I’ll say it again … dang! But it’s not what you think—the mild Southern form of a more colorful expletive … it’s a new snack called “dang.” And … they’re dang-nab-it delicious. They’re toasted coconut chips—gluten-free, dairy-free, and non-GMO—and can be eaten right from the bag for a yummy, healthy snack (sort of a chip and a candy all in one), or sprinkled on salads, yogurt, oatmeal, or ice cream.
Watch these people taste “dang” for the first time:
Ace brought in a little treat last week to the Design Studio. One of my favorites that I ate for breakfast a few months back—with glee! The Pastor’s Wife’s Pie, as we call it, is a custard with a graham-cracker crust using my ChillOver Powder.
Easy, delicious, and something other than a typical cake. (This Pistachio Melon Cake is also another great option—especially if you’re gluten-free.) Both are a great contribution to a potluck or for a special occasion. (Just keep the custard on ice, or refrigerated until serving.)
The one Ace made substituted blackberries for blueberries in the recipe. Thanks, Ace!
Feelin’ a little stressed lately? It’s Labor Day so I hope you’re taking some time to relax. A little on the history of Labor Day here.
Enjoy this mantra (and any other desserts you consume) for the rest of the week …
Carol and MaryJane share the same birthday—probably the reason why they’ve worked so well together for so many years—they’re really two peas in a pod. So today we’re celebrating their birthday farmgirl-style with a triple chocolate cake (Saralou’s surprise), gluten-free brownies (Karina’s surprise), huckleberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and lemon cupcakes with huckleberry frosting (my surprise made by my friend Traci).
Yup, no pictures of us today cause we’re reserving the day for sweat pants and celebrating (eating). I’m thinking we’ll make popcorn for lunch.
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Barbara Roberts!
Barbara Roberts (Healthy Eating, #2237) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an intermediate level Organic on a Budget badge!
“My eating plan has continued with the gluten-free baking mix from MaryJanesFarm. I have saved quite a bit by using this as a basis for my meals and have been enjoying my efforts.
All of the veggies that I eat now are mostly organic (as much as I can) and many of them are out of my own garden. Therefore I know exactly what is in and on them, and it’s NOT chemicals.
Since I have been able to save some money on my grocery bills by doing this, I am going to indulge in one of my guilty pleasures and buy some more books. I’m like a kid in a candy store when it comes to books and I just love Amazon!
I even have a $10 coupon to use and I’m debating what I am going to get with it. I think it might be a book on gardening.”
And now … the cat’s meow of Hostess!!! (Yesterday, I shared my twinkie recipe.)
MaryJane’s Organic CREAM-FILLED CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
Copyright MARYJANESFARM Magazine, April/May 2010
PREP TIME: 1 hour
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
MAKES: 12 cupcakes
1 cup organic flour (I use the quality specialty flour that I sell. I’m just saying. If you start introducing variables, I can’t guarantee you’ll meet with perfection like I did.)
½ cup organic unsweetened baking cocoa
¾ t baking soda
¼ t baking powder (non-aluminum)
¼ t salt
¼ cup organic butter, softened
¾ cup organic sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
½ t organic vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, thoroughly combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar, then beat in eggs and vanilla.
4. Fold flour mixture into wet ingredients until well combined.
5. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18–20 minutes. Turn out onto a cooling rack.
6. Once cool, fill with my Organic Cream Filling (inject into the bottom by punching a small hole through the paper liner), ice with Chocolate Glaze, and decorate with swirls of White Frosting (recipes below).
GLUTEN-FREE CONVERSION:
Substitute organic white rice flour (www.BobsRedMill.com), use ½ t baking powder, and use 3 eggs.
MaryJane’s Organic CREAM FILLING
¾ cup organic sugar
½ t cream of tartar
¼ cup water
1 T light organic corn syrup
2 egg whites, at room temperature
1 t organic vanilla extract
1. In small saucepan, combine sugar, cream of tartar, water, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low, and using a candy thermometer, cook until mixture reaches 230°F. (Do not stir while mixture comes up to temperature).
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
3. Slowly pour hot syrup into egg whites while beating. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Add vanilla and beat 5–7 more minutes, until stiff peaks form.
4. Put filling into a cake decorator, using a #7 tip (or use the frosting/cream filling kit that comes with the canoe pan from yesterday’s post), and gently inject filling into bottom of cupcake by punching a small hole in the paper liner.
MaryJane’s Organic CHOCOLATE GLAZE
1½ t organic corn syrup
¼ cup organic heavy cream
2 oz organic dark chocolate (approx. ½ cup), broken into small pieces
1. In a small saucepan, combine corn syrup and cream and heat to just before boiling.
2. Place chocolate in a medium bowl, pour hot liquid over, and stir until chocolate is melted.
3. Dip tops of cooled, filled cupcakes into warm glaze. Let glaze cool, then decorate with White Frosting.
MaryJane’s WHITE FROSTING
½ cup powdered sugar
1 T organic milk
1. In a small bowl, combine ingredients and mix well.
2. Spoon into pastry bag fitted with a #4 tip and decorate tops with swirls. (This takes a bit of practice. Get-your-swirl-on by perfecting it first on the bottom of a bowl.) -Copyright MARYJANESFARM Magazine, April/May 2010
Did you miss my recipes for ORGANIC hostess treats, whoopie pies, cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (you know what I’m talking about), etc. that were published in the 2010 April/May MaryJanesFarm magazine “Garden Secrets” issue?
With all the recent hubbub about Hostess going under, it felt like the perfect time to dig out my homemade hostess recipes and share them with you. Should you need a twinkie fix … and the company can’t provide or … OR, you want to eat an organic, better-for-you twinkie, I’ve got you covered. (I don’t want you going all Woody-Harrelson-in-Zombieland on me.) How ironic is it that the company who makes Twinkies, the yellow spongy cake that will supposedly last for an eternity, is going bankrupt around the end of the Mayan calender on Dec. 21st? Many people have taken this to mean it’s seriously the end of the world. I might make myself a foil hat and dance around while eating homemade ORGANIC twinkies! (My organic version doesn’t last forever anyway.)
While in my kitchen late one night in 2010, my first attempt to make a cream-filled “canoe” gave me fits.
But after two days and an embarrassing amount of not-quite-right cake that I fed to my compost, I finally got it right. It’s a recipe for only 8 treats (the indents in a NorPro canoe pan) because the key is how some of the wet ingredients are whipped just before you fold in the final ingredients. The second half didn’t come out of the oven as light and airy (because it sat on the counter waiting for its turn in the oven). So here’s my tip: Follow my recipe to the T, even my instructions to lightly butter the pan. Oil spray didn’t work as well. If you want to double the recipe, you’re going to need two pans so they can both go into the oven at the same time.
You’ll need a “Cream Canoe” pan (below, I bought mine on Amazon). The canoe pan comes with a 9-piece decorating set, perfect for injecting a creamy surprise inside or putting a swirl on top (stay tuned for my hostess cupcakes recipe coming tomorrow).
Much to my vicarious delight, vacation and work commitments recently took Alyson Oüten to Europe for a month; from Spain to Portugal to Italy and Israel. (If you read my magazine or CLUCK newsletter, you’re already familiar with Alyson.)
For some of my Geography Journal entries she’ll take you to each of those stops (and more), but today she begins with her business trip to Italy where her travels spanned from Milan to Rome … and from pizza to Puttanesca.
Take it from here. It’s all yours, Aly!!!!!
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
