Red, White, and Blueberry Bread #Recipe by @LibbyKlein #gluten-free #Bread #IndependanceDay

Libby Klein I'm obsessed with bread. Probably because I'm not allowed to have it most of the time. We have three Great Harvest Bakeries near our home that I used to take the kids to when they were little. Back then the bakery would give you a free slice of bread to try before you buy. I've tried that apple scrapple about three dozen times! One of the breads they offer in July is Red, White, and Blueberry. I'm  pretty sure the white is the bread part of the equation, but a nagging memory tells me this had white chocolate chips in it at one time. I could be making that up. I do that. This is my version of the seasonal fruity bread. It makes me miss going to Great Harvest, but also fills that part of me that still longs for those wonderful loaves that I have to avoid. I hope you love it like i do. Tell me about your favorite bakery in the comments.

Gluten-Free 

Red, White, and Blueberry Bread

Ingredients

1 cup dried blueberries and cherries
1 cup of hot water that will be discarded after use
1 cup whole milk 
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp instant yeast
1 tbsp ground psyllium husks
3½ cups gluten free bread flour blend
1¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, very soft or melted
1 Tablespoon cranberry orange sugar - optional

 

Directions

In a glass mixing bowl or large measuring cup, add your dried fruits. Add one cup of hot water and microwave for two minutes.

In the bowl of a stand, pour in the milk, followed by the eggs, yeast, psyllium husks, and sugar. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on to low speed. Once the dough has come together, add the soft butter a tablespoon at a time.

Drain the water off your now rehydrated fruits. Let them cool while you do the next step.

Crank up the speed to medium and allow the dough to knead for 5 minutes.

Add the drained and cooled fruits to the dough. Remove the paddle attachment and use a rubber scraper to scrape the sides of the bowl. Form the dough into a ball and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. 

Sprinkle with fancy sugar if you have it. I had this lovely cranberry orange sugar. If you have a ring, say from a small spring form pan, grease it up and place it around the dough to force it to rise up instead of spread out.

Alternatively, you could make a ring out of foil but I don’t know if it would hold. Set it someplace warm to let it rise and double in size. I love to stick mine in the cold oven with a pan of just boiled water underneath.

Bake at 400° F for 15 minutes. Cover the loaf with foil and reduce the temperature to 325° F and continue to bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the center registers at 190-200° F. Allow the loaf to cool all the way. This made fabulous toast.

Gluten-free baker Poppy McAllister and her aunt Ginny are looking forward to a quiet, homey Christmas at their B&B in Cape May, but unfortunately, death isn’t taking a holiday this year . . .

Ever since Thanksgiving, Poppy and her pals have been left with an unsolved mystery of the romantic kind. But at least this mystery isn’t the kind that involves murder. That all changes when the body of a fish supplier is discovered in the kitchen of her ex’s restaurant—and he’s frozen, not fresh.

For once, it’s not Poppy who tripped over the corpse, yet she can’t escape being drawn in since the victim has a note taped to him reading Get Poppy. Figures—an engagement ring isn't labeled, but the dead guy is addressed to her. Now, while Aunt Ginny plans a tree-trimming party and pressures Poppy to decode a mysterious old diary, the amateur sleuth is asked to “unofficially” go undercover at the restaurant to help the police. Until then, the only crime Poppy had been dealing with was Figaro’s repeated thefts of bird ornaments from the tree; now it looks like it’s going to be a murder-y Christmas after all.

 

Libby Klein grew up in Cape May, NJ where she attended high school in the '80s. Her

classes revolved mostly around the Culinary sciences and Drama, with one brilliant semester in Poly-Sci that may have been an accident. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, collect fluffy cats, and translate sarcasm for people who are too serious. She writes from her Northern Virginia office where she serves a very naughty black smoke Persian named Sir Figaro Newton. You can keep up with her shenanigans by signing up for her Mischief and Mayhem Newsletter on her website. www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/

Happy Independence Day!

Wishing you a safe and happy Independence Day 

from Krista, Daryl, Leslie, Roberta, Essie, Peg, Denise, Maddie, Leslie, Maya, Vicki and Cleo!

PEA SHOOT AND HAZELNUT SALAD WITH MUSTARD-HONEY VINAIGRETTE

by Sheila Connolly

I was going to give you a recipe for how to cook a weed, but that didn’t sound quite right for the Fourth of July (even though it is a native species of weed!), so you may see that one in coming weeks.

Happy Independence Day! 

Between Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, I’ve been spending a lot of time (in my head, at least) with the Revolutionary War recently. Maybe it was the early influence of Johnny Tremain (written by Esther Forbes and published in 1943; Walt Disney made a movie of it in 1957), which was required reading for my sixth grade English class, but I’ve always found the whole thing romantic—those ill-equipped farmers without uniforms or decent weapons standing up to the might of the well-trained, well-supplied British Empire in defense of their homes and livelihoods and maybe even some ideals. It’s a great story with a happy ending, isn’t it?

Back to the food. Summer has finally arrived around here, and there are parties and fireworks to watch this week (plus that annoying Hurricane Arthur), and mosquitoes to swat, so I’m going to keep it simple. Here’s a nice recipe for a salad with a few little twists.

Pea Shoot and Hazelnut Salad with Mustard-Honey Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette:

1-1/2 Tblsp balsamic vinegar (flavored if you like)

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp honey

1 small shallot, minced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Salad:

1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped

5 oz. baby arugula (or any other small greens you prefer)

3-4 oz. pea shoots (available in packages at your market!)

4 large radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced (the white part only)

Right up front, I’ll give you a choice: you can prepare your own hazelnuts:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread the hazelnuts on a cookie sheet and toast until they are fragrant and the skins blister (12-15 minutes).   Transfer them to a kitchen towel and let cool slightly, then rub the nuts together vigorously to remove the skins. Chop the nuts coarsely.

Or you can just buy a package at your market--much simpler! Although the toasting is a good idea because it brings out the nuts’ flavor.

In a large bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, mustard, honey and shallot. Add the olive oil and whisk until blended. Season with salt and pepper.

Arugula--looks like oak leaves, doesn't it?

I

Pea greens

n another bowl, toss the arugula, pea shoots, sliced radishes, sliced fennel, and chopped hazelnuts. Add the vinaigrette and toss again to cover. Serve.

As with any salad, you can add whatever greens are fresh and available. Can’t find pea shoots? Try thin slices of sugar snap peas.

Razing the Dead involves a body (or two or three) found near the site of the Paoli Massacre, a notorious battle from the Revolutionary War, fought outside of Philadelphia. The monument shown on the cover is based on the real one, in Paoli, and is the second-oldest military monument in the country (after the one at Concord, MA, naturally).

Win on Independence Day!!!

Happy Independence Day! 


May you be enjoying the freedoms of our great country. Family. Friends. Good food. Fireworks.

To celebrate...

I read Jenn McKinlay’s RED VELVET REVENGE (and was asked to blurb it). It was such a fun read. 


It just launched yesterday!  In the book, she highlights cake pops.

For 40 years (or something like that), chocolate cake with white frosting has been by far my favorite cake. (Of course, I also love strawberry shortcake, white cake with chocolate icing...all sweets...) 


Now that I’m gluten-free, and inspired by Jenn’s delicious delights, I thought it would be a great idea to offer a gluten-free version of cake pops.  Enjoy the recipe.

GLUTEN-FREE CAKE POPS

Ingredients:

•    1 Betty Crocker super moist GLUTEN-FREE chocolate cake mix

•    1/2-3/4 cup Cream Cheese frosting (gluten-free) (see below)

•    1 (24 oz) package of white chocolate candy coating

•    1/2 cup chocolate or colored sprinkles

•    25-30 Lollipop sticks

One Styrofoam box or box of some sort to slot the cake pops into.

Instructions:

•    Start by baking the Gluten-free chocolate cake mix by following the instructions on the package. While the cake is baking, MAKE the cream cheese frosting (recipe below). Set aside.  THEN place the sprinkles into a bowl. Set aside.

•    Once your chocolate cake is fully baked and cooled (about 30 minutes to cool), crumble it entirely in a large bowl (plastic or metal) while adding 1/2-3/4 cup of cream cheese frosting. That’s right, crumble it. Mix it all together until thick. Once thick enough, start making round 1-2 inches cake balls. Place each of them on a large baking tray, which you will cover with plastic wrap and place in your fridge (overnight).

•    The next day. Place all the white chocolate candy coating into a microwaveable bowl and follow the melting instructions. Next, dip the tip of a lollipop stick (about half a inch) into the chocolate candy coating and then insert it into a cake ball (about halfway). Repeat this operation for each cake ball.

•    One cake ball or cake pop at a time, dip it entirely into the melted white chocolate coating. Use a spoon to fully cover each cake ball. Tap gently to remove any extra coating (if too much). Repeat this operation for each cake pop and set them balls up on a styrofoam box.

Immediately sprinkle the cocoa powder and sprinkles on the melted coating. Once done, place your cake pops into the fridge. Let them cool for about an hour. The only thing left to do now is to enjoy them!

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup butter, softened

1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Blend all together until smooth.

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BAKER'S NOTE:  These were so much fun to make that I wish I had a passel of little helpers!  Get your kids into the mix!! However...they were messy!  The warm chocolate dip was a little thick. Not sure if I should have thinned with a little water so the cake pops dipped easier. And because it's warm, rolling the balls immediately in sprinkles made the sprinkles sort of melt, so if you can bear it, wait a few minutes before rolling. I'm sure they'll stick.  Also, I froze half of the cake balls for use at a later time. I've eaten one since, plain, and it's yummy!

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BY THE WAY, my protagonist from A Cheese Shop Mystery series, Charlotte Bessette, has taken over the blog at Killer Characters today. F-R-E-E-D-O-M!!  Chime in, won't you?  

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COOKBOOK NOOK
KITCHEN GRIPPER

AND LASTLY...I'm starting some mini-contests to promote THE COOKBOOK NOOK MYSTERIES which come out one year from today!  

THE COOKBOOK NOOK MYSTERIES

feature a cookbook store owner

who is an avid reader and admitted foodie - 

set in picturesque coastal California town!

The first contest runs this week until next week. Leave a comment on this MLK post with your favorite ADULT OR KIDS DESSERT COOKBOOK TITLE and you're entered to win a book of your choice from A CHEESE SHOP MYSTERY series and lots of fun swag, including the new COOKBOOK NOOK kitchen gripper. 

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She doesn't say all the same things Avery does. Promise.

Say cheese!

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