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

Matzo Lasagna

I try to buy products from the grocery store when they are in season. In addition to produce, many other items are often stocked at specific times during the year--cookies, cakes, preserves. Currently I have several boxes of matzo in the house, and was intrigued by the recipe for matzo lasagna on the back of one package. I immediately thought, "this could be the perfect combination of my heritage (Jewish-Italian), or a complete failure." Let's begin!

Ingredients:
1 box matzo (about 15 pieces)
fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce
spinach, or other vegetable
shredded mozzarella cheese

I did not specify quantities for these ingredients as it depends on how much lasagna you are making. Also, I prefer to lots of sauce to keep the lasagna moist and less cheese. For this recipe I used both tomato sauce and fresh tomatoes with 4 sheets of matzo.

Bring a pot of salted water to boil, and preheat the oven to 350 F. Slice the tomatoes and prep other veggies. Prepare the baking pan by spreading a layer of tomato sauce (if using) or olive oil to evenly coat. Place 1 sheet of matzo in the pot and boil for 1 minute. Remove, and place it in the baking dish. Repeat until the 1st layer is complete. Follow with fresh tomatoes, vegetables, tomato sauce, then cheese. Repeat layers in this order until the dish is full. The last layer should be tomato sauce topped with cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20-30 minutes, until hot. Remove foil for the last 5 minutes if you want the cheese to brown.

Matzo boiling

First layer of lasagna

The verdict? Not bad! I was pleasantly surprised by this dish. The matzo did have a similar texture to cooked pasta and did not throw off the dish because of it's mild flavor. I will probably make this again.
A word of caution: The next day I made matzo pizza in the toaster oven, and my mother commented, "it's kind of soggy". This was indeed true, and something to consider before you make this dish. I did not really notice the sogginess until my mother mentioned it, but perhaps I was so satisfied with my success, I overlooked this quality.

Wild Rice and Onion Bread

Last year I regularly made homemade bread from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I moved away, taking the book with me, my mom took over, buying her own book: Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. Now my family only eats homemade bread, alternating between sourdough (to keep the starter going) and other hearth breads.

The new book was sitting out on the counter, open to a page for Wild Rice and Onion Bread. It sounded good, and the first few sentences in the description had me hooked.

The bread takes 2 days. On the first day you combine all ingredients and knead the dough. Day 2 you shape and bake the bread. I prefer this as It only takes 2.5 hours on day 2 to prep and bake the dough. I can bake it in the morning and enjoy fresh bread all day. (Some 1 day breads take so long to make that I don't get a chance to eat them until dinnertime, and the next morning they have already begun to go stale.)

Ingredients:

6 c bread flour (I used 4 c white and 2 c whole wheat)

2 1/4 t salt

2 T instant yeast

1 c cooked wild rice or another grain

1/4 c brown sugar

1 1/2 c lukewarm water

1/2 c lukewarm milk

1/4 c dried onions OR 2 c fresh, diced

*egg white

*1 T water
**fresh or dried herbs of your choosing: parsley, rosemary, thyme, dill, tarragon, sage, cracked pepper

*optional egg wash
**optional

Day 1:
Cook 1 c rice. I used brown rice because we already had some made.

Mixing can be done by hand or with a mixer; I used a mixer. 

Warm milk + water in a pan until ~95 F/35 C. Combine all ingredients in mixer bowl and mix with paddle attachment on slow/stir for 1 minute. Switch to dough hook. Increase speed to slow/medium for 4 minutes. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 2-3 minutes. You want the dough to be tacky but not sticky--add more water or flour as needed to achieve this texture.

Transfer dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

End of Day 1

Beginning of Day 2

Shaped and ready to rise

Day 2:

Prep pan(s) with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and immediately shape. Shape is up to you. I like to make boules, and today opted for 1 boule + several smaller rolls. To make rolls, cut equal-sized pieces of dough, form a cup with your hand, and roll the dough around on the counter until it is round. For the boule, keeping tension, fold the edges of the dough in, beginning with top and bottom, left and right. Flip over and place on baking sheet.

When all the dough is shaped, spray with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let this rise 1 1/2-2 hours. I like to begin preheating the oven after 1 1/2 hours, so the dough can bake on time.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Brush with egg wash and score the dough if you like, then bake 20-25 mins for rolls or 45-55 minutes for loaves. Rotate halfway through baking to ensure the bread browns evenly. Remove when the crust is golden brown.

Let cool at least 20 minutes-1 hour before eating.

The only change I would make to this recipe is to use a baking stone instead of a pan. After 25 minutes (the time it took for the rolls to bake), the bottoms were very brown--almost burnt. I baked the boule for 10 minutes longer and the bottom was also too dark.

Shrimp & Grits

I lived in Louisiana long enough to fall in love with Cajun food. (I'll admit, this doesn't take very long.) One popular dish is shrimp and grits, which I happened to have a craving for today. I came up with the following recipe after browsing through a few versions online.

This makes 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 c cooked grits (about 1 c dry + 4 c water)
1 T butter, for grits
1 stalk celery, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 c tomatoes, diced
2+ cloves garlic (if you love garlic, add more)
2 T vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
cayenne, tabasco and/or red pepper flakes to add spice
sat and pepper to taste

Prep all veggies. Boil 4 c water and cook the grits with butter, mixing often enough to keep them from sticking to the pan or clumping together. In a large saucepan heat the oil and saute in this order: onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic. After a few minutes add the tomatoes and seasonings, then add the shrimp. Cook 3-5 mins, until shrimp are cooked through. If you are not sure if the shrimp are done or not, remove from heat and let sit covered for a few minutes.

When the grits are done, divide into portions and top each dish with a few spoonfuls of shrimp and veggies.

I really loved how this came out and thought the spice was spot-on. My family complained that it was too spicy--they didn't live in Louisiana. Some people prefer their grits to be very creamy (I personally think the dish is too rich). If you desire, add cream, milk, cheese, or butter to the grits to achieve desired taste/texture.

The Carrot Cake Mistake!

My mom's birthday was this week, naturally I made a cake. Like most times when I am inspired to bake, I take a look at the ingredients in the pantry before choosing a recipe. We happen to have a couple pounds of carrots, so I settled on a carrot cake. We also had a container of not-so-sweet blueberries, so I planned to make a blueberry frosting to accompany it.

Remembering a good recipe for carrot cake, I pulled out "The Fannie Farmer Cookbook", thinking it was in there. I couldn't find the recipe, but there was one called "Carrot Tart", which I decided to try. I should have closed the book and looked elsewhere for a recipe, but I felt adventurous.

Needless to say, the tart did not turn out well. It is impossible to know if I made one fatal mistakes when mixing the cake, or perhaps it was the combination of several smaller ones.

Here's where I went wrong:
1. I chose the wrong pan. The book specified a springform pan, so I grabbed the first one I saw (thinking we only owned one). It had a thick curved bottom. I should have chosen a pan with a flat bottom.
2. I used cake flour in the recipe when it did not specify what type of flour to use. When substituting cake flour for regular flour, the two are not proportional, and I did not compensate for this difference.
3. I decreased the sugar. The recipe called for 1 c sugar, 4 eggs, 1/2c flour and no butter. 1 cup sugar will make a very sweet cake, especially with so little flour. I suspect that the cake did need the full 1 cup sugar to appropriately rise and cook, while reducing this made the cake very dense.
4. I did not bake the cake long enough. I put the cake in for a minimum time on the recipe, and had my mom check the cake when the timer went off while I made frosting. She stuck it with a toothpick that came out clean, a sign that the cake was cooked. Had I checked the cake--knowing it could potentially cook for 10 more minutes)--I would have seen the top was not yet browned and the cake looked low, evidence to bake it the extra 10 minutes.

The makings of a failed cake

Whipping the egg whites

 

It was during baking that things seemed a bit off

The result: An undercooked, dense, super sweet, and mostly inedible cake. Baking it for less time in the wrong pan resulted in a partially-cooked batter. The denseness is due to reducing the sugar and incorrect flour measurements. Since the cake still tasted too sweet, I concluded that this was simply a bad recipe. I should have taken the extra 2 minutes to check another recipe book before deciding on the tart.

Disaster!

What did I do to resolve the situation? I made a chocolate yogurt cake! This cake is so simple and delicious, I knew I could depend on it in a crunch. I opted to make a completely chocolate version--less sweet than the standard vanilla cake. It was perfect with the very sweet blueberry buttercream frosting I had whipped up.

Ta-Da!! And the birthday is saved.

Blueberry Buttercream Frosting

A fluffy, sweet, naturally pink frosting! Paired with a rich chocolate cake, for a match made in heaven.

The recipe came from this blog, and was fun to make. It makes over 2 c of frosting. If you love sweet frosting, then this recipe is perfect for you. I personally thought it was a bit sweet, so I only used 1/4'' layers of frosting on the cake.

Ingredients:
1 c blueberries
3 c powdered (icing) sugar
3/4 c butter
1/2 T lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
*4-6 T cream

*optional

Take the butter out of the fridge to let it soften. Sift the sugar and puree the blueberries in a blender. Push the puree through a strainer/fine sieve to remove all pieces.

When the butter is soft, cream it with an electric mixer. Add the sugar and beat until combined. Next, add in the vanilla, lemon zest, salt, and strained blueberries. Mix again until the icing is thick and all ingredients are evenly distributed. If necessary, add cream to achieve desired texture.

I topped the cake with fresh blueberries, which really complemented the frosting nicely. A pleasant reminder to the tastebuds that real berries did go into this pink creamy goodness.