The White House Garden in Winter

Feb. 14, 2012 - PRLog -- FOR RELEASE WEDNESDAY, FEB 15

Just because winter is still here doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with canned peas and frozen hotdogs until spring. Make sure you get your fruits and vegetables all year long by incorporating fresh produce appropriate to the season and taking a page from “A White House Garden Cookbook” by Clara Silverstein, a remarkable chronicle of the new White House Garden with a wheelbarrow of presidential recipes (like the White House Orange Yogurt Cake – recipe below).

When Michelle Obama decided to overhaul and expand the White House garden dramatically, it was important to make sure that the garden grew delicious, healthy food all year round. She also wanted to emphasize that living green can often mean eating local, and she encouraged all Americans to become locavores. In order to keep growing food throughout the winter, the master White House gardeners use a series of “hoop houses” to cheaply provide shelter from the snow and frigid temperatures, besting even the “Snowmageddon” blizzard that hit Washington DC in February of 2010.

This winter, in celebration of President’s Day and the enduring White House garden, Red Rock Press is ecstatic to announce that the eBook of “A White House Garden Cookbook” is now more available than ever for every tablet and digital reader. The eBook can now be purchased through Amazon.com, BN.com, the iTunes store, and Red Rock Press online.

Even better, Red Rock Press is offering an exclusive discount on both the eBook and the deluxe soft cover edition. The eBook is just $6.39, and the soft cover edition is selling for an unprecedented 60% off list price for just $9.99, only at http://redrockpress.com/delicious.html#whiteHouseCookbook and http://www.CommunityGardenRecipes.com. No one else has these deals, so make sure you get it while it’s still hot (or cold, as it were) for a maximum discount. For more information, visit http://redrockpress.com/delicious.html#whiteHouseCookbook, call 212-362-8304, or email Daniel@RedRockPress.com.

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White House Orange Yogurt Cake with Baked Apples
Makes 1 (8 inch round) cake

Cake:
Unsalted butter, as needed for the baking pan
1 large navel orange, cut into 8 wedges
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of coarse salt
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 large egg
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon pure (not imitation) vanilla extract
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Baked apples:
4 red apples, such as Macoun or McIntosh
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 whole vanilla bean, scraped
2 tablespoons golden raisins

For the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-by-2-inch round cake pan with butter. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. Line the pan with the parchment paper and grease the parchment paper with butter.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Cut the orange into 8 wedges and remove the seeds. Add the orange to the water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain the water. Refill the saucepan with another 4 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Add the orange wedges and boil again for 5 minutes.
3. While the orange is boiling, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ½ cup of the sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, carefully remove the orange wedges from the boiling water and place them in a bowl. Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar to the boiling water. Cook, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Return the orange wedges to the boiling water and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Drain the water in a colander in the sink.
5. Place the orange wedges in the bowl of a food processor, along with, ¼ cup of the yogurt, the orange zest, egg, honey and vanilla. Process until well combined. Add the flour mixture and process again until combined.
6. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Place in the oven and bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
7. While the cake is baking, in a small saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice, confectioners’ sugar, and remaining ¼ cup of yogurt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Let boil until glaze is thickened, about 3 minutes.
8. Place a wire rack on top of a sheet of parchment paper. Remove the cake from the oven and flip over the pan so the cake comes out onto the rack. Remove the parchment paper round from the top. Pour the glaze over the cake. Let it stand until the glaze is absorbed. Place on a serving plate and serve with sliced baked apples.

For the apples:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a sharp knife, cut into the stem end of each apple to remove the core, but do not cut all the way through the apple. Its shape should be left intact.
2. In each of 4 jumbo-size muffin pan cups, evenly divide the butter, honey, and vanilla bean seeds. Place an apple in each prepared muffin pan cup. Stuff each apple with about 1 ½ teaspoons of raisins.
3. Cover each of the apples with a sheet of parchment paper, then place a sheet of aluminum foil on top. Scrunch the foil to secure it around the apple.
4. Bake until the apples are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Spoon the juices over the apples before serving.