Brown Butter and Apricot Oatmeal Cookies

I felt like making cookies again this week, so I did.  As these cookies contain dried apricots and oatmeal, they are probably healthier than most cookies.  Apricots remind me of summer.  My grandmother had two apricot trees in her back yard, and I would eat them straight off her tree during the summer.  She would make and can apricot jam and nectar.  Her thick and velvety apricot nectar was a valued commodity in the family.

For these cookies, I used a recipe entitled, "Best Oatmeal Cookies."  With such a title, I had complete confidence these cookies would turn out well.  I used browned butter to give the cookies a nuttier flavor.

I used 1/2 cup brown butter, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup cubed dried apricots, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 cup oatmeal, and 3/8 cup chopped walnuts.

How this recipe combined the ingredients is different than most cookie recipes.  The eggs and vanilla were not mixed into the creamed butter and sugar.  You let the eggs, vanilla, and apricot chunks hang out together for an hour.  I am not sure why I was instructed to soak the apricots for so long.  A number of sources say that soaking dried fruit makes them plumper and softer in baked goods, but they only recommended steeping the fruit for about ten minutes.  

Sweet Potato Whole Wheat Rolls

I have only made bread a few times in my life, and I have only attempted it solo once.  On my first solo attempt, the bread was dry.  My brother, an expert bread baker, told me I probably added too much flour.  The dough should be coming off the sides of the bowl but still sticky.  Keeping that in mind, I tried again.  I used a recipe as my basis, but reduced it by half.  I also used whole wheat flour instead of white flour, butter instead of shortening, and sweet potatoes instead of squash.

My ingredients were 3/4 cup of mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup scalded milk, 1 package active dry yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 cup butter.  The glass bowl contains the sweet potatoes that I boiled and mashed.

I began by dissolving the yeast in warm water.  For leavening purposes, the ideal temperature for yeast is 85 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.  It begins to die at around 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  Salt inhibits yeast growth, while sugar encourages it to grow.

Vegetable Drunken Noodles

A friend of mine, let's call him Patrick, suggested I make drunken noodles.  I was unfamiliar with this concoction when he first made the suggestion, but after a little research, I decided he has right.  Drunken noodles, or pad kee mao, were created by Chinese living in Laos and Thailand.  There are several theories about the origin of the name.

I combined two recipes for my vegetarian version.  One recipe came from food.com, and the other came from a blogger with the pseudonym Average Betty.  The ingredients are 8 ounces flat rice noodles, 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 3 tablespoons coconut oil (any oil would work), 3 teaspoons minced garlic, 1 cup cubed extra firm tofu, 1 teaspoon red chili flakes, 1 1/2 cups thinly cut broccoli, 1 small onion, 1/2 medium tomato, and 1 cup basil.  Both authors suggested Thai basil, but, alas, I could not find it.

 

You begin by soaking your rice noodles in warm water for 15 minutes.  You should have a pot of water boiling in anticipation because you need to boil the noodles for one minute after soaking.  These are finicky noodles.

Ginger Lemon Curd

A British tour guide recently asked me if Americans eat lemon curd.  I said, "on occasion," and she replied, "I love lemon curd." So, here is to you British lady.  I have to admit that lemon curd is delightful; it is a refreshing summer spread.  I used a recipe from Ina Garten, but I added ginger, which was inspired.

According to Wikipedia, fruit curds are spreads made with egg yokes, fruit zest, fruit juice, and sugar.  Ina used the whole egg in her recipe, which I am happy about because what are you supposed to do with egg whites?  Beginning in the 1800s, the English ate lemon curd with scones and bread for afternoon tea.  I have seen a few mango curd recipes online, which sound delectable.

I used 1 1/2 cups sugar, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup butter, zest of 3 lemons, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1 heaping tablespoon ginger.

I have moved up in the world; I now own a microplane.  I removed the zest from the lemons and grated the ginger into the sugar.  Avoid the pith!

One-Pot Octoberfeast

This recipe comes from Whole Foods. Earlier this summer, I went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg with my brother, sister in-law, and niece, who is very cute and has an unfortunate tendency of calling me grandma. While there, we ate an indecent amount of sausage, cabbage, and sauerkraut for dinner. Though the meal was surprisingly good for an amusement park, you should never stuff yourself before riding roller coasters. I am not riding any roller coasters today, so it is as good a time as any to eat German inspired food.

I made some substitutions to make the meal healthier but mostly stayed faithful to the recipe. I used 1 tablespoon butter, 13 ounces chicken sausage, 2 cups chicken broth, 2 teaspoons dried dill, ground black pepper, 1 yellow onion, 1 pound brown Crimini mushrooms, 6 ounces plain Greek yogurt, 3 mounded tablespoons mustard, and 19 ounces sauerkraut (2 cans).

I first browned 2 inch chunks of chicken sausage in 1 tablespoon of butter. This took around 5 minutes.  Then I added 1 cup of the broth, the dried dill, ground pepper, salt and onion. This cooked on medium to high heat for about 6 minutes. I waited until the onions were soft.

Fig and Prosciutto Pizza

The inspiration for this recipe came from a pizza I ate recently in Wilmington Delware at a restaurant named Pizza By Elizabeth.  On their menu they have a pizza named the Shannon, which is toped with fig jam, prosciutto, scallions, and gorgonzola cheese.

I recreated the recipe with a frozen naan as a crust, fig butter, prosciutto, and brie.  I used fig butter because I couldn't find any fig jelly at Trader Joe's last night. 

Because my crust was initially frozen, I placed it in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit while I sliced my cheese.  I then spread it with fig butter.  Fruit butters apparently do not contain pectin, which makes them more spreadable then jams.  Fruit butters also have more fruit and less sugar than jams.

Cherry and Walnut Granola

As a child, my father made my siblings and I pancakes for breakfast everyday, but for the past few years, I have eaten cold cereal for breakfast almost daily because it is just so convenient. I need more variety in my life. This winter I started preparing a large batch of steal-cut oats every week, but summers are too hot for warm cereal. Granola with yogurt is quick, tasty, and nourishing. Additionally, it is not cold cereal.

This recipe is a combination of two recipes. I was only going to use one recipe, but my Internet searches indicated an egg white makes a crunchier granola. The second recipe also added nuts before baking, and I know toasted nuts are more flavorful than raw.

The ingredients I used are heaping ½ cup walnuts, heaping 1 cup dried cherries, 3 cups rolled oats, 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup honey, ¼ cup coconut oil, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

I added the oatmeal, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

Butternut-Squash Pasta with Asparagus

I have always had a strong affinity for squash.  My grandmother would serve roasted butternut-squash with brown sugar.   It was a decadent way to prepare a humble vegetable.  This dish is homey and sophisticated.  I used whole wheat rotini and low fat half-and-half so it's healthy as well.  A Martha Stewart recipe was my source of inspiration.

I don't have a picture of all the ingredients because I made this dish over a two day period.  I first made the butternut-squash sauce, and the following day I finished the dish by combining the sauce, cooked pasta, and asparagus.  The ingredients are 2 tablespoons fresh sage, 13 ounces rotini pasta, 8 ounces asparagus, 1 medium butternut-squash, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 6 teaspoons minced garlic, 1 1/2 cups half-and-half, salt, pepper, and crushed walnuts.

Here is a naked squash.  I am glad I included this photo because I think it really helps clarify the whole process.

I pealed and cubed the squash into one inch squares.  I then cut 2 plump tablespoons of sage.  Besides being mentioned in a Simon and Garfunkel song, what do you know about sage?  Do you known its scientific name is salvia officinalis?  We use the grey-green leaves of the sage plant, which has blue or purple flowers.  Sage leaves are used in European dishes and were once thought to repel evil spirits.  During the Middle Ages it was used to keep the plague at bay.   

The cutting technique I am using is called a chiffonade.  To replicate this technique you must stack the leaves up and then roll them up.  Then you use a knife to thinly slice the rolled leaves.

Walnut and Date Scones

A scone is usually made with wheat, barley, or oatmeal, and baking powder is used as leavening. The first recorded use of the word scone was in 1513. It is a common accompaniment with Devonshire tea? I don’t really know what that means. The key to a good scone is to not overwork the dough. The more you stir and kneed the dough once the flour has been added, the denser the final product will be. 

The ingredients for this recipe are similar to a scone recipe from Alton Brown. I used 2 cups flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/3 cup sugar, 6 tablespoons butter, ¾ cup half and half, 1 egg, 1 heaping ¼ cup walnuts, and 1 heaping ¼ cup dates.

You first mix all of the dry ingredients. What do you know about baking powder? Baking powder contains a weak alkali and weak acid. It releases carbon dioxide in dough, which causes the dough to rise. Because this reaction occurs faster than the leavening caused by fermentation, yeast, breads made with baking powder are called quick breads.

If the dough contains too much acid, not all of the acid in the baking soda will be spent during the reaction, and the dough will have an unpleasant flavor. If the batter is highly acidic, some of the baking powder should be replaced with baking soda.

I also chopped the walnuts and dates at this time.

Aloo Gobi Masala

I have made this recipe before, at which time I didn't forget to buy an onion.  Having eaten this curry with and without onion, I definitely suggest you add onion.  I felt the original recipe did not have enough tomatoes, so I added more this time.  Other ingredients that can be added to this Indian, Nepali, and Pakistani dish are peas, garlic, and ginger.

I used 2 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 head cauliflower, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 large potatoes, 4 tomatoes, and 2 teaspoons curry powder.  Curry powder usually contains coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, and red pepper.

I boiled the 1/2 inch cubed potatoes in salted water for 4 minutes.  I used russet potatoes.  Russet potatoes have a high starch content, which makes them fall apart more easily once cooked.  Yukon gold potatoes have less starch and more moisture.  They hold their shape better than russet potatoes.  You should avoid buying potatoes that have green spots.