Summer Squash Bread

It's mid-summer and has been hot as the blazes lately, but the thunderstorms all  morning have put me in a cocooning kind of mood. To me a stay-in Sunday just begs for baked goods.

Almost everyone has had zucchini bread. But I have no zucchini. - No matter, I have crooked neck squash and that should be close enough.

When they get big and bumpy like this the center can be a bit pithy - just scoop it out.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups grated crooked neck squash

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

Grease and flour 2 loaf pans

Preheat oven to 325F

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together

Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl.

Add sifted ingredients to the wet mixture, and beat well.

Stir in squash, nuts and raisins until well moistened and evenly incorporated

Pour batter into loaf pans

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean 

Cool in pan on rack for at least  20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

This bread is excellent toasted, it also freezes well, just be sure it is completely cooled and well wrapped before freezing.

Until next time, Eat well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener

Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Orange Almond Cake

This is the second of the two desserts for the team at work. Just now struck me - how the heck am I going to get them to the train, off the train, and over to the Willis ( formerly Sears) Tower without becoming some comedic catastrophe?

Ah well, let's get to it. I've not made this cake since 2003.  Adapted from a Williams - Sonoma recipe that originally was in their catalogue

For the cake:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup almond paste
3/4 cup  granulated sugar
12 tbs butter (1 1/2 sticks)
3 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp orange extract
Zest of one orange

Directions:
Have ingredients at room temperature

Put rack in lower third of oven, preheat to 325F

Grease and flour baking pan

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with flat beater, beat almond paste on a low speed until small crumb forms - about a minute

Gradually beat in sugar

Beat in butter 1tbs at a time

Increase speed to medium, beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes

Gradually add eggs, beating well between additions

Beat in orange extract and zest

Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture

Spoon batter into pan, level it out

Bake  for 35 minutes, before checking for doneness. This went for 45 minutes.

Cake is done when toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes, invert onto cake round and cool completely

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, watch the  colleagues ooh and ahh!

Until next time, Eat Well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener