Kat with a K

Real Talk on Cupcakes

Let's talk about cupcakes. More specifically, let's talk about cupcake-specific bakeries. I keep hoping that this trend will be over, but it keeps going. Heck, even some doctor on Mercy said that cupcakes were over. But alas. The trendiness persists. My basic problem with them is twofold. First of all, they're expensive. $3-4 for a cupcake? One? Seriously? That's highway robbery. But maybe I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't for the other problem: they're just not good*. I've been disappointed every single time I've had a fancy cupcake-store cupcake. I assume it's something to do with the mass production. If I'm going to spend that much on a single-serving dessert, I'd rather it be an ice cream sundae.

But there's a less tangible issue, too. They're just so . . . conspicuous. "Look, I'm spending $3 on a cupcake!" And they're so cutesy, and . . . I don't know. Actually, Sara Mead made this point much better over at the IFA. As she says, "Even the long lines are about the notion that this is something SO special and magical it's worth wasting half an hour of your time to get that box and show you've been at the trendy place." I like her jewelry store comparison, too.

I think there's some sort of gender thing going on here too. I mean, sure, guys like cupcakes. But these stores are clearly marketed to women. And the concept of a cupcake implies that it's small. Childlike. Maybe even miniature. (Never mind that some of these stores have ridiculously large cupcakes.) Women aren't supposed to order dessert, but since cupcakes are seen as little and cute and girlish, they're okay. Now I want to do a study: take two groups of women eating at restaurants - on dates, even. Offer half of them a really good slice of cake at the restaurant for dessert, and offer the other half a cupcake at a cupcake store down the road. I wonder if a higher percent would say yes to the cupcake? Hmmm.

But I'm getting off track here. The point I was trying to make, before I got distracted by the gender stuff, was that most cupcake store cupcakes are overpriced and taste bad. For the amount of money you'd spend on two of those, say, you could make two dozen yourself that would taste better. Try it! Three cheers for homemade cupcakes!

* Caveat: I have a good friend who is talking about starting a cupcake place. I have had her cupcakes and they are wonderful. Obviously she is the exception to the rule and I am not at all talking about her here.

Broccoli alla Claudia

My aunt served this on Christmas, and it just looked like normal broccoli, but then we tasted it and were basically "OMG THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER" and she was all "I KNOW, RIGHT?" Or, you know, something like that. So I made her describe what she did to it, and last night I tried my best to replicate it. Here's what you do!

Put a bunch of olive oil in a large saute pan. Add a bag of frozen broccoli florets. (She was very firm in the fact that they had to be florets, not some other cut of broccoli. I'm not sure why it's so important, but I believe her.) You can let them thaw at room temperature for a while, or just add them frozen - it will just take a little longer to cook if they're frozen. Don't microwave them first or anything. Okay, so add the broccoli and a bunch of garlic. My aunt used whole cloves, but I used minced, and it's fine either way. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring periodically, until the broccoli is almost cooked.

When the broccoli is almost done, add a little more olive oil and some black pepper, red pepper flakes, and sea salt. (Or did she say kosher salt? I'm not sure. I used sea salt because that's what I had.) Stir it a bunch, and keep cooking. You want to almost overcook this. Cook until the bright green has faded and gotten a bit dull. I KNOW. I usually like my broccoli to stay bright green and crisp too. But for this recipe, you really do want to cook it into submission. When the green has faded, turn off the heat and enjoy! It's good hot, room temperature, or cold, so it's great to serve in a buffet or something, or to do ahead when you're having company. Yum.

Recipe: One-Everything Blondies

I suddenly remembered this morning that I had promised to bring some sort of baked goods to a meeting today. At this point, it was too late for the peanut butter cookies I'd planned, as that dough has to chill and all. So I did what I practically always do when faced with a culinary crisis - I turned to Mark Bittman. These blondies from his inimitable How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food (seriously, you have this, right? If not, go put it on your Christmas list RIGHT NOW) are quick, easy, and only call for ingredients that I keep around the house anyway. Score.

And as I was making them this morning, I noticed that virtually all the ingredients are "one" of something, which means this would be both easy to memorize and simple enough to make at 6am when you're still half asleep. Not that any of us are ever baking in that state. Ahem.

One-Everything Blondies
(rewritten but not all that adapted from How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a brownie pan. (The book says 8", but mine might be 9". Whatever. Also, feel free to actually butter the pan if you want to invest that kind of time, but come on, this is quick-and-dirty before-work baking. Spray does fine.)

Melt one stick of unsalted butter. Pour it into your mixer. (Oh, that's another difference: I did this whole thing in my Kitchenaid, because I didn't feel like stirring at 6:30 in the morning. It worked fine.)

Beat it with one cup of brown sugar.

Beat in one egg and one teaspoon of vanilla.

Add one pinch of salt (yeah that's where I'm stretching the "one" thing) and one cup of flour. Mix. (Start on low so the flour doesn't end up all over the kitchen.)

Mix in one cup of chocolate chips, if you want. Or nuts. Or peanut butter chips might be good. Whatever. Go crazy.

Pour it into the brownie pan and even it out with a spatula.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until "just set in the middle."

Cool. Cut up. Bring to work and preserve your reputation as the office baker.

Food is difficult.

I've spent a fair amount of time figuring out where I, a vegetarian, can eat with friends who go gluten-free. And it occurred to me while making plans with a friend this morning that someone may as well benefit from this acquired knowledge. So. The best chain options I've found are Panera - although I'm currently mad at them for getting rid of all vegetarian entree salads - and Uno's. The latter even has gluten-free pizza crust now, although it doesn't actually seem to be the tastiest thing ever. But still. In general, Mexican food works pretty well, and Indian can work too. Don't even bother trying Italian.

Any other suggestions, or places to avoid?

Pumpkin Bread

I made this pumpkin bread (from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, which you should all own) at, oh, six o'clock Saturday morning for a party Saturday night. But then I drove to Maine and helped set up tailgating and watched a football game in the freezing cold and tailgated and drove home from Maine and immediately fell asleep. And therefore didn't make it to the party. So! Pumpkin bread, anyone?

Update: I actually cut into the pumpkin bread finally, and it's mushy in the middle. Bah! It looked so pretty! My oven seems to be working against me...

Halloween Week Breakfast

One nice thing about my insistence on getting up inexplicably early is that if I decide I want a fresh muffin for breakfast, well, I have time to make that happen:

These are Smitten Kitchen's Pumpkin Muffins. I followed the recipe almost exactly: I didn't have pumpkin pie spice blend, so I used my own mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves. The recipe was great, and hit that rare level of being easy and quick to accomplish but still producing that "Wow, look what I just made FROM SCRATCH" feeling. They're delicious as is but I might try adding walnuts next time.

And now I'm out of sugar, eggs, and muffin tin liners all at the same time. Odd. But I DO have 3/4 cup of pumpkin left, so if anyone has any suggestions for that, let me know. Why can't they just make the cans of pumpkin hold two cups instead of 1.75?? Yes, I know, it's so next time I need a cup I have to buy another whole can. Bah. Also, I have to say that my coworkers seem to appreciate my early morning baking fits. (Because really, what am I going to do with a dozen muffins?)

So, who wants to come over for breakfast?

Update: Yeah, so much for following the recipe. I left out the baking soda! Oops. They rose plenty and taste fine anyway...

A Saturday Breakfast Inspired by Food Blogs

Last weekend, Jack and Caitlin came for breakfast - I LOVE cooking breakfast - and I decided that it was a good opportunity to try out a few of those food blogger recipes I'm always bookmarking and never actually making. (I'm not the only one who does this, right?)

So I tried Pioneer Woman's Cheese Muffins:

And Smitten Kitchen's Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Sauteed Apples:

As you can see, I had a little trouble getting the pancakes to cook evenly - Jack would say it's because of my weird pancake cooking methods, which I maintain are completely normal - but they were delicious anyway:

Close-up on the sauteed apples, which were good enough to just eat on their own:

Yes, I left the peels on, partially because I'm lazy and partially because they taste good that way.

More on butter tarts...

A few people have asked for the recipe, but I don't want to share it without permission. I got it from Beck, and I just found this one on her recipe blog. But it's a little different from the one she sent me. So. I've asked her which version is the preferable one, and I'll let you know what I hear.

Butter Tarts!

I mentioned my love for butter tarts in my Canada Day post the other day. I was introduced to them by a Canadian friend who brought some to a party we both attended in Ohio. (Ah, for the days of $30 flights...) She didn't have a recipe, though, and of course you can't buy them around here, so after that one taste I was butter tart-less. Until! This week a lovely Canadian sent me a recipe, so I tried it out:

They're not the prettiest things ever, but boy do they taste good. As Rachel pointed out, they're sort of like mini pecan pies without any pecans. I cheated and used prefab pie crust, and it was a bit too thick, so next time I'm going to do it all from scratch. (I was just too tired last night.) And the great thing about them is that they only use ingredients that you'd normally have around the house anyway. (Assuming that, like me, you consider real maple syrup to be a staple. And assuming that, unlike me, you're not mysteriously out of flour and eggs.) I listened to Canadian music (mostly Alanis Morissette) while making them, which I personally believe adds to their authenticity.

And now I have something new and different to bring to my family for Canada Day the Fourth of July!

Recipe: Blue Cheese Yogurt Dip

My new favorite dip:

Blue Cheese Yogurt Dip

(Adapted from "Simplest Yogurt Sauce" in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman.)

2 cups plain yogurt (I used Stonyfield Farm Organic whole milk plain. I usually get their nonfat stuff just for eating, but for this, I'd recommend the whole milk version.)
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (I used Culinary Circle because it was on sale.)
a few tablespoons minced fresh dill
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the yogurt and cheese - don't bother with an electric mixer or anything; it's supposed to be lumpy. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Serve with veggies, chips, etc. It's thin enough that it would make a good salad dressing, too, or heck, put it on a sandwich. Or eat it with a spoon. It's that good. (And easy.)

What's wrong with guacamole manufacturers?

I made quesadillas for some friends last weekend, and I didn't have time to make guacamole that day, so I figured I'd just buy some. Easy enough, right? Well. It was easy enough to buy, but all the brands of guacamole at my grocery store were in plastic pouches or other non-reclosable packaging. Why is this? It has been suggested that the manufacturers are simply trying to make sure that we have to keep buying more guacamole instead of saving one package until we finish it, which makes sense, as far as it goes. But why guacamole? If that's the reasoning, why don't manufacturers use the same reasoning and same packaging for other dips? Anyone have any ideas?

I know; the solution to this is just to make the guacamole oneself. Anyone have a favorite recipe?

Omnivore's Hundred

This has been going around the food blogs, but I first saw it at And She Knits Too. Rules: Take the Omnivore's Hundred list from Andrew Wheeler. Bold the things you've tried, cross out the ones you wouldn't try.

Note: Since I'm a vegetarian, I'm crossing out all the meat that I didn't try before becoming vegetarian. And in general, you can assume that these answers are for relatively normal circumstances... if I were literally starving and all there was to eat was meat, I'd eat it.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros (unless made with tofu!)
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari (I think I ate it as a young child. Right, mom? Or was that just shrimp?)
12. Pho
13. PB&J; sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart - I'm honestly not sure on this one.
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (not a whole one, and never again--too hot. They’re good cooked though).
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more - not sure.
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV - not sure.
59. Poutine (I know there's probably meat in the gravy, but I am so intrigued by this idea that I might try a bite anyway, were I given a chance.)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin - I don't know what this is.
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - I'd say these are all quite different things, but I've had all of them.
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie - not sure whether I've had Hostess brand, but I've definitely had this sort of thing.
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (or something similar).
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers - just... any flowers? Yeah.
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Recipe: Tofu Scramble Template

I read somewhere recently that scrambled is "the way tofu is meant to be," and I totally agree. It's so easy and yummy and versatile... I'm not even given you a real recipe here, because there are so many options. But here are the basic steps to follow:

1. Drain and press a block of firm tofu. Let it sit on paper towels for a little while to get as much water out as possible.

2. Heat up oil (olive, peanut, whatever) in a big skillet. Add garlic and/or onion if desired and cook.

3. Add 2-3 cups of vegetables, cut to be bite-sized. (Above, I've used broccoli, garlic scapes, and a variety of mini summer squash.) Cook them, stirring so they don't stick or burn, until they are a few minutes from ready. If you're using some particularly slow- or quick-cooking vegetables, add them in order of how long they take to cook so they're all ready at once.

4. Crumble in the tofu. Don't worry too much about the size of the pieces - I usually just crumble it in with my hands and use a wooden spoon to break up any too-large pieces. Add spices of your choice. (Above, I've used coriander, curry powder, and ginger... you could use basil and oregano if you have Italian-type vegetables, etc.) Stir it in and cook. Tofu doesn't really change appearance - you just need to make sure it's hot.

5. Remove from heat and toss in some cheese - again, whatever goes with your veggies and spices. (Above, I have crumbled goat cheese.) Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Serve with rice, potatoes, other grains, pasta... Enjoy!

Recipe: Simple Panzanella for One

I'd heard about panzanella - bread and tomato salad - from friends, but never tried it before. And then one evening I found myself with some old bread, tomatoes that were almost past ripe, and no time to cook. I looked up a bunch of recipes, but they all wanted me to do weird, time-consuming things like soak the break in ice water (um, ew?) or strain the tomatoes or... etc. So I just gleaned the basic idea and made a really quick version, and it was delicious! And if you have a toaster oven, you don't even need to turn on the real oven - always a plus in the summer.

2 slices Italian (or other) bread - stale is fine
2 medium tomatoes
minced garlic
olive oil
basil
salt and pepper
grated romano cheese

1. Toast bread, then spread each slice with minced garlic and toast again. Let cool.
2. Once the bread is cool, cut it up into roughly bite-sized pieces and put it in a bowl. There will be some crumbs and garlic on your cutting board - scrape those into the bowl too.
3. Cut up the tomatoes into pieces of the same size as the bread and stir them in.
4. Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil - enough to coat everything but not be too oily. Shake in some dried basil (or fresh if you have it) and salt and pepper to taste. Grate on a bunch of romano cheese.
5. Stir it all up and let it sit for 20 minutes or so to let the flavors mesh and saturate the bread.
6. Enjoy with a nice glass of wine!

Yummy Sandwich from Aspirations

On Wednesdays, the women in my department go out to lunch together. Yesterday, we went to one of my favorite local places, Aspirations Bistro. Why is it my favorite? Just take a look at this sandwich:

YUM. Tomato, fresh mozzarella, tons of basil, oil and vinegar, all on a multigrain asiago roll, with a pickle on the side. It's like everything I like in the world, all on one plate.

Faux-Recipe: Mini Corn Chocolate Chip Muffins

Question: What do you do when someone invites you to their house for breakfast, but you get the invitation at 1 am and have to leave for breakfast at 8? Additional complications: you don't know how many people will be there, and you're not in your own kitchen.

Answer: Make mini muffins, of course!

I just found a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix in my mom's pantry and prepared the batter according to the instructions on the box. Instead of making six regular-sized muffins, I make 24 mini muffins, which took care of the "don't know how many people are there" issues. Plus, anything "mini" is automatically cuter and more impressive. Before I put them in the oven, I placed about three chocolate chips on the top of each one, and then baked them at 400 until they were golden brown. Put them in a basket with a brightly colored cloth, and voila! A perfectly respectable breakfast contribution.

Recipe: Not-Spicy Fruit Salsa

Last weekend, I decided to bring tortilla chips and a few dips to a friend's house. A few of the people present really don't like spicy things, so my challenge was to make a salsa that was flavorful but not at all spicy. Here's what I ended up with...

Not-Spicy Fruit Salsa

(Adapted from the Peach Melon Tomato Salsa recipe in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food - which is, by the way, an amazing cookbook.)

1 peach
about 1/4 of a canteloupe
1 tomato
about 1/3 of a red bell pepper
juice of one lime
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup fresh dill
1-2 tbsp dried mint flakes*
salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop peach, canteloupe, tomato, and pepper into very small, approximately uniform pieces. Dump them all in a mixing bowl and stir.

2. Add lime juice and oil oil, and stir so that all the fruit and veggies are coated.

3. Chop the dill, and add it and the mint. Stir well.

4. Taste, and add salt and pepper as necessary. Enjoy!

* This would also probably be great with fresh mint, but my grocery store was all out.

Breaking News on the Cookie Front

The Oreo invades Britain. Read it, really. It's hilarious. Example:

I tell her that, according to the ads, it should be "dunked" before eaten.

"In tea?" she asks. (Dipping biscuits - we Brits call all cookies "biscuits' - in a steaming hot cup of tea is an almost sacred ritual here.)

"No, in milk," I reply.

"Milk?! A biscuit dipped in milk? Who does that?"

Don't you wish you worked in my department?*

Tomorrow, being as it is the last Friday of the month, is Random Dessert Friday at work. It is also one friend/coworker's last day, so I made him his favorite dessert:

And another friend/coworker's birthday was earlier this month, so I wanted to make her a cake. Unfortunately, she can't eat wheat. Luckily, Chris came to the rescue with her One-Bowl Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe. (I mostly followed it - the birthday girl really likes her chocolate sweet rather than dark, so I used semisweet in the cake instead of bittersweet, and milk chocolate in the glaze instead of semisweet.) The recipe included that dreaded phrase: invert the cake onto a plate. I'm always afraid that my cake won't come out of the pan at that point or will fall apart or crack or something. So when it didn't, I was so proud of my inversion-onto-plate skills that I had to take a picture:

And here's the completed cake, smothered in glaze:

I think it will be a yummy Friday at the office tomorrow.
___
* Actually, in case anyone does wish they worked in my department: we're hiring a bunch of people. Leave a comment if you want more info.

No previously ocular food.

Slate has an essay up on debunking vegetarian myths. It's pretty great. I should print it out and have some copies on hand when dining out or attending family events...

Yum.

We're having lovely spring weather in New Hampshire this week, and this morning I was reunited with my favorite warm-weather breakfast: Stonyfield Farm Nonfat French Vanilla Organic Yogurt with a sprinkling of granola and fruit. I really need to start making my own granola, because it's so ridiculously expensive, and really, how hard could it be? Anyone have any favorite recipes?

Pretty green stirfry

Supper tonight:

First challah

Last week I was reading about various teachings on the observance of the Lord's Day (more about that later, perhaps), which led me into reading about Jewish Shabbat practices, which made me want to learn to bake challah. The booklet that came with my bread machine had a recipe; the machine did the dough part and then I took it out to shape and bake. Here's the result:

Honestly, I don't know if it's "right" because I've rarely tasted challah before, but it's yummy! I think the top is a bit browner than it's supposed to be, because I was having oven temperature regulation issues. Overall, though, I think it was quite a successful experiment.

Bread Machine Issues

Recently, I've been having major problems using my bread machine. My loaves keep coming out something like this:

Is it me? The machine? The recipes? (I've tried more than one.) Any ideas? It tastes fine, of course, but it's certainly not pretty, and the weird shape isn't very conducive to sandwich-making.

Holly Shortbread

I've had a productive day while being snowed in. I made four pans of the above shortbread, plus a batch of fudge, so I am officially ahead on my holiday baking schedule. Actually, I'm hoping that by bedtime tonight I'll be ahead on both my baking and knitting schedules. I have a few knitted things to show you over the next few days, and then the rest will have to wait until they've been given at Christmas.

Saturday Morning Baking

It's cold and windy out, so I got up this morning and started baking. First, chocolate chip muffins, just because I'd been wanting them for a while:

I substituted whole wheat flour for half the regular flour, so that makes them healthy, right? ;-) They're yummy for breakfast with a piece of fruit, some milk, and a big mug of tea. This morning, I had a mug of Celestial Seasonings Nutcracker Sweet Holiday Tea while I was baking and then some Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea with breakfast.

And then I made some holiday M&M; brownies to bring to a friend this afternoon:

I'll admit I "cheated" on these. I usually like to do my baking from scratch, but I do keep a few mixes around for when I'm rushed or need something last-minute, as was the case today. This was a Ghirardelli walnut brownie mix; I just scattered the M&Ms; on top before I put them in the oven.

Okay, now I should actually get some work done...

Onion goggles!

I have an awful time chopping onions. Awful. It takes me forever, because I keep having to stop to wash my face. So I'm rather excited to see these onion goggles. I'm tempted...

Vegetarian Stuffing and Gravy?

I've been thinking about Thanksgiving, and what I would and wouldn't be able to eat, and what I actually cared about. I quickly realized that I never really liked turkey, even when I ate meat, so that's no loss. I do like stuffing and gravy, though. (And most of the rest of the meal is pretty veggie-friendly.) So I've decided that I should make and bring some vegetarian stuffing and gravy - enough to share, of course, and if no one else wants it, I guess I'll have lots of leftovers. Yum. I want to try a few different options so I know that what I bring actually tastes good. Anyone have any favorites? I have a few options from various cookbooks, but it's always nice to know of personal recommendations.

My criteria:
1. Relatively easy-to-find ingredients.
2. Not terribly long to make or kitchen-hogging, as I'll probably be doing this at my mom's house Thanksgiving morning and bringing it to my aunt's, and my mom will likely be cooking something to bring as well. (Hi Mom! Mind if I share the kitchen? I'll call you tonight to talk about it!)
3. Not mushroom-centric. I don't like mushrooms. I'm considering trying to get over this, as 98% of vegetarian options in restaurants, for one thing, involve mushrooms. So... a few mushrooms are okay, but nothing completely mushroom-flavored.
4. Bonus points if the stuffing involves mostly whole grains.

I'll let you know what I try and how it works!

Recipe: Whole Wheat Oatmeal Apricot Cookies

I was in one of those "must bake!" moods today, so here's what I came up with:

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Apricot Cookies

This is loosely based on the Oatmeal Cookies recipe in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, which is my all-purpose go-to cookbook. I made some substitutions in order to not use white flour or sugar, and I added the apricots and nutmeg and generally played with some of the quantities, etc.

Ingredients:
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp maple syrup
2 eggs
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch salt
2 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp milk
1 cup dried apricots, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cream the butter, sugar, and maple syrup, then add the eggs.
3. Mix the flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, alternating with the milk. Stir.
5. Stir in the apricots.
6. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.
7. Bake for about 14 minutes.

Makes about three dozen yummy cookies.

Recipe: Artichoke Ricotta Pasta

I found myself craving red pepper flakes yesterday, oddly enough, so I decided I had to make something that involved them for dinner. This is what I ended up with. Note: I didn't actually measure anything as I was going, so the amounts are estimates. Use more or less of whatever, based on what you have or what you like.

Ingredients:
12 oz. pasta (I used tricolor rotini)
2-3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup chopped onion
heaping tablespoon minced garlic
14 oz. can whole artichoke hearts, chopped into bite-size pieces
1/4 to 1/3 cup white wine (I used Riesling)
about 1/2 cup ricotta
about 1/4 cup grated romano (parmigiano would work too)
salt
crushed red pepper

1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
2. Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil. Once the onion has softened, add artichoke hearts and cook for a few minutes. Then add the wine.
3. Add pasta to boiling water. Let the artichoke mixture simmer while the pasta cooks.
4. When the pasta is done, drain it and stir in the cheeses.
5. Add the artichoke mixture and mix thoroughly. Add crushed red pepper to taste.

Simple but tasty weeknight meal!

Recipe: Easy Tofu Marinara

This is adapted from the various baked tofu recipes in a great vegetarian cookbook called Enemy of the Steak.

1 pound extra firm tofu, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1-1.5 cups marinara sauce (when I don't have time to make my own, my favorite is Newman's)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
optional: minced garlic, to taste
optional: other herbs or spices, to taste (I added fresh basil from the garden)
optional: grated romano or parmigiano cheese (if you leave this out, the recipe is vegan)

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix sauce, vinegar, garlic, herbs, and spices.
3. Spread about half of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a shallow baking pan (9x13 or so).
4. Place the tofu in a single layer in the pan.
5. Top with the rest of the sauce mixture. Spread out the sauce so it covers the surface of the tofu - I find it's easiest to do this with a spatula.
6. Optional: Top with grated cheese.
7. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Serve with salad and the grain of your choice (suggestions: pasta, couscous, risotto), or use as a sandwich filling.

Cupcakes!

I took a little break from homework to do something much less stressful. I made cupcakes!

And then I made frosting!

Recipe: Cheesy Dip

This was just a quick dip I threw together to contribute to a dinner with friends the other night, but people really seemed to like it and a few asked for the recipe, so I thought I might as well post it here too. As is my wont, I read a bunch of recipes and combined them. Note: this is written for the crockpot/slow cooker, but if you don't have one, you could probably achieve similar results by simmering in a large heavy stockpot.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Velveeta, cubed
2 10 oz. cans RO*TEL
1 16 oz. can refried beans
1 3.8 oz. can sliced black olives

Put cubed cheese in the slow cooker and pour other ingredients over it. Cook on Low for a few hours, stirring frequently, until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are blended. Serve with corn chips.

Super easy, but oh so yummy.

Onions without tears!

I can't be the first one to think of this, but I've never heard it anywhere, so I thought I'd share. I usually have a horrible time chopping onions. I don't just tear up: I sob. I've tried most of the remedies I've heard, and none of them do much.

But today I was washing an onion, because it seemed a little dirty, and I decided to cut it down the middle to make sure that the dirt was just on the outside rather than related to some sort of internal rotting or something. And I realized that I wasn't feeling the slightest bit teary. So I went ahead and cut the whole onion up while holding it under the cold running water, and I was totally fine. Sheesh. Why isn't this standard practice? Does it do something horrible to the onion's flavor that I don't know about?

Green Tea Latte, Reincarnated

Remember how I was all sad that the coffee stand on campus stopped selling the green tea latte I had just discovered that I loved? Well, VERY shortly after that, I read on Starbucks Gossip that Starbucks was going to start making one. And it was set to premiere April 4! Today! So I stopped by on my way to class and got one, and yay! It's virtually identical to the late lamented one. (Of course, this has led to all sorts of wild speculation regarding the likelihood of Starbucks using the campus coffee stand as some sort of super-secret test market.)

This latte and the really, really good mocha I got at Starbucks on Sunday might just tip the balance to making it more often worth my while to go a bit out of my way to get to a Starbucks. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, there is no Starbucks really convenient to any of my regular commutes. (There are, however, 33 Dunkin' Donuts locations within 20 miles of my house, and I'm not sure whether that even counts those in supermarkets or gas stations.) But I spent a lovely interlude at one of the inconvenient ones this past Sunday morning, with a friend and a New York Times, and I think that will have to be repeated. Oh yeah, that's another reason I like Starbucks - the people working there don't laugh at me for spending $4.50 on a newspaper, because they're charging me almost as much for a cup of coffee. Sigh.

Updated to add: And, yes, I feel vaguely guilty about going to Starbucks, or Dunkin' Donuts, for that matter. I do try to patronize independent coffee places when possible, I promise.

Caramel Apple Cider for One

A bunch of people on Chatty have been talking about caramel apple cider recently, and making me really want some. Alas, I have no convenient Starbucks. I do, however, have a kitchen, and rather a "How hard could it be?" attitude about cooking. (Don't scoff; this attitude led to a pretty successful wedding cake, if I do say so myself.) Most of the recipes I've found used three million spices and/or made fifteen gallons of the stuff. I just wanted one mug. So I decided to wing it. Here's my recipe for Caramel Apple Cider for One, made with ingredients found in your kitchen (or at least mine).

Pour a mugful of generic grocery-store apple cider into a small saucepan. Throw in a one teabag of Cardamon Cinnamon Herbal Tea from Republic of Tea. Turn the heat on low and let it simmer while you do the dishes, clean the bathroom, and sort the junk mail (or, um, for a while). Stir occasionally.

When a taste test determines that it is sufficiently hot and spiced, pour it back in the mug and add some caramel syrup - the kind they use in coffee bars, not the kind you put on ice cream - to taste. (Maybe a tablespoon or so?) I used Torani. Da Vinci is another popular brand. Stir. Top with whipped cream and caramel sauce (not syrup, the ice cream kind) if desired. I used Smuckers Sundae Syrup. Enjoy.

(It occurred to me while I was writing this that some sort of alcohol might be a good addition, but I don't know what you'd put in cider. I'll ask my roommate when he gets home from his trip and let you know. Unless anyone would like to educate us in the comments, of course.)

Recipe: Spicy Southwest Broccoli Cheese Soup

Spicy Southwest Broccoli Cheese Soup

I adapted this recipe from a broccoli-cheddar soup recipe in a
crockpot cookbook, but this version is easier and yummier!

Ingredients:
16 oz frozen broccoli
1 can (10.75 oz) Campbell's Southwest Style Pepper Jack soup
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

Equipment:
Crock pot (slow cooker)
Wooden spoon

Dump everything into the crock pot. Stir a bit so the soup and milk
are mixed and the broccoli's not all stuck together. Cook it on low
until you want it to be done (at least five or six hours of course).
Stir it every once in a while so the cheese doesn't burn. Serve with
bread or tortilla chips.

See? Told you it was easy. This makes 3-4 servings. If your family
(and crockpot) is bigger, you can easily double it. Enjoy!