Cooking Rut

Cardamom Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Delicate and buttery cookies. Perfect with tea or coffee.

Related to ginger and used in Indian cuisine, cardamom boasts a lot of flavor, especially if you use freshly ground. It's an ancient spice that's been used to aid digestion (like ginger) and stimulate metabolism.

This is one of the spices the students used last week. A great way to discover the goodness of cardamom is to use it in baking. I found a cardamom cookie recipe at Land O'Lakes website and made some minor changes like increasing the amount of cardamom and increasing the baking time.

Cardamom Cookies

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 cups flour

1 cup powdered sugar

Melt butter in saute pan over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring constantly and watching closely, until butter just starts to turn golden brown (3 to 5 minutes). (Butter will get foamy and bubble.) Immediately remove from heat. Pour into bowl; refrigerate until cooled (30 minutes).

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine cooled browned butter and sugar in large bowl; beat at medium speed until well mixed. Add egg yolk, vanilla and cardamom; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour, until mixture is no longer crumbly and forms a dough.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cookies puff and start to turn light golden brown. (Cookies will have cracks in them.)

Immediately remove from cookie sheets. Cool 1 minute. Roll cookies in powdered sugar while warm and again when completely cooled. Store between sheets of waxed paper in loosely covered container.

Chinese 5-Spice Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Need a new noodle recipe? How about one using Chinese Five Spice powder? This dish is great hot or cold.

This recipe was adapted from Serious Eats. We substituted soba noodles for the cellophane. The dish was also made with udon noodles. You probably get away with using vermicelli or angel hair pasta, too.

This recipe was made in class. The students cooked with a variety of spices, including coriander, cardamon, allspice, and Chinese 5-spice. More spice recipes will show up over the next week. We had some delicious eats in lab and will share the goodness with y'all.

Chinese 5-Spice Noodles

1 package soba or udon noodles
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons chili paste
4 cloves garlic garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
3 teaspoons five-spice powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup vegetable stock
1 large bunch broccoli, stems removed and chopped
3 carrots, shredded
1 cup shredded green cabbage
3 scallions, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook noodles according to package directions. Toss with a little vegetable oil and set aside.

Mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, ginger, and five-spice powder in a small bowl.

Place a large wok or saute pan over high heat. Pour in the oil, and then add the onion. Cook, stirring often until translucent, about 3 minutes. Toss in the garlic and cook for another minute. Then add the broccoli, carrots, cabbage, stock, and the soy sauce mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender.

Toss in the scallions and noodles. Stir well, and cook until the noodles are coated in the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Growing Herbs in Unlikely Containers

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:38:00 +0000

My mom was an avid gardener. She liked using different planting mediums for herbs and flowers. I remember her using old boots for planting flowers and she even used an old red wagon. It made the garden look more dynamic and interesting and people always commented on the beautiful flowers growing out of old pieces of "junk."

Chives growing in a Soup Tureen

The moral of this little story is to illustrate that you can use any "pot" to grow herbs in. I have a student assistant for my culinary class who was assigned a project of growing herbs in the lab throughout the semester. She picked the planting vessels and the herbs and what we have is an array of different "pots" for our herb garden. We could have gone to the plant store and picked out wooden boxes but that would have been too status quo or boring.

In order to use different planting vessels, especially ones without drain holes in the bottom, you need to place a layer of rocks or charcoal in the bottom to allow for some sort of drainage.

The herbs are planted from seed, so I will provide updates on our herb garden as the semester progresses. We're hoping that my students can use the herbs towards for their final project.

Teapot .. perfect for Mint

It's not sugar, it's basil growing in there.

Busy little beaver

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Have you ever asked yourself, "How did I get here and where am I going?"

I've been wondering that a lot lately as I get started in a new semester for school. Along with taking 3 classes, I am teaching a culinary fundamentals lab. The next 15 weeks will be busy. Really flippin busy. That's ok, though. I think.

I realized something over winter break when I had about 3 1/2 weeks off to sit around the house. I realized that I get bored when I have nothing to do. Bored. So bored, in fact, that I watched all 4 seasons of Mad Men just so I can be ready for the 5th season that airs in March. I like Mad Men and Don Draper but I'm glad I didn't live back then. It made me wonder about my own parents and grandparents who did - women took care of the men, phones had dials, and the sound of tapping on typewriters filled the air. I wonder, though ... did ad execs really drink and smoke that much? That's a whole lotta whiskey to drink each day. Geez. Their poor livers. Anyhoo... so it's probably a good thing I am busy because I'd probably re-watch all 6 seasons of Lost.

But you may have noticed that I kind of neglected the blog just a tad. Mad Men was that engrossing. That's only partly true. I spent a good portion of my time preparing for my culinary class, gathering and writing recipes and re-writing lab procedures. I wanted to have most of it done because I knew the semester would be nuts.

There are several "new" recipes that I found or wrote for the class that will be added to the blog over the next few months.

Until next time... happy cooking!

Double Zero Flour

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

I love baking... have I mentioned that? Well, I do. Actually, I love baking bread over anything else. It's an amazing experience to spend a half day mixing, kneading, proofing, shaping, and baking a loaf of bread. At least I think so. I sure there are folks out there who think I'm nuts. (I am a little nutty. On certain days.)

But with my busy life (and it's getting even busier right now ... more on that in my next post), I don't have time to bake bread as often as I want. However, I still make time for pizza night (homemade pizza... not Dijiornos) at least once a month. My kids almost demand pizza night. They would probably go on strike if I forgot to make pizza.

Normally I make the crust with white whole wheat flour (Prairie Gold from Wheat Montana). It makes a nice chewy crust. But I decided to change things up and use double zero flour from Italy. It's the preferred flour for pizza bakers in Italy. It has a lower protein content (about 8%) compared to the whole wheat flour. Lower protein content means the flour is softer and will produce a more delicate crust with slightly less gluten than if using bread flour or whole wheat flour. I was really impressed with the flour. The kids didn't notice the difference but I did. The dough turned out perfect and it made a beautiful crust, both crispy and chewy.

You can find 00 flour at Amazon. It's a little expensive but if you make homemade pizza, you won't be disappointed. I plan on using this flour again in the future to make pizza and pasta.

Honey Olive Oil Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:05:00 +0000

Honey and Olive oil ... together in a cake. This is a great, simple cake. I used extra virgin olive oil because of the fruitiness but if you want a milder flavor, choose regular olive oil.

I adapted this recipe from one posted here: http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/43101/

Honey Olive Oil Cake

3/4 cup walnut halves and pieces 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
 2 teaspoons baking powder 
1/8 teaspoon salt 
3 large eggs, room temperature 
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons honey, divided 
1/3 cup sugar 
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 
2 cups frozen mixed berries
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
 Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
 Sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan.

Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet. Toast in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and dump toasted walnuts onto a clean kitchen towel. Use the towel to vigorously rub the walnuts, removing as much of the tannic, papery membrane as possible. Turn the nuts into a sieve and shake to remove some of the remaining membrane. It’s OK if there is still some membrane attached to the nuts. Transfer the nuts to a food processor and chop fine.

Increase oven heat to 350ºF.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Repeat the sifting two more times. In a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, beat the eggs on high speed until light in color, about 2 minutes. Gradually drizzle in 1/3 cup honey. Gradually add sugar. Beat until mixture is pale and thick, about 4 minutes longer. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the olive oil and vanilla. Remove the bowl from the stand.

Using a rubber spatula, lightly fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture in 3 batches. Fold the chopped walnuts into the batter. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth the surface.

Bake the cake just until the top springs back when lightly touched and a wooden pick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. It will take about 25 minutes. Be careful not to leave the cake in the oven too long. It will become dry. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Combine frozen berries, remaining 3 tablespoons honey, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring up to a boil and cook until the berries begin to break down, about 10 minutes. Add the cornstarch and water slurry. Stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Can be served warm with the cake.

Place the cake on a serving plate and dust the top lightly with confectioners’ sugar. Cut cake into slices with a serrated knife. Serve topped with Honeyed Mixed Berries and a puff of sweetened whipped cream.

Pear Walnut Goat Cheese Crostata

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:38:00 +0000

A crostata is a rustic Italian pie. This version is a little more savory than sweet. It's perfect for those who want dessert but don't have much of a sweet tooth.

I made this with a whole wheat crust, but any crust will do, even store-bought. It's just a regular pie pastry.

Pear Walnut Goat Cheese Crostata

1 pie pastry that has been properly chilled

2 tablespoons butter

4 Bosc pears, peeled (optional), cored, sliced

1/2 cup honey

Juice of 1 orange

Zest of 1 orange

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

2-3 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled

Egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water)

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

In a saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the pears, honey, orange zest, orange juice, and lemon zest. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the walnuts. Turn off the heat. Add the goat cheese. Toss to combine all ingredients.

Roll pie pastry into a 12-13 inch circle. Place the pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spoon filling in the center of the pastry, leaving about a 2-inch border. Pour sauce from the pan on the fruit. Gently fold up the sides of the pastry to partially enclose the filling. Brush the pastry with egg wash. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve with citrus whipped cream (see below).

Citrus Whipped Cream

1/2 cup cream

Juice of 1/2 orange (about 1-2 tablespoons)

2-3 tablespoons honey

Mix the orange juice and honey. Whip the cream to soft peaks. Add the orange juice/honey mixture. Whip the cream a little more. It won't be like traditional whipped cream... it will be a little runnier. That's ok. You're really going for flavor here.

Coconut Coffee Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:50:00 +0000

Moist, delicious coffee cake. Don't forget the coffee, on the side of course.

A couple years ago, I posted my Grandma T's coffee cake recipe. It's a simple coffee cake, using boxed yellow cake mix and instant pudding. That's fine and all, but I wanted to see if I could make it from scratch.

I tried to match that cake, although my version is not as yellow. That's ok, though. It's just as moist as the original. I'm sure Grandma T and the family would be proud.

Coconut Coffee Cake

1 pound butter

1 ½ cups sugar

3 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ½ cups cake flour (or half cake flour and AP flour)

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

½ cup flaked coconut (sweetened is fine) – finely ground

Topping:

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter either a bundt pan or a standard 13x9 rectangle pan. Either one will work.

Whip together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the yolks. Mix well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add the flour and sour cream, mixing well between each addition and start and end with the flour. The cake batter will be thick.

In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon.

Pour half of the batter into the pan. Sprinkle with half of the walnut mixture. Pour the rest of batter on top and carefully smooth it out. Sprinkle the rest of the walnut mixture on top.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. If you baked it in a bundt pan, make a quick glaze with powdered sugar and milk.

Apple Cherry Pie with Walnut Crumb Topping

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:21:00 +0000

Looking for a holiday dessert? Try this one... apples and cherries married with a hint of orange.

I wish I had a photo of this pie, but it was eaten before a photo could be taken. This will make a great dessert for Christmas but it could be enjoyed anytime throughout the year.

Apple Cherry Pie with Walnut Crumb Topping

1 pie crust, either homemade or storebought (I won't tell)

5-6 medium size apples -- Honeycrisp, Gala, Jonagold, or Braeburn (or a combination of these), cored, peeled and sliced
¼ cup honey

½ cup dried cherries

Juice and zest of one orange (about 2 tablespoons juice and about 1 tablespoon zest)

2 tablespoons flour

Pinch of Kosher or Sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Walnut Crumb topping:

1 cup walnuts

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

3/4 cup flour

Pinch of Kosher salt

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Roll the pie crust out on a floured surface to about a 12 or 13 inch round. Transfer to a 9 or 10 inch pie plate. Tuck in the sides and flute the edges (make them decorative and pretty). Place in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

In a large bowl, combine the apples and cherries. Warm the honey for about 5 seconds in the microwave. Mix the honey, orange juice, and orange zest and add to the apples. Mix well. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Mix well. Pour filling into the pie crust. Bake for 35 minutes.

Make the crumb topping by combining the nuts, sugar, brown sugar, flour and salt together in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until crumbly (medium size crumbs). Add the butter and pulse until the butter is somewhat incorporated (not smooth... still crumbly, just smaller crumbs). Refrigerate until ready to use.

Add the crumb topping to the pie after it has baked for 35 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375ºF and continue baking the pie for another 30 minutes or so.

Allow the pie to cool for 1 hour before serving. Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Candy Cane Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:16:00 +0000

Perfect for Christmas... Festive and delicious.

I love this sugar cookie dough recipe. I used it for Halloween Pinwheels, for Christmas pinwheels, and now for candy cane cookies. The recipe is adapted from Alton Brown.

Candy Cane Cookies

Sugar Cookie dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Beat butter and sugar together until light in color. Add egg and cream and beat until combined. Gradually add flour on low speed and beat mixture until flour is incorporated. Divide dough in half, wrap in wax paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Make the candy canes:

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

1 half of the dough -- color with red food coloring. The gel food colors work the best but any food color will work. Add as much as you want to make a lovely red color.

Other half -- mix in a 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract and 1 egg yolk

Take a ball, about the size of a walnut, of each color and roll out into a 4-6 inch log. Twist the two pieces and curve at the top to make it look like a candy cane. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or so or until lightly golden brown (not too brown... just lightly colored brown).

Remove from the sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Canned Bread? Yum.

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:17:00 +0000

"I don't want to be your guinea pig."

"Oh, come on. We need to try it. Just one time. Do it for me."

"Fine. One time."

This was the conversation between my husband and I as we stood in the grocery store looking at a can of brown bread. He wasn't as enthused about it as I was. I was very excited to see it on the shelf. I even told the checkout clerk about it. The guy just kind of looked at me like I was a little deranged. He was probably thinking to himself, "this chick is a little too excited about canned bread."

I had seen this product a few months before and even told my friends about it. They didn't believe me. Bread in a can? Are you serious? Yep. Very serious. I kid you not.

If you look closely, it says "New England's Finest."
Thanks, New England.

Instead of telling people about how weird it was, I decided that we need to try it. During our weekly trip to the store, I plunked down $2.49 for B & M's Brown Bread. We took it home, placed it on the counter, and looked at it. It sat there until my husband and I had the courage to actually eat it. Buying it is one thing. Actually tasting it, is another.

The ingredient list is not as long as you would expect. It might even fit into Michael Pollan's Food Rules... only consume processed food that has less than 5 ingredients. There are loaves of sliced bread that have longer ingredient lists. This bread was mostly wheat, wheat products, and molasses.

Later on that day, my husband sat at the kitchen counter and placed the can of bread in front of him. "Let's do this thing." I got out the can opener. We followed the instructions on the can -- open both ends and push it out with a spoon. Easier said than done. We had to loosen the sides with a knife and then bread came out onto the cutting board in a nice cylinder shape. You could even see the grooves on the bread from the can. That was a little disconcerting.

I sliced a few pieces. I took a tiny bite, with a slight cringe on my face. My husband took a big bite, surprisingly enough. He served in the military long ago, so he's probably had worse things than this.

The verdict: It wasn't the worse thing I've had but it wasn't good either. It was bland. The molasses gave it the distinct brown color and a slight sweetness. Because of the sugars, a slice had double the calories than a slice of the whole wheat bread we normally eat. It was just kind of ... blah. Maybe if we heated it up in the oven, like the package suggested or even toasted it, then it might have been a little more interesting.

If you look in the supermarket, you may find weird things on the self. Canned potatoes are another thing I'm a little curious about. A friend tried them recently and was less than pleased with the results. Canned potatoes? Just doesn't seem right.

Neither does canned bread.

J&M's Bourbon BBQ Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Perfect for all your BBQ needs -- from ribs to chicken.

My husband helped me develop this recipe. It will make a great gift for relatives. Just follow a basic canning process: cover jars by about 2 inches with water; boil jars for 30 minutes.

Sorry, no photos. And... most of the recipes posted this week won't have photos either. It's finals week and I haven't had time to take any pictures.

J&M's Bourbon BBQ Sauce

Makes 1 quart

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion, diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced small

2 cups ketchup

1/4 cup coffee

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon ground ancho chili powder

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

2 ounces (2 shots) bourbon

1 tablespoon molasses

salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Saute the onions, garlic, and jalapeno for 5-6 minutes until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. Puree the sauce if you want it smooth.

Keeps for about a week in the fridge. Use it on ribs, chicken, or any other BBQ recipe.

Just Label It!

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

I didn't mean to take a 2 week break from the blog, but a bad cold forced me to slow down a little bit. I have tasty recipes to share next week (bourbon BBQ sauce is first up).

Ok, moving on... So, if you don't know already, I am in the masters program at Montana State University studying Sustainable Food Systems. The topic of sustainable food covers a wide range of issues, including genetically engineered foods. GE foods are found in many products (almost all processed foods) in grocery stores.

If you are unaware of what GE foods are, please check out these resources:

USDA

Scientific American - what, how, and why about GE foods

Center for Food Safety

Currently, the US does not label food packages to let consumers know if it contains GE foods. If you feel this should change (because, honestly, you have the right to know what is in your food), then sign this petition: http://justlabelit.org/takeaction

Thanksgiving ideas...

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:18:00 +0000

So, now the race is on. Turkey day is right around the corner. Are you ready? What are you serving? Is your home clean?

As usual, I'm doing things a little differently this year. Sure, we're having turkey, but it will be a stuffed turkey breast. Instead of mashed potatoes, I'm making polenta. The gravy will be a wild mushroom sauce. My daughter requested stuffing, so I'll be sure that shows up on the table. And we won't have any pie... no pie? I know, I know. Should I rescind my US citizenship? But my kids are not big fans of pie. They are cake eaters. We're having cake for dessert.

Even though I'm not cooking a traditional T-Day dinner, I realize that other people will. Here are some recipes and tips from the blog and around the web. Oh and if you have a frozen turkey... better get that in the refrigerator now so it can thaw by Thursday.

Recipe ideas:

Brined Turkey

Mole sauce (instead of gravy)

Cauliflower with Goat Cheese Sauce

Acorn Squash Puree

Beet and Leek Gratin

Celery Root Puree

Roasted Parsnip Puree

Pumpkin Pie

Pear and Raspberry Pie

Pear and Walnut Tart

Apple Pie

Tip for perfect mashed potatoes:

This comes from America's Test Kitchen on PBS. For perfect whipped potatoes, don't boil the potatoes, but steam them. Then whip the potatoes with warmed whole milk and butter. They used regular russet potatoes but yukon gold also make delicious potatoes.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Spicy Yellow Split Pea Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:36:00 +0000

Perfect soup for a cold winter day.

Yellow split peas are a sweeter version of green split peas, but they are just as nutritious. I noticed that these split peas didn't get as mushy as the green ones and still had some texture, which I like.

This recipe is also vegetarian, so it can be served on Meatless Mondays or Ton of Veg Tuesdays if you are looking to have more vegetarian meals during the week.

Spicy Yellow Split Pea Soup

Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large carrot, diced small

1 white onion, diced small

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large russet potato, peeled and diced small

2 cups yellow split peas

8 cups vegetable stock (or a mix of stock and water)

about 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

about 1 teaspoon ground ancho pepper

about 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, and garlic. Saute for 5-6 minutes or until soft. Season with salt, pepper, and the spices. Add the potato and split peas and toss well with the vegetables. Add the stock. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the peas are tender (might take longer than you think... mine took 45 minutes but I live at 5000 ft above sea level). Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.

Walnut Beet Cake with White Chocolate Frosting

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:21:00 +0000

This is the photo you get when you're in a hurry before the kids
eat all the cake.

Beets! In a cake! Oh my! You may be surprised at how well this actually works. Kids may even eat it. Just don't tell them the ingredients. Shhhhh...

So, I'm not the biggest fan of beets. I've tried to like them. Really, I've tried. I like them smothered with goat cheese and garlic, which helps mask the flavor.

But now I like them in cake. Chocolate cake, that is.

My first foray with beet cake came when a friend made Chocolate Beet Cupcakes. People around us devoured these cupcakes. She gave me the recipe and I adapted it to post here. I have a couple of tips about beets before we get started.

First, the recipe says to use 5 medium beets. If you can, try to find 6-8 small beets (or even 10 baby beets). The smaller the beet, the sweeter it will be. Also, I boiled the beets, but you may want to try roasting them. Roasting vegetables tends to wake up the sugars more. I would brush them with a little canola oil and either quarter them or roast them whole until tender.

Walnut Beet Cake with White Chocolate Frosting

5 medium beets (or enough for 2 cups pureed beets)
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup raw sugar (or regular sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or for a lighter cake, use whole wheat pastry flour)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup walnuts, lightly toasted and finely ground
1/2 teaspoon of salt
White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (see below)

Trim stems and roots from beets. Quarter and place in a large saucepan filled with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 50 minutes, or until beets are tender. Drain liquid and remove skin while wearing gloves. The gloves protect your hands from turning red and from the heat of the beets. Place beets in a food processor and process until beets are pureed. Reserve 2 cups puree.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and beet puree.

In a separate bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir into the beet batter until well combined. Stir in the walnuts. Pour batter into prepared baking pan(s) and bake for 40-50 minutes (longer for the 10-inch cake) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces white chocolate, melted
about 4 cups powdered sugar
about 2 tablespoons cream

Mix together the butter and chocolate. With a mixer, add the sugar and cream until desired frosting consistency (not too thick, not too thin).

Vegetarian Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

This is a "stick to your ribs" type of chili that will convert any meat-eater. Ok, maybe not but it serves as a great meal for that Meatless Monday meal or Sans meat Sunday.

Barley is the key to making this chili thick and rich. I just used regular pearl barley. You can experiment with other types of barley or grains.

Vegetarian Chili

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 small red pepper, diced

1 small green pepper, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 chili peppers, diced - serrano, jalapeno, or banana peppers -- whatever you like (remember, the smaller the chili pepper, the hotter it is)

1 cup pearl barley, rinsed

4 cups vegetable stock

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed

1 tablespoon chili powder (or more... depending on your tastes)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground ancho chili powder

about 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Kosher salt, to taste

Heat olive oil in a stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, peppers, celery, garlic, and chili peppers. Saute for 5-8 minutes or until soft. Season lightly with the salt and pepper. Stir in the barley. Pour in the vegetable stock and crushed tomatoes. Add the spices and season with a little more salt. Reduce heat to medium low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Add the black and kidney beans. Adjust seasonings to taste. Simmer for another 20 minutes or so.

Serve with typical chili toppings.

Whole Wheat Waffles

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Everyone loves a good waffle every now and then.

Many times, we overlook the most important meal of the day -- breakfast. Breakfast is probably the meal my kids love the most and it's an easy way to bring the family together on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Proponents of the slow food movement look for ways to have more family meals and often focus on dinner. Dinner is fine... but breakfast might be a great choice, too. Of course, you can serve breakfast for dinner -- Brinner.

If you are looking for an easy, healthy waffle recipe, look no further. My son just eats these plain as snack food, but most of us will enjoy them even more if topped with maple syrup (the real deal... not the HFCS stuff).

Whole Wheat Waffles

3 eggs
1 cup milk (non-fat or low fat works well)
1/2 cup melted butter OR canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons honey

2 cups whole wheat flour (if can find it, use the white whole wheat flour -- much softer grain -- look for King Arthur Flour or if you are lucky and live in Montana, look for Wheat Montana)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Warm the milk slightly and stir in the honey. Add the milk/honey, butter, and vanilla to the eggs. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.

Bake according to your waffle iron directions.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower with Sage in a Goat Cheese Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:48:00 +0000

This will make a great addition to the Thanksgiving table. A new version of cauliflower and cheese sauce.

Before I begin, I need to apologize for my lack of posts lately. I've been incredibly busy with life - school, work, and home. Things are starting to wind down for the semester, so I have little bit more time to write and think up cool new recipes.

On Saturday, we had a delicious family meal... Roast chicken, smashed potatoes, sugar snap peas, and cauliflower. I couldn't pass up a head of cauliflower at the store yesterday, so I decided to dress it up a little bit.

Cauliflower with Sage in a Goat Cheese Sauce

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon sage leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup flour

2 cups whole milk

6 oz goat cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

In a saute pan (that has a lid), heat the olive oil, garlic, sage, and red pepper flakes over medium heat. Saute until the garlic is lightly brown, about 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower. Reduce heat to medium low. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes, or until fork tender. This is a combination of a saute/steam for the cauliflower. Every so often, move the cauliflower around, so it browns on all sides.

Remove the cauliflower from the pan and place in your serving dish (it's ok if some of the sage and garlic remain in the pan -- it will end up in the sauce). Return the pan to the stove, over medium heat. Add the butter... allow to melt. Add the flour to make a roux. Stir and cook the roux for 1 minute. Slowly add the milk while whisking to remove any lumps. Reduce the heat to medium low. After all the milk is added and the sauce is thick, add the goat cheese. Whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower and serve.

Perfect with Thanksgiving turkey.

Cream of Tomato Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:30:00 +0000

I decided to use up the rest of my tomatoes by making a hearty bowl of cream of tomato soup. My daughter, with a phobia of vegetables, even ate a bowl. Kid tested. Mother approved.

In the soup, I chose to leave the seeds in the soup. You can certainly dice the tomatoes and take out the seeds but I was in a bit of a rush, so I just hand crushed the tomatoes.

Use the freshest tomatoes you can find -- heirloom, roma, or any tomatoes you can find.

Cream of Tomato Soup

Serves 4

2-3 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled (instructions below)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

about 2 cups vegetable stock

Kosher or sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

about a 1/2 cup half and half

Peel the tomatoes:

Cut out the stem/core at the top of the tomato. Cut a small "X" in to the bottom of the tomato. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Boil the tomatoes for 30 seconds and then place in an ice bath. The skins should come right off, especially if the tomatoes are super ripe and fresh.

Make the soup:

Either dice up and remove the seeds from the tomatoes or just crush them by hand. In a saucepot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add the tomato paste. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed or diced tomatoes and the stock. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for 30 minutes or so. Puree the soup using a food processor, blender, or stick blender. Return to the heat and add the half and half. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Serve with croutons or crusty bread.

Go to sleep, little garden

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:22:00 +0000

It's that time of year when it's time for the garden to be put to rest for the winter. If you are resourceful and have time, you can extend the growing season. However, for most of us, we need to put our gardens to rest before another cold winter sets in.

I cleaned up my garden last weekend and picked another crop of semi-red tomatoes (most were green) and I found 4 more zucchinis. With the tomatoes, I am making Tomato Bisque (recipe coming soon) and the zucchini will probably show up in stir fry this weekend.

So... how do you put a garden to sleep? There are many tips and suggestions at Mother Earth News. The Compost Guru has great tips for composting over the winter.

But basically, all you need to do is pick whatever vegetables are left and either pull the plants out or till them back into the soil. You can compost the vegetation, if you don't till it in. After I cleaned all the plants out of the soil, I couldn't help but notice just how lonely and bare the garden looked. I had to remind myself that it will once again be full of vegetation next summer.

A helpful video of how to put a garden to bed for the winter. For more helpful gardening videos, visit http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_2329263_prepare-garden-beds-winter.html

How to Prepare Garden Beds for Winter -- powered by ehow

Coconut Granola Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:27:00 +0000

This is an awesome recipe from the New York Times. I didn't make any changes to it but wanted to share it with y'all. If you are looking for a great snack and are tired of the store bought varieties of granola bars, check these out. Easy to prepare and delicious.

To make these vegan, substitute agave nectar for the honey.

Coconut Granola Bars

1/4 cup canola oil, plus additional for the pan and for your hands

7 ounces (2 cups) rolled oats

1 1/2 ounces (1 heaped cup) flaked coconut

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

1/2 cup mild honey, like clover

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 ounces (1 cup) lightly toasted nuts, like almonds and pecans, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the oats in a bowl and toss with the oil until thoroughly coated. Line a baking sheet or pan with parchment and spread the oats in an even layer on the parchment. Place in the oven and toast for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the grains are lightly toasted. They should have darkened slightly and should smell toasty. Remove from the oven, return to the bowl, and add the coconut, spices, salt and nuts. Stir together. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees.

2. Place the honey and vanilla in a saucepan or container that can accommodate at least three times the volume of the honey, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour over the oat mixture. Stir until the oat mixture is evenly coated with honey.

3. Oil a 9-by-13-by-2-inch pan and line with parchment. Oil the parchment. Scrape the granola mixture into the pan and spread in an even layer. Place in the oven for 25 minutes, until just golden. Do not allow to become too brown, or the bars will be too hard. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely, then cut into 2-inch squares. Some of the mixture may crumble when you do this, but crumbles are tasty little morsels! Store in a tin or container.

Yield: 20 pieces

Waste not, want not

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:22:00 +0000

My refrigerator... And yes, there's Pepto in
the door.

How much food do you waste? Think about it for a second. What's in your refrigerator? How often do you clean out the fridge and throw out "expired" food or produce that looks a little less than perfect (ok, mushy or moldy)? Are you saving leftovers? Are you eating leftovers?

Alright, I'm done with the interrogation. You can relax. I recently read a book called American Wasteland about food waste in America. The book covers all aspects of food waste from grocery stores to homes to farms (yes, farms... lots and lots of food waste on farms). While most of us are not able to make changes in supermarkets or on farms to reduce food waste, we can certainly make changes in our own homes. Americans produce 4.5 pounds of trash each day and most of it in the home comes from the kitchen. All those food scraps buried in landfills create methane (everyone now, "ew"). Not only are you throwing away food, you are throwing away actual money. So... to save money, throw less out.

But how?

Take an inventory of your refrigerator and pantry. Here's a photo of my fridge. It's kind of sparse. We've been accustomed to having small refrigerators and I rarely ever use the drawers in the fridge. Drawers are "out of sight, out of mind" for me. Veggies get forgotten and end up rotting in the drawers. I have a veggie basket and a meat dish on the shelves.

Leftovers. Save them. Eat them. Freeze them if they won't get eaten and then remember to eat the frozen leftovers within 6 months.

Multipurpose food. Get a little creative here. Roast chicken, a meal at least once a month in my house, can be used the next day for stock, soup, chicken salad, casserole, enchiladas, BBQ chicken sandwiches, shredded chicken sandwiches, chili, or whatever else you use cooked chicken in. Freeze the stock if not using right away. Utilize these types of multipurpose foods... proteins can be used in a variety of ways the next day.

Store veggies and produce to minimize waste. Wrap celery and carrots in foil and they will last longer. Leave tomatoes on the counter. Put onions and potatoes in a bin or basket. For salad... place a papertowel in the salad bag to draw moisture off the leaves and onto the papertowel. Check out this stie for a comprehensive list of storage tips: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/dg1424.html

Plan meals ahead. This takes time to sit down and right down the "what's for dinner" list, but it's worth it. Even if it's only for 3 dinners at a time, planning ahead slightly will help out tremendously.

Shop with a list (don't forget it) and try using cash to buy groceries, instead of a credit or debit card. This will keep you from making impulse buys and buying too much. Just buy what you need. Oh and eat before you go. Don't shop hungry.

Make an effort to "cook from the pantry or freezer" to use up what you've already purchased. Do you have lentils sitting in the back of the cupboard waiting to be used? Well, it's time to use those up.

Compost food scraps if you can. http://www.composting101.com/

Teach your kids to only put on their plates what they can eat. This is a good way to teach portion control and the feeling of fullness.

Remember the basics of food sanitation (I'm taking my Servsafe test on Thursday, so this is fresh in my head) -- use leftovers within 7 days. Got that? You have 7 days before things start really going bad. Also, pay attention to "use by" dates. "Sell by" dates are for the supermarket, not for you.

Being aware of your own food waste is one step forward. Most of the time I feel pretty good about my own food waste but there are days when I'm throwing out old leftovers or forgetting to compost my food scraps. There will always been some sort of food waste but reducing the amount helps keep methane emissions down in the landfill and might even save you some money.

Acorn Squash Puree

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:48:00 +0000

You can use any winter squash for this recipe.

It's that time of year when funky looking winter squash show up in the grocery stores or at farmer's markets. Recently, I made my favorite dinner -- roast chicken and instead of having mashed potatoes, I decided to go with a puree of acorn squash. It's quite simple and can be easily made into a gratin. I'll you those instructions, too. The ingredient list is rather slim in order to highlight the flavor of the squash.

Acorn Squash Puree

Serves 4

1 large acorn squash, halved and seeds discarded

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 tablespoons butter, slightly softened

2-3 tablespoons goat cheese (use a flavored goat cheese if you can find it... if not use regular goat cheese but add a little spice and/or herbs to the puree)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

*Gratin Version:

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup panko or regular bread crumbs

1-2 tablespoon olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Place the halved/seeded acorn squash on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Bake until the flesh is tender, 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

Scoop the flesh out and put into a food processor. Add the garlic, butter, and goat cheese. Process until smooth and creamy. Season well with salt and pepper.

At this point, you have 2 choices for the puree. You can serve it as is, which is delicious. Or, you can make a gratin. To do the gratin, pour the puree into a gratin dish. Top with parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake in a 350ºF oven for 15 minutes or until the topping is lightly golden brown. Serve.

Enjoy!!

Tomato Row

noreply@blogger.com (Marcy) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:42:00 +0000

Yes, I know what month it is. July, right?

Ok. So, it isn't July. It's October and I have a bunch of tomatoes to use. I even have green ones to use because this is Montana and it takes a long time for tomatoes to ripen. And that's why I'm writing about tomatoes in October and not July or August.

Before the frost settles in, I went ahead and picked the best green tomatoes off the vine. Hey, I feel like industrial tomato grower... picking green tomatoes and then then ripening them off the vine, except I won't put them on a truck, blast them with ethylene, and ship them thousands of miles. Instead, tomatoes can be ripen at home in a cardboard box or paper bag. Stick a banana in with the tomatoes and they'll ripen even faster.

Now that tomatoes are ripened, it's time to make a fresh tomato sauce. It's simple ... very simple and you'll wonder why (oh why) you never did this before.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced small

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small bell pepper, diced small (optional)

4-5 ripe tomatoes, diced*

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Splash of white OR red wine

2-3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

*You can leave the peel on OR you can peel the tomatoes by marking an "X" on the bottom of the tomato. Bring a pot of water to a boil and place the tomato in the water for 30 seconds. Place the tomato in ice cold water to cool it down and then peel off the skin. Now it's ready to use.

In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes to soften. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of white wine (or red wine... for a deeper flavor). Simmer for 10-15 minutes for flavors to develop and for the tomatoes to break down. Adjust seasonings. Add the basil at the end of the cooking process.

Toss in pasta or serve with fried calamari (fried squid)... delicious!