Peanut Butter and Jelly, the way my brother was expecting.

The first thing I ever cooked — or rather made — by myself in the kitchen was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I was about 5-years-old at time, and my family, all four of us with one on the way, lived cramped in a 700 square foot studio apartment. Oh, and during the week, my Grandpa lived there with us too as he worked as contractor on the home my parents were building.

I am not what you would call an aficionado of pb&j. I certainly ate my fair share of it as a child, but probably haven’t eaten one in 10 years. I remember making this particular sandwich for my younger brother Jonathan. As I made it, he played supervisor. He tried to caution me against pressing too hard with the knife on the soft, overly-processed white bread. And I’m sure he also attempted to get me to cut the crusts off it, which, as a proto-feminist, I surely scoffed at.

When I finished and proudly handed it him, Jonathan frowned and pointed out that he wasn’t going to eat it as I’d broken through the bread. Yes, the first thing I ever made in a kitchen was rejected. Ironically, 20+ years later, my brother would wholeheartedly eat about any food put in front of him, including pb&js with knife holes in the bread. I also bake my own bread now.

Inspired by the First Meal I Ever Cooked question over on Gluten-Free Girl’s blog.

Maple Whole Wheat Bread

I’m just a little bit in love with baking fresh bread. This Maple Whole Wheat Bread is certainly a hearty bread. The bit of maple syrup gives it a surprisingly delightful sweetness, but not overwhelming, which means this is still a great bread for making sandwiches with it.

Maple Whole Wheat Bread

Makes 1 loaf.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup bread flour
1 1/2 tsps active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water or milk
4 tbsps maple syrup
2 tbsps olive oil
3/4 tsp salt

Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake was a tradition in my family. We always made it for my father’s birthday. My father doesn’t care for crowds, and I never remember going out for his birthday celebrations. Once, we threw him a party when he turned 40. But otherwise, his birthdays were a stay at home affair.

My mother would also make this carrot cake. Which was odd given on everyone else’s birthdays, we ate a lot of store-bought cakes (especially ice cream cakes) or my maternal grandma, the family cake baker and decorator, would make them.

Food processors are genius when making this cake. I have memories of using a cheese grater to grate carrots. Now, I just throw all those carrots in my food processor, and wham, they’re shredded.

This cake stood the test of time with my taste buds. It’s delicious.

Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup cooking oil
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups grated carrots
1/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Frosting:

8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
lemon juice or milk as needed
chopped nuts to top cake (optional)

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together: sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Mix the dry ingredients

In a small bowl, beat the eggs together. Then add the eggs, cooking oil, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Add the carrots. Gently mix it again and make sure all the carrots are evenly distributed into the batter. Fold in raisins and nuts.

Grease a 9×13 cake pan. Pour the batter into the cake pan.

Pour into the cake pan

Cook the cake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before adding the frosting.

To make the frosting, mix cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and lemon juice (or milk).

Mix the frosting

Apply frosting to the cooled cake. Top with nuts and enjoy.

Carrot cake ready to eat

Flowers in the Attic Sweet Potatoes

This recipe is from my friend Sue who claims she was inspired by reading Flowers in the Attic. I suppose if you’re going to be inspired by anything in that book, the sweet potatoes are pretty safe. Though not all the food is.

These recipe’s pretty sweet. Definitely something to make as a treat or part of a larger dinner.

Flowers in the Attic Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 large, fresh sweet potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbps orange juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Topping:

1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter

Crepes

Crepes are wonderful versatile. They work as a sweet treat or a savory dinner. The ones I made in this example were full of mushroom, spinach, and mozzarella cheese. They are delicious so get creative with the filling. Recently, I revisited the recipe and did a cauliflower, tomato, and pepper jack filling. You can always go for a breakfast filling with eggs or something sweet like jam or nutella.

Crepes are super easy to make. If you can cook pancakes, you can do this.

Crepes

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
1 1/4 cup flour (add more or less as needed)
2 eggs
canola or vegetable oil or butter for frying
pinch of salt
pepper

Moorish-Style Chickpea and Spinach Stew Stew

I listen to NPR every day on the way home from work. Because of the economic recession, they were doing a piece on how to feed your family of four with only $10. To me, cooking cheaply is always a win. Especially something yummy. This chef told a wonderful story about how his wife made this for him when they were first married. (And he was probably less famous and making less money.) I find it’s always encouraging to cook if I hear more about how wonderful this dish is. Jason really loves this dish.

Moorish-Style Chickpea and Spinach Stew

Ingredients:

1 14 oz can of chickpeas or 9 ounces dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces white sliced bread with the crusts removed
2 tablespoons pimenton (Spanish sweet paprika) or just regular paprika
1 pinch saffron
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 pound spinach, washed and cleaned (I’ve also used kale.)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Egg Salad Sandwich

I’d never eaten an egg salad sandwich until about a year ago. I know that sounds silly as they’re supposed to be something of a staple sandwich. Or perhaps just an alternative to PB&J? But when I came across this recipe, which was so simple, yet so flavorful, I had to try egg salad.

To my pleasure, this egg salad sandwich rocks. It’s so good, I’ll admit to eating the egg salad even without bread. (If you’re interested in making your own bread to go along, I highly recommend this white bread which I’ve made a dozen times.)

Egg Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:

7 hard-boiled eggs
4 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp dill or fresh dill, handful, roughly chopped
1/2 tbsp chives or fresh chives, handful, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Eggs by Magalie L'Abbee

However, since the “organic” and “free-range” labels have come along, brown eggs are now synonymous with healthy and organic. (The organic label itself is problematic; but that’s another complete blog post.)

But science be told, brown and white eggs and green eggs — yes, green eggs — are all equal in nutritional value. Well, that is if the hens eat the same food. Hens eat everything from grass to insects to commercial chicken feed. Healthy chickens require a far more diverse diet than massive factory farming provides and that’s one of the reasons why those brown shelled eggs often have thicker shells. Those small farm hens get better nutrition.

So what determines the color of the egg? The breed of the chicken. White and light-feathered chickens like the Leghorn tend to lay white eggs, and brown and dark-feathered chickens such as the Rhode Island Red mostly produce brown eggs. Green eggs are from a specific kind of chicken called an Araucana, which are uniquely popular among hobby ranchers. Genetics. Simple as that.

Next time you’re in the supermarket, don’t pick the eggs based on their color. It doesn’t matter. Instead, I’d suggest heading to the farmer’s market and asking your local farmer what the names of his/her chickens are.

What's my qualification for this post? This is me and my chicken Sweetheart, photo taken in 1995.

Sweet Corn Cakes with Avocado and Salsa

When corn comes into season, these Sweet Corn Cakes are the first thing on my plate. Of course, they’re even better with avocados on top. They probably aren’t the healthiest option. Make sure to pat the grease out of them. They are just delicious. The original recipe is here.

Sweet Corn Cakes

Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from 3 large corn cobs
1 small chopped red onion
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped cilantro or 2 tbsps dried cilantro
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying

Topping suggestions: avocado, tomato, and salsa are some of my favorites.

When you’re cutting the corn from the cob, make sure to use a sharp knife. You don’t want to hurt yourself. I suppose you could use frozen corn, but I think fresh really gives it that kick.

Use your food processor or blender to mix together the corn, onion, eggs, cilantro, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Process until combined into a dough.

Heat about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a pan on the stove on medium high heat. When hot, you’ll want to make each cake with about 2 tbsps of batter and cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side.

When done cooking, you’ll want to place the cakes on a plate covered with paper towels to drain the oil. Eat while hot.

Sweet Corn Cakes

Egg Drop Soup

Nothing is better than a bowl of Egg Drop Soup. At least when it comes to soup.

I remember going to Chinese restaurants as a child and sometimes wishing I could just order a big bowl of the soup. Which would’ve been a bad thing for me as a child due to a childhood egg allergy.

Thankfully, now that I’m all grown up, I don’t have the allergy anymore and I can make a big pot of it anytime I want. Plus, this is possibly one of the easiest recipes I know.

Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients:

8 cups vegetable stock
14 oz tofu
3-4 eggs
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger or 1 tbsp fresh ginger
2 tsp soy sauce, add more if needed
frozen edamame, as much as you like
frozen corn, as much as you like
1 can of water chestnuts chopped
Variety of seasonal vegetables from zucchini and summer squash to green beans

Pan fry your tofu to cook it and give it some firmness.

Place your stock into a medium soup pot. I liked to use my Le Creuset to make this soup. Add your salt, pepper, ginger, and soy sauce.

Add frozen vegetables, water chestnuts, and your fresh vegetables. Let the soup simmer for 10 minutes. Then you’ll want to taste it and add more ginger or soy sauce to your liking.

Put the tofu into the soup.

Cooking in the La Cruset

Next, you’re going to the thicken the soup. Remove about 1/8 of a cup of broth and put it in a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Add corn starch to your bowl and whisk well. Pour your mixture back into the soup and stir. Taste soup again. You may need to do this two or three times in order to get your desired soup thickness.

Now for adding your egg, and this is really the only way to do it. Since most of us only have two arms, you might need assistance. I often make Jason help me with this part as it seems to turn out better.

Crack eggs into a separate bowl and beat them like you were going to be making scrambled eggs. After that, start stirring your soup. You want to create a some strong whirling action. Quickly pour your beaten eggs through the tines of a dinner form. This causes the egg to evenly disperse throughout the soup, just like restaurant egg drop soup, instead of lumping into scrambled eggs. Usually, I have Jason stir while I dump the eggs in to make things easier.

Simmer for about 5 more minutes and serve. Yum.