Andrea is having fun baking away from home in double ovens she’s calling “auxiliary ovens,” which are two ovens side-by-side. Her latest bake in the auxiliary oven involved making Smitten Kitchen’s Blueberry Crumb Bars, which she pre-mixed at home into a homemade box mix to take along on a vacation. These bars turned out GREAT and serve double duty as a lovely leftover breakfast pastry item the next day.
Listeners: Our anniversary is fast approaching. Let us know which Preheated recipe you’ve most enjoyed during our first year of broadcasting. Jalapeno Cheddar Scones? Texas Sheet Cake? Drop us a line at hosts@preheatedpodcast.com, or post on our Facebook group.
On to recipe review! Our hosts are reviewing the Sugar Cookie Bars from Together as a Family introduced last week. Stefin found the new food coloring she purchased in London was naturally based, using beets to create red, and spirulina for green. Stefin recommends underbaking the bars (the recipe says 10-15 minutes) and Andrea found this successful as well with a 12 minute bake. Both our hosts thought this recipe was tasty, easy, and they held up well over several days, so it’s great bake-ahead item. Andrea decided to tint hers purple instead of pink…feel free to mix up your frosting and sprinkles to match the season!
Next up is a recipe for Lemon Drizzle Cake. Stefin remembers a delicious, intense version of this cake she enjoyed while attending Stephens College in Missouri. Our hosts will use a recipe from Deliciously Vintage by Victoria Glass. We hope you’ll try this along with us – and don’t be daunted by the word “cake,” as this is more of a simple loaf-like sweet bread.
In the Preheated Book Club, Andrea recommended Faithful by Alice Hoffman, and 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith. She had to give a thumbs down to The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware because she is so annoyed that the main character uses “I’ve had too much to drink” as a main plot line in the mystery. Stefin persevered through all of the challenges associated with moving her library to London, and she really enjoyed Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld, a modern-day retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Cincinnati, Ohio. For some lighter reading, the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich and the Plumberry School of Comfort Food (what a great title!) by Cathy Bramley gave Stefin some much-needed relaxing tales with a serving of great food ideas alongside. Finally, Stefin is looking forward to Yesterday by Felicia Yap, who details a world in which people can only recall one or two days in the past (Andrea decides this isn’t fiction, but rather a representation of her regular life.)
Listeners, what were some of your favorite summer reads? What books are you looking forward to this fall?
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