Gingerbread

FOR THE COOKIE:
6 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cups Margarine Or Softened Butter
1-1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Molasses
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 whole Eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla Extract 

FOR THE ROYAL ICING:
2 pounds Powdered Sugar, Sifted
1/3 cup Whole Milk, Plus More If Needed For Thinning
2 whole Large Egg Whites 
Miscellaneous Candies, Sprinkles, And Other Decorations

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, allspice, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a mixer, beat the margarine (or butter) and brown sugar until fluffy. Drizzle in the molasses, mixing well and scraping the sides of the bowl a couple of times to make sure it's evenly combined. Add the eggs and maple extract and mix. Add the flour mixture in three batches, beating until just combined after each addition. 

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or more if you have time!

When you're ready to bake the cookies, remove the dough from the fridge and preheat the oven to 350 F. When the dough is soft enough to roll but still firm, divide it in half and roll out each half between 2 sheets of plastic wrap (dividing it in half just makes it more manageable.) Cut out shapes of your choosing and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a baking mat. Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of cutters used, until the cookies are baked through but still soft. Remove with a spatula and allow to cool completely.

Kale Salads

So I had this salad at Zupas once and completely fell in love with it... I make it at least once a week.

I've never really written down a recipe for a salad before so I'll just list the ingredients and you can adjust how much you want to put in. Let's call it a matter of personal taste instead of my laziness mmkay?

Ingredients:
*Sweet Vinaigrette of some kind (basic recipe below)
*Kale (any kind curly/ not red/ green mix it up)
*Blueberries
*Grapes (I normally use red, but this time green was cheaper...)
*Pistachios
*Quinoa, cooked
*Dried Cherries
*Optional Parmesan cheese (just don't use the powdered green can stuff)

Vinaigrette:
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons peeled fresh garlic
8 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
Sugar to taste (arround 1/2 cup)

Mix together in a blender.

 Toss everything together. If I'm feeling extra fancy I'll cut the grapes in half.

Also on a side note, if your kale is more tough than tender massage the heck out of it before you throw the salad together. It's tough it can take it but it'll soften it up and make it nicer to eat.



Mango Variation:
*Same vinaigrette
*Kale
*Fresh mango cubed
*Almonds
*Dried Cherries
*Quinoa

Irish soda bread

Ingredients
1 pound (450 grams/ 3 1/4 cups) white flour, preferably unbleached
1/2 American teaspoon salt
1/2 American teaspoon bread soda ( baking soda)
Yogurt or buttermilk to mix - about 12 to 14 fluid ounces 

Directions
First fully preheat your oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Sift the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center. Pour all of the milk in at once. Using 1 hand, mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl, adding more milk if necessary. The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky. When it all comes together, turn it out onto a well floured board.

WASH AND DRY YOUR HANDS. Knead lightly for a second, just enough to tidy it up, flip over. Pat the dough into a round about 12 inches (2.5 centimeters) and cut a cross on it to let the fairies out! Let the cuts go over the sides of the bread to make sure of this. (FYI this is actually pretty critical. The bread is so dense the center has a hard time cooking through. This helps heat get to the middle)

Bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 30 minutes, or until cooked. If you are in doubt, tap the bottom of the bread: if it is cooked it will sound hollow.

Soda bread only takes 2 or 3 minutes to make and 20 to 30 minutes to bake. It is certainly another of my 'great convertibles'. We have had the greatest fun experimenting with different variations and uses. It's also great with olives, sun-dried tomatoes or caramelized onions added, so the possibilities are endless for the hitherto humble soda bread.



Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/white-soda-bread-recipe.html?oc=linkback