Ballerina Breath

Corn Stuffing

2011-10-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

It is October. It is also, for whatever reason, still in the high 70's here, which seems pretty unusual for this time of year in Minnesota. My seasonal meal planning has shifted over to fall, which must mean I'm ready for it, but the weather outside remains warm and pleasantly breezy.

Presumably it is behaving like fall somewhere, and it will eventually do so here, as well. In the meantime, I'm cooking as though the temperatures are about 30 degrees lower than they are, and that suits me just fine.

Today I roasted a chicken. If you'd like to know how, or to be reminded of how insanely straightforward it is to accomplish this in your very own kitchen, I wrote all about it two winters ago, right here.

I also made corn stuffing today. That I will talk about, because it was my first effort at such a project, and I can heartily recommend it. It so happens that last night I made cornbread (the recipe on the Quaker cornmeal box is quick and easy), and today I realized that I had half a pan of it left, and it occurred to me that perhaps corn stuffing would be just the thing to accompany the chicken I was about to pop in the oven.

Say what you will about Rachael Ray, but her cookbooks contain simple recipes for food I want to eat. In this case, I turned to Get Togethers, which was a thoughtful gift from my sister a few years ago. This cookbook is arranged into meals, but I found a corn stuffing recipe buried in her "Giving Grazie: Italian-Style Thanksgiving" meal, adjusted it slightly (as it called for celery and prosciutto, neither of which I had on hand), and subbed in half a pan of leftover cornbread for the "three corn muffins, crumbled" that the recipe suggests. I also added a can of mushrooms to replace the bulk of those ingredients I skipped.

Here's what I made, and it is delicious:

Corn Stuffing

adjusted from Rachael Ray's "Corn, Sage, and Prosciutto Stuffing"

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small can mushrooms, drained

salt and pepper, to taste

2 tsp poultry seasoning (I used Bell's)

2 sprigs dried sage, chopped (2 Tbsp)

half a pan of leftover cornbread (or 3 corn muffins)

1 cup chicken broth

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, combine olive oil and butter. When the butter melts into the oil, add the onion, mushrooms, salt and pepper, and poultry seasoning. Saute 5 minutes, until onions are softened. Add sage, stir to combine. Crumble cornbread into the pan. Moisten with broth and heat through. Remove from heat, and cover with foil to keep warm.

That quote is silly, let's just do it ourselves....

2011-09-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

So I know I haven't posted since I last said 'oh hey, I'm back, let's get cooking', but let me tell you why. My boyfriend had the crazy idea to take off the back railing of the deck and build wide stairs into the lawn. These would connect to the current stairs that go down the back of the house, making them nice wraparound steps into the lawn. In a few years we said, we'll make it happen. And then we decided to get a quote. $2,500. Holy cow, we thought, that's insane.

And then we had this crazy idea - what if we just build it ourselves?! It can't be that hard, right? And it can't be that expensive. Well. $1,000 and forty or so hours later - the project is complete. Holy mackerel. The quote totally makes sense now. I mean, we saved $1,500, but we get why that the labor costs were what they were. Granted we didn't know what we were doing, so a lot of time was spent pondering things, undoing, fixing and redoing things, etc, but corner stairs - they're a lot of work. Our neighbor is a contractor and he hollered over from the nice simple square deck he built in an afternoon: "Quite the project you've got there! I've never tried corner stairs, don't plan on it - they're tough!". Yup. The guy who builds decks and stairs for a living said he avoids corner stairs. Ah well.

After one hammer to the mouth (Dan), one face plant in the dark after tripping over the pile of lumber (me) and lots of scrapes, bruises and splinters (both of us) later - we have some gosh darn beautiful steps into the yard. And they've already proven to make it a totally different back yard experience. Now it's no longer 'people eating on the deck and other people playing bocce in the backyard' - it's all one big party! Woohoo.

Here's how it went down in eight ~~tedious~~ totally easy steps:

1. Pull off old railing.

2. Dig a giant hole in the yard. Level it. Lay down weed blocker.


3. Pour paver base over everything. Level it. Lay down super heavy paving stones. Use a tiny little shovel and paintbrush to carefully apply paving cement between stones. Mist multiple times to harden.

4. Attach pre-made stringers. Spend half a day making the darn corner stringer.

5. Measure and cut wood. For days. Don't forget to dip the cut ends in wood preservative for 3 minutes each.

6. Put it together. Piece by piece by piece.


7. Have friends over even though it's not done - enjoy what you've got.

8. Finish by the light of a lamp you brought out from the living room. Revel in the glory of the project being complete.

Avocado Corn Salad

2011-08-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

I recently posted about a salad that looks, tastes, and is very healthy. However, this salad that I made today looks, tastes, and is the most delicious way to consume summer vegetables that I may ever have experienced - and, what's truly great, is that it is healthy, as well. The dressing is lime juice, after all.

The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook never ceases to amaze, and this is just another fine example of how their easy and straightforward recipes are just incredible. I was flipping through this cookbook in search of a cucumber recipe, actually, but the page landed open at this Avocado Corn Salad, and I realized that I just so happened to have all the ingredients on hand -and so I made it immediately. I suggest that you do the same.

Avocado Corn Salad

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

Serves 2 (or one hungry person)

1 cup fresh or frozen cut corn

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 Tbsp water

1 tsp ground cumin

pinch of cayenne or red pepper flakes

1 medium avocado

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1/2 medium red bell pepper

2 Tbsp minced red onion

salt to taste

dash of hot sauce (I'm partial to Frank's)

whole or chopped cilantro leaves (optional)

In a skillet, combine the corn, oil, water, cumin, and optional cayenne or red pepper flakes. Cook, covered, on medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the corn is tender. Uncover and cook for an additional minute or two to evaporate the excess moisture. Set aside to cool.

Slice the avocado in half lengthwise, and gently twist to remove the pit. Make lengthwise and crosswise cuts in the flesh every 1/2 inch. Scoop the avocado cubes out of the shells and into a large bowl. Gently stir in the lime juice. Cut the bell pepper into 1/2 inch pieces and add to the bowl. Stir in the red onion and cooked corn. Stir. Add salt and hot sauce to taste, and top with cilantro if you like.

Serve immediately, or chill for 30 minutes and then serve.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

2011-08-25T19:01:00.001-07:00

I have committed to consuming a big box of fresh and local vegetables every two weeks. Sometimes, that's the easiest way to think about my CSA deal. It being August, there's an awful lot of broccoli showing up at my door, and since the temperatures have been hovering somewhere nearer to 70 than 100 lately, the idea of soup didn't seem so bad, all of a sudden. It being summer, and as you can see in this picture, I also chopped up some small tomatoes with basil and drizzled oil and vinegar over the top.

Mark Bittman, and his How to Cook Everything cookbook, suggested a Cream of Broccoli Soup that sounded just fine to me - and it was both simple and delicious. He notes that it works with lots of vegetables - carrots, cauliflower, celery... you know, the standard "Cream of ___ Soup" options.

If you do include rice, as I did, be sure to puree it pretty thoroughly - otherwise you get sort of distracting rice bits in each spoonful. This is an excellent candidate for the immersion blender - it removes the entire "transfer to a blender without burning yourself, blend the hot soup, wash the pan, put the puree back in the pan and heat without boiling" portion of the event.

I made half a recipe, but I'm including the full recipe here.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

adapted from How to Cook Everything

Serves 4

1 lb broccoli, trimmed and cut up (I peeled and sliced the stalks to include, too). 1 pound of broccoli is about 4 loosely packed cups.

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup rice or 1 medium baking potato, peeled and cut into quarters

4 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, or water

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 to 1 cup heavy or light cream or half-and-half

minced fresh parsley leaves or chives for garnish

Chop up the broccoli and set aside. Chop up the onion and cook it at a low temperature in the butter for a few minutes, or until softened. Add the broccoli and cook for a few minutes. Add the rice and stock and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes.

Cool slightly, then puree in a food mill or a blender. Return to the pot and reheat over medium-low heat. Season with salt and pepper, add the cream. Heat through again, garnish and serve.

Salads are Healthy

2011-08-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

There's this idea that most salads are healthy. I have to admit, though, that I usually find the most delicious salads to be the ones that involve things like... steak, or blue cheese, or hard-boiled eggs, or all of the above. Those salads, however, would be just put to shame if placed in a healthy salads contest with the one I just made and ate. It was delicious, but boy-oh-boy, it was primarily healthy. If that's what you're looking for, this might be just the thing.

My grand CSA adventure continues this summer, and this recipe - Lebanese Chard & Bean Salad - was provided by the newsletter writers at Driftless Organics. They have this delightful habit of sharing recipes that include (and help to use up) some of the vegetables in the accompanying CSA veggie box. This is one of those recipes. I have no idea if this is truly a Lebanese recipe or not, but I can confirm that it's a healthy salad that looks nice and tastes good.

By the way, take a look at these Dragon Tongue Beans. They are so pretty. Once cooked, they lose their nifty purple detailing (which the CSA newsletter warned me about), so I took a picture of them prepped but pre-cooked.

Lebanese Chard & Bean Salad

4 cups chard (I used some greens - arugula and purple mizuna)

1 cup green, purple or dragon tongue beans, cut into thirds

1/2 medium onion, finely sliced

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped and toasted (I got lazy and didn't include these)

1/2 cup sweet peppers, very thinly sliced

Steam chard for a minute or two, until just wilted. Run under cold water to cool & drain. Arrange it on a serving platter. Steam beans for a couple of minutes, cool, drain, & place on top of wilted greens. Arrange onion & sweet pepper slices on top of beans. Mix yogurt, lemon juice and parsley together in a small bowl and drizzle over salad. Top with walnuts and extra parsley for garnish. Add toasted pita wedges for a complete meal!

My thoughts about the Aug. 16th Primary

2011-08-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

So this blog is 99.9% about cooking, but I'm going to digress today, just for this one post, to write about something that I am equally passionate about: politics. If you're not a Washington State voter, and even more specifically, not a Seattle voter, you can ignore this post, but if you're local, read on! Primaries are tough, they're in the middle of summer, the elections are just narrowing it down to the final two, and it's not a singular day everyone in the nation is out voting, so primaries tend to get lost in the excitement of summer. But primary ballots have other stuff on them too - propositions and referendums. If you miss a vote on this one, or vote misinformed, there's no hope of correcting that vote later on. This is it, and they're important this year. A few of my friends have mentioned that they would love a rundown of the primary ballot and my personal opinion* on how to vote, so here you go.

King County Proposition 1: Approve

Proposition 1 asks if you want to renew the Veterans and Human Services Levy. Originally approved in 2005, this levy provides funding for programs that aid veterans and other families in need. I've yet to find anyone that is against this proposition, and for good reason. In my opinion, it's unbelievably important that we take care of our veterans, so vote to approve this proposition!

Seattle City Council, Position 1: Bobby Forch

There are three major players in this race: Jean Godden (incumbent), Maurice Classen and Bobby Forch. Except for Mike O'Brien, and occasionally the Sally's (Bagshaw and Clark), I'm rarely impressed by the current city council, though keep in mind that the tunnel issue (REJECT REF 1) is very much on my mind, and the Seattle City Council has done little to please me in that respect, so I'm pretty eager to see a fresh face in the mix.

I've been fortunate enough to get to know Bobby Forch this summer, as his campaign headquarters are located next door to my office. Bobby is energetic, progressive, passionate and knowledgeable about Seattle and last but not least, damn friendly. But on to the issues. Bobby has worked his way up the ladder during his career at SDOT, showing both his drive and his ability to lead. He's progressive and his genuine top priority is police accountability and public safety, which is fantastic to see. As a Ballard resident, I also really appreciate his push for a transit system that better connects our neighborhoods. I second what the The Stranger said in their endorsement of Bobby though. They put their weight behind him, but wish he'd strongly reconsider his tunnel stance. It's not that he's pro-tunnel, he just isn't anti-tunnel, as, from what I understand, his biggest issue is that a decision just be made, a plan put in action. He's keenly aware of the importance of replacing the Viaduct, and wishes to see it taken down sooner than later. But I really wish he'd be firmly anti-tunnel Ah well. At least he's not pro-tunnel like Classen and Godden.

Vote Bobby Forch. He's smart, progressive and, well, kind of hard not to like.

Seattle City Council, Position 9: Sally Clark

This race is between Sally Clark (incumbent), Dian Ferguson and Fathi Karshie. Fathi hasn't really gotten a strong campaign going, so I'm afraid that's a non starter - maybe we'll see more of him in future years. Since it's a primary, the goal here is just to be in the top two, so it's pretty clear that Sally Clark and Dian Furguson will be the top two, but if you still care to know who and why...

Sally Clark is an incumbent. She's behind the tunnel, which stinks, but so is Dian Furguson. Otherwise, Clark is progressive and seems to do a good job of being really well informed and giving due diligence to the issues. My vote's for Clark, but I'm hoping to hear more from both candidates this fall before I make my decision about who to vote for in the November election.

City of Seattle Referendum 1: REJECT, REJECT, REJECT

Okay. Whew. There are few things that rile me up as much as the tunnel does. I know people just want a decision made and I know people think the tunnel is already started and it's too late to turn back, AND I know that a lot of people just don't know much about the issue and so they say 'might as well'. But please please please don't be apathetic about this. Following presentations from people on both sides of the issue and after reading hundreds of pages of documents by WDOT and SDOT, research papers by transportation and transit planners, and case studies of similar cases, I had to write a 20 page paper analyzing the Viaduct replacement for my transportation and land use class last fall. I can honestly say if you read all of the documents, it's really hard to imagine anyone thinking the tunnel is a good idea. I could go on for days, but I'll bore you, so I'm going to give a short list of some main points, and suggest that if you wish to read more, you read this overview from The Stranger, this guest editorial on Crosscut, this collection of interviews, articles and charts from Sightline, and last but not least, if you can, browse the thousand plus page Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), which can also be found in print at your local branch of the Seattle Public Library.

1. More than two thirds of SR99 traffic enters or exits downtown, yet the tunnel cannot provide downtown exits. Add to this the fact that there will be tolls and that the tunnel plan provides no funds for transit, and it's easy to understand why the FEIS shows that downtown Seattle traffic will be the same if not worse than if the tunnel simply got taken down and nothing was done. Pioneer Square's narrow, bumpy streets will be flooded with diverted cars and the waterfront that the pro-tunnel campaign keeps touting will be designed for low-flow traffic but will also see a huge surge in traffic looking to avoid the toll and exit downtown.

2. The tunnel will cost nearly $7 billion when it's all said and done, and that's not counting if the tunnel boring machine (the largest ever made) breaks. It's the most expensive option. That's a huge price tag for something that won't improve traffic and will make it worse in many places.

3. Everyone agrees that the viaduct is unsafe. Everyone. But the tunnel plan is the only one that keeps the viaduct up past 2012. It keeps the viaduct intact and in use until 2016.

Really it comes down to this. If you know that two different plans create similar traffic situations, but Option A costs billions more and keeps an unsafe structure open for 4 extra years and Option B includes money for transit and takes the unsafe structure down next year....which one would you pick? (Hint: there is no way in hell you would pick Option A).

And I know what you've heard, "it's too late to stop it now" or "the referendum doesn't matter anyway". Well guess what? It's never too late to stop a project with a $7 billion price tag, especially when the project is only under way because the state started awarding contracts before the FEIS came out (which is illegal, by the way) showing that the tunnel won't actually improve traffic. And yeah, the referendum is about if you wish to authorize the City Council to move forward with agreements, not a way to outright block the tunnel. But it's something. Don't take this lightly.

* Wondering why and how I have such strong opinions? Well, I'm a Masters candidate at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs, so just generally I have studied, read case studies, and written papers about some of these topics (ahem, the tunnel). I also read the endorsements written by my local PCO, progressive groups, local newspapers and local legislative districts. I don't always agree with them, and certainly you can't take what one paper says as the end all to be all, but if you read them all, it's a great way to parse out the consistent bits and decide for yourself what you think.

Pie in a jar. A very small jar.

2011-07-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

There is a wonderful blog that goes by the name not martha. This woman (Megan) makes the most absurdly awesome things - crafts AND food. Her blog really is fantastic, and a friend of mine often sends me links from the blog with a note that says something along the lines of 'I don't have the patience for this, but you should try making it!'. The one that has been nagging at me, one that I really thought 'that's my kinda baked good, I could pull that off', was a post about mini pies, baked in tiny little canning jars. If you've ever been in my kitchen, you know that I love mini things. Mini whisks, mini spatulas, mini bowls, mini cheese knives.

So finally, after pondering this idea of making mini pies for about two years, we made them last weekend! We made mini pies in a jar! I was in charge of the crust and my friend was in charge of the filling (blueberry and apricot). We made two dozen pies and a dozen crumbles, since we ran out of pie crust. Our crust didn't look nearly as nice as Megan's did, but we made it work. First we tried cramming circles into the jars, which just lead to way too much crust in one place. Then I tried cutting a wedge out of the circle and then putting the crust in, which worked a bit better. By the end I was just cutting strips a little wider than the width of the jar and putting two per jar, perpendicular to each other. I say play around and see what works for you.

The details:

Jars: We used 4 oz jars. The key is to use a jar that is wider than it is tall, and of course, it should be wide mouth. If you get frustrated easily, or don't have tiny nimble hands, I suggest you at least consider 8 oz jars.

Crust: I am extremely loyal to the Cook's Illustrated pie crust that uses half butter half shortening, but you can do as you wish. The recipe on not martha used the Cook's Illustrated all butter crust. We found that one crust (for a covered pie) made 12 jar pies. So convenient!

Filling: Personal preference. My friend was in charge of filling, so I'm not positive, but she precooked the berries on the stove so that they wouldn't make the pie in the jar soggy and so there would be a bit less of a cooked over mess.

Directions:
For step by step directions, I'm going to direct you to the original post on not martha: pies baked in tiny jars. But I will outline the general step by step. Also. I really recommend the two person approach. If one handles the crust and one handles the filling, it really does make everything less hectic and much more fun.

1. Make the crust, as it needs to sit in the fridge for at least half an hour before you start rolling it out.

2. Prepare the filling, if you're using a filling that is super juicy, pre cook it a bit. Basically, pick what kind of pie you want to make, look up how the filling is handled for a normal big pie, and do that.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 375 F or so.

4. Roll out the pie crust and get the jars outfitted with crust, leaving a fair amount of crust at the top. Also make sure to leave enough crust to make a top layer.

5. Pour in the filling, add the top crust and fold over the tall sides of the bottom crust to make a nice little edge. Cut some slits in the crust so steam can escape.

6. If there are way more mini pies than you think you can eat in a week, put the cover on the extras and stick 'em in the freezer for baking at a later date. Defrost those puppies for a bit before you put 'em in a hot oven though.

7. Put all of your mini jars on a rimmed baking dish and stick it in the oven. Let cook for at least 45 minutes - even though it's mini, a pie is a pie.

8. Once the jars have cooled a bit, move them to a casserole dish and add warm water until it reaches the threads where the top screws on. This will clean off much of the messy, sticky stuff that bubbled out of the pie during baking.

9. Once the jars have fully cooled, stick the covers on the jars and you're done! not martha suggested removing them from the jar, but I personally loved having the jar as the serving dish and it was SUPER handy to be able to toss a jar into my lunch bag and have pie for a nice little afternoon snack at work.

Now if only I wasn't so intimidated by the tiny gingerbread houses...

Sauteed Greens

2011-07-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

Something that grows really well in Seattle is green things - lettuce, chard, kale, etc. We're starting to eat from the garden, and the other night we had a full colander of cherries from the tree out front, and from the garden we had radishes, a young walla walla (pulled it for thinning purposes) and lots of beautiful rainbow chard. I wanted to share my favorite recipe for cooking chard and kale. I prefer chard over other types of braising greens, but they can all be delicious prepared the right way. This is best cooked in a giant skillet - a wide one with high walls if you have it, and it must have a cover. A cast iron will work well too, as long as you have a cover for it. Also - I like to use carrots and a turnip to add a bit of substance. They're not necessary, but I think they add nice flavor. Radishes also work really well.

Ingredients: 1 yellow onion, 2 carrots, 1 turnip, 3-4 cloves garlic, 2 T olive oil, salt and pepper (sea salt is great if you have it), 1-2 bunches of greens

Directions: The end goal of this step is to have all of the non-green items in the pan, but timing is semi-important. Since I like to saute the onion a bit, whereas the carrots and turnip I'm just trying to soften up, and the garlic I'm worried about burning, I usually follow this pattern: dice onions, then get the oil going while you peel and slice the carrot into smallish pieces, then add the onions to the pan and let them brown just a little. Peel and dice the turnip into 1/2 inch pieces while you do this, then I add the carrot and turnip, saute for just a few seconds in order to mix everything around, then put the cover on. Mince the garlic and set it aside. Check on the sauteing/steaming items and stir them a bit.

Wash the greens thoroughly and chop into 3 inch trips. I personally don't love the stalks, but many people do (like my boyfriend), so I usually cut the very bottom of the stock off and then chop the rest of it into little 1/2 inch pieces that I use. When you're about ready to put the greens in, remove the lid, add the garlic, salt and pepper and stir the ingredients until while mixed.

Add the greens (as many as can fit), turn the heat up just a little bit and put the lid on. Check every five minutes or so to stir the greens. Once the greens have cooked down a little, add remaining greens. Continue to cook with the cover on until greens are like cooked spinach. Keep in mind that the greens will cook down a ton. Once greens are cooked down, add more salt and pepper, stir, and serve!

Happy healthy eating!

Dive Bomb Tortas - a guest recipe

2011-07-11T11:43:00.000-07:00

A recent off-the-cuff recipe from my wonderful boyfriend...

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts (pounded flat to ¼”)
Avocado (sliced into thin wedges)
Heirloom tomatoes (sliced into thin wedges)
Lettuce
Marinade (See below)
Adobo butter (See below)
Mini French baguettes
Mayo (optional)

Chicken Spice Rub / Marinade:

Parsley
Thyme
Basil
Fresh chives
Oregano (Fresh & Dry)
Sweet paprika
Ground coriander
Olive oil
Salt
Garlic

Adobo Butter

8Tb Butter (room temp)
1Tb adobo sauce
1Tb honey
1-2 Ancho chile in adobo sauce (crushed with back of fork into butter)

Marinade chicken for 20 minutes and grill
Spread adobo butter on inside baguettes and grill
Assemble remaining ingredients
------------------------------
Note: I started graduate school in September and life got a bit hectic. When I did manage to find time to cook creatively, I didn't seem to have any time leftover to blog. But it's summer now, and I'm trying to get back on the blogging train, as I've been cooking up a storm! To get me started, here's a guest recipe from my boyfriend. He made these sandwiches this weekend, which we ate on a lovely summer evening while sipping mojitos on a lovely backyard patio at a friends house. I highly recommend both the sandwich and the setting!

Pasta Primavera

2011-06-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, when spring-like vegetables were beginning to show up at the grocery store, but it was still rather chilly and rainy outside (and in these northern states, spring-like vegetables were still very much in hibernation), I made this pasta for book club. It was a big hit, and I suspect that now that it is mid-June, those of us in northern climates can obtain many of these ingredients locally – maybe even at farmer’s markets.

Gourmet published a “Passover Pasta Primavera” recipe in April 2008 that included a way to make the pasta from matzo meal, and in March 2011, thekitchn.com rounded up “7 Fresh Ideas for Spring Pastas” and this one made the cut. I used standard linguine rather than making the matzo meal pasta, but otherwise I followed the recipe quite precisely, and I was pleased with the results.

I recommend cutting all the vegetables, but particularly the asparagus, at an angle. Big diagonal “coins” look nice and cook quickly, and take less effort than painstakingly cutting long skinny vegetables into a million small discs. Apparently in cooking lingo, I’m talking about “Bias Slicing” – and if you’d like an explanation, with photos, you can find that on the Better Homes and Gardens website.

Pasta Primavera

1 lb pasta (linguine or fettucine)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed and thinly sliced, leaving tips whole

1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise

1 cup frozen peas

6 scallions, thinly sliced, keeping white and pale green parts separate from greens

1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus some for serving

1 tsp grated lemon zest

Cook in a pasta pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain pasta in a colander.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then saute asparagus, zucchini, peas, white and pale green parts of scallions, and 1/2 tsp salt, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup reserved cooking water to vegetables and cook, shaking skillet occasionally, until vegetables are just tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in pasta and scallion greens until just coated with sauce. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and zest. Stir in more reserved water if desired. Serve with additional parmesan.

Spectacular Potato Salad

2011-06-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

I have recently claimed that some recipes are too good to be kept to oneself, and this potato salad is one such recipe. As many people know, the folks at America’s Test Kitchen truly know what they are up to in the kitchen. I love (love, love, love) my copy of Cook’s Country, which is chock full of the kind of recipes that grandmothers pass down, but better. They took the recipes that lots of grandmothers passed down, compared them, took the best parts of each, tested ingredients and cooking times, and recommend here the foolproof (in my experience) version with the best results. In the case of potato salad, it seems straightforward enough, right? Cook up some potatoes, cook up some eggs, mix them together with mayonnaise and some chives or something, and call it a day.

Sure, sometimes that works. And sometimes the potatoes are too soft, the eggs are too smashed up, the mayonnaise becomes soupy, or the whole thing tastes like…. potatoes and eggs, sitting in mayonnaise.

Enter Cook’s Country, and their genius potato salad recipe. I made it this weekend as a barbeque contribution, and the host jokingly asked guests not to take too much, as she wanted to be sure to have leftovers. It’s that good. Follow this recipe closely and I feel that you can not go wrong.

All-American Potato Salad

2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes

salt

3 Tbsp dill pickle juice

1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles

1 Tbsp yellow mustard

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp celery seed

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 small red onion, minced

1 celery rib, chopped fine

2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, add 1 tsp salt, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Drain the potatoes thoroughly, then spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet. Mix 2 Tbsp of the pickle juice and the mustard together in a small bowl, drizzle the pickle juice mixture over the potatoes, and toss until evenly coated. Refrigerate until cooled, about 30 minutes.

Mix the remaining 1 Tbsp pickle juice, the chopped pickles, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, celery seed, mayonnaise, sour cream, red onion, and celery in a large bowl. Toss in the cooled potatoes, cover, and refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes. Gently stir in the eggs, just before serving. The salad can be refrigerated in an air tight container for up to 2 days.

Hello, again.

2011-06-18T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well. It's not like hundreds of people were ever reading this blog, but I do believe that we've had some loyal followers in the past. Perhaps if we're ever so apologetic about the large gap in our posts (yikes, our last post was in November!!), a few of you will continue to keep an eye on this effort. I won't bore you with the details about how busy we have been, but life has its way of throwing surprises at you, and before you know it, you look up and it's June of 2011. Imagine that!

Rest assured that I have been making delicious food, and I know that my one and only sister has been doing so, as well. In fact, I've made some food so delicious that I felt rather bad keeping it to myself. Good recipes should be shared, I believe. (Perhaps that sister of mine will share a recipe or two sometime soon, as well!) On that note, here's one that I made this morning, with outstanding results. It's from Molly Wizenberg's blog, Orangette, which I highly recommend. She actually wrote about it last spring, in a post called "You Deserve a Waffle" - and what a good point she makes, really. I made this waffle last summer, noted "Delicious!" on the scrap of paper on which it was printed, and tucked it away. Since then, I made some other waffle recipes that were dreadfully disappointing, and those experiences taught me not to take a good waffle recipe for granted. This is a seriously good waffle recipe. If you don't own a waffle iron, this recipe is good enough reason to purchase one.

A Great Make-the-Morning-of-Waffle

adapted from the "Waffle of Insane Greatness" recipe

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup whole milk (I used 2%, which worked fine)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup vegetable oil, such as canola

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Whisk well. Add the milk, buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk to blend well, so that few (if any) lumps remain. Set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat a waffle iron. Follow your waffle maker's instruction manual, or aim for medium-high. (My waffle iron just has "on" and "off" - so I just plugged it in, and that worked fine). There's no need to grease the waffle iron.

Pour an appropriate amount of batter into your hot waffle maker - this takes some practice to determine, actually, but try not to put so much that it oozes out the sides. Cook until golden and crisp.

Fish Otis

2010-11-22T12:24:00.000-08:00

The Moosewood Cookbook that I have is primarily vegetarian, but does include some fish recipes, and this is an excellent one. It calls for "firm fish fillets" and assumes there will still be a side with skin attached. I used skinless tilapia fillets this time, but I suspect it'd be even better with something a bit heftier, like cod. The sour cream and dill are a nice flavor, and when served on egg noodles as the recipe suggests, the sauce mingles with the noodles well. Paired with a salad or simple vegetable, this is a quick and rewarding weeknight meal!

Fish Otis

Serves 2

10-12 ounces firm fish fillets

4 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp chopped fresh dill (or 3/4 tsp dried)

dash of salt and pepper

1/3-1/2 cup sour cream

2-3 thick slices red onion

Preheat the oven to 375. Rinse and dry the fish fillets and place them, skin side down, in an oiled baking pan. Sprinkle with the lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper. Spread the sour cream evenly over the fillets. Break the onion slices into rings and press them into the sour cream.

Cover the pan and bake until the fish is no longer translucent and flakes easily with a fork. The amount of time varies with the thickenss of the fish, but it usually takes 25 to 30 minutes.

Pear Coffee Cake

2010-11-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

I woke up to a cold and rainy Sunday morning, with an over-ripe pear in my fruit bowl. I knew immediately that the perfect answer to this circumstance was to make this coffee cake that my mom made once when I was home visiting during college. I often make it with canned pears, which works fine - but using the fresh one I had today, ripe as it was, resulted in a better texture. The recipe calls for orange and lemon zest, but I didn't use either, and that was fine (though it was lacking some if the citrus zip that it would have otherwise had).

Pear Coffee Cake

Preheat the oven to 350. Halve and core a fresh pear and cut it into wedges. As the oven warms, melt 3 Tbsp butter in an 8" round cake pan (or a pie pan, or a 9" square pyrex). Arrange the pear wedges over the bottom of the pan.

Combine:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp orange peel, grated

1 tsp lemon peel, grated

Sprinkle half of the above mixture over the pear wedges.

Beat together:

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix together and then add to egg mixture until just combined:

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

Pour batter over pears. Sprinkle remaining brown sugar mixture over the top and marble through the batter with a knife. Bake for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before inverting over a plate. Serve warm.

Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese Risotto Soup

2010-11-14T17:34:00.001-08:00

This recipe, which may actually be my new favorite homemade meal, has a lot to offer. The squash is pleasantly sweet and tender, the gorgonzola is salty, the arborio rice is creamy, and a little sage pulls it all together with an earthy sort of undertone. I'm pretty sure they just called this recipe a soup so that it could be included in this cookbook, which I have mentioned here before, Best-Ever Soups. If you don't own it yet, please put it on your list of cookbooks to obtain. It's less than $5 on amazon.com, and it provides endless soup discoveries. Or in this case (rather like a bonus round!), risotto.

I halved the recipe to two servings, which worked fine (though mine is less soup-like and more risotto-like than what the cookbook showed). This isn't a terribly complicated recipe, but it does take about an hour and a half to prepare it. That's largely because it takes both time (particularly to peel and chop the squash) and (more time) and patience, as you go through the whole risotto routine - add broth, wait... add broth, wait...

Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese Risotto Soup

Serves 4

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

1/2 celery stick, finely sliced

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 Tbsp chopped sage

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

5 cups hot chicken stock

2 Tbsp heavy cream (I used evaporated milk)

4 oz blue cheese, finely diced (I used gorgonzola)

salt and pepper, to taste

Place the butter and oil in a large plan and heat gently. Add the onions and celery, and cook for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Stir in the squash and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the sage. Add the rice and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring, until the grains are slightly translucent. Add the chicken stock a ladleful at a time. Cook until each ladleful of stock has been absorbed before adding the next. Continue adding the stock this way until you have a very wet rice mixture. Season to taste. Stir in the cream. Stir in the blue cheese, and serve.

Shepherd's Pie

2010-10-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when the wind is blowing at record breaking speeds, darkness is setting in before you leave work, and a long winter lies ahead, you just want to eat something comforting. Furthermore, you want to eat it soonish, and with very little effort involved. Boy, do I have the recipe for you! In October of 2007, this Easy Shepherd's Pie recipe caught my attention, and it was just exactly what I found myself wanting to eat this week.

I got Real Simple magazine for a couple of years, until their suggestions started to feel familiar and the recipes I had flagged in them were piling up. I decided, at that point, not to resubscribe. But I certainly flip back through the old issues, and I recently found that you can find recipes very easily on their website - in this case, I knew what I was looking for, I just wasn't sure which old issue I would find it in. You can do searches by keywords or ingredients or cuisines or all variety of other options.

Here it is - the shamelessly modernized and Americanized version of what I imagine to be a centuries old tradition... probably involving meat scraps and whatever else was lying around! This version requires mostly things I have on hand, and a few things I can purchase with ease if I must. It takes 10 minutes to cook the beef and preheat the oven, 10 minutes to bake. Read beyond the recipe for my tips related to speeding up the mashed potato element of this recipe.

Easy Shepherd's Pie

Real Simple, October 2007

Heat the oven to 400.

Brown 1 lb ground beef.

Stir in 1/3 cup ketchup and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce.

Add 8 oz of mixed frozen vegetables (carrots, peas, corn, green beans - whatever - thawed).

Cook one minute.

Put in a baking dish.

Mix 1 lb of mashed potatoes with 1/4 cup cheddar (cheese is optional).

Spread potatoes on top of beef and vegetables.

Bake 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

In my case, I realized on Tuesday that I wanted to eat Shepherd's Pie, but I was unwilling to leave the house for ingredients. I looked up the recipe, moved a variety of frozen vegetables into the refrigerator to get a start on thawing, and I made a huge batch of mashed potatoes for dinner (with chicken and carrots, because I had those on hand, but that's a story for another time). If I'd had ground beef in the freezer, I would have shifted that over to thawing mode, as well. But I didn't, so I started a grocery list, instead.

Tonight after work I stopped for ground beef, came home, threw the recipe together, and I'm eating it now, while I write this post!

Here's my note about mashed potatoes. Real Simple suggests that you buy a 1 lb bin of pre-made mashed potatoes from the grocery store. I did that once, just out of curiosity, and they were actually quite good, and did eliminate the need to make mashed potatoes. However, if the goal is to make this recipe quickly, I solved that problem this time by making the potatoes in advance, so the shepherd's pie took less than 30 minutes to make. Also, mashed potatoes are incredibly easy. Here's roughly how Rachel Ray suggests doing it, in her Get Togethers cookbook:

Mashed Potatoes

Peel and cut into chunks, 1 pound of potatoes (2 large potatoes).

Place them in a pot, covered with water. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, and lightly salt. Leave uncovered and simmer at a rolling boil until tender, 8-10 minutes.

Drain the potatoes, and return them to the hot pan. Mash them with half-and-half, butter, cream, milk, roasted garlic, Boursin cheese, or whatever else you like.

I used a generous splash of half-and-half, a few tablespoons of butter, salt and freshly ground pepper. I had cooked three or four large handfuls of tiny potatoes, which I did not peel, as I know they were grown organically and their peel is therefore very good for me, and not at all chemical-ridden as some peel may very well be (mine are from our well stocked CSA box potato supply!).

Homemade Sesame Chicken - even better than the 'real' stuff

2010-10-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

I got home last night to find my most favorite fat fish, Cooper (the pooper, originally known as Cooper the Silver Fox Fish) had died while I was gone over the weekend. Welcome home, right? And I've got this assignment for a class that is just making me crazy. REALLY crazy. All in all, I was feeling a bit out of sorts today and was craving some good old Chinese take out. But I hate paying for food I can make myself, so I went to town (aka the internet) looking to find a sesame chicken recipe that I might have all of the ingredients for. I had gone grocery shopping just prior to deciding sesame chicken was what I was craving and luckily had gotten some chicken (with chicken noodle soup in mind), so I was good to go. Cook up some rice with this sucker and you've got yourself a homemade batch of deliciousness!

Sesame Chicken Serves 3-4 (the recipe originally said 6 but I don't believe it)

Based on a recipe by Doreen P on allrecipes.com

For the chicken:

Ingredients: 2 T flour, 2 T cornstarch, 1/4 t baking soda, 1/4 t baking powder, 2 T soy sauce, 1 T dark cooking liquor such as sherry or port, 2 T water, 1 t sesame oil (or vegetable, or a mix), about 1 lb of chicken breast meat, cubed.

Directions: Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Mix together the liquid ingredients in a small pyrex and pour into the dry ingredients, stirring until smooth. Add the chicken and stir until well coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

For the sauce:

I will say...the sauce is quite good, but the recipe makes a LOT of it, like 2 cups of it...for 2 chicken breasts. I'm hesitant to just cut the recipe in half because sauces so often need a minimum amount of a certain ingredient to really come together. So. I'm putting the whole recipe but you've been warned - it's a lot of sauce! So if you're interested in serving more people, just increase the batter for the chicken and the amount of chicken.

Ingredients: 1 cup chicken broth, 2 T white vinegar, 2 T soy sauce, 2 T sesame oil, 1 cup white sugar, 1 t chili paste, 2 cloves pressed garlic, 1/4 cup corn starch, 1/2 cup water.

Directions: Combine the stock, vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil and stir together in a saucepan over medium high heat (if you are using "better than bullion" {my personal favorite} or bullion cubes, heat water in the saucepan first, add the bullion and then once that has dissolved, stir in the remaining ingredients. I prefer to mix everything before hand in a separate dish so that the first few ingredients don't cook off while I measure the remaining ingredients). Add the sugar and stir well, until dissolved, and then toss in the garlic and chili paste. Turn the heat to medium and stir well. Once everything is really mixed together, allow it to come to a boil, turning the heat up or down as needed, I kept having to remove the sauce from the heat it was boiling so much. Dissolve the cornstarch in half a cup of water and pour into the saucepan. Mix WELL. Allow the sauce to simmer and continue stirring, making sure to scrape the edges often. Careful that the sauce doesn't get too hot and pop and burn you. Turn off heat and let the sauce sit while you cook the chicken, stir it every once in a while though, just for kicks.

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan and deep fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes, or bake the chicken on a pan (until done...I'm not sure for how long, I went the frying route). When the chicken is done, let it cool on a paper towel lined plate. When you're ready to serve the meal, toss the chicken pieces on a nice pile of rice, make sure the sauce is warm and pour it over the chicken. Sprinkle generously with sesame seeds and serve!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-10-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

My mom used to make these cookies from a recipe she once got from a friend. When I was in college, my sister made some and sent them to me, and then when she was in college, I made some and sent them to her. For reasons we still don't understand, the ones I sent her took more than a month to navigate through the postal service and into her campus mail box. From what I have heard, she wanted to eat them so badly that she was pulling the chocolate chips out and nibbling on those. Her roommate had to forcibly remove the box from her hands and dispose of the contents.

The good news is that now that neither of us lives in dorm rooms, we can easily make these cookies any time we like. They are quick and easy and delicious. Everyone I've fed them to has loved them. Better yet - they don't have any butter or milk, so even my lactose-free friends can enjoy them! The pumpkin makes them moist, and they travel well (which is why we got in the habit of mailing them to each other in the past!).

Bake them! Eat them! Share them with your friends!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mix together:

1 cup cooked pumpkin

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 egg

Combine, in a separate bowl:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Combine, in a tiny bowl:

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp milk

Mix those three bowls together.

Stir in:

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Spoon onto cookie trays, and bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

Red Rice

2010-10-12T19:39:00.001-07:00

I once mailed $10 or so to the folks at Better Homes and Gardens, and they have been sending me their magazine for more than two years as a consequence. I know from the ominous letters and postcards that I've been receiving from them lately that the October issue was my last, and that's okay. I've enjoyed their magazine, and gotten some great recipes from them, but as a single person who lives in an apartment, I can't do much with their hosta replanting schemes or their children's birthday party decorating ideas. Better Homes and Gardens tends to be a casserole and cookies kind of recipe source, but recently, they've started running a column by chef Scott Peacock that gets to the bottom of "American Home Cooking" with traditional recipes for more complicated fare than usually gets tackled here. The "Shrimp-and-Sausage Red Rice" recipe in this column of the September issue was quite possibly life changing and most certainly repertoire changing. In fact, if this recipe was the only thing I ever got from the experience (though it wasn't - I have a few other standard favorites that I discovered in this magazine), the two years were totally worth it.

If I ate this meal at a restaurant, I would bring all my friends back over and over again to share the experience. Instead, I plan to cook it a lot in the future and share it with my friends that way! I cooked the entire recipe, which serves 6. I ate it for two dinners and two lunches, and froze the rest of it. I can't wait to thaw it out and eat the rest. It is absolutely phenomenal.

Shrimp-and-Sausage Red Rice

(don't ask me why it's hyphenated, I'm just writing what I see)

Better Homes and Gardens, September 2010

3 Tbsp bacon drippings

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (Careful! Don't get burned!)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

1 14.5 oz can whole tomatoes, drained and crushed

1 rounded Tbsp tomato paste

2 cups chicken stock or water (I used chicken stock)

1 Tbsp butter

1 cup long grain rice

8 oz andouille or cooked, smoked chorizo sausage, sliced in 1/2 inch rounds

1 cup sliced fresh okra (this recipe made me appreciate okra - be sure to use it!)

1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp (I used frozen cooked shrimp, thawed and drained)

In a large skillet heat bacon drippings. Add onion; cook over medium-low heat without stirring for 5 minutes. Add the sweet pepper, jalapeno, garlic, thyme, and crushed red pepper. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until onion and pepper are soft but not browned.

Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir in stock; bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. Taste carefully for seasoning (broth should be highly seasoned to flavor the rice).

In a heavy, wide-bottom nonreactive pot or heavy 12-inch skillet heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add rice; cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes until rice becomes translucent. Carefully stir in the hot tomato mixture. Cover quickly and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Add the sausage and okra, mixing in gently with two forks. Return cover and cook 10 minutes longer over very low heat, just until most of the liqued is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Sprinkle shrimp lightly with salt and pepper. Stir the shrimp into the rice mixture. Cover and cook 3 minutes longer, just until shrimp is opaque. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

My favorite appetizer: Deviled Eggs

2010-10-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

Some think deviled eggs are boring, or too 50's, or whatever, but guess what? I love them, and they disappear quickly when I serve them, so I've got to believe that they're still a favorite. Perhaps some people don't have a great recipe, or get annoyed at having over or under cooked eggs, cracked whites, or a bland yolk filling, and have given up on them. Well, if that's the case, here's my recipe - the steps for cooking the eggs are fool proof and the outcome is delicious, so I hope you'll try making these for your next get together (especially if I'll be in attendance). Happy cooking!

Deviled Eggs from Cook's Illustrated - New Best Recipes with a bit of editing on the filling. :)

Ingredients: 12 eggs, whole-grain mustard, dry mustard powder, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, paprika.

To Cook the Eggs: Use a small (clean) nail or thumbtack to poke a small hole in the top of each egg. This relieves the pressure and makes sure the egg doesn't crack while cooking. Carefully place the eggs in a saucepan so that they only take one layer (so a pot with a large base), and add water so that it is about an inch above the top of the eggs. Bring to a boil over high heat, remove the pan from heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. While the eggs sit in the hot water, fill a medium/large bowl with about a quart or so of cold water and a tray of ice cubes. When the 10 minutes is up, use a slotted spoon to carefully move the eggs from the hot water to the cold water and let sit for 5 minutes. This cools the eggs so you can handle them and it makes it easier to remove the shells.

To Prep the Eggs: One at a time, remove an egg from the water and gently roll it on a counter or cutting board, covering the entire shell in small cracks. This should crack the hard shell but leave the lining of the shell intact, making it easy to pull the shell off. After you have removed all of the shells, cut each egg in half lengthwise (from the top to the bottom, rather than through the middle). Remove the yolks and put them in a medium sized bowl. Discard the two worst halves of egg white (you'll likely have a cracked one or one with a very thin wall). If you don't have any that are bad, well done, but still get rid of two (one eggs worth).

For the Filling: Add half a teaspoon 1/2 t of whole grain/brown mustard, 1/4 t dry mustard powder, 3 T mayo and salt and pepper to the yolks. Cook's Illustrated suggests you also add 1- 1 1/2 t of cider vinegar, but that's up to you. Use a fork to mash and mix the ingredients. Taste and add mustard, mayo salt and/or pepper to get it to the texture and taste of your liking. Make sure you don't add too much mustard or mayo, as you want it to be a firm paste, not too soft.

To Assemble: Fill a sturdy ziplock bag with the filling and cut off the corner, or if you own a pastry bag, fill it up! Squeeze the filling through the corner and into each egg half, filling them so the filling is a bit taller than the whole itself. Once you have used up all the filling, sprinkle each egg with a bit of paprika, put a garnish in the middle of the plate if you wish (I like a sprig of mint or basil), and serve!

Back from a long break, and full of zucchini!

2010-10-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

Whew. It's been a LONG time since I posted. Sarah's been cooking up a storm and really keeping Ballerina Breath together. Thank goodness! I spent 6 weeks traveling and upon my return jumped into graduate school, so life has been a bit hectic. I'm cooking a fair amount again, but just haven't gotten around to putting up any posts, so here goes my concerted effort to post regularly again! I spent 2 weeks in Costa Rica at a sea turtle conservation project and hopefully I will put up a nice long post about that wonderful experience, until then, here's to hoping your garden is overflowing with zucchini and you're looking for new recipes!

After my two weeks in Costa Rica I returned home to Maine for a few weeks. My Dad's friend has zucchini taking over her garden so she has become quite inventive and I was lucky enough to taste her delightful discoveries. Upon returning to Seattle, I learned that my friend also had a garden that was being taken over by zucchini, so I took two 15" zucchinis off her hands. That's right, you heard me. They were HUGE. The two recipes I wanted to try to remake were a cold zucchini salad and a warm, creamy zucchini soup. They both are nice in that there's just a hint of obvious zucchini flavor, so if you're feeling overwhelmed by zucchini, this is a nice subtle use of the vegetable.

Cold Zucchini Salad

For the Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions: Combine the dressing ingredients and whisk well. Rinse the zucchini (2-3 small or 1-2 standard) and use a mandolin or vegetable peeler (or sharp knife and patience) to slice/shave it into thin strips. Chop 1/2 cup of fresh basil and add to the zucchini strips. Lightly toast 1/4 cup of pine nuts or pumpkin seeds in a skillet on the stove and add to the zucchini. Pour the dressing over the salad and sprinkle shaved Parmesan or Romano cheese to taste.

Serve with a side dish of Parmesan for people to add as they wish, and enjoy!

Warm, Creamy Zucchini Soup Serves 4-5 as an appetizer, 2-3 as an entrée.

This soup is SUPER easy, delicious and quite healthy for you (yeah there's cream, but not much!). I hope you like it as much as I do!

Ingredients: 8 cups of cubed zucchini, with seeds removed, 4 cups chicken broth, 1/3 cup of cream, dash of nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, 1/4 cup shaved or grated Parmesan.

Directions: Add the zucchini and chicken broth to a stock pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until zucchini is nice and soft. If you like, add a bay leaf to the broth while it simmers. Pour out one cup of liquid and reserve to add as you wish later. If you used a bay leaf, remove it. Use an immersion blender to puree the zucchini to the texture of your liking (I like it really smooth), let it cool just a bit, and add the cream, nutmeg, salt, pepper and cheese. Stir well and taste. Add some of the reserved liquid if it is too thick, or more nutmeg, salt or pepper to your liking. Serve warm, with a dollop of plain yogurt on top. Enjoy!

Thanks Sarah R, for such delicious meals and your wonderful recipes!

Curried Eggplant and Potatoes

2010-09-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

I received some nice curry powder as a gift some time ago, and I've been meaning to use it. Recently, I got some nice potatoes from my CSA, and a nice eggplant from a friend's garden, and I thought that this recipe might be just the thing. Then it turned out that there isn't actually any curry powder in this recipe. I made it anyway.

I often invite people over for dinner, but just as often, I cook for myself. I halve most recipes (you've probably noticed that on here), and then I usually have leftovers for at least one lunch, and sometimes I freeze leftovers for another time. I really enjoy cooking, and it's nice to make dinner decisions based on what I feel like eating, and what I have around the kitchen. But every once in a while, and this was one of those times, I wonder midway into the effort just why I'm trying so hard. Let me explain.

When I was peeling the potatoes for this recipe, I clipped my finger tip slightly - nothing serious, not even any blood, but it stung quite a bit, and it certainly slowed down my momentum. I wrapped up my finger with a bandage to protect it from the food (and the food from it, for that matter), and forged ahead. I measured all the spices, and peeled and minced the ginger, and peeled and sliced the garlic, and salted the eggplant and cubed the potatoes. I began to cook the spices, took a picture (for this very blog post), turned around, and the pan of spices had burned right into a solid, smoking, black disk.

I turned off the heat, nursed my finger, scooped out the burned disk of spices, and washed the pan - burning my hand slightly when some hot oil spattered. At this point, my momentum pretty much halted. I looked around at the sliced and salted eggplant, which had been resting for two hours, at the potatoes that I had hurt myself preparing, and at the can of tomatoes I had already opened. I tipped up my chin, put the pan back on the stove, and began measuring out the spices again, peeling and slicing more garlic, and peeling and mincing more ginger. I proceeded carefully, monitored temperatures closely, and everything came together as it was meant to. At 10:30, I sat down with a bowl of curried eggplant and potatoes and thought, "It's really a shame that there's nobody else to enjoy this." The next day I invited a friend over for dinner, told her the story, and served the leftovers on rice. She confirmed my findings - this recipe is delicious.

Lest you be scared off - it's actually quite simple, too. Keep your fingertips in while you peel, and monitor those temperatures when you initially heat the spices in the oil. It's smooth sailing from there! I halved this recipe, but wish that I hadn't - it would freeze nicely, and I could eat it many times before tiring of it! Here's the recipe in full.

Curried Eggplant and Potatoes

from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Serves 6

2 medium-to-large eggplants

salt

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger

2 Tbsp sliced garlic

4 Tbsp butter

3 large tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded, and chopped (canned are fine, don't bother to drain)

3 large potatoes, any kind, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

freshly ground black pepper to taste

about 1 cup water, or more if needed

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

minced cilantro leaves for garnish

Peel the eggplant if the skin is thick or the eggplant is less than perfectly firm. Cut it into 1/2 inch cubes and salt if it you like. (I did - just sprinkle salt generously over each side of the eggplant and let it sit in a colander for at least half an hour. Rinse and squeeze dry between paper towels before using.)

Combine the oil and mustard seeds in a large deep skillet. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the seeds begin to pop, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining spices, the ginger, the garlic, and the butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until the ginger and garlic soften, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, salt, and pepper, and about a cup of water. Turn the heat to medium-low and cover; cook, stirring once or twice, for about 30 minutes.

Remove the cover and turn the heat to medium; add more water if the mixture is dry. Cook, stirring occasionally, until both the eggplant and potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes longer. Stir in the lime juice and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Garnish and serve.

Homemade Refried Beans

2010-09-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

The beautiful thing about refried beans is that they are healthy and delicious and easy to make. This recipe results in much better tasting (and more nicely textured) beans than when you buy a can of refried beans at the store. Better yet, they are multipurpose: I made this recipe because I wanted to make quesadillas, but the next day I mixed the leftovers with chicken broth, and had a delicious black bean soup. In the past, I've eaten them as a nacho topping, or served them as a dip for chips, alongside guacamole.

This recipe, from the Moosewood cookbook that I've referenced before, is quite straightforward and quick. I use canned beans, and I can almost always make this recipe without planning ahead at all. Most recently, I made it with black beans and included the optional bell peppers. I heartily recommend it.

Easy Refritos

2/3 cup chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup diced green or red bell pepper (optional)

2 cups cooked black beans or pinto beans (16 oz can)

ground black pepper to taste

In a heavy skillet, saute the onions and garlic in the oil on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add the cumin and the optional bell pepper, and continue to saute for 5 minutes, until the onions begin to brown. While the vegetables saute, drain the beans, reserving their liquid. Add the drained beans to the skillet and continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the beans are hot. Remove the skillet from the heat. Using a potato masher, thoroughly mash the beans while adding as much of the reserved bean liquid as necessary to reach a soft, spreadable consistency. Add black pepper to taste. Serve hot.

To make quesadillas: spread the refried beans to your preferred thickness on a tortilla. Top with shredded cheese, and sliced jalapenos, too, if you like, before putting the second tortilla on top of the fillings. Bake in the oven until the cheese melts, or cook in a little bit of olive oil on the stove top. Delicious!

Acorn Squash

2010-09-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

Last year, we had temperatures in the 90s well into September. I remember swimming in late September and making note of the fact that it was highly unusual. And so, this year, we are having a more usual fall. Which is to say that right about Labor Day, temperatures dropped considerably, and it feels wildly appropriate to wear sweaters, drink hot cider, and... eat squash!

The trickiest thing about squash, hands down, is cutting it in half. Sometimes the store sells them already split, which is kind of nice. But when I got the above squash from my friend's garden, it was whole. Which turned out okay in the end, as I managed (with a bit of strength, a sharp knife, and the powers of leverage) to get it cut into two pieces. From then, it's easy enough - but I do always forget what temperature to roast it at, and for how long. For that, I turned to the trusty How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. I took the above picture just before the squash went into the oven - lining your pan in tin foil is a good idea, as things can get a little sticky.

Here are the details:

Roasting Hard-to-Peel Winter Squash

1 acorn or other winter squash, washed

2 Tbsp butter or olive oil, more or less

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

maple syrup or brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 400. Cut the squash in half and scrape out the strings and seeds. In each half, put some butter, salt, pepper and sweetener (I used maple syrup). Place in a baking dish, (I used my 8x8 pyrex, lined with tin foil) cut side up, and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Serve.

(You can scoop the squash and it's flavorings into a serving bowl and mash it all together, or simply serve each individual half a squash, for scooping out at the table.)

Sweet Pepper Soup

2010-09-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

I made this soup last summer, truly enjoyed it, and then I totally forgot about it. When my CSA box recently arrived with a generous number of sweet peppers, the bright colors set off some kind of bell in my head, and I felt an urgent need to locate this recipe and make the soup again! I found it, happily, in my Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook, which is one of my favorites. This soup is delicious and can be made very quickly. It's not terribly filling, so I recommend serving it for dinner with a cheese quesadilla and salad, or eating it with a sandwich for lunch, or something along those lines.

Sweet Peppers Soup

Serves 4 (However, I halve this recipe and it works fine, and fed me for three meals)

2 cups chopped onion

1 Tbsp butter or vegetable oil

6 cups chopped red and green bell peppers (about 6 peppers)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne

2 cups water or vegetable stock (I used chicken stock)

1 cup sour cream (plain yogurt works, too)

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

fresh chopped cilantro

In a covered soup pot, saute the onions on medium heat in the butter or oil for about 3 minutes, until barely softened. Add the bell peppers and spices and cook, covered, until just soft, stirring occasionally. In a blender or food processor (I use my immersion blender), whirl the cooked onions and peppers with the the water or stock and sour cream. Don't over process - small pieces of pepper should remain. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cilantro and crumbled tortilla chips, if you wish.

Variation: omit the cumin, coriander, and cayenne. Add 1/3 cup chopped fresh dill when you are blending the ingredients together. Serve with croutons, if you wish.

Bread Pudding

2010-09-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

I love bread pudding. What can I say? It's just old bread, soggy with milk and butter and eggs - but goodness gracious, is it delicious. Sometimes it pops up on restaurant menus, and they usually add chocolate or liquor or fruit or caramel or some combination thereof. I've tried some of those versions, and I've enjoyed them tremendously, but so far, I've always made mine plain (nothing flashier than some vanilla extract in the recipe), and sometimes I serve it with maple syrup. Especially if I'm eating the leftovers for breakfast.

In case you are wondering what kind of bread to use, here's my approach: as I'm consuming bread loaves (and in my case, they happen to be delicious bread loaves from a local bakery, but any bread loaves will do), I don't eat the end pieces. Instead, I throw them in the freezer. Once I have about eight loaves worth of bread loaf heels, it's bread pudding time. The especially nice thing about this is that I go through bread loaves pretty slowly (I actually store them in the freezer as I eat them, since the nice local bakery opts not to add preservatives), and apparently after every eight loaves or so, I'm in the mood for bread pudding! I say this because I've never had too many bread bits accumulate, and any time I've wanted bread pudding, there's been a good stock stored away in the corner of the freezer, waiting to magically mix with the milk and eggs and butter and vanilla.

Bread pudding is best straight out of the oven, so I usually take the bread out of the freezer before making dinner, and then make the bread pudding right after dinner, once the bread has thawed. That way, once people are feeling ready for dessert, it is freshly baked! Here's the recipe that I use, which is more straightforward than any I've found in my various cookbooks. It's the recipe my mom uses, which is probably why I like it so much:

Bread Pudding

Makes 4 servings

Preheat your oven to 325, and butter a baking dish (I use an 8x8 Pyrex).

On low heat, warm up 2 cups of milk and melt 1/4 cup of butter. Remove from the heat and let this cool off a bit.

Tear up your bread into pieces roughly the size of dice, until you've got 2 generous cups of bread hunks. (If you are using frozen bread as I suggested, be sure to thaw it first - an hour or so on the counter works fine).

Toss the bread into the baking dish - it should be about an inch deep, but this isn't a fine science. Pour the now somewhat cooled off milk and butter mixture over the top. Let that sit while you mix together:

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Stir this mixture into the bread and milk combination. Bake for an hour. Enjoy!

Fresh Corn Pesto!

2010-09-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

I am the very lucky recipient of a gift subscription to bon appetit, courtesy of my generous and lovely sister! The August issue featured lots of recipes for creative uses of corn, tomatoes, and zucchini. Some seemed a little too creative (Tomato Tarte Tatin, for example, which involves sugar, vanilla, and puff pastry)... and some a little too labor intensive (like the Shaved Zucchini Salad, which requires turning two pounds of zucchini into ribbons with a vegetable peeler)... but the Fresh Corn Pesto looked reasonably straightforward, I had fresh corn on hand from the CSA box, bacon was on the ingredient list, and the recommended vehicle for the recipe was pasta. I figured I couldn't really go wrong. Besides, my immersion blender (also courtesy of Elspeth) has an attachment that is just perfect for any pesto-like creations.

Happily, my bowl of Fresh Corn Pesto, served on pasta, looked nearly identical to what is pictured in the magazine - and tasted delicious, too! I took the leftovers for lunch the next day and they heated up in the microwave just fine.

Tagliatelle with Fresh Corn Pesto (serves 6)

* I cut the recipe in half, and served it on fettucine.

4 bacon slices, cut lengthwise in half, then crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces

4 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 6 large ears)

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 1/4 tsp coarse kosher salt

3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for serving

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces tagliatelle or fettucine

3/4 cup coarsely torn fresh basil leaves, divided

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown, stirring often. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp drippings from skillet. Add corn, garlic, salt and pepper to drippings in skillet. Saute over medium high heat until corn is tender but not brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer 1 1/2 cups corn kernels to small bowl and reserve. Scrape remaining corn mixture into processor. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan and pine nuts. With machine running, add olive oil through feed tube and blend until pesto is almost smooth. Set pesto aside.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot. Add corn pesto, reserved corn kernels, and 1/2 cup basil leaves. Toss pasta mixture over medium heat until warmed through, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency, 2 to 3 miutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer pasta to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil leaves and reserved bacon. Serve pasta, passing additional grated Parmesan alongside.

Garlic Scape Pesto

2010-09-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

I must start with an apology. This recipe is out of season, and you will not be able to find even one garlic scape again until June, which is nearly a year from now. But when you do - when you see them, in all their twisty, curly, fabulous glory, perhaps you'll remember that you DO know what to do with them, and that a quick visit back to this blog post will remind you. Or, if you are tremendously well organized, you could print this all out now, and save it in your "recipes to try in June 2011" folder. In the case that you have such a system in place.

Last year, there were garlic scapes in my CSA box. I must admit that I found them later in the summer (maybe around now, even, late August or so), all sad and dead and smushy on the bottom of my vegetable drawer. This year, when the garlic scapes arrived, I benefited from (believe it or not) my somewhat recent affiliation with the world of twitter. That's a separate topic entirely, but for our purposes let's just say that twitter is an online service that allows people to quickly and easily share information with one another. And in this case, it allowed the bloggers over at Serious Eats to share this brilliant blog post with me, in very timely fashion:The Crisper Whisperer: Seven Things to do with Garlic Scapes.

I was intrigued by the concept of garlic scape pesto, particularly when it was presented with such enthusiasm: Far and away my favorite use for garlic scapes is pesto, either straight-up or mixed with herbs like basil and dill. Pesto showcases raw scapes in all their glory.

I stuck to the recipe very precisely, and I followed her suggestion to freeze it in small batches, to enjoy through the winter... but it's so delicious that I have already used one of the frozen rations.So far, I've been eating it on cheese tortellini, and that has worked out quite well.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Blend together:

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

3/4 cups coarsely chopped garlic scapes (or 1/2 and 1/2 with basil or dill)

juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

Blend into that mixture:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix with a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan and stir directly into hot pasta. I divided this batch into four smaller batches, and froze three of them. Keep in mind that the parmesan should be added as you stir it into the hot pasta - which is to say that it shouldn't be mixed into the pesto before freezing.

Coleslaw

2010-08-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

In my experience, coleslaw is often kind of soggy, dripping in mayonnaise. Sometimes it is even sweet, which, to me, seems kind of inappropriate for cabbage and carrots. Well, as the CSA has a habit of doing, it motivated me to take a nice fresh look at these ideas, because, frankly, I have cabbage and carrots coming out my ears.

Happily, Vegetable Love came through in the nick of time, providing a fresh dressing with a bite, which just barely skims across the surface of the many crispy bits of vegetables that it resides with in the bowl so nicely. I made this recipe earlier this summer, and just realized that I was actually craving it again! Round two has come out just as delightfully as round one, did.

Here's the recipe, halved, with my edits and alterations. I find this to be plenty of coleslaw for one person to consume without getting tired of it, but if you were attending a big picnic, I'd at least double it back to the original recipe (vegetable mix AND dressing).

Crisp Slaw (the recipe name is ever so appropriate here!)

Mix together:

green or red cabbage, cored and finely shredded (about 2 cups)

1 Tbsp salt

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1-3 carrots, peeled and grated (about 1/2 cup)

Combine and add:

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/4 tsp celery seeds

1/8 tsp mustard seeds

Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving - the leftovers get more flavorful with time, and the salad lasts just fine up to about a week.

Epic Sandwich

2010-08-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

I am fortunate to live in a metro area which has a Trader Joe's. We actually have a couple of them here, and one is quite close to where I live. To be honest, what really draws me to Trader Joe's is the fact that they sell Cabot Cheddar, and at a reasonable price. However, once I'm there, I often make good discoveries - this time, in addition to my beloved cheddar, I got a package of San Francisco salami, and a loaf of french bread.

When I got home, and realized that the salami, the bread, the cheese, and the ripe tomato on my counter would make one heck of a sandwich, things really got rolling. As I was assembling things, I grabbed some fresh basil that had recently arrived in my CSA box, added a layer of brown mustard, and sliced up a banana pepper (also from the CSA box). I had some leftover goat cheese in the refrigerator (fresh, from a local farm, purchased at the Seward Co-op), so I added that, too. And then I remembered that when I visited France more than ten years ago, the sandwiches that looked rather like this (and were available at any corner shop for a quick lunch), often had sliced hard boiled egg on them, which was delicious. So I boiled up some eggs (also from the Co-op, and completely unaffected by recent egg recalls), and sliced those up for the sandwich, as well.

It was epic. I encourage you to make a sandwich similar to this one, as soon as possible.

CSA Discovery: Edamame

2010-08-29T18:41:00.001-07:00

Yet again, the CSA box was full of delightful vegetables - and in this case, a watermelon, too. This is just my share of the box, which is to say that we actually received twice the bounty that you see pictured here. In a somewhat clockwise description, there is, pictured above: sweet corn, watermelon, cucumber, broccoli, shallot, basil, carrots, kale, beets, sweet peppers, a banana pepper, and a bag of edamame.

I have eaten edamame, but only at sushi restaurants. In fact, this is one of my favorite parts of going out to sushi - receiving the steamy dish of salty green pods, with a sort of fuzz on them (kind of like on a kiwi, but less threatening). You grab onto one with your teeth, and haul the little pea-sized soy bean deal out of the pod. It's delicious.

So, it was a pleasant surprise for me to discover that edamame grows in Wisconsin, and preparing the above mentioned dish is maybe the easiest thing, ever. I rinsed the pods, tossed them into an inch of boiling salted water, cooked them for 5 minutes, rinsed them in cold water, dumped sea salt over the top, and ate them. They tasted just like at a restaurant, but fresher, which was probably because they had literally been picked within 24 hours of me eating them.

Tomato Soup!

2010-08-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

Consider this: it is mid-August, and everyone has too many tomatoes. If you know even one single person with a tiny bit of yard, or even a patio or a window sill wide enough for a tomato plant, they are currently trying with all their might to deposit at least a dozen tomatoes on you. They'll have a dozen more tomorrow. And the next day.

On Sunday, I received some tomatoes and put them in a bowl on my kitchen counter. On Monday, at work, there was a large bowl of tomatoes up for grabs (I passed on by them). On Monday night, I realized that the tomatoes on my counter were splitting, and not long for this world. I grabbed my absolutely reliable soup cookbook* from the shelf, and identified a recipe that looked straightforward and as though it would use up a pretty big pile of tomatoes. It called for three pounds, and I went ahead and assumed that was the amount I had in front of me (three moderately sized romas and four giant round something-or-others, bursting at the edges).

Here's where things really get good - I was able to parboil and peel the tomatoes immediately, and store them in the refrigerator until tonight (a full 48 hours later), when I got home at 9:15, hungry for tomato soup. I dumped the tomatoes and broth into a pan, brought it to boil, simmered for 10 minutes, stirred in 4 more ingredients, simmered for two minutes, plunged the absolutely genius immersion blender into the hot soup, and ate it. Immediately. It is absolutely delicious.

Furthermore, I suspect it will freeze very well. Which is good, because I plan to make a few more batches. One for each time I am inundated with must-eat-or-cook-immediately tomatoes.

Fresh Tomato Soup

3 lbs of ripe tomatoes (I eyeballed this, as noted above)

1 2/3 cup chicken or vegetable stock (I used the full can - 2 cups - of low sodium chicken broth)

3 Tbsp sun-dried tomato paste (I had a jar of sun-dried tomatoes in my fridge. I pureed 5 or 6)

2-3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2-3 tsp sugar

small handful of fresh basil leaves (I tossed in a few pinches of dried basil)

salt and ground black pepper

Cut a cross into the base of each tomato, and plunge into boiling water for 30 second

s. Refresh in cold water, peel off the skins, and quarter the tomatoes. (This took me all of 10 minutes, and then I stuck them in the refrigerator for 48 hours, until I had time to make and eat soup).

Put the tomatoes in a large pan and pour the broth over them. Bring just to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes until the tomatoes are pulpy.

Stir in the tomato puree, vinegar, sugar and basil. Season with salt and pepper, then cook gently, stirring, for 2 minutes. Process the soup in a blender or food processor, then return to a clean pan and reheat gently. Serve immediately.

I ate mine with a dollop of sour cream (naturally) and a grilled cheese sandwich featurin

g the odds and ends of some pepperjack that I found in my refrigerator. (I haven't done an official grocery store trip since the road trip last week).

*A note about cookbooks. This recipe is from a giant hard-cover cookbook called Best-Ever Soups by Anne Sheasby, which is just bursting with color photographs. It was in the $5 rack at Borders about five years ago, and I have made a dozen recipes out of it, each with great success. I love it. It should be noted that based on this experience, I snapped up a giant paperback cookbook last year (also in the $5 rack at Borders) called The Essential Pasta Cookbook (with no author, I now see), similarly bursting with color photographs. I have made two recipes from it, and both were tremendously lacking, both in direction and in result. It really is hard to tell a book by its cover. Or even by a quick scan of its recipes, it turns out.

A Meal to Follow a Road Trip

2010-08-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, Elspeth and I just went on a fabulous road trip. I flew to Seattle, we rented a car, and we drove back to Minnesota, meandering through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, the Black Hills, and the Badlands (also a National Park) along the way. We slept in a tent all but one night (we splurged on a bed and breakfast in Douglas, Wyoming - which may, as it happens, have the saddest downtown in the western United States), and not even one bear tried to eat us. Growing up in Maine, I suspect we didn't imagine that in 2010, driving between the two cities that we feel so comfortable in would involve seeing most of Washington, some of Idaho and Montana, most of Wyoming and South Dakota, and a pretty serious chunk of Minnesota, as well. There are a lot of mountains along the way, and deserts, too. There are cowboys and rodeos and some rolling plant that may have been tumbleweed. There are some particularly grand rivers, and a whole lot of empty fields. I highly recommend the route that we took (which was cleverly planned, down to the very last detail, by Elspeth!).

We ate well along the way (Elspeth brought along homemade chili, and pasta, and risotto(!!) for campsite dinners), and our only fast food stop was a "lunch supplement" as we called it, at an Arby's in central Wyoming on Thursday. In South Dakota on Saturday morning, we ate sourdough pancakes from a recipe that claimed to use a sourdough starter from frontier times, "over a hundred years ago"! All the same, when we arrived in Saint Paul on Saturday night, we were hungry. We swung by the Seward Co-op to get a few essentials, and when we got home, I whipped up a quick dinner. Tortellini (cheese-filled, from the grocery store freezer), with garlic scape pesto (homemade, and stored in my freezer... I'll have to blog about that recipe later), and lots of shredded parmesan stirred in.

What we really wanted, though, after driving 2500+ hours in 6 days, was a salad.

Fresh greens, with an heirloom tomato sliced on top, dressed with an easy and delicious recipe - it's one I wrote down a few years ago from that Everyday Italian show on the Food Network, and as you can see here, I wrote it on cute recipe cards that Elspeth decorated for me as a gift one year for Christmas. As you can also see here, I make this dressing often enough that there's a smudge on the recipe card!

In case you can't quite see it: that is 4 Tbsp of white vinegar, 2 Tbsp of dijon mustard, 2/3 cup of olive oil, and 1 tsp oregano. In this case, I put in a pinch of dried oregano and a pinch of dried basil. And it's true - the recipe makes plenty of dressing. I have a small jar of it in the refrigerator now, which will last through the week!

Galettes! Fancy!

2010-07-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

If you read this blog with some regularity, you may have noticed that Elspeth tends to post evidence of her very successful adventures in the world of elaborate baked goods, entrees from various parts of the globe, and multi-stepped recipes that she claims aren't so difficult to conquer. I, on the other hand, tend to post evidence of delicious but *truly* simple recipes, and sometimes I begin to feel like I should try something a bit trickier. More of an "Elspeth recipe," if you will. And so, I attempted.... a Zucchini and Ricotta Galette, as found on the Smitten Kitchen blog (which I heartily recommend). I followed the recipe precisely, and when the crust went all smooshy and uncooperative, I read through dozens of comments on their blog until I found confirmation that at least one other person had this problem, and that it still came out edible.

It seems that assembling your crust quickly, so that the ingredients stay cool, is essential. I did not move quickly, and it was a hot and humid day in July. And so - my crust was smooshy. It was also delicious, though, and perhaps that's the beauty of this recipe.

Smoothies

2010-07-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

I've lived through a lot of summers, and not until this one did I figure out how to make a smoothie. Ridiculous, I know. I've always suspected that smoothies should involve some combination of dairy, ice, and fruit - but Lord knows that I haven't guessed correctly at proportions in the past.

The newsletter that I receive with some regularity as a result of my membership at the Seward Coop often contains recipes, and this one looked like it was worth trying out:

Frozen Fruit Smoothies - serves 2

1 frozen banana, peeled and sliced

2 cups frozen strawberries, raspberries or cherries

1 cup milk

1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2-3 Tbsp honey, or to taste

Put all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve. Garnish with fresh fruit, if desired.

So the problems I had with this recipe were few but significant: I don't keep orange juice at my house, because I think it's disgusting (see the note about Ballerina Breath to the right of the screen); I hate bananas (which is challenging, because banana flavor is pervasive in purchased smoothies); I had neither plain nor vanilla yogurt on hand; and I didn't need two persons worth of smoothie, because I'm just me.

And so, I made my smoothie like this, and put it in a big summery cup:

1 cup of odds and ends of frozen fruit in my freezer (mixed berry, mostly)

1 overly ripe mango

a handful of nearly-too-ripe blueberries

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup Greek yogurt (honey flavored)

1/4 cup grapefruit juice

and, well, it was amazing.

Blueberry Muffins

2010-07-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Growing up, one of my favorite things in the world to eat was the blueberry muffins my mom would make, with - of course - wild Maine blueberries. If you have only eaten the larger-than-a-pea sized blueberry, you're missing out. Those are good, it is true, but they are just one variety of blueberry - high bush. The low bush ones, which crawl all over hillsides and mountain tops in Maine, are a bit harder to find. They may well grow in the midwest, but I haven't come across them. I can buy something called "Wild Blueberries" in the freezer section of Trader Joe's, and they were the right size and color, but didn't have the same flavor as those I grew up with - but, I digress.

In honor of the long weekend - and of Independence Day, I suppose - I made myself some blueberry muffins on Sunday. I used the Trader Joe's berries, because that's what I had available. Hot out of the oven, split in half with butter melting into the insides... well, that's nearly heaven.

Blueberry Muffins, as made by Mom

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup fresh blueberries - or 3/4 cup frozen blueberries

Beat the egg, stir in the liquids. Mix in remaining ingredients until the flour is moist. Lumpy batter is fine. Bake in greased muffin tin (I prefer the larger muffins, 6 to a tin - I think the liners are called "Texas cupcake liners" or something like that). Bake 15-20 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

(When I don't have blueberries around, I often bake them with jam in the middle.... or mix in 1/2 tsp of almond flavoring and 3/4 cup of dried cranberries! You can also make them with chopped up apples and some cinnamon, or really whatever you think might taste delicious.)

Kohlrabi Potato Gratin, Oh My!

2010-06-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

I mentioned already that the fabulous people of Driftless Organics include a newsletter with each CSA box, but I may not have outlined the contents of said newsletter. The first box of the year included a kind of welcome letter, along with a helpful feature on how to flatten the nifty wax coated boxes the veggies come in so that they can be re-used. There is also a brief description of each vegetable included, along with some quick suggestions about how to store them, how to prepare them, or what to match them up with (you know – eat the arugula in five days or less; store the potatoes in a cool dark space; use the green garlic as you would any garlic, but more generously, as it is quite mild). And, last but certainly not least, there is always a recipe or two to help with the most challenging vegetables in the box. This time, that recipe was for the kohlrabi (and also the potatoes and green garlic). I halved it, and discovered that it made a good companion to the meatloaf I made. Matched up with some of my homemade dressing on spinach, I had quite a meal! (If you are noticing that the dressing and the meatloaf are from over a week ago, you're on to me. I wrote this post and forgot to.. well.. post it.)

Kohlrabi Potato Gratin

(serves 3-4 people)

3-4 medium potatoes, whole, unpeeled

2 medium kohlrabi bulbs, whole, peeled

green leaves from the kohlrabi bulbs, stems removed

1 cup green garlic (white and green parts), rinsed well and coarsely chopped

1 cup half & half

2/3 cup shredded/crumbled cheese (I used blue cheese - yum!)

1/2 tsp each of salt, pepper, and nutmeg

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium saucepan with lid, boil whole potatoes and the peeled, whole kohlrabi bulbs for 7-8 minutes, until tender but not soft. Drain into a colander.

Chiffonade de-stemmed kohlrabi leaves (make a pile of flat leaves, roll them up into a log, and slice thinly) and place into the potato/kohlrabi pan with about an inch of fresh water. Bring to boil with the lid and steam for about 2 minutes. Drain.

Cut potatoes and kohlrabi bulbs in half the long way and slice thinly.

Mix together the chopped green garlic, half & half, and the cheese, along with the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Put butter in an oven safe pan and place in the hot oven for a couple minutes. Remove and swirl the melted butter to coat. Put half of the potato and kohlrabi slices in the bottom of the pan, lying flat. Spoon 1/3 of the seasoned cream and cheese mixture. Top with another layer of veggies and another layer of cream and cheese. Repeat. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, cover with tin foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20 minutes, until brown on top and bubbly on the edges. Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

3 days and totally worth it: Homemade Soft Pretzels

2010-06-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

I got a beautiful cookbook by Richard Bertinet at a used book store about a year ago. It's titled Crust (a sequel to Dough) and it is full of gorgeous pictures of delicious bread-type treats whose crust is part of the appeal. The recipe that made me purchase it was the recipe for Soft Pretzels, and for the last year I've thought "oh, I would love soft pretzels right now!" and pulled out the cookbook to remember that, oh yeah, it has like 5 steps of 'do this then let rest for 1-6 hours'. So finally, finally last week I planned wayyyy ahead and got all the ingredients, planned it out, and started the pretzels. Oh man. It took me three days (but really you only need 2) and it was so worth it. They were tasty, comforting, and besides the time investment, super simple. I shared them with acquaintances and if we weren't already friends, we sure are now. The recipe makes 12 big pretzels, which I thought would be a lot, but they disappeared quickly.

The cool thing about this recipe is that it uses a base recipe of fermented white dough, which is what takes the longest (it has to rise for at least 6 hours), but with the fermented dough plus some other ratios of more bread flour, yeast, salt, etc, you can make baguettes, seeded rye bread, bagels and of course, pretzels. Amazing. I think a lot of people are very intimidated by the thought of making bread, but if you have patience and plan ahead, it's quite simple and super delicious.

Good luck!

Pretzels from Crust by Richard Bertinet

For the Fermented White Dough (makes about 900 g/ 2 lb of dough)
Ingredients: Yeast (about 2 teaspoons of fresh or half a packet or active rise yeast), 3 3/4 cups white bread flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 3/4 cups water.

Directions: Rub the yeast into the flour using your fingertips, add the salt and the water and mix well until the dough begins to come together. Turn out onto an unfloured work surface and work the dough (the dough will be quite tacky). Return the dough to your lightly floured mixing bowl (to flour your bowl, lightly grease and then add a bit of flour and roll the bowl around until the flour has coated the bowl, toss the loose flour). Cover the bowl with a baking cloth and let it rest at room temp for 6 hours or overnight in the fridge (or up to 48 hours). Dough should double in size.

For the Pretzels (makes 12 pretzels)

Ingredients: 400 g fermented white dough (a bit less than half of what you've made, use the rest for a 2nd batch later or toss, you need to make the full recipe of the fermented dough to have the right amount of yeast, etc), 3 3/4 cups white bread flour, 2 t of fresh yeast or 1/2 packet of yeast, 3 3/4 t sugar, 2 t salt, 3 1/2 t butter (cut into small cubes), 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water. For the egg wash, 1 egg mixed with a pinch of salt.

Directions: Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and then add the fermented dough, butter, milk and water. Mix the ingredients together by hand until well combined. Make sure to really combine the new ingredients with the ball of fermented dough. The dough will be very stiff and it will seem like you have too much flour, but just keep kneading it. If you can't get it combined, let it sit for five or ten minutes and then continue to knead/combine. Once combined, cover the bowl with a baking cloth and let it rest for an hour. In a small bowl or cup, lightly beat one egg and add a pinch of salt. This needs to sit for an hour so do this now rather than when you're ready to roll out the dough.

Lightly flour your work surface and divide the dough into 12 even pieces. Roll each piece with your fingers until it is around 8 inches long with the pieces a bit narrower at the ends (I tried making both really skinny and kind of chubby pretzels - I think I liked the chubby ones better, but I may have just over cooked the skinny ones. And the skinny ones tasted more pretzel-. Form into the pretzel shape (heart shape with ends twisted in the center over the base of the heart). Lay the pretzels on a greased baking tray and glaze with the egg wash. Let the pretzels rise, uncovered for 45-60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Glaze the pretzels again and sprinkle with course salt (course sea salt works great), pressing the salt into the dough a bit. Put the pretzels into the oven and turn the heat down to 450 degrees F. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the pretzels are a dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Why libraries are great: Gateau Chocolat Framboise

2010-06-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

I love the public library. I grew up loving the library - granted it helped that the one in my hometown looked like a castle (C.M. Bailey Public Library, Winthrop, ME. Look it up!). It just seemed so great that I could have at my fingertips thousands of books, and that as I grew older, I discovered new shelves, new topics, as I spent more time upstairs (in the grown up section) and less time downstairs (in the kids and teens area). I started getting books on architecture, travel, and cooking.

As the adult I attempt to be, the wonder of the library has not gone away. It is such an invaluable resource to a community, a gathering place, a warm place, computers, internet, quiet, and best of all, books. Lots of them. Living in Seattle where there is a network of about 20 libraries means that just about any book, CD or DVD I could desire, I can get my hands on (and delivered to my local library, at that!). When I was unemployed for 3 months, I couldn't afford internet in my apartment and I spent my days at the library, using their internet, applying to jobs, and then cooling down by perusing the gardening and travel books, and heading home with a pile of cookbooks and DVD's.

Being able to test-run a cookbook is a wondrous thing. Sometimes I buy a cookbook and find that there are just a handful of recipes in it that I like - recipes that I am so glad to have, but a bit annoyed that the small shelf space I have for cookbooks is being used up by a cookbook that really could instead just be a handful of index cards. I love to get cookbooks out from the library, try a few recipes and then either write down the ones that I like or go out and buy the cookbook.

Last week I got "Chocolate & Zucchini", by Clotilde Dusoulier, the author of the same name food blog. As is the case often, I loved the dessert section of her cookbook but just didn't feel like I would make many of her other recipes. I jotted down the recipe for Gateau Chocolat Framboise (Chocolate Raspberry Cake) and made it this weekend to give to a couple whose birthdays were recently. They're like a 2nd pair of parents to me, so I was hoping the cake would be good. They were blown away, and I'm positive this will become a special occasion cake for me. It was quite straight forward to make and it was oh-my-god good.

So this is just one of the reasons why libraries are great. It brought this cake into my life - and that is a wonderful thing.

Gateau Chocolat Framboise from Chocolate & Zucchini by Clotilde Dusoulier.

Ingredients: 2 sticks butter, 8 oz bittersweet chocolate bits, 1 cup sugar, 4 large eggs, 1 1/2 cups raspberries (plus more for garnish, so buy a pint), 1/3 cup flour, 1 t fleur de sel or 1/2 t fine sea salt.

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 10" springform pan.

Using a heavy bottomed pan, double boiler, or a small pan in a larger pan of water, slowly melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring occasionally and being careful not to burn it. Combine the melted mix and the sugar in a medium bowl and mix well. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes and then add the eggs, one by one, stirring well after each addition. Mash the raspberries with a fork (no need to overdo it, just to break down the shape of each berry) and add to the batter, stirring to combine. Sift the flour and salt together into the bowl and stir until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Turn of the oven and leave the cake in the warm oven for five more minutes. The cake will still be fairly soft. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and remove the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool complete, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate (for at least 4 hours, or overnight). Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving and garnish with fresh raspberries. I melted down chocolate and poured it over the cake, then put the raspberries in the chocolate so that they were held down by something and didn't roll all over.

Slice small pieces (this is a very rich cake), and serve! Store the leftovers (if there are any) in the fridge.

With a bit of planning, an easy easy dinner.

2010-06-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

I always want to make pizza at home, with my own crust, my own toppings, just how I like it. But I never decide this until I'm hungry, and I don't want to make the dough, wait for it to rise, and then make the pizza. And because of this, I always have it in my head that homemade pizza is an ordeal, that it's tough to make. But it is SO easy. If you just give your self some time to let the dough rise it is so.easy. So this week, I planned ahead! I made one batch of pizza dough, which makes 3 medium pizzas, so three nights this week I got to make a quick, delicious homemade pizza. And it was glorious, absolutely glorious.

As you can guess, in my quest for a no nonsense recipe that is absolutely delicious, I went straight to my Cook's Illustrated cook book "The New Best Recipes". I don't know what I would do without it. I made up the dough, let it rise while I went to an art reception with a friend, came back home to find it bursting through the saran wrap, over the edges of the bowl, and happily rolled it out into a pizza. A few toppings later and my boyfriend and I were enjoying a delicious, cheap and healthy dinner. There are few things I love more than making my own dinner, and this was grand.

For the first night we went for a simple margarita pizza using fresh mozzarella, nice vine tomatoes, basil from my windowsill garden and a nice pizza sauce (which, yes, was store bought...ah well). I encourage you to make one straightforward delicious pizza, and then experiment with the rest.

Pizza Dough from The New Best Recipes
Makes 3 medium pizzas

Ingredients: 1/2 cup warm water, 1 envelope (about 2 1/4 t) instant yeast, 1 1/4 cups water at room temp, 2 T extra virgin olive oil, 4 cups bread flour*, plus more for dusting the work surface, 1 1/2 t salt, olive oil for oiling the bowl.

* I like to substitute about one cup with corn flour (very fine corn meal), to add a bit to the crust.

Directions: Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room temp water and oil and stir to combine.

Process the flour and salt in a large food processor (or with a whisk, by hand, in a medium bowl). Pour in most of the liquid ingredients. If using a food processor - pulse as you pour and continue to pulse until a ball forms. If it does not, add more of the liquid, slowly until a ball forms. If working dough by hand, stir with a rubber spatula while you pour. Once all the liquid is in, use your hands to combine the dough and work into a ball, again, adding more liquid as needed. The dough will be a bit tacky. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface (using the rubber spatula if needed) and knead by hand for a few strokes to form a smooth, round ball.

Put the dough in a deep oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate, and break up for the size pizzas you would like, 3 for medium, 2 pieces for large, 4 or 5 for more personal size pizzas. Wrap whatever pieces you're not using in plastic wrap and stick in the fridge - it will be good for a while in there, at least 4 days (in my opinion).

Cooking the Pizza

Preheat the oven to 450/500 degrees for at least 20 minutes before you're ready to stick the pizza in. If you're using a pizza stone, stick that in there too for the heating. If you're not very good at sliding the rolled out pizza onto the cooking surface - keep this in mind when deciding if you want to preheat or not. Preheating will certainly make the crust crispier though.

Roll the pizza crust out on a floured work surface. Sprinkle corn meal on the cooking surface (pizza stone, baking sheet, etc) if you've got it. Lay the dough on the baking surface, brush with olive oil, poke with the tines of a fork to prevent ballooning, and pre-cook for 5 minutes. While the crust is cooking, finish getting the toppings together. Pull out the dough after 5 minutes and quick top the pizza to your liking. If you're using any meat or big toppings, consider pre-cooking them in a saute pan before adding them to the pizza. Also try to remove as much moisture as you can from things before putting them on the pizza. De-seed tomatoes, press fresh mozzarella with a dish cloth, etc.

Cook for 5-10 more minutes, checking every few minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven when the crust is beginning to turn golden and the toppings look done. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Surprise!

2010-06-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

A funny thing happened last week as I sorted through my enormous box of CSA vegetables: I suddenly realized that what I really needed to add to the mix was some meat! There’s something incredibly comforting about meatloaf, and I find my mother’s recipe to be just the ticket. I’m sure (in fact, I know) that there are meatloaf recipes that involve combinations of meat, fresh herbs, carefully selected fillers, rare mushrooms and such. I don’t bother myself with those recipes. This one is tried and true, and with the standard items that I keep in my cabinets and refrigerator, the only ingredient I ever need to buy in order to make this recipe is the ground beef!

Meatloaf (as my mom makes it)

1 egg

2 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

3/4 tsp chili powder

ground pepper

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried basil

garlic powder (just a shake or two)

1/8 cup grated onion (do grate it, rather than dicing it)

1/2 cup milk

1 cup oats

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

Topping:

4 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp brown sugar

Combine all of the ingredients except the ground beef. Mix them well before adding the ground beef. The mix that well, too. Place in a loaf pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes - then remove from the oven, add the topping (which you should mix together first), and then bake another 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Life Changing Recipe

2010-06-16T19:48:00.000-07:00

Well. You know already that I recently received a giant box of fresh vegetables, and I suspect you can imagine that when one is facing such a box, one does not have weeks upon weeks to spend planning and eating. One must eat those vegetables promptly. They are leafy and springy and fresh and after just a few days, they aren't any of those things.

And so, I thought to myself - a salad! - would be a good solution. And so I made one - the lettuce, radishes, and purple scallions (plus some non-CSA-red onion) went towards this cause, and I tossed a hard boiled egg on top, as well. Unfortunately, I then remembered that every salad dressing I have ever purchased (up to and including the four that currently reside in my refrigerator) has fallen short of my expectations, even when I buy expensive dressings and organic dressings and dressings with fancy packaging. But then I remembered that when I'm furiously paging through my cookbooks with certain recipes in mind (pancakes, or white bean soup, or meatballs, or creamed spinach, say), I whiz past the dressings/sauces categories that are standing in my way. And so, I though to myself - a homemade dressing! - would be a good solution.

Which brings me to my point(s). Firstly, the Moosewood Cookbook is a thing of beauty, a sure path to success, and an essential part of my kitchen. Secondly, creamy homemade dressing (as directed by the Moosewood Cookbook) is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS and TOTALLY EASY TO MAKE. Yes, I am that excited about this discovery. Oh, and thirdly - Elspeth, the better half of this blog partnership, gave me a handheld blender/mixer/puree-er thingy a few years ago as a gift, and it's a genius of a small appliance. Go get one. And then make this dressing.

Creamy Garlic Dressing

3 garlic cloves (I chopped up some of the CSA green garlic here)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tsp salt (I used sea salt)

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese (I used the grocery store can stuff, and it was still awesome)

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

---

1/2 cup milk

Put everything but the milk into a blender (or into the little dressing-making-cup that comes with the handheld blender deal), and whirl for a couple seconds. Add the milk. Whirl a couple seconds more. Eat the dressing on everything in sight, because it's that good. And it'll only last a week or so, covered and refrigerated.

By the by, this dressing also got me through my entire bundle of spinach in two sittings. It's that good.

The First CSA Box of the Season!

2010-06-10T16:29:00.001-07:00

Well, I can't begin to say how excited I am about this first CSA box from Driftless Organics! I shared a CSA box with a friend last year, and it went so well that we're doing it again!!

This particular farm actually includes a newsletter with each box, along with some relevant recipes for the more unique vegetables that are included (this time the recipe is for Kohlrabi Potato Gratin). Also, this time, they offered a cookbook that appears to be most excellent - I wasn't clever enough to buy one, but my friend did, so I took a picture! Rather than having you compare the vegetables on the table to the vegetable list in the newsletter, I'll help you along. I think that they go like this, from left to right: top row: blue potatoes and red radishes; second row: arugula, spinach, and red butterhead lettuce; bottom row: german butterball potatoes, purple kohlrabi, more spinach, green garlic, purple scallions, and garlic chives!!

More posts to come, once I start to use these lovely vegetables. Boxes arrive every other Thursday, well into October.

Pasta with Tomato, Bacon, and Onion

2010-05-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

As has recently been discussed here, the America's Test Kitchen recipe booklet that I have (issue 2, 2008) is a source of recipes that does not disappoint. I've made other versions of this recipe in the past, and the bacon tends to be soggy. This recipe eliminates that problem - and also advocates the use of pasta water in the sauce, which I keep seeing lately.

I should mention that for over a year now, most of the meat I've been cooking with has been local and organic, purchased from the completely fabulous Seward Coop, of which I am a member. This is true of the bacon used here.

Pasta with Tomato, Bacon, and Onion

Serves 4 (and generously, at that). I halved the recipe without any problem, and still ate it for two dinners and a lunch.

6 slices bacon, chopped

1 onion, chopped fine

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes

salt

1 lb spaghetti or linguine

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Bring water to boil in large pot. Cook bacon (already chopped) in large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate and pour off all but 2 Tbsp fat. Add onion to skillet and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Add 1 Tbsp salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, drain pasta, and return to pot. Add tomato sauce, parsley, and cooked bacon to pot and toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water as needed. Season with salt. Serve, topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

Apple Pie

2010-05-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

As I've said before, Cook's Illustrated has the best pie crust recipe. It really does turn out soft yet flaky, absolutely perfect. Cook's Illustrated's Classic Apple Pie can't do you wrong - and in need of some warm sweetness, I made an apple pie the other night, which got better each day as I worked my way through it (with help from a few of my friends). Can you tell I've been craving my sweets lately?

Classic Apple Pie from Cook's Illustrated

Pie Dough: 2 1/4 cups unbleached flour, plus extra for dusting, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, 11 tablespoons unsalted butter (8 T per stick, 1 stick = 1/2 cup...), cut into 1/4 inch cubes, 7 tablespoons chilled shortening, 1/3 cup water, chilled with ice, use more if needed.

(Hint: The key to a good crust is the chilled shortening and cold cold water! Don't skip this step to save time. Also, the mixture of shortening and butter is great, as each lend their own improvements to pie crust.)

Pie Filling: 2 T flour, 3 large granny smith apples, 4 large McIntosh apples, 1 T juice and 1 t grated zest from 1 lemon, 3/4 cup plus 1 T sugar, 1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg, 1/4 t ground cinnamon, 1/8 t ground all-spice, 1/4 t salt, 1 large egg white, beaten lightly.

Directions: Mix flour, salt and sugar, sprinkle cubed butter and toss with flour mixture. Cut butter into flour, add shortening and continue to cut into flour until mixture resembles course cornmeal. Butter bits should be no larger than small peas. Sprinkle all but 1 T of ice water over mixture. Using the blade of a rubber spatula, fold to mix. Press down dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, add water as necessary. Divide dough into 2 balls, with one slightly larger than the other. Flatten into 4 inch wide disks, dust with flour, wrap in plastic and regfrigerate for at least 30 minutes. When ready to assemble pie, heat oven to 500 degrees and remove larger piece of dough from fridge (shouldn't be out for more than about 10 minutes). Roll the dough out and place in the bottom of the pie plate and return to the fridge.

Peel, core and quarter the apples; cut the quarters into 1/4-inch slices and toss with the lemon juice and zest. In a medium bowl, mix the 3/4 cup sugar, flour, spices and salt. Toss the dry ingredients with the apples. Turn the fruit mixture, including the including the juices, into the chilled pie shell and mound it slightly in the center.

Roll the 2nd piece of dough to a 12-inch circle and place it over the filling. Trip the edges of the top and bottom dough alters to 1/2 inch beyond the pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that he folded edge is flush with the pan lip. Plt the edge and cut 4 slits in the dough top. If rolling the crust has taken time and the dough is soft, return to the freezer for 10 minutes. Brush the egg white onto the crust and sprinkle the sugar over it.

Place the pie on a baking sheet and lower the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Bake the pie until the top crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Rotate the pie from front to back and reduce the oven temp to 375 degrees. Continue baking until the juices bubble and the crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes longer.

Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool to room temperature,at least 4 hours, if you can wait that long. :)

Garlic Shrimp with Basil, aka Heaven

2010-05-25T20:17:00.001-07:00

This is not the first time (nor will it be the last) that I have celebrated the existence of the America's Test Kitchen crew. In the fall of 2008, I visited Elspeth in Seattle and we were lucky enough to catch a presentation by Christopher Kimball at the public library. We got there early, and were each rewarded for our efforts with a copy of "America's Test Kitchen: Fast & Fresh Recipe Card Collection" - apparently it was Issue Number 2 of this handy booklet that looks like a magazine but reads like a cookbook. To date, I have made nine of the recipes that are included (some of them more than once), and always with great success. That means that there are 55 recipes remaining, and the more I think about it, the more sure I feel that I better get a move on with trying each of them!

This round, I tried the "Garlic Shrimp with Basil" recipe, and it will now be my official "impress the guests" dinner, though I made it on a weeknight in significantly less than an hour. It tastes, as I mentioned in the title of this post, rather like heaven.

Garlic Shrimp with Basil

(serves 4, or in my case: serves 1 for dinner, a lunch, and one more dinner)

1 1/2 pounds extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined

salt and pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

10 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup white wine

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil

4 Tbsp butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 Tbsp capers, drained and minced

1 tsp lemon juice

Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add shrimp and cook until lightly browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to plate. (NOTE: I bought a 1 lb. bag of frozen cooked shrimp, defrosted it in the refrigerator over night, and followed these same directions. This worked well, though it was 1/2 lb less shrimp than the recipe calls for. It seems that cooked or uncooked shrimp are kind of interchangeable in this recipe, too.)

Add remaining oil, garlic, and 1/2 tsp pepper to empty skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in wine and tomatoes and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Off heat, whisk in basil, butter, capers, and lemon juice. Add shrimp and any accumulated juices to skillet. Cover and let sit until shrimp are heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

This can be served on linguine, rice, or crusty bread (says the recipe) but I served it on egg noodles, which was delicious.

Mango Tart: Absolute Indulgence

2010-05-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

When I studied abroad in Australia, I worked at a little cafe owned by a couple in their 30's. They were lovely, and became good friends. By the end of my stint I was cooking more than I was taking orders and I even got to add a few items to the menu. As a going away gift they gave me a wonderful cookbook - a very Australian cookbook - Bill's Sydney Food - by Bill Granger, a restaurateur, food writer, and of course, cook. The foods in the book are delightful, fresh, clean and bright.

In need of a bright dessert, I pulled out this book and after flipping through for a bit found a recipe for Mango Tart - listed under 'Lunch/Sweet Things' which is quite funny, as it's a rich, indulgent dessert, but nonetheless delicious.

Mango Tart from Bill's Sydney Food

For the Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

Ingredients: 2 cups flour, 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, a pinch of salt, 12 T (1 1/2 sticks) of butter.

Directions: Place flour, sugar and salt in a bowl, use a whisk to combine. Add butter and rub it through the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles course breadcrumbs. Add 3 T of cold water and cut it in with a knife until the dough is able to be pulled together in to a ball. Add more water, 1/2 T at a time until you are able to squeeze the majority of the dough together in a ball. It should still be flaky and fairly dry. Wrap plastic wrap around the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out the pastry dough to about 1/4 of an inch thick. If pieces fall off, just add back on, overlapping the edge and continue to roll out. Fit the pastry dough into a tart tin and freeze for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the pastry from the freezer, line with parchment paper and add baking weights, rice will work too. Bake the shell for 10 minutes, remove the weights and return the shell to the oven, cooking another 10 minutes. Leave to cool.

For the Filling

Ingredients: 1 cup milk, 1 t vanilla, 6 egg yolks, 3/4 cup ultra fine baking sugar, 3 T cornstarch, a bit less than 2 T of butter - cut into small cubes, 1/2 cup cream - lightly whipped, 2-3 mangoes - peeled and sliced.

Directions: Place milk in a saucepan over medium heat and heat until just before boiling point. Add vanilla and remove from heat. Place egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat until thick. Add the cornstarch and hot milk and stir until smooth. Return mixture to a clean saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for about 15 minutes, or until thickened. If the mixture feels like it is lumping, use a whisk for a bit to keep the mixture a consistent, smooth texture. Bring the custard to a boil, turn down heat and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and add the butter, stirring to combine. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Fold the lightly whipped cream through the custard, and pour into the tart shell. Arrange sliced mangoes on top and serve.

Mini Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins - an easy treat

2010-05-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

My most lovely sister got me a cookbook for my birthday - Muffins: Sweet and Savory Comfort Foods - and it's full of delightful treats. I had a few old bananas so I decided to start with something familiar - Chocolate Chip Banana muffins. I make banana bread pretty often (because it's oh so delicious), but I thought this might be a nice way to mix it up. The recipe calls for 5-6 bananas and I only had 3 so I did a half recipe and made mini muffins - though it made 2 dozen muffins, plus I still have a bunch of batter in my fridge - more than double the expected yield. Ah well - I'll always take more of these tasty treats!

The muffins I had right out of the oven were even more delicious because the big chocolate chips I used seem to have floated to the middle of most of them, creating a nice melted chocolate surprise in that first bite.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins (from Muffins: Sweet and Savory Comfort Foods, written by Cyndi Duncan and George Patrick)
Makes 12 Muffins or 24+ Mini Muffins

Ingredients: 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 2 eggs - lightly beaten, 5 to 6 ripe bananas - mashed, 2 cups flour, 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t baking powder, 3/4 t baking soda, 3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional, I omitted these), 3/4 cup chocolate chips - mini if you prefer.

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease muffin cups. In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Add the lightly beaten eggs and the mashed bananas. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 minutes for full size muffins, 10-15 for mini. Muffins should be golden brown.

Chicken and Ramps!

2010-05-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

Around the Twin Cities this spring, ramps were the trendy "new" vegetable to be aware of, as far as I can tell. It seems that they are a variety of wild leek, and in certain parts of the country in the early spring, you can purchase them in the sorts of produce sections that pride themselves on carrying such items. Since I happen to frequent a produce section of that sort, I purchased some ramps and went about learning what they are and how to cook them. Turns out, it was easy. I washed them, chopped them up, and sauteed them in butter. They were delicious.

Ramps are not what one would consider to be a hearty vegetable, so I definitely needed to eat some other food along with this buttery ramp concoction. And so, I bring you, the chicken recipe off the Hellman's Mayonnaise jar. Don't be alarmed. In fact, if you can, just ignore the source of this recipe entirely, because I'll tell you right now that it results in some very delicious chicken, quickly and easily. I should mention that I halved this recipe, and eyeballed the ingredients, and it was still delicious:

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

4 tsp seasoned dry bread crumbs

Combine mayonnaise and cheese. Spread on chicken, then sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

Easy! Also, I'm a sucker for egg noodles, so I cooked some of those up to eat with the ramps and chicken. The next night, I chopped up the leftover chicken and stirred it in with the leftover ramps and leftover noodles, and I have to say that this was even more delicious than the original meal, when the components had been kept separate!

Oh oh Risotto.

2010-05-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

Mmm. I've always enjoyed risotto at restaurants but for some reason, perhaps because I had only ever had it at restaurants, I had this notion that it was hard to make. The other night I was having a friend over for dinner after work and I thought, what the heck, I'm going to make risotto. So I did. Just like that. Turns out, not that difficult, and so, so delicious (and this one makes a great leftover)!

Just about every time I log onto the Cooks Illustrated website I see a recipe for risotto in my perusing, and this one was in their latest magazine, so I thought I'd give their recipe a try. Now. I said it wasn't difficult, but it wasn't super straight forward either. This recipe takes a bit of time and a bunch of preparation (chopping onions, shredding chicken, and so on), but it's nothing you can't handle (I'm pretty sure), and totally worth it in the end.

With the chicken, it makes for a reasonable entree, but you can easily make this recipe without it, too, and serve it as a side.

Almost Hands-Free Risotto with Chicken and Herbs from Cook's Illustrated May 2010
Serves 6

Ingredients: 5 cups chicken broth, 2 cups water, 1 T olive oil, 2 small chicken breasts, 4 T butter, 1 large onion, chopped fine, salt, 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced, 2 cups Arborio rice, 1 cup dry white wine, 2 oz grated Parmesan cheese, 1 t juice from 1 lemon, 2 T chipped fresh parsley, 2 T chopped fresh chives, ground black pepper.

Directions: Bring broth and water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Add chicken and cook without moving until golden brown, 4-6 minutes. Flip chicken and cook second side until lightly browned, about two minutes. Transfer chicken to saucepan of simmering broth and cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 165 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to large plate.

While the chicken is cooking in the broth, add 2 T of butter to the now empty Dutch oven, set over medium heat. When butter has melted, add onion and 3/4 t salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, sitrring frequently, until grains are translucent around edges, about 3 minutes.

Add wine and cook, stirring constantly until fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir 5 cups warm broth into rice; reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until almost all liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al dente, 16-18 minutes, stirring twice during cooking.

Add 3/4 cup warm broth to risotto and stir gently and constantly until risotto becomes creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan. Remove pot from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

While the risotto is cooking and 'standing', shred chicken meat into bite-size pieces. When risotto is ready to serve, stir shredded chicken, remaining 2 T butter, lemon juice, parsley and chives into risotto. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you wish, add up to 1/2 cup additional broth to loosen the texture of the risotto.

Serve, and of course, enjoy!

Mmmm cream.

2010-05-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

The other night I was looking for a recipe that had a feeling of extravagance, as it was Friday after all (and Friday dinners must feel extravagant, didn't you know?), yet it needed to be something that was fairly simple, and I was hoping to use herbs from my windowsill garden (which is bigger and better this year, I'll do a post about it soon!).

I was perusing Bon Appetit and came upon "Pasta with Peas, Cream, Parsley and Mint". Perfect! It was indeed quite easy and quick, yet the inclusion of cream made it feel a little more, shall I say, extravagant, and most importantly, it was absolutely delicious! The shells collected up the peas so that they were a pleasant surprise when you bit down on a shell. The final product has a nice look too, so it's great if you're looking for high marks on presentation.

I will say that as opposed to most homemade dishes, this was best the first time around, so gobble it up the night you make it!

Pasta with Peas, Cream, Parsley and Mint, from Bon Appetit, March 2008
Serves 6-8 (I did a half recipe)

Ingredients: 1 (16oz) package of medium or large shell pasta, 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, 1 (16oz) package of frozen peas (still frozen),2 1/4 cups fresh grated Parmesan cheese, shaved Parmesan cheese for serving, 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped, 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped, with extra parsley for serving.

Directions: Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to warm pot.

While the past is cooking, bring cream to simmer in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add frozen peas and simmer just until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted and sauce thickens slightly, about a minute. Stir in mint and chopped parsley. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss to coat, adding pasta cooking liquid in small increments if dry. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving dish and sprinkle with remaining parsley and cheese.

As always, enjoy!

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

2010-05-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

If you've discovered the 'upcoming events' page we added to the site, you would have seen the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival on there a bit ago. I moved to Seattle a month after the festival 2 years ago. Last year I planned poorly and the tulips bloomed early and I didn't make it, and this year, well, I barely made it, but I did, and it was wonderful! Whew. Maybe next year I'll make it at the height of the season.We'll see.

When the fields are in full bloom, there are hundreds of acres of tulips in bloom, as well as daffodils, and later in the season, irises. There are two locations, Roozengaarde and Tulip Town. Both have display gardens that are in bloom the whole month, and at the height of the season, Roozengaarde has "a beautiful 3-acre pristine Display Garden planted with over a ¼ million blooming bulbs and bordered by a 30-acre tulip field" while Tulip Town has a variety of indoor and outdoor gardens, vendors and a 15 acre field of late bloomers.

Since we were a little late to get up to the festival, the 1,000 plus acres of tulip fields had been topped. Since the tulips are all grown for the bulbs, they cut the flowers off of the step as soon as they start to go by, so that the plant can focus it's energy on producing a bigger bulb. It's a pretty cool process, but sadly meant that we just saw fields and fields of stems. We were able to see a giant field of irises though, which were beautiful, and the display gardens were pretty nice. On the way out, we discovered that Tulip Town still had their field of late bloomers, so we got to peruse that giant field. All in all, it was a nice day to be outside and the flowers were fantastic.

I have to admit that although I was a little sad we didn't get to see the giant fields in bloom, it was nice to be at the festival with a smaller crowd. People watching was pretty funny, and it was pretty humorous to watch all the little kids. I'm pretty sure at least half of them had a handful of tulip petals and there was one feisty little bugger that I saw take down tulips over and over, aggressively grabbing them with his tiny hands and seeing how many petals he could get off at once before one of his parents anxiously scooped him up and quickly got away from the devastated plant before anyone noticed. Ah yes. The people watching was good.

The story of an obsession: Mango Curry

2010-05-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Central Maine doesn't afford one many opportunities to try food from around the world. Not only were there very few options, but my family was never the type to go out to eat, and never ever did we get take out or delivery. I recall one time that I convinced my mom to let me go get us some pizza for dinner. When I came back to the house with it, she had cooked veggies and made a salad. I just shook my head at her and said 'you don't understand how this works, do you?'.

As the grown up that I attempt to be these days, I've come to really appreciate that 'cook it yourself' upbringing. I find I eat healthier, enjoy my homemade meals more and save money by not ordering out very often. But there are a few foods that I've come to see as an exception, at least until I can master making it myself. The #1 exception? Indian food. Specifically the Mango Walla from Bengal Tiger. Ohhhh sweet love. It is so wonderfully delicious.

One of my dear friends is very aware of my obsession with this mango walla, and knowing that I much prefer a meal I can make at home with more rice than anyone normal would think to serve, she very kindly got me a jar of some mango curry she found at the store. While it was surely missing some ingredients (I suspect, mainly, heavy cream), I sauteed up some veggies, tossed in some tofu and poured the mango curry over it. Served over rice it was quite delicious!

This is a recipe that will work with any bottled curry, or even a quality teriyaki sauce. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a quick but flavorful and filling dinner! It may not be the same as the Mango Walla from Bengal Tiger, but it's pretty delicious all the same!

Mango Curry with Veggies and Tofu, Served Over Rice

Be sure to read through this before you start. You can include tofu in a variety of ways, depending how you like it. Since I don't like the taste or texture of tofu very much, I crumble it, coat it in flour and pre cook it a bit, but some people prefer to just cube it and toss it in...do whatever you wish, and of course, feel free to do chicken or some other meat instead.

For the Veggies
Ingredients: 1 onion, diced, 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced, assorted vegetables (broccoli, carrots, zucchini, etc), cut into small pieces, olive oil
Directions: Pour a small amount of olive oil into a pan and over medium to medium low heat saute the onions until softened, 2-3 minutes. Add the vegetables and continue to saute. If you like softer broccoli, you can parboil it for a few minutes to soften it a bit. Add the tofu and garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the curry and mix well. Add enough curry to more than coat the veggies, you want extra curry sauce that will seep into the rice. Turn heat to low and let the flavors meld for a few minutes.

For the Tofu
Ingredients: Extra firm tofu,1/2 cup flour, garlic salt/powder, salt and pepper, oil for frying.
Directions: Press as much moisture as you can out of the tofu by hand, and then wrap it in a towel (paper or cloth). Set a cutting board with a heavy-ish object on top of it to extract more moisture out of it. Depending how you like your tofu, cut into cubes or crumble the tofu (I prefer my tofu crumbled). Combine the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Toss the tofu with the dry ingredients. I use 1/4-1/3 of a package for myself, half for two people or the whole thing for a larger group. In a separate pan from the veggies, put oil in a saute pan. Depending on how fried you like your tofu, put more or less oil. Cook the tofu in the oil for as long as you like, stirring occasionally. If you like your tofu more crispy, cook in more oil for longer, if you like the texture of tofu as it is, just cook it a little. If you really like tofu how it is, you can just add it to the veggies without the flour mixture at all.

Serve over rice, and enjoy!

So. Many. Cupcakes.

2010-05-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

So about a month ago, my friend asked me, "Hey Elspeth, any interest in going to this fundraiser that costs $10 and has a ton of cupcakes?". Um. Yes. Absolutely. Let me tell you. I did not hesitate for a second. We were some of the first people there, and we certainly got our cupcakes worth. After much careful deliberation, I ate one cupcake in line and filled my plate with two full size cupcakes, two medium cupcakes and two mini cupcakes. I only ended up eating one of the mini's and I took the rest home, it was so overwhelming to be around that much deliciousness. My friends were lucky enough to acquire a carton of milk from Smith Brothers Milk, who was also at the event - I on the other hand, was not so lucky, and that slowed me down a bit.

The event was Cupcake Camp and according to the website, 1,000 people went, they served 5,000 cupcakes, and raised over $5,000. The site itself has some beautiful pictures that you should check out, but I thought I'd post a few of my own. We were glad we got there early because when we left there was a line to the end of the block. It was the first year they've done this event, and it was clear by the madness surrounding the cupcake table that they didn't except such a crowd (their site says they predicted 300 people would turn out). I felt greedy with my plate of cupcakes but there were people with plates towered high, plus people left with full boxes. It was quite a scene.

The event was to raise money for the Hope Heart Institute, which is kind of funny, since I think the event was the most absurd display of unhealthy gorging of food I've seen in a long time, but ah well. Everyone seeemd to have a good time, and they certainly raised a fair amount of money!

All of my favorite cupcake places were at the event, Cupcake Royale (makers of my beloved Salted Caramel cupcake, pictured at left), Wink, Trophy Cupcakes, plus a lot of smaller bakeries and cupcake companies located outside of Seattle proper. I wish the wrappers had the names on them, because I had a coconut cupcake that was to die for, but alas, I don't know who made it! All in all, it was, though slightly disorganized, a wonderful event that I'm sure will be even better next year.

Guacamole, to go with the tostadas!

2010-04-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

I also made some homemade guac to go with the tinga tostadas I posted about yesterday. I absolutely love guac and every time I make it (which isn't very often) I'm flabbergasted by how easy and delicious it is. So. I encourage you to grab a few avocados and make yourself a tasty treat!

Guacamole (Adapted from Cook's Illustrated, May 1999 Chunky Guacamole)

Ingredients: 3 avocados, 2 T onion, minced, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves, 1/4 t salt, 2 T lime juice.

Directions: Halve the avocados and remove the pit. Using a spoon, scoop the avocado from its peel and combine the onion, garlic, salt and cilantro leaves with half of the avocado (1 1/2 avocados). Using a fork, mash the avocado until combined with the other ingredients. Add the rest of the avocado and use the fork to combine the ingredients, mashing to the consistency you like. If you like really chunky guacamole, chop up the remaining avocado before you add it and just mix a little. If you like smooth guacamole, just continue to mash until everything is smooth. As with most recipes, alter your ratios of onion, garlic, lime juice, etc to make your ideal flavor.

Shredded Pork Tostadas Made Simple

2010-04-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

I love shredded pork. I also love fresh tacos, tostadas, etc that are full of meat and flavor but don't feel heavy. I had some people over for dinner tonight and was having trouble figuring out what to make. Whenever I want to make something nice that feels like a complete meal, I end up cooking very New England-y things. While the food is delicious, it's often warm, filling, hearty food. Bakes beans, roasted chicken with mashed potatoes, chili, beef stew, etc. So I was perusing my go-to cooking source - Cook's Illustrated (I subscribe to both the periodical and the online site) and there it was. The perfect recipe for this warmer, sunnier week in Seattle. Crisp Pork Tostadas or 'Tinga Tostadas' put simply, as tinga is the term for 'true Mexican shredded pork' according to Cook's Illustrated.

Wow. This was easy, impressive looking and delicious! I cooked the pork last night so that when I got home from work today, all I had to do was put the pork in the pan with a few more bits of seasoning, let it cook for 15 minutes in all and crisp the tortillas to make the tostadas. Ta da. Dinner served with a fairly clean kitchen to boot.

Crisp Pork Tostadas (from Cook's Illustrated, March 2010) Serves 4 to 6

Tinga (can be made the night before through Step 1)

Ingredients: 2 lbs boneless pork butt (or shoulder), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch pieces, 2 medium onions, 1 quartered and 1 chopped fine, 5 medium garlic cloves, 3 peeled and smashed, 2 minced, 4 sprigs fresh thyme, table salt, 2 T olive oil, 1/2 t dried oregano, 1 (14.5) oz can tomato sauce, 1 T ground chipotle powder, 2 bay leaves.

Directions: Bring pork, quartered onion, smashed garlic, thyme, 1 t salt and 6 cups of water to simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and cook until pork is tender 75 to 90 minutes. Drain the pork through a strainer into a pyrex or bowl. Dump all but 1 cup of cooking liquid, reserving it to be used later in the recipe. Remove the onions, garlic and thyme and return the pork to the saucepan. Use a potato masher to smoosh the meat until it has shredded into rough pieces. Set aside. If you're making the meat the night before, put it in a airtight container and refrigerate it.

On the night of the meal, heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a 12 inch non-stick skillet or a broad, heavy bottomed pan such as a dutch oven. Once oil is shimmering, add shredded pork, chopped onion and oregano; cook, stirring often, until pork is well browned and crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, chipotle powder, the reserved pork cooking liquid and the bay leaves. Simmer until almost all of the liquid has evaporated, 5-7 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves and season the tinga with salt.

Tostadas

Ingredients: 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas, table salt

Directions: Heat vegetable oil in an 8-inch heavy bottomed pan (such as a cast iron skillet) over medium heat. Allow the oil a bit of time to get hot (a few minutes is fine), using a fork, poke the center of each tortilla a few times (to prevent puffing). Fry 1 tortilla at a time, placing it in the pil and holding a metal potato masher upright to keep the tortilla submerged and to provide even cooking. Keep the tortilla submerged for 45-60 seconds, until it is crisp and lightly browned. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt to taste if you wish (I found this step unnecessary). Repeat with remaining tortillas.

To serve: Spoon a small amount of shredded pork onto each tostada and serve. Garnish with any variety of the following: Queso fresca or feta cheese, fresh cilantro leaves, sour cream, diced avocado, lime wedges. Of course, feel free to experiment with garnishes but I think these are the best ones (and so do the folks at Cook's Illustrated). I also reserved a bit of the diced onion when I dumped it into the pork and used it for garnish.

Dark Chocolate Mint Fudge... a grand success!

2010-04-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

I applied to graduate school this fall, and with that comes asking 3-4 professors, advisors, etc to write recommendations. They all were very nice about it and said they were happy to do it, but it seems like a pain to me, so I was and am very grateful to all of them for taking the time to say nice things about me in a time consuming, official format. I wrote them thank you cards once all my applications were in but that didn't quite seem sufficient for all they had done. In the last 2 months I have heard from all of the schools, visited a few and made a decision - very exciting! After a lot of emails, phone calls, meetings, class sit-ins and all that, I have decided to attend the University of Washington in the fall! I'll be attending the Evans School of Public Affairs as a masters candidate, and I can't wait! Anywho, back to the fudge. I wanted to give the people who wrote recommendations for me an update with another thank you note and include a gift - something thoughtful. So I made them fudge. The response has been very positive. I highly recommend you make it for anyone you wish to make happy...so here's the recipe!

Dark Chocolate Mint Fudge (from the Dec '92 Bon Appetit) Makes 2 dozen cubes.

Ingredients: 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped, 1/4 cup marshmallow cream, 1 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped, 1/2 t peppermint extract (or maybe a bit less, it was pretty strong), 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup whipping cream, 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces.

Directions: Line a 9 x 5 loaf pan with foil, overlapping sides. Place first 4 ingredients in a large heat proof bowl. Mix sugar, milk, water, cream and butter in a heavy 3-quart saucepan (anything smaller and you'll have all the ingredients boil over and make a huge mess...trust me). Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Brush down sugar crystals from sides of pan using a pastry brush dipped into water. Increase heat to high; bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium-high; stir slowly with a wooden spoon for about 9 minutes. If you have a candy thermometer, the temp should read 232 degrees, but the 9 minute time works just fine. Pour the boiling mixture over the ingredients in the heat proof bowl; do not scrape the pan. Stir vigorously with the wooden spoon until chocolate melts and fudge thickens slightly - about two minutes. Immediately pour fudge into prepared pan and smooth top with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate the fudge until firm enough to cut, at least 2 hours. Lift the fudge from the pan using the foil and fold down foil sides. Trim the ends of the fudge and then cut into 24 pieces. Wrap each piece with wax paper. Can be made up to one week ahead - keep chilled in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Just an FYI, this recipe uses about half a standard can of condensed milk - same goes for the small carton whipping cream so I ended up making two batches...but make sure if you do that you make them separately.

An adventure in cooking Ethiopian food, Part Two

2010-04-12T19:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been two weeks but I'm back to post the recipes for Misser Wot and Lamb Tibs. It's been almost two months since we made Ethiopian food and I'm ready to do it again! My boyfriend grumbled when I told him this because it WAS a lot of work, just to make one dish you have to make 4, the dish, the spiced butter, the spice mix and the injera, but. It is totally worth it. If you're short on time, the Misser Wot doesn't use the spiced butter, could be made using store bought berbere and could easily be eaten without the bread.

The lamb tibs were good, but I think the two best dishes were the Doro Wot and the Misser Wot...but I suggest making them all (perhaps for more than 2 people) and seeing what dish each person picks as their favorite!

Misser Wot (Red Lentil Stew) Serves 4-6

Ingredients: 3 large onions, finely diced, 1/4 cup canola or olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, chopped, 1 T chopped fresh ginger, 2 T berbere, 1 t salt, 1 cup red lentils, 2 T tomato paste, 4 cups water.

Directions: Sauté onions with oil in a large saucepan on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent, stirring constantly so they do not stick to the pan. Add garlic and ginger and continue to stir. Add berbere and salt and continue stirring. Add red lentils, tomato paste, and water; bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are cooked. The stew should thicken as it cooks. Add more water if the lentils start to become dry.

Those this is called a 'stew' ours didn't have any broth, and it's never had any when I've gotten it in Ethiopian restaurants, to make sure you don't add so much water that it has liquid.

Lamb Tibs (Lamb in Spicy Sauce) Serves 4-6

Ingredients: 1/2 onion, chopped, 2 T vegetable or canola oil, 1 lb boneless lamb meat, cut into about 1-inch pieces, 2 garlic cloves, chopped, 1 jalapeño, seeds & veins removed, chopped, 2 tomato, chopped, 2 t chopped fresh rosemary, 2 tsp awaze (see note), salt to taste.

Directions: In a large saucepan sauté onion in oil on high heat for a few minutes. Add lamb and contnue to stir while adding garlic and jalapeno. Stir until the lamb is no longer pink, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add tomato, rosemary and awaze and cook until heated through. Add salt and serve hot with injera.

Note: How to Make Awaze

Combine 1/4 cup berbere, 2 T vegetable or canola oil, 2 chopped garlic cloves, 2 T red wine, a dash of salt, and 1 t ground mustard seed; mis all ingredients to make a paste.

Salmon Cakes and Broccoli

2010-04-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

When I was home for Christmas I had a chance to peruse an issue of Eating Well, which was both interesting and bursting with promising recipes. I read a feature about canned salmon, and ever since then, I've been intending to purchase canned salmon and do something with it! Last week, I revisited this intention by, well, doing just that.

With a quick effort on Eating Well's comprehensive website, I pulled up a recipe for salmon cakes, and promptly decided that half of such a recipe would be plenty of food for my one-person dinner! It occurred to me that salmon cakes, by themselves, weren't quite a meal... so I also pulled out a favorite cookbook of mine: For Goodness Taste, produced by the Junior League of Rochester! That's Rochester, New York, and the cookbook is much like you might imagine it - the ladies of the Junior League appear to have gathered up family favorites, thrown them into categories, and printed themselves a cookbook! I am lucky enough to own a copy, and I flipped through the flagged pages until I found a good companion for salmon cakes: Broccoli with Lemon Cream Sauce. As a bonus, one recipe needs an egg white, and the other recipe needs an egg yolk! Waste not, want not.

Here are the recipes, as I cooked them. I ended up only cooking half the salmon cakes, and when I cooked up the other half the next day, they were even more delicious. The recipe takes about 15 minutes from start to finish, so if you can mix it a day ahead of time, then it'll take about 8 minutes to do that... and another 7 minutes to cook them whenever you're ready to eat.

Salmon Cakes (2 servings)

Combine:

1 (6-7 oz) can of boneless, skinless, Wild Pacific salmon, drained

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1 egg and 1 egg white, lightly beaten

1.5 tsp grainy mustard

1 tsp dried dill

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/8 tsp salt

Add:

2 cups frozen shredded hash browns (I found a brand called Mr. Dell's in the frozen vegetable section. There are other brands in the processed frozen breakfasts section, too.)

Mix this together, and shape the cakes. (Make them one at a time, packing them into a one cup measure, and then turning them into the pan, and flattening with a spatula to create 3-inch cakes.) Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a pan (mine is cast iron, which I recommend), and cook the salmon cakes, 3-5 minutes on each side.

Serve with ketchup, sour cream, or this sauce:

1/3 cup sour cream

1.5 tsp capers, chopped and rinsed

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Broccoli with Lemon Cream Sauce

Steam and drain one bunch of broccoli. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Stir in 1 cup of half and half, and heat to boiling. Boil 5 minutes until mixture is slightly reduced, stirring often; remove from heat. Stir a small amount of mixture into an egg yolk, lightly beaten. Slowly combine this combination back into the saucepan. Stir in 1/4 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Return to heat and cook on low, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Pour sauce over broccoli and serve immediately.

Quick and Easy

2010-03-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

The second sentence on the US Census form, and one that most people will probably skip right over, says "It is quick and easy, and your answers are protected by law." For me to fill out this form will, in fact, be both quick and easy. I live alone, and I can comfortably answer, for Question 8, "No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin" and then for Question 9, "White" - not everyone has such form completion luxuries. I can't figure out who (or what) my answers are being lawfully protected from, but that sounds fine.

Each Wednesday evening, for about 10 months now, I have taught English to a class of adults (funny, interesting, complicated adults) at a learning center operated by the Minnesota Literacy Council (MLC). Between 5 and 15 students show up each time (they commit to attending two hours of class, four nights a week, and this is on top of jobs that often require a more than eight-hour-a-day commitment, and family responsibilities). Tonight, I decided that day 7 of 12 in the health unit (symptoms, body parts, and how to make a doctor's appointment) could be swapped out for another reality based unit: the US Census, why it's important, and how to complete it.

I received my Census form in the mail this afternoon. As I mentioned earlier, it will take me all of 2 minutes to complete, and that's if I read the first section about how I shouldn't count any relatives that are living away from home, in an institution (jail, college, or the Armed Forces), or at a nursing home. It took my students that long to sort out (in a general way) who the US Department of Commerce is, and why their Economics and Statistics Administration is sending this form to every home in the country. This information is in fine print at the top right-hand corner. I bet you didn't notice it on your form.

I learned this evening that my students, who tested into "High Beginner, Low Intermediate English Class" at the MLC, and who have jobs, pay taxes, and send their children to American schools, knew of the Census, but didn't know much about the Census. One woman told me that she had completed her Census form carefully and thoroughly, but was told by her coworkers that she was crazy, and that she shouldn't send it in - she cleans planes at the airport, and specified that her opinionated coworkers are "American and not American." Another woman arrived at class concerned that she had thrown out her Census form but now wants to complete it, and anxiously wrote down the number I gave her (which was on the back of my Census form) in hopes of requesting another one. Yet another woman proudly produced the empty Census envelope out of her purse, though she had left the form itself at home for safe keeping.

Before we even looked at the form, I introduced the big picture concept: the United States, tries, every 10 years, to pick a day and count everyone. This thought received a round of laughter from the 12 students in attendance, who began to consider the size of such a challenge. We talked about how schools, hospitals, roads, and even English class, receive funding from the government based partially on how many people they think live in that community. We discussed the fact that the Census Bureau can not legally share this information with anyone, anyone at all, but that struck some students as hard to believe. As I saw the doubt on their faces, I too found it a little hard to believe.

So we started at the top of this form, and we began to read through. The guidelines that are offered make the whole thing seem quite complicated, actually, and so I kept returning to the original idea that the government is actually just trying to count everyone. Once.

I was asked, among other things:

- Should I count my son's child, who is living in a foster home now? No.

- Should I count my daughter, who is currently in Mexico on a trip, but usually lives with me, and will be back shortly? Yes.

- Should she count her baby? (this from a woman sitting next to the visibly pregnant woman she was referring to) No, not if the baby isn't born yet on April 1.

- Should I count my son if he is in jail? (this was posed as a hypothetical question) No, he will be counted by the jail.

After all the time we dedicated to these guidelines, we were pleased to discover that the whole purpose of Question 2 is to confirm that you read the guidelines and answered Question 1 correctly: how many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1, 2010. A number of students indicated that life isn't terribly predictable, and so they'll wait until April 1 to complete the form. One woman suggested that it wasn't very clever of the government to pick April Fool's Day as the one time, after 10 years, to count people. She has a good point.

Questions 3-7 were simple, and had obvious answers. Rather than tell you what these questions are, I encourage you to keep an eye out for your Census form. Be counted!

Question 8 asks if the person in question is "of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin" - and for about half of my students (and myself), that was an easy "No" - for the other half of my students, they were then faced with a variety of "Yes" options, most of which tied this same person in question to a nationality as well. One student discovered that he'd have to select the 4th "yes" - "Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin" and then take the "print your origin" option, to fill in "Guatemalan" in the space provided.

Then came Question 9, which asks, straightforwardly enough, "What is Person 1's race?" (it was noted earlier on the form that Questions 8 and 9 are both to be answered, as "For this census, Hispanic origins are not races.") The members of my class who had just searched for which "yes" they should select on Question 8 looked at the form, looked at me, and asked what I suggested that they do. They could pick, as one student pointed out, "White, Black, or Chinese...." (in fact, lots of specific Asian nationalities were deemed to represent a race of people, as determined by this census), but that if you did, in fact, identify as Latino.... you had to select "Some other race", and then "print race" in the space provided. The Hmong students learned that for these purposes, they should check the box "Other Asian" and then "print race" of Hmong (which was one of the examples provided as an "other Asian race"). This series of discoveries motivated me to make an impromptu speech about how forms sometimes try to put us all in a particular list, but that humans are rather more complicated than that, and that I understood if they were stumped by Questions 8 and 9. I encouraged them to use the short answer spaces liberally.

Then came the extra persons. Is person 2 related to person 1 as a boarder or a roommate? An in-law or an "other relative"? What about person 3? And person 4? One student offered that his brother (person 3) and his wife (person 4) live in his basement as boarders. I suggested that person 3 be listed as a brother, rather than a boarder... and that he could pick, for person 4... other relative, boarder, or other nonrelative. I acknowledged that none of those options seemed quite right for his circumstance, as sister-in-law was not one of the in-law options that was provided.

This is when someone piped up to ask what happens if you have, in your household, more than the 12 people for which space is allotted, and someone else suggested that if you called the number I had written on the board earlier, the government would surely send a supplemental form. After all, the goal is to count everyone, right? Right. And that is why I spent an hour and a half of my life this evening explaining the US Census to 12 individuals, and encouraging them to have patience with this imperfect, frustrating, complicated, and entirely necessary form that they received from the US Government.

An adventure in cooking Ethiopian food, Part One

2010-03-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

The meal we made (for two of us, keep in mind) included injera, doro wot, collard greens, misser wot and lamb tibs. I'm going to include the recipes for just the injera and doro wot, because the doro wot was my favorite, and, well, the injera goes with it! I'll also include the recipes for spiced butter and berbere spice, since they are necessary to make doro wot. I'll follow up with the recipes for misser wot and lamb tibs soon!

If you've ever had Ethiopian food, you'll understand why we wanted to make so many things. First off, it's all so delicious, and second of all, I always eat Ethiopian food with a group of friends, we order as many dishes there are people, and it comes on one HUGE serving platter, that we just spin a few degrees anytime someones ready to eat something they can't reach. So we made a lot. We made a few half recipes, but the doro wot and the misser wot were so good, I could have eaten them forever, and they made WONDERFUL leftovers, so...no reason not to make a lot!

Here are the recipes we used. They're all from Recipes from Afar and Near, the cookbook sold at the Lucy's Legacy exhibit at the Pacific Science Center.

Injera (Traditional Bread) Makes 6-8 Eight Inch Injera

Ingredients: 2 cups self-rising flour, 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup teff flour (can be found at Whole Foods), 5 cups lukewarm water.

Directions: Combine flours and water and mix into a smooth, fairly thing batter. Let the batter ferment at room temp, covered, for up to 3 days. The batter should be thinner than a pancake batter but not runny. Heat a nonstick skillet until a water drop dances on the surface. Pour a small amount of batter into the skillet, covering the entire bottom in a very thin coating. Cover and let the steam create the injera; this should take about 2 minutes. Do not let the bottom brown. The book says "practice, practice, practice!" and it also notes that though this is the most simple recipe, it is the most difficult part of an Ethopian meal.

Side Note: We messed this up, so it wasn't rising. To make it kind of work, I just used a balloon whisk to whisk the heck out of it till the batter had bubbles and would immediately put it on the pan so that the bubbles would cook into it....a last ditch effort, but it kind of worked! :)

Doro Wot (Chicken Stewed in Berbere Sauce) Serves 8-10

Ingredients: 2-3 lbs chicken, cut up into small cubes, 1 cup spiced butter, divided (recipe below), 3 lbs onions, diced and lightly pulsed in a food processor (don't puree though!), 5 garlic cloves minced, 2 tsp grated fresh ginger, 3 heaping T berbere (recipe below, or buy at a spice store), 1/4 cup tomato paste, salt, 3 cups water or chicken broth, 10 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and slightly scored.

Directions: Prepare the chicken and score each piece to ensure the sauce can penetrate. In a large stew pot, melt 1/4 cup of the spiced butter. Add onions, garlic and ginger and saute on medium heat for 15 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add berbere and tomato paste and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes (when we made this, it wasn't at all moist enough to do that, so we skipped the 'simmer for 30 minutes' part). Add salt to taste if desired and slowly add the chicken, stirring as you go, coating each piece well with the sauce. Continue to simmer, adding enough water or broth to maintain the consistency of a thick soup. When the chicken is half done, add the hard boiled eggs and remaining spiced butter. Cover and continue cooking until the chicken is done. Serve with injera.

Side Note: The eggs seem weird, but they taste really delicious, so just go with it! Also, these are forgiving recipes full of delicious ingredients, so if something seems weird, just add more spice, or turn down the heat, or add more chicken broth, and it will work out!

Nit'ir Qibe (Spiced Butter) Makes 1 lb, reduce the ingredients to meet your needs!

Ingredients: 1 lb unsalted butter, 4 t grated fresh ginger, 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped, 5 garlic cloves, chopped, 1 t ground fenugreek, 1 t ground cumin, 1 t cardamom seeds, 3/4 t ground turmeric, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 t dried basil leaves.

Directions: Melt butter in a heavy saucepan on moderate heat. Bring butter to a light boil. When the foam rises to the surface, skim off the top and discard. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Store in a covered container at room temp.

Berbere (Red Pepper Spice Mix) Makes about 1 cup

We just bought this at a local store that sold a wide range of spices, but if you can't find it, here's the recipe.

Ingredients: 1/2 t whole allspice, 1 t cumin, 1 t fenugreek, 2 t ground ginger, 2 t onion powder, 1 t ground cardamom, 1 t ground nutmeg, 1/4 t ground cloves, 1/2 t garlic powder, 1/2 cup dried serrano chiles, ground fine, 2 T salt, 1/4 cup paprika.

Directions: Grind allspice, cumin and fenugreek. Combine with all remaining ingredients. Store in an airtight container.

Oatmeal Cookies

2010-03-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

Well folks, I've been doing a fair amount of cooking lately, but I've been bad about posting. Early in dating, my boyfriend and I wrestled a fiesty, very large (3 1/3 lb) dungeness crab into a pot and after picking the meat he made delicious crab cakes. On Valentine's Day, we avoided the crowds and instead stayed in and cooked one of our favorite cuisines - Ethiopian! We made Doro Wat, Lamb Tibs, red lentil stew (which I can't recall the name of) and greens. We made injera too, but that wasn't quite so successful, though I'm not giving up! When I find my misplaced cookbook, I will post the recipes for those items, and some pictures too.

As for the this post, as the title suggests, we made oatmeal cookies last night. They are so delicious. The cookie dough from oatmeal cookies is by far the best cookie dough, the cookies themselves are delightful, and they are so easy to make. And they have oatmeal in them, so they've got to be kind of good for you, right? Excellent.

Ingredients: 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter (1 stick, cut into smaller pieces), 1 egg, 1 t vanilla, 1 T milk, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 t baking powder, 1/2 t baking soda, 1/2 salt, 1 cup rolled oats, 1 cup chocolate chips, raisins, and /or nuts (optional).

Directions: In a medium bowl, mix together the sugars and butter, blend a bit with a mixer, and then add the egg, vanilla and milk. Blend until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend well. Add oats and stir with a spoon or if you have a strong mixer, continue to blend. If you so desire, add in any other ingredients (though I like my cookies pure!).

Cook at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. Let cool, serve warm with milk(okay, okay, serve however you wish with whatever beverage, but warm with milk is the best way)!

Butternut Squash... Pasta!

2010-02-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

Lately, a lot of restaurants in the Twin Cities have been posting specials that involve some combination of butternut squash and pasta. It's often offered up in the form of ravioli, and it's usually served in a light but creamy sauce that has some sage in it. Having enjoyed this at a number of local establishments, I realized that I had a butternut squash that was waiting to be eaten, and decided that I'd take a stab at this concept - and it worked!

I chopped the squash up into chunks and roasted it in the oven until soft. Meanwhile, I cooked a chunky pasta. When both were cooked, I removed the peel from the squash. Then I stirred the pasta and the squash chunks together, mashing the squash up a bit, and added a spoonful or two of sour cream, a few tablespoons of butter, and a sprinkling of dried sage. With a generous shaking of salt and pepper over the top, I had a warm bowl of butternut squash pasta, and it was delicious. Give it a try!

Berry Cobbler

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

Growing up, a very favorite summer dessert of mine was the Blueberry Peach Cobbler that our mom made - with fresh Maine blueberries and canned peaches, if I remember correctly. I have learned that just about any combination of fruit and berries (fresh, frozen, or canned) works pretty well, and makes this a good year-round option for a fruit based dessert that is quick and easy. I recently made it with a can of pears (drained), and about 1 cup of frozen berries - odds and ends from my freezer that needed to be used up or thrown away.

Here's the recipe: filling, crust, and topping.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cook until thick:

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cold water

Add to that mixture:

3 cups of fruit (see above for ideas)

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Pour this fruit filling into an oven-safe dish.

Mix the following crust, and pour it on top of the fruit filling in the dish:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

1/8 cup oil

Mix the following topping, and sprinkle it on top of the crust:

2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Put the whole production in the oven, and bake it for 30 minutes. It's good warm and cold, with ice cream or whipped cream or plain. I usually eat the leftovers for breakfast. Enjoy!

Egg Salad

2010-02-11T19:16:00.000-08:00

Until recently, I had considered egg salad to be a sort of smelly, mushy, mayonnaise-heavy slop. However, unexpectedly, I decided about a month ago that I very much desired to eat an egg salad sandwich. And I wanted to make it myself, to be sure that it didn't fit into any of the above categories. I turned to my Cook's Country cookbook, where the trusty folks at America's Test Kitchen tend to offer very helpful suggestions for, as they put it, "American Home Cooking" - and once again, they saved the day!

From what I can tell there are just a few important things to know:

1) Achieve perfect hard-boiled eggs: place them in a pan of tap water, put a lid on, let it reach a hard boil, and then take them off the heat. Ten minutes later, you'll have hard-boiled eggs.

2) Slice your eggs, don't mash them. Ideally, slice them in an egg slicer, criss-crossed two or three times until you've got cubes or at least slender slivers.

3) Figure about 2 Tbsp of mayonnaise for every 3 eggs. This particular combination makes enough for two sandwiches, as far as I'm concerned. Adjust accordingly.

4) If you've got them, toss in a spoonful of dijon mustard and a tsp or so of lemon juice.

5) Salt and pepper are essential here - if you leave them out, the whole thing tastes boring.

6) Adjust as you see fit: I like to add green olives or sliced red pepper. This cookbook suggests a more standard mixture of celery, parsley, and red onion.

Pumpkin Bread

2010-01-30T16:24:00.000-08:00

I made pumpkin bread last weekend, tossed some plastic wrap over the loaf pan, and it stayed moist and delicious until I finished eating it on Thursday! It's best when warm (or toasted) in thick slices with butter. I highly recommend this recipe, which is another one from Joy of Cooking:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together:

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

In a large bowl, beat until light and fluffy:

1 1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup shortening

2 eggs

Add and beat in:

1 cup canned pumpkin

Now add the sifted dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with:

1/3 cup water or milk (I used milk)

1/2 tsp vanilla

(I found that particular section of instruction to be confusing. Just mix into the sugar/shortening/eggs combination 1/3 of the dry, 1/3 of the wet, 1/3 of the dry, etc etc until you have it all blended together).

Do not overbeat between each addition. Fold in (optional, I didn't do this part) :

1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts

1/3 cup raisins or chopped dates

Pour batter into a greased pan and bake about 1 hour or until a toothpick, inserted into the bread, comes out dry.

Ghormeh Sabzi - my favorite Persian dish!

2010-01-27T22:41:00.000-08:00

My aunt and uncle live in Montreal and my childhood long weekends and breaks from school were spent visiting them. I always looked forward to seeing them, going into the city, and eating the delicious food they always made. My aunt is Iranian (and a fantastic cook) and makes all sorts of delicious foods that I have no idea even where to start if I were to want to make them, but there is one in particular that I just absolutely love. Ghormeh Sabzi. It's a green stew that you can make with chicken, beef, lamb, whatever meat you wish, or even vegetarian, plus greens, obviously, and kidney beans. I beg for her to make it everytime I visit, but since I am barely on the east coast these days, I haven't had it for years, so I decided it was time I try making it myself. I found a recipe online and had her edit it to be more like hers, and tried it out. The result? A grand success! She has always served it with basmati rice cooked with saffron, and with tahdig, which is a crusty layer that forms on the edge of the rice if you do it right. I also made this (it's a favorite of mine), and so I'll include recipes for both.

Ghormeh Sabzi

Serves 4

Ingredients: 1 bunch parsley, 2/3 bunch cilantro, 4-5 scallions, 1 medium onion, olive oil, 2 t turmeric, 1 t cumin seeds, salt & pepper to taste, 1.5-2 lbs chicken (or desired meat), lime juice, 1 lime, 1 can kidney beans (unsalted if possible).

Directions: Rinse, dry and finely chop all greens. When you think they are chopped enough, chop them for a few more minutes, then you'll be good. :) Only use the green part of the scallions, save the tips for another recipe. Alternatively, you can use all of the scallion but use only about half of an onion. Put all of the greens together in a bowl and put to the side. Chop the onion finely and add to a saute pan with 2 T of oil, cook over medium heat for a few minutes. Add turmeric and cumin seeds to the onions and continue to stir and cook. Dice the chicken and when the onions begin to brown, add it to the onions. Now depending on how you would like to cook it there are 2 options. Option one is on the stove in a few hours, option 2 is in a crock pot during the day.

1. Move the ingredients to a big pot. An enameled cast iron or other heavy pan is best, but whatever you've got. If it's a good pan, you can just saute the onions and chicken in this pan. Continue to cook until the chicken is browned on all sides. Add 1 1/2 cups of water, 1/4 - 1/2 cup of lime juice and 1 lime, quartered. If you have access to a store that carries them, use dried limes. Add the greens, stir. cover and let cook on medium low heat for at least an hour. Add the can of beans and stir. You can drain the beans or not, depending on the consistency you would like. I drained mine. Add salt and pepper and stir all ingredients. Cover and cook again for at least another hour. When getting close to serving time, remove the cover and let the stew cook down until it is not too soupy. Though it's called a stew, I like it best with little 'broth'.

2. Once the chicken has browned on all sides, add to crock pot. Add 2 cups of water and the greens. Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of lime juice and 1 lime, quartered. If you have access to a store that carries them, use dried limes. Set to low and cover. Let cook all day. About an hour to half an hour before serving time, add beans to the mix and continue to cook. If there is more liquid than you would like, transfer the dish to a pot as described in option 1 and let cook uncovered until it has cooked down to the consistency of your liking.

Ta da! That's it! Now for the rice...

Saffron Basmati Rice with Tahdig

Serves 4

Ingredients: 2 cups basmati rice, 1 T olive oil, 1 t milk, 1 T butter, 1 pinch saffron.

Directions: Boil 2 cups of water. Add olive oil, milk and butter to a heavy pan over medium heat. With those ingredients warming, move the pan around so that the oil coats (or makes contact with) the whole bottom of the pan and up an inch or two on the side. Add saffron to a pyrex measuring cup and pour the boiling water over it until you reach the 2 cup mark. Pour in 2 cups of water (not the boiling water) to the oiled pan and let sit uncovered to warm. Before the water boils, add the rice. Shake the pan a little to settle the rice. Pour the saffron water into the pan, cover and turn heat to low.

Cook the rice for 15-20 minutes. Do not stir the rice at anytime. About 10 minutes into cooking, put a dish towel or paper towel between the pot and the cover, make sure it doesn't get close to the flame if you have a gas stove. What works well is to use a dish towel and just tie the corners together so you've essential wrapped the cover. This allows steam to escape so that a better crust can form.

Check the rice every few minutes starting at about 12 minutes and see what the edges look like. If you are doing the full 2 cups of rice it may take more than 30 minutes to cook, but you want to keep checking it just to be sure. You should be able to see a bit of a crust forming. If you can't tell, use a spatula to kind of pull the edge from the pan and see if there is a crust. You want a deep golden. When ready, run a spatula around the edge of the pot between it and the rice. Take a large plate and put it over the pot, quickly flip upside down. If the seal worked well, it should slip right out, carefully pull the pot straight up so that it leaves the rice cake intact on the plate. If nothing happens, flip it back over and run the spatula around again, a little more aggressively (ie, try to get the spatula down to the bottom of the pan a bit, not just the sides). If it still doesn't release when you flip it, then use a firm spatula to make a slice across the middle and try to just carefully scoop it out, almost like a piece of pie or something. I usually sprinkle the crust with a little salt if you like. If the crust turned out of the pot, then cut it like a cake and serve 'slices'.

Use basmati rice and if you have time, rinse the rice with cool water in a mesh strainer a few times. A lot of people soak the rice for 20 minutes or so also, but I only do that if I have a lot of time on my hands, so I usually skip that step. If you soak the rice, use a little less water when cooking it. Use a 1:2 ratio, so if you use 1 cup of rice add 2 cups of water. I usually cook 1/2 c rice and 1 c water when its just me.

Serve a slice of the rice and then serve the sabzi over the rice (not on the crust though!). Enjoy!

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

2010-01-22T11:14:00.000-08:00

I noticed the other day that tomatillos are currently available in my produce section. If you are not familiar with this fruit (that seems like it'd be a vegetable), I encourage you to learn more. They look like green tomatoes in a paper wrapping, and my Vegetable Love cookbook describes them as having "a delicious combination of sweetness and mild acidity" which seems as accurate as any description I might come up with here. It reminded me of some awesome homemade salsa that I made last summer when my CSA provided me with a generous number of tomatillos.

This salsa, which could be made very easily any time fresh tomatillos are available, tastes like summertime has come alive in your mouth. I highly recommend it. It is from the aforementioned Vegetable Love cookbook:

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

2 medium cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and deribbed

4 medium sized tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed well, cored and coarsely chopped

2 scallions, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place garlic and jalapeno in a food processor and chop very fine (I used my hand held one, and it worked great). Add the tomatillos and scallions and process until finely chopped but not pureed.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl and stir in 1/3 cup water and the remaining ingredients. Allow to stand 30 minutes, then adjust the seasoning and serve. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Roast Chicken

2010-01-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

Many of my friends do not cook meat, though they enjoy eating it. I think that's a shame, especially now that such healthy and safe meat can be purchased with relative ease. I get all my meat now at the Seward Co-op, which has a Meat and Seafood Department that "features delicious, locally raised beef, pork and poultry" and makes my shopping and cooking quite pleasant.

With the temperatures well below freezing these past few weeks, it felt appropriate to roast a chicken, and for that, I turn to my Joy of Cooking: The All Purpose Cookbook for it's delightfully straightforward recipe:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the bird on a rack, uncovered, in the oven and reduce the heat at once to 350 degrees. Roast about 20 minutes per pound. Baste frequently with pan drippings. Serve with gravy.

Here's the kicker: I don't have a rack, and I didn't even baste the thing. And it was perfect. I do stick an onion (cut in half) inside the chicken, and I rub a drizzle of olive oil over the top, along with some rosemary and thyme. I also make gravy, but that part is easy:

Pour the juices into a pan, and heat until boiling (on the stove top). Whisk in flour until all the liquid is absorbed. Whisk in water until the gravy has reached a thickness you are happy with. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Homemade Pasta - easy, delicious and fun!

2010-01-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

I was trying to decide what to eat last night, and was coasting around the grocery store. Asparagus was super on sale, so I picked that up and was thinking "I can't eat JUST asparagus, what else will I have for dinner?" when my mind started yelling "asparagus, cream, butter, pasta...Fettuccine Alfredo!!!!" Oh yes. I've been sick for the last week and was in need of a good, warm dinner full of cream and butter, and what is better than homemade fettuccine alfredo? So I got the ingredients I needed and headed home to make my treat of a dinner.

I pulled out my Cooks Illustrated "New Best Recipe" cookbook, usually the first place I check, and sure enough, they had Fettuccine Alfredo. "Fresh egg pasta is a must here; dried pasta can't stand up to the richness of the Alfredo ingredients". Well shoot. I own a pasta maker, which I should use more. It was barely 6 pm and I had no plans for the evening. No reason why I shouldn't make the pasta myself! So with all that running through my head, it was set, I was going to make myself some pasta. So easy. Homemade egg pasta is just eggs and flour, not hard at all. The recipe called for 3 eggs, so I did a 1/3 recipe, just using 1 egg, since I was making dinner for 1. I made the dough, let it rest, got the alfredo sauce ingredients ready to go, rolled out the dough, cut it and laid it out. Made the sauce while the pasta cooked, and before I knew it dinner was ready. And delicious. Obviously, fettuccine alfredo is a bit heavy for a regular dinner, but, once in a while, whooo boy it's delicious. On the other hand, homemade noodles are super easy (if you have a pasta roller) and taste delicious in dishes.

Fresh Egg Pasta (from Cook's Illustrated: The New Best Recipe) Makes about 1 pound.

Ingredients: 2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour, 3 large eggs, beaten.

Directions: Pulse the flour in a food processor fitted with a steel blade to distribute and aerate it evenly. Add the eggs; process until the dough forms a rough ball, about 30 seconds. (If the dough resembles small pebbles, add water, 1/2 t at a time; if the dough sticks to the side of hte workbowl, add flour, 1 T at a time, and process until the dough forms a rough ball.) Turn the dough ball and small bits out onto a dry work surface; knead until the dough is smooth, 1-2 m inutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 15 minutes, up to 2 hours, to relax. Using a manual pasta machine, roll out the dough. Leave the pasta as is for use in filled pastas. Cut the pasta sheets into long strands to make fettuccine.

Fettuccine Alfredo (from Cook's Illustrated: The New Best Recipe) Serves 6 as an appetizer, 3-4 as an entree.

Ingredients: 1 2/3 cups heavy cream, preferably not pasteurized, 5 T unsalted butter, salt, 1 recipe Fresh Egg Pasta, cut into fettuccine, 2 ounces (1 cup) Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, ground black pepper, pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional). *

Directions: Bring 4 quarts water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Combine 1 1/3 cups of the cream and the butter in a saute pan large enough to accommodate the cooked pasta. Heat over low until the butter is melted and the cream comes to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and set aside. When the water comes to a boil, add 1 T salt and the pasta to the boiling water and stir to separate the noodles. Cook until almost al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the saute pan. Add the remaining 1/3 cup of cream, the Parmesan, 1/2 t salt, pepper to taste, and the nutmeg. Cook over very low heat, tossing to combine the ingredients, until the sauce is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve the fettucine immediately in heated pasta bowls.

* I parboiled asparagus for 2 minutes, chopped it up, and added it to the sauce when I added the pasta...delicious! You can also add chicken to this of course, though it will need to be cooked ahead of time, poached or grilled is best.

Review: Smart Ground (Veggie Protein Crumbles)

2010-01-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

Okay. I've always been very skeptical about veggie stuff that is trying to look and taste like meat. I'm also not a vegetarian, so I've always thought, why bother when you can eat the real stuff? One of my coworkers at an old job used to cook lunch for the company (there were only 7 of us) once a week. It was usually something she could make in a slow cooker, and since she was vegetarian and we had someone who was vegan, she'd often try out new vegetarian dishes on us (they were almost always fantastic). Once she made us some sort of dish that would usually have ground beef in it, but she used fake stuff, protein crumbles. It was shockingly good! That made me a little less skeptical.

As I've said in previous posts, I've been trying to eat less meat, for ethical, health related and financial reasons. One of the meats I pretty much refuse to buy these days is ground beef. Unless you get a nice wholesome piece of meat and have the butcher grind it for you, it's really not something you should trust (read this October 2, 2009 New York Times article if you question this statement: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html?_r=2&hpw). With all this said, Beef Stroganoff, made the way my family makes it (with ground beef, ketchup and sour cream, no fancy schmancy beef stroganoff in my family!), is one of my favorite dishes, but everytime I make it I can't stop thinking about how I'm eating dodgy ground beef.

So I was buying tofu the other day (I love to make crispy tofu...I'll follow this with a post about that) and I saw that 'Smart Ground' veggie protein crumbles were on sale. Hmmm I thought. Could I make beef stroganoff with THAT? So tonight, I did, and guess what? It was quite tasty!!! I did learn that the stuff looks pretty weird when you add water to it, so rather than add Smart Ground to the sauted onions and THEN water with bullion in it, I would do the water first, let it cook down a bit, then add the Smart Ground. I would also use a bit more beef bullion and add mushrooms, because, well, mushrooms are delicious, and the only thing I didn't like about the final product was a slightly odd smell, so having mushrooms and a stronger beef presence via the bullion cubes would probably make it perfect. The final product had the same texture as my normal beef stroganoff, but this time I wasn't all nervous about suddenly becoming paralyzed. Whew. Now that's a relief!

Anywho, I highly recommend using Smart Ground if you're also hesitant about ground beef but have some favorite recipes that incorporate it. The package was pretty big and I was just making two servings, so I have some left over. I'm thinking of making chili or a good (well, we'll see) pasta sauce with the remainder and seeing how that turns out. Also, health wise, it's really good for you. 12 grams of protein, plus it's fat and cholesterol free...pretty great huh?

Here's the recipe, not how I made it but how I would make it next time! :) It's really up to you what ingredients you want to emphasize, so feel free to mix up the amounts of 'Smart Ground', onions and mushrooms, just make sure you keep the ketchup/sour cream ratio about the same! The following recipe would serve 3-4 people, depending on how much 'meat' you use.

Ingredients: 1 package Smart Ground, olive oil, 1-2 diced onions, 1/2-1 cup of sliced mushrooms, 1 cube beef bullion*, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1-1 1/2 cup sour cream, salt and pepper to taste, egg noddles.

Directions: Add olive oil to pan over medium high heat, add diced onion mushrooms and saute for a few minutes. Add 3/4 to 1 beef bullion cube to 1 1/2 cups of water and mush to break it up. Add to hot pan, stirring to make sure the bullion dissolves fully. After about 1/3 of the water has cooked off, at the beef protein and stir around. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the water is gone. Add ketchup, and continue to stir. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream and serve over egg noodles. As always, enjoy!

* As a wise friend pointed out, this is not vegetarian if you use beef bullion. Rumor has it (according to my friend) a bit of Marmite or Vegemite will do the trick for the flavor, and, of course, is vegetarian!

Also, as noted in the comments, too much soy can be bad news. Don't live on this stuff. There was a really interesting article about soy and how it relates to so many of our societies current health woes, I thought in the New York Times, but this is all I can find for now, still informative(!) : http://ideas.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/doubts-about-soy/?scp=1&sq=soy%20+%20formula&st=cse

One tasty (and super easy) meal!

2010-01-05T20:28:00.001-08:00

Wow! I just threw together a dinner that was fantastic and I am SO pleased! One of the things I love about cooking is that you can just wing it, and sometimes it's not so good, it's usually fairly tasty, and sometimes, it is DELICIOUS, and that, I love! Tonight I whipped something together in less than half an hour and it was tasty, healthy and satisfying, so here's the recipe - try it out!

Ingredients: Campanelle pasta, diced onion, minced garlic, sliced spinach and feta chicken sausage (or something like it), olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, shredded parmesan cheese.

Heat water for pasta. While the water is heating up, add olive oil to a pan over medium heat, add onion and sausage and begin to brown. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Once the sausage is about halfway cooked, add the garlic and turn the heat down to medium low. Saute all of the ingredients until the sausage is just about done, be sure to move everything around so it doesn't burn, but try to make sure the sausage stays in contact with the pan as much as possible. Add the cooked pasta, plus a tablespoon or two of the cooking water, and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Add salt and pepper and continue to stir around and cook until sausage is cooked through. Turn off heat and while keeping everything in the hot pan, add lemon juice and parmesan. Stir well and serve!

Dreaming of Vegetables

2009-12-17T16:34:00.001-08:00

More specifically, I should say that it was ever so nice to have fresh vegetables, straight off the farm, in my kitchen all summer. I highly recommend joining a CSA, especially if their late September deliveries are as spectacular as this one was, from Driftless Organics:

Chipotle Bacon Shells and Cheese

2009-12-15T11:02:00.001-08:00

A while ago, I got this awesome "Easy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese" recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs, The Kitchn. It truly is easy, and the pasta, cheese, and add-ins can be altered any which way, so I totally love this recipe. Last night I made some pretty spectacular adjustments to it, which resulted in, yes, my very own Chipotle Bacon Shells and Cheese. I highly recommend this particular version that I created:

1 pound medium pasta shells

1 1/2 cups whole milk

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

1 cup shreded chipotle colby

1/2 tsp salt

one squirt of yellow mustard

6 pieces of bacon, cooked

Boil water, and cook the pasta. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, begin heating 1 cup of milk over medium heat. Whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and the flour until there are no lumps. Whisk this into the heating milk and continue whisking gently until the milk thickens to the consistency of heavy cream. Turn the heat to low and add the cheese, salt, and mustard. Stir until melted and creamy.

Once the bacon is cooked, let it cool off a bit, and then cut/crumble it so that it'll mix in well.

Mix the pasta, bacon, and cheese sauce all together and eat immediately.

And the pictures of my decorating efforts...

2009-12-14T00:05:00.000-08:00

I absolutely LOVE Nutcrackers... they are standing guard over my TV this year.

Over my dining table.

My wreath, tree, amaryllis and tulips!

My winter wonderland desk and the lobby of my office (with a lovely sunset over Elliott Bay in the background).

Happy Holidays from Seattle!

2009-12-13T23:31:00.001-08:00

Well, the holidays are upon us! Hanukkah began Friday night and Christmas is just around the corner. While Sarah was visiting me for Thanksgiving, we went to two, yes, two(!) tree lighting

ceremonies, which was a great way to ring in the holiday season. The Westlake Center tree lighting was quite the ta-do, with 5th Avenue singers, three different choirs (mens, womens and children's) and a fireworks display at the end.The Pike Place Market tree lighting was a bit more modest, but much more charming. They both were fantastic in their own way!

The Space Needle is also festive, with lights on top as well as a display at the base, with bright spheres making up the shape of a tree, very pretty!

I've also been busy decorating the places I spend most of my time, so I thought I'd share some pictures of holiday spirit, courtesy of me, at my office and in my apartment. This is my first year having my own Christmas tree, and it's so nice to have! My friends were kind enough to go get me one, which made life a lot easier. Trees in the city are hard to find and fairly expensive! They got me a nice 4 1/2 foot tree for $20 at Lowes, which as a relief because I was planning to pay $25-$30 for a 3 foot tree right in the city. I'll post pictures from my office and home in a post to follow...too many pictures already!

A little bit of Maine for you. Ayuh!

2009-11-23T23:56:00.000-08:00

I think I've mentioned before that once a month 3 friends of mine and I get together and make a big dinner. We rotate hosting and whoever hosts picks the theme and makes the entree, the others bring appetizers, sides and dessert. We've been going strong since last October, which is pretty impressive that we've kept up the tradition, and it shows no signs of stopping. Good thing, because I love it. Anywho. I pride myself on my dessert abilities, and I hadn't been in charge of dessert for a while, so when I was given dessert duty this month, I thought, CHEESECAKE, that'll impress 'em. I was so pumped. I read through the recipe, made my grocery list, and was all set to go, and then saw the final two directions. Cool for 2-3 hours, then chill for at least 4. Uh. That's minimum 6 hours between finishing cooking the thing, and eating. And dinner is at 6. So. Shoot. I decided that the cheesecake would have to wait for another time, when I plan ahead a bit better and prep the night before.

So here I was, it's 11 am, I have tons of time till dinner, but I had a friend in town that I wanted to see for an hour or two, and bear in mind I take the bus over to my friends house, so it had to be something portable. I came across Creme Caramel in my cookbook and had pretty good feelings about eating that for dessert, but realized that was not something you can make at home, then carry on a bus for 15 minutes, walk a few blocks with, eat dinner, then serve and have it look the way it should. So that was out. I found 3 or 4 different chocolate cake recipes, each with their own variation, that sounded fantastic, but I always make people chocolate cakes (they're my weakness, and most other people's too, so they're usually a good choice). So I gave up and went and hung out with my friend for a bit. Now it's nearly 1 pm and I still haven't picked a dessert. First I flipped through the dessert section of a bunch of my cookbooks (Joy of Cooking, Fannie Farmer, The Art of Mastering French Cooking, Craig Claiborne's NY Times Cookbook, and last but not least, Cook's Illustrated's 'Best Recipes' book). Nope. Nothing that yelled 'make this Elspeth!'. So then I went over to my stack of magazines. I subscribe to both Cook's Illustrated and Bon Appetit, and both offer, so nicely, and index, by category, of all of their recipes in the issue. So I frantically flipped to the last page of each magazine, making piles of yes or no. The yes pile is where all the delicious sounding chocolate cakes came into play...oh those will be made one day, and they will be so delicious! Anyway, back to my mission. I got to the end and last but not least, in the October 2005 Bon Appetit, which I bought at a used bookstore for 80 cents, had a recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. Ohhhhhhhhhh boy. Not only are whoopie pies a Maine thing (people say they're a New England thing sometimes, but Maine is the state that fully embraces them) but they are pumpkin (!) just in time for Thanksgiving, when pumpkin is on the mind. I baked 'em up, put them together and voila, in no time I had a dessert that was quickly (and happily) gobbled down a few hours later.

Whew. This post is a bit longer than I originally planned, and I haven't even talked about the fabulousness that is whoopie pies. In short, whoopie pies are two chocolaty cake cookies (excited yet?) with super sweet white sugar something in the middle. They're wrapped in plastic wrap and in every general store in Maine. I promise. Usually with a sticker on it saying that they were made by so and so, who is the owners sisters aunt or something. Pure delicious. Also pure 'bad for you' but, it's worth it.

This recipe, which is a bit more refined, seeing as it IS in Bon Appetit, not Uncle Henry's (the local weekly classifieds booklet, preferred over Craigslist by Mainers I'm sure, and also found in every store in Maine). You'll find it's cream cheese mixed with the powdered sugar rather than shortening, and you can make these a bit more manageable size wise, rather than the huge ones you'll find in Maine. These cake cookies are so moist, and the overall taste is quite delicious, and for not much work too, so this is a great party pleaser.

Here's the recipe, from Bon Appetit's October 2005 issue (and from the RSVP section, where it states that the recipe is actually from Amy's Bakery Arts Cafe in Brattleboro, VT...bah. Vermont. Whatever).

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Makes about 24 (I halved the recipe this weekend and it worked just fine!)

Cookies

2 3/4 cups flour

4 1/2 t ground cinnamon

2 t baking powder

1 1/2 t ground nutmeg

1 1/2 t ground ginger

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1/2 t ground cloves

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 T dark molasses

2 t vanilla extract

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cups canned pure pumpkin

1/2 cup buttermilk

Filling

2 8-oz packages cream cheese, room temp (that is two 8-ounce, not 28 ounces)

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

2 t vanilla extract

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Begin with the cookies. Whisk first 8 ingredients in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in pumpkin. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions, beating until just combined. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies 1 sheet at a time until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 13 minutes. Cool cookies on sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. While cookies are baking, make the filling. Beat all ingredients for the filling together in a medium bowl until smooth. Adjust sugar amount to your liking. Once cookies have cooled, spread 2 tablespoons of filling on flat side of 1 cookie. Top with second cookie, forming a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling, and of course, adjust filling to cookie ratio to your liking. Let stand at room temperature for up to a few hours, if it will be longer than that until you serve them, refrigerate until ready, but try to serve them at room temp.

Enjoy!

Cheesy!

2009-11-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

Mmm yum. One of my favorite things is homemade macaroni and cheese. It's so easy to make, and so tasty and certainly one of my top comfort foods. My friend and I had both had slightly rough weeks, so Friday I had her over for dinner and we happily devoured the warm deliciousness that is mac and cheese. I highly recommend it, whether it's a cold night, you need an easy entree, or you're looking for some comfort food to delight in. I'd like to say this is a family recipe, but I believe it's originally from the back of the Prince pasta box, though I've made a few edits to it. As I recall the original recipe called for all cheddar cheese. Once we had some leftover asiago in the fridge, so I tossed that in, and it gave it a great extra zing. Somewhere along the way I started doing about half monterey jack and half cheddar, with an eighth or a quarter of a lb of asiago. Play around with the cheese ratios and find one that fits your tastes best!

1 cup elbow macaroni

1/2 lb cheese

2 T butter

2 T flour

1/4 t dry mustard

1/2 t salt

1/8 t pepper

1 1/2 cups milk

Directions: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook elbow macaroni, drain, and add to a buttered casserole or baking dish (approximately equivalent to an 8" x 8" size pan). Cut cheese into small cubes. Over medium low heat, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add the flour, dry mustard, salt and pepper and blend with a whisk. Add milk slowly, whisking while you pour it in, and keep stirring until sauce thickens. Add cheese cubes to saucepan, stirring until melted. Pour over macaroni and casserole dish and stir just a bit to make sure everything is mixed together. Bake for 30 minutes, serve and enjoy!

It's official! I'm a Seattleite.

2009-11-13T09:19:00.000-08:00

(Photo Credit: New York Times)

It's official, I'm fairly prepared for the wet winter weather! After enduring last winter with soggy feet (I was unemployed, so couldn't really go out and buy some snazzy new boots, could I?), I now own nice boots AND fun rain boots. All I need now is to switch over to a waterproof jacket (all I have is a water-resistant one) and I'll be good to go! Yeah yeah, it seems silly that I don't own a rain jacket yet, but they're really expensive, and it doesn't often POUR here, so often my water resistant jacket is fine, or my winter wool coat. Umbrellas work in the fall, but the wind really picks up in the winter and umbrellas don't stand a chance. Anyway, the Mainer in me couldn't resist these boots when I saw them, so check 'em out!

Lobsters!!!

My Farmers Market is Winding Down...

2009-11-12T21:27:00.001-08:00

Well! You can tell fall has arrived and winter is just around the corner! The air is brisk, the rain comes often, the wind is strong, and the leaves can't handle any of it! After four years of living in Southern California, I love it! Any sign of a change in season, of brisk air, I relish.

Last year my farmers market only ran until the end of November, this year though, it's running all the way until December 20th! Sunday isn't quite as complete without a nice stroll through my farmers market, and though the pickings are getting smaller, there's still some great stuff. Here's what I got last weekend...

Since the flower selection is nearly non existent, I got some eucalpytus, which is some nice greenery around the apartment. The cabbage, well. When I bought it, I was all pumped to make stuffed cabbage. I haven't yet, the last few days have been quite sunny and I haven't felt the urge to cook a hearty cold weather meal (which is what I think of when I think of stuffed cabbage, not sure if that's accurate, but.). The carrots I couldn't resist, at only $2 for that big bunch of hearty carrots. Yom yom yom! Besides just munching on carrot sticks, which are so delicious, especially with local organic carrots like these, I love to cook carrots with honey, just like my Mom always did. Delicious!

Halloween is a time to be crafty!

2009-11-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

So. Halloween was a week ago, in case you missed that somehow. I was a crafty little bugger this year and made my own dress, which was a blast! My friend and I both got short haircuts a few months ago, and realized that we would make great flappers, so we dressed as a pair. I used to sew a lot growing up, and my mom sewed a ton, she even made my sister's prom dress! Crafty lady, my mom is. Anywho. I've been itching to sew something for quite a bit, so I went all out this year. I used vintage fringe I found on etsy.com and got the rest of my supplies at Stitches, a great little sewing shop on Pike Street in Capitol Hill. I'm quite pleased with how the dress turned out!

To round out the homemaker in me, I made sugar cookies and pumpkin cupcakes for the party, which were festive and tasty! The pumpkin cupcakes themselves were good, but the frosting was a disaster so I'm going to skip on those recipes. The sugar cookies, on the other hand, were taaasty, so I've included the recipe below, taken from 'The Christmas Cookie Book' by Lou Seibert Pappas. Ignore the name of the book title and think Halloween! So...Happy Halloween!

Ingredients: 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 t almond extract

3 1/2 cups flour

1 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until light. Add the eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until smooth. Scrape out the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Wrap and chill for about an hour, or until firm. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a section to about 1/8th of an inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut into the desired shape and place on a baking sheet. Bake the cookies 6-8 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining sections of dough. Decorate as you wish!

Pot Roast

2009-11-08T14:59:00.001-08:00

There's nothing tastier on a cold day than my Dad's pot roast, so as the weather turned cold in the last few weeks, I decided it was time for me to take a stab at making it myself. I love cooking things that fill your home with a delicious aroma, and since a pot roast has to cook for a considerable amount of time (~4-5 hours all in all), this is certainly one of those dishes. I wanted to use as many ingredients as I could, so I headed over to my Sunday farmers market (which runs a month later than usual this year, until Dec. 20th!) and got what I needed. Here's my haul...

Everything but the leeks and the butternut squash was for the pot roast. The lady at the stand I got the celery and leeks from laughed pretty hard when I presented the single stalk of celery to her. "Do you seriously expect me to charge you for that?" she asked me. "Yes!" I replied. She didn't. I hate celery, but it does fantastic things to stock, so I knew I couldn't skip that step. I happily hurried home with my haul, proud of myself for even getting the meat at the farmers market. For a few reasons, I barely eat beef these days. First of all, I've been trying to reduce my meat intake quite a bit, because nutritionally it's really not all the necessary to eat vast amounts of it, ethically, I don't want to support the beef business and on the tail end of that, out of wanting to be a healthy person, I've reduced my beef intake because of the dangers of eating beef due to horrible practices by the beef industry. More on that in another post.

It's really a shame I'm so against store bought beef too, because when I got home, it occurred to me that it was nearing 2 pm, my roast had to cook for 4 hours, and my friends were arriving for dinner in that same amount of time. The problem? I bought a nice, wholesome, grass fed chunk of beef....that was frozen solid. And I don't own a microwave. So. Kind of a silly move on my part. I had to run over to get a few more ingredients from the grocery store, and lo and behold, roasts were 'buy one get one free'. So I caved and bought the two smallest

I could find...each about 1.9 lbs. My recipe, which said served 6-8 people, called for a 3 lb roast. I now had just under 4 lbs of beef for 4 people. Oh well, I thought, I LOVE pot roast. I cooked the roast, and happily my apartment filled with the great smell of vegetable stock, followed by the even more delicious smell of beef, stock and herbs simmering. Each time I turned the roasts, the meat felt more and more tender. By the time the rest of the meal was ready, I had two deliciously tender pieces of meat as well as some tasty carrots and potatoes that had cooked with the meat for the last half hour or so. We only ended up eating one of the roasts, but I had delicious leftovers for the next week, so, whew, it wasn't a problem!

I used the Cook's Illustrated recipe for 'Simple Pot Roast', found below. Serves 6-8 people.

Ingredients: 1 boneless chuck-eye roast (~3 1/2 lbs), patted dry with paper towels

Salt and ground black pepper

2 T vegetable pil

1 medium onion, chopped medium

1 small carrot, chopped medium

1 small celery rib, chopped medium

2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press

2 t sugar

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup beef broth

1 sprig fresh thyme

1 - 1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup dry red wine

Directions: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Sprinkle the roast generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large oven proof Dutch oven over medium high head, brown the roast thoroughly on all sides (8-10 minutes each), reducing the heat if the fat begins to smoke. Transfer the roast to a large plate; set aside. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, carrot and celery to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown (6-8 minutes). Add the garlic and sugar; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and beef broths and thyme, scraping the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits. Return the roast and any accumulated juices on the plate to the pot; add enough water to come halfway up the sides of the roast. Cover with a lid, bring the liquid to a simmer over medium heat, and transfer the pot to the oven. Cook, turning the roast every 30 minutes, until the roast is nearly tender and a sharp knife slips in and out of the meat with little resistance, 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Remove the roast from the pot and tent with tinfoil. Pour the braising liquid through a mesh strainer and discard the solids. Return the liquid to the empty pot and let settle for 5 minutes; use a wide spoon to skim the fat off the surface. Return the roast to the liquid and add your desired amount of small red potatoes and carrots. For 6-8 people add about 1 1/2 lbs of each. Return the pot to the oven and cook for about 30 more minutes, until vegetables are almost tender. Remove the pot from the oven and transfer the roast to a carving board; tent with foil to keep warm. Add the wine, salt and pepper to taste. Boil over high heat until the vegetables are fully tender, 5-10 minutes. Serve the meat and vegetables with sauce poured over it. Enjoy!

The Hangover

2009-11-04T13:04:00.000-08:00

Well folks. Election day has come and gone. In Maine, the results are in, and they aren't good, so I'm having a bit of an election day hangover. Yesterday I was full of nerves, but super excited, and today I just feel 'ugh'. Since Seattle folks vote by mail, we don't get the final vote count until 4:30 PST, and the race for mayor is so close that we probably wont' have an official result on that for a few days (the current report is that McGinn is ahead by 910 votes, out of the 85,000 that have been counted), so let's get back to the news about Maine.

Maine voted to reject gay marriage. I'm appalled. I'm shocked. I'm sad. Honestly? As many have pointed out, the fact that we even put people's rights to equality to a VOTE is absurd. The fact that when give the chance to grant or deny rights to a minority group, rights that the majority group unquestionably has, and we deny those rights, just makes me sick. I don't understand how there could be so much hate, so much disillusionment that No on 1 did not prevail last night. I do firmly believe that the majority of people in Maine wished to grant same sex couples the right to marry, but that many were confused about the language on the ballot and/or confused by the Yes on 1 campaign who used lies and manipulations. The main tactic was to make people think that their whole life would be changed if they voted yes (but seriously, that's not an excuse, so what if your kids find out in school that it's totally okay to have to men or two women in a committed relationship) or...and this is what I think happened to the rural, and often older, folks in Maine, they made people think that voting 'yes' granted rights. I don't know if that all makes sense, but I want to believe that the people of Maine, overall, aren't that intolerant, but it's really hard to say with a vote like last nights.

In better news, Dow Constantine beat the pants of Susan Hutchison, thank god for that, Tim Eyman's initiative got rejected by a landslide (as far as Tim Eyman's initiatives go, at least), and Referendum 71 is trending towards 'Approved', which is fantastic. I got to go to Kay Smith-Blum's victory party last night, as she won resoundingly over the incumbent to become the new School Board member for District 5. She has great ideas, she's unbelievably well informed and I think she's going to do a great job! So. Washington election results are so far so good, but I'm really having trouble celebrating, due to the loss in Maine. Perhaps when we get the final results for the mayors race, McGinn will have won, and I can celebrate more then...

Election Day!

2009-11-03T12:39:00.001-08:00

It's election day folks. One of my most and least favorite days of the year. I love election day because I love politics, I love the possibility for change, I love finally finding out what the result of everyone's hard work campaigning for change is. What I hate? Waiting. Seeing how few people vote. Seeing anti-choice, intolerant values and candidates win. So. Today I am a ball of nerves. But, I'm a hopeful ball of nerves. Many people could care less about today's elections, but there are some really important things on the ballot...I'll highlight the ones that I'm worked up about...

In Maine. Proposition 1. Governer Baldacci signed into law the right for same sex partners to marry. Prop 1 is trying to veto that law and they are using the same people, same $$, and same lies they used in California to confuse and manipulate votes. Vote No on 1. Support equality in Maine.

In Seattle (some King County, some statewide):

Mayor: Democrats Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan are neck and neck in the polls. Mike McGinn is an environmentalist, a lawyer and someone who is going to put Seattle on the right track. Joe Mallahan is a T Mobile executive who has little experience, a bad voting record and has used his own personal funds to get himself this far. Vote McGinn!

County Exec: Dow Constantine supports a woman's right to choose, has experience and will work hard for equality, the environment and a slew of other things. Susan Hutchison is a staunch conservative who is anti-choice, has no experience and is counting on her name recognition from years as a TV anchor to pull her through. She is wrong for King County and a win for her is a win for intolerance.

Referendum 71: Vote APPROVE on Ref 71 to retain the rights given to domestic partners. This isn't just a gay rights issues, it's a senior issue too. Voting APPROVE on Ref 71 gives long term domestic partners the legal rights and protections that they deserve.

Initiative 1033: This is a Tim Eyman initiative, must I say more? Vote NO on I-1033 to make sure Tim Eyman doesn't succeed in his efforts to cap our government growth and push our economy into an even worse position fiscally. Vote for the sake of our schools, healthcare, the environment, each and every person who lives in Washington, just vote NO!

So there you have it, the things that I'm so anxious about. Now go vote if you haven't already!