No Animals. Lots of Carbs.

Peanut Stew

2011-10-06T09:51:00.002-05:00

My lovely friend, Chava first introduced this recipe to me two years ago when I visited her in Atlanta. I still make it once in a while, have probably blogged about it before, and have noticed that it is a perfect recipe when entertaining vegan guests, as we plan to do so this weekend.

I did my own variation here, using what we had in the kitchen. It freezes well, and can be made days in advance before a party or dinner.

Chava's Peanut Stew: (my variation)

Ingredients
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
2 T olive oil
1 eggplant
1 sweet potato
1 can of diced tomatoes with onion and garlic
1 roma tomato
2 c vegetable broth
4 T peanut butter
1/2 t ginger
dash of salt
1/3 c diced nuts
candied ginger (sliced)

1. Dice your onion and garlic and saute over olive oil for 5-7 minutes. At the same time, slice your small eggplant into chunks and let sit in salt water for 20 minutes with a plate pressing the squash down into the water. Remove from water and put in colander to dry.

2. Microwave sweet potato and then dice after cooling.

3. Add eggplant and sweet potato to the onion/garlic mixture and steam for 5 minutes.

4. Add vegetable broth, tomato, diced tomatoes and bring to a boil until the eggplant is soft.

5. Add nuts, ginger, candied ginger and peanut-butter. Let cool.

Grandma's Apple Cake

2011-09-18T11:20:00.003-05:00

I've made my grandma's recipe a couple times recently, and it always reminds me so much of her. Her cake was usually very short/flat and sweet - she made it often.

The recipe:

Mix 2 cups of shredded and peeled apples with 1/2 cup a sugar and let sit for a bit (you know how grandmas' instructions are...)
Then mix with one beaten egg and 1/4 cup of oil and 1 t vanilla
Then add the dry ingredients separately:
1 cup flour
dash of cinnamon
dash of salt
1 t baking soda

Mix dry ingredients into wet batter.
Oil the loaf pan and pour batter into pan, bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy:) We always do. The best apples are right from the orchard but we used sweet Gala apples this time. Rebecca, my 15-month old, "helped" me bake this morning by tasting the apple peel. Well, it's a start!

Enjoy September.

Home cooking for a Tot

2011-08-21T19:00:00.002-05:00

My sweet girl hates mashed potatoes - how can this be? She also rejects eggs, avocados, most other vegetables, popsicles, pizza, fish, beans, and quite a few other things. Mealtimes are constant, but they are also nerve-wracking -- what will I make her? Will she eat it? So tonight I baked a macaroni and cheese casserole, tweaking a Moosewood recipe:

1 and 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 and 1/2 cup organic whole milk
1/2 t dry mustard
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 cup cheddar cheese
2 T Parmesan cheese
4 T Italian bread crumbs
8 oz. macaroni noodles (uncooked)

Moosewood instructs you to blend the cottage cheese, milk, dry mustard, salt, and pepper in a food processor, but I do it by hand. Then add the cheddar cheese and uncooked noodles and spread in a greased 9-inch pan. Add the Parmesan and bread crumbs on top and then bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Voila! I just hope she likes it. I'll take a photo of her eating it/refusing it either way...

Whole Wheat Tagliolini and Ice Cream Cake

2011-07-29T07:58:00.005-05:00

Last weekend I felt ambitious in the kitchen and made this healthy, fresh, time-consuming recipe, Whole Wheat Tagliolini from Cooking Light.

We've also been making this very, very easy ice cream cake recipe from Real Simple. Both dishes go quickly in this household.

In other news, while I haven't been good about taking photos of food lately, my friends and I are pretty good at capturing my daughter in action. So here are a few photos of our summer:

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-07-18T20:02:00.005-05:00

C is for...cookie salad!

I miss baking, and since friends from out of town are staying with us this week, what better excuse? So tonight I made this recipe, and the cookies are both pretty and plentiful. I so love hanging out in the kitchen with a book (well done JSF), a computer, and cookie batter.

I've also really enjoyed reading this series this past week, so much that I feel even more reflective than usual about life with our 1-year old (walking!) girl these days.

The one whose laughter is (pretty much) worth all the tears.

And as we increase the number of hours we need childcare, I can relate more than ever to the moms trying to squeeze in work while caring for a tot. I've given a lot of thought to "finding balance" but in the end I agree with those who say there is no achieving balance -- sometimes you do X very well, other times you do Y. Just a thought.

By the way, even though I don't cook or bake too often these days, I still fantasize about cooking complicated curry dishes and French country cooking. I would love to make cake pops or peach muffins or even an arugula salad, but for now most of my energy is utterly zapped by the time I get around to dinner. So cheers to daydreaming. Until next time xo

Frozen fruit salad and vegan cupcakes

2011-07-02T13:55:00.007-05:00

Wow, I haven't posted in forever!

I guess the day-to-day juggling act of working and caring for a young tot has made it hard to remember to post when I cook -- and that's not exactly too often these days! We've mostly been living off Amy's vegetarian and vegan pizzas, baked potatoes with broccoli, and pasta/salad/soup dishes. I also haven't baked in forever - until today.

Anyway, we're not vegan, but I've been more interested in vegan baking lately, so this afternoon I made these pretty cupcakes:

http://www.lovintheoven.com/2007/11/peanut-butter-cupcakes-vegan-style.html

I eyeball/measured the frosting, mixing powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, soymilk, and olive oil.

Then I also made this fruit salad that my mother always used to make for the Fourth of July -- so very sweet!

Frozen Fruit Salad:

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 c sugar
Frozen orange juice
Large can of fruit cocktail
3 bananas, sliced
10 oz bag of sliced strawberries
Small can of pineapple (or use frozen)
Small can of peaches (frozen is fine too).

1. Boil 3 cups of water with your sugar, then remove from heat. Add orange juice and all fruits.
2. Pour into 9 x 13 pan or large tupperware and freeze overnight.

And too bad I couldn't capture photos of these items - they were gone baby, gone, before I could snap a few!

In other news, our precious girl is now 1! Some days I can't believe she has grown so fast, but I also remember trying to capture each moment in my mind, knowing it would soon pass. A friend of mine recently asked, "what did 6 months look like? what about 8 months?" and I can honestly recall vivid images of my daughter at each stage. At 6 months she had just learned to sit up, and at 8 months she had just learned to crawl. At 10 months she learned to sleep through the night. And at 1 year she abruptly decided she was done with nursing. She is consistently her own person, making her own decisions about her likes and dislikes. May we all be so lucky~xo

Baked Eggs

2011-02-14T18:45:00.003-06:00

I remember my mom making this when I was young - it was my great aunt's recipe, a yummy one - great for brunches.

Recipe:
12 eggs, beaten

salt, pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups shredded yellow cheese (I used a mild cheddar)

3/4 cup milk (I used soy milk)

Mix together all ingredients. Pour into greased oblong pan (9 x 13). Bake 1 hour 350 degrees.

Cut into squares.

Sweet Potato Chips

2011-02-14T18:39:00.004-06:00

My family has been eating these easy sweet potato chips, or fries a lot lately - for dinner, for breakfast, for in-betweens. They're so easy: you just wash and slice up a sweet potato, put them on a lightly greased baking sheet, add salt and/or spices, and put them in the oven at 375 degrees for 20 or so minutes. Delish.

And now, here's something to warm your heart on a cold day. My sweet girl...

Flaxseed Squares

2011-02-14T18:32:00.006-06:00

This is another mother-in-law recipe that my family deemed "Shirley Squares." It's the kind of recipe that changes each time you make it, but this is the current version:

2 cups oatmeal
1 cup flaxseed (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 (small) container of egg whites (or egg substitute, to make this a vegan recipe)
1 cup Splenda (or sugar or raw sugar if you like it less processed)
2 tsp cinnamon
4 dallops of applesauce

Spray baking dish with Pam or butter spray - mix ingredients and put in dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Yay for fiber!

Vegetable Soup, How I Adore Thee

2011-02-07T14:43:00.002-06:00

The past few days my mother-in-law and I have made vegetable soup twice - so yummy. I don't have photos yet, but I will post one soon.

We've been using chopped and diced leeks, sweet potato, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery and vegetable stock. I could eat this every. single. day. And not tire of it.

We've also been slicing up sweet potatoes and making sweet potato fries. We've also been playing nursery songs over and over and over again so much that the lyrics get into my head at night and make it harder to fall asleep.

Happy February friends. xo

"Homemade" Pizza

2011-01-18T17:55:00.005-06:00

Boy, Trader Joe's really does make it easy sometimes. Today I bought their ready-to-bake pizza dough, pizza sauce, organic mozzarella, and sliced mushrooms. After Rebecca went to bed, I simply rolled out the dough, added the sauce, cheese, and mushrooms, threw in some Morningstar tofu crumbles and leftover broccoli, and put it in the oven for 12 minutes. I like that so many products at Trader Joe's boast "no artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives."

This pizza is the first meal I've made at home in a while - we've been out of town for 8 days, hanging out with dear friends outside Boston and then visiting Smith College in Northampton where I did some research for the diss. We did a bit of cooking in Northampton - including a lovely spinach frittata out of one of James Beard's cook books that I will have to try again soon. I also fell in love with a new recipe for yogurt sorbet, drank a glass of wine every night and read a great book while there. I am going to try to keep this drinking, reading and cooking up as a recipe for more happiness;)

In other news, we're still experimenting with Rebecca's diet. She did not do well with the carrots, and applesauce is still not appealing to her, but she's gladly accepted peas, pears, bananas (finally) and sweet potatoes, along with a few kinds of cereal and some flat rice crackers. I'm using this baby cook book for inspiration, and I will try butternut squash next.

She turns seven months old in two days and I can't believe she's so big already. She's been waving lately, getting on all fours but not yet crawling, and I think (hope!) that she recently said "ma". She still thinks books are chewing toys, and she likes to dance when I play tunes on youtube. Her naps are still not on a "schedule" but I'm more okay with it now. Tonight I sang to her a bit and played with her feet before bed and it was the sweetest part of my day.

Otherwise I'm back to working on the dissertation. With gusto! I haven't written this much since before I gave birth, and, well, it's about time. Here's some dissertation humor for you: A few months ago I thought it would be wonderful to interview the doctor who ran the first clinical trial of the birth control pill in Puerto Rico. Well, what do you know - Harvard thought so too and did so through one of their oral history projects in 1987. I wound up reading the transcript at Smith, which has helped me start off a new chapter.

Anyway, that's all my news these days. To anyone out there reading, I hope you have a lovely night, and here is a recent photo of Rebecca as she was eating a cracker:

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T10:35:00.007-06:00

We rang in the New Year at home with red wine and Greek takeout from here. Our baby fell asleep at 5:30 and Jake came home at 6ish. I wasn't wearing heels and glitter, but we watched The Town and talked about the past year together - one of the most amazing years of my life, I must say. It wasn't an easy year, but it inspired awe.

Then this morning I used our new Baby Pro baby food maker to make a very simple carrot puree, which, thank goodness, our fairly particular baby actually ate. I'll spare you the photo of the carrot puree -- which looks identical to the photo of the sweet potato puree. Instead I'm leaving you with this, my current favorite pic of Becca lounging on my in-laws' patio. Sigh, La Vida Miami:

Sweet Potato Puree

2010-12-30T12:47:00.003-06:00

In her short introduction to solid foods, this is Rebecca's favorite and quite simple to make - I just bake a sweet potato at 400 for 45-55 minutes, remove the skin, mash it, and add milk.

Baby Applesauce

2010-12-26T18:15:00.003-06:00

I'm approaching a new era of cooking here by making our own baby food. So far this has been very simple since my 6-month old baby is only eating breastmilk, rice cereal, and sweet potatoes. So today I made applesauce to add to her diet.

I peeled, cored and chopped up 4 Red Delicious apples, put them in a large pot on low with 1/4 cup water and let them simmer with the lid on for 45 minutes. I then mashed them to a very soft mixture and froze most of it in an ice cube tray.

I tried introducing her to bananas, but this is the face she made:

Carrot Soup

2010-12-16T08:19:00.005-06:00

Lots of cooking with carrots this month!

Ever since a friend of mine mentioned carrot soup a week or so ago, I've been wanting to make it -- the recipe I found is surprisingly easy too - only calling for a few simple ingredients: olive oil, carrots, a yellow onion, minced garlic, vegetable stock and a lemon. This I can do!

My friend also mentioned how much she loves her immersion blender. A fan of gadgets, I decided that I, too, need this blender. Perhaps I will start making soups every night!

Peanut Butter Brownies

2010-12-14T17:47:00.007-06:00

Ever since my friend, Chava, made this enchanting recipe, I've been wanting to try it. Chava does interesting things with peanut butter - here is another of my favorites, a recipe she taught me to make when I saw her in Atlanta last year. Speaking of peanut butter, I've been realizing that I need more protein lately, so I've been munching on these awful-tasting protein bars the last couple days. So perhaps a peanut butter recipe or two will serve me well. Also, since my not-so-sweet-tooth husband has been asking for cookies or brownies lately, I thought it's about time I make this recipe. I might get to the peanut stew later this month... Plus, the 5 degree weather makes me want to bake and warm up our freezing home.

On that note, my baby and I have been indoors for the last three days - I'm getting cabin fever, so I hope it warms up soon. We've been singing, reading, playing with toys, eating cereal, napping, rinse and repeat. I have to get out tomorrow to drop off student papers, so at least we'll be heading out once. I just really feel for her all wrapped up in her enormous snowsuit:

Seriously mom?

Potato-Bean Casserole

2010-12-09T12:10:00.011-06:00

Start with the simplest of ingredients: a potato (boiled) and an onion (sauted).

Rebecca watched with interest as I chopped and stirred...

Yum!

We have called this simple dish "2 J Casserole" for quite some time in my family -- mainly because Jake and I, Jamie, (2 Js) created this vegan dish back in 1999. Jake was living in D.C. for a semester; I came up to visit him for Thanksgiving weekend and we created this by experimentation. And it stuck.

Ingredients:

-- 3-4 potatoes
-- half a can of tomato sauce
-- 1 can of garbanzo beans (I use the low-sodium variety)
-- 3 small tomatoes
-- a yellow onion
-- a few T of olive oil
-- Morningstar tofu crumbles (you might use Quorn crumbles if you tire of Morningstar, as I sometimes do)
-- a dash of spices (This time I used rosemary, marjoram, and basil)

It's a hearty winter dish -- first you dice and saute your onion in olive oil while you boil your potatoes (I cut mine up in chunks first). Then you add the beans and sliced tomatoes to the onion mixture, then the sauce and tofu, and then finally the drained boiled potatoes and your spices. You might also have added a few sliced carrots when you added your tomatoes and beans - we used to do that but I'm all out of carrots. Also, this is the kind of dish that tastes even better the second day - all the juices and spices have been keeping each other company for a bit and it's even more savory.

Enjoy! And check out all the nutrients in the humble potato:)

One last thing - as I attempt to cook these days in between feeding and playing with Rebecca and trying to get her to nap (combined with some working from home), I'm realizing that some of my old favorite recipes like mushroom empanadas and flatbreads were pretty time consuming. Now I'm looking for recipes that are vegetarian and fairly fast. So I'll be going through my cook books and this blog archive to find some dishes that fit for our family at this point -- let me know if you have some good ones and I'll try them!

Carrot souffle

2010-12-03T16:06:00.009-06:00

fluffy, yummy carrot souffle

My little one watching me cook, chewing an empty bowl, wondering when we're going to give her first bite of solid food (in a few days).

I am blogging as my baby takes her fourth and final catnap of the day.

For the first time today, my daughter watched me cook a bit while sitting in her high chair playing with a bowl. It stuck to her chin at one point and she burst into tears!

So here it goes. I am stunned that I haven't blogged about this recipe before. A family staple for years, the carrot souffle is sweet, easy, and pretty. You can lighten it up with Splenda or another sugar substitute; you can use applesauce instead of eggs to make it a vegan recipe, and you can add cornflakes on top for crunch or nuts on top for protein.

Here is the simple recipe:

3/4 cup sugar

1 lb of carrots peeled and microwaved for 4 to 5 minutes

4 ounces veg oil

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 tablespoons flour

Pinch of cinnamon

Directions: Chop up your soft carrots and add them to a Cuisinart (or grate them by hand). Afterwards, put the shredded carrots in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir. Pour into 1.5 quart dish sprayed with pam or oil.

Put in the oven set at 350 for 45 minutes.

Voila.

I enjoy the shock of orange amid an otherwise neutral-colored table or buffet. It's also a dish you could make for a brunch, with a dinner, or as an after-dinner dessert. So versatile! The little black dress of my recipes.

Happy Hanukkah!

2010-12-01T17:46:00.004-06:00

Dear friends, I tried my hand at making latkes for the second time tonight -- this was the first time. My mom reminded me of how my grandma used to make them -- real fast, she said - 1, 2, 3 and they were ready to eat.

Well, I tried. I can't say they remind me of my grandmother's cooking, but maybe nothing really comes close to that...

But they're greasy and vegan and yummy, so cheers to that, and have a Happy Hanukkah.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-29T11:10:00.002-06:00

Shakespeare's Pizza in Columbia, Mo.

We are so grateful for our family, walks in the woods, food on the table, and storytelling.

Among many other things.

Here are a few photos from the past few days:

Pumpkin Bread

2010-11-23T07:46:00.005-06:00

In two days my family and I are driving to the Lake of the Ozarks to have Thanksgiving meal at the Lodge of Four Seasons. We rent cabins and do very little for a couple of days. Jake and I started this tradition last year. This year I hope to get in a jog or a hike (despite the cold weather) and I'm taking a book too. I also baked some pumpkin bread for us to munch on during the car ride - our baby's first longish car ride -- wish us luck!

Here's the recipe:

3 and 1/3 cup flour
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1 and 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs (Note: You could make this a vegan recipe if you used 2 cups of applesauce and no eggs)
1 and 1/4 c applesauce
1 1/2 c canned pumpkin
2/3 c water

First I blended the dry ingredients, then added the wet ingredients and then put the mixture in two lightly oiled loaf pans and popped them in our at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes (we have a slow oven). It's delicious.

Black Bean Soup

2010-11-20T10:18:00.003-06:00

I forgot to take a photo of my last meal, but bean soup isn't that pretty to look at anyway.

For those of you who might not know, the Women's Bean Project gives women employment opportunities in a safe environment -- a store in the U. City loop called Plowsharing Crafts sells their tasty packages of beans and spices to make bean soup.

In addition to the packet of beans and spices, you only need vegetable stock, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 large diced onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 large chopped green pepper, a 6 oz. can of tomato paste, 3 T wine vinegar, and 1 bay leaf to make the soup.

First you wash and drain beans and then either soak them overnight or microwave them covered with water in a partially covered container for 15 minutes on high. Then you drain and rinse them and put them in a pot with the vegetable stock. Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer covered for two hours. Then you will add a mixture of sauted veggies: the onion, garlic, green pepper and spices. Also add the tomato paste and vinegar at this time -- it's delicious and lasts for several meals:)

Vegetarian Chili

2010-10-28T08:35:00.003-05:00

Mmm...

With a little bit of time on my side this morning as Jake attempted to put a very darling though fussy baby down for an early morning nap, I cooked! Since the weather is now getting colder and I only had 20 minutes, I made a batch of chili:

First I threw in about 1/4 of a cup of diced red pepper, 1/4 c diced green pepper, and 1/4 c diced yellow onion in a pot with a bit of olive oil. Then I added two chopped carrots, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of kidney beans, a can of black beans, half a can of corn, 1/2 cup of Morningstar crumbles, and a dash or three of chili powder and some shredded cheddar cheese (this would be a vegan dish without the cheese). A friend of mine adds a T of brown sugar to her chili -- but it's also just as tasty without...

Yum, healthy and easy to make. It will likely last two night as well - I should really do this more often. While Jake likes to put his chili on a baked potato, I eat mine in a bowl - perhaps with a cracker or two.

Apple Cake Victory Dance

2010-10-19T15:41:00.009-05:00

My daughter napped again for the second day in a row, and I am a new woman.

Oh, it's not like she never naps. She naps often, about 20-30 minutes at a time. In my arms. And then as soon as I go to put her down her eyes snap open and she either smiles or cries. It's quite devastating. And we're back to the drawing board, me trying to coax out another nap another 45 minutes or hour later.

And then yesterday happened. I had low expectations of you, Monday. I put our little swaddled Rebecca on my shoulder, played with my iPod, rocked in our glider and let her cry a bit and then doze on my damp from drool, cramped-from-holding-it-still-and-upright shoulder for 35 minutes. Then I turned off the iPod. Stood up. Tiptoed ever so quietly to put her down, and of course, as always, her hazel-blue eyes popped open. I nearly ducked, as to not make eye contact. But then, to my complete shock, her eyes closed, her face a vision of peace and repose.

Oh, the joy of having the next two hours (Two! hours!) to myself. I answered emails to colleagues and friends. Called people back. Did a bit of work. Contemplated my dissertation. Sat on the couch and closed my eyes. It was beautiful.

And again, today. She went down from 11:45-2. I may have never known such happiness. I'm sort of kidding. After answering some obligatory emails and prepping for class, I asked myself, what would I like to do? Jake was home for a spell and he asked if I wanted to go for a run. No, not really. It's not that a breastfeeding woman can't run; of course she can. However, a couple times I had an enormous struggle getting Becca to nurse after my workouts. I felt like we were wrestling; she was so fussy. Isn't fussy such a very polite word for "screaming her head off"? I called a local breastfeeding support group and learned a bit about lactic acid buildup changing the flavor of breast milk. Who knew? So I'd rather not ever go through that again. Now I try to run right after she nurses on Saturday and Sunday mornings; otherwise it's nearly impossible.

So with some time on my side, I made a cake. Chopped, stirred, and tasted a luscious, fall-esque apple cake. Again (I made it a few weeks ago).

We have plenty of apples after we went to Eckert's apple orchard in Belleville for apple-picking a week ago on an unseasonably warm fall day. Jake and Rebecca strolled through the orchard together. She screamed most of the time due to the heat and most likely being overtired (see above), but I suppose it didn't matter. I remember last fall when just Jake and I drove out to Illinois to pick apples three days after I took a pregnancy test. We felt so giddy and kept hugging. Jake had eaten his first apple (really), and I made a cake afterward too.

Cheers to fall, and to making traditions. It's finally starting to feel less like summer.

Apple Cake

2010-10-02T13:10:00.005-05:00

baked potato - yum

beautiful apple cake

After Jake came home today, he went in the nursery to put down the baby (which often takes more than an hour) and then I couldn't decide what to do with myself: Should I go for a jog? Give myself a manicure? Run an errand? Work on my dissertation? No, no, no. So I baked a potato for lunch and made Smitten Kitchen's lovely apple cake.

My dad had brought us some Fuji apples -- a ton of them, so I wanted to use some up in a recipe. Apple cake always reminds me of my grandma, a wonderful baker, the kind of woman who didn't need recipes in the kitchen. I miss her.

Not Cooking...

2010-09-28T14:32:00.005-05:00

I am sitting at a coffee shop not far from home while our wonderful nanny is with my baby. I've spent about 90 minutes on work, so now I thought I'd stop by this site before heading home.

How I miss blogging! And cooking! Yet...I don't have it in me at the end of the day. Perhaps in another month, when Becca can sit in a Bumbo in the kitchen and watch me chop vegetables or saute something.

It's beautiful in St. Louis today. Because I'm currently teaching an undergraduate course on women and happiness, I've been thinking more about my own happiness lately. I've found that the things that made me happy when I was a kid (art, pie, friends) still make me happy, in addition to the wonder/awe I feel around Rebecca every single day.

And here is the food that I haven't cooked that makes me happy lately:

-Neopolitan ice cream
- Decaf coffee
-Nectarines (how I would like to DO THIS with fruit)
- Steamed broccoli (we've had this the past two nights - sprinkled with salt and pepper...so easy)
-My mother's amazing chili (I'll get a recipe)

That's all folks. Just wanted to say hi.

Honey cake

2010-09-05T10:50:00.004-05:00

Well, our baby is 11 weeks today and she is a real joy to hang out with during her (many) waking hours. She coos and smiles and "talks" to us, kicks her little legs, gets mad during "tummy time," and likes to accompany us on long walks through the neighborhood. Her eyes are wide as I babble on and on to her about the squirrels, motorcycles, construction workers, birds and flowers we walk by. I so love the many faces she makes, her wide grins, and the time we spend together. Even the shortest bouts of time we spend apart are difficult, I must admit.

In other news, the school year has started and I am teaching once again, and continuing wor on a third dissertation chapter. Work takes extraordinary effort these days, but I am also glad to have it.

The weather is beautiful here -- this kind of weather always transports me back to my college days (so long ago!). I so remember the lovely summer-to-fall transition at Mizzou, the changing leaves on East campus, and the long walks and runs I used to take.

These days I take much shorter walks and runs -- but at least I am back in motion. I'm jogging a few miles a week again, and it's wonderful. I am not as fast or strong as I once was, but it's always this way after not having run for a while. I've been running since I was 16, and I feel like, well, like myself when I jog.

Yesterday Jake played with the baby (and sang her old cowboy songs) while I jogged, took a bath, made a honey cake, and read a magazine (Vogue).

Here is the honeycake recipe, a repeat but a worthy repeat. Happy New Year to all my Jewish friends and family!

Life with Baby (I'm not Cookin' These Days)

2010-08-03T12:36:00.004-05:00

Meet Rebecca.

She is a joy to know. I've spent the last six weeks getting to know her, and she is a sweet, angelic, smiley, fiery, engaged little person. She has my mouth, Jake's hair, and a personality all her own. We love her so much.

Needless to say, I'm not cooking much these days. Let's see...I made egg salad once. I toast bagels. I pour milk. And that's really about it.

Perhaps in the fall I will come back to the kitchen and play with ingredients again. Perhaps this blog with morph into my musings about babydom. We'll see...

It worked!

2010-06-23T08:27:00.002-05:00

We welcomed our daughter, Rebecca, into the world on June 20th at 2:44 a.m. She is absolutely the most amazing thing that's ever happened to us.

Eggplant Parmigiana

2010-06-18T14:42:00.010-05:00

Eggplant sauted in olive oil.

A marinara sauce with LOTS of herbs.
Layer upon layer: sauce/eggplant/cheese, repeat!

Baked Eggplant Parmigiana.

I had very little planned today, mostly because I thought today would be a perfectly lovely day to have a baby. But no baby yet. So instead I thought I'd make something lavish that is rumored to induce labor.

So after my morning 2 mile walk, I ran over to the grocery store and LOADED up a basket with tons of goodies: eggplant, bread crumbs, cheeses, spices, tomatoes, and pineapple and nectarines for dessert. As I lugged the basket to the counter, I sighed heavily. The teenager checking me out raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" she asked, looking pretty worried. She grabbed a cart for me to roll out to the car in our 95 degree heat, and I'm glad she did.

I spent the last two hours in the kitchen, chopping, sauteing, and stirring -- which I haven't done in a while, and it's been lovely. Will the famous eggplant parmigiana send me into labor in my 40th week here? Hard to predict. But we will enjoy it nevertheless:) Happy Friday!

Rice and Vegetable Medley

2010-06-13T17:28:00.003-05:00

I like to eat dinner early on Sundays, so we usually do. As my due date approaches, I haven't felt like cooking quite as often so we've been dining on Thai takeout again, our old staple. But tonight I whipped up an easy rice mix and added the following:

2 diced tomatoes
1 diced red pepper
2 chopped carrots
1/2 diced yellow onion
2 T garlic
2 leaves of basil (torn) (I heard this herb could help bring on labor - cheers to that tip...)
1/2 t oregano
1 potato (sliced and boiled)
a handful of dried cranberries
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan and Gruyere cheese (skip the cheese to make this a completely vegan dish)
pepper to taste

I sauted the garlic and onion in extra virgin olive oil, added the red pepper, carrot, cranberries, boiled potato and spices, and then added that entire mixture to the rice and tomatoes. I added the cheese and pepper at the end. Then we ate;) Early. Sunday-style.

Voila: The concoction was festive with its reds, oranges, and flecks of green.

Blueberry Muffins

2010-06-08T13:59:00.005-05:00

While it rained and thundered outside today, I baked these muffins. The recipe made 16 muffins (not 12). I'm planning to freeze them so that we can slowly eat them for breakfast this summer. I love the lemony topping - yum;)

Strawberry Festival

2010-06-05T14:55:00.006-05:00

We went to the Strawberry Festival in Kimmswick, MO today - a short little day trip. Part of me hoped that walking around outside would bring on labor (but no).

Jake and I kept laughing that the town had an inferiority complex about this festival being the second biggest festival in town, second to the apple butter festival in October. It's one of the first things mentioned on the festival website. And sure enough, we get there and the first person we talk to tells us, "This isn't Kimmswick's biggest festival, you know." Yeah, we know.

Here are a few more pics from the day:

garden kitsch

My strawberry salad at Mary's Sweet Shoppe.

barbershop quartet sings "Barbara Ann"

Of course, my favorite reporter dropped his ice cream;)

Amazing Peanut Butter Cookies

2010-06-03T10:34:00.004-05:00

So yes, Smitten Kitchen's recipe for peanut butter cookies is possibly the best cookie recipe ever. The cookie is cake-like, the peanut and chocolate butter chips melty, and the fairy-like sugary dusting...perfecta.

Voila:

Angel Hair Pasta

2010-06-02T15:11:00.004-05:00

Sautéd onion and garlic/pot of tomato sauce on the stove.

The raw materials: shredded Parmesan and garlic from a can (usually I buy the bulbs).

Pasta!

Happy June! Woo hoo, so glad it's finally June, and I hope you had a lovely and long Memorial Day weekend. I spent mine trying to stay cool indoors most of the time, watching movies, and reading about the sad life of Sylvia Plath. I really must find more upbeat reading material. We also went here and made a picnic out of falafel, pita and hummus.

So Jake and I made this easy pasta dish (yes, again) last night. I bought some angel hair pasta at Whole Foods yesterday and then added a fairly light sauce made from one can of Whole Foods organic tomato sauce, 1/4 sautéd yellow onion and 2 T minced garlic, and shredded Parmesan cheese. I liked that the sauce was low in sugar and sodium, which is rare for tomato sauce.

Today I'm meeting my dad at the boathouse for dinner, where I'll likely eat their veggie burger - it's delicious. I've also recently been scouring Smitten Kitchen's famous blog for dessert recipes, so perhaps I'll make something totally decadent soon.

In other news, I'm tightening up a couple articles and editing chapter 2 of my dissertation, cleaning, buying last-minute items for the baby, and waiting! (and waiting. and waiting. and waiting). It feels like it will happen in the next two weeks, though I'm no psychic. So ex*cit*ing!

Breakfast Smoothie

2010-05-28T09:44:00.002-05:00

Blend the following:

1 peach
1/2 banana
1 low fat Stonyfield plain yogurt
1/2 c soymilk
2 T wheat germ
ice cubes

YUM!

Freezing a Large Batch of Chili

2010-05-25T12:42:00.004-05:00

I know, I know, do I make anything other than chili? Not much. But I really think it's the perfect food with a good slice of bread. So today I decided to make a pretty big batch and freeze it so that Jake and I and perhaps my mom can eat it in the first week or so after the baby is here. Jake keeps asking, "Are we really people who cook and freeze things?" Yes, my dear, we really are. Whatever that means. To me, it means we are planners.

So after googling the heck out of this, the Internet's verdict is to cook the chili, put it in small containers and let them cool to room temperature, and then freeze for "ages," which seems prettty open to interpretation, no?

(Vegan) Chili:

2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T garlic (I heart garlic)
3/4 of a yellow onion, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 large carrots, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes with onions (chili style)
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
Half-pound of Morningstar tofu (acts like ground beef)
as much oregano and chili powder as you desire

Saute your garlic and onion in olive oil for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat, then add your peppers. Rock out to Rilo Kiley or whatever you like, then add the carrots, then tomatoes, then beans and tofu. Taste test your chili as you add your spices -- just like Anne Burrell says (orders).

Potato, Bean and Cheese Torta

2010-05-22T18:37:00.004-05:00

uncooked:

cooked!

School is now out for summer, and Jake and I are finishing birth classes, adjusting our birth plan, baby proofing our home and finally...waiting. The due date is one month from today! My mother thinks I will deliver early; I get no sort of hunch about this... At this point, I certainly feel like I've seen many movies about birth, attended enough classes, and read quite a bit -- but who is ever really ready/prepared for such a major event? Well, we are certainly trying to be.

Otherwise I've been trying to transform a chapter into an article, see friends a bit more, and take regular walks even though my current pace is a 30 minute mile, my all time low. Jake has been sweet about walking at my snail-like pace, and I hope to go to the Botanical Garden next weekend with him. He has never been there except to attend a wedding (and he calls himself a St. Louisan!)

Tomorrow we see our brunch group, and I'm craving protein right now, so I made this yummy torta again. I made this dish a few months ago, but I tweaked it since then so it would be tastier (no more olives/a bit more cheese & tomatoes). Here is the recipe:

Torta:
1 cup diced cooked potatoes
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 T olive oil
3/4 cup diced tomato
1 can low sodium black beans

8 eggs

1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
2/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1/3 cup shredded aged cheddar cheese

First boil your potatoes and then add then to a frying pan with a little olive oil, your red pepper, and garlic. Saute this mixture for about 5-8 minutes, then take off the burner. Add your tomato and beans and stir. In a bowl mix the eggs spices, and cheese. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and put the potato-bean layer on first, then put the egg mixture on top. Bake for 30 minutes at 400. Delicious.

If I had an onion, I would have added it, too. To my lovely vegan friends, you might also substitute vegan cheese and use tofu instead of eggs to make this a vegan dish.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Edamame

2010-05-19T18:34:00.005-05:00

A yummy carb-heavy dinner tonight:

Whole wheat pasta with sauce:
1/3 diced yellow onion sautéd in extra virgin olive oil
tomato paste
2/3 c Morningstar tofu crumbles
1/2 c edamame

Blackberry Cobbler

2010-05-18T17:33:00.002-05:00

Maybe it's because school is finally winding down and I have more time on my hands now, or maybe it's because I am 8 months pregnant and feel a compulsion to be busybusybusy. Or maybe it's because I really should be editing parts of my dissertation, and beginning a new chapter. Or maybe lately I just want something sweet every single day.

Whatever the reason, I have been a baking fool lately:
Speaking of berries, I can't wait to go to this.

Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins

2010-05-16T18:49:00.003-05:00

A tale of two muffins

I felt like baking again this morning, so I made the following, modifying an earlier recipe. Here is the (butter-free) muffin recipe:

Mix the following dry ingredients together:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 and 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda

Mix together the following ingredients in a smaller bowl:
2 very ripe bananas (mashed)
3 T orange juice
1 large egg (you might use 4 oz. applesauce as a substitute to make this a vegan recipe)
2/3 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) blueberries
1 t honey

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together. Pour the batter into greased muffin tins and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. They're not supersweet, but they're healthy and hearty.

Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins

2010-05-10T20:16:00.002-05:00

I made these tonight for my morning class tomorrow -- they're beautiful and smell lovely. Tomorrow is their final exam day and therefore officially my last day pre-baby! I'm looking forward to the pool opening soon:)

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

2010-05-06T07:47:00.001-05:00

Go Cards!

Breakfast of Champions:
6 chopped strawberries
1 small banana
1/4 c plain yogurt
a drizzle of honey
1/2 T wheat germ
some soy milk
4 ice cubes

Whole Wheat Pasta with Homemade Sauce

2010-05-06T07:44:00.001-05:00

While watching the Food Network the other night, I asked Jake, "Why don't we ever make pasta? That looks so good!"

So here we are -- last night I made whole wheat pasta with a sauce made from tomato sauce, diced stewed tomatoes, broccoli, and feta cheese. Here today, gone tomorrow:

Empanadas - Part III

2010-04-29T16:57:00.003-05:00

I finally bought a rolling pin and cookie cutters from Amazon! & wow, these gadgets make empanada-making so much easier.

Jake could probably eat these every night if I made them. I try to make a batch about every other week, which lasts a couple days or so. I learned how to make them from the excellent Kitchen Conservatory -- and their May classes look delightful, by the way (especially since I swoon for dainty tea party fare). In other news, since it's almost May - Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May - I've been at this blog for almost a year now! It's been a good ride. Though I wish I cooked with more variety and more often, the blog still makes me accountable every once in a while, and it's been a lot of fun, too. It's interesting to shape a recipe into a narrative, or mold an hour in the kitchen into an anecdote.

Enjoy the empanadas, friends.

Empanadas (makes about a dozen)

Pulse in a Cuisinart/mix by hand:
1 c all-purpose flour (or try 1/2 c whole wheat flour with 1/3 c all-purpose flour)
1/2 t salt
4 T margarine (you might use vegan margarine and sour cream to make this a vegan recipe)
Add 1/4 c ice water

Roll out your dough and use a cup or cookie cutter to make about 12 circles/decorative shapes to fill.

Filling: Saute in frying pan:
3 T margarine
1/2 yellow onion
chopped and cleaned Portabella mushrooms (about 1/4 pound)
1 t balsamic vinegar
1/2 t sugar
1/4 t marjoram

Once this cools, add a dollop in sour cream (or other cheese of your liking) to the mixture.

Put your filling in your cute dough shapes (I used a pumpkin cookie cutter this evening); use egg white to make the dough stick when you fold it over the filling; pop in the oven for about 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

Deliberately Making Chili

2010-04-27T17:08:00.005-05:00

A few days ago my mother told me that I cook so quickly. A few months ago – maybe a year ago – my husband told me that I rush around and hurry too often. I took his comments to heart and thought about the risk that rushing could pose; I’ve cut down on multitasking since then. Now, when I’m driving a car, I’m no longer also answering a text message. When I’m talking on the phone at home, I’m no longer also doing laundry and cooking and responding to a student's question via email.

But when my mom said I seem to cook so quick – chopping in a few brusque strokes or throwing olive oil around – I had to think about this for a while too. And maybe I do. So tonight when I made chili, I didn’t put music on and I didn’t take out a magazine article I wanted to read. I simply made chili, deliberately, slowly cutting my vegetables and adding spices with purpose. I can’t say the chili is better – but I didn’t cut myself while carving and I put more energy into the meal than I have in chilis of the past.

Here is the recipe:

2 T olive oil

1/3 diced yellow onion

3 minced garlic gloves

1 diced red pepper

2 chopped celery stalks

1 can of stewed tomatoes

1 can of chili beans

2/3 c of Morningstar tofu crumbles

1 T of brown sugar (My friend Mel made her chili this way last week and it was wonderful)

1 t oregano

a sprinkling of chili powder

shredded cheese

Dice, mince and slice your onion, pepper, garlic and celery and then sauté them over medium heat with your olive oil.
Add the Morningstar tofu, beans and tomatoes, sprinkle and stir in your spices, and let simmer for 10 or so minutes.
Top with cheese.

Yum.

p.s. In Parenting magazine this month (yes, I am now reading this magazine) they reported that lowering your carb intake might send your cholesterol higher. The magazine’s news flash: “Carbs aren’t necessarily evil and can be your friend.” Cheers.

p.p.s. I go to my 32 week OB appt tomorrow - it's getting closer and closer to babygirl's arrival! Here is the latest pic of our nursery:

Molasses Sugar Cookies

2010-04-20T21:07:00.006-05:00

This recipe is on the back of my Brer Rabbit Molasses bottle, and it's seriously delicious. I can't remember if I've made them for the blog before...Did you know that molasses is a good source of iron? I'm reminded of pregnant Rebecca Walker in Baby Love who downs a tablespoonful of it to add more iron to her diet. Yuck. Molasses sugar cookies seem to me a much more soothing way to add iron. Here's the recipe, which I halved:

3/4 c margarine
1 c sugar
1/4 c molasses
1 egg
2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground cloves (I have no cloves)
1/2 t ground ginger (ditto)

Mix the wets, mix the drys, add the dry stuff to the wet stuff, form balls of dough and roll them in sugar and place them on a nonstick cookie sheet, then pop in the preheated oven at 375 for 6-8 minutes.

And voila ~ enjoy.

Mmm -- cookie and milk.

p.s. Brer Rabbit says you can get 5 dozen cookies out of this recipe. Well, I halved it and made 14 cookies.

p.p.s. Brer Rabbit also suggests using molasses as a topping on pancakes, waffles, French toast, hot cereal or ice cream -- anyone do this?

Broccoli, Cheese, & Tofu Stuffed Baked Potatoes

2010-04-14T19:40:00.007-05:00

I had a hankering for a baked potato tonight and then I thought - let's make this more interesting.

So I baked a few medium-sized gold potatoes (for 70 minutes at 350 - my oven is a bit slow), scooped out the insides, and mashed the potato with a fork.

Then I added 2/3 c steamed broccoli, 2/3 c cooked Morningstar tofu crumbles, 1/3 c shredded cheddar cheese, 2 T of margarine and a few T of milk (soy milk).

I finally added a dash of salt and pepper, then spooned the potato-tofu-broccoli-cheese mixture back into the potatoes. I sprinkled a bit of shredded cheese on top and popped them back in the oven at 250 for another 10 minutes.

Voila -- pretty pretty and pretty tasty too. Did you know that one potato provides 45% of your daily Vitamin C requirements? Go potato!

Midday Salad

2010-04-09T13:01:00.003-05:00

Today's salad includes the following:

-red leaf lettuce
- tomato
- cucumber
- carrot
- avocado
- raisins
- sunflower seeds
- Gorgonzola cheese

Mmm, I heart salads, as do most vegetarians I know. Yet there's nothing worse than ordering a salad to find a pile of limp iceberg lettuce with a few chunks of tomato. I dream of salads with corn and beans, strawberries and pineapple, tofu and walnuts.

whole wheat cherry-raisin-banana bread

2010-04-08T17:48:00.007-05:00

After a cooking hiatus, I've had my mind on baking a whole wheat cherry-raisin-banana bread for days now, so tonight I made finally made it;)

Here's my recipe:

2 very ripe bananas
2 tsp orange juice
1 egg (you might use applesauce as a substitute to make this a vegan recipe)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup frozen cherries (thawed and sliced)
1/2 c raisins

Mix the dry ingredients -- then mix the wets -- then add one to the other. Then into the oven for 1 hour at 350 -- yum! This would also probably make a good batch of healthy muffins.
And the house will smell delicious;)

Broccoli Knishes

2010-03-28T19:25:00.001-05:00

My last recipe of the day -- broccoli knishes. Though they don't look like the knishes I feasted on as a kid due to their smaller size and less doughy texture, I'm sure they will still be quite edible. Bonus - they're also fat-free. Happy Pesach!

Passover Brownie Cake

2010-03-28T10:49:00.002-05:00

I'm ripping off recipes all over the Internet this morning - I settled on making a Passover brownie/cake blend for tomorrow evening after weighing all dessert options.

Pretty pretty (and smells delicious):

Charoset

2010-03-28T09:21:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow night is the first night of Passover, and I'm making our charoset early.

This year I used:

3 apples (peeled, cored, chopped - I used Pink Lady and Empire)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 c golden raisins
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/4 t cinnamon
3 T grape juice

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Wheat Germ

2010-03-28T07:15:00.002-05:00

Making a healthier cookie occurred to me the other day, so I scoured the net to find this recipe on yet another stunningly beautiful blog. There are so many great cooking blogs - I'm constantly impressed with the creativity and style of authors.

Anyway, I made the cookie for a friend's baby shower today - I hope they're enjoyed;)

Healthier Empanadas - Broccoli and Mushroom

2010-03-25T15:53:00.007-05:00

After receiving rave reviews from my husband over the empanadas I made last week, I decided to make them again for tonight, only this time a healthier version with less butter, some whole wheat flour, and broccoli.

Here is what I did: Place 1 c white flour, 1 c whole wheat flour and 1/2 t salt in a food processor and process for 30 seconds. Cut 6 T of chilled butter into pieces and add to the food processor; pulse several times until the mixture resembles course meal. Add 1/2 c ice water and stop the machine as the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and flatten it into a disk. Roll the dough into a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut out circles of dough, and place a rounded teaspoon of the filling in the center. Moisten the edges of the dough with a fingertip or brush dipped in egg white and then fold over the filling. Place in the oven at 375 for 2o to 25 minutes.

Filling:
3 T olive oil
1/2 large red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minces
1/2 t sugar
1 t balsamic vinegar
1/3 pound fresh wild mushrooms (I got mine at Whole Foods), chopped
3/4 c of broccoli, chopped
1/4 c sour cream

To make the filling, add 2-3 T of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the onion and garlic slowly for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the sugar and vinegar and cook until the mixture is brown and syrupy. Stir in the mushrooms, then broccoli, and finally stir in the sour cream and then chill.

Voila - eat and enjoy!

Also, take a look at this fun T-shirt - my cousin saw a woman wearing it (at a bakery, of course) and he snapped the photo -- love it!:

Fruit cobbler

2010-03-20T11:33:00.008-05:00

\

I have been madly craving sweets this week. In the back of my head I hear my OB telling me to eat more protein and fewer carbs if I want to get full. Yet I cannot stop my mind from brownie and cobbler fantasies.

So this morning, a fairly dreary Saturday morning in St. Louis, I opened a Williams-Sonoma cook book on desserts - great way to start off the day with desserts, no? Anyway, I found a recipe for a nectarine-raspberry cobbler but I changed this to an apple-blueberry-raspberry cobbler, which made our home smell delicious. I put on a CD of The Waifs (I can't recall how this came into my hands, but whoever burned this for me, thank you thank you!) and got down to business:

1. Preheat oven to 375 and have an 8-inch square baking dish ready.

2. Peel two Fuji apples, remove core, dice and place in bowl. Add 6 oz. of blueberries, 6. oz. of raspberries, and 3 T of sugar. Then pour the mixture into the baking dish.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 buttermilk and 1 t vanilla.

4. In a large bowl, mix 3/4 c flour, 1/4 c sugar, 1 t baking powder, 1 t baking soda, and 1/2 t salt. Cut in 6 T of cold butter into the mixture forms coarse crumbs, and then add the buttermilk mixture until a soft dough forms, which you will drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the fruit.

5. Bake for about 35 minutes. Eat!

In other news, here is the finished mural in our nursery -- the artist, Courtney Veszi, did the most amazing job. It was such fun deciding what to paint and coming up with a design with Courtney. At first Jake was stuck on alligators, since we've both so enjoyed trips to the Florida Everglades:

However, can you imagine walking into a nursery in the wee hours and spotting a dozen alligators grinning at you? Well, I couldn't.

So we decided on a forest scene. I've so loved hiking with Jake on our last couple vacations, and the woods always feels very homey to me:

Here are some photos of Courtney's work:

Grilled Cheese w/Tomato

2010-03-18T11:59:00.004-05:00

What perfect simplicity. A grilled cheddar cheese and tomato sandwich on whole wheat bread. I could just...eat you.

And, here is a pic of me at 26 weeks pregnant. I'm sort of making a face, but it's one of the only recent pregnancy photos I have, so oh well.

Carmelized Onion and Mushroom Empanadas

2010-03-16T19:23:00.007-05:00

Morels! And shitake! Mmm...

Bake these for 20-25 minutes at 375.

Voila!

I learned to make these in a cooking class a couple weeks ago, and I finally got around to making them at home tonight...because I'm on Spring Break from teaching this week! It's been nice so far - I've been trying to make time to go outside and I've actually gotten some dissertation writing done.

Here's the recipe (which I made 3/4 of):

Place 2 c flour and 1/2 t salt in a food processor and process for 30 seconds. Cut 8 T of chilled butter into pieces and add to the food processor; pulse several times until the mixture resembles course meal. Add 1/2 c ice water and stop the machine as the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and flatten it into a disk. Roll the dough into a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut out circles of dough, and place a rounded teaspoon of the chilled filling in the center. Moisten the edges of the dough with a fingertip or brush dipped in egg white and then fold over the filling. Place in the oven at 375 for 2o to 25 minutes.

Filling:
3 T of unsalted butter
1 large red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minces
1/2 t sugar
1 t balsamic vinegar
1/2 pound fresh wild mushrooms (I got mine at Whole Foods), chopped
1/4 c sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

To make the filling, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the onion and garlic slowly for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the sugar and vinegar and cook until the mixture is brown and syrupy. Stir in the mushrooms and finally stir in the sour cream and then chill. Season with salt and pepper.

Overall, they're delicious, but the mushroom filling recipe makes too much for the dough - you might lessen it by 1/3. Also, using a stick of butter seems a little intense to me, so you might lighten this up too - using olive oil to cook the mushrooms perhaps or at least cutting the butter a bit.

Financiers

2010-03-13T21:50:00.005-06:00

Eat fruit!

After skimming through Dorie Greenspan's most beautiful cook book about Parisian sweets yesterday, I decided to make something with almonds and fruit - a dainty dessert called Financiers. Dorie Greenspan describes them as a nineteenth century tea cake. However, friends, my financiers do not look like Dorie Greenspan's financiers. I realized this in the end - the recipe called for rectangular financier molds or mini-muffin pans, and well, we don't have anything other than regular muffin pans. So perhaps these are jumbo financiers. But I took a ziplock with a couple to Alice in Wonderland tonight, and if you have a sweet tooth, they certainly do the trick, providing a warm nutty sweetness.

The recipe:

Put 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter (so much butter! I'd lessen this next time or experiment with olive oil) on medium heat in a sauce pan and stir occasionally until the butter has browned. Dorie warns you not to step too far away from the pan since browned butter can quickly become black.

Add 1 cup of crushed almonds and 1 cup of sugar (I wonder if you might substitute apple sauce for sugar, too) to another pan and add 6 egg whites on low heat, stirring for about 2 minutes.

Add 2/3 cup of all-purpose flour to the almond mixture, slowly add the butter, then put the batter (I'd moved mine to a mixing bowl at this point) in the fridge for at least an hour.

Then dust your muffin pans or financier molds with flour, add the mixture -- I inserted golden raisins or pieces of plum into ours - and bake for 13 minutes at 400 degrees.

The end product:

Not cooking...

2010-03-12T19:41:00.005-06:00

I've been off this week.

A nasty bout of food poisoning and a recovery diet of Jell-o, toast and bland scrambled eggs have left me with little to write about this week.

But now I'm back baby.

I just read this delightful story and feel overcome with a hankering to bake again.

So watch out:) I'm skimming the pages of Paris Sweets for inspiration. Reading about bread in Paris reminds me of the five lovely wintry days Jake and I once spent there. I remember that I felt motion sickness after a train ride and stayed in our hotel room to sip soup while Jake went out to find a "good loaf of bread" in the city. He brought about ten loaves back to the room.

I think I'll bake tomorrow morning before we head out to make some decisions about nursery furniture.

Potato and Black Bean Torta

2010-03-04T19:06:00.007-06:00

I made matzo ball soup again this week, and then tonight I adapted this recipe from my lovely friend Chava's blog, a blog that I just cannot praise enough. I honestly feel as though Chava teaches me to cook from 600 miles away. She features the most gorgeous meals all the time on her blog, and sometimes, like tonight, I feel that I must make these dishes riiiight away! So here is Chava's torta, which I've adapted just a bit to add more veggie protein and make do with what is in our fridge;)

Potato and Black Bean Torta

1 cup diced cooked potatoes

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced

2.5 oz olives, sliced

3 T olive oil
1/2 cup diced tomato
1 can low sodium black beans

8 eggs

1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

~ Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 9X13" baking dish with cooking spray.

~ In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and olives and cooked potatoes in the olive oil.

~ Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the diced tomato and black beans.

~ In a separate bowl, beat the eggs along with the cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper.

~ Transfer the onion-tomato mixture to the baking dish, and pour the egg mixture on top.

~ Bake for 30 minutes.

Thank you Chava dear!

Raspberry and Cherry Hamantaschen

2010-02-25T18:01:00.005-06:00

I was so tired from the cold this afternoon that I thought I'd either bake, nap, or go to the gym to wake myself up. Baking won.

It dawned on me today that Purim starts this weekend, so what better cookie to bake than Hamantaschen? I remember one year when Jake lived in Philadelphia - his mom used an Amazon.com box to send him Hamantaschen. She crossed out Amazon.com and wrote Purim.mom instead:) For some reason this always stayed with me.

Tonight I scoured the net and found a recipe I could make at jewishrecipes.org - which I halved:

Favorite Hamantaschen Cookie Dough and Fillings
Yield: about 5 dozen

* 3 eggs
* 1 cup oil
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/2 cup orange juice
* 1/8 tsp salt
* 4 cups flour

Let the dough sit for 15 minutes, then roll it out and use a cookie cutter (or mug) to make round shapes, add your preserves, fold into triangles, and brush with beaten egg batter before placing them on a lightly greased cooking sheet and putting them in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

This year I used cherry preserves and raspberry preserves, since we typically don't keep prunes or poppy seeds in the house. I usually prefer apricot, but we were out of that, too.

I remember how my grandma loved Hamantaschen from Pratzel's, a bakery in town. I miss her. She once told me my cookies were like Pratzel's. But, well, they're really not. Grandmas just say stuff like that...

Stuffed French Toast

2010-02-19T11:12:00.007-06:00

I’ve been waking up around 6 a.m. lately, so I’ve been eating meals earlier. Okay by me. Anyway today I was home around lunchtime, waiting for the Salvation Army reps to pick up an old desk, so I started leafing through Eating Well When You’re Expecting. I had ordered it when I was about eight weeks pregnant, read it in one sitting, and pretty much forgot about it. However, there are tons of useful – and vegetarian – recipes in the back of the book. Lately I’ve been trying to eat more protein so I looked for something quick and protein-rich to make for lunch.

Here is what I found:

Stuffed French Toast (my photo does not do it justice)

Spread 1 T of almond, soy, or peanut butter on whole wheat bread. Spread 2 T of fruit preserves over one slice. Arrange ½ a banana sliced thinly between the bread.

Place one egg, ¼ cup milk (I used soymilk), ½ t vanilla extract and ½ t ground cinnamon in a bowl and whisk.

Place the sandwich in the milk mixture and let soak for a minute on each side.

Heat up oil (I used butter spray) in a small skillet over medium-high heat – cook the sandwich 2-3 minutes on each side.

So yummy. Chief, my mercurial cat, looked hopeful that he would get a bite. He didn’t.

Kitchen Sink Chili

2010-02-18T17:33:00.008-06:00

Good news: just about everything works out in chili.

I thought I had a can of tomato paste at home but when I started cooking I realized it was tomato soup. Oh well -- it certainly worked. I thought I had Quorn but no, I had Morningstar protein on hand. I remembered that I had carrots but I only had mushrooms.

Here's what wound up in the pot tonight:

1/2 yellow onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 3 stalks of celery and 1/2 c mushrooms -- diced and sautéd in 2 T of extra virgin olive oil
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of chili beans
1 can of diced tomatoes (flavored with garlic)
1/2 can condensed tomato soup
1/2 can water
1 c leftover pea soup
1 cup Morningstar tofu crumbles
a liberal sprinkling of chili powder and black pepper
1/4 c cheddar cheese.

Voila~ I am now eating it with corn chips and it is mighty tasty. And full of protein. Which I need. So hooray.

In other news, check out this little bear cub that was recently painted in our office-turned-nursery:

Astra's Split Pea and Sweet Potato Soup

2010-02-13T15:30:00.004-06:00

After my beautiful and talented friend posted this soup recipe the other day, I felt compelled to make it -- and soon. I'm not a fan of lentils, so instead I doubled the amount of split peas. It made the house smell delicious Saturday afternoon. I will eat it for dinner and will probably eat it again for lunch tomorrow. Mmmm, soothing in the cold weather...

Vegetable-Rice Mixture (heavy on the onions)

2010-02-08T15:59:00.004-06:00

The snow made me want to eat something hearty tonight for dinner, so while I tried to write an abstract at home this afternoon, I also boiled water for 1 cup of brown rice and began sauteing the following in some extra virgin olive oil:

- 1 yellow onion

- 1 chopped carrot

- ¼ diced yellow pepper

- 1/3 diced tomato

- 1 head of broccoli

- ½ c of diced mushrooms

- ½ sliced avocado (I wasn't sure about using the avocado, but it actually made a nice addition).

I then combined the plump rice and mixed veggies and I then added a handful of sesame seeds, a box of yellow raisins, and 1/3 c vegetable broth. The result is lovely, and I plan to eat a bit now and pack some away for tonight’s mega-long dress rehearsal. Did I mention that I am going to be in a play? I think I did.

And here is one from me over the weekend after a snowfall. A freakin' snow angel:)

Nectarine/Pineapple/Berry Breakfast Shake

2010-02-05T09:24:00.004-06:00

I woke up at 5:45 a.m. today thinking about a breakfast shake. Luckily I fell back to sleep. But the desire did not wane.

So I made this:
1/2 plain yogurt single serving (I prefer Stonyfield)
a splash of vanilla soy milk
1-2 slices of fresh pineapple
1 nectarine (chopped)
about 1/2 c of frozen berries (I use a strawberry/blueberry/raspberry mixture)
1/2 t of honey
1 T of wheat germ
ice

Voila!

And here is an update on our nursery, too:)

Blue! Our building's handyman told me, "Jamie, didn't you know blue is a boy's color?" I guess I didn't see "male" on the can of paint when I picked it out;)

A Very Exciting Dinner:)

2010-02-01T20:39:00.004-06:00

Phew, what a day it has been. We woke up and drove to the doctor's office for our 20-week ultrasound. Gosh, I was anxious - I could barely sleep.

Thank goodness, everything seems to be going really well. The baby is currently 10 ounces and 10 inches long and looks to be perfectly healthy. What can I say other than we just feel so blessed.

Annnd we waited all day, working and wondering -- excruciating -- and then went out to dinner around 6:30 p.m. Over an appetizer and cranberry juice, we opened an envelope with a photo the ultrasound technician had typed on: "I'm a girl!" So sweet.

Hooray:)

Quorn Bolognese

2010-01-27T17:46:00.008-06:00

I made something like Quorn Bolognese tonight, except I used egg noodles and shells instead of spaghetti noodles. Not bad, not bad.

Speaking of spaghetti, I had a meltdown after going to The Pasta House Company in U. City a few weeks ago. I met my dad there for dinner and ordered spaghetti marinara. I asked the waiter if it was vegetarian (an old habit). He said yes, of course. The spaghetti came to the table. It was super light on the sauce but edible. Then I noticed something that had texture. I pointed it out to my dad and made him taste it. He said, "That's just Parmesan. Don't worry." I ate a bit more. Then I grew certain of it - it was not Parmesan. I asked our waiter if he gave me a meat sauce, and it was confirmed. I'm still not sure if it was my hormones or just that I hadn't had hamburger meat in about 15 years, but I put my head on the red and white tablecloth and wept, folks. We're talking shaky sobs.

Bad story.

Tonight was a much tastier experience -- the pasta "bolognese" had a light though zesty sauce that highlighted oregano, onion, tomato, and of course, the Quorn:

In other news, Jake and I are finding out our baby's gender on Monday - we're pretty excited to get an ultrasound again since we haven't had one since the 8 week mark. And now it will be 20 weeks - the halfway point!

We're planning on asking the ultrasound technician if she can write the gender down on a piece of paper instead of telling us. Jake will put the piece of paper in an envelope and hold onto it until dinner, when we will open it together. If I held onto the envelope throughout the day, I am 100 percent certain I would cheat and open the envelope before dinner. Not Jake though. So that's the plan, man. I'll let you know what happens:)

Walnut Brownies with Frosting

2010-01-24T11:49:00.005-06:00

Lately, it feels as though I should rename this blog She Bakes Brownies or something. Here I am again baking brownies using Hershey's recipes. I thought I'd get snazzy by adding red sprinkles to the frosting today.

In other news, our "nursery" looks less and less like a gross junk room these days. We've removed two pieces of furniture, piles of papers and books and it's beginning to look like we're almost ready to paint! Check out a corner view:

Also, my mother just snapped this photo -- here is me at almost 19 weeks:

Penne with Five Cheeses and a Huge Green Salad

2010-01-17T15:51:00.008-06:00

My wonderful friend, Amy, has made this tasty dish a couple times for us over the years, so I finally made it for four tonight. Here is the oozing-with-cheese recipe:

Penne with Five Cheeses (I think it's actually six cheeses, but whatever)

Ingredients:
- kosher salt
- 2 cups of heavy cream
- 1 cup of crushed tomatoes in thick tomato puree
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded Italian fontina (I couldn't find this at my grocery store so like Amy, I used Sargento's Italian mix - it does include fontina)
- 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 T ricotta cheese.
- 1/4 lb. fresh mozzarella
- 6 fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1 lb. penne pasta
- 4 T unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 500 d.
2. Bring 5 quarts of salted water to boil in a stockpot.
3. Combine all ingredients except the penne and butter in a large mixing bowl.
4. Drop the penne into boiling water and boil for 4 minutes.
5. Drain the pasta in a colander and then add to other ingredients in mixing bowl and combine.
6. Pour the entire mix into a baking dish/pyrex pan and dot the top with butter.
7. Bake just 10-15 minutes until bubbly and brown on top.

Fairly easy and deeeelicious, and it serves about 6. I made it with a huge green salad. Sometimes folks think a salad means lettuce and tomato, but to this vegetarian it means everything I have in the house (well, except cheese tonight - that'd be a cheese overload). I then whipped up a dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and honey.

A Sunday night salad:
Mixed greens.
Diced tomato.
1 avocado - sliced.
A handful of sliced mushrooms.
1 can of garbanzo beans.
Pineapple chunks.
Chopped celery.
A few T of sesame seeds.
Diced green and yellow pepper.

Funny, while I was cooking tonight I remembered an incident that occurred in the kitchen several years ago when I was living alone in Baltimore County. I left a glass baking dish on one of my burners for a while -- I didn't have much counter space -- and then I turned a different burner on to heat up water in a pot, or so I thought. Suddenly, glass exploded in my face. It was probably the most dangerous thing that had ever happened to me in a kitchen. I'm just glad I was wearing glasses - the glass was everywhere and I had been standing so close to the burners that one shard did graze my face. Ugh, I think I burst into tears. Oy.

Well, cheers to no more kitchen accidents. I no longer leave glass dishes on the stove, that's for sure.

No-Crust Spinach Quiche

2010-01-16T14:01:00.005-06:00

Pre-cooked quiche.

Jake in anticipation of eating the quiche.

How I've missed cooking - it feels like it has been a while. I started teaching again this week, and I'm also going to be in a play next month so rehearsal started this week. Anyway I've been on the go, eating here and there, grabbing this and that. I thought I'd make a couple things this weekend to last through the week.

So I've made a potato-crust quiche on the blog before, but this recipe is even easier, yay! My mom has made this recipe for years - I remember her making it for me when I was home in college breaks. It's easy to make, healthy, and delicious:)

Beat two eggs and add 1 T of flour, 1 plain Dannon yogurt, and a dash of nutmeg (I don't think she measures, so neither did I).

Add a very, very (very) well drained can of spinach and mix.

Sprinkle 1/2 c to 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on the bottom of a pie plate, which then forms its own crust. Pour the yogurt/egg/spinach mixture on top. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then at 350 for another 30 minutes.

Enjoy! Also, I made this today for tomorrow's brunch group. This tastes perfectly yummy if you make it the day before (I love knowing that about certain dishes).

Monday Night Veggies/Rice Dish

2010-01-11T18:14:00.005-06:00

All day I had a hankering for vegetables -- colorful and healthful vegetables. I was out of town for a few days and eating too much junk: frozen yogurt, cookies, creamy soups. The food was heavy and now so am I.

So tonight I am back to my usual routine. I sautéd half a yellow onion, two pressed garlic cloves, 1 sliced red pepper, 1 sliced green pepper, about 1/2 c mushroom slices, some raw broccoli, 2 diced stalks of celery, 2 diced carrots and about 1 c of protein-rich Quorn in a few T of extra virgin olive oil. I've been watching this funny show at night called "Worst Cooks in America" and I've actually been picking up a thing or two. Eg: I used to sauté onions on high heat but apparently that can burn them too quickly and does nothing to enhance flavor. Good to know.

Anyway, the veggies were a bit dry so then I added a bit of tomato sauce and made some brown rice. Voila -- an easy dinner for two (with leftovers) made from vegetables, grains and protein.

A Bit of Sunshine

2010-01-08T22:12:00.003-06:00

I'm in San Diego! Doin' the conference thing. Again. But maybe not for a while after this...

And it's beautiful and warm. Hot even. I feel lucky to have gotten away from miserable 7-degree weather for a couple days.

I also feel as tired as an old shoe. When does the second trimester energy surge come? I'm waiting! I'm ready!

Hershey's Brownies and Musings on Creating a Nursery

2010-01-02T08:18:00.007-06:00

Happy New Year! Yesterday we rang in the New Year with chocolate. Yes, this is another repeat, but one of Jake's favorite desserts. Not me - I'd prefer a baked apples/frozen yogurt combo. Long day yesterday - from a rather intimidating Babies R Us visit to lunch with family to seeing Up in the Air (is there a movie that I don't cry through lately?) to seeing lovely friends from out of town to crashing at night after baking brownies.

This morning I'm trying to wrap my mind around actually turning our "junk room"/office (at least I've stopped referring to it as the cat's room) into a nursery. This will include many steps - from cleaning and packing and storing to carpeting and painting and then finally decorating. Here is a photo of the current madness (I'll update you as it begins to resemble anything else than crazy clutter):

I'm thinking animals -- a spotted owl peaking out from a tree on the wall, a monkey clock, an animal quilt. Also, here are a few amazing nurseries I've been gaping at on the net.

And because a few people asked, here is a one of my "baby bump" as I'm currently in my 16th week (24 more weeks to go -- though the women in our family have babies early). My friend, Jeff, jokes that I'm "huge," while another friend said it looks like I've just had a big lunch. Either way, the baby is currently as big as an apple, I've read:)

My Usual Breakfast, How I've Missed You

2009-12-30T10:20:00.004-06:00

Grapes. Pineapple. Banana Slices. Wheat Germ. Oikos (organic) Greek Yogurt. A drizzle of honey. And....drumroll...a bit of coffee with soymilk.

Hi guys, I haven't seen you in weeks. Instead I've been gorging myself on egg sandwiches, waffles and muffins (hi, carbs). But today you're back. Or maybe I'm back (no pregnancy-induced nausea this morning!). So hello again fruit and dairy food groups, my old friends. Cheers to healthy breakfasts.

Holiday cookies

2009-12-25T07:38:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was a fun day. My brother came to town a few days ago so we sat around decorating these cookies for a while yesterday, using M&Ms, spice drops, sprinkles and frosting. Then we ate copious amounts of food: glazed carrots, tons of cheese, crackers and melon, green beans, my Mac and Cheese, and even red velvet cake.

So this morning I woke up and made something fairly healthy: I took a dollop of Oikos greek yogurt, a handful of frozen berries, a splash of vanilla soymilk, 1 T of wheat germ, and 1 t of honey and blended it together. I drank it so fast I didn't get to take a picture of it. Then Chief the cat finished off the remnants.

Today's plans: Movies and Chinese food!

Moosewood's Low-Fat Mac and Cheese

2009-12-24T08:07:00.006-06:00

I used to make this recipe more often, but now I haven't made it in ages. Since I misplaced my Moosewood cookbook somehow, last night I scoured the Internet for this more healthy version of the old childhood favorite and finally found it.

I love that Moosewood includes onion, cottage cheese and skim milk (I used soy milk) in the recipe - makes for a creamy yet lighter version of this dish. We also didn't have cayenne or bread crumbs, but it turned out just fine. You might also try vegan cheese instead to make this a vegan recipe.

Winter Chili -- Again

2009-12-22T16:06:00.010-06:00

I know, I know, I just made chili and blogged about it. In December no less. What kind of food blogger am I?

However, I'm pregnant! I should be able to cook whatever I feel like eating, no? (It's a pretty decent rationale - I might stick by it for months).

It's been so hard not sharing this news sooner - especially in the throes of morning sickness when my eating got, well, weird. It's also just hard not talking about it all the time:) We're very excited. And I'm also getting an extremely strong girl vibe right now, although we won't have the possibility of knowing this for certain for another month or so.

Anyway, for about 6 weeks - for those of you interested - I was up at 4 a.m. every single night gagging and hoping a B-natal lollipop would help. Sometimes it did; sometimes it didn't. I wound up watching a lot of television in the middle of the night: old Buffy the Vampire reruns, infomercials, and a long and wildly entertaining movie called The Abyss. But now I'm in my 15th week and doing a lot better - hooray.

So here is my new chili recipe -- basically my old chili recipe with a twist (thanks for the carrot suggestion, Sheri!):

1. Sauté an entire minced yellow onion in extra virgin olive oil (wear onion goggles if weepy).
2. Add an entire minced orange bell pepper, a chopped carrot or two and a chopped celery stalk.
3. Add a can of tomato sauce, a can of kidney beans, a can of black beans, a can of diced tomatoes, and 1 cup of quorn, a meatless and soy-free protein.
4. Add 1 teaspoon of chili powder to the pot and stir everything together for a bit over medium heat. Then I put it on low heat for quite a while before eating.

Voila. Now that I'm back in St. Louis after a week in Miami, I can say with fervor: Happy winter.

Roasted Vegetable Latkes

2009-12-20T17:49:00.011-06:00

So today my mother-in-law had the most brilliant idea over what to do with leftover roasted vegetables: make vegetable latkes!

We had roasted eggplant, mushrooms, asparagus, and red and green peppers the night before (we had drizzled them with olive oil and then put them in 450 degrees for 10 or so minutes). Today she took what was left -- about four cups -- pureed them all in a Cuisinart, added 1/4 c diced yellow onion and a shallot, and then added 2 eggs and a cup of matzoh meal (as much matzoh meal as it takes for it to have a firm consistency). Then she let the mixture refrigerate for a couple hours.

Finally, she made them into little balls and flattened them out. She formed all the patties first before frying them in heated vegetable oil in a pan. She fried them 2 minutes on each side until they were delightfully crispy. Yum.

Round Holiday Challah

2009-12-18T12:31:00.012-06:00

Braided dough with eggnog and sesame seeds:

This recipe is from a lovely book called In the Jewish Tradition by Judith B. Fellner.

I am in Miami right now, so this morning my mother-in-law and I mixed up 1 and 1/4 c flour, 1/4 c honey and 1 1/2 t salt in a large bowl. We then added 1/2 c olive oil, 1 c hot tap water, then we beat the mixture together for 2 minutes. Then we added 3 eggs and 1 egg white, 1/2 flour and beat it again for another 2 minutes. Then we stirred in another 4 cups (approximately) of flour to make soft dough, which we then kneaded for about 10 minutes.

We then placed the dough in a greased bowl and covered it with plastic wrap for about an hour (or two). It doubled in size at this point, so then I punched it (punch! punch!) and divided it into three pieces, which I braided. Then we placed it on a greased cookie sheet and painted it with egg yolk and sesame seeds for another hour.

Finally, we baked it at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes. It is beautiful! Seriously, this should win a contest.

And here are a few other Miami photos. You may have heard about the flooding the occurred last week during a rainstorm (we got something like 12 inches in three hours). Here is one view:

This is Hootie, a cockapoo and one of the sweetest, most endearing animals I have ever met. I spent a lot of time with Hootie this past week and he was soooooo hard to leave!

Finally, here is one of Jake and Gabe (Jake's twin brother) and I behind the bar at the famous Joe's Stone Crab. Jake and I got there hours before dinner to put our names down so there wouldn't be a long wait once more of the family arrived. And Joe's had the best creamed spinach I've ever eaten in my life.

We also took a trip out to the Everglades again and spotted quite a few alligators - those pics are forthcoming!

Sugar Cookies/Biscuits

2009-12-14T20:06:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I had a hankering for sugar cookies. So I preheated our oven. I dug out a baking sheet. I stirred up some flour and baking soda and baking powder. I measured out some butter. Then I realized we are out of sugar (the horror, the horror). So I used Splenda (ick, right?). Nah, they were okay. I wound up with these sugar cookie/biscuit type things. Well, Jake likes them.

Weekend Chili

2009-12-11T18:06:00.003-06:00

I've had a craving for chili for days and finally just made some - I think it will last us throughout the weekend.

First I minced about 3/4 a white onion and browned it, then I added two sliced roma tomatoes (I had to put them to good use), then I added the following ingredients you see above: one can of kidney beans, one can of black beans, one can of diced tomatoes, one small can of tomato sauce, quite a bit of chili seasoning, annnnd a great ingredient my cousin told me about, Quorn, which is a soy-free meatless protein (mmm, and delish).

I let it simmer for a bit and it is ready to go for the weekend!

And Happy Hanukkah! Latkes posted soon!

Thursday's Lunch

2009-12-10T12:18:00.000-06:00

Mmmm I heart Naked Green Machine juice.

Glazed Lemon Muffins

2009-12-07T10:50:00.004-06:00

I don't know what got into me this morning. It's Monday, after all. But I woke up early (way early - 5ish) and started reading a couple cookbooks and felt inspired to make muffins. I used my favorite cookbook, the Delightful Tomato Woods. Just kidding, the Enchanted Broccoli Forest (no one will find this funny).

Here is the recipe for these supersweet Glazed Lemon Muffins. I made them so early we ate them for breakfast:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly grease 12 muffin cups if they're not nonstick (I used butter spray).

2. Combine 6 T brown sugar, 4 T melted butter, 1 cup yogurt (I used Stonybrook's French Vanilla), 1 egg, 1/4 c lemon juice, and 1/2 t grated lemon rind in a medium-sized bowl and beat well.

3. In a separate medium-sized bowl, sift together 2 c unbleached white flour, a few dashes of nutmeg (we are out of this), 3/4 t baking soda, 2 t baking powder, and 1/4 t salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet mixture. Then you can stir in optional nuts or raspberries if you desire. I added about 1/4 c chopped walnuts. Stir together.

4. Fill the muffin cups up to the rim and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan right away and cool for about 10 minutes before glazing.

5. Glaze: Combine 5 T sugar, 1/4 lemon juice and 1/2 t grated lemon rind in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer for 5 minutes then remove from heat. Let cool for 5 minutes then spoon 1-2 t glaze on top of each muffin (Note: I only had enough glaze for 3/4 of the muffins).

6. EAT!

Spanish Potato Garlic Soup

2009-12-06T15:51:00.006-06:00

sautéd green onion, one large thinly sliced potato, with 1 teaspoon of paprika.

broth!

Dinner!

Winter soups sounded so good today, so I found a recipe out of the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cook book, and took a stab at it.

Here's what I did:

I boiled a large pot with 1 sliced onion, 2 sliced sweet potatoes, 1 potato, 2 chopped celery stalks, one bay leaf, and 3 garlic cloves. I let it boil and then turned it down to a simmer and put a lid on it for an hour.

Then I unpealed an entire head of garlic and put the cloves in the oven at 400 for 20 minutes. Here is when the kitchen started to smell amazing. Then I blended the garlic with a cup of water in my Cuisinart.

I drained the vegetable broth but kept a bit of the veggies intact, added the garlic mixture and let that simmer for a while longer. Then in a pan I sautéd some green onion, one large sliced (thinly sliced) potato, with 1 teaspoon of paprika. I added a can of diced tomatoes and then eventually added this vegetable mix to the broth. Then I added a can of corn, straying from the recipe but so what - and voila! Dinner!

The verdict: I should have used more garlic, allspice like the recipe suggested, and miso with the broth (again, like the recipe suggested). It is light enough with some of my favorite veggies, but a little bland. I'd make it again with cornbread next time;)

Spaghetti Squash with Mushroom/Tomato Sauce

2009-12-02T18:56:00.006-06:00

This was an experiment, as I've never made spaghetti squash before today. But I was at the grocery store, gawking at all the luscious vegetables and I thought, well, why the hell not. But how to cook it? I turned to Google, and then mainly followed instructions from this lovely blog. I've been reading more and more blogs lately and there are SO. MANY. GREAT. VEGGIE BLOGS!

Like Lettuce Love, I halved the squash with a very sharp knife, scooped out the seeds and pulp, and baked the halves for 30 minutes at 350 while I made a tomato sauce: I sautéd 1 shallot, 1 green onion, 1/4 diced white onion for a bit, added a handful of sliced mushrooms, then added this mixture to a can of diced tomatoes, and added oregano and black pepper.

Not too shabby.

Not Cooking?!

2009-11-30T05:37:00.005-06:00

I did something a little different this Thanksgiving holiday: I didn't cook! It was the strangest thing. I haven't not cooked for Thanksgiving perhaps since I was in college. Nine years ago, oy.

So instead this year my husband and I drove 2.5 hours to the Lake of the Ozarks to hike, jog, drink hot cocoa, read books, and NOT WORK for four days. It was super lovely.

Here are the food highlights - this first photo is on Thanksgiving day where Jake and I gorged ourselves on fancy hotel cheese omelets, broccoli and cheese, and three kinds of potatoes, among other things. Here I am with a delectable slice of pear tart and coffee.
This was a real find. We drove around mid-Missouri looking for the perfect breakfast eatery and finally happened upon a cute diner in Gravois Mills, MO with $4 breakfast platters.

This might quite literally be the best pizza of my life. Shakespeare's pizza in Columbia, Missouri is fresh and overloaded with veggies and shredded cheese. It is the perfect texture and the perfect comfort food. I daydreamed about this pizza for days before tasting it.

Mustard Potato Salad

2009-11-22T16:40:00.003-06:00

I remember we always used to eat potato salad on weekends when I was a kid. Somehow, I haven't had any in years.

So today I changed that.

I boiled four large red potatoes (I didn't remove their skins -- more nutrients), chopped them up, and threw them in a bowl with a handful of diced white onion. Then I sort of eyeballed almost equal amounts of Miracle Whip, spicy mustard, sweet mustard, and dill relish until the salad was creamy and yellow.

And quite good!

Waffles with dried cherries and cranberries

2009-11-21T16:04:00.007-06:00

What do dried cranberries not taste delicious in? I woke up absolutely craving waffles, so I googled waffle mix, found this lovely recipe, and tweaked it a bit. Voila!

Combine the following ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cups whole wheat flour (if you prefer all whole-wheat waffles, try 1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour total)

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar substitute

2 eggs

1 2/3 cups vanilla soy milk

1/2 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup dried cherries

Pour the mixture into a waffle iron. Enjoy with jam or honey (or whatever you prefer)!

Peanut Stew

2009-11-19T08:25:00.003-06:00

As I said, I recently spent the weekend with my lovely foodie friend, Astra Libris, and we made some of her delicious Peanut Stew. In fact, it is so delicious that I made some more last night. Yes people, it's that good.

French Toast on a Tuesday Morning

2009-11-17T21:03:00.004-06:00

I've been really into eating breakfast lately.

Years ago I'd eat a Yoplait yogurt, but lately I've been wanting eggs, toast, or the perfect blend - French toast - in the mornings. This is especially true after spending the weekend with my lovely friend, Astra Libris - we ate eggs, veggie sausages, home made biscuits, and banana pancakes throughout the weekend (so good!).

This morning I cracked an egg into a dish and added some vanilla soy milk and a dash of cinnamon, dipped a slice of whole wheat bread into the mixture, then fried the toast and added a little honey and powdered sugar on top. Voila! Instant satisfaction.

Pasta maker!

2009-11-08T16:19:00.009-06:00

I finally used my pasta maker this weekend and it was a lot of fun. After taking a pasta-making class at the Kitchen Conservatory earlier this year, I decided that I would be a person that makes her own pasta. But how time escapes me. Anyway, I came home today from a workout and errands and thought, why not now?

So to make a recipe that serves six (think leftovers!), you use a large bowl and measure 500 grams of flour. Make a hole in the middle of the flour, then add four eggs and mix it together with a fork until you get dough that is neither too wet nor too dry. Add a bit of water or more flour if you need to do so. Then knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hands and cut a piece off to use in your pasta maker - you might even want to save some of the dough in a plastic bag for the next day.

Then piece by piece, you feed the dough through the pasta maker quite a few times until it is paper thin; then your pasta maker will make noodles (spaghetti and/or fettuccine) out of the thin dough. Also boil a pot of semi-salty water while you do this. Finally, drop the noodles into the hot water and let them boil for just a bit, then add shredded Parmesan cheese and a dab of margarine to a bowl (or a tomato sauce if you prefer). Voila! A very early Sunday supper.

Altogether with the measuring, kneading, and feeding the dough bit by bit through the pasta maker many times, I probably spent 1.5 hours in the kitchen (so lovely on a weekend, but a bit time consuming for a weekday). So I won't likely be making this a few times a week like my cooking instructor said she did. But oh so tasty! It's also nice to know exactly what you're eating:)

Weekend Eats

2009-11-08T16:08:00.003-06:00

A few favorites:

Cheddar cheese, sliced tomato and avocado on whole wheat toast!

Dip for chips or crackers -- though I could eat this with a spoon: 1/2 avocado (chopped); 1/2 tomato (diced); 1/4 white onion (minced); 1 T garlic - stirred

Orange and Molasses Oatmeal Cookies

2009-11-06T19:36:00.002-06:00

I sort of messed up an old Quaker Oats cookie recipe and came up with this:

- Heat oven to 350.
- Beat together 1 stick margarine, 1/2 c brown sugar, 1/4 c granulated sugar.
- Add 1 egg, 1/2 t orange flavoring, and 1 T molasses.
- Add combined 3/4 c all-purpose flour, 1/2 t baking soda, 1/2 t cinnamon.
- Stir in 1 and 1/2 c Quaker Oats and 3/4 golden raisins.
- Drop by rounded spoonful onto lightly greased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes (I have a slow oven).
- Let cool then eat!

My Cousins' Inventive Halloween Treats!

2009-11-04T19:14:00.005-06:00

Isn't this clever? A good idea for next year!

This was called a "Kitty Litter Cake," and since I'm used to cleaning out litter boxes, I couldn't seem to try it!

Scary - but delicious - cheese blob! Boo!

These were made with Quorn, which I want to start cooking with now. So yummy!
For the adventurous!
**Recipes coming soon!**

Matzo Ball Soup

2009-11-03T19:07:00.003-06:00

After a long day of voting, class, working out and writing, I felt like comfort food tonight. There seems to be no better comfort food than matzo ball soup. It's easy to make with a matzo ball mix, and healthy and vegetarian-friendly, too.

First you mix together 2 T vegetable oil and 2 eggs, then you add the matzo ball mix (I'm sure you could make this from scratch, but this just wasn't that kind of night) and stir. Then put this in the fridge while you make a 2.5-quart vegetable broth in a 4-quart pot, and throw in celery, carrots, egg noodles, or whatever you prefer.

When you take the matzo mix out of the fridge, make 1-inch (or 2-inch for giant matzo balls) balls with your hands and drop them into boiling water. A mix typically makes 6-9 servings for me.

Cover your pot and let simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Breakfast

2009-11-01T09:58:00.004-06:00

My husband would never go near this, but I love it:

1/2 toasted wheat bagel
Philadelphia cream cheese
Slices of tomato, cucumber and avocado
Egg salad: one hard boiled egg with Miracle Whip and relish

So good. Protein, calcium, carbs, healthy fats, and veggies. Not a bad way to start a Sunday.

p.s. My cousins had the cutest, most creative vegetarian Halloween snacks at their party last night -- I'll try to get some photos from them to show off their work!

Homespun Pot Pie

2009-10-25T08:09:00.005-05:00

I used a new cookbook last night for dinner with friends. I'd been perusing the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook for weeks, so I finally tried out a recipe: homespun pot pie. It was hearty and delicious, and tasted quite like Fall.

The directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 and lightly oil a 9x13 casserole dish.

2. Warm 1 t of vegetable in a soup pot (I used olive oil). Add 1 c coarsely chopped onions, 2-3 T minced garlic, cover and cook on medium for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add 1 t salt, 1 t thyme (we were out of thyme), 1 t dried marjoram, 4 to 5 c of mushrooms and 1 T of Dijon mustard. I changed this around a bit, adding only 2 cups of mushrooms and also 1 c cauliflower and 1 c broccoli instead. I forgot to add the mustard, even though we had some. Cook for about five minutes.

3. Then add 2 c peeled and chopped sweet potatoes (1/2-inch cubes), 2 c chopped potatoes, 2 c peeled and chopped parsnips (optional...I opted out), 1/2 t ground black pepper, and 3 c water or stock (I used water). Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Then add 3 T of cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 c cold water into the simmering vegetable mixture and stir. When the liquid starts to thicken, add 1 c fresh or frozen peas, 1 c fresh or frozen corn, 1 T soy sauce, and 1/2 t salt. Pour the vegetables into the casserole dish and set aside.

4. In a mixing bowl, sift together 2 c unbleached white flour, 1/2 t salt, 1 T baking powder, and 1/2 t baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix together 6 T melted butter and 1 c buttermilk or plain yogurt (I eventually used more like 1 and 1/3 c of plain yogurt, since the biscuit dough seemed too dry to me). Combine the wet and dry ingredients into a soft dough and drop the biscuit batter over the vegetables in the casserole dish in six equal mounds. Sprinkle 1 t chopped fresh dill over the biscuits (again, we were all out).

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes (or 33 minutes if your oven is slow like mine is) and serve immediately. It makes the house smell delightful.

Note: to make this a vegan recipe, you'd substitute soy margarine for the butter and soymilk/rice milk or soy yogurt for the buttermilk/yogurt.

Pink Applesauce

2009-10-25T08:05:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I chopped up seven apples (I did not peel the skin off) and put them in a pot, added 2/3 c water and 1 t cinnamon and let it simmer with a lid on for about 45 minutes. Then I mashed the mixture and voila: applesauce.