Food Flood

Molasses Yam Cookies

2011-03-01T19:16:00.008-05:00

At my old elementary school, there used to be a day in the middle of winter when all the fourth graders got to go on a field trip to the Nature Center and learn lots of old-timey chores. We sat in an old Michigan cabin, split into groups, and we learned the laborious arts of candle-making, butter-churning, and making molasses cookies. I think some of us even wore those stupid Puritan costumes, or at least the teachers did. I don't know how the school justified these activities as vital to our education (post-apocalypse training, maybe?) but it was really fun and one of the only things I remember in detail from elementary school.

And perhaps because the memories were formed around the same time, this memory always seems to bump heads with the memory of the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch episode where they all reenact the Salem Witch Trials.

Great episode, with excellent use of indoor lightning special effects!

The original molasses cookie recipe comes from Mrs. O'Connor's fourth grade white board, written in fancy cursive.

(Special collaboration from my boyfriend, Jacob Mendel, who edited my photo. Alison, my roommate, chose which edited photo to use. Thank you both!)

NOTE ON THE PICTURE: for some reason, these cookies did not expand outwards and crack completely like they usually do. This often happens when I add too much flour, so I must have made an unfortunate manual error.

Molasses Yam Cookies

You need:
- a spatula
- a medium bowl for dry ingredients
- a big bowl for mixing
- a hand mixer
- a baking sheet
- a sifter
- 3/4 unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 C honey
- 1/3 C molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/2 C dark brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/2 C yams, cooked (peel and boil a small yam until soft, mash until smooth)
- pinch of salt
- white sugar for rolling

1. Beat the butter with hand mixer until fluffy, then add egg and honey. Mix in molasses and vanilla extract.

2. Sift together all dry ingredients (remember to sift the flour before you measure it out!*) except rolling sugar into the medium bowl, and slowly beat into the egg mixture. Scrape the sides with a spatula and re-mix for full incorporation. Add cooked yams.

3. Cover and chill in the fridge for 1 hour (or, if you're impatient like me, store in the freezer for 10 minutes, mix, and then cover and put the cookie batter back in the freezer for another 10 minutes).

4. uncover dough and roll into walnut-sized balls, then roll in sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart and bake on cooking sheet for 8 - 10 minutes.

*Like I mentioned below the picture, these cookies did not yield a normal consistency because of a mistake on my part in adding too much flour. A helpful tip to avoid my mistake for all cookie recipes is to sift the flour BEFORE measuring it out. Flour is densely packed into those little paper bags you buy from the grocery store, so when you measure out 1 cup of flour straight out of the bag, you could be using a great deal more flour than the recipe calls for.

But disregarding the erroneous fluffy consistency, the taste was exactly what I thought it would be: chewy, sugary, and delicious! The cookies are best served warm when the yams are all gooey, but these cookies will keep their chewiness for a couple of days in some tupperware.

Blueberry Cherry Salsa

2010-08-01T12:44:00.002-04:00

Happy end of July everyone! 'Tis currently the season of the Jersey blueberry, one of the sweetest, biggest strains of blueberry growing in Michigan. Blueberries are by far the easiest fruit to pick; often a simple shake is all it takes to dislodge the berries from their stems. Also, if the blueberry is blue, big, and fairly firm, there's a 99.99% chance it is going to be delicious.*

This is an easy recipe for a sturdy blueberry cherry salsa. I originally made this recipe for blueberry avocado salsa a week ago, and I decided to put my own spin on it. The additional cherries and extra jalapeno give the salsa a bolder flavor to properly attack your taste buds. If you don't like cherries, or want less of a spicy kick, the original recipe is quite good and I fully recommend it.

Blueberry Cherry Salsa

you need:

- a knife
- a big bowl
- a food processor or blender (careful with the blender though - don't blend too long or the salsa will turn into soup!)
- 1 1/2 C fresh tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
- 2 C fresh blueberries
- 2 T lime juice
- 1/4 C green onions, chopped
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 T jalepeno pepper
- 1 ripe avocado, cut into chunks
- 1 C fresh cherries, chopped

Put all ingredients except the avocado and cherries into the food processor. Pulse a few times, just so everything is incorporated. Next, drizzle avocado with some lime juice. Incorporate into the salsa along with the cherries. Serve with love and good salsa chips, like these:

They're available at Whole Foods and they're SO good! I can't stop eating the Lime and Blue Corn varieties.

coming up: cherry soup, picnic post, dinner party planning tips

*That's what she said.

Cherry Muffins

2010-07-31T10:39:00.010-04:00

Aren't cherries so lovely looking? The smooth, shiny surface, the long, elegant stem dangling its succulent fruit - I'm sort of baffled as to why strawberries got the reputation for being the fruit of romantics instead of cherries. Maybe because spitting out pits isn't that sexy. But cherries do apparently make the list for great gifts! At least Japan thinks so: they've been giving cherry trees to Washington D.C. as a symbol of friendship for over 100 years.

(taken from National Agricultural Library Digital Repository)

It's unfortunate that most cherry varieties are found in cans and preserve jars. The majority of people are only familiar with two kinds of cherries - the dark, tartly-sweet Bing cherry, and the sugary-sweet, crimson-gold Rainier cherry. In fact there are over 1000 types of cherries (many grown in Michigan!), but a lot of them do not see the supermarket shelf because of dumb things like shipping difficulties or inconvenient ripening times. If you're interested in expanding your cherry horizon, the annual Traverse City Cherry Festival in July will sell some of the more elusive cherry family members.

(Check out at that interior!)

This muffin recipe requires Bing cherries, and is taken from a small pamphlet I found in one of my mom's old Somerset Collection magazines.

Cherry Muffins

you need:
- a medium size bowl
- a big bowl
- a hand mixer
- a spatula
- a muffin tin/muffin paper holders

topping:
- 1/2 C butter
- 1 C brown sugar
- 1 1/2 C flour
- 1/2 T cinnamon

muffin:
- 3 C flour
- 3/4 C sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 T cinnamon
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 C oil
- 1 3/4 C whole milk
- 2 C cherries, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line the muffin tin with the muffin paper holders.

2. Mix together the topping ingredients in a medium sized bowl until you get a mealy texture; set aside.

3. For the muffins, mix together all dry ingredients and then add the eggs, mixing until just incorporated.

4. Mix in the oil and milk, then fold in cherries.

5. Pour the muffin mix into the paper holders and sprinkle generously with topping. (I found that I had a lot of topping left over, but cinnamon sugar butter is a pretty versatile topping. I'm currently using it to butter morning toast).

The recipe is simple, and the outcome wasn't bad, but these weren't mind-blowingly good either. What I really liked about these muffins was their ability to hold moisture. I've been storing them out in the open covered in aluminum foil for a few days now, and they're still quite spongy. I'll probably make these again and add 2 1/2 T lemon zest, or maybe fold in some blueberries. Or both! The cherry recipe sky is limitless.

(Cherries always remind me of this image from Amélie)

coming up: cherry soup!, blueberry salsa, a very belated picnic post

Green Tea Artichokes

2010-07-05T06:59:00.002-04:00

Boiling artichoke in green tea? This pairing seems weird at first, but if you think about it a little, it makes sense. Artichokes have a mild leafy flavor that tastes like a mushy spinach-arugula hybrid, but more savory. The green tea I used is also quite leafy, but has a sweet touch in its final note. And as every good cook knows, pairing sweet and savory flavors is the recipe for complex, interesting, and delicious dishes.

As you can see, the bottom of the artichoke leaf is greener than it would normally be if you had just boiled it with plain water. When you read on, you may be confused as to why my artichoke picture shows a hand dipping an artichoke leaf in a dip, yet I have no dip recipe listed: forget the dip. You don't need it. I believe the mixture of flavors from the artichoke and green tea leaves were more than enough to satisfy. If you insist on a dip, do something like melted butter that won't disguise any flavors. I definitely anticipate making this again, either for a party or for friends and family.

I used Oolong tea as my green tea leaves, which have a slightly bitter, slightly sweet taste to them. This flavor transferred extraordinarily well to the artichoke without depleting very much of the artichoke's natural flavor. If you aren't a fan of Oolong, try this recipe with your own favorite green tea! Or, if you've never tried green tea/you think Lipton green tea bags are the greatest, try reading my earlier post about green tea.

HOLD ON: If you don't know how to prepare an artichoke, here is a great site with short step-by-step videos on how to do it.

Green Tea Artichokes

makes 3 artichokes.

you need:
- a large pot with a lid
- a quart of water, or enough water to cover the tops of the artichokes
- 1/4 C green tea leaves
- 3 artichokes, prepared
- colander

1. Prepare the artichoke as you normally would: pull the leaves open from the center, cut the pointy tips off the leaf ends, cut the stem if you want the artichokes to be able to sit up, or only cut the tip of the stem if you want to leave it on. You may also choose to remove the choke at this point if you want to put a dip in the center later.

2. Bring the quart of water to a boil. Dump the artichokes in the water; boil in plain water for 15 minutes, and cover with a lid. The artichokes will rise and float, so weight them down with a plate.

3. As the water boils, clean your tea leaves. It just involves taking some boiling water and running it over the tea leaves for a few seconds. My mom always does this because she says it helps to get rid of any dust or bacteria that might be lingering on the leaves.

4. After 15 minutes, put the green tea leaves into the water. You don't want to add them immediately with the artichokes because the leaves will break apart after too much heat, and unpleasant slimy leaf bits will invade the artichoke's crevices. Allow this mixture to boil for another 10 or so minutes, or until you can stick a chopstick or fork into the bottom of the artichoke without resistance.

5. You're almost done! Remove the artichokes from the water and drain. Serve in a bowl, along with an extra plate to put the mouth-scraped leaves.

coming up: kiwi ice cream, green tea ice cream, and other oh-my-god-it's-too-hot-to-cook recipes.

Another Green World: How to Pick Green Tea

2010-06-28T11:09:00.018-04:00

The idea for this post came from writing another post on artichokes boiled in green tea (coming very soon). Growing up with a first generation Asian parent, I've largely taken delicious green tea for granted. I didn't even like drinking tea when I was young, unless my mom forced me to at restaurants, and even then I wanted to add tons of sugar to it (ew). Luckily my palate and I have grown up a little, and now I really enjoy trying all different kinds of teas. So, to start off this post, I'd first like to say:

Lipton Green Tea ain't shit.

I'm sorry if you enjoy Lipton green tea bags - I actually really like their green tea citrus fusion drink they have - but I'm just trying to be real with you. I see this tea everywhere in kitchen cabinets and it makes me so sad, considering all the much tastier options that are available at any Asian specialty store.

Green tea has been around for thousands of years in Asia. The idea of boiling green tea leaves to produce a beverage originated in China, and through various channels has been adapted by Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other Asian countries. Though there are hundreds of variations on the growth and processing of green tea leaves, the main ingredient in all green teas is the Camellia sinensis leaf. Green tea is said to help aid digestion, control body temperature, and since it contains caffeine, keep blood vessels dilated for easier blood flow.

To give you some examples of great green tea, I dug around in my cabinet and found a couple of my favorite green teas. My mom is Taiwanese, so these teas were all produced in Taiwan. You will find most Asian households pretty exclusively drink tea from their own country. Why? It's just a tea thing.

Also another reason why Asian green tea is better than Lipton: these pretty jars/boxes they come in! I think my mom once told me a family's tea box was a special symbol of wealth - nowadays I think tea boxes just come in whatever cool colors the tea company likes. This red jar is full of tea called Oolong tea, one of Taiwan's most popular green teas. Apparently Oolong is technically somewhere between a green and black tea in oxidation measures, but for practical purposes it can be referred to as a green tea. It is on the stronger side of the flavor spectrum and tends towards bitterness, although not quite. As it cools down, you will begin to notice a suggestion of sweetness as you drink. Boy, this is one of my favorite teas. It's also one of the funnest teas to boil because of the leaves themselves. Oolong is made "gunpowder style"*, meaning when Oolong is processed, it's compressed into tiny, tight balls. As the tea boils, the tea leaves sort of "explode" on the scene!

(Oolong tea kernels, ready to be exploded)

Another more "purist" type of green tea, Longjing (Dragon Well) tea is a Chinese household staple. Unfortunately there isn't too much to show you from this box because we're almost out, but you can at least see the difference between the gunpowder style and the finer, flatter appearance of the Longjing tea. This tea has a lighter flavor, sweeter that Oolong, and probably the best introduction to green tea. It's apparently been given a lot of awards in China, and it's pretty popular, so just about any Chinese store is going to carry this tea.

I wish I had more tea types to post, but right now my mom and I are waiting until our next trip to Taiwan to re-stock. Other green teas worth a mention are Sencha, a strongly flavored Japanese green tea, and Macha, another Japanese tea. Macha is special because the leaves are ground to a fine powder, resulting in a smooth texture. It can also be used for making green tea ice cream, which I may just have to make, now that it's crossed my mind. Yum...

coming up: artichokes, green tea ice cream

P.S. And because the post suggests it, here is Brian Eno's Another Green World for your enjoyment.

*For more green tea processing styles, go here for more information.

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Sweet Potato Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

2010-06-24T21:56:00.011-04:00

I'm living in Ann Arbor for the summer, but I recently made a weekend trip back home. I did everything in the college handbook: brought home laundry, let my mom nag me, and then convinced my parents to take me grocery shopping. After we came back from the store, my mom realized she had bought two giant Costco-sized bags of carrots by mistake. If you're not familiar with Costco-sizes, just imagine opening your fridge and an avalanche of carrots flying out at you. That's basically how many carrots we bought. And guess who got saddled with half an avalanche's worth of carrots? Hint: It was me.

When you overbuy or have a bunch of random raw produce left over from other concoctions, salads are a great way to get rid of these stragglers. So after coming home with my carrot-farm-in-a-bag, I assessed my "junk" ingredients: a yam, 1/2 a red onion, and some slightly aged but still functional cilantro. Once I gathered my main ingredients together, I only needed to buy about $6 worth of other things to make a salad that would last me 4 big meals. Leftover-ingredient salads are seriously cost-effective, and in this case, fairly healthy if you don't use too much seasoning oil.

This recipe is based on this one from resessionrecipes, but contains (surprise!) carrots and small changes to accommodate my refrigerator's contents.

Sweet Potato Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

you need:
- a baking pan
- a food processor (blender will probably work as well, if you don't mind bigger chili chunks)
- a small bowl
- 1 large sweet potato, skinned + cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 big carrots, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- juice of 2 limes, chilled
- 1-2 T jalapeno chili pepper, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1/2 C cilantro, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 400F, and prepare the sweet potato, carrot, and red onion ingredients while the oven preheats.

2. Combine sweet potato, carrots, and red onion onto a baking sheet, and toss with a few tablespoons of the olive oil, plus salt and pepper to taste. I used about 1/2 T salt and 1/2 T pepper, and I think that worked out pretty well, but you can always use less or more depending on your taste buds.

3. Put chopped ingredients into the oven to bake between 30 - 40 minutes, or until the yams are a little brown around the edges. Turn the mixture occasionally (once was enough for me, at the 19-minute mark).

4. While all that stuff is baking, start putting together the dressing. Once everything is chopped and ready, throw everything left on the ingredient list (garlic, lime, remaining olive oil, jalepeno, EXCEPT the cilantro*. When sweet potato + friends come out of the oven, transfer the desired amount of sweet potato salad from the sheet to a bowl. Pour some dressing on top of your sweet potato salad. Toss with some cilantro and serve!

*NOTE: I actually left the red bell pepper out of the mix until later as well. I thought the crunch of the fresh bell pepper would contrast nicely with the soft oven-baked goods, and give the salad a summer-like quality. My version turned out great, but if you want an all-around mushy comfort food dish, throw the pepper into the processor.

This turned out to be one of my favorite random salad dishes I've ever made. Chilled, tangy, spiced dressing on top of comforting root-foods, plus a sweet occasional crunch from the red bell peppers. It's not a very complicated recipe, but who said good food has to be difficult to make? It is my belief that great, simple cooking comes from being able to appreciate all the ingredients individually, but having a collective experience that collects all the singular parts to create a transcendent whole.

In shorter terms:

(photo by Edward Burtynsky)

I think something like that.

(For more unimaginably beautiful photographs like this in better resolution, please view the film Manufactured Landscapes.)

Limeade With Mint

2010-05-04T19:56:00.005-04:00

The lemon and lime rivalry continues. "Limeade" doesn't roll off the tongue in quite the same way as "lemonade" does, but what it lacks in lyricism it makes up for in tastiness - especially with a refreshing boost from mint.

Maybe it's my sympathy for the underdog showing through here, but I would take a glass of limeade over lemonade any day of the week. Limes are good for indigestion, bad breath, and also slightly sweeter than lemons so you don't have to add as much sugar. The extra cool thing about limeade is that it's really not sold in stores except by the guys at Simply Orange. I suppose you could buy the $4.69 Simply Limeade, but it's much cheaper to make your own, especially if limes are on sale at your local produce station (only one dollar a pound at Kroger right now!).

Whether you're making run-of-the-mill boring ol' lemonade* or mind-blowing exciting fabulous limeade, I think it's better to use simple syrup instead of the sugar + water + juice recipe. The simple syrup recipe is easy to remember; it's always the same 1:1 ratio of sugar to water. With simple syrups you don't risk having a bunch of sugar left at the bottom of your pitcher, and you can infuse flavors into the syrup, as I did with mint.

This recipe makes about 8 - 12 full glasses of limeade, depending on your sweet tooth.

Mint Simple Syrup

you need:
- a medium sized pot
- a cutting knife
- a cutting board
- handful of mint (about 3/4 cups, unpacked)
- 1 C sugar
- 1 C water

Roughly chop the mint and put all ingredients into the pot. Stir and heat on medium-high until boiling; then turn down the heat to low and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from stove and put in the fridge to cool.

Limeade

you need:
- a pitcher
- a strainer
- a cutting knife
- mint simple syrup
- a juicer
- a bowl
- 8-10 limes
- 6 cups water (at least!)
- ice (optional)

1. Cut and juice all the limes. Pour the lime juice through the strainer into the pitcher to remove the seeds. If you like pulp, scoop out some of the pulp from the strainer and put it into the pitcher.

2. Add about half the simple syrup and at least 4 cups of the water to the mixture. 4 cups will almost certainly not be enough. This is when you just start tasting as you go. I personally added all the simple syrup and something like 10 cups of water, and it was still pretty sweet for me. The ice cubes will help to cut the sweet/sour effect as they melt. Just be a careful and patient taster, and you should end up with a good, solid flavor. Don't forget to share!

upcoming flavors: surprise picnic post!!, kiwi

*I'm totally kidding with the "lemonade is stupid" attitude. Lemonade is great. I actually have a recipe for sparkling lemonade from the first picnic post that you should check out - maybe even try sparkling limeade if you want!

Goodbye Emma Eggplant Pita Wrap

2010-05-03T21:33:00.008-04:00

BLOGGER'S NOTE: Okay, so food blogging during school was a huge failure. But for 2010-2011, I have a plan! During the summer I'm going to do more baking, i.e. create recipes that take more time and discipline. I'll also be thinking up some quicker recipes, and I'll save those to try during the school year. I'll also try to come up with "shorthand" recipes of my summer recipes for my fellow college inmates. And now that I've written down my plans for all the world to see, I have to follow through or risk extreme e-embarrassment. Right?

Now for the story and the recipe.

As some of you may know, my wonderful friend Emma graduated this past Saturday and is leaving Ann Arbor to pursue an MFA degree. She's a huge fan of eggplant, so to say goodbye I made her a dish that highlighted eggplants. It's pretty simple, and can be done in an hour if you plan it right.

The wrap is composed of roasted eggplant topped with tzatziki (pronounced sat-see-ky) sauce, arugula, tomato, and feta cheese. The sauce is made specifically with greek yogurt, which is generally more expensive than regular "American" yogurt, but worth it in this particular case. Greek yogurt is cultured and strained differently than regular yogurt, and as a result it is tarter, thicker, and creamier than regular yogurt. Basically, it tastes better! It also makes for a nice thick sauce. Initial thickness is important for this recipe because the heat from the roasted eggplant would make a regular yogurt sauce run like a river.

I was pretty pressed for time this particular day, so I made very minute changes to the original recipe at Women Eat NYC. I removed the sugar, added more oregano and cayenne pepper, and included mint in the tzatziki sauce for a more robust flavor. I also included a tomato slice to offset the extra spice from the sauce.

Roasted Eggplant

-1 large eggplant, washed
-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- T rosemary
-2 tsp. oregano
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Half a lemon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Thinly slice eggplant lengthwise (I got 8 slices out of my eggplant, each about 1/4 inch thick).

3. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, rosemary, and oregano. Brush eggplant with oil mixture on both sides, and arrange on a tinfoil-covered roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for about 25-30 minutes. After removing from the oven, drizzle with fresh lemon juice.

While the eggplant is in the oven, make the tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki Sauce

- 1 tub greek yogurt (12 oz, I believe)
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 T dried dill
- 2 tsp. mint
- 1 T cayenne pepper
- 2 cucumbers, medium sized
- 1/2 T rice vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel and halve cucumbers. Scoop out the seeds in the middle-they make the sauce watery, and are said to cause indigestion. Roughly chop the cucumbers, and put in food processor.
2. Add garlic and a pinch of salt to food processor, and shred. Drain the liquid from the shredded cucumbers and garlic by lining a colander with 3 or 4 paper towels, and let the cucumbers sit for about 15 minutes. Then, bundle the cucumbers in the paper towels and squeeze to get rid of excess liquid.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together yogurt, lemon zest, olive oil, juice of half the lemon, cucumbers, dill, cayenne, vinegar, mint, salt, and pepper.

Assembly:

Place roasted eggplant, tzatziki sauce, arugula, feta, and tomato on the pita, in that order. It should look something like this:

In case some of you were wondering, Emma is a fantastic printmaker. I purchased some of her work, and it is hanging above my head as I type this. Here is a picture that does no justice to the print I bought, but I still encourage you to click the picture so you can see how meticulously it is constructed.

Okay, I was just showing off my sweet print. You should actually go to her blog for better high-res pictures, and maybe send her a message about buying some art (though she won't respond for a while, since she's living off the grid for a few months): http://neck-beard.blogspot.com/

I've never gotten the hang of saying goodbye. Emma, if you read this, I hope you'll visit sometime! You'll always have a warm place to stay...and if you give me some notice before you come, a warm place to stay with eggplant pita wraps.

Salmon Wrap with Pomegranate Rice, Spinach, Pecans and Cream Cheese (for Kirthi)

2010-02-19T19:18:00.001-05:00

If Woody Allen were a Muslim, he'd be dead by now.
-Salmon Rushdie

Recommended cooking music: Gang of Four - Entertainment![Expanded Version]

The ultimate recipe for the lazy (or busy) cook who wants to impress their best friend/top honey with their cooking skills! Don't be fooled by the number of ingredients in the recipe; it only takes about an hour to make three fillets. You probably won't even get through Gang of Four's entire album (though I suggest you listen to the whole thing anyway). The following recipe is my own, though the salmon wrap was partially inspired by this recipe that I attempted ages ago and was much more work that it was worth. I like my recipe better because it's less $$ and less time consuming.

This recipe makes 3 salmon wraps.

you need:
- a rice cooker
- a frying pan
- an oven & baking pan
- a cutting board
- aluminum foil
- rice (any kind you want should work - I used white jasmine)
- two handfuls pomegranate seeds
- 1/2 C spinach
- 2 T dill weed
- 1/4 C lemon juice
- 2 T lemon zest
- 6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 2/3 C pecans, toasted
- sunflower oil
- 2 T salt
- 2 T pepper
- 2 T cayenne pepper (less if you're a baby and you don't like hot kicks)
- 3 salmon fillets*

*A note on buying salmon fillets: if you're brave and want to fillet an entire salmon yourself, go for it! But since I don't possess the knife skills to even know the first step to filleting a fish, I went to the deli section and had them remove the skin from three pre-cut fillets. If you do what I did, make sure you make the salmon ASAP! The skin keeps the salmon moist and elastic, a key element to making this recipe.

1) Preheat the oven to 500 F.

2) Wash and pat the salmon dry. Mix the salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper together and season both sides of each fillet. Cover with aluminum foil and set aside in fridge.

3) Steam the rice in a rice cooker/steamer until cooked through. Mix with pomegranate seeds and cover with foil. Set aside.

4) Mix the cream cheese with the lemon zest and dill weed. If you want a slightly thinner texture add 1 teaspoon lemon juice, but be careful not to add too much or the cream cheese will go runny when you stick the wraps in the oven.

5) Sprinkle lemon juice over the spinach leaves. Set aside.

6) Remove fillets from fridge and place 1 fillet on your cutting board. Layer the ingredients in this order for maximum hold: spinach leaves, pecans, cream cheese, and pomegranate rice. After adding each layer, make sure you can still pull the long fillet sides together to make a wrap. When you're done layering, stick two toothpicks into the fillet ends so that the fillet holds its shape. Repeat for each fillet.

7) Over medium heat, fry each salmon wrap on both sides in sunflower oil. This is to ensure the wraps will hold their shapes (about 3 minutes for each side).

8) Remove the salmons from the pan and place each fillet on a sheet of aluminum foil big enough to wrap around the salmon. Wrap the salmon completely in the foil, place on the tray, and bake for about 8 minutes.

9) Remove from oven, remove the foil and put on a plate. Best served warm!

I made this salmon recipe for my roommate because her favorite ingredient is pomegranate. I usually don't eat pomegranate seeds all that much (that weird gritty seed stuff that gets stuck in your teeth weirds me out), but they were soooooooo good when I baked them into the salmon wraps. Instead of grit-teeth, you get an occasional *pop* from the sweet pomegranate layer bursting, and a slight crunch from its inner seedling. I'll be making more things with cooked pomegranate in the future.

I'm usually pretty critical about my food, but this recipe was damn good. And so pretty out of the oven! But when I make it again, I will make the following changes:

- less cream cheese filling. It made the recipe a lot heavier than a satisfying meal had to be, which made a food coma inevitable. After I ate my wrap I went into unexpected winter hibernation and awoke 2 hours later and was almost late to class.

- would have added capers to the top of the salmon after baking, to give it more sour tang.

- more dill in the cream cheese. Because I love dill!

Food blogging is hard to do in the winter when everything is gray and dead. I think I'm finally organized this semester, so I'll try to make this a more regular thing (sorry John).

coming up: something with mint, how to pick a mangosteen, another somewhat-not-really-relevant cooking video

Baked Stuffed Cortland Apples (Fig and Walnut Filling)

2009-12-28T23:08:00.004-05:00

I know I keep apologizing for being away for long periods of time, which makes the apologies seem less sincere...but I really am sorry that I haven't been keeping up with this blog! I'm seizing my holiday break as an opportunity to catch up on this baby. Hopefully all of you will forgive me (especially you, John) for being such a slouch this semester. I promise to be a more diligent blogger in these coming days. So here I go...hopefully I'm not too rusty...

Apples, as any Michigander knows, are a fall season staple. Everyone who lives near a cider mill knows that autumn is truly here when the heavenly smell of fresh donuts and cooking apples is drifting through the air.* I'm a Michigan native, and I think I've been to a cider mill almost every year I've been alive. There is nothing better than drinking warm cider on chilly autumn afternoons while petting a friendly neighborhood pooch.

Unfortunately, this post is coming a bit late. But, if you find yourself in the southeast Michigan area around fall season next year, my favorite cider mill is Yates Cider Mill in Rochester, MI. Both the above pictures were taken at the Franklin Cider Mill in Bloomfield Hills, MI, but in my opinion, Yates Cider Mill is more fun. The management at Yates has been consistently friendly over the years, and they have great little dirt paths carved into their woodland surrounds that make for nice walks while admiring the season's colors.

Of course you don't just go to the cider mill to drink cider and eat donuts. You can also sample many different kinds of locally grown apples. There are thousands of apple species out there, and only a few kinds that are popular and dependable enough to be sold in supermarkets. Going to cider mills is a nice way to look at the underrepresented apples that local farmers are growing. You'll almost certainly discover new favorites among the unfamiliar apple names!

My favorite apple that is not commonly sold in supermarkets is the beautiful Cortland. It has a softer flesh similar to that of the Red Delicious, but instead of the bland personality of the RD's, the Cortland sparkles with character. They are extremely aromatic; you can literally stand 10 or 15 feet from a Cortland and catch a good whiff of its soft, sweet aroma. In addition to being delicious, they are also, in my bias opinion, the most beautiful species. You can recognize them from their trademark green/yellow streaks that stream out from the stem center.

If all of that weren't enough to make your mouth water for a juicy Cortland, they also cook incredibly well. Below is a picture of a stuffed Cortland apple, and in the time it took me to assemble my camera and set up the scene, about 10 minutes went by (I know, I know, I make it look so easy) and I didn't even have to squirt lemon juice on the apple to keep it from browning. That is how well-behaved Cortlands are! With Cortland apples**, this recipe is easy and sure to be a success.

Stuffed Apples
an altered Williams-Sonoma recipe

Apple Stuffing

you need:
- a small bowl
- 1/4 C walnuts, chopped
- 1/4 C figs, chopped
- 1/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 T unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Blend together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter in the small bowl. Then mix in everything else and set aside.

Stuffed Apples

you need:
- 1 deep 8-inch baking tray
- a knife or apple corer
- a spoon
- 4 Cortland apples
- apple stuffing
- 1/2 C apple cider
- 2 T honey

1) Preheat an oven to 350 F.

2) Make a deep hole in the middle of the apple(I have a fancy apple corer for coring apples, but a sharp knife will work just the same). Make sure to either plug the apple back up with its bottom half if you are using a corer or leave 1/2 inch of the apple bottom uncut. Peel the top of the skin off from each of the apples.

3) Spoon equal amounts of the filling into the centers of the apples. Set the filled apples into the 8 inch baking pan so they are snug.

4) In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the honey with the apple juice, stirring until the honey dissolves. Pour around the apples. Spoon some of the liquid over the sides of the apples to moisten them, but do not spoon over the tops.

5) Bake for about 20 minutes, basting the sides once or twice with the pan juices in between. Bake until the apples are tender when pierced, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool and serve in bowls with the pan juices spooned over the tops.

*For the record, I don't know how you guys do it. How do you deal with smelling such wonderful aromas and not go crazy with desire and wantonness? Are all of you obese? I know I would be.

**You can use other apples for this recipe...I guess. I would suggest Fuji or Golden Delicious. But seriously, if you aren't in a rush next time you go shopping, go up to the manager's desk and request Cortland apples be sold at your store. If more people ask for them, stores will start to carry them. All 19 of us can start a Cortland Revolution.

Lavender Sugar and Lavender Truffles

2009-10-28T19:57:00.017-04:00

The first time I thought I smelled lavender was at Christmas, a decade or so ago. To celebrate the holidays, my dad's company gave out really cheesy gift baskets with gender neutral gifts like hand soaps, instant coffee powders, prepackaged tea cookies, etc. etc. The gift basket also included this lavender-scented air freshener. In one word: bleck! Floral scents and aerosols just do not mix. So I spent a good portion of my life thinking lavender was a wholly disgusting scent that only old ladies used to cover up old lady smells.

But luckily, lavender made another play for my affection at a perfume art gallery in Chicago a few years back. There were these beautiful plates of raw flavors, and some baby purple-budded stems gently beckoned me from across the room - needless to say, lavender and I have been together ever since.

If you ever get a chance to go to a perfume art gallery, I highly recommend it! Even if you're not a fragrance fanatic, you can learn what sorts of scents you're most inclined to, and not just run-of-the-mill scents; at this gallery they had scents like iron, spring dirt, and a burnt toast scent that was quite convincing. You may also find out the names of some of those elusive scents you've smelled but could never place (my revelation came with bergamot - the distinct citrus smell in Earl Grey tea, in case you were wondering).

Anyways, for the too-long-didn't-readers: I love lavender. It gives me warm fuzzies and all that. So I mixed it with sugar and it was a good idea!

Lavender Sugar

you need:
- a blender/food processor
- 2 - 3 T lavender flowers
- 1 C granulated sugar

Suggested album pairing: Feist - Let It Die

1) Pour the lavender flowers into the blender. Blend briefly. Add sugar, blend again. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes (though I usually let it sit a day or two for maximum flavor), and then it should be ready to use!

Optional But Really Kind Of The Best Step 2) Right before you let it sit, open up the blender top. Let the powdery sugar waft up and out of the blender, and just give it a big, beautiful smell. Ahhhhhhhhh.

Lavender sugar can be used in just about anything you please. For every day use, I like to mix it in with my lemon loafs in the summer, and in the winter it usually finds its way into my hot cocoa recipe (I will divulge that later this year). But for my super-special lavender sugar intro post, I tried putting it in this basic truffle recipe from Tartlette.

Lavender Truffles

you need:
- a medium-sized pot
- 1/2 C heavy cream
- 2 tsp. lavender sugar
- 1 T lavender flowers
- 9 oz 80% dark chocolate, chopped*
- additional lavender sugar or cocoa powder for rolling (I used maybe 1/4 cup of each)

1) In a small heavy saucepan placed over low heat, bring the cream to a simmer - just until little bubbles form at the sides. Remove from the heat and let stand 30 minutes.

2) Strain the lavender and bring the cream back to a simmer. Once hot, add the chocolate and lavender sugar, and let stand for a couple of minutes then stir until the ganache is completely smooth.*

3) Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. With a spoon or a melon baller, scoop out balls of ganache, roll them in between your palms fairly quickly and set them on a baking sheet. Refrigerate overnight. Roll them in additional lavender sugar or cocoa powder, and store in the fridge.

* use GOOD chocolate. This is a ganache, people. Keep it classy! When making a velvet-smooth ganache, it is essential that the chocolate remain untouched by moisture or it will seize (i.e. get really gritty, sad-looking, and be impossible to work with). A lot of chocolate chips have vegetable oil in them, and hershey's chocolate...don't even go there. Get the nice baking chocolate! You will be much happier with your result.

Additional note: Tartlette also includes an additional recipe for espresso truffles. In order to make espresso truffles, simply make the following adjustments:

2 T lavender buds - replace with 2 T espresso powder
2 tsp lavender sugar - replace with 2 T coffee liqueur
lavender sugar - replace with chopped pistachios (I used pecans instead)

As always, happy cooking! And don't be afraid to tell me about your mini-experiments too, I wanna know!

upcoming flavors: stuffed apples, asparagus, mint, grapefruit

Pork Loin with Plum Fig Sauce

2009-10-17T22:54:00.000-04:00

Back in the beginning of the year when I had grand schemes of cooking dinner for myself every night (ha), I dusted off my gas oven knowledge and attempted this pork loin with fig sauce from Giada De Laurentiis's Everyday Italian Cookbook.*

*Super secret money-saving tip: I know this is horrible, but if your dollar tank is running low & you gotta pay them bills, instead of bringing cash to the bookstore, you should bring...a pen. It's kind of like...a hand-held scanner, if you know what I'm saying. Maybe I'll be smote by the book gods for spreading such blasphemous gospel, but ye olde recipe scribing techniques shall never be deappreciated in this blog. Also, the library usually has pretty decent cookbooks, especially if you're looking for basic recipes.

Pork Loin with Plum Fig Sauce

you need:
- a knife
- a medium saucepan
- blender
- small bowl
- an oven cooking tray with elevated sides
- cutting board

Plum Fig Sauce

This sauce took some outside-the-cookbook thinking. The recipe originally calls for 2 1/2 cups of port wine, but since I'm both not 21 and on a pretty tight budget this year, I decided against the port ingredient. I did some rudimentary (read: wikipedimentary) detective work and determined that port wine is a sweet red wine from Portugal. "Port"ugal! Isn't that cute? According to wikipedia, the wine is also traditionally passed to the left, or the "port" side.

Anyways, I decided to substitute the port for plums - specifically, California plums. I thought California plums, because of their tart skin and soft sweetness, would pair well with a savory pork loin flavor. To be extra safe I threw in some apple cider vinegar to keep up the acidity of the sauce, which sort of makes up for the absence of alcohol. But not really.

you need:
- 4-6 California plums
- 1 1/4 C low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 dried black Mission figs (or whatever)
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 T apple cider vinegar
- 2 cinnamon sticks (alt. substitute: 1 tsp. ground cinnamon)
- 1 T honey
- 3 T unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- salt & pepper to taste

1) pit the plums and cut them into pieces. Deposit the plums in a blender and blend until smooth. Meanwhile, coarsely chop the figs.

2) In the medium saucepan combine the blended plums, chicken broth, chopped figs, sprigs of rosemary, cinnamon sticks, vinegar, and honey. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until reduced by half.

3) Remove rosemary sprigs (don't worry about the leaves that get left behind) and cinnamon sticks. Puree the mixture until smooth. Blend in the butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pork Loin

- 1 3lb. boneless pork loin
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 T chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 T salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 C chicken broth (low sodium if you can)

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2) In a small bowl mix the olive oil, rosemary leaves, salt and pepper. Spread the mixture evenly over the pork.

3) Place in the oven and roast until the internal temperature reads 145 degrees. To insure even browning, turn the pork roast every 15 minutes, total cooking time should be approximately 45 minutes.

4) Transfer the pork to a cutting board and tent it with foil. Allow the pork to rest for 15 minutes. While the pork is resting, add the 1 cup of chicken broth to the roasting pan. Place the pan over medium heat and scrape up any browned bits attached to the bottom of the pan. Salt and pepper the pan juices to taste.

5) Cut the pork into 1/4 inch slices and spoon on pan juices and fig sauce.

New(ish) Kitchen!

2009-10-17T21:40:00.004-04:00

Hello blog! It's been way too long. I actually planned to write about this some time ago, at the beginning of the school year (about a month ago, jeez). This post is to showcase my new kitchen facilities which are, let's face it, a total downgrade from the palace of a kitchen in my parent's house. This is my new cooking environment:

Pretty basic, pretty boring. I think I'm going to do something about all the wasted counter space on appliances this fall break, because there is barely any room to do anything. The only thing I care to point out about the kitchen is the tiny paintings on the walls (you can see one above my green rice cooker on the right, and farther back, adjacent to the fridge, you can catch a glimpse of the other one) - my great-grandmother painted those babies.

But even though it's dinky, has mystery stains, and the on/off switches don't always work when you need them to, it's still my and my roommate's very own kitchen! At least for a year or so. I think I'm going to have a lot of forced creativity in this kitchen (sweet!) and maybe even some guest stars for this food blog coming up (double sweet!). I'm sure all of you guys are on the edge of your seats right now, but please, settle down. This kitchen is not big enough for rowdiness.

Cooking Video Contest

2009-09-23T22:45:00.005-04:00

Criterion Collection is currently running a cooking video contest in honor of the recently released "Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles". They asked people to film themselves cooking either cutlets, meatloaf, or mashed potatoes, and upload it as a video response on YouTube. While I obviously enjoy cooking and all that, watching people cook is, in my opinion, kind of the most boring thing ever. So Megan and I made this video instead! If you've seen Attack of the Killer Tomatoes it makes slightly more sense, but if not, it's still fun in a kitschy sort of way. If the world completely turns upside down and no one at Criterion notices that we have no experience with film, we have a chance to win a Playstation 3 or a $100 audience award gift certificate to Criterion! So watch the video, give it good ratings, leave nice comments to help sway the mysterious Criterion crowd. If people like us enough, we could win the $100 and potentially afford to buy 2 1/2 Criterion Collection DVDs. Or maybe some nice tote bags.

The embedding is strange on Blogger for YouTube videos, but behind the cut is "Potato Problems: A Memoir".

Fresh Fruit Tartlets (for Mom and Dad)

2009-09-13T12:43:00.015-04:00

Though Williams-Sonoma is usually out of my price range, sometimes I like to go in there and splurge a little extra money for a little extra quality. While I was perusing the baking supply section, I fell in love with these tiny little baking tartlet tins.

To top it off, the Williams-Sonoma website has a lot of great tartlet recipes that I can't wait to try out! These beautiful fresh fruit tarts, however, are an original creation and made specifically for my parents. I've been thinking a lot about my parents lately; how much selflessness it takes to raise a healthy human being, and really only expecting a certain amount of respect and love in return. I'm almost past my bratty teen years now, and it's truly starting to hit how much they've done for me. So these hand-sized tarts are dedicated to my parents, because god knows I'm a handful.

The recipe for a sweet tart dough was taken from Tartine, a pastry cookbook (with beautiful pictures) I found at my local library. I highly recommend this book! In addition to a successful tart dough, it highlighted everything I wanted to know about the dough: how easy it was to work with, how to preserve it, and what to do with the leftover dough (the book suggests making cookies, which worked out wonderfully with my 60% cocoa chips I had lying around). This is a very thoughtful text for bakers at any level.

Sweet Tart Dough

This recipe makes four 9-inch tart or twelve 4-inch tartlet shells, and requires at least 2 hrs. of refrigeration.

you need:
- tart tin(s)
- a rolling pin
- a stand or hand-held mixer
- a rubber spatula
- plastic wrap
- a knife
- 1 C + 2 T butter, unsalted
- 1 C sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature (time-saving tip: you can run warm water over eggs for 5 mins to get them to room temperature)
- 3 1/2 C all-purpose flour

for the optional egg wash (which I used for that browned look/to better preserve the tart's crispness), you need:
- a bowl
- 1 large egg
- pinch salt

1) Using a mixer, combine the butter, sugar, and salt, and mix until smooth. Then add the remaining egg and mix 'til smooth. Scrape down the bowl with your trusty kitchen spatula, then add all the flour at once and mix until just incorporated, on low speed.

2) Lightly flour part of your kitchen workspace - if you have a sifter, throw a loose handful of flour into the sifter and sift the flour over the space you're using. Place dough on table, divide it into 4 equal balls, and shape the balls into 1/2-inch thick flat disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

3) Lining the pan: lightly grease the tart pan(s). Place a dough disk on a lightly floured surface and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness, making sure all sides have equal thickness. A good way to achieve this is to lift up the dough and rotate it a quarter turn for every few rolls. Try to do this as quickly as you can so the dough stays cold, and keep dusting your work surface to prevent sticking. If the dough is getting too warm, refrigerate it for a few minutes, then take it out and continue working.

4) Ease the dough into the pan and press it gently into the bottom of your tart pan(s). For the tartlet shells, you need to cut out circles according to the size of the pans. I placed the tartlet shells upside down on the dough and cut about 1 1/2 inches away from the circumference of the shell. If the dough got too warm, I just put it back in the fridge. While that dough chilled, I grabbed another dough disk, and worked with that one instead.

5) Place the lined tart pan(s) in the fridge until firm, about 15 minutes.

6) Preheat oven to 325 F.

7) Dock (make small holes in) the bottom of the tart shell(s) with the tip of a knife, making tiny holes about 2 inches apart. Place in the oven and bake for between 10 - 15 minutes, or until the pastry shell looks dry, lightly colored, and is easily removed from the pan with sticking.

8) Optional egg wash: lightly beat the egg and salt in a bowl. a minute or two before the pastry shells completely bake, remove the shell(s) from the oven and lightly brush the bottom and sides with the glaze. Return the shells to the oven (you can just stand them up w/o returning them to the pans) and bake until the desired color is reached and the glaze sets.

---

Though you can't tell from the picture, there is a secret chocolate layer in these tarts! A hidden chocolate layer is an easy, elegant touch to set your tarts apart from the rest.

Secret Chocolate Layer

you need:
- a small microwave-safe bowl
- 2 handfuls quality baking chocolate chips (I used 70% cocoa, but any sort of chocolate will do)

1) Heat the chips in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave, stir. Return to microwave and heat for another minute or so. Repeat the process as needed to melt the chocolate.

CAUTION: DO NOT overheat baking chocolate. It gets all weird and crappy-looking, and you cannot reverse this with any amount of cream or sugar (trust me, I've tried). Keep a close eye on the chocolate as it's in the microwave, stirring the chocolate as needed, especially if your microwave is not fancy enough to rotate the bowl for you.

2) Take the melted chocolate and pour about 1 1/2 tablespoon's worth of chocolate into each tart. Spread the chocolate with the back of a spoon. Place the tarts into the freezer until firm, about 10 minutes. Return tarts to fridge.

---

What's really special about these tarts is the filling. If I'm allowed to brag a little, I definitely made the best custard EVER with this recipe from The Dessert Bible by Chistopher Kimball. I've tried to make custard cream time and time again, always with rather disappointing results, but this time it was absolutely 100% perfect! I didn't even have to strain out pesky egg-whites. Here is the magical custard recipe that I am going to use for everything from now on:

Custard Filling

you need:
- 1 small saucepan
- a trusty whisk
- a rubber spatula
- wax paper
- 1 C half-and-half
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/4 C sugar
- 1 1/2 T all-purpose flour
- pinch salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Heat half-and-half in a small saucepan until it just begins to simmer.

2) Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar, flour, and salt in another medium heavy-bottomed saucepan until light and fluffy (I just used my handheld mixer for this), about 1 minute. Add 1/2 C half-and-half to egg mixture, whisking constantly but gently. When mixed, slowly pour in the remaining half-and-half, whisking slowly to incorporate.

3) Place pan over low heat and, whisking gently but constantly*, heat until mixture thickens, about 4 to 7 minutes (time varies depending on the stovetop & saucepan). Continue to whisk gently for about 3 minutes after it has thickened, or until the mixture loses its floury taste.

4) Strain the custard into a small bowl, making sure to scrape down the sides of the saucepan - you won't want to waste a drop! Then add the vanilla, stirring gently to incorporate. Smooth off the top with the rubber spatula, then place wax paper directly on top of the custard cream. Refrigerate until needed.

* Custard tip: You must be gentle with custard. When it says "whisk", it really means "whisk to the beat of Chopin's Funeral March". Custard needs a patient hand, but don't be discouraged - if you drag yourself through the March, you will be the talk of the potluck with this custard cream!

5) Once custard and tarts are chilled, pour custard into tart(s). Refrigerate while you assemble the fruit troops.

---

Fruit Topping

Don't worry, you're almost finished; all that's left is some basic assembly. You could just throw some chopped up fruit on the top...but truly delicious food is enjoyed by all the senses. So make some pretty designs with your fruit topping!

you need:
- a good slicing knife
- your favorite fruits!

Tips for a good fruit topping appearance:

- Use ripe, quality fruit for this. Though the custard cream is a key player, the fruit should be the star.
- Cut your fruit slices thinly so they aren't too heavy. You don't want fatty fruit pieces drowning in a custard cream lake.
- If you're not used to designing food pieces, don't be afraid to plan ahead - and if you make a mistake or two, custard is very forgiving. Just smooth it over with the back of a spoon and start with a clean, custard slate.

Here are some examples to look at. I was kind of in a rush because I was moving out of my house that day to go to college, but they aren't too bad in their simplicity. I used some ripe blueberries, raspberries, kiwis, and nectarines we had.

School is really biting me hard lately! I'll do my best to keep up with this blog, but I have a feeling it will be more like 5 or 6 entries a month from now on. If only I were going for an MRS degree. Did you know that being a Neuroscience major and going to massage therapy school at the same time is pretty hard? I'm overloaded, but I think I like it. A lot.

coming up: roasted pork loin with plum fig sauce, something with mint, something spicy

Rosemary Garlic & Cheese Mashed Potatoes

2009-09-08T17:35:00.000-04:00

Rainstorms have been blowing in more frequently, stifling the last rays of beautiful summer sun. But with all these clouds, the silver linings aren't hard to find! Though summer is no longer here, autumn is the season of apples, pears, persimmons, broccoli, pumpkins, figs...the season of delicious comfort foods. I'm starting off the autumn food parade with a familiar starchy friend - a gussied up version of mashed potatoes.

Potatoes will pretty much absorb any flavor you want them to, making them the great white canvas of cooking. But don't let their go-with-the-flow attitude in meals fool you! They are susceptible to lots of diseases, and are downright divas about their growing conditions. If you leave potatoes in the wrong place for a long time they are bound to sprout little buds, mostly to let you know how upset they are. But even if your potato has turned green with anger (a green potato means it's been too exposed to light/heat), you can just peel the bratty green potato and cook it like you normally would.

Depending on their density and age, potatoes will cook differently as well. Russett potatoes are the smooth, fluffy baking potatoes that go down like air. Yukon Gold or Red Bliss potatoes are more dense, which means they come out a little bit chunkier when they cook. I'm more partial to chunky mashed potatoes so I used Yukon Gold, but you can use Russett or a different baking potato if you like yours more creamy.

This recipe is based on a Food Network recipe.

Rosemary Garlic & Cheese Mashed Potatoes

you need:
- a large pot
- a fork
- a potato masher
- 3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
- 2 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 C smoked gouda cheese, shredded
- 1/2 C skim milk
- 2 T chives
- salt & pepper to taste (I use very little of each, maybe 2 pinches)

1) Boil about 2 quarts (8 cups) of water in the large pot. While you're waiting for the water to boil, cut the potatoes into 3 inch chunks so they will cook faster.

2) Dump the potatoes into the water and cook until you can easily stab the potato with a fork with no resistance. The original recipe said the potatoes would take 15 minutes, but it always takes me about double that to get tender potatoes.

3) Drain the potatoes and put them aside. Using the same pot, saute the rosemary, olive oil, and garlic in the pot until the garlic is slightly browned. Add the potatoes back into the pot, along with the chives, milk, and cheese. Mash & incorporate ingredients slowly so as to avoid a pasty quality. Serve with a delicious meal or eat 'em as is!

And now I will leave you with this mashed potato youtube video. I am completely fascinated by the background dancers - you definitely can't do that much wiggling if you've just eaten mashed potatoes.

upcoming flavors: berry tartlets (with my *new* tartlet pans), something with nectarines, something with mint

Tomato Lentil Soup

2009-08-24T00:08:00.005-04:00

Remember Shel Silverstein? I loved his poems when I was younger - and those little ink drawings! To this day, this poem always crosses my mind when I make lentil soup.

Sky Seasoning (by Shel Silverstein)

A piece of sky
Broke off and fell
Through the crack in the ceiling
Right into my soup,
KERPLOP!
I really must state
That I usually hate
Lentil soup, but I ate
Every drop!
Delicious delicious
(A bit like plaster),
But so delicious, goodness sake--
I could have eaten a lentil-soup lake.
It's amazing the difference
A bit of sky can make.

Lentils are a cinch to cook. Just throw 'em in any old stew, add some favorite flavors and ta-da, a great source of protein and fiber! Which is basically what I did with this green lentil stew. I used this Moroccan lentil soup recipe I found on foodgawker.com, with a few of my own touches.

Though green lentils take longer to cook than their other lentil cousins, you should try to use them when you can. They contain almost 3 times as much protein as any other lentil! Plus, if you're feeling lazy, there's nothing wrong with using canned lentils for a faster meal. Lentils are one of the few veggies that keep most of their nutritional value after being canned. Lentils have a very mild flavor, so you can dress them up with just about anything you like for a hearty stew (perhaps using all the leftover ingredients you have in the fridge, which is what I did). Observe:

Moroccan Lentil Stew

you need:
- a large stew pot
- a spatula
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 banana pepper, diced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 C spinach, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 T olive oil
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric
- 2/3 C green lentils rinsed
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 4 C vegetable stock
- 1 bunch parsley chopped (Reserve half) - I didn't have parsley, but this probably would have been good
- 1 6 0oz can tomato paste
- 1/2 C water

1) Saute the carrots, celery, onion, zucchini, pepper, and garlic over medium heat for 20 minutes or until tender. Halfway through, add spices.
2) Add stock and lentils, bring to boil.
3) Reduce heat to low, add chickpeas and spinach and simmer for an hour, or until lentils are tender.
4) Add tomatoes, 1/2 C water, and tomato paste. Simmer for additional 5 minutes, and stir well. (If you've got it: stir in half the parsley, garnish with parsley, and serve.)

How To Pick Raspberries

2009-08-23T09:42:00.008-04:00

I was still riding high from my wonderful trip to New York to see my best friend Ioana, so a couple days after returning home I kidnapped my friend Megan and we made a visit to the most adorable raspberry farm in Dexter, MI.

Before this raspberry picking occasion, I was under the impression that raspberry picking was kind of revolting. I had gone twice before to two different farms, both times had been hot, sticky, there were more rotting berries than ripe ones, and these disgusting beetles (pictured below, contaminating one of my picked berries) were mating in huge clumps on the rotten fruit carcasses. YUCK.

Thankfully, this farm was different. Meg and I traveled to Berry Hill Farm, located about 25 minutes northwest of Ann Arbor, MI. It's such a romantic little place! An soft-spoken old man with kind eyes greeted us in his garage, where there were cut-out milk cartons with rope-strings (for picking) and cardboard baskets cheerfully labelled "pick your own!" (for taking home) stock-piled on a long table in the back. He directed us to a little woodchipped path in his backyard, where we encountered a contented cat sprawled along the raspberry trail. We named him/her "Scabby", because, you know. The cat had scabs. But cute, strokable scabs! Aw.

Whether you're picking raspberries off the vine or in the store, look for firm, deeply colored raspberries that aren't mushy. If you are lucky enough to be picking your own, try the different colors on for size - maybe you like them a little tarter (lighter) or riper (darker) than the average joe. Raspberries are very easily squished, so take care in storing them. If you picked one too many basketfuls, freezing raspberries is always an option. Raspberries freeze incredibly well - not only will they remain tasty after the thaw, they will also retain almost all of their vitamin contents.

Raspberries are very high in gallic acid, manganese, and vitamin C, three key supplements in preventing your cells from succumbing to oxygen-related damage (hence, "anti"oxidant). They are also high in dietary fiber and work to prevent/work against certain cancers.

Raspberry picking season is still in tow in Michigan for at least another 2-3 weeks. So what are you waiting for?! Come to Berry Hill if it's nearby, or fashion yourself a milk carton basket and scout your local farms for good raspberry patches. Maybe I'll see you there!

Blueberry Pear Croissants

2009-08-22T00:07:00.008-04:00

This was only the second time I'd ever made croissants, and the only time I'd ever tried to fill them with anything. Making a perfect croissant is something like completing a 10-mile run in the baking world, and baby, I ran a freaking marathalon with these things. I think I may have even experienced runner's (baker's?) high when I took my first tentative bite and discovered I had made the best croissants I've ever tasted. Get ready: this is my recipe for blueberry pear croissants!

A year before I actually attempted to make croissants, I was fascinated and intimidated by the process. It can take up to two days to make really good croissants, and you have to be pretty active in flipping and layering the dough to get a good consistency. So I'd try surfing the 'net for recipes, usually come across something like this ridiculously scary block of videos and psych myself out. Then about a week ago I stopped by Borders Bookstore, looking to pick something up with my 40% off coupon. I didn't even get into the store before I realized what I wanted: The Essential Baking Cookbook that was being sold in the bargain racks. I love bargain rack cookbooks! They're cheap and good for basic guideline recipes, leaving plenty of room for me to experiment. I bought it and rushed back home, ready to make something yummy with my freshly picked blueberries. Flipping through the book I immediately stumbled across the basic croissant recipe, my croissant fixation took hold, and I just couldn't fight the urge. And I'm so happy I couldn't!

In addition to being the best croissants I've ever had, the recipe is on the easier side. You'll still need patience and some time management skills, but trust me, it's worth it.

Blueberry Pear Croissants

Croissant Dough (makes 12)

you need:
- 3 bowls, 2 small & 2 large
- a spatula (for scraping down the sticky dough)
- baking paper or pastic wrap
- a rolling pin
- a sifter
- a ruler
- 2 baking trays
- knife for trimming
- egg wash brush
- cooking spray

- 1 1/3 C warm milk
- 1/4 oz active dry yeast
- 1/4 C baking sugar (I used regular sugar and it worked fine)
- 3 1/4 C all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 egg
- extra flour for surface dusting

1) ALWAYS test your yeast for freshness before dumping it into your ingredients. Combine 1 tsp. of yeast, a pinch of sugar, and about 1/2 cup warm milk. If it starts to bubble within 5 minutes, you're good to go! If not, your yeast is dead and you just saved yourself from wasting ingredients and a terrible batch of croissants. Once you've tested the yeast, throw in the rest of the yeast, warm milk (may need to re-warm it a bit), and 1 tablespoon of the sugar and stir until dissolved. Allow the yeast to bloom for 10 minutes. The mixture should be slightly frothy & slightly increased in volume.

2) While you're waiting for the yeast to bloom, mix together the flour, salt, and remaining sugar into a large bowl, then clean & flour a flat surface for your dough. I use a sifter to flour the surface evenly. You should flour a surface large enough to cover an area twice the size of the dough, and keep flouring the surface as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to the table.

3) When it's ready, pour the yeast mixture into the well, and mix with your spatula to form a rough dough. Scrape the dough onto your floured surface, and flour your hands to prevent massive sticking (although it's going to happen anyways). Knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. If necessary, add a small amount of flour to stop the dough from sticking.

4) Spray your cooking spray into the other large bowl, making sure to cover the entire interior. Place the dough into the bowl, cover with a damp dishcloth & set in a warm place for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in bulk.

5) Meanwhile, a place the room temperature butter between two sheets of baking paper or plastic wrap, and evenly pat out the butter to 20 x 10 cm (8 x 4 in) rectangle. Referigerate.

6) When 1 hour has passed, push down the dough with one swift punch to expel air. Knead briefly on the lightly floured surface, then roll out a rectangle 45 x 12 cm (18 x 5 in). Place the chilled butter on the lower half of the dough, leaving space between the butter and the dough edges, then fold down the top half. Seal the edges using your fingertips to completely seal in the butter.

7) Turn the dough so one of the sides where you can see the folds is facing you. Roll out the dough to a rectangle about 45 x 22 cm (18 x 8 1/2 in), then fold up the bottom third of the dough and fold down the top third, so it looks like a tri-folded letter. Wrap in plastic wrap and wait for 20 minutes.*

8) Roll the dough again, turning the dough so the visible folds are facing you once again, then chill the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes. Repeat this process two more times. The butter should be completely incorporate at this point - you'll see little bits of butter just beneath the surface of your dough. When you've finished the last fold, chill the dough overnight.

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Good morning! It is now at least 6 hours since you went to bed, dreaming of the delicious croissants you are going to eat today. I chose to stuff mine with blueberries and pears, which you don't have to do...but why wouldn't you?

Blueberry Pear Filling

you need:
- a small bowl
- one handful blueberries
- one ripe pear, peeled
- spritz of lemon juice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sugar

1) Cut the peeled pear and remove seeds/stringy stuff fromthe center. Coarsely mash with a fork, leaving in some nice pear chunks. Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on the pears to prevent browning.

2) Add the remaining ingredients, mix with a spoon, and set aside until later.

You can fill croissants with anything you want that's bakeable - meats, vegetables, cheeses, etc. Next time I make these, I think I will fill them with ham, goat cheese, and spinach. MmmhMm.

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9) Preheat the oven to 400F. Spray your baking trays with cooking spray. Cut your chilled dough in half, and roll each half into 36 x 22 cm (14 x 8 1/2 in). You may need to trip the edges a bit with a knife to get a good rectangular shape.

10) Cut each rectangle into three smaller triangles, then cut those triangles in half diagonally. Your triangles should look something like this:

11) Stretch the triangles a little to extend the length/width. If you're filling the croissants, place the filling approximately 1 inch away from the triangle base. Roll the dough over the filling towards the small triangle tip, forming crescent moon shapes. If you're making plain croissants, simply roll the dough into crescents. Spread the croissants out along the baking trays, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 10 minutes to allow the dough to rest.

12) Lightly beat the egg with 2 tsp. water in a small bowl. Remove & uncover the pastries from the fridge and brush with the egg wash. Let them sit for 10-20 minutes. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until crisp & golden brown. Don't be alarmed when the filling starts to juice out of the croissants in the oven.

I am all about quick and easy recipes, yet sometimes I want to make something deliberate and complicated. These days much of my time is spent in a constant rush, trying to get tons of things accomplished in the most time-efficient manner possible. Making croissants is a whole different experience - the process is slow, careful, sort of sensual, even. When you make croissants, you are making something that isn't efficient, or even nutritious. It's a beautiful, delicate pastry that is purely to please your senses. So treat your soul nice! Try making these croissants and sharing them with people you love - it's only about the best feeling in the whole world!

How To Pick Blueberries

2009-08-21T01:06:00.007-04:00

I have a special spot in my heart for these little guys. Blueberries were actually the first fruit I ever picked, all by myself! It was a cloudy day, and the blueberries came off the bushes like they had been waiting especially for me. I took them home and made a fabulous blueberry double-crusted pie, tasted it, and that was that - the beginning of my fruit-picking hobby! Overall, a "berry" satisfying experience.

If you've never been fruit picking before, I highly recommend starting with blueberries. Blueberry ripeness is pretty obvious to a casual observer, they're not as juice-messy as raspberries or strawberries, and (my favorite) you can expect minimal bug interference when you're out in the blueberry fields. If you're picking on a mature blueberry bush sometimes you can pluck off a whole bunch of ripe blueberries at once, which makes the picking go faster and also insures a plentiful bounty.

Besides just being so darned easy to pick, blueberries are good and good for ya! They are one of nature's richest antioxidants, which basically means they keep your cells nice and healthy. Some studies have shown blueberries to be helpful in slowing the aging process and in preventing certain types of cancers. If you're interested, here is the abstract article for neuroscience research done on rats who were fed a blueberry-enriched diet.

Blueberries season is winding down now, but that doesn't mean there aren't big, beautiful berries still populating the fields! Here are some farms in my area (in Oakland & Washtenaw County, Michigan) that are dependable and lovable:

Dexter Blueberry Farm: I've been to this one the most over the years, and every year it's about the same - run out of a tiny shack on the outskirts of a farm, the berries plants are well-established, and the bug interference is pretty low. Call for picking hours at (734) 426-2900.

Toth Brothers Blueberry Patch: This farm is SO CUTE, and the man who runs it is incredibly charming and nice. The berries are a little bit pricier than normal, but this is probably because they are certified organic. The field is pretty big, and they also make wood products, like fireplace mantels and things, from vintage wood. Call for picking hours at (517) 522-4796.

Hazen's Blueberry Farm: Their blueberries always seem to be the cheapest around, perhaps because their bushes are still pretty young; but honestly I haven't gotten out there this year, so it's possible the prices/bushes have changed. I picked here once in a warm summer rain and it was one of the nicest picking experiences I've ever had. Call for picking hours at (517) 548-1841.

Chocolate Cherry Zucchini Bread

2009-08-20T17:07:00.008-04:00

My good friend Cayden was leaving town, it was Rishi's birthday, Megan was sick...these were all perfect opportunities to show my friends how much I appreciated them by making something special! This was a fun bread to make, but even more fun to feed to my wonderful friends.

Unless the person you're making food for is allergic to wheat, this dessert bread makes for a great gift. It's very portable, doesn't take up too much room, and you can save it for later in an ordinary brown paper bag. This bread recipe is an ever-so-slightly altered version of the recipe from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary blog. I really didn't do much with this recipe, only little touches here and there - I increased the amount of cocoa and cinnamon, decreased the sugar, and added some local dried tart cherries I found at Whole Foods.

Believe it or not, this was the first time I ever made bread in a real bread pan! I've been scouring the local rummage sales all summer looking for good cookware, and about two days after I found this beautiful recipe, I discovered an oven-friendly plastic bread pan for $2 at a yard sale, 4 blocks from where I worked. Sometimes it seems fate really does come a-knockin'.

This recipe is also a snap. It literally took me 15 minutes to put together, and the hour-long oven wait was just enough time to clean up, wash the dishes, and study for my upcoming muscle exam.

Chocolate Cherry Zucchini Bread

you need:
- one large mixing bowl
- a whisk or hand mixer
- a bread pan
- a spatula
- a toothpick or two
- 3 eggs
- 1 C vegetable oil (you can substitute 1 cup of applesauce)
- 1 1/2 C sugar
- 2 T vanilla
- 2 C shredded zucchini (don't need to peel them)
- 2 1/2 C flour
- 1/2 C baking cocoa
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- handful dried tart cherries (or whatever dried fruit you like!)
- handful of chocolate chips or mini chips

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, oil, sugar & vanilla. Stir in zucchini with spatula. Combine all the dry ingredients and add it to the zucchini mixture. Mix well, making sure to scrape down the sides. Pour into 2 greased bread pans.

3) Bake the bread for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean & the top is not gooey (mine took a little longer to cook, about an hour and 15 mins).

If you're in a rush you can also make this recipe into muffins (just pour the batter into muffin tins instead of a bread loaf), which the original recipe says will take only 15 minutes to make. I chose to make the bread version because bread is more portable and keeps moisture better. An added bonus: the end result kinda looks like "the end result", if you know what I'm sayin'.

But I swear it's really tasty.

"Leftover" Pizza (for Jimmy)

2009-08-09T21:35:00.010-04:00

If I had to classify myself into a cook category, I would say that I'm a pretty whimsical cook. If I get an idea in my head of what I want to make and I have the money for it, the idea will probably get realized within the next 24-48 hours. This means I always have weird leftover ingredients that aren't necessarily from the same project. This is how I came up with the "leftover" pizza - a pizza with a whole bunch of my leftover stuff piled on top. AN INNOVATIVE MASTERPIECE.

In this particular rendition, I included the following toppings: tomato sauce, avocado, bacon, tomato, spinach, mushrooms, and Parmesan cheese. Doesn't that sound good? Because it totally was.

I worked with a pizza dough that I got from Our Life In Food blog. It was...okay. All things considered, I'm not a huge bread maker so I might've messed something up. I like pizza dough that is stretchy and very workable, and this dough was pretty tough to shape, and even harder to thin out. The dough is meant to be a thin crusted dough, but mine ended up being kinda thick because of the stretching problems I encountered. My search continues for a good thin crust pizza dough - if you have a good one, feel free to share!

Leftover Pizza

This pizza dough makes 3 small pizzas. If you want, you can freeze this pizza dough for up to a month. When you want to use it again, let it thaw in the fridge and you can use it like new!

for the pizza dough, you need:
- a mixing bowl
- a large bowl, oiled & ready for yeast-y action
- a sifter
- 1 3/4 C water, divided (1/2 C of the water should be warm, the rest should remain at tap temperature)
- 2 1/4 tsp. dry active yeast* (1 envelope)
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 4 C all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. table salt

1) Measure 1/4 cup of warm water into the mixing bowl. Sprinkle in the envelope of yeast, and let stand until the yeast dissolves, approximately 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour and the salt together in a large mixing bowl.

2) Add the remaining 1/4 cup warm water to the bowl, plus the remaining 1 1/4 cups of tap water and the 2 T of olive oil. Add the liquid ingredients (holding back a tablespoon or two) to the flour mixture and combine. If the dough does not readily form into a ball, add the remaining liquid and continue to mix. Process until the dough is smooth.

3) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball. Put the dough into a large oiled bowl, and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

4) Place the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and cut the dough into thirds.

* I don't know about you, but I'm used to yeast packages being 1/4 oz, which is 1 and 1/2 teaspoons. "2 1/4 tsp" seems so arbitrary to me...nevertheless, since it was a new recipe and poorly risen dough can kill the best bread recipe in the world, I added like 24/48ths of another yeast package and that seemed to work fine.

Pizza Assembly

These pizza instructions are for 1 small pizza, so just multiply everything by 3 for a total ingredient count if you wanna make all 3 at once. I'm sorry about all the math in this recipe.

you need:
- a cookie sheet & cooking spray
- a pizza slicer or knife
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce (I like light tomato sauce, so add more if you like)
- 1/2 ripe avocado, sliced into chunks & spritzed with lemon juice (to prevent browning)
- 1/2 large tomato, chopped
- 4 slices bacon, almost crispy & coarsely chopped
- 1 handful spinach
- 4 button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 C Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- pizza dough

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray the cookie sheet with cooking spray. Lay pizza dough onto the cookie sheet, knead it a little to get it going if necessary. Roll out pizza dough to desired thinness.

2) Spread tomato sauce on to pizza dough. Now top the pizza in this order: spinach leaves, mushrooms, bacon pieces, tomato, and finally the avocado pieces.

3) Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan and pop it into the oven for 17 minutes, or until the dough and cheese begin to brown.

4) Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Though the pizza dough wasn't the greatest to work with, the pizza was still wonderful. Bacon, avocado, tomatoes...all the ingredients are such comforting food elements. In fact, I actually had a weird pizza "moment". I was listening to my favorite Miles Davis album and munching on this pizza, and all the sudden I felt all weird and tingly in my legs because everything was so perfect. Like life is really a very cool thing to experience, sometimes, even when you're just eating homemade pizza and listening to Miles do his thing at 1AM. Because sometimes that's all you need!

Peach Mascarpone Shortcakes (for Lindsey)

2009-08-02T19:12:00.010-04:00

Happy National Peach Month everyone! Today I celebrated by making peach shortcake with mascarpone cream filling. I know Whole Foods is celebrating right now too, at least price-wise; they've got locally grown, ripe-off-the-tree peaches on sale for 99 cents a pound!

This is titled "for Lindsey" because she is the one who suggested I use mascarpone in some kind of creation, which led to this whole peach shortcake idea. I really liked the process of using someone's suggested ingredient and dedicating that recipe to them, so if other people would like to suggest an ingredient/recipe for me to play with, I would love to make something for "you", too! I can't guarantee that it will be good, but I will do my very best.

Peach Mascarpone Shortcakes: A Show in Three Acts

This recipe makes 6 peach shortcakes. I suggest doing everything in this order, because it cuts down on time and you can still get warm biscuits with cold cream filling, which I personally love.

I. The Honey-glazed Peaches

you need:
- a frying pan
- a spatula
- 2 peaches, sliced fairly thin
- 2 T honey (I used raw, but whatevs)
- 1 tsp. cinnamon

1) Drizzle honey on to the pan surface. Heat the pan to medium heat; the honey should thin out considerably if it was thick and raw. Place the peach slices into the pan, allowing them to cook for 3 minutes on both sides. If the honey starts to look thick and gooey, just add a few tablespoonfuls of water to keep the peaches cooking.

2) Remove the peaches from the pan and place in a bowl. Pour cinnamon on top of the peaches and carefully fold until peaches are uniformly covered with cinnamon-y goodness. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool.

II. The Biscuits

For this shortcake recipe I made the biscuits with Bisquick mix. Yes, yes, I'm a big ol' cheater, but biscuits take forEVER and a half to make! Plus I happen to like Bisquick biscuits just fine, thank you. To make the biscuits I just followed the directions on the box for "strawberry shortcakes", neglecting the strawberry portion of the recipe. To make that perfect biscuit shape, roll out the dough on a floured surface and use a biscuit cookie cutter to cut out 6 biscuits.

III. Mascarpone filling

I didn't want to use heavy whipping cream because there was already a LOT of fat in this recipe, so I used milk instead!

you need:
- a bowl
- a hand mixer
- a (plastic) spatula
- 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
- 1/4 C milk
- 2 T sugar

Mix together mascarpone, milk, and sugar with the hand mixer. It will seem too liquid at first; keep beating the ingredients together until it starts to get some definite structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with the spatula if you need to. You can save this filling for later, but know that you will have to re-beat with the hand mixer again.

Now you should be ready to assemble the shortcakes! You can do it any which way, and here is how I did it:

1) First I cut open the biscuit:

2) Spread a healthy portion of mascarpone filling on the bottom:

3) Put 4 slices of raw peaches on top:

4) Topped with additional mascarpone filling:

5) And then capped it off with the biscuit top, whipped cream, and glazed peaches (not pictured because they look funny from a bird's eye view)!

Yeah, this was some of the best shortcake I've ever, ever had. It was so creamy and peachy and pretty! I thought the mascarpone filling was a great addition, because it was sweet enough to taste, but it wasn't so sweet that it overpowered the peaches. The perfect August peach month dessert.

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This doesn't have anything to do with the current post, but I'd just like to thank everyone who has told me they read this food blog-ma-jig! The Internet is a huge place filled with lots of fascinating websites, so I really take it as a personal compliment when you take the time to read about the food I make. I just enabled anonymous commenting, so people who didn't have a blog/Gmail account should be able to comment now.

Water with Lime

2009-08-02T16:08:00.007-04:00

Ah, limes. Also known as the awkward, less attractive/popular younger sisters of lemons. Life can be so unfair! But if you take the time to get to know them, limes are chock-full of personality that you just can't get from lemons.

My friend and future roommate Kirthi is really into water with lime (not to be confused with lime water), and has told me on at least 3 separate occasions how great it is. One day I actually tried it, and hey, it wasn't so bad! It seemed to clear my palate a bit more than regular water, and left me feeling calm and refreshed.

Ever since then, I've been trying to buy limes more often and make use of them. They have a relaxing smell and a tiny twinge of sweetness that really awakens the senses. Limes are a great source of vitamin C (even better than oranges!), and are also said to aid digestion/constipation, clear up mysterious odors in breath (including garlic), and improve eye health. Limes are generally used in salsas, seafood dishes, and with tequila.

Banana Nutella Cupcakes

2009-08-01T11:53:00.000-04:00

This past Friday was my last day working at Wendy's! Though I don't see myself working in fast food ever again, I was actually kind of sad to go. My co-workers are all really nice people, and I think I learned some valuable life lessons while working there. So, as a final goodbye, I made some banana nutella-frosted cupcakes for all my co-workers.

It's been a while since I've concocted anything new in the cupcake world. I love cupcakes, don't get me wrong, but last year I made it "my thing" to create & serve a different kind of cupcake every Thursday. Yep, every Thursday. I must have been crazy! I had a lot of fun experimenting and learned a great deal about pairing flavors...however, I don't think I would ever commit myself to something like that ever again. These particular cupcakes were greatly liked by my co-workers and parents, but personally, I think it could use some improvement.

I didn't start out thinking that I was going to make banana nutella cupcakes. I was following this nutella cake recipe from wordpress.com, all the while thinking about how to improve the recipe. And then, tragedy struck!: as I gathered my ingredients, I realized that I only had 2 of the 3 eggs required for the recipe. Not having enough eggs is definitely a show-stopper when it comes to baking; the protein in eggs provide structure, enhanced flavor, and help lock in moisture to make the cake, you know, cake-y. Unfortunately it was about 11PM when I discovered this, and I didn't feel like doing midnight shopping in my Niagra Falls nightshirt. So I started to think about egg substitutions, and decided to try a creepy vegan trick for the missing egg and used...a banana!

According to About.com, you can be vegan-friendly by substituting half a banana for 1 egg in baking. I had nothing to lose, so I went ahead and used an entire banana, which I hoped would create a solid banana flavor in the cupcakes. I'm generally hesitant to use vegan suggestions, because in my experience, and no offense to my non-existent vegan following, vegan recipes are hit-or-miss. I mean, really, making brownies with prunes? I might make them, but I would call them something else, as they are certainly not "brownies". Maybe "prune-flavored cocoa balls"? ...Or maybe not that.

This following recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

Nutella Cupcakes (original recipe linked above)

you need:
- a mixing bowl
- a spatula (hand mixer optional)
- a muffin tin + cupcake liners
- a spoon
- a toothpick
- 1 1/2 sticks softened butter
- 1/2 C sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 banana, thoroughly mashed
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 C sifted all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 C nutella

1) Preheat oven to 325F. Line the muffin tins with cupcake liners and sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.

2) Mix together softened butter and sugar until smooth with the hand mixer or spatula. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each time. Add vanilla extract and mashed banana.

3) Stir in the sifted flour mixture with the wet ingredients. Now take the spatula and glop the batter into the liners - this batter was super thick. Fill the liners about 3/4 way full.

4) Using a spoon, put one large glop of nutella on top of each cupcake-to-be. Take a toothpick and swirl that nutella glop all 'round the top of the batter. Try to get some of it deep down into the cupcake center.

In my mild flirtation with vegan substituting, I discovered the banana for an egg trick worked pretty darned well in this recipe! Texturally the cupcakes were a little more crumbly than the average cake, and the banana made a very good aromatic buddy for the nutella. I think I would make these again, with a different whipped frosting. I tried to use a lemon whipped topping, but honestly, it was such a bad match for these nutella cupcakes that I'm not even going to post it here. I would have been better off with a banana whipped cream frosting, which I guess I have to invent because I can't seem to find any online examples...hmm. Definitely going to pioneer a banana cream frosting now!

upcoming flavors: homemade pizza, mascarpone, raspberry, mint, peach

Cinnamon Poached Apples with Almond Yogurt Topping

2009-07-27T02:30:00.000-04:00

I've made poached pears before, but never poached apples! I decided to give it a shot and create a quick and easy treat out of some of my favorite ingredients.

This recipe is original, as far as I know.

Cinnamon Poached Apples with Almond Yogurt Topping

you need:
-a medium sized pot & lid
- a small plate that can fit into the pot
- 3 Fuji apples*
- 3 C water
- 1/2 C honey
- 1/4 C sugar
- 3 tsp. cinnamon
- plain yogurt
- crushed almonds & extra cinnamon for garnish

1) heat water, honey, and sugar in the medium sized pot, stir and heat on medium-low until all ingredients are melted. now add the 3 tsp. of cinnamon; mix well. While this is heating up, peel, core, and cut the fuji apples into halves. Put a few drops of lemon juice into the apple center to prevent browning.

2) Place the apple halves cut side down into the honey water mixture. Put your plate on top of the apples to keep them submerged and poach apples for about 15 minutes, or until the apples are soft and tender all the way through; you can poke them with a fork/chopstick to make sure.

3) Remove apples from the liquid. I let them cool for about 10 minutes before the yogurt step, but I can definitely see the appeal of piping hot poached apples. Top the apples with yogurt, crushed almonds, and cinnamon.

*I experimented with both Fuji and Granny Smith apples for the recipe - the Granny's cooked a lot faster than the Fuji and didn't retain their apple shape as well.

Overall I would say this recipe was a success. The crushed almonds made for a good crunch that balanced the soft apple texture, and the cinnamon added an earthy sweetness to the plain yogurt. The only thing I didn't like about this was you couldn't taste the tang of the plain yogurt very well through sweetness of the poached apple. I think I will experiment with sour cream next time, or use less sugar. I say next time because all my apples have already been gobbled by my parents! Luckily I saved the one pictured above from last night in a separate container. Yep, you can store them in the fridge overnight, probably for up to 3 days...but honestly, are you really going to let these babies sit in your fridge?

Restaurant Rec: Ajishin

2009-07-26T23:10:00.000-04:00

I don't think I'll make a habit of posting restaurant recommendations, as the blog fan base now has cross country followers (!hey Greg!) and this is kind of like calling a sick friend from a concert to tell them what a great time they're missing. Well, Greg, I'm sorry about this...but if you are ever stranded in the Novi, Michigan area with an appetite, Ajishin never fails to deliver a fabulous udon noodle soup and freshly prepared sushi.

Observe. A group of young miscreant smokers, a mother walking with her child, and a weird loner that noticed me creeping on Ajishin. But really, the key thing to note is that all of these people are Asian. And when you see tons of Asians swarming around an Asian restaurant, willing to wait as long as 2 hours for seating, you can make a pretty decent bet that the food there is cheap and delicious. That is exactly what Ajishin is: this cramped little sushi bar set-up with tons of Maneki Neko cat paraphernalia sprinkled throughout the entire place, and most days the line is literally out the door 20 minutes from the moment they open their doors. Why so much fuss? Well, look for yourself:

A half-order (yes, they do that!) of Ajishin specialty udon noodles (udon soup with seaweed, green onion, egg, sweet tofu, shrimp tempura, and imitation crab meat), Japanese tea, and rice with pickled radish garnish AND IT ONLY COST $4.24!! I dare you to find a better deal, I really do. Also, when I have the money to spend, the sushi there is so good and, dare I say it, even comparable to the sushi I had in Japan. If you are planning to order sushi for more than one person or if you just want to try a bunch of different stuff, the best money-saver is to order one of the combination platters of sushi. They don't advertise it, but you can switch out pieces of sushi you don't like for others of the same price.

The area around Ajishin also houses Pastry House Hippo, one of the only Japanese bakeries I've seen around here. The bakery is very good but seems somewhat pricey to me. Next to Pastry House is this place called "Library Pub/Grill", but as it turns out, it's not actually a library. Bummer, right? I guess there aren't any hippopotamus's working at PHH either, so maybe I shouldn't take things so literally (badoomcha).

Ajishin is located on 42270 Grand River Avenue between Novi Rd. and Meadowbrook Rd. in Novi, MI. Hours: 11:30AM - 2:30PM, 5 - 9:30PM every day, only closed on Tuesdays.

How To Pick Black Raspberries

2009-07-20T09:09:00.001-04:00

If you live on the eastern side of North America, there is a very good chance that a black raspberry plant is growing somewhere in your neighborhood.

I discovered this gorgeous plant growing on the side of my parent's house behind some prickly pine brush about 2 years ago, and every year since then it has given us some fantastic black raspberries to snack on. I've never seen these sold in a normal grocery store, maybe because they're smaller and hard to cultivate. If you've never eaten a black raspberry before, then you're in for a treat! It is smaller and sweeter than its red raspberry cousin, and waaaayyyyy less of a hassle to pick. Don't get me wrong, I love red raspberries as much as the next person, but I do NOT like peering into bushes to find massive beetle mating grounds that make it impossible to pick that one good berry out of the whole mess. I went raspberry picking two years ago and this year, and both times I encountered this problem. Maybe I just have terrible luck, but I think I will just stick to less janky fruit picking.

Anyways, these plants seem to flourish in pretty sunny areas, and like to hide amongst other plants for a little bit of shade. Black raspberries are full of juicy color, so be prepared for stained hands and clothing. The berries will thrive on general neglect, so don't feel like you need to take care of it at all! Simply watch it grow and appreciate the delicious fruits of its labor.

Book Rec: How to Pick a Peach

2009-07-20T00:23:00.001-04:00

Looking for a book on how to find that elusive perfect produce? How to Pick a Peach by Russ Parsons is a great guide for navigating those winding grocery store aisles.

This book is one of many that has sprung up since the "organic craze" that recently hit the U.S. I don't particularly care to get into the politics of local vs. industry foods, but I will say this: produce at grocery stores is not very glamorous in the first place. Think about what that grocery produce goes through all day, every day: sitting around in baskets, or maybe on funny shelves that blow water on it every once in a while. Sweating under the glaring florescent lights. Fumbled and jostled and dropped by countless customers. Then, at the end of the day, fumbled and jostled and dropped when it's returned to the giant store fridge. So when picking things out, remember that fresh food is not really all that fresh anyways, farm-grown or assembly-lined. But finding the least jostled, bruised produce can be a really satisfying adventure all the same!

The book's best feature is most definitely the organization. All the produce is organized by its season, then in alphabetical order, and in the back there is an index that details each specific subject covered by the book. Additionally there are short, simple recipes (also indexed in alphabetical order) that highlight the fruits and veggies discussed, and sometimes small snippets of food origins and fun factoids (a great section on the emergence and disappearance of iceberg lettuce in American salads, for example). True to its quick reference nature, each section describes how to choose, store, and prepare the produce in about 3 lines or less.

The biggest con to the book is that it is almost arrogantly American. There are no exotic fruits mentioned in the book, unless you count mangoes as exotic, which I don't. Although I don't work with other-world produce very often, I think I would take more chances if I had a guide book as insurance for how to pick the best stuff, since exotic produce can sometimes strain the wallet a bit. If someone would like to recommend me a good exotic food guide, I would be happy to hear about it. Until then, How to Pick a Peach is my favorite grocery buddy.

A link to buy it on Amazon.com

Second Summer Picnic

2009-07-18T20:44:00.000-04:00

I've been busy with other things lately and skived off food blogging ("food bogging"?...no, probably not) for a while. But no more! I'm in a distinct mood to flood the internet with pictures and recipes of food (a "food flood"...? still no). I'm beginning this night of blogging mayhem with a big picnic post, from the second summer picnic with my friends Megan, Lindsey, and myself.

This picnic post includes the recipe for:
- bruschetta, by Lindsey
- guacamole, by Megan
- pesto pasta
- strawberry mocha cheesecake

"Oh no! A Name for it! How about "Use as Many Cooking Methods as You Can Bruschetta" or "Mismatched Bruschetta" or "Throw it in a Bowl and Put on Bread and Voila! Bruschetta" lol i have no idea, you can just call it Bruschetta."

"Bruschetta" by Lindsey

Lindsey, pictured above with her bruschetta creation, is a fabulous cook. Here is her e-mailed recipe:

"1 bell pepper (preferably yellow or orange, for color excitement later on)
1 bunch fresh basil leaves (about 10)
1 medium tomato
1 Tb Olive Oil
1 clove garlic

1 crusty baguette
Garlic and Herb Chèvre (goat cheese)
More Olive Oil for drizzling

Paper Bag

Start by roasting the pepper in the oven. Turn on the broiler to high and place the pepper on the middle rack. As it roasts, the outer skin turns black and blisters. Keep turning the pepper (use an oven mitt!) until it is blackened on all sides. Watch carefully though! It will take about 3 minutes to get started, and then from there each side will go much faster. Place your roasted pepper into a paper bag to cool and seal partway.

While your pepper cools down, start up the grill! Slice your baguette to about 1/4 inch slices, and cut up the tomato into thick wedges. Brush each bread and tomato slice with a bit of olive oil. When the grill is hot, place your bread and tomatoes on. The bread will take longer than you think, about 5 minutes depending on the grill, to get nice grill marks and brown up. The tomatoes should get a little charred and soft on each side.

Back in the kitchen, roll up your basil leaves into a little tight cylinder and slice thinly. (Use a sharp knife or the edges will bruise!) You'll end up with beautiful thin strings of basil that will add color and flavor to every bite!

Check your bread and tomatoes. When the bread is golden on both sides and has those beautiful grill marks, and the tomatoes are steamy hot, set both aside to cool. Take your cooled pepper out of the bag, and behold one of the miracles of cooking. Roasting the pepper makes the blistered skin super easy to peel off, leaving the soft, flavor-packed flesh underneath! Remove the seeds and stem, and do a 1/4 inch dice. When the tomatoes are cooled, dice them as well. Place pepper, tomato, and basil in a bowl with 1 Tb olive oil and stir. You may need to add a bit more olive oil to make it hold together. Finely chop the garlic and stir it in last.

Spread each piece of grilled bread with just enough chèvre to cover the top. Top each slice with a heaping helping of bruschetta and garnish with a little curl of basil!"

I think Lindsey should probably have her own food blog, no? I am going to miss her so much when summer is over.

Guacamole by Megan

Megan is a repeat Food Flood guest! You may recall the friendly looking cucumber sandwiches she made for the first summer picnic post. For this picnic she made some guacamole dip, and it was quite tasty.

you need:
2 ripe avocados
1 tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
a dash of pepper

1) Cut avocados in half and remove the seeds. Scoop out avocado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl.

2) Using a fork, mash the avocado and garlic. Add salt and pepper, and lime to taste. For more flavor add a tablespoon of salsa. Cover with plastic wrap directly on guacamole to avoid browning and refrigerate until ready to serve. Add chopped onions or tomatoes if you so wish before serving.

Keep in mind these measurements are not exact, and that you should "taste along the way" when it comes to making dipping sauces. This simply means mixing the base ingredients together and then add the spices one at a time. Making sauces this way is also a great way to learn where you stand on the sweet/sour/salty/spicy chart.

Pesto Pasta

For a rather thrown together dish, I think this was pretty successful. The tomatoes gave the pasta dish a nice natural sweetness, and the olives/mozzarella cheese mixed very well with the spinach/tomato combination.

you need:
- a large cook pot
- a colander
- medium sized portable container
- 1/4 cup fresh mozzarella
- 1/4 cup green+ black olives
- 2 handfuls fresh spinach
- 1 handful grape tomatoes, halved
- 8 oz penne pasta
- double serving of walnut pesto
- extra olive oil
- salt to taste

1) Bring a quart of water to a boil and pour the pasta into boiling water. Don't forget to add salt and a few drops of olive oil to the water; this will keep the pasta from sticking. Cook until there is a bit of firmness to the penne - the best way to check consistency is to break a piece open and look for a thin dry-looking line in the center.

2) Place the fresh spinach into the bottom of the colander. Take the pot of pasta, complete with water, and dump it onto the colander over the sink. The pasta water will cook the spinach just a little bit. Next, run some cold water over the pasta to stop it from cooking any further.

3) Transfer the pasta and spinach to a portable container. Glop the walnut pesto on top of the pasta and mix until all pasta is thoroughly covered. Mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Strawberry Mocha Cheesecake

Ah, my pride and joy - I got this recipe from combining a few recipes at Use Real Butter. It was also the only cheesecake I've ever made that didn't crack upon pulling it from the oven. I knew I should have taken the picture then...but I wanted to wait to take a picture of all the picnic things in the same lighting. But by the time I had put the cheesecake into the car, picked everyone up, and pulled this baby out of the picnic basket, these dumb cracks had appeared. It was a perfect cheesecake, though, I swear! And so pretty with those strawberry swirls.

BEWARE: This recipe makes 2 cheesecakes! You can cut the recipe in half, but best use 2 eggs for the cheesecake recipe portion. When baking it is always better to overestimate the importance of eggs, especially for something like cheesecake.

for the crust, you need:
- a large baking pan with high sides
- a pie pan
- 3 C graham cracker crumbs (I used cinnamon graham crackers)
- 1 stick butter, unsalted & melted
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract

for the filling, you need:
- 24 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 C sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
- 1 Tbsp. instant coffee powder
- 1 Tbsp. boiling water
- 1 cup strawberries, puréed
- 2 Tbsp. sugar

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare some boiling water for a hot cheesecake bath.

2) Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg.

3) Combine boiling water and coffee powder together until combined, then mix together with other ingredients.

4) Add heavy cream, vanilla, and lemon juice, and blend until smooth and creamy. In a separate bowl stir together strawberry puree and sugar until combined; strain and set aside.

5) Mix crust ingredients together and press graham cracker crust into your cheesecake pans. I used disposable pie pans, but if you have one of those pans with removable bottoms, I bet that would work great too. Just remember with removable bottoms you have to remember to line the outsides with aluminum foil so none of the water from the water bath can get into the cheesecake.

6) Pour the cheesecake mixture into the crusts, then pour the strawberry mixture on top of the cheesecake. Take a toothpick and make cool swirly designs. You don't have to be an artist to make beautiful swirls. Just skim your toothpick tip all through the cheesecake and great, professional-looking results will follow!

6) Preparing the cheesecake bath: put the cheesecakes on the pan before pouring the boiling water into the pan. Only pour enough water into the pan to immerse the cheesecake sides in water; this is to ensure even cooking. Don't fill the pan up with water so high that you can't lift it up without spilling.

7) Bake the cheesecakes for about an hour, or until the cheesecake can hold together but still seems jiggly in the center. DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE OVEN YET! For a perfect, crackless cheesecake, you must turn off the oven heat and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for about an hour. The slow cooling process will keep that top looking nice and smooth. After an hour you can transport the cheesecake to the kitchen counter, and after it becomes room temperature, you can refrigerate the cheesecake without any fear of cracking.

This picnic was great fun, and while I was stuffed to the gills, I didn't leave feeling so full that driving seemed impossible. I would say that the menu was much more cohesive compared to the last picnic - it seems that a good picnic is about bringing good portable foods to match each other. A special thank you to Megan and Lindsey for participating and posing for pictures, and gosh, I hope I see you guys soon!

Mushroom Veg-Out Sandwich

2009-07-01T14:09:00.000-04:00

Here's a deep, dark secret for you: sometimes I don't feel like cooking all that much. Sometimes I just want to relax on my random Wednesday off without spending too much time in the kitchen, but I also want to eat something good. So instead of sitting around hoping something besides a frozen dinner will fall into my lap, I usually end up making sandwiches. I really like this recipe because it's vegetarian friendly, very easy and very filling, but not so filling you feel like you've just eaten a whole horse farm. Since this was so easy to make and I didn't want to just show you a picture of a finished sandwich, this post also has step-by-step assembly instructions for making this with almost no-spillage, 89% guaranteed.

Mushroom Vegetable Sandwich (with pictures!)

You need:
- a spreading knife
- 2 loaves of sturdy bread
- 1 piece of wax paper
- pesto (I used my own walnut pesto recipe)
- sautéed button mushrooms, approx. 5
- scoop of mayonnaise
- leafy lettuce (I used Romaine)
- 2 tomato slices
- 1/2 an avocado
- feta cheese

1) Take the spreading knife and smooth the pesto onto the loaf. Be generous with yourself!

2) Spread the sautéed mushrooms across the pesto. Sautéed mushrooms take about 3 minutes to make, literally. If you didn't buy the mushrooms pre-sliced, just wash 'em up, slice 'em up relatively thin, and throw 'em into a pan on medium heat of butter or olive oil. Stir them around until they look golden brown all around, and there are your sautéed mushrooms. SO easy!

3) Spread some mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip, whatever you've got) on the other bread slice.

4) Lay out your lettuce (I used salad leaves) on the mayo side. If the difficulty level is getting a little overwhelming, please feel free to stop and catch your breath.

5) Lay out your tomato slices on top of the lettuce leaves. It's starting to look pretty good!

6) Take the avocado half and cut it up while it is still in its shell. Scoop out about half of the avocado slices and spoon it on top of the tomatoes. If you prefer you can mash it up and make it into a spread, but I like that feeling of biting into big fatty avocado pieces.

7) Sprinkle some feta cheese all over both bread slices. Now flip the top bread slice on top of the other bread slice and...

There it is! A delicious & fairly healthy sandwich. I used wax paper and wrapped it up nice and neat so the sandwich contents wouldn't spill out the back. I'd suggest doing the same, especially if you plan to plastic bag it for lunch.

upcoming flavors: strawberries, cherries, mint, mocha, pineapple

Pesto, Pear, And Parmigiana Flatbread

2009-06-29T21:47:00.000-04:00

As a person without a bread machine or even a bread pan (hint: turning 19 soon...), I always end up making flatbread if I get the itch for freshly baked bread. Flatbread is the simplest type of bread to make, and if you've never tried to make your own bread before, this pesto, pear, and parmigiana topped flatbread is great for first timers.

This recipe comes from Choosy Beggars, a friendly and wonderfully comprehensive food blog. Per usual, I did a bit of ingredient swapping with the original recipe - instead of Bosc pears I used Bartlett pears, and since the recipe does not specify a pesto recipe I used my favorite walnut pesto. And I'm very sorry, but for the life of me I cannot remember where the pesto recipe came from or if I've made any changes to it over the years. If someone does find the recipe for it someplace online, please tell me and I'll gladly include the original reference.

Pesto, Pear, and Parmigiana Flatbread

You need:
- a big mixng bowl + spatula
- 2 regular sized bowls
- cheese grater
- a spoon and/or melon baller
- flat baking pan
- cooking spray
- 1 1/2 cups of warm water
- 1 tbsp active yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups all purpose flour & more to dust
- 2 - 3 ripe Bartlett pears
- few squirts of lemon juice
- 1/2 cup walnut pesto (or any pesto you like)
- 1/2 medium sweet onion, like Vidalia
- freshly grated parmesan cheese

1) mix the yeast, sugar, salt, and water into a bowl. The water temperature must be warm to the touch, but not so warm that it's uncomfortable. This is to activate the yeast. Yeast is the Goldilocks of baking ingredients - the water must not be too hot or too cold for it to activate, or 'bloom'. When yeast blooms, it swells up to the top of the water and goes poof! into a circle. It's pretty neat to see, if you've never seen it before. This takes about 5 minutes.

2) Add the olive oil to the yeast mixture, then add the flour. If you have a wooden spoon you should use that to mix the dough, but since my wooden spoon has disappeared into the depths of my mother's kitchen cabinets, I used a spatula and you can too.

3) Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and let the dough rise to double its original size. This will take approximately 2 hours, and one and a half hours should be spent watching a good movie (I watched The Big Sleep) or mourning the recent celebrity deaths. Whatever you want, you've got one and a half hours! Do it!

4) Okay, time's up. Now preheat the oven to 450 degrees, slice the pears in half, and remove the middle seed part with the spoon/melon baller. Slice the onions and pear halves into thin pieces (no more than 1/4th inch thick), and place them into your two regular sized bowls for later. Squirt some lemon juice on the pears to keep them from browning and for an extra flavor.

5) Take off the dish towel from the big bowl - whoa! The dough should be a blob monster that has doubled in size since you last saw it. Flour your counter top and hands generously before throwing the blob onto your counter because the dough will be sticky. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Spray your cooking pan with cooking spray.

6) Take one piece of dough and roll it out into a long rectangle, maybe 1/4th of an inch thick. Transport the dough to the pan. If it slips and tears on the way over, no worries, just squish the dough back together. Fold all the sides over about 1/2 inches to make a pretty crust.

7) Take a spoon and dollop half the pesto onto the flatbread dough, smooth it over evenly.

8) Lay out the pear slices on top of the pesto, then do the same with the onions. Take your grated parmesan and sprinkle the cheese over the whole flatbread.

9) Repeat steps 6 - 8 for the other flatbread dough.

10) Put the flatbreads into the oven and bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the top and sides are an even golden brown. If the top is getting brown quickly and the bottom is still undercooked, tent the top of the pan with tin foil.

11) Take the bread out and let it cool for a few minutes, then serve it up to the people who have probably flocked to your kitchen from their hungry hiding places. And don't forget about serving yourself! Happy eating, guaranteed.

And now here is my recipe for walnut pesto:

Walnut Pesto

You need:
- a blender
- a bunch of basil, approx. 2 cups worth
- small handful of parmesan cheese
- handful of walnuts
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- a big garlic clove
- couple squirts lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste

Throw it all into a blender except the cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until combined. Now throw in the remaining ingredients and blend until just combined. Go light on the salt at first until you know how much is good for you; keep in mind that parmesan is already pretty salty. This recipe also goes great on other stuff, and you'll probably see me use this pesto in other dishes frequently.

In other food news: I bought a tomato plant a couple weeks ago, and it's starting to fruit! I'll post pictures when it comes to full fruition, as long as I beat the animals to it. I also noticed our wild raspberry plant that grows on the side of the house is looking good this year, too. What a lovely summer this is turning out to be.

upcoming flavors: strawberries, mocha, mint, cherries, pineapple

How To Pick Strawberries

2009-06-29T01:50:00.001-04:00

Peering into the leafy shades as the setting sun beats down on the back of your neck, you can see tons of them - the healthiest, most perfect strawberries you've seen in at least a year, staring up at you, ready and waiting. Ladies, gentlemen, and all those in between, all of you will know the best feeling of joy when you eat your first freshly picked strawberry of the season. That is how you pick the best strawberries - with your own two hands at a local strawberry farm.

Unfortunately this year's cold night temperatures, sporadic isolated thunderstorms, and sudden onsets of humidity made for a pretty strange strawberry season up here in the Michigan mitten. The farm I like to go to, Rowe's Produce Farm over in Belleville, Michigan, kept setting and resetting their days for picking - it's not their fault, of course, but between work and school I didn't get out to the field this year until this past week, as strawberry season was winding down. But on such a big strawberry farm (biggest in the state, I believe), there were still some really, really wonderful berries to be picked. And I did my very best to pick some of them.

Grocery store strawberries are always honking huge and kind of bleak looking from sitting in the store fridge for at least a couple days. If you're stuck in a place that doesn't have a farm near you or strawberries aren't in season, the best thing to do is to look for the carton that has the healthiest looking red to most of the berries, avoid moldy, caved-in fruits, and hope for the best. But freshly picked berries are a completely different story. They sit in the Vitamin D-enriched sunlight all day and have a beautiful lively glow when you pick them straight from the plant. You know you've picked a good berry when it's so plump full of juice that you have to tilt your head back to keep from spilling berry juice all over yourself when you bite into it(this is where you will sigh the happiest sigh; it's making me happy just thinking about it!). This is true even for the smaller baby looking berries. Size is absolutely no indicator of a good or bad berry. Generally speaking, the berries that are larger are big because they are storing more water, not more juice. The smaller strawberries are sweeter (and cuter), and are delightfully surprising in how much juice they can hold. Pick strawberries based on their weight for their size, and how red they are. A careful, solid tug on the strawberry fruit should release the berry from its plant. Strawberries DO NOT ripen once they are picked, so pick only the firm red berries!

If you decide to go picking, bug spray and sunscreen aren't bad ideas. Some animals like to live in strawberry fields, so do watch out for gopher holes and the like. Berry picking can be an all-absorbing task, but make sure you're drinking water periodically. Other than that, you should come back from the farm with a healthy glow and very healthy fresh picked fruit!

upcoming flavors: pears, strawberries, mocha, mint, cherries

Stream of Consciousness Tuna Salad

2009-06-23T23:27:00.000-04:00

Because of my crazy superhuman schedule, lately I've been eating tons of grab-and-go foods like fruit and, um, gum. So this morning, when I looked at a banana and felt like I was going to barf, I decided I should really try to get protein back into my diet. As luck would have it, I got out of work early today and had a whole stretch of 30 minutes with nothing quite so pressing to do! I seized the rare occasion and assembled this quick and painless tuna pea salad I came up with by throwing random things on the counter that I thought might go well with each other. It was fun to make and fun to eat!

Stream of Consciousness Tuna Salad

Assembly time: 30 minutes (scout's honor)

You need:
- a medium sized bowl
- a large sized bowl
- a big spoon
- 2 small cans of chunk light tuna, chopped
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 3 small dill pickles, chopped (or one big dill pickle)
- 10 oz. frozen peas, thawed/drained
- 10 strips bacon, crumbled
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 apple, chopped (I used a small sized Fuji)
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbs. vinegar
- 1 Tbs. worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- squirts of lemon juice

Assembly:

1) Chop all items that need chopping (pecans, celery, apples, pickles, eggs, tuna) and place into the medium sized bowl. Squirt the apples with lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside.

2) Put all remaining ingredients into the large bowl and mix with the spoon until combined. Once the mixture is smooth, mix in all the other ingredients little by little, until everything is coated evenly.

3) Store in the refrigerator for an hour or two before serving.

I'm very pleased with this salad. There's a great deal of crunch from the pecans, celery, bacon, and apples, but the softer ingredients balance it out so it doesn't feel like you're eating eggshells (ugh!! #1 pet peeve). Plus that cayenne pepper gives it a spicy kick. Above all the assembly was quick, required no shopping on my part, so this is definitely something I'd make again. It's a pretty hefty serving, too - this will feed me for at least 2 days. Looking at next year's schedule (going to college AND massage therapy school) there's going to be a lot of days like this, where I don't know what my next meal will be. Guess I'll have to rely on my kitchen intuition more often, if it's going to produce these kinds of results!

upcoming flavors: mocha, mint, cherries, strawberries, pears

Lemon Almond Madeleines With A Chocolate Almond Dip

2009-06-20T17:49:00.000-04:00

After a long week of school and work, there's nothing like cashing your paycheck and afterward going to the mall to buy that special-something for your own special self. That's how I came into possession of this beautiful madeleine tin:

which helped me create these lemon almond madeleines dipped in chocolate!

Finding a good madeleine recipe is harder than it should be. If you're thinking you've tasted a madeleine from those box o' hard tea cookies your mom bought that one time, you're mistaken. Those were just biscuits shaped like madeleines. Real madeleines, made en el estilo francés, are tiny yellow cakes that have a thick, spongy consistency and the signature "sea shell" shape. So pretty, and they are pretty bomb-diggity when you dip them in chocolate and sprinkle them with almonds!

This is modified from a basic recipe I found on Epicurious. It was a very good, simple base to work with, albeit a little fattening, so I left the base ingredients alone and added to it 1/2 a cup of almonds, cinnamon, a couple more squirts of lemon juice, and dipped them in chocolate + almond sprinklings.

Lemon Almond Madeleines w/ Chocolate Almond Dip

This recipe makes 36 madeleines.

Lemon Almond Madeleines

You need:
- madeleine baking tin
- a large mixing bowl
- a whisk
- 1 3/4 sticks (14 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus additional for brushing molds
- 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbs. baking powder
- 2 tsp. finely grated fresh lemon zest
- fresh lemon juice from a lemon half
- 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise (I substituted 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 tsp. mild honey
- 1/2 cup crushed almonds
- 1 Tbs. cinnamon

Chocolate Almond Dip

You need:
- wax paper & a flat plate
- one 8-ounce good quality* dark chocolate baking bar (I used 72% dark, but you can dress them up with whatever chocolate you like best)
- 1/4 cup crushed almonds

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray madeleine tin with cooking spray*.

2) Sift together flour and baking powder into the large mixing bowl, then whisk in zest, cinnamon, and crushed almonds.

3) Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into another bowl with tip of a paring knife (or add the vanilla extract here). Add sugar and rub together until vanilla is well dispersed, then whisk in eggs, milk, honey, lemon juice, and remaining 1 3/4 sticks melted butter. Fold into flour mixture until just combined.

4) Spoon a rounded tablespoon of batter into each mold, filling it about two-thirds full. Bake until golden around the edges, about 8 to 12 minutes. If you have an old school oven, rotate the trays when they are halfway done to bake evenly. Allow madeleines to cool for 10 minutes.

5) Break up the chocolate bar into a microwave proof bowl and heat for 30 seconds, remove from microwave, and stir. Repeat this step until the chocolate is completely melted, then remove chocolate from the microwave and set aside.

6) Place the wax paper on top of a flat plate for a place to set the freshly dipped madeleines. Take a cooled madeleine and dip into the chocolate, covering about 1/3 of the cookie. Carefully set the madeliene down, sea-shell side up, on the wax paper. Take a pinch of crushed almond dust and sprinkle over the chocolate part. Repeat until all madeleines are covered. Refridgerate the madeleines for 2 to 4 hours before serving.

*Note: Good chocolate quality is essential for dipping chocolate, especially when working with something that's somewhat moist such as madeleines. When chocolate is exposed to water/moisture of any kind it will "seize up", i.e. get weird and chunky, and you won't be able to get a smooth consistency. Your chocolate will unavoidably seize up a little with the madeleines, but if it's good quality chocolate it will last longer than the discount K-mart semi-sweet chocolate chips. I used Trader Joe's 72% dark chocolate. I also recommend Ghirardelli's chocolate, which can be found in most grocery stores.

These are particularly refreshing on a hot summer day because they're served cold - the cool, crunchy exterior of the hardened chocolate creates a great first impression. After breaking through the coating, you detect the yellow cake texture of the madeleine, and finally those airy, summer flavors of lemon and almond emerge from underneath that chocolate crunch. I will definitely be making these again, perhaps with orange zest. Or maybe with some sort of tea flavoring, since these pair so well with Earl Grey and Jasmine tea! So many possibilities for such a tiny tray...

upcoming flavors: mocha, mint, strawberries, cherries, maybe something red

Monster Mango Chicken Sandwich

2009-06-15T20:49:00.000-04:00

If you only have time to make a one-course meal but still want to be really, really, full, this gigantic sandwich should do the trick.

It is essentially a very nice chicken sandwich. The chicken is pan fried and covered in a spicy mango sauce, surrounded by red bell peppers, roasted crushed cashews, and an avocado-mayonnaise dressing. The bread is the end of a huge Italian loaf that I bought at my local grocery store for 99 cents. This is a great sandwich for the budget-conscious: it cost about $15 to make and it will make about 5 sandwiches. And trust me, you'll be f-u-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l with just one.

The mango chicken recipe came from About.com, and the rest of the sandwich filling is stuff I think goes great with chicken. The mango chicken recipe had lots and lots of stuff in the sauce, but since I am on a budget, I left out some stuff that wasn't ultra-necessary, and increased the chili sauce dosage because I wanted spicier chicken.

Monster Mango Chicken Sandwich

Mango Chicken Sauce

You need:
- a blender
- 2 fresh ripe mangoes (soft = ripe), fruit scooped out, OR substitute 2 cups frozen or canned mango
- 2 tsp. chili sauce (or two chilies)
- 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tsp. dark soy sauce

Only direction: throw it all into the blender and liquefy. Aren't blenders great? Now taste it and decide if you want it more sweet, spicy, salty, or sour. more sweet = more vinegar, more spicy = more chili sauce (that's me!), more salty = more fish sauce, more sour = more lime. Simple! After that, set it aside for the upcoming chicken step.

Mango Chicken

You need:
- a wok, or a big frying pan
- 1 package chicken breast meat or chicken thighs sliced, or 1/2 chicken sliced thinly (exclude drumsticks)
- 1 red bell pepper, or 1 sweet red pepper
- 2-3 Tbsp. oil for frying
- 1/2 cup (or more) of water (for frying)
- 1 cup white flour, spelt flour, or semolina (for dusting chicken)

1) Place flour on a plate or clean working surface and turn chicken slices over in it until they are well coated.

2) Place oil in a wok or frying pan over medium to high heat. When the pan is hot, add the chicken slices. Fry for 5 to 10 minutes or more on each side (depending on thickness), until chicken is cooked through. Frying Tip: When wok/pan becomes too dry, instead of adding more oil, add a little water (1 Tbsp. at a time). This will keep the chicken frying without adding extra fat/calories.

3) Place mango sauce in another (clean!!!! beware uncooked meat diseases!!) frying pan/wok over medium heat. Add cooked chicken slices. Also add the red bell pepper (or sweet pepper).

4)Stirring occasionally, bring the mango chicken to a boil, then reduce to a simmer (medium to low heat) for 10 minutes, or until peppers have softened.

This is originally a recipe for avocado dip from The Food Network, but I've used it here as a sauce. How do you change a dip into a sauce? You change the name of the recipe!

Avocado ~~Dip~~ Sauce!

You need:
- a blender
- one ripe avocado, mashed
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup cream cheese
- 1 jalapeno (I substituted a tsp. chili sauce)
- 2 scallions, white part only, chopped
- 1/2 a juiced lime
- salt and pepper to taste

1) Blend it up.
2) Taste it. Taste okay to you? Tastes okay to me.

Whew, the hard part is done! Now you just have to assemble the sandwich.

Sandwich Assembly

You need:
- bread end of an Italian loaf
- mango chicken w/ bell peppers
- avocado sauce
- handful of crushed cashews

1) take your fingers and push down on the inside of the loaf. If you're using Italian bread, it will be soft enough for you to press down on the inside bread to make a very big hole.*

2) take a knife and spread a generous amount of the avocado sauce on the inside bottom of your bread loaf.

3) take your handful of cashews and sprinkle them inside the bottom of the loaf, so they stick to the avocado paste.

4) remove your mango chicken strips from the sauce and gently push them into the inside of your almost-sandwich. Make sure you get some bell peppers in there, and be careful not to get too much mango sauce into the bread, or it'll sog up the works.

*Bread Note: for the bread, I used a big loaf end of Italian bread. Originally I did this because I dislike drippy sandwiches, and by holing out the loaf (which is super easy to do with Italian bread because it's so soft) and putting all the ingredients in the butt end of the Italian loaf, I solved this problem. Plus it looked kinda neat. But now that I've tried it, I think I would've liked to have a crunchier bread crust than the squishy Italian. I suggest baking the bread in the oven at 350 for 6 - 10 minutes first, to wake up the flavors and to create a nice crunchy crust.

Cool, you made a sandwich! Now the best part - eating it. Should taste a little like heaven, and when you're done, don't be afraid to power nap for 2 hours like I did.

upcoming flavors: mocha, mint, pineapple, cherries

Eggplant Vegetable Rolls

2009-06-15T08:55:00.000-04:00

When I think of eggplants, I think of that Courage the Cowardly Dog episode when the army of eggplants try to eat Muriel because they aren't getting enough water. Besides the general cleverness of the episode (I'm pretty certain the episode is an Attack of the Killer Tomatoes reference), it's true that eggplants really do love water. If an eggplant is near moisture, that eggplant is going to suck it up like a sponge. And that's why if you don't "sweat out" eggplants, they taste quite awful.

There are tons of eggplant recipes out there (I even found an entire website devoted to them), and more than one kind of eggplant. I worked with the big, plump kind to produce these eggplant vegetable rolls, because the store was out of the long Chinese eggplants that I prefer. But these were still pretty good!

This recipe is from The Food Channel. I made no alterations except that I served them warm instead of cold. I just like warm eggplant better, and the skin is much easier to bite through when served warm.

You need:
- a broiler
- a good cutting board
- a pretty plate!
- 1 large (about 1-1/4 pounds), long (about 10-inches) eggplant, cut lengthwise into twelve 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 2 tablespoons plus additional extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 carrot, peeled, cut into matchstick-size pieces
- 1 zucchini, cut into matchstick-size pieces
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, thinly sliced
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 tomato, seeded, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
- Fresh cilantro and mint sprigs

1) Line 2 large baking pans with paper towels. Sprinkle both sides of eggplant slices lightly with salt. Place eggplant on paper towels and let stand until salt draws out water, about 1 hour. Rinse off salt and pat sliced dry. This is called 'sweating out' the eggplant.

2) Preheat broiler or grill. Brush eggplant slices with olive oil. Grill or broil until just golden on both sides and tender, turning once, about 8 minutes. Cool.

3) Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrot and sauté until almost tender, about 2 minutes. Toss zucchini, bell pepper and cumin and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

4) Remove from heat and stir in tomato, cilantro and mint. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool.

5) Place eggplant slices on work surface. Divide vegetable mixture among slices, placing vegetables at narrow end of eggplant slices. Roll up eggplant with colorful vegetables peaking out on each end.

6) Transfer to platter, seam side down.

I liked these rolls, but eh, I don't think I'd make them again. Really time consuming and not all that flavorful. I did get a good idea when I was broiling the eggplant, though - eggplant chips! I have about half an eggplant left, so I'll probably make those tonight.

upcoming flavors: meat!, pineapple, mocha, mint, cherries

How to Pick Avocados

2009-06-14T22:00:00.000-04:00

I try to keep a pretty open mind about foods. This might have something to do with my upbringing; I'm half-Asian, so if I were grossed out by things like brussel sprouts and chicken feet, I would have starved to death a long time ago. But I really do think lots of people miss out on a lot of flavors they might absolutely love, just because they're weirded out by the way the food is presented or where it comes from. So goes the story between me and avocados. I used to be extremely weirded out by avocados.

When I was young I did NOT like avocados. I didn't want anything to do with them. I mean, take a close look. They're freaky pears gone wrong! They've got this scaly, lizard-like skin on the outside, and then when you crack them open they have this gooey butter stuff going on inside. And a big seed that just, like, sits there. Or something. I don't know! They're just weird, okay?

Of course, I've since gotten over my avocado anxieties. I like them quite a bit now, despite their eerie, body-snatcher appearance. Also, I just wikipedia'd the avocado, and apparently they are historically considered to be a sexual stimulant, or a "fertility fruit". Avocados are arousing? Perhaps I will never understand.

Anyways, the best way to pick a ripe avocado is to...NOT pick a ripe avocado! That's right, avocado fans. The best thing you can do to have a nice, unbruised avocado that's perfect for that summer fun chip dip is to buy a firm, unripe avocado at the store a couple days ahead of time. Also follow the basic produce picking guidelines of getting an avocado that's heavy for its size that has a nice vibrant color to it with no visible damages. To make that avocado good and ripe, put it in a paper bag on your kitchen counter for a couple of days. Paper-bagging avocados traps the natural ethylene gases of the ripening fruit, which encourages them to ripen faster. For even quicker ripening, put an apple in the bag as well. Oh, and there are fancy machines you can buy that "ripen your fruit faster", but I'm pretty sure they don't save you any more than a day of waiting, if that. My parents bought one a couple years ago and I think it's a waste of money. Paper bags are much cheaper, and recyclable.

Other fruits that continue to ripen after they've been picked are apples, tomatoes, persimmons, kiwis, mangos, bananas, plums, and pears.

Artichokes with Italian Stuffing

2009-06-10T20:49:00.000-04:00

Fun fact: The term "artichoke" was coined when the 16th century Swedish explorer, Thomas Jefferssen, began choking on a strange looking plant that his friend Artur Millerstrom had drunkenly dared him to eat. After Jefferssen recovered, he strangled Artur and fled the scene. He was later apprehended in English territory, where he was tried and hanged.

Okay, that's not exactly what happened. At least I hope not. In fact, I don't know anything about who came up with the word "artichoke", though the "choke" part of the word was probably named after the stringy, inedible substance that lies on top of the (divinely edible) artichoke heart.

I've divided this post into 4 categories: How to prepare, stuff, boil, and eat an artichoke. Happy reading!

This was actually the first time I've ever made artichokes, and dude, it was so easy! The most difficult part about doing this was preparing the artichokes for cooking; after that, you just glop in some stuffing and boil the artichokes for 40 - 50 minutes. I know, that sounds like a long time for preparing a meal, but the result is well worth it. In addition to being really really tasty, one big artichoke is only 25 calories, contains vitamins and minerals, and is a great source of fiber (for more health info, go here: http://www.artichokes.org/health.html ).

Preparing the Artichokes

For a visual guide, here is a pretty good youtube video.

You need:
- a lemon or two, halved
- your artichokes
- a sharp knife
- a spoon

1) Take your artichoke and cut off the top inch and a half of the leaves and the stem, so the artichoke can lie flat. Immediately (to prevent browning) rub a lemon half on the areas you've cut. Artichokes oxidize lickety split and turn this gross brown color, so you have to be quick about this. If you accidentally forget and your artichokes brown, it's no big deal - it just looks prettier when the whole thing is green, and that lemon is going to bring out the 'chokey goodness.

2) Next, open up the outside leaves a bit so you can reach into the middle of the artichoke. Tear out the purple tinged leaves from the center and discard. This will reveal the dastardly choke dwelling in the artichoke center.

3) Take your spoon and start digging into the center. You will start to see this hairy gunk, a.k.a. the "choke". Get as much of it out as you can without tearing off too many good artichoke leaves from around your crater. Once you've cleared out the choke, squeeze a generous amount of lemon juice down there to add flavoring/prevent browning.

And that's it! Your artichoke is now ready for your stuffing.

Artichoke Stuffing

You can stuff your artichoke with anything you want. I chose a stuffing that had a lot of Italian flavors from Epicurous. The recipe is originally for 8 artichokes, but I only made 3. I altered the recipe to serve my needs, except I kept the amount of cheese and meat the same. As expected, it made for a particularly cheesy, meaty filling.

Important: Preparing the artichokes, the stuffing, and then cooking the artichokes took about 1 1/2 hours, so I don't think I would make this every day. This is a good recipe for impressing a hot date.

You need:
- 1/2 cups fine fresh bread crumbs from an Italian loaf
- 1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 ounces)
- 2 small cloves finely chopped garlic
- finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup minced sweet soppressata (dried Italian sausage; 2 1/2 ounces)
- 1 cup finely chopped provolone cheese (1/4 pounds)
- 1/4 cup olive oil

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While you're waiting for the oven to heat up, start gathering all your ingredients.
2) When the oven goes "beeeep", toast the bread crumbs for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
3) Mix together all other ingredients. By the time you finish, your bread crumbs should be cool enough to mix in with the other stuff.
4) Spoon the stuffing into the artichokes until they are full.

Stuffing equals done. Now you just have to boil 'em up!

Boiling the Artichokes

You need:
- 3 stuffed artichokes
- a big pot that will fit all your artichokes at the bottom + a tight fitting lid
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- a couple shakes of salt and pepper

1) Pour all ingredients except the artichokes into your big pot, stir it on up, and place your artichoke creations at the bottom.
2) Simmer for 40 - 50 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick (or in my case, a chopstick) into the bottom without any resistance.

Oh, and if your lid was maybe not as tight fitting as you thought and the mixture evaporates before the artichokes are done, just pour some water/chicken broth back into the pot. No big deal.

"I'm done! Now how do I eat this thing?": Eating the Artichokes

At this point, the artichoke is tender and ready to eat. But how do you eat it? Artichoke leaves are only partially edible; specifically, the light green stuff on the inner leaf. Take the leaves off, one by one, and scrape your teeth down the leaves in a slow, smooth fashion. I mean it, go slow. I've never heard of anyone scarfing an artichoke. When all the leaves are gone, don't get mad! That artichoke heart that's left? Yeah, that's the best part. Just take a fork and gently push down on the artichoke heart to cut it, or scoop it all into your mouth in a big finish. Only one thing to say here: Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Stuffing artichokes isn't the only way to go. My grandma used to boil the artichokes without stuffing them, and made a nice hollandaise sauce to dip the leaves into. I will most certainly be trying that in the future.

Making and eating artichokes couldn't be simpler - it just takes some time. Like I said, whip this recipe out for close friends or hotties. Artichokes are special, and the person you're feeding it to should be worth it.

upcoming flavors: strawberries!!, pineapple, mocha, mint, cherries

How To Pick Artichokes

2009-06-06T15:49:00.000-04:00

I've been carrying an ongoing obsession with Neutral Milk Hotel for a few years now. It's one of the few things in my life that I am pretty bold about absolutely loving with my entire heart. Lately I've been listening to the Shannon's Monroe House Demos a lot, and one of the songs, "Jennifer", makes a mention of swimming in a sea of artichokes. While I think swimming in an artichoke sea sounds kinda painful, because sometimes artichokes have thorns and stuff, listening to the song has given me a serious artichoke hankering.

Today I finally couldn't take it anymore and went to Kroger to see what I could find. While I did find some artichokes, I was disappointed. There were only about 5 'chokes to choose from, the inner leaves were already opening up, and some of them had developed thorns or even fuzz. All these signs indicate an artichoke that is too mature. So I walked out of the store empty-handed, got back into my car, and instead of going back home I somehow ended up in West Bloomfield at Whole Foods Market. Artichoke hunting is serious business.

At Whole Foods I had much better luck; those artichokes had been loved. When artichoke hunting, it's best to look for an artichoke that has a firm stem and closed leaves. Try to find an artichoke that's heavy for its size (heavy = moisture = good!, as a general rule for produce). And the funnest part about picking artichokes: take your finger and rub it against a leaf. If it's a healthy artichoke it will squeak at you! And size does matter, depending on what you're looking for. If you want some big, juicy artichoke hearts, go for the big 'uns. Smaller "baby" artichokes will have more tender leaves when boiled, and that can be good if you want to dip your leaves in some kind of sauce. I went with big ones because I plan to saute the hearts and put them into my artichoke stuffing. More on that soon.

If you don't have the song "Jennifer", I've uploaded it for you right here:
Jennifer.mp3

Enjoy!

Mini Spinach Quiches

2009-06-05T00:17:00.000-04:00

Warm, gooey cream cheese smothering spinach, green onion, and 3 different kinds of cheeses, baked into a flaky just-browned crust. If you make these mini quiches for any event, good luck getting them out of your kitchen, because you'll probably eat them all before you get a chance to share.

Yes, it's true, I ate about 18 of them in one sitting. I think I left a few for the 'rents to try, and yes, they were pretty miffed that they didn't get to have more. But honestly, a story of a little red hen comes to mind whenever I hear these sort of complaints.

I've only used this mini muffin tin once before, for those chocolate mousse oat cups I made a few weeks ago. Those turned out okay, but I finally got the hang of using this tray when making these mini quiches. I'm very comfortable with my big muffin tin, but the tiny muffin holes are a little different to work with. If you've never used a mini-muffin tin before, my best advice is to downgrade proportions accordingly. For example, the standard thickness for dough is about 1/4 inches when you are laying it into your regular muffin/pastry tins. However, with mini muffin tins, the thickness should be at most 1/8 of an inch, or even less. I think my dough was about 1/16 of an inch thick (I just eyeballed the thickness - you don't actually have to use a ruler and figure out what 1/16th in. is).

I got the spinach quiche filling recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and the recommended crust was Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee, cut in half and minus the sugar. HowEVER, if you're planning on mini-quiching, then you will need the entire Martha Stewart dough recipe.

This recipe makes about 40 mini-quiches.

Mini Spinach Quiche Crust

You need:
- a food processor (a blender will also work)
- rolling pin
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

1) In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, and salt. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

2)With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

3)Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

4) After 1 hour, take the crust out of the fridge. Roll out the dough to a thin but workable thickness. Take a cookie cutter (or use the top of a cup like I did) about 2 1/2 inches across and cut as many circles out of the dough as you can. Take dough and gently push into mini-muffin holes; make sure there are no holes in the pastry dough. Cut off excess dough sticking up at the top with a knife by skimming the blade across the top of the filled muffin tin. Re-roll the dough and repeat.

Spinach Quiche Filling

I substituted heavy whipping cream for the half and half (it's what I had), upped the parmesan cheese from 1/4 to 1/2 cup, and added some crumbled feta to the mix from the original recipe. Not huge changes, just personal preference. Result was phenomenal.

You need:
- a large mixing bowl + hand-held mixer, or a really beautiful KitchenAid Stand Mixer (probably never going to happen, and I need other things more, but...birthday hint?)
- spatula
- 1 3-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/3 cup half and half (or milk)
- 3 eggs
- 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar (gruyere works well, too)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 4 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced (1/2 cup finely diced red or white onion or shallots work as well)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 425°. Beat cream cheese in medium bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in half and half and eggs. Mix in remaining ingredients with a spatula. Pour mixture into prepared crusts. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is set, about 10 minutes (convection time). Cool 10 minutes before serving (you can cut it down to 5 if you're really, really hungry like I was).

Well, I may have said it enough, but I'll say it again: these quiches were great. With the aid of the cheeses and the soft flaky crust, these babies just melt in your mouth. If you wanna store them for later, you can re-heat them in the oven by turning the heat up to 425 and baking them until the tops start to simmer a little.

Hugs and Quiches,

Emily Nine

upcoming flavors: pineapple, strawberries??, mocha, mint

Austrian Raspberry Shortbread

2009-06-01T20:14:00.000-04:00

It'll clog your arteries, but seriously, who cares? This is the most delicious thing I've made since two days ago.

I got this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs, Caviar and Codfish, who got it from Epicurious. Aside from those ready-to-bake Tollhouse brownies that I occasionally break down and buy (contrary to popular belief, I do not feel like baking 24/7 all of the time), this is the easiest thing I've ever baked. All you have to do is make the dough, and the dough is quite simple.

Austrian Raspberry Shortbread

You need:
a 9x13" pan
a mixing bowl + mixer
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
4 egg yolks
2 cups granulated sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raspberry jam, at room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1) Cream the butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer) until soft and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and mix well.*

2) Mix the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add to the butter and egg yolk mixture and mix just until incorporated and the dough starts to come together. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and form into two balls. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and freeze at least 2 hours or overnight (or as long as a month, if you like).

3) Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

4) Remove one ball of dough from the freezer and coarsely grate it by hand or with the grating disk in a food processor into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan or a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Make sure the surface is covered evenly with shreds of dough.

5) With the back of a spoon or a flexible spatula, spread the jam over the surface, to within 1/2 inch of the edge all the way around. Remove the remaining dough from the freezer and coarsely grate it over the entire surface.

6) Bake until lightly golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. As soon as the shortbread comes out of the oven, dust with confectioners' sugar. Cool on a wire rack, then cut in the pan with a serrated knife. Serve to friends/family for a good ego boost!

And here is a blurry picture of my good friend Rishi, boosting my ego:

Thanks Rishi!

*Check THIS out: I went to crack open my eggs for my egg yolks, and to my utmost surprise, one of my eggs had TWO yolks in them!!

This has never happened to me before throughout my whole egg-eating career. If this egg had been fertilized, do you think it would have become a siamese chicken?? That carton of eggs was weird; I think my dad found an egg with some blood in it from that same carton. That chicken must have been having some issues that week. Chick problems - who can fathom?

Homemade Mango Sorbet

2009-05-31T11:15:00.000-04:00

If anyone ever tells you that you need an ice cream maker to make ice cream, you can politely tell them that they are just plain wrong. I had never made ice cream before this, and I can say with conviction that this is probably one of the best sorbets I've ever had in my life. Creamy, fresh-tasting, and the flavors establish themselves one by one in each spoonful - a gratifying summer treat!

Figuring out how to do this was the hardest part. When I googled "how to make homemade ice cream", all I mostly got a bunch of recipes that went something like "take desired fruit. blend with cream/sugar. put in ice cream machine. enjoy!". Ice cream machine? So I then googled "ice cream machine", and the cheapest one I could find was $50. Um, no.

Finally I stumbled across this guy's page that basically told me all I needed to do to make ice cream was put my ice cream blend in the freezer and mix it up every so often. This sounded way better to me than spending $50. So I grabbed a promising Thai mango sorbet* recipe from About.com and got to work!

I'm usually all about tweaking recipes, but since I'm new to the home-churned ice cream world I didn't want to play around with the ingredients too much. The only changes I made to this recipe was substituting the coconut milk for vanilla yogurt (it's what I had) and reducing the sugar from a whole cup to 1/2 a cup. Ripe mangoes are plenty sweet by themselves, and a whole cup of sugar just seemed unnecessary. I think it was a good decision, but if you've got a sweet tooth to satisfy, go for the whole cup if you'd like.

Also, mangoes are kind of the Italians of tropical fruit - pretty hairy, especially when you get close to the seeds. If you don't like the hairy-ness of mangoes, then you should probably strain your mango puree between steps 2 and 3. I personally like the authenticity of mango hair, and left most of it in.

Mango Sorbet

you need:
- a blender
- a hand mixer
- a freezer-friendly storage container, about the size of a large yogurt tub
- 2 ripe mangoes
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp. vanilla yogurt
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 cup whipping cream

1) Slice the mangoes open and scoop out all of the fruit from the skins. Don't forget to include fruit around the stone (a knife works well for this).

2) Place the fruit in a food processor or blender. Add the sugar and blitz for 1 minute, or until the sugar has dissolved and you are left with a delicious mango puree.3) Add the coconut milk and lemon juice, and briefly blitz to combine (a few seconds).

3) Pour the mango puree into a bowl or container while you continue to use your processor/blender. Scape down the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula to remove as much of the puree as possible.

4) Now pour the whipping cream into the processor/blender. Blitz until the cream forms stiff peaks, or is quite stiff (not runny) when dipped into with your finger.

5) Add the mango puree to the whipped cream and blitz 5-10 seconds, or until you get a good mango-cream consistency.

6) Pour into a large yogurt container or similar size tub and place it in the freezer, uncovered. After 45 minutes, take the mixture out of the freezer and mix well with hand mixer. Remove gross chunks of mango hair that stick to the mixer. Return the container to the freezer.

7) For the next hour and a half, check the sorbet every 30 minutes, mixing well with your hand mixer each time. After that, seal the container lid and leave the mixture in the freezer for 4 - 6 hours, or overnight.

*looking up ice cream recipes led me to question what exactly is the difference between sorbet, ice cream, gelato, and the like. Apparently, sorbet does not contain milk and has a much lighter flavor than regular ice cream. Gelato usually has milk and cream in it, and sometimes contains eggs. More discrepancies between other frozen desserts can be found in this handy Slashfood article here.

Poppy Seed Honey Lemon Mini-Muffins (now with Lavender Cream Filling!)

2009-05-22T22:41:00.000-04:00

When life gives you lemons...

make poppy seed honey lemon mini-muffins with lavender cream filling!

What, did you think I'd make lemonade? I did that last week.

I came up with the idea for this recipe by mixing this lemon po ppy seed loaf from The Book Of Shadow blog and How To Eat A Cupcake's french yoghurt cake. They're actually sister recipes, just one has poppy seeds in it and some other minor differences. In addition to making a hybrid recipe and changing the presentation a bit, I substituted the sugar for honey, since I had some, and upped the lemon zest a bit from two teaspoons to one tablespoon.

This was, unfortunately, not one of my best creations. Both blogs actually warned that the loaf was not a big taste-fest of flavors, but I guess I thought I could save this recipe from itself. Even though I increased the amount of lemon zest, it lacked the lemon-y tang I was hoping for and, if not for the poppy seeds, wouldn't have very much going for it. Thought by itself it's not exactly a "wow" item, right now I am eating one with a teensy bit of butter on top and some home-brewed green tea, and it pairs with the tea very well. FIXED IT.

The rather one-flavor-wonder poppy seed honey lemon mini-muffins I made have been transformed into something I actually want to eat! All it needed was a zap of lavender cream filling. The flavor of the lavender cream is pleasantly strong and creamy, yet still allows dominance to the lemon taste and the poppy seed texture. The aroma of the lavender cream and the honey lemon cake are a beautiful combination as well - very natural and soothing.

The lavender cream recipe was taken from Chockylit's Cupcake Bakeshop, but keeping in mind that I trumpeted the advantages of honey over refined sugar in this post, I again substituted the white sugar for honey. I'm glad I did, because it really does feel like a taste journey, with a honey bridge from the lavender cream to the lemon cake.

Poppy Seed Honey Lemon Mini-Muffins

You need:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 cup vanilla yogurt
3 extra-large eggs
3/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (1 large lemon)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

1) Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, poppyseeds, salt) together in a medium sized mixing bowl.
2) In a large mixing bowl, mix the zest, honey, yogurt, lemon juice together until well blended. Then add the dry mixture little by little.
3) With a spatula, fold in the oil at the very end.
4) spoon mixture into mini-muffin tin.
5) Bake for 16 minutes (my oven is a convection oven though, so if you have a normal oven it might take longer) or until the toothpick comes out clean.

Lavender Cream Filling

You need:
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon lavender flowers

1) Add honey and water to a small saucepan set over medium high heat.
2) Heat the mixture until the honey melts, stirring frequently.
3) Stir in the lavender and let the mixture sit over heat undisturbed for 3 minutes.
4) Remove from heat, strain into a small bowl, and set in the freezer.
5) Meanwhile, beat the heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
6) Once the sugar mixture is relatively cool to the touch (it can be slightly warm) drizzle into the cream while beating on a medium high setting.
7) continue to beat on high until firm peaks form. Keep the mixture cool!

In order to make the holes in the mini-muffins, I just took the big end of a chopstick and shoved it in the bottom of the muffin. When you start feeling the resistance of the muffin top, don't poke any farther. Just make sure your hole is wide enough for an adequate amount of cream - maybe spin the chopstick between your hands a few times to make sure you're making enough space.

Here's a cut open muffin for some visual reference.

Oh, and if you don't have any of those nice pastry bags with little holes in the end for getting the cream nicely into the muffin, don't despair! I ran out a while ago too. I've been using Ziploc bags instead. Just take a sandwich bag with a sealable top, pour your cream into the bag, and cut a baby hole in one of the two corners of your bag. Ta-da, it's a disposable pastry bag! If you want to save some cream for later, just chip clip the cut corner.

Now for my PSA about honey:

Honey is a lovely alternative to refined sugars, and lots of health-conscious people use it as a substitute because it has more natural minerals and vitamins than white sugar. There are a couple of things you should keep in mind when you substitute with honey:
1) honey is more moist than sugar, so you may want to reduce the amount of oil/water in your recipe by just a tiny bit.
2) honey can act as a 1:1 substitute for refined sugar for up to 1 cup; then things start getting a little murky, because honey is a bit sweeter than white sugar and the general rule of thumb is to use less honey for sugar once you get beyond 1 cup substitutions (like 3/4 less).
3) honey will brown faster in the baking process, so if you're substituting for the first time, turn the oven about 25 degrees lower and keep an eye on your food.

Coming up: mini spinach quiches, raspberry shortbread, something with mango, something with pineapple

First Summer Picnic

2009-05-18T11:38:00.000-04:00

My friends Megan (pictured) and Kirthi (camera-shy) and I went on a picnic this past weekend in the Arb. We had so much fun that we're thinking of making this a monthly summer get-together! There was a ton of food, so get your browser ready.

This picnic post includes the recipes for:

- cucumber sandwiches

- oat cups w/ a chocolate mousse filling

- apricot MINI pies

- salad w/ honey french dressing

- sparkling lemonade

Cucumber Sandwiches (by Megan!)

These cucumber sandwiches are DELICIOUS, small, and portable. She made them for a tea party once and I special-requested that she make them for this picnic. I just texted her for the recipe, and this is what she had to say:

"oh it's so easy, it's just white bread and thinly sliced cucumber with dillweed mixed into the butter. thinly buttered :)"

So there you have it! Get a stick of room-temperature butter, maybe a teaspoonful of dillweed, and mix it all together. Butter your little bread triangles, then grab a cucumber, slice it thinly, and voila! You have a really simple and fantastic cucumber sandwich recipe. Although I don't think this recipe needs any elaboration, you could try putting 1/2 teaspoonful of lemon zest into the butter - it might open up the flavors a bit more.

Oat Cups with Chocolate Mousse Filling

Oh man, these were REALLY good. I used the oat cup recipe from my kitchen journey, but I substituted pecans for the walnuts and sort of half-substituted the butter*. My Kitchen Journey filled their oat cups with white chocolate fudge, but I wanted to keep things light for the picnic and opted for a good chocolate mousse recipe I found at pennies on a platter. I was also going to top them with little raspberries, but I accidentally left those at home. Lesson learned: always triple-check your picnic basket.

Oat Cups

Note: I could have fed 2 armies - this recipe makes about 60 mini oat cups! The mousse filling was also enough to fill all the oat cups as pictured. You can cut this oat cup recipe in half by dividing everything by 2.

You need:
1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped fine
1/3 cup pecans, chopped fine

Preheat oven to 350°.
Spray a mini muffin tin with PAM cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add the oatmeal, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until combined. Add chopped cranberries and walnuts and mix until incorporated.

Drop dough by tablespoon into the prepared wells of a mini muffin tin. Using a tart press or the back of a tablespoon, press down on the crust mixture until the crust is formed into a small well.
Bake for 5-6 minutes.

*I only had about 1 1/2 sticks of butter on hand instead of 2, so I tried substituting olive oil for the remaining butter. I don't know, maybe that's what did it, but they just did not form those firm little wells that Cathy achieved on My Kitchen Journey - instead they sort of slumped off at the edges and I had to fight with them to make them retain the "cup" shape. So I would advise that you stick to using only old-fashioned butter if you try this one at home.

Chocolate Mousse Filling

8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup cooled strong coffee, divided
2 tablespoons butter (no substitutes)
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups whipping cream, whipped

In a heavy saucepan or double boiler, heat chocolate, 1/4 cup coffee and butter on very low heat until the chocolate and butter are melted. Cool for 10 minutes. In another small heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks, sugar and remaining coffee. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees F, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat; whisk in chocolate mixture. Set saucepan in the freezer and stir every 3 minutes until cooled, about 5-10 minutes. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into a large ziplock freezer bag. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight; you can get away with an hour or so if you're rushed.

To assemble:

Take the mousse and put it into a squeezy-tube thing. I just made one out of a ziploc bag by cutting the appropriate sized hole in the bottom. Squeeze the mousse into the cooled(must be cooled!!) oat cups. Top with the optional raspberry for cuter results.

Apricot Mini Pies

(Hand-model: Kirthi)

These actually happened by accident - I really wanted to make pie but couldn't find my pie plate. Forced into creative thinking, I grabbed my trusty muffin tin and hoped for the best. These were very time-consuming because I'm a masochist and like to make my own pie crust, but very fun to make as well. And look how cute they turned out!

Apricot Filling (taken from About.com)
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 6 cups apricot halves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1. mix the apricots with the lemon juice.
2. sift together the dry ingredients and add to the apricot/lemon mixture.

If I could do this over again, I would use half as much lemon juice to make the apricots less tart.

Pie Crust

SORRY but I cannot reveal my pie crust technique. It is my great-grandma's recipe and kind of a family secret. This is a good one that I use sometimes, from allrecipes.com. The only things you really have to do to achieve a good flaky pie crust is to combine things just enough to get them combined, and make sure all of the ingredients you're working with are cold. When you're not using the dough, put it in the fridge to keep it cool. That's about it!

- 4 cups flour
- 1 3/4 cup shortening
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup water

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, shortening, and salt until crumbly.
2. In a small bowl mix the egg with water and combine with the flour mixture until just combined. Set aside the dough in the fridge until needed.

Salad (by Kirthi!)
This was a store-bought salad that Kirthi got for our picnic. She claims to not be very good at kitchen-y things, but most people who say that are just wimping out or not practicing enough. I personally think she's doing both*. One thing I super liked about this salad that I wasn't expecting to was the dressing: she bought a really good honey french dressing that in small, small, quantities was quite nice.

* I'm allowed to make fun of her like this because we are going to be roommates next year, and I also know she secretly reads this blog and doesn't tell me. Hi Kirthi!

Sparkling Lemonade

This recipe is brought to you by one of my favorite Food Network ladies, Giada de Laurentiis. I modified it slightly here because it was waaaaaayyyy too sweet. Instead of just plain ol' lemonade, it's got a basil simple syrup base that gives it added freshness. It's especially satisfying to drink out of glassware stolen from the Martha Cook dorms. Cheers!

- 2 cups lemon juice
- 2 cups basil simple syrup
- 4 - 5 cups sparkling water (it was sooooooo sweet with just 2 cups of sparkling water)
- ice

Mix the liquids together in a pitcher, store in a fridge until you're ready to serve. Pour into glasses filled with ice (optionally garnish with a lemon slice).

Basil Simple Syrup

The 2:1 proportion for sugar and water is consistent with any simple syrup. You can easily double or triple this recipe as needed. This made about 8 - 10 glasses of lemonade filled with ice.

- 1 bunch fresh basil
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup water

In a saucepan, combine all ingredients and simmer on low heat until the sugar granules dissolve. Strain the syrup and cool.

Although we all really enjoyed this picnic, it was definitely a trial run. We made too many sweet foods for one meal, and felt really, really funky going back up that hill to the car. Next time we'll have to figure out a more balanced menu so we can walk afterward.

Picnic post #1, over and out!

Simple Salad with Caramelized Pecans

2009-05-14T13:36:00.001-04:00

It's 73 degrees, sunny, and there's a lingering smell of fresh-cut grass and overused sprinkler systems in the air - it's spring! And today is definitely a spring salad day. This salad recipe isn't particularly spring-y, but if you have the ca$h to spend, please go ahead and add to this recipe some asparagus tips, artichoke hearts, snow peas, or anything green you find at your farmer's market. How to make caramelized pecans and salad dressing is also listed below.

Simple Salad with Caramelized Pecans

You need:
- handful and a half of mixed greens (Kroger has a Romaine salad mix that I personally like)
- half a handful of carmelized pecans
- half a handful of cranberries
- two sprinkles of crumbled feta cheese
- garlic vinaigrette dressing

I think you know what to do from here, right? Mix all the stuff together and you've got yourself a plate of America.

Tip!: To keep your salad neat, toss the mixed greens with about half the dressing you plan to use before you add anything on top. Then, add all your desired toppings and drizzle the rest of your dressing on top. It's much prettier looking, and you won't be trying to rescue all your ingredients from drowning underneath your salad leaves.

Caramelized Pecans

Caramelizing is all about proportions. You always want to have about half as much olive oil as you have sugar - otherwise you end up with a big oily mess, the sugar won't stick properly to the nuts, and you'll get frustrated. And getting frustrated around hot oil is a big kitchen no!

You need:
a skillet
a spatula
aluminum foil
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
a pinch of salt
a handful of pecans

- pour the olive oil into a skillet over medium-high heat settings and allow it to get fairly runny.
- once the olive oil is warm enough, pour the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and nuts into the skillet, stirring constantly.
- after a couple minutes the sugar should stop looking grainy and start looking like caramel. It'll start sticking to your nuts and get harder to stir. When the pecans look like they are covered enough to your taste, scrape the nuts out of the skillet with your spatula onto some aluminum foil. They should all come out in one big lump - a pecan orgy! Now wait about a minute or so, and start breaking apart the pecans with your spoon (don't touch them yet, they're probably still pretty hot [and bothered]).
- let 'em cool off for about 10 minutes before you put them into your salad.

You can caramelize anything with this recipe. Almonds and walnuts work very nicely in this as well (pickles do not). I encourage you to try all sorts of things!

Garlic Vinaigrette Dressing

I like to make this dressing for salads because it's simple, cheap, and though it has a definite voice in the salad, it doesn't disguise the taste of the salad greens the way ranch and french dressings do. This is, again, a very versatile recipe that you can add to as you wish. Suggestions include any kind of nut oil to soften the strong vinegar/garlic combo, salt/pepper, thyme, or even substitute the balsamic for white wine vinegar.

You need:
a tupperware container with a secure lid
one garlic clove
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
1/2 C olive oil

- mince the garlic clove. the garlic clove can be any size, depending on how much of a garlic fan you are. deposit the garlic into the container.
- pour the olive oil and balsamic vinegar into the container.
- put the lid on the container, make sure the lid is securely fastened, and shake it like a polaroid picture for approx. 20 seconds. You want those garlic oils to get thoroughly mixed into the balsamic vinegar for a proper taste explosion.

And as a side note, I found this site yesterday that tells you how to check the age of those suspicious looking eggs in your fridge - very cool!

How to Pick Clementines

2009-05-11T19:19:00.000-04:00

A sign from the heavens! The day I start a food blog, my mother sends me on a grocery excursion to Whole Foods. Not one to miss a great blogging opportunity, I made a point to find something not on my mom's list that I could write about. I had lots of grandiose ideas at first, but I feel like I should take it slow. I don't want to scare away my readership with my second post (Hi Lindsay!). So I bought some good lookin' clementines, and I'll tell you how I did it.

Sad fact of the day: not all fruits are created equal. But good news for the bad fruit is, most people do not know/care about this fact. Sometimes I see people at the grocery store patiently choosing their next meals, but what I mostly see is people blindly grabbing the first 5 fruits their hands touch, shoving them in a bag, and then moving on to the cash register to pay for their (probably crappy) produce. It's really not that time-consuming to pick up each individual fruit and check it for quality; in fact, after some practice, it becomes almost as quick and your nose/stomach will thank you for it.

Pictured above is a perfect clementine. Picking clementines is just the same as picking any citrus-y fruit - you're looking for a very light, fragrant smell and a bright, vibrant orange color, but note that clementines are going to be a little more wrinkly than the average (non-organic) orange. Another general thing to test is the firmness of the fruit. A perfectly ripe clementine should have a fair bit of give when you press on it, and it should also bounce back to its original shape when you let go. And a message about shape: it is not important! Round clementines are pretty, but if you want to be practical, some of the best clementines I've eaten looked like coneheads.

One thing I seldom see people testing in supermarkets is the weight of the fruit. A good clementine is going to be heavy for its size. You'll know what I mean next time you go to the market - some clementines feel so light you'd think they were made of air. You want the heavier ones because they will be full of succulent juices, messy yet satisfying to peel (your hands will smell so very good).

Well I hope you learned stuff Lindsay! Happy clementine hunting!

Hi Blog!

2009-05-11T15:40:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess I went ahead and made a blog. My summer ambitions are getting more and more ridiculous. But I think it will be okay, as long as I keep things casual and avoid talking about my blog in public.

Anyways, the topic of my blog: food! Food is necessary and tasty. I, like most of the people I know, make food in a kitchen. I'm spending the summer at my parent's house, and though there are definitely things about living here that make me want to tear my hair out, the newly renovated kitchen is definitely not one of them:

I have full use of a magnetized stovetop with 9 heat settings, a convection oven, heating drawer (a weird drawer with temperature control that you can put food in to keep it warm), two rice cookers, and a really nice coffeemaker. There's a toaster too, but the toaster is ugly so I hid it in a cupboard for this picture. I have pretty much everything I need for a good time, except for a good mixer (birthday present hint?).

Um, and so ends my first food blog entry! I hope this will get less awkward as I gain false confidence in my blogging skills.

Coming up: Picnic foods!, some kind of pie, recipe book recs