The End of the Month's Review

I came back from Connecticut and Massachusetts and didn't eat at home very much. I flew in on a Tuesday and waited until Thursday to go to my farmer's market. I didn't make yogurt until Sunday. But, I have lots of yummy stuff that I've been eating that I want to share with y'all. Right now, I have chunky peanut butter and Nutella on a spoon and it's bliss. 

I had yummy roasted vegetables (fairy tale eggplants, green pepper, garlic gloves, and sweet potato) with olive oil, salt and pepper. Delicious! 

This is a carrot and raisin salad that I made in imitation of my grandmother's. I had so many carrots that needed to be eaten and I had Raisin Bran. I picked out all the raisins, put the carrots in a blender (for a very short amount of time) and whisked together equal parts of mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar. Delicious!

Joy the Baker provided the recipe for this brown sugar, but I remember reading somewhere that if you're in a pinch, molasses and white sugar can combine to make brown sugar. I was amazed by how easy it was to make it and how delicious it tastes - no preservatives or anything chemical. Now I won't ever buy it again, so long as molasses is in my pantry. Two things I can forever take off my shopping list: yogurt and brown sugar. 

At the farmer's market this week, I bought apples. I thought I'd be getting maybe 8-10 apples; instead, after telling the farmer that I like smaller apples to bring as snacks, I brought home 17 small Golden Delicious apples for $7. This photo (in which the Nutella sort of looks like a litter of puppies, and is taken on my Spongebob plate) shows my latest obsession of putting Nutella on apples. I'm thinking of renaming these apples Chocolate Delicious. 

Another thing I bought at the farmer's market this week was Asian string beans, a weird, long, purple bean. I figured they'd be good in a stir fry so I bought them. I realized I don't know how to stir fry, but I was able to put the beans in a yummy vegetable omelet. I had some fun plating too. 

I went looking online for recipes for these weird beans and found one for braising. I'd never braised green beans, so thought I'd give it a try. If you don't like something, what do you do? Why, smother it in butter and garlic of course. The result was a little chewy but quite delicious. It's somewhat like eating snakes- very buttery snakes with chunks of onion and garlic. 

The aesthetic is nice, though. 

Broccoli Soup with Gouda and Parmesan

I am so excited that I'm going home next Friday! I haven't seen my mom or my home since April and my dad since March, so I'm well overdue for some family time. It's also the bi-annual Grosslein reunion on Cape Cod, so Mom and I will drive out for that. Can't wait can't wait...

One of the major things you must keep in mind when preparing for a vacation is what you have in your fridge and pantry. You want to make sure that whatever's left won't spoil before you come back. Last week I inherited a bunch of leftover food from one of our volunteer groups, including two heads of broccoli. I knew I wouldn't eat them steamed, because that's just not something I do often. So I decided on soup.

I looked at a lot of broccoli soup recipes: ones with half and half, ones with an immersion blender, ones with "1 (1 pound) loaf processed cheese food, cubed"... the list goes on. I didn't want to use half and half because of my pseudo-lactose intolerance, don't have an immersion blender, and processed loaf cheese, just... no. Never. Then finally I found one that had the basic ingredients (milk, broccoli, cheese) and seemed adaptable.

Cream of Broccoli soup with cheese, adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker's adaptation of a similar recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (one whole stick) salted butter
1 red onion, chopped
1 small red potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 cups whole milk
2 heads broccoli, 1-inch florets and 1-inch rounds from the stem
Pepper
2 cups shredded 5-year aged gouda
1/2 cup parmesan, grated

1. In a large pot, melt the butter. Add the onions and potato. When the onions are translucent and the potatoes are soft, slowly whisk in the milk.

2. Add the broccoli with lots of ground pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 30 minutes until the broccoli is tender. Add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring in between to melt.

3. Transfer the soup to a blender (or use an immersion blender if you have one) and blend on low until pulverized. Serve immediately or freeze in containers.

Notes: The potato eliminates the need for flour. When you add the broccoli, you may add salt but I didn't because the butter was salted.

This is a very tasty and easy recipe that makes a lot of soup. Great for a potluck or other large gathering of folks. 

Happy blending! 

How Not to Candy Watermelon Rind

I call this post "how not to candy watermelon rind" because what I did last week was boil watermelon rind with spices and a lot a water. I used the recipe from Food com but instead of just letting the watermelon rind sweat, I filled a deep pot with water and then let the watermelon rind and sugar sit for 12 hours. What I wound up with after adding vanilla, cinnamon, lemon juice and pieces of lemon rind and chili powder, was spiced water and chewy spiced watermelon rind. It's pretty delicious and you can use the pieces of rind in yogurt parfaits, but my favorite way to use this recipe is in beer.

I went to a krewe recruitment party on Sunday and brought a jar of this watermelon rind. They had a keg (sadly this was my first keg party) of Abita Amber and after one or two Solo cups I had the idea of combining the beer with the spiced water from the rind. It was SO out of this world delicious that I had a couple more Solo cups' full. There wasn't any water at the party besides what I brought (just beer and Jameson and other alcohols) so I was not drinking enough water. Although I had fun meeting new people and swimming in Lake Pontchartrain, I got very dehydrated and had a miserable night.

Lesson learned!

Right now I don't want to drink or eat the watermelon rind, so I'm not sure what to do with it... Just the smell of it makes me feel nauseous. I'll give it a couple weeks and see if I feel better.

Please don't equate candied watermelon rind with feeling sick, though. I love this recipe and highly recommend it! Just don't put water in the pot; only peeled and diced watermelon rind with sugar. Let it sweat for 4-12 hours and then proceed with the recipe. Hopefully your end product will be chewy and delicious, like my second attempt will be.

Enjoy!

How to Freeze and Eat Summer: Lemon Nectarine Frozen Yogurt

This recipe is a work in progress. I started it Thursday when I bought some of the most juicy, delicious nectarines I've ever had in my life at the Mid-City farmer's market. Four of them were pretty bruised, but even the bruises tasted sweet, so of course I wasn't going to throw them away. Into the blender they went, along with the dream of sorbet or frozen yogurt or something.

I couldn't make ice cream because I don't keep milk in the house, but I do always have yogurt, which I make. I blended together the nectarines, skin and all, with a couple ice cubes (which actually dulled the flavor and which I won't do again) and poured the mix into a plastic container. I put it straight into the freezer.

When I tasted it a few days later, it was not smooth like I'd wanted. Of course it wasn't smooth, because I'd basically made thick, frozen juice. (It was essentially a nectarine scrapey, which is a story for another day.) So today I took it out and let it thaw for about two hours. Then I blended in about 3/4 cup of yogurt to make it a little smoother. I also made a 2 - 1 simple syrup and added about 1/4 cup of that, plus the juice of half one lemon. Now it's back in the freezer and I'll taste it tomorrow. Commence the crossing of fingers!

Ingredients:
4 nectarines, the bruised ones that need to be used immediately
3/4 cup yogurt
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup simple syrup (1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water, boiled together; can be kept in the fridge for a month)
A blender
A freezer

Stay tuned for results! I can tell you that it tastes delicious in the blender...

Oh, Let Them Eat Cake

With love from my co-workers. Isn't this an adorable cake? So far this birthday of mine has included:

- a fried shrimp po'boy, dressed, from Parkway Tavern
- Rum Chata, my new favorite drink, on the rocks
- Rum Chata in a cocktail with muddled bacon and maple Crown Royal whiskey
(I have actually had four Rum Chata drinks this week, two on Tuesday and two on Thursday. It's been a good week!)
- red velvet cake with my co-workers <3
- a group of 60 volunteers picking up trash in my neighborhood, giving me my first service day and 60 volunteers towards my year's goal
- birthday cards from Mom, Dad and grandparents
- Facebook wishes from 40 of my friends, including some I haven't heard from in awhile, which is always nice

I am overcome with love and happiness. I'm tired and I have homework to do, but boy, birthdays are wonderful things. Thank you America for not being communist! Lol.

I've been making yummy smoothies again for breakfast, now that I'm allowing myself to buy bananas again. Happily I got local bananas from the farmer's market last night, so I am super excited to try those. The best breakfast was Monday when I accidentally made frozen yogurt. I blended a frozen banana and frozen pineapple chunks with a couple ice cubes, hoping the ice would make the smoothie more watery. Instead the blender struggled to crush everything; when I added yogurt everything got smooth but stayed thick. When I poured the mix into a bowl, it had become frozen yogurt. I was thrilled and added flaxseed and walnuts. It was DELICIOUS.

After my birthday party on Sunday I should have some more culinary adventures to share. For now, enjoy life and eat well.

Happy munching!

My First True Summer Meal

They say that summer is the best time for salads, but I'm really not much of a salad person. I tend not to have lettuce in the house; I prefer spinach for adding to smoothies. I started eating bananas again after skipping them for the month of June while I was doing the Eat Local challenge and had a smoothie this morning. But the mixed greens I got from the farmer's market turned out to be 80% arugula, so the handful I threw into my smoothie (with yogurt, strawberries, fresh figs and flaxseed) made the whole thing very bitter. I added some honey which made it tasty, with just a bitter aftertaste. 

It must have been a good smoothie because it kept me going until 2:00 p.m. when I ate this yummy salad. I had just a couple pretzels at noon. I wanted to eat something that would fill me up but not be too heavy so I could play volleyball this afternoon in the heat. This salad combines mixed greens, two sliced roma tomatoes, half a grapefruit, walnuts, a hard boiled egg, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. The grapefruit added a nice sweetness that surprisingly paired well with the egg bits. Yummy and very filling! I played for about two hours, which is a lot for me.

Then I was invited to dinner by one of the players. He and his wife grilled burgers, bratwurst, chicken and shrimp with veggies; I ate with them and two of their friends before they went to see "A Little Night Music" at Tulane. The food was so delicious and I was very happy. I made fast friends with their scaredy cat, Cassie, and had to tear myself away from her. She was so damn cute and fluffy and I could have sat on their couch petting her forever. Thierry, I miss you! <3

I may have to buy some more groceries if I want to cook anything this week... happy munching! 

It's Hot Outside, so I'm Going to... Bake Bread

No, of course it doesn't make sense, but this is what I do. I get an idea into my head and I go through with it - even if I have a headache, which I had Monday night when I baked bread. I bought more active yeast over the weekend because I plan on baking bread a lot. I make my own yogurt, so why shouldn't I bake my own bread? Having baked it now, I think it's delicious and kind of don't want to buy bread ever again. 

Because I don't have loaf pans, I Googled "baking bread in a Pyrex bowl" and found this recipe: My Mother's Peasant Bread from Alexandra's Kitchen. I had all the ingredients so I whipped it up. The dough was incredibly wet and did not rise as much as I think it should have, but the bread still came out great. I cut the bowl-bread in half and put half in the fridge and half in the freezer. I cut the faux foccacia into 2" x 2" squares and put half of those into the fridge and half in the freezer. I'll have bread for at least two weeks, if not longer. Yay! 

 The wet dough, before punching it down.

The Pyrex bowl and 9" x 13" baking dish while rising.  

The finished products! The one on the left side is the faux foccacia. I did not follow the directions completely and left out the olive oil and rosemary so that I could use this for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The bread would be delicious with olive oil and rosemary - maybe next time.... The round loaf is very buttery and I was afraid it'd be stuck in the bowl because I baked the dough in the same bowl I mixed it in. Mixing the dough in the bowl incorporates some of the butter into the dough, instead of leaving it on the bowl as a greasing agent. So next time I may use a separate bowl to mix the dough and then plop the dough into the greased bowl for baking; the loaves certainly did not "fall out" of the Pyrex like Alexandra says they should. 

The next morning I had a fried egg, piece of cheese, and a toasted slice of the bowl loaf with Vegemite for breakfast! A very filling breakfast; I usually get hungry around 10, 10:30 but this kept me going until 11:30 when I had some green pepper sticks and a couple figs from my friend's garden and the community orchard in the Seventh Ward. We were weeding the tree pits and she comes over and hands me a pinkish little blob, saying "The first fig!" So I ate it (I have had figs off the tree in New Orleans before) and it was scrumptious. 

Now I have some mushy figs in my fridge... what to do with those... 

In other news I bought fancy artisan chocolate at Whole Foods today. It was on sale! It's quite delicious chocolate and was so odd (and so on sale) that I just had to try it. I am a choco-holic, fo' sho.