Strawberry Coffee Cake

Adapted from here

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(this is what Coleen used 2 cups frozen dark sweet cherries (thawed and drained well)

2 cups fresh strawberries chopped
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter room temperature
½ cup sliced almonds
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup sour cream

Directions from Coleen for the cherries
Thaw and drain the frozen dark sweet cherries completely (I put them in a colander overnight in the fridge). The next morning, drain completely, cut the cherries in half and mix with the brown sugar and almond extract. Set aside.

Beat butter till creamy, add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, add extracts and sour cream, mix well. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth.

Spread 2/3 of the batter into greased 9" spring form pan. Top with fruit


and then spoon dollops of the remaining 1/3 of the batter, over the fruit, like this:



Sprinkle the sliced almond over the top of everything and sprinkle it with a little cinnamon sugar
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let the coffee cake cool in the pan for about 15 minute before removing it. Drizzle the cake with a simple vanilla glaze.

GLAZE
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Oh gee, ya know I forgot to put the glaze on, BUT it was wonderful without it.
Tips from Coleen
IMPORTANT NOTE: When you thaw the frozen dark sweet cherries, you will get a considerable amount of "juice". DO NOT USE that juice in this recipe (save it for a different recipe). However, after they are drained and you mix the cherries with the brown sugar and almond extract (after it sits a few minutes) you will get even MORE "juice"...make sure you use this extra juice in the recipe.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe calls for a 9" spring form pan, but you can make it in a regular 9" round cake pan. The spring form pan just makes for a prettier presentation. IF YOU USE A SPRING FORM PAN, make sure you wrap the bottom of the pan in foil, in case your pan leaks.

This is a great cake for after dinner or breakfast. Thanks for stopping by. Remember to Find the time to Do all the things YOU love.
Donna

Red Cabbage with Apples

This is one of the side dishes that went with the Roast Pork that is the post before this one. I really like way of cooking red cabbage. It's so savory. I adapted this from Rachel Ray

Ingredients

Printable

• 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Salt and pepper
• 1 medium red cabbage
• 1/2 large onion sliced
  
• 2 crisp apples, chopped
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup cloudy apple cider
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1 round tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seed, half a palmful
  

Shred the cabbage and add to a large covered pot with the apples and onions. Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Add cider, vinegar, both sugars and caraway; bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. Cook covered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Give this meal a try, you'll love it.
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to do ALL the things You Love.
Donna

Roast Pork

A very quick and easy meal. I made red cabbage with apples, (found here) and parsley-onion potatoes. The potatoes were cooked with the meat. YUM I had cooked the meat about an hour the night before and to be honest I could have cooked it longer because totally it took about 3 hrs. This was about a 5 .5 lb roast. I first put some evoo in a Dutch Oven and then added large chucks of onion. (I quartered a fairly large onion), then added 2 cloves of garlic diced large, let it cook for a minute or two. I rubber evoo on the meat and then sprinkled some salt, pepper. thyme and parsley then added it to the pot. After about 10 minutes I took the onions out and set them on the side, didn't want them overcooked. I browned it on all sides then put it in a roasting pan, added the onions back and roasted it for about an hour at 350 degrees. I left it on the counter to cool then covered with foil and put it into the refrigerator overnight. About an hour before I was ready I took it out and let is rest on the counter to try to get it to room temp. I peeled 8 good size potatoes and cut them into large cubes and in a large bowl I poured about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil on them tossed them, added 3-4 TBL parsley, thyme and then seasoned with salt n pepper. Tossed them again and placed them all around the meat. SO Sorry I forgot to get that picture.
I cooked the meat for about another 1 1/2 hours until the internal temp was 160. When done I let it rest on the counter for about 10-15 minutes before cutting it.Now doesn't that look just juicy and wonderful. It taste sooooooooooooo good too.
From the pan drippings I put some 1/2 cup chicken stock into the roasting pan, stirred it around to get all those wonderful nummies in the pan then added about 1/2 cup of water. I brought that to a boil then took another 1/2 cup of water mixed in 3-4 TBL cornstarch with salt/pepper, about 1/2 tsp. thyme. I added this to my other mixture, turned it down and cooked it until it thickened. Just yummy Gravy.
My upcoming posts will be of the red cabbage, so be on the look out. This is a wonderful meal, sure hope you try it.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the time to do ALL the things YOU Love.
Donna

Hard Rolls

If you've ever been to NY and had a sandwich made at a Deli on a hard roll well, search no more. These are just wonderful and being a transplant NYer I must say these come pretty darn close. These also remind me of the rolls you can get at the bakeries in NY. These are adapted from here.
Printable:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups warm water
3 tbsp butter, soft
1 egg white
4-1/2 to 5-1/2 cups bread flour
Cornmeal
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cornstarch

Preparation:

In large bowl, mix sugar, yeast, salt, and water until yeast is dissolved.
Add butter, egg white, and 3 cups of flour. Mix until well blended.
Slowly add flour, about a 1/4 cup at a time, until dough is formed.
Turn dough out onto floured board and knead for 8 minutes, adding small amounts of flour to the dough as necessary. I do all my kneading in my Kitchen Aide.
Place dough in greased bowl. Turn dough over in bowl to grease dough top. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes or until double in size.
Punch down dough. Turn out onto lightly floured board, cover dough and let sit for another 10 minutes.

Prepare two large baking sheets by greasing the sheets and sprinkling cornmeal on them.
Divide dough into two equal parts. Divide each half into 9 equal pieces for a total of 18 rolls.
Form each dough piece into round ball and place on baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches space between rolls.
Cover rolls and let rise for about 30 minutes or until double in size.
Mix water and cornstarch in small saucepan. Bring to boil and then set aside to cool to warm until rolls are finished rising.
Brush rolls with cornstarch mix and cut an X on roll tops.
If desired, sprinkle rolls with sesame or poppy seeds.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees, turn oven down to 375 degrees and bake rolls for about 15 minutes or until done and golden. *(sound hollow when tapped).
Remove from baking sheets and let cool on wire racks.
Let rolls cool completely before bagging and freezing for later.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the things you love.
Donna

Pizza Dough (something different)

I found this recipe here , and thought I'd give it a try and see if it was better than the tried and true recipe I currently use. I had never heard of using white wine in pizza dough so of course I was curious, and knew I would have to at least try it.
Here is the results. I made a strange type of pizza it was Turkey Bacon Pizza. It really was tasty, but I must admit there is nothing like REAL Bacon. Guess it's a pork thing. :))

Uncooked:Ready to eat. Was very tasty but again I really like my dough recipe better.
I also noticed with this recipe it cooks and brown much quicker. I have put some in the refrigerator to see if it would change the texture and taste, because that is how I make and use mine. *Little up date. I put this dough in the refrigerator and then made a small pizza the next day, it did give it a better taste but still it did cook quicker, so if you do use this please watch your pizza, maybe start with 10 minutes and go from there.*
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the time to Do ALL the things YOU love.
Donna

Lemon Curd Puff Pastry

These are so easy, quick and delicious.....and don't they look yummy. They are!
You'll need to make lemon curd the add some whip cream, cool whip or creme fraiche. Then drizzle chocolate on top. Like I said easy peasy.
Printable
Lemon Curd:
3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 min. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 min. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.) Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil.
Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

For lime curd, substitute fresh lime juice and zest for lemon. Wonder if there such a thing as orange curd....hmmmmm well guess I go surfing and find out.
Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to do ALL the things YOU love.
Donna