Poor, neglected blog: brunch, approaching veganism, and coconut creamer

Little things make my day.

This morning, I woke up to have coffee and steel cut oats with Sam before walking him to work at a local independent bookstore. Houston is having another beautiful, sunny day. I sat and read the style section of the New York Times for about an hour, and then came home to peruse foody blogs over my second cup of coffee. This is pretty much all I need to be happy. (says the yuppy who has the precious leisure time to enjoy these things... I know I'm spoiled.)

Anyway... reading other people's blogs makes me think, "Hey, maybe I should write on mine once in a while." I think part of the reason I stopped writing on it was because of the phenomenon where you can't have a conversation about something because your friends already read about it on your blog. However, I love hearing about my friends jobs, loves, and exciting news via their blogs. I guess I'm concluding that it will not hurt my relationships to share a good scrambled tofu recipe once in a while. I'll be posting more often these days.

For today: scrambled tofu, coconut coffee creamer, and vegan-ish-ness.

I love the idea of holidays being a big-honking-deal with family and fun and sunshine. As a kid, I always hoped that each holiday would turn out to be totally idyllic and Norman Rockwell-like. In a lot of ways, they ended up feeling like any other day. The thing that set them apart was the meal. Instead of a rushed dinner at the crowded kitchen table, my five siblings, my parents, and I would sit at the dining room table. Every holiday had its prescribed meal. I may not be all about my family's traditional Easter meal of baked ham, mashed potatoes, side vegetables, and a huge cherry cheesecake anymore, but I still love the tradition of sharing certain foods to celebrate together.

Sam and I live in Houston now, far away from our Midwestern families. Instead of marking our sort-of holiday with ham, I went for a delightful brunch. I had already checked Isa Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch out from the library and enjoyed sifting through the recipes and pictures. On Easter, I made scrambled tofu for the first time... and it was DELICIOUS! I'm not sure just how healthy it was, but it can't be as heart clogging as ham covered in honey and pineapple. I highly recommend the recipe; just follow the link!

We also tried a new addition to our coffee. I'm inching closer to a vegan version of vegetarianism. I've decided to only buy cheese if it's from a trusted vendor like Pola Artisan at my farmer's market. Milk has been a little more of a struggle- Sam loves to drink a huge glass all at once. Right now, we're trying Promised Land milk, but I'm still looking for a local option. Promised Land tastes great, but I'm not sure how to verify their ethical treatment of animals and the environment. Our vegan baby steps have included trying Earth Balance in cookies instead of butter (and using local farmer's market eggs) and SO Delicious coconut creamer in our coffee. I have to say that neither was better than the real deal. However, both are things that I can enjoy. Right now, I have the hazelnut creamer and it adds more flavor than I'd like. Maybe an unflavored flavor will be more appealing.

This is too long. My goodness.

I'll say goodbye for now and tell you more about my current semi-veganism lifestyle later. I'll also have to tell you about the lovely people I met through a Houston Vegan meet-up group. It was like a friend blind date, but I'm totally glad I went! Have a beautiful Sunday!

I've eaten this meal 3 times this week, and would gladly eat it thrice more.

I have adored The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook by Cathe Olson since the moment I spotted it at Half Price Books. Everything I've made from this book has been delicious and nourishing.

So, how is it that it took me all this time to have the thought, "Hmmmm... maybe I should google her name." I've been missing out! Cathe has her very own foodie blog! This site is definitely taking a place among my favored websites to browse: VegetarianTimes.com, VegNews.com, NYTimes.com, Salon.com, and CookingBooks.

The Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas certainly knocked my socks off. We've already made the recipe a couple of times and I'm sure it will turn into a household staple. Check it out and get all your veggies!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas
By Cathe Olson
This delicious meal is high in protein, vitamin A, and iron.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons oil
1 small onion, diced
2 sweet potatoes, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 cups or 1 (15-ounce can) cooked black beans with a little cooking water
2 cups chopped greens (kale, spinach, etc.)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups Enchilada Sauce (recipes follows)
8 large whole grain flour tortillas
8 ounces sour cream

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat oil in large skillet. Add onion and sauté 5 to 10 minutes or until soft. Add sweet potatoes. Cover and cook about 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in beans and greens. Cover and heat about 5 minutes until greens are wilted. Add a little water if necessary to prevent scorching. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Cover bottom of 9 x 13-inch baking dish with about 1/3 cup of enchilada sauce. Place tortilla on flat surface. Scoop a line of filling across the width of tortilla. Spoon sour cream across filling. Roll enchilada up and place in pan, seam side down. Repeat until all filling has been used. Cover enchiladas with remaining sauce. Cover pan and bake 20 minutes.

Enchilada Sauce
By Cathe Olson
This may not be totally authentic but it is easy and it tastes great.

Ingredients:
1 small onion, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups tomato puree
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Heat oil in medium pan over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, or until onion is golden brown. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic. Saute— 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes.

Let me say it again, you should buy this book.

For those days when you need to fit as much relaxation as possible into one day

I have been incredibly tired lately. I recently accepted a new job (which I am THRILLED about) and have been working up a storm trying to get everything ready. Marathon training has also started in our little household. Today, I decided to take some time to relax. To me, that meant some kind of pastry, coffee, magazines, and NPR. I flipped through a favorite cookbook, picked a relatively easy recipe, and got to it. And let me tell you, this cake is more than I ever dreamed it would be. Everything about this cake/ breakfast treat/ muffin-pie/ beauty is perfect. You should try it. In addition to all the great taste, this cake is vegan and super easy to make. Enjoy!

(And if you don't already own The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook, you should also treat yourself to that. Don't worry, you don't have to have kids to make great food.)

Applesauce Cake

by Cathe Olson

This moist, spiced cake is easy to make and tastes great.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Oil a 10-inch round cake pan or 8- or 9-inch square baking pan. Beat oil, maple syrup, and vanilla together until smooth. Stir in applesauce, raisins, and walnuts. In separate bowl, sift remaining ingredients together. Dough will be stiff. Spread into prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes, or until cake pulls away from edges of pan and knife inserted in center comes out dry. Cool on rack. Serve cake plain or with whipped tofu topping. It's also delicious frosted.

I have been too enamored with the farmer's market to look at this blog

The Bayou City Farmer's Market (Saturday mornings) and Rice University Farmer's Market (Tuesday afternoons) in Houston are amazing. Ever since the tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant began overflowing from the farmer's baskets and tables, I've been enamored with the flavors. We made grilled sandwiches on whole wheat bread with fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella... eggplant rolls, pan-fried zucchini to add to delicious tomato sauce, a beautiful gratin of pan-fried zucchini, broiled eggplant, slices of fresh tomato, kalamata olives, minced garlic, basil leaves, and the ever-so-beautiful olive oil. This season is amazing.

This website is less amazing, but I feel the need to share a recent recipe with you. (unknown, possibly non-existent you.)

Check it out, next post.

MMMMM Muffins!

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS!!!! (classic yumminess)

1 1/2 c. white flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

4 TBS melted butter

3/4 c. milk

1 egg

3 TBS lemon juice

1 c. blueberries

-Preheat to 350. Lightly grease muffin pan.

-Mix dry ingredients in one bowl: flour, soda, powder, salt.

-Met wet ingredients in one bowl: sugar, butter, milk, egg, juice

-Make a well in center of dry ingredients and pour in wet. Stir gently until blended, gradually adding berries. Fill muffin tin.

-Bake 15-20 minutes. ENJOY!

Delightful somethings...

This is just like me. I said I would quickly post about filo. I never posted about filo. The left-over unused filo still sits in my fridge. While I have abandoned the blog world, I have had a delightful real life full of good food, ridiculous students, a glorious husband, and great news.

COOKING ADVENTURES SINCE MY LAST POST:
- Curried Squash Soup with Mushrooms (Moosewood)- Honestly, I'm not too crazy about this. I love Mollie K, but this taste combination just isn't for me.
- Roasted vegetables - My new favorite thing! Take some fresh brussel sprouts, chunks of potato, and chopped carrots. Toss them with a little olive oil and roast at 450 degrees for about 35 minutes. It takes no effort at all and the result is perfect. Roasting really brings out the flavor, the texture is great, and it makes wonderful packed lunch left-overs.
- Pesto with organic fusilli pasta- Again, easy. (You're probably noticing a theme here.) Jarred pesto isn't any more expensive than fresh basil, and it's ultra convenient.
- Oatmeal peanut butter cookies- classic.

NEWEST ADDITION TO MY COOKBOOK COLLECTION
The weather in Houston is crazy. Today was 70 degrees and sunny. It feels like summer all the time. I was out for a walk and decided to stop in at Half Priced Books. Of course, I immediately went to the cookbook section and scouted out the vegetarian label. At first glance, I saw the word "Moosewood" and grabbed it! Unfortunately, it was a Moosewood book about having your own kitchen garden. That would be nice, but I know I won't follow through with it any time this year. I looked through a few lack luster books before I found my hidden gem, The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook: Whole foods to nourish pregnant and breastfeeding women- and their families. Now THIS is exciting! I am not pregnant, or a mother, but I still love reading about nutrition needs and this book is a well organized dietetic guide. It gives all kinds of information and recipes for various phases of pregnancy and motherhood. Obviously, the recipes are still healthy for people who are not pregnant. I'll let you know when I try a few out. I'm excited to try Better Than Ginger Ale, Applesauce Cake, Garbanzo Crunchies, and Shepherd's Pie.

Maybe I will actually write about a recipe sometime this week. We shall see!

Side note: My husband got accepted into a grad program! Woohoo! We're very excited... VERY excited. It's a huge relief. Looks like we'll be moving back to the midwest in the fall. :)

Bet You Can't Eat Just One

(AFTERWORD: After writing all of this, I realize that I just filled my best friend's blogging request! Consider this a part of Spreading the Love February. Check out Our Little Apartment for the details about this challenge to support local businesses and handmade goods. Mmmm. Local is delicious.)

OK. Guilt trip.

This is like the times when I said I would give up sweets for Lent... and then ate a brown on Ash Wednesday. For those of you who may be less familiar with Lent, that means I couldn't even make it one day without my sugar rush. I am ridiculous. Now that four people have shown virtual interest in my claim to be blogging again, I need to actually continue! (Elizabeth, I feel loved. Many thanks.) Later this week I'm going to post about my adventures with filo dough. For now, let's celebrate tired Tuesdays where too many calories are consumed and you are left happily satiated.

Today, we went to Star Pizza. If you live in Houston, you must check this place out.

It felt totally acceptable to go for a date on a Tuesday after a hard day's work, especially because we seem to be managing to save money lately! I worry about money just because it seems like such a big thing to worry about. The world is ending! I'm a yuppie living downtown in the fourth largest city in the world. I must be poor! Right? Right? ... I just always thought I'd be relatively low income. Then, I got married right out of college and thought that sealed the financial deal. Luckily, I'm just paranoid and our world is not going to end. No more worrying. Eat pizza!

This pizza is wonderful. We get the deep dish veggie pizza on whole wheat crust every time... and it's amazing, every time. I am very proud of my homemade pizza and I think it is wonderfully delicious. However, there is something magical about Star Pizza. Everything is fresh in both my homemade version and the restaurant pizza, but Star has some special pizazz that makes me smile. In addition, I get to sit peacefully in an adorable independent local restaurant and talk with my husband while waiting to be served. Some days, a girl just doesn't want to cook

So today, I celebrate the luxury of a healthy, luxurious, local pizza date.

Next post, filo. Filo and I have a love/hate relationship. You'll see.

Blog Revival

For some reason, I've decided to do this again. I cannot predict how long this fascination will last, but I hope you and I enjoy it for a bit. This revival is mostly caused by the fact that I recently bought a new Mollie Katzen cookbook. She is my vegetarian cooking idol.
This weekend, I spent a ridiculous amount of time tabbing off recipes in my new cookbook, The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, and back issues of Vegetarian Times. And then... this is good... I made the recipes into a LIST. I'm the kind of dork who loves flipping through cookbooks and loves making lists. It's a match made in heaven. Anyway, broccoli strudel and vegetable upside-down cake are among the dishes on this week's menu.

Vegetable upside-down cake is amazing. First, it's a casserole, which I always love. I can't understand why the culinary world often acts like they are unexciting or outdated. They are perfect. With all the ingredients in one place, the spices can accent all the food together and you feel like you're really getting a full meal. This vegetable upside-down cake is one of the best I've tried so far. It's a bunch of fresh-tasting vegetables with a crust of herb biscuit. You're supposed to be able to turn it over but that was just not going to happen. It was still just as good. The prep took a while but I'd highly recommend it.

Notes: Spreading the dough part on top is like impossible to do neatly. No worries. Just go with it. Also, the recipe calls for cayenne to taste but I wasn't a fan of that so I left it out.

VEGETABLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
from Mollie Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest

For the Vegetables:

1. 1 onion, chopped
2. 1 head broccoli, chopped
3. 1 large carrot, chopped
4. 1 head cauliflower, chopped
5. 1 red bell pepper, chopped
6. 1 cup corn
7. 5 cloves garlic, minced
8. 5 scallions, minced
9. a bit of salt and pepper

• Oven preheated to 350. Greese a 9 x 13" baking dish and set aside. Sautee the onion for about 8 minutes.


• Boil some water. Drop in the broccoli, carrot, and cauliflower for 30 seconds. Then drain it in a colander, and immediately move into ice water. Then drain again.


• Add sauteed onion and blanched veggies and the uncooked vegetables all together in a bowl.


• Dump the vegetables into the dish and then cover with 1 cup of grated cheddar.

For the cake:

• 1 cup white flour


• 1/2 cup whole wheat flower


• 1 tsp. baking powder


• 1/2 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 Tbs. sugar


• 1/2 tsp each: oregano and thyme


• 2 Tbs. dill


• 1 egg


• 1 cup plain yogurt


• 2 Tbs. melted butter
  
  1.) Combine flour, powder, soda, and salt in a bowl with the sugar and herbs.
  2.) Make a well in the center and beat together eggs, yogurt, and butter.
  3.) Mix it all together and do your best to spread it over the vegetables.
  BAKE THE WHOLE THING FOR 40 MINUTES! ENJOY!

Sunday breakfast that will last all week

Ahhhh weekends. Today I made a huge batch of homemade granola that will last my little family of two at least 2 weeks. We usually have granola with plain yogurt with whatever fresh fruit we have, along with our morning coffee. Quite a lovely and convenient daily breakfast. (You can see a bit of my tiny kitchen from the granola picture. Just goes to show that you don't need a spacious updated kitchen to make scrumptious food!)

I also had some lentils in the pantry that I needed to find a use for. This lentil soup from Moosewood Cookbook did the trick. It's a fat free soup full of protein and doesn't require a ton of chopping and dicing.

Let me know what you think of the recipes. Also, lentils always confound me. If you have full-proof lentil recipes, please share!

Mom’s (as in Sam’s Mom) Hippie Granola
*All amounts are approximate. Use whatever you have.
1 canister of 42 oz. oats
1 bag of sweetened coconut
1 cup unshelled sesame seeds
1/3- 2/3 cup dry milk
½ cup ground flax seed oil (we leave this out just because we don’t have it around)
½ cup canola oil
1 ½ cup honey
1-2 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp allspice
2 tbsp nutmeg
2 cups of peanuts

Preheat oven to 325. Mix ingredients in two large baking dishes. Cook 10 minutes.
Add peanuts. Cook 5-10 minutes longer.
Remove from oven. Press granola flat down in dish.
Allow to cool before breaking apart into chunks.
Enjoy! One batch will provide a quick and delicious breakfast for weeks!


LENTIL SOUP
3 cups dry lentils
7 cups water
2 tsp salt
6-8 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 cups chopped onion
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
black pepper to taste
2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, chopped

Place the lentils and water in a soup pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and let cook 20- 30 minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and spices. Simmer another 20 minutes.

Heat a medium pan full of water to boiling. Drop in tomatoes for 10 seconds. Take out, peel, chop up, add to soup. Cook the soup at least 5 more minutes.

So maybe I'm going a little overboard today

A day off work means a day full of food. I can dice, cook, bake, and taste for as long as I gosh darn please! It's mid afternoon and I've already made 2 loaves of the best banana bread I've ever tasted for breakfast, homemade all organic minestrone soup with mozzarella grilled cheese for lunch, and organic cranberry sauce to snack on throughout the week! Best part: I have food for days now. There's a quart of soup left over, the second loaf of banana bread is being saved in the freezer for another week, and the cranberry sauce is jarred and in the fridge for whenever we feel like nibbling on it. Have I mentioned that I really life autumn? It's true. Autumn and cookbooks. Glorious. Here are the recipes! The bread is glorious, the cranberry sauce is yummy and easy, and the soup was delicious- it was the first homemade soup I've ever made and I didn't think it was intimidating at all. Just takes about an hour of loving attention.

BANANA BREAD
The spices and the orange zest do wonders. Plus, no gooey middles!
1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened but not melted
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla plus 1/4
tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. grated orange rind
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana pureed with 2/3 cups black coffee banana pureed with (honest, it's tasty!)

Instructions:Beat in large bowl, beginning with sugar or honey and butter, add eggs one at a time. Add remaining ingredients and beat until light in color. Add flour mixture and banana mixture alternately to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour.After each addition mix gently to combine, but do not over mix. Generously butter 2 loaf pans. Divide batter and bake at 350 F. for 40-50minutes or until done. Cool 10 minutes in the pan then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

MINESTRONE SOUP
Keeps you warm and well-fed.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
5 cloves crushed garlic
1 cup celery -- minced
1 cup carrot -- cubed
1 cup eggplant -- cubed (Or zucchini)
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup fresh parsley -- chopped
1 can canneli beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup dry pasta
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 teaspoon basil
2 cups tomato puree
3 1/2 cups water or stock

In a soup kettle, saute garlic and onions in olive oil until they are soft and translucent.Add 1 tsp. salt, carrot, celery and eggplant.(If you use zucchini, add it with the green pepper.) Mix well.
Add oregano, black pepper and basil.Cover and cook over low heat 5-8 minutes.
Add green pepper, stock, puree, and beans.Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Add tomatoes and remaining salt.Keep at lowest heat until 10 minutes before you plan to serve.
Then, heat the soup to a boil, add pasta, and boil gently until pasta is tender.
Serve immediately, topped with parsley and parmesan.

WHOLE CRANBERRY SAUCE
Incredibly simple sweet treat.
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
12 oz bag of fresh cranberries

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add cranberries and return to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. You're done!

Recipe coming soon...

Shockingly Simple

When I think of rich decadent desserts like chocolate mousse, I assume there must be some complicated work required to make it. Usually, I'm totally wrong.

Last night I made chocolate mousse in about 15 minutes while watching clips of Tina Fey on SNL. Incredibly easy. I just left it in the fridge over night and it was amazing. Try it. I swear, it's a cinch.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

• 8 oz dark chocolate
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp rum
• 1 cup of cream, whipped

1.) Melt chocolate in a small pot over boiling water.

2.) With electric beaters, beat eggs and sugar for 5 minutes.

3.) Fold chocolate and rum into eggs and sugar.

4.) Fold in whipped cream.

Spoon into ramekins or glasses and let chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Unrelated

We went to the Italian Festival a few weekends ago. I was looking forward to cute children, happy people, funny stuff, gnocchi, tiramisu, and espresso. Unfortunately, the festival was pretty lame. The thing that saved it: I convinced Sam to join the pasta eating contest! Very amusing.

Yummy in my tummy. That's right. I said it.

It's been a while. Does anyone still read this?

Anyway, I just made a glorious pizza. Basic pizza dough, with homemade pasta sauce on top, a slices of fresh mozzarella, followed by chopped spinach that had been sauteed with garlic, and topped with a whole container of feta. Yum.

Dessert: I'm whipping up a batch of gingerbread people. I made soft gingerbread cookies a while ago and LOVED them but the hubby prefers a harder ginger snap or ginger person, so I'm giving this recipe a go. The dough is sitting in the fridge until morning, so we'll see what happens then.

While cooking, you should listen to archived episodes of This American Life so you're never left waiting for the next week's episode to come out as a podcast. Wonderful public radio.

Enjoy your weekend, mystery readers!

Bicycles, Aubergines, and Lounging

Sam was making eggplant parmesan for dinner. YUM. A baked version. Baked is almost always better than fried.

Anyway, he didn't have the parmesan, so I hopped on my bike and rode to the grocery store to stock up on produce, spices, and the always essential orange juice. SO much better than sitting in traffic. The weather was great; very pleasant ride overall. I think it's funny that now that gas is always on the rise people act like it's not so crazy to ride your bike. The idea that a young adult would ride her bike for the sheer joy and convenience would still seem crazy to most... I think.

Anyway, eggplant parmesan, Moosewood Cookbook Page 132 style: Yummy.

Don't be fooled by the gross Olive Garden version. This was a million times better than what you'd get in most restaurants. Try it!

Someone typed out the recipe here if you don't already have this cook book.

Fall is now official!

...and that means acorn squash.

Acorn squash is the most delicious squash on earth. You can stuff it with anything and it will taste wonderfully. Usually we make a filling of bread crumbs, cheddar, celery, onions, sunflower seeds, and some stuff that I'm forgetting at the moment. This time, I tried a variation of apples, brown rice, sauteed onions, garlic, cinnamon, allspice, honey, and almonds. Yum. I like our classic version better but this is still very savory and satisfying.

Cut the squash in half, place it upside down on a greased baking sheet, and cook for 30 minutes at 350. Take it out, fill the squash, bake again for 20-30 minutes.

And for dessert, it doesn't get more autumnal than pumpkin pie!

Magazines Motivate Me

I have been feeling a little ornery and off-kilter the last few days.

How will I deal with this? Magazines.

1.) I subscribed to Vegetarian Times because I WANT IT and it will hopefully make me happy repeatedly and provided recipes for good food that will make me happy.

2.) Look at Runner's World Online. Be inspired to get my but in gear. I need endorphins to make me happy. The left-over birthday pizza I just ate will not accomplish the same feat.

Today's run of choice: Bike ride the mile from home to Hermann Park and run at least the 2.5 mile loop. Now I feel accountable and will actually follow through...

Disasters and Successes

I am in love with this cookbook. That is decided.

However, I have had one disappointment with it so far. After an exhausting day at work on Thursday, I was excited to try another new recipe. I waited in Houston traffic to get to the grocery store to get fresh spinach, stayed on my feet when I got home so I could clean the kitchen, diced and spiced, and made Spinach Rice Casserole (Pg 135). When I took the first bite, I wasn't a big fan. By the fourth bite, I no longer wanted dinner. When Sam packed the left-overs in my lunch on Friday, I ended up eating a lunch of brownies and apple slices instead.

Even though I disliked that recipe, I ADORED another. There's this darling cafe down the street where you can get heavenly white chocolate bread pudding for $7. I've often wondered if I could pull off the same divinity at home. Yesterday, I did! The oatmeal raisin bread that I didn't eat fast enough transformed into one of the easiest and tastiest desserts that I have made to date. And please, realize that when I say easy, I mean it. All I had to do was cut up the bread, put it in a pan, mix together eggs milk and some spices, and pour that stuff over the bread. I think it took 5 minutes total. Glorious. Plus, all the ingredients together for an entire pan probably cost me about $2. Good savings and great food.


WHITE CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

3 to 4 packed cups cubed bread (OK if stale or frozen)
3 eggs
3 cups skim milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup white chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350. Have ready a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Spread the bread in the pan. Sprinkle white chocolate in along with the bread.
Beat together remaining ingredients. Pour the custard over the bread.
Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon.
Bake about 35 minutes.
Eat warm with vanilla ice cream and/or strawberry slices.

MOOSEWOOD!

I just got the Moosewood Cookbook.

It is amazing. Everyone should have it.

Our first recipe made was asparagus-mushroom sauce (Pg 770) over whole wheat spaghetti. Delicious. Try it.

Why didn't anyone tell me about risotto!?!

I had my first taste of risotto at a friend's for a dinner party and I was amazed. This dish is SO good! Strong flavor, creamy, filling... good. In a word- good.


So what I'm confused about is: why don't I hear more people lauding the glory of risotto. It's not that hard to make. If you and a dining partner (kid, significant other, random person you want to feed) prepare the dish together, you'll have an enjoyable evening and your hands won't be too full.

I have also never cooked anything using heavy cream, so I can't be sure that the reason I'm in love with this dish isn't because I've never experienced the joy of such a heavy ingredient.

So, here it is. I made this today and am still basking in the stupor of creamy goodness.

ARTICHOKE RISOTTO
(adapted from a recipe from The Food Network)

• 1 TBS olive oil
• 2 TBS unsalted butter
• 3/4 c. chopped onion
• 1/4 c. red bell pepper
• about 2 TBS of garlic, chopped or pressed
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 5 c. vegetable stock
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 tsp. salt
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 c. chopped green onions
• 1 can of artichoke hearts, rinsed and quartered
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1/4 c. Parmesan
• some parsley to garnish

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add butter and then onions, bell pepper, and garlic; cook until vegetables are wilted.

Add rice and saute 1-2 min. stirring constantly, until grains begin to look opaque. Add wine and cook until evaporated, stirring constantly. Add 3/4 c. stock, the lemon juice, and some salt and pepper. Keep stirring. Continue to stir constantly, adding 3/4c. more of stock every time it looks like the rice has absorbed most of the liquid in the pot.

After rice has cooked for 10 min, add green onions and artichoke hearts. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add heavy cream and Parmesan. Stir well. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 min. before serving. Garnish with parsley.

Fresh green beans made a great side dish.

This meal was incredibly rich. I looked in some of my cookbooks and found a lot of other recipes for risotto that do not call for any cream; I'll have to experiment with those another time. Since we were stuffed (but never willing to go without dessert), I cut up some fruit with a little bit of vanilla yogurt. Scrumptious.

Side note- We're finally going back to school post hurricane so I will have less of this crazy abundant free time to spend baking, cooking, and blogging.