The recipes I’ve made from the Rouxbe website have always been outstanding, but this one caused near obsessive behavior as repeatedly chose to eat more of this bread rather than anything else. Maybe Just another slice, this time toasted with some jam.

The texture of this Irish Brown Soda Bread is what had me on my knees begging for more. A most magical chewiness made it downright addictive. It helped that I was slathering the slices with fresh homemade butter, but even sans slather, I couldn’t seem to stop eating this bread. I credit the steel-cut oats for pushing the texture to a level of pure delight. They not only added chewiness but the oat grains almost popped when bitten into. If you’ve had the pleasure of eating a bowl of steel-cut oat cereal, you know what I mean about the distinctive pop as the individual grains are chewed.

Irish Brown Soda Bread

Don’t be intimidated if you aren’t a bread baker because this is a quick bread. As in, mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet in another, stir them together and pop it in the oven. No more complicated than making cornbread or muffins.

It was buttermilk that led me to making this bread. For my own private little celebration of St. Patrick’s Day I tried my hand at making butter. Of course buttermilk is a byproduct of the process and when I saw this recipe and realized it would not only put my freshly extracted buttermilk to good use, but act as a suitable delivery vehicle for the the gorgeous butter I’d just made, I got right to work.

Steel-cut oats

If you don’t have steel-cut oats on hand, get some. Not only can you make this spectacularly simple bread, but you can make this…

Steel-cut oats cereal with cranberries and pecans

Check out my guest blog post for Girl Power Hour to learn how to make the best bowl of oatmeal. The key is starting with steel-cut oats.

Happily the success I had makeing this bread wasn’t a fluke; I’ve made the bread twice now. I also wanted to be sure it was just as good with commercial buttermilk, and it is. For a different twist on Irish Soda Bread, check out Imen McDonald’s post about her Wild Garlic Flax Seed Soda Bread. It looks gorgeous.

Recipe Links:

• Irish Brown Soda Bread, from Rouxbe.com
• Wild Garlic Flax Seed Soda Bread, from I Married an Irish Farmer

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Perfectly cooked steel-cut oats shouldn’t even be referred to as oatmeal. The toothsome texture and individually identifiable grains that almost pop when chewed are a world away from what comes to most people’s minds when they hear the word oatmeal.

Steel-cut oats

Discovering that these delectable grains can be ready with a quick ten minute simmer rather than the 45 minutes I normally invest to make them, has me on a bit of an oat bender. Check out my latest blog post for Girl Power Hour where I share my recipe for overnight steel-cut oats along with some fruity, nutty, and spicy topping ideas.

Apricot Almond Steel-Cut Oats with Cardamom and Honey

Biting into a fresh ripe peach is one of the most exquisite food experiences. The smooth juicy texture of the fruit is both lusciously soft and satisfyingly toothsome; a balance that seems contradictory but is somehow captured inside this beautiful delicate package.

A fresh ripe peach offers just enough toothy resistance to make each bite noticeable. As though it’s a signal to pay attention to the moment, to this perfectly ripe sweet juicy fruit that is here now and will soon be gone again for 11 months.

It’s not elegant, but my favorite way to eat a fresh peach is peeled, halved, and out of hand while standing at the kitchen sink letting the juice run down my arm. It’s a full-concentration kind of food. Let me be while I eat my peach.

I love eating fresh ripe peaches so much that I find it hard to cook with them. I like peach dishes, I just don’t ever want to give up my stash of fresh peaches to make a recipe. I did pony up three peaches for this week’s Tuesday’s with Dorie recipe to make the Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart. I’ll admit to it being a good use of peaches.

The fresh peaches are simply sliced and fanned out over a pre-baked shell that is then flooded with custard and topped with a crumb topping. I was skeptical of the crumb topping, fearful it would ruin a good thing, but it truly enhanced the tart. What made the topping successful is that it was sparse so it didn’t create a solid crust of sugar, and it had almonds in it. They added the perfect crunch and flavor to complement the peaches.

This tart is wonderful. The soft peaches and custard filling are sweet and creamy which is especially good when matched with a crisp shortbread-like crust. Though I am stingy with fresh peaches, I would actually consider doubling them in this tart. They were so good I wanted more of them in each bite. Rachel of Sweet Tarte gets full credit for motivating me to cook with my prized fresh peaches.

I have recently discovered using lavender leaves rather than just lavender flowers in dishes and decided to add some to the crust. Tasting the leaves and flowers side by side, the leaves have a nice lavender flavor, but don’t have the bitter finish that the flowers do. I added a tablespoon of chopped leaves to the dry ingredients. Once the crust was cooked, the flavor was very subtle, almost too subtle. I think the flowers have a little more punch and I will try using a mix of both next time. The combination of peaches and lavender is lovely and subtle is always the better way to go with a lavender experiment because it’s all too easy to end up with something that tastes like potpourri or bath soap.

Rachel got me on a bit of a roll and I decided to make a small batch of jam as well. Sticking with the peach lavender theme I used the lavender leaves again. They give the jam a nice herby note but in such a subtle way it’s difficult to pinpoint that it’s lavender.

This recipe only makes about 1 ½ cups so I just put it in the refrigerator to enjoy right away rather than bothering to can it for future consumption. There is something to be said for making a quick and simple spur-of-the-moment batch of jam. Don’t think I don’t enjoy canning. I have a pantry shelf loaded with jam I’ve made this summer. As a result, all my canning jars have been filled and I didn’t have a single spare to use for this jam, so it became a make-and-eat batch.

Peach Lavender Jam

1 pound of fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
¼ ounce fresh lavender stems with leaves, tied into a bundle
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
7 ounces (1 cup) granulated sugar

Place a small plate in the refrigerator to have chilled for testing the set of the jam.

Place the peaches, lavender, lemon zest and juice in a 3 qt. heavy-bottom sauce pan. Over medium-low heat, let the peaches cook for about 15 minutes to become very soft and release their juice. Stir frequently to prevent burning and lower the heat if necessary. As the peaches soften, mash them with the back of a spoon. Muddle the lavender bundle with the spoon as well to release the flavor of the herb.

Once the peaches have broken down and cooked for 15 minutes, reduce the heat and stir in the sugar. After the sugar is completely dissolved, increase the heat to medium-high and bring the jam to a boil for 5 minutes.

Place a small dollop of jam on the chilled plate and put it in the refrigerator for a minute or two. To check for setting, push one edge of the jam toward the center of the dollop, if the surface wrinkles, the jam is set and can be removed from the heat, if not, continue to cook and re-test every few minutes. Transfer jam to a clean jar and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy within 1 – 2 weeks.

Recipe link

• Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart

Over 350 baking bloggers are baking our way thorough Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. 140 recipes completed 81 to go!

If you want to eat chocolate for breakfast, here’s your ticket. This bread drives the deliciously bitter and complex flavors of cocoa front and center leaving the bananas to the finish as a hint that this is legitimate breakfast food.

A full cup of cocoa powder gives the bread a dark enticing appearance and bold flavor; it reminded me more of coffee than chocolate. What could be more perfect for breakfast? I would even consider leaving out the pieces of chopped chocolate next time. I added a generous ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground cardamom which created a beautiful lingering warm floral flavor that complimented both the cocoa and banana equally well.

It turned out I could have pulled my bread out of the oven a few minutes earlier because it was just on the boarder of being over baked. I may have been thrown off by the bits of chocolate in the batter making it look like the toothpick I inserted to check for doneness was coming out with wet batter attached, when I actually just stabbed a reservoir of chocolate. It’s probably a good idea to try pricking a few different spots before making a final assessment as to the doneness of the bread.

A parchment paper sling is my surefire way to be able to remove baked goods from pans. In the recipe, Dorie suggests placing the loaf pan on a sheet pan, but instead I used two nested loaf pans to create a little air space in the bottom for insulation. It worked great. The batter filled a 9×5 loaf pan perfectly. If you have a smaller 4×8 loaf pan, bake some of the batter in a separate ramekin or muffin tin.

I am so thrilled with this bread and can’t wait to make it again. I was really taken with the beautiful bitterness of the cocoa that came through. My favorite cocoa powder is Felchlin Cacaopulver. I buy it through The Chocolate Man who offers a fantastic selection of quality chocolates from around the world.

Steph of Obsessed with Baking made the recipe selection for this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie kitchen activity. She has the recipe posted on her wonderful blog. I encourage you to check out the recipe for Cocoa-Nana Bread and click around to see what other culinary adventures she has been on.

3/16/10 Update – I made this again leaving out the chopped chocolate and in stead mixed in 1/4 cup cocoa nibs and 1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces. The nibs and nuts made a great mix-in adding texture and flavor, but not additional sweetness.

Over 350 baking bloggers are baking our way thorough Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. 110 recipes completed 111 to go!

Strolling through Trader Joe’s I came upon a fruit I had never seen before and it instantly captured my interest. Mandarinquats are a cross between a mandarin orange and a kumquat. I adore kumquats and dropped the little container of mandarinquats in my basket before I could even flinch at the $4.99 price.

Like a kumquat, mandarinquats have a thin sweet peel and a bright tart flesh.  They have a graceful teardrop shape and the size seems like a perfect compromise between the two. The color is influenced more by the bright orange hues of a mandarin, but the flavor plays sweet against tart in the same delicious way a kumquats does. I quickly determined that unlike kumquats the seeds are not edible and like a mandarin, there are a lot of seeds.

Mandarinquats are grown in southern California and harvested from January to early March. Sadly on my last trip to TJs I do believe I snatched up the very last container of my newest culinary fascination, so now I will wait with great anticipation for next January when the mandarinquats return. In the mean time, I am happy to see a steady supply of kumquats still available.

When I first saw the mandarinquats I instantly thought of marmalade, which is a bit odd because I don’t really care for marmalade. I find it too bitter. Kumquats, however, don’t have a bitter peel so I thought mandarinquats could make perfect marmalade. In addition to the novel fruit, I was excited about the idea of making a small batch of marmalade to be eaten right away rather than canned. Canning isn’t so difficult, but inevitably I don’t have enough jars or lids which completely derails a spontaneous jam-session. The idea of whipping up a fresh batch of jam that is small enough to consume in a few weeks had never occurred to me.

After reviewing a pile of marmalade recipes I settled on a plan that turned into a saga paralleling the story of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears. I had no idea what the pectin level would be, so to be on the safe side I collected all the seeds and cut them open and put them in a tea strainer to cook with the rind. It turns out mandarinquats have a very high pectin level. So high that when the marmalade cooled I couldn’t even pierce it with a fork! The second batch included only six seeds. Better, though it didn’t so much as spread, but rather crumble. The third batch had no added seeds and a reduced cooking time, wouldn’t you know, it was mandarinquat soup. The forth batch was a charm, with no added seeds, but using the cooking time for the earlier batches it came out perfectly. I wish the mandarinquat season weren’t over already, but you can pencil this activity in on your calendar for January 2010!

Mandarinquat Marmalade

Makes about 21/2 cups

8 oz.  mandarinquats
3 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. cardamom, ground

Have a 2 or 3 qt. sauce pan ready and set a mesh strainer over a bowl.

Wash the mandarinquats by scrubbing the rind well. Slice each piece of fruit in half and squeeze the juice and seeds into the strainer set over a bowl to catch the juice. By squeezing the fruit before slicing it, the juice will end up in the marmalade and not all over the cutting board.

Cut each half-rind in half again and then slice into very thin strips. Slice up the inner membrane that separates the fruit sections right along with the rind. Place the sliced rind in the sauce pan.

Add the collected juice to the sauce pan along with 3 cups of cold water.

Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 35 minutes.

Place a small saucer in the refrigerator to chill. It will be helpful when testing the marmalade to determine if it is set.

After the rind has simmered for 35 minutes, add the 2 cups of sugar and stir to dissolve. Once the sugar is dissolved, bring the mixture to a full boil and boil for 10 minutes. Skim off any foam that develops on the surface.

Remove the marmalade from the heat and drop a small amount on the chilled saucer. Let it sit for 30-60 seconds and then gently push on the side of the dollop, if the surface wrinkles, the marmalade has set to a nice consistency. If it is still runny, continue to boil an additional 5 minutes and recheck.

Once set, remove the marmalade from the heat and let cool for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the ground cardamom. Pour the marmalade into clean jars or a bowl and let cool to room temperature uncovered. Once cool, cover and store in the refrigerator.

If the marmalade is too set once completely cool, re-heat it in a sauce pan with some water (1/4 to 1/2 cup) to thin it out. Stir the marmalade to dissolve it in the water over a medium low heat and then bring to a boil for a minute. Cool and store in refrigerator.

Thanks to Holly who writes the Phemomenon blog, and is a fellow Tuesdays with Dorie Baker, I got a hankering to make doughnuts. She used the Real Butterscotch Pudding we made for last week’s Tuesdays with Dorie baking assignment to make pudding filled doughnuts! When I saw that, I knew what we would be eating Christmas morning.

photo by David Peterman

The recipe for the doughnuts is from Peanut Butter and Julie and was quite a success, having never made doughnuts before. I didn’t go the cappuccino cream filled or even pudding filled route like Julie and Holly did, but basic glazed with just a hint of nutmeg in the dough. A simple sugar glaze, or sugar and spice dusting made lovely garnishes.

A few things I learned: The oil temperature required constant monitoring and adjustment, which surprised me because I used a heavy cast iron dutch oven thinking it would hold a nice constant temperature. It could be that I was over correcting with the heat adjustments and had I gotten it to settle in at 375 degrees F with the proper amount of flame, it would have stayed right there.  Also, doughnut holes cook best when turned frequently rather than cooking one side at a time. I found that as the first side cooked a large air pocket formed on the top making them virtually impossible to turn over. By keeping them turning, the expansion was more evenly distributed, making it possible to cook all sides to a nice golden brown. Lastly, after deep-frying just plan to change your clothes and wash your hair.

After feasting on the doughy-sugary delights we did head straight to the gym, which sounds more neurotic than it really was, but I did find it rather funny. Our gym happened to be open on Christmas and we, along with many other people I will point out, were just enjoying the luxury of working out with no pressing time commitments for the day. Who knows, homemade doughnuts and going to the gym could become a new holiday tradition.

Basic Sugar Glaze
Place 1 cup of powdered sugar in a small, shallow bowl and whisk in 1 tablespoon of hot milk. Add one teaspoon of vanilla and additional hot milk by the teaspoon until the glaze is nicely thinned. Dip the doughnuts in the glaze while they are still hot.

Spiced Sugar Coating
This is rather free-form and can be adapted to the spices you have on hand. The reason this isn’t a cinnamon and sugar coating is I had no cinnamon. I actually like the mixed spices better than straight cinnamon and sugar, so it worked out well.

To 1/2 cup of granulated sugar add 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg. I tossed in two pinches of ground pink peppercorns as well. Mix to combine. I used a bowl with a fitted lid so I could place the doughnut in and just give it a shake to coat.

This week’s Tuesday’s With Dorie activity of baking Pumpkin Muffins led to a pancake and cranberry maple syrup creation all because the grocery store only had large cans of pumpkin. Leftovers generate such creativity!

photo by David Peterman

Muffins first. Dorie’s recipe for pumpkin muffins in Baking: From My Home to Yours, is very good. As usual, my taste preferences drove me to fiddle with it a bit. I substituted half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour, which is a very finely ground flour made from soft wheat that has a low protein level and thus has less gluten forming ability, which results in tender baked goods. Whole wheat pastry flour is a great way to add a touch of whole wheat goodness while avoiding the heavy dense texture that can result with some whole wheat baked goods.

Protein content in flour
Low protein flour is sold as pastry flour or cake flour and is a good choice when baking goods where tenderness is the goal, for example, biscuits, muffins, cakes, and pie crusts. Often a combination of all-purpose flour and pastry flour works nicely. On the other end of the spectrum is bread flour which is high in protein and great for forming the strong gluten bonds necessary for bread to rise and hold its shape. The tricky element is the protein content of flour ranges depending on where the wheat is grown. In the southern region of the U.S, all-purpose flour has much lower protein content than flour in other parts of the country. National brands of all-purpose flour have a protein content of 11-12, but all-purpose flour in the South, such as White Lily brand, has a protein content of only 8-9. Pastry flour generally has a protein level of 8-9 with cake flour at 7-8.  Whole wheat pastry flour has a protein content of 9 vs. anywhere from 11-15 for whole wheat flour. Just for reference, bread flour is in the 12-13 range. So if a recipe works great at home, but bombs when making the same recipe while visiting a different part of the country, it could be the flour, not you!

Ref: McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking. New York, Scribner, 2004.
Corriher, Shirley. CookWise. New York, HarperCollins, 1997.
Wing, Daniel and Alan Scott. The Bread Builders Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens. White River Jct., VT, Chelsea Green, 1999.

I added half a cup of fresh cranberries because I had them on hand, and cranberries with pumpkin, well, you just can’t go wrong. Dorie suggests topping the muffins with sunflower seeds, but I stayed true to the pumpkin theme and when with pumpkin seeds (pepitas) then gilded the lily with a sprinkling of ginger sugar to add a nice crunch to the top. I increased the amount of salt to 1/2 tsp. from 1/4, which just didn’t seem like enough for the volume of batter and all the other spices. There were many comments in the group that the 400 degree F oven temperature was too hot; I choose to bake at 350 degrees F with a convection fan, and my muffins baked beautifully in about 22 minutes.

Overall, I love the results. They are flavorful, tender, and most importantly, not greasy. The cranberries add a nice tart zing and great color. A big thank you to Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp for selecting a recipe to get us all in the mood for fall and one that inspired some great pancake improvisation – read on…

photo by David Peterman

Pumpkin Pancakes with Cranberry Maple Syrup

These deliciously dressed up pancakes are the result of leftover pumpkin after making pumpkin muffins. The Cranberry Maple Syrup walks the line between a beautiful jam and syrup, with the whole cranberries offering textural interest and the perfect tartness to play against the sweet maple syrup. The pecans in the pancakes blend seamlessly with the syrup, like a perfect match. This would be a very festive start to Thanksgiving or Christmas day. Leftover pancakes freeze well and reheat nicely in the toaster for a quick mid-week breakfast. 

Makes about 10 six-inch pancakes.

Cranberry Maple Syrup
1 cup whole cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp. dark rum or bourbon
zest of one orange
2 star anise pods, or a cinnamon stick

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the cranberries begin to pop, cook at a low boil for 5 minutes stirring and mashing the berries occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside. When ready to serve, remove the star anise pods or cinnamon stick and re-warm if necessary.

Pumpkin Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sea salt
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. clove
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat griddle to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, and nuts. Mix well to incorporate the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, pumpkin, and melted butter. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just enough to combine. A few lumps and dusty spots are better than over mixed batter.

Ladle batter onto hot oiled griddle or frying pan and cook until golden brown on both sides. Serve with Cranberry Maple Syrup.