Recipe Pack Rat

January 24, 2011 By Laura

My name is Laura and I am a recipe addict.

If you ever want to keep me occupied for hours, drop me in the middle of the cookbook section of a bookstore. Or give me a list of food blogs. Or a stack of Food & Wine magazines.

While I do cook a lot, this has resulted in my having an excess of recipes. I can’t make one item before I find 5 more I want to try my hand at!

I have 292 recipes bookmarked. This is only those online. That I’ve remembered to save to Delicious.

Intervention time.

Can I get on Oprah for this? (Did you see Oprah discovered she has a sister? That must have been the best day of her sister’s life… being Oprah’s sister would be better than winning the lottery!)

For the next 6 months, I will make one recipe from my Delicious bookmarks per week.

Originally, I was going to start with the first bookmarked page and work from there. Makes sense. Start at the beginning.

The issue is that I started saving in April, so I would be making springtime recipes when it is below freezing outside. 86 that idea.

Does it really matter where I start?

Start from the most recent.

Here are the first 3:

1. Avocado Creamcheese Cookies

Source: Anncoo Journal

2. Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

Source: Priya's Kitchen

3. Nutty Spicy Tofu

I’m declaring tomorrow Avocado Cookie Tuesday!!!!

Tonight, it’s derby-time!

***

Do you have a recipe problem habit? How do you keep track/keep up?

Side note: While I was looking through old bookmarks and writing this, I found no less than 10 new recipes to try. Oops.

Souper Saturday

January 22, 2011 By Laura

Getting out of bed is the hardest part of going to Saturday morning practice.

I got out of bed at 7am. I don’t get up that early for work.

At 8am this morning we began a 3 hour derby practice. SO glad I woke up.

A couple of amazing guest skaters – Rice Rocket and Varla Vendetta – were in town to lead a workshop. I’m not gonna lie – I was derby crushing. We learned some new drills and were able to do a quick scrimmage with our teams.

Then – because I am extra crazy – I came home and ran 3 miles. In 26 minutes!!! This is pretty fast for me. It is freezing outside and I think my body was just trying to get warm. 🙂

I love a souper-motivated Saturday. I also love Souper Jenny. Jenny makes creative, tasty soups fresh daily, along with salads and a couple of sandwiches. I have been known to:

Drive 30 miles from my old office to eat there for lunch
Save her daily email menus to remember a particularly interesting flavor combo
Completely change my plans to eat dinner there on Thursdays for Grilled Cheese Night

All this to say that I finally attempted my own soup.

(I did make the Butternut Squash Apple, but I’d read like 40 recipes first. This one I just went into the kitchen and threw stuff together. 🙂 )

It isn’t half bad. In fact, it is pretty damn good!

Perfect for lunch after a frigid run.

White Bean, Butternut Squash, and Kale Soup

EVOO
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 C (1 can) vegetable broth
3 C chopped tomatoes (I used Pomi)
1 C (1 can) cannellini beans
3 celery stalks
1 sweet potato
1/2 medium butternut squash
4 C kale
3 stalks fresh rosemary (~3 T)
1 T fresh lime juice
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp red pepper
1 tsp roasted cinnamon
S & P to taste

Chop all veggies into bite-sized pieces. In a large pot, heat EVOO over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeños. Saute 6-7 mins until onions are translucent and soft. Add in garlic and cook for another 1-2 mins.

Add in sweet potato, butternut squash, and celery. Stir to combine with the saute mixture and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes.

Pour in the vegetable stock, chopped tomatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil. Add beans and kale to the soup. Stir to combine, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover pot with the lid slightly ajar to let steam escape. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Salt & pepper to taste. If you like a thinner soup, add water or more stock and adjust spices.

Makes 5 servings (1 cup each).

My creation has approximately: 250 calories, 6 g fat, 42 g carbohydrates, 12.5 g fiber, and 10 g protein. It is also rich in Vitamins A and C.

***

My favorite thing about soup? It is souper (I know I know… I’ll stop) filling and can easily be made nutrient-rich and low-cal.

What is your favorite soup creation?

Calories on Your Menu

January 17, 2011 By Laura

There has been a recent push to include the calorie count on menu items at chain restaurants. New York City chains have been doing this for quite some time, but I haven’t seen a lot of it in Georgia. At a recent visit to IHOP was the first time I’d encountered it (thus ruining an already mediocre experience).

Did I really want to know that my Harvest ‘N Nuts pancakes were 1020 calories before adding syrup?!

Honestly, it is really rare that I eat at chain restaurants. I love food and I generally find that local restaurants have more interesting items made with fresher ingredients. I know there are exceptions to this – hello, Seasons 52 – but as a general rule, my belly supports the local economy.

All of this to say that I was ambushed surprised by calories on my Longhorn menu last night.

I was in a small town without many other options for food, so to the chain we went. As far as chains go, Longhorn isn’t terrible. What is terrible: trying to order food at Longhorn when you know how caloric it is. They even listed the calories in desserts (Caramel Apple Goldrush = 1640 calories) and specialty drinks (Pomegranate Margarita = 440 calories).

30+ minutes later, we finally settled on dinner items. My Sierra Chicken was one of the lowest calorie items on the list (410 calories). It wasn’t terrible… except that I think the Dead Sea has less salt content than my dinner did.

Given the impact calories staring at us in the face had on my dinner companion and me, I asked the waitress she has noticed a difference in the way people order since the menu addition. She said it did a little on dinner items, but dessert sales were the most hard-hit.

On one hand I think its great to know what you are eating (the calorie counts for the salads were SCARY). On the other, do I really want to know?!

What if my local, independently-owned restaurants began doing this? It would certainly put a damper on my experience.

Another problem is that calorie counts aren’t all that matter. My chicken, for example. 410 calories isn’t terrible, but the sodium content must have been out of this world. What about fat? Or carbs? How about the redeeming qualities like protein and vitamins?

The impact could have a really cool effect – will restaurants began offering healthier options or adjusting current items to improve calorie content? Or here’s a novel idea – how about offering single-serving portions?

As a country we could obviously benefit from better food options, or at least hard-to-ignore information about what we’re about to eat.

At least Georgia isn’t the worst…

***

What do you think? Do you know to know or is ignorance bliss? Would this impact they way you order?

Spice Up Your Dessert

January 13, 2011 By Laura

I don’t want to run.

At all.

This frigid, icy weather has taken a toll on my workout motivation. Yet I did.

Want to know the secret steps to success when you’re held captive by the weather?

Make a plan – mine was a incline interval run
Write it on a piece of paper
Get dressed in workout gear (it helps you commit to going!)
Get on the “dreadmill” WITH the written plan in front of you
Promise yourself that if you go 10 mins and still feel terrible, you can stop
Promise yourself a giant spaghetti squash dinner and a glass of wine
Wait for about the 8 min mark
Motivation/resolve sets in. At this point you realize you will go the full time and survive.

I have no idea how I got through that one, but I did.

Then I ate this:

Thank god for the cleanse and my discovery of Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti.

My derby teammates, the Sake Tuyas, are having a sleepover this weekend. Everyone is bring a dish and the theme is Mexican. Because I am crazy, as I was laying in bed last night I was contemplating the possibilities (doesn’t everyone lull their self to sleep thinking about food?). Then it hit me.

When I made these Black Bean Brownies, I thought I had hit the jackpot. But… no. There’s something better out there.

Black beans are in (I think) every taco at Moe’s (clearly an authentic Mexican specimen).

This alone qualifies them for the potluck. But why stop there?

Amp it up and add some spicy-goodness! The addition of cinnamon and spice and everything nice adds a depth of flavor that is not to be missed.

Protein-rich, fudgy brownie with ~150 calories per serving (less than the original since I reduced the sugar and egg). Does it get any better?

Mexican Black Bean Fudgy Brownies

3/4 C cocoa powder
1/2 C salted butter, melted
1/2 C applesauce (unsweetened)
15 oz canned black beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
1 C walnuts (chopped)
2 tsp vanilla
1 T instant coffee
1 1/4 tsp roasted ground cinnamon
1 tsp ancho chili powder
3/4 tsp cayenne powder
Shake of kosher salt
3 eggs
1 C light agave nectar

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Prepare an 11 x 7 in pyrex dish by lining with parchment paper or lightly oiling with Baker’s Joy/Pam/butter/etc.

In large bowl, mix together melted butter, applesauce, and cocoa powder until combined.

Place the beans, 1/2 C of walnuts, vanilla extract, and 3-4 spoonfuls of the cocoa mixture into a food processor. Blend until smooth (~ 1 min). It will be very thick. Set aside.

Add to the cocoa mixture the remaining 1/2 C walnuts, instant coffee, cinnamon, chili powder, cayenne, and salt and mix well. Add bean mixture to cocoa mixture, manually stirring until well blended.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs with a mixer until light and creamy (~ 1-2 min). Add agave nectar and beat well. Fold the egg mixture (reserving 1/8 C to drizzle over top if desired) into the bean and cocoa mix until just combined.

Pour the batter into prepared pan.

Bake for ~45 mins, until the brownies are set. Cool completely in the pan before cutting. You may need to refrigerate first – these are extremely soft.

Optional: Sprinkle top with a mixture of cinnamon, chili powder, and powdered sugar.

***

Now to do a quick core workout before bed. If I can just get started…

What are your secrets to motivation for a bad-weather workout?

Christmas Eve

December 27, 2010 By Laura

We had a fun Christmas Eve here. The reports of Christmas Day snow added to the usual excitement.

Baby Sis and I squeezed in a 3.4 mile run. Good thing – it has been too snowy and icy to go ever since!

Never a fan of traditions, I tried a bunch of new dishes:

Butternut squash gnocchi
Herb-roasted root veggies
Popovers
Chocolate gingerbread cake
Peanut butter fudge

I’m only posting the recipe for the fudge… the rest are still in progress.

The gnocchi was good – I’m happy with it for my first attempt, but I think I handled the dough too much. It was fun to make though!

We also enjoyed a great Cab by Four Sons.

Family friends came by for dessert, drinks, and a little gifting.

We enjoyed some Liquid Gingerbread.

Check out our dessert spread!

Kathy brought over her famous pretzel sticks. My sister liked them…

Even Honey the Dog pigged out – she ate an entire bag of bones before we caught her!

This is my new favorite protein-packed dessert:

(Check out the candy-cake in the background! Ann brought over this sinfulness. It involved chocolate, Rolos, M&Ms, and other items I’ll never admit to eating.)

Back to the fudge. Read carefully – this is a very complex recipe with super-complex adaptions from Vintgae Sugarcube.

Peanut Butter Fudge

1 Jar whipped butter cream icing
1 Jar peanut butter
1 Pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

Line a 8×8 dish with parchment paper. Microwave jar of icing for 50 seconds. Pour into a medium bowl and mix with the jar of peanut butter. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour mixture into dish and refrigerate overnight or, if you are impatient like me, freeze for ~2 hours. Cut into small squares and serve!

Store in fridge.

***

Christmas pics to come as soon as I figure out how to load pics onto my new Mac…

Was Santa good to everyone? What was your favorite gift?

Green Beans and Chocolate

December 19, 2010 By Laura

Now that we are home the cooking can resume!

Mom has been running around the house like a humming bird on crack. I’m not sure if it is the pain medicine or the fact that she is finally able to walk again. Well, its still more of a shuffle, but close!

Since Christmas is this week and mom is still recovering, I’m going to hang out at her house until next weekend. Not to mention the fact that my sisters are in town and her kitchen is better than mine.

I finally got to exercise again and it felt GREAT alright. Apparently when you don’t exercise for 10 days, getting amped up again is difficult.

My uncle and Baby Sis were her when we arrived on Saturday, so I let them watch Mamma and ran a quick 3 miles. It really was quick – 26 mins – but it felt like an hour.

Today was a little easier. P90X Shoulders and Arms, followed by Ab Ripper X. I love a good core workout.

Other than that, I have been in the kitchen. Some healthy creations, some borderline, and some down right sinful.

Variety is the spice of life.

The Healthy

I made a French Green Bean Salad using a Lemon- Tahini Dressing inspired by this one by Angela at Oh She Glows.

In summary – YUM. I loved the crispiness of this salad and the tahini dressing was like hummus with a zing. Best of all, it was super healthy and easy to make.

French Green Bean Salad

~1 lb French green beans
6 dried Mission figs, quartered
1 cucumber, sliced
1 large carrot, sliced
handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic salt
S&P (to taste)

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Remove ends from beans and steam until bright green and still crisp. Remove from water and place immediately in an ice bath (this will chill them and stop the cooking). Remove from bath and dry. Place in bowl and toss lightly with garlic salt, carrots, cucumbers, figs and parsley.

Top with crackers or pita and Lemon-Tahini Dressing.

Serves 3-4

Lemon-Tahini Dressing

4 T tahini
Juice from 1 lemon
3/4 tsp honey
3-4 T water
1 tsp EVOO
S&P (to taste)

In a small bowl, combine tahini, honey, lemon juice, EVOO, and S&P. Thin out with some water (add one tablespoon at a time) and stir until well combined.

The Borderline

It is a bit of a repeat. But this time I’ve learned a couple of tricks.

Roasted Banana Rum-Raisin Breakfast Bread

Lessons:

Check it at 40 mins. Mom’s oven cooks fast.
Don’t skimp on the rum raisin soaking time. They get super soft and flavorful when you actually let them soak the whole hour.
Use the paddle attachment in the mixing bowl. I forgot until half way through the first time. This loaf was much fluffier.
Don’t sub evaporated milk for coconut milk. It was an emergency… but the coconut gives it more depth of flavor.

***

And, back by popular demand, PB Sunflower Granola!

Thanks to Ann, I did get it to stick together better. Press it down hard immediately after taking it out of the oven. Then don’t touch it again until it is totally cool.

Ready for the sinful?

The Sinful

Fudge. More specifically, peanut butter fudge. With walnuts.

I was making something else, had the marshmallow fluff out, and thought “why not?”

The Jett-Puffed recipe has always been my go-to, but I think this one is pretty good. It is less greasy and sugary (1/2 C less in fact)… You can actually eat an whole square without that sugar over-dose feeling. Whether that is good or bad, I’ll let you decide.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

by Laura Hall

Cook Time: 25 mins

Keywords: boil dessert Marshmallow Fluff peanut butter chocolate chips Christmas

Ingredients (20 servings)

2 1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick butter (salted)
2/3 C evaporated milk
5 1/2 oz (~3/4 jar) Marshmallow Fluff
1 tsp vanilla
12-oz. Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 T peanut butter
1/2 C walnuts

Instructions

Line an 8-in square baking pan with aluminum foil; set aside.

In large saucepan combine the first 5 ingredients. Stir over low heat until blended.

Increase heat to medium and bring to a full-rolling boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes (until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is perfectly smooth).

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and chocolate until chocolate is melted. Add nuts. Barely fold in peanut butter. Pour into lined pan and cool completely before cutting.

***
Do you have that one thing you make every year? One your friends request

Happy Holiday baking to all!

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5003/5275326845_15813cc850.jpg

Raw Dough Balls

December 14, 2010 By Laura

This post title makes me smile. 🙂

I haven’t gotten to exercise for 2… 3… 4 days and I am restless. Mom is still having a helluva time trying to recover. This means I refill a lot of water and juice glasses (hydration is key!), I make tons of PB + crackers, and – my favorite outlet – I bake. It also means that this post has taken me 3 days to finish.

Some people go to spas, I can relax with a late-night grocery store trip. No lines and I can wander around inspecting new items without running over screaming kids (sorry if that was your kid’s toe…).

Part 2 of my relaxation method is creating. I love to cook/bake/thrown stuff together in the kitchen. I like trying new things.

Cookie dough balls. Sans egg.

But first, we all know that in order earn dessert, veggies must be eaten. Yes, Mom. It finally stuck.

When life gives you 1/2 a leftover roasted butternut squash, make Butternut Hummus.

It sounds weird, but it is good.

Butternut Hummus

1/2 Roasted butternut squash
2 T EVOO
2 Garlic cloves
Salt & pepper
2 T Tahini

Place ingredients in food processor, blend until smooth. Add crackers, cucumber slices, zucchini sticks, and enjoy!

Notes: You can add anything to this! Try rosemary, cumin, red pepper flakes, lemon, cilantro, cinnamon… butternut tastes good with it all!

______________________________________________________________________________________

Good job eating your veggies. Now you may have dessert, courtesy of Angela at Oh She Glows.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

2/3 C Raw, unsalted cashews
1/4 C Oats
3/4 C Spelt flour (can sub other flour)
1 tsp Sea salt
5 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1 tsp Vanilla extract
3 T + 2 tsp Pure maple syrup
2- 3 tbsp Dark chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup Dark chocolate, melted, for dipping

Place cashews and oats in food processor until finely crumbled. Add in the flour, kosher salt, and roughly chopped dates. Process until fine.

Add vanilla and maple syrup. Blend until the mixture comes together in a ball. If too crumbly, add more syrup or a tiny bit of water.

Stir in the 3-4 T of chopped dark chocolate. Roll into balls (about 2 tsp in size).

In a double boiler or microwave, melt 1/3 cup of dark chocolate in a small bowl. Now dip each ball into the chocolate and place on baking sheet.

Freeze for 1 hour or overnight to set.

Makes about 20 balls.

***

I am pretty sure there aren’t any of these left in the house.

Now that I have these down, I’m looking forward to making more flavors.

What should be next? Cinnamon Roll? Pumpkin Pie Spice? S’Mores???

Toys and Tempeh

December 7, 2010 By Laura

This weekend marked the beginning of holiday party craziness. Friday was a formal ball and Sunday was the famed Toy Party.

You can dress 'em up

The Toy Party is especially cool because you bring a toy as your admission (+ 3 drink tickets!). All of the toys get piled up in the middle of the event space, so at the end of the night there is an overwhelmingly huge toy mountain.

... But you can't take 'em out!

Needless to say, it was a fun night. 🙂

Tonight was holiday kickboxing (“holiday” translation: hit the bag hard in an effort to balance out the party treats).

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tonight I tried tempeh for the first time.

I also learned tempeh is not spelled like the AZ city.

Tofurkey’s Coconut Curry Marinate Tempeh gets two thumbs up from me! I think I bought it at The Fresh Market, but I have seen it at Whole Paycheck Foods as well.

It was packed with flavor (the coconut was surprisingly pronounced) and came pre-sliced (read: easy prep). For those that don’t like tofu due to texture issues, this is much closer to a meat consistency.

One package contains 2 servings – 130 calories, 3g fat, 5g fiber, 8g sugar, and 13g protein. The sugar is a little higher than I like, but for 13g of protein, I’ll take it!

I put my tempeh slices in a pan with 1 T habanero-infused olive oil and 3-4 T red onion. After they sauteed for a bit, I added an amazing black pepper (grown by my granddad!) and Cedar’s Chickpea Salad mix.

Cedar’s makes some fantastic mixes, but this stuff is my favorite. Delicious heated or raw over a salad!

Then I piled the mix on top of some spinach and served it with a side of zucchini sticks.

I think I have a new addiction!

***

Then I did some banana-inspired baking… more tomorrow! 🙂