Marsha’s Comments (group member since Sep 26, 2012)

Marsha’s comments from the Baking and Books group.

I found a lot of pears, three peppers and a package of tomatoes. I have recipes set up for pear coulis and soup for tomatoes and peppers. Time is of the essence since both the pears and the tomatoes are on the verge of spoilage.

Seawood wrote: "



Mint Choc Chip Cupcakes from Red Velvet And Chocolate Heartache as usual - it's gaming night with the gluten-free folks. :)"

Goodness, this looks so delectable. I want to lick the screen. :P~~~~

I got home late last night (or was it early this morning?). Usually I don’t cook under such circumstances. I think it’s dangerous to be near open flames when you’re tired and logy. But I was so hungry and didn’t want to warm a bare plate of meatballs.

I opened the first cookbook that came to my hand, Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook: 11th ed.. I had Brussels sprouts that I wanted to get out of the fridge before they spoiled. I found “Creamy Brussels Sprouts” on pg. 1036 and whipped them up in 30 minutes.

They weren’t a perfect accompaniment to the meat balls but, as I stated, I was hungry. The vegetable dish had the benefit of being quick, cheap, filling and satisfying. It was just the right thing for a post-midnight meal.

Those brownies look truly divine. I may have to start taking pictures of my food just to compete. :)

I'm going to make Curried Meat Balls. I have ground beef thawing in my refrigerator and waaaaaay too many apples. Thus, I looked on foodferret.com to find a way to dispose of them both.

Unfortunately, this recipe requires only one apple so I'll have to look around for something else that doesn't require butter or eggs, since which I'm in short supply of both. Maybe I've got pork somewhere in my overstuffed freezer...

Seawood wrote: "
Light Chocolate Cake and Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

From RV&CH as usual, for my eldest's birthday. I love the icing on the cake but it is a really hard job to do quickly."

Thank you for the uploading of this picture. Those goodies look scrumptious.

I found The Ultimate Soup Bible last month Wednesday, October 24th when I was walking downtown. So I got it for free (my second favorite word) and decided to make the broccoli and bread soup after I found two stalks of broccoli, a loaf of bread and enough cast-off greenery at my local farmers market to make the vegetable stock (more free stuff—yay!). I was up until after 3:00 a.m. this morning but it was worth it. Nothing beats soup on cold days.

This morning I used a layer cake (that I found), whipped cream that I made fresh today and some sliced strawberries (that I also found). It made for delicious strawberry shortcakes, which is not a bad way to start the morning.

Desserts. Chocolate. That sums it up for me.

I made Plum Upside-Down Pudding Cake which I found through foodferret.com. It’s a great website for getting recipes and this one was perfect. I had to make a few adjustments, though. The plums I used must have been too large because I saw right away they wouldn’t fit into a nine-inch skillet. So I used the next larger size, a 10-inch one, and that worked very well. The cake is rather low and reminds me of apple tortes that I frequently make for my friends but it tastes delicious (according to my co-workers).

Computers I use and my kitchen are not in the same place (or even in the same zip code). So I'm going to be making a plum cake to use up all those plums I found. I'll let you people know the outcome.

Jon wrote: "I'm currently trying to perfect my brownies. I'm not having much luck so far."

Brownies are tricky; success varies widely. In a taste test, I tasted two different kinds of brownies made by two people, a man and a woman. The woman's brownies were dry and crusty on the edges (burnt, rubbery or over-dry edges being a common problem). The man's brownies, on the other hand, were moist all over, yielding, fudgy and absolutely delicious.

I should have taken the time to ask him what he did to get them like that. The information would have been very useful.

So what's the problem with your brownies? Maybe you could share the recipe(s) and we could look them over and see what's going wrong.

Saturday I made cream of carrot and tomato soup. I was adding some rotted foodstuffs to a compost bin in my local park when I spied over a dozen perfectly good carrots. Because I'm poor and shameless, I reached over and snatched those carrots out of the bin and took them home with me.

I pulled out this recipe for soup that I'd recently found and whipped it up in about a couple of hours. It is soooo good, with chunks of carrots and tomatoes floating about in a rich dairy broth (made out of milk, heavy cream and butter). The recipe states it can be eaten cold, which is something I have to try.

I made the peanut butter and pumpkin soup. I got my hands on some oranges I found being discarded in my neighborhood. Along with the free pumpking puree (I found that on a dumpster dive) and the free peanut butter (ditto), this was a very cheap recipe and yielded enough soup to feed me for the next few days.

It's delicious, too, with the peanut butter added a nutty heartiness to the robust pumpkin flavor.

This is a tangential post so bear with me.

A vegan acquaintance of mine alerted me to a food scare involving peanut butter:

It looks like the peanut butter recall is spreading to most stores and more products, including "organic" brands and cookies that contain peanut butter. If you dumpster [dig through dumpsters and trash bags for discarded food], avoid any with "best by" dates between May and September 2013. I found such jars in Trader Joe's dumpster last week, so it's out there.
Yes, salmonella is killed by cooking. Eggs, meat, etc… often contain salmonella these days, and people still eat them after cooking. I'm putting out this warning mainly because peanut butter is so often eaten straight from the jar, and is so often eaten by children, who are particularly vulnerable to salmonella.
See http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/CO...

I have LOTS of peanut butter in my cupboards. I find a lot of it discarded in dumpsters and such. I had been wondering what to do with it and this email gave me an idea. Why not cook it? You can use up a lot of it at once, much more than if you simply used it for sandwiches, and cooking should solve the problem of salmonella since the proper application of heat kills the organism. Then again, I'm not an expert, so be careful. If you're not entirely certain, don't feed the peanut butter to small children, the elderly or people with compromised immune systems.

So I went to foodferret.com for a peanut butter soup recipe. I found this one, Healthy Peanut Butter Pumpkin Soup, that used pumpkin puree. So I may try it.

I like soup, especially during the cold months. It doesn't involve baking in the oven; it's simply taking ingredients and throwing them into a pot and ladling it into a bowl.

There's minimal clean-up afterwards and no fussing with knives and forks or getting your fingers dirty; you just spoon everything into your mouth. It's like the food you were first given when you were sat into your high chair as a child. :) What could be more comforting?

For years, I avoided fixing meat or fish dishes because I was afraid of salmonella, trichinosis and all sorts of other diseases relating to the handling of animal flesh.

Then I started getting free meat and fish groceries and decided to take a chance. I was so delighted with the results; clearly, I didn’t know what I was missing. I’ve even started preparing them for my friends (of course, I leave every such encounter with the stomach-clenching worry that one of them will come down with food poisoning. So far I’ve heard lots of praises but no complaints. Phew!).

So it pays to grapple with your fears. Next up, learning to handle power tools, the kind that require goggles, safety gloves and protective suits!

I just had to post about this one. Someone has come up with a parody of Fifty Shades of Grey called Fifty Shades of Chicken. Oh my goodness. o.O

I had avoided reading the former book. I’ve learned from bitter experience that I should stay away from books merely because they are popular (or at least avoid paying full price for them). They are invariably over-hyped, idiotic, worthless pieces of trash, simply not worth the paper on which they’re written or I just don't get the thrill out of them that other people do.

Fifty Shades of Grey is supposed to be about BDSM but some people have read it and state that it is a gross misrepresentation of the BDSM scene and shows a lot of stereotypes, clichés or just plain wrongful information about what a loving BDSM scene is supposed to be. It includes depictions of barely consensual sex, stalking, insensitivity towards your partner’s needs, the idea that people who engage in this sort of behavior have to have a twisted childhood and the really terrible notion that this is a terrible perversion that can be “cured” through love and tenderness. Ugh.

But Fifty Shades of Chicken is sure to redeem it. It takes the idea of hurting someone and turns it on its head with chicken recipes. Ha! I’m grinning already and I haven’t even read it yet. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get my hot little hands on it.

Jute wrote: "Oh thank you so much!

I don't know if any of you follow Serious Eats Baking Challenge but I made this just this weekend.

I changed it a bit and used dried cherries rather than the cranberries."

You're welcome. By the way, how did the muffins taste?

Here's another favorite: Classic Desserts from the Dessert Maker Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

I've had this book for over a quarter of a century, since I was still living in my mother's house. I started testing my then fledgling baking skills on my family only to have them complain that everything made with the condensed milk tasted of that ingredient.

Well. So I stopped using the recipe book--for them. But I have a sweet tooth and other people liked my cookies and bars. So I'd occasionally dip into it when I had a spare moment. I like condensed milk: its heaviness, the fact that it has only two ingredients (milk and sugar), its decided sweetness, its versatility.

It's been one of the books I've used repeatedly so often that it's suffered considerable damage through wear and tear. The book has a spiral cover and both the front and back of it have become separated from the pages so that it has to be bound together with a rubberband after each use. Some of the pages are speckled with foodstuff (luckily none of them stick together). There are notes scribbled in the margins (another way paper books beat Kindle; I'm betting that technology doesn't allow for marginalia!). Some day I'm going to have to replace it with a new copy but until then it remains a dearly cherished book.

Jute wrote: "Anyone have some good recipes for Pears? I have two bags of them I need to use. I did just make Pear Walnut Muffins. After they come out of the oven and I see if they are any good, I'll post the..."

Let's start with a really easy one.

1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
¼ c. finely chopped mixed candied fruit
3 tbsp. milk
8 canned peach halves, drained
Lettuce
1 16-oz. can pear slices, drained, chilled (or pare and slice your pears until you have 2 cups)

1. Combine cream cheese, candied fruit and milk, mixing until well blended.
2. Fill peaches with cream cheese mixture; chill.
3. For each serving, arrange peach on lettuce-covered salad plate.
4. Surround with pears.


This one is a favorite of mine because it's so quick and simple.

Caramelized Pears (makes 4 servings) Prep time: 20 minutes/Total time: 20 minutes


Ingredients:

4 red Bartlett pears, halved lengthwise and cored
⅓ c. granulated sugar
½ c. water

1. Place sugar on a plate.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Press one side of each halved pear in sugar.
4. Place cut side down in skillet (fit will be snug).
5. Cook until beginning to brown, 7-8 minutes.
6. Add water.
7. Cover; simmer until pears are tender, 5-10 minutes (depending on ripeness), adding more water if sugar begins to burn.
8. Remove pears from skillet.
9. If liquid in pan is thin, simmer until thickened to a saucelike consistency. If it is thick, add more water.
10. Serve sauce over pears.

Notes: A melon baller removes cores easily, but a small spoon works too. Pressing the cut sides of pears in sugar before cooking helps them caramelize.


Baked Pear and Banana with Date Sauce and Walnuts (makes 2 servings) – Preheat oven to 375 degrees F


Ingredients:

1 ripe pear, cored and quartered
1 ripe banana, halved crosswise, then lengthwise
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
½ c. pitted dates (6 large or 12 small)
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
¼ sp. ground cinnamon
1 oz. walnut halves (¼ c.), toasted
¼ c. plain lowfat yogurt

1. Put pear wedges in an 8-inch baking dish.
2. Cover with foil.
3. Bake until beginning to soften, about 20 minutes.
4. Add banana; dot with butter.
5. Bake, uncovered, until fruit is softened and pale golden, 20-25 minutes more.
6. Process dates, lemon juice and cinnamon in a blender until dates are coarsely chopped.
7. Transfer to a saucepan.
8. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
9. Cook until thickened, 3-5 minutes.
10. Serve immediately or refrigerate, airtight, up to 2 days. Reheat before serving.
11. To serve, divide fruit between 2 plates.
12. Drizzle with date sauce.
13. Sprinkle with walnuts.
14. Top each with 2 tablespoons yogurt.


Blak Perys (Pears with Carob Cream) – Taken from Fabulous Feasts, Medieval Cookery and Ceremony, ch. “Fruit and Flower Desserts” by Madeleine Pelner Cosman


Ingredients:

6 fresh pears, hard but edible
1 fresh lemon, juice of
2 heaping tbsp. carob powder (avail. from any health-food or gourmet shop)
2 tbsp. sugar or honey
¼ tsp. salt
1 c. heavy whipping cream

1. Cut the pears in half longitudinally, keeping the skin on, and carefully scoop out the core area utilizing either a sharp spoon or grapefruit knife.
2. Generously coat each pear-half with lemon juice.
3. Either allow the pears to remain raw or bake pears for 7-10 minutes in 350 oven and then cool.
4. Beat the carob powder, sugar and salt with the cream until the mixture either peaks or depending upon the type of carob powder you use, has the thick consistency of chocolate mousse.
5. Spoon or pipe the carob cream into the craters of each pear-half with a pastry tube.
6. Chill in refrigerator for at least ½ hour before serving.


Blue Cheese-Almond Pears (makes 12 servings; serving size: 1 pear half and about 1½ tablespoons cream cheese mixture)


Ingredients:

1 (8-oz.) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
¼ c. fat-free sour cream
¼ c. (1 oz.) crumbled blue cheese
1 tbsp. honey
6 firm ripe pears
¼ c. lemon juice
¼ c. chopped almonds, toasted

1. Beat cream cheese at medium speed of a mixer until creamy.
2. Add sour cream, blue cheese and honey, beating until smooth.
3. Core pears.
4. Cut each pear in half lengthwise.
5. Brush cut sides of pears with lemon juice.
6. Spoon blue cheese mixture evenly onto each pear half.
7. Top evenly with almonds.

Note: If you don't have blue cheese, try some other soft, crumbly slightly acidic cheese, like goat cheese or feta.

I hope this helps!

I have scads of cookbooks that take up four different bookshelves in my apartment. Any book I use more than twice is going on this thread.

The Yan Can Cook Book - This remains a top favorite. Since I got this book at a bookcrossing meetup, I go to it almost every time that I want to make something. The recipes are amazingly simple, easy to understand and the dishes quick and easy to prepare. I've cooked chicken, beef, turkey and pork dishes that are soooo delicious. The only drawback is that the recipes come with sauces and the dishes run out before the sauce does. So I'm left with jars of sauce in the fridge that I can't use for anything else. (E.g., plum sauce for duck doesn't taste right on any other meat. :P)

Another cookbook is Five Minute Pasta Sauces by Michael Oliver. The sauces frequently take longer than five minutes to assemble and prepare but they're worth it. The book contains sections for cream, meat, seafood sauces et al. as well as suggestions about which sauce goes with which pasta. It would appeal to anyone who has lots of pasta around and doesn't want to go shopping for bottled varieties every time they whip up the spaghetti.