Lemon Rhubarb Cake with Honey-Lemon Glaze

Cake Ingredients
1 stick of butter
1¾ cups sugar
zest of one lemon + 1 teaspoon juice (I had tiny lemons so I used two)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2½ cups flour (+2 Tablespoons)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup buttermilk (or 3/4 c milk w 1 1/2 T lemon juice - mix and let set 5 min before using)
2 cups rhubarb, chopped small (a bit more is better)

Glaze Ingredients

3/4 c honey

3/4 c brown sugar

zest & juice of two lemons


Cake Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour bundt pan, making sure to get in every little space.
2. (If you are making your own buttermilk, get that going now.)
3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together 2½ cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Set Aside.
4. Dust rhubarb with 2 Tablespoons flour in a small bowl. Set aside.
5. In your mixer, cream together butter, sugar lemon zest and juice for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
6. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl and incorporating thoroughly after each. Fold in vanilla.
7. Slowly add flour mixture, rotating with buttermilk to batter, and mix to combine.
8. Fold in rhubarb.
9. Pour into prepared bundt pan.
10. Bake for approximately 1 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan, for 30 minutes.

Glaze Ingredients

1. Heat all glaze ingredients over medium low heat.
2. Blend well then spoon over cake to coat.

Gla

Quiche for a Crowd

Crust Ingredients
2 c whole wheat flour
2 1/2 c unbleached white flour
1 1/3 c unsalted butter (cold) cut into pieces
1 t sea salt
Ice water (optional mix 2-1 with ice cold Vodka)

Crust instructions
In a large bowl add flours and butter. Cut well with a pastry blender until large crumbs of butter remain.
Add a few table spoons of ice water and blend with a fork to forma small ball of dough. Remove to a floured surface and repeat. Gently knead together individual pieces to form a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
When ready to use, roll out on a floured surface.

Quiche Ingredients
7 extra large or eight large eggs
1 c heavy cream
1 c milk
3/4 lb washed and snapped Asparagus
1 lg onion finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
2 c shredded Swiss cheese
Sea salt
Ground black pepper

Quiche instructions
Butter or oil a 9x13 pan and line with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375° F.

Roll out crust and place in pan allowing 1 to 1 1/2" high rim.
Whisk together eggs, cream and milk. Pour I to crust.
Sprinkle in about 1/3 of the onions and garlic. Place in an alternating layer of about 1/2 of the Asparagus. Then more onion and garlic, then another layer of Asparagus.
Finish with the remaining onion and garlic.
Top with shredded cheese, a sprinkle of sea salt and ground pepper.
Bake for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Sunflower-Pumpkin Seed Wheat Bread

Ingredients
2 1/2 c milk (I used skim)
2 T instant yeast
1/2 c honey
6 T melted butter (unsalted)
5 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/4 c mixed raw sunflower & pumpkin seeds
1 t cinnamon
1 t sea salt
1 egg
3 T heavy cream

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or oil two 3x9 loaf pans.

1. Warm milk in a microwave. (It should be warm to the touch but not scalding.) Stir in yeast and honey and let sit for a few minutes until it starts to get foamy. Add slightly cooled but still liquid melted butter.
2. Heat a skillet on high and add the sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Stir and toast seeds unitl they just begin to brown slightly. Remove from heat and move seeds to a separate container.
3. In a mixer with the dough hook attached, add whole wheat flour, salt and cinnamon and mix well.
4. Add the milk & yeast mixture and mix until combined.
5. Add the toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds to the dough and knead with the dough hook until dough forms a ball around the hook.
6. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead a few strokes. Put some oil in the mixing bowl (the dough should have come out cleanly). Roll the dough into a ball, pulling the top surface smooth and tucking the dough underneath. Place in the bowl with the smooth side down to coat then flip over. Cover the bowl with plastic film and a towel and place in a warm place to rise.
7. When dough has doubled, roll out onto the floured surface again and cut into two equal parts. Set aside one and knead one half a few strokes, then form into a rectangle with its width about the length of one of your loaf pans. Roll the rectangle tightly and place seam side down into the loaf pan. Repeat with the second have of the dough into the second load pan.
8. Cover each  pan with plastic wrap and a towel and allow to rise just above the top of the pans.
9. Uncover the pans. With a sharp knife score each loaf either lengthwise or in 2" diagonal cuts about 1/4 - 3/8" deep.
10. Whisk the egg and heavy cream in a mug and paint the top surface of each loaf. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds (and optionally poppy seeds).
11. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-45 minutes. The loave should sound hollow when thumped.
12. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 1-2 hours.

A Non-Traditional Paella

Ingredients
2 medium onions, diced
12 strips of precooked bacon chopped
6-8 carrots, cleaned and cut on the bias in 1/4" thick pieces
16 oz precooked dark meat chicken, pulled apart
1 lb mixed rice (mine was a mix of long grain brown, Himalayan red rice, wild rice and brown basmati rice)
2 qt chicken stock (I keep it simmering on the stove)

1 t rosemary
1 t tarragon
1/2 t ground black pepper

Instructions

In a large skillet with a lid, saute bacon pieces for a few minutes. Add diced onion in a layer. Lightly salt to get the onions to sweat. When the onions start to clarify, add carrots in a layer over onions.

Add a cup or so of chicken stock.

Add a layer of rosemary, tarragon and black pepper

Allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Add dry rice in a layer.

Add chicken stock to just cover the rice layer, place lid on the pan and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid and add more chicken stock to again cover the rice. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.
Repeat this twice more (four 10 minute simmer cycles).

Add the remaining chicken stock, Lower the heat until it barely bubbles and let cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 15 minutes to finish absorbing liquid.

Mix in chicken and place into serving dish. Hold covered with foil in a 200 degree F oven as needed. Add stock if it begins to dry while holding.

Oat Sunflower Seed Pumpkin Seed Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients
2 1/2 c skim milk
2 T instant yeast
1/2 c honey
1 c rolled oats
6 T melted butter
5 1/2 c whole wheat flour, plus more if necessary
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1/2 c pumpkin seeds
1/2 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1 egg
Extra oats, sunflower seeds and poppy seeds, for sprinkling on top

Instructions

1. Warm milk in a glass bowl in microwave 30 sec at a time until milk is warm (about 115 degrees F). Stir in yeast and honey. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes until yeast begins to foam. Next, stir in melted butter (or oil). Let sit 5 more minutes.

2. Add in whole wheat flour, oats, pumpkin seeds, dunglour seeds, salt and cinnamon to a mixer with a dough hook. Mix with a dough hook until a blended. Add the milk mixture and start kneading with the dough hook until dough is uniform and forms a ball on the hook and pulls everything up from the bowl. Roll out onto a floured surface and knead by hand a few strokes. Form dough into a ball and place in a large, oil-or butter greased bowl, turning the dough over to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and allow the dough to rise for a little over an hour, or until doubled in size.

3.Lightly butter or grease two 8x4 inch loaf pans. After dough has risen, knead it just a few more times (about 1 min) then split evenly in half and shape each half into a loaf and place in prepared pans, tucking the ends in. Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and a towel and allow it to rise again for another hour, or until the loaf has risen to the brim of the pan.

4. Once dough has risen again, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove yowel and plastic. Cut a single 1/2-3/8" deep cut with a sharp knife down the top center of the loaf. Beat egg (optionally with a bit of milk or cream) in small bowl and brush over the top of the dough. (Please note that you won't need to use all of the egg wash, but only a small amount.) Sprinkle a few sunflower seeds then poppy seeds on top of the dough. 

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until loaf is golden brown on top and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom of the pan. If the top starts browning too much, cover with a foil tent. 

6. Once the bread is baked -- sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove bread from pan and place on wire rack to finish cooling for at least 2 hours. Bread should be wrapped tightly and store at room temperature.

Based on recipe found at  Ambitious Kitchen.

Monster Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wet Ingredients 1 lb (4 sticks) unsalted butter (room temp)
1 1/2 c light brown sugar
1 1/2 c dark brown sugar
2 T vanilla
4 lg eggs

Dry Ingredients 4 1/3 c flour
2 t baking soda
2 t salt
4 c chocolate chips

Directions

Cover at least two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.

Preheat oven to 375°

In stand mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix in well.

In a separate bowl, whisk dry ingredients.

Mix dry ingredients into butter/sugar one cup at a time.

Then slowly mix in chocolate chips.

Refrigerate dough for thirty minutes.

Scoop out golf ball sized (or a bit larger) portions placed evenly six to a sheet. Place one sheet in the oven and bake for 9 minutes 45 seconds. Remove immediately and allow to cool for five minutes for cookies to set. Then remove to cooling racks.

Allow sheet to cool before adding more raw dough to bake.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

Ingredients
Cheese cake filling
2 lb cream cheese
1 c sugar
1T cornstarch
1/8 t salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2T cocoa powder
3T red food coloring
Crust

White Chocolate Ganache

4 T butter

1/2 c heavy cream

11 oz bag of White Chocolate chips

2 + 2 c divided Red Velvet Shortbread cookie crumbs (recipe for cookies HERE)
5 T butter (melted) + butter to grease pan

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F
Butter a 10" spring form pan. Wrap pan in foil to seal out water bath (foil must come all the way up on all sides. (Add a circle of parchment paper to the bottom of the pan to make serving easier.)

You will need a roasting pan large enough to hold the spring form pan and a cooling rack or meat rack that can keep the spring form pan off the bottom.

In another container boil enough water for the water bath to fill up to 1" below the edge of your springform pan when it's in the roaster pan. (For me that was about 3 quarts.)

(make a recipe of Red Velvet Shortbread cookies without white chocolate shown in the linked recipe, ground into even crumbs in a food processor.)

Blend 2 cups of Red Velvet Shortbread crumbs and melted butter. Pour crumbs into the pan. Press evenly into the bottom of the pan. Use a glass to press them down firmly. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Cool completely.

Cream together cream cheese, sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Scrape down mixing bowl and beater. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and sour cream and mix well. Scrape down bowl and beater again, restart mixer and add eggs one at a time mixing thoroughly between.

Scoop about four cups of batter into the pan. Spread evenly levelling completely. 

Add the cocoa and red food coloring to the remaining batter. Mix thoroughly. Add more food color if batter is too pale. Once mixed, gently scoop red batter into the top of the white batter. Level completely.

Place springform pan in the larger pan and on the cooling rack. Add enough boiling water until the water is 1" below the edge of the springform pan.
Bake in the oven for 55 minutes. Turn off the oven but leave the pan there to cool for an hour with the door blocked open.

Once cool, remove onto a cooling rack. Runs a thin knife around the edge. 

After the cake is completely cool to the touch, remove the spring form rim. Plate and refrigerate for at least four hours or up to three days.

After the cake has been refrigerated at least 4 hours (more if possible) prepare White Chocolate Ganache icing to finish the cheesecake. Put butter and cream in a high-sided glass mixing bowl (suitable for whisking it). Heat in microwave for 2 minutes or until the butter has melted. Add the White Chocolate chips and let sit until the chips begin melting. Whisk until melted and blended, then place in the refrigerator to cool for about 20-30 minutes. Check occasionally. When cooled (you feel no remaining warmth from the melting) whisk briskly by hand or mixer until light and spreadable.

I put the cheesecake on a decorators turntable and then started adding icing to the top first. Using an offset spatula, smooth frosting from the center outward to get an even thin layer. Then begin adding icing to the outside edge of the cake. This will be a rougher surface, so more icing will be required. Once the entire cake is covered. Gently press small hand fulls of Red Velvet Shortbread cookie crumbs onto the outside edge of the cake. When done, refrigerate.

When ready to serve, dip a smooth (non-serrated) knife in hot water and make one cut downward (the icing may be firm - the warm knife will melt through.) Remove the knife gently, wipe again with warm water and make each successive cut. If you used parchment on the bottom, you should be able to get a spatula under the edge of the cake and lift out each piece to serve.