Cinnamon Rolls

Weekend food is not typically my favorite. Often I feel as though I get stuck in the kitchen while my tribe goes off galavanting.
HOWEVER. Sunday morning food traditions are an exception.

When I was a child, my Mom used to make a large pan of cinnamon roll on Saturday night. They would rise, gaining girth and height until she would pop them into the oven Sunday at dawn. The whole house would smell of baking cinnamon rolls and I swear to you, my spiritual life is wafted-over with the smell of baking cinnamon and brown sugar. It’s a beautiful thing. My mom is particularly good at recognizing both the physical and spiritual needs of her people. Food when we’re hungry, naps when we’re weary, prayers over all. It’s a motto she lives by, though I’m not sure she’s ever stated those words exactly. I’ve inherited some of that from her.
And also cinnamon rolls on Sunday morning.

These are so easy to whip up, I rarely make them Saturday night. Sunday morning before my tribe starts rolling out of bed is enough time. Thirty minutes or so and these guys are in the oven. Also, they rise as they bake, so no need to wait overnight.
Enjoy!

CINNAMON ROLLS

DOUGH:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon quick-rising yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup very warm water
3 cups flour

FILLING:
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon (or more) cinnamon

In a stand mixer or large bowl, combine warm water, melted butter, sugar, salt, and yeast. Whip vigorously until yeast mixture is foamy. Add in flour, one cup at a time, stirring until you can no longer work with a spoon or spatula. If you’re using a stand mixer, attach the kneading hook and finish the last cup of flour with that. If you’re using elbow grease, dump soft dough onto the counter top and work the last cup in by hand. Allow to rest for ten minutes.

Work dough on a floured surface into a large, long rectangle. Dough should be no more than 1/2 an inch thick. If the dough continues to shrink dramatically every time you stretch it out, allow it to rest a couple more minutes. Feel free to use a rolling pin if you like.

Spread the surface liberally with butter, then sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up, working the long side of the rectangle closest to you toward the opposite side, smoothing and stretching as you go. When you reach the opposite side, pinch the open side onto the roll, sealing it up. Turn the roll seam-side down, and using a sharp knife, trim off the ends. Cut the roll in eighteen to twenty slices, about 2 inches long each.

Place rolls in a well-buttered pan (you should have enough small blunt-ended rolls for two round pans) and allow to rest for ten minutes or so. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown across the top. Serve warm.

cheddar, garlic, and dill biscuits

Savory bread is the bomb.
I know people don’t say the bomb anymore, but it really is.
Honestly, I don’t even know what people say anymore. I’m getting old. (Please enlighten me, Internet).
Anyway.
These biscuits are savory and cheesy and delicious and EASY to whip up. Even in the wild rumpus of dinner-making madness. Also, they pair perfectly with Fire-Roasted Cream-Of-Tomato Soup or Roasted Acorn Squash Soup. Either one. Both. NOMNOM. The bomb.
Sorry.
I’m old.

CHEDDAR GARLIC AND DILL BISCUTS

This is one of those recipes that works best with a few extra tools, though they aren’t necessary. If you have a stand mixer, definitely use it. It will save your arms. Also one of those nifty scoops. What do you call these, even?

 They release the dough which is soft and super-sticky, in a nice neat dollop on your baking pan. —I like as little as mess as possible.

1 cup butter, softened
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons onion flakes
1 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon garlic
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2 3/4 cup flour
1 3/4 cup whole milk

In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, blend dry ingredients and cut in softened butter until well incorporated. Add milk and mix vigorously until a very soft dough forms and all of the dry ingredients are completely blended.

Scoop dough in roughly two-inch sized dollops onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown across the top.

Keep in an air-tight container as they will dry out quickly.

 

artisan no-knead bread

Bread is my favorite.
I think, if I had to choose, bread and cheese and wine, in that order, would be my dietary meal selections on into forever. Which, of course is super healthy and definitely in keeping with all good eating resolutions I have made thus far in 2016. Ahem.

I love making bread as well as eating it, save for the fact that it takes so much stinking time to produce. But the result at the end of the whole venture! —That yeasty smell filling the house and reminding you the world is still a good and wholesome place (at least in some corners) . . . The way your grandmother’s bread knife (that you inherited) bites into the heavy crust . . . How butter almost dissolves into the warm crumb . . . Ahhhh. It’s almost too much to bear. And sometimes it actually is too much, and I end up eating the whole loaf. By myself. (So much for resolutions).

So when a dear friend of mine whipped up this bread one evening for her family, while we were there visiting, (and it was mixed, had raised, and baked in less than an hour) I almost died and begged her for the recipe. Imagine: homemade bread and all the good vibes that come with it in a fraction of the time!? Miracles, people. Miracles. My friend, being the beautiful person she is, promptly copied down the recipe for me, and now I’m sharing it with you. Because, homemade bread, man. It’s my favorite. Enjoy!

ARTISAN NO-KNEAD BREAD
(or 5-Minute Bread)

3 cups of warm-almost-hot water
2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons salt
6 ½ cups flour

In a large mixing bowl (preferably a 6 quart stand mixer, if you have one), combine the water and yeast. Whisk, allowing the yeast to dissolve and add salt. Whisk again. Add the flour, mixing slowly every two cups. The last ½ cup will serve to finish off the dough, but it will be a more loose and sticky mass than the traditional make-all-day-kneed-all-night bread. Transfer the dough to whatever baking dish you intend to use, making sure it is well greased.
This recipe will make three medium sized loaves or, like I did here, one GIANT loaf. Go big or go home, right? Allow the dough to rise for about a half hour or so and then bake at 350-degrees until crisp and evenly browned on top. Roughly 30-40 minutes, depending on loaves/rolls/and the sizes of each.

NOTES:
* The dough can be kept in the fridge in a sealed container to use over the course of a week. Cut off only as much as you need for a small loaf, or a handful of dinner rolls. Form, allow to rise, and bake.

* For variation, consider adding herbs, olives, a variety of spices, or dried fruit to the dough for some wonderful flavors. A few of my favorite combinations: Rosemary and Olives, Apple and Cinnamon, Apricot and Cranberry, Orange Peel and Raisin, Chocolate chip and Cinnamon, Cheddar and Dill.

 

Whole Wheat Rhubarb Muffins

You guys. My rhubarb is taking over. Like for real. It is literally as tall as I am. As is evidenced by my patch, it’s not quite finished delivering summer bounty. Two plants have morphed into a rhubarb jungle that would sincerely shield me from a zombie apocalypse. All of this lush rhubarb seemed to mandate something edible this morning. Muffins, to be exact.

Zombie apocalypse to muffins. Yes. This is how my brain works.

These muffins are pretty great though. Rustic (whole wheat flour!) and weighty with fruit (4-5 cups!)—each bite has that tart sweetness that only late summer rhubarb can deliver. Enjoy!

WHOLE-WHEAT RHUBARB MUFFINS

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup yogurt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-5 cups rhubarb
2  1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Start by finely chopping your rhubarb. I use a food processor which cuts the time dramatically and slices the rhubarb nice and thin. If the rhubarb is chopped too thick, the muffins get quite heavy.
Once your rhubarb is sliced and diced, set it aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter (melty and soft), yogurt (I used a single-serve container of peach yogurt), eggs, vanilla, spices, and sugar. Mix until well combined and smooth. Then add the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix again until smooth. Fold in the rhubarb with a soft spatula so the fruit isn’t smashed. And then one cup at a time, fold in the whole wheat flour. When you get to the last 1/2 cup, don’t over-mix. You should see bits and specks of flour in the batter. If the batter is over-mixed the muffins don’t set well and fall flat. This is true of any quick-bread.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Why, yes. This is another zucchini recipe. I’m trusting you’ll forgive the repetition as, hopefully, you have these gorgeous squash coming out of your ears as well. I have a basket on my kitchen counter full of them. I keep looking at them and making promises. “You shall not go to waste! Nor you! I shall make something beautiful out of you!” And so. And so: Another zucchini recipe. This recipe calls for four cups of zucchini, so it’s a fantastic way to use up some of the excess.

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

1/2 cup butter —softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1  3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup greek yogurt
2  3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
4 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

FROSTING
1 cup butter
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4-6 cups powdered sugar (as needed for desired thickness and weight)

In a large bowl, mix butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Add vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and eggs and continue mixing until well-combined. You can use a stand mixer, a hand mixer, or a good-old fashioned whisk, as you prefer. Spoon in the yogurt, cocoa powder, zucchini, and chocolate chips until smooth. Add the flour and combine well. (I always save the addition of flour for last so I can adjust the amount if necessary).
You can use a 9″x13″ pan for this cake, but I prefer loaf pans as the cake is easier to freeze and save for later. And I’m all about having cake on hand for later. So, whatever your pan preference, spray it well with a cooking spray or grease with butter so the cake will not stick to the sides of the pan. This recipe will make a deep cake in a 9″x13″ pan, or three loaf pans. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Once the cake is baked, set aside and allow to cool.

FROSTING
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter, milk, and cocoa power together, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar until there are no lumps. If you want to pour or drizzle your frosting, do not add as much powder sugar, but if you’d rather smooth or spread the frosting (this is my preference), then feel free to add all, or even more than six cups of powdered sugar.

Farmer’s Market Gold —Rustic Zucchini Bread

My garden failed me this year. This may be in part because I forgot about it and it grew more weeds than actual vegetables, but seriously, how can you fail to grow zucchini?! Those things are like rabbits! Anyhow. Mine did not grow, so it was off to the farmer’s market for me. And thank goodness other people grew zucchini this summer!

And now, what to do with them? Usually this is a more urgent question because I have them coming out of my ears. But this summer there is anticipation in place of dread.
Bread, people. Bread.

I know the world doesn’t need another zucchini bread recipe. Like for real. But—but. But.

This is my go to. And it’s so good. And even better, it’s easy. And quick. All good things. Not too sweet, rustic (whole wheat flour!), with a crumb that is more reminiscent of actual bread rather than cake. Best of all? Three cups of zucchini per batch! A nice feature if you’re trying to use the stuff up.

Enjoy!

RUSTIC ZUCCHINI BREAD

3 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream)
3/4 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Optional add-ins: nuts, rasins, carrots, craisins, berries, etc.

Shred your zucchini—I use a food processor to simplify the process and speed it up—and throw whatever you don’t plan on using in the freezer for later use. This stuff freezes like magic.
Throw your remaining three cups of zucchini in a large mixing bowl along with the yogurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Use a whisk to throughly but gently combine all the ingredients until everything is well mixed. The batter might even be a little frothy on top. (Note: If you want to reduce the sugar, you can substitute bananas or applesauce for the sugar, you’ll just have to adjust your flour accordingly).
Once the wet ingredients and spices are well-combined, add in the flour. Like muffins or any quick bread, you don’t want to over-mix, so blend it in, but don’t worry if there are still bits of flour here and there.
Divide the batter between two well-greased bread pans, and smooth it out so the batter is more or less even in the pans. bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the loaf comes out clean.