Messy Bitches

I was in a mood today for something from the kitchen that was both comforting and reminiscent of my childhood. Many a dinner as a child revolved around ground beef in some form. I was always partial to sloppy joes as a child. As a vegetarian now, I had to revamp the recipe, coming up with what I have affectionately termed messy bitches. I had thought of calling them sloppy janes, but settled on messy bitches during the process.

These are spicy, not like the ones of my childhood. On a ciabatta roll, the mixture is delicious and satisfying.

Messy Bitches

4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, minced
2 jalapeños, minced
1 bunch scallions, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/4 cups brown ale, room temperature
3/4 cup bottled chili sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 pounds soy crumbles

In a large pot, heat up some olive oil before tossing in the peppers and onions. Sauté these for a bit before adding the garlic. Once that is fragrant, add the chili powder and mix about for a few seconds. Stir in the ale, chili sauce, and soy sauce, then add the soy. Simmer the mixture for about 20 minutes until thickened. Serve on a delicious roll.

Yorkshire Gingerbread

I seem to be trying to hasten the seasons this year. I was hell-bent on spring arriving early, and then spent the latter part of spring longing for summer. In hindsight, that was probably a mistake. But no matter. One cannot change the past, or can one?

In any event, I had promised co-workers some baked deliciousness for tomorrow, but forgot to buy additional butter at the market this morning. As I wasn't feeling like going back to the store simply for butter, I decided to make do with what was on hand, and I always seem to have the makings of gingerbread knocking about. So, though I don't necessarily consider it the taste of summer, I appear to be ushering in autumn early. We'll see how that turns out.

I do adore gingerbread. All of those earthy, fragrant spices seem to speak to my old soul. Autumn and winter find me making this quite a bit. Over the years, I have tinkered with the formula, and still do on occasion. But what you find below in the crux of things and will leave you quite happy indeed.

Yorkshire Gingerbread

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon allspice

Heat the oven to 350º. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until they are well incorporated, then add the molasses and water. Sift together the remaining dry ingredients and mix well into the wet mixture. Pour into a greased 8x8-inch tin and bake about 45 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Note:
Remember this is gingerbread, so don't be put off by the amount of ground ginger called for. If, however, you want to ring the changes, instead of the quantities of ginger and allspice above, you can use 1 teaspoon of ginger, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon of allspice. As always, for creaming your butter appropriately, it must be at room temperature, which requires it sitting out on the kitchen surface for a minimum of 15 minutes.

Bitch's Best Pound Cake

It goes without saying. I know that I've neglected this fair site. T'was not intentional. Life happens. For more on that, go here. I shan't bog down this blog with personal and professional strife. So, on to the matter at hand.

This is my grandmother's receipt for a pound cake, exactly as it was printed in a little pamphlet of recipes from many decades past. Like myself, she took her own hand to it, in her own way, changing things here and there. That's what I like about good receipts: you can be adventurous with them.

Now, I must say, dear reader, that unless you know a lot about such things, do not tinker with proportions too much in baking, if at all. The kind of tinkering my grandmother did and I do with this receipt is in the flavorings only. That is what is so elegant about the simple pound cake. It can be dressed up or down, and that, dear reader, is classy in my book.

I made this yesterday for a dinner with a dear friend. For the entreé, we noshed on whole wheat orecchiette with my cherry tomato pesto, and topped with fresh arugula. Alongside the cake, I supplied my guest with enormous quantities of freshly whipped cream and ripe, local blackberries. Simply divine.

Bitch's Best Pound Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Sift together the first four ingredients and set aside. With your handy electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar well. Add the eggs, one at the time, to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest. Now, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. In other words, add about one third of the dry ingredients and mix at bit. Then add about one half of the buttermilk, continuing to mix. Then add another third of the dry, the remaining buttermilk, and then end with the remaining dry ingredients. This whole method of creaming in the sugar and fat, adding the eggs, and then alternating the dry and remaining wet ingredients, always ending with the dry, is the classic formula for cake baking. You can't really go wrong with it, unless you overbeat things once the flour goes in, for that will activate the gluten in the flour and you might end up with something more bread-like than tender and cake-like.

Spoon your batter, which will be thick, into a greased and floured tube pan. Smooth out the batter and bake for about an hour, or until a tester comes out with barely a crumb clinging to it. Let the cake cool in the pan a bit before removing, and then let cool completely before slicing. I know the temptation of the smell of the warm cake, believe me. But, the cake will remain more moist if you resist and do not cut it before it cool.

Note: On this particular day, I used 1 teaspoon each of vanilla, coconut, and almond extracts for the flavoring as I didn't have a lemon. You might think this is a lot of flavoring, but it is okay. In fact, I will sometimes go with a five flavor combination with those three as well as rum and lemon, again 1 teaspoon of each. It is delicious. As always, do use the best of ingredients, including the flavorings. Why scrimp on something you're going to eat?