Thursday, 1 January 2015
July marks the beginning of the apple season here. The brightly striped Gravensteins are the first to

Applesauce Spice Cake Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 40 minutes Yield: Serves 6 to 8.
Ingredients 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 3 large eggs 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup applesauce 1/4 cup plain yogurt diluted a bit with milk, or 1/4 cup of buttermilk 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts 1/2 cup raisins
Method
1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter and flour an 8-in square baking pan, set aside.
2 Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
3 In an electric mixer, beat butter until light, add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Add the vanilla and the applesauce and beat until smooth.
4 Mix in half of the dry ingredients. Just before they are blended, add the thinned yogurt (or buttermilk). Then mix in the rest of the dry ingredients and the nuts and raisins, until completely incorporated. Do not over-mix.
5 Pour out the batter into your prepared cake pan. Place in the middle rack of the 375°F oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until done. The cake should spring back to the touch, and a toothpick or thin skewer should come out clean after being inserted in various spots in the middle of the cake. Remove the cake from the oven. Let cool for 15 minutes. Then invert to cool completely on a rack.
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Recipe adapted from Kitchen Senseby Mitchell Davis.
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Thursday, 11 December 2014
Have you noticed the brightly colored bell peppers in the market lately? They’re glorious. Here’s a quick

Peperonata Recipe
Yield: Serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients 1/4 cup olive oil 2 red bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2 to 3-inch long strips 2 yellow bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2 to 3-inch long strips 2 orange or green bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2 to 3-inch long strips 1 large onion, sliced into half-moons 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon sugar 4-5 Roma or other plum tomatoes, seeded and diced Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup fresh basil, leaves torn roughly Lemon juice
Method
1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add the onions. Sprinkle with a little salt and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until the onions just begin to color.
2 Add the peppers and stir well to combine with the onions. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. The peppers should be al dente—cooked, but with a little crunch left in them.
3 Add the garlic, and sauté another 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle a little more salt over everything and add the sugar and dried oregano. Cook 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes, and cook just one minute further.
4 Turn off the heat and mix in the torn basil. Grind some black pepper over everything. Right before serving squeeze a little lemon juice over the dish.
Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on Simply Recipes. Thank you!
Links:
Peperonata with Potatoesfrom Alanna of A Veggie Venture
Lavash Crackers with Peperonatafrom The Italian Dish
Angelina’s Peperonatafrom Memorie di Angelina

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