[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

 I found an amazing blueberry muffin recipe online from allrecipes which needed only a few minor adjustments.  I added lemon peel and vanilla and replaced milk with buttermilk .  I also made 9 muffins with this batch.

This recipe also works great for cake.  I make it in a 9 inch square cake pan.

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

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Savory corn pudding

FOOD AND WINE magazine has a wonderful corn pudding recipe . I cut down on the butter; actually I just left it out.  And instead of 6 eggs, I used 4 because I wanted more corn flavor.  The corn is so sweet and tasty now…it’s the perfect time to try this recipe.  The cornmeal settles on the bottom so that it serves as a crust.  I loaded up with sweet Mayan onions. If you want a more elegant presentation try using muffin tins or individual pots as pictured above.  Another idea is to use a small cup as a cookie cutter and carved out single portions.  The picture below shows this single portion presentation using chervil as a garnish.

[recipe difficulty=”easy”] 

CORN FRITTERS:

Ingredients"

• Kernals from 2-3 ears of leftover corn (cooked or raw)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup corn meal
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4-1/2 cup water
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Mix everything together and let sit a few minutes.  Add more water if too thick.  It should have a thick pancake batter consistency.  
2. Heat a frying pan with some vegetable oil.  Fry a sample 1 tablespoon size fritter and taste for seasoning and adjust with more liquid if necessary.  You want to cook them hot and brown them on each side.  They should be nice and crispy.  Make them any size you like but I like them to be around 3 inches in diameter.
3. Serve for breakfast with maple syrup or as a side dish to your dinner.  These go well with a pork barbecue.

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[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

 MULTIGRAIN CEREAL WITH FRUIT  This is adapted from a recently acquired cookbook called, "The Healthy Slow Cooker".  It has plenty of health and cooking tips.  This adapted recipe is great and keeps for several days in the fridge, can be eaten cold or  is easily reheated in the microwave.

1/2 cup brown rice

1/2 cup millet

1/2 cup wheat berries

2 medium apples, peeled cored and cubed

1 cup apple juice or cider

3 cups water

Add together into crock pot (slow cooker), add salt to taste and cook on low for 6 hours or until cooked.  Add :

Chopped pitted dates,dried fruit, and/or  fresh fruit 

Sprinkle with wheat germ (optional)

and serve with maple syrup.(optional)

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We just cleared out a section of our attic and found old cooking magazines.  I have been making my way through Gourmet and  The Pleasures of Cooking magazines dating back to the 70s.  Some of the recipes are outdated,  and some are packed with so much cream, butter and sugar (usually together) that I pass right by them. But I've also found some great recipes and have slowly been trying them.

This,  for example,  is a recipe adapted from the May/June 1987 issue of The Pleasures of Cooking which was published by Cuisinart.  I used to love this magazine and now I remember why.  It has been out of print for many years but luckily I had the wherewithal to save them.  This recipe was originally called "Meal-In-A-Muffin" . It was shared by a reader named Catherine Ojalvo and had won a contest in her local town.  It is a perfect muffin:  healthy with the right combination of sweet, crunchy, spicy flavor and moist texture.  I adapted it just a little because I can't seem to ever follow a recipe exactly. Among other minor changes  I added some maple syrup and changed the white sugar to brown sugar.  I also sweetened it just a little which is quite unusual for me since I'm usually cutting down on overly sweet recipes.

Catherine explained that she keeps them in the freezer and pops them in the toaster oven for breakfast.  They last several days so I haven't had the chance to try this because we eat them up so quickly.

 [recipe difficulty=”easy”]

Carrot Apple Muffins
Makes about 12 muffins

Adapted from recipe published in The Pleasures of Cooking Volume IX  No 6 May/June 1987

 1 medium carrot (about 3 ounces) peeled

1 large apple (about 6 ounces) peeled, quartered and cored

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 TBS maple syrup

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (about 1  1/2  ounces)

1/3 cup yellow raisins

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts chopped in big pieces

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

3 TBS wheat germ (optional)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2  teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 tsp grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt or to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 375°
2.   Shred the carrot and apple with the medium shredding disc of a food processor and set aside in large bowl.
3.   To that bowl add:  raisins, coconut.
4.  Change the processor to a metal blade and process the nuts quickly if they need to be chopped into big pieces.  Do not over chop. Add them to the bowl with carrots, apples, raisins and coconut.
5. Process the oil, eggs, sugar, maple syrup and vanilla until blended.
6.   In a bowl, mix together the flours, wheat germ,  oats, baking powder, baking soda , spices and salt
7.  Add them to the food processor and mix in with a spoon and then pulse quickly until just blended.
8.   Add the contents of the bowl containing all the rest of the ingredients and mix by hand.  Do not over mix
9.   Divide the batter into 12 muffin cups that are placed in a muffin tin.
10.   Bake in preheated oven or 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 [/recipe]

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

 I found an amazing blueberry muffin recipe online from allrecipes which needed only a few minor adjustments.  I added lemon peel and vanilla and replaced milk with buttermilk .  I also made 9 muffins with this batch.

This recipe also works great for cake.  I make it in a 9 inch square cake pan.

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

Alsatian Tart, Ravine’s Wine Cellars

The pastry is a lazy girl’s version of Julia Child’s butter pastry recipe
 Crust:

1 and ¾ sticks unsalted butter, diced and frozen
2 cups flour
1 t salt
½ cup ice water (more if needed)

Mix flour & salt in a food processor, add frozen butter and pulse 3 times.  Add ice water and turn on processor for approx. 7 seconds or when dough comes together as a clump on the blade.  Remove and separate into 2 flat balls, working quickly so butter stays cold.  Refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling.

Work quickly when rolling out the pastry so the butter stays cold and then put it back into the fridge until you are ready to fill it.

Filling:

3 cups chopped sweet onion
½ pound bacon, diced* see note
2 eggs
½ cup cream
½ cup Swiss or gruyere cheese* see note
3 sprigs fresh thyme ( leaves only)
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onion until brown and sweet, season with s & p. and sauté bacon until crisp.  Let both cool and then sprinkle at the bottom of a tart pan.  Add grated cheese & thyme. Lastly, spoon on mixture of egg & cream seasoned with salt, pepper and thyme leaves.  Put into the oven immediately so the pastry stays cold until it hits the hot oven.  Bake at 450 degrees for appx. 20 mins.  It pairs nicely with Ravines Dry Riesling.  Lisa Hallgren, Ravines Wine CellarsCelia’s notes:

• I used 6 slices of apple smoked bacon which I first cooked in strips, drained on a paper towel, and then cut into pieces. 
• I used a fondue mix of gruyere and ementhaller which was already shredded.
• I used a 9 inch removable rim tart pan and added ¼ cup of 1/ & ½ and some extra cheese to adequately fill the tart. You will have extra dough.
• To make sure the bottom crust is cooked, place the pan on the bottom rack of the oven.
• This tart is good, reheated the next day also. 

CHECK OUT THE WORLD TOUR OF FOOD AND WINE EVENT A

ON THE KEUKA WINE TRAIL 

Keuka Lake wineries are hosting a special “World Tour of Food and Wine” event for two weekends.  Last weekend we enjoyed the first round of this event and it was a great success.  If you missed it, you can still enjoy the same tour on the weekend of April 19^th and 20^th.  Nine wineries participate in this event and many have exceptional views of Keuka Lake which is probably the most picturesque of the winery lakes. 

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