Amish Pretzels.......toaster oven style

 Desperate for an oven...we have turned to using a toaster oven, off and on. Now, chuckle if you want....yes it's NOT an oven ( sigh), that much is clear (sigh), but it makes do, in a pinch. Morgan wanted to try the recipe for Amish Pretzels.....and so she  apprehended the toaster oven, and proceeded to try it out. They weren't as risen as much as desired, and not quite as brown, but that need to bake was appeased and for a time there was a wonderful smell of fresh bread, wafting through the house......toaster oven style.

 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar                                                       Preheat toaster oven to 400 degrees
pinch coarse salt                                                          you may have to add extra time
3/4 warm water                                                                to get them to bake.
1 3/4 cup bread flour            (425 degrees if using a wonderful, lovely oven)

1 large egg for brushing
coarse salt for sprinkling

Mix all together until a dough forms. Divide kneaded ball of dough into  pieces and twist into pretzel shapes. Place on baking sheet. Beat the egg, and brush over pretzels on greased pan.

 Sprinkle with coarse salt.

 Slide into toaster oven. If using an incredibly fabulous oven, that has lots of room you can doublwe this recipe. (Sigh.....would someone please describe what it is like to have an oven......mine is being shipped by donkey freight from Mexico....supposed to arrive in the next month)

Let cool on rack, and enjoy. Someday I will have an oven again, and then watch out for a bake off....a frezy of flour and eggs......until then, we will be playing with the toaster oven,and watching itsy bitsy buns appear ( insert laugh track here)..............

Something else to make when you don't have an oven...

Still the oven   is not here.......shouldn't compl.ain, but I miss it. I use the oven all the time, for almost everything.......this I do in the crock pot. Made a Vegetarian ravioli soup with leftover veggies, veggie broth, herbs of all types and it was yummmy. Don't recommend it for  freezing, but then again there aren't many leftovers.........to use up more leftovers in the freezer, I brought out a meatloaf, broke it into bits and piled it onto bowl. Some of us like it as a vegetarian dish......great way to use up the meatloaf.

More Things to Make without an oven....TRAIL MIX

 Hmmmmm,no oven, what to do, what to do................I know, make some trail mix....don't have the biggest bulk food selection here in town, but enough to find and mix up. went to the local store and picked up bags of nuts, mixed with raisins, fruit, etc, bags of mini chocolate chips, small pieces of ginger, dried cranberries, etc. And then more chocolate chips.........you see where I am going with this....

I mixed it in the mixing bowl, then bagged it in snack baggies and put most of them in another big ziploc bag before shoving into the freezer. Great for grabbing on the way out the door .......and the chocolate is great......but so are the nuts, and raisins, and all ther ingredients....but the chocolate is the best part....

Ice Cream Sundays.......

What do make for dessert when the oven is broken.........mmmmmmmm, yummy........how about classic vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce ( homemade) drowning over the side......maybe we can just live on these, and never get the oven fixed. Now THERE'S an idea....... I think this hot chocolate sauce is the best. Not too sweet, full dark chocolate flavour, and doesn't seem to last long.

Dark Chocolate Sauce

2/3 cup cocoa
2/3  or more, skim milk, or water
Tablespoon or so of brandy/sherry/whiskey ( if you have it on hand)(This goes INTO the mixture, not into you!)
1/2 cup brown sugar plus 2 tblsp.
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
1/4 cup corn syrup

Cook in saucepan on top of stove, stirring the ENTIRE time, or the concoction may burn, will it becomes bubbly. Immediately , take off stove and pour into glass container with lid and let cool. or use right away. Can be heated up in microwave  for later use. Store in fridge.

When the oven is Broken.......make Kitchen Sink Soup

My oven is on the fritz, frazzled, dead, gone , kicked the bucket. A couple of the burners work, however. The nice appliance man told me it would be May 5th before the oven was in the wearhouse, and ten days to two weeks till it came by mule train to Flannel City.......so no oven ,what to do about supper.
   Had to make something in a hurry tonight, so got creative and made Kitchen Sink Soup. Grabbed some noodles, a can of beans, a can of minestrone, fresh veggies, leftover broth,leftover tomoatoes,  a sprinkle of sugar to take off the acidic taste of tomatoes....and prestpo, a quick soup. I'd made Hot cross buns the week before the oven died, and frozen a great big batch, so split them up and served them alongside. Not fancy but awfully good.
   Now, the trick will be to be able to make something every night.........kind of fun. But, I must admit I am beginning to have baking withdrawal...........somebody pass me the baking powder.....

ALMOND KISSED HOT CROSS BUNS

 I always thought my mum's hot cross buns were good. But these are far better. They are lighter, have cranberries instead of fruitcake peel, and the dough rises like a ghost in a flour factory.The recipe comes from "The French Loaf" in Colombus , Ohio, and are award winning. Crosses on top are the type of pastry cross you see in very good bakeries. I like it much better than any other kind I've tested.

3/4 cup dried cranberries soaked in hot water          Crosses: 1/2 cup marg
/4 cup sugar          pinch salt                                                    2 tablsp icing sugar
1/2 cup margarine melted                                                         1 egg
1/2 tsp gr. cinnamon                                                                 1/4cup water
2 eggs. plus 1 egg yolk                                                             1 1/2 tsp vanilla
6 to 6 1/2 cups flour                                                                  1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/4 cups warm water                                                               1 cup flour
4 1/2 tsps quick rising yeast

 Soak cranberries in hot water,then drain. Meanwhile get the batter started.....
ombine sugar, margarine, salt, cinnamon, eggs, egg yolk, warm water, then toss in cranberries. Add 4 cups flour and beat till well combine. Add rest of flour till you have a soft dough.

 Knead dough and place in greased bowl to rise....about an hour.I will be very poofy and soft.

 Tear dough into balls. This batch made about 30 or so. Let rise on top of warming oven till doubld. Meanwhile, make cross batter, by combining everything on cross list. Should be very slippery.

 Place in a sanwich bag. Snip one of the corners, so you can use it as a piping bag.

 Pipe crosses on every dough ball. Then bake at 375 degrees for about16-18 minutes. They tend to bake quickly, so watch.

These can be brushed with softened butter to keep the outside soft. Lovely. Only a hint of almond, just right, as I am not a big fan of almond extract, but this is lovely. Wonderful for Good Friday, but good any time. Freeze the leftovers, if there are any.

Black Rainbow ice Tea

 April 5, 2012! Finally feels like spring. Could not resist making real ice tea, with a twist. it's actually a variation of the Black ice Tea lemonade that Starbuck's sells ( but why give them the business, when you can make the exact same thing!)

BLACK RAINBOW ICE TEA
5 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 can PINK lemonade
Pitcher ( not crystal) full of ice
3 tea bags ( not the herbal stuff.....plain old tea, decaf if you must)

Place sugar, can of lemonade  and tea bags on bottom of pitcher. Top up with ice. Boil water, then pour over ice. Let sit to steep. Do not stir, untl you want to serve. It will have a rainbow effect. This is wonderful stuff. I make it all the time. I am lucky enough to have an ice tea maker which will boil the water and dip into the pitcher  on command.  This also good to just use sparingly in a glass of ice water. Gives the water a lift.

Amish Applesauce Bread

This is really diffeent. It can either be served as a cake, or as a bread, it is not overly sweet, contains no eggs, and has a wonderful fall taste.......

AMISH APPLESAUCE BREAD ( or CAKE)
1 cup sugar
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup milk
2 cups applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp gr. cinnamon
1/2 tsp gr. nutmeg
1/2 tsp gr. allspice
pinch coarse salt

Combine all together, but do not overmix.; leave batter lumpy. Pile into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Leave plain, or sprinkle with icing sugar. Serve with supper dishes, if you wish, or as a snack. Will keep for about 3 days in a sealed container.