Small and Wonderful Things 4

I'm making a few changes to my weekly set-up around here, so from now on, Small and Wonderful Things shall appear on Saturday!! You'll find out about the other changes on Monday. I'm thrilled about them. Have a Delightful Day!!

Stephen (little) being so anxious to go to bed (?!) so that he can read, that he starts reading bedtime scriptures out loud by himself, and scolding Joe, "Joe! It's scripture time! You have to sit down and listen!!" 

He also reads us grocery ads.

My boys doing Winnie the Pooh's stoutness exercises.

Giant beanbags. Must have. 

Dinner Conversations and Joe's train of thought:

Little Stephen: "Mom, are horses still useful?"

Me: *expounding on the uses of horses*

Stephen: "GLUE."

Joe: "Mom?"

Me: "Yes Joe?"

Joe: "Glue and tape are both sticky. They stick to paper."

Using Bracken for a pillow.

Singing "Hey and Away We Go" with my boys. My favoritest childhood song, about the love of riding horses. Makes me misty every time. Listen here.

Meatloaf with Cooks Illustrated Glaze

I am a sucker for comfort food. Turkey dinners, Mac and Cheese, Fried Chicken, chicken noodle soup... There's just something about them that is so filling, and deeply satisfying, all the way down to my toes. I love thinking about the generations that have eaten these same foods, years and years back. There are a few classics that I want to learn to make, like chicken and dumplings, and french onion soup... But I've got time. And plenty of comfort recipes to share already!! And Fall is the best time of the year for comfort food. Lets be honest, no one comes home from a chilly outdoor Fall excursion and says to themselves, "Mmmm, I could really go for a SALAD right now!!" And if you do... well, you must be lots thinner than me! :)

I know, I know, it's meatloaf. This poor dish has such an awful reputation, doesn't it?? Gross, greasy, dry, bleck. I also happen to hate it when there are red or green peppers in it. Well, I've only had one meatloaf recipe in my LIFE that I liked, and this is it. And I love it. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas. Classic comfort food at it's best!!

Mom's Meatloaf
Printable Recipe

1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1/2 of a yellow or white onion, diced small (sometimes I grate it on a box grater instead!)
a handful of oatmeal (about 1/2 cup)
1 Tb powdered milk
1 tsp pepper
2 Tb Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup

Glaze (from Cooks Illustrated)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp hot sauce (I like Frank's)
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 Tb packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all meatloaf ingredients well in a large bowl. (By hand works best for me! Or you can use child hands... :)

Dump meatloaf into a loaf pan and form into a loaf shape (slightly domed top). *I was lazy, but for a much less greasy loaf, put a wire rack in a rimmed cookie sheet, lay a piece of foil on top of the rack, poke holes in the foil, and form your loaf on the foil. All the grease will fall through the foil into the cookie sheet!* Combine all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Spoon half of it over the meatloaf, save the rest for later. Cook meatloaf for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, spoon the rest of the glaze over, and return to the oven. Bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before serving.

I know that list of glaze ingredients sounds strange. It really does. But it's REALLY yummy!! They had a meatloaf recipe too, but it involved gelatin, and browning veggies... *yawn* We tried it, and still like this one better. And it's LOTS easier. :)

Tangy, slightly sweet glaze with a bit of warmth, tender, juicy meatloaf... It's very simple, but isn't most comfort food?? You could add peppers if you want to, of course!

Ah, the perfect bite. Long Live Meatloaf!!

By the way, I'm now a contributor over at Mommy Is CooCoo, stop by and check Amanda out!

Cranberry Orange Cookies

I LOVE having Stephen's office to send treats to!! It gets them out of the house, and away from ME. My self-control seems to have gone on vacation lately... And things disappear so fast, I could send something every day if I wanted to! This makes life MUCH more fun. I can start baking things like Bundt cakes, which are huge, and have many servings. But I am also going to try and post more dinner-type recipes too. Time to start having salads and things with our meals, since I can finally eat them! But I need a few more days to rack up a few of those, so here is a fabulous cookie recipe to tide you over! See you tomorrow :)

Cranberry Orange Cookies

Printable Recipe

1/2 cup sugar
zest from 1 orange

3/4 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup butter, room temperature
1 egg

1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
½ cup dried cranberries, chopped
zest from 1 orange

Rub the zest from 1 orange into the 1/2 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

Cream together the butter, zest and 3/4 cup sugar. Add egg and vanilla, beat until creamy. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in cranberries. Refrigerate dough one hour, or up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into small, about 1 inch balls. Roll them in the orange sugar. Place on lined or ungreased cookie sheets. (Makes almost 2 dozen) Flatten them a bit with the bottom of a cup or glass. 

Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the edges barely turn gold. Don't overbake!! Let cool on a wire rack. 

Mmmm, cranberry orange!! One of my favoritest combinations. These fabulous little cookies are drenched in sweet orange flavor, with tart little tangs of chewy cranberries...

Crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside! The perfect cookie texture.

Cranberry also happens to be my favoritest color!! In fact, I just bought new throw pillows for our new couch, and they're cranberry-colored!! I'll show you tomorrow. Right now I have cookies to eat... or package up to give away... sigh. :)

Shared at Foodie Friend Friday

Thank You!!

Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my milestone giveaway post!! And thank you again to all of you who read, and comment, and share, and pin, and make this whole blogging world SO much fun!

I recruited my little ragamuffin Joe, who is badly in need of a haircut, to draw names!

First to mix them up, then pick one...

And the winner is...

Elena!!! Hooray!! Couldn't have picked better myself! Guess that's why I let Joe do it :) Shoot me an email, dear friend, (wifflesnap@gmail.com) so I can get your address, likes, dislikes, and requests!

Thank you ALL once more. I'll do this again soon, it's such a fun idea!

Chocolate Almond Souffle Torte

Sometimes I feel so left out. I am a bit of an anomaly, among women, foodies, bloggers... human beings in general, I guess. Why?? Because I don't like chocolate. It's not my fault!! I used to!! Somewhere during my first pregnancy, it just disappeared. Now, though I don't hate it, chocolate just kinda does nuthin for me. I miss it. The good thing is, I can still appreciate it. A bite or two of some fabulous chocolate creation, and I can  see what I'm missing. So that means you, my readers, and my chocoholic husband, still get chocolate recipes. Hooray for small blessings!

In honor of a wonderful friend whose birthday is rapidly approaching, I'm sharing my deepest, darkest, most decadent, most gourmet, most fabulous chocolate cake recipe. My Mom taught it to me, and I destroyed my first few, but I've finally gotten the hang of it. She used to make it for office parties, and it would disappear. Dad got leftovers for breakfast. We, as children, and therefore insignificant in the culinary hierarchy,  were lucky if we got a sliver! This will KNOCK your socks off. (PS: Also, no flour!)

Chocolate Almond Souffle Torte (adapted from Cherie Haaland)
Printable Recipe

1 cup (5 oz) slivered almonds, toasted (I spread mine on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Wait till you smell them toasting, and they've browned a bit)
4 Tb plus 1/8 cup granulated sugar

teeny pinch of salt
2 Tb oil
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 lb semi or bittersweet chocolate (only use bittersweet if it's the highest quality) , finely chopped (Try to use high-quality chocolate, like Ghiradelli. if using cheaper chocolate, increase the sugar to 1/4 cup)
6 large eggs, separated, room temp.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 inch springform pan, then line with parchment paper and butter/flour paper. Set aside.

Combine the almonds and 4 Tb sugar in a blender, food processor, spice/coffee grinder. Process till almond are ground fine. Add oil and process till thick and pasty.

Combine butter and cream in a saucepan, heat on medium heat until the butter is melted. Add chocolate and whisk till smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in almond paste.

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are pale and thickened, about 5 minutes.  (If using the same bowl to beat both eggs, make sure to transfer yolks to a large bowl, and  wash and dry your beater and bowl well before beating the egg whites)   

Beat egg whites (gradually adding the 1/3 cup sugar) until stiff peaks form.

Gradually whisk chocolate (vigorously) into egg yolks. Start with just a teeny drizzle at a time, to temper the eggs a bit. Carefully fold in the egg whites. It should still be streaky, or you've mixed your whites too much. This is the part that always scared the pants off me, but if you are gentle with those whites, you'll make a perfect cake. When in doubt, less-mixed is better.)

Bake about 35 minutes, it will still jiggle a bit in the middle. (It will come out all pretty and domed, then fall a bit. Don't worry, it's supposed to) Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for a few hours. Serve cold with whipped cream (I like to make homemade, and add a splash of almond extract) or dusted with powdered sugar. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Imagine the best dark chocolate truffle you've ever had. Now imagine that chocolate also has a hint of almond. Then imagine you have a whole CAKE of that chocolate! Be warned: If you don't like dark chocolate, this is NOT the cake for you!!

This is a rich dark chocolate truffle in cake form. Silky smooth, thick and decadent, just a hint of bitter... This is a Grown Up chocolate cake.

This is the cake I make for the love of my life for extra-special occasions, to show him in baking language how much I adore him. It takes him about a week or two to eat the whole thing, slice by teeny slice. Believe me, a teeny slice is PLENTY.

I can still appreciate it too!! One of the boys likes it, but I can't remember which... Now remember, this is my BEST, fanciest dessert. Use with care!! :) 

But I'll tell you, there is nothing quite like the feeling of folding in those egg whites, and removing a perfect cake from the oven. You'll feel like a five-star French Chef.

Golden Syrup and Oatmeal Muffins

Some mornings, you just need a muffin. Nothing else will do!! Muffins are my favorite baked goody. (Scones are a very close second) I would bet that a year from now, I will have more muffin recipes than even cake recipes!! We'll see. Tis an ongoing quest. 

These heavenly little bits of Fall Sunshine are made with one of my favorite ingredients in the world: Golden Syrup. I mentioned it (as it is an ingredient) in my Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake, and neglected to tell you what it IS!! Shame on me. Time to explain!!

Lyle's Golden Syrup. A glorious concoction of sticky golden goodness. This syrup tastes nothing like our maple syrup. Well, maybe a teeny bit. It is buttery, and lightly caramel-flavored. You can use it as an ingredient, or any way you would use honey or syrup! Drizzled on pancakes, dolloped in oatmeal, spread on bits of baked goodness... I've even used it to replace corn syrup when making caramel corn. SO good!! It often comes in a can, and sometimes grocery stores here in the States will randomly carry it, but it is, of course, from Great Britain, that place of sticky delicious puddings. If you happen to have a (Cost Plus) World Market in your area, you are a very lucky person, and can find it there! (As well as Stroopwafels... mmmm) If not, you can get it on Amazon!! It's worth a try, really, even if only for these scrumptious little golden muffins.

Golden Syrup and Oatmeal Muffins (adapted slightly from The English Kitchen)
Printable Recipe

10 ounces flour (about 2 1/4 cups)
4 1/2 ounces light muscovado (or light brown) sugar (1/2 cup plus 3 Tb)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 ounces of porridge oats (quick oats) (1/3 cup)
6 fluid ounces milk (3/4 cup)
2 large eggs
3 1/2 ounces butter (7 Tb)
3 fluid ounces of golden syrup (3/8 cup) You could probably substitute honey

golden syrup (warmed for a few seconds in the microwave)

old-fashioned oats

demerara (or turbinado) sugar

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Grease/line 12 cup muffin pan.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the oats. Melt the butter and then whisk the golden syrup into it. (Mine wasn't quite melted. Oh well!! Made a great picture :)

Beat the eggs and milk together in a separate small bowl. Add both liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together until just combined.

Fill each muffin cup halfway with batter. Place about 1/2 teaspoon of golden syrup in the center of each. 

Top with the remaining batter. Sprinkle oats and demerara  (turbinado) sugar evenly over the tops.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until well risen and golden. Move muffins to a wire rack and brush the top of each with some of the warmed golden syrup. (I forgot!!) Allow to cool a little bit before eating.

Golden muffins in golden morning sunlight. So pretty!! Fall sunshine always feels deeper and more mellow than summer to me. If lemons are summer sunshine, these muffins are Fall sun. Good Morning Muffins!

These muffins are postively scrumdiddlyumptious!! That little dollop of syrup melts into the middle, giving it just a bit of sticky, buttery moistness. Sooooo gooooood...

And look!! Oats!! Healthy, right??

Golden Syrup-y buttery caramel-y brown sugary muffins. Eat one. 'Nuff said.

Shared at On the Menu Monday