1 cup pumpkin

2 T. canola oil

1/2 cup sugar

2 tea. cinnamon

1 tea. nutmeg

1 tea. ginger

1/2 tea. cloves

1 1/2 cup unbleached flour

1 1/2 cup mixed flours (equal parts soy, corn, oat, barley, brown rice flours plus flax seed meal)

5 tea.  baking powder

enough milk to make moderately thick batter

Combine all ingredients and fry on hot griddle. Great with carmelized bananas or with  homemade cranberry sauce and maple syrup

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2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1 cup buttermilk

2 cups of rhubarb
1 tbsp. flour

Topping:
1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup butter

Dice rhubarb and toss with 1 tbsp. flour. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar, then add egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour and soda, then add to creamed mixture along with buttermilk. Stir just to combine well. Fold in rhubarb. Pour batter into a greased 9×9 baking dish.
Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 degrees to 45 minutes.

In a small sauce or fry pan melt butter and sugar. Add sherry, stirring until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbly-not long at all. Add nuts and fruit and stir to coat.

Place round of brie in a glass pie plate and top with the fruit/nut mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven until top is browned and side is soft. Ascertain this by pressing your finger on the side of the brie. If you bake too long it will be runny and we don’t want that. Also the temperature is not crucial, so if you are baking something else at another temperature the brie will do just fine as long as you keep an eye on it. Serve with crackers or thinly sliced dense french bread. I am telling you, people love it and will be ever so impressed until you give them the recipe and they see how easy it is.

Possible combos:
Dates/walnuts
Cranberries/pecans (my personal favorite)
Apricots/almonds
Golden raisins/almonds
We made it for a wine tasting recently and did a combo of crans, dates and apricots because that is what we had on hand. Worked just great.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup lemon juice-preferably meyer
at least one T. lemon zest

Melt butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Remove from heat and add sugar. Let it cool a minute or two. Whisk in eggs, then lemon juice and zest. Return to medium heat and cook until bubbly, whisking very frequently. Do not overcook. Curd will thicken further as it cools. You can store it refrigerated for up to one week or more but it is unlikely it will last that long.

2 cups unbleached flour
3 T. sugar
2 tea. baking powder
1/2 tea. baking soda
a dash of nutmeg
a couple of teaspoons of orange or lemon zest-I usually use lemon
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Beat egg into buttermilk and pour over the dry ingredients, mixing with a fork. Turn dough onto a floured board and knead briefly. Form into a 7inch circle and cut into wedges. Bake on an ungreased sheet at 350 for 12-15 minutes. If using convection oven set at 330.

2 eggs
½ cup whole milk
1 tea. vanilla
Thick cut whole grain bread-or Challah if Susie is coming

Beat the eggs, milk, and vanilla in a shallow dish-a pie plate works well. Dip each side of the bread (I scrape off the excess with the side of a fork as not too much egg is my preference). Cook over medium heat in a skillet which has been sprayed with cooking spray or oiled lightly. Sprinkle the “up” side with cinnamon before turning.

Now, what to put on top?
· Pear-Ginger Syrup. Serve with smoked chicken & apple sausage off the barbeque.
· Top with a wedge of baked brie and pass maple syrup. Bacon on the side.
· Top with a freshly baked fruit crisp and pass maple syrup. Bacon on the side.
· Brandied Apple Syrup and Sugared Pecans. Pork sausage links on the side.

Caramel:
Place ½ cup sugar sprinkled with 2 tea. water in a shallow pan. Mix sugar with a fork until evenly moistened and place over medium high heat. Heat sugar until dissolved and caramelized. Rotate pan to help dissolve sugar but do not stir. Quickly transfer caramel to baking dish(es), rotating to cover bottom but not sides of baking dish. Pour custard mixture into dish(es) and place in a pan of water. I use a convection oven and bake it at 330 degrees until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool, then refrigerate overnight. To serve, run a sharp knife around sides of baking dish and invert onto plate. Serve with whipped cream. I like to add a bit of Grand Marnier or other liqueur to the cream when whipping. Incredible!!!!

Note: I use two glass loaf pans set in a 10×13 baking dish. Any arrangement that gives the custard a depth of 1 ½ to 2 inches would be fine. The water should be about the same depth.
2nd Note: If you aren’t used to using real pumpkin you should try it. Grow or buy pie pumpkins-the meat has a nicer texture. They will keep quite a while in a cool dry place. Clean the seeds and stringies out, cut into big chunks and microwave in a glass dish covered with plastic wrap until quite tender. Cool, then mash or puree. You will be amazed at how much better it is. You can also freeze the cooked pumpkin if you are not going to use it all within a few days.

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tea. baking powder
1/2 tea. salt 1/2 tea. nutmeg
½ cup milk
Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, then dry ingredients. Pour milk over and stir to moisten. Place equal amounts of batter over rhubarb. Bake at 350 degrees 20-25 min.