Baking Again

What do you do when you are feeling angsty for some unknown reason?

I bake. Today I made a sour cherry pie. I bought sour cherries at Trader Joe's. I made a lattice crust, although it looks very amateur. I also made pumpkin muffins. I was short an ingredient for the muffins, which I only realized after starting to make them. I then improvised this recipe. I plan on making them more when fall comes.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. white flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 egg
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1/2 c. oil or melted butter (I used oil)
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. golden raisins
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix flours, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Mix egg, pumpkin puree, oil, and maple syrup in a smaller bowl. Add to flour, along with raisins and pecans. Stir quickly, and divide among 12 oiled or lined muffin cups. Bake 15-20 min.

So long ...

... since my last post. I guess I have been busy! My garden is doing good - very overgrown and it was too hot for a long time to deal with it. Nevertheless, I have gotten some delicious tomatoes (green zebra, black krim, and rutgers). Today, I made dinner with tomatoes and basil from the garden. I boiled some mini potatoes. When they were done, I drained them and tossed with a lemon vinaigrette (1 clove garlic, grated; zest from 1/2 lemon; juice from 1 lemon; salt, pepper, and olive oil to taste). I let that marinate while I made the rest. For the basil sauce, ~3 cups packed basil blended with 1 clove garlic (I grated first), zest from 1 lemon, juice from 1-2 lemons, and a splash of olive oil. Then, I sauteed up some peppers in garlic and olive oil. The peppers were small sweet peppers, so I just cut them in half (very pretty!). Then, I arranged the sliced tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers on a plate, and drizzled with the sauce. It isn't in the picture, but we ate it with a wedge of goat brie. The only thing missing was a piece of good bread!
The garlic I used was from my parent's garden. My sister made us a garlic braid. The garlic is very delicious and also very strong.

Lemony Berry Topping

Here is a delicious way to eat summer fresh berries!

Lemony Berry Topping

1 lemon
1/3 c. sugar (or to taste)
1 Tbs Grand Marnier
2 c. assorted berries (blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries)

Mix together zest and juice of 1 lemon, sugar, and Grand Marnier. Add berries (cut strawberries into smaller pieces). Let macerate at room temperature for an hour. Serve over angel food cake.

I thought this was a good way to capture the bright lemon flavor. My friend said it tasted like I soaked the berries in lemonade . . .

No pictures but good recipe!

Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding

old bread (I used 6 good sized rolls)
3 c. milk
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 large bananas (could use 1 large or 2 small)
3 eggs
3/4 c. chocolate chips (I used the mini ones)
3 Tbs. butter

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut bread into cubes. Mash 1/2 banana in a bowl. Slice remaining bananas. Add eggs and whisk. Add brown sugar and milk, mix well. Stir in bread cubes, sliced banana, and chocolate chips. Mix well. Use ~ 1/2 Tbs. butter to grease a 9x9 square pan (I used an oval baking dish that is the same volume). Pour in the bread mixture. Melt the rest of the butter and drizzle over top of pudding (at this point, I would have sprinkled raw sugar over the top, but I didn't have any). Bake for 50 minutes.

BB said this was the best bread pudding EVER. It was pretty good ...

Sesame-Almond Salad

Another tasty yet healthful meal! The best part were the five spice almonds. I made this a bit ago, so I can't remember amounts.

Asian Tofu Salad

Romaine Lettuce
Carrots
Broccoli (sauteed and steam in small amount of sesame oil)
Water Chestnuts
Celery
Cucumber
1 Tbs. Soy Sauce
3-4 Tbs. Rice Vinegar
1 Tbs. Honey
1 Tbs. Sesame Oil
Ginger (1/2 - 1 inch piece)
1 clove Garlic
Terriyaki Tofu
Five Spice Almonds (see below)

Layer lettuce, sliced celery, slice cucumbers, shredded carrots, water chestnuts, and broccoli in a large bowl. Whisk soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, grated ginger, and grated garlic in a bowl. Pour over salad and toss. I made the baked terriyaki tofu from The Higher Road to Health. Serve on a plate, topped with terriyaki tofu and five spice almonds.

Five Spice Almonds

1 c. slivered almonds
1 Tbs. neutral oil
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. five spice powder
1-2 Tbs. honey
salt to taste

Heat oil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add almonds and stir occasionally to keep from burning. When they start to smell (but before they start to brown), add the ginger and five spice powder. Stir well, and cook until almonds just start to brown and the mixture is very aromatic. Add honey, and stir for a few minutes to glaze evenly. Let cool on a plate.

Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast burritos. Yes. It was actually lunchtime, but that is just fine with me! To make them, I started with spanish rice. Then I scrambled some eggs (3 for BB and me, beaten with 2 Tbs water, and cooked half omelet and half scrambled style). I layered the following on a whole wheat tortilla heated over the gas flame: spanish rice, scrambled eggs, shredded monterey jack cheese, diced bell pepper, sliced scallions, cilantro, sliced avocado, sour cream and salsa (I like salsa autentica from Trader Joes).








Of course, I always make burritos too big for the tortilla:

I have included the my recipe for spanish rice, which is pretty awesome if I do say so myself! Even BB, who normally things rice is bland and boring, thought it was amazing!

Spanish Rice

1 small to medium onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, diced
3 Tbs oil (I use a mix of canola and olive)
1 c. brown basmati rice
1 c. vegetable stock (I use homemade)
1 can diced tomatoes (this time, I used fire roasted)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, and saute for a few minutes. Don't stir too much, let them start to color a bit. Add the bell pepper and carrots and saute a few minutes more, stirring occasionally. Add the rice, and stir to evenly coat with the oil. Let the rice brown. Stir often so that the rice doesn't burn - the rice should be light brown all over. This may take up to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, blend most of the diced tomatoes and the broth together. Save approximately 1/4 cup of diced tomatoes. When the rice is sufficiently brown, add salt and pepper to taste, the blended tomato/broth mixture, and the reserved diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until done, approximately 40 minutes.

Pancakes on a Rainy Sunday

Since it seems like it is always raining, I have lots of lazy, rainy weekends to bake and make pancakes. Today, I made whole grain pancakes with apple maple syrup. I think apples and pancakes are a stellar combination! Also, adding whole wheat and oats to the pancakes makes them heartier but at the same time they feel less dense in your stomach. The whole grain pancakes are adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bitman.

Whole Grain Pancakes with Apple Maple Syrup

For the pancakes:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
2 Tbs. butter, melted

For the apple maple syrup:
3 apples
2 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. vanilla paste (or vanilla bean or vanilla extract)
3/4 to 1 c. maple syrup (I am estimaitng, I just finished the bottle I had)

For the pancakes: mix the flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Beat the eggs with the milk, then stir in the melted butter. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, and stir with a fork until combined (batter will probably be a bit lumpy, just don't stir too much). Heat cast iron skillet over medium heat. I coated mine with vegetable oil. Cook pancakes until they start to bubble, then flip. Keep warm - I put them on a platter covered with a kitchen towl.

For the apple maple syrup: core, peel, and slice the apples. There should be approximately 16 wedges for each apple. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the apples and vanilla paste (or vanilla bean). Saute until the apples are getting soft, but still a bit crunchy in the middle. Add the maple syrup (if using vanilla extract, add at this step). Bring to a simmer,cover, and simmer until the pancakes are ready.

Timeline: I would start by making the pancake batter. Then, preheat the cast iron pan for the pancakes and melt the butter in a saucepan for the apples. Core, peel, and slice the apples. Cook the apples while cooking the pancakes. They should be ready around the same time. Serve the pancakes with some sliced apples and the maple syrup.

Simple but so Good

Orzo is one of my favorite pastas. Especially cooked simply, like this. I wanted pasta for lunch, but we had almost nothing in the house. BUT, we did have orzo, garlic, and lemons.

Lemon Garlic Orzo

1 c. orzo
1 lemon
6-8 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt, pepper to taste
hard cheese, 1-2 Tbs. grated - optional - (I used majon, but parmesan would also work)

Bring a pot of water to boil. When boiling, add orzo and cook until slightly undercooked. Drain (reserving 1/2 c. of cooking water), and set aside. Meanwhile, heat olive oil (approximately 3 Tbsp.) in saucepan on medium heat. Add minced garlic. Saute for a minute or two. It should not brown. Add zest of one lemon. Saute until starting to brown nicely. Add orzo. Saute for a few minutes. Add pasta water (approximately 1/3 c. - add more later if neccessary), juice from lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until water is absorbed. Stir in cheese, and serve.

I didn't have anything else, but I think that parsley or pine nuts stirred in at the end would be delicious. This dish would be very good with shrimp.

Stroganoff!

Lots of cooking this weekend! I made banana bread, strawberry rhubarb pie, and mushroom stroganoff. The banana bread is a recipe from cooking light - classic banana bread. Pretty much the recipe I use every time. Why mess with what works? The only changes I make are to use 1/2 to 2/3 cups whole wheat flour, less sugar (1/2 to 2/3 cup instead of 1 cup) and I add pecans or walnuts. This time, I only had vanilla yogurt so I used less sugar.I made the pie for a friend's birthday. I didn't mess with the sugar, since it was for someone else :). The crust is the pate brisse from Martha Stewart that I first tried on thanksgiving. It is not that difficult, but yields such a crisp, flakey, and buttery crust. The filling is the Rhubarb-Stawberry-Rose pie sans roses from The Great American Bake Sale, compiled by Michael J. Rosen. The whole pie turned out tasty and pretty, if I do say so myself!

I love creamy mushroom stroganoff. It can be a bit rich, so I decided to make a deconstructed version so that each portion (mushrooms, noodles, and sour cram) stands out. Of course, this neccessitates a very flavorful mushroom ragout. Here is my vegetarian version. I served with broccoli sauteed with garlic, lemon zest, and olive oil and finished with lemon juice.

Deconstructed Mushroom Stroganoff

For the mushroom ragout:
2 tbs. butter
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
10 oz. mushrooms (I used cremini)
1/2 package dried mushrooms soaked in 1 c. water
bay leaf
1 tsp. herbs de Provence
1/3 c. brandy
1 Tbs. soy sauce + 2 Tbs. brewers yeast + 1 c. water (or use 1 c. vegetable broth)

For the sour cream sauce:
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 bunch parsely
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
lemon

For the noodles:
1/2 package whole wheat egg noodles
1 Tbs. butter

paprika, for garnish

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and butter. Finely dice onion, carrots, and celery. Mince garlic. Saute onions over medium heat, until starting to color. Add carrots, celery, garlic, herbs de Provence, bay leaf, and pepper. Cook for a few minutes. Slice mushrooms. Remove soaked mushrooms from water (reserving for later) and chop finely. Add to pan, and cook until everything colors nicely. There should be browned bits on the pan. This is good (see picture). Add brandy and turn up heat. De-glaze pan (i.e. scrape all those brown bits up). Once all the bits are scraped up and the brandy has evaporated, add the reserved mushroom soaking water, and 1 cup water + 2 Tbs. brewers yeast + 1 Tbs soy sauce, and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, and partially cover pan. Some of the liquid should evaporate, but there should still be enough to be saucy. Keeping the pan partially covered allows you to control this.

Meanwhile, set a large pot of water boiling for the noodles and prepare the sour cream sauce. Finely mince the parsely. Mix the sour cream, minced parsely, and parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add lemon juice to brighten the flavor, to taste. Set aside. When the water is boiling, add the noodles and cook until al dente. Drain, and melt butter in same pot. Add noodles and stir to coat with butter.

Assemble dish: Put noodles on a plate. Top with mushroom ragout, be sure to get some of the sauce. Add a few dollops of the sour cream sauce, and garnish with paprika.

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!

Thanksgiving Feast

We had a vegetarian thanksgiving this year. Everything turned out well. Some of the recipes were new, some were not. Below are my reviews of the recipes. Note the side sideboard for all the food. BB's parents came out for Thanksgiving. It was fun, and they were nice enough to bring out some of BB's furniture. Now our house finally looks less bare!

Thanksgiving Menu

White Beans with Sage
Mashed Potatoes with Shitake Mushroom Gravy
Cornbread Stuffing
Sweet Potato Casserole with Orange and Brown Sugar
Green Beans with Bread Crumbs
Marinated Cauliflower Salad
Spinach Salad with Warm Walnut Dressing
Curried Creamed Onions
Cranberry Sauce
Whole Wheat Crescent Rolls
Apple-Blackberry Pie

White Beans with Sage
The Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas

We made these last year. It is very simple, just cook white beans with sage, garlic, and olive oil. We used navy beans and cooked in the cast iron skillet. They should be cooked just enough to be done, but should still hold their shape. I think that the flavor is very nice, and complements all of the other thanksgiving food. Definitely a good substitute for the turkey, without trying to be something it is not.

Mashed Potatoes with Shitake Mushroom Gravy
The Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon

The mashed potatoes had no recipe, just yukon gold mashed with butter and potato cooking water. The mushroom shitake gravy was a hit! BB made it. It is actually a recipe for seitan with a gravy like sauce, but we just did it without the seitan. It started with a stock using garlic, onions, and shitake mushrooms. Then, seasoned with red wine (we used a cotes du rhone) and miso and thickened with a roux. I think this is worth making again, maybe with a bit less miso and the vegetables chopped smaller.

Cornbread Stuffing

We just used the cornbread stuffing from Trader Joe's. I have never made sutffing from scratch before, but next year I want to! This was fine, except that I added too much water so it was a bit mushy. I got my stuffing fix though.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Orange and Brown Sugar The Passioante Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon

I thought this was excellent. I simply roasted the sweet potatoes whole (no peeling) two days before Thanksgiving. The day before I assembled the casserole with butter, brown sugar, orange juice, and Grand Marnier. Then, before baking, added a bit more butter, brown sugar, and Grand Marnier over the top. The Grand Marnier addition as excellent. I would make this again, perhaps with less sugar as sweet potatoes are already somewhat sweet.

Green Beans with Bread Crumbs Martha Stweat Living, November 2009

BB made this also. I thought it was good. He was bit disappointed that the bread crumbs weren't as crispy as they should have been, if he did it again, he would do it is two batches to cook properly. It is simply greens beans sauteed with shallots and bread crumbs. A nice simple side dish, and the different textures make it interesting.

Marinated Cauliflower Salad
Martha Stewart Living, November 2009

This was great because you can make it a day or two before, and then it gets served at room temperature. Cauliflower is blanched and marinated with red onions, capers, and red wine vinaigrette. These kinds of side dishes are a nice break from the richness of the other dishes.

Spinach Salad with Warm Walnut Dressing

We adapted this from a recipe in Martha Stwerat Living, November 2009. Basically, heat walnuts (3/4 cup) in a mixture of 1/2 cup olive and walnut oil. Heat until walnuts are toasted, and stir occasionally (I made the mistake of not paying attention, and they burned. We had to do it again, but it wasn't a disaster). Dress the spinach with red wine vinegar (2 Tbsp.), salt, and pepper. Pour the warm walnuts and oil over the salad, and toss. The spinach gets slightly wilted, but not cooked. I think this might be my new favorite way to eat spinach. Next time, I want to try using hazelnuts.

Curried Cream Onions
Saveur, November 2009

Pearl onions in a curried cream sauce. The sauce is comprised of curry powder, flour, mustard, half and half, and onion cooking water. It turned out too thick. Next time, I would significantly cut down or even omit the flour. BB bought a mix of red, yellow, and white onions. It made for a nice presentation.

Cranberry Sauce
Saveur, November 2009

Cranberry sauce made with brown sugar, orange juice, grand marnier, and spices (cinnamon stick, whole cloves, peppercorns, and allspice berries). This was delicious. BB thought it was very sweet. I will definitely make this again, perhaps using less sugar.

Whole Wheat Crescent Rolls
Betty Crocker Cookbook

This is the crescent roll recipe I started making at Thanksgiving when I was about 11! It is a great recipe, and always turns out. This year, I altered by using half whole wheat. The rolls are really good with whole wheat, but I still like the original best. Maybe because that is what I always had ...

Apple-Blackberry Pie
Martha Stewart Living, November 2009

This is what I am most proud of. I thought it turned out fantastic, it is a great recipe. I followed it exactly. The crust was easy, but there were a lot of steps. I love using the food processor to make crust. It turned out flaky and buttery. I forgot to get leaf shaped cookie cutters, so I cut them free form. Cutting leaves that don't look silly is harder than it sounds! I also like the blackberries with the apples, a nice bit of tartness and color. I will use this crust recipe again, for any pie!

Pear Cake

Today was cold and rainy, so I didn't want to go anywhere. I also happened to have too many ripe pears, more than I can eat on my own. My solution to these problems? Pear Upside-Down Cake! It turned out very delicious! The only things I would change for next time - make it less sweet (less sugar in cake and topping) and maybe add a spice, like nutmeg. I altered a recipe for pineapple upside-down cake from "The Cake Bible". Here is my version.

Pear Upside-Down Cake

4 pears, sliced
1/2 c. walnuts
4 Tbs. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar (next time I will use less)

3 egg yolks
1/4 c. sour cream
1/3 c. plain yogurt (or sour cream, I ran out so I used yogurt)
2 tsp. vanilla
9 Tbs. butter
1 c. white flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. sugar (next time I will use 1/4-1/3 c.)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 (mine was 300 using convection oven).

Add 4 Tbs. butter to a 10" cake pan or cast iron skillet and place in oven to melt butter. Add brown sugar and spread evenly over pan. Sprinkle walnuts over brown sugar/butter mixture. Lay sliced pears decoratively over top of walnuts. Set aside. Lightly mix egg yolks, sour cream, and vanilla in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, mix together white flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Add 9 Tbs. butter (make sure it is very soft) and yogurt. Mix on low speed until dry ingredients are moistened. Mix on medium speed another 1-2 min. Mixture will be very thick. Add the egg yolk mixture (in three batches), mix on medium speed. Dollop batter over pears, spread to cover all fruit. Bake for 30 min, or until top is browned and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Use a metal scraper to loosen cake from sides of pan. Immediately invert cake, wait a bit to let all the juices out, and then remove pan.