I haven't written for five months. But no biggie, I guess, it's not like this is a real blog with readers and a book contract as the happy ending. Plus, I can't keep up the cheerful bloggy tone. What have I been doing for the last five months? I started another blog, Portland Walk, that involved making Google maps of my walks. Then I sprained my ankle and couldn't go on any long walks for a while. And then I got a job as a technical writer, but being me, what with job preoccupation plus my need for copious down time and looking for a house and such, I haven't kept up with the blogging. But I do miss having an easy internet-reachable reference of my favorite recipes.
Here's something I sort of tried (and would like to try again, when the time is ripe):
Pinçage
Francis Lam gives recipes for mirepoix and pinçage on salon.com, in one of the most strangely written food pieces I've ever read. But I thought that the pinçage (a flavorful brown paste or mush made from long-cooked onion, carrot, and celery in oil) would make a good instant vegetable broth. I love to have broth on hand for soup, but am loathe to buy boxed vegetable broth at the grocery store, because the decent brands are quite expensive and you need several boxes to make a big pot of soup. Bouillon cubes, while cheaper, aren't very good. And making homemade broth is time consuming. I wouldn't mind making an enormous batch and freezing it, but don't have the freezer space to keep very much. Frozen pinçage paste could be the solution to my broth problem.
I made a half-assed version of the pinçage one day, keeping the flame too high, and leaving out the tomato paste, and it was good! I can no longer remember what kind of soup I used it for, but remember feeling satisfied with the experiment. Because my pinçage was lazy, the soup had bits of blackened vegetables floating in it, but flavor was excellent. One day, I'll make a big batch of pinçage just as Lam directs, and see if it makes a good instant vegetable broth.
Francis Lam made a guest appearance in Orangette's Spilled Milk podcast on peas.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Alicia Silverstone's pears
On one of my many recent flights between Portland and Chicago, I bought Natural Health magazine. After reading it I got rid of it somehow, and have been pining over it ever since. There were recipes I wanted to try! And it had a photo spread starring a woman from America's Next Top Model a few seasons back. What was her name? Pru? Something like that. She called herself "Blaxican," i.e., half black, half Mexican. I loved her! She should have won. But better than winning, she now seems to have an active modeling career.
Anyway, she was wearing a very cute sweater. I even looked it up online, and found that it was affordable. I can no longer remember the brand, though. I was also interested in an article about Alicia Silverstone and her new cookbook, which included a pear recipe I wanted to try. I did find it online, but not easily, because Natural Health's website doesn't offer current editorial content in any way, shape, or form. I think that's bad, but what do I know?
Here is the article. See, Natural Health? Hoarding editorial content doesn't protect it, and it angers your readers! Be more like Vegetarian Times.
I changed this recipe a lot, so be sure to check the original if you want the full Alicia Silverstone experience.
Candied Ginger Pears
1/2 cup toasted almonds, ground or finely chopped
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 large or 4 small pears, halved and core scooped out
1 1/2 cups pear juice
1 inch piece ginger root, grated or minced
Pinch of fine sea salt
2 tablespoons tapioca flour mixed with a little bit of pear juice
juice of 1/2 a lemon
zest of 1 lemon
ice cream, optional
1. Mix almonds with maple syrup. Set aside.
2. Arrange the pears in a deep skillet, cut sides up. Add the pear or apple juice to the pan along with the ginger and salt. Cover the pan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the pear halves are soft. Using a slotted spoon so most of the cooking liquid drains, transfer the pears to a serving platter, reserving the liquid. Fill the hollow of each pear with some of the almond mixture.
3. Stir the diluted tapioca starch into the reserved cooking liquid, and heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. If it gets too thick, add more pear juice. Remove from the heat, and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Pour the sauce over the pears, and serve. Nice with a scoop of ice cream.
Anyway, she was wearing a very cute sweater. I even looked it up online, and found that it was affordable. I can no longer remember the brand, though. I was also interested in an article about Alicia Silverstone and her new cookbook, which included a pear recipe I wanted to try. I did find it online, but not easily, because Natural Health's website doesn't offer current editorial content in any way, shape, or form. I think that's bad, but what do I know?
Here is the article. See, Natural Health? Hoarding editorial content doesn't protect it, and it angers your readers! Be more like Vegetarian Times.
I changed this recipe a lot, so be sure to check the original if you want the full Alicia Silverstone experience.
Candied Ginger Pears
1/2 cup toasted almonds, ground or finely chopped
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 large or 4 small pears, halved and core scooped out
1 1/2 cups pear juice
1 inch piece ginger root, grated or minced
Pinch of fine sea salt
2 tablespoons tapioca flour mixed with a little bit of pear juice
juice of 1/2 a lemon
zest of 1 lemon
ice cream, optional
1. Mix almonds with maple syrup. Set aside.
2. Arrange the pears in a deep skillet, cut sides up. Add the pear or apple juice to the pan along with the ginger and salt. Cover the pan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the pear halves are soft. Using a slotted spoon so most of the cooking liquid drains, transfer the pears to a serving platter, reserving the liquid. Fill the hollow of each pear with some of the almond mixture.
3. Stir the diluted tapioca starch into the reserved cooking liquid, and heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. If it gets too thick, add more pear juice. Remove from the heat, and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Pour the sauce over the pears, and serve. Nice with a scoop of ice cream.
Quinoa Casserole
My talented and beautiful friend Joelle made this casserole when we were visiting her recently. I've made it 3 times in the past few weeks.
3-4 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups grated cheddar cheese, preferrably sharp cheddar
3-4 eggs, beaten
1-2 T. soy sauce
2 bunches kale, cleaned, destemmed, and chopped
glug of olive oil
several chopped cloves of garlic
Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat some olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Saute the garlic over medium heat until fragrant and golden. Add kale and stir quickly for a minute or two, until bright green, wilted, and tender. Add a splash of water if the kale seems dry or is sticking to the bottom of the pot. Salt and pepper to taste. Let kale cool slightly.
In a big bowl, mix quinoa with cooled kale and 1 c. cheese. Taste, and add 1-2 T. soy sauce. You may need more or less depending on how much you salted the kale and how salty your cheddar is. After seasoning is corrected, mix thoroughly with beaten eggs.
Spread mixture into a large casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.
I also tried this with finely chopped raw broccoli instead of kale, and nutritional yeast in place of part of the cheese mixed into the casserole. Still good, but not AS good. I'd like to do a Tex-Mex version of this, with salsa, black beans, bell pepper, and so forth.
I never actually measure any of the ingredients, but that's the beauty of a casserole.
3-4 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups grated cheddar cheese, preferrably sharp cheddar
3-4 eggs, beaten
1-2 T. soy sauce
2 bunches kale, cleaned, destemmed, and chopped
glug of olive oil
several chopped cloves of garlic
Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat some olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Saute the garlic over medium heat until fragrant and golden. Add kale and stir quickly for a minute or two, until bright green, wilted, and tender. Add a splash of water if the kale seems dry or is sticking to the bottom of the pot. Salt and pepper to taste. Let kale cool slightly.
In a big bowl, mix quinoa with cooled kale and 1 c. cheese. Taste, and add 1-2 T. soy sauce. You may need more or less depending on how much you salted the kale and how salty your cheddar is. After seasoning is corrected, mix thoroughly with beaten eggs.
Spread mixture into a large casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.
I also tried this with finely chopped raw broccoli instead of kale, and nutritional yeast in place of part of the cheese mixed into the casserole. Still good, but not AS good. I'd like to do a Tex-Mex version of this, with salsa, black beans, bell pepper, and so forth.
I never actually measure any of the ingredients, but that's the beauty of a casserole.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
another birthday cake
I made another birthday cake, this time for Mike, using a similar recipe to "yellow cake with chocolate frosting" just below. This time, I filled the cake with seedless raspberry preserves, and used a different frosting recipe, courtesy Martha Stewart. Overall the cake was really good, but I wasn't 100% into the frosting. I'm not a frosting lover, though; so often buttercream-style frosting is too fatty, too sugary, too much. This frosting contains three sticks of butter, and nearly a pound of chocolate! Now that's decadent.
I would have tried a ganache, but Mike liked the sound of a buttercream. Actually, Martha S.'s ganache recipe sounds a little flabby too. Two and a half cups is a lot of heavy cream. Maybe a chocolate glaze is the ticket.
Really, what I want to try is a 7-minute frosting, light and fluffy. I've never tried it before, but it seems completely unlike a fat-based frosting. Maybe a chocolate cake, with heaps of feather-light vanilla icing. . . .
Still, a tasty cake. I'm going on and on about the issue of frosting, but it was lovely and delicious, and I'm coming to rely on the yellow cake recipe below. It's a keeper. Happy Birthday Mike! I love making birthday cakes.
I would have tried a ganache, but Mike liked the sound of a buttercream. Actually, Martha S.'s ganache recipe sounds a little flabby too. Two and a half cups is a lot of heavy cream. Maybe a chocolate glaze is the ticket.
Really, what I want to try is a 7-minute frosting, light and fluffy. I've never tried it before, but it seems completely unlike a fat-based frosting. Maybe a chocolate cake, with heaps of feather-light vanilla icing. . . .
Still, a tasty cake. I'm going on and on about the issue of frosting, but it was lovely and delicious, and I'm coming to rely on the yellow cake recipe below. It's a keeper. Happy Birthday Mike! I love making birthday cakes.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
yellow cake with chocolate frosting
For a recent birthday, I made a yellow cake with chocolate icing. It needed to be dairy and soy free to accomodate food allergies, so I adapted this recipe, Moist Yellow Cake on epicurious.com. It turned out so good. I'm still thinking about it. Because I replaced butter and buttermilk with coconut milk, it has a slight coconut taste, but that's all to the good.
3 cups (330 g) cake flour
1 tablebspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can coconut milk, thoroughly chilled in refrigerator
2 cups (454 g) granulated sugar
5 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
rice milk, or other milk
1 T. white vinegar or apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line with parchment paper two 8x2-inch (20x5-cm) round cake pans. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Open the can of coconut milk. Drain and reserve the watery liquid, and scoop the solid coconut oil into a measuring cup. You should have one cup of solid oil. With electric beater, beat the coconut oil until light and creamy in a large bowl. Stop and scrape the bowl. It will get very airy and light--even more so than butter. I was amazed at how well this worked.
4.Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs one at a time.
5. Measure your reserved coconut water, and add rice milk to equal one cup. Stir in vinegar and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a knife. Lift up the pan with the batter, and let it drop onto the counter top to burst any air bubbles, allowing the batter to settle.
7.Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake is lightly brown on top and comes away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Then, I iced it with frosting based on Billy's Chocolate Buttercream, from MarthaStewart.com, adapted to be dairy free and more chocolatey.
1 cup Earth Balance soy-free margarine (comes in a tub)
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Enjoy Life brand, which is dairy and soy free)
1.5 tablespoons rice milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2.5 cups confectioners' sugar
several tablespoons sifted cocoa powder, optional
In a big bowl with electric mixer, beat margarine until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add chocolate until just combined. Add milk, vanilla, and sugar; mix on medium until well combined. For extra chocolateyness, add cocoa powder by the tablespoonfull as desired.
My final frosting was a bit stiff--it didn't spread 100% smoothly. Probably the added cocoa powder, not in the original recipe, was to blame. It tasted terrific, though, and without it the icing was very light brown. I thought it needed extra chocolate punch.
This was enough icing for a double-layer cake, but you might want to make a bigger batch for a triple layer cake or if you want lavish icing.
Also decorated the cake with a quick chocolate ganache--3 tablespoons rice milk, boiled in microwave in glass measuring cup. Add 1/3 c. chocolate chips, mix until all melted, cool a few minutes, then place in ziploc bag with a sharp edge. You can then snip off the edge and use it like an icing bag.
3 cups (330 g) cake flour
1 tablebspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can coconut milk, thoroughly chilled in refrigerator
2 cups (454 g) granulated sugar
5 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
rice milk, or other milk
1 T. white vinegar or apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line with parchment paper two 8x2-inch (20x5-cm) round cake pans. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Open the can of coconut milk. Drain and reserve the watery liquid, and scoop the solid coconut oil into a measuring cup. You should have one cup of solid oil. With electric beater, beat the coconut oil until light and creamy in a large bowl. Stop and scrape the bowl. It will get very airy and light--even more so than butter. I was amazed at how well this worked.
4.Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs one at a time.
5. Measure your reserved coconut water, and add rice milk to equal one cup. Stir in vinegar and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a knife. Lift up the pan with the batter, and let it drop onto the counter top to burst any air bubbles, allowing the batter to settle.
7.Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake is lightly brown on top and comes away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Then, I iced it with frosting based on Billy's Chocolate Buttercream, from MarthaStewart.com, adapted to be dairy free and more chocolatey.
1 cup Earth Balance soy-free margarine (comes in a tub)
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Enjoy Life brand, which is dairy and soy free)
1.5 tablespoons rice milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2.5 cups confectioners' sugar
several tablespoons sifted cocoa powder, optional
In a big bowl with electric mixer, beat margarine until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add chocolate until just combined. Add milk, vanilla, and sugar; mix on medium until well combined. For extra chocolateyness, add cocoa powder by the tablespoonfull as desired.
My final frosting was a bit stiff--it didn't spread 100% smoothly. Probably the added cocoa powder, not in the original recipe, was to blame. It tasted terrific, though, and without it the icing was very light brown. I thought it needed extra chocolate punch.
This was enough icing for a double-layer cake, but you might want to make a bigger batch for a triple layer cake or if you want lavish icing.
Also decorated the cake with a quick chocolate ganache--3 tablespoons rice milk, boiled in microwave in glass measuring cup. Add 1/3 c. chocolate chips, mix until all melted, cool a few minutes, then place in ziploc bag with a sharp edge. You can then snip off the edge and use it like an icing bag.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Trio of orange vegetables soup
This soup that i threw together last night turned out so good I want to jot down the recipe before I forget it.
2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 large leeks, cleaned and roughly chopped
4 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1.5 cups pumpkin puree (1 small can)
2 sticks fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups water (or vegetable broth)
2 T. white balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. heavy cream, optional (or coconut milk, or 2 T. butter)
Heat olive oil in large soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Saute onion with a sprinkling of salt for a few minutes, then add leeks. Stir frequently until slightly softened and browned. Add carrots, rosemary, and celery and saute a few minutes more. Add sweet potato, 6 c. water, and pumpkin (or more water, if this doesn't seem like enough). Bring to boil, and simmer until vegetables are soft, about half an hour. Turn off heat and puree with an immersion blender until smooth, but not too smooth. There should be some texture and small pieces of vegetables in the soup. If too thick, add a bit more water. Add salt, pepper, and vinegar to taste. Stir in cream, coconut milk, or butter if desired.
I added the heavy cream as an experiment, since i have some left over from thanksgiving. Even a small amount of cream adds a lot of rich flavor. But the soup is very good without also. A little butter or coconut milk would have the same effect. A topping of sour cream or plain yogurt would be nice as well.
2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 large leeks, cleaned and roughly chopped
4 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1.5 cups pumpkin puree (1 small can)
2 sticks fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups water (or vegetable broth)
2 T. white balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. heavy cream, optional (or coconut milk, or 2 T. butter)
Heat olive oil in large soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Saute onion with a sprinkling of salt for a few minutes, then add leeks. Stir frequently until slightly softened and browned. Add carrots, rosemary, and celery and saute a few minutes more. Add sweet potato, 6 c. water, and pumpkin (or more water, if this doesn't seem like enough). Bring to boil, and simmer until vegetables are soft, about half an hour. Turn off heat and puree with an immersion blender until smooth, but not too smooth. There should be some texture and small pieces of vegetables in the soup. If too thick, add a bit more water. Add salt, pepper, and vinegar to taste. Stir in cream, coconut milk, or butter if desired.
I added the heavy cream as an experiment, since i have some left over from thanksgiving. Even a small amount of cream adds a lot of rich flavor. But the soup is very good without also. A little butter or coconut milk would have the same effect. A topping of sour cream or plain yogurt would be nice as well.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thanksgiving
Here's what we had for Thanksgiving dinner this year:
Mushroom and Farro Pie
Smashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic Gravy
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary and Sage
Galicky Kale
Pumpkin Tart with Anise-Seed Crust
Haagen-Daz Five Brown Sugar Ice Cream
Mostly the same menu we had at our Thanksgiving dinner last year.
Mushroom and Farro Pie
Smashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic Gravy
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary and Sage
Galicky Kale
Pumpkin Tart with Anise-Seed Crust
Haagen-Daz Five Brown Sugar Ice Cream
Mostly the same menu we had at our Thanksgiving dinner last year.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Chickpea Tomato Soup
Made a simple soup from the Orangette blog last night:
Chickpea Tomato Soup with Fresh Rosemary
It's good. I knew it would be.
Chickpea Tomato Soup with Fresh Rosemary
It's good. I knew it would be.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Coffee Couponing
Just to make sure anyone who accidentally reads this blog is bored to death, let me recount my recent forays into couponing.
#1, Dominick's.
3 12 oz. bags Caribou coffee regularly 9.99, on sale for 4.99. I use 3 coupons for $2 off 1 bag. So, coffee only 2.99/bag. I also bought a big container of yogurt and a pack of tofu for a total of $14.40.
#2, Jewel. A Catalina deal.
2 12.-oz. bags Dunkin Donuts coffee, regularly 8.79, on sale for 6.99. Two jars Smuckers jam, 2.95 on sale for 2.00. I used two "$4.00 off ground coffee" coupons that I snagged off some liquor bottles. In IL you don't have to purchase liquor to use the coupons.
Paid 10.38, plus got a $5 Catalina back. Regrets: 1) the Smuckers contains HFCS. 2) Using the $4.00 off coupons makes me feel like I'm cheating. Maybe taking coupons from the Bailey's Irish Cream display is wrong, although other couponers do it. (Of course that's not a justification for unethical behavior.) 3) Decaf Dunkin Doughnuts coffee was sold out, so I bought more regular coffee. What I really need is decaf. 4) DD coffee isn't fair trade or shade grown as far as I know, so it's probably harming the environment and screwing over the people who harvest it. Caribou coffee is a little better. It has a Rainforest Alliance medallion on the packaging.
#3, Jewel. Trying to find some decaf coffee.
3 DD decaf coffee bags, on sale for 6.99. Total 21.44. Paid with $5 Catalina from yesterday plus $16.44 out of pocket. Got a new $5 Catalina back.
I tried to use the $4 off coupons, but the checker wouldn't accept them. Oh well.
So we're well stocked in coffee for a while (although still need more decaf, since I drink a 3/4 decaf concoction). Will this type of active couponing pay off? I'm not sure. I've also bought tofu at Trader Joe's and produce at Stanley's and Tony's, so it's not like I'm spending no money.
It's a little bit fun.
#1, Dominick's.
3 12 oz. bags Caribou coffee regularly 9.99, on sale for 4.99. I use 3 coupons for $2 off 1 bag. So, coffee only 2.99/bag. I also bought a big container of yogurt and a pack of tofu for a total of $14.40.
#2, Jewel. A Catalina deal.
2 12.-oz. bags Dunkin Donuts coffee, regularly 8.79, on sale for 6.99. Two jars Smuckers jam, 2.95 on sale for 2.00. I used two "$4.00 off ground coffee" coupons that I snagged off some liquor bottles. In IL you don't have to purchase liquor to use the coupons.
Paid 10.38, plus got a $5 Catalina back. Regrets: 1) the Smuckers contains HFCS. 2) Using the $4.00 off coupons makes me feel like I'm cheating. Maybe taking coupons from the Bailey's Irish Cream display is wrong, although other couponers do it. (Of course that's not a justification for unethical behavior.) 3) Decaf Dunkin Doughnuts coffee was sold out, so I bought more regular coffee. What I really need is decaf. 4) DD coffee isn't fair trade or shade grown as far as I know, so it's probably harming the environment and screwing over the people who harvest it. Caribou coffee is a little better. It has a Rainforest Alliance medallion on the packaging.
#3, Jewel. Trying to find some decaf coffee.
3 DD decaf coffee bags, on sale for 6.99. Total 21.44. Paid with $5 Catalina from yesterday plus $16.44 out of pocket. Got a new $5 Catalina back.
I tried to use the $4 off coupons, but the checker wouldn't accept them. Oh well.
So we're well stocked in coffee for a while (although still need more decaf, since I drink a 3/4 decaf concoction). Will this type of active couponing pay off? I'm not sure. I've also bought tofu at Trader Joe's and produce at Stanley's and Tony's, so it's not like I'm spending no money.
It's a little bit fun.
Stir-fried Winter Squash and Tofu with Soba
Winter squash, tofu, and soba are all favorites of mine, so how excellent to find a dish combining all of them, right? But no, Stir-fried Winter Squash and Tofu with Soba is not a keeper. It's not terrible, but suffers from "would you like some starch with your starch?" syndrome. Like potato tacos, or the complete breakfast of cereal with milk, toast, and orange juice once recommended by cereal commercials. Or grain-based veggie burgers on a bun. Yuck. I would not like some starch with my starch.
Not that butternut squash isn't delicious and healthy, but I feel like the soba noodles need something more zingy. And the squash took forever to cook, so my dish wasn't all pretty and bright orange like the picture, but brownish and messy looking. It seemed sort of bland, too.
Not that butternut squash isn't delicious and healthy, but I feel like the soba noodles need something more zingy. And the squash took forever to cook, so my dish wasn't all pretty and bright orange like the picture, but brownish and messy looking. It seemed sort of bland, too.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Couponing
There's been a lot about couponing in the media lately. After reading this article on slate.com, plus coming across Frugalista, a couponing blog associated with the Chicago Tribune, I was inspired to give it a try. I've curtailed our grocery spending a bit this year, but we still spend vastly more on groceries than the couponers I've been reading about. The Frugalista spends only $80 per week, and claims to buy organic fruits and vegetables! Plus she has two kids! It's amazing.
The problem is that most coupons are for the very most processed grocery products, which I don't usually buy. For my first couponing expedition, I found a deal on Kellogg's cereal at Target. The cereal was on sale, and if you also used Target coupons and manufacturer's coupons, you could get the cereal for practically nothing. I screwed up a little bit by handing the cashier the wrong coupon, but still, I got two boxes of corn flakes, a box of blueberry Special K, and a box of Smart Start for a little more than a dollar a box.
On arriving home, I discovered that the cereals contain high fructose corn syrup, plus other ingredients I find objectionable such as artificial coloring. Ugh. Mike said he was fine with eating Kellogg's cereal, and I've had some of the Smart Start, but overall I'm bummed out by it. Mike and I both like oatmeal, which is our standard cheap breakfast. According to my calculations, cheap quick oats cost about $.10 per serving. The 4 boxes of cereal have about 56 servings total, and cost maybe $5, so that's about $.09 per serving. Plus, I add stuff to my oatmeal, like raisins and chopped apple and maple syrup and milk. So yeah, the Kellogg's are a slight savings, but maybe not good enough to justify the crap ingredients. Not that cheap store-brand oats are exactly a high-quality ingredient, but at least they are plain.
For my second foray into couponing this morning, I went for a Catalina deal. If you buy $30 worth of a certain array of products at Jewel/Osco, you get a $15 coupon good for any future order of groceries. The Catalina-eligible products include Progresso soups (no vegetarian varieties), Scott paper towels, Betty Crocker cake mixes, Hamburger Helper, instant Knorr noodle and rice boxes, Breyer ice cream, Yoplait yogurt, Chex Mix snacks, Ragu, Wish Bone salad dressing, etc. None of these I particularly wanted, but I came up with a list of things that might come in handy:
Yoplait Grande plain yogurt
Scott paper towels
Gold Medal flour
Yoplait Yo Plus
Breyers natural vanilla ice cream
Ragu
Kleenex
Since most of these items are also on sale, it could be a very sweet deal, or even a moneymaker with judiciously used manufacturer coupons. Here's how my deal played out.
4 Scott paper towels @ 1.99 ea
Helmann's mayonnaise 3.39
2 Breyer's ice cream @ 5.99 ea
Gold Medal flour 3.79
3 Kleenex @1.29
This totals 30.99. Minus 11.90 of "preferred savings" (i.e., the items were on sale if you had a Jewel card) and one manufacturer coupon for .50 off Kleenex, plus tax: a grand total of $19.67. And then, I got $15.00 in Catalina coupons, which I immediately used on groceries I actually wanted. So the bottom line is I got that stuff for $4.67; not bad. Absolutely none of it I would have bought today out of necessity, but it's all stuff we will use. In fact, we usually buy Veganaise, Whole Foods brand ice cream, recycled paper towels if any, and whole wheat flour, but those things are incompatible with Catalina couponing, of course.
I had planned to buy some Yoplait yogurt, but they didn't have the big tubs of plain yogurt, and the Yo Plus packs contain gelatin. I also couldn't bring myself to buy Ragu. It's so gross, very high in sodium, sugar, and soybean oil. At least the varieties that qualify for this spectacular deal. There is some organic Ragu that I didn't examine too closely, as it doesn't qualify for the deal.
So, $15 Catalinas in hand, I went to buy my real groceries. If I would have bought just $15 worth of stuff and got it free, this might seem impressive, but I bought a lot of stuff. Here's what I got:
huge cylinder of store brand oats
2 big cans Hunt diced tomato
Organic Valley soy milk 1/2 gallon
Org. Valley 2% milk 1/2 gallon
brown sugar
2.25 lb. 8 o' Clock Bean Coffee ($11.49)
2 packs whole wheat spaghetti
Mountain High plain yogurt quart
organic ketchup
Barefoot sauvignon blanc (to use for cooking wine, $5.99)
big jar Smuckers natural peanut butter ($4.55)
5 lb. granny smith apples
2 lb. mushrooms
collard greens
Using my $15 catalinas, plus a couple coupons, all said and done it cost $39.78. My grand total for the day's shopping, $59.45. Not too bad, considering the "big ticket" items I got -- coffee, wine, peanut butter.
I think the verb "couponing" is amusing.
The problem is that most coupons are for the very most processed grocery products, which I don't usually buy. For my first couponing expedition, I found a deal on Kellogg's cereal at Target. The cereal was on sale, and if you also used Target coupons and manufacturer's coupons, you could get the cereal for practically nothing. I screwed up a little bit by handing the cashier the wrong coupon, but still, I got two boxes of corn flakes, a box of blueberry Special K, and a box of Smart Start for a little more than a dollar a box.
On arriving home, I discovered that the cereals contain high fructose corn syrup, plus other ingredients I find objectionable such as artificial coloring. Ugh. Mike said he was fine with eating Kellogg's cereal, and I've had some of the Smart Start, but overall I'm bummed out by it. Mike and I both like oatmeal, which is our standard cheap breakfast. According to my calculations, cheap quick oats cost about $.10 per serving. The 4 boxes of cereal have about 56 servings total, and cost maybe $5, so that's about $.09 per serving. Plus, I add stuff to my oatmeal, like raisins and chopped apple and maple syrup and milk. So yeah, the Kellogg's are a slight savings, but maybe not good enough to justify the crap ingredients. Not that cheap store-brand oats are exactly a high-quality ingredient, but at least they are plain.
For my second foray into couponing this morning, I went for a Catalina deal. If you buy $30 worth of a certain array of products at Jewel/Osco, you get a $15 coupon good for any future order of groceries. The Catalina-eligible products include Progresso soups (no vegetarian varieties), Scott paper towels, Betty Crocker cake mixes, Hamburger Helper, instant Knorr noodle and rice boxes, Breyer ice cream, Yoplait yogurt, Chex Mix snacks, Ragu, Wish Bone salad dressing, etc. None of these I particularly wanted, but I came up with a list of things that might come in handy:
Yoplait Grande plain yogurt
Scott paper towels
Gold Medal flour
Yoplait Yo Plus
Breyers natural vanilla ice cream
Ragu
Kleenex
Since most of these items are also on sale, it could be a very sweet deal, or even a moneymaker with judiciously used manufacturer coupons. Here's how my deal played out.
4 Scott paper towels @ 1.99 ea
Helmann's mayonnaise 3.39
2 Breyer's ice cream @ 5.99 ea
Gold Medal flour 3.79
3 Kleenex @1.29
This totals 30.99. Minus 11.90 of "preferred savings" (i.e., the items were on sale if you had a Jewel card) and one manufacturer coupon for .50 off Kleenex, plus tax: a grand total of $19.67. And then, I got $15.00 in Catalina coupons, which I immediately used on groceries I actually wanted. So the bottom line is I got that stuff for $4.67; not bad. Absolutely none of it I would have bought today out of necessity, but it's all stuff we will use. In fact, we usually buy Veganaise, Whole Foods brand ice cream, recycled paper towels if any, and whole wheat flour, but those things are incompatible with Catalina couponing, of course.
I had planned to buy some Yoplait yogurt, but they didn't have the big tubs of plain yogurt, and the Yo Plus packs contain gelatin. I also couldn't bring myself to buy Ragu. It's so gross, very high in sodium, sugar, and soybean oil. At least the varieties that qualify for this spectacular deal. There is some organic Ragu that I didn't examine too closely, as it doesn't qualify for the deal.
So, $15 Catalinas in hand, I went to buy my real groceries. If I would have bought just $15 worth of stuff and got it free, this might seem impressive, but I bought a lot of stuff. Here's what I got:
huge cylinder of store brand oats
2 big cans Hunt diced tomato
Organic Valley soy milk 1/2 gallon
Org. Valley 2% milk 1/2 gallon
brown sugar
2.25 lb. 8 o' Clock Bean Coffee ($11.49)
2 packs whole wheat spaghetti
Mountain High plain yogurt quart
organic ketchup
Barefoot sauvignon blanc (to use for cooking wine, $5.99)
big jar Smuckers natural peanut butter ($4.55)
5 lb. granny smith apples
2 lb. mushrooms
collard greens
Using my $15 catalinas, plus a couple coupons, all said and done it cost $39.78. My grand total for the day's shopping, $59.45. Not too bad, considering the "big ticket" items I got -- coffee, wine, peanut butter.
I think the verb "couponing" is amusing.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
sweet potatoes and special sauce
This is my favorite roasted sweet potato recipe. The spice combo sounds a little strange, but works. I take the lazy way out and don't grind the spices separately -- I used whole fennel seeds because that's what I have.
With these, I make a special secret sauce consisting of: two to three parts plain yogurt, one part hummus or Annie's Naturals Goddess dressing, hot sauce to taste. I use Louisiana hot sauce. Shhh, it's a secret.
These unlikely components, eaten together, are delicious.
With these, I make a special secret sauce consisting of: two to three parts plain yogurt, one part hummus or Annie's Naturals Goddess dressing, hot sauce to taste. I use Louisiana hot sauce. Shhh, it's a secret.
These unlikely components, eaten together, are delicious.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Elusive White Pumpkin Grain Salad
Here's an online version of my favorite grain salad from Charlie Trotter's vegetables book (it's also by far the easiest recipe in the book). The white pumpkin has been elusive for several years, but they are delicious. The seeds are tenderer than regular pumpkin seeds, which really need to be shelled before eating.
Tonight I made a version of this with brown rice, roasted butternut squash, toasted pecans, and olive oil. I like this better with one of the recommended oils, or walnut oil. The olive oil has too distinctive a taste. Still delicious, though.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
pasta with braised kale
Molly Wizenberg has a column in Bon Appetit now. Last night I made one of her recipes from the column. It was perfectly good, but very basic, and relied on Parmesan cheese for flavor. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I just didn't learn anything new. Also, I used whole-wheat penne instead of regular spaghetti, and left my half-cooked kale sitting on the stove for three hours while I went to volunteer. These little alterations can make a big difference.
I'm jealous of Molly, can you tell? I relate to her and there are some similarities in our pasts, but she is vastly more successful.
spaghetti with braised kale
I've often made a pasta recipe like this with tons more stuff -- cannellini beans, chopped tomatoes, canned artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, etc. etc.
I'm jealous of Molly, can you tell? I relate to her and there are some similarities in our pasts, but she is vastly more successful.
spaghetti with braised kale
I've often made a pasta recipe like this with tons more stuff -- cannellini beans, chopped tomatoes, canned artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, etc. etc.
braised winter squash
I've made this recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a few times (link is to a PDF). It's a good one, especially for dryer squashes like delicata.
2 lbs. winter squash, peeled, halved and sliced into ½ inch rounds
2 tbs. butter
2 cups apple cider
1 tsp. salt
Rosemary and pepper to taste
Melt butter in skillet with rosemary, after a few minutes add the squash, salt, pepper, and cider. You may need to add some additional cider (or water), enough to cover the squash. Bring to a boil and braise for 20-35 minutes until tender. At this point the juice should be reduced to a glaze. If not, raise heat for a few minutes until excess liquid evaporates.
2 lbs. winter squash, peeled, halved and sliced into ½ inch rounds
2 tbs. butter
2 cups apple cider
1 tsp. salt
Rosemary and pepper to taste
Melt butter in skillet with rosemary, after a few minutes add the squash, salt, pepper, and cider. You may need to add some additional cider (or water), enough to cover the squash. Bring to a boil and braise for 20-35 minutes until tender. At this point the juice should be reduced to a glaze. If not, raise heat for a few minutes until excess liquid evaporates.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Butterscotch Pudding
I made this butterscotch pudding recipe last night, with mixed results. Taste is delicious; texture not ideal. A little bit lumpy or grainy. Maybe I didn't whisk it enthusiastically enough? I wonder if I would have better results by leaving out the eggs.
I didn't use any whisky and forgot to put in the vanilla extract, but didn't miss these flavorings. Instead of dark brown sugar or cassonade, I used light brown sugar plus a couple spoonfuls of molasses.
I didn't use any whisky and forgot to put in the vanilla extract, but didn't miss these flavorings. Instead of dark brown sugar or cassonade, I used light brown sugar plus a couple spoonfuls of molasses.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Gorgonzola, Fig, and Spinach Pizza
The pizza was based on this Vegetarian Times recipe. I didn't use a gluten-free crust.
This pizza was kind of eh. The Gorgonzola and walnuts are nice, but the fresh figs didn't seem to cook enough. I almost think a drizzle of fig jam would be better, or maybe dried figs would give a more intense flavor.The pizza does need a caramelized fruit of some sort, but the fresh figs didn't deliver. It was kind of exciting that the Gorgonzola spread melted. I wouldn't have guessed it would.
We also made a commonplace pizza, with red pizza sauce, spinach, green pepper, and a mixture of fresh and pregrated mozzarella cheese.
I used cornmeal to keep the pizza from sticking to the peel, and it made a big mess in the oven, as usual. Maybe I use too much cornmeal--it tends to accumulate on the peel, blacken, and give off clouds of sooty smoke. It's much tidier to roll out your pizza dough on parchment paper, then slide the pizza in still on the parchment. Less authentic, but tidier.
- 4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese
- 1/4 cup milk
- whole-wheat bread dough
- 1-2 cups spinach leaves
- 6 fresh figs, quartered
- handful chopped toasted walnuts
- sprinkling of pitted black olives
This pizza was kind of eh. The Gorgonzola and walnuts are nice, but the fresh figs didn't seem to cook enough. I almost think a drizzle of fig jam would be better, or maybe dried figs would give a more intense flavor.The pizza does need a caramelized fruit of some sort, but the fresh figs didn't deliver. It was kind of exciting that the Gorgonzola spread melted. I wouldn't have guessed it would.
We also made a commonplace pizza, with red pizza sauce, spinach, green pepper, and a mixture of fresh and pregrated mozzarella cheese.
I used cornmeal to keep the pizza from sticking to the peel, and it made a big mess in the oven, as usual. Maybe I use too much cornmeal--it tends to accumulate on the peel, blacken, and give off clouds of sooty smoke. It's much tidier to roll out your pizza dough on parchment paper, then slide the pizza in still on the parchment. Less authentic, but tidier.
Mozzarella, 6 failures
After taking a cheesemaking class at the Angelic Organics in Caledonia, IL, I was highly motivated to make homemade mozzarella. Using the Angelic Organics recipe, the 30-Minute Mozzaralla recipe from cheesemaking.com, and Barbara Kingsolver's mozzarella recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I've now failed 6 times. Each time, the recipe seemed to be proceeding fine until the last step, when you heat and stretch the curds, and they become shiny, pliable mozzarella. Mine became incohesive, ricotta-like curds, or hard, cratered, nonstretchy curds.
I wrote to cheesemaking.com, where I bought my cheesemaking supplies, asking for advice, but no response.
Milk that is pasteurized at too high a temperature can cause curd failure. Is it possible that all the costly milks I've used were overpasteurized? Doubtful, but maybe. For the record, these are the failed milks and recipes:
1) Organic Valley Whole Milk, Barbara Kingsolver's mozzarella recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
2) Organic Valley Whole Milk, Angelic Organics Quick Mozzarella recipe
3) Oberweis Dairy Whole Milk, 30-Minute Mozzarella Recipe
4) Fair Oaks Whole Milk, 30-Minute Mozzarella Recipe
5) Milk made from Similac Nonfat Dry Milk Powder plus Dean Foods Light Cream, 30-Minute Mozzarella Recipe
6)Similac plus cream again.
Dried milk is supposed to work fine, according to the Cheese Queen Ricki. Also, I think the cheesemaking class at Angelic used Organic Valley milk. What, oh what, am I doing wrong?
Mike has acquired the highest quality possible milk--some Whole Foods offering billed as nonhomogenized, gently pasteurized, and local. Four dollars per half gallon. Dare we try again? I think I have to.
Ruined mozzarella is still edible. Once we made pizza with it. The cheese didn't melt, but still tasted good. I also used it to make ice cream (tasted like cheesecake) and crustless pumpkin pie.
Ruined Mozzarella Crustless Pumpkin Pie
1 1/2 c. pumpkin puree
3/4 c. sugar
1 t. ginger powder
1 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg
pinch cloves
3 eggs
1 1/3 c. milk or cream (I used a mixture of soy milk and light cream)
your ruined mozzarella
Preheat oven to 375°. Food process ingredients until smooth. Pour into buttered pie pan. I used a ceramic one. Bake for 40-45 minutes until custard is set. The result is a cheesecake-like pumpkin custard.
I wrote to cheesemaking.com, where I bought my cheesemaking supplies, asking for advice, but no response.
Milk that is pasteurized at too high a temperature can cause curd failure. Is it possible that all the costly milks I've used were overpasteurized? Doubtful, but maybe. For the record, these are the failed milks and recipes:
1) Organic Valley Whole Milk, Barbara Kingsolver's mozzarella recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
2) Organic Valley Whole Milk, Angelic Organics Quick Mozzarella recipe
3) Oberweis Dairy Whole Milk, 30-Minute Mozzarella Recipe
4) Fair Oaks Whole Milk, 30-Minute Mozzarella Recipe
5) Milk made from Similac Nonfat Dry Milk Powder plus Dean Foods Light Cream, 30-Minute Mozzarella Recipe
6)Similac plus cream again.
Dried milk is supposed to work fine, according to the Cheese Queen Ricki. Also, I think the cheesemaking class at Angelic used Organic Valley milk. What, oh what, am I doing wrong?
Mike has acquired the highest quality possible milk--some Whole Foods offering billed as nonhomogenized, gently pasteurized, and local. Four dollars per half gallon. Dare we try again? I think I have to.
Ruined mozzarella is still edible. Once we made pizza with it. The cheese didn't melt, but still tasted good. I also used it to make ice cream (tasted like cheesecake) and crustless pumpkin pie.
Ruined Mozzarella Crustless Pumpkin Pie
1 1/2 c. pumpkin puree
3/4 c. sugar
1 t. ginger powder
1 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg
pinch cloves
3 eggs
1 1/3 c. milk or cream (I used a mixture of soy milk and light cream)
your ruined mozzarella
Preheat oven to 375°. Food process ingredients until smooth. Pour into buttered pie pan. I used a ceramic one. Bake for 40-45 minutes until custard is set. The result is a cheesecake-like pumpkin custard.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Basic, Relatively Healthy Pumpkin Bread
3 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 can pumpkin puree
1 cup milk (any kind: soy, cow's, etc.)
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
whole pecans for decoration
Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease two loaf pans, six mini loaf pans, or two muffin tins.
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, oils, applesauce, and molasses. Mix wet ingredients into dry along with chopped pecans until just combined. Decorate tops of loaves or muffins with whole pecans, if desired.
Bake for 18-20 minutes (muffins), 30-40 minutes (mini loaves), or 40-50 minutes (full size loaves) until golden brown at edges, and knife stuck into center comes out clean.
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 can pumpkin puree
1 cup milk (any kind: soy, cow's, etc.)
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
whole pecans for decoration
Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease two loaf pans, six mini loaf pans, or two muffin tins.
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, oils, applesauce, and molasses. Mix wet ingredients into dry along with chopped pecans until just combined. Decorate tops of loaves or muffins with whole pecans, if desired.
Bake for 18-20 minutes (muffins), 30-40 minutes (mini loaves), or 40-50 minutes (full size loaves) until golden brown at edges, and knife stuck into center comes out clean.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Quark
Quark is a fresh white Eastern European cheese, similar to French fromage blanc. I came across this recipe while looking for a fromage blanc recipe, and it's amazingly easy. Basically, I take buttermilk, let it sit in my dehydrator at 115° F for about 6 hours, and then drain it in cheesecloth. So good! If you like buttermilk, you'll like quark.
Quark recipe
Quark recipe
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