Another from my grandmother's cookbook.
I was talking to my mom on the phone awhile back while my dad was making this for dinner but it didn't sound very tempting to me. When I was out of town last week I gave my farm share to a friend, who, upon my return, gave me back the red cabbage. He doesn't like cabbage. His family doesn't like cabbage. I gave him my best recipe suggestion - the caraway/tomato/sour cream concoction - and he shot it down. The next recipe that came to mind was this, probably because my mom had read the recipe to me over the phone. My friend said that he would not make it, but would serve it to his family if I made it.
I forgot that this recipe calls for bacon. Not a huge deal, though, I used butter instead, and sprinkled in some liquid smoke. (Liquid smoke is very important if you have rabid meat-lovers over for dinner. It somehow fools them... I don't know how. I like a little smoky flavor, sure, but it certainly doesn't taste like meat.)
Cook one small head cabbage in butter with a sprinkling of liquid smoke until it's tender. Meanwhile, finely shred 3 small potatoes, and soak/rinse in cold water. (I finally bought myself a decent food processor. It makes shredding so easy.) Pull the potatoes out of the cold water and mix with a little flour (I think I used whole wheat) to make dough. Also add the potato starch from the bottom of the cold water you were soaking the potatoes in. Make them into little balls and boil them in water, add to the cabbage.
I used half my cabbage for this and half for the caraway/tomato/sour cream concoction, and the color difference is stunning. This is beet-colored, almost, and dark and shocking pink, and the other dish is a warm pink.
Again, if I had a decent camera, I would show you! Oh well.
12/15/11
12/4/11
Bread!
This is a recipe from my grandmother's cookbook. The family put it together after she passed in '96, and a revamp will probably be happening soon. The cookbook has dozens of bread recipes, some of them make sense, and some of them maybe not. (There's a recipe for oatmeal bread, for instance, that does not call for Oatmeal.) I chose this one first because it calls only for whole wheat flour.
the exact recipe says this:
1 c oatmeal
Pour 2 cups boiling water over this, let stand until lukewarm. Dissolve 2 packages yeast in 1/3 c warm water for five minutes.
1/2 c honey
1/3 c oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c dry milk
6 c whole wheat flour or more
Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees.
This recipe has the opposite problem of most of my blog entries - it is under-descriptive. I mean, if you didn't know how to bake bread, you would end up with crap. I, however, did not end up with with crap. The loaf was dense for sure, and crumbled a lot, but made excellent PB&J's for my bus trip to DC. (Which also featured homemade raspberry jam. Yum.)
I made the following substitutions:
I halved the recipe.
I used Agave instead of Honey (what I had on hand)
I used powdered soy milk instead of dry milk (thought about leaving it out altogether but since I had powdered dry milk, I figured, why not?)
I have been thinking a lot about baking bread in the last month, and this is my first attempt. My thoughts have focused on what I *don't* remember from when I "helped" (watched?) my grandmother bake bread. What I realized at some point today - I think after my kneading - is that I do have one very helpful memory. My memory is not the ingredients, or even really the process.
As a child, I loved dough. I would always ask Grandma for a piece of dough, especially while she made bread. And, although she might feign grouchiness about it, she'd cut me off a little piece, and I would eat it slowly. I remember how that bread dough felt, how it tasted, how tacky it was, how moist, how squishy.
And really, that's the most important thing about bread - it's consistency. You can never have an exact recipe for bread. You can never say "if you use this much water and this much flour it will be perfect" because conditions outside of your ingredients are always changing. You've got to be adaptable. And knowing what the perfect bread dough feels like (and BELIEVE ME - MY GRANDMOTHER'S BREAD WAS PERFECT) is a huge piece of the puzzle.
So I'm going to keep baking bread. This loaf was good considering I hadn't baked bread in years, but there's always room to improve.
the exact recipe says this:
1 c oatmeal
Pour 2 cups boiling water over this, let stand until lukewarm. Dissolve 2 packages yeast in 1/3 c warm water for five minutes.
1/2 c honey
1/3 c oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c dry milk
6 c whole wheat flour or more
Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees.
This recipe has the opposite problem of most of my blog entries - it is under-descriptive. I mean, if you didn't know how to bake bread, you would end up with crap. I, however, did not end up with with crap. The loaf was dense for sure, and crumbled a lot, but made excellent PB&J's for my bus trip to DC. (Which also featured homemade raspberry jam. Yum.)
I made the following substitutions:
I halved the recipe.
I used Agave instead of Honey (what I had on hand)
I used powdered soy milk instead of dry milk (thought about leaving it out altogether but since I had powdered dry milk, I figured, why not?)
I have been thinking a lot about baking bread in the last month, and this is my first attempt. My thoughts have focused on what I *don't* remember from when I "helped" (watched?) my grandmother bake bread. What I realized at some point today - I think after my kneading - is that I do have one very helpful memory. My memory is not the ingredients, or even really the process.
As a child, I loved dough. I would always ask Grandma for a piece of dough, especially while she made bread. And, although she might feign grouchiness about it, she'd cut me off a little piece, and I would eat it slowly. I remember how that bread dough felt, how it tasted, how tacky it was, how moist, how squishy.
And really, that's the most important thing about bread - it's consistency. You can never have an exact recipe for bread. You can never say "if you use this much water and this much flour it will be perfect" because conditions outside of your ingredients are always changing. You've got to be adaptable. And knowing what the perfect bread dough feels like (and BELIEVE ME - MY GRANDMOTHER'S BREAD WAS PERFECT) is a huge piece of the puzzle.
So I'm going to keep baking bread. This loaf was good considering I hadn't baked bread in years, but there's always room to improve.
11/30/11
Potato Mushroom Quiche
I made more mini quiche, again with mushrooms and potatoes.
This time I boiled the potato and rinsed it, and mixed it in with the mushroom-garlic that I cooked up. I also used gluten-free flour, and it didn't mix in very well so it'll probably be lumpy. I think it'll be better.
I also mixed in some hot sauce. I love hot sauce.
This time I boiled the potato and rinsed it, and mixed it in with the mushroom-garlic that I cooked up. I also used gluten-free flour, and it didn't mix in very well so it'll probably be lumpy. I think it'll be better.
I also mixed in some hot sauce. I love hot sauce.
11/29/11
Tofu "bacon" (deliciousness)
I really wish blogger had subtitles. I need them. Everything I make needs a subtitle. Usually, I would make the subtitle the real title. Using this entry as an example -- the real title is:
HOW TO EAT AN ENTIRE BLOCK OF TOFU IN ONE DAY. But that doesn't tell you what it is. That is a subtitle. So I leave the title with the name of the thing, and my snarky comments don't draw attention.
But seriously. I did not know I could eat a block of tofu in ONE DAY until I made this, and could not stop eating it.
When I made this delicious baked item - kind of like a jerky (I really have no frame of reference so that's kind of bullshit), I knew it needed thin slicing. Usually when I bake tofu, I cut it into 8 slices. It is routine. Half, than imagine the halves halving, and voila-- 8 slices. But, I've realized, I don't like 8 slices. I want thinner slices. I think it was more than 20 slices, and I ate all of them in one day.
I actually started by pressing the tofu - something I don't do these days as often as I used to. I think this is in part because I don't rely upon tofu as much as I used to. It's not a once-a-week thing so much as a once-every-few-months thing, and I've been freezing it lately, which makes pressing pretty unnecessary. But for this, I used fresh tofu, and I pressed it, using a glass baking dish and some heavy tomato-something cans.
The marinade is from Vegan with a Vengeance, made for tempeh and not tofu, but I far prefer this.
3 T soy sauce
1/3 c apple cider
1 t tomato paste
1/4 t liquid smoke (I am generous)
2 cloves pressed garlic
HOW TO EAT AN ENTIRE BLOCK OF TOFU IN ONE DAY. But that doesn't tell you what it is. That is a subtitle. So I leave the title with the name of the thing, and my snarky comments don't draw attention.
But seriously. I did not know I could eat a block of tofu in ONE DAY until I made this, and could not stop eating it.
When I made this delicious baked item - kind of like a jerky (I really have no frame of reference so that's kind of bullshit), I knew it needed thin slicing. Usually when I bake tofu, I cut it into 8 slices. It is routine. Half, than imagine the halves halving, and voila-- 8 slices. But, I've realized, I don't like 8 slices. I want thinner slices. I think it was more than 20 slices, and I ate all of them in one day.
I actually started by pressing the tofu - something I don't do these days as often as I used to. I think this is in part because I don't rely upon tofu as much as I used to. It's not a once-a-week thing so much as a once-every-few-months thing, and I've been freezing it lately, which makes pressing pretty unnecessary. But for this, I used fresh tofu, and I pressed it, using a glass baking dish and some heavy tomato-something cans.
The marinade is from Vegan with a Vengeance, made for tempeh and not tofu, but I far prefer this.
3 T soy sauce
1/3 c apple cider
1 t tomato paste
1/4 t liquid smoke (I am generous)
2 cloves pressed garlic
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
1 lb sweet potatoes, baked until tender
1/2 t salt
1/4 t nutmeg
1 egg
2 cups whole wheat flour.
Put water on to boil.
Mash the sweet potatoes. Add salt and nutmeg, mix in egg. Add flour a half cup at a time and knead in the flour - you might not need two cups. I ran out of whole wheat so the last 1/2 cup was buckwheat.
Cut dough into four pieces and roll it out into a snake. Remember when you were a little kid and you had play-dough and you would make snakes? This is what you were practicing for. When they are thin enough, cut them into gnocchi-sized pieces. Professional gnocchi-makers will use the tines of a fork to dent in the sides, but I think my grandmother would've scowled at that. She was not Italian, though, so do whatever you want. Throw into the boiling water. The gnocchi will sink. When it floats, you can take it out.
Butter-sage sauce:
I did not have fresh sage... It would've been better with fresh. When I plant my indoor herb garden I will have seasonal herbs, and fall/winter will have sage.
Melt some butter in a pan. Add sage. Let it cook. I couldn't decide if it was done - it's supposed to "brown". Also, I didn't really care, butter is butter and it is always delicious. I would add garlic next time.
1/2 t salt
1/4 t nutmeg
1 egg
2 cups whole wheat flour.
Put water on to boil.
Mash the sweet potatoes. Add salt and nutmeg, mix in egg. Add flour a half cup at a time and knead in the flour - you might not need two cups. I ran out of whole wheat so the last 1/2 cup was buckwheat.
Cut dough into four pieces and roll it out into a snake. Remember when you were a little kid and you had play-dough and you would make snakes? This is what you were practicing for. When they are thin enough, cut them into gnocchi-sized pieces. Professional gnocchi-makers will use the tines of a fork to dent in the sides, but I think my grandmother would've scowled at that. She was not Italian, though, so do whatever you want. Throw into the boiling water. The gnocchi will sink. When it floats, you can take it out.
Butter-sage sauce:
I did not have fresh sage... It would've been better with fresh. When I plant my indoor herb garden I will have seasonal herbs, and fall/winter will have sage.
Melt some butter in a pan. Add sage. Let it cook. I couldn't decide if it was done - it's supposed to "brown". Also, I didn't really care, butter is butter and it is always delicious. I would add garlic next time.
Garlic Saffron Soup
I don't know about you, but I feel it's been awhile since I blogged about soup.
I love this soup. I first made it in the fall of 2003, back when I could buy eggs at the grocery store without having a panic attack. (Yes, I know, it's crazy - but I have to choose between organic-fed chicken eggs and vegetarian-fed chicken eggs? That is also crazy.) Since then, I've thought about it more than I care to admit.
I think it is in part because I absolutely love saffron.
The most disappointing thing about this recipe is that you first toast bread, and then when it is baking it gets all soggy. This is probably because i don't use thick-cut french bread, but whole grain bread.
Here is the recipe:
4 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
2 T olive oil
4 slices french bread (or 2 slices whole wheat, halved)
1 T paprika
1/4 t cumin
pinch of saffron
4 cups vegetable broth
4 eggs
Heat the olive oil, then brown the garlic on each side and remove.
Toast the bread in the oil and remove.
Add the paprika to the oil and stir for a minute.
Turn the oven to 450.
Add the other spices and vegetable broth, and cook for awhile, stirring, so the saffron has time to make it's way into deliciousness. (about 10 minutes?)
Divide the soup into four bowls. Crack an egg into each bowl, and top with the bread. Bake for a few minutes, until eggs are set.
CONFESSION(s):
The recipe says 3-4 minutes, but I want my eggs actually cooked. So I let them set longer. Like... not quite a half hour. But maybe 10 minutes. I check them. When the yolk doesn't look like it did when it went in the bowl, I know it's ready.
I forgot this, because I haven't made this in like 8 years, but I have found it works better to add the bread AFTER it bakes, because otherwise it just gets soggy, and what was the point of frying it in oil in the first place?
YUM.
I love this soup. I first made it in the fall of 2003, back when I could buy eggs at the grocery store without having a panic attack. (Yes, I know, it's crazy - but I have to choose between organic-fed chicken eggs and vegetarian-fed chicken eggs? That is also crazy.) Since then, I've thought about it more than I care to admit.
I think it is in part because I absolutely love saffron.
The most disappointing thing about this recipe is that you first toast bread, and then when it is baking it gets all soggy. This is probably because i don't use thick-cut french bread, but whole grain bread.
Here is the recipe:
4 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
2 T olive oil
4 slices french bread (or 2 slices whole wheat, halved)
1 T paprika
1/4 t cumin
pinch of saffron
4 cups vegetable broth
4 eggs
Heat the olive oil, then brown the garlic on each side and remove.
Toast the bread in the oil and remove.
Add the paprika to the oil and stir for a minute.
Turn the oven to 450.
Add the other spices and vegetable broth, and cook for awhile, stirring, so the saffron has time to make it's way into deliciousness. (about 10 minutes?)
Divide the soup into four bowls. Crack an egg into each bowl, and top with the bread. Bake for a few minutes, until eggs are set.
CONFESSION(s):
The recipe says 3-4 minutes, but I want my eggs actually cooked. So I let them set longer. Like... not quite a half hour. But maybe 10 minutes. I check them. When the yolk doesn't look like it did when it went in the bowl, I know it's ready.
I forgot this, because I haven't made this in like 8 years, but I have found it works better to add the bread AFTER it bakes, because otherwise it just gets soggy, and what was the point of frying it in oil in the first place?
YUM.
11/28/11
Olive Orange Tapenade
I returned to a fairly empty fridge from my Thanksgiving vacation - garlic, an onion, and some potatoes.
My farm share comes tomorrow - I think it will be crimini mushrooms, cranberries, acorn squash, and mixed potatoes, but I have not yet gotten an official announcement. But I needed food for today. (It just dawned on me now that I should also have thought about food for lunch tomorrow, but it's too late now - I'll have to scourge around the various lunch locales near the office.)
So I stopped at the grocery store for things not coming in my farm share that I might need and also could eat for dinner - eggs, soy milk, an orange (all good cranberry dishes require oranges)... and then I walked by the olive bar and remembered having a massive craving for tapenade over the weekend. (I have been known to make it for Thanksgiving.) So I got some pitted kalmatas and came right home.
I actually made hash browns and an egg over medium sprinkled with mild cheddar for dinner. But I also made olive tapenade. YUM.
I first made this out of a recipe in the back of VegNews, a vegan food magazine, but I wouldn't recognize it with all the changes and substitutions I've made over the years. I do remember that it called for lemon juice. But I only remember this because I have never once used lemon juice to make tapenade - I didn't have a lemon that first day, so I used an orange, and it was so delicious that I could never make myself try to follow the real recipe.
So I've made this a lot, and I don't use a recipe, but there are some things to think about.
Pointers:
My farm share comes tomorrow - I think it will be crimini mushrooms, cranberries, acorn squash, and mixed potatoes, but I have not yet gotten an official announcement. But I needed food for today. (It just dawned on me now that I should also have thought about food for lunch tomorrow, but it's too late now - I'll have to scourge around the various lunch locales near the office.)
So I stopped at the grocery store for things not coming in my farm share that I might need and also could eat for dinner - eggs, soy milk, an orange (all good cranberry dishes require oranges)... and then I walked by the olive bar and remembered having a massive craving for tapenade over the weekend. (I have been known to make it for Thanksgiving.) So I got some pitted kalmatas and came right home.
I actually made hash browns and an egg over medium sprinkled with mild cheddar for dinner. But I also made olive tapenade. YUM.
I first made this out of a recipe in the back of VegNews, a vegan food magazine, but I wouldn't recognize it with all the changes and substitutions I've made over the years. I do remember that it called for lemon juice. But I only remember this because I have never once used lemon juice to make tapenade - I didn't have a lemon that first day, so I used an orange, and it was so delicious that I could never make myself try to follow the real recipe.
So I've made this a lot, and I don't use a recipe, but there are some things to think about.
Pointers:
- It's all about the olives. It's true. So, think about the things you're adding in as ways to extend the delicious olive flavors. Things that will compliment. Things that will extend the flavor.
- You may be tempted to put the ingredients in a blender or food processor instead of chopping them finely. Please resist this temptation. It never tastes as good - somehow the flavor gets ish. And it will look gross. And, sometimes, one of your pitted olives has a bit of pit, and it gets all ground up and nasty.
Necessary ingredients:
- Pitted kalmata olives that don't come from a metal can. A jar if you must, but seriously, find yourself a grocery store with an olive bar.
- Orange zest, and then juice to flavor but not to drown.
- Oregano. Fresh might be nice, I dunno, I've never tried. We've got leaf, we've got ground, it's all delicious.
Optional but suggested ingredients:
- Other citrus juice, if you really want. Grapefruit worked that time I tried.
- Capers!!! Deliciousness!!! But expensive. Luckily the old roommate left a whole jar. Yum.
- Onion. Preferably red, preferably chopped. I used to list this as "necessary" but it's not. Today I used onion powder in a jar. It was fine.
- Whatever you like with your olives.
That's all I've got. I like olives.
11/26/11
Flourless Chocolate Cake (w/ blackberry sauce)
This recipe exists in my e-mail, and was made upon request of my sister. I have copied exactly from my e-mail:
oven at 325, you'll need a round cake pan - it asks for 8 inch but i'm sure i've used nine (grease it). this recipe says specifically not to use a springform, but i bet it'd be awesome.) also, find a baking dish or roasting pan that the cake pan fits into comfortably that has an edge at least as high as the cake pan.
melt 1 lb bittersweet chocolate (i usually use ghiradelli 60%, but darker is even more delicious) with 10 tablespoons butter (calls for "unsalted" but i've never got complaints))
remove from heat (if you're using a double boiler, which i'd suggest) and whisk in 5 large egg YOLKS (save the whites, they're incorporated soon.
also, boil some water for the water bath you'll bake the cake in later.
in another bowl, beat the egg whites with 1/4 t cream of tartar until soft peaks form. add 1 T sugar. beat until peaks are stiff but not dry. fold a quarter of the whites into the chocolatey goodness, and taste (just kidding diedre), and then fold in the remaining whites (you've got to do it gradually so it doesn't collapse the fluffiness you just produced by beating the stinking whites.)
put it in your cake pan, and then set the cake pan in your baking dish or roasting pan, and then put it in the oven, very carefully, and then figure out a way to put the boiling water in the roasting pan (not more than half way up the sides of the pan). bake for exactly 30 minutes. that's what the directions say. i remember it took way longer the last time i made it. but this is the description, "the top of the cake will have a thin crust and the interior will still be gooey."
cool completely or chill overnight.
oh, and you should use a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of your pan, so it comes out easier. warm knife around the edges usually does it. and if it comes apart you can usually put it back together and nobody notices.
You can see my recipe-description style hasn't changed much. I could put recipes in a clearer format, but as I'm generally recording them for my own use, I don't see the point.
We cooked a little longer this time, and I think it was a bit dry. I was a little worried I overheated the chocolate, and/or added the yolks when it was too warm (cooking them too much too soon), but it turned out delicious.
For the blackberry sauce - I always use raspberries but we had both kinds of berries frozen at the Lazy WP, so I went for something new. I just threw in a bit of sugar and some cornstarch when I remembered it needed help thickening, and voila, the perfect chocolate cake. We also used whipped cream leftover from yesterday and some ice cream. I think maybe more whipped cream would've been delicious.
Perhaps there willb e pictures some day.
11/25/11
Lazy Thanksgiving
This is the least amount of cooking I've done on Thanksgiving since I became a vegetarian. Or even before that - I've always loved this holiday because it is about cooking. And I love cooking, so it's kind of my favorite holiday. But this year, I'm sitting in on someone else's already very-well planned and orchestrated Thanksgiving, with plenty of vegetarian forethought. So, I had very little to do. I ended up just making the vegetarian gravy.
I thought about bringing vegetable bouillon, but forgot, and didn't think of it at my sister's house, and so were bouillon-free. Luckily we had some mushroom stock and some chantrelle and morrell mushrooms, which I supplemented with soy sauce. I would've preferred a homemade delicious vegetable broth, but I found some parsley and sage so it was alright.
melt 1/4 c of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
add about 1/4 c of chopped mushrooms and 1/4 c chopped parsley.
cook.
gradually add flour, probably about 1/4 c, until it's thick and bubbly.
stir in mushroom broth (and water when you run out) very very slowly, a splash at a time, stirring constantly, until it's a little thinner than what you'd want in a gravy. taste occasionally to see if it needs anything - i added a splash of soy sauce and some black pepper. raise the heat, still stirring constantly, until it boils and cook for a minute or two, to thicken to desired consistency.
remove from heat and serve immediately.
I thought about bringing vegetable bouillon, but forgot, and didn't think of it at my sister's house, and so were bouillon-free. Luckily we had some mushroom stock and some chantrelle and morrell mushrooms, which I supplemented with soy sauce. I would've preferred a homemade delicious vegetable broth, but I found some parsley and sage so it was alright.
melt 1/4 c of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
add about 1/4 c of chopped mushrooms and 1/4 c chopped parsley.
cook.
gradually add flour, probably about 1/4 c, until it's thick and bubbly.
stir in mushroom broth (and water when you run out) very very slowly, a splash at a time, stirring constantly, until it's a little thinner than what you'd want in a gravy. taste occasionally to see if it needs anything - i added a splash of soy sauce and some black pepper. raise the heat, still stirring constantly, until it boils and cook for a minute or two, to thicken to desired consistency.
remove from heat and serve immediately.
Dinner for my Aunt & Uncle
Last, Saturday, my aunt & uncle were in town visiting my cousins and offered to take me out to dinner, but I had to refuse because, well, I had too many vegetables from my farm share to use up before I left for Thanksgiving. I ended up using up a pound of carrots & about 2 lbs (over half) of my butternut squash.
(If I were you I'd skip right to the carrots)
Butternut squash and onion tart - unfortunately I do not remember how I made this. I think i used 1/2 a stick of butter, a cup of whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup gluten-free bread flour to make the crust. I definitely pre-baked the squash which I realized later wasn't part of the recipe. I think I used a cup of vegetable broth but I'm not sure. I only used one onion. It was just a tart - kind of following a recipe in how to cook everything vegetarian. it was delicious in a bland way.
Carrots:
Heat 1/4 c of olive oil in the bottom of a saucepan, saute 1/4 of red onion. Add 1 lb peeled, diced carrots, 1/4 c of golden raisins, 1/2 of chopped dates, and a pinch of saffron and some water, cook 10 minutes. Delicious.
We also had a delicious salad, I forget sometimes that lettuce other than spinach makes a good salad.
(If I were you I'd skip right to the carrots)
Butternut squash and onion tart - unfortunately I do not remember how I made this. I think i used 1/2 a stick of butter, a cup of whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup gluten-free bread flour to make the crust. I definitely pre-baked the squash which I realized later wasn't part of the recipe. I think I used a cup of vegetable broth but I'm not sure. I only used one onion. It was just a tart - kind of following a recipe in how to cook everything vegetarian. it was delicious in a bland way.
Carrots:
Heat 1/4 c of olive oil in the bottom of a saucepan, saute 1/4 of red onion. Add 1 lb peeled, diced carrots, 1/4 c of golden raisins, 1/2 of chopped dates, and a pinch of saffron and some water, cook 10 minutes. Delicious.
We also had a delicious salad, I forget sometimes that lettuce other than spinach makes a good salad.
11/20/11
Mac&Broc&Cheese
I made this dish over a week ago and have been attempting to blog it ever since, without success. The truth is, I didn't like it very much, and I just haven't been able to admit that. But the point of this blog is not to document every recipe I make, whether it is delicious or not. The point is to instruct my future cooking. So here are some reminders to myself, the next time I make Mac&Cheese.
- You know how to make a cheese sauce and stir macaroni into it and brown breadcrumbs, so why the crap are you following a recipe? Follow your instincts.
- You might want to try the other mac&cheese method - layering cheese and macaroni and pouring a custard-type sauce over it to thicken while it bakes, for which you might need a recipe, but before you do that please try the above.
- Do add mustard to your cheese sauce, and a bit of cayenne (but not too much)
- Add broccoli to cooking mac 3 minutes before it's done cooking to begin cooking process.
- Use sharp cheese. You don't need a ton of it as long as it's sharp. (Also, don't use a gooey cheese - remember that time you tried this with gouda?)
- I know you know this but I'm just going to remind you - use actual milk. Don't use soymilk, and save the cheesy-beer sauce for toast.
Glorious Sunday: Football & Cooking
This week's farm share = carrots, butternut, potatoes, and broccoli. Yum. This week's cheese was mild cheddar.
So, the Packers are 10-0, which is the glorious part, but completely unrelated. It is a weekly trial to eat everything in my farm share. The good news is that I don't get a farm share this Tuesday. Because it's Thanksgiving, which is even more exciting. So today I cooked a few things knowing that leftovers could maybe be frozen for post-vacation eating... but I chose a couple of the recipes not to freeze, but because they will (hopefully) make it through airport security, so when my sister picks me up on Wednesday afternoon, I can offer her and her husband lunch. We'll see how much I can eat this week... I technically have 8 meals before I get on the plane... although I usually don't eat more than 2 meals a day.... so maybe i only have 5 or 6.
I was able to use half of the huge butternut squash I got on Tuesday last night, along with all of my carrots. I will probably have to blog out of that
But, as for foods I will have with me when I arrive in Oakland... this is what's in the fridge, and whatever i don't eat is coming with me:
Baked Potatoes and Beans (posted before)
Macaroni & Broccoli & Cheese
Butternut/Chickpea "salad" from smitten kitchen (posted before).
I think the mac&broc&cheese will travel the worst, so maybe I'll prioritize eating that... otherwise, I'm accepting comments.
So, the Packers are 10-0, which is the glorious part, but completely unrelated. It is a weekly trial to eat everything in my farm share. The good news is that I don't get a farm share this Tuesday. Because it's Thanksgiving, which is even more exciting. So today I cooked a few things knowing that leftovers could maybe be frozen for post-vacation eating... but I chose a couple of the recipes not to freeze, but because they will (hopefully) make it through airport security, so when my sister picks me up on Wednesday afternoon, I can offer her and her husband lunch. We'll see how much I can eat this week... I technically have 8 meals before I get on the plane... although I usually don't eat more than 2 meals a day.... so maybe i only have 5 or 6.
I was able to use half of the huge butternut squash I got on Tuesday last night, along with all of my carrots. I will probably have to blog out of that
But, as for foods I will have with me when I arrive in Oakland... this is what's in the fridge, and whatever i don't eat is coming with me:
Baked Potatoes and Beans (posted before)
Macaroni & Broccoli & Cheese
Butternut/Chickpea "salad" from smitten kitchen (posted before).
I think the mac&broc&cheese will travel the worst, so maybe I'll prioritize eating that... otherwise, I'm accepting comments.
11/16/11
Beans & Sweet Potatoes followed by Beans & Potatoes
It is not that I haven't been cooking, it is that I haven't had internet.
I used up all of my sweet potatoes in one good show - I think there were less in the share than the last time I got them, which was definitely not a problem for me.
I adopted a Bittman recipe.
I'm totally made up the measurements on the herbs, here. I just couldn't do it.
Oven to 325.
Mix 3 c rinsed cooked beans with 1 t thyme and 1 t herbes de provence in the bottom of a casserole dish. Peel and halve a sweet potato or two and slice fairly thinly into half moons. Spread in a single(ish) layer on top of the potatoes. Pour 1 c of vegetable broth (I used the Pink Stuff, I'm def going to miss it when I run out) over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper and more thyme. Then take 3 T of butter and put dabs of it all over the top, cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Take off the foil and cook 45 minutes more.
Yum.
In the next farm share I got regular potatoes and I did the same recipe. I just think I learned a lesson: use sweet potatoes like regular potatoes, instead of making them sweet. Because I really don't like sweet things.
I used up all of my sweet potatoes in one good show - I think there were less in the share than the last time I got them, which was definitely not a problem for me.
I adopted a Bittman recipe.
I'm totally made up the measurements on the herbs, here. I just couldn't do it.
Oven to 325.
Mix 3 c rinsed cooked beans with 1 t thyme and 1 t herbes de provence in the bottom of a casserole dish. Peel and halve a sweet potato or two and slice fairly thinly into half moons. Spread in a single(ish) layer on top of the potatoes. Pour 1 c of vegetable broth (I used the Pink Stuff, I'm def going to miss it when I run out) over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper and more thyme. Then take 3 T of butter and put dabs of it all over the top, cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Take off the foil and cook 45 minutes more.
Yum.
In the next farm share I got regular potatoes and I did the same recipe. I just think I learned a lesson: use sweet potatoes like regular potatoes, instead of making them sweet. Because I really don't like sweet things.
11/10/11
Squash Soup #2 + sandwiches
Alright, the last time I made squash soup it was with yellow curry powder (probably too much) and completely blended.
This time, I used Thai red curry paste, 2 c of Pink Vegetable Broth (which did not seem to discolor the soup at all!), one red onion, some fresh lemongrass and ginger and garlic, and the leftover carrots. I blended it and it is pretty tasty.
Now on to the real addition - I do not like blended soups. They're hard to eat. I like soup that is brothy with plenty of stuff to chew on. However, I'd rather have SQUASH blended into broth. The compromise? I added 2 c cooked brown rice and 2 c cooked rinsed red beans. Now I feel like this is actually a meal, not just a mushy hard-to-drink weird-to-eat-with-a-spoon concoction. There are beans! And rice! It's almost like a meal except I bet it would be delicious with a sandwich!
In other news, it is in the 30s, which means almost winter, and I am starting my official winter lunch: Soup and a cheese sandwich, since I have so many delicious cheese to choose from. I've got gouda, I've got smoked cheddar, and I've got something called "Bessie's Blend", which is made with goat and cow milk and is very tasty - I like goat cheese to an extent, and this is very mildly flavored. Good for sandwiches!
My favorite sandwich is roasted garlic spread on one slice of bread and whole-grain mustard on the other slice and cheese and spinach, or whatever vegetable I've got. That's it. Whole grain bread, of course! Yum. I better go make one so I've got a delicious lunch to look forward to.
This time, I used Thai red curry paste, 2 c of Pink Vegetable Broth (which did not seem to discolor the soup at all!), one red onion, some fresh lemongrass and ginger and garlic, and the leftover carrots. I blended it and it is pretty tasty.
Now on to the real addition - I do not like blended soups. They're hard to eat. I like soup that is brothy with plenty of stuff to chew on. However, I'd rather have SQUASH blended into broth. The compromise? I added 2 c cooked brown rice and 2 c cooked rinsed red beans. Now I feel like this is actually a meal, not just a mushy hard-to-drink weird-to-eat-with-a-spoon concoction. There are beans! And rice! It's almost like a meal except I bet it would be delicious with a sandwich!
In other news, it is in the 30s, which means almost winter, and I am starting my official winter lunch: Soup and a cheese sandwich, since I have so many delicious cheese to choose from. I've got gouda, I've got smoked cheddar, and I've got something called "Bessie's Blend", which is made with goat and cow milk and is very tasty - I like goat cheese to an extent, and this is very mildly flavored. Good for sandwiches!
My favorite sandwich is roasted garlic spread on one slice of bread and whole-grain mustard on the other slice and cheese and spinach, or whatever vegetable I've got. That's it. Whole grain bread, of course! Yum. I better go make one so I've got a delicious lunch to look forward to.
more Carrot Cupcakes & a treatise on white flour
This week's farm share was so completely reasonably sized that I didn't touch it until today. I hadn't used last week's carrots, though, so I made some Smitten carrot cupcakes.
What is most interesting is that I used real eggs and real butter and real cream cheese. However, I did not use real white flour, I used gluten-free white flour. The results are pretty delicious. The only other real thing I'd mention is that I used my microplane grater instead of the normal sized one, but that was mostly becuase the microplane is easier to use.
My gluten-free flour is specifically for cakes and cookies. it contains rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and xanthum gum. It's made in Appleton, Wisconsin and was delivered via my CSA.
I don't like white wheat flour. It is too much like paste. Maybe if I lived in France with a constant supply of croissant and crusty well-made white bread... but even then. I like grains in my bread. I like seeds and whole grain flavors and even nuts. I don't want my bread to be squishy like a sponge. I want crumbly delicious bread.
And a story -- I was in Argentina a few years ago and I got a "Greek Platter" that came with "Pita Bread" but it was not delicious. My exact reaction was "This Pita Bread is a little bit more like paste than Pita Bread I'm used to. Come to think of it, all bread in Argentina is a little bit more like paste than I'd like it to be." Upon coming back to America I realized I had judged too harshly. All white bread is more like paste than I want it to be. When I eat it I can't help imagining it turning to paste in my digestive system. Yuck.
Also, I will confess here, that I am pretty sure I do have a (probably very mild) gluten allergy, because when I make Seitan (which is basically wheat gluten) and mix it with my hands, they always get itchy and a little red.
I can't believe a technocrat is usurping an elected leader in Greece.
What is most interesting is that I used real eggs and real butter and real cream cheese. However, I did not use real white flour, I used gluten-free white flour. The results are pretty delicious. The only other real thing I'd mention is that I used my microplane grater instead of the normal sized one, but that was mostly becuase the microplane is easier to use.
My gluten-free flour is specifically for cakes and cookies. it contains rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and xanthum gum. It's made in Appleton, Wisconsin and was delivered via my CSA.
I don't like white wheat flour. It is too much like paste. Maybe if I lived in France with a constant supply of croissant and crusty well-made white bread... but even then. I like grains in my bread. I like seeds and whole grain flavors and even nuts. I don't want my bread to be squishy like a sponge. I want crumbly delicious bread.
And a story -- I was in Argentina a few years ago and I got a "Greek Platter" that came with "Pita Bread" but it was not delicious. My exact reaction was "This Pita Bread is a little bit more like paste than Pita Bread I'm used to. Come to think of it, all bread in Argentina is a little bit more like paste than I'd like it to be." Upon coming back to America I realized I had judged too harshly. All white bread is more like paste than I want it to be. When I eat it I can't help imagining it turning to paste in my digestive system. Yuck.
Also, I will confess here, that I am pretty sure I do have a (probably very mild) gluten allergy, because when I make Seitan (which is basically wheat gluten) and mix it with my hands, they always get itchy and a little red.
I can't believe a technocrat is usurping an elected leader in Greece.
11/5/11
Marrow Kofta
I have several things that are unrelated to each other to mention about this recipe.
First off, I think this is weird, and disgusting, but the 2 definitions for marrow are:
First off, I think this is weird, and disgusting, but the 2 definitions for marrow are:
1. something I would never mention in a food post!!!!!
2. a white-fleshed green-skinned gourd, eaten as a vegetable.
I only found the recipe because when I couldn't find "squash" in the index i looked for "pumpkin" and found a pumpkin variety of a "marrow" dish. I think the cookbook was Australian or British. I used Acorn squash. I was trying to convince my roommate to eat this particular squash before she moved away, but alas... it is still here, yet she and the cat texted from Wyoming today.
Second unrelated thing: I have tried to make the Indian dish Malai Kofta before, maybe just once... and it was not this good. Malai Kofta is a delicious dish, but to me the deliciousness is in the creamy tomatoey sauce, not the Kofta balls that occasionally intrude upon your enjoyment of the sauce, although you can find some good Kofta to go with your delicious sauce. This recipe provides delicious, sweet kofta balls that don't taste over-fried, and it is my favorite squash recipe so far. Yum.
Third: this is the first time in a very long time that I stopped cooking to write down a recipe while still cooking. I have an original recipe that one of the Indian cookbooks my sister passed to me when she circled the globe had in it, but I ended up adjusting it a lot. The original recipe called for coconut powder, cream, tomato puree, and fresh tomatoes, but I don't have any of those things on hand. I have tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, flaked (not sweet) coconut, and coconut milk, so I did a little replacing to come up with this very delicious concoction.
I also decided not to follow the cooking instructions for the sauce, which were to pulse in a food processor the onions and spices with some tomato puree and cook it in 5 T of corn oil, and then add cream and fresh tomatoes. I just could not do that, as you will see in the sauce portion of the recipe.
First, the Kofta:
1-1.5 lbs cooked peeled seeded squash
2 T garbanzo (gram) flour
2 T wheat flour
1.5 t coriander
1 t chilli powder
1 t garam masala (but i couldn't find it while making the kofta so put it in the sauce instead)
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 t turmeric
Mash everything together with a potato masher and your hands. shape into golf-ball sized balls (I think I made 12).
Heat 6 T corn oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Constantly turn them to brown on all sides. Carefully remove them, and pour out the oil. (I measured it, it was a quarter cup, which means 2 T got soaked into the kofta, which (if it weren't corn oil) would not be that bad, since that is all the oil I used.)
For the sauce, use the same pan with the oil that remained in the pan. Cook:
1 lg red onion - chopped very very small
2 cloves garlic - smashed
until soft
add spices:
1.5 t coriander
1 t cumin (although i didn't measure... just a guess)
1 t chili powder
1/2 t cayenne
1 t garam masala (couldn't find earlier... but was also good in sauce)
2 lg dried red chiles, whole (to be removed later)
cook until spices fragrant (2 mn)
add:
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
and cook for awhile until it thickens.
add the balls and enjoy.
Next time:
chilis? cilantro? even maybe parsley.
Second unrelated thing: I have tried to make the Indian dish Malai Kofta before, maybe just once... and it was not this good. Malai Kofta is a delicious dish, but to me the deliciousness is in the creamy tomatoey sauce, not the Kofta balls that occasionally intrude upon your enjoyment of the sauce, although you can find some good Kofta to go with your delicious sauce. This recipe provides delicious, sweet kofta balls that don't taste over-fried, and it is my favorite squash recipe so far. Yum.
Third: this is the first time in a very long time that I stopped cooking to write down a recipe while still cooking. I have an original recipe that one of the Indian cookbooks my sister passed to me when she circled the globe had in it, but I ended up adjusting it a lot. The original recipe called for coconut powder, cream, tomato puree, and fresh tomatoes, but I don't have any of those things on hand. I have tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, flaked (not sweet) coconut, and coconut milk, so I did a little replacing to come up with this very delicious concoction.
I also decided not to follow the cooking instructions for the sauce, which were to pulse in a food processor the onions and spices with some tomato puree and cook it in 5 T of corn oil, and then add cream and fresh tomatoes. I just could not do that, as you will see in the sauce portion of the recipe.
First, the Kofta:
1-1.5 lbs cooked peeled seeded squash
2 T garbanzo (gram) flour
2 T wheat flour
1.5 t coriander
1 t chilli powder
1 t garam masala (but i couldn't find it while making the kofta so put it in the sauce instead)
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 t turmeric
Mash everything together with a potato masher and your hands. shape into golf-ball sized balls (I think I made 12).
Heat 6 T corn oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Constantly turn them to brown on all sides. Carefully remove them, and pour out the oil. (I measured it, it was a quarter cup, which means 2 T got soaked into the kofta, which (if it weren't corn oil) would not be that bad, since that is all the oil I used.)
For the sauce, use the same pan with the oil that remained in the pan. Cook:
1 lg red onion - chopped very very small
2 cloves garlic - smashed
until soft
add spices:
1.5 t coriander
1 t cumin (although i didn't measure... just a guess)
1 t chili powder
1/2 t cayenne
1 t garam masala (couldn't find earlier... but was also good in sauce)
2 lg dried red chiles, whole (to be removed later)
cook until spices fragrant (2 mn)
add:
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
and cook for awhile until it thickens.
add the balls and enjoy.
Next time:
chilis? cilantro? even maybe parsley.
Cranberry-Orange Relish
The 2 main dishes I made today used traditional Indian spices (Spiced Potatoes and still-to-come Marrow Balls in coconut cream sauce) so when I tasted this today I couldn't help thinking it's similar to a chutney. A little tangy, strong in flavor, probably a good accompaniment to a spicy main dish.
In any case, this is one of my mother's favorites for Thanksgiving - you take a bag of raw cranberries, a whole orange, and a bit of sugar, and throw it in the food processor. (I had to use a blender but it worked alright.)
I'm guessing it was about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of cranberries, and it was a whole orange although i only used some of the skin (and all the juice) which was mostly because I thought it would help the blending process. I just sprinkled some raw sugar after it was blended to taste, but it's still pretty tart.
I think, once I make the Marrow Balls, I will have myself a delicious dinner of rice with Marrow Balls, spinach-potato spice side dish, and cranberry relish chutney. I'll let you know if it works well together when I post the Marrow Balls recipe!
Eventually I will show you what I am cooking using photographs
I do not own a camera.
I had a blackberry that took beautiful pictures, it had a flash.
My current blackberry does not have a flash.
Blackberries are pieces of crap (not the fruit, though, the "technology").
My work phone will soon (maybe not until after Christmas) be upgraded to an iPhone (but probably not until after Christmas). So then maybe I will post pictures on the blog, eh?
Or, I could buy a digital camera, but that seems like too much trouble.
Spiced Potatoes and Spinach
I was thinking of making potato salad today, with a vinaigrette rather than mayo-based dressing. i was actually looking for an old recipe i once had... and couldn't find... but i found a recipe for spiced potatoes, which also called for spinach, and ended up making this instead:
boil
1 lb yukon gold potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces
until just beginning to get tender
cook together on the stove for a minute or two - just so the butter melts and the spices begin to excrete their enticing smells:
2 T earth balance
2 t fenugreek
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 t grated ginger
1 T black bustard seeds
pinch saffron
mix together well and bak at 350 for about 45 minutes.
remove from heat, toss with 1 oz fresh spinach.
i am hoping it is still good tomorrow, as I made hashbrowns with the leftover potatoes while they were baking and now am not hungry. (but it's good to eat when you're hungry and not wait!
boil
1 lb yukon gold potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces
until just beginning to get tender
cook together on the stove for a minute or two - just so the butter melts and the spices begin to excrete their enticing smells:
2 T earth balance
2 t fenugreek
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 t grated ginger
1 T black bustard seeds
pinch saffron
mix together well and bak at 350 for about 45 minutes.
remove from heat, toss with 1 oz fresh spinach.
i am hoping it is still good tomorrow, as I made hashbrowns with the leftover potatoes while they were baking and now am not hungry. (but it's good to eat when you're hungry and not wait!
11/3/11
Roasted Garlic
I meant to order garlic the first two weeks of my farm share as an extra, because, well, you can never have too much garlic. But my first order got messed up, and I forgot to order the following week, and now, finally, I ordered garlic. I think because I kept messing it up and, well, you can never have too much garlic... I put in for 2 orders of garlic. Which brought 10 heads of garlic to my kitchen.
Also, I found out yesterday I am getting garlic next week as part of my "basic" share. So... I'll have even more. The good news is that garlic will actually stay good for a long time. So I'm really just stocking up, right?
While the Sweet Potatoes and Cranberries were cooking on Tuesday night, I decided it might be a good plan to roast some garlic at the same time... and there went 3 of the 10 bulbs. I chopped off the tops so all the cloves were exposed (these heads only have about 5 really huge cloves) and poured 1 T of olive oil into the exposed cloves, wrapped in tin foil, and baked until the fire alarm went off.
So far I have used the roasted garlic as a sandwich spread. I'm thinking of adding vinegar and oil to the jar of roasted garlic in the fridge and making some salad dressing.
I have plenty of garlic. I can always roast more.
Mushroom-Leek Risotto
I anticipate a lot of risotto in my future. There are many reasons for this - next to soup, it is my favorite whatever-vegetables-you-have dish. I like standing in the kitchen and stirring a big pan and watching it absorb the liquid, and my kitchen is set up in a way that allows me to both watch tv and stir the risotto constantly. Plus Risotto has a ton of flavor.
I used up all of my Arborio rice, but there is so much other rice - especially brown rice. I read in Bittman's vegetarian book that cooking brown rice for awhile before using it in a recipe allows you to replace white rice for it in recipes, and that included risotto. And another cookbook I have advised me, when cooking brown rice for dinner that day, to pour boiling water over it in the morning and let it set so that when I get home at night it only takes 15 minutes to cook.
Sometimes I add a bit of cheese to risotto but it was so delicious it didn't need it. I did ask a roommate's advice on the herbs, and she was totally right - the rosemary and thyme complimented the leeks and mushrooms beautifully.
the recipe --
A bit of olive oil
1 large leek, chopped pretty small
about 1 c chopped button mushrooms (the smaller the better)
1.5 c Arborio rice
3/4 c red wine
4 c vegetable broth
1 c water
thyme
rosemary
i cooked the leeks and mushrooms in oil first, and forgot to add the rice before i added any liquid, but i don't think it was a huge deal. risotto calls for white wine, and i actually wasn't planning on using any wine, but my roommate had some red she didn't wasn't going to drink, and since the vegetable broth i used is pink anyway the color didn't seem to make a difference. i did warm the broth, which is recommended but I haven't ever really done before. This was in part because the broth had been in the freezer. I could probably have gotten an intensely-delicious risotto replacing half of the vegetable broth with water. After using 4 c of the broth I switched to water - the risotto was almost done but it just wasn't creamy enough so I added some water and cooked it a bit longer.
Oh, I meant to use up a lemon I had in this recipe, but it certainly doesn't need it. I only remember because I found the lemon in the crisper drawer today.
Yum.
I used up all of my Arborio rice, but there is so much other rice - especially brown rice. I read in Bittman's vegetarian book that cooking brown rice for awhile before using it in a recipe allows you to replace white rice for it in recipes, and that included risotto. And another cookbook I have advised me, when cooking brown rice for dinner that day, to pour boiling water over it in the morning and let it set so that when I get home at night it only takes 15 minutes to cook.
Sometimes I add a bit of cheese to risotto but it was so delicious it didn't need it. I did ask a roommate's advice on the herbs, and she was totally right - the rosemary and thyme complimented the leeks and mushrooms beautifully.
the recipe --
A bit of olive oil
1 large leek, chopped pretty small
about 1 c chopped button mushrooms (the smaller the better)
1.5 c Arborio rice
3/4 c red wine
4 c vegetable broth
1 c water
thyme
rosemary
i cooked the leeks and mushrooms in oil first, and forgot to add the rice before i added any liquid, but i don't think it was a huge deal. risotto calls for white wine, and i actually wasn't planning on using any wine, but my roommate had some red she didn't wasn't going to drink, and since the vegetable broth i used is pink anyway the color didn't seem to make a difference. i did warm the broth, which is recommended but I haven't ever really done before. This was in part because the broth had been in the freezer. I could probably have gotten an intensely-delicious risotto replacing half of the vegetable broth with water. After using 4 c of the broth I switched to water - the risotto was almost done but it just wasn't creamy enough so I added some water and cooked it a bit longer.
Oh, I meant to use up a lemon I had in this recipe, but it certainly doesn't need it. I only remember because I found the lemon in the crisper drawer today.
Yum.
11/1/11
Cranberry-glazed Sweet Potatoes try to burn down the house
I found this when I googled "cranberry sweet potato," and was sold at the word "bourbon" and thought maybe fate intervened when I saw "cayenne". Spicy, bourbony, sweet potatoes and cranberries? Using two of my four farm share items!? Fate?
Nope, the gods are playing tricks on me. I mean, don't get me wrong, this is pretty delicious. I only had a bite or two so far, but it was candied deliciousness. It was the baking process that woke up the neighborhood. But before I get to the fire part...
Alterations I made:
* I used a 1/4 cup instead of a 1/3 a cup of brown sugar. I'd like to say it was intentional - sweet potatoes are sweet enough - but the truth is I didn't double-check. And I probably didn't double-check because I could never rationalize using more than 1/4 c of sugar in any recipe. (When I post my grandmother's Company Meal Sauerkraut recipe, I will reiterate this point.)
* Instead of using 2 T of bourbon and 4 T of butter, I used 2 T of oil and 4 T of bourbon. I realized going in that this may effect the "glaze" aspect... esp with my reduced sugar... but I figured bourbon evaporates quicker than water. Also it is 100 times more delicious.
* The dish was too watery from the get-go. I ended up dumping out some of the liquid before the glaze step because it wasn't getting soaked in, but the potatos were fullly cooked so I had to move on. I'm waiting to see what happens when it cools completely.
And now, the punchline:
So the second-to-last time I took it out to reglaze, I was a bit too flippant about throwing it back in the oven. Some of the liquid spilled on to the oven floor. I wet a paper towel and tried to get it off and turned on the vent fan and thought it'd be fine and went away and I was wrong. Smoke detector. Loud. Roommates woken. Windows are now open, so luckily it was 73 in here after the oven had been on for an hour, and a fairly mild first of November.
Everything turned out alright. Especially the sweet potatos.
Nope, the gods are playing tricks on me. I mean, don't get me wrong, this is pretty delicious. I only had a bite or two so far, but it was candied deliciousness. It was the baking process that woke up the neighborhood. But before I get to the fire part...
Alterations I made:
* I used a 1/4 cup instead of a 1/3 a cup of brown sugar. I'd like to say it was intentional - sweet potatoes are sweet enough - but the truth is I didn't double-check. And I probably didn't double-check because I could never rationalize using more than 1/4 c of sugar in any recipe. (When I post my grandmother's Company Meal Sauerkraut recipe, I will reiterate this point.)
* Instead of using 2 T of bourbon and 4 T of butter, I used 2 T of oil and 4 T of bourbon. I realized going in that this may effect the "glaze" aspect... esp with my reduced sugar... but I figured bourbon evaporates quicker than water. Also it is 100 times more delicious.
* The dish was too watery from the get-go. I ended up dumping out some of the liquid before the glaze step because it wasn't getting soaked in, but the potatos were fullly cooked so I had to move on. I'm waiting to see what happens when it cools completely.
And now, the punchline:
So the second-to-last time I took it out to reglaze, I was a bit too flippant about throwing it back in the oven. Some of the liquid spilled on to the oven floor. I wet a paper towel and tried to get it off and turned on the vent fan and thought it'd be fine and went away and I was wrong. Smoke detector. Loud. Roommates woken. Windows are now open, so luckily it was 73 in here after the oven had been on for an hour, and a fairly mild first of November.
Everything turned out alright. Especially the sweet potatos.
10/29/11
applesauce
all my creativity went into the title of this post.
i don't like apples. i actually like some apples - the soft kind. maybe the mealy ones? i'd eat a mcintosh. but regular apples that others always say are delicious... i can pass those up.
so i decided to make applesauce today, which is a little weird since i don't like applesauce much either. but i like it more than apples, and i've literally eaten one piece of the pie i made six days ago. also, applesauce can be used instead of eggs or oil in some recipes, so its good to have some around. i used to buy the little four ounce cups because they wouldn't spoil in the fridge because they were so convenient for baking, but it seemed wasteful.
to make applesauce:
basically, i peeled & cored the seven apples i had been glaring at since tuesday, and put them in my soup pot with a bit of water and a dash of salt, brought it to a boil, lowered the heat, and ignored them. a while later i went to stir them and they had basically turned into apple sauce. i let it cook a bit because it was a little watery, then took a potato masher to them. the resulting applesauce does not need sugar and is fairly delicious. yay.
i am going to actually try to eat this applesauce. but i might measure out some half-cup sized portions and stow them in the freezer, in case i need them.
10/28/11
CSA Week 4: Possibilities... Salad!
Each week I pick up a box of raw goodness and figure out how to manipulate it into deliciousness. It is a constant struggle: taming the wild. As soon as I start to feel like I'm in control, like there isn't too much food or too many unused vegetables - usually day 2 or 3 - I get an e-mail telling me what to expect next week, and the struggle begins all over again.
However... next week is so easy. So easy it's kind of embarrassing. So easy I may even have to buy my lunch at work, which will be super exciting for me since I love buying lunch. But it all comes down to this one word: Salad.
Tuesday I will pick up:
Carrots (salad)
Spinach (salad!!)
Onions (some for salad)
Leeks (pink leek-mushroom risotto possibly with cheddar seems likely here)
Sweet Potatoes
Cranberries
Currently, the cranberries are the most exciting thing, not because I'm such a huge fan, but because they hold the greatest potential. I'm not the hugest sweet potato fan, but it is way more delicious than squash, and I can use it in my to-date favorite squash recipe - the butternut/chickpea/tahini yum - if i don't feel like being creative.
My to-date favorite cranberry recipe involves a bit of sugar, a food processor, and an orange, and I like the idea of keeping them raw, but i also have started fantasizing about roasted cranberries.
We shall see. I still really have five days to figure this out! And plenty of deliciousness to consume in the meantime.
Pink Vegetable Broth
I've read varying accounts on what makes the best vegetable broth, but I think all of them tell me not to use beets. I've read that you should never use onion skins, I've read that you should always use onion skins. I just kind of decided it didn't matter. In fact, I really decided to cook up some vegetable broth when I added the parsley to the borscht, because besides agreeing that you shouldn't use beets, the only other thing everyone seems to agree with is the use of parsley. Always. And then I basically just through in all of the vegetable scraps I had left, which I will try to categorize here.
* cabbage - outer leaves and core (outer leaves could've been used for something else but I knew that would never happen)
* beet stems/peels/tops (no greens)
* carrot peels
* half a grated potato plus peel
* onion skins and tops
* parsley stems
* garlic skins and a couple of cloves
* juice from can of drained tomatoes
I think that's all. I threw in some salt but not too much. It is very pink. I keep trying to envision a situation in which this is a problem and I keep failing.
There are a couple of carrots that have kind of lost their crunch in the crisper drawer I would've thrown in if I'd thought of it.
I'll be using some broth next week since it is likely i will make risotto, so we'll see if the pink is a problem!
Borscht perfection
This was my baseline, the recipe my sister acquired from the one vegetarian she found in Russia.
I'd made this recipe once before. What I remember from the last attempt was that an entire head of cabbage is way way way too much cabbage. Perhaps Russian cabbages are smaller? Or it was a Savoy? But I liked the separate cooking of the soup pot and the beets - the vegetables retained their own color - at least initially - better than the method I'd taken in the past, to boil everything in a pot. In the past I've also shied away from using tomato paste, and flavored the soup with apple cider vinegar. I had to buy tomato paste in order to make this soup and I almost always have a huge bottle of apple cider vinegar at home, which usually factors into my cooking decisions
In any case, this was my second farm share cabbage... and it was pretty big. I'd already decided to make cabbage with tomatoes and sour cream, which needed 6 cups of cabbage, which was honestly only about half of what I had. I shredded the cabbage, measured out the 6 cups, and then used the remaining cabbage in the borscht. This is also kind of the reason I ended up staying up so late cooking on Tuesday - I started the borscht and then chopped the cabbage for the other dish and then, since the cabbage was chopped, I felt inclined to cook it right away.
I did have one kind of large shot of vodka while cooking the borscht. It was not as delicious as the borscht.
Alterations to the original recipe:
* I used a little less onion, maybe one? one and a quarter?
* olive oil
* parsley was my herb
* more than the equivalent of a can of beans
* no sugar - and can i just say, it really does not need sugar.
i've been eating it with sour cream, and having it for lunch with a tofu-mustard sandwich, which tastes infinitely better than it sounds.
10/27/11
Week 3: Cabbage with tomatoes and Sour Cream
I've started to think of this kind of as "Fresh Kraut" - it's got the caraway seed and a little bit of that sour taste. And is super delicious. But the cabbage doesn't ever come close to being pickled.
Heat 2 T olive oil
add 3/4 c onion, cook for a minute or two until softened.
add 6 c shredded cabbage (I've gotten much better at shredding cabbage this week) and cook for awhile (10-15 mns) until softened, whatever.
add 1 1/2 T caraway seed - I added early. More flavor? I hope.
Cook until cabbage is a little more cooked.
Drain large can of diced tomatoes, add to cabbage (i had them draining for awhile.)
Cook until the tomatoes are warmed and incorporated and cabbage is kind of brown (i did not brown the cabbage at all which i kind of regret)
add 1/2 c sour cream, heat.
I could've used yogurt but I like sour cream better.
10/26/11
Fall CSA Week 3!!
I cooked for about five hours last night. It was really, really fun, but damn, I was tired.
Accomplishments include:
12 Potato-Mushroom Mini-Quiche
Enough Borscht for a Large Russian Family
Cabbage with Tomatoes and Sour Cream
Pink Vegetable Broth
I will blog about each one, hopefully I will get through it all before I cook even more food.
Even this morning, I got an e-mail with a list of what I'm getting next week! I'm already overflowing with deliciousness, this is just completely daunting.
I felt very accomplished at the end of the night, but I realized that I only had used less than 1/2 of the vegetables I got this week. I used the entire cabbage (some in the Borscht) and about half the mushrooms, but I still have tons of mushrooms left, 11 new apples (I'd only recently gotten rid of the old ones and I haven't come close to finishing the pie I made anyway!) and an entire Festival Squash, which is basically a prettier and more annoying Acorn squash. Plus some beets, but those will be easy enough to get rid of (since I love them so!)
mini muffin quiche: the perfect high cholesterol breakfast
The first thing i made when i brought it home last night was mini quiche, based on the incomplete recipe i posted last week. I would like to take a moment to state for the record that I still don't like eggs. Also, I think I can feel my blood pressure rising when I eat egg yolks. Is that crazy? Next time egg white only!!
Here's whats in my eggs:
heat 2 T olive oil in pan
add 1 medium potato, grated (about one cup) and begin to cook.
add 1 C chopped mushroom (if you don't like mushrooms, you are not cutting them small enough and/or cooking them in enough butter/olive oil)
cook until a little brown, turn off heat and set aside
meanwhile, whisk together:
1/4 c flour
8 eggs
1/4 c cheddar (I just used the leftover cheddar from last week's farm share, since I got delicious Gouda for this week!)
touch of salt
some black pepper
turn oven to 350.
I used pam on half of my muffin pan, so six of them were a little easier to get out than the rest, although even the ones without pam released pretty easily. i guess i would recommend cooking spray but if you don't have it you'll be fine.
Spoon equal amount of the potato/musroom mix into the bottom of your muffin tin. Drop the egg/cheese mixture on top, bake for about 25 minutes (I generally don't use an oven timer... This drives my mother crazy... so 25 minutes is just a guess) Until a knife inserted comes out clean (or cheesy but not eggy) and they are a little golden.
I didn't even have hot sauce this morning and they were yum. I had two - one had more potato/mushroom mix than the other and that was more delicious, so I'd probably use a little more potato/mushroom next time.
10/25/11
New recipe strategy
A co-worker just came up to me snacking on the squash-chickpea-tahini glory I blogged about yesterday, and he said "Garbanzo" when I said "chickpea", and he informed me that these aren't chickpeas - there's a different Spanish word for this bean and what he'd call a Chickpea.
To prove that Garbanzos and Chickpeas are the same thing I did a Google Image search of the word Chickpea, and most of the pics were of what I'm eating, although some were the little green variety he was referring to.
But that's not the point - the point is that in this search, there were some great pictures of delicious-looking food. So I have a new strategy for finding delicious squash recipes - an image search! Find the prettiest picture and see if it yields the prettiest food. I think my mom would be a fan of this mode of recipe-choosing.
Borscht tonight! Also I got the list of what will likely be in my farm share next week.... and there isn't any squash!!!
10/24/11
My Sunday
I was scheduled to leave the house to watch the Packers, but it's a good thing I didn't, because I never would've accomplished everything.
On Sunday, I made:
* an apple pie - it is too runny, probably because I let the apples sit for an hour in sugar before I worked up the courage to try and make a crust. but it tastes decent, and that's what's important. i won't record the recipe because i'd rather just start over with my internet research.
* a pound of kidney beans - in the crock pot. i just through them in with 2 bay leaves. tonight i put 3 plastic bags of 1.5 cups each (about the size of a can) in the freezer, so there's 3 cans of kidney beans i won't need to buy! most of the rest of them have ended up on salads.
* a pound of baked tofu - i took the jar of mustard with the least amount of mustard in it (i have a mustard-buying problem) and added some oil and hot sauce and vinegar and soy sauce and shook it up and dumped it on my sliced tofu and threw it in the oven. it's too thick - every time i say this - i'm going to cut it thinner next time. but good for sandwiches, which is what i had for dinner. i put even more mustard on the bread, that might not have been necessary, but it was very delicious.
* the smitten squash recipe i already posted about.
i think that's it - i also made 3 delicious spinach salads. one of them was for lunch today (and it was delicious! as i blogged earlier), one of them was for my dinner yesterday, and the other fed my friend emily who stopped by on her bike ride and who i told must eat if she was stopping by.
all in all, it sounds less time-consuming and tiring than it was, but my goal was to catch up to my farm share, and i think i'm going to be fine.
Squash Week 2: Chickpea Tahini Salad
I mostly followed the recipe - I did use allspice, cider vingear instead of lemon juice, parsley and garlic added at the end. I have this huge tub of Tahini so that was pretty exciting.
I would say that my red onion was store-bought, and very pungent - I wish I would've had some farm share onion to use instead.
Two notes:
* I like the texture of squash better when it's roasted - it isn't just mush. this is probably related to the next note...
* In addition to peeling the outside of the squash, before cutting it up I peeled the inside, where I'd removed the seeds. I hate the stringiness of squash, and I think just knowing that I peeled that stringy part out makes my Chickpea Tahini Salad more delicious.
I would make this again. And, since I am up to my elbows in squash, I probably will.
Farm Share Week 3: The To-Be-Cooked List
As I write this I am eating a salad of spinach and carrots from my farm share and tomatoes, red beans, croutons, and red onion from other various sources. (Would be more delicious but I ran out of Goddess Dressing.) I still haven't finished everything I got in my first farm share week, and I'm getting Week 3's tomorrow, so I have a lot of eating to do. Also at work I have some leftover cabbage & apples I made, and the delicious butternut squash/chickpea salad I made yesterday (which I'll hopefully blog about later.)
So I need to take a moment this lunch hour to figure out what I will be doing with Week 3 Farm Share.
The first rule of the week is NO OUTSIDE EATING. Meaning, everything I eat this week has to be made by myself.
I would like to also only eat things that I already have (no grocery shopping) but that will be trickier.
In my farm share this week I will be getting:
* MORE apples (My house currently looks like an apple farm, and I've already cooked all of mine into a pie... but now there will be more.)
* Festival Squash
* Green Cabbage
* White Button Mushrooms
* Beets
I also currently have, in my possession, to-be-used:
* about half a red onion
* half a lemon
* cherry tomatoes
* potatoes (Week 2)
* carrots (Week 1)
* lots of kidney beans
* a loaf of multi-grain bread
* a bit of parsley
I'm also getting eggs, gouda, and GF cake/cookie flour as elected "extras" in my farm share.
I'm done eating my delicious salad and need to get back to work so I should write down my cooking intentions:
1. borscht! using my sister's Russian friend's recipe (and kidney beans!!) will get me through some beets and cabbage (and carrots) - i will either have to buy an onion or it will be low on onion, which i don't think is so ridiculously bad... i'll just use more garlic.
2. baby quiche - i hate eggs but they make a fantastic breakfast - this version gets doused in hot sauce. will use mushrooms and potatoes, and flavor with garlic and gouda. and leave room for hot sauce.
3. SQUASH... I look forward to Squash: Week 3 - i'm imagining the possibilities...
4. (? - i don't have salad to put it on) goddess dressing - while i have lemon juice and parsley. i've never attempted to replicate the recipe but i read a blog or three about it today.
4. russian cabbage and tomatoes, a bittman recipe i stumbled across. it has caraway seed so it has to be good.
5. beets glazed in orange - i shouldn't have bought so many beets. i just didn't know when i'd be getting more... and i think i'm getting more week 4, but(!) i love beets!
for now, i'm ignoring the apples. maybe they will disappear magically. or i can just take them to work and keep feeding them to my co-workers. and if i ignore the apples, than i have plans for SO MUCH of my farm share that i might actually get back on track and be able to once in awhile "splurge" on a purchased lunch because i don't have enough food to keep myself going... ok, well, a girl can dream
grocery list:
can of tomato paste (borscht)
can of diced tomatoes (cabbage)
oranges (for the other beets)
dill if it's cheap or maybe another herb but i already have parsley (borscht)
an onion? (borscht?)
sour cream ! borscht
10/20/11
gluten-free soy-free vegan carrot cake cupcakes
i modified a recipe, i guessed at lots of ingredient choices - and even the amount of liquid i used generally, but this is kind of what I think I made:
1 c grated carrots
3/4 c bob's gluten-free flour
1/4 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/4-1/3 c currants
1/4-1/3 c almonds
2/3 c sugar
2 T ground flax seed stirred into about 1/3 c of water
1/3 of vegetable oil
baked at 350 for about 25 minutes.
i'd never baked GF before (my new roommate is GF) and I must say these were more delicious than I expected - I think I used too much sugar, and they developed a nice sugary crust at the top. Yum.
breakfast
I think that eggs are gross. Where they come from? Gross. Plus, they taste horrible.
Unfortunately, my body disagrees with me. My body loves eggs! I rarely eat breakfast but when I do, eggs are the breakfast my body responds best to - I feel full, I feel centered - it's great.
A year ago, in preparation for a 12-14 hour day work schedule that would last a couple of weeks (with shorter Sundays) I made myself some baby quiches in a muffin tin that were delightful. I mean, even with delicious cheese (I think I used gruyere) and delicious vegetables (broccoli? or asparagus?) they still needed oodles of hot sauce for me to enjoy them because they had that egg taste, but they got me through some very long hard mornings.
In any case, a few months later I was looking for the recipe and I could not find it anywhere. I wanted to adjust it a bit, see if I could go egg white only, etc. I tried checking my internet history and I looked through . Then yesterday I found a handprinted recipe in my office at work, on the backside of a piece of paper I'd written a playlist on while doodling my senior year of college (it was 4/1/03). I've included both in this post.
RECIPE:
1 bunch asparagus
1/2 T oil
8 eggs
1 c frozen peas
1/4 c flour
2 T fresh mint
1/2 c cheese
1 t salt, pepper
cooking spray
there is no description, just a grocery list.
the playlist:
April first (spring!!!)
neutral
mr. e
crows
last summer
U2 beauti
brad & suzy (or la)
island
say it ain't so
rilo - frug
america - bree sharp
brenda ... ?? mp3 sunray?
free to go folk implosion
this ain't livin - (g.
cold beverage!!
brass monkey - beastie
girls. beastie
rufus - april fools
circles - soul
aimee mann -
ani - little plastic castles
m doughty - never gonna
ben lee - cigarettes will kill you
Fall Farm Share = Squash
I just sent my sister an e-mail telling her about all the things I made/am making/ am thiniking of making with my new farm share (fall farm shares are tricky, i think, but worth it) and I know what her response is going to be - "Alisa, instead of e-mailing me this, you should be blogging about it." And so I'm beating her to the punch.
When you order a fall farm share, you know that you will be getting squash every week. So I really, I brought this upon myself.... but still I will now say it... I hate squash.
Last week I got an Acorn. I already had a huge Acorn squash that had been taunting me for weeks, so I peeled them both and cut them up. I cooked a red onion in some olive oil and then added the squash and a TON of curry powder (to mask the squash flavor) and added some water and a can of coconut milk and I must say, this soup is pretty delicious. When the squash was cooked i blended a bit with my hand blender but then i realized that wasn't good enough so blended the whole thing in small batches.
And I confess... it was delicious. I can even make squash tasty.
Now on to the Butternut I got this week... crap, I hate squash. But if I get creative in my spices, I think I can make this the Fall of Squash Soups.
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