Chocolate Russian Tea Cookies

These are an easy but addictive cookie.  Really rich and chocolately and perfect with a glass of milk or hot cocoa (or a nice heavy sweet drink like a berry dessert wine or Port).  Bite sized and cute, they're good for parties.

You'll need (for several dozen small cookies):

• 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• powdered sugar for garnish

The steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until fluffy
• Add dry ingredients and combine.  Will end up a pretty stiff dough.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour
• Remove from fridge & preheat oven to 350
• Roll dough into small balls in your hand (about an inch in diameter) and place on a lightly greased baking sheet
• Bake for 20 minutes
• When cooled you can roll them in powdered sugar or (my favorite) place powdered sugar in a mesh screen and sprinkle it over top.  

Delish!

Ginger Cranberry Relish

I love this recipe for cranberry relish because it's unique and tart and goes well with everything.  Serve over turkey, sweet potatoes, rolls, cottage cheese, yogurt, sandwiches.  Soo yummy and much much fancier than what comes in a can (though, I must admit, that stuff is delicious).

For this simple recipe you'll need (for 6 servings):

• 1 standard bag of whole fresh cranberries
• 3/4-1 cup sugar
• 1-1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1-1 1/2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
• water

The steps

• Grate your ginger.  If using a fresh piece of ginger (which I've recently learned is a rhizoid not a root, thank you, Alton Brown), peel with a paring knife and cut into small pieces with knife, cheese grater or food processor.  You can use jarred or tube ginger, but will need to use more.
• Measure out your other ingredients and set aside.
• Pour all your cranberries into a thick-bottomed pot with just enough water to cover them about halfway and turn stove to medium high heat.  Stir berries until skin begins to split.
• When the skin has split on the majority of the berries reduce heat to medium low and add sugar, vinegar, and ginger.  
• Stir constantly until all of the cranberries have popped and the sauce has thickened.  A lot of steam will come off and it may become bubbly.  Taste it (very carefully) to see if you need to adjust any ingredients for your taste.  
• Continue stirring for about 5-7 minutes until enough of the water has evaporated so that it is truly a relish but not a thick jello.

Transfer to another dish, place in the refrigerator to cool, and serve.  Freezes well too, but cool in the fridge first.  Yum!

Savory Bread Pudding

Okay, so I don't have a photo of this but trust me, it's delicious.  Basically a glorified egg bake that is easy and super super delicious.

You'll need (for 2 servings):

• 4 eggs, beaten until light
• 1 cup milk (use half & half or cream for thicker or richer)
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 leaf of chard, chopped with kitchen shears
• 2-3 leaves of spinach, chopped with kitchen shears
• a few ounces of Swiss cheese, shredded or in small chunks
• 1-2 thick slices of delicious bread, cubed.  I used a garlic herb bread from the farmer's market that is to die for.  Another good choice is dill bread.  
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• a few dashes salt
• a dash paprika
• 1 extra teaspoon dried basil

The steps:

• Preheat oven to 425
• In a large bowl, combine eggs and milk.
• Add seasonings and stir.
• Add cubes of bread and stir gently so that they absorb the liquids
• Add remaining ingredients and gently combine
• Pour ingredients into a grease square corningware baking dish, with a lid.
• Add more milk if the liquid mixture doesn't mostly cover the dry ingredients
• Bake 10-15 minutes, or until puffed up and the bread begins to brown.
• Let stand 5-10 minutes and enjoy

This is a very versatile recipe that, like quiche, can be made with many different kinds of ingredients.  Try it with various combinations of carrots, spinach, chard, peppers, mushrooms, onions, sun dried tomatoes, etc.

Spicy Southwestern Stew

Sorta my version of tortilla soup, but without chicken.  And this turned out a lot thicker than I meant for it to, so we're calling it a stew.  This is a recipe using lots of canned goods, so quick, easy, and cheap.  Would probably still be delicious with little tortilla strips in it.

You'll need (for 4 big servings):

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed & chopped
• 1 cup brown basmati rice (measured raw).  Cooked for about half the prescribed time
• About a tablespoon olive oil
• 12 oz can tomato paste (though, if you want it thinner, use an 8oz can)
• 11oz corn
• 15oz diced tomatoes
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed.  I think the easiest way to do this is to empty the can into a mesh strainer and rinse under the faucet
• 32oz vegetable broth (AKA one carton)
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1 small bunch spinach (cut in slices using your kitchen shears)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar

The steps:

• Heat garlic over high heat in olive oil until aromatic.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and add all of the canned goods
• Add carrot, spinach, and rice
• Season
• Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender.

It's that simple.  Serve with tortilla strips and/or shredded cheese.

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Delicious Nutritious Breakfast

Wondering what to do with you chard, carrots or other fall crops?  I'm telling you, I've been making some seriously delicious breakfasts lately.  I've just signed up for a 3 week fall CSA share that includes all kinds of greens, chard, carrots, spinach, beets, and onions.  It can be hard to use up all these greens because I'm just not always in the mood for salad.  I also, usually, am rushed in the morning because I have to get to work (and have a hard time getting up early).  Anyhow, here is the basic delicious, 5 minute egg breakfast.

You'll need (for one serving):**

• 2 eggs
• 1/2-1tablespoon skim milk
• half a carrot stick
• one big leaf of chard
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 dash seasoned salt
• a couple dashes Italian seasoning
• olive oil to coat the pan

The Steps:

• Pour some olive oil in a small, nonstick skillet
• Use your vegetable peeler to grate thin strips of carrot directly into the skillet.  This recipe is also great for not creating many dishes (the bane to my existence).
• Use your kitchen shears to cut the chard into small strips directly into the skillet
• Use a large knife to crush the garlic clove and place it in the skillet
• Turn heat to high and crack in eggs.  
• Add milk and seasonings.
• Stir constantly to avoid burning and cook until your desired done-ness.  Serve and eat.  Delicious with a little salsa, hot sauce, or parmesan cheese.

**The caveat to this recipe is that every single ingredient is organic and local (aside from oil) and the eggs are fresh from a local farm where the chickens run around and get chased by children.  This makes a world of difference in the flavor.

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Rolled Sugar Cookies

These are my famous rolled sugar cookies.  They are the easiest rolled cookies I've ever made and the most delicious.  I probably make a batch of these at least every other month.  

You'll need (for 5 dozen small-medium cookies):

• cookie cutters
• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs 
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 5 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking power
• pinch salt

The steps:

• Cream together butter & sugar until smooth.
• Beat in eggs and vanilla.
• Add dry ingredients.
• Cover dough and chill for at least an hour (I'm making the dough now to bake on Saturday or Sunday).  I like to refrigerate my rolling pin too.
• When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 400degrees.
• Dump dough onto a lightly floured surface and kneed just a few times.
• Roll out using a rolling pin to about 1/4inch thickness.  
• Cut into desired shapes and transfer to a greased cookie sheet
• Bake 6-8 minutes and remove from sheet quickly.

Serve these frosted or glazed or just with sprinkles (which you can add prior to baking if you want.  Just brush cookies with egg whites first).  This dough is also good for making a fruit pizza (dough crust, sweet cream cheese, and fruit = yum!).

A picture will come shortly, after Halloween when I've decorated these.  The theme for my Halloween party is everything you loved about a kids' Halloween party + booze.  So, a bunch of adults decorating their own cookies, playing games, and so on greatly enlivened with hard cider and microbrews.  So, I will be using my Halloween cookie cutters (thanks to my sister for those), to make these sugar cookies then prepare several different frostings and have those and sprinkles available for decoration.

Hearty Vegan Chili

I have recently made the life choice to be a vegetarian in order to reduce my carbon footprint.  I will occasionally and selectively eat fish, but only those that are fished sustainably and responsibly and that do not have dwindling populations.  I have found that the NRDC has a really helpful guide to what fish to eat and what to avoid.  Even if you aren't a vegetarian/pescetarian, you should take a look at it.  Anyhow, I love chili, so here is my vegan version.  I did not and do not use soy meat replacements as soy is very frequently grown in totally unsustainable ways, not to mention the fears and uncertainties associated with (unlabeled) genetically engineered foods (Check out the documentary "Future of Food").  Potatoes bulk up the texture, beans ad protein, and portabella gives a meaty flavor.  Note, all measurements are pretty approximate.  Adjust to create the chili you want.  I feel like chili should never taste the same twice.

You'll need (for about 6 servings):

• a couple tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic.  Mince some and keep some whole.
• 1 1/2 cups shredded russet potato (shred using the coarse side of your cheese grater or the grating attachment on your food processor)
• 1 1/2 cups sweet corn
• 1 cup blanched yellow beans (chop if you'd like)
• 4-6 tomatoes, or a can of tomatoes (with juice).  I used a jar of heirloom tomatoes from the summer that I had canned.  
• 12oz can tomato paste
• 24oz mixed beans (half a big jar of Randall's mixed beans or a couple small cans)
• 1 portabella mushroom, cubed
• 10oz frozen chopped spinach (no, unfortunately, I hadn't frozen any from this summer, so had to use store bought)
• Spices.  This is where you have fun.  Make it more spicy (cayenne, hot sauce, red pepper) or less.  More earthy (cumin, paprika, cinnamon) or more acidic (onion, garlic, hot sauce).  Totally up to you.  This is what I used for this particular batch.
• 3-4 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon dried onion
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 tablespoons hot sauce.  I used a vinegar-based habanero sauce.
• seasoned salt & pepper to taste

The steps:

• Saute minced garlic and potatoes in olive oil on med-high heat.  Season the potatoes directly with about a third of the chili powder.
• Add beans and spinach and continue the saute briefly
• Add tomato paste and tomatoes.  If you are using fresh tomatoes (vs. canned or jarred) add about 1/4-1/2 cup vegetable broth or just plain water.  If using canned tomatoes, use the juice its packed in
• Add corn, beans, parsley, and whole cloves of garlic.
• Reduce heat to low and add portabella.
• Now you start seasoning.  Season now using about half of the measured ingredients.
• Let simmer on low for about a half hour.  Sample and season again accordingly.

Great, delicious vegan chili.  

Be on the look out for my famous sugar cookies that I'll be making for Halloween.  

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