Brown Soda Bread with Buckwheat Flour & Molasses

Soda bread has long been a staple in Ireland. It is a bread made without yeast, because baking soda mixed with buttermilk is used as a leavening agent. A cross is cut into the top of the bread to help it rise and, according to Irish folklore, to either ward off evil or let the fairies out.

Wheat Bran Morning Cakes with Pears

Quick breakfast cakes are made from the same type of batter as muffins. They share the same uneven, sometimes cake-like crumb. They are breads we fill with nuts and cranberries at Christmas, pumpkin puree near Thanksgiving, and zucchini at summer's end when garden is overrun with the squash.

Full of the goodness of wheat, these wholesome, hearty morning cakes taste wonderful on their own, yet are made even better by stirring a handful of pumpkin seeds and the poached pears into the batter.

Pumpernickel Bread with Chocolate, Coffee, Molasses, Prune Butter & Caraway Seeds

I like to bake bread at home, especially when cooler days descend upon us after summer. I feel homemade bread represents home and family. Usually I bake something during weekend and I like to surprise my kids and my husband when they come home and aroma of the fresh bakes welcomes them into cozy atmosphere. I use recipes from the books or sometimes create recipes myself. I got very helpful book on my shelf named "Baking with Julia" by Dorie Greenspan. If you are interested in baking it is highly recommended. I use it often and inspiration for the challah bread on our table as well as many other delicious bakes comes from this book.

Apricot-Ginger Bites with Cocoa Nibs

I don't recall when we had such beautiful August. Nice weather, zero humidity, it feels like September is touching us already, but it's only beginning of the last month of summer. We spend our evenings outside. When sky darkens you can see bats flying around. Squirrels come out to eat wild walnuts on a big tree next to our deck. There is so much harmony, peace and quiet... After dinner we always have a tea or coffee. And of course my family usually asks for some sweet bites. Today I would like to introduce you to unbelievably delicious apricot-ginger cookies, that I baked purposefully for such cool summer evening. They are full of flavors and perfect with tea. I made them extra small, just one perfect bite, but I have to warn you, they are extremely addictive-) Enjoy!

Rye Cherry Bread with Flax & Pumpkin Seeds

It seems like we have gotten new tradition established in our house – bread baking on Friday. We usually have some friends over on Saturday or Sunday night and freshly baked bread is an ideal component for patties and cheeses. I am very fond of rustic breads with dried fruits and nuts. This one is my favorite.

Guinness Stout Ginger Cake for St.Patrick's Day

"An invitation to tea in Ireland is no small matter of a simple cup of tea and biscuit! You sit down at the table in the dining room and the usual everyday tea stars with slices of brown Irish soda bread and slices of homemade white bread lavishly buttered, a pot or two of jam for the bread, hot crusty scones, a plate of cookies, a "sponge sandwich" cake (two layers of sponge cake, jam between and sugar sprinkled on top) and a chocolate cake with thick, creamy, chocolate icing - or warm gingerbread full of spices. Cups of hot tea all around three or four times and you"ll last till suppertime."

Oat Bread

"All life moving to one measure - Daily bread."
W.W.Gibson

Few notes of the bread-making art: There are several kinds of yeast. Compressed yeast, which is quicker-acting than the dried yeast, must be kept in a cool place or it will spoil. The liquids used in bread-making are water, milk, or sometimes, potato water. Sweetening is usually added to bread. This can be either sugar, honey or sometimes molasses. For good flavor and texture use butter for bread dough. Temperature for rising and oven temperature are exceedingly important. It is truly a laboratory process to make bread correctly. The finished product should be an even-sized, medium-brown loaf with a good crust and fine grain, not lumpy.

Walnut Bread with Cherries

Sometimes I photograph what I like to cook, but most of the time I cook what I would like to photograph. Still compositions are my passion, I love making them. I know its very old fashioned, from the old world, so probably I am too :) There are days I like to spend in my studio playing with props, or just walk around or listen to the music while sitting in armchair and browsing through artwork of the old masters. This time I was itching to create a grand composition, but later have shifted direction to something more simple but nevertheless outstanding. All elements seemed to be in place, but one of the ingredients was missing. Item from the past which is seen on our tables these days as well. Idea with bread seemed the most suitable - dark texture, good crust, nuts and grains, just like in the old days. Red wine, onions and bread. I rushed to start my dough. I have finished baking at 2 AM in the morning. Next day, after breakfast I have immediately started photographing and I have to tell you - I am very pleased indeed! And, of course, the bread is delicious, sweet and walnut-cherry combination is very unique - it will go great with foie gras pate and French cheeses. I hope you enjoy my art and try to bake the bread as well.

Molded Gingerbread Cookies with Clear Sugar Glaze

I love Springerle cookies, they are so beautiful and delicious, white or painted  they are perfect for holidays. But I like to try this year something different using Springerle molds.

Here is one very good recipe of Molded Gingerbread Cookies with Clear Sugar Glaze from House on the Hill.
They can be printed with Springerle molds. Be sure to choose a deeply and boldly carved design, one without really fine details.You’ll make the non springerle lovers very happy!
You can easily adjust the spices. For instance, if you are not a fan of cloves, leave them out. Crazy about ginger? Then add an extra ½ to 1 teaspoon.
If you use all molasses (instead of molasses and dark corn syrup) add the extra flour as the all molasses version is stickier.

Ingredients for the flour mixture:

•  3 cups plus 4 tablespoons unbleached flour
•  3/4 teaspoon baking soda
•  1/2 cup sugar
•  1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
•  1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
•  2 teaspoons ground ginger
•  1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
•  1/2 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the liquid mixture:

•  1/2 cup vegetable oil
•  1/2 cup molasses (you may use 1 cup molasses and no dark corn syrup if you prefer)
•  1/2 cup dark corn syrup
•  2 tablespoons water

Ingredients for the clear sugar glaze:

• 2 1/2 cups powered sugar
• 2 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla if desired
• food coloring if desired 

Direction for the clear sugar glaze:

Combine sugar, water, butter corn syrup and vanilla in a small bowl and mix until powered sugar is moistened. Beat at medium speed until smooth, adding additional water if necessary. Tint with food color.

Direction for the gingerbread cookies:
Combine the flour mixture and the liquid mixture together either by hand or in a heavy standard mixer using the flat blade (not the whisk). Mix until the dough holds together, adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of water only if necessary to bind the dough. Knead the dough into a solid mass and place into a tightly sealed zipper bag. Let the dough rest for 1 hour or refrigerate overnight.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough with a plain rolling pin about ½ to 5/8 inch thick, depending on the depth of your cookie mold. Using a pastry brush, flour the surface of your cookie mold. Press firmly onto the flat surface of the dough and then lift the mold straight up. Re-flour the mold for every pressing.



Cut and place the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Let cookies dry for 8 — 12 hours.
Bake at 300 degrees for 12 minutes. Large cookies will need 14-15 minutes.
If desired, glaze the gingerbread cookies as soon as they come out of the oven and before you remove them to a cooling rack.
If needed, soften cookies with slices of apple on firm bread (rye) for a day or two. Keeps well.

A Glimpse at Recipes of The Past: Lumberjack Cookies

I have a small but very treasured collection of cooking books. I have Russian cooking books with recipes prepared for the Czarist family and recipes cooked for the French Aristocracy, as well as a collection of recipe books that I bought here in America, dating back to our American ancestors.
Why do I like these old books so much?
Firstly, the illustrations found in these books are a rare sight indeed nowadays, because each illustration is beautifully drawn in detail, giving insight to a modern-day person of the dedicated and personal atmosphere that emanated from that time period.
Secondly, each recipe in these books has its own story. It’s not just a list of ingredients thrown into a pot and boiled---it’s an entire experience beginning from the detailing of the recipe’s origination to its eventual passage from generation to generation. This is why I have decided to begin a column on this blog dedicated to posting and discussing recipes taken from these books. There’s something very sentimental about making history come back to life.
Feel free to add to our historical recipe collection.



From "Favorite New England Recipes" 1972

Lumberjack Cookies
Lumbering is a unique occupation and projects a day-to-day life unlike any other. In the upper reaches of the rivers, when spring freshets deepen the water enough to float the logs, men of a particularly courageous breed shepherd the raw wood down the rivers, sometimes for hundreds of miles, to the sawmills. They spend many days on the logs and on a raft with a shanty on it that brings up the rear. In the shanty is a man at whom the others characteristically jeer but deeply value - the cook.



One morning early in this century, such a log drive was moving along the Muskegon past a riverside farm, when a dignified little woman marched to the water's edge and waved to them. She wished to parley with the lumberjack cook. Just why is explained by Mrs.Paul V.Bretz of St.Paul, Minnesota. "The great lumbering industry of Michigan was beginning to wane, but there was still some lumbering along the Mu. When the logs where being floated down the river to the mills, there was always a cook shanty on a raft following the log drive. It was a great treat for children to have a meal with the lumberjacks on this river raft. They could look forward to fried salt pork, boiled potatoes, boiled beans, hot breads, cookies, and strong black coffee. Good hearty fare.
"These were molasses cookies and so good that my husband prevailed upon his mother to go to the river and learn the recipe from the cook. We always called them 'Lumberjack Cookies,' and here is the recipe:"

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 cup sour milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ginger, vanilla, and mace (or nutmeg) to taste
• flour enough to make a soft dough

Directions:
Drop by tablespoons on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake in a moderate oven (350F) until done, about 10 minutes.