An Oft Traveled Path

In My Kitchen

2010-11-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

{It's a busy place, this kitchen of ours.

What's going on in YOUR kitchen this week?}

Thanks, Amanda of SouleMama, for this topic. I have to giggle though, as I am not a professional blogger and my own contribution comes in about two and a half weeks later!

This month, in my kitchen, I have:

:: tried to keep the instant oatmeal jar full (mine is based on this one)

:: burned my Mandarin Woods candle made by Bella from Illume, which I found at Target. (A little Googling showed me that I'm not the first to sing the praises of this wonderful scent; even the print on the packaging box is gorgeous and currently serves as a pencil box on my desk.)

:: helped the girls make baked apples

:: made macaroni and cheese

:: worked on Christmas ornaments with the kids (we ordered this pattern as a kit)

:: made a whole-grain loaf and sandwich bread and pizza dough and focaccia (from here and here and here)

:: watched baby play with spices and dried herbs (before one of the jars broke, of course)

What's happening in your kitchen?

Library Book Giveaway

2010-10-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

In exchange for a meager donation to the school library, my oldest snagged this treasure trove of books last weekend at our school's fall carnival:

Hoot
Because of Winn Dixie
White Fang
Caddie Woodlawn
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Pilgrim's Progress
Life Under the Czars
The Golden Book of the Civil War
The Hobbit
The Mysterious Journey of Edward Tulane

Lots of happy reading to come!

How I Made This Blanket

2010-10-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

Oh, this blanket is so lovely! Look how the colors and patterns keep your eye moving. Even my little babe was in awe as we snuggled underneath and watched A Roman Holiday (well, at least one of us was watching). I zipped this blanket through the sewing machine in one medium-sized naptime. And knocked my own novice sewer's socks off, if I do say so myself.

I can't claim to be providing a tutorial, as I'm sure some sewing goddess out there knows of a much better way to make one of these, but this is how I made my Good Folks throw blanket.

1. Making the Patchwork Top

As I previously mentioned, I used fat quarters, which are conveniently pre-cut into 18x22-inch rectangles. I played with these on the dining room floor for several days, trying different configurations. Then I cut each of them into 16" squares using a rotary cutter and mat. Next I laid the squares on the floor in a 4x4 layout before pinning the squares together to make four long strips. Using a straight stitch with backstitching at each end, I sewed the squares into strips using a 1/4" seam allowance and pressed the seams open. Finally I spread these strips of four squares out on the dining room again and pinned them together. Again, using a 1/4" seam allowance, I stitched the strips together, resulting in a 4x4 patchwork of squares.

2. Assembling a Blanket Sandwich

I used a twin-sized package of Warm & Natural batting for the inside of my blanket. Since the dimensions of the batting were much larger than my patchwork top, I needed to make the size more manageable before sewing. Laying the patchwork top on the batting, I roughly trimmed the batting. And when I say roughly, I mean a very quick cut. You can see below that some areas were about an inch longer than the patchwork top. Using a 3/8" seam allowance, I stitched the patchwork top to the batting.

After stitching all four sides, I trimmed the excess batting and clipped the corners.

I used an old, queen-sized, plum-colored bedsheet for the back of my blanket. I spread this out flat (again on my trusty dining room floor!) and then laid my now soft-and-fuzzy patchwork top on the sheet with the patchwork facing downward and the batting facing up. I roughly trimmed the sheet after pinning it all together. Then I used a 1/2" seam allowance and stitched the batting-covered patchwork to the sheet. However, rather than starting in a corner, I began stitching midway down one side so I would end up leaving an opening roughly the length of one square. Make sure to leave that opening open, and I hear one might really regret not backstitching the edges of that opening...

After zipping along and quickly finishing this step, I realized that I had run out of bobbin thread after the second side. Oops!

Well, after getting those four sides stitched together, I trimmed the sheet backing and clipped the corners.

Now for the fun part - when this all starts to look like an actual blanket. Reach inside that open pocket you left, and turn the whole thing inside out so your fuzzy batting is inside and your beautiful patchwork is on the outside.

And you'll end up with something like this. With a strange opening left in one side, of course.

Using the best of your fine motor skills, fold the edges of that opening inside and pin them together.

Then, starting at that opening, topstitch the opening shut with a 1/8" seam allowance, and continue the topstitch all the way around the blanket.

Then make yourself some pumpkin muffins to eat under your new blanket while watching a great movie.

Fall is for Projects... and Granola

2010-10-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

Summer was blissful.

But, like any other mom who needs to nurture her urges to plan, by late summer I was creating my list of "things I'll do when..." One of those being "when the kids are back in school."

I've been playing with color. So fun to see how swapping out one color block changes the dynamic.

I'm shamelessly ripping off an idea from Amanda and Mary Beth in making a Good Folks throw blanket. I ordered fat quarter bundles of this vivid set of fabrics directly from the designer, Anna Maria Horner. Would you ever put these colors and patterns together? I sure wouldn't. I have a long, long history as a color-phobe. I'm sure I'm not alone in that dirty little secret...

I recruited a little helper for the pinning. Seemed like a better use of our time than spending another hour trying to get her to nap.

If you peeked at either of those above links to stories about finished blankets, you may have noticed there was no how-to, no tutorial detailing the assembly of this blanket. Being a newbie sewer, this was slightly intimidating, but I have to admit that stitching squares together has to be among the easiest of projects.

I cut my fat quarters into 16" squares in my typical way, a slice here, a slice there, run to move the laundry, another cut, fetch the baby after naptime, one more cut, and it's time to pick up the kids at school! Such a relaxing hobby.

I'm waiting for my batting to be delivered, and then I'll figure out how to finish this off, likely using an old bedsheet for the back fabric.

I've also been doing a bunch of batch cooking: make two, freeze one. Spinach and leek lasagna, macaroni and cheese, chicken enchiladas, and stove-top pot roast.

Another big project was settling into a new desk corner. My temporary sofa table solution was really backfiring when the toddler figured out how to climb on the sofa herself and yank all the cords out of the monitor. So I followed the cues and moved my electronics to a safe(r) zone. Moving the family control tower was not a quick project (and, by the way, have I erroneously given the impression that any of my projects are quick?). See, I do have a sanded and primed craigslist find out on the driveway (thank you, sweet hubby). Which means I might be making a second move sometime in the future. Or maybe not. Anyhow, it does interfere with blog updates...

And I am still just ruthlessly obsessed with making granola. I'll share my latest recipe, a slight variation on my last, which is so cleverly titled "New Granola." I guess the next version will have to be "Even Newer Granola." Enjoy.

New Granola
Fills 3-5 quart jars.

Liquid Ingredients:
3/4 cup oil (I usually use canola but 1/2 cup coconut + 1/4 cup canola is delicious)
1/2 cup honey (I prefer clover or orange blossom)
1/2 cup maple syrup (I prefer Grade B)

Dry Ingredients:
9 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or 1 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup flaxmeal)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup flaked coconut (I prefer unsweetened but it's hard to find)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325F. Combine the liquid ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the liquids and stir to evenly distribute. Spread the mixture over two half sheet pans lightly covered with nonstick spray. (For a crispier granola, use three half sheet pans.) Bake for 20 min; for best results bake one sheet at a time. Store in the pantry in a well-sealed container.

Menu Planning

2010-09-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

I think it was a while ago when I mentioned the benefits of menu planning: better spending habits, less stress after school, minimal time spent shopping for food, and reduced grocery bills. What a win-win, right? Recently, more often than not, I just couldn't find the hour or so I need to do this well each week. For the past three months my grocery lists were scribbled on the backs of envelopes, and - usually - I could find them, and - usually - I did remember what I intended to make with certain ingredients, and - usually - I did pull that off before certain produce items spoiled. Well, that's a lot of usuallys. Hmm. Seemed like it was time to get back in the saddle, so they say.

Slowly I'm getting back in the groove. This book was inspiring:

I've used so many of Mary Ostyn's ideas to get more organized and really tighten my grocery spending. I'm not quite down to only $75 a week, but I am pretty proud that with a price book, occasional coupons, and the envelope system I have reduced our family food spending by 50%!

Here are a few freebie tools I've liked using:

This to-do list from SimpleMom has a daily spot for dinner so you remember to fit it into the day.

This beautiful menu planner from Ollibird gives you space for a week's worth of dinners. I love her idea for creating a reusable version by fitting a photo print of the planner in a frame and writing on the glass with a dry erase marker.

I also like using Delicious to organize recipes that I've found online.

Do you have any tips for staying organized in the kitchen?

A Day at the Farm

2010-09-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

We had a magical weekend visit at a family friends' local ranch. Maybe the magical part was leaving the suburbs for this kind of backyard.

There were magical trees

bursting with pears and apples.

This was a pear picking party,

and everyone helped.

There were barns to explore, full of equipment and noisy roosters

and a coop full of hens

and a gentle horse to feed

and love

and ride

and keep riding.

There were even fun things to ride

for those less equine-inclined.

Thanks Grandma!

A Homework Desk

2010-09-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

Back in July, my 9-year-old and I prepared ourselves with Zyrtec and found a desk in a cluttered, cat-filled ~~junk~~ thrift store. We picked out a chair too and had them both painted white. These pink translucent drawer pulls are from Target. I removed a dusty brocade from the chair cushion and decided to pick my battles wisely by leaving an extremely well-stapled vinyl in place. Instead I covered the pad in two layers of Warm & Natural batting and then a flowery Alexander Henry fabric from our stash.

Stage two for my girl was, naturally, covering the desk in as many tchotchkes as possible, including an eraser collection, Smencils, a lava lamp, an old stationery box filled with homemade wax stamps, a Santa mug of "warm, not hot, not cold" chocolate milk, and her great-grandfather's weather station. I love this view of a 9-year-old's work, but the mom in me is noticing the stack of unfinished birthday thank-you notes...

Stage three is actually working on those thank-you notes, and I'm thrilled to see that she's getting somewhere. My big girl working at her big girl desk. How fun it is to imagine what new creations will emerge from this space!

Best PIzza Dough Discovered

2010-09-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a sad day for me, as my library copy of was due. I've been continuously renewing this all summer, and now I'm out of renewals! I've loved many recipes in here: Potato and Leek Soup, Bolognese Sauce, Beef Stew, Pesto, Cornbread. And I'm eager to try more. I think I have to physically leave the book at the library, make sure no one has been desperately waiting for it, and then head back to check it out again. The one thing we've made constantly from this book was the pizza dough. I flavored it up by using white-whole wheat flour, and it's just delicious. And somehow not as puffy as our first experience. I've shared photos of past pizzas with this dough. And now my freezer is stocked :) Below is my very subtle variation on the original, with all of the quantities doubled because, seriously, if you're going to this much trouble in the first place, why not double the payoffs?

Pizza Dough
Adapted from The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution
{Edited on 10/12/2010; oops! I don't use white-whole wheat flour exclusively, unless I'm interested in a shaggy dough that never comes together and stubbornly refuses to rise!)

4 teaspoons dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water

Stir the above together in a measuring cup.

1/2 cup unbleached white or white whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup rye flour

Add the above to the measuring cup and mix well. Allow the mixture to sit until quite bubbly, about 30 minutes.

6 1/2 cups unbleached white OR 3 1/2 cups white and 3 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt

Combine the above in a separate bowl or dough storage container. Add the yeast mixture and the following:

1 1/2 cups cold water
1/2 cup olive oil

Mix thoroughly by hand. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until soft and elastic, about 5 minutes. If the dough is too wet and sticky, add more flour, but only enough to form a soft, slightly sticky dough. Put the dough in a large bowl or back in the dough container, cover with a clean towel or partially open lid, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours. (Notes from Alice Waters: For an even better-tasting and more supple dough, let the dough rise slowly overnight in the refrigerator. Remove from the refrigerator 2 hours before shaping.)

Divide the dough into two, then divide each half into two, forming four nice smooth balls. Allow the dough balls to rest at room temperature, wrapped loosely in plastic, for an hour or so. Then do either:

1. Freeze dough: Roll the plastic tightly around the disks, and freeze for up to 2 months in a tightly sealed freezer bag. Defrost overnight, then let dough rest at room temperature at least one hour before proceeding as below.

2. Bake dough: Flatten each ball into a disk about 5 or 6 inches in diameter, flour lightly, cover, and let rest for another 15 minutes. Place a baking stone on the lowest rack in the oven (I can't do this since mine cracked! so I put a baking sheet on the center oven rack), and preheat to 500 degrees. Gently stretch each disk into a round roughly 10 inches in diameter, and place on a floured peel or inverted baking sheet. Brush the dough with olive oil, and top with your ingredients, leaving a 1/2-inch border uncovered. Slide the pizza onto the stone or tray, and bake until the crust is browned, about 10-15 minutes.

I'm back!

2010-09-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed an unplanned and very lengthy blog hiatus over the summer. Spending gobs of fun time with all my kiddos.

Beach time

Skateboard park

Paella on the grill

Summer camp at home

Freshening up

Driving model boats

Swimming

Watersports camp

Harvesting potatoes

And, yes, I did get that incredible camera. And, no, I don't have any money left to get a new lens! Haha. See you soon, I hope.

Photography and Food

2010-06-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

I am obsessively reading up on digital SLRs now, learning how they work, researching brands, wondering how far I need my photo ability to go. I've found a few interesting resources on the web, most recently:

What a pleasure it would be to take even more stunning pictures of my already-gorgeous kids, as well as capture food in its own beautiful patterns and colors from preparation to cooking and baking to plating.

I've also had Photoshop Elements in my Amazon Wish List for a while; I think it's high-time I made a stunning banner for this little blog of mine, and I sure don't have the software for that currently.

Although I left my neuropsychology practice over a year ago, I've been quietly saving money from long overdue collections. I never had an opportunity to spend any income I made when I was working, as I put every dollar back into my company. Now there is a very small profit, and I'm thinking it's not a bad idea to use some of that for myself. I've had a small list of interests I wanted to pursue when I had the time, and I just may use some of these savings to develop one of those. Here's my short list:

Sewing (check)
Piano (check, but I've been on a hiatus from lessons since baby was born)
Photography
Spanish
Astronomy

Yes, I can lean toward the esoteric. You might even giggle on hearing the ones I haven't listed!

More cooking and recipes and musings are coming. Just a little diversion today.

Quick Meal Friday: Miso Gyoza Soup

2010-05-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

My kids love miso soup. I occasionally use a mix to whip some up, but I hear complaints that it's too salty (and to save yourself a missed heartbeat, just don't look at the sodium count on the label). I use a not-authentic-miso recipe from an old standby collection: Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day.

Instead of making a special trip to the Japanese grocer for kombu to prepare dashi, I use dried shiitake mushrooms, which you usually can find in any grocery store. Steeping the mushrooms in very hot water adds an earthy flavor to the broth that later gets rounded out by a swirl of miso paste. (By the way, you can buy miso paste at nearly any old grocery store. Unless you eat it regularly, you won't notice much difference among brands.)

I round out the whole soup with more veggies, whatever I have in the fridge (could this be my mantra?). I particularly love carrots and baby bok choy, which is always available at my Trader Joe's and has a far less bitter taste than full grown bok choy, as long as you avoid the very white parts of the stalk. I also add a bag of cooked vegetable gyoza from Trader Joe's, from the freezer section. The Thai shrimp gyoza are great too, but I have a little one with a seafood phobia. I empathize; I didn't eat a piece of seafood until I was 21, a memorable seafood linguine dish at the Legal Seafoods chain in Boston.

When you do your final ladling to serve this dinner, it's easy to leave out any offending ingredients your kids won't eat, as long as you chop things largely enough. And don't you find that those offending ingredients are never the same for each kid anyway?

Miso Gyoza Soup
Serves 4 to 6.

4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 quarts vegetable broth
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
one package frozen vegetable gyoza, prepared according to package directions (if you use Trader Joe's pan instructions, however, I recommend that you lower the heat!)
2 to 3 heads baby bok choy, sliced
3 tablespoons white or red miso paste
one block extra-firm tofu, pressed between paper towels to absorb excess water and cubed

In a glass measuring cup, pour boiling water over mushrooms and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile bring broth to boil in a soup pot. Add carrots and lower heat to simmer; cook for about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms from cup and pour steeping water into the pot. When cool enough to touch, trim off stems and slice mushroom caps. Add mushrooms to the pot with the bok choy. Cook about 5 minutes.

With a glass measuring cup, scoop about 1/2 cup of broth from the pot, without vegetables if possible. Stir in miso paste and mix until well combined. Turn off heat, and pour in miso mixture. Ladle broth and veggies into bowls, then add tofu cubes and gyoza.

FYI, if you store the tofu cubes and gyoza separately, you can save the leftovers for the next day's lunch. Otherwise both will turn into a lacy mush within a couple hours.

{Follow-up: Here's a link to another mom's similar adventure in miso soup!}

In Search of the Perfect Pizza Crust, Part 2

2010-05-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

Before I dip into my whole grain pizza crust excursion, let me tell you that I tried another all-white crust. This is the Olive Oil Dough from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. What a delicious Pizza Margherita.

In line with the goals of this cookbook, the Olive Oil Dough is such a simple recipe, far quicker to pull off than my all-time favorite recipe from Williams-Sonoma, which requires a lot of hands-on time. This would make a weekly Friday night pizza quite doable even for a family with many munchkins, like ours (barring a Friday night TBall game or other obligations of course). But, sadly, we lost a dear friend in our bread baking using this high-heat recipe. This one doesn't work so well without a stone, and we haven't been able to make this again.

Moving on with the "search" in my post title. In my goody-two-shoes effort to integrate more whole grains in our diet, I'm looking for the perfect crust that includes whole grains. Note that I do not require this to be a 100% whole grain crust. I realize that the textural issues I'll get to below may be ameliorated by the addition of some good old plain white flour.

My first try was a recipe from The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution. This one includes rye flour, which gave the dough a slightly grainier feel and the cooked pizza a much nuttier taste. Below we made a plain cheese and a cheese and tomato. Both were delicious, but the dough, as the kids pointed out, tasted "like bread." Indeed, this was very puffy, much more of a rise than I prefer in a pizza crust. But maybe I'm asking too much from this recipe, which really is quite delicious if not exactly what a child expects on pizza night.

As anyone who bakes with yeast may agree, handling the dough is one of the most luxurious sensory experiences. Some girls need a massage and a hot tub soak. I'll take kneading dough over that any day. (Minus the temporary carpal tunnel-like sensation you often have afterward.) Alice Waters' dough was fabulous in the hands! Just look at the photo below. Truly like baby skin. And I get my fair share of baby skin...

So, still moving on, and looking for something less puffy. I used the Friday Night Pizza recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.). This uses roughly half whole wheat and half white flour and made a delicious crust, again with the nutty and more crumbly texture expected from whole grains. The kids devoured this and noted that it was definitely not as puffy as our previous experiment. Among those kiddos that have the power of speech in this house, it was agreed that this is not a "favorite" crust, probably yearning for the days when mom was satisfied with just one attempt at pizza crust which would have left them with a lovely thin white crust. But, hey, mom has three kids now and a new career that involves eating, cooking, shopping for food, and writing recipes. These are the breaks.

Rounding things off with some steamed green beans. This lovely colorful finger food is actually sweet if you cook them within a couple days of purchase and don't nuke them to a mushy tasteless death. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, add a large pinch of salt and the beans (you can also add the beans in a steamer basket - I know that preserves nutrients but it also gives me another dish to wash), and boil for 3 to 4 minutes. You'll have to take one out and taste it to know if they're ready to drain. While the beans are in the pot, prepare a small bowl of ice water. Then you'll be ready to pull those beans out with a slotted spoon or quickly dump them in a colander and then get them in the ice water. I top them with a small sprinkle of kosher salt after draining them from the ice water.

I also made my favorite pizza, a margherita with cheese, tomato, and basil. I prefer slices of mozzarella from the hunk you can buy floating in a little cheese water bath, but the kids think that's "weird." So compromises are made.

Here's the recipe, which I followed without tweaking, straight from the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle website.

Do you have a favorite pizza crust recipe? Let me know in the comments, and I'll give it a try.

Quick Meal Friday: Shrimp & Veggie Curry

2010-05-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

I'll be back with more on all the goodness found in this book:

But for now I'll share a delicious dinner from this informative resource. If you need to cut costs and the grocery bill is the next item on the chopping block, check out this book!

Shrimp and Veggie Curry
(adapted from Family Feasts for $75 a Week)
Serves 4.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound medium-sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and potatoes, until they start to soften, 6 to 8 minutes. If vegetables begin to stick, add a little slosh of chicken broth to the skillet.

Add garlic and curry powder; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add rice, broth, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add shrimp; stir, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally until shrimp are opaque and rice is tender, another 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro to serve.

Nicoise Dinner

2010-05-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

This is not quite a "quick" meal. There will be preparations involved. Boiling some eggs, prepping veggies, mixing up a vinaigrette, and - brace yourself - cracking open a couple cans of tuna or salmon. Easy stuff. All the ahead-of-time steps can be done the day before. Or even a couple days ahead. Little challenge with beautiful results. I call this a nicoise dinner: Turn it into a salad, stuff it in a pita pocket, or lay the vegetables and fish on a platter and let your kids make their own plates. Lots of freedom here.

I love using Ina Garten's potato techniques. In this case, a splash of chicken broth (or veggie broth) on the warm, cooked potatoes makes a delicious difference.

Nicoise Dinner
Serves 2 to 4.

4 large eggs
1 1/2 pounds golden potatoes (about 5 medium), washed and cut into 1-inch cubes
8 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch slices

2 tablespoons chicken broth (or vegetable)

1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 small cans of tuna or salmon
one 15-ounce can of olives
handful of greens, washed (optional)

Place the eggs in a medium-sized saucepan and fill with water to cover eggs by an inch. Set the pot to boil over high heat. Once the water reaches a boil, turn off the heat leaving the pot on the hot burner and cover. Let eggs cook in the hot water for 11 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, immediately transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water.

Meanwhile, boil water in a large saucepan. Once boiling, salt the water and add potatoes. Lower the heat to a gentle boil and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. Add green beans to the potato pot and continue to gently boil for 4 minutes. Drain potatoes and beans. Place in a bowl and toss with chicken broth. Let potatoes and beans sit for a few minutes to absorb the broth.

Meanwhile, combine vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste in a jar. Seal the jar and shake. Pour in oil, seal, and shake again to emulsify. Add salt and pepper as necessary.

Refrigerate the eggs, potatoes, beans, and vinaigrette if using later. Otherwise, toss everything together in a bowl and serve as a tossed salad. Alternatively, serve items separately on a platter for make-your-own salads or pita pocket fillings.

Zucchini Walnut Muffins

2010-05-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Recently I was asked to give some motherhood advice to my daughter's pregnant teacher. Among a few other thoughts, I mentioned that having a simple and quick muffin recipe was a sanity saver for me. I've really lost my taste for most processed foods, but with a young infant - or, frankly, with kids of any age - you really have to have some grab-and-go options unless you're willing to go hungry. That's not my game; I enjoy the delights of food far too much to go hungry!

My go-to muffin recipe is an all-around winner from a 1994 cookbook that I use at least weekly: Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day. A recipe titled "Muffin Madness" provides a basic set of wet and dry ingredients, followed by four different flavor combinations. Zucchini walnut muffins are a favorite in our house. Seriously, these are so delicious I never even had a chance to take a photo of a baked one! Give this a whirl. Then treat yourself to a lifetime of great quick recipes and pick up the book.

Zucchini Walnut Muffins
(adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day)
Makes 12.

2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
scant 1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 small or 1 large zucchini)
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla; stir in zucchini. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined, being careful not to overmix the batter. Fold in walnuts.

Spoon or scoop the batter into an oiled muffin tin, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and golden. (Reduce the baking to 10 to 15 minutes for mini-muffin tins.) A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Quick Meal Friday: Fish Pita Pockets

2010-05-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

This is a refreshing take on the old make-your-own taco night than I'm sure many of us had as kids. Remember opening the box of El Paso hard corn tortillas? The sheer delight of choosing your own fillings? Hmm... were yours like the ones I recall? Ground beef sauteed in a seasoning packet? Shredded cheddar or American cheese? Shredded iceberg lettuce? Jarred salsa? Possibly tomatoes?

{BTW, Trader Joes attempted a little comeback on this classic family dinner, selling its own boxed pre-formed tortilla shells and a meat seasoning packet (incidentally we found the seasoning to be far too spicy for our wimpy taste buds). Just in case you need to revisit your past...}

Here we made our own lightly battered, fried fish fillet slices, and served these with baby spinach, sliced purple cabbage, and a yogurt sauce in homemade pita pockets. I'll get to those in a future post. Go ahead, buy your own pita and you could get this on the table in under 30 minutes.

Fish Pita Pockets
Serves 4.

one pound whitefish fillets (we used frozen tilapia)
1/2 cup panko crumbs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and ground pepper
2 eggs
1/4 head of purple cabbage
4 ounces baby spinach leaves
8 ounces nonfat Greek yogurt
zest and juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley or cilantro or dill
1/4 cup canola oil, plus extra as needed for frying

Pat dry fish fillets with paper towels and slice crosswise into one-inch-wide strips. Combine panko, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a shallow dish, such as a pie plate. In a second shallow dish, whisk eggs gently. Slice the cabbage and place in serving dish. Rinse spinach and place in serving dish. Gently whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, herbs and salt and pepper in a third dish.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Check temperature by flicking water from your hands into the pan; when the bubbles jump, the pan is ready. Dip fish strips into egg dish and then into panko mixture, shaking off extra. Turn heat down to medium, and gently lay fish into pan ensuring that each piece has space surrounding it. Fry gently until underside is browned, about 2 minutes per side, turning down heat if needed to prevent browning too quickly. Flip and brown other side, about 2 minutes. Place fish in another dish and serve with vegetables, yogurt sauce, and pita pockets.

Garden

2010-05-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

There are a few things in the kitchen garden these days. A bowl of lemons.

From this tree, which gives us fruit all year long since I learned how to prune it and feed it a couple years ago.

A pot of herbs in the kitchen window, basil and Italian parsley for now.

And a pot of mint that just had a big haircut.

Outside is looking surprisingly lovely. Rosemary spreading under the kitchen window.

A while back I showed an unintentional peek of our naked garden boxes. Since then we had decided to pass on another vegetable gardening season while focusing on other things, like saving money by not buying starter plants. So what a fortunate surprise to find a cherry tomato from two years ago decided to return.

With probably 4-6 inches of new growth per day.

And plenty of tomatoes swelling like little green balloons.

I would have been so thrilled to just have a ton of cherry tomatoes, knowing my kiddos will pop these in their mouths all summer like they were jelly beans.

I recently discovered a butternut squash who wanted another hurrah.

And a roma tomato plant.

And even a pumpkin!

Have you been in the garden lately?

Quick Meal Friday: Spinach and Mushroom Salad

2010-05-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

I owe you readers a good one here, having missed a few Fridays now. Seems our smallest munchkin (slight view in back of photo) may have one of those communicable diseases we aren't supposed to get anymore...

But this is a goodie. And very quick. Kudos to you if you could get your kids to eat it too. Not so in my house.

Spinach and Mushroom Salad
Serves 2.

2 teaspoons plus 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces cremini mushrooms
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
splash of white wine
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 ounces baby spinach
one sweet apple, such as gala or honeycrisp, chopped
1/2 ounce goat cheese

Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Halve or quarter mushrooms, depending on size. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add mushrooms, with salt and pepper to taste, and saute, stirring occasionally, about 4 to 5 minutes, until mushrooms shrink and have a strong, earthy aroma. Turn heat to medium-high; add a splash of white wine to skillet, stirring constantly, until wine has evaporated. Lower heat to medium; add pecans and stir to lightly toast, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

Meanwhile, combine vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste in a small lidded jar. Shake to combine. Add 5 tablespoons olive oil and shake vigorously. Set aside.

Divide spinach between two bowls. Top each with half of warm mushroom-pecan mixture. Divide apple and goat cheese among bowls and drizzle with dressing after giving the jar a quick shake.

Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies

2010-05-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Crazy good. So good that I just left the computer to eat the last one. I'm not even that nuts about chocolate! I found these brownies in Sunset magazine this month. Love love love Sunset. It's homemaking and beyond. And it shows me gardens I could actually have - were budget not an issue - because no matter how much I like hostas or cherry trees they aren't growing in my desert backyard. If you live in the Southwest and have an itch to travel soon, pick up this issue.

My sous-chef was available for this one. (I'm noticing a recurring theme with the kids turning up to help when treats are involved.) We used almost three individually-wrapped dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe's 100-calorie package. And the Scharffen Berger cocoa I've been saving for something special. Really, I can't think of a more decadent way to get your antioxidants. Take it from my boy: "Chocolate is good for your heart, Mom."

This couldn't be easier. We made the whole thing in a 4-cup glass measuring cup. I highly recommend eating one warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some sliced strawberries.

Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies
tweaked from Sunset, May 2010
Makes 8 large brownies.

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, broken into pieces
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup Nutella (to be scraped in by tablespoonfuls)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line or spray 8 muffin cups. Microwave butter in a heatproof bowl or measuring cup to melt. Add chocolate pieces, stirring until melted. Add sugar and cocoa and stir to blend. Whisk in eggs, vanilla and salt. Add flour and stir until smooth. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups. Drop tablespoon of Nutella into center of each brownie, pressing down slightly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into brownie (not Nutella) comes out with just a few moist crumbs, 20-28 minutes (28 in my oven). Let pan cool on a rack about 10 minutes before eating.

Tortilla Verde

2010-05-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

Spanish tortilla. Dinner of champions in our house. This is one of those remarkable dinners that everyone will eat, without individual tweaking. And notice that green stuff? Baby spinach. Yes, all three munchkins eat that too. And they can even see it! I made this last spring for a St. Patrick's Day tortilla, a comical union of my diluted Irish heritage and my hubby's strong Spanish blood.

I've used probably 25 different tortilla recipes over the years. And I've had several hands-on lessons with Spanish friends, both in their kitchens in Spain and in mine where we were limited to my ingredients and kitchenware. The all-out winner was a recipe from Cook's Illustrated last summer, which I've tweaked and doctored and fine-tuned to our family tastes.

This is a notoriously stressful dish to make, and I won't pretend that this hasn't freaked me out for years. But we all love to eat it so I was determined to master this. I'd love to share what I've learned with you so you can add more to your own dinner repertoire.

Because, seriously, don't you always have eggs and potatoes on hand? Probably so. We add onions, but you know I cook with what I have so - you guessed it - we've had quite a few tortillas without onions. Still delish. Sliced onions are most traditional, but in these photos you can see I used chopped onions since I had a chopped one in the freezer.

Here are a few pointers:

1. I prefer not to use russet potatoes, those starchy ones with the dark brown skin that fall apart when boiled and make scrumptious mashed potatoes. Mashed is not the desired effect here. You're going for slices. My favorite choice is Yukon gold potatoes, but at some markets those are pricey. (Odd that I find all potatoes are the same price per pound at other markets...) A cost-effective option is the Trader Joe's 4-pound bag of "Gold" potatoes. I'm sure they're not technically Yukon - or they would be labeled as such - but the texture is just perfect. A mandoline would probably make the slicing go very quickly, but I have plenty of gadgets in the kitchen and have found that, with practice and a very sharp chef's knife, I can get this done quickly enough.

2. Don't be afraid of browning. Probably the most intimidating part of making a tortilla is the flip. Oozing uncooked egg on one side, a plate that may not be the right size, and - of course - worry that the bottom is burning. It's a slightly blurry shot, but above you can see how I waited for a browned crust before flipping the tortilla. The crust holds the tortilla together (both in the pan and when you slice it), and it's really an integral part of the overall taste. It will take longer than you think to get this crust, depending on the pan size you use.

3. Don't skimp on the olive oil but also don't overdo it. The recipe variation I use is a HUGE reduction in the olive oil volume used for everyday tortillas in the Spanish households I've visited. Spanish cooks often have a container for oil on the counter that they reuse for each tortilla. My guess is that it's easy to just dump in what you have available. I don't reuse oil, and really don't like greasy food, so I cut back to just what's necessary. You may prefer the same.

4. Have a couple dinner plates ready at your cooking site. When the tortilla is ready to flip, this is not the time to wash a couple dirties from the dishwasher rack! Test the size of your dinner plate over the skillet you will be using. Too small or too big will leave you with a mess. I like to use an 8-inch skillet for an 8-egg tortilla. This will give you a taller tortilla than a 10-inch pan. I like a taller stack of potatoes and veggies, just like I've sidled up to a tapas bar in the Valencia mercado.

Let me know how it goes!

Tortilla Verde
adapted from Cook's Illustrated (July & August 2009)
Serves 4-6

6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds gold potatoes (3 to 4 medium)
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thinly, or chopped
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
8 large eggs
6 ounces baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
chives, snipped for garnish (optional)

Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and thinly slice. Larger potatoes may need to be sliced into long quarters before thinly slicing. Using hands, gently toss the potatoes and onions in a large bowl with 4 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper until potatoes are separated and coated in oil. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, add potato mixture to skillet, and set bowl aside without washing. Cover skillet and cook, stirring with rubber spatula every 5 minutes, until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs and remaining teaspoon salt in reserved bowl. Using rubber spatula, fold hot potato mixture and spinach into eggs until combined. Return skillet to medium-high heat, add remaining teaspoon oil, and heat until just beginning to smoke. Add egg-potato mixture and cook, shaking pan gently for 30 seconds. Smooth top of mixture with rubber spatula. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook, gently shaking pan every 30 seconds until bottom is browned (as in photo above), about 3 to 5 minutes. The top should be slightly set but runny in some areas.

Using rubber spatula, loosen tortilla from pan, shaking pan until tortilla slides around freely. (This should be fairly effortless in a decent nonstick skillet.) Gently slide tortilla onto a dinner plate. Place the other dinner plate face-down over the tortilla so the sides line up. And flip! (A tiny dribble will always fall out; no worries.) Slide the flipped tortilla back into the hot skillet so the browned side is now on top. If needed, use rubber spatula to tuck edges into the skillet. Gently shake pan every 30 seconds, until second side is browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Slide tortilla onto cutting board - but do not slice yet! Let tortilla set and cool about 15 minutes before slicing.

We like to eat ours in halved, homemade whole-grain pita pockets, sprinkled with chives. Enjoy!

{Postscript: Drat! It's so annoying to use a recipe with errors, and I've written one myself! Just so you don't end up chopping or slicing an onion and later find yourself wondering what the hey-ho to do with it, I edited the recipe to mention that you need to toss that in the first go with the work bowl and get it all mixed in with the potatoes before you cook them. Just don't trash those onions if you end up in this pickle again: Freeze them in a baggie and consider yourself lucky when you need a prepped onion for the next dinner and find it's already done for you. :-) I also found that last week's tortilla required almost 5 minutes of cooking per side; I think I went a little overboard with the potatoes. Times were adjusted above as well. Happy cooking!}

In Search of Perfect Pizza Crust, Part 1

2010-04-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at homemade pizza crust, circa summer 2007.

I'm really digging the shot of my former kitchen, pre-IKEA makeover. I am spoiled rotten now with my walls of storage and my stove with four working gas burners. This lovely cooktop above had one reliable burner, but when you turned it on the back burner warmed too. Didn't seem to matter much at the time. I still cooked like mad back then.

Another pizza made with the same crust. These fed a crowd, thus the half-n-half designs with cheese, shrimp, tomato slices, olives, basil, artichokes. We had some fun.

This was a great crust for thin and crispy pizza. And ever since, I've been on the hunt for a delicious whole-grain crust.

My pizza crust posts are coming in installments so you can follow my journey.

Food-Processor Pizza Dough
From a take-home Williams-Sonoma recipe card, 2007
Make two 12-inch pizzas.

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water (105F to 115F)
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade, combine the flour and salt and process with 3 or 4 pulses. With the motor running on the dough speed, slowly add the yeast mixture, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding more. Continue processing until the dough forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl, about 1 minute, then process for 1 minute more.

Coat the inside of a large bowl with the olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat an oven to 450F. If using a baking stone, place it in the oven now. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch the dough down and divide in half. Using a rolling pin, roll out 1 piece of dough. It should be slightly thinner in the middle than at the edges. Pinch the edges to form a slight rim. Transfer the dough to a pizza peel or baking sheet, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until almost doubled in size, about 20 minutes.

Top the dough with the sauce and toppings of your choice. Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400F and bake until the crust is golden, about 10 minutes more. Repeat to make the remaining pizza.

Quick Meal Friday: Slow Cooker Veggie Chili

2010-04-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just know the dinner hour is going to be rough. A late softball practice, an afterschool playdate, a cranky baby on vaccination day, three solid days of rain... (I know you know what I mean...) It would be so easy to stop at Rubio's or pick up a pizza. With three kids now, those days could happen rather frequently, and, since we keep our dining out to an absolute minimum (maybe once a month), I need a different solution.

Aha! I pull out my slow cooker!

If you haven't checked out A Year of Slow Cooking yet, give it a try. There's so much fun stuff on this blog that will help change the way most cooks view their slow cookers. It really is more than a vehicle for delivering a meat stew to the table. I loved reading about how cheap it is to run the slow cooker too.

We have an old stand-by recipe for a vegetarian chili that is so satisfying after a long day. The flavor punch and household aroma gives you that feeling that you've been working on this pot of dinner all day. I also love this meal because it's a winner for all five of us. No griping about green things or hidden cheese (I still can't believe I could have birthed a child who doesn't like cheese) or the not-so-useful comment, "I don't know; it just has a yucky taste!"

As you can see from my blog recipes, we aren't vegetarians but we eat quite a lot of meatless meals. I would guess about 75% of our meals are vegetarian (including seafood and animal products like butter and eggs). This helps us stay healthy and keep our food costs down, but - I'll be honest - we just plain like it. If you are working on similar health and money-saving goals, give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

This comes from my favorite slow-cooker cookbook:
Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker: 200 Recipes for Healthy and Hearty One-Pot Meals That Are Ready When You Are.

The book is inexpensive, as are most of the recipes. My pages are dog-eared and crinkled and covered in tomato stains. You won't be disappointed.

Consider the dumplings to be optional. Red pepper or zucchini or carrots all work well if a green pepper isn't in your fridge.

Three-Bean Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings

(adapted from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)

Serves 4-6.

For chili:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1/2 small green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon chili powder (or more to taste)

28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 cups cooked or 15.5-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups cooked or 15.5-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups cooked or 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For dumplings:

2/3 cup all-purpose or white-whole wheat flour

1/3 cup cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 cup milk or soy milk

2 tablespoons olive oil

To make chili:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and chili powder, and cook about 30 seconds longer. Transfer the mixture to a slow cooker (at least 4-quart size). Add the tomatoes, beans, and water. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

To make dumplings:

About 45 minutes before serving time, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the milk and oil until just combined. *Do not overmix!* Turn the slow cooker to High, and drop the batter by the spoonful onto the hot chili. Cover and cook on High until the dumplings are cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes. Can serve immediately.

Backyard Honey

2010-04-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

Apologies for missing a Quick Meal Friday last week. I had an important date with a beekeeper.

We had a honeybee hive under the floorboards of our playhouse-in-progress. The photo above shows the long strip of floorboard lifted up, revealing a substantial honey production facility underneath.

Geoff Kipps-Bolton, a local beekeeper, spent the morning at our house last Friday harvesting several honeycombs, coaxing thousands of honeybees into his bee box, and providing the hubs and I a honeybee education. This was truly fascinating, and I was sorely disappointed I didn't let the kids stay home from school for this biology lesson.

He laid the honeycomb in frames between pieces of screen. These screens slid vertically into a bee box (my technical term). You can see a little "ramp" at the bottom of the box above, just under the handle.

Geoff used smoke from burning wood to coax the bees into the bee box, right up that little ramp.

As you can see above, once the gang caught on to the plan, many of the honeybees faced backward on the ramp, releasing an attractive pheromone providing direction to the rest of the group. This was just incredible, all a gentle manipulation of natural processes.

Geoff even managed to attract the queen bee (seen poorly above in the dark photo of the bee box underside). We saved several pieces of comb, filled with immature (but still sweet) honey and a few honeybee larvae for the kids to inspect. Thanks to a neighbor's magnifying glass they had a great up-close view.

So, there was no lavender honey to jar up after this exciting backyard science adventure, but we all have a first-hand appreciation for where our honey comes from!

Cookbook Review: Jamie's Food Revolution

2010-04-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

I've never cooked from one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks, but I did get a kick out of his Food Network show a couple years ago. Anyone who can take the intimidation out of cooking gets a pat on the back from me. To see an everyday Joe puttering around in his garden in torn jeans, shaking up salad dressings in jam jars (my favorite method), and serving delicious food without a lot of fuss about napkins and fine silver... I hope his viewers really do believe that anyone can cook.

This book is so convincing. Anyone really CAN cook.

Even if you've never cooked before, or have but hate it, this book is for you. The photos of regular folks in their kitchens, proudly showing off the dishes they made, might just convince the most reluctant cook that making dinner - from scratch, with fresh ingredients - is not such an impossible feat.

Jamie makes an interesting proposal to readers learning how to cook: Learn at least one recipe from each of the 14 chapters, which cover everything from "Quick Pasta" to "Twenty-Minute Meals" and "Comforting Stews." By attempting something from each chapter, a kitchen newbie will be able to cook a great meal in any season, whether it's a simple family dinner or a backyard party.

The chapter on salads is particularly clever. He has a double-page spread called "The Philosophy of a Great Salad, Pick-and-Mix Style" with a table of full-color photographs that allows a cook to pick an ingredient from each row and create a satisfying salad. I really appreciated this page. Making a great salad on the fly was not an easy skill for me to develop, and I certainly wouldn't claim to have 'mastered' this. With the range of choices he provides, it would be simple for a salad novice to get out of the rut of making the same salad repeatedly, or, even worse, deciding that salad is boring and bland and not worth eating at all.

Same goes for Jamie's "Delish Veggies" chapter. These vegetable recipes are very simple, and he shows how cooking veggies correctly (most importantly, without reducing them to mush) and pairing them with the right finishing flavors might make veggie-phobes enjoy eating more than just potatoes.

This book is packed with gorgeous food photography, including step-by-step photos of recipes. The recipe selection is broad, simple, and very accessible. There really isn't anything to dislike in this book. My only caveat is that I 'revolted' years ago so I suspect I may be more interested in Jamie's previous cookbooks. I'll have to check these out. Browsing through Amazon leads me to think they may also be filled with incredible photos of food.

I adore Jamie's call for a revolution in how we eat. We should make our food, with actual fruits and vegetables, and then sit down to eat it with friends and family. Watch an episode of his show on Hulu. And join the revolution!

Potato Gratin

2010-04-12T06:34:00.000-07:00

Now and then I like to spice up my penny-pinching, and cooking from the pantry (and fridge) - without a panicked grocery store trip - often works. There are always leftover items purchased because it was on sale or it was for a dish that wasn't made or, in the case of a recent grocery run, because the bagger put someone else's asparagus in my cart.

(I'm not a greedy, evil person. I figured it made up for the time my whole wheat flour did NOT end up in my bags.)

Cooking from the pantry and fridge might be your usual method of throwing a dinner together. Generally that's too stressful for me as a everyday practice. I find that a lack of meal planning tends to drain all the fun out of cooking, as I'm spending more time than expected trying to dream up an idea at an hour when everyone seems to need me all at the same time. Incidentally, I have a post in the works on menu planning, including a .pdf planner. A little fun coming your way :-)

A glance in my pantry reminded me of this ridiculous purchase of "baby pastina." Here I thought I was purchasing mini pasta (hmm, why would I think that?), but imagine my surprise when I opened this and discovered over-priced and mini-packaged couscous! Oh well. I know we'll eat it.

Despite the stress factor, if I start early enough, I can usually pull off a pantry challenge. Like this one.

I had a few golden potatoes, a pint of cream from the lavender ice cream I was talked out of making ("We want chocolate chip instead!"), and a hunk of Swiss cheese. The word "gratin" was practically screaming at me.

After consulting a handful of cookbooks, I didn't see the simple recipe I sought. So here's my variation on the theme. No bechamel to make on the stovetop. No mixing of vegetables - just potatoes. Shredded Gruyere. Salt and peppered layers. A faint garlicky scent from the oven. Lovely.

Potato Gratin
Serves 4-6.

Butter, to coat baking dish
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
1 1/2 to 2 pounds golden potatoes (about 4-6, depending on size)
1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream
4 to 5 ounces Gruyere (or other Swiss) cheese, shredded
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly butter a baking dish, such as a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. Rub the cut sides of the garlic clove halves over the butter and discard. Thinly slice potatoes about 1/8-inch thick (or use a mandoline). Lay potato slices flat in the baking dish, overlapping the slices, until the bottom of the dish is covered. Pour in cream to almost cover the slices, top with 1/3 of the shredded cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Repeat the potato, cream, cheese, and salt & pepper sequence to complete two more layers. Bake on a center oven rack for 50-60 minutes, depending on desired browning of the top layer. Let the gratin rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

Quick Meal Friday: Spring Green Risotto

2010-04-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

Someone will be irritated with me for selecting a risotto as a quick meal.

But here's the deal: When I can get so many vegetables into my kiddos with absolutely no complaint (including baby!), this is a busy 30 minutes well spent. I do have one strong suggestion. If you spend much time in the kitchen, you've undoubtedly heard this one before: The secret is mise en place. Take the time to chop and zest and blanch and measure ahead of time, and this delicious dinner will be a cinch.

This recipe is a variation on Ina Garten's Spring Green Risotto from her Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients book. (This book has some great recipes; we love the Sole Meuniere.) Our version has a few tweaks. For example, my kids are distracted by the strong taste of fennel in her version, and we usually top ours with basil rather than chives since we are more likely to have it. I also blanch my asparagus right in the boiling stock because using an extra pot would make the dish washer feel like this was anything but a quick meal... And one more suggestion: If you are lucky enough to have a quart or so of homemade chicken stock in the freezer, you'll be glad to use it here.

As you can see, my two oldest peanuts even managed to eat this despite an all-consuming obsession with Harry Potter. The kindergartner is "reading" Book 7 - gotta love it.

Spring Green Risotto
Serves 4.

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts, chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
2/3 cup dry white wine (or half as much dry vermouth)
4 to 5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 pound thin asparagus, ends trimmed (or thick asparagus with stalks peeled), chopped to 1-inch pieces
2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
6-8 basil leaves, julienned

Set the broth to boil on a burner adjacent to the risotto saucepan. When the broth reaches a boil, add the asparagus, and blanch for 4 minutes until bright green and al dente. Remove to a bowl of ice water with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat under the broth to a gentle simmer.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks to the oil and butter, and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender and translucent. Add the rice, and stir for a minute to coat with the vegetables, oil, and butter. Add the white wine or vermouth, and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring gently and frequently, waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more.

After the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, drain the asparagus, and add it to the risotto with the peas, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking and adding stock, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender but still firm, about 25 to 30 minutes total.

Whisk the lemon juice and mascarpone together in a small bowl. When the risotto is done, turn off the heat, and stir in the mascarpone mixture plus the Parmesan cheese. Set aside off the heat for a few minutes, and sprinkle with basil and extra Parmesan cheese to serve.

Bread Bake-Off

2010-04-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we had three good months with our pizza/bread stone, and nearly constant bread baking before this happened:

Yikes. Seemed to be the result of a high temperature pizza. (This shot is after I wrangled a yummy dinner off the stone, of course.) More on pizza in a future post, and my quest for the perfect crust.

So - what to do with all my bread dough and a broken stone?

The kids and I staged a bread bake-off, using one dough and two baking methods. We made the European Peasant Bread from Artisan Bread in 5. Not a favorite, incidentally. I guess I like my breads to have either the creamy chew of an all-white bread or the wholesome nuttiness of a whole-grain bread. That in-between range seems bland and indecisive.

Nevertheless, on to the bake-off...

The first contender had a lovely rise on a cornmeal-covered peel, then was transferred to a baking sheet, followed by the usual slash and steam method shown at the end of this video.

The second loaf was laid on a cornmeal-covered towel to rise, then - with a complete lack of kitchen grace on my part - turned upside down into a preheated Dutch oven and baked with the pot lid for about 30 minutes, then without the lid for another 15 minutes, loosely following Jim Lahey's technique.

It was difficult to determine a winner here. The crust from bread #2 was so thick and crispy that it turned off the kids. You know that kind of crust that makes you wince a bit when the crumbs go sprinkling all over your clean kitchen floor as the knife is slicing? That's the one. I thought it was yummy. Hubs said otherwise. Now for the interior: The results were evenly split. The baking sheet loaf #1 had a creamier, moister texture, while #2 was less dense with larger air pockets. Personally I liked them both, but they really tasted like completely different breads.

Just to confuse you, bread #2 is actually on the left, and bread #1 is on the right.

In the end, I'd say the baking sheet loaf was the winner for overall taste, texture, ease of technique and appearance, although the Dutch oven loaf definitely had a peasant bread feel. (Whatever that means! sheesh! I've never been a peasant after all...)

Quick Meal Friday: Chocolate Chip Cookies?!

2010-04-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

I bought the April issue of Martha Stewart Living. In the grocery check-out line. Total impulse buy. Never should have happened. I know.

But here's the real confession: I made the chocolate chip cookies in that issue for dinner. Yes, for dinner. Of course I made the kids look like they were eating the preceding Amy's Mac and Cheese and baby carrots. Not sure if I ever managed to eat any growing food of my own before devouring a half dozen of these.

Because these cookies are that good.

These are touted as "the best" chocolate chip cookies, with a crispy exterior and a chewy inside. True, true. FYI, if yours last long enough to have an overnight in a jar or plastic tub, the crispiness will be gone. Not that it will stop you or yours from another binge.

And they were so fun to make. My little NYPD man did most of the work. Baby sisters come in handy here: You can sneak another hand into the chocolate chip bag when Mom has to intervene with off-limits baby exploration. This same little guy managed to eat about five cookies worth of batter.

In an attempt to extend my husband's life (he admits he has a serious chocolate chip cookie problem), I froze about 2/3 of the batter, first shaping them with a small ice cream scoop. I write the oven temp and the bake time on the freezer bag, and then feel my heart skip a beat when I discover them in the freezer 6 weeks later. Instant cookies!

Crisp and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Martha Stewart Living, April 2010

Makes 20, using a big 2 1/4-inch ice cream scoop.
Or about 6 1/2 dozen, using a small scoop.

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed dark-brown sugar (light brown also works)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Sift (or whisk) together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; beat until combined. Mix in chocolate chips.

Drop dough in amount of your choice (see servings above) onto parchment-lined or nonstick baking sheets, allowing room for cookies to spread. Bake until golden around edges but soft in the middle, about 15-16 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack, and let cool completely.

Spring Salad

2010-03-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

This is the lovely salad I made after visiting the farmer's market.

Arugula (real arugula tastes so different from the baby version in the prepackaged salad section of the store)
Roma tomato
Goat cheese with herbs
Sweet and dry Italian salami
Freshly shelled and blanched fava beans

Drizzled with a Spanish olive oil and sherry vinegar.
And sprinkled with a bit of salt and a crack or two of pepper.

Lemon Almond Cake

2010-03-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

I made a cake for dessert a couple times recently. Just for regular-old dinners. No one's birthday, nothing interesting to celebrate, although someone did learn how to do a cartwheel here recently. We don't eat dessert very often so I surprised the whole crew right to smiles. I didn't want to exclude Baby, who is still not eating dairy protein. No dairy, no cake, right? How do you make a cake worth eating without butter or buttermilk or sour cream?

The answer - at least this time - is olive oil.

I hear your gasp. And thinking, "You had me at cake... Now you've lost me with olive oil." Seriously, a slice of this takes you right to the Mediterranean - if you've been there - or to whatever you imagine it must be like. Where households don't routinely think, "Now where is my neutral-flavored oil that can withstand high heat?" (You're right, the answer might be butter... but our Spanish friends disagree.)

This cake is a hit. Try it.

Lemon Almond Cake
adapted from Catherine Newman, who made an equally delicious Orange Walnut version

olive oil spray
1 1/2 cups almond flour (you can also buzz blanched almonds to powder in the blender if you can't find this, I used Trader Joe's almond meal despite numerous warnings about doing so for baking - Google it!)
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
powdered sugar to dust

Preheat oven to 350F. Using olive oil spray, cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Cut a circle of parchment paper to cover the bottom of the pan, lay flat, and spray again. Whisk together almond flour, flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Beat the eggs with an electric mixer until frothy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until light, thick and pale, about 4 minutes. The batter will fall in a thick ribbon when the beater is lifted.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture. Then add in the lemon juice, zest, olive oil and vanilla; mix until just blended.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and place in oven with pan set on baking sheet. Bake until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. (I found the time to be a bit longer than that in my oven). Cool completely in the pan set on a rack. Sift powdered sugar over the top before serving.

Not a pretty picture, but one of my many servings involved vanilla ice cream, mint leaves and strawberries. Surprising I gave myself enough space for a photo...

Quick Meal Friday: Herbes de Provence Pan-Roasted Pork Tenderloin and Roasted Veggies

2010-03-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

Those herbes de Provence finally got some use in my kitchen. I couldn't wait for fall! The nights are still cool so roasting isn't completely off the wall for another month or so. (I'm in the San Diego desert, where all seasons are short except for the one called "meltingly hot.")

For this simple meal, I roasted some potatoes, turnips, and carrots seasoned with herbes de Provence while I did a little easy work on a small pork tenderloin on the stove, finishing that with a simple *hold your breath* herbes de Provence-scented pan sauce. This magical herb mix really tastes like spring in a jar, with the sweet fennel seed and fragrant lavender shining through. (I'm very glad I went easy on the lavender though, just something to keep in mind if you mix up a batch yourself.)

Pan-Roasted Pork Tenderloin and Roasted Root Vegetables a la Provence

For Roasted Root Vegetables:
4 small carrots, peeled and chopped
3 turnips, peeled and chopped
3 potatoes, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp herbes de Provence
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Toss the vegetables, oil, herbs, salt and pepper on a half-sheet pan, and roast about 20 min, stirring to loosen stuck vegetables after 10 min.

For Pan-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Provencal Pan Sauce:
small pork tenderloin, roughly 1 pound, trimmed of fat and silver skin
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
2 shallots, finely diced
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
2 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp herbes de Provence
1 1/2 tsp butter

In a 10-in skillet or saute pan (best not to use nonstick since we want browned bits to collect for the pan sauce), warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. Dry the tenderloin and season both sides with salt and pepper. Brown the pork on all sides, turning after 2-3 min or when the meat loosens from the pan without a need for tugging. When all sides are browned, check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. You want to remove the meat to a plate when it reaches 150F, and cover with foil to keep warm.

Lower the heat medium, and add shallots to the pan (do not wipe out the pan first). Stir until softened but not browned. Raise heat to medium-high; add wine and stir frequently as alcohol evaporates. Lower heat back down to medium. Continue stirring and add vinegar, mustard, and herbs; season with salt and pepper. The mixture will thicken quite a bit in about 1 min. Swirl in butter and stir well to combine. Drizzle the warm sauce over the tenderloin, either before or after cutting the meat.

Lentil Soup

2010-03-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

This meal has it all for us. Veggies, protein, fiber - all in one gorgeous pot. A huge batch costs very little and is an opportunity to use produce nearing the end of its optimal fridge life. I've had success with so many vegetable combinations, but this particular pot was a favorite. Even the lunchbox containers came home scraped clean.

The secret ingredients in this springtime version were new potatoes and a baby turnip, adding sweetness and starchiness to the soup base.

Of course, having a couple quarts of homemade chicken stock in the freezer was a huge bonus. I'll do a future post on making stock. This particular batch was made with a leftover rotisserie chicken carcass with meat on the wings and back (I remove the skin and visible fat), plus a package of giblets (about 16 oz) and a package of livers (about 8 oz). I find it remarkable how inexpensive giblets are. I suppose they aren't big sellers at Henry's!

The nutshell version is 1) dice and saute a bunch of veggies, 2) add more delicate flavors, 3) add lentils and broth, 4) bring the pot to a boil, then simmer covered for 20-30 min.

I don't buy fancy lentils (but they are so delicious, I would if I could!). Standard grocery store brown lentils are tasty and hearty in this soup.

Lentil Soup
Serves 8-10.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 medium carrots, diced
3-4 small potatoes, diced (about 1 cup)
1 small turnip, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 bay leaves
5-6 sprigs thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
3-4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 pound lentils, picked over to remove stones and rinsed
2 quarts (8 cups) chicken or vegetable broth (I used boxed broth all the time, also delicious)

Warm the oil over medium heat in a large stock pot. Saute onions, carrots, potatoes, and turnips until softened, about 10 min. Season with salt and pepper. Add bay leaves, thyme, and tomatoes, stirring to warm and combine, about 2 min. Stir in lentils and broth. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until lentils are softened and flavors combine, about 20-30 min. Serve warm or at room temperature. Also delicious topped with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and/or shaved parmesan cheese.

Farmers Market

2010-03-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

The 20-min drive, the three kids, the packed weekends all interfere with my favorite thing to do on Sunday mornings: Visit the farmers market. Unfortunately the one close to my house is not a great market. I have tried to enjoy it - even forced myself to stay longer than I wanted - many, many times. Our local farmers market is a little heavy on the Tupperware sales and junk food and similar booths of low interest to me. Competition must be stiff among Saturday morning markets, and ours draws few farmers, usually just 2 or 3 booths. So my quarterly trip to the La Jolla market is quite a treat, and this time I had only the company of my littlest one.

Our take-home loot today:

one bunch each of orange gerbera daisies and orange ranunculus
an artichoke
pound of fava beans
half-pound of sugar snap peas
bunch of basil on the root
a pot of Italian parsley to plant
a head of red oak lettuce
a bunch of baby turnips with greens
a bunch of kale
a pint of #2 (oddly-shaped) strawberries (cheaper and taste just as good)
a bag of lentils
a bunch of carrots with greens

Since Baby is fighting her next bug, she was more than happy to ride in the Baby Bjorn and offer the use of her stroller as shopping cart. Everyone was happy :-)

Have you been to a farmers market lately?

Quick Meal Friday :: Sweet Potato Hash

2010-03-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a new idea I'm trying for Friday posts: A meal that pulls together quickly. This sweet potato hash was inspired by a recipe in the recent issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. But it had to get a little twist. The my-kids-need-to-eat-this-too twist.

Sweet Potato Hash
Serves 4.

one large sweet potato
3 tsp olive oil, divided
one small onion, chopped
one red pepper, chopped
one clove of garlic, diced
one 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 eggs

Peel sweet potato and cut into large chunks. Microwave on high, loosely covered, for 5 min or until softened. Meanwhile, warm 1 1/2 tsp oil in skillet over medium heat. (I like to use a nonstick pan because eggs will soon be involved). Saute onion and red pepper until softened, about 3-5 min. When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, chop them and add to pan with garlic. Stir occasionally, letting the vegetables brown and crisp slightly. Divide among 4 plates.

Add remaining oil to pan and heat to medium-high. Crack the eggs into the hot pan, two at a time, and fry for 1-2 min. With a spatula, gently break the jelly-like sac around the yolk to release the remaining egg white. Swirl the pan gently to spread the white, and fry for 1-2 min more until the bottoms begin to crisp and turn golden brown on the eggs. Top each plate's hash with a fried egg. Serve with toast.

Thinking About Soda Bread

2010-03-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

When I lived in Limerick, Ireland way back when (it really just can't be possible that was 18 years ago), I regularly ate the most delicious scones. I would treat myself to a bakery trip once a week on my very long walk from Mary Immaculate College to the bus stop near Henry and Roches Sts. That whole 4-month stay seems a bit cloudy as I'm shocked to see the length of that walk on the Google maps I had no access to in 1992!

I cannot recall what my single scone cost but know it was a significant dip into my shrinking savings for this study abroad trip, as well as a block or two off that daily route. To step in that warm bakery smelling of cream pastries in my rain-soaked jeans... It was one day of heaven in a wet and lonely week!

One of my housemates in my dorm at University of Limerick had a knack for cooking. She could imagine what she wanted to eat and just make it happen. I can do that now, after years of practice, but it is a testament to the differences in our upbringings that she was able to do so at the tender age of 18. I asked her to teach me to make Irish scones, noting that they were so different from what I knew in America. What did she want to learn from me? Chocolate chip cookies and macaroni and cheese. A true cultural exchange.

Our kitchen table was always filled with the dairy products delivered by the milkman every few days: butter, milk - always whole, maybe a block of cheese but rarely. Dairy stored on a table. That took some adjusting on my part. (What about salmonella?! We had a refrigerator that stored, almost exclusively, beer and soda. One of those NYC-apartment-sized refrigerators.) Only a handful of ingredients needed to come from the cupboard, like a pinch of sugar and some flour. I took copious notes - which I would love to dig out of my garage someday - the kind that read something like "add three handfuls of flour," "pinch in a palm-sized piece of butter," and so on. I recall being amazed not just by the lack of a recipe but the limited number of utensils involved, essentially a bowl and her hands. And it was over in a whirl, about ten minutes from mixing, shaping and dropping onto a sheet to bake. So delicious.

I was inspired to try Smitten Kitchen's Soda Bread Scones, in honor of this very Irish-American holiday. I love these types of recipes with a "twist" and here Deb combines two lovely Irish ideas: scones and soda bread. In my limited scone and soda bread exposure in Ireland, I never saw either caraway seeds or raisins used, but I love the way the sweet and savory play off each other. Had I spent more time shaping them, the pictures sure would have been prettier, however, I know the poor texture that comes with overworking this type of dough - pretty food vs. yummy food is always a no-brainer for me. You'll notice I didn't slice a cross in the tops; that felt a bit too much like a hot-cross bun which I associate with Protestant early America rather than the superstitions and traditions of Celtic Catholicism. (I know, what does that have to do with food? But it seemed to matter.) Instead, I sprinkled the tops with a dash of granulated sugar after brushing them with butter at the end of the cook time. I popped them back in the oven for a minute or two to bake in that lusciousness. And, finally, even though Deb wisely mentions that these make large scones that could serve two, I really had no trouble polishing off one myself...

Herbes de Provence

2010-03-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Heavy spring rains have led to a burst of growth in our neglected So Cal yard. Our lavender is slowly taking over the sidewalk! I decided I needed to enjoy this beautiful flower, especially since it has looked near death most of its first 3 years of life. My 8-year-old and I have clipped a bunch of stems. She is drying buds for sachets, and I dried a few buds with some other herbs for a batch of herbes de Provence.

With a quick web search and glance at a few cookbooks, I found a huge variation in the specific herbs used for this classic mixture. Some contained just six herbs and other recipes had over 15! My version? I simply used what I already had.

Here I've combined:

lavender and rosemary from the garden
thyme from the fridge
bay leaves from the farmers market
oregano, tarragon, and fennel seed from the cupboard

I really don't care for dried tarragon, but over the past few years I've had no luck with 1) finding starter plants at the nursery or 2) growing it from seed. Leave me a comment if you have a good source. (BTW, you can spot my empty garden boxes out the window! Hope to show those filled with veggies and herbs in a few months.)

You can see how much the volume decreases when the herbs are dried, stemmed and crumbled in this step 2 baby food jar.) If this particular mixture turns out to be tasty, I'll plan on a bigger batch before the lavender blooms fade. I'm thinking of rubbing a pork tenderloin with it.

I would also like to try the Lavender Honey Ice Cream from A Platter of Figs by David Tanis. Any other suggestions for lavender?

Bread Baking Continues

2010-03-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

The adventures in bread baking continue over here. Here is the Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread from this book. Our favorite version of this recipe uses white whole-wheat flour and soy margarine. The latter ingredient was new to me since I headed on a non-dairy path. (Incidentally, my willpower could only go so far, and after 2 1/2 months I am back on the dairy wagon - and lovin' my cheese!) The texture of this bread is smooth, and it toasts beautifully. I love the nutty smell of toasted whole wheat bread. It goes so well with a spread of Bonne Maman strawberry preserves. Note that this is not a 100% whole grain bread; about 1/3 of the flour is white. This dough is also enriched with eggs and sweetened with honey. We love this but some may find that too rich or too flavorful for an everyday sandwich bread. King Arthur offers an alternative 100% whole wheat recipe without eggs, which I haven't tried yet.

I am still taken with the master bread recipe from this book. As of today, March 12, we still haven't bought bread at the store, other than bagels. I've even done a few calculations to make sure I'm not going underwater in this bread madness, and it's certainly working in our favor. I typically make 3 loaves from one batch of the master recipe (rather than the four suggested - we burn through this quickly). Each loaf costs me approximately $.30 to make. A similar loaf at Trader Joe's costs $2.99!

Here I shaped mini-boules of the master dough to make rolls for salmon cakes.

Salmon Cakes

adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

3 slices of whole wheat bread (I use homemade, but the fresher the better)

2 7-oz cans salmon

1 large egg

2-3 scallions, chopped

1/2 red pepper, finely diced

ground black pepper to taste

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

With a food processor, whir the bread to fine crumbs (should be moist). Stir together flaked salmon, egg, scallions, red pepper, black pepper and bread crumbs until well-combined. Shape into 6-8 patties (my kids like little ones).

Warm the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties for several minutes until slightly browned and crisp; flip to brown the other side.

Serve on buns with mayo or tzatziki or over greens.

My Bread Baking Apprentice

2010-01-29T12:47:00.000-08:00

Still no store-bought bread around here... So I must give an update on what we've tried from our favorite bread books.

This bread was the start of it all.

And this comes from a book devoted to soups, of all things: Love Soup: 160 All-New Vegetarian Recipes from the Author of The Vegetarian Epicure

In the intro to her chapter on breads, Anna Thomas mentions her delight with no-knead bread recipes, including those from Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. So after enjoying Thomas' delicious Three-Grain loaf above, I gave the Hertzberg/Francois website a peek, and making my own bread became an instant obsession.

I've made the master recipe from their original book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking with perfect success every time. And trust me when I say I have a lot of interruptions, especially from my little apprentice. This is perfect success, despite letting the dough rise too long, forgetting to steam the bread or slash the top, neglecting to preheat while my little loaf is rising... Ah. I love perfection on my own terms. This is truly delicious white bread, the kind you drool over when it arrives at your restaurant table. (I did used to drool over bread, in my former life, when I could go out to eat occasionally.) We generally keep a tub of this dough in the fridge and turn it into a boule (round loaf) or rolls or ciabatta sprinkled with salt and rosemary. Mmm, mmm.

But we always have a refrigerated tub of multigrain (Three-Grain above) or whole wheat bread dough also. The master recipe from their follow-up book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients, also rocks. Just yesterday I threw the ingredients together in this tub.

I let it rise while I cleaned up my apprentice's fine work.

Two hours later, I had a tub of dough with a serious rise and minimal work involved.

Then I shaped my loaf and let it rise for 40 minutes, and felt awfully full of myself after remembering to slash the top.

I even remembered to steam the oven during a 30-minute bake, which produced this gorgeous crust and just the right accompaniment for a hearty stew. Who needs to go out to dinner, right?

Rainy Day Baking

2010-01-21T16:40:00.000-08:00

I adore oats (akin to this lovely post from Catherine Newman), and I love the added bonuses of it being a nutritional powerhouse as well as an ingredient my kids will always eat. Really, you should try Catherine's recipe for instant oatmeal - so delicious and so not $4 for 8 packets of a zillion ingredients.

Granola. Yum. This tastes so so delicious with almond milk, my new breakfast drink of choice in my temporarily dairy-free life. Won't bore anyone with getting into it, but I am sorely missing my daily cheese. Maybe I'm trying out granola as a cheese replacement. Tough competition.

I like my granola a bit crunchy, but not quite a full snap at the teeth. I also like a mild sweetness, but I'm not the mom who makes separate "kid food" so I work with a sugar level everyone finds acceptable. And my kiddos do not approve of little raisins or date pieces or cranberries or any other dried fruits hiding in the mix so I deal (although I do buzz quite a few of those sneaky treats in their instant oatmeal - shhh!). For a long while, we were enjoying the Nutty Granola from Ellie Krieger's book, The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life.

Now that's a delicious recipe. But since each small batch calls for a full 1/2 cup of maple syrup, which was $14 for the big bottle the last time I was at Trader Joe's, an adaptation was in order. We are not calorie-counters so substituting some canola oil for that moist maple syrup was fine by me, but I couldn't eliminate the maple flavor all together. At least for our oatmeal-loving household, I think this granola hits the mark on all counts. Until I move on to the next great thing!

Here's my latest favorite granola, adapted from probably every granola recipe I've ever read:

Preheat oven to 300F.

Mix the following together in a large bowl:

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup canola or other neutral oil

Then stir in:

2 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup wheat germ

3/4-1 cup mixed nuts (we use sliced almonds, and chopped walnuts and pecans)

pinch of salt

Toss to combine and spread in a half-sheet pan. Bake at 300F for 45-50 min. The granola will continue to crisp up as it cools. Store in a sealed container in the fridge. It won't last long!

Happy New Decade!

2010-01-14T11:17:00.000-08:00

What in the hey-ho have we been up to for the past six weeks, you might ask? I think I was caught in that December vortex, the one that hits exactly on December 1st, and you find yourself somewhere around January 5th or 6th, wondering where the past month has gone while standing amid dusty Christmas decorations waiting to be boxed and garaged and eyeing the pile of half-finished thank-you notes that by some law of childhood must involve hours of feuding and griping and avoiding. Yeah. So that's where we've been!

We had a relaxing, travel-free holiday season, safe at home where baby could attempt to choke on our own tree ornaments rather than an unlucky grandma's.

Need a new project for 2010?

Check these books out. I ordered them for myself the day after Christmas on Amazon. (No, that was not part of the save-every-spare-penny plan that is really starting to get on my nerves, but what's the big deal - only 12 more months to go!) So, here's the update with these books. I love to cook and spend a bit of every day doing so. Adding an extra few minutes ONE day a week to mix bread dough is nothing! And I actually haven't bought a loaf of bread yet in 2010. How about that? The authors claim that making your own bread will cost about $.40 a loaf. Photos will follow soon. If I can get any before these loaves are devoured... Seriously. I've made several loaves to give to friends, but then discover some little or big fingers have been involved in using the bread knife...

And make your life easier by picking up these below as well. (I've already priced checked them for you - this is the best deal.) Only if you think you might really do this bread-baking thing. They're way too nice for soaking poopy clothes or building sandcastles or collecting expired batteries...

Yes, conspicuously there are no holiday photos here. Hmm. Have to work on that. Sure hope we weren't so relaxed we forgot to take any... The memories were good though. Lots of fun with Legos and new books and Nerf guns and a sewing project and squishy blocks and that dresser-top organizer/valet that Steve will probably never use... It was a good one this year :)

Wishing everyone lots of health, happiness, and good fortune for 2010!

Making Cookbooks

2009-11-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

I think I may have died and gone to heaven! (Or it could be the extreme sleep deprivation...) I absolutely cannot wait to make my own TasteBook!