Cajun Corn Fritters

testing, testing. Is this thing on?

Ferris Bueller was right, you've got to stop and smell the roses before life passes you by. It's been almost a year since I've sat down to write a post- well, since I've hit the 'publish' button. Everything has changed and everything is still the same. My baby is a strong willed toddler, just over a year old. My eating habits are finally settling back into something I'd call normal and modestly health aware. I'm getting outside, getting stronger and teaching full time. I'm almost motivated to cook again, though I miss the days of spending as long as I'd like on a recipe. I gaze longingly at the glossy photos in my magazines and remember the days of glazed short ribs and chocolate ganache covered cakes.

Now, it is all about quick, easy, filling foods. Foods we can all eat. We, that's right, my husband and my baby and myself. We eat the same foods. That's happening. I'm thrilled.

The other night I decided to finally use some of a seasoning blend I'd been tasked with tasting, a Wildtree Cajun blend. I have gone to and hosted a few of the Wildtree workshops (you show up with baggies and produce/meat, and bag up and make 10 meals that you pop into your freezer) and have loved so much of it. Talk about a time saver, holy cow. But, prepping mostly meaty meals on top of trying out a Whole 30 and doing mostly paleo for a while, I was ready for something less carniverous.

Que corn. Mmm. Funny story, as my husband and I embarked on our first Whole 30, he lovingly helped out by making dinner one night. When I got home, with the dog and the baby, dinner was ready and I was thankful. Then I noticed he had made corn on the cob with dinner. I was so hungry, I sat down and ate the meal but didn't touch the corn. I knew it was not allowed in the context of the Whole 30 adventure, but I didn't want to burst his bubble. Corn, it acts like a veggie sometimes! Tricky corn.

Anyway, that corn lingered in my memory. It looked so sweet and juicy. I'd heard someone on the radio talking about corn fritters and decided that was it, corn fritters and cajun seasonings. And so, this happened. Cajun Corn Fritters.

They were simple, quick and easy. I whipped up some goat cheese and dash of sour cream and chives to make a little dipping sauce. I threw some avocado slices into the oven and voila, dinner. Though I wasn't super keen on the avocado fries, the rest of the meal held up to my internal hype. Yum.

Give them a shot, I'd bet they'd be good with a variety of spice blends. Try it out, why not?

Cajun Corn Fritters

makes about 8-10 two inch fritters

For the fritters:

1 1/2 cups of corn (cut off the cob, I used about 3 cobs. Cobs? is that right? you know what I mean)
1/2-1 tsp (adjust to your taste) cajun spice blend
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp flour
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 egg
Butter, for the pan

For the dipping sauce:
2-3 oz goat cheese
2 tbs sour cream
1/2 tbsp chives, chopped

Mix up all the ingredients for the fritters except the egg. Heat your pan up and toss some butter in, about a tablespoon or so. While the butter is warming up, mix the egg in with the fritter mixture. It will look gross and strange and slimy, but also colorful and lumpy and soon to be delicious. Things always looks strange before they become beautiful, like those horrible contour make up tutorials on Pinterest.

When the pan is ready, use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture into small patties on the pan. Cook for about three minutes or until golden brown, then flip and repeat. Let them cool on a plate with a paper towel and eat them up soon. They were delicious right off of the pan.

To make the dipping sauce, simply mix the sour cream and goat cheese in a small bowl with a fork. Goat cheese hates to mix up with anything in my experience so far, so really tell it who's boss. Then toss in the chives and taste. Add salt and pepper to your liking, and feel free to adjust the sour cream/cheese to get the consistency you crave.

Enjoy!
-m

Banana Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins

I tried my best to prepare for the arrival of our wee little guy. I organized his closet, arranged the furniture in his room, washed his clothes, prepared frozen meals- all the usual stuff. Well, I did most of that. But that last thing, that cooking thing, that did not happen. I made and froze two things: breakfast sandwiches and these muffins. 


Why? It could have been the fact that I was due at the very end of August and thus super pregnant during the hottest months of the year- who in their right mind wants to cook then!? It could have been that I could not stomach most meats while pregnant, and that I adored breakfast foods so that was all I could fathom cooking. It could also have been that I was just tired. Tired all the stinking time.

Regardless of the reason, I don't have much by way of frozen homemade meals in my freezer that I made. I do have these muffins though and I love them. I knew that as a nursing mom I might want sweet things and have no time to make a great meal three times a day, so these seemed perfect. They are sweet without having too much sugar and I could freeze them and thaw them whenever I wanted.

Our little guy is almost two months old and I still have some of these left, the chocolate is what gets me each time I eat one. It feels so decadent and tastes amazing. These would be great to make and share at work or to bring to new parents!

Recipe: Banana Chocolate-Chip Muffins 
from Cup of Jo's guest post by The Roaming Kitchen Makes 28 muffins 

Ingredients: 

1 cup brown sugar 
1/2 cup white sugar 
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 eggs 
6 over-ripe bananas (or 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas) 
1 tbsp. lemon zest 
1 tsp. vanilla extract 
1/2 cup applesauce 
2 cups flour 
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt 
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips 


Heat the oven to 350F. Get your muffin pan ready by greasing it or spraying it. 

Add the brown sugar, white sugar and butter to a large bowl and mix for a few minutes or until it is fluffy. Add the eggs and keep on mixing until they are totally incorporated into the sugary buttery mixture. 

Add the bananas, lemon zest, vanilla and applesauce to the bowl. Mix it all up until everything comes together. The batter looks, not gonna lie, pretty gross right now. That means  you're on the right track. 

Add the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the bowl. Mix it all just enough to get it all combined. Then, the best part,  add the chocolate chips and stir one last time. 

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, filling them about 3/4 of the way. Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Let them cool a bit before eating, duh. 

(I also made a loaf out of this and, gasp!, used my donut pan to make banana chocolate baked donuts. So go crazy, have some fun with it!)

Enjoy!
-m

Nectarine Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Someone recently asked me if I was still blogging here, a loving family member who knows of the existence of this blog but probably doesn't read it. I say that because if they had, they would have noticed my absence from this realm. This blog is supposed to highlight good, wholesome recipes I've tried and want to share. Throughout my pregnancy, I have tried desperately to cling to this mantra of good food, but the reality is very very boring. 

For the first few months I ate weird, gross or very bland food. (My favorite lunch at the time was an everything bagel with whipped cream cheese, siracha and chicken. I loved that so much.) I ate a lot of cereal, which I generally believe to be too processed to want to consume so regularly, but when it sounded good and helped with my nausea, I gave in and ate that Kashi every single day. 

My second trimester I felt better, but my energy never kicked back in. With the school year in full swing and testing anxiety, I relied a lot on Trader Joe's to help me out with dinners. I have a serious meat aversion with the pregnancy which means even more boring foods. Lots of salads, soups, and pastas. I started loving the premade salads at Trader Joe's for lunch every day- I'm still currently obsessed with their 'Crunchy Slaw' salad with the peanut dressing. Love. Even though it's summer and I ideally have time to make lunch, I still buy three of these a week and eat them for lunch on hot (ugh) days when I can't bring myself to make anything. 

Now that I'm 35 weeks along and due in a month, my eating hasn't changed much and my energy has only plummeted. But, I am on summer break which means even if I take forever, I can get some cooking done. The thing is that without meat to cook, I'm so bored. It's too hot to do anything too good with veggies (in my opinion, I'm so tired of grilling and sautéing) and if I never see pasta again I'll be ok. I feel like I'm living on cereal (still), fruit (adore!) and raw veggies (don't ask how many bags of baby carrots, plain old lettuce and bell peppers I'm going through a week. I'm setting records, I'm sure of it). Even sweets aren't very tempting, but baking... oh baking is my weakness. I've been baking at least weekly and sending them off with Dylan to work or freezing them for after the baby comes and we need some sugar. 

These cupcakes were one such baking bonanza. The nectarines I've been getting lately (from all sources: CSA box, grocery store, family's backyard) have been to die for. I realized recently that I had way more than I could eat, so I decided to do some baking with them. I chopped about seven of them up and slowly simmered them with a tiny bit of sugar and used them to make both these cupcakes and made some hand pies as well (these were killer. seriously, make them now. sorry I have no proof.)

I haven't felt like sharing these though, because I'm not sure how well they fit into my idea of 'good food'. They used processed ingredients and lots of sugar. But, I love baking. I find it to be extremely therapeutic and since I can't go for a long, sweaty run- baking is one of my best outlets. So, I'm sharing the baking. I realize this means my posts for what remains of the summer will be skewed in the sweet direction and I'm ok with that. It is what it is, right? If you've got a bbq to go to or a party to host, any of the sweet treats will make your guests sing your praises. So, bake on and share. Just don't eat them all at once or I'll feel just terrible (and frankly, so will you).

The recipe for these gorgeous little dandies can be found here, and I found them thanks to my favorite way to kill three hours, pinterest. 

Enjoy!

-m

Oatmeal Pancakes

This year has been a quick one, passing fast as we count each week. I'm 24 weeks (6 months!) pregnant and my cooking has really taken a backseat during the pregnancy. I have been eyeing new recipes again and cooking 4 or 5 nights a week- which feels like a success to me!

I've been really loving breakfast foods lately. Fruits and eggs and whole grains, oh my! I made these pancakes one weekend and had some leftover which were promptly frozen. Later that week, we stuck them under the broiler (we are lazy with the toaster oven) and rejoiced- what a lovely way to start a week day!

I love these pancakes. They use oat flour, cooked oatmeal and all purpose flour which makes them hearty and flavorful and very satisfying.

Oatmeal Pancakes
From "Good to the Grain"

Ingredients

3/4 cup oat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled a bit
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup cooked oatmeal
1 tablespoon unsulphured (not blackstrap) molasses
2 eggs

If you have some leftover oatmeal, toss it in here- but if you don't, just boil 2 cups of water with 1 cup of whole rolled oats and a pinch of salt. Once it's boiling, turn it down to simmer for about 5 minutes. I have done this as I mix the rest of the ingredients, easy peasy.

Work with the dry ingredients (oat flour, all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt), mixing them all well, in a large bowl. Set aside.

Mix together all of the wet ingredients (butter, milk, oatmeal, molasses, eggs) until they are combined well and just a warning, this will look lumpy and gross.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, very lightly. The batter should be lumpy and a bit thick. Cook them up on a skillet with a bit of butter, and enjoy!

-m

Hmm..

These are a few of my favorite food magazines. Do they contradict one another? Always. I like to think it's a balanced perspective. Do you have any food or cooking magazines you adore? I'm always on the lookout for more!

Baked Pasta

I have made this baked pasta so many times in the past few months. It's such an easy little meal that provides us with many leftovers and makes a great dinner to give to a friend who might need it.

As I was making it again last week, I decided I should share it with you. I haven't cooked much lately, for a few reasons, and most of my attempts at cooking lately have left a lot to be desired (boring blueberry muffins, not worth sharing!) and this recipe seemed like an fun, quick thing to share.

And then I did that thing I do. I did that thing, where I photograph the whole process. The shredding of the cheeses (mozerella and fontina), the browning of the ground meat (you could use turkey! I used beef) and the boiling of the pasta (but not too much, let the meat do the talking). I even got a shot of the whole thing mixed and piled into a baking dish that was headed for the oven.

Then, then it came out of the oven. It came out, glorious and bubbly. The salads were on the table, the drinks poured and the table set. And so it happened. I plated the pasta and ate a delicious, hearty meal, without ever stopping to photograph the best part, the finished product.

So, I guess you'll just have to make it yourself to see!

Baked Pasta 

serves 4-6
time: 30-45 minutes

ingredients

1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce or homemade sauce if you're fancy like that
1 lb of ground beef (I'm sure turkey would work here too)
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb of pasta (adjust as desired, I prefer less pasta so that my sauce:pasta:meat ratio is where I like it)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I add fontina and parmersan, depending on what I have on hand)

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9x11 pan by coating it with a light spritz of oil.

Cook pasta as usual; in a large pot- boil water, toss in pasta, cook for 8-10 minutes.

While pasta is cooking, drizzle the olive oil in a large pan and toss in the onions once the oil gets warm. Cook the onions for about 5-7 minutes, until they become translucent. Then place the meat in the pan and cook until browned. When the meat is done, pour the marinara sauce over it and let it simmer until the pasta is ready.

Drain the pasta and return it to the large pot, then combine the meat and sauce mixture with the pasta. Stir until evenly distributed and then mix about 1/3 of the cheese in the pasta mixture. Pour into the pan, sprinkling the rest of the cheese on top and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.

Enjoy! (and take a picture for me, would you?)
-m

Happy New Year!

As we begin 2013, I'd like to take a moment and think back on the past year.

for just a second or two.

or maybe just a second.

There. Done. Moving forward! Ready for 2013?

I am!

In fact, I'm ready but noticing that my time lately feels so limited and while I want to write and share and learn, I'm hoping to do so in directions that aren't entirely food related. So, I've begun writing a bit here. I'll still share my recipes and food related posts on this lovely little space but for everything else, the hodgepodge of life, I'm trying something new. (the link will be under the banner, labeled 'pastiche', in case you want to check it out later!) 

Hope 2013 has started out swimmingly for you!

Enjoy!
-m