Food is Good

Food is good. This is something we all know. Lately we have had some good, no, great food around here and I thought I would share a few links. It has been the season of hand pies, the perfect blend of dough and filling and portable to boot. And a few other tidbits ....

Hand Pies :: A long time back I read a post about the book Mad Hungry and the easy and to-die-for pastry dough she includes. I finally got around to the dough and the chicken pot 'hand' pie recipe some time back and will forever be wishing I was eating one (I really do wish I had a hand pie right now). It is a simple dough, especially for the uninitiated pastry dough makers (as I was).

Simple to make and forgiving with the roll out, I found it easier the second time around because I knew how the dough should feel (and cared only that it make the flaky sinful goodness that I had the time before). First time, I made the recommended chicken filling, but for a different take at Easter brunch I diced ham and onion and cilantro and irish chedder and filled tiny little pockets of dough with the stuff. There are no pictures because I was literally attacked as I pulled them out of the oven. So good.

It was not enough to just have one hand pie in the arsenal so I went on to try the Rick Bayless/America's Test Kitchen Empanada recipe (in part because of the hand pie angle but also because I follow Erika's recommendations very often)(also scroll down to second recipe in the page link). This one was a winner. The dough again proved easy and has the intriguing inclusion of a cup of vodka. No idea if this does something magical but I could roll and re-roll the dough and it all tasted fine once out of the oven.

I love the savory filling of meat/olive/raisin and barely got a picture before I attacked it.

Onto Cake :: There is a cake that has lingered in the back of my brain for some time. I read a poast by Orangette about an olive oil cake last year; it had olive oil, yes, but also whole citrus fruits and ground almonds and this just seemed so right. We are peaking in the citrus season with plenty to be pulled off local trees and so the time finally came. This cake requires some time, the whole orange and lemon are simmered until soft, the almonds go into the oven to toast/roast and then require grinding.

The result is fantastic, crumbly and sweet and almond-scented and just delicious. If you want to eat cake that requires nothing but a plate and fork, this is it.

The recipe introduced my to roasting my own almonds and I now have a new addiction. The first batch of almonds came out way too 'toasted' but I was dialed in after another two batches. I noticed the almonds (which started as a bag of raw almonds) now tasted similar to the bags I buy from Trader Joe's to keep in the car for snacks. Except the raw almonds are about 1/2 the price of the prepared and now I have control over the flavor profile of my roasted almonds (flavor profile, always wanted to use that word, and yep, I have been watching that Bobby Flay chef comp thing).

My favorite so far is the brown sugar, chile powder, salt mix. I just tossed the almonds with the above and a little olive oil and baked at 350 for 6-7 minutes, shaking the pan and taking a test almond after the initial 6-7 minutes. It probably depends on your oven but I highly recommend this method of making your own delicious roasted almonds.

And now that we are hitting upon almost Summer season (and temperatures)here, I have ushered in a few new refreshing beverages. On the non-alcoholic side, a huge glass of water with tangerine rind and mint leaves. The citrus peel is sweet and refreshing with almost no bitter and the mint makes it special.

And for the occasional Friday cocktail, I suggest fresh grapefruit juice, sugar, mint and vodka. Lots of ice and a seat on the deck or patio and you are ready to go.


Okay, now I am starving. I need a hand pie. Stat.

But I really should be eating these fresh from the garden and working out more to work off the hand pies. Man, I love hand pies.

*** And Happy Mama Day to us all; we may not all be one, but we most definitely all have one. And so I wish upon all of us a wonderful day that fills up with love, no matter of where you are at in the world of Mothering ***

Cookie Maker (get it, Em, get it?)

Now that the sick has gone, I am more than ready to focus on the upcoming holiday. Yay for recovery and the realization post-ick than my normal level of daily energy is more than enough to get things done.

The season of cookie making is upon us and so far this year it has gone quite well. Last year we made sugar cookies, but the recipe was off in some way and less than satisfactory to roll, cut and eat. This year we have had two spot on recipes that have been prepped, rolled and baked with help of some worker elves.



I am loving the simplicity of the sugar cookie recipe from MS magazine this year and it comes with some great ideas to alter the basic recipe. We made the vanilla and chocolate version yesterday. With three under the age of 4. And it actually went well. I think it was due to some pre-planning and a lot of designating.



Things I learned ::

- Set up stations, we had a dry measure station and a mixer station that we moved between. I let the kids measure from a big container of flour and it stayed fun that way. Plus they even helped me clean up.



- Do not let them handle the soft butter. Enough said.

- Also do not let them flip the Kitchenaid switch after adding the flour. Big mess.

- My one Must Do :: Let them taste the dough (Samonella be damned).



- Make the dough, chill it and leave the whole roll out thing until the next day. The attention span of the littles is good for only one step at a time.

The recipes for the vanilla dough is here. It is a Martha recipe, but that is the first link I found. Plus, I am trying not to frequent the MS website too often as it just makes me confused and distracted as to the holiday crafting/creating in my life. Waaaay too many options over there.

The other cookies we made were pre-plague cookies, up at the Cabin actually. Gingerbread cookies. They are again a MS favorite and they are really really good. They also make a load of cookies. The recipe calls for 6 cups of flour. That is a lot of cookies, people. But I never halve the recipe because we always end up eating the first few trays that come out of the oven.


(He looks a little gansta' here, right?)

We had a blast cutting letters into the dough and making some free form snowmen, etc. I have found this dough tastes great at any thickness, the thinner you roll it, the crisper the cookie. Thicker leaves them dense and chewy. And delicious all around.



Come Sunday, all the cookies are to be laid out on a table with frosting and sprinkles and candies and such for the littles to decorate. While the adults curse me for the mess their children will become. Sunday we are having are annual Indonesian lumpia holiday fest. Can I get a what what for fried traditional feast food?

Here is to your healthy cookie-fied deep fried beautiful holiday season. And I am looking to bring a bit of the holiday posting here sooner than later. Wish me luck.

Summer Eating 2010

The late summer heating slamming us is sapping my will to do a lot of things. I am not quite done with New York (truth is I will never be done with NY) but I am taking a little break from that vein of posts. I am trying to focus on the things that I am actually doing, which is really not much. As the heat churns on I find no impetus to knit or craft or clean (or work, ooooh, it is hot in some of my patient’s homes without air/con). But I have been cooking.



Over the years I have posted my favorite summer recipes in one place and this year will be no exception. I know some of the world has already plunged into Fall but I will leave these for my Aussie friends who are approaching their warm weather soon. Or for the Southern Californians that can anticipate another two months of this heat. Each of these has been made multiple times around here and if you have read my food posting before you will know that I do not actually give recipes. I am a lazy and experimental cook and therefore rarely follow anything rote. Rather I try it and then find my own way to prepare each dish.

These three recipes happen to be vegetarian as we just have been eating a lot less meat around here. They are ::

* Homemade Falafel and Tahini sauce
* Simple Basil sauce with Browned Mushrooms and Pasta
* Fiery Green Curry

So First :: Falafel. Do not be intimidated by this, it is super easy. Having said that, you do need a few essential items to prepare this successfully. 1) A food processor. 2) Dried chickpeas 3) Fresh and dried herbs – fresh cilantro and parsley and dried cumin and coriander powder.


If you do not have these things you are better served buying the box of falafel powder (well, not really; I recommend to get the above things as this recipe will blow your mind).

So, first soak 1-2 cups chickpeas in water overnight in the fridge. Next day, drain and add 1 bunch each chopped cilantro and parsley, 3-5 cloves of garlic (I love the stuff), and 1-2 teaspoons each of cumin and coriander and a healthy dose of sea salt and stir.


I have a small food processor so I divide the mixture in half and process until it resemble used coffee grounds (appetizing simile, eh?). Then dump into a bowl and form into round balls or flat patties.


You can deep fry these for maximum goodness but then they lose some health benefit. I tend to fry the flat patties in a pan with a coat of oil. They are delicious either way. I serve these with flatbread or pita, chopped fresh salad and tahini sauce.

Homemade tahini sauce is easy if you procure Tahini paste. This can be found in a can at most stores now. I simply add 1 part tahini paste to 2 parts water, a clove of garlic, fresh lemon juice and lots of salt. Then you use your immersion blender (Oh yeah, another essential item) to make a smooth a creamy dressing. Done and done.


Recipe Deux :: Simple Basil Sauce with Browned mushrooms and Pasta.
Yum, right? This is best made if you have a crazy huge basil plant in your backyard and a ton of mushrooms (from Costco).

First slice all the mushrooms and place in a pan over medium heat. Here is the thing; they will cook, release their juice and look flabby and THEN they start to brown. Leave them there a long time, check them a frequently and per Tim DO NOT STIR them too much.


As those shrooms cook, prepare your basil sauce. You need the immersion blender for this step.

Add about 2-3 cups of basil leaves to cup and a few healthy glugs of olive oil, salt and a clove or 2 of garlic (notice a trend here?) and use blender to liquefy it all. A first it will not work and then it will and you will end up with a awesomely green sauce.


Do not forget to boil water and make pasta somewhere in there. Then add sauce and pasta to the pan and stir and serve with fresh gratings of your favorite hard cheese.


And Last but certainly not Least is the Fiery Green Curry.

This is my favorite curry; I have had an amazing version from this restaurant in our town (if you are local please try it. Get the curry). And then in Fairhaven, WA I had a wonderful green curry featuring sweet potatoes at this place. I have been making it like a madwoman this summer using a few key ingredients that make it a success (almost) every time.

So, most areas around here have small specialty stores that feature tons of Asian/Filipino goods and ours happens to be called Ho Bihn. There is where I pick up my supplies. You need ::

Green curry in a Can (buy a lot).
Coconut Milk (buy a lot).
Bamboo Shoots (not so much).

Then what I do is chop a ton of vegetables, what ever the garden is giving.
Also you MUST add sweet potatoes. If you only have one, then you can add a regular potato too.



The adventurous should try the bamboo shoots, but you have to wash them thoroughly out of the can because they always taste a little funky at first.


First sauté the veggies in a LARGE pot until softened, add the potatoes and sauté again until a little soft, add the can of curry (or just half if you cannot stand the Whoop Ass) and sauté until that is all soft and then add TWO cans of coconut milk. TWO. Otherwise it is not the super silky rich taste that I crave. If you go with only one can, sub the liquid with a little stock. Bring this to a simmer, add your softer vegetables like beans and squash, cover and simmer until all of it is cooked through and serve over quinoa or rice.

If your basil plant is still giving, I chop up a bunch of basil until fine and stir in a minute or two before serving. Oh, and a dash or two of sugar in the pot too, it really brings out the hot and tangy qualities.

I love these recipes so much because they are super cheap, challenge you to use what you have on hand and they taste really really good. Try them and if you do, let me know how it goes.

Made :: Last Year's Holidays

It feels like Christmas was eons ago, but I also feel like it whirled by and I am left still wanting to create a whole slew of projects that I just did not get around to. I have a precious copy of a Martha Stewart publication that gathers some of her best ideas into one tidy magazine and I find myself still looking it over, wishing I could do them. I just might while still in the spirit, it might ensure that next year we send out handmade cards rather than Costco’s finest with our pictures emblazoned all over them. (If you click the link you can check the snowman button cards, so cute and so simple. These might actually work for me).

I thought I would recap some of my favorite holiday making from last year (gasp, really, 2009 is so gone). The first was the set of oven mitts I sewed up for my sister. They were solely from scrap corduroy folded in my stash and I used many layers of old batting and flannel to insulate them and I love love love them. The quilted effect really made them special and bolstered my desire to explore more of the quilting format in the coming year.

The pattern is really simple, from the Lotta Book, not exactly rocket science, cut and stack and quilt and sew together. I found it easiest to hand stitch the binding at the wrist edge as my machine sewing attempt was horrible. And now I need to make more, but I ran out of corduroy scraps. Anything will work, but I love the way the cord quilted up.


This season was the year of candy making, as evidenced by a whole post devoted to marshmallow making. Then I made some caramels that had to be given out immediately for fear of eating them all. I also made some toffee that was out of this world.

I used the recipe from Molly’s book, but subbed in almonds and used Andes Mint candy chopped up with bittersweet chocolate for the top. People, I have discovered how to make a pan of sinfully delicious Almond Roca. I thought Tim might pass out when he realized that this new knowledge can be implemented at any time. In. Our. Home. I might have too as I wished I could erase the knowledge of candy making from the memory bank. It is a frickin’ dangerous thing to know.

There was this banner from my ever inspirational friend Jennifer that came together from more fabric stash.

Easy project and perfect for hanging all the cards we received in the mail. I used small pieces, sewed them right side together, turned them and stitched them at intervals to store bought bias binding. It is great as it can be used year after year for hanging the cards that come. Cards are one of my favorite parts of the season and it is nice to display them in a way that lets them become a part of our days leading up to Christmas.


One of the last thing I tried was a New Year’s Day appetizer.

I read an SK post on mushrooms and cream and immediately understood where she gets the ‘smitten’ in her blog name. We had made the mushroom Marsala pasta a few days before so I had all needed ingredients for a mushroom caviar, but no brioche for toasts. Back to the Martha Stewart magazine, where I found recipe for crackers. So I made crackers. It sounds crazy but they are so easy….basically flour, butter, cheese, spices, cream or milk. Bam. Cracker dough. Roll it out thin, cut it pretty, bake it a long time, and you have crackers. Mine were garlic parmesan with red pepper flakes and they were gooooood. Especially with creamy mushroom caviar dolloped on top. (SK made crackers too, her recipe sounds just like the one I used, so here you go).

Some of this knowledge is stuff I would rather not know as the waist band of my pants tightened ever so slightly every other day leading up to the holiday week. But the holidays are over and I guess I can just tuck away some of this knowledge to re-visit next year. We all know the holidays are going to be here before we know it, right?

Now, onto the next year of making. As long as it does not hold weekly candy making efforts, I think I am game.

Finger Okay and Making Resumed

I have to say thank you for all the well wishes to Owen after his finger ordeal. It has been a hell of a week, but he is doing great. We saw the doc quite a few times this week and the injury is healing and looks like it will be no worse for the wear. It is true that the littles are so very resilient...not one complaint since the incident. I think it is because he is afraid they will do something else to him again, he is no fan of the doctor's office anymore.

You may have thought that with all the medical complications, making took a back seat this week. Well, yes it did, but I have bounced back quickly with the realization that we have a week to get all the ideas together and actualized. One week! So that is what I am trying to do.

The teacher gifts were frantically assembled yesterday despite my attempts at prepping early.




They did make it out to each one of our beloved teachers and that made me happy. I had plans of stuffing our special Ms. B's box bag with treats and natural lip gloss etc,

but that plan was nixed when time drew down. Instead I went for the quickest thing we had on hand...

If you know someone who loves plants and you have some access to succulents, this gift is great. If you do not garden, then just enjoy the pictures. I love this project because it is really easy if you have the required items on hand. We do because my Mama is a master gardener who has everything in our backyard and more. This woman takes specific trips to a certain nursery over 2 hours south just to acquire rare and delightful examples of the succulent family.

The gift itself is a small gathering made from succulents cuttings. the wonderful thing is that you literally cut, trim and stick the new ends into soil and they grow back. Kinda' like Owen's finger (oh, that was gross, right?).


You do need a special type of soil, cactus soil,

and you do need a pot and some succulents to start with, but if you are looking for a quick and lovely gift, all these things can be picked up at your local nursery and assembled in a day They make great hostess or favor gifts and they are pretty hard to kill, per my Mama, anyway.


The best part is that they should root and grow and grow long after the gift is given.

The rest of this evening is devoted to a second batch of marshmallows, and my first attempt at homemade caramels from this recipe. I am hoping to last the rest of the evening.

Quick update :: I did it, made some caramels. Dangerous. Both to the taster's tongue and the taster's waist. Marshmallows seem like a breeze now...only they are cinnamon sugar marshmallows because someone (likely Owen) dumped a bunch of cinnamon into our 10 pound bag of white sugar...forgiven due to the whole finger thing, I guess.

Mallow-y Goodness

Today I achieved something that I wish I had put on my yearly List of Things I Must Do Someday. That way I could have the satisfaction of crossing it off. Instead I am devoting a post to it.


It all started last night when I picked up a stack of holiday magazines and settled under the covers, leafing through the dreamy projects Martha cooks up every year with her legion of elves. It is rare that I actually get to any of them, but this year I feel on fire with the holiday craft. And there it was, the project I had forgotten about until now. Homemade Marshmallows.



I have read multiple posts in the past and vowed I would someday join the women that can make their own marshmallows.

I have to digress just a moment to explain my unhealthy love of the confection. Once, when we were visiting Vegas for an extended gambling trip/wedding, I found a blurb in the tourist booklet proclaiming that you can tour the JetPuff marshmallow factory, just outside of the Strip. I made Tim and three other grown adults spend the better part of two hours trying to find the factory. It ended up being a bit anti-climatic and I came away still mystified by the process of marshmallow making. And they were making coconut-covered that day and that really pissed the rest of the bunch off.

And I have to mention the atrocious prices on the bags of the store stuff. I have seen them for 3 frickin' dollars a bag lately and that seems like some form of robbery. Especially now that I know how easy it is to create your own.

So, enter the magazine and the recipe and right after I dropped the boys off at preschool I procured supplies, sewed for a bit and then set to my marshmallow magic making.


It is a fairly simple process that involves gelatin, boiling various sugars to soft ball stage and then mixing them to a high white whip. I was pleased with how easy syrup making can be when using a candy thermometer marked with the 'soft ball' stage. I highly recommend having one if you venture into the land of Marshmallow.

You add the boiling hot syrup mixture to the resting gelatin mix and put the Kitchenaid to work. The syrup starts all sloshy...


and then you let the mixer keep at it (for 10 to 12 whole minutes) and eventually it turns into a beautiful pillowy goodness that you scrape out and get stuck to every surface of your body and the counter and you end up with this...


This lovely white deliciousness that resembles the snow covering the peaks behind out house.

It goes against every bit of the low sugar diet I have been attempting to follow, it contains dreaded corn syrup (not high fructose though), and yet, it completes me. Already I had a few floating in my cup of afternoon cafe mocha. Tim approved of their flavor but the boys were not interested. I don't care. I made them for me.

Another pretty cool thing is that they do not instantly melt in hot beverages, instead they linger whole and get all smooth and almost chewy and I love them. I just love them. Can you tell?

By the way :: I am feeling the need to inundate this space with holiday making and suggestions and posts about how much I love the season and how I cannot stop listening to streaming Christmas music. I am sorry. Really I am. It is grossing even me out, but it will not stop me. Feel free to tune out if need be. Or feel some satisfaction knowing I will likely hit a January post holiday slump. It is just that I am so high on the holiday thing, you know?

And just so you can be prepared for the onslaught, next in the queue :: Ornaments for toddlers,

And :: A banner for hanging your Christmas cards.

'Kay?