Kale and Basil Pesto

With an abundance of kale left, along with a full windowsill basil plant, I decided to make some pesto. I've seen pesto using all sorts of greens before, so I decided to modify a recipe I've used before with success. This came out great, and Gary ate it even with the tri-colored pasta he hates so much :).

This is a great alternative to an all basil pesto. I've also substituted all spinach which works great as well. I only used about half the batch in the 12 oz pasta. Use this as a substitute for mayo or mustard for a great sandwich.

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Kale and Basil Pesto

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance




ingredients:

• 1/4 cup toasted nuts (I used walnuts)
• 2 cups, packed baby kale
• 1 cup, packed basil
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp lemon juice (half a lemon)
• 1/4-1/3 cup olive oil

directions:

1. Combine all ingredients (except olive oil) in food processor and blend together.
2. Slowly pour in olive oil into the feeding tube while continuing to blend until desired consistency.
3. Serve with pasta or spread on bread in place of mayo!
4. To store leftovers, portion out the pesto into ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop out and place in a freezer bag. Defrost and use as desired.

Yield: ~1 1/2 cup

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Caramel Apple Tart

It's that time again! The time my home gets a little chilly, but the heat doesn't turn on until November...the joys of renting! Times like these, I'm so glad that I love baking, and it's the time for fall recipes!

I participate in recipe swaps every so often, and this week's theme is fall recipes using apples or pumpkin. I got this caramel apple tart from So Tasty, So Yummy. At first, I was wondering how I would adapt the entire thing to be dairy free so Gary can have it as well. I didn't. Oh well. He doesn't have to be my guinea pig for every recipe I try.

I ended up bringing this over to my parents when we went over for dinner. My cousins loved it! I particularly liked the crust, and especially the caramel. Oh, the caramel. Let me tell you, I was eating this by the spoonful  and I didn't even wait for it to cool down. I was lucky I had any left over to drizzle over the top!

I was also happy that I was able to roll out the dough without many issues. I let it rest on the counter after taking it out of the fridge, since it was practically rock solid when I took it out. That made the dough more pliable and much easier to work with. Other than that, everything pretty much went without a hitch.

Remember to check out Sarah's blog for the full roundup of recipes from the swap!

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Caramel Apple Tart
adapted from So Tasty, So Yummy, originally from Martha Stewart & Bon Apetit

ingredients:
crust:
2 ½ cups flour
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1//2 inch cubes
3 to 4 TBSP ice water

caramel sauce:
¾ cup dark brown sugar
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
3 TBSP unsalted butter
1 TBSP corn syrup

filling:
2 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP unbleached all purpose flour
5 firm baking apples, peeled, cored, cut into sixteenths (I used gala, original recipe used granny smith)

directions:
prepare the crust:
Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together. Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 3 days, before using.

make the caramel sauce:
Bring sugar, cream, butter and corn syrup to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking constantly until sugar dissolves. Boil, whisking often, until caramel thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon thickly, about 8 minutes. Caramel sauce can be made up to 5 days ahead. Remove from heat, cover and chill. When ready to use, whisk over low heat until warm.

make the filling:
Preheat oven to 375° F.

Whisk flour and sugar in large bowl to blend. Add apples and toss until evenly coated.  Remove dough from fridge and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Cut overhang even with top of pan sides. Arrange apple slices in circle around outer edge of pan, fitting snugly. Arrange remaining apples snugly in the center.

Bake tart until apples are tender, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove tart from oven and brush with some of the caramel sauce. Cool tart to room temperature. Rewarm remaining caramel sauce. Drizzle tart lightly with sauce.

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Vanilla Bean Cake with Lemon Lime Curd & Swiss Meringue

This cake was a slight adaptation of one that I previously made. My sister requested a lemon and vanilla cake like the one I’ve made previously for her daughter’s birthday. I decided to use the same recipe but adapted it slightly.

From what I recall, the first one I made had thick layers of cake. I wanted to fill the layers in between with some more curd, so I made a lemon layer and a lime layer. You can’t really tell, but they are two different flavors. I also took into consideration my family’s tastes since they don’t like sweets. I decided to make a Swiss meringue buttercream to use up the extra egg whites from the extra layer of curd. It was a perfect complement to the cake!

Although the curds tasted different when I was making them, they sort of meshed together in the end and tasted the same. None-the-less, the cake was a nice an refreshing spring cake.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Lemon and Lime Curd Filling and Swiss Meringue Frosting
cake and frosting adapted from: Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes
curd fillings from: Williams Sonoma

ingredients:

cake:	lemon curd:	frosting
3 1/4 cups sifted cake flour	5 egg yolks	5 egg whites
1 1/2 TBSP baking powder	1/2 cup sugar	1 cup plus 2 TBSP granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt	1/4 cup fresh lemon juice	pinch of salt
1 TBSP vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean	Grated zest of 2 lemons	1 pound butter (4 sticks)
1 cup plus 2 TBSP milk	6 TBSP (3/4 stick) unsalted butter	1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 3/4 cups sugar	lime curd:
5 large egg whites at room temp	repeat above, replacing lemon w/lime (about 3 limes)

directions:
prepare curds:
In a heavy saucepan before turning on the heat, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk vigorously for 1 minute.

Add the lemon juice and zest and whisk for 1 minute more. Set the pan over low heat and cook gently, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool, stirring occasionally. Cover tightly and refrigerate before using. Makes about 1 cup.

repeat with lime curd

*make sure the remaining 5 egg whites are in separate bowls. 5 will be for the cake, 5 for the frosting.

bake the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour or spray two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir vanilla seeds into milk.

Cream butter in your mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed. Gradually add sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture to batter, alternating with the milk, and betting until just combined after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites in 2 batches.

Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out cleanly when inserted in the center. Allow to cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

make the frosting:
Place egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of your stand mixer. Place over over a small pot of simmering water. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is warm to the touch and no longer grainy. (test this by rubbing it with your fingertips.)

Transfer the bowl to the mixer. Using the whisk attachment, starting at low speed, and gradually increasing to medium-high. Whisk until stiff peaks form and continue to whisk until fluffy and glossy, about 10 minutes. At the end, the bottom of the bowl should be cool.

Reduce the speed to low. Cut the butter into tablespoon sizes, and gradually into the bowl. After adding all the butter, whisk in the vanilla.

Switch over to the paddle attachment, and continue to beat on low to get rid of all the air bubbles. Scrape the bowl, then continue to beat until completely smooth.

assemble the cake:
Cut each cake in half. You should have 4 layers now.

Place one layer on a cake board. Place some frosting in a piping bag or freezer bag. Pipe a line of frosting along the edge of the cake layer.

Pour lemon curd in the center and spread into an even layer. Place other cake layer on top. Spread a layer of frosting. Add the third cake layer, then top with the lime curd. Add the final cake layer, frost cake with remaining frosting and decorate as desired.

Store in fridge until serving.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

I hate it when a recipe calls for only egg yolks (or whites) because I end up stuck with finding another use for the rest of the egg. Many times, end up throwing it away. I was going to bake a cake for Gary’s parents’ birthday, and I started off looking for a filling. The lemon curd was what I went with, but now I had to find something to use up the 5 egg whites. I then saw that Martha’s vanilla bean cupcake recipe calls for 5 egg whites exactly. Perfect!

The cake came together very well. It wasn’t too sweet, just like his parents like it. The cake was light and almost angel food cake-like. Since this made a tall layer cake, I probably add another filling between the layers (I heard raspberry is nice with lemon curd), or half the cake recipe.

I used the same frosting I used for the Japanese Strawberry Shortcake for this, and it worked very well.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Lemon Curd Filling
cake adapted from: Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes
lemon curd filling from: Williams Sonoma
frosting as see in previous recipe

 printable recipe

ingredients:

cake:	lemon curd:	frosting
3 1/4 cups sifted cake flour	5 egg yolks	1 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 TBSP baking powder	1/2 cup sugar	4 tsp cold water
1/4 tsp salt	1/4 cup fresh lemon juice	1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
1 TBSP pure vanilla extract	Grated zest of 2 lemons	1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 cup plus 2 TBSP milk	6 TBSP (3/4 stick) unsalted butter	1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 3/4 cups sugar
5 large egg whites at room temp

directions:
prepare lemon curd:
In a heavy saucepan before turning on the heat, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk vigorously for 1 minute.

Add the lemon juice and zest and whisk for 1 minute more. Set the pan over low heat and cook gently, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool, stirring occasionally. Cover tightly and refrigerate before using. Makes about 1 cup.

bake the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour or spray two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir vanilla into milk.

Cream butter in your mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed. Gradually add sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture to batter, alternating with the milk, and betting until just combined after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites in 2 batches.

Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out cleanly when inserted in the center. Allow to cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

make the frosting:
Place mixing bowl in the fridge to cool down.

Put the cold water in a small saucepan.  Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water and let stand for 5 minutes (do not stir).  Place the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon just until the gelatin dissolves.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and cool to room temperature.

In a cold mixing bowl and using a the wire whisk attachment, combine the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat until slightly thickened.  Reduce speed of mixer and gradually pour the gelatin into the whipped cream mixture.  Then whip the mixture at high speed until stiff.

assemble the cake:
Place one layer on a cake board. Place some frosting in a piping bag or freezer bag. Pipe a line of frosting along the edge of the cake layer.

Pour lemon curd in the center and spread into an even layer. Place other cake layer on top.

Frost cake with remaining frosting and decorate as desired.

Store in fridge until serving.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice

 

A long while back, I bought a small jar of pumpkin pie spice. My only intention was to use it for pumpkin pie, which I would probably do only once at most twice a year. I don’t remember exactly how much it was, but it must’ve been on sale or something, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought it. Since then, I’ve found recipes that don’t even call for pumpkin pie spice, just a mixture of spices that are pretty much the same as the spice blend.

I actually never got around to using the little jar and ended up throwing away the contents. I did keep the  jar it came with, as well as wrote the ingredients down on the cap so I never forget, although it’s pretty easy. I’m pretty sure I would forget how to make it again next year when the season rolls around once again.

The first time I made it, I ran out of cinnamon so I only had enough to make half. This recipe is easily halved, doubled, tripled, or whatever. Although I don’t think you would ever need that much at one time.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice
source: Simple Mom

 printable recipe

ingredients:
2 TBSP ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves

directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bag or jar. Shake to combine evenly.

Homemade Butter

Adapted from: Dutch Girl Cooking
Made by: Cathy

What’s better than butter? Homemade butter of course! I saw this on Dutch Girl Cooking and had to try it myself. I couldn’t believe it was so easy. I had some heavy cream I wanted to use up, so I made this and then used it for homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
salt (optional)

Directions:
1. Pour cream into the food processor with the blade attachment.

2. Turn on, and watch the magic happen!

3. Butter will be done in 5-10 minutes. There will be leftover buttermilk. Pour out the buttermilk and save for something else. Strain the butter through a fine sieve, cheesecloth, or coffee filter.

Makes about 1 1/4 cups butter and 3/4 cup buttermilk.

You can use the butter immediately, or rinse with cold water before you store. Check out Dutch Girl’s site for her recipe for flavored butter spreads.