Flax Seed Whole Wheat Bread

Don't lie, you know you love bread. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. Sometimes we 'hate' bread because we have discovered that you really shouldn't eat it at every meal and well, especially for white breads or breads with a base of bleached, white flour, they aren't very nutritious on their own. Does that usually stop us? Sometimes, but not always. I know some people who have successfully given up almost entirely on eating bread and are healthier for it, but this is not one of those breads to hate. Or bread doughs, because it is so much more than bread.

I've decided- this is a bread to love. This is no summer fling bread. You can bring this bread home to momma. You love it and it loves you in return- because it has some good stuff in it and it tastes so darn good. And, it's flexible. It's not just bread dough- you can make anything bready and carby with it- they suggest hamburger buns. I suggest pizza. See below.

Liquids that will soon be poured into the tub above and mixed

I've talked about this type of bread before- the now pretty famous "5 minutes a day" type. I bought the "Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day" recently and have been trying it out. This is my new favorite- I added flax seed to it, just because I totally can, and I'm glad I did for a really silly reason. It's kind of pretty. It adds such a nice little fleck of color- I don't even really mind that it also adds some health benefits! Omega 3's- How about gorgeous contrast!

It's described as sandwich bread your kids will love and I chose to make it because the other recipes I had tried seemed like they needed something to fire back at the yeasty bite I was receiving-I thought a bit of honey would do the trick and when I stumbled upon this recipe in the cookbook, I was ecstatic.

This makes making bread so so easy. You just mix a few things, let it sit, then make a loaf and let it sit some more. Then bake and enjoy! The dough lasts in your fridge for up to 5 days. I highly suggest any of their books if you are even remotely intrigued and if you think you can't- then I think you must. 

Flax Seed Whole Wheat Bread 
adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

makes 2 (2lb) loaves (if making loaf bread) or 4 (12 inch) pizzas

5 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup flaxseed meal (ground flax seed- you can buy it ground up or grind it up yourself- try the coffee grinder!)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (adjust to taste, and use less if you are using Morton's)
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
2 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup honey
5 large eggs
2/3 cup melted unsalted butter (or use a neutral oil)

While the title suggests this will take only five minutes, the waiting time is much longer, the prep time is though- just five minutes. These are the steps, you will want to make this ahead of time.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl or a lidded (not air-tight) tupperware/food container. I use a large, rectangular container that used to hold granola bars in my pantry. Be sure to really stir this dry mixture around, getting the wheat gluten all mixed up with everything else.

Next, mix all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour them into the container with the dry ingredients. Mix this up well, getting all the dry stuff mixed in well. You may need to use wet hands to get it all.

And really, that is it for preparing the bread. That's the 5 minutes aspect of it, in my opinion. Now, let it sit with the lid on (or plastic wrap on the bowl, but don't make it air tight) and let it rise and collapse. Do not punch the dough down.

The dough can be used right away, or you can refrigerate it and use it over the next 5 days.

How do you want to use it? 

Loaf of Delicious Bread: 

Lightly grease a loaf pan (8x4ish). Dust the surface of the dough and pull off a cantaloupe sized piece (should be about half of the dough). Dust a little more flour on the top and quickly pull it into a ball, as they show you here:  

It will be bigger than the ball he has here, and should fill your loaf pan about 3/4 of the way. Let it rest for 90 minutes in a warm place. I opted to put a little melted butter on the top of my loaf before baking it, just a note.

About 60-75 minutes into the resting, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the oven is preheated and the 90 minute rest period is up- bake the bread for 45-50 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Adjust your baking time if you made a smaller or larger loaf. Allow the bread to cool before serving.

Pizza: 

Preheat the oven to 550 degrees (or 500 if that is the highest your oven will go) and place your baking stone near the bottom third of the oven. I use a terra cotta pot bottom for my baking stone- and have for years. Much cheaper!


Dust the surface of the dough and pull off a grapefruit sized piece, as shown in the video above, and shape it into a ball. Sprinkle some cornmeal or flour on your cutting board or pizza peel. Shape the pizza on the board/peel and top as you feel fit. Slide it into the oven (you may need a few shakes of the hand to wiggle it off the peel) and turn on the exhaust fan, because things will get a bit smokey with that flour or cornmeal flying into a hot oven.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, check it at 8 and go from there. Allow the pizza to cool a bit before serving.

Other? Get the book! You won't regret it.

Enjoy!
-m

Cream of Tomato Soup

October Unprocessed was such a success for me. How do I know? Let me explain.

Last weekend, right before my long run, I woke up with a stomach ache and a sore throat. I managed to finish my long run, but the feeling lingered. On Monday, I came home from work and just wanted comfort food. Someone floated the idea that I just get some takeout. Decide what I want, and just go get it. What an idea. The thought hadn't even occurred to me. I had already decided that I was going to make homemade tomato soup and bread. I knew what I wanted, I wanted homemade goodness and I knew that even though I felt crummy and wanted to rest, my effort would be so worth it. And it was. I passed on the 'easy' route, no take out for me. Tomato soup. Homemade bread. Comfort to the max.


See what I mean? Two months ago, I may have taken that offer for take out. Now, better habits are taking over. I'm digging it.

looks like a lot, but I doubled it- keep that in mind!

This tomato soup is so easy to make. I'm completely in love with it.

to prevent curdling when adding the milk? Or to reduce the acidity of tomatoes? Not sure. But it works. Do it.

It takes no time at all, and I'm hoping it freezes well because I just made a double batch and froze a bunch so that next time I come home feeling yucky I can just heat up some goodness.

You know what? Two years ago I would have never made tomato soup. I actually don't even really like tomatoes. But thank goodness I'm realizing that tomatoes can be more than just marinara sauce.

Almost done! Just add the milk..mm creamy..

I have made this soup four times, each time I make it the two of us eat it all. It's that good. Not only is it easy but it's good- I'm serious. This is a new staple. I plan to have this on hand, in the freezer, at all times.

Cream of Tomato Soup
adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

ingredients
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
a pinch of ground cloves
2 tablespoons flour
2 15 ounce cans of diced tomatoes in puree (if you can find it in puree, you can also use one large 28 ounce can)
a pinch of baking soda
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water
1 1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper
tomato paste (if needed)

Melt the butter in a large pot, then add the onions, basil and cloves and cook until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir the flour in and then add the tomatoes, baking soda and stock and bring it all to a lovely boil. Bring the heat down and simmer it, slightly covered for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it cool just slightly before you puree the heck out of it. Add the milk and season with salt and pepper. If you want it thinner, add more milk or stock. If the tomato flavor is a little lack luster, add some tomato paste. Serve it hot! Splash some cream in for a rich flavor.

Enjoy!
-m

Orange Chiffon Cake

When I was in high school I thought that the worst thing ever, well not 'ever' but a pretty horrible thing in my juvenile mind, would be to get stuck in a rut. I can get bored pretty easily and I was worried that I'd get older and become stuck, stuck, stuck in a rut. In my mind at that time, a rut was a patterned behavior day in and day out that was so monotonous and dry. As an adult, I crave routine and wonder if my high school self would be baffled that I eat the same breakfast every single day. I don't wonder about it for too long because I love my breakfast smoothie.

My egg separation station.

But it is still a fear of mine, to wake up in 50 years and think I have taken what I deem to be the 'easy' road, without much adventure or challenge. I know that won't be the case, but I can still fret about it can't I? When I was recently planning a meal and needed to come up with a fabulous dessert, I realized that I'm stuck in a dessert rut. I make cookies. I make brownies. I make cupcakes. I make basic cakes. I decided it was time to get adventurous. What? Isn't making a new kind of cake what you think of as adventurous? Of course it is!

I diligently searched through my many baking cookbooks and came across this orange chiffon cake recipe. I read the list of ingredients and said "bingo! adventure, ho!"

Little did I know, that this was a crazy adventurous recipe (in my mind). I was thinking it would be easy peasy and while it was easy, it needed some serious attention and care. Something I sometimes lack. I had to whip egg whites into a meringue-like flurry, I had to fold said egg whites into a thick, orangey batter and I had to be gentle and kind to this delicate cake. I don't think of myself as someone with a gentle hand when it comes to cooking. I don't really do pretty stuff or plate things that nicely- I'm more about the taste than the look. This cake challenged me in many ways.

Be very quiet, I'm folding egg whites...

That being said, I want to make it again. Like, tomorrow. Or maybe today. It was killer. I can't remember ever having a cake as lovely as this. It was light and citrusy and it smelled so amazing. I want it right this very second. I will make this many, many times. I can tell.

Crumbly phase of the glaze

I love everything about this, including this fabulous nonstick pan I scored at Target.

I wish they made an 'orange chiffon cake' candle, because I miss this scent in my house already. 

Orange Chiffon Cake

From The Village Baker’s Wife

Ingredients

Cake:

2 ¼ cups cake flour

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

I teaspoon salt

½ cup vegetable oil

6 large egg yolks

¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons minced orange zest

8 large egg whites

Glaze (and who are we kidding, this was a frosting):

6 tablespoons salted butter

2 tablespoons minced orange zest

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 and be sure your 10inch tube/bundt pan will fit in the center rack. Butter and flour your pan.

Start by sifting the flour, ¾ cup of the sugar, baking powder and salt into a big ol’ mixing bowl (you’ll be sorry if you use a medium sized bowl, trust me).

Before you move onto the next mixing step, get out your eggs. Set up an egg separating station with a bowl for the soon-to-be-whipped egg whites (mine went straight into the mixer bowl) and a bowl for the egg yolks and another bowl for the egg shells. Separate 6 eggs, put the yolks aside and separate 2 more but get rid of the yolks (since you need 8 egg whites and 6 yolks, toss those extra yolks out or use them some other way-I cooked mine up for my pup).

In a much smaller mixing bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, egg yolks, orange juice and zest.

Mix the oil mixture into the dry ingredients, use a wooden spoon to mix until nice and smooth. Set this aside while you work with the egg whites.

Beat the egg whites using an electric mixer or your amazing biceps until they are foamy. Once they are foamy add the ¾ cup of sugar and continue mixing until the egg whites form stiff peaks and are gorgeously glossy.

Now, gently fold 1/3 of this mixture in with the orange batter. Then, continue to gently fold in the rest of the egg white, or meringue, mixture into the batter. At this point, the batter should hold it’s shape but seem light and fluffy- not runny.

Pour the batter into your pan and smooth the top.

Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes,  do not do not do not open that oven for 45 minutes or the world will end. Or at least, the fluffiness and delightful airiness of this cake will end. Just don’t do it. Just ignore it. Or turn that light on and stare, but keep that oven closed.

Take the cake out and let it cool on a cooling rack for an hour while you make the glaze-frosting.

To make the glaze-frosting, cream the butter and zest then add the confectioners sugar and continue mixing slowly. This little mixture will be oddly crumbly, add the milk and vanilla and continue mixing.

After the cake has cooled you can spread the glaze stuff all around. If you have an older tube pan, you might need to be very very gentle when taking the cake out of the pan. If you have a nonstick pan, it will just slide out like butter. I just got one, it’s nonstick and I’m in love.

You can store this cake at room temperature for 3 days. It won’t last that long, but you can, and if you’re making this for company I’d suggest making it way ahead of time but letting it sit out and look pretty when guests arrive.

Enjoy!

-m  

Braised Short Ribs

Last year, some friends and I decided to start a little supper club where we make a fun, fabulous and kinda gourmet meal once a month. When it was my turn to host, I had a heck of a time coming up with a main dish to make. I wanted to make something I had never attempted before, something meaty and something hearty.

When I decided on braised short ribs I had no clue how much I would love them. No stinkin' clue. I didn't even realize until I bought the meat, that I had never even eaten this particular cut of meat before. What in the world is that about? How is that possible? If you fall into that category- you must make these or beg someone else to make them for you this fall/winter!

One of the things I read while finding a recipe, on the smitten kitchen website, was that this is a dish to make whenever people come over. I was skeptical, but she was so very right. I'm going to make if for just us one day, but for now it's my go-to whenever we have people coming over. It hasn't failed me yet!

A secret, shh, these make great leftovers. Make more than you think you will need, not much, but maybe throw an extra rib or two in there (I budget two ribs per person). Take them for lunch the next day and make everyone at work jealous. Or eat them for dinner, either way, enjoying them later is so fabulous. They taste amazing. I threw some pasta in my leftovers to make a.. what do you call that? Amazing! That's what.

Braised Short Ribs
from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

8 whole beef short ribs

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup flour

6 pieces pancetta, diced

2 tbsps olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

2  shallots, peeled and finely minced

2 cups wine (red or white)

2 cups beef or chicken broth (enough to pretty much cover the ribs)

2 sprigs thyme (don’t you love the word ‘sprig’?)

2 sprigs rosemary

Preparation Instructions

Salt and pepper ribs, then dredge-or roll around-in flour. Casually set them off to the side, as if it’s totally normal to have such wonderful meat in your midst.

In a large dutch oven, cook the diced pancetta over medium heat until complete crispy and all fat is rendered. Take the pancetta out of the pot and save it for later. Also- Also!- save that grease in the pan. 

Add olive oil to pan with the pancetta grease, and raise heat to high. Brown ribs on all sides, and the orignal recipe suggest they could brown up in 45 seconds but I say just go with your eyes and nose. You’ll be able to smell them browning up and see it like crazy. I brown them in batches, setting the browned ribs on a plate while I transfer the dredged ones into the hot pan. When you are done browning them all up, turn the heat to medium.

Add onions, carrots, and shallots to pan and cook for just a few minutes. Pour in wine and scrape bottom of pan to release the good stuff from the bottom of the pan. Right now you are so glad that you used that pancetta earlier, aren’t you? Bring all the goodness to a boil and cook 2 minutes. 

Now add the broth to cover the ribs, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning as you like. Add the ribs to the liquid. They should be almost completely submerged. Add thyme and rosemary sprigs (whole) to the liquid. 

Put on the lid and place the dutch oven into the oven. Cook at 350 for 2 hours, then reduce heat to 325 and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes. Ribs should be fork-tender and falling off the bone. Remove pan from oven and allow to sit for a bit so you can remove a bit of the fat from the top before you serve it. Pass on two ribs for each person, great with mashed potatoes! 

Enjoy!

-m

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

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

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

I have been searching for a creamy cauliflower soup ever since I had a delicious, enlightening soup at the California Academy of Sciences. Yes. At a museum type place I had an existential experience with soup. Twice. And I would go again not only for the indoor rain forest or albino reptile but for the cauliflower soup. I broke down this week and instead of racing to San Francisco to get some, I decided to make my own.

The only problem, I couldn't find a recipe that looked good.



So, I winged it. I skimmed through a few recipes, noticed that they sauteed some garlic/onions/cauliflower then cooked the cauliflower in some liquid for a bit before pureeing it. This is one thing I love about cooking, the patterns. Once you figure them out, the world is your oyster. Or, I hope it is because that's what I keep telling myself. Find. The. Patterns.

I knew I wanted to add heavy cream/whole milk because I had some on hand and had to use it before it went bad and my guilt at wasting food and money kicked in. I also knew that thyme would go well and that I wanted to use some lovely shallots. I was hoping to make it using things I had at home, and I think I succeeded!



It is the easiest soup ever, in my honest opinion, and it is so delicious. I'm fantasizing about the leftovers in the freezer, and planning my next big ol' batch. I will thank myself in about two months when I'm exhausted from a day of teaching and I just want something relatively healthy and filling for dinner. :) You are welcome, future me.

(I recognize that this is not the best picture, I'm working on cooking and documenting the experience, but can you see the texture? Does it just look like heaven? Because it is. It really is.)


Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter
2 shallots, diced
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets (or 1-inch pieces really)
4 cups vegetable broth
3 sprigs of thyme
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup milk
salt
pepper

Start by melting the butter in a large pot over medium heat. When the butter is melted add the shallots and cook until translucent, about 4-6 minutes. Toss in the chopped cauliflower, and don’t worry about how the florets look- you are going to blend the heck out of them! Toss with the shallots and cook for a few minutes, just to bring some of the flavors together.

Pour the broth into the pot and toss the thyme on top. Bring the whole shebang to a boil. When it is boiling and bubbling, cover it and turn it down to simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.

When the cauliflower is tender, turn off the heat, grab the thyme sprigs and throw them out, and blend the soup mixture. I used my immersion blender and it whipped the soup up fast but this could also be done in batches with a regular blender, just be sure to let the heat escape. Then (put it back in the pot if you used a regular blender), mix in the milk and heavy cream and bring the heat back on for a bit and add salt and pepper to taste. Let it warm up on the stove for a few minutes to help the flavors get along and to be sure you have the consistency and taste you desire. Viola! Creamy, satisfying soup.

Enjoy!
-m