weekend yum

Over the weekend, I spent some quality time in the kitchen. We were out of my much beloved bouillon, so I made a big, fresh batch, enough to have plenty in the fridge and freezer.  I even made a small batch that included fresh ginger and portabella mushrooms, for use in Asian recipes and in my new favorite soup, a lovely Spring Minestrone recipe from Super Natural Cooking.  I also tried my hand at making ghee (clarified butter), since I've only recently heard of it's health and cooking benefits.  If nothing else, it spreads on toast like silk and melts even faster than butter.  Next, I made a nice carrot soup, which was delicious served with fresh, plain yogurt dolloped on top.  

Sunday morning's inspiration came from the image up above and the discovery of this incredible blog.  I tried my hand at shirred eggs, but instead of using ham in the croquette like many recipes call for, I sautéed garlic and shitake mushrooms and sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top.  Delicious, but coma-inducing.  Even though it was 11:30 AM, I considered getting back into bed thanks to the heavy cream baked into the eggs.  Luckily, Ryan forced me outside for an afternoon walk to get some fresh air and to walk off the many calories I'd gained from breakfast.   

A lovely few days off, indeed.  

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

A week ago I mentioned my weekend plans would include these delectable little morsels in my baking plans.  Well, here's proof that I got to it (albeit a week or so late in posting).  

Here's the recipe I used and a simple equation that made it all possible.  I ended up with exactly 36 cookies, which lasted the two of us approximately 5 days of non-stop cookie eating enjoyment.  

Key ingredient that makes this chocolate chip cookie stand out: sea salt.  I'll never go back to regular, granulated salt in my cookies again.  

Start with this:

You'll get something that looks like this:

Take that and make this:

Bake these at 360 degrees for 14 minutes and you'll get this:

Easy math.  Enjoy!

Fall Favorites

What's your favorite fall food?

Got a great, have-to-try-it fall recipe?  Let's hear it.

Craving something, got an idea, but no recipe? I'd like to know that, too.

On my mind: Corkscrew pasta & artisan cheese, roasted Butternut soup, and homemade English muffins.

More ideas here. 

Wow.

It seems like a few of these would make the day sooo much better...

NUTTER BUTTER COOKIES (by Nancy Silverton)

Yield: 36 cookies

Cookies:

12oz unsalted butter, cool, 1 vanilla bean, 2 cups quick cooking rolled oats, ¾ cup sugar, ¾ cup brown sugar, ¾ cup chunky peanut butter, I prefer JIF, 2 ¼ cups AP flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp salt.

- In a medium sized skillet, melt 4oz of butter over medium heat. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Toss the seeds and the pod into the butter along with the oats. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly, until the oats are lightly toasted and golden brown. Transfer the oat mixture to a bowl, discarding the vanilla bean pod, and chill in the fridge.

- Place the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

- In a stand mixer, cream the butter on medium speed for a minute with the paddle attachment. Slowly pour in the sugars and continue creaming until the mixture is light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the peanut butter and mix just until combined. Lower the speed and add the chilled oats, mixing until just combined.Turn off the mixer and add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together in a ball.

- Roll the dough into 2″ balls, or use a scooper to scoop out individual portions and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Slightly flatten each cookie and use a knife to score each cookie with criss-cross patterns. Chill the dough for about 15 minutes.

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. They should be lightly browned. Cool completely.

Filling:

3oz butter, cool, 1½ tsp salt, 6 TBSP powdered sugar, 1 cup + 2 TBSP natural chunky peanut butter

- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and salt on medium speed for about a minute, until the butter is softened.

- Add the sugar and peanut butter and mix another minute to combine.

- Assemble and Enjoy!

{image and recipe text via lookimadethat.com}

Have a Tasty Weekend + 15 Days

Have a good one, everyone!  

We'll be enjoying some of these delicious bars over the weekend (the whole house smells of yumm since they're baking in the oven as I type)!

In 15 days I get married. OMG!

Enjoy some crisp weather, wherever you are. xoxo

+++

22 Days...

Last night (in preparation for honeymooning in a tropical climate) I did sit-ups, inversions, and push-ups... in between episodes of Spain: On the Road Again.  Of course I preceded the exercising with the closest thing I could get to Spain: a few glasses of French Grenache.

Mario Batali is from Seattle, too!

His fleece vests are a dead give-away of PNW roots.

GP, on the other hand...stripes and scarves: New Yorker.

Watching this series made me reconsider our plans to go to Tahiti and New Zealand for our honeymoon, but then I remembered how completely spoiled rotten we are for going to Tahiti and New Zealand... 

Suddenly, I'm feeling a little better.

+++

Over the Weekend Recipe: 24 hour pickles

I've never pickled or canned anything before, so when I read in RealSimple that you can make pickles without a pressure cooker, pectin or special jars, I got so excited!  

I can't tell you how much I love pickles.  Crunchy, zesty, dill pickles, to be exact.

{Photo by Christopher Baker}

This recipe is fast, easy and really works! If you're a pickle lover but don't have experience canning, give this recipe a try.

24 Hour Pickles

(adapted from RealSimple)

4 Kirby cucumbers, quartered lengthwise

3/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 small sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Walla Walla), thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon dill seed
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Sea salt

Directions:

Place the quartered cucumbers in a 1-quart jar (a used pasta sauce jar worked great for me).

In a bowl, combine the vinegar, onion, garlic, sugar, dill seed, peppercorns, bay leaf, 2 teaspoons salt, and ¾ cup hot tap water. Whisk well until the sugar dissolves.

Pour the vinegar mixture into the jar with the cucumbers, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 day before serving. The pickles should last up to 1 week and taste best on day two or three. Enjoy!

Over the Weekend Recipe: Potato Corn Chowder

There's nothing like a rainy day where you can light a sweet smelling candle, curl up with a book, have something warm to eat and let coziness emanate throughout the room. 

With so many sweltering hot days in the Mid-Atlantic lately, a cool, wet day this last Sunday was an unexpected treat.  I had three ears of corn, an onion and a handful of potatoes left over from a produce box from Delaware. What better than to put them to use by making a thick, summer vegetable soup?

Potato Corn Chowder
(adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)

Ingredients:
3 ears of corn
4 medium red potatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 cups milk
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 flour
Pepper (or even cayenne) to taste

Start by cutting the corn off the cob and setting the kernels aside.  Put 4 cups of water in a large pot on med-high and toss in the cobs, season with salt and pepper.  Bring to boil, then let simmer for 30 minutes.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and once melted, add the chopped onions and sugar.  Cook until soft on medium-high heat, about two minutes.  Add the flour slowly and whisk together.  Cook for 5 minutes, whisking and stirring constantly. 

Remove corn cobs from the corn stock-water, then add the onion and flour mixture.  Next, add the milk, cream, corn and potatoes and stir well.  Raise heat to medium-high, bring to boil, then reduce heat and let simmer while covered on for 30 minutes.  Add a dash of cayenne, then salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

+++

Weekend Plans: Breakfast in Bed

Breakfast is such a treat.  Ryan and I are (far too) often out on a mid-week morning having breakfast somewhere in the city.  While I prefer the cheery atmosphere and Mexican inspired flavors of Golden West Cafe, my fiance prefers the quirk, kitsch and no frills breakfast choices at Paper Moon Diner (click on the link and get a feel for the utter weirdness that is Paper Moon).

The best thing about breakfast, though, is that you can create a delicious meal right at home, without too much trouble. 

Recently, I was inspired to stay in and cook at home thanks to this fabulous, fresh recipe found on NPR's website, Kitchen Window.

Eggs Baked with Spinach and Feta in Tomato Shell

"This is one of my favorite breakfasts. It is quick, healthy and delicious. If you slice through the middle, you will see the red of the tomato, green of the spinach and white and yellow from the egg all piled on top of one another. It is great for entertaining or even a multitasking morning: Finish getting ready as they bake away in the oven. The recipe is adapted from 60-Minute Gourmet by Pierre Franey (Times Books 1992). " -Eve Turow of NPR.

Here's the Recipe:

You'll Need:

4 large ripe tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium eggs
4 tablespoons feta cheese
1 pound spinach

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut off tomato tops and set aside (may be used later as garnish). Run a paring knife around the inside edge of the tomato and scoop out insides, creating a tomato shell. Sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper and turn the tomatoes upside down on a towel to dry and drain out any excess liquids.

In the meantime, steam or saute the spinach. To steam, fill a pan with a thin layer of water and bring to a boil. Turn off the burner, add the spinach and cover the pan until the spinach wilts. Drain out excess water once the spinach is cooked. Stand the tomatoes right side up in a pan, and place approximately 1/4 cup spinach into the bottom of each, pressing down to make room for other ingredients. Break an egg inside each tomato shell. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and feta cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not let the yolks become too firm. Serve immediately.

*Recipe borrowed from NPR's Kitchen Window

+++

Think about all the delicious variations this recipe could yield! Chevre goat cheese or even a nice Brie instead of Feta?  Sauteed sweet peppers and broccoli instead of spinach? You could even substitute the tomato shell for a sweet pepper and do a breakfast stuffed pepper, adding cheese, veggies and an egg to the inside of a small green pepper. 

Weekend Plans? Breakfast in Bed, my friends.  I hope your weekend is restful, cheery and just wonderful.  Enjoy some sunshine!

Domestic Therapy

"The holistic life, the life of health, requires finding a balance within the boundaries of all three separate but interlocking economies; all three are bound together in a sacramental relationship that lasts always."
-Sam Hamill, Shadow Work

+++ 

Cooking makes me feel better.  Cooking gets me up and on my feet, it invokes my creative spirit, it provides me a distinct sense of satisfaction and productivity.  There is something quite mystical that can happen in the kitchen. 

I've never been much of a runner, but I've heard of the so-called "zone".  I'd like to think I can find that "zone" while chopping vegetables or whipping butter.  A place of intense focus, of satisfaction, of actively pursuing a means to an end.

Sure, not everyone feels this sense when in the kitchen.  As with many domestic tasks, the joy can be lost in the demand and strain these chores add to our lives, as so many other voices and obligations scream out in competition for our attention.  But when we stop and give attention to the task at hand, push aside all the other voices and demands, there lie a beautiful opportunity at hand, right there in the kitchen.

Tres Frijoles

Tasty little morsels

Basil from my container garden

Italian Parsley from my container garden

Chives from my container garden

First corn of the season

Herbs, tomatoes, peppers and seasoning mixed together

Something to take the edge off

*actually, it's just blood orange soda,
I often serve juice in a martini glass just for the effect.

The same goes for wearing high heels when no one else is around...

again, it's those little things in life!

+++

I hope this long weekend allows time for you and yours to find rest and renewal.  And a few tasty morsels, too.