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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Banana Bread Cookies

Fresh from the oven!

An attempt to bake cookies when I didn't have my usual staples around (chocolate chips, oatmeal, brown sugar).  I did, however, have some bananas frozen for occasions just as these.  These cookies are light, fluffy, cake-y and unique.  Could be made even more interesting if you added chocolate chips.

You'll need (for 30 cookies):

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon (extra) cinnamon
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup crushed walnuts

The steps:

• Preheat oven to 350degrees
• Mash bananas and mix with baking soda in a small bowl.  Set aside.
• Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add egg.  
• Add banana mixture
• Add dry ingredients gently, until just combined.
• Fold in walnuts, gently
• Drop by heaping teaspoons onto a well-greased cookie sheet.  They don't spread much, so can be placed pretty close to each other.
• Bake for about 11-12 minutes (until the edges have started to brown, but not the whole cookie)
• Remove promptly from sheet to avoid burnt bottoms

That simple.  Took me about 20 minutes start to finish.  Yum :)

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Asian Dressing/Marinade

First off, big apologies on not posting more recipes lately.  I don't really have a good excuse.  I've done some pretty excellent cooking (fried chicken, black bean soup, fried okra, etc.).  Just haven't been posting as much.  Let's get back on track.

This is a pure invention, because I had some sake that was starting to turn not so tasty.  Like I've said before, I really like to make my own salad dressings.  I'd argue this is just about the most delicious I've ever made.

You'll need (for 2 big servings or 4 smaller servings--as a dressing for a large side salad).  All of these measurements are definitely approximations

• 1/2 cup sweet sake.  I used the pretty cheap plum sake I'd gotten from the local grocery store.  
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
• a few dashes oriental seasoning blend (I use Tone brand Oriental Five Spice)

The steps:

• In a small sauce pan, boil the sake until the alcohol has burned off.  You'll be able to smell the booze in the steam that it gives off.  The sake will also thicken as the alcohol burns off.  You may also (carefully) taste it to be sure it as all burned off.
• While still on the stove, add honey and stir to combine.  Beware: when you add the honey, the sake may try to boil up over the side of the pot.  I had to repeatedly turn on and off the stove to avoid this overflow until I had the honey combined.
• Add rest of ingredients and taste.  Add more seasonings as needed.

I would serve this over a salad that has strong flavored greens (no iceberg here!).  A nice blend of red leaf lettuce, arugula, spinach, kale, and dandelion leaves is, I feel, the most delicious.  If you haven't tried all of these in a salad before, do!  You'll be amazed at how delicious salad can be.  I also love chopped apples in my salad and think they'd go well with this dressing.

In other news, I remade French Onion soup, a little modified from the recipe I posted awhile back.  The first time I made it, I used old port.  I didn't have any port sitting around, so I used some Cabernet Sauvignon and added about 3 tablespoons of brown sugar in order to get the sweetness that I had in my first recipe.  Not as good as the first batch, but still pretty delicious.

Soon to come recipes (hopefully):

• Caribbean-style black bean soup
• Butternut Squash & Apple Bisque
• French Fries (homemade!)

Essential Spices/Seasonings/Flavors

Okay, so you don't need an entire cabinet to do some really very excellent cooking and baking.  I will outline what I think the most basic spice essentials are to make a wide variety of dishes and baked goods.  Each spice is linked to a descriptive page.

Most Essential:

• Garlic
• Let's face it: it's good in everything (and good for your heart)
• I like to buy it in bulbs so that I have more options of mincing, chopping, or using whole; however, the pre-minced jars of garlic do have some merit for their ease
• There is a remarkable variety of garlic so I encourage you to try different ones.  At some farmer's markets, you may find a stand that deals entirely in garlic so you can sample and learn different uses for the plant.
• Kosher Salt
• The coarse grind and strong flavor of Kosher salt means that you can use less of it than traditional varieties.  Additionally, the coarse grind is also good as a means to help break up herbs in things like pestos
• Coarse Grind Black Pepper
• Again, coarse grind means strong flavor.  Go big and get the large "restaurant grade" containers at a local restaurant supply store
• Italian Seasoning
• Contains a mixture of commonly used herbs in Italian cooking: basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary.
• Remarkable versatile in a wide variety of cooking.
• Cayenne Pepper
• Easy addition to simply add some heat to your dishes.
• Chili Powder
• contains cayenne, often, but sometimes other spices too.  Often lends a smoky flavor.
• This is a place where spending more may yield a better product, but the cheap stuff is okay too
• Cinnamon
• Pretty much essential to any dessert making, but also has uses in cooking.  For instance, a bit of cinnamon in chili or stew makes for a very interesting and delicious dish
• You can buy the ground cinnamon or have fun with grating the cinnamon sticks yourself.  I've found that by grinding my own (using a zester, actually), I got a very strong flavor
• Vanilla
• Again, essential for baking.
• Be sure to buy the "pure vanilla extract", not the imitation

Less Essential but very nice to have

• Cumin
• A big part of Spanish cooking and you'll find it in the southwest too.  A marvelous addition to soups
• Paprika
• To a lot of people, just a garnish, but paprika adds a subtle, earthy flavor to many dishes.  I love it in sweet corn, chard, and many vegetable soups
• All of the ingredients of your Italian Seasoning
• Having them all separately allows you more control over the final flavor of your dishes.  Also, allows you to make things with Greek flavoring (more oregano), or a traditional rosemary lamb dish, etc.
• A much cheaper alternative to saffron if you want to make yellow rice
• Bay Leaves
• A great flavor enhancer and addition to many soups and sauces
• Also a natural bug repellant
• Almond Extract
• A nice thing to have to flavor various pastries, frostings, etc.
• In fact, having several pure extracts (not imitation flavorings), like lemon and orange create a lot of versatility in your baking production.
• Curry
• Pretty self-explanatory for what to use this for
• Ginger
• This ingredient has many more uses than many people believe.
• A great addition to some soups (black bean, squash, etc.), curries, marinades, etc.
• Also versatile for digestion issues: add some to tea or just eat some plain pickled ginger and you'll feel great.
• And ginger cookies-->yum!
• I do like to get whole ginger for the same reason as buying whole garlic: I can grate it if I want or chop it or slice it for pickling.  If you're just going to want minced ginger, I'd recommend the kind that comes in a tube and is refrigerated.  It's often by the produce at the store.  The ginger in the jar has almost no flavor, so don't waste your money.

There's certainly many many more spices to be had, but these are the most very essential.

Caprese Pasta Sauce

Oh wow, the Droid really didn't do a good job capturing this one!
More yummy than it looks!

I'm calling this "Caprese Pasta Sauce" because it has all the flavors of a Caprese salad.  I love creamy pasta sauce, so I thought I'd give it a try.  Turned out pretty well and is very filling.  I froze some for winter.

You'll need (for about 6-8 servings):

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flour (ish)
• 1lb fresh mozzarella
• 1/4-1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
• 2 cups (ish) half n half
• 1/2-1 cup vegetable juice (or tomato juice)
• 2 cups (ish) roasted veggies (eggplant, yellow squash, bell peppers)
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• Italian Seasoning & kosher salt to taste

The Steps:

• Roast veggies as directed in my "roasted summer veggies" post
• Chop veggies into small pieces.
• Cut butter & cheese into small, easy to melt pieces
• Melt butter in a non-stick pot & add enough flour to make a good rue
• Add cheese and about half of the half n half and vegetable juice
• Stir constantly on medium high heat until all cheese melts
• Add enough more vegetable juice and half n half until sauce reaches a smooth, easily pour-able consistency
• Add olive oil also to help with consistency
• Add the rest of the ingredients, chopping basil coarsely.  Season carefully so as not to overpower your delicious fresh basil.  
• Simmer long enough to incorporate, but avoid over cooking
• Serve over "shape" pasta, like shells.

This is a very yummy, pretty simple recipe.  It's very very rich, so you really don't need much sauce for one serving.  I also think this could be good with some grilled chicken.  

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Roasted Veggie Caprese Salads

These are the Caprese salads I made for wine night guests using the roasted veggies and candied tomatoes I made several days ago.  They are delicious appetizers that are a little bit fancy.  Goes well with a glass of Pinot Noir (in my non-trained opinion).

You'll need:

• roasted eggplant
• roasted yellow squash
• fresh mozzarella (the soft kind that comes in a ball)
• fresh basil
• candied tomatoes
• olive oil leftover from roasting veggies/tomatoes
• balsamic or red wine vinegar
• Italian seasoning
• kosher salt

The steps

• Assemble the salads in this order, from bottom up: roasted veggie, one or two leaves of basil, mozzarella, tomato.
• Using the leftover olive oil, add vinegar, Italian seasoning, and kosher salt until it tastes like a good salad dressing.  Go heavy on the vinegar.
• Drizzle this dressing over the top & serve

You can also assemble these salads over slices of fresh tomatoes and not use roasted veggies or candied tomatoes.  I still have roasted veggies, mozzarella, dressing, and basil left.  I plan to make a creamy pasta sauce using those leftovers.  More on that in a few days when I have more time to cook.