Tag: Recipe

Olive Oil Biscuits

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Sometimes I just feel the need to bake.  Can’t help it.  It just needs to happen.

Obviously, I also had to break in my new (to me) oven!  My oven in my previous apartment was the size of an easy bake oven (okay so maybe I’m exaggerating).  This one is even smaller, and it only has ONE RACK!

For my first creation in my new mansion…

Olive Oil Biscuits

adapted from Care 2 Make a Difference

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 2 tsp of white vinegar + enough milk to make 3/4 cup)

Preheat oven to 500F.  Combine all the ingredients.  Turn dough onto a floured surface. Roll to 1/2 inch thick.  Using a biscuit cutter (or a cup like I did) but into 6 circles (or whatever shape you choose).

Bake 7-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Not gonna lie.  I ate 3 for lunch.  Not one of my finer moments but definitely healthier than eating 3 KFC biscuits, right?

I guess that should also tell you how tasty they are 🙂

Tomorrow, I’m going to Empire Farm Days for my internship.  Should be fun!  I hope I get to pet a goat or something.  Have a great night!

Vegetable Black Bean Enchiladas

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My CSA this week was one of the best!  I’m not sure if it’s that I missed it since I haven’t been able to pick it up for about 3 weeks or it was just outstanding.

Kale, Green Onions, Sweet Peppers, Jalapenos, Eggplant, Beets, Parsley, Basil, Lettuce, Cabbage, Tomatoes, Oh my!

Wayy too excited.  Another exciting thing was this

Maseca to make tortillas!  Just add water!

I’ve been going TORTILLA CRAZZYYYY!  Yesterday, all the talk of families made me miss my own.  Naturally, Guatemalan breakfast came to the rescue: Black Beans, Eggs, Sour Cream and Homemade Tortillas.

Today I decided to combine the two wonderful things: Handmade Tortillas + CSA Vegetables.  Result = Black Bean Vegetable Enchiladas


Vegetable Black Bean Enchiladas

1 tbsp olive oil
2 small summer squashes, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped*
2 cups greens (spinach, kale, beet greens, etc.)
2 cups black beans, cooked
1 1/2 tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
12 tortillas (handmade or store bought)
2 cans enchilada sauce
2 oz cheese (optional)

In a large pot or pan, heat oil.  Add onions and squash.  Cook until onions are translucent.  Add red pepper and jalapeno, cook for a few more minutes.  Add beans, spices and greens (I used beet greens), cook for a few minutes until the greens have wilted.  Now you have the delicious filling that is a wonderful side dish on its own as well!

Next, take a tortilla, spread some of the filling in the center and roll like a taquito/flauta.  Place on a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Repeat until all 12 tortillas are rolled or you run out of filling.  Pour enchilada sauce over the tortilla rolls.    Sprinkle with cheese (I used string cheese, because that’s how I roll but I bet chedder or monterey would be better).

Let the tortillas soak up the liquid for at least 30 minutes.  In the meantime, clean up and preheat the oven to 350.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool and serve with a dollop of sour cream (or greek yogurt) and some chopped green onion!

*Please use gloves when chopping the jalapeno!  I had a terrible experience over 4th of July weekend where jalapeno got in my eye, saturated my contact and pain ensued!  Trust me take the precaution.  Use gloves!

Deeeeelicious!  Wayyyy better than a lot of the stuff at Mexican restaurants.  I generally don’t like Mexican restaurants because the food a lot of times isn’t that great.  Refried beans and sour cream covered in cheese is not my idea of a delicious Mexican meal. Maybe that’s the food snob in me 🙂

Are you a fan of Mexican food?

Nutella Makes Everything Delicious

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I want a big scoop of ice cream right now more than you’ll know.  Instead of giving in, I’m going to try to write about a fantastic dessert the Biscotti Queen and I made for Sunday Dinner with her family

Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse in Dark Chocolate Bowls.

Do I need to say any more? Well maybe just how to make it.

Inflate some balloons to the size that you want your bowl to be.  Dip the balloons in melted dark chocolate chips, place on plate/sheet pan lined with wax paper.

Refrigerate (or put infront of the AC) until the chocolate hardens.

In the meantime, make the mousse.  Mix together a 13oz jar of nutella with 3 cup of heavy cream.  This guy comes in handy…

Whisk with a mixer until you get peaks.  Be careful!  I overmixed in the first attempt (don’t go thinking I let all that nutella and cream go to waste… more on that in a bit).  Once you’ve whipped up the mousse, pop the balloons!  You might have to peel them off carefully and gently like we did.  Be careful not to crack the chocolate or handle it too long, as it’ll melt.

Fill the bowls with mousse and refrigerate for a few hours.  We didn’t do this so we had sort of a soupier mousse than is desirable, but I’m sure if refrigerated in the bowls it would turn out great!

Serve with a strawberry!

The presentation is lovely and the taste is absolutely AMAZING!!  The best part… it’s SUPER easy!  Only 3 ingredients: Nutella, Cream and Chocolate!

Now onto my mistake.  So I accidentally overwhipped the nutella and cream!  Oops!  It turned to liquid again!  Boo!

Solution: Chocolate Hazelnut Creme Brulee

Chocolate Hazelnut Creme Brulee

1 13 oz jar nutella
3 cup heavy cream
7 egg yolks, lightly beaten
12 teaspoons sugar

Preheat oven to 275F.  Combine the first 3 ingredients.  Pour mixture into 12 ramekins.  Put ramekins in a large baking dish or roasting pan, fill pan with hot water until ramekins are half way submerged.  Bake 45-60 mins.  Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.  Sprinkle with a teaspoon of sugar and burn sugar using a kitchen torch or broiler.

Deeeeelish!

Best mistake I’ve made in a while.

Hmm… I still want ice cream.  Distracting yourself from your cravings with other delicious treats probably isn’t the best idea.  Oh well!

Coming up… Sunday Dinner with Italians!

Brooklyn Birthday

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I had a pretty amazing weekend.  Sure, it was my birthday, but really that wasn’t even the good part.

Let me tell you about it.

It started on Friday, when I drove down to the NYC area.  I picked up the Biscotti Queen at her parents house and we headed to Brooklyn to visit our friend who was subletting a place with the most AMAZING rooftop.

The view was outstanding.

Even better was the food

and obviously drink

Grilled french bread with dijon mustard, brie, avocado and sundried tomato.

Oh goodness.  Make it now!

This was only the beginning of the weekend of eating.   Stay tuned for more!

Cherry Cobbler

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Most of the time, I don’t have the heart to bake with fresh fruit that is delicious (i.e. blueberries, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc.).  I usually think they should be enjoyed, raw, delicious and completely on their own (I don’t understand putting sugar on strawberries!), as nature intended.

But if someone gives me some fruit and asks me to bake something with it, do you really think I’d say no?

Cherry Cobbler

from All Recipes

3 tablespoons butter (I used EarthBalance)*
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk*
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup boiling water
3 1/2 cups fresh pitted cherries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread cherries in a greased 9 inch pie pan or 9×9 square baking dish.   Combine the first seven ingredients in a bowl. Spread the mixture over the cherries.  Combine the 1 cup of sugar with a tablespoon of flour and a cup of boiling water then pour it over the batter and cherries.  Bake for 45 minutes.

*Use non-dairy milk and Earthbalance to make it vegan.

Potential Problems You Might Face in Making This Cobbler:

  • Pitting the cherries if you don’t have a cherry pitter.  –> Solution: Enlist the help of a friend.  Slice the cherries in half and pull out the pit with your fingers.
  • Temptation to eat the entire thing –> Solution: Give it to the friend who helped with the pitting.
  • Feeling that you need an occasion to make this.  –>  Solution: New season of Mad Men started last night, make this next Sunday and have a piece with Don Draper and an Old Fashioned.

Was anyone else as sorely disappointed as I was at that first episode last night?

Wafflezone-o-wich?

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Nope.  Those aren’t burnt waffles.

It’s a waffle, pizza, calzone, and a panini all in one!

Okay so I have no idea if I read about this or dreamt about it.  Let’s be realistic, I probably read about it because I doubt I could be this creative.

Actually nevermind, let’s pretend I’m great and I thought it up all on my own.

I made a quick whole wheat pizza dough by mixing together:

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or just 1 cup WW flour and omit all purpose)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/8 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 tbsp olive oil

After kneading it for about 2 minutes.  I let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.  Then I divided it into two equal sized pieces and on a well floured surface, rolled each piece VERY thinly.  I topped one side with some pasta sauce, kale (obviously), smart dog and 1 string cheese.  I put the other thinly rolled piece of dough on top and sealed the edges by folding over and pinching together.  After I put it in a heated waffle iron for 5 minutes.  The dough shouldn’t reach the edges, you’re going to squish it down so it’ll get there but leave about an inch of room all around.

It got a little messy in the spots where the sauce oozed out.  But it was completely worth it.

Perfect for days like today when turning on the oven could easily qualify as murder.  Not to mention it takes about 20 minutes total to make and if you use store bought pizza dough, the process takes less than 10 minutes.

Also fun because I’m obsessed with this waffle maker!  While these were delicious, there’s always room for improvement.

A few suggestions:

  • Roll the dough very thinly,  maybe don’t use all the dough.
  • If something is in chunks (i.e. kale and smart dog in this situation), chop them very finely.  Big chunks are okay but I bet it would be less messy if the chunks were smaller.
  • Reduce the sauce or just use tomatoes.  Ragu is a little more runny than other sauces.  I’d reduce it a bit (or maybe I was just over zealous with the sauciness, as I often tend to do).

I should also note that this waffle maker is huge!  So one waffle is enough for two people.

If you have a waffle maker, try it!  Super easy and relatively healthy!

Glamorous

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Little known fact about me: I love spy movies.  A lot.

Last night, I saw

I was entertained.  Probably a little over the top (okay REALLY over the top) but better than a lot of other movies I’ve seen recently.

For some reason, movies always portray spy life as pretty glamorous.  It’s probably not, but it’s still my secret dream job.  In the meantime, I’ll fake the glamorous lifestyle.

For example: Last week, the Biscotti Queen and I made a glamorous cocktail.

I scoop of your sorbet of choice (we used grapefruit)

Top it off with champagne.

Let it fizzle.

Enjoy.

Okay so life’s not going to be that glamorous the next few weeks.  I’m moving twice in the next 2 weeks!  Not fun! But before that there’s the weekend!  Have a good one!

Introducing the Biscotti Queen

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Looks can be deceiving.  Sometimes I make things that look good, like this

But really they’re not that great and end up in the trash.

On the other hand, sometimes the lighting in a room isn’t the best so your pictures don’t turn out fantastic, but the end product is AMAZING.

You’ve seen Sara on here a lot.  She will from now on be referred to as the Biscotti Queen.

Why?  Because she makes biscotti that will make your Italian grandmother jealous.

I’ve tried to make biscotti numerous times.  It never turns out right.  But the Biscotti Queen has got it down. Way back when in January, she even sent me some in the mail!

Chocolate Hazelnut and Ginger Biscotti

from Epicurious

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix in 3 eggs until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips, hazelnuts and crystallized ginger.  Turn mixture onto a floured surface and shape into two logs, flatten to about an inch and a half high and 3 inches wide.  Transfer to a greased and floured baking sheet, brush with a beaten egg and bake for 35 minutes.

Take the logs out of the oven, reduce the heat to 325F.  Allow to cool about 10 minutes then cut into 1/2 inch slices.  Bake again for 7 minutes on each side.  Then drizzle with melted white chocolate if you’d like and give them as goodies!

We also made some White Chocolate Espresso biscotti, but sadly white chocolate does not work that well.  It all melted away and just left holes!  Still tasted delicious though!

The point of that is photos can be deceiving and the Biscotti Queen makes amazing biscotti!

Have a great day!!

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

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Apparently, it’s National Ice Cream month.  Good thing I took my neighbor‘s ice cream maker hostage.

After you read this recipe and try it, you have to promise me you will never EVER again buy Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream.  This one tops it.  That’s right.  I said it.

I took these pictures and put the ice cream back in the container but saved a spoonful for myself to try.  About 30 seconds later, I went back to the freezer and put the scoops I had returned to the container back into my bowl.

Then I had to brush my teeth and basically strap myself down to keep myself from eating more.

Better Than Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

adapted from Kitchen Chick

1 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whole milk
1 1/3 cup half and half
1/2 tsp vanilla
7 Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, chopped

In a bowl, mix together the peanut butter and sugar.  Gradually stir in the milk, half and half and vanilla until the peanut butter is dissolved.  Chill in the freezer for a few minutes (about half an hour should be fine).  Put in the ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.  In the last 5 minutes of turning, drop in the pieces of Reese’s Peanut Butter cup.  Freeze for a few hours and serve.

This evening, I took it over to Sara(who will from now on be called the biscotti queen, I’ll tell you why another day)’s house.  It cannot be around here.  You can probably tell, this stuff is faaaaaaaaattyyyyyyy!  It’s one of those once a year type things.

Speaking of once a year… Yesterday was my friend Daniele’s Birthday!

Hey yo Daniele, Happy Birthday yesterday!!  Miss your face!

And Rhoda, we all always miss you!

The Pros and Cons of a CSA Share

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Hi friends!  Hope your day is starting out well.  This morning I went to a TERRIBLE spinning class, but we won’t talk about that.  Instead, let’s talk about vegetables.

I’ve had my CSA share for about a month now.

Overall I’d say it’s been great.  Here in Ithaca, having a CSA share is pretty common, but I know in other places it’s not.  So why not do some pros and cons. Feel free to chime in with some comments!

Cons:

1. My salad spinner is my new best friend.

With a CSA you don’t have the luxury of packaged/pre-washed vegetables.  Preparing things takes a bit longer as everything has to be washed, trimmed, chopped, etc.

2.  No more green monsters everyday.

I haven’t gotten any spinach in my share so I’ve been going through green monster withdrawal.  I actually went to the grocery store at one point this month ONLY to buy spinach so I could make a green monster.  I tried it with JUST kale, it was NOT good.

So sometimes you miss certain vegetables.  I also haven’t had a carrot since May even though I used to have one every day.  But I have plenty of other vegetable options.

3.  Eat cautiously.

Because the veggies are so fresh and haven’t traveled far, I’ve found my fair share of worms in my lettuce.  Some would see this as horrible, but I don’t think it’s that big a deal.  If anything, it’s a marker of freshness.

Added bonus: helps me slow down (as I tend to eat very quickly) when I have to inspect each bite 🙂

4.  Somewhat pricey?  I’m torn on this one.  My share ends up costing $19 per week.  For that amount, I have unlimited local organic vegetables.  For one person, that might be a lot but I think if I bought the same stuff (entirely local and organic) at the grocery store it would probably cost more.

Pros:

1.  Supporting local agriculture.  You can feel good about yourself… or something.

2.  Plenty of organic vegetables!

Having a CSA share has definitely made me increase my vegetable intake.  Since I don’t have the heart to throw anything away, I eat a huge bag of vegetables each week usually something to the effect of: 2-3 bunches of kale, 1 head of lettuce, a kohlrabi, some broccoli and a cucumber.  Kind of a lot.

3.  Forces you to get creative.  A lot of times, you’ve never heard of a vegetable that’s in your share (check out my first experience with kohlrabi).  But a lot of times you don’t want to eat the same vegetable prepared the exact same way for weeks on end.

So you try to get creative, like this:

Vegetable Polenta Bake for One (or Two)

1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 small yellow squash, thinly sliced
1-2 cups greens (I used kale and chard)
1 cup pasta sauce (jarred or homemade)
1-2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 oz mozzarella (I used 1 string cheese)
1-2 tbsp grated paremesan/pecorino romano/asiago cheese
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup water
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oil in a pan, add onion and cook for a few minutes (until translucent), add garlic, zucchini and yellow squash and cook for a few minutes (it shouldn’t be cooked all the way).  Next add greens and stir around until they start to wilt.  Add pasta sauce and stir until greens have cooked down.  Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley.

In a small pot or sauce pan, combine cornmeal, water, garlic powder, onion powder and salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Once cornmeal starts to thicken (aka polenta), keep stirring until the polenta starts to come off the sides.

Take a small baking dish,  spread half of the sauce/vegetable mixture in the baking dish, then on top of that spread half of the polenta.  Next top with half the string cheese/mozzarella and half of the parmesan.  Repeat.

Bake in the toaster oven for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool.  Either eat it straight from the dish for another single lady (or gent) meal or serve on a plate with a simple green salad.

Ingredients from CSA in this dish: zucchini, yellow squash, kale and chard, parsley. + side salad with lettuce and cucumbers from CSA as well.

4.  Less trips to the grocery store!   Since I pick up at the Farmer’s Market once or twice, I make less frequent trips to the grocery store.  As a result, I spend less on things I don’t really need.  Because let’s face it, who actually sticks to their shopping list when they go to the store?

5.  It’s fun!  If you’re like me, vegetables are probably one of the most exciting things ever!  You get fun new ones every week!

Do you have a CSA share?  Consider getting one?
Any Pros or Cons I missed?