The Last Roll of Wax Paper

 

I was going to use some homemade nutmeg extract in a batch of cranberry-almond biscotti, but I couldn't get the lid off.  While the cookies were baking, I set the jar in the sun until the metal lid expanded more than the glass bottle and I could get it unscrewed.  Science at work.  Too late for those cookies, but at least I don't have to throw out 4 months of work.

Before putting the lid back on, I decided to line the rim with wax paper.  I did that to all the other metal/glass extract jars, and it kept them from rusting or sticking together.  I reached for the wax paper in the cabinet, and it was still sealed.  The one box of wax paper was being opened.

My mom passed away in May of 2010.  I have not bought wax paper yet, despite using it for cakes, lining cookie tins, wrapping meats in it, and dozens of other uses.  There were about six rolls of it in the cabinet, plus the one I brought when I moved.  There's a 1994 copyright mark on the box.  It doesn't mean the paper is that old, but it could be close to that.

This is what I've been meaning all along with this blog, and more recently with watching Prepper videos.  Preparing for lean or difficult times is one thing.  Those pass, and the idea is that you're constantly going through your pantry items and replenishing when you do have the funds.  Hoarding is when you have no idea what you have and over-buy to the extent that things are going to be wasted.  That's what I started with, and why stocking up this Fall has been so difficult for me emotionally.  It isn't who I am.  I can't wait until the world and national situations are stable enough that I feel comfortable again only keeping one or two weeks of backups, and no emergency items like boxed milk.  Although, I do admit to enjoying the guilty pleasure of canned foods for lunch.  Chef Boy-Ardee is pretty awesome when you're in the mood for it.

Southwest Qunioa Salad

 

Did you get a call this morning that a guest went vegan or gluten-free during the pandemic?  First of all, I hope you aren't having over more than 2 other households.  That's why I'm having dinner at home; I would be household #4 or #5.  Never even looked for an invite, and frankly made it clear starting in September that I would turn one down.  More pie for me.

Even if you're getting around to reading this post a few days later, next week, or in a couple of years, this main-course salad from Chelsea's Messy Apron is a light way to throw something together.  You'll see by the stars that nearly all ingredients were something I had on hand.  In a few weeks, I would even have enough cilantro.

I did change a few proportions of ingredients.  I'm cutting a bit of quinoa and replacing it with extra spinach.  In the salad I made, I did the beans from dry and only used 1/2 C, not quite a full can once cooked.  There is a lot of fiber in this salad.  There's also a good amount of protein and iron, plus all sorts of vitamins.  It's one of those recipes you use to prove that vegan cooking can hit every nutrition benchmark.  (Except Omega-3; chia would have upped the fiber again.)

*2/3 C quinoa
*1 15 oz can black beans or 1/2 C dry, soaked, and boiled 2 hrs
*1 15 oz can kernel corn
*4 stalks green onion
8 oz fresh spinach
1 dry pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1/4 C cilantro leaves
1 avocado (or *1 C defrosted avocado chunks)
*1/4 C olive oil
*juice of 2 limes
*1/2 tsp cumin
*1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or paprika for less spicy)
salt and pepper to taste

1.  If necessary, soak and rinse quinoa (check package).  Cook according to package directions, on the dry side.  Set aside to cool.  While that's going on, mix the dressing: whisk together oil, lime juice, cumin, pepper flakes, and enough salt and pepper to make it interesting.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

2.  Drain and rinse black beans and corn.  Toss together quinoa, black beans, and corn in a large bowl.

3.  Rinse and shake dry spinach.  Unless you bought a box of baby spinach, remove tough stems and chop half of it. The rest will be left whole to line the bowls.  Finely chop green onions and cilantro.  Cut the tomatoes in half.

4.  Add chopped portion of the spinach, green onions, and cilantro to the quinoa bowl and toss again.  This part can be refrigerated for later if necessary.

5.  When ready to serve, line serving bowl or individual salad bowls with whole spinach leaves.  Spoon in salad.  Top with halved tomatoes and diced avocado.  Drizzle with dressing only at serving time.  Sauces and quinoa don't really get along if they sit for more than half an hour.

Difficulty rating :)

Meaty Eggplant Pasta Casserole

 I had trouble coming up with a name for this.  It's somewhere between moussaka, lasagna, and pastitsio (a Greek version of lasagna).  The intent of it was to use up half a box of linguine and a cup of ricotta.  I've been looking for the noodles for pastitsio for some time, but I bet I have to go to the small, neighborhood international market and they're closed on the day I usually do my shopping.

A similar recipe on Better Homes and Gardens has you prep the casserole, wrap it, and freeze for up to 4 months.  Defrost overnight and bake to 165º, a bit over an hour.  All the components are pre-cooked in their version.  No egg.  During the winter, it makes sense to keep something non-holiday for days you just don't have time or energy to cook.  You could do that with this recipe by replacing the egg with a bit more yogurt.  The middle layer just won't set up as firm.

I had several dishes out on the counter before choosing the 8x8.  Should have gone with the 9x11, but it's metal and I don't like to make tomato-based dishes in it.  The 9x13 Pyrex would have been too big.  As a result, two ounces of pasta didn't make it into the casserole, and it still almost overflowed the pan.  I'm calling this 6 servings if you have a side salad, or 4 very hearty single-item portions.

*8 oz (half a box) pasta of choice
*1 lb 80/20 ground beef
1 large eggplant
1 Tb olive oil
*1/2 C dicd onion
2 C tomato-based pasta sauce of choice
*1 C ricotta cheese
1 egg
*1/2 C yogurt
1 Tb Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
*1/2 C shredded mozzarella
*1/4  C grated parmesan

1.  Start boiling a gallon of water for the pasta and get out a 9x11 glass casserole.

2.  Dice eggplant into about 1" cubes.  The smaller they are, the faster they will cook.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high and add eggplant and onion.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and cook until eggplant cooks down.  I covered it for about 10 minutes to steam them a bit.  Either way, it's going to take about 20 minutes.  Set aside cooked eggplant and rinse out skillet.  It doesn't have to be perfectly clean.

3.  The pasta water should be boiling by now, so go ahead and start preheating the oven to 375º.  Cook according to package directions, breaking long-strand pasta like spaghetti into two or three segments.  Farfalle or other small pasta shapes can stay as they are.  Drain and rinse when done.

4.  While the pasta is cooking, brown the meat in the skillet you rinsed out.  Cook until no pink is showing, drain off the fat, and cook more until crumbly.  Add 1-1/2 cups of the pasta sauce and turn to coat.  Remove from heat.

5.  Whisk together ricotta, egg, and yogurt.  Stir in Italian seasoning, about 1/2 tsp of salt, and pepper to taste.  Check how much salt is in your pasta sauce.  You could need more or less.

6.  Assembly time.  In bottom of dish, spread half of the eggplant, followed by half of the meat.  Top with half of the pasta, then all of the ricotta sauce.  Repeat eggplant, meat, and pasta.  Drizzle remaining 1/2 C of pasta sauce over the pasta.  Top with shredded mozzarella and parmesan.  Bake at 375º for about 25 minutes, until top is a light golden color and the casserole is boiling for at least 5 minutes (to cook the egg).  Let sit for 10-15 minutes.  The casserole is much easier to cut the next day for leftovers, like a lasagna is.  Carefully scoop out onto plates and serve hot.

Serves 4-6

Difficulty rating  :-0

Cheesy Artichoke and Kale Tart

 Frozen artichoke hearts were back in stock at the market!  So were frozen avocado chunks.  As far as I'm concerned, pandemic shortages are over.  It was a long wait for those items to come into season, get packaged, and ship to retailers.  I hope everyone appreciates that food doesn't automatically appear on store shelves any time of year.

Finding a recipe online was a bit harder.  Try googling Artichoke and Kale anything, and there aren't a lot of options.  Or it simply rejects your effort and sends you to the artichoke and spinach page.  So I ignored everything except the notion of using ricotta for the cheese and set off on my own.

I chose to make the crust with part buckwheat flour.  You could use part whole wheat, or all white flour.  It depends on the amount of earthiness you want to impart on the dish.  Brunch would call for only white flour.  The 2/3 cup of milk I used wasn't enough; the custard was very thick and there was barely enough of it.  I'm upping it to 1 C for the post.  Not sure if that will increase the bake time, so I'm stretching it a tiny bit.

1 batch pâte brisée
1 Tb olive oil
1/2 C diced onion
*1 clove garlic, minced
1 C frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
*2 C finely chopped kale, stems removed
1 egg
*1 C milk
1 C part-skim ricotta
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Roll out dough and press into an 11" tart pan or 9" pie pan.  I have a cute tool for my tart pan that flutes the edges.  Chill until ready to bake to reduce shrinkage in the oven.

2.  Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and kale and cook until onion is soft and kale has wilted, stirring frequently.  This will take about 10 minutes.

3.  Cut artichoke hearts into bite-sized pieces and add to skillet with the garlic.  Cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and start preheating oven to 400º.

4.  In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk.  Whisk in ricotta until smooth.  Add about 1/2 tsp salt, less if the ricotta is on the salty side.

5.  Once the oven is up to temp, get crust out of the fridge.  Spread filling evenly on the bottom.  Pour milk mixture to fill in everything else.  Give it a minute to settle into the cracks.

6.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, until top is set and crust is golden.  Ricotta doesn't really brown.  Neither does a buckwheat flour crust, so I kind of guessed.  Allow to cool 10 minutes before cutting.

Serves 6

Difficulty rating  :)

White Cheese Burgers

I only used half the container of cheese curds on the risotto and needed something else to do with them.  I also wanted a burger the week ground beef was on sale for $1.97/lb.  Even had hamburger buns in the freezer.  It didn't take much for this recipe to evolve.

After the bleu cheese burgers, grilling was out of the question.  I could have done these in the oven, but I haven't made burgers on the stove for this blog.  At least not meat ones.  I should not have done it mere hours after giving the stove its monthly deep cleaning, but that's my fault.

You don't have to use cheese curds, but they were yummy.  Any chopped up semi-soft cheese or crumbled one will work.  Likewise, I had mine with the last of the aioli from the roasted cauliflower leaves and some bbq sauce, but no veggies.  They were on the side, but it looks weird to have Brussels sprouts in a photo with a burger.  You can put anything you like on these.

1 lb 80/20 ground beef
4 oz (about 1 C) diced or crumbled white cheddar
*1/2 C minced red onion
salt and pepper to taste
*4 hamburger buns
garnishes and dressings of choice

1.  In a bowl, knead together beef, cheese, onion, salt, and pepper.  Allow to sit in the fridge at least 15 minutes for the flavors to meld.

2.  Preheat a griddle or flat-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat.  Form meat into 4 thin patties.  Meat seizes up as it cooks, so make them thinner in the middle than on the sides.  With so much cheese and onion in the mixture, it's going to take some convincing.

3.  Place patties on the griddle and wait for them to do their thing.  I turned on the hood fan and still got a lot of splattering.  When bottoms of patties are well browned, flip to cook the other side.  If toasting buns, now is a good time to get started on that.  Total cooking time will be around 10 minutes for medium burgers.

4.  Serve on buns with condiments and dressings of choice.

Difficulty rating  π

Risotto with Greens

 

The cauliflower in the Pond still isn't flowering, and I wanted to make space for fall greens and more pea plants.  Time to harvest some more leaves.  This time, I decided to stew them into risotto.

This recipe will work with any leafy green you prefer.  Spinach, collards, mustard, kale, arugula, whatever.  The only difference is when they should be added.  Tougher greens like my cauliflower or, say, kale will go in almost at the beginning of the risotto process.  Delicate spinach and arugula can be added in the last five minutes.  And 8 cups sounds like a lot of vegetables, but it cooks down.  Two cups of raw greens really is a serving.

The cheese on top is Wisconsin white cheddar curds, what you would use for poutine.  I was reaching for the feta when I saw them and decided to switch plans.  Any cheese works here, or you could do without.

*1 C dry risotto
1 qt unsalted chicken stock
*1/2 C diced onion
*1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb oil
*1/4 C white wine or sherry (optional)
*8 C chopped or chiffonade leafy greens
salt and pepper to taste
1 C shredded or crumbled cheese of choice

1.  Heat stock to a simmer in a saucepan.  Keep warm on the side with a ladle in it.

2.  In a large saucepan or soup pot, heat oil over medium-high.  Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add rice and stir to glaze in the oil until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes.

3.  Add wine, if using, and allow rice to absorb liquid.  Lower heat to medium-low.  Stirring frequently, add stock a ladle at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid before adding more.

4.  For tough greens, add to the pot after the second ladle of liquid.  It will get awkward to stir, but the rice will still absorb what it needs.  If the greens are not wilting after ten minutes, add a ladle of stock and cover the pot for five minutes to steam them.  Then you can go back to stir-and-add.

5.  If using a tender green, add to the pot with the next-to-last ladle of stock.  That will give it about 5 minutes to wilt into the rice.

6.  When rice is cooked, taste and add salt and pepper.  If you weren't able to find unsalted or low-sodium stock, you might not have to add salt.  Serve hot with cheese on top.

Difficulty rating  :)

Chickpea and Artichoke Spread

 I had fun at the 99¢ Store.  You never know what you'll find.  Instead of a pantry stock-up, I ended up getting cheap luxury items.  Come on, a jar of Kalamata olives for 99¢?  How could I pass that up.  Same with the marinated artichoke quarters.  You know, the essentials.

Ok, so the feta in this cost almost as much as all the other ingredients combined, including dippers.  You can't win them all.  I wanted a non-hummus, chickpea-based spread that I could whiz up in the food processor.  If you skip pan-frying the garlic and go for raw, this is super fast and barely creates any dishes.

I did get one of the last cans of chickpeas in the brand I wanted.  Between Thanksgiving and a slight pre-lockdown rush, a few items were running short.  I had decided on the texture of canned instead of dry, and noon on the day you plan to make this is way too late to change your mind.

My goal with this texture-wise was as a spread, but not quite as firm as a pâté.  Kind of chopped-liver level of firmness, but way different taste.  I'm giving directions for the option of making it more like a dip.

• 1 15oz can chickpeas
• 1/4 C olive oil
• *2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6oz jar marinated artichokes
• 1/2 C feta cheese
• red pepper flakes (optional)

1.  Heat oil in a small skillet or saucepan.  I used my single-egg skillet.  Add garlic and cook only until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

2.  Drain chickpeas, reserving the liquid for thinning the dip.  Run beans through the food processor until almost smooth.  Drain artichokes.  Add to beans with garlic oil and feta.  Pulse to desired consistency.  Taste, and adjust seasonings with salt, pepper, and/or red pepper flakes.  There will be herbs and spices in the artichokes, so don't season before combining.

3.  If you want a thinner dip, gradually add reserved chickpea water until the right consistency is reached.  Chill until ready to serve.  Garnish with additional feta, if desired.

Makes about 2 cups

Difficulty rating  π

Grape and Plum Masala Jam

 I bought a bag of grapes when I didn't like the look of the bananas at Sprouts.  I'm very picky about my bananas.  I suspected at the time there were too many grapes in the bag, and I was right.  The same trip, I picked up a pound of plums for some spiced plum jam.

By the time the plums were ripe enough for jam, almost a week in the ripening bag, the remaining grapes were getting past their prime.  I decided to add them to the plums and just make a bigger batch of jam.  Then I wondered what would happen if I changed up the spices a little to more closely resemble chai, and this recipe happened.

I've made grapes in syrup before, but not jam or jelly.  Kind of winged it here.  I had no idea if they would cook properly if left whole and cut each one in half.  Yeah, that took a while.

2 C plums, pitted and finely chopped
*2 C red seedless grapes, sliced in half
1-1/2 C + 1/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground cloves
*1 Tb pectin powder
*1 lemon, zested and juiced

1.  Stir together chopped fruit and first 1-1/2 C of sugar.  Allow to macerate in the fridge at least 4 hours or overnight.

2.  If canning, prepare jars and lids for a 2 pint yield.  I think I boiled mine down too far, because I got less than 3 cups, and it was firmer than I wanted.  Think I'll be filling cookies with some of it.

3.  Pour fruit into a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook until the juices run clear, about 5 minutes.  Add spices, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Return to a low boil and cook until fruit softens, another 15-20 minutes.

4.  Stir together remaining 1/4 C sugar and the pectin.  I'm going easy on the pectin here because my batch did get very firm.  Add to pot, increase the heat, and cook 5 minutes, until glossy.

5.  If canning, fill jars with 1/2" headspace.  Wipe rims, center lids, and screw on finger-tight.  Process for 15 minutes in a boiling bath canner.  Check seals once cooled, wipe clean, and store up to 1 year.  For non-canning, store in fridge for up to a month or freeze up to 3 months.

Makes approx 4 cups

Difficulty rating  :)

New Ingredient: Powdered Buttermilk

 I tend to avoid recipes involving buttermilk, or make soured milk with vinegar as a substitute, because I can never finish a quart of the stuff before it goes bad.  Before the election, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole on YouTube watching Prepper videos.  I am not storing 2-5 years of food and supplies!  That's how this blog got started.  I just don't want more than six months of anything; quality suffers and you tend to throw out items you never used.  That's a waste of money and your shopping time.

I did learn about some new products through these videos.  I knew about egg replacement powders, but not powdered eggs.  I also learned how few prepper videos mention coffee and tea as important staples.  Are you kidding me?  First thing on my stock-up list in March.  I am not going through the apocalypse without caffeine.

The first item I found from the new-to-me supply list was buttermilk powder.  It wasn't cheap ($7 on discount), but neither is 3.75 quarts of liquid buttermilk, the container's expected yield.  The Use By date is in 2024, and you do have to refrigerate after opening.  I can keep it next to my never-ending tub of miso paste.  It's made of cultured buttermilk, dairy whey, and lactic acid.  So, real buttermilk in powdered form and no chemicals.  It's also certified kosher, GF, and nut free, so I guess I could use it during Passover if I'm not picky about a KLP label.

There's a pancake recipe on the canister that I'll try the next time I want pancakes and realize I don't have enough milk.  That happens more often than I'd like to admit.  Or maybe mix up enough to use in French toast custard for some extra zing.  There will be more buttermilk cakes, like red velvet, than I've made previously.  I bet it could even be used for Ranch Dressing, with the advantage of choosing your consistency.

I'm also admitting to purchasing one other prepper-style item that I should have done years ago.  The power in my neighborhood goes out at least three times a year.  It always has, since my parents bought the house in the 1970s.  I don't even park in the garage if I have an early shift, in case the power goes out and I can't open the door.  Growing up, I thought that was normal.  Didn't know otherwise until I moved away.  So, I bought a cool emergency radio on Prime Day that can be powered 4 different ways (3 without a wall socket), has a flashlight, and can even partially charge a phone.  Tons of peace of mind.  So my pre-election panic wasn't a total waste.

I'm really looking forward to finding creative uses for the powdered buttermilk.

Pumpkin Scones #2

 The first time I made pumpkin scones, it was a Starbucks copycat recipe.  It did taste a lot like them, but I'm not overly fond of dense scones.  This new recipe I found from Taste of Home promised moist and fluffy.

These do hold up as advertised.  They are just slightly denser than a layer cake, enough to hold their shape on a baking sheet.  I don't know if I'd call them scones, though.  They're more like hand cakes.  Oh well, the quest continues.

The primary gripe on the original site is that they aren't "flavorful".  What those comments really mean is that they aren't sweet.  Sugar brings out the taste of both pumpkin and pumpkin spice.  All of the comments say that once the glaze is applied, the flavor improves.

One comment mentioned that the glaze gets weird after a day.  Powdered sugar glaze does that.  Since I was going to be freezing most of these for another time, I decided to do a white chocolate ganache drizzle instead.  I swiped some micro-chips from work when they were being discontinued.  They tend to disappear in baked goods, but are excellent for melting.  Ended up piping out of a sandwich bag when I couldn't get exactly the consistency I wanted for drizzling, but it ended up looking even better than a rustic drizzle.

The original recipe has you making really big scones.  I made a half-recipe and cut 12 out of it instead of 8.  They were still big, so that's what you're getting here.  Excuse the odd measurements; they make more sense in the 2-egg version.

2-1/4 C flour
1/4 C brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 C + 2 Tb pumpkin purée
1/4 C + 2 Tb milk

for glaze

2 Tb white chocolate chips
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp milk

1.  Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, spices, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together egg, pumpkin purée, and 1/4 C of the milk.

2.  Start preheating oven to 400º.  Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment.

3.  Cut cold butter into chunks.  Cut into flour with a pastry cutter or your fingers until mixture resembles coarse oatmeal.  Stir in liquid ingredients.  It's going to be a wet mixture.

4.  Form dough into a log 12" x 4".  With a bench scraper, cut into 4" squares, then each square into triangles.  They're going to be more scored than cut.  Brush with reserved milk.

5.  Bake 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, cut pieces apart along the scored lines, and return to oven for 5-10 minutes, until done.  Cool in pan 10 minutes, then move to a rack.  Set the baking sheet under the rack.

6.  Once scones are cooled, melt glaze ingredients under half power in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until they can be stirred smooth.  Either drizzle or place in a plastic sandwich bag and snip off a tiny corner to use as a #1 tip.  Allow glaze to harden and serve.

Makes 12

Difficulty rating  :)

Lentil Curry with Greens

 I'm going to be stress-baking starting tomorrow and ending whenever the election is certified.  Before that, I'm doubling down on the healthy dishes.

Like the blog recipe I'm adapting for this post from A Couple Cooks, this was designed to use up some garden kale.  When there wasn't enough, I added cauliflower leaves to get to the 8 cups.  I'm not specifying what kinds of greens you should use because I want this to be adaptable.  You'll get something closer to a traditional Indian dish if you use spinach.  Collard or mustard greens will make it more Caribbean.  No idea where kale comes from.

I happened to have red lentils on hand, but other kinds are absolutely ok.  I saw that there are even black lentils in some fancy stores, which would provide an intriguing contrast.  Just pay attention to how long they need to cook.  Red are thin and cook even faster than the rice I spooned the stew into.  Some green lentils take over half an hour to soften.  There's nothing wrong with cooking them the day before and throwing this whole thing together in under half an hour.

1 C red (or other) lentils, dry
8 C leafy greens of choice, finely chopped
1 Tb olive oil
1 15oz can coconut milk
*2 tsp minced garlic
*1 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp curry powder (or more to taste)
2 Tb tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
*3 green onions, finely chopped
*juice of one lime

1.  Start cooking lentils according to package directions.  Separately, start to cook any rice you're serving it with.

2.  In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, and tomato paste.  Cook into a fragrant spice base, about 3 minutes.

3.  Add chopped green onions and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Work greens into the spices and cook until they start to wilt, which will depend on the type of greens used.

4.  Add coconut milk to skillet and simmer until the lentils and rice are done.  Taste and add salt or pepper as needed.

5.  Stir lentils into greens mixture.  This is when I realized the sauce was the same color as cooked red lentils.  Oops.  Stir in lime juice for a bit of freshness.  Serve hot over rice.

Difficulty rating  :)