the knife that changed my life

Ok, so that's a bit dramatic, but holy crap, this knife is amazing! My parents continued their tradition of amazing Christmas gifts, and this was one of them. They somehow always find the most amazing kitchen utilities. This knife says it's a tomato knife, but I use it for everything. It makes the perfect paper thin slices of anything—strawberries, yams, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc. This is my absolutely go-to knife. They hand grind each knife, and all the materials are sourced and made in the good 'ole US of A. The wood is Virginia birch wood (my Grandpa would have loved that). You can find out more about the process here. Anyway, I can't wax poetic about this knife enough. If you are looking for a great go-to knife, hit this baby up!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm back to my full-time life in just one city every week. It's amazing how having weeknights to run errands and get stuff done feels like such a luxury. I started a new job at a rad Ad Agency that's only a mile from my place. Having a short commute after traveling across 2 states every week and before that, driving about 45 minutes each way is the dreamiest. Anyway, starting at a new job can always be a little daunting and since it's been so long since I've started a brand new job, I was extra nervous. I decided if I couldn't win people over with my "sparkling personality", I could try to win them over with cookies. So far, this cunning plan seems to be working. It must be because this recipe is so legit. My oldest sister sent this to me a while ago, raving about it. Since I'm always looking for and collecting good recipes, I get a little overwhelmed with all the options, thankfully my good friend Rachel was over she helped me narrow down the selection to these. She also helped me with this mini shoot for the cookies. Thanks, Rach! These are moist deluxe with all the coconut and the perfect amount of chewy vs. crispy. I suggest you try them if you are trying to bribe people to like you—or just for your stomach to like you. (Also, my sister said to make the recipe exactly as listed, I only made one change out of necessity, but this recipe really doesn't need to be tweaked at all).


Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
Cream until fluffy.
Add:
2 eggs, beating in one at a time
2 tsp vanilla
Add:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Mix well and add:
2 2/3 cup coconut (yes, you read that correctly)
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (**I didn't have any, so I did all semi-sweet -- sorry sis!)

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.


**I don't know the original source of the recipe, but my hat is tipped to whoever out there made this happen.

chocolate dipped macaroons

These just might be the easiest thing I've ever made. And that's not just cause my Mama helped me. Anyone could make these—in a very short amount of time, and with only 3 ingredients to boot (plus the dipping chocolate, if you so choose). We made these and the ever delightful Peanut Butter Bon Bons (or Buckeyes, as my Dad prefers to call them) within the space of a few hours. So, hold on to your seats, cause I'm about to blow your mind by dropping this easy/delicious/fast knowledge on you...
 
5 cups coconut (that's just over one normal sized bag)
1/3 cup flour
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Mix coconut and flour together. Add milk, mix and drop in spoonfuls (we used a medium sized cookie scoop, which worked like a dream) onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 325° or until lightly browned.

After they cooled, we dipped half each cookie halfway into melted dipping chocolate. (A tip I just learned from Mama King: make sure the chocolate doesn't reach much higher than a melted lukewarm, otherwise it will get unruly on you)

**I do not know the recipe source, except that my Dad's ex-girlfriend from high school sent it to my Mom. I know that totally sounds weird, but I won't question the raddness of this.

steel cut oats with a bunch of other stuff

 (not great photo, courtesy of my phone)

This is the breakfast of champions. Well if I gave this to a champion of something—then it would be. But, I do CHAMPION this breakfast (see what I did there?). In the winter, this is the way I prefer to start my day (when I'm in town, and have the time to make something.) You can mix and match a few things, but this is my basic formula:

1/4 uncooked steel cut oats
1 tablespoon of uncooked quinoa 
1 cup water
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon allspice or cloves or cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground flax
2 teaspoons toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup almond milk
a few drops of vanilla
a handful of frozen blueberries
a handful of sliced almonds

Bring water to a boil, add the oats and quinoa and turn down to medium-low heat. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the almond milk and stir. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Let cook until desired consistency (I like mine pretty thick) and serve. This set of portions feeds one fairly hungry strawberry blonde.

**In OTHER NEWS: I will have a normal life again, starting a week from today. So, I will be back to more regular posting, testing, and maybe I'm thinking about reviewing places. We'll see what 2011 has in store, but I'm thinking this year will be tops.

slow cooker granola

Slow cooker granola sounds totally weird, right? Well, as you know, I've been looking for mulitple ways to use my crock pot/slow cooker and have looked up a lot of ideas on the interwebs and in books. I keep finding great recipes in this one that my parents got me a few Christmases ago (before they realized that I didn't have a functioning slow cooker.) This is the same book I got the apple butter recipe from. And we know how much I liked (loved) that. This is a great granola recipe, and the thing I love about granola is that it's so flexible. You can really change things up depending on what you have on hand or are just in the mood for. I was regretfully out of coconut (the horror!) and had some toasted macadamia nuts on hand so I changed things up a little from the original recipe, but you can really be loosey-goosey with these things.

Maple-Almond Granola
5 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds (I added 1/2 cup of toasted macadamia nuts, as well)
3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries (I used this amount of a mixed bag of dried fruit)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (it's near impossible to find unsweetened so just use what you can find)
1/2 cup chopped dates (I substituted raisins)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2/3 cup pure maple syrup (this doesn't leave an overwhelming maple flavor. Just enough to sweeten)
1/4 cup canola oil (I did a little less)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt

1. Combine all the ingredients in a lightly buttered slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
2. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is crisp and dry.
3. Spread the granola on a baking sheet to cool completely (I totally skipped this step). Store in airtight jars. It will taste best if used within 2 weeks.

raspberry cranberry crumb breakfast bar

The other day I saw some good-looking raspberries on sale, so I bought a few pints and was looking up some ideas for how to utilize them. I came upon this recipe from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, and realized I needed to make and eat this, but I didn't have enough raspberries. As soon as my wheels started turning, I remembered I had some frozen cranberries, and I sure do love cranberries mixed with other berries. And I always like a little more tart with my sweet. At first, I wasn't sure I should make it because of the word "breakfast" in the title of the recipe, but in reading the intro, it looks like this bar is good for any time. And that sure came out to be true. These were the perfect texture and consistency, and very much hit the spot. In fact, I'm craving some right now...

Raspberry Cranberry Crumb Breakfast Bar
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

For the crust and crumb:
1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cup rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the Raspberry Cranberry filling:
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 pound raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 pound cranberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Make the crust and crumb:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of 9-by-13 inch pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.

Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.

Reserve 1 cup of the mixture and set aside. Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hands or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer in the bottom of the pan. The crust should touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.

Make the Raspberry filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, cinnamon, and flour together.

Add the raspberries, lemon juice, and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated.

Assemble and bake the bars:
Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved 1 cup crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around edges.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

masoor dal

I realize this doesn't fall under the category of baking, but since I'm short on time for a while, I'm putting up stuff I'm making to sustain myself on the weekends that I'm home. I have a very dear friend who is an expert at making this Dal dish, and he made it for me a lot, but now he's back in the dumb ole U.K., so I had to take matters in my own hands when I was craving this super delicious dish. I googled a ton of recipes and this one looked closest to what seemed like my friend's recipe. This is my first try making anything like this, and I really liked it! It takes a lot of spices that aren't readily in your local grocery store, so you might need to venture out to an Indian market, if you have one. Some Asian markets carry some of these spices as well. Also, sorry the picture isn't more legit, I was just trying to eat, you know? So, it's taken from my phone.

Ingredients:
2 cups masoor dal (red lentils)
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 onions, chopped
1 head garlic, separated, chopped (I used probably about 2 cloves)
1 (1-inch piece) ginger root, chopped
2 jalapeno chiles, chopped (I didn't have these so I just added about 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch coriander (cilantro), chopped
Water

Preparation:
• Rinse massor dhal thoroughly, until water is clear. In pot bring1 quart water to boil. Add massor daal.
• Cook half way, about 10 to 15 minutes, add 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and salt. As massor dhal cooks, uncovered, water will evaporate and mixture will thicken.
• Add more water to keep dal loose, like texture of thick cream. When dal is soft, turn off heat. Heat oil in wok. When oil is very hot, add onions and cook until tender and translucent but not browned.
• Add garlic, ginger and chiles. Continue to fry until onions are deep-yellow. Add remaining 1 teaspoon each garam masala and turmeric.
• Do not allow spices to burn. Keep stirring until mixture starts to stick. Add tomatoes and cilantro. Cook until tomato softens.
• Pour in pot of masoor dal and simmer to blend flavors. Taste and add more salt if needed.


**coming soon is a post on raspberry cranberry crumb bars. they were so good!

christmas 2010

Here are some of the best things I ate over the break. When can it be Christmas again??

yummy Cranberry Walnut Pear Salad

 Sauteed Apple Cider Brussel Sprouts

buttery Butterhorns

the whole sha-bang

 

the miraculous and very secret Chocolate Pecan Torte

Pumpkin Bread cooling for the Pumpkin Bread Pudding

one of my very favorite things ever: Coconut Buns from Chinatown

homemade Liege Waffles

UPDATE: pumpkin bread pudding

Ok, seriously dudes, you need to make this. It will blow people's minds and you will get marriage proposals (sort of a true story there, folks). I made this again recently, but I changed a few things from the last time, and it's even better than before. It was gone within minutes at the party I brought it to. So, I'm re-posting the recipe with the changes. There was always a lot of custard left over and I felt like that was wasteful so I cut that part of the recipe down by 1/4 [(fraction math is so hard.) I had to ask my Dad for help because my brain doesn't work that way.)] I also added a water bath, which I think added a lot to the texture. This is a thing of beauty. Take my word for it... or just make it and see for yourself.

Pumpkin bread pudding recipe:
6 Large eggs
2 2/3rd(-) cups milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1(+) cups whipping cream
3/4 t. vanilla
1 1-lb loaf pumpkin bread (Use this recipe, as it's the best ever. Also, the recipe makes two loaves, so I made the whole recipe and just did one plain for the bread pudding and added a pecan/brown sugar streusel for the other and it was ridiculously good, especially paired with my ginger pear butter I just made)

** (Because of the divisions by even numbers with the odd number amounts of milk and cream, I put in a plus or minus to indicate that it is a bit more or less than the listed amount.)

Butter a 3 quart baking dish. Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Add milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla. Whisk to blend well. stir in bread. Let sit covered, in the refrigerator, for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven
to 350°. Scoop coated bread chunks into prepared baking dish, push down the bread crumbs, compacting the mixture. Add a little extra custard on top, and press down some more. Toss any extra custard. Fill a 9x13 pan filled halfway with water and place on the bottom rack, place the bread pudding on the middle rack. Cook for 1 hour, 45 minutes, or until it is set. Before serving, dribble some cinnamon caramel sauce over the top. Freak out.

Cinnamon Caramel Sauce Recipe:
1 cup (packed ) golden brown sugar
1 cube butter
½ cup whipping cream
¾ t. cinnamon

Stir brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add cream and cinnamon and bring to simmer. simmer until sauce thickens and is reduced to 1 ½ cups, about 5 minutes. Serve warm.

all-day apple butter

 The first thing I made in my crock pot is this "All-Day Apple Butter", from this cookbook my parents gave me called, "Fresh From The Vegetarian Slow Cooker". I've been wanting to make crock-pot apple butter for so long, ever since my old, super crappy crock-pot burned a first attempt a few years ago. Burned apples are just sad. So, I went for it right away with my shiny and new crock-pot. Apple butter is such a comfort food, so of course I want to eat it in mass quantity. Also, it makes a delicious gift, which is always helpful this time of year. I highly recommend this fantastic recipe.

3 pounds cooking apples, such as Granny Smith, Rome Beauty or Gala, cored, left unreeled, and cut into eighths

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup apple juice

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 ground cloves

Combine apples, brown sugar, apple juice, and lemon juice in a 4-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours, until the apples are very soft.

Remove the lid, turn the heat setting to High, and stir in the spices. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 2 hours (I did this about 3 hours because it didn't look thick enough), stirring once about halfway through, if possible, until the mixture thickens.

Press the apples through a metal strainer into a large mixing bowl to remove the peels, or process the apples through a food mill. (I actually just used my immersion blender blend everything together, and that worked perfectly)

After cooling to room temperature, the apple butter may be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator in clean jars, where it will keep for several weeks.