Lynda’s 100% Whole Wheat Bread

Wheat berries need to be measured exactly to 1 lb on a digital kitchen scale, then ground it in a wheat grinder, otherwise the amounts will be off.  

1 2/3 c. warm water   }             

¼ c. sugar                  }  Soften these 3 ingredients for 5 minutes till yeast foams.

2 t. yeast                    }

2 T. olive oil

2 T. gluten flour

1 t.  lecithin granules 

3 ¾ c. whole wheat flour (1 lb of wheat berries or 2 ¼ c. berries)

1 t. salt   

Add remaining ingredients to yeast mixture.  Knead 30 minutes.  Let rest for 1 hour.  Oil counter and shape into loaf.   Let rise double in warm oven or area for 45 - 60 minutes.   Bake @ 350 F. for 40 minutes in oven.  Yield:  1 loaf.   Calories:  2070 

Tips:  The dough will be a little sticky tacky.  I knead the dough either in a Bosch or Bread Maker  then take it out and shape and rise it accordingly.  You will need LARGE bread pans.  

You can find lecithin granules and gluten flour at Nutter’s or possibly Community Health Foods, please do not omit these. 

Chocolate Peanut Sweeties

- Joy (RDL Secretary) (Legends of Africa Drama Performance and Building Hope fundraiser)

1 c regular peanut butter (not generic, not reduced fat)
1/2 c butter (no substitutes), softened
3 c icing sugar

5 dozen mini pretzel twists (about 3 cups

beat peanut butter and butter till smooth, beat in icing sugar
shape into 1" balls, press on on each pretzel, and place on lined baking sheets
refrigerate about 1 hour

1 1/2 c milk chocolate chips
1 T veg oil

melt together chocolate and oil
dip the peanut butter ball into chocolate
return to baking sheet, pretzel side down
refrigerate 30 minutes before serving
store in the refrigerator

Lemon Meringue Cake

 - Kelly

This recipe originally came from Martha Stewart in the mid-90's, but you can't find this exact one on her website any more (what up, Martha?), so I'm just going to put it here in it's entirety.  I still have the print out from the 90's, and so I'm happy to have it in a more permanent form.  

Make the lemon curd first. 

Lemon Curd Filling

(Makes 1 1/2 cups)

4 large egg yolks

2 large whole eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (this is roughly 2 large lemons)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cut into small pieces

Zest of 2 lemons (how handy!)

1.  In a small, heavy bottomed saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, eggs, sugar, and lemon juice.  Place over low heat (medium, maybe depending on your stove), and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.  (You will know -- all of the sudden it's just thick.)  Remove pan from heat, and stir to cool slightly.

2.  Strain curd through a sieve set over a small bowl.  (Do not skip this step, or you will have bits of cooked egg in your lemon curd.  Unseemly.)  Add butter, a piece at a time, stirring until smooth after each addition.  Stir in lemon zest, and let cool completely. 

Lemon Meringue Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, room temperature, plus a bit more to butter the cake pans.

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus a bit more to dust your cake pans.

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Zest of 2 lemons

Lemon Curd Filling (recipe above)

Swiss Meringue (recipe below)

1.  Heat oven to 350•.  Butter two round 8-by-2 inch cake pans.  Line the bottoms with parchment paper.  Dust bottoms and sides of pans with flour, making sure to coat pans evenly.  Tap to remove any excess.  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until light and fluffy.  Gradually add sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes (don't skimp).  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until batter is no longer slick, about 5 minutes; scrape down sides.

3.  Reduce mixer speed to low.  Slowly add sifted flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk a little at a time, starting and ending with the flour mixture.  Beat in vanilla and lemon zest.

4.  Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.  Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.  Remove cakes from pans, and return to wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.  (if you have the time, it wouldn't be a bad idea to put them in the freezer before the next step -- it will make cutting them easier!)

5.  To assemble, turn cakes upside-down onto cardboard cake rounds and remove parchment paper.  Using a serrated knife, slice each cake in half horizontally.  You will have four layers.  (Martha is a bit overly explanatory, no?)

6.  Spread 1/3 of the lemon curd filling over the bottom layer.  Top with the second cake layer, and spread with 1/3 more of the filling.  Remove the cake round from second cake.  Top with third cake layer.  Spread with remaining filling.  Top with fourth cake layer.  Chill assembled cake until set, at least one hour, or overnight is fine, too.

7.  Heat oven to 400•.  Using an offset spatula, spread the Swiss Meringue all over the cake, making decorative swirls.  Place cake, still on cake round, on a Silpat lined baking sheet (you could also use Parchment paper, Martha, please.)  Transfer to oven.  Bake, watching carefully, until meringue has browned around edges and begins to brown elsewhere, 3 to 5 minutes.  (You could also use a blow torch if you have one.)  Transfer cake, on round, to a serving plate.  (This is tricky!)  When slicing cake, run a knife under hot water, then wipe dry, and cut.  Repeat with hot water between slices.

Swiss Meringue

6 large egg whites

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  Combine the egg whites, sugar, and vanilla in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer.  Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved and whites are hot to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes.

2.  Transfer the bowl ot the electric mixer.  Using the whisk attachment, mix on low speed, gradually increasing to high speed, until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes.  Use immediately.

The cake turned out so pretty. Jaclyn thinks it could be inspiration for a wedding cake, though she would do chocolate underneath the meringue - the lemon cake tasted too much like my lemon bread recipe (not special enough).


I really, really loved the Swiss Meringue. Heating the ingredients before whipping changed the texture significantly. I'll never do *regular* meringue again.

Oatmeal Pan Bread

Bread:

2 c water
1 c rolled oats
3 Tbsp butter
3¼ - 4¾ c flour
¼ c sugar
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp active dry yeast

1 egg

Herb Butter:

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp dried basil leaves
¼ tsp dried oregano leaves
¼ tsp garlic powder
6 Tbsp butter, melted

Bring water to a boil in medium saucepan; stir in rolled oats. Remove from heat; stir in butter. Cool to 120-130 F. In large bowl, combine 1½ c flour, sugar, salt and yeast; blend well. Add rolled oats mixture and egg. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, stir in an additional 1¾ - 2½ c flour to form stiff dough.

On floured surface, knead in ½ to ¾ c flour until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Shape dough into ball; cover with large bowl. Let rest 15 minutes. Grease 13X9-inch baking pan. Punch down dough several times to remove all air bubbles; press into greased pan. Using very sharp knife, cut diagonal lines 1½ inches apart, cutting completely through dough. Repeat in opposite direction creating diamond pattern. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place until light and doubled in size, about 45 minutes. 

Heat oven to 375. Uncover dough. Redefine cuts by poking tip of knife into cuts until knife hits bottom of pan; do not pull knife through dough. In small bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano and garlic powder; mix well. Set aside. Spoon 4 Tbsp of the butter over cut dough. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Brush remaining 2 Tbsp of butter over bread. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese-herb mixture. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cool. 

Linguini and Meatballs

 - Nick Stellino

Meatballs:

1/2 c milk

2 T garlic

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

1/2 c bread crumbs

2 eggs

2 c freshly grated parmesan

2 T sugar

1 t montreal steak spice

2 pounds lean ground beef

Combine, form meatballs, brown in batches in olive oil, place in 9x13.

Sauce:

2 onions, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic

2 T basil

1 T thyme

saute together, scraping in meatball bits

add:

680ml can tomato sauce

2 T vegetable stock powder

2 c water

Pour sauce over meatballs, bake for 2 hours at 300 degrees.

Serve with linguini noodles and parmesan cheese.

Michelle Olivier Cream Pie

mix in a medium saucepan:

2/3 c. sugar

1/2 t. salt

5-6 T. flour

whisk in:

3 c. milk

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and pour about 1/3 of the mixture into a heatproof bowl with 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten. (I use the Pyrex measuring cup that I used to measure the milk.) You must whisk the egg yolks the whole time you are pouring in the hot mixture.

Immediately pour the egg mixture back into the pan and return to a boil (this will be very fast). Cook for 1 additional minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 2 T. butter and 1 1/2 t. vanilla.

Prepare an ice bath. I plug up one side of my sink and put in lots of ice cubes and about 3 inches of cold water. Place the hot pan in the ice bath. (This cools the custard down more quickly.) Stir every 5 minutes or so to prevent a skin from forming on the custard. When it has reached room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

**To make a delicious chocolate cream pie, increase the sugar to 1 1/2 c. and add 1 1/2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate when you add the milk.**

To assemble the pie, pre-bake a pie crust, let cool, and pour in the chilled custard. Top with a generous amount of whipped cream. Sprinkle with toasted coconut for coconut cream pie, chocolate shavings for chocolate pie. I have tried a lot of different pie crusts, but, truth be told, I am not a crust connoisseur. For me, the crust is just a vehicle for the filling. Lately, I have been using this recipe from the old Betty Crocker cookbook.

For a 9" pie crust:

Mix together 1 c. sifted flour, 1/2 t. salt. Cut in 1/3 c. shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with 2 T. ice water and quickly mix with fingertips. (You don't want to handle the dough too much or it will not be tender and flaky.) Gather the dough together and press firmly into a ball. Roll out into a circle about 1" larger than your pan. Fit pastry loosely into the pan -- avoid stretching to prevent shrinking. Crimp the edges and prick all over with a fork. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Buttermilk Pancakes

3 c flour

3 T sugar

3 t baking powder

1 1/2 t baking soda

3/4 t salt

3 c buttermilk

1/2 c milk

3 eggs

1/3 c butter, melted

keep wet and dry ingredients separate until you are ready to cook