A hot cocoa find

Chewy the cat, is showing you our new find from Costco - Starbucks Hot Cocoa Classic.

I'm extremely picky about chocolate flavors and I love this one.

Most sweetened cocoa mixes are way too sweet for me. This one is just about perfect. However, I do cut back slightly on the recommended 2 tablespoons of cocoa mix and I add a small spoonful of my Sharffen Berger cocoa.

It's quite dark so if you like it more like milk chocolate, just add less cocoa mix.

Starbucks caramel apple cider

The perfect warm drink for fall days - and it's so simple!

Just warm up apple cider or juice. If desired, spice it up with cinnamon and cloves (or cinnamon syrup). Then squirt whipped cream on the top and drizzle with caramel syrup.

This is almost as good as my hot cocoa (but not quite).

Pumpkin Cake

I made this on the weekend - soooo good!

It's nice and moist and uses oil rather than butter - making it slightly healthier.

I sprinkled it with powdered sugar instead of frosting and served it with good quality vanilla ice cream (Tillamook Old Fashioned Vanilla) and caramel sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups white sugar 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups canned pumpkin 4 eggs 2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 12x18 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
2.	In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread batter into prepared 12x18 inch pan.
3.	Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Simple squash soup

I made this recipe (from Lisa) yesterday and it is incredibly simple and absolutely delicious!

Butternut Squash Soup

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

40 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (2 to 3 pound) butternut squash, peeled and seeded
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 cups chicken stock
• Nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In large pot melt butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add squash and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in a blender and puree. Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Serve.

Apple cake squares

I'm loving the fresh fall  apples right now.

I just might have to try this recipe tonight:

It's from Dr Weil's newsletter

Apple Cake Squares

Description

The bonus of this cake is that it's fast to make. It's a moist cake with a mellow cinnamon-apple taste. You can serve it for dessert or you can wrap slices up to take to school or to the office.Food as MedicineIn large studies conducted in the United Kingdom, Finland and the Netherlands, eating at least two apples per week was found to lower incidence of asthma and type 2 diabetes, and promote overall lung health. Apples' protective effects are likely due to their high concentration of anti-inflammatory flavonoids such as quercitin and catechin.

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 3 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons softened butter or Spectrum Spread 2 eggs 2 cups apples, peeled, cored, finely shredded 1/4 cup finely chopped dates 1/4cup confectioners' sugar GARNISH (Optional) 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts 1/4 cup maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl and stir thoroughly. Cream the sugar and butter together in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs and whisk until smooth. Stir in the shredded apples and dates until they are completely distributed throughout. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly into the batter. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, or grease it with 1/4 teaspoon of butter and pour in the batter. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Put the confectioners' sugar in a sifter and dust it over the cooled cake a few times until all the sugar is gone. If you want to garnish, mix the walnuts with the maple syrup and drizzle over individual serving plates. Cut the Apple Cake into 9 squares and arrange each one on top of a decorated plate and serve.

Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

I made 2 loaves of this yesterday and it is great!  Next time I will play around w/ the proportions and try more whole wheat flour and see what happens.  

1 package (2 1/4 tsp.) yeast

2 T. unsulpured molasses

1 T. honey

2 cups warm water

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 cup rolled oats

4 T. butter, melted and cooled slightly

2 1/4 tsp. salt

in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups warm water, the yeast, molasses and honey. stir briefly, and then allow the yeast to bloom for about 5 minutes. add the flours, oats, and butter, and stir to mix (i used a whisk). the dough will look rough and shaggy. cover with a towel, and let stand for 30 minutes.

attach the bowl and bread hook to the mixer. add the salt, and mix on medium speed for 6 minutes. the dough should come together around the hook and slap around the sides of the bowl without sticking. (sprinkle 1-2 more tablespoons of flour down the sides of the bowl if dough is sticking.)

place dough in a greased bowl and let rise 1 hour. when dough has doubled in size, shape it in your hands and place in a greased loaf pan, seam side down, and press it gently into the corners of the pan. cover with a towel, and let rise again for about 1 hour. while it's rising preheat oven to 400 degrees. when dough has finished its second rise, bake for about 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. the loaf is ready when top and bottom crusts are nicely browned, and sounds hollow when thumped on top. remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting, so that the crumb has time to set.

Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Loaf

I made this yesterday and it was YUMMY!!  Very moist and lemony but not too sweet.

For the Loaf:

1. 1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2. 2 teaspoons baking powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4. 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
5. 1 cup sugar
6. 3 large eggs
7. 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
8. 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
9. 1/2 cup vegetable oil
10. 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed

For the Lemon Syrup:

1. 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2. 1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:

1. 1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2. 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of one 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.
5. While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.
6. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely.
7. To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

Yields: 1-9x5 loaf

Note:

1. This recipe will also yield about 12 standard muffins or 36 miniature muffins, baking time adjusted.
2. It could be doubled and baked in a well-greased and floured bundt pan, baking time adjusted.
3. This recipe could also be baked in an 8-inch square or 9-inch round, to create a thin cake (approx. 1 1/2 inches tall), baking time adjusted.