WbLL- what boredom looks like...

Apple Crumb Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:36:00 +0000

1 1/2 Cups of Unsweetened Applesauce (either store bought or homemade is fine)

1 cup (100gms) white sugar

1 slightly beaten egg

1/3 cup (75 gms) melted margarine or butter

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup walnuts

2 tablespoons of caramel natural flavoring

Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons of caramel natural flavoring

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons melted butter

Mix the applesauce, caramel, sugar, egg and margarine together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Mix wet and dry ingredients all together. Pour into greased muffin tins

In a separate bowl mix flour, caramel, sugar and cinnamon. Next, drizzle in the melted butter and stir to create small pebbles. Add a spoonful on top of each muffin and press slightly into the batter.

Bake in 350 degrees oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Strawberry and Banana Frozen Yogurt

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:34:00 +0000

A walk along the river inspired us to make frozen yogurt—maybe because it was hot and we craved more than water as a refreshment. We thought of strawberries, because we had bought too many from the market. And we also added bananas because I am convinced they go with anything.

3 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 ½ cups mashed bananas

3 Tbsp lemon juice

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup whole milk

2 cups yogurt

Place the strawberries, lemon juice, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Mash the strawberries as the mixture is heating. As soon as all of the sugar has completely dissolved, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mash the bananas, before adding the milk and yogurt. Add the banana mixture to the strawberries, stirring to combine. Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour (or 20 minutes in the freezer), until it is chilled not frozen. Pour it into the ice cream maker and let the machine do its magic.

Makes about 1 quart.

(Source: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/strawberry_frozen_yogurt/)

The Big Banana Debate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:51:00 +0000

So I am testing banana muffin recipes, as I always find myself with old bananas. Each one on the web claims to be the best -- from light-in-the-ass low fat to full fat coma-inducing baked goods. I decided to try this one on for size as part one to my best banana muffin investigation.

125 g all-purpose flour
10 g baking powder
2 g baking soda
2 g salt
225 g mashed ripe banana
50 g white sugar
60 g sour cream
1 egg
3 ml vanilla extract
3 ml cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together banana, sugar, melted butter, egg, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir in the sour cream. Stir banana mixture into flour until just combined before adding your nuts Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/banana-muffins-i/detail.aspx

Noodles in Peanut Butter Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:29:00 +0000

Maybe a peanut butter and pasta combination isn’t as American as a PB&J, but you will find it just equally as satisfying. Whether for a quick lunch or a side dish for an asian-inspired meal, a bit of ginger, veggies and peanuts can go a long way. Here is the recipe:

1 Package lo mein or wheat noodles

½ cup green onion , chopped

2 cup finely shredded carrot

1 cup mushrooms

2 cup shredded lettuce (Romaine)

3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic

1 tablespoon grated ginger

2 tablespoon honey

¼ cup organic peanut butter

¼ cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ tablespoon crushed red pepper

¼ cup water

Oil

Boil the pasta until tender (al dente) and drain. Toss the noodles with a little bit of vegetable oil (two teaspoons) and set aside.

In a sauté pan (or wok), sauté the onions, ginger, garlic carrots and mushrooms in three tablespoons of olive oil (vegetable oil will do). Once the carrots are tender, add water, vinegar, soy sauce, red pepper flakes and honey and allow to cook for one minute. As mixture is simmering add the peanut butter and swirl around the pot until dissolved. Turn off the mixture, before adding the noodles and lettuce. Toss like a salad to incorporate and it is ready to serve. A sprinkling of chives is a nice touch.

Sweet: Chocolate Swirl Genoise Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 12:24:00 +0000

I made this easy cake--which can also be used to make madeleines,my favorite accoutrement for petit dejeuner--for a dinner party. Also, just to spice it up a bit, I swirled in some chocolate. With a bit of powdered sugar, this cake was perfect for a little bit of sweetness after a meal dinner, or with afternoon tea. Classic genoise cake uses the only the whipping of the eggs as a leavener, but I am American, and like it when things are a bit easy, so I use baking powder.

Ingredients

1 cup butter (softened)

1 cup sugar

4 eggs (room temperature)

1 ½ cup flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ tsp of baking powder

½ tsp salt

4 oz dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. If you want to roll up your sleeves and whisk by hand, feel free, or go for the electric mixer. Next, beat eggs in one by one, and here is where I love modern technology, because you are going to beat the mixture a lot. You want to get as much air into the mixture as possible, so really apply the elbow grease. In another bowl sift together the dry ingredients (the flour, salt, and baking powder). Then gently fold the flour in by thirds, until completely incorporated. In a double boiler, melt the dark chocolate. While that is melting, butter and flour a bundt pan. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, spreading it out so that it is even. Then swirl the chocolate in, using a butter knife. Bake until the top is golden about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when you prick it. Remove and allow to cool.

Sweet: Cocoa Peanut Butter Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:55:00 +0000

The only reason I made cocoa peanut butter cookies was because chunky peanut butter was bought by mistake, and I had some left over cocoa. Sitting around, not in the mood to work, and I thought why not experiment with some cookies. I suspect they might actually be good for you.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter or margarine (soft)

½ cup peanut butter

1 egg

¾ cup whole wheat flour

¾ cup white flour

¾ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp vegetable oil

¼ tsp salt

Melt half the butter in a saucepan, and add the cocoa, stir vigorously until combined. Remove from the heat and allow to stiffen, so that it is no longer hot. In a large bowl, cream together the cocoa infused butter with the rest of the butter and the sugar. Mix in the peanut butter, egg, oil and vanilla. In another bowl sift together the dry ingredients - flours, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Add to the wet ingredients in thirds. Preheat oven to 375°F. While you are waiting refrigerate the dough. Roll the dough in your palms into 1 ¼ inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with a fork. Bake until light brown, 7 to 9 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute; transfer to rack to cool completely. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Savory: Spicy Shrimp Tacos (with coleslaw dressing)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:04:00 +0000

I was in the mood to make something with whole wheat flour, and decided on tortillas. Then, I had to think of something to fill the tortillas. Since I was investing more time than I wanted to on the tortillas, the filling had to be really simple, hence, I decided to make spicy shrimp tacos. (Please click here for the tortillas recipe)

Ingredients

1 lb large shrimp (shelled and cleaned)

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbsp butter

Rub

1/4 cup paprika

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tsp cayenne powder

2 tbsp salt

2 tbsp black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to broil. In a small bowl combine the rub ingredients, and whisk until well incorporated. In a large bowl add the shrimp, and then pour the rub mix over it, toss until all the shrimp are combined. Then, pour in the olive oil, and toss until there is an even coating on the shrimp, it should look like a dry paste. Remove the shrimp from the mixture and put on a lined or non-stick sheet tray. Arrange so that they are not on top of one another. Dot them with the butter, and put into the oven, on broil. After about two or three minutes, remove and flip them to the other side, and put them back into the oven for another 2 minutes. When you can see the pink flesh through the rub mix, remove and set aside to rest.

Summer Coleslaw

The hardest part of this recipe is the vinaigrette, which isn’t hard at all—and maybe the shredding.

½ Cup shredded carrots

1 cup shredded cabbage

¼ cup thinly cut red onion

Vinaigrette

1 tbsp mayonnaise

½ tbsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp sugar

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

2 tsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp lemon juice

In a bowl, add the shredded carrots, cabbage and onion. In another small bowl mix the mayonnaise and the mustard, with all the vinaigrette ingredients. Whisk together. Pour the mixture over the shredded vegables and toss until all the vegetables are covered. Cover the bowl, and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the tacos..

In conclusion: To make the tacos you simply put a couple of spoonfuls of coleslaw on a warm tortilla, and about 2 or 3 shrimp--depending on the size of your shrimps or tortillas--fold it all up and enjoy.

Savory: Whole Wheat Tortillas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:54:00 +0000

I searched the internet looking for Whole wheat tortillas, partly because they were overpriced at my local grocer, and partly because it looked like something that should have been easy to make. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com, and I liked the turn out. I made mine a bit on the thick side because I was going to use them for tacos.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup shortening

1 teaspoons salt

3/4 cups boiling water

Extra flour for rolling

In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup all-purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, and salt. Rub in the shortening by hand until the mixture is the texture of oatmeal. Make a well in the center, and pour in the boiling water. Mix with a fork until all of the water is evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with a bit of additional flour, and knead until the dough does not stick to your fingers. The dough should be smooth. Make balls the size of golf balls, about 2 ounces each. Place them on a tray, and cover with a cloth. Let stand for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours. Heat a griddle or large frying pan over high heat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a tortilla to your preferred thinness. Fry one at a time. Place on the griddle for 10 seconds, as soon as you see a bubble on the top, flip the tortilla over. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for another 30 seconds. Roll out the next tortilla while you wait for that one to cook. Repeat until all of the balls have been cooked. Tortillas can be refrigerated or frozen.

Recipe from here…

Savory: Egg Drop Soup to feel better

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:04:00 +0000

I am under the weather (don’t know why we have that saying), and I wanted to make soup. Too lazy to make a dramatic soup, but still with the wish to be cheered up, I made a quick standby, egg drop. And just because I am me, I added veggies to it--a meal is not a meal without veggies. The outcome: a very light and tasty, vegetarian soup (no, not vegan, ahem, egg is in the title).

Ingredients:

5 cups Vegetable stock

½ tsp grated ginger

1tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp cornstarch

2 eggs (beaten)

1 green onion (chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 tbsp butter

3 tbsp olive oil (or any oil)

1 ½ cups of petit pois , or green peas (frozen, if not fresh, but definitely not canned)

Salt and pepper to taste

Bring the vegetable stock, ginger and soy sauce to a boil in a medium sauce pan. At the same time, in a small sauté pan, add the butter and the oil. Then, add the garlic and the petit pois, and sauté for a couple of minutes or until they are tender, then set aside.

Once the stock is boiling, make slurry by putting about 2 tbsps of the boiling stock in a separate cup with the cornstarch and vigorously stir until pasty. Once the cornstarch is dissolved pour the mixture back into the pot of stock, whisking it in so that it dissolves quickly. Turn the flame down to a simmer, and then add your beaten eggs in slowly. They should feather out instantly. Then add your chopped green onions, and your sautéed peas. Let cook for about one minute and then it is ready to serve.

Savory: Solomon Gundy and Johnny Cakes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:25:00 +0000

I love the taste of pickled fish--as does half the world, I suspect--and even more if it is worked into a spread. My sister always buys Solomon Gundy, but I know it is not always available overseas so I decided to try to make it. After scouring the internet trying to find a good recipe, I found one on www.jamaicanrecipes.com , but wasn’t quite the herring spread I was used to. So, I tweaked the recipe, and voila, I got the stuff I was used to buying, minus all the preservatives.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Smoked Herring

½ doz. Allspice balls (pimentos)

½ cup Red Wine Vinegar

1 Large Onion (chopped)

1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper or Habernero Pepper

1 Stalk Scallion

½ tsp. Thyme

4 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tbsp vegetable oil for frying.

1 tsp. Sugar

In a sauce pan, bring some water to a boil BEFORE adding the smoked herring. Like salted cod, this is to remove the majority of the salt from the fish. After about 10-15 minutes drain the fish and taste it. If it is too salty, you might have to redo this process. Once drained, try to take as many of the bones out of the fish, even as many of the smaller bones, as possible.

In another small sauce pan add the red wine vinegar, the sugar and the pimento balls. Warm the liquid until the sugar is dissolved, but do not boil—this should take only a couple of minutes. In the meantime add the onions, thyme, scallion, and oil into the blender and puree until white and pasty. Then, add the deboned fish and the vinegar MINUS the pimento balls—trust me you are done with the balls for this portion of the recipe. Blend until the fish is broken apart and well mixed with the onions.

In a large frying pan, heat up the vegetable oil. Add the blended mixture and cook until the bits of onions are translucent, and the mixture looks dry, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and refrigerate until cool, then it is ready to serve.

Johnny Cakes

When in doubt, I always make fried dumplings called Johnny cakes--not to be confused with the Jamaican fried dumplings, which are spherical balls. Yes, Johnny cakes have gotten me out of many a afternoon snack, Sunday brunch, dinner-time-and-where-are-the-rolls, fixes. So here is the quick recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup plain white flour

3 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp butter

1 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying

In a bowl mix together the whole wheat and white fours with the baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix until well blended. Then knife in the butter, chopping it in until the mixture is little balls the size of peas. Then, add your water and kneed it, forming a large dough ball. The mixture, once well combined, should not stick to your floured fingers, if it does, then add a little more whole wheat flour. Form little balls about 2 inches in diameter, and then press them flat starting from the middle of the ball leaving the edges thicker. Prick with a fork in the middle, this will help them cook.

On a medium flame, heat up the vegetable oil in a frying pan, the oil should come up about 1/8” in the pot. Once you get the rippled effect on the bottom of the pan, add the pieces of dough. Fry until golden brown around the edges, and then flip to fry the other side. Should take about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from the oil when golden brown, and rest aside on a paper toweled plate. Should make about 12 Johnny cakes.

Savory: Dry fried shrimp and peanut sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:17:00 +0000

I like dry fried shrimp because I am lazy, and do not always feel like cleaning up an egg mixture. So normally what I do is I rinse the shrimp, let them hang out in a colander for a second—just to get excess water off them, not to completely air dry them, and then I dump them in the dry ingredients. There are many other batters involving beers, seltzer water, milk, etc.—but I prefer to keep it simple, most of the time.

Ingredients:

1 lb of large prawns

(should give you about 15-20 shrimp, if you want more, might I suggest you get 2 lbs.)

¼ cup whole wheat flour (a hearty flour is preferred)

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup vegetable oil

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, and toss the damp shrimp into the mixture. Press the flour onto the flesh of the shrimp to ensure an even coating. In a medium frying pan, on a medium to high flame, heat the oil until hot. Add the shrimp to the oil, frying them about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Your shrimp should be curl like a ‘e’, if they curl like an tight spiral, they are over cooked. Remove the cooked shrimp, placing them in a bowl with a paper towel, to absorb the excess oil.

Peanut butter sauce:

Ingredients

¼ cup smooth peanut butter (natural peanut butter is best)
¼ cup soy sauce

2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup water
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar

½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all of the ingredients into a 1 quart saucepan, and on a low flame whisk until the peanut butter is completely dissolved. You can also throw it all into a microwaveable container, cook for about 1 minute, and then whisk vigorously until smooth.

Some cookies for Jalen and Candace

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:44:00 +0000

I forgot that I hated oatmeal, until I bought a box with the intention of starting a new health food regime. One bite of the sticky grayish white substance, and I was transported back to childhood, when I was being forced every morning to eat it because my parents were sure it was good for me. Needless to say I was so traumatized I almost through out the carton. But then, my sister tells me that she and the kids love oatmeal cookies so the box--and the oatmeal inside--reputation were resurrected.

Ingredients:

½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 ¼ sticks of butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup wheat flour (I prefer to add wheat flour when I can)

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp of baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 ½ cup Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices; add to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in oats. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 9 minutes for a chewy cookie, 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire cooling rack. Store in tightly covered container.

*Note for Gaye: If you want the sticky gooey mistake cookie, use only ¼ cup of all purpose flour.

Mishaps: Dominican Fudge? truffles? no, cake...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:23:00 +0000

My journey to cake land started with a sack of Dominican cocoa powder someone brought back for me as a souvenir from a trip. While they soaked up the sun, I was in the cold, and they though cocoa would make up for it – they were right. Not sure what to do with it, but sure I wanted to bake something, I scoured the internet for inspiration and came up with fudge. I thought how hard could it be, I will just substitute the Hershey’s cocoa powder for some Dominican goodness and voila. This was the recipe I used:

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 vanilla

1 1/2 cups toasted chopped walnuts*

In a heavy 4-quart saucepan over medium heat combine sugar, cocoa, milk, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue cooking, not stirring, until mixture reaches 235° on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Let stand to cool for about 1 hour, until mixture comes to room temperature. Wit a wooden spoon, beat until fudge thickens and loses its gloss. Stir in toasted walnuts and spoon into a buttered 8-inch square pan. Cool completely then cut into 1-inch squares.

*To toast nuts, spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in a 350° oven, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes. Or, toast in an ungreased skillet over medium heat, stirring, until golden brown and aromatic.

When I finished this recipe, after impatiently cooling my fudge, I cut into it, and it came out gooey -- and not and in a good way. Common sense should have told me to throw out the batch and start from scratch. But my sense is very rarely common, and I was bored. So I decided to turn my batch of too-soft-fudge into truffles. In retrospect, maybe it wasn’t the best idea, but I got a melon-baller type of contraption, made round balls and rolled them around in some cocoa powder. What I got, was soft balls of fudge coated in cocoa--not what I was going for.

I just refused to give up, and with the wild cackle of a mad scientist, I decided to throw the cocoa coated fudge balls into a microwave at melt them down again (yes with the roasted nuts in tact, do not try this at home). I then took the molten mess, and came up with an on-the-fly recipe:

Added ingredients:

2tbsp butter

1 egg

2 tbsp of baking powder

1 ½ cups of flour

¼ cup of oil

Basically, I added the butter to the hot fudge, whisking away so that it would dissolve. Then after beating an egg to death, I added it to the hot fudge(tempering of course, as if it made much of a difference at this point). In another bowl I sifted the dry ingredients together, and then slowly added them to the bowl of fudge. I threw some vegetable oil in for good measure, figuring it would help to make the cake moist, since I was only sacrificing one egg for this chocolate cake debacle. With the faith of a person who just didn't care anymore, I threw the mixture into a greased and floured loaf pan, and into the oven at 350F degrees it went. After an hour I had a chocolate nut cake.

It came out pretty good for a cake that was thrown together and without a recipe. So what did I learn from this? I need to find a good flourless cake recipe. Stay tuned, this isn't the last of the Dominican cocoa powder.

Savory: The not so easy, yet easy vegan pumpkin soup

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:30:00 +0000

I've made this soup so many times in the past that I normally do not think when I make it. But this last time, when made it with the intent on posting the recipe to this blog, I had an unfortunate mishap (could have been a sign). When on last stage of the recipe, where you throw the hot soup into the blender to make it creamy and smooth, the lid wasn’t on tight enough and I had boiling hot soup splash on my face, and even worst, in my hair. So my precaution is this: use and immersion blender. If you are going to use a standard blender, either a) make sure that you only fill the blender 2/3 of the way, or b) make sure you have a (REALLY) tight lid. With that said, happy soup making!

Easy Pumpkin Soup

2lbs pumpkin

1 large russet potato (or two small red potatoes works well too)

¾ cup diced onions

3 cloves of crushed garlic

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp of olive oil

2 tsp of Goya adobo

2 cups vegetable stock

3 tbsp coarse salt

Table salt and pepper to taste

Bring salted water (use the coarse salt) to a boil in a 5 ½ quart pot. Cut pumpkin into large chunks and the potato into half , leaving the skin on (unless you feel like peeling). Place the chunks of pumpkin and potato into boiling water. When the pumpkin’s flesh begins to look transparent and the potato is separating from the skin slightly, remove from the heat, and dump into a colander. Rinse the pumpkin and potato with cold water until it is cool enough to handle. Scoop out the flesh, setting it aside in a bowl, and discarding the skins. In the same pot (unless you have another 5 ½ quart pot lying around), melt the butter and olive oil on a medium heat. Add the diced onions and crushed garlic and sweat until transparent. Add the salt and adobo to the sautéing onions, and then add the pumpkin and potato. Stir with a wooden spoon, just until the pumpkin and onion are thoroughly mixed and then add your vegetable stock. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once the soup has boiled, take off the heat. Now it is ready to be blended. (This is the point where the immersion blender is the best, because there is less risk of splatter). Blend the mixture until smooth, the potato is going to act like an emulsifier, so you don’t need to add cream. Once it is smooth it is ready to serve. Makes 4 appetizer sized soup portions or 2 extremely large bowls of comfort soup.

Sweet: Fryin’ up some bananas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:42:00 +0000

I chose to make this desert because bananas were on sale at the grocery store for 10 cents a pound. Sure I could have made a banana cream pie (because it tastes a lot like it), but I am not a creamy banana in a tart-shell kind of women. I am more the fry something quick and save some counter-space, type of woman. I paired the fried bananas with a coconut crème anglaise simply because I couldn’t imagine serving a guest just bananas on a stick. It made sense to pair it with something to dip the fried bananas into. When you close your eyes it tastes like warm and gooey banana pie a-la-mode. I guess loving the taste of bananas (especially warm bananas), is essential for enjoying this recipe.

Fried Bananas

¾ cup of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 egg

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup Panko

1/4 tsp of lime zest (for garnish)

6 bananas

Sift flour, baking powder, soda and salt together. Beat eggs and sugar together. Add milk alternately with sifted dry ingredients to egg mixture. Beat after each addition. This mixture should be a thick batter (like cake batter). Heat the oil on medium to high flame. In a medium frying pan, the oil should come to about ½ way up.. Peel bananas and cut width-wise in half, cutting off the tips. With a spatula, coat the each banana evenly, as if you are icing a cake. Then sprinkle the Panko onto the ‘iced’ bananas, a consistent even coat. Drop each banana into the hot oil, and cook until golden brown. Remove from the oil, and let sit. Sprinkle with lime zest.

Coconut Crème Anglaise

2 large eggs (yolks only)

1/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 3/4 cups canned coconut milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Bring the heavy cream, coconut milk and vanilla bean to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Put eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl, and whisk until pale and thick and set to the side. Remove the vanilla bean, scraping only the seeds into the hot milk mixture. Gradually pour 1/2 of hot-milk mixture into egg mixture. Return mixture to pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and hold a line drawn by your finger, about 5 minutes. Pass mixture through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Place bowl in ice-water bath; stir it occasionally until chilled. Makes about 2 cups.

Sweet: Dessert-ing with warmth in mind...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:12:00 +0000

Because there is a chill in the air, I was looking to make something sweet, that I could light on fire. I think, also because it is autumn, I was thinking of something that incorporated pumpkin. Pumpkin crème brûlée should have been the first thing to come to mind, but at the time all I could think about was how much I am not a fan of pumpkin pie. Praying that the crème brûlée would be a more palatable option, I decided to make it, and then some orange shortbread cookies as a back up. Who can say no to cookies?

Pumpkin Crème Brûlée

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 vanilla bean, split or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 egg yolks

6 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/2 cup solid pack pumpkin

2 tablespoons orange liqueur

1/4 cup Turbinado

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place rack in the middle level of oven. Bring the cream to boil in heavy saucepan (tiny bubbles around the sides), and then remove from heat. Add the vanilla bean and let stand 20 minutes, and then discard the vanilla bean. Alternatively, add the vanilla extract to the whipping cream and set aside. In another bowl whisk together the yolks, 6 tablespoons sugar and nutmeg. Add the pumpkin and orange liqueur and mix until smooth. Temper the egg mixture with about 1/4 of the cream mixture, before whisking in the rest of the cream mixture (slowly). Divide custard among six (6) 5.5 oz cup ramekins. Arrange ramekins in heavy large baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up the sides of ramekins. Bake, on middle rack, until sides are set but centers move slightly when shaken, about 30 minutes. Remove from water bath and cool. Refrigerate one hour (overnight if you have the time). Preheat broiler (DISREGARD if you are using a torch). Sprinkle Turbinado sugar over custards (thin layer and roll around the top (GENTLY) to make sure it is even. Broil 8 inches from heat source until sugar begins to melt, watching carefully, about 30 seconds. OR torch the top of the custards using circular motions. The first time to just melt the sugar, let set for 10 seconds, then torch as second time to add darker sugar bubbles. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings

Orange Shortbread Cookies

½ cup softened butter

5 tbsps white sugar

2 tbsps Turbinado Sugar (for decoration)

1 tsp finely grated zest of 1 orange

1 tsp of Grand Marnier

1 ½ cup flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat, by hand, the butter & sugar till creamy & soft. Add orange zest and Grand Marnier. Gradually add the flour and gently pull the dough in together to form a soft ball. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2 " thickness. Put on a greased baking sheet, sprinkle with Turbinado sugar, & bake for about 11 minutes till golden brown. Remove to a cookie rack to cool. Makes about 2 dozen.

Sweet: 12 Cheers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:23:00 +0000

I found this little restaurant one Friday, when a friend of mine and I were in desperate search of sustenance. Never in the mood for food that is fast, but always open to food that is cheap -- 12 Chairs was the perfect Middle Eastern mixture of both. A mix of French, German and Arabic dialects livened up the quaint café nestled between W. Houston and Prince Street. We would have probably walked past it, but the nonchalant décor, simple wood tables and chairs, seemed too inviting to refuse. The service was delightful, even when the waiter told me that hummus was not apart of traditional Israeli cuisine – a simple truth, that meant little to me. Additionally, their guacamole, which I am positive is also not native to Israel, was just one of the many snacks they offer that go over well. Good small food and sandwiches, breakfast all day, an adequate collection of wines -- 12 Chairs seems like the perfect spot to dine with friends or alone. I never counted if there were only 12 chairs in the restaurant (seemed to me that there were more), but I think the overall metaphor of the café’s name is intimacy.

Hummus:
Got to love foods with ancient folklores and Arabic mysteries attached to it roots. Here is the recipe I prefer, when I am so inclined to digging out the ole blender and making it myself.
1 cup chickpeas (can)
3 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp salt
* Directions: Very important, add all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. Drizzle a very good olive oil on top for garnish.

12 Chairs
56 MacDougal Street
New York City
(212)254-8640

Essentials: Espresso ‘fatto a mano’

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:58:00 +0000

Handpresso is redefining the morning ‘pick-me-up’, with an espresso maker you pick up and use with your hands. Geared towards the camper who always needs to have caffeine fix, it is small (22 x 10 x 7 cm), hence portable, and not too shabby on the eyes by way of design.

I must admit, the Handpresso sure beats making the espresso beforehand and storing it in a thermos. That was my old method, and it was quickly tossed when I realized that not only can my café be brewed instantly, but I can also look relatively chic doing it. And while I am not going to whip it out on the New York City subway, Handpresso is a definite ‘must-have’ for a picnic in any park (including Central) - after all why do the woodsy folk have to all the fun. I would also go so far as to pack a Handpresso for international flights, because I hate airline coffee (in any class), and you never know what they will call coffee wherever you arrive.

A self-proclaimed coffee addict (sans the need for meetings, meditations or self-help books) – I am particularly cranky when I don’t have something recognizable in my coffee cup. Therefore, it is a huge relief to know that I can control my espresso tide, no matter what part of the world my chi may flow. Handpresso retails for $129.00 for the machine alone, and it is distributed by Importika in the United States. To find their products in other parts of the world check Handpresso's website at www.handpresso.fr.

Eating Out: The Roast of the Town

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:59:00 +0000

You can score greasy fast food at 3:00 am anywhere in New York—but if you can help it, why not get a real meal. I dined at French Roast Thursday night after enduring a beautiful, yet long production of Aida, at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. After four hours of opera, anyone could get the ‘munchies’, and no well-dressed opera buff, wants to end their evening standing in the cold, eating random meat, from a questionable truck.

French Roast on the Upper West Side –located at 85^th street and Broadway—is the perfect dining solution for a midnight snack. Their warm, inviting interior bespeaks of a French – American Bistro, that you would never find in France, but is very whimsical after a couple of night caps. For the late night diner, they have a ‘grave’ menu, an abbreviated version of their dinner menu. Which basically means you can have ‘steak frite’, rather than a ‘rack of lamb’, but it’s still a well prepared substitution to junk food. Besides, their light meals, sandwiches and salads are better to keep off the pounds—and their alcoholic hot chocolate and sweet desserts are an incentive to drag someone else with you.

French Roast has two locations: one the upper west side and the other in west village-- both are opened 24 hours. So no matter where you are up late and hungry in Manhattan, you can always find a ‘croque monsieur’ with your name on it. French Roast Uptown 85th & Broadway 212.799.1533

French Roast Downtown 11th Street & Sixth Avenue 212.533.2233

Website: www.frenchroastny.com/

Drinks: Nog on the brain

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:28:00 +0000

Nothing says holiday fun like slurring Christmas carols, and for that you need the right amount of eggnog and fruit cake. I must admit I tried store bought eggnog once at a holiday party and I was so disgusted by the underlying chemical taste that I quickly switched over to wine. I was a lover of homemade eggnog before, but after tasting the store bought eggnog, I became an advocate. And the best part is it is quick and easy to make once you have all the ingredients.

Eggnog:

3 eggs (organic – hey why take a chance)

1 cup half and half

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup white sugar

½ teaspoon of cinnamon

¼ teaspoon of nutmeg

¼ teaspoon of allspice (optional)

1 ½ cups of vanilla ice cream (or three large scoops)

Light Rum (optional for some, necessary for others)

Blend the eggs with the half and half for one minute, until the eggs are completely dissolved. Then add and blend the heavy cream. In a separate small bowl mix together the sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice, and then once combined add it to the blender. Blend until the spices are speckled in mixture, and once completely blended add 3 large scoops of ice cream. To serve pour one shot (½ shot or no shot) of the rum into a glass before pouring the eggnog, that way you can properly regulate the amount of rum. Mix individually with a stirrer and serve.

***

While my eggnog recipe is an adaptation of the traditional recipe, my fruitcake does not look like the doorstopper version you can buy in most grocery stores. On the contrary the fruits and nuts are blended until almost unrecognizable, and it is also heavily doused with cream sherry. I guess it might resemble more of a rum or west Indian black cake, but I have been calling it fruitcake since I was three and I refuse to rename it now.

Fruitcake

1lb raisins

1lb prunes

1lb citron

16 oz of dry cream sherry

* It is better if this mixture is soaked for 3months or longer, but if you don’t have that luxury, you can put the mixture in a sauce pan, bring it to a boil, and then let it simmer until the citron is soft. Then remove from the flame and let stand until it comes to room temperature.

2 sticks butter

½ cup brown sugar

3 eggs

½ cup molasses

2 cups of flour

¾ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon grounded cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder

1 lb nuts

2 oz of dry cream sherry (for the batter)

1 oz of dry cream sherry (extra for garnishing)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F, with the racks set in the middle of the oven. Prepare your bunt baking pan by buttering the pan and lining it with wax paper.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Once they are completely combined and fluffy, add the eggs, mixing them in one at a time. When the eggs are completely combined, add the molasses. In a separate bowl sift together the flour and baking powder and the spices. Once sifted, add the dry ingredients to the moist ingredients 1/3 at a time alternating with the 2 oz of sherry allotted for the batter. After all the sherry and flour are completely combined, add the now room temperature fruit mixture and the nuts. Pour mixture into prepared bunt pan and bake at 275degrees F for 2 hours and until the top of the cake is cracked. Remove from the oven, let the cake cool completely before taking it out of the pan. Once on the serving dish douse with the remaining dry cream sherry.

Savory: A little something extra

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:51:00 +0000

The perfect accompaniment to any meal is bread, and this recipe for fresh whole wheat clover leaf rolls is one of my favorites:

yeast mixture

½ cup lukewarm water

1 ½ packets yeast

1/3 cup of sugar

* mix and let stand for 5 minutes

the rest

½ cup warm milk

2 eggs beaten

2/3 stick melted butter

pinch of salt

3 cups of whole wheat flour

3 cups of white flour

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and prepare a 12 cup muffin tin, by coating its insides with a small amount vegetable oil.

In a small sauce pan melt butter, and add milk heat until warm (NOT HOT). Add eggs and salt, stir well before adding yeast mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the white and whole wheat flour. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients 1/3 of the mixture at a time – beating or whisking until smooth. Once the last third is blended smooth, put a towel over the bowl and place it in a warm spot to rise (20 minutes depending on the spot). Flour a surface big enough to work with the dough. Once the dough has risen punch it down and break of a fist sized ball (around a cup sized portion). Roll in between your hands until it forms a long tube about 2 inches thick. Cut the tubular dough widthwise into even pieces (2inch cubes). Put three pieces into each greased muffin tin cup. Cover the muffin tin with a cloth and place in a warm place to let rise (about 15 minutes). Once the rolls have risen for the second time (puffing out of the cups), bake for about 5 – 6 minutes at 425 degrees F.

Sweet: Peach Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:23:00 +0000

I must have been suffering from some sort of dementia firing up my oven on a 90 degree day – but when you are in the mood for pie, you are just in the mood. Peaches are in season, though I couldn’t tell by the selection at my neighborhood grocer, because they were all hard as rocks. After cutting them into tiny slivers and letting them marinate in sugar for about 6 hours, the peaches were finally soft enough to produce a pie with the same texture as apple. After an hour of slaving in a hot kitchen, the pie came out a beautiful golden brown, and more importantly, edible. Here is the recipe I used:

1 (15 ounce) package pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

1 yolk, beaten with 1 tbsp water (for egg wash)

5 cups sliced peeled peaches

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Place the sliced peaches in a large bowl, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pour over the peaches, and mix gently. Pour into the pie crust, and dot with butter. Cover with the other pie crust, and fold the edges under. Flute the edges to seal or press the edges with the tines of a fork dipped in egg. Brush the remaining egg over the top crust. Cut several slits in the top crust to vent steam.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven on the top rack, until the crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble through the vents. If the edges brown to fast, cover them with strips of aluminum foil about halfway through baking. Cool before serving. This tastes better warm than hot.

Since I don’t particularly suggest baking in near sub-Sahara heat, but I feel everyone has a right to pie, might I suggest the Little Pie Shop for those living in the New York area. I would rather bake a pie than spend the $50 bucks but sometimes your time is priceless. If you eating pie is too much for you, you can watch – a movie about pies that requires no intake of calories.

Little Pie Company 424 West 43 Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues) New York, NY 10036

www.littlepiecompany.com/

Sweet: Cupcakes the new cake?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:21:00 +0000

It seems as if every Tom, Dick and Harry is opening up a cupcake shop. Maybe because cupcakes are less threatening than the average cake. They are less intimidating, you don’t have to worry about your cake falling, and they are reminiscent of high school home ec. -- depending on what school you went to. For all these reasons and more, bakeries specializing in cupcakes are popping up faster than you can say Starbucks, each one claiming to have brought something unique to the game. Small, large, tons of icing or scantly clad, a cupcake by any other name, means or agenda is still just a cupcake. In a fit of boredom, whilst reading my copy of Bon Appetit late one night, I too embarked on a cupcake escapade. Their lemon-raspberry cupcake recipe (an amended version provided below), was a fruity and delightful excursion from my state of insomnia. A couple of sleepless hours later, a few tweaks to the original recipe, and I had a dozen or so tasty cupcakes to bribe my low-carb dieter friends.

Ingredients

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar, divided

4 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel, divided

2 large eggs

1 ¼ cups self-rising flour

¼ cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided

½ cup orange juice

12 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam

1 ½ cups of walnuts (for garnish)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Using electric mixer, beat butter, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and 3 teaspoons lemon peel in large bowl until blended, then beat until fluffy and pale yellow. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in half of flour. Add heavy cream and 2 tablespoons lemon juice; beat to blend. Beat in remaining flour.

Drop 1 rounded tablespoonful batter into each muffin liner. Spoon 1 teaspoon raspberry jam over. Cover with remaining batter, dividing equally.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted halfway into centers comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan on rack. Meanwhile spread walnuts out on a cookie sheet and put in the oven to roast, for 7 minutes. In a small bowl whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 table spoons of raspberry jam and ½ cup of orange juice. Once whipped, spoon icing over cupcakes and garnish with walnuts. Let stand until icing sets, about 30 minutes.

Eating Out: Making the Veggie Burger Desirable Once Again…

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:17:00 +0000

I must admit I am a vegetarian that stays away from vegetarian restaurant. You would think that in the new millennium there would be more choices for us non-meat eaters, but I find that most restaurants fall into two categories: a) the Chinese wonder: whose menu consist of fake meat smothered in an unrecognizable gravy; b) the tasteless wonder: whose menu consists of near raw or raw dishes that are slapped together more for color than taste. With no hope in sight I started eating fish, and disregarded vegetarian restaurants all together.

Recently I had a ‘Big Mac Daddy’ at the Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop, and instantly I was brought back to the nostalgia of vegetarian cuisine. Let me dispel the myth that it is easy to find a good veggie burger in the city. It is probably as hard as finding its fattier cousin—a good hamburger. Sure any dope can slap a bean/vegetable concoction on a grill, but few can make appetizing. On the other hand, Tiny’s burger, is a colorful and flavorful version of the comfort food. And if you can manage to take a bite without the contents falling on your lap, you will find the flavors well-balanced and delicious. My only criticism is that such a burger should be paired with a hearty fries. And unfortunately their only accompaniments are chips, sodas and water.

Tiny’s Giant Sandwich shop offers an array of other classic diner sandwiches. And if you are being especially picky, their menu allows you to construct your own masterpiece. Though it wasn’t enough to convert me back to vegetarianism, the ‘Big Mac Daddy’ gave me a glimmer of hope for the future of vegetarian cuisine.

*ms. b

Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop

129 Rivington Street 212.982.1690

Sweet: Sweet Snacks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:24:00 +0000

Some people pig out in their downtime, I find that me and my best friend Gaye bake. Baking is not really my thing, I prefer fast pace cooking. But when it is 3:00am and you are otherwise bored, baking is perfect. My best friend Gaye -- you have to say the whole thing -- came up with her rendition of chocolate covered strawberries. Tired of the sometimes wilting and rotting variety you find at Godiva, she decided that she could melt some chocolate her damn self. She didn’t use a double boiler or any other fancy tricks you might find in the movie ‘Chocolat’, instead she took a handful of Hershey’s Chocolate chips, tossed them in the microwave. After about two minutes, she had a bowl full of melted chocolate, which she dipped her pre-washed strawberries into. She then put them in the fridge (your standard fridge), on a piece of parchment (the kind you buy in your neighborhood store), until the chocolate hardened -- and viola they were ready to eat(no magic needed). Her chocolate covered strawberries won’t win any awards, but who is looking for international acclaim at 3:00 in the morning.

My act of boredom was less creative, but required more work--I made chocolate chip cookies. I find there is really no need to buy instant dough, because chocolate chip cookie batter take about a 10 minutes to prepare, and 10 minutes to bake. First I had a bowl of wet ingredients: 1 cup butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, ¾ cup white sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and blended. When that was all gooey, I added two eggs—mixing in one egg at a time-- until the dough seemed a bit ‘liquidy’. In another bowl I put together 2 ¼ cups flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of baking powder and mixed it all together. Then I slowly added the dry ingredients to the wet and blended everything together. Once my dough was done a stirred in the chips and scooped the mixture onto the baking sheet and baked at 375 degrees. After about three Stevie Wonder songs or ten minutes (which ever way you prefer to gauge it), I had my cookies, sans a whole bunch of additives and preservative. I guess it would have been easier to go and buy the cookies, but nothing is better at 3:00am than warm cookies and cocoa.

*ms b.