Strawberry Short(cup)cakes

Viv's sugarfree birthday cupcakes as detailed here. Next time I'm going to replace half of the oil with applesauce to lighten them up a bit. The oil makes them moist, but kind of dense. Fluffier would be better. And for the adults, I added a mascapone frosting. It did contain sugar, so V didn't have any of that (plus she's not doing dairy yet). But she was happy with her cake topped with strawberries (her current favorite food) and we were rewarded with the classic one-year-old fist in the cake, mouth stuffing takeown.

The recipe for the frosting a: made twice as much as I needed for 28 cupcakes, so next time cut it in half, and b. insisted it be made just prior to serving, but the extra leftover stored well in the fridge and tasted just as good the next day, so this too can be made in advance next time.

Martha Stewart's Mascarpone Frosting

1 pound mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, I lowballed this and use slightly less
1-1/4 cups heavy cream, I used half and half instead

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat themascarpone, cream and confectioners' sugar until medium-soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes on high speed setting. Be careful not to overbeat. Use immediately.

Viv's Birthday Lunch

For my girl's first bash, I did a simple lunch for the family. Viv had hummus, prunes, cucumber and noodles, but the rest of us had chickpea bruschetta, a green salad and two kinds of lasagna. I made almost everything the day before and just popped the lasagnas in the oven once everyone arrived. It was the lowest-stress cooking for 12 people I've done yet. Recipes follow, plus notes on what I'd tweak for next time.

Roasted Chickpea Bruschetta

2 cans chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) drained
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
3/4 cup roughly chopped olives (i used a mix of some cheap regular old black olives plus some capers)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt
pepper

Spread the chickpeas and whole cloves of garlic on a baking sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix it all up. Roast in an oven preheated at 450 for 20 minutes or so, or until golden brown. Chop garlic. In a large bowl, mix with chopped parsley, olives, garlic, and balsamic. Serve on toasted slices of baguette.

*I don't think I'll make this version of chickpea bruschetta again. It was too dry and the roasting made the chickpeas into had little nuggets that didn't have a prayer of staying on the bread. Needed more tang and acidity. Maybe next time I''ll ad some tomatoes and use more pungent olives.

***

My Winging-It Red Lasagna

1 jar of TJ's tomato and basil marinara sauce (this is a good sauce without sugar or vinegar)
8 lasagna noodles
1 lb. ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cups fresh, baby spinach leaves
1 1/2 c freshly grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, if baking right away. Boil lasagna noodles until done. Drain and toss with a little bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking together. In a separate bowl beat egg and add ricotta cheese. Mash together and stir until well combined. Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with a layer of sauce. Then add noodles (4). Top noodles with 1 cup of spinch leaves. Add ricotta mixture, dotting it over the spinach layer and gently smoothing it out to create an even layer. Add another layer of noodles (4). Add the rest of sauce and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 15 more minutes until done. If assembling anf refrigerating, overall bake time will increase by about 15 minutes.

**
This next one ended up being quite laborious, but worth it. I had never mae a bechamel sauce before, so now I feel like I've earned some major cred as a home cook for having made one. Thanks Mario Batali for the web guidance. And thanks Jeff for whisking constantly the final 10 minutes after my arm gave out. This lasagna is also notable for perking up a not-so-special Viognier I ha bought for cooking and ended up drinking with the leftovers. I lightened up the recipe I followed, but it still produced a rich, creamy lasagna.

Artichoke Lasagna

12 lasagna noodles
2 jars of TJ's artichokes, quartered
1/2 c pine nuts
1/2 large white onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c dry white wine
salt and white pepper to taste
3 t fresh minced thyme
1 c freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
3 T butter
3 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, if baking right away. Boil lasagna noodles until done. Drain and toss with a little bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking together. In a large pan over medium heat, heat butter and olive oil. Add onion and garlic. Stir and cook until onion is translucent. Add artichokes and thyme and saute 5 minutes more. Add wine and salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make the bechamel sauce.
--
Bechamel sauce

5 T butter
4 T flour
4 c milk, I used 2%
2 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.

--

To assemble lasagna, butter a 9 x 13 baking pan. Line the bottom with a layer of noodles. Follow it with béchamel sauce, artichokes, and some grated cheese, and repeat the order, until all is used up, divvying things out so the last layer is béchamel, cheese, and artichokes. (Made two complete layers, plus an additional top layer of noodes, béchamel and cheese. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 15 more minutes until done. If assembling anf refrigerating, overall bake time will increase by about 15 minutes.

M. Chapoutier 2007 Belleruche Cotes-du-Rhone

A Grenache Noir and Syrah blend. I'm the biggest straight-up Syrah fan, but this blend offered a full-yet-subdued jammy flavor with a good body. Paired nicely with a spinach salad with goat cheese, strawberries and balsamic vinaegrette.

Shittake and Beansprout Noodles

Improvising something Japanese-ish with pantry items from way back (kombu and bonito flakes) and whatever was on hand. Additionally, most of the things for this dish are available at the big chain corporate grocery store right around the corner from my house, which I hate to shop at, and seldom do, but on this particular day convenience won out.

Dashi:
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, cut up into smaller bits
1 large spring onion, chopped
8 cups of water
2 sheets of dried kombu, rinsed
1 1/2 packages (about 5 T) dried bonito, tied up in a little steeping bag

Noodles:
1 package Nasoya Japanese style noodles
4 T black sesame seeds
4 hard boiled eggs
1 package of bean sprouts
4 T spring onion, chopped
1 package of shittake mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 c baby spinach
3 T sunflower oil
1 T sesame oil

To make the dashi, bring water to a boil and add kombu, ginger, and onion. Cover. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add bonito and let simmer for 10 more minutes.

Boil noodles. They only take 3-5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a pan over medium-high heat, heat sesame and sunflower oils. Add garlic and onion and saute until translucent. Add mushrooms and beansprouts and saute for 10 minutes, or until mushrooms are cooked through and tender. Stir in spinach and cook 2-3 minutes more, until spinach is wilted but still bright green.

Serve noodles in a bowl topped with warm mushroom mixture, slices of hard boiled egg, sprinkling of black sesame seed and a ladle or two full of dashi. Tamari may be added to taste.

This made extra dashi which ought to freeze well and be useful to have on hand for future okayus or noodley brothies.

Viv's sugarfee birthday cupcakes

Sugarfree experiment #2 yielded a winner. I was a little worried because the batter looked kind of rubbery, but the texture of the cupcakes once they were baked was moist and cakey. Not sure what I'm going to frost them with yet, or if I'll frost them. Maybe I'll just top hers with a strawberry.

1 cup unbleached white flour, less 1 tablespoon
1/4 tablespoon arrowroot
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 c sunflower oil
1/2 c brown rice syrup
1/8 c milk
2 eggs
½ tsp organic vanilla extract

Preheat the over to 325 degrees. Measure the 1 cup flour, then remove 1/4 tablespoon of flour and replace it with the 1/4 tablespoon arrowroot. Mix flour, salt, arrowroot, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine oil, milk, vanilla, rice syrup, and eggs. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. Pour batter into silicone cupcakes cups (don't require greasing). Bake for 28 minutes. Makes 9 cupcakes.

Pumpkin Muffins

Pregnancy and then breastfeeding has really cranked up my sweet tooth for the past 2 years, but now that Viv is wanting to eat everything off of my plate I've decided to bake without sugar so she doesn't get conditioned to have a big sweet tooth from an early age.
Since I've found a local supply of date syrup I'm experimenting with this and rice syrup and agave nectar as sugar replacements.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sunflower oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c date syrup
1/4 c brown rice syrup
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, date and rice syrups, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly.

3 Pour into muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes for small, silicone cups; 30 minutes for large muffins in muffin tin pan.

Makes 8 large muffins or a dozen small.

Verdict: Cut the allspice next time because the date syrup already lends it that smoky flavor. Try the agave in place of the rice syrup next time for more sweetness? They aren't decadently sweet, but moist and spicy and perfectly tasty.

UPDATE 10.2.09: I used 1 full cup of date syrup and no rice syrup; canned sweet potato instead of pumpkin; and omitted the allspice altogether. Much more dense and rich tasting as a result. J even thought they were chocolate muffins.

Carrot and Fava Bean Tagine

I'm certain I've prepared a meal or two since January. I'm shocked to find no posts here since then! Most likely they have been replays of old standards, as time to experiment in the kitchen continues to be minimal with the soon-to-be-one-year-old Vivi Bea in full-throttle toddle. I'm also now cooking with shortcuts: i.e. Trader Joe's presteamed beans, or precut broccoli florets; and cooking with the grocery store restrictions of our new, suburban locale. Future posts may feature rare foodie finds in this neck of the woods. All I can say is, we're cooking a lot at home because the restaurants down here leave much to be desired. And now for that tagine...

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, sliced
1½ tablespoons minced fresh ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
¾ pound carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch coins
1 1 oz. package of Trader Joe's presteamed fava beans
1 cup No-Chicken broth
⅓ cup capers
1/3 c raisins

1. Heat a wide-bottom pan over medium heat. Add oil, then onions and ginger. Cook until onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add cardamom, cinnamon, and cayenne. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds.

2. Add carrots, beans, and broth. Cover and simmer until carrots are almost tender, about 8 minutes. Add capers and raisins. Cover and simmer until carrots are fully tender, 8-10 minutes. If tagine is a bit dry, stir in a few extra tablespoons broth. Add salt to taste.

Some Recent Wines

2006 Pares Balta Penedes Calcari
Jeff loves the Helvetica label, but I recall it was a pretty snappy sweet Spanish white

2007 Rayun Syrah, Rapel, Chile
I'm not the biggest Srah fan, but this one was earthy and understated

2007 Domaine de la Madone Beaujolais
A little sassier than my absolute favorite Gamay (Roches Blanche), but still a good sipper

2006 Brooks Reisling, Willamette Valley, OR
Crisp, slightly sweet, it played nicely with a Crab Rangoon

Potato Korma Curry

I started out with best intentions, but as the preparations for the two curries started to become time-consuming, and my evenings are a narrow window of feeding 2 adults, an 8-month-old, giving baby a bath and then getting her down for the night, I backed out of a delightful andhra aloo recipe I found online once my potatoes were boiled and improvized a quick solution with a spice packet I found in the back of my cupboard.

3 large potatoes, unpeeled, whole
1/2 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/3 large white onion, chopped
1/4 c water
1 packet of Sukhi's Korma Curry paste

Boil potatoes until they are done when poked in the center, about 30 minutes. Cool, peel and cut into cubes. Heat curry paste and water in a large pan on medium heat. Add onion and saute for a few minutes. Add potato and tomatoes (with some of their juice from the can). Heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

*Here's what's in the Korma curry paste: onions, canola oil, ginger, poppy seeds, vinegar, cashews, garlic, granulated onion, salt, coriander, tumeric, chickpea flour, lentil flour, sugar, cardamom, cayenne, black pepper, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, citric acid, spices, lemon grass, shallots, kafir leaves, lemon oil.

It was tangy and had some heat! Unlike any curry I've made from scratch at home. Maybe because I don't usually have all of the ingredients (like kafir leaves or lemon grass on hand).

Golden Dal

from the yummy food blog Mental Masala. there squash and kale are added, but I was doing a separate potato & tomato korma curry so I just wanted the dal. it's hard to find Indian recipes for dal that don't assume you have a pressure cooker!

1 cup toor dal
6 cups water
1 T. vegetable oil or ghee
3/4 t. turmeric
1 dried bay leaf
1 hot green chili
1 T. grated ginger

1 t. brown mustard seeds
2 t. cumin seeds
1 t. fenugreek seeds
2 dry red chilies
1 T. sugar or jaggery

Cooking the dal
Pick through the dal for stones, sticks and other unacceptable items. Rinse the dal thoroughly, drain, and put into a large pot. Add the 6 cups of water, 1 T. oil, bay leaf, green chili, ginger, and turmeric to the pot containing the dal. Bring to a boil (be careful that it doesn't boil over), then reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot and cook until the dal are tender (30-40 minutes). Add 1 t. salt or more to taste. Reduce heat to very low.

Heat some vegetable oil or ghee in a small skillet over medium heat. Have a pot lid handy in case the mustard seeds start to scatter and splatter. When it is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek, and dried chili, cook for about 30 seconds, then add the sugar. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, or until the sugar carmelizes. Pour the spiced oil over the dal and stir. Add the cooked squash and stir.

Gingersnaps

From Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book -1989

2 1/4 C Flour
1 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C sunflower oil
1/4 C molasses
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 C granulated sugar for tops of cookies before baking

Combine half the flour and all the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Gradually add in the rest of the flour. Roll in 1 inch balls and dip in sugar. Bake at 375 until tops are crackled.

Note: Dough is dry and kind of hard to work with, but cookies turn out delicious.

French Simmered Pumpkin and Lentils

2 T olive oil
1 large shallot, diced
1 14 0z. can diced tomatoes
1 c green lentils, rinsed
1 1/2 T dried tarragon
1 t dried rosemary
1 T dried thyme
1 t dried garlic
1 t dried basil
1 t white pepper
1 2-lb. pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cubed
1/4 c tomato puree or sauce
2 1/2 c water

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot and saute 10 minutes, or until onion is translucent and golden. Add tomatoes, lentils, and spices, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Stir in pumpkin cubes, tomato puree or sauce, and 2 1/2 c water. Season with salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 40 minutes, or until pumpkin and lentils are tender, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 8

Good served with baked potatoes. This is an improvization based on the Moroccan Pumpkin and Lentils recipe I tried a while back. J says he likes it even more this way with the French spices. I'd have used fresh spices if I had them, and some white wine in place of water. Next time...

2007 Clos Roche Blanche Gamay T ouraine

This is the wine we've been looking for. The wine of our dreams. Light, mineraly, bashful even. Santa, please bring me a case for Xmas!

Pear Pie

Ingredients
1 frozen pie crust, thawed (Whole Foods brand)
5 cups coarsely chopped peeled pears (about 5 medium, or 6 small)
¼ cup turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 t Earth Balance buttery spread

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Combine pear and the next 6 ingredients and toss well. Pour pear mixture into pie crust. Dot top of pie with Earth Balance and bake for 20 minutes on the lowest oven rack. Pie is done when fruit is tender and crust is golden brown.

Blueberry Pie

I made this in order to use up the 3/4 bag of organic Trader Joe's blueberries I had in the freezer, but I should double this amount next time because it didn't fill up the pie shell.

1 Whole Foods whole wheat frozen pie crust, thawed
5 c frozen blueberries, thawed under running warm water and drained
2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/4 t ground cinnamon
2 T Earth Balance vegan butter substitute, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly combine all ingredients except for fake butter in a mixing bowl. Pour mixture into pie shell. Dot the top with butter pieces. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Almond Bread

Only slightly sweet, a little dry... kind of like a lighter version of a scone. Will be nice for breakfast. Could be muffins but I made 2 small loaves instead.

1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. sunflower oil
1 c. soymilk
2 c. flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
3/4 c. almonds, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat egg, salt and sugar until light and fluffy. Add oil in a stream and continue beating. Beat in milk and almond extract. Add flour and baking powder to batter, stirring several times and add to batter, stirring until just mixed. Add nuts. Bake in greased loaf pans for 25-30 minutes.

Pasta with Butternut Squash and Sage

1 medium butternut squash
1 small sweet onion, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oi
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup fresh sage leaves
1 pound farfalle pasta
3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Heat the oven to 375°. Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the strings and seeds the middle cavity. Flip the squash halves upside down and peel them. Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in a roasting pan, covered, for about 40 minutes or until the squash is soft.

Heat salted pasta water to boiling and cook the farfalle until al dente. Drain and set aside. As the squash finishes roasting, heat about two tablespoons of olive oil in a large high-sided sauté pan. The oil is ready when it pops and sputters. Saute onion and garlic until translucent. Drop the sage leaves and fry for about a minute, or until they begin to just shrivel up.

Remove with a slotted spoon and salt lightly. Crush with the back of a spoon.

Add pasta to the pan, along with the roasted squash mixture. Crumble in the sage. Cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes or until the pasta is heated through and getting crispy on some of the edges. Add the pine nuts and cook for another minute.

Serves 4

*I forgot the pine nuts when I made this and it was still fabuous. Original recipe called for roating sqaush with onion, sage and garlic on a baking sheet in the oven but this gassed us all and we had to aerate the house and eat around browned up the garlic and the sage into toasty bits. So I simplified the existing recipe to prevent this happening the enxt time I make this.

Creamy Curried Cauliflower Soup

I took the curried cauliflower recipe from this old post and buzzed it through the blender with about 3 cups of vegetable broth and 1 cup of goat's milk. It made a thick, hearty soup that is nicely spiced.

Pumpkin Pie

This uses coconut milk so it's dairy-free. I used an extra 1/4 to 1/3 c of pumpkin that I had leftover, so it's more spicy and pumpkin-y than it is sweet and creamy rich. But in a good way.

1 frozen pie shell (I like Whole Food's whole wheat brand), thawed
3 large eggs, stirred
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
16 ounces canned pumpkin
1 cup coconut milk

Mix the filling ingredients together. Pour the mixture into the thawed frozen pie shell. Bake for 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees.

*I went a little heavy on the spices and a little light on the sugar, both of which I would play with next time I'm making this. I might also bump up the coconut milk to 1 1/2 cups so it's a little creamier. J said the pie would be perfect as is with some sweet whipped cream on top. At least it didn't feel super decadent when I finished off the last huge slice at 2 a.m. this morning!

Date Syrup

What I rhapsodized over in a recent post I have found online. The gods be praised.

Check out this bit o' history:

"The date palm has flourished in Israel since the Neolithic period near the site of Jericho. It was grown for its leaves (lulav for Sukkot) and general thatching, wood, it was a symbol of immortality or fertility; it had sweet fruit fresh or could be dried, made into date honey or syrup, date liqueur, even the palm leaves could be woven for many items, fibers for ropes and such, woven baskets and brooms, sandals and fans. Apiculture or bee-hive raising was never a major industry of the Jews, and thus it had to be date honey.

Agam Hagalil’s Silan Date Honey is not actually a honey, rather a date syrup that can substituted in its place, this sweet elixir from Israel could put a lot of bees out of business! Use it as a flavorful sweetener in tea or in baking."