Apricot Coconut Bars

There's something I've never told you.
I have an illness when it comes to baking; a condition, really.

This condition makes me eat screaming hot baked goods right from the oven.

I just can't make myself wait until anything has cooled to a reasonable temperature before stuffing it in my face.

I'm forced to hear the sizzling of saliva as my tongue touches outrageously hot stuff.
I'm made to bounce hot bits around my mouth until my tongue is burnt and numb and I can finally swallow.
This is a serious thing I'm suffering with.

I can hear you.
You don't think this is serious.

Well. Ok then.

Maybe it's not really a condition.

Maybe it's just a lack of self control.

Maybe.

Regardless, my condition was at an all time high when I made this bar and now I can't really tell you how it tastes because all the taste buds have been burnt off my tongue.
It did have a nice texture though. 

Crunchy coconut, buttery soft crust, chewy apricots.

I'll let you know how it tastes once my taste buds grow back. Until then, you'll have to try it out and let me know if it's a keeper.

Apricot Coconut Bars

Makes: 36 bars

Source: 2007 Canadian Living 'Holiday Celebrations'  Magazine

For the base:

¾ cup softened butter

½ cup brown sugar

¼ tsp salt

2 cups all purpose flour

½ cup shredded sweetened coconut

For the filling:

2 cups apricots, minced (I put mine in the food processor)

¼ cup orange juice

2 eggs

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp coconut extract

For the topping:

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1 tbsp icing sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 9'' x 13'' cake pan. To prepare the base, beat together butter, sugar and salt until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour and coconut. Press into prepared baking pan.

2. Bake on centre rack until light golden, about 18 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring apricots, ½ cup of water and orange juice to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer until tender and no liquid remains, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.

4. Stir in eggs, sugar, lemon juice and coconut extract; spread over base. Sprinkle with the coconut (1 cup).

5. Bake in centre of the oven (at 325°F) until light golden, about 30 minutes (I only cooked mine for 25 minutes.) Let cool completely and slice into bars. Dust with icing.

Flour Tortillas

I just want to lay on my couch all afternoon eating cheese quesadillas and watching Desperate Housewives rereuns. Is that too much to ask?

Oh, and I want my quesadillas made with these flour tortillas, please. Thanks.

They're soooo much better than store bought ones. More work for sure but again, soooo much better. I just can't emphasize so enough.

These and cheese (hey! that rhymes) are my comfort food.

So if anyone needs me, you know where I'll be.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Makes: about 16

Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

½ cup + 2 tbsps lard or vegetable shortening

1 cup very hot water

Directions:

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large wooden bowl. Stir together.

2. Add spoonfuls of lard or shortening (use 1/2 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons), then use a pastry cutter to combine the ingredients. Cut mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Slowly pour in hot water, stirring to bring mixture together. Lightly knead dough 30 to 40 times, or until it becomes a cohesive ball of dough and is less sticky. Cover with a tea towel and allow dough to rest for at least an hour.

4. Roll into ping pong size balls, place on a tray, cover with a tea towel, and allow to rest for another 20 to 30 minutes.

5. When you’re ready to make the tortillas, heat a dark or cast iron griddle to medium/medium-high heat. One by one, roll out balls of dough until very, very thin. Throw tortillas (one by one) onto the griddle. Cook on each side for 20 to 30 seconds, removing while tortillas are still soft but slightly brown in spots. Remove and stack tortillas, and cover with a towel to keep warm. Serve immediately or allow to cool before storing tortillas in a container. To warm, nuke tortillas in the microwave, or wrap in foil and warm in the oven.

Helpful tips:

* Make sure the water you pour in is very warm.
* Allow the dough to rest, both after kneading and after forming into balls.
* Roll out very thin.
* Get the heat right on your stove: Too hot, and the tortilla will burn in spots. Not hot enough, and the tortilla will begin to crisp before you can get it to brown. I get my stove between medium and medium high heat; that seems to do the trick.
* Use a dark griddle or cast iron skillet to brown the tortillas.
* Cook just long enough to lightly brown the tortilla in spots; don’t cook too long or tortillas will crisp. You want them to be soft and pliable when you serve them.
* Finally: Have fun! And enjoy them. They’re absolutely scrumptious.

Peppered Mixed Nuts with lemon & capers

Christmas munchies.
New Years munchies.
Movie munchies.
That's what these are.

You start off with some capers which you fry up to make 'em crispy.

Then you head over to your unsalted nuts (trust me, there's plenty o' salt in the capers) and you roast them with some good stuff like pepper and lemon juice to make 'em crunchy.

Then you toss it all together with some lemon zest to make 'em zesty.

Crispy. Crunchy. Zesty. Enough said.

Peppered Mixed Nuts (w/ lemon & capers)

Makes about 9 cups

Source: 2006 'Martha Stewart Holiday' Special Issue

3 cups capers, drained and rinsed

1 quart canola oil

6 cups mixed nuts, unsalted

2 tbsps fresh lemon juice

2 tsps freshly ground pepper

2 tbsps finely grated lemon zest

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place capers on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Let dry completely, about 1 hour.

2. Heat oil in a large saucepan until it registers 350°F on a deep fry thermometer. Carefully add ¼ cup capers and fry, stirring until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the capers to another paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Adjust heat as necessary to maintain oil temperature, continue cooking capers in ¼cup batches until all capers have been fried. Reserve 2 tbsps of oil and discard the rest.

3. In a bowl, toss nuts with reserved oil, lemon juice and pepper. Spread nuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in oven, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon zest; toss with fried capers. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Eggnog Fudge

Every year I'm super excited when I see the first cartons of eggnog in the grocery store. It means Christmas is just around the corner.
Of course every year I have to buy a carton and every year I don't drink it.

I want to. I do.
But I just don't love milky drinks. I always think I'm going to love it because it's Christmasy and I love all things Christmas but without fail I get stuck with a bunch of eggnog about to expire.

In past years I've made an eggnog chocolate chip tea loaf to appease my annual impulse buy. But c'mon, who really wants to eat tea loaf at Christmas when there's a billion of other decadent choices around? Not me.

So this year I amped it up and made fudge instead.

This fudge stands up to any other goodie on the Christmas platter. I believe I texted my sister to say, "This fudge is AMAZING".

It's creamy, it's smooth, it tastes of vanilla and nutmeg and it's not going to last long around my house.
(The baby will probably eat it all ;)

I might go out and by myself another carton of eggnog just so that I have to use it up again.

Eggnog Fudge

Makes: 64 pieces

Adapted from: ''Christmas'' by Elizabeth Baird and Anna Hobbs

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup eggnog

1 tbsp light corn syrup

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large, heavy saucepan, add sugar, corn syrup and eggnog. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until boiling.

2. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush down any crystals that may form on the side of the pan. Continue to cook, stirring only if necessary to prevent sticking, until a candy thermometer reaches soft ball stage of 238°F (115°C).

3. Immediately remove from heat, let cool to 110°F (43°C), without stirring.

4. Use a wooden spoon or whisk to beat in the butter and vanilla, beat until mixture is very thick and no longer shiny. Stir in nuts if using.

5. Spread into a greased 8-inch square cake pan. Score in 1-inch square pieces while still warm. Once completely cool, cut into squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Spiced Vanilla Pear Butter

You see how in the picture above the spoon has a heavenly like shine?

That's for real.

That's how good this stuff is.

A sweet senior lady from our church gave my a few boxes of pears earlier in the fall and this angelic spread was a (successful!) attempt to use up the last of those pears.

This was really easy to make. I made a few mistakes (mostly due to laziness) but I think it only enhanced the overall product.

Mistakes like: I didn't peel the pears. 

I know I should've but 7lbs of pears?!? That's a lot of peeling and sometimes I can barely find a sane moment to brush my teeth let alone do unnecessary peeling. Plus who wants to see all those peels go to waste?

 Not me.

So instead I puréed twice, once after the pears were cooked (as instructed) and then again after the spices where added and it had been cooked for about an hour. All this puréeing made it as smooth as.... you guessed it.... BUTTA!

My other hiccup in this pear butter making process happened when I left the stuff unattended for about an hour and surprise, surprise, the bottom started to burn.

Fortunately,

I caught it just in time and something beautiful happened. 

Hot sugar got hotter and became caramel. 

That's when it was elevated to food for the angels.

(So I guess this is caramelized pear butter - but good luck if I can ever do that again.)

Try this out for the holidays.

It's fantastic on toast, pancakes, stirred into oatmeal and great with cheese.

There's just something divine about it.

Spiced Vanilla Pear Butter
Makes: 8 x 8oz jar or 4 pints
Adapted from: GoodLife Eats

7lbs pears (cored and peeled if you want)
½ cup water
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups granulated sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cardamon
¾ tsp nutmeg
juice of 1 orange

Directions:

1. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine the pears, water, lemon zest and juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently, occasionally stirring, for 20 minutes.

2. Working in batches, transfer mixture to a food processor fitted with a metal blade and puree just until a uniform texture is achieved. Do not liquefy. Measure 8 cups of pear puree (I used the excess as Pearsauce).

3. In a clean large stainless steel saucepan, combine pear puree, sugar, orange juice, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens and holds it shape to a spoon and liquid does not separate. ( I cooked it on low heat for about 2.5 hours.)

3. Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars and lids: Wash and rinse the jars in hot soapy water. Drain the jars well of any excess water. Set the screw bands aside - they don't require sterilizing. Place the lids - the flat round portion of the two-piece closures - in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer. Don't boil. Keep lids hot until you're ready to use them.

4. Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head-space. Remove air bubbles and adjust head-space, if needed, by adding more butter. Wipe rim. Center the lid on jar and screw band down until resistance is med, then increase to fingertip tight.

5.Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

Chili-Lime Marinade

Dinner at my house is usually dictated by what's dying in the fridge and needs to be used up.

The other night it was a lime facing a lonely death in the vegetable crisper.

A dried out old lime.
Doesn't that sound appetizing.

Nonetheless, I subscribe to 'waste not want not' so the dry lime had to be used. 

I had been thinking about doing a citrus rosemary marinated chicken but since I didn't have any rosemary: no go.

Fortunately, the internet is a vast resource for lime recipes so it was easy to find an alternate solution.

This chili lime marinade was excellent. I doubled the recipe to get enough for my chicken and I'm glad I did.
More marinade = More Flavour. Simple.

Next time I might try it on roasted veggie kebobs. Of course, I'll have to wait until another lime dries up in the fridge.

Chili Lime Marinade
Makes about ¼ cup
Adapted from: All Recipes

3 tbsps olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 lime, juice and zest
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp paprika (smoked if you have it)
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
cayenne pepper to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, vinegar and lime juice. Add zest, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth.
2. Marinade veggies, chicken or tofu for at least 1 hour. (Longer if possible.)