ok ladies, it's a new year.  that means we all need to get cooking (and blogging!)   ha!   cuz none of us are busy, right?   right.

so over my well-deserved and well-utilized ten day vacation from school and work, we did a lot of cooking. well, baking, mostly.  you know, to go along with all the eating.

my parents had a sleepover on Christmas Eve, so I wanted to make something fun for breakfast the next day.   enter....the lemon ricotta tart.  so good.  so, so good.  even Emma had 3 slices!

oh, and PLEASE don't be intimidated by the make-your-own-crust.  seriously, it's dummy proof.  and the herbs are key.

photo source: Reading My Tea Leaves

herbed crust recipe
1 cup of flour (plus more for rolling out the dough)
1 stick of cold butter (8 tablespoons), cut into pieces
a pinch of sugar
a pinch of salt
a few tablespoon cold water
a healthy handful of fresh chopped herbs. i used sage, oregano, and thyme, because that's what i had.

pre-heat the over to 350. using a pastry blender (or fork, or food processor) blend together butter, flour, salt, sugar and herbs until the consistency is crumbly and none of the butter pieces are too big.  using your own two hands, form the mixture into a ball, adding cold water by the tablespoonful to combine.  place ball of dough into a waxed paper bag (or whatever you use for wrapping) and flatten into a disc with the palm of your hand.  pop the dough into the freezer for ten minutes, or into the fridge for longer.  when it's chilled, remove and turn disc onto floury surface to roll out.  use your tart pan as a guide and roll into a circle large enough to fill the pan and its edges.  pre-bake for ten minutes or so if you're of the persuasion that likes things done right.

filling (adapted from carolyn cope's recipe)
1 cup of ricotta
1 cup or so of chopped garlic scapes (hard to find here, I used green onions instead)
zest from a lemon
a handful of thyme
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

combine all ingredients in a smallish-sized bowl and whisk with a fork to combine.  pour mixture into your pre-baked tart crust and cook for 30 minutes, or until the middle of the tart has set and the pastry is thoroughly golden. serve hot or cooled.

if you haven't had your fill of garlic scapes, make pesto.

hide N seek muffins (kid friendly cooking)

I recently picked up this book - part of the Moosewood family of awesomeness.   It's designed with short, simple recipes that kids can make - with a little parental support.  There are illustrations for the kids to read, and nothing we've made so far requires ingredients we wouldn't already have on hand.

We went strawberry picking yesterday, so naturally we wanted to find recipes that could incorporate the FIVE POUNDS of strawberries we have.  We picked "Hide N Seek Muffins" which is really just a basic (if bland) muffin mix where you shove a sugared strawberry into the middle.   They tasted pretty good - we garnished them with some vanilla greek yogurt - but more than that, they were fun to make together.  Pardon the hasty iPhone pics, but it's all I use these days!

 

Definitely recommend the book if you have a kid who loves helping in the kitchen! 

Directions & Ingredients:  
*** My only modification to this would be to GREASE the muffin papers before pouring the batter in.  They were a bit hard to take off.  

Black Bean Lasagna Rolls

...Nonni is in town. We eat well.

Black Bean Lasagna Rolls

Prep: 25 minutes. Cook: 30 minutes
Yield: 8 servings.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 (15-ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (4 ½-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
½ teaspoon chili
8 lasagna noodles, uncooked
2 cups canned and drained black beans
Vegetable cooking spray (i.e. PAM)
1 (151/2-ounce) jar salsa
Fresh cilantro sprigs (optional)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine first 5 ingredients, stirring well.
2. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain well.
3. Spread cheese mixture over one side of each noodle. Spoon black beans evenly
over cheese mixture. Roll up noodles, jellyroll fashion, beginning at narrow ends.
4. Place lasagna rolls, seam sides down, in an 11 x 7 x 1 ½ inch-baking dish located
with cooking spray. Pour salsa over rolls. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30
minutes or until heated thoroughly heated. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Make believing it's wintery outside

It's been a pretty mild winter--even by Floridian standards.  For the last week, temperatures have been in the 80s and the humidity and bugs are already breathing down our backs.  BUT...last night...last night...the temps fell all the way down to the 40s!  To celebrate I made this delicious vegetarian soup: Barley and Lentil Soup with Chard (or Kale in our instance).  It's easy, super healthy with all the veggies and low in fat but still very filling.  This recipe makes a lot of soup but looking over the reviews it freezes well.

At the farmers' market last weekend, the girls talked me into buying a bushel of zucchini. A week later and we're all sick of zucchini so I started hunting for ways to make something less zucchini-y but still used zucchini.  And I found this: Chocolate Zucchini Mini-Muffins.   I made all sorts of substitutions and our take on the recipe is below.  The girls were skeptical, especially when I subbed in applesauce for some of the oil (zucchini AND applesauce? AND chocolate? AND orange zest? No frosting???....EWWWWW!!!!!"  Have I mentioned that their acquiring reading skills often makes life more complicated, especially when it means reading rude graffiti on Costco shopping carts and freaking out when you start to play fast and loose with a recipe.)  But the muffins turned out delightfully and with a lot less fat and calories than the originals.  

Lighter Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup of coconut oil (melted and cooled)

1/4 cup of plain applesauce

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

2 1/4 cups shredded zucchini

Zest (finely grated) and juice of 1 orange

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup of whole wheat flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

11/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 -1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (depending on how chocolatey you want them)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease standard muffin pan with nonfat cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, applesauce and 2 teaspoons of the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each, then add the buttermilk. Whisk in the zucchini and half the orange zest.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, whisking to aerate. Stir half the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then the other half. Fold in the chocolate chips and distribute the batter evenly into the muffin tins.

4. Bake on the center rack until springy but firm to the touch and lightly browned around the edges, about 22 minutes. Cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then remove and let cool completely.

Clare's Soup (..or Kielbasa & Cabbage Deliciousness)

...as I mentioned on the "anything goes" blog, Clare is a woman who used to work with my mom. A long while ago she gave us a recipe for this kielbasa & cabbage soup that is so easy and so good. We always called it Clare's Soup so I am continuing the tradition here. It is wonderful with warm buttered sourdough and a little bit of parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. I think it might actually be ridiculously healthy, too.

Ingredients:
1 medium head cabbage
2 medium carrots, cut into ½ inch slices
1 (10 ounce) Polish sausage, cut into ½ inch slices (we use Turkey Kielbasa for this)
1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
4 cups of chicken broth
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine onion, cabbage, carrots, sausage, tomatoes, sugar, stock, allspice, paprika,
and salt and pepper to taste in a 4-quart non-aluminum pot. Bring to boil. Simmer,
covered, until carrots and cabbage are tender, about 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings
to taste.

Cranberry Relish

There is a good chance I have posted this before--but it bears repeating in the days before Thanksgiving. Also, I wanted to test out my new iPhone camera and pretend I was the Pioneer Woman or Deb from Smitten Kitchen.

We've been making this for Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. Its been a Thanksgiving staple for me and my family. I understand there is a time and place for canned cranberry sauce--but it should not be on the Thanksgiving table because this is far superior in most every way imaginable. Despite this--I am always "battling" with the canned stuff whenever I go to Lars' family's. Don't even get me started. Don't ask me to bring cranberry relish and then have discs of canned cranberry crap on the table. BITTER? ME? No...I'm as sweet as homemade cranberry relish.

So simple and so good.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 cups sugar (you can make this less sweet if you like--I usually only put in about a cup)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 12 oz package (3 cups) cranberries
• 2 medium pears (cored & cubed--2 cups)
• 1/2tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 4 inches stick cinnamon

COOKING DIRECTIONS
Bring sugar and water to boiling in two quart saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil rapidly, uncovered, 5 minutes

Add cranberries, pears and spices. Return to boiling. Cook 3-4 minutes or until cranberry skins pop, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Cover and chill. Remove cinnamon before serving. Store for up to a week in the fridge.

Here's the finished product. If I had my act together I would post it in a beautiful white bowl but you get it like this.

Comfort Me With Chicken Pot Pie (Palos Verdes Style)

I realize that the legitimacy of a chicken pot pie recipe from Palos Verdes is a little circumspect (what do people in Palos Verdes know about comfort food for crisp fall weather and cold winter nights!)...but this recipe will make a believer out of you. Its a little bit of a twist on the traditional chicken pot pie, in that you bake biscuits within and on top of the "pie" in lieu of the pie crust. Comfort food at its finest and perfect for winter weather. Or summer weather if you're Kate and you live in San Francisco. Ginny--I don't think you're allowed to eat chicken pot pie in Florida-might be illegal so you should check with local ordinances. So, really, this recipe is for Erika--my cold weather doppelgänger. We got our first dip into 20 degree weather last night so its very appropriate to post this now.

Recipe here--I give it 5/5 "Noms"

PALOS VERDES CHICKEN POT PIE (Serves 4)

Pie Filling

• 8 teaspoons butter
  
• 8 teaspoons flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup diced carrots, peeled
• 1 cup green peas
• 4 chicken breast halves, skinned, cooked and diced (or a roast chicken from the market)
  
• ¼ teaspoon thyme (so important--love the flavor this adds)
  
• Salt and pepper to taste

Biscuit Dough

• 1 ½ cups of flour
• 2-teaspoon sugar
• 1-teaspoon salt
• 2-teaspoon baking powder
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1-cup milk or half and half
  

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Melt butter in a medium pan and stir in flour. Stir in broth and cook over low heat until mixture is smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in carrots, peas and chicken. Add thyme and season well with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Prepare Biscuit Dough: Place flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in bowl and stir to mix well. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add cheese. Pour in milk and stir briefly until batter is sticky and holds together.
4. Spoon half of chicken mixture into buttered 2 quart casserole. With spoon, drop half of dough over chicken. Cover with remaining chicken mixture and top with remaining dough.
5. Bake until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.