Cocoa Bread with Stewed Yard Peaches

I couldn't seem to get enough of this dessert. The batter has a combination of flavors including; molasses, sugar, unsweetened cocoa and ground cinnamon. This creates a very interesting overall flavor to the bread.

I used frozen peaches for the stewed topping. This sugar and water with the peaches, warmed and served over the top makes a tasting finish. Then I completed the presentation with a splash of whip cream and dash of cinnamon. This recipe was highly complimented and requested again soon!

Mary Carole Battle's Mother's Wacky Cake

The history of this cake was fascinating. It was created during WWII when dairy products were scarce and was an answer to wartime desperate homemakers. This recipe involves no butter, no eggs, and no milk. The books says that the Seven-Minute Frosting takes more time to make than the cake itself. I would concur.

The frosting turned out wonderful and successful. I feel that I could make a Seven-Minute Frosting now at the "drop of a hat." The key is adding cream of tartar to the mix so the granular sugar crystals cannot "reconnect" and turn the frosting back to sugar. I also have discovered that White Karo Syrup will keep the frosting from doing the same. A great chemical discovery thanks to the inter-net.

The cake is simple. The frosting is complicated to make according to my colleagues. However, the two opposites combined were enjoyable from all the comments in the office.

Hearty Ham and Cabbage Chowder

I made this in celebration of St. Patrick's Day and acknowledging the Irish. It was simple to make had a variety of vegetables. The ketchup and brown sugar resulted in a sweet flavor in the chowder. It was not one of my favorites and serve due to the very sweet flavor. I'll save this for the desserts!

For the recipe click here!

Chocolate Pound Cake

I really like this cake for a chocolate delight. It went into the bundt pan easily and a came out easily. I added an extra 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa to the batter because it just didn't look rich enough in flavor to my taste. Also, I topped the cake with a chocolate ganache before serving to the office. This made it an incredible chocolate experience for everyone. I would use this recipe for any chocolate cake I serve in the future. It was dense and delightful!

30 Minute Minestrone Soup

I found this recipe in the book because the ingredients just happen to be in the refrigerator at the time, except for the spinach and beef broth required to complete the task. I did have some basil leaves on hand, so I used these instead of the spinach, and cut into small pieces. I also had chicken broth in the cupboard, so this went into the soup rather than the beef broth. I found these to be easy substitutions and created a wonderful flavored soup. I used 10 basil leaves for the amount of spinach and equal amount of chicken broth as called for in the recipe. The broth of the soup had a sweet and savory taste.

I would do it again, the exact same way!

For the recipe click here!

ATF Gingerbread

This cake was interesting to all in the office. Once they tasted the cake, gingerbread desserts went high on the charts. The texture and color of this cake was wonderful, so dense and dark, and easy to cut into perfect squares for serving. The book cautions that crystallized ginger is expensive. You're not kidding on this one! A member of the office staff found a recipe on the inter-net for making this topping, so there is a less expensive route to go if you don't mind peeling ginger root. This approach would just take more time, but save you money.

The cream cheese frosting recipe made the cake incredible to eat. Someone commented that it tasted like ice cream topping, so smooth and flavorful. If you are not into cutting out gingerbread cookies, here is a sure way to get the same effect with a cake!

Acorn Squash Soup

I used two acorn squash for this recipe. I found it to be just barley enough to make the three cups required for the soup mixture. Once I had put all the ingredients together, I chose NOT to put it in the blender and puree the contents, but rather used a potato masher to smooth out the contents of the soup. I really liked it this way. The curry and dill spices together was a nice change to standard squash soup recipes.

Do not, I mean, do not forget to put the crumbled bacon pieces on top of the soup before eating. This small touch of flavor and texture made the soup a winner!

For the recipe click here!

Dorie Greenspan's Rum Drenches Vanilla Cake

When this recipe was named "rum drenches vanilla cake," that is exactly what it is, and nothing more. It seemed plain to me, so I finished off the recipe by creating a powder sugar glaze with rum flavoring and drenched the cakes for an added punch of taste.