Pumpkin Biscotti

The coffee cake took care of the fresh-roasted pumpkin, but I still had some purée in the freezer.  I decided to make biscotti out of them, and opted for a variation of King Arthur Flour's recipe, using the comments as a guide.

I should have listened more to the one comment about them being too hard.  These definitely don't need to be dried as long as the recipe states.  They should be pulled from the oven when the middles are still a tiny bit soft.  They did soften up quickly in hot drinks, but were rocks otherwise.

If you don't want to make these as biscotti, but as regular cookies, I would scoop them out and bake the original 25 minutes.  They will not spread too much and will develop a crunchy exterior.  I'm assuming the  centers will stay relatively soft.  At worst, they would be dunking cookies.

1/4 C unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 C sugar
*1-1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, room temperature
*1/2 C pumpkin purée
2 C flour

1.  Preheat oven to 350º and line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat.

2.  In a medium bowl with an electric beater, cream together butter, sugar, spices, baking powder, and salt.  I didn't wait for the butter to soften, and things got messy fast.  I'm used to doing creaming recipes in the stand mixer, with its high sides.  The only reason you're doing this with a hand one is because the amounts are too small for the stand mixer to be effective.

3.  Beat in egg and pumpkin.  It's going to smell lovely.  Stir in the flour until you get a dough.

4.  Shape dough into two logs on the cookie sheet, roughly 10" by 2-1/2" and a little over an inch high.  Bake 25 minutes, until the logs have a bit of a crust to them.

5.  Remove the baking sheet from the oven and wait about 5 minutes, while you turn down the oven to 325º.  Slice the logs crosswise with a very sharp knife into 1/2" to 3/4" slices.  Arrange the slices with some space between them and put them back in the oven for another 15 minutes.  The outer edges should seem fairly dry, but the middles will be a bit soft.

6.  Remove cookies to a rack and cool completely.  If desired, ice with powdered sugar glaze, royal icing, or white chocolate ganache (what I did).

Makes about 2 dozen

Difficulty rating  :)

Fermented February

So apparently, February is a good time to ferment stuff.  It makes sense.  If you garden, that's when the last of your fall harvest has to be preserved before it spoils.  In my area, it's when the first of the spring greens are happening.

I didn't go too crazy.  I already had a cabbage, so I made sauerkraut with the rest of it.  And while I only bought one Napa cabbage for kimchi, it managed to make over half a gallon.  But it's KLP and not too spicy.  I'll probably end up canning a lot of it.  Not bad for $6.  I only picked a couple of lemons for preserving this time, not a dozen.  And I got back into yogurt making, for reasons I'll go into in another post.

Found a use for the 2 gallon bucket 

Fermenting and pickling are not the same thing, in case you didn't know.  To pickle, you cook up a brine and pour it over something before sticking it in the fridge or process canning.  For fermenting, you treat the raw vegetable with salt and spices and let it stew in its own juices until it makes its own vinegar.  Yep, gross as it sounds, and sometimes ends in moldy sadness.  It's a probiotic thing, and if I do can the kimchi it will destroy those good bacteria.  That's why kimchi is usually in the refrigerated section.  Any fermented product that's shelf-stable no longer has active cultures.

So the next time you have leftovers in the crisper threatening to go to waste, consider turning them into a ferment (or pickle) instead.

Eggplant Pizza 4 Ways

I put Pizza on the meal calendar without any specific toppings mentioned.  The original plan was to clear out the crisper, but it was empty when it came time to make the pizza.

So I decided to clear out spreads and sauces instead.  I bought the eggplant for a topping, but went into the fridge door for a sauce.

I had a scraping of Char Shu, some vegan Caesar dressing, an open bourbon mustard, and some pesto that I need to find more uses for.  I decided to make each of the four pizzas with a different accent, yet essentially the same ingredients.

The eggplant got shredded in the food processor and cooked in a saucepan on medium until soft, then divided for the four pizzas.  The Chinese one mixed in garlic, a bit of soy sauce, and sesame seeds.  The Caesar added more of the dressing and a bit of parmesan.  Mustard was thyme.  And the pesto, being already parmesan, garlic, and herb, just got some lemon juice kick.

The base was a wheat naan dough and the cheese for all of them was mozzarella.  I didn't feel like ending up with half packages of four different cheeses.

So yeah, one eggplant was way too much for four pizzas, but I piled it on there anyway.  Some of the reheated ones on later days got some arugula or kale from the garden on them, just for a little color.

The moral of this story is to mix up your flavors once in a while, not just during pantry challenges.  Make teriyaki spaghetti (which happens to be very good), or a roasted vegetable sandwich.  You never know when you'll discover the next greatest recipe.

Braised Chicken and Fennel

After the rains in January, the pot where I had planted green onions and fennel took off.  That's when I realized I had too many fennel in there and had to thin it out.

Fennel isn't everyone's taste.  If you don't like licorice, there really isn't any point in making this.  It's more subtle than licorice, with an almost floral taste, but yeah, you can't get around it.

I really have grown to like braised chicken.  It cooks faster than roasting and doesn't dry out.  Yes, there's a slightly different texture and you don't get the caramelization, but I have no problem with that tradeoff to have the seasonings work their way deep into the meat.

I had this with a variation of carrots with parsley and some excellent kale with ginger.  Next time I make that, I'll blog it.  While it would take a lot of discipline for me to become kosher, I'm experimenting with some kosher-style meal combos for Passover. Some day, I might even try to do a proper Shabbat meal plan.  I gave Melody Smurf a crock pot for her birthday, mainly because I've been considering getting one for myself.  It would be a necessary item if I wasn't turning on the stove or oven for a day.  But really, it would be so I could make a pot of baked beans while I was at work.

*8 pieces chicken (one breast counts as 2)

*1 large or 2 small bulbs fennel

1 Tb olive oil

*zest and juice of one lemon

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Drizzle oil in a large skillet with a lid and heat over medium.  Add chicken, skin side down, and let it sear while you slice the fennel as if Frenching an onion.  I used the tops too, but fennel is mostly sold as just the bulb.

2.  Turn chicken right side up.  Arrange fennel in pan around the chicken.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Add lemon juice and zest.  Add water to cover, bring to a low boil, then lower heat to a simmer.  This is as hard as it gets.

3.  Cover pot and simmer until thickest piece of chicken registers 165º on a food thermometer, about 35-45 minutes.  Serve chicken with pieces of fennel.

Difficulty rating  π

Black Bean Tamale Pie

I am never buying a 5 lb bag of masa harina again.  That is, if I ever run out of this one.  I like pupusas, but I don't make them every month.  And tamales are a project, even though you end up with weeks worth of them at the end.

But a tamale pie is simple.  I made a cornmeal-based one once that I liked.  This time, I thought I'd tackle one that started with a cup of masa flour.

I found a recipe for a vegetarian tamale pie with masa, but I wasn't thrilled with the filling.  Celery?  And I had finally gotten rid of all the corn.  So I'm going off on my own tangent for the filling.  As can you.  This cleared out my veggie drawer and used some tomatillo salsa because that's what I have and like.  And because I forgot to buy cilantro.  Feel free to change up ingredients.  I didn't make this spicy at all, but you could throw in jalapeños or a hot salsa.

As an aside, the only reason I skipped olives for my version is because I don't remember them being so expensive.  I need an olive tree.  The tiny can of basic, sliced black olives was $2.  I feel like they were under $1.50 the last time I bought some.  That felt like too much for a garnish.  I'll splurge on Kalamatas for that price, but not California ones.

Crust & Topping

*1 C masa harina
1 tsp kosher salt
*1/2 tsp chili powder
1 Tb olive oil
4 C water

1. Stir together the crust ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a low boil over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened.  It will be the consistency of warm polenta.

2.  Spread half of mixture in the bottom of an 8"x8" casserole and allow to set 5 minutes.  You actually do need to let it firm up.  I didn't, and the filling sank in quite a bit.  Keep the remainder warm, like over a bowl of simmering water or in a low oven.

Filling

*1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed, or 2/3 C dry, soaked and cooked
1 Tb olive oil
*1/2 diced onion (yellow or red)
*1 clove garlic, minced
*1 Roma tomato, diced, or 1/2 C red salsa
*1/2 C salsa verde
1/2 tsp cumin
salt to taste
*1 C shredded Cheddar or "Mexican" cheese blend
*1 green onion, chopped

1.  Start preheating oven to 375º.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium.  Cook onion until softened, 5 minutes.

2.  Add beans, tomato, salsa, garlic, and cumin and simmer until hot.  Taste and add salt.  Let most of the moisture boil off.  Again, I skipped that step, and it came up through the top crust a little.

3.  Sprinkle a light layer of cheese on the bottom crust of the casserole and sprinkle with some of the green onion.  Top with filling.  Stir remaining cheese into the other half of the masa, then pour on top.  Spread out masa to cover, including the edges.  Top with remaining green onion.

4.  Bake until masa is set, about 45 minutes.  Allow to cool and firm up for at least 30 minutes, or you end up with tamale soup.  If I had known that, I would have made it in the morning and reheated it later.  Oh, and the soup will burn your mouth.  But it's really good.  Garnish with your favorite things like sour cream, avocado, cilantro, and/or limes.

tamale soup

Difficulty rating  :)

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

 

I had just a bit of roasted pumpkin in the freezer from my home-grown pumpkins last year.  I've been having more breakfasts at home lately, choosing to get up a little early and eat a small something before a 5am shift, in case my first break isn't until after 8.  My weekly challah doesn't always make it the whole week because of that, so I needed something else.

Sally's Baking Addiction had a pumpkin coffee cake recipe without eggs, which has knocked it way up on searches.  Pumpkin is one of those ingredients that works as an egg or oil replacement, like applesauce or banana.  This recipe also uses very little butter.  I needed the 8x8 casserole for something else that day and cut the recipe in half to fit in a loaf pan, which also makes it four breakfast-sized servings.  The recipe acknowledges it makes a lot of crumb topping, so I cut that in quarters.  I like crumb, but not as half the cake.

This version is going to simplify the spice listing by calling for pumpkin pie spice.  Most bakers with extra purée in the freezer to use up also have a half-used jar of pie spice.  If you are using defrosted pumpkin, make sure to mix the water back in.  Some will have separated from the purée while it was in the freezer.  I drained mine off, which might have made it too dry, but fresh is different than canned.

Crumb

2 Tb flour
2 Tb brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tb cold butter

1.  Stir together flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

2.  Cut in butter until mixture kind of looks like rolled oats.  Chill until ready to use.

Cake

1 C flour (125g) spooned in, not scooped
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1-1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
*1/2 C pumpkin purée
1/4 C brown sugar
1/4 C vegetable oil
2 Tb maple syrup
*2 Tb milk or buttermilk

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Coat a regular loaf pan with baking spray.

2.  In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pie spice.  Sally was serious about not overdoing the flour.  If in doubt, weigh it.  In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together remaining ingredients.  I was using powdered buttermilk, so that went in the dry and the water for it went in the wet.  Also note, since I was using roasted mashed pumpkin instead of commercial purée, the consistency and water content will be different than what you get out of a can.

3.  Stir wet ingredients into dry.  It will form a thick batter, almost like a scoopable cookie dough.  Mine was very thick, so I added another tablespoon of milk just so I could work with it.  Again, because the water content of the pumpkin was not regulated.  Spread in loaf pan.  Sprinkle top with crumb.

4.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan, then serve.  If desired, you can glaze it with a drizzle of powdered sugar glaze or even just powdered sugar.  I was happy with it being a little less sweet than the average coffee cake.  If I had made the full amount of crumble, it would have been too sweet.

Makes 4 breakfast/dessert servings or 6-8 snack slices

Difficulty rating  :)

Cabbage and Pear Slaw

 

One of the things I have to use up is my ridiculous nut collection in the freezer.  There's only so much trail mix you can eat.  I decided to add nuts to a salad and have it with the brisket.  For some reason, I was really wanting cabbage.  Totally not my normal craving.  I skipped making sauerkraut or kimchi last year. Started a batch of kraut with the other 3/4 of the cabbage.

The basis for this salad came from the Germany chapter of my children's international cookbook.  They even had the idea to wilt this into a cooked salad if you didn't want crisp.  I just changed the dressing a tiny bit.

Unlike most American slaw, you don't add sugar to this one.  The pear adds the sweetness, so you're going to get a lot of tang from the vinegar.  If it's really not to your liking, you can add some honey to tame it.

8 C shredded cabbage (about 1/2 lb)
*1/2 tsp celery salt
1 pear, ripe but not mushy (I used a Bartlett)
*1/4 C mayo
1 Tb cider vinegar
milk as needed
*1/4 C peanuts, halved or chopped

1.  Place cabbage shreds in a large skillet or soup pot with a lid.  Sprinkle with celery salt and cover.  Cook on medium low until wilted, stirring every few minutes.  It should reduce by half.  Set aside to cool.

2.  Core the pear and dice into 1/2" pieces.  Add to cooled cabbage.

3.  Whisk together mayo and vinegar.  Thin with milk until the consistency of Ranch dressing, about 1-2 Tb.

4.  Pour dressing over cabbage.  Toss to combine and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Garnish with peanuts.

Difficulty rating  :)

Taste-Testing the Stash

Since I didn't eat the packaged Indian convenience food while I was home with Covid, it was getting close to its best-by date.  I had bought it as a shelf-stable lunch option in case I was without power at some point, but you should really try something like that before you need it.  It looked like a nice eggplant stew on the label.

What I didn't notice when I bought it was the dial at the bottom that said it's Medium heat.  Well, I already shelled out over $4, so that was too late.

I made some rice (the brand does sell pre-cooked rice) and microwaved it according to the package directions.  It looked and smelled pretty good.  Just in case, I poured it out to the side of the rice instead of on top of it.

It wasn't overly spicy.  Not "mild", but definitely something you didn't need to top with yogurt.  But I did expect more flavor out of something with 20% of your daily salt.

So, was it worth it?  It wasn't bad.  Will I buy it again?  Probably not.  Yes, it's a lot healthier than Chef Boyardee, but I could make something a lot better in a fondue pot or on the grill if the problem is a lack of cooking heat.  Maybe I'm spoiled by cooking almost all my own food from scratch.  People who open packages on a regular basis probably love meals like this.

The search continues for more varieties of shelf-stable, nutritious meals.

Freezing Lemons

 

It's citrus season.  My tree is not very healthy, but it's putting out more lemons than I can use.  I'm still working on the last of the preserved lemons from last year.

What I didn't realize is how much lemons cost in the market these days.  I asked at work if anyone wanted some, and two people jumped at the offer.  So I figured I should find another way to preserve my harvest, preferably one with less salt involved.

It turns out you can freeze citrus.  There are multiple ways to do it, and ways to use them once they are frozen.  You can put them in whole and grate off the amount you need while it's still a solid sphere, seeds and all.  You can wedge or slice them prior to freezing.  You can juice them and freeze the juice in ice trays to drop into whatever recipe needs a bit of lemon juice.  And while dehydrated or freeze-dried zest is best for using in recipes if you don't have fresh, frozen works too.

I chose to quarter a few and freeze the smallest one whole.  I set them on the toaster oven's broiler pan that had been lined with wax paper.  I froze them flat like that for two hours, then transferred them to a freezer baggie for storage.  The next time I want a squeeze of fresh lemon and don't have any ready on the tree, I can pull one out a couple of hours before and have my lemon wedge.  That won't be for a while, since the 18 lemons I could reach without a ladder barely made a dent.