Childbirth Preparation Class Recipes

For the past 6 weeks, I have been volunteering at a local childbirth class to get involved in working with expecting couples and midwifery. My main job is to bring a healthy snack for class participants to enjoy during the class. I've been enjoying this responsibility because it allows me to get my baking urge out of my system, but Steve and I don't have to eat all of my (perhaps) not-so-healthy baked goods. I'm going to post most of these recipes, though I forgot to take pictures while baking. I apologize, but this is going to be a monster post. :)

Week 2
Carrot Bread
I got a lot of compliments on this bread. A day after it has been baked, the flavors are more defined.

3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 oil
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
pinch salt
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan. In large bowl, beat sugars and oil. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt to the bowl while stirring continuously. Beat eggs, gradually add to batter until combined. Mix in carrots, pecans, and vanilla. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 60 minutes until done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out on rack to cool completely.

Week 3
Yogurt Fruit Dip
Or, as one of the women at the class called it, "Ambrosia, food of the gods."

1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine all ingredients. Beat until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Makes 2 cups of dip. For dipping, I supplied oranges, apples, and grapes.

Week 4
Apple Butter and Baguettes
This was a big hit, which I appreciated, since I spent an hour and a half stirring it while talking on the phone to my mom. It turned out to be worth it. The baguette recipe is also on this blog, so I won't put it up twice.

4 lbs. of good cooking apples (Granny Smith, Gravenstein, etc.)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
about 4 cups sugar (see instructions)
salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Juice of one lemon

Cut apples into quarters without peeling or coring (much of the pectin is in the core and flavor in the peels), cut out damaged parts. Put into large pot, add water and vinegar. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Ladle apple mixture into chinois sieve, food mill, or potato ricer, forcing the pulp into a bowl below. Measure resulting puree; add half cup sugar for each cup resulting pulp. Stir to dissolve sugar, add dash of salt, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and lemon juice. Cook uncovered in large, thick-bottomed pot on medium-low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Cook til thick and smooth when spooned out onto a cold plate and allowed to cool (about 1-2 hours). Makes about 3 pints.

Week 5
Orange-Spice Granola Bars
I think these were a class favorite -- people requested the recipe and one woman said she may have them as a snack while she's in labor. That seems like an endorsement to me. First you make the Crunchy Granola, then you use the Crunchy Granola to make the granola bars.

Crunchy Granola (from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman)

6 cups rolled oats

2 cups mixed nuts and seeds (i.e. sunflower seeds, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc.)

1 cup shredded coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Dash salt

½ to 1 cup honey

Preheat oven to 300ºF. Put a 9 x 13-inch roasting pan over medium-low heat (over two burners if convenient). Add the oats and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to change color and become fragrant, 3-5 minutes. Add the nuts and seeds and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the coconut and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes more. Add the cinnamon, salt, and sweetener, stir, and put in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice. Cool on a rack, continuing to stir once in a while until the granola reaches room temperature. Transfer to a sealed container.

Orange-Spice Granola Bars (also from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman)

¾ cup honey

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup oil

3 cups Crunchy Granola (see above recipe)

1 cup chocolate chips

1 tablespoon chopped orange zest

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon cloves

Put the honey, brown sugar, oil, orange zest, and spices in a small pot and bring to a boil. Put the granola in a large bowl and pour the sugar mixture over the top while mixing; stir until granola is well coated. Add chocolate chips and mix well. Press into an 8- or 9-inch square pan and let cool in the fridge. Cut into squares or rectangles and serve. Yields a dozen bars.

Week 6
Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
The glaze is the best part!

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 oil
1 egg
1 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1/2 powdered sugar
2 teaspoons skim milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin pan. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. In small bowl, combine egg, oil, and milk. Pour liquid ingredients into dry. Mix until just moistened. Fold in cinnamon and raisins. Pour batter into muffin cups and bake 20 minutes. Mix powdered sugar and milk. Let glaze thicken. Drizzle over muffins when cooled.

Christmas Cheesecake and Quiche

For our Christmas meal, which we had on the 22nd, Steve and I made an onion quiche from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and cran-raspberry cheesecake from the Joy of Baking website. They were both delicious. Here are some previews:



Onion Quiche

3 T butter
1 T oil
2 lbs. onions, diced
3 eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 unbaked pie crust
2 T butter

Preheat oven to 375. Saute onions in oil and butter over very low heat until golden and soft; this will take about 1 hour. Beat together eggs and cream in small bowl. Stir in half of the cheese. Gradually add onions to egg and cheese mixture. Pour into pie crust. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Cut the 2 T butter into small pieces and dot over cheese. Bake for about 1/2 hour, until eggs are set.

Cran-Raspberry Cheesecake

Crust
1 c graham cracker crumbs
2 T sugar
1/4 c butter, melted

Filling
20 oz. fresh whole milk ricotta, drained
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 c sugar
1 T cornstarch
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 t vanilla

Cran-Raspberry Sauce
3 cups frozen unsweetened raspberries
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 T cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and butter, or spray with non stick cooking spray, a 9 inch (23 cm) spring form pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with two layers of heavy aluminum foil.

For Crust: In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom of the spring form pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For Filling: Place the ricotta in a fine-meshed strainer or else a cheesecloth-lined strainer that has been suspended over a bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator to drain for several hours, or even overnight.

In the bowl of your food processor or electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), place the cream cheese and beat until smooth and free of lumps. Add the ricotta and sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 - 3 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the cornstarch. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating about 30 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the lemon zest, vanilla extract

, and salt and beat until incorporated.

Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Place the spring form pan in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come about halfway up the sides of your spring form pan.

Bake for about one hour to one hour 15 minutes, or until the top of the cheesecake has nicely browned and the center of the cake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken. Remove the pan from the water bath and cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, about 6 - 8 hours or overnight. Serve in small slices with a spoonful of Cran-Raspberry Sauce (if desired).

Cran-Raspberry Sauce: In a large saucepan combine all the ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the sauce thickens and is bubbly. Remove from heat and let cool. (Note: taste and add more sugar as needed.) Cover and store in the refrigerator. Makes about 2 cups (480 ml).

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/RicottaCheesecakewithCran-RaspberrySauce.html#ixzz0b1is5vGg

As this recipe suggested, I baked the cheesecake in a water bath. However, even though I wrapped the spring form pan in foil, the water still leaked in a little bit. Others have told me that they don't use the water bath and the cheesecake turns out fine. I'm not sure which to recommend; I guess that's a decision you'll have to make on your own. But, despite the slightly mushy crust around the edges, the cheesecake was delicious!

A Cake as Light and Airy as a Ballerina

As a continuation of postings for Steve's birthday, I have to add this recipe for Pavlova, which served as his birthday cake. The Pavlova was named for the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova when she was on tour in New Zealand and Australia in the 1920s. It seems a very appropriate cake to be named for a ballerina, as it is made of meringue, thus very light and delicate. To this day, debate continues as to which nation gets to claim the dessert as its original invention (according to Wikipedia, New Zealand is the rightful claimant). I found this recipe at the Joy of Cooking website (listed on the sidebar of our blog). It turned out to be a bit of a challenge. To learn why, read on.

Pavlova
Meringue Cake
4 large egg whites
1 cup superfine caster sugar (I used regular granulated white sugar)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
fresh fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc.)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 7-inch circle on the paper, like so:
With electric mixer, beat eggs on high until they hold soft peaks. Add sugar one tablespoon at a time until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. (Test to see if the sugar is fully dissolved by rubbing a little of the meringue between your thumb and index finger. The meringue should feel smooth, not gritty. If it feels gritty, keep on beating.) So the egg whites and sugar mixture should go from this:

To this:
It took me quite a while to get all the sugar dissolved, probably because I just used granulated white sugar instead of the caster sugar. If you don't want your arm to be exhausted by the end of this process, I suggest going for the caster sugar. Next, sprinkle the vinegar and cornstarch on top of the meringue and fold in with a rubber spatula. Gently spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, smoothing the sides and making them higher than the middle so you have a place to put your whipped cream and fruit later. Bake for one hour and 15 minutes, until the outside is dry and it takes on a very pale cream color. Turn the oven off and leave the door slightly open. Let the meringue cool completely in the oven.

This where I had some difficulty. I really don't know why this happened, but at some point while the meringue was cooling in the oven, the middle fell in, like this:
I was quite disappointed, but we still made it work. I still don't know what happened though. I guess you shouldn't really expect things to come out perfectly when you try them for the first time, especially this cake, which seems like a chemistry project, with all the changes in form and matter.

After the cake is cooled, place it on a serving plate. Then, to make the topping, beat the cream with the electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and the vanilla and then mound on top of the meringue cake. Decorate with the fresh fruit however you wish. Serve soon as the cake will not hold for much longer than a few hours.

Here's the happy birthday boy with the finished product:
(You can find the original recipe here: http://www.joyofbaking.com/Pavlova.html)