Preheat oven to 350. Combine 3 cups sugar, 1 cup neutral vegetable oil, 4 eggs, 1 ½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ginger, ½ tsp allspice, ¼ tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp cloves, and 1 tsp salt. When well-mixed, use an electric blender to fold in 1 cup canned pumpkin, 2/3 cup water, 2 tsp baking soda,… Continue reading Mrs. Tasca’s pumpkin nut bread
Tag: dessert
Pumpkin pie
I’m not much of a baker, but my husband loves pumpkin pie, so I decided to try out a recipe. I used a pre-made crust as a shortcut. Preheat oven to 425. Combine ¾ cup brown sugar, 1 ½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp each ginger and allspice, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp salt, and 1/8… Continue reading Pumpkin pie
Auntie Jenny’s mocha cake
Preheat oven to 350. Sift the following dry ingredients together: 2 cups flour, 2 cups white sugar, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, and 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 cup milk, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Using… Continue reading Auntie Jenny’s mocha cake
Japanese grapefruit jello
During my childhood, a Japanese family friend, Mrs. Otsuka, made grapefruit jello, which she served in grapefruit shells (similar to lemon sorbet being served in a hollowed-out lemon). A few years ago, I finally tracked down a Japanese recipe for this dish, which turns out to be quite simple. First, lightly spray the inside of the gelatin mold(s)… Continue reading Japanese grapefruit jello
Blueberry crumble with cornmeal-almond topping
We tried this Food Network recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/blueberry-crumble-with-cornmeal-almond-topping-recipe-1973476 (Jan. 2014) Note: If you use frozen blueberries, they elicit more liquid than fresh blueberries. So you may want to supplement frozen blueberries with additional flour to absorb that liquid.
Carrot cake
This was my first attempt making carrot cake, which is one of my husband's favorite desserts. Recipe is here: http://busycooks.about.com/od/sheetcakes/r/bestcarrotcake.htm (Apr. 2014)
Cheesecake tarts
Using an electric mixer, beat 32 oz cream cheese (or, to reduce fat, 16 oz cream cheese and 16 oz Neufchâtel cheese) until fluffy, then add 2 tsp pure vanilla extract and 2 cups sugar (here, I used homemade vanilla-infused sugar). Slowly mix in 4 eggs, one at a time. Separately, place 24 cupcake liners… Continue reading Cheesecake tarts
Chocolate-almond butter haystacks
Combine 2 cups Kashi 7-grain puffs, ½ cup each cashews and pecans, and 1 cup chow mein noodles (the crispy, twiggy, bad for you kind, not the Whole Foods flat noodle version). Separately, melt 10 oz chocolate chips in 30 second intervals (Mika, note that I increased from 10-15 seconds), stirring between heatings. When chocolate… Continue reading Chocolate-almond butter haystacks
Candied ginger
I had not planned to make ginger candy; rather, this sprung out of my attempts to salvage sugar water from a failed attempt to make Vietnamese bittersweet caramel sauce. First, boil 1 part sugar and 1part water. When the mixture gets viscous, add 1 part peeled, sliced ginger. Let simmer for about 30 minutes to… Continue reading Candied ginger
Mixed berries with limoncello
Toss berries (here, about 2 cups sliced strawberries and blueberries) with 2 Tbsp each julienned spearmint, julienned basil, and limoncello. Let flavors meld for a few mins, then serve. This recipe is by Giada de Laurentiis and available on Food Network. (May 2014)
Cooking Adventures 