Blueberry Poppy Seed Cake

I already have a blueberry cake recipe that I like very much, but when I saw this recipe that combines blueberry cake with poppy seed cake, I couldn't resist trying it. And now this is my favorite blueberry cake—enjoy!

BLUEBERRY POPPY SEED CAKE

adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022250-blueberry-poppy-seed-cake

nonstick cooking spray

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup canola or other neutral oil

2 large eggs

¾ cup sour cream (can substitute yogurt—I used about half sour cream, half plain no-fat yogurt)

1 ¼ teaspoons almond extract (optional—I did not use)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

some lemon zest (optional; I used some dried lemon zest I had on hand)

¾ teaspoon kosher salt 

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1 cup all-purpose)

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 ⅓ cups fresh blueberries (divided--leaving out 1/3 to put on top)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted if desired (optional; I didn't use them, but will try with the next time)

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square pan (this is what I used) or 9-inch round pan with cooking spray and line the base with parchment paper. (The parchment paper is useful for blueberries that may sink to the bottom.)

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high, beat the granulated sugar, butter and oil until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until well combined, then add the sour cream, almond extract (if using), vanilla extract and salt. Beat until well combined.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds, and lemon zest (if using). Mix on low speed until just combined, then fold in 1 cup blueberries (and nuts, if using) with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup blueberries on top, then sprinkle on the turbinado sugar.

Bake until golden and puffed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. I served the cake from the pan. If you prefer to turn the cake out onto a serving plate plate, let it cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack and remove the parchment paper. Place a plate or another wire rack on top of the cake and invert it again so the sugared side is up. The cake will keep loosely wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Rosemary shortbread

Readers of this recent Times recipe were wildly enthusiastic, and now so am I. It is so simple to make (assuming you have a food processor). Lining the pan with parchment paper is the most time-consuming part, but worth doing for easy removal of the shortbread. The results are delicious, with many compliments received when I served it last night.

So long as I have fresh rosemary on hand, I think I'll stick with the recipe as given. But I might also be tempted by one or more of the add-ins, maybe currants or mini chocolate chips.

I used an 8" square pan, which resulted in thick squares. I've just purchased a 9" square pan for my next batch, as I think I'd prefer them a little thinner.

ROSEMARY SHORTBREAD
adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015820-rosemary-shortbread

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 t. kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted cold butter, cut into 1/2" chunks

suggested add-ins (can use one or more)

minced dried fruit or currants

1/2 cup nuts (pecans or pistachios?)

mini chocolate chips

1 t. lemon or orange zest

1 t. cardamom

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Prepare an 8" or 9" square baking pan: Spray lightly with baking oil and then line with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang that you can lift out the shortbread when done. When doing the lining, I pressed the parchment paper into the corners and then cut out the overlap.

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, rosemary, and salt. Add the butter and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some crumbs start to come together, but don't overprocess. NB: Mine stayed fine crumbs, with no sticking together. Still turned out fine.

Press dough firmly into the baking pan. Bake until golden brown, 35-40 minutes for a 9" pan, 45-50 minutes for 8." (My 8" pan took 55 minutes.) 

Put pan on wire rack to cool. After a couple of minutes, cut into rectangular pieces but leave in pan. When entirely cool, lift out using the parchment paper "sling." (The cookies are crumbly, and this method, recommended by readers, helps keep them intact.)

Sheet Pan Korean Barbecued Vegetables

 SHEET PAN KOREAN BARBECUED VEGETABLES

adapted from "Vegetarian Korean BBQ" in Jaden Hair, 

Steamy Kitchen's Healthy Asian Favorites

serves 5

The original recipe called for cutting vegetables in slabs and grilling them. I did it once this way, but I found the grilling to be too much work, so I've adapted it as a sheet pan recipe.  No charred edges this way, but still delicious. It makes a satisfying meal in itself, but you could also sauté up some chicken sausage or fry some eggs for a protein accompaniment.

Marinade

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 T. olive oil

2 T. brown sugar (or maple syrup or honey)

1 t. toasted sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, finely minced (from jar is fine)

freshly ground black pepper

1 t. sesame seeds (original recipe called for toasted, but I put them in untoasted)

Vegetables (cut into largish bite-size pieces)

1 globe eggplant or 2 Asian eggplants, sliced 1/2" thick and then each slice quartered (or in 6ths, for larger slices)

3 portobello mushrooms, cut in half across and then sliced 1/2" thick

2 small zucchini, sliced 1/2" thick (or one large, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced 1/2")

2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into pieces about 1.5" square 

2 leeks, sliced in half lengthwise and then cut into 2" chunks

accompaniments

brown rice

mashed avocado or guacamole (optional)

kimchi (optional)

Prepare the vegetables and put them in a large bowl. Pour marinade over the vegetables and mix up well. Add a little more olive oil if you think it needs it. (I did the olive oil entirely by eye—it wasn't included in the original recipe—so this measurement is a guess.) Marinate for an hour or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator. (I only had time to marinate for about 20 minutes--just left it out on the counter--and it was still great.)

When getting close to cooking time, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare two sheet pans: spray pan with oil, and then line with aluminum foil and spray that also.

Spread out the vegetables on the two sheet pans and cook for about 25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Serve with rice and either avocado or kimchi—or both.

Poached Chicken Provencal

I wrote "Great!" next to this recipe some time ago, and then hadn't made it since.  Maybe I was put off by the extra step of having to make tapenade as well, even though it's easy. But on a recent grocery shop trip at Aldi, I noticed a small jar of tapenade and bought it on impulse. So when I paged through this cookbook on the weekend, looking for a recipe, this one got even simpler.

What you can't necessarily tell from the recipe is that the tapenade, tomatoes, lemon juice and oil, along with a bit of broth, make into a lovely sauce that develops as you eat the the mixture. Tonight I added the note to consider having a crusty bread on hand, for soaking up the sauce.

POACHED CHICKEN PROVENCAL

adapted from Liz Vaccariello, The Flat Belly Diet Cookbook

4 servings

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz each)

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 t. dried rosemary

1 lb. small red or yellow potatoes, quartered

1 cup cherry tomatoes (or more—I used a 10-oz container)

1/4 cup tapenade (can be store-bought, or see recipe below to make yourself)

3 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 T. olive oil

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

crusty bread to sop up the sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Place the chicken, broth, and rosemary in a medium skillet; add a little water if needed—broth should cove the chicken). Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the broth (broth stays in the skillet). Place chicken on an ovenproof plate, and put in the oven to keep warm through next step.

Raise the heat under the skillet to medium high. Add the potatoes and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cover again, and cook another 2-3 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Spoon out the potatoes and tomatoes into a large serving bowl. (Spoon out, taking up some of the broth with the veggies, but leave most in the skillet.) Stir in the tapenade.  Combine the lemon juice and oil in a small bowl and then stir into the potatoes. Sprinkle with the pepper. Serve over the chicken.

The liquid left in the skillet is a delicious broth. David and I had a small bowl each as a chaser after the main course.

Calories: 316

TAPENADE: I happened to have a jar of tapenade on hand this evening, so I used that. (Galesburg friends—Aldi carries tapenade in a small jar.) The tapenade recipe below is from the same cookbook as the chicken recipe, and is also good. This makes about 3/4 cup. Fine to double the recipe—tapenade is also nice as a dip for raw veggies or crackers.

1 cup good olives, pitted (Kalamata, Nicoise, some green olives, etc.)

1 t. capers, drained

2 cloves garlic, cut in pieces

1 T. olive oil

1/2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper

Combine the olives, capers, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process until coarsely chopped. Combine the oil and lemon juice. With the machine running, add the oil mixture through the feed tube to blend into a rough paste. Add the pepper and pulse to combine.

May be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Beer Bread--very quick and simple!

This is nothing like the artisan bread I like to make, but it is very good in its own right, and SO EASY to make!  Just mix up a few ingredients and pop it in the oven. It doesn't look like much, and doesn't get browned on top, but it is tasty and has a nice texture, something like English muffins. I had it yesterday on the side with a bowl of soup. On the second day, this makes delicious toast, and slices also be frozen for later.  

BEER BREAD

adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/2766-beer-bread

unsalted butter or margarine, for greasing the pan

cornmeal or flour for dusting the greased pan

2 cups all-purpose flour (or you can just use 3 cups of all-purpose and cut out the rye and whole wheat flour; the Times recipe was entirely all-purpose flour)

1/2 cup rye flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3 t. baking powder

1 t. kosher salt

1 T. granulated sugar

1 12-oz can of beer,* at room temperature (If you forget to take the beer out of the fridge, that's fine, you may just need to bake the bread a little longer.)

optional: a reader suggests adding olives and rosemary. Sounds good, but I keep forgetting to try it!

*Type of beer to use: The original recipe recommended a bland beer, but I've used an IPA and like the result—you can taste the beer in the bread, but that's not a bad thing. Other Times readers also mention liking the results with a tasty beer like stout. 

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan and dust with cornmeal or flour.

2. Put the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and whisk together to mix.  Pour in the beer and stir just until the flour is all incorporated.  

3. Put the batter in the loaf pan, spread it out evenly in the pan, and bake for about 40-42 minutes.

4. Let cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.