Adding fresh side dishes to leftovers...

I thought it was dusty the other day... boy was I in for a shock when I came in from mowing this afternoon! They had been sanding the walls and ceiling for most of the morning today - so when I came in to get a snack, there was almost an inch of stuff all over the floors! Thankfully they have been pretty good about cleaning up, but I have a feeling I will be vacuuming up this stuff for a few days. It looks as if the kitchen could be coming along a little faster than we were told, so we might be back in action in the next few weeks!

To go along with the leftovers we had for dinner tonight, I was able to throw together a side of Broccoli with Spicy Tahini. These quick and simple sides we have been making are good for keeping dinners from getting too boring since we are used to cooking so many recipes each week. In this recipe, instead of just using broccoli florets, you use a good amount of the thick stalk from the broccoli by simply peeling them to remove the tough outer skin. Once prepped, the broccoli is steamed just until crisp tender, then a portion of the liquid used to steam is set aside to help thin out the sauce. To make the sauce, tahini (sesame seed paste), the reserved hot liquid, harissa, lemon juice and salt are blended together to be served over the broccoli. This sauce is creamy and quite spicy from the harissa with the lemon juice bringing a fresh bright flavor. Harissa is red paste made from chili and a few spices - if you can't locate it, you could use chili paste or hot sauce. I used a full tablespoon as we love the spiciness, but start out with a smaller amount if you don't like it too hot. It is easier to add more to taste than to try and reduce the heat later.

PS - Will there be a treat day tomorrow for Jeff's co-workers? Stay tuned...

Recipes
Broccoli with Spicy Tahini

Well it cooked the pasta... but was it worth it?

Nothing too exciting to report on the kitchen just yet, although we did have a go around with the sink/countertop people as they were trying to sell us something other than what we ordered to make it easier for them...

I mentioned yesterday that we bought a single burner that we could plug in to see if I could make any dinners with it. Well, it did work... sort of. I needed to cook some pasta and it took a good long while for the water to boil (yes, I even covered it!). I eventually got the pasta done, but I would either do it in smaller batches next time, or just forget it, as using the burner just didn't seem worth the effort.

However, I was glad that we were able to try out tonight's dinner of Macaroni Salad with Bacon, Peas, and Creamy Dijon Dressing. The piquant dressing is made from cream cheese, shallots, plain yogurt, sour cream, Dijon, fresh lemon juice and a dash of vinegar. Thick and creamy with a mild tang would be an appropriate description of the dressing. The bulk of the salad is whole wheat macaroni mixed with green peas, roasted red bell peppers, red onions, parsley and a smidge of lemon zest. In some recipes when you mix all of the dressing with the pasta, it tends to absorb most of it and become somewhat pasty if you make it ahead of time. This recipe though is great to make ahead of time as you only need to mix half of the dressing when you make the salad. Right before serving, you then add the rest of the dressing so the salad stays creamy. Crumbled smoky bacon adds a salty finish with some additional crunchy texture.

Recipes
Macaroni Salad with Bacon, Peas, and Creamy Dijon Dressing

Still chuggin along...

Well, I can't say we made a ton of new stuff this week - but even with the kitchen being out of order, we did manage to try 6 new recipes. Our favorites were probably the Pumpkin Waffles and Three-Bean Chili with Vegetables. I wanted to make a pasta dish tomorrow night for dinner so while we were out running errands and picking up groceries this morning, I did pick up a single burner that we could plug into the wall. I have a feeling it probably won't work too well, but we will give it a shot. When we arrived back home, I wanted to make a quick snack before lunch... so with some of the leftover mashed pumpkin I made a Banana Pumpkin Smoothie.

Since I always keep a few frozen ripe bananas in the freezer, this was pretty quick to throw together. I used some of the mashed pumpkin I took out for the waffles yesterday and pureed it with vanilla yogurt, fresh orange juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, fresh grated nutmeg and cloves. Since the banana was frozen and the pumpkin was well chilled, the smoothie was pretty thick with the addition of ice cubes. When I took my first sip, I was surprised how tangy the orange juice made it - I thought it was teetering on the verge of taking over the smooth pumpkin flavor. I would probably half the amount of juice and replace it with soymilk next time.

Recipes
Banana Pumpkin Smoothie

Don't wait to pick your pumpkins!

They've been talking about how the pumpkin crop around the area is pretty bad this year so I was glad that I picked up some Pie pumpkins when I saw them at the market a couple weeks ago. This way I could make and freeze some mashed pumpkin to use this season like we did last year. I wanted to do something different and fun for breakfast this morning, so I surprised Jeff with a batch of Pumpkin Waffles!

It has been such a long time since we've made waffles that I had to search around to find the waffle iron this morning. The dry ingredients are spiced up with Vietnamese cinnamon and ground cloves which compliment the subtle pumpkin flavor. Using dark brown sugar gave them a richer depth of flavor without making them overly sweet. When we were eating the golden waffles, I kept thinking that these would be even better with bits of crystallized ginger in them. Toasted pecans or walnuts in the batter might be a worth a try too! The waffles are light, but they don't stay too crispy. If you prefer yours more on the crunchy side - I would make them ahead of time and use a toaster oven when it's time to re-heat them.

Recipes
Pumpkin Waffles

Quick and easy use for some cooked turkey...

Well, no progress on the kitchen today as the contractor had to go out of town for the weekend. Boo! They should begin again on Monday, but that seems so far away! This will be our first ever remodel of a room and we are certainly learning a lot on the fly... we are starting to figure out what we would do different if we ever need to do the kitchen again.

Feeling the need to cook something, I did make an easy dinner for tonight. I made use of our Griddler to cook some turkey breast for the Curry Turkey Salad we had. Sour cream and yogurt form the base of a creamy dressing flavored with a splash of fresh lime juice, two kinds of curry powder and a touch of honey for sweetness. Mixed with the tender chunks of turkey breast are juicy red grapes, crisp celery and red onion to lend a crunchy bite to the smooth dressing. Once the generous amount of salad is stuffed in some halved whole wheat pitas, roasted cashews are scattered on top to finish the dish with a salty flare. I did find the two curry powders to be pretty mild, so I might try increasing the hot madras powder by a 1/4 teaspoon next time. This would work just as well with some cooked chicken if you already have it on hand!

Recipes
Curry Turkey Salad

Sweet and sour with a crunchy bite...

Whew... who knew there would be so much dust happening when they are working on the kitchen! We put plastic over everything, but it's almost like you have to vacuum it before rolling it back up when they leave! Since Jeff just finished putting in the pantry before this started, we had not gotten the doors put up yet - so there's a large sheet of plastic over that too. It's not too fun trying to wiggle underneath it when you need to grab something quick!

Tonight's dinner is of course more leftovers... this time we warmed up the chili from a couple days ago. This reheats very well and really hit the spot since we had a cold front come through today. They said the high for today was at midnight and it just kept falling throughout the day! I had to make something new as I'm still getting used to not being able to make recipes so often. I prepared a simple Broccoli and Apple Salad to have along side of the chili.

Crunchy raw broccoli and crisp apples make for a light and refreshing dish after being coated with a quick sweet and sour dressing. I was a little worried that the 6 tablespoons of cider vinegar would be a little overpowering, but the sweetness from sugar and the tangy Dijon made sure it was kept in check. I used Granny Smith apples as I wanted a little extra burst of tartness. I think this would be a perfect dish to bring along on a picnic or a last minute side for entertaining.

Recipes
Broccoli and Apple Salad

A peek in our pantry... Part I

We've been getting a few e-mails asking us to talk about what we keep stocked in our pantry. Since we are not making many new (if any) dishes because of the remodel, this would be a good time to do some show and tell! Here are some of the sweeter-type staples we have around. I will try and get a savory one and a freezer version up sometime if you're not bored with reading this!

We stumbled upon Penzeys when we lived near Minneapolis a few years ago, around the same time I started to seriously get involved in changing the way we look at and eat food. Even though we don't live near a brick and mortar store anymore (sigh...), I still keep myself well stocked with their goodies - especially these first two items.

I always have big bags of their Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon in the spice cabinet (or freezer) - they recommend reducing the amount in recipes as it is pretty strong, however I leave it the same and never had it overpower anything. Inhaling the sweet smell when opening a fresh bag is almost intoxicating!

Dutch Process Cocoa is another item I keep handy. I do have a bag of their natural cocoa in case a recipe calls for it or if baking soda is the leavener and a specific type is not called for. I find the flavor to be more rich, delicate and smoother than the natural which can be a little bitter.

For chocolate chips, we often opt for the industrial sized bag of Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet. I do keep some smaller bags of peanut butter, butterscotch and milk chocolate chips to use as mix-ins though.

When I need chocolate chunks or chocolate for melting, I grab the big block I get from Trader Joe's. I like the quality for everyday use, but I will splurge for Valrhona or Callebaut from Whole Foods for special projects.

Since moving out east, I find myself keeping a supply of true Fluff in the pantry as well. It was such fun to use it in the Fluffer Nutter Bars and of course in peanut butter sandwiches!

With all this sweetness, you can't forget one important ingredient to offset it... salt! I have and pretty much always used Morton's Kosher Salt. I tried Diamond once, but just didn't care for it. The one time I prefer to not use it is in recipes for frosting - I like to use fine popcorn salt as it seems to dissolve better for me and leaves no grainy texture. I like to throw a pinch or two in baked goods if the recipe does not call for it just because it seems to bring out the flavors more. I keep it in a handy dish I received as a Christmas gift - it's the one from Alton Brown.

Leftovers with a new no-cook side...

More destruction in the kitchen today... and we even had a couple interesting moments. They found a hidden cable wire and just about cut through it, but they did catch it in time. It provides cable TV to the entire upstairs and has to be moved somehow - they think they are going to take it under the floor then up through the wall. I haven't a clue about that stuff, but they seem to think it should be ok. Two electricians were also here doing some work early this morning (7:30 am no less) - one was in the attic and the other in the bare kitchen... we heard one yell "Oh #$@! you cut the wrong wires!" Thankfully he somehow managed to not electrocute himself and they got it patched back up before they left... Jeff and I looked at each other and quietly said "just think - we are only on day 2!"

We are having one of the many leftovers in the freezer for dinner tonight, but I did put together a side dish of Waldorf Slaw in the living room that required little effort. While it should have taken me just a few minutes to throw together, it seemed to take forever since nothing was in its place! I did end up using the last of our Gingergolds so I must make a mental note to put them on the list to get from Costco... we love these apples! The apples are tossed with chopped pears, plump golden raisins, rich toasted walnuts and broccoli slaw. A creamy dressing made with buttermilk, sour cream, plain yogurt, fresh lemon zest, lemon juice and some seasonings cling to the crunchy salad. I thought the dressing was kind of runny while mixing it, but after a chill in the refrigerator, it seemed to really hold together well. Tangy, fresh and with a satisfying crunch - this dish gave us enough for lunch tomorrow and helped to keep a hum-drum leftover dinner a little more interesting!

Recipes
Waldorf Slaw

Squeaking out one more...

If only the kitchen would come back together as fast as it went down this afternoon! The demolition started today and I didn't realize just how often I wash my hands/dishes in the sink! I'm really going to miss the accessibility of that. So far, so good - but we still have quite a while to go. Since I am a glutten for punishment and because the installer called and said they were not going to arrive for a few more hours, I jumped at the chance to make one final recipe early this morning that we could re-heat for dinner tonight.

Because I was not very prepared, I had to make a few changes to the recipe, Sausage and Vegetable Deep-Dish Pizza, so as to use ingredients we had on hand. Before we get to the changes, I did have to knead up some pizza dough. Just a basic dough - although, I did add some dried rosemary and oregano to beef up the flavor a bit. The dough was soft and smooth in just about 6 minutes since I kneaded it by hand. The original recipe called for cooking down zucchini and mushrooms for the filling - but instead, I chopped up some fresh broccoli and steamed it just until crisp tender. Hot Italian turkey sausage is then crumbled and cooked until browned. I mixed in the bright green broccoli and some of the Spicy Pizza Sauce that I made and froze a couple weeks ago in case we would need it for the next few weeks. When the dough has risen, it is pressed into and up the sides of a metal baking dish. The chunky and spicy sauce mixture is spread on top and in the oven it went for about 20 minutes to get the crust going and warm the filling. Once the timer went off, we scattered a generous mixture of shredded mozzarella and sharp Parmesan over the top and back in the oven it went to finish browning the crust and to melt the cheeses.
Be sure to watch the time as this bakes - at about 10 minutes our crust was perfect, but if we would have waited the extra 5 minutes per the recipe, it would have been overdone. It was so hard to sit and wait the 10 minutes for it to settle down before cutting into it! With a pretty thick crust, this is not a pizza for you if you only like pizzas with a thinner crust. The herbs in the dough brought just enough zip to the crust to compliment the spicy flavor of the filling. While I don't necessarily think of broccoli when it comes to pizza and I'm sure it would have been great with the suggested vegetables, we both thought it actually paired pretty well! It has been a long time since we had a deep dish pizza and this was quite filling being cut into 6 large squares. I can definitely see us making this one again once the kitchen is back in one piece!

Recipes
Sausage and Vegetable Deep-Dish Pizza

Warming you from the inside out....

10 new recipes this week - but this will probably be slowing down quite a bit with the tear down of the kitchen starting tomorrow. The favorites for us this week were Peanut Butter and Jam Rolls, Baked Sweet Potatoes with West African-Style Peanut Sauce, and Buttery Apple Loaf Cake.

In anticipation of being without the stove, I made a very large recipe for dinner tonight - mainly so we could have leftovers for lunches and dinners this week. For this recipe, Three-Bean Chili with Vegetables, make sure to use a very large pot as my 6 quart was almost full to the brim by the time everything was in! This is in no way a traditional chili, but we ended up liking this thick hearty version quite a bit! Onions, carrots and garlic start the base flavors in a little canola oil - water, corn kernels (I used kernels I froze from the cob in late summer), sweet red bell peppers and zucchini are added followed by a few select spices. Smoky cumin, chili powder, hot chili powder and oregano filled the kitchen with a rustic homey aroma as soon as they hit the pan. Fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, pinto beans, kidney beans and black beans are the bulk of the chili with dense tomato paste helping to thicken. Cooked until the carrots are tender, a splash of rice vinegar at the end heightens the flavors with some chopped chipotles added for a stomach warming heat. Garnished with fresh cilantro, a dollop of luscious sour cream and sharp cheddar - what more can you ask for? Lunchtime tomorrow can't come fast enough!

Recipes
Three-Bean Chili with Vegetables

PB&J in a new way!

I wanted to get some snacks made that we could freeze and have while the kitchen is going to be out of order. One thing I did today was make some bread with a fun surprise inside!

These Peanut Butter and Jam Rolls begin by making a bread dough that is flavored with peanut butter. Besides the peanut butter, baker's dry milk and potato flakes are mixed with the flour to make this dough very smooth and results in a light ultra-soft roll. Once the dough has risen, it is divided into 16 pieces and rolled into balls. These are then flattened and ready to be filled.

Strawberry jam is the first filling - I mixed this with arrowroot to help it thicken and stay inside the rolls - you can omit this, but the filling is likely to spill out while baking. Creamy peanut butter, mixed with a touch of honey, sits beside the jam and then one edge of the dough is folded over to the other side to create a half circle. Using a fork, these are then crimped to seal the edges and left to rise again until puffy. If any of the jelly is squished out when you crimp, just be prepared for a little of the filling to leak out - it won't run everywhere because of the arrowroot, but it is sticky.After being baked until golden, a rich shiny glaze made from butter melted with a little more honey is brushed over the rolls. Be sure to let these cool before digging in, the inside filling stays quite hot for at least 20 minutes after they come out. This was such a fun and different way to enjoy a PB and J sandwich! While you could certainly use grape jelly, I encourage you to branch out and try other jams/jellies to add a different twist! I didn't notice it at first, but Jeff did make a passing comment that they kind of look a lot like clams!

Recipes
Peanut Butter and Jam Rolls

Uh oh... they arrived early!

Earlier this week we got a surprising phone call... our cabinets from KraftMaid were ready and would be delivered on Friday (today!)

They came pretty early this morning and now the garage is full of boxes, teasing us, just waiting to be opened! That's 2 1/2 weeks earlier than we were expecting... we quickly called and talked with the installer, who in turn called us back after checking things out and told us he had no problems starting early! So, the demo starts this coming Monday and we will officially be without a kitchen. Scary... and it I'm not sure what, if any, new recipes will be happening as I have been cookin' up extra dinners to freeze since we won't be able to cook much. Things will most likely slow way down here, but we'll try to keep things interesting - so I apologize ahead of time for lack of new stuff in the upcoming week(s).

In other news, it was Jeff's Mom's birthday this week - along with the gift we sent along a bunch of cookies! Vanilla Salted-Peanut Cookies are medium-sized with a great texture for shipping. They have a pretty crisp outside with a hearty chew as you nibble into the center. Rich in flavor from brown sugar, these cookies are packed with rolled oats, chunky roasted peanuts, golden raisins and sweet coconut. The salty peanuts help to off-set the amount of sweetness the brown sugar adds with the rolled oats helping to keep them chewy. You can play around with the baking time depending on how crisp/chewy you like your cookies. Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, I got around 46 cookies - just enough to send a bunch and have a few leftover for us!
Dinner tonight, Turkey Tamale Potpie, was fairly quick to prepare and fun to watch as it baked up. Inside this pie is a robust filling of onions, garlic, red bell pepper, fresh ground turkey, fire-roasted tomatoes and kidney beans. This mixture is seasoned with a spicy and smoky combination of chili powder, hot chili powder and oregano. I used a combination of 12 ounces breast meat to 4 ounces of dark meat when I ground the turkey to help keep it flavorful and moist. Once the filling is pipping hot, it is poured into a baking dish and topped with buttermilk cornbread batter. It goes into the oven just long enough for the cornbread to bake up into a beautiful golden brown crust. This was very filling and a total comfort dish even though Jeff proclaims he does not like beans or cornbread... that certainly didn't stop him for going back for a few more bites before I packed the leftovers up to go in the freezer.

Recipes
Vanilla Salted-Peanut Cookies
Turkey Tamale Potpie

What do you call them?

We are big fans of baked potatoes, but every once in awhile we like to change things up and use sweet potatoes instead. Tonight's side dish brings a plain sweet potato into a whole new world with a savory nutty sauce.

As the potatoes slip into the oven for their hour long bake, the recipe for Baked Sweet Potatoes with West African-Style Peanut Sauce continues by making the thick spicy sauce. Onions, fresh ginger and garlic omits a sweet aromatic smell as they cook in a touch of oil. Smoky cumin, coriander and crushed red pepper are added in and sit for a minute to get a gentle toast. Water, tomato sauce and natural peanut butter along with a couple seasonings are stirred in and the thin mixture cooks for just a couple minutes to turn quite thick. When the potatoes are done, they are slit lengthwise and easily open up to be filled with a generous portion of the sauce. The sweetness in the potato gives in to the savory taste, but the natural flavor still shines through. Perhaps along side of the chopped cilantro, a scattering of chopped roasted peanuts would be a satisfying crunchy garnish.

So what do you prefer to call yours? Sweet Potatoes or Yams?

Tonight's main dish of Pork Tenderloin with Shallot-Cider Sauce could have been better served with something to soak up its abundant (yet not so visually appealing) sauce, but a chunk of rustic bread certainly worked well enough for us! With no marinade time and simply seasoned with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, the pork portion was a snap to get in the oven. After the shallots for the sauce soften, we added some fresh apple cider we got from the apple orchard along with beef broth, applesauce, salt, five-spice powder and pepper. This mixture boils away until it reduces in half and fills the kitchen with a classic fall aroma from the five-spice powder. Applesauce helps give the sauce a rich body with fresh lemon juice added at the end to heighten the flavors. I took the pork out of the oven at around 145 degrees and left it to continue cooking under a tent of foil for a few minutes to achieve a light pink hue in the center. The pork was very juicy, but would probably still be okay if you felt the need to take it all the way to 160 degrees.

Recipes
Baked Sweet Potatoes with West African-Style Peanut Sauce
Pork Tenderloin with Shallot-Cider Sauce

Who knew lemon, cheese and pasta went so well together?

We did make a new recipe for dinner last night, but after getting the recipes and post together for the Wednesday Treat Day stuff, I was too tired to talk about it! So we'll be a day behind on dinners until I can get myself caught up in posts!

I loved how easy and fast last night's dinner was as it was a pretty hectic day - you'll find out more in the next few days on what's going on. Besides being quick to throw together, this dish of Shells with Ricotta, Basil and Lemon had such a clean fresh taste to it. As the shells cook, ricotta is taken to a new level being tossed with tangy lemon juice, lemon zest and a chiffonade of fresh basil leaves. The hot pasta is added and the heat softens the ricotta just enough to make it very easy to toss together. Instead of topping this with some sort of grated cheese, olive oil and fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs (I like the crusts on whole wheat bread, so I left them on when I zipped the slices through the food processor) are heated in a large skillet to get toasty. This creates nutty and crunchy nuggets that make a striking contrast to the creamy ricotta that sneaks into the shells. Jeff was a little unsure about the whole lemon/ricotta/pasta combination, but quickly changed his mind once he snuck a taste while I was not looking - I heard the "MMmmm..." sound and knew this was going to be a hit.

Since I was able to easily dinner together so quick, I also made the Asiago-Black Pepper Drop Biscuits that what have posted a few times before - these biscuits are made quite often around here as we love the sharp bite to them.

Recipes
Shells with Ricotta, Basil and Lemon

Celebrating the arrival of fall...

When Jeff came in the door this afternoon from work, the first thing he said was "If you think I'm taking in whatever smells so good for treat day tomorrow, you are sorely mistaken!" I began to wonder if the treats were going to live up to that!

Jeff and I went to a local orchard this weekend and picked some fresh apples - what a perfect way to welcome in the first day of fall! I won't mention that the person who was on duty to remember the camera kind of forgot... *looks at Jeff*, so I guess we will just have to go back to take pictures and of course pick more apples - you won't hear me complain! I think you can probably guess now what are in the goods for the weekly Wednesday Treat Day for his office.

For maximum apple use, I decided to play around with two recipes to compare how they would turn out as they are somewhat different in how they come together. The first recipe, Dutch Apple Bread, is more like a mildly sweet quickbread with a fairly light texture and has a subtle nutty taste from the use of whole wheat pastry flour. A sweet crunchy mixture is made from flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and toasted walnuts. This is then mixed with apple cider and canola oil to create a crumbly topping that dimples the top of these loaves. The moist bread is studded with chopped apples and has a tender crumb as buttermilk is the liquid used to moisten the batter.

For a different twist to give the bread lift and lightness, we whipped egg whites to stiff peaks and gently folded them in after we added the tart apples. This step did make for some extra effort, but the texture achieved made me want to try this with other recipes.

The next treat, Buttery Apple Loaf Cake, holds true to its name with a fair amount of butter in two separate parts of the recipe. The texture of this one is a little tough to describe - the best I can come up with is a cross between a cake that is a little dense in texture and a quickbread. Another crumbly topping is made, this time with flour, brown sugar, melted butter and cinnamon. Instead of combining the apples with the batter, this time they are used in two dramatic layers - one inside and one on top. Once the golden batter is ready, half is placed in the bottom of a large loaf pan and then a layer of diced tart apples is scattered on top. One half of the rich crumb topping is sprinkled on with the remaining batter being spread on top of that. More crumb topping, the rest of the apples and then a final layer of additional buttery crumbs create a soft finishing layer. This takes quite awhile to bake (a little over an hour) and needs to be completely cooled before cutting it. I was worried that the topping would be a disaster to try and cut through, but we were pleasantly surprised to see nary a crumb to fall off!

Hmm... these are going to be hard to part with in the morning! While some of the ingredients are similar, the taste and textures between these two are notably different - I'm not sure I could picked a favorite between the two as they were both so good!

Recipes
Dutch Apple Bread
Buttery Apple Loaf Cake

Raw not so good... but cooked? Fantastic!

After waking up this morning, we looked outside and happened to notice a big rainbow! I don't think it rained, but it looked pretty cool - almost as if it ends right in our garage! Too bad we didn't find a pot of gold (or really good chocolate...)

We used a new fruit in tonight's breakfast-for-dinner of Orange-Yogurt Pancakes with Quince Topping. Quinces are a member of the pomes family and are related to pears and apples - they need to be cooked before eating as they are quite hard and very sour when raw.

A sweet syrup is made first, which will top the light pancakes. Sugar, circles of fresh ginger, lemon juice and wedges of the quinces boil away until the fruit is tender. The ginger is removed and the mixture is left to steep for at least 15 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. While this sits, the pancakes can be quickly whipped up - to add a different zing to them, the wet ingredients incorporate yogurt with bright orange zest and juice to freshen the flavor. With a rich golden color on the outside, the inside boasts a light and airy texture. The pancakes are served with the tender sliced quinces on top and a drizzle of the zesty syrup - I only wish the syrup would have gotten a touch thicker as mine was pretty thin. There was a fair amount of syrup left after a drizzle, so feel free to give them a good soak if choose. We both agree these were excellent and the delicious leftovers will be had first thing in the morning for breakfast.

Recipes
Orange-Yogurt Pancakes with Quince Topping

No eggs, but still a scramble!

12 new recipes were made this week - the favorites had to be the Ice Cream Birthday Cake, Spicy Red Lentil Soup and the Golden Cinnamon Crunch Cookies. I did update both recipe sections to the left so they are current once again - you may need to hit refresh to see the new additions. There are a lot of recipes in there now, so one of these days I need to re-organize them and add some new categories!

Tonight's dinner, Mexican Polenta Scramble, called for already prepared polenta - normally found in a tube. While I don't have anything against the chubs, I just like the flavor better when you make the polenta yourself. I use a ratio of 4 cups boiling water to 1 cup coarse-ground cornmeal and it usually takes around 30-35 minutes to be done to our liking - it should easily pull away from the sides when you stir. I placed it in a loaf pan to firm up in the refrigerator as it needed to be cut into cubes. It does take some pre-planning, but it is much cheaper and you can make as much or little as needed. I just weighed out 16 ounces from the loaf as the recipe called for - 1 cup dry cornmeal made about 21 ounces of prepared polenta for me.

I roasted the poblanos before I used them to add a depth of flavor to the dish - we didn't find 4 peppers to be overpowering as they are really pretty mild to us - if you can't locate them, use a couple bell peppers and throw in a jalapeno for good measure. The peppers, cherry tomatoes and smoky cumin are sauteed in some oil until the tomatoes soften. I cut the polenta into small cubes instead of crumbling them and once added, I let the dish cook until they were thoroughly heated through. Sharp cheddar, green onions, fresh cilantro and lime juice get stirred in right before serving to create a cheesy scramble packed with bright flavors. Crunchy toasted pepitas scatter the top for added texture. Toss some diced avocado on top if you have some, but I forgot to add it to list before we left for the market this morning.

Recipes
Mexican Polenta Scramble

Cereal can be more than just a boring bowl in the morning...

I was surprised to see this in the front yard yesterday morning as I almost mowed right over it!

Attack of the giant fungus! No idea what kind it was, but it was almost the size of a soccerball!

This morning I made some cookies that could be pretty normal, except they have an unusual ingredient - flaked cereal! Golden Cinnamon Crunch Cookies have a crisp, rich and buttery flavor with bursts of cinnamon coming from the addition of cinnamon chips. The crunch in these cookies comes from the cereal - you could use good ol' cornflakes, but I liked using Total as the flakes were a bit thicker and held up better while mixing. They have a salty note to them that helps cut the sweetness from the cinnamon chips. The recipe calls for you to flatten them with a fork, but I found it pretty difficult with all the chunky flakes and chips inside so I didn't end up with a good pattern at all. If it starts to get messy, you can dip the fork in some flour to keep the dough from sticking. You could also just flatten them with your hands, but that would be too easy, no?

We really liked these plain, but since we love the salty/sweet combo, I just had to stuff a few with some chocolate and vanilla ice cream for a tasty snack!

Recipes
Golden Cinnamon Crunch Cookies

Just wanted a little cheesecake....

Cream cheese was on a sale a couple weeks ago, so I bought a few blocks even though I had no idea what I wanted to do with them. Do you ever do that with groceries - buy something just because it is on sale, even though you have no plans to use it right away? Anways... I figured I better start using them, so I started off with some individual cheesecakes.

Since I was just playing around, I went way easy on the crust for these Individual Mocha-Toffee Crunch Cheesecakes. I took a small round biscuit cutter just slightly smaller than the bottom of my cheesecake pan and pressed it though some chocolate graham crackers. This made for a quick crust rather than making crumbs and mixing with butter. Flavoring the base of these sweet little cakes is instant espresso powder mixed with hot water and Kahlua. Crunchy bits of toffee cover the top of the light mocha colored batter just before they hit the oven.
As they bake, some of the toffee melts together while the larger bits do remain intact. I liked that even though they puff up in the oven, they slowly cool into a dense, yet creamy, individual smooth cake without a big dip in the center. Next time I will do a proper crust as they are worthy of the extra time!

Let me start off by saying that even though tonight's dinner has a long list of ingredients and there a few steps, it really is pretty simple if you take a little time to prepare most of the ingredients at the same time. In several parts of the recipe it calls for the same item, but you can save some time by chopping it all up at once and then taking what you need when it calls for it. As long as you don't rush the cooking, this version of Spaghetti and Meatballs is filled with a fresh flavor and we both thought it was worth the extra effort.

Once the sauce starts to bubble away, you start on the meatballs by mixing hot Italian turkey sausage with ground sirloin, breadcrumbs, fresh basil, fresh parsley, onions, garlic and an egg. As you form these, keep a small bowl of water handy and wet your hands as you go - this will keep it from sticking to your fingers as you roll them. While the original recipe calls for broiling these to cook them, I opted to create a golden crust on each side in a skillet and then moved them to the sauce to simmer until I was ready to finish dinner. Once the sauce was fairly thick, fresh parsley and basil are mixed in for a final punch of flavor. Just cooked whole-wheat spaghetti is tossed in and a shaving of fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano brings an exquisite sharp finish to this total comfort food dish.

Recipes
Individual Mocha-Toffee Crunch Cheesecakes
Spaghetti and Meatballs

Warming up inside with dinner...

When I was in the grocery store before Jeff's birthday, one of the managers was setting up a new display of "limited edition" candy and I asked what they were going to be putting up. He showed me a new (to us anyway) Kit Kat flavor called Chocolate Mocha!

I remember trying one labeled Coffee not too long ago, but I asked if I could get a couple of these even though they were not suppose to go on sale until the next day. I wanted to give to Jeff some as he loves Kit Kats. The first thing I noticed when we opened them was the aroma was much stronger than the coffee ones. We thought the coffee ones were a bit more bitter (too much to enjoy really) and that with these, the mocha flavor was more enjoyable and pronounced. I don't know if its the same Kit Kat, just reformulated or something, but we liked them.

It was 38 outside when we woke up this morning! Not at frost level, but too close for me! I thought we could use a warm up for dinner with two spicy dishes. The first, Spicy Asian Slaw, is a recipe that can be quickly thrown together at the last minute. Broccoli slaw, carrots and green onions are tossed in a creamy and hot combination of seasoned rice vinegar, creamy peanut butter, soy sauce, fresh lime juice, canola oil and sambal oelek. Sambal oelek is a chile-type paste with garlic and can be pretty spicy, so adjust to your taste. Definitely a crunchy dish with just enough bite for us - if you use natural peanut butter, you may want to add a dash of sugar to tame the vinegar some.

What better way to finish off dinner on a cold night with a belly warming soup. I have only cooked with lentils once or twice with mediocre results, but this Spicy Red Lentil Soup was a winner with us. This is not a quick recipe, but the results are worth the wait. Once the lentils were fairly soft, they are pureed as they will eventually help thicken the soup. Fire-roasted tomatoes, fresh ginger, garlic, coconut milk, tamarind paste and spices are simmered together to let the flavors mingle and dance around. The pureed lentils are added and the soup continues to simmer until it begins to thicken a little. The coconut milk brought a smooth silky body to the soup with the tamarind brightening up the flavors with a sweet and sour combination. Fresh ginger and a jalapeno brought the heat, but the tomatoes kept it in check - I don't think I would really call this one spicy as it was only mildly hot. Jeff did note he thought it was a touch grainy, but I think this was my inexperience with cooking lentils - I could have cooked them a few more minutes before pureeing them.

Recipes
Spicy Asian Slaw
Spicy Red Lentil Soup