Orange Item of the Week

I have been subbing like crazy this week.  No time for baking, plus I am sick.  So here is the orange item and a helpful minion. My mother could not believe I paid money for these hydrangeas.

Irish Soda Bread

I have to be honest, this one is not my favorite,  whoever decided to put raisins with carroway seeds seems crazy.  And I get nagged to bake this bread every march.  I sometimes think the Great Irish Migration had nothing to do wih the potato famine, but rather an entire country of people who could not deal with the food any more.   Why in god's name would you opt to boil things when roasting tastes so much better?  Anyway, here is the soda bread recipe I have been making for 20+ years.   It is easy, and my parents love it.  So, there you go.  Or as my mother's people say, Erin Go Braugh (no garantees on the spelling of  that one.)

Molly's Irish Soda Bread

 4 c of flour
1/2 c of sugar
1 t salt
1 t powder
1 t baking soda
2 t carroway seeds
1 c raisins
1 room temperature egg
2 T oil
1 1/2 c buttermilk

Mix first 6 ingredients in mixer.  Add raisins, then egg and a little buttermilk. Mix, then add the rest of the buttermilk and mix until stiff.  Form into a disk on a floured board, and place in a greased cake pan.  If you want you can cut a cross on the top.  Bake 40 minutes, let it rest a but before cutting.

Panna Cotta and Stewed Berries

I wanted to try something new this week, and seeing that Jen was in Rome and the book I was reading took place in Rome, I went the Italian route.  The Panna cotta I made came from Bon Appetite and had a apricot fennel seed glaze.  I can not imagine my father's face when I say the words "apricot fennel seed glaze."  So instead, I made Ina Garten's stewed fruit.  Delish and versatile, good with pound cake, vanilla ice cream and of course Panna cotta.  I did not have he exact proportions of berries, but as long as you have five half pints you are good to go.

Stewed Berries
3half pints fresh raspberries
2'half pints fresh blueberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 T framboise

Combine 2 half-pints raspberries and all the blueberries, sugar and 3/4 cup water in a sauce pan and bring to boil.  Lower heat and cook uncovered over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes.  The juice will become syrup and berries will be slightly cooked.  Off the heat stir in the remaining half-pint of raspberries and he framboise.  Set aside until warmed through.

Orange item of the Week

I subbed one class in the art room.  In a place of many colors, really you need just one

Orange Item of the Week

I stole these smarties from the desk of a fourth grade teacher I was subbing for.  The class was insane.  Note the large concentration of orange smarties.

End of a quest

Picture it, New York, 1994, the West Village.  I got a call from my mother right before leaving for home for winter break.  "Elizabeth, I was looking at Christmas cookie recipes and I found one that has hazelnut butter. I can't find it, but they say it is available at any health food store. Can you look?" With these words, Joann sent me on a 20 year quest that ended last  Saturday.  As I found the jar, I ran         the gamete of emotions: surprise, excitement, then fear and sadness.  What if my hazelnut butter was goss?  What amI supposed to do with my life now?  Is this how Howard Carter felt?  Is this damn jar cursed?  My quest is over and now I need a new one.

I have not opened the jar, I am afraid it might be bad and I wasted 20 years of my life.  This will not last long and I have to figure out what to bake with my hazelnut butter.  Joann lost the magazine three years in.  Any suggestions?

Pick me up....

Jen is in Italy.  I am stuck here, so to cheer me up Joann got me one of these!

Rice Krispie Scones

I saw these in the Alice's Teacup Cookbook.  I was feeling homesick for New York and these were just too odd not to try.  Out of the oven, they are great.  Later on the marshmallows kind of liquefy.  Odd, really.  But I would make them for my nieces to eat that day.  And the marshmallows kind of melt in the oven and taste like burnt sugar.  

Rice Krispies Treats Scones

from Alice’s Tea Cup

3 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1 cup puffed rice cereal (i.e. Rice Krispies)

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup heavy cream, for topping

1/2 cup sugar, for topping

Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add butter and rub in with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse, wet sand, with no pieces of butter larger than a pea remaining. This can also be done by pulsing the mixture in a food processor.
Stir in marshmallows and puffed rice cereal, then add buttermilk and vanilla and stir until mixture comes into a ball and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface (dough will be sticky), lightly flour your hands and press dough into a rectangle about 8×12-inches and about 1 inch thick.
Use a sharp knife and cut dough lengthwise in half. Make four even, vertical cuts (three, for larger scones), dividing the dough into 8 squares. Cut squares diagonally in half, creating 16 triangular scones. Place on baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between scones.
Brush scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool scones on a wire rack and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.