Chocolate Guinness Cake

Or in this case...cupcakes! :)

I first made this cake and posted about it here a couple of years ago. It is just as good now as it was then so I thought I would share it again for St. Patrick's Day. The recipe was originally posted at Simply Recipes in March of 2012 and is an adaption of a recipe by Nigella Lawson.

Chocolate Guinness Cake

1 cup stout or porter beer                    **Click here to print this recipe**   
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment or wax paper and then lightly grease the paper. If making cupcakes, line the pan(s) with paper liners AND lightly spray them with cooking spray.
In a large saucepan, heat the beer and butter over medium-high heat until the butter has melted. Add the cocoa powder and sugars and whisk together. Take off the heat and allow to come to room temperature. (Only takes a few minutes)
In another bowl, beat together the sour cream, eggs and vanilla until very, very well combined. Add to the butter-beer mixture and whisk together.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the beer-butter mixture and whisk together until it just comes together. Pour into the prepared pan and give the pan a few short drops onto the counter to remove any air bubbles. If making cupcakes, fill each well three-quarters full with batter.
Bake cake for 50 to 60 minutes, cupcakes for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edge to separate the cake from the pan, if necessary, and remove the ring from the springform pan.
Frost as desired.

This recipe makes a LOT of batter and would easily make 30 to 36 cupcakes.

I frosted the cupcakes with a classic cream cheese frosting but a chocolate buttercream frosting would also be very good. Here is a photo of the cake I made in 2012.

Sharing with the Down Home Blog Hop, Rurality Blog Hop, From The Farm Blog Hop and Farmgirl Friday.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies

What is your favorite cookie? Chocolate chip? Peanut butter? Oatmeal? Why not just combine them all in one cookie! :)

We were out of cookies the other day (gasp!) and I was bored with the same old, same old. I remembered a peanut butter cookie with chocolate chips that I had years ago and decided to peruse the internet to see if I could recreate it. Well, DUH, you can find ANYTHING on the internet! LOL!! This recipe is a compilation of several that I looked at and uses my Baking Mix and basic cookie recipe.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter               **Click here to print this recipe**
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups Baking Mix
2 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, beat together butter, peanut butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in the Baking Mix and oats; mix thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.
Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes and then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Linking up with the Down Home Blog Hop, the Rurality Blog Hop and Farmgirl Friday.

Kale with Sausage and Beans

Last week, I had a lovely bunch of kale from the Farmer's Market to use up and some spicy Italian sausage. I thought about making Sausage Potato Kale soup but Jerry was about "souped out" for awhile.

I did a search on the internet for ideas and came across this recipe from one of my favorite sites, Simply Recipes. I did make a couple of changes to the original recipe. I used spicy Italian sausage and I substituted some leftover pinto beans for the white beans, since that was what I had on hand. I also added some mushrooms. Wow, this dish is simple, quick and full of flavor!! The above picture is actually some leftovers that I had for breakfast the next morning with a poached egg on top, YUM! :)

Kale with Sausage and Beans

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound bulk spicy Italian sausage
1 onion, sliced thin
8 ounces sliced mushrooms (I love baby Bellas)
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 pound kale, remove center rib and roughly chop leaves
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 cups cooked pinto beans
Salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the sausage and cook for about 5 minutes, then add the onions and mushrooms. Cook until the edges of the onions start to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the kale, sprinkle with salt, then add the chicken stock. Cover the pan, lower the heat to medium and cook for 2 or 3 minutes to wilt down the kale. Uncover, mix well and add the beans. Cover again and turn the heat to low. Cook for another 5 minutes and then turn off the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Linking up with The Country Homemaker Hop, Down Home Blog Hop, Rurality Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday and What I Am Eating.

Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

I surely do enjoy baking and cooking and creating new recipes! I usually start with a recipe that I find somewhere and change things to use what I have on hand and what we like to eat. I found this recipe for Chipotle Sweet Potato Corn Chowder last week and thought it sounded like something we would really like. I cut down the recipe, since there are only the two of us, and changed some of the ingredients. I have been making a Potato Corn Chowder for years using white potatoes and Cajun seasonings but this recipe is soooo much better!

Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

1 large sweet potato, roasted and cubed
2 tablespoons butter
1 large shallot, chopped
2 cups frozen corn, thawed (I use this awesome recipe from dr. momi)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup half & half (I use half goat milk/half heavy cream)

Roast sweet potato, wrapped in foil, in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until done. Let cool; peel and cut into cubes.
In a large saucepan, melt butter, then add shallot and cook for about five minutes until soft. Add corn, thyme, marjoram, chipotle powder and cumin; cook and stir for another few minutes. Add chicken stock and sweet potato; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Use a potato masher to mash up the sweet potato a bit. Stir in half & half and heat through being careful not to let it boil.

Sharing with The Country Homemaker Hop, Down Home Blog Hop and Rurality Blog Hop.

Wearing Aprons

I don't have a real extensive apron collection. The red one with the rooster was my dad's, he ran the Senior Nutrition Site and one of the ladies made the apron for him to wear while serving lunches. The denim one on the left Jerry just bought for me this past weekend. It has the Bisbee Farmer's Market logo on it and I'm going to start wearing it at the Farmer's Market on Saturdays. The second one from the right was the apron I made when I first started reading MaryJanesFarm magazine and participating in the forums. The second one from the left is a MaryJane pattern called the harvest apron. The entire yellow panel is a large pocket. I LOVE it! The one in the middle is my favorite apron though, and it is the one I have been wearing at the Farmer's Market for a couple of years. I even had to patch one of the pockets because I wore a hole in it carrying quarters in it! LOL!!

Since I now have a new apron for the Farmer's Market, I have started wearing my old favorite here at home for my baking and housework. There was a wonderful post floating around awhile back on Hillbilly Housewife entitled Apron Evangelism but, sadly, the link no longer exists. I was able to come up with a couple of quotes from the original article on other sites.

"One day Maggie, in the midst of a couple of vexing household/parenting issues, asked her mother for advice. Her mother told her she needed "a uniform or costume which would reassure myself and others of my intention and status in the home....It would remind me of my duties, inspire me to greater levels of cleanliness...and reaffirm my authority."

"Boy howdy, was I in for a surprise. In the mirror I saw a vision of the homemaker I have always strived to become staring back at me. Her cheery face glistened in the sunshine. Her hair tied up neatly in a bun looked authoritative and compassionate all at the same time. The apron covered several figure flaws and accentuated the fertile curves of the woman I saw in the mirror. This woman had purpose. She had status. She had clout. I stood there, contemplating the wonder of the homemaker that shone through my image in the mirror. “This is who I want to be” I told myself. “This is the Keeper of the home, with a capital ‘K’. ”

One of the issues I had with wearing an apron was where to store them so that I could get to them easily. Oh, and actually remembering to put one on!! ;) I just don't have any space on the walls in the kitchen for hooks so I got one of those over-the-door hooks and put it on the laundry room door so my aprons are now easily accessible.

How about you? Do you wear an apron? Do you think it helps to validate your position as the Keeper of the home to yourself and others?

Sharing with The Country Homemaker Hop, the Down Home Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, the Farm Girl Friday Blog Fest and the new Rurality Blog Hop with Madge at The View From Right Here.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Jerry told me that this was the BEST soup I have ever made and he does not even LIKE mushrooms! ;)
This recipe comes from Mama Pea at A Home Grown Journal and is part of her Soup Sunday series. It goes together quickly, doesn't call for any off-the-wall ingredients and tastes divine! Who needs soup in a can anyway?!?

Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/4 cup butter
8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms (I used baby Portobellos)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste (I used more)
1/2 teaspoon savory (I used summer savory)
Pinch of white pepper
12 oz. beef stock or broth
1 cup Half-&-Half (I used half heavy cream and half goat milk)

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add mushrooms and onions and cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are brown and most of their liquid is gone.
Sprinkle with flour, salt, savory and pepper. Cook and stir for a minute or two.
Remove from heat and slowly blend in beef stock. Put back on heat, bring to boiling, cover and reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Mixture will be very thick so simmer on a low heat and stir now and then to make sure it's not sticking.
Mix in the Half-&-Half and heat to serving temperature being careful not to let it boil.

This makes enough for two main dish servings with just a bit left over, which Jerry promptly ate after finishing his first bowlful!
Sharing with The Country Homemaker Hop, the Down Home Blog Hop and Farmgirl Friday.

Kolaches

Kolaches are an Eastern European sweet yeast roll. They are tradtionally shaped into a circle as a symbol of good luck, prosperity and eternity. Our Farmer's Market manager is from the Hill Country of Texas and it seems Kolaches are quite common in that area. She asked me last month if I had ever heard of them and if I could make them. I had actually heard of them and remembered seeing a recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens Old-Fashioned Home Baking cookbook.

I used that recipe as a starting point and tweaked it quite a bit after looking at other recipes on the internet.

Kolaches
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups bread flour
2 to 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast (If using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm milk before combining with the remaining ingredients.)
Solo brand Cake & Pastry filling in flavor of choice. (I used Poppy Seed and Apricot this time)

Mix, knead and let your dough rise until doubled using your favorite method; bread machine, manual or stand mixer. Divide dough in half and divide each half into 12 equal pieces and shape into balls. Flatten each ball to 2-1/2 inches in diameter. Cover; let rise until nearly double. Using your thumb or two fingers, make an indentation in the center of each dough circle. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of filling into each indentation.. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown. Remove rolls from baking sheets and cool on a wire rack. If desired, lightly sift powdered sugar over the tops. Makes 24 Kolaches.

I don't normally like using canned anything but in looking at the different recipes on the internet, I came across several comments that trying to use jam didn't work because it melts and runs off, so I broke down and used the canned stuff. If I was making them just for us, I would try making my own fillings but that would be a bit much to add to my already busy weekly baking schedule!

I made a batch with the poppy seed filling for our last Farmer's Market before Christmas and they were well received so I decided to make them again for this Saturday. I hope they all sell! :)

Linking up with the Down Home Blog Hop at Tilly's Nest, The Country Homemaker Hop and Farmgirl Friday.