The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

My mini Christmas tree for what seems like a mini-amount of Christmas spirit. I am truly working on that. However, regardless of how little Christmas spirit I might have, I still will bake some Christmas cookies, Grandma Dorothy's poundcake, and anything else I might decide somebody else needs.

I came to the conclusion about a year ago that trying to make baked goods healthy (i.e. after about 10 attempts at healthy strawberry cake) is nearly an impossible task. If you are anywhere close to the south and you try to make strawberry cake without using strawberry jello, the people who eat it will not be impressed. Personally, when I bake I aim to please and make people smile, so I came to the conclusion that sometimes you just have to let go. A good lesson for me in life.

And with that, one of my favorite cookies for the Holiday season that breaks all my rules about not using hydrogenated oils.

Cinnamon Squares

Preheat oven to 350*

Melt in saucepan: 1/2 cup butter & 1/2 cup Crisco (yikes!)

Add to melted stuff: 1/2 cup dark brown sugar & 1/2 cup white sugar

Then mix in: 1 tsp. vanilla & 1 egg yolk (reserve egg white)

Add: 2 cups flour & 2 tsp. cinnamon.

Spread dough thin with hands onto cookie sheet. Beat egg whites until frothy and brush onto cookie dough. Sprinkle with sprinkles. The classic sprinkle is the non-pareils or sphere like sprinkles.

Bake 15 minutes and cut into squares while hot. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

for the love of tea....

I made this cute little tea cozy using this tutorial. It's for my mamacita for Christmas. We both LOVE our tea!

Banana Mango pancakes

Most people don't realize that tropical fruits are actually in season in the winter. If you live somewhere other than the continental United States you would be eating local if you made these delicious pancakes. If you don't, there is absolutely nothing local about it, so please forgive me. At least they still taste yummy.

Basic Pancakes (adapted from the original Joy of Cooking)

Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Gently mix the wet and dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Small lumps are okay. Cook on a hot buttered/oiled griddle.

Serve with pure maple syrup and butter.

If adding mango and banana, sprinkle diced fruit on top of pancake before flipping it. Pictured above.

Sprouts

I used to think Sprouts were blah, but in the past 6 or so years I have grown to love them. I think it all started when I would wander the aisles of Berkeley Bowl or Monterey Market and would come across microgreens or beans that I never could have imagined tasted good in sprout form. That changed things for me, and I would eat sprout and cream cheese sandwiches with tomatoes and avocado.

Today I found something as good, if not better, than veggie sandwiches with sprouts. It's called Sky Salad, and you can get it at Whole Foods. I guess the Sproutman creates these delicious sprout mixtures.

Sprout Salad

1 container of Sky Salad

1 meyer lemon (I fell in love with these in Berkeley, as well. I used to drive by Pheonix Pastificio*, a delicious pasta place with every kind of pasta imaginable, and there would be a sign outside the door about needing Meyers. For so long I had no idea what this meant, but after a little while I began to see these lemons everywhere. And lucky for me, they carry them at Whole Foods)

Good Olive Oil

Salt

Combine everything in a bowl. I wish I could tell you the proportions of olive oil to lemon (or vinegar) but it seems to be a science that I cannot express in words. I have been working on measuring it all so I can post it on this blog.

*Pheonix Pastifico also has the most amazing olive bread and almond macaroons that I have ever experienced in my entire life.

banana cake mini-muffins with ganache

I got this idea from Cake Flour. I used my favorite banana cake recipe that I acquired in the bay area from a parent of one of the kids in my class. I guess it was her great grandmother's recipe, and it is scribbled on a piece of paper with no directions except for "Bake at 350* for an hour." Then I created my own ganache. It's pretty simple, I just use a one to one ratio of ounces of chocolate to tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. You can't go wrong. As Trey would say, "WHAT is that chocolate stuff on top?" It's that good and that easy.

Banana Cake

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup sour cream (4 medium dollops)

1 cup mashed banana pulp (2 rotten bananas)

1 1/2 cup pastry flour (regular flour seems to work just as well)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350*.

Combine dry ingredients.

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla until combined. Add banana and sour cream. Beat until combined. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

Pour into buttered and floured bread pan or muffin tin.

For bread pan, cook approximately 1 hour.

For mini-muffin tins, cook about 20 to 25 minutes.

Let cool. After the cake is cool you can make the ganache, but do not make it before or it will not work.

Chocolate Ganache

6 oz. good chocolate chips (I use Guittard, but I can only find them when I go to Los Angeles, so my mom sends them to me every so often :) I love my Mommy!)

6 Tbsp. whipping cream

Over very low heat combine ingredients in a saucepan.

Spread on top of banana cake, and place in refrigerator. Ganache will solidify slightly.

Yummy!

Watermelon radishes

This radish is the size of an apple. I picked it up at the farmers market thinking it was a turnip. I was told it was a delicious radish, so of course I had to get it. Sprinkle it with salt and it makes a beautiful and delicious snack!

Enchiladas de verduras

One of my favorite restaurants of all times is Doña Tomás in Oakland. They have the most amazing carnitas, margaritas on the rocks, pureed black beans, and painted red walls. Just thinking about it makes me a bit nostalgic. (Someday...) They have a sister taquería in Berkeley called Tacubaya. Trey and I used to go there for breakfast and drink Mexican coffee or hot chocolate and eat chilaquiles. It was heaven. The recipe I have included is something I never would have ordered but in an attempt to save money I chose something vegetarian. I served this with pureed black beans and rice.

Enchiladas de verduras
1 poblano chile, toasted, peeled, stemmed, and seeded
3 or 4 tablespoons canola oil
1 white onion
Salt
2 large jewel or red garnet yams, cut into 1/2 inch dice (about 3 cups)
1 cup grated queso Oaxaca (I used queso blanco because I couldn't find Oaxaca)
Queso fresco

Tomatillo and jalapeño sauce
2 cups tomatillos
2 large garlic cloves
1 jalapeño chile, with seeds, stemmed and halved
1/2 white onion
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water

Filling:
1. Cut the chile into 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Heat 2 tbs oil in large sauté pan. Sauté onion until translucent. Season with salt and place in bowl with chile.
3. In same pan heat oil and add sweet potatoes. Sauté for 15 minutes over medium heat until tender. Season with salt and add to chile onion mix.
4. When filling is cool add grated cheese.

Sauce:
1. Soak the tomatillos in water for a few minutes and then peel off husks. Drain and place in stainless steel saucepan with garlic, jalapeño,onion, salt, and water to barely cover. Heat over high heat. Once boiling reduce heat to medium and simmer until tomatillos change color and one or two have split.
2. Tranfer to a blender and purée. Season with salt.

Enchiladas:
1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. Heat tortillas in microwave or on lightly greased griddle.
3. Dip tortilla with sauce and fill with 3 heaping tbs. of the filling.
4. Roll and place seam side down in a 9x13 pan. (12 can fit)
5. Spoon sauce lightly over and sprinkle with queso fresco.
6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes.
7. Serve on a small pool of sauce.

basic tomato sauce recipe

basic tomato sauce

7-8 large tomatoes, cut up with skins on or off, it really doesn't matter (heirlooms make yummy sauce)
5 cloves garlic, chopped, not minced
about 1 t. salt or to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped

I literally combine everything in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until desired consistency. I think the trick is to add an entire bunch of Italian parsley after the heat is turned off, and to always serve it topped with authentic Parmesan. Sometimes I add 1 pound browned Italian sausage, especially when I am serving it with penne, spaghetti, or in a lasagna.

*you can substitute 2 28oz. cans whole San Marzano tomatoes when tomatoes are not in season.

a little tribute to Grandpa Marv...

Things I make/eat today just because I watched (little did he know):

tuna sandwiches with chocolate milkshakes
anything with avocados
big breakfasts with pancakes and eggs (over easy) and oven toast (I think I was the only one who was in heaven. I remember a cousin telling me that I was going to have a heart attack before I was 40 because I literally wanted one of each thing.
shrimp Louie with real Louie dressing
Tillamook special reserve cheddar
cantaloupe with salt/lime
the perfect hard boiled egg (bring it to a boil, turn it off, put the lid on, and let them sit for 12 minutes)


You will never be forgotten. I hope that you are putting Grandma Tash on top of the refrigerator as we speak.

2 yummy recipes

So the picture isn't so good, but the result definitely is.

Zucchini Pancakes
1 large zucchini, grated
1/2 medium onion, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
freshly ground black pepper
butter/oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. If mixture is too thick, let sit for about 15-30 minutes so that the water from the zucchini makes it thinner.

Heat 1 T butter and 2 T olive oil in a pan. When hot, pour pancake batter into pan. Cook until golden on bottom, about 2-3 minutes. Flip. Cook about 1-2 minutes more. Remove from pan. You can keep them warm in a 250* oven.

I served these with eggs fried in olive oil and bacon. An interesting, yet delicious, take on a really big delicious breakfast.

Deconstructed Pesto Pasta on a bed of Tomatoes

1 pound fresh pasta
1 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 cup grated parmesan cheese or pecorino
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 very large heirloom tomato

Cook 1 pound fresh pasta according to package instructions...or if you are making it yourself I guarantee you know how long to cook it :).
Cut tomato into thick slices.
Combine cooked pasta, basil, toasted pine nuts, parmesan/pecorino cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper in the same pot you cooked the pasta in.
Place tomatoes on the bottom of a pasta bowl or plate. Spoon pasta on top. Use fork and knife to eat.

bruschetta ala me

Bruschetta

2 very large heirloom tomatoes or 3 large (I like using one orange/yellow (pineapple) and one red), large dice
1/4 cup-1/3 cup good olive oil
3 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2-1 tsp. salt, season to taste
pepper
20 basil leaves roughly chopped
1 loaf french bread, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
olive oil for bread

Combine first 5 ingredients and season to taste.

In a large skillet, heat 3-4 T. olive oil. I prefer to use regular olive oil, not extra-virgin, because it is cheaper and less olive oily tasting. Once oil is hot, place bread in pan. Fry until golden brown, anywhere from 1-2 minutes. Turn with tongs. Fry other side until golden brown. Repeat for remaining bread, remembering to add more oil when pan is dry.

Lay bread out on a plate and spoon tomato mixture on top. Enjoy!

Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch

Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch
by Michael Pollan

BLAT's

BLATs
wheat bread
bacon (Fiedler Family Farms)
big tomato (this one is from my neighbor, Wilbur, an amazing gardener)
avocado-sliced thick
bibb lettuce
mayo, don't forget the mayo

put it all together and yum yum yum.

peach cobbler

Peach Cobbler
adapted from Take a Little Thyme

1 stick butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
dash of salt
1 cup whole milk
3 cups peaches sliced with skins removed or other fruit

Preheat oven to 350*
Melt butter in a 9"x 13" pan on stove.
Combine butter, white sugar, flour, baking powder, and milk to make a batter.
Pour batter over melted butter.
Combine peaches and brown sugar.
Pour fruit and brown sugar mixture over batter.
DO NOT STIR.
Bake for 1 hour.

Serve with homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

garden tomatoes

I really didn't think I was going to have any tomatoes this year, but this is a volunteer. I had about 20 volunteer tomato plants due to bad composting on my part and several of them have a lot of tomatoes on them. Maybe enough cherry tomatoes for one of my favorite recipes adapted from Alice Water's cookbook Fanny at Chez Panisse.

Cherry Tomato Pasta

2 baskets cherry tomatoes (about five cups)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 small handful basil
1 small handful Italian parsley
salt and pepper
1 pound dry linguine
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs (recipe below)

Boil a large pot of water.
Slice the tomatoes in half and put them in a big bowl.
Add the olive oil and vinegar.
Chop the basil and Italian parsley and add to the tomatoes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Stir it all together and let sit for awhile.

Cook the noodles about 1-2 minutes less than the cooking time.
Drain them and add to the bowl of tomatoes.
Pour in breadcrumbs.
Mix well and serve, sprinkling the bread crumbs over top.

Bread Crumbs
This works best with day old bread. (In Louisville, I think the best bread is Blue Dog)
Cut the crusts of several slices of bread and cut the bread into chunks.
Place in a blender or food processor until crumbs are crumb-like but coarse.
Place fresh bread crumbs on a cookie sheet and toast at 350* until browned. This doesn't take very long, maybe about 5 to 7 minutes in a preheated good oven (unlike mine).
Toss with olive oil until breadcrumbs are lightly coated but still crunchy.

broken camera...

My dog ate my camera battery charger, so here is something I made a few weeks ago along with a recipe.


The Most Amazing Pasta Sauce Ever
My mom told me about this recipe over the phone and I have been wanting to try it forever. I think it's originally from the Silver Palate. Maybe?

Ingredients:
1 onion cut in half
1 28 oz. can tomatoes (I used about 3 really large tomatoes from the farmer's market, cored and cut up in hug chunks. You can remove the skins if you would like by placing the tomatoes in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them and then peeling them.)
1 stick butter

Melt the butter in a small heavy pot. Add the onion, cut sides down. Add entire can of tomatoes or cut up tomatoes and a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter. Simmer for about 45 minutes. Season to taste.

I served this over really good meat ravioli from Lotsa Pasta. I think it would probably be good with just about anything.

it's been awhile...

I love the summer. I love tomatoes and to be completely honest I think that's why I love the summer. A nice juicy heirloom tomato with salt is my idea of a good time. But, I can't really find it in my heart or stomach to like squash and unfortunately the only things actually growing in my garden are squash and when squash plants are close together they cross pollinate and you get weird squash that you don't even know what to do with. Now that's my predicament. But I did find a recipe from the local CSA for zucchini pickles. Most people wouldn't even dare, but they are surprisingly delicious.

Zucchini Pickles

2 cups cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. ground mustard seed
2 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 onion-halved and sliced thin
1 pound zucchini-thinly sliced (kind of like pickles)

Combine the vinegar, sugar, turmeric, cloves, mustard seed, celery seed, ginger, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. (It will be stinky). Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Bring the mixture back to a boil and add the onion. Cook for 1 minute. Add the zucchini slices and stir, pushing them under the liquid for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Put in mason jars and store in the refrigerator. If you know how to can things, go for it. I still am not so good at it, so I just put them in the fridge to eat over the next few days.

These pickles went with this delicious burger, on homemade milk and honey bread with farmer's market tomatoes and onions. I got the meat from Fiedler Family Farms. It's the best. They're at the Bardstown Rd. Farmer's Market on Saturdays.

Blueberry Muffins ala Ina Garten minus the streusel

Whenever I make a recipe for the first time I don't like to get all crazy
with it and start adding stuff or subtracting stuff. So because this is a first time recipe I will try it exactly how it is in her new book, Barefoot Contessa back to basics minus the streusel (I don't have enough butter).

The better the ingredients the better the food. It is hard to convince most people of this simple fact. They would prefer to get the better deal on an apple than on most other things. I, on the other hand, probably would choose a five dollar specialty heirloom apple in hopes of simply making my food taste better. So for this recipe I have used farmer's market blueberries, local buttermilk, and local flour. I always have issues with sugar. It is hard to bake with organic sugar and after trying to several times in attempts to make all organic everything, I cannot bring myself to say that organic sugar is better. Maybe if I go to culinary school and someone teaches me exactly how to make it work I will change my mind.


The recipe:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I like organic King Arthur flour)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (regular sugar)
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (I use aluminum-free)
1 teaspoon baking soda (aluminum free)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups buttermilk, shaken
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest (totally not local, but I did ask for a dwarf rangpur lime tree for my birthday)
2 extra-large eggs (from Grasshopper CSA)
2 cups fresh blueberries (from farmer's market)

Oven temp: 375

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.


Whisk buttermilk, butter, lemon zest, and eggs in separate bowl.


Stir buttermilk mixture into dry mixture very gently.


Fold in blueberries.


Now here is where my mom always gets me. I overfill muffin tins because I like muffins to be big, but most people fill them only 3/4 of the way full. It's up to you, but the cooking time varies. If 3/4 full cook for 20-25 minutes. If overly full, cook for about 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.


Serve warm with some butter. My favorite spreading butter is cultured butter with sea salt. Delicious.

and let it begin...

Of course I waited until I left Berkeley, the mecca of all things local and delicious, to embark on this journey of eating local. I set out initially to do exactly what Barbara Kingsolver did in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Her family ate completely local for one whole year with the exception of coffee, olive oil, capers, flour, and pasta. I thought if I set my mind to it I could do it, but unfortunately, after making an initial meal using a recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle I was disheartened. It was horrible--completely flavorless and not fresh at all. I am a foodie, and admittedly a food snob. Unfortunately, this snobbery has become an unconscious reaction to food placed in front of me. I'm working on eating it politely. When it is something that I made and it doesn't live up to my wildest expectations, I do not eat it politely and the entire conversation revolves around just that. So I have amended our journey.

The amendments:
I will eat local to the best of my ability hoping to create meals that are delicious in the process. I also cannot end my lifelong love affair with avocados.

Without further ado...
This is what I have left from the farmer's market after the really yucky chicken dish:
1 bunch carrots
yellow beets
rainbow chard
1 large tomato
1 basket cherry tomatoes
blueberries
peaches
green garlic
uncured onion
milk
1 carton eggs
2 chicken breasts
lettuce

Tomorrow I will go to the grocery store and pick up a few essentials:
white wine vinegar
flour
dry pasta
dried beans
rice
(avocados)
butter (I refuse to make my own butter)

I forgot to mention that I planned and planted an entire garden with heirloom everything ordered from the seeds of change catalog and it refuses to grow. I used the lasagna gardening method and it did not work. I am about to till the whole thing and start over. It will definitely be a very late harvest.

From now on, I'm sticking to Alice Waters!