Fulfilling Domestic Dreams

Mich's Meaty Mole Chili

2011-04-03T15:23:00.001-07:00

The meat extravaganza (and a few special additions) brings this dish to life in my rendition of mole chili. This recipe is in reverence to a river trip that I took last fall; running the gates of ladore. It was my first ever multi-day river trip, and I had no idea what was in store for me. Aside from phenomenal scenery and wonderful company, the culinary delights that came out from the woodwork was equally inspiring. On this very trip, I had the best chili that I've ever had in my life, made by a fellow river mate. Tonight, as I spooned this delicious dish, I was taken back to the scenic landscape of Ladore, the campfires, and the people. Thanks again Joshie, for an amazing trip!

6 garlic cloves

1 red onion

3 cups dried beans

2 cans diced tomato (or fresh tomatoes if it's in season! diced, drained, pureed)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 12oz bottle of dark beer (I used some homemade porter)

2 cups corn

1/2 lb bacon

1/2 lb venison

1 lb ground meat

2 sausages

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 Tbsp molasses

1 cinnamon stick

5 Tsp chili powder (if you're lucky like me, you'll have some stashed from NM!)

To flavor: cinnamon, cumin, salt/pepper, honey

*Before starting, soak the beans over night.

1. Brown meat separately, then set aside.

2. In a 6-8 qt dutch oven, saute the garlic and then add the diced onion. Add beer until it is reduced.

3. Add, tomatoes, stock, and the remainder of the ingredients.

4. Add meat in, and simmer, or put in oven at 400 degrees, for at least 2 hours. The longer the better!

5. Serve w/a side of homemade corn bread, salad, and toppings (plain yogurt, cheese, and fresh red onion).

Sausage Cheddar Biscuits

2011-04-01T23:14:00.000-07:00

While I was putting the flour away, I noticed the bag had a recipe for Sausage Cheddar Biscuits on it.

Bacon Cheddar Biscuits Based on the King Arthur Flour bag recipe

Ingredients
3 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fleur de sel
½ cup butter, chilled
8oz Morning Star Farms Original Veggie Sausage Patties
2 inch cut of a 2lb block of Tillamook Vintage Medium White Cheddar Cheese (about 1 ½ cups when chopped)
1 cup reduced fat buttermilk
½ cup Nancy’s Organic Nonfat Yogurt

Cut the stick of butter into ¼ inch squares. Separate the squares from each other and put on a plate; place in the freezer.
Heat a skillet to medium high and add the veggie patties. Cook thoroughly; approximately 7 minutes each side. Put patties on a plate and put in the freezer to cool.
In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the chilled butter squares in with a pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly and somewhat homogenous. Put the mixing bowl in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Cut the cheese into ¼ inch squares by making slices, then cutting the slices into sticks, and the sticks into chunks. Take the veggie patties from the freezer, and make four cuts across. Turn 90 degrees and make four more cuts, resulting in squares approximately ¼ inch in size.
Remove the mixing bowl from the fridge and add the cheese and veggie sausage. Add the yogurt, buttermilk and yogurt. Mix with a rubber spatula by turning the mixture and smooshing down. Work just until everything is evenly moistened.
Turn the dough straight onto the parchment paper and pat into a rectangle about ¾ inch thick. Cut the dough into 2 inch squares. Brush with melted butter if so desired, and pull the squares of dough apart so they aren’t quite touching.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until medium- to deep-golden brown. Serve immediately.

The cheese from these biscuits runs out onto the pan quite a bit forming lovely little cheese crisps to nom on. Phil says that’s the best part. They are delicious when piping hot, right out of the oven! We had them with beer for dinner.

Red Wine Beef Stew

2011-03-07T14:29:00.001-08:00

You know how sometimes you open a bottle of wine, drink one glass, and then forget about the rest of the bottle for a while? I mean, we definitely didn't have that problem in the above photo at the seafood and wine festival, but sometimes you don't drink the whole bottle... Well, I found something useful to do with that leftover-not-so-yummy wine. Make it into a delicious stew. My parents don't drink much, and the other day we were opening a bottle of wine and found a few bottles that were a little too fermented, so I looked up some recipes to get ideas. Here is what I came up with. And I apologize, but I don't really measure.

1. In a dutch oven, heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil and butter. Add 1-2 lbs. of cubed beef and brown it on all sides. Add 1 medium chopped onion and about 5 minced cloves of garlic. Cook for a few minutes until onions become translucent. Add a pinch of salt, a few bay leaves, and some fresh herbs. I used rosemary and sage, my two favorites. Stir in about a tablespoon of flour. Throw in a bottle of wine.
2. Put the dutch oven in a 350 degree oven for about an hour and a half. The liquid should reduce a bit and smell delicious.
3. In a pan on the stove, cook some veggies. I used: 2 small potatoes, 1 carrot, 2 celery stalks, green beans, and collard greens. Add some pancetta, a few tablespoons of sugar, and about 1/2 cup of water to the pan and cover it. Cook for a few minutes until everything is done.
4. Take the dutch oven out of the oven and mix everything together.

Chile Verde (Green Chile Pork Stew)

2011-02-27T19:39:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I had one of the best summers of my life in Nuevo Mexico. I was sent to NM from my program, and though days were filled with learning all things medicine, evenings and weekends were filled with climbing, cycling, catering w/Brett house, and all around debauchery con mi hermanas (paco y uhleeta). When I have a hankering for NM, I take out the frozen green chili's, and start brewing a little stew.

2 Tb olive oil

2 lb pork loin, cut in 1" cubes

1 large onion, diced

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb tomatillos, husks removed, pureed

1/2 lb tomatoes, diced

6-8 green chili peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced

1-2 jalapenos, seeded, and finely chopped

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

chopped cilantro

lime wedges

plain yogurt/ sour cream

1. Heat oil in a large pot (4-6qt dutch oven works nicely!). Brown the pork, then reduce the heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion softens.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients (sans cilantro, lime, and yogurt).

3. Bring all ingredients to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until the pork is very tender. Approx 1- 1.5 hours.

4. Add more spice accordingly, I added a little more red chili powder.

5. Serve with lime wedge, chopped cilantro, dolop of plain yogurt, and perhaps some home made tortillas! (courtesy of aleta!)

TORTILLA TIME!

2011-01-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

O wow! I just made the yummiest tortillas EVER.... twice!
My boyfriend Harrison is doing a project for school, where for 3 months he will eat nothing but local foods (300ish mile radius of Albuquerque, NM). This is proving difficult in the winter months, but we are both being as creative as possible.
Last night I had the urge to make tortillas, and they turned out incredibly delicious, so I made them again this morning and filled them with eggs, potatoes, green chile and cheese, and we gorged ourselves on "Breakfast Tacos".

2 cups white flour
2 Tbs butter (we used raw butter, which worked quite well!)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder (unfortunately there is no local source... but shhhh!)
3/4 cup hot water

Mix all the dry stuff together, then add the wet goods.
Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, and separate into 6-8 balls.
Let the balls sit under an upside-down bowl for about 20 minutes.
Using either a tortilla press (thank you wonderful sister who brings cool things back from Mexico) or a rolling pin, or a closed bottle of wine, flatten the balls into round, or amoeba shaped tortillas. (I actually roll them one at a time b/c they shrink sooooooo fast!)
Place your flattened shape on a VERY hot skillet, and using your hands, keep the tortilla from shrinking by pushing all over it.
Let it cook for about 15 seconds, then flip it. Let it cook about another 30-40 seconds, flip again, and cook about 30 more.
EAT!!!!! They are best when they are fresh off the skillet, and can be eaten as is, or topped with beans, cheese, eggs, meat.... anything really!

LOTS OF LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Non-Dairy Ice Cream

2010-06-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to make ice cream without any dairy, since the dairy tends to upset my stomach. The other night, I made avocado key lime ice cream. I blended up:
2 cans coconut milk
2 avocados
1/2 lb. key limes (just the juice)
1/2 cup sugar
Then I stuck it in an ice cream maker. Amazing! Anyone have any other good ice cream ideas?

Healthcare

2010-03-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

Thank god it passed! I am so happy about this!!!

An interesting yet tasty cobbler combination

2010-03-11T22:43:00.000-08:00

I modified this from a recipe in Barbara Kingsolver's new book. It is a cobbler that has basil and balsamic vinegar in it....really tasty.

Filling:

2-3 apples

raspberries (fresh or frozen)

handful of chopped basil

3 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbs honey (or more...)

Crumble topping:

1 stick butter

2-3 tbs brown sugar

enough flour to make it crumbly

bake at 350

Beans have LOTS of Iron

2010-02-17T08:24:00.000-08:00

I went to donate blood on Monday and when they tested me for Anemia the nurse was blown away at how high my iron levels were. I was at 15 which is apparently higher than most men. June had similar results and decided to start looking up foods to see where the massive amounts of iron are coming from. She looked up cabbage first since she has been eating a lot of it, but a serving only has 2% of iron. Then it hit her....BEANS! Did you know that a single serving of beans has 20% of your daily dose of iron? My New Mexican crockpots of beans are like vats of ironie goodness. Yet another reason to eat a burrito a day!

Amazing PIzza

2010-02-03T21:02:00.001-08:00

I had been craving pizza for weeks and so I made some on Tuesday night. Ironically enough, on the same day, I was also reunited with about 5 Cooking Light magazines that had been sent to my old apartment, and one of them had a special feature on PIZZA. April and I made 2 kinds on whole wheat crust and both were amazing!

Type1:

Pesto, Mozzarella, Asiago, Chicken, Red Onion, Sliced Red Grapes...this was absolutely mind blowing, such an incredible combination of flavors!

Type 2:

The sauce was diced tomatoes sauteed with onion, cumin, oregano, cayenne peper. Topped with fresh mozzarella cheese and basil.

Persimmon Bread

2009-12-05T23:15:00.000-08:00

My fruit bowl has been overtaken with Persimmons! In Korea I loved persimmons, but I think they were a different kind. The ones I have been getting in my veggie box don't have the same texture and their flavor is not as good for eating plain, so I made bread out of them. It was really good! I still don't know where my camera is so not photo, but i am sure you can use your imagination; picture banana bread :)

2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups ripe Hachiya persimmon pulp

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a bowl, stir together the sugar, wheat flour, all-purpose flour, oatmeal, salt cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and baking soda, until well mixed. Set aside. In a separate bowl, stir persimmon pulp with applesauce, vegetable oil, and eggs until well blended. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, stirring until free of lumps. Divide batter between two greased 9x5 inch loaf pans.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaves comes out clean.

Pie Crust

2009-11-26T20:01:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am going to post my pie crust recipe. It's nothing fancy, but it works for me. There are tons of little tricks that people use to make their pie crust, but I pretty much ignore all of that stuff. Freezing the bowl, using vodka, chilling for hours, etc. My sister literally takes an hour to make pie crust. This recipe is simple and easy.

2 cups white pastry flour (or regular)
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
water (chilled is better)

In a large bowl, mix the flours and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter. When the butter is mostly mixed in, cut in the shortening. Continue until you have pea-sized lumps. Slowly add the water and mix until you can form a ball. Too much water or mixing with make the crust hard and too crunchy. Too little water makes it hard to work with. It may take you a while to realize just how much water is right. I guess that is the hardest part. When you are rolling out the dough, be sure to generously flour the surface. Using parchment/wax paper helps.

For Thanksgiving, I made an apple sour cream pie. It was yummy. Check it out at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Silver-Palate-Sour-Cream-Apple-Pie-106665

Yummy Chanterelles Courtesy of Mols

2009-10-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

Molly gave me a bunch of mushrooms that she had hunted last weekend and Aleta and I made a feast out of them. We sauteed onion lots of garlic and chicken then added the shrooms and a little butter. Then we added some beautiful chard and let it cook down a tad. We served it all over red Quinoa (the kind rach and mols went crazy over last week) topped with fresh parmesean. This was the perfect simple fall meal, although it felt extravagant because it was so colorful and beautiful. This picture from Leat's phone really does not do it justice...I gotta find my camera!

Weird Veggies Trifecta

2009-10-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

Here's my final installment for the bizarre vegetable series. Now, with the inclement weather arriving, it's time to head indoors and cook up all the pumpkin and butternut squash from this season (heaps of them this year). Happy Fall!

Though not weird, this is pretty much my last harvest from the garden. It's always kind of bittersweet... just like the kale this time of year.

The stuff nightmares are made of...

Sometimes it is best to let the picture speak for itself.

I didn't think it was possible to be hypnotized by a watermelon, until today.

*note: I carved nothing into this thing. Anyone know what causes this?

Mutant Veggies Pt. 2

2009-10-14T21:16:00.001-07:00

Here is a creepy cucumber to add to Jake's earlier post!

White House kitchen Garden

2009-09-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

Watch more AOL News videos on AOL Video

Oddball Veggies: Part I

2009-08-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

The gardening in Corvallis this year has been interesting, albeit a bit slow for the tomatoes for some reason. Every year I try to grow several new vegetables, sometimes just to find out if I like them. Among them are the veggies that I just can't grow or aren't very palatable to me. The Radicchio just didn't pan out, as it tasted similar to what I imagine Skunk-cabbage tastes like. My Roma tomatoes last year were as hard as billiard balls. I've also found that often the stranger something looks, the better it tastes. A friend said that Kohlrabi looks like "some kinda weird space alien thingy...whatever..." And it does, but its taste is akin to a sweet and tender broccoli stem.

Then there are the truely bizarre, the outliers in which some process of cell division went horribly wrong. I'll post them here as I find them, and feel free to post your own in a similar fashion. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of some of them. Among the missing are the pontoon boat shaped zuchini, The two lobed lemon cucumber, and the V shaped pole bean.

The two headed fairy eggplant. I'll leave it to you to decide which part of the human anatomy this looks like.

Possibly my favorite: the so-called "Frankentuber," the oddest potatoe I've ever seen

A Crockpot is a New Mexican's Best Friend

2009-08-11T17:47:00.001-07:00

Being back in New Mexico, I have reverted back to my old "burrito a day" habits. (and looking at my parents stash of beans I could probably eat 3 a day) .Beans are soooo good especially when they are homemade in a crockpot. I made the most amazing pot of shredded buffalo and beans last night.

I bought a couple pieces of buffalo meat and threw it in with pinto beans, red chile powder, garlic and onion, turned the crockpot on low and let it cook 24ish hours. The buffalo cooked down and shredded. I ate my bowl of beans with lots of green chile and cheese. YUMMY!

What to do with Green Beans

2009-08-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

We've got a sudden glut of green beans from the garden. I hated green beans as a kid, but I figured I'd give them another chance. This is a very simple recipie for green beans that tastes almost as good as bacon. I'm not kidding. I haven't chowed down on beans like that EVER!
Ingredients:
enough beans to cover the bottom of a pan
2 tbsp butter (or olive oil, but make sure you salt the olive oil)
3-4 cloves of minced garlic
ginger (lightly) to taste

Melt the butter in the pan, toss in the garlic, ginger, and beans, and cook on a medium heat for about 10 min. Overcook (but don't burn) the beans a bit (the phrase "cooked into submission" come to mind here). I left them on a while longer than I thought I should have and they were perfect. When the garlic is really starting to brown and crisp is about right. Serve them seperately or with more garden veggies. I havent tried it yet, but eggplant strips would also be good in this I feel.
So easy, so nummy!

Clean Food = Clean Body

2009-06-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

My Mom and I just recently finished a 12 day cleanse... the cleanse is different from a detox, in that you are getting enough nutrients and calories to sustain an active lifestyle. I feel great, and now know for sure that I have a gluten intolerance (my stomach wasn't so hot after reintroducing 2 slices of bread). It is interesting how we become so accustomed to feeling sick or "off", that we do not even notice what foods make our bodies feel both good and bad. I think cleaning out our system once in a while is important in order to truly listen to, and take care of our bodies.

So, here are the basic "guidelines" and a few of my favorite recipes from the 12 days. I am thinking I might make a recipe book for it!

For the ENTIRE 12 days, eliminate the "Big 10" from your life:
1. Alcohol
2. Caffeine (green tea is okay)
3. Dairy
4. Sugar (including honey/agave/maple syrup- but stevia is okay)
5. Flour (crackers, bread, pasta)
6. Chocolate
7. Soy Products (miso is okay)
8. Processed Fat/Oil
9. Nuts
10. Vinegar

Day 1 --> Pre-Cleanse: whole grains, lean protein, fruit, vegetables, healthy fat
Day 2 --> Pre-Cleanse: whole grains, lean protein, fruit, vegetables (eliminate fat)
Day 3 --> Protein Phase: lean protein, fruit, vegetables, supplements
Day 4 --> Protein Phase: lean protein, fruit, vegetables, supplements
Day 5 --> Fruit/Veggie Phase: fruits, vegetables, supplements
Day 6 --> Fruit/Veggie Phase: juice only (dilute 30% juice/70% water)
Day 7 --> Fruit/Veggie Phase: fruits, vegetables, supplements
Day 8 --> Reintroduction: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, supplements
Day 9 --> Reintroduction: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, supplements
Day 10 --> Reintroduction: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, protein, supplements
Day 11 --> Reintroduction: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, protein, healthy fat, supplements
Day 12 --> Reintroduction: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, protein, healthy fat, supplements
(After this, start adding in the Big 10, one at a time- you will notice any lack of tolerance this way!)

~~RECIPES~~

Spicy Mung Bean Soup with Coconut
*2 cups of mung beans (soaked overnight)
*1 tsp black mustard seeds
*1 small clove of garlic (minced)
*1 inch piece of ginger (chopped finely)
*1-2 jalapeños (minced)
*3 bay leaves
*1 tsp tumeric
*1/2 tsp ground cumin
*1 tsp ground coriander
*1/2 tsp cayenne
*1 can diced tomatoes
*3 cups water or vegetable broth
*1 cup shredded coconut
*juice from 1 lemon
*1/2 tsp garam masala
*1/2 tsp salt
--> Heat a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds and cook until they begin to pop. Immediately add the garlic, jalapeño, and ginger and stir for a minute (be careful for flying jalapeño pieces!). Add 1/2 cup or water and bring to a simmer. Toss in the bay leaves, tumeric, cumin, coriander, and cayenne. Stir, then add the tomatoes and coconut. Cook for another minute, then add the remaining water, and the mung beans. Simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Add water if needed. Cook about 30-45 minutes, or until mung beans are no longer hard (but they should not be mushy either!). Add lemon juice and garam masala (and more water again if needed), and cook for another few minutes before serving.

Massaged Kale with Lemon
*1 bunch of kale (any type works! mix them too!)
*1 large clove of garlic (crushed)
*1/2-1 lemon
*1/2-1 tsp sea salt
--> Wash kale and strip from stalk. Tear into small pieces. Crush garlic and mix with kale. Squeeze lemon onto kale (I suggest starting with 1/2 and adding more if needed) and add salt. Massage with hands for 3-5 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes and serve. Similar to ceviche, the lemon "cooks" the kale down!

Quinoa and Veggie Stuffed Poblanos with Chipotle Guacamole
*6 big poblano peppers (pesillas are the same thing)
*1 cup red or black quinoa cooked in 2 cups of water
*1 small zucchini (cut into small chunks)
*1 small squash (cut into small chunks)
*6-8 white mushrooms (cut into small chunks)
*1/2 purple onion (diced)
*1 red bell pepper (diced)
*2 garlic cloves (minced)
*1/4 tsp salt
*good natural salsa
*12 toothpicks
--> Remove the tops from the poblanos (like the top of a jack-o-lantern) and remove seeds. In a big bowl combine the quinoa, all of the vegetables, salt, and as much salsa as you want (just enough to moisten the mixture without making it runny). Stuff each poblano as much as possible, using a chopstick to push some down into the bottoms and cracks. Place 2 toothpicks into the tops, and out the sides to hold the filling inside. Heat the BBQ grill, and place the poblanos on. Turn every few minutes until the skin is blackened and blistered all over.
*2 avocados
*1 garlic clive (minced)
*1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (diced)
*leftover salsa
*salt
*lemon juice
--> mash the avocado and combine everything until you have guacamole. Serve on top of the poblanos...

Chicken "Tacos" with Green Chile
*1 rotisserie chicken
*1 head of boston butter lettuce
*veggie toppings (tomato, onion, peppers...)
*chipotle guacamole (see recipe above)
*chopped green chile
*pinto beans, or black beans
--> Take apart the rotisserie chicken, shredding the meat. Chop all of the veggies, and make the guacamole. Heat the beans. Using the butter lettuce as a "taco shell", assemble tacos with everything you want.

(Sorry... no pics of these... but they were SO good, we had them twice!)

Let me know if you want any more info on the cleanse. The recipes are all amazing, and I will be using the all on a regular basis. :)

African Quinoa Soup with Vegetables

2009-06-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

I made this the other day for Rachel's "day after her birthday" get-together, which she scarfed down before I ever made it home. She and everyone else said it was good so I figured I'd post it here.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium chopped onion
2 minced garlic clove
1 small minced fresh jalapeno pepper
1 diced red bell pepper
2 diced celery stalks with leaves
2 medium diced zucchini
1 medium diced sweet potato
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup peanut butter
black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

In a large heavy-bottomed soup pot (I used a dutch oven) melt butter over medium high heat. When butter is hot and bubbly, add onion, garlic, jalapeno, bell pepper, celery, zucchini, sweet potato, cumin and oregano. Saute' 10-15 minutes or until cooked to your preference.

Add stock, quinoa, black pepper and cayenne. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer until quinoa is cooked and vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add peanut butter, using a wooden spoon to blend in completely, and simmer another 10 minutes. Taste, adjust seasonings and enjoy.

I used chunky organic peanut butter like the recipe said, but I think it'd be better with creamy. The red quinoa I used gave the soup a chunky texture, so crunchy peanut butter was really unnecessary. All in all, pretty tasty, and relatively quick to make!

Potatoe Leek Zoopa

2009-06-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

This was very successfully tried the other day for the first time with mostly fresh veggies from the garden ('cept the taters). You will need:
several medium leeks (4 - 3/4 in. diameter leeks or equivalent. The more the merrier!)
6 yukon gold potatoes (fist size)
1 med onion
4 cups veggie/chicken broth
1-2 cup milk
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp butter/oil
1/2 cup fresh parsley
a small pinch of thyme and rosemary(very easy on the rosemary as it is a strong spice)
salt & pepper
A food processor or blender

Finely chop onions, garlic, and leeks(I usualy go a little above where it turns green but sample it periodically while cutting to make sure it isnt too tough). Sautee for 3-4 min in 2 tbsp butter.
Skin and coarsely chop potatoes, boil for 5 min (or until soft but not to a mashable point yet). Add half cooked potatoes, broth, and saute mix to a pot and simmer for 10-15 min. Chop parsley, thyme, rosemary, and add salt & pepper in the last 5 minutes of simmer. Once cooked, add entire mixture (or in parts if you have a lower volume blender/food processor) to blender/food processor and puree. Add the milk to this mixture until it smooths out to the desired texture. Water can be added if need be to smooth it out more. This made enough for 6+ people in a 4 course meal.

Caesar a la Nueva Mexicana

2009-06-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite go-to meals is Caesar Salad. After 4 years of college though, the classic Caesar gets a bit drab. So, here is my own spicy twist...

Spicy Tequila Lime Chicken Caesar Salad with Grilled Veggies

Chicken Breast
Tequila
Lime Juice
Limes
Romaine Lettuce
Red and Yellow Bell Peppers
Purple Onion
Caesar Dressing (I like Trader Joes Vegan Dressing!)
Red Chile Pepper Flakes
Parmesan Cheese

*Marinate the chicken in a mixture of lime juice, chile flakes and tequila
*Slice up the veggies and toss them with a bit of lime juice. Grill all of the veggies and set aside on a plate to cool.
*Grill the chicken, adding more tequila/lime marinade as needed. Slice up and set aside with veggies.
*Tear up the romaine lettuce and place in a giant bowl. Add the dressing, chile flakes, and cheese. Toss until coated, and pour out onto a plate.
*Top with veggies, chicken, and more cheese and chile flakes.
*Enjoy!

Aristic Response

2009-06-06T23:51:00.000-07:00

This is part of a project I did for class. I had to create a piece of art about who I learned to do something...I chose cooking; Cómo Aprendí Cocinar. I will put up a picture of the whole piece. I translated it into English but it doesn't sound as pretty :(

The recipes of a woman are like her, always changing and developing.

In the beginning, I only the know the secretes of my mom. She taught me how make my grandmother’s Ruggalach. Even though I never met her I still prepare her cookies today.

Since then I have many memories of time spent in the kitchen with numerous women (and a few men)

Thanks to them and their knowledge about cooking and food I now cook with pleasure and pride.

With the sounds of pots and smells of spices in the background I have learned about similarities and diferences in ingredients, preferences and perspectives.

They are my mothers, my sisters and my friends and I carry all they have taught me in my recipe book and my soul

The truth is that one shares much more than food in the kitchen.

Who I am has formed in mnay ways becuase of the time I have spent with these people cooking and chatting.

I am like a recipe: those who have shared their secrets with me, not only about the kitchen, but also about life, are the ingredients.

Amazing Burritos

2009-05-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was inspired to make burritos when Grandma took me to Vallarta (the Mexican grocery store down here).

First,I asked Paco how to make beans in a crockpot, and she explained that you just put beans, water, onion, garlic, and bacon in the pot and cook. Easy enough! I threw it all in overnight on low, and the smell in the morning was amazing! I decided to make refried beans, so I dumped the beans directly into a blender and pulsed until they were pretty smooth. Next, I heated a pan with oil, and yes, refried the beans for about 15-20 minutes. Super easy and delicious!

I also made spanish rice. I know that this probably isn't really the right way to make it, but it is how my Mexican roommates from studying abroad taught me. First, I cooked some white rice. Next I blended some tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a food processor until smooth. I added the tomato mixture to the rice (it will be soupy- you can add water to it if needed), and cooked for another 10 minutes or so. Normally, I would add some chili but Grandma doesn't do spicy so I added lime and cilantro instead for extra flavor.

Lastly, I made salsa verde from tomatillos. I took off the tomatillo husk and cut each one in half. I placed the cut tomatillos (cut side down) on an oiled pan and baked them on about 400 until the skins started browning. Then I put them in the food processor with a little onion, lime, sugar, salt and cilantro. Tasty!

Other items I included in my burritos: I cooked some peppers and squash, oaxaca cheese, avocado, lime, and cilantro. In case you haven't noticed by now, I don't use measurements when I cook. I have a small bowl handy and taste as I go. That way, my food tastes how I want it to in the end. I know that some people find that frustrating, but hey, I have no idea how much salt I added. I added enough so that it tasted right to me.

Tamale Making Extravaganza

2009-05-02T17:08:00.001-07:00

Last weekend the place to be in Corvallis was the tamale making class. We made more tamales than you can even imagine and they were amazing. María the teacher was really great. We made 4 different kinds of Tamales which were are delicious! This is more of a picture than a recipe blog, mostly because I am too lazy to type it out...

Pie for Dinner

2009-04-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry Ian, this is hardly a BBQ recipe. I have to say I'm pretty excited that it's getting to that time of year though! But I made this tasty pie a couple weeks ago and have been meaning to post it. Anyhow, my mother gave me her old copy of the Moosewood Cookbook a few months ago. I love this cookbook, I've read it cover to cover, yet I rarely cook out of it. I've decided to change that starting with the Spinach Ricotta Pie.

The Moosewood's Spinach Ricotta Pie

Yield: One 9" pie

Cut together 1 cup of flour and 1/3 cup of cold unsalted butter and ¼ t. salt. Then add about 3 Tbs. cold buttermilk and mix together lightly. Gather together into a disk, wrap and chill for at least an hour.

Roll out into a thin disc to fill a 9" pie pan and set aside.

The Filling:

1 lb. ricotta cheese
3 eggs, beaten
½ lb. chopped spinach – sautéed in butter with black pepper, ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. butter.
1 small onion, diced
3 tbs. flour
½ c. grated sharp cheese
dash nutmeg

1 c. sour cream
paprika

Mix everything together, blending well. Spread into unbaked pie shell. Top with sour cream, spreading to the edges. Sprinkle generously with paprika.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.

BBQ season

2009-04-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

hey, Col and I got a BBQ, so that leads me to two things:
1) Can you all post any nummy bbq type recipies you have up your sleeves (marinades, shishkibab combos, weird craziness that I can't even think of...)
2) You all need to come over to enjoy the next sunny day and try out said recipies.

Amaretto Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis

2009-04-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

This cheesecake was a special request. But after searching and searching I couldn't find a recipe I liked, so I adapted a Dorie Greenspan recipe. It was a fantastic success. Keith has raved about steaming cheesecakes before like Dorie does in this recipe, but this was the first time I'd done it. I'll never go back to baking cheesecake again.

For the Crust:

1 ½ c. graham crackers crumbs
3 T. sugar
a pinch of salt
½ c. ground almonds
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the bottom of a 9" spring form with two layers of heavy aluminum foil. Mix the dry ingredients in a shallow bowl and then pour melted butter over. Mix thoroughly until damp and then press into the spring form pan going half way up the sides. Bake the crust for ten minutes until lightly browned. Cool, then wrap and freeze while preparing the rest of the cheesecake.

For the Cheesecake:

2 lbs. cream cheese (4 8-oz. packets), room temp.
1 1/3 c. sugar
½ t. salt
1 ½ t. pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temp.
1 c. sour cream
1/3 c. minus 2 T. heavy cream
2 T. amaretto
½ t. pure almond extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put a kettle on the stove to boil.

With a stand mixer use a paddle mixer, and beat the cream cheese at medium speed until soft and creamy, about 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and then continue to beat for another 4 minutes, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract. Add the eggs one by one, beating a full minute in between each one. Reduce speed and mix in the sour cream, amaretto, and heavy cream. Pour the mixture into the crust and then place in a large roasting pan. Fill half way up the side of the spring form pan with boiling water and place in the oven. Bake the cheesecake for 1½ hours. Turn the oven off and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Let the cheesecake sit for another hour. Then carefully remove the whole contraption, take out the pan, and remove the foil. Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature, then cover with saran wrap and chill in the refrigerator. Chill at least 4 hours before serving.

Raspberry Coulis:

2 c. frozen raspberries
1-2 t. lemon juice
sugar to taste
2 t. cornstarch

Cook down the raspberries; then strain the berries through a fine sieve. Return strained berries to pan and add lemon juice and sugar to taste. Put cornstarch in a separate bowl and add just enough water to make a thin paste. Slowly stir into the raspberries until slightly thickened. Chill until serving time.

Bird's Nest Cupcakes for Spring

2009-04-16T21:28:00.000-07:00

I've been on a cupcake kick lately. So on a lazy Saturday this month, I spent most of the afternoon frosting cupcakes. These are lemon flavored, but really any white cake and frosting would work. The fun part here is really the decoration.

Lemon Cupcakes:

2 ¼ c. cake flour
1 T. baking powder
½ t. salt
1 ¼ c. whole milk or buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ c. sugar
2 t. grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temp.
½ t. pure lemon extract

Preheat the oven to 350 and line 22 muffin cups with cupcake papers.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Whisk together the milk and the eggs whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 3 minutes. Beat in extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, then add half of the eggs whites and milk, alternating until all added. Then give the batter a good 2 minutes of beating, and divide among the cupcake papers. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

Lemon Meringue Frosting:

½ c. sugar
2 large egg whites
1 ½ sticks butter (6 tablespoons), at room temp.
2 T. fresh lemon juice
½ t. pure vanilla extract

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
44 jordan almonds

Put the sugar and the egg whites in a double boiler, and place over medium heat. Whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. It should look like glossy marshmallow cream.

Transfer to a mixer, and beat on high speed with a whisk attachment until cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to a paddle attachment and then add butter in pieces until fully incorporated. Then bean 6 to 10 minutes until very smooth. On medium speed beat in lemon juice and the vanilla extract. Place a piece of saran wrap over the frosting until ready to use.

Toast the coconut on a baking sheet in a 300 degree oven until lightly brown, about 8 minutes. Use a folk to stir the coconut every few minutes to get an even toasting. Let cool completely before using.

To Decorate:

Spread a generous amount of frosting on the cupcakes, mounding it higher around the edge. Press toasted coconut into the soft frosting, completely coating it. Place a couple Jordan almonds into the depression in the center.

and...

Pecan Praline Cupcakes
In February I made these cupcakes for my sister-in-law's birthday. I used a white cake recipe, topped them with a melted brown sugar icing, and candied pecans.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Lavender & Polenta

2009-03-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

Made this delicious salad and it's a definite keeper :)

4 chicken breasts

1 1/2 cups polenta

3 3/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup butter

spinach

small tomatoes

pecans

feta

Marinade fro chicken:

dried lavender

2 tsp grated orange rind

2 cloves garlic crushed

2 tsp honey

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

2 tsp chopped fresh marjoram

(mix together and spread on chicken. leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes)

Bring chicken stock to a boil. Add polenta and cook on low heat 3-4 minutes, until thick stirring continuously. Spead into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Let cook until hard. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Heat butter in frying pan and cook cubes until golden brown. Also grill or broil chicken.

Serve chicken and polenta over a bead of spinach topped with tomatoes, pecans and feta.

Portabello Marinade (10 min or less)

2009-02-25T20:54:00.000-08:00

Ok, here goes my first attempt at recipeeeez! This has been adapted from Colleen's veggie cookbook... The marinade can be strong (salt from miso and sour from balsamic) if you are eyeballin' the ingredient amounts, so be careful and dilute with water if necessary.
3-4 portos
2 tbsp Miso Paste
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp balsamic
1 tbsp water
Optional depending on desired flavor is grated garlic, ginger, or pepper to taste.

Add the portos to a gallon ziploc, then add the above ingredients after mixing separately in a bowl. Seal the bag almost all the way, but leave a small space to blow into. Inflate the bag (a la, Franzia volleyball), and gently shake for a minute. The inflated bag will keep the shroomies from crushing. heat oven to 350 degrees, and by the time the oven is warm, the marinade should be sufficiently soaked in. Lay the caps out, gills up, on a cookie sheet and cook for around 10 min (depends on how cooked you like your mushies.

You cant go wrong with this and it is really easy and quick to make, though not very appetizing looking unless you can figure out something to put it on/garnish. (parsley anyone?)

No Knead Bread

2009-02-23T16:40:00.000-08:00

I blatantly stole this recipe from my cousin Erik, who deserves much of the credit for perfecting the technique. This recipe is EASY, and on a given batch you probably do 15 minutes of actual work; the rest is just rise time, temperature and equipment. The bread has the good, springy texture of artisan bread complete with the big gas bubbles. I have had great results letting the dough rise 24 hours (my house is about 65 degrees F) and you could let it rise for up to 36 hours, depending on the the temperature. A longer rise time will typically yield stronger flavors, and this is part of the reason the bread is tastier than plain ol' white bread. I baked mine in a dutch oven and sprinkled on cornmeal, which makes for a spiffy crust. The recipe doesn't mention, but I usually wet the towels to hold in moisture. I also like a bit crispier crust so I bake the bread out of the dutch oven and right on the rack for the last 5-10 minutes. Think that's it. Enjoy!

Recipe: No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street BakeryTime: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Olive apricot and pistachio quinoa

2009-02-13T11:16:00.000-08:00

I tweaked a Martha Stewart couscous recipe and it was really good. I used quinoa instead of couscous and upped the apricots, olives, pistachios and added feta. Its a great mixture of flavors, i was really pleased with how it came out.

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

½ cup dried apricots chopped

½ cup green olives chopped

1/3 cup pistachios chopped

juice for ½ a lemon

feta

cook quinoa until mostly done. Add apricots an olives and continue to cook. When finished, mix in pistachios and lemon juice. Serve topped with feta J

Lard; Why are we so afraid of it?

2009-02-05T17:31:00.001-08:00

LARD...dun dun dun. Who cooks with lard? "I don't want all that fat going straight to my ass... talk about a a heart attack waiting to happen...I don't eat stuff like that." Sound familiar?

Why are we all of the sudden so afraid of something our ancestors have been doing for centuries? I know that many of my favorite recipes from home call for lard... or if you are weary of animal fat you can opt for the Crisco substitute, which I always have been. But, I've got to thinking, hy is it that we look down upon traditional ways of cooking as unhealthy, and instead use processed chemically derived ingredients?

Crisco was invented before the civil war when a soap maker James Proctar, and a candle maker William Gandle got together and invented it as a response the the monopoly that was held over lard and tallow, ingredients needed to produce their products. Scientist E.C Kayser helped them develop the science of hydrogenation which changes oils into solids, creating a lard-like substance. It wasn't until 1911, that Procter & Gamble realized they could turn a profit by introducing Crisco into the public for cooking and baking. It was marketed under the slogan "A healthier alternative to cooking with animal fats...and more economical than butter". It was an amazing marketing scheme that demonized lard forever. As we now know, Crisco is not healthier than other forms of fat, and hydrogenated oil has been found to increase heart disease because our bodies have a hard time processing the man made chemical structure.

Despite all the new information about hydrogenated oils and transfats, people still seem scared of the one thing that should be the least threatening, the traditional way. Lard is all natural and worked just fine for generation after generation before we decided that we can create something better (which obviously didn't work). How disconnected from our food and our traditions have we become? How can we believe it is more healthy to put chemically altered substances in our bodies as opposed to something natural?

A couple weeks ago I made bizcochitos the traditional way...and they were delicious!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

2009-02-02T22:13:00.000-08:00

These are amazing. Possibly the best cupcakes I've ever made. It's funny because I'd decided to make cupcakes for a friend's birthday this weekend and got online to poke around on some food blogs to see if anything looked interesting. I went to smitten kitchen first and Deb had posted these cupcakes that very day. Ironically this exact same thing happened a couple weeks ago when I was looking for a good sandwich bread recipe and Deb had posted one that same day as well. It makes fantastic bread by the way, but I've been upping the salt to 2 1/2 tsps.... in case you give it a whirl. It's like smitten kitchen is my baking oracle; Deb knows what I want to bake before I do!

Anyways, back to the cupcakes. Considering all the steps involved, they aren't too hard to make and it's totally worth the extra time. They are super moist, and have a really rich flavor... the beer maybe?? The centers are cut out and filled with a simple ganache, I might add a splash of whiskey to it next time to make it really authentic. Then they are topped with a totally decadent Bailey's frosting. I'm not usually one for lots of icing, but I could eat this stuff with a spoon.

I also have to confess I caved and bought a cupcake tote this weekend. I feel like a total dork, but man is it nice. I could only find 12 and 36 seater boxes, and since bigger is always better... I now have the world's biggest cupcake carrier. But it makes it so unbelievably easy to carry and keep these babies, and they stay nice and fresh.

Belated Happy Holidays!

2009-01-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

So. It looks like the New Year has kept us all a little busy! I know I've been slacking on the posting front, and I even took some pictures of my latest kitchen endeavors. It's still wintry outside and gingerbread never goes out of style in my book, so here a few recipes from the holidays.

Coconut Snowball Cupcakes

I took these to my office holiday party for a festive treat. The recipe I used is from 101cookbooks. I didn't have superfine sugar, and used granulated sugar instead. Next time I will take the extra trip to the store. The larger grains reduced the amount of sugar in the recipe I think, and they turned out a little dry, just slightly tough. I would also use fresh nutmeg next time, and maybe reduce the amount just slightly. That's coming from some one who loooooves nutmeg! But they are fun to bake and frost, and make quite an impression.

Gingerbread Cutout Cookies

These cookies are a little crisper than I was looking for, but they have excellent flavor and turned out very pretty. I tried this recipe from Simply Recipes. I generally like my gingerbread a little on the chewy side, but I ended up liking the subtle crunch these ones had. And they were a blast to frost.

Joanne Storch's Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

I don't have a picture of these little guys, maybe because they got gobbled up so quickly. They just might top my list of favorite holiday cookies ever! And they are so quick and easy to make. I used the leftover dipping chocolate to make peppermint bark as well. I just mixed a couple teaspoons of peppermint extract into the leftover warm chocolate, and then spread it out on a sheet of wax paper. I then gently pressed crushed candy cane into the top and let it harden in a cool place. Then I broke it up into bite sizes pieces.

¾ c. powered sugar
1 ½ c. graham crackers (crushed)
½ c. butter
½ c. peanut butter
1 Tbs. shortening
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz.)

Mix powdered sugar, and cracker crumb together. Heat butter and peanut butter over low heat until melted. Stir in crumb mixture. Shape into 1" balls and let rest for a few minutes in a cool place.

Heat chocolate with 1 TBS of shortening. Dip balls into the chocolate with thongs or a fork until coated. Place on wax paper and refrigerate until firm.

I hope everyone's New Year is off to a fabulous start! I have bread rising in the kitchen, so I'll try and post again soon. :)

Christmas Cookies and Rasberry Muffins...yipee

2008-12-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

I went a little crazy with the Christmas baking yesterday. I guess living with people who are really excited about the holidays has inspired me to be a little less humbug about the whole thing. The original thought was to make gingerbread houses, but that plan became a little complicated when I realized most of the ingredients don't exist here. Instead I used Martha Stewart's sugar cookie recipe and made a cream cheese frosting with vanilla and cinnamon which we proceeded to fill with chemicals to make these beautiful colors. Everyone was really into the decorating as you can tell from the pictures.

I also made some raspberry muffins using one of Martha Stewart's recipes for blueberry muffins. As much as I hate to admit it, I love that woman.

Raspberry Muffins:

6 TBS butter

3 cups + 2 TBS flour

3 Tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk

raspberries or any other kind of berry

(I also added some coconut and dark chocolate to half the batch)

Bake at 350 until done :)

I frosted a few of them with the leftover white cookie frosting, making them a little more cupcake like.

Sweet Potato and Pear Stir-Fry with Chicken and Chile Sauce

2008-12-22T17:55:00.000-08:00

I am home for a week in Taos, NM and earlier today my mom and I were searching for something to make for dinner. We decided on this recipe, unsure of how it might turn out- but we very pleasantly surprised. It is more prep-work than anything, but totally worth it! The ginger, sweet potatoes, and pears compliment each other amazingly! Dad however, was hoping for lasagna, but nonetheless loved the stir-fry!

MARINADE

2 Tbs soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 Tbs white wine

1 lb chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)

*Combine all ingredients, add chicken, and let sit for 30 minutes

SAUCE

2 Tbs cornstarch

1 cup chicken broth

1 Tbs soy sauce

1/2 Tbs fish sauce

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

*Combine all ingredients and set aside

STIR-FRY

2 large sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces)

2 Tbs oil (divided)

2 large garlic cloves (minced)

2 Tbs minced fresh ginger

pinch of cayenne

1 med yellow bell pepper (cut into bite size pieces)

1 med red bell pepper (cut into bite size pieces)

1/2 c canned water chestnuts (drained and sliced)

2 bosc pears (peeled and sliced)

6oz baby spinach

3 c hot cooked brown rice

*Bring a large pot of water and the sweet potatoes to a boil, for about 3 minutes, drain with a colander and set aside

*In a large wok heat 1 Tbs of oil, add garlic ginger and cayenne, and stir-fry until golden; add chicken and stir-fry until almost fully cooked; transfer chicken to a plate or bowl

*In the wok, heat the remaining 1 Tbs of oil and add sweet potatoes, peppers and chestnuts and stir-fry until potatoes and peppers are not quite tender

*Add cooked chicken, pears, and spinach; stir-fry until spinach is just wilted

* Stir in the prepared sauce; stir-fry until the sauce is thickened

*Remove from heat and serve of a heap of brown rice

*ENJOY!

Pumpkin Bread and Gingerbread

2008-12-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it is snowing and it is the holidays, so I am going a little baking crazy. Usually I go a little crazy without an excuse, but the holidays present a special excuse for massive baking endeavors. Hopefully someone will be around to start eating my creations before I give myself a heart attack.

Let's start with the gingerbread. I used this recipe from Epicurious:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gramercy-Tavern-Gingerbread-103087
I added lemon zest and chunks of crystalized ginger and baked them in muffin tins (surprise surprise- I try to make everything into cupcakes), which was fabulous because it increased the amount of chewy top that I love so much. This recipe involves beer, and so there was an open bottle sitting on the countertop at 10 a.m. when the cleaning lady arrived. I made a point of saying that the beer was for the gingerbread and not for my morning consumption.

Then I made pumpkin bread from a fabulous recipe courtesy of The Martha Stewart Cookbook (page 111). It really is a great recipe, so I would like to share it with you. I was inspired to make pumpkin bread when my dad rescued some pumpkins from the porch after the first night of freezing. They were a little mushy, but I cooked them up and made bread. Then I talked to my mom, who informed me that they were not, in fact, sugarpie pumpkins like I had assumed, but the normal inedible cheap kind. Oops. The pumpkin bread tasted great despite this mistake, so I assume this really is a great recipe.

Pumpkin Bread

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons molasses
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup orange juice
2 cups pumpkin puree
3 1/3 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (I added this to the recipe)

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Butter three 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pans.
With an electric mixer, cream butter, molasses, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add orange juice and pumpkin and mix well.
Sift dry ingredients together into a large bowl, and add the pumpkin mixture, stirring well with a wooden spoon.
Spoon into prepared pans. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to rack for cooling.

Baking in Ecuador

2008-12-20T05:54:00.000-08:00

So I arrived in Ecuador Saturday night, and by Sunday afternoon my family had gone to the store and bought everything for me to bake them muffins...apparently I baked a lot when I lived here, big surprise. Since being back I have also introduced them to oatmeal cookies as well, which they were a little hesitant about at first. My little sister told me I shouldn´t tell anyone they contain oatmeal until after they try them. When I lived here 5 years ago I had to improvise a lot because I couldn't find brown sugar, and butter was hard to come by. Cookies never really came out right because they were made with margarine and panella which was the closest thing to brown sugar, but it had a pretty strong molasses-like flavor. Things seem to have changed though which means cookies in Ecuador taste like real cookies now! My family wants me to stay here and help them open a buisness that sells baked goods to all the Gringo cafes.

I am also adding a picture of bizcochitos (recipe my sister posted below) that I made a few weeks ago for a women's studies class. We had to make an aphrodisiac dish, and since anise, wine and chocolate are all aphrodisiacs it seemed perfect. It's also a traditional christmas cookie in New Mexico, and oh so delicious. (so delicious that I spent $15 on a bottle of anise in Korea last Christmas so I could make them)

A Sausage Fest

2008-12-16T17:25:00.001-08:00

As some of you know, my sister Emily has some interesting projects. This weekend, Jake and I had the pleasure of making sausage. As you would expect, making sausage is extremely phallic. First we bought pork shoulder, which has just the right amount of fatty goodness for sausage emulsification. The pork was cubed, seasoned, and left to marinate overnight. The next day, we ground the meat in a handy dandy attachment for the KitchenAide (one more reason why I need to get married so my mom will buy me one). After the meat chills, it is stuffed into hog intestines and twisted into links. I can't explain how manly this whole experience was. We all tried to contain ourselves and not make excessive lewd comments on account of the 2 year old present. Still, no one can refrain from commenting about someone's ability to "handle sausage" or "how big that sausage is growing."

Rachel's Chai Cupcakes, Peppermint Bark and Biscochitos... oh my!

2008-12-14T14:46:00.000-08:00

Today was a glorious day... it was Farah's birthday, it snowed 5 inches in Portland, and finals got cancelled for tomorrow! So I got to baking...
First, I decided to make Rach's yummy looking chai cupcakes for Farah.

I made them extremely miniature, which took forever, but they are way cute. I also made a cinnamon vanilla frosting, which turned out a bit too sweet- but good anyway.

Here are some photos... I also included a photo of Ariel enjoying Rachel's batch that the recipe comes from.

I want to go into the cupcake making industry. Rachel- are you down?

Also, we made incredible Peppermint Bark last night, and I decided to be artsy and take some pictures... so they are here too.

The recipe is easy- and makes for a nice gift!

-2 bags white chocolate chips

-2 bags chocolate chips

-about 30 peppermint candies-crushed

*Pre-heat the oven to 350

*Place aluminum foil on a pan, and sprinkle the chocolate chips over it. Melt them in the oven until they are soft enough to smooth down into a base layer. Let the chocolate harden.

*Place white chocolate in a metal bowl, situated over a pot of boiling water. When the white chocolate melts, quickly pour it over the hardened chocolate.

*Sprinkle peppermint crumbles on top of white chocolate before it hardens.

*Place in the refrigerator until fully hardened- then cut into triangles!

ENJOY!

Lastly, I made the New Mexico state cookie- BISCOCHITOS!!!!! mmm! The smell of these make me feel like it really is December!!

-6 cups cake flour

-3 tsp baking powder

-2 cups crisco

- 1 1/2 cups sugar

-2 tsp anise seed

-2 eggs

-1/4 cup brandy (or red wine)

-cinnamon

-more sugar

-melting chocolate

*Preheat oven to 350

*Combine flour, baking powder and salt in one bowl

*Cream crisco, sugar and anise together in another bowl- beat in the eggs one at a time

*Mix in flour

*Roll dough out, and cut into shapes (or use a cup for circles)

*Sprinkle a mixture of cinnamon and sugar on each uncooked cookie

*Bake about 10 minutes, until they begin to lightly brown

*Melt chocolate, and once cookies have cooled, dip 1/2 in

A word about this blog...

2008-12-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

The banner on top is a photo I pulled off of a stock photography website - royalty free downloads type thing. And there are a lot of pictures out there people just run around and steal, while there are also a lot of picutres under creative commons public domain licensing. Just wanted you guys to know I got the photo off of http://sxc.hu all legal and stuff, and I also wrote to the artist to let him know we are using the photo in a publicly accessible work, and that I modified the photo for use (cropped it). He read our blog and thinks is really cool and likes the photo where it is.

His name is Felipe Peternella, and he is from Salvadaor, Bahia, Brazil. Mmm.. Yummy. (His profile)

Thanksgiving Potatoes

2008-11-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

First of all, Molly I love that you made an entire thanksgiving dinner from scratch by yourself... sounds like fun! I made lots of stuff this thanksgiving as well, but not quite the whole meal. I promised Becca I would post my recipe for mashed sweet potatoes. This are THE BEST mashed potatoes ever, you gotta try them.

2 lbs sweet potatoes

4 tbs butter

2 tbs heavy cream

1 tbs brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

pinch of pepper

Slice the sweet potatoes so they are the same width. In a pan melt butter and heavy cream together. Add sugar, salt, pepper and potatoes. Cook on low heat stirring occasionally until the potatoes start to fall apart. Transfer contents to a bowl and mash.

+You can also make a delicious Indian variation by adding 1 tbs of Garam Masala with sugar and salt. After mashing add golden raisons.

Thankgiving

2008-11-27T21:04:00.001-08:00

Okay, so it was selfish of me to want to do Thanksgiving all by myself. But everyone else gets SO stressed out about it... And I thought it would be fun, plus, I would get to have all the recipes just the way I like it - wi th the free range, organic, antibiotic free turkey, and the organic greens, etc..... So I did it. All from scratch. You know what? I'll do it again tomorrow if you ask me. That was SO MUCH FUN! :) Who is going to give me money to start my own catering business.......?

Impulsively bought some Jubelale while I was picking up the turkey last night... Mmmm.

Mom's Onion Tart with Squash

2008-11-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

My mom sent me a recipe for an Onion Tart she has whipped up a few weeks ago, so I decided to give it a try this past weekend. However, the acorn squash lingering in my kitchen was begging to be used, and suddenly my tart was destined to be a Squash and Onion Tart, and the results were fabulous.

Onion Filling:
3 cups slices onions
1 c. cubes of roasted squash, cooled (I think I'll use Butternut next time)
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ cup cream
1 egg
1 T. dried sage

Pastry Crust:
1 cup flour
7 T. butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
about 1 T. milk or cream - I used soy milk

Brown the onions in butter and oil. Salt them. Put in a bowl to cool. Mix the cream, salt, sage and egg together, fold in the squash and set aside. Make the crust while the onions are cooling.

Mix together flour, butter and salt like a standard pie crust. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Add enough milk to make a dough that barely sticks together. Kneed a couple times and roll out into a circle and place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.

Mix the cream and egg mixture into the onions and then spread on the circle of dough leaving the outside 1 to 1 ½ inches uncovered. Fold the outside edge over the filling, crimping the edge as you go.

Bake for 30 minutes @ 375°, or until the crust is lightly browned.

Ariel and I enjoyed it with roasted Autumn veggies and a big green salad. I can attest to the fact that the absolutely perfect dessert to this meal is posted right below...

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

2008-11-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

Last night I experimented with brownies and peanut butter chips...and I was pleased with the result. I used my favorite no fail brownie recipe and gave it some spice:

Brownies:

2 sticks butter

4oz bittersweet chocolate

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup flour

½ tsp SALT

1 bag reeses peanut butter chips

1 tablespoon milk

Melt butter and chocolate. Combine with sugar. Add eggs one at a time while mixing. Mix in remaining dry ingredients. Put in pan.

I then melted the peanut butter chips with the milk and swirled it in using a knife. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Marble Cutter's Soup

2008-11-18T17:47:00.001-08:00

Yummy soup. Followed recipe straight from the Splendid Table, except I added oregano.

Vegan Sausages

2008-11-14T20:55:00.000-08:00

Too lazy to write this post out all over again. Just go look at it in the original post.

Creamy Tomato Rosemary Flax Pasta

2008-11-12T19:21:00.001-08:00

Too many words for one past perhaps? In any case, this was sort of a "whatever I have in the fridge" kind of meal... plus, it didn't hurt my freshly removed wisdom holes.

Creamy Tomato Rosemary Flax Pasta

1 garlic clove, chopped

1/4 onion, chopped

1/2 can diced tomatoes

2 spoonfuls of low-fat cream cheese

rosemary, salt and pepper

flax seed pasta (Trader Joes!)

~this makes one big serving~

1. cook up the onion and garlic in a skillet, while boiling the pasta on the side.

2. pour the tomatoes and the cream cheese into the skillet, and cook until cheese has melted.

3. spice it up with some rosemary, salt and pepper

4. simmer the sauce until it is at a desired thickness

5. serve the sauce over the pasta, and ENJOY!

**(it might also be good to throw in some fancy mushrooms and white wine!)

Not only is it delicious- it isn't as horrible for you as the standard creamy alfredo sauce! :)

2008-11-11T21:28:00.000-08:00

Made this great soup for dinner, Cream of Sunchoke Soup. Phil and I ordered it at Lovely Hula Hands for my birthday dinner, where it was WAY better, but hey, I'm trying. (photos are all cut off, but full versions if you click I think)
Ingredients

Chop, chop chop chop chop.

Sunchokes look really weird.

Some for me, some for the soup!

Final product.

1 lb sunchokes, washed, peeled, sliced thin, and soaked in a bowl of cold water and fresh lemon juice
1 med onion, diced
2 med new potatoes, diced small
1/2 lb celariac, diced small
2 celery stalks, diced

1 tbs stone ground mustard
1 cup of dry white wine
1 cup of half and half

4 cups broth
Thyme
Rosemary
Olive oil
Salt

Pepper

Sunchoke Soup

Bring 2tbs olive oil to medium heat in a heavy bottom pot. Sautee onion, rosemary, thyme, and celery for 8 minutes, but do not brown.
Add the other vegetables and mustard, and sautee for 10 minutes.
Add white wine and increase heat, boiling off nearly all the liquid.
Add the broth and keep at a light boil for 30 minutes with no lid.
In batches, puree the soup mixture in a food processor or blender, then transfer back to pot.
Add half and half, and stir while bringing heat up to just a boil. Add salt and peper to taste. Serve hot immediately with a celery leaf to garnish.

2008-11-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

Isn't fall beautiful?

Soups Galore

2008-11-09T12:19:00.000-08:00

As some of you know my lil sister got her wisdom teeth yanked out on Friday. I came up to Portland to take care of her and make soup for her so she wouldn't starve. I cooked up some old favorites; Red Pepper Coconut and Creamy Squash and Apple. I thought I would share with you lovely ladies....

Creamy Squash and Apple Soup:

5 cups chicken broth

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

2 cups vertically sliced onion

2 granny smith apples peeled and sliced

Salt and pepper

Cook the squash and potato in the broth until soft enough to mash. Remove from broth and mash it up, when finished return the mashed goodness to the broth. Saute onion and apples until nice and soft. Add to the broth along with salt and pepper to your liking. Heat it all up and serve :)

Chai Cupcakes

2008-11-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

As usual, I made cupcakes. This time the special occasion wasn't just "It's Tuesday!!!" It was Ariel's birthday. I decided to make chai flavored cupcakes with a cinnamon buttercream frosting. I also found some great star-shaped cupcake tins while at the Smash Can Store with Molly. I thought that this would be a perfect combo for celebrating Paco's birthday. After looking at recipes online, I decided to make my own up, using ideas from recipes and a yellow cake as a base. So here goes:

3 eggs
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup milk
2 black tea bags
2 chai tea bags
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom
ground cloves
nutmeg
allspice

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the eggs in a bowl of warm water to warm them. Heat up the milk on the stove and add the tea bags. Let the milk and tea soak at least 10 minutes, and then remove the tea bags.
2. Get out your big, new, fancy red Kitchen-Aide mixer (paco). Cream the butter and sugar until it is a pastel yellow. Add the eggs, one at a time.
3. Sift all of the dry ingredients onto a piece of wax paper. The spices are all an approximation. Add more/less to your own personal taste.
4. Add the flour mixture and milk alternately to the mixer, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until combined. Do not over mix.
5. Pour the batter into the cupcake thingies and bake for about 18 minutes.
6. Enjoy amazing cupcakes.

Aleta, can you post a birthday picture?

Just one more way to procrastinate...

2008-11-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to make y'all aware of my very favorite food blog. I read the usual suspects when I get a chance, like 101 cookbooks, and smitten kitchen, but you should really check this one out too.

La Tartine Gourmande

And while you're at it, you better check this page out too. It's just photos of this woman's breakfast every morning. It sounds lame, but just wait, you'll be checking it a couple times a week here soon...

simply breakfast

.

Delicious Easy Chicken-ness

2008-10-31T15:39:00.001-07:00

So last night I got home from yoga at 830pm, and not only was I starving, but I had an eggplant to use. Sooooo I made some incredible chicken for which the recipe follows:

1 medium eggplant

2 medium red bell peppers

salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

4 tsp lemon or lime juice

1. Slice eggplant and bell peppers and place in microwave on high for 8 minutes- or until soft.

2. Combine ginger, garlic powder, 1/8 tsp red pepper and pinch of salt and sprinkle over chicken.

3. Cook chicken in a pan or on a grill (George Forman works wonders!).

4. PLace eggplant, bell pepper, 1/8 tsp red pepper, oil, paprika, juice and wine in a blender, and process until smooth and pourable. Pour over chicken

5. Serve and ENJOY!

Bagels and Cream Cheese

2008-10-31T01:37:00.001-07:00

I fully plan on wowing Phil with some boiled bagels this weekend and
thought some fresh cream cheese would go nicely with it. I started a
buttermilk culture on Tuesday and am now using it to make other
cheeses. Kegerator will make for a nice hard cheese incubator (~50F).
Remember all that cheve we used to make Paco? Let's step it up to feta
and cheddar...

Pizza from Aleta's post

2008-10-31T01:32:00.001-07:00

So I bought some of the TGs dough.... How the hell do you get it to
roll out!?!? Was very hard to work with.

Made a quick sauce with tomato paste, white vinegar, herbs de
provance, and fresh onion and garlic. Then topped with roasted red
peppers, capers, asiago shavings and my favorite vegetarian brats,
tofurkey somethin er other. Burned it at 450 for ten min, then aired
out apartment, reduced heat to 350 and continued to back for about
eight more minutes. Mmmmmm. Good call on the whole wheat TGs dough
Leeeeeeetah.

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ok. Ok. I promised Ariel I would finally put this post up. I got this recipe from Jane Snelling back in the day, and it has remained a favorite of mine for years. It's rather fitting for this time of year, but I think it's always a good fall-back treat. And so easy!

Pumpkin Bars with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

½ c. butter
1 c. brown sugar (lightly packed)
1 egg
1 c. canned pumpkin
1½ c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger, allspice, & baking soda. (each)
½ c. chopped walnuts

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and pumpkin. Blend flour with spices and blend into the creamed mixture. Add the nuts, and mix well. Spread into a greased 9" x 13" pan, and bake @ 350° for 16-18 minutes.

1 Juicy Orange
1/2 package Cream Cheese
lots of powered sugar (like a cup or two)

I mixed the juice and zest of an Orange into the cream cheese until smooth. Then I added large spoonfuls of powered sugar until it reached the consistency I wanted. I left it kind of runny, and it will set up a little after you spread it over the bars. You could double the amount of cream cheese and use half the orange juice for a thicker, tarter frosting, as well.

Pear Gingerbread

2008-10-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

I made this pear gingerbread the other day as a means of procrastination. It was pretty so I took a picture, and yummy so I wanted to share the recipe, but since I don't have it with me during this session of procrastination I will add it on soon :)

We have been doing ladies dinner night on sundays down here in Corvallis and ofcourse you are all welcome to drop in whenever. Also it's about time for a formal dinner I think....

Birthdayssssss

2008-10-27T22:18:00.001-07:00

Most importantly... Me. My birthday is Nov 2nd, but Paco's is Nov 3rd, and Colleen is right around the bend. And then there's Becca! I believe her birfday is the exact same as Phillip's (which i only learned by some bizarre event of needing to get into something of your mom's and the code was your birthday!?!?!?!?!?) - December 7th. And then Melanie is riiiiiiiight around the New Years bend, 2nd week of Jan? Uhkay. That was fun and informative.

Bagels Bagels Bagels

2008-10-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

Rachel came for the weekend.... And we've made stuff. This is what happens when you share your recipe with your girlfriend. She makes it way better than you ever have or ever could. Thanks Rach.

And it's actually not even MY recipe. I just researched about 50,000 of them before I decided that the consistency was culminated into one, fairly successful sounding one. Which happened to be on allrecipes.com and here it is....

Hey Laaaaaddyyyyyyyy

2008-10-17T14:06:00.001-07:00

You ladies have never met Jenna Adams, but she is Jake's sister. Um. The Jake you all refer to as Hot Jake and I pretend not to notice... Anyway, I added her as a contributing author ;)

Be proud ladies...

2008-10-16T11:08:00.001-07:00

Excerpted from "Grand Canyon", Educated Guess - 2004, Ani DiFranco

shocked to tears by each new vision of all that my ancestors have done  like, say, the women who gave their lives so that i could have one  people, we are standing at ground zero of the feminist revolution yeah, it was an inside job stoic and sly one we're supposed to forget  and downplay and deny but i think the time is nothing if not nigh to let the truth out coolest f-word ever deserves a fucking shout! i mean  why can't all decent men and women call themselves feminists? out of respect  for those who fought for this  i mean, look around  we have this   yes i love my country by which i mean i am indebted joyfully to all the people throughout its history who have fought the government to make right where so many cunning sons and daughters our foremothers and forefathers came singing through slaughter  came through hell and high water so that we could stand here and behold breathlessly the sight how a raging river of tears is cutting a grand canyon of light  words and music by ani difranco Â© 2004 righteous babe music / BMI

Because cooking at 2.m. is normal

2008-10-14T01:40:00.001-07:00

You guys are going to think I'm nuts.... but it wont be the first time. So it's 1:40 a.m. right now, and I am LOVING a chicken curry and naan bread i just whipped up from scratch. I went to get the groceries on my bike at 11:30, so really the cooking itself only took about 40 min. I cleaned the kitchen a long the way, and already packed up the leftovers... This is not my recipe, but i LOVE this website. Real, easy food, from people who are authentically of the ethnic origin of the food itself.

How To Cook A Chicken Curry In Ten Minutes

How To Cook A Chicken Curry In Ten Minutes: Indian Chef and Cookery Book author Manju Malhi shows VideoJug users a quick and easy chicken curry which is perfect when you're in a hurry. Experience our Chicken Curry in Ten Minutes recipe, and make a quick and tasty dish for all to enjoy.

Weights & Measures:

Serves:: 2
Preparation Time:: 5 minutes
Cooking Time:: 10 minutes

Step 1:

You will need

Step 2:

Prepare

Finely chop a medium sized onion

Remember- when preparing ingredients, the smaller you chop things, the faster they cook. Chop your ingredients really small, so they'll be ready in no time.

Crush 2 cloves of garlic with the side of a knife. Now peel away the skin, and finely chop.

Finely chop a green chilli. Unless you want an incredibly hot curry, use the knife to take out as many seeds as you can. Chilli juices can burn your skin so when you've finished, wash your hands.

Take the chicken on a fresh chopping board. Chop into small bite-size pieces. Wash your hands after chopping the meat.

Step 3:

Fry the onion

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Then add the chopped onion, and fry for 1 minute.

Step 4:

Add chicken

Put the chicken in, and continue to fry for 5 to 6 minutes. The chicken will start to cook, and turn entirely white on the outside.

Step 5:

Add garlic and chilli

Put the garlic and chilli into the pan, and stir. Carry on frying gently over a medium heat, until everything is golden brown, which will take 2 to 3 minutes. Keep stirring.

Step 6:

Add spices

Put 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin and 1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander in the pan. Stir well.

Step 7:

Add more flavour

Add 1 teaspoon of tomato purée, and 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala or curry paste. Here we're using freshly made garam masala.

Stir, and fold 2 generous tablespoons of double cream into the mixture.

Step 8:

Check the chicken

If you're worried about whether the chicken is cooked, take a large piece from the pan, and cut it in half. It should break easily, and be white all the way through, with no trace of pink. It should also be piping hot throughout.

Step 9:

Serve

Serve hot with freshly cooked basmati rice, or naan bread.

Stetp 10: Hide from Kitteh!

How To Make Naan Bread

Naan Bread Recipe. Perfect your feast of flavours with delicious, aromatic naan bread fresh from the oven. Manju Mahli's authentic recipe is a real taste of India. Devour our Naan Bread recipe.

Weights & Measures:

Serves:: 4
Preparation Time:: 40 minutes
Cooking Time:: 15 minutes
Oven Temperature:: 280° c - ° f

Step 1:

You will need

Step 2:

Yeast

Mix 1 teaspoon of dried yeast with 1 tablespoon of warm water in a small bowl.

Stir a teaspoon of sugar into the yeast mixture. Put the bowl in a warm place, and leave it for 5 minutes, until the yeast is covered with froth.

Step 3:

Dough

While the yeast begins to froth, start to mix the dough. In a large mixing bowl, put
200g of plain flour,
1/4 teaspoon of salt, and
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder.
Mix well.

Stir in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt, 2 tablespoons of milk and the yeast mixture, which should be frothy by now. Mix a little, with a spoon.

Step 4:

Knead

Press your knuckles repeatedly into the dough. Continue kneading in this way until you have a soft pliable dough. It should take about 5-6 minutes.

Step 5:

Rise

Dampen a tea towel or small cloth, and use it to cover the mixing bowl. Leave it in a warm place to rise. This should take 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 6:

Pre-heat the oven

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees Celsius, 275 degrees Fahrenheit, or Gas Mark 1.

Step 7:

Shape the dough

When the dough is ready, it will be spongy and springy. Lightly sprinkle a little flour over a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 4 equally sized balls. With your hands, or a rolling pin, roll each into a long oval shape, about half a centimetre, or a quarter of an inch thick. Don't roll them out too thinly, or they'll turn out like crisps.

Step 8:

Bake

Grease a baking tray with a little oil on a pastry brush. Place the ovals of dough onto the tray, and then in the centre of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. When they're ready, they should be light golden, soft and crumbly.

Step 9:

Serve

Serve hot, with your favourite curry, like Chicken Jalfrezi or Lamb Madras.

Notice how my naan looks nothing like theirs? That's cause i suck, and i forgot the part about making it round? Mine was pretty dense, but it still tasted good.

Fudge Tunnel of Disaster

2008-10-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

So today I was baking a cake, big surprise, and it turned into a chocolatey volcano mess with erupting brown gobs. It was supposed to be a chocolate fudge tunnel cake; cake-like on the outside and gooey and fudgey on the inside. It sounded perfect. The ultimate desert for that time of the month when you just want to shove chocolate in your mouth so that you first dance around from sugar high and then pass out from sugar low. -Sidenote: Why doesn't anyone ever talk about "sugar lows?" We should feed kids sugar so that they run around like crazy monkeys and and then take exhausted naps.- So I made this amazing sounding cake. I cooked it in a bundt pan and followed the directions in the cookbook. When it came out of the oven, it smelled delicious and looked fabulous. But then came the moment when I turned the cake upside-down onto a plate. Apparently the cake wasn't cooked enough, and it blobbed out all over the counter. The cake did not maintain any of its shape. I had to scoop it off the counter and bake it in a large rectangle baking dish. It wasn't quite what I had expected or wanted, but it was still sweet and made of cocoa products. Lesson learned: even if the cake is supposed to be gooey on the inside, it still needs to be cooked on the outside.

Semi Food Related...

2008-10-07T16:18:00.000-07:00

I sold the Subaru ladies. It's gone. Allllll gone. I just feel like this is my way of fulfililng my domestic dream. Okay, and honestly, it affects food a lot because now I'm really unable to gorge myself on 5 gallons of juice from Fred Meyer at 10:30p.m. like some of you know I do....

Oh the joys of college cooking.

2008-10-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

My friend Jamie and I made pizza on Sunday night... in 20 minutes! I know, I know, making your own crust is really the only way to go, but I decided to bite the bullet and try Trader Joe's incredibly inexpensive ($1.29) and amazingly delicious whole wheat dough. I was more than impressed- and it only took 10 minutes to bake!

I decided that I am going to buy some more, and divide it into single size portions, and freeze it. Then, when I am fully immersed in studying, I can whip some out and make my own personal Edward Abbey.

I have a few fun pizza ideas to share:

1. Grill eggplant and chop it up to use as a topping

2. Add dollops of Ricotta cheese (sounds strange- totally amazing!)

Okay, lame I know... but I wanted to post SOMETHING! So go out and buy some TJ's dough to support the lazy domestic life!

OH! I almost forgot- I am getting my wisdom teeth out sometime this month- so when I do, someone should make some sorbet and soup and bring it my way! :)

Cake

2008-10-06T22:18:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I have been a little obsessed with baking lately. I admit it. I have a cake problem. Today I made a Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Citrus Glaze. It was so yummy that I can actually feel the fat making itself into glycogen stores in my thighs. In the cookbook, the cake was under the Tube Cake section so I baked it in a bundt pan. When I turned over the cake onto cooling rack, it didn't occur to me how I was going to ever get it off the rack. It was an awkward moment when I tried to transfer the cake onto a plate. Anyone have any ideas of a good way to do this? Then I poured the citrus glaze on the cake, but it was really runny and just sunk into the cake. Was it supposed to do that? (This is the post when I admit that I don't really have any idea what I am doing)
Anyone interested in this recipe?

Not so domestic anymore....

2008-10-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

So my mom sent me this cookie recipe which looks really yummy but I don;t have time to try it out since I no longer have a life due to school. I figured I would pass it on to people who may have time to give it a go. (I would be happy to taste test as well)

Tamara's Ginger Cookies
2 1/2 c flour
2 tsp bkg soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp ground ginger
mix all together

12 Tbsp soft butter
1 c packed brown sugar
cream well and then add:
1 lg egg
1/4 c molasses
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
mix well and add dry ingredients. roll into walnut sized balls and then roll in granulated sugar. bake at 350 for 12 minutes,

Pizza Pockets

2008-09-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

Oh my oh my. So, as some of you may already know, when I get on a pizza kick, I get a little nuts. Like, "hmmm, i want pizza for dinner. Which means left overs for second dinner, and brekkie!" Then there's usually some left over at lunch too. Which turns into a vicious cycle of pizza for 5-6 meals in a row. You never know what could happen after that.... Sometimething like 5-10 lbs gained in two weeks I'm sure. At any rate, I've dedcided it's much better to make my own nasty pizza in a pocket, than eating those that come with their own "crisping sleeve" from the Grocery Outlet. I have a quick and nasty recipe for y'all.

Ingredients:

For the sauce...

Tomato paste (1 6oz can)

White Distilled Vinegar (some)

Sugar (1 tbs)

Herbs de provence (or a bunch of oregano, thyme, basil, etc)

For the crust...

1 can of nasty Pilsbury biscuits or pizza dough or whatever else nasty dough comes in a can

Make ur own dough; there are a lot of super simple pizza dough recipes online

For the guts... Obviously anything you want; I like the following...

Sausage

Red pepper flakes

Roasted garlic

Broccoli

Mozzarella cheese

Put it all together and what do you get? A pizza pocket for kitty and me!

Simmer the tomato paste in a saucepan on medium heat and stir in the vinegar, sugar, and herbs to taste. I like to start this about twenty minutes before everything else because the longer it simmers, the better the taste comes out.
Sautee your choice of nasty meat if you are using any. Browning nicely so as not to contract any sort of e.coli 0157:H7 or whatever the super cool foodborne illness of the day tends to be.
Preheat oven to 425F.
Roll out your nasty dough (or really nice homemade dough if you don't have a job and that sort of time is what you have (Rachel)). I like to roll mine out in a nice long rectangle, so when it curls in like dough does, it will end up sort of rounded and then the pocket really does look like a pocket in the end.
Smear some sauciness onto one half of ur dough, sprinkle with various things - onion powder, garlic flakes, red pepper flakes, boogers, etc - then start stacking on your ingredients.
When you're done addings things, smear some more sauciness on the top and sprinkle with cheeziness. Then, carefully fold over the other half of your dough.
Pinch the sides together all the way around, or make the edges real pretty by smashing with a fork. Stab a few holes in the top so the damn thing doesn't explode. Bake on a cornmeal covered cookie sheet for ~ 20 minutes give or take, at 400F (you preheated to 425F, so the dough will get a super nice hotflash, which I believe seals it very nicely, then bakes it slower so all the insides get hot too, but what do I know.)
Remove from oven when top is golden brown and delicious looking - or when you're so hungry or drunk you can't stand it anymore. Be very very careful, as nasty meat and sauce ingredients inside are explosively hot.

Pastries

2008-09-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

The other day, something happened to my parents' fridge and everything ended up defrosted. So it was up to me to forage through the remains and make edible products (my dad and my sister would never be up for that task). For some unknown reason, my mom was storing enough puff pastry in the freezer to make a puff pastry castle. I made spanakopita last night, and then made pastries this morning. It was super easy! I popped the puff pastry cups in the oven according to directions on the package. Meanwhile I cooked down some blueberries (also defrosted from the broken fridge) on the stove. I just put them on low heat and added absolutely nothing. When the pastry cups emerged from the oven, I spooned pastry cream (made in the microwave yesterday- again, super easy) and blueberry into the cups. There you go! Pastries.

I've also been on a cupcake binge, as you can tell from the picture. On Wednesday, I made blueberry cupcakes and on Thursday chocolate cupcakes. Now I am contemplating buying one of those ridiculous cupcake-carrier-thingies just so I can spread cupcakes to the world (and get less fat by feeding my creations to other people instead of eating them ALL). For the greater good :)

2008-07-28T09:30:00.001-07:00

Molly Elliott
Oregon State University,
Health Promotion and Education
elliotmo@gmail.com
503.307.2777

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