I love Saturdays. I look forward to getting up early and baking something for the weekend. Jubilee Organic Farm brings 4 or 5 different types of winter squash to the farmer's market. The very first week they had winter squash, I picked up a butternut squash and made lasagna, using my favorite recipe by Jamie Oliver (slightly altered since I cannot remember every measurement). Another week, I picked up a kabocha squash. This squash came with a rave review of Chris' daughter that when it is baked, it is so tender, sweet and downright delicious. Kabocha squashes seem to be small to medium sized and they have such a bright orange-red color. Once I peeled the skin off and scooped out the seeds, Dan roasted the seeds in the oven. The seeds were not meaty but they were very nutty and had good flavors.
Now the pie. I had this recipe by Dorie Greenspan that I wanted to try. It calls for a butternut squash but I thought kabocha will also do nicely. Roughly following the recipe, I combined cubed and cooked kabocha squash (2 cups), cubed pear (2 ripe pears), 1/3 cup of white rasin and cranberries, orange peel from a half orange and orange juice (2 Tbs), cinnamon (1 Tbs), freshly grated nutmeg (a pinch), coarsely chopped walnuts (1/3 cup), and bread crumbs (I used panko, 2 Tbs). It smelled so good just mixing these ingredients that I was jumping up and down with the joy talking to myself 'wow, this is going to make a great pie'!! Use your favorite pie crust recipe and place the filling. The recipe was for 9 inch pie, but instead I made two mini pies (4 inch) and one in an individual lasagna pan. Dan suggested that we do lattice top so I did.
This pie is really good. It reminds me of a mince pie, Dan said. Maybe so. The sweet flavor combination from the squash and pear on top of nice, cold-weather spice is just good. It is substantial enough to hold you over when you are hungry in a long afternoon. Even though the pie is best on the day is it made, I still enjoyed it two days later, kept at room temperature all the time.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Fall is for THIS pie!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Cinderblocks to Walls... Construction Moves Forward
Friday, October 10, 2008
My favorite pizzas, with Broccolis and with onions
Cool weather vegetables are showing up more at the market and among the warm orange and yellow hue of fall vegetables, broccolis are standing up green. When Gwen of Glade-Link Farm brought broccolis to the farmer's market, I had to make my favorite pizza with broccolis. I think broccolis are best when it is sautéed in a little bit of olive oil and garlic, and this pizza showcases broccoli at its best flavor with backdrop of melting cheese and crispy crust. Yum - it can't get any better!
My another favorite is a pizza with onions. These are not the ordinary onions. They are cooked in butter and soaked and simmered in red wine till they become caramelized with complex flavors from wine. Yellow, white and red onions from Chris of Jubilee Organic Farm are delicious and I had enough red onions to make my onion pizza.
I have made pizzas with different dough recipes and liked them all, from thin crispy kind to thick soft kind. However for the past year or two, I have been making this very simple dough, which turns out extra crispy thin pizzas. The recipe came with a pizza pan (a non-stick metal round pan with holes in it), courtesy of Cook's Illustrated. I modified it to use whole wheat flour and do without a food processor.
Dough for extra crispy thin pizzas
Once the dough is made, the following steps are quite simple. Go through your refrigerator and find all the cheeses and food-leftovers that you like to use.
For broccoli pizza, saute broccolis in olive oil and sliced garlic for a brief time, until they just turn bright green. Since they are going to be baked in a very hot oven, you don't want to cook them too long. We used mozzarella, manchego and fresh mozzarella cheese this time. Dan sprinkled fresh ground black pepper and very thinly sliced dried Thai pepper (from Wendy of Persimmon Pond Plants). This Thai pepper was a nice touch. Those tiny specs of pepper strip gave a nice surprising kick to the pizza.
For onion pizza, we layered a leftover meat (roasted eye-round beef) and olives underneath onions. The sauteed onions in wine is the recipe from Baking with Julia (my baking bible). The original recipe calls for a long long time to gently cook the onions in the lowest heat setting once wine is introduced. Since I make pizzas on a whim, I don't have that long long time to cook down the onions. So here is what I do.
You want to use a good drinking red wine for this. I have a bottle of red that was gifted and when we opened it up, it was sadly passed the prime. So I use it for cooking and when I use this wine, I add a really good balsamic vinegar toward the end of reduction.
Preheat the oven at 475 F and bake the pizza for 10 minutes. Once it comes out of oven, let it rest for a few minutes before you cut and dig in.
Enjoy!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Cider and Pumpkins...Oh My!
Last week was a perfect week for hot cider and it was delicious. In the coming weeks (as the weather permits), we'll be adding real hot chocolate to the mix along with the cider and coffee. Stop by the Cakes for Cause booth for your scone and beverage as you check out the squash, kale, and root vegetable selection at the Frederick Farmer's Market (on Baughman's Lane on Saturday mornings). One small announcement: the Cakes for Cause booth is taking a week off on Saturday October 18th. We anticipate closing our café each year in August and in January for one week so that our staff and apprentices can schedule vacation time. We missed August because it was so busy so we will be closed the week of October 12-18. We will not be taking orders during that time either. We'll miss you but it's important that our staff have some quality time with their families...in advance of the holiday frenzy. We'll be back at the market on the 25th.
Speaking of the holidays, Cakes for Cause has a bunch of ways to make your holiday special. How about pre-ordering a dozen scones or croissants for Thanksgiving morning so you don't have to worry about breakfast? Just pop them in the oven for 10 minutes and they'll taste just like they did when we pulled them out of the oven. Are you having a holiday soiree? Think about our rosemary sage crackers served with your favorite dip or spread...we sell these crackers by the pound. And, don't forget the cookie decorating. We still have boxes of rolled and cut gingerbread and sugar cookies available to pre-order. All you have to do is slide the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and in 15 minutes, you're ready to have a decorating party. Whatever your need, the Cakes for Cause commitment to small-batch baking, interesting flavors, and custom cakes and pastries is a way for you to be able to enjoy the holidays.
This week at the Market, we'll offer our usual great selection of scones (possibly pumpkin???) and croissants. Our baker thinks there will be an ooey, gooey coconut chocolate bar in there somewhere, along with our yummy toffee mini cakes. Our breads will include the newly popular Pane Siciliano with equal parts semolina and white flours and our herbed dipping bread (even though the tomatoes are going, this bread is still delicious as a sandwich bread with fresh meats and cheeses...try chicken or egg salad too!). Although our cheddar biscuits weren't a big draw when we first brought them to Frederick, the weather might have turned just enough to tempt you this month. These are a fluffy, aged cheddar biscuit with a sprinkling of sea salt on the top before they bake and are delicious with your autumn stews and soups. Whatever your preference, we enjoy seeing you at the market and talking about our products and our mission. If you'd like more information about our program, click here.
Cakes for Cause
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Persimmons and hickory nuts in the Catoctins
I visited my parents today. They live out in the woods near Sabillasville, in the Catoctin Mountains. Dad and I took a walk.
"Are there persimmons on the tree this year?," I asked. "Can't you see them?," said Dad, "the little yellow globes everywhere?" At first I couldn't- the sun was in my eyes. But then we got a little closer and he was right. The tree had more persimmons on it than I had ever seen before. "Why don't you eat one?," he asked, with an evil twinkle in his eye.
"I'm not falling for that again," I told him.
Some years back Dad and I went to the persimmon tree and he convinced me to eat one because they are delicious. So of course I ate one. Then my mouth turned inside out and I salivated uncontrollably and he laughed like a nut and said, "my Father did that to me too!"
Back to today...Dad walked to the tree and said, "no, really, they're delicious. I've been eating them every time I go to the mailbox."
"Yeah right. You eat one," I said. "I'll watch you." After watching him eat half of a persimmon I made him give me the other half. It was delicious. So what gives?
Native persimmons are usually inedible until after the first good freeze. But if they fall off the tree before that and are translucent then you can eat them. So be really careful about eating them right now. You might end up drooling for about an hour. It's miserable and interminable.
I have a few friends who love the native persimmons and they have their favorite trees. Local foraging knowledge is a very special thing that people share with each other as a sign of affection and trust. If you want to try persimmons, there is a big one next to a parking lot at Utica Park. I can't give away any of the other locations or I will lose a very good friend.
I also made Dad take me to the shellbark hickory trees, where I collected a small bag. He couldn't understand why I would bother with them because the nuts are so small and hard to get out of the walnut-like shells. But that makes them all the more precious. Hickory nuts are kind of like walnuts in taste but have their own flavor. I really love to eat native foods. There's something wholesome and essential to the experience of gathering. There's food in the woods and it is good.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Customer Appreciation Week at Cakes for Cause
Hi! Stop by the Cakes for Cause booth at the Farmer's Market this week and ask us for your special treat. It's our opportunity to thank you for supporting us all summer in Frederick and Middletown.
Also, if you're a collector, we're unveiling our winning cupcake postcard design this week in Frederick. This is a limited edition postcard designed by Joanna Wong who heard about us from the brother of a friend. She designed a fresh, colorful, cupcake card (think Jack and the Cupcakestalk) that we hope you'll add to your collection. We'll be displaying Joanna and other artist's cupcake art in our retail space and at the farmer's markets and festivals we attend.
If you're coming out to the Market this week (Saturdays on Baughman's Lane from 10:00 to 1:00), we'll have cheddar chive and lemon ginger scones, soda bread, our new Pane Siciliano bread, herb dipping bread, our rosemary crackers and loads of other fresh, small-batch baked goods. If you're a vegan or vegetarian, we also have some options for you and we promise, they are delicious. We'll also have a booth and our new banner at In the Street on the Kid's Block. We won't be selling any food but you know we like to have a good time so come out and say hi.
T-shirts are a premium right now. Moving fast and the next one will be different so if you've even been considering one, you should act soon. They're high-quality cotton (we've tried to shrink them and it doesn't work) in chocolate brown. Our logo is on the front and the tagline on the back is so appropriate, "Everyone Deserves Dessert". We think it conveys not only our attitude but how we approach our mission...to serve youth who age out of foster care or who live in public housing...everyone DOES deserve dessert. T-shirts are only $20 and as you know, all of the proceeds from our retail sales go to support the mission of Cakes for Cause.
If you're attending the Friends of Frederick event this weekend, Cakes for Cause is donating a tray of petit fours. We haven't decided what they will be but it's an opportunity for you to try some of our dessert products. Friends of Frederick is holding their annual gala on Saturday night. For tickets or more information on this great organization, hit their website.
Cakes For Cause
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Mmmm...Fall!
Our holiday fundraiser started early and is going strong so far but we do still have boxes of cookies available to order. If you're of the cookie-decorating bent, we can help with that. Our holiday fundraiser is sales of pre-rolled and cut gingerbread and sugar cookie boys and girls. All you have to do is slide them in the oven and bake them off...decorating is up to you. These are mouthwatering gingerbread and sugar cookies, created in small batches, just like all our pastries. They make great gifts...just tie a ribbon around the box. Each box contains 2 ½ dozen raw, frozen cookies and will be delivered at several sites in the area in the first weeks of December. Just $18...help us to help you make the holidays less stressful this year.There's lots of ways you can support Cakes for Cause. We are always looking for volunteers and we have several opportunities available. Click here if you're interested in volunteering. We'd like to remind you that all the proceeds from our retail sales, from donations, and from our fundraising events go to support the mission of our organization. Your financial contributions help us to provide job training, community development, and life skills training to youth who have been in the foster care system. We will teach these youth practical vocational skills and critical life skills that will help them obtain and maintain employment into adulthood. If you'd like to make a tax-deductible contribution, you may mail it to Cakes for Cause, PO Box 3452, Frederick, MD 21705 (please be patient with us, we're setting up our online donations site now). Thank you for your generous support to our organization.
Cakes for Cause
