October 2011 – Page 3 – OwlCat Designs

October 3, 2011December 16, 2017

Surprise Visit ‘Cake-to-Biscotti’ (Vorrats Cake)

My sweet tooth hijacked me completely today. I think it the days getting shorter and the nights colder. Makes me wanna eat cake. Or at least make some and have on hand for when I want some, or need some because of a surprise visit or something (okay, this might just be an excuse, since I am really not sure just how long I will be able to keep my hands off of them)
The German title translates to something along the lines of stock/supply/storage cake since it is baked in canning jars and can then be kept for up to 6 months

( yeah right, as if anyone is going to manage that)

The idea is that before you serve it or gift it, you remove cake from the jar, slice it thin and bake it up till crisp, = biscotti.
Ideal with tea or coffee 🙂
In the background: that’s what they are supposed to look like, foreground, ‘first try’ with 12 oz jelly jars… I basically had to carve the cake out of the jars and slice them lengthwise

You wanna make sure you use wide mouth pint jars from Ball. Or any other jar that is truly straight on the inside and DOES NOT curve in at the top for the lid to thread on. I tried it with 12 oz jelly jars, they LOOK straight on the outside, but as we all known, it’s the inside that matters much more than the outside 🙂

Ingredients

4-5 canning jars, pint size
5 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3 cups (+ 2 tbsp*) Flour
1 cups ground almond or hazelnuts, divided
1/2 cup almonds and/or hazelnuts
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 stick butter, melted

Directions

butter and coat jars with 1/4 cup of the ground almonds
In a big bowl in warm water bath, beat eggs, salt and sugar until light and airy
remove from water bath, beat a little more then stir in vanilla and gently mix in flour, baking powder, ground almonds and whole nuts
fold molten butter into mixture
Fill canning jars about half with mixture, tap several times to remove any air bubbles. Close jars and cover lids with aluminum foil
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place large rimmed baking sheet in lower part of the oven and fill as much as possible with hot water, place jars right above that on the rack.
Bake 1 1/2 hours. Let cool in the glass.
To enjoy, open jar, remove cake. If you got the truly straight pint jars, it’s a piece of cake (could not resist that one) will keep up to 6 months
When unexpected guests show up, not to worry, you’re prepared! Pop a jar open, cut into 1/4″ thick slices and bake in a 250 F oven until crisp!

Mmmmhhh!

only fill about half way up

baking (this time the right jars…)

this is the lemon versions ( will be up soon, still lives in metric land right now)

sliced and ‘biscotti-ed’

October 3, 2011December 16, 2017

Sprouted Quinoa Broccoli and White Bean Salad with Pesto Dressing

In the colder months I do rarely eat salad. It just seems to go against my nature. And since the temperatures suddenly dropped below 50, (last week it was 80-some in the afternoon) I prefer something warm right now. You can enjoy this both warm or cold, we had it warm as a main dish first, and then as a side cold from the fridge the next day. Taking advantage of late summer’s bounty of fresh broccoli and if you’re lucky enough to get some fresh shelling beans, that would probably be double awesome! I didn’t and it is fantastic no matter what. I do generally like to cook my own beans, instead of using canned. For a lot of the varieties, the flavor is incomparable, so be warned, once you start there is no going back… If you use canned beans, be sure to rinse them real good to get some of that excess salt off of them before using.

Ingredients

1/4 cup red quinoa
1/4 cup white quinoa
2 cups chopped broccoli ( stems and florets)
1 cup white kidney beans (cannellini)
3 heaped tblsp homemade pesto (or a good store bought variety)
5 tblsp Greek Feta dressing with Buttermilk

…soaking the quinoa until it sprouts…

Directions

Rinse and then soak Quinoa in enough water to cover by 1/4″, cover, let stand overnight or up to 20 h(You could skip this step and just use the Quinoa plain out of the box)
Pour Quinoa and water into a sauce pan and add water to just cover the sprouted grains ( If you skipped the sprouting, you most likely need a bit more water), bring to a boil and cook until tender and all water is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
In the meantime, steam the broccoli pieces in a seperate sauce pan until crisp-tender and bright green, drain and set aside
When the Quinoa is just done (the white grains will look translucent) add the beans to heat them up.
Mix the pesto and the greek feta dressing in a large bowl, add the quinoa and beans, and the broccoli, gently mix until the dressing is mixed in

Enjoy hot or cold!

Serves 2 as a main, 4 if used as a side dish/salad

Yum!

October 3, 2011December 16, 2017

Greek Feta Dressing with Buttermilk

Honestly, the only reason I eat salad, is because I like dressing. There I said it. I do think salads are yummy when they contain more than just lettuce, but I guess I still have not grown out of my childhood, when my Dad used to say that the slugs in the garden ate more lettuce than we (my brother and me)!

I know raw foods and leafy greens are healthy, but don’t be fooled, stay away from Iceberg lettuce, there is nothing in there if nutritional value, nope nada, it’s just crunchy water.

In the spring and fall, when my garden is producing lots of lettuce, I have to get creative and not only use up the prolific stream of salad greens coming out of my garden but also the various herbs I grow.

I like the fresh and asserting flavors of Greek dishes: lemon, thyme, Greek oregano, garlic and salty feta cheese (it makes you feel like a sunny vacation). So I decided to get working and turn that into something good. Using Buttermilk and Cottage cheese gives the dressing body and thickness without the added calories of mayonnaise.

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider or white wine vinegar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/2 lemon, zest only
1 md clove garlic*
1 slice Feta cheese ( about 1″x 1/2″x 4″ ) chopped
2 tbsp chives, fresh, chopped, divided*
1 tsp oregano (from 2 fresh sprigs, leaves only)*
1/2 tsp Thyme*
1 tsp black pepper corns, freshly ground in Mortar

* I used all fresh herbs and ingredients. If you are using dried herbs, adjust the quantity down

Directions

Blend all ingredients except 1 tbsp chives, oil, vinegar and buttermilk in blender until smooth.
Add buttermilk, oil and vinegar, pulse to combine. Remove from blender and stir in remaining chives. Ready to enjoy!

So far I have used it on various lettuce & vegetable salads (muuuch better than just lettuce). And the sprouted Quinoa White Bean Broccoli salad I had today. Thinking that using it as a marinade might be good as well…

If you’re in need of an idea,

try the warm ‘Sprouted Quinoa Broccoli and White Bean Salad‘ I had today (recipe coming tomorrow)