Hello blog, it's been awhile...

I have definitely neglected this poor blog! Let me just say, by way of excusing my laziness, I have been sick almost without a break from November until January. I am now doing much better and hope to get back into the swing of things. Some days I just feel so tired that even getting my camera out and trying to take a picture seems like too much work. But here I am and I am excited to get back in the swing of things.

Okay onto the reason for the post.

I am a few days late but I did make the Cake Slice cake for this month and I even did it on time (just lost track of the fact that Sunday was the 20th, the day to post, oops). This months cake was Coffee Heath Bar Crunch Cake. It was okay but not a favorite of mine. My family liked it and it was eaten pretty quickly but for me it was just so-so. I did sub out the coffee (we don't drink coffee) with Pero and the flavor of the batter was really good (I know, naughty me) but it was a little downhill from there. This probably sounds more negative than I mean for it to. It wasn't bad tasting, and it was really simple to make, just not good enough to tempt me to make it again. I took my cake out 5 minutes early when I realized it was looking slightly overdone. Check out the other Cake Slice Bakers, some of them really liked it so maybe it is just personal preference. Anyway, without further ado here is the recipe-

Coffee-Heath Bar Crunch Cake (Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes)

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients - Cake

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour (I added an extra ¼ cup of flour)
• 1 tbsp instant espresso powder (I used same amount of Pero)
  
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

Ingredients - Streusel

• 4 Heath bars (1.4ounces each), chopped or 1 cup of pre-chopped Heath Bits
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp butter, softened

Preparation – Streusel

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 9inch round springform pan.
3. Combine the Heath bars, brown sugar, flour and butter in a medium mixing bowl.
4. Work the mixture with your fingers until it resembles large crumbs.
5. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Preparation – Cake

1. Combine the flour, espresso powder, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Combine the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture and then half the milk, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Repeat, alternating the flour and milk, ending with the flour.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer with a spatula.
5. Scatter the streusel onto the batter, distributing it evenly over the cake.
6. Bake the cake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 50 to 60 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
7. Release the sides of the pan and use a large spatula to slide the cake from the pan bottom to onto a wire rack.
8. Cool completely, cut into wedges and serve.
9. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
10. Makes one 9 inch round cake.

CEiMB- Apple Brown Betty

Oh my, I loved this. It was so easy to make and the flavor was excellent. I will definitely be making this again. The whole family loved it and I didn't feel too guilty while eating because it is really pretty healthy. Now I did make it a little bit less healthy by adding an extra tablespoon of brown sugar and an extra tablespoon of butter to the topping, but I figure for each serving that only adds a negligible amount of fat and calories. To get the recipe and try this yourself you can buy the book So Easy by Ellie Krieger or you can visit Jessica of Learning to Love Vegetables.

I heart cooking clubs- Farewell Food

The group I heart cooking clubs focuses on one chef for a period of 6 months and then moves on to a new chef. It is really such a great way to get to know new chefs and to push yourself to try new things. I will be honest, before joining the group, I really had no idea who Mark Bittman was. Now his recipes have become a staple in my home and even when I don't follow a recipe exactly, I will still grab my big, red How to Cook Everything book to see what the best way is to slice some fruit or how to prepare some other fill-in-the-blank. So for me this isn't really goodbye because Mr. Bittman is here to stay! Which is really what this group is about. I have found a new favorite that I don't think I would have found otherwise.
However in keeping with the farewell theme, I decided to say farewell to summer as well as Mark Bittman. I found a tasty and simple recipe that has become another meatless favorite!

Pasta with Corn, Zucchini, and Tomatoes

Ingredients

• Salt
  
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or 2 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup corn kernels (from 2 or 3 ears)
• 1 cup diced zucchini or summer squash (from 2 or 3 small vegetables)
• 1 medium onion or 3 or 4 shallots, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, optional
• 1 sprigs tarragon
• 4 plum or 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 pound cut pasta, like penne, rigatoni, or fusilli

Method

• 1. Set a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add corn. Cook, stirring occasionally, until corn begins to brown. Add zucchini and some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini begins to brown.
• 2. Add onion or shallots and garlic if you are using it. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add tarragon and cook for 30 seconds, then tomatoes. Put pasta in boiling water and cook until tender but not mushy, 10 to 15 minutes.
• 3. While pasta cooks continue to cook sauce, reducing heat when tomatoes begin to break down. If sauce dries out (with plum tomatoes, this is likely), add some pasta cooking water, about 1/2 cup at a time. When pasta is done, drain it, toss with sauce and remaining oil or butter, and serve immediately.

French Fridays with Dorie: Gougeres

French Fridays with Dorie is a blogging group focusing on Dorie Greenspan lovely new cookbook, Around My French Table. I love Dorie and I am loving this new cookbook. Her books are the most entertaining cookbooks I own. Not only can the women really whip up a great dish but she also know how to dish, as in spin an entertaining story. I can actually curl up with her cookbooks like I would a novel and enjoy the stories. I would definitely recommend checking out this book!

This weeks recipe was Gougeres. Until yesterday I had never made these wonderful little pastries but I can guarantee I will be making them again. They are so amazingly quick and easy. You can seriously have them to the table in just over 30 minutes, which in my opinion, makes them as convenient as biscuits but with a more sophisticated flavor. We all really loved these and definitely ate more than is probably recommended. I ended up just using some sharp cheddar that I had in the fridge this time. I can't wait to experiment with some other types of cheese!

CEiMB- Almond French Toast Bake

I have had this wonderful little cookbook by Ellie Krieger called So Easy for months and although I have looked through it several times, until last week it was mostly just keeping my other cookbooks company. No longer! I had come across a group called Craving Ellie in my Belly a few weeks ago and decided if I joined the group, then maybe I would actually use this wonderful cookbook. And that is just what happened :D I have now made my first delicious and really very healthy Ellie Krieger recipe. YAY!
It truly was a success in my opinion. My kids loved it, and while it wasn't my hubby's absolute favorite, he enjoyed it, and for me, two of my most favorite foods on the planet are french toast and bread pudding so, heck yes I am a fan. The other really winning quality: it was truly "so easy" to make. Isn't it great to actually find truth in advertising!
I followed the recipe pretty exactly. I only made 3 changes. The first one was to use frozen blueberries instead of fresh. The second change I made was that I didn't use real maple syrup, I just used the pancake syrup I had on hand. The last change I made was to use fewer eggs than called for. The recipe called for a whopping 8 whole eggs and 8 egg whites, that seemed like a lot for one loaf of french bread. After checking some comments on the Food Network link for the recipe, I saw someone suggested using only 5 whole eggs and 4 egg whites. That is what I did and for me it turned out great. Not soggy and just slightly crispy on the edges.
See how everyone else fared here and to try this recipe yourself, head on over to our hostess, Heide's blog, Chez Zero.

SMS Rewind: North Fork Peach Raspberry Pie

I actually made this lovely pie a while ago but I still had not gotten around to posting it. Since this week was kind of busy I decided to skip the Plum Raspberry Preserves that were picked by this week's hostess, Margo of Effort to Deliciousness, but be sure to check that out.

This pie was originally picked earlier this summer, on July 4th. It is a really simple pie. The taste is delicious and it is such a great way to use up that summer fruit. The peaches and the raspberries really compliment each other. I may be biased though because raspberries are probably my favorite fruit. I love the slightly tart flavor, of raspberries and of the pie :)
This pie was picked by Rebecca of the lovely blog, Beurrista. Be sure to check out her blog to get the recipe. It is worth making. Also you can check out the experiences of the other sms bakers by checking here.

SMS: Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Pie

What a fun and easy recipe we got to make this week. Special thanks to Melissa of the blog Lulu the Baker for such great pick (check out her blog for the recipe)!It was a big hit in my house and you can even pat yourself on the back after eating it because, hey, fresh blueberries equal antioxidants and fiber (and I am sure lots of other great things). The other really great thing about this recipe is that, while it looks pretty and fairly impressive, it is so incredibly easy (especially if you cheat and have a good friend like Marie Callendar help with the crust).
Enjoy a visual feast and take a look at the how the incredibly talented SMS bakers fared this week.