Caramel Apple Cake

I have mentioned in previous posts my love of caramel apple flavored desserts.  I happened upon a cake mix in the grocery store for caramel apple cake.  I'm not a huge fan of cake mixes--mostly I think they taste like preservatives and their extremely fluffy texture is slightly unnatural--but I liked the idea of the cake.  I decided to make a version of what I imagine the mix tasted like: caramel-flavored cake with apple bits and caramel drizzled over it all.  This cake came out so much more moist and flavorful than even I expected.  Score one for the from-scratch cake.

Makes 8-inch square cake

6 tablespoons sugar
3/8 cup water
3/8 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
Caramel topping, for serving
Cool Whip, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream, for serving

1. Grease 8-inch square pan.  Set aside.
2. In small heavy skillet, evenly scatter 6 tablespoons sugar and place on medium heat.  Stirring constantly, caramelize the sugar.  This will take some time, but resist the urge to raise the temperature.  The sugar should begin to melt along the bottom, then form white crystal clumps, them melt into a clear syrup, then the syrup will darken.  You should heat your 3/8 cup of water to a boil in the microwave once the sugar makes a syrup.  When the syrup is a dark amber--about the color of maple syrup--begin to add the boiling water.  Stirring constantly with one hand, pour a very small amount of the water into the sugar.  This will steam an sputter, but keep stirring.  Add the rest of the water, a little at a time, and keep stirring to bring up the syrup from the bottom of the skillet.  Once all of the water is added and no sugar crystals remain in the skillet, pour caramel mixture into measuring cup.  Stir in enough sour cream to reach 3/4 of a cup of mixture.  Set aside.
3. In bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour and 1/2 cup sugar.  Add brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.  Stir at lowest speed until combined.  Scatter butter over dry ingredients and mix at lowest speed until crumbly.  Pour half of the caramel mixture into bowl and beat until smooth.  Add egg and vanilla.  Beat until smooth and fluffy.  Scrap bowl and beater.  Add remaining caramel mixture and beat until smooth.  Add apple pieces and stir at lowest speed just until incorporated.
4. Spoon all of apple cake batter into prepared pan.  Use spatula to make sure top is smooth and apples are evenly distributed.
5. In small bowl or custard cup, mix 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 tablespoon sugar.  Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over top of cake.
6. Bake cake in 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until it tests done with a toothpick.  Because of the apple bits, you may want to test it in multiple places around the center.  Transfer cake pan to wire cooling rack to cool.
7. To serve cake, cut into desired pieces.  Drizzle cake with caramel topping and top with desired creamy topping.  Cake is also excellent on its own.  Cake can be stored in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

I still had squash sitting on my counter from the last CSA delivery, so I decided to try making homemade ravioli.  I have only had this as a frozen entree and I figured if it tastes good even frozen, I might as well take a swing at it. I made my own pasta dough for this ravioli, but the internet assures me that wonton wrappers can also be used if you don't want to take the time to make pasta.  Overall the nutty flavor of the onions and the creaminess of the squash really worked together.

Makes

Butternut squash
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup coarsely chopped onion (about one small)
Dash salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Fresh Pasta or wonton wrappers
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
Desired sauce (I used alfredo, but sage butter sauce like this one would also be fantastic)

1. Prepare butternut squash using same technique as used on pumpkin here. Puree can be made and refrigerated a couple of days in advance.
2. Melt butter over low heat in a small skillet.  Add onions and cook--still over low heat--until onions are caramelized.  Resist the urge to turn up the heat here; the low slow cooking gives the onions a nutty sweet flavor that cannot be rushed.  This caramelization can take 20-30 minutes.  You can use this time to do something else, but be sure to stir the onions every few minutes so they cook evenly.  Once onions are uniformly brown and very soft, remove from heat.
3. In bowl of a food chopper, mince sage.  Add caramelized onions and process until paste forms.  Add squash and cheese; process until well combined.
4. If using pasta, roll pasta out thinly.  Using a circle cutter, cut rounds of dough.  Place enough filling to fill but not too much as to have trouble sealing in center of rounds.
5. If using wontons, flatten wrapper on counter.  Place filling in the center.
6. Brush edge of wrapper or pasta with egg-water mixture.  Seal edges with fork or fingers.  If making immediately, drop ravioli into boiling water.  If storing raviolis, place on cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.  To store, freeze ravioli on cookie sheet until solid and then store in airtight container until ready to use.
7.  Boil ravioli for 3-5 minutes or until they begin to float.  Remove from water with a slotted spoon as they float up.  Serve with desired sauce.

Fresh Pasta

I remember that my grandmother used to make her own noodles and I am pretty sure that I helped her at least cut them and lay them out in long strips on her bed to dry, but I haven't made fresh pasta myself for years.  I had some free time and it seemed like as good a time as any to try.  Note about the process: I used my food processor to speed up this process, but it can be done in a bowl with your hands or a fork.  The food processor that I used can be found here:KitchenAid KFPW760WH 700-Watt 12-Cup Food Processor, White

Serves 4, depending on shape

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash dried herbs, if desired
Tiny pinch baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil

1. In bowl of food processor, process flour, salt, herbs if you are using, and baking powder.  Add eggs and pulse until mixture forms crumbs.  Mix together water and oil.  With food processor running, pour oil-water mixture through tube just until a dough forms.
2. Turn dough onto generously-floured counter.  Knead dough until no longer sticky and smooth.  Cover with overturned bowl for 15-20 minutes, allowing dough to rest and gluten to form.
3.  Divide dough ball in half.  Roll dough half until very thin, about the thickness of construction paper.  While doing this, make sure to move dough around and flip it over to make sure it is not sticking on the rolling surface.
4. Cut dough into desired shapes.  Dry shapes on counter overnight or drop into boiling water as soon as formed.  Fresh pasta will take 3-7 minutes to cook in boiling water, depending on size.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I really like pancakes in pretty much any form and flavor.  When I still had a cup of pumpkin left from the puree I made, I immediately earmarked it for pancakes.  I served it with Cinnamon Pecan Sauce, but they are also excellent with maple syrup or just a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.

Makes 16 pancakes

2 eggs
2 1/2 cups buttermilk, divided
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons shortening
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch ground ginger
Pinch ground cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree (homemade or canned)
2 1/2 cups flour
Shortening, for skillet

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups buttermilk and eggs.  Add in baking soda and whisk well.  Baking soda will fizz as it reacts with buttermilk.  Add sugar and shortening, whisking until shortening breaks up into bits.  Add baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and pumpkin puree and whisk well.  Stir in flour and stir until it is evenly distributed.  Use remaining 1/2 cup buttermilk to thin batter as needed (the consistency will rely a great deal on the moisture in the pumpkin, so you might need all of the 1/2 cup and you might only need 1 tablespoon) to reach desired thickness.
2. Heat skillet or griddle to medium heat.  Grease with extra shortening.  Spoon 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle or skillet and cook on one side until bubbles appear consistently throughout cake.  Flip pancake over and cook until brown on the second side.  Remove to plate or serving platter and keep in a warm place or serve immediately.

Maple Pecan Pumpkin Cheesecake

The part of me that disparages anything pre-made or from a mix (other than things like ice cream topping and such) cries a little bit admitting that this cheesecake is in a pre-made crust.  And no, it doesn't taste the same as one I would have made myself.  But it did have the major selling point of being 6-8 servings, rather than the 12+ servings that I would have had if I had made this in my springform pan.  If you want the 12+ servings of a springform pan, just 1 1/2 this recipe, combine it with your favorite homemade graham cracker crust recipe, and increase the baking time to 40 minutes before you put the topping on.

With that out of the way, I will say that this cheesecake is fantastic.  I made it and even I was impressed with how good it is.  It has a creamy filling that has a good pumpkin flavor and a crunchy topping that balances it nicely and gives an extra hit of flavor.  I will definitely consider making it for Thanksgiving this year.

Serves 6-8

Packaged 9-inch graham cracker crust, without cracks or holes
2 8-oz packages cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon
2 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin puree ( homemade or canned)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash ground cloves
------------
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
Dash cinnamon
1/3 cup pecan pieces, toasted
Whipped cream or Cool Whip, for serving

1.  In mixing bowl of a electric mixer, beat cream cheese for about 10 seconds until it is creamy.  Add sour cream and beat well.  Add brown sugar, vanilla, and bourbon.  Beat well, scraping sides of bowl as needed to incorporate everything.  Add eggs and beat until eggs are full incorporated.  Stir pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves into cream cheese mixture.  Stir this only until incorporated and do not whip.
2. Pour cheesecake mixture into prepared crust.  Set filled crust on baking sheet so you can lift it in and out of the oven easier.  Bake cheesecake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Note that, at this point, the cheesecake will not be completely done.
3. While cheesecake is baking, prepare topping.  In the bottom of a small bowl, melt butter in microwave.  Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon until mixture is crumbly.  Stir in pecans.  Set aside until cheesecake has baked 30 minutes.
4. After cheesecake has baked 30 minutes, sprinkle pecan topping evenly over top.  Return cheesecake to oven and bake for 10 more minutes or until cheesecake seems set.  Move cheesecake to cooling rack to cool completely.  Once it is room temperature, cover the cheesecake and place it in the refrigerator.  Chill for at least 2 hours or up to three days.  Cut into wedges and top with whipped cream or Cool Whip for serving.

Cinnamon Pecan Sauce

When I decided to make pumpkin pancakes, I wanted to make some kind of flavored syrup to go with them.  In the past I have made fruit sauce and had good results, but this was different. It needed to have a lot of flavor, which is what the fruit usually provides.  I was surprised that a flavor like cinnamon could carry an entire sauce.  It was really good on pancakes, but it would also be good on french toast and baked apples.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups sauce

2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1. In small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch.  Mix until cornstarch is no longer clumped and evenly distributed.  Mix in cinnamon.  Slowly stir in water.  Place saucepan on medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.  Once sauce is simmering, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes or until it thickens slightly, stirring occasionally.  Add maple syrup and pecans.  Stir well and return to a simmer.  Serve hot.

Eggplant Lasagna

I got an eggplant in my last CSA box, so I decided to try to make something different with it.  I was reading something about different kinds of lasagna and that seemed like a good plan.  The rest of the ingredients, well, I had them around.  Surprising how good something without any real plan can be.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large or 2 small chicken breasts
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small eggplant, diced small
2 tablespoons water
Dash salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Salt, ground black pepper, and garlic salt to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
8 no-boil lasagna noodles
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1. In large skillet, melt butter and oil over medium heat.  Saute chicken breast(s) until done.  Remove to plate to cool and set aside.
2. In same butter and oil, saute garlic until soft.  Add eggplant and saute until soft.  Pour water over and simmer at high heat until water disappears.  Season with salt and garlic salt, then basil.  Set mixture aside.
3. In saucepan, whisk flour and milk together.  Place saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles and thickens.  Simmer for 2 minutes, still stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 Parmesan cheese.  Stir until melted.  Set aside.
4. Dice chicken.
5. Grease a 8-inch square baking pan.  Pour 1/2 cup sauce in bottom of pan and tilt to cover bottom of pan.  Layer two noodles over sauce.  Top with 1/3 of the eggplant--spreading to make it even--then 1/3 of the chicken, then 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.  Repeat noodles, then eggplant, then chicken layers twice more.  Top final layer of lasagna with 2 more noodles to cover.  Pour all remaining sauce over lasagna.  Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
6. Cover dish with foil.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes.  Allow lasagna to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Technique Post: Making Pumpkin Puree

I thought I would try branching out from the usual recipes into how it is that I do some things.  Also, the recipe for pumpkin puree would be ridiculously direction-heavy, so it might as well be a different sort of post.  Anyway, I got this pumpkin from the CSA so I decided to bite the bullet and do something with it.  Last year I made puree and just froze it, then promptly made nothing out of the frozen puree.  So this year I made the puree and made stuff out of it the same day.  Much more work on that one day, but also no freezer door full of pumpkin that makes me feel guilty for not using it.  I used a food processor to make this puree.  If you don't have one, a good one can be found here: KitchenAid KFP750OB 700-Watt 12-Cup Food Processor, Onyx Black.  You don't HAVE to have a food processor to accomplish this, but I have done it with a potato masher and found that the end product is still really stringy and that it is a lot more work.

1. Prepare the Pumpkin: Cut pumpkin in half.  This is a fantastic task to accomplish with your pumpkin-carving tools or any sturdy serrated knife with a comfortable handle. Once you have two halves, scoop out the seeds and the strings holding the seeds in.  If you are feeling really industrious, feel free to save and roast the seeds.  I didn't, but I could have.

2. Bake the Pumpkin: Once you have two halves that are clean of seeds and strings, place them cut-side down in a baking dish.  I used a large Pyrex pan, but it can be anything with tall sides and enough room to hold both pumpkin halves.  Pour enough water into the pan to come up about an inch on the pumpkins. If your cut line on your pumpkin is really straight, you should also make sure that water got into the pumpkin center (that the pumpkin isn't suctioned to the pan, basically).  Place dish with water and pumpkin in a 350 degree oven and roast until pumpkin is cooked through.  For my pumpkin, this took about an hour but my pumpkin was pretty big for a sugar pumpkin.  Check it after like 30 minutes and judge from there.  Pumpkin is done when a fork can pierce the skin and flesh with minimal pressure.
3. Cool the Pumpkin: Lift the pumpkin halves up so that the cut sides are exposed and prop it up in the pan.  I did this with forks.  This is less important to the whole process, but it does help the pumpkin cool faster so I recommend it.  Allow the pumpkin to cool until you can handle it with your bare hands.

4. Puree the Pumpkin: The pumpkin is now baked, soft, and cooled.  Use an ice cream scoop or soup spoon to scoop the meat from the skin of the pumpkin.  Try to not scrap hard enough to pull up pumpkin skin--it is hard and doesn't taste great--but if you do just take it off the scrapings.  Scoop the pumpkin meat into the bowl of a food processor.  Depending on your food processor and your pumpkin, you might need to make the actual puree in batches.  There is usually a "max fill" line on a food processor bowl and, for this project, I would really recommend using it.  You don't want lumpy puree.  Once your pumpkin meat is all in the processor or your bowl is full to the max fill line, affix lid and process pumpkin.  The actual puree will appear in seconds.  Scrap the sides of the processor down and give it a few more whirls, just to make sure it is smooth.
5. Use the Pumpkin: You now have puree.  If your pumpkin was anything like my pumpkin, you probably have a lot of puree (my pumpkin ended up being about 4 cups of puree).  Something you might notice is that homemade puree tends to be yellower and looser than the canned that you buy in the store.  This isn't wrong, it's just a different product.  The recipes that you will find for pumpkin on this site have generally been made with homemade puree not because I hate canned, but more because I tend to have pumpkins to deal with and create recipes to do just that.  Homemade and store-bought can usually be used interchangeably in things like pies, breads, and most cakes.  Just be aware that these recipes might turn out a little looser with homemade puree. I would not really recommend using homemade puree for cookies as it is, since the cookies will probably spread because of the extra moisture in the puree.  If you want to use homemade puree for such a recipe, I would recommend adding about 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch for every cup of homemade puree to help combat the loose-ness.  Another really important note here: you should not can homemade pumpkin puree.  Freeze it yes, can it no.  The USDA does not recommend home canning of pumpkin because the acid content of pumpkin is not high enough and the puree is dense enough to prevent the center from reaching the necessary temperature to kill bacteria and to prevent the growth of botulism.  If you make your puree and don't use it that day, it can be kept in a refrigerator for about a week and a freezer for about a year.  Or you can just use it right away, like I did, and have a whole bunch of delicious pumpkin products in your house.

Apple Crisp

I have a glut of apples at the moment, which is a positive problem.  I really like apples and it just doesn't seem like fall to me unless I make apple crisp at least a few times.  And when I say "apple crisp" this is always the recipe I mean.  The apples stay very apple-y, the topping is not overwhelmingly sweet, and it isn't real high on the calorie and fat scales.  Winner all around.  A short note here on what apples to use: I used 4 honeycrisp apples and 3 granny smiths when I made this batch.  This isn't a hard-and-fast rule, I mostly just like to mix something that bakes up sweet and mushy (macintosh, jonathon, honeycrisp) with something that will bake up firm and a little sour (granny smith is my go-to here and is pretty readily-available year-round).  Play with it a little on your own to find your preference or just use whatever is available to you.

Serves 4-6

7 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup quick-cook oatmeal
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter

1. Prepare the apples and place them in a baking dish.  I used an oval 11-inch ceramic baking dish, but pyrex works well too.  Basically you want the dish to be full almost to the top with sliced apples, but not overflowing.
2. Drizzle lemon juice over cut apples.
3. In small bowl, mix together brown sugar, oatmeal, flour, and cinnamon.  I usually just do this with my hands.  Using your fingers, a pastry blender, or two knives, cut butter into brown sugar mixture.  Once mixture is crumbly and there are no chunks of butter, sprinkle it evenly over apples in baking dish.
4. Bake crisp in 325 degree oven for 30-45 minutes.  At this point the apples should be crisp-tender and the topping should be browned.  If you like your apples more done, cover crisp with foil for the first 15 minutes and increase baking time by 10 minutes.

Pasta Bolognese

I didn't really set out to make bolognese sauce, but I sort of realized partway through the day that I had all the ingredients for it if I did some tweaking.  This sauce was really good but make no mistake, this is not marinara.  I don't really have a lot of experience with bolognese, so I was surprised at how much flavor this had but also how filling it was.  Luckily the leftovers reheated really well.

Serves 6

4 strips bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 cup sliced baby portabella mushrooms
1 lb ground pork
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup dry red wine
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
6 oz can tomato paste
Salt and garlic salt to taste
1 lb pasta, for serving
Parmesan cheese, for serving

1. In large skillet with lid, saute bacon pieces until browned and crispy.  Remove bacon pieces and set aside, but reserve drippings in pan.
2.  Saute garlic and onions in bacon drippings until soft and opaque.  Add mushrooms and saute until soft.  Add pork and brown until pork is no longer pink.  Stir in oregano and basil.  Add beef broth and red wine, simmering until liquids in the pan are reduced by about half.  Add tomatoes and tomato paste.  Stir browned bacon pieces into sauce, season to taste, and cover sauce.  Simmer sauce on low for about 30 minutes to combine flavors.  Serve sauce over pasta, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Slow Cooker Minestrone

Because my birthday cake was delicious, but also sort of rich, this was the soup that accompanied it.  It was hearty but also not terribly heavy, which was good because it has been unseasonably warm here and heavy food hasn't really been and option of late.  Putting this in the slow cooker also meant no added heat to the house, which is a definite bonus.  In the interest of full disclosure and giving credit where credit is due, I should also point out that I didn't make this soup.  It was made for me for my birthday.

Serves 6

2 links hot turkey sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
12 oz can canellini beans, drained and rinsed
14 oz can diced tomatoes, Italian seasoned style
2 bay leaves
9 cups chicken broth
2 cups small pasta
Parmesan cheese

1. In small skillet, brown hot turkey sausage with onion and garlic.  Season with salt, thyme, and basil.  Stir in flour and continue to cook over medium heat until liquids are reduced.  Pour mixture into pot of a slow cooker.
2. Add chicken, carrots, beans, and diced tomatoes to sausage mixture.  Stir well.  Add bay leaves and chicken broth and stir well.  Cook soup on high heat for 4-6 hours or low heat for 8 hours.
3. About 30-45 minutes before you are ready to eat, add pasta.  Serve once pasta is cooked through.  Remove bay leaves for serving. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese for serving.

Brownie Cookies with Buttercream Frosting

I developed this recipe to have chocolate cookies that were also festive.  I love to make sugar cookies, but I also love chocolate.  It just seemed unfair that the only options for using all the fun festive sprinkles that I have are cupcakes or sugar cookies.  I also love the flavor of brownies with buttercream, but at times they just aren't as portable as they should be.  These particular cookies were made to go to a tailgater for a football game, which is a place where portability is a necessity.  They were a pretty big hit.

Makes about 60 cookies

1 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
Basic Buttercream

1. In heatproof bowl, combine chocolates and butter.  Heat mixture in the microwave for about 2 minutes--stirring every 30 seconds--or until all chocolate and butter is melted.  Set mixture aside and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
2. Mix sugar into melted mixture.  Stir in vanilla.  Mixture will appear grainy at this point.  Stir in eggs, a few at a time, and beat well.  Make sure eggs are incorporated before adding dry ingredients. Measure salt into mixture and stir.  Add flour, one cup at a time, and beat well.  Be sure to scrap the bottom of the bowl well, as flour seems to collect there very well with this recipe.
3. Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper.
4. Drop scoops of dough onto prepared cookie sheet.  You will want each cookie to be about 2 tablespoons of dough.  Bake cookies in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes.  As these are very dark cookies, you will be able to tell that they are done when they are evenly puffed, the tops are dry, and the edges are crackled.  Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
5. Once cookies are completely cool, frost them with about 1 tablespoon of buttercream.  Add sprinkles, if desired.

Basic Buttercream

I use this frosting for pretty much anything.  I like it on cookies, on cakes, on graham crackers.  Pretty much anything that needs sweet or vanilla, this is the frosting I use.  This recipe will be enough for 12-16 cupcakes (spread frosting; it will frost fewer if the frosting is piped on), 30-45 cookies (depending on cookie size), or about half of a 9-inch layer cake.

Makes about 3 cups frosting

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Milk, if needed
Food coloring, if desired

1. With an electric stand mixer, beat butter until fluffy to loosen it up.  This will take about 30 seconds.
2. Add vanilla.  Scrap sides and beat again until vanilla is incorporated.
3. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time.  Scrap sides of bowl and beater after each cup is added.  After all 4 cups are added, if the frosting seems too stiff to use, you will want to add milk 1/2 teaspoon at a time.  You won't need much milk, so don't add too much or you will have to add more powdered sugar to even it out.
4. Add food coloring, if using.  Frosting itself will be a very pale yellow / off-white color.  I usually use the gel food colorings for frosting, as the liquid that comes in dropper-bottles thins frosting.

Week 17 Box

This was the last box that we will get this year, the newsletter this week informs me.  It was a little strange in its proportions (for example, the box had one brussell sprout in it) and a lot of it was already of a somewhat-questionable freshness.  Many of the sweet potatoes have already been thrown away because they were already moldy.  What is listed below is what I saved.  It should also be mentioned that the herbs listed here are actually from my mom's garden, so they were in extremely plentiful quantities.

• Carrots
• Garlic bulb
• Sugar pumpkin
• Butternut squash
• Oregano
• Basil
• Thyme