Cooking with Kitten: Salad days

I went grocery shopping yesterday. I needed to get back on the health track again and cook myself some healthy meals.

Last week I was at a book club meeting and our hostess made spinach salad with avocado, tomatoes, hearts of palm, and other fresh veggies. Inspired, and in need of something that didn't come out of a box and couldn't be microwaved, I decided to stock up on salad fixins.

I fully intended to make a Cobb salad, but the recipe I'm giving you is not a traditional Cobb. Rather, it's more like "Kitchen Sink Salad."

Here's what I used:

• a package of chicken tenders
• a package of baby spinach
• a package of baby romaine
• a cucumber
• 2 medium-sized tomatoes
• broccoli florets (about a head)
• 8 slices of turkey bacon
• a can of chick peas
• gorgonzola cheese crumbles
• ranch dressing I had in the fridge

Now for the directions:

1. Season the chicken however you like. You can use salt and pepper, poultry seasoning, Mrs. Dash--whatever you've got on hand. You can fry it up in a bit of EVOO, or you can grill it. I grilled the tenders on my indoor contact grill for about seven minutes.
2. While the chicken's grilling, nuke the bacon according to package directions.
3. Peel your veggies and cut 'em up.
4. Get the largest salad bowl you own and dump your greens inside. Pile on the veggies.
5. Open the chick peas, drain 'em, and rinse 'em. Dump 'em in the bowl.
6. When the chicken's cooled off a bit, slice it up and dump it in the bowl.
7. When the bacon's cooled a bit, crumble it up into little bits. Dump 'em in the bowl.
8. Sprinkle on the gorg crumbs once you've served yourself a helping of the salad. Don't put 'em in all at once or they'll get soggy.
9. Use whatever dressing you've got on hand.

Of course, you can use whatever veggies you've got on hand. I like to put hard-boiled eggs in salads, too, but I was too lazy to boil water tonight. That, and I didn't want to wash the pot.

Bon appetit!

Cooking with Kitten: Holiday leftovers edition

Well, Kittens, another Christmas has come and gone, and once again, we are faced with the holiday leftovers in our collective refrigerators.

What shall we do with those leftovers?

Last month Food Network aired a special on what exactly to do. Sunny Anderson suggested taking your green bean casserole and making little pot pies. Yum. Guy Fieri offered a yummy recipe for turkey hash.

But seriously, Kittens, who wants to do all of that slicing and dicing and rolling out pastry dough after we've spent a day gorging, with a post-dinner hangover the next day?

Ladies and gentlemen, I present you, the easiest post-holiday recipe on earth:

THE CLASSIC LEFTOVER SANDWICH

*Note: In the interest of full disclosure, I need to say that I myself do not eat this sandwich. However, we here at The Bookkitten are equal opportunists who try to cater to all tastes. This recipe will likely appeal to grown men and kids. It's not so much for the ladies.*

But here's the recipe anyway. It's easy.

• You're gonna start out with two slices of bread. Any bread will do, but Wonder Bread, that childhood staple, just seems to fit for this one.
• Next, spread a layer of mashed potatoes on both slices of bread. It's best if the mashed potatoes are at room temperature.
• Spread a layer of stuffing on top of the taters. Again, it's best to have your ingredients at room temperature.
• Put some turkey slices on top of the stuffing. Do this for only one of the slices of bread.
• If you have slices of canned cranberry sauce, use 'em here, on top of the turkey.
• Put the second slice of bread on top of the first one. Nuke it if you want a hot lunch.
• If you nuke the sandwich, feel free to add a layer of gravy to it. If you do this, you're gonna have to eat it with a knife and fork. Otherwise, bon appetit!

If you're not such a big fan of the leftover sandwich, may I suggest:

• Get yerself a bag of salad greens and add some turkey pieces and possibly some bits of the canned cranberry. Top with a lowfat vinagrette.
• Make shepherd's pie.

Just remember, taters and stuffing do not freeze well. At all. I learned this the hard way.

As for me, I'm just going to take my turkey, taters, and stuffing, arrange them on a plate, and stretch the Christmas dinner out for a couple more days. Yummmmmmmmmmm...

Cooking With Kitten: Candy Cane Cookies

These cookies have been a holiday tradition in my family since I was a kid. I'm making them for a potluck supper tonight.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup softened butter or margarine
1 cup 10x confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

*NOTE*: If you don't like almond extract, use 2 teaspoons vanilla. Or, and I just thought of this, you could substitute peppermint extract for the almond. After all, these are candy cane cookies.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Thoroughly mix butter, confectioners' sugar, egg and flavorings. Blend in flour and salt. Divide dough in half; blend food coloring into one half.
2. Shape 1 teaspoon of dough from each half into a 4-inch rope. For smooth, even rope, roll them back and forth on lightly floured board (Mama Cat uses wax paper). Place ropes side by side; press together gently and twist. Cut into 2-inch segments; place on an ungreased cookie sheet and curve top to form the candy cane.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for nine minutes or until set and very light brown around the edges. If you wish, mix 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy and 1/2 cup granulated sugar; immediately sprinkle cookies with candy mixture.

NOTES:

1. If you use self-rising flour, omit the salt.
2. You may wish to make a double recipe of dough and color one of the batches. The 1/2 teaspoon of coloring is a gauge; if you want redder cookies, add more coloring. Don't add more than 1 1/2 teaspoons, though, or the dough will become too wet.

I'm going to make another batch soon, and when I do, I'll take pictures and add them to this post.

Cooking With Kitten: Italian Chicken Soup

A couple of months ago, I posted a link to Jane Redmont's wonderful recipe for chicken soup. Today I made myself another batch of it, with a few improvisational additions. I'm going to post the recipe in its entirety right here:

First of all, you will need the largest pot you own. The pot you use to boil spaghetti may not be large enough for this task. Go buy yourself the largest stock pot you can find, and use it exclusively to make soup. You won't regret it.

Next, you will need a chicken. Not just any chicken, though! You want one that's preferably free-range, organic, fed an all-grain and grass vegetarian diet--in other words, the healthiest chicken you can find, sans additives, hormones, and all that other yucky stuff. I used a Nature's Promise chicken from Stop & Shop.

Take the chicken, wash it out, and trim some, but not all, of the fat from it. You need a little bit of fat for this soup for flavoring and texture. However, if your chicken is like mine, and has saggy skin, get rid of the sags. Rinse it, and wash out the inner cavity.

When you wash out the inner cavity, you're going to find the neck, the heart, and the liver. Save these and use them in your soup. They add lots of flavor. Some people like to saute the liver and eat it separately. I am not one of those people. Remember to discard the neck, heart, and liver when your soup is done, though; you don't want to consume them.

Once your chicken has had a nice bath, put it in your pot, along with the neck, heart, and liver, and fill it up. Make sure the entire chicken is covered with water. Fill up your pot until the water is about two or three inches from the top. Place it on the stove.

Now's the time to slice them veggies. You can adjust the number of veggies you use, depending on how chunky or liquidy you like your soup:

• 3-4 peeled carrots, sliced into rounds
• 3-4 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
• 2-3 onions, peeled and chopped

Place your veggies in your soup. Now it's time for the seasonings. Use whatever you've got on hand. For this recipe, I used:

• 2-3 bay leaves
• dried basil
• dried oregano
• fresh thyme (leftover from another recipe I cooked last week)
• hot sauce
• a little salt
• lots of fresh ground black pepper

Adjust your seasonings to taste. I personally like a lot of flavoring in my soups. I was generous with the basil and oregano (which is what makes this soup Italian), a little less generous with the thyme, generous with the hot sauce (but not too generous; you don't want your soup biting back at you, but you just want a little kick), and miserly with the salt. I did use a lot of pepper, though, but not too much.

Now that you've added your seasonings and veggies, it's time to turn the heat up to high. You want to bring your soup up to a boil and let it boil for 30-60 minutes. Check your chicken after 30 minutes; if you can cut it with a knife and fork, and none of the meat is pink, it's ready to go. When the meat falls off the bones, it's definitely ready. But don't take your chicken out yet, Kittens, oh no! This is when you add the last ingredient: a can of diced, crushed, or stewed tomatoes. You can add fresh tomatoes, too, and crush them directly into the soup. If you use the canned tomatoes, use everything in the can; no draining is necessary. Make sure you add the tomatoes last, about a minute or two before you take out the chicken, so they don't get too mushy.

When the chicken is ready, take it out of the soup and put it on a plate. Turn your burner to warm; you don't want the soup to cool completely if you're going to serve it right away. When the chicken cools, start shredding it with your bare hands and put the pieces back into the soup. Your hands are going to get wet and greasy as you do this, so keep a towel or some paper towels by your side to dry off your hands.

Once you've shredded the chicken, it's now time to ladle some of that marvelous soup into a bowl! Yummy!

You can adjust the flavorings in this soup in so many ways. You can add some dried pasta in right before the cooking is done. You can add some diced potatoes about midway through cooking. You can add some beans and cayenne pepper to make some lovely tortilla soup. I got the idea for the crushed tomatoes from a post on Patti LuPone's website (which is now included on my links of note).

When you're done with the soup, cover the pot and put it in the refrigerator. Let it sit there overnight. The next day, take the soup out of the fridge and skim the top layer of fat off of it. Remember, you want some fat in the soup, but not too much. Ladle the soup into containers and freeze it; it freezes beautifully. (You may still have to skim some fat off of the soup before you heat up the individual containers, though).

Finally, if you have saved the bones, but 'em back into the empty soup pot, and make yourself some stock. Cover the bones with water (no need to add extra veggies or seasonings), and boil for about an hour. Let it cool, then ladle into containers. You can use the stock as a base for other soups, as well as sauces, mashed potatoes, and other recipes. I use it to boil rice.

Now here's a question for you, Kittens: How would you play up chicken soup? What kind of flavorings would you use in order to, as Emeril would say, "Kick it up a notch?"

Cooking With Kitten: Gateau de Minuit

As promised, here is the recipe for the cake I baked for brunch yesterday.

The real title of this recipe is "Brown Sugar Pound Cake." However, it got its new name since I baked it at midnight two nights ago. It sounds much more interesting than its original name.

This recipe originally came from the cookbook Moosewood Celebrates, one of the latest volumes from the Moosewood Collective (and you know how much I lurve them). It's a neat little cookbook filled with menus and recipe ideas for holidays all throughout the year.

Pound cakes got their name because, traditionally, they required a pound of each ingredient: a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of flour, etc. While this particular recipe doesn't require a pound of each ingredient, it does use higher amounts than what you may be used to for a modern pound cake.

So here's the recipe (taken from pages 374-375 of Moosewood Celebrates):

CAKE:

• 2 cups butter, at room temperature (that's 4 sticks)
• 3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 cups unbleached white pastry flour
• 1/2 cup milk or heavy cream

GLAZE:

• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk or water

CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING:

• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch bundt pan and dust it with flour.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. In a separate bowl, stir together the baking powder and flour. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk. Beat until well blended, another minute or two.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 75 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. The cake should be golden brown, firm, and pulling slightly away from the pan.

While the cake bakes, prepare the glaze and topping. In a small bowl, mix all of the glaze ingredients together until smooth. In a cup, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg for the topping and set aside.

When the cake is done, cool upright on a rack for 10 minutes and then invert onto a serving plate, leaving the baking pan in place for another 10 minutes before removing it. Then apply the glaze and topping while the cake is still warm. Using a pastry brush, quickly coat the surface of the cake with the glaze and immediately sprinkle the topping on the moist glaze. Carefully tip the cake a bit while sprinkling, so that sugar will adhere to the sides as well as the top.

It's very, very delicious!

Cooking With Kitten: Peanut Butter Cookies

Last night I made about five dozen peanut butter cookies for charity. Needless to say, I was happy to bake cookies and use my Kitchen Aid!

Here is the recipe I used, courtesy of Mama Cat's cookbook (thanks, Mom!)

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Cream together:
1 cup softened butter
1 cup smooth peanut butter

Cream the above ingredients till they are very well blended, then beat in:

1 cup white sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Once the sugars are well blended, stir in:

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour

Arrange by teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet. Press flat with a floured spoon or mark with a floured fork. I use the fork; I make a little criss-cross design with it. That's how my mama did it!

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes until firm. Cool on wire rack or wax paper.

Variation: add chocolate chips and do not flatten.

(You can add peanut butter chips if you want, too).

Cooking With Kitten: Chocolate Chip Cookies

As promised from a while ago, here's the recipe for my mother's chocolate chip cookies:

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:
2 sticks of softened butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 12 oz. bag chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugars together until light. Add eggs, vanilla, and blend.

3. Slowly add flour mixture, 1/3 at a time. Blend. Fold in chocolate chips by hand.

4. Drop by teaspoonful on ungreased cookie sheet.

5. Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes. Check after 15 minutes; if the edges are browning, cookies are done. Remove from oven, allow to cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute, remove to cooling rack or a sheet of wax paper.

NOTE: These cookies don't spread on the cookie sheet like other chocolate chip cookies do. They also aren't as brown as the others, because of the low brown sugar content. They're still tasty, though!

Cooking with Kitten: Applesauce

Tomorrow I am bound and determined to make it over to Lyman Orchards to picks me some apples! And what do I do with such an abundant supply of apples, kittens? Why, I make applesauce!

Here's how I do it. The photos are from an earlier applesauce-making adventure this summer:

The first things you'll need, of course, are some apples. For my previous batch, I used ginger golds, which are pictured above.

Then you'll need this little tool:

I honestly don't know what the official name for this gadget is. I call it "the apple corer slicer thing." Here's how it works:

You place it over the center of the apple...

...and press down. You're left with the core standing straight up, and the slices spiraling around the side, kinda like the bloomin' onion appetizer you can get at some chain restaurants.

Put the core in your compost heap, if you've got one, or throw it away. Save the slices. Note that I didn't peel the apple first. It's not necessary in my version.

Now as you core your apples, put them in your largest pot. Once you've cored and sliced all of your apples, add water to the pot--but only enough to cover the bottom of the pot. You won't need much water, since the juices in the apples will provide you enough liquid during the cooking process.

Turn your stove to low. You want to cook your apples very slowly so they don't burn. You'll hear the water at the bottom of the pot bubble up soon enough.

Here's what the apples look like once they start to cook down:

The apples will start to look as if they're starting to sink. Note how the color of the skins is a lighter green.

Now while the apples are cooking, you're gonna need two other tools: a foley food mill, and the largest bowl you own. Set the two up like this:

I set mine up next to the stove, which makes it easier. That way you can spoon the apples directly from the pot and into your foley food mill.

Where can you find a foley food mill, you ask? My mother gave me mine for Christmas one year, and I have no idea where she found it. Here are some I just found on Amazon. You really don't need to spend a ton of money on this gadget; my mother paid next to nothing for hers and it's lasted over 35 years.

Meanwhile, check on your apples...

...when they get good and soft, but not soft enough that they collapse under the weight of a metal spoon, it's time to add your spices. I use cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves in my applesauce. Be generous with the cinnamon, but use no more than a tablespoon or two each of the cloves and allspice. As for the nutmeg, make sure it's freshly grated. It just tastes better, and there's no better scent making applesauce than that of freshly grated nutmeg. Be generous with the nutmeg, too, but not as generous as the cinnamon, and a little more so than the cloves and allspice.

Now wait a few minutes after adding your spices, so the apples start to absorb them. Then give your pot the spoon test:

See how soft the apples are? See how the spoon just sank to the bottom? You're ready for the foley food mill now!

Here's what the apples look like right after you've spooned them directly from the pot and placed them in the foley food mill:

Now you're gonna need a lot of elbow grease! Start turning! The sauce will start to trickle down from the bottom of the food mill.

Here's what the apples look like in the middle of the process. Notice that there's a LOT of sauce in there! Once in a while, you're gonna need to clean the skins out from the bottom of the food mill to prevent clogging. Either throw them away, or use 'em in your compost heap.

And now, here's what the finished product looks like:

Homemade applesauce has been a tradition in my family since I was a kid. My mama passed on this tradition to me. I refused, as a kid, to eat commercial applesauce, 'cause it tasted yucky. I still refuse to eat commercial applesauce for that reason.

You can use your applesauce in many ways. It's wonderful, of course, while it's still warm, and it's especially good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a bit of real whipped cream. (NEVER the artificial Cool Whip processed stuff! Yucky!)

It's excellent when you mix it with a little granola and yogurt to make a parfait. And it's especially good with breakfast! Mix it in with a bit of hot oatmeal. Or, here's my favorite breakfast: Heat up a bowl of Grape Nuts with a little vanilla soymilk. When you take it out of the microwave, stir in some applesauce. It is TO DIE FOR!

Finally, if your four-legged housemates don't like applesauce, know that you can freeze this. It freezes beautifully.

Now tell me, is there any other way to spend a spectacular fall day than to celebrate the bounty of its harvest?

How to Make Coffee

(NOTE: The following was originally published in my former cooking blog, Cooking With Kitten, on August 20, 2008).

At last count, there were four Dunkin Donuts shops in my town. A couple of weeks back, I learned that there is a fifth one being built. With the economy being what it is, Starbucks closing 600 stores, and people complaining about having little to no disposable income, it amazes me that there's another Dunkin Donuts being built. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a medium nonfat caramel latte--a lot--but when the price of said beverage was the equivalent of a gallon of gas, I had to rethink my spending habits. I wasn't buying a coffee every day, but enough to make a dent in my weekly budget.As I drove past the new DD under construction, I suddenly thought, "What if Americans have forgotten how to brew coffee? Is this the reason why people are buying so much of it, instead of making it themselves?"

Coffee isn't too difficult to make. Just follow this ratio: one tablespoon of coffee for every two cups of water. For example, if you want to brew six cups of coffee, use three tablespoons of coffee and six cups of water. It's that simple.

A coffee maker is a wise investment. You can find lots of inexpensive ones at Target or Walmart, or any big box store of your choice. (But PLEASE, support your local businesses whenever possible!) I have had my coffee maker for over eleven years, since I was a senior in college. You don't need a very fancy combo cappuccino/coffee/espresso maker. Just get your basic Mr. Coffee, Braun, or whatever, and you'll be okay.

My parents have made the coffee making process a part of their nighttime routine. After they finish supper, they put their paper filter in their coffee maker, load it up with their coffee, and pour the water in. Their coffee maker has a timer, so they set it for when they want their coffee ready.

As for me, I make the coffee making process a part of my bedtime routine. Before I brush my teeth, I prepare my coffee maker for the morning. Mine does not have a timer, but this doesn't matter to me. My kitchen is across from my bathroom, so I just put the coffee on before I head to the shower. Before I leave for work, I get my travel mug out, pour the coffee in, and put the cap on. I then take my lunch bag out of the fridge and I'm good to go.

If you've got leftover coffee, you have several storage options. My parents have a tall, insulated carafe; they pour the leftover morning coffee in it, and use the leftovers for their after dinner beverage. I don't own such a thing, so I pour my coffee in a second travel mug and throw it in the fridge. The next day, before I leave for work, I nuke the travel mug in the microwave.

I just read in this month's issue of Every Day With Rachael Ray that you can freeze your coffee like ice cubes. One reader suggested this; she makes a coffee smoothie for a mid afternoon pick up. She adds milk, the frozen coffee cubes, and some sugar free instant vanilla pudding. Yum! I need to try this, only I think I would at protein powder and flaxseed to bump up the nutritional content.

So that's how you make coffee. I am not an expert, however, on what brands of coffee to recommend, because, in all honesty, I am more of a tea person. I started drinking coffee steadily about a year ago; the older I get, the less of a morning person I am, and I need that java jolt in the AM more and more. I will say this, however: buy fresh beans, then grind them. You get better flavor that way.

Announcing...My New Cooking Blog!

I've been posting so much about food and recipes lately that I decided to start a new cooking blog. I'm still going to post here about the arts, culture, books, and whatever else comes to mind, but for future foodie posts, visit my new cooking blog. It's called Cooking With Kitten, and I hope you like it!

Cooking With Kitten: Very Green Dressing

Here's another recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook. It's a salad dressing that's made with no oil and lots of green leafy produce.

VERY GREEN DRESSING

INGREDIENTS:

• a handful of fresh parsley
• a handful of fresh spinach
• 1/2 a small zucchini, cut into chunks (don't peel it before cutting it)
• 10-15 basil leaves
• 1 medium clove garlic, peeled (you may want to cut it in half)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup buttermilk
• OPTIONAL: a few chunks of avocado; moderate amounts of other fresh herbs, such as chives, dill, or cilantro

Combine everything in a blender and press the liquify button. Makes over a cup of dressing. Put it in a Ball jar with a sterile lid and put it in the fridge.

Cooking with Kitten: Fresh Corn Chowder

This morning, after having gone for bloodwork at the outpatient center, I was delighted to come upon the local farmers' market, here in town every Tuesday and Thursday till October. I ran home, got one of my resusable shopping bags, and headed back to the south green.

There were only three vendors there today, selling, among other things, baked goods, zucchini, scallions, tomatoes, and corn on the cob. The corn on the cob was freshly picked this very morning! I bought six ears, psyched, because last week, I found a recipe for fresh corn chowder as I was reading The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, Mollie Katzen's sequel to The Moosewood Cookbook.

I took the corn home, husked it, and carefully used my santoku knife to scrape the kernels off each cob. I had enough fresh corn to make the chowder.

And without further ado, here is the recipe, which can be found on page 10 of The Enchanted Broccoli Forest.

FRESH CORN CHOWDER

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium-sized potato
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 to 3 tablespoons butter (I use Smart Balance)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 medium stalk celery, minced
• 1 small red bell pepper, minced
• about 5 cups corn (5-6 ears or a one-pound bag frozen/defrosted)
• fresh black pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 cup milk (lowfat or soy OK; I use soy) at room temperature

DIRECTIONS:

1. Scrub or peel the potato, and cut it into small dice. Place it in a small saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook until tender but not mushy. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and salt, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring. After 5 minutes, add celery and keep cooking. About 5 minutes later, add the cooked potatoes with all their liquid, the red bell pepper, corn, black pepper, and herbs. Stir well and cover. Reduce heat and let it cook about 5 minutes more.
3. Use a blender or food processor to puree about half the solids in some of the soup's own liquid. Return this to the pot, and let it rest until serving time.
4. Stir in the milk about 10 minutes before serving. Heat the soup gently--don't cook it any further. Serve as soon as it's hot.

KITTEN'S NOTES:

• Once you add the corn, bell pepper, potatoes, black pepper, and herbs, it will look as if you need to add more water to the pot. DON'T. The veggies will give off liquid in the pot, and the puree will add liquid, too. I made the mistake of adding 4 additional cups of water the first time I made this, and it resulted in very watery chowder.
• This is really good served with a side of crusty bread.
• When it's in season, use fresh corn. It's really, really worth it, and you can really taste the difference over the frozen variety.

Cooking with Kitten: Yogurt Cheese

I don't like mayonnaise, either the texture or the flavor. That, and it's not very good for you. So, in search of a healthier alternative, I discovered yogurt cheese, and I often use that instead of mayonnaise or cream cheese. I think it's also tastier than either mayonnaise or cream cheese.

This recipe came from The Moosewood Cookbook. Yogurt cheese is very easy to make.

I've adapted the procedure from the original to fit my own needs.

Here's what you do:

1. When you make yogurt cheese, you drain all of the water out of the yogurt, so you need to start with double the amount of yogurt that you want to end up with. For example, if you want one cup of yogurt cheese, you need to start off with two cups of yogurt. For two cups of yogurt cheese, you need to start off with four cups of yogurt.

2. I use plain yogurt, any kind will do--whole, lowfat, or nonfat.

3. Take a small sieve or colander (small is the key word here) and line it with paper towels or cheesecloth. Put the colander over a clean bowl, and then put the bowl in the sink. Spoon the yogurt into the lining. Fully wrap the yogurt in the paper towels or cheesecloth.

4. Take a can of beans, vegetables, or any other heavy can and place it on top of the cheesecloth. This helps the water drip out of the yogurt.

5. Let the yogurt sit overnight. I get the yogurt started before I go to bed.

6. In the morning, unwrap the lining and spoon the cheese into another container. It will keep for about a week.

I have made a yogurt pie with yogurt cheese before, and it is quite yummy. When I make it, I use vanilla yogurt to make the yogurt cheese, as opposed to plain. I spoon it into a pre-made pie crust, then refrigerate it overnight. I take it out in the morning and will either spread blueberry preserves on top, or, if I'm feeling really creative, arrange fresh blueberries in concentric circles on top.

You can also use yogurt cheese in place of sour cream when you make Mexican layer dip, or when you serve quesadillas.

I'm sure there are other uses for yogurt cheese, but I can't think of them now. Leave your suggestions in the comments area if you think of any.

Cooking with Kitten: Macaroni Salad

This afternoon I went to a pool party with some friends from work, and prepared this, one of my mother's summer specialties. It is ridiculously easy to make.

Macaroni Salad

INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces of cooked macaroni
1/2 onion, minced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 can salad shrimp
black pepper to taste
mayonnaise, to taste (I use plain yogurt, and I drain the water from it overnight to make it thicker...see the next post for instructions)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Boil macaroni until it is al dente. Cool completely.

2. Dump cooled macaroni into a large bowl. Add onion, celery, shrimp, and black pepper, and mix well.

3. Add the mayonnaise/thickened yogurt immediately before serving. If you make the dish in advance and add the mayonnaise before you put in the refrigerator, the pasta will fully absorb it, and you'll have to add more. So it's best to dress the salad right before you put it out.

It's a really good side dish, and also makes a nice light lunch/supper during the summer. I ate a LOT of pasta salad during the summer as I was growing up!

Cooking with Kitten: Tabouli

Here's a recipe for tabouli, which comes from The Moosewood Cookbook, my all time fave. I made it this afternoon and it involves a lot of wait time, but the results are worth it! There is so much flavor going on. I savored every bite.

But enough blab from me. Let's get to the good stuff.

Tabouli

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup uncooked bulgur wheat
1 1/2 cups boiling water (I just put the tea kettle on, and have a cup of tea while the bulgur soaks)
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (the juice of 2 lemons)
2 medium cloves garlic, crushed
black pepper, to taste
4 scallions, finely minced (whites and greens)
1 packed cup minced parsley
10 to 15 mint leaves, minced (or 1 to 2 tablespoons dried mint)
2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, diced
OPTIONAL:
1/2 cup cooked chick peas
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1 small cucumber, seeded and minced

NOTE: Mollie Katzen advises that you throw the scallions, parsley, and mint into a food processor and let it go. That's what I did, and it made life easier. The salad looks better this way too.
And I added all of the optional ingredients to boost the veggie and protein content.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine bulgur and boiling water in a medium-large bowl. Cover and let stand until the bulgur is tender (20 to 30 minutes, minimum).

2. Add salt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and black pepper, and mix thoroughly. Cover tightly and refrigerate until about 30 minutes until serving.

3. About 30 minutes before serving, stir in remaining ingredients (including the optional ones) and mix well. Serve cold with warm wedges of lightly toasted pita bread. You can also serve it inside the pita bread.

NOTE: Mollie says you can prepare steps one and two "as much as a day or two in advance."

I need to add that this recipe was taken from The New Moosewood Cookbook, and not the original. The original one may have had a different tabouli recipe, but it still remains a mighty tasty dish, perfect for summer.

This recipe has officially become one of my Moosewood Mainstays!

The Books That Changed My Life

I wasn't planning on adding another post to this series, but as I was making my weekly shopping list this afternoon, I thought that I should, given that my list was based on recipes from this book.

I've always loved to cook. When I was a kid I'd help my mom stir the tomato sauce, and eventually progressed to making desserts (my specialty as a teenager) and then full meals. Then I went out on my own and had to cook everything for myself. About six months after I moved out I got bored of making the same thing again and again.

I had been collecting cookbooks for a while, and one day found myself at my favorite used book store, perusing through the cookbook section to look to add to my collection. I came across one cookbook that was different from all of the others, mainly because it was handwritten and had some gorgeous black and white drawings of food.

The drawings and hand lettering were enough to make me buy the book, but I knew I had to examine its recipes. I soon discovered that this was a vegetarian cookbook. It had recipes for some very yummy dishes--lentil soup, chutneys, raita, falafel, and some other dishes that I never grew up experiencing, but was ready for my adult palate to try.

That book? The Moosewood Cookbook. Its author? Mollie Katzen.

I bought the book, took it home, and read it some more, dogearring the pages of the recipes that I wanted to try. I later found out that this was based on recipes served in the Moosewood Restaurant, a now-legendary vegetarian restaurant in Ithaca, New York, where my sister attended Ithaca College. I asked my sister if she ever dined in this restaurant, and she said she never did. So there was another justification for me to buy this book.

I was terribly excited to make a recipe from this book, and my first endeavor was "Perfect Protein Salad", an intriguing combination of soybeans, wheat berries, garlic, cottage cheese, scallions, carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers in a dressing of cider vinegar, black pepper, mayonnaise, and parsley. (I substituted the mayonnaise with plain yogurt for a healthier, and zippier tasting version). It was very tasty, but my co-workers thought it was un peu bizarre. It didn't stop me from making it, though, and the natural food store became one of my favorite destinations on the way home from work.

As is the case with me, once I find an author I like, I scramble to get all of the editions of his/her books as soon as I can. There was no exception to this situation, when I learned that the Moosewood Collective had published a few other cookbooks. I eventually bought them all, and every time I make a Moosewood recipe, my guests and friends keep asking for more. I did the same thing with Mollie Katzen; a few years ago she published a book called Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe, which has become one of the top 5 cookbooks I use in my kitchen. I got my recipe for Bittersweet Mocha Coffee Cake from this book, and it has become one of my signature dishes.

Today, I own many cookbooks, but The Moosewood Cookbook is the one I keep coming back to, time and again, whenever I want a change of pace. The recipes for lentil soup and minestrone have become two of my mainstays during the winter months. I also enjoy the recipes for gado gado and falafel. I'm planning to try the tabouleh recipe this week.

What is gado gado, you ask? I guess I'm going to have to post the recipe sometime soon so you can find out!

Potential Cooking Disaster Confirmed

I just sliced the cake and gave it a taste test. It was disgusting. The texture was okay, but the combination of flavors was too sweet. The Baileys was particularly overwhelming.

I'm not going to have time to bake another cake for coffee hour, but oh well. At least my culinary reputation will remain intact.

Potential Cooking Disaster Awaits

Last night I posted my recipe for Bittersweet Mocha Coffee Cake. I just put it in the oven and am crossing my fingers, for this cake could come out nasty.

I had creamed the butter and sugar and went to go add the vanilla, when I discovered there was no vanilla in my cupboards. Then I turned to my wine rack/liquor shelf which is on my kitchen counter and found a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream. I thought, "What the hell?" and added a tablespoon of Bailey's to substitute for the vanilla.

Then--and this is worse--I discovered that I had no all-purpose flour. I did, however, have whole wheat flour. I am fully aware that you cannot substitute whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour cup for cup, but I added the two cups of flour the recipe required and it looked okay.

So, now the cake is baking in the oven. I added the crushed Heath and Butterfinger bars like I said I would do, and the mixture looked like a mud pie with tiny pebbles scattered throughout.

I'll keep you posted.

Cooking with Kitten: Bittersweet Mocha Coffee Cake

This recipe comes from the wonderful cookbook, Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe, a cookbook full of recipes for delicious breakfast goodies. I have made this cake many times and it has become one of my signature dishes; I have never had a single complaint about this cake at all.

I originally planned to make it for a party at my best friend's house tomorrow, but he told me not to cook anything, so I'm bringing it to coffee hour at church on Sunday instead.

So here, my friends, is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter for several minutes with an electric mixer at high speed. Add the sugar and beat for several minutes longer. (These two steps help give the cake really nice volume). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, and then add the vanilla.
3. In a second bowl, combine the dry ingredients, slowly mixing them together with a whisk. In a measuring cup with a spout, combine the coffee and the milk. (NOTE: You can adjust the ratio of coffee and milk, as long as the liquid adds up to one cup total).
4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in three installments, alterating with the coffee mixture, beginning and ending with the dry (the sequence should go dry-wet-dry-wet-dry). After each addition, use a rubber spatula to stir up from the bottom of the bowl to fully blend all of the ingredients. Gently fold in the chocolate chips with the last addition of the flour. Do not overmix.
5. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly into place. Bake 45 to 50 minutes. or until a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for at least 30 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. After 30 minutes, invert the cake onto a plate, and let cool 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

NOTE: Sometimes I substitute crushed Heath bars for the chocolate chips. Tomorrow, I plan to use both crushed Heath and Butterfinger bars.

Hope y'all enjoy this recipe!

Cooking with Kitten: How to Make Pesto

In my last post I said that I made my own pesto. Here's how:

Ingredients:

• one or two bunches of fresh basil
• a handful of pine nuts or walnuts (either one will do; walnuts are cheaper and easier to find)
• a handful of good quality grated parmesan cheese
• extra virgin olive oil (for blog purposes I'll write EVOO, not to evoke Rachael Ray)

Directions:

• Loosely pack the basil in a food processor. Add the walnuts and parmesan and pulse until you get a finely chopped mix, verging on a paste.
• While the food processor is still running, SLOWLY add the EVOO in a THIN STREAM. Keep the food processor going until you've got a medium paste.
• You don't want your pesto to be too thick or too runny. You may want to stop the food processor a couple of times if you're not sure about consistency.

Making pesto takes practice. Trust me, I've had to throw batches away of it myself. If you're consistent, you'll make a fine pesto in no time.

Bon appetit!