Clear-Out-The-Cupboard Chocolate Chip Cookies

I can count the days left in this house on one hand (ACK!) which also means, it's my job to use all the food left in the cupboards, or it gets thrown out. I have a full bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips, and I WILL NOT throw those out. So, tonight I set out to make chocolate chip cookies.

Step 1: check your ingredients!

Flour, yes. White sugar, yes. Butter, yes (well, soy margarine). Baking soda, sort of (if we count the fridge box). Eggs, no. Brown sugar, no. Vanilla, no. Measuring cups and spoons, no. Baking sheet, no.

Step 2: gather substitutes!

Aluminum foil, silken tofu, maple syrup, snack-pac of unsweetened applesauce.

Step 3: go for it!

So, I preheated the oven to 350. I creamed one stick of Willow Run with what I estimated to be about 1/2 cup of white sugar. I was also without a mixing bowl, so this took place in a large tupperware container with a fork. When it was creamy (or, I was tired), I added what I estimated to be 1/4 cup of maple syrup. To me, the maple syrup replaced both the brown sugar and vanilla I was missing. Then I added in applesauce and a little silken tofu, to replace the egg. After combining this well, I added about 1 cup of flour, a tsp of baking soda, and some salt. Can't forget the Ghiradelli chips that started this whole process. At this point I crafted a cookie sheet out of 3 layers of aluminum foil and dropped teaspoon sized cookies onto the foil. I baked them for about 10 minutes, and let them cool slightly.

The result, actually, quite delicious. Good to know, because I have enough ingredients to do this again tomorrow. Who wants cookies?!?!

Added bonus, they are totally vegan!

Top Secret Operation Step 1: Vegan Chocolate Cakes

There's a top secret project going on over here, it was started yesterday. I baked some vegan cakes. They weren't intended to be vegan, although to be honest most of my baking is vegan these days. The first snag in baking my normal cake recipe was the lack of flour in my house. However, I found some cake flour I forgot I had. But then, there were no eggs. So I tried a new-to-me chocolate cake recipe. It was totally easy, and smelled delicious.

Cake Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour (I used about 3 Tbsp extra because I was using cake flour)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, add water, vanilla, oil and vinegar and stir to combine. Pour into greased pan(s) - the recipe said 8x8, I used two 8 inch rounds. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cake tested come out clean.

Admittedly, my two layers were a little thin at first, but they rose a bit and seemed ok when they came out of the oven.

For my top secret project, I let these cool, wrapped them in plastic and aluminum foil, and put them directly into the freezer.

Next step, cake carving....

HAPPY EASTER!

As most of you know (haha, all two of you), Scott and I spent the past year living in a really SMALL apartment out in the boonies. It had a lot of pluses (cheap, quiet) but it was time for a change. We just moved last Thursday to a larger apartment that will be better for many reasons, so we're really happy! We're all unpacked and it already feels like home. So much like home in fact that we hosted a small Easter gathering today! It was super great! Here's what was on the menu. . .

A delicious Sangria that I've made a few times before. I love the fresh lemon and orange juice. Also, I use Triple Sec instead of Grand Marnier. It's less expensive, you can't tell the difference, and I can use the left-overs for future margaritas. Thanks, Emeril!

My mother-in-law brought her famous Easter Bread. It's not Easter without it! Unfortunately I don't have the recipe, but I do have a picture:


Isn't it pretty? And around the edge of the plate are her yummy Egg Biscuit cookies.

I made a new recipe today too: Baked Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce:


I took a recommendation from some of the reviewers to brown the butter a bit. I also used olive oil instead of cooking spray. It was really good! Definitely a recipe I'll use for another holiday. For everyday though, I prefer my asparagus a little more plain.

I made a chickpea salad too that I wrote about in the post below this that was tasty. Also on the menu was my mom's rice pilaf. You want that recipe? You got it!

Mom's Pilaf:

3 Tbs. butter
1/3 c. orzo
1 c. long grain rice (I use Jasmine, my mom uses Uncle Ben's)
2 1/2 c. vegetable broth (or chicken) -- I use Better Than Bullion in water

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add the orzo and cook until golden brown, making sure not to burn it. Add the rice and stir to combine. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir, remove from heat, and enjoy!

Diane made delicious Spinach Beregs, an Armenian appetizer similar to Spanikopita. Buttery, cheesy, yum.

I had a bit of a snafu with my Vidalia Onion Quiche. It's hit or miss really, and Diane has experienced the same thing. Sometimes it comes out soupy (like today!) and sometimes it's fine. Up until today, I thought that using half and half instead of 2% milk was the right choice for a more firm consistency but maybe not, unless I just didn't cook it long enough which is definitely possible. So I won't give you that recipe, though it's DELICIOUS. . . it's just kind of a mess sometimes. I can give you a picture though!


Sure, it LOOKS all innocent, right? OH, and I forgot to mention that I made two of these but one of them was a complete fail. Apparently when I was poking a few holes into the frozen pie shell with a fork (while still partially frozen, before adding the filling, so it wouldn't bubble up while baking) I may have poked a hole in the bottom that went all the way through the tin foil pie plate. . . so all I was left with in that quiche was, well, onions. I'm sure it tastes good, so I saved it. Good thing I put it on a cookie sheet before putting it in the oven!

We finished off the meal with my favorite carrot cake -- which I added 3/4 cup of raisins too because I think in the past that a whole cup is too much. I decorated it with my mother-in-law:


She did the egg and border, I did the writing :)

Wow, how's that for a long post to catch up for lost times?! I just hope I don't take an unintentional hiatus after this. I've really missed being able to host holidays and other food gatherings, so now that we have SPACE to do it I think we'll be hosting more often. You know what that means -- more cooking (and blogging!) YAY!

and the nominees are...

Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes and Oreo Truffles.

I was invited to an Oscar party last night, and of course needed to bring some Oscar-worthy treats with me. I was disappointed in my execution of the mini-cheesecakes, those are definitely not winning for any type of technical or cinematic category. In my mind, I was making them with a chocolate crust, so they would be Black and White, very elegant. But, the chocolate crust was more light brown, and the cheesecake more very yellow. The whole thing just missed the mark I was aiming for, and while they were good (have you ever met a cheesecake that wasn't??) they just weren't the hit I'd hoped for.

The Oreo truffles looked small and delicate, and tasted AMAZING, a clear front runner in this race. But they weren't without their problems. The truffles were supposed to be dipped in melted chocolate, and I waited questionably too long to do this step. I pulled out my double boiler, dumped in the chocolate, and went to town melting it. It wasn't long after that it turned into one globby clump, took on a life of it's own, and told me that there was no way I was dipping anything into it - its consistency was barely even spreadable. Somehow, I'd managed to mess up the simple step of "melt chocolate". Infuriated, I rushed to the store for more chocolate, and called my kitchen-emergency hotline (thank, Mel!) to discover that, in fact, a ganache recipe she has made clearly states "Do not use chocolate chips". I had, in fact, used chocolate chips. They were on sale and cheaper than the bars that I would have had to buy. Bad move, Jenni. Luckily, I was able to make a game time switch, and got the good stuff. On second chance I melted the chocolate ok (actually, the white chocolate never recovered, but I ran out of time to fight with it.) While, even my visions for the truffles were not quite achieved, their taste made it a moot point.

And, the Oscar goes to....

Oreo Truffles, who are gladly accepting this award on behalf of Meryl Streep and her portrayal of Julia Child!

---

**Oreo truffles, totally simple:

Crush up Oreos in a food processor (save 9 crushed cookies aside for later). Combine remaining cookie crumbs, 8oz of cream cheese, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla with a mixer until mixed thoroughly. Roll into small balls and chill in fridge for one hour. Melt 1 pound of chocolate in a double boiler - careful, this part is apparently tricky. I ended up using one bar of milk chocolate and one bar of bittersweet chocolate together, I think it was a good choice. Dip the chilled oreo balls into chocolate and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle the remaining cookie crumbs on top. (I ran out of chocolate at one point, and simply rolled the oreo balls in the cookie crumbs for some - these were good too) Return to fridge to chill for one hour, or until you have to go!

Spice Up Your Life

A while back, about a month ago, my housemates and I threw a 90s party. We compiled a play list of over ten hours of awesome 90s music, gathered a bunch of friends dressed to the occasion, and had a backdrop of Clueless and Wayne's World looping on the muted TV. It was, I might say, a fantastic success. Of course, there needed to be some food for the occasion. I made "RED HOT CHILI PEPPER salsa" (which was just salsa from a jar put into a bowl and labeled), "REALITY two-BITE brownies" (which was nothing new or fancy), and "SPICE GIRL cookies", which were incredible. The recipe called for crystallized ginger, and that intrigued me. I was not wrong - were these ever delicious. I only wish I'd thought to make two batches and save one for the next day.

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 egg white

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 large cookie sheets. Cream the butter and sugar. Add egg white and corn syrup, mix until fluffy. Stir in the crystallized ginger. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger and cloves. Stir this into the egg mixture. When dough starts to come together, mix with your hands to form a smooth dough. Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in white sugar. Place 2-inches apart on a cookie sheet, and press down with the bottom of a glass. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Our friends are bakers, too!

Here at Broccoli is for Lovers the thing we love second to showcasing our own kitchen creations, is showcasing those of our friends. For the second year in a row, Maureen has decorated an adorable Yo Gabba Gabba cake for her now two-year-old (holy cow, is he two already? I can't believe it!!) son Fitz. What a lucky kid, his mom makes the best birthday cakes around. Happy Birthday, Fitzo!

And over at quasify, Nanio has finally baked up some Gooseberry goodness. In his own words:

my gooseberry tart thing recipe (hashed out with help of my mom & internet strangers)

1) Mix a can of gooseberries, two thirds cup sugar and three tablespoons of flour together, bring a gentle boil. Let that cool. It will set up into a liquidy gel.
2) Make a top/bottom pie crust recipe. Instead of balling in two, make 8 to 12 smaller balls.
3) Mix an 8oz cream cheese (softened) w/ three tablespoons of sugar.
4) Flatten small balls (optionally, with your newly purchased and totally bitchin’ rolling pin), smush a tablespoon or two of cream cheese in the center and cover with a similar amount of the cooled gooseberries.
5) Crimp those bad boys shut and trim excess. We’ll have to pretend like I did this part of the recipe correctly.

6) Bake at 400 for 10-14 minutes.

My not-very-objective opinion is these tasted pretty decent but didn’t turn out to be terribly attractive. I think had I baked them in a mini-cupcake cooking sheet instead of on a flat pan it might have kept the three dimensionality I imagined when I started the project. Next time.

Looks delicious, Nanio!

Week 4 (Mel): Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe comes to you courtesy of Betty Crocker. It's so easy and delicious that I made it once on Thursday and then twice on Sunday. I was going to a friend's house for brunch on Sunday and wanted to try this recipe out before-hand. That was why I made them on Thursday. After trying them, I decided what changes I wanted to make and made a fresh batch for my friends on Sunday morning. Well I left my friend with the extras of course so I had to make an additional batch on Sunday afternoon to have for myself this week! So here's the recipe, as written. I'll indicate my changes below it.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup raisins

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms of 12 medium muffin cups. Mix all ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon sugar over batter in each cup. Bake 18 to 20 minutes. Immediately remove from pan.

Mel's Variation: I used 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. I didn't like the taste of the nutmeg and didn't think there should be equal amounts of nutmeg and cinnamon, so I kept the nutmeg amount the same and did more like 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. The first time I made these, they only made 11 muffins. I also thought the taste of the pumpkin could be stronger, so the second and third times, I used more pumpkin puree. . . maybe an extra tablespoon and a half. It was a rounded 1/2 cup anyway. Lastly, I think it was more like 1/8 teaspoon of sugar that I sprinkled on top of each muffin before baking. I looked at 1/4 teaspoon and it just looked like too much.

For the future, I'm thinking of experimenting more and maybe using half the amount of butter and adding 2 tablespoons of canola oil or applesauce.

Week 3 (Jenni): Veggie Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

This week's new recipe comes from a book my mom bought for me as a house warming present. Well, and part came from Sandra Lee.

I used my roommates grater for the carrots and zucchini, it was super easy and lots of fun. I'm realizing how much easier a food processor would make things. The recipe indicates that the food processor would have done the job in ~25 seconds. It took me nearly 25 minutes to get everything through my make-shift processor. When I was done though, it looked so yummy. My mixture was a little sticky, I feared stacking the patties on the plate, so I wrapped them each individually. I'm likely going to freeze most of them, to eat later! I cooked up a burger, and topped it with some blue cheese, it was amazing! The sweet potato fries were quick and easy, and very tasty. I used my favorite season-all seasoning to flavor them, and just let them bake for about 30 minutes.

All in all, a totally delicious Sunday evening meal.

Veggie Burgers
4 Tbsp evoo
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 large carrots, grated
2 medium zucchini, grated
1 16-ounce can of garbanzo beans, drained
1 Tbsp crunchy natural peanut butter
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat bread crumbs
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp curry powder*
1 tsp mixed herbs*
1 egg, beaten


Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, and zucchini, and saute about 5 minutes, until softened. Take off heat, and set aside.

Place garbanzo beans, peanut butter, breadcrumbs, parsley, curry powder, mixed herbs, and egg in a food processor.*** Process for about 20 seconds, or until garbanzo beans are broken up and all ingredients combined. Add the onion mixture and process for another 5 seconds - do not overprocess.

Form 8 patties, and place them in the fridge for 30 minutes. To cook, heat 2 Tbsp of evoo in a skillet, and cook about 4 minutes on each side.


*I did not have curry powder, I used some mixture of creole seasoning instead.
**I did not have mixed herbs, persay, so I used a dash each of oregano, dill weed, rosemary, thyme
***I do not have a food processor, so I cycled everything through my immersion blender/chopped apparatus. It was tedious and long. A food processor would have been easier.

Week 2 (Jenni): Spiced Lentil Tacos

Week Two of this challenge was much better than Week One! This recipe is great, and I have been excited about it since it arrived in my inbox two weeks ago. Yes, I got this recipe in my inbox, from SELF magazine.

After a full day of playing housewife - no seriously, I sat and waited for the plumber to fix our hot water, I re-potted some plants, did the dishes, made 2 dozen cupcakes - I cooked dinner and had it ready mostly in time for my hungry family to return from a hard day at work. I also re-wrote a section of my grant application. Spread the word - I'm quite a catch!

But, back to the Recipe Challenge. This was relatively easy, and also my first time cooking with lentils. I think I should have simmered them longer, but I forgot to set a timer (the cupcakes needed attention and the plumber needed to be paid at the same time the lentils began simmering, and I became momentarily overwhelmed!) I was unable to mash them as described in the recipe, so we just left them whole. Rave reviews from the whole lot of us as we had our "family dinner" on the couch in front of Grey's Anatomy. Somehow I think Ryan and Chelsea might be enjoying this challenge more than anyone!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed
• 1 package (2.25 oz) taco seasoning
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped (use half for less heat)**
• 2 teaspoons adobo sauce**
• 8 taco shells
• 1 1/4 cups shredded lettuce
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat (2 percent) cheddar

Preparation

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion, garlic and salt until onion begins to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add lentils and taco seasoning. Cook until spices are fragrant and lentils are dry, about 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Mix sour cream, chile and adobo sauce in a bowl. Uncover lentils and cook until mixture thickens, 6 to 8 minutes. Mash with a rubber spatula. Spoon 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each taco shell. Top with 2 heaping tsp sour cream mixture, lettuce, tomato and cheese.

**I did not use a chipotle chile and adobo sauce, instead I used regular salsa and mixed that with the sour cream. It was an ingredient we had, and pretty darn tasty if you ask me!

Week 1 (Jenni): Farfalle with Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and Mint

I got this recipe from a book that I found on our shelf. I thought it was my roommates cookbook, but she says it's mine. I'm not sure. I decided on a pasta dish, as I needed to "carbo-load" in preparation for the 12 mile run I did on Saturday. I found this recipe and it sounded interesting. It wasn't actually as good as I thought it would be, I think the ratio of pasta-to-vegetables was too heavily weighted toward the pasta. Also, there wasn't much flavor infused into much of the dish. That said, I had leftovers the following day, and they were much better. The mint flavors were much more noticeable. So, perhaps this is a much better prepare-ahead meal.

12 ounces of Farfalle (I used elbows)
1 Tablespoon EVOO
1 Scallion, trimmed (I used about 3 or 4!)
1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 small zucchinis, very thinnly sliced
1 small yellow squash, very thinnly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 Tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves (I used 2 tbsp)
1 Tablespoon grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, plus more for topping. (I used more!)

1. Cook pasta, save 1 cup of boiling pasta water before straining.
2. heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add scallion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Add zucchini and Squash and cook until just wilted, about 3 minutes.
3. toss pasta with vegetables and stir in basil, mint, cooking water, and cheese.

Recipe Challenge 2009

By the looks of this blog, we need a shake up around here. Sadly, it's not just my blog-posting that's been lacking, but my kitchen is growing cobwebs as well.* So here it is, a blog challenge. I pledge to try a new recipe once a week, and write about it here, from now until Thanksgiving. It feels like a big undertaking - but I think I'm ready for it. I challenge you to do the same.

I plan to start next week, October 18th. Stay tuned....


* There are, in fact, no cobwebs in my kitchen - it is very clean. I was merely trying to make a point that I haven't done much cooking lately.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

I think that peanut butter and chocolate might be the worlds most perfect combination. I mean, seriously. Name something that works together as well as these two...

Tonight, I created this chocolate peanut butter pie, without a recipe, using only my shear will to devour something delicious. Here's the recipe that resulted:

about half a package of Nilla Wafers, crushed fine
1/4 cup of butter
1/3 cup of peanut butter
16 oz. milk chocolate
1 container of Cool Whip

Melt butter and peanut butter over medium heat. Add to finely crushed Nilla wafers and mix well. Press into bottom and sides of pie plate (I used my springform pan). Cook in 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove and cool to room temp.

On top of double boiler melt milk chocolate. Add to thawed Cool Whip and combine well (I didn't let the cool whip thaw completely, and when I added the hot chocolate it all went awry, so then I threw the mixture back into the top of the double boiler and melted it all together!) Spread chocolate into crust and chill, uncovered, at least one hour. (Once chilled you can cover it, but if it's warm when you put it in the fridge don't cover it or it'll rain all over your pie).

All I can say is....YUM-O!

Gifted

A friend of mine has a birthday coming up, and this can't come at a better time because, 1.) this blog needs something new and 2.) my stress levels have reached a dangerous high that perhaps even baking for others can't overcome. But, try I will. I have a vision, but for top-birthday-secrecy, I will not publish said vision here until it's all done.

Last night was baking night, and let me tell you, I needed it. For this particular cake I was using a brand new (...er, old) recipe. My BirthdayFriend recently lost his grandmother, and when he was home with family after her passing he was thoughtful enough to bring back an old baking cookbook for me. I decided that I would make one of those recipes for this cake! BirthdayFriend requested chocolate, so off I went. I settled on one entitled Sweet Chocolate Cake. (As a side note, this cookbook has some really strange recipes that I'm totally interested to try - a sauerkraut cake?! Really?!) The Sweet Chocolate Cake recipe was interesting because the author noted that she liked using brown sugar. The recipe said it would fill 3 8-inch rounds, which seemed ok because, for the cake in my mind, I needed 2 8-inch rounds and a little something left over. I would need to use my spherical ball cake pan for the left over - as I needed something spherical to add to the cake.

Sweet Chocolate Cake
4 oz. sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup butter
2 cups white or brown sugar*
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups of cake flour, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk**
(all ingredients at room temp, except for the boiling water...which is, of course, boiling)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour 3 8-inch round pans. Melt the chocolate in the boiling water, and set aside to cool. Cream the butter, and gradually add the sugar. Add in the egg yolks and vanilla, and combine until smooth. Carefully add the cooled chocolate, and mix until well combined. Add in the sifted dry ingredients and the buttermilk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Stiffly beat the egg whites and fold into the batter. Pour into pans, about 3/4 full. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

*I used one cup of each, the author was excited about the brown, but I was nervous about 2 cups of it!
**for which I used dried buttermilk (Saco brand, thanks LeahPants!)

I was excited, more than just to be baking again, because I could use something else I was given for Christmas. My mom gave me Wilton Bake Even strips, that make the cakes bake even so you don't have to level them. I have NO IDEA how they work. You first saturate them in water, then you wrap it around the outside of the pan, with the aluminum looking side facing out. You pin it closed, and just bake as normal. I was so excited to try these, it matches the first time I ever used the mechanical pastry bag (and you know how well that turned out!)

It was about here that I got carried away with my new baking gear (see, it HAS been a while since I've baked!!) Also for Christmas, my dad had given me these teeny tiny mini pans. Two tube pans and a springform. Adorable. So with the batter left over from filling my two 8-inch rounds, complete with Bake Even strips, I filled the mini pans from my dad.

It all went into the oven for 30 minutes. And then I realized. The SPHERICAL PAN! I had forgotten. In the glory of using all of my new gifts I had lost sight of the task at hand - BirthdayFriend's cake. So, later this week I will be "sculpting" spherical forms from the mini tube pan cakes!

When the cakes were done I was amazed, they were indeed level. I will not need to trim them - which is fabulous, because I am awful at that part. And, I ate some from the springform pan, it was good. The brown sugar was a good idea, although, I'm not sure I'd have done the full 2 cups.

The cakes are now carefully wrapped and in the freezer, waiting for decorating day!

Obamamuffins

In honor of the changes slated to occur tomorrow morning I've made Obamamuffins!  We're having a viewing party at school, and since I'm semi-famous for my "Yes we cake", I needed to prepare something! I present to you, my own special recipe, however the idea was a joint effort (thanks Mel!)

We Want Change Muffins*

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

3 tablespoons vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

8 ounces crushed pineapple

Topping:

1/3 cup flour

3 tbsp butter, melted

4 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin tins.  Beat eggs until fluffy, add sugar, oil, and vanilla.  Blend well.  Add zucchini.  Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add to batter and mix well.  Stir in pineapple.  Pour into muffin tins, about half to three-quarters full.  For topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl and sprinkle over the top.  Bake about 20 minutes, and brace yourself for a brand new day!

*admittedly, the concept here is a little more discrete than the half chocolate, half vanilla Obama cake I made, so here's the hidden meaning.  The pineapple is a nod to the Hawaiian background, and the zucchini-pineapple flavor is an attempt to make a muffin that perhaps no one has had before, bringing a new flavor to fix the old problems, pushing the muffin-flavor envelope, if you will.  I'm hopeful they will make breakfast a more pleasant experience.

Healthy-ish

I found an interesting book at the library about a week ago. In hopes of eating healthier (and pretty much cutting all processed sugar out of my diet -- day six of that, baby!) I checked it out. Well the book itself is no good, so I won't give you the title. It did however have an intriguing recipe for banana oat muffins that called for no flour and no sugar. I happened to have all of the ingredients (well, except for the blueberries, but I used raisins instead. . . I know, a strange substitute, but hear me out) and they were good! They were naturally sweetened by the bananas, and for twelve muffins, they only had two tablespoons of oil, two eggs, and lots of GOOD stuff. I decided to make them again, and this time make a few changes. I didn't have any more over-ripe bananas, but I did have applesauce. I also ran out of raisins (and still didn't have blueberries. . . who buys blueberries in January in New England?!) but I had my new favorite dried fruit, dates. Well anyway, to make a long story short, they were BETTER than the original version. . . and I wanted to share. Here's what I like to call. . . Applesauce Oat Muffins. Original, no?

2 c. oat bran
1/4 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon -- the original recipe called for 1/4 tsp., and for the applesauce version I used 1/2 but still couldn't taste it that much. . .
dash of ground nutmeg
1 c. unsweetened applesauce (or naturally sweetened would be yummy too)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. vanilla soy milk -- the original recipe called for plain soy milk and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbs. olive oil -- the original recipe called for EVOO (haha, I couldn't resist) but I thought that would be GROSS if you could taste it
1/2 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans both times)
1 c. dried fruit (raisins or dates)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray or use baking cups. In a large bowl, combine oat bran, rolled oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a small bowl, beat together applesauce, eggs, milk, and oil. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just blended (though it probably doesn't matter if you over-beat here since there isn't any flour, right? Maybe consult with Alton Brown on that). Fold in the nuts and dried fruit. Bake 18-23 minutes (for me it was no more than 18 both times) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

That was this morning. Later on, I was hungry for something a little more lunch-ish or dinner-ish (it was 3pm?) -- AKA "linner," right Michelle? I had bought stuff to make pizza from Trader Joe's so that's what I did. I'm a big fan of their light shredded cheese blends. The one I used for this pizza was with mozzarella, cheddar, and montery jack I believe. YUM! I didn't take a picture of the finished product, but I thought that what happened during the baking process was a little more amusing. . .

a holiday roulade

presenting the pumpkin ice cream gingerbread roulade!
Originally uploaded by with an eye

 

I remembered years ago that my mom and I made a gingerbread and pumpkin ice cream dessert, and I set out to attempt a repeat performance. I found many recipes online, and I read the section about rolled cakes in the Martha Stewart handbook. I decided to combine a few various things, thus making my own completely stolen/original recipe. And, may I add, it was delicious.

The ice cream was classically semi-homemade:
1 quart of vanilla ice cream, softened 15 minutes at room temperature.
1 1/4 c pumpkin puree
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Just put all of this in a medium sized bowl, and mix together with a hand (or stand) mixer and mix it up. When it's all uniform just put it back in the ice cream container. I covered it with plastic wrap before putting the lid back on. Freeze it for at least 4 hours.

I made the gingerbread from scratch, and I was nervous about all the recipes I'd read - but this worked brilliantly. You'll need:

5 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
3/4 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

In a large bowl beat the egg yolks until pale (about 2 minutes), and then add the molasses, brown sugar, fresh ginger, and beat until combined. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, allspice, black pepper and salt. Beat the dry ingredients into the egg yolk mixture until combined.

Now, in a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks appear. Add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and beat until firm and glossy. Fold the egg whites into the batter until all the streaks are gone.

Spread the batter onto a 12 x 17 baking sheet, lined with parchment paper and sprayed with Baker's Joy. The batter won't rise too much as you bake it, so load it up without spilling over the sides of the pan. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 15 minutes. It will be lightly browned and a little springy to the touch. Mine was a little bit sticky and I might have been able to leave it in a few more minutes, but it ended up ok.

When it's done, cool it in the pan for 10 minutes or so. Now here comes the big roulade trick. Sprinkle the top with confectioners sugar and run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the pan. Lay a clean linen cloth on top of the cake and place a larger baking pan on top of the towel and quickly invert the entire pile, hopefully dumping the gingerbread onto the towel and larger baking pan. Remove the bottom pan (the one that was in the oven) and the parchment paper. Starting at the short end, roll the cake and towel together and place seam-side down on the baking sheet and cool completely in the fridge (about 2 hours). Once I saw the outcome of this cake I had little concern that it would tear or crack when I rolled it - it's very springy and spongy.

Remove the ice cream from the fridge and let it soften at room temperature for 15 minutes. I found it easier to put it into a bowl instead of softening in the carton. You want to get the ice cream to be firm but spreadable, and not super duper melty. When the ice cream is the right consistency remove the roll from the fridge and carefully unroll it. Spread the ice cream over the cake, going completely to the edges. Roll it back up, without the towel this time. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and freeze in freezer for 6 hours or overnight.

You can trim the edges after it's been re-frozen, if you want to make them look pretty for presentation. Enjoy!

I've still got about 6 slices left, who wants left-overs?!

More orzo, please!

So speaking of orzo, I have to share a deliciously easy meal with you. It's my version of "risotto."

I cook up some orzo in vegetable broth. When it's almost done, I run some frozen peas (because you know I have lots of those hanging around!) under hot water to just thaw them a bit. Back to the orzo, I reserve about a ladle of the broth, and strain the rest. I put the orzo back in the pot I cooked it in, with the reserved broth, peas, and a little butter, and heat it up a bit. I then add salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and a little milk. Sometimes I'll even add some freshly grated nutmeg. I keep it on medium-low heat while stirring to see if I need more milk. And that's it! I know it's more of a side dish than a "meal," but sometimes that's just what you need.

The I-have-no-food-but-I-want-soup Soup

Let me first apologize on behalf of ALL of us for being completely MIA for what, a month and a half now? That's just awful! It's time to get back into the swing of things.

You know when you need to eat, have no food, and don't want to go get groceries? I'm guessing this happens to all three of us here at BIFL (that's funny) and maybe to some of you readers -- all two of you. Here's what I came up with for dinner tonight. . .

I knew I wanted soup, but I didn't have much around the house. I had two medium tomatoes from a neighbor's garden that were getting a little soft, so putting them in a salad wasn't really going to happen. They had to be used, so here's what I did. I heated a little olive oil in a frying pan, cut the tomatoes up, and sauted them with salt and pepper. I let them go for maybe five or ten minutes, then started to crush the tomatoes with the back of my wooden spoon. I then added a big clove of chopped garlic and let it cook for a couple more minutes. At this point, it was more of a simmer because of all the tomato juice. I then pureed it in my mini food processor. (You could just use this as a delicious pasta sauce and maybe just add some basil and/or oregano!)

In a medium-large-ish saucepan (I started with a 3-quart but then it wasn't big enough and I had to transfer) I sauteed half of a large red onion in some olive oil. I let it go for five minutes or so, then added two cloves of chopped garlic. I then added about eight cups of hot water, the tomato mixture, and brought it to a boil. While waiting for it to boil, I added six teaspoons of Better Than Bullion vegetable paste (and two teaspoons of BTB mushroom paste because I ran out of the vegetable) and a bunch of dried basil. Looking at the onions float around, I decided they were lonely and needed another vegetable to keep them company. So I added some frozen peas to the now boiling soup, because you know I have tons of those in my freezer. That brought the temperature of the soup down for a bit, so when it came back to a boil again, I added some of that tiny star-shaped pasta. (I bought that as a mistake because someone decided to put it right behind a crumbled box of orzo at Shaws). I cooked the soup for another five minutes, and it was good. . . but a little salty. I luckily had some milk in the fridge, so I added a bunch of that, and the problem was seemingly fixed. So there you go.

I heart soup.

That chocolate frosting

The recipe for that chocolate frosting I'm always referring to is actually a recipe for Mocha Buttercream Frosting. It offers a variation for Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, so see below for those changes from the original recipe here:

Mocha Buttercream Frosting:
Makes 2 cups, enough to fill and frost an 8-inch round 2-layer cake

Note from the author, Carol Gelles:
Mocha is a hard flavor to pin down -- not quite chocolate and not quite coffee. I think this frosting has a good balance between the two flavors. If you prefer mocha with a strong coffee flavor, halve the cocoa; for a more chocolatey flavor, use less coffee and 1 tablespoon more cocoa.

Note from Mel:
I always make a 9-inch round 2-layer cake and this much frosting is NOT quite enough, so I would recommend 1.5X or 2X the recipe for that size. . . 2X if you want left-overs for spontaneous cupcakes later in the week (not that I've done that).

1 Tbs. hot water
1 1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 Tbs. sour cream
3 1/2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar (I usually don't measure this, OR sift. . . I just add it a little at a time and mix it well until the frosting's a good spreading consistency)

1. In a small bowl, stir together the water and coffee until the coffee is disolved.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the cocoa until completely combined. Beat in the coffee and sour cream. (Using a stand mixer doesn't mix this well enough. . . so while I DO use mine, I also have to get in there with a metal spoon to make sure it's really mixed well. . . it's annoying, but otherwise you're going to have spots of chocolate throughout later).
3. Beat in the confectioner's sugar one cup at a time until all the sugar has been incorporated.

Variation: Chocolate Buttercream Frosting: Omit the instant coffee and water and use 2 tablespoons milk instead.

Pizza! Pizza!

While lounging at the pool last Saturday I was craving pizza, and I decided I'd make myself one for dinner. Saturday morphed into Wednesday - but I finally made the pizza. Because I had so many days to dream about it, I went all out. Introducing my white pesto sauce pizza with asparagus, tomatoes and mozzarella!

First, we'll start with the dough. I found a recipe for Parmesan Pizza dough, and I used that. First you combine one yeast packet, a teaspoon of honey, a tablespoon of olive oil, and a cup of hot water. Stir it up until it's all dissolved and let it sit for 5 minutes. It will become foamy, this is good. Then add in 1 1/2 cups of flour and a pinch of salt, and stir it together. Continue adding flour by the quarter cup (until you've reached 2 3/4 total), mixing with hands each time to incorporate the newly added flour. Then, add in a half a cup of grated parmesan. Now for the fun, flour a clean surface and knead the dough. You want to make it smooth and uniform. It may still be a bit 'tacky' which is fine. Drop a tablespoon of oil in a bowl, and flip the dough through that, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warmish place (I use the top of my preheating oven) for an hour and a half. When it's done punch it down - literally - and roll it out. The recipe I read suggested to put corn meal on the pan before baking. I did this, but I'm not sure why!

While this was rising I roasted some garlic. I sliced the tops off of 4 heads of garlic, this proved to be too many, I could have gotten by with 2! Pour a bit of evoo on the cut end, sprinkle some salt and pepper and place cut-end down on an aluminum foil covered pan. I roasted for about an hour, at 350. It might have been too long, they were mushy - but since I don't have a food processor the mush was actually better.

The sauce started with a roux, two tablespoons each of butter and flour. A cup of milk (I used whole!) Heat and stir, heat and stir, until it thickens. Then I added in a few scoopfuls of pesto (not made from scratch, but purchased!) and I added about half of my garlic mush. Stir, stir, stir, heat, thicken.

When the dough was done and punched I rolled it out (by hand, for lack of rolling pin) and made a pizza crust. In retrospect, I made it too thick. I should have made a bigger pizza or used only part of the dough. Practice makes perfect. I poured the sauce on. Now I spread out some pre-sliced mozzarella balls, sliced roma tomatoes, and asparagus tips.

Because the crust was thick it took longer in the oven, maybe 20 minutes at 350. But, it was delish (and will be tomorrow, and the next day, and the one after!)