Rhubarb Crisp

There are two types of people - those who love rhubarb and those who haven't tried it yet.  I come from a rhubarb loving family and last year I tucked away 3 gallon sized zip loc bags of cut rhubarb to get me through the winter and then I promptly fell in love with cranberries and ignored the rhubarb. 

Last night I rediscovered the 'red gold' in my freezer and went hunting for a rhubarb crisp recipe.  I cooked it up and instantly had the happiest husband in Columbia County. 

This has become a new favorite already and it came together in under 15 minutes.  I'll be harvesting fresh rhubarb out of my parent;s garden and making this for Memorial Day weekend at Lake Holcombe.

As for our vacation, we had a wonderful time in Florida.  We spent time in the Keys and in Naples.  We saw replica's of the Nina and Pinta, spent a day in Key West, did a Ghost Tour, saw the Naples Botanical Gardens, golfed, swam, beached, shopped and every day I said "This is the life" despite being sunburnt (sorry mom).

On to the recipe!

Rhubarb Crisp

Original recipe found here.  I didn't have ground cardamom and I love an oatmeal topping on fruit so I tweaked it a little bit and I was very pleased with the results.  I ended up with more topping than the recipe called for but it was nicely balanced by the amount of rhubarb.

P.S.  Can anyone explain the difference between a crumble and a crisp?  I think "crisp" matches the tartness of this desert.

Rhubarb:

3- 4 cups rhubarb, trimmed into 1 inch sections
3/4 cup white sugar
1/8 cup flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
scant 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup light butter

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  In a medium sized bowl, mix together rhubarb, white sugar, 3/4 cup flour and the vanilla extract.  Spoon into an 8x8 baking dish.

2.  In a food processor, pulse the 1/2 cup flour, oatmeal, salt and brown sugar.  Add the butter and pulse until incorporated into the flour mixture.  Pour topping over rhubarb in baking dish.

3.  Cook for 35-45 minutes or until filling is bubbly.  Let cool before serving.  Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for a more decadent treat.

Serves 8 comfortably or as little as 2 rhubarb lovers

Mmm...I'm going to go dig up the leftovers right now!

Shrimp and Vegetable Stir-Fry

We are 12 hours and counting before we leave for vacation and this week has been a blur. 

It's been a busy week but also a great week in terms of cooking inspiration.  I got this ciabatta recipe from the writer of this blog which I fully intend to try out once I get from vacation.  I also am the proud owner of Heidi Swanson's cookbook (which my husband said is an unusual choice for reading on the plane) and am hoping to try this recipe while I'm on vacation.  And last night dinner was popcorn and klondike bars while watching a movie which was pretty amazing.

The one thing I did cook this week was our "let's use up all the vegetables in the fridge" stir-fry.  I used to make stir-fry's by dumping in half a bottle of store bought sauce and we would end up dumping soy sauce over everything to give it some flavor.  This recipe solved that problem and it's pretty healthy if you use reduced sodium soy sauce and broth.

Shrimp and Vegetable Stir-Fry

This recipe came from a Weight Watchers cookbook originally.  Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have available.  We've done mixes of broccoli and mushroom, frozen mixed vegetables and cauliflower and peppers. 

The best thing about this recipe is how easy and flavorful the sauce is - it will make your next stir-fry amazing.

2/3 cup reduced-sodium vegetable broth
4 tbs reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tsp hoisen sauce (look for this by the soy sauce in the supermarker)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

4 tsp canola oil

1 pound peeled and devenined shrimp

1/2 tbs garlic, minced

6 cups vegetables (broccoli, sliced peppers, mushrooms, etc...)

2 tbs chopped cilantro (optional topping)

1.  Stir broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, hoisen sauce and red pepper flakes together in a small bowl and set aside.  Mix well, the cornstarch will want to stick to the bottom in a clump.
2.  Head a wok over medium-high and add 2 tsp oil.
3.  Cook shrimp until they are opaque in the center (about 3 minutes) then remove shrimp from heat.
3.  Heat remaining 2 tsp of oil and add garlic.  Saute until fragrant (about 1 minute).
4.  Add vegetables.  Stir-fry to your desired tenderness and add broth mixture (stir again to release cornstarch).  Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens.
5.  Top with chopped cilantro and serve with brown rice.

Serves 4 and will reheat nicely.  Be prepared to share some with your co-workers.

Grandma Hazel's Hot Beefs

First of all...update on the bathroom.  Shower, tub and walls are up!  Tile is going down...slowly but accurately which is important. 

Last weekend my parents came to visit which was pretty amazing considering the construction going on caused us all four of us to squeeze into our first floor half bathroom.  Doug and my dad sweated upstairs while my mom and I cooked and cleaned downstairs - I know, totally stereotypical but hey, we all enjoyed ourselves.  I made cheese manicotti from my Aunt Carol's recipe (it deserves its own blog post - it was so good) and my mom brought her secret weapon to motivate everyone to keep working - hot beefs. 

Now these are not your regular hot beefs, these are melt in your mouth, family secret, hot beefs.  I'm pretty sure knowing we were working on these in the kitchen caused the guys to work extra hard.

The original recipe came from my Grandma Hazel who was pretty much the love of my life growing up.  I loved making her laugh and she loved feeding my brother and I anything we wanted.  She always let me pour half and half on top of my rice crispies when I slept over and she also fed us things like donuts and soda that we didn't get at home.  I always remember her calling my brother a little bird because of the way he picked at his food, and how she was always up for a game of cards after lunch.  Nothing was off limits at Grandma's house and I spent long afternoons picking through her attics and cupboards looking for treasures.

Grandma Hazel knew how to put on a spread, although she did have a habit of throwing random things into jello salads, I think she can be forgiven by the fact that it was the 80's and that was the trend among Methodist pot-lucks at the time.  And don't ask my mom about braunschweiger sandwiches - we'll have to cover that in another posting.


Even if we were sitting down to a simple lunch she would pull everything we could possibly want out of the cupboards and throw it all in plastic bowls (either scratched tupperware or leftover country crock containers) and lay it all out on the table.  As we all started eating my Grandma would keep finding more things to add to the table until Grandpa would start in with his refrain of "Sit down Hazel" and soon we were all joining in urging her to sit and enjoy. 

I think the happiness Grandma found in food has been passed down to my mom and recently, passed down to me.  We all love putting a meal on for those we love and trying to make even a regular Saturday afternoon lunch something special.  Even though I didn't eat the hot beefs last weekend the smell alone triggered many happy memories.

Grandma Hazel's Hot Beefs

In my mind a plate of meat doesn't necessarily photograph that well so I thought I would post a picture of my Grandma Hazel instead.  My mom is lucky enough to still cook these in my Grandma's original pressure cooker so if you can borrow your Grandma's pressure cooker I gurantee they will taste even better.

This recipe is time-consuming but trust me, it will be worth it.  And once you get things going you can walk away and have a glass of wine. 

olive oil
3-5 pound chuck roast

salt and pepper

white onion, sliced
2-3 bay leaves

beef broth

1.  Heat large pressure cooker to high, add olive oil and sear chuck roast on all sides.  Salt and pepper roast as it sears.
2.  Top the roast with the sliced onion, bay leaves and add beef broth to cover 2/3 of the meat.
3.  Add pressure cooker cover and cook meat over medium high until it starts to whistle.  Then turn heat down to medium and cook for 20 - 30 minutes.  (Yes, the pressure cooker should still be whistling.  I know that sound is annoying so I would try to think of an excuse to leave the room for a while.)
4.  After the 20-30 minutes is up, take the pressure cooker off heat and let it rest  (covered) for 15-20 minutes.  After that amount of time the pressure should let us so you can easily take the lid off.
5.  If you want you can cool the roast overnight and skim some of the fat off the top.  If you just want to eat it in all its glory then cool it in the fridge for about an hour or until you feel comfortable handling it.  You will need to cut it up and my mom usually kind of slices and chunks it up the best she can. 
6.  Return the beef to the pressure cooker to warm it back up (uncovered).  Add some additional broth if the meat looks dry. 
7.  Serve on rolls and top with horseradish. 

The number of servings will vary based on the size of the roast.  A five pound roast will yield at least 10 sandwiches.  The hot beefs will keep when refrigerated and reheat nicely for a week. 

You could also freeze any leftovers but once your family smells whats cooking I doubt you will have any.

P.S.  You know you grew up in Wisconsin if you can spell braunschweiger correctly without using spellcheck.

Have a good week!

The Kitchen Cure - Spring 2010

It's technically over but I'm not giving up yet!  If you haven't done your spring cleaning yet...or if you never do a spring cleaning check this site out for some motivation. 

The writers at thekitchn.com (no, I didn't spell it wrong that's there actual address) have come up with assignments for four weeks worth of cleaning (or 'curing' your kitchen) and they urge participants to take before and after photos as they complete each week and post them to the site's Flickr page.  The assignments are posted each Friday but you are encouraged to complete each one at at your own pace. 

I'm only as far as week three (thanks again mom for helping me clean my oven) but I WILL complete this when we are back from vacation!

Here are the assignments if you want to know what it will take to brighten up your kitchen this spring:

Week One - Clean out the fridge and pantry
Week Two - Declutter and organize
Week Three - Deep Clean and Beautify
Week Four - Restock pantry and refrigerator

Also...happy birthday to Maya!  Here she is snuggling with Finch (Maya is the one with the santa toy tucked under her arm).

Bathroom Part II

We are still working on turning our bathroom back into a fully functioning room and thankfully we had some help this weekend when my parents came down to visit.  So there was a lot of cooking (and eating) but not much documenting this week.

So I'll leave you with this shot of Doug and my Dad contemplating the newly installed Durock and hopefully we will have some tile to show off next week!

Have a great week!

Not much cooking going on here...

This week we have turned this....

into this...

and hopefully we will have it turned back into a semi-functioning bathroom by the time the Oscar's are over tonight so I hope you can forgive me for not having very much time to post.

What I did end up making yesterday was this banana bread - which was light, delicious but I could hardly taste the coconut.  I didn't have the demerara sugar for the topping so I substituted turbinado sugar (you can find it at Whole Foods) which was excellent.  Think of how big sugar crystals crunch and combine that with a soft, mild banana bread and if that makes your mouth water then this is the recipe for you. 

I know some of you may have noticed my constant linking to Molly and Heidi's food blogs and I must admit I have been relying heavily on them because they are my favorite blogs to read.  I love Molly's personal approach to cooking and the way she writes makes me feel like I'm right in the kitchen with her discussing the best way to peel a squash.  Heidi's recipes intimidate me a little more, mostly because she is always throwing things like farrow and kale into the mix, but her recipes seem super healthy and I'm working on tackling more of them.  Next weekend I'm going to branch out and try this banana bread recipe from the seven spoons blog for a little variety.

This brings me to today's recipe which surprisingly does not come from a blog but from a good friend.  Lacey had me over last weekend and she made me this salad which was so simple but filling.  It is a perfect salad to welcome Spring (50 degrees this weekend folks) and would make an excellent side dish for a picnic...which I intend to do once 2 feet of snow is melted in my backyard. 

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

Lacey was nice enough to feed me and share her recipe with me.  This crunchy sweet cold salad is a great side dish to any meal (okay - not breakfast) and is easy to make.

1/2 -1 head of cauliflower
2 or 3 bunches of broccoli
1 small red onion, small dice

1/2 cup mayo (I used fat-free)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbls vinegar

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

1.  Cut up broccoli and cauliflower into bite size chunks and discard most of the stem (you can save the stems and cut up for a future stirfry if you don't want to waste them).  If you are like me and want to rush through this step remember a little patience here will go a long way.  Smaller chunks will increase the eat-a-bility of this salad (is that a word?). 
2.  Combine florets and diced red onion into a medium bowl.
3.  Add mayo, sugar and vinegar to a small bowl and whisk together to combine.  The mixture should be runny and taste sweet.
4.  Stir mayo mixture over florets and onion and refrigerate for 2 hours to combine the flavors.
5.  Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and serve.

Serves 4 -6.  This salad keeps nicely to a second day.

Here's an interesting fact - like fingerprints every human has a unique tongue print. 

Have a great week!

Bestest Ever Cranberry Cake with Caramel Topping

Bon Appetit!

Ok, sorry...just watching Julie and Julia for the third time this week (thank you Rebecca for lending it to me)!  I found it so admirable that Julie Powell (we are going to have to use some initials here to keep the Julie/a's straight - so she will now be JP) tackled such complex recipes during the work week.  Of course JP had a genius idea to cook her way through what most people use for a door stop and blog about it but I was mostly struck by her and her husband sacrificing a "normal" dinner time to eat at 9:30 or later as those complex French recipes came together each night.  Can you tell I like to eat?

I have to say I didn't know much about Julia Child (JC) except that I knew she was on TV as I was growing up and she had a distinct voice.  I remember there was speculation that the Childs were spies at some point and I thought I heard that they were but Wikipedia does not confirm my shadowy memory of this.  But I thought Meryl Streep was wonderful as JC and I want to take a lazy Saturday and watch some old episodes of The French Chef.  

And for those who were curious about why JC didn't embrace JP's blog as a way to bring cooking to a new generation I found on-line that JC felt that JP wasn't "serious" about cooking (her posts often don't feature the food as much as JP's day and have a "by the way" feel to the cooking) and that she swore too much on her blog.  Interesting, eh?  I thought so especially considering the "cannoli" comment of JC's in the movie!

Anyway I am a goal person so what I found most inspiring was watching how JC and JP achieved their cooking and life goals.   JC ended up with her ground-breaking cookbook which opened the door for her to become a teacher to all of America on TV and JP ended up becoming a writer like she set out to be.  So a goal I set for myself is to post on this blog at least once a week for 2010.  At that point we can decide if we want to continue, ok?

Bestest Ever Cranberry Cake with Caramel Topping

So for anyone keeping track this is my second cranberry cake BUT this one is way different since it does not come from a box (number one) and it has the caramel topping (number two) and surprisingly enough, no eggs (number three).  My friend Rebecca passed this gem on and in her words it is "incredibly delicious."  I first made this with rhubarb instead of cranberries and I didn't love it as much - bland bland bland. 

So if you are going to make this, and I hope you do because it is so easy and yummy, use the tartest cranberries you can find and don't be afraid of the richmess of the topping.  I personally followed Rebecca's advice exactly and made this when I knew I could share if with some friends so we could share in the naughtiness.

Cake

1 cup unbleached, white flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 tbls melted butter

2 cups cranberries, cut in half

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x8 pan.
2..  Mix all ingredients together, that's right mix them up.  No need to separately mix up the wet and dry.  Just save the cranberries for the next step which is...
3.  Fold in the cranberries.  Pretty easy right?  The batter should be creamy and smooth at this point and dotted with cranberries.
4.  Pour batter into pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  

Either immediately after pulling the cake out of the oven or while there is about 5 minutes left on the timer start the caramel topping.

Caramel Topping

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla

1.  Brown butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
2.  Add sugar, cream and vanilla and stir to combine. 
3.  Bring sauce to a boil and remove from heat.  Pour sauce directly over cake and allow it to soak in.

Serve while cake is warm.  This will make 12 -16 pieces depending on how you cut it.  Since this is so sweet I prefer to offer the small pieces and you know, you can always go back for more.

Fun fact:  The real-life JP had three cats and a snake instead of the lone cat shown in the movie.  Do you think the producers thought she would be more relatable by ditching the snake?  Also on her blog JP talks about hating Dean and DuLuca but the movie has her happily shopping there.  You just can't judge a person by the movie that was made about them.  :)

Lemon Blackberry Bread

Let me say that I am just starting to feel comfortable baking...and I haven't even scratched the surface.  This year I'm hoping to do my first cake from scratch and maybe whip up a meringue or two - stay tuned for that!

I don't know exactly what my turning point was but I know that once I had accumulated all the standard ingredients and equipment baking became so much easier.  I read through recipes and can mutter "got it, got it" under my breath as I look at what is required.  And it's easier on my budget to pick up oddball ingredients as needed versus trying to buy everything at once.

The other day I had what Oprah would call an "aha" moment over a baked good while out to lunch with my husband. We were at Market Street Diner in Sun Prairie, WI which is a cute diner with a bakery and I was lusting over some lemon blackberry bread with a crumbly top that they were selling for $5.79.  My husband was keeping our budget in mind and urged me to resist buying it.  After I was done pouting (mostly fake - you girls know what I mean) I suddenly realized that I could probably make something like that.  As soon as we got home that day I started looking for recipes. 

Now the reason the lemon blackberry bread is sharing the stage with some cornbread on the plate below is this was our offering to my friend's Super Bowl party where we brought appetizers themed to our team.  And my team is...the Vikings!  So my husband throught up doing the purple and gold breads, cute huh?  I put half  of the berries in the food processor to dye the bread that day...it won't normally be so purple.

Lemon Blackberry Bread

This recipe came to me by way of Recipe Girl who credits Bob's Red Mill as her source.

Topping

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
4 tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp lemon juice

1.  Combine ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Bread

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 tbs unsalted butter, softened (or use 2 tbs butter and 2 tbs applesauce for a lower fat version)
1 egg

1 cup unbleached white pastry flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

2 cups blackberries
1 tbs grated lemon zest

1.  Heat oven to 375.  Spray a 9x5 pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2.  In a medium bowl combine and mix sugar, milk, butter (or butter/applesauce combo) and egg until smooth.
3.  In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir into sugar mixture until just combined. 
4.  Add blackberries and lemon zest.  **Note - if you taste the batter at this point (and you should) it will taste like cookie dough, so yummy!
5.  Pour batter into pan and sprinkle with topping.  Bake approximately 50 minutes or until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

If you are anything like me and having baked goods in the house is too much of a temptation then check out this magazine for some exercises to do while the bread is baking.  As soon as I post this I'm finishing the latest batch of bread and getting on the floor for some sit-ups.

Valentine's Day French Toast

I believe in the power of traditions.  They can act as a cord that ties a family together.  One that is tight enough to pull people together from hundreds of miles but loose enough to make participation a choice.  My mom always made an effort sure our family celebrated special days and now that I'm married I have been searching for new traditions for 'my' family.

I've never been a breakfast person but lately I've been dreaming about making French Toast.  Growing up we went to church and then out to brunch each Sunday.  While others were ordering omelete's, hash browns and whole wheat toast (another family tradition) I would order a burger with a malt.  Maybe potato pancakes mostly because I am addicted to ketchup ("Ketchup Queen" is a nickname of mine and no, I don't want to make my own, I prefer Heinz).  While I still prefer the types of breakfast foods you top with salsa and sour cream, I am starting to appreciate the sweeter side of breakfast and homemade French Toast seemed like a sweet way to celebrate Valentine's Day.

After scanning my usual sites and cookbooks for recipes I fell onto another of Heidi's keepers from 101 Cookbooks.  Heidi sold me by the way she cuts her French Toast into heart shapes and I announced to my husband that we had a new tradition.  

I sent the word out to my mom and dad that we were going to have a special holiday brunch and like all good moms my mom knew just what I needed.  This year my Valentine's gift included a heart shaped cookie cutter.  I didn't get a picture of the final product but here is a work in progress snapshot.

Valentine's Day French Toast

Original recipe found at 101 Cookbooks here.

We had a crowd so I doubled the original recipe.  For a first timer the toughest part was making sure the FT in the pan didn't burn along with dunking and prepping the next batch of bread.  Thankfully my mom organized the rest of the meal (fruit, hash browns, sausage).  By next year I'll be swinging this feast on my own!

butter or oil for the pan

2 eggs

1 can evaporated milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

18 slices cinnamon raisin or english muffin bread (cut into hearts or, more traditionally, triangles)

1.  Heat griddle or frying pan to medium hot and butter or oil generously.  Continue to butter pan in between each batch of FT.
2.  Beat egg with a whisk or a fork.
3.  Add milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
4.  Dip into egg and milk mixture.
5.  Brown on both sides on a well-greased griddle or frying pan.
6.  Serve with syrup or if feeling very festive, top with whipped cream, strawberries and chocolate shavings.

Serves 5-6.  Refrigerate leftovers and eat within a few days.

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day and let's keep the love flowing all year!

Spicy Green Beans

As previously discussed, winter in Wisconsin is not for quitters...and right around February I feel like quitting. The dogs have to be walked three times a day and those walks have been getting shorter and shorter lately. I have even resurrected the "let's build a fence" conversation from last winter to avoid going outside as much as possible.


But today, even as 9 inches of snow is predicted to fall in the next 12 hours, I have some hope for spring. The sun was shining when I got home from work at 5:00 and I swear I heard a duck quacking this morning. If I squint and look at the blue sky I can pretend it is already April, which truly isn't that far away.

In keeping with my spring theme I decided to salvage some week old green beans that have been languishing in the fridge with the recipe below. I'm so glad I did, the sauce and the flavor hid the fact that the beans should have been eaten sooner. And what a great trick to have up my sleeve for the next time that happens...

Spicy Green Beans

I found this recipe on 101 Cookbooks (here) and Heidi gives credit to being inspired by a recipe in Anna Getty's Anna Getty's Easy Green Organic, to be published by Chronicle Books, March 2010. Good recipes travel well.

Heidi recommends slicing the beans into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces and I would agree with her. The sauce is better able to coat the beans and it gives the dish some extra character.

I considered leaving out the golden raisins but I decided to practice what I preach and follow the recipe exactly the first time and I'm glad I did. They add a subtle sweetness that balances the spicy creaminess of the beans. From the original recipe I did cut the amount of butter called for in half and I used light sour cream to cut calories. 

1 pound green beans, sliced into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced

3 bay leaves

1/3 cup white wine

1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/3 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the green beans in a pot of well-salted boiling water for a couple of minutes so they lose their raw edge. Drain and dunk in ice-cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again and set aside.
2. In a small bowl pour2 cups of golden raisins with the leftover boiling water from the beans. Cover for five minutes, drain and set aside.
3. Heat your largest skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil, garlic, onion, and bay leaves. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the onions and garlic start to brown just a bit.
4. Add the wine and cook until it has mostly evaporated.
5. Carefully remove the bay leaves. Stir in the paprika, cumin, coriander, curry powder, salt, crushed red pepper flakes until onion/garlic mixture is covered.
6. Add raisins and stir until raisins are heated through. Add the butter and green beans.  Stir until the butter has melted.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream, almonds and cilantro. Taste and add more salt and some pepper if you like.
8. Serve and enjoy.


Serves 4 to 6. Refrigerate any unused portion and eat within several days.

Something warm right before the snow...

One of my Christmas gifts the year I decided to be a vegetarian was a cookbook from my husband.  How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (check it out here) by Mark Bittman truly is a bible of cooking...and it's very thick...and really heavy...and I loved it as the supportive gesture it was but found it incredibly intimidating.  So after paging through a few times it kept my other unused cookbooks company for a while until I recently dusted it off and actually (gasp) cooked from it! 

One of the brilliant things about this cookbook is Bittman offers up each of his recipes with variations.  He allows you to get familiar with the basics before challenging you to mix it up.  What I love is once you know the basics you will probably be able to come up with variations on your own and then you will really feel like you are cooking.

You can find dried lentils at any grocery store but if you have a local Indian grocery I suggest looking there first.  You should find a better selection of lentils and usually spices, like the curry powder used here, are sold in bulk at a cheaper price per unit.

I made this recipe last week and we loved it so much I remade it tonight.  I like to serve it with broccoli topped with sriracha (you will find out there are actually few meals that I don't serve with a side of broccoli and sriracha).  Easy, quick, delicious - what more can you ask for on a Monday night?  Especially right before it snows again...stay warm.

Lentils and Potatoes with Curry
From How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

Although the recipe calls for brown lentils the first time I made this I used red lentils (masoor dal) and it had a wonderful flavor.  The second time I made this I used yellow lentils (toor dal) and it was definitely a more mild flavor and I didn't care for it as much as I couldn't taste the difference between the lentils and the potatoes which seemed weird to me.  Both times I served this over rice with a side of flat bread. 

1 cup dried brown lentils
3 1/2 cups water (Bittman also recommends using coconut milk or vegetable stock)
1 tbsp curry powder

2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

salt and freshly ground black pepper

yogurt and minced fresh cilantro for garnish (if desired)

1.  Combine the lentils, liquid and curry powder in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2.  Turn heat to medium-low, cover pot partially and let cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils start to absorb the water a bit (about 15 minutes).
3.  Add the potatoes and cover the pan completely.  Cook, undisturbed, for about 10 minutes, then stir gently and check to make sure the lentils aren't too dry.  If so, add water.  Add salt as the lentils cook up and become tender.
4.  Cover and continue cooking until the lentils are soft and beginning to turn to mush and potatoes are tender at the center.  When its ready the mixture should be moist but not soupy.
5.  Top with plain yogurt and cilantro and serve plain or over rice.

Makes 4 servings.  Per Bittman this will easily freeze and one of the variations he recommends for this recipe is to add 2 tbls butter as the lentils are cooking for a creamier mixture.

Dinner Party...with 5 chairs...

I am the proud owner of a moderate sized home which is big enough for my husband, our two dogs and our two cats..ok yes, the home is really a small zoo.  While I do have bathrooms (1.5), bedrooms (3) and kitchens (just 1) what I don't have is more than 5 kitchen chairs which is why when Doug and I decided to host some guests we picked our three closest relatives to come over and join the fun.  Shannon and Jon, gamely drove up from Brookfield and my brother Kevin joined us from Madison for a night of good eating. 

Everyone contributed one of their favorite dishes which is one of the best ways to throw a dinner party.  We started with Shannon's homemade hummus and fresh veggies.  She was wonderfully patient in explaining how to make it but I can't try something new without written instructions so she's promised to email me her recipe.  I will say that hummus is a wonderful low-fat alternative to traditional "veggie dip" and that it was especially good with the fresh sweet red pepper strips she had brought along.

Kevin made one of his specialty salads which consisted of a chopped head of organic romaine lettuce sprinkled with feta, walnuts (which I pounded with my vintage wooden rolling pin), craisins and topped with a store bought Raspberry Balsamic vinaigrette.  Kevin was hoping to concoct a homemade dressing out of balsamic vinegar and olive oil and when he mentioned this I looked at him so blankly he realized there was no balsamic vinegar in the house.  We went with plan B (still delicious) and I added balsamic vinegar to my grocery list.

Here's a picture of the salad.  It only looks greasy because of the flash, trust me that it was a home run.

Next we moved onto some pasta with zucchini, summer squash and pesto and parmesan breaded chicken for the meat lovers.  Both were super easy to make and I'm going to give you the basics below but feel free to experiment.

Pasta with Zucchini, Summer Squash and Pesto

Inspired by Molly in her book for sale on Amazon.  She recommends using a mandoline to slice the zucchini up as thin as the noodles which is a genius way of serving this pasta. 

I decided to add the summer squash since it was sitting right next to the zucchini at the store and just seemed to go together.  You could also cut some cherry or grape tomatoes in half and add those to give a richer flavor.  This would be a great summer dish with produce right out of the garden and some freshly made pesto but it also is hearty enough to serve as a winter dish.

One final note - since I didn't have a mandoline I asked Shannon to slice the zucchini and summer squash into thin slices and she did a terrific job.  I highly recommend her services if you happen to run into her. 

13.5 oz pasta (more or less depending on how many you are serving)

1 tbls olive oil
2 medium zucchini, sliced thin by hand or with a mandoline
1 medium summer squash, sliced thin by hand or with a mandoline

1/2 - 1 cup pesto

parmesan cheese (for topping)

1.  Boil water and add pasta.  Cook to desired firmness.
2.  As pasta cooks heat oil in a large skillet.  After 1 - 2 minutes add thinly sliced zucchini and summer squash.  Stir frequently and cook until tender (about 5 to 10 minutes). 
3. When pasta is cooked use a pasta scoop or tongs to ladle the pasta directly into the skillet.  This allows a small amount of water to be transferred with the noodles so the dish doesn't dry out.
4.  Once all the pasta is transferred add the pesto and stir so sauce is evenly distributed.  Top with parmesan cheese and serve.

Makes about 4 servings.  Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Parmesan Encrusted Chicken

Since I don't eat meat I had to trust my guests when they said they enjoyed this dish.  I know there are many ways to vary this basic concept to add more variety and flavor and feel free to recommend your favorite variations in a comment to this post.  Maybe we'll give it a try next time!

1 cup bread crumbs
4 tbls shredded parmesan cheese

1 egg

4 chicken breasts

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.  Mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese together in medium sized bowl.
3.  Break egg and scramble yolk and white together with a fork in a medium sized bowl.
4.  Dip chicken breast into egg and then roll in bread crumb mixture.  Do this at least twice to ensure the chicken breast is fully covered.
5.  Repeat with all chicken breasts and lay them on a cookie sheet when done.
6.  Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until there is no pink in the center (I admit - I usually take a knife and cut into a breast to test for doneness.  Although this isn't very sophisticated at least everyone goes home healthy).

Makes 4 servings. 

Trader Joes Cranberry Vanilla Cake

I like to substitute applesauce for butter whenever I can when baking to cut down on fat.  I find applesauce will lend the same moistness that butter would and I usually can't taste the difference.  If you are curious on trying this method but want to take it slow you can always start by using 1/2 applesauce and 1/2 butter. 

When my husband and I are craving this desert we are once again grateful for buying and freezing the 5 pounds of cranberries from the Cranberry Fest in Warrens WI this last year. 

2 large eggs
1/2 cup applesauce (or 1 stick melted butter)
1 cup cold milk

1 package Trader Joe's Vanilla Cake and Baking Mix

2 cups cranberries (frozen or fresh will work)

whipped cream (for topping)

1.  Follow instructions on box to prepare mix. 
2.  Add cranberries to mix before spreading batter in pan. 
3.  Cook as directed if using butter, if using applesauce the cook time will increase.  Test by inserting toothpick in the middle of the cake to check for doneness (should come out clean).

Top with whipped cream and serve.

Makes about 9 servings.  Refrigerate leftovers to avoid spoiling.

Thoughts on Winter and Soup

“In seed time - learn, in harvest - teach, in winter - enjoy.” – William Blake

William Blake (poet and illustrator, click here to view some of illustrators and here to enter an archive of his work) lived in London from 1757 to 1827.  London winters are no picnic but I’m sure if he experienced a Wisconsin winters he would have said “in winter – soup.” 

For those of us in Wisconsin, I think Christmas and New Year’s are put after the Winter Solstice to distract us from the weather.  By the time we look up from putting away our holiday decorations there are three more months of cold, snow and ice in our future.  Luckily there are various soup and chili recipes floating around to fuel us until the snow melts in April. 

Today I plan on reacquainting myself with Blake ("tyger tyger burning bright") and enjoying some soup with some great crusty bread.

This soup calls for leeks which are from the onion and garlic family and have a mild taste when boiled. I find they mostly act as filler in this soup and although I wouldn’t leave them out you can cut down to one instead of two. The leeks I bought were clean on the outside but I could see they had some dirt trapped between the internal layers once they were sliced.  To get rid of this quickly I soaked the cut sections in a bowl of ice water and used my fingers to separate and clean each section.

We have been buying dried beans which as a whole are easy to prepare.  There are different philosophies on preparing beans and I have had the most success cooking them in a pressure cooker.  If you decide to use this method here is a brief summary.  Keep in mind this process takes a couple of hours depending on how long you soak the beans.

• Measure beans and add water covering beans by at least 3 inches.
• Soak beans in water for 1 to 2 hours.
• Drain and rinse soaked beans.
• In pressure cooker add water to cover beans by about 2 inches.
• Cook on medium heat until you hear the pressure cooker whistle.
• Unless I am in a hurry I usually let the cooker sit and release the pressure gradually so I don’t have to manually release the steam and water discharge which can be messy

Simple Cabbage and Bean Soup

Thanks to Sara for passing this recipe on and suggesting adding white beans for some extra protein.  I have to admit I didn't have any thyme so I omitted that both times and was still pleased with the flavor although I did salt it more liberally. 


When dicing the onion, carrot, celery and potato keep in mind the size of chunks you want in a soup.  Taking the time to dice them smaller will give of a variety in each spoonful. 


Some great uses for the leftover cabbage would making a homemade slaw, adding it to pasta or just doubling this recipe and freezing some for another time.

Nods to Everyday Cooking for the original recipe.

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced small
2 medium carrots, diced small
2 ribs of celery, diced small

2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 garlic cloves, minced (yields about 1 tsp minced garlic)

1 medium potato, peeled and diced small
6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (I prefer Imagine’s “No Chicken” broth)
2 bay leaves

1/2 head green cabbage cored and thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1 can (15 oz) cannellini or great northern beans (or about 2 cups dried beans soaked and prepared)

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or substitute 1 tsp dried thyme)

1.  In a stockpot or heat olive oil over medium-high (about 2 to 3 minutes).
2.  Add onion, carrots and celery; cook until softened stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes).
3.  Add leeks and garlic and cook until leeks start to soften (about 2 minutes).
4.  Add potato, broth and bay leaves and bring to a boil.
5.  Stir in cabbage, beans and season with salt and pepper. Return soup to a boil for 5 minutes.
6.  Reduce to a rapid simmer. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender (about 15 to 20 minutes).
7.  Remove from heat; stir in thyme and serve.

This will make 6-8 servings of soup and it freezes beautifully for later enjoyment.

Scrapbooking and Peanut Butter Coconut Curry

I think the best recipes come from friends. The tried and true, the keepers, the bird in the hand, the honey crisp apple of recipes. That is the case with Peanut Butter Coconut Curry we made tonight which came to me from my best friend Rebecca, who got it from her mom, who had gotten it from her sister, who...and that's where my trail runs cold.

Before we get to today's eats I have to say I just spent a day and a half at my first scrapbooking weekend and I loved it. The women, the creativity, the food, the food, the food...I felt like I was taking advantage of so many people's "best" recipes. I also love the idea of women not apologizing for taking a weekend for themselves to spend time with old friends and make new friends.  I was working on a heritage album of pictures from my grandparents and so appreciate the ideas and support I received.

I myself brought Molly's Banana Bread with Chocolate and Cinnamon Sugar found here to the scrapbooking event.  If you are in the mood for a food blog, take a few minutes and check Orangette out. Molly has never disappointed me with a recipe and I love her stories around each one (since I'm reading her book right now too there are a lot of recipes being tried in my household).

But without further adieu, here is the recipe my husband, Doug, and I whipped up tonight (truthfully, Doug did the whipping and he impressed me with his ability to convert teaspoons into tablespoons to avoid dirtying another utensil). Chicken or shrimp would pair nicely with this traditional Thai curry although we think it is filling without a protein mixed in. I also like to serve this with a side of broccoli or green beans and a splash of sriracha sauce. Note that it may not look like much in the picture but it tastes divinely smooth and delicious.

Peanut Butter Coconut Curry

1 tsp olive oil
1 small red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 1/2 tsp)
1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced
4 tsp fresh ginger, minced (I have used ginger powder in pinch also)

4 tsp curry powder
4 tsp cumin

1 can light coconut milk (13.5 ounces)
5 tbls creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
5 tsp tamari (substitute soy sauce if you have no tamari)
4 tsp honey
1/8 cup lime juice
1/8 cup ketchup
3/4 cup water

1. Heat oil over medium in a large frying pan or wok.
2. Saute onion, garlic, serrano pepper and ginger until onion is translucent.
3. Add curry powder and cumin and saute over low for one minute.
4. Add coconut milk, peanut butter, cilantro, tamari, honey, lime juice, ketchup and water. Bring sauce to a boil whisking often to combine ingredients into a smooth texture.
5. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve over rice. Makes about 5-6 servings.

Welcome and Mini-Loaves

Here we go...I've been obsessed with cranberries since attending the Warrens Cranberry Festival in Warren Wisconsin this fall and learning how they are grown, harvested and processed.

My wonderful husband carried a five pound bag of fresh cranberries for almost 5 hours that day (my friends husband was also a sherpa that day and carried the same along with a jar of cranberry honey and a bottle of cranberry wine for their cranberry adventures) and then took the time to package them in one cup servings when we were home while I fretted and wondered if we could possibly use them up before the next cranberry festival.

We ended up freezing the cranberries whole and they have become incredibly convenient for baking. Cranberry muffins, cranberry cake and cranberry cookies have all been tried and the winning cranberry recipe to date is the following cranberry bread from my beautiful cousin-in-law Megan.

This bread ages really well so resist temptation and do not eat it until at least three days after you have made it (the orange flavor will continue to develop and strengthen as it sits up to a week)! Your reward for waiting will be wonderful complex flavors and you will want to eat it with everything - possibly even as a side dish with tacos as my father did this week (although I am not personally recommending that flavor combination, on the other hand if you think it would taste good then by all means go for it).


Cranberry Bread

2 cups flour*
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 stick margarine
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup orange juice
2 cups fresh (or frozen) cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 3x5 loaf pan or mini-loaf pan.
2. In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. In large bowl cream margarine and sugar. Beat in egg.
4. Stir in flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with 1/4 cup of orange juice. Mix only until the dry ingredients are moistened.
5. Fold in cranberries and walnuts.
6. Pour batter into pan and back for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

*You can substitute one cup whole wheat pastry flour for one cup white flour. This substitution will make the bread more dense and the extra bran and germ in whole wheat flour will add nutrients so you can have an extra slice guilt free!

PS - Baking in a mini-loaf pan is a great way to control portions and you can gift friends and family with home cooked goodies which are always appreciated but possibly more so during a cold winter like we are having now in Wisconsin.