How Many Hummingbirds in a Hummingbird Cake?

I now live in Louisville but I came from the Deep South. Southern Living magazine claims that their most requested cake recipe to be Hummingbird Cake, sent in by a reader in 1978. The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of oil!

Since my mother has enjoyed Hummingbird Cake picked up at a local deli, I thought I would make her one for her birthday.
Hubby claimed it tasted good but needed carrots. No, I said, that would be a carrot cake. When it is your birthday,, you can have a carrot cake. (a very dependable carrot cake recipe has been posted here before.)
All week I have heard lame jokes about the hummingbirds in the hummingbird cake.

Below is a lightened up recipe and lighter icing because I want my mother to make it to 87.

Hummingbird Cake

1 1/2 cups cane or beet sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup of vegetable oil (I used canola)
2 ripe bananas mashed (I will use 3 next time)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup crushed pineapple with juice (8 ounce can)
3/4 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use cooking spray or bakers spray on one 9 by 13 baking pan or two 9-inch round cake pans.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar, eggs, oil, bananas, and vanilla until well mixed.
In separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Add to sugar/banana mixture slowly and beat until batter is well-mixed.
Fold in pineapple and pecans with a spatula. Pour into 9 by 13 pan or divide evenly between the two cake pans.
Bake 30-35 minutes for cake pans or 45-50 minutes for 9 by 13 pan. Test with toothpick or cake tester. (ovens vary, so your cake may take a few minutes more.)
Cool cake for at least 10 minutes for round cake pans, then remove cake to a rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
If using 9 by 13 pan let cool for about 30 minutes or until cool to the touch.

Note: you can further lighten this cake by replacing the 3/4 cup of vegetable oil with 6 tablespoons vegetable oil and 6 tablespoons applesauce.


I halved the icing recipe because I was using a 9 by 13 pan and not two round pans. Double the recipe if you choose to use two round pans.

Cream Cheese Icing

4 ounces 1/3 lower fat cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using electric mixer, cream cheese and butter beginning on low then turning to high speed. Beat until fluffy. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at time, beating each time until incorporated. Add vanilla and beat another minute or so.

And yes, it does look like a homely, home-made cake!

Adding Fiber to Asian Lettuce Wraps

Adding Fiber to the Asian Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps have been around for years, and I enjoy them, especially on warm days. This evening, I fiddled with my basic recipe. I am cutting back on fat and trying to incorporate more fiber in my diet as I attempt to shed a few pounds.

Pork is very flavorful and a little goes a long way – ground pork is fatty. I usually get 3 meals out of a pound of ground pork because of that. To the 1/3 pound of ground pork, I added 6 ounces of frozen Quorn crumbles. Quorn has its fans and foes. It is a meatless protein made of fungus, like mushrooms are fungus. And it is very high in fiber. Even Kroger sells Quorn so you should be able to find it. Alternatively, you can use ground turkey or ground chicken, frozen soy crumbles or reconstituted TVP. If you are allergic to mushrooms, you should pass on the Quorn. To give the mixture bulk and crunch, I used a can of water chestnuts I chopped in a food processor.

Along with the lettuce wraps, I served bun-bun noodles which is basically noodles with a peanut sauce. I used thin spaghetti because I had half a box on hand but you can use rice or soba noodles. Instead of peanut butter, you can use PB2 peanut powder mixed with a little water to make a paste.

And to round it out, stir-fried kale. Gosh, I have gotten my money’s worth of organic kale this week!

Lettuce Wraps with Pork and Quorn

1/3 lb. Ground pork

6 ounces frozen Quorn crumbles

1 drained can of sliced water chestnuts

3 peeled garlic cloves

½ chopped small onion

1 tablespoon chopped ginger (I used refrigerated ginger in a jar that I picked up at the Asian grocery)

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon of chili garlic paste (more to taste)

Fresh green leaf or iceberg lettuce leaves

toppings: grated carrots, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeno, green onion

Crumble pork in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook until no longer pink. Add Quorn crumbles and onion. In a food processor, chop water chestnuts and fresh garlic and fresh ginger if using fresh. Add to skillet with meat. Add seasonings and soy sauce. Cook till desired consistency. More seasonings can be added to taste.

Make a dipping sauce of ¼ cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, and a drizzle of sesame oil.

Bun-Bun Noodles

Noodles of choice, cooked, drained

Peanut butter or PB2, mixed with water to make a paste for the equivalent of 3-4 tablespoons of peanut butter.

¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce

drizzle of sesame oil (beware – use sparingly)

chopped green onions

garlic chili paste (start with ½ teaspoon and work your way up)

Muffuletta Olive Salad Mix

Being originally from Louisiana, I of course am familiar with the beloved Muffuletta sandwich of New Orleans. Italian bread with Italian meats and cheese and olive salad. Olive salad is made with green and black olives, and pickled veggies such as carrots, onions, celery, and cauliflower. I still recoil when remembering a lunch visit to a Louisville restaurant that claimed to have Louisiana food. We ordered a Muffuletta and it came with only a bit of olive salad mix. We asked for more. They had none. (This restaurant is no longer in business.) With leftover Muffuletta to go, we went in search of olive salad. Hmm. Not the easiest task but we did succeed. (Lotsa Pasta).

So, I was surprised, a few years later, to find olive salad at Costco, sold in two quart jars. And I bought them. Two quarts is a lot of olive salad. But, it can be used in many delicious ways.
A favorite recipe from my teenage years was to dress up canned or frozen green peas with pimento-stuffed green olives and oregano. So, now when I serve green peas, I add a little olive salad. It also makes a fine addition to an Italian Green Salad with pepperoni and mozzarella. I suppose you could throw a bit on a pizza.

I am enjoying a weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) fruit and vegetable box again this year. Organic, from Casey County, Kentucky. I pick it up from my nearest Rainbow Blossom. (Not too late to order should you be interested. http://www.rainbowblossom.com/csa2018/ ).

As you might imagine, this time of year we are getting a lot of greens in the box. I am researching kale recipes. Not too big a fan of the kale chips.
An easy, not even a recipe is this one-pot wonder: onions, kale, smoked turkey sausage, and potatoes. Cook the onions and sausage, throw in cut potatoes and kale with some broth or water and cook till potatoes are tender.
And I had success with a sweet potato and kale frittata.

Last night, while browsing the Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon, I came across a recipe I could tinker with to produce -

Kale with Raisins, Olive Salad Mix, and Onions

1 tsp. of olive oil or cooking spray (there will be oil from the salad mix added at the end)
1/2 chopped onion
1 bunch of kale, washed, stems removed (for the record I had Russian Kale)
1/4 cup water, vegetable broth or chicken broth
1/4 cup raisins, preferably golden but dark okay
1-2 heaping tablespoons olive salad mix
Pepper to taste
Taste before salting as there is salt in the olive salad

Wash kale and take off the stems. Heat olive oil or cooking spray. Add onions and cook 2-3 minutes. Add kale, raisins and broth. Cook to desired tenderness. Add olive salad mix.

Since I love dried fruit in savory dishes, and olives would make it to the plate of my last meal, this was a real winner for me. Bring on the kale!

January is Soup Month - Minestrone

January is National Soup Month and with near zero temps in Louisville, KY, we have been doing a LOT of soup. Normally, I would pair a soup with a salad, but no, too cold - all my vegetables are in the soup! This is a healthy choice with protein, fiber - both soluble and insoluble - vitamins, and iron. 

With a bit of organic ground pork left over from my last Chinese dish, I decided on a Minestrone, keeping in mind, most everyone has their own recipe for Minestrone!

This serves 2, but is easily doubled or tripled

1/4 lb. ground pork (Italian sausage even better, but working with what I have)
1 can tomatoes (I use no-salt)
1 can chicken or beef or vegetable broth
1-2 cans water as needed
1 can Great Northern beans, undrained
1 small onions, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped (or sub garlic powder)
1/4 cup dry elbow macaroni (optional)
salt to taste
dried Italian seasoning to taste (start with 1/2 tsp.)
1/4 tsp. ground fennel (if not using Italian sausage and you want to mimic its flavor)
red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
black pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley should you have any available
optional vegetables you may have on hand: zucchini and/or spinach
grated Parmesan cheese

Brown ground pork in dutch oven. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook 2 minutes. Add garlic. Cook one minute to bring aroma. If using garlic powder, add when adding liquid ingredients. Add canned tomatoes, and broth and dried seasonings. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer for 20 minutes. Add beans.
If using zucchini, add after 10 minutes. Add elbow macaroni at this time if using (you may need to add more water). Taste for seasoning: add additional salt, black pepper, scant dried red pepper flakes or hot sauce. If using fresh spinach, add now and place lid on pot to quickly steam spinach. Grated Parmesan gives the soup a rich flavor. Fresh parsley is a nice touch.

Favorite Pampered Chef tools: 
Rockcroc Dutch Oven (can be used in oven, on stovetop, microwave, grill, under broiler AND can safely go in the dishwasher!) https://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/charlaine/shop/Cookware/Cookware/RockcrokDutch+Oven/1781
Mix and Chop to separate the ground pork in the dutch oven https://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/charlaine/shop/Cooking+Tools/Cookware+Utensils/Mix+%27N+Chop/2583
Manual Food Processor - to chop onion, celery, carrots - I have used this tool more than I ever thought! https://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/charlaine/shop/Cooking+Tools/Mandolines%2C+Slicers+%26+Choppers/Manual+Food+Processor/2593
Italian seasoning - high quality mix https://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/charlaine/shop/Food/Seasoning+Mixes/Italian+Seasoning+Mix/9719

tabbouleh

I like most anything, especially Middle Eastern foods. I prepared lentils and rice with caramelized onions to go along with my North African spiced chicken (cooked in my tangine) Friday night. What to serve alongside the leftover lentils? Well, I have a can of stuffed grape leaves. I also have plenty of parsley left and a cucumber, so why not tabbouleh?
While the authentic uses fine Bulgar, I am out of that and will use the Bob's Red Mill Bulgar I have on hand. I just need to soak it. And just for the record, the authentic has little Bulgar wheat, this being a salad, after all.
I am also putting most ingredients in the food processor. I will leave some cucumber, onion and tomato to chop into the final product, but I just happen to like it done up in the processor. Beware, do the parsley first, then the cucumbers, or else you will have a lot of cucumber juice!

Plenty for me:

1/2 cup medium Bulgar wheat, soaked in 1/2 cup hot water, OR fine Bulgar wheat, no need to soak
1 bunch of parsley
a couple of sprigs of mint, if you have it, and like it. don't overdo it
1 English cucumber, chopped (or let the processor do it)
1 tomato chopped
1/2 onion or green onions
lemon juice to taste
olive oil to taste
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne if you like heat
garlic if you like, don't overdo it

you can substitute zucchini for cucumber but cucumber preferred
some folks who are avoiding wheat use quinoa. cook as specified on the package

I soaked the Bulgar. This took about an hour. Meanwhile, I put the onion, most of the cucumber, garlic, parsley and some mint in the food processor and gave it several whirls.

Once the Bulgar wheat was soft, I added the veggies, lemon juice and oil to taste. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
A nice addition to my Middle Eastern meal this evening.

"I'll never bake another pork loin again."

And she bakes a killer pork loin.

Hubby here.  Chiming in to tell you about how good you have it if you have a pork loin and a pressure cooker.  You may decide to never bake another pork loin, too.  This is from Idiot's Guides - Pressure Cooking by Tom Hirschfeld, mostly.

1 T olive oil
2.5 lb pork loin
1/3 c minced yellow onion
1 T minced garlic
salt
pepper
1 c ale or dry white wine
1 T dijon mustard
1/4 c heavy cream (optional, I did not use)

In a 5.5l pressure cooker, heat oil over medium high heat.  When hot, add pork loin and brown on all sides.

Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper and cook for one minute or until vegetables start to soften.

Add ale and mustard and cook for 2 minutes or until foam subsides and liquid comes to a boil.

Lock on the lid, bring pressure to 2, lower heat, and cook for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat and perform quick release.

Transfer pork to cutting board and cover with foil.

Put the cooker back on the burner, turn up heat to medium high, bring sauce to a boil and cook for at 5 minutes or until thickened and reduced by 1/3.  Adjust seasoning.

Add heavy cream, if using, and cook for two minutes until at desired consistency.

Slice pork, and drizzle with sauce.

Sweet Potato Pie

When I asked for suggestions for the Thanksgiving meal, both Mom and hubby declared "sweet potato pie". Now, I have made pumpkin pie on many occasions, but not sweet potato. And no, I am not one to assume that you just switch out the ingredients. 
At first we looked in basic recipe books such as Betty Crocker and Better Homes and Gardens. Then, of course! Southern Living! I own every book except for one, from 1979 on till today. Now, the first ten years or so of their annual recipes collection was documented in a master book, so off so we go to find a gazillion recipes listed. After looking over a few, I chose Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie. It turned out fine. Not too sweet. I splurged on an on-sale organic, no trans-fat pie shell found in the healthy foods selection at Kroger. This made two pies as the pie shells were rather small.

Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie
January 1979 Southern Living

2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened (make sure very soft)
2 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup white sugar
1 deep dish pie shell or two smaller ones

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine sweet potatoes, brown sugar, butter, egg yolks, spices and salt in a large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy. (I beat by hand.)
Beat egg whites in mixer or with hand mixer until foamy, gradually adding white sugar. Beat until stiff, then fold into the sweet potato mixture. Pour filling into pie shell(s).
Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 45-50 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.