What to Do With Squash When Not Making Baby Food

It is no secret that I hide veggies in everything.  Generally speaking, I have had success with this (with the big exception of throwing pureed beets into a beautiful pot of homemade chicken soup.  Gross).  I continued on this bent over Thanksgiving by making some Squash Biscuits.  The overall veggie to butter ratio probably leaves health-nuts wanting, but biscuit lovers can rejoice.  The squash biscuits were light, flaky and so good, especially when smothered with honey cinnamon butter.  How better to celebrate a good harvest?

Accolades must go to Chef Deb T at The Tasty Bits http://thetastybits.blogspot.com/. It was her little gem of a blog that popped up on Google when I typed in my wish for squash biscuits, never knowing just how good they could be.

Follow her recipe for Southern Biscuits, replacing some of the buttermilk with pureed squash.  I rarely have buttermilk in the house, but “make” my own by throwing a tablespoon of vinegar into regular milk and letting it sit for a couple minutes.  

I have made the biscuits with all-purpose flour, as well as whole wheat flour.  Honestly, they are better with the empty carbs, but in a pinch (and with more honey cinnamon butter) the whole wheat are good too.  

If you don’t have self-rising flour, as Chef Deb T’s recipe calls for (and I have never bought it), substitute by mixing 4 tsp of baking powder with 2c of all purpose flour.

Squash are still plentiful at the Halifax and Dartmouth markets, so go pick up a couple!

PS - I apologize for the lack of photography.  By the time I remembered to take a picture, the basket of biscuits was empty!

Red Wine Mishaps and Spring Frolics

Oh my dear blog, you have been sadly ignored. It’s not that I haven’t been thinking about you, but when a full-bodied glass of red wine is spilled over the keyboard of a new Macbook, one loses not only the inspiration to bake and write about it, but also the ability to type.

There have also been some relative disaster in the kitchen. I have become obsessed with the idea of making an array of spring coloured cake pops, but haven’t had quite enough time. Instead of a bonafide cake pop, this week I thought the kids and I could make some crispy pops. Off to the grocery store and Bulk Barn we went. I thought I would make the crispy pops slightly healthier and opted to buy the organic brown rice crisps.  The road to Hell was paved with good intentions!

While the kids rested, I made the crispy part of the pops using Snap Crackle and Pops’ recipe on their website. No problem there (though I always add more marshmallows to make the treats a little more chewy). Now, my plan had been to form the treats into egg-shaped balls, insert a lolly stick, then dunk them in melted white chocolate coloured in pretty, springy colours. If time allowed, we would decorate a little spring chick face on them - can you imagine? Well, these particular crispy treats fell apart when dunked in the white chocolate goo that resembled spring in as much as it reminded me of mud. So, I added a bit of icing sugar to the mix. This offered a bit of an improvement but tasted revolting. Long story short, when Claire woke from her slumber I told her she could help me pour the chocolate icing mix on the balls and when she asked if she could decorate them with sprinkles, I figured it couldn’t make them taste or look any worse! The kiddies took the treats to pre-school with them and apparently were a hit. There is no accounting for taste!

I think I can, I think I can

I have an addiction to food and craft blogs. Mix this with the part of my brain that thinks I will be able to have the same results as the amazing bakers I come across online and it is a slight recipe for disaster.

I tried my hand at decorating sugar cookies with royal icing for our 5 year old’s birthday party last week. I figured I could cut out circular cookies and decorate them to match the pirate themed birthday invitations. Combine these with some helium balloons and voila, a treat bag for the young guests.

Well, first of all, I learned that I hate the taste of royal icing. Secondly, the smell of it lingers on yours hands. For a couple days. Lastly, all the supplies needed to decorate with that type of icing really drains the pocketbook. Long story short, I may not be tempted to try this type of decorating again any time soon. Well, not until I see more gorgeous cookies on a blog and decide that the second time would be a charm! That being said, again, they were a hit with the under-5 crowd, as was his pirate ship cake which was a breeze to put together.  All it requried was a few well-planned cuts and a few life-saver windows and we were ready to set sail.

Colour me happy

Right in line with my desire for all things spring-coloured, I gave meringues a try this week. I had much more success with these pretty little things. I made a basic meringue and then chose three flavours: vanilla (with pink food colouring), chocolate, and mint chocolate chip (with green food colouring). The vanilla meringues were overpowering and tasted of alcohol. I think next time I will use a vanilla bean rather than vanilla extract. The other two flavours were wonderful – though I had to use a small spoon to scoop the mint meringues onto the pan as I didn’t chop the mint chips finely enough to go through the tip of my pastry bag! Ah well, live and learn.

I wholeheartedly believe that my baking attempts would yield more success if I wasn’t rushing to do them during nap time! I am considering making a chocolate pavlova for Easter Sunday, but will do it while Paddy is home and can entertain our brood!

Meringues

I used the recipe found on Joy the Baker’s Blog. Warning – enter her site only if you have hours to spare, you can lose track of time perusing her pictures and recipes! http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/04/spring-easter-meringues/

I didn’t have the ingredients for the raspberry meringues, so instead tinted one bowl of meringue fluff with a pale green and added about 3 tbsp of chopped mint chocolate chips.

Happy Easter everyone!

Chickpeas and Chocolate Chips

There have been an awful lot of mishaps in my kitchen lately.  I ruined my no-fail pasta sauce by dumping in some pureed beets that I felt were not cooked long enough to give to the baby, but couldn’t bring myself to toss given the price of organic beets!  All I can say is that eating noodles that have a deep pink hue is revolting.

I have also been spending a lot of time baking and cooking out of necessity rather than enjoyment.  Why oh why can’t some Canadian company produce organic baby food in a non-bpa coated container?  My immersion blender is exhausted!

If I have to make another 2 Egg Cake anytime soon I may beat myself with a wooden spoon.  Aidan is turning 5.  I’m fairly certain everyone within a 25 km radius is aware of this fact as he has been informing anyone with a pulse that he is only days away from becoming that prestigious age.  He has requested a space ship cake for his family party, a pirate cake for the party with his friends and cupcakes to bring in to preschool.  I should have expected trouble when he started taking my “Easy Cut Up Cakes for Kids” book to bed with him!

During my late night and oh so early morning feeds with the bambino I have been worrying over the increasing stack of recipes that have been collecting dust (well, those thoughts have been competing with my trepidation with Aidan starting school in September, Pat’s blood pressure issues, the proliferation of chemicals in foods, my desire for school uniforms in public schools, the declining time today’s kids spend walking and playing, and a general concern over the lack of world peace.  Thank God Meaghan wakes me at all hours - how else would I have time to think about all of this).

Poor Meaghan is getting four teeth.  All at once.  I’m starting to think this is the Devil’s way of testing my patience and reserve during Lent!  

I think I could be digressing. Oh yes, baking out of necessity rather than desire.  Well, I often have the urge to bake when the kiddies go down for their naps.  Unfortunately, I usually find that I am missing one or two key ingredients (note to self: get groceries) or I will have to use a mini appliance that could wake up one of my light sleepers, making chocolate pb whoopie pies not quite worth the one hour of peace mama desires!

I took a risk today and forged ahead with Jessica Seinfeld’s Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe (risky as I had to use not only my stand mixer, but the mini food chopper - maybe these tools are safe in most households across Canada, but not in this one.  TInkerbell’s wings would probably awaken my crew).  

Now, if you are looking for a moist, chewy, rich chocolate cookie that beckons a tall glass of cold milk, don’t bother reading any further!  That being said, this recipe does offer a guilt-reduced cookie with some added protein and iron for the wee ones.  Given that I am the real cookie monster in this house, I can feel better about chowing down on them too!  While I wouldn’t bring them to a bake sale or cookie exchange, they would be right at home at a 3 year old’s tea party.  

I modified Ms Seinfeld’s* recipe a bit as I never, ever use cooking spray and figured that a cookie with chickpeas could withstand some whole wheat flour too. 

Ingredients:

1c brown sugar

3/4c Becel

2 egg whites

2 tsp vanilla extract

398mL can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained (a tip from a great friend was to puree these instead of leaving them whole in the cookie.  I strongly concur!)

1 1/2c chocolate chips 

1c all purpose flour

1c less 2 tbsp whole wheat flour

1/2c old-fashioned oats

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

They would be great with some chopped pecans too.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and Becel until smooth.  Beat in the egg whites and vanilla, then the pureed chickpeas and chocolate chips.  Add in your dry ingredients.  

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet, or Silpat.  Leave about 2 inches between each cookie.  

The recipe tells us to bake the cookies at 350 for about 11-13 minutes.  I found that was way too long.  Try 8-10 min tops.  

The cookies can be stored for a few days in an airtight container, or frozen.  The dough can also be frozen - the same friend who gave me the pureeing tip does this all the time and then appears to be a super mom at impromptu play dates when she whips out a plate of warm cookies!

*Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld

Emotional Eating Anyone?

Today was one of those days. Nothing of any meaning to complain about, just, you know, one of those days.

The little Nutmeg in my house has been trying hard to sleep at night, but isn’t quite cutting it. The laundry isn’t putting itself away and dinner isn’t magically appearing on the table. I have made it to the middle of February without declaring full on winter-blahs, but today needed something quick and comfy to give me hope that one day soon the sun will shine through the thick clouds, windows can be thrown open, and it won’t take more time to dress the kids to play outside than they actually spend playing. In other words, I was in need of some emotional eating! Now, a watermelon salad with feta and mint would have been perfect, but that isn’t exactly a seasonal menu item and the ingredients were not in the fridge (that needs cleaning). I did, however, have flour, sugar, eggs and an unopened bag of chocolate chunks!


Quick and Easy Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Adapted from numerous chocolate chip cookie recipes, not quite perfect, but on its way

1c, less 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1c, less 2tbsp packed brown sugar
1c unsalted butter (I often use Becel to reduce the fat content)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2c all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, I like coarse sea salt
1 bag of chocolate chunk chips

In a stand mixer, or by hand, cream butter with sugars. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.
Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet until combined. Stir in chocolate chunks. Now, hold off on baking them right away! Put the dough in the fridge for at least one hour, but up to three days** if you can wait.

If you want some large, café style cookies, use an ice cream scoop to form your cookie mounds. Place on a parchment line baking sheet (or use a Silpat) and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes (8 minutes for tablespoon size cookies).

These tasty treats have a slight crisp to the edges, but the centre remains chewy, just as any respectable chocolate chip cookie should!

**I have been wanting to try a chocolate chip cookie recipe that was published in the New York Times, adapted from Jacques Torres. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html

While I haven’t gotten around to that particular recipe, I took their recommendation of refrigerating my dough for a few days. What a difference it made. I was rather scientific about it: baking a few cookies right away, a few more the next day, and the rest after 72 hours. The aged dough won hands down!

Give Me Some Sugar

Cynics love to hate Valentine's Day - they must not have kiddies running about who love any excuse for more cookies and sweets. The three year old in our house awoke today and her first question was, "is today tomorrow yet?" Someone was a wee bit excited about the sugar cookies that were downstairs.


There is really little point in anyone in this house ever making a New Year's resolution to consume less sugar (I adore Ellen DeGeneres, but am not going down her sugar-free route. I considered it for about 10 seconds before realizing there is a higher likelihood of me speed skating at the Olympics than there is of me foregoing sugar for the rest of my days. Well, fingers-crossed that the diabetes gene skips over me). The dozens of cookies we consume over Christmas gives way to the cookies for Valentine's Day, followed by the St. Patrick's Day cookies, and right on into the Easter treats and, yes, more cookies.

We celebrated this Valentine's with a seafood risotto and iced sugar cookies. Not quite an upscale pairing, but it worked.

We also devoured a chocolate cake as party of birthday celebrations this weekend (preceded by 7 types of tea sandwiches, you know, the kind you have at funerals but wish someone would make for you on a happier day! My husband lumps them into the category of old lady food. The type of food served by women wearing really bright, floral shirts. I have aunts who can't even consider buying a floral top anymore since Pat opined on the type of garment usually worn by senior women serving crustless egg salad sandwiches in a Church hall). 

But I digress (how unlike me). The star of the weekend was the chocolate cake.

Now, I love chocolate; in fact, I have to have it everyday. Isn't it a vitamin? That being said, I don't generally like chocolate cake. Chocolate cakes may look like works of art, but often end up tasting dry, chalky or like a flavourless sponge. Not this cake. The icing is more of a ganache and the cake itself is moist, rich and everything a chocolate cake should be. It is worth the effort of whipping egg whites until they form gorgeous peaks and beating together icing on the stove until the smell of it makes you woozy. I promise!


Cousin Stephanie’s Choco Cake

1c boiling water
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
8 tbsp sweet butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 c sugar
2 eggs (separated)
1 tsp baking soda
½ c sour cream
2 c less 2 tbsp sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350

Grease and flour 10” tube pan

Pour boiling water over chocolate and butter and let stand till melted. You may need to microwave this mixture for about 15 seconds – if you are pressed for time!

Stir in vanilla and sugar.

Whisk in egg yolks one at a time, blending well.

Mix baking soda and sour cream together, then add to chocolate mixture.

Stir baking powder and flour together and add to batter.

Beat egg whites till stiff but not dry. Stir ¼ egg white into batter. Scoop remaining egg white on top of batter and gently fold together.

Pour batter in 10” pan.

Bake on middle rack for 40-50 min, till edges pull away slightly**.
Cool in pan for 10 min, then put on cooling rack.
**Please, please, please do not over bake your cake! There will be crumbs on your toothpick and the cake will look moist!


Icing

2 tbsp sweet butter
3/4c semi sweet chocolate chips
6 tbsp heavy cream
1 1/4cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Place all ingredients in heavy saucepan and whisk till smooth. Cool slightly and add more sugar if needed to achieve spreading consistency. (I often add up to 1c more). Beat with beaters or a whisk. Allow icing to cool slightly before frosting your cake.

Cut a slice of your masterpiece, grab a glass of cold milk and wait for your taste buds to thank you!

Pork and Ballet

Monday afternoons find me rushing to wake the baby from her nap, speed feed her, then jet off to ballet, sorry “creative movement”. What that all boils down to is that we usually end up eating breakfast for supper on Monday nights. It used to be fun but has grown old.

In lieu of cleaning the bathroom, tidying the overflow of papers from the mudroom and folding some laundry, I have opted to make supper in advance today. Very proactive of me! The two older monkeys are going to want attention soon though, so nothing elaborate tonight. My mother in law gave me a recipe 10 years ago for a rice casserole that is so easy and is a great side dish for a number of meals. I have tweaked it a bit to up the veggie content – a recurring theme around here!

To go with the rice, I have a thawed pork tenderloin that needs to be cooked. Tenderloins have become my fall back meat as they are so easy to prepare and can be dressed up when the occasion demands a fancy dish without too much effort. Sometime in the near future I will dig out the red pepper jelly tenderloin recipe that goes famously with a pomegranate rice salad…but not on ballet night!


Rice Casserole

about 2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, minced
1c chicken stock (or veggie stock)
1c water
1c basmati rice
assorted veggies of your choice (I usually dice an assortment of mushrooms and peppers)
1/4c pine nuts

Sauté your onions, vegetables and pine nuts in olive oil for 8-10 minutes, until veggies are tender, but not soft. Meanwhile, line a medium casserole dish with parchment (my BFF). Dump in your rice, stock and water. When veggies are ready, add to the casserole dish. Bake the dish, covered, for about 55 min at 350. Test it at 45 minutes. The rice should be fluffy, with no liquid remaining. Toss before serving. It re-heats pretty well!


Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

This tenderloin tastes a little different each time I make it as I have a habit of not bothering to measure the ingredients! However, it is no fail.

Grab a Ziploc bag or whatever dish you choose to marinate your pork in and pour in about:

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sherry
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp grated, fresh ginger
1 pork tenderloin (about 1lb in size)

Marinate this in the fridge for at least an hour.

If you have time, braise your pork in a pan before baking on a parchment lined sheet in the oven. I didn’t have time for this today, so instead baked it for 15 minutes at 375, then turned it and baked it an additional 15 minutes. Baking times will differ depending on how pink you like your pork.

I had planned on photographing my ballerina eating this meal, but a bit of drama ensued following our lesson today, and my desire to act as shutterbug diminished!

Hamburger Soup (or, Will Winter Never End?)

I hate the cold. A lot. I do wish I could embrace this season (the one that never ends) but I would much rather be able to have the windows open and let the kids run outside without having to put on 16 layers of clothes. Sunscreen over snow pants any day. This frigid cold-front that has enveloped Dartmouth is making me crazy...and wreaking havoc on the pantry. I need groceries but just can't bring myself to go outside unless I absolutely have to! Pathetic, huh?

This kind of weather requires thick, stick to your ribs kind of food.  Hamburger Soup fits the bill at our house - though my mother's friend wishes we would concoct a new name for it as she thinks it sounds disgusting.  I'll have to put that on my to do list!

Not quite a chilli, more than a tomato soup, this one pot meal is easy to make and freezes really well - which is great considering we probably have 12 more weeks of winter!

Ingredients:
About 2 tbsp olive oil
2 large shallots, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1lb lean ground beef

28oz can of crushed tomatoes (love Utopia's brand...just wish canned tomatoes in general could come without the BPA lining)

28oz can of whole tomatoes - chopped up (I open the tin and start chopping them with a pair of kitchen scissors)

3 cups of vegetable or beef stock (I love the Imagine or Pacific Foods brands)
4 carrots, peeled and diced
3 celery stalks, diced small
1c water (more or less depending on how thick you like your soup)
2 bay leaves (remember to remove these before serving)
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried thyme
pepper
1/3c barley pearls

Method:

Sauté the shallots and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Once it has browned, drain any fat. Add crushed and chopped tomatoes, stock, carrots, celery, water, spices and barley. Simmer at least one hour - two is best. While simmering, you may want to add some garlic and onion powder.

When I have it available, I add in some pureed squash or spinach near the end to bump up the veggie content. I often dump in a can of rinsed kidney beans...but have to take out Pat's portion first to keep him a happy camper!

We like to top the soup with a shaving of cheddar cheese.


Pass the Bread

Hamburger Soup begs to be eaten with a thick square of cornbread. I had to improvise when I realized that not only had my buttermilk expired last week (I can push the expiry date a bit, but a week on dairy - I think I'll pass) and was out of eggs. I suppose I could have bundled up the kids into the van for a quick trip to the grocery store, but Googling an egg-free recipe for cornbread seemed a much easier way to go...though it does clash with my normal distaste of taking the path of least resistance!

I found a recipe at the onlinerecipebox.com that fit the bill. I did not enjoy it as much as the recipe I usually use (see farther below) but it worked in a pinch.

Eggless Cornbread

Combine 1 1/2 cups milk with 1 1/2tbsp vinegar (thus creating your own buttermilk, sort of). Let it sit while you preheat oven to 375 and line a square pan with parchment. You could use a cast iron pan, which would make the edges nice and crispy...I really need to buy one!

In a medium sized bowl combine

1 cup cornmeal (I love Speerville flour mill corn meal - a organic product grown in the Maritimes)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar (I don't like my corn bread overly sweet, this is was just the right amount)
3/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons oil

Add the milk mixture and the oil into the dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake for about 25 min. A toothpick inserted into the centre should come out with a few crumbs on it.

Here is my favourite cornbread recipe, you know, when I actually have staple ingredients in the house! I originally found it on www.southernfood.about.com, but modified it slightly as I like cornbread with a touch of sweetness.

Buttermilk Cornbread

1 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

1 cup buttermilk

Combine dry ingredients and then add your beaten egg and buttermilk. Do not over stir. Pour into a parchment lined square baking pan. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

I’m looking forward to the days of strawberry and pine nut salads, kabobs and other “lighter” meals!