Grandma Ethel's Sour Cream Coffee Cake

So now that I have been thinking about dessert, I had to share a family favorite with you! My Grandma Ethel was a wonderful cook, though it was her sister Aunt Shirley who was the baker. You knew you were in for a real treat if you were A) invited over to bake challah with her or B) were the recipient of one of her famous shoeboxes filled with her treats. My favorite was her chocolate chip cookies. Though one was baker and one was cook, my grandma took the cake with her sour cream coffee cake, no matter how hard Shirley tried! Funny enough, it's a super easy recipe and comes out great every time. Serve this for breakfast, for brunch, or for dessert with your coffee. Any which way you serve it, it will be a delicious hit!

Disclaimer: Some of my yummies I try my BEST to make as healthy as possible, and alternate versions of classic recipes come out just as good or better. Then, there are those recipes that are good because they are old and come from a time before low-carb or low-sugar or low-fat or gluten-free or organic or.....this is one of them. Sorry.

Ingredients
1 stick butter (or margarine if making pareve)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream (or sour cream substitute if making pareve)

Filling
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter (or margarine), or as it says in her recipe, "piece of butter"

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, with hand or electric mixer
• Add eggs and mix well
• Sift together dry ingredients and add to batter alternating with the sour cream
• Pour half the batter into an 8 inch square greased baking dish
• Add half the topping
• Add the remaining batter
• Top with the remaining topping
• Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
• Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then cut and serve warm or at room temperature.

It won't last long enough but it will keep covered for 3-4 days. This cake also freezes well if well-wrapped in plastic wrap and foil or freezer safe Ziploc bag.

Enjoy!!

To *** for Carrot Souffle!

If you are like me and are trying to plan your holiday menu(s), you may be running out of options!! Between Rosh Hashana, Breaking the Fast and any Sukkot meals you may be hosting or attending, it's a LOT of cooking!! This carrot souffle was passed down to me by my favorite Auntie Gail though I have adapted it to have less eggs and less sugar, but it is still a hit anytime I make it. It is a side dish, though it truly does taste like a dessert! For any kosher folks this can easily be made pareve margarine or dairy with butter, so it's a great option to add to your menu! This recipe makes just one dish, I always double it either in 2 separate souffle Pyrex dishes or a larger rectangular baking dish. Try it and let me know how yummy your guests think it is!

Souffle
1 pound cooked carrots (you can either use whole peeled carrots or baby carrots), boiled or steamed
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick butter or margarine, softened

Topping
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons softened butter or margarine

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Blend cooked carrots in food processor until well mashed
• Add eggs and blend well
• Add sugar, vanilla and softened butter and blend well
• Pour into greased deep Pyrex or souffle dish
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. 
• While it is baking, mix together ingredients for topping.
• Sprinkle evenly on top and bake for 5-10 more minutes until puffed and golden. It will fall slightly after coming out of oven-don't panic!!!!

Enjoy!!!!

A Sweet New Year

Do you have any recipes in your family that when you hear them mentioned you can see, smell and taste them? Luckily for me, I have many such memories associated with Mimi's cooking, but one in particular is in my mind this time of year. Yes, her matzah ball soup and brisket and chopped liver all come to mind, but none as vividly and almost tangibly as her honey cake. Y'all may think that it's hard to make or you have a better recipe, but don't judge until you make this one, and then come back and tell me I was right-hers is the best (again!)

I hope you try this cake to serve at your holiday table or make it to bring as a hostess gift. It will be gooey and rich and sticky and chewy and sweet, and with all of those adjectives will come simply a wonderful, sweet New Year.  Enjoy!

Dahlia’s Honey Cake

Dry ingredients:

2 cups flour                                                      

1 scant cup sugar                                             

1 teaspoon cinnamon                                            

½ teaspoon nutmeg                                            

¼ teaspoon ginger

pinch cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder                                            

Wet ingredients:

¼ cup vegetable/canola oil                                                      

3 large eggs                                                      

1 tsp. vanilla

8-10 ounces strong, cooled coffee

1 1/2 cup honey

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  
• Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl.  
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.  
• Mix.  
• Pour into 9x13 inch pan, which has been greased and lined with parchment paper (or line an equivalent-sized disposable tinfoil pan with parchment paper).  
• Bake for 1 hour.  
• DO NOT OPEN OVEN DURING BAKING!! 

Enjoy! 

Granola and then some bars

When I was little I loved the oats and honey ones in the green wrapper. Who didn't? In college I loved the s'mores low-fat ones, of course that was before we knew low carb and we thought low fat was the way to go! Now we know better all around, and I try to have my family eat clean.  In my quest to cut back as much as possible on processed foods, hydrogenated oils, artificial colors and flavors, high fructose corn syrup and all the other yuckies, I came across this delicious recipe. My kids love it, their friends love it, my friends love it, and unfortunately I love it too! It's that good! Make a batch of these homemade granola bars the next time you want to impress your playgroup, bring a snack to a friend's, or pack your kids something healthy in their lunch. They probably won't last long enough to freeze, at least around here they don't, but they do so beautifully wrapped in foil and in a freezer safe bag. I always double the recipe and save a batch for a rainy day. (oh, and save yourself one to enjoy with your coffee... if you have time for coffee... or time to bake!)

• 2 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned, not instant or steel cut)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal (or wheat germ)
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour or whole-wheat flour, or half and half
• 3/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional, though I usually leave out)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 
  

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

• In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, flaxseed meal or wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Combine all the wet ingredients.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture.  Mix well using your hands or a wooden spoon.  Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut. Cool on rack once cut and you can then wrap them individually, or they will keep up to a week in a Ziploc bag or food storage container.

These make a great breakfast on the run or after school snack. When you have a few extra minutes, crumble one over yogurt and add some fresh berries. You won't be able to stop at just one (makes me think that is why there are 2 in those green-wrapped packages....but these are better and healthier and YOURS!)

Enjoy!

Double Dipping

There are just some recipes that I can take full credit for either inheriting, creating or adapting and sharing them with you as mine. Then there are just some recipes that are that good just the way they are-coming from someone else! A pretty standard appetizer in my family is spinach dip, and it probably takes the prize for being the most requested at a potluck party.

While delicious, I am really only sharing my slightly adapted version of Marlene Sorosky's Double Onion-Spinach Dip from her Cooking for Entertaining book (page 100.) I leave out the salad dressing mix and I vary between leek soup mix and vegetable soup mix, but the recipe is far too good for her not to get all the credit!! Mimi and I do get the credit, though, for scooping out a big round sourdough loaf which becomes both bowl and dippers for this awesome dip. Throw your favorite raw veggies onto the platter with the bread cubes and it will be an empty one at the end of the party! Mine are jicama, bell peppers, snap peas, baby carrots and broccoli in case you were wondering, but anything tastes good dipped in this.

1 pint (2 cups) sour cream (you can use non-dairy substitute to make this pareve)
2 cups mayonnaise (you can use light, but NOT fat free!)
1 package (2 3/4 oz) dry leek soup or dry vegetable soup mix (Knorr's or other brand)
1 10 oz box of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and well-drained (I squeeze it out in a clean dish towel which works best but leaves you with a no-longer-clean-dish towel)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped green onions, greens and whites
1 teaspoon dry dill (you can leave this out if you don't have any, or you can use 1 tablespoon fresh dill)
1 teaspoon dry Italian salad dressing mix (Good Seasons or other brand, though I almost never use this!)

• In a large bowl or food processor combine all ingredients until well blended. 
• Refrigerate until ready to serve, and will last about 3 days in the fridge.

Sit back and watch it disappear!! This is definitely a keeper, and make sure to watch for double dipping-the kids can't get enough of it either!!! Enjoy!

Holla' for Homemade Challah!

How many Fridays come and go and you say to yourself "Next week, I am going to try making challah from scratch!" This may be you, this may never be you-but this was me! I have fab childhood memories of making challah with my mom, and can close my eyes and still smell the fresh bread as I came in the door on a Friday afternoon.

A few years ago I decided I wanted the noses of my little ones to have the same memories and I set off on an adventure to find the perfect recipe. Week after week I made fresh challah using recipes from the Internet, from friends, and from cookbooks.  We ate white challah and whole wheat challah, challah with sugar and holy bread with honey. There was sesame seed and poppy seed and cinnamon sugar depending on the week-there was even a heavenly chocolate chip challah one week! Sometimes I made it fresh each Friday, and other weeks I defrosted a braid that I had made the week before.  After the taste test journey, the front runner was....from A's Star Wars cookbook! Yes-you read that right-Amidalah Challah was the winner!!! She hung around for a while until a friend gave me the new Blue Ribbon recipe, and after M asked me to share a challah recipe on my new blog I couldn't say no!

The key to homemade challah is to remember it is really very easy, especially with a stand mixer and a dough hook (though I have an awesome, big, challah-making bowl that I often choose to knead by hand in!). It is just time consuming as you have to account for the preparation, the rising and the baking. Please try it even just once, and I can sort of safely promise you that the smell will hook you and have you trying it more than just once!

This recipe makes about 4-5 good size loaves, and while you can easily halve it just NOTE that 3 eggs cannot be halved so I use 2 for half the recipe. Best bet is to make the whole recipe and freeze them wrapped in tinfoil and freezer bags.

4 cups warm water
4 tablespoons yeast
1 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons
3 eggs (or 2 if halving!)
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup oil
5 lbs flour (unbleached, bread, organic-whatever you prefer to bake with)

• Combine yeast and warm water and add the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Let sit until you see bubbling-if you don't see this after about 5 minutes it means your yeast is not active and you must start over.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the yeast mixture, adding flour as you go. You may not need the final cup or two of flour-you want a good consistency that is elastic and smooth but not sticky.
• At this point you want to knead by hand for 5-10 minutes or use the dough hook in your stand mixer.
• Cover and let rise for one hour (can be longer if you are like me and make your dough then realize you won't be home for 3 hours!) in a warm place or in your oven (with it turned off!)
• Divide the dough into 4-5 equal portions, depending on how the dough has risen and the size loaf that you like.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Braid the challah and let rise for another half hour, covered.
• Brush tops with a beaten egg and decorate with your favorite-sesame seeds, poppy seeds, cinnamon sugar
• Bake on a greased (or Silpat) baking sheet at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until it is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. My oven is a bit off at all times so you will need to check your loaves starting at 30 minutes and go from there.

There you have it M! Let me know if y'all have challah questions! It is really pretty easy, not to mention a good way to relieve your tension if you knead by hand! My kids love coming home from school to fresh challah dough that they can braid and "paint" with egg wash and decorate! Hope yours will too-ENJOY!!!

Dressing on the side, please

If you are anything like me, most of your salad-ordering since age 13 has ended with "Dressing on the side, please."  After so many years of that, I learned that I actually love salad and don't really need the dressing (exceptions of course; Amy's Grapefruit Salad from Stanley's, fresh table side Caesar dressing at El Cab or the Feast from the East Chinese Chicken Salad dressing-I am sure you have your own exceptions too)! Since not everyone in my house feels the same way about dressing on the side, I started making my own salad dressing years ago that adds delicious flavor to the salad without being too oily, too creamy, too heavy or too much!

The recipe below makes a good amount to dress a salad for 3-4 (1 big head of lettuce with assorted veggies), but you can easily double or triple it for either a bigger salad or to save in the fridge for another day. The dressing keeps about a week, but it won't last that long!

1 lemon's worth of fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper, more or less to taste depending on your preference

• Combine all the ingredients and blend well with a whisk or in a dressing emulsifier (such as the Pampered Chef one which I love! http://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=21&words=salad%20dressing
• Can either be used right away or stored in the fridge until ready to use, up to one week. Toss with salad just before serving.

Hope this helps you leave your dressing-on-the side-days behind just a bit! I often make lunch for a playdate and am always complimented when I make salad dressed like this-now it's your turn!  Fresh, healthy ingredients are important for our bodies and appreciated by our souls.  Enjoy!

Quinoa Salad, aka "I'm staying home for lunch today" salad!

Do you ever have those days where you want to grab something quick and healthy for lunch, yet there is nothing ready to go in your fridge? Well, welcome to my life, before I discovered this salad, that is! I try most days to save money by packing a lunchbox as though I was going off to school, or scrounging on leftovers that I  find in the refrigerator. When I come upon a big glass container of this, I get a little too excited (and I must tell you that my girls ask for this by name-"our favorite salad"! 

The best part about this salad is that while I am going to share my exact recipe with you, it is similar to those "everything but the kitchen sink" dishes you often see-you choose your favorite veggies, whatever you want to use up in your fridge, the can of beans you have left in your pantry-you get the idea!! This recipe is very forgiving and only you will know how you like it best-but I promise your quinoa will come out perfect (don't be scared!) and you will enjoy packing this for work, sending it to school with your kids, or digging into the container straight out of your fridge while running your groceries home, taking a quick shower and heading out to carpool on your way to soccer practice.  Oh wait, your days may not be like that-but no matter what you will love this!

2 cups quinoa (I like http://www.bobsredmill.com/organic-quinoa-grain.html, which I buy at Costco)

2 1/2 cups liquid, water or chicken broth (I prefer broth)

1 English cucumber or 4 Persian cucumbers

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 orange bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped scallions, whites and greens

1 can black beans, drained

Juice from 1 lemon

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

kosher salt & pepper to taste

• Combine the quinoa and broth (or water) in a heavy saucepan and cook covered for between 30-35 minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat and let sit covered for an additional 5 minutes-fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.

NOTE: If you are short on time, you can use the quick-cook method. Combine 2 cups quinoa with 3 1/2 cups cold water or broth.  Bring the quinoa to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with fork.

• While your quinoa is cooking and cooling, chop all of your veggies into a small dice and combine in a strainer. Sprinkle with a generous palmful of kosher salt and set aside in your sink. After your quinoa is done cooking, rinse the colander with water for a good minute-what this does is helps to preserve the veggies and give them flavor without keeping the added salt-good trick, eh??
• Combine rinsed and drained veggies with cooled and fluffed quinoa
• Add the juice of 1 lemon and the olive oil
• Add the drained black beans
• Mix well with fork and add salt and pepper to taste

Remember, you may like more oil or lemon or salt then I do, so play around until you get it right-the quinoa salad needs to be your perfect lunch, not mine!! You can add any veggies EXCEPT tomatoes-they add too much liquid and will make the salad soggy. Sometimes I add jicama, carrots, red onion or snow peas-choose anything that your family likes because it will become a favorite quick lunch or room temp side dish for dinner. The next time you see my girls eating with plastic forks out of red Costco cups, you won't have to wonder anymore what they could possibly be shoveling in so fast.

Enjoy!! 

Mom's Best Banana Bread

We all think we have the best banana bread recipe, but here's the thing-I really do! My mom, famously known as "Mimi", has been making this recipe (adapted for today's healthier tummies!) since I was a kid. It makes a great loaf, delish breakfast muffins, or a rockin' dessert when you double it, add chocolate chips and dump it in a bundt pan!!!

I promise this will be yummy in your tummy, with the added benefits of less sugar and flaxseed meal!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees; Either coat loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray or line 2 muffin tins with liners (will make 18 muffins)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or non-hydrogenated margarine, softened to room temp

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup milk (or buttermilk or greek yogurt or sour cream or anything else white that you want to use up!)

2 cups flour

1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

OK, here we go! This can be made in an electric mixer, with a hand mixer, in a food processor, or by hand (my personal fave is with a hand mixer!)

• Cream butter and sugar
• Add vanilla and eggs
• Combine milk with bananas and add to creamed mixture
• Sift flour, flaxseed meal, salt, baking soda and baking powder
• Add sifted flour mixture to banana mixture and mix until just combined
• Stir through with a rubber spatula to make sure all is well combined; at this point you can add chocolate chips or walnuts coated with a bit of flour to prevent sinking to the bottom
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven
• If using a loaf pan, check for doneness after 45 minutes, may take up to 60 minutes depending on your oven
• If using muffin tins, should be perfectly done at about 18-20 minutes, again depends on your oven
• If doubling recipe in a bundt pan, will take almost exactly one hour

My yummy is not an exact science-you will need to play around with your oven to find the exact time that works-you want the banana bread perfectly done throughout but not burnt on top! This can be made even yummier by substituting whole wheat flour-make my yummy perfect for your tummies!

Happy baking, and say thanks to Mimi when the loaf has been gobbled up for breakfast spread with natural peanut butter or devoured plain as an after-school snack!!