to read Food For Thought.

Dinner Last Night

We love pasta and combining Chesapeake Bay Spices with the garlic, butter and shrimp lend that special touch to this dish. A freshly made salad and some cool chips for crunch round off this dinner. We hadn’t eaten, so it was three meals in one.

Come on over and join in @ Half Hour Meals.

Theresa’s Fettuccine Marinara

Fettuccine Marinara, originally uploaded by Theresa111.

Sometimes the finest things in life are the simplest. This dish is most satisfying and it takes only moments to prepare. Honestly minutes is more the descriptive, but you get my drift. Boil the water and when the bubbles are rising to the top, add in your sea salt. As the rapidly boiling water awaits the noodles, grab your deep saute pan and turn the heat to high. Add in 1/4 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil … named thusly by Rachael Ray, bless her), and then throw the noodles into the water. Stir to separate and look at your clock. Check the cooking time and because these particular noodles are thicker, you must taste them and look at the center of the noodle to insure they are cooked throughout.

Back to your saute pan. Toss in some tomato paste, 1/4 cup water and cook down. Add in a large splash of wine, bay leaf, garlic powder, fresh garlic and onions. Toss in a dash of salt. pepper and raw sugar. Cook and stir, cook and stir. Toss in your favorite dry herbs and cook some more.

Drain most of the water from your pasta and reserve 1/2 cup. Add in 1/2 stick butter and some fresh parsley, if you like. Toss and add some Kosher salt. Toss some more. Dish up and plop some sauce on top. Grate cheese and enjoy.