Lentil Bolognese

Still going through the archives and found this one hanging out on my bookcase in my room. This one I legimately made months ago (I think I got it almost a year ago, actually). I'm shocked that I haven't posted it before, honestly. It is a very hearty dish that is filled with flavor. I was a little bit suspicious with the lack of meat, but the lentils actually substitute very well.

As a plus, I got a bunch of extra rosemary, so I have a nice little jar of olive oil that is being infused with rosemary sitting on my countertop. I can't wait to use it again.

This dish uses the typical base for most common soups and dishes: carrots, celery, and onions. At one point, I was making so many of these dishes that I just bought a bunch of each, chopped them all up, and froze them in individual portion sizes. Unfortunately, my freezer door got left open when I went out of town a couple of weekends ago, so I lost most of the things in my freezer. So, I have to start from scratch again with my food stores. Sadness.

In other news, I'm in my last year of training (for now)! It's been a long road, with crazy long hours and lots of missed sleep and not nearly enough time for me to actually explore my interests. This year, I will be working much harder while I'm at work, but will overall be working less. I'm excited to have some of my weekends back.

Lentil Bolognese
Originally found at Blue Apron

1 bunch rosemary, leaves removed from stems and stems discarded
3/4 cup green lentils
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup verjus rouge*
1 cup water
6 ounces fresh pasta*
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

In a medium pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add the lentils and cook 16-18 minutes, until al dente (slightly firm to the bite). Drain and set aside. Refill the pot with salted water and bring the water to boiling.

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large, high sided pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the rosemary leaves, cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, until crispy and fragrant. Remove the rosemary using a slotted spoon or spatula to a paper-towel lined pan. Add garlic, carrots, celery and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 4-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened and fragrant. Add tomato paste. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes, until dark red and fragrant. Add lentils, verjus, and water. Simmer 10-12 minutes, until thick and saucy.

While the sauce cooks, add pasta to the pot of boiling water, stirring to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Cook 9-11 minutes, until the pasta is al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, and drain thoroughly. Add the pasta to the sauce, and add water as needed to thin the sauce enough to coat the pasta. Garnish with fried rosemary.

My Notes:
Verjus rouge is a juice made from unripe grapes. If you cannot easily find it, a good red wine or red wine vinegar can be substituted, but you'll need to adjust it to taste.

For the pasta, fettucini was the original recommendation for this recipe, but any long noodle should do fine. You could also use short noodles (macaroni, etc), as you would any meat sauce, but it will obviously not hold the sauce as well.

Green Shakshuka

Green Shakshuka
Originally found at Blue Apron

1/2 pound tomatillos, husked and chopped
1/2 poblano pepper, seeds removed
1 yukon gold potato, chopped
1 eight ball squash, chopped into bite sized pieces
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp Za'atar
1 cup water
1 lemon
4 eggs
Feta cheese
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a sheet pan covered in foil, lay out chopped tomatillos in a single layer and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Place the poblano pepper skin side up on the pan and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in oven for 10-12 minutes, until tender. Once cool enough to handle, chop pepper into small pieces.

Meanwhile, in a medium pan (oven-proof, if you have one), heat small amount of oil over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and cook until light brown and tender. Add chopped squash and cook until tender. Add garlic and Za'atar seasoning. Stir to coat potatoes and squash well, cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add chopped tomatillos, chopped pepper, and water. Cook, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes until thickened and saucy. Add juice of 1/2 lemon.

Create four small wells in the sauce. Gently crack one egg into each well. Cover pan and either move to the oven, or cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, or until egg whites are set and the yolks are cooked to your desired degree of doneness.

Top with feta and serve, garnishing with remaining lemon.

My Notes:
The first time I made shakshuka, I transferred the sauce to an oven-proof dish and finished making it in the oven. It took forever and a day. The second time I made it, I decided to just keep cooking it on the stovetop. And it took while, but it worked, especially after I put the lid on the dish. Now, that's how I make it. If you have a cast iron skillet, it'd probably work best if you put in the oven, but otherwise, I just prefer to use a saucepan to do it.

The eggs you can keep cooking however well you like. I am not a huge fan of poached eggs with runny centers, so I opted to cook them to soft-boiled consistency. The yolk is nice and creamy and crumbles well to mix with the sauce.

I also added a poblano pepper to this dish because traditional shakshuka is made with red peppers, and I like a little heat to my dishes. I happened to have half of a roasted pepper leftover from a previous dish I made, and I chopped it up and added it to the dish. It added a small amount of heat to the dish, and added to the overall green color.

The dish is pareve if you don't add the feta cheese at the end, so that's the category I'm listing it under.

Butter Lettuce and Chive Salad

This salad was initially pictured with the quiche recipe from last week, but it's such a light and refreshing recipe that I wanted to include it separately. Butter lettuce has a different texture than my typical romaine lettuce--it's much more soft and, well, buttery, than the crunch of romaine or even iceberg. It peels apart very easily and is soft and almost velvety on the tongue, but still with some crunch in the background.

The lemon and chives add a nice accent to this dish. This is actually the first time I tasted raw shallots, and I'm sufficiently impressed that I might actually use them in some of my other recipes. It's not an overwhelming onion taste, but a nice tang in the background.

Butter Lettuce and Chive Salad
Originally found at Blue Apron

1 head butter lettuce
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp minced shallot (about half a small shallot)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 bunch chives, minced

Trim off and discard the root end of the lettuce. Separate and rinse the leaves. Tear or roughly chop into bite sized pieces. Combine the lemon juice and shallot, then slowly whisk in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine the lettuce and chives, and top with vinaigrette to taste.

Vinaigrette keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days, so it can be made ahead.

My Notes:
Light and refreshing, just like I said. Squeeze the lemons with a juicer or over your hand to prevent seeds from going into the vinaigrette.

Orange, Green, and Black Salad

Salad shown with seared salmon

This Blue Apron meal was interesting. The salmon wasn't very flavorful and I was not impressed with the overall flavor profile, but I fell in love with this salad. I was first introduced to black rice (also known as purple rice due to the color the water turns when you make it, or forbidden rice) several years ago. It has a wonderful nutty taste and naturally has a little crunch (even if you boil the heck out of it). I don't have much opportunity to actually eat it, but it's always a nice treat when I do.

This salad has a wonderful mix of crunch, creaminess, and tang. And it's hardy enough to be a meal on its own. Feel free to add some protein source to it if you so desire, though.

Orange, Green, and Black Salad
Originally found at Blue Apron

2/3 cup black rice
2 Tbsp pepitas
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and medium diced
1 navel orange, peeled and medium diced
Juice of one small lime
Zest from one small lime
1 shallot, finely diced
1 bunch cilantro

Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling on high. Add the rice and cook 27-29 minutes, until tender. Drain and rinse briefly under cold water. While the rice is cooking, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium high heat, then toast the pepitas until lightly browned and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Combine the lime juice with the diced shallot. Slowly whisk in 2 Tbsp olive oil until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Combine rice, avocado, orange, lime zest, and toasted pepitas in a large bowl. Toss with vinaigrette just before serving and garnish with cilantro.

My Notes:
This dish actually keeps pretty well. If you don't make it all at once, dice and add the avocado last, just before serving, as the juice of the limes and oranges will keep it from browning. I'm perfectly content to keep this as a side dish, but again, feel free to add protein if you want to make it a full meal.

Summer Pepper Shakshuka

My first time being introduced to Shakshuka was actually in school. I expressed my interest in Judaism to some friends, and one of them became fascinated by the cuisine and insisted on making Shakshuka for me and one of my Jewish friends. I was a bit skeptical when I first saw it, but my hesitance was quickly overcome, and I fell in love with the dish. So, when I saw it as an option for my Blue Apron delivery, I jumped on it.

This is a fantastic vegetarian (not vegan) dish that features a tomato and pepper (as in bell) sauce and poached eggs. Poached eggs have actually become something of a treat for me, as one of my friends now is obsessed with brunch and insists on trying a wide variety of Eggs Benedict.

And, of course, in my delight over this dish, I apparently missed the opportunity to take a picture of it. Next time...

Summer Pepper Shakshuka
Originally found at Blue Apron

3 Eggs
2 Red Bell Peppers
2-4 Sweet Peppers (the smaller, colored peppers)
1 large Tomato
1 Red Onion
½ Pound Fingerling Potatoes
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 tsp chili powder (mild)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Olive oil
1 1/4 cups water
1 Large Bunch Parsley
½ Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Dice the peppers, tomato, onion, and potatoes. Remove parsley leaves from stems and roughly chop. In a medium skillet (preferably oven-safe), heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the potatoes and cook for 5-7 minutes, until browned and tender. Transfer to a bowl. Add bell peppers and onion to the pan, using more oil if necessary. Cook until softened, then add tomato paste and spices. Cook until fragrant. Add tomato, sweet peppers, cooked potatoes, 2/3 of parsley leaves, and water. Stir until thickened and saucy.

If not using an oven safe skillet, transfer sauce to an oven-safe dish. Create three wells in the sauce, and crack an egg into each well. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle cheese over the sauce and eggs. Bake 6-8 minutes, until egg whites are set. Remove from oven and allow to sit 2 minutes. Garnish with remaining parsley.

My Notes:
Blue Apron sends you enough food for two people, and their vegetarian dishes are often very well portioned. So, I actually ended up making this two ways. I made the sauce and put everything into the oven as the recipe calls for. Seemed to take a really long time to cook, but my yolk ended up being a little more done than I would like, so I evidently left it in too long. The second time, I heated up the leftover sauce in a pot on the stove to boiling, then cracked the egg in and covered. Probably took a good 10 minutes before the egg started to cook, but that might've been because I didn't let the sauce heat all the way through before cracking the egg. None-the-less, both were good, and this dish made me remember how much I love shakshuka.

Play with the spices some too. I've seen several recipes with garlic powder included, and some with some other spices, including dried thyme. You can really make the dish with whatever spices you have available, though.

And, of course, the removal of the feta cheese makes this dish pareve, so adjust to suit your needs.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

My family is in town this week, which means my mom brings her own version of recipes along with her. This time, it's this bread and a new twist on chicken salad, which I'll share in a bit. I was skeptical of the bread, since every yeast bread I make turns out really dense and tough. But, it turned out pretty well and was really easy to make, hence I'm sharing it. Enjoy!

Rosemary Foccacia Bread
Originally found at Alexandra Cooks

2 cups lukewarm water
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp active-dry yeast (or 1 packet)
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp butter, warmed to room temperature
2 Tbsp olive oil
Sea Salt
Dried Rosemary (about 1 tsp)

In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. Allow to sit 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy or bubbling. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. When the yeast mixture is foamy, add it to the flour bowl and mix until just combined. Cover and set aside in a warm spot for at least an hour.

Grease a 9x13 inch pan with the room temperature butter. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Punch down the dough and scrape it from the sides of the bowl, then transfer dough to the buttered dish. Pour olive oil over the dough and press out with your fingers to an even thickness throughout. Sprinkle the top with rosemary and sea salt. Allow the dough to rise 20-30 minutes, until approximately doubled in size again.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then decrease temperature to 375 and continue to bake until the top if golden brown. Turn out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

My Notes:
I was skeptical of this when my mom first made it, but it's pretty good. So good that the entire loaf disappears by the next morning, with four of us there to eat it (well, three and a half, since my baby sister eats like a bird and hides herself away in my room).

Iced Chai Latte

I've been going a little crazy with the recipes these past few weeks (if you couldn't tell from the multitude of photos posted in the past couple days) because I know I'm not going to have a whole lot of time once I officially start my job next month. Seems like a perfect time to stock up my freezer with pre-made foods in an attempt to eat somewhat healthy when I get home from work (my job provides lunch every day, so I don't have to worry so much about that).

I've also found a much easier way to transfer the photos on my phone to my computer, and then to add them to the blog than what I had been doing. If you can get it, the Transfer Pro app is amazing. It allows you to share photos between devices (phones/tablets/computers) over the same wireless network. It's pretty awesome.

This one is more of an original recipe. I was hanging out with one of my coworkers, and we decided to try a new coffee shop around where we live. Since I don't drink coffee, my go-to drink everywhere except Starbucks is a chai latte. The mix of tea and spices is just amazing and so I get it whenever I see it on the menu. But, the barista gave me the option of doing it iced. I'm not sure why this didn't occur to me before, but it was brilliant. Refreshing on the unbearably hot day, but still a nice pick me up.

So while I was out grocery shopping, I went down the tea and coffee aisle and decided to remake it. I think I did a fairly good job.



Iced Chai Latte
Copycat Recipe

5 tea bags chai
3 cups boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Pour the water over the tea bags and allow to steep 4-5 minutes. Remove bags and mix in sugar. Cool in fridge. This is your concentrate.

To prepare latte, fill glass with ice cubes. Mix equal parts concentrate and almond milk. Stir to combine. Enjoy!

My Notes:
Simple, yet oh so yummy. You can easily substitute the almond milk for soy, regular milk, or even cream, and adjust the mixture to your liking. I prefer the unsweetened almond milk because I use it in my cereal as well, but if you use sweetened milk, you might want to cut back on the sugar a bit. I make it a little strong, knowing that the ice cubes will melt into it and dilute the flavor some.

Red Curry Lentil Soup

This is a post I was waiting to post until I got a picture of it taken. That hasn't happened yet and I'm getting sick of it sitting in my drafts folder. So here you go!

For some reason, I bought a jar of red curry a while ago, and have been searching for a way to use it. Thanks to Pinterest, I found a number of recipes for lentils as well. So when I got a gift card to Whole Foods, I figured Lentils would be a good thing to get and I made my way over. Unfortunately, as I was getting ready to make the recipe that I thought sounded the best, I realized I didn't have any coconut milk. Sadness. So I improvised and ended up doing a bunch of substitutions to end up with this lovely soup. It's nice and warm and fills you up nicely.

Red Curry Lentil Soup
Originally found at Zesty Cook

1 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
3 cups vegetable broth + 2 cups water
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)

In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and carrot and cook until tender. Add the garlic, ginger, and curry paste, heating until fragrant. Add in the lentils, vegetable broth, water, and tomatoes, and cook until the lentils are soft, about 10-15 minutes. Add in the cayenne pepper (more to taste), then add the chickpeas and heat through. Serve hot with a side of flatbread.

My Notes:
This dish has a ton of fiber and protein. The original recipe calls for quinoa as well, but I didn't have any on hand, so I skipped it. They also recommend garnishing with cilantro and plain greek yogurt, but I found it wonderful even without the extra creaminess. It's great reheated, and the flavors really meld together well. Though this makes a ton of food (far more than enough to feed lil' ol' me), I'll be make this again in the future.

Chorreadas

This is a dish that I didn't actually have while in Costa Rica, but when I was looking for recipes for gallo pinto, I came across it and was fascinated by it. So much so that I decided to make it. These are fresh corn pancakes, generally made a little sweet. They are evidently served with sour cream, but I'm not much of a fan, so I served them plain.

Chorreadas
Originally found at Taringa.net (note that this page is in Spanish)

2 cups of fresh (raw) corn
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 eggs
Oil, as needed

Blend together corn and water until well pureed. Mix in sugar, flour, and eggs until well combined. Heat a small amount of oil over medium-high heat in a skillet, and pour a bit of the batter onto the hot surface. Allow to cook until lightly brown, then flip and brown the other side. Serve warm.

My Notes:
Do not attempt to make these regular sized pancakes, as they do not form quite as well and you'll have a heck of a time trying to flip them. I'd aim for palm-sized pancakes. Mine weren't very pretty, but they tasted awesome. Good enough to eat without any toppings, though you can have fun and top them with whatever you'd like. Previous suggestions I've heard include sour cream, cilantro, etc.

Enjoy!

Gallo Pinto

Last month, I spent 2 1/2 weeks in Costa Rica. And while it was a terrible place to attempt to keep kosher on my own (especially with me not speaking very good Spanish, and my host mom not quite understanding what I could and could not eat), I did learn to love some particular dishes that I encountered there. See, the typical 'casado' is a lunchtime meal consisting of rice and beans (mixed or not), some sort of meat, some sort of salad, and fried plantains, with a side of 'fresa', or fruit juice. Even after being there for 2 weeks, I was still loving the daily rice and beans. Such a simplistic and filling part of the meal, and they made it so flavorful.

In the central region of Costa Rica, the area around San Jose, the combination of rice and beans is referred to as 'gallo pinto'. The dish 'rice and beans' is actually on the Caribbean side and is made with coconut milk. I was not fortunate enough to travel to the Caribbean side (due to concerns over malaria there), so I did not try this version, but I heard it is also awesome.

So without further ado, I present to you the Americanized version of Gallo Pinto.



(Note that this particular picture includes scrambled eggs as well--it's a great variation for breakfast if you happen to have leftovers from lunch or dinner).

Gallo Pinto
Adapted from Perry's Plate

1 1/2 cups rice
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 15oz cans cooked black beans, drained
1 Tbsp cumin
1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped
salt and pepper

Cook rice as directed. Allow to cool completely.

In a saute pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and red bell pepper and cook until just soft. Add beans and cumin, stirring well and heating through. Combine with rice, and mix well. Add Worcestershire sauce, stirring well to coat rice. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Season as needed with salt and pepper.

My Notes:
This is best done with rice leftover from the previous night or cooked earlier in the day. You really do want cold rice, as it prevents the rice from getting all mushy and sticky.

I was skeptical about using Worchestershire sauce in this recipe, but it actually turned out quite well. My friends went up for seconds, and said they would've gone up for seconds and thirds had it been socially acceptable. Always the compliment of a great dish.

Crazy Cake Variations

Apologies for not posting in the past couple months; I just got back from Costa Rica, and will have a few more recipes posted within the next few days. I also have a couple months of no responsibilities, so pending funding for food, I fully plan on exploring some new recipes in that time. For now, I have some variations to Crazy cakes that I've been working on for a while.

Like most people who get introduced to Crazy Cakes, I got a tiny bit obsessed with them. And wanted to try out other flavors. A couple of these were already developed by others, but they have been tested by yours truly, and they are quite good. The instructions for all are essentially the same, so I'll put those at the bottom.

Almond Crazy Cake
Original recipe

1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
5 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water

Spiced Crazy Cake
Adapted from Sweet Little Bluebird

1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice or spice mix
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water

Pumpkin Spice Crazy Cake
Adapted from Crazy Cake Recipes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree (mix in with oil)
1/3 Cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 Cup Water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. You can mix the ingredients directly in an 8" square baking pan, or you can do it in a bowl first. Mix the dry ingredients together until well blended. Make 3 depressions in the dry ingredients--two small, and one larger. Pour vinegar in one depression, extracts in another, and vegetable oil in the largest. Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth. Pour into prepared pan if mixing in a bowel.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar, or your favorite icing.

My Notes:
Play around, mix and match--have fun with all these. There are endless possibilities here!

Buffalo Chickpea Chili

Buffalo Chickpea Chili
Adapted from Naturally Ella

Olive Oil
1/2 small onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water (or vegetable broth)
1/4 cup red lentils
1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp paprika

In a medium saucepan, heat oil. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add tomatoes, water (or broth) and lentils. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add wing sauce, chickpeas, and paprika, and allow to simmer another 10-15 minutes, until lentils are tender. Makes about 4 servings

My Notes:
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this recipe. It's decent, but the only real flavor comes from the wing sauce, which just makes it really spicy. There's no strong depth of flavor like I have in my other chilis. But it is really quick and easy to throw together, and I happened to have all ingredients on hand. This is not something I'd make for a week's worth of food, but may decide to make it as a part of a chili potluck or something. Otherwise, I'll stick with some of my other recipes.

Chocolate "Crazy" Cake

A moment of celebration is needed. I've hit 3K page views :) It's only taken me 3.5 years to do so, but hey, such is life. I still haven't met the requirements to complete my original challenge, though: 100 recipes, with at least 25 each of dairy, meat, and pareve--I'm only at 23 meat recipes, even though I have 125+ recipes on the site right now. Clearly, that needs to be an area of focus for me. This is mostly because it's a whole lot easier to convert a recipe that contains both meat and dairy to a vegetarian recipe than it is to eliminate the dairy.

Enough of my rambling--on to your regularly scheduled post.



So the other night, I was asked to bring dessert to a friend's house in exchange for dinner and good company (or something like that). I was originally going to make cookies, because they're simple and why not, but then realized that I didn't have enough butter on hand. So I went through my pinterest board to see if there was something I could make without butter, or milk. I found this recipe I pinned forever ago, and figured why not. I already had all the ingredients on hand. I'm also fairly certain I've made this before, but I couldn't find record of it, so whatever. The blog below also has recipes for a vanilla, spice, and lemon crazy cake as well if you're interested in something besides chocolate. Apparently it works great with gluten-free flour as well.

Chocolate Crazy Cake
Originally found at Sweet Little Bluebird

1 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
5 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. You can mix the ingredients directly in an 8" square baking pan, or you can do it in a bowl first. Mix the dry ingredients together until well blended. Make 3 depressions in the dry ingredients--two small, and one larger. Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla in another, and vegetable oil in the largest. Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth. Pour into prepared pan if mixing in a bowel.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar, or your favorite icing.

My Notes:
Very yummy. Super moist, but still light and airy. This may become my go-to cake recipe, especially since it's so incredibly easy to make. And it's pareve!

Cinnamon Apple Challah

This past week was Rosh Hashanah. For those of you who aren't Jewish, or familiar with Jewish customs, that is the start of the Hebrew calendar. Traditionally, sweet things are eaten on Rosh Hashanah to celebrate and to hope for a 'sweet' new year. Apples and honey is a favorite combination. I ran across this recipe for cinnamon apple challah on Pinterest not too long ago, and it seemed oddly fitting, especially since Rosh Hashanah ran into Shabbat this year.

Cinnamon Apple Challah
Modified from ReformJudaism.org

2 1/2 tsp instant yeast (1 envelope)
1/2 cup warm water (100 degrees)
1/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 - 3 cups bread flour
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon, divided
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 small apples, or 1 medium-large apple

In a large bowl, mix yeast, water, and 1/4 cup sugar. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, until frothy. Mix in 2 eggs, oil, vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon, and salt. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until it forms a soft ball. It should be firm enough to handle without being sticky, but still soft and pliable. Knead dough for about 10 minutes until smooth, adding more water if dough is tough or flour if it is sticky. Place the dough in a clean, warm bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour until about double in size.

Meanwhile, core and chop apples into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle on 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp sugar.

Once dough has risen, divide into three sections and roll each into a long, wide strip. Sprinkle some apples along the long edge and roll up, taking care to avoid air bubbles. Avoid placing the apple-cinnamon liquid into the dough, as this will make it much more difficult to handle. Repeat with remaining two sections of dough. Braid strands together, tucking ends under. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until triple in size, about an hour and a half.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the remaining egg with a small amount of water to create an egg wash, and brush the challah with the egg. Bake 25-35 minutes, until golden brown. The bread should sound hollow when tapped. Serve with honey!

My Notes:
So, I had too many apples. It didn't work so well. One of my rolls ended up falling apart, so I skipped the step to braid and just did tree spiral rounds. The original recipe called to bake for 35 minutes, but I was skeptical, so I set my timer for 30, and ended up taking the bread out with about 8 minutes left. Likely this was because it wasn't braided.

It's not a bad recipe. I'm not sure how much of a fan I am of the chunks of apples--I was expecting them to be a bit softer and melt into the batter a little more, but they kept their form and crunch fairly well. Still, it's got a nice flavor.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Originally found at All About Gluten Free Cooking and Living

1 sweet potato, rinsed and pierced with a fork
1 Tbsp brown sugar or maple syrup
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2-3 cups flour

Wrap the sweet potato in foil and bake in a 350F oven until done, about an hour. Allow to cool slightly, then peel and mash. Mix in brown sugar and nutmeg, then slowly incorporate flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until a dough ball forms. It will be slightly sticky, but should be able to hold some shape. Place a pot of water on medium-high heat to boil.

Place on a floured surface and roll into a snake about 1 inch wide. Cut the snake into chunks about 1/2 inch wide. If desired, you can roll the gnocchi on the tines of a fork; this will allow it to soak up more sauce.

Working in small batches, drop the gnocchi into the boiling water. Stir it a bit after dropping them in, as sometimes they can stick to the bottom of the pan. When they start to float, remove them with a slotted spoon.

Top with your favorite sauce, and enjoy while warm! If desired, you can freeze them in a single layer and reheat later with the sauce.

My Notes:
I'm not entirely sure how much flour I used. I kept adding small amounts until I got the right consistency, and it took a little bit of time. But, I had three people try it, and they all enjoyed the gnocchi itself. Perfect consistency and just a bit of sweetness. I made the sage sauce recommended at the link above, but wasn't overly impressed with it... it just needed more flavor. I think I'll try it with pesto at some future point. The recipe was easy enough that I'll probably make it again, and may not be so inclined to buy regular gnocchi at the store from now on. It's just so easy to go ahead and make it yourself!

Skinny Girl Cupcakes with Pomegranate Tea Frosting

So I got a really bad craving the other night for something sweet. I've already gone through my chocolate chips (as part of my clean-out-the-pantry month), so that was out. I did, however, have a bottle of Sprite Zero and a box of cake mix. So, cupcakes were born.

Skinny Girl Cupcakes
Originally found at Six Sisters' Stuff

1 box cake mix, any flavor
12 oz Sprite Zero

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the box of cake mix and the Sprite Zero until well combined. Fill cupcake holders to 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the center springs back after a light touch or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely, then frost.

Pomegranate Tea Frosting
Adapted from Ellebug

1 stick (8 Tbsp) butter, softened.
2 cups powdered sugar
2 bags Pomegranate Tea
4 Tbsp boiling water

Place teabags in boiling water and allow to steep for 10 minutes, then allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, beat together powdered sugar and butter until fluffy. Add in the tea, mixing well. Chill for 10 minutes prior to frosting the cupcakes.

My Notes:
This was my first time making my own frosting. I don't think I'll do a buttercream again. It's just too... I dunno. Super sweet, I guess. The frosting is definitely something that takes a certain palate to appreciate, but my friends certainly enjoyed it. I have another recipe for a basic frosting that sounds like it'll be slightly less sweet. I think I'll try that one next time.

Still, this wasn't a bad attempt, considering I happened to have everything on hand. I'll definitely be playing with the skinny girl cake recipe, maybe try to adapt it so that I don't need the mix anymore. I'm not quite good enough with cakes to do that yet... I mostly stick to brownies and cookies from scratch.

Coconut Curry Popcorn Seasoning

You can't really see it in the above picture, but the popcorn is a beautiful golden color. It tastes pretty yummy too. I promise, I'll work on my photography skills, but with only an iPhone and a point-and-shoot camera at my disposal, it makes things a little more difficult.

Coconut Curry Popcorn Seasoning
Originally found at Fearless Homemaker

1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash cayenne pepper
dash garlic powder

Blend together ingredients in a food processor. Pour over slightly oiled/buttered popcorn, to taste.*

*If you make popcorn in the air popper or by steaming, you will need to add some oil or butter to get the seasoning to stick. If you make it on the stove using oil or butter, the addition of extra is unnecessary. If you add it to store-bought popcorn in the bag, you shouldn't need anything else, so long as you pour the seasoning quickly after removing from the microwave.

My Notes:
So, I'm currently on a mission to clean out my pantry before I move. Part of that is only going to the grocery store when I absolutely need to, and only for staples. Which is proving to be a little more difficult than I initially anticipated, but I did manage to cut my food budget in half this month by doing so. Next month I'll save even more on my food bill, because I'm going to be at camp for 2 weeks out of the month and thus don't have to make anything.

At any rate, I bought a bag of popcorn kernels a long time ago for something. My friend then invited us all over for movie night, and commented about how she had all these veggies and snacks, but no popcorn. Whatever is a girl to do? I figured that since it wasn't popcorn in a bag, that it would need some sort of seasoning on it, and plain old salt just wasn't going to do. So Pinterest came to my rescue, and provided me with this recipe.

I actually adapted it from a much larger recipe (designed for giving out as gifts), but as I just wanted this for myself, I cut it down by 7. It actually produces a fair amount, probably a 1/2 cup of loosely packed seasoning. It's a bit weird tasting at first, mostly because you're not quite expecting this taste on popcorn, but it's good. Definitely something I'll make again. Maybe I can get away with getting my sister a movie themed gift for her birthday this year with various homemade seasonings. I'm usually broke around her birthday, because financial aid takes forever to be dispersed, so it'll be a good option, I think.

Banana Muffins

Yes, I know I've done a banana bread recipe before. It was a basic recipe, and I didn't even have a picture. Or if I did, it got lost somewhere, and I didn't post it. Same difference. And while that recipe was good, I like experimenting. So I found this recipe for Coconut Banana bread. That sounded a little weird, but I went with it. I did omit the coconut itself, so the bread doesn't have a very coconut flavor, but I had all the other ingredients on hand, and figured, why not?

So, I give you a twist on the typical banana bread recipe. Enjoy!

Banana Muffins
Adapted from Fat Girl Trapped In a Skinny Body

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 medium overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup light coconut milk
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (use all purpose and increase baking soda to 1 tsp)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, mix the applesauce and sugar. Add the eggs, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Mix in the mashed banana and coconut milk. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Incorporate into the wet ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined.

Pour the batter into prepared pan*, and bake according to the directions below.

*For muffins, line a muffin tin with liners, or grease well. Bake muffins for 15 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For mini loaves, grease the pans well. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For 9 by 5 loaf pan, grease the pan well. Bake for about 1 hour, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

My Notes:
If you want to add the coconut, the original recipe recommends mixing in 1 cup shredded coconut at the end. I think almonds might make a good addition to this recipe too, if you're the type of person who typically likes banana walnut bread.

These muffins are super moist, and delightful. They are still very banana-y, but have a depth of flavor beyond that of regular banana bread. I'm not sure if I'll keep this recipe as is, as I don't buy coconut milk too often (I happened to have it on hand because I wanted to make a Thai dish a while back), but never quite got around to it. I'm also not convinced of the supposed 'health benefits' of coconut milk that everyone is touting recently, but that's another story.

As for what to do with the leftover coconut milk... why not make up a small batch of my Indian Chicken Curry? I might come out with a few more recipes soon using coconut milk, so stay tuned!

Rock Candy

Do not, like me, get confused with the name of this candy. It's just a hard candy, not the rock candy that you make as a kid with a sugar solution and a stick.

Now that we're clear on that...

Rock Candy
From Mrs. Bourke's kitchen

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon flavoring (use LorAnn candy oils, not regular extracts, which aren't strong enough)
food coloring
powdered sugar

Heat the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a saucepan over high heat. Heat until the mixture reaches 320*F, the hard crack stage. Mix in flavoring and food coloring quickly, then pour into a well oiled jelly roll pan. Allow to cool slightly, until it can be handled, but is still soft. Using a pair of clean scissors, cut the candy into manageable pieces, then cut into bite-sized pieces over a container of powdered sugar. Cool completely, then sift out of the powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
One of my friends has had this tradition in his family for years, where the whole family gets together one day and makes a ton of this rock candy. This year, my friend invited a bunch of people from school to help out. Total, we made 21 batches of this stuff, in various flavors, including spearmint, wintergreen, peppermint, cinnamon, licorice, and sassafras. It was a ton of fun, and afterwards, we had a fight with all the leftover powdered sugar.

Be warned, though, once the candy starts to harden, it doesn't really stop, so you have to work fast. Thus, it helps to have a ton of people around to help cut. Like this:



Yes, we did end up having fun with all that powdered sugar :)

Pumpkin Cake

Pumpkin Cake
Adapted from All Recipes

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup applesauce (unsweetened, unflavored)
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 can pumpkin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube (or bundt) pan. In a large bowl, combine oil, applesauce, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix until well combined and smooth. Add in pumpkin and blend well. Pour batter into greased pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to cool on a wire rack.

My Notes:
This was a nice and moist cake. I enjoyed it. So did the boys. My friend even said something along the lines of "everything you touch tastes amazing!" Another win!