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090331 - Blackberry Crumble

this recipe was adapted from The Silver Spoon. unfortunately we didn't have ice cream on hand, but it was still delicious.

ingredients:

3T butter
1/4 C oats
1/4 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C flout
1/2 C brown sugar
2 C (frozen) blackberries

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. add flour, oats, and half of the sugar to large bowl.
3. add butter, sliced into thin pieces and work into the flour mixture.
4. pour berries into glass loaf pan, or similarly proportioned oven proof dish, and sprinkle 2nd half of sugar on top.
5. spread topping over berries and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
   

090331 - Brucshetta

Unfortunately the bruschetta was so good that it didn't last long enough to photograph. Honestly.

ingredients:

• leftover bread from the 090326 post
  
• 1 C cherry tomatoes, diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 scallion minced
• 1-2 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 t salt
• 1T basil
• 1t oregano
• 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese (or thin sliced ball)

1. slice bread into 1/2 (or 3/8) inch thick slices, using a grilling brush, lightly coat with olive oil, and spread out on baking sheet.
2. turn oven to high broil.
3. broil bread 1- 1 1/2 min on each side (just wait till bread smell comes from the oven).
4. combine chopped tomato, vinegar, salt, basil, oregano,and let sit for 5- 10 minutes.
5. saute scallion over medium low heat for 8-10 minutes.
6. add onion to tomato mixture, add spoonful on top of each piece of toast, and a slice of mozzarella.
7. broil for 2-3 minutes, waiting till cheese begins to brown.
   

090327 - friday night pizza

joe and i are expert pizza makers. in college we began our friday night pizza tradition, buying Mama Mary's crust and throwing on sauce and toppings. this is cooking to a couple of college students. ever since graduating, we started making our own crust, which we now know is the heart and soul of a good pizza, and an art form. here is the recipe we have adapted from smitten kitchen:

ingredients:

• 7 1/2 tablespoons warm water (may need 1 T more water)
• 1/2 T white vinegar
  
• 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/4 cups white flour
• 1/4 C wheat flour
  

directions:

1. Whisk vinegar, water and yeast in a medium bowl until yeast has dissolved. Add honey, salt and olive oil and stir. Add flour and no matter how dry it looks, work it with a spoon and your fingers until it comes together as a dough. Add more water one tablespoon at a time if you need, but in my experience, this is almost never necessary.
2. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and knead the dough for a minute or two, until elastic.
3. If you’re like me and always trying to reduce the number of dirty dishes left at the end of the night, wash the bowl you made the dough in, dry it and coat the inside with olive oil. Put the dough in, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise for an hour or up to two, until it is doubled. If longer - stick it in the fridge
   
4. Meanwhile, make some sauce [recipe below].
5. Preheat your oven to its highest temperature. If you have a pizza stone, sprinkle it with cornmeal and put it in the oven. Otherwise, sprinkle a baking pan with the same.
6. Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured counter and gently deflate the dough with the palm of your hands. Form it into a ball and let it rest on a floured spot with either plastic wrap over it (sprinkle the top of the dough with flour so it doesn’t stick) or an upended bowl. In 15 minutes, it is ready to roll out.
7. Do so on the floured counter until pretty darn thin, then lift it onto a cornmeal-sprinkled baking sheet or pizza paddle. Add the sauce, torn-up mozzarella and slivers of fresh basil.
8. Slide the pizza from the paddle to your preheated pizza stone, or just put the baking sheet in the oven as is.
9. Bake for about 10 minutes, checking at 7. Slice and serve immediately.

090326 - Nana's pickles

Mmmm... pickles. I love pickles SO much that sometimes joe calls me pickle. I would eat them every day if I could. thanks to the running, I think we can afford to eat a little extra salt now and then... as far as storebought pickes go, I am loyal to Claussen kosher dill. they are the best. Now that we can't afford to be buying $4 jars of pickles once a week, so I make them for about $2! Here is the recipe that my Nana has been making ever since I can remember (slightly tweeked):

ingredients:

• 4 C cucumber (or zucchini)
• 1 C white vinegar
• 1 T celery seeds
• 1/2 C salt
• 2/3 C sugar
• 1 T mustard seeds (the best part)

directions:

1. slice cucumber thin and soak in solution of 1/2 C salt and ~ 2 quarts h2o for 8-12 hours (could be soaked overnight and cooked in the morning - just don't soak too long).
2. drain cucumber. combine vinegar, sugar, and spices in medium saucepan and heat to boiling.
   
3. add cucumber slices and boil for 10 min, stirring so all the cucumber slices get cooked and change color.
4. I store mine in glass canning jars- old pasta sauce containers work well, too.
   

090326 - bread + cream of broccoli soup

joe really wanted broccoli and cheddar soup. I hate to disappoint, but this soup recipe is so flexible, you can add your own cheese. and it's healthier. i admit that i got a little crazy with the ingredientes, but these things happen. here's what i did:

ingredients:

• 1T evoo
• 1 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 C water + 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 medium potatoes, washed and cubed
• 2 parsnips peeled and chopped
• 8 cups broccoli florets
• 1 C kale, chopped
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• ground black pepper to taste

directions:

1. Heat evoo in medium sized stock pot, and saute onion until tender.
2. Add potatoes, parsnips, and broth, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add broccoli and continue simmering for 10 more minutes.
3. In small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 2 tablespoons butter, stir in flour and add milk. Stir continually until thick and bubbly (keep stirring or it will stick to the pan!), and add to soup.
   
4. Using an immersion blender, chop up big chunks of broccoli stalk, potato chunks, and kale stems. Season with pepper (+ sharp cheddar cheese if your name is joe) and serve.

090325 - buttermilk pancakes

I had leftover buttermilk from making delicious soda bread on St. Patties Day. So I looked online and found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. Always read the reviews on the recipes... even the 4 3/4 star and 1,000 review recipes have room for improvement. We are always cooking for two (sometimes + a lunch). Here is our adapted recipe:

ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter. Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.
2. Preheat oven to 250 to keep the cakes warm as they come out of the pan.
   
3. Melt a T of butter at medium in a cast iron skillet (or frying pan). You can flick water across the surface and if it beads up and sizzles, it's ready!
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a spatula to fold until blended. Stir until it's just blended together. Do not over stir! Leave some lumps that WILL come out as you pour it into the pan. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Compote:

1. While cooking cakes, heat 2 C. frozen strawberries (we buy the big bag at GIANT and use them in smoothies, milkshakes, etc.) + 1 1/2 T sugar in the microwave for 3-4 minutes, or until strawberries get soft.