Simply Nurturing

When life seems to complicated to me, I find it really important to make a simple meal that feeds my soul. Rather than grabbing a bag of chips and sitting on the couch with a beer, I knew it would be a more restorative act to prepare a simple nurturing meal tonight. So, I reached into my fridge, and discovered my vegetable stash. How could I have forgotten the 'octo-carrot' I found at the Wedge Coop last week! Rice is always the thing I make a meal around when I need comfort, so I started by making a quick pot of broken rice. While the rice was cooking, I started cutting up the veggies, sharing the scraps with Chou Chou the little bunny. I always like to start by heating canola oil and toasted sesame oil in a heavy skillet, adding 1/2 julienne onion, 1 tablespoon diced ginger root, and 2 cloves of sliced garlic and saute until the onions are caramelized. Add 1 diced carrot and cook until just tender. Add a little soy sauce and a little dash of white wine, and toss in some broccoli bits. Cover and cook until al dente. Serve the veggies over the warm rice. Such a good, simple dish to comfort on a cold evening.

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I had some leftover rice and also some nice ripe mango, so I added some coconut milk, vanilla sugar, and a little bit of Celtic sea salt to the rice and topped it with fresh mango slices sprinkled with a little bit of crushed sea salt. Perfect!

Nothing says 'I Love You' like chocolate chips cookies....

Nothing says 'I love you' like chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven when you come home from school. Or, at least that is what my kids might say. I was inspired by the lovely autumn day, and my daughter talking about another 'perfect fall day' where she remembers the sun streaming through the window, walking home crunching through fall leaves and then coming home to the smell of chocolate chip cookies! So, that is what I set out to do today....with the intention of showing my motherly love through baking. There really is something cozy about having the oven going on crisp fall days, and the alchemy of butter, sugar, vanilla and chocolate chips baking. I pulled out my well worn 'Joy of Cooking' and within minutes had everyone's favorite dough to eat out of the bowl. I pulled the first tray out just as the kids got home from school. There are days I find the simple 'motherly' activities so satisfying!

Here's the recipe from 'The Joy of Cooking"

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes about 3 dozen 2 1/2 inch cookies

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. ("Joy" says to grease pans, but I prefer parchment) Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together thoroughly:

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Beat on medium speed until very fluffy and well blended:

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

Add and beat until well combined:

1 large egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract(I always add a little more!)

(and here's my secret ingredient I just love to add to everything....a little dash of 'Fiori di Sicilia', it adds a little something special)

Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended and smooth. Stir in:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup chopped roasted walnuts or pecans

Drop the dough by heaping measuring teaspoonfuls (or just use a scoop with a sweeper blade...so much easier!) onto lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are just slightly colored on top and rimmed with brown at the edges, 8-10 minutes; rotate the sheet halfway through baking for even browning. Remove the sheet to a rack and let stand until the cookies firm slightly, about 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks to cool.

(Another hint from me....actually via Shirley Corriher; heat a baking stone in the oven while you preheat and place the baking sheet with the cookie dough directly on that to bake. They just seem to bake so much more evenly that way. Shirley's new book 'BakeWise' is full of baker's wisdom!)

Mmmmmm....milk and cookies....how can you say that isn't wholesome?!

Morel Mushroom Memory....

Okay, I know it's totally not the morel mushroom season anymore, but....My friend Rolf had foraged many morel mushrooms and was generous enough to share with me, and I made this pizza, intending to have a 'real' photographer shoot it so I could more proudly blog about it, but I made the pizza, shot it with my humble camera, and enjoyed it, and it is now nothing but a fond, delicious memory!  I really enjoy making pizzas of all kinds, and my kids are fans of the particular crust recipe I use, a tried and true favorite from the 'Joy of Cooking' (new additions!) for Grilled Pizza.  I don't usually grill it, but bake it in a hot oven on my well seasoned pizza stone, and we love the results every time.  We love to experiment with different toppings, and those postings will follow....

Morel Mushroom Pizza (Thanks, Rolf!!!)

Pizza dough....(from the "Joy of Cooking")

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 Tablespoons warm water (105-115 degrees)

2/3 cup cool water

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse (Kosher) salt

Olive oil

fine cornmeal

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Combine the yeast and warm water in a mixing bowl and mix until dissolved and the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.  Add remaining water, and salt and mix in flour, using a dough hook, if you have a stand mixer, or a wooden spoon until smooth.  Knead by hand or with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic.  I sometimes add a tablespoon of olive oil with the cool water for flavor, and it seems to make the dough less sticky, also.  Brush a large bowl with olive oil and cover lightly and allow the dough to rise until double in volume.  This will take about 2 hours.  Punch the dough down, and shape dough into a smooth ball. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 45 minutes before shaping.   This will make one 10-12" pizza. You can also shape it into two smaller pizzas, if you want more of a personal sized pie.  

Morel Mushroom  and Chorizo Topping:

1/2 yellow onion, julienne

4 cloves garlic, sliced thin

4 slices Smoked Spanish Chorizo, minced

6 morel mushrooms, rinsed and sliced

1 Tablespoons olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

Maldon's flake salt

sprig fresh thyme

Handful of fresh arrugala or baby spinach

6 thin slices of Basque Sheeps milk cheese

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Prehead oven to 450 degrees to bake pizza.  Make sure the pizza stone is on the center rack. Saute the onions and garlic and olive oil and caramelize slightly.  Ad the chorizo and the mushrooms and continue cooking until mushrooms are softened and chorizo has colored the onions and mushrooms.  Add salt to taste and some cracked fresh pepper and thyme.  

Roll pizza dough out flat on a board liberally dusted with cornmeal, and  shake the rolled crust onto the hot pizza stone.  Add the mushroom topping, and top with sliced sheeps milk cheese and a handful of baby arrugala.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly.  Enjoy!

Rhubarb Season!

It's rhubarb season, and the abundance from my garden provides and opportunity to get creative in the kitchen.  I'm sipping a refreshing Rhubarb Martini and enjoying the savory aroma of the Rhubarb BBQ Sauce simmering on the stove after a day of preparing my garden for the crops that will come after the rhubarb is a fond memory.  So, here are some recipes to help you use up the first crop of spring that don't involve rolling out pie crust.  

Rhubarb Martini

Rhubarb Simple Syrup:

Makes 2 cups

2 cups rhubarb, trimmed, washed and chopped

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

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Simmer sugar and water together until sugar is dissolved, and add the rhubarb. Simmer together for about 5 minutes until rhubarb is soft.  Strain through a fine sieve and cool. Store in a bottle in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To make the martini:  

Freeze one stalk of rhubarb for at least a few hours

Pour 2 ounces of chilled rhubarb syrup into a chilled martini glass

Add 2 ounces chilled vodka

Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon

Grate the frozen rhubarb with a micro plane grater on top of the drink and garnish with a thin slice of a rhubarb stalk.

Rhubarb BBQ Sauce

Makes 6 cups

4 cups rhubarb, trimmed, washed and chopped

1 small sweet onion, minced

3 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger root

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons mustard powder

 1 teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 Tablespoons Adobo sauce

½ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup molasses

Simmer all ingredients together in a heavy saucepan over low heat for about ½ hour-45 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.  Cool and store in the refrigerator.  This is very tasty served with grilled meats and seafood.

*Photos are beautifully shot by Rod Komis of Rod Komis Photography.  Thanks, Rod! 

I usually try to be modest, but even my kids agree....I make the best Caesar!  This is a little twist on the classic, making it a brunch-friendly salad.  Anyway, I really seem to be on an egg kick lately, but they go so well with everything!  Anyway, here's how I do it....

Bacon and Egg Caesar Salad:

serves 4

1 head Romaine lettuce, cut and washed and taken for a spin in a salad spinner

1 cup croutons made from crusty bread

(Just cube or tear bread into chunks, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and toast)

8 slices pancetta, baked until crisp in the oven

(Bake between two sheet pans to keep them flat, and sandwich between parchment to keep from sticking. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.)

4 eggs, poached

Mama Nelson's Caesar Dressing:

1/2 cup good quality mayo

2 cloves garlic, crushed in garlic press

1 anchovy, mashed with fork

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated

freshly ground black pepper

flake salt, crushed between fingers

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Whisk dressing ingredients together until smooth and taste.  Adjust seasonings to your liking.  Sometimes we add a splash of Balsamic, but Lilly doesn't really like vinegar, so I either leave it out, or sneak it in.  

Toss dressing with lettuce and croutons, divide into 4 bowls, and top each with 2 pancetta slices and 1 poached egg.  Enjoy with cracked pepper and grated Pecorino Romano on top.

*Photo beautifully shot by Rod Komis of Rod Komis Photography. Thanks, Rod!

Fried Egg and Veggie Hash and My Mom's Danish Puff

This is such a simple yet satisfying meal, and eggs so often serve as a quick nourishing meal for me, any time of the day.  This was inspired by some fresh eggs I bought from a friend of a friend who raises chickens, and the eggs were actually laid on Innaugeration Day, which really made these eggs something special.  Anyway, I usually like to doll my eggs up with hot sauce and olive jalapeno relish, but really wanted to focus on the rich and promising flavor of this Innaugeral egg, so I gently cooked in in a heated skillet with a little olive oil, being careful not to have the heat too high, and then seasoned it with dried herbs from my garden and sea salt.  A special egg deserves a special kind of side dish, so here's the recipe for Roasted Veggie and Potato Hash.

Roasted Veggie and Potato Hash

Serves 4

2 carrots, peeled and julienne cut

1 parsnip, peeled and julienne cut

1/2 Sweet Yellow Onion, julienne cut

2 russet potatoes, peeled and julienne cut

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

4 Tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt, cracked pepper, and dried herbs to taste

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Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss veggies, onions, garlic, and potatoes with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and herbs.  Roast in the oven, stirring every 8-10 minutes, and roast about 20-30 minutes.  

Kay Nelson's Danish Puff Pastry

serves 8-12

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

My Mom made this every Easter, and so to honor her memory, I make it every year.  Our whole family LOVES it!

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup butter

2 Tablespoons ice water

Blend the butter and flour together with a pastry blender, and then work in the water. Press together and then press into 2 strips 3"X12" on an ungreaded baking sheet.  Set aside and prepare the topping.

1 cup water

1/2 cup butter

Bring butter and water to a boil, and then add:

1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup flour

Stir flour and extract in quickly until incorporated, then add

3 eggs

Stirring in one at a time until completely incorporated.  

Spread half the filling on each dough strip, and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, until golden brown. Do not underbake.  Allow to cool slightly and ice with Almond Glaze.

Almond Glaze

tops 2 Danish Puff pastries

1 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon almond extract

*Photo is beautifully shot by Unleashed Productions photographer John Mowers.  Thanks, John!

April Fool's Day Foods

Hey, I like any reason to have a little celebration when it comes to food, and April Fool's Day is one of my favorites.  Here are some ideas enjoyed by kids and adults....

The 'Meatloaf Meal'

Bake a Chocolate cherry cake in a loaf pan, (recipe to follow) and once the cake is done, spread with raspberry preserves, (to look like ketchup, don'cha know!) and turn off the oven and let the jam melt and set up for 5 minutes.  Bake up some cupcakes and frost with pea-green frosting and top with green 'Runts' candies and diced 'Tootsie Fruit Rolls' (orange flavored) to look like carrots, and yellow 'Skittles' or jelly beans to look like corn.  Frost more cupcakes as you like, to look like the t.v. dinner chocolate cake.  Serve slices of the 'Meatloaf' with caramel sauce with sliced dried apricots (to look like mushrooms, silly, that's why!) and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with a yellow 'Starburst' candy and caramel sauce and throw caution to the wind and devour!  For a foolish drink, pour liquid Jell-o in a drinking glass, and stick in a straw before it set up. My kids loved trying to drink this, and the noises were just ridiculous!  Lots of giggles from this one.

Some other fun ideas are:

Stick a popsicle stick into a 'Twinkie' cake that has been rolled in graham cracker crumbs.  It looks just like a corn dog, especially when you squirt on frosting colored to look like ketchup and mustard!

Spread wafer cookies with peanut butter and roll in graham cracker crumbs to resemble fish sticks.  Make 'Tartar Sauce' with vanilla pudding with chopped pistachios stirred in.  

Pipe white frosting onto a plate to resemble spaghetti and top with Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls tossed in raspberry preserves.  Top the 'Spaghetti' with the 'Meatballs'!  A great chocolate truffle platter for a party!

Have Fun!

 

Here's the recipe for the Chocolate Applesauce "Meatloaf" Cake

Makes 8 servings, 2 slices each!

1 -1/2 cup all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 Tablespoons ground cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk dry ingredients listed above in a bowl.  In a larger bowl beat until creamy:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

And gradually add while beating for another 3-5 minutes:

3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar

After beating the butter and sugar together until lightened in color, beat in:

1 large egg

Add flour mixture to the above, alternating with:

1 cup chunky applesauce

Mix until just incorporated and then fold in:

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 cup finely chopped dried cherries

Using a spatula, scrape the batter into a buttered loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.  Turn off oven, and then spread cake with:

1/2 raspberry or strawberry preserves

Return cake to oven for 5 minutes so that jam melts and then sets up. Remove cake from oven and cool completely.

Serve slices of the 'Meatloaf' with caramel sauce with dried apricot slices (to resembly mushrooms), and enjoy with a scoop of ice cream topped with a yellow 'Starburst' candy (to resemble a pat of butter, of course!) and drizzle on the caramels sauce.  Enjoy!

*Photos beautifully shot by Nate Reiman  of 4iphoto.  Thanks Nate!