Almond Tea Bread Recipe

We were fortunate to receive a bag of cherries from the grandparents, but needed some assistance to finish them before they get gross.  After a minutes randomly Googling recipes on the internet, I came across this:

Almond Tea Bread by Taste of Home

Doesn't it look beautiful?

What I love about the recipe is the use of fresh cherries and almond paste instead of the usual almond extract.  Give it a bit of an extra oomph, I think.  My own attempt didn't photograph as well but was delicious nonetheless.

According to my 4 year old, it was the "best dessert ever"!  Nuff said!

I adapted the recipe as follows:

Ingredients

• 1 can (7 ounces) almond paste
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1-1/2 cups fresh pitted cherries 
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine almond paste and butter; beat until well blended. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a small bowl, gently toss cherries and 1 tablespoon flour. Set aside.
2. Combine the baking powder, salt, remaining flour; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.
3. Spoon a sixth of the batter into each of two greased and floured 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans; sprinkle layers with half of the fruit. Cover with another layer of batter and sprinkle with remaining fruit. Top with remaining batter; smooth with spatula.
4. Bake at 350° for 1-1/4 hours or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).

I only had 2 cups all purpose flour avail (but would have subbed 1 cup of wheat anyway) and with the addition of the wheat flour, more milk was required.

Just a note about pitting the cherries without a tool.  You can use a chopstick or a piping tip to push out the seed.  I found the number 5 piping tip to be perfect as you can just set it on the cutting board and push the cherry down on top.  Be-warned that if your cherries are on the juicier side, you may want to put on an apron and possibly some goggles.  Not that I had cherry juice spray on my face or anything. =)

Pot au Feu

I've been on a french food kick lately.  It can be difficult going out with kids and even harder to fancy places like many French Restaurants.  So I decided it was time to try my hand at traditional french cuisine.  After last week's Beef Bourgiognon and Normandy apple cake, I was ready for something a bit lighter.

My recipe of choice today:

Pot au Feu (French Beef Stew) from Traditional French Food

Recipe seemed simple enough - I already had most of the ingredients on hand.  A quick stop at the store for turnips and leeks and we were ready to begin.  I'm only including one photo here as I over cooked it a bit (veggies were falling apart) and it doesn't look as gorgeous as it tastes.

Next on my wish list: Coq au Vin

Cheese and Veggie Mini Muffins

Trying out a a new recipe.  Those who know me know I love me my mini muffin pan.  Bite sized treats that don't require any cutting and eliminates any squabbles over size.  Behold my newest attempt:

Recipe adapted from Learn with Play
I usually make mini muffins for my boys to help with the veggie and fiber intake.  They freeze well and can be reheated in microwave or defrosted in the fridge.  They make breakfast very easy.  My oldest insisted that these were REALLY yummy as opposed to the usual yummy.  Win win!

I made my usual adjustments - replace some of the all purpose with wheat flour and coconut flour to increase the fiber content.  A bit of chia seed and flax seed for the health benefits.  I used a combo of swiss, smoked cheedar and parmesean for the cheese as it was what I had on hand. Frozen veggies work well in this recipe as does bits of frozen ham!

Cheese and Veggie Mini Muffins

Ingredients: 

• 250 grated cheese (approx 2 cups)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup wheat flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 3 tsp chia seed
• 1 tsp flax seed  
• 4 tsps of baking powder to each cup of plain flour)
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup chopped honey ham
• 1/2 bundle of spinach
• Other random veggies finely diced.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients: 

Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F)

Sift flour into a large bowl.

In blender, combine the flax seed, eggs, spinach and milk.

Make a well in the flour, add in the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined.

Spoon into a greased muffin tray and bake for 12-18 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.  Add more time if you like the cheese crispy but note that the muffin will be a bit drier.

I omitted the salt and pepper as I find the cheeses (Parmesan specifically) imparts enough salt.

Makes approximately 36 mini muffins.