Kitchen Frenzy

It is cold and snowy, just look at my backyard! I am also trying to take it easy this weekend because I am still feeling sick (!). What is one to do in bad weather when feeling a bit under the weather? For me, making stuff in the kitchen.

On Friday I made a strawberry-rhubarb crisp, with strawberries and rhubarb I picked MYSELF last summer and then froze. I sort of forgot about them, but they turned out fine baked up. I am still perfecting the recipe, so I will post it later.

On Saturday, I decided to make candied grapefruit peel. The recipe is from The Glass Pantry by Gorgeanne Brennan. Even if you don't cook, you should get this book - the pictures are so pretty and the food is so interesting! The grapefuit peels (pith and all) are boiled in water, then in sugar syrup and set out overnight so they aren't so sticky.
After that, they get coated in sugar.
I decided to coat half in chocolate, as I had a hunch it would be delicious.

I was right! The regular ones are very good, but BB and I think the chocolate covered ones are the best.

On Sunday, I made braised and glazed brussel sprouts and stuck pot rice. Both were from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bitman. I messed up the rice, forgot to add water at the right time. Instead of a crispy crust on the bottom, I got crunchy rice but I think it could be better. I am going to try this recipe again! The brussel sprouts were so good! All you have to do is add brussel sprouts, butter, salt, pepper, and water to a pan and cover to boil. Then uncover and shake the pan occasionally while the water evaporates. The recipe called for water, broth, or wine. I didn't have broth or wine but I definitely want to try a nice white wine next time.

2010!

Here are ten things I want to do this year:

1. Make jam
2. Go see the cherry blossoms in D.C.
3. Paint the dining room
4. Go on a beer and cheese tour of Vermont
5. Knit 12 pairs of socks
6. Have a garden
7. Make pickles
8. Take an art class
9. Sew slipcovers for the armchairs
10. Go to spinning (somewhat regularly)

Let's see how many are done by then end of the year!

Bread Pudding

We had some baguette that was as hard as a brick. Perfect because then I could make bread pudding. Bread pudding, much to my surprise, is one of BB's favorites. And he is not really a dessert person. I just made up the recipe. Next time, I might add a bit more sugar and a bit less milk. Also, fruit would be a good addition. This is a very adaptable recipe.

Bread Pudding

4 cups cubed old bread
3 c. milk (I used whole milk - use a bit less if bread is not super hard)
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1-2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. raisins soaked in 1/3 c. rum
2 Tbs. sugar in the raw

Preheat oven to 350. Spray or butter a cassarole (or 9x9 square baking dish). Whisk together milk, brown sugar, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. put cubed bread in a large bowl, and pour milk mixture over. Stir and let soak for ~20 min. Mix is raisins and rum. Put in cassarole and sprinkle with sugar in the raw. Bake for 1 hour. The custard should be set and the top should be browned. Let sit 10 min, then ready to eat!

Quick Dinner

It is so easy to eat healthy with dinners like this. Just look at how beautiful the blood oranges are!


Today we made a quick dinner, courtesy of the most January 2010 issue of vegetarian times. We had thai inspired stir-fried tofu with quinoa and citrus salad. The citrus salad was delicious! I will definitely make this again. The salad was arugula with blood oranges and grapefruit segments, sliced shallots, and a dressing made of agave syrup (2 Tbs.), lime juice (2 Tbs.), soy sauce (1 Tbs.), red pepper flakes (1 tsp.), and the juice from the oranges and grapefruits. The recipe called for mint, but I didn't have that so I used some Vietnamese coriander that is growing on my counter. We were supposed to garnish with sesame seeds and peanuts, but I forgot. The stir-fried tofu was seasoned with a paste of soy sauce, miso, white pepper, cayenne, and cloves, garlic, and ginger. I thought it was very good. BB thought it was ok and put a lot of chile garlic sauce on it. But he does that with a lot of stuff. I am so glad there are leftovers for my lunch tomorrow!

I LOVE chocolate cake!

I have a new go-to chocolate cake recipe - the chocolate stout cake from Epicurious.com. It is so easy to make; so rich, chocolaty, and moist! I made half a recipe for a 9x13 pan. I used half whole wheat (I ran out of white flour) and half brown sugar (ran out of regular sugar also, seems I really need to go to the store). A classic, Guiness, was used for the stout. For the glaze, I mixed 2/3 cup chocolate chips with 1/2 cup hot cream. This would be excellent with fresh strawberries! I am willing to make this whenever, just ask me! It would make a great birthday cake.

For dinner, BB and I had roasted fingering potatoes, kale sauteed with onions and garlic, blue cheese rosemary sauce, and carrot salad. The potatoes were simple: roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper. The blue cheese rosemary sauce is from Vegetarian Suppers. BB often makes this to go with sauteed greens. Blue cheese and rosemary seem like a strange combination, but they work together really well. It is a wonderful accompaniment to sauteed greens, although calorie heavy as it is made with cream. The carrot salad was served over lettuce and made of sliced carrots dressed with the zest and juice of one lemon, garlic (that I grated using the microplane grater, one of my favorite kitchen tools), lemon pepper, a bit of white wine vinegar, and olive oil. I think we got enough veggies in this meal :)

Veggies All Day Long!

Not as a new years resolution, but more because I have been thinking about it for awhile: I want to eat 9 servings or fruit and vegetables EVERY DAY!

This shouldn't be too hard, right? Today I ate: an apple and raisins with breakfast, some mushrooms and lettuce at lunch. Dinner is up, butternut squash, rich, and a salad. That puts me at 2 fruit (counting the raisins) and 4 vegetables for a grand total of 6. I guess a really large salad would bump it up to 7. Apparently, I need to do some work!

Miso Hot Pot

Today I made my own miso hot pot for dinner. So healthy and so good!

Miso Hot Pot (seves 2)

buckwheat soba noodles
1 9 oz bag spinach
1 container shitake mushrooms (soaked if dried, save water)
2 small or 1 large sweet potato
1 inch piece of ginger
1 large clove garlic
sesame oil
mirin
sesame seeds
1 Tbs miso, or to taste

Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Drain, and divide into two large bowls, keeping noodles in one quadrant. Peel and chop sweet potatoes in 1/2" dice. Mince garlic. Add sesame oil to pan. Add garlic and sweet potatoes. Cook over medium heat. Stir a bit, add some mirin (a Tbs or so) cover and let steam for a few minutes. The sweet potatoes will probably brown a bit. Check with a fork. If not done, add a bit of water, cover, and steam. Repeat until sweet potatoes are done. They should give with a fork but not be mushy. Divide among two bowls, into quadrant next to noodles. Add more sesame oil to same pan. Slice shitake mushrooms. Mince ginger. Add to pan, and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Divide among two bowls, in quadrant next to sweet potatoes. Add more sesame oil to pan. Add 1/3 of spinach, and cook over medium heat. Add a bit of water and cover. Add 1/3 more spinach, and repeat, then again for rest of spinach. Divide among two bowls in quadrant between mushrooms and soba noodles (see picture). Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Heat 3 cups water (or mushroom soaking liquid) to boiling. Remove from heat, and add miso. Stir to dissolve, and divide among two bowls. Sprinkle on sesame oil, soy sauce, or hot sauce to taste.