Oranged Iced Banana Bars

Having friends over to dinner so I had to do a dessert without having to make the five mile trek to Kroger's.  I still had oranges left, from the box of oranges my brother sent me and some bananas that were perfect for baking but not eating ala natural.  I was paging through  Judith M Fertig"s book, All American Dessert , and found the two produced sitting hand and hand on page 82.  So here is another recipe adapted from her book.  Make a standard banana cake, (hers or yours) . when done baking, turn off the oven, take the banana cake out, cover with mini marshmallows, put back in the oven for ten minutes, take out let cool.  Mix zest and juice from one orange, a cup of confectioner's sugar(sifted) and  two tablespoons of melted butter.  Whip it with a whisk or use a mixer to make a smooth glaze and to incorporate the sugar .  Pour over the cooled cake.  Enjoy!!

Just took a small piece from the corner. MMM ...M tastes tropical!  The marshmallows are still gooey and the other flavors are distinct but still blend well together.  If you like the marshmallow topping, I am sure it will go well with any cake you would make with a complementary glaze.

For some reason the turkey tenderloins are still not done and the guest are making the cake an appetizer.  Guess it is a hit!  Simple but good.

Coffee Glazed Spice Bars

Chili outside, Chili in the slow cooker.  Dessert is fresh out of  the oven and cornbread is waiting to be made. 

When I was a kid, my mom would buy a spice loaf cake with white frosting from the A&P store. It was my brother's favorite store bought cake.  Coincidentally, spice cake is one of my hubby's, too. So I found a recipe titled, Coffee glazed Bars. The recipe called for raisins, but having a family not found of raisins I used Sultanas.  It is like using dried plums instead of prunes.

The book that I used was Judith M. Fertig's, All American Desserts  It is full of wonderful down to earth recipes.  Recipes that you wonder how did they use make that. ( My grandmother use to make George Washington Pudding from the sour cherry tree that grew in our backyard.  Wish I had that one.)  The recipes are all accompanied by a blurb about the recipe.  She covers a wide selection:
preserves and desserts, cookies, cakes, puddings, custard, flans, ice cream, candy syrups,and beverages.  Definitely a book to add to your collection. Go here to get the book. You won't be disappointed!!

Here is my adapted recipe for Coffee Glazed Bars. 375 degrees for 20 minutes


Bars:
1 cup sultanas                                                       1 teaspoon cinnamon
a cup water                                                           1 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup canola oil                                                 1 teaspoon ground cloves                                         
1 beaten egg                                                          1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Coffee glaze:
!/4 cup warm water
1 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
2 cups powder sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven 375.  Spray a 9x13 pan.
Put sultanas in a pan with water.  Bring to a boil, remove, let sit until luke warm.  Put into s medium sized mixing bowl.  Add egg, incorporate and add beaten egg. Sift the rest of the ingredients except almond in a separate bowl.  Add almonds to dry ingredients then stir into sultana mixture.  Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick comes out clean (about twenty minutes)

Make glaze.  Dissolve espresso powder in water, add almond extract and sift powder sugar into mixture. Beat with an electric beater. 

 

Sorry but the cake was attacked before I could get a picture.  It is very good.  Not like the A&P cake in texture but its taste is reminiscent of that by gone cake.  I will look for another but I am happy with this recipe.  I am going to put the spices in a sandwich bag and when I go to Florida to visit my brother, I can make it for him.  I hope security at the airport does not mistake it for drugs!!

Bread today and bread tomorow

Today was bread day.  I have sourdough starter that needs attention to stay alive and healthy.  One of my cultures got shoved to the back of the refrigerator so it needed extra love and revitalization.
So for two days it has kept me company on the counter and to reward it for good behavior, I used it to make some bread.  I had an open bag of King Arthur Flour and some inexpensive flour.  So I decided to test if the cheap flour could perform as well as the more expensive flour.  The results were not as big as I thought they would be.  The KA flour loaves were bigger and the taste tester like the flavor better.  The other flour loaves were a bit smaller and were tasty but not as good as the KA loaves.

Remember you can always make dessert out of bread!!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Have to say the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup wassoooooooooooo goooooood!  I had blue Hubbard squash soup a very long time ago when we went to Frankenmuth, MI .  I then grew blue Hubbard squash so I too may make that soup.  However, the squash grew but the soup never materialized.   Definitely will make this again.  We ate it for lunch and we ate it again for dinner. I looked at several recipes and decided to make the recipe that was in the Cook's Illustrated 2010 Winter edition of Soups and Stews.  It really is a great issue and is on Amazon get it here.

Sorry this was not up last night but there was a problem with my blog site but we are up and running.  There is now no soup left to eat.  Steve ate it for lunch and then asked me to make more.  Sorry this was bread day.




The main difference between this and most squash soup is that it the squash (3lbs.approximately) and an onion are cut up into large cubes, tossed with vegetable oil and roasted at 400 degree oven until golden.  Add a 1/2 can of chicken broth ,stir the vegetables, and cook another 5 minute.  Put the other half of  the can of broth in the blender and puree the vegetables.  Do this in two batches (you will need three cans of chicken broth, total) So open another can of chicken broth and finish pureeing the vegetables.  Put the broth and the vegetables in a medium pot.  Add a splash of apple cider vinegar and maple syrup, and 1/2 cup of fat free half and half, and a pinch of nutmeg.
Stir and enjoy.  Do not add half and half until just about to serve.  The dribbles in the soup was an attempt to embellish it.

Remember to eat dessert not desert.!