Oh my oh my April (and Kale Caesar Salad)

As you can tell from my utter lack of posting, this month has been a rough one. Lots of school, and lots of last-minute, sadly thrown together meals. But I am finding my way back to the light, and the end is in sight. So hopefully I will re-appear around these parts....

This is not super exciting if you are not as kale-obsessed (or Caesar-salad obsessed) as I am. But there is a lovely free food magazine around here called Sauce, and they posted a version of this. And it was delicious, so here goes:

-1 bunch kale, rinsed and roughly chopped
-1/2 cup light mayo
-1/4 cup parmesan
-1 tsp. Worcesteshire
-juice from 1/2 a lemon
-3 garlic cloves, chopped
-Anchovy paste (just a tiny bit): or if you have easy access to seaweed, that's what the Sauce magazine recipe actually suggested)

As you can tell, this is not a health food. But the fat might be required to stand up to the raw kale? We made home-made croutons with 1 T olive oil and lots of cracked pepper beforehand (400 degree oven, 25 minutes).

With a little asparagus and a dinner on the back deck, I'm feeling that spring has arrived (sorry Minnesota!)

 

Spring Snow for Gertie

Brownies with a Twist

Sorry for the long delay in posts over here, I have not been particularly inspired recently. It turns out academia and job-searching wears me out. But I made some fairly exciting brownies this week. These has one pretty strange ingredient, but a whole pan disappeared at my work and no one knew. So just try them, you'll like them.

I used a variation on this recipe (varied mostly because I didn't have agave nectar or walnuts), so I ended up with this:

-1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
-4 oz unsweetened chocolate
-1 stick butter
-1/4 cup peanut butter
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/4 cup instant coffee
-4 eggs
-3/4 cup sugar
-1/4 cup maple syrup
-1/2 cup honey

1. Melt butter and chocolate together.
2. In food processor (or with stick blender), blend black beans, a couple of scoops of melted chocolate/butter mixture, and peanut butter until smooth.
3. Add vanilla and instant coffee to remaining chocolate/butter mixture, then blend coffee/chocolate with bean/chocolate mixture.
4. In mixer, whisk together eggs with sugar, maple syrup, and honey.
5. Add most of the egg mixture to the coffee mixture. Pour into greased pan (11X17 would be good, I used a 9 inch round and 8 inch square).
6. Drizzle remaining egg mixture on top, then swirl through dough with toothpick.
7. Bake at 325 for 35-45 minutes, until set.



Sorry for the fairly bad photos, we had already eaten most of them before I thought to take a photo!

Snow Day

Recipe sometime soon, but today St. Louis got quite a bit of snow. Gertie loves it, an there is little I love more than playing in the snow at the park with Robin and the pup. Hope you all are staying warm!

SUPER Granola!

I've made a bunch of different granola recipes over the past few years, but never quite found the perfect one. So, here's a massively hybridized, modified, and super-powered granola recipe that we think is pretty awesome.

I should start by saying that we (ok, I) consume granola in mammoth quantities so this recipe produces a significant pile of cereal. Feel free to halve (or quarter), especially if you aren't the kind of people who buy oats in 25 lb bags and raisins in 5 lb boxes. Who would do that?

Materials:
(measurements are pretty flexible)

• 8 cups rolled oats
• 3/4-1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup apple juice/cider
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 1 ripe banana
• 3/4 cup total of honey and/or maple syrup
• 1-2 tbs of mollasses

Additions, ~1 cup each. Use your favorites, but these are ours:

• Raw or unsalted dry roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
• Pistachios, coarsely chopped
• Unsalted sunflower seeds
• Raisins
• Dried apricots, chopped
• Currants

Mix the oats and brown sugar, then add in the apple juice and vegetable oil. Mash the banana to a pulp with a fork, then mix that in. Next, mix in the honey/syrup, mollasses, and vanilla. When the oats are well-coated, mix in the nuts (but not the dried fruit).

Spray two rimmed cookie sheets with oil and spread the granola mixture evenly. Bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes, then remove and stir the granola. Bake for another 20-30 minutes or until browned to your satisfaction. Once the granola cools, it will get more crunchy.

Once it has cooled, mix in the dried fruit. If you want to save some, freeze it in a ziplock bag.

Best with sliced fresh fruit!

February Not-Really Recipes

Lately, I haven't done too much exciting food. But oh well, they have tasted good even if they are not thrilling, so here goes:

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Caramelized Onion Dressing:

Cast of characters:
-Greens
-Sweet potatoes
-Onion, diced
-Olive oil
-Balsamic vinegar
-Pepper 

1. Peel and chop sweet potatoes. Lay on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until soft.
2. Chop onions and sautee on low heat until caramelized, approximately 30 minutes.
3. Blend 1/4 cup olive oil (I used a bit of lemon-flavored oil), balsamic vinegar, and black pepper. Use a stick blender to mix in 2/3 of the onion.
4. Eat!
 
My other not-worth a recipe is potato sandwiches:pan-fried potatoes, fried onions, kale cooked a bit with the onions, and cheese. Eaten on focaccia, and dipped in jalapeno/cilantro sauce. 

 
 Hope your food exploits are more adventurous than mine lately!

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

I have been on a cauliflower kick recently. Can you blame me? An organic cauliflower is less than $3 here, and that is a lot of vegetable! So I am always searching for new ways to make it, and here is the most recent incarnation. While this requires several pots/containers, it's fast. And it was good. And less heavy than regular macaroni and cheese.

Cast of characters:
-1/3 block cream cheese
-1 cup milk (we only ever have 1%)
-1/2 head cauliflower, steamed
-Broccoli or other veggies
-1 box pasta (I used farfalle), cooked most of the way through
-Cheese
-Salt, pepper, and any other spices

1. Steam the cauliflower (and maybe the broccoli a bit, if you don't like extra crunchy broccoli), and boil the pasta.  
2. Blend together cream cheese and milk, then blend in 2/3 of the steamed cauliflower. Add pasta, the. Stir to coat.
3. Add remaining cauliflower, broccoli, and a bit of cheese (I put in a very small amount, maybe 1/4 cup, but if you are concerned about cheesy add more). Add spices (at least salt and pepper, then garlic powder and whatever else you like).
4. Pour into casserole dish, top with cheese, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot.

If I were doing this over again, I would start with caramelized onions. Because you can never go wrong with caramelized onions, and it needed a bit more zip. But it was pretty good, and I am very excited about some homemade macaroni (or farfalle) and cheese that tastes good and doesn't make me feel sick from cheese overload afterward.

In other news, yesterday was a big day: inauguration AND the birth of baby AJH (our niece!). Here's hoping you have a wonderful week!