Apple Cake in the Rice Cooker

Autumn is apple season here in Michigan, and this year’s crop was abundant. I wanted to feature almond extract from the Spice House in a small and simple breakfast cake. This experiment succeeded wildly! It’s easy enough to pull together while still half asleep, and quick enough to be ready with your morning coffee.

Coconut Shrimp Arancini with Pineapple Jalapeno Sauce

True confession...I think I might have made something with coconut once in my life. When I found out one of our sponsors was going to be Tropical Traditions, I was very excited to expand my horizons! I did learn through this challenge that Tropical Traditions is America's source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil looked very intriguing!  I decided on another product though...read on.

Mango Sticky Rice with Coconut Cream Concentrate Sauce

If living as an expat in Singapore wasn't enough of a fantasy, discovering mangos married to a sensational Thai treat known as sticky rice and then adorning it with creamy coconut sauce became the culinary cherry on top of my time in this exotic place. When I received Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate with its rich coconut flavor and texture, I knew it would be the perfect ingredient in my mango sticky rice to take me back to those tropical days on fantasy island. 

Buttermilk Onion Rye Bread

Buttermilk Onion Rye Bread
by Diana Horst


I love to bake bread. You could say I’m slightly dough obsessed. My husband would say it’s more like I’m possessed.

Since this is an Oktoberfest challenge, rye bread immediately came to mind. Back in the day, I worked at a bakery that sold an onion rye that was to die for. It was my husband’s preferred snack with a cold beer. Screw peanuts, Doritos and the like. Jeff liked a hunk of fragrant onion rye and a couple wedges of cheese with his beer.

Jeff happened to be in Germany when I made this bread. So my co-workers got to devour a couple of loaves. Our friends at Marx Foods sent us a care package to play around with, so one of the loaves got brushed with dill pollen butter as soon as they came out of the oven. The plain loaf went well, but the dill pollen loaf was gone in a flash.

This bread is awesome for sandwiches and toast. We just had it at work simply spread with veggie cream cheese. Add a slice or two of garden fresh tomatoes and cracked pepper over the cream cheese spread rye and you have a heavenly lunch! Or a snack or breakfast; enjoy!

2 cups buttermilk
1 Tablespoon honey (I like orange blossom)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups rye flour
2 teaspoons wheat gluten
2 1/3 cups bread flour
4 Tablespoons melted butter, divided
2 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons dried minced onion
4 Tablespoons caraway seed, divided
1 teaspoon Marx Foods Dill Pollen
Cornmeal for dusting peel or baking sheet

Place the buttermilk, honey and yeast in stand mixer bowl. Add the rye flour and mix until moistened using the paddle attachment. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes to hydrate the rye flour. Add the wheat gluten, bread flour, two tablespoons of the melted butter, salt, dried minced onion and tablespoons caraway seed. Mix at medium speed for about 6 or 7 minutes. Scoop out dough and place into an oiled 9”x13” plastic container. Cover it tightly. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Now we’re going to do the first of three “stretch and folds.” I think our very own Donna Currie explains it quite well over on Serious Eats.

You can also watch this video on YouTube of Peter Rheinhart demonstrating the technique.

Wait 15 minutes after the first stretch and fold and then do it again. Repeat. After the third stretch and fold, cover the container tightly and place in the fridge overnight.

The next day, pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees with a baking stone on the middle rack if you have a stone. Don’t worry about it if you don’t, the bread will still be wonderful baked on a sheet pan.

Remove the dough from the fridge and let it warm up at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Divide the dough in half on a lightly floured surface. Shape into oval logs and place on a peel or a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Sprinkle caraway seeds over each loaf and press them in lightly. Slash tops of the loaves diagonally three times with a sharp knife. Cover the loaves with a clean tea towel or paper towels. Let them rise for 30 minutes.  

Slide the loaves onto the stone or place the baking sheet in the oven. After 5 minutes, turn the oven down to 400 degrees. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the loaves sound hollow when you thump them.

Remove from the oven. If you feel like some dill flavor, mix 1 teaspoon dill pollen with 2 tablespoons of melted butter and brush over the loaves. Cool.

Smoked Cheddar Chili Bread

The wonderful folks over at Marx Foods kindly sent me some Dried Puya Chilies for our Marx Foods challenge. I opened the bag and inhaled their aroma. Fruity and spicy and such a pretty color--a deep crimson red. What to make? Then it came to me. That’s it, of course! Bread! I love to bake bread. I’ve been baking a lot of breads with cheese of late, and chilies and cheese go so well together, it seemed to be the way to go.

The aroma of this bread is incredible. I brought a freshly baked loaf into work and was practically dancing as I said, “You’ve got to smell this bread!” 

Smoked Cheddar Chili Bread
by Diana Horst

2 dried Marx Foods Dried Puya Chilies, about 1/8 ounce or 1 teaspoon once they’re ground
2 cloves blanched garlic, minced
¾ teaspoon Mexican oregano
2 ½ cups water, divided
1 1/2 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 cups bread flour
½ cup corn meal
1 ¾ teaspoons kosher salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

Lightly toast the chilies in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until they start to puff slightly. Remove from the heat and cool. Place the chilies in a coffee mill or spice mill and grind to a coarse powder. In a small bowl, mix the chilies with garlic, oregano and ¼ cup of hot water. Let stand for 10 minutes. 

Place 2 ¼ cups of cool water in the stand mixer bowl. Add the honey and yeast and mix together with a paddle attachment. Add the flour, cornmeal, salt and chili mixture. Mix on low speed for 3-4 minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes and then add the olive oil and grated cheeses and mix for 5 minutes on medium speed. Scoop out the dough and place in an oiled 9” x 13” plastic container. I like to use the rectangular container because it makes the next step easier, but you can use a bowl. Cover it tightly. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. 

Now we’re going to do the first of three “stretch and folds.” I think our very own Donna Currie explains it quite well over on Serious Eats.

You can also watch a video on YouTube of Peter Rheinhart demonstrating the technique (see the bottom of this post).

Wait for 15 minutes after the first stretch and fold and then do it again. Repeat. After the third stretch and fold, cover the container tightly and place in the fridge overnight. 

The next day, pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees with a baking stone on the middle rack if you have a stone. Don’t worry about it if you don’t, the bread will still be wonderful baked on a sheet pan.

Remove the dough from the fridge and let it warm up at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Divide the dough in half on a lightly floured surface. Shape into oval logs and place on a peel or a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal, or place the logs in an oiled baguette pan. Slash tops of the loaves diagonally three times with a sharp knife. Cover the loaves with a clean tea towel or paper towels. Let them rise for 30 minutes.

Slide the loaves onto the stone or place the baking sheet in the oven. After 5 minutes, turn the oven down to 400 degrees. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the loaves sound hollow when you thump them. Cool. 

This bread is excellent for sandwiches, toast or just for snacking on. My co-workers liked it with a bit of veggie cream cheese.

You can check out the chilies here!