Spiced Cider

As the days turn colder and the season barrels full-speed toward Christmas, you may want something warm to drink after a hard day of playing in the snow, cutting down a Christmas tree, or napping on the couch. Enter: hot spiced cider!

 First, you'll need apple juice, preferably something with such an ingredient list as: "Apples, water." (I.e. not from a can.)

Pour your apple juice into a saucepan and add the following spices:

Cinnamon sticks

Whole cloves

Freshly grated nutmeg

And a dash of cardamom. Go easy on this stuff; it's a potent flavor.

Then, just turn on a low heat and let the cider heat up and steep, infusing all those holiday flavors into your cider as well as kitchen and the entirety of your oddly shaped long apartment. For a holiday party, pour into a Crockpot on low to keep it warm. Just remember to fish out the cloves and cinnamon before serving! A clove is not a sufficient snack.
Spirits, such as AppleJack, rum or Buttershots, added to the cider make it especially festive.

Merry ChrisKwanzaaKuh!

Mango Pico de Gallo

This is a light salsa good on top of tacos or just for dippin'. You could even bulk it up with black beans and make it a side dish. I did just this for a picnic with some of my running friends, and they raved about it. Making it is so simple a Caveman could do it  any child could do it (I really effin' hate those commercials).

Start by peeling and cutting a mango (this may be the toughest step).

Then add the zest and juice of a lime.

Next, chop some tomatoes.

Then, add chopped cilantro. If you're like me and luurve cilantro, add a lot.

Next comes the chopped avocado.

Then add S&P and a bit of hot sauce. Had I had a jalapeno around, I would've added that too, but since I didn't, hot sauce sufficed. Give it a good stir (but don't crush the avocado) to coat everything in lime juice and the seasonings.

Isn't it pretty? So many bright colors. If you want to impress someone, make this. Just don't tell them how easy it was.

I served mine on top of some chicken tacos, which I also garnished with taco sauce and plain yogurt (which simulates sour cream).

And there you have it! Ole!

Farmers' Market Fresh: In My Glass

One of my favorite cocktails as of late is the Strawberry Royale from one of my favorite Happy Hours as of late. Blue Hill is within walking distance of our house, and they have a lovely outdoor patio with great specials, so what's not to love? 

I wanted to recreate this drink at home, so when Cookie Monster and I picked up a pint of fresh strawberries at the farmers' market, I did. 

I muddled 3-4 strawberries with one shot of vodka, then dumped into a champagne glass. Then I simply filled the rest with sparkling wine. Voila! It was a pretty good replication, especially with the fresh berries.

A lovely happy hour cocktail, or something delicious for Sunday brunch.

Apple Oat Bran Cranberry Pancakes

Here are some delicious pancakes I made in order to use up some apples that were turning bad. They got involved with some other bad apples at school and were headed down a bad path, straight toward the Appletinis. But I reformed those apples and made them into something wholesome: these healthy and tasty pancakes.

Ye Olde Internets yielded this recipe, so naturally I have no idea from whence it came. Hmm... does applesgonegood.com exist? Nope! But maybe it should.

3/4 cup oat bran

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon oil

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup apple, chopped finely

I combined all these ingredients per instructions, but found the batter was a bit thin. So I just added in some oatmeal until it reached a more pancake-like consistency.

I served them on my adorable new springy placemats, courtesy of the Easter Bunny. 

Actually, it was my mom, who, from 3000 miles away, devised an apartment-wide Easter Egg Hunt for Cookie Monster and me. At the end was a See's egg (a definite throwback to when I was a kid), some Peeps (which are just now the crunchy consistency I prefer. Not kidding.) and these placemats with matching hand towels. Thanks, Easter Mommy!

You can just see how healthy these pancakes look. They're hearty and chewy, and the apples give them a little unexpected crunchy surprise here and there. The cranberries add some sweetness. Overall, they're really good.

Apple Pie Soufflé

We had four apples that were looking pretty sad and needed to be used ASAP.

They look ok here, but were starting to get mushy.

I found this cool recipe in the paper a few months ago for a carrot soufflé, which turned out awesome. At the time, I thought it would pretty much work with any flavoring in place of the carrot; the recipe simply calls for pureeing cooked carrots to give it the carrot flavor. I think asparagus, cheese, roasted peppers, artichokes or corn would all be good substitutes for the carrot. So today, as I was brainstorming how to use up those sad apples, I thought of the souffle recipe. Enter: apple pie soufflé.

I started by peeling two of the apples, then chopping into pieces.

Then I pureed them in my mini food processor with a bit of milk to make them a soft puree texture.

Then I just followed the recipe, of course with my own additions here and there.

Here's the recipe (which is cut in half from the original):

1 cup cooked carrots (or whatever flavor you're going for)

1.5 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup + 1/8 cup  milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey

2 eggs, beaten

1/8 cup butter, melted

So obviously I used the pureed apples in place of the carrots here. I also added some pumpkin pie spice, molasses in place of the honey, cinnamon and cardamom.

Then I baked the whole thing at 400 in a greased casserole dish for about 45 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle came out clean.

Et voila! Apple pie soufflé! Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

French Toast Breakfast

We had a loaf of bread in the fridge that was on its last leg. Enter: French toast. I simply combined an egg, milk, a bit of ground flax seed for some Omega-3s, cinnamon sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and cardamom and beat it all together into a batter. Soak the bread until it all absorbs the batter, then pan-fry until golden brown.

This was for Cookie Monster.So I also made some bacon (AKA meat candy), and, to get a little fruit into him, half a banana and blueberries. And naturally, the French toast was doused in real maple syrup. That's how he rolls.

French Toast: Are you ready for your close-up?

I think that was a yes.

One-Bowl Meal

Lately I have been on a yogurt kick. I really like the nonfat plain Greek yogurt from Trader Joe's. 

Here's how I incorporated it into my breakfast this morning:

That's an apple and a banana, softened and warmed in the microwave. Then I added a palmful of dried dates (which I have also been loving lately. So sweet and chewy; more exciting than raisins), the Greek yogurt (not sure of the amount, maybe 1/2 cup?), 1/4 cup granola and a few oatmeal squares. This was really delicious and really filling. 

A while ago, I had a bunch of buttermilk I needed to use up, so I made a huge batch of pancakes. I froze all of them, and now they're just hangin' out in the freezer, waiting to be eaten. I made three for Cookie Monster this morning, and used some of my apple/banana mixture to make a compote. I cooked it down a little more and added brown sugar and a dab of butter so it got all goopy.

Drizzled at the end with a little maple syrup, Cookie Monster said it was a winner.

A Delightful Breakfast

This was a lovely breakfast I had yesterday. One of my favorite things of all time is peanut butter and jelly. It's practically the only thing I ate from approximately ages 3-12. I was a really picky eater as a kid; I don't know how my mom put up with me. If I had kids, they'd eat what I fixed them. The end. 

Thankfully, I grew out of the "trying new things is gross!" phase, and like almost everything now (except most meat, which is why, with new people, I just say I'm a vegetarian for simplicity's sake). I think the only vegetables I don't like are jicama and raw fennel.

Anyhoo, the point is, I still love PBJ, and a lot of times I have PBJ oatmeal. Yesterday I had whole wheat English muffins, so I did PBJ on each half.

But this ain't no regular jelly; it's my mother-in-law's homemade boysenberry jam. Oh my, is it good.

Alongside the English muffin, I had about a quarter each of an apple and banana, which I cooked in the microwave to break down the fruit and make it all warm, sugary and squishy. There was also a bit of plain yogurt and a crumbled bran muffin on the fruit (which was what I made for Cookie Monster's breakfast--I just swiped a little of it). Mmmmm!

All this, paired with the mandatory coffee (note the Ducks 1995  Rose Bowl mug. I have been a Ducks fan for a while), was a delightful and healthy breakfast. 

Cranberry Sauce (juiced!)

Cookie Monster and I did not host Thanksgiving dinner this year; we were guests at his boss' house. So, in order to ensure our favorites were around after the Big Day, we made some of them just for us. Cookie Monster's favorite is a turkey, cranberry, stuffing, cream cheese sandwich (and I happen to like them, too), so we cooked up all of those things. Yes, for the two of us, we cooked a 14 lb. turkey. It was the smallest I could find! So, after two Tupperwares of that turkey, plus some leftover his boss sent with us, we are pretty damn tired of turkey right now. (Nevermind the two more Tupperwares full in the freezer!)
Anyhoo, I'm getting off track. The cranberry sauce. It's tasty. It's tart. It's a bit sweet. And, in our case, it's juiced. With liquor, that is.

Obviously, it started with these:

And then I stripped an orange naked.

And Cookie Monster did this to said naked orange.

...until there was a half cup of orange juice.
Then came the good stuff!

A little for the cook...
(Glass from Portugal. Appropriate, no?)

And then some sugar.

Boil everything together 'til the cranberries burst and it reduces into a lovely, thick sauce.

Makes the best sandwiches! Also great in oatmeal, too.

Orange Port Cranberry Sauce

1 bag fresh cranberries
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup port wine
3/4 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all cranberries are broken down and mixture becomes gelled.

Because He's the Best

Cookie Monster did a really nice thing the other day and I wanted to show my gratitude. Enter: Bananas Foster French Toast. And yes, it really is as good as it sounds.

Here's what I put in it:

*Milk

*1 egg

*1/2 a really ripe banana, mushed (and yes, that is the technical cooking term for how it's to be prepared)

*Cinnamon

*A sprinkle of ground flax

*Pumpkin pie spice

*Cinnamon/sugar blend

*Cardmom

I just whisked all the ingredients together in a bowl. Then I dipped in whole wheat slices of bread. The amounts I used turned out to be enough for 2 1/2 slices of French Toast. Perfect.

I melted about 1/2 a tablespoon butter in a pan, dipped the bread in the mixture and let it absorb. Then I cooked the toast until it was golden brown on each side.

While it was cooking away, I made the Bananas Foster topping:

*~1 tablespoon butter

*1 banana, sliced (I used a knife, not this completely useless piece of crap. We saw this in the store and it made us laugh out loud. Seriously?! A fucking banana slicer? How lazy are you?)

*Some more cinnamon

*A few handfuls brown sugar

I just sauteed the bananas in the butter until they began to soften, then added the spices and brown sugar. Cooked on low, it transformed into this gooey, sticky, wonderfully banana-y topping for the toast. I didn't have any rum, lest I would've made real Bananas Foster, complete with flambe.

After the toast was golden brown on each side, I poured the ooey, gooey topping over it and served it with half a grapefruit. And even though it seems decadent, the nutritional stats aren't particularly bad: whole grain bread, nonfat milk, fruit... I think the worst thing was the butter, but I didn't use very much.

Cookie Monster gave it two thumbs up!

Pear and Gorgonzola Mini Pizzas

This is just about the simplest thing to make ever. I had mini whole wheat pitas from Trader Joe's, and all I did was first brush with a thin layer of olive oil. Then I thinly sliced a very ripe pear and added some crumbled gorgonzola cheese on top. I was already using the oven to cook up a butternut squash and some roasted broccoli, so when they were almost done, I added the pizzas. They took about 10 minutes in the oven, and the cheese got all melty and oozy, and the pears softened and sweetened. With a quick grind of pepper, they were ready to nom. Awesome! This would be easy on a regular pizza crust, too, and additional toppings like honey, sliced pecans or caramelized onions would make it aweseomer.*

Bon appetit!

*No, that is not a word. But I just used it anyway.

Jamaican Jerk Sandwiches with Caribbean Accoutrements

I have been wanting to make a Jamaican jerk-spiced tempeh sandwich ever since I had a transcendent one at Deschutes Brewery in Bend. Sadly, this exquisite menu item did not make the jump over the mountains to the brewery's Portland location, so I had to try to replicate it at home.

I started off by making a marinade at home. I marinaded some chicken and my tempeh in it for a good 24 hours, using these ingredients:

• Ground allspice
• Ground thyme
• Ground black pepper
• Ground sage
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground cinnamon
• Ginger
• Garlic
  
• Brown sugar
  
• Molasses
• Rum
  
• Vinegar
• Pineapple juice
• Juice of 1 lime
• Jalapenos (but they weren't hot enough)
  
• Green onions
  

To go along with the sandwiches, I got a little wild and tried to replicate Caribbean flavors. Or at least what a white girl from the Pacific Northwest thinks Caribbean flavors are. I bought a plantain and sliced it up, then sauteed til it was golden brown, like so:

I also made a mango-bean-avocado salad to go along with everything. It had kidney beans, chopped fresh mango, halved cherry tomatoes, cilantro, chopped avocado and a bit of pineapple juice to keep the avocado from going brown.

See the pretty colors?

To top the sandwiches, I quickly pan-grilled a few rings of pineapple. I also sauteed some red peppers and onion in this pan to top my sandwich.

I put the whole wheat bun with some cheddar cheese in the toaster for a few, then topped with a pineapple ring.

Here is Cookie Monster's sandwich, made with chicken tenders instead of the tempeh. After I had cooked my tempeh through, I added his chicken and dumped in the rest of the marinade, which reduced into a lovely jerk sauce to cover everything.

Here is my tempeh with the peppers peeking out from underneath.

And my whole plate. I doused the sandwich with a bit more of the reduced marinade/sauce before putting its top on.

All in all, this was a really good recipe, but I did not use enough spice. I actually went into the kitchen and got the jar of pickled jalapenos out, adding a few to my sandwich. The extra spice really added a lot, and I plopped a few more into the leftovers.

This was also a pretty good likeness of my beloved Deschutes sandwich. I did not use focaccia bread, obviously, because I try to make my food indulgences in restaurants and eat healthier at home. But the flavors were very similar, and this was a really good and different dinner.

Go me!

Soy Cream Banana Split

I love ice cream. But I try not to buy regular ice cream because it makes me... ahem... get larger. So, for a lovely substitute, I like this stuff: So Delicious soy cream.

Here is a fun banana split I made with this stuff. A half a banana, a scoop of soy cream, a chocolate-covered chile mango (which were decidedly not delicious. They are one of the few Trader Joe's products I have not fallen in love with) and some animal crackers to guard the split should any Cookie Monsters come 'round.

It was magically delicious!

Apple Pie

Our neighbors next door have an apple tree that hangs over our fence. Some of them fell into our yard. (Some of them fell from the tree when Cookie Monster pulled on them, but let's just keep that quiet. They're partly ours, right, since the tree hangs on our side of the fence?)


See? Here are said apples.

Peel and cut up the apples and cover with lemon juice as you're finishing cutting up the rest so they don't get too brown. Then combine with the sugar, flour and spices.

Roll out your pastry crusts. Clearly, mine can be termed "rustic." Sometimes that's also my word for "ugly."

Then dump in all the apples.


Then cover up the apples with another pie crust blanket. Nighty-night, little apples. When I see you again, you will be gooey and sugary and yummy!
Crimp the edges of the crust together with your fingers.
Make sure you score the blanket so steam can escape.


Wrap tinfoil around the edges so they don't burn. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes, then remove the foil and bake some more (about 20 minutes) until the top is golden brown.


Oh Yeah. There's some apple pie!




From the Better Homes & Gardens 75th Anniversary Edition
1 recipe Pastry for Double-Crust Pie
6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons AP flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Crust:
2 1/2 cups AP flour (I usually use whole wheat since that's what we have)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening (I used butter since that's what I had)
8-10 tablespoons cold water

In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-sized. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time, until all flour mixture is moistened. Divide in half; form each half into a ball.
On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten 1 dough ball. Roll dough from center to edges into a 12-inch diameter circle. Repeat with other half. Fill with pie filling and bake. Duh.