Conversation Tart - Untested

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversation_tart

Hevva Cake - Untested

https://www.facebook.com/groups/6667644463319201/permalink/7171124162971226/

"Hevva cake, often called heavy cake, isn't heavy at all. It isn't a scone or a shortbread but it is both scone & shortbread adjacent. One constant about the cake is the diagonal scoring on top that symbolizes the fisherman's net."

350g flour

2 tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

150g room temp butter

100g sugar

250g dried fruit

4sp mixed spice (optional)

100ml milk

1. Heat oven to 325°F. 
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt. 
3. Rub in butter. 
4. Stir in sugar, dried fruit, and mixed spice (optional).
5. Add milk. Bring together into a sticky dough. Add more milk if needed. 
6. Press into a brownie pan. Score the top with diagonal lines. 
7. Bake for 35 minutes. 
8. Sprinkle with sugar. Enjoy.

Daffodil Cake - Untested

Daffodil Cake

The light, airy texture of this cake depends on a properly beaten meringue. A mile high meringue is easily achievable with one easy step. Simply wipe your mixing bowl and beaters with a paper towel moistened with white vinegar before beating the egg whites. This will ensure that your bowl and beaters are free of any traces of fat. Fat residue jeopardizes your ability to whip the egg whites into a meringue with stiff, glossy peaks. You can read all about it in The Secret to Making Meringue.

6 large eggs

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup All-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons warm water

½ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup All-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Position the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven.
2. Separate all six eggs, placing the egg whites in a large bowl that has been wiped clean with a paper towel moistened with white vinegar. Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat at medium-high speed using a hand mixer or stand mixer until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat at high speed, adding the ¾ cup sugar a few Tablespoons at a time until the mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. Set the meringue aside as you prepare the egg yolk mixture.
4. Add the warm water to the egg yolks and mix on medium speed using a whisk or mixer. Add ½ cup sugar, vanilla extract, baking powder, and flour. Mix until the batter is completely smooth.
5. Using a spatula, gently move a portion of the meringue away from the side of its mixing bowl.
6. Add the vanilla and ½ cup flour to the space created by moving the meringue. This step prevents the weight of the flour from deflating the airy meringue. Using the spatula, gently fold the meringue until the flour and vanilla extract are fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
7. Transfer two thirds of the meringue mixture to an ungreased angel food cake pan, spreading lightly if necessary to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the egg yolk mixture to the pan. There is no need to spread the yolk mixture or completely cover the meringue. Add the remaining meringue to the pan. Using a skewer or toothpick, lightly swirl the two batters by moving in a random pattern around the pan.
8. Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. When fully baked, a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out with crumbs attached. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cake to cool.
9. Once cool, run a sharp knife or small metal offset spatula around the outside of the pan to loosen the cake. Invert the cool cake onto a plate. Slice the cake into slices and serve plain or dressed with fresh berries and whipped cream.

Notes

To prevent batter from falling into the center tube as you are transferring the batter to the pan, place an overturned cupcake wrapper over the tube. Fill the pan, remove the wrapper, and bake as directed without letting any of the batter go to waste.

Lemon & Nettle Cake - Untested

Lemon cake link

(makes one 2lb loaf)

100g nettle (pick the top four to six leaves of the plant, they’re the most tender)

175g butter

150g caster sugar

3 eggs

Pinch of salt

225g plain flour

85g ground almonds

2 tsp baking powder

Zest of x2 lemons

Juice of x1 lemon

50ml milk

For the icing & decoration:

A couple of small blanched & dried nettle sprigs

1 egg white

50g caster sugar

A few dried lemon slices

Juice of half a lemon

150 – 250g icing sugar

1. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment
2. Begin by blanching the nettle, bring a large saucepan filled with water to the boil & using gloves, add the nettles to pan & boil to 5 minutes
3. After 5 minutes, remove from the heat & rain the nettle before setting aside to cool
4. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze any excess water from the nettles
5. Take half of the nettles & roughly chop them before setting aside for later
6. With the remaining half of nettle, either place into the bowl of a food processor or use a hand blender to blits them into a vibrant green puree
7. In a large bowl, beat together the butter & sugar until pale & fluffy
8. Next, add the eggs to the bowl one at a time, beating with each addition
9. Sieve the flour, ground almonds, baking powder & salt into the bowl & mix until just combined
10. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, pureed nettle & milk to the bowl & mix everything together until the batter turns a vibrant green colour & everything is well combined
11. Finally, add the reserved chopped nettle & fold this through the batter until evenly distributed
12. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven at 180C for 50 minutes – 1 hour, until the centre springs back when pressed lightly or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out cleanly when removed
13. Leave the cake to cool in its tin for 10 minutes before removing & allowing to cool fully on a cooling rack
14. To make the crystallised nettle, begin by laying out the nettle onto a piece of baking parchment
15. Next, using a small brush, brush both sides of the nettle with the egg white
16. Sprinkle over enough caster sugar to cover the nettle before carefully flipping over & repeating
17. Set the crystallised nettle aside to dry out for a couple of hours
18. To make the icing, simply combine the lemon juice with enough of the icing sugar to make a pourable but not too thin icing & drizzle over the cake
19. Place the decorations on top of the lemon & nettle cake whilst the icing is still wet

Ketchup - Untested

https://www.servedfromscratch.com/5-minute-homemade-ketchup/#recipe

10-12 oz. of tomato paste

1/8 to 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar 

1 Tbsp. of sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp celery salt

pinch ground all spice

1. In a large bowl add tomato paste.
2. Pour in vinegar and mix well.
3. Add the rest of ingredients and mix well.
4. Taste and add additional spices if desired.
5. Use as a side or condiment and store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge for a month.

Black Bread - Untested

From Sundays at Moosewood, pg 238-9

• I wonder if I can use this recipe to make the Commons Bread? Also, the Moosewood instructions are annoyingly exacting, and I will be simplifying them.

Yields 2 loaves

2 medium potatoes, quartered

---

3oz unsweetened chocolate

2 Tbsps. butter or veg oil

1/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap or treacle)

3 1/2 Tbsps. mild honey

2 tsps. caraway seeds

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 cup fresh brewed coffee

2 Tbsps. dry active yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

---

1 cup cornmeal

2 cups rye flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups white flour

1 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. molasses combined with 1 Tbsp. water

1. Boil the potatoes until soft. Drain the potatoes, reserving a cup of potato water.
2. Mash the potatoes with a fork or masher to yield one cup.
3. In a small saucepan melt the chocolate and butter on low heat, stirring constantly. In a large bowl combine the melted chocolate with the mashed potatoes. Add the molasses, honey, caraway seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, coffee, and the cup of reserved potato water. Mix thoroughly.
4. In a small bowl combine the yeast, warm water, and one tsp sugar. Set aside until the yeast bubbles, about 5 minutes.
5. Pour the activated yeast into the cooled potato mixture and combine. Add the cornmeal, rye flour, whole wheat flour, white flour and salt. Mix well. The dough will be somewhat lumpy. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, cover it, and let it rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, clean, dry and butter or oil the large bowl.
6. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, adding more white flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Form it into a ball, place it in the buttered bowl, and turn it to coat all sides. Cover and let rise until doubled in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 to 1.5 hours. Knead gently for one minute and let rise again until doubled, about 40 minutes. Form the dough into two round loaves and place them in buttered 9" round pie pans or on a large baking sheet. Cover them and let rise until almost doubled, about 1/2 hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 350F.
8. Brush the loaves with the molasses and water glaze. With a sharp knife, cut a shallow X in the top of each loaf. Bake for 45 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
9. This bread is rich and moist. It is wonderful with sweet butter, a sharp cheese, or with souop.
10. VARIATION: If you would like a sweeter, dessert bread, just increase the honey or sugar by 1 Tbsp., add 1/4 cup currants, and omit the caraway seeds.

Torto Spinaci - Untested

https://kitchen-notebook.blogspot.com/2007/10/torta-di-spinaci-like-italian.html

Torto Spinaci Like an Italian Grandmother

Serves 6 as an appetizer of 4 as a main dish

you can have this on the table from start to finish in 40 minutes

For this recipe, if you cannot find this lovely cured pork belly called ventresca, go ahead and use streaky bacon, or if you do have an Italian imports shop in your neighborhood, get some pancetta and use that.

1 batch of basic savory crust, here's a recipe or use your own

3 ounces, about 100 grams, or 6 thin slices of of ventresca, pancetta, or bacon

1 shallot

1 pound or 500 grams of spinach

1 large bunch of garden arugula

2 tablespoons of white wine (see note)

salt and pepper

2 fresh eggs

3 fresh sage leaves

Very important note on the wine: Don't use it if you don't have a glass of white wine in your hand while you are cooking. It is as simple as that. I splashed a couple of tablespoons into the pot while I was cooking but would not have done so if I didn't have the wine in my hand. Please follow suit and don't go out of your way to find wine, pour wine, or open a bottle to prepare this recipe.

- Prepare your pastry dough in the manner you pefer or according to this recipe. Set it to rest.

- Rinse and dry your greens, both the spinach and arugula.

- Take three thin slices of whatever pork belly you have, and remove the strip of skin off one side, leaving the strip in once piece. Slice the three slices of belly perpendicular to the grain and make little matchsticks with them.

- mince the shallot

- heat a pan to hot, put the ventresca in, with the strips of skin, and lower the heat to medium low. Render the fat from the ventresca slowly, for about 5 minutes.

- remove the strips of skin, and add the minced shallot, and sweat it for about 3 more minutes.

- roll the spinach and the arugula into cigars and cut across them, making thin strips.

- raise the heat again to high.

- add the spinach and arugula all at once, and toss it with the shallot and the ventresca. Splash a little bit of wine from your glass into the pan and let it steam up into the greens. Add a little bit of salt as needed and a generous gind of black pepper. Keep tossing them and pushing them around until everything wilts considerably. Evaporate the liquid. Remove from heat.

- beat the two eggs, and reserve 1 tablespoon of the beaten egg for the end.

- divide the dough into 2/3 for the bottom, and 1/3 for the top.

- roll out the 2/3 sized part of the dough and line a small but deep baking dish.

- pile the spinach and arugula into it, don't worry if it mounds up above the top, spread it evenly in the dish, it should fill it completely.

- pour the eggs (except that one Tblsp. you have reserved) over the spinach, and tap it on the counter to make sure it flows down into the spinach and arugula.

- spread the remaining slices of ventresca over the top of the spinach.

- Roll out the 1/3 sized piece into a circle to cover and meet the edges of the tourte, so you can pinch it closed here and there.

- with a little knife, carve three holes in roughly the shape of sage leaves, and pop a leaf into each one. Place the dough you have removed wherever you think it will look nice on the top of the crust.

- brush the top with egg yolk.

- Cover lightly with foil, and bake at 190C / 375F for about 30-40 minutes, removing the foil after 15 minutes.

You can serve it hot or cold, it is very good either way. If you are a vegetarian, you can omit the meat.

Seed Crackers - Untested

https://kitchen-notebook.blogspot.com/2008/01/sesame-and-seed-crackers.html

1 cup of hard semolina flour

1 cup of organic whole wheat flour (I used T80, aka bise)

1/2 cup gomashio, which consists of ground grilled sesame and salt (You can find it at any shop that sells Japanese goods and also at the health shop, since it is a staple in macrobiotic diets)

1/2 cup mixed nuts and seeds like poppy, flax, sesame, sunflower, toasted quinoa, etc.

1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt

to this, add:

3/4 cup of water, adding as much as 1/4 cup depending on the texture of the dough.

1. Depending on your source for the flours, you may need to adjust the ingredients for moisture content. Just remember that it's the semolina flour that gives these crackers that wonderful crunch, and never overshadows the flavor of your additions. If you have to add dry ingredients, add more hard semolina flour and not the ww flour.
2. The pasta roller really is the best way to get nice thin crisp crackers. The one main rule, when making crackers, is to knead the heck out of the dough, just like when you make pasta. The dough has to be kneaded so long that the gluten fibers in the wheat coil around one another and get so entangled that it becomes stretchy and pliable and won't split when flattened through the press. I used to do this quite well in the moulinex food processor using the plastic dough blade, and now just use the dough hook with the Kitchenaid. The dough will stiffen and resist, and then, all at once, it will suddenly give way and soften up. When do you know it's done? It's done when the dough is warm, not sticky to the touch, and when you pinch it, it flattens out between two fingers and won't split at the edges. Let the dough rest for a good half an hour before rolling through the pasta roller.
3. Although there's something about perfect square crackers that used to really float my boat, I love Heidi's method of sending the little morsels through and creating elongated oval crackers. To do this, cut the dough into pieces about the size of walnuts or robin's eggs & send them through starting with the widest setting and getting progressively thinner until they're the thickness you like. Once you've got a nice size, you'll get into a rhythm and they'll be done in no time.
4. Today, I tried adding more seeds to the finished crackers, but found that they didn't stick unless I rolled the added seeds one more time through the press. It worked pretty well. Next time I won't use sunflower seeds because they got caught in the pasta press from time to time.
5. Bake them for 8 to 10 minutes at 400F/200C. They should be brown around the edges when they're done.
6. I find that these crackers have so much toasty goodness in the form of the natural oils from the seeds that I don't need to add any oil. In the past I have added herbs, cheese, spice mixes like assorted peppercorns, directly to the dough. Anything that tastes good toasted is good toasted in crackers.

Tarte aux pommes de Courmayeur à la farine jaune - Testing

From Madeline Kammans' Savoie, pg 366

1 - The Granny Smith apples didn't "start to collapse into the pastry" and the pastry started to get too browned. Also, the pastry split on one side during the baking, and I didn't try to patch it. I poured in the custard and it filled the shell past the split and poured under the shell so that it baked between the pie shell and the pie plate. As for the corn flour, I think it's to give the pastry more of a shortbread texture, more tender. It's a good pastry recipe!

In general the pie was a success but wasn't at the same time. The apples didn't collapse but remained firm and against the soft custard were not interesting but a distraction. And there was a little something that didn't see quite right, possible the brandy, but could also have been the buckwheat honey - using a milder honey might work better.

For the Pastry:

1/2 cup (4oz/114gr) butter plus 1 Tbsp.

1/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 egg

1 Tbsp marc/brandy

1/2 cup superfine corn flour

1 1/2 cups flour

For the Filling:

2 Tbsps. (28g) butter

8 apples (680g?), pref Gravenstein, Rome Beauty or Cortland (Subst. Granny Smith), peeled, cored and cut into 1/4" thick slices

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 cup heavy cream

3 Tbsps. (63g) honey

2-3 Tbsps. marc/brandy

Pinch of salt

1. Prepare the pastry as described on page 365 using 1/2 cup butter.
2. Butter a 10" springform cake pan with the Tbsp of butter. Roll the pastry between the layers of plastic into a 1/6" thick circle that fits into the pan. Remove the top layer of plastic and invert the pastry into the pan. With the plastic still on, fit the pastry well into the pan. Remove the plastic and build a small edge. If you have too much pastry, make a few cookies with the remainder. Should the pastry stick to the plastic, your dough is too warm; put the pan in the refrigerator for a few minutes.
3. To prepare the filling; heat the butter in a large skillet. 
4. Sauté the apples just a few minutes in the hot butter, cool them completely and transfer to the pastry. 
5. Bake in a preheated 350F oven approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the apples are deeply cooked and start collapsing into the pastry. 
6. Beat the egg, egg yolk, heavy cream, and honey, dilute with the marc/brandy, and slowly pour over the apples, forcing the custard to flow between the apples with the tip of a parer. 
7. Finish baking until the custard is set, or another 15 to 20 minutes. Cool and serve the same day. Should you have access to true unpasteurized creme fraiche, not the fabricated product, serve a dish of it with the pie. Cappuccino is in order.