Last month I rode the train to Baltimore as a Cutting Edge Student Scholarship winner to meet up with over 400 people ranging from 17 to 75, all with one thing in mind, to end childhood hunger during the Share Our Strength conference held at the Renaissance Harbor Place Hotel. It was fantastic. For three days, I cooked, ate, met a ton of great people and most importantly, learned what Share our Strength is all about. The best part about it was that I got to meet the Coordinator of Cooking Matters from my town and am now on my way to becoming a volunteer staff member for some of their cooking classes. The funny part about this is, is that I didn’t meet her at the conference but on my way to the conference when I was frantically trying to find my transfer train at Penn Station. Out of all the people in that ginormous station, she was the one I approached for help. Turns out we had a lot more in common than just a train to catch.

All alone with a spontaneous 2 pound date bag buy, 1 egg left in the fridge and a hand full of walnuts from a month ago that you have no idea what to do with only could result in one thing, and that’s date nut bread. I found a basic recipe on google and decided to spice it up with a few things I had lying around. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields about 1 8” loaf

1 1/2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Nutemeg

1 Tablespoon Butter, Unsalted

1 Cup Water

1 1/2 Cups Dates, Pitted and Chopped Coursely

1/2 Zest from a Lemon

2 Cups Flour, AP

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Egg

3/4 Cup Sugar

Steps

1. Bring water to a boil. Turn off heat and add butter, dates, zest, cinnamon and nutmeg. Let sit for 15 minutes. The dates will absorb most of the liquid.

2. Mix sugar and egg and set aside.

3. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.

4. Mix sugar and egg mixture with the date mixture. Then add to flour mixture. Do not over mix!

5. Let rise in a buttered, 8’ loaf pan for about 20 minutes. At this time preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

6. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

A recipe for an easy, no knead olive bread that we’d like you to try, created by two pairs of loving hands.

Jeff & Gab’s Olive Bread

Ingredients

Yields about two 1 pound loaves

3 1/2 Cups Bread Flour

3/4 Tablespoon Salt

3/4 Tablespoon Yeast, Instant

1/2 Cup Water from Can of Olives, Lukewarm

1 Cup Water, Lukewarm

1 1/2 Cup Olives, Coarsely Chopped

Steps

1. Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl.

2. Mix the water and yeast together in a small bowl.

3. Make a well with the dry ingredients and pour the liquids into it. Mix until a wet dough forms. Separate into two pieces and make into balls. It does not need to be a perfect circle at this point and you may need extra flour for dusting.

4. Place each ball into two bowls that are lightly dusted with flour, tightly covered and in a warm place, like near a heater or on top of a warm oven. Leave for an hour.

5. Uncover and lightly knead in the olives. At this point form a nicely round, and slightly tight ball. Place back in separate bowls, tightly covered, and leave for two more hours in a warm place. The bowl should be large. The dough will expand.

6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. To mock a steam oven, in order to get a crunchy exterior and moist interior, fill and pie plate with water and place on the rack below the one you will put your bread on. Your oven should be hot when you put your loaves into it. Lightly dust a sheet pan with flour and place dough about half a foot apart from each other. Score an X into your bread with a small, serrated knife about 1/4 inch deep into the bread.

7. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until medium to dark brown. The darker it is, the more flavor it has, but the crunchier the crust will be.

It is October 11th and 70 Degrees outside. That’s okay because I’m still cuddled up drinking hot, lemon tea and eating Pignoli cookies made by the wonderful Audrey! I still haven’t snatched up her recipe, but here is one taken from another very reliable baker. Although nuts are expensive, it is definitely worth the investment. You’ll understand once you try one of these delightful little treats straight from the almondy gods of delicious baked goods.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

2 8-Oz Cans Almond Paste (not marzipan), coarsely crumbled
1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Egg Whites
2 Tablespoons Honey
1 Cup Pine Nuts (pignolis)

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Pulse almond paste in a food processor until broken up into small bits, then add powdered sugar and salt and continue to pulse until finely ground, about 1 minute.

3. Beat together almond mixture, egg whites, and honey in electric mixer at medium-high speed until smooth, about 5 minutes (batter will be very thick).

3. Mix in nuts and drop onto a sheet pan using two spoons.

4. Bake until golden on lightly greased baking pans, 12 to 15 minutes total. Slide cookies onto racks to cool completely and dust with powdered sugar.

Tuesday evening belly win!

Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite things to do, especially the part where it is completely normal to stab and rip out his slimy guts on your kitchen floor. God, I love Halloween.

Here’s a 5-minute recipe to quickly whip up and make use of some of those guts.

1 1/2 Cups Pumpkin Seeds, Rinsed and Dried

1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Pepper

2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1 Teaspoon Paprika

1/8 Teaspoon Each Nutmeg and Clove

Preheat oven to 325 Degrees Fahrenheit Mix all ingredients in a bowl and spread evenly on a nonstick sheet pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or until all seeds are golden brown.

Done!

Four months ago my sister, Noelle, tied the knot in a divine, fairytale wedding to her hilarious and loving college sweetheart, Mark. The entire day was absolutely sublime. I had the honor of not only being the Maid of Honor, along with my other sister, Chantelle, but making her cake, too! It took me over three months in between classes and work to make over 100 gumpaste decorations, but it was well worth it when I saw the look on their faces that evening. With a three hundred dollar budget, I bought four Styrofoam cake dummies, flower making supplies, tips, tubes, wires, icings, you name it! The top layer was a 6”, four layer chocolate and strawberry jam cake that I made in between the time I got out of class at 2, travel 45 minutes home, bring the display cake to the venue along with the three half sheet cakes I made the evening before, and be at the rehearsal dinner at 6. That was a hoot! After trying to roll out the fondant with a cheap rolling pin, thin enough to not crush the still warm cake, it bubbled and cracked slightly, but was luckily covered by a dome of brightly colored flowers, sure to distract the bride from any imperfections. All in all, I think for my first solo wedding cake, it was a giant success. Since then, I have been asked to do several wedding cakes by family and friends , but could not agree to taking on the job because of an already hectic schedule. Hopefully in the future I can make a living out of making these works of art, or at least for a little while!

(These photos were taken by the wedding photographer)