Saturday, February 27, 2010

All Natural Nutella

There really isn't too much to say about this except that you should be making it right now. Seriously, go get your food processor. I'll wait.


Ready? Good. This is so easy and since the first ingredient is hazelnuts it's actually pretty healthy. I can't say the same about store-bought Nutella in which the first ingredient is sugar. True, my homemade version is definitely not as smooth as the store-bought but I only have a very tiny food processor (mini-chop). If you use a full size 11 cup or larger and let it run for quite a while you'll get a smoother consistency than I did. In reality, that has more to do with my impatience than the size of my food processor - I have to hold the 'grind' button down the entire time instead of turning it on and walking away. After 5 minutes I lost my drive to hold that little button. At any rate, I'll stop rambling because you should be eating this instead of reading about it.


If you're motivated you could make a fresh baguette to go along with it. It's like a little piece of Paris in every bite. Now if only I could remember anything from all those years (11!) of studying french. Oh, quel dommage.  


All Natural Nutella
I used olive oil to avoid buying anything but, on the off chance you own some hazelnut oil, it would be fantastic. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

1 cup hazelnuts
Pinch of salt
5-6 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably organic and fair trade)
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2-3 tsp olive oil 


In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts to a smooth butter, scraping the sides as needed
Add the cocoa, honey, vanilla, oil and salt. Process until well blended
Spread on a slice of bread (or everything).

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Quinoa Pudding

I finally got my snow day today. I was so excited that I couldn't even fall back asleep so at 6am I was out of bed watching the soft flakes fall. It was only flurrying lightly but now it's coming down quite hard. They say we're supposed to get up to two feet, which is just fine with me.

The streets are quiet, except for the low rumble of the occasional snowplow or the shuffling of boots walking down the sidewalk. My house is quiet too, just my book and the occasional creaking of the floor boards settling to keep me company. Peaceful as it was, by 7:30 all I could think of was breakfast.

I wanted something warm and creamy to tuck in to and snow days always call for something a little bit special. Immediately I thought of my Mom's rice pudding. I made it a lot last [school] year but I've pretty much given up white rice entirely now, and haven't made it since. Actually I hadn't even so much as thought about it until recently when the recipes started showing up all over blog world. Everyone has their own little twist to put on the classic favorite, but one idea in particular caught my attention.

Quinoa instead of rice. I knew I would be trying this soon and then I promptly forgot about it. I've gotten so caught up in my breakfast routine that it took me close to a month to finally get to it. Actually, I've become quite picky and boring about breakfast. I eat greek yogurt or steel cut oats every single morning and I get pretty [unnecessarily] fussy if I'm forced to have something else. Finally I reasoned with myself and decided today was the day. Quinoa has a pretty similar texture to steel cut oats anyway.

In the end, it was good but it's not rice pudding. It doesn't get nearly as creamy without all that refined white rice starch and; In all honestly, it just tasted like oats with milk and sugar...and double the carb content. It left me thinking what's the point? I could solve some of that issue by adding a little cream, but that's a bit excessive for me, at least for breakfast. Next time I think I'll just go back to the traditional white rice. Either way the recipe is the same just use whichever grain your prefer.


Quinoa Pudding
I used 1% milk but feel free to switch it for whatever fat % you prefer. Fat-free is okay with white rice but I don't recommend it for the quinoa. You could also replace 1 cup of milk with light or heavy cream for a richer pudding. I like my pudding a little looser but If you like a drier result use 1 less cup liquid.
Serves 8 to 10.

1 cup quinoa or white rice
4 cups low-fat milk
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup dried unsweetened cherries (or cranberries, blueberries, raisins, currents etc.)

In a small pot heat milk, sugar and vanilla until almost boiling.
Add quinoa or rice and bring down to a simmer.
Let cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Don't worry if a bit of a skin forms just stir it back in.
Add dried fruit and cook 10 minutes more.
The pudding should be thick and the grain should be cooked through.
Remove from heat and eat immediately.
Surprisingly, this actually freezes fairly well.  The Consistency will be a little thinner than before you froze it but certainly not bad. Especially if you are just one person and have trouble finishing things like me.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

For what it's worth

Lately, I find that if I read in the morning, I am more relaxed. My thoughts are less scattered, and I am much more calm throughout the day. Lately, I have started turning off my laptop at night, so that it's not the first thing I reach for in the morning. Lately, I have started reading more frequently the way I used to...with the TV off. Lately, I find the entire rest of my day is spent on the computer. 


I really mean the entire day. 


I'm going to go blind and crazy from staring at this bright little screen. I know [Mom, Dad], welcome to the real world, no sympathy and so on. At any rate, all I'm saying is I'm going to try to control myself and post every other day instead of nearly every day like I have been. 

In the mean time I will tell you a little more about my morning. Lately, I find satisfaction in the simplicity of making bread. It's still intimidating but with each passing day my apprehension to yeast lessens that much more. There is just something so blissfully comforting about relaxing with a hot cup of coffee while the day's grain bakes in preparation for lunch.



Now here's where my thoughts spin off, so bare with me a moment. I decided quite some time ago, that there is no reason to make my own yogurt. It's a lot of work and I'm very happy with the locally made Siggi's Icelandic-Style Skyr. But once again, lately, I find satisfaction in making the simple things. 


I started thinking how nice it would be to wake up to fresh, homemade greek or icelandic style yogurt. Lemon flavored perhaps? I considered the possibilities for a while but in all honesty, it was only a matter of time until I gathered the courage to get started.


This morning, riding on the coat tails of my recent success with le pain du jourI heated and incubated,
freshest organic skim milk I could find. It's currently cooling in the fridge to thicken. Tomorrow I will strain it thus completing my first batch of homemade yogurt. I know not many of you are going to run off to the kitchen and make your own but for what it's worth, I'll give you the recipe anyway.


Homemade Yogurt
If you choose to use skim, 1% or 2% milk I suggest adding the dry milk to help it thicken. If you choose whole milk, then leave it out. Makes 1 quart greek or a half gallon regular
A quick note about equipment: Most instructions I found used a heating pad to keep the yogurt warm during incubation. I can't stand one-use gadgets and refuse to buy one. However, short of moving to a tropical climate, the only substitute I have found is a crock-pot. This worked out alright for me since Max happens to have one, but I am determined to find an alternative for when I move out and no longer have that option. A candy thermometer is absolutely necessary for this since you must bring the milk up to 175* but not let it boil. They are inexpensive and easy to find (I bought mine for $4 in the supermarket).

1/2 Gallon organic milk (any fat percentage, I used skim)
2/3 cup organic dry milk (see headnote)
2-3 Tablespoons plain yogurt or greek yogurt preferably organic* (I used Chobani)
*Make sure the yogurt you choose has live active cultures 

Combine milk and dry milk in a double boiler or large metal bowl with a water jacket. I used the bowl for my kitchen aid and a large frying pan filled with water. Gradually heat to 175* stirring now and then.

In the mean time, plug in a large crock-pot and turn to the "low" setting.

When the milk reaches the proper temperature, fill your sink about a 1/4 of the way with cold water. Remove the bowl from the stove and place it in the sink to cool. Alternatively you could just place it on the counter but this is much quicker. Turn crock-pot down to the "warm"setting and wait for the milk to cool to 110*. 
Mix a little of the milk (about 1/2 cup is fine) in a bowl with the 2-3 tablespoons store bought yogurt. This things it and ensures that it will mix thoroughly with the rest of the milk. Stir it into the bowl of milk and poor the whole thing into the crock-pot. Cover and leave on "warm" for 7 hours.

After 7 hours, yogurt should have thickened and separated. The liquid on the top is whey and it means the bacteria did their job which is to eat the sugars or lactose in the milk. This causes lactic acid to form which is what gives yogurt it's tangy, tart taste.
Stir yogurt well to distribute curds into the whey and pour into containers.
Refrigerate overnight to thicken further.
The next morning stir well and enjoy.

To make greek yogurt: place a colander in a large bowl. Line the colander with a few layers cheesecloth and pour yogurt into the cloth. Make sure the bottom of the colander is at least 2 inches off the bottom of the bowl. You want the liquid to be able to drain without the yogurt sitting in it. Cover with a clean dishtowel and put the whole thing in the fridge for at least 3 hours or until it reaches desired thickness. Save the whey for another use, it will keep for a few weeks in the fridge.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Some Pictures

Snowshoeing on the Finger Lakes Trail. Danby, New York.








I also ate a raw acorn today. It's not something I recommend.

Friday, February 19, 2010

A Lighter Lemon Curd



Did you know it was possible to get writer's block even when the only thing you write is a food blog?


Well it is.
I've been trying to write this post since tuesday and I just can't do it. Usually when I get stuck I put down my laptop, walk away and try again later, but this time I can't get past the first line...
'If I had to pick a favorite "flavor" it would always be lemon. Always.'
Each day this week I've returned to this post, written a few lines, promptly decided I didn't like what I had written, deleted it, and closed my laptop again until the next day. Well, no more.
It's not fair to keep such a delicious recipe from all of you just because I've been getting my words a bit tangled. Without further fuss here is lighter, healthier recipe for lemon curd. Do yourself a favor and make this tangy, silky, spread that has clearly left me speechless.




A Lighter Lemon Curd
Makes about 1 cup.

3/4 cup lemon juice, strained

3 tsp of lemon zest

5 tablespoons honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten 

In a small saucepan, mix together the lemon juice, zest and honey. 
Place over low heat and stir till nearly boiling. 
Gently, pour the lemon syrup into the beaten eggs, a little at a time, whisking constantly for about a minute.
Return the mixture to the pan over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk until it thickens. 
Remove from heat and pass through a strainer to remove zest bits of egg that may have cooked and turned lumpy. I don't mind the zest or lumps so I skip this step unless I'm using the curd as part of another recipe or if I plan on serving it to other people. I kind of like the texture so If it's just for me I leave it the way it is.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

French Baguette

I've always been a morning person and I've never been one to sit still and "relax", but when did I become someone who bakes fresh baguettes before my morning class? For that matter, when did I start enjoying writing?
If you had told me a year ago that I would be writing voluntarily on a daily basis I wouldn't have believed you. In fact, I think I would have laughed at the sheer unlikeliness of such an idea. But here I am, keeping my laptop next to my bed incase I come up with some witty prose at one a.m. that I simply  must write down if I am going get to sleep. Here I am baking baguettes at 7:30am after my morning run, before I've even had breakfast or pushed the plunger down on my french press. Why? Well I had an unfathomable craving for some crusty baguette with a slice of prosciutto or cheese inside it for lunch. Or a piece of dark chocolate nestled in there for a french style afternoon snack. Maybe if I lived in Paris I would just walk to the corner and pick one up, freshly baked by someone else too early in the morning. But I don't live in Paris and surely my corner store carries nothing but wonder bread, so here I am covered in flour, kneading, folding and waiting while it rises all before most college students wake up. Am I crazy? Maybe. Or maybe it just gives me a way to break up the monotony of this dreary Binghamton winter and class after class. Oh, who am I kidding? I just really like food.

Oh and I figured I'd knock off some of my lemon supply while I was at it. Tally for the morning? One baguette freshly baked, three in waiting for the weekend, and one batch of lemon coconut cookies. 
Click here for the baguette recipe.
Click here for the cookie recipe.
Note: In the cookies, I used honey in place of agave and added the juice of one lemon.

French Onion Soup



In the past I may not have expressed my love for Cooks' Illustrated as much as I should have. 
Those six yearly issues might as well be my bible. I love that they don't just publish a recipe. They test it out over and over using different variables, ingredients and techniques. They walk you through their results and they explain why they did or did not like each variation. Basically, any recipe you find in those glossy pages is pretty much guaranteed to work.

Let's back track to Christmas break for a second. I'm probably the only college student that travels with cooking utensils including, but not limited to, french press, coffee, several cookbooks, candy thermometer, cookie press and other things I obviously need for weeks away from home. (Seriously??). At any rate while I was going through the cabinets and packing up my stuff to go home I noticed 4 little blue crocks for french onion soup. My dad declared he had no idea where they came from and I could have them. I jumped at the thought of making my own french onion soup and eagerly tucked them between layers of clothing in my suitcase.

Flash forward again to my house in Binghamton. I now have these dumb little unnecessary single-use bowls taking up precious cabinet space in my tiny kitchen. The least I could do was use them at least once so I turned to my trusty Soups & Stews issue of Cooks' Illustrated. I read through the article and following recipe, wrote my shopping list, invited some guests, and broke out the dutch oven.


One supermarket trip, a quick run (literally) back for some forgotten thyme, and six hours later and we were enjoying delicious hot crocks of melted, cheesy, onions.

I'm not going to pretend this is quick and easy. It's not. It's a lot of time and work. Yes, I am aware that chicken soup takes almost as long but I really love chicken soup. I think my adversity to making this again has more to do with my indifference to actually consuming it than the effort it takes to make it.
Don't get me wrong, the soup came out fantastic and I'm happy I made it. I just don't often crave french onion soup, so it's not worth all the work. Plus those dumb little crocks really don't fit with my dislike for single-use kitchen gadgets. In fact, I think I'm going to give them back when I move in May. Thanks anyway Dad - and don't worry I know french onion is your favorite. I'll make you some when I dump these things back in your kitchen.

French Onion Soup
As written and published by Cook's Illustrated January 1, 2008. Serves 6.
Sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, will make this recipe overly sweet. Be patient when caramelizing the onions in step 2; the entire process takes 45 to 60 minutes. Use broiler-safe crocks and keep the rim of the bowls 4 to 5 inches from the heating element to obtain a proper gratinée of melted, bubbly cheese. If using ordinary soup bowls, sprinkle the toasted bread slices with Gruyère and return them to the broiler until the cheese melts, then float them on top of the soup. We prefer Swanson Certified Organic Free Range Chicken Broth and Pacific Beef Broth. For the best flavor, make the soup a day or 2 in advance. Alternatively, the onions can be prepared through step 1, cooled in the pot, and refrigerated for up to 3 days before proceeding with the recipe.


3 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 3 pieces
6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Table salt
2 cups water , plus extra for deglazing
1/2 cup dry sherry
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups beef broth
6 sprigs fresh thyme , tied with kitchen twine
1 bay leaf
Ground black pepper
1 small baguette , cut into 1/2-inch slices
8 ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)

1. For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

2. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.) Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

4. For the croutons: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Homemade Limoncello and Eighteen Bald Lemons

Flashback to September of 2007. Unpasteurized apple cider aplenty at the farmer's market and me with too much time on my hands. The idea dawned on me to make my own hard apple cider. Why on earth did I want to make 5 gallons of hard cider? I don't drink very often and I don't particularly like carbonated alcohol (beer etc). None the less, I set to work in the cold dark basement of my friends' house and 2 months later I was rewarded with just over 50 bottles of nothing-special hard cider. The next time I want a bottle of hard cider I'm sticking to Woodchuck. Lesson learned - or so I thought.

I thought I was done with my little foray into making alcohol but then pictures and stories of homemade limoncello began popping up all over my google reader. The seed was planted and I began some casual research into the idea. I read about it, thought about it, mulled over some prices, and looked into the availability of Everclear in NYS (none). It turns out it would be cheaper and more readily available to just buy a bottle of limoncello at the liquor store - but what fun is that? It was too late, I decided to make my own.

Since you can't buy Everclear in New York I bought a bottle of Devil Springs Vodka. It's the highest proof (160) legal in the state and I can understand why. Just smelling it burned my nose a bit.


I spent the better part of an hour peeling lemons and Max helped me scrape the pith (white part) off of the skins. It was a slightly time consuming process but the pith absolutely must come off or your final product will be bitter and unpleasant.


All those lovely bright peals went into a liter and a half mason jar with 750ml of grain alcohol where they will remain sealed for the next 8 weeks or until the peels are no longer yellow. At that point I'll mix in some simple syrup and let it sit for another week. After that is through a strainer and into the freezer, ready to be enjoyed in the warm spring air.

Now what to do with eighteen bald lemons.
Get your juicers ready, I see a plethora of lemon recipes in the near future.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Some kind of positive connotation

I've always been a little (okay, a lot) grossed out by mayo. For starters I grew up thinking I didn't like the taste of it, because we only had miracle whip in my house. Turns out it was not mayo but miracle whip that I didn't like. Still I only liked very small amounts of it in select things - chicken salad, egg salad, or on a sandwich with mustard. Shortly after I discovered my taste for mayo I learned what was in it and it just started grossing me out again. All that oil emulsified with an egg yolk, it really is just unnecessary. Except of course where I really can't avoid it - that tablespoon or two in my chicken salad.
Usually when I make something unhealthy instead of buying it, it bothers me a little less. I know that's kind of ridiculous but the fact that it's homemade carries some kind of positive connotation for me. Maybe it's because I see all the fresh whole ingredients that go into it, or maybe (okay without a doubt) I'm harboring a little distrust for the commercial food industry these days. Whatever the reason, I feel less queasy eating unhealthy things that I've made in my own kitchen.


On that note I will leave you with recipes for mayo and my healthier adaption of Urban-Farm (ranch) dressing.


Alton Brown's Mayonnaise - the only substitution I made here was olive oil instead of corn oil.


Urban-Farm Dressing
Susan calls her version of buttermilk ranch dressing farm dressing since she lives on a farm not a ranch. I went with the trend and renamed my adaption urban-farm dressing since I live in a city (and sometimes wish I lived in a farmhouse). Hers used sour cream, mine uses greek yogurt. I specifically like how it's mostly yogurt, the mayo is not really discernible but if you were to leave it out you would notice something is missing.
 Adapted from Susan at Farmgirl Fare. Makes about 3 cups.

1 1/2 cup fat-free plain greek yogurt
1/3 cup mayonnaise (homemade)
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 heaping teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 to 2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/2-1 low-fat buttermilk

Next time I might also add any number of these extras as well:
A dash of Worcestershire sauce
A smidge of dijon mustard
A pinch of cayenne or paprika
Finely shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese

In a small bowl or large measuring cup, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, granulated garlic, granulated onion, dill weed, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Mix well.

Stir in the balsamic vinegar and then 1/2-1 cup of the buttermilk depending on whether you want a thicker dip or a thinner dressing.

Adjust the seasonings to taste, adding another tablespoon of balsamic vinegar if desired, along with any of the optional additions. Keep in mind that the flavors will become bolder over time.

-Makes a great dip for (baked) sweet potato fries!



Sunday, February 14, 2010

Forty-Nine for Fifty

I read a lot of other blogs. Daily. My google reader is packed with the ramblings and recipes of over fifty different people from all different corners of the country and world. To spite being from all walks of life, the writers behind the words that I follow so closely all have a few things in common - the obvious being their desire to share their thoughts/experiences/photos/recipes with the world. Recently I've noticed another common factor; Every single blogger who has updated in the past week has mentioned snow wherever it is that they call home. No matter north or south, east or west, every state except Hawai'i had snow on the ground as of this past friday.

Forty-Nine for Fifty. That has to be pretty rare.

It's like a country-wide snow day and it's brought out another common attribute. Everyone likes to bake when they are snowed in, and why not? Snow days leave you stuck with a little more time on your hands. Time to relax, time to read, time to do things you wouldn't normally have time for.

I'm not implying that I don't bake on a regular day anyway because that would just be a blatant lie. Actually I'm not snowed in either, but there is snow on the ground. That counts right? Good, because I needed an excuse to feed my obsession with shredded coconut.
Bill Granger's Coconut Bread
The original recipe used refined white flour and sugar. I switched both out 1:1 for their less refine counterparts (whole wheat flour and Turbinado sugar) with no adverse effects, but you could easily switch them back if that is what you have available. Whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour would work fine as well. The original also called for two vanilla seeds instead of extract. Either option is okay, I just don't usually have seeds at home. Adapted again from Tara's version at Seven Spoons. Makes 1 Loaf.

2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk (skim is fine)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, more for dusting pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup turbinado sugar
5 ounces unsweetened coconut (about 1 1/2 cups)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Soft butter for greasing the pan

Preheat an oven to 350°F
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the sugar and coconut. Slowly add the egg mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in the melted butter. As with anything that has flour, be careful not to over mix or your cake will be tough

Grease and flour a 8-by-4-inch loaf pan, (I used my glass pyrex 8.5-by-4.5 inch). Pour into pan and bake until golden and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, around 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack, flip right side up and allow to cool a few minutes more.

Sliced thick, it really needs no decoration, but a bit of plum marmalade, powdered sugar, or salted butter would complement it well if desired. It also freezes well but you won't have enough left to bother freezing it. Mine barely made it to the next morning for breakfast.

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