Orange Fennel Salad

No baby yet, but any day now!

I'm doing great for someone 39 weeks and 4 days preggo, with ankles as swelling-free as before baby.

I am still craving sweet foods like crazy, and citrus is one of the few things other than chocolate I really want to eat these days.

How perfect is it that our farm box had a half dozen oranges and a fennel (which, at least in seed form, is supposed to increase milk supply) bulb last week?

This is one of my favorite salads. It's easy to put together, looks glamorous, and keeps well for up to three days in the fridge as the fennel softens and the flavors marry.

You will need:

• One fennel bulb with greens
• Several navel oranges or similar variety
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
• A large bowl to serve salad
• Additional salad leaves like butter lettuce of romaine if desired

1. Peel off outer layer of fennel bulb, slice off the thick root end, and chop off greens an inch below their base. You want the cleaner, thinner inner part of the bulb for this salad.
2. Chop and reserve a couple table spoons of the fennel greens.
3. Cut the trimmed bulb in half from top to bottom, then very thinly slice against the grain into half moons, you want the fennel as close to paper-thin as possible. Lay your slices of fennel in the large bowl. Keep in mind that you'll want about equal portions of fennel and orange, give or take depending on your own taste.
4. Peel and halve oranges, then thinly slice them into half moons as you did with the fennel, only orange slices should be about 1/4 inch thick. I recommend using a flexible plastic cutting board to you can poor the orange juice into the salad bowl as it pools.
5. Once you have your orange and fennel in the bowl, drizzle with a 1/2 teaspoon or so extra virgin olive oil per cup of salad, sprinkle lightly with sea salt, chopped fennel greens, and ground pepper.
6. Gently toss salad to mix ingredients, the olive oil and orange juice mix to create the dressing.
7. Either serve as is, or lay atop a bed of torn romaine or butter lettuce leaves.

Alternately, you can lay round (instead of half-moon) fennel and orange slices on a platter and drizzle them with the olive oil and juice, much as you would a caprese salad.

MLK Cake 2012

Martin Luther King Jr cake for 2012, J & my 7th meeting-anniversary, and 8th MLK Cake.

Raspberry cake with vanilla butter-cream frosting and chocolate glaze.

Post under construction!

2005 3 days after meeting the love of my life

2006-2007 lost on an old hard drive somewhere

2008

2009

2010

2011

Pumpkin Bread

Maybe it's the season change, maybe it's the pregnancy and my new fondness for baked goods, but this year I haven't been able to get enough pumpkin bread/ muffins/ pie/ etc...

To celebrate the darker days and annual turning-on-of-the-heater I've been baking pumpkin bread. It's inspired by my mom's delicious original recipe, but I've tried to make it a tad healthier by cutting sugar and adding some fiber. (To you know, counteract all that butter in the picture above.)

Pumpkin Bread (1 standard loaf)

• DRY ingredients
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup teff flour
• 1/4 cup oats
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves (if you don't have all these spices 2 tsps pumpkin pie spice mix wil do)
• 1 tsp baking soda

• WET ingredients
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/3 cup milk (eggnog makes a great substitution!)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin

1. Mix dry ingredients together.
2. Mix wet ingredients together.
3. Combine wet and dry.
4. Optional- Add 1 cups walnuts or other nuts/seeds, etc (for the loaf pictured I use 1/2 cup each chopped pecans and persimmon.)
5. Pour into lighted greased and floured loaf pans.
6. Bake one hour ten minutes in 350 oven.

I've also learned some really valuable lessons about substitutions in baking during the process...

• Though it has a delicious nutty flavor, teff flour makes for a much crumblier loaf than all-purpose flour. Be warned your sliced loaves will fall apart.
• You cannot substitute molasses for sugar. The flavor may be good, but the loaf will collapse.
• Neither can you substitute equal parts bran for flour, see collapse problem above.

And the real prize, for sticking with me, my mom's pumpkin bread recipe:

Makes two standard loaves

3 cups sugar
3.5 cups flour
1.5 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
.5 tsp cloves
2 tsp soda

4 eggs
1 cup oil
.67 cups milk
2 cups pumpkin

Mix dry ingredients together.
Mix wet ingredients together.
Combine wet and dry.

Add two cups walnuts or other nuts/seeds, etc (optional).

Pour into lighted greased and floured loaf pans. Bake one hour ten minutes in 350 oven.

End of Summer Soup

So good I only got pictures of one 1/2 eaten bowl

This hearty end of summer soup is a great low-attention one-pot meal for when the skies cloud over and the weather turns cold.

And for when your preggo taste-buds finally start responding to a wider range of flavors than fat and sweet.

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 bell peppers (one yellow one red), chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 3 springs thyme
• 6 sage leaves, torn
• 1/4 cup basil leaves, chiffonaded
• 4 cups chicken broth/ stock (veggie or mushroom as a substitute)
• 1/2 cup roast turkey, roughly chopped or torn to bite-size pieces (baked tofu if making a vegetarian/vegan soup)
• 4 cups roughly chopped ripe tomatoes, heirloom, beefsteak, red, yellow, purple- doesn't matter, just don't bother peeling or seeding
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled (pasteurized for us preggos, none for vegans!)
• 1/2 cup dry egg noodles (substitute with orecchiette if going vegan)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten (vegans leave this out, obviously)
• 4 cups well-washed spinach, dried and chopped
• green olive bread, lightly toasted and buttered

1. in large non-reactive stock pot heat oil at medium high. add chopped onion and saute until fragrant & translucent
2. add celery and carrot and saute a few more minutes
3. add jalapeno, bell peppers, sage, thyme and turkey (tofu) saute until peppers are fragrant and soft, giving a good stir every minute or two. the goal here is to get a light coat of brown on as many veggies as possible. however, your pot might be a bit crowded, so don't worry if it doesn't work out
4. toss in all the tomatoes and reduce heat to medium low, cover and let cook until tomatoes are thoroughly broken down, stirring occasionally. this will probably take around an hour. here's where your laziness in not peeling or seeding pays off- the confetti of colorful skins adds visual interest and texture to the soup
5. once the tomatoes have broken down into an easy liquid, stir in your broth and bring back to a simmer, let simmer another 10-15 minutes covered
6. thoroughly mix your crumbled feta, egg noodles and beaten egg in to the soup. cover and set a kitchen timer for 5 minutes
7. when the alarm goes off stir in basil and 1/2 the chopped spinach, leave uncovered and set alarm for another 5 minutes
8. when the alarm goes off again, remove your soup from the heat and fold in the remaining spinach. keep soup covered, away from heat until it's cool enough to dish up
9. if you can find one, serve with a green (or black) olive baguette- the combination of sweet, salty, spicy soup and sour bread is heavenly.

Weekend Adventure (3 days to enjoy home)

J & I had a weekend mini-adventure before I head off again for a few days in Santa Barbara, right on the tail of my few days in Tacoma, WA.


Tacoma Narrows Bridge, taken at the Tacoma History Museum

Saturday we explored the Fremont Weir State Wildlife Area north of Davis


View Larger Map


I'm pretty sure I flew in over the reserve Friday on my way home.

Photoed over at our joint Tumblr, ManyIrishTears.net (there is a story behind that name) and on my Flickr.

We also ventured to the 19th annual Pacific Rim Street Festival in Old Sac Sunday, where we had some unfortunately mediocre Asian street food (great Lumpia though) saw some Taiko, Hawaiian dancing, and Tai Chi.

Now it's time to move my clothes from one suitcase to another and enjoy some down-time together.

Sweet & Sour request

Does anyone out there in the internets have a good recipe for Sweet & Sour Sauce from scratch; like using fresh tomatoes and pineapples, rather than cans of tomato (or god forbid, ketchup) and pineapple?

This is something I'll be experimenting with once tomatoes come in season.

Pão de Queijo

These delicious cheesy doughy balls were everywhere in Brazil- every meal included them and the airports smelled of them.
Even more than the endless amounts of charred cow, Pão de Queijo will always remind me of my first trip to Brazil; I knew they'd be the first thing I tried making after getting home (and almost everything else was just seared meat anyways...)


Pão de Queijo

• 500 grams- about 3.5-4 cups Tapioca flour
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 cup of cooking oil
• 1 Tbsp salt
  
• 3-4 eggs
• 2 cups grated/crumbled cheeses
  
• few pinches extra salt

1. Measure Tapioca flour into a heat-proof, large (it will hold everything) bowl
2. Boil milk, oil and salt together
3. Pour milk/oil mixture into the tapioca flour (you may not need all the liquid) and stir until it becomes a big pasty mess, similar to choux
4. Set aside the mixture to cool while you grate and/or crumble your 2 cups of cheeses- I used 1 cup Greek feta, 1.5 cups Parmesan and .5 cups sharp Irish cheddar
5. Preheat oven to 360 degrees
   
6. Beat in 2 eggs, 1 at a time, then add 1/2 the cheese
7. Beat in the 3rd egg, if it's looking too watery omit the 4th egg, if not, beat it in too, stir in the remaining cheese
8. You should now have a thick, smooth dough
9. Spoon heaping spoonfuls of dough onto lined cookie sheets, keeping in mind that Pão de Queijo will grow close to 25%
10. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt and bake at 360 degrees for 15-20 minutes
11. Pão de Queijo is best served hot fresh from the oven, but good reheated too.

The recipe I've posted is slightly tweaked from the one I used- my batter was a bit too liquid* and my dough-balls flattened too much as a result, see above; if anyone tries making these let me know how Pão de Queijo turns out for you!

*UPDATE- on a second making it turns out mine was liquidy just because the milk/oil mixture cooled too much before I added it, pour it into the flour while still boiling and you'll be fine.

Kimchi Noodle Soup

I promise I'll get to the Brazilian recipes soon, but for now it's last night's dinner.

I'd had some kimchi fermenting in the fridge for, oh, 5+ months, and decides it was time to clear up space and use it up. Since kimchi is pretty potent stuff I needed a recipe that would survive adding 3-4 cups of kimchi, which isn't exactly something you can top a delicate salad with. A restaurant near us has kimchi soup on the menu, and I decided to try a variation on the idea.

Warning: there is nothing at all, in any way authentic about this soup, it came straight from my palate-brain connection.

Kimchi Noodle Soup, serves 2-4 depending on hunger levels.

For the soup:

• 1 spring onion, thinly sliced
  
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
  
• 3-4 cups kimchi
• 4 cups broth
• Udon noodles for 2
• 2 eggs beaten with some water
• Black pepper to taste

1. In large stock pot heat sesame oil, then saute onion until fragrant, but still green
2. Add kimchi and broth to pot ( I had chicken on hand, but imagine fish, mushroom or a mild vegetable broth would all be good, and easily adjustable to any dietary restrictions), season with black pepper and turn off heat
3. Let the flavors marinate at room temperature while you make your own noodles, or for 1/2 hour or so to mellow out the kimchi
4. Turn stove-top to high heat and bring soup to a rapid boil
5. Add noodles and reduce heat slightly
6. When noodles are almost done add egg mixture to soup and cook one minute
7. Let soup cool ever so slightly
8. Serve steaming, garnished with red pepper flakes and Brag's amino acids or a drop of soy sauce.
   

Unfortunately, we ate all this up before I took a picture, but it was good.

If you're feeling ambitious, or like planning ahead for several months, here are the complete steps.

For kimchi:

You could use store-bought kimchi, but the stuff made at home has more personality. I know there are many many variations on kimchi, since I'm allergic to shrimps I leave them out, and make it as follows.

In large, seal-able glass or ceramic bowl combine:

• white vinegar
• rice wine vinegar
• lots of chopped garlic
• 1 Tbsp + red pepper flakes
• fish sauce
• thinly sliced Napa / green cabbage, as for a slaw
  
• mung bean sprouts

You'll want to taste the sauce as you go, making sure it's not too vinegary, is very spicy, and has plenty of fish sauce. You don't need to cover the cabbage and sprouts completely as they'll wilt over time, and a thorough tossing once in a while ensures even flavoring/ fermentation. I keep the bowl in the back of the fridge, using bits of the kimchi over time, and adding leftover sprouts and bits of cabbage from other recipes. I'm not sure of the real use-by timeline on this as I'm partial to pickled and fermented food anyways, but I think it lasts a long time.

For noodles:

I also attempted to make my own noodles for this soup, what I made turned out pretty good for a first try, but you might just want to stick with store-bought udon or rice noodles.

• 1 cup tapioca flour
• .5 cup AP wheat flour
• water egg mixture as needed

1. in large bowl combine tapioca and wheat flours, making a well in the middle
2. start moistening the flours with water, no more that a 1/4 cup to begin with; be warned that tapioca flour is just like cornstarch- it melts when you're not touching it and crumbles when you apply any force
3. once you have a slightly sticky but coherent dough ball, knead the hell out of it
4. let dough rest a while
5. using AP flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, roll sections of dough out to as close to 1/8 an inch think as you can get- in full disclosure I always fail at that part, and am lucking for a chunky 1/5 inch thick noodle.
6. let noodles rest/dry for at least an hour before using.
7. If unlike me you're not pulling a recipe out of your back-side, I suggest using that instead.
   

Kale & Salami Pizza

Last fall I when I was in Seattle for a week, I went to Salumi at the urging of my friend Jason, and this famous chef guy that I may or may not have had a crush on back since this book came out.

Normally, salami can be a bit of a turn off, strange processed meat stuff with fat particles that get stuck in your teeth--ugh.

Not the case with Salumi Salami, it is amazing; complex flavors, well-balanced texture- I'm never going back to the Costco stuff.

Some four months later recipe inspiration struck.
A week later I had Finocchiona and Salumi Salami in hand, Kale had returned to my farm box, and I was ready for Kale & Salami Pizza.

You will need:

• Pizza dough for one pizza, from your favorite recipe, or your amazing local bakery (mine sells both raw and par-baked pizza dough)
  
• one bunch dinosaur kale, washed and chopped ( I only used 2/3 a bunch, and will definitely use and entire bunch next time- it really shrinks)
  
• high quality salami
• 1/4 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  
• olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• mozzarella cheese, shredded
  
• parmesan cheese, grated

Four sauce

• one can tomato sauce, normal size
  
• one can tomato paste, the teeny cans
  
• paprika
• oregano, fresh or dried or both
• garlic powder
• several cloves fresh garlic, minced
• salt & pepper
  

1. Preheat oven with pizza stone (if you have one) to 510 degrees
2. Combine all sauce ingredients, spicing to taste, in a large bowl and set aside
3. If you're using raw dough, wrestle in to shape. If you're lazy like me and using shaped par-baked dough, make sure it's thawed and set aside
4. In large bowl toss chopped kale with salt, pepper and just enough olive oil to lightly coat, set aside
5. Grate mozzarella cheese, enough to mostly cover your dough with a thin sprinkling
6. Slice your salami very thinly, I used both varieties, seven thin slices of each I then cut in half for 28 thin half-rounds total
   
7. Gently spread dough with pizza sauce. You want it to just moisten and flavor your pizza, not drown it
8. Sprinkle mozzarella over pizza, reserving 1/2 handful for later
   
9. Hand grate some parmesan over pizza
10. Evenly distribute sliced salami, onion and kale over the pizza
11. Toss remaining mozzarella over the pizza to hold kale down, this should be just a bit, don't smother the kale and salami
    
12. Finally, hand grate more parmesan over the top, this will give it an extra flavorful crispy top.
13. Bake pizza at 510 degrees for about 10 minutes or until crust is desired crispness, checking regularly after six.
14. Let pizza cool until it's approachable, slice and serve.
    

Manchurian Vegetables

Welcome to Amelia's blog which is rapidly becoming about only foods that taste good but photograph terribly.



Today's installment is a variation on Manchurian Cauliflower;

again, adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

• 4 petite or 2 normal heads cauliflower, 4-5 cups worth, trimmed of stem and greens
  
• 4 carrots
• 3 cups baby spinach leaves, rinsed and chopped
• 1Tbsp sesame seed oil
  
• 4 stalks green garlic, chopped (2-3 cloves normal garlic works too)
  
• 2/3 cup ketchup- homemade is preferred, but who would I be kidding? I used Heinz Once you stop gagging trust me, or rather trust Bittman- it's good
  
• 1 Tbsp Sriracha or other hot chili sauce
  
• 1/8 tsp anise seeds
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce

1. Blanch or steam cauliflower (and carrots) until tender and no longer "cabbagey."
2. In wok heat sesame oil over medium heat and saute green garlic until it is fragrant and begins to brown.
3. Stir in ketchup, Sriracha, anise, cinnamon and soy sauce with garlic and cook until sauce begins to bubble.
4. Meanwhile separate cauliflower into chopstick-manageable size pieces and chop carrots into 1/3 inch thick rounds
   
5. Gently fold cauliflower, carrots and spinach into sauce.
6. Cook until spinach is wilted.
7. Let vegetables cool a bit, and serve over brown rice.
   

Welsh Rarebit

J was stuck in Vegas for a week. Yes, stuck. I went for a long weekend with him, and the scene there? Not really (more diametrically opposed to) our style.

His flight home was delayed, it was cold, raining- some comfort food was is order. The hotel we stayed at had a "cheddar stout soup" on the menu, and rarebit was on my mind.


Welsh Rarebit
from Mark Bitman's How to Cook Everything

For sauce:

• 1lb cheddar, shredded; Irish, sharp, aged--something strong enough to stand up to the stout
• 3/4+ cup stout; I used Guiness
• Worcestershire sauce; 2 Tbsp or to taste
• Dash cayenne; I was out (shocking!) so used hot paprika
• 1 Tbsp mustard; should be dry, but I used Dijon
  
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1. In heavy-bottomed sauce pan heat butter over medium-low until melted
2. Gently add in flour. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it's golden brown. 3-4 minutes.
3. Whisk in cayenne and mustard
4. Slowly pour in stout, whisking until texture is homogeneous
   
5. Reduce heat to low and whisk in handfuls of cheese until completely melted
6. Be careful not to overheat, or yours will breakdown like mine. Also, don't be lazy and chop cheese instead of shredding- it makes it heat unevenly and breakdown, like mine.
7. Remove sauce from heat; it will keep a day.
8. When you're reheating don't forget and leave sauce on the stove while you go to get husband from the airport; it'll overheat and breakdown like mine.
9. If this does happen, you can kinda rescue the sauce with careful additions of more flour, beer and cheese. I do not recommend getting your sauce in a situation where it needs rescuing.
   

To Serve:

1. Have grand ambitions to do this eggs benedict style.
2. Realize it's late and you don't have the time for a multi-dish broiling process.
   
3. Toast both sides of thick bread slices under the broiler until pretty dry
4. roast any veggies you have on hand (I had leeks, broccoli and cauliflower) until tender
5. poach one egg per person
   
6. Put toasts on large cookie sheet and spread each lightly with sauce
   
7. top toasts with a few of the roasted vegetables, and a healthy (really not healthy) scoop of sauce and broil until bubbly
   
8. place toasts in bowl or on plate with remaining veggies and top with egg
   
9. serve immediately
   

Linguine with Chorizo + Clams

Hey look- it's a post!

I have lots of recipes to update with...



See, I'm not lying!

It's just hard to spend that many more hours at the computer. I guess you could say I'm suffering from a motivation problem. Even worse, most of my winter recipes are now out-of-season; I was just bemoaning the end of Kale.

Mourning the passing of kale from my farm box- the one food I'd be happy eating every meal.7:42 PM Feb 11th via Echofonamelia
aemalkin

Which at least half my winter recipes have used, dammit.

We usually fancy it up for Christmas, but this (technically last) year I didn't have a damn thing planned for our usual romantic feast. Lucky for me, there's almost nothing seasonal in the recipe, so I can post it 2+ months after the fact, and not feel like anyone reading this would need to wait a year to try out the recipe.

Really I was just craving clams again (which always seem like a "fancy" special food to me) when I saw chorizo at the store and thought "mmm spicy" and was inspired. I googled around for some recipes using both and found the two below. I had a suspicion it'd be a bit too much flavor, but turned out fantastic!

Though it's not a meal worthy of the tittle "feast" the idea seemed like it needed sharing, so we invited a friend over for some pre-Christmas wine & wii; a good time was had by all.



Linguine with Chorizo + Clams
inspired by Emeril and Smitten Kitchen

• 1 lb fresh linguine (I used two-color because that's what the store had, but would prefer normal)
  
• 1 lb little neck clams, fresh in shells
• 4.5 oz chorizo, about 1 1/2 sausages
• 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/8 tsp saffron threads
• dry white wine
• 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
• olive oil
• chicken broth
• pinch red pepper flakes
• juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon
• handful roughly chopped parsley
  
• Parmesan for garnish
  

1. in heavy bottomed sauce pan saute chorizo in just a splash of olive oil until it releases its fat
   
2. add in garlic, onion and red pepper flakes
   
3. when onion is soft and fragrant add a half cup of white wine or broth, use it to scrape up any bits stuck to the pan
4. add clams to pan
5. pour in enough, equal parts, chicken broth & white wine (or one or the other) to not quite cover the clams. this will be your sauce for the pasta, so keep in mind how wet or dry you'd like it to be- as long as there's enough liquid for the clams to steam you'll be ok. stir in the saffron threads
   
6. cover clams and let them steam in broth
7. after clams open (discard any who don't) add parsley and lemon juice to broth
8. distribute pasta, clams and broth evenly between 3-4 bowls, garnish with freshly grates parmesan
9. serve with a robust red wine and crusty french bread
   

The process

MLK Day 2011

We had the best meeting-anniversary weekend this year.



Among other things, a return to simple, tasty, unambitious, portrait stencil cake. (Those cupcakes? Nearly the death of me.)



Coated in whipped cream, cocoa stencil.



Vanilla & chocolate genoise cake.



Cakes layered with chocolate ganache and multi-berry whipped cream.

Recipe when (if) I get to it, may be 2012!



And the best co-baker anyone could hope for.

Potato Parsnip Latkes

It's that time of year again, I even remembered with days to spare!

This year my farm box doesn't have leeks yet, but I do have parsnips for the first time. I've never cooked a parsnip before, but assumed they'd go great in latkes. While the flavor was fantastic, they turn a bit creamier than I'd like in a crispy latke; good enough I recommend trying it. Maybe someone has advice on how to keep the crispiness?

• 2 medium parsnips (2 cups worth once julienned)
  
• a few handfuls worth of potato, I used 4-5 small ones (also 2 cups julienned)
• 1 carrot, shredded
• zest of 1 lemon
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 Tbsp barley flour (use all AP if you don't have barley)
  
• 2 Tbsp AP flour
• peanut or other high-heat oil

1. Thoroughly scrub parsnips and potatoes
2. Peel parsnips. I almost never peel my potatoes, but that's a personal choice.
3. Julienne parsnips and potatoes and toss them in a large bowl together
4. Lightly salt the vegetables to release moisture, then press it from them with a dish or paper towel (you don't want lint in the latkes!)
5. Mix in shredded carrot, it's mostly there for color.
   
6. Toss flours with the vegetables. Barley flour enhances the sweet earthiness of the parsnip with nuttiness, but using all AP would be fine
7. whisk eggs and lemon zest, stir into julienned vegetables
8. preheat oven to 375 degrees
9. heat oil in large cast iron skillet to high
10. when oil is quite hot drop mixture into oil one heaping teaspoon at a time, careful not to crowd skillet
11. brown latke on each side, approximately 1-2 minutes per side, then remove to foil lined baking sheets
12. when baking sheets are full, move to oven and bake 20-25 minutes
13. remove and serve immediately with plain yogurt and apple sauce
    

As a side I served spinach salad with a dressing made of 1 Tbsp red bell pepper and ancho chili
jam, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, and 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Deviled Eggs 2010

For the Thanksgiving deviled eggs this year I used a flavor combination I have been very much into lately. It brightens up the cool days, but doesn't seem as seasonally incongruous as say a strawberry balsamic would (not to mention how strange that would be in deviled eggs...) Mostly I've been using these ingredients together as a salad dressing or quick pasta sauce, but imagine they'd also be fantastic on fish.

At any rate, these are the deviled eggs. No pictures; they were eaten up before I remembered my camera.

The amount of each of these ingredients will vary depending on the size and tastes of your group, as always, proportions are to taste.

• enough eggs for your group, one whole egg per person is a good estimate
  
• extra virgin olive oil
  
• capers, as many as you'd like
  
• garlic, minced
  
• lemon zest, one lemon's worth
  
• mayonnaise (only for the deviled egg version)
  
• optional- a small amount of anchovies/anchovy paste, I would have used this if no vegetarians were present, but they were
• eggs, more than you need as some will break in the process
  
• paprika, to garnish
  

1. if your eggs are less than four days old leave them out at least overnight prior to boiling. This makes them much easier to peel than very fresh eggs.
2. boil eggs and let cool completely
3. with a super sharp knife cut eggs lengthwise, put whites in one bowl and yolks in another
4. rinse whites clean, then return to bowl
5. in large bowl, beat together eggs and appropriate amount of mayonnaise until fluffy (a few Tbsp should do it.) I used my kitchen aid this year. It was awesome.
6. beat in a Tbsp or two of olive oil, just enough to impart the flavor nicely
7. beat in capers, several cloves minced garlic, lemon zest and anchovy if using. I love capers, so used 4-5 Tbsp for one and a half dozen eggs, I would have used even more if I'd known they'd go over so well.
8. scoop all the yolk mixture into a zip-lock or pastry bag
   
9. cut off the corner of the bag and pipe a yolk-sized mound of yolk mixture in to each white half
10. garnish with paprika and serve, if I'd been thinking ahead or fancy I'd have garnished with additional lemon zest and a caper
    

Home Again, if only for a minute

I'm home from my 3.5 weeks in South East Asia (see previous map) with just enough time to catch my breath before I'm off to Seattle for a week, then three days later off to Europe for a week and a half!

Batu Caves

This rushing about the globe has left me unsure of night from day, and not cooking at all. But take one look at this picture and you know it's worth it.

(We did get the best anniversary present ever- my mom cooked and delivered over a week's worth of gourmet meals, nothing better than being able to eat home cooking after nearly a month of eating out and not having to be the one doing the cooking!)

So excited that it's finally fall here at home and I get to wear all the sweaters I took out of storage before leaving for Asia; I'm also thrilled to see autumn in Europe, since I've only been in the height of summer.

I'm slowly posting pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aemalkin/sets/72157625082790046/

Between all the travel, a wedding two days before I left and one the the day after I got back, it's been sloooooow posting, but keep checking back!

easter benedict

I'm currently in a part of the world where pig is not on the menu.

I was going through old post drafts and thought what better time to share this hamalicious benedict recipe I've been meaning to post since we had it for Easter brunch!

• 1 bunch asparagus
• 2 ciabatta rolls, or loaf sliced into roll size portions
  
• enough prosciutto for two
• 2 eggs
  
• butter
• white wine vinegar
  
• hollandaise sauce (use your favorite recipe; a simple one or a traditional complex one; mental note to self to post my own recipe some time)

1. set pot of water large enough to hold asparagus on to boil
   
2. slice asparagus spears into thirds and blanch in boiling water until just cooked through, a few minutes, then submerge in icy water (or just steam it in the microwave)
   
3. slice ciabatta into halves, as you would for a sandwich, and lightly butter them
4. briefly broil buttered ciabatta until slightly toasted
   
5. scatter asparagus atop ciabatta, it will roll all over the place, and fold prosciutto slices on top of that
6. start making your hollandaise
7. broil rolls topped with prosciutto until it is slightly crispy, then keep warm in the oven
8. poach two eggs in vinegared water
9. when eggs are done remove the rolls from the oven and place eggs on top of prosciutto
10. cover the whole thing with hollandaise sauce to taste
    

yogurt cake

Yogurt cake is deceptively simple for it's easiness to fantastic taste ratio. It is great weekday cake, light dessert for casual company or easy Monday treat for coworkers.

Yogurt Cake, adapted from smitten kitchen

• 1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
• 1/3 minus 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (trust me)
• 1 cup white sugar
  
• juice and zest of 1/2 large very ripe orange
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 2 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups AP flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 9-inch cake pan
   
2. in mixing bowl combine yogurt, oil, sugar, juice, zest and vanilla
3. add eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated
4. sift all dry ingredients into moist, gently stirring until just combined
5. pour batter into cake pan and bake 35-45 minutes, until toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
6. let cake cool, then gently remove to wire rack to finish cooling
7. slice, serve, enjoy
   

You can fancy this cake up a bit by sifting powdered sugar over the top.
You can make a far richer dessert by using full-fat yogurt (I'm picturing maple brown-cow.)
You can add in fruit to the mix (blueberries anyone?)

This recipe is far more template than law; you can us any flavor yogurts, any fruit juices, what ever.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever, really.




We (J does the cookie baking) got this recipe from an issue of the dearly departed Gourmet magazine. Now the magazine automatically falls open to the crinkled-dough-encrusted page.

Chocolate Chip Cookies, from Gourmet April 2007 (normally I'd link to the recipe, but can't find it)



You will need:

• 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups AP flour
• 2 cups chocolate chips (or white chocolate or peanut butter chips, or nuts, or a combination, go wild, or not)

1. in mixer beat together butter sugars and salt until light and fluffy
2. add egg and vanilla and beat until combined
3. reduce speed and add flour, mix lightly until just combined
4. fold in chips. or nuts, or whatever
5. refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight (very important, if you don't, all that tasty butter will melt into one messy sheet-full of dough)
6. preheat oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper of baking mats
7. distribute 2 tbsp mounds of dough evenly on sheets
8. bake about 7 minutes then rotate sheet and bake 5-7 minutes more, until edges are golden brown
9. cool cookies on wire racks
   




10. Share with a friend

shakshuka

Sometimes, when I've had a particularly stressful week, I just want some comfort food.

But I also want something interesting. And healthy (ie not pizza or take-out Chinese, again.)




Shakshuka is one of those meals that is infinitely comforting, variable and satisfying. Plus it's relatively hands-off (which, if you've noticed a theme to most things I cook) is a week-night necessity.

To make this you will need:

• 2 chopped onions (red, yellow, white, combination thereof- it doesn't matter)
• at least 5 cloves chopped garlic
• 28 oz can tomatoes, whole preferred
  
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 2 chopped jalapenos (or more)
• 1 chopped anaheim pepper
• 1 chopped green bell pepper (any combination of green peppers is good)
• pinch red pepper fakes
  
• 1 egg per person
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• green herbs, to garnish (green onion, parsley, cilantro, thyme, etc...)

1. In heavy-bottomed large sauce pan/skillet heat olive oil over medium high
2. add onions and garlic, sauteing until soft, 5+ minutes
   
3. add all peppers and saute until fragrant and soft, 5+ minutes
4. open and dump in tomatoes and their juice
   
5. cover and reduce heat to medium low, let simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes begin to break down, 25+ minutes
   
6. as tomatoes soften, squish them into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon
   
7. once tomatoes are nice and soft, crack one egg per person over the top, and sprinkle with feta
8. cover and cook until eggs reach your desired firmness, usually just a few minutes for runny/soft yolks
9. spoon shakshuka and one egg into each person's bowl, garnish each bowl with the chopped green herbs
10. eat, be comforted, and relax
    

If it's really been one of those days/weeks I do the same thing, only with store-bought spaghetti sauce -not the same, but still nice.

If it hasn't been one of those weeks, I imagine you could make this almost as easily with fresh tomatoes (I'm lazy and wouldn't peel), although internet rumor has it only canned tomatoes are authentic.