Two (Almost) Mavens

Hoppin' Juan Collard Rolls with Garlic Sauce

2011-04-05T19:18:00.001-07:00

We had kind of an exciting weekend around here. It started with a potluck at the home of Rip Esselstyn, author of The Engine 2 Diet, where we got to meet some new and friendly faces, including Natala from Vegan Hope. She's such an inspiration! If you don't know her story, you really should check out her blog and get to know her. I'm glad I did!

While all the food at the potluck was healthy and delicious, I'm proud to say that the dishes I brought went fast, and not a lick was left! First was the hot artichoke dip with spinach recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, by Joanne Stepaniak, along with some homemade whole-wheat baguettes.

The other dish was a recipe I've adapted from the database at NutritionMD.org: Hoppin' Juan Collard Rolls with Garlic Sauce. I think it's fun to call it "Juan" instead of "John," because of my Tex-Mex twist to their standard Hoppin' John mix. Roll it all up in some steamed collard leaves and drizzle some creamy garlic sauce over the top, and it's a sure crowd-pleaser!

Another bad iPhone picture... sorry.

Hoppin' Juan Collard Rolls

Ingredients -
The largest leaves from 2-3 bunches of collards
2 cups cooked black-eyed peas, or 1 15 oz. can, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (short grain is best for this recipe, since it's stickier and won't fall as easily out of the rolls)
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 tomato, diced
2-4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
2 teaspoons minced garlic

First, steam the collard leaves in a large pot until they are tender and bright green. Be careful not to overcook them or the color will turn more grey-ish. Combine all the other ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

To make the rolls, lay one of the collard leaves out flat and cut out the bottom 1/4 of the thick stem - this will make it easier to make a tight roll. Place about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of bean-rice mixture on the collard leaf and roll up, burrito-style, folding in both ends tightly. Serve with the garlic sauce (below).

Garlic Sauce

Ingredients -
1 box silken tofu
Juice of 2 lemons
4 teaspoons minced garlic (or more, if desired)
salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until very smooth. Taste and adjust salt as necessary.

Vegetable Lo Mein with Tofu

2011-01-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

This dish is easy enough for a weeknight dinner (if you have about an hour), and it's also a great way to use up any vegetables you might have languishing in your refrigerator. In the dish pictured here, I used brussel sprouts, savoy cabbage, celery, and green onions, because those were the veggies we had that needed to be eaten.

The tofu is optional, I suppose, but I like how it provides some contrasting texture and flavor. The recipe would be even easier and faster if you either omit the tofu or happen to have baked tofu already in the refrigerator, and it would be quicker yet if you use any leftover bits of pre-cooked vegetables.

It's a hit with the whole family, and the less I have to cajole my kids into eating their vegetables, the better!

Vegetable Lo Mein with Tofu

1 lb firm tofu, drained and pressed (see directions below)
2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp (or less) sesame oil
8 oz. dry noodles (or about 4 cups cooked)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (dried ground ginger will work in a pinch - use about 1/2 tsp, and mix in with the sauce ingredients instead)
Assorted vegetables, about 4-5 cups total: maybe shredded carrot, sliced green onions, shredded cabbage, broccoli florets, sliced bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, etc.)
3-4 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 tsp sesame oil

To press the tofu: Slice tofu lengthwise into six pieces. Lay the slices on 2-3 layers of paper towel, and the place 2-3 more layers of paper towel on top. Place a cutting board on top, and then weigh down with a heavy skillet. I like to put something even a little heavier inside the skillet, like a couple of cans from the pantry, or my small water kettle filled with water. Let sit for 10-15 minutes, while the paper towels soak up the moisture that will be pressed out of the tofu.

Preheat the oven to about 425F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. When the tofu has been pressed, place the slices on the baking sheet. Dribble about 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1/2 tsp sesame oil over the tofu, and rub in with your fingers. Flip the tofu over, and repeat with another 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1/2 tsp sesame oil. If the tofu still has a few bare spots, dribble a little more soy sauce where needed.

Place the tofu in the hot oven, and bake until firm and nicely browned, flipping every 15 minutes or so. This might take 45 minutes to an hour, but this gives you plenty of time to leisurely prep the veggies and sauce.

When the tofu is finished and cool enough to handle, slice each piece crosswise into strips. Set aside.

Start cooking the noodles according to package directions, and then set aside when done.

Meanwhile, prep the vegetables you are using. Also mix together the 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce, the rice vinegar, the ketchup, and the remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil for the sauce.

When the tofu and noodles are ready, it is time to start cooking the vegetables. Using your largest skillet, heat over medium-high heat and spray lightly with cooking oil. Add the garlic and ginger and cook and stir for about one minute, then add the vegetables to the skillet and cook until crisp tender.

(If you have vegetables that require different cooking times, add them accordingly. For example, if you are using broccoli, shredded carrots, and cabbage, you will want to cook the broccoli for a few minutes before adding the faster cooking carrots and cabbage. If your carrots are sliced rather than shredded, you'll probably want to add them with the broccoli, before the cabbage.)

Now it's time to add the noodles. If they are sticky, give them a quick rinse to loosen, then add to the vegetables. Pour the sauce over the noodles and veggies, and then gently toss together. I like to use my tongs for tossing and turning the veggies and noodles together. Transfer the noodle and veggie mixture to a large serving bowl or platter, and then sprinkle the prepared tofu over the top.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Hello? Let me re-introduce ourselves...

2011-01-17T17:23:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

Is anyone still out there? Curious where we've been lately? It has been a long time!

Well, life happens... I know Beth has been insanely busy with graduate school, and I was preoccupied caring for my mother-in-law through the ups and downs of the lengthy process of her cancer treatments... you know, life happens.

The other issue that has kept me, at least, from feeling free to write about food and recipes here is that my family has been transitioning to a vegan diet. The reasons are many and varied, and the path has been interesting, but I finally feel like I'm settled into this new lifestyle and ready to talk food here.

Beth has also recently decided to move to a plant-based way of eating (yay!), so we plan to take this blog in a slightly different direction, and feature healthy, plant-strong foods and recipes.

I hope you'll stay with us, even if you are someone who currently enjoys your omnivorous diet. I'm eager to share the vast potential and deliciousness of food that does not contain animal-based ingredients. Most people unfamiliar with vegan foods get hung up on what you *can't* eat, but the possibilities are endlessly exciting when you actually think about what you *can* eat! There are so many fantastic foods to explore once you release yourself from the animal-based-foods box. Stick around and see for yourself!

So, with all that being said... new posts to come soon! See you then.

Tagliatelle

2010-08-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

I recently got a new book in the mail called The Lost Art of Real Cooking: Rediscovering the Pleasures of Traditional Food One Recipe at a Time by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger. Let me tell you, I have never actually read a cookbook from front to back before, but I devoured this book in just two days during a weekend camping trip. I couldn't wait to get home and try something from this collection, and so I made the first thing I could think of which I had all the ingredients for: tagliatelle, or in other words fresh pasta cut by hand. It doesn't get much simpler than flour, egg, salt, and water. I didn't even measure anything, the beauty of most of the instructions in this book is that you make things by instinct and feel, rather than precise measurements.

Basically, you just put some flour in a bowl (I used whole wheat flour), and an egg or two (depending on how eggy you want your pasta to be, or you could even omit the egg all together), a pinch of salt, and enough water to make a stiff dough that is not sticky. Start out by mixing it with a fork and adding the water a little at a time until you get the right consistency. Then turn the mixture out onto a floured wooden board or counter top and knead for five minutes. If time allows (if not, that's okay too), let the dough sit on the counter covered with the bowl for an hour.

When it's time for dinner, put a big pot of lightly salted water on the stove to boil, and in the meantime roll out the dough and cut it. You can roll it out however thick you like, and then with a sharp knife and using the rolling pin as a guide, cut out long strips of the dough. If you have a pizza cutter, it might come in handy. In my case, some of the strips stuck together, and I had to roll some of it out again. Perhaps I should have added a little more flour. I was worried that the dough would stick together when boiling, but miraculously none of them stuck together in the water.

I have to admit, I didn't have enough energy after the camping trip to make a trip to the store so I had to resort to using a jar of tomato sauce rather than the fresh tomato sauce they suggest in the book. After making fresh pasta, this felt sacrilege! But oh well, one thing at a time, right? The pasta itself was great, nothing like the dried noodles you buy in a box. I will definitely be adding this to my regular rotation.

Top with freshly shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, and serve with salad and a glass of wine.

Julie, I can't recommend this book enough, and it seems like something that would be right up your alley. It really has inspired me to consider trying things I never thought I would try in a million years. Like rabbit stew, roasting a whole pig on a spit fire, koji, or miso (which takes 12 months to ferment!).

Lost Time, and Time for LOST

2010-05-22T13:09:00.001-07:00

Oh, Beth... where has the time gone lately? I've missed you. Truthfully, it has been very difficult lately to find any motivation for inspired cooking, much less the time to write about it, between caring for my mother-in-law (who is picky and difficult to please with food, especially when she's not feeling well - which is more and more often these days) and the recent discovery that Analisa is intolerant to dairy. We l-o-v-e dairy around here, especially cheese, so that's been a really challenging adjustment to make.

It's been so long since I've written anything here. Would a cute picture of one of my kids with one of her recent play-do concoctions help make up for it? Here's Analisa with what she calls "Volcano Cake":

The recipe: "Some collard greens, a little bit of chocolate, some spices (like pesto), noodles, and that's pretty much all." Uh... yum...?

I guess I have managed to cook a little over the past few months. I've certainly thought about sharing a recipe here every now and then, I just... haven't. Hmmm, let me think about what we've eaten around here lately that has turned out pretty good, and maybe you can tell me if you're interested in any of the recipes.

Let's see: Cake balls? The-most-amazing-ever red velvet cupcakes? A highly adaptable cheesy (or cheese-less) vegetable soup (courtesy of a recipe from my good friend Tamra)? Dr. Seuss's Pink Ink Yink Drink? Mexican chilaquiles? (MIL liked that one.) Sesame-almond crusted tilapia? Strawberry and radish green salad with a honey-balsamic dressing?

Let me know if anything sounds good and/or interesting; I'd be happy to share the recipe. I might even be able to dig up a crappy iPhone picture to go with it.

In the meantime: are you ready for tomorrow night's LOST series finale??? I'm just not ready to let go yet. "We have to go back!" I wish we were having a big party and that you and Daniel were here to join us; sadly, it will be just Oscar and me, while we send the kids upstairs to watch movies (I figure they don't need Smokie-fueled nightmares). Still, we plan to see the show go out in style, with great food to match the occasion. Our menu includes LOST inspired dishes, such as Locke's Smoked "Wild Boar" Tenderloin, and Sun's Garden Fresh Salad with a Mango-Coconut dressing. I don't have actual recipes yet; I'm just planning to figure it out on the fly, but if everything turns out yummy, I'll certainly share recipes. What about you? Are you hosting a LOST shindig? What are you having?

We are still alive, promise.

2010-04-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh!

School has been way to crazy, I've been sick too much, I know Julie has been very busy, and it's been way too long since a post has been made. I have some rhubarb in my kitchen waiting for me to make something out of it, after I find my way out of all this end of semester school work...

Rhubarb recipe coming soon.

Cook Once, Eat All Week: My Turn

2010-02-23T11:05:00.001-08:00

(Please forgive the poor quality of all the photos... I'm lazy and snapping pics with my phone instead of the real camera.)

So this week I took a page from the Book of Beth and am trying out the Cook Once, Eat All Week thing. So far I like it and plan to do it again for next week! I also enlisted the help of the kids, and they are already planning what they want to cook for next week.

I used your plan and recipes from your Part II post, with a few modifications. We did our cooking Monday afternoon, since I was returning from a weekend trip on Sunday. I think next time I should double the recipes, since I have (more than) twice as many people to feed as you do, but we are making it work this week with the shortened week and Oscar being busy with work-related dinners a couple of times this week.

Monday's dinner was the Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta, which everyone really enjoyed (except Oscar, as he had a fancy working dinner out at a restaurant that night and hasn't tried it yet). This recipe make quite a lot, so I plan to serve it again tomorrow night (Thursday). We also made the Spiced Cauliflower with Garlic recipe, but with the addition of carrots, since I had some and I needed to stretch the recipe to feed five people. You are right - it was sooooo good! It reminded me of curried vegetables, which my mother-in-law does not like, so I was surprised that she said she liked it. I did think it was sort of an odd pairing with the pasta, but it was still delicious!

On Tuesday, we ate the Smoky and Creamy Corn Soup. I added some smoked turkey sausage to the pot (again, to stretch it out for more people), which was tasty. It was a little spicy for the girls, so next time I might halve the chipotle powder, or even leave it out altogether. I ended up stirring in some light sour cream in an attempt to temper the heat, which didn't really work, but it still tasted yummy. The girls did a good job of eating it, even though it was too spicy for their taste buds. The adults all loved it, though. There was just enough left over for Oscar to take some for his lunch today.

Originally I had planned to serve these whole wheat muffins with the corn soup. The girls pretty much made these by themselves and did a great job! You can see from the picture at the top of this post that we sprinkled some mini-chocolate chips on top of half of them, but left the other half plain so they would still be sugar-free. They were really good, and we plan to make them again. However, I had to test out a bread recipe for the cooking class I co-teach for our Thursday homeschool co-op, and I decided at the last minute yesterday to make that to go with our soup dinner instead. I needed a bread that can be made in one hour (the length of our class time), and I found this recipe. Even though it's not as good as my favorite bread, it did turn out really well, and I'd make it again if I need bread in a hurry. We are definitely using the recipe for our cooking class this week, as well. The muffins we have been enjoying for breakfast and snacks, instead.

Tonight we will try the Mexican Style Rice Casserole. I actually made several modifications to this recipe (nothing drastic), based on ingredients I already had in the house. First, I used basmati rice instead of brown. Also, I substituted black beans for the refried beans in the bean-corn layer. Since I already had some fresh kale, we chopped and steamed it in the microwave and used that instead of the frozen greens called for in the original recipe. And finally, I used more cheese; that six tablespoons of shredded cheese in the first layer looked shockingly skimpy to me. More! Cheese! The girls are a bit more skeptical about trying this dish, since neither are big fans of either rice or kale. We'll see how it goes. I'll probably throw together a simple green salad to serve with it tonight, also.

I cooked too much rice for the casserole, and decided to use the extra in a rice pudding that we had for breakfast yesterday. I used this recipe, with cranberries instead of raisins. YUM! This is the best rice pudding I've ever made; I've made rice pudding (not this particular recipe) a few times before but have never been very excited about the result. This was great! The egg and butter make all the difference, I think.

Tomorrow night we'll eat the remaining pasta, and on Friday my mother-in-law will help cook fish (for Lent). And Saturday? I haven't figured that out yet...

So far, I like the way our week is going with this dinner plan, and I think we'll do it again for next week! I'm collecting some ideas in my head for the next week, like spaghetti (the kids love it) and maybe some beans. However, there are also a lot of good ideas out there on the interwebs, like this plan from Self magazine, that we might try, too. I also noticed the Weight Watchers website has a few more plans, also.

Are you still "cooking once, eating all week?" It takes some forethought and a bit of time once a week, but I'm convinced it's worth it - certainly it's better than scrambling every single busy day to get a healthy dinner on the table. It's allowed me a little more breathing time so far this week, which is invaluable!

Cook Once, Eat All Week Part II

2010-01-24T14:39:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another week of Cook Once, Eat All Week! This week took a bit more time in the kitchen than last week, but it was still convenient to have all the meals on hand for a week. I think it really helps to make dishes that have some similar ingredients in them because you can do all the prep work for multiple recipes, like chopping, at the same time.

The Spiced Cauliflower with Garlic was especially good. It could be turned into a hearty meal on its own just by adding some potatoes or rice and sausage.

Again, just make everything on Sunday afternoon, and you are all set until the following Sunday!

Sunday:

Smokey and Creamy Corn Soup
(Weight Watchers)

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
16 oz. frozen roasted corn kernels (or just regular frozen corn if you can't find the roasted kind)
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder (add more to taste)
salt to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery; cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.
Add corn, 1 cup of the broth, and the chili powder; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered until all the vegetables are softened, about 3 minutes. Let the mixture cool about 5 minutes. Pour the mixture in batches into a food processor or blender and puree.
Return the mixture to the pan. Add the remaining 3 cups broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 10 minutes. If you would like the soup to be thicker, mix about 1/3 cup corn starch with a little soup and then slowly stir into the rest of the soup.

Green Chili Corn Bread Muffins
(Weight Watchers)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup fat free buttermilk
2 large eggs
4.5 oz diced green chilies, drained
3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425F. Spray 12 muffin cups with nonstick spray
Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, cumin and baking soda in medium bowl. Combine the buttermilk, eggs, chilies and melted butter in another medium bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Gently stir in cheese. With a spoon, evenly distribute the mixture into the 12 muffin tins.
Bake until the edges are golden brown and have pulled away from the sides, 20-22 minutes.

Monday:

Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta

and Spiced Cauliflower with Garlic (soo good!)
(Weight Watchers)

Ingredients:
1 Tbs canola oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
2/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 head cauliflower, cut into 1 inch florets
1 1/2 cups water
2 tsp sherry vinegar

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, salt, turmeric, and cayenne; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the cauliflower until coated with the spice mixture. Stir in the water and vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated

Tuesday:

Mexican Style Brown Rice Casserole

Wednesday:

Finish Creamy and Smokey Corn Soup and Green Chili Corn Bread Muffins

Thursday:

Finish Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta and Spiced Cauliflower with Garlic

Friday:

Finish Mexican Style Brown Rice Casserole

Saturday:

Whatever is left over

Cook Once, Eat All Week

2010-01-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

I started an experiment on myself. See, I am on this "self-care" kick- something that is strongly encouraged in the grad program I am in right now. The program requires a lot of self introspection and contemplation of human nature and how all the pieces fit together that make up the whole of this crazy, complicated, ugly and beautiful world. I am finding it takes a lot of emotional stamina, leaving little energy left over for other things.

Last semester I ate poorly, slept too little, stressed too much, and didn't exercise. Don't get me wrong, I love what I am doing right now and I am learning so much. Among many things, it is teaching me about balance. I must have gotten a little too self-assured, because I had really thought that by this time in my life I would have already figured out how to take care of myself. I had thought that I wouldn't really need to work on it as much as my professors kept repeating, especially given that I am slightly older than most of the other students in the program (and of course, light years more mature, ha ha).When I had a few weeks off during winter break and actually took the time to take better care of myself, I really noticed a difference.

Last week was my first week back at school and I decided to try something different since I knew that one of my problems was that I often get home too late or too tired to make anything even remotely resembling a healthy and well balanced dinner. I had heard about this thing that some people do, called Cook Once, Eat All Week. Okay, maybe I am late on the bandwagon on this one, but I really thought this was a brilliant idea. No longer would I have to spend precious time cooking every evening, no longer would I have a kitchen constantly full of dirty dishes, and no longer would I be as tempted to make poor food choices based on the lack of time and convenience. I can just pop whatever is on the menu that night in the microwave or oven.

For my first try, I used a Weight Watchers planned menu because it told me exactly what to make and exactly how to use the left overs to make something new out of it and on which night to eat what. Here is what the menu looked like:

Sunday:
Vegetable Peanut Stir Fry

Monday:
Layered Mexican Chicken and Green Beans with Caramelized Onions on the side

Tuesday:
Finish Stir Fry

Wednesday:
Green Bean, Pearl Onion and Dill Frittata (made with the left over beans)

Thursday:
Tri Colored Pesto Rotini with some baby carrots on the side

Friday:
Left over Layered Mexican Chicken, with some simple steamed veggies (like broccoli) on the side

Saturday:
Whatever you have left over (we had a ton of the pasta left)

All of the recipes turned out quite good, and they are all really healthy. If you want to add a little more protein, you could always add some shrimp, chicken or tofu to the pasta and stir fry, and maybe some Canadian bacon to the frittata. Or, you could just as easily modify these recipes to be vegetarian or vegan (some already are). All this food was just for Daniel and I so we had plenty left over to take for lunch, but I would say that this menu would easily feed four people dinner for a week.

Julie, if you are feeling crunched for time I would really recommend giving this a try. All it takes is a couple of hours cooking time on Sunday afternoon, and you don't have to think about what to have for dinner again for the rest of the week. I found that it also really helped focus my grocery shopping list, so that I did not spend as much time shopping or getting things that I know are not good for me because of not knowing what to get. If you want to read their specific directions for the week, click here.

Also, it cut down on the amount of meat required so that I was able to spend my money on the best organic, free range, and local meat available instead of buying a bunch of meat that you know comes from an unhealthy meat processing plant.

All around this experiment turned out successfully. This week, I am going to try and put together my own menu and see how that works out. In fact, I am going off to the kitchen after I finish writing this!

Julie- have you tried this method of cooking before? I would love to hear any advice you might have, or any recipes that you think would work well for this.

P.S.- The pictures in this post belong to Weight Watchers, I did not have the opportunity to take my own pictures this week.

How Did Your Thanksgiving Go?

2009-11-27T09:40:00.000-08:00

I hope your Thanksgiving went well Julie- and I bet it was nice to not have to worry about the turkey this year. However, I've had your famous turkey before and it seems you have it down to a science! You will have to share what else you had at your friend's house and if you were introduced to any new recipes.

I am thankful for so many things this year, one of them being that this was our first Thanksgiving as a married couple! It was also the first Thanksgiving that we hosted ourselves, but it was a nice introduction to the whole process since there wasn't any pressure to make everything perfect. We had Chris (our nephew) and a couple of friends over to our apartment. Let me tell you, it certainly is a challenge making a complete Thanksgiving meal in the world's tiniest kitchen, but we made it happen!

It was our first time making a turkey, and Daniel volunteered to take on the lead of "makin' the bird." We decided to use Alton Brown's recipe for "The Perfect Roast Turkey" using the brining method. Check out the very funny video of Alton Brown showing how to do it, its worth a watch and a few laughs.

We had a few hiccups along the way... like not having a large enough container to submerge the turkey in the brining liquid (resulting in having to brine it one half at a time) and a smoke filled apartment for some mysterious reason (we still can't figure it out!) that left our eyes watery and red Thanksgiving morning. Thankfully we did not have any guests over yet at that point!

Daniel putting in the "aromatics"

Well, how did it turn out you ask?

I am very proud to say that it was a success!!! It was perfectly cooked , and moist and flavorful. Good job Daniel!

Here is what the rest of our menu looked like:

1. Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage, Apples and Golden Raisins

I couldn't find any golden raisins, so I used cranberries instead. A very good recipe, but I would recommend using maybe a cup less chicken broth (it was little too soggy at the bottom)

2. Spiced Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar

3. Rose's Baked Artichoke Hearts

Wow, was this good. A recipe from my good friend Elissa over at The Painted Peach. I think it will become a regular fixture at Thanksgiving from now on.

4. Brussels Sprouts with almonds and lemon juice

5. Garlic and Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

Daniel insisted on having both this AND the sweet potatoes. Yikes. We made this with a few Yukons and some purple potatoes. Just saute some garlic and dried rosemary in some olive oil and blend in with the potatoes, milk/cream and butter, salt and pepper. Very tasty.

6. Cranberry Sauce

Of course. We just made the sauce according to the directions on the back of the package but substituted spiced apple cider for water, and added in some cinnamon. I made two batches of this, I LOVE cranberry sauce and it makes great leftovers (turkey and cranberry sandwich anyone? Ice cream topping? Chocolate cake filling?) I have yet to try out making your recipe yet, but maybe next year!

7. Frozen Biscuits from Trader Joe's- these were actually the best pre-made biscuits I think I have ever had. Of course nothing beats out homemade, but these were incredibly flaky and buttery.

8. Last but not least, Pumpkin Pie of course. I decided to use a waistline friendly version from Weight Watchers, and you would never be able to tell the difference!

Here it is all together!

I know, not the most elegant of table settings, but our goal wasn't to be pretty this year. Maybe next time!

Well, we stuffed ourselves silly and then went out to a movie afterwards. I am heading off to the gym now, I think I will need to burn off about 5,000 calories!

What are your Thanksgiving plans? (and a recipe for Cornbread Dressing with Smoked Sausage and Green Chiles)

2009-11-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

Are you cooking any food this year, Beth? I'm sure you are super busy with school this weekend, but I hope you'll be able to relax at least a little bit! I'll be thinking of you and everyone else in our family, thankful that we love each other so much, even across all these miles.

We are having Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's house this year, which means no turkey wrestling for me this year! Fantastic - I'm also thankful for that! Our friends are smoking the turkey, mashing the potatoes, and making a few other sides. We'll bring the dressing, sweet potatoes, and pie. And some adult beverages. I'm a little sad that I can't make my favorite cranberry sauce since our friends apparently have a favorite recipe they want to make instead, but that's okay. I look forward to trying something new!

I've been making this cornbread dressing for a few years in a row, now. I think we had it when you and Daniel were here for Thanksgiving two years ago, right? It is really good! It is sort of a mish-mash of three different recipes from Joy of Cooking, with a couple of my own twists for good measure. Anyway, I'm making it today so we can bring it to dinner tomorrow.

Smoked turkey and cornbread dressing from last year's Thanksgiving spread on our backyard patio

Cornbread Dressing with Smoked Sausage and Green Chiles

(Any cornbread will work for this recipe, but I prefer to use a Southern-style unsweetened cornbread, made with only cornmeal and no flour.)

8 cups cubed cornbread (about one standard recipe of cornbread)
4-8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 red bell pepper, cut into small dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound smoked sausage, diced
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 four ounce cans of roasted mild green diced chiles, like Hatch, drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/3 to 1 cup chicken stock
1-2 large eggs, well beaten

Toast the cubed cornbread in a 400F oven until golden brown. Turn into a large bowl. If you like a crumbly texture, break up the cubes with your fingers.

Heat the butter in a large skillet. Add the onions, celery, red bell pepper, garlic, and sausage. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir into the bread cubes and add the chiles and corn kernels. Toss until well combined. Depending on how much butter you started with and how firm you want the stuffing, stir in the stock and egg a little at a time, until the dressing is moist but not packed together. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Turn the dressing into a large, shallow buttered baking dish. Bake uncovered in a 350F oven until the top has formed a crust and the stuffing is heated through, 25 to 40 minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Crusty Bean Cakes with Garlic and Herbs

2009-11-12T13:27:00.000-08:00

♪ ♪ Beans, beans, the magical fruit...
(Come on, you know the rest.)

I think beans have an undeserved bad reputation. As the childish ditty implies, they can make some of us gassy, but they are also often looked down upon as "poor people's food." However, when cooked the right way, beans are so good and satisfying!

Cook a pot of beans, and you can do many different things. Take the plain, underrated pinto bean, for example. You can make chili and cornbread. Refried beans for burritos. Or tostadas. Or huevos rancheros. How about pintos with swiss chard and goat cheese (I need to try that one soon)? Or beans and rice ala the "whole bowl." One of Dad's favorites is a simple ham and bean soup served with fresh, buttered dinner rolls. Heck, I've even seen recipes for "fudge" using pinto beans, though I haven't been brave enough to try it myself.

Or try making these fun little crunchy bean cakes. I can't tell you how much I love these! They are very versatile; you can experiment to find your own favorite bean/cheese combination. I usually make these with black beans and cheddar or Parmesan, but I tried them this last weekend with pintos for the first time, and they turned out yummy. The recipe is actually an adaptation of the original crusty lentil cakes recipe from (my well-worn-falling-apart-at-the-binding copy of) Rick Bayless's Mexican kitchen, so apparently lentils are good here, too.

Yes, you could make these with canned beans instead, but they wouldn't be nearly as tasty. Besides, have you read about the recent tests on BPA in canned foods, conducted by Consumer Reports? Scary stuff. We're better off cooking our own beans. Beans freeze really well, so you can always cook up a big pot and use some now and freeze the rest for later. Click here for a good primer on how to cook dried beans, if you're not sure about that part.

Here's the recipe:

Crusty Bean Cakes with Garlic and Herbs

4 cups of any cooked, drained beans
1 medium onion
Vegetable or olive oil, for sauteing the onions and for pan-frying the bean cakes
6 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/4 cup cheese (like crumbled Mexican queso anejo, dry feta, Parmesan, or even pepper-jack or cheddar)
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt, about 3/4 teaspoon
2 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
About 2 cups dry bread crumbs
Plenty of salsa, for serving

Chop the onion and saute over medium heat in a little oil, until browned and tender.

Roast the unpeeled garlic in a dry pan, turning occasionally, until soft and blackened in spots, about 15 minutes. Cool, peel, and finely chop.

In a large bowl, mix beans, onion, garlic, cheese, cilantro and pepper. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.

Form the bean mixture into 12 to 14 2-inch disks, each about 1/2 inch thick (packing the mixture into a 1/4-cup measuring cup is an easy way to do this; gently tap the cake out of the measuring cup to dislodge it. Transfer the cakes to a baking sheet lined with foil or wax paper. Freeze for a half hour or so, to firm for easier breading.

Beat the eggs, milk, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish, and spread out the bread crumbs on a plate. Dip both sides of each bean cake in the egg mixture, then dredge in the crumbs, pressing the crumbs into a firm coating completely covering the cake. Refrigerate covered if not frying immediately.

Turn on the oven to the lowest setting. Heat a 1/8-inch coating of oil in a large, well seasoned or nonstick skillet over medium heat. In batches, fry the cakes in an uncrowded single layer until brown and crusty, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove and drain on paper towels, keeping the fried cakes warm in a single layer in a low oven while finishing the others. Serve each portion of your crusty cakes on a warm dinner plate in a pool of spicy salsa or sauce, decorated with cilantro sprigs.

Advance preparation: The bean cakes can be shaped and frozen several weeks ahead. Bread them while frozen, then let them defrost for several hours in a single layer in the refrigerator. Another option is to reheat them gently in a 300 or 350 degree oven; they will crisp up again nicely, but you do need to be careful that the oven isn't too hot or they will get too brown on the outside.

Sunday Baking

2009-11-08T18:16:00.000-08:00

The pace of life never seems to quite slow down. If anything, it is only steadily speeding up. We returned from our weeks-long vacation to Oregon back in July, but I still don't feel like things are back to "normal." What is "normal," anyway? Does such a state even exist? Perhaps this is the new normal, and I just need to accept it.

I've known for a while that I really need to do something to take back the control of our increasingly hectic family life. For me, a big part of it centers around feeding my family. When things are too crazy and there is no plan, we end up eating out more or purchasing more convenience-type foods at the store, which results in spending more money than we need to (or should), not feeling our physical best, and getting into the general rut of unhealthy habits, from which it can be hard to break free. And my jeans are getting tight, which is not how I want to start the holiday season.

Beth, I know your schedule has only gotten more full lately, too. I've recently discovered a couple of websites I'd like to share that lately have provided me with some inspiration to eat well again, while still accommodating the reality of life.

The first is actually an article from Mother Earth News on how to make the best ever artisan bread at home. It is, quite literally, Five Minutes a Day for Fresh-Baked Bread (it is a long article worth the read, but the directions for the master recipe begin on page three). Beth, the technique is similar to the one outlined in the New York Times article on No Knead Bread that you mentioned in your post a while back on No-Knead Sourdough Bread, but without the added complication of using a heavy pot with a lid to bake it (I mean, really... you don't need a lidded pot to bake artisan bread). And the sheer beauty of this recipe is that you mix up enough dough for at least three loaves of bread, and then store it in your refrigerator for up to two weeks (!) while using only as much dough as you want, whenever you want to bake it. A time-saving genius! The article also gives proportions for mixing up a larger batch of dough, should you feel it is necessary to do so. The first time I made this bread, everyone at the table swooned and declared the the Best. Bread. Ever. Which is really saying something, since I've baked a lot of good bread. I don't think I'll ever need (or want) to use another recipe.

The other website is Linda Watson's Cook for Good. The thing that intrigues me about this site is the premise - and proof - that it really is possible to eat healthily, consciously, and conveniently, without spending a fortune at hoity-toity grocery stores, like the one that rhymes with "Mole Dudes" (also often referred to as "Whole Paycheck"). There are lots of good ideas here, and Linda also has several ebooks for sale if you are looking for more specific guidance with even more recipes and meal plans.

Sunday is my day off, which is when I am mostly (but not always!) inspired to do the things I enjoy most, like creating extraordinary meals out of ordinary ingredients. Today I baked an apple-cranberry pie using Linda's Sneaky-Wheat Butter Pie Crust. I also baked a loaf of fresh bread, which we will enjoy with tonight's dinner of salad and crusty bean cakes with garlic and herbs. And, of course, a modest slice of pie for dessert.

Do try the bread soon; I can't wait to hear what you think!

The Whole Bowl

2009-06-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

image from Sanne Stienstra/OregonLive.com

The large bowl (without sour cream)

Right now I'm in the middle of a crazy whirlwind "vacation" in Oregon; we came at the end of May for Beth's and Daniel's wedding on the beach (so perfect, by the way!), and since then we've been driving up and down the state to spend time with various friends and family members. Currently I'm at my mother-in-law's home on the coast, helping her get settled back in after spending the winter with us in Austin. All-in-all, we will spend seven weeks traveling away from home!

Remember Beth's post on the Portland food carts a while ago? While I was in Portland last week, my friend Dawn met me downtown for lunch, and we headed over to the food carts near Pioneer Square. Dawn works downtown and raves about one cart in particular; in fact, she loves it so much she's never gotten around to trying any of the others lined up there on SW Alder and 9th. It wasn't hard to convince me that I must give it a try, but thank goodness there was also a hot dog stand among the cart offerings; while it all looked tempting to me, everything else was way to exotic for my kids.

image from Sanne Stienstra/OregonLive.com
The mid-day lunch rush at the Whole Bowl on SW Alder and SW 9th.

The Whole Bowl offers a simple but deliciously satisfying combination of brown rice and red and black beans with various toppings. The secret ingredient, and the reason people will wait outside in line for ten minutes and pay $5 for a bowl of such simple fare, is the mysterious Tali sauce. Apparently, the recipe is a a closely guarded secret. No one except the owner Tali Ovadia knows what's in it. A bright yellow hue, the secret sauce has been described as lemony-garlicky... something. It's vegan, and gluten free. But it's top secret.

I'll be heading up to Portland one more time before we hit the road back to Austin; perhaps I'll get a chance to try out another cart, like maybe Garden State, which I hear is located in my old neighborhood of Sellwood.

And Beth, yes, I promise that when we get back to Austin, I'll whip up some migas to share here!

Baked Squash Blossoms with Goat Cheese, Chocolate, and Orange

2009-06-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

The weekend before I got married, one of my best friends (Elissa, who has an amazing food blog called The Painted Peach) bought me a ticket to come visit her in San Francisco to have a gloriously indulgent weekend in celebration of my last weekend of singledom. I am so lucky to have such a great friend like her, it really was a weekend to remember. One restaurant in particular was especially memorable, called Pizzaiolo. There, I had my first fried squash blossoms. They were so amazing, I could have eaten twenty of them.

When I saw squash blossoms at the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market this morning, I had to get some. I knew I didn't want to fry them since I am trying to get back to being somewhat healthy after a long hiatus of eating and drinking whatever I wanted over the few weeks during my wedding and honeymoon. I also decided to see how they would do as a dessert rather than a savory appetizer. They turned out rather well, though not the most beautiful little things in the world! The goat cheese, orange and chocolate compliment each other nicely. The sugar probably cancels out the trying to be healthier thing, but oh well. Nonetheless, without further adieu...

Baked Squash Blossoms with Goat Cheese, Chocolate, and Orange

5 oz. goat cheese, fresh chevre (the best you can find)
½ cup powdered sugar
1 egg white
10 squash blossoms
1 whole egg, beaten with a tablespoon of water
2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped into tiny pieces
Orange zest from 1 orange
Orange juice from 1 orange
Brown sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cheese, powdered sugar, egg white, chocolate, orange zest, and orange juice. Using a pastry tube or a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off, squeeze the goat cheese mixture into the squash blossoms, twist the petals closed and place on a greased cookie sheet. In a small bowl, beat egg with water and then brush each blossom with the egg wash. Sprinkle each blossom with brown sugar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned and crisp. Enjoy!

P.S. I had some left over goat cheese mixture, so I mixed it with some cut up plums and baked it in a dish along side the squash blossoms and then chilled it. Turned out to be a really nice treat later on.

A Perfect Breakfast

2009-05-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you combine baked polenta slices layered with melted fontina cheese and a fresh tomato slice, and a dutch baby sprinkled with orange sugar, all the while listening to Nick Drake? A lazy Saturday morning and a perfect breakfast, that's what. If you aren't convinced yet, then just ask my soon-to-be husband. While scarfing it down in about 5 minutes, I think I might have heard him mumble something like "OMG, I die." Just kidding, that would only have happened if Rachel Zoe was my fiance. eeeeew! But really, it was pretty darn near a perfect breakfast. No joke.
Dutch Baby with Orange Sugar

adapted from Gourmet April 2009

1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoon grated orange zest (I used all of the zest from a large orange, about 3tbs)
3 large eggs at room temperature 30 minutes (I ran them under warm water)
2/3 cup whole milk at room temperature (I used skim and it was fine)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick butter, cut into pieces

Put skillet on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

Stir together sugar and zest with a fork in a small bowl until evenly combined, and set aside.

Beat eggs with an electric mixer or hand mixer at high speed until pale and frothy, then beat in milk, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and continue to beat until smooth, about 1 minute more (batter will be thin).

Add butter to hot skillet and melt, swirling to coat (don't burn yourself!). Add batter and immediately return skillet to oven. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 25 minutes.
While the dutch baby is baking, slice up some pre-made polenta (I got mine from Trader Joe's) and layer on some shredded fontina cheese, a tomato slice, some more cheese, and then sprinkle with paprika. Place them on a baking tray, and slide them into the oven with the Dutch baby. The two should be done at about the same time.

Serve immediately, and sprinkle the dutch baby with a generous amount of orange sugar. Slice up the orange you used for the zest and place it on the plate if you like.
*I wish I had pictures, but my camera broke (again)!!! You can trust me though, this was one memorable breakfast.

Portland Food Carts

2009-03-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

image from On Portland

If you live in Portland Oregon, or are planning on visiting there any time soon, then you need to check out these food carts dotted around the city. I used to live in Portland, it is such a great city. I would not mind moving back if circumstances allowed one day. Julie says that it's a lot like Austin Texas, and from the one time I have been to Austin I would have to agree. For one thing, both cities have great food! Hey Julie- I have been wanting to make Migas (is that how you spell it?) for breakfast, you should totally post a recipe for it on here; I have never seen it offered anywhere on a menu in DC.

Anyway, go check out this article on some great food carts that are really popular in Portland. The article also offers some recipes to recreate some of the dishes at home. I think I might have to give the Eggs and Greens a whirl. I will be up there soon and will have to revisit a couple, especially Samurai Bento (I used to live right near there).

More: foodcartsportland.com

Citrus Rice Pudding

2009-02-01T12:49:00.000-08:00

I have a thing for homemade pudding (not out of the box either). So I have been trying out a few different methods, and I think this is the one I will be sticking with and working out the kinks until it gets to exactly the way I want it. If you like rice pudding at all, then you need to try this method; baking it slowly in the oven as opposed to over the stove top lends to and amazing consistency where the rice just melts in your mouth, and the citrus peel infuses itself throughout and absorbs the sugar so it is easily edible. Next time I think I might try making it with coconut milk.

Citrus Rice Pudding
adapted from More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin

2 citrus fruits of a different variety (lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, lime, etc)
1/2 cup white rice, jasmine or Basmati
4 cups whole milk
7 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs pure vanilla extract
2 Tbs rum (optional)

Preheat the oven to 250F. Peel the citrus with a vegetable peeler and cut the peel into very fine short strips. Be sure not to get any of the pith with the peel, otherwise it will make the pudding somewhat bitter. As you can see I accidentally got a little pith in mine.

Mix the peel, rice, sugar, milk, vanilla, and rum (optional) in an ovenproof dish. Put in the oven and cook uncovered for about 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 45 minutes or so. By the way, it will make your kitchen smell heavenly. If you use skim or low fat milk, you may want to keep it in there longer.

It will thicken considerably as it cools. It's great straight out of the oven, or cooled in the fridge.

I used skim milk in the recipe because that's what I happened to have and it turned out a bit more runny than I would have liked. I think next time I will use a milk with a higher percentage of fat (or coconut milk like I already mentioned). My citrus strips were a bit too thick for my liking, so I ended up picking out a lot of the big ones. I wonder how zest would work instead of the peel. Cinnamon might be a nice addition to the recipe as well, but the flavor is great simply as it is. Let me know if you try this out and tell me what works for you!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancakes

2009-01-25T08:36:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite meals as a kid was a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Our Grammy made these for us kids quite often and would always use her homemade blackberry jam. The blackberries were always from Oregon, which are quite arguably the best blackberries you will find anywhere. Living in DC, I don't have access to Oregon Blackberries, nor do I have the skill or knowledge to make homemade jam (anyone have some advice on how to get started with homemade jam making?) Every once in a while I will still make grilled PB and J sandwiches, if you have never had one i highly recommend it. This morning I was rummaging around the cupboards trying to think of something to make for breakfast: how about PB and J pancakes?

Ingredients:
makes about 8-10 pancakes

1 1/2 cup flour
2 Tbs and 2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1/2 cup jam or jelly of your choice

Directions:

Measure out peanut butter into a medium bowl. Pour 1 1/4 cup boiling water over peanut butter and slowly stir until peanut butter dissolves. Add egg and oil and whisk well. Measure out dry ingredients on top of the peanut butter mixture, and mix dry ingredients together, then stir into the peanut butter mixture just until barely blended. Swirl in the jam or jelly, but do not completely incorporate, you want to keep the jam in swirls as much as possible:
If the jam or jelly you are using is too stiff, you may want to heat it up a little in the microwave or mix it with a little bit of hot water before swirling it in. Let batter sit for 5 minutes.

Lightly oil a large griddle or skillet and place on medium low heat.

You can tell if your skillet or griddle is hot enough by flicking a drop or two of water on its surface. The water should skitter around and quickly evaporate if the pan is hot enough.

Roughly measure out 1/4 cup batter onto hot skillet and cook pancake for about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes on each side. Turn when bubbles form and continue cooking until golden brown.

Serve immediately topped with jelly or keep warm on a baking sheet in a 200° F oven until all pancakes are cooked. You can also top with maple syrup and butter if you prefer.

This is a great breakfast to make with kids! (just be careful when handling boiling water of course). Goes well with a side of bacon or fried egg.

Inaugural Recipes: Cherry Chutney and Apple Cake

2009-01-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Inauguration Week, y'all!

Inspired by the official inauguration luncheon menu, we marked the occasion with a special dinner of our own. Instead of duck, we had chicken breast topped with the cherry chutney; instead of an apple sponge cake, I baked Grammy's fresh apple cake, and we enjoyed it topped with whipped cream. No pictures today, but recipes for the cherry chutney and apple cake are posted below.

First, the cherry chutney: the list of ingredients is a bit long, but most ingredients are basic. The only special ingredients I needed to pick up from the store were the cherries and the golden raisins. I'm sure regular raisins would be equally as flavorful, if not as colorful. I made very few changes to the original recipe. Instead of shallots, I used the white parts of scallions, and instead of tarragon or chives, I used the green parts of said scallions. The official recipe mentions tomato paste, but I used a fresh, chopped tomato. The end result was fantastic. In Oscar's words, "Sweet, spicy, and delicious!"

Now, about Grammy's apple cake: I've posted the recipe exactly as she wrote it out for me in her own handwriting, many years ago. Her recipe indicates the cake should be baked in a 13x9" pan, but I always remember Grammy using loaf pans. Thus, as a child, I thought of it more like bread than cake. However, the recipe calls for plenty of sugar, butter, and white flour; clearly, it is cake, not bread. Today, I baked the batter in two loaf pans. One cake was devoured tonight, and the other goes in the freezer to enjoy another day.

And finally, the recipes...

Cherry Chutney

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped scallions, white parts only
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 medium tomato, de-seeded and chopped
1/4 cup red wine
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 can Oregon brand Bing cherries, drained and quartered
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tbsp chopped scallions, green parts only

Heat oil over medium heat, then add onion, garlic, and white scallions; cook and stir until soft and golden. Add chopped tomato, black pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 tsp salt; cook for about a minute. Add bell pepper and cook until softened, reducing heat if necessary. Stir in wine, vinegar, an sugar; simmer about 5 minutes. Stir in mustard, half of the cherries, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste); simmer 1 minute. If desired, remove 1/4 cup of mixture to a blender and puree until very smooth and reserve for glazing meat or poultry. Finish the chutney by adding the remaining cherries, the raisins, and the chopped green scallions.

Grammy's Apple Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
4 cups grated or chopped apples
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup softened butter
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and beat just until combined (the batter will be thick). Turn batter into a greased 13x9" pan and bake for about one hour.

Chocolate Chip and Molasses Quick Bread

2009-01-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

OK, let me confess something to you all. I had the best of intentions this holiday season and was going to send all of my near and dear loved ones a homemade gift this year. It wasn't going to be anything fancy, but the busyness of the season got the better of me. Maybe next year...

Anyway, the basic idea of what I was going to make was a "bread in a jar." I bought a bunch of glass mason jars and was planning on layering all of the dry ingredients in the jar so it would look kind of like those glass jars with different colors of sand layered in. I would then print out the directions on a pretty card and tie it to the neck of the jar with some ribbon.

I did however, get around to making the bread to test out the recipe. The recipe calls for oatmeal, molasses, chocolate chips, and pecans but the best thing about this recipe is you can mix and match the ingredients to your liking. Say for instance, if you really like the combination of dried cherries and chocolate and you do not like nuts, you could do that instead. If you don't like molasses, substitute brown sugar.

Chocolate Chip and Molasses Quick Bread:
adapted from Sunset Magazine

2 cups flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup miniature chocolate chips
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup molasses
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter

In a large bowl, quickly mix together dry ingredients. In a small bowl, mix together buttermilk, eggs, butter and molasses. Stir wet mixture into dry mixture just until barely moistened (batter will be lumpy). Now mix in the chocolate chips and pecans (or whatever you want), but be careful not to over mix.

Scrape batter into a non-stick 9 by 5 loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes at 350F. You will know when its done when inserting a wooden skewer in the middle comes out clean.

Herbed Pork Stew with Mushrooms and Carrot Greens

2009-01-09T12:50:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed this stew on a recent Sunday afternoon, when everyone was lazing around all day with the sniffles and sneezes.

Carrot greens, surprise surprise, taste quite carrot-y. I used just the greens in this stew, and the carrots in a rice dish later in the week, but I'm sure it would be extra tasty to chop the carrots and add them along with the mushrooms.

And for those of you who know I don't eat mushrooms: they show up in our local box delivery every now and then, so I use them. Oscar loves them; I pick them out. That's one reason they are whole in this recipe - easy for me to remove, but big bites of mushroom-y goodness for Oscar to enjoy.

Herbed Pork Stew with Mushrooms and Carrot Greens

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs pork loin roast, cubed
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
7 cloves of garlic, as as many as you can stand
3 tbsp flour
salt and pepper
12 oz. beer (I used a bottle of Shiner Light, which is really the only light beer I would recommend; otherwise, just use your favorite regular beer)
Water
1 bunch of carrot greens
A few sprigs each of fresh sage and rosemary
12-15 crimini mushrooms
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, quartered lengthwise
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, or to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat and add the pork in an even layer. As the meat begins to sear, chop the onions and garlic, throw them in the pot and give everything a stir. Once the pork has browned, sprinkle the flour and salt and pepper over the top and mix in. Add the beer, stir around, and then add enough water to cover the meat, letting the mixture come to a simmer.

While the stew is simmering, take a few sprigs of the carrot greens and use kitchen twine to tie them in a bundle with the sage and rosemary, and add the herb bundle to the stew.

Clean the mushrooms and add them whole (you can cut the large ones in half, if desired) to the stew, along with the kalamata olives.

Let the stew simmer slowly for at least 2 hours, or more, adding water as necessary to keep everything submerged.

Just before serving, chop the remaining carrot greens. Remove the herb bundle from the soup (most of the rosemary needles should have dropped off into the stew by now, which is fine), discard, and then stir in the freshly chopped greens. Add Worcestershire sauce to taste, and adjust salt and pepper as necessary. Serve!

Chocolate Apple Cider Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

2008-12-20T11:56:00.001-08:00

Oh, I love my new camera. Now I can take semi decent photos of food!

As promised, here are the Chocolate Apple Cider Cupcakes. Guess what else? An easy Apple Cider Marshmallow Frosting recipe. The cupcake recipe is of course based on Martha Stewart's One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes recipe from her Baking Handbook. The frosting is an improvisational recipe made with what I already had on hand in the kitchen. Can't skip the frosting; after all, everyone knows the best part of a cupcake is the frosting. Want to know what the somewhat wacky secret ingredient is? When you make these, you might want to keep this part a secret since it doesn't sound too sophisticated: Spiced Apple Cider Instant Drink Mix. Yep, you read that right.

Chocolate Apple Cider Cupcakes
makes 2 dozen

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 packets (0.74 oz each) of Spiced Apple Cider instant drink mix
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups water

Heat oven to 350F. In a large bowl (use an electric mixer if you have one), sir together flour, cocoa powder, apple cider mix, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs and yolk, milk, oil, vanilla, and warm water. Beat until smooth and evenly combined, about three minutes.

Spray 2 standard muffin/cupcake pans with non stick cooking spray, or preferably line them with paper liners. Divide batter evenly among the paper liners filling each to about 2/3 full. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Let cool completely.

Apple Cider Marshmallow Frosting

2 egg whites
6 Tbsp. cold water
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 cup miniature marshmallows
2 packets (0.74 oz each) spiced apple cider instance drink mix

Combine all ingredients, except marshmallows and vanilla in a double broiler blending thoroughly over very rapidly boiling water. Beat vigorously with a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks begin to form (about 7 minutes). Slowly beat in marshmallows until melted and add in vanilla. Frost cupcakes immediately. I sprinkled mine with cinnamon and red sugar.

Enjoy!

Maple Roasted Split Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

2008-12-17T19:57:00.000-08:00

Looking for an easy, low-maintenance, yet comforting dish to get you through these hectic days of holiday preparation? This fits the bill. With just a few minutes of preparation, you can slide the chicken and sweet potatoes into the oven to roast while you finish decking the halls or wrapping gifts. Even the kids like it.

I used fresh oregano because that's what was in my refrigerator, but I think thyme or rosemary would work nicely here, too. No fresh herbs around? No problem - just sprinkle in the dried variety instead. Chicken pieces can also be used instead of a split chicken.

Maple Roasted Split Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

1 split chicken, 3-4 lbs., or equivalent in chicken pieces
3-4 medium sweet potatoes
2 yellow onions
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
several sprigs of fresh savory herb, such as oregano, thyme, or rosemary
salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.

Peel and cut sweet potatoes into bite-size chunks, and cut onions into wedges. Mix olive oil and maple syrup together, then toss with the vegetables to coat, reserving a bit to drizzle over the chicken in the next step. Salt and pepper as desired.

Place chicken in large pan, and arrange vegetables around chicken. Drizzle reserved maple mixture over the chicken, and then scatter sprigs of herb over the top of chicken and vegetables. My pan was a little crowded in the picture below - I probably should have used a larger pan.

Roast in the hot oven for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is done, stirring once or twice during cooking time to evenly baste chicken and vegetables.

Busy Time of Year!

2008-12-12T07:25:00.000-08:00

Hi There!

I know there hasn't been a post in a while, but I promise there will be soon! I have two posts up my sleeve which involve a nearly flour-less chocolate cake to die for, and some apple cider chocolate cupcakes. I just got a new camera and am working out the kinks of how it works, so hang in there- we will be back soon!

In the meantime, if you like weird art like I do, you might want to check out this series by photographer Nicole Pasulka, called "Drop Dead Gorgeous". I promise it's food/baking related, as you can see by the picture below called Death by Cake (which I can definitely relate to right now). Check out the pics and article here.

Almond Sugar Cookies

2008-11-24T17:43:00.000-08:00

I had an urge to get all cutesy and decorate some sugar cookies. I got the candy corn originally so i could make the cookies look like these Pillsbury Thanks giving Turkey Cookies but my cookies ended up being too small to fit the design, so I came up with this instead.

I got the cookie recipe from The Splendid Table, but substituted the vanilla extract for almond extract to add an alternative flavor. The chocolate frosting on top is Nutella, and as you can see for some cookies I used sliced almonds.

What's on Your Thanksgiving Menu?

2008-11-23T06:14:00.000-08:00

I am having a few friends over for Thanksgiving this year, so not only do I have to figure out how to make an entire Thanksgiving meal in my matchbox sized kitchen, I have to figure out what to make!

Here is what I am planning:

Breakfast (after all, you can't starve yourself all day waiting for the feast):
1) Bananas Foster Scones and Sweet Potato Hash Browns and coffee, obviously.

Main:
2) Kosher Turkey (thankfully my friend Sharon is in charge of this one)
3) Sourdough Stuffing with hazelnuts and sour cherries

Sides:
4) Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Mashed Potatoes
5) Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios (normally I don't like Brussels sprouts, but they are great when made this way)
6) Mom's Homemade Rolls with jam and butter
7) Cranberry Sauce
*I'm still trying to decide if we need a salad or if I should substitute one of these sides for a yam or sweet potato dish

Dessert:
8) Apple Pie (My friend Jesse is preparing this one, apparently he has some secret recipe and wants to do a guest post on here about it)
9) Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Beverages:
10) Hot Spiked Apple Cider

Now I just have to figure out a plan of attack, such as what can I make the day before, and in what order I need to make things the day of. I have never done a Thanksgiving dinner before, so if any of you have any advice or suggestions, send 'em my way!

Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year? Whats on your menu?

Me and Daniel at Julie's house for Thanksgiving last year

Cranberry Sauce: Look Ma, No Cans!

2008-11-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

The players: an orange, a bag of cranberries, and a cup of sugar

Thanksgiving is - gasp! - just a few days away. Last year, Beth and Daniel visited us here in Austin, and we had a grand time. This year, it will be just Oscar and me and the girls, plus Oscar's mom, who arrives tomorrow.

If you're still planning to pull a can from the pantry when it's time to serve the cranberry sauce at your holiday table, please consider trying this fresh, no-cook cranberry sauce instead. It's so easy, so simple, so fresh, and so very delicious. Try it; I'll be very surprised if you decide to go back to the canned stuff after this. Also, keep in mind that this sauce has great versatility - it goes well with turkey, of course, but it is also an excellent companion with practically any meat or fowl.

This recipe comes from my trusty, tattered Joy of Cooking, which we received as a wedding present nearly nine years ago. The binding is barely holding on, but there are still many good things to make from it's pages. My Joy says you should make this at least two days before serving to allow the flavors to mellow, since the whole orange - rind and all - is used, but I've made it right before serving, and still thoroughly enjoyed it. Besides, I don't think a bowl of this stuff would last that long in my refrigerator. Oscar and I have been known to eat this by the spoonful, all by itself. Yes, it's that good.

Uncooked Cranberry-Orange Relish
from Joy of Cooking

Ingredients:
One 12-oz package of cranberries
1 orange, un-peeled
1 cup sugar

Pick over and rinse the cranberries, discarding any that are soft, spotted, or discolored. Cut the orange into pieces and remove seeds (if present). Place half of the cranberries and half of the orange in a food processor (see note below).

Pulse until mixture is evenly chopped, but not pureed. Transfer to a medium bowl; repeat with remaining cranberries and orange. Stir in the sugar. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

We enjoyed our cranberry relish the other night with a pork loin roast.

My Joy says this will last up to two weeks in the refrigerator, but I find that information entirely inaccurate. We eat all of ours in just a day or two - it has never lasted two weeks in this house! I guess I'll have to make more next week.

Note: If you do not have a food processor, this can also be made in a blender. I did it last year. You'll have to stop and scrap down the sides a few times before getting a satisfactory texture, but it will work.

Pomegranate Muffins

2008-11-15T16:26:00.000-08:00

So, I wanted to make muffins but with a little twist. Pomegranates are in season right now, and they are really juicy and red. A little tip when picking out a pomegranate: The uglier, the better. For some reason the ugliest ones are the reddest and juiciest.

These got good reviews by some friends who happened to be over, and I thought they were pretty good too. Try them out if you are tired of the same old blueberry muffins!

Pomegranate Muffins
adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook
makes one dozen

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 or 1 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds and juice
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Spray or grease your muffin tin, set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and set aside.

In another medium bowl, beat melted butter and sugar vigorously until light and fluffy. Use an electric mixer if you have one. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well combined, then mix in the vanilla.

Now add the flour mixture to the egg and butter mixture, gently mixing just until combined and then slowly add milk (don't over mix). Fold in the pomegranate seeds and juice.

Divide batter evenly between muffin tin cups, lined with paper cups if you prefer.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until muffins are a light golden brown. Let cool for about ten minutes.

Toasted Coconut Pumpkin Pancakes

2008-11-08T06:15:00.000-08:00

Tired of pumpkin yet? I hope not, because I can't get enough of it. Most of you have probably had pumpkin pancakes before, but have you had it with toasted coconut? It adds a great texture and a nice little crunch. The pancake recipe itself is low fat and fairly healthy, especially if you use nonfat milk or whole wheat flour instead of white.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
2/3 cup toasted shredded coconut
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 large egg
1 Tbs canola or vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1/3 cup pumpkin puree

Directions:

Evenly spread shredded coconut on a cookie sheet. Place in oven and set to broil. Broil for about 10-15 minutes or until coconut is evenly toasted and a medium golden brown. You will need to keep a close eye on it and stir often to ensure even toasting and to make sure it doesn't burn. Set aside and let cool.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, coconut, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a small bowl, beat together egg, oil, milk, and pumpkin. Add the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Let sit for five minutes.

Meanwhile, get your pancake griddle or skillet hot over medium-low heat, sprayed with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto middle of skillet. Turn over when it batter is bubbly and edges appear to be cooked (2-3 minutes). Cook for about 1 1/2 minutes on the other side, and serve immediately.

Try spreading cream cheese and pumpkin butter over the top, or just use butter and syrup. Yummmm!!!!!

Pumpkin Bread

2008-11-05T17:39:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin bread to me is just one of those breads that warms the soul. This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. Make this bread and your neighbors will smell it and break down your door. No need to buy baked goods from Starbucks when you have a recipe like this up your sleeve!

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 2/3 buttermilk

Directions:
Heat oven to 350F and grease two loaf pans with non stick spray or butter. In a medium bowl whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all of the spices.

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree and sugars. Martha suggests using an electric mixer on medium for 2 to 3 minutes, but I just mixed it by hand until well combined. Add the eggs and oil and mix until combined. Add half the flour and mix just until barely combined. Add the buttermilk, then add the flour and mix just until combined.

Divide the batter between the two loaf pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Place loaf pans on a cookie sheet and bake for 55-60 minutes, rotating the pans 180 degrees half way through. When knife inserted in the middle comes out clean, bread is done. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Of course it can be enjoyed right away, but the next day the flavors will have combined more completely.

Caramelized Onions

2008-11-04T09:58:00.000-08:00

Red and yellow onions were taking over my kitchen counter last week, and something had to be done.

So I caramelized a big batch of them, and now I have lots of carmelized onion delicious-ness. Think about the possibilities here. Pizza. Pasta. Soup. Risotto. Quesadillas. Omelets. With goat cheese and herbs, baked into a savory tart!

The first necessary step was peeling and slicing all those onions into rings. Then pouring a few glugs of olive oil and piling those onion rings into a pan.

I don't know if you can tell, but that is a big pan of onions. It's a 12" wide deep-fry pan, so it has deep sides. Note the pot of white beans bubbling away on the back of the stove.

Now all that's necessary is long, slow, and gentle cooking over a low flame. No lid! We want the onions to caramelize, not steam. Poke at them and turn them around every so often with a wooden spoon or tongs, but find something else to do, too. These onions will take their sweet time, here.

The onions are done once they have turned a delicious caramel-ly brown color and are so sweet that they practically melt in your mouth. This might take 45 minutes to an hour, or more.

Remember the white beans on the back of the stove? They were delicious topped with the caramelized onions, along with oven-roasted tomatoes and fresh rosemary.

I wonder if onions can be caramelized in the slow cooker? The idea inspires the lazy cook inside me.

No-Knead Sourdough Bread (1st attempt)

2008-11-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is the sourdough bread I made. This is my very first attempt at homemade sourdough bread, it wasn't perfect but turned out pretty well! Give it a try and let me know if you can come up with some improved techniques.

Many of you have probably heard about the New York Times article on No Knead Bread, adapted from a recipe by Jim Lahey. The basic idea is that you let time do the work for you rather than the traditional method of kneading and rising. I thought this would be a great recipe to try out with my sourdough starter, and an added bonus is that I would not have to use any additional yeast since its already in the starter.

I used an adapted recipe from Sourdoughs International. The bread turned out to have a great sourdough flavor, but it wasn't light and fluffy enough for me. I think some of the problem may have been the temperature in which it was rising (may have been too warm) which inhibits the wild yeast and makes it leven poorly. The other complaint I have is that the dough was really wet, sticky and difficult to work with. Don't get me wrong, the bread will definitely be completely gobbled up within a couple days- I just think the recipe and my technique could use some improvement.

No-Knead Sourdough Bread
makes one loaf

Ingredients:
1 cup sourdough starter
3 cups flour (I used white, but I am sure whole wheat would be really good)
1 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
Measure out your sourdough starter the night before, or a few hours before you start so as to make the starter fully active.

In a large bowl lightly combine all ingredients (do not use a metal bowl). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a safe place which is preferably between 70-75F for 12-18 hours.

After this proofing period, the dough will be very sticky. Sprinkle a work surface with flour and transfer dough to the surface, and sprinkle dough with additional flour. Let rest for about 15 minutes.

While handling as little as possible and using additional flour (no more than 1/4 cup) form dough into a rough ball and then place directly into your greased baking container (I used a loaf pan). Cover with a cotton towel and set aside at room temperature for about 4 hours or until it doubles in size.

Place in an unheated oven and then turn the oven on to 450F. The recipe I used calls for it to be baked for 1 hour and 10 minutes, which I found to be too long. Maybe you could try baking it for 45 minutes and then checking it. It will be done with the crust is a light golden brown.

How's the Pumpkin Butter, You Ask?

2008-11-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Positively scrumptious! Velvety-smooth, sweet, spicy, and so full of pumpkin-ey goodness it will warm you up inside. We enjoyed it this morning with freshly baked scones and scrambled eggs.

I ended up letting it bubble away in the Crockpot on low for about eight or nine hours. Long enough for it to get so thick and rich that it sticks to the spoon when turned upside-down.

For the recipe and related post, click here.

Basil Chicken in Lettuce Cups

2008-11-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

I harvested the last of my basil the other day and immediately put all of it to good use in this flavorful Thai-inspired basil chicken. Oscar says it is even more awesome as leftovers for lunch the next day.

Ingredients:

4-5 cloves garlic, minced fine
1/2 cup or so of finely minced red peppers, sweet and/or hot (I used a combination)
zest of one lemon and/or lime
2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast, minced fine or ground
1 Tbsp sugar
1-2 Tbsp fish sauce
2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
fresh whole basil leaves, at least 2-3 generous handfuls (the amount of my harvest, shown above, was not quite enough basil for me)
juice of one lemon or lime
Bibb lettuce leaves

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, peppers, and zest; stir-fry for one minute. Add chicken and cook thoroughly, mixing and breaking up with a spoon as necessary. When chicken has fully cooked and browned, mix in sugar, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Then add basil leaves.

Cook and stir until basil leaves have wilted, and then squeeze the lemon or lime juice over the basil chicken mixture. Scoop mixture into lettuce leaves and serve.

The Donnie Darko

2008-10-31T17:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Here is a tasty little Halloween themed beverage I concocted in the spirit of one of my most favorite Halloween themed movies, Donnie Darko. I'm not sure it has much to do with the actual movie, but it's quite a decadent alcoholic beverage you could have any time of year. If you like chocolate and dulce de leche, then this one is for you.

The Donnie Darko
serves 1

1 oz. vodka
1 oz. dulche de leche liqueur
1 oz. half and half
chocolate syrup
chocolate caramel candy for garnish (optional)

In a margarita or martini glass, drizzle chocolate syrup around the inside of the glass. Place ice cubes inside a martini mixer and pour in vodka, liqueur, and half and half. Shake about 5-6 times. Drain liquid into glass and place optional garnish on the rim.

Pumpkin: Seeds, Puree, and Butter!

2008-10-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween, everyone! We are sure to see lots of jack o'lanterns on display tonight, and today we're going to talk about fresh pumpkin puree, roasted and crunchy pumpkin seeds, and sweet, spicy, and velvety-smooth pumpkin butter.

As you get ready to carve your best pumpkin face tonight, don't forget there's lots of good eating to enjoy there. Of course, the carving pumpkin variety is not really the smoothest or sweetest squash out there. If you are buying pumpkin purely for the sake of eating, consider using a smaller variety, like the sugar pumpkin or kabocha. But if you are carving jack 0'lanterns tonight, remember to save the good parts, because that is perfectly edible pumpkin and can be used in a myriad of ways!

We clean the pumpkin before starting so that no dirt transfers to the inside of the pumpkin when we cut into it.

First, the seeds. Everyone knows the seeds are delicious when simply roasted and salted. Or we can get crazy with our spices and concoct our signature flavor roasted pumpkin seeds. I'm imagining cinnamon. Or garlic and lemon-pepper. Or maybe something spicy, like chili and lime, or curry powder. Mmmmmm. How about roasted in soy or tamari sauce? That sounds good, too. I can't decide!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: To prepare the seeds, you must remove them from the pumpkin and then rinse in water to remove all the stringy bits. Next dry them out on a towel. Toss them in a bowl with your seasonings of choice. Roast in a single layer on a lightly oiled cookie sheet at 250F degrees for about an hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes or so.

These are great. Pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc. Snack on them alone, or add them to salads, muffins, breads, or anywhere else we would use nuts.

Now for the pumpkin "meat." We don't want all the stringy stuff, of course. Throw that out with the compost. We want the chunky flesh. When you cut out the face parts or other shapes from your jack 0'lantern, toss them in a baking dish. We're going to bake the pumpkin pieces in the oven until they get nice and soft. You can remove the skin with a paring knife now, or later, after the pumpkin is cooked. Do you carve out the inner wall of the pumpkin to reduce thickness before carving your design? Toss that in the baking dish, too! Just remember, none of the slimy, stringy, messy guts.

To make pumpkin puree: Place pumpkin chunks in a baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350F degrees for about an hour, or until pieces can be poked easily with a fork. When pumpkin has cooled, remove any skin if necessary. Puree in a food processor until smooth, or mash and press through a sieve.

Now we have pumpkin puree! This can be used just like the canned pumpkin available at the grocery store. There are lots of pumpkin recipes out there, y'all. You can make pie, cake, muffins, bread, pancakes, soup, souffle... what else?

What am I making with my pumpkin puree? I'm making pumpkin butter! It's bubbling away in my little Crockpot right now, in fact. Want to try some? Here's the recipe - let me know what you think!

Pumpkin Butter: Combine two cups of pumpkin puree, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves. Cook in a small-size slow cooker on the low setting for 6-12 hours. We want the pumpkin butter to stay on a spoon when the spoon is turned upside down. If you don't have a small slow cooker, you can also cook this on the stove in a saucepan, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat for an hour or two.

With such a small recipe, I won't bother with any canning. I plan to keep a bit in the refrigerator to use now, and perhaps freeze the rest for another time. It should keep fresh in the 'fridge for two to three weeks, and in the freezer for at least six months up to a year.

Have a great Halloween! Don't eat too much candy; it's not good for you in so many ways.

I'll be back later with more food to share - there's been a lot of cooking going on around here, and I have some yummy things to show you, like Thai basil chicken, roasted tomatoes and carmelized onions, and chorizo & potato stuffed peppers. And I've baked a pretty birthday cake and some tea party cupcakes, too!

Meet Mr. Bubbles, the Sourdough Starter

2008-10-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

Mr. Bubbles

Making a sourdough starter is so amazingly easy, it's pretty much idiot proof. You just have to make sure to "feed" it once a day for the first few days. After that, you mostly just need to tend to it once a week. It's kind of like a pet that you keep in the fridge. I already have one sitting in my fridge, I named him Mr. Bubbles (feel free to make fun of me).

In a couple of days I will post a sourdough bread recipe that I am currently working on. Before that, I thought it might be useful for some of you to learn a little about the process.

Here is what you do:

Mix together one cup of flour with one cup of warm water. Pour into a wide mouthed jar or other container. Avoid using a metal container, because it can affect the starter in an adverse way. Make sure there is a way for air to circulate in the container. I used a mason jar and punctured a hole in the lid with a nail. Put aside and keep at room temperature.

After about 24 hours, you will need to "feed" the starter: throw out half the starter, and mix in half a cup of warm water and a half cup of flour. Set aside for another 24 hours and repeat. After 3-5 days, your starter should be bubbly and yeasty smelling which means its ready to use; at this point you can begin keeping it in your refrigerator.

Your starter will keep for as long as you continue to feed it once a week or so, and also after every time you make something with it in order to replenish it.

If you want more details on how to make a sourdough starter, John Ross over at Sourdough Baking has lots of additional information and advice.

Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Chocolate Chips

2008-10-25T07:03:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to make this cake for a while now, it just sounds so interesting. Olive oil in a cake? One time when I was in high school a friend of mine and I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies but we didn't have any regular vegetable or canola oil. We did have olive oil however, so we used that instead. Needless to say the cookies turned out....interesting. I tried one bite and couldn't bring myself to eat anymore (ick!). For some reason, olive oil works very well in this cake and is the star ingredient along with the lemon. The recipe is adapted from Gourmet magazine. It is a very rustic, light, and airy cake; just barely sweet enough to be considered dessert.

Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Chocolate Chips
serves 8

Ingredients:
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 cup flour (use cake flour if you have it)
5 egg yolks
4 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 1/2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F, making sure the rack is in the middle position of the oven. Grease a 9 inch spring form pan, or a 9 cake inch cake pan.

Whisk together lemon zest, salt and flour. Set aside.

Beat together egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a large bowl until thick and pale, about three minutes. Drizzle in olive oil and lemon juice while slowly stirring just until combined, the mixture will appear to be slightly separated. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture just until combined (do not beat).

Beat egg whites in a large bowl until foamy. Add 1/4 cup sugar, a little at a time, and beat until mixture just begins to hold soft peaks.

Gently fold in one third of whites into yolk mixture. Then fold in rest of egg whites and chocolate chips very gently.

Pour batter into greased pan and gently rap against the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Sprinkle top with remaining sugar. Bake 45 minutes or until puffed and golden and a knife or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove. Cool cake to room temperature. At this point you can top the cake however you like- powdered sugar, berries, lemon curd, frosting, or leave it plain. I chose to spread some lemon curd I had from Trader Joe's and then sprinkled powdered sugar on top.

Enjoy with tea, as breakfast, snack, or dessert!

Carmel Sea Salt Brownies

2008-10-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

One of my co-workers had his last day of work this week and is at this moment driving himself and all his belongings from D.C. to Aspen, Colorado. I thought he might need some brownies to accompany him on a long drive.

Now, these are definitely NOT my mother's brownies. I thought it was a possibility these might give her a run for her money, but nope. This recipe is supposedly adapted from a brownie recipe made at Mari's New York. I have never had one of her brownies, but have read they are to die for. I am not sure the brownies I made reached that status, but they are pretty good.

Caramel Sea Salt Brownies

2 sticks unsalted butter
8 oz unsweetened chocolate
4 large eggs
2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup caramel warmed (I used a jar of Smucker's Caramel Sauce
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease an 11 x 9 casserole pan. Line with parchment; grease again.

In a small bowl sift flour and add the salt, mix together

Over double boiler, melt butter. Once melted, add chocolate and stir until melted. Remove from heat and set aside.

Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla together until fluffy and light in color. Add the chocolate and mix until combined. Gently fold in the flour.

Pour half the batter into pan and spread evenly. Pour half the caramel sauce over batter and spread evenly. Pour the remaining batter over caramel and spread evenly. Drizzle remaining caramel sauce over top, in one continuous back and forth pattern. With toothpick or knife, drag tip through top caramel and batter layer making same back and forth pattern but going the other way. Bake for 20 minutes, turn pan and bake for 15 minutes more.

Remove from oven and sprinkle sea salt on top. When cool, cut into squares or bars. Enjoy!

Ricotta Plum Pie with Lavender and Honey

2008-10-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday is farmer's market day in my neighborhood. The weather in D.C. has been unbelievably sunny, crisp, and gorgeous lately; and the vendors at the market are selling the last of their summer harvest. I took advantage of the last of this season's plums and also bought some amazing fresh whole milk ricotta cheese from Keswick Creamery.

I made up this recipe on the fly as an experiment. I wasn't sure if lavender and plums go together, nor have I ever made anything with lavender before. The result is an unusual combination that works well together. Fresh figs could easily be substituted for the plums.

In the end, next time I will make this pie just as is but without the lavender. If you are feeling adventurous though, I would definitely give the lavender a try!

P.S. One of these days I will post a detailed tutorial on how to make this pie crust. It's an amazing pie crust and is pretty easy to handle; another one of those reliable recipes that has been passed on in our family.

Ricotta Plum Pie with Lavender and Honey
Serves 8

Ingredients:

Filling:
1 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 tsp. dried lavender
2 egg yolks
3 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Fruit and Topping:
6 or 7 plums, sliced (8 slices per plum)
2 Tbs. white sugar
2 or 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 or 3 Tbs. honey

Crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbs. cold water

Directions:

With a fork, mix together flour, oil and salt until a crumbly mixture forms. Sprinkle cold water over mixture. Combine the water and flour/oil mixture just until barely incorporated. After the point where you add the water, mix as little as possible. The less you mix, the more flaky the crust will be. Form into a ball, you should be able to see white ribbons in the dough where the oil and water are immiscible (I just learned this word). Set aside.

Heat oven to 400F. To make the filling, place ricotta, egg yolk, honey and vanilla extract in a medium bowl and whisk until evenly combined. Add dried lavender and whisk again until well combined.

Now form the crust. To do this place plastic wrap flat down on a damp counter. Place the ball of pie dough in the middle and flatten a little. Place anther piece of plastic wrap over dough. With a rolling pin, roll out dough into a circle slightly larger than the pie pan. Place dough into pie pan; roll edges and pinch with fingers to make a ruffled edge. Spoon ricotta mixture onto the pie shell and even out with the back of a spoon or spatula.

Gently mix together sliced plums and white sugar, let sit for 5 or 10 minutes. Neatly arrange the plums on top of the filling in a circular pattern, or however you see fit. Drizzle honey and lemon juice over plums.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the crust is a light golden color. Let cool completely before serving. Goes well with a cup of tea or coffee!

UPDATE: Julie had a brilliant suggestion for next time: simmering the lavender in the honey and then straining it out so that there would be the lavender essence but not the lavender bits in the filling.

Coconut Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Lentils

2008-10-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

This curry was so good that we (four adults) ate it all before I had a chance to take any pictures. Now I have a wonderful excuse to make it again real soon, just so I can add a picture to this post.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 Tbsp mild Indian curry paste
2 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into bite-sized chunks
2 medium size sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into bite-size chunks
1/4 cup lentils (I used the split red lentils)
1 14 oz. can of coconut milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
other vegetables of choice, diced into small pieces, if necessary (I threw in about a half a cup green peas, straight from the freezer, because that's what I had)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the curry paste and stir-fry for about a minute. Then add the chicken, sweet potatoes and lentils; stir until well-coated in spices and oil.

Add the coconut milk and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes, or until the chicken and potatoes are cooked through, and the lentils have thickened the sauce. Add additional veggies and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, until vegetable pieces are tender.

Serve over hot, cooked basmati rice, or with naan bread for scooping. Delicious!

Looking for more sweet potato ideas? Check out this hash recipe I posted last week - the next time I make it, I think I'll try it with eggs at breakfast time and use chicken sausage instead. Yum!

Local Box Goodness

2008-10-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

It's Friday, and around here that means my Greenling Local Box has arrived. It's always an exciting moment at our house when the doorbell rings at the end of the week; the girls shriek with excitement, and we all immediately start rummaging through our box to see what we got this week.

Here's a quick list of what arrived this afternoon:

Zucchini
Red potatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Roma tomatoes
Bibb lettuce
Sweet potatoes
"Wizard" Green peppers (not sure what the "wizard" means - they look like regular ol' bell peppers)
Baby lettuce
Crimini mushrooms
Yellow and red onions
Meyer lemons
Key limes
Dill

Greenling also included a delicious-sounding recipe for White Beans with Roasted Tomatoes that I think I'll try later.

Tonight I'm using up more of those sweet potatoes in a coconut chicken curry we'll share with friends later this evening. We'll finish off the meal with some luscious lemon-lime bars I made this afternoon for dessert. The recipe was an adaptation of this one from the delightful site Cooking for Engineers.

Have a fantastic idea for any of the other items? Let me know - I might try it out!

Apple Cinnamon Bread

2008-10-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

You probably have everything needed to make this bread already in your kitchen. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, see my note below. This recipe produces a sweet and spicy bread that is slightly chewy (in a good way). While it was baking I went for a nice walk in Rock Creek Park to check out the beautiful autumn leaves, fall is so beautiful in D.C. It was nice to come home after walking in the crispy weather to a warm apartment filled with the smell of apples and cinnamon.

Apple Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk*
1/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces

Topping:
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2-2/3 cup brown sugar (enough to make mixture crumbly)

Directions:
Heat oven to 350F. Mix together buttermilk*, sour cream or yogurt, oil, brown sugar, and apple until well combined. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and stir with a wooden spoon until wet and dry ingredients are completely incorporated.

Pour evenly into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the top of the batter and lightly swirl with a knife.

Bake for about an hour or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Enjoy!

*If you don't have any buttermilk on hand (I didn't), simply make your own. All you do is pour 1 Tbs. of apple or white vinegar, or lemon juice into a 1 cup liquid measuring cup and then fill the rest of it with milk. Let sit for about 5 minutes or until it curdles, and now you have buttermilk. Also, this could easily be turned into a vegan bread by substituting the milk with soy or almond milk, and using soy yogurt instead of dairy yogurt.

Lemon Ginger Cake

2008-10-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

A dear friend of mine had a birthday recently, and there is little I love more than making a cake for someone, especially a friend who has seen me through a lot of life's ups and downs. She doesn't have a huge sweet tooth, and is known for passing up the dessert tray at a restaurant and opting for buffalo wings instead. I am not sure how it's possible that we are still great friends given this disparity of respective weaknesses, but we are. Truth is stranger than fiction, folks. That said, she actually liked this cake (or so she said).
(BTW- we are only letting her pretend she is still 27, don't tell her we know)

The cake itself is not terribly sweet, but very good. The frosting is quite tangy and sweet, and I will probably keep it up my sleeve as a trusty go-to frosting.

Lemon Ginger Cake

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbs. lemon zest
1 Tbs. fresh ginger, grated
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest and ginger. Beat for one minute.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.

Divide batter between two round cake pans, don't forget to grease or spray the pans with cooking spray first. There will be batter left over which is great for making cupcakes (see cupcake photo at the end of this post). Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Cool completely at room temperature.

Lemon Ginger Frosting:

2 tsp. lemon zest
4 Tbs. melted butter
3-4 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp. salt

Whisk together lemon zest, butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, lemon juice, ginger and salt until the mixture starts to stiffen. Add more powdered sugar until the frosting seems thick enough to stick to the cake.

After the cake has cooled completely, top one of the cake rounds with frosting. Place other cake round on top, and then frost the rest of the cake. I decorated mine with candied ginger and fruit jellies from Trader Joe's.

Here is a picture of the cupcakes. I took these to work, and there wasn't a crumb left after 11 AM.

Julie's Best Mac & Cheese

2008-10-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

The rain has arrived this week, and it had us stuck in the house all day yesterday. So it seemed like the perfect day for a warm bowl of one my kids' favorite comfort foods - macaroni and cheese.

Homemade macaroni and cheese is really not much more complicated than the stuff in the blue box. No, really, it isn't. And for some reason, my girls won't eat the boxed stuff, anyway. (Okay, the obvious reason is because this is much better.) So this is how we make it in our house.

In this dish, I forgo the traditional bechamel sauce, favoring instead a carbonara-esque sauce made with egg and milk. The result is an incredibly rich, creamy, cheesy sauce. Easy and yummy!

Ingredients:

1 cup small pasta (we like whole-wheat organic elbows)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk (although I never measure - just splash it into the bowl with the egg)
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
salt (and pepper) to taste

Boil the pasta as directed.

Meanwhile, beat the egg and milk together in a small bowl. When the pasta is done, drain off the hot water in a strainer and immediately put the empty pot back on the burner over low heat.

Pour the egg-milk mixture into the pot and stir while cooking over low heat for a few minutes. You want to heat the mixture so it gets hot and kills any bacteria and thickens just so slightly, but not scramble the eggs.

Stir in the hot, drained pasta (which will also help cook the egg sauce a bit), and then mix in the shredded cheese until melted and smooth. Add salt to taste (and pepper, if desired), and then EAT!

This makes enough to feed about two hungry kids.

Donuts!

2008-10-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

"Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?" -Homer Simpson

When I first got the idea to make donuts from scratch, my eyes almost popped out of my head. I love anything even remotely kitchy.

I was warned they would take commitment. These aren't something you can just stir up in a bowl and stick on the skillet.... I think I underestimated that warning as I was up until one in the morning making these puppies.

They were pretty good, but I definitely learned a few things:

1. I need a candy thermometer.
2. I need a round pastry cutter set.
3. I'm 95% sure that its better to fry these at a lower temperature than the recipe calls for and to take them out of the oil well before you think they are done, otherwise they turn out dry and chewy instead of soft and melt in your mouth.
4. Only make as much as can be consumed or given away in one day,
5. These are a great gift to give to someone who needs a little happiness in their day.

I got the idea and the glazes from the amazing Joy the Baker. I did not use an electric mixer for the donuts, as I do not have one yet. I didn't find it to be a problem though, I just vigorously mixed the dough with my hands when the recipe called for it to be mixed for 3 minutes (kind of a bicep work out). Also, I think what was even better than the donuts themselves were the donut holes. I dropped them immediately from the oil into a bowl of cinnamon and sugar and rolled them around. I took the donuts and the holes to work, and the holes were first to go. Just as an FYI-These are not super sweet like the kind you buy at a grocery store bakery or Krispy Kreme. They taste more like a slightly sweet fry bread with a touch of cinnamon.

Though these were very good, I think next time I will try out these from Peanut Butter and Julie.

P.S. I know the picture isn't of the highest quality, I had to take it with my cell phone. Don't worry, I am working on getting my broken camera fixed.

Gourmet, December 2006

makes 1 dozen doughnuts

1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons warm water (105–115°F)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for sprinkling and rolling out dough
1 cup whole milk at room temperature
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
About 10 cups vegetable oil for deep frying

Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Mix together flour, milk, butter, yolks, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and yeast mixture in mixer at low speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat 3 minutes more.

Scrape dough down side of bowl (all around) into center, then sprinkle lightly with flour (to keep a crust from forming). Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (Alternatively, let dough rise in bowl in refrigerator 8 to 12 hours.)

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round (1/2 inch thick). Cut out as many rounds as possible with 3-inch cutter, then cut a hole in center of each round with 1-inch cutter and transfer doughnuts to a lightly floured large baking sheet. Cover doughnuts with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until slightly puffed, about 30 minutes (45 minutes if dough was cold when cutting out doughnuts). Do not reroll scraps.

Heat 2 1/2 inches oil in a deep 4-quart heavy pot until it registers 350°F on thermometer. Fry doughnuts, 2 at a time, turning occasionally with a wire or mesh skimmer or a slotted spoon, until puffed and golden brown, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. (Return oil to 350°F between batches.)

I also fried the doughnut holes for about 1 minute and them tossed them in powdered sugar and cinnamon sugar straight out of the hot grease.

Chocolate Glaze

recipe from Alton Brown

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup whole milk, warmed
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Decrease the heat to low, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted. Turn off heat, add the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water and dip the doughnuts immediately. Allow glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving.

Maple Glaze

Bon Appetit November 1995

You might consider doubling this recipe and drizzling it on everything you know and love.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons whipping cream
6 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted

Melt butter with maple syrup and cream in heavy small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Cool glaze until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Dip doughnuts into glaze or drizzle glaze over doughnuts.

These glazes are really tasty, I ended up having left over glaze and used it as an ice cream topper.

Sweet Potato - Chicken Hash

2008-10-15T10:55:00.000-07:00

My Greenling Local Box has been heavy on sweet potatoes for the last few weeks, and I've garnered quite a collection. I was getting tired of my usual standbys (in a vegetable curry or diced and roasted with olive oil as a side dish), so I decided to try something a little different: some hash patties. I topped the hash with a chipotle-garlic salsa, but I think these would be just as good with a finely diced chipotle pepper or two tossed into the hash mix before cooking. I was doubtful as the mixture came together, wondering if it would be a success, but in the end, these turned out very tasty, and I will certainly make these again. Served with cornbread and salad, these made a great weeknight meal.

Ingredients:

2-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2" cubes
2 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breast
about 2 Tbsp butter
about 2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion
1/2 green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
Salsa, for garnish

Place the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until potato pieces are soft and easily pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, chop the chicken breast into very small dice. Or, if you're like me and don't really enjoy the trouble of chopping a lot of raw chicken, toss the chicken into the food processor and process until the chicken is broken up into small bits. (I suppose here you could even use chicken that has been pre-ground by your butcher.) Also finely dice the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. (Or, again, if you're like me and feeling lazy and/or pressed for time, toss these in the food processor, too. When it comes to feeding my kids, the-smaller-the-better when it comes to vegetable pieces, anyway.)

Heat about 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and vegetable mix, and stir and cook until cooked through and slightly browned. Stir in the oregano and paprika, and then add salt and pepper to taste. Combine the sweet potatoes and chicken mixture in a large bowl, mashing as necessary to bring the mixture together.

In a large skillet (preferably non-stick), heat another tablespoon or so each of butter and olive oil over medium heat. Scoop out 1/4 cup size or so mounds of the hash mixture and place them in the pan, pressing down a bit to make patties. Cook each patty until browned and crisp on one side, then carefully flip with a spatula and cook the other side. I had to cook mine in two batches.

Remove to a plate, top with salsa, and dig in.

Grammy's Ginger Cookies

2008-10-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

Food For Thought: "The purpose of flavor is to arouse a special kind of emotion, that flavor must emerge from genuine feelings about the materials you are handling. What you are, you cook."
~ Marcella Hazan

What better way to start out than to bake a classic family recipe? This recipe was passed down from our father's mother, Clarice Marie; or as we so affectionately called her, Grammy. These cookies are great for getting you in the mood for fall, and they smell delicious. Even if you think you don't like Ginger Cookies or Ginger Snaps, you ought to give these a try. As Julie pointed out to me today, people who stubbornly claim they do not like ginger cookies will often fall head over heels for these.

Grammy's Ginger Cookies
makes about 4 1/2 dozen

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. salt (if you are using salted butter, just use 1 tsp.)

Directions:
Melt butter and let cool for about 10 minutes. Add oil, sugar, molasses, eggs and beat until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Combine the two mixtures and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or until the batter stiffens slightly.

Preheat oven to 375F. Form batter into balls about one inch in diameter, or the size of a donut hole. Roll each ball in a bowl of sugar to coat completely, and then place on cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until your preferred consistency is reached (you might want to experiment with this). When the cookies come out of the oven they will be puffy, but as they cool on the counter they will flatten. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk, yummy.

Spicy-Sweet Butternut Squash Soup

2008-10-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

A butternut squash has been sitting on my kitchen counter for a few weeks now, eyeing me as I walk past everyday, silently challenging me to do something with it. I don't know, but winter squash feels like, well, winter, and it's been hard for me to wrap my mind around cooking with it when it's still 90+ degrees outside. But finally, as the weather begins to cool off here in central Texas (albeit only slightly), I found the inspiration I need. The temperature has fallen to the mid-80's, and we have rain in the forecast. Has fall finally arrived? Let's have some soup.

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized butternut squash
2 medium apples
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 chipotle peppers with adobe sauce, chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
dollop or two of cream
salt to taste

While the oven is preheating to 350F, cut the squash open lengthwise and remove the seeds and strings. Quarter and core the apples. Place squash, cut side down, and apples on a lightly greased baking sheet. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until the squash can be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh of the squash and discard the skin.

In a large soup pot, saute the onions in the olive oil until soft and golden. Add squash, apples, chipotle peppers, cumin, and stock. Simmer gently for 20-30 minutes. Working in batches, puree in blender or food processor to the consistency you like (Ultra smooth, or a little on the chunky side? You choose.). Transfer to a large bowl or soup tureen, salt to taste, and stir in the cream.

Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with extra cream. Serve with good bread and salad, and you have the perfect meal to usher in the cooler weather of fall.

Introducing Julie

2008-10-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'm Julie, and I love Great Food and sharing it with others. I live in Austin, Texas with my husband, two daughters, a dog, a cat, and two hermit crabs. Getting busy in the kitchen and then savoring the results is one of my favorite pastimes. I think sharing Great Food and Good Times with friends and family is priceless.

Around here, you'll see me doing most of the cooking. I try to keep things simple yet satisfying, since I have a family to feed and it seems like we are always on the go. Freshness and quality are important to me, and local, seasonable ingredients are what inspire me. I do have a terrible sweet tooth, however, and it's not uncommon for me to whip up a batch of something to satisfy that craving. Like brownies. Mmmmm, brownies. Beth and I can both crank out a mean pan of brownies. We learned it from our mom. Thanks, Mom!

Beth came up with the great idea of sharing our virtual kitchen with you, and I enthusiastically jumped on board. There's so much we all can learn from each other, and I'm looking forward to the journey. And maybe someday, if your lucky, we just might share that secret family recipe for brownies...

Introducing Beth

2008-10-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm Beth and I like to bake. No, scratch that; I LOVE to bake. Like a piece of freshly baked bread that needs to be buttered, I've got to get my hands, my clothes, my hair, and my tiny D.C. apartment kitchen covered in flour. I am a messy baker; just ask my fiancé. What you can expect from me is that I will post mainly baking recipes. Sometimes I might throw in something else- a little chowder, a little pasta, a little enchilada. But mostly you will see cake, pies, bread, cookies, muffins, tarts, and brownies. Mmmmm, brownies.

I am not the world's most perfect baker, not by a long shot. I just like to do it because it calms me down and brings me back to earth after a hectic day. All a person really needs for a little pick-me up is good food; the comforts of bread, sugar and chocolate; getting messy; the satisfaction of accomplishing something; and what's life without a little glass of wine to accompany you while you are attempting to master your Grammy’s famous Red Devils Food Cake (which no one but her could ever seem to quite nail), right?

I will try and keep my recipes as budget friendly, fresh, simple, and seasonal as possible. So lets do this together, want to join us? My sister Julie and I are pretty darned good when we put our heads together, but I could still use your input and advice. Speaking of Julie, she is a master at making the perfect roux among many other things, an inspirational cook and baker if you ever saw one. Try out one of our recipes and tell us what you think!