Talks About Food

During my sleepover at Jamie’s, she whipped up a simple and tasty dinner for all of us. Jamie does everything fast, she cooked this whole dinner while Donna and I were setting up the table. It’s a simple spinach sauce, toss it with some pasta and add your favorite meat, she used sausages, but I think chicken breast would work great too. But my favorite part about this dish is the beautiful green color, it’s so appetizing and looks so pretty on the dinner table.

Here’s the recipe for Jamie’s beautiful spinach sauce, as given to me by the inventor herself, short and sweet, as always.

Fettuccine with Spinach Sauce

• 12 oz. bag of spinach
• 1/2 lb. bacon, diced
• 1/4 a yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 8 oz creme fraiche
• zest of 1/2 a lemon
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 4 oz. chicken broth
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning (or use fresh Basil, thyme, etc. to taste)
• salt and pepper to taste (I like lots of black pepper)
• 1 package fettuccine

Cook the fettuccine according to package.

Heat up a big pan and coat with cooking spray/oil/butter/whichever you prefer. Toss in the bacon and cook until enough fat liquefies into the pan. Take out bacon to top pasta later and leave in the fat and oil in the pan.

Throw in the onion and garlic. Cook until slightly caramelized.

Add chicken stock and spinach and cook for 2 minutes.

Put spinach, onion, chicken stock, lemon juice and zest into blender and blend until smooth.

Add creme fraiche, herbs, salt and pepper. Blend well until the creme fraiche has been well incorporated.

Toss the pasta and sauce together (as much sauce as you want). Plate and top with bacon. If you wanna be a little extravagant, sprinkle a bit of goat cheese on top as well. Serves 4 to 6, depending on how much your people like to eat.

Read the story behind the recipe: Weekend at Jamie’s

There are no measurements for this recipe, actually this is more of a guideline than a recipe. The thing is, not only we played it by ear, but I think you can adjust the quantity of all the ingredients to suite your liking. 

Indonesian Deviled Egg Rolls

For the filling:

• hard boiled eggs
• cooked ham/bacon/chicken breast, finely diced*
• carrot, finely diced*
• cheddar/gruyere/mozzarella cheese, finely grated*
• mayonnaise**
• mustard
• salt
• pepper
• 1 cup of bread crumbs
• 1 egg, whisked (for egg wash)
• 2 - 3 cups of vegetable oil (for frying)

* We used smoked gouda and pancetta, because that’s what I happen to have on the fridge, but feel free to substitute with other kinds of meat and cheese. The ratio should be 1 egg : 1/3 meat : 1/3 carrot : 1/3 cheese.

** We used regular american mayo that I had on the fridge. But my Dad was convinced that Asian mayonnaise would be way better. The Asian mayonnaise that my Mom usually gets is the Kewpie mayonnaise. You can get it in Asian stores. It’s taste quite different than american mayo, a little sweet, a little tangy, and very rich & thick.

For the lumpia wrappers*:

• 1 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 3/4 − 2 cups of water
• dash of salt and finely ground pepper

* To cut down on time (and frustration), use store bought egg roll wrappers or wonton wrappers.

To make the filling:

The trick to this recipe, according to my dad, is to make sure to dice all the filling very finely, and don’t put too much filling in each wrap. 

Peel and half all the hard-boiled eggs. Scoop out the yolk and set aside on a large mixing bowl.

Dice all the egg whites very finely. Then dice the carrot. Set aside.

Add mayonnaise to the reserved egg yolks, a couple of tablespoons at a time. Then add a little bit of mustard to taste, about half a tablespoon at a time. You want the ratio to be roughly 1 egg yolk : 3/4 mayonnaise : 1/4 mustard

Mash the egg yolks, mustard, and mayonnaise together, until you get a smooth, thick paste.

Then add in all the diced ingredients: egg whites, carrot, and grated cheese, to the mayo mixture. Mix them together until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

To make the lumpia wrappers:

This was the most challenging and time consuming part of the recipe. You can use store-bought ones, but if you’re feeling like making a mess and experimenting, do make your own wrappers. I have to tell you though, it took us a few tries and a ton of patience before getting the hang of it.

Whisk together flour and egg. Then start adding the water, about 1/2 a cup at first, and then keep adding water 1/4 cup at a time, until batter is thin enough, so that it drips off the whisk when you lift it up. You want it to be the consistency of a crepe batter. Season with a dash of salt and pepper.

Place a non-stick skillet on medium heat. If your non-stick is like mine, and starting to loose its non-stickiness, lightly wipe the surface with a dab of butter, to make sure the wrapper won’t get stuck on to it.

Use a ladle and pour batter on to the pan, and as you’re pouring, start swirling the pan, to coat the bottom as evenly as possible. You want to have a circle of batter covering the bottom of the pan. If there are any holes in the circle, drip a bit of batter on the area to patch up the hole. It took me about 15 wrappers before I started to get the hang of it.

When the wrapper is just cooked through and the edges lift away from the pan, remove it carefully (you need not turn it over). Repeat with the remaining batter. 

To assemble the egg rolls:

Once all the wrapper has been made, start assembling the rolls. Place about a tablespoon of filling onto the bottom third of the wrapper. Then fold the bottom corner over the filling and roll firmly to the halfway point.

Tuck the left and right sides snugly over the egg roll, then finish rolling. You should end up with something that looks like a tiny burrito. Repeat until you’ve used up all the remaining wrappers and fillings.

Brush each egg roll with the egg wash. Then roll each egg roll in the bread crumbs.

Heat a small pot filled with oil. Once the oil is really hot, fry egg rolls 3 or 4 at a time until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

Drain on paper towels. Serve with some white rice or by themselves as appetizers! And finally, after 5 hours, we’re ready to eat!

Read the story behind the recipe: My Dad & I… the Slowest Cooks in the World

For my scone experiment, I tried out a few different base recipes for scones. Some turned out more traditional (light and crumbly), while others were more moist and heavier. I wasn’t really in a quest to find the perfect scone recipe, it was more of an exploration of flavors, not only what flavors goes well together, but also how they’re being used to flavor the scones. Fresh fruits, dried fruits, frozen fruits, zests, juices, icing, are all great ways to flavor. Can you imagine the possibilities of all the different flavors and textures to play with? 

I don’t really think there’s one recipe that’s more correct than others. Though this particular recipe is one that I found most successful when used with different fruits dried or fresh, so it’s good to have on your repertoire. This recipe is for a traditional scone, so it’s got a crumbly, almost melts in your mouth texture.

Blueberry Lemon Scone with Peach Glaze (makes 8 scones)

For the scone:

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 3oz chilled unsalted butter
• 1/2 heaping cup blueberries or other fruits*
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 egg yolk

*I highly recommend fresh blueberries over frozen ones. If it’s fresh, set them in the freezer - they do not need to freeze, just get sufficiently chilled.  If you insist on using frozen blueberries, let it them thaw out just a little bit, don’t let them get mushy.

For the glaze:

• 2 tbsp peach juice
• 1/2 cup sugar

To make the scones:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Add lemon zest.

In a separate bowl beat cream and egg yolk.

Cut butter into 1” pieces, and using your fingers or a fork, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until they’re pea-sized.

Gently fold in the chilled blueberries.

Add cream and egg into the butter mixture, sprinkling the wet ingredients all over, not just in one place. Then use your hand like a paddle, gently form the dough into a ball. Don’t over mix or crush the blueberries. It’s okay if the dough is quite crumbly at this point. It’s better than having a wet and super sticky dough, because it would be harder to handle.

Roll out the dough onto a well-floured surface. Shape into a disk about an inch high. 

Cut into 8 wedges. Brush the tops of each wedge with egg wash made by stirring an egg yolk with half tablespoon of water. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

To glaze:

Whisk the sugar and peach juice until the mixture is smooth. Once scones are done and completely cooled, brush the glaze over the cooled scones.

Allow to set for 10 minutes. Scones can be stored on an air-tight container for up to 2 days, unglazed ones can be frozen up to 5 days.

Read the story behind the recipe: Scone Crit!

This recipe is using the same base scone recipe as the blueberry lemon ones. Except this time, I replaced 1/2 cup of the all purpose flour with some quinoa flour, adding a new flavor to the mix.

Chocolate & Cashew Quinoa Scones (makes 8 scones)

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour*
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 3oz chilled unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chopped
• 1/3 cup cashew, toasted
• 1/4 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 egg yolk

*Whole Food usually carry the Bob’s Red Mill brand. If you can’t find quinoa flour, you can make it yourself by pulverizing quinoa into a fine powder, that’s what I did.

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl beat cream and egg yolk.

Cut butter into 1” pieces, and using your fingers or a fork, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until they’re pea-sized.

Fold in the chocolate and cashews, and raisins if using. Add cream and egg into the butter mixture, sprinkling the wet ingredients all over. Knead the dough into a ball, do not over mix.

Roll out the dough onto a well-floured surface. Shape into a disk about an inch high. 

Cut into 8 wedges. Brush the tops of each wedge with egg wash made by stirring an egg yolk with half tablespoon of water. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Scones can be stored on an air-tight container for up to 2 days or frozen up to 5 days.

Read the story behind the recipe: Scone Crit!

This recipe makes for a non-traditional scone, it’s more moist than the crumbly traditional English scones. It’s also got a nice crunchy texture because I added cornmeal to it. I like the fact that it’s gritty and has more of a bite to it. If that’s not your thing, you’re welcome to skip the cornmeal and replace it with regular flour instead.

Chocolate Chip & Strawberry Scones (makes 8 scones)

Adapted from The Way the Cookie Crumbles

• 1¼ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal*
• ¼ cups granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup plain yogurt
• ½ cup milk*
• 1 cup diced fresh strawberries
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chopped

* You can skip the cornmeal if you wish, and replace it with all purpose flour instead

* I used almond milk instead of whole milk, and it works just fine.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400F.

In a small bowl, combine the egg, yogurt, milk and zest and whisk to thoroughly combine. Set aside.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cubes of butter and cut the butter into the dry ingredients until they’re pea-sized.

Add the strawberries and chocolate to the flour mixture and toss to coat.

Add the wet ingredients and fold them into the dry ingredients, mixing just until the dough comes together. 

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and pat it into a large ball.

Cut the ball in half, and shape each half into a flat disk about ½-inch thick. Cut the discs into 8 wedges.

Place the wedges on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle sugar on top. Bake until slightly browned on top, about 15 − 20 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the scones cool. The scones are best served when still slightly warm. They can be stored on an air-tight container for up to 2 days or frozen up to 5 days.

Do ahead:

You can prepare the scones up to just before baking, then freeze the shaped dough. Though I prefer to freeze the flattened dough disk because it takes up less space on my freezer. I wrap the disk in plastic and store it in the freezer up to a few days.

When I’m ready to bake them, I just take them out, and cut the disk into wedges with a sharp knife. 

The scones can be baked straight from the freezer, with just a few minutes added to the baking time.

Read the story behind the recipe: Scone Crit!

By itself, these cherry scones are your traditional light and crumbly scones, slightly sweet and subtle, perfect for tea time. But dress them up with lime icing or chocolate ganache, and you can transform them into a more loud and punchy type of dessert. They’re all good in their own ways, it just depends what mood you’re in. 

The scone recipe is very similar to the base for the blueberry lemon scones recipe, but instead of heavy cream, this uses buttermilk, which makes it a tad less fattening, in case you’re trying to eat light. Pftt… then again, if you’re eating light, you probably shouldn’t be eating scones, right?

Cherry Scones (makes 8 scones) 

Adapted from Martha Stewart Recipes

For the scone:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 cups fresh sweet cherry (6 ounces), pitted and halved*

*If you don’t own a cherry pitter, you can use a paper clip to pit your cherries. That’s what I did.

For the lime icing:

• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

For the chocolate ganache:

• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp heavy cream

To make the scones:

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl beat buttermilk and egg yolk.

Cut butter into 1” pieces, and using your fingers or a fork, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until they’re pea-sized.

Gently fold in the cherries. Add buttermilk and egg into the butter mixture, sprinkling the wet ingredients all over, not just in one place. Then use your hand like a paddle, gently form the dough into a ball. Don’t over mix. It’s okay if the dough is quite crumbly at this point. It’s better than having a wet and super sticky dough, because it would be harder to handle.

Roll out the dough onto a well-floured surface. Shape into a disk about an inch high. 

Cut into 8 wedges. Brush the tops of each wedge with egg wash made by stirring an egg yolk with half tablespoon of water. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for about 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

To make the lime icing:

Whisk the sugar and lime juice until the mixture is opaque and smooth. Once scones are done and completely cooled, use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the cooled scones. Allow to set for 10 minutes. 

To make the chocolate ganache:

Place the chopped chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, until cream is hot, but not bubbling over. Whisk to soften the chocolate, until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is thoroughly melted. Use a spoon to drizzle the ganache over the cooled scones. Allow to set for 10 minutes.

Scones can be stored on an air-tight container for up to 2 days, unglazed ones can be frozen up to 5 days.

Read the story behind the recipe: Scone Crit!

If you’re familiar at all with America’s Test Kitchen, you understand why I was intrigued to try out this recipe. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch an episode of the show, and you’ll see that the folks at America’s Test Kitchen are super hard-core scientists who take recipe development very seriously. They find the best way to make… anything! They test just about every possible variable in a recipe to come up with the best way to make it.

So when I found this recipe from Cave Cibum and saw that it was adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book, I just had to give it a shot. As big of a fan as I am, I’ve never made any of their recipes, until now. 

Naturally, it’s the most complicated scone recipe I’ve seen thus far, the folks at America’s Test Kitchen are not ones to cut corners, they’re all about making the best recipes, not the simplest recipes.

Unfortunately, I did decided to cut corners, because I thought I could get away with it. And I did, until I skipped the step of freezing the dough first, before starting to work with it. Not a good idea, because my dough ended up being super wet and sticky, and very hard to work with. So, if you’re attempting this recipe, learn from my mistake, and follow the recipe, exactly, and do let me know how it turns out.

Blackberry Scones with Peach Icing (makes 8 scones) 

Adapted from Cave Cibum, originally from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

For the scone:

• 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, frozen, plus extra for melting (about 2 Tbsp)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp freshly grated orange zest (about half a large orange)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup milk*
• 1/3 cup sour cream*

* I made this recipe twice, and both times I ended up with a dough that’s too wet, so I modified the amount of milk and sour cream slightly. The original Test Kitchen recipe calls for 1/2 cup of both milk and sour cream. I’m suggesting to put a tad less, if you think your dough ends up being too dry, then you can add a bit more milk and sour cream as needed. This ain’t rocket science, know what I mean?

For the peach icing:

• 1 tbsp fresh peach juice
• 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

To make the scones:

On the large holes of a box grater, grate the butter into a small bowl. Once grated, place butter back into the freezer. 

For full disclosure, I didn’t grate my butter. I know how to work quickly with my hands, and I’ve been using my fingers and sometimes a fork to cut butter into the flour for all the other scone recipes I’ve done, and they all work fine. I think grating the butter is just an extra precaution, to ensure the butter stay extra cold, I didn’t think it necessary, but next time I make this recipe, I’ll try grating the butter to see if it’ll make a huge difference in the end product.

Place berries in a bowl and set in the freezer - they do not need to freeze, just get sufficiently chilled.

Preheat oven to 425 ° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, salt, and baking soda. Add in the grated butter and lightly toss until the butter is evenly coated. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and sour cream, then add to the flour mixture. Fold in with a rubber spatula until just combined.

Turn out dough onto a well floured board. Lightly knead the dough until it just pulls together, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky. Pat the dough into a 12-inch square, then fold the top third and bottom third of the dough over the middle (like folding a letter). Then fold up the sides of the dough over the middle to form a square. Place dough on a floured plate, then place in the freezer for about 5 minutes so the butter doesn’t soften too much.

Place the dough back on the floured board, and roll out to a 12-inch square.

Arrange berries on top of the dough and lightly press them in.

This is where my scones began to fall apart, right after I added the blackberries. The berries made the my dough really wet and unworkable. I tried to fix the situation by sticking the web dough on the freezer for 10 minutes, which helped a little. So at that point, I wasn’t able to follow the rest of the original recipe. I basically tried to flattened out the dough into a disk, and finally managed to cut it into 8 wedges.

But if you want to follow the real Test Kitchen recipe, this is what you should have done:

Roll the dough up into a tight log, pinching the ends and seam shut. Flatten the log into a 12x4-inch rectangle. Cut the dough lengthwise into 4 even rectangles, then cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles (8 total). 

Place scones on baking sheet, brush with egg wash made by stirring an egg yolk with half tablespoon of water, and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops of the scones are golden brown. 

To make the peach icing:

Whisk the sugar and peach juice until the mixture is opaque and smooth. Once scones are done and completely cooled, use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the cooled scones. Allow to set for 10 minutes. 

Scones can be stored on an air-tight container for up to 2 days, unglazed ones can be frozen up to 5 days. I defrosted a frozen one a few days after, and added a tiny dollop of some home-made Crème Fraîche. Delicious!

Read the story behind the recipe: Scone Crit!

You can make this chocolate buttermilk cake as little cupcakes or as a normal cake, either way, this cake is moist and super chocolaty, it’s the kind of cake you want to eat with a tall glass of milk.

Chocolate Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4oz butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs

For the chocolate ganache:

• 10 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 2/3 cups heavy cream

For the buttercream frosting (makes about 4 cups):

• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk
• 2oz bittersweet chocolate*

* Only needed if you’re making a chocolate version of the buttercream frosting

To make the cupcakes:

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. If you’re topping your cupcakes with the chocolate ganache, make sure to use the tall paper liners, so there’s room for the ganache. If you’re doing the buttercream frosting, then you can use the regular size liners.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix together cocoa powder and boiling water. Add brown sugar, followed by buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mix on low until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Alternate adding the cocoa mixture and dry mixture until thoroughly mixed.

Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16 - 20 minutes, until toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

To make the chocolate ganache:

Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Heat cream in a saucepan over medium heat, just to a boil. Pour hot cream over the chocolate. Let the mixture rest for 3 minutes, and then stir until chocolate is completely melted and ganache is very smooth. 

To make the buttercream frosting:

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachement, cream the butter until very light in texture, 2 minutes. Add the sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and mix on low speed until blended. Increase the speed to medium and add the cream or milk in a thin stream. Increase the speed to high and whip the buttercream until very smooth and light. Adjust the consistency if necessary by adding a bit more sugar or cream/milk.

Make a chocolate version of the frosting by melting 2oz of bittersweet chocolate, let cool to room temperature and add to the creamed butter. Blend on medium speed before continuing with the above recipe.

To ice the cupcakes:

Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, use a ladle to top each cupcake with chocolate ganache or frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or use a piping bag.

I’m not much of a piper, so the frostings on my cupcakes looked a bit pathetic. I added the fruits and chopped roasted almond topping to dress these cupcakes up (and hide the ugly frostings underneath them), plus I thought the crunchiness would add a more interesting texture.

These cupcakes are best the day they are made, but can be covered and stored for a few days.

Read the story behind the recipe: My First Five.

Speaking of finding certainty in my often unstructured life, there is a quote from the movie Julie & Julia that I thought describes the appeal of baking to many folks, including me. Julie is baking chocolate cream pie, and says to her husband:

“You know what I love about cooking? I love that after a day when nothing is sure and when I say nothing, I mean nothing. You can come home and absolutely know that if you add egg yolks to chocolate and sugar and milk, it will get thick. That’s such a comfort.”

With that, here’s a very simple and yet very versatile recipe for chocolate pudding. This is a basic recipe for a stove top custard, that I got from my baking course. It means that you can use these same ingredients and techniques, and use it to make other kinds of stove top custards. Swap out the mocha flavoring for orange liqueur, or crème de menthe? Take out the chocolate and you’ve got crème anglaise!

Mocha Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate
• 1 1/3 cup almond milk*
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 oz (1 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp of mocha flavoring*

* The original recipe calls for whole milk as well as heavy cream, but I tried it with just using almond milk, and it works just the same, it doesn’t taste any less rich.

* If you don’t happen to have mocha flavoring, you can make a batch of instant black coffee, and substitute this for the mocha. 

Gently heat the milk and sugar in a non-reactive pot (like enamel or  stainless steel). Add chocolate and melt into milk. 

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolk, cornstarch, and sugar. 

Temper the melted chocolate mixture into the yolk mixture. A little bit at a time, and whisk furiously to keep the yolk from curdling.

Pour back into the pot and cook until thick*. Finish with vanilla, mocha flavoring, and butter then strain into a bowl and refrigerate.

* If serving as a finished dessert the consistency should be thick but pourable, like regular Jello chocolate pudding. Cover the bowl with plastic, refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours. When ready to serve, just take out the individual bowls, and decorate with nuts on top, I used cashews. 

If using this for a pie filling (like chocolate cream pie), the consistency should be much thicker (like sour cream), something that you can cut into slices and hold up, not runny. Spoon pudding into a fully cooled pie crust and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Top with whipped cream and then refrigerate until ready to serve.

Read the story behind the recipe: Getting My Words Together, and Keeping Them

So Farm to Table might be a ways away from being realized, but that doesn’t meant that you can’t start growing something on your own back yard, or in the case of my tiny herb garden, on a windowsill. 

One of the best herb I’ve got growing right now is my basil plant, it’s the only one that’s not dying for some reason. It actually grows more leaves than I can use. The thing with basil is the more you prune it, the more it grows back, it’s completely out of control! 

So what do you do with too much basil? Pesto, of course!

Panini with Home-Made Pesto

For the Pesto:

• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup pine nuts (or substitute whatever nut you have on hand)*
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan  cheese

* I didn’t have pine nuts, I used walnuts instead

For the Panini:

• 2 slices of sourdough bread
• a few slices of smoked gouda or smoked mozzarella
• a slice of tomato
• a handful of spinach
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 tbsp of butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil

To make the pesto

Combine the basil, garlic, and nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. 

If you don’t own a food processor, you can use a mortar and pestel, and grind the pesto by hand, it takes a bit more work, but it works, I’ve done it before. You’d want to chop up the nuts really fine first though. It would be a pretty chunky pesto, but it’s still good.

If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese.

If freezing, transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle remaining oil over the top. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and stir in cheese.

To make the panini

Add a little bit of olive oil to a pan, saute the garlic until fragrant, add the spinach, let it saute for 1 minute, then remove from heat, and set aside.

Then butter one side of each bread slice. Take one slice, with the buttered side down, spread some pesto sauce. Then layer a slice of cheese, then add the tomato slice and the sautéed spinach, and the remaining slice of cheese.

Take the remaining slice of bread, spread some pesto on the non-buttered side, and top off the sandwich. You want the buttered side of the bread to be on the outside.

Heat the same pan that you used for sautéing the spinach. Then place the assembled sandwich on the hot pan. You know it’s hot when the pan starts to smoke.

To make the panini flat and crispy, you’d want to put a weight on top of the sandwich. I used a smaller pan to push down the sandwich. You can use anything heavy like a cast iron pan or even a brick wrapped in aluminum foil.

When the bottom side is golden brown, lift your weight and flip the sandwich. Press down again until the other side is golden brown. 

That’s it, now you have a thin and crispy panini! You don’t even need to buy a panini maker or pesto from the store. So DIY of you!

Read the story behind the recipe: A GOOD Idea: An Urban Food Center

Since we’re talking about getting as many meals out of one grocery trip as we can, all these recipes are related, so that you can use a lot of the same ingredients over and over again. So here are the meals I made: Chilaquiles with Nopalitos, Chicken Tacos with Mango Salsa, Vegetarian Chorizo with Spanish Rice.

My first trip to the store I bought most of the ingredients for the Chilaquiles (minus the seasonings, since I already have those in my pantry). The whole thing cost about $8. From that, I was able to make different variations of Mexican food for the next couple of weeks. I only had to go back to the store and got one or two things, like the Soy Chorizo from Trader’s Joe, and mango and tomatoes for the salsa.

Chilaquiles Verde with Nopales

• 10 corn tortillas
• 1 cup vegetable oil for frying
• 1 pound of small green tomatoes (tomatillos), quartered*
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 green chili peppers (more if you like it spicy), chopped
• 3-4 medium size nopalitos, cleaned and cut into 1/2” wide strips*
• 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro
• 2 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth*
• 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp of cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup Mexican cheese (Monterrey Jack or Cheddar works too)
• one fried egg to top it all off (optional, but definitely recommended!)

* I’m using green tomatoes since we’re making verde chilaquiles, but if you’ve got regular red tomatoes on hand, you can use that, and make chilaquiles rojo instead.

* You can buy nopales or cactus at most grocery stores now. You can buy them already cleaned and precut in a jar, but it’s much cheaper to buy them raw and prepare them yourself.

* I’m going the super-cheap route by making this dish vegetarian. But if you want to add meat, chicken or ground beef or pork, you can. In that case, you’re also welcome to use chicken or beef stock.

To make the chilaquiles

Clean and cut the nopales into 1/2” strips. Be careful if it’s your first time. Those are real cactuses, so they’re sharp! Here’s a tutorial on how to clean your nopales, and another.

Once ready, place the nopales in a small sauce pan cover them with water, and bring it to a boil. Let it cook for 2 minutes, and then drain. Then repeat once more, we do this to get the sliminess out. Drain and set aside.

Fill a small frying pan about half way up with vegetable oil (1 cup or more depending on how big your pan is, the smaller the better, so you won’t have to use up so much oil). Let it get hot, and then fry the tortillas, one at a time, until they turn golden brown. About 2 minutes or so each. Place on paper towel to drain the excess oil.

In a frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Sauté the onion and green tomatoes until soft. Add the garlic and the chopped chili. Saute for a minute more until the garlic smells amazing.

Take your sautéed onion mixture, place it in a food processor, let it cool slightly so it won’t explode on you. Then blend them together, it doesn’t need to be super fine, chunks are okay, it’s all about your preference. My food processor was broken when I was cooking this, so I used a mortar and pestel to grind the mixture by hand. I tried getting it as smooth as I can, but there were still pretty big chunks of stuff, but it came out fine in the end.

Return the pureed mixture to the pan, fry for a minute in a table spoon of oil. Add the seasonings: oregano, cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Then add the 2 cups of broth. Stir and bring to a boil. 

While waiting for the mixture to boil, stack the fried tortillas into a neat pile, and cut them into roughly 1/2” strips. Add to the boiling broth mixture. And then add in the nopales too.

Return to a boil once more, and then lower the heat and let it simmer until most of the liquid is gone, about 5-10 minutes. Check the seasoning one more time, adjust to taste.

To serve, crumble some Mexican cheese on top (or other cheeses you’re using). Add a dollop of sour cream on the side. You can fry an egg real fast (I did it on the same pan I used for frying the tortilla, I just dumped most of the oil out) to top off the whole thing. Enjoy your well-earned meal!

From the left over ingredients for the chilaquiles, I decide to make chicken tacos, since I already have corn tortillas, and I’ve got chicken breast sitting in my freezer. Since basically my definition of chicken taco is sautéed chicken breast seasoned with cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, I wanted to add some mango salsa, to make it more fun.

Mango Salsa

• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 ripe mango, diced
• a handful of cilantro, chopped
• half of medium red onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• half of a green chili pepper, chopped and seeded (more if you like it spicy) 
• 1/2 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp of cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• juice of 1 lime

Put all ingredients together in a large tupperware and shake until everything is mixed together. Serve with your chicken taco or as a dip.

I made another meal using these ingredients: Vegetarian Chorizo with Spanish Rice. The vegetarian chorizo is basically Soy Chorizo from Trader’s Joe, sautéed with green beans. I just found out about soy chorizo from my friend, for the longest time I’ve avoided eating chorizo because someone told me what gross stuff goes in it. But the soy chorizo has the taste and texture of a regular chorizo, so I’m excited I can finally eat chorizo again!

Spanish Rice

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup uncooked white rice (medium grain)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups water
• 1 10 oz can diced tomatoes (or 1 large tomato, diced)
• 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp of cumin
• a pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until soft. Add in the rice. Saute until a little translucent.

Add in water and tomatoes. Add in the seasonings. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed.

Read the story behind the recipe: My Favorite Thing About Taxes…

Ingredients:

Nasi Kuning (Indonesian Yellow Rice)

• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 packet of Yellow Rice Seasoning (we use Kokita brand)* 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 in piece of fresh lemongrass and 2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)*

* They have this at Asian supermarkets, but if you can’t get a hold of it, or you want to go the authentic route, you can use 1 tsp of turmeric powder, half an onion, 1 clove of garlic, all crushed together in a blender into a yellow paste and sauteed until fragrant. This will look like the instant Yellow Rice Seasoning, and you can use this paste when the recipe calls for the Yellow Rice Seasoning.

* If you’re using the seasoning, you don’t have to use these because it’s already in the mix. But if you’re going the authentic route and making everything from scratch, you have to use these, the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves are what give the rice that fragrant smell. Kaffir lime leaves is for me the hardest one to find (which is why I prefer to use the seasoning), but if you can get a hold of the the kaffir lime leaves, definitely go for it. If not, you might also get away with using bay leaves instead. The two are not the same thing though.

If you’re curious I found a good list of the different herbs that are most commonly used in Indonesian cooking (and Thai cooking as well). It’s got their names, pictures, and other names the herbs go by, sometimes they also offer suggestions for possible substitutes.

To make Nasi Kuning

Place the rice in a large saucepan. Fill the pot halfway with cold water. Wash and rinse the rice at least 3 times. Drain, set aside.

Heat the 2 cups of water in a large pot. Add the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, if using. You don’t have to wait until the water boils. You just want the water heated, so by the time you’re ready to add the rice, it’s already close to the boiling point.

Next, add the coconut milk.

Then add the Yellow Rice Seasoning.

Add the washed rice. Bring the rice mixture to a boil and stir occasionally, to make sure no rice gets stuck to the bottom of the pot and get burned.

Keep stirring until most of the liquid is almost gone, about 10-15 minutes.

At this point the rice is close to being done, but it’s still a little bit under cooked, it should be a bit crunchy. So we’ll use the rice cooker to finish cooking the rice. It’s a bit tricky, but stick with me. So you want to fill the bottom of the rice cooker with about 1 1/2 inch of water. 

And then cover the water with a steamer basket. Sometimes when you buy a rice cooker it comes with one, but if it doesn’t the steamer basket is just a flat surface with holes in it, so find something around the house that can do the job, maybe a strainer, those bamboo baskets that they have on dim-sum places also can work. 

Once you have your steamer set up, add the rice.

Turn on the rice cooker, and let it cook until it’s done, should take about 10 minutes. Rice should be fluffy and soft, and no longer crunchy.

Open the pot and discard the lemongrass stalks and kaffir lime leaves. Gently fold the rice over with a spoon, evenly distributing aromatic flavors that may be concentrated in pockets in the rice. You can serve it with curry, stew, salad, or stir-fry. Or you can serve it the way we do back home during special occasion, and make side dishes to go along with it. On of the most popular side dish being the Perkedel, Indonesian potato and beef fritters.

Perkedel (Indonesian Potato and Beef Fritters)

• 2 pounds baking potatoes, boiled and mashed*
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbs peanut oil, plus more for deep frying
• 4 shallots, finely chopped*
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef

* To lazy to mash potatoes? Us too, we used Betty Crocker Homestyle Reds.

* Instead of frying your own shallots, you can also get a container of Bawang Goreng (friend onion) from the Asian market.

To make the Perkedel 

Preheat a wok until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil, the shallots and garlic; saute until soft. Mix together the fried shallots, beef, salt, pepper, the coriander, nutmeg, parsley and 1 of the eggs.

Prepare your mashed potatoes. Add mashed potatoes to the meat mixture. Mix well.

Form into balls and flatten them into cakes about 1 1/2inches round by 3/4 inch thick. On a bowl beat the remaining egg. Then dip the cakes into the egg.

Pour 2 inches of oil into a preheated wok. Heat to 365 degrees. Add 4 or 5 cakes, or as many as will fit into the pan without crowding or reducing the temperature of the oil.

Deep fry, turning occasionally until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove to paper towels to drain. 

Serve with the Nasi Kuning. You can also add other side dishes like sauteed broccoli, scrambled eggs, and some Sambal Goreng Tempeh!

Read the story behind the recipe: The Secret Ingredient

Makes about 2 loaves of bread.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups grated zucchini*
• 1 cup macademia nuts*
• 3 cups flour
• 2 loaf pans 8 x 3 7/8 x 2 15/32 inch* 

* If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand, just add another tsp of cinnamon instead.

* Each cup is about 4 ounces of nuts.

* Each 2 cups of zucchini grated is about 1 1/2 normal size zucchinis.

* You can use bigger loaf pans just increase the baking time as needed.

Grate the zucchini. No need to peel them, but just cut off any icky spots and the end. Save the stem end so when you grate by hand you have something to hold onto so I don’t scrape your knuckles.

Beat eggs; add oil, sugar, vanilla & baking soda.

Then add remaining dry ingredients (cinnamon, salt, and flour), hold off on adding the nuts until later. Mix thoroughly. 

Do not add the zucchini first - add the dry ingredients first and then the zucchini. The zucchini makes it too hard to get the spices and flour distributed properly, we don’t want big swirls of dry flour when we cut the loaf.

It’s going to get pretty thick and dry, but don’t be alarmed, once you add the zucchini in, that’s going to add a lot of liquid into the mixture.

Add zucchini, blend everything together. You might want to use your hands, we did! It’s much easier than using a rubber spatula, and plus, you get to lick your fingers when you’re done, all 10 of ‘em!

Add the nuts last, and don’t skimp!

Grease and flour bread pans, filling 2 pans about halfway.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Wait until cool before unmolding. At this point, if you want to give this out as gifts, you can just leave them in the bread pan. You can also freeze it for up to a year! Since the bread is also good served cold, you can thaw it out for a several minutes before serving. Or you can reheat if you prefer warm.

Read the story behind the recipe: Friendmas, Double the Christmas!

Soul cakes get stale within a day or two, so eat ‘em while they’re hot. Makes 12 to 15 2-inch soul cakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground fresh if possible
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground fresh if possible
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Generous pinch of saffron
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup currants (raisins, dried apricots, or other dried fruits can also be used)

For the Glaze:

• 1 egg yolk, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the flour, the nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Mix well with a fork.

Crumble the saffron threads into a small saucepan and heat over low heat just until they become aromatic, taking care not to burn them. Add the milk and heat just until hot to the touch. The milk will have turned a bright yellow. Remove from heat.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon (or use an electric mixer with the paddle attachment). Add the egg yolks and blend in thoroughly with the back of the spoon. Add the spiced flour and combine as thoroughly as possible; the mixture will be dry and crumbly.

One tablespoon at a time, begin adding in the warm saffron milk, blending vigorously with the spoon. When you have a soft dough, stop adding milk; you probably won’t need the entire half-cup.

Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and knead gently, with floured hands, until the dough is uniform. Roll out gently to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Using a floured 2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out as many rounds as you can and set on an ungreased baking sheet. You can gather and re-roll the scraps, gently. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, you can shape the dough into flat disks by hand.

Decorate the soul cakes with currants or other dried fruits and then brush liberally with the beaten egg yolk. Bake for 15 minutes, until just golden and shiny. Serve warm, with some chider (chi tea steeped in apple cider).

Read the story: Soul Cakes & Garrison Keillor, A New Halloween Tradition

(Source: NPR)