Photography 101- Duh. Adapt.

I just had to share. I made something yummy and found a spot in the house with much better natural lighting to take pictures. So exciting! Natural light is just lovely, and totally missing in my kitchen. Bummer. Fluorescent lighting abounds in the cooking space. I have my camera set to deal with that problem, which I forgot while taking the natural light photos this morning. Every one of my pictures was turning out blue. Seriously. Then I realized my error and my pictures (in my opinion) went from being Ice Queen palpable to something I'd actually present to guests and eat myself.

Check it out:

Still working out the kinks and learning all over again how to do the photography stuff. Does the milk look weird? I feel like the milk looks weird.

Learning! It's what's happening over here right now.

Enjoy!
-m

p.s. Happy New Year's Eve!

Cheese Enchiladas

I have spent what feels like a very good amount of time lately at other people's houses cooking, eating and celebrating all kinds of wonderful things. It's been a hoot and while I'm totally exhausted (still) I came away with some interesting new insights. Really, I gained new, important, valuable, eye opening information whilst celebrating my holidays away.

lovely Christmas dinner table

This is what I mean about always learning, by the way. I'm completely enthralled with the act and idea of learning something new, no matter how inconsequential it may seem to anyone else. For example, I recently made tamales at a good friend's house. This is the same fabulously roomy (space! What a hot commodity!) kitchen that housed our Wednesday Thanksgiving this year and where I spent a good day making ninjabread men in ugly sweaters (see pic below if you don't believe me). I noticed the same thing on all occasions- cleaning as you go. It happens. Seriously, I saw it.

This is how it went down: 

We prepped.
Then someone jumped in and washed everything we just used to prep. There were 4 or 5 of us, so those extra hands were nice, but on the day I was making cookies and just one other person was prepping and cooking wildly, then she did all the cleaning solo. 
Then we cooked some of the previously prepped stuff.
Then, like magic, someone cleaned it all up!*

When we sat down to eat, everything was cleaned and the kitchen was immaculate. It was impressive, to say the least. 

*Yes, sometimes it was me, but mostly it was not. I just stared in awe.

ninja bread men in ugly sweaters

I have heard about such things occuring, but I have never experienced them myself (or I wasn't paying attention, my mom's kitchen never seemed messy but I was probably off in la-la land while all that cleaning occurred) I cook mostly at home, alone in my decently sized but relatively tiny kitchen and I just make one mess after another. It's kind of how I seem to roll through life, leaving organized chaos in my midst. I know where it all is, but it looks kinda nutty to the casual observer.
Dylan is always commenting on my ability to take a spotless kitchen and go all tasmanian devil on it with one fail swoop of my wooden spoon.

It's a bit demoralizing, really. I never want to cook after I've spent a good chunk of time scrubbing the kitchen down. And cooking is what I really love to do. It's quite a conundrum.

This is when my frozen meals really blow my mind. I have about twenty frozen soups and pastas ready for just this moment, when my kitchen looks great and I'm spent and I do not particularly like to get takeout or eat out on week nights. I used to throw down some delicious frozen meals from trader joes on nights like this, but I feel a little better about the stuff I make myself. We do the occasional gnocchi, no lie, but I know all the ingredients in my frozen potato leek soup and that soothes my weary soul (ha! weary. a bit dramatic, I know).

homemade enchilada sauce

Here is one of our favorite meals I keep in the freezer. Just a note: it's such a fabulous recipe that I never get a chance to take a picture of the final result... how unsatisfying, I'm so very sorry. You'll just have to make it yourself to see what it looks like I guess. Then take a picture and send it to me so I have a frame of reference, ok?

These enchiladas were inspired by the Pioneer Woman's recipe for sour cream enchiladas. The only real change is the fact that I didn't like the ingredients in the enchilada sauce, so I made my own- dag nabbit.
I got this step, adding a bit of sauce to the mixture going in, from the custodian at my school. She gave me what is probably a killer enchilada recipe, but I haven't tried it yet because I'm so in love with this one. Soon! Soon.

By the way,  I'm under no delusion that these are 'healthy'. They are super tasty and satisfying and a great treat for after you've rolled out all the sod for your backyard (finally! yes! That happened! And I made enchiladas to celebrate! I love exclamation points! and cheese.)

Step by Step: Filling and rolling your enchiladas

Doing all these steps within the pan itself is genius and I thank my school custodian again for that tip. Makes so much sense! It's the kind of thing I might never ever think of myself.

Whenever I make these, I double the batch and make some more to freeze- though this batch makes two little 9x9 freezer trays pretty easily. This way, we never run out. Oh yeah. Enchiladas, always at hand. It's just how things work over here. 

Cheese Enchiladas
serves 6 (or two very hungry people twice with leftovers!)

inspired by the Pioneer Woman's Sour Cream Enchiladas 


print this recipe 

ingredients

2 15oz cans of tomato sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon+ chili powder (adjust to your taste)
1/2 tablespoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups sour cream
2 1/2 - 3 cups grated cheese (cheddar or jack work well)
about 1 cup chopped scallions
12 corn tortillas (or a flour/corn hybrid- I love those)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Get your 9x13 baking pan ready. 


Put the two cans of tomato sauce in a medium sauce pan over medium high/medium heat. Add the oil and the seasonings and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the sauce retains that dark red color you know you're waiting for, about 10 minutes.
Mix the grated cheese, scallions and sour cream in a medium sized bowl. Add a dollop of the enchilada sauce and mix together.

Get your set up just right, I prefer to heat the tortillas up in the sauce as opposed to in oil, but you can use oil if you wish. I have a small frying pan loaded with some sauce heating up to about medium. Then I add the tortilla for a quick bath in the sauce, flip it over after about 15 seconds and then toss it in the 9 x 13 in pan, where you intend for it to end up, and fill it and roll it right in there. Continue with the rest of the enchiladas. Top with extra sauce and cheese and bake until the cheese is bubbly, 15-20 minutes.


Enjoy!
-m

Salted Caramel Bars

Happy Holidays!

I made these a few weeks ago, but the thought of them still makes my mouth water.

I hope your holidays went fabulously and that you are still reeling from it all.

Enjoy!
-m

for your reference (and mine, who am I kidding)

Can you tell I'm baking today? Gotta keep this handy! Here is the bigger version.

Enjoy!
-m

blueberry compote

You know what might be insightful, entertaining and educational? If everyone (ok, not everyone, but a select few people) shared everything they googled in a one week period of time. I'll start, because I'm good at sharing, with a few of my recent queries:

filet au poivere (I was mid-sear, wondering what comes first to the pan for a good saucy meat au poivere- peppercorns or brandy, my keyboard must wince every time I hover above it, wooden spoon or spatula in hand. I'd like to say I was planning ahead, but leaving meat to sear on the pan while I dash to the computer to figure out what to do right after I take the meat off the hot pan, was not in fact good planning).

ranger doug WPA (looking for some more art-type-stuff for the house, we love these WPA posters)

salt dough (project for work. When I taught preschool, I was all over the cool crafts. Since moving to 6th grade though, I often forget to plan for the crafty stuff as I get overwhelmed with the fractions, figurative language and adolescent drama- but not this holiday season! This holiday season we are turning fractions and figurative language into a crafty project where they will double a recipe, make the dough, cut out shapes and otherwise decorate it, then write about the process. We are totally doing that. Mess and all. Bring it on.)

compote (this word has been rolling around in my mind every single time I make this blueberry dish I'm about to share and I finally looked the darn word up to see if what I was making qualified as a 'compote'. It totally does according to wikipedia. )

map of Europe (long story)

I've said this before, I'm sure of it, and I'll say it again. I have only the faintest idea what I'm doing in the kitchen. Unlike some amazing and lucky food bloggers, I have not been trained in any of the realms of cooking. I just have my insane curiosity and propensity towards trying new things. This is all one big learning experience. So, I hesitate to use fancy shmancy (or lovely, fabulous and apt) words to describe what I'm doing. Compote? What's a compote? Well, it looks as though it might just be fruit cooked in syrup. I'm totally doing that, thus I'm comfortable-ish saying that I'm making a blueberry compote.

I have been making this particular bit of bubbling blueberry beauty since October Unprocessed- it is simply blueberries and a splash of maple syrup. It is now a staple in my weekly diet, I make it every Monday and use a tablespoon of it in my oatmeal (which has been my smoothie substitute in these 37 degree California mornings), I eat a bit of it with some tea for my after dinner treat. I find that a little goes a long way and it is very satisfying. The whole recipe lasts me until Friday. What will I do when I can't find blueberries? Make applesauce, duh.

I imagine that if you liked ice cream, I do not, you could drizzle this over some vanilla bean and call it a day. I do like a splash of cream on my blueberry compote when I'm feeling fancy, but ice cream is something I only really care for in a cone, on a hot day, walking down main street in Disneyland or along the boardwalk in Santa Cruz. I'm just crazy that way.

little splash of milk..mm..

This blueberry compote is another easy, quick, fairly healthy little addition to a meal. What would you do with it? I think the possibilities are endless. I often make it as I'm preparing my Monday night meal, and have it simmering while I cook. It doesn't need much attention, its no needy middle child (sorry middle children, I'm stereotyping there, forgive me).

Blueberry Compote 
print this recipe

2 cups (or about 4 or 5 handfuls, no need to be too crazy precise here)
2-3 tablespoons (or a nice, mellow drizzle) of real maple syrup

Pour your blueberries into a small/medium saucepan and turn the heat up to medium/medium high. Drizzle the maple syrup over the berries and stir gently. Heat until the berries darken and start to burst, about 3-5 minutes, releasing their juices and making the whole kitchen smell amazing.

Turn the heat down to low/medium low and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the juice thickens and the berries get a bit wrinkly.

Ta-Da! It's all yours now, do with it as you please.

Enjoy!
-m

food for thought

My name is Megan and last week I burnt caramel.

I burnt it, it smelled just like burnt sugar, but the optimistic side of me went right on ahead and poured that burnt, smoldering caramel onto the shortbread that was going to be part of the delectable caramel bars. Oops. You know what I learned, if it smells burnt. It's burnt. Leave it be or toss it out or make some caramel brittle. That would have been a good choice.

The next night, I made those caramel bars all over again to much more success, but in the process I found a few caramel recipes I really wanted to share and a few other delightful, interesting things as well.

food for thought

When I was making my caramel, I combined the caramel recipe I used for caramel apples with this fleur de Sel caramel recipe- I just really wanted to avoid the corn syrup step.

These salted caramel bars by What's Gaby Cooking were my inspiration for the caramel bars I ended up making- I used her shortbread recipe and I really loved the combination. I'll be sharing the whole process soon!

I taught preschool a while back, for quite a few years, and was a nanny for small children- so temper tantrums used be a big part of my daily life. This article on What's Behind a Temper Tantrum makes me feel a little bit better about my strategy for dealing with them- leave them be, make sure they are safe and so is everyone around them (they can really throw stuff in those tantrums!) but just let them get it out. I really enjoyed reading about the vocalizations the kids made during, the idea of studying this fascinates me. I would never, ever want to spend hours analyzing those screams and skirmishes but I'm glad someone else did!

I used to read the comics daily in our local news paper, and while I still receive the paper on the weekends (it seems so relaxing to me, paper and coffee and early-ish morning light) I still find ways to get my comics fix, here is one of them and here is another one (and a personal fav).

Enjoy!
-m

Leftovers Frittata: Staying Sane and Eating Well

I just hung up Christmas stockings. I went Christmas shopping at the Bazaar Bizarre in San Francisco, an amazing Etsy-licious craft fair. I bought some of my favorite gifts last year and I got some more fabulous handmade goodies this year. I can feel that holiday stress creeping up, but I honestly enjoy this time of year and revel in thinking about gifts to give and food stuffs to make. There is nothing that I enjoy more than giving people things that I hope will make them smile- and this time of year that is totally socially acceptable! Lovely! And all my goofy cooking experiments go up a notch with cookies and cinnamon rolls and the like. It's a messy fun time. 

leftovers heating up the night

But, the evenings can get weary. My students know the holiday energy is in the air and they get a little cooky. I come home exhausted frequently and I pour a good chunk of my energy into everything other than my daily meals, so this meal is a perfect thing to have on my weekly meal plan. In fact, it's on the plan almost every single week. Every Thursday, I take a bunch of the leftovers and make an easy, delicious frittata (or I make a soup, depending on if our meals were veggie heavy or pasta heavy).

The thing I love about this frittata is that it is so easily adaptable to what you have on hand and what you are craving.

It has just a few basic steps:

spinach, broccoli, potatoes, sausage and some seasonings/herbs added in for fun

Heat up some of your leftovers in a skillet that can handle the heat of the oven. I've often used leftover pasta dishes here- ones with a sauce are especially delicious. I also use any vegetables from the week (broccoli here, I chopped it up pretty small) and I just love adding spinach to the mix. I find it so satisfying to throw in a huge bunch of spinach and watch it shrink down. Add any seasonings you like as well as salt and pepper- I use trader joes '21 seasoning salute' that has a combination of the best stuff like onions, thyme, etc.

Next, mix 6-7 eggs with a bit of milk and pour it over the leftover mixture.

Cook it on medium, letting the edges get solid and then doing this thing here- drag the cooked parts to the center and let the ooey gooey parts fill in the empty void. I go around the edges and do this once, then it's time for the cheese. Maybe you know a better way to do this, but this works fabulously every time so this is how I like to roll, frittata style.

Grate some cheese of your choice, I used jack and cheddar here (I love mozzarella when I use pasta with a marinara sauce and sometimes I splurge and use goat cheese) and sprinkle it around the top of the frittata. Place the skillet in the oven, preheated to 350 degrees, for about 10-15 minutes or until the eggs have set (resist the temptation to get it 'golden' or 'crispy' unless you like overcooked eggs!)

Let it cool for a few minutes before you slice it up and serve it. Pair it with a little salad, a slice of homemade bread, whatever you please!

Leftovers Frittata 
print this recipe

ingredients

leftover pasta, meats, potatoes, vegetables- whatever you have in the fridge
any fresh vegetables you want to add
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper (to taste)
6-7 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheese (of your choice)


Preheat your oven to 350. Heat up the olive oil and your leftovers in a skillet that can handle the heat of the oven. I've often used leftover pasta dishes here- ones with a sauce are especially delicious. I also use any vegetables from the week and I just love adding spinach to the mix. I find it so satisfying to throw in a huge bunch of spinach and watch it shrink down.


Next, mix 6-7 eggs with a bit of milk and pour it over the leftover mixture.


Cook it on medium, letting the edges get solid and then doing this- drag the cooked parts to the center and let the ooey gooey parts fill in the empty void. I go around the edges and do this once, then it's time for the cheese.


Grate some cheese of your choice, I used jack and cheddar here (I love mozzarella when I use pasta with a marinara sauce and sometimes I splurge and use goat cheese) and sprinkle it around the top of the frittata. Place the skillet in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the eggs have set (resist the temptation to get it 'golden' or 'crispy' unless you like overcooked eggs!).

Let it cool for a few minutes before you slice it up and serve it. Pair it with a little salad, a slice of homemade bread, whatever you please!

Enjoy!
-m