recipe: quick chipotle tomato soup (creamy, vegan)

I was hungry.  This is what happened.

1 medium yellow onion; diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
28oz can plum tomatoes
1 chipotle pepper, diced + 1-2T adobo sauce (from canned chiles)
2 qts vegetable stock
kosher salt
1/2c thick cashew cream (recipe here; freezes like a charm)

Sweat the onion slowly in olive oil; throw on a bit of salt to get this going.  When just getting translucent, add garlic and chipotle pepper.  Saute another minute.

Add can of tomatoes and liquid from the can, crushing tomatoes in your hand as you go.  Messy but oddly satisfying.  Add vegetable stock.  Then test for seasoning - probably needs a bit more salt.  Bring to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer soup for 20ish minutes.  Add cashew cream and cook 5 mn longer (this will actually thicken things up a bit).  Use immersion blender to get out the big chunks; alternatively, use your regular blender, but be prepared to do 3-4 batches.  Fill the blender only to half full, cover the top with a dishtowel and avert your eyes before you press any buttons.  Hot liquid volcano may ensue.

Adjust seasonings a tad (I liked a little smoked paprika to amp up the smoky chipotle flavor without adding more heat) and...mmm...you know what to do.

Beef Stew

(I can't/won't credit this recipe to any one source because I pieced together so many recipes, comments, and suggestions that I don't think this recipe will look anything like what may have published to begin with! But I definitely started with one recipe from epicurious.com and one from How to Cook Everything to get me going.)

1 1/2 lb stew beef, cut into 1" pieces (can go up to 2 or 3 lbs if you want to be extra beefy)
3/4 c. flour seasoned with s&p for dredging
4-6T olive oil, divided
6 large garlic cloves, one crushed and 5 minced
1 large onion, chopped into rought 1/2" pieces
4 carrots, chopped into 1/2" thick rounds
3 stalks celery, cut into 1/2" thick slices
8 oz container sliced mushrooms
4 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
2 c. red wine
2 T balsamic vinegar
5 c beef stock (we really like this brand that does naturals and organics)
2-3 T tomato paste
1-2 t dried thyme
1/4 c Worchestershire sauce
salt & pepper
1 c frozen corn
1 c frozen peas

Heat 2-4T oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Toss in whole crushed garlic clove and brown quickly on all sides to flavor oil. Remove and discard garlic. Dredge about half of the beef in the flour mixture and add to pan; saute until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove to plate. Dredge and brown 2nd batch of meat. Remove to plate.

Add remainder of oil to the pan, saute onions, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic. Add mushrooms. When onions are starting to look translucent, begin building the base for the stew: add red wine and balsamic vinegar and keep the heat high to deglaze the pan, bring to boil for about 5-10 minutes or until the volume is reduced almost to 1/2. Then add salt & pepper, thyme, tomato paste, Worsestershire sauce, and the beef stock. Add browned beef. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes the mixture should still be quite soupy; if it's not add a bit more beef stock. Add the potatoes and cook another 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add peas & corn in the last 5 minutes.

Not surprisingly, this stew is best 1-2 days after cooking so if you have time, cook ahead and simply reheat slowly.


Trixie's Tips: for the first and second serving, make sure to have plenty of crusty bread (we had a freshly baked rosemary ciabatta one night...so delish), or make the cute Pillsbury Grands Biscuits...easy and yummy. For the third serving, try scooping the stew out over mashed potatoes.
This dish loves red wine and dark beer as an accompaniment. In fact, if you get really excited, replace the red wine IN the dish with a pint of Guinness to Irish-up your stew.

trixie's yummy chili

I have made this chili so many times and I swear to you it's the best chili I have ever had. Yea, super humble pie, huh? ;) Anyway, this is not a traditional Texas chili in that it has beans and happy stuff like that.  This one isn't time consuming or difficult to make but somehow manages to have that nice complexity of spices that makes chili so much fun. I hope you enjoy it!

1 lb ground beef
onion, 1/2 - 3/4" dice
green pepper, 1/2 - 3/4" dice
evoo
5 cloves garlic, minced
1T+ cumin
2T+ chili powder (I love Penzey's Medium Hot)
1/2 - 1t cinnamon (again, Penzey's Vietnamese is sharp and zippy for this dish)
1T dried oregano
1 can cannellini beans, drained and well rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and will rinsed
28oz can chopped tomatoes
small can niblets corn (or you can use 1c frozen corn too)
20-24oz tomato juice
3c beef stock or water (I highly recommend the beef stock for this...yum!)

Use a big ol soup pot for this recipe - it's got some volume to it, but if you start in a big enough pot, you'll only need to dirty up one pan. Ok so start by browning the beef, almost 100% cooked through. Drain the beef on paper toweling and set aside. Add a few tablespoons of evoo to the pan and over med-high heat, saute the onions and green peppers until they start to soften. After about 7-10 minutes when the onions are not quite translucent, add the garlic. You don't want a ton of oil in the pan here but just enough to keep things from drying out; add more if you need to. A little browning in the pan is just fine. Once the garlic smells nummy and the onions are soft you can move on. Now, if you have some nice brown goodies in the pan, I'd start by deglazing with just a bit of the stock or some wine - maybe 1/4c and scrape up the bits on the bottom (these ingredients are not in the list above but you can just wing it or skip it.) Then, once the stock is totally reduced and the onion mix is basically dry again, add the spices. Stir them constantly while you're doing this - you're looking for toasty spices, not burnt ones. After about a minute or so, go ahead and add the remainder of the ingredients. If your tomatoes are whole, chop them up in the pan as you go (or mangle them by hand, that works too).

Once all of this gets in the pan, throw a lid on it until you get a nice bubble working. Check the seasoning but don't get too carried away adding heat (spice heat, that is) just yet...taste for salt and call it good for now. Reduce the heat to simmer and check now and then to make sure you still have a slow bubble going on. This wants to cook for at least an hour but optimally 90 minutes. Recheck for salt and now you can gauge the spicy factor too. If you can get your hands on that nice medium spicy chili powder, you'll find this to be a good level of heat but not too zippy for us self-proclaimed spice wimps.

This is sooo good topped with a good white Irish cheddar (shredded), sour cream, crunched up tortilla chips, chopped red onion, etc. Also highly recommend this with trixie's cornbread too, of course!

trixie's cornbread

Not sure how this recipe came to be but I started researching cornbread a couple of years ago looking for the PERFECT one - didn't find it so I experimented until I got what I was looking for: a somewhat sweet cornbread to stand up to my spicy chili (this one has maple syrup!), very moist and flecked with actual corn. It's so easy to make.

Preheat oven to 375.

2 1/3c yellow cornmeal
1c flour
2-3T sugar
4t baking powder
1 1/4t salt
can creamed corn
1/2c cold butter, cut into 1/4" pcs
4 eggs
3/4c REAL maple syrup
1 1/3c buttermilk

This is a great place to use your food processor if you have one. If not, no worries. I forgot I actually own one now and made my last batch by hand...so it's really no big deal.

You'll want two bowls to start with. And spray or otherwise lube up a 9x13" pan. Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Then crumble in the butter cubes. If you have the food proc, give it 20-30 seconds of short pulses to get the butter all broken up into the dry ingredients - it will start to look and feel a little like damp sand and will hold together when you grab some of it. If you're doing this by hand, wash those mitts and get them in there. (Or you can also start the process with a pastry cutter thingie too, but it won't take you all the way to the end. Forks can also work but in my experience, it's a pain in the arse and your hands work better.) Basically you want to take the bits of butter and get them all coated with the cornmeal mix. Then sort of smoosh them between your fingers while you bring in more of the dry mix. The idea is to incorporate most of the butter and get it really small in there but don't worry if it's not totally blended. Get as close as you can. By hand, this will take a good 5 or so minutes of handling. Then just sort of check the mix by rubbing it between your palms while still adding dry mix. Make sure the butter bits are pretty teeny and well distributed.

In the second bowl, whisk up the wet ingredients. The idea here is just to get things well-incorporated and make sure the eggs are broken up. Add the creamed corn to this mix as well. Then you can just add wet to dry and stir until JUST combined. Don't go overboard or the bread won't rise correctly. Be gentle!

Throw all of this in your oiled pan and bake:
9 x 13" should take around 45 minutes
9 x 9" probably will take about 45 minutes as well, as they'll be thicker.
Either way, you're looking for a nice browned edge that's pulling away from the edge of the pan and when you insert a toothpick into the center, it comes out clean.

Voila!

trixie's tip:

Maple Butter: this one is so easy...but makes the cornbread so happy. Take a stick (or 1/2 stick, whatever) of room temperature butter and whip together with a few tablespoons of the maple syrup. If you have a nice flaky sea salt, add in a teaspoon of that as well. If your butter is already salted, you may want to skip this. In the end, it's an excellent sweet and salty happening on top of your cornbread. Apple butter is also highly recommended here!

spiced rub for pork chops

Or really, I suppose you can use this on just about any pork-related product.  It's so good!  You don't need to buy the Northwood Fire mix if you have all of the components; just mix up your own version.  But it has just the right amount of smoke and heat in its prefab state, so makes the whole process easier.  Then we amped up the garlic and added extra salts to get a good crust going on the grill pan.  The smoked salt is just so divine, but the chocolate salt is key - gives a depth of flavor without adding a whole chocolate-y thing; just enough to get your tastebuds interested.

1/2 t Northwoods Fire seasoning mix (Penzey's mix of coarse flake salt, paprika, chipotle pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, rosemary & garlic)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t dry mustard
1/4 t ground cardamom
1/2 t smoked salt (from Golden Fig)
1 t chocolate salt (from Golden Fig)
1/2 t dried aleppo pepper

Makes enough to generously rub down 4 pork chops.

fig berry jam

I went to the Minnesota State Fair this weekend and watched a presentation by Laurie of Golden Fig - one of the best local foods purveyors (and manufacturers, actually) in the area.  She was showing simple recipes for fun, fresh food on a stick.  But what got me was the beautiful fresh figs she had - and they were on sale at Whole Foods.  I drove straight from the fair to pick up 2 pints to play around with.  Then I set about finding a recipe for fig jam.  

Two days later, I saw Laurie again at the St. Paul Farmer's Market taste testing some of her mixes and flavored sugars.  The cherry cardamom sugar caught my attention and voila!  The flavor components of my Fig Berry Jam were born. Thanks for 2x the inspiration, Laurie!

1.5 lbs fresh mission figs
1/4 lb dried cherries
1/2 c honey (get good, sweet, local honey - I used wildflower)
1/4 t cardamom
1/4 t white pepper
1/2 t kosher salt
zest and juice of 2 small lemons
3/4 c St Croix Valley raspberry infusion wine (I just happened to have this,  if you don't, just use red wine)
6 cardamom pods, cracked with the flat side of your knife
1 T amaretto

Heat 1/2c of the wine and the cardamom pods over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced by half or more. Strain out the seeds and pods; set reduction aside.

Wash & stem figs and chop into rough 1/2" pieces.  In a large stock pot or saucepan, mix together all ingredients except for the last 1/4 c raspberry wine and amaretto.  Bring to boil and reduce heat to maintain a nice bubbling simmer.  Cook 30-40 minutes until cherries are well plumped and figs are cooked through. Add remaining wine and amaretto just at the end.  Taste and re-season, if necessary.

Turn off heat and let mixture sit for 10 minutes.  Pour into food processor and pulse until you get the desired texture.  (I like mine with a bit of body, but pretty well pureed).

You can just bottle this up, can using the boiling process, or freeze.  Makes about 25-27oz of jam.

Trixie's tips:

• Enjoy with a cheese plate with goat cheese, manchego, marcona almonds and a pool of honey to smear on flatbread, crackers or toasted baguette.
• We also rolled about a tablespoon each jam and goat cheese into a crepe for brunch. Yum and yum.
• This will also stand in beautifully for your normal breakfast jam on toast.
• Lastly, warm this jam with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and serve over super dark chocolate ice cream.  Alternatively, crush a few meringue cookies, layer with this warm jam mixture and just a bit of heavy cream (whipped or not, doesn't matter).

smoky spanish gazpacho

I actually started with a recipe and then abandoned all sense of order and made up my own.  In the end, I decided that this gazpacho was maybe the best one I'd ever made.  Smoky, spicy and yet balanced with the acidity and sweetness of the watermelon.  These measurements are rough, but you'll get there by tasting and adjusting both as you make it, and again after it's chilled.  Here's sorta how it went down.

In a food processor, combine the following ingredients.  You're creating a soup base with part and the rest is being set aside to stir in afterward.  You'll end up with a nice base and just enough chunk and crunch.

7 ripe Minnesota-grown, vine-ripened tomatoes - cut these in quarters and pull out the gooey, seedy part; chop about 2 tomatoes into 1/4" dice and set those aside
2-3 garlic cloves - chopped roughly
1/2 - 1 whole large red onion - about 1/4 of the total onion should be cut into 1/4" dice and set aside with the tomatoes 

1 large hothouse/English cucumber - peel this just a bit and cut 1/3 of the total cuke into 1/4" dice; set aside
24oz tomato juice
1 small or 1/2 of one large jalapeno pepper - seeded and minced (all of this goes in the food processor); add more if you like it super zippy
1/4 of a whole watermelon - dice about 1c of this and set aside
1T smoked Spanish paprika - I love the Penzey's brand for this
1/4c Sherry or red wine vinegar
2-3T good Spanish olive oil - or you can use any kind, just make sure it's fruity and delicious right out of the bottle since there's not going to be any cooking or infusing going on.
1t kosher salt

Zip this all together in the food processor until pretty smooth and chunk-free, and then pour into a large bowl or container that will fit in the fridge.  A metal bowl will help cool things quickly if you're in a hurry.  Then stir in the diced tomatoes, onion, watermelon, cucumber and
1 yellow pepper - 1/4" dice

Taste and adjust the salt and paprika, if needed.  Add more vinegar if you need that bite.  But don't go too crazy.  Flavors will meld and change as the soup chills, so re-season just before you serve too.

Chill this for a good couple of hours. Then, mmmm. Enjoy!

perfect buttermilk dressing

Ok, well it's possible that this ISN'T perfect but I made it for the first time today and really believe it to be true.  I'm generally not a fan of creamy dressings at all, but this one ended up having just the right tartness to cut through any heavy feel.  It's quick to make and full of nummy flavor and will probably be dressing my market greens for the months to come.

Having never made this before, I found a couple of recipes that sounded interesting and riffed on them.  But I will say that this is shaping up to be one of those recipes that you can modify to your heart's desire.  The other typical herb is tarragon (though I'm not a huge fan myself) but I also saw a version with lots of fresh basil that sounded delish. I actually measured it all this time!

1 small shallot, finely minced

1 garlic clove, minced and then mashed into a paste with a bit of salt (use the flat edge of your knife blade and just work it around on the cutting board)

1-2T cider vinegar

1/4 t white pepper
1/4-1/2t salt, if you didn't get too crazy with your garlic paste; taste first and adjust later

1/4 t dry mustard powder

1/2 c. low fat buttermilk, well shaken

1T mayo (I love the eggy Japanese mayo that you can get from Asian markets)

2T sour cream (though I only had Mexican crema and went with that instead)

1T dried or 3T fresh chopped chives

Let the shallot and garlic mingle in the bottom of your bowl with the cider vinegar to "bloom" for 5 min or so while you get the rest of the stuff together.   Add the rest, whisk together.

Or, use a jam jar and shake everything together while dancing around the kitchen.

Particularly if you're using dried chives, try to let this dressing sit for 10 min or so once it's mixed, just to let them soften and let the rest of the flavors come together.

You really only need about 2-3T of dressing per LARGE serving of greens; the idea is lightly dressed not swimming in goo.  I served this (to myself!) with a leek & goat cheese frittata and a crispy glass of white wine and thought myself quite fortunate.

my mom's jello salad

A holiday food ritual in our home, a requirement really.  This was the one and only dish that could make my mom happy when she was a kid.  If she was too warm, too cold, under the weather or just simply blue, this molded jello happiness turned her around.  Not surprisingly, it works the same way today.

1 package red jello (raspberry is our preference)
1 package yellow jello (ok, lemon)
(let it be noted here that you don't want to mess with the sugar-free versions; just stick to the tried and true)
4 oz cream cheese (low fat is ok, but none of this nonfat business) - room temperature
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
crushed pineapple; drained

Dissolve red jello in 1c boiling water.  Pour into mold; chill for a few minutes - watching carefully.  When it's just starting to thicken (but before you actually have to break up jello chunks), add pineapple and mix in gently.  If you're using a metal mold, this will only take 10ish minutes.  If it gets away from you, you're sorta screwed so keep an eye on things.

Dissolve lemon jello in 1c boiling water.  Cool to slightly chilled (in fridge or freezer).

In mixer, whip cream into firm whipped cream  Then, add thickened lemon jello and cream cheese and whip until light and well-mixed.  Some small lumps may occur - don't stress it.

Pour yellow base into mold (red should be firmly set by now) and chill until ready to serve.  Needs about an hour to really set up.

Unmold by lowering mold into a shallow sink of warm (not hot!) water for a few seconds and then inverting the mold onto a serving plate.  Shake a bit to release the suction and the jello should slide right out.

Slice, enjoy.

zucchini & leek vichyssoise

This is a recipe from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris to which I have made a teensy alteration, simply because I think my stock was darker than Ina's and my potatoes weren't the white kind, so it didn't have that fresh, bright color I was looking for...so I cheated and added liquid sunshine instead. Also, if you - like me - are in the midst of detox or otherwise avoiding dairy, double up on the olive oil and skip the cream. I swear you won't notice a thing.

1 T unsalted butter
1 T good olive oil
5 c chopped leeks, white and light green parts (4-8 leeks - wash VERY well; soak and change water 2-3x)
4 c chopped unpeeled white boiling potatoes (8 small)
3 c chopped zucchini (2 zucchinis; unpeeled)
1 1/2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock (I love Pacific Organic)
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
2 T heavy cream (I used half and half and it was just fine)
Zest from 1/2 lemon
1-2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
Fresh chives or julienned zucchini, for garnish

Heat the butter and oil in a large stockpot, add the leeks and saute over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, zucchini, stock, salt and pepper; bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool for a few minutes and either:

• process through a food mill fitted with the medium disc (Ina's way)
• blitz with a hand blender right in the pot (my way)
• process in small batches in the blender (careful not to fill more than 1/2 way; dangerous hot stuff expands in the blender)

Add the cream and adjust the seasonings. If you're looking for a brighter, summery-er flavor, add lemon. Zest the lemon directly into the pot, and squeeze in the lemon juice.

Serve hot or icy cold with chives or julienned zucchini threads across the top. If you have a bright, fruity olive oil (or chive oil or similar), give the top a little drizzle with this as well.

Green tip: don't be silly; this is a great way to deal with that insane garden bounty. I suspect you could cut some yellow squash in for some of the zucchini with great success although I haven't tried it.

quick & spicy tomato and chicken soup

Modified this recipe after one of Giada's that struck my interest on a recent episode of Everyday Italian. It was a kitchen basics show and featured things you could probably whip together out of what you already have on hand. I altered it slightly to compensate for a quart sized chicken stock (didn't want leftovers), cavatappi (was on hand) and less than a full jar of sauce (was already leftovers). Also, with the addition of the breast meat of a rotisserie chicken for protein, this came in at 4 ww points for each of 6 servings.

2t EVOO

3 med carrots, diced

1 med shallot, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2/3 of a jar of marinara sauce (really, whatever you have on hand works fine)

32 oz chicken broth

1 can cannellini beans, lightly rinsed

1c cavatappi pasta

14 oz chicken breast, in bite sized pieces (again, this is what my chicken had, use whatever you have)

Lemon juice from 1/2 fresh lemon (if you don't have fresh, just skip this)

Heat EVOO in medium stock pot, add carrots and shallot and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, saute another minute or so. Add sauce, broth, beans and bring to a medium bubble. Add pasta. Once the soup comes to a bubble again, reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes or until pasta is cooked through. Remove from heat, stir in chicken. (If your chicken is cold, you may want to add it sooner to ensure it heats through before serving). Squeeze lemon juice, if using.

This makes 6 sizeable servings.

Trixie's tips:

Add sprinkle of parmesan or crumbles of goat cheese as a topping.

Add chopped freshed parsley for a little more fresh zing.

Another suggestion from the comments on Giada's recipe recommended adding chicken sausage - yum!

cold carrot soup

This recipe was originally featured in the June issue of Martha Stewart Living, and I gave it a go last week. Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone and amped things up just a bit. I then proceeded to serve this as a starter to 6 men and myself for dinner. Nice odds, eh?

Half gay, half straight and they ALL enjoyed the soup. Can't argue with results.

2T unsalted butter

1/4c diced onion

2 lbs carrots, peeled & sliced 1/2" thick (loving my mandoline for this job)

4c chicken broth

1 1/2c water

1T honey

1/2 t ground ginger

1/2t white pepper

1t salt

juice of 1/2 lemon

topping:

1-2 t evoo

1/2c fresh unseasoned coarse breadcrumbs (I tried panko but they were almost too light)

2T finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened (about 4 minutes). Add carrots, chicken broth and water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are very soft and cooked through, about 30-35 minutes. Remove from heat; add honey, ginger, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Check taste and re-season as needed.

Use an immersion blender or regular blender (in batches) to puree soup. Chill soup at least 3 hours (using a metal bowl speeds this process along) or overnight. Before serving prepare breadcrumb topping.

Heat olive oil in small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs and saute until toasted and golden brown. Spread out on a paper towel lined baking sheet and allow to cool fully before mixing in parsley.

Serve by topping each serving with 1T of breadcrumb mixture.

Notes from the chief mess-maker:

• soup, sans topping, registers in at 1 point per serving (assuming 8 servings) on ww
• if you don't want to bother with the topping, try a dollop of creme fraiche, sour cream or goat cheese on this
• seasoning with chinese 5 spice would also be delish

trixie's infamous mac & cheese

Thought I'd start bringing over some of the Trixie recipes to share with new friends. Enjoy and have wine with this to counteract the hardening of your arteries...

8oz small elbow macaroni (a nod to Ina, I'm trying cavatappi for Easter)
¼ c white wine (or chicken stock)
2c (packed) grated Gruyere & sharp white cheddar cheeses (I did roughly ½ and ½ - about ½ lb total...note, lean toward a younger sharp ched as the more aged ones are drier and can tend toward oiliness when baked)
1c whipping cream
1c whole milk
3oz thinly sliced prosciutto, coarsely chopped
¼ t grated nutmeg
½ t white pepper
½ t salt
3T grated parmesan
¼ c bread crumbs
5T butter
4T flour
2-3 roma tomatoes; seeded & coarsely chopped

Separate ¼c of the grated cheeses; combine with breadcrumbs and parmesan & toss. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain & set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.
Melt 1T butter (I used the same pan that I cooked the pasta in) & sauté prosciutto for a few minutes until lightly browned. Remove from pan & set aside. Keeping heat about med-high, add wine & deglaze pan. Boil until almost completely evaporated.

Add remaining 4T butter and melt. When melted, begin whisking in 4T flour, slowly. Should make a rather thick paste, but add the flour slowly and stop before you get glue! Add cream & milk & continue whisking. Cook for 4-5 minutes, whisking pretty much constantly, until slightly thickened & mostly smooth.

Add nutmeg, salt & pepper. When mixture is quite hot, turn off heat, add grated cheeses & prosciutto. Stir until cheese until melted. Stir in cooked pasta.

Pour into glass or ceramic baking dish. (I also read somewhere that you can make this up to this point, cover & refrig; then just let it come to room temp before adding the topping & baking).

Top with tomatoes and breadcrumb mixture. Bake 40 minutes-ish or until cheese is bubbling and topping is golden brown.

recipe: bon appetit's green pea soup with tarragon

On the other hand, this sounds delish and springy, is getting good online reviews, and I'm headed to the grocery today to pick up frozen peas. So there.

(As an aside, the April issue of Bon Appétit is chocked full of amazing sounding things. My copy is groaning under the weight of the 17 dog eared corners and I'm not even done going through it yet. Some of those ears are marking: Pasta with Peas, Asparagus, Butter Lettuce and Prosciutto; a Rose Margarita from Stack in Las Vegas; Chocolate-Dipped Frozen Banana Bites; Five-Spice Roast Chicken with Ginger-Scented Rice; Gougères; the entire pizza and prosecco party feature...and so very many more.)

recipe: smitten kitchen's cream cheese pound cake

I think the universe is mocking me for giving up cheese this month. It's just a month, people! I can make it! And until then, I'll be dreaming about versions of this.

review: Green Clean & recipe

In my ongoing research for safe, effective and yes, natural ways to clean my home, I found a book at the library (love the library - how thrifty AND green!?) called Green Clean: The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home and found it intriguing enough to pick up. First, the form factor: an eco-friendly book printed on a non-recycled paper?! Whaaaa? Well yeah. It's actually printed on a synthetic paper that makes it waterproof, stainproof and therefore infinitely durable. It's also resistant to tearing (shhh, yes, I checked). It's called a DuraBook™ in fact, which seams to suit the material perfectly. I like this concept quite a lot, particularly considering the abuse softcover books tend to take in library environments. Long live the library!

Anyway, I found the book to be a straightforward, helpful guide. There was some excellent reference and educational information, some basic housecleaning tips turned green, and lots of recipes. This probably isn't a book for an already-educated, hard core green household, but an excellent starting point if you're just beginning this phase in your life. And, as the book describes, you can just store it right in your cleaning bucket next to your products. It won't fall apart under the pressure!

Here's a recipe I'm going to try...(directly quoting from the book)

Vinegar of the Four Theives
Legend has it that grave robbers during a plague outbreak rubbed this on themselves to prevent illness.

2 quarts organic apple cider vinegar
Small handfuls of dried lavendar, rosemary, sage, rue, mint
Large jar (about 2 quarts) with a screw-top lid

Mix all ingredients in a jar and cover tightly. Let sit for at least four weeks and strain out the herbs. Pour into a spray bottle. Spray anywhere that's ripe for germs - such as places where lots of hands have touched, or in a sick room.

recipe: the new birthday cake

This recipe was adapted from the Beatty's Chocolate Cake in the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. I decided to give it a slightly Mexican twist and to kick the coffee flavor up. It doesn't end up tasting tremendously coffee-y or cinnamon-y. Just super rich and decadent without being overly sweet. A great grown up birthday cake.

And I just messed around with a fairly basic cream cheese buttercream frosting to go along with it.
This is one of those places that I believe in sticking with the very best ingredients. You won't be disappointed.

Cake:

butter for greasing the pans
1 3/4c all purpose flour, plus more for the pans
2 c sugar
3/4 good cocoa powder
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t kosher salt
1-2 t good cinnamon - I like Penzey's Vietnamese for this
1 c buttermilk, shaken
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 extra large eggs, at room temperature - or 2 large eggs + 1 extra yolk
1 t+ pure vanilla extract (I used the paste here, probably about 1 1/2 t)
1 c freshly brewed hot coffee
1 t+ espresso powder (dissolved in coffee)

This is so easy. Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 9" round cake pans (the recipe calls for 8" but I swear to you, after two go-rounds with this cake blowing up into my oven, I think either you have to have very tall 8" pans or just step up to 9" and call it a day), then add a circle of parchment to the bottom of the pan to fit. Butter the parchment, and flour the insides of both pans.

Sift all the dry ingredients together: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda & powder, salt and cinnamon. Pay attention to what's left in your sifter or strainer, as I almost lost all of my salt this way! Pour the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment.

In a separate bowl, combine: buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. With the mixer on slow speed, gently add the wet ingredients. With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom with a rubber spatula as you go. Taste the batter here and decide if you need more cinnamon or salt. (Or if you just want to sit down with the bowl and a big spoon.)

Batter in pans. Pans in oven for somewhere between 30-40 minutes. Toothpick will come out clean and center will be set. Now, be patient because this cake is super moist. Let the layers cool in the pans for 30 minutes; then turn them out onto the cooling rack and cool the rest of the way. If you don't frost the same day, wrap each cooled layer well with plastic wrap and leave on the counter. Heck, I think you could freeze them at this point too.

Frosting :
2 - 8oz pkg cream cheese (low-fat works fine); room temp
1 1/3 stick butter; room temp
4 t vanilla (I did half with the vanilla paste and half with vanilla extract to get the little black flecks in my frosting)
4 c (approx) powdered sugar
pinch kosher salt

This comes together best by sight/taste. You may not need all of the vanilla, or you may want more if you're looking for a sweeter flavor. I think somewhere around 4 c of powdered sugar works well but you may adjust that as you go too.

Start by creaming together the cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar about 1/2 c at a time. If it gets too thick, you can always add a tablespoon of cream or milk.

Frost the cake:
I strongly suggest crumb coating the layers first or you'll have a mess on your hands. Put the first layer on your cake plate and slide 2" strips of parchment under the edges all the way around; you'll remove these later and have a lot less frosting to clean off the plate. Add a good cup or so of frosting to the middle and smooth it out. Don't worry if the excess drips off the edge. In fact, it's almost better if some does squoosh out.

Add the second layer on top. Then add about 1/4 of the remaining frosting to the top. You're looking for a thin layer - just enough to coat and lock the crumbs down. When you go back to frost it, you don't want ANY chocolatey pieces coming into play. Just nice frosting.

Chill the cake and the remaining frosting for about 20 minutes here. Keep an eye on the frosting though so it doesn't get too thick. You may have to pull it out before the cake.

Then frost - be generous on the top and let the stuff goo down the sides of the cake. Add more to the sides and do whatever you do to straighten out the edges and put a nice finish on the top. Again, chill for at least 20-30 minutes after frosting, up to a few hours. Remove the parchment strips and tidy up the plate with a damp paper towel. Then back into the fridge if necessary. If you do leave it chilled for more than an hour or so, give it 10-15 minutes to come up to room temp before you try to cut it.

(Cake also works out perfectly as cupcakes; pipe the tops with a thick ribbon of frosting and sprinkle with some of that clear edible glitter for a beautiful finish.)

party: girls dinner

One of the coolest things I get to do is get together with an amazing assortment of women that I am blessed to call friends. Eight or so years ago, long before book clubs and cooking clubs were all the rage, a handful of us who worked together decided to start a “girls dinner” night once each month. And although we took some time off during the past year or so, we have been regularly meeting each and every month since then. It’s truly become part of the fabric of my life.

Our original group was made up of cooks and non-cooks alike, as is the new incarnation of this girls dinner group. We’ve broadened the focus a bit and opened up the guest list. And as we’ve grown up, our group has too. We focus less on bitching about men and our jobs and more on meeting new friends and genuinely connecting as women in this crazy world. Good food, good drink, and just being together – some of the truly elemental and basic parts of life. Our group exists to honor those ideals.

Oh but do we have fun, too. Those that cook, get in the kitchen and wow. Those that don’t aren’t pressured to perform. A theme helps us tie everything together and rotating venues makes the commitment easier to manage. This month’s theme is Mexican and we’ve come up with a great menu – fajita/taco/tostada bar, margaritas and a batch of my world famous (or just in my head) sangria. I’m also attempting to whip up a dessert on the fly: Mexican chocolate cake (spiked with coffee and cinnamon) with ice cream, caramel and a Kahlua chocolate sauce.

Practical lesson learned today: when sleepy Saturday baking, measure carefully. Adding 2x the vegetable oil will bring a whole new meaning to the term “molten lava cake.” And this, folks, is where marketing comes in. I picked this up by watching the Food Network show “Chopped” – sell it. As long as it tastes good, no one will ever know what you MEANT to make. All anyone will remember is the fun, the conversation and feeling like part of the group. Oh and the sangria.


Make:

• Vanilla scented sangria: dry red wine, vanilla vodka, Grand Marnier, mango juice, raspberries and a vanilla bean. Let base ingredients mingle for a few hours. Strain out berries and replace with fresh when ready to serve; leave vanilla bean in for pretty factor. Mix 2 parts base with 1 part sparkling water.
• Chicken & steak fajitas: we followed Tyler Florence’s Ultimate Fajitas recipe
• Mole chicken: roast chicken breasts (or nab a rotisserie bird) and shred meat. In a small sauce pan, thin Dona Maria mole sauce with chicken broth until soupy. Mix with chicken shred until it’s all coated with sauce.
• Mexican chocolate cake: adapt any good chocolate cake recipe by adding 1 tsp good cinnamon. I used Ina Garten’s Beatty’s Chocolate Cake recipe and amped up the coffee flavor by dissolving another 1 tsp espresso powder in the coffee. Then added the cinnamon. Serve with store-bought caramel sauce, cinnamon/coffee/dulce de leche ice creams and the chocolate sauce.
• Chocolate sauce: melt ½ package bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (depends on your preference) with ½ tsp espresso powder and 1T Kahlua.

Gather:

• Tostada shells, flour tortillas, hard shells for tacos
• Avocados, tomatoes, lettuce, black olives, green onions
• Mexican crema and/or sour cream
• Queso fresco, Monterey jack, sharp cheddar
• Tortilla chips
• Salsa
• Guacamole (or if someone has a good recipe, make this by hand)
• Good margarita mix, tequila and Cointreau

Green tip: Although it takes a storage commitment, stockpiling appetizer-sized plates, basic tumbler glasses and cloth napkins keep the bulk of the post-party refuse to a minimum. I make liberal use of thrift stores for juice-sized glasses that can be used for vino, cocktails, margaritas, water, etc. Over the years, I've picked up a ton of old china plates. I try to stay with a simple color palette - cream with gold trim - so that I can combine a number of different patterns, eras, styles together on the table.

Breville Juice Fountain Elite: juicy fresh happiness

One of the coolest new toys in my loft is my juicer. Just purchased from Williams-Sonoma last week, I have been experimenting like a woman possessed.

This all started a month or so ago when I was detoxing myself. Entire month of January without wheat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, red meat. Spending time on Oprah.com, as I love to do, I saw her "green drink" assumably concocted by Dr. Oz. Now, there is a lot of discussion going on in her boards about what the ingredients really are (I'm going with the above link) and whether or not they meant juicer instead of blender (they did). Either way, I just thought the thing looked so damned delicious I wanted to try it.

Then inspiration struck again when I visited Chicago a few weeks ago. In a great little breakfast joint, I had their apple/carrot/celery juice. I credit it solely with curing my first post-detox hangover.

Thusly inspired, I did a ton of online comparison shopping and then finally bought the beast. Then I started researching a little bit more on organic fruits and veggies - which were the most important to buy vs. which I could get away with being conventionally grown. (Here's a great resource for that information.) And I also have a little ace up my sleeve: across the street from our building sits a St. Paul institution. Which usually frightens me. See, Eisenberg's Market has been selling groceries and produce downtown for decades. But today, they tend towards "scratch and dent" or stuff that's nearing its expiration, all of which is trucked in daily from SuperTarget and other local grocery stores. Trust me, I hear those bloody refrigerated trucks unloading their goods in the wee hours of the morning. But one store's almost-expired organic produce is a girl's juicing goldmine.

I'm careful to wash everything with plain water and scrub things like carrots and celery with a stiff brush. This week I've tried:

• 2 apples + 2 celery stalks + 4 skinny carrots + 3/4" ginger (2 servings)
• 1 ruby red grapefruit + 1 thick pineapple spear + 1 t. Penzey's vanilla sugar
• 2 apples + 2 skinny carrots + 1 celery stalk (1 serving)

I also picked up a pretty book called "The Top 100 Juices" and can't wait to try out a couple of those recipes as well. But next, Oprah's drink is on my list. And let's not kid ourselves, I have a watermelon margarita on my mind too. Because detox is over, people.

Green Tip: The resulting pulp goes right into a ziploc in my fridge (with all my other organic matter) and added to my mom's compost pile. Which then becomes happy fertilizer in her garden. Which will grow beautiful tomatoes (and other items) which then I will steal in the middle of the night in July. Shhhh.