Almond Kringle

A Babel Holiday favorite.
This recipe from Esther has been enjoyed for decades. It's easy and very tasty! The recipe makes 2 kringles

Almond Kringle
The "base"-
1 cup AP flour
1 stick cold butter
2 Tbl water

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees

Cut butter into the flour until the butter looks like small flour covered peas. Add water and form into a ball. Divide in 2. Make two 3 x 12 inch rectangles and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

The "top"
1 cup water
one stick of butter
2 tsp almond extract
1 cup flour
3 eggs

Melt one stick of butter in one cup of water. Bring to a boil and add almond extract and one cup of flour. Remove from heat. Mix until the dough forms a ball. Add 3 eggs ( make sure to temper them with a bit of the dough) and beat until fluffy with a hand mixer. Add this mixture to the top of the base. Bake at 350 Degrees for 50-60 minutes  until golden brown and delicious.

The glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered suger
2 tbl butter
1 to 2 tbl of milk or water
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of almond extract
( I go with 1 1/1 tsp of straight almond, I like almond)

Let the kringle cool and add glaze and some sliced almonds.
Eat and enjoy!

Tim Babel

mmm Bacon

As most of you probably have heard, WHO just came out and blatantly said that processed meats cause, without a doubt, cancer. Personally, I could pretty easily go without meat, the only difficulty I would find would be living without processed meats. Such an umbrella term, "processed meats" cause the grouping of things like this...

v

To things like this...

(FYI Maddie this will be your room in a couple of months, don't worry they will be done by then.)

I am sure that the "food" item in the can may cause cancer. I struggle mentally to see how meats cured the old fashioned way, when consumed responsibly (note: I have never made or eaten bacon ice cream, moderation please.) can be so bad for you.

Rant over. Bacon time.

I have made bacon a couple of times now, and it is super easy. The number one ingredient is time. Well that, and pork. And I guess salt. Salt is extremely important. Really, those are the only items I follow almost to the letter of the recipe I use.

For every 1800 grams (about 4 pounds)  of Skinless Pork Belly 

Add 170 grams of Sea Salt

and

1 and 1/2 teaspoons Curing Salt 

With that as a base you can experiment with spices and sugars as much as you like.

I have used maple syrup and brown sugar in the past, both have their benefits, but I prefer to use brown sugar as it is cheaper, not as messy, and I like to pour maple syrup on bacon after cooking.

225 grams of Brown Sugar

I like spicy. So typically I add chilli flakes and cayenne pepper, a good pinch or two or three. Peppercorns are also a must, whatever colour of your choosing about half a tablespoon.

Through all the rub ingredients into a mortar and grind it up with the pestle. It doesn't need to be ultra-fine, but a ground mixture is much easily to spread evenly. And that is what you must do, massage every side of the meat with the rub. 

Put the pork belly into a container and cover, and place it in the fridge. The next day take it out and pour out any liquid that has accumulated. Any excess spices should be rubbed back into the meat. Repeat this process for a total of at least three days up to five days. 

The pork belly will be tightening up, noticeably after the first day, and by the end of its curing it should be nice and firm. Take it out of the container and rinse off any solid spices with cold water. Give it a good bath and then dry it off. Now you have another choice to make, but the pork belly is now BACON.

You can smoke it or leave it as is. Whichever path you choose, wrap the bacon in muslin cloth. If you are going to smoke it, leave it out of the fridge. If you aren't, put it back in the fridge, on a plate, uncovered for a few hours. Afterwards, put it into a cover container and it should keep in the fridge for a few weeks. Slice it as you go, it will keep better as a solid chunk of bacon.

Smoking can impact some nice flavor to the meat. I have used a combination of oak and maple in the past. Get your smoking device going and aim for around 70-80 celsius. Smoke fat side up for about three hours, until the middle of the bacon is 60 degrees. 

As long as you follow the salt to meat ratio you will be safe. My first go arounds with curing meat left me a bit scared, but I read up on it, consulting a few books, finding In the Charcuterie to be quite a good and informative read. 

Nothing in the House's Apple Galette in Spain

Nothing in the House is my favorite recipe blog.  In the past I've made her Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese filling and then watched my then-boyf eat four in a row.

We have a ton of apples, so, on this rainy Saturday, I made an Apple Galette.

Note: this is entirely Nothing in the House's recipe.  The only change I made was omitting the apple cider vinegar from the crust, because we didn't have any.

Now go to her blog and make her tasty treats!

Ingredients 
Nothing-in-the-House pie crust, with 1 c. all-purpose flour and 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

8 medium apples of similar size but various varieties

1 c. sugar + extra for sprinkling

1 c. water

Directions 
1. Make crust as per the directions and refrigerate. Meanwhile, core and slice apples as thin as possible. Reserve the cores for the glaze.

2. For the glaze, combine cores, sugar and water in saucepan and simmer until thickened. Strain and reserve. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

3. When the glaze is finished, roll out the dough in a rectangle on parchment paper. Transfer the parchment paper and dough to a rectangular baking sheet, and place apple slices in 5 rows over the crust. Leave a little crust around the edges to fold over the sides. Sprinkle sugar over the apples and bake for 45 min. Before serving, reheat the glaze and brush over the apples.

Look at that beautiful egg! 

Yes, I did have to turn to Google Translate to ensure that this was butter, and not margarine. 

Spooky spooky, very spooky. 

The World's Best Fruit Fly Trap

Babels love vegetables. So if you're living with a Babel, you probably have a fruit fly problem. This is especially true if you live with Zack Babel, who also likes to ferment. Fermenting involves a lot of fruit and veggies sitting around at room temperature with a cheese cloth (or, one of my favorite tricks, nylon) covering the container's opening. The fruit flies, which are surprisingly more food-driven and much smaller than a Babel, can find their way through these barriers, spoiling a month's-long fermentation experiment or Kombucha. Follow these instructions for an excellent line of defense from these little tricksters. - Holly

Ingredients

(pictured right)
Dawn (brand) dish soap
Apple Cider vinegar
Water

Directions

1. In a small dish, with steep sides (I use a small Pyrex container like these), add apple cider vinegar until dish is 1/4 full. 
2. Add water (tap water is fine) until dish is 1/2 full. 
3. Add 5-10 drops of Dawn dish soap. 
4. Gently mix ingredients together to combine, but not produce bubbles. 
5. Set dish near the source of fruit fly activity. 

You should see results within the hour. Pictured below are the results I had with my trap in less than two hours near my compost bin. Replace the mixture daily until fruit flies have vanished.

CSA Pancakes vol. I

I came up with this dish when we had all sorts of veggies from our CSA (community supported agriculture),  and I happen to love savory pancakes! This recipe could be substituted with a wide variety of vegetables, cheeses, meats, herbs and spices. It's easy to mix together with whatever you have available, and don't forget leftovers! With the basic batter ingredients, you may also make adjustments. For a more fluffy pancake, add more flour. If you prefer thinner, more omelet-like cakes, add more eggs. This particular pancake was delicious topped with either a yogurt cucumber salad or a soft goat cheese. - Zack

Dry Ingredients 

1 cup flour

1 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt (to taste)

1/2 t. pepper (to taste)

1/2 t. ground turmeric

1/2 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. ground coriander

Vegetables Ingredients

Pictured left: vegetables prepared for CSA cakes - Chives (top), carrot (center-left),golden beet (bottom-left), summer squash (bottom-center, purple cabbage (right)
1/2 c shredded beet

1/2 c shredded summer squash

1/2 c shredded carrot

1/2 c shredded purple cabbage

1/4 c chopped chives

1/4 c chopped green onion

6 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 small chile (finely chopped)

Eggs and Dairy Ingredients

1 cup yogurt/kefir/buttermilk

5 eggs

1 tbs butter or oil

 

Directions

1. Whisk together, flour, soda, salt, pepper and other dry spices until combined. 
2. Add vegetables and toss until coated in flour mixture.
3. In another bowl, whisk together dairy, eggs, and butter/oil. 
4. Pour this mixture over the flour and vegetables and stir until just combined. Batter may be clumpy - this makes fluffier cakes!
5. Warm up a griddle or skillet to medium or medium/low heat. Add a bit of fat to lubricate pan. 
6. Wait until fat has melted, then drop 1/4 cup of pancake mixture into skillet. (pictured)
7. Leave cakes to cook until small bubbles appear through the batter and cakes are slightly browned. 
8. Flip over. Cook until both sides are browned.

A Kale Salad

Crunchy, fresh, and healthy. Prepared with a few simple ingredients, this is an excellent way to eat up a bountiful mid-summer's kale harvest. The lack of dairy and other ingredients that would easily spoil make this safe for transport in a cooler or for sitting at room temperature for long periods of time. This salad also enjoys a long life in the refrigerator with flavors improving over time. 

This recipe can be easily adjusted to fit individual tastes and preferences!

Preparing the dressing

3/4 cup tahini
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
3-4 cloves garlic (chopped or mashed)
1-2 tps salt
pinch fresh black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4-1/2 c. olive oil

Blend all ingredients except olive oil together with an immersion blender, blender, food processor, or a whisk, bowl, and muscles. When combined drizzle in oil as you blend or whisk until it is well combined and desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

Preparing the salad

1 bunch of kale (Zack prefers dino or green kale),
3 carrots (shredded)
1/2 medium red onion (thinly sliced)
1/4-1/2 cup sunflower seeds (unroasted)

Chop kale rather fine or as bite sized as you prefer. Massage the leaves to tenderize. Toss with carrots, onion and sunflower seeds. Add dressing and toss again.

Dad's Birthday Cake

The cake.

This is the birthday cake our mom made for Dad's birthday every year. For Dad's 60th birthday this year, we resurrected the recipe with resounding success. I was flying in from Vancouver and we were pressed for time, so I pre-mixed the dry ingredients in Vancouver and Madeline and I prepared the cake in Minneapolis while Zack napped. We finished it with the whipped cream right before serving it at the cabin.

This recipe has you prepare a pecan caramel sauce which bakes under the cake batter. The frosting is gently whipped cream, garnished with toasted pecans and chocolate curls, if you are feeling fancy.

Pecan caramel (praline) sauce. In a small saucepan combine the following three ingredients and cook over medium low heat until just melted:

• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) butter
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup packed brown sugar

While that's gently melting, prepare 2 9-inch cake pans by buttering, flouring, and parchmenting (i.e., lining the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper) them. Once the butter, cream, and brown sugar have melted, divide the mixture evenly between the two cake pans and sprinkle with 3/4 cup toasted chopped pecans.

Begin drooling and preheat your oven to 350F. Now the cake:

• 12 tablespoons (6 ounces) room temperature butter
• 1 3/4 cups (12.25 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups (8.25 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup (2.25 ounces) natural cocoa powder
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) milk or water

Cream together the butter, sugar, salt, baking soda, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Sift or whisk together the flour and cocoa in a separate bowl. Add the eggs to the creamed butter concoction one by one, beating well each time. Alternate additions of the flour mixture - water/milk - flour mixture - water/milk - flour mixture. Make sure all the flour is hydrated.

Pour the cake batter into your prepared (parchmented, carameled, pecaned) cake pans. Gently put in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. You will likely want to place a pan on the rack under the cake pans to catch any caramel drips.

Madeline stoked to surprise Dad.

Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes before removing them from the pan. Peel off the parchment paper and let the cake cool completely with the new praline side facing up.

Just before serving, gently whip

• 1 3/4 cup cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (or a little less, up to you)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Dad and Joan approve.

Put one cake praline side up on a serving platter and plop half the whipped cream on there. Spread it around and gently place the second cake on top, again praline side up. Top with the remaining whipped cream and more pecans and chocolate curls, those latter two only if you want.

Serve with coffee, beer, or milk.