Corn Spoon Bread

My mom asked me to make some cornbread today, so I pulled out the Rodale Bread Winners book. I used this book when first making cornbread a few years ago, but noted that there were many variations. Today I tried the recipe for Fresh Corn Spoon Bread.

Ingredients:
1/3 yellow cornmeal
2 c cold milk
1 c cooked fresh corn kernels (I used frozen)
*3/4 t salt
1/4 c melted butter
2 eggs, separated
1/4 t cream of tartar

This makes 1 loaf, baked in a 6-cup casserole dish. The book did not list servings, but I would say it's about 4-5.

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

First, cook the corn. In a bowl combine the cornmeal with 1/2 c milk. In a pan heat 1/2 c milk to a boil. Add the corn and gradually stir in the cornmeal/milk mixture. Add 1/2 t salt, if using. Cook 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and beat in the butter.

Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites with 1/4 t cream of tartar, until soft peaks form. (Soft peaks will fall slightly when you dip and remove a spoon from the bowl.) Set aside.

Now beat the egg yolks with the remaining 1 c milk. Add the corn mixture to this, stirring until combined. Fold in the egg whites and pour everything into a greased pan.

Bake 1 hr, serve immediately.

Note: this batter is very thin, just a bit thicker than the consistency of milk once the egg whites are added.

Though I did not know what to expect, this was quite tasty. I've heard this called corn pudding, as it does have a pudding-like texture. I opted to add the salt because I was using unsalted butter, but I thought it was a bit too salty. Next time I won't add any.

Everything mixed and ready to bake

Just out of the oven

Lemon Cookies

Crumbly but delicious!

Not too long ago PBS ran a television special on Irish chef Rachel Allen. Impressed, I found her website and downloaded a PDF of 20 of her recipes. This is her recipe for lemon cookies.

I have never made these cookies before and was a bit surprised with the result. Though delicious, these are deceivingly difficult to shape. I was making these with my 2 year old nephew, luckily he is not a perfectionist.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c flour
zest of 1 lemon
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 c superfine sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sift the flour int a bowl and stir in the lemon zest, butter, and then sugar. Mix until it forms a dough. My mixture was less like dough and more like crumbs.

Roll the dough out to 1/4'' thickness (again my dough kept crumbling) and cut into shapes. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake 6-10 minutes, until golden.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Rachel notes: the dough can be chilled and rolled out between sheets of plastic wrap.

I did not chill the dough, but perhaps this would make it much easier to handle. Despite appearance, the cookies were light, crumbly, and tasty.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

This soup is a classic in our family. I remember returning home on a cold winter day, welcomed by a warm and soothing bowl of vegetable soup. Beginning with a tomato base and a bag of frozen soup vegetables, my mother adds whatever we happen to have on hand at the moment.

This is easy to adjust to diet restrictions, and can be whipped up in no time.

Ingredients:
1 T vegetable oil
1 carrot, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 stick celery, diced
1 bag "soup" vegetables
Other fresh, seasonal vegetables
1 small can diced tomatoes
Vegetable stock or bouillon
Starch: rice (1/4 c), potatoes (2, cubed), or pasta (1/2 c)
1 can beans (black, chick pea, kidney), drained
1 bay leaf
1 large clove of garlic, minced (add more if you like it)
1 T dried parsley
6 leaves fresh basil
Salt & pepper, to taste

Pour the oil into a large pot and heat on medium. Saute the carrot, onion, celery, soup vegetables and garlic, until the onions are clear. Add starch, beans, and seasonings. Add the tomatoes and enough stock/water to cover the veggies. Bring to a simmer, and cook covered 20 minutes. Note: if using wild or brown rice, cook 40 minutes, until rice is soft.

Serve with fresh bread for dipping.

Chickpea Flatbread

Served with Pesto

I received this recipe in a Washington Post newsletter a few weeks ago. You can see the original here. I am drawn to recipes that incorporate different flours, and this one uses chickpea flour. These can easily be made in one day, and take hardly any time to bake.

The recipe says it makes 1 10'' flatbread, cooked in a cast iron pan, or two smaller ones made in 8'' round cake pans. I opted for the cast iron pan and found that the flatbread came out too thick. The second time I made these, I put less batter in the pan and made multiple flatbreads.

Ingredients:
1 c chickpea flour
1 c cool water
3 1/2 T olive oil
3/4 t kosher salt
*2 t fresh rosemary, chopped (about 4 sprigs)
black pepper, to taste

*you can add other fresh herbs or spices in place of or in addition to this

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Add water, 1 1/2 T olive oil, and rosemary and whisk together. Let this sit at least 2 hours, or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 500 F with a medium cast iron pan on the top rack (about 4'' from the element). When the oven is ready, carefully remove the pan and add the remaining olive oil. Place the pan back in the oven to allow the oil to heat for a few minutes.

Remove the pan again and pour in the batter. Replace the pan in the oven and bake 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler for 3 minutes so the top browns. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with pepper, and serve immediately.

These are very tasty, but also very oily. The second time I made them, I added less oil and the flatbreads were much better.

Anzac Biscuits

I first tasted Anzac Biscuits while studying abroad in New Zealand, and fell in love. They are a not-too sweet but addictive oat cookie with just the right amount of coconut. This recipe came from the back of a package of oats I bought in New Zealand.This made 23 cookies.

Ingredients:
2 c rolled oats
1/2 c sugar1/2 c shredded coconut1/2 c flour125 g (~1 stick) margarine/butter2 T golden syrup1 t baking soda2 T boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine oats, sugar, coconut, and flour in a bowl. In another bowl, melt together the margarine and golden syrup. Mix baking soda with boiling water, then add to the melted ingredients. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix well. Spoon the batter out on greased cookie sheets and bake for 15 minutes, until golden-brown. Remove from oven, let sit a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I can't remember the consistency of the batter when I last made this in New Zealand, but this time it was very crumbly and not too tacky To shape the cookies, I used my hand to form the a ball that I carefully placed on the cookie sheet. Some of the cookies fell apart while baking and others stayed in tact. This worked out fine, as the crumbled ones toasted more and came out crunchy, and the others had a soft center. The second round I baked were easier to form, as the ingredients had sat out for a bit. I would recommend letting the batter sit ~20 minutes before shaping.

Cinnamon Cookies (vegan)

This recipe is anything but ordinary. It comes from the Italian cookbook, The Silver Spoon, and only contains 5 ingredients. It has no butter, eggs, or leavening, instead using olive oil to bind the ingredients. The result is a powdery mix that is pressed into delicate balls and baked. These may look like normal cookies, but a bite reveals quite a surprise: the cookie bursts into crumbs for a sweet, citrus, cinnamon, albeit dry mouthful.

This is definitely a cookie that you either love or hate. You may love the distinct texture and strong flavors, or hate the tedious preparation and dry texture. Personally, I enjoy them, and have made these cinnamon cookies numerous times since I first tried the recipe in 2009. A word of caution: don't over-bake them, or you will be left with a sheet full of rock-hard cookies.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
2/3 c superfine sugar (you can find this in the baking isle of any grocery store, or run regular sugar through a blender or food processor.)
5 T olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
cinnamon to sprinkle

Sift the sugar and flour into a large bowl. Add lemon zest and mix until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Make a well, and pour in the olive oil. Mix with a spoon until the olive oil has clumped up. Then, switch to your hands, crumbling all the olive oil pieces until you have a fine crumb. Set aside for 20 minutes.

While you are waiting, preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a cookie sheet. When ready, grab a handful of dough and squeeze it together until it forms a solid ball. Mine are usually about 1/2 the size of a ping pong ball. They are very delicate, so this may take some practice. Place the cookies on the baking sheet so they are not touching. Because the cookies contain no leavening they will stay the same size when they bake.

Dust each cookie with cinnamon and bake for 20 minutes. The cookies should be slightly browned on top and firm enough so you can pick them up. Wait 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Finished mixing and sitting for 20 mins

Pasta Primavera

This is a dish that I spontaneously remembered the other day. As the name implies, pasta primavera (spring pasta) is typically made during the warmer months of the year when many vegetables are in season. There are many ways to make this--it's essentially pasta with fresh veggies--but I will share my favorite variation.

Ingredients:
1 lb tomatoes, diced
1/2 c grated ricotta salata or pecorino cheese OR 1-2 balls fresh mozzarella cheese cut into 1/2'' pieces.
1 lb pasta
1-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
fresh basil, cut into thin slices
salt, to taste
olive oil

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile prep the other ingredients. In a large bowl combine tomates, 1/2 the grated cheese (or all the mozzarella , garlic, basil, and 2+ T of olive oil. Mix and let sit for the flavors to develop.

Drain the pasta and add to the bowl, mixing until evenly coated. Add more olive oil and salt, if needed. I don't usually add salt when using one of the grated cheeses. Garnish with fresh basil and serve with the remaining cheese. The mozzarella will melt, resulting in a magical combination of textures and flavors.

This time I used pecorino cheese--something I haven't tried before--and it was as delicious as the other variations.

Ingredients mixed, prior to adding pasta