I have a little pie hobby and it was recently featured on Hallmark’s Think.Make.Share blog (Yay!)
http://www.thinkmakeshareblog.com/mothers-day-strawberry-pie/
If you’re looking for a trustworthy strawberry pie recipe– check it out! It’s great for all the special people in your life– especially you. I also give some crust tips, because as we all know, crust can be oh so tricky.
It’s the time of the Peep again!
I saw this in a magazine last year and decided to make it — needless to say it was a little past Easter when I finally got around to Peeping up some cupcakes (but you know Peeps, they keep for, oh, eternity). I’m not a huge Peep fan, in fact, I’d say I am a mild Peep fan. However, the second it’s added to a cupcake, I’m all in. The cute factor just gets me…
These were Lemon cupcakes with homemade chocolate frosting. I loved the idea of the citrus and chocolate and the lemon with the yellow Peep. All you do is make any cupcake you are craving, ice it like normal and then, drumroll please….you stick the Peep on top. It totally stays! I call that Peep-tastic! I did add little chocolate chips around the Peep to make a subtle nest, but you could go all out and add…
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scottish morning rolls
lardy cake
my 2014 new years resolution …….. to work my way through the Bread Bible by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter. to do this i was going to bake one loaf per week. Why? at the time I’d have said simply to teach myself how to bake but over the last year I’ve come up with a better answer …… its a control thing. let’s face it all cooks, chefs, gourmets have control issues when in their kitchens, aka “there’s too many cooks in the kitchen.” good cooks feel they have control over all aspects of their food, thus is why baking can be so terrifying. yeast, humidity, flours, egg temps ……. a thousand and one variables that can be uncontrollable effecting your baking process, determining success or catastrophe. my plan to make baking my bitch. i figured great bakers must know how to get some element of control over these sometimes wild and crazy baking variables and by god i was going to spend a year figuring it out.
harvest festival sheaf
so 45 loaves of bread later i have come to realize i’ve learned a lot from baking bread but it wasn’t necessarily what i thought i’d learn. i could tell you how salt controls yeast or about the trick of spraying your oven with water but you can find that out just by reading a recipe. instead here is how i found what i am calling the Zen of Bread…………….
lesson #1: Patience
the section on french breads taught me the true meaning of Patience. have you ever looked up the definition of patience? i mean we all know its “a virtue” but the true definition? patience is defined as ……….. “endurance without complaint.” the best things in life often don’t come easily, if you whine, complain, fuss, of course by the end you won’t enjoy it. look at croissants. croissants take ALL DAY to make them, from chilling dough multiple times, to pounding butter into submission to rolling dough till you run out of counter space. BUT in the end you get a FUCKING CROISSANT, that you can top with nutella and drink wine with. “endurance without complaint” this should be the motto of the French. by knowing you are about to go all in and give it all its worth, the end results mean nothing but beauty, joy, bliss, life …….endurance without complaint.
pain polka
epi
lesson #2: Don’t Bake Angry
if you bake angry nothing will come out right. dough won’t rise, bread won’t bake, eggs won’t whip, it’ll fail making the experience ever more horrible. if you aren’t feeling it don’t even enter that kitchen. it’ll be a disaster, it won’t taste good and no one will be happy ……… eat out! don’t put yourself through it.
how does “don’t bake angry” translate into the broader everyday? easily …….. don’t do things you don’t want to do. this i’ve come to realize is a big key to living a full and happy life. now of course this isn’t some sort of free for all but if you are constantly placing yourself in elements that you don’t enjoy you my friend are “baking angry.” when you start doing things you enjoy for yourself you’ll surround yourself with a positive atmosphere, thus you’ll be “baking happy.” bread will brown, dough will rise, eggs will beat, you’ll have a damn good loaf of bread.
rustic olive bread
lesson #3: Never Eat Your Bread, Always Give It Away
pane toscano
i’d say i give roughly 95% of the breads i bake away. there are so many reasons why giving bread away is a good idea. one it’ll prevent you from getting fat. another is by the time you reach loaf 20 you are pretty tired of bread anyways. BUT the most important reason is …….. bread makes people happy. i love that i’ve become the “bread fairy.” when i hand over a loaf of bread i’ve handed over a small loaf of happiness. they are happy because; someone thought of them, they get free food and now they probably have been inspired to do some at home meal planning. I’m happy because i made someone smile, i’ve unloaded another loaf of bread out of my kitchen meaning i can bake another, and i get to hear about all the wonderful cooking my loaf inspired ………….. “we made triple decker sandwiches” , “he cooked french toast for me” , “i took it to a soup potluck” giving bread away is a way to unselfishly bestow love, appreciation, and happiness on my nearest and dearest.
12th night bread
cheese and onion bread
lesson #4: Some Things in Life Need to Rise a Second Time
why do we give breads a 2nd rise? anyone? anyone? by allowing a bread to rise twice you’ll end up with a loaf of bread that is lighter, fluffier, and many times richer in flavors. love is something i have come to realize is one of those things in life that takes more than one time to rise.
when dough rises the first time, it can be crazy fast. dough can sometimes triple in size, it bubbles, and grows taking on the size of the container it is in but if you don’t knock it back in time it’ll fall and your bread won’t bake. by knocking the dough down and giving it a second rise your making your bread more refined. you can shape it, add spices and seasonings, candied fruits, cheeses or even coins to the dough. to me love has become the same process ……… mix in a bit of patience, surrounding yourself with happiness, and then giving it all away unconditionally and you might perhaps end up with something that could be a perfectly baked loaf of bread.
pan gallego
shaped dinner rolls
lastly …………..
lesson #5: If You Want to Do Something Well, Do It All the Time
i can’t tell you how excited i get when people tell me my breads inspire them in their own pursuits. my advice, whether its bread or meatballs or cupcakes or painting or needlepoint or speaking german, if you want to do it and do it well you have to do it at least once a week. unfortunately that age-old saying “practice makes perfect” is too damn true. if you want to be able to do something then you need to start doing it. face it too many of us live life in the state of “what if” instead you need to start asking the question “why not”
mallorcan ensaimadas
irish soda bread
now since January 2014 the grand total of breads i’ve baked is up to 51. how many more to go ?????? 41 all in all it’ll take me around 2 years to bake my way through the Bread Bible. maybe i’ll learn a few more life lessons as i go, but no matter what, the Zen of Bread has become one of the greatest processes i’ve gone through. what’ll happen when i get to my last loaf? who knows. i am certain that with each new culinary adventure i go on i’ll learn a new skill and possibly a little bit more about myself. perhaps 2016 i’ll see what the italians have to teach. the Pasta Bible is sitting on the shelf, seeming to whisper ……….. Ciao Bella!
portuguese cornbread
welsh clay pot loaf
split tin loaf
fougasse
…and I can’t find a single vegetarian version at any of my favorite Thai restaurants? I wok it myself. Here’s an adapted recipe from Rachel Cooks Thai. I took out the chicken and the oyster sauce, so it’s all-veg, and all-good.
Veggie Thai Basil Fried Rice
Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 Red Thai chili pepper, OR if you can’t find one- a jalapeno – chopped finely
A half a block of uncooked tofu (garlic flavored tofu if you can find it) – crumbled
1/4 cup red or green bell pepper slices
1/4 cup white onion slices
1/4 cup Chinese long beans, cut into 1” pieces, OR if you can’t find any- fresh green beans
1/2 cup Thai basil leaves
1 Tablespoon of hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon of tamari sauce
2 teaspoons of soy sauce
2 cups pre-cooked jasmine rice- make it a day or two early and let it sit in the fridge!
3 Tablespoon of canola oil
Optional: a 1/2 cup of broccoli florets. I add them to most of my asian-influenced dishes. A little extra broccoli never hurt anyone.
How-to:
Take your cooked rice out of fridge and pour in 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Use your fingers to spread and coat the rice. This will make your rice a little crisper.
Pour the rest of the oil to the wok.
When the oil’s hot, add the tofu crumbles and cook until golden and little crispy.
Next, add the garlic, chili pepper, long beans, (broccoli), and bell peppers. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
Pour in all the sauces and cook for 2 more minutes.
Add the onion slices and stir fry until translucent and still a little firm.
Rice time! Combine with the rest of the ingredients in the wok. When the sauce and rice are throughly mixed, let it cook for 3-5 minutes. I like my Thai basil fried rice a little on the crispy side, and this extra cooking time helps with that.
Last step- stir in the basil then let the dish rest for a minute or two.
I added a few cashew nuts on the side for a nibble of something salty. Enjoy!
A few weeks ago I really wanted to eat a thick and hearty tomato soup. Okay-I know I could just open a can, but I couldn’t make myself do it. There’s nothing wrong with that kind of soup, I was just looking for a something, I don’t know, a little more tomatoey.
In cooking class, Chef told us any basic tomato sauce recipe could be turned into tomato soup by adding bechamel sauce to it. I thought I’d take the “worked all day” approach and just add heavy cream to pre-made sauce.
Yep. It worked.
So if you want a thick, fast, tasty tomato soup, belly on up to this recipe.
Spaghetti Sauce Tomato Soup:
Ingredients:
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
(I went with a sugar free brand- beware of added sugars in sauce!)
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of cherry tomatoes
(If you want to get a little fancy and add some texture and shapes)
Pepper and garlic salt to taste
How-To:
Pour the jar of spaghetti sauce into a saucepan over medium heat.
Add the cherry tomatoes.
Bring to a simmer and let it cook for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the cream.
Once combined, season to taste.
Oh my gosh- that was so quick, you could make a provolone and fresh mozzarella grilled cheese too.
Mmm. Think about it….
Got any Super Food traditions for the Super Bowl? I do! Here’s my favorite recipe for the America’s favorite Un-Holiday.
For as long as I can remember we’ve had drunken hot dogs as a Farris family Super Bowl tradition. I made them vegetarian this year with tofurkey kielbasa hot dogs.
Here’s the recipe:
1/2 cup brown sugar
Add a half a cup of bourbon.
Add a half a cup of ketchup.
Stir together and simmer on low.
For the veggie dogs, I sautéed them first in some oil then add them to the simmering sauce pan. This made them crispy on the outside before getting doused in bourbon goodness. For regular hot dogs you can just cut up a package of uncooked hot dogs into bite sized pieces and put them in the sauce. The veggie dogs should be in bite sized chunks too.
Let them simmer for 15 to 30 minutes. You can also use a small crock pot to keep them warm. I always eat mine with toothpicks-…
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I had no idea until I took a professional cooking class that there’s a difference between stock and broth. Straight from the ladle, here’s what The Professional Chef textbook says…
“The major distinction between broths and stocks is that broths can be served as is, whereas stocks are used in the production of other dishes.”
So throughout my whole cooking life I’d been making stocks and calling them broths. I know that in the grand scheme of things what happens between you and your stock pot is just between you and your stock pot, BUT I decided to walk myself through both to make sure I really understood the difference.
Vegetable Stock:
Because I’m a vegetarian making good veggie stock is a priority (and a challenge). I’ve found the more veg I stick in the pot, the better the flavor. I used to put in whatever I had in the fridge, but now I stick to non-starchy veg to help keep my stock clear(er). All chefs want clear stock. I think of it like a painter having perfect paints. I didn’t even know stock was supposed to be clear until I put on a chef’s jacket, so clear stock could be a low-totem pole concern in your kitchen, and that is totally fine. I hover somewhere between clear and slightly cloudy, but that’s just my style.
Vegetable Stock: 1 Gallon
(Making 1 gallon is a good way to go. You can freeze the stock and use it for other recipes)
Ingredients:
*5 lbs of non-starchy vegetables– I use a combination of lettuce, mushroom, leek, white onion, carrot, celery. You can chop or put the vegetables in whole. I often do a mix, but if you do chop your veg, make sure to chop larger pieces (it’ll help with fishing them out later). And okay, I do put a parsnip in there. It breaks the non-starch rule, but that’s why my stock is always on the (er) side of clear.
*5 quarts of cold water – Cold water is key because you want your veg and water to start out at the same temperature.
*1 Standard Sachet d’Epices- A sachet d’epices is a small bundle of cheese cloth that contains, a sprig of thyme (1 teaspoon), 2-4 parsley stems (2 teaspoons), 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon of cracked peppercorns, and 1 garlic clove (optional). You put all that in the cheese cloth and tie it off with cooking string, essentially making a teabag for your stock. You can always forgo the fancy and put the spices directly into the stock. Again if you want clear stock, you shouldn’t just toss in the spices, but you can join me in the (er) camp any time you like!
Vegetable Stock How-To:
*Place the water, spices and veg in a stock pot.
*Bring to a simmer.
*As the stock simmers, you’ll see bubbles gathering on the surface of the stock. It kind of looks like bubbles in a bubble bath or froth. Use a mesh strainer or spoon to skim the bubbles off (this again is for the sake of clearness).
*Simmer for an hour.
*Remove all vegetables. This usually involves a strainer. Save any veg that you might want to use in your soup. I almost always keep the carrots and the celery.
Here is me testing my clearness….It’s defineately on the side of (er).
Now it’s time for broth! I’m making a garlic broth. So this recipe should be tasty enough to eat just as it is. I won’t be using the whole gallon, so I’ll only put in what stock I need for the soup and freeze the rest.
Garlic Broth:
Ingredients:
2 quarts of Vegetable Broth
14 peeled, whole garlic cloves
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1/4 teaspoon of cloves
1/4 teaspoon of sage
1/4 teaspoon of thyme
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons of parsley
1 cup of white wine (A sweet white wine is nice, but anything works!)
Garlic Broth How-To:
*Bring your stock to boil.
*Add all ingredients into the stock. Let everything boil for 30 minutes.
*When the 30 minutes are up, fish out the bay leaf and any garlic you’re not keen on eating. I usually leave 7 cloves. And that’s it– you’ve got Garlic Broth!
The final step-SOUP! I started making garlic noodle soup when I was looking for a substitute for chicken noodle soup. The great thing about this soup is you can pretty much add anything to it. Whatever ever will warm your bones will do the trick. I often make this soup in the late summer with fresh garden veg and freeze it for when flu season rolls around in December.
Garlic Noodle Soup:
Ingredients:
2 quarts of garlic broth
2 cups of egg noodles
1 cup of giant lima beans (Canned or soaked is fine)
1 cup of cherry tomatoes
2 carrots, chopped (Remember these can be the same carrots from making stock!)
2 celery ribs, chopped (Ditto.)
2 cups of water
2 eggs scrambled. (You can scramble your eggs while the soup is cooking).
Garlic Noodle Soup How-To:
*Bring the garlic broth to a boil. I usually add a cup or two of water at this point. This will help with evaporation and the noodles pesky habit of soaking up broth.
*Add egg noodles. Cook according to package.
*Reduce to a simmer. Add beans, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and celery. Simmer for 10 minutes.
*Scramble your eggs if you haven’t already.
*Add spinach and stir to help with wilting.
*Add eggs! These guys give you an extra boost of protein and add nice flavor.
*Turn off the heat and let the soup rest for another 10 minutes, the eat it up!
*Season to taste.
I saw this idea on-line and thought, Yep– That sounds good. Plus I always need recipes for leftover egg nog. Before Christmas I buy up egg nog like we’re going to run out and there’s always a full bottle hanging out in the fridge until New Years. I think I inherited some kind of egg nog scarcity paranoia. And who truly wants nog after January? If you do, than thank goodness. Come over. I have some for you.
Here’s my version of the recipe…and this is the LAST holiday recipe for this year, I promise.
Ingredients:
1 cup of egg nog
2 eggs
6 slices of bread (I like thick a French loaf or Italian bread)
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar
1/4 a teaspoon of nutmeg
How-to:
Slice 6 pieces of bread and set them aside.
Grab a casserole dish or baking pan that’s big enough to lay all your slices flat on the bottom (Spread them out. No overlapping). I went ahead and set my bread in the pan to make sure it was the right size, then took my slices out.
In the same empty dish/pan, crack your eggs and pour your cup of egg nog. Use a fork to stir them together until well combined.
Set your bread into the pan just like you did before, but now it’s taking a nice nog soak.
Using a fork, press each slice down so it absorbs the egg nog mixture. Let it sit for a minute, then flip the slices. Press them with fork again and let them sit while you prep the stove.
Rub your butter lightly over your skillet. Leave the butter on the skillet and turn the burner heat on medium low. Wait for the butter to melt and bubble slightly.
Using the fork, add your slices to the buttery skillet. (You may have to do batches depending on the size of your skillet).
Cook the first sides until golden and brown, then flip them over.
Once both sides are toasted, sprinkle each slice with the cinnamon sugar and the nutmeg!
I know this is french toast blasphemy, but you don’t even really need syrup! But you might want a little more nog to go with it.
Yep, every year I forget how to make the same two recipes: cranberry sauce and roasted chestnuts.
I know. The holidays are over. It’s January for cooks-sake. BUT I am going to document these puppies before I misplace them AGAIN. I’m not kidding. For the past three November’s, Thanksgiving shows up and I find myself asking, where’s that cranberry sauce recipe my family loves? This year, I couldn’t find it at all and had to try another one (which wasn’t a bad thing really). December arrives and I’ve suddenly got fresh chestnuts rolling around the grocery card– and once again, I can’t figure out how to roast them in the oven…sigh. I suffer from holiday brainwash.
No more my food friends– I will be bookmarking this page for next year.
My Go-To Apple Cranberry Sauce Recipe:
1 12 ounce bag of cranberries
2 large Honey Crisp Apples, diced
1/4 cup of water
¼ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ cup of granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon of ginger
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan, and bring to a boil. Stir, and simmer until cranberries burst and apples soften. Continue to simmer until sauce thickens. From initial boil to thickening takes around 10-20 minutes. As I remember, you have to keep an eye on it and make sure the sugar doesn’t burn. Let it cool and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve it!
I couldn’t find my usual recipe in time for the holidays this year, so I tried a new one, a Pear-Ginger Chutney. I think I liked it even better!
Pear-Ginger Chutney Recipe
1 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
1 cup of granulated white sugar
2 ripe pears, peeled and diced.
1/4 cup of diced crystalized ginger
1 minced jalapeno (minus the seeds)
1 tsp of freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp of salt
Combine cranberries and sugar in a medium saucepan. Coat the cranberries in the sugar, then set saucepan over medium heat. Stir and cook until cranberries start to burst and sugar dissolves. It took about 8 minutes. Stir in the pears, crystalized ginger, salt, and jalapeno. Stir and cook until pears are softened. It took about 8-10 minutes. Let it cool, then refrigerate until you’re ready to serve it!
Perfect Oven Roasted Chestnuts
That’s right– this recipe is perfect. Or almost. Trust me. After as much trial and error I’ve had, let me just give you this recipe and you can go about your chestnut oven roasting business.
This works on any quantity of chestnuts– that’s up to you. I always add a few extra just incase a few of the nuts refuse to peel.
1) Preheat oven to 375
2) Fill a bowl (big enough to hold all the chestnuts you’re going to roast) with water.
3) Grab a casserole dish with a lid (something you can put in the oven).
4) Pick out the chestnuts you want roast.
5) There will be a rounded and flat side to the chestnut. Find the flat side. Using a paring knife, cut a small X through the shell of the chestnut. This will keep the chestnuts from exploding in your oven (yeah).
6) Drop each scored chestnut into the bowl of water.
7) Let them all soak in the water for 3 minutes. This will help the nuts steam in the oven.
8) Place the scored and soaked chestnuts in the casserole dish with the lid. Put the lid on- don’t forget it!
9) Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.
10) When time’s up, take the lid off and let the chestnuts cool for 5 minutes in their casserole dish. You still want them to be warm to touch. If they completely cool, there’s no way in heck to peel them.
11) Use the same small knife, and possibly a hand held nut cracker to help you peel the shell and the “furry” skin off the soft chestnut meat. Be careful with that nutcracker the chestnut could mush on you, so only use it on stubborn chestnuts.
12) Set the nuts aside until you are ready to saute or eat them. I always saute mine in some olive oil, a dash or two of freshly ground pepper and garlic salt and 1 teaspoon of fresh chopped rosemary.
Fresh unpeeled chestnuts must stay refrigerated and last for a week or two, just depending on how fresh they were to begin with. I love to put pan sautéed chestnuts on top of my winter salad.
Well, there they are, the holiday recipes I forget every year. Problem solved– I hope.
cheese glorious cheese
the other night i explained to some friends …. “yay i’ve been trying to eat like a hobbit lately” needless to say some wine might have almost come out of a nose or two when i made that statement. but its TRUE! i am rereading the lord of the rings trilogy. me the nerd that i am i like to get in the mood when reading novels. drinks, music, food that all go with the theme of the book. on heavy music rotation …. the chieftains, drink of choice lately fallish beers pumpkin and mead and yes foods i have declared “hobbitish” fish and chips, sheppard’s pie and my meatless monday creation a ploughman’s platter……some drunkin goat cheese, fresh carrot and apple slices, homemade bread and almonds and yes of course an ale in a giant ceramic mug. life ain’t to bad as a hobbit.
Hearty Eaters 
