Daring Bakers' Challenge: Doughnuts

The October 2010 Daring Bakers Challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up.  Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts.  She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

I’d never made doughnuts before and I have to say they were a lot easier to make than I thought they would be.  I used the Alton Brown yeast doughnut recipe.  That way I was sure to have light doughnuts without having to use eggs and they were perfect.  Since this was my first try at making doughnuts, I didn’t play around with fancy flavors.  Next time!

Red Rice Pilaf

I love this red rice.  It’s a handcrafted heirloom rice that has been grown in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan for thousands of years.  Because the rice is irrigated with mineral rich glacier water, it’s got significant amounts of magnesium and potassium.  It’s high in fiber, has a wonderful nutty flavor and only takes 20 minutes to cook.   I prefer it over brown rice and it makes a very tasty pilaf.   

Pumpkin Harvest

It’s October which means it’s time to harvest pumpkins.  This year we grew our pumpkins in a shared garden with our neighbors, I wrote about it on August 28.  I harvested four pumpkins today and three of these mutant delicata squash.  

I’m not sure why the squash grew round like a pumpkin, but I have several theories.  My best guess is that the seed I used from a squash that I bought was a hybrid and it reverted back to whatever it was originally.  My second guess is that it cross pollinated with the pumpkins.  They’re a little stringy for eating (I baked one) but they’re very pretty.  I may have to turn it into a jack o lantern for Halloween!

Crispy Apple Roast

I got a few dozen free apples yesterday, and I couldn’t decide what to do with them.  I wanted to make a dessert, but I’ve been eating a lot of sugar, flour and fat lately, more that I care to eat, or should be eating.  I wanted to make a tasty little treat without all the calories.  I was pouring over my cookbooks when I remembered this recipe I’d saved online from Martha Stewart.  It’s a recipe for a potato roast.

I loved the presentation and thought that I could make this with apples instead of potatoes.  No flour, very little fat and maple syrup as the sweetener.