It's time for the end of the year condiment clean-out. Yes, I know they probably last indefinitely...but should they? My refrigerator is overflowing with all the fun things I found in the supermarket over the past year or so, wasn't sure I'd ever see again, and immediately snatched up. Now I've got opened cans of horseradish sauce, three kinds of mustard, jalapeños and a nearly-full container of anchovies in oil languishing on the shelves.
Time for some creativity.
Dinner tonight, half a boneless ham that's been pulled from the freezer, is bathed in a sauce stolen from my mother: dark mustard, honey, brown sugar (or molasses), and horseradish. I added the dregs of a container of hot pepper jelly and dumped most of the sauce over the ham and tossed it in the oven. I'll heat the remainder and serve it alongside if we want extra sauce. Damage? Only one jar fully emptied, but the other two are now solidly on their way to retirement. A couple roast beef sandwiches should do the trick...
I made a batch of cornbread to go with the dinner and after pouring half into a cake pan for dinner, added jalapeños and chunks of cheap-o Brie to the rest, which plunked into muffin tins. We'll be having those for breakfast tomorrow with fried eggs. Damage? I get to sleep in later AND the jalapeños are all gone. Score!
At dinner the other night, I succumbed to the appeal of fried zucchini flowers at an Italian restaurant. Stuffed with a single anchovy and mozzarella, they were surprisingly good. Now I am dreaming ways of using up the anchovies (other than in anchovy butter, which is scheduled to appear on steaks in the near future). I'm thinking stuffed zucchini, perhaps, with lots of cheese, a touch of rice and a couple of the little hairy fishies...
I don't know if anyone actually reads this blog, but if you do and have ideas for anchovies, or anything else that uses up the bottles that clog the refrigerator shelves, please share!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Chaos in the Freezer
It's that time of year again. Time to clean out the freezer of all the accumulated odds and ends that have been building up for the last few months.
Yesterday was day 1 of cleanup. I used frozen shredded cheese, frozen hamburger buns, frozen leftover meatballs, 1/2 a bottle of tomato sauce languishing in the fridge, a portion of a leek, apples, cucumber and yogurt to make Meatball Sandwiches and a cold yogurt-dressed salad. It was a hit!
Quick Weeknight Freezer Cleanout Dinner Recipes:
1) Meatball Sandwiches
Make a marinara sauce with plenty of garlic, basil and oregano, hot pepper flakes, etc...Heat meatballs in sauce.
Toast hamburger buns with a brush of olive oil in the oven, then sprinkle with cheese and allow to melt. Top with meatballs, sauce and any extras you might want to throw on: grilled onions, artichokes, olives, etc.
Keep napkins handy!
2) Winter Fruit and Vegetable Salad
Slice all vegetables thinly or in tiny chunks:
1/2 leek (white and light green parts only)
2 apples
1-2 cucumbers, seeded
Drizzle with the juice of one lemon (zest too, if desired), pepper, salt and a single-serve tub of unflavored yogurt. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Tonight we're doing Peruvian. I defrosted a packet of aji amarillo that's been in the back, a gift from a friend who traveled to Peru earlier in the year. I also had homemade chicken stock, a couple of chicken tenders and some old bread ends in the freezer. The stock and the chicken went into the pressure cooker; when done, I shredded the chicken and reserved the stock liquid. Leeks and garlic sauteed in the now-empty pan, followed by some of the aji, tumeric, cumin, and black pepper. I soaked the bread and leftover cracker crumbs in a milk-cream mixture (to approximate evaporated milk), ground up peanuts and Brazil nuts, tossed in a little pumpkin for color and to cut down on the heat and then whirred the whole thing in the blender until smooth. Then I added Parmesan cheese and the chicken and voila! Non-traditional, but still tasty, Aji de Gallina. A less erratic recipe can be found here.
I'm serving it with boiled eggs and potatoes, some olives and pickles in the fridge, and quinoa (also from the freezer). Come tomorrow, Thanksgiving, I think I'll be ready to resume cooking afresh! And with lots of space in the freezer for leftovers.
:)
Yesterday was day 1 of cleanup. I used frozen shredded cheese, frozen hamburger buns, frozen leftover meatballs, 1/2 a bottle of tomato sauce languishing in the fridge, a portion of a leek, apples, cucumber and yogurt to make Meatball Sandwiches and a cold yogurt-dressed salad. It was a hit!
Quick Weeknight Freezer Cleanout Dinner Recipes:
1) Meatball Sandwiches
Make a marinara sauce with plenty of garlic, basil and oregano, hot pepper flakes, etc...Heat meatballs in sauce.
Toast hamburger buns with a brush of olive oil in the oven, then sprinkle with cheese and allow to melt. Top with meatballs, sauce and any extras you might want to throw on: grilled onions, artichokes, olives, etc.
Keep napkins handy!
2) Winter Fruit and Vegetable Salad
Slice all vegetables thinly or in tiny chunks:
1/2 leek (white and light green parts only)
2 apples
1-2 cucumbers, seeded
Drizzle with the juice of one lemon (zest too, if desired), pepper, salt and a single-serve tub of unflavored yogurt. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Tonight we're doing Peruvian. I defrosted a packet of aji amarillo that's been in the back, a gift from a friend who traveled to Peru earlier in the year. I also had homemade chicken stock, a couple of chicken tenders and some old bread ends in the freezer. The stock and the chicken went into the pressure cooker; when done, I shredded the chicken and reserved the stock liquid. Leeks and garlic sauteed in the now-empty pan, followed by some of the aji, tumeric, cumin, and black pepper. I soaked the bread and leftover cracker crumbs in a milk-cream mixture (to approximate evaporated milk), ground up peanuts and Brazil nuts, tossed in a little pumpkin for color and to cut down on the heat and then whirred the whole thing in the blender until smooth. Then I added Parmesan cheese and the chicken and voila! Non-traditional, but still tasty, Aji de Gallina. A less erratic recipe can be found here.
I'm serving it with boiled eggs and potatoes, some olives and pickles in the fridge, and quinoa (also from the freezer). Come tomorrow, Thanksgiving, I think I'll be ready to resume cooking afresh! And with lots of space in the freezer for leftovers.
:)
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
A Brazilian take on Crack-n-Cheese
Sometimes, comfort food is what you need. And when you're in a foreign country, substitutes for your favorite things can be maddeningly expensive or just downright impossible. Cheddar cheese, for instance, which is a near requirement for a good American cheese dish. I can't promise that this will beat a cheddar version...but I can tell you this is the second time I've made it, and I'm not sure my husband even got to TASTE the first batch. That tells you something, eh?
It is not healthy. Do not complain. This is a slightly trimmed back version. Martha calls for something like 6 CUPS of cheese, which to me is verging on gluttony. Sweet, sweet gluttony. I just use a good handful of shredded cheese, so my 3 cups is sort of an estimate. Add or subtract as your family desires. Using dried mustard powder (mostarda em pó-available at Casas Pedro) gives a good bite that kind of punches up the mild cheeses and the nutmeg adds depth; don't leave them out!
For cheese, I used minas padrão, queijo do reino (with the pink rind, I cut that off)and the cheap-o parmesan that comes in baggies. If you want to spend mad supermarket cash, try Gruyère, Pecorino, or imported cheddar etc. as the original recipe suggests. If you want to save, I think it would work with just requeijão and parmesan (though maybe you'd want a little less white sauce), or just use an aged Minas, padrão or lanche variety. I think prata and mozzarella would be too greasy or stringy, FYI.
Lastly, since gas ovens don't have broilers, here's a little trick I've learned. When your dish is 97% done, turn off the oven and leave the dish uncovered in the still-hot oven for about 10 minutes. Somehow, the cooling oven manages to put a good brown on top of baked goods without giving you the crunchy burnt bottom we all love SO much.
And now...the recipe. You're welcome!
Martha's Smitten Brazilian Crack-n-Cheese
(mildly adapted from Smitten Kitchen's version of Martha's version)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for casserole
1 liter milk (4 cups)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for water
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper/paprika picante
1/4-1/2 teaspoon paprika doce (for color)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground mustard (depends on preference)
about 3 cups total grated cheese
500 grams shaped pasta
toppings and mix-ins as required (healthy things like spinach or broccoli, proteins like tuna or bacon, or carbwonderfulness such as bread crumbs, crackers or corn flakes.
Preheat the oven to 350-375 (fairly hot for gas stove users!) and butter a large pan. Set aside. Cook your pasta in a large pan of salted water while you prepare the sauce; try to undercook it by a few minutes. Drain and set aside. (If your pasta is done early, rinse with cold water so it won't stick together; if it's done about the same time as the sauce, you don't need to rinse.)
Warm your milk in the microwave or on the stove. Melt butter in a separate, large saucepan and when it begins to bubble, carefully whisk in the flour, trying to break up any clumps. Cook, whisking continually, for about 2 minutes. While whisking, pour the milk slowly into the pan. The sauce will begin to thicken. Whisk until it has the consistency of thin pudding, then add the spices and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and well combined, remove from heat. Reserve a little sauce if desired-'tis yummy as Welsh Rarebit, over vegetables, etc. and this recipe always makes a LOT of sauce.
Pour pasta into cheese sauce and then into prepared pan. Add mix-ins or toppings if desired. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes covered, then uncover and allow the top to brown.
It is not healthy. Do not complain. This is a slightly trimmed back version. Martha calls for something like 6 CUPS of cheese, which to me is verging on gluttony. Sweet, sweet gluttony. I just use a good handful of shredded cheese, so my 3 cups is sort of an estimate. Add or subtract as your family desires. Using dried mustard powder (mostarda em pó-available at Casas Pedro) gives a good bite that kind of punches up the mild cheeses and the nutmeg adds depth; don't leave them out!
For cheese, I used minas padrão, queijo do reino (with the pink rind, I cut that off)and the cheap-o parmesan that comes in baggies. If you want to spend mad supermarket cash, try Gruyère, Pecorino, or imported cheddar etc. as the original recipe suggests. If you want to save, I think it would work with just requeijão and parmesan (though maybe you'd want a little less white sauce), or just use an aged Minas, padrão or lanche variety. I think prata and mozzarella would be too greasy or stringy, FYI.
Lastly, since gas ovens don't have broilers, here's a little trick I've learned. When your dish is 97% done, turn off the oven and leave the dish uncovered in the still-hot oven for about 10 minutes. Somehow, the cooling oven manages to put a good brown on top of baked goods without giving you the crunchy burnt bottom we all love SO much.
And now...the recipe. You're welcome!
Martha's Smitten Brazilian Crack-n-Cheese
(mildly adapted from Smitten Kitchen's version of Martha's version)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for casserole
1 liter milk (4 cups)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for water
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper/paprika picante
1/4-1/2 teaspoon paprika doce (for color)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground mustard (depends on preference)
about 3 cups total grated cheese
500 grams shaped pasta
toppings and mix-ins as required (healthy things like spinach or broccoli, proteins like tuna or bacon, or carbwonderfulness such as bread crumbs, crackers or corn flakes.
Preheat the oven to 350-375 (fairly hot for gas stove users!) and butter a large pan. Set aside. Cook your pasta in a large pan of salted water while you prepare the sauce; try to undercook it by a few minutes. Drain and set aside. (If your pasta is done early, rinse with cold water so it won't stick together; if it's done about the same time as the sauce, you don't need to rinse.)
Warm your milk in the microwave or on the stove. Melt butter in a separate, large saucepan and when it begins to bubble, carefully whisk in the flour, trying to break up any clumps. Cook, whisking continually, for about 2 minutes. While whisking, pour the milk slowly into the pan. The sauce will begin to thicken. Whisk until it has the consistency of thin pudding, then add the spices and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and well combined, remove from heat. Reserve a little sauce if desired-'tis yummy as Welsh Rarebit, over vegetables, etc. and this recipe always makes a LOT of sauce.
Pour pasta into cheese sauce and then into prepared pan. Add mix-ins or toppings if desired. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes covered, then uncover and allow the top to brown.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Mushroom-Zucchini Pan Fry
Mushrooms are like the zombies of the non-sentient kingdom. Fungi aren't really plants, they don't undergo photosynthesis and they basically survive via symbiotic or not-so symbiotic relationships and gnawing about on dead things.
Yum!
I discovered dried mushrooms at the Casas Pedro a few shopping trips back, and I came home with two bags full. A little dousing and soaking in hot water and they're fat, juicy and ready for use in stews, egg dishes, etc.
Tonight, we're having steaks, and the vegetable in the fridge that looked the saddest was a lonely zucchini. Sliced into half-moons and paired with some mushrooms, this makes a great side dish or vegetarian main.
Recipe:
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 zucchini, in rounds
a handful of fresh mushrooms, or dried and rehydrated
2 cloves of garlic, smashed/chopped
fresh rosemary or other herbs
olive oil/butter
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Caramelize the onions in butter and olive oil. Go slow, it's worth it! Remove the onions and use the same pan to brown the garlic. Sprinkle with salt and add in zucchini and mushrooms, using more oil or butter as needed. When zucchini is browned, toss in the herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Melt a little Parmesan over the whole thing and serve hot with the onions piled on top.
Yum!
I discovered dried mushrooms at the Casas Pedro a few shopping trips back, and I came home with two bags full. A little dousing and soaking in hot water and they're fat, juicy and ready for use in stews, egg dishes, etc.
Tonight, we're having steaks, and the vegetable in the fridge that looked the saddest was a lonely zucchini. Sliced into half-moons and paired with some mushrooms, this makes a great side dish or vegetarian main.
Recipe:
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 zucchini, in rounds
a handful of fresh mushrooms, or dried and rehydrated
2 cloves of garlic, smashed/chopped
fresh rosemary or other herbs
olive oil/butter
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Caramelize the onions in butter and olive oil. Go slow, it's worth it! Remove the onions and use the same pan to brown the garlic. Sprinkle with salt and add in zucchini and mushrooms, using more oil or butter as needed. When zucchini is browned, toss in the herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Melt a little Parmesan over the whole thing and serve hot with the onions piled on top.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Demystifying Batata Baroa
The batata baroa scared me for a long time. I saw it in the supermarket, didn't have a place for it in my cooking lexicon, and promptly stayed away.
Foolish me.
Lest you make the same mistake, read on.
To my American palate, this twisty root vegetable tastes like butter, roasted nuts and the creamiest potato I've ever encountered. They seem to get bad spots quickly, but I just scrub them well under running water until I reach hard flesh again before cutting and tossing into a pot. No need to peel unless you insist; the wrinkles make peeling difficult anyhow.
Try these as described below, in a twist on mashed potatoes, or puree with chicken stock (and shredded cooked meat, if you'd like) for a hearty soup. It's almost sinful if you pair mashed batata baroa and steak, in my opinion...which is why CT Boucherie is so popular, I suppose!
Batata Baroa Mashed Potato Casserole
3 large potatoes, cleaned and chopped into smallish chunks
2 medium batata baroa, similar sized pieces
chives and parsley, chopped
salt
butter
cream cheese
milk
Put potatoes in a stock pot with enough water to cover, toss in a couple teaspoonfuls of salt and allow to come to a boil. When both kinds of veggies are soft, remove from heat, drain and return to the pot. Mash with a nice knob of butter (1 T minimum, people!) until the desired consistency, then add 1/2 to 1 container of cream cheese and 2-4 tablespoons of milk. Stir to mix, then taste for salt and add if needed, sprinkle with herbs. Pour into a dish and bake in the oven for a crunchy top (or to reheat), but it can be served as is if you can't wait. Extra calories and delectableness can be added with a handful of cheese sprinkled over top...
Foolish me.
Lest you make the same mistake, read on.
To my American palate, this twisty root vegetable tastes like butter, roasted nuts and the creamiest potato I've ever encountered. They seem to get bad spots quickly, but I just scrub them well under running water until I reach hard flesh again before cutting and tossing into a pot. No need to peel unless you insist; the wrinkles make peeling difficult anyhow.
Try these as described below, in a twist on mashed potatoes, or puree with chicken stock (and shredded cooked meat, if you'd like) for a hearty soup. It's almost sinful if you pair mashed batata baroa and steak, in my opinion...which is why CT Boucherie is so popular, I suppose!
Batata Baroa Mashed Potato Casserole
3 large potatoes, cleaned and chopped into smallish chunks
2 medium batata baroa, similar sized pieces
chives and parsley, chopped
salt
butter
cream cheese
milk
Put potatoes in a stock pot with enough water to cover, toss in a couple teaspoonfuls of salt and allow to come to a boil. When both kinds of veggies are soft, remove from heat, drain and return to the pot. Mash with a nice knob of butter (1 T minimum, people!) until the desired consistency, then add 1/2 to 1 container of cream cheese and 2-4 tablespoons of milk. Stir to mix, then taste for salt and add if needed, sprinkle with herbs. Pour into a dish and bake in the oven for a crunchy top (or to reheat), but it can be served as is if you can't wait. Extra calories and delectableness can be added with a handful of cheese sprinkled over top...
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Bestest Chocolate Chip Cookies
I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet. My Brazilian friends are always asking for it and I have it nearly memorized in both languages!
The key to this cookie is two-fold. Rest and salt.
You CANNOT get good results if you skimp on either of these.
The cookie dough needs to rest at least overnight. Forget the salt and your husband will sigh a little, in the bad way. Just don't worry about hypertension. These are cookies. They're bad for you to begin with, so just give in to the occasional indulgence!
140 grams butter, softened
1 cup + 2 T packed brown sugar
1 egg at room temperature
1 t vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 t baking soda
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 t sea salt
10 oz chocolate in chunks or discs or chips
Cream butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture. Stir in the chocolate (and nuts, if desired). Cover dough with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight. Bring back to room temperature, form into balls and sprinkle with coarse sea salt or fleur de sel. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet until just browned on the bottom and still a little soft on top, about 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Pull off and place on racks to cool.
Rocky Road Ice Cream
Rocky Road Ice Cream:
-1 carton ice cream (chocolate; we used Nestle Alpino but really, the most expensive dark chocolate you can afford would be ideal. Unless you can make your own. The fluffy, super-sweet stuff is a bust!)
-1/2 package peanuts, salted and roasted (found in the beans aisle)
-1 batch chocolate sauce (see below)
-mini marshmallows
Roast your peanuts by shaking them onto a cookie sheet, spraying lightly with olive oil, sprinkling with salt and stick in oven until lightly browned. (Or buy pre-roasted!) Let cool.
Prepare your chocolate sauce. Let cool.
Allow ice cream to get somewhat soft. Then, in an empty ice cream tub, layer in this order:
ice cream, chocolate sauce, peanuts, marshmallows, ice cream.
Press down with a spoon to pack the layers together, then freeze.
AMISH COCOLATE FUDGE SAUCE, via Mom Bugigangas
30 grams chocolate chips or chocolate meio amargo
2 T SALTED butter
1 cup cofectioner's sugar (açucar de confeiteiro or impalpável)
1/4 cup + 1 T evaporated milk (make your own by using powdered milk and water; should have a thick consistency)
1/4 t vanilla
In a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter over simmering water. Add sugar and milk, alternately, blending with a whisk. Cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, whisking often. It will become thick. Remove from heat, transfer to a mixer bowl, and beat for 5 minutes (or throw in a blender). DO NOT OMIT THIS STEP. Stir in vanilla and salt.
Serve immediately or refrigerate/freeze. To reheat, place jar in a pan of simmering water or back into a double boiler.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup with Sour Cream
Smitten Kitchen has a great, great recipe for a no-fuss black bean soup. There's no need to mess with perfection, so here it is! (For those of you who don't have a slow cooker, you can make the soup without too much fuss in a pressure cooker.)
But because it you're not in the US, finding sour cream can sometimes be an issue, so I'm going to pass on my little tip. Use citric acid, which in Rio can be found at bulk retailers such as Casas Pedro. It is a white powder that looks like granulated sugar. I used about a half teaspoon for a half box of creme de leite (plus salt and toasted coriander seeds), and started stirring. And it just got thicker...and thicker...
But because it you're not in the US, finding sour cream can sometimes be an issue, so I'm going to pass on my little tip. Use citric acid, which in Rio can be found at bulk retailers such as Casas Pedro. It is a white powder that looks like granulated sugar. I used about a half teaspoon for a half box of creme de leite (plus salt and toasted coriander seeds), and started stirring. And it just got thicker...and thicker...
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Two Kinds of Meatballs
Basic meatball recipe:
1 pound ground beef or chicken
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
For chimichurri meatballs:
1. Use beef.
2. Stir in the egg and as much of the bread crumbs as necessary to get a slightly damp mixture.
3. Add several chopped cloves of garlic, a good handful of washed, chopped fresh parsley and red pepper flakes to suit your desired level of heat.
4. Roll into small balls. Bake on an oiled sheet until done, about 8-10 minutes in a 350 oven.
5. Serve with chimichurri sauce.
For taco meatballs:
Use chicken and 1/2 a packet of commercial taco seasoning. Follow above directions, ignoring steps 3 and 5. Serve alone or with salsa.
1 pound ground beef or chicken
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
For chimichurri meatballs:
1. Use beef.
2. Stir in the egg and as much of the bread crumbs as necessary to get a slightly damp mixture.
3. Add several chopped cloves of garlic, a good handful of washed, chopped fresh parsley and red pepper flakes to suit your desired level of heat.
4. Roll into small balls. Bake on an oiled sheet until done, about 8-10 minutes in a 350 oven.
5. Serve with chimichurri sauce.
For taco meatballs:
Use chicken and 1/2 a packet of commercial taco seasoning. Follow above directions, ignoring steps 3 and 5. Serve alone or with salsa.
Huancaína Sauce (Peruvian Cheese Sauce)
I dumped, but my recipe is similar to this one. I used about 4 cloves of garlic, some cream cheese AND boxed cream AND queijo minas and plenty of black pepper. I also used lemon juice and should have used lime. Oh well. Aji is traditional and gives the best flavor. If you substitute, try to use a pepper with heat and a bit of heft like a jalepeño. Cayenne would work in a pinch too.
Watermelon Basil Soup and Pita Crisps
1/4 ripe watermelon, seeded
small handful fresh basil leaves
1 cup tomatoes (cherry tomatoes are best), chopped
juice of one lime
olive oil
salt
pepper
sugar
Take 1/3 cup of the watermelon and dice. Set aside. Put the rest of the watermelon and tomatoes into a blender with lime juice and blend. Add olive oil, salt, pepper and sugar to taste (hot pepper too, if that's your style). Stir in the reserved watermelon, chill and serve with basil leaves on top.
Pita Crisps
store-bought pitas
olive oil
salt
garlic powder
Split the pitas and cut into quarters. Oil a baking sheet or spray the pitas with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and garlic powder, and put into a 350 oven until just browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove, let cool and store in an air-tight container.
small handful fresh basil leaves
1 cup tomatoes (cherry tomatoes are best), chopped
juice of one lime
olive oil
salt
pepper
sugar
Take 1/3 cup of the watermelon and dice. Set aside. Put the rest of the watermelon and tomatoes into a blender with lime juice and blend. Add olive oil, salt, pepper and sugar to taste (hot pepper too, if that's your style). Stir in the reserved watermelon, chill and serve with basil leaves on top.
Pita Crisps
store-bought pitas
olive oil
salt
garlic powder
Split the pitas and cut into quarters. Oil a baking sheet or spray the pitas with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and garlic powder, and put into a 350 oven until just browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove, let cool and store in an air-tight container.
Peppermint Meringues
I'm just going to link to the original recipe here. I substituted peppermint oil for the raspberry flavoring. :)
Caramel Corn
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1 stick butter
1/4 cup light syrup
1/2 t baking soda
Popped popcorn and toasted nuts (no less than 4 cups, no more than 8)
In a large saucepan, bring the first four ingredients to a rolling boil for 3 mintues, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add baking soda. Pour over popcorn (or pour popcorn into the saucepan, depending on the size of your pot) and stir to combine. Be very careful, as caramel can give painful burns! Pour into a large, greased baking pan and bake in a 300-325 degree oven for 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes to avoid burning. Turn off the oven and allow caramel corn to cool and become crunchy before breaking into pieces and storing in an air-tight container.
Note: the less popcorn you use, the more coated it will be, so make this according to your caramel preferences!
1/2 t salt
1 stick butter
1/4 cup light syrup
1/2 t baking soda
Popped popcorn and toasted nuts (no less than 4 cups, no more than 8)
In a large saucepan, bring the first four ingredients to a rolling boil for 3 mintues, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add baking soda. Pour over popcorn (or pour popcorn into the saucepan, depending on the size of your pot) and stir to combine. Be very careful, as caramel can give painful burns! Pour into a large, greased baking pan and bake in a 300-325 degree oven for 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes to avoid burning. Turn off the oven and allow caramel corn to cool and become crunchy before breaking into pieces and storing in an air-tight container.
Note: the less popcorn you use, the more coated it will be, so make this according to your caramel preferences!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Pumpkin Bread
With the grey skies and cooler temperatures of this week, I was tempted to make something more autumnal for this week's breakfasts and tea times. As there was a container of pumpkin defrosted in my refrigerator, I decided to try my hand at altering a recipe rather drastically. In my experience, these kind of breads are much too oily and much too sweet, so I was going for a "healthy" variation that also added in two flavors that I think are perfect for pumpkin: walnuts/nozes and maple.
As we just had a Canadian visitor, we have a jug of real maple syrup sitting in the cupboard, so I pulled a little from that secret stash. I also made good use of my birthday mortar and pestle to make up my own nut flour: a handful of oats, a shy 1/2 cup of broken nuts and about 1 tablespoon of flax seed. The oats help keep it more on the flour, less on the paste side. But if you are not as much of a ridiculous overachiever as I am, you could just add an equal amount of regular flour and toss in some ground nuts.
It's good, not too sweet, with a little bit of nuttiness and the perfect texture. Bet it would be phenomenal as toast...or French toast! I can't taste the maple as much as I'd like, but it's my own fault for hauling off and dumping spices in!
The original recipe is here, but I made a lot of changes!
Maple-Pumpkin Bread
Makes one loaf
Ingredients
• about 1 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin (I forgot to measure!)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat
• 3/4 cup mix oat/nut/flaxseed flours
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• (or, do as I did and add 1 teaspoon speculoos, 1/4 nutmeg, 1/4 cinnamon)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
2. Mix first set of ingredients until blended. In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients in the second set. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients but do not overstir; just until the flour is absorbed is fine.
3. Pour into the pan and bake: depending on your oven, 40-50 minutes. A knife or toothpick should come out clean.
P.S. I forgot to take a picture before slicing into this bread. It does get dark, don't get too frightened and think it is burning when it isn't...
As we just had a Canadian visitor, we have a jug of real maple syrup sitting in the cupboard, so I pulled a little from that secret stash. I also made good use of my birthday mortar and pestle to make up my own nut flour: a handful of oats, a shy 1/2 cup of broken nuts and about 1 tablespoon of flax seed. The oats help keep it more on the flour, less on the paste side. But if you are not as much of a ridiculous overachiever as I am, you could just add an equal amount of regular flour and toss in some ground nuts.
It's good, not too sweet, with a little bit of nuttiness and the perfect texture. Bet it would be phenomenal as toast...or French toast! I can't taste the maple as much as I'd like, but it's my own fault for hauling off and dumping spices in!
The original recipe is here, but I made a lot of changes!
Maple-Pumpkin Bread
Makes one loaf
Ingredients
• about 1 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin (I forgot to measure!)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat
• 3/4 cup mix oat/nut/flaxseed flours
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• (or, do as I did and add 1 teaspoon speculoos, 1/4 nutmeg, 1/4 cinnamon)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
2. Mix first set of ingredients until blended. In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients in the second set. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients but do not overstir; just until the flour is absorbed is fine.
3. Pour into the pan and bake: depending on your oven, 40-50 minutes. A knife or toothpick should come out clean.
P.S. I forgot to take a picture before slicing into this bread. It does get dark, don't get too frightened and think it is burning when it isn't...
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
What's Cooking
This post, over at my other blog, details our weekly/biweekly basic grocery shopping. Here's a sample of the menus that came out of that (and a hunk of sausage I bought after the fact):
Breakfasts
-eggs with spinach and sausage
-iced mocha protein shakes
-mango bowls and granola
Lunches
-Tilapia cakes with lime and horseradish
-Fruit with white cheese, ham, homemade jams
Dinners
-Beef with prunes (adapted from a rabbit recipe) in the crockpot, served with noodles; banana coffee cake
-Chicken breasts and asparagus cream rice; almost-flourless chocolate cake
-Crock pot cassoulet (severely altered because we don't want to DIE!) and bitter salad with a homemade vinaigrette; citrus sorbet
I'm having fun with the new French cookbook while being conscious of the fact that we need to watch the richness factor. So I give a lot of cake away! The chocolate cake from yesterday was cut as soon as it cooled, and divided. A couple portions were packed for my lunch date with a fellow blogger, half was carefully sandwiched between layers of parchment paper for a Bible study birthday party, and a few slices went to the doorman. We have enough for 2-3 reasonable desserts if I can keep my greedy fingers off the rest of it...
Breakfasts
-eggs with spinach and sausage
-iced mocha protein shakes
-mango bowls and granola
Lunches
-Tilapia cakes with lime and horseradish
-Fruit with white cheese, ham, homemade jams
Dinners
-Beef with prunes (adapted from a rabbit recipe) in the crockpot, served with noodles; banana coffee cake
-Chicken breasts and asparagus cream rice; almost-flourless chocolate cake
-Crock pot cassoulet (severely altered because we don't want to DIE!) and bitter salad with a homemade vinaigrette; citrus sorbet
I'm having fun with the new French cookbook while being conscious of the fact that we need to watch the richness factor. So I give a lot of cake away! The chocolate cake from yesterday was cut as soon as it cooled, and divided. A couple portions were packed for my lunch date with a fellow blogger, half was carefully sandwiched between layers of parchment paper for a Bible study birthday party, and a few slices went to the doorman. We have enough for 2-3 reasonable desserts if I can keep my greedy fingers off the rest of it...
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Yummy, rummy cupcakes!
Cupcake practice is underway, and so far, has met the stringent demands of my local taste testers!
I didn't think it would be quite so difficult to find a simple cupcake recipe on the internet, one that didn't require copious amounts of eggs and butter, one that could be easily adapted to new flavor combinations. I was SO wrong.
After sifting through a lot of different options, I settled on a 1-2-3-4 cake as the base recipe. There are a gazillion recipes out there so I'm not going to post a link. It is so simple, you can pretty much commit it to memory after the first try. The ratio of ingredients makes it easy to cut the recipe down to your needs or double if necessary. Beyond my caipirinha additions, I swapped out self-rising flour in the original recipe with regular flour and added some baking powder and salt to fill the gap. But if you have self-rising flour, you can skip the salt/leavening and just use that. Here is the finished product:
Caipirinha Cupcakes
1 cup (apx 180 grams, a little less than a full block) butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups flour
3 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 cup liquid (I used 3/4 cup milk, subbing in the rest in lime juice and cachaça)
zest from 1-2 limes
Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, beating well. Mix dry ingredients together in a separate container and add to egg mixture alternating with the liquid. Fold in flavorings and zest, if desired.
Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake until just done. In my oven, that was about 20 minutes...I would guess you want it at about 350. Let cool completely before frosting.
Boozy Buttercream Icing:
1/2 stick butter (Brazilian kind, otherwise, one American stick)
1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar (acuçar de confeiteiro, impalpável)
1 - 3 t rum/cachaça (have fun here!)
lime oil if you want to kick up the taste
juice from 1/2 lime
lime zest
Cream butter and zest, then add sugar and liquid until frosting has the consistency you desire. Indulge.
Final verdict, one day later. The cake has a dense crumb; a lighter recipe may suit your tastes better. I think it would probably benefit from a little spritz of juice/alcohol over the tops or injected inside...but overall, they're tasty little things with a slight "oomph" of rum coming through. If I was really fancy, I would candy lime slices and top the icing with them...
I didn't think it would be quite so difficult to find a simple cupcake recipe on the internet, one that didn't require copious amounts of eggs and butter, one that could be easily adapted to new flavor combinations. I was SO wrong.
After sifting through a lot of different options, I settled on a 1-2-3-4 cake as the base recipe. There are a gazillion recipes out there so I'm not going to post a link. It is so simple, you can pretty much commit it to memory after the first try. The ratio of ingredients makes it easy to cut the recipe down to your needs or double if necessary. Beyond my caipirinha additions, I swapped out self-rising flour in the original recipe with regular flour and added some baking powder and salt to fill the gap. But if you have self-rising flour, you can skip the salt/leavening and just use that. Here is the finished product:
Caipirinha Cupcakes
1 cup (apx 180 grams, a little less than a full block) butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups flour
3 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 cup liquid (I used 3/4 cup milk, subbing in the rest in lime juice and cachaça)
zest from 1-2 limes
Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, beating well. Mix dry ingredients together in a separate container and add to egg mixture alternating with the liquid. Fold in flavorings and zest, if desired.
Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake until just done. In my oven, that was about 20 minutes...I would guess you want it at about 350. Let cool completely before frosting.
Boozy Buttercream Icing:
1/2 stick butter (Brazilian kind, otherwise, one American stick)
1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar (acuçar de confeiteiro, impalpável)
1 - 3 t rum/cachaça (have fun here!)
lime oil if you want to kick up the taste
juice from 1/2 lime
lime zest
Cream butter and zest, then add sugar and liquid until frosting has the consistency you desire. Indulge.
Final verdict, one day later. The cake has a dense crumb; a lighter recipe may suit your tastes better. I think it would probably benefit from a little spritz of juice/alcohol over the tops or injected inside...but overall, they're tasty little things with a slight "oomph" of rum coming through. If I was really fancy, I would candy lime slices and top the icing with them...
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Spice cookie deliciousness
My neighbor, in a gesture of madness and true generosity of spirit, let me sit down with the last scoop of her Haagen Dazs Speculoos and Caramel ice cream the other night. It is her favorite flavor, which just shows what a wonderful woman she is...sharing her vices with me! Of course, it was love at first sight. And it reminded me of those visits to the Netherlands...of windmill cookies with tea and coffee, of ridiculous indulgences that were called a healthy breakfast. Visions of spices dancing in my head...
I remember purchasing a container of speculaas spice on one of those trips, but it didn't make it through all these international moves. Sad. So when my neighbor mentioned that not only was that her favorite ice cream but also her favorite cookie, I became inspired. After all, I must replace what I devoured. Google, here I come! After comparing a bunch of recipes, I decided to go with Chocolate and Zucchini’s. With, of course, a few modifications.
The first was to make my own spice mix. I ground whole cloves and some cardamom seeds in our coffee grinder. Don’t try this with your only, wedding-gifted, hard-to-find-in-South-America coffee grinder, like I did. The clove oil ate the finish off the plastic lid, even though as soon as I’d scraped the clove/cardamom paste off, I dropped it into soapy water. Oops. My mix is probably a little heavy on cloves, but I followed this general ratio for the ground spices:
2 cinnamon, 2 nutmeg, 1 ginger, 1 cloves, ½ cardamom, ½ white pepper.
Because I don’t have a special pan or cool cookie cutters, I washed a never-used stamp and pressed it into the dough for a little texture, then cut them out with heart cutters, because it’s almost Valentine’s Day. (Oh, and free-range eggs. People, egg yolks are NOT supposed to be yellow!)
The final result: crunchy bottom, soft center. I wish my brown sugar was a little higher quality; there are a few unpleasant sugar crunches in the middle of a bite, but overall, they're tasty. Give them a day's rest (as many commentators on the sites I'd looked at mentioned) and I think they'll be splendid.
Here’s the recipe:
(adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini: )
3 ½ cups flour
175 grams (or about 1 ½ sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 small egg
1 1/2 cups of dark, dark brown sugar (add a little molasses if you only have light brown sugar)
2 teaspoons mixed ground cake spices (traditionally cinnamon and cloves)
Mix together butter, egg, sugar and spices, then add the flour by hand and knead dough until it is well combined and holds together. Like this:
Separate into two balls. Roll out the first on a sheet of waxed paper (no flour) to about ½ inch thickness, then cut as desired. Remove cookies to a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 375F for apx. 12 minutes. Don’t overbake...they should be slightly soft in the center. Pull the parchment off the sheet and onto a rack to allow cookies to cool.
I remember purchasing a container of speculaas spice on one of those trips, but it didn't make it through all these international moves. Sad. So when my neighbor mentioned that not only was that her favorite ice cream but also her favorite cookie, I became inspired. After all, I must replace what I devoured. Google, here I come! After comparing a bunch of recipes, I decided to go with Chocolate and Zucchini’s. With, of course, a few modifications.
The first was to make my own spice mix. I ground whole cloves and some cardamom seeds in our coffee grinder. Don’t try this with your only, wedding-gifted, hard-to-find-in-South-America coffee grinder, like I did. The clove oil ate the finish off the plastic lid, even though as soon as I’d scraped the clove/cardamom paste off, I dropped it into soapy water. Oops. My mix is probably a little heavy on cloves, but I followed this general ratio for the ground spices:
2 cinnamon, 2 nutmeg, 1 ginger, 1 cloves, ½ cardamom, ½ white pepper.
Because I don’t have a special pan or cool cookie cutters, I washed a never-used stamp and pressed it into the dough for a little texture, then cut them out with heart cutters, because it’s almost Valentine’s Day. (Oh, and free-range eggs. People, egg yolks are NOT supposed to be yellow!)
The final result: crunchy bottom, soft center. I wish my brown sugar was a little higher quality; there are a few unpleasant sugar crunches in the middle of a bite, but overall, they're tasty. Give them a day's rest (as many commentators on the sites I'd looked at mentioned) and I think they'll be splendid.
Here’s the recipe:
(adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini: )
3 ½ cups flour
175 grams (or about 1 ½ sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 small egg
1 1/2 cups of dark, dark brown sugar (add a little molasses if you only have light brown sugar)
2 teaspoons mixed ground cake spices (traditionally cinnamon and cloves)
Mix together butter, egg, sugar and spices, then add the flour by hand and knead dough until it is well combined and holds together. Like this:
Separate into two balls. Roll out the first on a sheet of waxed paper (no flour) to about ½ inch thickness, then cut as desired. Remove cookies to a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 375F for apx. 12 minutes. Don’t overbake...they should be slightly soft in the center. Pull the parchment off the sheet and onto a rack to allow cookies to cool.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Peanuts+Hazelnuts+Chocolate+One Hungry Domestic Goddess?
I'm simply covered in chocolate as I type this. Gooey, peanutbuttery, hazelnutty chocolate cookie dough.
You see, a few days ago, I saw a food blogger post something about flourless chocolate chip cookies. And it made the wheels in my head start turning. When I saw this recipe, I was intrigued, but the high sugar quantity threw me off. What's the point of making them flourless if you'll go into a glucose coma afterwards? (The peanut butter by itself is high is sugar, as I don't have access to natural and really love that three-letter brand!) But this afternoon, craving something sweet, I experimented with a modified version of the recipe. I had a hard time keeping my hands off while they cooled...ended up reading up on the Egyptian protests and why Georgia wants to return to the gold standard. Classic kitchen reading fare. But anyhow...I digress. Remember those no-bake cookies you used to make as kids? These are the grownup variety! I call them:
Nutty Chocoholics
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1/4-3/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips
I mixed all but the nuts and chips together, then added nuts and chips until the texture was like cookie dough and studded with goodness. (Mine have pecans and cashews.)
Chill 5-10 minutes while the oven preheats at 350F, then pop them in for about 10-12 minutes. Leave on the pan to cool, so don't overbake. They should be puffy and fairly soft when you pull them out of the oven.
You see, a few days ago, I saw a food blogger post something about flourless chocolate chip cookies. And it made the wheels in my head start turning. When I saw this recipe, I was intrigued, but the high sugar quantity threw me off. What's the point of making them flourless if you'll go into a glucose coma afterwards? (The peanut butter by itself is high is sugar, as I don't have access to natural and really love that three-letter brand!) But this afternoon, craving something sweet, I experimented with a modified version of the recipe. I had a hard time keeping my hands off while they cooled...ended up reading up on the Egyptian protests and why Georgia wants to return to the gold standard. Classic kitchen reading fare. But anyhow...I digress. Remember those no-bake cookies you used to make as kids? These are the grownup variety! I call them:
Nutty Chocoholics
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1/4-3/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips
I mixed all but the nuts and chips together, then added nuts and chips until the texture was like cookie dough and studded with goodness. (Mine have pecans and cashews.)
Chill 5-10 minutes while the oven preheats at 350F, then pop them in for about 10-12 minutes. Leave on the pan to cool, so don't overbake. They should be puffy and fairly soft when you pull them out of the oven.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Crafty Things for Rainy Days
Okay, it's not actually a rainy day right now, but I discovered most of these sites ON rainy days!
Above is one of the bloggers I follow. Still inept with a pair of scissors and sewing machine though, so I ooh and ahh and stay away from the tutorials until I grow up enough to read directions all the way through before I start chopping away at things!
Also fun for browsing:
Domestic Sluttery
This one is in French but has beautiful dreamy ideas for itsy-bitsy places (like our future apartment. Sigh.)
Above is one of the bloggers I follow. Still inept with a pair of scissors and sewing machine though, so I ooh and ahh and stay away from the tutorials until I grow up enough to read directions all the way through before I start chopping away at things!
Also fun for browsing:
Domestic Sluttery
This one is in French but has beautiful dreamy ideas for itsy-bitsy places (like our future apartment. Sigh.)
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