Running with Knives

To my followers

2010-09-02T11:21:00.002-04:00

Dear "Running with Knives" followers,

Currently, my new blog, which covers not only food, but other topics in my life, has about half the number of followers that this blog has. I would love to have all of you over there enjoying my new, branching-out blog! Please come and join me at http://wildnotwise.blogspot.com !

Sincerely,

Jenn

Changes, and a Move

2010-07-15T11:38:00.002-04:00

No, I'm not physically moving. But I have decided to move all my blogging, even about food, over to my more personal blog, Wild, Not Wise. That blog originally started as a chronicle of my herbal life, exploring the Wise Woman traditional of herbalism, and charting my experiences with more natural remedies. Well, the philosophy of "Wild, not Wise" lends itself to so much of my personal life, remembering that life isn't about becoming an expert, but about experiencing life. And my life at this point is no longer as much about running, or even food, as it was when I started this blog almost 2 years ago.

So I'm moving it over. Sure, I'll still post my culinary experimentation. Perhaps I'll even post more often, since the philosophy of my new blog is so much more encompassing of my whole life. You'll also get random philosophical ramblings, updates on my experiments with various forms of beauty and personal care, and my experiences working with natural remedies.

My diet is a huge part of my idea of natural health and healing. Through diet, I've managed to alleviate something that was the bane of my existence for a long time: migraine headaches. So a balanced, nourishing approach to food -- REAL food -- will be a large part of this blog, too.

And, who knows, I might do a little running, too. But I'll also be dancing, swimming, climbing, meditating, and just generally enjoying the life of a wild woman. Thanks to all my Running with Knives followers, and I hope to see you soon on the Wilder side of blogging.

PMS Pancakes

2010-07-03T09:29:00.004-04:00

What's a Real Foodie to do when the dreaded PMS craving strikes? Especially on a Saturday, when the pickings are rather slim. Well, first thing you do is thank your lucky stars that your husband has bought an extra organic banana that week. Then, you send him off to the store to pick up a pint of heavy cream because, face it, anything you want is going to involve heavy cream.

Then, make pancakes (soaked, whole grain, of course). Pancakes are good. Especially with some butter. But... maybe butter's not enough.

Right, chocolate. These are PMS pancakes, after all. Make it organic, dark, and try to get the stuff without soy lecithin, m'kay?

I put bananas on next, because dark chocolate isn't very sweet and when I'm PMSing, my body screams for sugar. SUGAR!

Then, cream. Whipped. Not sweetened, but good cream tastes sweet all on it's own. Here's a shoutout to Trickling Springs Creamery, whom I adore. I added more chocolate because I thought it looked unfinished. Wait... it's still missing something...

Bacon! From a local farmer who is evangelical about the necessity of raising animals on pasture. Yum. Now, I have to get back to watching episode of The Tudors and attacking my husband with wild mood swings.

Real Foodies: How We Are Marginalized and Why We Shouldn't Be

2010-07-02T07:11:00.004-04:00

We are the weirdos, the snobs, the strict ones. We are Real Foodies. And so many people try to make us feel wrong, or weird, or fringe. Some of us revel in it, making revolution where none need be. But why do we feel the need to act like the drama geeks of the nutrition world (full disclosure: I was a drama geek in high school... and college)? Why are we constantly treated as inferior or difficult by the cheerleaders and football players of the industrial food system?

Marketing. America is the land of marketing, of logos. Quick, think of some bold, graphic food logos or packaging. Were they American? Did you think of the golden arches? Of that pigtailed red-headed girl on the Wendy's sign? Of the red bullseye? We are getting our food choice from advertising executives and industrial-food shills, rather than from the home wisdom that served our ancestors for millennia. But we are the weird ones, because we turn our noses up at fast-food for lunch in favor of the lunch we packed with love and thought. Why is it considered an eating disorder to put some thought into your food ahead of time? Perhaps if more people were concerned with planning meals and eating at home, we would have found some of the small economic cutbacks easier (full disclosure: the economic crisis did not hit me -- I don't even make enough money to be furloughed at my university).

We should not have to "fight back" or create a food "revolution." Because we are not revolutionary. We are the ones who are trying to get a crazy, upside-down world back to sanity. Seriously, what do you think our ancestors would think of most of our food? Even if you remove all the obvious monstrosities of modern food science, they would be aghast that so many of us eat so many of our meals prepared outside the home. Now that we have television, and computers, and mp3 players, and so many other ways to stimulate ourselves, we find ourselves cutting back on the time we spend preparing and enjoying one of the basic needs of life. Why not cut out an hour of TV at night and make a really special dinner? Or wake up and prepare a loaf of bread instead of checking your email right away?

Why have we outsourced our health while using the time we save to further our sedentary lifestyles? You may think I'm weird, but your great-grandmother thinks you're the weird one.

Mindful Menus: The Personal Challenge

2010-06-06T15:22:00.003-04:00

So as I have mentioned, I'm making the month of June my own personal "Real Food Challenge" to get myself back to eating real, sustainable, whole foods. So far, I'm doing alright. I've discovered the making of Scottish oatcakes, which make an excellent addition to my previously-primal lunches (top them with raw cheese -- it's awesome). This weekend, however, I was a slacker. Usually I make my menu plan before I grocery shop. This week, I had a rough idea. Oh yeah, and my husband asked me last night if it was okay to have a colleague of his over for dinner tomorrow. Um, yeah, sure (silent freak out: "a MONDAY night dinner party?!?!?"). So here goes:

Sunday: Wild Salmon, brown rice, broiled zucchini

Monday: Dinner Party! London broil with buttered potatoes and kale (with butter). Blueberries and organic (evaporated-cane-juice-sweetened) vanilla ice cream

Tuesday: Poached salmon and pasta puttanesca

Wednesday: Leftover steak (or, if there are no leftovers, liver and onions) on big salads

Thursday: Curried lentils with carrots, sauteed beets with their greens and probably some garlic

Friday: Eggs, zucchini, whatever we have in the house that isn't nailed down (I'm running a 5k trail race Friday evening, so dinner will be late and hearty)

This post is part of Mindful Menus, hosted by ChiveTalkin'!

Paleo/Primal Wrap-Up

2010-05-24T18:20:00.002-04:00

Here are some meals I had when I was trying paleo/primal a couple weeks ago. I figured they looked tasty and I wanted to share. Here's something I had for breakfast:

This was leftover roasted vegetables, sauteed with sliced leftover grilled chicken thighs in some tallow. I topped them with some eggs fried in tallow.

Here's a dinner:

This was supposed to be my version of the Double Down sandwich, but chicken thighs are a mite smaller than breasts, so I served it open-face. It was grilled chicken thighs, topped with dijon mustard, topped with bacon and sauteed onions. Yum. I fully intend to explore homemade Double Down options, especially since they contain multiple forms of MSG and would probably result in a killer migraine.

Getting Back on Track -- and Asking for Help!

2010-05-19T14:09:00.002-04:00

Alright, so I've tried primal. I liked what it did for me, but it is a little too restrictive. What I really need to do is to get back to eating a real food diet, like I did when I first started my journey into WAPF-guided eating, and when I did Jenny's Real Food Challenge. Now, next week, I'm traveling for work, so I won't have as much control over what I eat. Yes, I'll try to make real food choices, and I'm bringing a fair amount of provisions (dried blueberries, nuts, and canned salt-free wild salmon) because I know that breakfast will be coffee and pastries.

But starting June 1st, I'm starting my own, personal Real Food Challenge. Nourishing foods and traditional preparations. If my husband can spend the weekend making a loaf of bread for his sandwiches for the week, I can, too. I can resist the constant cookies and junk at work. I've done it before.

But it would be nice not to have to do it alone. I've discovered this wonderful community of food bloggers over the last few months since Jenny's challenge, and I've come to appreciate all the support and respect in the community. It would be wonderful to have friends cheering me on, watching for desperate Tweets to the effect of "Oh crap, it's 2pm and I'm about to eat a packaged cookie!" Anyone want to join my cheering squad?

Mindful Menus, Primal Edition

2010-05-18T06:09:00.003-04:00

Last week, I ate primally/lacto-paleo. That is, I eliminated grains and potatoes, although I kept dairy in my diet to lessen the shock to my system. This week, I'm cutting dairy temporarily to see if it helps with my sinus congestion at all (I don't think I have an allergy, but I do think that dairy can be mucus-forming if I'm already having a problem).

Monday: Spicy Beef and Vegetable Stew, topped with avocado

Tuesday: Leftover stew served over roasted sweet potatoes, with avocado

Wednesday: Liver and onions, with broccoli

Thursday: More Leftover Stew, over sweet potatoes, with avocado

Friday: Seared wild yellowfin tuna (a rare treat) with sweet potatoes and raw radishes

Saturday: Food Renegade's Primal Egg Drop Soup, served with some sort of crudite.

More Cooking from the Heart

2010-05-17T20:36:00.003-04:00

Wow, two posts in one day?! But I seriously just had to share this recipe. I was supposed to make chili tonight with a combination of heart and ground beef, but I discovered I didn't have any cumin. So I just made spicy stew instead. It was seriously tasty and hearty, and I felt very frugal stretching the ground beef with heart meat (nutritious and cheaper). I might have to get two hearts next time I go up to Hedgeapple, one to eat as is, and one to chop up to stretch ground meat.

Chili with Heart

1 Tbsp. tallow

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. grass-fed beef

1 onion, diced (I used one seriously big-ass onion)

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 red pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 zucchini (courgette), diced

2-ish tsp. powdered chipotle pepper

1/4-1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/4-1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 14-oz. can of diced tomatoes, no salt added (Yes, I realized Grok would have had to walk across the Bering strait, find a tomato plant, gather tomatoes, and peel and chop them himself, but they were organic in a BPA-free can at least :P)

2 cups homemade chicken stock (beef probably would have been better)

Sliced avocado for serving

Heat the tallow in a large soup pot over medium heat. Brown the meats. Add the veggies and spices and stir (I should have added the spices first and cooked them in the meat juices a bit -- you can do this). Add the chicken stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes until the veggies are tender. Seriously, that's it. I got 6 servings out of this batch, but I'm probably going to serve it over roasted sweet potatoes later in the week on days when I didn't have a big, carb-y lunch.

Primal Experiment, After One Week

2010-05-17T11:22:00.003-04:00

Well, I did a week of fully-primal/lacto-paleo, and I did fine. I actually feel great. Part of that was probably because I was eating around 100g or fewer of carbohydrates per day, although I wasn't really trying to keep that low. I've learned that hunger isn't a bad thing, and that you don't need to drop everything and get a snack every time you get hungry. I'm trying to go dairy-free this week, to alleviate my allergy congestion, but I'm thinking I'll probably relax some of my strict paleo/primal rules from now on. I don't do well with overly restrictive diets.

The important thing is that I've developed some good tools for making meals that don't focus on grain products, so that I can re-incorporate them judiciously, rather than as an assumption. I definitely feel more ready to go back to a nourishing diet, something I had fallen out of habit of doing, and I probably won't be eating any oatmeal for breakfast anytime soon. All in all, it was an interesting experiment and I feel better having done it.

Cooking from the Heart

2010-05-12T19:30:00.003-04:00

Tee hee. That's my little joke tonight. So I got this beef heart from Hedgeapple the most recent time I went to restock my freezer, and it was just sitting there in the freezer, being all big and daunting. Well, the first week of trying to eat more primally seemed like an excellent time to put more, er, heart into my cooking. And of course, what better to do with heart than a classic: Peruvian heart skewers (okay, anticuchos de corazon).

These aren't completely authentic, as I don't have aji chile paste, but they are quite tasty. Heart just tastes like very tender, rich meat. They have a kick, too.

Heart Skewers

1 lb. beef heart, cut into 1.5" cubes (approximately)

1 Tbsp. cumin

1 tsp. chipotle chile powder

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. olive oil

dash of salt

Mix together all ingredients and marinate for at least a couple hours. Overnight is probably better. Soak bamboo skewers in water for half an hour, then thread the meat onto the skewers. I got 6 skewers of 3 pieces each. Broil for 3-5 minutes per side for medium-to-medium-rare. Serve with plenty of grilled/broiled vegetables. I got 3 servings out of these.

Primal Experimentation, Attempt #2

2010-05-11T14:08:00.003-04:00

So a while ago, I attempted to try out a paleolithic diet -- no grains, legumes, sugar, or dairy -- and found myself dreaming about cheese and breakthrough bleeding. Well, since then, I've gone off birth control (part of me suspected that the diet altered how I was absorbing my medication), and let my hormones stabilize a little. So I've decided to give it another go.

A major motivator was the fact that my lunch last week of lentil enchiladas with sprouted corn tortillas, raw cheese, and avocado (by many accounts, a healthy, nutrient-dense lunch) just wasn't filling me up. I felt bloated and still ravenous. So I'm going back to a diet that focuses on meat, fish, eggs, and vegetables, with nuts, seeds, and fruit as supplementation. For now, I'm keeping dairy, but I'm considering giving up dairy next week. In two weeks, I have a conference in another city, so I'll get to attempt to keep primal on the road, but for now, I'm trying to focus on the good stuff, and not beat myself up about other things.

(the picture are primal kibbeh-inspired beef patties with roasted zucchini and red bell pepper)

Mindful Menus 3 May 2010 - 7 May 2010

2010-05-03T07:59:00.004-04:00

So I'm trying something new this week. I'm finally going to submit a menu to Chive Talkin's Mindful Menus, and see how the week turns out.

Monday: Salad plates with leftover steak from the weekend, red leaf lettuce, and homemade cornbread from last night

Tuesday: Grilled grass-fed sandwich steaks with green beans and rosemary roasted potatoes

Wednesday: Broiled wild salmon, sauteed kale with garlic, roasted sweet potatoes

Thursday: Grilled sandwich steaks, broccoli, and roasted potatoes

Friday: Pizza! I'm going to top it with tomato sauce, sliced zucchini, and organic mozzarella cheese

Feel free to follow my Tweets @RunnerChef this week to see how I do following my menu plan!

Yums

2010-04-24T20:38:00.005-04:00

I like to eat a lot of yogurt. But sometimes I find that I'm just sick of eating my 5-6 oz. of plain yogurt in the morning. A couple weeks ago, I realized this AFTER I'd bought my weekly quart of yogurt. Well, no loss. Just an opportunity for a food experiment. I had had my husband put the ice cream maker canister in the freezer the day before, so I made frozen yogurt.

Not just any frozen yogurt. Cherry chocolate chip frozen yogurt. Serious yum. The chunks of organic dark chocolate are pleasantly snappy, and the cherries swirled their juice into the yogurt, giving it a lovely pink color. The recipe is free-form, but delicious.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

1 quart whole milk yogurt

honey, to taste

1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste

1 cup (or so) frozen cherries, thawed

1 3.5-oz. bar of dark chocolate, chopped (I used Rapunzel)

Stir together the yogurt, vanilla, and honey, giving it a little taste. Remember, the cherries will make it a little sweeter. Pour the mixture into your ice cream freezer as per manufacturers instructions. After 10-15 minutes, drop in the cherries, and sprinkle in the chocolate. Watch in awe as the ice cream blushes deep pink. When it's frozen to soft-serve consistency, pour into a container and freeze. This will freeze completely solid, so you may have to leave it out of the freezer for a little bit before scooping after it's frozen overnight. Makes about 6 cups.

Ratatouille Pizza

2010-04-21T09:46:00.004-04:00

This was a yummy dinner I made a couple weeks ago that I never got around to sharing. I'd been making pizza once a week, ever since I learned that it was the one way I could get my husband to eat sourdough bread. The whole wheat crust is chewy, and the rounds of veggies effectively take the place of pepperonis. I was able to fit an entire zucchini and an entire yellow squash on the pizza, so I didn't feel the need to serve another vegetable, making it a great Friday night dinner, when I just want something to munch while watching a movie, and not worry about side dishes.

Ratatouille Pizza

Pizza crust (I do a half batch of no-knead bread)

1 medium zucchini, cut into thin rounds

1 small-to-medium yellow squash cut into thin rounds

a few tablespoons of tomato paste mixed with water to sauce consistency

a pinch of Herbes de Province

a clove of garlic, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated

olive oil

Prepare the pizza crust. When it's risen once, stretch/roll it out on a piece of parchment on a cookie sheet and let it rest for a few minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Re-stretch the pizza crust, brush it with olive oil, and prick it with a fork several times. Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Mix the tomato paste-sauce with herbes, salt, and pepper. Spread the crust with the sauce mixture, top with garlic, veggie coins, a drizzle of olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven for 20 minutes, or until the pizza sizzles and the cheese is brown. Allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing and eating. Serves 2, generously.

Beans

2010-03-24T15:14:00.003-04:00

While not a quick recipe, this one is a simple one. And nourishing. Pinto beans are soaked overnight and all day in warm water in a warm place. They are drained, put in a pot, covered with homemade stock, and decorated with herbs and spices. I used chili powder, bay leaves, oregano, and garlic powder. They are then simmered until tender, salted, and served with grilled peppers and onions, topped with raw cheese.

I don't have a recipe for this because I made this the way I make most of my dinners: without, um, a recipe. So I used all the beans I had left because it looked like a good amount. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a large handful of beans. I have large hands. I sliced up half an onion and a medium-to-large bell pepper and sauteed them over medium-high heat in some tallow with a little salt. Topped with shredded cheese, it made a simple, nourishing dinner.

The Salad Matrix

2010-03-23T08:35:00.003-04:00

Last night was my last Monday-night belly dancing class for a while. This means that I'll actually get home before 8:30 p.m. on Mondays. But till now, Monday nights meant quick dinners. And, if you have a loving husband who's a good chopper, what's quicker than salad (if you said drive-thru, go sit in the corner)? Salads can be a light meal or a filling meal, depending on how you compose them. Personally, I find it necessary to include some heartier elements. I tend to make salads according to a formula, a salad matrix, if you will.

The Salad Matrix

The Greens:

Lettuce
Mixed greens
Shredded cabbage

Interesting Veggies:

Carrots
Beets
Cucumbers
Tomato
Avocados
Sprouts
Okay, really any other veggie you can chop small and eat raw
Really, you could even put in fruit, too

Power Add-ins:

Nuts
Eggs (poached/boiled work best)
Cheese
Boiled potato
Homemade croutons/toasts

Just pick at least one thing from each column and you're sure to have an interesting, filling, yummy salad! But the salad components aren't the whole story. As Jenny at the Nourished Kitchen recently wrote about, you need fat with your veggies to get all their nutrition. So as a corollary to the Salad Matrix, I present The Dressing Matrix:

Acid:

Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Buttermilk/yogurt

Pungent:

Mustard
Raw Garlic

Sweet:

Honey
Rapadura

Flavor:

Herbes de Provence
Black Pepper
Grated hard cheese
Other dried herbs

Oil/Fat:

Olive Oil
Bacon grease
Homemade Mayo

Mostly, I use 1/2-1 tsp. pungent, 1/4-1/2 tsp. sweet, a pinch or so of flavoring, 2-4 Tbsp. acid, and at least as much fat as acid. For mayonnaise-based dressings, I use less acid, since the mayo has lemon juice in it, but buttermilk dressing can be delicious. As with most of my recipes, taste as you go to make sure the balance is right and everything tastes good. Salt usually helps, too. With oil-based dressings, the easiest way to do things is to put everything in a jar and shake until combined. Impress your friends and family, and get it all out of your salads!

End of Paleo Experiment, and On Balance

2010-03-18T13:23:00.002-04:00

I ended my paleo diet experiment after five days last week, preferring to add back soaked grains, tubers, and dairy products. I won't go into the details, but suffice to say I had some pretty odd symptoms that convinced me that I didn't want to continue. And I wasn't actually feeling poorly on a traditional, non-paleo diet, so why mess with what was working?

I did find that I really enjoyed eating a higher amount of meat, fat, and veggies, and a lower amount of grains. I never really had sugar cravings, which was major. I wasn't jonesing for a cookie after lunch, although I did have some pretty vicious dairy cravings. It was an interesting experiment, and I think I will try to make paleo/primal dinners a few times a week, and not stick so firmly to the idea of meat/carb/veg in planning my meals.

But one of the additional problems that I have personally with selecting a healthy diet is a tendency to compulsively restrict my diet, whether it is the anorexia of my teenage and college years, or the so-called "orthorexia" that I can fall into these days. Simply put, forbidding ANYTHING simply isn't healthy for me. It's better that I give myself the option to have a cookie or a bag of Cheetos than to say "Absolutely no packaged foods." Just having a craving in those situations can lead to incredible anxiety.

And I truly believe that balance is key in planning a healthy diet. Do I think it's a good idea to eat packaged, processed foods? No. Do I think it's healthy to deny yourself things with which you come into contact on a regular basis, even when it means turning down social situations? Definitely not. Throughout my whole transition to a healthier, more traditional diet, I have kept my weekly lunch date with my coworkers. No, we don't generally go anywhere where I can really eat, well, anything and still be considered traditional. But it would be a more worrying sign if I were to shut myself in my office everyday with my homemade lunch and refuse to socialize with my coworkers because of food.

I'm currently struggling with the other side of my restriction compulsion -- the compulsive binging that happens when I decide I'm "done" being restrictive. But the first step is just to not beat myself up about having that cookie after my lunch. And make sure I eat a healthy dinner once I get home.

Dreams and Musings

2010-03-10T07:59:00.003-05:00

So I'm on my third day completely paleo. I'm doing okay. The first day was a little rough, but it got better from there. I even had lunch out yesterday, without compromising anything. Thank goodness for Chipotle and their ethically-sourced meat. While I do want to try to cut out most New World foods while I'm paleo, I'm not sticking to that when I go out. It's virtually impossible to get enough fat in a restaurant meal without avocado. They simply don't seem to serve very fatty meat.

Yesterday, I thought a lot about exercise, specifically paleo exercise. I looked a lot at these two articles from Mark Sisson, and I had some discussions with the lovely ladies of the Long Hair Community's "Paleolithic diet" thread (you can't see the thread unless you're registered). Basically, I was trying to negotiate my own feelings about the physiological differences between men and women.

For example, women have the tendons in our hips and legs arranged differently, making women more susceptible to injuries like ACL tears. Although most people know this as the injury of football players, a friend of mine relayed her doctor's explanation to me after her own tear. Because women's hips are opened up more, the tendons have more torque on them, making it easier to stress them with the typical causes of ACL and tendon injuries: lateral motion and tight turns. I've personally experienced a long bout with iliotibial band inflammation, partially due to overtraining, but mostly exacerbated by tight turns and running on a track.

So are women really suited to things like the suicide drill? I'm not so sure. I know I certainly wouldn't do that particular exercise. And yet, women are built for more endurance than men -- this is evidenced by the rapid closing of the gaps between men's and women's times as races get longer. In fact, women have won the Badwater Ultramarathon multiple times. Not to mention the whole childbirth thing, which lasts longer than a marathon, even at my crawling pace. And research supports the idea that women get more benefit from prolonged cardio than men, as Sisson's post reports.

The one thing we all agree upon is that women often do share the work of men in hunter-gatherer societies. So there's no reason women shouldn't lift heavy things or engage in intense bursts of cardio. But perhaps I'd rather do a fartlek run than suicide drills. I suppose this falls under "play" for me, since I find running to be fun and stress relieving. When I can't run, I don't feel guilty about missing a run -- I'm literally antsy to get back out there because I enjoy it.

On a last, unrelated note, I've been having weird dreams since going paleo. Monday night, I dreamed about cereal. Puffed, boxed, served with cold milk cereal. I haven't even eaten boxed cereal in months. I guess that's carb withdrawl for you. Then, in a complete change of pace, I dreamed last night that my husband was going to make me a fancy dinner (tuna steak wrapped in puff pastry with vegetables), and I had to remind him that he had to keep it paleo (so it was just tuna with vegetables). Weird.

Camera Batteries and Paleo Weeks

2010-03-08T08:30:00.002-05:00

First of all, my camera is out of batteries, so no pictures for a little while. I think we have some rechargables recharging so hopefully I have a camera again, soon, but I might just have to bite the bullet and post recipes without pictures.

The second bit of news is that I've decided, after a month of traditional foods, I want to try going fully paleo for a couple weeks. I don't think I have problems with grains or dairy, but I'll see if I feel better without them. I eased into it yesterday with pot roast for dinner, with mashed rutabega instead of potatoes, and I'm going to continue focusing my meals on high-quality protein and non-starchy veggies. I'll post recipes and progress as I go.

Birthday Treat!

2010-03-04T21:40:00.003-05:00

I think of all days to have some of those occasional sweets that I'm trying to keep occasional, my birthday is the day to do it. In honor of my birthday, and the fact that my birthday was National Peanut Butter Lovers Day (according to Tasty Kitchen), I made peanut butter brownies. I took my favorite, non-NT recipe, and NT-i-fied (well, kinda) it with unrefined sugar and non-grain flours.

Peanut Butter Brownies

Brownie base:

1 stick butter, melted

2 eggs

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup almond meal

1/4 cup arrowroot

3/4 cup Rapadura (this could probably get cut down to 1/2 cup)

scant 1/4 cup sorghum syrup

1/2 tsp. vanilla

pinch of salt

Peanut butter topping

1/2 cup (ish) natural peanut butter (ingredients: peanuts)

1/2 stick of butter, softened

pinch of salt

Tbsp. or two sorghum syrup

1 Rapunzel dark chocolate bar, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9" square pan. Stir together all the brownie base ingredients and bake for about 10-15 minutes. Beat together the peanut butter topping ingredients and pour over the brownie base. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate. Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes. Probably best to let them cool before cutting and eating, but I didn't. Makes 6 generous, or 9 reasonable brownies.

Two Quickies

2010-03-03T09:21:00.004-05:00

Last night we had another homemade pizza, and I was particularly pleased with how this one turned out. I sliced up a zucchini into coins and fried up the last two hot Italian sausages and cut them into coins. First, I pre-baked a homemade crust for 15 minutes. Then I spread on just a little Muir Glen tomato sauce, sprinkled on a mix of mozza and cheddar cheeses, and alternated sausage and zucchini, and then topped the whole thing with parm. Back in a 450-degree oven for just over 20 minutes, let it rest for a few minutes before cutting, and we had an awesome, low-key dinner. Oh, and it's also frugal, since we could have easily gotten away with just one sausage.

Then, I wanted to share my morning smoothie this week. I've been eating either eggs and veggies, or soaked porridge for months now, so I was in the mood for something different. It's 3.5 oz. of frozen berries, a big spoonful of almond butter, a splash of water, and half a can of coconut milk, all blended to creamy perfection. Seriously, it's like a milkshake for breakfast. Enjoy!

The Real Food Challenge on CNN

2010-03-02T15:46:00.003-05:00

The 28-Day Real Food Challenge made it to CNN Health today. Unfortunately, they not only had to present a "balanced" perspective by putting in some comments by a dietician who thinks tofu and canned veggies are healthy foods, they also chose to focus on the inconvenient, expensive aspects of the challenge. Personally, I think the benefits of a real food diet are impossible to see in just a month. As I've started eating more nutrient-dense foods, I find that I eat less. My husband and I were very surprised this week at the grocery store, since we actually spent less than usual, despite buying a lot of long-term staples that usually jack up the budget.

And, of course, the comments section is classic. I particularly like the person who complained that he works 50 hours a week and is studying for some degree and doesn't have time for more than a 10-minute dinner. Guess what? I'm at work at least 45 hours a week, and have roughly an hour round-trip commute (yes, I trust you to do the math). And that's a quiet week. Oh, yes, all this is part of my research job that is headed toward a PhD in Physics. Not exactly known for being a low-key, unstressful pursuit.

Well, I must be some kind of superwoman or something, to get home every night at 6:30 and still put a real food dinner on the table. To be able to put a real food breakfast in my belly before work and pack a real food lunch to take with me. Nope. It's about simple food that it tasty because it is good quality. Last night, for example, my dear husband had dinner pretty much ready for me when I got home around 8:30pm. Salad with olive oil, hard boiled eggs, and leftover muffins from the weekend were on the menu. But, as an afterthought, I thawed out a brick of broth and we had a second course of homemade chicken broth to supplement it. We were done eating by 9pm.

Sure, I spend a little more time on the weekends. I like to roll up my sleeves and squish together a big old meatloaf that will feed us two generous dinners. There have been nights when I've sat up in bed at 11pm and realized I forgot to soak my oats for breakfast the next morning. But eggs are always an option -- for any meal, or all of them -- and soaking steel cut oats the night before actually makes breakfast go quicker in the morning. It's all about priorities. I have no problem when people choose to use shortcut foods to save time and effort, but they need to realize that they are empty calories that aren't going to help you feel anything except maybe less hungry.

Real Food Challenge: Week 4 Recap, and Final Thoughts

2010-03-01T06:53:00.003-05:00

Well, the end has come. I made it through twenty-eight days of challenges designed to bring the fundamentals of nourishing, traditional foods into my everyday repertoire. Let's see how I did this week:

Day 21: Fats for Vegetables

This is one place where I'm not already doing many of the right things. I grew up in a household where my mom refused to drown vegetables in butter and salt, so I enjoy the taste of plain, unadorned, steamed vegetables. I do, however, make sure to put some oil-based dressing, or just a drizzle of olive oil, on my salads. This week, I made more of an effort to make sure I ate fat with vegetables to maximize their nutrients. I even drizzled the leftover drawn butter from my birthday lobster over the broccoli I got on the side.

Day 22: Eat more Red Meat

Yet another place for me to put in a plug for my beef guy! If you're in the DC or Baltimore areas, and Frederick isn't a tough drive for you, check out Hedgeapple Farm. It's pastured beef for roughly the same prices as supermarket beef. And Dr. Barao is very good at listening to customers -- they've recently started offering beef suet for rendering, as well as putting liver in the main case so you don't need to make someone go in the back for it. They pretty much sell every part of the cow. Hint: the "dog bones" have tons of good marrow and are a good addition to broth.

Day 23: Eat your Bacon and Eggs

I am lucky to have a source of uncured bacon for not a whole lot of money, so I eat bacon pretty often. And I always save the fat. As of yet, I haven't met a farmer who raises pigs and sells the lard. I might start bugging the meat guy at the farmer's market when it starts up again. So bacon and eggs? A big check.

Day 24: Homemade broth and stock

I did use Jenny's method to make broth for dinner Saturday. It turned out really well, but still didn't gel. I'm going to try this again in the spring/summer, when the chickens probably get more outside time. I mean, how much time could they spend on pasture when it's under 2' of snow?

Day 25: Not so Awful Offal

While we do eat beef liver once in a while (twice a month, maybe), I took part in this challenge by making sure to use the livers in the two chickens I cooked this month. The first was the lovely pate I shared a couple weeks ago, and the other was last night when I added it to our meatloaf. I tasted a bit of the liver flavor, but I've come to realize, I like that flavor!

Day 26: Fish and Seafood

Mussels are my favorite seafood ever. Unfortunately, they have a particular smell that is unappetizing to my husband and mother, so I tend to only get them on special occasions. But we do eat wild salmon every week. And for my birthday, instead of a cake, I asked for a lobster lunch. Yum.

Day 27: Grow your Foodshed

This is one that I can't do right now. The best I can do is to spread the news of the local food producers I frequent. My husband is trying to get a bunch of people together from his office to make a big order from Hedgeapple, and I carry their business cards around with me at all times, so I can give it out whenever anyone mentions beef. In the spring and summer, I'll be hitting up the table at the farmer's market to offer volunteer work, though.

Day 28: 28 Days and Beyond

All in all, with a few exceptions, I did a pretty good job at eating real, nourishing, traditional foods this month. I further reduced my intake of sweeteners, and even cut back on grains a little. I've got a new sourdough starter and I'm getting more comfortable using it for stuff -- not just breads, but pancakes, muffins, and maybe in the future, biscuits. I'm using nutrient rich fats and meats, and I've rediscovered my enjoyment of liver. In the future, while I may not eat strictly according to NT, I will continue to incorporate more of these beneficial foods into my diet.

Pizza Night

2010-02-27T06:54:00.003-05:00

So the recipe is a little late, but I am finally posting it. I'm going to start this by saying I never liked pizza as a kid. The sauce was always too sweet and the crust usually tasted like dry cardboard. If there was anything I liked, maybe it was the cheese. But probably it was the toppings. The cheese was usually of little consequence.

Imagine my surprise when I went out on my own and realized that I could make pizza for myself! It was much, much better. I could put exactly what I wanted on it. And I could make dough from a recipe with lots of flavor and chewy texture. When I embraced a traditional diet, pizza seemed like a natural direction to go with my sourdough, since I like flavorful crusts and my husband doesn't like sourdough bread. The toppings could mask the sour flavor for him, while I enjoyed the subtle layer of taste.

Sourdough pizza

Dough: I pretty much used this recipe for the dough, cut in half, adding a bit more water, and being a little loose with the olive oil and salt. I definitely overhydrated my dough, so I would stick closer to the recipe next time.

Sauce:

1 can crushed tomatoes, drained in a fine-mesh sieve for 1/2 an hour

garlic powder

salt

olive oil

dried basil

4 oz. mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

I made the dough the night before pizza night, so that it could ferment almost a full 24 hours. About an hour and a half before dinner, I pressed it out on a piece of parchment with wet hands and let it sit out for about an hour. The, I pre-baked it for 10 minutes in a 425-degree oven. If it puffs up, just poke it with a fork.

Mix together the ingredients for the sauce. This makes way more than you need for one pizza; I used only a few tablespoons. Spread some sauce on the pre-baked crust, and then sprinkle with both kinds of cheese. Return to the oven to bake until the cheese is browned, about 15-20 minutes. Serves 2 generously.

Beet 'n Squash You! Battle Sweet Potato

2010-02-23T07:45:00.003-05:00

This month's offering is soup. It's just that kind of month, kind of colder than usual, gray, and bitter. Oh yeah, and we were buried under feet of snow for the better part of the month. So soup it is. Plus, there is no better medium to show off the lovely texture of sweet potato as a creamy soup.

One of my pet peeves about foods like pumpkin and sweet potato is that a lot of people think that these foods taste like the things used to flavor it. Pumpkin tastes like pumpkin pie spice. Sweet potato tastes like those spices, or, even worse, mini marshmallows and gobs of sugar. So I forwent gobs of sugar, or even many spices, in favor of letting the sweet potato shine through. The sweetness of the sweet potato is so highlighted that I actually preferred it served with a little chopped bacon for a salty bite.

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 small onion, sliced

1 Tbsp. butter

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

salt to taste

cream and bacon for serving

In a large soup pot, saute the onion in butter over medium-low heat until it gets brown and soft, about a half an hour. Add the sweet potato, nutmeg, and water to almost cover. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until the sweet potatoes are very soft. Add salt to taste. Puree in batches. Makes probably 10 cups of puree. To serve, heat a desired amount of puree in a pot. Add cream to taste. I used about 1/2 cup of cream for every 4 cups of puree. 2 cups of soup makes a generous, meal-sized serving, especially topped with 2 slices worth of chopped cooked bacon. Makes 10-12 cups of soup, 5-6 meal-sized servings, or up to 12 first course servings.

Now on Twitter

2010-02-22T14:43:00.005-05:00

Well, I've joined Twitter, thanks to a suggestion from the lovely Jenna at Chive Talkin'. Follow me if you wish @RunnerChef. Maybe I'll do better at posting up-to-the-minute updates of my Real Food adventures there, since I don't always work up a full blog post. If you have no interest in Twitter, please enjoy this picture of Curried Paneer and Broccoli.

Real Food Challenge: Week 3 Recap

2010-02-22T07:07:00.003-05:00

It was an interesting week. The challenges focused a lot on making homemade cultured foods. Most of these challenges I had to sit out on, mainly due to money and time constraints. But I did make a jar of cultured carrots, and ended the week with a wonderful nourishing, grain-free dinner.

Day 15: What's a SCOBY?

This was one of those I had to sit out on. I simply don't have the funds to drop on a Kombucha mother, and for some reason my natural foods store only sells flavored raw kombucha, not the stuff that's not fermented with fruit (for growing my own SCOBY, a la Food Renegade). I did buy a bottle of GT's raw kombucha in the No. 3 formula (elderberry and lavender). Yummy.

Day 16: Get Cultured (Veggies, that is)

I had bought a big jar of Bubbie's sauerkraut to eat with my breakfast this morning, so I didn't really need any more cultured veggies, but I did have a bunch of carrots that were leftover from the 2 lbs. I bought for the dinner party on Valentine's Day. So I sliced them into sticks and stuck them in a jar with salt brine spiked with Bubbie's sauerkraut juice as a starter. I'm going to try them for lunch this week, so we'll see how they turn out.

Day 17: Making Yogurt at Home

Unfortunately, this is another one I sat out on. First of all, I'm going through a sick-of-yogurt phase, hence the sauerkraut with breakfast. Second, since I didn't buy new yogurt this week, I didn't have fresh yogurt. And I don't have a yogurt maker or the funds to get a mesophilic culture. This will be a project in the coming months, though.

Day 18: Make Cheese at Home

This one I did engage in. I made paneer on Friday evening. I squeezed it for an hour in the fridge between two plates, and it turns out very firm. I sauteed it up with broccoli and some curry, but I wasn't really a fan of the cooked-milk taste. Next time, I'll probably make labneh, but I didn't have fresh yogurt this week.

Day 19: Preparing Nuts and Seeds

This challenge got me thinking. I'm considering adapting our favorite brownie recipe to use blanched almond flour, and maybe a little arrowroot instead of trying to muck around with soaked flour. I also made a batch of almond cookie bars. They were tasty and nubby and nutty.

Day 20: Maximizing the Nutrient Value of Beans and Legumes

Okay, bit of a cheat here. I made these pinto beans a couple weeks ago, but I did prepare them properly. Topped with a bit of raw cheddar, they're really tasty. I'm going to make them again this Friday, only I'll boil them with some bacon to add flavor and fat.

Day 21: Relax and Evaluate

Had a much better week. I'm starting to feel fuller with a little less food, and I managed to get through the week with minimal sweets, especially considering it was "that time of the month." I cut way back on grains and played with my sourdough. I discovered a fabulous sourdough pancake recipe that I like much better than the soaked recipe in NT. This week I hope to improve my sourdough pizza recipe, too!

Awesomeness +6

2010-02-18T11:38:00.008-05:00

I found this recipe through an online community. The woman who shared it calls it "Carrots of Awesomeness +5" because they are that awesome. Roasted carrots are amazingly sweet, which is a boon to someone who's trying to cut back on even natural sweeteners. And I love cardamom. It might be my favorite spice.

The original recipe is here, but I upped the awesomeness stats by using whole cardamom, and clarified butter to roast them. No industrial-byproduct canola oil here!

Carrots of Awesomeness +6

adapted from EatingWell.com

1.5 lbs. of carrots, sliced into 1/4" coins on the diagonal

3 Tbsp. melted clarified butter

10-12 whole cardamom pods, cracked open

salt

Melt the butter over low heat and add the cardamom pods. Turn off the heat and let steep for a while (I did 30 minutes), rewarming it if the butter starts to solidify. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss carrots with melted butter and cardamom, and sprinkle with some salt to taste. Spread on a parchment-lined sheet pan and roast for 20-30 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they start to brown in places. Serve immediately. They're also good cold the next morning. Makes 4 servings as a side dish.

Nourishing Dinner Party

2010-02-17T09:19:00.002-05:00

I talked about the dinner party I hosted on Sunday where I served almost entirely NT-friendly foods. I did serve a real chocolate tart instead of using carob, which Sally Fallon recommends, and I bought a white sourdough baguette instead of a wheat loaf. But I had some great stuff and no one would even guess that I was trying to do anything but cook an impressive dinner.

For an appetizer, I put out roasted red peppers, chicken liver pate, and baguette slices. The pate was just made with the fat liver inside the organic chicken I bought to roast for dinner.

Quick Pate

Liver of 1 organic chicken

about 3 Tbsp. butter (I used 1 Tbsp. unsalted, and 2 Tbsp. salted)

1/2 small onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

spash of Calvados

pepper to taste

Fry the liver in 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter over medium heat until browned on both sides. Add the onions and saute over medium-low heat until soft and browned, about 10-15 minutes. Add the garlic clove midway through this. Deglaze with a splash of Calvados or brandy and scrape up the bits. Tip into a blender and let cool for a bit. Blend until smooth with 2 Tbsp. soft unsalted butter. Scrape into a ramekin, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Take out a bit before you want to eat it so it can come to room temperature. Serve with plenty of good bread. Makes about 1/4-1/3 cup of pate, which the three of us polished off easily in one sitting.

Valentine's Day Dessert

2010-02-15T15:20:00.003-05:00

Okay, so this is totally late to be of any help in Valentine's Day planning, but I've decided that my chocolate-hazelnut tart should have posting priority. As I mentioned before, I hosted a dinner party last night. Not only did I host one of my husband's foreign colleagues, he's French, so I felt just a little obligated to provide something amazing so he didn't think all Americans eat spaghetti and garlic bread every night.

So I made a lovely roast chicken with two vegetables, some appetizers (including a chicken liver pate that he was really impressed with). But there was the problem of dessert. After my Saturday's splurge of a homemade brownie, I realized that my taste buds have finally changed and I can no longer tolerate even normal sweets that I used to eat before eliminating refined sugar. But I needed something.

The combination of chocolate and hazelnuts is classic, and one of my favorites. I could make a tart shell with no flour, eliminating the need to find sprouted flour, and the Nourished Kitchen's timely post about organic chocolate revealed that my favorite brand of chocolate, Rapunzel, is very traditional-food-friendly. This was amazing served with a big dollop of local cream whipped to stiff peaks without any sweetener.

Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

1-1/2 cup roasted whole hazelnuts, plus probably another 1/2/-3/4 cup for scattering

1 stick butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup arrowroot powder

heavy pinch of salt

2 Tbsp. Rapadura

1 egg yolk

6 oz. very dark chocolate (I used Rapunzel 70% dark)

5 oz. heavy cream

seeds of one vanilla bean, or a half teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

First make the shell. Preheat the oven for 325 degrees and butter a 10" springform pan. Grind 1-1/2 cups roasted hazelnuts in the food processor until it's as fine as you can manage. Add the arrowroot, salt, and Rapadura, and combine, then add butter and egg yolk and pulse until a dough forms. Press into the bottom of the pan, and about 1" up the sides, and bake for 1/2 an hour, or until slightly brown. Cool completely.

Melt the chocolate into the cream with the vanilla over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it is glossy and smooth. Pour into shell and spread to an even layer. Scatter a couple handfuls of whole hazelnuts over the top of the chocolate. Allow to set at room temperature for a few hours until set. Serve in narrow wedges with plenty of whipped cream.

Real Food Challenge: Week 2 Recap

2010-02-14T22:28:00.003-05:00

This week was another good one. I had a lot of time to stay at home and concentrate on making nourishing choices because we were snowed in. I spent time feeding my sourdough starter and experimenting with natural sweeteners. Then, this weekend, I got a very important lesson. After finally getting out of the house and driving around for over 2 hours looking for a place for lunch that had open parking, we ended up home, 3 hours after we'd left for lunch, still unfed and starving. I melted down and we ordered Chinese delivery, and I had a brownie for dessert (home-baked, but still made with sugar and white flour since they were supposed to go to a party that we missed because of the snow). I felt terrible all weekend and have been much better.

I hosted an almost-all-nourishing dinner party this evening, complete with liver pate, a whole chicken, and vegetables coated with clarified butter before roasting (instead of olive or canola). We even had a Rapadura-sweetened tart with organic chocolate ganache and fresh, local cream for dessert. The only compromise was a white-flour baguette because our guest was French, and I didn't have time to bake sourdough.

For the whole week, here's a summary:

Day 8: Fats for High Heat

As mentioned before, I rendered my own tallow a few weeks ago, so I've been using this more for cooking, along with butter. I clarified a stick of butter this week for higher heat cooking, but when I fry an egg, I use unclarified.

Day 9: Fight Against GMOs

I read through the booklet linked in the email and found that all of my food products are GMO free. We tend to buy organic whenever possible, eat only pastured meat, and eat only wild seafood. The only sources of GMOs in my diet are foods in restaurants, or the occasional pound of Land O' Lakes butter my husband buys when he goes to the co-op grocery nearest to us (not where we normally shop).

Day 10: Fats to Eat Raw

The only liquid oil I use in our household is extra virgin olive oil, and it tends to get used these days for salad dressing, although I did dabble in making homemade mayo the other week when I was jonesing for mayo on my lunch wrap (sprouted wheat tortilla, broccoli sprouts, wild salmon, and homemade mayo -- yum). I used the guidelines in Julia Child's cookbook and it was delicious.

Day 11: Sourdough

While I've made my share of sourdough bread in the past, I didn't feel like a loaf of bread this week, so I made sourdough blueberry muffins. I posted about them a couple days ago. Hopefully they will be my only sweet treat during the day this week. I've also started a batch of no-knead sourdough to use as pizza crust tomorrow night for dinner.

Day 12: Finding Real Milk

Raw milk is illegal in the state of Maryland. No cow-shares or loopholes -- just illegal to sell unpasturized milk. It's not even legal to age raw-milk cheese in state so local cheesemakers send their cheeses over the border to age and then bring them back to sell when they've had their requires 60 days. So while I eat almost exclusively raw-milk cheddar cheese, I have to make do with non-homogenized whole milk from a local farm that feeds their cows on pasture and fodder. But it comes in a nifty glass bottle and makes me feel old-timey and wholesome. And non-homogenized means there are chunks of delicious (fat), too.

Day 13: Get your (Good) Bacteria

This week, I'm going to try eating Bubbie's sauerkraut instead of yogurt in the mornings, but I usually start my day with a bowl of plain, whole-milk yogurt alongside my breakfast. I also love raw pickles. Pictured is a smoothie with blueberries, raw honey, yogurt, and a splash of milk. It would have been cream, if I'd had cream left.

Day 14: Valentine's Day

Our official Valentine's "date" was lunch at a sushi restaurant (white rice and sweet sauces were balanced by raw fish, fish eggs, and the fact that the restaurant used only naturally-brewed, wheat-free soy sauce!), but I hosted a dinner party tonight that will find its way into posts throughout the week.

I'm looking forward to the next week of the challenge, and looking forward to trying to cut back on sweeteners even more, this month and beyond.

Sweets

2010-02-12T21:06:00.002-05:00

So next week is the week that will test my resolve in my Real Food Challenge. Next week is the week of every month where my mood plummets and I crave sweets like a madwoman. Since I realize that too many natural sweeteners are still not healthy, I'm going to try to limit my sweets and grain products to a few less-bad-for me indulgences.

To this end, I put my week-old sourdough starter to good use, and made a batch of muffins. I had frozen wild blueberries from snowstorm provisions and a hankering for something baked. The result is somewhat like a blueberry coffee cake, but less sweet. They're in the freezer now to hold for mid-afternoon snacks. I might also bake a batch of brownies out of Nourishing Traditions, since I have a bunch of yogurt left over.

Sourdough Blueberry Muffins

based on this recipe from The Nourishing Gourmet

1 cup active sourdough starter (I feed mine with equal parts flour and water)

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 egg

1/2 stick butter, melted

1/4 cup Rapadura + extra

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

cinnamon and nutmeg

1 cup frozen wild blueberries

Stir together the first three ingredients and allow to sit out, covered for 3-12 hours. I let mine sit for 8 hours in the kitchen, where it stays pretty warm year-round, especially when I'm home cooking lunch instead of at work. Right before you're ready to mix the rest of the batter, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and butter a muffin tin. Then, add the rest of the ingredients, except the berries, whisking to break up the stretchy soaked flour. Add some water to a good muffin batter consistency. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon into the muffin tins until 3/4 full. Top each muffin with a small sprinkle of Rapadura. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the muffins are brown. Eat warm with lots of good butter. I got 11 muffins.

Tales from the Snowpolcalypse

2010-02-09T14:31:00.003-05:00

The thing about the DC area is that we don't get snow. We get maybe an inch or two, once a year, twice if it's a rough year. Every ten years or so, we might get a big blizzard, where the accumulation gets measured in feet. This weekend's storm was the second or third since the beginning of December. We had already gotten 2' just over a month ago. And now, again. More feet. As I mentioned, we lost power for 5 hours.

So what to eat when the weather is frightful? Tradition dictates hot chocolate, but really, do you want to give yourself a sugar buzz when you're pretty much stuck in the house? I thought not. Traditional foods are awesome for cold, snowy days, especially days where you didn't have heat for part of it, since they're rich, and satisfying. So I made "cheesesteaks."

Chip Steaks with Onions

1/2 lb. thinly sliced chip steak

1/2 onion, sliced

salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chipotle powder

2 Tbsp. butter

Heat an iron skillet to medium-low and melt the butter until it's sizzling. Add the onions, with a pinch of salt, and cook until softened and slightly browned. While the onions cook, lay out the meat in a single layer and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chipotle. Remove the onions and turn up the heat to medium-high, and add the steak. Sear the steak on one side for a minute or two, then turn, and add the onions back to the pan. Cook until the steaks are browned. Serves 2.

You can also sprinkle an ounce or two of shredded cheese and melt it under the broiler, and/or saute sliced bell peppers with the onions. Serve alone, or over a slice of sourdough bread, with or without a smear of mayo.

Super Bowl Munchies!

2010-02-08T12:23:00.005-05:00

Well, all my Super Bowl plans got changed with the huge snowstorm, but I still managed to get my munchies made. I wanted to make wings from this recipe from Jaden's blog, but the store was out of wings when I got there. And, of course, I had to make some tweaks to get it to be more NT-friendly.

I started with chicken drumsticks. They're all-natural, locally-raised chicken drumsticks with the skin. I started with almost 4 lbs. of chicken, so we have plenty of leftovers.

They turned out really well, probably because I let them sit overnight with the rub on them. The sugar in the rub mixed with the juices from the chicken and turned into this thick, barbecue-sauce-textured marinade, which made them roast up even stickier and tastier. I can't wait to try this again with actual wings.

Sweet and Smokey and SPICY Chicken Drumsticks

adapted from BBQ Central recipe on Steamy Kitchen

4 lbs. chicken drumsticks

3/4 cup Rapadura

1 Tbsp. Chipotle chile powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Ground pepper

Mix the rub ingredients with the chicken in a large bowl, making sure everything is nicely coated. Cover and let sit in the fridge overnight. The next day, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and put a wire rack over a cookie sheet with a lip, or a jelly-roll pan. Line up the drumsticks on the rack, with some space between each one, and roast for about 30 minutes, turning once during cooking. You can measure the internal temperature, but I just poked them to see the juices running clear. Try to let them cool before gobbling. Makes about a dozen drumsticks.

Real Food Challenge: Week 1 Recap

2010-02-07T18:39:00.005-05:00

Well, I've gotten through the first week of my Real Food Challenge. I've managed to make only nourishing choices this week, including not having any sweets that weren't unrefined sweeteners or fruit. Despite being sick with a bad flu starting out the week, I only ate in a restaurant once and made good choices.

Day 1: Clean your Cupboards

I did an in-depth write-up of my pantry raid on Monday, but I'll do a recap again here. I held onto a few bad things, mainly because I was planning on bringing food to a party today and wasn't about to make my buddies eat brownies made from molasses and sprouted flour. But I do plan to use these ingredients in dishes for other people. The picture is of my jar of beef tallow, rendered from grass-fed suet, a healthy fat.

Day 2: Choose Wholesome Foods

This was simpler, as I'm already familiar with the tenets of traditional eating. We had a lot of meat/egg/fish + veggies meals, with some soaked grains. When I went out to eat, we went to an Indian buffet, where I could choose veggie and potato side dishes, with some meat curries. I ate no naan or rice, and no rice pudding. Above is Thursday's dinner, wild salmon, snap peas sauteed in olive oil, and soaked brown rice with butter.

Day 3: Improve your Grains

Ah, grains. They are the staple of my diet, seeing as they are cheap and abundant. They are the reason I couldn't really go fully Paleo for too long. I have a bottle of raw apple cider vinegar just so I can have grains. Sure, it requires some advanced planning, and there were a few nights where I sat up in bed and exclaimed "Oatmeal!" because I'd forgotten to soak the oatmeal. But it got done, and I got oatmeal with butter for breakfast.

Day 4: Start your Sourdough

My first sourdough starter finally gave up after weeks of neglect a month ago. This is my new pet. Let's hope he has a more fulfilling life. He is whole grain and lives in a reused pickle jar. He smells a little different from other starters I've made, but I think he'll do fine.

Day 5: Sprout your Grains

Yeah, being snowed in is a great time to start grain sprouting. I sprouted wheat berries, and will probably use them in a salad in a day or two. I munched a couple of them raw today when I put them in the fridge and they were tasty.

Day 6: Milling your Own Sprouted Grain Flour

This is the one place that I didn't follow through. I simply don't have a grain mill or plans to buy one. The money isn't there. I might try the wet-milling method later in the month, but the first batch of sprouts I want to try raw.

Day 7: Relax and Evaluate

I think my biggest achievement this week is choosing only unrefined sweeteners and soaked grains. See? Soaked blueberry pancakes made with frozen wild blueberries. I'll be back in a week to share another week's progress.

Regularly scheduled posts resuming tomorrow will include those tasty chicken legs, and steak sandwiches.

Snowed in, NT-style

2010-02-06T17:20:00.003-05:00

The forecast was for heavy snow, starting last night, so I had my husband set up a loaf of long soaking bread, and sent him to the store for staples. Luckily, my staples tend to be different from the average household -- no milk, bread, chicken breasts here. There is the matter of the little sporting event tomorrow, so he got some stuff to prepare for that, too.

In all, we got frozen green beans and blueberries, whole wheat flour, pastured eggs, potatoes, chicken drumsticks, cheese, butter, and a few pantry staples that I managed to not have. Bread was in the oven at 8:30 a.m. We lost power at 9:30. Breakfast, cooked by candlelight, was bacon, eggs, and homemade bread with butter. Lunch was bread with some leftover cured meats.

We ventured out briefly to play in the snow and take some pictures of Duncan, and then came in a read by the light through our large sliding glass door. Very relaxing. Spent some time tending to my sprouting wheatberries for the Real Food Challenge. Although I was glad that the power came back on in just 5 hours.

Tomorrow: my semi-nourishing party food.

Beet 'n Squash You! Battle Mushroom

2010-02-04T07:54:00.005-05:00

My first submission to the Beet 'n Squash You challenge is not particularly complicated or fancy. But mushrooms are an interesting beast in our household. Because my husband does not like them, I tend to use mushrooms either when he's out of town, or when I can use them just for my portion. I had been eating mushrooms with my eggs and greens last week and had a few leftover last weekend, so I decided to fry up a few to scatter over my portion of stew from yesterday's post. It's simple, but shows mushrooms in all their glory.

Sauteed Mushrooms

1-2 tsp. butter

8-10 cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

salt (or use salted butter)

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat until it sizzles, foams, and subsides. Scatter the 'shrooms in a single layer over the hot, buttered pan. Sear on one side for a few minutes, then flip and sear for one minute less on the opposite side. They should be browned and softened. Serve over whatever your heart desires. Serves 1.

Cheap Eats: Sunday Dinner

2010-02-03T11:25:00.005-05:00

Every Sunday, I like to cook something that's a little complicated, takes more time than I have on the weekdays, and will provide leftovers for later in the week. Usually, it's our meat-based dish of the week. We eat meat or chicken 2-3 times a week, fish once, and eggs and/or soaked lentils the rest of the week.

Since last time I went to our meat guy (Hedgeapple Farm, outside Frederick -- can't recommend him enough!), I focused on buying cheaper cuts of meat, so I could get two months worth of meat without spending too much.

So this Sunday I did braised short ribs. Now, I hadn't gotten around to making beef broth yet, so I braised them in wine, diced tomatoes in juice, and a little water. The result was a beefy, meaty stew.

I served it over left over pancakes and steamed kale. Monday morning, I baked bread, so tonight we'll have the leftovers over trenchers of homemade bread with more kale on the side.

Braised Short Ribs

2-ish lbs. of short ribs (I used 3 huge ones, but it would probably have been 4-5 normal-sized ones)

tallow for searing

1/2 onion, sliced

1 carrot, cut in coins

1 rib of celery, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes (no salt added)

1 cup of red wine

2 bay leaves

salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sear the ribs on all sides in tallow over medium-high heat in a heavy dutch oven, then remove to a bowl or plate. Lower heat and add onions, sauteing until they start to pick up brownness from the stuck beef bits. Add rest of the veggies, salt to taste, and saute for a minute or two. Deglaze with wine, add tomatoes, and add back ribs. Add water to almost cover the ribs, poke bay leaves into the juice, and cover. Place in hot oven and bake for 2 and a half hours. When it's done, remove beef from bones and gristle and shred. Skim the fat off the top of the juices and add back meat. Serve over potatoes or bread or something. Makes 4 servings.

This is part of the Nourishing Gourmet's Pennywise Platter.

Winter Comfort

2010-02-02T07:22:00.003-05:00

I've been sick. I went home early on Thursday, stayed home Friday, slept most of the weekend, and tried to go into work yesterday, only to have that fail. I'm home again today. I guess this is the flu, huh?

So Saturday, I decided to make a comforting, simple dinner, half of which my husband could prepare. He makes a mean grilled cheese sandwich. And what goes with grilled cheese? Soup!

This butternut squash soup turned out so well that I had to share it. I even measured the spices so I could tell you those exactly. And I used up a leftover blob of stock from our Christmas turkey. See how gelatinous it is? Yum. I wish the store sold those turkeys more often so I could have delicious, gelled stock year-round.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 Tbsp. butter

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. curry powder

1/2-1 cup turkey stock

1 medium squash, seeded, peeled, and cubed

salt to taste

Saute the onion in the butter over medium heat until the onion starts to turn translucent. Add the spices and saute until fragrant. Add the squash, stock, and water to almost cover. Simmer until very tender. Blend in batches until smooth and return to the pot to reheat before serving. Makes about 4 servings.

Real Food Challenge: Week1

2010-02-01T06:30:00.005-05:00

So the first Real Food Challenge went out this morning. We are challenged to clean out our cupboards. Since I live with my husband and don't force him to subscribe to my way of eating entirely, except for the dinners I cook, I obviously can't get rid of everything on the "bad" list. But I can take stock of it and determine where I can appropriately trim things down.

Taking Stock of My Cupboard:

Vegetable oils: I have only extra virgin olive oil, and extra virgin unrefined coconut oil in my cupboards

Sugar: I have a bag of "raw" sugar, two bottles of Karo syrup, and a can of apricots in light syrup.

Stevia: I've always been put off by non-nutritive sweeteners. So no stevia.

Margarine/Shortening: Same as stevia. Give me butter or give me death... or coconut oil, I guess.

Cornstarch: Used the last of it over a month ago, and keep meaning to get arrowroot at the store.

Soy Foods: I found out empirically that soy foods were a bad move for me, a while ago.

Dried Pastas and Noodles: One box of dried pasta

Iodized and Refined Sea Salt: Nope.

Meat and Dairy Replacements: Nope.

Processed Cheeses: Just local cheeses for me. Preferably made with raw milk, but I do have a ricotta salata, which doesn't say, and probably isn't.

Skim and Low-Fat Dairy: Why bother? The full-fat stuff is tastier anyway. Oh, and our milk is non-homogenized and from pastured cows.

Boxed Cereals, Crackers, and Cookies: My husband's granola and a box of Ryvita sesame crispbreads.

Wow, so far I'm doing okay. I have trashed the Karo and apricots, as no one needs those, and they're all really old anyway. I'm keeping the pasta for dinner emergencies, but I won't use it this month, and after it's gone, I'll switch to rice pasta for my occasional pasta fixes. The Ryvita will go to work with me, and the raw sugar will go into Super Bowl goodies next weekend.

That's all for my cupboard clean-out.

More Breakfast

2010-01-31T12:30:00.004-05:00

I made pancakes! While this wasn't my first move upon adopting a traditional diet, I did eventually get a copy of Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions. It's a combination manual to the traditional foods way of eating, and extensive cookbook. Since the NT concept includes eating whole grains and soaking them in an acidic liquid before eating, I finally decided to use her recipe for pancakes.

Whole wheat flour and a combination of yogurt, non-homogenized milk, and a little water sleep together in a cozy bowl overnight. Yes, I did use the last bits of everything in the fridge, thank you for asking. In the morning, I stirred in melted butter, beaten eggs, salt, and baking soda.

Then a trip to a hot, buttered pan. I'm actually terrible at making pancakes. I invariably burn them while the insides are still gooey. But I did okay this morning.

I had mine with butter and apple butter between the layers, and butter, apple butter, almonds, and a drizzle of pure maple syrup on top. Yum.

My husband went for the traditional butter and syrup. Recipe is from Nourishing Traditions.

Real Food Challenge at the Nourished Kitchen

2010-01-28T18:15:00.004-05:00

A new year and a fresh start on my blog deserves a challenge. Luckily, my inbox turned up an email from the Nourished Kitchen providing just such an opportunity: The 28-Day Real Food Challenge. Who knows what I've gotten myself into. Maybe I'll learn how to make sauerkraut or sprout grains. I definitely know this will light a fire under my hiney to be more vigilant about soaking my grains and eating traditional fats. And it will definitely help me keep away from the sweets at work.

It's as if some great food deity heard my pleas last week, indecisive about whether or not I wanted to suffer through another semester of subpar lunches on Monday, all in the name of "free food," or if I wanted to take matters into my own hands and keep bringing sack lunches. Sack lunches it is.

Oh, the picture is of our Halloween pumpkin. He was not long for this world, but did serve us well, mixed with eggs and Rapadura. The recipe is based on one from the Nourished Kitchen, here.

Starting the Day and the Year Off Right

2010-01-26T20:57:00.005-05:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, as of September 2009, I've been trying to adopt a more traditional diet, a la Nourishing Traditions. Most of this involves a shift from industrial oils to animal-derived fats (and olive and coconut oil), a move toward eating more pastured meat and organs, and a move away from eating refined grain products. It also involves eating much less sugar. This I struggle with.

To help in the lower-sugar shift, I've been trying to find breakfast ideas that don't involve fruit. Here is a quick snapshot of my normal breakfast this week. I found dandelion greens in the store and was intrigued, so I bought them instead of my normal kale. Another new development is that I got a digital food scale for my wedding anniversary, so it makes it a lot easier to portion my food to make sure my breakfast food lasts all week. Hence, many of the measurements will be by weight.

Traditional Breakfast:

1.5 oz. mushrooms and 0.7 oz. dandelion greens, sauteed in butter

1 egg, fried in butter

2 soaked-millet muffins

6 oz. cream-top yogurt

cup of nettle tea

Eventually I might up the veggies and do away with the muffins altogether, but for this week, I needed the bulk. To soak grains, I soak them in an equal volume of filtered water, spiked with a tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar per cup of water. It has the added bonus of making long-cooking whole grains (like steel-cut oats) cook faster in the morning.

Guess who!

2010-01-24T22:03:00.002-05:00

Wow. A lot has gone on in the last 5 months since I've made a post. I started belly dancing again. I took a month off running. I started up a traditional diet. I set a tentative date for my PhD. I wrote a first draft of a novel that might eventually see the light of day. And with all this, I managed to lose track of my poor, neglected food blog. Well, I'm going to try to be back. Maybe starting tomorrow (or Tuesday, since Monday is belly dancing). I haven't been cooking much exciting, but I have been cooking.

And, oh, what cooking there has been. I started what is known as a traditional diet in September. Basically, the first thing I did was cut out all high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. Then I took the step to try to cut out refined sugars and oils. Then, I bought a copy of Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, and tried to incorporate more of that in my life. I soak grains. I cook with animal fats. Today, I rendered a pound of beef fat from pastured cows. I eat a lot of butter.

And I'm feeling great. I'm almost off all medications, and I've had fewer than a migraine a month. Well, I had headaches 4 days in a row over Christmas, but I'm reasonably sure that was one long headache. So there are more adventures in the land of cooking.

I also tried to quit running. It started as a break. That got longer. And longer. It lasted about 5 weeks, but I got back on the wagon 2 weeks ago, and am going strong at 9 miles per week. I'm hoping to work up to 15 in the next couple of months. Yes, I still like running long, but I think half marathon is going to be my personal limit. It's the longest distance where I still felt like I was having fun the whole time.

Sorry for no pictures this time, but I only have one recent project to model, and I doubt everyone else is as excited by tallow as I am.

Race! Larry Noel 12k

2009-08-23T13:01:00.009-04:00

Yesterday I ran a 12k race. It was probably my worst race since the 2006 Army Ten-Miler, but I learned some lessons, and I accepted that a large part of that probably had to do with slacking on my training the last couple of weeks. But I thought it might be a good opportunity to talk about what a nut I am before races.

So I read in Runner's World that beetroot juice is supposed to help athletic performance, and the one of the study scientists is an advisor to Paula Radcliffe (a lady who had a baby and won a marathon within a year of each other). Well, I get beets pretty much every week at the market, so I had one leftover. And a blender, and a whole lot of Friday-afternoon time on my hands. So I made beetroot juice. Without a juicer.

I whizzed grated beetroot with a teensy bit of water, and some chopped ginger (for zing) in the blender on a medium-low speed, and then poured the pulp into a cheesecloth-lined strainer, and squeezed the heck out of it. Take that Jack LaLanne.

It was tasty and beety, and my husband made all sorts of blood-drinking jokes. Then we had a lovely dinner of pasta with veggies and chicken sausage, and turned in early.

I woke up once at 4:30 a.m. to a huge crack of thunder, but the storm subsided pretty quickly, and I slept until 6, when my alarm went off. I leapt out of bed (okay, crawled) and made myself peanut butter toast with honey and drank a couple big glasses of water.

After that, I dressed, braided my hair, and was ready to face the race. The weather was, frankly, awful, over 75 degrees, and 100% humidity, but not raining. That, combined with the massive hills, and my over-enthusiasm in the first couple of miles, left me feeling totally drained by the 5k mark. But I pushed through, walking when I felt like I couldn't go on, and then taking up the running when I felt better, and I finished in just over an hour and twenty minutes (yeah, I was hoping for closer to 1:10 or 1:15).

Oh well, there's always next year.

Home Cookin'

2009-08-13T19:46:00.011-04:00

Had a bummer of a day at work today, and on the way home I had to stop and pick up some stuff for tomorrow night's dinner. I thought we were having one of my husband's coworkers over, but he canceled after I'd already gotten the supplies. I thought about picking up a six-pack at the liquor store next to the grocery store, but when I passed the seafood counter, I noticed extra-large shrimp on sale. So, I decided it's a lot healthier to self-medicate with shrimp n' grits than with beer, right? Right? It may not be the most authentic, but it hit the spot.

First, saute half a pound of peeled, deveined shrimp in olive oil over medium-high heat. When they start to turn pink and curl up, remove them to a plate

Then, add diced onion, garlic, green pepper, and celery to the hot oil, along with a decent pinch of salt. I used a small onion, three cloves of garlic, a rib of celery, and a large green bell pepper. Cook them until they get soft, about five minutes.

Open a can of whole, peeled tomatoes, with no added salt, and crush them by hand. Sure, you can buy diced or crushed tomatoes, or throw them in the blender, but I like the hands-on approach. Really squish the little guys.

Add the tomatoes to the veggies, along with some hot sauce. My hot sauce has a scantily-clad lady on it, sweet!

Simmer that for five to ten minutes, then add the shrimp back to the pan and poke them under the tomato broth. Let that simmer for a little bit.

While the shrimps simmer, make the grits! Add a half a cup of corn grits to a combination of one cup each of water and milk, that has come to a boil. I add pepper, too. Whisk for about five minutes, or until the grits thicken up.

Then, whisk in 2-3 oz. of grated cheddar cheese. When it's smooth, slap the cover on and let it set while you put the finishing touches on the shrimp.

The finishing touch is a small handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped, stirred into the shrimp mixture, which has been taken off the heat.

Now comes the fun part: serve and enjoy! Makes two huge servings. Hope you enjoyed my pictorial walk through the comfort food dinner I made myself tonight!

Days in Transition and a New Doctor

2009-08-12T14:18:00.005-04:00

It's been a weird week for me so far. Monday I went ahead and worked from home, since the lab was in use, and I had everything I needed at home. And, anyway, I wouldn't have gotten in until noon because I had a physical in the morning. Because of the stupid state of Maryland dropping my health insurance from their offerings, I had to switch insurance, and get a new primary care physician, which was a big hassle. But I won the PCP lottery (which sounds suspiciously drug-related) and really enjoyed my appointment Monday morning, actually. He gave me some ideas (and samples) for dealing with my migraines, took my blood, did a neurological function test, and did an electrocardiogram, which was weird.

That's something. When he hooked up the stick little things to my body, he started asking me about what I do, and what my research is. Y'know how doctors like to make small talk when they're about to do something unpleasant to you? Yeah, that was when I asked him what exactly this test involved. Luckily it just involved sitting for a minute with stickies on me, but who knows? It could have involved zapping me or something.

But I'm a healthy individual, so the whole appointment was uneventful. Oddly, he didn't ask about my chafing marks, but they have an innocuous explanation (7-mile runs in the heat) so it didn't matter.

I've been trying to take a little more charge of my health lately. I tried going high-raw a month ago, but failed because I hit a big stress wall and craved cheese like you wouldn't believe. And cooked food. But I'm trying again, with dinner being my only cooked meal this week. I'm not doing great with the raw lunches and might add a little cooked food next week. I found an awesome vegan veggie burger made from wheat gluten a few weeks ago, so I might try that.

Writing is plodding along, very slowly. I did go through and write synopses of my chapters a few days ago, and then revised them to make the ending more exciting. I'm focusing on my sci-fi novel right now, even though the husband really wants me to finish the dark fantasy short story that I taunted him with by sharing the first few pages. Hopefully as I feel healthier, I'll feel more motivated to write, which always falls by the wayside when work bums me out. In the meantime, I'll leave you with pictures of beautiful salads (placed at random intervals throughout this post), the first one being my all-raw lunch salad, and the second being a grilled-chicken-topped salad we had for dinner a few nights ago.

Infrequent Doesn't Even Begin to Describe It...

2009-08-09T14:04:00.003-04:00

Hi! I'm still here, I promise. I know it's been ages since I've actually updated here, but I have still be cooking, and running, and even sometimes taking pictures of food. But it hasn't really been my primary focus in life. So rather than bother to morph this into something beyond a food blog, I just stopped updating.

But y'know what? Non-food blogs are okay, too. As are blogs about, well, life, which also includes food sometimes. And what is this life I speak of, you may wonder? Well, one of the first things that has taken up my time is that I have been writing. Those of you who read my blog previously may remember occasional posts in November about this crazy plan to write 50,000 words of a novel in a month. And I did. And it was good.

Well, okay, it was terrible, but I learned lessons along the way, and plotted out another novel, started writing it, and promptly abandoned it. I actually did this three times. So I dug out my writing folder, and took a look-see and saw that, hey, some of this stuff isn't too bad. So I kept going on it. So yeah, writing is awesome. And will consume your life if you enjoy it.

I've also been cooking, but it's summer, and in summer I cook a lot less complicated. I did host a 4-course dinner party with a friend, which was awesome. The star of the evening was handmade egg pasta with slow-roasted tomatoes, so I'll share a picture of that.

But mostly I've been keeping busy with ecclectic pursuits. Maybe I'll be better about sharing them with you more often.

Daring Bakers: June Challenge

2009-06-27T06:56:00.004-04:00

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Well, it's been over a month since I've posted here. I'm going to try to get back in the habit of posting at least once a week. Life has gotten in the way a little, and I've been less inspired to cook complicated things. But it's summer and the Farmer's Market is back in full swing, so maybe things don't have to be complicated. Keep an eye out for lots of salads and raw pickles.

So... Bakewell... thing. Yeah. These were actually delicious, and I made them entirely on a weeknight (I fudged a little on some of the resting times). In fact, I screwed up the shortcrust dough and pressed lumps of it into my mini tart pans instead of rolling it. And they still turned out delicious. They bake almost as long as the full tart, but I may have overbaked them slightly. They're best fresh with whipped cream (I made a little jar of vanilla sugar to add to the whipped cream), but I stuck the leftovers in the fridge and enjoyed them for 5 days. Enjoy!

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)[Or 6 4-5" tarts]

Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)

Resting time: 15 minutes

Baking time: 30 minutes

Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)

Bench flour

250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability

One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)

One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart

Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Jasmine’s notes:

• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It's a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn't have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.

• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.

• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.

Annemarie’s notes:

• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)

Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour

30g (1oz) sugar

2.5ml (½ tsp) salt

110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)

2 (2) egg yolks

2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)

15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:

• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.

• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened

125g (4.5oz) icing sugar

3 (3) eggs

2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract

125g (4.5oz) ground almonds

30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Annemarie’s notes:

• Add another five minutes or more if you're grinding your own almonds or if you're mixing by hand (Heaven help you).

Daring Cooks: May Challenge

2009-05-14T20:35:00.003-04:00

As you, fair readers, may now know, I am a member of an online baking club known as the Daring Bakers. Recently, they have branched out, and become the Daring Kitchen, which now includes a new club, called the Daring Cooks. And so without further ado, I introduce the inaugural Daring Cooks Challenge: Zuni Ricotta Gnocci, brought to us by Lis and Ivonne, the mothers of the Daring Bakers.

Now, this was the project that almost wasn't. I was all set to make it for a dinner party, shortly after the challenge was revealed. I made homemade fresh ricotta, and set it to dry. Now, be it because I cooked it too vigourously, or because the recipe was low fat, or because I dried it too thoroughly, when I opened my cheesecloth, the little ball of drained cheese was rubbery, and hard around the edges. We had angel hair pasta that night instead.

It got down to this week. Monday. I went home with a splitting migraine, but I had managed to get the cheese in a strainer, lined with paper towels, to drain while I was at work. It probably drained 8 or 9 hours. Well, it wasn't really enough and the gnocchi started to fall apart on me while boiling. But they maintained enough shape to be a delicious dinner. I will say, the delicate recipe had a wonderful lightness and tender feel in the mouth. I doctored up the basic butter sauce with chopped garlic and black pepper. Yum.

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi

Source: From The Zuni Café Cookbook

Yield: Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6)

Prep time: Step 1 will take 24 hours. Steps 2 through 4 will take approximately 1

hour.

Note: For our members who have special dietary requirements or who have to

alter the recipe for health reasons, our alternative Daring Cooks, led by Shelly

of Musings From The Fishbowl, have developed an alternative version of the

recipe. Please check the Alternative Daring Cooks' forums for more information.

Tips:

1. If you can find it, use fresh ricotta. As Judy Rodgers advises in her recipe,

there is no substitute for fresh ricotta. It may be a bit more expensive, but

it's worth it.

2. Do not skip the draining step. Even if the fresh ricotta doesn't look very wet,

it is. Draining the ricotta will help your gnocchi tremendously.

3. When shaping your gnocchi, resist the urge to over handle them. It's okay if

they look a bit wrinkled or if they're not perfectly smooth.

4. If you're not freezing the gnocchi for later, cook them as soon as you can. If

you let them sit around too long they may become a bit sticky.

5. For the variations to the challenge recipe, please see the end of the recipe.

Equipment required:

• Sieve

• Cheesecloth or paper towels

• Large mixing bowl

• Rubber spatula

• Tablespoon

• Baking dish or baking sheet

• Wax or parchment paper

• Small pot

• Large skillet

• Large pan or pot (very wide in diameter and at least 2 inches deep)

For the gnocchi:

1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups) {I used tub ricotta, Organic Valley, and it was still delicious!}

2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon (½ ounce) unsalted butter

2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few

pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional){I omitted flavorings}

½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)

about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)

all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

For the gnocchi sauce:

8 tablespoons (227 grams/1/4 pound/4 ounces) butter, sliced

2 teaspoons water

{I added 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped}

Step 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi): Preparing the ricotta.

If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook,

Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, take

a teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel. If you notice a very large ring of

dampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is too

wet. To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels

and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up

to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully in

cheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with a

bowl underneath to catch the water that’s released. Either way, it’s recommended

that you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.

Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi): Making the gnocchi dough.

To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta

in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large

spoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the

ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a

strainer to smooth it out as much as possible.

Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.

Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not,

just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture.

Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re

not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine.

Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.

Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and

fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

Step 3: Forming the gnocchi.

Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water

generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi

that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too

damp.

In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour

that’s ½ an inch deep.

With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and

form a large mass in the centre of your bowl.

Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the

spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the

spoon into the bed of flour.

At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour

covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour.

Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval

as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an

oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.

Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the

top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until

it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.

If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably

still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your

gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy,

add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to

ensure success.

Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a

time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as

you coat them.

Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax

or parchment paper and dust it with flour.

You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing

them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.

Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi.

Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the

skillet and set aside.

In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts

of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits).

You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and

damage each other.

Once the water is boiling, salt it generously.

Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them

for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi).

When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for them

to finish cooking.

Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times

as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat.

Your gnocchi should be cooked by now.

With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop

into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.

Variations: For the gnocchi, you can flavour them however you wish. If you want

to experiment by adding something to your gnocchi (i.e., caramelized onion,

sundried tomato), feel free to do so. However, be forewarned, ricotta gnocchi are

delicate and may not take well to elaborate additions. For the sauce, this is your

chance to go nuts. Enjoy yourselves. Surprise us!!!

Freezing the gnocchi: If you don’t want to cook your gnocchi right away or if you

don’t want to cook all of them, you can make them and freeze them. Once they are

formed and resting on the flour-dusted, lined tray, place them uncovered in the

freezer. Leave them for several hours to freeze. Once frozen, place them in a

plastic bag. Remove the air and seal the bag. Return to the freezer. To cook frozen

gnocchi, remove them from the bag and place individually on a plate or on a tray.

Place in the refrigerator to thaw completely. Cook as directed for fresh gnocchi.

Libation: A Classic

2009-05-01T08:19:00.006-04:00

Alright, so along with food, I also love drinks. I particularly like interesting beer and wine, but I have a soft spot in my heart for certain cocktails. I'm going to try to remember to post about a different favorite or interesting libation each week, hopefully on Fridays, regularly.

This week, I feature one of my favorite cocktails from my undergraduate years at Cornell. My favorite bar was a little martini bar called Stella's, where the bartender knew me by glasswear. They called happy hour "Happiness" and Tuesdays were extended Happiness, so I would start off every Tuesday evening with a Classic Champagne Cocktail, and work from there. Oh, sure, sometimes I would sample some of their interesting cocktails, or expand my beer horizons, but the CCC was my favorite. And eventually, I would get whoever I brought with me to try one, too.

It got to the point where the regular Tuesday bartender would just pull out two champagne flutes every time I walked in. And they were lovely champagne flutes, that trumpted out without curving back in. I found these at Crate and Barrel four years ago, and I love them. So raise a glass to trying new things (or old standbys).

Classic Champagne Cocktail

inspired by Stella Bar, Ithaca, NY

Champagne flute

1 sugar cube (Domino Dot!)

2-3 dashes Angostura bitters

2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier

1 Maraschino cherry

Chilled sparkling wine (I used Cristalino Brut Cava)

Drop the sugar cube in the flute and shake on a couple dashes of bitters. Add the Grand Marnier and the cherry. Add champagne to fill the flute. Enjoy.

Daring Bakers: April Challenge

2009-04-27T07:48:00.007-04:00

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Warning: this post is full of cheesecake pictures and may cause inappropriate reactions in mixed company!

I am terrible at cheesecake, and therefore don't often attempt it. My mother is the cheesecake queen and used to make her semi-famous cheesecake for a particular broker at the stock brokerage firm where she used to work. It was plenty of work, so mostly only Leo got it for his birthday cake, but he got it every year until she left.

She later taught me that the trick to cheesecake is to have some sort of topping planned, so that it doesn't matter if it cracks or not. Well, I lived dangerously and didn't plan on topping. I decided to make something elegant in its simplicity: Buckwheat Honey and Pine Nut Cheesecake.

Abbey's Infamous [Honey Pine Nut] Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs [I made homemade buckwheat graham crackers, the recipe for which I will post later.]
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar [not needed with homemade grahams]
1 tsp. vanilla extract [I omitted this]

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar [I used 1/2 cup buckwheat honey and 1/4 cup raw sugar]
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice[I omitted this]
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean) [I omitted this]
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake [I used Frangelico]

[Addition: 1 generous handful of pine nuts]

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan [10" springform]. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. [Sprinkle top with pine nuts] Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away. [I used a springform and wrapped as best I could, and a little water seeped in, just at the edges, but it was still delicious. Cheesecake crust always gets a bit soggy after it's been in the fridge for a day or two anyway]

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

[Note: I was able to successfully freeze this for a week and it thawed back to wonderfulness in a half an hour, or it's good slightly frozen]

Beefy

2009-04-26T13:51:00.007-04:00

It has been a while since I've posted anything, but I have been cooking and have plenty to share with everyone. This is a stew that's based on classic Boeuf Bourguignon, but not quite as time-consuming. I like it because it's even better the next day (like a lot of stews). It really is worth it to make homemade beef stock. It gives everything you make with it a rich flavor. I used leftover stock to make an amazing lentil soup, too.

The cut of beef I used was just called "Stew Cubes" at the farm where I get my beef, but it's good, local, grass-fed beef. They have a ton of beefy flavor, and are better for your health and the environment. Anyone who lives convenient to Frederick, MD, should check out the farm, Hedgeapple Farm. They have a website and stuff.

One hazard of homemade beef broth was discovered when our new dog came to visit with the ladies at the rescue who were inspecting our apartment before the adoption was finalized. They were so confused why he kept licking one spot of carpet over and over again and could not be moved from it. Apparently, I spilled a drop of broth when I was moving it from the dining table to the kitchen. Oops.

Beef and Wine Stew

1 lb. beef stew cubes (or stewing meat cut into 1-2" cubes)

2-3 tsp. beef fat (skimmed from the top of homemade beef broth, which is easier to do when you refridgerate it)(You can substitute a few ounces of bacon, fried to render their fat)

2 leeks, sliced and washed

1 carrot, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

half a bottle of Pinot Noir (What to do with the other half? I don't think I need to tell you that)

1-2 cups of beef broth

1 tsp. Herbes de Provence

Salt and pepper

2-3 tsp. flour, mixed with water to make a smooth, thin paste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat the beef fat over medium-high heat, and brown the beef cubes. Remove and add the veggies, along with a little salt. Saute until soft, and just starting to color, then add the beef back, along with the wine, herbes, and enough beef broth to just barely cover the meat. Cover and slide into the oven and cook for 2 hours. Carefully remove and set back over medium heat to keep bubbling. Salt and pepper to taste, and add flour slurry. Stir and simmer until thickened. Serve over egg noodles. Makes 4 servings.

Pseudo-pizza

2009-04-21T07:41:00.005-04:00

I wanted to make pizza last week, but I had no dough for crust. In the magical world of food ideals, I would have a couple hours to spare to whip together an olive-oil yeast dough, but this is the real world, of 9-hour work days and a new dog that barks in his crate when we leave, and neighbors that complain about this.

So instead, I went to the pet store to get dog a Kong (the lifesaver of the working dog-mom), and stopped at the market to pick up an organic whole-grain pre-made pizza crust. But, honest, that's where the uninspired shortcuts stop, I swear. People wonder where I come up with the things I make, and this one was a classic example of shopping inspiration. I went to the store earlier in the week for veggies and saw beautiful leeks. Mmmm... leeks. And tubs of fresh, local chevre that they had been sampling the week before and had been amazingly delicious, even to someone who had previously thought chevre tasted, well, a little like a goat smells. Get all this home, tinker, and voila! Carmelized leek and goat cheese pizza.

Carmelized Leek and Goat Cheese Pizza

Note: In the future, I will re-write this to use homemade dough.

1/2 a 12-14" store-bought pizza crust
2 fat leeks, sliced into coins and washed well
1 Tbsp. butter
salt and pepper
2-3 oz. chevre

Saute the leeks in butter over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until soft and browned, salting to taste. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread over half pizza crust and dot with goat cheese. Bake on the oven rack until the crust crisps and the cheese browns slightly. Makes 2 servings.

Down Home, Fast

2009-04-19T07:15:00.004-04:00

My mother makes better grits than I do. And she makes them from a recipe she pulled off of the Food Network website. My shame is the stuff of legends. So I decided to try to remedy this last week when I made dinner for my husband one night.

We had some leftover Andouille sausages from Easter brunch, so I figured I'd make a quick, Cajun sausage-and-peppers combo and serve it over cheesy grits. Yum.

Cajun Stir-Fry with Creamy Cheddar Grits

Grits:

1/2 cup polenta/grits (coarse-ground cornmeal)
1 cup water
1 cup milk
2 oz. grated cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring the milk and water to a boil and stir in the grits, slowly. Boil until thickened, time depends on what kind of grits you got. I must have quick-cooking grits because it only took mine 5-10 minutes to thicken up. Stir in the cheese until it blends in and season to taste. Cover and set aside.

Stir-Fry

2 Andouille sausages, cut into coins
Olive oil
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1-2 Tbsp. tomato paste
a couple tablespoons of water

Fry the sausage coins in oil over medium-high heat until they start to brown. Add the peppers and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, and toss to coat, then add water to form a sauce. Cook until bubbling and hot and serve over grits. Serves 2.

My Short Skirt...

2009-04-18T15:36:00.005-04:00

Today was the first day that I ran that was beautiful enough to warrant my running skirt! I did six miles in the beautiful mid-morning sun and then had eggs and toast that my wonderful husband cooked for me. Yes, I have been busy this week enjoying our new dog, but I'm back to post recipes. Today, I'll start with something inspired by a recent visit to one of Michel Richard's restaurants.

I had the frisee salad with lardons and a poached egg, and it was amazingly good. So I decided to try to re-create parts of it. Now, I found baby spinach, and, for interest, added sliced fennel. The total effect was similar, but distinctly different, with the sweet anise of the fennel cutting into the acid of the dressing and mingling with the oily bacon, but it was still a wonderful light dinner.

Salad with Bacon and Poached Egg

4 oz. bacon, cut into thin batons
1 head of fennel, sliced thin
1 tsp. mustard
2-3 tsp. white wine vinegar
Black pepper
2 handfuls baby spinach, washed
2 eggs

Fry the bacon, starting in a cold pan, over medium heat until browned. Add the fennel and saute until it starts to become tender. Stir together the mustard, vinegar, and some pepper to taste, and tip the fennel and bacon in. Toss to combine, and set aside to cool slightly. Poach the eggs to your liking (I like 4 minutes). Toss the spinach with the fennel, bacon, and dressing mixture and split between two plates. Top each salad with a poached egg. Makes 2 servings, good with bread.

Major Life Events

2009-04-12T21:06:00.002-04:00

You know the old saying, first comes love, then comes marriage... Well, we added a new member to our family today: a rescued beagle named Duncan Idaho! I've spent the last week overly excited about the whole thing and have shirked my cooking, but for a good cause. He's a very lucky little boy, and even got to eat part of a chicken liver this evening while I was roasting a chicken.

So tomorrow-ish, I might have some minor recipes to post, but that's my excuse if my posting is erratic!

Continental Lunch

2009-04-07T21:00:00.006-04:00

As the weather warms, I start to eat more continentally for lunch, relying on interesting salads to make up a complete, and healthy, meal. This week, I've gone for a French-inspired duet, featuring the French lentils I found in the bulk section at the organic market.

I actually first started this in college, when I picked up a self-help book called Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl. I had always had an interest in French culture, since grade school when we were forced into submission in daily French lessons. Thankfully, our painfully strict Parisian teacher, known primarily as Madame, would occasionally break up the monotony of memorising les verbes en -er by bringing in French baked goods and condiments. Bread day was probably the best day of the year, until I was in the fifth grade.

Years later, I found that the visiting French undergrad would actually eat fresh bread with Nutella for breakfast most days. Quel confirmation! Upon reading Entre Nous, I endeavored to eat like a French girl as much as possible, coming home for a relaxed lunch of salads, and cooking a disgustingly late dinner that often featured seared lamb, or some sort of cream sauce. Now, in grad school, I find that the habit of eating cold salads, in season, makes lunch easier to prepare, as I don't need to elbow for microwave time.

Lentil Salad

3/4 cup dry French lentils, rinsed
3 cups of water, or homemade beef stock (mine has very little salt in it)
1 bay leaf
1 shallot, minced
1 carrot, diced finely
1-2 tsp. dijon mustard
Pinch of Herbes de Provence
1 Tbsp. (give or take) of balsamic vinegar
1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Bring the lentils, water or broth, and bay lead to a boil, cover, and simmer for 20-25 minutes until tender. Drain and pick out the bay leaf. Stir together the shallot, mustard, Herbes, and vinegar. Add the still-hot lentils, and the carrot. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Refrigerate overnight. Serve cold or at room temperature. Makes 2-3 servings.

Roasted Asparagus Salad

1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and washed
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Lemon or lime juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the asparagus with olive oil on a sheet pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 10-15 minutes, until tender and starting to brown. Allow to cool, then move to a storage container and douse with lemon juice. Makes 2-3 servings.

Beets + Chevre = Yum

2009-04-06T18:27:00.003-04:00

I was sidelined with a raging migraine this weekend while I tried to choose a dog to adopt, make homemade beef broth, make beef Bourguignon, and make a lovely duet of salads for my husband and me for dinner (since stew is always best the next day). Unfortunately, the salads suffered.

I made a poor attempt at rice and lentil salad (with leftover Chinese carryout white rice -- how frugal!), although the white wine dijon vinaigrette was quite tasty. And I meant to make a beautiful salad of roasted beets, orange supremes (that's where you cut all the skin and pith off and take out eensy segments with a sharp knife), goat cheese, and chiffonade beet greens tossed with orange juice and a little salt and pepper.

What I ended up with were roasted beets (325 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, then rested until cool enough to handle), with blobs of chevre that we smeared on with pink-stained fingers. Really, quite yummy. Since I'm all about color, you'd think I would have some pictures of our culinary finger-painting, but really I was pretty laid-up. Pictures return tomorrow, as light is no longer my mortal enemy.

News

2009-04-05T07:27:00.000-04:00

For anyone who's interested, I've written an article for The Daring Kitchen website (linked off the image on the sidebar). It's about using color when you cook, and it'll be up for a week, I think. More recipes tomorrow!

Non-traditional

2009-04-02T13:54:00.009-04:00

So I know it's a couple weeks late, but I felt like making soda bread. But not traditional soda bread, or even the traditional-non-traditional kind that has currants in it that you get in the US. I wanted to make cranberry-orange soda bread.
Really, I had some lovely, fruit-juice-sweetened, dried cranberries that were just barely starting to lose their plumpness, so I wanted to use them up. I could have made a tea cake, but I like the solid, scone-like texture of good, brown soda bread. I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out, and found it delicious slathered with salted butter or homemade clotted cream.

Cranberry-Orange Soda Bread

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. raw sugar
pinch of salt
zest of one medium orange (probably about a teaspoon)
Juice of one medium orange
Enough milk or buttermilk to add up to 1 cup of liquid total
1 large handful of dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir together the dry ingredients and cranberries. Add the liquid, holding back at least 1/4 of it, in case you don't need all of it. If the dough looks dry, add a little more. Stir until a shaggy dough forms. Dump out onto a floured surface and work together until it forms a ball. Form into a ball and place in a cast-iron skillet and bake for 20-30 minutes, until it turns golden brown and sounds hollow when thumped on its bottom. Cool slightly before cutting. Makes one small loaf, best eaten sliced thick and slathered with butter or clotted cream.

Impromptu, Two

2009-03-31T21:53:00.006-04:00

I forgot an entire meal last week. Just completely forgot that there was a Friday and I had to cook dinner for it. As dreadfully tempted as I was to just stop at the market and pick up a frozen something-or-other, I scoured my pantry and managed to come up with a recipe.

I based it off a dinner loaf that I generated from The Magical Loaf Studio created by Jennifer McCann at Vegan Lunch Box blog. But I didn't feel like waiting a whole hour for it to cook, so I tried making loaf-patties with it. They were a bit wet, but with practice, I think I could make them firmer.

And what a way to make sure I didn't waste food. I used a crumbled-up piece of leftover cornbread for binder and dry lentils from the pantry, along with carrots and celery. I had to buy a whole celery instead of just one stalk at a time like I usually do, so I was glad for the extra use. They are not, strictly speaking, vegan because the cornbread was un-vegan, and I should have used corn meal instead of grits for the quick-cooking patties. But they were pretty good with HP Sauce.

Almost-Vegan Lentil Patties

1/2 cup dry lentils, rinsed and drained
2 cups cold water
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1/8th of a pan of cornbread, crumbled (probably about a cup of crumbs)
1/4-1/2 cup corn meal (or grits)
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. more olive oil

Bring the lentils and water to a boil, covered. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until tender. Drain, reserving remaining liquid (about a half a cup). Sweat the onion, carrot, and celery in the oil over medium-low heat until the onions turn translucent, and the carrots start to soften. Place the veggies and lentils in a bowl and cool, so that it's comfortable to touch. Add the cornbread crumbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Add corn meal, a little at a time, and reserved lentil liquid, until it forms a cohesive mass. Form into 3 patties. Fry in a skillet in more olive oil over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes per side, until browned and firm. Makes 3 large patties.

Fusion

2009-03-29T08:20:00.004-04:00

On the blog Steamy Kitchen, Jaden has taught us the ancient secrets of fabulous, fluffy fried rice. And I have used them extensively to make quick, tasty meals for my husband and me. But I was ready for something different, and had a leftover venison sausage after making breakfast-for-dinner.

But regular fried rice with sausage as the meat was not on my mind. Paella was on my mind. I had also found a teeny little box of saffron that my mom gave me a year or so ago, that still had a few threads left. So I thought, what if I used the technique for fried rice, but instead of drizzling in soy sauce, I drizzled in a sauce based on the flavors of Valencian paella?

I used more sauce than one would use for a fried rice dish, so the final product was a bit wetter than fried rice, but that worked with the flavors. And I had already browned up the rice before adding sauce, so it was flavorful, and quick.

Fusion Fried Rice, Spanish edition

1 cup of brown rice, cooked according to package directions
olive oil
1 venison smoked sausage, diced small
1/2 onion, diced small
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large zucchini, diced small
1/4 cup boiling water
pinch of saffron threads
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. smoked paprika
salt, to taste

Cook the brown rice the day before and refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove from the fridge and break up the clumps with a fork. Set aside. Put the diced sausage and zucchini each into separate bowls. Stir together the water, saffron, tomato paste, and paprika and set aside. Heat a skillet or wok over medium high-heat and drizzle in a teaspoon or so of olive oil. When it ripples, add the sausage cubes and stir fry for a few minutes until they start to brown. Remove and set aside. Add the zucchini and cook for a few minutes until it turns translucent around the edges and starts to brown slightly. Remove and set aside. Add the onions and garlic and stir fry for 15-30 seconds, until the garlic becomes fragrant, and then add the rice. Toss to coat with oil, and then let sit for a minute. Stir again to turn the exposed rice toward the pan surface. Let sit again. The rice will start to brown, pop, and smell nutty. After a few minutes, add the zucchini and sausage back in, and then drizzle the sauce around. Toss to combine and heat back up until everything is incredibly hot. Serve immediately. Makes two very generous, or three moderate servings.

Miscellaneous

2009-03-28T09:48:00.006-04:00

I will share a recipe with you today, although it's not one that I think turned out particularly well. But I also just wanted to share some pictures from various meals throughout the week. It being Saturday, I've just finished a run, although I ran hills instead of long this morning. Of course, I had a lovely breakfast to follow my efforts, especially since it's a bit drizzly and gloomy for a spring day. But you know what they say about April (or almost-April) showers, right?

This is my breakfast from today: pancakes made with white whole wheat flour, topped with bananas, maple syrup, and coconut. My husband makes the pancakes, and basically follows Nigella Lawson's recipe out of How to be a Domestic Goddess, with a few extras thrown in, like vanilla bean paste. Quite a tasty, satisfying breakfast along with a cup of black coffee.

This is breakfast-for-dinner from a few days ago. I had meant to have English muffins alongside, but forgot to buy them. But leftover cornbread is so versatile. I've even used it later in the week to bind lentil patties (but that's a recipe for another time). I grilled a tomato half to accompany the eggs and sausage because I've always liked the idea of a grilled tomato with a breakfast fry-up. And the sausages are fancy venison sausages that my grandparents got from my aunt and uncle and decided to share. Greens round it out into a nutritious meal, and add to the visual appeal of the plate, I think. I fried the eggs in light olive oil because all my butter is frozen right now.

And, finally, our starring recipe. I flipped through The Silver Spoon looking for an olive oil cake recipe one night (see aforementioned butter issue), but didn't find one. I did find an almond cake recipe that sounded interesting, but I failed to read the recipe closely and mostly just winged it. It is a bit dry, hence the honey topping, and not terribly sweet. It makes a good snack, minus honey, plus a glass of milk. The olive oil and pine nuts give it an odd flavor, but I think I like it.

Olive Oil Pine Nut Cake

scant 1/3 cup olive oil (extra virgin would be a waste here, I think)
3/4 cup raw sugar
4 eggs
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. Amaretto
1-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
large handful of raw pine nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8" round cake pan. Stir together the olive oil and sugar, and then stir the eggs and salt in vigorously. Add the Amaretto and stir to combine. Add the flour and baking powder, stirring gently, then fold in the pine nuts. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown on top and springy on top. Cool slightly, then cut into wedges and serve. I found that drizzling each slice with a tablespoon of wildflower honey made it more dessert-like. Makes 8 generous wedges.

Daring Bakers, March Challenge

2009-03-27T11:05:00.008-04:00

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

So this challenge really begins years ago, before I had heard of Daring Bakers, or even had started to cook for myself. It goes back to my dislike of my mother's lasagne, which everyone said was so yummy. I couldn't stand the lumpy, icky blobs of ricotta cheese. It was gross. Eventually, I matured, and could handle ricotta, making life easier for all.

And then a good friend gave me a cookbook as a gift. The Silver Spoon, the compendium of Italian cooking. In this book, there is a recipe for authentic lasagne with no ricotta cheese. Instead it uses a roux-and-milk white sauce layered with noodles, meat sauce, and Parmesan. And I was intrigued.

But I never made this lasagne, instead opting for the quicker, ricotta version. The Daring Bakers changed this by challenging me to finally make the lasagne I craved. And with lovely green spinach noodles, no less. I don't need to tell you that it was absolutely delicious, and I plan to make it again sometime. A note on the pasta: Yes, knead it for a full 10 minutes -- something magical happens the dough becomes gorgeous.

Lasagne Verdi al Forno
(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

10 quarts (9 litres) salted water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna (recipe follows)#1
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (recipe follows)#2
1 recipe Country Style Ragu (recipe follows)#3
1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Method
Working Ahead:
The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagne can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.

Assembling the Ingredients:
Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.

Cooking the Pasta:
Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.

Assembling the Lasagne:
Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.

Baking and Serving the Lasagne:
Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)

Preparation: 45 minutes

Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.

2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)[I used 2 large eggs, plus a little extra water from the spinach squeezings]
10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry [I used frozen, quick defrosted on the stove over medium-low heat, then rinsed with a little cold water]
3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)

Working by Hand:

Equipment

A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.

A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.

A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta.
Note: although it is not traditional, Enza has successfully made pasta with a marble rolling pin, and this can be substituted for the wooden pin, if you have one.

Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.

A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.

Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.

Mixing the dough:
Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.

Kneading:
With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Stretching and Thinning:
If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.

Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm). Note: Enza says that transparency is a crucial element of lasagne pasta and the dough should be rolled as thinly as possible. She says this is why her housekeeper has such strong arms!

Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.

#2 Bechamel

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

#3 Ragu Alla Bolognese (adapted from http://culinariaitalia.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/ragu-alla-bolognese-authentic-recipe/)

2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 oz. Pancetta, chopped
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
1 rib of celery, diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1-1/2 cups red wine
1-1/2 cups whole milk
Salt, to taste

Cook the pancetta in oil over medium heat until it releases its fat. Add the beef and saute until the beef browns. Add the veggies and saute until tender, then add the wine, tomato paste, and milk. Cover and simmer on low for 2 hours. Add salt to taste.

Thrifty, but Good

2009-03-23T21:54:00.006-04:00

Most days, I cook dinner for myself and my husband. Most days, it is nothing spectacular. Oh, sure, I might cook up a batch of truly inspired mac and cheese, stunning in its simplicity. But, ultimately, it's a bowl of mac and cheese. Most of our meals are of the starch-protein-veggie variety, the product of tweaking around with someone else's recipe, to produce something that's quite good, but still from someone else's recipe.

And then sometimes, I make something that is stunning despite its apparent simplicity. Like this vegetarian stew that I like to think of as a veggie chili. I have made vegetarian, tomato-based, spiced bean stews before, but today I tried something just a little different. And the result was a full-bodied, complex-flavored stew with lots of spice, but not overwhelming in its heat. And I served it with corn bread, which can't be bad.

Veggie Chili

1/2 cup dry pinto beans, covered with cold water by 1" and soaked for 8 hours
2-3 cups cold water

1-2 tsp. canola oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 rib celery, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
salt, to taste
1-2 tsp. chipotle chile powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1-2 tsp. Mexican chili powder
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 14-oz. can tomatoes (no salt added), with juices, crushed by hand
2-3 tsp. agave nectar

Combine the soaked, drained beans and 2 cups of water in a small saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer until tender (60-90 minutes). Add extra water if the level starts to get low to avoid burning. {A side confession: my beans ran dry and started to burn, so I salvaged them and threw them into the rest of the stew with a little extra water. This also works} In the meantime, saute the onions, garlic, celery, and bell pepper in oil over medium heat until they start to color slightly. Add the spices and saute until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste. Add tomatoes and agave. Simmer, covered, for half an hour. Add beans and simmer for at least 10 minutes more. The stew should be rich, not watery. Makes 2 servings. Serve with your favorite chili accompaniment.

Rustic

2009-03-20T08:09:00.008-04:00

This is a recipe I made a while ago. Actually the last time I made it was on Valentine's Day for my mother and husband. We had a little mishap with one of the dogs, as I mentioned before, and were not in the mood for a complicated dinner. Really I was just in the mood for a steak.

So we had an hour to kill while they stitched up the dog, and there was the new Harris Teeter around the corner, so we went to buy some groceries. As much as my mother loves the place, I did not have high hopes, as I tend to prefer smaller stores that carry a lot of organic and local foods, like My Organic Market. But lo and behold, they had a huge selection of organic produce and a big stand right in the middle of the produce section of local organic apples. So I thought, Tart!

I had made this before with leftover apples that I didn't eat with my lunch, and actually, that's where the pictures come from, but the bigger one for the family turned out great. We had to have it with whipped cream instead of ice cream because we didn't want the ice cream to melt while we waited for the dog, but I prefer vanilla ice cream.

Rustic Apple Tart

1 cup flour
4 Tbsp. butter, cut into cubes
1/4 tsp. salt
1-2 tsp. sugar
1/4-1/2 cup cold water

1 medium-to-large apple (I like a moderately-sweet, eating apple, like a Cameo or a Pink Lady. Gala would also probably work), sliced into thin wedges
1 Tbsp. raw sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1 Tbsp. flour

1 egg, beaten with some cold water

Mix together the flour, salt, and sugar, and cut in the butter until there are pea-sized lumps of butter left in the flour. Stir in ice-cold water until it just comes together in a dough. Form into a ball or disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least a half an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and toss together the last 5 ingredients. Set aside. On a floured piece of parchment, roll the dough into a large circle, about 1/8" thick. Pile the apples and their juices in the center of the circle and fold the edges up to make a loose, open packet. Brush liberally with egg wash to seal and sprinkle with some more sugar, if you want. Stick the whole piece of parchment on a baking sheet. Bake until brown and bubbling, probably about 30-45 minutes. Serves two.

Festivities

2009-03-18T17:54:00.006-04:00

I know, I know, it has been for-EVER since I've posted something. But it's good, I promise. And it makes up for the fact that I deleted the pictures of the awesome meatloaf recipe I meant to share after getting back from a week at my mother's and a weekend away (oops). It's Saint Patrick's Day! What is not for a runner to love about a holiday whose main staples are beer and potatoes?

Having pulled myself back onto the running wagon more times than I can count this year, already, I felt I deserved some starchy goodness and some beery goodness. The evening started well, with Black and Tans (well, Black and Reds, but that's sounds too Les Miz...), while I boiled some potatoes and went at a cute little head of green cabbage. I planned to make a version of colcannon, with cabbage, but with the browning of a bubble and squeak. Because I could mash the potatoes while things fried, instead of beforehand, it came together fast.

Just over half an hour later, we were on beer number two, each, and had a heaping plate of potatoes, ham, and cabbage. Yum. It was a hearty, satisfying meal, and yet not too heavy because a good portion of it was cabbage, and therefore healthy. So to all of you who wore your green, drank your beer, and ate Irish grub, happy (late) St. Paddy's Day. To everyone else, here's your chance to redeem yourself.

Deconstructed Colcannon

3 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
5 oz. country ham chips
3-4 scallions, white and green parts sliced
1/2 head of green cabbage, sliced and washed
1/3-1/2 cup of milk, heated
2 Tbsp. butter
salt, to taste

Place the potatoes in cold water, cover, and bring to a boil. Add the ham and boil for 10-20 minutes, until fork tender. Drain and separate the ham from the potatoes. Heat a skillet to medium high heat and toss in the ham bits and scallions. Toss briefly, until the ham starts to color, and then add the cabbage, tossing. Allow to fry for 5-10 minutes, until the cabbage is just tender and has taken on brown color. Letting the pan sit for a minute or two between stirrings helps. While you are letting things sit, mash up the potatoes with the butter (the potatoes' heat will melt it) and enough milk to make creamy mashed potatoes. Add salt to taste. Serve a blob of potatoes with a heaping portion of cabbage and ham on top. Serves two, generously.

How I Do What I Do

2009-03-09T21:14:00.002-04:00

First of all, this will be a rare picture-free post because I am house-sitting at my mother's and her DSL seems not to get along with Blogger and pictures take for-EVER to load. But I though I might share some thoughts about home-cooked dinners and planning/preparing meals for a normal weeknight. Tonight is a Monday night, and, like most nights, I cooked a dinner for two.

One thing I get from a lot of people is "How do you manage to cook like that every night?" The short answer is, of course, I don't cook elaborately every night, especially during the week. If I want to make something like a roast chicken or a long-cooking stew, I generally do it on a Sunday, when I can spend most of the afternoon puttering in the kitchen. The next answer is that I enjoy it, so I make the time to cook. Sometimes I get home at 7:30 and dinner is ready at 8, but often we don't eat till closer to (or after) 9. I don't adhere to rules about eating late at night, partially because I have to eat sometime, but also because I sometimes do a lot before breakfast in the morning. So pasta at 9 p.m. means I don't need to get up an hour early to eat a snack before going running at 6:30 a.m. the next day. Convenient.

I also make a lot of things in advance, and I have standby recipes that I have become practiced and efficient at. Macaroni and cheese takes the time it takes for water to boil, plus 7-9 minutes for the pasta to cook, plus 3 minutes for the sauce to come together. I grate cheese and whisk together sauce ingredients while other things cook. Standard lasagne or enchiladas can be made in advance and sit in the fridge during the day. Sure, they might take 45 minutes to an hour to heat up, but I can be spending quality time with the husband during that time.

And finally, we often eat things like cheese and crackers, hummus, or sandwiches and a simple soup. But I always plate things up and serve them at a table (even if it is the coffee table in front of the TV) and we always treat it like a meal, even if we could just nosh over the course of the evening. A meal is not about what you eat, but with whom you eat and the time you take to enjoy each other's company. And with that, I wish you all happy cooking, and happier eating.

Tasty Penance

2009-03-02T11:48:00.006-05:00

Well, I promised you something healthy, to offset the chocolate gooiness of the last few days, and here I deliver on said promise. Readers may have noticed (but probably not) that I have started putting dietary tags on my recipes like "lacto-ovo vegetarian." This is part of my own attempts at reducing the amount of meat in my diet, mainly for my health, because I felt better when I was eating primarily lacto-vegetarian on my yoga retreat in January.

I am not going to go back and re-label all my old recipes, but from here on out, I'll label if something contains no meat, no dairy, or no animal products of any kind. And today's recipe is one of the first to be labelled completely vegan. Yum.

It comes of post-yoga brunch, when I crave healthy, hearty, and not always sweet. Cheese makes me feel sluggish after yoga, so I used avocado instead.

Mexi-Tartines with Roasted Veggie Salsa

Tartines:

1 mini-loaf of whole grain baguette, sliced length-wise and each slice cut into halves
1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced thinly
Salt
Juice of half a lime

Roasted Veggie Salsa:

1-2 tomatoes, depending on size (I used half of a large tomato and a Roma tomato to supplement), halved
1/2 red bell pepper
1 small chile pepper, seeded and halved
1 clove of garlic, peeled
Juice of half a lime
Salt

Roast the veggies under a broiler for 20 or so minutes, turning over halfway, until the garlic is browned and fragrant and the others have started to char. Mince the hot pepper and garlic finely and roughly chop the rest. Stir together with the lime juice and a little salt.

Sprinkle the cucumber slices with a little salt, to taste, and the avocado slices with the juice of half a lime. To assemble Tartines, hollow out the inside of the half of bread a little and line with cucumber or avocado. Top with whichever green topping you didn't use. Top again with salsa. Eat, with plenty of napkins.

Daring Bakers, February Challenge

2009-02-28T12:35:00.006-05:00

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Wow, two chocolate posts in a row. Don't worry, I have something wonderful and healthy to make up for it later.

I amended this month's challenge a little because I forgot to plan ahead. I meant to make this for Valentine's Day, but ended up coming back to my mom's house on the weekend to find one of her dogs had taken a bit of a chunk out of one of the others. So we bundled into the car and rushed to the animal emergency room and he ended up with 12 stitches, drugs, and a new haircut (he's a Bichon Frise, so they had to partially shave his head). Needless to say, I went with something more tried and true and made steaks, veggies, and a rustic apple tart for dinner.

But the next week, there was chocolate to be had. And I wanted to make seriously fancy Indian Chai Ice Cream with spices and honey and good black tea. But I forgot to freeze my ice cream freezer beforehand, so I had to think fast.

Because my husband loves Amaretto, and I have started loving chocolate and cherry together, I decided to make a dessert sauce as a topping and a whipped cream instead of ice cream. So, without further ado, Chocolate Mini-Valentinos with Cherry Amaretto Sauce and Amaretto Cream.

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
[Note: I cut the recipe in half and used 5 2-1/2" diameter ramekins instead of a big pan, so I will post my modifications in curly brackets]
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped {8 oz., two Ghiradelli baking bars, 60% cocoa, broken up}
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter {5 Tbsp. butter}
5 large eggs separated {3 egg whites + 2 egg yolks, separated}

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often. {Or microwave on high in 30-45 second increments until melted}
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment. {Seriously, cutting out 5 little parchment circles is tedious}
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C. {If using little cups, put them in a larger pan for ease of movement}
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. {Little cups only take 15-20 minutes and look shiny and brownie-ish on top}
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Cherry Amaretto Sauce

1 bag froze sweet cherries
1/4 cup hot water
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. Amaretto (I use DiSaronno)

Pour the hot water over the cherries and bring to a boil in a medium saucepan. Boil for 15-20 minutes, until reduced and slightly thick. Add sugar and bring back to a boil to dissolve. Pour into a heat-safe bowl and stir for a couple minutes to cool. Add Amaretto and allow to cool completely on the counter. Refridgerate if not using righ away. Makes more than you need!

Amaretto Whipped Cream

1/2 pint whipping cream
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. Amaretto

Whip cream until thickened and add sugar and Amaretto. Beat the rest of the way until stiff.

To assemble the dessert, unmold one or two mini-cakes onto a dish with sides. Spoon cherry sauce over the top and around the cakes and dollop with whipped cream. Sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds, if desired.

Temptation

2009-02-27T08:54:00.005-05:00

When I was in college, during my last two years, I used to go contra dancing, almost every Friday. It was great fun, and not too expensive. And, if you brought a snack for break time, you got in free. Being that I love to bake, I danced free most of the time. And snack time often turned into "swap secrets" time among the various bakers. Well, the guy I was dating at the time really liked chocolate and was looking for a good brownie recipe, and not having the success he'd have liked. So when he expressed amazement about the chewy, fudgy brownies that one woman had brought, I asked if she would share her recipe. It was easy, it turns out: Duncan Hines.

Oh man, for years I had suspected, but now had pretty hard proof that the best brownies came out of a box. This made me sad.

Until recently, when I found a go-to recipe for brownies on Recipezaar that has the same chewy texture as box brownies, but with real chocolate-y flavor, from cocoa powder. They're called "Whatever Floats Your Boat Brownies" because you mix in "whatever floats your boat." Mostly, for me, that's more chocolate, in chip form. But I may experiment with nuts, peanut butter chips, or coconut flakes. I've also made them with a chocolate ganache frosting, for a coworker's birthday. Personally, I think frosting on brownies is a travesty.

Brownies
based on "Whatever Floats Your Boat Brownies" from Recipezaar

Note: The original recipe has you mix the ingredients together in a particular order, but I've found it doesn't really matter

1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar (I use unrefined)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla (or extract of choice)
2 eggs
1-2 cups of mix-ins (I used a half bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, but milk chocolate is good, too)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8" square pan. While the butter melts over low heat (or in the microwave, if you have one), stir together all the dry ingredients, and the extract. A whisk helps. Add the butter and stir to combine and cool. Add the eggs and stir well. Fold in mix-ins. Scrape into pan and even out the top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until they look set in the middle. Cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into them. Remember, molten chocolate chips in the middle are hot. Store leftovers in an air-tight container for up to 3 days (I've never had them last longer than that without getting et).

Another Quickie

2009-02-24T07:32:00.003-05:00

It's 7:30 a.m. and I should be getting ready for work, but I'm going to take a couple minutes to share a quick, yummy recipe with you. I actually made this for my lunch on Inauguration Day, but spent a month pondering whether it was special enough to share.

This is really just a veggie melt. It was my standby in high school when I was vegetarian and my family's favorite fast food restaurant seemed to be Jerry's. It really has all the flavor of a cheesesteak -- I don't ever miss the actual steak.

Special Veggie Melt

1 Portabello mushroom, sliced
1/4 onion, sliced
1/4 green pepper, sliced
Olive oil, salt, and pepper
2-3 oz. of cheese, shredded or thinly sliced (I used Edam, but Gouda or Provelone would be good)
1/3 good baguette, sliced in half for a sub
Mayo

Heat a pan over medium-high heat, and saute the mushrooms in olive oil until they start to brown and get limp. Add the onions and peppers, season, and cook until browned slightly, and cooked through. Lower the heat and cover with cheese. You can cover it at this point, but I don't have a cover big enough for my skillet. When the cheese is melty, move the whole mess to the baguette, which you have already smeared with your desired quantity of mayo. You can add lettuce and tomato, if you like. Serves one, messily.

Protein-packed

2009-02-21T11:49:00.007-05:00

Finally, I had a week where I mostly stuck to my normal running schedule. Got up Saturday morning, watched some infomercials and had a light snack (apple slices with peanut butter), and then went for a long run. Alright, so it wasn't really long, but it was the longest I've run all year. And afterward, I came back to make a nice breakfast for my husband and me.
Since I also sometimes go to a tango practica on Saturdays, I've found that my brunch has to be substantial and have plenty of protein, otherwise I get light-headed, hungry, and a little out of it toward the end of the dance, which leads to unhappy things like stomach pains on Metro, and blowing off really good leaders because I'm about to fall over.
Hence, my protein-filled breakfast burrito for post-run, pre-tango, and pre-rest-of-your-Saturday. Should hold me over, if not until an early dinner, at least until a light pre-dinner snack. I use Ezekiel 4:9 Tortillas from Food for Life because they are yummy, whole grain, and a complete protein in themselves, but you can use any tortilla you like. I recommend whole grain, but that's just me.

Post-Long-Run Protein-Filled Burrito

2 Ezekiel 4:9 Tortillas
Olive oil
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt
Dash each of cumin, chipotle chile powder, paprika, dry mustard powder
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2-3 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Wrap the tortillas in foil and put in a hot oven to warm up. Saute the pepper and onion in oil over medium-low heat with a pinch of salt until translucent and softened. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add spices and mix to coat the veggies, then add the eggs and cook until set, about 5-10 minutes, depending on your taste. Spoon half the egg mixture onto each tortilla and top with cheese. Roll and eat. Makes 2 servings.

Lazy Saturday

2009-02-12T21:08:00.007-05:00

Before I started cheating on my running schedule so much, I had a very regular Saturday morning routine. I would get up fairly early, especially in the summer, have a snack, watch infomercials for an hour, go for a long run, and then come home for Saturday brunch, often pancakes. Usually my husband would cook for me, especially when I was training for the marathon and was more often than not completely wiped out after a long run.

But some mornings, I would take care of brunch before the run. This coffee cake is so wonderful because it has to cool for at least a half an hour before you can cut into it, and an hour is even better. It's still warm, but it's had a chance to rest and distribute its heat evenly. I can bake the cake while I have a snack and digest, head out the door as soon as it comes out of the oven, and return home after a moderately long run to a warm breakfast and a happy husband who got to sleep in.

This Saturday, however, I did not follow this pattern. Instead I considered skipping my run, ate the cake, had some coffee, and didn't get out to run until later in the day when I decided I really ought to stick to some kind of schedule. The run was good, though, fueled by cake and streusel.

Pear Streusel Coffee Cake
(adapted from the same recipe as my Blueberry Ginger Coffee Cake)

Streusel:

1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 stick cold butter, cut into cubes

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients and set aside.

Pear Topping:

1 ripe D'Anjou pear, sliced thinly
1 tsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. sugar

Toss pears with other ingredients and set aside.

Cake:

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1-1/4 cup of lowfat maple yogurt
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9" square baking pan. Cream together the butter, sugar, and salt. Add cinnamon and eggs and beat well. Alternate stirring in the flour and yogurt in two or three additions, adding the baking powder and soda in the last addition of flour. Scoop into the pan and top with pear slices and streusel. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. This will take a little longer than regular coffee cake because of the pears. Makes 9 servings.

My Inner Italian Nana

2009-02-08T19:49:00.005-05:00

It has been a while, and I have promised much to come this week. I've narrowed down the choices to prepare in my new cookbook this week, and I have ideas for my slow cooker and the game sausages I've acquired.

But tonight, I shall share with you something from a couple weeks ago: lasagne. True, it's not proper lasagne Bolognese (which I could prepare out of the tome of Italian cooking, The Silver Spoon, currently sitting on my dining table), but it was tasty and it gave me ideas to improve it next time.

And it did involve the slow cooker. I had grown tired of only cooking meat sauce on weekends when I could monitor the long simmer of the ground beef and veggies. So I chucked everything into the slow cooker in the morning to see what would happen. I would definitely suggest using either a smaller slow cooker or doubling the recipe, but it turned out well.

Lasagne almost-Bolognese

1 lb. ground beef
1 carrot, 1 celery rib, 1/2 onion, diced small
3 cloves of garlic
Small tin of tomato paste
water
1 cup red wine
salt and pepper

10 oz. lasagne noodles, boiled according to package, and drained
1-1/2 cups of ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Brown the ground beef and tip into a slow cooker. Add veggies. Stir the tomato paste into the wine, and add to the pot. Add enough water to cover the meat, and a little pepper, and simmer on low all day (about 8 hours). Salt it when it's done cooking in the evening. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9" square pan. Stir together the ricotta, egg, dried basil, and half the Parmesan. Layer noodles, then meat sauce, then ricotta in the pan, repeating once or twice, and topping with noodles and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until browned and bubbling. Serve with lots of red wine on a bitter cold winter night.

Update Update

2009-02-05T21:00:00.003-05:00

So I managed to leave my PC at my mother's this weekend, so I've spent the week sharing with the husband and trying to keep my time to a minimum. Also, all my food pictures are on my own computer. Darn it!

I have had a pretty culinary week, however, and I may share snippets of it when I get my computer back. I brought munchies to a Superbowl party on Sunday, and in the process discovered a pretty kickin' non-Buffalo wing recipe and found out that the brownie recipe I found on Recipezaar is better than I thought. I've also recreated a recipe from an amazing restaurant that I went to last week as part of the Restaurant Week promotion. Yum.

And I've been experimenting more with my slow-cooker. I've gotten a new cookbook and pile of game sausages that I need to play with as well. So February will bring Boar-ing sausage stew, slow-cooked abundance, and at least something from the brain of the Barefoot Contessa herself. Happy eating!

P.S., pictures are random pictures that I may or may not have shown before. Up top are waffles made in Idaho, and below are home-grown heirloom Cherokee purple tomatoes from our garden this summer. Also, you can now follow my blog!

Daring Bakers, January Challenge

2009-01-29T18:37:00.009-05:00

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

So I've been making tuiles since I was a kid in middle school and I found a recipe in a cookie magazine at Christmas time for cookies that consisted of maple syrup, butter, and flour. You stir it together and spread the thin paste in circles on the cookie sheet and bake them until they're just golden around the edges. They were my favorite after-school snack. I could even melt the ingredients together in the microwave before baking. So when I saw tuiles as the DB challenge this month, I thought I was sittin' pretty.

Not so much. This dough was different than the dough of my childhood, and I didn't end up spreading my tuiles thinly enough. So I got a batch of cakey tuiles with lovely crisp edges. Oh well. Also the carmelized pear compote was a poorly-thought-out idea. Next time I'll probably add a little water to the carmelized sugar a la Carmel Cake from November before adding fruit. But luckily it all came out tasty, and that's what matters.

Vanilla Tuiles with Carmelized Pear Compote

Tuiles

Following is a recipe taken from a book called “The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck. [My substitutions in brackets]

Recipe:
Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract) [I used two teaspoons of unrefined sugar with a half teaspoon of vanilla bean paste]
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour [I didn't sift and used half whole-wheat flour]
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice [I omitted decoration]
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….

Compote (my own invention)

1 ripe pear, cut into small dice
2 Tbsp. white sugar
2 Tbsp. water

Carmelize the sugar in a dry pan over medium heat until a nice medium-to-dark amber color is achieved. At this point, I added the pears, which turned into a big ball of clumped up carmel, so I added the water and stirred until it mostly broke up. Alternately, you could add water and whisk off the heat to form carmel syrup, then add the pears and simmer for 5 minutes until softened. Serve over tuiles, artistically.

College Inspiration

2009-01-27T18:11:00.004-05:00

"Yeah, we'll have a PMP and a Triple Sui."

If those words don't bring back memories of late-night study breaks, or weekend pre-, post-, or mid-drinking snacks, you probably didn't go to Cornell University. There are two trucks on the campus that serve up wonderful greasy, mainly sub-shaped food. While my theater rehearsal nights were spent patronizing Louie's Lunch Truck, my favorite of the two, I had my fair share of Hot Truck nights.

And Hot Truck is where we get the PMP, or Poor Man's Pizza. Yeah, okay, it's just french bread pizza with a fancy name, but really what is in a name? I'll tell you what's in a name: a metaphor for college existence. An existence where making even simple pizza dough is just too much trouble, and if you can get your pizza on pre-made bread from a truck down the street, well that even trumps calling for delivery. For those of us who are reliving our college days in cashflow only, that might mean having to whip up a couple yourself.

I will tell you that I gussied up the standard PMP a bit, with good-quality mozza cheese, organic french bread, and sauce that I simmered with red wine and garlic a bit first. But the spirit is the same.

Slightly-Less-Poor Man's Pizza

1 half-baguette, cut in half across the loaf, and then sliced lengthwise to make two open-faced sandwiches
1 8-oz. can of tomato sauce, no salt added
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 clove of garlic whole
1/4 cup of red wine
salt and pepper to taste
4-6 oz. grated mozzarella cheese
2-3 oz. grated parm
dried basil leaves (optional)

Simmer the tomato sauce, minced garlic, and wine for a few minutes. In the meantime, toast the bread under the broiler until it just starts to brown and crisp up a bit. Take it out and rub the whole clove of garlic on all the cut sides of bread. Spoon sauce over each quarter of the bread, spreading over the cut side, then sprinkle on mozza cheese, basil, and parm. Broil until the cheese melts and browns. Makes two generous servings.

To Make Up for Lost Time

2009-01-23T07:29:00.006-05:00

Dear patient readers, who may have abandoned what little reading of this blog you once did. I know I have gone a week without posting. I have been cooking, but most of it is of the "toss something together for dinner" variety. I even used leftovers from dinner at my mom's for two more dinners this week. But I do have recipes to share, and share I shall.

This gratin was something I thought up to use up leftover cheese from a fondue night. You see, because I insisted upon no gifts at my wedding, my aunt got us a fondue pot for Christmas, which we wanted to use. We made a bacon and onion Edam fondue that was pretty much an utter flop, and left us with 1/4 lb. each of Edam and jack cheeses.

Well, I love potatoes, and I love gratin, so I decided to make a potato gratin. And to make it more interesting, I added leeks, because leeks rock, I've discovered. The bechamel sauce is adapted from Julia Child's recipe. It cooks for at least an hour, and needs virtually no tending -- I went and did an hour of yoga in the back room.

Potato and Leek Gratin

3-4 small Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and sliced thin
1 large leek, sliced, soaked in water, swished, and drained (white and light green parts)
2 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
dash of nutmeg
5-6 oz. grated cheese (I used Edam and jack, but Gruyere or sharp cheddar might also be good)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Make a roux by melting the butter over medium heat and whisking in the flour until a paste forms. Add the milk a little at a time (if you heat it up first, this goes faster), whisking to form a lump-free sauce. Allow to simmer until it thickens, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Stir in half the cheese. Layer potatoes, leeks, sauce, and cheese in a loaf pan, alternating. I started with a thin stream of sauce on the bottom, then potatoes, leeks, sauce, potatoes, leeks, sauce, potatoes, sauce, cheese. Bake for an hour, or until tender, bubbling, and browned on top. Serves two, as a main course with a side salad.

Quickie

2009-01-14T21:45:00.001-05:00

I meant to make this recipe for Thanksgiving, but I had a stomach flu, and my husband couldn't find sprouts at the store when he went shopping for me. So when my mom stopped at the store to get ingredients for a barbecue dinner she made over the holidays, she picked up a bundle of sprouts. Even her housemate, who claims to have hated Brussels sprouts since childhood liked them, so I guess Heidi at 101 Cookbooks has something. Here ya go.

Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts
(adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

2-3 large handfuls of Brussels sprouts, trimmed, cleaned, and halved
1-2 Tbsp. butter
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a frying pan that is big enough to accommodate all the sprout halves in a single layer. When it sizzles, add the sprouts, cut side down, and saute until they start to brown, maybe 5-10 minutes. When they are nice and brown, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat with butter, and move to a serving dish. Sprinkle cut sides with cheese before serving. Makes 2-3 servings, by my standards, but we ate this as part of a family-style dinner for 4.

Inner Peace and Rice Pudding

2009-01-12T21:35:00.006-05:00

As I mentioned before, I spent four days at an ashram last week, during which I did not update my blog. I suppose if I updated more frequently, this would have been noticed. Anyway, apart from being an incredibly quiet place, with absolutely no cell phone or email access, the ashram also served us three wonderful vegetarian meals a day. So I was a vegetarian for about a week since I like to ease in and out of it. And I always come back with a fervent desire to make some of the healthful changes I enact at the ashram permanent. And usually fail or give up after a week or two.

But this time, I had a different kind of revelation about health. I was leaving the morning ceremony at the founder's shrine, when they passed out little cups of ceremonial food and drink. Imagine my surprise when the drink (at a place where they serve virtually no caffeine or refined sugar) turned out to be super-sweet coffee. It turns out the food offered is selected from the favorites of the founder, who loved coffee and sugar. Especially sugar. Hmm, I thought, this guy founded a whole ashram, and still ate cookies for breakfast.

And then the lovely Miss Deb at Smitten Kitchen posted about rice pudding and how it was considered dessert and not breakfast. This got me to thinking, like Deb, why can't I eat rice pudding for breakfast. I realized that health is not just something you get from following arbitrary rules that tend to change more often than socks, but something you get from really listening to what your body wants, and needs, and feeding it that. And my body wanted rice pudding for breakfast.

So I'm giving it a try. Granted, I've made a "healthy" version with raw sugar, brown rice, low-fat milk, and almonds, but it is still rice pudding, and still wonderful. In case you wondered, I served it alongside a delicious local spiced apple sauce with raw cranberries stirred in. So there, health nuts, have your rice pudding, for breakfast, and feel good about it. I know I do.

Breakfast Rice Pudding
adapted from smittenkitchen.com

1/2 cup short-grain brown rice
1/4 cup unrefined sugar
4 cups low-fat milk
whatever flavorings suit your fancy (I used cardamom and sliced fresh ginger this time, but might switch to cardamom and vanilla next week)
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Combine the rice, sugar, milk, and any steeping flavorings (e.g., ginger, whole spices, vanilla bean) in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and simmer until the mixture thickens quite a bit and the rice is very tender, about 80-90 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan, and remove the solid flavorings before the mixture gets too thick; I removed mine after 70 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in almonds and any extract flavorings. Either eat warm, or refrigerate. Try not to burn your tongue trying to lick the pot; let it cool a bit first, or else scrape it with a wooden spoon. Seriously, it's going to be tempting. Serve with fruit as part of a balanced breakfast. Makes 4 servings.

Found Photos

2009-01-11T17:44:00.006-05:00

So I have just scads of pictures of various dishes I've cooked over the past few weeks that I have been too lazy/busy/gone to post. Although spending 4 days at an ashram in VA where all our meals were provided (and amazingly delicious) has provided me with rested motivation, and has stemmed the influx somewhat.

Most of what that means is that I found my pumpkin pie pictures from just after Thanksgiving. You see, the day after Thanksgiving, lots of things go on sale, not just at the mall. So I picked up enough cans of solid-pack pumpkin to stock my pantry against those blustery winter days where I crave Pumpkin Bread. Or Pumpkin Pie. With lots of whipped cream.

Pumpkin Pie is a strange beloved dessert for me, since I generally love all things chocolate best of all. But there are certain non-chocolate desserts that maintain a hold on my heart, with a vengeance. Pumpkin pie with whipped cream is up there with rice pudding, which will be tomorrow's star.

Pumpkin Pie
(adapted from the back of the Libby's can)

3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 15-oz. can solid pack pumpkin
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 unbaked 9" deep dish pie crust (check out smittenkitchen.com for her Pie Crust "courses")

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together the sugar, spices, and salt, and then add eggs and beat until foamy. Add the pumpkin and milk and whisk together until well-combined. Pour into pie shell and place in the oven on a baking sheet (because pumpkin pie is very easy to spill). Bake for 15 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until set (knife in center comes out clean). Cool at room temperature for 15-20 minutes and then refrigerate for an hour, at least, before serving. Serve with liberal amounts of whipped cream. Makes 6-10 servings, depending on how big you cut them. And remember, pumpkin is fruit, so this makes a good breakfast!

The Payoff

2009-01-04T09:58:00.007-05:00

Alright, so I realize it is probably cruel to post pictures of homemade bacon mac and cheese and then disappear for a couple days without posting a recipe. I've been enjoying a long weekend due to the holiday. Also, the leftovers.

Most years, for New Year's Eve, we do an assortment of mini snack foods that we nosh on throughout the evening. Last year I did mini cheese burgers and pigs in blankets and little quesadilla triangles. But this year, I wanted to make something a little more solid and comforting, and I know how much we all love mac and cheese. Now, I'm a fan of stove-top, and my mother likes the crunchy top of baked mac, so I tried to come up with a compromise. Maybe it worked.

The bacon and caramelized onions? Well, bacon makes most things better, and mom always wants caramelized onions in things, without realize how long they take to make properly, so I planned ahead this time. All in all, everything came together incredible well.

Mac and Cheese with Bacon and Caramelized Onions

1/2 sweet onion, sliced
1 Tbsp. butter
pinch of salt
6 oz. bacon, diced
8 oz. dry macaroni (I used whole wheat)
6 oz. evaporated milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
pepper to taste
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup (or so) panko breadcrumbs

First, caramelize the onions. Melt the 1 Tbsp. butter in a saute pan over medium heat and add the onions, stirring to coat. Add a teeny-tiny pinch of salt (remember the bacon and cheese will be salty. Saute until deep brown, stirring every 5 or 10 minutes. It will probably take about a half an hour to get that deep brown color. Remove from the pan and set aside. Turn down the heat and take the pan off the burner for a minute. Add the bacon and cook until crispy and brown. Remove from heat to prevent it from burning, and add the onions to the pan. Set aside. Cook the pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, whisk together the milk, eggs, mustard, and pepper. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Add the bacon and onion mixture and toss to coat the pasta with bacon fat. Return the pot to medium heat and add the milk mixture and the cheese, stirring over medium heat until a thickened, creamy sauce forms. Stir together the melted butter and bread crumbs. Pour the macaroni into an oven-safe dish and top evenly with buttered crumbs, pressing down lightly. Bake in a 400 degree oven until the crumbs start to brown, and then broil until they get really toasty. Remove and serve immediately. Makes 4-6 servings.

Menu for a New Year

2009-01-01T09:43:00.005-05:00

For New Year's Eve last night, we did not go downtown, among the crowds, we did not travel to Times Square for the revelry, we did not even go to a friend's party to sip champagne and socialize. Instead we sat in my mother's basement with her and watched the SciFi channel's Twilight Zone marathon like we have for the last couple of years. Add a good, comfort foody meal, and a flute of champagne and that sounds like a perfect evening.

Menu:

Salade Romaine avec Yaourt "Ranch"

Nouilles et fromage en casserole avec lardons et onignons caramelises

Mousse au Chocolat

Toast of Cristalino Cava at Midnight

Happy New Year!

Winter Virtue

2008-12-31T11:08:00.005-05:00

In winter, I eat a lot of kale, and a lot of winter squash, particularly butternut. I have no idea why I eat so much of these, other than perhaps my wild college days in Ithaca, NY, where I learned a lot about vegetables and seasonality. We never ate much squash or kale growing up; we ate a lot of broccoli. But I found my fridge in Ithaca did not get along well with broccoli. It would wither and get rubbery if I did not eat it the day it was purchased.
So I got creative with my combo blender/food processor that my aunt gave me as a going-away gift, and made a lot of soups and breads with butternut squash. And a velvety, pureed soup is still my favorite application for winter squash. It is simple, and yet elegant, and very, very warming.

While I could add cream to the soup to make it even more indulgent, I feel I've perfected a warm, earthy-spiced squash soup that still lets so much of the squash's sweet flavor seep through. It makes a perfect companion to a sandwich of leftover roast chicken, or a Poor Man's Pizza, which is another story.

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

1 medium-to-small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (about 1/2-3/4" cubes)
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Warm spices like: curry powder, Garam Masala, turmeric, cumin, nutmeg, ground mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
3-4 cups good chicken stock (when I made the soup in the pictures, I used leftover giblet broth from a roast free-range chicken, and the soup was sublime)

Saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil or butter, until translucent and fragrant. Add the spices.

At this point, I have to tell you that I do not often measure my spices, unless I'm planning ahead to write up a recipe, and I honestly had no idea this would turn out so well. So I toss in a little of this and a little of that until it smells right. I really like adding extra turmeric to the curry powder, but it probably doesn't really need the cumin in there, if you use Garam Masala. Teeny pinches of nutmeg and mustard powder add a depth and warmth that you don't get just by flinging in curry powder. I used more of the curry powder than anything else, but did add dashes of everything on my list.

Add a teensy pinch of salt, remembering that your broth will have salt in it. Stir the spiced onions and garlic around until the spices start to release aromas, and the oil begins to turn yellow-brown. Then, add your squash cubes, and coat with the spiced fat. Add chicken broth until just barely level with the squash cubes. Little corners of squash will stick out of the broth. Add your pepper and simmer, covered, until the squash is very tender.

When the veggies are all cooked, puree in a blender. I do this in two batches, making sure I have an 8-cup mixing bowl standing by to catch the blended portion. When it is all smooth, return the whole thing to the cooking pot and warm until bubbles just break the surface, and serve. The recipe makes about 6 or so cups of soup, which sounds like a lot, but I have to say I've never had leftovers from a dinner for two.