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Posted: March 19, 2012 Filed under: chocolate, thoughts | Tags: birthday, cake 3 CommentsHappy Birthday to me. Quarter of a century.
stand-by microwave chocolate cake, with candle
I make “birthday resolutions” kind of like most people make New Year’s ones. I feel this is necessary because sometimes people wish me a happy birthday with something like “Hope you’re one year the wiser!” Erm…. sometimes I am? Consequently, I feel that by holding myself to a resolution or two birthday-to-birthday it kind of keeps me on “track” with myself. That can’t be a bad thing, right?
Anyway, one of them to is to get back on this thing. So, stay tuned for the continuation of this foodie diary. I’m off to eat cake.
-a
spice girl
Posted: February 2, 2012 Filed under: cookies | Tags: molasses, oven, spice 4 Comments
Scary, Baby, Ginger, Sporty, Posh.
My first concert ever was to see The Spice Girls. In middle school. With my dad.
And he put purple highlights in his hair to match mine. Greatest dad?
My friends and I were so obsessed with the Spice Girls we all bought platform shoes (that resulted in no ankle injuries, oddly enough) and planned on going as the group for Halloween one year. I was assigned the role of Posh Spice who, as you could probably guess, is a spitting image of myself: black hair, olive skin, 5’3″, British…
Not the best fit. Some things were never meant to be, I guess.
So maybe the Spice Girls didn’t stick with me, although I do sing a mean “zigga-zig-aahhh,” but another form of spice did: molasses spice cookies.
(Lame segue?)
I make these all the time. Really, all the time. I have a tupperware container filled with them at any given moment. Good source of iron from the molasses, I tell myself. It’s probably their fine coffee-dunking ability… (Dunkability?)
I haven’t settled on one particular recipe for molasses spice cookies yet. For awhile I was making one from an old Gourmet magazine, then a Barefoot Contessa creation, and now this one from the food blog 101 Cookbooks. It may look like a lot of ginger but don’t worry, they aren’t overly spicy. Kind of gingersnap-like. I modified the recipe a bit — technically these are only “double ginger cookies” since I left out the crystallized ginger, no lemon zest, and substituted half the butter for canola oil.
Still plenty good, though, as the tupperware is currently empty.
The yield for this recipe (or any cookie recipe, really) depends on how big you scoop your cookies. I have a mini ice cream scooper that gives me tablespoon-sized cookies that I like to use. You could make these bite-sized if you split a tablespoon of dough in half, or make them jumbo by making them two tablespoons.
I like to make sure the cookies will fit within the rim of my coffee cup. Just saying.
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Molasses Ginger Spice Cookies
(adapted from 101 Cookbooks)
• 2 c whole wheat or spelt flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 4 1/2 t ground ginger
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 c molasses
• 2/3 c sugar
• 1 1/2 T fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 egg, beaten
• large-grained sugar (such as turbinado or “Sugar In The Raw”), for dusting
– Preheat oven to 350°. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat mat. Pour turbinado sugar into a bowl and set aside.
– In a large bowl, prepare dry ingredients: mix together flour, baking soda, ground ginger and salt.
– In a small saucepan heat butter until just melted over medium-low heat. Add molasses, sugar, and fresh ginger. Take mixture off the heat to allow to cool down a little. When mixture is no longer hot, whisk in the egg.
– Pour molasses mix over dry mix and stir until just combined. Form cookies into desirable size and roll in turbinado sugar.
– Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until cookie tops start to crackle.
** Optional: walnuts. I was going to use them (as shown in the pictures) but forgot all about it. Smush one walnut half in the top of each cookie before baking and it will get toasty as the cookies bake. It’s a nice crunch.
Ina’s lentils
Posted: January 17, 2012 Filed under: veggies | Tags: lentils, stove, vegetables 1 Comment
Wow. It’s been so long since I’ve posted here that WordPress had stopped auto-saving my username and password. That’s gotta change.
I’ll cut right to the chase — it’s cold here. 8-10 inches of snow cold. From an anti-winter person’s perspective, this is not ideal. So, what do you do when the wind practically numbs your nose off the minute you step across the threshold of your front door? When you literally have to psych yourself up to leave the safe confines of your apartment to face the blistering outdoors? (Too much?) You make the time you have indoors as toasty and make-you-forget-about-what’s-right-outside-your-window as possible.
This brought me to lentils. And really, these are pretty remarkable.
As many of you may already be aware, like many people out there, I consider Ina Garten’s cookbooks to be pleasure reading. The pages are smudged and folded as if they have been splattered with various soups and stocks while cooking away in the kitchen. More likely, however, is that they are smudged and folded from me reading and flipping through them as much as I do. “So,” you’re asking yourself, “why all the flipping and reading and lack of cooking?”
If you’re familiar with the premise of Ina’s show you know that her concept is based on stress-free entertaining, i.e. when she cooks things, she is cooking for a party, many people, or both. Well, I’m looking around my apartment and I’m seeing one person. And she can’t eat an entire rack of lamb, Ina. Sorry.
So, her recipes don’t always translate well in terms of cooking on a smaller scale. However, if you take a little time and use a bit of savvy, you can make it work. Maybe you need to cut down the recipe, maybe you can freeze part of the dish, or maybe you can find something you don’t mind eating over and over again. That’s what I did with these lentils, from her latest book How Easy Is That? I eat them all week — at first simply steaming in a bowl, then cold the next day, then a big scoop on top of a bed of greens (think chicken or egg salad on top of a green salad). Three easy steps and everything’s ready.
Without further adieu, a slightly modified version of Ina’s French Lentils. I hope they bring you as much warmth as they have for me. Or maybe you don’t have to wear at least three layers of clothing before simply heading out to the trash dumpster 20 feet away and don’t need the extra warmth. Either way, eat these.
-a
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Barefoot Contessa’s Warm French Lentils
• 2 T + 1/4 c olive oil
• 1 leek, white and green parts, sliced thin
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 T garlic, minced
• 1 c lentils
• 1 whole onion, peeled
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 4 t Dijon mustard
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 2 t salt
• 1 t pepper
– Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium pan and add the leek and carrots. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, then add garlic. Cook one more minute, set aside.
– Meanwhile, place lentils, 4 cups of water, the onion, and ground cloves in a large pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, add leek mixture, and simmer uncovered for ~20 minutes (until the lentils are almost tender). Remove and discard the onion and drain the lentils.
– While the lentils are cooking, make the “dressing” — whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, the mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir into the cooked lentil mix and serve.
Thanksgiving past
Posted: December 7, 2011 Filed under: desserts, muffins | Tags: oven, pie, pumpkin 2 Comments
I know it’s been two weeks already, but it seems Thanksgiving was just upon us. I’m still reading about how to recycle leftover turkey and cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and dressing and…
This year’s Thanksgiving was a new experience for me: the cheese shop was open both the day before and after the holiday, as retail stores tend to be, so time allotted to travel home was next to nil. Not only was I away from family for the holiday (for the first time ever! if you don’t count that year I had pneumonia) but the acquisition/consumption of a Thanksgiving meal was squarely set upon my own shoulders. No problem there! Because I wasn’t cooking for a crowd, just a mere two, I made a mini menu that I think worked out pretty well: turkey breast wrapped around apple-fennel stuffing (i.e. “stuffed”), roasted garlic buttermilk mashed potatoes and gravy, root veggies, cranberry relish, and pecan pie. Not bad.
There was one Thanksgiving element I missed out on that resonated with me more than anything, though: pumpkin pie. In my opinion, and maybe this is just my damn sweet tooth talking, pumpkin pie is almost more essential to a Thanksgiving meal than *gasp* the turkey. I know that’s basically sacrilegious to say, but I think for me it’s true. Or maybe I just love desserts. Either way…
So, I had a pumpkin void to fill but only my own mouth to feed. Yes, I could probably tackle a whole pie, but no one wants to see that. What to do?
I found this great recipe on Dashing Dish, one of the many food blogs I follow like a crazy person. These mini pumpkin pies are perfect because a.) they’re pretty darn healthy (something insane like 40 calories each?!) and I don’t feel bad eating a plate-full, and b.) it’s a muffin-tin recipe, and if you know me even a little you know I will always gravitate toward those.
The pies are super-quick to make and, more importantly, to bake. (Short waiting period until eating!) Now I know there are some purists out there who think using a food processor is cheating (no sensual connection through your hands, blah blah blah) and I’m usually right there with ya, but using one here almost makes this recipe too easy. So, I did. However, I’m sure mixing it by hand would be fine too, maybe with a little different texture as a result. Enjoy!
-a
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Mini Pumpkin Pies
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup pumpkin (I used canned, but if you’re feeling adventurous…)
• 1 t pumpkin pie spice (blend of cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg is fine)
• 1 cup sugar* (I actually used a little less)
• 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 12 wonton wrappers
** Optional: whipped cream
– Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
– Blend all ingredients (except wonton wrappers) in food processor until smooth.
– Press wonton wrappers into prepared muffin cups.
– Equally distribute filling into each muffin cup.
– Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the center of each mini pie is just set. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon, if you want. And you’ll want.
* Instead of sugar you could substitute in 1 teaspoon of Stevia, the herbal sweetener, which the author of Dashing Dish seems to have an affinity for, but I didn’t have any so I used sugar.
P.S. Here’s the one down-side to the new apartment that I love (pictures to come): no dishwasher. Boo.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Posted: November 10, 2011 Filed under: veggies | Tags: brussels sprouts, roasting 1 CommentMISSION:
1. Find new job in Madison, must be food-related.
2. Search for new apartment at impossible time of the year, i.e. when no one is renting.
3. Find new tenant to re-lease current apartment.
4. Prepare for impending doom, or rather, Wisconsin winter.
5. Keep sanity.
Time lapsed: 3 weeks. Accomplished.
Yes, it’s a lot. At times I can feel the weight of all the change, other times I kind of float though it, numbed. I know this is what I should be doing no matter the stress level. It’s an “unconventional route,” whatever that means, but what’s right is right.
“I am thankful to all those who said no to me. It’s because of them that I did it myself.” – Albert Einstein
Instead of sitting at a desk under artificial light working on health software I now work in a cheese shop. It’s called Fromagination and it’s a complete 180° from where I was. (Also, my official job title is “cheesemonger.” How great is that!) All day I learn about farmers from WI and the products they make. I get to hear their stories, meet their family members, and taste the foods they put so much care, so much thought, into. I know this may sound “food-nerdy” of me, but it’s amazing how much better a food can taste when you have someone there, standing next to you, sharing with you that particular food’s story. Just as the home cook hopes his or her family will find joy in the meal set at the dinner tab, I can see the anticipation and hopeful approval in the eyes of these farmers when we showcase and sample their wares in our shop. I can also see their pride when a customer takes a bite and closes their eyes with gastronomical approval.
Or maybe that was me, over-enjoying almost everything I eat. Either way.
And so, I sit at my kitchen table (well, my only table) with my view out at the Madison capitol building for one of the last times before I move… in two days… with nothing yet packed. Moving an entire apartment across town in two days can’t be that hard, right? It really is only a short distance, about 1.2 miles away, so it should be no sweat. I’ll keep telling myself that.
On another note, another thing I’ll keep telling myself is that “winter won’t be so bad,” up here in a place that experienced a windy snow day in the beginning of November, that has to shut down its airport mid-April because of snow and ice, and that is filled with people who don’t bat an eye at days where it’s 20°… BELOW. That’s a lot of nay-saying, I know. I think it’s me being prematurely crotchety. I’ll just have to transform myself into one of those people who don’t mind not feeling their faces when they leave the warm confines of their apartment.
In other news: cooking! The last big outdoor farmers market was this past weekend and I tried to soak up the (surprisingly large) bounty while I still could. I really have fallen in love with roasting — I challenge anyone to use a different cooking technique that changes almost anything you choose into its most delicious form (deep-frying doesn’t count) — and this week it was all about brussels sprouts.
Like many people I know, I thought the only form of brussels sprouts were green spheres of slime that grown-ups somehow managed to choke down. Not anymore! Roasting keeps a slight bite in the center while crisping up the papery edges of the outer leaves. Squeeze a little lemon juice over them while their still hot? All set.
Why are they called brusselS sprouts, anyway? Always plural? I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have a connection with Belgium. Talk to you soon, post-move!
-a
P.S. Just found a picture on Google and loved it — if you ever fly to Madison you can have this view of the isthmus from your window!
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Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• 1 lb. brussels sprouts, stems trimmed and outer (possibly browned) leaves removed
• 2 T olive oil
• big pinch of salt
• smaller pinch of pepper
– Preheat oven to 400°F.
– Simple: after prepping all of your brussels sprouts, put the sprouts on a foil-lined baking sheet. Pour oil and spices over the sprouts and toss. Arrange in single layer.
– Roast for 35-40 minutes, tossing a couple times to roll them around evenly. When finished, outer leaves should be slightly browned and crispy.
** Optional: squeeze on some lemon juice just before serving
allisoncooks 