GF Peach Almond Cake

Had a gf friend coming so threw this together. Unfortunately, it turned out pretty gross. Not sweet enough, not tender. I had leftovers the next day and the almond was even stronger and covered with powdered sugar it was slightly better (or maybe it's because I was so hungry). Would not recommend.

Source: https://sweetsavoryandsteph.com/light-peach-cake-with-almond-flour/

Angel Food Cupcakes

I've been craving angel food cake for a while but I don't have the pan to cook it (nor a reliable oven). I had a bunch of leftover egg whites from making a double batch of empanadas and found a recipe for angel food cupcakes. However, they turned out terrible. My egg whites might not have been enough or improperly whipped, since it only made 4 cupcakes instead of 6 and they turned out incredibly dense. If I ever have leftover whites again I would still want to give it a another try. I also tried using my new food processor to do the whites. It was quite handy, but it was hard to scrape it all out. So perhaps a hand mixer in a bowl would be a better choice. I also didn't have bleached flour.

• 1/4 c flour, bleached
• 1.5 t cornstarch (to ensure tender crumb)
• 1/8 t salt
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 t cream of tartar (to stabilize whites)
• 5 T sugar
• 1/2 t vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place 6 paper liners in a muffin tin. Do NOT grease.
2. In a medium bowl sift the flour, cornstarch and salt. Sift into another bowl back and forth for a total of 3 siftings. 
3. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until foamy (~30 sec). Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form (~2 min). Slowly stream the sugar, 1 T at a time, while beating. The mixture should be bright white and glossy. Add the vanilla and beat to combine.
4. Add the flour mixture to the whites and fold together. 
5. Divide the batter into 6 liners. The filling should go to the top of each liner. 
6. Bake for 17-19 min, until the tops are slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean
7. Let cool completely in the pan before moving to a wire rack.

Pierogi

I could easily buy White Cheddar and Potato pierogies in the freezer section at my local grocery store in Toronto, but Cheddar is not really a thing in the land of Gouda. So I thought I'd try making this from scratch, but with orange cheddar. DBD liked them a lot. I thought the cheese was overpowering and would reduce the ratio next time.

1/16/25 made 42 pierogi, freezing immediately. Boiled then sauteed with buttered yellow onion. Both kids ate it (along with chicken noodle soup), xbd preferred extra crispy. Had too much filling leftover.

July 2025 - stuffed more aggressively so not as much leftover filling. ~46 pierogi

Dough

• 5 c flour
• 1 t sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 T butter, softened
• 1 c lukewarm potato water* (may not use all of it)
• 1/2 c milk

Filling

• 2 lb potatoes, Yukon gold (about 5)
• 3 c shredded sharp cheddar (would use less next time)
• optional: 1/2 c milk
• 1 t sea salt
• 1/2 t pepper

1. Leave the peel on the potatoes. Roughly quarter them so they cook faster. Add to pot with enough cold water to cover them. Salt the water. Bring to boil, and cook until fork tender.
2. *Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water (for the dough). Drain and peel the potatoes (they should come right off). Add the cheese, salt and pepper and mash with a fork or potato masher. Add the optional milk to make it creamier. Season to taste.
3. Dough
1. Sift the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle or use a dough hook.
2. Add eggs, then butter and milk, and mix.
3. Gradually add the potato water and mix until dough starts to form. Add enough water until a ball forms and the dough is not sticky.
4. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 min to rest.
5. Divide dough into 4 pieces, keeping covered to prevent drying out.
6. Divide one piece into 10-12 pieces. Roll to about 1/8-1/6" thick circular shape, about 3" in diameter.
7. Place a heaping tablespoon full of filling in center. Optional: Dab edge with water. Fold in half to seal into half moon shape.
8. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet, keeping covered until ready to boil.
9. Optional: Freeze the uncooked batch to cook later
10. Boil pierogi until they float.
11. Optional: Freeze the boiled batch to reheat later.
12. Optional: Saute chopped onion with butter over medium heat until golden brown. Then add the boiled pierogi until onions are caramelized and pierogi are crispy. Add more butter as needed.
    
    
    

Alice Salad

Alice always makes this salad and sends pictures of it so I finally threw it together with some leftover ingredients. Would be nice on a bed of greens.

• 
  Avocado
  
• Mango
• Shrimp
• Cilantro
• lime juice
• salt

Coconut Buns

This is another great recipe from The Joys of Baking. I use maple syrup instead of the golden syrup called for (not an ingredient available here) in the filling and always skip the sweet wash. It bakes up beautifully and tastes great.  

9/13/22

9/15/22
5/16/23 Egg white wash (looks better with whole egg)
1/29/24 Forgot the maple syrup in the filling until over halfway through stuffing. Added a squeeze to remainder of filling and they all still tasted good. Also ran out of coconut oil so substituted butter for greasing the pan and sunflower oil in the bread.

Egg Nog

Can't buy this in the Netherlands so tried making it from scratch. Be careful not to overheat the milk with eggs in it. Put rum in half and left the kids one plain. I still prefer the plain. Apparently there are recipes that use the egg white as well to not have so much leftover ingredients. Might be worth trying next time.
12/24/23 Helped MM make this but with strange nutmeg and strange alcohol. Not as good.

• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 c heavy whipping cream
• 2 c milk
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 t vanilla
• optional: 1/4 c alcohol

1. Whisk yolks and sugar in medium bowl until light and creamy.
2. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine cream, milk, nutmeg and salt. Stir regularly until it reaches a bare simmer.
3. Add a spoonful of the hot milk to the yolks, whisking vigorously. Repeat, to temper the eggs.
4. Once most of the milk has been added, pour the egg mixture back into the pan.
5. Whisk constantly for a few minutes until the mixture is just slightly thickened (or it reaches 160 F). It will thicken more as it cools.
6. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and optional alcohol.
7. Pour through a sieve into storage container(s).
8. Refrigerate until chilled. Stir before serving. Thin with milk if too thick or sweet.
9. Store up to 1 week.

Meat Sauce

I made this the first time and ran out of canned tomato so dumped in a jar of pasta sauce. Second time I used the proper tomatoes. Kids really like the sauce. I would like to make extra to freeze but haven't done it yet. Source.

• 1.5 T olive oil
• 2 cl garlic, minced
• 1 onion, finely chopped (yellow, brown or white)
• 500 g ground beef (or half pork)
• 1/2 c dry red wine (125 ml)
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 28 oz can crushed tomato or tomato passata (800 g)
• 2 T tomato paste
• 2 t sugar
• 2 t Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 t thyme or oregano
• variations: 1 carrot+celery sauteed with onion; bacon; 1 T soy; chili
• salt + pepper
• serve with: pasta, parmesan, finely chopped parsley, mozzarella

1. Heat oil in a large pot or deep skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, ~3 min or until light golden and softened.
2. Turn up to high heat and cook meat, until browned.
3. Add red wine. Simmer and cook for 1 min, scraping bottom of the pot until smell of alcohol is gone.
4. Add remaining ingredients except salt and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer and then turn down to medium so it bubbles gently.
1. Fast: Cook for 20-30 min without a lid, stirring occasionally. Add water if sauce gets too thick.
2. Slow: Add 3/4 c water, cover with lid and simmer on very low for 2-2.5 hours, stirring every 30 min or so. Uncover and simmer for 20 min to thicken sauce.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
6. Optional: reserve 1 c pasta cooking liquid, combine undercooked pasta with sauce and 1/2 c of the reserved cooking water. Toss gently for 2 min on medium heat until the spaghettit turns red and the sauce thickens.