Not All Soy Flour is Alike

If you make many breads, especially breads from my site, you've probably seen a recipe that calls for soy flour. I use it in my raisin bread, potato wheat bread, and wheat sandwich loaf. Soy flour is used in bread recipes for a couple of main reasons: it improves the texture by helping the bread to hold moisture and it lengthens storage life. It also strengthens the dough, which can be important in breads with whole wheat in it so that you get a bit more volume. Additionally, it can contribute to crust browning.

The first time I bought soy flour, it happened to be Hodgson Mill's brand, and for years that was the brand that was always available and convenient. When I moved to Florida a couple of years ago, however, that brand was not as readily available, so I purchased a bag of Arrowhead Mill's soy flour. I was so confused when I opened the package and the flour looked so different! In the photo above, the Hodgson Mill's flour is on the left while the Arrowhead Mill's is on the right. Look at that difference in color. Not only did it look different, it smelled different! Worst of all, it tasted different. In delicately flavored breads, I could taste it, and I was not a fan! I couldn't understand why it was so different.

Then one day I finally found some Hodgson Mill's soy flour in a store again and brought it home. I got the other bag out and did a side by side comparison. The first thing I noticed was that there was a HUGE difference in calories and fat. Notice that even though the volumetric serving size is the same, the Hodgson Mill's flour (bag on right) has half the calories and zero fat compared to the Arrowhead Mill's soy flour? Hmmmm. I had to look farther.

Aha! There's the difference. The Hodgson Mill's is a defatted soy flour. Once I did a little research, I came to realize that I had just gotten lucky with my initial purchase. When I started doing a little reading on using soy flour in baked goods, I found the articles usually referred to defatted soy flour.

The moral of this whole story is that you should be aware that not all soy flour is alike and one is better for baking than the other. I was not a fan of my wheat sandwich loaf using the fat-full soy flour because I could taste it in there, which was not my intent and altered the flavor in a negative way. In most bread recipes, soy flour is used more like a dough conditioner than a flavoring, so the defatted version is definitely preferred. Now you know!

Sour Cherry Chocolate Torte

This is another recipe that's surprised me in how long it took me to share it with you. I make this recipe all the time. It's one of my main recipes for easy company desserts or take-it-with-you desserts. In fact, I make it often enough that I have occasionally worried that maybe people might be sick of seeing it. Naaaaah, you can't be sorry to see this dessert again after trying it once.

This recipe originally started as a 9" torte. I still often make it that way, but I've become entranced with how cute it turns out when baked in a mini-cheesecake pan. I have a thing for cute, individual portion desserts. I'm in therapy for it...

This dessert is fudgy like a good brownie, but with a little sophisticated twist. I love the subtle flavor boost of the almonds and I adore the moist, tart addition of the sour cherries! The chocolate in this dessert is wonderful and present, but it is not the only star of the show. I don't think I've ever had someone refuse seconds!

Sour Cherry Chocolate Torte

Yield: 1 9" torte OR 12 mini-tortes

1 lb. can red sour pitted cherries packed in water

6 oz semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup almond flour or ground almonds

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

2/3 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

2/3 cup sifted AP flour

Pre-heat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9” spring-form pan or mini-cheesecake pan and dust with fine bread crumbs. Drain cherries and spread on paper towel and let stand. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler; set aside to cool slightly.

Grind almonds to fine powder, if necessary, and set aside. Cream butter in a bowl, then add vanilla and almond extracts. Add sugar and beat well. Add eggs one at a time. On low speed, add chocolate and almonds. Add flour, stirring only to mix.

Place half of the batter in the pan. Place a single layer of cherries and then put rest of batter on top.

Bake for 50 minutes at 350°. Cake will be dry and crusty on top and toothpick will come out clean when done. Mini-cheesecake version needs to be checked sooner for doneness. Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes. If using springform pan, remove side and let cake stand on bottom of pan until cool. If using mini-cheesecake pan, let cool completely in pan. Serve torte right side up. Sprinkle with powdered sugar once completely cooled and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

What's this? A Cookbook!?!

This is something I first started a couple of years ago. And then I got sidetracked. The nice thing about being stuck in temporary housing for so darn long is that you finally get around to things you've been putting off forever.

Why did I ever start in the first place? I mean, really, all of my recipes are online and available to all as it is. Well, I always thought that I would be okay with taking the digital revolution into the kitchen. But you know what? I've found I'm not. I hate having to read a recipe off my computer or husband's iPad while I'm trying to cook or bake. I have to clean my hands to scroll, or the screen goes to sleep while I'm doing step 2 and have to wake the darn thing back up to go on to step 3, and, worst of all, I have to be careful not to destroy the thing with all the messiness of the kitchen.

The good news is that I like my recipes! I don't post things just for the sake of posting them. If I don't think it's really good, I don't post it. As a result, I make and refer to my recipes all the time. Unfortunately, once I realized I wasn't a fan of referring to them online while I was in the kitchen, I started printing them all out. I had quite a stack of papers going. I realized that what I really needed was to have a volume that was beautiful (I love looking at the pictures) but also had all of my favorite, go to recipes in it, ready to be pulled out on a whim.

So, I decided to make it happen. I made it using Blurb. Sadly, print on demand isn't cheap. I won't be offended if you decide it's too expensive for what it is and decide you don't need it. However, if you are like me and you want it? It's out there waiting for you. I've put a fairly extensive preview online, almost half the book (all the recipes are already online, after all). In addition to the concise version of the recipes (for quick reference, if you need a reminder of all the little tips and details, the full post for each recipe is still available online). I've included my 116 favorite recipes in a variety of categories. Every recipe includes at least one full color photograph. I know I've had the link to the preview on here for a week or so, but I thought a little explanation would not be taken amiss.

French Baguette

Here's a recipe I can't make very easily right now. This little kitchen is starting to get on my nerves. The good news/bad news is that it appears we have a place to live lined up, unfortunately, we can't move in for another two months. Well, finally knowing how long I will be in this little kitchen, I decided today to purchase a few ingredient items I had been putting off. I was hesitant to buy too many herbs and spices, for instance, since I have sooooooo many in our household shipment, but two more months with only salt, pepper, cinnamon, garlic powder, and Mrs. Dash was a little more than I could handle.

I may have to wait a few months to make this recipe, but I can clearly remember just how good it was the last time I made it. I've made many, many batches of french baguettes over the last few years. I've tried to keep notes about what I was doing each time and how it impacted the final result. I knew what I was shooting for as an end result, and each batch got me a little closer. This recipe and set of techniques gets me to that happy place. It results in a flavorful bread with a wonderfully crispy crust and a soft, slightly chewy inside.

Begin by mixing all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer; hold back about a third of the flour at this point, however. Keeping some of the flour out of the mix now allows you to start out beating the dough with a paddle attachment to help hydrate the flour and activate the gluten. Beat the dough for 2-3 minutes on medium.

Speaking of ingredients, let's talk about them in a little more detail. In France, the ingredients for a baguette are stipulated by law: flour, salt, water, and yeast. You'll notice that I have one additional ingredient. This ingredient, diastatic malt, is completely optional, but I really like using it for a couple of reasons. There are two types of malt and diastatic is the one you want for bread making (I get mine from Barry Farms). Diastatic malt contains enzymes that helps the yeast to convert the maltose in the flour into the glucose they want to eat, so it helps with gas production. Additionally, it helps the bread to develop good color in the crust as it bakes. Lastly, I think it gives an extra kick in the flavor department that is very subtle, but super tasty. Use it or not at your discretion.

Switch to the dough hook and add the rest of the flour slowly. Because the humidity can significantly alter just how much flour is required, you may need slightly more or less than the recipe calls for. What you are looking for is the dough to clean off the sides of the bowl, but to never quite clean the bottom of the bowl. The dough should be kneaded for 5-8 minutes, until the gluten is well developed. You can tell the dough is ready because, while it will never quite lose its stickiness, it will form a nice, smooth dough that is elastic and can form a decent "windowpane."

What's a windowpane, you ask? Take a small piece of dough and stretch it out with your fingers, attempting to form a thin film of dough. If it will stretch and become translucent, you're good to go; if it tears and won't form a thin sheet, give it another minute of two in the mixer. I appear to have neglected to take a picture of this technique, so here's a good site showing what it should look like.

Once the dough is well kneaded, drop it into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for one hour. After the hour has passed, knock the dough down, recover, and place in the refrigerator for 8-16 hours. Technically, you can skip this step but I don't advise it; it is during this step that all those complex flavors are developed.

When ready to finish making the bread, pull the bowl of dough out of the refrigerator. Lightly flour the counter and dump the dough out. Be somewhat gentle here, you don't want to completely degas the dough. Because the dough is cold, it should be fairly manageable. Gently press and stretch the dough out until it is as long/wide as you want your loaves to be. My pan makes 16-inch baguettes, so that's what I worked toward. Cut the dough into three equal parts parallel to that long side. Roll each baguette up and pinch the seams together. Place seam side down on a lightly oiled baguette pan. I really like the perforated pan King Arthur Flour puts out.

Lightly cover the baguettes with plastic wrap and let them rise until they are at least doubled. Depending on room temperature and how happy your yeast is, that can be anywhere from 1-3 hours.

At this point, you want to get your oven ready. It's the high heat and steam features of bakery ovens that produce that perfect baguette texture that is so elusive at home. I have found that a 475° F oven works pretty well. You'll just want to be sure you have a clean oven before you start! Before you preheat it though, we need to talk about the steam. I've tried so many different techniques and my favorite by far involves the use of a 6-inch terra cotta saucer.

Place the saucer on a bottom rack to preheat with the oven. When the baguettes are placed in the oven, we'll pour 2 TBS of hot water into the saucer. This hot water added to a hot saucer provides the steam we want. Steam helps to maximize how much of a last rise you get in the oven and also helps with crust development. But you only want steam to be available for the first part of the baking, so only using 2 TBS of water allows the steam to run out at about the point where we want to start using a dry heat to finish the baking.

The last step before sticking the loaves in the oven is to score them. Scoring is often a decorative touch, but it also is very functional; it helps to maximize and evenly distribute that last spring you get from the yeast when the loaves are placed in the oven. Traditionally, bakers use a lame (pronounced /lam/). This is a special, double edged razor. While I think they come in a flat bladed version, all I could find was this curved one, which caused me no end of grief. I finally gave up trying and found that a surgical scalpel works great. I got mine from Jeffer's Livestock. They are cheap, sterile when purchased, and you can change the blades out as they lose their edge.

There are a few tricks to properly scoring baguettes. The first is to make sure to dip your blade in ice water before every single cut. If you don't, your blade will drag horribly. The other key is the angle at which you cut. The idea is to form a fairly thin flap, not a deep valley, in the loaf. Hold the knife so it is sideways, not straight up and down, and basically slice sideways into the loaf about a half to three-quarters of an inch. This cut allows the loaf to expand easily and evenly for maximum spring. The last important tip is to cut fewer, long slices parallel to the loaf than more, shorter slices across the loaf. As soon as the loaf is scored and the oven is preheated to 475° F, the loaves are ready to be baked. Pour 2 TBS of hot water into the saucer and place the loaves in the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden and sound hollow when tapped.

Lastly, everyone knows that French bread is best the day it is baked, but this recipe makes three loaves. What do you do with the other two? While you can freeze them fully baked and simply let them come to room temperature before using, if you want to have that fresh from the oven flavor and texture on demand, then simply parbake the loaves, cool, and freeze. Parbaking means that you have baked the loaves long enough for the bread to be fully baked inside, but removing it from the oven before the crust has fully developed, about 20 minutes. Cool the loaves completely and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. When you are ready for a fresh baked loaf, remove it from the freezer and unwrap. Place in a cold oven and set the thermostat at 375° F. Let the bread and oven heat up together and bake until the bread has developed that gorgeous golden crust.

Here comes the formula, but I need to let you know what I've got going on here. I have provided the formula in three different forms. The first is traditional imperial measurements. The second is given in grams. I have recently come to conclusion that I like mass measurements for simple bread recipes like this one. I simply place the bowl on the scale and add each ingredient, taring between each addition. The last formula given is the baker's math version. I talk about that in this post. The baker's math version allows you to easily scale the recipe to whatever amount you want.

French Baguette

Yield: 3 16" loaves, a shy 1 lb each

5 1/4 cup / 765 g / 100 bread flour
2 1/4 tsp / 7.7 g / 1 diastatic malt (optional)
1 3/4 c + 2 TBS / 444 g / 58 lukewarm water
shy 2 tsp / 15.3 g / 2 table salt
1 1/2 tsp / 6 g / 0.8 instant yeast

Mix all ingredients, less 2 cups of flour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat with a paddle attachment 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Switch to a dough hook and add the remaining flour. Knead on low for another 5-8 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides (but not completely from the bottom) and will form a nice windowpane. Dump the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for one hour. Knock the dough down, recover, and place in the refrigerator for 8-16 hours.

Lightly flour the counter and dump the cold dough onto it. Gently roll, press, or pull the dough into a rectangle as long as you want your loaves to be. Cut the dough into three even rectangles. Roll each rectangle into a loaf and pinch the seams shut. Place on a lightly oiled baguette pan, seam side down. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise until at least double, 1-3 hours.

Place a 6-inch terra cotta saucer on the bottom shelf of your oven and preheat to 475° F. Carefully remove the plastic wrap and score the loaves. When the oven is ready, pour 2 TBS of hot water into the saucer and place the loaves in the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes, or until they are golden and sound hollow when tapped. (See above for instructions on parbaking and reheating loaves). Cool completely. For a loaf that will be used in less than 24 hours, store wrapped in a flour sack towel, otherwise, store in an airtight container.

TIP: To reduce the chance of breakage, be sure to let the terra cotta saucer cool completely in the oven before removing it to store for the next time you make baguettes.

Sausage Stuffed Shells

There's something about this recipe that just really appeals to me. I think it has to do with how cute those jumbo shells are. I love filling them with all kinds of different goodness. This is another recipe that is similar to my potato soup making... almost every time is different! In this version, I use sausage and mushrooms, but I just as often like to make a spinach and cheese version. I vary the cheese, I vary the meat, I vary the herbs, I vary the vegetables. It's all good!

This was a particularly good version, so much so that I actually wrote down what I put in and in what quantities. This is fairly easy to prepare; I find it easier than making lasagna, but just as tasty. I often prepare it when making dishes to provide to families needing a little help preparing meals... it's easy to prepare in advance, simply leaving the baking to the recipient so they can enjoy an easy, home cooked meal in their time of need.

The first step is to mix together the filling: sausage, garlic, onion, mushrooms, parsley, egg, and tarragon. Mix until well incorporated.

Boil the shells as directed on the box, except be sure to cook them al dente, because they will continue cooking in the oven and you don't want them to end up too soft. Also, be sure to boil more shells than you need, because invariably a few of them will be uncooperative and fall apart. Spoon about half a cup of sauce into the bottom of an oven safe dish. For this recipe, you need about an 8 inch dish. Stuff the filling into the shells and place them, seam up in the dish.

After all the shells are filled and placed, pour the rest of the sauce over them and sprinkle on the cheese.

Bake at 350° F for 30-40 minutes, until the cheese is beautifully golden and bubbly and the meat in the shells is cooked through. You can use a thermometer for this part, if you want to be sure it's fully cooked. Shoot for an internal temperature above 160° F. Let the dish cool slightly before serving.

Sausage Stuffed Shells

Yield: 4 servings

1 box jumbo pasta shells

1/2 pound ground sausage

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, minced

2-3 large mushrooms, minced

1 tsp parsley, chopped

1 tsp tarragon, chopped

1 whole egg

1 1/2 cup marinara sauce

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Cook the shells until al dente and drain. This recipe fills about 14 jumbo shells, but you'll want to be sure to cook extra due to breakage. Mix all the ingredients, except for the sauce and cheese, together and stuff into the shells. Pour about 1/2 cup of sauce into the bottom of an oven safe dish. The dish should be about 8-9 inches to fit all shells. Place filled shells into dish, seam side up. Pour remaining sauce over the top and then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 350° F oven for 30-40 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbly and the filling in cooked through. Let cool slightly before serving.

Barley Risotto

Well, we made it! We are now in D.C., trying to get settled without being able to get settled. What does that mean? It means we are still on the waiting list for base housing and are currently living in the temporary lodging facility (TLF) on base. Compared to some of the horror stories I've heard, our TLF is pretty darn nice... with one small caveat.

A TLF is fully furnished and, according to the website comes "equipped with a full kitchen." Based on my previous experiences with "full kitchens" in furnished apartments and extended stay hotels, I had certain expectations. I knew there would not be certain specialty items, so I brought some supplemental items, knowing I could be stuck in this temporary kitchen for as long as two months. So, I brought my good chef knife, a nice paring knife, my electric griddle, a cheese grater, etc. I brought my own knives, because in my experience, the knives found in these "equipped" kitchens are pretty poor indeed.

When we arrived in the TLF, after poking my head in each room, I started going through the kitchen cupboards. Oh la la!!! Good thing I brought my own knives! The only knives in this kitchen? Butter knives. The only items provided? A four place setting of dinnerware, silverware, and drink ware. One small sauce pan. One medium stock pot. One small skillet that really should have been thrown away two years ago. And one glass two cup Pyrex measuring cup. That's it! No mixing bowl. No spatula. No cutting board. No measuring cups or spoons. None of those normal, basic things you expect to find in an "equipped" kitchen. I wish I had known because I certainly could have brought all of these items. Now, I've had to go out and buy new, cheap ones.

Despite these challenges, I've managed to get a little cooking in. So far I've made spaghetti, tacos, and sauteed chicken breasts with caramelized onions. I even managed to make my favorite breakfast food, a batch of chocolate chip muffins. Of course, I had planned ahead on that one and brought everything I needed to make them (except the mixing bowl).

As you might imagine, I'm not sure how many new recipes I'll be able to develop while in this living situation, but I do have a few recipes stock-piled to share with you. This risotto is one of them. I love risotto and posted a more traditional version previously. I also love barley, usually in soups. Somewhere along the way, I started to wonder what a risotto made with barley might taste like, so I finally gave it a try. It turned out great! The texture is much more chewy than with arborio rice risotto, which I find to be a pleasant change of pace, and it is still creamy and flavorful.

Barley Risotto

Yield: 4 servings

1 1/2 TBS butter

8 oz mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup onion, diced

1 cup pearled barley

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

up to 1 more cup of chicken broth

1 cup frozen peas

salt & pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Saute the mushrooms and onions until soft and lightly browned. Add the barley and saute for two minutes. Add the first cup of broth and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer. Cover and cook for twenty minutes. Remove the lid and stir. Over the next 20-30 minutes, slowly add broth as needed until the barley is tender and there is enough liquid left so that the risotto is creamy. Remove the bay leaf and add the frozen peas. Cook just long enough to heat the peas through and serve.

Quick Ham & Bean Soup

I tell you, this is going to be an interesting few months... we just spent the last few weeks on vacation and had a lovely time in the middle of nowhere, Missouri. If you are ever in the Branson area and are looking for a nice place to stay, give a look to Dogwood Canyon's cabins. Of course, it was hotter than heck... and there was no Internet. Are we pathetic, or what? Perhaps it would have been easier if we'd just flat out had no service at all, but we had glimpses of it on our phones, which just taunted us for the entire week. Anyway. We had a good time despite the heat and lack of connectivity.

Now that we're home, we are preparing for the packers to arrive next week. Unfortunately, our housing has not come through yet on the base where we're headed, so we'll be going into temporary housing for a while. I've all of a sudden realized that I will be without my kitchen for at least a month, possibly longer! It has started a panic in me, and I find myself wandering through my kitchen deciding which items I can't live without for that long... my butcher knife and favorite paring knife are definitely coming with me. Beyond that, I'm still trying to decide.

This is also the first time I will be moving without taking my stocked freezer with me. In all my previous moves, we've gone door to door, so I simply locked a few pounds of dry ice in my upright freezer and moved it with everything in it. We can't do that this time. I foresee more weekly shopping and detailed meal planning on my horizon. Who knows? Maybe that will be a good thing. Hopefully, I will still be able to bake and experiment in my transient kitchen. I guess we'll find out soon!

In the meantime, we're trying to clean out the pantry and fridge here, so I made a quick and simple ham and bean soup for dinner tonight. It turned out great and it was done in about 30 minutes. You just can't complain about that.

Here are the basic ingredients. What you're not seeing here is the bacon strips, broth, and herbs.

The general plan with this soup is to first render the fat out of the bacon, saute the vegetables, simmer the broth, puree, and then add final ingredients. Did I mention this soup is fast?

Quick Ham & Bean Soup

Yield: 4 servings

2 slices bacon

1 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1-2 TBS minced garlic

4 cups Knorr vegetable broth

2 15-oz cans Navy beans, drained and rinsed

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp ground thyme

1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups cubed ham

salt & pepper to taste

In a stock pot, cook the bacon until all the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy. Set the bacon aside for garnish or eat as the cook's reward. Saute the onion, celery, and garlic in the bacon fat until translucent. Add the broth, bay leaves, thyme, and Navy beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until the celery is tender.

Carefully puree the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender. Return to the pot and add the black beans and cubed ham. Heat through and serve! Garnish with crumbled bacon, if desired.

Lemon Cornmeal Crisps

I am so excited to finally share this recipe with you! A while ago (oh, geeze, can it really have been over two years ago!?!), I shared a recipe with you for lemon cornmeal cookies. In that post, I detailed how I had been fiddling with two different recipes. The recipe I previously posted makes a light, tender, lemony cookie that is sweet and - most definitely - a cookie. The other recipe, which I am sharing today, is a cookie-like crisp that is less sweet, more crispy, and has some resemblance to a thin, crispy cracker. Although the basic flavors of the two are the same, the end result is quite different, and I absolutely adore them both!

I am trying to come up with the best way to describe the texture of these lemon cornmeal crisps. If you look at the following picture, showing the top and bottom of the crisps, you can see they almost look like really thick tuile cookies. And in a way, they fit that bill. These crisps are snappy and delicious!

I mix the dough in a food processor. The procedure for making this dough is very similar to making pie crust. I love the wonderful texture and flavor that cornmeal adds!

After mixing the dry ingredients (including the sugar), add the cold butter (cut into cubes) and the lemon zest. Pulse just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Mix the buttermilk and vanilla together and then add to the processor, only working the dough until it just starts to pull together. A word of caution: this dough is quite a bit stickier than regular pie crust due to the high sugar content. If you dampen your hands before handling it, it helps a bit.

Dump the dough onto the counter and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours. Longer tends to be better in the case of this dough. Again, it's a bit sticky, but as it sits in the refrigerator, the cornmeal hydrates and results in a less sticky dough. When you are ready to cut the cookies, cut the dough into four sections so you can work with a small amount at a time. Keep the remaining parts refrigerated until you are ready for them.

Prepare sheet trays with parchment and preheat the oven to 375° F. The crisps don't spread too much, so you can place them fairly close together (closer even than I show in this picture).

The big thing is to roll them thin!! Again, this dough can be a little tricky to work with, but I promise the end result is worth it. Just roll them as thinly as you can while still having the dough maintain its integrity.

The last step, if you're so inclined, is to sprinkle the tops with sanding sugar. I really like the added crunch this adds to the crisp, but it is entirely optional. I also like how it adds a little sparkle to the crisps. In the photo below, the crisp on the left is naked while the one on the right was sprinkled with sanding sugar.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are nicely golden. The crisps will not brown evenly and they will burn on the edges before the centers become golden, so keep an eye on them. Like any cookie this thin, once they start to brown at all, keep a close eye on them; they can go from "not yet" to "oh no!" in a matter of moments. Let the cookies cool briefly on the sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Strangely enough, I find I prefer these cookies after they have had a chance to sit a few days. This can be a wonderful thing as they make great gifts that can be made ahead of time.

Lemon Cornmeal Crisps

Yield: approx 60 - 2 1/2 inch rounds

1 3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes

zest of one lemon

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

sanding sugar (optional)

In a food processor, pulse together the first four ingredients. Add the butter and lemon zest and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix together the buttermilk and vanilla and add to the processor, mixing only until the dough starts to come together. Dump the dough out and shape it into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours. For easier dough handling, longer refrigeration is better.

When ready to bake, cut the dough disk into four pieces. Rolling one piece at a time, keep the remainder refrigerated until ready to use. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Roll the dough out as thinly as you can. This dough can be a bit tricky and you will want to use plenty of flour to keep it manageable. I cut mine into 2 1/2 inch rounds, but you can cut them in any shape you desire. Sprinkle with sanding sugar if you want a shiny, crispy top to the crisps. Bake 12-14 minutes, or until the crisps are nicely golden around the edges. They will not brown evenly; the edges will become too done before the center turns golden, so keep an eye on them. Cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an air tight container for up to ten days. These crisps actually taste best two or three days after they are baked.

Coffee Liqueur

Sometimes it makes me chuckle at how much I enjoy making homemade liqueurs considering I'm not a huge fan of drinking them. But they make wonderful gifts and I enjoy using them to make other homemade goodies taste even better.

Take this coffee liqueur, for instance. I don't drink coffee, but I do love a good dark chocolate, coffee truffle. You can make this coffee liqueur much more cheaply than you can buy a bottle of the good stuff. The other nice thing about this liqueur, unlike the blackberry I posted earlier, is that it can be made, start to finish, in less than a week. How's that for handy!?!

Coffee Liqueur

Yield: approximately 4 cups

2 2/3 cup vodka

2 cups whole French vanilla coffee beans

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

Dump the coffee beans into a large glass jar with a tightly fitting lid. Pour the room-temperature vodka over the beans. Put the lid on the jar, swirl to mix and then set in a cool, dark place to steep for five days, swirling occasionally.

After the five days, the vodka should be quite dark. If it is not, give the mixture another day or two to sit. I wouldn't recommend letting the mixture sit over two weeks, at the maximum. Strain the vodka, first with a colander and then through a couple of coffee filters to ensure a nice, clear product.

Heat the sugar and water just until the sugar melts. Let this mixture cool to room temperature. Pour into the strained vodka and stir. Decant into pretty bottles and enjoy!

NOTE: Obviously, the quality of vodka you choose to use in this recipe will affect the outcome. It all depends on what you intend to do with the final result. If you are looking for a fine sipping liqueur, then buy the best quality vodka you can afford. If you are making this recipe to use as an ingredient in other products, you can get by with the cheap stuff.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

This has been quite a week. After driving two days with my horse from Florida to Virginia, and dropping her off to live with a good friend, I've been looking at potential rental homes in the Washington DC area. We're moving there later this summer and are trying to get our ducks in a row. Although there's been very little cooking, there has been a lot of good eating! It has inspired me and I am excited to get back home and start cooking and baking again.

This is a recipe I have made quite a bit. I often make it to give to friends as a thank you gift. It is beautiful and it has a wonderful soft, spongy texture with a fantastic lemon kick. I think I could eat this cake day in and day out and never get sick of it.

Making this cake is a little more involved than for most pound cakes, but it is very worth it... and it's not hard, it just entails a few extra steps.

The first step is to sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then beat the eggs and sugar together in a mixer until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is thick and light yellow, about 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, gently melt the butter and then add the cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, and poppy seeds. Make sure it is not too hot before moving on to the next step.

So, this recipe involves three separate mixtures that are then brought together: the egg/sugar mixture, the butter/lemon mixture, and then the flour/leavening mixture.

Fold the flour mixture into the eggs and sugar. Then spoon one quarter of this batter into the butter mixture to lighten it, and then fold in the remaining batter until just mixed.

Pour the mixture into a prepared pan. To ensure I have a clean release, I grease the pan and then line with a small piece of parchment. There is nothing more frustrating than to go to all the trouble to make a nice cake and then have a big chunk of it remain in the pan. This recipe will make one 9x5 cake or one 8x4 and one mini loaf. I often like to go the later route because then I can partake of the bounty without having to eat some of the main cake.

Bake the cake in a preheated 325° F oven for 60-70 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden and a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a rack in the pan for 20-30 minutes before removing to finish cooling. Once the cake is completely cooled, mix the icing and pour over the top of the cake. I keep the cake on the cooling rack, but place the rack over a pan to catch the excess icing. Let the cake sit out to let the icing dry completely before serving or storing in an air tight container. While the cake will keep for a week, it is best within the first two days.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

Yield: one 9x5 cake or one 8x4 and one mini loaf

Adapted from Joanne Chang's Flour Cookbook

2 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp table salt

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup + 3 TBS butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 TBS lemon zest

1 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 TBS poppy seeds

For the icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 TBS lemon juice

1-2 TBS low-fat milk

Preheat the oven to 325° F and prepare the pan by greasing it and lining with a piece of parchment. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In a mixer, beat together the eggs and sugar together until thick and pale yellow, about 3-5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small pan, gently melt the butter and then, off the heat, add the cream, zest, lemon juice, and poppy seeds. Let the mixture cool, if necessary, until lukewarm before proceeding.

Fold the flour mixture into the egg/sugar mixture. Spoon about a quarter of the batter into the butter mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining batter, just until mixed. Pour into the prepared pan and bake at 325° F for 60-70 minutes, until the top is golden and a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 20-30 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and set back on the rack to finish cooling. When the cake is completely cool, mix the icing and pour over the top of the cake. Let the cake sit out until the icing has completely dried. Store in an air tight container. Cake is best if served within two days.