Pumpkin Pie with Fresh Pumpkin

Apparently, nobody liked my pumpkin pie. Oh snap. Bazinga. They totally loved it. Which bolstered my self esteem in pie-related things after losing the pie contest at dessert club last month. I used fresh pumpkin from my recent pumpkin acquisitions. I also used a crisco pie crust instead of a butter pie crust, which was not only tastier, it was more cost effective.

The Pie Filling:

10 - 12 oz of fresh pumpkin flesh
10 - 12 oz of evaporated milk
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, plus one egg white
2 1/2 TSP pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 TBSP vanilla
1 TBSP flour

The Pie Crust: for a "topless" single 9'' pie

1 1/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup crisco
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 - 6 TBSP ice water

It takes an hour at 425 F to bake a small sugar pumpkin, so I would prepare it the night before. I would also prepare the pie crust the night before and leave it in the refrigerator. When you have the crust and filling assembled and ready to go, you want to cover it with foil to prevent the crust from burning. Then you bake it for 10 minutes at 450 F, then another 40 - 50 minutes at 350, or until the middle passes the toothpick test. I found I had to bake it for 50.

Directions for Pumpkin Filling:

Puree the pumpkin flesh in your blender on med-high for 5 minutes. You want to check it periodically to make sure to remove any strings that  don't seem to blend, or any seeds or rinds. Then you add everything else, and blend for another 3 - 5 minutes until the mixture is uniform.

Directions for Pie Crust: (Thank you, Crisco)

1. 1.
   BLEND flour, salt and salt in medium mixing bowl.


2. 2.
   CUT chilled shortening into 1/2-inch cubes. Cut in chilled shortening cubes into flour mixture, using a pastry blender, in an up and down chopping motion, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some small pea-sized pieces remaining.


3. 3.
   SPRINKLE half the maximum recommended amount of ice cold water over the flour mixture. Using a fork, stir and draw flour from bottom of bowl to the top, distributing moisture evenly into flour. Press chunks down to bottom of bowl with fork. Add more water by the tablespoon, until dough is moist enough to hold together when pressed together.


4. TIP
   Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not add any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.


5. 4.
   SHAPE dough into a ball for single pie crust. Divide dough in two for double crust or double deep dish crust, one ball slightly larger than the other. Flatten ball(s) into 1/2-inch thick round disk(s).


6. TIP
   For ease in rolling, wrap dough in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
   
   

Pumpkin Bread that's Better than Mrs. X's

Mrs. X can bake some serious pumpkin items: pumpkin rolls, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, etc. My husband's gold standard of pumpkin deliciousness is anything pumpkin by Mrs. X. I was determined after my recent pumpkin acquisitions to put her bread to shame. And according to my husband, I did; and he does not take pumpkin baking lightly. I can't rave enough about the texture and crumb of this bread. It isn't too heavy like so many other pumpkin breads. It's a happy medium, doesn't really crumble, but not too chewy, it melts in your mouth. You could probably bake it in a cake pan and put cream cheese frosting on it, and call it cake- but sleep well knowing you got antioxidants from the safflower oil and fiber from the fresh pumpkin and whole wheat flour. Sorry, Mrs. X. Your reign of all things pumpkin is over.

Recipe for a Single Loaf

The Wet Ingredients:

5 oz of fresh pumpkin puree

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used safflower oil)

1/4 cup of water (I used the liquid that seeps from baking the pumpkin)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tbsp vanilla

1 egg

The Dry Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup of flour (I used half whole wheat and half high-gluten white flour)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger

SIDE NOTE: I did a test loaf using sour cream as a substitute for the oil, and while it was very moist, the crust was not as caramelized as when using oil.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Grab a bread pan, butter or PAM the sides.

Take 2 mixing bowls: one for wet and one for dry ingredients.

Whisk together the dry ingredients thoroughly to ensure uniform distribution of spices and salts.

Use a hand mixer to blend the wet ingredients on medium high for 5 minutes or until uniform.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir with a wooden spoon, making sure the flour settles.

Beat on med high for 2 minutes.

Empty dough into bread pan.

Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, or until the bread passes the toothpick test.

Southern Comfort Corn Bread (sans whiskey)

Note: No Southern Comfort in the form of whiskey was involved in the making of this recipe. I suppose it's comfort food on the account of the butter, honey and sugar paired with a vegetable. Anyhow, it is something wonderful. 

Tomorrow I am cooking up a storm: pork tenderloin roast with an herbal rub from our garden, corn muffins, sweet potatoes, a multi-berry gelatin dessert, and green beans a-la-Bethany (my friend who brought them to dinner  few months ago). If the pork ends up as good as I anticipate, I'll post that too.  But on to the corn muffins of amazingness.

Ingredients:

WET

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick) softened

2/3 cup of sugar (I used brown sugar splenda combo)

1/4 cup of honey

1/2 cup of milk

2 eggs

DRY

1/2 TSP salt

1/2 TSP baking powder

1 1/2 cups flour (I used our high-gluten bread flour)

3/4 cup yellow corn meal or masa

FOLD IN

3/4 cup frozen corn kernels (but I used drained canned corn)

Directions:

Fire up your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin pan or grease it up with PAM or your favorite alternative cooking spray. Get out 2 bowls, one larger than the other. The larger one is for the wet ingredients. The smaller is for the dry.

Add all your wet ingredients into the larger bowl. Note that sugar goes in among the wet ingredients. Beat it with your mixer until the mixture is uniform. Now put all the dry ingredients into the smaller bowl. Give the dry ingredients a few whisks to make sure the salt and baking powder get evenly distributed. 

With your beaters on medium high, slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet, and beat for 2 minutes or until mixture is uniform. Fold in the corn, and keep folding it into the dough until evenly distributed. Spoon up the dough into your muffin tin, bake for 22 minutes (plus or minus 2 minutes) or until it passes the good ole toothpick test.

Pour yourself an ice cold glass of milk, and enjoy a warm corn muffin with some honey drizzle. MMMM!

Wednesday: Asian Cuisine: Cashew Chicken

I crave chinese food so intensely this pregnancy. To reduce our take-out expenses, I am learning to make it: which is somewhat cumbersome. I have never been good at Asian food outside of your mandarin chicken salad with crunchy wonton noodles. So I did some reading, I procured some oyster sauce, which is made from oysters, and went at it. The results were fantastic-- tasted even better than the restaurant cashew chicken, probably because I swapped the bell peppers out for sugar snap peas.

Ingredients:

For the Wok:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup cashews
20 oz frozen sugar snap peas, thawed
1/4 TSP minced garlic
1 yellow onion, sliced stir-fry style
Red pepper flakes (for those who need a kick)

For the Sauce:
1/2 TSP cornstarch
2 TSP soy sauce
1/8 TSP ground ginger
1 TBSP oyster sauce
6 TBSP water
1/8 TSP white pepper
1 TSP white sugar
1 TSP rice vinegar
1/2 TSP sesame oil
A pinch of salt (to taste)

Random Prep Ingredients:
1 TSP baking soda
1 TSP rice vinegar
1/2 TSP cornstarch

Begin by placing your cubed chicken in a medium sized bowl. Add the baking soda, and use your hands to coat that chicken as best as you can-- it's really gross, but you'll thank me later. Let the baking soda'ed chicken sit for 15 minutes, then rinse the chicken thoroughly with water to get rid of the soda-- it took me 2 times to wash it off. Leave the chicken in that bowl and add the vinegar, let it sit for  minutes, then add the 1/2 TSP cornstarch. Work it evenly on the chicken. Mix the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl, whisk for a few minutes to dissolve cornstarch.

Heat up your wok with 1 TBSP of oil. When oil is hot, add the chicken, and cook until it's barely white, then flip it over with a spatula. Cook the other side until it is barely white, then remove the semi-cooked chicken and place it directly into the bowl with your sauce.

Add a touch more sesame oil to your wok, and sautee the onions and minced garlic until they are growing clear and fragrant. This takes maybe 5 minutes on high heat, turning them over a few times. Then add the chicken/sauce to the wok. Bring the sauce/chicken mixture to a "boil" then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, toss in the snap peas. Heat for another few more minutes, then add your cashews. Serve with basmati or jasmine rice. I lightly fried mine with an egg. I also sprinkled on some red pepper flakes because I wanted a bit more kick.

Fajita Quesadillas

This is not your Napoleon Dynamite quesadilla. This is the real deal: crisp, savory, melty, with a kick of fajita spice. What really makes this dish is the Mojo marinade. It's typically found in the Latin section of your grocery store, but you may have to visit a hole-in-the-wall latin grocer to procure it, based on your region.

Ingredients:

Large white tortillas

Mexican cheese blend

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced

Half of a yellow onion, sliced

Mixed sweet or bell peppers, sliced

Mojo criollo marinade

Sour cream and salsa for serving

Directions:

Take sliced onions, peppers and chicken and put them in a ziploc bag with the marinade. Let them marinate for as long as you want-- I usually do this in the morning. Fire up your grill or broiler, and broil the marinated meat and vegetables until chicken is cooked, and vegetables have turned brown/black in some spots. Do not over broil. I used the broiler in my oven, and after it was finished, I turned it to bake mode, and stuck my pizza stone in there.

Assemble your quesadilla on a pizza stone or gridle. Cover half of the circle with your mexican cheese and the fajita mix. Cook it until all the cheese has melted, but is not super bubbly. Immediately fold the naked part of the tortilla over the cheesy part. You can then broil or grill both sides to your desired crispness-- but watch it so it doesn't burn! Serve with sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

Viva la quesadilla en mi estomago.

Something is Stewing

I don't really have any witty or insightful comments regarding this recipe. I am cleaning out my fridge/freezer, and happened to have the necessary ingredients. Couple this with the weekend forecast of highs below 60 and my sudden energy this morning, and that's how the stew was made. Actually, the stew was really made by the directions below. . . .

HOMESTYLE STEW

Ingredients:
2 lbs of cubed beef
6 - 8 red potatoes, or 2 - 3 large russet potatoes
1 stalk of celery, chopped including the leafy parts
1 large onion, diced
2 - 3 cups of chopped carrots
1 quart tomato juice
1 quart water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 TBSP black pepper
1 TSP hungarian paprika, but regular paprika will do
1 TSP thyme
2 bay leaves
3 TBSP worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Stick all the ingredients into a crockpot. Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours. Enjoy.

Dirty Blondes or Nutella Blondies

I don't usually bake goodies or treats since I have a husband with little self-control. One time when we were in Istanbul, he ate a pound of baklava by himself. Anyhow, I also don't want to gain 50 lbs this pregnancy, so I have a once-a-week quota for ice cream or other substitute. 


This recipe is not my own, but it comes from a seasoned dessert master: Kari Hickman, leader of the notorious dessert club, published dessert author, mother of 3, and my friend.  I perform a few variations, which in my humble opinion, make it more scrumptious, but the link to the original recipe is
http://virtualgoodyplate.blogspot.com/search/label/Nutella.

1/2 stick unsalted butter or butter flavored crisco

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 TBSP cocoa

1/3 cup hazelnuts

Plenty of Nutella

Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8x11 inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper; butter parchment. Get nuts toasting on a baking sheet - watch closely - just until fragrant, a few minutes.

Melt butter. Beat butter and sugar until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Set half of the whisked mixture into a separate bowl, then add the dry cocoa to one of the bowls and whisk again. You should have one bowl with a white flour mixture, and a second with a cocoa'ed mixture. 

Beat eggs and vanilla into butter mixture. Once mixture is homogenous, put half of it into the bowl with the cocoa'ed flour, and the other half into the non-cocoa'ed flour mixture; stir just until combined. 

Add two heaping spoonfuls of Nutella to the cocoa'ed mixture. Stir in as best as you can. 

Place the batters into the pan a spoonful at time, alternating a scoop of the dark batter with a scoop of the light batter. You have to kind of press it into the pan. Once you've got all the batter in the pan, zap some nutella in the microwave for 15 seconds so it's more liquidy. Then use a spoon to create lovely swirls of Nutella atop your treats. Sprinkle nuts on top. 

Bake for 25 minutes, and let cool for 15 minutes before cutting. 

This is Kari's picture of her world-famous blondies. 

Some of my girlfriends from a mothers' group were the lucky partakers, but Allen ate most of them for breakfast and then took the rest to work. 

Easy as Pie: My First Attempt

My pie repertoire prior to this recipe included Swansons' chicken pot pies that you throw in the oven, and quiche using the frozen crust. I did not even dare to mess with pie crust, for I knew it to be a formidable foe. As I prepare for pie-themed dessert club in October, I wanted to do a test pie. I wanted to do a pie that was unconventional. Thus I convened and rallied and chose to make Pear and Gruyere Pie. Note that Gruyere cheese is approximately $1.50 to $3.00 an ounce, so you really want to bring your game face. Also, the bottle of Porto wine from Costco was $15, and I only used 1/3rd of the bottle, and my vino-phyllic neighbor bought the rest off of me. 

I actually had to briefly broil the top to really activate the cheese and make it crisp, and my cute little cut-outs got a bit too dark. But Ivy ate them, and did not protest. The cheesy-buttery crust was incredibly flakey, very rich and palatable. My husband loved the poached pears with the spices and reduced port sauce. It was incredible with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. My only concern was that the cheese crust may have paired better with a combination of pears and apples. Just pears was a bit too bland for me, but I think all apples would be too overwhelming. I think next time I will do a half granny smith and half bartlett pear filling to balance out the cheese flavor with some acidity. I may have a fighting chance to win dessert club! 

Pear Gruyère Pie

This recipe comes from: 

http://www.blondieandbrownie.com/2008/10/pushing-daisies-pear-gruyre-pie.html


Makes one 9 to 10 inch pear pie


Notes from Cat: I don't have a food processor, so I used a good ole-fashioned fork and knife to "cut" the butter into the crust. When you pull the finished crust out of the fridge, you need to let it warm up a bit before you roll it out because it's basically a cold, cheesy brick of butter. I also only put half the recommended amount of sauce into the pie, and used the extra port sauce as a drizzle over the ice cream.

Gruyère Pie Crust:
2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp. sugar
20 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1 in pieces
3 oz. Gruyère, grated finely
6-7 tbsp. ice water

Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and grated gruyere in a large mixing bowl. Using a food processor, mix butter and flour/cheese mixture until the largest butter chunks are the size of large peas.

Remove flour/cheese/butter mixture from food processor return it to the large mixing bowl. Sprinkle ice water over flour in increments of one tablespoon, toss with fork after each addition. Be careful not to add too much water. You can get an even water distribution by adding putting the water in one of those spritzer bottles. When dough begins to clump together as you stir, test the dough by squeezing it in your hands, if it forms in a lump then gather the rest of the dough together into two separate disks, leaving one slightly larger than the other. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Or if you are in a rush, toss the dough in the freezer for about an hour, when it's solid yet still gives slightly under your touch, it's ready to go.

Spiced Poached Pear Pie Filling:
3 lbs. Bartlett pears
1/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. port wine
1 1/2 c. water
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
1 cinnamon stick

1 egg, lightly beaten (for crust)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add sugar, wine, water, vanilla, cinnamon stick, ginger, nutmeg and clove into a large stock pot or dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Put an empty medium bowl into the freezer to chill.

Peel and halve pears. Scoop the core and seeds out and then cut the halves in half. Once liquid mixture has come to a boil add cut pears. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the pears are tender.

Using a slotted spoon remove the pear quarters from the poaching liquid and put them into the chilled bowl.

Return the poaching liquid to a boil and reduce until you have about 3/4 of a cup of syrup. Add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to the syrup to thicken the syrup further. Pour the syrup into a measuring cup and chill.

In the meantime, roll the larger piece of dough into a circle around fourteen inches in diameter. I roll out the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to keep it from sticking. Peel off one side of the plastic wrap and center that side of the dough in the pie plate then remove the other sheet of plastic wrap.

Roll out the slightly smaller dough dish into circle around twelve inches in diameter. Place this dough round on top of the pie. Seal the crusts together using a fork or your fingers. Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg, and make three parallel slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Or if you are feeling fancy pantsy, feel free to make decorative cutouts.
Put the pie on a cookie sheet to catch any drips--I like to cover my cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil to minimize the mess. Put the pie in the oven, bake until the crust is golden and you can see the filling bubble up between the slits in the crust, about 30 to 40 minutes. Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.Remove the pears from the chilled bowl layer them into the bottom of the pie. Pour the syrup on top of the pears.

You Said that like a Romanov!

There is a lovely animated movie called "Anastasia." They sing songs as the characters go on a journey to unite Anya, the long lost princess, with her grandma. In one of the songs, Anya sings, "I never cared for stroganoff," to which her friend replies, "You said that like a Romanov!" Every time I make stroganoff, I think of this song- and a twinkle comes to my eyes.This recipe requires time, as the stroganoff is better when it cooks on low in a crockpot for 6 hours. If you don't have time, you can cook on high for 3 hours.

Ingredients:

1 beef bouillon cube
2 packets of Lipton onion-mushroom soup mix, but regular onion soup mix will suffice
1 large onion, diced
4 - 6 cups of chopped mushrooms
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 TBSP black pepper
48 oz sour cream
3 - 4 lbs of cubed beef
2 cups water
Directions:

In a large skillet, brown the beef on all sides, but do not overcook. When all sides are mostly brown, put beef in crockpot. Sautee the onion in the same skillet, it should pick up the fats from the meat, but if you need to, add a flick of butter. When the onions are starting to turn golden, empty into crockpot. Then add all the other ingredients. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3. Serve stroganoff over egg noodles or rice. I usually freeze half of this recipe since it makes a ton.

Southwest Simmer: Roasted Corn and Poblano Chowder

This should be the preface for every recipe/meal: I always prepare larger portions when I cook. This is because I refrigerate and/or freeze the leftovers for Allen's lunch, for sick neighbors/friends, and for the days when I am beat and have no desire to cook. It is also more cost effective to prepare a larger amount. Let's just say I love Costco. So does Ivy. When I say Costco, she says "Samples!"

Our garden continues to produce peppers abundantly, even though fall is clearly here. We have pinot noirs, poblanos, and jalapenos. Pinot noir peppers are a golden, green with purple violet hues: notes of citrus, and a crisp texture are its most notable features. Poblanos are a mild chile, originating from Puebla, Mexico. It is a fabulous pepper to stuff and fry, or roast. Jalapenos are the ever familiar hot pepper. See these beauties in my photo below.

Ingredients:

3 cups water
3 cups of half and half or whole milk
6 white corn tortillas, chopped
2 cans of corn
1 large yellow onion, diced
6 poblano peppers
2 jalapeno peppers
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped
3 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP cumin
2 TBSP minced garlic
1 TSP anaheim chile powder, or regular chile powder if unavailable
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 chicken bouillon cube

Garnish:

diced tomatoes
cilantro
lime juice
mexican cheese

Directions:

Heat your oven to 450 degrees. Cut peppers in half long-ways, and de-seed. You may want to use gloves as jalapeno seeds are known to irritate the skin. Lay foil over a 9x13 cookie sheet. Spray with PAM. Place the peppers on the foiled cookie sheet so that the outsides of the peppers are facing up. Drain the canned corn. Spread around peppers to cover whole pan. Place pan in oven, and roast until pepper skins are very bubbly, but not black. Remove pan from oven.

As your peppers and corn are roasting, get a large stock pot. Add garlic and olive oil; sautee until the onions are clear and minced garlic begins to toast. Then add the diced chicken breast. Stir occasionally on high heat for 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Add anaheim powder and cumin. Stir, then add the milk/cream. Drop in the bouillon cube and bring to a boil.

Take out your blender for this next part. Use a fork to place the roasted peppers in the blender along with 3 cups of water. Blend on medium speed for 5 seconds. Then empty the mixture into the stock pot.   Take a spatula and add roasted corn to pot. Bring the soup to a boil, then add the chopped tortillas. Reduce the heat to simmer for 20 - 30 minutes, then add salt and pepper. Add more to taste.

When the soup is ready, you will want to garnish with chopped tomatoes, mexican cheese, cilantro and a wedge of lime. The lime juice really makes this soup. Sadly, today I can't appreciate the full flavor of this chowder since I have a cold-flu bug from Hades. It will probably be even better tomorrow.

Soup for Fall- aka Cold and Flu Season

The air is brisk, there's a chill in the air. In the evenings, a faint smell of burning embers. My favorite season has come. It's autumn and soup is on!


After discovering the dough cycle on my bread machine earlier this week, I decided to revisit bread bowls.   The first time I attempted these puppies, the result was a lump of dense flour that didn't rise. This afternoon, I owned the bread bowls. At least well enough for them to rise and for my husband to proclaim, "I think you may have the bread machine figured out." Maybe. I have many more months before I can feel confident using that thing. 


The Bread Bowls

• 1/2 cup water (70 to 80 degrees F)
• 1 cup warm milk (70 to 80 degrees F)
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast or 4 1/2 TSP

1. In bread machine pan, place the first seven ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).
2. When the cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into six portions; shape into balls. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Brush with egg white. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.
3. To make bowl, cut the top fourth off of bread; carefully hollow out bottom of each, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use).

The Soup: Turkish Red Lentil

2 large yellow onions diced/chopped

2 cups diced/chopped carrots

1 bunch of celery including the leafy parts, chopped/diced

8 cups vegetable broth (I use vegetable bouillon)

2 cups of water

1 lb red lentils

2 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp hungarian paprika (more if you prefer spicy)

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp dried mint

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp minced garlic
3 TBSP lemon juice

olive oil

1 crock pot (CP)

I take the onion, celery and garlic and sautee them in a pan with plenty of olive oil. I let them sautee until the onions are clear, and some of them begin to turn dark around the edges. Then I dump the sauteed garlic and onion into my CP. Then I add everything else. I turn my crockpot on high, and once the soup is boiling, I turn it on low. I let it simmer until the lentils are tender and slightly disintegrated. The picture below is an accurate representation of how the soup looks, but it is not my own photo. We ate all the soup before I thought to take a picture. Oops. It looks like they sprinkled red pepper flakes, mint and parsley as a garnish.  

Cat vs the Bread Machine

Again, I don't bake breads. I have a love-hate relationship with our bread machine. I love it when Allen uses it. I hate it when I use it. Today I was determined not to let the machine beat the human. I was making a pizza dough crust. I added the ingredients in the recommended order, and hit the start button. Then my loving husband gently pointed out that since this is a dough, I use the dough cycle. My response, "There is a DOUGH CYCLE?"

Tonight features a pizza, half pesto sauce and half tomato sauce, with broiled eggplant which comes from our garden. The cheese is a trio of mozzarella, parmesan, and romano. All the basil used in the pesto came straight from our garden, and I made the pesto myself a few weekends ago, and froze 2 quart jars and 1 pint jar. The tomato sauce comes from a plastic pack from harris teeter. Don't act like you're not impressed.

The Dough Recipe:

1 cup water

2 TBSP water

2 TBSP olive oil

1 1/2 cup white flour

1 1/2 cup wheat flour

1 TSP sugar

1 TSP salt

2 1/2 TSP yeast

1 - 2 TSP Oregano/Italian herbs if desired

The Directions:

Place all ingredients in bread machine in order listed. Run on the dough cycle. NOTE THIS TAKES 90 MINUTES- much to my chagrin. When cycle is complete, roll it, toss it etc and prepare as desired. Bake at 400 F for 18 - 20 minutes

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

I preface this recipe with this disclaimer: I am not a fantastic baker. I have not even mastered the bread machine. But I did master this recipe. 

Our gardening season is coming to a close. We have a few cold weather crops in the ground: beets, lettuce, chard, beans, broccoli and brussel sprouts. However, I will miss my summer bounty of eggplant, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, squash (those not ravaged by squash borers), and peppers. The last of the zucchini was shredded, and some was frozen and some was baked into a few delicious loaves of bread. I got fancy on this endeavor and substituted sour cream for oil, and got a moist cake-like result. Note that I prefer my zucchini bread without chocolate chips or nuts or raisins. 

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1 cup of honey

1 cup of packed brown sugar (I used SPLENDA's brown sugar blend)

1/2 heaping cup of sour cream

1 TSP vanilla

4 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups white flour

2 TBSP cinnamon

2 TSP baking powder

2 TSP baking soda

2 TSP salt

4 cups grated zucchini

2 9x5 greased bread pans or 3 8x4 greased bread pans

Optional 1 Cup Add Ins:

Raisins

Walnuts

Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, honey, sugar, vanilla, and sour cream and whisk until smooth. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda/powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir with a fork so there are surprise pockets of salt or soda or cinnamon. 

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients while beating at a med-high speed. When mixture is uniform, fold in the zucchini and any of your add-ins, then integrate until mixture is uniform again. Divide the dough evenly between your greased pans. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or to the point where you can poke the bread with a fork/toothpick and it comes out clean. 

This bread was so moist. I wanted to make some sour cream frosting for the top, but my dear husband declared that would be too adulterous. He took one of the loaves for breakfast and it served him for a whole week. He declared it the best zucchini bread he's eaten-- but don't tell my mother in law that! 

I would be curious to see if you could use this same recipe but substitute shredded apples or shredded carrots. I think the carrots would work as they are of a similar PH to zucchini, but I anticipate some variances if using apples as they are more acidic than zucchinis. I am also curious to see if separating the egg whites and beating them until the peak, and then folding them in would change the texture. It was already quite fluffy and moist, but I can't help but wonder. . . . 

Feeling the Asian Persuasion: Thai Mango Salad

I LOVE SOM TUM. 

However, unripe papayas are not good for pregnant women, as they can cause abortion or teratogenic. I found this out after I had eaten som tum in my current state and was searching for the recipe, and was reading about papayas. Lucky for me, there have been no complications thus far in spite of the som tum ingestion. Side note- I prefer my som tum from Thai Square. I prefer all my Thai food from Thai Square. And boy do I prefer spicy food when there's a bun in my oven!

This moves me to search for a substitute for papaya. I didn't really have to look hard as I had an excellent green mango salad from Myanmar Restaurant. It was as delicious as the som tum, and comparable in its ingredients. Side note- the most delicious samosas you will ever eat also come from Myanmar Restaurant. 

The Salad:

1 head romaine lettuce, thinly chopped

1 unripe or slightly ripe mango, shredded and juice set aside

1 bunch of green onions, all parts diced

1 handful of dry roasted or honey roasted peanuts

The Dressing:

1 lime, juiced

2 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP rice vinegar

1/4 teaspoon garlic ginger paste

1/2 teaspoon roasted red chili paste

Juice from shredded mango

Crushed red pepper flakes

Optional:

Add baby shrimp

Add shredded cucumbers

The mango I used was slightly ripe, so the pale yellow flesh shredded well, but had ample juice to use in the dressing. If I were to have used a green unripe mango, I think I may have had to add 1 - 2 TBSP of pineapple or mango juice to adjust. This salad was bliss. The only thing that could have made it better would have been some samosas and tamarind sauce.