Strawberry Summer Cake

One of my goals for this summer was to cook and bake using more whole grains. I have a cookbook that is all about baking with whole grains and I wanted to try something new from it once a week. I have only cooked one thing, scones- yum, but that's it! What's the deal? I hate not reaching my goals. As I was thinking about how horribly I stunk at this goal, I realized that I wasn't totally off...

Funny thing is, when I decided on this goal I started noticing recipes that called for unique flours or grains. I realized I was printing and saving recipes that fit my goal, even though they weren't from the cookbook. Whew. I don't feel like such a failure after all.

This strawberry cake is one of those recipes. It doesn't have a heaping helping of sugar, though it may seem that way, and it has barley flour- which I am now in love with. Especially with fruit in baked goods. So divine.

If you are on the fence about giving this cake a try, let me convince you. This cake is fabulous for the following reasons:
1) no gross amounts of frosting, the cake stands up for itself
2) the strawberries melt into the baked cake so elegantly, and they leave a moist, berry saturated area around them that you will want to recreate over and over
3) it's good for breakfast too!
4) it just screams 'summer! get it while it lasts!'
5) it is super duper easy.
6) it impresses the heck outta people.

Strawberry Summer Cake from Smitten Kitchen

ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup barley flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
7/8 cup sugar (measure a cup, take out two tablespoons)
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound strawberries, tops chopped off and cut in half


Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10 inch pie pan or a 9 inch or 10 inch spring form pan- which is what I did and it was lovely.

Mix the flours, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy with an electric mixer, or by hand if you're strong like that.

Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add the dry mixture more gradually, mixing until just smooth. Don't over do it.

Pour into prepared baking apparatus. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer. I accidentally put them cut side up once, and while it was a bit ugly at first, it looked very nifty when I sprinkled the powdered sugar on top and the cut side melted the sugar so you had this white powder with striking red spots.

If you want to, sprinkle the two tablespoons of sugar you kept out of the cake, on top of the cake. I have done this, and forgotten to do this, and it turns out well both ways.

Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes. Ignore ooey gooey strawberries, you want that. Let cool, if you can, then sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top. Why? It looks so lovely, that's why!

Enjoy!
-m

Bacon Bourbon Brownies

My favorite dessert item would be, hands down, brownies. I adore them. As a kid, I once ordered an ice cream sundae without the ice cream just to get a brownie with hot fudge on it. I really appreciate a good brownie.

My favorite brownies are the fudgey (how do you spell that?), almost chewy, dotted with melted chocolate within, and warm. I used to use boxed brownie mixes a heck of a lot. After the past year of trying an excessive amount of brownies from scratch, I know now why I never strayed from the box. Fudgy brownies from scratch are not, in my opinion, easy. Cakey brownies from scratch- super easy.



These brownies looked so good in the pictures in the magazine, I was sold before I even realized they had the added wondefulness of bacon and bourbon.



These were fun to make, my kitchen smelled amazing! These were pretty good tasting, but a bit cakey for my taste.(Did I mention that I'm a kinda picky eater of brownies?) It could be that after 40 minutes, they were done done done- my oven runs hot, even when I adjust for that it seems to make my baked goods cook up a bit faster. The recipe calls for taking them out when they are 'wobbly' in the middle, I bet that would work magically.



Bacon Bourbon Brownies with Pecans
from Food & Wine Magazine Aug, 2011

makes 24 brownies

ingredients

1/2 cup pecans
1/2 pound bacon, sliced
8 ounces bittersweet chopped chocolate
2 ounces unsweetened chopped chocolate
1 stick & 2 tbs unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbs bourbon
4 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat your oven to a toasty 350 degrees. Use some parchment paper to line a 9x9in square baking dish.

Toast the pecans in a pie plate for about 8 minutes in the preheating oven. After they have cooled off a bit, chop them coarsely.

Cook the bacon in a skillet ans save 3 tablespoons of the fat. When the bacon has cooled, chop it up.

In a saucepan, mix the two chocolates with the butter and stir over low heat until it's all melted. Pour it into a large bowl and mix in both sugars and the bacon fat. Next, beat in the bourbon. Then add the eggs and salt, mix it until smooth. Lastly, stir in the cocoa powder and flour.

Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle the bacon and pecans on top (I think I went a bit overboard, use as much or as little of it as you like). Bake for 40-50 minutes. You want the edges to be set but the middle to be wobbly.

Let them cool completely, then cut them into squares and serve!

Enjoy!
-m

longing

I miss my camera.

I hope my new battery arrives soon. I'm not sure how many more gorgeous, delicious dishes I can photograph with my...iphone. Hardly comparable. Not nearly as satisfying.

big. gigantic. sigh.

That is all.

-m

p.s. bacon bourbon brownies coming soon!

Lots of Learning

Learn from my mistakes.



Don't get so excited about your long run that you bring two different, left shoes with you. Ruining your plans for waking up early and going for a good, lonely, cool eight mile run. Making it so you have to drive back home, grab the right shoe, curse the heavens and go for a mildly cool, but very packed (people everywhere! what the heck!) eight mile run.

Don't forget to charge your gps watch the night before a run. When you think you're making land-speed records and your only way of proving such a point stops working no one will believe you. Your evidence is shattered.

Don't forget you are wearing your ridiculous, large, not-atheltic-in-the-slightest sunglasses and run two miles before you realize you have them on. They will slip down your sweaty nose the whole time and make you look a fool.


this is not 'good food'

Don't leave your gatorade in the now-very-hot car and try to swig it when you return from your packed, warm, long run only to spit that hot crap out. When you get home and put it on ice, it will look futuristic, weird and unholy. It might even scare you silly, seeing how unnatural it looks.



Don't forget to check that the batteries for your camera are actually charged, not some sort of tricky fake charged where the light is green but the camera fails to power on as you are making fabulous bacon bourbon brownies. (New battery time? I think so..) Making it so you have to once again take pictures with your phone..which leads you to playing with the photos as the brownies bake..


Shelby, our extremely optimistic rhodesian ridgeback


For years it has been a dream of mine to pour bacon grease into brownie batter!

But do, do do do make garlic butter and marscarpone scrambled eggs for breakfast (or dinner! no one is watching!). I had them twice this week.


This picture hardly does them justice, they are creamy and fluffy and addictive.


Garlic Herb Butter and Marscarpone Scrambled Eggs
serves 1

Ingredients

1/2 tablespoon garlic herb butter
2-3 eggs (depending on how hungry you are)
1 tablespoon of milk
1 tablespoon marscarpone
pinch of salt and pepper

Melt the garlic herb butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Try not to lick it off the pan, it will seriously burn your tongue.

In a small bowl, crack all the eggs and beat the eggs and milk together.

When the butter is melted and makes your kitchen smell lovely, pour the eggs in and begin slowly stirring with a wooden spoon. Keep the eggs moving, letting them get slightly cooked on the pan then quickly moving them around. Sounds silly, but they get so fluffy.

When the eggs are about 80% cooked, still slightly runny, drop the marscarpone in. Break it up with the spoon and spread it around fairly evenly. There will be chunks of it here and there, and you so want that. The eggs should be just a little undercooked by now- take them off the heat before they become tough. They will still be shiny but not runny. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!
-m

Constant Vigilance

If you could go back in time just one week and tell yourself one thing- what would you say?




I might say 'don't worry about the crazy lock problem with the car, it will cost you $300 for them to find nothing wrong' OR (and this is the big one!) 'charge your darn camera batteries already!'.



Unfortunately, I don't have a time machine and couldn't warn myself about the car or camera. If I had, then I could have avoided today's 'oh crap!' moment. And saved a good chunk of money earlier in the week.




I was extremely bummed about the cameras- I had been very excited make a risotto for the first time. I knew the colors would be gorgeous to photograph! My only solution, don't laugh, was to take photos with my iphone. It was much lighter and easier to hold, but man I missed my camera. I had already started making the risotto when I realized the error of my non-charging ways, otherwise I would have gone so far as to wait until the batteries were charged- that's how excited I was. Am I rambling on and on? Did I mention I was bummed?



Lucky for me, this risotto totally rocked. I'm so impressed. It's packed with veggies and extremely creamy. It's an Ina Garten recipe, but I had to do a few substitutions- and I was excited that it held up to it all.



As a note, no one is lying when they say that risotto is time consuming. It's an investment. Make it. Risotto requires constant vigilance, you must remain on top of it the whole time. Kind of like the way Shelby remains constantly vigilant about the helping me clean the kitchen.


Isn't she helpful?


I paired it with a seared steak and that just made the meal over the top delicious. Hello wonderful!


Funny shaped steak? I had to share..


Vegetable Risotto
adapted from Ina Garten's Spring Risotto

ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups chopped leeks (white and green parts of about 2 leeks)
1 cup chopped zucchini (three small or two large)
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
4 to 5 cups simmering chicken stock
1 pound tasparagus
10 ounces frozen peas
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives or green onions, plus extra for serving

Pour chicken stock in small pot and bring it to a simmer.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a good sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and zucchini and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add the rice and stir for just a minute to coat. Add the white wine and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add the chicken stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring the whole time and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more. This process should take a while, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the asparagus diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths and discard the tough ends. Blanch in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and cool, if you are that ahead of the game. If not, drain and toss in after the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, as stated below.

When the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, drain the asparagus and add it to the risotto with the peas, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking and adding stock, stirring, until the rice is
al dente.
Mix the lemon juice and mascarpone together. When the risotto is done, turn off the heat and stir in the mascarpone mixture (mmm) plus the parmesan cheese and chives. Serve immediately, or eat it all right out of the saucepan. Whatever floats your boat.


Enjoy!
-m

Vegetable Gratin

Do you watch America's Test Kitchen? I just started watching it and recieving the 'Cooks Illustrated' magazine in the mail. I love them both, but their methods really crack me up. They are so methodical and precise and kinda kooky. I dig it.


not so kooky but man, did these onions smells great

I also love that they are problem solvers. This is a big thing to me, in the classroom and at home, I'm all about problem solvers- people who see a problem and have the desire and motivation to fix it in creative ways. I harp on and on about it, hyping up people who do this well. You could say I'm a bit obsessive.

I feel like so many people complain and become negative when they see an obstacle of any kind; a slow driver on the road, trash where it shouldn't be, relationship issues, etc. The complaining is like white noise, who even really hears it all? That's why I love this show. No one is whining 'my vegetable gratin is just sooo waatteerryy..' They say, it's watery and how do we remedy that? and then, they do it. They test and test and try and try and don't give up until they get it. Or at least they don't show us the ones they give up on. And I appreciate that.



That being said, some of their techniques crack me up. Take the photo above, with tomatoes sliced, sprinkled with salt and laid to dry on a towel. Soon after this shot I put another towel on top and smushed them a bit to dry them out. Crazy?! But so fun. My attempts to follow all the directions here did not work as well as I'd hoped. I think I sliced my squash and zuchinni all wrong! But with an end result like this, who the heck cares. I made them long when I think they were just supposed to be sliced. Live and learn.



I loved this dish. It was even better the second day, I'm keeping this on rotation for sure.




Summer Vegetable Gratin

from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1 pound yellow squash, ends trimmed and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (3-4 large), sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 large slice good-quality white sandwich bread, torn into quarters or 1 cup bread crumbs
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
2 medium shallots, minced (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a 9x13” baking dish and put it out of sight, but not out of mind.

Gently toss the zucchini and squash slices with 1 teaspoon of salt in a large colander, and allow to drain about 45 minutes, or until they release 3 tablespoons of liquid (I only got about 1 tablespoon out of mine, and I think my slicing was the issue). Arrange slices on a triple layer of paper towels or a dish towel, cover with a clean dish towel, and press firmly to remove as much moisture as possible.

As the squash and zucchini drain, line another dish towel with the tomatoes, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Allow to stand 30 minutes, then using a clean dish towel or paper towels, press firmly to dry the tomatoes. This is kinda fun, get the family involved. When do you get to sort of squash tomatoes?

After setting the tomatoes and salt on the towel, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook until onions are softened, heavenly smelling and dark golden brown, about 20 minutes. Set aside and try not to stare at how much they shrunk, I think they’re sensitive about that.

Combine the garlic, 3 tablespoons of oil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and thyme in a small bowl. Marvel at the glorious combination. In a large bowl, mix the squash and zucchini with half the garlic-oil mixture. Place in the baking dish and then top with an even layer of the gorgeous onions. Slightly overlap the tomato slices in one layer on top of the onions, and drizzle with the remaining oil mixture on the tomatoes. Bake until the vegetables are softened and tomatoes are starting to brown around the edges, 40-45 minutes.

As the vegetables cook, pulse the bread in a food processor until finely ground (You should have about 1 cup of crumbs). Or be a cheater like me and just use 1 cup of store bought breadcrumbs because someone has to use them. Combine the bread crumbs, parmesan, 1 tablespoon oil, and shallots in a medium bowl.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and raise the temperature to 450. Spread the bread crumb mixture over the vegetables, and bake gratin until bubbling and lightly browned, 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with basil. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving it up.

Enjoy!
-m

Summer

This is my idea of an idyllic summer meal.




It makes me think of spending time outside, enjoying a nice breeze and reading good books in the sun.


Today is my last 'summer' day. Wednesday is the first 'offical' day back, but tomorrow I'm headed to the classroom. It needs a bit of TLC and I need to spend some time getting myself ready as well. I'm trying very hard to savor this moment, as I have all summer, when I have no papers to grade, lesson plans to turn in, ideas to keep me up at night. It's been a great summer. Last summer our kitchen flooded, the summer before was wedding/puppy/house buying crazy. This summer was just what I needed- days at the lake, wine tasting, cooking, spending time with family and friends.

Here's to the fall being just as spectacular! and to my freezer, for saving me from eating crummy food. I'm already thankful for the days I spent making soups and freezing them. Tomorrow I'm going to make a double batch of that cauliflower soup, I already ate all of the last batch and I know I'll want this one on hand.

I hope this quote holds true for me this year...

“In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer”

Albert Camus

Last Night

How long can a food coma last?


Last night, there were people in my kitchen and they were cooking. People= not me. Cooking= fabulous, from scratch, new recipes. And they let me watch.




They made this! Fried chicken, which none of us had attempted on our own before. It was a kick to see so many grown women jumping back from splashing oil and cheering when the pieces were flipped and revealed a gorgeous, golden crust. This has got to be the best fried chicken I've ever had, hands down. It was scrumptious. There were no leftovers.



Then they made this! Well, this is the beginning of something that I didn't get to photograph the end result of because.. we inhaled it before I had the chance. Any guess as to what you're looking at? If you said cheese sauce- then you are right and you may have a problem. You should look into that. This cheese sauce went over some rigatoni and was covered in breadcrumbs and tomatoes to create an entirely too pleasing mac n' cheese. Also, no leftovers. Super crowd pleaser.



And this. I think this dish was the underdog- it came up from behind, everyone dutifully put it on their plates. Most of us had not had greens before, so we were a little unsure about it. But boy oh boy, this was the surprise hit of the evening! So so so so good. It was a bit time consuming to prep and make, but for a big gathering like this it was worth it. It tasted so fresh- which was a great compliment to the mac n cheese and fried chicken!



Then there was this. The finisher, the closer of the meal.

We were gathering to discuss our recent book- "The Help" and if you've read it, then you can understand how we laughed as we ate this delicious pie. It was very hard not to.

As a side note- this was the first book we all actually read! I think that's a testament to either a) what a great read it was or b) how much more free time teachers/people have in the summer. Whichever it was, it was a fabulous book and made for some interesting discussions. I'm always amazed at how a question about the story can lead us to wonder about things in life or the news or pop culture. There are always so many connections and we often meander through the conversations until someone guides us back to the original question.


Most of the recipes came from Food and Wine magazine, they had a whole "The Help" themed menu. Lucky us!

The macaroni and cheese was a classic Ina Garten recipe. So good and gorgeous! The tomatoes were really the kicker there, don't omit them!

Give these a try! Enjoy!

-m

Chocolate Chip Fabulousness

Baking cookies might be one of those unhealthy obsessions I'll eventually have to deal with. It's one of my favorite ways to spend time, and I swear it's almost as therapeutic as a long run. Almost. I especially adore the basic drop cookies: oatmeal raisin, peanut butter and chocolate chip. It feels so 'done' to say that I love chocolate chip cookies, but I do. And like many other homemade wonders, I'm such a cookie snob. I may love them, but I'm not going to eat a crappy cookie.



I like thick, chewy cookies and that is precisely why this cookie recipe is such a winner. Last year I attempted to find another go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I tried about five new recipes, a few more than once, and after my third attempt to love these cookies my husband begged me to stop the charade and admit that my tried and true chocolate chip cookie recipe would always reign supreme. He was so right.

Every time I make these, I get someone begging for the recipe. I have tried adjusting the ingredients, it's a bit heavy on dry stuff, but the original recipe prevails. Someone worked hard to create this recipe. I'm sure of it, I like to imagine someone toiling away in a basement kitchen (those exist, right?) making batch after batch of cookies. Sweat on their brow, flour in their hair. Oh my, see what I've done there? I turned my favorite cookie recipe into a fairy tale. Soon elves will pop out and a wizard will slay a rogue singing soldier mouse.



I've been making these for over 10 years, and my cookbook shows the love. On the subject of the cookbook- The Village Baker's Wife- this is a must have. I could go on and on and on about it and the bakery they own that I wish I lived in, but I won't. Not now at least, there are cookies to attend to.






Chocolate Chip Cookies
From "The Village Baker's Wife" by Gayle and Joe Ortiz

Ingredients

1 cup (8 oz) butter, room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (seems like a lot, but it's worth the extra arm strength needed to mix it up!)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preaheat your oven to 350 degrees. Eat an apple so you're not so tempted to scarf down all the dough as you form the cookies later. Trust me. You'll want to eat it all. Get out your baking sheets, use parchment paper if that's your thing. They come off fine without it, but it makes for easy cleanup.

Cream the butter in a large bowl, either using a mixer or by hand. Add the sugars and mix until combined. Beat in 1 egg and the vanilla. Add the remaining egg and mix- but not too much, just until it comes together nicely. Set this gorgeous concoction aside.

In a different bowl, mix these ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the buttery mixture (I like to do it in thirds). Mix it until it is just combined, then dump in your chocolate chips and combine.

Using a large spoon, scoop and drop a good dollop of dough (I generally use a heaping tablespoon or two) on the baking sheets. Don't mess with them after you drop them- leave them be!

Bake for 10-14 minutes. Don't go far, keep your eye on them. I like to take them out when they look close to done and soft but not too golden brown. I let them sit on the rack while I prepare another pan. But if you want them crispier, by all means, bake them longer.

They don't last long, be warned.

Note: I've substituted all kinds of things for chocolate chips in this recipe and it almost always works wonders- trail mix, mini peanut butter cups, dried cranberries. The 'base' is so great, it compliments almost anything that might make you think 'that would be good in cookie'.