Noodles and Cake

Last night I got a craving for noodles, so I went for this Korean Steak Noodles recipe I've used before as a base. Yeah, it's from a Disney site about getting your kids to eat vegetables... but it's tasty. Shockingly, I made several small changes: japanese wheat noodles, no carrot, no sugar, added ginger, red pepper flakes. So tasty. The most important change is taking the steak out before the onions, etc. are done to keep it from getting too tough.

I also finally got around to making this Chai-Spiced Apple Cake that I've been planning to make for weeks now. The golden delicious apples were starting to get soft, and cake seemed the best solution. It came out well, though I ended making about half the glaze it said to, and needed a higher concentration of powdered sugar to get the consistency right. I also added some brown sugar to it so the confectioners sugar taste wasn't as prominent. When I make it again I will add more of the spices.

Soup Season continues

I made one of my favorite soup recipes over the weekend. (I think I say that several soup recipes are my favorite...) It's an Emeril recipe for potato leek soup, and it's the first thing I made with my immersion blender when I got it last year. I also feel very fancy making the bouquet garni, despite the fact that 1) the rest of the recipe is quite simple, and 2) I think it would be just as delicious if you put the spices directly into the soup, rather than wrapped in leek and twine.

Back to the grocery store

It is a little strange to be on my own, vegetable-wise. Last week I went to one of my old stand-byes, and one of S.'s favorites: a chicken and pasta bake.

I use this Giada recipe, with a few small changes: mini farfalle pasta, Italian seasoned tomatoes, a bit more chicken. I love this meal so much that I will probably make it again in the next few weeks.

Sunday night I made a spinach and feta pizza, which is a good quick option since it basically only involves assembling. I do saute a few minced garlic cloves in a bit of olive oil, but that's the only real prep necessary. Here's the "recipe":

Spinach and Feta Pizza

pizza dough (I use store bought)

tomato sauce (again, in a jar, though I prefer pasta sauce to pizza sauce. I am partial to Newman's Own)

cornmeal

flour

baby spinach

shredded mozzarella (I actually used a mozzarella/provolone mix this time.)

crumbled feta

2 cloves garlic, minced

olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 and sprinkle a cookie sheet with cornmeal.

Flour your hands, and stretch dough to the shape of the cookie sheet. Spread sauce evenly over the dough.

Saute garlic in a bit of olive oil, then spread over the sauce. Top with more spinach than you think necessary, as it shrinks a lot. Top with shredded cheese, then more spinach, and then feta.

Cook for about 20 minutes, until the crust looks very lightly brown.

I still had two pumpkins left, so this weekend I cubed a froze the older one, and roasted the pumpkin seeds. Simmering them in salt water first is a really good trick. I used the cookie sheet I had used for the pizza, which still had a bit of oil on it, so I didn't need to add any to the pumpkin seeds.

Last night I made colcannon using a recipe I'd been eyeing on Gojee. This is the ultimate cozy dinner: basically mashed potatoes with kale and ham. I didn't bring it for lunch today, but I wish I had because I am craving it! Here's the recipe:

Colcannon

(adapted http://catesworldkitchen.com/2010/05/colcannon/, which was adapted from The Country Cooking of Ireland by Colman Andrews)

4 potatoes (quartered)

2 tbsp butter

1 bunch kale (leaves only, ripped or chopped)

1 1/3 cups whole milk (or 1% and a bit of heavy cream, as I did)

4-8 scallions, chopped

salt and pepper

2 thick sliced of ham, chopped

Put the potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Pour out the water but keep the potatoes in the pan.

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the kale. Stir to coat with the butter, and cook covered until wilted, about 5 minutes.

Bring the milk and scallions to a simmer in a saucepan and add a few pinches of salt and pepper. Stir in the kale, turn off the heat.

Warm the chopped ham in the kale pan.

Add the milk and kale to the potatoes, and mash until nearly smooth, seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste. Add ham.

Week 20: delicata

The veggies are really dwindling... I'm going to actually have to buy vegetables soon! All I have left is the tatsoi, pumpkins, and apples.

Last night I made Pepperoncini Chicken, a recipe from a friend of mine (to whom I often turn for cooking advice). I have never actually made it with pepperoncinis I realized, just cherry peppers, but it is easy and fast and delicious.

Pepperoncini Chicken:

Ingredients (dinner for two)

2 chicken breasts

1/8 t salt

1/8 t pepper

2 T flour

1 T oil

1 T butter

¼ cup sliced pepperoncini

2 T pepperoncini juice (the liquid from the jar)

½ cup white wine

¼ cup chicken stock

¼ t roux

Take two boneless, skinless chicken breasts and pound them out under a sheet of plastic wrap. Cut into two or three pieces each. Season with salt and pepper, and lightly flour.

Heat your pan, then add 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter. Brown the chicken well on the first side. Toss in the sliced pepperoncini peppers when you flip the chicken to the second side.

Remove the chicken to a warmed serving plate, leaving the peppers in the pan. Add the white wine, THEN the pepper juice and chicken stock. When it returns to a simmer, whisk in the roux. Allow the sauce to thicken, and serve!

I also roasted the delicata squash last night. I used this recipe as a reference, and was very happily surprised at how delicious it was! Who knew you could eat the skin of a winter squash?

Week 20: more soup!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: soup is my favorite thing to cook. So easy. Last night I made a variation on this minestrone recipe. I left out the onion, zucchini, celery, and kale, and used turnips, more carrots, more leeks, and mizuna instead. I also added some basil, but left out the rest of the pesto. Why complicate things? I used to not be a fan of minestrone as a child, but I think that was largely due to my dislike of cooked celery and I very much enjoyed this one. S. wasn't a huge fan of the turnip flavor, so when I make this again I will leave those out. I have a feeling there will be fewer turnips in my life now that the CSA is over for the year...

I still haven't cooked the two pumpkins I have, but they made excellent Halloween decorations and I plan to use them this week.