And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing this past week! Last week’s box was special indeed:
- 1- 12 Oz. Fig Walnut Rye Bread
- 3 Lbs- Mountain Fresh Tomatoes
- 1 Pt- Yellow Pear Heirloom Tomatoes
- 1- 8 Oz. Arugula
- 3 Lbs- Sweet Potato Medley
- 5 Lbs- Apple Medley
- 3 Lbs- Butternut Squash
- 1 Doz.- Farm Fresh Eggs
Everything has been delicious, and we’ve just about eaten our way through everything already! On Wednesday, the eggs made their debut in ‘breakfast for dinner’ night. Scrambled with a touch of sour cream and some fresh tarragon from the garden… absolutely delicious. Years and years ago, I stayed at a bed and breakfast and was introduced to the scrambled egg and tarragon combination, and it is a good one indeed. If you haven’t tried it, you really must. Absolutely delicious!
Tonight, I used up the arugula in one of my favorite recipes: Rice Salad with Arugula, Pine Nuts, and Olives. The arugula was magnificent. It smelled so wonderful coming out of the bag, I just stood there and enjoyed the wonderful aroma!
Here’s a link to the recipe and some pictures from tonight’s dinner! Served the rice salad with grilled chicken and some green beans sauteed with garlic (also farm fresh!) and lemon.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rice-Salad-with-Arugula-Pine-Nuts-and-Olives-2198
And for dessert, well, that was special! Who would have thought that butternut squash could elevate dessert to such dizzying heights? This cake was even better than I expected. I was a little wary at first about adding that much butternut squash… but the cake is just amazing!
Here’s a picture and the recipe (from FineCooking.com)!
Buttermilk Cake with Spiced Vanilla Icing
The secret to this moist, tender cake is grated butternut squash, which is folded into the batter just before baking. Use the large holes on a box grater to grate the squash.Serves 10 to 12.
For the cake:
4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened; more for the pan
13-1/2 oz. (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for the pan
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 Tbs. distilled white vinegar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. table salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup buttermilk
2-1/4 cups peeled and grated butternut squash (about 8 oz.)
For the icing and garnish:
9 oz. (2-1/4 cups) confectioners’ sugar
3 Tbs. buttermilk; more as needed
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
Make the cake
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Butter and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan; tap out excess flour.
In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the oil and beat until combined, about 15 seconds. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well on low speed. Add the vinegar and vanilla and mix again until just combined. Add half of the flour and the baking soda, salt, ginger, and nutmeg, mixing on low speed until just combined. Add half of the buttermilk and mix until just combined. Repeat with the remaining flour and buttermilk.
Stir the squash into the batter and transfer the batter to the prepared pan; smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes; then carefully invert the cake onto the rack and remove the pan. When the cake is completely cool, transfer it to a serving plate.
Make the icing
In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt until smooth. Add more buttermilk, a few drops at a time, as needed, until the icing is pourable but still quite thick. Pour the icing back and forth in thick ribbons over the cooled cake. Sprinkle the ginger on top. Let the icing set at room
temperature, about 45 minutes, before serving.
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