TWD – Cottage Cheese Pufflets

First of all, I want to apologize for missing so many great Tuesdays with Dorie picks this month…espresso cheesecake brownies…chocolate souffle…apple turnovers…they all are things I would love and do plan to make. Just not right now.

Instead, I’m jumping back in with Jacque (of Daisy Lane Cakes–I LOVE her blog!) She chose the cottage cheese pufflets for us to make, and she proved to me that she is a much better baker and all-around more patient person than I am (although we have some of the same feelings about garage sale early birds!)

Like many of the TWD bakers, I found this dough to be like trying to roll out and cut a batter, it just didn’t cooperate for me. At a certain point, I threw up my sticky hands and decided to bake a half dozen of them, take photos and go to work. Mine are filled with Christine Ferber strawberry jam (from our trip to Paris) and/or jalapeno jelly (from Safeway; thanks to Kayte for the inspiration).

I was so frustrated with these that I was prepared to hate them. Imagine my surprise when I loved them! They were crispy and chewy at the same time. The one in which I mixed the strawberry jam and jalapeno jelly was the best…I love that sweet/spicy flavor profile. I will definitely freeze the rest and plan to make this one again. But not until it’s winter. Cooler weather can only help this one stay together better.

If you’d like the recipe, stop by and visit Jacque.

TWD – Classic Banana Bundt Cake

I am living proof that sometimes, learning does not occur.

I looked at the title of this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, I thought “how dull.” I mean, I’ve made hundreds of banana breads, cakes, muffins, cupcakes, smoothies, etc. What did I really need with yet another recipe that starts with mashed extra ripe bananas?

Well, those other banana recipes weren’t Dorie’s recipes. You would think I would have learned by now that Dorie’s recipes are in a class by themselves.

I have a banana bread recipe I have made since woolly mammoths roamed the earth. It’s moist, easy and made entirely in the food processor. I’ve never shared it with you, although I have meant to.

Sharing it is now unnecessary.

Say hello to Dorie’s banana bundt cake. It may be the only banana recipe you ever need.

In the interest of fair disclosure, I have to admit I added a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and I topped it with Dorie’s chocolate glaze. For some unknown reason (operator error? serendipity?), the “glaze” didn’t glaze at all. It became semi firm, and I was distraught that I had done that to my lovely cake. I brought it in to work, wrote a note of apology for the Glaze That Didn’t, and went on with my morning.

And then the accolades started rolling in. People were wowed by the cake. They loved the chewy nature of the Glaze That Didn’t. They told me not to change a thing next time. I hadn’t tasted it yet, so I grabbed a taste thinking they were being kind.

It was fantastic, and I agree completely that the chewy Glaze That Didn’t was perfect the way it was. For as many times as I’ve made banana bread, I’m very ambivalent about it. I like my bananas eaten as a piece of fruit. But this cake changed all that.

Mary of The Food Librarian picked this week’s recipe, and she scored big points here. She’ll have the recipe posted, but be sure to spend some time on her blog. I LOVE her photography and I think you will, too.

Ellie’s Energy Bars

Inspired by the success of the breakfast cookies we made for Craving Ellie in My Belly this week, I decided to throw together these quick and easy Energy Bars. It was either make these or clean the house. Cooking and baking always trump cleaning the house. Not a good thing.

I loved how easy the prep was…throw the ingredients in the food processor, pulse, put in a pan coated with cooking spray and bake. That’s it. Truly, if Ellie came to my house and made them for me, they still wouldn’t be easier because I’d have to clean the house before she got here.

They smell amazing while they bake. Let them cool 15 minutes before slicing into them. Served warm, they are delicious. The apricots, maple syrup and dates make them chewy and delicious, while the oats, wheat germ and sunflower seeds give them whole grain staying power. I added about 1/8 teaspoon of salt and 1/3 cup of toasted flax seeds.

Give this one a try! It’s easy and the bars keep well in the freezer…if they last that long! You can find the recipe here.

Ellie’s Energy Bars

Inspired by the success of the breakfast cookies we made for Craving Ellie in My Belly this week, I decided to throw together these quick and easy Energy Bars. It was either make these or clean the house. Cooking and baking always trump cleaning the house. Not a good thing.

I loved how easy the prep was…throw the ingredients in the food processor, pulse, put in a pan coated with cooking spray and bake. That’s it. Truly, if Ellie came to my house and made them for me, they still wouldn’t be easier because I’d have to clean the house before she got here.

They smell amazing while they bake. Let them cool 15 minutes before slicing into them. Served warm, they are delicious. The apricots, maple syrup and dates make them chewy and delicious, while the oats, wheat germ and sunflower seeds give them whole grain staying power. I added about 1/8 teaspoon of salt and 1/3 cup of toasted flax seeds.

Give this one a try! It’s easy and the bars keep well in the freezer…if they last that long! You can find the recipe here.

CEiMB – Breakfast Cookies

Ellie, how did you know?

How did you know that when you say “breakfast cookie,” this

is what I think of. I mean, if it’s a cookie, and you eat it for breakfast, that makes it a breakfast cookie, right?

Um, no.

So Ellie designed a cookie for me. She must have heard me scream when I climbed on the scale a few weeks back.

Thanks, Ellie.

There was a bit of measuring and all that, but these cookies were fairly easy to put together. My hand slipped and I added a few more walnuts than the recipe called for. The recipe warns that the “dough” will be very wet, and it was, almost like a muffin batter. I grated nutmeg and it smelled amazing while it was baking. After the cookies cooled, I sampled one. Frankly, it was fantastic, so much better than I thought it would be. It was very cakey, but the spices and the moistness took this one right over the top. These are going in the freezer, so I can retrieve one for breakfast as needed.

Many thanks to Natalie of What’s for Supper? for this super pick.

CEiMB – Breakfast Cookies

Ellie, how did you know?

How did you know that when you say “breakfast cookie,” this

is what I think of. I mean, if it’s a cookie, and you eat it for breakfast, that makes it a breakfast cookie, right?

Um, no.

So Ellie designed a cookie for me. She must have heard me scream when I climbed on the scale a few weeks back.

Thanks, Ellie.

There was a bit of measuring and all that, but these cookies were fairly easy to put together. My hand slipped and I added a few more walnuts than the recipe called for. The recipe warns that the “dough” will be very wet, and it was, almost like a muffin batter. I grated nutmeg and it smelled amazing while it was baking. After the cookies cooled, I sampled one. Frankly, it was fantastic, so much better than I thought it would be. It was very cakey, but the spices and the moistness took this one right over the top. These are going in the freezer, so I can retrieve one for breakfast as needed.

Many thanks to Natalie of What’s for Supper? for this super pick.

CEiMB – Vegetable Cheese Stratta and Barefoot Bloggers make Ina Garten’s Gazpacho

This week’s Craving Ellie in My Belly selection is Vegetable Cheese Stratta, selected by Jenn of A Mid-Life Culinary Adventure (gee, that’s what I feel like I’m having!)

This one was such a pleasure to make and eat. It had loads of veggies (a great use of my CSA goodies) and was very flexible (I didn’t have an onion, so I substituted scallions; I felt like adding spinach, so I did). It was a great make-ahead, and I ate it for lunch rather than for breakfast. It would even be great for dinner. Since I’m still on my own this week, I made 1/8th of the recipe so I wouldn’t have to eat it for 8 meals.

I added some crushed red pepper flakes for a little kick and I used the last of an olive oil rosemary bread. It wasn’t whole grain, but it worked well with the flavors, and it was what I had on hand.

After having this for lunch the next day, I regretted making 1/8th of the recipe. It was fantastic! So cheesy and flavorful from the garlic and nutmeg. This one is going into the rotation.

*******

Meryl of My Bit of Earth chose this week’s Barefoot Bloggers recipe and it was perfect timing, as summer officially began in the northern hemisphere and many Barefoot Bloggers live in parts of the US and Canada that are already sweltering. We’re finally heating up in northern California, so this was still a great option to use summer’s bounty.

Thankfully, this one didn’t dirty a kitchen full of dishes, just the food processor, a measuring cup and a large bowl. I used some of my Nudo olive oil (which I learned about thanks to Nancy), but I reduced the vinegar and olive oil by half. The only ingredient that came from my CSA was the red onion, although later I realized I could have added diced yellow squash and it would have been perfect. I used orange peppers because that was what I had, and I added a diced small avocado. I ate the first bowl after I made it, and it was good and fresh, but needed more salt (I used low sodium vegetable juice, so I wasn’t surprised). I’m thinking about adding hot sauce or cilantro, or maybe both. Ina says this is better after it sits for a few hours, so I’m really looking forward to enjoying it after it cures.

Many thanks to Meryl for a great pick! If you’d like to join us as we cook and blog our way through Ina’s cookbooks (and why wouldn’t you, her recipes are easy and great!), check out how to join here.

Barefoot Bloggers – Cranberry Orange Pecan Scones

I don’t usually participate in the Barefoot Bloggers bonus recipes. After doing Tuesdays with Dorie, Craving Ellie in My Belly (both weekly) and Barefoot Bloggers (twice a month), I generally want to focus on recipes I want to make from other bloggers. But when Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef picked the bonus recipe for this month, I had to do it. See, I love scones but I’ve never made them, and I knew Ina’s recipe had to be easy enough for a scone-making newbie like me.

I’ve seen Ina make scones on the show a couple of times (maybe it’s the same episode and I’ve watched it more than once!), and that was good because some of the lessons she taught made this an easy recipe. Some of the Food Network feedback said the scones were too salty, and some said they needed more orange zest or extract, and some said more sugar. I thought the salt level was fine, but I agree they could have been a little sweeter and had more orange flavor. Perhaps if I had used Dorie Greenspan’s technique of rubbing the zest with the sugar before adding it to the bowl, it would have brought out more of the orange flavor.

Ina’s technique of letting your mixer do the work was wonderful. I was extra careful not to over mix the dough. I wanted to add pecans for some crunch, and I mixed them together with the dried cranberries in the empty cranberry bag, before adding the flour and shaking it up. In hindsight, my dried cranberries were a little too dried, and I should have rehydrated them (which you can do by putting them in a steamer basket over boiling water).

When I turned this out to shape the dough and cut it out, it was very shaggy, which I expected. I rolled it only to get it to the 3/4″ thickness, and floured a 2″ biscuit cutter before cutting each scone. I baked off a few immediately (the dough was absolutely incredible!), then put a few in the freezer for another day, and the rest went into the refrigerator to bake and take to work.

My 2″ guys baked for about 20 minutes, and I think that was a bit too long. Since they were smaller than the 3″ Ina recommends, you may want to check them at 18 minutes. Even so, they were fluffy, tender and delicious, in short, nothing like the “scones” you can get at national chain coffee houses.

Next time (and there will be a lot of next times) I will up the orange zest, use Dorie’s zest/sugar rubbing technique, increase the pecans, decrease the dried cranberries (or use fresh!) and add slightly more sugar. But before I make these again, I want to see if I can replicate (and improve) the lemon curd scone served at my favorite coffee house. With Ina’s tender scone as a base, you can go in many directions with this recipe. Check it out here or here. And my thanks go out to Em for choosing this wonderful recipe. Now I know how to bake scones!

Barefoot Bloggers – Cranberry Orange Pecan Scones

I don’t usually participate in the Barefoot Bloggers bonus recipes. After doing Tuesdays with Dorie, Craving Ellie in My Belly (both weekly) and Barefoot Bloggers (twice a month), I generally want to focus on recipes I want to make from other bloggers. But when Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef picked the bonus recipe for this month, I had to do it. See, I love scones but I’ve never made them, and I knew Ina’s recipe had to be easy enough for a scone-making newbie like me.

I’ve seen Ina make scones on the show a couple of times (maybe it’s the same episode and I’ve watched it more than once!), and that was good because some of the lessons she taught made this an easy recipe. Some of the Food Network feedback said the scones were too salty, and some said they needed more orange zest or extract, and some said more sugar. I thought the salt level was fine, but I agree they could have been a little sweeter and had more orange flavor. Perhaps if I had used Dorie Greenspan’s technique of rubbing the zest with the sugar before adding it to the bowl, it would have brought out more of the orange flavor.

Ina’s technique of letting your mixer do the work was wonderful. I was extra careful not to over mix the dough. I wanted to add pecans for some crunch, and I mixed them together with the dried cranberries in the empty cranberry bag, before adding the flour and shaking it up. In hindsight, my dried cranberries were a little too dried, and I should have rehydrated them (which you can do by putting them in a steamer basket over boiling water).

When I turned this out to shape the dough and cut it out, it was very shaggy, which I expected. I rolled it only to get it to the 3/4″ thickness, and floured a 2″ biscuit cutter before cutting each scone. I baked off a few immediately (the dough was absolutely incredible!), then put a few in the freezer for another day, and the rest went into the refrigerator to bake and take to work.

My 2″ guys baked for about 20 minutes, and I think that was a bit too long. Since they were smaller than the 3″ Ina recommends, you may want to check them at 18 minutes. Even so, they were fluffy, tender and delicious, in short, nothing like the “scones” you can get at national chain coffee houses.

Next time (and there will be a lot of next times) I will up the orange zest, use Dorie’s zest/sugar rubbing technique, increase the pecans, decrease the dried cranberries (or use fresh!) and add slightly more sugar. But before I make these again, I want to see if I can replicate (and improve) the lemon curd scone served at my favorite coffee house. With Ina’s tender scone as a base, you can go in many directions with this recipe. Check it out here or here. And my thanks go out to Em for choosing this wonderful recipe. Now I know how to bake scones!

CSA – One week, one box, many opportunities

I have been getting a box from J&P Organics, a local CSA, for a couple of months now. For those of you who haven’t heard of CSA, it stands for community supported agriculture. Farmers grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and sell them directly to consumers in what is basically a variety pack each week. For those of us who are idealistic, it’s a way of helping family farmers survive in a nation of mega factory farms.

I like belonging to a CSA not just because we’re helping to preserve family farms, but because you get to have a personal relationship with the farmer, in addition to having organic fruits and vegetables picked at their peak.

I’m not always good about finishing all of the bounty that comes to me in my box each week (and I don’t always order weekly, I usually order every other week–because the produce was picked that day, it generally lasts two weeks). In order to spur myself to finish all of the box this week, I’m going to post the contents of this week’s box, and post updates daily on how I’m using my veggies (we get less fruit, so I generally don’t have a problem finishing that!)

Here’s what we got this week:

eggs (available if we want to order them with our box)

golden raspberries

strawberries

yellow globe squash

green squash (maybe tatuma?)

sweet potatoes

new potatoes

red spring onion

Swiss chard

oranges

broccoli

carrots

green leaf lettuce

spinach

M. is gone for a couple of weeks, so it’s up to me to finish off this week’s box! I’d love to hear your suggestions especially for the swiss chard as I’ve not cooked with it much before.

For my A.M. pick-me-up, I’m having a Green Monster with about a cup each of chard and spinach, a banana, unsweetened Almond Breeze and a T of flax seeds. Since I’m not yet sure how I’ll cook the chard, I decided to add it to a Green Monster to take advantage of its nutritional benefits (it’s high in folate, thiamin and zinc, plus lots of vitamins). I first learned about Green Monsters on Caitlin’s blog Healthy Tipping Point, and although I thought anything with pureed greens would be revolting, the banana and Almond Breeze add great flavor so you don’t even taste the greens. I loved GMs from the very first one I made. It feels virtuous to get in 2 cups of leafy greens without even tasting them!

My usual summer breakfast is muesli:

1/2 cup oatmeal (NOT steel cut)

1/2 cup 1% milk

1/2 cup fat free yogurt (I’m using plain, but I usually use vanilla)

1 T maple syrup

Combine ingredients in a bowl, refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

Today, I’m topping my muesli with strawberries and golden raspberries from my CSA and a couple of toasted pecans.

I usually get up around 5:00 AM and have a small snack then eat breakfast at my desk around 8-ish, so this will be all ready for me when I get hungry. With a breakfast this yummy, I’ll be ready to face whatever problems crop up (the last couple of days have been insane at work!)