Jennifer Moorman's Blog, page 9

The Catcher in the Rye Grilled Cheese and Malt

The Catcher in the Rye, written by J. D. Salinger, was published in 1951 and was originally meant for adults, but its popularity rose among teenagers due to its rebellious, angst-driven themes.

Holden Caulfield, the protagonist and narrator, is a sixteen-year-old, six-foot-two-and-a-half-tall cynical, foul-mouthed young man who despises all things phony. And yet, he is still one of the most loved characters of the 20th century. He’s one of my favorites as well. But dang, that boy has the mouth of a sailor on a bad day.

In an attempt to waste time and prolong telling his parents that he’s received the ax again, Holden takes a table at a little sandwich bar.

“I was supposed to be on this diet where you eat a lot of starches and crap, to gain weight and all, but I didn’t ever do it. When I’m out somewhere, I generally just east a Swiss cheese sandwich and a malted milk. It isn’t much, but you get quite a lot of vitamins in the malted milk. H. V. Caulfield. Holden Vitamin Caulfield.” (Salinger, J. D., The Catcher in the Rye. Little Brown and Company. New York: 1951, p. 140)

Grilled Swiss Cheese

Serves 1

Level of Difficulty: zero

Ingredients

3 slices of Swiss cheese

unsalted butter

2 slices of white bread

How to Make

Heat a cast iron skillet on medium. Butter both sides of the bread. Layer cheese in between bread slices and toast until desired doneness is reached. Malted Milk

Serves 2

Level of Difficulty: as easy an drinking both servings at once

Ingredients

1 pint premium chocolate ice cream

¼ c whole milk

2 tbsp malt

2 tbsp chocolate syrup

optional garnish: whipped cream, maraschino cherries, chocolate shavings

How to Make

Place the ice cream, milk, malt, and syrup in a blender and process on low speed for 30 seconds. Pour into 2 tall glasses and serve each with a straw and long-handled spoon. Talk about Holden. Brood. Drink more.

Inspiration for the Holidays

A Festive Explosion of Inspiration & Creativity!

✨It's here! Are you ready for a creativity boost? To feel encouraged and uplifted? I have the perfect magazine for you!

✨This Inspired Life Magazine highlights a community of creatives who share their art, writings, crafts, recipes, and hearts. You’ll find these pages offer a wonderland of imagination and soul. The magazine’s mission is to inspire readers with stories of hope and encouragement and to spark the creative spirit in all of us.

❤️ I’d love for you to read it and support these inspiring stories. Share it with someone you know who could use a smile or a laugh or a feel-good afternoon of fun holiday reading.

What's in this edition?

✨Fabulous articles about life, time travel, unique gifts, self-care, baking, cooking, traditions, health & wellness, inspiring lives, what to read and listen to this season, and more!

Fascinating Q&A with novelist Sean McMahon @restarterlodge

✨Random acts of kindness, self-love tips, dazzling lore surrounding opals & inspiring articles by Natalie Banks @officialnataliebanks and Cara Nadolny @lowercasegirl

⛄️ Read lifestyle & holiday articles by Jeanne Arnold  @jeannesbooks Becky Jackson @cabin_granny Barbara Delinsky @barbaradelinsky and Ruth Yunker @ruth.yunker

Find fitness motivation by Lanie Mores @laniemores

Try the holiday recipes by Jennifer Moorman @jennifer7478 and Ashley @wellwithashley

White Chocolate Peppermint Scones

Peppermint is one of my favorite smells and flavors. I don't limit my peppermint

intake to the holiday season only, but I will agree that the scent of peppermint is

especially festive and fits perfectly with all things holiday, winter, and lively.

These White Chocolate Peppermint Scones are featured in This Inspired Life Magazine and they are easy to make, and paired with white chocolate and a warm scone, soft peppermint candies make this recipe wonderful for a holiday breakfast treat or tea with your best friends.

This Inspired Life Magazine highlights a community of creatives who share their art, writings, crafts, recipes, and hearts. You’ll find these pages offer a wonderland of imagination, heart, and soul. The magazine’s mission is to inspire readers with stories of hope and encouragement and to spark the creative spirit in all of us.

Read an edition today and bake up these delicious scones!

White Chocolate Peppermint Scones

Difficulty: Easy

Yields: 6 scones

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Freeze Time: 15 minutes or overnight

Baking Time: 27 minutes

Ingredients

For the Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 cup cold heavy whipping cream, plus more for brushing

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

3 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped (about . cup)

1/2 cup crushed soft peppermint candies*

White sparkling sugar, for sprinkling

Vanilla Glaze

Garnish: crushed soft peppermint candies

For the Vanilla Glaze

⅔ cup confectioners’ sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. In a small bowl, stir together cold cream, vanilla bean paste, and peppermint extract. Gradually add cream mixture to flour mixture, stirring with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened.

4. Gently stir in white chocolate and candies. Dough will be quite crumbly or shaggy in parts.

5. Turn out dough onto a clean surface; gently knead 8 to 10 times to bring dough together. If dough is too dry and crumbly, add more heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time. Roll or pat dough into a 7-inch circle (about 1 inch thick), very lightly flouring surface as needed to

prevent sticking; press together any cracks that form, if necessary. Using a bench scraper or a thin-bladed knife, cut circle into 6 wedges; place wedges at least 2 inches apart on prepared pan. Wrap pan tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze overnight if wanting to makeahead.

If wanting to bake same day, freeze for at least 15 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

7. Brush tops of scones with cream; sprinkle with sparkling sugar.

8. Bake until lightly golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 22–27 minutes.

9. Make vanilla glaze. In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients until smooth and well combined. Use immediately.

10. Spoon Vanilla Glaze into a small pastry or resealable plastic bag; cut a .-inch opening in tip or corner. Drizzle glaze onto scones as desired. Garnish with candies. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Note: Use only soft candies and avoid using hard peppermint candies

Virtual Baking Class with Jennifer Moorman

Join Me!Free Virtual Cooking ClassLive baking experience with recipes inspired by fiction. December 11 at 11 AM Eastern.

Join me for a whimsical time of cooking through fiction where our baking experience happens live via Zoom from my kitchen and yours!

On December 11 we'll be baking Holiday Whoopie Pies, which are inspired by The Baker's Man, and you don't want to miss these treats.

Once you've signed up, you’ll receive an email with all the class information, the recipe, and a detailed list of ingredients and the quantities you'll need to make this recipe at home.

Come enjoy a FREE and fun cooking class where you’ll not only smile and laugh but you’ll also have a delicious treat to share with loved ones!

Adults & children (with supervision) are welcome! No previous cooking experience required!

Holiday Whoopie Pies

"Saturdays meant a hodgepodge of chocolate treats—chocolate peppermint cocoa, chocolate flavored coffees, éclairs, tarts, turtles, truffles, cookies, fudge, and mini cakes. Chocoholics came in on Saturdays just to indulge."

The Baker's Man Let's Bake Together!

Dracula's Robber Steak

Within a few chapters of Bram Stoker's Dracula, it’s as though a shroud has been draped over the entire world. Sunlight cannot penetrate the darkness, and as a reader tumbles into this gothic realm, one begins to wonder if anything other than flickering firelight exists at all.

Perhaps there are only degrees of darkness, ranging from the silvery gray of twilight to the absolute stygian blackness. On the rare occasions when a moon can be seen, villagers are mesmerized, desperate for its light.

But the novel starts innocently enough with Jonathan Harker’s journal entry. In his travelogue, he details his adventure through the Carpathian Mountains toward the castle of Count Dracula, and Harker describes the food he eats during some of his stops before the story becomes ghastly and dark. However, the recipe (taken nearly verbatim from the text) was delicious and satisfying.

“There are many odd things to put down, and, lest who reads them may fancy that I dined too well before I left Bistritz, let me put down my dinner exactly. I dined on what they called ‘robber steak’—bits of bacon, onion, and beef, seasoned with red pepper, and strung on sticks, and roasted over the fire, in simple style of the London cat’s meat!” (Dracula by Bram Stoker, Chapter 1)

Dracula’s Robber Steak

Serves: 6Difficulty level: Easy

Ingredients

1 lb beef cut into cubes10 strips of thick cut bacon, cut into pieces1 sweet yellow onion, or red onion, cut into cubes2 bell peppers (a mix of colors or red only for dramatic effect), cut into cubes

1 bunch of button mushrooms1 tbsp Hungarian paprika2 tbsps olive oil, dividedsalt and pepper to tasteskewersoptional: pita or flatbread

How to Make

If using bamboo skewers, soak in water for at least 15 minutes. Heat grill to medium high heat. Season the beef with paprika, salt, and pepper. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil. Toss cubed onion and peppers, along with mushrooms, with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Alternate the ingredients on skewers. Grill until meat is cooked to desire temperature. Serve with warmed pita or flatbread.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

These delicously soft and tender muffins are gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, and refined sugar-free. Which means not only are they yummy but they are also a perfect fit for your healthy diet!

These Chocolate Banana Muffins were featured in This Inspired Life Magazine and they are easy to make and the perfect on-the-go snack to keep on hand for those times you're craving something sweet that will also give your body a healthy boost.

This Inspired Life Magazine highlights a community of creatives who share their art, writings, crafts, recipes, and hearts. You’ll find these pages offer a wonderland of imagination, heart, and soul. The magazine’s mission is to inspire readers with stories of hope and encouragement and to spark the creative spirit in all of us.

Read an edition today and bake up these delicious muffins!

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Makes: 10–12 muffins

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (101g) rolled oats

3 tablespoons (21g) ground flaxseed

2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup (118ml) unsweetened almond milk

6 tablespoons (96g) almond butter

6 tablespoons (128g) honey

1 tablespoon (15ml) vanilla extract

2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

6 tablespoons (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177C). Prepare muffin pan by lining the cavities with parchment paper liners. Set aside.

2. Add the oats, ground flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a blender. Process on high for 10 seconds, or until the oats have the consistency of flour.

3. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the blender except for the mashed bananas and cocoa powder. Process on high for about 30 seconds or until the batter becomes smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the blender as needed.

4. Fold in the mashed bananas by hand.

5. Transfer half of the batter to a separate bowl, and set it aside. Add the cocoa powder to the batter remaining in the blender. Process for about 10 seconds until the cocoa powder is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the blender as needed.

6. Spoon a tablespoon of the banana batter into each muffin paper. Follow with a tablespoon of the chocolate batter. Continue alternating the batters until the muffins are 3/4 full. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the batters together.

7. Bake for 18–20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the baking pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. As soon as they're cool, transfer to an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Poison Apple Pie

Come closer, dearie. Just one bite . . .

Freshly poisoned magic wishing apples straight from the Evil Queen’s orchard and baked into a delicious, life-changing pie.

Just one bite and all your dreams will come true.

Poison Apple Pie

Inspired by Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

Servings: 8

Ingredients4 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and diced

12oz frozen cherries

Juice from one lemon

2 tsp pumpkin or apple pie spice

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons Clearjel

Two pie crusts

Egg wash

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Line pie plate with one pie crust and set aside. Pour lemon juice over diced apples and stir to prevent browning.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring cherries, one cup of apples, sugar, water, and pie spice to a boil over medium heat. Then lower heat and simmer until thickened and the cherries have popped, about 10–15 minutes.

3. Remove from heat, and add dried cranberries, remaining apples, and Clearjel. Let filling cool while preparing the crust.

4. Lay second pie crust on working area. Using a picture reference and a knife, free hand the Poison Apple face to the pie crust. It doesn’t have to be perfect! Paint the crust with egg wash.

5. Spoon pie filling into pastry lined pie plate, and then carefully place crust on top. Fold and pinch pie crusts together. Cover edges with aluminum foil or pie crust protector shield.

6. Bake for 30 minutes, remove crust shield and bake for additional 15 minutes.

7. Serve warm if desired.

Delicious Pumpkin Bread

This delicious pumpkin bread is a favorite fall recipe packed with cinnamon, an autumn spice blend, and tons of pumpkin flavor.

Inspired by The Baker's Man, this recipe is a perfect find for anyone strolling through Mystic Water's Fall Festival. Anna has a booth set up with treats that will change your life...literally.

Anna spends days prepping the bakery's goods for festivalgoers, choosing favorites like truffles, coconut cake, and Black and Blue Pie. In fact, there are a few late nights tucked in there when not all the desserts turn out as expected.

But you can rest assured that this Pumpkin Bread will turn out just as you hope. Bake this easy treat, and fill your house with cozy scents of fall and happiness.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1 and 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)

1/2 cup vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil

1/4 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon orange zest

*Optional: 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position to prevent the top of your bread from browning too much too soon. Spray with baking spray or line with parchment a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, orange zest, and salt together until combined. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil, and orange juice. Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together. Do not overmix. If using, gently fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60–65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from over-browning. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. Begin checking for doneness every 5 minutes at the 55 minute mark. Oven temps vary.

4. Allow bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing and slicing. Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 3–4 days or in the refrigerator for up to about 10 days.

*Bonus Add In: If desired, add 2/3 cup semi-sweet, milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate chips, or even chopped pecans or walnuts.

Starry Sky Cake

This stellar cake is inspired by my star-filled short story, ,,Starry Sky July. Does anyone ever say no to cake? Can these people be trusted? I'm kidding! Kinda.

For this inspired cake, I wanted to try a few techniques that I'd never tried because... why not? Disaster or delicious? I like to live dangerously. Actually I don't. I mostly trusted this wouldn't explode the kitchen. But there are worse things than eating cake batter off the counter...right?

Fortunately, this didn't explode, and I created a vibrant red velvet cake interior covered with Swiss meringue buttercream dyed with black cocoa powder (not food dye!) and accented with isomalt flames on top!

I think Jude Jones and Maddie Mathis, the teenage best friends in ,,Starry Sky July, would settle in with a fat slice of this cake and enjoy it! What do you think? Want to try a slice? Don't say no...you want people to trust you, don't you?!

Normally, I would list the recipe below, with detailed directions, but if I'm honest with you, this cake is a doozy, not for first-timers in the kitchen, and well-suited for daring bakers who aren't afraid to melt isomalt to 330 degrees and try not to pour onto anything you don't want permanently glued together (like your fingers)!

So the next best thing is that I'll tell you where I found my inspiration for all the parts!

Red Velvet Cake Recipe Inspired By: ,Baking with Blondie

Black Cocoa Swiss Meringue Buttercream Inspired By: ,Gesine Bullock-Prado

Isomalt Flames Inspired By: ,Ashlee Marie

#newrelease #cookingthroughfiction #recipe #starryskyjuly

Virtual Baking Class with Jennifer Moorman

Join Me!Free Virtual Cooking ClassLive baking experience with recipes inspired by fiction. October 16 at 11 AM Eastern.

Join me for a whimsical time of cooking through fiction where our baking experience happens live via Zoom from my kitchen and yours!

On October 16 we'll be baking Apple Crumble Muffins, which are inspired by The Baker's Man, and you don't want to miss these treats.

Once you've signed up, you’ll receive an email with all the class information, the recipe, and a detailed list of ingredients and the quantities you'll need to make this recipe at home.

Come enjoy a FREE and fun cooking class where you’ll not only smile and laugh but you’ll also have a delicious treat to share with loved ones!

Adults & children (with supervision) are welcome! No previous cooking experience required!

Apple Crumble Muffins

A small-town Southern bakery in Mystic Water, situated between the seventy-five-year-old hardware store and the newly opened clothing boutique on Main Street, offers cure-alls in the form of baked goods, chocolates, and surprise treats. The bakery doors are always openno matter what time of day.

The Baker's Man Let's Bake Together!