October 2006

Well I guess Fall is here but the last few days it seems more like summer.  The longer it takes for cold weather to get here is alright with me.  As I look out my windows I see mostly green.  Our birch trees have been dropping leaves for a long time and look a little yellow.  I notice the tree in Pearl Cooper’s back yard has been all yellow for almost a week.  Our Norway maple is always the last to turn a brilliant yellow.  I do have my  dinning room table cleared and a new fall table cloth on it.  I found some really interesting place mats at Younkers that I put in the middle of the table.  They are large leaves of fall shades of yellow, green and brown.  They are made of matted wool or heavy thick felt.  I also found out at the Amana Colonies some small leaves and acorns that give a little added touch.  Of course I always have candles, gourds, pumpkins and some pine cones and nuts.  You will all have to come and see it on October 14 when I am having a open house breakfast for Steve Haring from 9 to 10:30.  I hope the paper will be out in time.

The neatest recipe I found this month is one for a Halloween cake from Women’s Day last November.  It takes a little time to make as do most decorated cakes.  I copied the picture but don’t know how it will copy in the paper.

SMILING JACK-O’-LANTERN CAKE

Serves 16 - Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Store covered at room temperature.

Baking spray (nonstick spray with flour)

2 boxes (18.25 oz each) yellow cake mix with pudding in the mix

2 large cans (18 oz. each) whipped fluffy   white frosting

Green and orange paste or gel food colors

Eyes, nose and mouth: 100 (.5oz each ) Tootsie Roll candies

Sugar

Leaves and tendrils: 12 spearmint leaf jelly candies and 3 in leaf shape cookie cutter

Candy corn, for serving plate

1. Place oven rack in middle position.  Heat to 350 degrees F.  With baking spray coat a 6 cup bundt pan , and 8x2 in round cake pan and a 10 ¾ oz clean soup can( remove the label).

2. Prepare cake mix as package directs.  Fill bundt pan and round cake pan each with 3 1/3  cups batter; fill soup can with 2/3 c batter ( cover and leave remaining batter at room temperature).

3. Bake soup can 25 minutes, bundt and round cake 35 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in centers of cakes comes out clean.  Cool cakes completely in pans on wire racks before inverting cakes on racks.

4. Wash and dry bundt pan; coat with baking spray.  Add remaining batter.  Bake and cool as above.

5. Trim rounded bottoms( humps) off bundt cakes and top of round cake with a long serrated knife until flat reserving cake scraps.  Brush crumbs off cakes.  Trim soup-can cakes into a stem shape, cutting top of stem diagonally; brush off crumbs.  Let cakes air- dry 30 minutes.

6. Spoon 1 cup frosting into a small bowl; tint green for stem,  tint remaining frosting orange.

7. To assemble: Frost stem cake with green frosting, leave diagonal cut on top unfrosted to look like a fresh stem; let stand for icing to set.  Place1 bundt cake flat side up on a serving plate.  Tuck strips of wax paper under edges of cake to keep plate clean while frosting. Spread top of cake with a thin layer of orange frosting.  Set round cake on top, trimming to fit and saving scraps.  Thinly frost top of  round cake; place remaining bundt cake, cut side down, on top , lining up ridges of top bundt cake with ridges of bottom bundt cake. Place cake scraps in hole in center ( to support stem, added later). Spread cakes with a thin layer of orange frosting.  Refrigerate 20 minutes.

8. Using vertical strokes, spread remaining orange frosting on pumpkin making pumpkin – like ridges from top to bottom.

9. Carefully lift cake stem with small spatula and place in center of pumpkin, refrosting any smudges on stem, if necessary.  Pull out wax paper strips from under pumpkin.

10. Eyes, nose and mouth: Unwrap Tootsie Rolls and press together.  Soften 5 seconds in microwave, or until easy to knead.  Knead until smooth.  Roll out 1/8 in. thick on non stick foil or wax paper. Using a small paring knife, cut out a “smiling mouth”. Dab a little orange frosting on back of mouth, press into place.  Re – roll Tootsie Roll scraps cut out 2 triangular eyes and a nose attack to face with dabs of frosting.

11. Leaves: Sprinkle a flat surface with sugar.  Roll out 9  spearming jelly candies into 9 thin ovals, about 2 ½ inches long.  For each leaf: Arrange 3 flattened ovals, slightly over lapping along long edges.  With a rolling pin, flatten ovals ino an even layer.  Using leaf cutter cut out 1 leaf.  Press into sugar ot coat.  Repeat twice.  Tendrils: Squeeze remaining 3 spearmint cakies into a clump.  Using palms of you hands, roll out on sugared surface into long rope, like thick spaghetti.  Carefully wind rope around a chopstick, a thick skewer or a thin pencil.  Slide off and divide into 3 coils.  Place 2 leaves on left side of cake stem and remaining leaf to right of stem as shown.  Top leaves with tendrils Scatter candy corn around cake.

12. To serve: First cut wedges from top cake through center round cake then cut bottom cake.

            Since we have not as of today had a hard frost maybe some of you still have tomatoes.  This only take four Roma tomatoes you could buy at the grocery store.

I found the recipe in the June 2005 “Midwest Living “magazine

FRESH TOMATO TART

1 crust of a 15-oz rolled refrigerated unbaked piecrust.( I used one in a tin because the store was out of the other.  I thought it worked fine.)

1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese. (I used 2 cups)

4 Roma or small regular tomatoes

¾ c loosely packed fresh basil or 1 T Italian spices

4 clove garlic or 1 T prepared in a jar.

½ cup mayonnaise of salad dressing

¼ c grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 t ground white or black pepper

1. Unroll the refrigerated pie crust according to package directions. Line a 9 inch tart pan with the crust (it’s easier to remove baked tart if the pan has a removable bottom)  I found it worked just fine in the aluminum pie pan. Don’t prick

2. Bake the tart ina 450 degree oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until slightly dry.  Remove from oven.  Sprinkle with ½ cup of mozzarella cheese.  Reduce oven to 375 degrees .

3.  cuts tomatoes into wedges.( If I make this again I will just slice the tomatoes, drain on paper towel.  Arrange the slices over the melted cheese in the baked crust.

4. In a food processor bowl, combine basil and garlic.  Cover and  process until coarsely chopped.  Or snip the basil and mince the garlic.  I just put the spice and all the rest in the processor and mixed it together in short bursts.

5.  Spread this over the tomatoes, evenly.

6. Bake the tart in a 376 degree oven for about 25 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.  Makes 8 appetizers or 4 main dish servings.

            Rock and I have been helping Steve Haring with some campaign mailings.  We have done it 5 times we go about nine in the morning and if we don’t have something else on the calendar we work until we get done.  There is usually any where for 6 to 12 of us. I usually take coffee cake or the other day I took some scones.  The recipe I used was from the “Family Circle” April 1 ,2005 

BLUEBERRY-ORANGE SCONES

Makes 12 – I got 16.

2 ¼ c all purpose flour

2/3 c sugar or Splenda I used Splenda

1 T baking powder

1 t baking soda

¾ t salt

6 T cold unsalted butter cut into cubes I used margarine

1 T white vinegar plus enough milk to equal a cup.  I used ½& ½

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1 t grated orange peel

1 egg slightly beaten plus egg yold

1 egg white

2 T granulated sugar

1.   oven 400 degrees.  I didn’t have parchment paper so I put muffin cups on a cookie sheet.

2.  Combine flour, sugar or Splenda, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Add the butter or margarine and mix with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in blueberries and orange peel.  Gently stir in milk mixture and egg.

3. Using a standard ice-cream scoop about ½ cup drop into the muffin papers on the cookie sheet. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.

4. Bake at 400 degrees 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven.  Serve as soon as possible.  These were very light and fluffy. They were also good cold.  We brought home about 4.