Hot Cross Buns

     Today, on Easter Sunday, we've heard many traditions explained and celebrated. Symbols of Easter that remind us of our Christian faith include the Holy Cross, decorated eggs, Easter lilies, lambs, and Hot Cross Buns. Our family usually enjoys an Easter dinner of ham, cheesy potatoes, asparagus, and deviled eggs. Today our pre-church snack was Hot Cross Buns.
     Traditionally, Hot Cross Buns are made with currents or raisins and marked with a cross slit into the top and piped icing forming a cross on top. The buns were eaten during Lent and especially on Good Friday. This recipe for Hot Cross Buns would also work anytime for a sweet, spicy and fruity bread. Thanks to Fleischmann's Breadworld for the great recipe for any brunch celebration.

HOT CROSS BUNS    

 Ingredients: 

3 ¼ - 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 envelope RapidRise yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup milk

¼ cup water

¼ cup butter or margarine

2 eggs

½ cup dried currants or raisins

1 egg white. lightly beaten

Glaze:

Your favorite icing/glaze or –

¾ cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2-3 teaspoons milk

To make dough: Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, salt, lemon peel and nutmeg in a large mixer bowl. Heat milk, water and butter until very warm (120-130 degrees); stir into flour mixture. Stir in eggs, currents, and enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces; form each into a ball. Place (2 inches apart) on greased large baking sheet. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 35-50 minutes. With sharp knife, cut a shallow cross in the top of each bun. Brush egg white over tops. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until done. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack. Drizzle with icing in shape of cross.

 

The dough kneaded well even though
it was soft......

and a bit sticky for my helper's hands!

The balls of dough rose to a larger bun than I thought they would!
Here you can see the crosses cut into the dough. 

Baked, ready for icing. 

My notes:

I used a dough whisk to mix the dough before kneading.

We like craisins instead of raisins or currents.

Next time, I’ll make more than 12 balls, the buns were large!

fun tools to have - a dough whisk and a lame (dough knife for
slashing dough - basically a razor with a handle)

If Variety is the Spice of life....

The quote is "Variety is the very spice of life, That gives it all it's flavor". So does that mean a variety of spices (and herbs) are the flavor of our cooking? Of course! And I was delighted when a good friend gifted to me two packages of Penzeys spice samplers. New flavors! New variety!

So far our favorite is Berbere. It is described as awesomely hot and spicy North African-style hot pepper blend. No salt, no mild paprika, just a lot of Cayenne Red Pepper with the rich flavors of fenugreek and cardamon. Garlic, ginger, cumin, black pepper, allspice, turmeric, cloves, ceylon cinnamon and coriander are also mixed into the ingredients. It is suggested to use as a dry rub or mixed with ground beef. It is now taking the place of the steak seasoning we usually use. It can also be mixed with tomato sauce to make a spicy barbecue sauce.

Vegetables can be enhanced with different seasonings also. The sweet potatoes served with the steaks were seasoned with Tsardust Memories seasoning. It gives a sweet-spicy taste to hearty soups, quick cooked meats and vegetables. It is a mixture of salt, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg and marjoram. 

Another seasoning I tried and liked was Krakow Nights, a Polish style seasoning that adds depth to quick cooked meats. It is especially good with pork and we used it with sausages. It's mixture of ingredients is salt, black and white pepper, sugar, coriander, garlic, mustard, marjoram, mace and savory. Here's the recipe for a Wiener-Kraut we liked with Krakow Nights seasoning. (sorry, no photo) This makes a good comfort food on a cool day, I'll make it again this fall. 

Wiener-Kraut

Ingredients:

1 T. butter of vegetable oil

4 Polish or german-style sausages (about 2 pounds), sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 onion, cut in half and sliced

2 T. white wine vinegar

2 cups chopped apples (a tart apple like Granny Smith works well)

1 cup chopped red or green bell pepper

4 cups shredded cabbage

1 T. Krakow Nights

1/2 cup apple juice

Directions:

In a large deep skillet, melt the butter or heat the oil over medium-high heat Add sausage slices and brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Add onion and cook until tender, 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Add vinegar to deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Add apples, bell peppers, cabbage, Krakow nights and apple juice. Reduce heat and cook about 10 minutes until the cabbage is tender but too mushy. Good served with noodles or mashed potatoes. 

Seasonings, such as these mixtures of herbs and spices, are best stored in a cool, dark place. Not over the stove! When adding them, measure into a small prep bowl and bring to the skillet or pan so the entire jar is not exposed to heat and moisture from the range. 

Herbs and spices have been used as food seasonings for centuries. Much of the early trade between Europe and the Middle East was for spices, the beginning of international trade for many goods. Today herbs and spices are readily available and affordable. Using these seasonings can also help us cook in a healthier way by reducing fat, sugar, and salt. 

So, my challenge to you, and my resolution to myself - try new flavors of seasonings! Variety is the spice of life and spice is a good variety for flavor. 

I Don't Need Another Kitchen Gadget, But.....

My kitchen drawers are full. Some utensils and kitchen tools are stored in other rooms. I have an orange peeler, a melon baller, spatulas of every size, many thermometers, sifters, and whisks abundant. But at a recent club meeting the program was members sharing "Handy, Dandy, Household - What Can't You Live Without". And after that I bought a pineapple corer.

Here's what the gadget looks like going into the pineapple.








And by itself, it is a clear tube attached to a yellow handle. Gripping the handle allows you to twist the peeler. Seriated edges of the bottom of the tube core the pineapple while a similar knife edge cuts spiral slices and cuts the pineapple away from the outside.

We will now be enjoying fresh pineapple much more frequently! I had always found pineapple hard to peel and core, a daunting task even for the enjoyment of fresh pineapple.
Pineapple is grown in Hawaii or South America, it requires a tropical climate. There are many nutrients in Pineapple, such as vitamin C, manganese, copper and folate. Pineapples are also the only source of the plant compound bromeliad which is associated with many health benefits, such as enhanced immune function, cancer prevention, improved wound healing and better gut health.

With the pineapple that was left after we snacked on it immediately after slicing and peeling it, I made a fruit salad. A Sunshine Salad recipe was the inspiration for the preparation, but I made several changes:

SUNNY PINEAPPLE SALAD

1 pineapple  (cored, sliced and cut into tidbits)
2 bananas (peeled, sliced)
2 kiwi fruits (peeled, halved, sliced)
1/2 package instant lemon pudding mix
        Simply mix the ingredients and chill.
The original recipe included Mandarin oranges (instead of kiwi) and a whole package of pudding mix. I think 1/2 package is enough and allows the flavors of the fruit to come out.

Fruit mixed together with pudding mix

We added yogurt to the top when serving the salad as dessert.

Wheat Buns for Ag Day

National Ag Day is today (March 21) part of a week-long celebration to raise awareness of where our food comes from and appreciation for the ranchers and farmers who produce it. Yesterday was also the first day of spring. What a perfect day to make homemade hamburger buns and sloppy joes, using two of our Kansas agriculture products that our farm/ranch produces.

Kansas is a leader in the production of wheat, grain sorghum, and beef. Our farm is involved in all three. Beef is our primary product and one we take pride in. Beef from our ranch goes through many hands before it gets to the supermarket. From our cow-calf operation, the calves go to a finishing feedlot, then to a packer, and on to a wholesaler before being presented to the consumer as steaks, roasts and hamburgers. The beef we eat at home has a more direct route, it never leaves the ranch until it goes to the locker plant. We enjoy the high quality protein that our beef provides for tasty and nutritious meals. We also produce wheat, some of which is fed to cattle in a ground feed mixture; but most of the wheat is sold by the semi-truck load to be processed and milled for the flour we buy at the grocery store.
Greenwood County is a large county, comprised of 1152 square miles. Of that area, 95% is agriculture land; 80% of which is pasture. There are over 500 farms and ranches in our county, with many more cattle than people. We love our Flint Hills and wide open spaces!

The hamburger buns were quick to put together in a food processor and we could make any size. With my pint-sized helper we made a smaller one for her. The recipe is from the Kansas Wheat Commission. The sloppy joe recipe is featured in the Kansas Day column from earlier this year, at the right.

Lunch on the deck - a perfect First Day of Spring.
Notice the little hand with a sloppy joe bun just her size! 

QUICK BURGER BUNS

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour (may be part whole wheat)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 package quick-rise yeast

3 tablespoons margarine, cut into pieces

1 cup warm water (90 degrees)

Instructions:

1.     In food processor bowl with dough blade in place, combine for 10 seconds the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and margarine.

2.     Begin processing on high speed, pouring 1 cup warm water steadily through tube. When dough forms a ball, stop adding water. Entire 1 cup may not be needed Process an additional 60 seconds to knead the dough.

3.     Take dough out, knead a few strokes to form a smooth ball, cover and let rest 15 minutes. Grease cookie sheet. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and shape into buns. Let rest 5 minutes and flatten slightly. Cover; let rise in a warm place (90 degrees) until double.

4.     Bake in preheated 400 degree oven 12 to 15 minutes.

dough is ready to rest

buns are ready to rise and bake

ready to enjoy....

Rhubarb Pie for Spring and Pi Day

One of our favorite spring tastes is rhubarb. I think that rhubarb is a fruit that you either really like or won't eat at all! Luckily all of our family shares the love of rhubarb's tart and sweet flavors in many dessert recipes. This Sour Cream Rhubarb pie is perfect for a pie-to-take. It fits well in the purchased pie pan with crust and is unusual enough that it will be the only one of its kind. I like using a purchased crust for pies to donate because the pan doesn't have to be returned and the crust is sure to be perfect.
Not only was this rhubarb cream pie good for a spring event, it was my choice to take to the local Library's PI Day celebration. How many of you remembered high school math well enough to know that Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to it's diameter? The recent craze to celebrate March 14 with PIE, has brought that forgotten fact back to our minds.
The Library did well with the PIE Day celebration. What a good way to get people into the library! And they probably checked out a few books while they are there. When I visited late in the afternoon, they had served many slices of pie, but thanks to several volunteer bakers, had enough to celebrate a second day!

Here's a recipe for rhubarb pie that (to quote my son)"didn't think rhubarb pie could get any better!"

This is all I found left of the Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie
when I stopped by the Library on PI Day!

SOUR CREAM RHUBARB PIE

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup (8 oz) sour cream

1 egg

3 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)

Topping:

½ cup quick-cooking oats

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

½ teaspoon grated orange or lemon peel

⅓ cup cold butter, cubed

Directions:

In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Beat in sour cream and egg. Gently fold in the rhubarb. Pour into (unbaked) pastry shell.

For topping, combine oats, flour, brown sugar and orange peel. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over the filling. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees; bake 35-40 minutes longer or until topping is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Refrigerate leftovers.

Filling in purchased crust, a good choice for a pie-to-take.

Topped with topping and ready to bake.
I forgot to take a photo of the baked pie before
taking it to the Library!

Pot o' Potato Soup

.

March brings thoughts of the 'luck of the Irish', potatoes, and leprechauns.  Potato Soup was just the thing for the cold weather that returned last week. This recipe is simple and quick to make, and one of the best potato soups I've had.

Potatoes are actually nutritious in their more natural state. However, many of us consume most of our annual average 124 pounds of potatoes as french fries, tater tots, or chips. Not so much for these. But a potato, without added fat of frying or salt, is good for you. The food is a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Potassium and Manganeses. And like all fruits and vegetables, a good source of fiber.
A fun legend - the term 'pot holes' came from the Irish tradition of cooks setting boiling pots of potatoes on an earthen road to cool. When they mashed or smashed the potatoes, the pot got pushed into the ground, forming a hole. Think of that the next time you drive your car through a rough road!

POTATO SOUP          

¾ cup diced onions

4 cups cubed, peeled potatoes (or 4 cups of hash brown potatoes)

1 package Old Fashioned Peppered Gravy Mix

2 cups chicken broth (I like to keep a powdered chicken base on hand to mix with hot water for instant broth)

Dice onions and sauté in vegetable oil until onions are clear. Peel and cube potatoes. Cook potatoes (if not using hashbrowns) until softened but not mushy.

Prepare gravy mix as the package directs.

Add cooked potatoes, onions, and chicken broth to gravy.

Simmer 15 minutes, stirring. Optional: slightly mash cubed potatoes with a potato masher in the pot.

Serve with crisp crumbled bacon and shredded cheese.

About 6 servings.