Zucchini Bread with Flax and Chocolate Chips

This recipe is easily doubled. I know there are a million zucchini bread recipes (and some I've been posted already). This one is my new favorite. It is unique because it has amazing texture. Kind of firm whereas most zucchini breads are just really mushy (in a good way!). I like to make muffins with this recipe and little loaves too. This bread is coming with me to Brittany's place! We're crashing there on our way to Quito. 

I've been kind of on a traveling hiatus but this month has been a whirlwind of trips already. We spent a lot of time back in Pittsburgh for the marathon and the reunion weekend. It was much needed and so so refreshing to see everyone!! Also to get amazing burgers at OTB and to try all the desserts at the new bakery in South Side.

Anyways it has been a year since I've been on a plane. That hasn't happened since I don't know when! So we're going on a 10 day adventure to YOLO and celebrate Kelly's first year of college. Ya!

This recipe is from my cousin's girlfriend via Pinterest via Food and Wine. Sources!

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour (I've also used spelt with success)

1. 1/4 cup flax seeds (whole)

1. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1. 2 large eggs

1. 1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. 1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt

1. 1 cup coarsely grated zucchini (from about 1 medium zucchini)

1. 1/2 cup chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease whatever pans you are using. Mix dry ingredients together minus sugar. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, oil, and sugar together. Add the yogurt and then the zucchini. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and just when mixed, add the chocolate chips.

Bake for about an hour + 10 minutes until a knife can be removed cleanly from the center. These are the directions for a loaf pan. Muffins will only take 30 minutes or so.

Brown Butter Banana Bread

I've made a few dry, plain, not that tasty banana breads, so I don't really agree with what most blog entries about banana breads say - that it's so easy and foolproof. My past few attempts have been extra good, though, including this one with brown butter, so it makes me want to make banana bread a lot more often.

My all-time favorite banana bread is the Nutella-swirled one I posted way back in March 2013. Also, if you want to do the opposite of this brown butter version and not include butter at all, you could try Michelle's vegan version with homemade vegan Nutella. And Julia posted a whole wheat flour version almost exactly two years ago! 

When Joy the Baker's posted this recipe, it was made with cranberries - I have fresh cranberries in the freezer and was fully intending to put them in the batter but decided not to at the last minute. Even though I really like baking with fresh cranberries, I just wanted a more simple banana bread this time. In Joy the Baker's recipe, she adds 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries to the batter, folding it in right before turning the batter into the loaf pan. 

Brown Butter Banana Bread

Adapted from Joy the Baker

For the bread

6 ounces unsalted butter, melted and browned to just over 1/2 cup of butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 large eggs

3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 1/4 cup mashed banana (from about 3 medium bananas)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup plain yogurt

For the crumble

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup oats

Orange Cranberry Bread (for bread machine)

I had an epiphany over the weekend: Homemade bread is a damn miracle. Especially when a machine practically makes it for you.

It's Kate here. It's been a long while since I last posted, so I hope you enjoy my new and slightly ambitious cooking adventure!

Mark and I inherited his grandma's bread machine after she passed away a few years ago. I guess they had used it a lot together growing up. But for one reason or another, the bread machine sat in our laundry room until Saturday night, when I thought it would awesome to have some homemade bread in the house. I've baked sweet breads, and I've baked breads with yeast, but I've never made bread using a bread machine. I'm now a believer.

I found this Cranberry Orange Bread recipe from AllRecipes.com, and knew I had to make it because we already had all of the ingredients for it.

Ingredients:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dried cranberries (the cool kids call them Craisins)
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon orange oil
• 2 teaspoons dried orange zest (my own addition, for additional orangey flavor)

Directions:
Add ingredients to bread machine, wet ingredients on bottom, dry ingredients in middle, and yeast on top. Press start button.

WHO KNEW IT WOULD BE THAT EASY?

Full disclosure: I didn't realize the machine even mixes everything for you. It's like magic. Also, the bread machine has an overnight setting, for fresh bread first thing in the morning, so we opted for that. It came out with a slightly dark crust, but aside from that, it was delicious.

We decided to make french toast with it, and we topped it with cinnamon and sugar. Perfection.

All hail to the bread machine.

In other news, I had to show off the breakfast-themed clock I finally hung up in the kitchen. It still needs batteries, but it looks great up on the wall. My sister Ashley got it for me for Christmas. :)

You can also view this recipe on my blog, Thriftburgher.

Martha's Cornmeal Pizza Dough

I've been using the same pizza dough recipes for years, occasionally trying out some whole wheat ones but always using the same one for normal white dough. I still love that recipe and will use it sometimes, but now it's got competition: Martha's cornmeal dough. 

It's still a white flour dough (which I usually prefer over whole wheat doughs), but it's made a bit richer with some cornmeal. And I love cornmeal (best example of cornmeal wonderfulness: Cranberry Maple Cornbread). To try out this dough, I made a gorgonzola and butternut squash pizza, a lot like the delicata squash pizza Michelle posted about last year. 

I tried frying sage for a cool topping, but they weren't that amazing. I just fried them up in some veg oil for a few seconds until crispy. I still like the idea and want to try it again, but mine didn't keep much sage-y flavor after being fried. Michelle/general public, do you know the best way to fry sage leaves so they're crispy but still sage-y?

MARTHA'S CORNMEAL PIZZA DOUGH
From Martha Stewart

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Pinch of sugar

2/3 cups warm water

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

1/4 cup cornmeal, plus more for pizza peel or baking sheet

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl

Maple Bacon Scones

Sunday brunch at home today! We had scones, made with bacon and brown sugar and topped with a maple glaze, a spinach mushroom frittata, homefries with shredded pork and poached eggs and fruit. We're pretty fancy people and even used a tablecloth, so we're basically Downton Abbey.

I would definitely make the scones again - maybe even without the bacon. They are awesome with the bacon, but they were so good that I'm sure it would be tasty sans bacon as well. 

Maple Bacon Scones

From How Sweet It Is (blogger lives in Pgh!)

3 1/4 cups flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cups cold butter

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 strips cooked bacon, crumbled 

course sugar for sprinkling

maple glaze (recipe below)

Feta & Chive Biscuits

You wouldn't think that I'd be in the mood for fluffy buttery biscuits after the amount of cookies I've been downing these days, but I was - and these biscuits are, not surprisingly, amazing. They're very easy to make and perfectly flavorful. I do think it's time to eat some salad now, though. But I also made a banana upside-down cake for later!

Feta & Chive Biscuits
Slightly adapted from Joy the Baker

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold & cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp cold water
3/4 cup sour cream, cold
1/3 cup chopped chives
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 egg, beaten for the egg wash
topping: coarse sea salt, cracked black pepper, smoky paprika

Cranberry Maple Cornbread

Last winter I learned how amazing fresh cranberries are for baking - I made those crumb bars and Michelle made great blondies. However, I didn't start using them until the very end of their season! 

This is the second time I've made this amazing skillet cornbread this month. I love cornbread, and this recipe, from Cookie + Kate, is my new favorite.

Today I've been watching Frontier House, one of those PBS series where families "go back in time" and live as authentically as possible in a certain time period. They use cast iron skillets! You can make this cornbread in a normal baking dish as well, though. My directions are written for baking it in a skillet, but you could easily adapt it for a baking dish. Speaking of adapting, this is the cornbread recipe I'll be using for future adaptations!

Frontier House!!

CRANBERRY MAPLE CORNBREAD

Slightly adapted from Cookie + Kate

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp coarse salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
2 tbsp sugar (normal or turbinado) to top, optional

Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding

This is a great brunch recipe! It's really easy and fast, and it looks and tastes like something special. I served it with some cream cheese frosting, which is just cream cheese, powdered sugar and a little vanilla.

APPLE CINNAMON BREAD PUDDING
Adapted from About.com Southern Food

4-5 cups day+ old bread, cut into cubes or ripped into chunks

1 tbsp cinnamon
1 apple, sliced thin
1/4 cup raisins, or mixed dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, apricots, etc.)
2 cups milk
1 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp butter
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp sugar

Preheat your oven to 350. Distribute the bread pieces, apples, raisins and cinnamon in a baking dish. In a saucepan, heat up the milk, brown sugar and butter until it's all mixed and melted. Meanwhile, mix up the eggs and vanilla. Then pour the hot milk mixture into the eggs and combine. Pour that into the baking dish and use a spatula to make sure all the bread is covered. Top with some sugar and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. The top should be a little crispy.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread

I have somehow lost my go-to vegan zucchini bread recipe. Instead I used Alton Brown's pumpkin bread recipe and adjusted it to my liking. I topped it with some sweetened marscapone cheese and added some chocolate chips.

1 cup spelt flour

1 cup sorghum flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamom

1 pinch ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup raw cane sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar 

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups shredded fresh zucchini (packed) 

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a bundt or loaf pan.
Whisk the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugars, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips just until incorporated. 

Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes until a toothpick can be inserted cleanly into the middle of the loaf. Cool before serving.
If there are leftovers, I like to put the zucchini bread in the freezer and eat some slices while frozen. It melts in your mouth!

Asparagus and Mushroom Bread Pudding

In the book Animal, Vegatable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver lives a year of eating locally from food her family has grown and from local farmer's markets. The book was full of information about growing food and had some great recipes--bonus! I continually make this bread pudding at the start of every asparagus season. It's perfect for a Spring brunch and all the ingredients are available at the same time. My mom liked it so much, she ate about 3 helpings of it.

Bread Pudding

3 cups milk (full fat please!)
1 bunch spring green onions
1 loaf stale multigrain bread
1 bunch of asparagus (about 1 pound)
1 pound local mushrooms (I used crimini)
4 eggs
1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
3 tablespoons fresh oregano
3 cups grated Swiss/Gruyere cheese

Chop green onions including the root and the greens. Add onions to milk in sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Watch the milk carefully to make sure it doesn't boil over, as that can happen quickly. Then turn off the heat right away and set aside to steep.
Slice the bread into 1 inch pieces and place in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan.
Chop the asparagus into ½ inch pieces drop into boiling water for a couple seconds. Then remove with a strainer and run cold water over it so the asparagus stops cooking.
Cook the mushrooms until softened in some water. Keep their juices. Then mix the mushrooms, 2/3 of the cheese, and asparagus into the bread cubes

Break eggs into cooled milk mixture and beat until smooth. Then add the mushroom juices. Add the fresh herbs and plenty of salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and pour over the bread. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes (until puffy and golden). Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Garnish with extra fresh herbs. Thyme is a good addition to this.

Lemon Olive Oil Banana Bread

This is the first item that has been cooked in our new oven! We are (almost) all moved in and everything is in chaos. I did manage to find enough supplies to make this fantastic bread though. I used Laura's beautiful bundt pan to make the bread. That's a good thing about moving-getting to consolidate all of our kitchen supplies and get more use out of them. The recipe is from 101 Cookbooks of course.

2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup olive oil
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cup (super) ripe bananas
1/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons limoncello
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the first four dry ingredients together, then add the chocolate chips. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, olive oil, bananas, and yogurt together. Then add the zest, limoncello, and vanilla extract. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, a little bit at a time until no loose flour can be seen. Grease and flour a bundt pan and pour the batter in. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes until golden brown. There was a glaze recipe with the bread too, but it really didn't turn out for me. The bread is great on its own.

Nutella Banana Bread

The inspiration from this bread came from Laura! Her recipe looked so great that I wanted to make my own version without butter. After some searching, I came across a site called the Big Bake Theory. It's so cute! Her version is vegan but I opted for some eggs instead of coconut milk.

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar
4 very ripe, medium-sized bananas
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanillla
1 cup homemade vegan nutella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together dry ingredients with a wire whisk.
Mash bananas with a potato masher in a large mixing bowl. Then add the oil, eggs, and vanilla until combined.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little bit at a time until incorporated.
Mix 1 cup of the batter with the nutella in a separate bowl.
Spoon the batter into a greased bread pan, alternating with spoonfuls of the nutella batter. Swirl the batter with a butter knife to give a marbled effect.

Bake for one hour and 15 minutes until a toothpick can be removed cleanly from the center. Serve it with some extra nutella.

Vegan Nutella

This awesome recipe is from Chocolate Covered Katie, a healthy dessert blog. There are some delicious recipes on there! You all should definitely check it out.

2 cups raw hazelnuts
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup raw cacao powder
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 packet stevia
3 tablespoons raw cane sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon cacao butter, melted
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

Roast the hazelnuts for 10 minutes at 400 degrees on a baking sheet. Check them constantly after 5 minutes to make sure they don't burn. You want them to be a light golden brown color. The skins will be a darker brown. Let cool a little, then rub them together in a paper towel to get the skins off. If some of the skins don't come off, just leave them on.
Then in a food processor, blend the nuts until they’ve turned to butter. It really doesn't take too much blending to get to this point. Then add all other ingredients and blend until smooth. I felt like the mixture was a little more runny than Nutella, so I would add less almond milk the next time I make this.

Beer Bread

This was inspired by Laura's soda bread. Her post actually reminded me that it was St. Patrick's day a couple weeks ago. The recipe is actually from Alton Brown who is one of my favorites from the Food Network. I used to watch that channel all the time back when I was in high school. I substituted some of the flour with some spelt flour which added some great texture. I served this bread with the simple tomato soup from 101 cookbooks. Perfect for a cold spring day!

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 cup spelt flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill

1/2 cup Daiya shredded vegan pepperjack cheese 

12 ounces cold beer, ale or stout (I used Yuengling- yay local beers)

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat the inside of a loaf pan with the nonstick spray and set aside.

Whisk together the all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and dill in a large mixing bowl. Add in the cheese and stir in the beer just to combine. The mixture will be bubbly. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the sunflower seeds, if using.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is golden brown and the bread is set.

Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Let cool a little longer before serving.

Seed and Nut Bread

Oh Pittsburgh, you have the worst winter weather. We're all waiting for the Spring to come, but all we're getting is more Winter! To make the best of the situation, I've been making a collection of winter foods. Think homemade hot chocolate, baked macaroni and cheese, and hearty soups. I think these foods will keep me going until the sunshine comes back.
The author of the blog, My New Roots, calls this life-changing bread. It basically is. It's pretty simple to make and delicous. Not to mention packed full of fiber and protein. A farmer friend recommended this blog to me, and I found that I love the nutritional facts and the delicious, healthful recipes.
The only note to add is that the author used a silicone pan, which meant that the bread was more easily removed. I used a ceramic one, which meant that the bread got kind of stuck. I just ate the pieces that were stuck to the pan and served kind of banged up looking bread. Still tasted good though! I got the psyllium seed husks from the East End Coop and it is used to bind the bread.

The Life-Changing Loaf of Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup flax seeds
½ cup whole almonds
1 ½ cups rolled oats
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husks (3 Tbsp. if using psyllium husk powder)
1 tsp. fine grain sea salt
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
1 ½ cups water

Directions:
1. In a loaf pan combine all dry ingredients, stirring well.

2. Whisk maple syrup, oil and water together in a measuring cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick . Smooth out the top with wet fingers. Cover and let the bread sit out on the counter overnight to soak up the water.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F .

4. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing.

5. Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days. Freezes well too – slice before freezing for quick and easy toast!

I ate some toast with some vegan cream cheese spread. Yum! I'm also planning on making some vegan and gluten free reubens (with vegan mayonaise, vegan pepperjack, and sauerkraut) with this bread. I'll post some pictures later.

Soda Bread with Raisins

I have a new St. Patrick's Day tradition, now in it's second year: I watch the "Irish" movies on TCM (mostly American movies with American-Irish stories) and make soda bread. 

This year we're stepping it up because my mom's making corned beef brisket with cabbage and carrots. After all, we must honor Twilly's Irish heritage.

one of his favorite napping spots

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SODA BREAD WITH RAISINS
From AllRecipes.com

1/2 cup sugar

4 cups flour (I used 3 all-purpose, 1 wheat)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2-3 cup raisins

1 tbsp caraway seeds (I used anise seeds)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup sour cream

milk for "glazing"

Nutella Swirled Banana Bread

This banana bread is special. It's really more like a cake. Actually, I might throw some cream cheese frosting on this and call it a birthday cake next month.

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NUTELLA SWIRLED BANANA BREAD

From Sugar Plum Blog 

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour  
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe banana 
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 
1/2 cup granulated sugar 
1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
2 large eggs 
1/2 cup Nutella 

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

 I've also been trying to use more whole wheat flour so I'm going to piggyback right off of Laura's delicious looking Honey Whole Wheat Bread with a dessert.  This whole wheat banana bread is moist and yummy despite the lack of white sugar/flour.  It is very filling and I didn't feel as guilty eating it for breakfast.

What you'll need...

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 packed light or dark brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I added a lot more because I do not believe cinnamon needs to be measured) 
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (see my above measuring technique when it comes to delicious spices)  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups (about 3-4) mashed very ripe bananas 
• 1/4 cup honey 
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x5 in. loaf pan

Beat together butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla in a bowl until creamy.  Add the mashed bananas, honey, and eggs and beat until smooth.  Add the flour and chocolate chips.  Spoon batter into the pan and let sit uncovered for 10 minutes.

Bake for 50 minutes.  Then, place a piece of foil across the top and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 in the pan and then place onto rack until cooled completely.

I made muffins too! If you do this, make sure you grease the muffin liners.  I filled them about 3/4 of the way with batter.

And last but not least, Percy!  I haven't seen any cats on here and I have a perfectly cute gymnast one laying around so, here he is!

Honey Wheat Bread

In honor of the inauguration I'm tempted to call this Obama bread! But we'll keep it Honey Wheat Bread because that's what it is. This is another step in my trying to use more whole wheat flour, replacing or supplementing white all-purpose. I've already posted my normal white flour bread from The Hungry Mouse, which is also really good! But I think this one is even better.

I got this whole wheat recipe from Allrecipes.com, where it's called Simple Whole Wheat Bread. And has 1,191 reviews! That's a lot.

Also, except for the speech I've had the inauguration on mute because I'm watching Wartime Farm from the BBC on YouTube! Check it out. Especially if you graduated with a history degree and haven't done anything much with it since...

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HONEY WHEAT BREAD

3 cups warm water

2 packages active dry yeast

1/3 cup honey

5 cups bread flour (I used all-purpose)

3 tbsp butter, melted

1/3 cup honey

1 tbsp salt (this seems like a lot! I guess it is for three loaves though.)

2 cups whole wheat flour plus about 1 1/2 cups more for kneading

2 tbsp butter, melted (I added a tsp of honey)

Grapefruit-Rosemary Bread

I saw this recipe last night and wanted to make it ASAP. So here it is! This bread was great as is for breakfast this morning, but it would also be a fun recipe to experiment with, subbing in other types of citrus and herbs (but I love rosemary!!), maybe trying to strengthen the rosemary flavor with a simple syrup poured on before or instead of the glaze. It would also be fine without the rosemary if you don't have any - it's a pretty subtle flavor anyway. I, however, will use a lot more next time! My rosemary plant is getting a bit skimpy though.

This time I just added some lemon zest in the glaze since the grapefruit I used wasn't very strong. Next time I would add some lemon zest in the batter instead of the glaze - which is how I have it the recipe below.

I got this recipe from Garden Betty, which looks like a cute blog with nice gardening things, too. She also has a grapefruit-rosemary jelly.

GRAPEFRUIT-ROSEMARY BREAD

Slightly adapted from The Garden Betty

1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey

zest from 1 large grapefruit

(if you want stronger citrusy flavor) 1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1/8 to 1/4 cup grapefruit juice 

* use the rest to make fresh juice with the juice of an orange!

** strain the grapefruit juice if you don't want the pulp in your glaze
a lot of powdered sugar

Peppery Cheddar Bacon Biscuits

On the blog where this recipe comes from originally, Ezra Pound Cake, there's a serious discussion of what makes a scone a scone or a biscuit a biscuit. I just think this is a biscuit. It's very good if you like pepper! And I'm sure it would be just as good if you used less pepper or switched it for another spice. I would HIGHLY recommend making these biscuits/scones, slicing one in half, filling it with a fried or poached egg and eating it for breakfast. Or any time of day.

I baked them a lot longer than the recipe said, just because I forgot they were still in the oven. I was making mac & cheese for the grandparents at the same time, and I'm really not sure how long they were in the oven, baking at 400. (It was the butternut squash mac I posted about except with pumpkin.) But it worked out fine!

3 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2-3 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into cubes

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese (or any cheese)

4 green onions, chopped

8-10 slices bacon, cooked & chopped into 1 inch pieces

3/4 to 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 egg

2 tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is crumbly and studded with flour-butter bits the size of peas. Stir in the cheese until just blended. Add the green onions, bacon and 3/4 cup buttermilk. Mix just until the ingredients are incorporated. If dough is too dry to hold together, add the remaining buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough can be formed into a ball. Stir as little as possible to ensure a light-textured scone.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface, and pat it into a ball. Using a well-floured rolling pin, flatten the dough into a circle about 8 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough into 8 to 10 equal wedges. 

Whisk the egg and water together in a small bowl. Brush each wedge with the egg wash. Place the scones on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and no longer sticky in the middle. Serve warm.