Pumpkin Bread

Fall is almost here! Sort of. In Texas, it means a day without a high of 90 degrees (and without rain). Hopefully we're getting there, because I'm tired of the hot weather!

Because fall is (theoretically) on its way, I decided to find a recipe for pumpkin bread. I get sick of toast and cereal for breakfast every day, and I like having breads (like zucchini bread, mmm). Baking is also a good way for me to relieve stress, and since I have a biochemistry exam coming up, I was definitely in need of some stress relief. This recipe is really easy to put together, and really rewarding since it makes 2 full loaves of bread! You can give one loaf to a friend, or just wrap it in aluminum foil and keep it in your freezer until you want it. It should last a few months - I'm planning on taking my second loaf out as soon as I finish the first one, but perhaps you can exercise some more restraint.

Served the way I like it, with melted butter and some cinnamon sugar. :)

Pumpkin Bread
Source: cooks.com
Makes 2 loaves
Ingredients

• 3 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 c. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 16-oz can pumpkin
• 1/3 c. vegetable oil
• 1/3 c. butter

Before you start: Melt the butter and preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Recipe:

Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and spices until well-blendedIn another bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer until frothy. Add pumpkin, oil, and melted butter, and beat for one additional minute

Add the flour mixture and beat for 20-30 seconds, just until combined. Split your batter between 2 greased 9x5x3-in. loaf pansBake for 45-55 minutes - the top should be cracked and an inserted toothpick should come out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a plate or wire rack to cool. Run a butter knife along the edge of the pan to ensure it comes out easily.

And that's it! To keep it moist, wrap it in foil. It should last outside the freezer for at least a week.

Devil's Food Cake with Buttercream Icing

Howdy! Here in Aggieland, it's Ring Day! At Texas A&M, class rings are a bit of a bigger deal than at most colleges. Almost all Aggies get their ring and wear it for the rest of their lives, and it's a huge deal when you've taken enough hours (90!) to get it. An Aggie ring represents all of the things Aggies stand for, like honor and pride, and it makes you an official part of the Aggie family, a huge network that will supposedly help you out for the rest of your life. Here's more information - you can look at the symbolism, too!

A lot of people celebrate getting their rings with a big party called a Ring Dunk. It's based on a tradition with mysterious origins, but basically you have to dunk your ring in a pitcher of liquid and down it to get your ring back. It's ridiculous, but that's college for you. The tradition started with beer, of course, but now people use all sorts of liquids (I dunked in sweet tea when I got my ring last semester), and even dunk in ice cream sundaes and brownies and all sorts of things. And three of my good friends - Katie, Shelby, and Sarah - are dunking their brand-new rings tonight. I offered to make a cake for them, and Katie requested a Devil's Food Cake with Buttercream Icing. So, another friend volunteered to help out, and we took 4 hours to make them their cake. And here we are. :)

This recipe almost failed. I happened to put one of the cake pans on a stove burner set to low (not turned off, as I thought it was), so one of them is short because we had to shave the (burnt-to-a-crisp) bottom off. But the cake is still yummy, and quite festive. I hope you guys like it!
Devil's Food CakeRecipe from cooks.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. cake flour, sifted
• 1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. cocoa
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 c. shortening
• 1 c. buttermilk, divided use (sour cream can be used instead)
  
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 unbeaten eggs

Before you start: Have shortening at room temperature, pam 2 8-in cake pans (or Crisco them), preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Recipe:
Sift together cake flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Stir until well-combined.
Add shortening and 2/3 c. of buttermilk. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes.
Add the rest of the buttermilk and 2 eggs, and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally.Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes. The top of the cake should not jiggle and an inserted toothpick should come out mostly clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream Icing
Recipe from cooks.com

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. Crisco shortening
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp water
• 1 lb powdered sugar, sifted

Recipe:
Mix shortening, vanilla, and salt thoroughly together.
Add powdered sugar and water and mix with an electric mixer at top speed to the consistency of whipped cream.

To ice your cake:
Take each cooled cake pan, run a knife around the edge and upend onto a plate. The cake should come out easily. If one side of the cake is domed, cut off the dome with a knife.
Slather the top of one with buttercream, then stack the other on top of it. Then ice on top and around the edges. If you have extra icing, color and decorate with frills. :)

Here's the finished product! It's certainly home-made-looking, but it's a yummy cake (and that's what's important). For the decorations, I used a variety of Wilton products (like decorating bags and icing colors and tips. For the border I used an 18-pt. star tip and for the detail I used a 2-pt. writing tip. We put little pictures on the side for all three of the dunkers - there's a Texas, a Mexican flag (for Shelby, who studied in Mexico), a whale for Katie (save the whales!) and a cow for Sarah (who worked with them all summer). Congrats, guys!

Peanut Chicken

First recipe! So, I suppose a first recipe should have some significance, and this one really does. One of my favorite restaurants in Dallas is a Thai place, and I go there every time I get the chance. What makes it even sadder is the fact that there is no Thai restaurant in College Station. So, in a fit of longing for some Thai, I found a recipe for peanut chicken. Peanut chicken is my favorite Thai dish, which is quite ironic because I can't handle spicy food. Just a hint of chili oil, and my eyes start watering like I suddenly have a terrible case of allergies. I suffer through it, though, because I LOVE peanut sauce. It's so rich and has just the right amount of sweetness. So, when I realized I had the chance to make it without the spiciness, I jumped at the chance.

When I first tried this recipe, I was actually rather disappointed. The sauce was very bland. So, I decided to sweeten it up and replace shrimp in the original with chicken. And that, my friends, is how the dish came into existence. It probably isn't traditional (the Italian dressing was my first clue!), but it's tasty.

Peanut Chicken
Adapted from Gooseberry Patch Family Favorite Recipes
Serves 1
Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast, cubed
• 1/2 c. Italian dressing (divided use)
• 1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/8th package noodles (enough for one serving)
• 1/3 c. peanuts

Recipe
Coat the chicken in 1/4 c. Italian dressing and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the peanut sauce, whisk the rest of the dressing, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, and ginger until smooth.
Cook the noodles as directed (I chose whole-wheat linguini) - drain and set aside.Heat sesame oil in pan, and use it to cook the chicken at medium heat. Saute, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through (probably around 5 minutes).

Toss peanut sauce, chicken, and noodles at low heat until the sauce is well-incorporated.
Grind peanuts in food processor and garnish.

Enjoy! Sadly, another weekend has come and gone, so perhaps this would be a good meal to stave off the Mondays with?