Honey Butter Carrots

My friend, Rebecca, took this picture a few years back of the mantle at our beloved old cottage up north.

So many lovely evenings have been spent in that old place.

We just returned from our yearly Thanksgiving weekend when we close it up and say farewell for another season.

Fall is here and I always start to make these carrots again in the fall.

Carrots are a perfect fall food and this is the best way to eat them, in my opinion.

These carrots are simmered until sweet and soft in honey and butter.

A perfect side to our dinner, Chicken with Braised Cabbage and Fennel.

Honey Butter Carrots

5 C carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 C water
pinch salt

Place honey, butter, water and salt in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Add carrots.
Simmer 5 mins covered at medium heat.  Remove lid and simmer until liquid is almost all gone.
Done.
Perfect.

Peanut Butter Cracker Jacks

Clara has been asking for Cracker Jacks.

And, since today is Family Day, I thought it would be a great time to try and make some.

I tried to make ours a little healthier than the stuff in the red box.

This recipe makes a ton and takes no time to make.

We used our trusty Whirley Pop popcorn maker but microwave popcorn would work too.

Clara requested peanut, marshmallows and honey in her corn and I think it is a swell combo.

We scooped ourselves a large bowl if it and settled in to listen to The Railway Children on Librivox.org.

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cracker Jacks

(adapted from thekitchn.com)

15-20 Cups popped corn (about 1 cup unpopped kernals)

salt

1/2C honey

1/4C brown sugar

1/2C unsweetened natural peanut butter (if youre using a sweetened PB here just dont add any brown sugar)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 C micro marshmallows

1 C peanuts

Pop corn.

Pick through and try to remove all un-popped kernals.

Pour popcorn into a huge bowl, salt popped corn to taste, add marshmallows and peanuts.

In a small pot, over med heat, stir together honey and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer a few minutes to dissolve sugar. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until well combined.

Pour honey mixture over popcorn and stir to combine.

Spread mixture out on a large cookie sheet and bake at 200* for about 10 minutes or so.

Eat warm if you want to....we sure did.

Honey Cake with Rhuby Soda

My sweet friend brought me a very special surprise.

A special surprise she knew I would love...and an armful of it.

Enough to make soda, a cake, and a crisp!

Thank you, my friend.

I love to bake with honey to cut back on the amount of sugar most recipes call for.

Honey is easily masked by the other flavours in baking but this cake is all about the honey and its warm, fragrant sweetness.

Nestled down inside the cake is some rhubarb...just because I can.

Honey Cake with Nestled Rhubarb

(adapted from Moosewood Farm Fresh Meals)

1/2 C softened butter

1/2 C honey

1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 C flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 C milk

2 1/2 C chopped rhubarb

Preheat oven to 350*. Butter a 7 x 11 baking dish.

Cream butter, honey and sugar together until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well.

In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

Combine milk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Alternate adding flour mixutre and milk to butter mixture, beating well after each addition.

Spread 2/3 of the batter over the bottom of the dish. Top with all of the rhubarb. Top gently with the rest of the batter, spreading to the edges.

Sprinkle with 1-2 tsp cinnamon sugar if you like.

Bake 35-40 mins or until golden and cooked through.

*Raspberries or strawberries would be a good substitute for the rhubarb.

Top with vanilla yogurt, whipped cream or ice cream.

Rhuby Soda

(culinate.com)

1 1/2 C chopped rhubarb

1 C sugar

1 1/2 C water

Sparkling water

ice

In a large saucepan, combine rhubarb, sugar and water. Boil and then turn down to a simmer for 15-20 mins or until the syrup is bright pink.

Turn off the heat, cool and pour into a large mason jar.

To make each soda, measure ¼ cup rhubarb syrup into a glass.

Add enough sparkling water to fill the glass ⅔ full. Stir to mix, then add ice.

Or make Soulemama's Ruby Junes.

Busy Lady Chicken

Things have been pretty busy around here lately. Here's a chicken dish that I tend to pull out when I have a tray of chicken and not much time.

Honey Dijon Chicken

(A.k.a: Not Humdrumsticks from: Eat Shrink and Be Merry)

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs 2.5lbs

1/4C honey

2tbsp apple cider vinegar

2tbsp grainy dijon mustard

1tsp minced garlic

1tsp herb de provence

Salt and pepper

Mix sauce ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish.

Add chicken pieces and mix them together with the sauce.

Bake at 400 for 25-30mins. Basting a few times is a good idea.

Oat cakes and honey

Since we've had a couple of cold days I have been back at the stove a lot more again. I made a batch of oat cakes for our Truth Application Group Sunday night and served them with some cooked raspberries and cheddar cheese. We liked them so much that I made them again for us to snack on this week. They are so easy to whip up and only cook for 15 minutes. I'm going to try one with some cinnamon honey we bought from Boards Honey a couple weeks ago.

Oat Cakes

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup oat flour, plus more for dusting work surface (I grind up Oats in my coffee grinder. But if you want, oat flour can be purchased at bulk food stores)
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or coat with cooking spray.
2. Stir together oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.
3. Place oat flour in separate bowl. Rub butter into oat flour with fingers until mixture is crumbly.
Stir in oat mixture, then buttermilk.
4. Dust work surface with oat flour, then roll out dough to roughly 10- x 8-inch rectangle 1/4-inch thick. Cut rectangle into 12 squares with chef’s knife. Cut each square into 2 triangles. Place triangles on prepared baking sheets, and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until oat cakes are light brown. Cool.