Rogue Woman Bakes

Tiffin (Kitchen Sink Fridge Cake)

March 18, 2021Leave a comment

Tiffin is a confectionary delight that comes to us from Scotland. It’s not baked in fact the only heat that comes to this little beauty is when you melt the chocolate and truthfully if you aren’t looking to turn on the oven you can melt the chocolate and golden syrup together in the microwave. This makes it the perfect treat for when the weather is warm and you need something to please a crowd.

Ingredients

1/4 cup golden syrup
1 stick butter ( cut into chunks)
4 oz milk chocolate(cut into rough chunks)
4 oz. dark chocolate (cut into rough chunks)
About 10 biscuits crushed (I used Mcvities digestive biscuits. )
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup whoppers (or other honeycomb centered candy)
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions

In a medium size heat proof bowl put your chocolate, golden syrup, and butter. You can melt this together one of two ways ( either over a pan of lightly simmering water OR in short bursts in the microwave.)
In another bowl mix together all the rest of your ingredients. Then pour your chocolate mixture over your ingredients and stir to combine.
In an 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper pour your mixture and smooth it out on top.
Place in the fridge for at least an hour to chill and set up.
When its completely set cut into equal pieces.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars

March 15, 2021Leave a comment

I did two things on this day I hadn’t done before. I made a successful shortbread base and a peanut butter fudge. I put those two amazing things together to make my favorite type of dessert…a tray bake!

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
2 cups peanut butter and chocolate chips
Peanuts for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper.
Put all your ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix to combine. The mixture will be crumbly.
using lightly oiled hands push down your ingredients in an even layer into your pan. Use a fork to dock the pastry so it doesn’t rise up to high.
Bake the pastry for 30 minutes until it is a nice golden brown. Set it aside to cool.
While the pastry base is cooling put a medium size sauce pan on medium heat.
Put the condensed milk and chocolate into the pan and cook until the chocolate is melted and fully incorporated.
Put your fudge mixture on top of your cooked pastry base and garnish with peanuts.
Put in fridge to set for at least one hour.

This delicious tray bake almost tasted better the longer it set so if you can wait I would make it the day before you need it and let it sit.

Takeout Tuesday In The Park

March 9, 2021March 2, 2021Leave a comment

Bird and Rye (Ashland, Oregon)

Two blocks and up a steep hill from this beautiful place is Bird and Rye. A restaurant I found by accident on Instagram that after seeing some of the items on their menu I had to try. As I set off on foot through downtown Ashland I can tell you that if I wasn’t specifically looking for a chicken restaurants menu on a wall I would’ve missed it.

When you do find that elusive chicken menu and make your way inside you are greeted with cozy brick interior and a friendly smile which is customary for the service industry here in Ashland. Everyone always seems so genuinely happy to help you. The restaurant is a small space of about five or six high back booths with plexiglass barriers hanging between them. There was also a plexiglass barrier protecting the people behind the counter. I can tell you this is the first restaurant I have been inside of since the start of the pandemic and I definitely felt like they did everything they could to create a safe environment for people to enjoy their food.

A Southern Snack In The Sun

Now seeing as I wasn’t super hungry on this trip I decided to try one of the appetizers on their menu. A pimiento cheese hush puppy with charred green onion aioli.

What I can tell you is that these are the first hush puppies I have ever had, and I am glad I chose these ones. The crisp fried exterior has visible flecks on salt and is seasoned beautifully. It cracks open to reveal a soft, fluffy interior with pockets of melty pimiento cheese.

The green onion aioli is bright and creamy and adds just the right amount of acidity to the dish. It helps to break up what would become a slightly heavy dish after two or three of them. You don’t feel in need of something to wash it down with. They were airy enough though that you could probably eat two or three or eight of them without the delicious dipping sauce…but why would you want to?

I will definitely be coming back to Bird and Rye for the chicken and probably more hush puppies. I would recommend this place for either eat in or take out depending on what your comfortable with.

I did it! I made fudge!

March 7, 2021Leave a comment

This is not the first time I have tried to make fudge. This is probably the third time. I have either made taffy (clotted cream fudge) or chocolate soup (mint chocolate fudge with coconut). Both times I had a recipe. I thought I was fine. Turns out I just wasn’t ready to be graced with delicious home made chocolates. Today was the day though. I looked at yet another recipe and I felt confident. At this point I am convinced fudge can smell fear as you’re cooking. Don’t let it see you sweat.

To my surprise it took me all of five minutes to put together and about two hours to set up in my fridge. If you are having one of those days where you just need some chocolate. The kids have told you their 750th story because they are stuck at home with you and you just need a moments peace. I promise you this will work. Good luck to you!

Chocolate Walnut Fudge

Ingredients

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk. ( not evaporated milk…that’s how I got chocolate soup.)
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1 tsp vanilla (optional…I say optional because I forgot it when I made it and it turned out fine.)

Directions

Line a 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
On a low heat in a small sauce pan put your condensed milk and chocolate chips. Cook until chocolate is melted and smooth. Should take about five minutes.
Take it off the heat and add your vanilla (if you want) and walnut pieces. Stir to combine.
Put in your prepared pan and allow up to two hours to chill. Cut and serve to yourself and maybe the rest of your house if you want. Or hide in the closet and eat them like you do with the rest of the sweets you don’t want to share.

Rogue Reviews: Tea Drops

March 1, 2021Leave a comment

A Gateway to Loose Leaf Tea

As somebody who gave up not only coffee, but most caffeine as well I am constantly on the look out for good low to no caffeine teas. I enjoy fruit based teas in the morning, and mint teas to close out the day. It helps keep things exciting and is better for my body then four cups of coffee in the morning just to deal with other humans.

While I was wandering through the upper floor of Paddington Station in Ashland Oregon I came across the loose leaf tea section. There looking like individually wrapped candies in a glass dish were Tea Drops. I don’t normally buy loose leaf tea because I don’t have anything to steep it with, and I don’t really enjoy the idea of leaves and herbs in the bottom of my cup. It sounds like accidentally drinking potpurri. So I bought these three flavors to try. There were two other flavors I didn’t try and according to their website they have a lot more flavors than I k new about. I really want to try the strawberry shortcake when it comes back in stock.

These little packets are the kind of loose leaf tea I cam get behind. Each packet contains a small adorably shaped bulb of tea powder. Once you plop it into your cup of freshly boiled water it begins to dissolve. You are met with the inviting smell of brewing tea without the bag.

The thing I did discover is that it doesn’t fully dissolve like I thought it might. You are met with a fine tea powder in the bottom of your cup. So don’t chug! Sip gracefully like a lady. or a fine gentlemen. That aside I would absolutely recommend this product as a gateway to the loose leaf tea experience. It made me want to go out and get a larger tea cup so I could enjoy it longer. If you have this in a store near you pick one up in every flavor or order them from http://www.myteadrop.com.

Vegetarian Cheesesteak

December 19, 2020December 18, 2020Leave a comment

Since becoming vegetarian I haven’t quite branched out from the few things I know how to cook with the meat substitutes available at my local grocery store. Today I wanted to try something new. I wanted to finally try this thing called Jackfruit that all the internet vegetarians are raving about. I’ve seen it on the shelf at my local Asian market so I thought I’d try it.

I seasoned it like you would a normal cheesesteak so you get the delicious savory flavor on the jackfruit. Then top with delicious pan fried onions and peppers and that glorious melty white cheese. You also want to get a quality hoagie roll to stand up to all the melty delicious flavor.

Ingredients

2 cans jackfruit (cut the hard triangle piece off the end of each jackfruit segment)
1 package good quality hoagie bun
1 yellow onion, sliced thinly
2 Bell peppers, sliced thinly
2 cups shredded white cheese
salt/pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
vegetable oil for cooking

Directions

Heat oil in a medium size pan till it moves around the pan like water.
Add your peppers and onion to the pan and cook until lightly colored. About 3-5 minutes.
Add your jackfruit and all the dry seasoning to the pan and cook on medium heat until you can pull the jackfruit apart with a fork.
Place enough cheese in the pan to cover your mixture and put a lid on it to melt it.
Portion it out into your hoagie rolls.

Mincemeat Cake

December 18, 2020December 17, 2020Leave a comment

What is it?

Mincemeat pie is a British dessert filled with raisins, currants, candied peel, apples and brown sugar. It is normally cooked together with suet. If you are unfamiliar suet is a hard animal fat either beef or lamb. I’m not certain where to get Suet in the states so I used vegetable shortening. The pie has an origin that dates back to the 1400’s when the pie actually had mincemeat in it. It was a way to preserve meat without having to go through the usually methods of drying and curing.

Today Mincemeat Pie doesn’t have meat in it anymore. It is a spiced fruit pie served during Christmas time. I didn’t want to make pastry so I didn’t end up making pie. I made a simple square cake that made my whole house smell like Christmas.

Ingredients

2 cups All purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. pumpkin spice
3 tbsp. melted butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs beaten

Mincemeat Mixture

1 apple diced
1/4 cup raisins
1/3 cup candied mixed peel
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin spice
1/4 cup vegetable shortening

Directions

In a saucepan on medium heat place all your mincemeat mixture and cook until the apples have softened and the shortening and brown sugar melt together. Lower the heat and simmer while putting the rest of your batter together.
Preheat your own to 370 degrees.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk your flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, pumpkin spice.
Melt your butter in the microwave for a minute.
Put oil and butter into the dry ingredients.
In a small bowl beat the two eggs together and add to rest of your batter.
Add your warm mincemeat mixture and whisk until the batter is well combined.
Put batter in a 8×8 square cake tin and bake for 25-30 minutes until a knife comes out clean.

Candied Mixed Peel

December 17, 2020December 17, 2020Leave a comment

What is it?

Never in my life have I ever had a need for candied mixed peel. Until I did and I couldn’t find it anywhere. Why? I can find fruit cake mix but I’m not trying to make fruit cake. I am trying to make mincemeat pies. So here we are making it from scratch.

Candied mixed peel is orange and lemon peels boiled, candied in sugar and dried. There is evidence that it seemed to start off in Arab culture as something served at banquets.

Ingredients

3 Oranges( juiced)
3 Lemons(Juiced)
3 cups water
3 cups sugar for boiling
1 cup sugar for dusting

Directions

Cut and juice all your citrus. Make sure you remove all the fruit flesh from the peel otherwise they won’t dry properly. (I learned from experience.)
Save the juice to use later if you like.
Cut the peel into small pieces.
Add four cups of water to a large pot and boil the peel for 15 minutes.
Drain the water and fill again. Boil for another 15 minutes. This should soften the peel quite a lot.
Drain the water. Fill the pot with 3 cups water and 3 cups sugar. Turn on medium high heat and stir till sugar is dissolved.
Add peel and bring to boil.
Turn heat down to simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
Drain the water. On a baking sheet put your 1 cup of sugar and dust the peel.
On a piece of parchment or foil put the peel and allow to dry completely.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

What is Jackfruit? How do I use it?

December 15, 2020Leave a comment

What is it?

Jackfruit is a species of tree in the fig and mulberry family. It grows in the tropical region of Asia. It is used most commonly in South and Southeast Asian cuisine.

My Jackfruit Journey…

As a new vegetarian I am constantly on the lookout for new substitutes for the meat I gave up. I have fallen in love with the gardein brand of vegetarian meat substitutes. That’s not what this post is about though. Maybe another day. Today we focus on the learning experience I had when I tried to make Jackfruit cheesesteaks for my husband today. He was excited. I was excited. It was going to be great. Boy did I have something to learn.

I had my peppers and onions cooked and was about to add my Jackfruit when I opened the can and realized this was not like any Jackfruit I had ever had before. Wasn’t it supposed to be green? This was a beautiful orange color and smelled sweet. I had never had Jackfruit smell sweet before. I even tried to cook with it anyway thinking maybe I was mistaken. Truthfully I knew I wasn’t mistaken but I really wanted cheesesteaks so I tried. It was a failure.

So here is what we learned. When Jackfruit is young and unripe it is called green jackfruit. This is the jackfruit I had seen before. I just had never bought it canned so I didn’t know it was called this when it was young. The jackfruit I bought was ripe and its beautiful orange color.

When jackfruit is young you can use it as a meat substitute like you would use shredded pork, chicken or duck. I have used it in BBQ pork sandwiches. You can use it in tacos and anywhere else you would use a shredded meat.

The ripe Jackfruit can be used in desserts. You can use it anyplace you would use a hearty canned fruit. You can use it in layered Jello desserts. You can use it in baked goods. You can also use it to top a custard dish. There is a dish called Panasa Mulika that is fried Jackfruit fritters.

If you are looking for a new fruit to add to your diet whether it be for your Meat Free Monday or to put it in a pie I’d recommend Jackfruit. It’s hearty and delicious. It is also fairly easy to come by in your local grocery store in the can. I found it in my local Asian market. Let me know what you use Jackfruit for.

Holiday Bake: Challah Bread

December 12, 2020Leave a comment

Being that we have made the slow crawl into December this year when I was still firmly convinced it was march I decided to start baking some bread. It makes the house smell amazing and having fresh bread in the house gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling of accomplishment.

What is it?

Challah is a special bread in Jewish cuisine. It is normally braided and served on ceremonial occasions and Jewish holidays except Passover. You can add sesame seed, poppy seed or sometimes even raisins in your bread.

I used everything bagel seasoning on mine because I didn’t have anything else in my spice cupboard.

Ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 packet instant yeast
1/2 tbsp. salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
5 oz of water (tepid)
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
everything bagel seasoning (poppy, sesame seeds are more traditional)

Directions (stand mixer)

Place the flour in the bowl of your stand mixer. Place the sugar in the middle. The salt on one side and the yeast on the other. Mix the ingredients together using your fingers.
In another bowl mix together the oil and one egg and the egg yolk. Make a well in your flour and put in your egg mix and water.
Mix it with a fork until it becomes a shaggy dough. Transfer to your mixer with a dough hook knead for 5-10 minutes. (I normally take the dough out halfway through kneading and knead it with my hands. You can feel the texture of the dough change better when you knead it by hand.)
If you do take the dough out to knead by hand then put it back in the mixing bowl and cover. Let it rest for at least two hours so it can double in size.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set it aside.
Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knock out all the air bubbles. Cut the dough into three equal pieces and roll them out into ropes of about 12in long. Pinch the ends of one side together and braid the dough together. Then pinch the ends together at the end of the braid. Tuck both ends under so you can’t see them. Place it on the baking tray.

Let it rise for another 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 390 degrees.
Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl and brush the top of your loaf. The more egg wash you put on the darker it will become. Then top it with your seeds.
Once your oven is heated bake it for 30-35 minutes. You are looking for a golden brown and a hallow sound when you tap the bottom.

Enjoy everyone!