So Mister and I haven't really been eating much at home (as per usual...) but what we have made has been fun!
For Superbowl Sunday, during the halftime show, we made onion strings and fried kasseri cheese using the same breading. As my one Calphalon pan started smelling and spluttering while we were heating the oil, I pulled out my wok for this one. Man it's been awhile since the wok and I were friends!
I learned today that my new favorite quesadilla is: cheddar, spinach and sour cream on the side. OMG delicious. It reminded me quite a bit of fried pierogi.
We've had thawing since last Thursday stewing venison that we got from my dad this Christmas (I love that my dad now hunts!), so venison stew needed to be made. We based it off of a sausage soup that we'd made recently, which Mister apparently based off of goulash? Any way, it involved frying onions in olive oil and bacon fat (venison is very lean, so needs fat added), browning the meat (which was prechopped to a decent size! I didn't expect that), deglazing the pan with a splash of brandy, adding beef stock, carrots, potatoes and spices: bay, salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, cumin, coriander (for those not in the US, this is the seeds, not the leaves), tarragon and cayenne. I let it cook down for about 4 hours, adding in two other batches of potatoes, so that the finished dish was quite thick from disintegrated potato but still had potato pieces. Oh it was delicious. I served it with crescent rolls from my freezer.
I also made veggie stock today! I pulled out two bags of frozen veg bits from the freezer, one was all potato peels (from Thanksgiving) and one was celery, onion, carrot, parsnips, and a handful of other things. I'm too lazy to go see what I wrote down on the bag. :-P I added that plus a quartered onion and the remains of four heads of lettuce to water and pretty much the same spices as the stew. Oh, and red pepper flakes. I let that cook for about 3 or 4 hours, strained it, and bottled it. It made about 120 oz, split between three 44 oz jars, with enough headroom to let me freeze them. This is super exciting!
Today I also cuddled starter, as she was looking sad in the fridge, and quite deflated. I fed her, and she perked right up sitting next to the simmering soups! She doubled in 4 hours like a healthy starter should, so I started up a proof with a new recipe: I used 1 c. all purpose and 2 c. white whole wheat, a bit of powdered milk, a heaping tablespoon of honey, and about 2 c. filtered water. When I work with it tomorrow morning, I'll just use all purpose flour and probably mix in some dried cranberries. Perhaps I'll also try to add in a cinnamon-sugar swirl when shaping it? I'm so excited to do something beyond a plain sourdough!
Also, for my own benefit, here are some sourdough recipes from sourdoughhome.com
Pizza Crusts
Bagels
Blueberry Muffins <-- I would have made this tonight if I had eggs
Rolls
English Muffins
Kaiser Rolls
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Stocking the Kitchen
Mister and I both like to entertain and feed our friends. I also like to make fun, interesting things that use up what ingredients we have. To that extent, we have three syrups in our fridge, not counting maple. We have Apple Cider Syrup, which we had accidentally left a pot of mulled cider on the stove when we went out, and Mister decided to experiment with syrup. The experiment was a success, and it is a favorite in hot toddies.
Last summer, I had attempted to make a large amount of iced tea to drink, and so had several large jars of sweetened tea-water in my fridge, taking up space and using jars. I reduced it down, steeped more strong black tea (using up some old tea bags that are of dubious nature), added that, spiced it, sweetened as needed, etc, and now have Spiced Tea Syrup.
We now have another syrup as of tonight: Cinnamon-Ginger Simple Syrup. I received a lemon in my stocking at Christmas, and as Mister was feeling unwell this evening, I finally got around to juicing said lemon. I mixed the juice with honey, ginger and hot water and he lounged around trying to feel better. I then removed the outer part of the lemon peel, and boiled it in simple syrup and cinnamon to candy it. It is drying as I type this. But then I had all of this excess syrup! So I added some ginger, and rewarmed it to infuse, strained and bottled.
As mentioned previously, these syrups are quite good in hot toddies (hot water, syrup, whiskey, lemon juice optional). They're also good mixed in hot water for a quick warm drink and you can use them any place where you'd normally use honey (drizzled on scones anyone?), but on the whole I use these for "Feel Better" drinks. There's nothing like a warm mug of something delicious and made with love. If it comes with cookies, it'd probably be better, but we can't have everything!
In an endeavor to use up what we've got, I finally got around to finishing a cordial I started 6/10/11. I steeped lemon balm in 63% rum, strained it in probably September, and mixed it 50/50 with simple syrup tonight. I had a bit of that with ginger ale for a candy-sweet but simple beverage.
As I've mentioned probably many times by now, we have a lot of peeled garlic cloves in our freezer that we got for free when a friend was moving and had to get rid of his food. I decided that tonight was a good night to make garlic soup. With a little help from Mister (who discovered some cheese that had gotten unwrapped), and a few softening potatoes, this became Cheese-y Garlic and Potato Soup. Simple really. Fry a chopped onion in bacon fat. Add a bit of flour and stir to combine. Let this cook a few minutes, stirring, until a slight golden color. Add in one carton of veg. stock (or chicken). Throw in one and a half handfuls of garlic cloves, or approximately one head of garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let this cook until nice and soft. If you're energetic, mash the garlic cloves and reincorporate. Chop a few potatoes and add to the soup. Add a teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce. When the potatoes are about done, slice cheese and add, stirring with each addition so the cheese doesn't clump. Adjust seasonings as needed and serve! This one meal used up: hardening cheese, soft potatoes, a lot of frozen garlic cloves, last carton of veg. stock, an ugly looking onion. And since I pulled two rolls out of the freezer and heated them, I also cleared out a bit more freezer space!
On the schedule for tomorrow: making veg stock with the massive amount of odds n ends in the freezer, clean house. Also go to Wegmans (a.k.a. the best grocery store in the world). Now if only I could learn to incorporate my pantry goods as well as my freezer goods...
Last summer, I had attempted to make a large amount of iced tea to drink, and so had several large jars of sweetened tea-water in my fridge, taking up space and using jars. I reduced it down, steeped more strong black tea (using up some old tea bags that are of dubious nature), added that, spiced it, sweetened as needed, etc, and now have Spiced Tea Syrup.
We now have another syrup as of tonight: Cinnamon-Ginger Simple Syrup. I received a lemon in my stocking at Christmas, and as Mister was feeling unwell this evening, I finally got around to juicing said lemon. I mixed the juice with honey, ginger and hot water and he lounged around trying to feel better. I then removed the outer part of the lemon peel, and boiled it in simple syrup and cinnamon to candy it. It is drying as I type this. But then I had all of this excess syrup! So I added some ginger, and rewarmed it to infuse, strained and bottled.
As mentioned previously, these syrups are quite good in hot toddies (hot water, syrup, whiskey, lemon juice optional). They're also good mixed in hot water for a quick warm drink and you can use them any place where you'd normally use honey (drizzled on scones anyone?), but on the whole I use these for "Feel Better" drinks. There's nothing like a warm mug of something delicious and made with love. If it comes with cookies, it'd probably be better, but we can't have everything!
In an endeavor to use up what we've got, I finally got around to finishing a cordial I started 6/10/11. I steeped lemon balm in 63% rum, strained it in probably September, and mixed it 50/50 with simple syrup tonight. I had a bit of that with ginger ale for a candy-sweet but simple beverage.
As I've mentioned probably many times by now, we have a lot of peeled garlic cloves in our freezer that we got for free when a friend was moving and had to get rid of his food. I decided that tonight was a good night to make garlic soup. With a little help from Mister (who discovered some cheese that had gotten unwrapped), and a few softening potatoes, this became Cheese-y Garlic and Potato Soup. Simple really. Fry a chopped onion in bacon fat. Add a bit of flour and stir to combine. Let this cook a few minutes, stirring, until a slight golden color. Add in one carton of veg. stock (or chicken). Throw in one and a half handfuls of garlic cloves, or approximately one head of garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let this cook until nice and soft. If you're energetic, mash the garlic cloves and reincorporate. Chop a few potatoes and add to the soup. Add a teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce. When the potatoes are about done, slice cheese and add, stirring with each addition so the cheese doesn't clump. Adjust seasonings as needed and serve! This one meal used up: hardening cheese, soft potatoes, a lot of frozen garlic cloves, last carton of veg. stock, an ugly looking onion. And since I pulled two rolls out of the freezer and heated them, I also cleared out a bit more freezer space!
On the schedule for tomorrow: making veg stock with the massive amount of odds n ends in the freezer, clean house. Also go to Wegmans (a.k.a. the best grocery store in the world). Now if only I could learn to incorporate my pantry goods as well as my freezer goods...
Friday, December 9, 2011
Making Ketchup!
I'm trying this recipe. I'll tell you how it goes!
Verdict? Delicious! I made three 8-oz jars and a bit that I ate with oven fries (french fries baked in oil instead of fried in a pan). But because I don't have a blender type object and used crushed tomatoes, I cooked it down longer -- about 2.5-3 hours. Mister is in awe. :-D
Verdict? Delicious! I made three 8-oz jars and a bit that I ate with oven fries (french fries baked in oil instead of fried in a pan). But because I don't have a blender type object and used crushed tomatoes, I cooked it down longer -- about 2.5-3 hours. Mister is in awe. :-D
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving coming up, everyone is posting the most delicious food recipes including myself!
I'll post what I've making to be involved with Thanksgiving for 22 people at a relative's house, and then post the links to what's had me drooling. All of the actual recipes will be at the bottom of the post.
A new recipe for Bourbon/Maple Pecan Pie.
I'm also making a pumpkin pie that my grandmother got out of the newspaper years ago (and still uses the bit of newsprint!). Note, I will be halving this recipe, as it makes two pies.
I will be making two batches of the rolls that my grandma always makes. They're remarkably similar to Parker House Rolls (by which I mean it's probably lifted), but they're called 60-Minute Rolls and came in a little booklet accompanying my grandmother's KitchenAid mixer. These rolls are absolutely delicious, and it wouldn't be a holiday without them. As a side note, when I called my grandma to get this recipe, she spent so long worrying about whether or not I was able to take it all down, if she went too fast, and to make sure to check the bottoms of the rolls as "sometimes the top gets golden but the bottom is all burned".
And Mister will be in charge of making some tasty tasty mashed potatoes with cheese and sage. We'll be doubling this recipe, and not using all of the liquid that it mentions as it gets a bit soupy that way.
Bourbon Maple Pecan Pie
One pie crust
One egg white, beaten [edit: I'm omitting this]
One pound Pecans
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup melted butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup real maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter or salted pecans)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Soak the pecans in the bourbon, stirring periodically. (I usually soak them for a couple hours, if I have the time)
Press pie crust into a pie pan. Coat the crust with a thin layer of the egg whites. This keeps the crust nice and flaky.
Beat the butter, sugar, and eggs together until they get a bit fluffy, it will still be pretty liquidy, but the mixture will be about 75% more volume.
Blend in the vanilla, salt, and maple syrup.
Leaving 1/4 inch from the top of the crust, put the pecans in the pie pan then add the syrup mixture over the pecans.
Cook for 45-60 minutes, keeping an eye on the pie. I’ve had widely varying cooking times with this pie. When most of the top is brown, and it seems pretty gelatinous, it is done. Be careful not to overcook and burn it.
Pumpkin Pie with Streudel Topping
-- 2 6-oz. graham cracker crusts (or use this recipex2)
-- 2 15-oz cans pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
-- 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
-- 2 eggs
-- 2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-- 1 tsp. ginger (powdered)
-- 1 tsp. nutmeg
-- 1 tsp. salt
-- 1/2 c. brown sugar
-- 4 Tbs. flour
-- 4 Tbs. butter (or solid fat of choice)
-- 1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 425F.
Combine pumpkin, milk, egg, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Pour into crust.
Bake 15 mins. Remove pie and reduce heat to 350F.
Combine sugar, flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle over pie.
Bake 40 mins or until a knife comes clean when inserted into the middle.
Parker House Rolls disguised as 60-Minute Rolls
-- 4-5c. flour
-- 3 Tbs. sugar
-- 2 packets active dry yeast (2 1/3 tsp. yeast per packet)
-- 1 c. milk
-- 1/2 c. water
-- 1/4 c. butter
Combine 3 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast in bowl of mixer. Combine milk, water and butter in saucepan. Heat liquids over low heat until war,. ~130F. The butter does not even have to melt through.
On stand mixer, attach dough hook and bowl, and set to speed 2. Gradually add the liquid to dry ingredients. Mix 1 minute longer. Continue on speed 2, adding remaining flour 1/2 c. at a time until dough sticks to hook -- about 5-7 minutes.
Mix 10 minutes longer until dough is smooth and elastic.
Turn dough out into a greased bowl with a greased top. Let rise 15 minutes at 100F. (Note from grandma: she puts it in the oven on warm, but her oven's always warm because it has a pilot light so maybe your oven doesn't have a pilot...)
Turn dough out onto floured board and divide in half. Shape each half of the dough. (Note from grandma: I always make what looks like a crescent roll. I have a long end and short end and I roll them up. But the page has a lot of ways to shape it. I'll send you one because maybe you want it a different shape. I always do it a crescent, because I like the easy one. But I'll send you one.) After shaping, let rise again 15 minutes. (Note from grandma: I put the rolls on the sheet they'll bake on, and put it back in the oven to rise until it doubles. Put a little grease on the sheet before putting the rolls there. I put a sheet of foil over the top. When it doubles it's ready to bake.)
Bake rolls at 425F for 12 minutes or until done (Note from grandma: make sure to check the bottom of the rolls. And I bake them with the foil on, just so they don't get too dark on top. But make sure you check the bottom of the rolls, as sometimes it'll get too dark.)
When rolls are done, remove from tray and cool on a wire rack. (Note from grandma: I put a little butter or margarine on the top when they're done.)
Mashed Potatoes with Sage and White Cheddar Cheese
-- 4 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 1/2 cubes
-- 1/4 c. butter
-- 2 Tbs. + 1 tsp. minced fresh sage
-- 3/4 c. whipping cream
-- 3/4 cup whole milk
-- ~9 oz. coarsely grated sharp white cheddar cheese
Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbs. sage; stir unti butter begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add cream and milk; bring to simmer.
Drain potatoes; return to pot. Stir over medium heat until excess moisture evaporates. Add cream mixture; mash potatoes. Stir in 1 3/4 c. cheese. Season potatoes with salt and pepper. Transfer to buttered 8- to 10- cup baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. cheese and 1 tsp. sage. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with plastic. Chill.)
Preheat oven to 375F. Bake potatoes uncovered until heated through and golden brown, about 45 minutes.
N.B. I'm pretty sure Mister just makes super cheesy potatoes without baking them.
Oat and Linseed Sourdough Bread
Nutmeg/Maple Cream Pie
creamy Maple Apple Pie
Potatoes Romanoff
I'll post what I've making to be involved with Thanksgiving for 22 people at a relative's house, and then post the links to what's had me drooling. All of the actual recipes will be at the bottom of the post.
A new recipe for Bourbon/Maple Pecan Pie.
I'm also making a pumpkin pie that my grandmother got out of the newspaper years ago (and still uses the bit of newsprint!). Note, I will be halving this recipe, as it makes two pies.
I will be making two batches of the rolls that my grandma always makes. They're remarkably similar to Parker House Rolls (by which I mean it's probably lifted), but they're called 60-Minute Rolls and came in a little booklet accompanying my grandmother's KitchenAid mixer. These rolls are absolutely delicious, and it wouldn't be a holiday without them. As a side note, when I called my grandma to get this recipe, she spent so long worrying about whether or not I was able to take it all down, if she went too fast, and to make sure to check the bottoms of the rolls as "sometimes the top gets golden but the bottom is all burned".
And Mister will be in charge of making some tasty tasty mashed potatoes with cheese and sage. We'll be doubling this recipe, and not using all of the liquid that it mentions as it gets a bit soupy that way.
Bourbon Maple Pecan Pie
One pie crust
One egg white, beaten [edit: I'm omitting this]
One pound Pecans
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup melted butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup real maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter or salted pecans)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Soak the pecans in the bourbon, stirring periodically. (I usually soak them for a couple hours, if I have the time)
Press pie crust into a pie pan. Coat the crust with a thin layer of the egg whites. This keeps the crust nice and flaky.
Beat the butter, sugar, and eggs together until they get a bit fluffy, it will still be pretty liquidy, but the mixture will be about 75% more volume.
Blend in the vanilla, salt, and maple syrup.
Leaving 1/4 inch from the top of the crust, put the pecans in the pie pan then add the syrup mixture over the pecans.
Cook for 45-60 minutes, keeping an eye on the pie. I’ve had widely varying cooking times with this pie. When most of the top is brown, and it seems pretty gelatinous, it is done. Be careful not to overcook and burn it.
Pumpkin Pie with Streudel Topping
-- 2 6-oz. graham cracker crusts (or use this recipex2)
-- 2 15-oz cans pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
-- 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
-- 2 eggs
-- 2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-- 1 tsp. ginger (powdered)
-- 1 tsp. nutmeg
-- 1 tsp. salt
-- 1/2 c. brown sugar
-- 4 Tbs. flour
-- 4 Tbs. butter (or solid fat of choice)
-- 1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 425F.
Combine pumpkin, milk, egg, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Pour into crust.
Bake 15 mins. Remove pie and reduce heat to 350F.
Combine sugar, flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle over pie.
Bake 40 mins or until a knife comes clean when inserted into the middle.
Parker House Rolls disguised as 60-Minute Rolls
-- 4-5c. flour
-- 3 Tbs. sugar
-- 2 packets active dry yeast (2 1/3 tsp. yeast per packet)
-- 1 c. milk
-- 1/2 c. water
-- 1/4 c. butter
Combine 3 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast in bowl of mixer. Combine milk, water and butter in saucepan. Heat liquids over low heat until war,. ~130F. The butter does not even have to melt through.
On stand mixer, attach dough hook and bowl, and set to speed 2. Gradually add the liquid to dry ingredients. Mix 1 minute longer. Continue on speed 2, adding remaining flour 1/2 c. at a time until dough sticks to hook -- about 5-7 minutes.
Mix 10 minutes longer until dough is smooth and elastic.
Turn dough out into a greased bowl with a greased top. Let rise 15 minutes at 100F. (Note from grandma: she puts it in the oven on warm, but her oven's always warm because it has a pilot light so maybe your oven doesn't have a pilot...)
Turn dough out onto floured board and divide in half. Shape each half of the dough. (Note from grandma: I always make what looks like a crescent roll. I have a long end and short end and I roll them up. But the page has a lot of ways to shape it. I'll send you one because maybe you want it a different shape. I always do it a crescent, because I like the easy one. But I'll send you one.) After shaping, let rise again 15 minutes. (Note from grandma: I put the rolls on the sheet they'll bake on, and put it back in the oven to rise until it doubles. Put a little grease on the sheet before putting the rolls there. I put a sheet of foil over the top. When it doubles it's ready to bake.)
Bake rolls at 425F for 12 minutes or until done (Note from grandma: make sure to check the bottom of the rolls. And I bake them with the foil on, just so they don't get too dark on top. But make sure you check the bottom of the rolls, as sometimes it'll get too dark.)
When rolls are done, remove from tray and cool on a wire rack. (Note from grandma: I put a little butter or margarine on the top when they're done.)
Mashed Potatoes with Sage and White Cheddar Cheese
-- 4 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 1/2 cubes
-- 1/4 c. butter
-- 2 Tbs. + 1 tsp. minced fresh sage
-- 3/4 c. whipping cream
-- 3/4 cup whole milk
-- ~9 oz. coarsely grated sharp white cheddar cheese
Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbs. sage; stir unti butter begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add cream and milk; bring to simmer.
Drain potatoes; return to pot. Stir over medium heat until excess moisture evaporates. Add cream mixture; mash potatoes. Stir in 1 3/4 c. cheese. Season potatoes with salt and pepper. Transfer to buttered 8- to 10- cup baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. cheese and 1 tsp. sage. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with plastic. Chill.)
Preheat oven to 375F. Bake potatoes uncovered until heated through and golden brown, about 45 minutes.
N.B. I'm pretty sure Mister just makes super cheesy potatoes without baking them.
Oat and Linseed Sourdough Bread
Nutmeg/Maple Cream Pie
creamy Maple Apple Pie
Potatoes Romanoff
Monday, October 17, 2011
Lurking
I'm sure most of us are familiar with this feeling. Currently, there is a cabbage lurking in my fridge. Just seeing it in the store meant that I had to buy it, as it's one of my favorite things about fall. So, Mister laid down the law that I need to do something with it (by which I mean he remarked 'oh hey, did you know that we have cabbage?'). I looked quickly at those recipes that I have ear-marked for cabbage and came up with a couple options.
The Cabbage and White Bean Soup that I made last year from 101 Cookbooks, Hungarian Noodles and cabbage, and Cabbage Pierogi Filling
I'll probably not make pierogi tonight, as that's a massive amount of work, that one's out. I've left it up to Mister as whether he wants soup or noodles. I know that both are tasty.
The Cabbage and White Bean Soup that I made last year from 101 Cookbooks, Hungarian Noodles and cabbage, and Cabbage Pierogi Filling
I'll probably not make pierogi tonight, as that's a massive amount of work, that one's out. I've left it up to Mister as whether he wants soup or noodles. I know that both are tasty.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Photos of Food
So I had a bunch of pictures on the camera of food that I've made recently, so here's a nice big post of them!
The shepherd's pie that I made for dinner on Friday, using leftover beef from the chili Thursday.
A close-up of the layers in the shepherd's pie. Ground beef, then frozen corn and peas, then mashed potatoes -- all baked until golden brown.
After stewing and cooking down the 1.5 lbs of rhubarb (minus one cup or so), sugar, molasses and vanilla to a smooth texture.
After taking the compote off the heat, I stirred in the remaining cup or so of frozen rhubarb -- as it was frozen, I tried to submerge it in the compote and left it overnight.
Making awesome pie crust using the magic technique of grating frozen butter rather than using a pastry cutter.
I forgot to take a picture of the bottom crust, the layer of crushed corn flakes (to absorb excess moisture), and the filling added. But here's the top crust prior to trimming and crimping.
Crimped and with vents sliced in. I always tuck the top crust between the bottom crust and the pie pan, to ensure that it doesn't leak, and then crimp it between my fingers to seal.
All baked!
I also made "cookies" using the excess pie crust and cinnamon sugar -- the best part of baking!
The shepherd's pie that I made for dinner on Friday, using leftover beef from the chili Thursday.
A close-up of the layers in the shepherd's pie. Ground beef, then frozen corn and peas, then mashed potatoes -- all baked until golden brown.
After stewing and cooking down the 1.5 lbs of rhubarb (minus one cup or so), sugar, molasses and vanilla to a smooth texture.
After taking the compote off the heat, I stirred in the remaining cup or so of frozen rhubarb -- as it was frozen, I tried to submerge it in the compote and left it overnight.
Making awesome pie crust using the magic technique of grating frozen butter rather than using a pastry cutter.
I forgot to take a picture of the bottom crust, the layer of crushed corn flakes (to absorb excess moisture), and the filling added. But here's the top crust prior to trimming and crimping.
Crimped and with vents sliced in. I always tuck the top crust between the bottom crust and the pie pan, to ensure that it doesn't leak, and then crimp it between my fingers to seal.
All baked!
I also made "cookies" using the excess pie crust and cinnamon sugar -- the best part of baking!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Food
So last night I made chili, as it was horrible Romance movie night with a friend who can't have cow milk products or wheat. The chili turned out fabulous (of course, pshaw) and was super basic.
(I would love to have remembered to take a picture, but I didn't.)
I soaked Cannelloni beans until they were nice and plump. If I was smart, I would have cooked them now, but I forgot and I had to let the chili cook them as best as it could. I grated a HUGE zucchini that was hiding in my fridge, and used about 2 c. worth in the chili (I froze the rest). After grating the zucchini, I sprinkle salt on it to draw the water out, and then squeeze the excess liquid out of my zucchini. I tossed that straight into the crock pot. Also add in your beans, preferably cooked.
At this point I also boiled some more water and reconstituted three little chili peppers that I had. Once plump, I scraped out the seeds, chopped finely, and tossed in the crock pot.
I also tossed straight in a can of crushed tomatoes. I used about a cup or two of vegetable broth to rinse out the can and get the last little bits of tomato.
While I was getting all that set up, I chopped and fried two little peppers from my garden (yay!) and half of an onion. Once the onions were mostly translucent, I removed most of them from the pan and put them into the crock pot, and kept the rest in there to flavor the ground beef that I fried next. I had enough ground beef that it almost filled my pan, so it took a while for that to brown fully. Once it was done, I threw it in the crock and mixed it all up, trying to gauge how "chili-like" it was. It needed more liquid, so I added more vegetable broth. I also added tomato paste, salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder.
I let it cook for several hours (read: 5) and Mister bought a sheep's milk cheese that was to replace the cheddar I would have normally put on top. All in all, highly successful!
(I would love to have remembered to take a picture, but I didn't.)
I soaked Cannelloni beans until they were nice and plump. If I was smart, I would have cooked them now, but I forgot and I had to let the chili cook them as best as it could. I grated a HUGE zucchini that was hiding in my fridge, and used about 2 c. worth in the chili (I froze the rest). After grating the zucchini, I sprinkle salt on it to draw the water out, and then squeeze the excess liquid out of my zucchini. I tossed that straight into the crock pot. Also add in your beans, preferably cooked.
At this point I also boiled some more water and reconstituted three little chili peppers that I had. Once plump, I scraped out the seeds, chopped finely, and tossed in the crock pot.
I also tossed straight in a can of crushed tomatoes. I used about a cup or two of vegetable broth to rinse out the can and get the last little bits of tomato.
While I was getting all that set up, I chopped and fried two little peppers from my garden (yay!) and half of an onion. Once the onions were mostly translucent, I removed most of them from the pan and put them into the crock pot, and kept the rest in there to flavor the ground beef that I fried next. I had enough ground beef that it almost filled my pan, so it took a while for that to brown fully. Once it was done, I threw it in the crock and mixed it all up, trying to gauge how "chili-like" it was. It needed more liquid, so I added more vegetable broth. I also added tomato paste, salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder.
I let it cook for several hours (read: 5) and Mister bought a sheep's milk cheese that was to replace the cheddar I would have normally put on top. All in all, highly successful!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Baked Goods
So I made bread yesterday from this recipe. I used up the last of my whole wheat flour, my all purpose flour, and a bit of the white whole wheat (plus water, olive oil salt and yeast). Just a very simple, basic bread to see how I like the recipe. It's a little bland, but very workable.
Funnily enough, today's 101 cookbooks recipe is ALSO bread! It also looks quite tasty, and I'll probably try it out after these two loaves are gone.
Found a recipe for Shortbread that I'd like to try.
And I scored free pyrex the other day! I got two loaf pans, two pie pans, two mixing bowls and a metal loaf pan as well.
Funnily enough, today's 101 cookbooks recipe is ALSO bread! It also looks quite tasty, and I'll probably try it out after these two loaves are gone.
Found a recipe for Shortbread that I'd like to try.
And I scored free pyrex the other day! I got two loaf pans, two pie pans, two mixing bowls and a metal loaf pan as well.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Pasta Salad
Yesterday for dinner I made a huge batch of pasta salad based loosely upon this recipe. I used a pound of mezze penne, two handfuls of trimmed green beans, the remainder of the white beans from Mexican night, and one can of small black olives. The dressing was one-half cup of chive blossom vinegar, one garlic clove pasted with one tsp. salt, two tsp. Jack Daniels mustard all whisked together and with one-half cup of good olive oil streamed in while whisking. It turned out super tasty!
If you're wondering about the strange format of this recipe, I'm writing on the iPad and it's difficult to get things other than letters. :P
If you're wondering about the strange format of this recipe, I'm writing on the iPad and it's difficult to get things other than letters. :P
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Hot
It is hotter than hell out here these days. Now, I'm not gonna lie, this apartment is miles about the last in that it has great air flow, and that makes such a difference. Yesterday, Mister and I set the futon mattresses up in the living room and slept out there instead of in the bedroom. Aside from the jackhammers at 8am, it was a great situation with the breeziness of the living room AND away from the neverending 24/7 light of my neighbors that shines in my bedroom window.
(Ooh, a breeze just came through the house to me RIGHT NOW.)
The peas are completely dead. The fusillarium wilt or whatever did a job on it. My beans are middlin' (they have a lot of yellow leaves and I'm not quite sure why), the peppers are such prima donnas, and the tomatoes that AREN'T in cages are much happier than those in cages... but I've got blossoms on peppers, tomatoes and my vining critters as well -- so I should get some yields at the very least.
Mister and I are attempting to eat down the pantry. I find it hard, because I so much prefer snacks. I had to fight to buy cereal the other day! :-P In light of such decisions, we had mexican for dinner last night. Mexican rice (using some broth from the fridge and a hefty amount of adobo -- finally found a use for it!), beans (using half of an onion from the fridge) and tortillas and cheese (which we bought). I now have leftover rice, beans and tortillas.
I went to the Farmer's Market today and bought zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, grean beans (which I've already trimmed), a bag of salad mix (which I need to take care of asap), strawberries (which I've already eaten), cherries, blueberries and raspberries.
Since using the oven or the stove heats up the kitchen so much I feel that I should plan what I'm cooking today. I want to make some soda bread, I want to make some mini pies, I might make blueberry muffins, and I don't know what's for dinner yet. Hm...
Also Mister and I have undertaken a Project together. There is not one, but TWO nasty plants in my backyard (one is Trumpet Creeper and I haven't figured out the other yet, but it's main branches are 6" diameter...) that we want gone. I went out twice yesterday, and Mister once to go out and kill those plants. (Mister has no care for my herbs which makes me want to smack him with my knives.) We've gotten a lot of the green and branches out, and detached it forcibly from the garage, but we're no where near done. There are 3x as much green to remove as well as attempting to deal with the massive tap roots and other such pests.
In a similar note, I'm apparently allergic to something in the backyard. I know that it makes my hands itchy, so I wore gloves and a flannel going out the first time, and forgot the flannel the second -- I had hives all up and down my arms, so yes, I am allergic to something!
(Ooh, a breeze just came through the house to me RIGHT NOW.)
The peas are completely dead. The fusillarium wilt or whatever did a job on it. My beans are middlin' (they have a lot of yellow leaves and I'm not quite sure why), the peppers are such prima donnas, and the tomatoes that AREN'T in cages are much happier than those in cages... but I've got blossoms on peppers, tomatoes and my vining critters as well -- so I should get some yields at the very least.
Mister and I are attempting to eat down the pantry. I find it hard, because I so much prefer snacks. I had to fight to buy cereal the other day! :-P In light of such decisions, we had mexican for dinner last night. Mexican rice (using some broth from the fridge and a hefty amount of adobo -- finally found a use for it!), beans (using half of an onion from the fridge) and tortillas and cheese (which we bought). I now have leftover rice, beans and tortillas.
I went to the Farmer's Market today and bought zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, grean beans (which I've already trimmed), a bag of salad mix (which I need to take care of asap), strawberries (which I've already eaten), cherries, blueberries and raspberries.
Since using the oven or the stove heats up the kitchen so much I feel that I should plan what I'm cooking today. I want to make some soda bread, I want to make some mini pies, I might make blueberry muffins, and I don't know what's for dinner yet. Hm...
Also Mister and I have undertaken a Project together. There is not one, but TWO nasty plants in my backyard (one is Trumpet Creeper and I haven't figured out the other yet, but it's main branches are 6" diameter...) that we want gone. I went out twice yesterday, and Mister once to go out and kill those plants. (Mister has no care for my herbs which makes me want to smack him with my knives.) We've gotten a lot of the green and branches out, and detached it forcibly from the garage, but we're no where near done. There are 3x as much green to remove as well as attempting to deal with the massive tap roots and other such pests.
In a similar note, I'm apparently allergic to something in the backyard. I know that it makes my hands itchy, so I wore gloves and a flannel going out the first time, and forgot the flannel the second -- I had hives all up and down my arms, so yes, I am allergic to something!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Pictures From Last Week
Leftovers from this dinner
All of the remaining pictures will be from this meal.
The pile of basil and oregano -- I already chopped the rosemary, it was a 4" stalk.
All of the herbs chopped and ready to go into pasta dough.
A little comparison between the hand sliced and the machine sliced pasta. Guess which is which.
A nice pile of pasta!
Frying the garlic scapes in some olive oil.
The chard all chopped and ready to be briefly sautéed.
My ghetto pasta drying station.
There are no pictures of the final meal, but after sautéing the chard until it wilted, I tossed the drained pasta with the veggies, olive oil and a little of my homemade ricotta.
I also have about 1/3 lb. of my pasta remaining -- soon to be cooked!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
A Wanna Be Bengal Dinner
Or, How To Cook While Missing R
So for dinner today, I opted towards a more Indian-style approach at my simple ingredients.
Cook white beans (3/4 c. uncooked) until fork tender. Take off heat and drain.
Slice potatoes (three) and fry them in a little bit of oil in a wok. If you were being smart, you'd have also remembered to rub them in turmeric as well as thrown in the garlic.
When potatoes have lovely brown color all around, dump water from the kettle in the wok and watch it hiss and spit. Add tomato paste, chili powder, paprika, pepper, salt, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and whatever else I can't remember.
Remember the garlic scapes halfway through cooking the potatoes. Chop them (about six) into 1" pieces and toss in the mix.
Put rice (1 c. uncooked) on to cook.
When the potatoes are nearly done, toss in the beans and the little tiny bit of pulled pork leftover from lunch at Redbones.
When the rice has 5 mins to go, roughly chop rainbow chard (five pieces) and toss in the curry to cook until thoroughly wilted.
Serve curry over rice.
This was a tasty meal, has been packaged up into three lunches worth, and Mister really liked it, but I feel like it was lacking. Whenever I make a spice-heavy sauce, I always just taste "spice". A bit of graininess, a bit of bleh, I dunno how to describe it. R, how do I get rid of this?
So for dinner today, I opted towards a more Indian-style approach at my simple ingredients.
Cook white beans (3/4 c. uncooked) until fork tender. Take off heat and drain.
Slice potatoes (three) and fry them in a little bit of oil in a wok. If you were being smart, you'd have also remembered to rub them in turmeric as well as thrown in the garlic.
When potatoes have lovely brown color all around, dump water from the kettle in the wok and watch it hiss and spit. Add tomato paste, chili powder, paprika, pepper, salt, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and whatever else I can't remember.
Remember the garlic scapes halfway through cooking the potatoes. Chop them (about six) into 1" pieces and toss in the mix.
Put rice (1 c. uncooked) on to cook.
When the potatoes are nearly done, toss in the beans and the little tiny bit of pulled pork leftover from lunch at Redbones.
When the rice has 5 mins to go, roughly chop rainbow chard (five pieces) and toss in the curry to cook until thoroughly wilted.
Serve curry over rice.
This was a tasty meal, has been packaged up into three lunches worth, and Mister really liked it, but I feel like it was lacking. Whenever I make a spice-heavy sauce, I always just taste "spice". A bit of graininess, a bit of bleh, I dunno how to describe it. R, how do I get rid of this?
Friday, June 17, 2011
Recipe Planning
Several of the items that I need to use up in my kitchen are: a bunch of parsley, a quart of buttermilk, and a summer squash and a zucchini. Possible ideas to use these up are:
some form of fried chicken
Buttermilk Pie Crust looks fascinating
Soda Bread of some variety
Buttermilk Curry
Strangely similar Buttermilk Squash soups
Squash Gratin which I've made before and LOVED
Herb Jam which looks intriguing
some form of fried chicken
Buttermilk Pie Crust looks fascinating
Soda Bread of some variety
Buttermilk Curry
Strangely similar Buttermilk Squash soups
Squash Gratin which I've made before and LOVED
Herb Jam which looks intriguing
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Rhubarb Tarts in Jars :-D
Using this simple recipe for using rhubarb and using a basic pie crust (2 c. flour, 1/2 c. butter, 1/3-1/2 c. olive oil, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, water) I've made little rhubarb tarts in PB jars.
I searched high and low for the pint or half pint jelly jars. (I saw some on the side of the road two weeks ago, and did Mister let me take them home? "Wait until you have a use for them" grrr) But, I pretty much always have PB jars, so instead of four cute little tarts for the picnic tonight, I have two big tarts. (There will be pictures later.)
What I am bringing to the picnic:
-- jug of mojitos
-- pulled pork from this recipe, only slow cooked
-- buns
-- pickles
-- BBQ sauce
-- tarts
-- cups and plates
I searched high and low for the pint or half pint jelly jars. (I saw some on the side of the road two weeks ago, and did Mister let me take them home? "Wait until you have a use for them" grrr) But, I pretty much always have PB jars, so instead of four cute little tarts for the picnic tonight, I have two big tarts. (There will be pictures later.)
What I am bringing to the picnic:
-- jug of mojitos
-- pulled pork from this recipe, only slow cooked
-- buns
-- pickles
-- BBQ sauce
-- tarts
-- cups and plates
Thursday, May 5, 2011
House Cleaning
Mister and I are not what one might call experts in keeping house. We're both fairly ADD, lazy, and after all, it's our own mess! But we've been eating out (or ordering pizza) for average one meal a day for a week or two. This is Not Acceptable to either of us.
Yesterday, Mister pinpointed that the kitchen being a mess was part of the problem, and cleaning it would solve many things (not the least giving us a clean kitchen). So with a will, he set to work.
Myself, feeling very discouraged by the kitchen, decided that it was time for me to tackle the Pile 'o Laundry, both clean and dirty, that was our bedroom. After four hours of work, we emerged victorious with a nearly clean kitchen and a nearly neat bedroom. It being 1am, we figured it was bedtime -- so we read until 4am. :-P
This morning, I woke up feeling like I wanted to do something. Heavens forbid that I work on the project of massive amounts of work, so I decided to tackle the pile of fruit that was growing sadder and sadder by the day.
The pear was a complete loss. Rotted clear through.
But the bananas became banana bread. The apples are becoming applesauce. The clementines are becoming marmalade. I consider this productive! It's amazing what a clean kitchen makes you want to do!
(There will be pics, but as I'm still in the process of making these, I'll post later.)
Yesterday, Mister pinpointed that the kitchen being a mess was part of the problem, and cleaning it would solve many things (not the least giving us a clean kitchen). So with a will, he set to work.
Myself, feeling very discouraged by the kitchen, decided that it was time for me to tackle the Pile 'o Laundry, both clean and dirty, that was our bedroom. After four hours of work, we emerged victorious with a nearly clean kitchen and a nearly neat bedroom. It being 1am, we figured it was bedtime -- so we read until 4am. :-P
This morning, I woke up feeling like I wanted to do something. Heavens forbid that I work on the project of massive amounts of work, so I decided to tackle the pile of fruit that was growing sadder and sadder by the day.
The pear was a complete loss. Rotted clear through.
But the bananas became banana bread. The apples are becoming applesauce. The clementines are becoming marmalade. I consider this productive! It's amazing what a clean kitchen makes you want to do!
(There will be pics, but as I'm still in the process of making these, I'll post later.)
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Scallion Pancake-Omelet
After a stretch of eating out for a while, Mister and I made a pact to not eat out for the rest of the week. We have some nice Easter leftovers in the fridge (ate the ricotta, have NOW polished off all the ham, half of a rice pie, a fair amount of kielbasa, half a jar of horseradish and beets, a full paska bread...) and I'd been craving a ham omelet. However, surprise surprise, all those food blogs that I read have seeped into my brain and this little dish from Maangchi worked its way into my thoughts.
Since I'd noticed last week an abundance of chives growing wild by the train, I figured I'd scoop them up in lieu of the single plant I have out back. I wound up collecting a fair amount of chives, and a handful each of plantains and dandelion greens. Washed them all well, and concocted this delicious recipe:
Scallion Pancake-Omelet
Filling:
-- 2 c. of greens, roughly chopped
-- 1 c. of ham, diced
Batter
-- 1/2 c. water
-- 1/2 c. flour
-- dash of soy sauce
-- 1 tsp. sugar
-- 4 eggs
Sauce
-- 2 Tbs. soy sauce
-- 1 Tbs. rice vinegar
-- 1 tsp. sugar or honey
-- chopped onion (I used a little bit of the chives)
-- chopped green or red chili peppers (I used dried red pepper)
-- 1 tsp. roasted sesame seeds *optional
Heat frying pan. Prep filling and mix batter. When pan is hot, pour 3 Tbs. oil in. Throw the greens in, and the ham on top. As quickly as possibly, pour the batter over the entire thing. Tilt the pan around to cover all of the greens. After a couple of minutes, when the bottom is browned, flip the pancake. After a few more minutes, when the bottom is browned, flip the pancake again and cook for 1 min more before serving.
I served this with two potatoes worth of home fries and a drizzle of sauce on top.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Delicious Squash Bread
So the other day I made a delicious squash bread from this recipe.
Here are some pictures!
Roasted Squash.
Empty squash shells.
Being kneaded by my machine (I think my machine needs oil -- anyone know how to oil KitchenAid stand mixers?)
One loaf looked like a turkey while in-pan.
Lookit how tasty it is!
Things to make note of for next time: we don't eat two whole loaves of bread in the time needed. Freeze one. (I used an entire loaf for a breakfast strata because it went stale.) Use unsalted butter for the butter on the top afterwards because as this is a sweet bread, the saltyness of the butter threw off my tastebuds.
Here are some pictures!
Roasted Squash.
Empty squash shells.
Being kneaded by my machine (I think my machine needs oil -- anyone know how to oil KitchenAid stand mixers?)
One loaf looked like a turkey while in-pan.
Lookit how tasty it is!
Things to make note of for next time: we don't eat two whole loaves of bread in the time needed. Freeze one. (I used an entire loaf for a breakfast strata because it went stale.) Use unsalted butter for the butter on the top afterwards because as this is a sweet bread, the saltyness of the butter threw off my tastebuds.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Random Meals
So the other day, M came over for dinner while we planned our guys' birthday dinner (one's is the 15th, the other the 25th so we're having one dinner for them). Due to all of the cooking but poor planning last week (and this week too), the meal wound up being strange.
I had leftover cheese sauce from Mac n cheese, and some potatoes that were super soft, so I threw together a potato gratin. I also had a loaf of stale bread that I beat with a rolling pin to make breadcrumbs for the gratin. :-P
After putting that in the oven, I realized that we also had some ground beef (from the meat sauce) in the fridge that needed to be cooked statim. So I threw it in a pan, and realized that we had tortillas in the fridge, as well as lettuce and half of a can of olives. I found the last jar of salsa in the house (and whoooooooooeeeeeeeeee is it spicy!), and grated some mozzerella since we're out of any other kind other than gruyere.
So yeah -- tacos and potato gratin. Fabulous. And for dessert I pulled a couple slices of frozen Turtle Bread (cashew and chocolate chips yum!) out of the freezer, toasted them, and put butter and cinnamon sugar on them. M also brought chocolate covered dried strawberries. And we planned. I'll do a separate post on that.
I had leftover cheese sauce from Mac n cheese, and some potatoes that were super soft, so I threw together a potato gratin. I also had a loaf of stale bread that I beat with a rolling pin to make breadcrumbs for the gratin. :-P
After putting that in the oven, I realized that we also had some ground beef (from the meat sauce) in the fridge that needed to be cooked statim. So I threw it in a pan, and realized that we had tortillas in the fridge, as well as lettuce and half of a can of olives. I found the last jar of salsa in the house (and whoooooooooeeeeeeeeee is it spicy!), and grated some mozzerella since we're out of any other kind other than gruyere.
So yeah -- tacos and potato gratin. Fabulous. And for dessert I pulled a couple slices of frozen Turtle Bread (cashew and chocolate chips yum!) out of the freezer, toasted them, and put butter and cinnamon sugar on them. M also brought chocolate covered dried strawberries. And we planned. I'll do a separate post on that.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Update: Warning, Image Heavy
Man, what is with the radio silence around here? You'd think that someone was a bad blogger or something! :-P
So lots of things have happened since the last time I posted.
Lots of food was had (as well as my last shopping trip at LUSH with my discount),
Lots of dishes weren't done and compost not taken out,
Not one,
But TWO tasty meals were planned and created with friends.
Some seeds were planted...
In neat little rows...
Placed in the window,
TOPPLED!...
from their rather precarious position (the pictures were taken after I've already scooped by seeds back into place).
And still remaining, more seeds to plant, make compost tea, plan a birthday dinner, and hopefully start an exercise regime!
So lots of things have happened since the last time I posted.
Lots of food was had (as well as my last shopping trip at LUSH with my discount),
Lots of dishes weren't done and compost not taken out,
Not one,
But TWO tasty meals were planned and created with friends.
Some seeds were planted...
In neat little rows...
Placed in the window,
TOPPLED!...
from their rather precarious position (the pictures were taken after I've already scooped by seeds back into place).
And still remaining, more seeds to plant, make compost tea, plan a birthday dinner, and hopefully start an exercise regime!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Mexican Night
About a year ago, I had a Mexican roommate. As she turned out to be crazy (not due to her being Mexican) I don't usually talk about how I've learned anything from her. But I learned a few things:
1 -- I hate passive aggressive behavior. Just be aggressive!
2 -- Packrat-ism can reach scary levels.
3 -- How to cook Mexican rice and beans.
How to cook beans is pretty easy: soak dried beans until soft. Either overnight with cold water, or about an hour with hot water (or you can let it sit a bit longer if you're me). Drain the beans. Then boil the beans with a lot of water, and half of an onion. When the onion falls apart and is a funky color due to the beans, you can feel free to remove it. This helps to limit the amount of gassiness that the musical fruit can impart. The beans can take about an hour, depending upon the type of bean.
How to cook Mexican rice: Heat a frying pan (with a decent lip) and a bit of oil. Add uncooked rice, and toast, stirring occasionally until lightly golden and having fully absorbed the oil. They'll be shiny. You'll then want to add stock. It'll hiss and steam quite a bit, but add enough to cover and then some, then put a cover upon the pan. Check this occasionally, and add stock as needed until the rice is cooked. This should take about 10 mins or so.
We served this with corn tortillas that were toasted on both sides, and Monterey Jack cheese sprinkled upon it and melted. Also a jar of Green Mountain Gringo's Salsa was had.
You can either eat this all separately, or make little tacos.
Note: the picture above is the set up of tea kettle, beans, rice and tortilla pans.
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