"Is Summer Here Yet?" Salad

So I've just arrived home from a very long trip and am so grateful to have a home cooked meal. I like eating out on occasion but it gets wearing. Never in so short a span have I paid sooo much money for such ridiculously bad bad bad food. Seriously. Well, I was in Florida the last couple of days (please don't ask) where it was suppose  to be sunny. Alas, it was not. Have you seen a monsoon? Yeah I was in one on the day that I was at a theme park. But, again I've gotten away from the real point of this blog. This salad is one I make when I want to pretend like I've cooked but actually haven't done much at all. It's more a summer time recipe but when it's gloomy out I make it to remind myself that summer is coming....soon...very soon....(It's also one of the few leaps of faith that I took and created myself. yay me! )

"Please Be Summer Salad." 

(All of this gets tossed in a bowl and then placed on top of salad greens...FYI)

1.) Drain:

1 can of Mexicorn salad

1 can of tomatoes with chili peppers (or use fresh and aren't lazy like me)

1 can of black beans (well rinsed)

2.) Chop:

1/4 of a red onion

1 small yellow pepper

2 celery stalks

A small bunch of cilantro

3.) Sautee:

Soy chicken breast (or the real kind)

4.) Sprinkle:

1 tsp of cumin

1 tsp of celery seed 

A dash o sea salt.

5.) Serve with fat free Catalina dressing, Mexican blend cheese and tortilla strips or crushed Dorritos.

Kale Lasagna Diavolo

OK-this definitely didn't turn out like the picture in the magazine but it sure as hec made my taste buds sing. I'm a little over due on this post. This menu was actually from an amazing Sunday with my best friend from college. I don't know anyone else who would spend their entire Sunday with me running around making a huge a mess and cooking for 8 hours. I honestly don't know what took us so long. I think it was all the gabbing and interruptions. Or the hand mixer from 1983 that made the worse machine noise I've heard in eons. Like a mini volcano gas bubble exploded in its tiny engine heart. The meal was overall well balanced and made me stop looking for heaven. I  found it, surrounded by my family and sweet beautiful food. 


Kale Lasagna Diavolo  (From Vegetarian Times Magazine-January/February 2011)
(Slightly adapted of course...the list looks daunting but it's really simple I promise!!!)


** I made my own tomato sauce-if you want to skip this step just use a jarred variety that you like and hop to step 3.***


1.)  For the sauce-in a large pan place 8 tomatoes-quartered and 5 sprigs of basil chopped. Let simmer for about ten minutes until fork tender with the lid on-check to make sure they don't scorch. Run this concoction through a food mill to remove the seeds and pulp/skins. 


2.) Since I don't own a food mill-I ran it through the food processor. It was really watery so I added 2 TBS of tomato paste and a slurry of water and cornstarch. To cut down on the acidic taste I threw in a pinch of sugar. I also seasoned it with sea salt, pepper and Italian seasonings. I let this simmer while I was making the rest of the meal to let it thicken.


3.) Thoroughly wash one bunch of kale and remove the base of the stems. Place in  pot with 2 inches of boiling salted water.


4.) Simply blanch the kale for 2 minutes or until it turns a bright green. 


5.) Drain and run under cold water. Wring (yes like a towel) out the kale until almost all the moisture is removed. Chop fine and season with salt and pepper. 


6.) In a bowl combine 1 container of ricotta cheese and a small container of goat cheese. 


7.) If not using no cook lasagna noodles, cook 6 pieces-until al dente, rinse and dry. (I sense a laundry theme here)


8.) In a small skillet warm enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Lightly sautee 4 cloves of minced garlic. Add 1/2 tsp of red pepper  flakes. Stir this mixture into the tomato sauce. 


9.) Pour a small layer of sauce in the bottom of your lasagna pan.


10.) Add a layer of noodles, top with cheese, add a layer of kale and top with sauce. Continue in this way, ending with sauce and fresh grated  Parmesan.


11.) Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the lasagna is heated through.


12.) Allow the pasta to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Whole Wheat Rosemary Garlic Bread:

(Adapted from-http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/best-bread-machine-bread/Detail.aspx)

1.) In the bread machine add 1 cup of warm water (not to hot , lest you kill your yeast buddies), 2 TBS of sugar (they need to eat) and 1 pkg of yeast.


2.) Allow to proof for about ten minutes.


3.) Once the mixture is nice and foamy add 1/4 cup of oil, 2 cups of bread flour, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 1 tsp of salt, a dash of olive oil, 2 TBS of rosemary and  3 cloves of fresh minced garlic.


4.) Press start on the whole wheat cycle and walk away.


**Since I substituted whole wheat flour we had to check the moisture level of the bread mid way through. It was a little dry so we added about a 1/4 cup of water**




The night was rounded off with a White Velvet Butter Cake and Italian Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting.....nirvana...

Granola Bars

When a store closes down it not only makes my town look more and more like a ghost village but it also entails me spending far too many hours and far too much money. I'm beyond geeked because, yes i blew part of my paycheck on it,  but I got some AMAZING books today. Knowing all of this you'd think I'd be jumping to bake something fabulous, well sadly my boring semi-busy little life ran me around today. That and my warm covers were far more inviting. I'm very excited to start baking though, the book by the amazing Julia Child is calling my name and certainly not helping me get away from the "Julie and Julia" label I've come to develop. Alas, it's a shadow I can't run from I suppose. Anyhoo...today. Despite my tired body yelling about setting another alarm I am going hiking tomorrow. I decided it would only be appropriate to bring along some granola bars. Of course, I've tweaked the recipe but the base comes from http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/playgroup-granola-bars/Detail.aspx.

Granola Bars:

1.) In a very large mixing bowl combine:

2 cups of old fashioned oats

1/2 cup of dark brown sugar

1/4 cup of light brown sugar

1/2 cup of wheat germ

1 TBS of cinnamon

1/2 cup of unbleached white flour

1/2 cup of whole wheat flour

1 tsp of nutmeg

3/4 tsp of salt

1/4 cup of cocoa powder

2.) Lightly beat 1 egg

3.) This is the messy/fun part....in the middle of the mixture add the egg, 1/4 cup of honey, 1/2 cup of oil, 1/2 cup of PB, 1/2 bag of chocolate chips. (I also added PB chips because I had some to use up).

4.) Mush all of this together with your very clean hands. 

5.) Wash those messy hands now.

6.) Lightly spray  a 9 x 13 pan .

7.) Spread the mixture into the pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. 

8.) Let cool for 5 minutes and then cut into bars. When completely cool, either store in the pan or remove to a container and seal tightly.

**You can replace part of the oil with applesauce to make these healthier. You can also change the mix ins. If you aren't in a chocolate mood then you can add nuts and dried fruit or whatever your heart desires.**

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

People should not be allowed to have birthdays the day after I've worked for 12 hours. Not allowed. I was wracking my brain for what I could feasibly make on a tight budget and tight timeline.  I give you this cookie that needs very little tweaking. It's basically an excuse to eat chocolate and PB. The first batch was a little dry so I added about a TBS and a half of milk. That's the only change in my posting of this recipe. This is the only time that I will use the  generic PB. The natural variety is fine on sandwiches but you lose the creaminess and oil content of the generic brands. Funny because this morning I was just reading an article about different varieties of PB. Yes, I'm a dork who reads about PB first thing in the morning.  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Peanut-Butter-Cup-Cookies/Detail.aspx

PB Cup Cookies

1.) Unwrap a bag of PB cups. Place in a glass bowl and then into the freezer. A bag of 40 or so will work fine. 

2.) In a small bowl whisk together 1 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of baking soda.

3.) In a separate bowl cream together 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, 1/2 cup of white sugar,  1/2 cup of PB,  1/2cup of brown sugar (dark or light works fine).

4.) To the cream mixture add 1 egg, 1 tsp of vanilla and 3 TBS of milk. (If the batter seems too dry add a splash more of milk).

5.) Form the dough into even sized balls and place individually in muffin tins that are not greased.

6.) Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. 

7.) Remove from the oven and immediately place a PB cup in the center of the cookie.

8.) Remove from the pan and allow to cool. 

Nothing Fancy Chocolate Chip Cookies

After my day to day I should have been more inspired to cook something superbly fancy. But, instead, I devoted my afternoon (it was really closer to evening) to bringing home mediocre deep dish pizza, watching the boob tube and pretending to study. I had an amazing afternoon touring the French Pastry school in Chicago. I was even allowed to sit in on part of the sourdough bread baking class. I could have sat there for hours. Who doesn't want to go to school and do something amazing all day every day? So, world I've taken the plunge, I enrolled in pastry school.  So, should I have come home and baked an amazing cake or petits fours? Probably. But since I'm getting up at the crack of dawn two consecutive days in a row, I opted for a basic chocolate chip cookie to take hiking tomorrow. 

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookie:

*This makes a BIG batch of cookies, about 72. Which is great for me because then I just freeze half the dough and save it for when I have an emergency, gotta bring cookies crisis. Yes, those do happen*

1.) In a medium bowl combine 4 cups all purpose unbleached white flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 2 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of baking powder and 1 tsp of salt.  Mix well with a whisk. 


2.) In a large bowl cream together 2 cups (4 sticks) of room temperature butter and 1 cup of light brown sugar, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 1/2 cup of natural crystal sugar. (You can use all light brown sugar and regular white sugar)


3.) Add in 4 eggs  one at a time.


4.) Add 2 heaping TBS of vanilla.


5.) In 1 cup increments add the flour mixture until well combined. 


6.) Fold in 1.5-2 bags of chocolate chips. (I ended up using up little bits of 3 different kinds of chips, with decent results)


7.) Bake for 8-10 minutes (based on your oven) in a pre-heated oven set to 350 degrees.


8.) Remove from the sheet immediately and allow to cool.