Naughty Tastebud

chevre cookies

2011-06-04T23:49:00.000-04:00

Hurray! Summer is upon us! Last Wednesday Brad and I both rushed home from work so we could pack up the stroller (& Adelaide) and head to the end of our street to the first LEAF night of the season. It was a perfect evening - the weather was beautiful, the atmosphere was delightful & the food (samples) was delicious. We even went to our favorite Lakewood restaurant, Deagans Kitchen & Bar, and brought our take out back to LEAF night (I think this will have to be our Wednesday night tradition this summer). It was so good to get out and about and catch up with friends.

I think one of the coolest things about buying food locally is getting to know the food makers. Abbe from Lucky Penny Creamery had a stand that lured us over with free samples. We got to chit chatting (she is the nicest ever) and I noticed she had a few recipe cards laying out, one of which was for these cookies. Well of course it intrigued me and I had to buy her goat cheese and try these for myself. They turned out pretty tasty - Brad thought they tasted like sugar cookies, which reminded me of the sugar cookie recipe I use for cut outs at Christmas which uses cream cheese in the batter, so it really isn't so far off. She said to experiment with different citrus flavors so I used limeade instead of the orange juice (since we didn't have any), and it really didn't come through...perhaps i should have used lime zest too. The cookies are delicious anyway and it's fun trying unexpected ingredients in 'normal' recipes.

Lucky Penny Chevre Cookies

1/2 C unsalted butter, softened

1 C sugar

8 oz. soft goat cheese

1/4 C milk

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 C flour

Icing

1/2 C powdered sugar

2 T orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all cookie ingredients together until the dough comes together - it will be sticky. Place teaspoon sized balls on the ungreased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes or until bottoms are brown. Move to rack to cool completely.

In a small saucepan combine the powdered sugar with the orange juice. Stir over low heat until smooth and glossy, the spread over the cookies. Quickly top with sprinkles or colored sugar.

recipe courtesy of Lucky Penny Farm

crispy raw kale salad

2011-05-11T22:01:00.000-04:00

My sister Mary sent me this recipe last week raving about how good it was. It was so good she made it twice in one week. With that kind of hype, I couldn't wait to try it. Much to Brad's disappointment I made it for dinner on cinco de mayo (he obviously wanted something a little more festive) and I could tell he wasn't too excited about it. He couldn't hide how much he like it when he went back for seconds though. I cannot tell you how delicious this is! We made again to bring to my sister Jenna's for a Mother's Day cookout and I'm already dreaming of when I'll make it again. So quick & easy, so fresh & crisp, so satisfying, so summer-y. Yum yum! This will definitely be a staple meal for us this summer, hopefully with some kale from our garden!

crispy raw kale salad

1 bunch kale (any kind, we tried the curly kale the 2nd time)
2 thin slices bread
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a pinch
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed juice of one lemon & zest
a dash red pepper flakes (to taste)

Toast bread slices in the oven (at 350 degrees or so) until golden brown and crispy. Pulse toast in a food processor to make small crumbs.

In a food processor, combine the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and 1/2 of the cheese. Add to a large bowl and toss with the kale until leaves are completely coated. Add, bread crumbs, zest, red pepper flakes, remaining cheese and salt to the kale and toss a few more times. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

recipe courtesy of keepitsimplefoods.com

egyptian edamame stew

2011-03-22T05:14:00.001-04:00

This stew is both tasty and incredibly easy! The addition of edamame gives the stew a real substance. I love recipes where you can sub in whatever you have on hand...I could see really loading up on the veggies in this one. Serve over brown basmati rice for an incredibly satisfying meal.

egyptian edamame stew

1 1/2 10-ounce packages frozen shelled edamame, (about 3 cups), thawed

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large zucchini, diced (we used a carrot)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (we used passata as we're not fans of canned tomatoes...see here for more info.)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, or mint
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add edamame and cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook, covered, until the onions are starting to brown, about 3 minutes more. Add garlic, cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the edamame and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and stir in cilantro (or mint) and lemon juice.

recipe courtesy of eatingwell.com

brunch

2011-03-16T23:28:00.000-04:00

We have an unofficial brunch club with a few friends of ours (and their little ones). We all recently had babies so we try to get together every few months as a way to catch up since we all lead pretty busy lives these days. This past weekend was our turn to host and I think it was quite a success if I do say so myself.

I made a jalapeno, sausage, jack and egg braid (pictured) that was quite the hit. It looks pretty fancy but don't let that fool you, it's easy and quick and very delicious and satisfying. We also had corn & potato cakes which Brad made, almond biscotti & fresh fruit. And of course no brunch would be complete without mimosas, bellinis & fresh coffee. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning - with good friends, lingering at the table over good food & conversation.

Jalapeño, Sausage, Jack, and Egg Breakfast Braid

pizza dough

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup chopped onion
4 ounces chicken sausage with jalapeño peppers, chopped
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped seeded jalapeño peppers
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 425°.

Roll out pizza dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; pat into a 15 x 10–inch rectangle.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sausage; cook 9 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in eggs; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until set. Remove from heat.

Sprinkle Monterey Jack lengthwise down center of dough, leaving about a 2 1/2-inch border on each side. Spoon egg mixture evenly over cheese. Sprinkle cheddar over egg mixture; top with jalapeño peppers.

Make 2-inch-long diagonal cuts about 1 inch apart on both sides of dough to within 1/2 inch of filling using a sharp knife or kitchen shears. Arrange strips over filling, alternating strips diagonally over filling. Press ends under to seal. Brush with egg white. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut crosswise into slices.

recipe adapted from cookinglight.com

the ultimate cookie

2011-03-13T12:08:00.000-04:00

I am pretty sure I have boasted on here before about finding the best cookie recipe, but this one, oh this one is really it! I wanted to make a cookie full of stuff - oats & chocolate & fruit & nuts - and found these two recipes while searching. I decided to morph them into one recipe and the resulting cookie was absolutely phenomenal.

The best part about these cookies is that they don't contain butter, rather coconut oil and you would never know the difference. Since I've been leaning more and more towards a vegan diet as of late, any alternate to dairy is a welcome addition in my recipes - especially one with so many health benefits. Brad declared these his favorite cookie (although he didn't understand 'why i ruined a perfectly delicious cookie by adding fruit'). I think this will be my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe - it is so versatile and it will be fun to experiment with other add ins.

Trail Mix Cookies

1/2 C Coconut Oil (softened)
3/4 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/8 C whole wheat flour
1/2 ts baking soda
1/2 ts sea salt
1/2 C chocolate chips
1/2 C shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4C oatmeal
1/4/ C dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tbsp flax seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream oil and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined. Slowly add flour, baking soda and sea salt. Mix in chocolate chips, coconut, oatmeal, cranberries, walnuts and flax seeds.

Scoop onto cookie sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes, until slightly golden around edges. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

mmm mmm good!

2011-03-04T22:45:00.001-05:00

My new favorite addition to any dish is the sweet potato. I used to hate sweet potatoes. Growing up my only exposure to them was Thanksgiving where they were smothered with marshmallows and I wanted nothing to do with them. Now I pretty much love them in anything...especially in Brad's infamous Indian-ish vegetable coconut milk concoction. YUM. Anyway, I digress. Brad made this chunky vegetarian chili a few weeks back and I didn't get too excited about it because I have made many a veggie chili recipes before and they weren't much to rave about. But this one was different. Very different - so much so that when I took leftovers to work the next day, a coworker who was walking behind me as I was carrying my bowl back to my desk exclaimed "what is that Sarah?! It smells amazing!". Super delicious and flavorful and the perfect comfort dish to indulge in at the end of a long day when it's snowy and cold outside. I'm not quite sure what makes this recipe so much better than any other veggie chili recipe I've tried, but I think it might have something to do with the sweet potato.

chunky veggie chili with sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ cups Vidalia onion or other large, sweet yellow onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
¾ cup red bell pepper chopped
½ cup green bell pepper(s) chopped
1 cup celery chopped
2 C water or chicken stock
15 ounces black beans canned, rinsed and drained
15 ounces great northern beans canned, rinsed and drained
1½ tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 Unit bay leaf
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup zucchini chopped chunky
1 sweet potato, chopped

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large sauté pan over medium heat.

Add onion, garlic, bell peppers, and celery.
Sauté 5 minutes or until tender and transfer to slow cooker.
Add remaining ingredients and cook on Low 6-8 hours or High 5-7 hours.
Serve over white or brown rice

recipe adapted from crock-pot.com

carrot oatmeal cookies

2011-02-27T21:20:00.001-05:00

Here is a delicious cookie you don't have to feel guilty about eating. Almost muffin like in texture it is so moist and full of flavor. I found the recipe on 101 cookbooks where she describes it as a cross between a macaroon & carrot cake, which is completely accurate. This is my first experience with coconut oil (I believe it's used in place of oil or butter) and it gives such a nice flavor to the cookie. I also love that it's sweetened with syrup instead of sugar. Such a delicious little treat!

carrot oatmeal cookies
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup slivered almonds
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup real maple syrup, room temperature
1/2 cup unrefined (fragrant) coconut oil, warmed until just melted
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Preheat oven to 375F degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and oats. Add the nuts and carrots. In a separate smaller bowl use a whisk to combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, and ginger. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Drop onto prepared baking sheets, one level tablespoonful at a time, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake in the top 1/3 of the oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden on top and bottom.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

recipe adapted from 101cookbooks.com

spicy chickpea soup

2011-02-19T07:06:00.018-05:00

Brad surprised me with a night out to celebrate Valentine's Day. I had no idea what we were doing and the only clues he gave me were to wear comfortable shoes and that we would get to enjoy the bottle of Old Ghost we had been saving from our trip to Lodi, CA last Valentine's Day. The night definitely did not disappoint and we had an absolute blast at a supper club cooking class at Gatherings Kitchen, a local catering company. Every Friday night they host a supper club cooking class for 16 people. The menu changes monthly and the 2 chefs, Doug & Ruth are so incredibly personable it makes me want to hang out there every weekend. We all got to help prepare a 6 course meal while chatting and cooking and enjoying some wine, oh and learning some cooking techniques! The menu consisted of the following:

Appetizers

Herb Blini with Smoked Salmon & Creme Fraiche

Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Teriyaki Glaze

Soup

Spicy Chickpea Soup

Crispy Pita Chips

Salad

Hearts & Flower Salad with a Sherry Vinaigrette

Main

Filet Mignon Oscar with Bearnaise Sauce

Side

Beet Gnocchi

Dessert

Almond Cakes with Chocolate Passion-fruite Sauce

cleaning & trimming the tenderloin making the beet gnocchi making the bernaisse sauce

Everything was absolutely scrumptious, but the spicy chickpea soup stood out above the rest! Brad and I couldn't stop talking about the soup all weekend, so by Monday we decided it had been long enough and we needed to enjoy this soup again. It is so quick & easy to throw together and so incredibly tasty. Do yourself a favor and double, or better yet, triple the recipe so you can enjoy it for a few days. SO GOOD!

their beautiful dining room

spicy chickpea soup

(2) 19-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
(1) 13.5 ounce can light coconut milk
1/2 C crush or chopped tomatoes
1/4 C apple juice
1/4 cilantro leaves
1/2 tsp garam masala (recipe below)
1/2 tsp ground ginger (we used fresh)
1 C chicken stock
salt & freshly ground pepper
1/4 C plain yogurt
2 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced

In a blender, combine the drained chickpeas with the coconut milk, chopped tomatoes, apple juice, cilantro leaves, garam masala and ground ginger and puree the mixture until smooth.

Transfer the puree to a medium saucepan. Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat. Season to taste with salt & black pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls, top with yogurt and scallion greens and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Gathering's Kitchen

Garam Masala

1 tablespoon dried miniature rosebuds (or black cardamom pods - optional)
A 1-inch piece cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup cumin seeds
1/3 cup coriander seeds
1 tablespoon green cardamom pods
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoons whole cloves
1 dried red chile
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground mace

If the roses have stems, break them off and discard. Heat the roses with the cinnamon, bay leaves, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, whole peppercorns, cloves, and chile in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the cumin becomes brown, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a spice grinder or coffee mill, add the nutmeg and mace, and grind until powder fine. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 months.

recipe courtesy of epicurious.com

our garden plan

2011-02-15T23:35:00.000-05:00

see the little green specs?

Our brussel sprouts, leeks, broccoli & cauliflower are sprouting!

2011 Garden Plan

be mine

2011-02-13T13:25:00.002-05:00

We've FINALLY resurrected our long neglected supper club and are kicking off this month's Sunday Bites tonight with a curry theme. Oh how we've been looking forward to it too! Brad and I pretty much decided that we would be happy on a strict diet of only Indian food, or anything with curry. Brad made a delicious dish of stir fried veggies in coconut milk & curry paste, a few weeks back and has humored me more than once since then and made it multiple times at my request since it's pretty much my favorite dish (I will post that recipe soon!).

Our contribution to tonight's feast will be these delicious curried burgers that we've been looking for an excuse to make again, as well as the pictured Thai Curry Chocolate Truffles! I have posted the entire recipe which included making your own curry paste. Unfortunately we ran out of time and had to cheat and use our store bought paste, but I am looking forward to making our own curry paste in the future. Besides being a complete mess to form into truffles, these are relatively easy to make, just time intensive, but completely worth it! Delic! Now that I know how easy they are to make I'm looking forward to trying other kinds!

For ganache:

1 lb. of semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. Thai Curry Paste (see recipe below), or to taste
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Cocoa powder for dusting (optional)

Place the chopped chocolate in a food processor and pulse until chocolate is pea size. Bring the heavy cream to boiling and mix in the curry paste. Stir in the chocolate until melted. Remove mixture from heat, cover and infuse for up to 3 hours. Strain through a fine sieve (I skipped this step since we used store bought curry paste and it was already smooth) and reheat to boiling.

Pour the chocolate mixture through the tube of a running food processor and process until mixture is smooth (once again, this step can be skipped if using store bought paste). Transfer into a clean bowl and let it set overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.

Pipe or spoon truffle shapes onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze overnight. I found covering my hands in cocoa powder then rolling into balls worked best. If the ganache starts to get too melty, just place back in fridge for a few minutes until firm enough to mold. Dust truffles with cocoa powder.

Thai Curry Paste Recipe
Makes 1/2 cup

1 stalk lemongrass, finely sliced (use only the bottom 6” of the stalk)
1 tsp. lime zest
1 or 2 dried Thai bird chiles, seeds removed
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cardamom pods, husked
1 1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tbsp. coriander seeds
1 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tbsp. ginger root, minced
1 tbsp. coconut milk (optional)

Toast cumin, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon in a skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Shake the pan often to prevent burning. Remove from heat and cool.

Use a blender or food processor to blend everything into a smooth paste. Transfer to a small container and keep refrigerated or frozen.

recipe courtesy of extremechocolate.com

oatmeal muffins with butterscotch chips

2011-02-10T22:37:00.001-05:00

I cannot get enough oatmeal lately. I was never really a fan of it growing up. I think I tried it once or twice, but could never get into it. I used to eat the premade packets of the sugary instant oatmeal - the ones where you just add water, but reluctantly gave those up when I gave up processed crap (but they were oh so good). Brad brought up a good point when he pointed out instant oatmeal wasn't any faster to prepare than good old fashioned rolled oats. He began fixing me oatmeal with a sprinkle of brown sugar and mashed bananas and I haven't looked back since.

As a breastfeeding mom, oatmeal has become my best friend. It is said to help increase milk supply so every day I have a bowl for breakfast sprinkled with brown sugar & milled flax (another milk increaser). Lately, Brad has been making fun of me for eating the same thing every morning, so I thought I'd try my oatmeal in a different form. I found this recipe and it promised to be a good old fashioned muffin - not to sweet and could easily be dressed up by adding pecans & bananas or apples & cinnamon. Since I love oatmeal butterscotch cookies, I chose to add butterscotch chips. These muffins were nothing short of delicious and Brad couldn't get enough of them. They are super quick to throw together (I am a fan of any recipe that doesn't require lugging the mixer out) which I appreciate even more now that I have this little one helping me in the kitchen.

oatmeal muffins with butterscotch chips

1 cup milk
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon milled flax
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In a small bowl, combine milk and oats; let soak for 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl, beat together egg and oil; stir in oatmeal mixture. In a third bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients, just until combined. Stir in butterscotch chips. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups until cups are 2/3 full.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

recipe adapted from this one

thai chili

2011-02-02T22:22:00.002-05:00

Yum yum yum! This is an interesting twist on plain ol' veggie chili. The red curry paste & coconut milk give this dish such a fresh flavor and the bulger is a great substitute for ground meat, satisfying even the biggest carnivore. Perfect comfort food dish you don't have to feel guilty about having seconds of!

thai chili

1 1/2 tsp red curry paste
1 tsp ground cumin
4 cups vegetable broth (low sodium)
1/2 cup bulgar wheat
2 cups sweet potato
1 green pepper, chopped
3 cups black beans
1/2 cup organic light coconut milk
2 cups jarred tomato puree/passata
2 scallions, chopped
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

In a 4 qt pot, add curry paste, cumin and a bit of broth. Mash mixture and stir until paste is no longer in lumps. Add remaining broth, bulgur, potato and bell pepper. Set over high heat and bring mixture to a boil. Cover tightly, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes.

Add beans, coconut milk and tomato puree to pot and stir. Cook, uncovered, for 7 minutes, until bulgur is tender and chili is thick. Stir in scallions and black pepper and serve.

Recipe adapted from the January 2011 issue of Clean Eating Magazine

potato leek lentil stew

2011-01-26T00:11:00.000-05:00

I cannot remember the last time I wasn't just a little bit cold...(October maybe?)...I awake each morning, run to the warmth of the shower, dress for the day, hop in a cold car, drive to work, sit glued to the space heater underneath my desk at work, hop in a cold car to drive home, wrap myself in blankets on the couch while nursing my sweet baby...sounds like winter in Ohio to me! This stew promises to warm you up even on the coldest of winter days (it was like 0 degrees this past weekend!)...

I originally made this recipe back in the fall while visiting my mom - she had bought dried lentils in Amish country and didn't know what to do with them. The original recipe has you puree the soup, but I found I like it much better in stew form - much more of a comfort food this way and absolutely delicious.

potato leek lentil stew

3 bacon slices
2 cups chopped leek
1 cup chopped onion
5 cups water
2 cups chopped peeled baking potato (about 12 ounces)
1 cup dried lentils
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add leek and onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes. Add water, potato, lentils, carrot, and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Add bacon.

recipe adapted from here

velvet spice cake

2010-11-24T19:27:00.001-05:00

My love affair with spice cake started 10 years ago when my sister got married. She married in the fall and besides being one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to, they had the most delicious food too. Up until her wedding, every wedding I had been to had just your everyday traditional wedding cake. You know, with the different levels and bride & groom cake topper on the top layer and the main reason I even paid attention to the cake was to get a piece to take home and put under my pillow so I could dream of who I'd marry that night. My sister's cake wasn't like that at all. It was a multi layer spice cake with cream cheese frosting between each layer, beautifully adorned with flowers and berries - like something out of a magazine. I wish I could post a picture, but that was way back before everyone had digital cameras (not to mention I'd have to go digging for a picture)! When my mom asked me to bring dessert to our Thanksgiving feast I decided to forgo the traditional pumpkin pie and opted instead for this spice cake. I found the recipe in the Joy of Cooking cookbook and had to try it since it boasted a "flavor unequaled among spice cakes". Although it doesn't compare to my sister's wedding cake, I think it's a pretty close second.

velvet spice cake
from joy of cooking

2 1/3 C sifted cake flour
1 1/2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
1 ts grated or ground nutmeg
1 ts ground cinnamon
1/2 ts ground cloves
1/2 ts salt
3/4 C unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/4 C sugar
3 large egg yolks
3/4 C plus 2 T yogurt - I used Greek yogurt (or buttermilk)
3-4 large egg whites
1/8 ts cream of tartar
1/4 C sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease & flour a bundt pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices & salt until thoroughly blended. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add 1 1/4 C sugar and egg yolks one at a time and beat on high until light and fluffy (2-4 minutes). On low speed, add the flour mixture alternating with yogurt.

In a separate bowl and with clean beaters, beat egg whites & cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4C sugar and beat until peaks are stiff, but not dry.

Use a rubber spatula to fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, 45-55 minutes. Frost with cream cheese frosting or serve with pumpkin ice cream!

curry turkey burgers

2010-11-20T15:40:00.001-05:00

Brad and I are HUGE curry fans so when I stumbled upon this recipe in an email from Whole Foods, I couldn't wait to try it. The combination of ginger & cilantro & curry is absolutely delicious while the raisins add a slightly sweet note. This recipe made 6 burgers and suggested eating on a bun with lettuce, tomato & red onion (which I'm always a fan of) - absolutely delicious! In fact, we may try these in meatball form for our upcoming Christmas Party...any suggestions for a sauce for them?

curry turkey burgers
1/3 cup plain Panko breadcrumbs (we used oatmeal)
1/3 cup grated carrot
1/3 cup seedless raisins
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground dark meat turkey

In a medium bowl thoroughly combine breadcrumbs, carrots, raisins, cilantro, curry powder, ginger, salt and pepper. Add turkey and gently bring all ingredients together with your hands, being careful not to overwork the meat. With dampened hands, form turkey mixture into 6 patties of even thickness. Arrange patties on a lined baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Light the grill or preheat the broiler. Cook burgers, turning once with a spatula, for 6 minutes per side, or until no longer pink inside. (We cooked on the stove top on our grill pan).

recipe courtesy of whole foods

pumpkin whoopie cookies

2010-11-14T10:46:00.000-05:00

Every year around this time I can't wait to make a pumpkin roll, or I should say, I can't wait to eat pumpkin roll. The process of making one is just a little bit labor intensive and time consuming, neither of which jive with having a 6 week old. So when I came across this recipe, I couldn't wait to make these - same great taste of a pumpkin roll, only a fraction of the work and in my opinion, much more fun in cookie sandwich form!

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon ground cloves

2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.

2.In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.

3.Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.

4.Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)

5.Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

recipe courtesy of martha stewart

turkey pumpkin chili + oatmeal cake

2010-11-06T13:45:00.002-04:00

I think it's official - Indian summer has ended. We had an absolutely beautiful fall with a few 80 degree days sprinkled amongst the 50 or 60 degree sunny days. Almost all the leaves have fallen from the trees and we had our first snowfall yesterday (well I saw a few flakes at least!) October flew by, but I guess having a newborn will make that happen. I swore I wouldn't say it, but I can't believe our Adelaide is over a month old now! We are enjoying getting to know her and this weather begs us to stay indoors and do just that!

Last Saturday we had my favorite kind of day - we stayed home and I cooked & baked while Brad & Adelaide watched college football. I made this delicious chili and one of my favorite recipes from my mom - oatmeal cake. The chili wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be, but tasted delicious nonetheless - the pumpkin adds the slightest sweetness to it, but I think it could be altogether missed if you didn't know any better. I tweaked some of the spice amounts based on the comments and was glad I did - I think I may even add more spice when I make it again. At the last minute I decided to add a pinch of nutmeg which gave it the little hint of something different I was looking for.

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound ground white or dark meat turkey
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 cup water
2 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeños and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, water, chili powder, cumin, nutmeg, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and add beans. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes more. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.

recipe adapted from this one

mom's oatmeal cake

1 1/4 C boiling water + 1 C oats
1/2 C butter
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts salt
1 ts vanilla
1 1/3 C flour
1 ts baking powder

Cook oats in water & cool. Cream butter & sugars, add eggs, cinnamon, salt & vanilla. Combine with oats, add flour & baking powder. Pour in prepared 9 x 13 cake pan & bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

yum

2010-10-23T16:05:00.002-04:00

About a month and a half ago or so I tasted the most delicious mint chocolate cookie with chocolate chips. I am not a huge mint fan by any means, but this cookie was ooey and gooey and oh so soft and delicious - made me think it had to be store bought because no homemade cookie could be that chewy without having some sort of preservative in it. One of the reps I work with always brings the most delicious homemade desserts for her luncheons and these cookies were nothing short of amazing. That evening I promptly started my search for a recipe and although they weren't an exact match to the cookies she brought, they turned out pretty delicious! The best part - I froze half the dough so I'd be able to enjoy freshly made cookies after the baby arrived with minimal work. I pulled the dough out of the freezer a few days ago and defrosted in the fridge for a few hours and voila, we had delicious cookies in minutes!

Ooey Gooey Mint Chocolate Chunk Cookies
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 stick butter
3 eggs
1 ts peppermint extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound bittersweet chocolate (chunks or chips)

In a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the unsweetened chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a large bow combine the eggs, vanilla and sugar. Mix just until combined and set aside. In another bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add the melted chocolate to the egg mixture and mix just until combined. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients and mix just until combined, then stir in the bittersweet chocolate.

Cover the batter with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to chill thoroughly. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spoon the dough onto a greased baking sheet lined with parchment (I used a Silpat.) Grease your hands (to prevent the dough from sticking) and shape the dough into balls. Place the balls on the pan, leaving 2 to 3 inches between each. Bake until the edges of the cookies are just set and the center is still soft, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Place the cookies, still on the parchment, on a rack and cool completely before serving.

recipe adapted from this one

happy fall!

2010-10-17T20:11:00.001-04:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year - well I think that at the start of every new season, but how I REALLY love fall! Since my last post, we've welcomed our beautiful daughter into the world and that's about all that's occupied our time since her birth 2 1/2 weeks ago! Most of my time is spent nursing Adelaide right now, but I do have high hopes of getting back into the baking/cooking game soon, especially since my supply of frozen baked goods is slowly dwindling!

We made Adelaide's first debut at the farmer's market yesterday morning. We were pleasantly surprised by how much produce was still available and happily stocked up for the week. The beautiful leeks were calling my name and inspired us to make a Potato Leek soup. It was the perfect thing to come home to for dinner after our fall walk in the Metro Parks.

Potato and Root Vegetable Chowder with Bacon

2 bacon slices, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 medium leeks, thinly sliced (white and pale green parts only)
1 pound parsnips, peeled, cut into 1/3-inch dice (we used turnips)
3 medium carrots, peeled, cut into 1/3-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 cups reduced-fat (2%) milk (we used skim milk)
3 cups (or more) vegetable broth (we used water)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Cook bacon in large pot over medium heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Add oil to drippings in same pot; heat over medium heat. Add leeks; saut? until tender but not brown, about 7 minutes. Add parsnips, carrots, garlic, and thyme; saut? 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, then flour; stir 1 minute to coat. Gradually add milk and 3 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until vegetables are tender and soup thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill bacon. Cool chowder slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before continuing, thinning with more broth, if desired.)

Stir bacon into chowder. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley; serve.

recipe courtesy of epicurious.com

new arrival(s)

2010-08-21T21:57:00.001-04:00

I don't know what is in the water around here, but nearly everyone I know is either expecting or has just had a baby within the past few months. I suppose it's the timing in my life, just as a few years back I seemed to have attended a wedding every other Saturday. Whatever the reason, I can't get enough of all the adorable new additions my friends and family are adding to their families which is making Brad and I all the more excited for our impending arrival (less than 6 weeks now!!!).

Our foodie friends, Jerel & Nicole of Sprinkle with Salt just welcomed their daughter into the world last Tuesday (on Brad's birthday of all days). Nicole and I struck a deal a while back to bring meals to each other when we met each other's little ones. Since then I have been scouring the internet looking for "meals for new moms". I came across all the traditional soups & casseroles & lasagna suggestions (which are great for their ease of throwing together & freezability) but all of them felt so heavy and fall/winter-like. Since today was a sultry 90 degrees (with humidity through the roof) I wanted to make something light and refreshing and purely summery. I ended up on a few sites with great suggestions* and decided upon grilled chicken with cucumber-melon salsa, fruit salad, salted fudge brownies** & zucchini bread for the new parents.

* As I mentioned I have more than one expecting friend or family member that will be adding to their families over the next few months. I thought I'd compile a list of helpful tips so when I'm in a sleep deprived state in a few months and want to bring my best friend something when she's a new mom (in november), I can have a quick go-to list and don't have to spend time scouring the internet again! Here are a few tips I found: taking snacks that can be eaten one handed & at any time day or night (fresh veggies & hummus, trail mix, granola bars, fruit salad, cheese cubes & crackers), taking more than just dinner, i.e. breakfast or lunch options (muffins/breads/granola for breakfast salad with grilled chicken or sandwich fixings for lunch). Take a whole meal (preferably in disposable containers so they don't have to remember whos tupperware is whos) consisting of an entree, side, dessert & even a beverage. A few nursing mom's specifically mention craving chocolate while nursing (who knew?) so brownies seem to be a popular (& easy) choice. Another neat suggestion is to bring them homemade (or storebought if necessary) frozen cookie dough so they can make a few cookies here and there.

**I will never again waste time searching for a made from scratch brownie recipe. My search ends here. Try them, they're beyond amazing.

no lie

2010-07-25T20:56:00.000-04:00

I'm not even going to pretend that I'm back at this for good, but I've found myself with a little extra time today and a really good recipe to share (and I actually remembered to capture a few photographs while baking). Scones have been on my "to make" list for years now and I've just never gotten around to trying them. I think I built them up in my head as something hard to make and they would just make a mess and I'd get frustrated and give up. Not sure where I got that idea, but it was quite the opposite. As long as you're willing to deal with a bit of a sticky mess (key plenty of flour and/or cooking spray) these are quite simple to make and tasty too!

We had our first Sunday Bites brunch today and we had quite a feast. We made these scones as well as peach & cherry baked oatmeal. Matt & Erin made an egg, potato & cheese casserole, chicken sausage & fresh cantolope & blueberries (most ingredients courtesy of their CSA). We were short a couple this month as Jerel & Nicole are expecting their daughter in just a few weeks now!

white chocolate cherry scones

1 1/3 cup unbleached white flour
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
5 ounces white chocolate, chilled and diced
1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
Milk or melted butter for glazing
Sugar and ground cinnamon for dusting, optional (I sprinkled with just sugar)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

In a food processor or large bowl, pulse or whisk together the flours, baking soda, cream of tarter, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Beat the egg with the buttermilk, then stir in the chocolate and cherries. Fold the flour into the buttermilk mixture until moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 5 or 6 times. Pat the dough into a 1/2-inch thick round, brush with milk or butter, and cut into 6 or 8 wedges. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar if desired.

Place the scones on the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

recipe courtesy of thedailygreen.com

back in action

2010-04-19T21:20:00.000-04:00

Ever since the first of the year, we've been stuck in a food rut. All of a sudden it seemed as though we had somehow forgotten how to throw together a meal. This feeling coinciding with my pregnancy equaled many repeat meals and many unusual meals (I spent 2 weeks eating cheerios for dinner). I'm finally feeling better about my relationship with food and I'm looking forward to getting back in the saddle again. Until I find a new meal to try and "wow" you with, I will leave you with these delicious Ginger Chocolate Chip Bars. I made these back in January for our first Supper Club meeting. They were a delicious treat and did double duty for me by helping to settle my queasy stomach!

Ginger Chocolate Chip Bars

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan* and line it with 2 crisscrossed pieces of parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool completely in the pan, then cut into 32 bars (8 rows by 4 rows).

*I halved the recipe and used a 8x8 pan.

original recipe found here

excuses

2010-03-25T22:06:00.000-04:00

My brother-in-law, Andrew, jokingly suggested I post this picture:

to explain my absence in posting the past month or so as well as to announce our big news. We are over the moon with excitement and anticipation for our little one (due October 1st). I promise I will be back shortly with more recipes (as soon as I can stomach the smells again! :) )

long overdue

2010-03-20T14:25:00.002-04:00

Hello readers! Happy Spring! This post is long overdue and I apologize for my lack of posting this past month. The weather has finally broken here and we've had a few nice 60 or 70 degree days (I'm not that naive though, I'm sure we'll have one last snowfall just to bring us back to reality, that yes, we live in Cleveland). With today being the first day of Spring, we were anxious to get our hands back in the dirt and get our garden going. We packed up the car with all our gear and drove the short distance to our community garden plots, anxiously wondering if our garlic had survived the winter. You can imagine then, that we were pleasantly surprised to see that our garlic had indeed survived and had 6" green sprouts. I couldn't resist digging one up to see how big the bulb was and it was about the size of a quarter. We can't wait to harvest it, but will have to until July or so.

We planted the cool weather crops this morning: buttercrisp lettuce, snow peas, brussel sprouts, brocolli, scallions, cauliflower and spinach. We plan to go back in a few weeks and plant more broccoli, lettuce and spinach so we can have a continuous yield. This year we are doing 3 -10'x10' plots instead of 2. With one already filled, we are planning to do a "3 sisters" plot (corn, beans & squash) and then fill the last one with peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, soybeans, zucchini, cucumbers and whatever else we can get our hands on!

for the birthday girl

2010-02-17T19:53:00.001-05:00

My best friend's birthday was a few weeks back and she made a request for a cassata cake for the occasion. I quickly agreed to make one as cassata is one of my favorite cakes and I was excited to try it. Little did I know how hard a time I would have finding the "right" recipe. Apparently in Cleveland cassata cake is different than traditional "cassata ricotta cake". In Cleveland we forgo the ricotta for custard. Luckily I was able to find a correct recipe for this type here.

The whole cake isn't by any means hard to make, just time consuming. The creator of the recipe recommends making the cake & custard ahead of time so you can just assemble the day of, I ran out of time and wasn't able to refrigerate for as long as she recommended, but the cake turned out scrumptious nonetheless. Everyone loved it and I heard it declared "best cake ever". Warning: It is incredibly rich!

almost, but not quite

2010-02-06T14:56:00.002-05:00

Whenever I can't get around to making bread for the week, we head to the Breadsmith to supplement. One of our favorites is their granola bread - it's sweet and delicious and almost like a dessert. A few weeks ago decided to try my hand at replicating their bread. I used my basic whole wheat bread as the base and then added molasses & some of my homemade granola. The result was quite good - not as sweet as the Breadsmith's which we actually preferred, but a good bread nonetheless. Also their's has big chunks of granola in it and on the crust...I'm thinking I may coat the dough in granola next time...

Granola Bread
1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 T salt
3 C. Bread flour (I used all purpose flour)
1 C. Whole wheat flour
1 1/2 C. Whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 C. Whole wheat gluten
1 1/2 C granola
2 T molasses

In a large bowl mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flours, whole wheat gluten, granola & molaasses, mixing until there are no dry patches. Cover with a clean towel and let rise and room temperature for 2 hours.

2. When dough has risen, sprinkle a little flour on dough and divide in half. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Sprinkle cornmeal on pizza peel or cookie sheet and place dough on it (if adding garlic, add now - I added about 10 cloves); let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

4. Dust dough with flour, slash the top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

figs and dried cherries poached in vanilla-honey syrup with pistachios

2010-02-03T20:43:00.006-05:00

As promised, here is the recipe for the fig & cherry dessert I made for our Supper Club this past weekend. I've never made this type of dessert so I was a bit nervous that a) it wouldn't turn out or b) it would be disgusting, so I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out as declicious as it did. Everyone loved it and I will definitely be making it again (especially since it is so easy).

Figs and Dried Cherries Poached in Vanilla-Honey Syrup with Pistachios

2 cups water

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

1 8-ounce package dried Calimyrna figs, stemmed, halved lengthwise

1/3 cup dried tart cherries (about 1 3/4 ounces)

3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt (optional)

3 tablespoons chopped unsalted natural pistachios

Combine 2 cups water and sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Stir in honey. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Add figs and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add dried tart cherries; cover and simmer until figs and dried cherries are tender, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer fig mixture to bowl. Chill until cold, about 3 hours. (Fig mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.) Discard vanilla bean. Divide fig mixture among 6 bowls. Top each serving with dollop of yogurt, if desired. Sprinkle with pistachios.

recipe courtesy of epicurious.com

sunday bites

2010-01-31T17:07:00.004-05:00

We have been throwing around the idea of creating a "supper club" with our good friends, Jerel & Nicole, for a while now. Ever since we, or I should say Brad, reconnected with them and totally hit it off food-wise, we've been toying with this idea. (Sidenote: Brad graduated from high school with them...ahem, 15 (!) years ago; they reconnected via localfoodcleveland).

After spending 11 hours roundtrip in the car with our friends Matt & Erin for New Years, we were pleased to learn how similiar our food philosophies are. We threw out the idea of doing a supper club and they were more than willing to give it a try and voila, Sunday Bites was born.

Our first meeting was held last night (our intention is to hold them on Sundays, as the name implies, but we ran into schedule conflicts this time, so had to do Saturday instead). Brad and I hosted and chose Soup as the theme which happened to be the perfect meal for the below freezing temperatures we've been enduring lately. We chose to make a curried carrot almond soup which is something we've never tried before, but were quite happy with the results. The sweetness of the carrots & almond milk is balanced by the heat of the red pepper flakes and the ginger gives it a nice little kick too. Matt & Erin made a Moroccan vegetable soup & Jerel & Nicole made Posole (with an assortment of toppings)...let's just say we ate very well. For dessert I made Figs and Dried Cherries Poached in Vanilla-Honey Syrup with Pistachios, which was every bit as delicious as it sounds (and super easy to make - I will post later on this week). The first meeting of Sunday Bites was a smashing success and I can't wait for our next meeting in February.

curried carrot almond soup

1 small onion, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 3/4 teaspoons curry powder (preferably Madras)

1/4 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes

1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled ginger

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 lb carrots, peeled and chopped

4 cups water

2 cups plain unsweetened almond milk

4 cilantro sprigs, leaves and stems reserved separately

1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

•Cook onion in oil with 1/2 tsp salt in a 4-qt heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add curry powder, red-pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic and cook, stirring, until garlic is golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

•Add carrots, water, almond milk, cilantro stems, and 1/2 tsp salt and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

•Blend soup in batches in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Season with salt.

•Serve sprinkled with cilantro leaves and toasted almonds.

recipe courtesy of gourmet.com

The other soups:

Posole Moroccan Vegetable Soup

mid day snack

2010-01-27T19:16:00.005-05:00

I've tried a few different granola bar recipes before, always pleased with the outcome, but never pleased enough to where I actually make them a second time. My friend at work introduced me to this website and while perusing, I found this recipe. Intrigued because I like Clif bars, I thought I'd give these a go. I like recipes where you can substitute in and out ingredients so each time you make them there's a new twist. I was very pleased with the ingredients I chose for this batch and look forward to making them next weekend with a new list of ingredients.

Homemade Clif Bars

1 1/4 C crisp rice cereal (I used toasted o's)
1 C oats
3 T ground flaxseed
1/4 C finely chopped dried fruit (I used cranberries)
1/4 C finely chopped nuts (I used roasted almonds)
1/4 C honey (maple syrup, light molasses, etc.)
2 T dark brown sugar
1/3 C nut butter (I used almond butter)
1 t vanilla extract

Combine the cereal, oats, flaxseed, fruit & nuts in large bowl.

Bring the syrup and brown sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in nut butter and vanilla until blended.

Pour nut butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until coated (mixture will be stiff). Press mixture firmly (be sure to pack down as much as you can so as not to end up with crumbly bars.) into an 8-inch square pan (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray) using a large square of wax paper. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 12 bars and store in fridge.

recipe courtesy of enlightened cooking

treats

2010-01-25T11:15:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite childhood snacks was graham crackers. If they were chocolate covered, well all the better. I made chocolate covered pretzels & graham crackers a while back with my nieces and was appalled when I saw the ingredient list on the graham crackers. The grocery store I visited had 3 different brands, all proudly displaying high fructose corn syrup as one of their main ingredients (not to mention a slew of other unrecognizable ingredients). Suffice it to say, I couldn't wait to put my hands to work and concoct a graham cracker with only real food in it.

These were a bit time consuming to make but well worth the extra effort. They practically melt in your mouth and taste similar to shortbread with a hint of cinnamon. They've passed my highest standard of taste-testers too: my adorable nieces & nephew.

Homemade Graham Crackers

1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour or graham flour (I used graham)
1/2 C toasted wheat germ
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon*
1 C unsalted butter, softened
3/4 C brown sugar
2 T high quality honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flours, wheat germ, salt baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.

Put butter, brown sugar, and honey into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture, and mix until combined.

Turn out dough onto a floured surface, and divide into quarters. Roll out each piece between 2 sheets of floured parchment paper into rectangles a bit larger than 9 x 6 inches, about 1/8 inch thick. (My dough was incredibly crumbly at this point, leaving me bewildered and ready to throw out the dough; don't fret if this is your experience too, just work it with your hands and eventually it will start sticking together).

Using a fluted pastry wheel (or knife), trim the outermost edges of each rectangle, and divide into three 6 by 3-inch rectangles. Pressing lightly, so as not to cut all the way through, score each piece in half lengthwise and crosswise, to form four 3 by 1 1/2 inch crackers. Stack parchment and dough on a baking sheet and chill in freezer until firm, about 20 minutes.

Remove two sheets of dough from freezer. Pierce crackers using the tines of a fork (or toothpick). Transfer to large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake, rotating halfway through, until dark golden brown, 10 - 12 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Let cool on sheet 5 minutes; transfer crackers to wire racks to cool completely. Can be stored in airtight container for up to 3 days.

*I plan to double the cinnamon next time I make.

recipe courtesy of marthastewart.com

friday

2010-01-23T08:42:00.015-05:00

You're in for a special treat today. Actually, Sarah and I were in for a special treat, and you get to read my account of it. We had a gift certificate to one of Cleveland's many (yes, haters, many) great restaurants, Crop Bistro & Bar. Crop features "local foodstuffs culled from the region's small farmers and artisanal producers." They're known for creative seasonal menus and amazing service. Despite the bounty of deliciousness presented to me on the menu, we stuck to our vegetarian vow to finish the week. Above, you see our appetizer of Warm Balsamic Popcorn, topped with grated parmesan.

Sarah and I each had a salad next. Hers, on the left, was spinach and arugula with a pomegranate dressing (see the pom seeds?), topped with a poached egg and cashew brittle (OK, vegetarian police, I confess: it was bacon cashew brittle, and it was awesome!). On the right is my salad, mixed greens with bleu cheese, candied pecans and poached pears, with a smoked bleu cheese vinaigrette. There are few food combos I like more than bleu cheese and pears.

Our shared entree, actually from Crop's appetizer menu, is a flatbread with Ohio apples, Amish smoked cheddar, spinach, and a mulled cider syrup. Incredible. You know those weird people who put a slice of cheese on their apple pie? I might become one.

For dessert, an item Sarah had picked out from their menu online at about 10 AM ("this is what we're getting for dessert tonight"), something Crop calls Pretzel Un-logic: chocolate cream on a caramel-pretzel crust topped with malted whipped cream and a pretzel tuile.

The plate, 6 seconds later...

What I loved most about this whole meal, aside from the emphasis on the local and fresh, was it's simplicity. There's nothing here that even an inexperienced cook couldn't make with relative ease. I hope you enjoyed our 5 Vegetarian Meals in 5 Nights week. It was a lot of fun, as cooking ought to be, and forced us to be creative in the winter months, when it so easy to fall back on old favorites night in and night out.

But spring is coming - it's close to 50 this weekend in Cleveland - and even though the worst month of the year is nigh, in 8 weeks I'll be preparing the garden plots for beans, leafy greens and onions, and all will be well.

thursday

2010-01-21T18:42:00.005-05:00

Tonight, a new twist on an old favorite. We've all had good old-fashioned potato pancakes: shredded potato, some onion, held together by a beaten egg or two, then pan-fried to a crisp golden brown. That's essentially what we made tonight, except instead of regular potatoes we used sweet potatoes.

You start by making a pancake-type batter of flour, eggs and milk, then add coarsely grated sweet potato, a thinly sliced onion, and a couple pinches of dried thyme. Have a bit of oil heating in a skillet, then add a scoop of the mixture and mash it down until it's formed into a suitable pancake. (You may have noticed this week that I don't have Sarah's patience for typing in recipes... you can find it here.)

We made some thicker ones that had a creamy, under-cooked center, and some flatter ones that had a nice crispiness; it's a matter of preference. I will say that for me, the sweet potato was a little much, even with the onions and a savory herb like thyme. However, I found a dash of hot sauce and some plain yogurt or sour cream balanced out the sweetness beautifully.

The subtext of this recipe in this week is whether you think the eggs void this meal's vegetarian credentials. I'm not sure there's a consensus on this. It's not vegan, certainly, but I think it's vegetarian. Sure, eggs are animal protein, but the fact that the eggs we eat are generally unfertilized puts them, in my mind, into a similar category to milk and cheese. I think fish, which many "vegetarians" also eat, is much more of a gray area. I suppose it all comes down to why you're a vegetarian, or broadly what you hope to gain by vegetarianism. Thoughts?

wednesday

2010-01-20T22:15:00.006-05:00

To be honest, I've never been a big mushroom fan. That I'm not has always kind of bothered me; they look good, they smell good, I like rich, earthy flavors. I think it's a textural thing. They can be kind of slimy, a little like... well, fungus.

But as I shopped at our favorite store on Sunday, thinking about my 5x5 vegetarian challenge, I saw these big, beautiful portabellas giving me a sly, come-hither stare. I knew there were a lot of fun things you could do with portabellas, and I, as you all know, am a fun-guy (get it? fungi!) so I thought I'd give them a chance to woo me.

Sarah and I searched for recipes all day. Most recipes fall into either portabella-as-burger or portabella-as-stuffed-pepper. I even came across a portabella-as-sloppy-joe recipe. In the end, though, I decided to go with portabella-as-pasta-topping. Anyone who has ever watched Food Network or thumbed through a cookbook has seen some derivation of this: chopped mushrooms sauteed in olive oil with garlic, nice woody herbs (in this case thyme and rosemary), a pinch of salt and pepper, and a little bit of wine, simmered to reduce by about half. Tossed with some pasta, it made a gorgeous dish, with deep, woodsy flavors.

I used here a 2005 Block No. 45 Pinot Noir from California, both with the mushrooms and in my glass. It has a wonderful earthiness that's perfect with mushrooms. While the Block No. 45 is from Cali, it's flavors of black cherry tea are typical of many of the Oregon and Burgundy pinot noirs that I love. Look for some next time you're featuring mushrooms. Some of my favorites are Cloudline, Anne Amie Cuvee, Chehalem 3 Vineyard, and Brandborg (these are all Oregon wines). Enjoy!

Tuesday

2010-01-19T21:41:00.001-05:00

We have kind of been in a food rut lately. Making the same good ol' standbys for dinner each week. I feel like I've exhausted my resources of good vegetarian meals (at least online), so Sunday Brad and I visited The Root Cafe for a cup of coffee with a bag full of cookbooks that hadn't been read in a while, determined to find some new recipes. Our search paid off with this winning recipe for squash, sweet potato and ginger soup found in Wholefood. We had to make a few alterations due to what we did and didn't have on hand, and we felt it needed some heat to balance the natural sweetness, so we added red pepper flakes. This recipe will definitely become a regular in our repetoire!

Squash, Sweet Potato & Ginger Soup

olive oil
2-3 small leeks, well rinsed and finely sliced (or 1 large onion, diced)
1 1/2 piece ginger, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 bunch cilantro, stems roughly chopped, leaves left whole (we used parsley)
2 lbs winter squash [butternut or jap (kent)] peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium sweet potato, roughly chopped
5 C water (enough to just cover the vegetables, I think we used 6 1/2)
tamari, to taste
finely ground black pepper, to taste
pear juice concentrate, optional (we did not have this)
coconut milk, to finish, optional

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan. Add the leeks, ginger, garlic and cilantro stems, sprinkle generously with salt & pepper and saute gently over a low heat for 10 minutes. Add red pepper flakes (1 T or so). Saute another minute or two. Add the squash, sweet potato and water. Cover with a lid and cook over a gentle heat for 30 minutes.

At this point, you can cool the soup slightly and tranfer to a blender & puree. We prefer chunky soup, so I skipped this step. Check for taste, adding tamari and pepper if necessary or a small amount of pear juice concentrate to deepen and balance the flavor. Serve sprinkled with cilantro leaves and drizzled with a little coconut milk.

recipe adapted from Wholefood by Jude Blereau

monday

2010-01-18T19:49:00.007-05:00

For Monday night's vegetarian meal, we went with a simple old standby: curried stuff. This is a frequent go to meal, one of those clean-out-your-fridge-type dishes. Tonight was potatoes, onions and rice (other frequent contributors include chickpeas and cauliflower).

I boiled the cubed, unpeeled potatoes to a point just before they'd be ready to be mashed, so they were still a little firm. I drained and added them to onions I was sauteing in some local organic butter and olive oil, then stirred in about 2 tablespoons of Sangeeta's Everyday Curry, salt and crushed red pepper flakes to taste, and cooked it until the potatoes were starting to brown. Mix in some cooked jasmine rice, and you're all done!

As a topping, I stirred a little bit of yellow curry powder I had left from Urban Herbs into plain yogurt and put a dollop on top of each bowl.

Easy, healthy, and bursting with flavor! The key to not wanting to kill yourself out of boredom while eating healthy is knowing how to season, and experimenting with the infinite combinations of ingredients and spices available to you. If you're an adventurous cook who's not afraid to go "off the grid" a little bit in the kitchen (meaning you are fairly comfortable making it up as you go), check out my favorite cooking book, The Flavor Bible. It contains no recipes, but is instead an index of flavors that go well together. You can look up a specific ingredient or cuisine, or even a particular season.

For example, if I go to a farmer's market and find some beautiful beets in season, and I can't resist their gorgeous purply-red color, and I think maybe I heard once you can even eat the greens, but I have no clue what to do with them... I can just look up "Beets" and find a list of ingredients that go well with beets (such as goat cheese, dill, or orange) . Or maybe I'm in a supper club, and the theme is Indian... I can look up "Indian cuisine" and find a list of common ingredients and flavors (cardamom, cauliflower, ginger... especially in the north!).

If you're fairly comfortable with basic cooking processes, try tossing the recipes and striking out on your own. It's a great creative outlet (especially if, like me, you have no other), it's a lot of fun, and you just may surprise yourself and find your inner gourmet.

busted

2010-01-17T17:42:00.004-05:00

If you know us or you've been following the blog for a while, you know about the food journey we're on: trying to eat more local, organic produce and less meat. A couple weeks ago we posted about it after having watched Food, Inc. Did you notice that in our very next post I made a huge pork crown roast? Well, our friend Nicole at Sprinkle With Salt did, and I heard about it. It was all good-natured and fun, but I took it as a challenge. This week: 5 nights, 5 vegetarian meals.

sangeeta's everyday curry

2010-01-16T17:10:00.008-05:00

Isn't the internet amazing? Sarah and I can sit here in Ohio and exchange recipes with a new friend in India with the touch of a button! Sangeeta somehow found Naughty Tastebud out there in the ether, and has really inspired a lot of our cooking since. She sent me a link to her blog recently where she gives the recipes for a couple of the spice blends she uses at home. This she calls her "everyday curry." It's a little different than the bright yellow curry we in America consider synonymous with Indian food, but it's delicious, incredibly aromatic, and so simple to make. [NOTE: If you're in the Cleveland area, check out Urban Herbs at the West Side Market (right next to Ohio City Pasta)... it's my favorite place to buy spices.]

I threw a tablespoon or two into some stir-fried vegetables the other night... the coriander has such a great, fresh, lemon-peppery kind of flavor, and the earthy, almost smoky cumin is my favorite spice in the whole wide world. This blend is so versatile and really transcends Indian cuisine; it would be great as a rub for fish on the grill or as a seasoning for fajitas.

If you love Indian food you have to check out Sangeeta's blogs Banaras Ka Khana and Healthfood Desivideshi... my mouth waters every time. Sangeeta, thanks for all your comments. Isn't it great how food brings people together?

clementines & vanilla beans

2010-01-13T21:47:00.004-05:00

While in Chicago, I stumbled upon this recipe in one of my sister's magazines. I couldn't wait to get home to try it since I had a bowl full of very ripe clementines leftover from Christmas waiting for such a recipe. Before you throw out your clementines, try this recipe. The riper your clementines are the better. This bread is incredibly moist and delicious.

Clementine Vanilla Bean Quick Bread

10 clementines or tangerines
3/4 C heavy cream (I used milk)
1 T pure vanilla extract
2 C flour
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/4 C sugar
2 vanilla beans, split & scraped, pod reserved for another use
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Butter & flour a 5 x 9 inch loaf pan. Zest 4 clementines to yield 1 T zest (I zested 8 and still didn't have enough for 1 T, but turned out fine). Juice 2 zested clementines and 6 remaining unzested clementines to yield 3/4 C juice. Cut pith from 2 remaining zested clementines. Slice fruit along membranes to release segments into a bowl; discard membranes and any seeds.
Combine 1/4 C clementine juice, the cream and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another bowl.

Beat zest, butter 1 C sugar, and the vanilla seeds with a mixer on medium speed until combined, about 4 minutes. With machine running, add eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low, and beat flour mixture into butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour.

Fold clementine segments into mixture, and pour into pan. Gently smooth top using an offset spatula.

Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Meanwhile, bring remaining 1/2 C clementine juice and cup sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat, and simmer for 3 minutes.

Remove bread from oven, poke top all over with a toothpick, and brush with half the clementine syrup. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool for 15 minutes. Invert pan to remove bread. Let cool completely on wire rack, top side up.

Brush remaining clementine syrup onto sides and again on top of bread. Bread can be stored, wrapped, at room temperature overnight or refrigerated for up to 5 days.

recipe can be found on marthastewart.com

friends

2010-01-10T22:44:00.008-05:00

What a week it has been. Heading back to your first full week of work after having been off for a few weeks is never easy, but the transition was made easier knowing I had the weekend to look forward to. We planned to have a post Christmas dinner party with our close group of friends for just this reason.

Ever since Brad saw Tyler Florence make a Crown Roast with Apple Pecan Stuffing, he's been itching for a reason to try his hand at it. He deemed this the perfect occasion and besides being quite the impressive centerpiece, it tasted absolutely delicious. We feasted on this along with gourmet mac n' cheese, an eggplant and red pepper terrine (photo below), delicious salad and homemade ice cream for dessert all homemade by our great friends. It was exactly what we needed this weekend.

Crown Roast

1/2 bunch thyme, leaves only
1/2 bunch fresh sage, leaves only
2 cloves garlic, gently smashed and paper removed
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
10 pounds pork rib roast (12 to 14 ribs)

Preheat oven to 375. Set rack on the bottom third of the oven so the roast will fit completely inside.

In a small mixing bowl or mortar and pestle, combine thyme, sage, garlic and salt and pepper, to taste, and mash to break up herbs and garlic. Add oil, about 1 cup and combine with pestle.

Take crown roast of pork and if your butcher hasn't already prepared it, clean the bones of meat with a boning knife and make a small cut into the meat in between each rib so you can wrap it into a circle easily; save the scraps. rub the pork all over with the herb mixture. With the ribs on the outside, wrap the rack around onto itself so the ends meet and secure with kitchen twine so it holds its crown shape.

Place in a roasting pan. Add the scraps into the bottom of the pan alongside the roast. This will help add flavor to your sauce. Set aside to bring the pork to room temperature prior to cooking.

Fill the cavity with Apple Pecan Stuffing.

Cover the stuffing and the tips of the rib bones with foil then place the whole roast in the oven and bake for 2 hours and 20 minutes, an instant read thermometer inserted near the bone should register 150 degrees when done. About 30-45 minutes prior to doneness, remove the foil to brown the stuffing and create a crust. Remove from the oven, loosely cover with foil and allow to rest for 30 minutes before cutting.

eggplant & red pepper terrine made by Kimmie

Crown Roast & Stuffing recipes courtesy of Tyler Florence

resolutions and year in review

2010-01-03T19:01:00.011-05:00

We spent the past few days in Chicago visiting my sister & her husband and seeing their new place (which is absolutely beautiful). We drove up with some friends and spent the majority of the car ride discussing food - more specifically local food vs. organic, CSAs, gardening and the slow food movement. We had the most relaxing time - playing games, watching movies and even venturing out in the frigid temperatures (5 degrees outside, but felt like -15!). I feel relaxed and rejuvenated and excited to begin a new year full of fresh new recipes to share with you!

We spent our last night there watching Food, Inc. This movie has been on our "to watch" list for a while but since we're not big movie watchers, we didn't get around to it until now. If you haven't seen this movie, we highly recommend it. I will let Brad give the review of the film since he's much more articulate than I, but it was the perfect reminder for why we've decided to make this change.

With it being a New Year, I want to give a little recap of our past year. We've had many of you, our readers, asking the same questions: Why did we change our eating habits and isn't it expensive to eat this way. I will try to answer these questions below.

WHY?

Last December we watched the movie Fast Food Nation which fanned the flame that had already been lit in me regarding food. After this movie I swore off meat and began reading labels even more. The swearing off of meat lasted until my next trip to the grocery store and I was still stuck in my same rut of grocery shopping - buying fat free this and sugar free that (all with ingredient lists as long as my arm). In January, Brad and I made the resolution to start shopping at Nature's Bin and do less shopping at major grocery stores where we weren't sure where our "food" came from. This resolution along with reading a few books on food launched us into a new lifestyle even we couldn't have anticipated.

HOW DID WE DO IT?

We started slowly. We stopped buying processed foods and replaced with homemade where possible. We planted a garden (about a $100 investment) and reaped the rewards of the garden all summer long into October. We supplemented with a CSA. Here are a few changes we made with our grocercies:

Homemade bread instead of store bought
Homemade Granola instead of $3-$4/box of cereal
Fresh fruits & veggies instead of granola bars for snacks
Dried fruits & nuts instead of sun chips
Organic milk instead of regular*
Lentils, beans & grains instead of poultry & meat**
Homemade whole wheat pancakes instead of store bought waffles

*This was the hardest one for me, $5/gallon instead of $2! It all evens out though...we aim to spend $50/week on groceries and we've been able to keep this our average.

**We occasionally buy meat (less than once a month, perhaps more during the grilling season) and we buy organic or local.

I assume you visit our blog because you have an interest in eating more organically/locally and yes, even economically so I hope this helps you see how easy it can be to change.

Food, Inc. Review

written by Brad

Happy New Year everyone! Sarah's pressing me into service even though she saw the movie too and I'm watching the Cavs, but here goes...

This was a very powerful, interesting, and, to be honest, disgusting film. But that's largely because America's food system is, well, powerful, interesting, and disgusting. I won't go into great detail, because I want you to see it, but there were a lot of very surprising facts in the movie: so much of what we eat is corn, reorganized; 90% of the soybeans grown in the US are patented by the chemical company Monsanto to be resistant to their popular herbicide RoundUp (watch the movie then browse Monsanto's website; a fascinating juxtaposition); the conditions most of the animals we eat have to live in are (insert retching noises)... most commercial chickens, for example, from large names you know, are engineered to grow so fast and so large (from hatch to your supermarket in 7 weeks) that their organs can't keep up, and many can hardly walk by the time they're killed.

Not everybody cares about the lives of the animals we eat, I know, but the broader aim of the movie is to make us rethink our food policy as a nation, and our food choices as individuals. Why is it that a Big Mac is cheaper than a head of broccoli when obesity and related diseases are at epidemic levels? Why does the government subsidize and encourage overproduction of corn, just so it can be reconstituted into so many things that are making us unhealthy? Why has our food policy for years been determined by people who work for the 3 or 4 huge food conglomerates that dominate the system?

But the movie offers hope, and it just may lie, after all, with large corporations. Above all else, they want to make money. They don't hate healthy, wholesome food... but our nation's food policy and eating habits make it more profitable for them to make unhealthy, unwholesome food. But we can vote, with our dollars, for change. As the movie describes, even Wal-Mart, the most-maligned of huge corporations, now offers organic products... either they've had a moral awakening, or their customers are starting to demand healthier food choices.

Watch the movie, read some books, and make your own choices. If you want to make a change, you're in luck: there are more options to eat better now than at any time in the last 40 years, and more sources of information, too. If you think you can't afford to eat healthier, I say, quite frankly... bullsh*t. Drink water instead of Coke, and that makes up the difference between organic milk and milk from cows that live in filth and are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. Cut out one or two servings of meat each week, and you can afford all the organic produce, legumes, and grains you could want. Plant a garden this spring and and eat free vegetables for months.

Just educate yourself, and think about how what you eat affects your body and the planet. Email me if you want some resources or have some questions... by no means do I have all the answers, but I can probably help you find them. Or better yet, shop at a farmer's market or join a CSA and shake hands with the people who grow your food.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our New Years resolution is to dig even deeper into food, specifically where it comes from and to do our best in making the right choices regarding what we allow to enter our bodies. What's yours?

christmas dinner

2009-12-30T09:18:00.005-05:00

We had an unusual Christmas this year. Christmas Eve has always been the big day for both of our families - we share the earlier part of the day with my family, then head to Brad's parents in the evening to finish the day with his family. Usually Christmas day we'll go to one of our siblings houses for a low key day, but this year was different and we stayed home. It was our first Christmas in 10 years (!) spent with just each other and it was wonderful.

We woke early and exchanged gifts. I made coffee while Brad made his delicious egg/potato omelette breakfast. We took our showers for the day, but then put pajama's back on. We read books and listened to music and watch a movie and shared a bottle of wine. It was the most relaxing Christmas day I've ever had and it was perfect.

I was excited to make dinner for us since neither of us had ever had to cook for Christmas (spoiled by the delicious cooks in our families). I found this recipe and it sounded like the perfect dinner for us - a great comfort food dish, but not too heavy at all. Just a little bit of preparation cutting all the veggies and making the pesto ahead of time, this came together in under an hour.

Roasted Root Vegetable with Walnut Pesto

Vegetables:
3 cups (1-inch-thick) slices carrot (about 1 pound)
3 cups (1-inch-thick) slices parsnip (about 1 pound)
3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled turnip
3 cups trimmed halved Brussels sprouts (about 1 pound)
2 shallots, peeled and quartered
1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges
Olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pesto:
2 cups basil leaves
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, peeled

To prepare pesto, combine basil leaves and remaining ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping sides. Spoon basil mixture over vegetable mixture, and toss to coat.

To prepare vegetables, place first 6 ingredients in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly drizzle vegetable mixture with olive oil. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; toss. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until brown, stirring/checking every 10 minutes or so. Transfer vegetable mixture to a large bowl.

recipe adapted from cookinglight.com

a new tradition

2009-12-28T08:44:00.005-05:00

I started a tradition last year with these cinnamon rolls. Or perhaps I should say, I continued a tradition with these rolls. This recipe comes from Brad's grandmother. I never got the chance to meet either of his dad's parents, but I've heard many stories and I have a feeling we would have gotten along great.

For my bridal shower, each guest brought a recipe to share to add to my collection of recipes. I loved this because I ended up with quite a grand array of recipes. Brad's Aunt Jean passed this recipe onto me and after letting it intimidate me for our first 2 Christmases together, I decided to give it a shot last year. I used skim milk and didn't squish the rolls together in a pan (as seen below) instead letting them spread out on a cookie sheet...they turned out fine and quite tasty, just not as pretty as I imagined. This year I splurged and bought organic whole milk (something tells me Brad's grandmother didn't use skim either), I think it made all the difference.

They were delicious and moist and cinnamon-y and just tasted like Christmas. I made the dough 2 nights before Christmas (it has to chill overnight), then rolled it out and baked them on Christmas Eve morning, this way everyone in Brad's family could enjoy them on Christmas morning.

Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls

1/4 C warm water

1 t sugar

1 package of yeast

Stir in small bowl til dissolved

4 C Flour

1 t salt

1/4 C sugar

Combine in large bowl. Cut 1 C of butter into flour.

1 C milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm.

2 eggs, beaten add to milk - also add yeast mixture.

Stir into flour. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

Combine 1 C sugar, 1 T cinnamon & 1/4 t nutmeg.

Melt 1/2 C butter.

Roll out 1/2 of dough to a 12" x 18" rectangle on a floured surface.

Brush dough with butter, sprinkle 1/2 of sugar mixture over dough. Roll into a tight roll, cut into 1" slices. Place in greased 9" round cake pan (I used a springform, worked great). Flatten with palm of hand. Bake at 350 degrees until brown (about 1/2 hour). Spread frosting over rolls while still warm.

Frosting

1 C powdered sugar

2 T crisco

1 T milk

1/2 t vanilla

merry christmas!!!

2009-12-23T22:21:00.005-05:00

nostalgic...

2009-12-20T13:07:00.002-05:00

If only I could freeze time, to make this moment - currently the Sunday evening before Christmas - stand still for just a little while. Brad and I are snuggled up on the couch watching a movie, my favorite pine scented candle is lit and the Christmas tree is twinkling away in the next room. The anticipation of Christmas, spending time with family we haven't seen in 6 months, finishing up last minute shopping, wrapping gifts, making yet more cookies and treats to take to events, the gifts themselves...all these thoughts are on my mind and as much as I can't wait until Christmas, I want tonight to last forever.

I remember being a child and the week before Christmas felt like an eternity...I thought for sure I would die before it arrived. If only it still felt that way. This week will go far too fast for my liking, but luckily we have a few events to attend before our traditional family Christmas Eve obligations which will help break up the week and not let it slip by too fast!

This is my favorite go to treat to bring to such occasions, I'm not even going to pretend it is relatively good for you, but it's Christmas and isn't that why we (try to) eat so well the rest of the year? I've made this multiple times this season already as it is a total party pleaser, super easy and quick to throw together and you'll have everyone asking for the recipe.

White Chocolate covered Cheerio Chex Mix

4 C corn chex

4 C cheerios

2 C dry roasted peanuts

16 ounces m&ms

12 ounces pretzels

2 bags white chocolate chips

3 T oil

Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Microwave white chocolate chips with oil for 2 minutes. Stir. Microwave in 10 second intervals until completely melted. Pour over dry ingredients and mix. Spread on wax paper covered pans and let cool.

eat, drink and be merry

2009-12-13T21:46:00.002-05:00

We did it. All the planning and list making and scheming paid off. We had our 4th annual Christmas Party last night for roughly 40 guests and I think it's safe to say a good time was had by all. I look forward to this event all year and I generally start planning for our party early October (right around the time I get the itch to listen to Christmas music). We had a larger crowd than we've ever had this year so I was bit nervous that we wouldn't have enough food, but I have awesome friends who didn't show up empty handed and as usual, we had more than enough food.

The feature of the party was a hot cocoa bar. Brad thought it up and made the hot cocoa along with homemade whip cream. We then had an assortment of fixens' to spice it up - white chocolate godiva liqueur, mocha kahlua, frangelica, candy canes & homemade marshmallows (!) made by our good friend Nicole. It was such a fun addition to the party and one that I think will make an appearance next year!

As I mentioned, I've been planning for a few months, so naturally the menu has undergone a few revisions. We ended up making Fig & Goat Cheese Bruschetta (pictured above), Caprese skewers (pictured below), hummus, veggies & homemade dip, an assortment of Christmas cookies, homemade chocolate covered caramel pretzels, spiced nuts & my guilty pleasure holiday treat - white chocolate cheerio/chex/pretzel/m&m deliciousness (no idea what the real name is). Our talented foodie friends brought homemade meatballs, texas caviar, homemade pizzas, cream cheese veggie pizza, homemade pepperoni rolls, noodle kugel, olive/tomato/mozzarella bites and I'm sure there is more that I'm not remembering!

This was a fun twist to traditional bruschetta. Minimal preparation (all of which you can do in advance if needed) so all that's left to do when your guests arrive is throw in the broiler for 2 minutes. Delic!

Fig & Goat Cheese Bruschetta

1 1/4 cups chopped dried Mission figs (about 9 ounces)

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup coarsely chopped orange sections

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

1/3 cup fresh orange juice (about 1 orange)

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

40 (1/2-inch-thick) slices French bread baguette, toasted (about 8 ounces)

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

5 teaspoons finely chopped walnuts

Combine first 7 ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until figs are tender. Uncover and cook 5 minutes or until mixture thickens.

Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.

Preheat broiler.

Top each bread slice with 1 1/2 teaspoons fig mixture and 1 1/2 teaspoons goat cheese. Arrange bruschetta on a baking sheet; sprinkle evenly with walnuts. Broil 2 minutes or until nuts begin to brown. Serve warm.

recipe courtesy of cookinglight.com

sugar and spice

2009-12-05T18:28:00.007-05:00

As my immediate family has grown in number over the years we decided last year to forgo the obligatory Christmas gifts (between siblings, we still spoil all the nieces and nephews) and instead take the money we'd spend on the gifts and donate to charity. I love how much it simplified things. Instead of having to run around and search for the Perfect gifts we could relax and enjoy the weeks leading up to Christmas. We're following suit this year and just buying for the kids again, but I still want to do a little something for everyone. These spiced pecans fit the bill - easy to make, super tasty and slightly, alright, really addicting. I made these Friday night and Brad couldn't keep his paws off of them! I brought the rest to work with me as a little treat for my fellow coworkers who had to be there on a Saturday. Everyone loved them. Feel free to adjust the spices to your liking or omitting the cayenne altogether if you don't want the little kick of heat. I think I even may add almonds to my next batch.

Spiced Pecans

1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 tablespoon water
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups pecan halves
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
In a small bowl beat the egg white with the water. Stir in the pecans, mixing until well moistened.

In a small bowl, mix together sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg & cayenne pepper. Sprinkle over the moistened nuts. Spread nuts on prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

recipe adapted from here

the most wonderful time...

2009-12-01T22:22:00.004-05:00

Happy December! Hurray for the most wonderful time of the year! We've already decorated for Christmas and just have to get our tree (we're going to chop one down this weekend). Our annual Christmas party is next Saturday and I've got a million lists going of when I need to make what. I just couldn't contain myself though after writing my last post and had to make cookies Sunday night. I think I found my favorite new Christmas cookie recipe...white chocolate candy cane cookies. My friend at work mentioned that they were his favorite cookie and since I had never heard of them and they sounded absolutely amazing, I promptly went to work searching for a recipe. I have a feeling I'll be making these a few more times this season...

White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips (about 1/2 a 12 oz. Bag)
1/2 cup candy cane, crushed (about 5)

Cream butter until light. Gradually add sugars, creaming well until blended. Beat in vanilla and egg.

Stir together flour, salt and soda. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, blending well.

Stir in chips and crushed candy canes.

Drop by level tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes until golden.

Remove to wire racks to cool.

original recipe found here

no time

2009-11-29T10:00:00.001-05:00

My last post has made a big fat liar out of me. I mentioned not being too busy and how I was more or less just enjoying some free time before all the hustle and bustle of the holidays began. Well the very next day I was placed on a new project at work and there have been times when I've been busy at work, but this doesn't even compare, I've been completely SWAMPED. If I'm not sleeping, eating or at the gym, then I'm working. I'm not saying this to complain because I have a great job and I work with awesome people, so if ever I was stuck in a situation like say being swamped at work during the holidays, I couldn't imagine a better place than this - I'm just letting you know that I haven't totally slacked off with my blogging, I just haven't had a spare second to bake, let alone update this! So enough with the explanations, I will try to update as often as I can. I just cannot let December slip by without plenty of Christmas cookie making!

Last Sunday I threw this together in the crockpot before I, yes you guessed it, went to work. Earlier that week my friend Heather and I grabbed lunch from the Souper Market where I had their delicious Curried Cauliflower, Chick Pea & Rice soup. It reminded me of a similar recipe I had printed off ages ago and when I made it last Sunday, it definitely didn't disappoint.

Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea Stew

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno chili, seeded and minced
2 cups water
2 (16-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 green bell pepper, diced (I used red)
1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup coconut milk

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion with one teaspoon of salt until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and another teaspoon of salt, and sauté until just translucent around the edges.

Stir in the curry, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and chili and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in 1/4 cup of water and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Pour this onion-potato mixture into the bowl of your slow cooker.

To the slow-cooker, add the rest of the water, chickpeas, bell pepper, cauliflower, the pepper, and the final teaspoon of salt. Stir to combine. The liquid should come half-way up the sides of the bowl; add more broth as necessary. Cover and cook for 4 hours on HIGH.

Stir in the coconut milk. Enjoy!

recipe adapted from thekitchn.com

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-11-17T10:43:00.000-05:00

I suppose I should make some sort of excuse as to why I haven't been posting lately, but I honestly don't have one. Yes, work is busy and yes life has been busy, but no more so than usual. Yes, Brad has been gone on business since last Friday and won't return until this Friday, so what reason do I have to cook or bake when I have no one to taste test it for me? I think I may be enjoying this semi-relaxing period before all the hub-bub of the holidays start... Soon (as in NEXT week) Thanksgiving is upon us. Then those few precious weeks leading up to my favorite day of the year, Christmas Eve, will fly by way too quickly and be gone before we know it. For now though, I'm dreaming and scheming and making list after list of ingredients for all the cookies and sweets and appetizers I want to make for all the upcoming holiday events.

Back on topic though, I did find a reason to bake this past weekend. My youngest nephew's first birthday party was Saturday. I made my favorite go to quick cookie, sweet and salty chocolate chip cookies. The sea salt added in with the chips doesn't melt leaving you with the perfect combination of sweetness & saltiness. They were gone within 10 minutes of my arrival.

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/3 cup coarsely chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts (I used almonds)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place nuts in a small baking pan. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted; cool.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda, stirring well with a whisk.

Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add vanilla and egg; beat until combined. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until well blended. Stir in peanuts, chocolate chips, and salt.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

recipe from cookinglight.com

you've been warned

2009-11-08T17:52:00.008-05:00

Usually I can control myself around sweets. I can have a taste or two then put it out of my mind and leave it be. Not the case with this bread. I made the 2 loaves yesterday afternoon and by yesterday evening we were down half a loaf (I can't take full credit, Brad did help too). I had full intentions of freezing the other loaf, but we ended up having a short notice brunch party this morning, so it was the perfect complement to the potato/veggie/egg skillet Brad made. My brother-in-law Justin commented on the "cookie like" crust, which is the perfect description as the batter was definitely a cookie dough-like consistency. It was a lovely morning...sipping on coffee and enjoying the company of family & friends we get to see far less often than we'd like!

Apple Cinnamon Bread

1 cup oil

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups apples, diced

3 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Combine and set aside the oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Sift flour, cinnamon, soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to oil mixture gradually. Add apples and nuts. Bake in 2 regular loaf pans or 3 foil loaf pans for 1-1/2 hours at 300°F. Cool 10 minutes in the pan. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

original recipe found here

good food, friends, and conversation

2009-11-04T21:18:00.007-05:00

Last Friday we celebrated one of the last beautiful fall days by having friends over for a cookout. It was the absolute perfect weather - 70 degrees or so with a warm breeze, perfect for sitting on the porch and enjoying each other's company. One last chance to be outside and enjoy the weather before winter hibernation takes effect. We enjoyed chicken sausages and salad and bread and roasted fall vegetables and warm bourbon braised applesauce (homemade by my friend Ashley!) with vanilla icecream and leftover ginger snaps for dessert.

Oven Roasted Fall Vegetables

2 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into quarters
3 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut lengthwise into 1/2-in.-thick slices
3 medium turnips (1 1/2 lbs.), peeled and cut into eighths
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3-in. lengths (cut thickest pieces in half lengthwise)
3 large parsnips, peeled and cut into 3-in. lengths (cut thickest pieces into halves or quarters lengthwise)
1 butternut squashes, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into 3- by 1-in. pieces
10 to 20 garlic cloves, loose papery outer skins removed, inner skins left on
2 medium orange sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3- by 1-in. pieces
About 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon coarse salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
7 sprigs rosemary (3 in. each)

Preheat oven to 450°. Put all vegetables (including garlic) except sweet potatoes into a very large bowl (or two large ones); put sweet potatoes in a separate bowl. Drizzle bowls generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss gently with your hands to coat; then spread half of mixed vegetables on two large baking sheets. Break up 3 rosemary sprigs and sprinkle over vegetables.

Roast vegetables 15 minutes. Stir gently with a metal spatula if they are sticking. Add half of the sweet potatoes to pans. Continue roasting, stirring vegetables every 15 minutes if necessary and changing positions of pans to ensure even browning, until vegetables are browned and tender, 40 minutes to 1 1/4 hours. Remove from oven and set aside. Repeat with remaining half of mixed vegetables, sweet potatoes, and 2 1/2 rosemary sprigs.

Pour vegetables onto a serving platter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with remaining sprig of rosemary and serve warm or at room temperature.

recipe adapted from cookinglight.com

spaghetti squash with sage, pine nuts & ricotta

2009-11-02T21:18:00.005-05:00

I'm fortunate enough to be able to work from home when needed, so last Wednesdsay I spent the day at home working away. That particular day was a very blustery day so it was the perfect day to stay in my pj's and cuddle up on the couch with my dog and get down to business. It was a very productive day, without the interruptions of phone calls & coworkers, I felt I accomplished much. I was able to try a recipe I otherwise would have saved for a weekend when I had more time to cook. This is a fantastically simple recipe, just takes an hour or so to prepare the squash.

Spaghetti Squash w/ Sage, Pine Nuts & Ricotta

1 small spaghetti squash (about 2 pounds)

3/4 cup ricotta1 clove garlic, mashed

6-8 fresh sage leaves, chopped

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 375F.

Pierce the whole squash in several places with a knife or fork, place it in a baking dish, and bake until flesh is tender, about 1 hour. (Alternately, cut squash in half lengthwise and place cut side down in baking dish, you can add water to help steam the squash).

Remove squash from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Combine sage leaves, ricotta and garlic in a large bowl. Set aside.

Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Pull a fork through the flesh to separate and remove the strands from the shell. Add to bowl with ricotta mixture.

Combine squash and ricotta mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle with pine nuts before serving.

recipe adapted from thekitchn.com

take two

2009-10-30T15:04:00.003-04:00

My mother-in-law figured out how to"healify" the simple crusty bread recipe. She experimented with the amounts and ingredients and found the combination that worked best: substituting some of the white flour with whole wheat flour & whole wheat pastry flour, adding whole wheat gluton, flax seeds and cornmeal. I tried her recipe and couldn't have been more pleased with the results.

Healthified Crusty Bread

1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 T salt
3 C. Bread flour (I used all purpose flour)
2 1/2 C. Whole wheat flour
1/2 C. Whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 C. cornmeal
1/2 C. Whole wheat gluten
6 T. Flax seed

Original directions found here.

chunky vegetarian chili

2009-10-27T15:00:00.007-04:00

Sunday was the quintessential fall day - 65 degrees or so, blue sky with sun shining making all the beautiful colors of autumn sparkle in the sunlight. We did our usual Sunday activities - trip to the grocery store, then Brad watched the Browns game while I prepared all our staple food items for the week (granola & bread). Even though it wasn't cold enough to justify making chili, I couldn't resist making this recipe as it had been calling my name for weeks. The brown sugar adds a nice little sweetness (I may add more next time) and since it is such a chunky chili, you don't even miss the meat. The best part? This soup came together in about 1/2 hour leaving us enough time to enjoy a nice fall walk in the Metroparks.

Chunky Vegetarian Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 orange or yellow pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (to taste)
2 (16-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained ( I used diced tomatoes and added 1 1/2 C water) 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 (15-ounce) cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
8 oz (half a bag) frozen corn

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add sugar and remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

Recipe adapted from cookinglight.com

the perfect combination

2009-10-24T12:29:00.000-04:00

Last night we went to my office's Halloween bash (4 of my nieces came too and they got to dress up and trick or treat around the office and paint pumpkins...fun, fun time). Afterwards we went to our friends birthday party. Today we had plans to attend a fall party in the metroparks (complete with homemade chili around a fire in a pavillion) then afterwards my friend's housewarming party. Unfortunately I woke up feeling a bit under the weather and wasn't able to make it to either...

In case you didn't pick up on it, we had 4 events to attend in a matter of 24 hours. Believe me, I don't mind it as I love being busy and spending time with friends and family, but when you're a little bit OCD (as some people suggest I am) and when each of the 4 events invite you to "bring a side dish or dessert to share", one can get quite overwhelmed with the possibilites of what to bring.

I had grand thoughts and plans of making a separate dish for each event and we could pack the cooler if needed so while sitting in the car one wouldn't spoil before we go to the next destination... Luckily Brad brought me down from the clouds and suggested I just make one giant batch of cookies and and divide so I could share at each event. That's not exactly what I did but close enough...

Ginger Snaps (makes 75)

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
cinnamon-sugar for rolling - 1/4 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and all the spices; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter. Add the egg and mix until the egg is completely combined. Stir in the molasses.

Fold in the dry ingredients until completely combined.

Turn on the oven to 375° and refrigerate the gingersnap dough while the oven is preheating.

When the oven is hot, measure out rounded teaspoons of dough. Roll the dough between your hands to shape balls, and then roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Position the balls about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Store cookies in an airtight container.

recipe from thekitchn.com

Pumpkin Dip

3/4 cup (6 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
24 apple slices

Place first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add syrup and cinnamon, and beat until smooth. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Serve with apple.

recipe from myrecipes.com

my favorite thing

2009-10-21T12:05:00.008-04:00

Monday night at 9:30 I realized we had nothing of substance to eat for dinner the following night (after grocery shopping only 4 days earlier...how does that happen?). I quickly googled lentil soups hoping to find something quick and easy we could throw together after work and found this recipe. After reading through a few of the reviews, one mentioned she threw everything in the crockpot and it turned out delicious. That was good enough for me. I mentioned to Brad I was going to do that the following morning so we'd have a delicious dinner awaiting us when we arrived home from work. Then a lightbulb went off in my head: why not prepare it right then and turn the crockpot on overnight so we could enjoy this dish for lunch? Sometimes I surprise myself.

Red Lentil Soup

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
6 cups water
1 cup red lentils
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Plenty of freshly ground salt & pepper

Throw everything in a crockpot, mix and set on low for 10 hours. Delicious!

Ours turned out VERY spicy (could be due to the habanero powder I added instead of the cayenne pepper). Regardless, adjust to your taste.

recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

clambake

2009-10-18T20:53:00.005-04:00

We had the pleasure of attending a clambake yesterday at our fellow foodie friend's place and what a feast it was! Not only did we have clams we also had sweet potatoes with cinnamon and brown sugar butter, a root vegetable soup (with an apple cider broth base), a simple cabbage salad, crusty bread and apple crisp. Brad and I brought poblano corn chowder, cinnamon basil chicken and pumpkin roll. Brad was responsible for the chowder & chicken and they were absolutely delicious. We will definitely be making both again soon.

Poblano Corn Chowder

3 poblano peppers, washed, halved and seeded
1 red bell pepper, washed, halved and seeded
3 Tbsp olive oil1 onion, diced1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth or water
1 1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled, diced into small cubes
1 20-oz tube of frozen creamed corn, thawed
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup half & half

Broil pepper halves, skin side up, on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet 6 inches from heat for 7-8 minutes or until pepper looks blistered. Place peppers in a ziploc baggie, seal closed and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Peel skin from peppers and dice.

Heat oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions and celery. Season with cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and saute until onions are translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute or two. Sprinkle flour over all and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Slowly add broth to pot. Increase the heat a bit and bring to a boil. Season with more salt (1/2-1 tsp) and add potatoes, creamed corn and diced roasted peppers. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are almost fork tender. Add frozen corn kernels and simmer for 5-10 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in half & half.

recipe courtesy of othersideof50.blogspot.com

Basil Cinnamon Chicken

1 whole chicken (2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 breasts)
6 cloves garlic
1 bunch basil
1 bunch green onions, trimmed
1/2 c. olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
4 T white wine vinegar
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. allspice
Place all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Place chicken and marinade in ziploc bag and marinade for 3 hours or more. Remove chicken from marinade. Discard bag and grill meat until it reaches 145-150 degrees.

original recipe found here

too soon

2009-10-14T20:02:00.005-04:00

I've taken to trying to bake as much as I can on the weekends in order to enjoy my weeknights more. Up until this week, we were enjoying evening walks in the beautiful fall weather. Now it just got so cold and rainy way too fast. Nonetheless, I digress, Sunday I made this snack cake in order to capture pictures of it in the daylight. It is already getting dark so early and I hate the way the pictures turn out with artificial light! I love this snack cake because it isn't too sweet at all, instead perfectly pumpkin-y and perfect for breakfast or a mid-morning snack.

Pumpkin Oat Snack Cake

1 spray(s) cooking spray, flour-variety recommended
1/2 cup(s) butter, softened
1 1/2 cup(s) packed light brown sugar
3 large egg(s), beaten
2 cup(s) canned pumpkin
1/4 tsp table salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, or more to taste
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup(s) uncooked quick oats
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 C chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 10- X 15-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Using an electric mixer, in a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and pumpkin; beat well. Add salt, pumpkin pie spice, flour, oats and baking soda; mix thoroughly. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and place walnut halves on top so there will be 1 walnut in the center of each piece of cake. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Cool in pan and cut into 24 pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.

original recipe from http://www.weightwatchers.com/

baked mashed potato casserole

2009-10-10T09:49:00.007-04:00

Our garden is no more. I visited it last weekend only to find everything shriveled and dying. Our little beans & brussel sprouts and assorted fall squashes couldn't withstand the wind and rainstorms of the previous week. Our beautiful eggplant (that had 5 eggplants on it in various stages of growth) was blown over and laying limply in a mud puddle. We were able to harvest a few beans (& they were delicious, see picture below) and fall squashes, but sadly the brussel sprouts didn't make it. Fortunately we harvested all the potatoes a week earlier and were able to use them in a variety of dishes such as this one! We have a wonderful experience gardening this past summer and look forward to expanding our garden next year!

We made dinner for our friends last week and this was a delicious side dish to add to the lentil loaf we made.

Baked Mashed Potato Casserole

4 medium russet or red potatoes, cut into quarters
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 to 4 tablespoons milk
1 small onion, finely chopped (we used leeks)
1 large stalk celery, finely chopped (we used carrots)
1/2 cup red pepper, finely choppedsea salt to tastewhite pepper to taste
2 tablespoons freshly grated Fulvi Romano Cheese (optional)
paprika to garnish

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Sauté the onions, celery and red pepper for 7 minutes, or until tender, stirring often. Set aside.

When the potatoes are done, drain them well and return to the cooking pot. Add the butter and the milk. Mash together well. Add the sautéed vegetables. Season the mixture to taste with sea salt and white pepper.

Spread the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in an 8x8 or 9x9 casserole dish. Spoon mashed potatoes into the dish and sprinkle with grated Romano cheese and paprika. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

recipe courtesy of thedailygreen.com

nothing in the fridge

2009-10-06T20:14:00.008-04:00

Some of our most delicious meals are born from having "nothing in the fridge". I have to give credit to Brad for this, he's the more experimental cook between us, although I am getting more daring as I continue to cook. Tonight I was able to concoct jasmine rice stuffed peppers & rosemary potato chips out of the abyss of our fridge.

ancho, cubanelle & bell peppers from our garden

Tiny Stuffed Peppers

8 assorted small peppers
olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1/2 cup uncooked jasmine rice
1 cup water
1 tomato diced
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided

1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400°.

Cut tops off of peppers; scoop out seeds and membranes. Place on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan, cut sides up.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with olive oil. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeño to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is lightly browned. Add rice, and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; cool completely.

Combine rice mixture, tomato & 1/4 cup cheese in a large bowl, stirring until blended. Fill each pepper with mixture. Cover and bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on each pepper before serving.

recipe adapted from cookinglight.com

taste of autumn: pumpkin

2009-10-01T12:06:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, fall has barely just arrived, but I can't help myself. Fall only lasts so long and I have so many recipes to make as well as new ones to try. We had a fall party at work yesterday and what pleases a crowd more than pumpkin roll?!?

Pumpkin Roll

3 eggs

2/3 C pumpkin

1 C sugar

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

1/2 t cinnamon

3/4 C flour

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooht. Line a 11" x 14" jelly roll pan with wax paper and grease lightly pour batter onto pan and bake 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove onto towel that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Removed wax paper while roll is still hot. Roll loosely in towel and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Filling

8 oz package cream cheese (room temperature)

1/4 C butter (softened)

1 t vanilla

1 C powdered sugar

Beat all ingredients until smooth. Remove pumpkin roll from fridge. Unroll onto foil which has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Spread filling on roll. Refrigerate until serving time. May be frozen.

a swift change

2009-09-29T10:25:00.001-04:00

All of a sudden our mild 70 degree days have been replaced with chilly rainy days that barely make it out of the 50's. I'm not complaining because I love the excuse this weather gives me of barricading myself indoors and concocting all sorts of delicious food. Nonetheless, I wish we could have more of a transition between the two. I had all the windows in the house open Sunday and didn't think ahead to how cold it would be the next morning.

Monday morning I awoke and had to peel myself out of my warm cozy bed where my dog & husband provide enough heat to fuel a furnace (yes, our dog sleeps with us...between us...under the covers...it's the best). It had dropped at least 20 degrees from the night before and I ran through the house shutting every window then to the warmth the shower would provide. On mornings such as this, a hearty warm breakfast is all that I could ask for.

Apple Walnut Oatmeal

1 1/2 C water

3/4 C rolled oats

1 medium apple, cored and chopped

1/2 t cinnamon

1 t vanilla extract

2 T dark brown sugar

2 T granola

2 T chopped walnuts

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add oats, apple and cinnamon and stir until combined. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When most of the water is absorbed and the apples are softened, remove from heat and stir in vanilla and brown sugar. Top each serving with 1 T granola and 1 T walnuts. Sprinkle with a little agave nectar for an extra treat! Serves 2 (generous size portions!)

recipe from October/November 2009 issue of Fit Pregnancy Magazine

tomato basil soup

2009-09-27T21:11:00.007-04:00

With the abundance of tomatoes we're getting from our little backyard garden, I've been racking my brain trying to find recipes to use them all. Unfortunately our tomatoes at our own garden got the blight this year and we've had a very slim crop. I couldn't imagine if they would have survived though, we'd have them coming out of our ears. In searching through my recipe binder I found this recipe I had printed out long ago and never got around to making - I just never had 8 tomatoes laying around or if I did, then it was the middle of winter and I didn't have basil right outside my kitchen growing in our little herb garden.

I've been looking forward to making this all weekend and with a few adjustments (the addition of crushed red pepper & liberally salting & peppering the soup), it came out pretty delicious, especially when served with a grilled cheese on homemade crusty bread.

Tomato Basil Soup

1 T olive oil
2 medium leek(s), chopped (white parts only)

8 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped (about 3 lbs)

1 tsp dried thyme
1 T red pepper flakes

1 piece(s) bay leaf

4 C water

12 oz evaporated milk

2 T basil, fresh, chopped salt, to taste black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add leeks and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, thyme and bay leaf; cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes break down, about 5 minutes. Add broth and reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Remove from heat and remove bay leaf.

Puree tomato mixture in saucepan using an immersion blender. Or, working in batches, puree tomato mixture in a blender until smooth (be careful not to splatter hot liquid); return puree to saucepan and set pan over low heat. Add milk and simmer 1 minute to heat through. Remove from heat and stir in basil; season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan before serving.

recipe adapted from weightwatchers.com

last of summer

2009-09-24T21:33:00.001-04:00

The older I get the more I appreciate the change of the seasons. Although I'm sad to say goodbye to summer, especially since we had such a mild summer, I'm sooo looking forward to fall. Sweater and scarf weather, bonfires and hot cider, football and comfort food, not to mention all the holidays just around the corner. In light of all of this, we tried to capture the last bit of summer we could. We plucked all the rest of the basil from our assorted basil plants and Brad made his "rustic" pesto - basically just pesto sans a food processor so it's chunkier and super tasty. He made a bunch and we enjoyed some over noodles that particular night while freezing the rest. I've never frozen pesto before, but I've had many people recommend it to me. I'm looking forward to defrosting it in a snowstorm sometime mid-January and enjoying the taste of summer.

Rustic Pesto

2 C fresh basil

1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 C pine nuts

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 C olive oil

salt & fresh cracked pepper

Roughly chop basil and toss with cheese, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil. Salt & pepper to taste. Mix with cooked whole wheat rotini.

taste of autumn: apples

2009-09-21T20:03:00.008-04:00

I've mentioned before few things remind me of home more than my mom's baking. This recipe is no exception. The aroma of cinnamon & apples that filled the house yesterday as this was baking immediately brought me back to my parents kitchen - I was 10 again, sitting at the kitchen table doing the start of school year homework, kitchen window open and just the faintest tinge of fall cool in the air...how nostalgic it makes me!

The original recipe calls for 5-6 apples, I used 3 large honey crisp apples (the tastiest apples ever). This cake is incredibly moist and the perfect "light" cake.

mom's apple cake

3 eggs
1 C sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
1 C butter
2 C flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 larger apples, chopped (4-6 cups)
1/2 C nuts (I used slivered almonds)

Beat first four ingredients until fluffy. Add the remainder of the ingredients and beat well. Fold in apples & nuts.

Bake at 350 50-60 minutes in a 9" x 13" ungreased cake pan. The batter will be quite thick as pictured below.

zucchini boats

2009-09-09T21:21:00.005-04:00

This past Sunday Brad and I visited our garden and were pleasantly surprised to find this gigantic zucchini. Our zucchini plants have been wonderful producers this summer but were recently attacked by powdery mildew. We cut back the plants and sprayed with organic magic potions (a copper solution and a milk solution) but they just haven't been the same. So you can imagine we were pretty excited to find this beaut!

After spending Sunday into Monday partying with our friends to celebrate the long weekend, we had a relaxing Monday off from work and I had time to prepare for the work week. Ever since my friend mentioned making "zucchini boats" I've been waiting for our garden to produce just such a zucchini.

Chorizo stuffed Zucchini Boats

1 large zucchini (2-3 lbs)

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced bell peppers

1 cup diced tomatoes

2 Tbsp olive oil

6 oz Chorizo, removed from casings (leave this out or substitute rice to make vegetarian)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 C cottage cheese

1/2 C oatmeal

1/2 C sliced almonds (you can substitute breadcrumbs for the oatmeal & almonds, I just didn't have any on hand)

fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Boil the zucchini for about 15 minutes or until soft enough to easily cut & scoop out inside (I boiled mine for about 10 minutes on each end...it was too big even in our 12 quart stock pot!)

Once cool enought to handle, slice the zucchini in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the center down to about 1/2″ thickness, reserving about 1/2 cup. Cut up the reserved zucchini it if it’s not too seedy. Place the two halves of the zucchini into a large baking dish.

Dice into 1/2″ pieces the onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers and eggplant. Mince the garlic.
Remove the sausage from the casings and break it apart into small pieces. Cook the sausage all the way through in a pan. Set aside to cool.

Heat olive oil in large pan. Add chorizo and brown thoroughly. Add onion, garlic & bell peppers and cook until soft. Remove from the heat and allow to cool (so egg doesn't fry when you add it!)

When cooled slightly, mix in the beaten egg, cottage cheese, and almonds & oatmeal. Scoop it into the zucchini halves, mounding up the filling. Sprinkle with basil and any cheese you might have laying around (I had fresh mozzarella).

Bake for 30 minutes or until the zucchini is tender (but not mushy!). Garnish with basil. As a sidenote, I had more stuffing than would fit in the zucchini, so I just baked separately in a casserole dish...the leftovers were delicious heated up as a dip for tortilla chips!

original recipe adapted from here

comfort food

2009-09-01T19:18:00.005-04:00

As I mentioned in my last post, Sunday was a very fall-like day. Sixty degrees felt like winter after the heat wave we endured the prior few weeks. Naturally I was inspired to make comfort food and decided upon black bean soup & crusty bread. I've made this bread quite a few times before and it is quite delicious (in fact Brad has declared this the only bread I'm allowed to make anymore). This time I made 2 loaves and added whole garlic cloves to one before I baked which turned into a delicious loaf of garlic bread. The soup is incredibly easy to make and takes only about 1/2 hour from start to finish.

Black Bean Soup
A drizzle of olive
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 small potatoes, chopped (or 1-2 large)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 C water
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat and sauté the onion, carrot and potatoes for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften. Finely chop the jalapeño, removing the seeds first if you don’t want your soup to be too hot (I left a few in which added a little heat to the soup). Add them to the pot along with the garlic, red pepper, and cumin and cook for another minute. Add the beans from the can without draining, tomatoes and water. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the carrot is tender.

Serve with a dollop of low fat plain yogurt and sprinkle with fresh cilantro & feta.

Simple Crusty Bread

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast (active-dry)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough
Cornmeal

In a large bowl mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Cover with a clean towel and let rise and room temperature for 2 hours.

2. When dough has risen, sprinkle a little flour on dough and divide in half. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Sprinkle cornmeal on pizza peel or cookie sheet and place dough on it (if adding garlic, add now - I added about 10 cloves); let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

4. Dust dough with flour, slash the top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

black bean soup recipe adapted from dinnerwithjulie.com

crusty bread recipe from thewednesdaychef.typepad.com

thoughts of fall

2009-08-30T10:06:00.001-04:00

I cannot believe how fast this summer has flown by. I think that every year, but for some reason this particular summer has left me wondering where it went. It's especially apparent today, a 60 degree Sunday morning, that summer is on it's way out. I'm sure we'll have a few more 80 or 90 degree days popping up here and there, but I think it's safe to say fall is here.

I'm so excited for the fall, the older I get the more I love the changing of the seasons; so much good comfort food to be made, so many new recipes to try. What better way to spend a rainy cold Sunday than baking and filling the house with delicious aromas? I think I'll be making black bean soup, crusty bread with garlic, granola for the week and perhaps an oatmeal cake (my mom's recipe and my favorite "fall" taste).

For now though, I will leave you with a taste of summer; a recipe for Cherry Tomato Quinoa. It's something we threw together last week for dinner - quick, easy and delicious. A great recipe for all your garden fresh tomatoes!

Cherry Tomato Quinoa

3 cups cooked couscous* (we used quinoa)
1/2 a basket of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup cooked chickpeas (we used canellini)
1 lemon, cut in half
1 lime, cut in half
about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (we didn't use this much)
fine grain sea saltf
reshly ground pepper
1/3 cup basil or cilantro, chopped (we used basil)
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Combine the quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber, and chickpeas in a large bowl. Squeeze the lemon and lime juice directly into the bowl, add the olive oil, salt and pepper - adjust amounts to your liking. Toss well.

Add the basil and feta and toss gently until it is evenly dispersed.

recipe adapted from 101cookbooks.com

a feast of our own

2009-08-25T18:40:00.006-04:00

Last Sunday we had plans to go to The Feast in Little Italy with good friends of ours. Since it was super hot and there's only a few weekends of the Cleveland Orchestra concerts at Blossom left, we opted to make Italian food and head to Blossom for the evening instead. We had quite a feast - Jerel & Nicole made grilled pizzas, beans marinated in a homemade tomato sauce and a delicious red wine chocolate cake with fresh blackberries. We made this watermelon feta salad, caprese rice & tzatziki with a fresh baguette.

Watermelon Feta Salad

1 5-ounce package baby arugula
8 cups 3/4-inch cubes seedless watermelon
1 7-ounce package feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar glaze

Boil 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan until reduced to 3 tablespoons, 6 to 7 minutes. Set aside.

Arrange arugula over large platter. Scatter watermelon, then feta over. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and sprinkle with pepper.

recipe from bonappetit.com

our garden

2009-08-17T19:21:00.002-04:00

We've had an absolutely wonderful experience with our garden this summer. Sure, we've made a few mistakes and are already planning for next season - but there's still a lot of work (and harvesting and eating) to be done over the next couple months.

bulgarian carrot chili

Pictured are some of our really fun veggies from this year, most of which we've never done before, as well as some really cool varieties of things we have. We're also looking forward (fingers crossed!) to a fall crop of butternut squash, Brussels sprouts and more.

jimmy nardello sweet pepper

It has been such a rewarding experience... not just our steady supply of fresh organic produce, but the whole process of community gardening. Meeting and learning from all of our fellow gardeners, talking to some of the passersby who wonder what we're doing, and having kids come up and ask permission to walk through and look at all the gardens (that's the best!).

One of my favorite plots by a co-gardener is that of our new knowledgeable and helpful friend Rob. Even though the entire front yard of his house is a garden, he keeps one plot at Webb Park with us to grow the Three Sisters... a classic Native American symbiotic grouping of corn, beans, and squash. Beans are a plant known as a "nitrogen fixer" meaning they add nitrogen to the soil; nitrogen, as it happens, is a nutrient corn needs a lot of. In exchange, the beans use the corn as a support to climb. The big broad squash leaves shade the soil, limiting weed growth and water evaporation, while demanding different nutrients (or, rather, different proportions of the same nutrients) than the corn and beans. It's a great example of sustainable horticulture, not to mention the wisdom of our ancestors.

our garden in it's heyday

assorted greens and sarah's left toe

chickpea pasta with toasted almonds

2009-08-15T23:28:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite go-to recipes when we have "nothing in the house" and we're starving. I've made it a half dozen times or so and each time it's more delicious than I remembered. You'll notice I substituted a few things and even added fresh tomatoes (from our garden!) at the end.

Chickpea Pasta with Toasted Almonds
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
7 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth (we used water)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
kosher salt
1 pound angel hair pasta (or whatever pasta you have around)
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (we used basil)
1/4 cup unsalted roasted almonds, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (we used mozzarella)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth, red pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil.

Add the pasta and cook, stirring, until the broth is nearly absorbed and the pasta is al dente, about 6 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and parsley.

Divide among individual bowls and top with the almonds and Parmesan

recipe adapted from real simple magazine

my birthday boy

2009-08-11T22:29:00.009-04:00

Yesterday was Brad's 32nd birthday. We celebrated at his parents house with his family. Brad requested his birthday dinner be "cookout food", so we feasted on brats, burgers, chicken sausages, corn on the cob, macoroni salad & watermelon, not to mention the appetizers! It was quite a feast.

Brad requested I make his favorite cake - german chocolate - for the occasion. I decided to give it my own little twist since I had been wanting to try the chocolate zucchini cake anyway. So as I just mentioned, the cake itself is a healthier alternative - chocolate zucchini (don't worry, you can't taste the zucchini it just makes the cake super moist). The frosting on the other hand is the traditional german chocolate with plenty of sugar and butter! It turned out beautifully - the cake was quite dense, almost the texture of flourless cake, but delicious just the same.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C butter, softened
1 C light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant coffee granules
3 eggs, at room temperature2 C zucchini, unpeeled, grated
1 C chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10" springform cake pan, and flour it or sprinkle with cocoa powder.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Combine the sugar and butter, and mix until fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract and espresso powder, then the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition.

Spoon in the flour mixture, reserving the last half-cup of it. Mix thoroughly, the batter will be thick.

Add the grated zucchini and the chocolate chips to the reserved flour mixture, and toss to coat.

Fold in the batter, and blend thoroughly. Pour into the prepared cake pan.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn out on a rack to cool for half an hour, then unmold.

German Chocolate Frosting

1 cup sugar
4 medium egg yolks
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 C shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups finely ground pecans, walnuts, or almonds

To make the frosting, combine the sugar, egg yolks, and evaporated milk in the top of a double boiler. Stir with a wire whisk until the yolks are fully incorporated. Add the butter. Place over simmering water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 12-15 minutes longer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Add the vanilla, coconut, and nuts. Cool.

original cake recipe found here

original frosting recipe found here

summer vegetable bake

2009-08-04T20:41:00.003-04:00

We are in the midst of the summer harvest of vegetables. Between our garden plots and CSA we've been left with a fridge full of veggies! After spending 4 hours working at our garden Sunday, we arrived home with a ton of vegetables, in part thanks to one of our fellow gardeners who shared some eggplant, peppers & zucchini with us! We decided to skip grocery shopping this week and see if we could make it on our veggies - so far we've made grilled eggplant & goat cheese pizza as well as a grilled margherita pizza, chopped veggies drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt & pepper and summer vegetable bake. We're halfway through the week now so we'll see how the remainder goes! For now, here is the simple recipe for a vegetable bake - substitute whatever fresh veggies you have - we even added some jalapeno & ancho chili peppers to ours! Delicious.

Summer Vegetable Bake

1 large eggplant, sliced

1 yellow squash, sliced

1 tomato, sliced

1 pepper

1/2 onion, sliced

2 clove of garlic

bunch of fresh basil

salt & pepper

mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray. Layer the eggplant, squash, tomatoes, peppers & onions in the dish. Sprinkle with garlic. Piece whole basil leaves over the top and top with a generous amount of mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

summer's offering

2009-07-24T22:06:00.009-04:00

If you have a garden or know anyone with a garden and if that garden has a zucchini plant, chances are you have more zucchini than you know what to do with! Not only is our garden producing numerous zucchini, we also received 2 zucchini in our CSA share this past week. So due to the situation at hand, we've been a bit zucchini crazy this week. Not only have we been enjoying zucchini on our salads all week long, we've also been adding it to everything we can imagine. I made zucchini bread, zucchini hummus, the grilled zucchini pizza I posted about a few days ago and oatmeal chocolate chip zucchini cookies. One might think we're zucchini-ed out, but that's not the case at all...this is what we wait for all winter long!

This is our pride and joy zucchini from our own garden - about 10" (most of ours are around 5" or 6" when we pick them) but this was a hidden gem!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies

1/4 C quick-cook old fashioned oats

1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour

2 t flaxseed meal

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t sea salt

1/2 C agave nectar

1 large egg white

1 C peeled and shredded zucchini

1 t pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together agave, egg white, zucchini and vanilla.
Add egg mixture to dry ingredients all at once and combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared pan. Using the back of a slightly dampened spoon, flatten each mound into 2 1/2-inch circles. Bake 9-10 minutes, until golden. Cool on sheets for an additional 10 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely. Stored in airtight container, cookies will keep fresh for 2-3 days. I actually keep mine in the fridge as most desserts I've made with agave nectar are quite moist.

I adapted this recipe from this one I made a few weeks ago

the perfect evening

2009-07-19T20:43:00.010-04:00

We have had the most beautiful summer so far - the weather for one has been absolutely perfect. Seventy five degrees during the day then dropping in the evening to the perfect sleeping temperature - a cool breeze through the wide open window. We've enjoyed so many family and friend get togethers and the busyness of summer has finally seemed to slow down.

We had great plans to go to the Taste of Tremont today, but decided to have a relaxing yet productive day instead. We went to our favorite breakfast place (2 full breakfasts for $12 total, where can you find that anymore?), visited our garden and did lots of cooking to prepare for the week. We spent a few hours at the garden and were able to reap some of the rewards of all our hard work. I'll post a garden update soon, but let's just say we're going to have zucchini coming out of our ears pretty soon. Brad read somewhere that the more you pick the zucchini, the more it will produce, so we got quite a bit today (one measuring about 1o" too!). In light of our predicament, we decided to make a grilled zucchini pizza. Smitten Kitchen just happened to post a lemony zucchini goat cheese pizza recently so our problem was solved.

I have to admit, we were a bit nervous about how pizza dough on the grill would work, but we had absolutely no problems. The trick (obviously) is to make sure your grill is super hot, and I think having super thin crust helped too. We absolutely loved the results and are looking forward to trying many more pizzas this way.

grilled pizza with goat cheese & zucchini

for the topping:

1 lemon
4 ounces goat cheese, at room temperature
Few leaves of fresh basil, cut into thin slivers
1/2 medium yellow zucchini, sliced thin
1/2 medium green zucchini, sliced thin
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, stir together the goat cheese with the juice of half your lemon. Season it with salt and freshly ground pepper,

for the dough:

one envelope of active dry yeast
1/2 t sugar
2/3 C warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 C flour
1 t salt
1 t freshly ground pepper
2 T olive oil

In a medium bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir briefly and let stand until foamy, 5-10 minutes. Add 2 cups of the flour, the salt, pepper and olive oil. Stir with fingers until the dough holds together. Transfer the douth to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth. 8-10 minutes. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn the ball to cover the surface with oil. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and set aside in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough in the bowl. Transfer to a llightly floured work surface and cut in half. Roll each piece to 1/8" thickness. Lightly brush both sides of dough with oil and place on a baking sheet.

Gently slide the crusts onto a hot grill and cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes. Don't worry if crust bubbles, you can pop them or they will deflate when you flip them. Transfer the crust to a baking sheet, grilled side facing up.

Spread half of the goat cheese mixture onto each crust, sprinkle with fresh basil and cover with the thinly sliced zucchini (we used peppers & onion on the other pizza). Transfer the pizzas back to the grill and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until grill marks are visible. Move the pizzas to the top rack and close the grill. Allow to bake for about 10 minutes, or until toppings are done to your liking.

recipe adapted from Weber's Art of the Grill & smittenkitchen.com

Coffee Cocoa Cake

2009-07-17T19:55:00.000-04:00

I made this cake a few weeks ago for my father-in-law's birthday. I had had a very busy weekend and wanted to make a special dessert, but was low on time. This recipe was pretty straightforward and came together easily. I took the leftovers to work the next day and judging by how quickly they disappeared, I think it was a hit!

Coffee Cocoa Cake
5 oz. (10 Tbs.) very soft unsalted butter
2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. table salt
1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 cups good-quality brewed coffee, cooled to warm

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Generously coat a 9-inch-round baking pan with cooking spray.

If mixing by hand, put the softened butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Using a wooden spoon, cream them until smooth, about 1 minute. Switch to a whisk and blend in the eggs one at a time. Stir for another 30 seconds, until the batter is smooth and the sugar begins to dissolve. (If using a stand mixer, put the butter and sugar in the bowl and, using the paddle attachment, cream until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in the eggs one at a time, mixing just until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Then switch to a whisk and blend in the rest of the ingredients by hand.) Mix in the vanilla and salt. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder directly onto the batter. Pour in the coffee. Gently whisk the ingredients until the mixture is smooth and mostly free of lumps.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with only moist crumbs clinging to it, 40 to 43 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edges of the pan, invert the cake onto the rack, and remove the pan. Invert again onto another rack and let cool right side up until just warm.

recipe from finecooking.com

open faced chicken sandwiches with strawberry jalapeno salsa

2009-07-11T09:22:00.003-04:00

If you're looking for an easy light summertime dish, this is the dish for you. I made these for dinner last week and they were delicious - the perfect blend of sweet with a little hint of hot.

Open Faced Chicken Sandwiches with Strawberry Jalapeno Salsa

1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded into 1/4" thickness and cut into 1" long pieces
1 T whole wheat flour
1 t cumin, ground
1 t dried oregano
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 C strawberries, slice and diced
3/4 C onion, chopped (I used scallions)
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded, cored and chopped (about 2 T)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T cilantro, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
2 t honey
4-6 slices of multigrain wheat bread
2 cups loosely packed baby spinach

In a medium bowl, toss chicken in flour, cumin, oregano and cayenne

Preheat nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium-hight heat for 2 minutes. Mist with cooking spray. Saute chicken for 5 minutes or until browned.

To make salsa, mix together straberries, onion, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, lime juice and honey in a medium bowl.

Preheat broiler to high. Toast loaf slices for 2 minutes.

To assemble, place 1/4 C spinach on 1 slice of bread. Top with 1/4 C chicken and 1/4 C salsa.

Recipe from July/August issue of Clean Eating magazine

guilt free

2009-07-07T20:12:00.005-04:00

I've finally found a chocolate chip cookie recipe that tastes as good as it is for you. I made these the other night when I had my brother's family over for dinner and they were quite a hit. As I've done with almost all the cookies I've made recently, I made ice cream sandwiches out of these and they were delicious.

I like this recipe a) because I don't have to haul out my giant stand mixer to make them b) because there's NO butter in them and c) they are incredibly tasty and healthy for you. I doubled the recipe when I made it and accidentally put the whole eggs in instead of just the whites...so I'm interested in trying these the correct way. Also, I substituted regular flour for the pastry flour and peanut butter for the almond butter. One last thing I screwed up was forgetting to press down the cookies before baking which is probably why mine were puffy instead of flatter like pictured in the magazine; despite all my mistakes, these tasted amazing!

guiltless chocolate-spiked oatmeal cookies

Olive oil cooking spray
1 1/4 C quick-cook old fashioned oats
1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour
2 t flaxseed meal
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t sea salt
1/2 C agave nectar
1 large egg white
2 tsp unsalted almond butter
1 t pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup dark bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together agave, egg white, almond butter and vanilla.

Add egg mixture to dry ingredients all at once and combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

recipe from july/august 2009 edition of clean eating magazine

rosemary garlic white bean spread

2009-07-06T17:34:00.001-04:00

Last night was the perfect night. The sort of night you wish for all winter long; not a cloud in the sky, just warm enough to go sleeveless with the slightest of breeze. We got to spend the evening outside with friends at Blossom Music Center watching the Cleveland Orchestra play. In my opinion the only way to end the long holiday weekend.

We made cold spicy noodles, crostades with rosemary white bean dip and I brought leftover strawberry shortcake cookies and guiltess chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Our friends made french potato salad, tomato basil salad and homemade lemon cake. The weather, the atmosphere, the music, the company, the food, the wine - everything was just perfect. Can't wait for next time.

Rosemary Garlic White Bean Spread

2 T olive oil
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 (15-ounce) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 t finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 t salt

Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; saute 1 minute. Place garlic mixture, beans and next 3 ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth. Serve immediately, or cover and chill until ready to serve.

recipe courtesy of WeightWatchers Annual Recipes for Success 2007

a weekend affair

2009-07-05T06:28:00.010-04:00

As I've already mentioned, I come from a rather large immediate family. Two of my sister's and I live close to my parents, but my brother and his family live in China and my sister and her husband live in Chicago. With that being said, the odds of all of us being able to get together all at once are pretty slim which is why my mom demanded that all of us spend the fourth with her and my dad.

Since she wanted us there for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I decided to make something to bring for breakfast. Surfing across Martha's website I found this recipe for strawberry shortcake cookies and I was sold. The only change I'd make next time is to use less strawberries (maybe even just 1 cup instead of the 2 cups it called for)...I had trouble mixing them into the dough and half of them didn't make it into the cookies.

Oh but we had a wonderful weekend. We camped out at my parents house Friday night, or I should say, Brad and my brother-in-law Justin and Woody (our dog) slept in a tent, while my sister Mary and I slept in our childhood bedrooms. We awoke early Saturday morning to the sounds of my mom and dad scurrying around in the kitchen, making coffee and preparing the food for the cook out later that day. By eleven o'clock everyone was there enjoying bagels and fresh fruit and strawberry shortcake cookies. We spent the day playing horseshoes and cornhole and talking and laughing...what a wonderful day it was.

strawberry shortcake cookies

12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

recipe found on marthastewart.com

a good evening

2009-07-03T08:32:00.008-04:00

Last night we had my brother and his family over for dinner. It was so nice to enjoy their company as we don't get to too often. They currently live in China and only come home twice a year, so as you can imagine, the time we get to share with them is very precious!

We wanted to make something summery and something that wouldn't require us to be stuck in the kitchen all night. We decided on lemon basil chicken salad served in lettuce wraps or pita bread, sweet potato fries with honey lime dip and guiltess oatmeal chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches for dessert. Brad grilled the chicken the night before and prepared the salad and I was in charge of making the fries and dessert the following afternoon. The fries require a bit of prep work but along with the dip, they were an absolute hit. (I should mention the original dip recipe called for mayo also, but we were out and the dip turned out just fine!)

Sweet Potato Fries

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
2 T extra virgin olive oil (roughly)
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t coriander
1 t salt
fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice sweet potatoes into french fry shape and size - about 1/4" wide. Place sweet potatoes in a bowl and drizzle generously with olive oil. Toss to coat until potatoes are glistening. Sprinkle on all of the herbs and spices and continue to toss until well coated.Place the fries on the baking sheet being careful not let them touch.

Place cookie sheet in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, flip fries with long spatula, be sure to space fries back out and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until nicely browned. Serve immediately. (We quadrupled this recipe to have enough for 8 plus leftovers).

Honey-Lime Dip

6oz container plain, low-fat yogurt
1/2 T honey
1/2 lime
1/4 t cumin
1/8 t oregano
1 t paprika
1/2 t granulated onion
3/4 t kosher salt

Mix honey and yogurt until combined and give it a big squeeze from the lime half. Add in spices and herbs and you have a dip.

recipe adapted from http://www.ourbestbites.com/