Cinnamon Rolls (Breakfast Bible)

This is far from the first cinnamon roll recipe that I've made. But... I hadn't made this recipe yet. And I had the (digital) cookbook with me in NZ. And I needed something for breakfast. I mean, this isn't the healthiest option and should probably be more of a dessert, especially if you include the icing. So, definitely not something to indulge in often, but a nice treat once-in-a-while.

Cinnamon Rolls

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 c. milk
• 100g sugar
• 75g butter, melted
• 3 large eggs
• 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
• 620g all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Filling

• 100g brown sugar
• 90g butter, softened
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Topping

• cream cheese icing

Directions

1. Combine the milk, sugar, butter, eggs, and yeast.
2. Add ~550g of the flour and mix well.
3. Gradually add salt and more flour until a very soft dough forms.
4. Knead the dough, gradually adding in more flour as necessary, until smooth and supple (~10 minutes).
5. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a covered bowl to rise (1 1/2-2 hours).
6. Meanwhile, beat the brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon until combined.
7. Knock back the dough and roll it out into a large (35x40cm) rectangle.
8. Spread the filling evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving a 2-3cm border along the longer sides.
9. Starting with a long side, roll up the dough, jelly-roll-style.
10. Pinch the edges to seal the seam.
11. Cut the rolled dough crosswise into 8 or 9 equal slices.
12. Grease a 23x33cm (9x13") pan.
13. Arrange the rolls in the prepared pan, cover, and let rise (60-90 minutes at room temperature; up to 12 hours in the fridge).
14. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
15. Uncover and bake at 180°C (350°F) until golden brown (~30 minutes).
16. Let cool in pan for ~15 minutes.
17. Meanwhile, make the icing.
18. Spread the icing over the rolls.
19. Allow to rest for another 15 minutes before serving.

I've made cakes that rely on dates for sugar and/or flavour before, but this is the first time I've used prunes for that purpose. It works really well though! Especially with all the spices.

My mom shared this recipe with me. And we both agreed that it didn't need anywhere near the full amount of sugar or oil called for. She also omitted the glaze. It seemed unnecessary given how sweet and rich the cake already was.

The original recipe called for 1 1/2 c. of sugar and 1 c. of oil. My mom cut the sugar back to 1 1/4 c. the first time she made it. And cut the oil all the way back to 1/4 c. (adding 1 c. of applesauce to make up for the missing oil).

I scaled back the sugar even further, to 1 c. I still found the cake plenty sweet enough. You could probably knock the sugar back even further if you were so inclined. And I would be tempted to swap out some or all of the granulated sugar with brown sugar next time. I think that the slight molasses flavour of the brown sugar would go really well with the fruit and spices.

Prune Cake

Slightly adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 c. pitted prunes, chopped
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. allspice berries, ground
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 c. oil
• 3/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. pecans, chopped

Directions

1. Bring the prunes and water to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Combine the flour, sugar, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
4. Sift in the baking soda and stir to combine.
5. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a Bundt pan.
6. Combine the oil, applesauce, buttermilk, and eggs and mix well.
7. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.
8. Mix in the prunes along with any residual liquid.
9. Stir in the pecans.
10. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
11. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until done (~45 minutes).
12. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

I'm taking a te reo Maaori course! It's awesome. I mean, I am hopelessly out of my depth, but I'm also learning a lot about Maaori culture and worldview, which is very exciting!

Anyway, the instructor suggested that folks might want to bring some biscuits or something to have during the break (since it's a 3-hour evening class). Since I had the oven on for polenta anyway, I decided to whip up a quick batch of oatmeal-raisin cookies to take and share with the class.

I used a slightly modified version of the recipe from Dessert of the Day for these. The only real change I made was to reduce the sugar. One-and-a-half cups sounded like way too much to me! In the end, I decided to put in the full cup of brown sugar, but omit the half cup of granulated sugar that the recipe called for. And, honestly, I probably could've cut the brown sugar back slightly as well. I mean, they were prefectly tasty this way, but I definitely wouldn't've wanted them any sweeter and I think they still would've been just fine with a little less sugar. So, follow your heart on this one. I'd say anything in the 3/4 c. to 1 c. range is probably good.

I also omitted the salt since I was using salted butter rather than the unsalted that the recipe called for. Obviously that's something that you can adjust as you see fit depending on your personal preference and the ingredients you have to hand. It's not super critical either way.

Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 180g flour
• 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground (optional)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. rolled oats
• 1 1/2 c. raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
2. Beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes).
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. Mix in the vanilla.
5. Sift in the flour, cinnamon, salt (if using), and baking powder and stir to combine.
6. Mix in the oats, followed by the raisins.
7. Spoon onto the prepared baking sheet. (Should make ~2 dozen cookies.)
8. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until set, but still soft (12-15 minutes).
9. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.

Haleem (Minty Beef with Cracked Wheat and Lentils)

This was a while ago. Do I remember any details of the meal? I do not, except that it was tasty.

The recipe as written calls for cracked wheat and a lengthy pre-soak period. We made it with extra coarse bulgur and skipped the pre-soak, with good results. Note that even if you're making it with bulgur, there's still a long marination phase for the meat -- start early!

Haleem

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer (p. 175)

Ingredients

• 450g stewing beef
• 30mL ginger paste
• 1mL garlic paste
• 120mL moong dal (skinned split green lentils)
• 120mL masoor dal (skinned split brown lentils)
• 120mL extra coarse bulgur
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 60mL canola oil
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 black cardamom pods
• 8-10 fresh green Thai chilis, stems removed, bisected lengthwise
• 1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1½ tsp Kashmiri garam masala
• 120mL finely chopped fresh mint
• 120mL finely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine beef, ginger paste, and garlic paste in a bowl. Toss until coated, then refrigerate, covered, for 6-8 hours.
2. Rinse the lentils, if needed.
3. In a large saucepan, combine the lentils (drained), bulgur, and 1L water.
4. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Skim off foam.
5. Stir in turmeric, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and bulgur are tender, 20-25 minutes. Set aside.
6. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat.
7. Add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, and cardamom pods. Cook until they crackle and the cinnamon swells, ~30 seconds.
8. Add chilis and onion. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until the onion has released its liquid and begins to brown, 15-20 minutes.
9. Uncover and stir-fry until the onion is reddish-brown with purple highlights, 5-10 minutes.
10. Add the beef cubes and marinade. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, until the meat browns, 12-15 minutes.
11. Add 240mL water and the garam masala and bring to a boil.
12. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until fork-tender, 15-20 minutes.
13. Add the lentil-bulgur mix and their liquid. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the flavours mingle, 10-15 minutes.
14. Remove from heat, stir in the mint and cilantro, and serve.

---

This recipe got significantly overhauled by symbol. As written, there's too much broth for our quinoa, so that got reduced; the spices got tweaked and oil reduced, too.

For the final "drizzle with oil" step, the original recipe calls for ¼ C of olive oil. We had just made this tagine, and it produced lots of grease; we ended up skimming off about ¼ C of the sauce, of which maybe ¾ were grease. I've approximated this with schmaltz here. If you want to keep it vegetarian, use a reduced quantity of olive oil.

Moroccan-Spiced Roasted Vegetables and Quinoa

Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 50)

Ingredients

• 3 large parsnips (or 6 small ones), peeled and cut into 1cm pieces
• 2 large carrots (or 4 small ones), peeled and cut into 1cm pieces
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ras el hanout
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp grease + 1 tbsp other sauce bits
• 1½ C chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 C quinoa, rinsed
• ¼ C dried apricots, quartered
• 3 tbsp slivered almonds, toasted
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2-3 tbsp schmaltz or other oil for drizzling

Directions

1. Toss parsnips and carrots with oil, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, ras el hanout, salt, and pepper.
2. Arrange on a baking sheet and roast at 400°F until vegetables are tender and starting to caramelize, 35-40 minutes
3. Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan.
4. Add the quinoa, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, 12-15 minutes.
5. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl. Top with vegetables, apricots, almonds, and parsley.
6. Drizzle over schmaltz and serve.

Koromb wa Safarjal (Baked Red Cabbage with Quince & Walnuts)

We've started making use of the Lebanese cookbook, and made this as a side dish to go with a rice and lentil main that is also due for a writeup. The recipe as written calls for quince, which we almost never have, but you can swap in apples 1:1 and get good results.

The kidlet was not a fan, unfortunately, but symbol and I both liked it.

Koromb wa Safarjal

Lebanese Food & Cooking, p. 133

Ingredients

• 1 red cabbage, quartered, cored, and chopped into bite-size pieces
• ¼+¼ C butter, melted and divided
  
• 1+1 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
  
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp pomegranate molasses
• 2 quinces, cored and sliced into wedges
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp walnuts, roughly chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Arrange cabbage in a greased lasagna dish and pour over half the butter.
3. Toss with 1 tsp cinnamon, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and pomegranate molasses.
4. Cover the dish with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the tinfoil (carefully) and top with quinces.
6. Sprinkle over sugar, walnuts, and remaining cinnamon.
7. Re-cover and bake for another 20 minutes.
8. Remove tinfoil and bake for 10 more minutes, until lightly browned.