Baking Bonanza and Easy Gourmet

So, being that it is the beginning of the holiday season, I decided to do a couple recipes with a holiday theme. I also got an awesome new bread cookbook from my Aunt Trish full of amazing-looking recipes (The Tassajara Bread Book), so I just had to start making them.

To start off, a Pumpkin sweet bread that is just awesome. To make, combine 1 15 oz can pureed pumpkin, 1.5C brown sugar, 1 stick butter and 3 eggs, and stir until creamy. Add to that 3.5C flour, 2T baking powder (yes, tablespoon), 1t cinnamon, 1/2t salt and 1/2t nutmeg, and stir till well combined. Fold in 2C chocolate chips and bake in 2 loaf pans at 350 for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. The bread is creamy, pumpkin-y, chocolaty and really delicious.

Next up is a new take on gingerbread (from the new cookbook) . It has ground mustard in it, and is more cake-y and less cardboard-y than traditional gingerbread (though you can't really build houses out of it), and comes out quite moist and not that unhealthy. To make, combine 2.25C whole wheat flour, 1.5t baking powder, 1/2t salt, 1/2t baking soda, 1/2t cloves, 1t ground mustard, 1t cinnamon and 1t powdered ginger. In a separate bowl, combine 1 stick melted butter, 1C molasses, 1 egg and 1C hot water, then add that mixture to the dry mix and stir thoroughly (it ends up looking a bit runny), then bake at 350 in a 9x9 pan for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. It's got a really good flavor, and would be great with a bit of whipped cream on top.

Sticking with the healthier theme, I found (in the new cookbook) a really good base wheat muffin recipe, to which I added festival spices (one of the half dozen modifications they recommend) to make it more appropriate for the season. To make the base, combine 2C whole wheat flour, 2t baking powder, 1/2t salt, 1 beaten egg, 1/4C oil, 1/3C honey (or molasses) and 1.5C milk with as few strokes as possible (it's fine if it's still lumpy; the muffins will turn out just fine). Then, bake at 400 for 15 minutes or (can you guess?) until a toothpick comes out clean. I added 1/2t cinnamon, 1/2t nutmeg, 1/4t allspice and 1/4t ginger to the dry ingredients as well. The muffins taste quite good, and would make a great breakfast with some yogurt or just as a snack.

Finally, a random meal suggestion. Making pork chops (or steak) in a frying pan makes them fricken' awesome. Take a pork chop and salt and pepper each side, then place in a very hot, dry non-stick fry pan. It will initially stick to the bottom, and you will know when it's time to turn by when it releases itself. Flip over and repeat, but just before it finishes, add a couple drams of red wine and simmer the wine down with the pork chop so you end up with the flavor wonderfully infused; the pork chop comes out tender and moist. Top with some caramelized onions that were made with a drizzle of red wine, and you're getting gourmet. Add some green beans and red potatoes from a farmers market and you're in business!