Recipes

Food52 | Teddie’s Apple Cake

by Rachel | Jan 22, 2013 | At Home, Recipes

Weekend goodness….

Dana Nguyen, of firstbite.tv, has been enabling my Food52 crush this month. I was a casual lurker for most of last year. Now I’m saving recipes, commenting, and testing my own recipes to share.

I thought Tad’s Roasted Potatoes was going to be my favorite save of the month. I made it two weekends in a row and have decided to put it into rotation with PW’s Crash Hot Potatoes as my go-to for family dinners.

And then I made Teddie’s Apple Cake. I’m done.

I played with the mix, using half white sugar and half brown, half white flour and half whole wheat, and cranberries instead of raisins. It’s the best cake I’ve ever made….and maybe even the best cake I’ve ever eaten. My amateur photography doesn’t do justice to the chunky apple goodness.

Be well. Eat well.

Smashed Blueberry Sauce

by Rachel | Jan 2, 2013 | At Home, Recipes

I have a freezer full of fruit and a few extra hours of downtime, thanks to holiday break. Time to tinker….

I want blueberry jam, but don’t have any pectin in the pantry. (I could buy some, but it’s something like seven degrees outside right now…and oh yeah, it’s midnight in a small town and the grocery store is closed anyway.) I’m improvising….

This turned out pretty well. It’s delicious, actually, so I’m capturing the recipe for next winter when it’s midnight and cold and I have an insane urge to make jam.

Ingredients

2 pounds blueberries (remove as many stems as possible)

1 lemon (zest the outside; juice the inside)

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1) Put the blueberries in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until they bubble or boil.

2) Add sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

3) Use immersion blender or potato masher to smash the berry and juice mixture. Simmer for ten minutes.

4) Remove from heat. Add vanilla and stir.

5) Cool. Scoop into jars and refrigerate. (Reserve some of the warm sauce for a bowl of ice cream right away. You can thank me later.)

This version has a consistency somewhere between a jam and a syrup. I’m going to use it for toast, smoothies, pancakes, and yogurt this week.

A Jubelale Day

by Rachel | Oct 23, 2012 | At Home, Recipes

I’m visiting friends later this week and promised to bring a case of Jubelale. I stopped by the store on the way home to grab it. Little did I know, Jubelale was the theme of the evening. Happy convergences….

snow on Lookout Mountain

There was snow on Lookout Mountain and the Ochocos, the view from our porch. We usually make Jubelale chili on first snow.

Jubelale Chili (our annual first snow batch)

Jubelale Chili (our annual first snow batch)

Ingredients:

olive oil
one onion
some garlic
ground beef
one can each: chili beans, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes
chili powder
1 bottle Jubelale

Directions:

sauté onions and garlic in oil
add ground beef; cook until pink is gone
add cans of beans and tomatoes, chili powder, and Jubelale
bring to slow boil for a few minutes; turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes or more

Serve with corn bread and milk. (Fair warning: This is a totally made-up recipe that changes each time we make it. So far, it’s always been good. I credit the beer.)

This year’s Jubelale artwork is a stunning collage by Kaycee Anseth Townsend. I like it so much, I ordered one of her other collages, Despite All of His Finery. It came today (!) and now I think I’m going back to Etsy for several others. So good.

Despite All of His Finery by Kaycee Anseth Townsend

Happy Jubelale season!