that's a big sweet potato

Oh, yes. I love me some sweet potatoes. This one came in my CSA box recently, and it was pretty much love at first sight. I took one look at it and thought it was too big to make into just one dish--I'd have to cook it two ways. A friend of mine brought mashed sweet potato with goat cheese mixed in to a dinner party I was at, and it was phenomenal, so I copied her idea, using half of this beast for mashing, and half for tasty sweet potato oven fries. It wasn't a particularly well-rounded meal, nutritionally, but it was delicious and orange.

quinoa carrot top soup

I keep meaning to experiment with quinoa more. I mentioned this to a friend recently as we were grocery shopping together, and she emailed me an interesting recipe for a quinoa carrot top soup. I love soup, and we had just picked up our CSA box with lovely organic carrots inside, so it was easy to motivate myself to make this soup.

Looking at the recipe, I decided that it would probably turn out a bit bland for my tastes, so I added some spices while I was cooking it. It didn't turn out perfectly, but it made for a nice summer soup. I think next time I will experiment with perhaps adding beans or cooked cabbage to this soup as well. The recipe is from this website: http://tonopahrob.com/?p=20

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion - diced
• 4 cups water
• 5 to 6 carrots
• 1 cup carrot tops - washed and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Better than Bouillon – Beef Flavor or 2 tsp beef bouillon granules
• 1/2 cup quinoa – rinsed well

Sauté onion in olive oil over medium-high heat in 3 quart pot until onions begin to brown. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for approximately 30 minutes.

I made the following substitutions/additions: Instead of the beef bouillon, I used about 3 cups of vegetable broth and 1 of water. I added 1/2 tsp each of turmeric, cumin, and red pepper flakes, as well as two bay leaves. This would probably be very tasty with fresh rosemary and tarragon if you prefer those flavors.

The carrot tops give this soup a really nice fresh taste! It is great for a spring or summer soup, and I plan to perfect it in the future.

garam. masala. cookies.

So, I have been getting better at taking pictures of things while I am cooking/eating/dining/having cheese & prosciutto picnics. But, I fail to write about them. I mean to improve this, and to that aim, I bring you.... Garam masala cookies!

I accidentally bought a ton of garam masala and every time I see it in my spice cabinet, I think "I need to find a way to use that! It's so tasty!" and then promptly forget about it. One day, I came across a photo of vegan garam masala cookies on flickr (is that nerdy? I don't care.) and thought the idea sounded amazing--but, I have difficulties with cookies and thought I better work on making a more traditional butter inclusive cookie before branching out into the vegan cookie territory. So, armed with patience, lots of garam masala, and google, I baked my little heart out just in time for a lovely potluck with friends. I looked at a few recipes and chose my favorite because it recommended browning one stick of butter in a pan before adding it to the mix. I figured you probably can't go wrong there, and I was right.

The dough was delicious. I am not afraid of salmonella--I delight in the childlike pleasure of eating cookie dough... It reminded me of how fun baking cookies can be.

The recipe I used didn't call for rolling the dough in sugar, but I thought it would work nicely. My first batch was made using cane sugar, the second, with turbinado sugar. The turbinado sugar looked prettier but didn't work as well. I'll have to give it another shot sometime soon.

These cookies were, to put it mildly, fantastic. I wasn't expecting them to be so great, but was quite pleased with the results. I'll be holding on to that recipe! As noted on the page where I found this recipe, they are reminiscent of gingersnaps, with a little something extra that you can't quite place.

The recipe can be found at the following link, but I have copied it here for future reference as well. You should probably think about baking these the next time you want something delicious. http://helenabakes.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/garam-masala-cookies/

Garam Masala Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 heaping teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons garam masala
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, one softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375°.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt, garam masala, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a sauce pan, heat 1 stick of butter over medium high heat until completely melted. Keep cooking the butter until it turns a rich golden brown color and begins to take on a warm, nutty smell. This may take up to 6 or 7 minutes. Be careful not to burn your butter! Pour into a heat resistant bowl and set aside for 10-15 minutes.

In yet another bowl (sorry), mix brown sugar, granulated sugar, and softened stick of butter with an electric mixer, adding cooled browned butter gradually until completely combined. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, blend until creamy. Slowly add flour mixture and mix, scraping the sides of the bowl to ensure even distribution throughout the dough.

Drop rounded teaspoons of dough on to an ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges turn slightly brown. Don’t overbake these cookies – they should look almost underdone when you take them out of the oven. Set on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from cookie sheet to cool completely.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies.

happiness is...

Fresh braeburn apple, apricot compote, and creamy pierre robert cheese as a late-night snack.

http://www.artisanalcheese.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PC-10407

Banana Bread

Banana bread is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. My parents have been making it for me since I was tiny, and every time I smell it baking, it reminds me of waiting expectantly for a hot slice fresh out of the oven. When I was pondering what to bring to a housewarming party this evening, I decided that banana bread would be the perfect thing to create a warm, homey feel in a new home. A friend's recent experimentation with her recipe lead me to tweak my old faithful recipe, and my banana bread baking may never be the same! This is my grandma's banana bread recipe, or the gold standard in my book.


1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped nuts
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 very ripe bananas, crushed


I swapped out 2/3 of a cup of flour for almond meal, which can be found at your local Trader Joe's, and probably other places as well. I also used 4 bananas, instead of 3.

I wanted to add chocolate chips, and realized I didn't have any on hand. Instead I took a block of Scharffen Berger 99% cacao chocolate, chopped it up with a big knife, and added it to the batter. I liked that the chocolate wouldn't overpower my bread by adding too much sweetness, and the roughhewn look of the chopped bits.



I added walnuts to this bread, but I have used pecans in the past and really enjoyed that.
The process is fairly simple. Cream the butter and sugar well, then add eggs and cream thoroughly. Next, add/smash bananas (I like to leave some chunks, but will sometimes use an immersion blender to smooth out the batter a little), and mix in dry ingredients.




Bake at 350F for approximately 1 hour.
The batter was gorgeous with the addition of the almond meal and the chocolate, and the smell of the bread as it was baking was intoxicating. The finished loaf was rapidly consumed, and enjoyed by many--which is a delightfully satisfying result for any baker.

Cafe Presse

I wasn't sure what to expect of Cafe Presse, having heard mixed reviews, but after last night... I'm in love. Their wine by the glass is affordable and delicious. I tried about three different wines and they were all lovely. The Cotes du Rhone was a favorite. We had their assiette de fromage, and I enjoyed all of the cheses on the plate, which I feel is not always the case with cheese plates. Next, we had their gâteau au foie de volaille with cherry compote... oh my god. SO good. The cherries were perfect. The terrine was smooth and creamy and the best I've ever had. Then, for the main course, we had the quail.... and we weren't disappointed. The quail is nearly boneless (save for the leg and wing) and served with sautéed potatoes, apples, sweet onions and a creamy sage-white wine sauce. I read that on the menu, thought it sounded good, but then was totally blown away by how delicious it was. It was an explosion of flavor. They truly did an excellent job on this dish. To finish the meal, I had an aperitif-- a glass of their tawny port. It was the perfect end to the meal, and left me feeling warm and happy. Cafe Presse is a really cute little space. You will be close to your neighbors, but it wasn't something that bothered me or that I really noticed much. The service was friendly, informative (we got some good recommendations on wines) and quite pleasant. On a rainy winter evening, the cozy, muted lighting lent a good atmosphere to the room. I wold love to return for a coffee and breakfast sometime, but I know I will be back soon for dinner or drinks!

(photos taken from yelp.com)

simple pleasures

I've been cooking quite a lot these days. Plenty of soup, of course, because it's the time of year that makes me yearn for a big bowl of hearty soup. Many repeats from last year--I made the cauliflower red lentil soup I wrote about last winter and it was better than I remembered it! This time I also took a couple of pictures.

If you weren't already aware, cauliflower is actually a very nutritious vegetable. I have, in the past, thought of it as one of those things that I just enjoy eating that has no special benefit to my health, but I was wrong. It's high in dietary fiber, folate, and vitamin C, and comes in other colors besides white (orange! purple!). It is part of the same family as broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, and cabbage! Basically, it is delicious and good for you, and so are its bretheren. That is the end of my "cauliflower is wonderful!" lecture. The recipe for this soup can be found here: http://thingswinonahaseaten.blogspot.com/2009/03/la-dolce-vegan.html

Sometime last year, I discovered that I did not, in fact, know how to successfully make an omelette. Every time I tried, I got impatient (hunger will do that to you) and it ended up being a scramble. I like a good scramble, but there is something so satisfying to me about food that is actually wrapped in other food (dumplings, burritos, pie.... you get the picture) and besides, omelettes that have been properly executed are such a pretty thing to have for breakfast! I had a small amount of exceptionally tasty gruyere in my fridge recently that I wanted to put on or in something, and remembering my successful foray into omelette making, I whipped up a simple 2-egg omelette with the remainder of the cheese. Basically, the "secret" to making omelettes is patience, and a large enough (and well buttered) pan. Gruyere is a great cheese for omelettes, as it melts well and is flavorful. I didn't have any fresh veggies to toss in, but cheese and eggs are delicious enough on their own, I think!