Rugelach

I was pretty sure that I posted this before, when we first learned how to make rugelach, but I can never find it when I go looking. I made these again last night for the....like, 50th time or something, in the two and half years since I learned how! We all love rugelach.

Apricot Rugelach

1 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sour cream (optional)
apricot jam (can use another flavor jam, raspberry is good too)
currants or raisins
cinnamon sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese together, preferably in a heavy-duty mixer. Add salt, flour, and sour cream. Mix just until the dough comes together, then divide into four pieces and shape into disks. Refrigerate for an hour or more.

Roll each disk into a neat 8-inch circle, then spread with a thin layer of jam. Sprinkle with a few currants or raisins, then sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Cut into 8 wedges. Roll each wedge up starting at the wide edge, leaving a pointy end at the top. Place each piece on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 until lightly golden. Enjoy while still warm!

Chile Relleno Stew

MMMMM. Well, I haven't posted here for a long time, but this one inspired me to post, even if just so I have a record of the recipe for myself. Tonight, all alone, with a refrigerator full of farm-fresh produce, I wanted something to kind of simulate chile relleno but without all the work and spattering grease. So I decided to experiment.

I had extra produce because I am housesitting, and I forgot about the CSA share I was to pick up for the houseowners, and went to the farmer's market yesterday. Which, this time of year, always pulls me into buying more veggies than I can eat anyway! So much yummy produce--anything imaginable in the way of fruits and vegetables are at the farmer's market in August and September.

(I was cooking for just myself, so I'd say multiply this recipe for the number of people you want it to serve. That'll serve second large helpings or you'll have leftovers.)

So, I headed to the kitchen, and roasted two Anaheim chiles. You could use poblanos, but I like Anaheims for my chile relleno, not as spicy as poblanos. I would recommend you roast them in the oven or using a culinary torch. I....ahem....did not use one of these methods and ended up with a flaming pan later, when I took out the chiles and put in butter. (Alison and Chris, if you're reading this, don't worry! Your house didn't burn down. At least not all the way. Kidding!) You don't have to peel the chilies unless you want to or if they have thick skins. Stem and seed them after roasting, and chop coarsely.

Chop one nice yummy tomato coarsely. Cut the kernels off one ear of corn. Then melt a tablespoon of butter in a medium pan and add the tomato and corn and cook while you're chopping the rest. Chop a handful of cilantro coarsely, and slice about 1/3 cup of jack cheese.

Add the cilantro and the chilies to the pan along with salt and pepper to taste. After it's all cooked for a few minutes, lay the cheese over the top. Let it cook for a couple minutes more and then serve. I ate mine on a plate, but this almost begged a bowl.

Really fast, really easy, really yummy! Perfect for a summer evening.

Huevos Rancheros

I really have been cooking in the last six months....just not a whole lot of time or inspiration to post here. But I've been thinking in the last week about several mainstays of our family meals that I could certainly post here--food that is delicious and time-tested as I've made them over and over again.

Here's one that I love to make as a very hearty breakfast or even dinner. I especially love it after coming home from church, when we've fasted for communion, and it's noon or 1 pm and we haven't eaten anything besides communion and high-sugar coffee hour treats. But I really only make it when I have good home-cooked black beans. I used to only make it from home-cooked refried beans, but last time I just made pot beans and this turned out very well, and not refrying deletes a whole extra recipe. I think I like it just fine this way! Anyway, either follow your own favorite pot beans recipe or refried beans recipe or follow my simple recipe. And I really don't make it anymore with canned refried beans, as I just don't think it's worth it. I like to wait until I have the real thing--it's worth the wait.

Pot Beans
Rinse one pound of black beans (or substitute your favorite beans--we like black beans over pinto beans) and put in a large pot with about enough water to 2 1/2 times as much as the level of the beans. I suppose this is probably about 10 cups of water. Add one large onion, peeled and cut into quarters, 2 or more cloves of garlic, peeled, a cinnamon stick or two, a teaspoon of dried oregano, and a dried chili pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the beans are very soft, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Add at least one teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Use as is, or make refried beans.

Refried Beans
In a large saute pan, saute onion and garlic in oil. When the onion is softened, begin adding beans (and bean liquid) by the ladle-ful. Add two or three ladles-full and then mash with a wooden spoon while stirring, then keep adding beans and cooking and stirring. If you have an immersion blender this is a good time to use it! But it's fine to leave it somewhat chunky. Continue cooking until the liquid is cooked off to make a nice bean paste. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Now, how I do this is to make refried beans with homemade flour tortillas, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and radishes or other veggies for dinner one night. We call it Mexican night, and now that I'm thinking about it, I did blog about it a couple of years ago. And then I have nice pot or refried beans leftover for the Huevos Rancheros.

Huevos Rancheros
For each serving:
Heat up your beans, about two or three spoonsful for each serving.
Fry one corn tortilla in oil on a skillet over medium heat. Be patient while frying and let it get nice and crispy, as this will affect how easy it is to cut it with your fork later, making for easier eating. Fry on both sides until nice and browned all over, pressing down with a spatula for even frying. Place the tortillas on individual plates.
On the same skillet, fry an egg for each serving. I fry them over-easy style, but you can fry them however you like them best. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread the beans on the tortillas, then place an egg on each one. Add jack cheese, salsa, and sour cream or creme fraiche.

Delicious!

Birthday Shortcake

Yesterday we celebrated Paul's 40th birthday! A big occasion! He's never been one for regular cake on his birthday. He likes pie or another kind of dessert. And falling in June, his birthday can take advantage of all kinds of summer fruit (plus enjoying it outside!).

We decided on Strawberry Shortcake this year. But with a twist! The shortcake is a Lemon Lavender Shortcake that I came up with myself! I used a scone recipe from Joy of Cooking for the shortcakes and added lemon and lavender. And just when our lavender in the garden is perfect for baking with!

Strawberry Lemon-Lavender Shortcake

For the shortcake:
Stir together 2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1-2 teaspoons finely-ground lavender buds (grind in a coffee grinder) and the zest of one lemon. Stir in 1 cup heavy cream and the juice from one lemon. Stir in enough extra cream for the mixture to just come together--use a light hand in mixing. Knead in the bowl just until the dough forms a rough ball and transfer to a floured surface. Roll out to about an inch thick and either cut out rounds or cut into squares. Place the pieces on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

For the strawberries:
Hull and slice 2 to 3 pints of strawberries. Place in a bowl and add sugar to taste--about 1/4 cup--and a handful of chopped fresh mint.

To assemble:
Split the shortcakes in half. Place one or two shortcakes on each plate and spoon strawberries on top. Dollop plenty of whipped cream on top of that. Enjoy!

Oh, yes, I even made a vegan version of this for Hibi. And it was surprisingly good, too! Instead of adding cream, just cut in 6 tablespoons of vegan shortening, then add enough non-dairy milk for the mixture to come together. Continue as directed. I've seen vegan whipped creams on the market but we didn't think of getting this in time....she enjoyed it plenty without the whipped cream!

Vegan Biscuits and Gravy!

I've been wanting to figure out a good way to make vegan biscuits and gravy, and this morning I made some scrumptious ones! Oh, so good! I got the inspiration from a retreat center cookbook I have, but I changed it enough that I'm taking credit myself. :-)

First, make the biscuits:

Stir together 2 cups flour (you can use part whole wheat or other flour, but I used all white this morning), 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cut in 6 teaspoons non-trans-fat shortening (like Spectrum) until well-blended and the pieces of shortening are very small, about the size of grains of rice. Stir in 3/4 cup plain soy yogurt, then moisten the dough with enough soy milk for it to all come together. Knead just a few times in the bowl, then pat it out in a smooth layer on the counter or a large cutting board dusted with flour. Pat out to about 3/4 inches. Cut out with a biscuit cutter or a large cookie cutter and put on a cookie sheet. Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes, until golden brown and raised.

Make the gravy: toast 2 1/2 cups cashews in the oven--you can put them in while the oven is preheating for the biscuits and leave them until they're done, even with the biscuits in there too. In a small skillet, saute half a chopped onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil over low heat. In a blender, put 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 2 cups water, 2 teaspoons tamari (soy sauce), and whatever herbs you want--I used fresh rosemary and thyme from my garden. When the cashews are done, add them and blend until smooth (or pretty smooth). Add the cashew slurry to the onions and cook over low heat until heated through. Add more water for a thinner gravy. Add salt if desired.

Split the biscuits and ladle gravy over. Enjoy!

Vegan Doughnuts!

Oh my! We are going to have a great Lent! (If you're just stumbling upon this blog and wondering, we are Greek Orthodox and just starting Lent next Monday.)

Recently the fabulous Jennifer Schmoo came visiting our house! And she came bearing a gift. She brought My Sweet Vegan, a treasure for vegans and Lenten-fasters! I immediately said "We're going to have a good Lent..."

We started using it before Lent since Hibi is a vegan, and her birthday was on Tuesday. These wonderful doughnuts are what we had for breakfast. I made up the dough the night before, put it in the fridge, then on Tuesday morning when I got up I formed the doughnuts and let them rise. They were ready for frying when it was time for breakfast, and yum, what a breakfast it was! Not even us non-vegan cheese-fare people were complaining.

Now, normally I would post the recipe. My understanding is that recipes cannot be copyrighted, and I'm within my rights to post them on my blog. But the author of this cookbook Hannah Kaminsky, is still a teenager! She also homeschools. And I find it so amazing that she could come up with such a tasty compilation at such a young age, that I am going to urge you to buy the book rather than posting the recipe. If you are at my house, you are welcome to copy it yourself. :-)

Also I would usually link to the Powells site rather than Amazon, but Powells doesn't seem to have it yet. Hey, Hannah, you should sell your book to Powells! It is definitely up Portland's alley.

Also, the night before we took the Root Beer Float Cupcakes from this book to a gathering as a birthday cake. They were also scrumptious! Definitely a good resource for those of us who avoid dairy and eggs at least part time.

Note: After I posted this, I thought I should add a thought on enjoying food during Lent: I realize the point of fasting is not to circumvent the rules and make something that tastes as good as the original that we aren't eating. However, as a former neighbor at seminary once said, you can fool your tastebuds but you can't fool your body! I think this is true and we do feel differently during Lent because of what we are not eating. Also, though, the fast is loosened on weekends which is when we would be enjoying things like this. It seems so much more of a treat when you've been fasting strictly all week.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mystery solved! I can remember baking chocolate chip cookies where they turned out nice and plump, chewy and delicious. Then, several years ago, something changed. My cookies would spread in the oven and become paper-thin and too crumbly. I quit making them because it just didn't seem worth it. Hibi started making vegan chocolate chip cookies, with shortening and soy milk, and they came out better than my non-vegan ones! So, that made me think it had to be one of the components that are not in vegan cookies. I thought of eggs, but when I began keeping my own chickens again it didn't improve. I figured it was some change in commercial ingredients that came from the different treatment of farm animals. But I remained in the dark about what specifically it was.

Well, I don't know if that assumption was correct, but it turns out that it has to do with the butterfat content of the butter. I don't remember who it was who suggested it in conversation recently, but someone said "try European butter." My first thought was: uber-expensive Plugra? Wow, is that what it'll take for good cookies? But I found Straus European-Style butter at New Seasons and tried it out last night.

And it was definitely worth it! My cookies still came out crunchier than I like them but that was just because they got left in oven too long. But they have such a nice buttery flavor and they're plump and delicious. I used the recipe from my Kitchen Aid booklet. Oh, yeah, I bought myself a used Kitchen Aid mixer with my Christmas money, and I'm enjoying it a lot! In fact, I said I was still going to knead bread by hand, but I haven't done so since I got my Kitchen Aid.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Place sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla in mixer bowl. Mix on speed 2 (on a kitchen aid--low speed) and mix about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape bowl. Turn to speed 4 (medium speed) and beat about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape bowl.

Turn to Stir speed. Gradually add soda, salt, and flour and mix about 2 minutes. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape bowl. Add chocolate chips and mix on stir speed for about 15 seconds.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from baking sheets immediately and cool on wire racks.

Enjoy!

Egg Cups

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted a tasty treat here. But here's a good one! Especially if, like me, you are the proud owner of chickens, who are beginning to lay once again! Ah, all that fresh, truly-free-range eggy goodness deprivation gone for another year. Hurrah!

I sure wish I'd gotten a picture of these....they are so pretty, as well as tasty. They're pretty easy to make, though the philo is a bit tedious. Someone said that philo cups are available commercially, so that would be worth checking into.

Baked Eggs in Philo Cups with Lemon Sauce

Plan on one or two eggs per person...or more, if they're really hungry! Have as many ramekins on hand as you plan to make eggs. Melt butter and brush each ramekin with melted butter. Open up a package of philo dough and slice a strip off, about five inches wide. Cut this strip into thirds, to make squares (at least close). Brush each piece with butter as you work. Place a piece of philo into a ramekin, layering one on top of another overlapping, to cover the whole inside of the cup and sticking out a bit on top. Put at least 7 or 8 pieces in each ramekin...until it looks like enough, like a little philo cup. Repeat with all the ramekins. (Save the rest of the philo for another use.)

Put about 1 1/2 tablespoons of cream cheese or other soft cheese on the bottom of each philo cup. Then crack in one egg in each. Snip chives over the top (or you could use other herbs), drizzle with just a smidge of cream, and salt and pepper over the top. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for oh, maybe 20 to 30 minutes? Depending on how done you like your eggs.

While the eggs are baking, make the sauce: melt two tablespoons butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add two tablespoons flour and stir and cook until the mixture is lightly browned. Add about 3/4 cup milk (honestly, I didn't measure--just keep adding it until it's the right consistency) and cook and stir until the mixture comes to a simmer and thickens. Add the juice from one lemon. Add more milk if it's too thick.

Drizzle sauce over the eggs at the table. Enjoy!

Briami and Manestra

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted on my food blog! I've been so busy I haven't even been cooking all that much. The week our church was made a cathedral, I realized that it was a whole *week* that I went without cooking a "real" meal, if you don't count fixing a quick-style huevos rancheros with store-bought refried beans, which I don't. :-)

One thing that's making me busy is the cooking class we're doing at church, though. And it's been so great! I am teaching it tomorrow. I figured I'd better test the recipes tonight. Honestly, though I've eaten it and enjoyed it and knew it'd be very easy, I've never before made either of these recipes. They're just which ones fit best with my vegetarian night. And let me tell you--they were *so tasty.* Hibi was very impressed as well! (That's all who are home tonight to enjoy it, though I know Paul will enjoy some later.)

A note about the vegetables: I know it's beyond eggplant season, just barely but still. And zucchini too. Though when I went to pull out my zuke plant yesterday, I found it still had little tiny zukes on it, and I didn't have the heart! So I left it. Anyway, I do plan to tell the folks that, and that they should really make this in late summer or early fall. But this was scrumptious all the same.

You could substitute other vegetables for the out-of-season ones....like peppers or carrots, and in season you could use green beans. I also used rosemary, even though the recipe I was following said to use dill. I don't have dill, and I do have rosemary growing in my garden. This recipe is very conducive to adaptation.

Briami (Roasted Vegetable Casserole)

3 zucchini, cut into 1" rounds
5 large potatoes, cut into 1" rounds
1 eggplant, cut into 1" rounds
1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
4 garlic cloves, chopped coarsely
2 tablespoons mint
2 tablespoons parsley
1 small piece of rosemary
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and place in a large baking pan. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours or until all vegetables are tender. Check frequently and add water if vegetables seem dry. Liquid should be absorbed when done.

Manestra (Orzo with cheese)

1 16 oz. package orzo
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
mizithra, feta, or parmesan to taste

Cook orzo in boiling water until al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water. Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet until butter is melted, and add orzo. Stir for a couple of minutes. Add cheese to taste.

Enjoy!

We heard recently that there's a new restaurant in our area of town called Nutshell, and that it's all vegan. Now, I probably wouldn't have tried it if we didn't have a vegan in the family, but we did tonight. And I have a message for non-vegans and non-vegetarians: if you love good food, go to Nutshell! It was amazing food. The only complaint I have is the very slow service. And I do mean *very slow*. Don't arrive very hungry. Though we perhaps should have expected to wait for awhile because we did get there at 7:15 on a Friday evening, but I've seen lots of other reviews saying the place has very slow service.

Anyway, three of the four of us loved the place. Zachary did not love the place, but even he had things he liked about it. He didn't like waiting so long--we got there at 7:15 and put our name on the waiting list. I don't know how long we waited, but it was a long time. We were finally seated, and then quickly ordered, but it was again a long time before our food came. We were in our car driving home at 9:30. That's slow service!

One word about the price: some would consider the price to be a negative. It was a bit pricey. My entree was $14. But I say it was worth every penny, plus the wait....well, I could really get rid of the wait and be much happier!

But on to the good stuff. After we ordered, I saw the olive oil menu sitting on the table and remembered that I'd seen a review that talked about their olive oil menu. So we ordered some. You can select from about 5 different breads or an assortment, about 6 or 7 olive oils from all over the world, and a ton of different salts. We chose the assortment of bread, the Chilean olive oil, and a volcanic salt. Well, I know what good olive oil and salt and bread taste like. But we were all blown away by how good it tasted! "Like and explosion of flavor in my mouth!" were the words uttered by my jaded 13 year old. I'd like to go sometime and just have something simple like soup, along with a variety of breads and olive oils and salts.

After the long wait, our entrees finally came. Zachary didn't like his spaghetti, but the rest of us did! It was spaghetti with a creamy porcini and truffle sauce. It was just how you'd imagine it to taste, with the very pungeant truffle flavor throughout the spaghetti. It was delicious. I've got the leftovers in my fridge for my lunch tomorrow. :-)

Hibi had a grilled pineapple and avocado sandwich, which came with bamboo fries. She really loved it. I was interested to try those fries, but I have to admit, I was expecting them to be...well, woody. Not at all! Very interesting flavors and we all enjoyed some.

Paul had the potato pancakes, which he also enjoyed. They were very interesting, too--they were basically like puffs of mashed potatoes, with interesting toppings. I don't remember much about them because I was so focused on my own and the kids' meals.

I had the Jamaican BBQ and it was all delicious. It had lots of different things in it....red beans and rice, corn fritters that were SPICY!, something like a hash browns but I'm not sure it was potatoes. Boy, I sure wish I'd remembered what all was supposed to be in it! Then there was an orange half that was hollowed out a bit and stuffed with a mixture that could have been potatoes or yucca or something like that....but it definitely had coconut in it, and it was nicely sweet but not overly. Oh, and grilled squash and onions.

We did not stay for dessert, as we'd already been there a long time! Though it's just a half block from Pix Pattiserie, which I was thinking of going to after....but after I did not give a second thought to this idea. I was already sated with some of the best food I've eaten in a long time.

The Citysearch review we looked at for Nutshell says it's a good place for kids. I'd have to disagree, unfortunately. Though it's probably fine for kids to make noise, as it's a pretty noisy place, there's not much that's kid-friendly on the menu. They did offer to make Zac plain spaghetti with vegetables, but he chose the truffle spaghetti because I told him that truffles are very expensive. ;-) But really, I felt a bit out of place there, myself, and not just because I had kids along (they were the only kids in the restaurant). It is a very trendy, hip place where it's cool to be in your 20s and hanging out with friends.

But don't let that stop any of you non-twenty-somethings from trying it! Because why should the twenty-somethings get all the good vegan food?

Doughnuts at Patrick's Point!

Here is the promised doughnut recipe that I used when we went to Patrick's Point. It was pretty easy to make these while camping, even if it did take forever because of the cool weather. But they're just as easy to make at home.

Here's the recipe, just as I sent it to the campers' email list.

Hey doughnut-eaters,

So, here's the recipe I used for the doughnuts. I don't think I'd
used this recipe before, and when I looked at it originally I thought
"no milk? I'm not so sure..." But Joy of Cooking was the only
cookbook I brought with me, so that was it. And they were
scrumptious, no? I had to make more when we got home, since I didn't
get my doughnut binge in at PP (the real reason for making doughnuts...)

Yeast Doughnuts ala Joy of Cooking

JoC notes that these would be perfect for filling with jelly,
especially how I made them with no holes. It also notes that as you
add the eggs, the dough will fall apart and then come together. (So
don't be alarmed.)
Also, this recipe does best if all ingredients are at room temp, and
especially the butter.

Stir together in a medium bowl:
1 cup warm (105-115 degree) water
2 envelopes active dry yeast (for heavens sake, buy bulk Bob's Red
Mill yeast and save yourself the trouble of yeast that doesn't work
right, and use 4 teaspoons)

Let stand until the yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add and
stir until the mixture is smooth:
1 cup all-purpose flour
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap (I just use a dinner plate)
and let rise in a warm place until bubbly, 30-60 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat until creamy, about 30 seconds (if you're using
a mixer...):
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
Gradually add and beat until light and fluffy:
2/3 cup sugar
Add, one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition:
3 large eggs
Add and beat until blended:
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
grated zest of 1/2 lemon or 1/4 orange (optional; I didn't use it at PP)

Add the yeast mixture along with:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (at home, I'd run out of white flour,
and use whole wheat pastry flour. No one knew any different!)
Mix until the flour is fully incorporated and the dough, which will
be very soft and golden, wraps around the dough hook or paddle and
comes away from the sides of the bowl. (If you do not have a heavy-
duty mixer, the batter can be beaten by hand with a wooden spoon.)
(Here the book says to butter a large bowl and then add the dough,
but I just leave the dough in the same bowl to fine results.) Cover
the bowl tightly with plastic wrap (again I use a dinner plate) and
let rise in a warm place (warm place at PP? Yeah, right. That's why
it took all day) until doubled in volume, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch
the dough down, wrap tightly in plastic (I just left in the same
bowl) and then a large plastic bag (just the bowl and plate) and
refrigerate (leave out on the camp table) for at least 3 hours (until
it doubles) or overnight.

Working on a lightly floured surface with half of the dough at a
time, pat or roll the dough out 1/2 inch think. Cut with a well-
floured doughnut cutter (or biscuit cutter, for no holes) and place
the doughnuts and holes on wax paper. Repeat with remaining half of
dough. Let rise, uncovered, in a warm place (ha) until soft and
puffy to the touch (until you can't stand it anymore), about 30 minutes.

Heat vegetable oil or shortening (I use Spectrum shortening) in a
deep pot at least a couple inches deep to a temp of 365. Drop in 3
or 4 doughnuts at a time and fry until golden, turning to fry on both
sides. Drain on paper towels (I used an overturned cardboard box
that I'd wiped pretty clean, and at home I used paper bags) and dust
with powdered sugar or shake in a bag with sugar. (Actually,
shaking in a small paper bag with either one works quite well. You
can also make a glaze if you wish, by mixing powdered sugar with
water. Or use cinnamon sugar. Or honey. Possibilities are endless!)

Make sure and eat these within a few hours, or a day at most. They
won't be good for too much longer than that.

Enjoy!

Egg Custard for One

No, I don't live alone, but my family doesn't always share my food obsessions. :-) I've been enjoying this one solo. A nice little dessert that uses an egg from my huge supply from my hens. :-) It's pretty quick to make in the microwave. I'm not a big fan of microwave cooking, and most of the time would be content without one. But custard is a perfect dish to make in the microwave--no bain marie required.

Egg Custard for One

Use a microwave-safe cereal or soup bowl. Crack one egg into it and beat with a fork. Add two tablespoons sugar and a tiny pinch of salt and stir well. Add 3/4 cup milk, a tiny pinch of nutmeg, and a few drops of vanilla. Stir very well, making sure the egg is incorporated. Put in the microwave for 15 minutes, power level 3. (Make sure not to cook this on high!) It should be set, with just a bit of jiggle in the middle.

I suppose you could top this with fresh fruit. But I enjoy it as is in all it's eggy glory. And you can wait until it cools, but I eat it--carefully!--right after it comes out of the microwave.

One added thing I've been using with this recipe that's really delicious--a little luxury--I bought some vanilla salt at The Meadow on Mississippi and it is *perfect* for this use! I top the finished custard with a small pinch before eating it. Yum!

Pasta with Pesto

I realize that most of my readers probably already know how to make this dish. But I thought I'd post it, because it's my favorite dish for a quick summer dinner. I usually make it on marketing day, for two reasons: one, it's easy to make for the end of a long day, and two, when I'm using basil from the farmer's market I want to use it as soon as possible to preserve the good flavor and freshness.

A food processor works best here. You don't have to have one of those big fancy ones--a simple mini-processor can be had for $50 new, or find one at a consignment shop or garage sale. If you don't have a food processor, a blender will do in a pinch. You could try the old-fashioned method--a mortar and pestle, but I've never had that work for me.

Pasta with Pesto

Start a pot of water to boil for one pound of pasta. We like angel hair, but you could use any kind of pasta. Angel hair cooks very quickly.

Use a colander full of fresh basil from your garden, or one bunch of basil from the farmer's market. Pull the leaves off the stems after you wash it and place in the bowl of your food processor. Add two cloves of garlic and a small handful of pine nuts or other nuts. I sometimes toast the nuts before I add them--be careful not to burn pine nuts! They are very small and burn easily. I have become quite the pine nut burning expert. :-P Process these together for just a few pulses, then add olive oil through the feeder, about 1/4 cup. If you aren't serving a vegan, you can add about 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese now.

Remove the pesto to a large pasta bowl.

Cook the pasta until al dente. When it's almost done, remove about half a cup of the cooking water. Add some to the pesto and stir. You want it to be a nice, spreadable consistency. When the pasta is done, drain and add it to the pesto. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the top, then drizzle a bit of the cooking water over that. Then toss the pasta and pesto together.

I love to top this with halved cherry tomatoes, but I also serve it with roasted zucchini when the cherry tomatoes aren't in season yet. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle.

Fudge Truffle Cheesecake

Or as we call it, simply Chocolate Cheesecake. I clipped this recipe from a magazine many years ago, and I don't even remember which one or when. Maybe it was even from one of those promotional cookbooklets? I don't remember.

I used to make this during Cheesefare Week**, but it rarely gets done anymore at that time of year. We're just so focused on so many different rich foods, and it's just too much to eat a whole cheesecake by ourselves, along with all that other stuff. So, when Paul recently mysteriously found my recipe on the dining room table (not sure how it got there...) and he asked, "oh, are you planning to make chocolate cheesecake?" I said no, but when he said, "could you?" I said, okay.

And I meant to get a picture of it! But I didn't remember to do so until I was on my last bite of it. I was going to snap one of that, but the camera's battery was depleted. So you'll just have to take my word for it: this cheesecake is utterly dark and lovely. It's not too hard to make, either.

Oh and sorry--no vegan alternatives for this one. :-)

Fudge Truffle Cheesecake

First, make the Chocolate Crumb Crust:
In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 15 wafers), 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa and 1/3 cup melted butter. Press firmly on bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.

Note on the crust: I sometimes use chocolate wafers, or even chocolate sandwich-type cookies, and omit the cocoa and some of the sugar, to good results. Maybe use a bit more crumbs. It's easiest to make cookie crumbs in a blender or food processor.

Filling:

3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened (I *love* the Gina Marie cream cheese, from the Sierra Nevada Cheese Company; you can buy it at New Seasons or Food Front locally. Non-locally, you're on your own!)
1 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is set. Cool. Chill. Garnish as desired (garnish? Who needs garnish?) and refrigerate the leftovers.

**Cheesefare Week, also called Butter Week in the Russian church, is the time in the Orthodox church right before Lent begins. It's the equivalent to Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday in the Catholic Church. Except, of course, that fasting is null and void (practically) in the Catholic church during Lent. In the Orthodox church we really know how to *fast.* :-)

Caldo Verde

So simple, so good, so good for you!

I had an infestation in my kale, which had grown to a huge bush, of bugs just before we left on vacation. So I cut it down to the roots, and when we returned, it was all ready to harvest again! I love greens that do that. Anyway, I hadn't gotten around to making anything with it until tonight. This morning Hibi reminded me that it was there, definitely ready to cook with. So I made her favorite--Caldo Verde, or Portuguese Greens Soup. I have adapted it from the Joy of Cooking cookbook, where it originally called for sausage. It is delicious without! And the kale has never tasted better--so tender! I think this was the best kale I've ever eaten.

You can, of course, use other greens in this soup. I've tried chard, collard greens, I think I even used rapini once. But kale is the best, in my humble opinion.

Caldo Verde

Chop one onion and two cloves of garlic and saute them in a soup pot in one tablespoon of olive oil, until softened and golden brown. Add 4 thinly sliced potatoes OR 2 potatoes and 2 turnips or rutabegas (I used turnips from my garden tonight), 8 cups of vegetable broth or water or a combo, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat; lower heat to a simmer. Simmer for 10-20 minutes, until potatoes are very soft. Use a potato masher to coarsely mash the potatoes, or use a stick blender to lightly puree.

Chop one bunch of kale coarsely (about 4 cups chopped) and add to the soup. Stir it in, then turn off the heat. Add a half a lemon's worth of juice and serve with lemon wedges and parmesan cheese. Serve alongside some freshly baked raisin bread!

Red Vegetarian Pozole

A friend of mine makes a wonderful Green Vegetarian Pozole (we first found out the difference while in Mexico) and I love it. But I was first introduced to Pozole by my friend Lisa in San Francisco. I'd been to gatherings where pozole was served before, but it always had pork in it and so I never tried it. Lisa's red pozole was so good I had to email her after I got home and ask her to send me the recipe! She says it's from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook. Recently I made it using all produce from my garden. Well, not the avocadoes! I don't think those will grow anywhere close to Portland, unfortunately! Oh, yeah, not the limes either. But the tomatoes, squash, peppers and cilantro were from my garden.




Vegetarian Pozole

4 tsp. vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1/8 plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups canned tomatoes with juice, chopped
3-4 cups peeled, seeded and cubed delicata squash (Lisa notes that she uses whatever orange squash she has on hand...however, I think delicata is absolutely the easiest and tastiest to work with)
4 cups coarsely chopped green or red bell pepper (I used the sweet peppers I have growing in my garden)
4 cups drained hominy (2 15 oz. cans)
2 tsp. fresh lime juice
2-3 tbsp. minced chipotles in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, sage, or epazote
Grated Monterey Jack cheese, avocado cubes, crushed tortilla chips, chopped fresh cilantro, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and/or fresh lime wedges for garnishing

Warm the oil in a soup pot. Add the onions and saute on medium high heat for 5-7 minutes until golden. Stir in the garlic and 1/8 teaspoon of salt and saute for 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and squash and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the bell peppers, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the squash is tender. Stir in the hominy, lime juice, chipotles, remaining salt, and the oregano, sage or epazote. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with your favorite garnishes.

Garden Produce

We've all been at church camp this week, but I've been coming home to pay attention to all the things around here that need attention. Like the garden! Wow, here's the harvest from *just today.* I didn't even plant those pumpkins--they're volunteers, presumably from last year's compost. And there are more out in the garden, some that are just getting started! And I finally realized that the eggplant varieties I have won't get any bigger, and picked them. One is light purple streaked with white, and then there's the three white ones. The big white one, I think, is two that grew together. And lots of tomatoes! That haven't even been added to the tomatoes in the windowsill yet....did I say we were keeping up with the tomatoes? Well, maybe when we're not at camp! I'm thinking perhaps making tomato soup and freezing it for winter would be a good option for tomato excess.

I have to commend the hard-working stupice for the second year in a row! Much as I love heirlooms, and could be happy with nothing but heirlooms on my table, I also am pragmatic and like to have tomatoes consistently. Stupice is the one for that. I pick at least 3 or 4 every other day, sometimes significantly more, and they're early and go late. Pretty tasty too! They're small, but that's okay for just about any use. They're the ones in the front left.

Eggplant Parmesan

One of my favorite summertime dishes! Though I'm disappointed that my garden eggplant are still not ready. But the tomatoes and basil came from my garden. The original recipe comes from The Joy of Cooking; the vegan version is my adaptation. Though really, the "original" I've adapted as well because I don't think the proportions for the coating are correct.

Eggplant Parmesan

Slice two medium eggplants into 1/2 inch thick rounds. (Make sure to trim both ends; they can be tough and overly chewy.) Set up three dishes: the first, a small plate with flour on it, the second 3 eggs beaten with a tablespoon of olive oil, the third a mound of bread crumbs, processed from about 4 slices of bread. First dredge the slices in the flour, then soak in egg, then coat with the breadcrumbs. Lay each slice on a rack and let them dry for 10 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, dice 5 large-ish tomatoes and put into a colander. Let them drain for 20 minutes. Then toss with 1/2 cup chopped basil, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Let stand for up to 30 minutes, or until you're ready to start layering.

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat, in a large skillet, until the oil is shimmering. Add eggplant in one layer and cook in batches. Turn after about 4 minutes, when golden brown. When golden brown on both sides, remove to a plate. Add more olive oil if needed and finish frying the remaining eggplant in batches. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 425.

Coat a 9X12 baking pan with half the tomato sauce. Layer the eggplant, overlapping them as needed, or use an 11X17 pan for less overlapping. Top with the remaining sauce and then dust with 2 teaspoons of oregano and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Combine and sprinkle over the top: 1 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese and 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese. Optionally, you can sprinkle over the top a tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly and browned in spots.

We like this with pasta.

Now for the vegan version:
When you're coating the eggplant slices, dredge with flour, then dip in soy milk, then in vegan breadcrumbs. Instead of cheese, use crumbled tofu. That's it!

Delicata!

I've never grown winter squash before, but this year I tried out Delicata squash. It's my favorite winter squash, because it's tasty, yes, but it's also a lot easier to deal with than lots of other squashes. It's small, small enough to serve two or even just one per piece, and it's skin is a lot thinner and easier to peel than types like pumpkin or butternut squash. (I'm cringing just thinking of the time when I was trying to peel a big winter squash using a dull-ish knife....thinking about how many ways I could injure myself while trying to do so!)

I didn't realize it would be ready so soon, though. I just brought these in from the garden today. I thought I had read that winter squash was planted at the same time as summer squash, and they grew for longer to develop the tougher skins. But these were just about as quick as the summer squash. Does anyone have any more info for me on that?

I've also got pumpkins growing out there that I didn't plant! They must have survived our compost pile and planted themselves. There's quite a few of them, and two quite large ones. I don't know if these ones will last until Halloween....that's why it's good that pumpkin can be used for more than just jack-o-lanterns! One very easy way to use pumpkin is just slice it and fry it in oil. Season with salt and pepper, and add other spices that sound good to you if you wish.

How I began gardening

While watering the garden, I was realizing that in the time since we got home from vacation, almost a week, we've eaten tomatoes every single day. The day we got home it was eggplant parmesan, on Saturday it was a zucchini-tomato bake with fresh basil and oregano, Sunday we made a zucchini tomato frittata, Monday it was Greek green beans (with fresh tomatoes instead of canned sauce), yummy tomato soup on Tuesday, which I had to make sure I had plenty of tomatoes for because it takes three pounds of them, and last night we had a small tomato basil salad along with our white beans and chard. Tonight we'll have pasta with pesto and cherry tomatoes. In fact, I've bought no produce since we returned home except for fruit and onions.

It's so satisfying to be able to provide such delicious food for my family, all home-grown. Especially when it comes to tomatoes! We'd get sick of zucchini when it keeps giving and giving (though, sadly, I think my zucchini plant has died!) but we will always be hungry for tomatoes. The satisfying feeling is akin the feeling I got when I realized, after Hibiscus was born, that I could feed her completely from my own body, no formula needed. My body was made to make and feed babies. Nothing short of amazing!

I told about how I started gardening on Deb's blog, and I thought I'd share it here, because it's kind of funny! It's really Hibi's fault, or perhaps it's really Robert McCloskey's fault. Here's the very roundabout story of how I began gardening:

My parents always had a vegetable garden when I was growing up, but to be honest it always seemed so utilitarian, and very standard. I never even liked tomatoes until I tried heirlooms. I don't remember going out to the garden to harvest anything myself, like my kids go and eat cherry tomatoes and peas off the plant. And all those straight rows! (I never garden in straight rows...)

One book that we loved to read together when Hibi was five and six was Robert McCloskey's _One Morning in Maine_. It's the long, meandering story of a little girl's day, starting in when she woke and found that she had a loose tooth. When she lost it later that day, she is told that she should make a wish on the lost tooth and she will get it. Lots of things happen in between, but in the end she gets her wish when one of the village storekeepers offers her a chocolate ice cream cone.

Hibi was taken with this idea, and when it came time for her first tooth to come out, she was very excited about a wish being given. At this point, I was worried--the book didn't come with instructions for parents as to how to find out that wish in order to fulfill it! So I convinced her that the tooth fairy (we merged the "wish" idea with the tooth fairy that we'd grown up with) needed her to whisper her wish just as she was laying down in her bed at night. And what I heard that night was a whispered "a turtle!" (I'd been kind of hoping her wish would be the same chocolate ice cream cone...)

Oh, boy. No way a turtle was going to appear under her pillow! So I left a note from the tooth fairy saying that she had charged her parents with taking care of the acquisition of the turtle. A trip to the pet store ensued, and a tortoise was obtained named Torty. (We decided after that that the *first* tooth lost got a special wish; the following ones just got ordinary money!)

After we had Torty in her aquarium, we really felt kind of bad that she didn't have more room to crawl around. So, in front of our apartment, we created a space that was fenced in where she could crawl around. It was Paul's idea to make it a little garden with plants that she would like to eat. So, we especially for her planted petunias (she loved petunias!) and chard and aloe vera. (No tomatoes or basil back then--this was the fog belt of San Francisco!) And not only did Torty have a beautiful little world to crawl around in, but a gardener was born: me. That tiny space was perfect for a beginner gardener as it wasn't overwhelming, but just the right amount of space to figure out how to grow things.

Fellow gardeners, how did you begin your gardening venture? Please leave a comment, and if you blog about it let me know!