Showing posts with label How To Cook Everything. Show all posts
Showing posts with label How To Cook Everything. Show all posts

Thursday, February 21, 2013

The Most Important Meal of the Day

Cara, this post is dedicated to you, the true lover of breakfast.  When I do take time to make something for breakfast other than cereal or oatmeal, it's usually waffles.  Ryan and I got a waffle maker as a wedding gift, and I LOVE it.  It's just a simple waffle maker like the one found here.  

Now, it shouldn't come as a surprise when I tell you that the best recipe for waffles is the kind made from scratch as written by Mark Bittman in my favorite cookbook How To Cook Everything.  If I may, Bittman says the following about pancake batter, but I feel that the same applies to waffles:

     "Americans must have been sadly alienated from the kitchen for pancake mixes to ever have gained a foothold in the market, for these are ridiculously easy to make."  

Preach on Mark.

Anyway.  Here's the basic recipe.  I always like to add a little something special to the waffles.  Be it some multi-grain flour, fruit, or spice.

2 C all purpose flour 
     (I like to mix 1 C multi-grain or whole wheat flour for a heartier, more        flavorful waffle)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T sugar
     ( I like to use 1 T brown sugar instead)
3 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 C milk
2 eggs
4 T (1/2 stick) butter melted and cooled
1 tsp. vanilla

suggested add-ins:  1/2 tsp. each of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom
thinly sliced bananas or apples added right before you close the waffle maker
chopped almonds, walnuts

melt the butter first so that it cools back down!
brush waffle iron lightly with oil and pre-heat it.
combine the dry ingredients.
mix together the milk and eggs.
stir in the butter and vanilla.
stir in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
if the mixture seems to think to pour, add a little more milk.

spread a ladelful or so of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3-5 minutes, depending on your iron.  serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes in a low oven.

topped with chopped almonds, real maple syrup and butter, of course. 

i like to eat my waffles in sections! 





Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Weekly Menu: September 8-15

Woah! It's the 3rd week of school and I am already busy! Not to mention some interesting home projects underway.  Don't worry, we are still eating well in Des Moines... and now that I have already made one of the dishes, you get  a little more information about it!  Win win, readers.

This menu is driven by a trip I took to the farmer's market on Saturday morning. I woke up early and decided to head out before it got crazy.

Thai red curry inspired by these amazing long beans I picked up at the farmer's market for $1.



 Yes I used a prepared curry base.  It didn't seem to have any scary ingredients in it.  Taste and add more curry paste as needed. The recipe I found on the product website said 1 Tablespoon, I used a total of about 4.  Oh, and I was out of normal white or brown rice so I dipped into my special reserve of red rice I brought back from France.  It made this dish even more special!



Also on the weekly menu:

dinner with friends:  eggplant parmesan (I'll be making this for the first time!) Using Mark Bittman's recipe from How to Cook Everything (I cannot find a good link for that right now). Side dish of okra from the market...

homemade pizza

roasted beet and goat cheese salad! I am very excited for beets again... haven't had them in months.

black beans, rice burritos

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Simple Surprises and Inspiration

This was a nice surprise for me when I got home from a long day.  
Dinner (Bombay Sloppy Joes and homemade oven fries!) and 2 food magazines.  
Food Network Magazine and Martha Stewart's Everyday Food April issues.



What's better was that Mark Bittman was smiling from the pages of Everyday Food.  This is a great quote...

"Knowing the fundamentals of cooking is infinitely more important than following recipes or using 'chef-y' techniques.  Not everyone wants to dedicate themselves to cooking all day, but we should all be comfortable putting together a simple meal.  That's how I cook, and that's how I like to eat-- I think the basics are where it's at.  What's better than roasting a chicken or side of salmon for dinner?" 

I wholeheartedly agree with this.  The food I make on a regular basis isn't super-fancy and I don't use difficult techniques (remember those delicious pork chops I wrote about last week?).  I know how to do a few things well, I understand what I like and what tastes good.  Learning to cook has been one, if not the most, empowering thing I have yet accomplished.  It lets me be creative.  When I cook I am intentional about what kind of food I put into my body.  I take pride in my cooking.

The fact that I enjoy being in the kitchen helps too.

The article goes on with a little Q&A:
Q "How does cooking better help you eat well?"

A "When you cook for yourself, you have more control over what goes into your body; few things are more important.  Home cooks are far more conscious of the quality of the food they eat than people who get take-out most of the time" 

On eating well, home cooks can even go a step further and really pay attention to the quality of the food and ingredients.  For instance by replacing quick mixes and making food from scratch you are aware of exactly what is in your food (and you'll probably be able to pronounce the names of the ingredients).  It's not difficult.. it just takes time, effort, and believing in yourself. 

If you want to learn more about Mark Bittman, here is a link to his website. I will not be shy to recommend, yet again, his wonderful reference style cooking book:  How to Cook Everything. 

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Dinner With Friends


I love hosting friends at our house for dinner.

My friend Emily and I collaborate regularly on what we like to call family dinners.  We'll make our favorites, or try out new recipes. Whatever the menu, it's always a tasty and lovely time.

This weekend she brought falafel from the best/easiest falafel recipe EVER.  I found this recipe by visually searching on foodgawker (Go there now, I'll wait. ) I love searching for recipes on foodgawker because it catalogs many many food blogs, and it's a visual smorgasboard.

However, the recipe I found on foodgawker was based on the one that is found here here, which I find to be superb! I promptly shared it and am excited to share it again. 

The falafel were eaten with pita pockets and a delicious cucumber dill sauce and gone before I even had time to take a picture!!


I made empanadas for my contribution to family dinner.

Easily intimidated by pastry, I haven't made empanadas (or many foods that require a crust or a dough... Ryan's the baker around this house)  but I wanted to try it anyway.  Even though it's not my forte I am not opposed to the occasional culinary risk.  Sometimes I just have to get out of my comfort zone of chopping and roasting. Often it yields fantastic results (recall the ham) or a disaster... either way I have fun doing it. 

I could have googled endlessly and found many opinions and methods on empanada dough, but I just needed one easy recipe from a trusted source.  So I turned to my friend How To Cook Everything for a reliable dough recipe, and Mark Bittman didn't let me down.  It was probably one of the easiest things I have ever made. It required flour, vegetable oil and water and my beloved food processor.  I wish I would have taken a video of the dough coming together because it was awesome!  And oh so easy.



Ryan helped roll out the dough and turn it into tiny 6 inch rounds... 

                                        



The great thing about these little pastries, found in many cultures and by many names, is that you can fill it with anything you desire.  I chose spicy sausage, peppers and a little cheese.  I also made an apple filling for desert! 




Yum.  I look forward to more experiments with empanadas...  and many more dinners with friends.