Old Friends, New Beginnings, and Delicious Coffee Crumb Cake

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back! We've been having lpts of fun in my little corner of the world.

Like painting all the kitchen cabinets. Ok, this it really wasn't fun. Seriously NOT fun. Especially since the cabinets were handmade by a not-so-professional amateur carpenter and reallllly don't fit well together at the best of times. When you take the doors off their hinges and the drawers out, it takes a miracle and a half to get them back on right.

 Anyway, we also had this happening in our house. BABY TOES. Oh my goodness, best thing EVAH. 

 And whose toes are those? (Dr. Seuss would know.) Julianne's toes! Does she look familiar? No? I'll give you another hint...

 There's her big brother on the left. (See how she adores him?)
                                 
He's got the touch. You stick your face right in there and pretend to eat her fat little cheeks.

 And she laughs her head off! Nothing sweeter than sibling love. But you still can't guess whose baby this is? OK, I'll give you another hint... Remember that post about Artisan Savory Pumpkin Rolls? Our babysitter, Cassey, is magical with children and had been fighting off single dads across the state.... Until one day, she met a cellar rat (his words, not mine!), fell in love and married him. Here's a picture of their little family then...

And now beautiful Julianne has joined Cassey, Noe, and Robert! 

So, we had some baby lovin' the other day and I tried out my new camera on her. Basically, shooting baby pictures is A LOT harder than I figured. I did get this one...

She's just chillin' in the backyard. (I giggle every time I see this picture.)

                                 
So, I've also been juicing several meals a day (that means, fruits and vegetables, not juicing hamburgers, although that sounds pretty good right now). I've kicked the caffeine habit and it wasn't that bad, which probably means I wasn't drinking as much coffee as I thought. But Edna isn't really impressed with the juicing. She needs to create and bake... not liquify.
                                      
I got this great coffee cookbook from the library and she said there was more than just drinks in there.
                          
I try not to look at this picture too closely. *gnaws on own hand*
                             
    And this looks especially delicious!
But in the end, we decided the Coffee Crumb Cake would hit the spot.

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Ingredients:
  Topping
2/3 cup flour
5 TBS butter
1/2 tsp allspice
1 1/2 tsp espresso, ground
1/3 cup sugar
  Cake
4 TBS butter, softened, and a little more for greasing
 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbs strong espresso
                                   
 The crew, all assembled.
 
I know this shows four eggs, but I just love our Americuna chickens! The eggs are SO PRETTY.

 I ordered this off Amazon. A great espresso ground and works prefectly in my latte maker!

 I found this little vintage Pyrex at a yard sale. So cute! So tiny! So yellow!

 Ok, mix all the topping ingredients into a bowl, cutting the butter into the flour mix with a pastry tool. You can use a food processor but Edna was giving directions and if it's good enough for Edna, it's good enough for me.

 Set aside the topping. In a bowl, mix the cake ingredients, beating until smooth. (You like my wooden spoon? My sister was scandalized to hear I DID NOT OWN A WOODEN SPOON. Disregarding the question of how I beat my children without one ((kidding!)), how could I cook? Every good cook must have a wooden spoon. And it's true! She got me three. So, now I cook three times as well. :)

 Pour into the greased pan.

 Add topping. Pop into oven.

 Oooo, this frosting smelled SO GOOD.

 The recipe said to leave the cake in for 35 minutes or until a toothpick came out clean, but it it took much longer. Maybe my oven is off. but it didn't start to puff until about 45 minutes and then the toothpick inserted didn't come out clean until close to 50 minutes. Let it set for about ten minutes before cutting. (I forgot this part and the pieces were a little squashed.)

 Gratuitous dripping frosting picture.

 It really was a good recipe, nice and fluffy. Very aromatic but not overwhelming with the allspice and the coffee.

 I'd like to say this is my piece, but I think I ate two... or more... So, saying "my piece" is a bit of a lie! "One of my pieces" is a better term.

 Ok, leaving you with some pictures of the lunar eclipse. It was freezing cold and I was shaking like crazy, but the new camera still was great!

 I love how the color begins to change...

 Almost completely eclipsed...

Just a sliver left! At this point, my camera wouldn't figure out what in the heck I was trying to shoot, and just whirred, unable to find the focus. But I was thrilled with what I got!

 Ok, everyone, have a wonderful Holy Week and I'll see you back here after Easter! Doesn't that sound good? EASTER. It feels like Lent has been exxxxtrrrrrraaaaa long this year. I couldn't help but put out our pysanky a little early.

I ordered these from a wonderful company called Monastery Icons. My girls are taking a class on Russian Imperialism and they were so excited to see these arrive! I forgot to order stands. Hence the ink bottle stands, haha.

(I'm not Russian, or Russian Orthodox, or have a drop of Russian in me, but I DO have a soft spot for Eastern Europe after studying Eastern Euro languages for so long. Attending the Warsaw School of Economics in Poland also might have had something to do with it, but then again, maybe not. All I remember is cabbage and snow.)

 Until next time!

Artisan Savory Pumpkin Rolls

Hello, everybody! Happy Hallowe'en!! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I have a really super recipe for you that is directly related to something actually FRESH (no hunks of meat, Kav!).

 

Here's a hint....
  Man, I miss those little bread shops. We just got an artisan bread shop in our tiny town and I'm in heaven! But I can't go running down there every day (like the French do). I actually have to make some of my own. Buying that much bread would cut into my BOOK budget, ya know?

  So, this is Cassey. (She's the one without facial hair). Here she is cutting a delicious WEDDING CAKE. And that guy? Well, he was once a cellar rat, but not anymore. 'Cause Cassey's magic.

  I know this because she first started babysitting for us when I had only three small children and I don't think I've ever seen her lose her cool. That's 9 years, three more kids, and a WHOLE LOT of poop and terrible twos and snotty noses ago. I feel bad for people who never got a Cassey. She's like Mary Poppins, but funnier. And she can cook.

  Anyway, back to the cake. She kissed a cellar rat and he turned into a winemaker, as she describes it. (You know, that magic thing we just discussed.)

Here they are stomping grapes... Ew. Good thing I don't drink wine.

But it's not all fun and games at Cougar Crest, especially at 'crush' time. That's when they harvest the grapes either really early, or really late since it has to be nice and cold. Then they put them in giant vats and when the berries rise to the top, they punch them down again, every few hours.  It sounds pretty simple, but apparently you can ruin hudreds of thousands of dollars of good crop by doing it WRONG. So, 'punchdown' is a big deal.

  When crush is on, and the guys are working 18 hour days, they still have to eat. And these people don't eat McDonald's. They've got to think of their palettes!

Cassey, at certain times of the year, turns into a wine widow and gets to bring snacks to the crew in the vinyard at odd hours. This is one of the things she brings over: savory pumpkin rolls. She just kinda made it up.

So, here is Edna filled with 4 cups of fresh pumpkin. You can use canned, but hey, we're going with what's in season! (BTW, Edna was very excited to be working with something that wasn't full of fat and sugar.)

 

We added FOUR EGGS and mixed everything up nice and good, then added FIVE cups of flour. It should be super gooey.

 

In a separate bowl, add one cup of flour to 2 tsp salt, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 2 1/2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning, 1 tsp plain pepper, 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander, and 1 tsp parsley flakes.

 

Got all that???

 

I know... But I'm telling you- MAGIC.

 

To the wet mixture, add 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. (Doesn't she have pretty hands??)

Mix well, and add in the cup of flour and the other seasonings. Now, you might have to add more flour. It should total about 6 cups. Just add it until it looks like dough. :)

When you've got the oven preheated to 350F, you'll dust your hands with flour, grab a ball of pumpkin dough and plop it on a greased cookie sheet. Like so.

After about 12-15 minutes, the cheddar cheese will start to ooze out and they'll look nice and toasty. The white parts are the flour and it really adds to the deliciousness, so just let it be there. These aren't going to be perfect, cookie cutter rolls. They're artisan! (That means 'funky looking' in some other language, I'm sure of it...)

  The smell is AMAZING and my whole house was filled with 1) baking bread smell and 2) savory herb smell. YUMMY. We got them out of the oven and ate them right out of hand. No butter or toppings needed. The outsides were crunchy, insides fragrant and dabbed with bits of melted cheese.

Of course, she wraps them in a pretty cloth, pust them in a basket and brings them down to the field. (Look at that ring! I still can't believe it... In my mind she's a scrawny teenager lugging her violin everywhere, trying to cram in practice for the symphony between shifts at my house. Don't tell her I said that.)

Of course, we had to put up a nice picture of the goods. Ta-DAH!! Fresh apples and grapes set off those herbs perfectly.

And here's one more picture of the newlyweds. Aren't they adorable?? And that little guy is the cellar-rat-turned-winemaker's son.  For a 3 year old, he's totally zen. Usually. (She wondered why single dads were chasing her around the state. Smart guys know Mary Poppins when they see her.)


  So, step out on a limb and make some interesting food this week! Until next time!