English Muffins and Eggs Aaron

Over the weekend, Aaron and I decided to try our hand at making homemade english muffins. We used Mark Bittman's recipe from this book, of course. I really only need one cookbook in my life and this is it. I have loved this book for well over 10 years and it is the go-to for things like this.


These were so easy and turned out beautifully. I highly doubt we'll be buying englishes anymore. They are hardier than store-bought muffins and pretty delicious, too. Sometimes working with yeast makes me nervous. It just seems so apt to fail. I need to get over that, though, because things like this are just too good to pass up.


Of course, we used the homemade english muffins as part of one of our favorite recipes: Eggs Aaron. Once in awhile Aaron will make this incredible, eggs benedict-like breakfast. He uses sun-dried tomatoes in the sauce, but that is all I know about his secret recipe!

Aaron has also become an expert egg poacher, which is such a gift. I have to admit that I am not there yet.

Local Meal

As we were sitting down to lunch recently, I realized that the meal we were eating was almost entirely made of local ingredients. I snapped a few pictures for an obligatory and probably boring "this is what I had for lunch" post.

The Menu:
Quiche
Roasted Radishes
Pickled Ramps

I'll admit that the crust on the quiche is not local. I have yet to find a local flour source. It is homemade, however, so that counts for something! The eggs, of course, are from our two favorite chickens on the block, so they are ultra-local. The quiche also contains some sausage that we got from a local farmer.

We bought the radishes at one of the first farmer's markets of the season. They were only $1.50 a bunch and so beautiful. We bought a few bunches and decided to experiment with some, so we roasted them. I know it sounds weird to roast radishes, but they are phenomenal. Just put them in a casserole dish, use a little butter, salt and pepper, and some balsamic vinegar and let them broil for a few minutes. They come out really caramelized and sweet, not at all strong like a raw radish.

I talk about the ramps here, but this meal was prepared a few weeks later, when our pickles had had enough time in the brine for us to try them. They were REALLY great! Wow! The coriander in the brine produced a nice lemony taste.

So, there you have it. A pretty quick and painless (mostly) local meal. If we all ate this once a week, we would save 1.1 MILLION BARRELS OF OIL PER WEEK. And it was all so delicious.

Pickled Ramps

My first canning experiment of the season was also my first attempt at pickling. I decided to try this recipe for pickled ramps to use up the rest of our bucketful. We have yet to taste them, but the recipe was easy-peasy and it gave me a chance to get out my canner, which I admit I was a little too excited to do. Canning is fun, though. Now that I have been properly guided through a couple of different canning projects (thanks, grandma!), I have started to do a little bit of canning on my own and it is not so scary as I thought. In fact, it is a blast. I am looking forward to canning all kinds of new stuff this year (even sans-garden) and pickled ramps seem like a good starting point.

Lentil Quest - Week 1

I don't actually care for lentils that much. They are my least favorite legume; I find the taste bland and the texture a little off-putting. However, Aaron and I are embarking on a 6-week experiment so that I can reevaluate my feelings and hopefully find an arsenal of delicious lentil recipes to draw upon.

So, for the first week, we chose an easy one. My lentil stew recipe is the only lentil dish I make regularly. This time, I tried it in the crock-pot and I have to say, it's better on the stove. Why do things cooked in crock-pots have that weird, sour taste? Am I doing something wrong?

Scattered Sushi

I found this article from Bittman, one of our very favorite foodies (Aaron says: “he’s a man after our own hearts and stomachs”) and I thought I would share it because there has been a lot of this happening in our household.

For the past two weeks and counting, Aaron and I have been taking fishless sushi to work for lunch. Sorry there are no pics…mornings are dysfunctional enough. Anyway, let me tell you: it’s awesome. I love lunch again. And it’s healthy as all get out.

We don’t roll the sushi, but we do it salad style and call it “scattered sushi.” I do about a ½ cup of sushi rice (Aaron does more because he’s a growing boy), I use black sesame seeds, which adds a nice touch. We’ve been doing matchstick carrots, English cucumber, pretty radish, bell pepper and (my favorite) avocado. Once in a while I’ll throw in a fake crab stick if I’m feeling sassy. We’ve just been adding the soy sauce to the bowl and throwing a generous dollop of wasabi to the center. We use scissors to cut strips of nori for the top. That’s it. And it’s delicious. I end up constructing perfect little sushi bites at my desk which is so much more fun than the sheer bovinity of a typical salad.

Now we have many more ideas to play around with.
Thanks, Bittman!

Crazy Hippie Jelly

Aaron: How does it make you feel that, for your first time canning anything, you made crazy hippie jelly?


I feel great about it! Success! We had all of these violets growing in our yard and I had been wondering what I could do with them, if they were edible, etc, etc. And then I stumbled across this recipe and I knew that I should try it. I am sure my neighbors think I'm crazy. I was crawling around on our lawn for an hour and a half picking flowers while two little chickens followed closely behind.


One neighbor even stood out on his deck and asked if I'd been stung by a bee or something. Embarrassing. But it's good to use what grows around you and come winter, these little pots of sugared jewels will be a welcome reminder of spring.

This recipe was very easy, but the canning of it was a little high-stress. I kept wishing that I had a grandma there to show me how it's done. Not quite sure I mastered it. Are you supposed to put it into the jars while it's still boiling or take it off the heat to fill the jars? Help!

Anyway, I have 10 little jars of violet goodness in my pantry, so I guess I did something right!

Pumpkin Rice Pilaf

So, I've been off meat lately. It's just something I'm trying. I don't want to make any life-altering proclamations that define who I am. I might eat it again some time. But, for the past 18 days, I haven't had any. And what is a little surprising is that it's so easy not to eat meat. My biggest struggle in the past was going out to eat and seeing all kinds of wonderful meaty things, especially burgers. But now...I don't know. There are other things. I guess I'm not eating it because I don't really have a desire to eat it. I don't feel like I need meat in my life right now. So, I've eliminated it for now.

We made this awesome rice pilaf and shoved it into a roasted pumpkin. The recipe can be found here. It was really, really good.

lentil stew

It's fall and that means a different cuisine entirely. We've been on soup for about a month now, which feels so right. There is nothing more heartwarming than a big pot of soup on the stove.

I started making my lentil stew a number of years ago. I made it so much my last year in college that I had to give it a break the last two winters. It is really hardy, really flavorful and super easy. The secret is stuffing the pot with as many veggies as you can. Kale really adds to the experience and the vitamin content. Different kinds of lentils do different things. I like using the red lentils because they add a creaminess to the pot. If I have them on hand, I'll throw in a handful of brown or green. This time, I added a little bit of quinoa and it was great. It's really up to you. Violet gave us these beautiful bread bowls, so that was an extra special treat.

Lentil Stew, I'm glad we can be best buds again.

My Lentil Stew

6 carrots, sliced
3 potatoes, quartered
1 med. butternut squash, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1-2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves
as much kale as you like, leaves cut into strips, stalks cut into little nubs - separate the two
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, chopped fine
heaping tbsp each of cumin and garam masala
a respectable amount of ground cardamom
1 lg. can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cup lentils, red and other
1 can chickpeas
salt and pepper to taste, but don't skimp on the pepper
water (not sure how much, but enough to make it stewy but not soupy)

Saute onion in olive oil. When golden, add ginger, garlic, and the other spices, saute 3-5 mins. Add carrots and potatoes, cook a couple minutes, adding a bit of water if needed. Add crushed tomatoes and water. Add everything but the kale leaves. Cook until everything is just soft. Add kale leaves. Let sit for awhile before serving to give the kale time to soften. Makes enough to freeze some.

Blueberries

Aaron and I spent a recent Monday evening at a pick-your-own blueberry farm close to one of the library branches out in the country. What fun! The owners also raise bees, so it was really nice to watch the sun move while bees lazily and drunkenly gorged themselves on overripe berries.

I love blueberries. I think they might be my favorite berry. They keep well. They're not as fragile as most berries. Maybe I like them because of my history with them. They remind me of childhood.

I love going to pick-your-own spots. I don't know why. There is something way more enjoyable about getting 11 lbs. of fruit that you've picked yourself instead of buying it from someone who did the picking for you. Again, it's that closer-to-your-food thing.


We've been eating blueberries many ways, and freezing them for winter, as well. We've been eating them by themselves, with yogurt, in delicious muffins, and in a blueberry buckle (coffee cake meets cobbler), which is what Aaron made last night. He followed Alton Brown's recipe, here, except we used AP and Wheat flours instead of cake flour and it turned out dense and wonderful.

Best Breakfast

I've gotten a few requests for recipes lately, and since it's all about eggs here at the ranch, I thought I'd post my favorite way to spend a Sunday morning. Or any morning, for that matter.






I've spent a lot of (probably unnecessary) time trying to make the perfect hard-boiled egg. It is not an easy task. Failure lies in a greenish hue around the yolk and a chalky texture. I want something on the semi-soft side. Just boiled, but not over done. If you know me, you know I have serious issues with eggs and their level of perfection (or lack thereof). I think I am ready to share the secret of the boiled egg.





To boil the perfect egg


Put eggs in a small saucepan and cover with warm water. I add salt to the water. I think it's supposed to prevent cracking. Anyway, start it off on low heat so that the eggs can adjust, then slowly turn it up...but not too slow...the idea is to not let them heat for a super long time. When it just starts to boil, take the eggs off the heat (or let them boil for one minute if you're not convinced) and cover the pot. Let them sit for 10-12 minutes (depending on hardness-of-yolk preference). Rinse with cold water, crack the shell if you need it cooled faster.





If you have a better way, I'd like to know about it. I am always trying to improve.





Just-Hard Eggs with Tomato on Toast


1 perfectly boiled egg


1 tomato, sliced thin


1 piece of wheat bread


a little cream cheese


good salt and pepper





Toast bread, then add a thin layer of cream cheese. Layer tomatoes, then egg slices, then salt and pepper. A softer yolk will make this breakfast something special.

Now I just need to work on my soft-boiled skills. Any tips?

Thanksgiving

We had a bit of a misfit Thanksgiving, inviting another orphaned couple over for turkey and whatnot. We missed Dana and Neal, our usual Thanksgiving company, but I just needed to stay in a home-base this year.

Also, since we were doing that, we decided it was a good idea to try to cook everything from scratch, for the first time ever. I am all about turkey on normal days of the year, I think it's a good, cheap, unfancy food (can't beat taking a real turkey sandwich to work for lunch). But I've never done the whole meal. Most unusually, I got most of the recipes online, and I can't take photos that are any better than the ones already up, so I'll give you the links:

• Pecan Pie
• Corn Bread Stuffing (which I have to admit, wasn't the best. Aaron and I think that the trick might be to have some white bread in with the cornbread, instead of our home-baked dense wheat)
• Sweet Potato and Sage Gratin (one note, even though people post things on the internet and provide beautiful pictures, it does not mean they are good recipe authors. This was a beautiful recipe and it tasted great, but some important things felt missing)
• Aaron made the gravy, and used his own experiments, while taking a tip from Martha to puree roasted vegetables (We netflixed Martha's Thanksgiving special for inspiration.)
• We made our usual mashed potatoes with nutmeg and added 2 tbsp. of horseradish and 1+ cup of buttermilk to make it delicious.

And some other tasty things. Maria made beautiful cranberry sauce and baklava. I've never had baklava actually made by a Greek citizen before. It was out of this world.

Cooking felt good. I liked taking the day to cook....and cook and cook with Aaron. It was therapeutic. It's something I wish we could do more often. We do good at cooking together and don't fight too much (however, with our limited counter space, things did get a little tense when the gravy needed to be made). I can't say the same for wallpapering. More to come on that, later.

Lovely Little Apple Muffins

Lovely Little Apple Muffins

2 apples, pealed and chopped small

2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

4 teasp. baking powder

shake of salt

1/3 c butter, melted

1 c. soy milk

2 eggs

1 teasp. cinnamon

topping:

1 T. sugar

1 teasp. cinnamon

Mix the dry ingredients with the apple pieces. In another bowl, mix the butter, eggs, milk. Combine the two carefully and don't over mix: stir until ingredients are just combined. Dole out into greased muffin tins, sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mix, bake at 425 for about 20 mins. Makes 11 or 12.

Also required: a quiet afternoon alone with the muffin, a good book, and some tea.

harvest

We harvested the first veggies from the garden today:

Swiss chard!

They were just a little young, but we wanted to eat some before we left on our trip. They are so colorful and delicious. And very good for you. Better than kale, which is why we chose to plant chard.

Here is how I prepared it tonight: on medium heat, I put a teaspoon of olive oil in a pan and added 1 coursely chopped garlic clove. I put the colorful chard stalks in first, let them saute for a minute, and then added the leaves, which I had cut in 1/2. When it seemed it was getting dry, I added a sprinkle of water. I also added salt and pepper. I let this cook until the leaves were wilted, but not much longer. That's it!

Delicious!

I'm a firm believer in vegetables tasting like vegetables.

We also picked some of these hot mommas. I'm no slouch when it comes to heat, but man, these are spicy. We'll have to use these with a lot of caution.

When food is too expensive - Gallo Pinto

Has anyone else been hurting from the spike in food prices? It seems like what was $1.50 a year ago is now like $3, especially in the produce section. It's such a big change that I have a hard time justifying a lot of "unnecessary" food purchases these days. I haven't bought fruit in at least a couple weeks. Aaron and I have cut our meat intake back quite a bit and have replaced it with other, more creative sources of protein, mainly beans and whole grains. I keep reading these articles in the Times about just how serious this extra cost has become and thinking "okay, so I'm not turning into a miser, everyone is hurting" (articles here, here, here, and here).

Last summer, we went to Costa Rica and fell in love with Gallo Pinto, Rice and Beans. They are so good. So good. We ate them for every single meal -- breakfast through dinner -- and almost every meal while we were there. They're best for breakfast, but at home we eat them for dinner. All of the guide books said that the food in Costa Rica isn't much to speak of, however, we were totally impressed. The pineapple alone is enough to make another trip. I have never had pineapple that delicious. They also often served the gallo pinto with this incredible, fresh cheese. I don't even know how to describe it. It was like farmer's cheese but a little firm. It was almost like if tofu and farmer's cheese had a baby and salted it down for you to enjoy. Also, they served it with this amazing Salsa Lizano sauce that is just mouth-watering. Aaron and I brought a bottle home...I'm pretty sure it's all gone, but the bottle is still in the fridge for sentiment's sake. I am sure you city-slickers could find it pretty easily in an international market.

I'm not really one for traveling and then suddenly becoming an expert in that culture's cuisine. This is really the first time I've ever attempted to recreate something I've eaten on a trip. However, I think I finally realized the power of making something from your travels for-keeps, food-wise. I guess one reason to travel is to find things you might be missing out on.

I started making this soon after we moved to WV. With the wedding coming up and the cost of relocating, we tried to cut our grocery bills (as well as the rest) down, finding recipes that really utilized affordable food. I have pretty much perfected the recipe, I think. And now that food prices are out of control, we're still eating it. But we eat it for more reasons than simply cost, it's also delicious. And versatile! The good thing about a food like rice and beans, that millions of people make millions of different ways every day, is that it lends itself to your pantry and what's at hand. I like to make it with lots of beans for lots of protein. I usually make a huge pot and freeze about 1/3 for a few meals down the road.

Gallo Pinto (Rice and Black Beans)

1 lb. black beans, soaked over night

2 cups rice

3 cups water (reserve the water from the cooked beans for this)

2 medium onions, chopped

3 bell peppers (two green and one red is what I usually use, but the 'stop light' was calling us this time)

one bunch cilantro, chopped

1 green chili, cut length-wise and chopped fine

Cook the black beans until done, reserving remaining liquid. In pot, saute rice in 1 tbsp. oil for a couple minutes until just hinting brown. Add 1/2 the chopped peppers, chili, onion, and cilantro, and plenty of salt and pepper. Saute 1-2 more minutes, then add 3 c. water (using some of the bean water -- it will make everything taste good and it gives things a nice color). Bring to a boil and then simmer with lid on until rice is just cooked. I always try to remember to keep it a little firm because it will cook some more. Add the beans and the remaining veggies, stir, add some more liquid if needed, take off the heat (you want to rest of the peppers and onions to be warm, but still really crisp).

To serve: saute portion of rice and beans in frying pan until it begins to develop crusty layer. (Pictured here un-sauteed.) Serve with sour cream, extra cilantro, and if you can find it, Salsa Lizano.

Optional: we usually make a couple of over-easy eggs and stick them on top because it's a really, really good combo. Plus, that makes it more of a meal.

In total, this meal came to about $8.33 or so. With eggs and condiments, it's more. However, we usually get at least 10 servings out of this (usually a bit more), so that's around $0.83/serving. Even these days we can afford that.

Picnic No. 2

Aaron and I started picnicking together 8 years ago. We used to go to this little peninsula on Spot Pond in Stoneham, MA. The ground was covered in pine needles and it was hidden enough that we could sprawl out on our blanket and share a bottle of wine or limoncellos.

The first time we went there, he took food that his mother had made for him (he was living at home at the time...maybe it was just leftovers he found in the fridge?). We had stuffed grape leaves and savory blintzes (feta and spinach) and I think there was also tabbouleh.

I think that I'll always associate pocket foods (or "stuffed" anything) with picnics. At least once this summer, we'll have to have a grape leave/blintze revival.


Another thing that seems to be a picnic-must is some kind of non-leaf salad. Summer salads are totally my obsession right now...I am scouring all of my cookbooks looking for new ones to try.
This afternoon, we went to Dorsey's Knob in Morgantown and had a picnic overlooking the town. I made two salads in advance, and Aaron made one of my ultimate favorite comfort Midwestern dishes, zucchini "delight" (if it has a "delight" in the name you can assume that 1. it's delicious, or, rather, delightful, and 2. it came from the Midwest). It's kind of like a quiche, but totally classed up with Bisquick.

Here are some recipes:

Zucchini Delight

4 c. thinly sliced (unpeeled) zucchini

1 large onion chopped

1/4 - 1/2 cup oil

8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

Put this in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (can be up to 24 hours). When you are ready to prepare this, mix together: 5 eggs, 3/4 cup Bisquick. Add the zucchini mixture. Mix well. Lightly grease a 7x9 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 45 min.

The funniest part is that Aaron has probably made this more times than I have.

Marinated Chickpeas with Chili, Lemon, and Parsley

This recipe was adapted from The Naked Chef cookbook. I've made it several times over the past couple of years, and have really made it my own, so here is my version:

a lot of parsley (1/2 a bunch?) some chopped fine and some not too fine

2 c. uncooked chickpeas (this time I tried Desi chickpeas, a darker pea with a skin on it -- see the large brown mass on the left)

some garlic, pealed (4 cloves or so)

3 fresh chilli's, finely chopped

juice of one lemon, zest of one lemon

olive oil

lots of salt and pepper

Soak chickpeas overnight, cook with garlic cloves until soft. Drain. Add oil, lemon juice, zest, parsley and chilli. Don't skimp on the S&P.

Curried Couscous Salad

This recipe was adapted from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook and it was the first time I tried it. The biggest changes that I made were to the couscous itself (I used Israeli style) and a few things I didn't have that she called for. Also, I found that a squeeze of lime just before you eat it is a great touch.

1 1/2 c. Israeli couscous

1 1/2 c. boiling water

1/4 c/ plain lowfat yogurt

1/4 c. olive oil

1 teasp. vinegar

1 teasp. garam masala spice mix

1/2 teasp. turmeric

1 c. grated carrots

a handful or so of chopped parsley

1/2 c. dried cranberries

a handful or two of chopped cashews

1 small, diced red onion

Cook couscous as directed. In sep. bowl, whisk yogurt, oil, vinegar, garam masala, turmeric, and some salt and pepper. Pour over couscous and mix well, adding the rest of the veg. Don't forget the lime wedges.

Coq au Vin, My Way

Recently, Violet brought a guest here, Rowland, who made us the most amazing dish. It was warm, and hardy, delicious, and decadent. It felt like medicinal food, able to cure any ailment, physical, mental, imagined. And so, after coming into some grocery money for splurging on food beyond beans and flour for bread, I thought now--the weather so perfectly crisp and a bottle of Chardonnay on hand that I wasn't particularly interested in drinking--might be a good time to try my hand at the dish, sans any real recipe.

Coq au Vin (Blanc and Bastardized)

2 chicken thigh-and-leg portions, bone-in, legs and thighs separated

a couple of chicken breast tenders

a bunch of carrots (6 or so), sliced thick

3-4 celery stocks, sliced thick

2 potatoes, cut into thick hunks (I left the skins on because I think it adds flavor, but if this was truly French, I think I'd have to do that thing where I not only peel the potatoes, but also shape them into perfect ovals)

2 onions, waywardly chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

a handful of coarsely chopped parsley

a tablespoon or two of corn starch

1 bottle White Wine (cheaper the better)

water

a glug of chicken stock to get things started

s & p

Dredge the chicken parts in flour that is generously salted and peppered, brown parts in 1 tbsp olive oil in pan over high heat until browned on all sides. Remove to a big stock pot, use drippings in pan to saute onions and garlic and cook until translucent. Remove to stock pot. Pour a little wine (1/2 cup or so) in pan to deglaze; scrape, and pour whatever you get into stock pot. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, s & p, and bottle of wine. Cook on high until boiling, lower heat, add some water and chicken stock (until covering the veg) and cook, covered, on low, until veg are soft. At some point, add the corn starch to a small bit of the liquid, and then add the mix to the pot. Add parsley before removing from heat, reserve some for garnish. Remove chicken from the bone (optional).

What I would do differently next time:
I would make it just a little less soupy by using a touch more wine and less water... in attempt to make a light sauce rather than a broth. But soupy is good. Trust me. Even though I didn't know what I was doing, and my inspiration for this classic French recipe came from a West Virginian cabinet maker, it was a complete success.

soup

Aaron had a sore throat this weekend so I made him a chicken soup with the stuff I had around the house. It's a pain to get to the grocery store for an item or two, so I just made something up based loosely on the memory of a recipe for Bohemian Chicken Soup out of the Canyon Ranch Cookbook packed in a box not to be found for several years, most likely. It's warm and yummy and slightly spicy, which helps scratchy throats.

Made up Bohemian Chicken Soup

2 onions, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp oil

salt and pepper (lots)
cayenne pepper, several dashes

1 tbsp Bell seasoning

red pepper flakes, 1 dash

2-3 chicken breasts, cubed

2+ cups chicken stock (I like the Trader Joe's Fat Free Low Sodium Free Range Organic)

water enough to make it a soup

2 cups fresh cauliflower, chopped in big chunks

1 cup broccoli (I only had frozen)

handful of mushrooms (I used dried shiitaki, but fresh button are better)

Dumplings:

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup regular flour

some Parmesan cheese (2-3 tbsp)

2 tbsp. skim milk

1 egg

cayenne pepper (several dashes)

salt and pepper

I sauteed the onions and garlic in oil and added the spices. After translucent, I added chicken and some water. after a minute, I added stock, mushrooms, and several cups of water. I let this cook a few minutes, then added cauliflower. Because I used frozen broccoli, I added that 10 minutes later so it wouldn't get soggy. 5 more minutes, then I added the dumplings, slowly, plopping small portions of the dough off the edge of a spoon into the soup. Then it was done. And Aaron's throat cleared up.