Roasted Potato, Tomato, and Cheese Stuffed Zucchini

This is one of my husband’s favorite meals, and considering he only ate brown food before he met me (peanut butter, bacon, meat, bread, etc.), that’s saying a lot.  I’ve been making it for years and have experimented with it along the way.  Sometimes I add mushrooms to the saute. I’ve also added ground meat.  It’s a very forgiving recipe.  Basically you roast the zucchini “boats” and potatoes (I’ve also tried sweet potatoes) in the oven while you saute the onion and other ingredients.  Then you pull the whole thing together by throwing in the roasted potatoes with the sauteed ingredients and add some cheese and fresh herbs (I like basil).  You stuff the “boats” with this mixture, top with cheese, heat until it melts and garnish with more herbs.  It’s a really vibrant and healthy vegetarian meal!

Who knows the best way to store unused basil?  The green market guy told me to place in a glass of water and leave out — DO NOT put in the refrigerator! he commanded.  So I didn’t.  It makes a lovely bouquet, but it wilted within a day and made our kitchen smell like “a pizzeria “, according to my husband.  I’ve also tried washing the leaves, spinning them as dry as possible in a salad spinner, and storing them wrapped in paper towel in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator.  The basil seemed to last longer, but some edges of the leaves still turned brown.  If anyone has a fool-proof method, by all means let me know!

Instead of risking it going bad, I usually just wash the whole bunch and make pesto.  I toast some pine nuts, crush some garlic, and process it with the basil.  While it is processing, I add some olive oil, then taste it and add salt.  If I’m using the pesto immediately, I also process it with grated parmesan cheese.  But if I’m freezing it to store, I omit the cheese and add it later after it’s been defrosted. I can’t remember where I read about this tip — I believe it was in a Mark Bittman column when he used to write for the New York Times.

pesto without cheese

The pesto can be used to flavor pasta, steamed or roasted veggies, as a dip or sandwich spread.  You can add water or more olive oil to thin it out.  For me, this has been the best way to avoid throwing away an ugly bunch of brown basil that never got used!  It’s just a matter of having the other ingredients on hand (if you don’t have pine nuts, other nuts such as walnuts, almonds, even hazelnuts can do the trick, altering the taste a bit, but the pesto is still delicious– it’s fun to improvise) and taking the time to make the pesto.  It is well worth it!

Roasted Potato, Tomato, and Cheese Stuffed Zucchini

4 medium sized zucchini

3 medium red or Yukon potatoes, cut into small cubes

kosher salt and pepper to taste

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

non-stick spray

1 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup

2 cloves of garlic pressed through garlic press, about 1½ teaspoons

1 plum tomato, cored and deseeded, chopped

1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup chopped basil, divided

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Place two foil lined baking sheets in oven, one on top rack and one on bottom rack.  Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out interior flesh with a melon baller or spoon creating a zucchini “boat”.  Reserve flesh for another time.  Cut off a sliver from bottom of each zucchini “boat” so that it can rest without wobbling.  Brush cut halves with 1 teaspoon of olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt.  Roast in oven for 10 minutes on top baking sheet, cut side down.
2. Toss potato cubes with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Gently remove heated empty baking sheet from oven.  Spray with non-stick spray and transfer potatoes onto sheet, spreading into one even layer.  Return to bottom rack in oven.  Roast for 12 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking period.
3. While zucchini and potatoes are roasting, heat remaining olive oil in large non-stick skillet.  Sauté onions, stirring constantly, until onions are soft.  Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add tomatoes and the roasted potatoes.  Cook until tomatoes are soft.  Off heat, add ½ cup cheese and 1/3 cup of the basil.  Stir to combine.
4. Turn zucchini halves over and divide potato filling among them.  Sprinkle each with remaining cheese (about 2 tablespoon per zucchini half).  Return to oven and roast for about 5 minutes on top rack, until cheese has melted.  Garnish with remaining basil.  Serve immediately (2 halves per serving).

Yield: 4 servings.

Note:  I used to throw out the extra zucchini flesh I scooped out.  Now I save it in a container in the refrigerator and steam it later or throw it into a stir fry.  There is a lot of it, so it’s really no point in throwing it away when you can use it in something else!

Pesto

A bunch of basil

Kosher salt to taste

About 2 heaping tablespoons of pine nuts, toasted (or other nut)

Clove of garlic, smashed

1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil, depending on taste

Grated parmesan cheese to taste

1.  Process basil, pine nuts, and pinch of salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Scrape down edges.  While processor is running, slowly pour in olive oil through feed tube.  Season with more salt to taste.  If using immediately, add parmesan and process again.  If freezing, omit and add parmesan after defrosting.

Makes about 1/2 pint.

Trader Joe’s Roasted Seaweed Snack and Miso Soup

True story:  A few months ago at our local Trader Joe’s, I spied a young woman sitting on a bench at the entrance of the store in a trance-like state eating something from a hurriedly ripped open green package.  With a faraway look in her eyes, she was munching on thin sheets of roasted seaweed, one after another without stopping.  I glanced at her two shopping bags propped up in front of her.  They were filled to the brim with the same green packages–perhaps 20 per shopping bag?  I was intrigued.

They come in paper thin strips.

I grew up eating seasoned roasted seaweed.  My relatives from Hawaii would send large canisters of it every year.  My family never seemed to finish all of it, and most of the strips would always turn soft in defiance of the little white packets of desiccant that came in the container.  I believe they were loaded with MSG so it is probably just as well we never ate the entire batch.

“Was there something different about the Trader Joe’s roasted seaweed?” I wondered.  I decided to see for myself.

What I discovered is that these strips are less salty than the ones I have had in the past, and they are made of only natural ingredients (seaweed, safflower and sesame oil, and salt).  And because they come in a small container of two servings, it is easy to finish it in one sitting with another person when the seaweed is at its peak of crunchiness and freshness.  I have to say that these seaweed snacks are addictive.

Though I don’t sit eating them trance-like, I do love them.  It has even caught on with my son who previously would never eat dried seaweed.  He eats these seaweed strips by the stack full like potato chips.

Recently he’s taken to combine them with his other favorite foods, creating truly Asian-American fusion meals.  He urged me to post it on this blog.  Hee hee.

I present to you — Jamie’s Pizza Sushi (pizza piece rolled in seaweed):

This one is his latest:

Open faced PB and seaweed sandwich

Believe it or not, these inventions of his taste really good!

I’m more of a purist though.  My favorite way to eat them is with hot rice.  The clean flavor and combination of crunchy and soft and sticky textures brings me back to when I lived briefly in Japan.

Paired with a freshly made hot bowl of miso soup and salad, it makes a nice light meal.

Miso Soup

Note:  If you want to make the dashi (Japanese stock) from scratch, kombu (dried kelp) and katsuo boshi (dried bonito flakes) can be found in Asian stores.  You can also make dashi using instant dashi powder– just add water!

Kombu (dried kelp), Wakame (dried seaweed), Katsuo boshi (dried bonito flakes)

Dashi:
4 cups water

1 to 2-inch piece of kombu

Large pinch of katsuo boshi

1.   Heat water and kombu in a saucepan.  Just before water boils, remove kombu and discard.  Add katsuo boshi.  Boil for 30 seconds.  Turn off heat.  Let flakes settle to bottom on pan.

2.  Strain liquid into a bowl or measuring cup (I use the same one I used to measure the water), pushing down on solids to remove as much liquid as possible.

Makes 4 cups.

"shiro" (white) more mild than "aka" (red) -- the darker the miso paste, the stronger the flavor

Miso soup:

4 cups of dashi

4 tablespoons miso paste

Pinch of wakame (dried seaweed — also found in Asian stores)

1 ounce of tofu cut into small cubes

1/2 scallion, finely sliced

1.  Pour about 1/4 cup dashi into a small bowl.  Add miso paste to bowl and whisk until mixture is free of lumps.

miso whisked in a bit of dashi

2.  Pour remaining dashi into sauce pan.  Add whisked miso slurry to pan.  Add tofu, wakame, and green onions.

wakame, tofu cubes, and sliced green onion

3.  Gently heat miso soup over low heat until it is ready to be eaten.  Do not let it boil or simmer.

Makes about 4 servings.

Sesame Seed Coconut Crusted Shrimp

In my last post, I mentioned I have been experimenting with coconut oil which I received from Tropical Traditions.  Recently,  I keep seeing coconut oil featured in various blogs.  Though it got a bad rap in the past, this was due its hydrogenated form.  Virgin coconut oil is now the darling child in some health food circles.  It is said to be the healthiest of oils promoting heart health, aiding in weight loss, and supporting proper thyroid function, among other benefits.  Though it is high in saturated fat, not all saturated fats are created equal apparently.

And quite frankly, coconut oil tastes good.  I think if you’re planning on cooking or baking anything with coconut, using coconut oil in place of the oil or fat (it is a great vegan ingredient in pastries, replacing lard and butter) will only enhance the flavor.

I tested this theory out by frying some sesame and coconut crusted shrimp in coconut oil.  The result was wonderful:  crispy, crunchy, nutty shrimp having a rich coconut flavor.  The coconut oil was light, not heavy.

Though I try not to deep fry too much, this dish is worth it for a special occasion.  I think it’s going to make an appearance on Father’s Day this weekend.

Sesame Seed Coconut Crusted Shrimp

¼ cup sesame seeds

¾ cup unsweetened dried coconut

kosher salt

15-20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails on

¼ cup flour

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

Coconut oil for frying

1. Mix sesame seeds, coconut, and pinch of salt  together in a shallow bowl.  Set aside.
2. Dredge shrimp in flour, shake off excess, then dip in egg white. Coat in sesame seed and coconut mixture.  Set aside.
3. Heat a large skillet with coconut oil about 1 inch deep.  Test oil by dropping in a shred of coconut.  If it sizzles immediately, oil is ready – about 350 F.  Fry shrimp on each side for about 30 seconds until opaque.  Drain on a plate lined with paper towels.  Serve immediately.

Homemade Softserve Ice Cream and Chocolate Shell

This is my new summer treat.  Years ago, we were soft serve addicts.  My husband used to volunteer to walk the baby (our son would only nap in his stroller at the time) so he could just happen to pass by the Tasti D-lite in our neighborhood.  We had the cards which had little icons of soft serve ice cream dishes which could be punched out and marked how many you had bought.  After a certain number, you would be rewarded with a free ice cream.  That’s how bad it was.

Luckily that store went out of business (we are pretty sure it was due to the surliness of the guy who ran it — how can you always be in a bad mood when you work in an ice cream store!?)  and our addiction came to an end.

Then I discovered this recipe.  I had seen it in various incarnations all over the web — I’m not sure who posted it first.  And I also came across it in the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home Cookbook (called Creamy Banana Ice), which was published in 1994, so maybe it is originally from that.  At any rate, it is a super simple recipe.  You freeze slices of banana and puree it in a food processor when frozen.  That is all!  I like to add a splash of lactose free milk.  I have also tried it with light coconut milk for a vegan version.  You could also use almond or rice milk.

All natural goodness -- just bananas and a splash of milk!

Since I had frozen some ripe mango chunks a week or so ago (they are a great snack/dessert, as is!), and I always have frozen banana slices on hand, I thought they would go great together.  I added light coconut milk.    My son loved this.  You would never believe there is no added sugar!

Heavenly.

Awhile back , I was given a  complimentary jar of coconut oil from Tropic Traditions, a company that offers a myriad of coconut products, including virgin coconut oil, coconut flour, coconut flakes, as well as other organic foods, skin care products and household goods.  I’ve been experimenting with it and hope to post more recipes in the future.

One of the most easy recipes and one that we have been enjoying since our heatwave in the east coast is “Magic Shell” made with coconut oil.  It tastes just like the store bought version but doesn’t have any of the extra ingredients or additives!  It’s just melted chocolate and coconut oil.   You drizzle it on something frozen, and it hardens immediately.  Here is the recipe for it on the Tropical Traditions site.

Pair the soft serve with the chocolate shell and you have a perfect healthy summer treat!

Banana Soft Serve

Frozen banana slices

Splash of liquid in the form of milk, rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, etc.

1.  Puree in food processor until creamy

2. Serve immediately and eat!

Snuggle Mountain Pancakes

Who doesn’t love pancakes for a weekend breakfast??

My husband  makes the best ones.  You may have seen his Cadbury Egg waffles.   His pancake recipe is featured in a book app I’m very excited to share with you all.

Snuggle Mountain, written by Lindsey Lane, is a wonderful story about Emma, who climbs Snuggle Mountain all by herself to wake up the Sleeping Two Headed Giant which has forgotten all about making pancakes for breakfast.

Features of the app include:

• audio narration beautifully read by a child actor (which can be turned on and off)
• words which can be highlighted as read to encourage reading
• fun sound effects and animations throughout the story
• the aforementioned pancake recipe
• some  discussion topic suggestions related to the story
• turn pages with a finger  swipe

I have to say, I’m really proud of this book app.  Lindsey, the author, took the initiative and found a fabulous app producer, Picpocket Books, who agreed to shepherd our joint creation (originally published by Clarion Books in 2003) into the digital age, and they did a wonderful job.

One of the aspects of the app version of the book I adore is that the concept of the sleeping giant’s two heads hiding in the bed covers is made very clear with animation.  In the original picture book it was quite subtle, and a lot of readers didn’t pick up on it.

Check out and download our app at the Apple itunes Store!  It is currently on sale for $2.99.  It is available for the  ipad and will be available for the  iphone in a few days.  It is the perfect app for young children and gives them a personal interactive story experience.

Snuggle Mountain Pancakes

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

1 egg

½ cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled

Non-stick spray or oil for greasing skillet

1. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and optional sugar in a medium sized bowl.
2. Beat the egg in another bowl.  Add yogurt and milk and beat together.  Then stir in melted butter.  Add this mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients while stirring.
3. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium high heat on the stove.  Grease skillet.  Pour batter into pan when it is heated.  Brown the bottom in 2 to 4 minutes, then flip and cook other side for about a minute.
4. Serve immediately.  Pancakes can also be kept warmed on an ovenproof plate in a 200 F oven.

Snowy Day Vegetable Soup

Winter.  Frigid mornings.  Snow piled up.  Dry skin.  It takes about ten minutes minimum for the three of us to get bundled up, don our jackets, hats, scarves, gloves, boots, and finally step outside.  We are still in the thick of it too — the Weather Channel says it feels like 17 degrees outside right now.

My son was home all last week with a nasty ear infection.  To comfort him and get some nourishing goodness into his system, I made Snowy Day Vegetable Soup from my book, Soup Day.

This is the last page of the book -- the recipe.

It’s the perfect remedy for a cold, icky day, and my son loves it.  I added a bit of cooked chicken at the end from some added protein.  He’s all better this week, thankfully!

There are several bloggers out there who’ve made it with their kids.  It’s very simple and a good way to get some vegetables in your family’s diet.

Sales of  Soup Day are going pretty well.  It sold out of its first printing about a month and and a half after its release.  I am about halfway to meeting the required sales amount to get my sequel!  Please help me out and buy a copy for the budding little chef/chefs in your life!    (If you’ve already done that, tell your friends!   )

Yesterday,  I braved the cold and visited the same two Kindergarten classes at P.S. 142 I mentioned in a previous post, and read it to them.  Afterward, we did a soup bowl collage craft together.  They loved coloring, cutting and gluing their paper pieces of vegetables and dried pasta to their bowls.

Hard at work coloring vegetables...

Making soup...

One of the finished soup collages!

If you’d like to do this craft with your child, feel free to download the activity sheet off my website.  There is also a related Hidden Pictures puzzle there as well.

Enjoy!

Snowy Day Vegetable Soup

1 tablespoon oil

1 cup diced onion

½ cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

kosher salt to taste

6 cups chicken, vegetable, or beef stock

2 cups peeled and cubed potatoes

½ cup carrots, sliced into rounds

2 cups zucchini, sliced into rounds

1 cup sliced mushrooms

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3 oz. dried pasta of choice

¼ cup packed chopped parsley leaves

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed stock pot over medium high heat.  When oil is hot, add diced onions, carrots, celery and pinch of salt to pot.  Saute until onions are soft and translucent.
2. Add stock.  Increase to high and bring to a simmer.  Once simmering, add potatoes, carrot rounds, zucchini and mushrooms to pot.  Add pepper, thyme, and salt to taste.  Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until vegetables are fork tender, about 15- 20 minutes.
3. Bring water to boil in a medium sauce pan.  Add a pinch of salt to water.  When water comes to a boil, add pasta and cook to an al dente doneness according to package instructions.  Drain and add to vegetable soup just before serving.
4. Season to taste with salt and paper and garnish soup with chopped parsley.

Makes 6 servings.

Note:  Please take care to keep children at a distance from burners on the stove.

Huli Huli Chicken and Homemade Rice-A-Roni

Years ago my cousin from Hawaii visited us with her then boyfriend who was a chef.  He had worked in various kitchens in Honolulu and at the time of their visit, I believe he was working as a chef at a swanky golf resort somewhere on the island of Oahu.  He told us a story of how he had once eaten this amazing chicken when he was young that he had never forgotten, and how he had spent several years trying to find the recipe.  He finally tracked it down at a friend’s house on another island — maybe it was Maui.  I am probably getting the story all wrong – my cousin will have to correct me!  Anyway, as a thank you for letting them crash at our place, he wrote out the recipe for this amazing chicken, and gave it to us.  In his version, marinated chicken is dredged in flour and then fried.  We would skip this step and just grill it over charcoal.

It is with deep regret that one day I discovered I had LOST this recipe.  I am not exaggerating when I say that my husband was devastated.  This chicken had become our number favorite.  We all love it so much.  No matter how many times we have had it in the past, my husband still swoons over it while eating it.  He was ready to kill me.

Melissa Iwai Copyright 2010

However, all was well, because since we had made it so many times, it was pretty much ingrained in my brain – I could practically see the paper with our friend’s handwriting on it if I closed my eyes.  And of course, I ended up changing it up a bit – I can’t help myself – I’m always doing this.  My husband made me promise him I would type up the recipe and save it on the computer as well as print out a hard copy to have in our recipe files.  Several friends have asked for this recipe, and I keep forgetting to give it to them.  So I decided to feature it here, where it can live in cyberspace, and where I can share it with everyone.  And thank you E, for sharing it with us in the first place!

I’m adding a “Rice-A-Roni” recipe here – we were out of Japanese rice, and I decided to liven up the whole wheat basmati rice we had in the pantry and make a childhood favorite – Rice-A-Roni. Remember the jingle?  “Rice-(ding! ding!)A-Roni … the San Francisco treat!”

I literally had not eaten this in over 30 years, but I saw a homemade version at Thibeault’s Table and got inspired.  It is such comfort food.  Of course Jamie loved it. How could a kid not?

Huli Huli Chicken

My modifications are in parenthesis

½ cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon salt (I usually omit this)

10 tablespoons sugar  (about ¼ cup sugar)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon whiskey ( I use 1 tablespoon sake instead)

10 slices ginger

5 large garlic cloves, smashed

1 tablespoon sesame oil

4-5 lbs. chicken thighs, de-boned, skin on

Mix marinade ingredients together.  Marinate chicken for 24 hours in refrigerator.  It may seem like overkill for chicken, but trust me, it is what makes it so tender and taste so good.

Dredge in flour and fry.

You can also grill the chicken.
For the meal pictured, since it was winter, I baked the chicken in the oven at 350 for about 30-40 minutes.

Homemade Rice-A-Roni

adapted from Thibeault’s Table

I lightened her version a little, and I didn’t have chives or parsley on hand so I omitted them.

1 teaspoon oil

1 medium shallot, minced

1 cup whole wheat basmati rice

1 oz. whole wheat thin spaghetti, cut into small pieces

2 cups chicken broth

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add shallot and sauté for about 1 minute.  Add pasta and rice and sauté for about 2 minutes.  Pour in broth.  Bring to a simmer.  Cover and turn heat down to low.
2. Cook rice for about 40 minutes until liquid is evaporated and rice is soft.  If you would like the rice to be softer, add a bit of water and keep steaming.
3. Fluff with a fork and serve.

A Day of Souffles

I bought several different sizes of soufflé dishes years ago which have languished unused in our cupboards until recently.

OK – I didn’t really eat soufflés all in one day – Hello cholesterol!  I just want to share some soufflés (some sweet and some savory) that can be served and eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as dessert.

The only one I had ever made in the past is a lovely chocolate one, I found in Gourmet Magazine.

I decided to experiment and make a Chocolate Kahlua Soufflé based on this recipe (I got two huge bottles of Kahlua while on our cruise this past summer!)

Chocolate Kahlua Soufflé

Soufflés are characterized by their top crown that rises up from a straight edged dish.  Their texture is light and fluffy due to egg whites which have been beaten and folded into an egg yolk based batter.  They are best eaten immediately out of the oven when they are still tall and crusty on the outside and creamy and light inside.

The basic technique is to preheat an oven (it should be at the correct temperature when you put the soufflé in), butter a soufflé dish or individual ramekins,

This one is dusted with sugar after coated with butter

flavor beaten yolks,

for Chocolate Kahlua Soufflé I chopped chocolate and melted it and mixed this with Kahlua and the yolks

melted chocolate mixed with Kahlua and egg yolks

then fold in the whites,

Beat until they are just stiff – I added espresso powder and sugar to these, so they are tan instead of white.

pour mixture into prepared dishes, and then bake.

Ooops, dish was way too big!

My dish was too big – I should have used a smaller one.  Ideally the unbaked soufflé mixture should come about 1-inch ABOVE the rim of the dish.  Then when it bakes, it expands straight up, creating a crown.  I’ve also read that before you put it in the oven, if you run your thumb along the inside rim of the dish making a little well, it will make the crown shape better.

When filled, the unbaked soufflé mixture should come to about 1-inch above the rim of the dish.

I like using the little ramekins because they are fun to eat and look so nice.

Soufflés don’t have to be sweet.  I came across a recipe for Zucchini Soufflé in the New York Times earlier this month.  I loved the idea of a savory soufflé, and even better — it has veggies in it.  Mark Bittman featured a simple savory souffle recipe that cut out the traditional bechamel base (a sauce of flour and butter with hot milk) he called a “Mock Souffle“.   I adapted Mark Bittman’s recipe a bit.  I reduced the cheese and made 2/3 of the recipe since there are only three of us, and I didn’t know if everyone would be eating it.  Lol .

The result was mixed – the flavor and texture were great, but I had forgotten to butter the dishes – a huge mistake in Making Soufflé 101!  The butter allows the batter to rise up in the dish.  Also it allows you to remove it easily.   I will make this again though.  You can substitute different vegetables as well.  He suggests using spinach in place of the zucchini.

I was hooked.  I love frittatas and this mock soufflé is very similar in terms of ingredients.  Both have eggs, some cheese and, and some kind of added filling.  While frittatas are dense and compact, these soufflés are light and airy due to the different cooking method.

One evening last week I had some leftover grilled chicken, but not enough of it for the three of us.  So I decided to be adventurous and use it in a soufflé rather than a frittata.  We love caramelized sautéd onions, so I included those as well.  The chicken was already seasoned with thyme and garlic salt.  I added it, the caramelized onions and some grated Gruyere to the egg yolk mixture, and folded the beaten egg whites into it.

The result was a light, cheesy, onion-y treat with bits of chicken incorporated throughout.  My husband loved it so much, he had two full servings – always a good indicator for repeating the recipe in the future.

It would be fun to experiment some more and make different flavored soufflés.  I’m dreaming of a smoked salmon, dill, cream cheese one… a roasted tomato, basil, Parmesan one – there are so many possibilities!  These mock  soufflés can be a simple weeknight dinner if you have the fillings ready.

Finally, I saw a blog post the other day of an oatmeal soufflé and thought, “OK, I must make this!”

I love oatmeal and I love eggs for breakfast.  This is a great dish for a weekend brunch.  I substituted my whipped cottage cheese for the cream cheese (mascarpone cheese would be heavenly…) and reduced the amount of brown sugar because I like my oatmeal sweetened with banana.

Like a lot of other bloggers who have a love affair with oatmeal, I eat my oatmeal flavored a variety of ways:  topped with different seeds and nuts, dried coconut, granola, cinnamon, pureed pumpkin, peanut butter, with pumpkin butter, preserves, cottage cheese, berries, Nutella – oatmeal doesn’t have to be boring!  My favorite is oatmeal with blueberries, toasted pecans, and a pinch of sweetened coconut.  It tastes like a coconut blueberry pecan pudding dream.  So I decided to recreate it as a soufflé!

It is more labor intensive than oatmeal, but I love the texture more.  It was very light and fluffy and tasted like a dessert.  I drizzled a bit of maple syrup on top. 

If you come up with any fun soufflé recipes, please share them with me!

Chocolate Kahlua Soufflé

adapted from Gourmet

3 tablespoons sugar plus additional for sprinkling

½ teaspoon espresso powder

2 ½ oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 tablespoon Kahlua

1 ½ egg yolks at room temperature

3 large egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Butter soufflé dish and dust with a pinch of sugar, knocking out the excess.  Mix 3 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl with espresso powder.  Set aside.
2. Melt chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water.  Remove from heat and stir in Kahlua.  Then stir in egg yolks.
3. Beat whites with a pinch of salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks.  Add sugar mixture a little at a time, beating at medium speed.until whites just hold stiff peaks.  Stir about 1/2 cup of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten, then add mixture to remaining whites, folding gently but thoroughly.
4. Spoon soufflé into dish and run the end of your thumb around inside edge of soufflé dish, (this will help soufflé to rise evenly).  Bake in middle of oven until puffed and crusted on top but still jiggly in center, 15-20 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Souffle can be assembled up to 30 mintues before baking.  Keep, covered with an inverted large bowl (do not let bowl touch soufflé), at room temperature.

Zucchini Soufflé

adapted from Mark Bittman (I halved his recipe, reduced the oil and cheese and omitted the parsley)

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons olive oil

½ medium onion, chopped

½ teaspoon minced garlic

2 small zucchini, grated (about 13 oz.)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

5 eggs, separated

2 ½ oz. Gruyere cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter four 1 1/2 -cup ramekins or one 6-cup soufflé dish.

2.  Heat oil in a large skill over medium high heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until very tender, another 10 minutes or so.  You can substitute a 10-oz. bag of spinach, chopped and cooked the same way.  Drain the vegetables if there is extra liquid and let cool.

3.  In a large bowl, beat egg yolks and add cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the vegetables and stir.  In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until they just hold soft peaks.  Stir a third of the whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites.

4.  Pour into ramekins or soufflé dish.  Bake until golden and puffy, 30 to 35 minutes, and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.

Chicken, Gruyere, Caramelized Onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon butter

1 medium onion, sliced thinly lengthwise

about 1 cup cooked chicken, diced

1 ¼ oz. of grated gruyere (about 1/3 cup)

4 eggs, separated

2 servings of egg whites (I used Quick Whites)

Non-stick spray or melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium low heat.  Saute onions in pan until softened and caramelized, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, separate eggs so that yolks are in one bowl and whites are in a cold mixing bowl of stand mixer.
4. Beat egg whites until they hold soft peaks.
5. Beat egg yolks with a whisk until smooth.  Stir in chicken, cheese, and caramelized onions.  Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites until combined.  Then slowly fold in the rest of egg whites into mixture.
6. Spray a large soufflé dish with spray or brush with melted butter.  Pour egg mixture into dish.  Bake for about 30-35 minutes in middle of oven.
7. To serve, run a knife around edges to loosen, cut into fourths, and spoon onto serving plates.

Blueberry Coconut Oatmeal Souffle with Toasted Pecans

adapted from Persnickety Palate

Butter for preparing the dishes

Pinch of granulated sugar for dusting

½ cup milk

½ cup water

1 ½ oz. oats

½ medium banana, sliced thinly (optional-if omitting, use more brown sugar to sweeten oatmeal)

1/3 cup whipped cottage cheese, cream cheese or ricotta

2 teaspoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

2 egg yolks

¼ cup thawed frozen blue berries

2 tablespoons sweetened coconut

1 tablespoon toasted, chopped pecans

3 egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Butter 5 ramekin dishes and dust with sugar, knocking excess out.
3. Heat milk and water in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add oatmeal and banana.  Cook, stirring occasionally until oatmeal thickens, about five minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in whipped cottage cheese, ricotta, or cream cheese.  Then stir in brown sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt.
4. Separate egg yolks and whites in two large bowls.  I use Quick Whites for the extra white.  Add a bit of oatmeal mixture to bowl with yolks to temper it.  Then add yolks to saucepan and stir to incorporate.
5. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks just form.  Fold in about 1/3 cup whites into oatmeal mixture to lighten.  Then fold oatmeal mixture and rest of whites together gently, so that the whites don’t deflate.
6. Transfer to prepared dishes. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Roasted Sweet Potato, Eggplant, and Beet Dishes: Winter Comfort Food

Wishing everyone a  happy + healthy + prosperous 2011!!

Our brownstone's stairs pre-shoveling

These days, with blizzards, mounds of snow, and breezes that make my face ache, all I want is to be warm and cozy indoors.

I roast a lot of vegetables throughout the year, but I find myself doing it in full force during the cold winter months.  Yesterday, I roasted several sweet potatoes, a large eggplant, and a beet.

When cooking vegetables,  if you have the time,  throw them in the oven—skip the microwave and steamer (and forget about boiling!).  Roasting brings out their flavors and tastes far superior.  The extra oven heat is a plus when it’s cold outside as well.  It is easy to cook a lot at one time, and then you will have a supply of roasted vegetables that can be enjoyed in various dishes.  Check out my earlier post on Easy Weeknight Dinners for some more examples.

My favorites are sweet potatoes.  Through high temperature roasting, they caramelize and weep syrup from the holes I pricked in their skins  before baking in the oven.

The other day I spied some Asian sweet potatoes at the green grocer’s so I got one to roast along with some of the orange varieties more commonly found around here. The flavor is a little more subtle than the orange fleshed sweet potatoes, but just as delicious.  They are both so good, I can eat them plain sans butter or sweetener.

Incidentally, sweet potatoes are not the same as yams, which are members of a different plant family.  Here in the US, we often use the term  “yam” for the brown skinned sweet potatoes with orange flesh.  But they are really sweet potatoes.  Real yams are tubers and grown in tropical climates and have dark brown or black skin that is not as smooth as that of a sweet potato.

I made sweet potato fries for my husband and baked the other one whole for myself and my son to share.  The only way he’ll eat sweet potato is  if it is pureed and topped with marshmallows.  I’m hoping later in life he’ll learn to appreciate the unadorned version, but for now, it’s a great way to get some vitamins A and C into him.

I tried a little experiment with a large eggplant this time.  Usually,  I chop the whole thing up into cubes and toss them in olive oil and then roast.  But I wanted to make a Japanese dish which involves dressing the eggplant with a miso sauce and then broiling it.  Japanese eggplant are long and skinny and cook quickly.  Their counterparts commonly found here are gigantic by comparison.  I tried slicing a large one into thick slices and basted them with olive oil.  I tested Cooking Light’s Chef Billy Strynkowski’s theory that these days, eggplant doesn’t have to be salted beforehand to draw out any bitter flavor.  When he told me this during the photo shoot, I was dubious, but it turns out he is right!

The flesh was creamy and silky with no hint of bitterness.  I’m so happy I can skip the salting altogether.

My version of the miso sauce is thinner than traditional ones. I’ve even seen it made with egg yolk.  The miso has such a strong flavor and is very high in sodium.  I feel like my thinner sauce is a nice alternative.

You can peel off the skin and discard or eat it for more fiber.

Another favorite of mine is roasted beets.  I just make a couple of piercings in the skin and wrap a whole beet in foil (after washing it).  So easy and no staining of fingers necessary!  When it’s fully cooked, it’s easy to peel off the skin.  I love them in salads.    They are so hearty and go well with tangy goat cheese (or blue cheese) and mellow toasted walnuts.   I toss it all in a Honey Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette.  The added crunch from some raw celery and Fuji apple, and the sweet chewiness of dried cranberries round out the flavors and textures.  This is one of my favorite salads.

Oops -- took photo before I added the dried cranberries...

Other veggies I love to roast are sliced cauliflower, brussel sprouts, asparagus, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, butternut squash, whole heads of garlic wrapped in foil.  With the exception of the garlic, the roasting method is generally the same:  toss in oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper or other seasonings, and roast in oven for 30-60 minutes depending on size of vegetable and what kind of texture you prefer.  So simple.

Sweet Potato Fries

2 sweet potatoes

olive oil

kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Wash sweet potatoes well.  Cut in half, then cut into thick wedges.  Brush liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
3. Roast in oven for about 30 minutes.

Jamie’s Marshmallow Sweet Potatoes

½ cup cooked sweet potato

1 teaspoon butter

2-4 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Mini marshmallows (or one large marshmallow, cut into small pieces with kitchen shears)

1. Heat potato with butter, milk, and cinnamon.  Blend with an immersion blender.
2. Transfer to a small ramekin and top with mini marshmallows.  Toast in toaster oven for about 3 minutes (or broil in oven).

Broiled Eggplant with Miso Sauce

1 large eggplant (this dish originates in Japan and uses Japanese eggplant.  Since it is harder to find here, I make a version that works well with the large eggplant that is common in the US).

Olive oil

Kosher salt

1 tablespoon miso paste

1 tablespoon hot water

2 teaspoons mirin

2 teaspoons sugar

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Wash eggplant and cut into thick ¾ -inch slices.  Arrange on baking sheet.  Generously baste with olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle with salt.
3. Roast eggplant slices for about 30-35 minutes until flesh is soft.
4. Gently stir miso paste and water together until paste is dissolved.  Add mirin and sugar.
5. Spoon sauce onto roasted eggplant slices.  Broil for about 4-5 minutes, taking care not to overcook the topping.

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Apple

4 cups of mesclun greens

1 large apple, cored, sliced and julliened (I love Fuji apples)

8 oz. of roasted beet, chopped in ½” cubes

1 celery rib, finely chopped

Honey Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette (see below) to taste

About 2 oz. of goat cheese

Toasted walnuts, chopped

1. Toss greens, apple and roasted beet together with vinaigrette.
2. Sprinkle goat cheese and toasted walnuts on top.

Honey Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette

½ teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon honey mustard

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

4 tablespoons olive oil

pinch of kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

1.  Stir sugar and honey mustard together.  Whisk in balsamic vinegar.  Whisk in olive oil until emulsified.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Happy Accident: Mini Blueberry Cinnamon Sugar Dusted Muffins

Things are going well these days.  On the book front, my editor told me my book, Soup Day, has sold out of its first printing.  Yay!  That means I’m closer to my goal of selling the 9,000 or so copies I need to sell to get a sequel (which I’ve already written.)  Please support me in the effort and buy a copy for that young chef in your life and encourage them to join you in the kitchen!

Today, Amy Zavatto, a wonderful food and wine writer, wrote a lovely piece about spending a day with her niece and cooking on her Barnes and Noble food blog.

I’ll be part of the November Picture Book Bonanza at Books of Wonder in Manhattan this Sunday (11/21) from 1-3.  There will be so many amazing authors and illustrators there – James Howe, Wendell Minor, Dan Yaccarino, Lenid Gore, and a bunch of others!

And if you are in the Naperville, IL area, I would love to meet you at Anderson’s Book Store Tuesday (11/23) at 7.  I’ll be visiting schools in the area during the day and then doing the book store event at night to kick start my Thanksgiving holiday with my family.

On the food front, I flubbed a recipe big time, but sometimes mistakes can turn into a nice gift – isn’t that how pot stickers were invented?  The legend goes that the chef was cooking for the emperor and he burnt the dumplings on the bottom.  He didn’t have time to make a new batch, so he served them and called them “Pot Stickers”. The emperor loved them, and pot stickers were born.  Mine wasn’t as revolutionary but shared the same spirit!

Last weekend we had a brunch to go to, and I decided to try a new blueberry muffin recipe.  Here is the original source.

Photo by Mrs. Unrath

The problem was that I was in my 5:50 am pre-coffee state of mind.  My plan was to divide the recipe in half and make mini muffins.  I made the unfortunate (or fortunate?) error of halving everything except the butter.  Oops!  Oh, also the vanilla.  And I was too lazy to grate nutmeg, so I substituted cinnamon.

Additionally, I tweaked the recipe by adding the dry ingredients together, rather than the order in the original recipe and used demarra sugar instead of granulated for the topping because it’s prettier.  I was working on auto pilot…

But lo and behold – when the little treats came out, they were the most delicious blueberry muffins I have ever tasted.  A growling stomach may have had some influence, but I am sure the double dose of butter didn’t hurt!  Even with the extra serving, they weren’t greasy at all – just moist and heavenly.  The demarra sugar gave the tops a nice crunch, and the cinnamon was a perfect complement to the blueberry.  Even Picky #1 and Picky #2 said they were “the best muffins” they’d ever had — which is saying a lot!

Even though they were a bit more decadent—they are very small, so it is a mini indulgence. I felt like I was channeling my inner Ina Garten and Paula Deen writing up this recipe!

The only thing I would change next time is to bake them in paper liners so they are easier to remove from the muffin pan.  Try my recipe as is – or if you want to be a little health conscious, cut the butter in half.  If you do, let me know how they turn out!

Best Blueberry Mini Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar Topping

Ingredients:

1 cup flour, plus 1 tablespoon for dusting

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of kosher salt

½ cup butter (1 stick) softened at room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ cup milk

1 ¼ cups fresh blueberries

Topping

1 tablespoon demarra sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick spray and line with mini cupcake liners
3. Whisk 1 cup flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  Set aside
4. Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.  Add sugar and beat until pale and creamy.
5. Add egg and vanilla.  Beat to combine
6. With lowest setting running, add ½ of the flour, then ½ of the milk.  Mix to combine.  Repeat.
7. Toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour to coat in a small bowl.  Add to muffin batter and stir gently with a spoon.
8. Heap tablespoons of batter into cupcake liners.
9. Mix topping ingredients together in a small bowl and sprinkle about ½ teaspoon on muffin tops.
10. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a tester inserting in center comes out clean
11. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
12. Remove muffins from pan to rack and cool a bit.

Yield: 24 small muffins.