marble pound cake

I came across a recipe for marble pound cake.  It had been modified from Martha Stewart recipe.  Then I modified it to be a smaller cake, a bit more chocolately, and gluten free.  Actually, marble pound cake is one of the few things I like from Starbuck's.  I have been thinking for years that I wanted to try a recipe.  I decided that it was time.  So I went there.

This was actually quite good.  Better then Starbuck's.  

marble pound cake

Note:  To use wheat flour, use 100 grams all purpose flour.

100 grams almond flour

50 grams rice flour

50 grams arrowroot flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

8 ounce (1/2 cup) butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

30 grams cocoa 

2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Butter a small loaf pan.

Cream the butter and sugar together.  Mix in the eggs, vanilla, and salt.  Mix in the gluten free flour.  Pour half the batter into the loaf pan.

Mix the cocoa and water together.  Make sure there are no lumps.  Mix into the batter not in the pan.  Pour the rest of the batter into the loaf pan.  Draw a knife through to marble the batter.

Bake 1 hour or until a knife inserted in to it comes out clean.

These little pieces are lovely with a cup of tea.

sourdough pancakes (2)

Trying to get breakfast one the table for six people, who all like very different things, can be interesting.  I was also trying to get enough food in bellys so work could be done and people would stay warm.  In Houston, it is in the 90's and 100's.  On the land, we were lucky to have have weather in the high 60's.  And one day it was very wet on top of being in the 50's.  Fuel was a neccesity.  

The short people seemed to like the bread based breakfasts better.  The first time I made this pancake recipe, there was a quiet discussion of what would happen with the rest of the batter.  The thought was voiced that we would have pancakes the next day.  I actually made bread.  You can do that with leftover sourdough batter.  So we had these again that week and we had them again on Sunday.  We were missing on Sunday but it still worked.  

I have a very similar recipe here but changing the mixing order and using more time really develops the flavor.  The time really makes a huge difference.

sourdough pancakes

Note:  Leftover batter can be made into bread by adding enough flour to make a kneadable dough.  Follow as you would for a basic bread.  If you want cakier pancakes, add 1/2 teaspooon baking soda with the eggs but make sure there is space in your bowl for much expansion.

sourdough starter

3/4 cup water

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

1/2 cup melted butter or olive oil

2 to 4 tablespoons of sugar (to taste)

1/2 teaspoon salt (again, adjust this to taste)

1 cup flour

2 eggs

24 hours before you plan to eat, mix the starter, 3/4 cup water, and 1 cup flour in a large bowl.  Mix and cover for at least 8 hours.

About 12 hours before you plan to make the pancakes, remove a couple tablespoons of starter for the next time.  Add the milk, butter, sugar, salt, and flour to the starter.  Mix well.  Cover and let sit over night.

The next morning, heat a griddle or a large skillet.  Lightly butter or oil.  Let that heat.  Mix in the eggs (and optional baking soda) into the batter.  Drop by large spoonfulls on the pan.  Bake one side until the bubbles pop and the top is dryish.  Flip, and bake the other side for a few more minutes.  You wish golden on each side.

These really have become a standard. 

sourdough rye bread

My Beloved likes Reuben's, the sandwich.  We really have not found a rye bread he likes.  I keep trying different recipes.  This ones seems to be the best.  We both really like how it turned out.  The two bits that made a big difference is a very soft dough (almost a batter) and lots of time.

We now just have to get the makings since we have bread for it!

sourdough rye bread

Note:  I used a wheat sourdough because it was what I had but if you had a rye sourdough starter would be lovely.

sourdough starter

3/4 cup water

1 cup flour (rye if you have it :)  )

20 grams salt

50 grams barely malt syrup

350 grams dark malt beer (I used a pumpkin stout because that is what we had)

450 grams water

800 grams rye flour

The night before, mix the starter, 3/4 cup water, and 1 cup flour.  Cover and let it sit overnight.

The next morning, remove a bit of sourdough for the next time

Mix everything else into the rest of the starter.  Mix hard until very smooth.

Butter two loaf pans (because I did not have the right 1 gallon rye pan).  Split the batter between the pans.  Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.  I actually did 36 hours.

Remove from the frig and let rise at room temperature until the batter reaches the top of the pan.  I actually deflated the batter a bit by removing the cling wrap.  I would have let it sit a bit longer but I just did not have the time.

When the batter reaches the top fo the pan, preheat the oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit.  Put the loaf pans in the center of the oven and let bake for 2 1/2 hours (yes, really).

Lovely sourdough rye.  It is even almost sour enough for my Beloved.  A slower rise would get it there.

My Beloved cannot wait to make Reuben's!

savory cobbler

My Beloved asked for a biscuit crusted shepherd's pie after we tried a pot pie from our butcher shop around the corner.  The butcher shop likes to do things in an artisan type fashion and is actually more of a small grocery.  They also serve food but I have to admit that I usually go into it to by meat, milk, and a vegetable I do not have.

I thought about what my Beloved asked for and this is what I came up with.  A savory cobbler.  I used half the recipe for my sourdough biscuits.  I used the meat base of my h pie, but I used a whole container of the Grateful Breads tart cherry mustard in it.  I also used the Salish alder wood smoked salt that Whole Food carries.  Pretty darn tasty.

savory beef cobbler

1/2 recipe sourdough biscuits

meat base from shepherd's pie recipe, you can make the changes I wrote about above if you wish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make the meat mixture according to the recipe in a shallow oven proof pan.  

Pat out the biscuit dough to to fit the top of the pan.  Cover the meat mixture.  

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden.

Pretty darn tasty!  The only negative about it is that you need to be a bit more careful about reheating or the biscuit will burn.  

greek seasoning mix

I was talking about fajita with one of the men at work recently.  He said that he was given a restaurant recipe of a Greek Seasoning mix and limes for fajitas.  I decided that sounded interesting so I tried it.  One of the reasons I tried it is that I like my other fajita recipe but I would not mind something faster and I just trying new things.  This is not bad for fast fajitas.  Next time, I will probably add a bit more heat.  But then I like a little heat in my fajitas.

greek seasoning mix

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon thyme

Blend in a spice mill or with a mortar and pestle until well combined.

I used this sprinkled over sliced beef with the juice of a couple limes sprinkled over.  If I had not wanted so fast, I would have added some onion and garlic to the pan as well.  I served this meat over salad which made a really fast dinner, less then 10 minutes.