Foodie PenPals

I want to tell you about something fun that I discovered.

It's called Foodie PenPals.

Remember having a pen pal in elementary school?

It's kinda like that, except you send a box of yummy goodies instead of writing letters.

Awesome, right?

You send your box of goodies to a new person each month.

This was my first time participating, and I received a box from Alisha Crossley.

Check it out!

 

 I am enjoying all the goodies she sent me, but I have to especially thank Alisha for something.

She introduced me to Biscoff cookies.

I'm in LOVE!!!

I had heard about them, but never bought any and didn't really know what they tasted like.

 So, when I got my box I saw this on the back of the Biscoff package...

...the light bulb went off over my head!

These were those yummy cookies they used to serve on airplanes!

I loved those cookies! Needless to say, they are almost gone. And I will be finding more.

Foodie Penpals was created by Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean.

Would you like to participate?

Here are some specifics:

• On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

• You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 

• The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

• Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 

• Foodie Penpals is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. 

 

If you’re interested in participating for September, just CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

It's time to start Fall baking!

One of my favorite recipes to make this time of year is pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

I decided to make that recipe even better by turning it into cupcakes...

because then you get to put frosting on top!

Pumpkin and chocolate compliment each other so well...
if you haven't tried the combination before, you might be surprised.

And the fluffy pumpkin cream cheese frosting is the perfect topping...Delish!

I gave one of these cupcakes to my husband, and asked if he had any comments.
"Make more!", he replied.

This recipe makes about 32 cupcakes,
so whip some up and share them with your neighbors!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

adapted from Ryan Bakes

6031598

Ingredients

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon EACH of nutmeg, cloves and ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 c. milk + 1/2 tablespoon vinegar)
• 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 6 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

To Make The Cupcakes

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt together until well blended; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla on low speed until combined. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill each paper liner 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

To Make The Frosting

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth. Add pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well. This frosting is very soft, so you may want to refrigerate it before you frost your cupcakes. After frosting, garnish cupcakes with mini chocolate chips if desired.

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Enjoy!

Want another yummy pumpkin & chocolate recipe?
Check out my Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Cornelli Lace!

I share my recipes & tutorials at these fun link parties.

This post was featured!

Foolproof Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Foolproof Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Good morning from a rainy Orlando as tropical storm Isaac passes by. We might spend the day at the house today; heck, I might do some cooking in Florida on this vacation after all.

Before we left home, Olivia was on a bit of a cookie kick and we have a couple of other recipes coming up soon but today we feature a gorgeous little chocolate treat that we hadn't made in quite some time. This cookie is soft and very chocolatey and is also very eye-catching when set out as part of a party spread; they always seem to disappear first for some reason.

The recipe is very straightforward but does require that the dough be well chilled. The combination of using two sugars to roll the dough balls in is the secret to getting the perfect crackle appearance every time. The Dough can also be frozen in advance to use later. Just let it thaw in the fridge before using it.

Makes 4 to 5 dozen cookies.

1 1/3 cups dark chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup icing sugar (i.e. powdered sugar)

Sift together and set aside: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler and let cool almost to room temperature.

Cream, butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, then fold in the melted chocolate. Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternately with the milk in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

This dough needs to be well chilled. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for several hours. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls. Roll the balls, first in granulated sugar, then in powdered sugar. Place the balls about 2 1/2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes at 350 degrees F until the surface crackles. Cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemony Spaghetti Squash with Butter and Parmesan Recipe (Vegetarian and Gluten-free)

Every now and then I crave spaghetti squash as an alternative to pasta. It's taken me some attempts to perfect this recipe, but I think I have it now. It really needs butter. I've tried using olive oil and salt in lieu of butter and it's just not the same. The lemon and parmesan really add nice flavor to the squash, too. This is a great gluten-free side dish that goes especially well with hearty sausage (veggie or otherwise).

Lemony Spaghetti Squash with Butter and Parmesan Recipe

1 medium spaghetti squash
2 tbsp butter
1 large lemon
1/3 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put 1/4 inch of water in the bottom of a rectangular 9x12 pan. Cut the squash in half from the stem to the bottom. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and pulp from the middle of the squash halves. Place them in the pan shell side up, and the flat parts on the bottom. Cover the pan with a large piece of aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. In the meantime, cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice out into a small bowl, being sure to remove any seeds.

After removing the pan from the oven, be very careful taking the aluminum foil off as a bunch of hot steam will be released from the pan. Drain out the water and use a fork to help you turn the squash halves right side up (they will be very hot). Get a medium bowl ready. Use a fork to shred out the squash from the shells and add the squash to the mixing bowl. Discard the shells. Add the butter, the lemon juice, and the parmesan and mix thoroughly. Pepper to taste, and sprinkle some additional parmesan cheese on top before serving. Serves 4+ as a side dish.

Rockfish with Lemon (in a Stainless Steel Pan) Recipe

A while ago I learned how to properly cook in a stainless steel pan without the food sticking or the kitchen filling up with smoke. The trick is using a "naked" stainless steel pan and heating it on Medium High heat until you can pour a half teaspoon of water on it and the water turns into a ball and rolls around the pan. Then the pan is hot enough to cook on. Also, you don't oil the pan before heating it up, you oil your meat or fish before putting it in the pan. You also have to be patient and wait for the first side to cook enough so when you flip it, the meat or fish doesn't stick. Also, to clean the pan after cooking in it, just put a little water in the pan while it is still on the heat and use a metal spatula or wooden spoon to scrape it clean. FYI, that "cleaning" method can yield some fantastic sauce to pour over your meat or fish!

Rockfish is a great fish to pair with lemon. It's a little like tuna in texture, but has a more mild flavor. Cooking it in the stainless steel pan assures that the fish cooks perfectly, nicely browned, and the high heat seals in the great lemon flavor. If you don't have a stainless steel pan, no worries, you can use any skillet or grill pan to cook this fish. This recipe is a favorite fish dish in my house.

Rockfish with Lemon (in a Stainless Steel Pan) Recipe

2 rockfish fillets (3/4 to 1 lb total)
1 large lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

First, remove any pin bones left in the fish. Lay the fish side-by-side in a rectangular baking pan. Cut the lemon in half and remove any seeds you see. Squeeze one lemon half over the fish then drizzle a little olive oil over the fillets. Turn over the fillets to the other side and repeat by squeezing the lemon half over the fish followed by a drizzle of olive oil. Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for a few hours before cooking the fish.

When you're ready to cook the fish, generously salt and pepper the top side of the fillets. Heat your large "naked" stainless steel pan over Medium High heat for about 6 minutes, then try the water test. If the water turns into a ball and rolls around the pan, you're ready to add the fish. If the water dissipates and sizzles, the pan isn't hot enough, so wait a little longer and try it again in a few minutes.

When the pan is ready, lay the fish side-by-side, salt and pepper side down, in the pan and cook for 3 minutes. Use a metal spatula to scrape underneath and turn the fish. Cook the fish for 3 minutes on the second side. When the time is up, remove the fish to a serving dish. Add a little water to the hot pan and use your metal spatula or a wooden spoon to scrape the pan clean. Serves 2 adults (and one small child) as a main course.

Brandied Peach Cream Cheese Shortcake

Brandied Peach Cream Cheese Shortcake

Maybe it comes from a long-held love of a traditional sherry trifle but I have always been personally partial to boozy desserts. Aromatic liquors or sweet intensely flavored liqueurs add a new dimension to many desserts and a real sense of celebration to any occasion. Combined with my love of sweet summer peaches, this made a terrific take-along contribution to a recent get together with friends that everyone raved about. 

Using cake flour along with the addition of cream cheese to the shortcake batter makes for a light, texturally perfect base to this simple but scrumptious dessert.

This is still a great simple summer dessert for tee-totalers if you want to leave out the brandy, especially if you have fresh, perfectly ripe, sweet juicy peaches.

Brandied Peach Cream Cheese Shortcake

 Brandied Peaches

• 10 large fully ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
• 4 ounces of brandy (rum or bourbon are also good)

Toss the peach slices in the brandy, cover and let sit for an hour or two before putting together the shortcake. Toss the peaches a couple of times during this time.

Cream Cheese Shortcake Base

 

For the shortcake bottom, cream together well:

• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1  tsp vanilla

Add, one at a time:

• 2 eggs

Sift together:

• 1 cup cake flour 
• 1 tsp baking powder

Gently fold dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.

Bake in greased and parchment lined 10 or 11 inch tart pan or spring form pan at 325 degrees F for about 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Vanilla Whipped Cream

Beat together to firm peaks:

• 2 cups whipping cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 rounded tbsp icing sugar

To construct the cake, place the cooled cake layer on a cake plate, drain the brandy off the peaches and sprinkle it over the surface of the cake. Arrange the peach slices in a circular pattern over the cake and top with the vanilla whipped cream.

Beer and Bacon Jam

Good morning from Washington D.C.! Rock Recipes is on the road. The house sitters/cat butlers are settled in back at home and our family is on a road trip in the Southeast United States for the next couple of weeks! Don't worry, we have plenty of new recipes lined up while we are away and may even include a few updates on what we are eating along the way as we gather a little southern hospitality recipe inspiration for when we return. Be sure to join us on our Facebook Page for more road trip updates. 

I saw a version of today's recipe on one of the roadside diner shows a couple of years back but I can't remember which one. I remember that recipe being more complicated than this one but I wanted a stove top recipe that may take a little time but is well worth the effort.

This "jam" is a wonderfully flavourful condiment that has many flavour components. Sweet, smoky, slightly salty with and quite earthy, this delicious concoction is terrific on pork chops as pictured but is also very good on grilled steaks, burgers and chicken too. Try it at your next weekend barbeque and I know everyone will want the recipe for this unusual, conversation starting "jam".

Makes about 2 cups.

1/2 pound smoked bacon

Cut the bacon into 1/4 inch pieces and fry slowly over medium low to medium heat until all the fat has been rendered out and the bacon is crispy, resembling bacon bits. Drain off all the fat and add:

3 tbsp butter
6 large finely diced red onions
6 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Cook over medium low heat for about 20 minutes until the onions have reduced considerably and caramelized. Add:

1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
8 ounces dark stout beer (or one cup brewed coffee works very well)
1/2 tsp dry thyme

Simmer and reduce this mixture for several minutes until it reaches a jam-like consistency. Serve warm.

This jam will last for several days in sealed container/s in the fridge or for much longer if you choose to make a large batch and follow proper canning/bottling procedures.

Hummingbird Cake with Petal Tutorial

Have you ever heard of Hummingbird Cake?

It's a southern recipe.

It is a banana-pineapple-walnut-spice cake with cream cheese frosting.
I also added applesauce in place of most of the oil.

If you like banana bread, you will LOVE this cake!
It is moist, dense and so delicious.

Plus, you get to use some of those over-ripe bananas in your freezer!
(Please tell me that I am not the only one with a plethora of bananas in my freezer...)

Hummingbird Cake

by Bird On A Cake

6030796

Ingredients

Hummingbird Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 8 oz. can crushed pineapple (with juice)
• 2 cups diced ripe bananas
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 6 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Hummingbird Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of three 8 inch cake pans with wax paper, and grease the sides.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add applesauce, oil, eggs and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Stir in pineapple, bananas and walnuts. Divide equally into prepared pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool on a rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla. Add the sugar a few cups at a time, beating until fluffy.

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Now I'm going to show you how to decorate it with a petal technique.

A yummy recipe and a decorating tutorial...it's a Two-fer!

This design was inspired by My Cake School.
I think it is my new favorite - so easy and so pretty!

• Cover your cake with a crumb coat (very thin layer of frosting).
• Prepare a decorating bag with a large round tip (Wilton #12).
• Pipe a vertical line of dots on the side of your cake.
• Use a small spatula to press down on each dot, dragging to the right.
• Make another line of dots, just to the right of your petals. Repeat.

For the top of the cake, I did the same technique in circles.
A spiral would have worked even better.

FYI, this cake will have a "back side". When you get back to where you started,
you will have a seam where the petals meet up.

You should give it a try!

Enjoy!

I share my recipes & tutorials at these fun link parties.

This post was featured!

Gumdrop Crinkle Cakes

Gumdrop Crinkle Cakes

I've had a couple of requests in recent months for a lunchbox favorite from my childhood here in Newfoundland, crinkle cakes. These little loaf shaped snack cakes are still made in some bakeries here in Newfoundland and as far as I know, take their name from the scalloped-edge paper liners similar to muffin tin liners, traditionally found on the bakery made varieties. A moist tender little pound cake of sorts, crinkle cakes came in raisin, cherry, and Spouse's favorite, gumdrop. 

As we wind our way to the start-up of the school year, I decided to experiment with a couple of recipes to try and replicate these delicious little lunchbox snack cakes. A recipe for crinkle cakes is just about  impossible to find, so I decided to tweak one of my favorite pound cake recipes and they turned out perfectly. The secret is to use half cake flour, real butter and I think, the addition of a little lemon extract really makes them perfect. The three I ate certainly did bring back memories for me. 

Try our other crinkle cakes recipes too by clicking the links below:

Cherry Chocolate Chip Crinkle Cakes

Apricot Pecan Banana Crinkle Cakes

Banana Orange Cardamom Crinkle Cakes

Crinkle Cakes

 
Makes 8 crinkle cakes 

Cream together:

• 3/4 cups butter
• 1 cup sugar

Add, one at a time, beating well after each addition until light and fluffy:

• 2 eggs

Blend in:

• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tsp pure lemon extract

Sift together

• 1  ½ cups cake flour (or pastry flour)
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder

Fold dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with

• ½ cup warm, undiluted evaporated milk

beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Fold in:

• 1 cup baking gumdrops

Bake in greased and floured mini loaf pans or in paper lined muffin tins. Bake at 325 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Muffin sized cakes will take only about 15 to 20 minutes. Watch them carefully so they don't overbake.

Maple Chipotle Glazed Roast Chicken

Maple Chipotle Glazed Roast Chicken

A roast chicken dinner is about as homey as good cooking gets. At our house roasted potatoes are a must with a good roast chicken; not making roast potatoes would be a cardinal sin in my son's eyes especially. You can find our very popular version of English style roast potatoes here. We often roast off other root vegetables like carrots and Spouse's favorite parsnip to serve as well but the star of the show is always a perfectly roasted chicken.  

  

I like to brine my poultry before roasting but it's not essential if you are pressed for time. You can read more about my brining technique here. 

This one was particularly good with a sweet and smoky glaze to make for a perfect Sunday roast dinner.

Maple Chipotle Glaze

In a small pot sauté together:

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

Add

1/3 cup low sodium chicken stock

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 tsp chipotle powder

Simmer slowly stirring often until the glaze reduces by at least half in volume.

Roast your chicken uncovered in a 350 degree oven. In the last half hour or so of cooking time, brush several layers of the glaze all over the chicken about every 10 minutes. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes when it comes out of the oven before carving and serving.

Perfect Peach Pie

Perfect Peach Pie

Every year I look forward to making this pie. As a kid visiting southern Ontario on vacation with my family during peach season on the Niagara Peninsula, I remember stopping at roadside stands or even better a u-pick orchard, to get beautiful golden ripe peaches. Still warm from the summer sun, the sweet juice would run down your chin and neck as you bit into them. I fell in love with those peaches and every year look forward to peach season and the chance to make this amazing pie.

The pastry for the pie this year is a hybrid of two pastry recipes I often use. I sometimes struggle with the choice between butter pastry and the traditional shortening or lard based pie crusts I made as a kid. The butter pastry has great flavour but I still find I'm partial to  a super flaky shortening crust. In this case I decided to combine the two and I was very pleased with the result; buttery but still very flaky too.

You can adjust the amount of sugar in this recipe depending on the sweetness of the peaches. I don't like the filling in this pie to be overly sweet and overwhelm the natural flavor of the peaches. I hope to enjoy at least one more of these beautiful pies while summer peaches are still at their very best.

Perfect Peach Pie

For the pastry:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ cup very cold butter cut in small cubes
• ½ cup very cold vegetable shortening cut in small cubes
• 1/3 cup ice water
• 2 tbsp white vinegar

Using a food processor or a pastry blender cut cold butter and shortening into flour, brown sugar and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter and shortening should still be visible. Pour vinegar into cold water then pour over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form. Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible.

Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.

Roll the dough into a 12 inch round and place in the bottom of a deep 10 inch pie plate. Push the dough into the corners and ensure that it is not stretched at all or it will shrink from the edge. Trim dough to edge of plate.

Roll the remaining dough round into 12 inch square-ish shape and cut that into 8 equal strips for the lattice crust top.

For the filling combine:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 rounded tbsp corn starch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• Toss this dry mixture with
• 8-10 cups fresh peaches, peeled and thickly sliced
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• Juice of half a lemon

Toss all together until well combined and pour into prepared pie plate.

Place the remaining pastry strips on top of the peach mixture, interweaving them to form a simple lattice pattern. Tuck the ends of the strips under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp with a fork or your fingers to seal the pastry together.

Chill the pie in the fridge for about 20 minutes to a half hour before placing it on a cookie sheet (to catch any drips from the filling) in a preheated 400 degree F oven. Bake for 45 minutes at that temperature before covering the edges of the pie with strips of aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. 

Reduce heat to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 30- 45 minutes or until the filling bubbles at the center. Allow to cool on a wire rack at room temperature for at least a couple of hours before serving.

NOTE: If your lattice crust begins to get too brown after you have covered the edges with aluminum foil but before the filling is bubbling, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top during the last of the baking time if needed.

Grilled Greek Flatbread Pizza

One of our family's favorite summer meals is pizza from the backyard grill. We make batches of flatbread dough and freeze individual sized portions of it to use when we need it. For a quick workday meal, we take the dough out of the freezer in the morning and let it defrost during the day so that it is ready for the grill when we get home.  Barbeque chicken or pulled pork pizza are a couple of particular favorites and a great way to use up leftover steak too in a steak and tomato pizza. I've even made a pesto and shrimp pizza using this method. The possibilities are endless and you can use whatever is on hand. When we have friends over for a barbeque, we also often serve these as a casual appetizer course before folks sit down to the main meal.

This past week our dinner pizza was inspired by a Greek Salad and this incredibly tasty version certainly did not disappoint. We used the same dough for the pizza as we recently used for the burger buns in our recently featured Double Crunch Fried Chicken Parmesan Burgers and topped it with delicious high quality toppings for a very, very flavourful meal. The only caution with making pizza on the grill is to not overly crowd the pizza with too much topping. These pizzas cook quickly and you will want to heat the toppings well before the bottom browns too much. Use really tasty toppings that pack plenty of flavour punch; quality over quantity is the key to a successful grilled pizza.

Parmesan Herb Pizza Dough

3 cups flour
1 pkg (5 grams) instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp melted butter
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used oregano, chives, basil and rosemary)

Makes 12 burger buns

Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour along with the sugar, instant yeast, cheese and herbs and salt in a large bowl or in the bowl of a large electric mixer that uses a dough hook. Add the melted butter and warm milk. Using a wooden spoon or the regular paddle of your electric mixer beat for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is smooth with no lumps. If using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook at this point and begin to slowly incorporate the remaining  flour. If not using an electric mixer keep mixing in the flour gradually until a soft dough forms that leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto the counter top or bread board to knead. You may need to use a little less or a little more flour, this is not uncommon. Knead the dough for an additional 10 minutes either in the electric mixer or on a bread board or counter top.

Cover dough and leave to rest and rise for one hour. Punch the dough down and knead it for a few minutes by hand before letting it rest for another 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into about 6 ounce portions, rolling them into balls. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes before rolling out on a breadboard to about 8 inch circles.

Preheat your gas grill to medium low heat. Preheat your gas grill to about medium low heat and place the rolled dough portions a couple at a time directly on the grill. Watch these carefully, adjust the temperature and move them around on the grill as needed.  When bubbles appear it's time to flip them over and grill for about another minute.

To prepare individual pizzas, turn off the burner/s on one side of the grill and place a flatbread or two on the other side. Brush the top with garlic oil. You can find a simple method of making your own garlic oil here.

Top the pizzas with

baby spinach leaves

feta cheese, full fat works best here

sliced red onion

sliced sweet red peppers

sundried pitted kalamata olives

chopped fresh oregano

Close the cover on the grill and let cook for about 5 minutes or until the pizza is crispy on the bottom and the cheese warmed and softened. If you like you can drizzle a little good balsamic vinegar over the top before slicing and serving.

Blueberry Snack Cake - a.k.a. Baked Newfoundland Blueberry Duff

Blueberry Snack Cake - a.k.a. Baked Newfoundland Blueberry Duff

I cannot count the hundreds of times I have made this simple, moist, delicious, buttery little snack cake with an abundance of wild Newfoundland blueberries baked right in. A terrific addition to any brown bag lunch, it is indeed more of a blueberry snack cake but we often had it as a duff with Sunday dinner when I was a kid here in Newfoundland. Sometimes we still do.

I often substitute local partridgeberries or bakeapples (lingonberries or cloudberries) to make other delicious versions. I've also used one of my favorites, fresh raspberries, with great success. I love the way fruits like raspberries leave little jammy pockets in the cake. Raisins are another popular substitution for the blueberries but your favorite dried fruit, like apricots or cherries would be delicious too; just be sure to cut them small enough; about the size of large raisins is about right.

This humble little blueberry cake also dresses up nicely as a luscious comfort food dessert when served warm from the oven with warm vanilla custard.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan well.

Cream together until light and fluffy:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar

Add:

• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat well after the addition of each egg.

Sift together:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

Add dry ingredients alternately with:

• 1 cup milk

Always begin and end with an addition of dry ingredients. As a general rule, add the flour mixture in 3 divisions and the milk in two .

Quickly fold in:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries.

Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake at 325 degrees F in a 9 inch well greased square pan for about 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. The baking time can vary, especially if you use frozen berries. In that case it may take 10 or even 15 minutes more to bake. The toothpick test is the best way to ensure that this cake is fully  baked.

Blueberry Snack Cake - a.k.a. Baked Newfoundland Blueberry Duff