Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

I made these muffins last Sunday.  The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen.  Please see her site for some better pictures!

These were quite easy to make.  I really like the addition of the fresh apples.  These might even be better the next day, vs. 15 minutes out of the oven.

I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter.  Next time, I would consider trying to substitute applesauce for some of the butter.

Chocloate Chip Cookies

I can't remember where I first found what I consider to be the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I got it years ago, some time when I was living in San Francisco. Since then, I've been inspired by the vegan cookbook I got for my birthday and in using vegan substitutes for dairy products.

I had not heard of coconut oil before reading the Babycakes cookbook. To me, it looks like Crisco. You are supposed to melt it in the microwave and use it as a fat substitute. The internet is full of information about coconut oil (here) but what most got my attention is that the oil is reported to increase metabolism. Sign me up! I found this jar at Whole Foods; they carry many different brands.

Curry Laksa

I adapted this soup from a recipe recently printed in The Guardian Weekend magazine.

This soup reminded me of my favorite meal at Zao, an old San Francisco restaurant, which looks like it's still operating, just not in SF. It was spicy and slithery and makes your nose run and splatters all over. Even so, it's warm and delicious and really worth the effort.

Roasted Squash and Gorganzola Pizza

Another recipe from Smitten Kitchen! I told you, I'm obsessed with her recipes right now.

For this pizza, I used the dough we all made a few months ago. I have to say, I really like that pizza dough. I made four portions this time around and it was perfect for this recipe. We had it one night for dinner and then I had it for lunch the following two days.

I couldn't find acorn squash (what SK uses) so I used butternut.

I loved the combination of squash with gorganzola and the arugula (or, rocket, as they call it here).

This wasn't a quick meal, but it was worth the time on a Sunday evening.

Curried Lentils and Sweet Potatoes

Every time I make something with sweet potatoes my roomate says, 'but you know I hate sweet potatoes,' to which I reply, 'but they are good for you'. The same thing happened with this recipe, but after one bite he realized that he loved this dish (as did I). The sweet potatoes take on a different, flavorful and soft aspect. This is another recipe from Smitten Kitchen. As Deb says in her post, it's not the most photogenic of recipes, but it is so delicious. The first time I made this, I used red lentils and it was borderline beautiful. The orange of the lentils and the sweet potatoes, mixed with the green kale was a lot prettier than this version using green lentils. Either way though, S and I gobbled this up. It's so delicious, and so healthy. I served it with brown basmati rice.

Black-Eyed Peas in a Spicy Goan Curry

I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen. Lately, I can't get enough Indian food, or recipes from Smitten Kitchen. She talks about making these (plus the two other recipes on the page) in the heat of the summer. I thought this was perfect for the end of winter because it's warm and filling. I never eat black-eyed peas, but I eat so many other beans that I thought it would be a good way to change things up a bit. Also, this post from Chocoate and Zucchini is a good reminder of the nutritional benefits of mixing beans and grains. I made the curry and served it with brown basmati rice. I ate it cold the next day for lunch and it was just as good.

Wild Mushroom and Scallion Frittata

I've had this for so long and made it so many times, I forget where it came from. The tear out I have from the magazine doesn't have the name on it. This is easy and can be somewhat healthy and is perfect for Sunday mornings with a baguette. Of course I usually add some cheese on top :)

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 egg whites
1/4 cup cottage cheese
6 sliced mushrooms
4 chopped scallions

Whisk together eggs, egg whites, and cottage cheese. Add mushrooms and scallions (also spinach if you are me), stir together then pour in to a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the bottom is set and then transfer to a broiler until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.

I sometimes sautee the veggies alone to bring out  more flavor, then add the egg / cottage cheese mixture.

Crisp Asian Salmon with Bok Choy and Rice Noodles

One of the Food & Wine editors has rehabbed recipes that got Top Chef contestants kicked off. A version of this recipe got Patrick kicked off Season 5, but this recipe is incredible. It's light but it feels complex because you can't describe exactly what makes it taste so good. Make sure you use rice noodles as you will appreciate them since you probably don't eat them much.

Two-Bean Soup with Kale

This Cooking Light recipe was easy and healthy, but somewhat bland. The cheese toast was a nice touch, and if you have some hot sauce around this soup can be amazing. 

Compost Cookies

These cookies might be my new favorite.  They are amazingly delicious...a good mix of salty and sweet, perfect chewy texture.   I've never been to Momofuko in NYC, but have always heard good things about the different restaurants, including the Milk Bar, where these cookies originated.  They have soft-serve ice cream in flavors like cereal milk, cream cheese frosting and red velvet.  They serve crack pie....  I've got to get there someday.  In the meantime, I'll keep making these cookies.

Some thoughts/tips:
For my "compost" mix:

...I used mini chocolate chips, about 2 oz of a bittersweet chocolate bar (chopped), a chopped peanut butter wafer bar, pretzels and potato chips.  Something with salt is key.

The stand mixer is also key, due to the 10 minutes you beat the butter/sugar mix:

I froze some cookie dough and some baked cookies, but have not tried them yet.  Will report back

I had to bake these for much longer than the recipe specifies.  Next time I will also try making a smaller version.  I used my ice cream scoop, and they made very professional, large cookies.  Not that that is a bad thing, necessarily.

Ingredients:

1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Corn Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 cups Your favorite baking ingredients!
(Kelly used mini chocolate chips, raisinettes, rollos & cocoa krispies)
1 1/2 cups Your favorite snack foods (chips, pretzels, etc)
(Kelly used goldfish, ritz, & fritos)

Directions:

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corn syrup on medium high for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

On a lower speed, add eggs and vanilla to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and start a timer for 10 minutes. During this time the sugar granules will fully dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and your creamed mixture will double in size.

When time is up, on a lower speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix 45-60 sec just until your dough comes together and all remnants of dry ingredients have incorporated. Do not walk away from your mixer during this time or you will risk over mixing the dough. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

On same low speed, add in the hodgepodge of your favorite baking ingredients and mix for 30-45 sec until they evenly mix into the dough. Add in your favorite snack foods last, paddling again on low speed until they are just incorporated.

Using a 6oz ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheetpan.

Wrap scooped cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 1 week.

DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.

Heat the conventional oven to 400F. (350F in a convection oven)

When the oven reads 400F, arrange your chilled cookie dough balls on a parchment or silpat-lined sheetpan a minimum of 4" apart in any direction.

Bake 9-11 min. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread.

At 9 min the cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown towards the center. Leave the cookies in the oven for the additional minutes if these colors don't match up and your cookies stills seem pale and doughy on the surface.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before transferring to a plate or an airtight container or tin for storage. At room temp, cookies will keep fresh 5 days. In the freezer, cookies will keep fresh 1 month.

Yield: 15 6oz cookies

Update: Sarah's Bread

 

I have made this recipe a few times now. I got three loaves out of the first batch, but I think I could have made just two. My dough does not rise when I let it rest before baking. The book says it may not rise, so I guess that's normal.

I'm having issues with the oven timing. I have a convection oven which usually means it takes half the time to cook. I have used the steam bath once or twice and I also tried not using it, once. I seem to need to bake the bread for longer than the recipe says.

It's pretty good, but I need to do some refining.

March Recipe: Let's Bake Bread

I borrowed a book from the library titled Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. You'll see from the Amazon reviews that it's a very popular book.

 

Living in Paris and having fresh bread available all day every day spoiled me. Living in London is almost the opposite (in many ways beyond bread), and I think it's very hard to find good bread. There are places, sure, but they, like most things in London, are a journey. Nothing is close in London. So, I'm trying to bake more of my own bread to see if that's one thing I can recreate from Paris (macaroons are next). 

This book has a ton of bread recipes, but I haven't gotten past the master recipe. Let's start there.

Kate's February Recipe #2 - hot chocolate

Overall, I liked it. Would I make it again? Not as long as I can make the coconut hot chocolate from the NY Times.  It was delicious and warm, and more chocoaltely than I expected, but still not as good as the coconut version.