Yes, I know, it's another soup...

The most recent assignment for HBin5 was a delicious one, and while I didn't complete each of these breads, I have to say we ate really well! I mixed up the whole batch of dough, but brought half of it with us to RI where we made thin crust pizzas with D for E's birthday dinner. This dough made fantastic pizza crust! It was light and crispy and the olive oil flavor was wonderful with our toppings: rotisserie chicken, red onion and goat cheese, and pepperoni and cheese for D. I highly recommend it!


The assignment:
1 full recipe of 100% Whole Wheat Bread w/Olive Oil from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Pages 81-82 – 1 loaf of 100% Whole Wheat Bread w/Olive Oil

Pages 225-226 – 1 loaf of Aloo Paratha

Pages 220-222 – 1 loaf of Southwestern Focaccia w Roasted Corn and Goat Cheese

Making pizza meant I wouldn't have enough dough for the focaccia, since I didn't want to sacrifice the Aloo Paratha. It sounded too good. While it isn't a traditional Aloo Paratha, it was pretty darn good! If you want to make a traditional Indian Paratha, visit Apartha's Blog, My Diverse Kitchen, for a recipe and handy video. When making the HBin5 version, I used one huge sweet potato in place of white potatoes. Why? I like them better, it was all I had on hand, and it's better for you, duh. I added a teaspoon full of garam masala to my potato filling and had to up the salt a bit, too. I did end up with a few air bubbles, but the flavor was awesome, and even E liked it. 


After filling my dough, I ended up with a lot of filling left over. That was one mammoth potato. I couldn't let it go to waste, so into a pot it went with a little leftover pumpkin puree, more peas, and some stock to make a soup. Fast, easy, soo yummy! Plus, with the health benefits of the pumpkin (it's loaded with antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins C and E), the sweet potato (also full of antioxidants and vitamins, that's why it's called a super food!) and yes, even the peas ( good sources of vitamin, C, K and carotenes) it's a power soup!

Triple "P" Super Soup (or Souper Soup if you are punny, which I am not, 'cause obviously)


Ingredients:
1 cup mashed sweet potato
1 cup pureed pumpkin
1 cup green peas (no need to thaw if they are frozen)
2-2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper


Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a medium pot and stir over medium heat until warmed through. And that's it, now share with friends or be greedy and freeze whatever you can't inhale yourself for later :)




As always, head over to Michelle's Blog to see what everyone else is cooking up for this assignment!

Choppin' Broccoli

My new favorite way to eat broccoli is oven roasted. I'm usually a steamer, but honestly, it makes the kitchen stink like old feet and really doesn't add any flavor. Roasting is insanely quick and easy, and it adds a whole level of flavor that really kicks steamed broccoli's ass. I won't do it any other way now!

To roast your broccoli, chop it into large florets and don't throw out the stems! Even if you aren't a stem eater, you'll want them later to make this soup, plus, tossing them is wasteful and that's just dumb. Put the pieces into a large bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic, a dash of onion powder and a few tablespoons of olive oil and toss to coat. Spread in an even layer over a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. You may need to remove the florets and let the stems cook for another five minutes, since they are a bit tougher!

You'll end up with broccoli that is tender and slightly browned, and with an incredible flavor. I can eat it just like this, but I also like to add it to whole wheat pasta with fresh ricotta, lemon zest, and chicken. This time I used it for soup, since it's soup week over at I Heart Cooking Clubs. I love broccoli soup, and make it whenever I have leftover broccoli anyway. Plus, Nigella's recipe for Broccoli and Stilton Soup is similar to my own recipe! Great minds :) You can substitute any kind of cheese, up the broth in place of the milk, or change up the spices to your taste. It's a very forgiving recipe. E likes heat, so I'll put red pepper flakes or hot chili sauce in his!

Creamy Broccoli Soup
Ingredients:
3-4 cups roasted broccoli
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded asiago or parmesan
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
3/4 cup milk
1 garlic clove
2 green onions, chopped
salt and pepper

Add broccoli, onions, cheese and garlic to a blender. Season with salt and pepper. Pulse until combined. Add broth & milk and puree. Pour into a saucepan and heat through over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  

Print this Recipe!

Holy Crap

Today is E's thirtieth birthday. That means we have now officially known each other for exactly half of our lives. In other words, we are now twice as old as we were when we first met, and damn, if that doesn't make me feel kinda old. Or old-er. Or something. Hmph! I'm snowed in yet again, so today is all about baking for birthday dinner, wrapping up a few weekend loose ends, and trying to keep my surprises up my sleeve. The perfect sustenance for snowbound secrecy? Suspiciously sweet muffins that are moist, chocolately, and good for you, too.

Dark Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
adapted from an old recipe I printed years ago from who knows where...


Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbls. Vital wheat gluten
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. rolled oats
1 1/4 c. pureed pumpkin
1/3 c. applesauce
4 egg whites
1/2 c. skim milk
1/2 c. dark chocolate chips

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. Sift dry ingredients and set aside. Mix wet ingredients until thoroughly blended. Fold into dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips. Scoop evenly into muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Print this Recipe!

Tastes Like Jamaica

Another round of breakfast chat with my lovable and logical husband...

ME:

(Eating slices of mango while making our breakfast)

I love fresh mango. It tastes sort of woodsy to me, you know? 

E:

(Eating mango over the sink)

I doesn't taste like wood, it tastes like Jamaica.

ME:

(pausing over the stove)

What?

E:

You know, it tastes like Jamaica would taste. If you ate a piece of it.

ME: 

(waiting silently for this little conversation to play out)

E: 

So like, if you ate a piece of Italy, it would taste like tomatoes, if you ate a piece of Jersey, well, that would just taste like dirt. But if you ate a piece of Jamaica it would taste like mangoes... and weed.

Clearly we have some issues with Jersey :)

Chocolate, Cherries, and Cheese

The latest assignment for Healthy Bread in Five was ½ recipe Red Beet Buns, pages 180-181, and ½ recipe Chocolate Espresso WW Bread, pages 304-305, for Chocolate Tangerine Bars in honor of Valentine's Day. The latter had me excited, since I'm a huge chocoholic, the former... not so much. Can we talk about how much I dislike beets? The smell of them, the palm staining prep, the amount of work that goes into cooking them... Ugh. And the taste? Well, to be honest, I don't really know what a beet tastes like. I haven't taken the tiniest bite of a beet since I was 8 and my mother forced me to try one at Easter dinner, where sliced beets were once religiously served along with the relish tray and mint jelly. Thankfully, I'm not the only member of my family who's culinary tastes have moved on. While many members of the baking group raved about the lovely onion flavor and subtlety of these beet buns, I just couldn't do it. On to the chocolate.

I made a full recipe of the Chocolate Espresso Whole Wheat dough. First I baked the Chocolate Tangerine Bars. The loaf came out oddly misshapen, but I sliced it into squares and dipped the ends of each bar into the leftover melted chocolate from my Brownie Bites Valentines. While I did love the texture (so light!) and the flavor of cranberry and citrus in the bars, I didn't feel the need for the extra chocolate chips. I decided to mix cranberries, orange zest, and chopped walnuts into another half pound of dough and baked muffins (minus the extra chocolate). In the book they call their version cupcakes, but who are we kidding here? Cupcakes are made with cake batter. Yeast doughs can yield muffins, certainly, but not cupcakes. But I digress...

I also baked a regular loaf, then rolled the remaining dough out to make little Chocolate Cherry Ricotta Tarts. The loaf was delicious with a smear of peanut butter and I cut it up for French Toast on Valentine's morning, too. So good with sweetened vanilla Greek yogurt and leftover cherry filling! Cutting out the hearts left me with a bunch of scrappy bits, which I tossed into the food processor and pulverized into crumbs. I included that in my dessert recipe for that night, but I'll save that one for tomorrow (I can only fit so many recipes in one post, you know!).

Chocolate Cherry Ricotta Tarts 
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. Chocolate Espresso WW Dough
3/4 c. ricotta cheese
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbls. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup cherry pie filling.

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease a muffin tin.

Lightly flour work surface, rolling pin, and the surface of dough. Roll out to an 1/8 inch thickness. Cut circles using a biscuit cutter. Press each circle gently into bottom of each cup of muffin tin. Set aside.

Mix vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon into ricotta until well combined. Spoon evenly into each cup of muffin tin. Top with a generous teaspoonful of cherry filling. Bake for 20 minutes or until set.


Don't forget to visit Michelle's Blog to see the latest creations on the Bread Braid!

Snow Day Valentines

Today we finally get a snow day! I know, those of you who have been stuck inside for 6 days and lost power are probably sick to death of it all, but this is the first real snow we've seen since moving to Jersey. I'm usually a big fan of snow until Christmas, and then I'm done, but living in Michigan will do that to a girl! Right now I'm just excited that I don't have to do my usual hour commute today, 'cause you know there is no way in hizz-ell I was gettin' stuck overnight in Yonkers!

In addition to making a pot roast for dinner and baking a loaf of bread, I spent some time today finishing up a little craft project I started with the J's yesterday. The J's are 2 of the coolest kids I have ever met and I'll be nannying for them 5 days a week by the end of this month. They are 6 and 8 year old brothers with gorgeous red hair. They ski, play drums, take tae kwon do lessons, act, and the oldest was a Cambell's kid last year. So yeah, they rock! They also love crafting and baking, so basically hanging out with them is almost too much fun to get paid for :) Yesterday I introduced them to Happy Hearts, a project the lovely Sarah Zamora introduced me to 2 years ago.  I made a ton of them and traded them with a bunch of artists, and now I hang them up every February. I thought it would be fun to do something different with them this year, so I adapted the original garland idea to make flowers. Instead of the mess of collage, stamping, and trimming, we doodled. The J's decorated a bunch of them and they had the idea of adding messages to the backs to give each one as Valentines to family members. Brilliant! You can put yours in a vase like I did, or tie a bunch together to give as a bouquet to your mom :)


Doodle Hearts Flower Bouquets:
You'll need:
2 pieces of heavy cardstock
Ink pens, gel pens, or markers
9 pieces of Floral Wire
Craft glue (I'm a ModPodge junkie!)
Ribbon


1. Download the Happy Hearts Template and print 2 copies onto cardstock.

2. Decorate all 9 hearts on 1 page with doodles using a black ink pen. 

3. Color in doodles with shades of pink and red. 

4. Go to town embellishing doodles with glitter if you want to (Me? I'm BIG on glitter, the J's? Not so much.).

5. Cut out all 18 hearts. You'll be sandwiching the floral wire between a doodle heart and a blank heart. If you choose to add messages to the backs, now is the time to do so on the blank hearts.

6. If you want curly stems, now is the time to wind your floral wire around a fat marker. Stretch the coil out to your desired length. 
7. Spread a thin layer of craft glue on the back of a doodle heart. Lay the top end of floral wire in the center and press a blank heart (message side out if you wrote on them!) on the back. Make sure edges line up and press firmly.

8. Continue for all hearts until you have a bunch of 9 doodle heart stems.

9. If you want to add leaves you can do the same thing with green shades. You can use a leaf template if you don't want to draw your own. 

10. Allow the glue to dry for at least 10 minutes, then tie your bunch together, varying heights of the flowers, with ribbon. Voila!

Now make a little love shelf and be happy you had a day off :)

Brownie FAIL

Really? You're wondering how someone who is a pretty experienced baker can f up something as simple as a batch of brownies, right? Well, apparently it can be done. And it can be done with pan slamming, utensil tossing, and curse slinging grace. And it can end happily, thanks to a little patience and some good old stubborn attitude.

Now every year I make something special to send to my nephews for Valentine's Day. This year I was planning on doing little petit fours using a gourmet cake mix my sister gave to me. Then I read the ingredients and realized that I couldn't use it, since my nephew is allergic to tree nuts and unless I want my sweets to make him swell about the face and break out in hives, that wouldn't be a nice gift. I grabbed a box of brownie mix instead, and got to work. When I pulled the batch out of the oven 30 minutes later, I set it to cool on a wire rack and came back later to find every scrap of brownie firmly cemented to the bottom of the glass baking pan. Now, I'm no dummy. I know that you need to grease a pan, I even use parchment paper to make a sling for my breads and brownies. Somehow, those two facts escaped me this time. Maybe I was distracted by the stomping of my upstairs neighbors feet or the sugar rush I felt from eating large tablespoons of raw brownie mix. Whatever it was, I was pissed.

Almost 20 minutes of cursing and prying and I ended up with this...

And these...

Sigh. They were so soft and mushy I knew I'd never be able to cut them smaller, so I stuck these squares in the freezer for an hour. I tossed that big bowl of scrappy trash in, too, for my brilliant new Valentine's Day dessert plan (more on that later in the week!). Once I took them out the had firmed up enough to cut, so I ended up with these...

I only got 2 dozen thanks to the mangling of the batch of brownies, and I used the tiniest heart shape from my Wilton set. It's about the size of a quarter. It's about this time that I realized, no matter what a mess I had made, I can salvage just about anything with a little chocolate. I got to melting, dunking, and decorating, and ended up with these...

Awww... aren't they cute? They are just bite sized and they each fit perfectly inside a mini cupcake wrapper, which conveniently makes them fit just right inside a little pine nuts box :)

Ahhh, a happy ending after all :)

Jojo's Sweethearts Brownie Bites:

Ingredients:

One batch of standard brownie batter (I used a box, but you can make your favorite from scratch recipe)

Zest of one tangerine

1 cup dark fondue chocolate (or candy melts)

Pink, white, and red nonpareils

Red sweethearts

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 inch glass pan and line with parchment paper to create a sling. Stir zest into brownie batter. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan to a cutting board when completely cooled.

Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out brownies. Set aside.

In a double boiler or microwave, melt chocolate. Using a fork*, dip brownies into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Lay on a wire rack** and decorate with nonpareils and sweethearts. You need to do this step quickly as the chocolate sets as soon as it cools! Continue for each brownie. Allow chocolate to set for 15 minutes before packaging.

* I don't spear the brownies with a fork, I lay them flat on top of the tines. It lets all the extra chocolate drip off, and they slide off the fork easily.

** I don't use wax paper for this because I hate when little pools of chocolate harden around the bottom of a treat. It ruins it. This way any excess drips off, and I can just pop the cooled bites off by pushing them up from underneath the rack with my fingers. Yes, you'll get a little wire mark in the bottom, but it's better than a puddle!

Mission Accomplished

The end of the month means the end of the latest assignment from my HBin5 baking group. Thank goodness, I finally got one right :)

Our mission if we chose to accept it:
Prepare 1 Full recipe Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, Pages 92-93.

Use this dough to create 1 Loaf of Sandwich Bread, 1 batch of Hamburger or Hotdog Buns, pages 94-95, and 1 Loaf of Apple Strudel Bread, pages 277-278.

The sandwich loaf was my favorite bread so far, a little sweet, super soft, and perfect for any type of sandwich we thought up in a few days. My favorite? Fried Elvis Presleys, aka peanut butter and banana sandwiches pan fried in a little butter until the peanut butter gets all gooey and warm and the bread is nicely toasted. Thanks Nigella for that inspiration! This sandwich, full of cheap ingredients and with even-cheaper-than-store-bought bread,  is definitely a budget buster.

I brought about half of the loaf over to my cousin Libby's house last weekend and her kiddos (ages 1 and 4) went to town on it. It made wonderful toast with homemade wild blueberry jam from her family in Maine.

One down, two to go! I was excited about the apple strudel bread (even though we all know, this really is not a strudel!) because I planned to bring it to Sunday's party to celebrate my Aunt Cynthia's 10 year anniversary of being cancer free! Woop woop! I'll admit, I was a little nervous, too. I didn't feel like transporting my huge tub of dough to Libby's house and I figured I'd be too busy playing with the kids (and drumming for Rock Band) to prep it! I decided to do it ahead of time. I know, big risk :) Friday afternoon I rolled the dough, filled it with raisins, walnuts, a chopped Granny Smith Apple and cinnamon sugar, rolled it up tight, and set it into the loaf pan lined with parchment paper. I drove from Jersey to Connecticut, stuck it in my cousin's fridge, and baked it Sunday morning. When we arrived at the party on Sunday afternoon, half of the bread disappeared with coffee before lunch was even served. Not surprising the way we are in my family. With all of the women together, it gets pretty loud, pretty hyper and pretty messy. We all talk at once and we all love food, so what can you expect? We had an amzing time and I've converted at least 2 people to the HBin5 cult :)

Last task, hot dog buns. I have had this package of NY System Hot Weiner Sauce Spice Mix in my spice cabinet for a long while, so I decided this was the perfect time to use it. I'm not the only one who thought of hot dogs, but I think I'm the only Rhode Islander in the group, so I am definitely the only one who made gaggiz (aka gaggers, or hot weiners, the real way to eat a hot dog :)). These are not your sloppy, wet Coney dogs like they make in Michigan (which honestly, I think are gross) nor are they overflowing with stuff like Chicago dogs (pickles on a hot dog? Really?).  These dogs feature a slathering of yellow mustard, a spoonful of meat sauce made of ground beef, onions, and spice mix (yes, I'm being vague, but I don't know what's in it!), a handful of chopped white onion, and a sprinkle of celery salt. Usually they are served on a steamed white hot dog bun, but obviously I used the whole wheat buns. I also used turkey instead of beef and used 2 Tbls. of  butter instead of lard, but don't tell anyone. I think that's probably considered a major sin in terms of hot weiners.

We ate ours too fast for me to take photos, but you can visit the Olneyville NY System website to see how they look and to order your own spice mix! You'll get the recipe on the back, although we used more than the required amount of spice mix to get the right taste. I think I even doubled it. The turkey was a good substitute, but if you want to mimic the real deal, go beef.

If you're looking for more inspiration, don't forget to visit the Bread Braid on Michelle's blog to see the rest of the groups' offerings and visit the I Heart Cooking Clubs blog to see what everyone else there brought to the table for the Budgets and Bargains theme!

"I Can't Make This Shit Up," A One Act Play

CHARACTERS:

E, a 29 and 11 month old (hahaha!) man in pajamas, the husband of ME
ME, a 30 year old woman in pajamas, with very messy hair, the wife of E

SETTING:

Early morning, ME sits at a breakfast table, eating scrambled eggs and toast. E enters with a mug of coffee and sits.

E:

I could not fall asleep last night.

ME:

 (continues eating)

Mmm hmm?

E:

So I was laying there for like an hour, and I started thinking: What if a zombie kid suddenly came into our bedroom? Like "Dawn of the Dead", but for real?

(pauses for effect)

ME:

Uh huh...

E:

What would I do?

(pauses for effect)

So I'd have to kill it. I'd have to find something to hit it in the head with, or cut it's head off so it wouldn't bite me.

ME:

(looks at E, saying nothing, and continues eating)

E:

But after I cut it's head off, what if I looked over at you and it had bitten you? Then I'd have to cut your head off, too! Because otherwise you'd turn into a zombie. Then I was like: What if it turned out the kid wasn't really a zombie, but was drunk or something or I was kind of dreaming, and then I just cut off my neighbor's head, and my wife's, too... How do you explain that to a judge?

ME:

Nice. Can you get me some coffee?

END SCENE

Such conversations are not rare at our house.

Food Should Taste Good

I don't buy junk food. I actually don't even like junk food all that much, with one huge exeption: chips. I love salty, crunchy chips, especially rippled potato chips dunked in creamy, fat-laden onion dip. E's weakness is Doritos, any flavor really, though he's partial to Cool Ranch and Spicy Habanero. Between the two of us, we could easily polish off a whole bag in one sitting, hence my not buying chips. However, a few months ago I was wandering around the fancy grocer's in Ann Arbor when I stumbled upon Food Should Taste Good chips. They were all natural. They had interesting flavors. They were baked instead of fried. And most importantly, they were on sale. I am a cheapskate, after all.

I bought two bags: Multigrain and Sweet Potato. When I got home, E was, as usual, skeptical of my new chips. Then he tried them. Soo good! These chips are more like crackers than chips really, since they are a little thicker and so much more flavorful. We ate the sweet potato chips with pumpkin dip, and the mulitgrain ones with hummus. Thus began a serious addiction. I checked out the Food Should Taste Good website for coupons, and noticed they also do a recipe contest. So duh, I entered my pumpkin dip recipe, then joined the mailing list. I emailed the link to a bunch of my friends, then I got an email. I won a case of chips! Sweet. They even let me choose which flavors I wanted, so we went with two bags each of Cinnamon, Sweet Potato, Jalapeno, Olive, Buffalo, and Multigrain. Between holiday parties, going away parties, and general snacking, we finished off most of those bags fairly quickly. I was saving the Cinnamon bags for baking. It took me a long time to decide what to do with them until I stumbled upon a blog post by Melissa. Her aunt had a genious idea for a pie, and since my parents were coming for a visit this past week, it was the perfect opportunity.

You may remember that my mother is a health food nut, so if I'm going to make her dessert and it isn't a holiday, it had better be relatively healthy. I switched up this recipe to use whole wheat instead of AP flour, reduced the sugar and fat, and used my Cinnamon FSTG chips instead of the cornflakes. This was, seriously, one of the best desserts I've ever made. Not too sweet, creamy and crunchy, and with just a little tartness. Yum!

Food Should Taste Good Cottage Cheese Pie

Topping:

1/2 c. FSTG Cinnamon Chips

1 Tbls. Sugar
1/4 tsp.cinnamon

Dough:
1/2 c. butter, cubed
1/2 c. sugar substitute
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. fat free sour cream

Filling:
1 lb. 2% or nonfat cottage cheese
2 eggs
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. fat free sour cream
dash of salt
2 tsp. lemon juice

Preparation:
For topping,  pulse ingredients in a food processor or crush in a plstic bag to create coarse crumbs.

For dough, pulse butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in food processor for 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add remaining ingredients and pulse to combine. Press dough evenly into the bottom and up sides of a 9 inch pie plate.

For filling, pulse all ingredients to combine, scraping sides of the bowl as needed. Pour into pie plate and spread evenly over dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let stand at room temperature for one hour, than chill overnight. Serve with fresh berries, warm jam, or fruit compote.

Print this recipe!

Cracker fail!

Sometimes things just don't work out the way you plan. Such was the case when I tried to make the Spicy Whole Grain Crackers for HBin5 this week. After reading some of the tips from other group members before I started, I decided to start with a piece of dough about the size of my fist. I floured it, put it between two pieces of parchment and rolled. Then I gave it a quarter turn and rolled some more. I rolled more. And more. And more. I was left with a sheet of dough so thin I could have fed it through my printer, so I figured it was all good. I figured wrong.

After cutting small squares and brushing the tops with a little olive oil, I sprinkled them with my own seasoning mixture. I thought the mixture called for in the book was a little bland (Salt and cayenne? Snore!), so I went with a little Indian inspiration instead. I mixed 1/2 tsp. each of cumin, curry powder, cayenne, chili powder, and kosher salt to punch things up a bit (did you think I'd say kick it up a notch? Come on now.). Then I popped the sheet pan in the oven and waited.

Failure. Every square puffed up into a tiny spiced pillow. Sure they were cute, but WTF? I seriously could not have rolled that dough into submission for any longer. I was irritated. They tasted good, but were chewy instead of crispy and not what I wanted at all. I was making soup for dinner and these friggin' crackers were meant to work with it, adding the necessary crunch to round out the meal. Foiled again! So I stretched the last of my dough into bread sticks, topped them with the remaining seasoning mixture and let it go. Deep breath.

As usual, E didn't notice anything wrong with anything I put on the table. He ate the breadsticks, the crackers, and the soup, which we both agreed came out well enough to cancel out any of my previous disappointment. We both love Indian dishes, but I was in the mood for soup, so I used Chicken Biryani as inpiration. It was quick and simple; I highly recommend it :)

Chicken Biryani Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tbls. olive oil

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. ginger
1 1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 32 oz. carton, plus 1 14.5 oz. can chicken broth
2/3 c. raisins

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro (or 2 cilantro cubes)

1/4 c. almonds, chopped

lime wedges

1 c. basmati rice

Preparation:
Heat oil in a dutch oven or large soup pot over medium high heat. Add chicken to pan and brown well on both sides, about 5-7 minutes a side. Add onion and cook until tender. Add jalapeno and garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ginger, garam masala, cumin, and salt and stir. Add tomato and broth and bring to a boil. Add rice and wimmer 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove chicken and shred with a fork, return to pot. Stir in raisins and cilantro. Serve sprinkled with almonds and a squeeze of lime juice.

p.s. I did succeed in making a pretty nice epi this week when my parents came to visit. My mom is so impressed with my new bread skills (ha!) that she's going to buy the book. At least something worked!

Don't forget to visit the Bread Braid at Michelle's blog to see how nicely everyone else's crackers and epis turned out :P

Getting Back on Track

Finally! With the holidays and our move complete, I feel like I can actually get back to some semblance of normalcy! Even though most of my day is consumed by waiting on hold for the NJ Dept. of Ed. staffers to answer the damn phone, I have been able to make a little bit of progress getting the new house into a liveable condition. Of course, in doing so I may very well have broken my vacuum cleaner and destroyed one of my Calphalon pans. The former stinks like burning rubber (I may have sucked up a few screws along with the million cobwebs, piles of dirt, and insect carcasses in the basement); the latter has black plastic cemented all over the bottom. Crap.

Having a working kitchen of my own again does mean that I can get back to my baking goup. Yesterday I mixed up the first batch of master dough from my fabulous new Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book. (Thanks so much, Michelle and Zoe!) There are so many great breads that I just can not wait to try. I started with the basic loaf, brushed it with egg wash, and sprinkled it with a combination of pine nuts, flax seeds, and sunflower seeds. It came out beautifully. Soft and light on the inside and nice and crusty on the outside. I think doing it on the baking stone really does make a big difference (I use mine often, as you can see!). The bottom crust was just as crisp as the top. Since I can't post the recipe for you due to copyright (visit the HBin5 blog linked above for it!), I'm sharing the sandwich I made instead.

Yesterday I made a simple grilled cheese with brie and bartlett pears, which is pretty self explanatory! Today, I had an Italian Flag Chicken Sandwich. I'm sure you can figure out the name :)

Italian Flag Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients:
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 can diced no salt added tomatoes
1 ball fresh mozzarella, cut into slices
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbls. dried oregano
1 Tbls. dried basil
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 cup chicken broth, heated
2 Tbls. flour
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
1 loaf of crusty bread

Preparation:
Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Add to the hot pan and brown on each side. Add onions to pan and saute until tender. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in diced tomato, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes. Cover chicken with spinach, cover and let simmer until spinach has wilted. Whisk flour into broth and then pour, stirring, into pan. Cook until sauce is slightly thickened. Arrange mozzarella slices over chicken breasts, cover and simmer until melted.
Serve over pasta or, for sandwiches, remove chicken breasts from sauce and lay on a cutting board. Slice each breast in half lengthwise. Slice bread in half lengthwise. Layer chicken over bottom half of bread, spoon any remaining spinach in the pan on top, then top with other half and slice into 3 inch slices. Serve with sauce for dipping.

Don't forget to swing by Michelle's blog for the monthly Bread Braid! You can check out all of the other group members' blogs and see what they've been cooking up.
Print the Recipe!

Guilty Pleasures

It's New Year's Eve*, folks. Feeling nostalgic? Weepy? Excited to put the last year behind you? I am, fo' sho'. While everyone is busy compiling their 2009 top ten lists of favorite recipes, favorite songs, favorite movies, favorite stupid celebrity moments and on and on in celebration of the new year, I've been thinking about what the Dickens I've been doing with my time for the past year. It seems like it flew, and yet, I don't really feel like I've accomplished all that much. Upon closer inspection, I have come to the realization that I allowed myself to get sucked into a few bad habits that consumed massive amounts of my time, but created nothing positive or productive. Thus, I give you my Guilty Pleasures of '09. I'm not proud, but I'm being honest so I can move forward into 2010 with a clean conscience.

1. Taylor Swift - I'm not a country music fan. I'm not even a pop country music fan. Yet, somehow this little blondie with her ridiculously over-choreographed stage moves and lame-o "real life" drama has got me hooked. Suddenly, I stopped switching radio stations and began singing along at the top of my lungs. Is it the sweetly naive romanticism? The catchy beat? I don't know, but it's workin'.

2. The Real Housewives of Orange County, New York, New Jersey and Atlanta - Do I even need to explain this one? I've seen every episode of the OC shows since season 1, and I hate Vicki more with each one. I wish I could hug NY's Bethenny, and if offered the chance, I'd kick Krazy Kelly in her collagen-plumped mouth. The NJ ladies make me laugh soo hard, even more so now that I'm actually a NJ resident. And while I could do without some of the violent antics of the Hot-lanta mamas, I can't get enough of that nutcase Kim singing. I don't know what I'd do without you, Bravo programming!

3. Lady Gaga - I blame E for this one. Actually, it is probably more his guilty pleasure than mine. He's the one who came in from work crooning "Poker Face" when I hadn't even heard of this chick, yet. While I scolded him for listening long enough to know the words, I simutaneously committed them to memory, then found myself humming along days later. I almost dressed like her for Halloween (come on, that bird nest face would have made a killer costume and you know it!). I want to hate her, but I just can't do it.

4. Sweepstakes and Giveaways - I'm such a sucker! I must have entered over a thousand online sweepstakes and giveaways this year, from the huge and amazing to the paltry and pathetic. I still haven't won my dream home, an Allure makeover, or a million bucks, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I did win a case of chips, a KitchenAid Slow Cooker, several cookbooks, and some jewelery, so my luck's not all bad. I realize that this is a mostly fruitless endeavor and a huge waste of valuable time, but that little nagging "what if?" gets me every time.

5. Pancheros - No night out in Ann Arbor was complete without a late night visit to Pancheros for grub. I know it is disgusting to pig out on Mexican food at 3:00 in the morning, but it's almost impossible to resist a Chicken Veggie Quesadilla calling your name as you walk by. Plus, it's warm inside, which is a nice bonus when you forgot where you parked in the winter. They make the tortillas fresh, they never skimp on guac, and the guys who work there are as entertaining as the mini skirted college girls in 20 degree weather.

5.  Blogging - I can't count how many hours I've spent this year writing blog posts. I just know that there are probably lots of more constructive things I could have been doing, like working towards my Masters Degree, volunteering at a homeless shelter, or curing cancer. I know I am meant to feel guilty about this (E reminds me on occasion!). But honestly, I feel more sane and creative and calm and inspired when I am blogging and reading blogs, so I don't plan on shelving it any time soon.

So now I'm wondering, what kept you obsessed this past year?

*Oops, looks like it is actually January 6th. How's that for lame? I wrote this, thought I posted it, then realized I never did. I don't think I'd started drinking yet, but you never know :)

Thirty

In the midst of our insane move, unpacking boxes in record time, and getting our holiday on, I turned thirty. While many people facing this milestone get teary and hysterical, make major purchases, and consume massive quantities of hard alcohol, I was pretty much unphased. E and I were at the house in RI, hanging with D and making cookies, playing Wii, and reading in our PJ's until at least 3:00. Then we visited my aunt's house, had a drink and some food, and drove to Connecticut to play Santa with my sister. We set out carrots and cookies with Nic, ate more food, drank a glass of wine, and then I went to bed. Huzzah! It was nice and calm, uneventful, and there were no tears, hysterics, or feelings of woe. I don't feel the need to go buy myself a right hand ring, or wail my sorrows over lost youth into a bottle of Jack. The most dramatic thing I did was chop off six inches of my hair (after realizing I have had the same hairstyle for ten years!). I'm actually pretty glad my twenties are over. While many of the last ten years have full of awesome, there have also been some of the most difficult, challenging, and all out shitty times, too. I'm glad to have survived them, knowing of course, that we all learn from our mistakes, but in no way feeling sad that my drunken-booty-shaking, late-night-clubbing days of yore are now behind me. Aww, who am I kidding? I still like drunken booty shaking. And belated birthday parties. Even if I do have to plan them myself :)



God, I sound like such a brat! Love you guys!

A2 Redux

photo credits

While up to my eyeballs in packing paper, bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts, I've had plenty of time to ponder the past two years. Now yes, I have complained about the weather here, the distance from my family, and the amusing, if not slightly annoying, idiosyncracies of many Michiganders, but there are also plenty of things I have enjoyed about Ann Arbor. The saying is true, this place is definitely 12 square miles surrounded by reality, but you know what? It's a pretty nice little fairy tale land if you ever get a chance to visit. We've had some good times, visited some great places, and made some absolutely wonderful friends, whom we will miss dearly. Here's the breakdown of some things that made our Midwestern sojourn memorable:

- The Art Fair: Hands down the most amazing street art fair I've ever been to. It takes 3 days to see all of it, and the range of artists is just incredible. There's nothing I like more in the summer than wondering around downtown, taking advantage of street sales, checking out gorgeous art from around the country, and people watching. It puts RI art fests to shame.

- Tailgating and the Big House: As New Englanders who could not possibly care less about college football, E and I were nonplussed by the idea of living literally 2 miles from Michigan Stadium. After one visit to a tailgate, we knew we'd have to change our minds. While we never became Wolverine fans (why would we?) I can't tell you enough about how much fun we had hosting our first huge tailgate bash and going to a game. Even if you are like us and just don't get it, dropping in on a game is worth the experience. The band is fantastic and the enthusiasm of the crowd is so infectious, you may forget that Michigan is the most overrated team in Big Ten football (maybe even more overrated than Stucchi's and Zingerman's! Hahaha!).

- Conor O'Neill's, Grizzly Peaks, The Brown Jug, and Charley's: How do I love thee, beer? Let me count the ways... Actually, I can't begin to count how many beers and fun times we've had in these four bars, which quickly became our go-to spots. In reality, I don't think it had as much to do with the places themselves (although Grizzly has the best bar food, Conor's is a decent Irish pub before the kids arrive and smoke it out, and both Charley's and the Jug have ridiculously cheap prices) as it did the company. I almost peed myself on many occassions (from laughing, people, laughing!).

- The Chop House, Palio, Shalimar, Raja Rani, Prickly Pear, and eve: There are so many restaurants in this area, you could eat at a new one every night for months. There are tons we never got to, but these are all places where we had really good food. Shalimar and Raja Rani have some of the best Indian food ever, and Prickly Pear is really delicious Southwestern food. While Palio isn't the authentic Italian we snobby Rhode Islanders are used to (we can't help it being raised by The Hill!) it is the best you'll find around here. The Chop House, is your standard chop house, but thanks to some very generous peeps, we did enjoy awesome steaks and a Tiger sighting there. eve is the restauranut owned by the chef who got cut very early in last season's Top Chef (so sad!), but her restauraunt is a beautiful, intimate, little space and the food is gorgeous. Pricey, but worth it for apps and drinks at least!

- The Michigan Theater: I do love me a well preserved historical theater! This one is as beautiful as PPAC, if not as large, and the films and shows they choose are always fab. They are so dedicated to showcasing locals and indies, and it's just a really fun place to visit. Beats the sticky floors and funk of the State for local film viewing in a heartbeat!

- The Arb, Argo Pond, and the Mathei Gardens: For a small city, there are some great places within its borders for taking nice little hikes, paddling a canoe or kayak around, and generally enjoying the scenery on a warm afternoon in the nice weather. Sure, lots of the time I'm cynical and can even be called gasp! negative, but nothing warms my cold little heart like a sunny day, slow moving water, and a boat.  I just wish it was on the ocean (see, there I go again!). These are perfect places for a picnic, a stroll, and getting in touch with your tree huggin', Birk wearin', dirty hippie self.

So long Ann Arbor, and thanks for all the fish.

On the road again...

Well, I've been a little absent and a little confused, a lot busy and so very excited I can't even describe it to you. I messed up and forgot about my last giveaway. I have over 200 posts waiting in my Google reader. I have sadly failed to post about the last few "I Heart Cooking Clubs" themes even though I did actually make tiny Chocolate Egg Nog Pots du Creme for Goddess week (which were muy delicioso Nigella, thanks for the inspiration!) but never photographed them. I baked Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake Muffins, but never photographed them. I made holiday cards and chocolate bark, but never photographed any of that, either. I haven't baked this month's HBin5 bread, FOR SHAME! I've been busy people. Busy getting ready to move this little circus of mine. To NEW JERSEY!

That's right, E and I are finally headed back to our beloved east coast, so peath out Mid West and I'll smell ya later. We will be three hours from home, an hour from New York City, and, compared to our current address, we'll be right near da beach, booyyyy! (Please tell me you caught that reference!) I am so thrilled I'm feeling a little like I imagine a crack head might feel on a bender, all tingly and dopey and with my eyes bugging out. Now let me add that I am actually not a big fan of New Jersey (I admit, E and I lovingly call it the armpit of the country) and after watching Jersey Shore, we know we aren't far off. We lived in Jersey for a short time, so we aren't just being mean (ok, maybe) but really, so many of the stereotypes are true. I'm from frickin' Rho D'island and I still wouldn't tease my hair that big or ever, ever date a guido. However, if it gets me closer to home, bring on the gold chains and fake tans, Mama needs a new set of nails.

I flew to Boston on Monday to meet my mother, drove to NJ on Tuesday to find an apartment, drove back to Boston and then to Connecticut to visit my sister and my little boys, then flew back to Michigan on Thursday in time for work. I'm already packing, because it looks like we are going to be all moved in before Christmas! That means no tree, no cookie trays, no Frankenmuth. I'm lucky that my friends are throwing their Tacky Sweater party this weekend so that I can at least suck up a little holiday cheer. I haven't even bought anything to wear yet, but after last years pathetic display, I've got only one day to step it up. If I have to wrap myself in cellophane and tinsel, so be it. I'll channel Kathy Bates.

So forgive me if I take a short hiatus while I cram my entire home (which I just finished unpacking, mind you) into a big ass Uhaul and deposit it in Yankee territory (the horror!). I'll take pictures, I'll try to make something, I'll even take notes, then I will return to regale you with Tales of the Turnpike and Other Stories, once the skates are again off.

Dance, Monkeys, Dance!

When Aunt Becky says jump, her monkeys don't wait to say how high. I'm not a monkey. But I do dig my dear Aunt Becky and when she wants to give me something for free, I accept, even if it means I have to answer a bunch of random questions about myself that will in no way help anyone to know my inner workings any better. I am a very dangerous woman of mystery, you know. I keep shit close to the chest. Ha.

So here you go Becky, our titillating interview, since you told the monkeys:
"I’m always telling you to shut your whore mouth. Now it’s time to open it."

1) Do you like sprinkles on your ice cream?
Only if it is black raspberry ice cream with chocolate jimmies, which is what they are called in the real world aka Rhode Island.

2) If you had to choose one word to banish from the English language, what would it be and why?
Anyone who reads my blog knows this one. Moist. An unoriginal choice, but there it is. That word makes me cringe. Second choice? Nickleback, for many, many obvious reasons.

 3) If you were a flavor, what would it be?
Dark chocolate peanut butter cup.

4) What’s the most pointless annoying chore you can think of that you do on a daily/weekly basis?
I actually don't mind household chores. Not that I'm June Cleaver or anything, but I like a clean house. I don't, however, like cleaning my husband's hairs off of every surface to which they stick, which is every surface in sight. That's definitely not pointless, since I don't want to live in a monkey house, but it irritates me.

5) Of all the nicknames I’ve ever had in my life, Aunt Becky is the most widely known and probably my favorite. What’s your favorite nickname? (for yourself)
I've had lots of nicknames: Josie-anna, Banga, Sub Curls, Sgt. Josie-which is the most ironic since I ended up marrying a Sargent for real- and the latest, Jojobeans. Coined by one of the cousins, it stuck. E probably uses it the most, and it helps me identify his moods. It becomes Jojo if he wants something, Beans if he's making fun of me. I spent most of my life refusing to accept nicknames, but know I am Jojo for-eva.

6) You're stuck on a desert island with the collective works of 5 (and only five) musical artists for the rest of your life. Who are they?
You suck, Becky. I don't like limits. But if I must I'll go with Regina Spektor, the Beatles, Jeff Buckley, Dave Mathews Band, and Madonna. Yup.

7) Everything is better with bacon. True or false?
True! Try Chocolate Chip Maple Bacon cookies! Boo ya!
8 ) If I could go back in time and tell Young Aunt Becky one thing, it would be that out of chaos, order will emerge. Also: tutus go with everything. What would you tell your young self?
Curly haired girls must never cut bangs. And E is the only one who will ever really love you, so don't waste your time looking elsewhere.

Happy, Becky?  Thanks for making me do a damn questionairre even when you know blog readers hate questionairres. I still love you.

Happy December!

I now know that I will have no time at all for holiday crafting this year, what with the big changes E and I have going on! I'll be lucky if I mail out Christmas cards from a box. So today, I took advantage of my last little bit of fun time and got my Christmas craft on...


After making several garbage bag wreaths for Halloween over the past few years, I decided I wanted to make something similar for Christmas, but with different materials. There is just something so fun about the fluffy knots of those wreaths and they literally take under an hour to make once you get the hang of it.

I decided to use linen since I had a bunch on hand, but you could use any fabric, felt, or even white trash bags. You can have this entire thing done during an episode of Community, so pour yourself a glass of wine and get going!


You will need:

• 1 12 inch wire wreath form (one with a double set of wires like I have here)
• About 1 yard of linen or burlap fabric
• Scissors
• Embellishments like ribbon, feathers, beads, faux birds, berries and leaves, ornaments, little toys, etc.
• A hot glue gun
• Don't forget that glass of wine! You may want to avoid red is you are a slob like me, though. No need to spill on your pretty wreath!

Lay out you fabric and begin cutting or tearing it into strips that are about 1 1/2 inches wide and 8 inches long. Don't go measuring anything; just eyeball it because they don't need to be perfect! As you work with the knots the edges will fray and create the fluffiness that will fill out the wreath.

Take a strip of fabric and loop it around the inside two wires. Secure with a double knot. Continue until inside ring is full of knots. Repeat for the outside ring. Once your wreath form is full of knots, give each one a good fluff and tug to help fray and fill out the wreath.

Now comes the fun part. Embellish your wreath to your creative little hearts content by tying on ribbons and ornaments, spray it with adhesive and throw some glitter at it, or fill in the spaces with hard candies, whatever! Just secure everything with hot glue. The hot glue gun is a crafty girl's best friend, so put it to good use! I went with a green theme since the recipient of this wreath said she tends to decorate in shades of green. I tied on a vintage glass ball ornament and a few iridescent bows, and added some sparkly berries and ferns. I wanted it to be simple, but with a little bit of vintage appeal. Don't forget to tie a small loop of ribbon to the back of the wreath form so that you can hang it.

Now I'd love to say I'm going to make more of these, including one for myself, but that's a lie. Time, time, who's got the time? If you make one, I'd love to see it and live vicariously though other peoples crafting, so don't forget to send me a photo!