Black Magic Chocolate Cake

After my jam-making escapade, I decided it was time for some dessert. I tried the Black Magic Chocolate Cake Recipe with Peppermint Frosting from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook (1949).
Be forewarned that this is an exacting recipe, unlike modern recipes. It instructs, for example, to mix the cake batter with 150 strokes, and then goes on to explain what a "stroke" consists of. Nonetheless, it is well worth a try!
This cake is nice and light, with a magnificent flavor. I noticed, however, that it left a slightly metallic aftertaste, though I was the only one who noticed. I attribute this to the fact that there's nothing to neutralize the 1 teaspoon of baking soda called for in the recipe. If you try the recipe, I recommend substituting part of the milk with buttermilk to avoid this problem. I will definitely be trying this recipe again!

Strawberry Kiwi Jam

I made one more batch of Strawberry Kiwi Jam yesterday morning, to roaring success. (The jam in the background is Gingered Rhubarb Jam that I made earlier this summer.) Here's the recipe, in case you'd like to try it:

Strawberry Kiwi Jam

1 heaping cup peeled kiwi, crushed (I used a potato masher.)
1 heaping cup hulled strawberries, crushed
2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
1 (1 3/4) ounce pkg no-sugar-needed or light pectin
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. butter

Combine kiwi, strawberries, orange juice, and lime or lemon juice in a large saucepan. Combine pectin with 1/4 cup of the sugar. Gradually stir pectin mixture into fruit (I used a wire whisk, so the pectin doesn't lump up.), and add 1/4 tsp. butter. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add remaining sugar and return to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Carefully ladle into hot jam jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Screw on two-piece lids unti firmly secured, but not too tight. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Makes about 4 half pint jars.

Kiwi Jam

I was lucky enough to stumble across kiwifruit at $1 per pound, so I bought four pounds of it, and canned two batches of jam: Strawberry Kiwi Jam, using strawberries from our garden; and Pineapple Kiwi Jam, using purchased pineapple juice. It was great fun to watch the mashed fruit turn into delectable 70s-red and -green jam. I ended up with 9 half pints of jam, and I still have enough for another batch of Strawberry Kiwi Jam. I know what I'll be doing tomorrow!

Periwinkle Blue Tart Shell

I found this beautiful periwinkle blue tart shell in an antique shop the other day, but there was no price tag. I had to have a friend pick it up the following day once the clerk had priced it. It was worth the trouble! Just see how lovely this Cranberry, Raisin, and Walnut Tart looks from Stephanie Donaldson's The Country Store (1996).
I began with "Pastry for 11-Inch Tart" from The Good Housekeeping Step-by-Step Cookbook (1997), and, since my pastry shell is larger than the 10" shell called for in Donaldson's recipe, I just added extra fruit. Because navel oranges - the variety largely available in today's supermarkets - have a particularly bitter taste, I substituted tangerine rind for the orange rind called for in the recipe, and added a splash or orange juice instead of brandy.
This tart will make a delicious dessert to our dinner of roast beef, boiled potatoes, and fresh-from-the-garden green beans.

Warm Chicken, Spinach and Feta Salad with Tomato Focaccia

What could be better on a hot summer day than a salad rounded out by a slice of fresh bread?

This morning, I made "Warm Chicken, Spinach, and Feta Salad" from The Good Housekeeping Step-by-Step Cookbook (1997), and Tomato Focaccia from Sunset's 1993 Recipe Annual. With a side of sectioned oranges, and a Mixed Berry Pie (Sunset 1993) for dessert, it was a refreshing summer midday meal.

Although the Focaccia recipe calls for all-purpose flour, I used whole-wheat, because a) it has much more flavor, and b) it's much more healthful. Using whole-wheat flour is a winner for both taste and health. If you don't like the taste of all whole-wheat flour, subsutitue one cup whole-wheat for part of the all-purpose flour. It will add health benefits, while still retaining the white-flour flavor and texture to which you are accustomed.

Because I started the focaccia dough this morning, I didn't have time to let a sponge work in the fridge over night, so I let the dough rest and rise for an hour before I added all the flour: Before you add all the flour, add only enough, so that the dough is still very sticky, and stirrable with a spoon. Then, let it rise for an hour. This will still soften the wheat and get the yeast working. Then, knead in the remaining flour, and continue as usual.

The first photo shows the Tomato Focaccia baking in the oven. In the second photo, you can see the focaccia rising under plastic wrap in a jelly roll pan.

In the background is my antique Pyrex mixing bowl. What a great find! This bowl is the perfect size for mixing bread. My favorite kind of bread is fresh bread, so I'm unlikely to use a bigger bowl than this one for bread making.

These are the bratwurst buns, baked.

I took them out of the fridge in the morning, and added:

1 tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white flour

Mix thoroughly, and then add:
As much whole wheat flour as you need to make a moderately stiff dough that is easy to work with, but not dry. Knead about five minutes by repeatedly folding the dough over, and turning it a quarter turn, and folding again.

Place dough in an oiled bowl, and flip the ough over once to coat with oil. Cover with a plate or plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise for 1 - 2 hours. I set my bowl on top of a warm gas stove, in which someone was baking granola. In about an hour, it had raised nicely.

When the dough has risen, punch it down to remove the air bubbles, and shape into 10 individual bratwurst (or hamburger) buns. You can make 12 if you want the buns to be smaller. Allow the buns to rise in a warm place, without covering this time. When the dough has risen, bake in a 400 degree oven for ten minutes, and then turn the oven down to 350 and bake 5 - 10 minutes longer.

I like to bake bread with a brick in the oven for a continuous source of heat. For this method, preheat the oven with the brick in the oven. This heats the brick, and is a more continuous heat source than the oven.

For crustier breads, place the brick in a pan. When the oven is preheated, place the loaves in the oven, and throw a handful of ice into the pan with the brick. Close the oven door quickly. The steam from the ice creates a nice crust on the loaves.

Happy baking!

Hamburger and Bratwurst Buns

I started a batch of dough to shape into buns for grilled bratwursts. Because I like to add milk to my hamburger and bratwurst buns, the sponge for this recipe takes a little longer to stir together than most of my bread recipes. You have to scald the milk first.

I start with a sponge for my bread recipes. The sponge for hamburger and bratwurst buns is as follows:

Sponge

Dissolve in a large bowl:
1 teaspoon yeast
in
1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F.).
Scald
1 1/4 cups milk
Cool the milk, and pour it into the yeast mixture. Next, stir in:
2 cups whole wheat flour
until thoroughly combined.

You should end up with a mixture about the thickness of pea soup. The purpose of the sponge is to soften the wheat in order to make a finer-textured bread that isn't crumbly, as homemade breads, especially whole-grain ones, would otherwise be. Don't add any oils or salt at this point, as these inhibit rising.

Cover the sponge with a plate or a sheet of plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours. I'm about to put mine in the fridge, and finish adding the ingredients tomorrow.

Until then!