Banana Muffins

Here we are, week (too many to count) of the pandemic, and I think we are all still doing a lot of cooking. We are doing most of our grocery shopping online. It's not perfect, but there is a convenience factor that might keep me from going to grocery stores for mundane stuff even when we don't have to mask up, sterilize our carts, disinfect our hands, and get mad at people who can't seem to properly where a mask. 

But one of the down sides of online shopping, just once a week is that you sometimes end up with overripe bananas.. especially if you are also buying groceries for someone that only wants green bananas (but that's another story).   Putting bananas in the fridge before they are overripe will slow down the process, the skins get ugly but inside they are still good.   Once they are overripe, you can make smoothies or chocolate milk (and you can peel and freeze chunks to keep even longer and get a more frozen result), or banana bread, but most of the ripe bananas at our house end up in banana muffins on Sunday mornings. I make muffins before coffee, so I'm pretty much making them in my sleep.  Fortunately muffins aren't too fussy, and while I do measure, I'm pretty cavalier about adding an extra banana if they are small, or a bit more liquid if I only have a two bananas, or a bit more flour if the batter seems thin.  I used to make the muffins in my Cuisinart, this eliminates the need to mash the bananas, but then you have to clean the Cuisinart.  I have started using my potato ricer, as this does an excellent job of mashing and goes into the dishwasher.  A bit messier is to just squish the bananas in you hand (a half or third at a time), but no dishes to wash! If the bananas are good and ripe, you can also just use a hand mixer instead of a whisk on the wet ingredients... slices of bananas will get mashed by the mixer.

One other detail: Many muffin recipes call for vegetable oil (as I'm sure this one did from where I sourced it from). This works fine, but I like the taste of butter in my muffins. So the order you put the wet ingredients together is important. I usually melt the butter first (even before I get the remaining ingredients out) so it has a chance to cool down. Then it should go in after whisking the eggs and sugar (which you do to help give some volume) but before adding the bananas and milk. The butter will disperse in the egg and sugar mixture, and not clump up when adding the the cold ingredients.

Oat bran has been a bit more difficult to find in the store, I think because its out of fashion more than a pandemic issue.  You can just use more flour, or substitute some oatmeal.  The texture changes but they are still good.  You can also do these with all whole wheat, all AP (white) flour, or what ever mixture you like (or have on hand).  They will get more fluffy with all white flour.  White whole wheat flour also works well. 

Notice... no paper liners. Not needed and who wants to peel them off?

Banana Bran Muffins

10 to 12 muffins

3/4 cup flour

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour 

½ cup oat bran

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

2 eggs

½ cup un-packed brown sugar

¼ cup melted butter or vegetable oil

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

¼ cup yogurt, milk, or buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

½ cup chopped walnuts or almonds, plus more for topping

Raw (coarse) sugar

OVEN: Preheat to 400F or 380F convection bake. Grease 12 muffin cups.

Whisk together flours, bran, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. 

Whisk eggs and sugar in a large bowl, then whisk in melted butter (or oil) and extract.  Add mashed bananas, yogurt, extract and mix well.  Bananas can be mashed in a separate bowl with a potato masher, with a potato ricer, or just squish them through your fingers into the bowl. 

Scoop batter into muffin cups.  If desired, place a nut halve on each muffin, and sprinkle with raw sugar. Fill any empty cups with 1/2" of water.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (18 minutes convection), or until brown and springy to the touch in the center.  Turn out onto a rack to cool.

Crackers!

  

I always have great intentions of posting a recipe that would be great for the holidays prior to the holidays, and this recipe is great for entertaining, but is there really a season for crackers?  Not at my house. 

Crackers are definitely one of my vices in terms of processed foods.  I try to find ones that are "more healthy" ... low in sugar and have some fiber, but generally rationalize that I'm eating crackers with a big salad and that's OK..  Except when I'm having them with a nice piece of cheese.  It's a slippery slope.

And my favorite crackers are Rainforest Crisps.  They make a bunch of flavors, but the I go for the Original ones.  A little sweet, but not too bad, with lots of nuts and seeds.  The only problem is that they are $7 or $8 a package (and this is a 6 ounce package), and that you can only get them at places like Whole Foods or specialty stores.  And they go stale in about a week.  It's one thing to pay a lot for sustainably raised meat, but for crackers?? This just seems like highway robbery.

Then I found a bunch of "copycat" recipes on the web for these crackers.  Could it be?  Let me say there are a lot of them out there (see here for my inspiration).  Most of them are similar... it's basically a soda bread that you bake, then slice, then bake again.  (which reminds me, someday I need to find out if I can make good crackers from my Soda Bread when I have leftovers).  There are variations in how much brown sugar and/or honey used, plus a lot of variations in different add-ins (nuts, seeds, dried fruit).  I tailored the recipe to the nuts and seeds I usually have around, skipped the honey, and have discovered that (like my soda bread) yogurt can be interchanged with buttermilk.  

The only hard part about making these is making very even, very thin slices.  It helps to refrigerate the loaves to get them to firm up.  Also, this recipe makes a lot of crackers (and like the ones from the store, they do lose their crisp pretty quickly).  But, you can freeze the loaves (the recipe makes 4 loaves, each loaf makes about the same amount as a package of crackers), then just slice and do the second bake when you are ready for some great crackers!  

And the best part, each loaf costs about $1 to make.  One note.. If you use sesame seeds, buy them in 1 lb packages, NOT in the spice aisle at your local grocery store.  Places like Whole Foods or Asian markets have them, they are priced similar to other nuts.  They will keep forever in the freezer. 

And Happy New Years!

Crisp Seed Crackers

Makes over 8 dozen crackers.  

1 cup flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk or yogurt
1/3 cup brown sugar (or a little less)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitos)
1/4 cup sesame seeds or sunflower seeds
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or slivered almonds, roasted if desired)

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Spray 4 mini-loaf pans with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda and salt. Add the buttermilk (or yogurt) and brown sugar, then mix with spoon until combined. Add the seeds and nuts, stir until blended.

Divide batter evenly between loaf pans. Bake 20 – 25 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.  When cool, wrap loaves and put into the refrigerator (this is an optional step, but it makes them easier to slice). You may also freeze loaves that you don’t plan to bake soon.

To make the crackers:  If loaves have been frozen, let them sit out for a half hour or so. Preheat the oven to 300° F.  Place a piece of parchment paper on a large sheet pan (one mini-loaf fills one sheet pan).

Slice the loaves as thin as you can with a serrated knife. Place the slices in a single layer on sheet pan.  Bake them for about 15 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 5 - 10 minutes, until crisp and deep golden.  Remove slices as they get done, the thinner slices will bake faster than the thicker ones.  Cool on rack.  Store airtight, they will lose their “crisp” in a week or so.

Dinner for one: Chickpeas and Vegetable

This is a recipe I'm not sure that everyone will like.  But the beauty of cooking for one is that you are the only one that needs to like it.

This is also a recipe that can be customized to your taste, and what you happen to have on hand.  I am showing this with zucchini, but it works equally well with broccoli or kale.  I'm guessing it would be great with eggplant (especially the long Japanese kind). I have used curry powder for seasoning, and I have used my southwest rub (equal parts chile powder, cumin, and coriander).  I'm guessing it would work with that jar of spice mix you got for Christmas that smells great but you are sure how to use.   Or skip the spice and use some fresh herbs and maybe some olives, like this version from Chocolate and Zucchini, which was my inspiration.  But I have to tell you, my favorite part is the cashews...  I keep a bag in the refrigerator special for this.

And don't worry much about measuring.  Put in about how much of each ingredient that you would like to eat.  Remember the vegetables will shrink, so put in plenty.  Taste as you go when you add spices and lemon juice.    If you want to gild the lily,  add some avocado or some fresh herbs on top.

Sautéed Chickpeas and Vegetable

Serves 1

Olive oil (enough to nicely coat the pan)
½ a small onion, chopped
A good size serving of zucchini, broccoli, kale, or other vegetable (about 2-3 cup) chopped
½ can chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans).  Rinse and drain.
A handful of raw cashews (maybe a ¼ cup or so)
Salt  (skip if your seasoning mix has salt in it)

Optional:
Spice – curry powder, chili rub, etc.  to taste  (for my curry powder, I use about a teaspoon)
Herbs -- cilantro, parsley, basil

Lemon or lime juice

In a 10 or 11 inch pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onion, vegetables, chickpeas, and cashews. Add a bit of salt.  Cook, stirring frequently.  When the vegetables are starting to cook, add the spice and stir to mix.  Taste a chickpea to see if there is enough spice and salt.  Continue to cook until the vegetable is just done.   Add a good squeeze of lemon or lime juice.

Enjoy!

Granola

This might be the best granola I have ever had, love the texture. Adopted from an Alton Brown recipe. I’m sure I won’t leave well enough alone (the original recipe called for cashews). It’s a bit on the sweet side, but perfect mixed into plain yogurt!

Granola

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Add the oats, nuts, and brown sugar and mix well.

Pour onto 2 sheet pans covered with parchment paper. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven, cool and put into airtight containers.

Just FYI, I figured the nutritional values (per 1/4 cup): calories - 180, added sugar - 7g, protein - 5g, fat - 10g, fiber - 2g.

Javelina Turds

I've had lots of requests for this recipe, its something we typically have around the house.. they are perfect when you get home from the pool or a hike or the gym or off a plane and need to eat something.  I posted a version of this a while back, but that version has lots of options (different nut butters, sweeteners, etc).   Since I make them so often, I have developed an efficient process.   First, I weigh the ingredients (an idea from Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking), especially since almond butter and honey are messy to measure. This also insures that I use exactly half the jar of almond butter, since this the only place I use it.   Then, instead of making balls or log shapes (which begat the nickname which has stuck), I mash into in a large square and cut -- see the pictures.  I can do these in about 20 minutes, including clean up.

Javelina Turds

8 oz     1 cup almond butter (Trader Joes organic creamy / salted)

6 oz     1/2 cup honey (usually from small producer - the flavor of the honey comes through)

1 tsp vanilla extract 

9 oz     3 cups old fashioned oats

3 oz     1/3 cup dried cranberries ( sweetened)

3 oz     1/3 cup chocolate chips (Ghirardelli dark)

Combine all ingredients together; mix well.  Dump onto a cutting board covered with wax paper, and form into a large square, about a ½ inch thick.  Cut into 1 or 1 ½ inch squares. Place squares on another piece of wax paper, put in a large baggie or other container, and refrigerate. 

Mixed:

After pressing (you can use a rolling pin with a top piece of wax paper) to get really smooth, plus I use the edge of the knife to straighten the edges:

And cut:

Think twice about eating these if you have not just been at the gym, swum 2000m, or hiked up a mountain.  They are about 100 calories per square inch. 

New Feature: Eating seasonally in Phoenix -- ideas for this week's CSA box

I am going to try to do a weekly update on my Love Grows Farm CSA box , with ideas and recipes to use the weeks bounty.  Plus identify unusual items. I am hoping that other customers of Love Grows Farm and other Phoenix-area CSA participants will read, comment, and share their ideas as well.  Please don’t be shy!  I think we can all use some inspiration; it seems that most of the food magazines and web sites are talking about making stew, braised short ribs and bread, not how to use wonderful tomatoes and greens!  Not to mention what to do with the pile of citrus we seem to be getting from friends, family and our own tree.
Last week’s box included salad greens, spinach, arugula, green onions, kohlrabi, lemons and oranges, and of course, tomatoes.

New is the box this week was kohlrabi, something I had never had before.  Kohlrabi is German for “cabbage turnip”, and is a member of the cabbage family.   They can be eaten raw or cooked.  Most recipes I saw called just to use the bulb part (trimmed and peeled), but the leave can also be eaten.   I ate mine raw, in a salad (I didn’t use the leaves, it was mid week by the time I got too them and they were wilted.  It’s similar to very tender broccoli stems.   I’m hoping to get more, to try cooked as well.   I think the leaves would go good in soup.
My recipe for this week (and inspiration to try to do this weekly) was a salad I made on Sunday for friends.  It was quite wonderful..  I wish I had remembered a picture (so much for my New Year’s resolution to take more pictures).
I actually used 4 things from the box for this one simple salad – greens, scallions (green onions), lemons and oranges.  I served on my new stainless steel platter I got for Christmas, and it looked marvelous as well.

Orange Salad 

Serves 4

1/3 cup walnuts (slightly broken up)
Two oranges
Large bowl of greens (guess about 8 cups, or 1 bag of baby greens)
Lemon – oil dressing (see below)

Toast walnuts. (I use the toaster oven – place on a piece of foil on tray, and 1 cycle through toast, or you can do in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, will take just a few minutes… whichever way, keep an eye on them - you want a light toast, not too brown).

Prepare the oranges:  cut of the ends, then cut off the peel.  You can either cut out the segments, or for a faster prep, just slice.  Remove any seeds.

Assemble:  toss the greens with the dressing, it should only take a few tablespoons.  Place greens on a platter.  Arrange orange segments (or slices) over top, and sprinkle walnuts over top.  Serve immediately.

Lemon – Oil DressingI adopted this from a Julia Child recipe (from the Julia and Jacques cookbook, unfortunately, its out of print)

1 tablespoon minced scallion
Zest from 1 small orange (optional)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 - 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 to ½ cup excellent olive oil

Put scallions, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk until blended (or use immersion blender).  Pour in the oil slowly, droplets at first, then in a thin stream, whisking constantly until the oil has been completely emulsified and the dressing has thickened.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Best used immediately,  store remainder in the refrigerator for a few days at most.

Swimming makes you hungry

Swimming is certainly the rage this week with the Olympics, Michael Phelps, and the new world records with the new Speedo suits.  It's great motivation to keep me going.  Plus I keep  watching to figure out how out things like the body whip (the dolphin like swimming that the swimmers do as they come off the wall).  My main motivater has been my swim class leader Kymmie, who makes it fun.  She has a huge amount of positive energy that she brings to class, plus is really, really a good swimmer.  And Tuesday made us swim with cups on our head (the red plastic kind you would use at a keg party - I'm thinking there needs to be a drinking party game involved).  The other fun thing is that you need to eat more (assuming your goal is to not lose weight).  According to the press, Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories per day.  The challenge is to not just starting eating a bunch of crap.  But Kymmie has helped here too, with several recipes on good for you foods to help keep you going. 

Disclaimer:  every recipe I have put on my web is something that I have cooked, usually many many times.  These are from Kymmie, and I have not tried them yet.   I have added my thoughts, and I will add comments when I make them to how they come out (and be suspicious if I make you chocolate pudding).   Enjoy!

Cowboy Caviar

Deb’s take:  This is real similar to my corn and bean salad (my salad has some olive oil but no acocados, I suspect this is a good trade).  Unless you are cooking for a crowd, I would suggest making just 1/3 of the recipe (using just black beans).  I would eat this straight up without the tortilla chips.

Juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp hot sauce (Tobasco)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp salt
3 firm, ripe avocados, diced into cubes
1 (15oz) can each: white beans, black beans, kidney beans; rinsed and drained
3 cups frozen corn; thawed
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh cilantro; chopped
1 lb pear tomatoes; halved
Tortilla chips; Scoops are best

Mix together lime juice, vinegar, hot sauce, oil, garlic, pepper and salt.  Add avocado; mix gently with lime juice mixture.  Add remaining ingredients, put in refridgerator for several hours.   Serve with Scoops

Cauliflower Lemon Antipasto Salad

This looks yummy.  There are couple of interesting techniques.  One is marinating the tofu in the dressing, which will give it great flavor.  The other is putting boiling water on the broccoli and cauliflower – which should help remove the “rawness” without really cooking.   I will definitely be trying this out.

4 oz  extra firm tofu
1 cup  broccoli florets
1 head cauliflower, cut in florets
1 small lemon, thinly sliced
2 cups  chick-peas
1 small sweet red, green, and yellow peppers, sliced
Half  seedless cucumber, chunks
2 cups  cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup  black Kalamata olives
3 oz   fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
2 tbsp  fresh parsley, chopped
2 oz  feta cheese, crumbled
Dressing
¼ cup  olive oil
1/8 cup red wine or white balsamic vinegar
1  green onion, minced
2-3  cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp  Dijon mustard
2 tsp  each fresh basil, oregano, parsley
Pinch  sea salt and pepper

Dressing:  In a bowl, whisk together all ingredients, gradually adding oil.

Cut tofu into 1-1/2 inch long strips, about ¼ inch wide; add to dressing. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

In a bowl, pour boiling water over broccoli, cauliflower and lemon slices; let stand for 8 minutes. Drain well and place in salad bowl along with remaining ingredients. Add tofu and dressing; toss gently. Cover and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for at least 1 hour or until chilled.

Nut Butter Protein Energy Balls

This looks like a way to make your own energy bars.  I’m not crazy about all of the added vitamins that most of the bars have (I think I taste them), plus they tend to be expensive.  
Update: There are a great alternative. I have made with chocolate chips, as well as chocolate chips and dried cranberries.  I have not used the protein powder, but Kymmie says the Ruth's is good and not highly processed, and available at Sprouts.

1 cup raw almond, cashew or peanut butter
3 cups organic old fashioned oats
1-2 Tblsp of protein powder (Ruth's Raw Hemp/Flax seed)
1/2 cup maple syrup, honey or agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon
Optional additions
1/2 cup raisins (or dried cranberries)
1/3-1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4-1/2 cup raw cacoa bits (or chocolate chips)
Combine all ingredients together; take a tablespoon and form into balls. Refrigerate.

Raw donut holes

These look good, I’m a huge fan of dates. However, I am not a big fan of coconut of the sweetened dried coconut (probably relating to those pink Hostess things), but sometimes I’m OK with the unsweetened coconut.

1 3/4 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight in water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups dried pineapples, chopped  (the mini ones at Trader Joe’s)
2 cups pitted dates
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Process first 3 ingredients in food processor until fine powder, slowly add pineapple and dates. Place in a large bowl and add 1/3c coconut. Form into small balls and roll in 1/4c remaining coconut.

CHOCOLADO PUDDING 

This one I’m just going to have to try… 

~3-4 servings

2-3 ripe avocados
7 ½ Tbs unsweetened organic cocoa (chocolate) powder (Dagoba, etc.)
½ cup agave nectar OR pure maple syrup
splash vanilla extract
pinch sea salt
dash cinnamon

Peel the ripe avocados and blend them in a Cuisinart/food processor. Add chocolate/cocoa powder, vanilla, sea salt and cinnamon. Blend. Add agave or maple syrup and adjust the amount for sweetness. Keep blending in your Cuisinart until creamy with a pudding-like consistency.

Eat or refrigerate, serve w/ fresh berries.

Happy Mother’s Day, 2008

It was a special Mother’s day for us, with both of our Mom’s at our house to celebrate!  We did a brunch with salmon, a Spanish tortilla (a.k.a. egg and potato thing), asparagus and tomatoes, artichokes, strawberries, cheese, and a blueberry coffee cake. It was quite a spread, I need to remember to take pictures (of the food and the mom’s).

The salmon was oven poached (first time I have done that), using a recipe I found on the web.  I used the side of a whole fish (about 3 ½ pounds), which was big enough to need my turkey roasting pan.   After poaching, I cooled the fish in the poaching liquid (started by setting the roaster on granite that was cold from ice packs, then putting the pan on a half sheet (jelly roll pan) with some ice in to further cool).  I then drained and wrapped to chill overnight, and served cold with some thin orange slices for decoration.  I also did the sauce, which I would rank as OK, not great.  But serving a piece of fish this big  is quite impressive, and tasted quite good (not to mention conveniently done ahead). 

I also made a blueberry coffee cake.  This recipe does double duty, as it can also be a apple coffee cake (which I made last week for the group doing clay… more on that later!)….  Here is the recipe:

Blueberry (or Apple) - Almond Coffee Cake

This is really just a muffin recipe (maybe a bit more sugar), and like most muffins, pretty adaptable.

¼ cup sliced or slivered almonds
1 tablespoon brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup flour
½ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup buttermilk  (or equal parts plain yogurt and milk… soy OK)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
1 cup blueberries, divided (can be fresh or frozen)
    OR  1 large apple, peeled and diced

Preheat oven to 350F, and spray an 8 inch square pan with cooking spray.

Mix almonds, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl, set aside.

In a small bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking power, soda, and salt with a whisk.  In another larger bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.  Add the dry to the wet, and toss in 2/3 cup of the blueberries or apple. Gently fold together. Put into prepared pan, and sprinkle the top with remaining blueberries (or apple), then the almond topping. Bake for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean (cooking time is usually a little longer if you use frozen berries).  Good when warm.    Yields 8-9 medium size pieces.

Yin and Yang

So, two recipes today.  Both are good for the soul, but in different ways.  By my logic, if you have this soup for dinner, you are entitled to these brownies for dessert. 

The soup is from the Moosewood Low-Fat cookbook, with a few changes.  I use chicken broth instead of vegetable (mostly because that’s what I have around). For spice, I use Chipotle chili flakes (Chipotle’s are dried smoked Jalapeño peppers) from Native Seed Search.  The original recipe calls for a hot green chili, or you can use plain red pepper flakes.  I think its best when you can taste the chili, but its not hot (and you can adjust to your taste).   You don’t really need to, but I like to finish the soup with just a little half and half.. I think it melds everything together nicely.  I also like to serve with yogurt, or you can serve with lime wedges and cilantro, but its good without the embellishments.

I have made these brownies for long time, they are from 1st cookbook I owned (and that would be the Good Housekeeping Illustrated cookbook). They are so easy I don’t know why you would ever make them from a mix!  They are full of good stuff (chocolate, walnuts, eggs... all quite healthy, plus butter, sugar and flour since it is desert).   The only trick is to “eat in moderation”.

Southwestern Corn and Potato Soup

Serves 3 to 4

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon Chipotle chili flakes (or red pepper flakes)
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups chicken broth, might need a bit more
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 small or 1 large sweet potato (the orange kind), diced (about 2 cups)
½ red bell pepper, chipped
3 cups frozen corn kernels (about a 1 lb bag)
Salt and lemon or lime juice to taste
Optional – 2 tablespoons half and half
Serve with plain yogurt, cilantro and/or lime wedges.

In a medium-large saucepan, simmer the onions, garlic chili, and salt in 1 cup of broth for about 10 minutes (will almost be dry).  In a small bowl, mix the cumin with a tablespoon of broth, add to the onions and cook for a couple of minutes (this should be smelling very good). Add the sweet potatoes and remaining broth.  Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, the potatoes should just start to be soft.  Add the corn and bell pepper, and cook for another 10 minutes.  All the vegetables should be tender.
With an immersion blender (blender thing on a stick), puree, but leave some chunks (or you can put half the soup in the food processor and puree).  Add a bit more broth if its too thick plus... optional -- just a bit of half and half.  Add some lemon or lime juice plus salt (if needed.. taste first).   Serve with yogurt, plus cilantro and/or lime wedges.

Fudgy Brownies

This makes a lot (think potluck).  You can easily cut in half and bake in a 6x10 or 8x8 baking pan.

1 cup butter
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups coarsely chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9 x 13” pan with Pam.  In large glass bowl, melt butter and chocolate in microwave, about 1 minute or a bit more (need to stir to see if the chocolate is melted). Stir sugar into chocolate-butter and stir.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well blended after the addition of each egg.  Add the flour, vanilla, and salt to the mixture and stir.  Add the chopped nuts to the mixture and stir to blend.  Pour batter into greased pan.  Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.

Summer Recipes

I have been waiting for summer to share these recipes, and well, its time.

The first is a Grilled Vegetable Pasta (yes, another pasta recipe).  The reason this is a summer recipe is that its really best to make it when you can get into the pool between turning the vegetables on the grill. It perfectly fits to a relaxed summer weekend.  Grill and swim, then let the vegetables cool, later cut up the vegetables and cook the pasta.   The vegetables can also be done as an antipasti (that’s right, without pasta but also an Italian appetizer).   Arrange the grilled vegetables on a platter, sprinkle with olives, maybe add some salami or other Italian cured meats, some big shreds of parmesan cheese.  I like to eat on slices of French bread, but it mostly takes a fork and knife to eat. 

The second is for breakfast.  I really like oatmeal, but its just too hot to eat in the summer.  So I make a cold oatmeal dish called Muesli.   I’m pretty sure the roots for muesli are Northern Europe, but I first had it in Korea at the Hilton in Seoul.  The do the nice breakfast buffet, and I have found it good to load up on food I recognize (bread, cheese, fruit, yogurt) when you really don't know what you will be eating the rest of the day.   They had a bowl of this goopy looking stuff on the “western” side of the buffet, and I tried it on the advice of one of my co-workers… a little cautious because I couldn’t tell what went in to it.  I like traveling in Asia, and I’m OK without always knowing what went into the food, but breakfast, well, I not as adventurous.    But this was good, cool and sweet, with raisins and some fruit.  I was hooked, but never know how to make it until I started hunting the web.  There are lots of ways to make this, starting with oats, and adding liquid (milk, yogurt, juice), dried fruit, apples, nuts.  The following is what I do, since I typically always have the ingredients on hand. 

Grilled Vegetable Pasta

4 servings

Veggies (use as a guide only!):
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Fresh or dry herbs, salt, pepper
2 medium zucchini, sliced diagonally about ½ inch thick
1 small eggplant, sliced lengthwise in ½ inch slices
1 red or mild yellow onion, cut in 2 large slices and skewered
2 red bell peppers, whole
1 ear corn, silk removed and husk replaced
1 head of garlic, top cut off
And/or:  Mushrooms, Asparagus

Pasta:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼ cup fresh basil (or other herbs)
½ pound chunky pasta, cooked
Save about ½ cup pasta water
¼ cup dry white wine (optional)
¼ cup goat cheese, crumbled
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

For Grilled Veggies:  Mix together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, herbs, salt and pepper.  Mix with vegetables (can do earlier in the day).   Drizzle garlic with oil and partially wrap in foil. On grill heated to medium, put in some wood chips and with several branches of rosemary. Put all the vegetables on the grill. The corn will cook quickest, maybe 10 –15 minutes. Cook remaining veggies until soft and browned, 20-30 minutes.  Turn every 5-10 minutes.  The bell pepper skin will be black.  Remove pieces from grill as they get done and let cool.

Dice the squash, eggplant, and onion. Peel bell pepper and dice.   Cut corn from cob. Put in a large bowl.  Put in several cloves of roasted garlic (cut in half if large), use remainder for snacking.  Add the cooked and drained pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a bit more salt and pepper to taste, chopped fresh basil, enough pasta water and/or white wine to moisten (about ½ cup total).  Serve with about 1 tablespoon each goat cheese crumbles and toasted pine nuts on each serving.

Muesli

Great way to get your oats in the summer.  Traditional flavors are raisins, walnuts, and apples… but these seem more fall like.  So I usually use “craisen’s”  (dried , sweetened cranberries), and put some berries on top…

Serves 3.

1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
¼ cup raisins or dry cranberries or other dried fruit of choice
¼ cup walnuts (chopped) or almond slivers
2 cups unsweetened soy milk (or any milk of choice, including part yogurt or juice)
1 tablespoon Apricot or Peach jam
1 teaspoon honey (or to taste)
1 small apple (grated) or other fresh fruit

Mix everything together except for fresh fruit, cover and refrigerate overnight.  If it seems a bit thick in the morning, add some more milk or some plain yogurt.   Stir in grated apple just before serving, or serve with other fresh fruit (berries, banana’s, apricots…)

Summer’s just about here..

This weekend if felt like summer announced “I’m coming”…  mornings are warmer --  the a/c is on when I drive to work, shade is good.  I’m hoping my basil will start growing.   But we are still getting some reprieve, as it’s actually raining right now with a bit of thunder and lightening (as opposed to last weekend’s dust storm).

If you can stand more pasta recipe’s, here a favorite for summer:


Peanut Noodles
The peanut sauce is multi-purpose – can be used w/ satay or as a dip too.  Adjust chili to taste

2- 3 (main dish)  or 6 (side) Servings

Noodles:
½ lb linguine or spaghetti (whole wheat is good)
2-4 cups of vegetables..  Pick 2-3:
    Bean sprouts
    Cucumber
    Snow peas
    Broccoli (cook for a couple of minutes with pasta)
    Carrots (can cook a bit too)
    Green onions

Sauce:
½ cup water
1/3 cup peanut butter  (I like the all natural)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon honey
1 clove mince garlic
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
    or  1 teaspoon chili-garlic paste instead of garlic and chili


For noodles: Bring large pot of salted water to boil, add spaghetti (break in half).   If using a hard vegetable, put into the pot the last couple of minutes to barely cook
Meanwhile, make sauce:  Bring water to boil in large bowl in microwave.  Add remaining ingredients, stir with whisk to combine.

Drain noodles and rinse with cold water.  Drain again and put into bowl with sauce. Add vegetables, toss to combine.

Freezer Cookies

These oatmeal cookies are one of our favorites, but like most deserts, there is just too much for the two of us to (reasonably) eat before it gets stale.  And I really like cookies best when they are just out of the oven.  So, when I make these, I only cook one or two dozen, the rest are put on foil and popped in the freezer.  When you are ready for cookies again, you just bake another 6 cookies.. perfect weeknight desert for two.  The recipe is the one the used to be oatmeal box, modified for “trans-fat free” cooking:  the shortening has been replaced with butter plus canola oil.

The Gadget:  Toaster Oven.  My toaster oven is used for a long list of things: it includes warming up a piece of pizza, toasting nuts (generally one toast cycle is perfect), baking potatoes (start in the microwave then go into the toaster, and you have a perfectly baked potato in 15 minutes), cooking quesadilla’s (use broil setting), warming bread (wrap in foil), and once in a while, making toast.  Below are the instructions for doing freezer cookies, later on I will post my other favorite toaster oven dessert – fruit crisps!

Oatmeal Cookies

ABOUT 4 DOZEN

½ cup butter

¼ cup canola oil

1 cup brown sugar, unpacked

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

¼ cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

3 cups oats (quick cooking or regular)

1 cup raisins  

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts 

Spray cookie sheets with Pam (or use parchment paper), and heat oven to 350oF.

Cream butter, oil, and sugars, then beat in egg.  Add water and vanilla, beat some more.  Add flour and baking soda, mix on low until blended.  Add oats, raisins, chips, nuts, stir together with a wooden spoon.

Drop onto cookie sheets, bake about 12 minutes or until just starting to brown.

For Freezing:  tear off sheets of foil slightly larger than the tray for your toaster oven.  Spray with Pam.  Drop 6 cookies on foil, and gently wrap foil around the dough (fold the sides in to get a couple of tubes, crimp the ends a bit), then put the rolls into a gallon freezer bag (you should be able to get about 3 per bag).  When you are ready to eat, gently unwrap, put on the tray for the toaster oven, and cook.  Use 12 minutes at 350F as a starting guide, but keep an eye on them (they are best when a little undercooked in my opinion).  For my current oven, I need to bake at 325F.