Quick Before I Get Sidetrack'd

This time of year brings out the cook or baker in many of us. I enjoy cooking throughout the year (time permitting), but there is something about baking at Christmastime that is special. It is fun to pull out those special recipes that only see the light of day during the holiday season.

I have childhood (and teenage, and college age) memories of making Christmas goodies with my mom. We would drag out all the ingredients, and just about every mixing bowl and spoon in the kitchen, and set up shop at the kitchen table. When I was young we baked cookies and made candy, but as time progressed we moved away from baking and more into candy. There was always fudge for the fridge (2 pans – with pecans for dad & mom and without for my brother & me), and usually some combination of butterscotch haystacks, chocolate and peppermint “bark”, and white and milk chocolate covered pretzels. Other things came and went depending on the year, but these were the usual suspects. I continued to make chocolate chip cookies, and we made the occasional snickerdoodle or sugar cookie.

My own Christmas cooking focuses more on baked goods, although I might make some refrigerator fudge this year. During last week I’ve made two batches of chocolate chip cookies, two loaves of homemade bread (I make this year round), and two batches of Chex Mix. This weekend will see two recipes of homemade biscuits and, possibly, the first of the cranberry bread. The next couple of weeks should produce several batches of cranberry bread, a pound cake with caramel icing, and, hopefully, some homemade cinnamon rolls. Oh, and untold quantities of homemade Chex Mix. Add in the things I’ll make for the Christmas party we’re hosting next Sunday and our own Christmas meals (hmm…guess I better think about what we’ll eat since we’ll be home this year), and I have quite a bit of cooking to do!

There is just something about the holidays that brings out the most flavorful side of me!

Last night Matt and I were in charge of dessert for our Life Group meeting, so we pulled out one of our all-time favorite fall cake recipes. It had been a couple of years since we made this particular cake, and I had forgotten just how wonderful it is. Enjoy for dessert, as a yummy breakfast treat with your coffee, or just as a tasty snack.

Ingredients:
5 apples (smallish) – peeled, cored, and sliced thin (we usually cut them into thin bite-size chunks)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

4 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan.
2. Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with electric mixer (or in stand mixer) for 15 minutes on high speed. Add oil and blend in.
4. Add flour mixture and mix well. Add vanilla and blend. Fold apples and nuts into batter.
5. Pour batter into prepared 9×13 inch pan.
6. In small bowl, combine 4 teaspoons white sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle over cake prior to baking.
7. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

I originally printed this recipe from allrecipes.com several years ago.

This week has been all about comfort foods; I’ve eaten mashed potatoes, homemade mac & cheese, and lots of M&M’s. In fact, I’ve probably ingested more carbs than a person should have in a month.

Earlier in the week I concocted a tuna-noodle casserole for my lunch. I recognize that a lot of people read that and think, “yuck!”, my husband is included in that group which is why I ate it for lunch. But for me, this is one of my favorite comfort foods, one of those foods that brings floods of childhood memories as I cook and eat it.

My Dad and brother don’t like tuna-noodle casserole either, so growing up Mom would make it sometimes when the guys were off camping or both happened to be away from home at dinner time. I always enjoyed it when we ate it at our house, but my most special memories are of eating it with my Ghina and Poppa.

Ghina knew how much I liked the casserole, so every few months when they had it for dinner the phone would ring with an invitation for me to join them. This was a special time because it was just me and my grandparents – no parents, no brother, no cousins – a table set for three.

Entering the house I was greeted by the sound of the timer on their old-fashioned toaster oven clicking away, the smell of the casserole baking, and the sight of Ghina preparing garlic bread to be toasted. I would hang out on the stool in the kitchen, or write on the chalkboard, or play with a few toys until the timer dinged and dinner was ready.

The three of us would take our seats at the table; a family table surrounded by pictures of my Mom and her siblings as children, by mementos of a life lived together for many years. Ghina dished out our dinner. Poppa opened the box of ground black pepper. Slices of garlic toast were passed. A meal was enjoyed.

After dinner was finished and the dishes washed, Ghina and I would sit at the kitchen table and play Chinese checkers. If I was lucky we could get in several games before I had to head home to get ready for bed and school the next day.

There were many, many dinners like this each consisting of a plate of tuna-noodle casserole, a slice of garlic bread, and a special time with my grandparents. Over the years the occurences have lost their individuality and melded into a composite in my mind. Such a special memory, and it all started with a pan of tuna-noodle casserole.

Monday: turkey sandwich wraps, fruit

Tuesday: Paula Deen’s chicken casserole

Wednesday: chicken salad sandwiches, cucumbers & tomatoes

Thursday: leftover chicken salad

Friday: pasta with tomatoes & garlic, bread

Saturday lunch: sandwich wraps
Saturday dinner: homemade pizza

Sunday lunch: whatever you can find in the refrigerator
Sunday dinner: eat out with friends

Stay cool this week; it looks like it will be another hot one (at least around here)!

For several weeks now my sidebar has been home to a cute little “Summer Cupcake Caper” button. When Gibee announced the competition it sounded like such fun that I decided to create an entry. To add to the amusement, I invited my friend Michelle and her two girls (ages 5-1/2 and 2-1/2) to help me destroy my kitchen bake and taste-test my submmission.

On a lovely Wednesday morning a few weeks ago Michelle and the girls came over and the baking began. Having noticed that small chefs can sometimes be eager to add ingredients to the mix, I had gathered all the necessary components and utensils beforehand to help speed the process (next time I might pre-measure the ingredients as well). When the girls came in we drew stools and chairs to the counters and set about making our mess cupcakes.

At my instruction B began breaking eggs into a bowl and, due to Michelle’s diligence, we got them into the mixing bowl sans shells. While they worked on eggs, I measured other ingredients and K (the 2-1/2 year old) licked raw egg off the counter. Then, into the mixing bowl – with B and K alternating turns – went all of the ingredients to be mixed by two spoons and four sweet little hands.

After everything was well mixed we used a scoop to transfer the contents of the bowl into the cupcake pans. Into the oven they went and the excruciating wait between mixing and eating began. K was excited because, “Ooo, we’re making muffins!”

While the cupcakes cooled we went to work creating frosting. There were three frostings concocted from which we would determine our favorite and the contest submission. We started with a strawberry frosting that B quickly deemed the favorite. She enjoyed it so much that Michelle and I kept seeing little fingers go into the bowl for “one more taste.”

Once the frostings were complete it was time to decorate. We had sprinkles, strawberries, and chocolate covered strawberries with which to adorn our cupcakes, and beautiful designs resulted. I wish I had pictures of B’s wonderful cupcake creations, but, unfortunately, my camera batteries were dead.

I believe a good time was had by all. In the end, the counters were sticky, the floor was sticky, there were baking supplies and powdered sugar everywhere; in general it looked like a bakery had exploded. But it was worth the clean up to see the girls enjoying the fruits (or desserts as it were) of their labor.