What my mom made for dinner

My mom is my inspiration for cooking and baking! Growing up, as busy as she was as a single mom raising two kids and often working multiple jobs, she still managed to make dinner almost every night. Not to mention her amazing baking around Christmas time! I should write up another post on that sometime. :) Even though my brother and I could be picky, she did her best to introduce us to whole grains (it took until recently to like them), vegetables, fruits (these I had no trouble liking, especially when it was something from the backyard!), and unsweetened cereal (well she tried, but I sneaked sugar onto it anyway). But I thank her for her hard work and giving a solid foundation!

So today I'd like to feature a dish that she just created. I'm not sure what to call it, "Mom's curried chickpea dish"? Or the not very descriptive but accurate "What I made for dinner" which is what she said upon first telling me about it. Well, whatever the title, this is a tasty, healthful dish that is sure to please everyone!

"What I made for dinner" in my mom's words:

Prepare white or brown Jasmine rice or couscous with chicken or vegetable broth (I used low sodium chicken broth and didn't add additional salt)

Saute lightly in olive oil
-1 yellow squash sliced
-1 red bell pepper cut into strips
-1 small red onion chopped
-1 carrot cut into somewhat thin 2-inch strips

Add to veggies and stir:

-chili pepper flakes (I used about 1/2 tsp)
-kosher salt (1 used about 1/4 tsp)
-black pepper (I used about 1/4 tsp)
-curry (I used a mixture of yellow and red curry, started with 1/4 tsp, but added mo9re to taste)
-cinnamon (3 quick dashes)
-lemon juice (I started with 2 tablespoons then added more to taste)

Mix in rice or couscous (I used 2 cups of white jasmine loosely measured-don't pack into cup).
Mix in 1/2 can rinsed garbanzo beans.

Serve with feta cheese sprinkled on top.

Note: I think that fresh chopped cilantro added at the end would be a nice addition (but I didn't have any).

Love, Mom

~

Notes from my mom:

I made this recipe again using brown jasmine rice and black beans instead of garbanzo. It came out good except for the fact that I accidentally cooked the veggies too long which wasn't that great. Make sure that you do a quick stir fry only so that the onions are a bit soft but everything else is still crisp. Also, 1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes puts in on the spicier side. You might want to try less to start.

My notes:

Use the vegetable broth and skip the cheese to make this vegan.

I think I used more garbanzo beans (I started with the dry, so I can't say for sure), which I recommend.

Also good with brown basmati rice.

Enjoy!

Molten Chocolate Cookies

One of the first things I just had to do in New York was find good chocolate chips. And by good, I mean at minimum no artificial flavors. Having a really really stellar flavor is a plus, but I wasn't about to shell out the exorbitant price for the Ghiradelli bars and chips are at my local market (the only brand of chocolate chips, I'm afraid to say, that didn't have artificial flavor)! Remember that story about the butter? Yeah, well, I didn't want to repeat that mistake with the chocolate.

This is where Fresh Direct came to my rescue! They delivered right to my door chocolate chips that were delicious, all natural, and a good price! The brand is Guittard, and I must say they were tasty. But best of all, I discovered an amazing recipe on the back of the bag. If you like chocolate, cookies, and molten cakes, you will love these! They also make great cookies for ice cream sandwiches on the second day. :)

Molten Chocolate Cookies

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter (unsalted)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Melt the chips and butter in a double boiler or heat proof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water. You may also melt in microwave. Set aside.

Beat egg and sugar with an electric mixer. When light and fluffy, beat in a salt and vanilla. Gradually beat in the slightly cooled chocolate.

Stir the flour and baking powder together, then add to the egg mixture and stir until mixed. Batter won’t be stiff enough to use at this point.

Chill batter for about 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment.

Spoon batter by rounded tablespoonfuls (approx) and make mounds. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for about 3 minutes, then transfer to rack to cool.

Best served warm. To reheat, microwave on high power 10 seconds per cookie.

Quote from the Kitchen

"No matter what happens in the kitchen, never apologize."
—Julia Child, in Fitch, Appetite for Life, p. 142

Vegetable Tartlets (or Veggie Tart)

My kitchen partner and I made this a few weeks ago, and it was absolutely delicious! Make sure you allow 45 minutes to an hour to prepare the veggies and make the filling. (absolutely worth every minute) If you find yourself pressed for time and can't make the crust (or perhaps, you are crust challenged), the veggie filling would also taste great served with noodles or rice.

Chef's Note: We did not have mini tart pans so we substituted with one pan instead.

Serves 6
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup ice water
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 red bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced
1 Italian eggplant, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, quartered
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 cups coarsely chopped kale (8 ounces)
2 cups cherry tomatoes (about 1 pint)
1/3 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
Pinch of red-pepper flakes
6 tablespoons nonfat ricotta cheese

Directions:
Make the crust: Pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream; process just until dough holds together. Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 3 days).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out six 9-inch rounds, gathering scraps and rerolling dough. Fit into 4 1/2-inch springform tart pans, and cut dough flush with tops. Place on a baking sheet, and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Make the filling: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bell peppers, and cook until just tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add zucchini, squash, eggplant, and onion; cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add wine and salt; season with pepper. Cook, stirring, until liquid has evaporated. Add kale, and cook until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in tomatoes, basil, and red-pepper flakes.

Spoon 1 1/4 cups vegetable mixture into each tart shell. Bake until crust is golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes. Top each tart with 1 tablespoon ricotta, and serve.

Recipe from Martha Stewart.

Crumble time!

Hello blog world! It's been a while! My life has been turned upside down by graduating from my masters and going on an extended "vacation" on the other side of the country while negotiating trying to get back to the right side of the country. Or something like that. Thus I have not had much chance to try new recipes much less make up any of my own. But that ends now! Tonight, after a frustrating, long search on google for a recipe that didn't exist (except in my mind), I decided to try my hand at creating my very own baked good. I specify baked good since I've never had a problem making up dinner entrees. But baking has always had that mysterious aura to it that scared me away from ever making something up. Substitutions? Yes. Additions or alterations? All the time! But no recipe at all? AH!

Surprisingly, I think I was actually successful. In fact, I think it was pretty darn good. I have to say I'm proud of myself, and hope you enjoy this recipe while the summer fruit season lasts.

Cherry Blueberry Almond Crumble

Ingredients

2 cups pitted cherries
2 cups blueberries
Juice of half a lemon
almond extract to taste (actually, I just used what was left in the bottle!)
cinnamon
1 tbl cornstarch
1/4 sugar (more if fruit is not very sweet)
1 stick butter (4oz), cut into small pieces and kept cold
4oz flour
2 oz white sugar
2 oz brown sugar (can do more white sugar if desired)
handful toasted, ground almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the berries, lemon juice, almond extract, a sprinkling of cinnamon, cornstarch, and sugar in a 8x8" pan (I used pyrex).
2. In a medium bowl, combine butter, flour, sugars, and almonds with fingers until butter is evenly distributed throughout. Alternatively, you can use a pastry blender, but honestly, fingers work just fine. :)
3. Spread crumble topping over the berry mixture evenly. Bake for 35 minutes, or until fruit is bubbling and the topping is a lightly golden.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Strawberry Ice Box Cake

Ah, summer. It's coming! And know what one of my favorite things in the summer is? Berries! Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and all the unique I've-never-heard-of-that-berry that can be found at the local orchard. So to welcome in the season, here's a strawberry dessert!

This recipe has been passed down from my great grandmother. She used to make it for my mom when she was little. Yes, it does use raw egg, but if you're the type to sneak a little cookie dough before baking, then you should be fine. :)

Note: start ahead (must be refrigerated at least 3 hours)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
3 tbl cream (can substitute milk)
1/2 nuts, chopped (I think almonds are probably best)
1 tsp vanilla
1 box strawberries, sliced
8 oz cool whip
8 oz vanilla wafers, crushed fine

1. Cream sugar and butter until light and creamy. Add egg, cream, nuts, and vanilla. Gently stir in berries. Fold in cool whip.
2. Place half the crumbs in an 8" or 9" square pan. Pour berry mixture over. Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top.
3. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Cut into squares and serve!

Yield: 8 servings.

Root Vegetable Shepherd's Pie

Last Saturday, I experienced my first weekend without school stress! In order to celebrate this momentous occasion, I decided to have some fun in the kitchen. After seeing a post on another blog and knowing I had some ground beef in the freezer, I thought shepherd's pie was worth a try. But I couldn't just do the normal, standard recipe, now could I? Besides, I really just don't like celery and carrots. And thus my solution: create my very own shepherd's pie remix based on root vegetables!

I started with parsnips, turnip, and brown (crimini) mushrooms. I highly recommend brown mushroom, so much more flavor!

Here they are being caramelized (except the mushrooms)...ah so fragrant!

Now I added the mushrooms and some herbs

Peter helped with the beef...I'm not a big fan of touching or getting near raw meat. What a silly face. :)

Here the veggies, beef, and gravy are getting acquainted.

Top it with mashed, seasoned potatoes, bake, and:

Voila! Cauliflower! Just kidding. More like a giant delicious potato topping!

So what was the result of my experiment? Good, but not amazing. But I think the lack of amazingness is easily remedied. First, cut the amount of parsnip in half, second, use more mushrooms, and third, season more heavily. I've adjusted the recipe accordingly. I am proud to say, however, that the potato topping came out quite nicely. :) One can also add more flavor by topping it with shredded cheese. And I suppose if you do like celery but want to stick with the root theme, you could try some celery root.

Let me know if you try it!

Ingredients

1 parsnip, cleaned and diced (no need to peel if scrubbed well)

1 turnip, peeled and diced

1 medium onion, diced

5 tbl butter

dried thyme, rosemary, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste (I sprinkle and smell)

1 lb ground beef

3-4 splashes Worcestershire sauce

3 tbl flour

1 3/4 cup beef broth (or less for a thicker gravy)

1 cup frozen peas

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook and caramelize parsnip, turnip, and onion in butter (about 10 min). Add mushrooms and seasonings, stir together for about 30 seconds, then turn off heat.

3. In another skillet, cook the beef; if there is a lot of fat leftover, partially drain. Do not drain completely. Add Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper. While at medium heat, add the flour, stirring contantly, and cook a couple of minutes. Add peas and slowly pour in broth and bring to a simmer, stirring occaisionally. Simmer until thickened.

4. Combine veggie and meat mixture in a 2 quart casserole dish. Add mashed potato mixture (recipe below). Place on a baking sheet in case of spills and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until mashed potatoes nice and puffy with golden tips.

For the mashed potatoes:

Boil in salted water until fork tender 5-6 red potatoes, peeled and chopped. Drain, then transfer to a stand mixer. Beat with the paddle until smooth. Add 2 tbl cream, 2 tbl milk, 2 tbl butter, 1 egg, and salt and pepper. Cream together. Adjust liquid if necessary.

Yield: 6 servings