Cowboy Cookies #3

Sorry, no picture.  I ate 'em :)

I am always on the quest to make delicious cookies and to try not to repeat recipes over and over again (aside from standby chocolate chip, which everyone loves).  I've recently grown to love oatmeal cookies especially, modifying them by adding lots and lots of goodies.  These are baked in a muffin tin, making thick, moist cookies.  If cooked on a cookie sheet, these cookies will spread out very thin and be difficult to handle.  

You'll need (for about 3 doz):

• two small boxes fresh raspberries
• 1/2-1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine (I prefer butter!)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup regular sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract (yes, the real stuff is twice as expensive, but it's one of those things that's worth the extra cash)
• 1 3/4 cups old fashioned oats (not the quick kind, though, in a bind, those will work also, but the texture may be weird, or you may need to adjust other quantities

The steps:

• Just like any other cookie recipe.  Preheat your oven to 375
• Combine softened (not melted) butter & sugars.  You can do all this mixing with a stand mixer if you have one, but be careful not to over mix.  Mix until just combined.  I don't have a mixer, so I just use my handy silicone spatula.
• Add eggs and vanilla to this mixture
• Gradually add in flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice
• Once that is all combined, add the oats and coconut.  You can adjust the amount of coconut depending upon how much you like it.  I like a lot, so would probably do 1 cup for this much, but some people don't like it as much.
• Add chocolate chips
• Raspberries are the last to add and should be folded in very gently to avoid too much mashing.  It's somewhat unavoidable to squish a few, but try to be calm, cool, and collected when folding them in.
• Drop by heaping spoonfuls into a greased muffin tin being careful not to over-fill or get dough all over the place.
• Bake for about 12 minutes.
• After cookies have cooled, place them in some sort of container be it tupperware or plastic baggies and place in the freezer.  Trust me.  In a few hours, you'll have amazing, cool, chewy cookies.  They're pretty much impossible to eat at room temperature because they're so soft and crumbly, but frozen, it's decadent (and perfect for these 95degree days we've been having).

Modifications

• You can add other things to these like nuts or not use coconut, whatever you want.  I've made a ton of oatmeal "cowboy cookies" with many different combinations, and this one is definitely my favorite (so far)

Bake away and impress your friends!

Garlic Scape & Cilantro Pesto

This is a delicious, unique pesto.  Easy to make too!

You'll need:

• A big bunch of garlic scapes.  Enough to fill a produce bag.
• A big bunch of fresh cilantro
• shredded parmesan cheese
• a few tablespoons of olive oil
• crushed red pepper
• 1 spoonful sugar
• kosher salt (I like this better than regular salt because it takes less of it.  The coarse grind is also better for pestos)

The steps:

• If you have a food processor, this is 5000 times easier.  Place cilantro and garlic scapes in food processor and chop until fine.  I don't have a food processor, so I hand chopped them
• In a bowl, combine cilantro and scapes with olive oil and parmesan cheese.
• Season with crushed red pepper, salt, and sugar until delicious.

Modifications

• Add some pine nuts or pistachios.  I just didn't have any.  

Serve this over a "shape pasta" like shells or penne so they can hold onto the sauce.  This sauce would freeze well too.  you don't need much for a serving, so use sparingly.  It'd a pungent sauce.  Could be thinned with more olive oil or, if you want meat, add some chicken.

Enjoy!

Broccoli & Cheese Soup

See my yummy broccoli & cheese soup, neatly packaged in individual portions to be frozen for future use.

My freezer is getting filled with little baggies of soup, so in the winter, when my CSA is done, I can still have fresh(ish) veggies.  Also makes "instant dinners", as opposed to buying TV dinners at the store.  I just have to come home, thaw the bag in a bowl of warm water (or, if you're impatient, in a pot of water on the stove) and ta-da! soup!  Bagging up soups and sauces can be hard, but I've come up with a pretty good method:

• Wait for your soup to be cool enough to handle before trying to bag.
• Label your portion-size baggies with the contents & date.  You may think you'll be able to tell everything apart, but in a few months, you'll lose track.  A sandwich bag is perfect size for soup for 1 person or pasta sauce for 2.  Quart could probably be good for 3-4.  Gallon for family.
• Find a reusable container that you can fit your baggie into and fold the edges of the bag around the top.  I use a small deli-tub.
• One at a time, set the baggies in the container, folding the zipper edges over the top of the container and ladle in your soup.  Leave some breathing room at the top.
• Be sure the zipper area is clean before closing.  Also a good idea to clean off the outside of the bag.
• Freeze and enjoy later!

Now, for my recipe of broccoli and cheese soup.  I did a bit of searching online on AllRecipes to find ideas for this soup as I've never made it before.  I just wanted to know about what ingredients.  All the recipes on there called for frozen broccoli and processed cheese, so I ventured into the realm of the unknown, cooking this soup with fresh, natural broccoli from my CSA and real cheese.  Here's my recipe for about 4-5 decent size servings of broccoli & cheese soup.

You'll need:

• One big head of broccoli
• a few garlic scapes (maybe 3-4).  These are something I'd never used until I got a CSA and I haven't seen them in the stores (but I live in a small town).  If you don't have them, I'd add a few leeks and a couple cloves garlic or maybe some red onion in place of the leeks.
• Radish greens from half a bunch of radishes.  Again, something I hadn't used until the CSA, but are a great green for bulking up soups.  A bit of a rough texture, so cooking them down is crucial for enjoyment.  These you can get if you buy your radishes as a bunch with the greens still attached.
• half pint of half & half
• about a half cup of milk (I use skim)
• 3 or so cups of cheese.  I use whatever's in my fridge & needs using.  This time, a bit of taco blend cheese, a little bit of mozzarella, and a lot of cheddar.  Aged cheddar would certainly be delicious.
• 1-2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons vegetable bouillon.  I use vegetable because that's what I have, but be warned, it's pretty salty.  If you use chicken or beef, you may need to add salt.
• 2 heaping tablespoons flour
• paprika to taste
• pepper to taste

The steps:

• Cut the broccoli into little flourets
• Dice the garlic scapes (or onions or leeks.  Mince garlic if you don't have the scapes)
• Sauté broccoli, radish greens, and garlic scapes in a pan with butter or margarine until just tender.  Don't overcook your broccoli!
• In a separate pot, heat half & half until hot all the way through
• Add cheese and flour and stir quickly to combine
• Once combined, add as much milk as need be to thin it out a bit.
• Add 2 tablespoons vegetable bouillon and stir
• Once all of these ingredients are combined, add in broccoli, radish greens, and garlic scapes and stir into cheese mixture.
• Add pepper and paprika to taste.  

Possible modifications:

• Use other veggies in place of the ones I have listed
• Add some beer early in the process.  Something light and cheap will do just fine.
• Use fancier cheeses than "whatever's in the fridge".  I think a nice aged cheddar would be great and maybe with some parmesan.  

So, there you go, cook away!

To start

Okay, I've written blogs before, but none of them concrete enough or with enough conviction to stick to. So, I'm starting a cooking blog because cooking is one thing I've always loved, that I do everyday, and that I love to share with people. Maybe some commentary will get shoved in here every once and awhile, but let's just stay focused on the recipes and tips.