Milopita: Greek Apple Cake

 

Tim was the first to test-run this recipe

Last week I had a few apples that had been hanging out for quite a while, had developed a few bruises, and they were never going to be picked for snack. I hate throwing food away, so I looked for a fun way to use two apples. I found this recipe, and after tasting it our entire family wanted to know why we had never made it before!! It is delicious. 

This cake is a little unique because it uses olive oil and yogurt, not butter and milk. We have eaten it for breakfast like a coffee cake, but you could absolutely eat it for dessert as well. (or any time you want) The recipe is European, so the measurements are metric. It will help if you have a scale. But you don't need a mixer, it can easily be done with two mixing bowls.

We did our metric conversion wrong and made this version in a 9" cake pan. It took about 12 minutes longer, was much thicker, but it still came out great.

Milopita: Greek Apple Cake

Ingredients:

300 grams flour

200 grams brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 apples chopped

180 ml Greek yogurt

3 eggs

180 ml olive oil

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp rosewater (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 10" springform pan

2. In a large bowl combine: flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, spices and diced apples. Stir well to cover the apples in the dry mix.

3. In a smaller bowl combine: yogurt, eggs, oil, vanilla and rosewater. Whisk to combine well. 

4. Add the wet mix to the dry mix and fold together until just combined. Do not beat or overmix.

5. Pour the batter into your prepared 10" springform pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a testing skewer comes out clean. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing. Dust with powdered sugar and serve. We like it warm, fresh out of the oven!

Magic Christmas Cookie Mix

 This is a recipe that came on a bag of Pilsbury flour in the 80's. My mother cut it out, tried it and it became a Christmas staple for our family. It starts with a basic cookie mix of flour, sugar, butter, baking powder and salt, then has a bunch of variations: sugar cookies, gingerbreads, peanutbutter kisses, candied fruit squares, snickerdoodles and press cookies. The original recipe makes a HUGE basic mix that will allow you to make six of the following variations. My mom did the math and divided the recipe into 1/2 and 1/4 if you don't need 6 kinds of cookies. I included those measurements here as well for convenience. 

This week mom was visiting and she was looking for the recipe to make cookies for our neighborhood Christmas party. She searched my blog and was shocked and surprised it was not up here yet. We found our old family recipe box, dusted it off and dug out the recipe...it definitely needs to be blogged before it falls to shreds 😆

You know the recipe is golden when...

Magic Christmas Cookie Mix

Basic Cookie Mix:

12 cups All-Purpose Flour (1/2 - 6 cups, 1/4 - 3 cups)

7 cups Sugar (1/2 - 3 1/2 cups, 1/4 - 1 3/4 cups)

2 Tablespoons Baking Powder (1/2 - 1 tablespoon, 1/4 - 1/2 tablespoon)

5 teaspoons Salt (1/2 - 2 1/2 teaspoons, 1/4 - 1 1/4 teaspoons)

4 cups Butter (1/2 - 2 cups, 1/4 - 1 cup)

Directions: In a large bowl, combine four, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender cut the butter into the mixture until the pieces are smaller than peas. This mix can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Bring the mix to room temperature before using in the recipes.

Tim is making sure we get a hippopotamus for Christmas

Sugar Cookie Cutouts:

4 cups Basic Cookie Mix

2 Tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 Egg

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Using a mixer, combine all ingredients at low speed until well blended. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

3. On a well-floured surface roll out chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness; cut with a floured cutter. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 - 16 minutes. (if it takes you a long time to cut out your cookies or your kitchen is really hot you may want to chill your cut cookies on the sheets for 30 minutes before putting them in the oven) Cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet, then cool completely on a rack. Decorate as desired

Here are our ninja-bread men before they get decorated

Ginger Cut-Outs

4 cups Basic Cookie Dough

2 teaspoons Ground Ginger (we like to add some cinnamon and nutmeg too)

1/4 cup Molasses

1 Egg

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Using a mixer, combine all ingredients at low speed until well blended. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

3. On a well-floured surface roll out chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness; cut with a floured cutter. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 - 15 minutes. (if it takes you a long time to cut out your cookies or your kitchen is really hot you may want to chill your cut cookies on the sheets for 30 minutes before putting them in the oven) Cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet, then cool completely on a rack. Decorate as desired

Snickerdoodles: (my dad's favorite)

3 cups Basic Cookie Mix

1 Tablespoon Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 Egg

1 cup Raisins

2 Tablespoons Sugar

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees

2. In a large bowl, combine mix, milk, vanilla & egg at low speed until a well blended dough forms. Fold in raisins by hand. Chill dough for 1 hour.

3. In a small bowl combine sugar and cinnamon. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. 

4. Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes. Makes 3 dozen

Press Cookies: our favorite shape to use is the tree

3 cups Basic Cookie Mix

1/3 cup Sour Cream

Colored Sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees

2. With a mixer, combine basic cookie mix and sour cream until well blended. 

3. Fill cookie press and form cookies on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle cookies with colored sugar.

4. Bake 8-11 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute then remove from cookie sheet. Makes 3 1/3 dozen.

Candied Fruit Squares: (my favorite)

3 cups Basic Cookie Mix

1 egg

2 cups (16-oz) diced, mixed candied fruit

1 cup Shredded Coconut

1 cup Chopped Nuts

1 cup Chopped Dates

1 can (14 oz) Condensed Milk

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees

2. With a mixer, combine basic cookie mix and egg until well mixed. 

3. Press cookie dough into 15x10 inch pan (rimmed baking sheet).

4. In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients. Carefully  spread over the cookie base and press down gently. 

5. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. Cool in the pan then cut into 54 bars.

Snow-Topped Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Candy Canes: (Tim's variation)

4 cups Basic Cookie mix

2 Tablespoons Cocoa

2 Tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 Egg

1 cup Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup crushed Candy Canes

Powdered Sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Using a mixer, combine mix, cocoa, milk, vanilla and egg on low spead until well incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and candy cane pieces.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2-inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 13 - 15 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Coconut-Cherry Chews

3 cups Basic Cookie Mix

1 cup Shredded Coconut

2 teaspoons Almond Extract

1 Egg

1 Tablespoon water

1 Egg White, beaten

1 - 1 1/2 cups Coconut

Red Candied Cherries, halved

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees

2. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

3. Using a mixer, combine cookie mix, 1 cup coconut, almond extract and egg at low speed until well combined. 

4. In a small bowl combine water and egg white. 

5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; dip in egg white mixture; roll in coconut. Place 2-inches apart on prepared cookie sheet. Place cherry half in the center of each cookie and press down lightly. Bake 11-14 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.

Chocolate Pinwheels

4 cups Basic Cookie Mix

2 tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 Eggs

2 Tablespoons Cocoa

2 teaspoons Orange Peel (or lemon peel, or warm spices, or 1 tsp mint extract, or 2 tablespoons pulverized freeze dried berries)

Directions: 

1. Using a mixer, combine basic mix, milk, vanilla, andd egg at low speed until well blended.

2. Divide dough in half. Blend cocoa into half of the dough. Blend orange peel, or other desired flavoring into the other half. 

3. Roll out each dough between two pieces of parchment paper into a large rectangle 1/4 inch thick. Remove the top piece of parchment from each dough. Place flavored dough over the chocolate dough, and press gently together to seal. 

4. Starting with the long edge of the rectangle, roll both doughs up like a jelly roll. Wrap dough roll in cling wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. 

5. Slice the dough into  1/4 inch slices. Place 1-inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 11-15 minutes. Makes 4 dozen.

Peanut Butter Kisses: (My Brother's Favorite)

3 cups Basic Cookie Mix

1/2 cup Peanut Butter

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 Egg

granulated sugar

Milk Chocolate Kisses

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees

2. Using a mixer, combine  basic cookie mix, peanut butter, vanilla, and egg at low speed until well blended. 

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.

4. Bake for 10-15 minutes. When you take the cookies out of the oven, immediately place a chocolate kiss candy in the center of each cookie and press down lightly. Makes 3 dozen.

Yard Bean Breakfast Egg Nests

 Every year we try growing something different in the garden. This year one of our new crops was purple yard beans. These beans get their name because they can grow to be almost a yard long! They are very beautiful and delicious, they have a slight fresh garlic taste, and don't loose their purple color when they are cooked. When they are still thin and flexible they can be eaten like a green bean, but they quickly turn mealy and then you have to wait for the pods to dry and harvest the beans later.

check out the size of these beans!

We had a bumper crop of yard beans earlier in the summer and we had to come up with a way to eat them. Joseph created this fun breakfast idea. If you grow yard beans you should try it! It is a fun way to add vegetables to your morning. 

Yard Bean Breakfast Egg Nests

Ingredients:

8 yard beans

8 eggs

Grated cheddar cheese

8 slices of fresh tomato

Butter

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat a large frying pan to medium heat. 

2. Twist the beans into "nests" for your eggs

3. Put 1 tbsp of butter into your preheated pan and swirl around. Arrange your bean nests in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. 

4. Crack an egg into each of the bean nests, season with salt and pepper. Allow to cook 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. (these times are what we used for over easy eggs with a runny middle. If you like your eggs more well done cook them longer on each side)

5. Remove the egg nests from the heat and sprinkle 1 tbsp of cheddar cheese on each one and top with a slice of tomato, salt and pepper & enjoy!

*we did think that hollandaise sauce would round this recipe out well, but we wern't felt motivated for that production. Fresh basil or chives would also work well. 

Curried Lamb Stuffed Zucchini

 

Leftovers are the best lunch at work :)

Do you ever have those moments when you leave your garden one day with a baby zucchini on the way, and then you come back and said zucchini is the size of a small child? I think this happened to our farmer. This past week we got a GIANT Italian zucchini in our farm share. The farmer was super apologetic and offered to get us a new basket, but I told him.."No worries! We know what to do with that!" This incredible version of stuffed zucchini is spicy and rich and savory and totally made my coworkers jealous when I heated up the leftovers at work the next day. 

Some people slice the zucchini lengthwise and stuff it to make zucchini boats. When the zucchini gets really big I find that it is helpful to cut it into rings and stuff the rings. One: I think it is easier to serve, Two: it helps the filling retain its moisture and Three: It cooks the remaining squash ring evenly.

I chose to use ground lamb because I LOVE lamb, but you can totally use any ground meat, beans or meat replacement for this recipe.  The centerpiece of this recipe is a Carribean curry sauce mixed with coconut milk. I used a mix of the veggies that were available in my farm share and garden. You can customize this recipe to make use of your own veggies, as long as you keep the sauce you will get a pretty similar result. 

Curried Lamb Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

1 giant zucchini

1 lb ground lamb

1 cup rice, dry (or grain mix of your choice) cooked to package directions

1 small asian eggplant diced

1 green pepper diced

1 onion diced

2 garlic cloves diced

2 medium potatoes diced small

1 cup fresh or frozen peas

2 eggs

1 bunch of collared greens (or any greens) sliced in ribbons

1 jar of caribbean curry sauce

1 can coconut milk

Directions:

1. Prepare your zucchini. Cut off both ends, and slice your zucchini into 3-inch rounds. Hollow out the pith and seeds from the center of the zucchini rings leaving excellent veggie "bowls" for your lamb filling. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Find a large pan that will hold all your zucchini rings.  Shake up your coconut milk and open the can. Pour about half the milk into the bottom of the pan, save the rest for later in the recipe.

3. In a large bowl combine: uncooked ground lamb, rice, eggplant, pepper, onion, garlic, potatoes, peas, eggs and collared greens along with half of the curry sauce. Mix it well with your hands...it is the only way :)

4. Fill the zucchini rings with the filling. Push it down in there well, and mound it over the top if you need to. It will reduce during cooking. 

5. Finish the sauce: pour the rest of the coconut milk into the curry sauce jar. Screw the top back on tight and shake that sucker up to combine the sauce and coconut milk. Pour the coconut curry sauce over the stuffed zucchini rings. 

6. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes to reduce the sauce. Let the stuffed zucchini rest for 10-15 minutes before serving & Enjoy. 

This dish makes excellent leftovers. (see the first photo)

Bulgogi

 A Korean friend made this sweet, salty, savory and spicy dish for me once while I was watching her kids and I knew I needed to figure out how to make it myself. Now, if you are a Bulgogi purist, you will probably hate my recipe, I don't have a Korean grandmother to tap, I have probably committed some terrible sins with tradition, but...this is a basic Korean Bulgogi marinade recipe and I will share how I use it when I serve it to my family. 

Traditionally, Koreans use a very thinly shaved beef for Bulgogi. You can easily buy this in an Asian market, most butchers will do it for you, or you can cut it super thin yourself if you have a good knife. I have also used ground beef, which works simialrly to the thinly shaved beef because it provides lots of surface area for the marinade. Really, I feel like this recipe is designed to be everyday accessable, use what you've got.

Bulgogi is also served with lots of side veggies, and rice. You can either lay everything out and have folks build their own plate, or create rice bowls (which is my favorite). We pretty much use whatever is in season or available. It is a great way to use up the last of the farm share, or whatever comes from a walk through the garden. Our favorite Bulgogi bowl toppings are: pickled radishes, cucumbers, avocado, wilted greens, celantro, peppers, shredded carrot, sauted pak choi, and sesame seeds. It is ALWAYS a good idea to top it with a fried or poached egg, and a splash of hot sauce and sesame oil. Experiment, find what you like, and have fun.

Bulgogi:

2 lbs beef (sliced or ground)

Marinade Ingredients:

6 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp rice wine

1 red apple or Asian pear (grated)

1/2 onion (grated)

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 bunch of scallions diced

Cooking Directions:

Combine all the marinade ingredients and mix well. I like to do this recipe in a ziploc bag. That way I can mix the marinade, massage the meat and let it rest while only dirtying a bag. You can also feel free to use a bowl...that's cool. 

Add your meat to the bag (or bowl), and massage the marinade into the meat to make sure that there is maximum surface area incorporation. Then let the meat sit in the marinade for at least 4 hours and up to overnight. 

When you are ready to cook the meat, heat a larg skillet or wok on medium heat, and cook with some cooking oil for about 5 minutes. Finish off with 1 tbsp of sesame oil and serve with desired veggies and rice. You can cook veggies with your meat like a stir fry if you want.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

 I have not found an oatmeal raisin cookie that is better than the one that you used to be able to find on the Quaker Oatmeal box. It is my go-to recipe, and I am posting it here so I don't loose it. We use this recipe all the time, and often substitute other dried fruits, or add nuts or coconut. You can substitute butterscotch chips and make oatmeal butter scotchies. But my pro tip...ALWAYS add cinnamon.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

14 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups uncooked oats

1 cup raisins (or whatever)

Instructions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Beat butter and sugars until combined and fluffy, add eggs and vanilla until combined.

Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. When everything is combined add the oats and raisins until combined.

Drop dough by tablespoonfulls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack. 

Makes 4 dozen

Raspberry Custard Tart

 

Birthdays are a big deal in our house. When it is your birthday, the biggest choices you have to make pertain to the menu for the day. The birthday celebrity gets to choose a breakfast, their dinner and dessert. For YEARS, there was cake, maybe cupcakes, but then we started watching The Great British Baking Show and everyone's eyes were opened to a wider world of possibilities. 

My mom was in Boston for her birthday this year and she got in on the birthday celebrations. She chose Greek food for dinner. Greco did not dissapoint! She also chose a raspberry cream tart for dessert. I had recently aquired a rectangular tart pan, but I had not made a custard tart yet, so it was a fun request. 

For a fruit & custard tart you need three things:

• Great pastry
• Great custard
• Beautiful fruit

The beauty of the custard tart is that if you have a good recipe for the pastry, and a good recipe for the custard your possibilities are endless. You can use any kind of fruit you like. The custard can be flavored with citrus peels, vanilla bean pods, cinnamon, cardamom pods, whatever you think works well with the fruit at hand. 

Here you will find a Pâte Sucrée recipe that worked beautifully followed by a pastry cream custard recipe that was divine. Seriously, this custard holds its shape even when you cut into the tart. 

Sweet Crust Pastry

INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp heavy cream
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour (6 ¼ oz)
• ⅔ cup powdered sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter cold, cut into ½ inch cubes

INSTRUCTIONS

• Whisk together egg yolk, cream, vanilla in a small bowl or measuring cup and set aside.
• Place flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine.
• Place the pieces of butter evenly around the food processor and pulse 15 one second pulses. You want the butter combined with no large pieces. 
• Slowly add the egg mixture, with the processor running. Process until it comes together and forms a ball, about 10-12 seconds.
• Form the dough into a small circle or rectangle depending on the tart pan you plan on using.
• Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.
• When ready to use, follow instructions in desired recipe.

For making and blind baking tart shell:

• Remove tart dough from fridge and let sit until it is workable (this will depend on how long it’s been refrigerated).
• Roll out - if using a 9 in circle you’ll want to roll about a 13 in circle.
• If the dough at any point is too soft to work with, rather than add more flour, place back in the fridge for 10-20 minutes until it is more workable.
• Transfer the tough to the tart pan by rolling over a rolling pin to pick it up. Then unroll it over the tart pan.
• Once placed over the pan, gently work the tough into the corners by lifting the dough with one hand, and pressing with the other. You want to press it until it is even all around. You can use extra bits of dough to reinforce parts that look sparse or thin, to make it even all around.
• Run a rolling pin or metal spatula over the top to remove any excess dough. Score inside of tart with a fork.
• Put the tart on a plate or small baking pan and freeze for 30 minutes.
• While in freezer, preheat oven to 375.
• Remove tart from freezer and place a large sheet of aluminum foil on the tart pan and fill with pie weights or beans. You want to make sure the foil is big enough to cover the edges so they don’t burn and you can easily remove the weights when the shell is still hot from the oven.
• Bake for 30 minutes, rotating 90 degrees at 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and very carefully remove the weight by taking the edges of foil and wrapping inward. Then lift up.
• Place back in the oven and baking 5 -10 more minutes, until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
• Once completely cooled, fill with with tart filling of choice.

*************************************************************************************************************

Pastry Cream

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean or tsp vanilla bean paste
• pinch of salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp butter optional

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a saucepan bring milk, vanilla, and salt to a simmer over medium heat.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch. It should be thick, creamy, and pale yellow.
• While whisking, slowly add ½ cup of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture to temper it. This insures that the eggs don’t overcook and curdle.
• Add the remaining milk mixture half a cup at a time, while continuously mixing. 
• Return to saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbling. If adding butter, add one tablespoon at a time and mix until fully incorporated before adding the next. Sometimes the butter separates a bit and makes the mixture greasy. If this happens, whisk continuously for a few minutes until it’s fully combined and cooled down a bit.  It should recombine and no longer be greasy. 
• Once everything if fully combined and slightly cooled, pour the mixture through a  strainer into another bowl. This will make for a very smooth pastry cream and ensure there is no cooked egg in the mixture. 
• Cover with plastic wrap, placing the wrap directly on top of the pastry cream so it doesn’t get a film on top.
• Then chill until ready to use, at least two hours or overnight.