Fabulous and Delicious

Chicken NOODLE Soup

2011-10-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

It's been so cloudy in New York recently - and rainy. I guess that's typical for this time of year, but I hate the perma-cloud as I've come to call it. It just drains all my energy and makes me want to sleep all winter: hibernate like a bear. On these dark and damp days, though, nothing warms me up inside and brings a smile to my face quite like homemade chicken noodle soup. While some people really focus on the chicken in the chicken noodle soup, I'm all about the noodles. I find them to be the best part. Chicken, I'm plus or minus on. If I made it, I'll grill it, fry it, or boil it and then shred it and throw it into the soup. There's no right or wrong way to cook the chicken in my mind. Whatever you're in the mood for. It's imperative to have excellent noodles and excellent chicken broth. I buy organic chicken broth. Even if you don't get organic, make sure you get low sodium, otherwise your whole soup just tastes like salt. I personally like the soup overflowing with noodles, but you may or may not like that approach to your soup, so add as many or as few noodles as you like and as many or as few different veggies as you like to mix it up.

While I normally post the recipe below, I'm going to throw a shout out to my favorite recipe-collecting website, cookingfriend.com. You can catch my treasured go-to chicken NOODLE soup recipe there. Enjoy!

Chicken NOODLE Soup

Recipe can be found at CookingFriend.

Seriously Good and Seriously Easy Tomato Sauce

2011-10-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

For a long time, I made my own tomato sauce. It was never anything like what the little Italian ladies in my hometown ever made, but it was better than the sugared-up stuff that comes out of a jar from the store. My go-to recipe generally consisted of heating onions and garlic in olive oil, adding quality crushed canned tomatoes plus some seasonings, heating until warm, and then dumping it on pasta.

I was about half-way there, but there were some errors in my ways. First off, I've found that while canned tomatoes are okay to use - especially Italian ones - they have to be canned whole tomatoes, not crushed. Homemade canned tomatoes are the best alternative to ones in the stores, while fresh in-season tomatoes set the gold standard for making great sauce.

Additionally, I hadn't yet found this genius recipe that adds butter to tomato sauce. Olive oil, sure. But butter? I was skeptical until I tried it, but I found it to be supremely delicious.

This will probably be my go-to sauce for awhile - at least until I have to cook for my vegan hubby again. I'm excited to try it as a base with other veggies for a fabulous pasta primavera!

Seriously Good Tomato Sauce
My version of Marcella Hazan's genius recipe - the most popular tomato sauce recipe on the internet

1 1/2 cups homemade canned tomatoes
3 large in season tomatoes (about 1 pound)
(or you could use entirely canned whole Italian tomatoes, about 2 cups worth, instead of homemade or fresh tomatoes)
1 yellow onion, halved
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 + teaspoon salt

1.) Cut the stems off of the fresh tomatoes. Fill a medium saucepan 2/3 with water and bring to a boil. Plunge the fresh tomatoes into the water and allow them to boil for about 5 minutes or until their skins start to separate from their flesh. Strain the tomatoes then and rinse with cool water. Remove and discard the skins.
2.) In another (or the same now) medium saucepan, place the onion, butter, canned tomatoes, and tomatoes with their recently removed skins. Allow it to come to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes, breaking up the fresh tomatoes every once in awhile with some stirring and mashing with the back of the spoon. Cook down until the sauce is your desired consistency. Remove the onion before enjoying.

You-Can't-Believe-It's-This-Good-Kale-Salad

2011-10-11T21:11:00.001-07:00

I hate kale. Or, at least I thought I did until my husband made me this salad. I also thought that I'd never be able to eat salad without salad dressing, but his simplified tossing with lemon juice and olive oil really allows you to fall in love with all the veggie flavors. The key to this salad is having homegrown - or close to it - veggies. Marginal produce is going to result in a marginal salad.

Hubby's Kale Salad

4-6 leaves of kale, cut into strips.
1 artisan carrot, cut into narrow rounds
10-12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/5 of a red onion, cut into fine/thin smiles
1/4 cup walnuts
juice of 1/2 a lemon (fresh!)
3-4 Tablespoons quality olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fine salt (more if you're a salt lover)
pinch of finishing salt to garnish

1.) Mix all together in a big bowl!

Double Dipped Breaded Chicken Parmesan and Creamy Mashed Potatoes

2011-10-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I just can't resist it: There's nothing as delicious as juicy chicken covered in a coating of fried breadcrumbs. As a kid, my sister and I used to request 'crumby' chicken all. the. time. It's just so satisfying. The first time I tried to re-create the dish myself, though, was in college, and right as I started to gather all the ingredients, I realized I lacked breadcrumbs! How can you make breaded chicken without breadcrumbs?! Well, in a pinch, I decided to substitute crushed Ritz crackers, and I never went back - that is until I met panko bread crumbs recently, an excellent alternative. The buttery crackers were so flavorful and locked the moisture right in the chicken. The other tip to get the best coating on the chicken is to double dip it. Otherwise, all of the breading - the best part! - just falls off the chicken once it gets cooking. Then, you're left scraping the tasty bits out of the pan instead of slicing through them on the way to the tender meat. Plus, if the breadcrumbs fall off, the chicken is more at risk of drying while baking.

A note about the panko bread crumbs, I find them to be an excellent alternative. They are finer than crushed Ritz crackers, which allows them to coat the chicken more evenly and gives it a better look, but I think that I still prefer the taste of the buttery-salty crackers coating the chicken. They both work excellently to lock the moisture in and create a super juicy chicken Parmesan or breaded chicken entree!

Double Dipped Chicken Parmesan
My own version of a BBC recipe years ago and Food52

2 chicken breasts - organic preferably - cut to the size you like for serving
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 whole sleeves of Ritz crackers finely crushed (as fine as you can get them) or 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon garlic powder
3 Tablespoons Italian seasonings
1/3 cup Parmesean cheese (if you like, I don't always use it)
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using Ritz crackers as they are salty)
pepper if you like
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon butter

1.) Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2.) Pound down the chicken breasts, if you're into that.
3.) In a shallow bowl, mix together the eggs and milk. Place the flour in a different shallow dish/plate, and in yet another bowl, mix the crackers or breadcrumbs, garlic, Italian seasonings, (cheese), and salt.
4.) Take take a chicken breast and dip both sides in the flour. Then, dip both sides in the egg mixture. Then, dip it into the seasoned crackers/breadcrumbs, pressing the crumbs into the chicken as best you can. This is the first dip. Now, do the double dip: Place the breaded chicken breast into the egg mixture again quickly, then back into the flour, back into the egg, and then lastly, back into the breadcrumbs. Pack on as many breadcrumbs as possible. Set aside on a plate. Repeat step 4 with the rest of the chicken breasts.
5.) In a flat bottomed, fairly large pan or wok, start to heat the olive oil and butter together over medium-high heat. Once the butter starts to get golden and froth a little bit, place in as many chicken breasts as will comfortably fit. Fry on one side for 2-3 minutes, then flip and fry on the other side. The bread crumbs should be nice and golden but not burnt. If burning, turn down the heat.
6.) Once the breading is fried and golden, remove the chicken breasts from the oil and place on a baking sheet and then immediately into the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the center of the chicken breast is white and no longer pink.
7.) Serve with tomato sauce and pasta or with a side of potatoes and greens.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

4 golden potatoes, medium sized (don't buy crappy potatoes and expect to have excelled mashed potatoes)
1/2 cup milk (whole preferably)
1-2 Tablespoons butter
salt to taste

1.) Peel - or don't peel - the potatoes and then cut them into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks. Once cut, place them in a saucepan and cover with water. Put them on the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Once water comes to a boil, turn it to low and place the cover on the pot. Boil the potatoes for 20-30 minutes until a fork can be inserted easily and the potato starts to fall apart some. Strain the potatoes in a colander and then place the potatoes back in the pot.
2.) Pour in 1/4 cup of the milk and use a masher to grossly mash the potatoes. Then, pour in the other 1/4 cup of milk and whip the potatoes with a whisk until they are just smooth. Don't over whip. If the potatoes seem dry, add more milk and whip some more. Once done whipping, put in the butter and salt and gently stir to incorporate.
3.) Serve warm.

Butternut Squash Risotto

2011-10-05T10:05:00.001-07:00

It has been an absolutely beautiful Autumn in Minnesota! The leaves are gorgeous, turning yellow, orange, and red. I love the smell of their decay as I walk over them with a crunch. The weather, though, seems anything but Fall: 70s/80s with bright blue skies lacking any clouds. It's more like summertime. So, I'm torn between wanting to make strawberry yogurt popsicles (a new discovery that I just can't live without) and more fall harvest foods. Since the hubs was a prolific gardener this summer - which if you stop over at his place you will see as he has harvest food and gardening things everywhere - I decided to use some of his "squmpkins" (i.e. butternut squash that is shaped like a pumpkin) to make this delicious risotto. Since the hubs is vegan, I made it vegan, but I'm sure that it will taste even better with butter, chicken broth, and a nice handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Butternut Squash Risotto
My own rendition

1 large butternut squash
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/3 cup white wine of your liking
2 cups arborio rice
6 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (omit if making vegan)
salt and pepper to taste

1.) Bake the butternut squash: Turn the oven to 450 degrees. Slice the butternut squash down the length of it and pry open. Scoop out the 'guts' and seeds and discard them. Place the squash on a baking sheet, cut side down, and put into the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the skins on the outside are slightly browned and a fork can be easily inserted into the squash through the skins. Once cooked, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
2.) In a saucepan, pour the vegetable or chicken broth and bring it to a simmer. Maintain the simmer while cooking the risotto.
3.) In a large pot, heat the oil and onions over medium heat. Cook the onions until they soften some and then add in the garlic and rosemary. Heat the garlic until it's fragrant. Then, add in the risotto rice, stirring for a minute or two as it absorbs the excess oil. Then, add in the white wine, stirring constantly as the wine sizzles. Once the rice has absorbed all of the wine, add in a ladle or two of the broth, stirring intermittently. Once the rice seems to have absorbed almost all of the liquid, add another ladle or two full of broth to the rice, again stirring. Keep repeating this until all the broth has been added or the rice is soft and creamy but not mushy.
4.) Once the rice is of the right consistency, scoop out pieces of the butternut squash flesh (leaving the skins) and add it to the rice. You can also add the Parmesan cheese at this time if you're using that. Stir gently to break up the pieces of the squash and incorporate them into the risotto.
5.) Garnish with freshly cracked pepper and fresh cheese.

Quinoa Tostadas

2011-08-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

This quick and easy recipe was inspired by a fabulous lunch at the Chicago Diner, an award winning vegetarian restaurant that hubby, CD, and I have visited twice now during our visits to Chicago. It's a fun atmosphere with many vegan friendly foods. I'd definitely recommend it if you heart vegetarian fare, but be prepared for a wait if you hit peak dinner times.

Quinoa Toastadas
My own interpretation of the Chicago Diner's meal

1 package corn tostadas or if you want make it more of a fajita salad, use broken-up tortilla chips
1 cup of vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you're not going vegan/vegetarian)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4-1/2 of a lime, freshly squeezed
3/4 cup quinoa
1 tomato, chopped/diced
1/8 of an onion, minutely chopped
guacamole (see recipe below)
sour cream (if you're not going vegan)

1.) In a medium sized saucepan, combine the broth, cumin, granulated garlic, lime juice, and quinoa. Bring to a boil and then let simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes until the quinoa is cooked through and its germ has poked out.
2.) Assemble guacamole (see below)
3.) Chop the veggies.
4.) Assemble the toastada: corn toastada followed by quinoa, tomato, onion, guacamole, sour cream, and any other toppings that you'd like.
5.) Enjoy!!

My favorite guacamole

1 avocado
2 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped
1/8-1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 of a lemon, juiced

1.) Split the avocado in half, remove the pit, and peel away the skin. Place the creamy flesh in a medium bowl. Add the garlic, salt, and lemon juice. With a fork, smush the avocado, garlic, salt, and lemon juice together until creamy. Use/serve immediately.

Zucchini Fritters

2011-07-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hello blogging world! I know that I've been terrible about putting up my recipes recently. Life's been pretty hectic, but that's no real excuse. Plus, it's not like I haven't been trying new recipes and tweaking them to my liking. I should be sharing all of my creations with you! For all of you prolific gardeners out there, I have a great recipe here to help you use up all that zucchini! Keep reading!

My hubby came to visit me in New York this weekend - where I'm living for the year during my internship - and brought me two huge (!) zucchini from his (our) garden. (I hesitantly put our as a descriptor for the garden as I generally have zero interest in gardening, despise weeding, and would much rather just spend the day at the farmers' market than manually harvesting anything. However, I did let those little plants sit in my guest bedroom as they grew from seeds in pots, and I did do a teeny bit of weeding before I left for New York. So, I feel that I am almost justified in qualifying the garden as ours, despite the fact that my husband does 99% of the work.)

While I have a great recipe for zucchini bread and definitely enjoy zucchini curry, I just wanted o try something different with these zucchinis. I saw a picture for delicious looking zucchini fritters, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give them a try. The result was definitely worth it: Crispy outsides with warm more meaty insides filled with veggie goodness! The only negative to this recipe is that you have to let the grated zucchini drain in a colander for an hour for the vegetable's natural water to drain so that the batter is not overly moist/watery. Otherwise, they are very easy to make - even if you don't have a food processor. I thought grating a whole HUGE zucchini would take forever, but in fact, they're quite easy to grate, which was a relief to both my busy schedule and my arms. The results are delicious, especially when paired with your favorite toppings, which for me was surprisingly a mango-tomato salsa. Delish! This recipe makes enough to feed 2-4.

Zucchini Fritters
My version of a recipe found in Organic Kitchen: Making the most of fresh and seasonal produce

1 huge zucchini or a few smaller ones (1.5-2 lbs), grated
2 scant cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 eggs, separated
1/3 cup water
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt

canola oil for frying

1.) Grate the zucchini either in a food processor or by hand with a grater. Place the zucchini in a colander over a bowl and sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon of salt. Allow the zucchini to sit in the colander for an hour and drain away their water. Mix/press on the grated zucchini to help the water out if you'd like. After an hour, pat the zucchini dry to the best of your ability with paper towels and set it aside.
2.) Put the flour in a separate clear large bowl and make a well in the center of the flour. In the well place the egg yolks, olive oil, water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Start to mix the egg yolks, water, and olive oil together, slowly incorporating the flour into the mix until a softish ball has formed of 'dough'. Don't overmix.
3.) Add the zucchini and mix all together. You should have a fairly thick batter.
4.) In cast iron pan or another type of flat bottomed pan with steep sides, place 1/2 inch of canola oil over medium-high heat. You want the oil to heat up so you can fry the zucchini fritters, but not so hot that it's smoking. Smoking oil is baaaad. So, don't ever let the oil get that hot. You can know the oil is at approximately the right temperature when a.) it's not smoking, b.) when you put a little water on your fingers and flick the water off your fingers into the oil, that the oil sizzles, c.) the oil doesn't sound crazy mad sizzling when you flick in the water (if this happens, turn the heat down).
5.) Once the oil is at the right temperature, take 3/4 cup of the batter and pour it into the oil. Pat the batter into a fritter shape with a fork. Fry it up for about 2-3 minutes, until it's golden brown but not burnt.
6.) Remove the cooked fritter from the pan with a slotted spoon/spatula and place it on a plate covered in papertowels (which will soak up any extra oil). Continue frying the rest of the batter as described starting in step 5.
7.) Enjoy the fritters with a topping of your choice!

Carmelized Onion Dal and Fabulous and Delicious Indian Rice Recipes

2011-04-17T14:08:00.001-07:00

I've been experimenting with many new savory dishes lately, although I've been very bad about posting them onto the blog. I think part of it stems from the fact that my photography skills are not-so-hot, and I'm much more invested in the food than in the photography. But, I also know that when I look at other people's blogs, the photographs are what I adore. So, I will try harder. I've often been tempted to just post the recipes without any pictures, but really, who wants that?

Otherwise, Spring has sprung here in Minnesota, and the hubby and I are excited to see all the fresh produce at the farmers' marker. This week we picked up some wild onions, wild watercress, and fresh chocolate mint, which I popped into my french press this morning for some lovely mint coffee.

We're still figuring out how exactly we want to use the watercress and wild onions. So, in the meantime, we decided to make dal for a late lunch / early dinner. Dal, a red lentil dish, is one of our favorite Indian meals. It's a great because it's not only easy to make, but is also super healthy while still full of flavor. You can eat as much of it as you want practically guilt free!

This is my own personal recipe for dal. I love the mixture of savory spices and caramelized onions that give the dish such a wonderful flavor. I keep it light on the hot spices, though. You of course, can add more or less spice to your liking. I hope that you enjoy!

Caramelized Onion Dal
Created by me!

1.5 cups red lentils
3 cups vegetable broth
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion sliced into smiles
1 large carrot cut in half lengthwise and then cut into chunks
3 Tablespoons red wine
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 - 1 Tablespoon red hot pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground corriander
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon garam malasa
2 Tablespoons lime juice (or lemon juice)
1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)

1. In a medium stock pot, cook the lentils in the vegetable broth over medium heat until they are mushy. About 20 minutes.
2. In a larger pot or dutch oven place the oil, onions, and carrots. Cook slowly over low/medium heat until the onions start to brown/caramelize.
3. Add the garlic and red hot chile flakes and allow them to cook until the garlic becomes fragrant. Then, add the red wine to deglaze the pan. Add the spices and stir for a minute or so until they become fragrant but aren't burning.
4. Add the mushy lentils and lime juice to the onion mixture and stir. Add the peas and stir.
5. Once the peas are no longer frozen, the dal is ready to eat. If it looks like it's drying out a bit, just add 1/8 cup of water or so and stir.
6. Serve with my fabulous and delicious Indian rice. (Recipe below).

Fabulous and Delicious Indian Rice

1.5 cups basmati or jasmine rice
3 cups vegetable broth
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon cloves

Place all ingredients in a medium stock pot and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and allow to cook for 20 minutes. Once done, fluff the rice with a fork.

Mandy's Mexican Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-03-02T10:19:00.000-08:00

These are my ultimate comfort cookies. I love their texture: They lie in the crossroads between soft, crispy, and gooey. I love their flavor: The cinnamon and black pepper add complexity while making my taste buds buzz with delight. I love the memories they give me.

Whenever I make these cookies, I'm immediately taken back to my senior year of college. I was living in the attic of a run-down house with my best friend and our apartment-mate, Mandy. (And a huge cat, Charlie). Mandy had recently returned from a semester abroad in Chile, where she had tasted a dessert with chocolate and black pepper. We were always cooking and baking in our micro-kitchen, and one evening Mandy decided to re-invent the flavors she had tasted. What resulted from her experiment were these amazing cookies. We ate them immediately and made a batch almost weekly. They're lovely warm when the temperature heat can enhance the peppery heat in the cookies, and the cinnamon in the dough makes me always think of Mexican Hot Chocolate. mmm.

I hope that you'll enjoy this recipe and will make your own memories surrounding these delicious cookies!

Mandy's Mexican Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Original Recipe by my lovely friend, Mandy

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more for your liking)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper (optional)
1/4 pound, coarsely chopped good quality dark chocolate
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Pre-heat oven to 335 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl set over simmering water (or double boiler), melt the chocolate and butter together. Let cool slightly.
4. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter/chocolate mixture with the sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then, add in the vanilla extract.
5. Reduce speed and gradually add the flour mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Roll the dough into balls just a little larger than a golf ball. Place on the parchment paper, with 2-3 inches between the cookies.
7. Bake the cookies in the oven for 17 minutes. It is important to not over cook. Remove the cookies from the oven (they will be very soft), and slide the parchment paper (with cookies on it) onto a towel on the counter/table. Allow the cookies to slowly cool on the parchment for 10 minutes before attempting to remove them.
8. While the first batch of cookies are cooling, you can place another piece of parchment on the cookie sheet and put a second batch in the oven.

PS - Check out this awesome set up my best friend - and fellow Mexican Double Chocolate Chip Cookie lover - got me for Christmas! Now I can try to take more professional photos for the blog. :)

Homemade Corn Tortillas

2011-02-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

Yay! The first post in a long while!! It's sad how long it's been since my last post, but life has been busy and I've been basically away from my own kitchen since August. That's not to say that I haven't been cooking delicious things, but I didn't quite have the time to photo (even though I know my photo skills are lacking) and then write up a proper post. No more of that, though!! Time to get back into discovering new foods and cooking skills and putting them up on the web!

The hubby and I have been working hard to make as many things from scratch. We're having fun exploring new techniques and foods, and finding that in general our homemade goods taste better than the store bought versions. They do take a little more time, but the results are definitely worth it!

A few months ago we started making homemade flour tortillas (will post recipe soon). We had thought about making corn tortillas, but learned that you really need a proper tortilla press for that. I did a little searching and learned that there's a few different kinds of tortilla presses: Cast iron, aluminum coated cast iron, wooden, and high tech. I decided to go with the cast iron since it had good reviews, and I thought the weight of it would help press out the tortillas. I bought it for Valentine's Day for the hubby, and he was very excited to try it. It worked like a charm, and I definitely have no complaints. Just make sure that you line it with parchment paper so that the tortillas are easy to remove once they've been pressed.

These tortillas go great with my Beer Braised Turkey Tacos, guacamole, a little yellow onion, and a dollop of sour cream. Mmm.

Homemade Corn Tortillas
Based on cookingmexicanrecipes.com - great pictures here!

2 cups masa harina (corn flour NOT corn meal)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups boiling water plus a few Tablespoons
1 teaspoon coconut oil

In a large bowl, combine the masa and salt. In a smaller bowl, mix the coconut oil and boiling water, stirring until the coconut oil is dissolved. Then, pour the water mixture into the flour mixture, stirring with a fork until combined. When it's cool enough to handle, knead the dough until to comes together. It should be moist but not sticky or wet.

Take a golf ball sized amount, roll it into a ball in your hands, and place the ball between two sheets of parchment paper lining the tortilla press. Press the tortilla in a tortilla press or, alternatively, roll out the tortilla between two sheets of parchment with a rolling pin.

Heat a cast iron skillet and lightly oil it (just a teaspoon or so of oil). Place the tortilla on the skillet and cook each side for about 45 seconds or until it becomes slightly golden in spots and the edges seem dry. I didn't not re-oil the pan between tortillas. I just oiled it a little in the beginning.

Keep the tortillas covered so they'll stay warm until serving.

It's important to keep the pre-cooked dough moist between the pressing, so make sure you wrap the dough bowl with plastic so it doesn't dry out.

Brushetta - by my sister!

2010-10-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since I've been able to post!! I've been travelling a ton and for the most part not cooking anything exciting. Although, I'm back in y hometown for a few weeks and have been experimenting on my parents. So, I'll have a few exciting recipes soon to share.

This is my sister's recipe for brushetta, which she has mastered. It's got the right balance of onion, basil, vinegar, and garlic. We inhaled this and I had to beg them to stop eating so I could take a few pictures of it for the blog. Seriously, this is so good.

As with all things, using the freshest, ripest, tastiest ingredients is key. Any 'substitutions' will give an inferior result. This is a healthy, raw alternative to classic chips and dip, and really doesn't take much time to whip together. Think about it as an appetizer for your next dinner party. You could also serve it over roasted chicken, put it in paninis, toss it on some pasta

Bruschetta

By my sister, Lynnie

6 small-medium sized tomatoes (she used on the vine tomatoes since those are generally fresher out-of-season)

1 thick slice of a large yellow onion

2 - 2.5 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped (must be fresh)

1/2 teaspoon of dried basil

1 teaspoon garlic infused oil (alternatively you could use 3 large cloves of fresh garlic)

1 1/2 Tablespoons quality olive oil

3 Tablespoons balsalmic vinegar (buy the good stuff)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper, feshly ground

1.) Chop the tomatoes up as small as possible. Place them in a medium sized bowl.

2.) Take the onion slice and place it in a small chopper or food processer and pulse until the pieces are milimeters in size. Add the fresh basil and pulse a few more times. (If you're using fresh garlic, add that in now).

3.) Add the onion/basil mixture and all the other ingredients to the tomatoes. Mix well. Adjust the flavors as necessary. Serve with baguette slices or crackers.

Homemade Barbeque Sauce

2010-08-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

One evening recently, I was listening to NPR's "The Story" and became enthralled during a segment about a woman who had taken over the family tradition of competing in barbeque contests (generally a male-dominated type of cooking contest). I was especially fascinated by the super secret sauce recipe, which had been passed down through the generations and had won many a competition. I wondered what exactly went into an award winning recipe - or into barbeque sauce in general - and so I started to do a little internet searching.

The internet search yielded some good tips on how to make general barbeque sauce, but nothing along the lines of coveted family secrets. Interestingly, I did learn that there are many different varieties of barbeque sauce. North Carolina is known for a more vinegar based sauce, South Carolina for a mustard-based sauce, Texas for spicy recipes, and Kansas City for tomato-based sauce recipes. Alabama even has a mayonnaise version. I found a website that had basic recipes for three of the main sauce types. I decided that since I'm more of a tomato lover, I'd focus on creating my own version of a Kansas City style sauce.

Lucky for me, soon after deciding that I wanted to try to make my own barbeque sauce, the hubby and I actually visited Kansas City, Missouri. I was amazed when we visited a grocery store and I saw just how many different types of barbeque sauce were available. Our selection in the North is pitiful by comparison. I looked at many ingredient lists and was somewhat shocked and saddened that for many the second ingredient was high fructose corn syrup. Boo to that. Others were a little more wholesome, though; some even hinted at special ingredients like pineapple juice. So, I took some mental notes to try in my own sauce.

This past week I finally got the time to settle in and work on the recipe. We decided to have friends over for Barbeque Beef Sandwiches, and I wanted to use my own sauce for the beef. I dabbled around and finally got the flavorings to come together nicely. This recipe is somewhat sweet, somewhat zesty, somewhat spicy. It has that nice tomato based flavor, but many subtleties to it as well. I really like this version and hope that you will, too!

Kansas City Style Barbeque Sauce

A Fabulous and Delicious Original!

1 yellow onion, sliced

5 cloves garlic, sliced

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup hot water

2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon raw sugar or brown sugar

3 dried chipotle chiles, chopped into small pieces

2 Tablespoons dark molasses

20 ounces organic ketchup

1 can tomato paste

1 1/2 cup tomato puree (fresh tomatoes blended or from a can)

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon balsalmic vinegar

1 teaspoon tumeric

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon freshly ground pepper

3-4 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 Tablespoon chili powder

2 Tablespoon paprika

2 Tablespoons dry mustard or fresh mustard

1/4 cup dark beer

1.) In a large pot, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil over low heat until the onions are cooked (translucent but not brown). Meanwhile, in a small bowl, dissolve the sugar in the hot water.

2.) When the onions are done, put in the chipotle chiles and allow them to cook a little in the oil - no more than a minute. Then, pour in the sugar water mixture. Stir. Then, add all the other ingredients, stirring as you add them.

3.) Allow all the ingredients to simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes. If you'd like, you can then use an immersion blender or place the sauce in a regular blender to smooth out the consistency. Use immediately in cooking or store in your fridge for up to 7 to 10 days.

Gaspacho

2010-08-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hello blog readers! Fear not; I haven't forgotten about you. Life has just been busy in our household. Last week we moved into a super cute house - with a real sized kitchen! Our first evening was spent unpacking all of our kitchen supplies. Boy, do we have a lot of them! We've taken over every cupboard, our hutch, and then had to put up a bookshelf to house the actual food! We have not-so-often used kitchen gadgets (e.g. the waffle maker and slow cooker) in the coat closet; cookbooks are currently housed in the den. I guess that's what happens when you have a husband and wife pair that like to cook and bake. :)

In addition to our lovely new kitchen, our garden is thriving. We have so many cherry tomatoes ripening every day, cucumbers constantly begging to be picked, and beautiful peppers lounging from their branches. So, what does this all this mean? That it's *finally* gaspacho season!!!!!! I started craving gaspacho in April, but alas it is one of those foods that you can enjoy only when the vegetables are seasonally ripe. Otherwise, the soup just a pitiful mirage of its former self. Similarly, using poor quality olive oils or vinegar will not yield the same exceptional taste.

If you're not familiar with gaspacho, it is a cold summer soup that originated in Spain. Personal recipes vary, but basically it tastes like the soup form of a perfect tomato sandwich. (Quite literally as the recipe includes bread.) If you're familiar with gaspacho and hate it, well, then you haven't tried *this* gaspacho, which is delicious!!!

Similar to all perfect summer recipes, it doesn't require turning on your oven (unless you're going to use that to make bread). We've been eating it at least twice a week while we can. My hope is to eat so much of it that I'm satisfied until next Spring when I'll start to crave gaspacho again! Enjoy!

Gaspacho

The hubby's recipe, adapted from a segment heard on NPR

1 thick slice of fresh homemade bread (the Wonder Bread varieties really won't work...)

1 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes from the garden

1/4 large sweet yellow onion

1/4 large cucumber

1 green bell pepper

1/4 cup Spanish olive oil (or high quality version of your liking. We use a brand from California)

scant Tablespoon raspberry wine vinegar (or high quality balsalmic if you're desperate)

salt and pepper to taste

1.) Wash and rinse all veggies.

2.) Put everything into a hearty blender. (We use a Vitamix.)

3.) Turn on the blender to medium-high and blend until there is a creamy texture and everything is pink. Salt and pepper to taste.

4.) Serve immediately and enjoy.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Semi-Sweet Chocolate Frosting

2010-08-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that I only got one post accomplished in all of July. It's just been such a busy summer. We travelled, worked, and now are in the process of moving - to a house - with a real kitchen! It's a galley kitchen, which isn't as ideal as a kitchen set up for true entertaining, but it's better than the corner of a room that houses our current straight-out-of-1940s kitchen. I'll have more windows to try out new photography techniques, too.

The idea of moving into a bigger place is so exciting, but packing up everything is awful. My husband has so many memories of our current apartment, too, that it's hard to say goodbye -even though we really do need a bigger place. Even our small kitchen is filled with memories. I remember making brownies for our friends who lived down the hall when I would come and visit from New York. It's where Chris and I mastered Indian Samosas, along with many other delightful dishes. We've created delicious meals - whole Easter feasts - all from a tiny tiny kitchen with literally no counter space. It's taught us to be efficient in our cooking / baking, and it's definitely taught me to clean as I cook, but I'm excited to have a dishwasher in which to plop all those dirty dishes after entertaining!

A good friend had a belated birthday BBQ tonight, and I offered to bring dessert. I deliberated a lot about what to make, and I was somewhat limited because 99% of my cooking supplies are in boxes. So, when I was searching through the recipes I collected from magazines, and came across a huge delicious-looking piece of chocolate cake with the words "one bowl cake" as the title, I was sold. It was delightfully easy. The frosting only required one bowl, too, but I unfortunately had packed my hand-mixer. So, I whipped up this frosting using my immersion blender, and it turned out just great.

This all just goes to show you that no matter what your limitations - small kitchen, poor counter space, limited utensils - you can still make fabulous desserts.

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart Living Magazine

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup warm water

3 Tablespoons canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together (or sift if you're into that) cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Add in eggs, buttermilk, water, oil, and vanilla, and stir until smooth (about 3-4 minutes).

2.) Line cupcake pan with paper liners. Fill the paper liners with cake batter until about two-thirds full. Bake until set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven. Let them cool slightly for 10 minutes, then remove them from the pan and place them on a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before frosting.

(You can also make cake by buttering 8-inch round cake pans (2 inches deep) and then coating with cocoa. Cook cake for 35 minutes. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes before attempting to remove it from the pan.)

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Frosting

Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart Living Magazine

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

6 ounces dark chocolate (I bought my favorite chocolate bar), melted and cooled slightly (I just put it in a pan over the lowest heat possible and let it melt)

3/4 cup creme fraiche or sour cream

1.) In a small bowl, sift together sugar, cocoa and salt.

2.) In a separate large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter with a mixer (or immersion blender!!) at a medium-high speed until smooth and well incorporated. Add the cocoa/sugar/salt mixture slowly, beating after each addition. Pour in chocolate and add creme fraiche or sour cream. Mix until well combined.

3.) Frost cooled cupcakes.

Green Beans with Shallots and Homemade Breadcrumbs

2010-07-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

Life is plugging along here in Minnesota. The summer weather has been perfect: warm temperatures without being too hot, light breezes, and sunshine. There have been so many thunderstorms at night, though. I'm slowly getting used to the Midwest thunderstorms; they are very different from the Northeast. Firstly, they seem to be much more dangerous with really damaging winds (blowing away all sorts of outdoor furniture and bringing down tree branches), un-ending dramatic lightening, and more frequently than I'm comfortable with, tornadoes. I'm starting to not go into panic mode every time the radio breaks to say that there is a tornado warning for a part of Minnesota, but I still do close a lot of the doors to keep the cat near me in case I hear that the warning has spread to our county. That way, I figure I can grab the cat and head down to the basement. Thunderstorms in the Northeast were much louder, though. I miss the thunder that makes the windows shake. Here, there seems to be more lightening, less thunder.

Since coming back from vacation, the hubby and I have been trying to eat as many vegetables from our garden as possible. This week the green beans and shallots were ready. I found this recipe online almost a year ago on Martha Stewart for green beans, shallots, and bread crumbs. I had wanted to make it for Thanksgiving, but ended up not and opting instead for the classic Campbell's green bean casserole. The Martha Stewart recipe has many of the fabulous flavors of the Campbell's recipe, but without the creaminess (and calories) from the cream of mushroom soup. The Martha recipe is overall nicer because it's healthier, hightling olive oil instead of cream, and easier to make. Plus, you don't have to turn on your oven - which, if you're like me and don't own an air conditioner, is a big plus in the summertime.

So, we'll continue to enjoy this recipe until our green beans stop producing, which will all this nice daytime sunshine and nighttime rain, will hopefully be months away!

Green Beans with Shallots and Homemade Breadcrumbs
Adapted from Martha Stewart

2 pounds green beans
1/4 cup olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup homemade or store-bought breadcrumbs (see below for homemade ingredients)
salt and pepper to taste

For homemade breadcrumbs
3 medium slices of homemade bread (your recipe of choice - I use a bread machine)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning (combination of oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and sweet basil)

1.) To make breadcrumbs, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In the meantime, take the 3 slices of bread and toast them in a toaster or toaster oven until golden (medium). Then, cut them into 1/2 inch squares. Place the breadcrumbs on a baking sheet. Drizzle lightly the olive oil and add the garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Once the oven is heated, place the breadcrumbs in the oven for about 5 minutes (to dry them out further). Avoid letting them burn in the oven.
2.) Blanch the beans: Rinse the beans well. Fill a medium-sized pot halfway with water, place it on the stove over medium-high heat. Once the water is boiling, toss in the beans and cook for 2 minutes (no more than 2.5 minutes). The beans should be bright green. Immediately, drain the beans and run them under cold water. The cold water stops the beans from cooking and prevents them from becoming mushy. (Alternatively, you could prepare an ice bath and then place the drained beans in that instead of running them under cold water). Drain again and pat the beans dry.
3.) Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occassionally, until they are golden (about 5 minutes). Add in the green beans and breadcrumbs. Stir. Cook a couple minutes more just to heat the green beans a little.
4.) Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve.

Blueberry Smush

2010-07-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hello blog readers! Sorry for the long dry spell! I've been traveling extensively all over the east coast visiting family and eating my little heart out. (Hello potato chips and Hoffman hot dogs - how I missed you!!). There were lots of delicious drinks enjoyed, including pomegranate martinis (and margaritas), lemon drop martinis, mojitos, monarchs, and copious wine. It was lovely.

I couldn't completely take a break from cooking, though. One morning on the lake, I baked up some Pannekoekens to everyone's delight. Also, one night I opted to provide dessert for a family dinner. After a day of hiking in the sun through water-filled gorges and a dinner filled with tender grilled steaks, I thought we could use something light(ish) for dessert. I wanted something summery, but didn't want to go the classic Strawberry Shortcake route. So, settled on my grandmother's Blueberry Smush.

My mom said that my grandmother used to make Blueberry Smush all the time when she was a kid. They would often camp in the Adirondacks during the summer, where there were bushes filled with wild blueberries. My grandmother would cook them with some water and sugar in a pot over a campfire. Once the blueberries burst and a sauce was created, she would drop in the biscuits, let them cook, and voila! Delicious camp dessert. My mom has many happy memories of having her face and teeth stained from eating blueberry smush.

Despite these happy memories, my mom never made us this dessert until about two years ago!! My sister and I ate every bite and couldn't believe that she hadn't made it for us sooner.

In any case, I thought with blueberries being ripe in the northeast, it was fitting to highlight them for dessert and introduce my dad's family to this deliciousness. The soft drop biscuits smothered in a sweet blueberry sauce are just to die for.

Oh, and another plus of this summer dessert: it doesn't involve turning on the oven! It's all done on the stove top.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Smush

From Grandma (via Mom)

For blueberry sauce:

1 quart fresh blueberries

1 cup sugar (more if you'd like)

2 cups water

2-3 Tablespoons cornstarch

For biscuits:

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup rice milk (or for non-vegan, buttermilk)

4 Tablespoons coconut oil (or for non-vegan, butter)

1 Tablespoon sugar

1.) In a large, wide pan, cook (without rapidly boiling) the blueberries, water, and sugar over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally. Continue to cook until the blueberries burst and you have a thin sauce. Turn heat to medium-low. Add the cornstarch and stir until the sauce thickens to coat a spoon (not quite to the thickness of a gravy).

2.) While the blueberries are cooking, in a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the biscuits.

3.) Once the sauce is ready, drop the biscuit batter in Tablespoon amounts into the sauce. Once all the biscuit batter has been added, cover the pan and allow the biscuits to cook for roughly 10 minutes.

4.) Plate the biscuits and cover in blueberry sauce. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Zucchini Curry and Basmati Rice

2010-06-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

Sunday was an Indian food day here in our household. We had promised a friend that we would have him over for dinner, and he could pick the menu theme. He settled on Indian, which we were delighted about.

Indian food is probably one of our favorite foods to make. It was challenging in the beginning because the combinations of spices are so different from what we are used to in Western cooking. Fortunately, the hubby found a classic Indian cookbook for $1 at a garage sale a few years back, and that has been a great guide to the foundations of Indian cooking. Luckily, my husband has an amazing palatte and sense for spices, so he can adjust recipes to mimic those we've had in restaurants. I love it.

The internet is also an amazing source of delicious (and free!) recipes. In addition to our fabulous and delicious samosas, we decided to highlight the zucchini we've been harvesting from the ~~garden~~ farmette everyday, and decided to try to make a zucchini curry. We found an awesome tutorial on YouTube by Currysutra on how to make Ghiya (zucchini curry), and copied it almost exactly. The tutorial is really easy to follow and would be great for beginner Indian home chefs. I've included all the ingredients and directions (with our changes) below, but definitely check out the tutorial as well. Enjoy!

Ghiya - Zucchini Curry

Adapted from Currysutra

Yield: Feeds roughly 4 people

2 medium to large zucchini, cubed

1 Tablespoon canola or sunflower oil

1 small can tomato paste (6 ounces)

1 1/4 cup potato water*

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1 onion, sliced

1 cube salted veggie bouillon (we use the Rapunzel brand)

1 teaspoon tumeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 Tablespoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon corriander

1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1.) Heat oil in a pressure cooker over medium-low heat, add cumin, garlic, and onion and saute until the onions begin to cook (look translucent). Try to avoid having the veggies brown by keeping the heat low.

2.) Add in 1/4 cup of potato water* and spices: veggie bouillon, tumeric, ground cumin, curry powder, corriander, chili powder, garam masala, crushed red pepper.

3.) Add in tomato paste. Stir.

4.) Add in zucchini & stir. You may taste now to see if spices are alright. Then, add 1 cup of potato water*

5.) Put lid on pressure cooker and being to cook, according to your pressure cooker's directions, to max pressure (about 5-8 minutes).

6.) Then turn off heat and let the pressure cooker slowly let go to room pressure (about 20 minutes).

7.) Carefully, open pressure cooker (read manufacturer's instructions), and the curry is ready to serve over basmati rice (see rice recipe below).

* Potato water refers to the leftover water from boiling potatoes. Because we were also making samosas, we had boiled potatoes on the stove, and therefore saved the water to use in this dish. The potato water adds a bit more flavor and also can help thicken with the starch. If you're not making potatoes, just substitute regular water.

Basmati Rice

Yield: 4-6 cups rice

4 cups water

2 cups basmati rice

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/4 teaspoon whole cloves

1.) Place water, olive oil, bay leaves, peppercorns, and cloves in a medium sized pot on the stove over high heat. Bring to a boil.

2.) Place rice in the boiling water, stir a bit. Cover the pot and reduce heat to low. Allow rice to cook for 15-20 minutes until soft.

3.) Stir rice and serve.

4.) Note that rice will double to triple in amount. So, if place one cup of dried rice in a pot, you'll end up with 2-3 cups of cooked rice. Therefore, adjust the recipe above to your needs by halving (or doubling!) it if necessary.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2010-06-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

I've been in a funk today, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because after months of practicing yoga, my little 'bird' poses still will not 'fly.' Probably has to something do with my chicken arms, and everyone knows that despite everything delicious chickens offer us, they are flightless birds. Or maybe it's the fact that a vast number of unknowns that are swiftly approaching, mostly related to where the hubster is going to get a job and my upcoming residency applications. Ah, change - it's ~~scary~~ one of the only guaranteed things in life. And, as my yoga teacher is constantly reminding us, life does not come with a set instruction manual, so I should embrace all the fun possibilities that lay ahead!

So, today to de-stress, I decided to tackle one of my baking quests: to find the perfect red velvet cake recipe. I actually only tasted my first red velvet cake a few months ago during a visit to Buffalo, but I was instantly hooked. It was moist, delicious, not overly chocolately. I'm not a huge intensely sweet frosting person, either, and this cake was refreshingly served with a tangier cream cheese frosting. Anyway, after that, I decided to do some research and create that lovely cake for myself. I read dozens of recipes online, and decided to settle with one that used canola oil instead of butter, since I personally find that oil makes a moister cake crumble. The first batch I tried were waaaaay to oily and sank in the middle as soon as I took them out of the oven. (Fail...). So, I found a second recipe that used more eggs and flour and decided to adapt that. I kicked up the amount of cocoa powder from 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup, and halved the amount of red food coloring - my cupcakes turned out just as red and without that chemical taste that you can get from coloring.

The overall results is awesome. A super moist, flavorful red cake that bakes up to a perfect dome. The cake is not overly sweet or chocolately, but is so delicious that I ate a whole cupcake before even making the frosting. I cannot wait to make this cake again. You can add on the cream cheese frosting or your favorite frosting of choice! Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Adapted from Leslie Sarna: The Dainty Vegetarian

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature

1 Tablespoon red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled or apple cider vinegar

Classic Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese, softened

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pound confectioners' (powdered) sugar

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your cupcake/muffin tins with paper liners.

2.) If you need to make your own buttermilk, do that now.

3.) In a large bowl (or stand mixer with whisk attachment), whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, soda, salt, cocoa powder.

4.) Add vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract to dry ingredients. Stir. Then, add in buttermilk. Stir again.

5.) Carefully, measure and add the red food coloring. Be careful not to stir/whisk/mix too vigorously or you can end up whipping food coloring all over your kitchen and self!! Then, add in the vinegar and stir a few more times.

7.) Pour batter into prepared pans, filling the cupcake liners roughly 2/3 full.

8.) Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

9.) Remove cupcakes from pan and allow them to cool on a wire rack.

Frosting directions:

1.) In a large bowl, beat (preferably with an electric stand or hand mixer) the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Then, add in the sugar and beat until fluffy.

2.) Frost cupcakes when cool.

P.S. - I used my KitchenAid Mixer for this whole recipe, which made it super easy. I also tried out my birthday gift, the beater blade, for the first time, and it is AMAZING!!! It scrapes the side of my mixing bowl while it's mixing. So, no need to stop the mixer and scrapes the sides down myself anymore. I'm a convert. Seriously. Thanks, BFF!!

Zucchini Bread

2010-06-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

After traveling all last week, the hubby and I returned to Minnesota to see that our community garden (a.k.a. The Farmette) was overflowing with produce! Finally weeks of lugging water out there and weeding have turned into thick rows of sweet lettuce, peapods, and monster zucchini. We're going to have to zucchini having coming out of our ears! I'm really not much of a gardener, but my husband is really into it, and it's not quite as bad as I thought it would be. He does most of the work, and I go out and do what I can when he's out of town. It is a nice excuse to be outside during the lovely summer weather.

Last night, I took some of the bigger zucchinis and decided to make zucchini bread for breakfast and for the hubs to bring into work. I'm going to try to tackle another one of our large zucchini today and make it into bread and then place that in the freezer for later in the season when our zucchini aren't as proliferative.

This recipe I found awhile ago on Cooking Friend, which I really like and have used many times. It's super moist, not overly sweet, and on the healthier end of the spectrum (as far as sweet breads go). You can add nuts or seeds to the batter if you wish, although I'm not a fan of hard chunks in my baked goods, but that's me. Adapt this recipe to your own liking!

Zucchini Bread

From Cooking Friend

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups brown sugar

3/4 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

3 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

2 cups coarsely grated zucchini

1.) Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two loaf pans, size of your choosing. (Smaller pans will yield a higher loaf, larger pans will give you a shorter loaf - or try to make mini loafs and adjust the baking time accordingly).

2.) In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

3.) In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, water, and yogurt. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.

4.) Slowly, add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Then, mix in the grated zucchini.

5.) Pour your batter into the prepared pans. Place both loaf pans in the oven and cook for 55-60 minutes, or until a tooth pick placed in the center of the bread comes out clean.

6.) Remove from oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack for 20 minutes before attempting to remove the bread from the loaf pans.

Basil-Spinach Pesto

2010-06-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

It's World Cup Saturday, USA versus England, and I'm trying to type up this post during half-time. I definitely don't know too much about soccer, but World Cup is just so exciting that I can't help buy try to get involved. It's so much more engaging (and the players are much more handsome) than American football. Plus, I love the constant play and no commercials! It's so refreshing. Although the South African horns that are constantly being tooted during the game have this annoying sound like a mosquito. I'd rather hear roaring soccer chants.

Anyway, before the game started, I was trying to decide what I fancied for lunch. We had a big container of organic baby spinach in the fridge, so I though I would whip up some pesto to serve over linguine. I seriously love pesto, although I don't make it too much. Pesto is classically made with basil, although I find pure basil pesto to be too strong. So, I do a mixture of basil and spinach to temper that strong taste. This recipe can easily be made vegan, too, by omitting the cheese and adding in a scant 1/4 teaspoon salt instead, without compromising the deliciousness.

Pesto is delicious with pasta, although one of my favorite ways eat it is with a baguette and brie. So good. So crazy good. Served this way, pesto would make a great snack or appetizer. Maybe you could make them for your own World Cup party when the US makes it to the finals. :)

Basil-Spinach Pesto

Adapted from Moosewood Cookbook

1 cup fresh basil (must be fresh), packed

2 cups baby spinach, packed

3-4 cloves garlic

1/3 cup pine nuts (toasting optional)*

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup parmesan cheese, shredded (omit if making this vegan)

1.) In a small chopper or food processor, chop the basil, spinach, and garlic.

2.) Add in the pine nuts and pulse until they are well chopped.

3.) Slowly add in the olive oil until the mixture forms a nice paste. If you have what seems to be excess oil, add in a handful of spinach until it is absorbed.

4.) If adding cheese, stir this in by hand. Then serve!

* To toast pine nuts, place pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat. Stir intermittently. Once the nuts starts to exude a nutty scent or you notice they are golden, take them off the heat immediately. They are toasted. Going past this will point they will burn easily, and you will have to start again.

Pannekoeken - Dutch Puffy Pancakes

2010-06-11T09:56:00.001-07:00

I love it when I serendipitously fall into delicious recipes. Last night, my husband graduated from his post-graduate training program. So, after years of schooling (high school, college, Ph.D. and now this specialty residency training), he'll finally be getting a real job! (In contrast to myself who is still five years away from that). We're not quite sure where that job is going to be yet, but we have lots of options out there and are looking forward to what the future will bring!

Anyway, last night at the graduation dinner, I was lamenting at the table how if we do move from Minnesota, I'll miss my favorite Dutch pancake house. It was here that I tried my first pannekoeken, and oh. my. god. it was amazing. It's kind of a dense/fluffy/optionally fruit-filled pancake. The bottom is dense, but the top, puffs up, and the butter and sugar crunchiness that occurs on the top is just ridiculously good. I always ordered mine with apples, which were just a delicious addition, although other fruit could be added to your liking! So, as I'm stating that I'm going to miss this restaurant, one of the wives at the table states that she has a recipe! Shut. up. Seriously? Yay!

I told her to please please please email it to me soon so I could try it. I got the forward from my husband this morning, and decided to put off going into work to make it. To my delight, this recipe tastes exactly like the pannekoekens in town. I even had my favorite Pink Lady apples around the apartment to add. It baked and puffed up beautifully. I smothered it in real maple syrup (collected and made by my husband) and sat down to devour it all.

Enjoy!

Pannekoeken

Yield: 1 Pannekoeken

2 Tablespoons butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

For apple pannekoeken:

one apple, thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 glass pie plate

1.) Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place pie plate into the oven with butter and allow butter to melt as the oven heats.

2.) As the butter is melting, in a small bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the flour, milk, and salt and mix until just well-combined.

3.) Take the pie plate out of the oven. Butter should be melted. (If making apple pannekoeken, sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon over the butter. Then, arrange the apples around the bottom of the pan.) Pour the egg-flour batter into the pie pan (over the apples).

4.) Place the pie pan back into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. The pancake should puff and become golden.

5.) When finished baking, remove the pie plate from the oven and invert the pannekoeken onto plate for serving. Must serve immediately - and serve with real maple syrup.

Pita Puffs

2010-06-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a lazy Sunday morning, but busy baking/cooking Sunday afternoon. The morning was spent lounging, playing with our cat, Chuck, chatting with friends online who live far away. The afternoon picked up, though, and while the hubby was at work, I whipped up some homemade falafel, tried a recipe for chocolate pots de creme, baked blueberry muffins, and made these pita puffs. Plus, I managed to get in a 3-mile run (pretty good for me). Whew!

These pita puffs are really fun in that they truly do puff up, almost magically, revealing a beautiful (and durable) pocket in which you can stuff just about anything. I've been making them more and more since they're quite easy, and pita from the store can be expensive. The only disadvantage is that you have to heat your oven to 500, which in the summer may be insufferable. They're great for us, too, because again, we know what's going into our food, which is important with the hubby being vegan. Try them out and let me know how it goes!

Pita Puffs

Recipe given to me by Annie, originally from King Arthur Baking Companion

Yield: 8 pita puffs

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons instant yeast

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup water (room-temperature)

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1.) Knead all the ingredients by hand for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth. Let the dough rest for an hour.

2.) Turn dough onto a lightly oiled (or floured) work surface (dough will be somewhat sticky). Divide it into 8 pieces. Roll out the pieces into 6 inch circles. Allow the circles to rest for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

3.) Place dough in oven on the lowest rack and bake for 5 minutes; they should puff up. (If they haven't wait a minute or so longer and raise the heat for the next batch). Transfer baking sheet to the oven's middle-to-top rack and bake for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, or until pitas have bronwed.

4.) Remove pitas from oven. (Can optionally wrap them in a dishtowl to keep them warm).

5.) Store in airtight container or plastic bag.

Buttermilk Pound Cake

2010-06-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

It's a warm, sunny night here in Minnesota - perfect for walks, ice cream, outdoor sports events, or campfires with s'mores. However, I'm sitting in the basement of a medical building while my husband finishes a long day's work. He's saving people's lives with math and physics. Seriously. This is what he does. I could try to go into it more, but since it's all above my head, there's really no point because I can't describe it correctly. :) As I sit here entertaining myself, I thought it would be a good time to post this blog - let the creative mix a little with the analytical in this room.

This blog entry has been about a six month (maybe eight year?) adventure. The eight year bit refers to the fact that when I was in college at Cornell, there was this amazing eatery, Collegetown Bagels, where we could grab all sorts of delicious sandwiches, drinks, and pastries. I wish the town I'm living in now had a place like this where you could go and read a book, all while enjoying delicious foods and seasonal drinks. In any case, I am in LOVE with their pound cake. It's dense, buttery, and full of flavor. I buy a piece of it every time I go there. It's just perfect. The six month adventure refers to the fact that a recent-ish Martha Stewart Living had a whole segment on pound cake, and it instantly made me nostalgic for college. So, I decided I would try the "classic" recipe they offered. Turns out Martha makes some gross pound cake. It was dry and not anything like the pound cake I enjoyed so frequently in college. So, I tried another recipe; it was okay, but definitely not worthy of replication. Then, I tried putting fewer eggs in the second recipe and pouring simple syrup over the top (hoping to lock in some moistness). It was still not good and talk about a sugar high! Woah. Then, I gave up. Three pound cakes in a row that tasted gross. I was out.

Then, recently, as I was surfing through Tastespotting (my new addiction), I saw a picture of beautiful, moist pound cake and instantly clicked on it. I was led to a baking blog by this amazing 17-year-old: 17 and baking. Her pictures and writing are beyond enviable! Maybe someday I'll be able to come close to the classiness of her blog. Anyway, her post on Buttermilk Pound Cake reinvigorated my drive to find a great pound cake recipe. So, I made hers, and... it was delicious! It was lighter than the version I had at Cornell, although I didn't wait the two days she suggested before cutting into it. Delightfully, it was very moist, with just the right balance of tart - with the lemon and buttermilk - butter, and sugar. It's the type of pound cake that can be enjoyed alone, or with a pairing of whipped cream or berries. So, although I may still keep searching and experimenting to find how to make a dense pound cake like Collegetown Bagels, this pound cake is seriously delicious and will stay in my recipe book for a long time.

Buttermilk Pound Cake

From 17 and baking

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (plus more for pan)

3 1/2 cups flour (plus more for pan)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup cultured buttermilk (click to find recipe to make it with things you probably have laying around)

Juice of 1 lemon, strained

1.) Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter and flour a 9" bundt pan.

2.) In a small bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, make buttermilk if you don't have a can of it laying around. Set aside.

3.) With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then, beat in the vanilla extract.

4.) Add in 1/4 of the flour to the mixture and beat. Then, add 1/3 of the buttermilk and beat. Continue to alternate between the flour and buttermilk, finishing with the flour. Stir in lemon juice.

5.) Smooth the batter in to the prepared bundt pan. Bake for roughly 75 minutes - or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then invert and allow the cake to cool on a rack.

6.) Then, the secret ingredient: time. As Elissa says:

E- told me the secret ingredient was time. She’d discovered that if she waited a day or two before cutting into it, everything about this pound cake improved – the flavor, the texture of the crumb, its dynamics. The slightly sugary crust that formed along the edges, giving it a bit of a crunch? The sweet, gentle tang of buttermilk? All side effects of her patience.

Enjoy!!

Orzo Salad with Pine Nuts and Sundried Tomatoes

2010-05-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

It was delightfully hot today in Minnesota - reaching 90 degrees! These are the days I miss living in the country and being able to easily transition between indoors and outdoors. Living in an apartment complex just seems to make getting outdoors harder. There's just nothing like being able to lounge in the comfort of your own yard... Anyway, the hubby and I did get a lot of sunlight today watering and weeding our community garden plots. This originally was supposed to be his little hobby for the summer,but now I find myself assuming greater responsibilities. It is kind of fun to see the little plants grow and excel with sunshine and water. Plus, I'm excited to find ways to use the crops in the kitchen come harvest time.

With all the heat of the day, I really started craving my husband's orzo salad. It's a pasta dish filled with veggies, and unlike traditional macaroni salad which has a mayonnaise dressing, this dish uses olive oil, which is much lighter. That lightness is so nice when it's extremely hot. So, I decided to whip up a batch for us to enjoy when we returned from gardening. It totally hit the spot.

Orzo Salad

From my hubby

1 1/2 cup orzo pasta

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup high quality balsamic vinegar

1 cucumber, diced

1 medium tomato, diced

1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

2-3 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

5 basil leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts

Other options: artichoke hearts, olives, fresh mozzarella, dill

Salt and Pepper to taste

1.) Cook orzo pasta in boiling, salted water until it is cooked through. Strain and rinse with cold water.

2.) While the pasta is cooking, toast the pine nuts by placing them in a dry pan and turning the heat to medium. Allow them to cook on the stove, stirring occasionally, until they become fragrant or start to slightly darken/become golden (usually about 5 minutes). Remove the pine nuts from the heat.

3.) Place pasta, pine-nuts, and veggies in a salad bowl. Toss with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

4.) Refrigerate the salad until ready to serve.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

2010-05-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'll be honest, for a long time I didn't understand the concept of a blondie (the lighter version of a brownie). I guess I associated them with "bar cookies" which I mean, why mess with the perfection that is a chocolate chip cookie? So, I didn't really get it... But then, I was surfing on FoodGawker and saw the most delicious picture of a blondie - with peanut butter! Now, a peanut butter brownie/blondie is just something totally different and beautiful. So, I gave it a try. The first recipe was too cakey (yuck), so I cut the number of eggs and settled on this recipe by Bake At 350. It's magical. Seriously. I'm not saying it's going to replace my favorite brownies because it can't (nothing can), but it's a nice side-kick for sure. The moist chewy consistency is great, and the peanut butter is just wow. Delish. You should definitely whip up your own batch today!

Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Chips

Adapted from Bake at 350 and originally created in the King Arthur Flour's Cookie Companion

6 Tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter (I used 'Better 'N' Peanut Butter, which I loooove)

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 cup chocolate chips

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.) In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

3.) With a hand mixer (preferably), cream the butter and peanut butter. Add in the sugar and continue to mix until combined.

4.) Add in the eggs one at a time. Then, stir in the vanilla.

5.) Stir in the flour mixture. Then add in the chocolate chips and stir until just combined.

6.) Butter an 11 x 8 (or 8x8 or 9x13 depending on how thick you want these to be). Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick (or knife) inserted in the center comes out clean.

7.) Cool completely before cutting.

Fresh Tomato Risotto

2010-05-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

I'd call this one of my staple recipes -- especially good for entertaining. It's quite easy to make, but since people generally don't have the patience for risotto, it's a nice treat for guests. I find the trick is not to rush this dish. Keep your the liquid stock you're adding to the rice hot (simmering) and add it slowly (like a fourth cup at a time). Let the rice fully soak up what you've added before you give it more liquid.

Amazingly, the dish can be made vegan very easily without any compromise in taste - just omit the butter and cheese. (Although I will admit that without the cheese the dish does lack a certain depth, but you also don't leave the table feeling that heaviness).

The original recipe can be found on cookingfriend. I will write the vegan version below. Enjoy!

Fresh Tomato Risotto

1 medium onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons olive oil

6 cups vegan vegetable broth of your choosing

salt to taste

2 cups tomato sauce

2 cups arborio rice

3/4 cup white (or red) wine

1-2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1-2 Tablespoons fresh basil

1.) Saute the onion in the olive oil over low-medium heat until it is soft.

2.) Heat the broth and the sauce in two separate pans until they are simmering. Try to keep them almost simmering the whole time while cooking. The key to a good risotto is a hot broth, fairly constant stirring, and having patience.

3.) Add in the rice to the onions and olive oil. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes.

4.) Add the white wine, continuing to stir for additional minute.

5.) Pour in a ladle of broth into the rice mixture (about 1/4 cup of broth). Stir intermittently until it is fully absorbed.

6.) Then, pour in a full ladle of tomato broth. Stir intermittently until this is fully absorbed.

7.) Alternate between adding the broth and tomato sauce (waiting until each is absorbed before adding the other) until the tomato sauce is gone. Then, continue to add the remaining broth slowly 1/4 cup at a time. This will probably take 30-45 minutes. The rice should no longer be tough, but very soft and creamy.

8.) Add in the fresh herbs and cheese. Stir and serve immediately.

Caribbean Rum Punch

2010-05-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the fortune of traveling to Canada to attend a good friend's fabulous wedding. Since both he and his new wife are from the Caribbean, the food and music reflected this - to all the guests delight! The meal was especially delicious, but I was personally wowed by the rum punch served during cocktail hour. I subsequently learned that the groom's parents had made it! Let's just say that the punch was such a crowd pleaser that there was literally one in all the guests' hands and only a few lucky guests got seconds. I especially loved the 'recipe' description I received from the groom. He said that since everyone loves the rum punch (and therefore generally overindulges), the recipe has to be very easy to remember, or else they'll soon forget it after drinking too much. (I made sure this wouldn't happen to me by writing the recipe down in lipgloss on my name card...). So, here it goes:

Caribbean Rum Punch

Courtesy of Dr. Simon

1 of sour

2 of sweet

3 of strong

4 of weak

(sour = lemon / lime juice; sweet = simple sugar; strong = rum!; weak = juice (generally orange & pineapple)).

Beer-Braised Turkey Tacos

2010-05-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, before a road trip up to Canada for a friend's wedding, one of my good med school friends and I went to a cooking-class dinner at Delish in Buffalo. I had known them for their incredible bakery, but upstairs they also offer cooking classes where you get to learn and then sample all the dishes. What a fun concept! It was very interactive and the food was so tasty! My favorite recipe of the night, which I cannot wait to re-create in my own kitchen, were the Beer-Braised Turkey Tacos. Seriously good, and soooo much better than just cheap ground beef with a packet of taco seasoning. Definitely put this recipe at the top of your "to try" list!!

Beer-Braised Turkey Tacos

From Delish (and including the adaptations we did in class)

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds raw boneless/skinless turkey breast

salt & fresh ground pepper

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 medium white onions: one diced (for cooking) and one minced (for serving)

1 large oregano sprig

1 large jalapeno - stemmed, seeded, and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick

1/2 - 1 can tomato paste

1 teaspoon sugar

1 ancho chile (or chipotle/adobo) - stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped or torn

One 2-inch cinnamon stick

One 12-ounce bottle Mexican dark beer (Modelo Negro)

1 cup water

12 corn tortillas

1 ripe avocado, skinned, pitted, and sliced, for serving

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds and cilantro sprigs, for serving

Sour cream (optional)

1.) In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the olive oil over moderate heat. Season the turkey with salt and pepper. Place the turkey in the olive oil and cook until richly browned on all side, about 8 minutes. Transfer to the turkey to a plate.

2.) Add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the casserole along with the garlic, diced onion, oregano, and jalapeno and cook over moderate heat, until the onion is soft. Add the tomato paste, sugar, ancho chile, and cinnamon stick and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes.

3.) return the turkey to the casserole, add the beer and water, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat, turning once, until the turkey is tender - about one hour.

4.) Transfer the turkey to a plate and let cool. Discard the oregano sprig and cinnamon stick. Boil the remaining sauce over high heat until it is reduced to about 1/4 cup (about 12 minutes). Allow the sauce to cool some and then transfer it to a food processor/blender and puree. (You could also use an immersion blender). Shred the turkey meat. Return the sauce to the pot and stir in the shredded turkey.

5.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the corn tortillas in foil and bake them until they are warm - about 8 minutes.

6.) Spoon turkey onto the tortillas. Top with minced onion, sesame seeds, cilantro, avocado, and a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy!

Homemade Sandwich Rolls, BBQ Beef, and Cabbage Salad

2010-05-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

It's hot in Minnesota, and I love it! It's light out until 9 PM at night. I can walk outside without adorning a parka (literally). Summer is here - and early! yay! In honor of the lovely weather, I made one of my favorite dishes: Barbeque Beef Sandwiches. I love this recipe because it takes about five minutes to start in the morning as you put everything into the slow cooker/crock pot, then a few more minutes at the end to shred the beef, and then done and delicious! When I lived in New York, I always used Dinosaur Barbeque Sauce in my BBQ Beef, but now I don't have immediate access to it. : ( I plan on trying to come up with my own personal BBQ sauce, but in the meantime, I'm experimenting with the types sold in the local grocery.

I decided to make my own rolls since I didn't have any laying around the house. Bread products are generally tricky for our household with the hubby being vegan. Often there can be milk or an egg wash that might sneak its way into the recipe, so I've been making more bread at home so I know what goes into it. I found this recipe for No Knead Sandwich Rolls. The advantage to these rolls are that you can start them at the same time as the beef, and then let them sit all day, and them work on them an hour or so before you want to eat, and you're done! The hubby liked the rolls so much he requested them when he went away for a conference this last weekend. The rolls have a nice crunchy crust and are nice and soft in the middle. Mmmm.

The cabbage salad recipe is my mother's. You can add more or less mayo depending on how creamy you like yours. I prefer mine a little lighter. I'm also a purist when it comes to mayonnaise and always use the real stuff. I'd rather eat less food with more taste than more food with less taste, but that's me.

I hope that you'll enjoy these delicious and refreshingly easy recipes soon!

Barbeque Beef

2.5 - 3 pounds beef chuck roast

1 cup (roughly) of BBQ sauce of your choice

1 chopped onion

1.) Trim fat off the beef and place it into the crock-pot.

2.) Add onions and BBQ sauce.

3.) Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours until beef is tender.

4.) Shred meat using two forks.

5.) Serve either alone or with buns for a sandwich.

No Knead Sandwich Rolls

From About.com

1 1/2 cups warm (but not hot) water

1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar (I used raw sugar)

3 cups flour

cornmeal for the baking pans

1.) Add all ingredients (except the cornmeal) to a bowl and mix with a spoon until the ingredients are decently mixed. The dough is going to be very sticky. Once mixed, cover the bowl with a towel or saran wrap and let the dough sit for 12 hours. (I've done as little as 8 hours with success.) After the dough has sat for at least 8 hours (ideally 12), it will be bubbly and at least doubled in size.

2.) Place a 'generous' amount of cornmeal on a baking sheet - this prevents the rolls from sticking while baking. (Note: The first time I did this, I practically covered the bottom of the baking sheet with cornmeal, and then while the rolls were cooking, my whole place smelled like toasted cornmeal. The second time I made the recipe, I just put cornmeal in the areas where the rolls would be, and it worked just fine and smelled less toasty).

3.) To prepare the rolls, place a 1/4-1/2 cup of flour on a plate or counter top. Separate the dough into 8 pieces; since the dough is very sticky, I found it easiest to take a piece of the dough and roll/dust the outside with the flour on my plate so that the outside wasn't so sticky. Then, I could mold the piece of dough into a round shape and place it on my cornmeal-covered baking sheet.

4.) Once all the rolls are made and placed on the baking sheet, let them sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour so they may rise some more.

5.) Place a pie pan half filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Bake the rolls on the middle / top rack for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden on the outside and sound hollow when tapped on top. Remove from the oven, and let them cool some before using.

Mom's Cabbage Salad

1 small cabbage finely chopped or shredded

1 apple sliced thinly

1/2 red onion sliced thinly

1-2 carrots cut into fine matchsticks or coarsely grated

Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons celery seeds

1.) Place all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.

2.) In a large bowl, place veggies. Pour in dressing and toss thoroughly.

3.) If you like a crunchier salad/slaw, serve immediately. If you'd like it to soften, cover the salad and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours before serving.

Falafel & Tahini Dressing

2010-05-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

After dropping $6 for six balls of falafel at our local food co-op, I decided to try to attempt to make it at home, especially since it's vegan and tasty. I happened upon TasteSpotting and FoodGawker, which by the way I am newly addicted to, and found some beautiful pictures of falafel and a recipe from the blog Use Real Butter. So, I decided to use both his recipe and that of the New York Times to create my own recipe. It turned out delicious: classic falafel flavor with a crunchy outside revealing a soft interior. My talented husband created the Tahini sauce, which was perfect. The recipe does require a little bit of preparation as you must soak the dried chick peas for 24 hours. Once that's done, though, you just pop everything into the food processor, roll the balls, and start frying! Mmm. I hope that you enjoy!

Falafel

Note: You must soak the beans for 24 hours before starting the rest of this recipe.

Helpful tips from the New York Times before we start:

First, keep the amount of water you use when grinding the beans to an absolute minimum. More water makes grinding easier, but it also virtually guarantees that the batter will fall apart when it hits the hot oil. If this happens, bind the remaining mixture by stirring in a little flour.

The second essential step is to get the oil hot enough: 350 degrees or a little higher. If you don't have a thermometer, just wait until the oil shimmers and then add a pinch of the batter. When it sizzles immediately, sinks about halfway to the bottom, then rises to the top, the oil is ready. If it sinks and stays down, the oil is too cold; if it doesn't sink at all, the oil is too hot.

1 3/4 cups dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

4 cloves garlic

1 small onion

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1-2 Tablespoons corriander

1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne

3/4 cup parsley

1.5 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

6 Tablespoons flour

canola oil for frying

1.) Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with water until they are covered by 3-4 inches of water. Soak for 24 hours. Add more water if necessary. You may want to change the water after 12 hours, but that is optional.

2.) Drain the beans well and transfer them to the food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients (not the oil!) until all the ingredients are ground but not to the point where it's all a paste.

3.) Roll the mixture into balls - a little smaller than a golf ball.

4.) Put oil into a pan or wok so that there's 2-3 inches of oil in it (enough to cover the falafels 3/4 of the way at least). Turn the heat to medium. The New York Times article gives some good tips as to when the oil is ready. I generally just flick a little water off my fingers into the oil and when it sizzles, I call the oil ready, although this is quite an inexact science.

5.) Fry the balls in batches until they are golden in color - roughly 4 minutes. Place the falafel on paper towels or on wire racks to drain. You can stop the frying now if you'd like and dig in, but if you are looking for that crispy outside, re-fry all the falafel balls for about 2 minutes. They should not really change color. Again, place them on paper towels or wire racks to drain.

6.) Serve with tahini dressing and cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, or other veggies of your choice.

Tahini Dressing

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup quality olive oil

1/4 cup water OR alternatively, 1/2 of a peeled cucumber

juice of 2 lemons

1/2 teaspoon salt

1.) Place all into the food processor and pulse until smooth.

Indian Lime Soda

2010-05-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

When my husband and I went on our 'mini' honeymoon to Toronto in the Fall, we found this delicious vegetarian/vegan Indian restaurant. We liked their food so much, we actually went back there again for another meal during our trip. I especially loved their Lime Soda, which was sweet but not overly sweet and full of Indian Spices. It was delicious, and I think I've come up with a close approximation. If you don't mind spices in your drink, it's certainly delicious - and a healthier alternative to classic overly sugary soda. Let me know what you think!

Indian Lime Soda

3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1-2 Tablespoons agave nectar (or 1-2 teaspoons regular old sugar)

1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala (we make our own, but you can find this easily at the grocery store or Indian grocery)

for every cup (approximately) of sparkling water

1.) Pour all into a glass. Stir. Enjoy!!

Homemade Tomato Soup

2010-05-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

After a long day of cleaning, gardening, and running (3 miles!), the hubs and I came home and wanted something comforting for dinner, so I thought of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Mmm.

Two of my best girlfriends and I had a virtual dinner a few months ago (since we all live in different time zones), and we all made cream of tomato soup, grilled cheese, and 'wedding' salad. I immediately thought of this soup as the one I wanted to make tonight, but since hubby is vegan the soup had to be altered. It turned out fabulously - and less heavy than the creamy version, which was nice. Unfortunately, vegan cheese just cannot compare to the real stuff, so only I ate the grilled cheese filled with Irish Cheddar. Maybe some day there will be a better vegan cheese product... :)

Overall, this recipe is very tasty and easy to whip up, so please give it (or the creamy version) a try! Enjoy!

Fresh Tomato Soup

3-4 Tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced (or half of those mega onions)

2 carrots, diced

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons flour

1 28-ounce can crushed organic tomatoes (or 2 pounds fresh (in season!), peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes)

2 cups vegetable broth (I used 2 vegan (no salt) bouillon cubes and water)

1 Tablespoon tomato paste (but you can do without it if you have to)

1 teaspoon fresh or dried basil

salt and pepper

1.) Sauté the onions and carrots with the olive oil over low heat until they just start to turn translucent. Add the garlic and cook that until you just start to notice its fragrance (a minute or two).

2.) Add the flour and stir for about 20 seconds. Pour in the tomatoes, broth, and tomato paste, and bring to a boil.

3.) Reduce heat, and let simmer for roughly 15 minutes.

4.) Leave the soup as is if you like it chunky; alternatively, you can use an immersion blender or pour parts into a regular blender to smooth the soup, which is how we prefer it.

5.) Add basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Homemade Vanilla

2010-05-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

If you're a baker, you probably have a large bottle of vanilla extract in your cupboard. If you're a serious baker, you've learned that not all vanilla is created equal, and journeyed away from the imitation stuff in search of the best 'real' extract. Unfortunately, that real stuff doesn't come cheap. That's what I found at least. During one fateful trip to Philadelphia, though, I stopped at a Penzy's Spices, and learned from the cashier that you can actually make your OWN vanilla extract - and for cheap! It makes a fabulous Christmas/Holiday gift, but you have to get started now to allow the extraction process enough time. I guest blogged about the process on my BFF's blog "Annie Get Your Glue Gun." So, check it out now, buy your beans, take a trip to the liquor store, and be prepared to take your baking up a notch. : )

PS - I highly suggest Southern Comfort as your extracting liquor.

The Best Brownie Recipe - Seriously

2010-05-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing you should absolutely know about me, it's that I love brownies. There's nothing better than their chocolately, sweet, soft, gooeyness. I can easily eat a whole pan myself, although I generally try to give most of them away before I do that. In college, I always had a box of brownie mix in the dorm room or apartment so I could whip up a box when I felt the craving. As I got more into baking, though, I tried to wean myself from my dependency on the box. So, I tried a bunch of 'delicious' brownie recipes, which ended up cakey, dry, crumbly, gross. Seriously, if I wanted cake, I would make CAKE! When I want a brownie, I want gooey! The love-hate relationship with the box continued, until one fateful day in med school when a fellow baker-friend introduced me to her brownie recipe, and quite honestly, life has not been the same since. So, I can't take credit from her, but I can spread the tasty news: This recipe makes the PERFECT brownie. The chocolate glaze adds a certain pizazz, but it is by no means necessary (and if you're like me, you can't wait for that once you start to smell delicious brownies cooking in your oven). Enjoy!!

All the ingredients you need (plus baking powder and salt):

Ooey gooey good.

Although you can put the batter into a 9x9 or 9x13 pan, I think an 8x11 works the best.

Ingredients and recipe here!

Perfect Pizza Pie

2010-05-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

So sorry that it's been so long since I blogged!!! I baked so many delicious things for Easter, but in the craziness, I totally forgot to take pictures and notes... So, that was a waste. Then, it was a two week road trip around the western United States. (I know, such a hard life...)

Finally, I got back home and wanted to start baking. I found some new recipes to try, but I didn't find them pleasing - definitely not blog-worthy. So, there's been a dry spell, but today I have one of my favorite recipes for you: pizza dough and the recipe to make a perfect pizza! With the hubby being vegan, it's sometimes hard for us to find recipes that we can mutually enjoy. Making pizza, though, is perfect because we get to customize our own pies. I prefer a 'plain pizza' topped with homemade sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil, and a few scattered onions. The hubs enjoys any assortment of veggies. Hawaiian pizza with sauce, ham, and crushed pineapple is also delicious. (Believe it or not). It's a fun way to make dinner and great when friends are over, too. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough Recipe

1 2/3 cups warm (but not hot) water

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons raw sugar (or white if that's all you have)

2 teaspoons salt

4 1/2 cups bread flour

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1.) Combine water, oil, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add in flour and yeast and knead until smooth (about 10 minutes).

2.) Cover bowl, place in warm area, and let dough rest until it doubles in size (approximately 1 hour).

Alternatively, you can put the ingredients into your bread machine and place it on the 'dough' cycle (which is what I do :) ).

Perfect Homemade Pizza Sauce

1 large can crushed organic tomatoes (I prefer the Tree of Life brand)

1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings (a mixture of oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and sweet basil)

1 teaspoon (or more!) fresh chopped or granulated garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1.) Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust spices accordingly. (Sometimes adding a little sugar helps with the acidity).

Crust Enhancing Oil

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh chopped or granulated garlic

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings (a mixture of oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and sweet basil)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.) Place all in a small bowl and mix. Let sit for at least 10 minutes to allow oil to soak up the flavors.

Making The Pizza

1.) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. If you are using a pizza stone, place the stone in the oven (or work according to its instructions).

2.) Now that the dough has risen, transfer it to a large surface where you can easily roll it out - a counter top or board works well. Gently separate the dough into 4 pieces. Lightly flour your surface and roll out each piece into a circle, roughly 1/4" thick. (I highly recommend a French rolling pin for this task). You want the dough to be thin, but not so thin that it will rip as you transfer it to your pizza pan or stone.

3.) Transfer one of your rolled out pieces of dough to your pizza pan or pizza stone. We use Martha Stewart's 13" pizza pan and love it, but some people swear by pizza stones. Fold over any excess dough to create the crust. I like very little crust, so I try to make a smaller circle than my pan, and then only fold over about 1/2".

4.) Place the dough in the oven for five minutes. This first baking allows the dough to bake enough so that when you add the sauce it doesn't make the dough all soupy/soggy.

5.) Take the pie out of the oven. Brush the Crust Enhancing Oil along the crust edge. Take roughly 3/4 cup of pizza sauce and fill the center of the pizza pie with it. (More or less to your liking). Top with your favorite toppings!

6.) Place the pizza back in the oven for about 7-8 minutes until the crust starts to become golden and your cheese (if you're using it) is melted. The bottom of the crust should be crispy.

7.) Similarly bake the other 3 pizza dough crusts.

8.) Enjoy!

Curried Spinach Side or Snack

2010-03-11T11:54:00.001-08:00

The hubs and I treated ourselves to delicious sushi at Origami a few weekends ago up in the Twin Cities. It was so yummy and made me miss living in a bigger town where I can get sushi regularly. One of the appetizers we had, Spinach Goma Ae, was a surprisingly sweet cooked spinach dish with sesame and soy flavors. It was absolutely delicious. Chris and I bought some spinach in order to try to recreate the dish ourselves, but when he decided to attempt it, he became inspired with more Indian curry flavorings. The result is a mild dish with subtle but deep flavors that is super healthy! I definitely enjoyed it, and hope you will, too!

Recipe here!

Chocolate Pudding Cake

2010-03-08T17:32:00.001-08:00

My girlfriends and I had a virtual dinner this past weekend. It's so nice to share meals together despite being far away. We had cream of tomato soup, 'wedding' salad, grilled cheese, and pudding cake. All were delicious, but this particular post will focus on dessert.

I'm a big cake lover, but unless I've set aside the time to do it, I hate spending time making frosting and then frosting the actual cake. Although it's fun to spend time decorating, I just think its a lot of work for not that much taste reward, and I'm all about taste rewards. That's why I love this chocolate pudding cake. When it comes out of the oven, it's ready to be eaten! No frosting or other work necessary to perk up this cake. Plus, I really think this cake is magical: before going into the oven, you pour chocolate chips, brown sugar + cocoa powder, and boiling water on top of the cake batter, and after it bakes, the pudding is on the bottom. Magic!

Whisk together all the dry ingredients.

Add in the dry and whisk until smooth. The batter is almost a frosting-like consistency.

Pour the batter into a 9-inch pan.

Layer on the chocolate chips and then the brown sugar + cocoa powder mix.

Unlike this picture indicates, the next best move would be to put the cake on the oven rack and then pour in the boiling water just before you close the oven door. Otherwise, you're going to have to carefully carry a very full pan topped with boiling water to your oven, which is not a fun task.

After baking, magic! Cake on the top!

Once you cut into the cake, though, you discover the delicious warm chocolate pudding hiding. It's definitely not the prettiest cake ever, but I promise you that it's tasty.

Recipe can be found on cookingfriend: right here.

Chocolate Bread

2010-03-04T14:53:00.000-08:00

The best grocery store in the world, Wegman's, started to make chocolate bread around Valentine's Day a few years ago, and I got hooked. It just smelled, looked, and tasted delicious. They paired with a coffee infused marscapone cheese, and the combination was just *wow.* Anyway, I sadly moved away from the land of Wegman's, but this past week, came across the coffee marscapone cheese in Minnesota! Unfortunately, there is no amazing bakery that offers chocolate bread here, so I had to resort to my own skills to make it. The recipe that I used for this bread was adapted from one online by NPR. The final result is just wonderful!

This bread is not a sweet bread, like banana or zucchini, but rather more of a classic doughier bread, flavored with chocolate.

So, here's how I made it.

I truly hate sifting things, so to get around that little 'problem' I simply whisk together all the dry ingredients when I am baking before adding any liquids. Here, I am whisking together the flour, sugars, cocoa, and salt.

Meanwhile, the yeasts were happy sitting atop some sugar water and doing their thing, aka creating some foam.

Yeast and coffee were then combined with the dry ingredients, and the dough was kneaded. Butter was added tablespoon by tablespoon into the dough until it was glistening.

Then, I added in the chocolate chunks!

The dough had to sit overnight in the fridge, but today after work, I rolled out the dough into balls and arranged them in the bread pan.

After rising and then being baked, here's the final result. Mmm.

Coffee flavored marscapone cheese is the perfect spread to pair with this bread!

Full ingredients and recipe here!

Swoon!!

2010-03-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

So, I have a med school semi-formal coming up, and I went to the mall here in Minnesota attempting to find something that would look fabulous. As I learned, shopping here is less than stimulating. How can that be?!! Why are the no cute dresses that make me swoon here?! Anyway, to remedy this, I went on etsy to look at some of my faves. Aww, to have $400 to donate to a dress...

Look at these beauties from Timeless Vixen Vintage. Mega swoon.

Love love love.

Indian Samosas

2010-02-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to be able to post this recipe for you! My husband and I absolutely love samosas with their flakey yet doughy crust and and spiced potato and pea filling. Unfortunately, when Chris became vegan, we couldn't visit some our favorite Indian restaurants because they most likely included dairy in their recipes. So, we began to search for our own recipe to make samosas at home. After much trial and error, I think we finally developed a recipe that works for us!

Here is a mixture of the pastry dough after being kneaded just to perfection.

I rolled pieces of this dough into rounds that fit just about into my palm, then rolled them flat with my beloved French rolling pin.

I rolled out 10 pastries from the dough, which is enough to make 20 samosas.

For the filling, Chris sautéed onions and black mustard seeds.

Then added spices, and finally the potatoes - we used organic blues.

After being cooked down, here is the yummy filling!

Now time to stuff! Begin by cutting the dough circles in half and then folding them in half and pinching along the cut edge.

This creates a little cone.

Which you can stuff.

And then pinch closed.

Mmm ready to fry!

Heat up two inches of canola oil.

And when the oil is hot and will sputter when flicked with some water, place in the samosa and fry until golden.

Finished product. Mmmm enjoy!

For full recipe and ingredients, please click here!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-02-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

After a couple years of making baked goods and sharing them with the "boys down the hall" - two fellow medical students that live down the hall from my husband (and now me!), one of them shared these cookies with me yesterday, and I instantly asked for the recipe. Today, I decided to try them, and will send them out to some friends that are still living on the East Coast.

These cookies were easy to make, just a small twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie recipes, that lends some softness and chewiness to the cookies, while cutting the butter some. One thing I especially loved about this recipe was that I got more than four dozen cookies out of the recipe! So, it's definitely worth the time.

Here's the dough. I love any kind of batter or dough, and would give this a 4 stars out of 5 for flavor.

And here's the delicious final product. Mmmm.

Recipe here.

Let me know what you think of the recipe and if you make any adjustments!

New life! New blog!

2010-02-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

It's been a long dry spell for me and blogging. Before my wedding, I was an active blogger, constantly looking over wedding material, and documenting my inspiration on my blog, I Do Weddings. After the big day, though, my attentions turned to thank yous, med school rotations, holidays, and moving out to southern Minnesota, where my husband is working. Now that I'm Minnesota, I have much more time on my hands as life here is much less hectic. So, it's back to blogging, and I couldn't be more excited about it. I hope this blog will showcase my love of life, especially of entertaining and baking, but anything is up for grabs. Welcome!