Rain, Sleet, Snow...Spring in Michigan

Having lived in Michigan for 14 and half years now, I still am in shock and awe that when March arrives there are continuous "Winter Weather Advisories". You would think I would know by now what to expect.

On a day like yesterday where you couldn't tell if it was snowing or raining, I needed something warm and comforting to come out of my kitchen. I was craving something earthy, with herbal goodness, and I definitely wanted something with pasta. There's nothing better than a bowl of pasta on a rainy day. I had purchased some Whole Wheat Chicciole, a pasta shaped like snails. Chicciole actually means "snail" in Italian. One of my favorite brands for this pasta is Bionature.
I also had some white mushrooms. Immediately, I thought of creamy mushrooms over pasta. Fresh dill was on sale the last time I was at the grocery store, so I knew the combination of creamy mushrooms and onions over a whole wheat pasta would be complimented well by the dill. I was getting close to finding my earthy, herbal, pasta goodness. I live with a carnivore, I mentioned him a few posts ago, therefore I wanted to incorporate some pork tenderloin that I had in the freezer. I thought I would simply make pan seared pork tenderloin medallions. This dish already was full of flavor, and kind of heavy considering the creamy mushrooms and whole wheat pasta, but since I was cutting the meat into small pieces, I thought I would, in the words of Emeril Lagasse, kick it up a notch. Since we are still in this confusing transition from winter to spring, I thought I would bring back an old time favorite from the icy days; nutmeg. I prepared a rub for the pork consisting of nutmeg, dried tarragon, ground coriander, paprika, and white pepper corn. Now, we're cooking.
The dish was comforting and incredibly satisfactory. The nutmeg in the pork rub played so well with the creamy mushrooms and onions, and the tarragon with its licorice hints was outstanding in its supporting role. The dish was earthy, herby, creamy, and surprisingly fresh with the addition of fresh dill over the pasta. A perfect meal for a rainy, snowy,sleeting Michigan spring day.

Here's the recipe:

Chopped White Mushrooms
Sliced White Onion
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Milk
Parmesan Cheese
Black Pepper

Whole Wheat Chicciole Pasta
Fresh Dill

Pork Tenderloin
Pork Rub:
Dried Tarragon
Ground Coriander
Nutmeg
Paprika
Salt
White Pepper Corn


Pork Preparation:
1.1 1/2 teaspoon of tarragon, 1 1/2 teaspoon of coriander, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon of white pepper corn mixed to make rub. Cut the meat in half inch medallions and sprinkle with salt. Rub the meat with spices. Pan sear in olive oil. For medium cooked meat, about 5-7 minutes.

Mushrooms:
1. Slice white mushrooms and onions. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil to medium heat. Add the mushrooms and onions and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder to saute. When onions have become translucent, add 1/2 cup of milk. Bring the heat down to medium low. Add about 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan and black pepper. Let sauce simmer until it starts to become less runny and more thick.

Pasta:
Make according to directions.


I hope you enjoy this dish and please share any variations that you like to include. No matter if you are accustomed to the Michigan "Spring" or a dreamer like me, this dish will sooth any kind of rainy day blues.

As always, Pleasant Eating.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

There are so many things I could write about the following recipe, but I need to gather my thoughts. Therefore, I will share the recipe for now, and share my thoughts later.

This recipe fits everyone, the family on the go, the bachelor, the "single lady", the aspiring chef, and of course, even the college student. There are always shortcuts in cooking, therefore, you could cut this down to 20 minutes if needed, but we're going for some authenticity here, so let's roll up our sleeves, put on our apron, and get together in the kitchen.

Here's what you need:

Ground Turkey thigh
Bread crumbs
Carrot
Onion
Garlic powder
salt and pepper
Dried Tarragon
Ground Coriander
Chicken stock (not necessary, but if you have it, great)
Olive oil

Canned "Italian style" tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes (or any other kind of fresh tomato)
Tomato paste
Dried Oregano
Sugar
Salt and pepper
Dried Thyme
Fresh basil (not necessary, but really makes a difference)

The Meatball:

I didn't really measure anything, just portioned it, so the following measurements are an estimate.

Shred one carrot and one onion. Mix 1/2 pound of ground turkey meat with shredded carrot and shredded onion (small), 1/3 cup of bread crumbs, teaspoon of salt, pepper, and coriander, and 1/2 teaspoon of tarragon. Mix this together, set aside.
Turn on oven to 425. Put a pan on the stove with some olive oil and set to medium heat. When the olive oil is warm, shape meatballs and fry in pan just so that each side is seared and brown. Set aside meatballs after you are done.

Line a baking dish with aluminum foil and put the meatballs inside. Pour the water from the canned tomatoes over the meatballs, and about 1/3 cup of chicken stock. Cover with foil and bake. About 25 minutes.

The sauce:

I would recommend doing this with a homemade marina if you have one, but for now, we will do the quick version.

Set a sauce pan to medium heat. Now, TOOL DISCLAIMER, if you have a food processor or blender, follow the next steps, if not, no problem, wait for instructions at the end.
Throw the canned tomatoes and cherry tomatoes into the food processor/blender and puree. Add to heated pan. Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. 1/2 teaspoon of oregano and thyme. 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt with black pepper to taste. Let this simmer at medium heat, stirring every 3-5 minutes. You want the sauce to reduce, but not to get dry. If it looks like it's getting dry, lower the heat.

Alright, instructions for the tool-less: Dice your fresh tomatoes and add to the canned tomatoes in the pan. Use a fork to mash them after they have cooked for about 10 minutes. Your sauce will have a different consistency than if you were to puree your tomatoes.

The Pasta:

Do your thing, if it's spaghetti or rigatoni, or linguini, to each his own. Add some of the pasta water to the tomato sauce (about 2 tablespoons). Also, add some of the cooking liquid from the meatballs into the sauce (also 2 tablespoon).

Sauce will be done when the pasta is done. Meatballs should only be in the oven for 25 minutes.

Plate: pasta, meatballs, sauce, fresh basil and grated parmesan....mmmm..mmm..mmm So good, you might even impress an Italian.

The meatballs are tender and full of flavor. They are also lighter on the stomach and body since its turkey meat versus beef. The sauce is sweet, and floral (with the help of the basil and oregano). The fresh tomatoes really make the sauce light and juicy.

This took me about 45-50 minutes to do. Let your kids help by shaping the meatballs, have your husband do the dishes. This is a great dish to make with roommates in college, and its super cheap to put together for a group if you share ingredients. Also, a great dish to make for a date fellas/ladies, especially if she/he loved the movie Lady and the Tramp.

Pleasant Eating!

Just Regular Lunch

One of the greatest things about cooking is that there is always a treat for you in the end. Whether its the first warm chocolate chip cookie that you sneak away, a tiny piece off the roasted chicken leg thats just dripping with herb and butter goodness, or the surprising lunch that you flipped from predictable to amazing with just one ingredient.

Great victories, like the roasted chicken, are in fact by definition, great. They will fill up your memory bank and be passed down generations. But what about the everyday activities that seem to boost your confidence while feeding your belly? I believe that those are the moments that make us who we are in order to achieve the great victories. Never think of your everyday lunch or breakfast the same; think of them as training sessions for the big game (ex: dinner party, grilling gathering, dare I say it, Thanksgiving).

Here's my little victory of the day:

Last night I made vegetarian burritos. Budget has been tight lately so it was a minimalist kind of dinner (I hope I made Mark Bittman proud). I sautéed yellow peppers and onions with cilantro, garlic, cayenne pepper, and s&p (salt and pepper for future reference). I steamed some basmati rice as well. The burritos were assembled with rice, sautéed vegetables, black beans, avocado, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Here's the interesting part about the cheese. I didn't buy any for the burritos, but I had some string cheese (which is mozzarella) in the fridge, so I grated it and put it on top of the warm rice. Seriously, one of the best mistakes I have ever made. I baked some of the tortilla with olive oil and sea salt and had chips to go with my delicious burrito.

Now onto today's victory, I promise. My boyfriend came home for lunch, and we had about 20 minutes together (it's our 3 and a half year anniversary today...aww..that's us in the picture). Instead of the usual turkey sandwich, we made wraps with the leftover tortillas. Nothing new, has been done before. His wrap was smoked turkey breast, freshly shredded white cheddar, and BBQ sauce, all melted in the microwave. I added Romaine lettuce for some crunch. He will eat anything with BBQ on it, so why not stuff it with extra veggies for my dear carnivore.

I've been craving sushi, I mentioned the budget issue earlier, right? So this is where the avocado came to play. I put together the same smoked turkey breast, same cheese, cucumber slices, avocado, and romaine in the tortilla wrap. The end product? Delicious! Turkey and avocado go so well together. I was surprised by the white cheddar and cucumber combination! If this was dressed up a little, it would definitely fit on a California deli menu. Best part of this, it really didn't need dressing of any kind. The cucumber and avocado keep everything together and the smoked turkey and cheddar are great boosts of flavor. Therefore, this is great for your body as well.

It's a foggy, rainy day here in Michigan, but I just went to my kitchen and had lunch in San Francisco : ) And that is the best victory of my day.

Pleasant eating everyone!

ENERGY!

How many times have you said, "I wish there were more hours in the day"? Right now I am enrolled for 19 credits at the University of Michigan, some would refer to this as academic suicide, I call it "graduate on time". I always find myself looking for extra time, and more importantly extra energy. My days start early, and end late (or is 2:00 am considered early again?).

Coffee doesn't cut it for me, especially because I have become pretty sensitive to caffeine and it just leaves me with jitters. Someone told me that one apple instead of a cup of coffee should do the trick. I tried. Not exactly what I was looking for. The apple is fructose, therefore the energy is quick to dissipate. What else? OATMEAL! Groundbreaking, I know. However, this simple answer has done wonders for me.

First, I recommend buying whole rolled oats. Nothing instant. When the oats are whole, their nutrients are kept in the grain, therefore your body has to do more work to break it down and digest the goodies inside. Instant oatmeal is already partially broken apart, therefore having a higher glycemic index (the rate at which sugar is released into your body). This means that when eating rolled oats, you won't feel hungry as soon after as instant oatmeal, it fills you up. Oats are also a fantastic source of dietary fiber and iron.

I have had many people tell me that they don't like oatmeal because of the texture and flavor. Well, to each his own but, I highly recommend trying whole rolled oats versus instant before making a final verdict.

Texture: Customizable! The texture of the oats can change by the amount of time you cook it. A shorter time makes for flaky, more chewable oats, similar to barley but flatter of course. As you add more cooking time, the softer the oats become, as well as clumped together. Therefore, if you don't like mushy oatmeal, I recommend whole oats cooked for about 10 minutes.

Flavor: Unlimited. I think the great thing about oatmeal is that I can make it with literarily ANYTHING. I'm going to share three of my favorites.

1. "Tis the Season"
A great way to feed your guest on a budget with health benefits during the holiday season.

Cranberries
White Chocolate Chips
Walnuts
Cinnamon
Brown Sugar
Milk
Whole Rolled Oats

Cook the oats as directed. When they are about 2 minutes out from being done, add either dried cranberries, or leftover cranberry sauce, or simply cooked cranberries. Sprinkle a little cinnamon and brown sugar on each bowl. You can opt out the sugar if someone doesn't have a sweet tooth (I prefer it without as well). Add chopped walnuts and white chocolate chips, more cranberries for garnish, and about 2 tablespoons of milk. It's like Christmas in a bowl. The tart cranberries mixed with the sweet and smooth chocolate chips and the crunchy walnuts are perfectly complemented by the warmth of the cinnamon.

2. "Trick or Treat or Both"
This one is for kids, and for the kids in all of us. Okay, so they will eat an oatmeal cookie, but they won't eat oatmeal. Dilema. So trick them into thinking they are getting a treat! Tell them they will be having warm gooey cookies for breakfast!
My grandma makes these amazing oatmeal cookies and this oatmeal breakfast is inspired by her.

Chocolate Chips
Raisins
Orange zest
Honey

Cook the oats as directed and add the raisins at the very last minute. Add the honey and mix it into the mixture so that it is evenly distributed. Grate some orange zest and mix the oats again. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. If they don't ask for seconds, I will be surprised.

3. "The Original"
Everything seems to be better when it is in the title "something'n'creme". These variations are some of my classical favorites, especially on cold snowy or rainy mornings.

Strawberries (frozen or fresh)
Peaches (frozen or fresh)
Berry mix (frozen or fresh)
Milk
honey

Replace half of the water for your serving size with milk and cook the oats as directed. I have used both fresh and frozen fruit in this, but have found it convenient to buy flash frozen strawberries, peaches, or a berry mix. It's quick and the fruit tend to hold more of its structure because during the first half of cooking, it is defrosting.
If frozen, add the fruit in the pot first with the milk and water. Allow to reach boiling, then add the oats. Cook to completion. Add honey and milk before serving. So simple, but so good. "Strawberries'n'Creme" "Peaches'n'Creme" and "Berries'n'Creme". Incredibly smooth and satisfying.

Boost your energy and get creative in the kitchen while serving your body a good deed.

Pleasant eating everyone!

Apple Pie

I wanted to make apple pie in the spirit of the upcoming holidays. But I didn't want to just follow a recipe and call it good, I wanted to make my own apple pie. Two problems, I don't usually like apple pie (shock and awe) and I have never made a traditional American pie. I went to the experts...bloggers of the internet for advice.

What I usually don't like about pie:
1. Crust. Why:
I find crust on pie to be flavorless, either too soggy or too tough, and generally unappealing.
2. Filling. Why:
The filling of an apple pie is too sweet for my taste, and I could never appreciate the true flavor of the fruit.

What I was looking for:
Flaky, sandy, flavorful crust. Dense filling full of apple flavor and not a lot of sugar.

What I made:
The crust was made in a traditional way, with flour and butter as the base, with salt, sugar, cinnamon, for flavor, and ice cold water as the binding agent. However, instead of using all purpose flour only, I used a combination of cake flour and all purpose flour. Cake flour is less percent in protein, therefore it is usually lighter, which aided me in making a sandy/flaky crust.
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1.5 cups cake flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp white sugar
.5 cup water
16 tbsp butter

1. I combined the flour (already a mixture of the dry ingredients) and butter in a food processor and mixed them until there were pea sized crumbs.
2. I added tablespoon by tablespoon of ice cold water, until the flour mixture turned into a ball of dough.
3. The dough rested in the fridge for 45 minutes.

The filling was a combination of Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples. I decided to add fresh ground ginger because I thought the spiciness of the ginger would bring out the apple flavor, which it did.
4 Golden Delicious
4 Granny Smith
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
.5 tsp ginger powder
.5 cup white sugar
.25 cup brown sugar (not packed)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp fresh ground ginger
1 tsp vanilla

The apples were half skinned and half not skinned and sliced. All ingredients were mixed in a dutch over and cooked on medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the sugar caramelized.
Set aside the filling.

The pie was assembled and prepared in a tinned dish for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

Results:
Delicious! I was pleasantly surprised! To be honest, it wasn't groundbreaking, but it was exactly what I wanted. I think in the future, I will add 1/3 cup of apple cider to the filling, the pie was a little bit on the drier side. To me though, a more dense filling is more satisfactory than a runny one, but to each his own. The flavor was wonderful. The crust was flaky and buttery, I could really taste the apples which were wonderfully complemented by the spices and ginger.

Sorry no picture, I don't currently have a camera, but I will make this again, with more of my own variations and record it.

If you have pie secrets or advice, please, please post a comment. I would like this to be a learning lesson.

More to come for the holidays!

Pleasant eating,
Elena

Blueberry Cake

Fireworks, grilled food, friends, an extra day off work, perfect. I love the 4th of July.

Here's a twist on an old favorite of mine:

My Grandma used to make an "apple pie" which is a lot more like apple cake back in the old country (Ukraine). The recipe is incredibly simple and the outcome is so delicious, you better make two batches in the beginning.

To explain the original, think if an Upside Down Pineapple Cake and a cousin of the sponge cake got together. The batter's leavening comes mostly from the eggs. The liquid consistency is made by the sugar combining with the whipped eggs. This combination makes the cake very light, airy, and in a way spongy. A little bit of baking soda keeps everything together. The apples are cut into thin pieces and spread over the bottom of the pan, with the batter going on top. As the cake bakes, the apples stay at the bottom. As a result you have a moist fruit bottom to the cake.

Here is where the blueberries come in. I had a quart of them left over after they were on sale. I had left the berries in the fridge over a weekend and some had become over ripe. I felt bad about wasting them, so I thought I would make blueberry muffins. Then I thought again, flour, baking soda, powder, eggs, butter, and on and on. I didn't feel like getting into the whole muffin ordeal. I tried to think of the easiest batter that would compliment the berries, and that's when I thought of my favorite childhood dessert.

The recipe for my version stays the same except for the blueberries. And here it is:

One small disclaimer, I don't recommend using frozen berries. They retain too much water and that would make the bottom of the cake too soggy.

6 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 1/4 cup of flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
half a quart of blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Mix the eggs on medium speed, adding the sugar in 3 parts.
2. Mix until eggs and sugar develop a light froth on top (about 4 minutes)
3. Add the vanilla to the egg mixture.
4. Add flour in 4 parts while mixing lightly (2 minutes)
5. Add the baking soda to the mixture, as well as the salt.
6. Add blueberries to batter.
7. Butter a pan (your choice as to size, baking time depends on depth of batter) I used an Anchor glass (11 cup size) casserole dish. Its about 8" x 4". This made the cake about 2 inches deep.
8. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let this cool before serving, if you can, because the smell is incredible. A dollop of whip cream and some fresh berries would make this a perfect dessert for a 4th of July picnic or party.

I made a cinnamon icing that I drizzled on the cake before serving with coffee, and that was a hit too.

Making this with apples:

Make sure to get a starchy apple, a mix between Golden Delicious and Granny Smith would be better for this batter.

Put about a half an inch layer of the batter on the bottom of the pan before spreading the apples in an even layer, then cover with the rest of the batter. The rest of the directions are the same. A great way to top off this recipe is with a generous drizzle of caramel.


Pleasant eating!

Homemade Starbucks

Grande Soy Latte with Sugarfree Hazelnut, iced or hot?

I have to admit, I'm one of those people with the "longer to say than make" drink orders at Starbucks. There's something about the perfect cup of coffee, and the crew in green always makes it right for me.

I decided to try making these delicious iced drinks at home. This is what happened:

Say you don't have the money to treat yourself to the perfect cup of joe daily, and you don't have an espresso machine, or all the fancy syrups. No problem, neither do I.

This is what you need:

• Milk (your choice, I prefer Soy for the richness it adds and I'm lactose intolerant)
• Instant Coffee mix (my ALL time favorite, and what I use to make daily morning coffee is Nescafe Taster's Choice Original, but it comes in flavors)
• Chocolate Syrup (optional for Mochas)
• Caramel Syrup (optional as well)
• Ice
• Martini shaker
• shot glass

1. Boil water, however much you need for your serving (If just for you, about a cup)

2. Prep a shot glass with two teaspoons of the instant coffee

3. Prep a martini shaker with a layer of ice and milk

4. For one grande serving, use 1 1/4 cup of milk

5. Add a generous drizzle of chocolate or caramel to the milk

6. Just as the water boils, fill up the shot glass and let the coffee dissolve

7. Pour the shot glass into the iced milk, add one more shot

8. Shake, shake, shake

9. Pour into your favorite serving glass

10. You can add whip cream on top, or simply an extra drizzle of syrup and enjoy!

You can customize this to any of your likings. Flavor syrups are available at all grocery stores, as well different chocolate syrups (white, dark, Irish creme).

This could also be a perfect way to end a dinner party in the summer, add vodka and you have a twist on the White Russian, add Bailey's and you have a perfect Irish Coffee.

Pleasant drinking!