Stevia-Sweetened Lemonade

Steve the stevia plant is doing very well.  No idea why, since all of my gardening adventures involve planting something and hoping it ends well.  I tried making an herbal brew of basil, mint, stevia, and black tea.  It was delicious, but ended up far too sweet.  Then I thought that "too sweet" is never a problem for lemonade and gave this a try.

Given that the average person does not have an overgrown stevia plant in the front yard, I'm going to try to adjust this for granulated, store-bought stevia, based on my own experience making lemonade with erythritol.  Which now has been found to be not good for you.  Come on, science, I need a way to cut back on sugar naturally.  Cane sugar, in moderation, is turning out to be the least damaging sweetener there is.

*3-4 lemons
1 Tb stevia granules or *2 generous sprigs fresh

1.  To make the sweet base, combine 1 C water, stevia, and the peel of half of the lemons in a small saucepan.  Bring to a light boil, then lower to a simmer for 5 minutes.  Allow to cool to room temperature naturally.

2.  Juice the lemons, which should get you about 3/4 to 1 cup of juice.

3.  Strain solids out of the now-yellow water and combine with the juice.  Add enough cold water to make 4 cups, stir, and taste.  Add more stevia to taste and chill until ready to serve.

Makes one quart

Difficulty rating  π

Creamy Chicken and Rice

Ok, sometimes you just have to go for easy comfort food.  I first had a version of this on a school camping trip.  If you can make it over an open flame, it isn't that hard.

This time, I opted for a wild rice blend from the bins at Sprouts, but a box of pilaf is how I was introduced to this dish.  I was originally going to use my last can of store-bought canned chicken, but used some of the failed seals from the canning session instead.  You can also use leftovers.  Cooked chicken is nice to have on hand, in whatever form you keep it.

At its most basic, this is a pantry meal, but I jazzed it up a tiny bit with fresh onion and celery since I wasn't using a box flavor packet.  I also ended up dumping the peas into it instead of cooking a side veggie, as originally planned.  It was an open bag, so might as well.

1 Tb olive oil or butter
*1 C diced onion
*2 ribs celery, diced
1 C wild rice blend, or box mix like pilaf
1-1/2 C water or chicken broth, plus more to thin
*2 C shredded chicken, or one 10-12 oz can
*1 can cream of chicken soup
salt and pepper to taste
frozen peas or other small veggie, optional

1.  In a large pot or soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the diced onion and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add rice and toast, stirring to coat all the grains.

2.  Add water or broth, bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.  Some brands and blends will require more water or a longer cooking time.

3.  Stir in chicken and veggies, if using.  Stir in cream of chicken soup and enough water or broth to thin to desired consistency.  Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.  Since I didn't use a box mix, the chicken wasn't salted, and I found a no-salt cream of chicken, I actually added quite a lot.  Still, I would rather add it myself than have every element of the casserole bring more sodium to the party.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating  π

Vegetarian Zuppa Toscana

I've never actually had Olive Garden's zuppa Toscana, mainly because I'm not a huge fan of Italian sausage.  I do like it on pizza, because there generally isn't a lot of it.  Most of the vegetarian versions use plant-based sausage, which defeated the purpose for me, until I found recipes using white beans and compensating by adding in the sausage spices.  That's what I wanted.  Also, there's a significant amount of kale in it, because that's still a thing in the garden.

I probably should have used cannellini beans, being an Italian recipe, but I don't have any at the moment.  I didn't realize they're part of the kidney bean family.  Think I'm going to put them on my hypothetical bean-canning list, but only one pound, if I can even find them.  I only use them a couple of times a year.

I did have to buy sun-dried tomatoes, which assume the flavor profile of the bacon for this recipe.  I admit, I got a super late start on my tomatoes this year, like by three months, but I had hoped to have more than a couple by now.  Without any of my own oven-dried to put in the soup, I opted for the dried ones in pouches, rather than the canned ones in oil.  They do have to be refrigerated after opening, but you can reseal the package and cram it in anywhere.  Jars tend to leak if they're not upright.

2 Tb olive oil
1 C diced yellow or white onion
*2 ribs celery, diced (optional, but I like celery in a cream soup)
*3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Italian seasoning (or enough of related dried herbs to equal 2 tsp)
*1/2 tsp dried fennel seed, optional
2 Tb sun-dried tomatoes, cut in small pieces
chili flakes to taste, optional
salt and pepper to taste
*1/4 C white wine, optional, or extra broth
2 C drained white beans, veggie Italian sausage, or diced mushrooms
*4 C vegetable broth
1-1/2 lb Yukon gold potatoes, cut in bite-sized pieces
*1 C half & half or 1 can evaporated milk
*3-4 C kale, de-stemmed and chopped
*Parmesan cheese for serving

1.  Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Cook onion and celery until softened.  Add Italian seasoning, garlic, fennel, sun-dried tomatoes, chili flakes, and a little salt and pepper.  You don't want to over-season before the broth goes in.  Cook until fragrant, another 3 minutes.

2.  If using mushrooms or sausage, add to pan and cook until browned.  Deglaze pot with wine, if using, or a generous splash of broth.  Add remaining broth, potatoes, and beans if using.  Bring to a low boil.  Cover, lower heat to a strong simmer, and cook until potatoes are done, about 15 minutes.  Actual time will vary based on size of pieces.

3.  Add half and half and kale.  You'll be surprised how creamy the soup gets with only a cup of milk.  Keep at a simmer until kale is wilted, about 5 minutes.  Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan.

Serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as an appetizer

Difficulty rating  :)

Chocolate Mint Pudding Pie

I started losing weight again.  Sigh, sugar makes me feel weird and cutting carbs makes me underweight.  So, we're compromising with keto pie filling in a regular graham crust.  It didn't make me gain weight, but things stabilized.

I invented this as I went along, hoping it would set up.  The thing about a "no-bake" dessert is that they sometimes take longer than a baked one, with tons of dishes.  I wanted this to stay easy and without too many ingredients.  This did come together in under ten minutes, plus chilling time, so mission accomplished.

*1 pre-made graham or chocolate cookie crust
* 8 oz block cream cheese
*3 Tb creme the menthe liqueur or 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
*1 4-serving package chocolate pudding (sugar-free ok)
*2 C milk
*1/2 C mini chocolate chips, optional
*whipped cream for garnish

1.  In mixer with the paddle, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Scrape down, add liqueur or extract, and beat again until incorporated.

2.  Add first cup of milk to cheese and beat until the cream cheese breaks up into it.  Switch to the whisk and add rest of milk and the pudding mix.  Whip on 4 or so until pudding thickens, 2-4 minutes.  If desired, stir in chocolate chips.

3.  Pour pudding mixture into pie crust.  Chill until set, at least 2 hours.  Garnish with whipped cream, extra chips, or even crushed peppermints.  Serve chilled or lightly frozen.

Makes one pie, 6-8 servings

Difficulty rating  π

Korean-Inspired Quinoa

I had one jar left from this year's batch of kimchi to finish before thinking of making more.  It kept staring at me every time I opened the fridge.  Also, I'm going to need more pint jars back if I keep canning things.

Now, using kimchi and Bibigo sauce doesn't automatically make a dish Korean, and quinoa is American.  That's why I'm calling this "inspired" and not putting a non-American label on it.  It's a vaguely Asian quinoa bowl, and quite yummy, which I don't always say when I make quinoa.  With so much going on, you don't even notice that it's also vegan and gluten-free (vegan assuming the kimchi is).

1 acorn squash
1 Tb olive oil
*1 C dry quinoa, any color
*2 C kimchi
*2 ribs celery
1 package firm tofu
*1/4 C (ish) Korean BBQ sauce

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Line a sheet pan with parchment or foil for easier clean-up.  Wash acorn squash and cut in half stem to blossom end.  Scoop out seeds and slice into wedges.  Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet and rub lightly with oil.  Roast 20 minutes, flip, and roast until cooked through, about another 10 to 15 minutes.

2.  While the squash is roasting, cook the quinoa according to package directions.  This will probably include rinsing to remove any saponins.  Don't skip that step.

3.  Thinly slice the celery.  It's really optional, but I liked the non-fermented crunch added to an otherwise soft dish.  Cut the tofu into smaller slabs any size you would like for your presentation.

4.  When all the elements are ready, you can make a large serving bowl or portions.  Spoon quinoa into the bowl first.  Arrange squash, tofu, celery, and kimchi on top.  Drizzle with sauce.  It's tempting to put on a lot of sauce, but the kimchi brings its own flavor that you don't want to drown out.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating  π

Ugly Chicken

This is a pressure-canning post.  Just getting that out of the way now, in case you have zero interest in the subject.

Leisa Sutton at Suttons Daze coined the term "ugly chicken" to describe raw pack, pressure-canned chicken, and it has kind of become a thing in the canning community.  If you've ever opened a store-bought can of chicken, you know it isn't the prettiest thing.  It also smells kind of off for half a minute.  Now imagine it in a glass canning jar instead of a metal can.  No one would buy it.

Cans of chicken (10 to 12 ounces) are running almost four dollars.  I don't use it a lot, but it's nice to have a few in the pantry for salads, soups, and casseroles.  I waited a couple of months after getting the Presto for boneless/skinless breasts to go on sale for $2 per pound, the maximum I'm willing to spend on this product with current prices.

You can use any cut of chicken for this project, including bone-in.  Leisa makes her life easier by using B/S, and I agree.  I'm terrible at cooking B/S breasts in the oven or on the stove, but pressure canning is steaming it in its own juices at 250º, which is pretty hard to mess up as long as you do it at the correct pressure for the right amount of time.  It's just cut up, stuff in jars, and go for it.

To follow along, here's the link to the National Center For Home Food Preservation's procedure, considered the current best practices and updated when necessary.  They do prefer using the hot pack method for poultry and mammals, but raw pack is acceptable and produces the texture I want in this particular product.  Raw pack is also one ingredient, fewer steps, and is frankly more consistent because par-cooking chicken is an iffy thing.

I bought a little over eight pounds of chicken, plus the very close to one pound from the bottom of the freezer.  Sheesh, it's been in there since last October.  I was expecting eight jars out of it, but the headspace math actually turned it into ten jars and I got out the extra rack.  There's a lot of headspace in canning meat, so it's 12 to 14 ounces per jar.  That's more than you get in a store bought can.

1.  Wash your jars, lids, and rings.  I canned in pints because it's 3-4 servings, and wide mouth because it's a bigger target so I wouldn't have to use a funnel.  For a large family, there are instructions for quarts.  I've pretty much decided the only thing I'll ever can in quarts is soup, and I haven't done that yet.  You don't need to sterilize jars for pressure canning.

2.  Prepare your canner according to manufacturer's instructions.  That may involve some minor maintenance.  I feel like I know how it works better than I know how my car runs.  Fewer parts.

3.  Cut chicken into manageable chunks and toss in the jars.  I didn't measure, but it was roughly the size I would cut them for grilling skewers.  I also put the packs in the freezer for half an hour first, to make them easier to cut, and ran the knife against the steel.  This part only took maybe a minute per pound, which is so different than making jam.  Lightly press the chicken pieces into the jars to make sure there aren't any huge air bubbles, but don't pack it super tight.  Leave 1-1/4" headspace, which is when you're sure it's below the rim that the band screws down to.  If you can't see the top of the chicken when the ring is on, you've over-filled it.

4.  Wipe the rims with vinegar to remove any debris and/or fat.  With jams and vegetables, you can generally get away with wiping with only water, but anything with fat in it definitely benefits from a vinegar cleaning.  Center lids, screw down bands finger-tight, and arrange jars in the canner.

5.  Follow the canner's instruction manual to vent and bring up to pressure.  The NCHFP link has a chart for pounds of pressure and time based on pints and quarts.  If you do a smaller jar, you still have to follow the pint time.  Then you get to sit around for a minimum of 75 minutes to keep an eye on the gauge or listen for the jiggler.  You actually don't have to watch it every second, but if it falls below pressure, you have to start the timer over again.  I have gotten used to finding the sweet spot on the gas dial remarkably fast, so I only check on it every five minutes or if I hear something unexpected.

6.  When the time is up, turn off the heat and follow the instruction manual on how to safely lower the pressure and remove the lid.  You're probably going to be waiting on it another half hour.  All this time of waiting for the thing to boil, processing, and releasing pressure is part of the equation for safe canning.  It's going to take nearly three hours from lock to unlock, and that's what you signed up for when you bought the canner.

7.  Remove the jars to a mat or wood resting surface.  Never place a hot jar directly on a tile or stone countertop.  It will crack from thermal shock.  All that liquid that's now in the jar is the chicken's natural juices and can be used as stock.  If they're bubbling, that means they're probably going to seal, but not bubbling isn't an instant sign of failure.  I had three fails, which isn't terrible for a first try.  I knew at least one didn't make it when I could smell cooked chicken before opening the lid.  Let them rest a minimum of 8 hours and up to 24.  Test the seals.  Refrigerate any fails and use within a week.  For the sealed ones, remove the rings, wash in soapy water, date, and store.  They are best used within a year, but lids are generally guaranteed to 18 months and they can be safe for years if stored properly.  I expect ten jars to last me a year (including the fails, which are now in the freezer), so that will be $20 (including the lids) well spent.

Difficulty rating  π

Summer Garden Wins and Losses

I've been having a bit of an uneven success rate with this summer's garden.  I'm 99% sure it has to do with my use of the new brand of soil and compost/manure mix.  The other 1% is weather.  It got warm towards the end of June and never topped 85, which is perfect for what I planted, just a little late.

The other problem I had was a poor germination rate for some crops.  When I looked at the back of the carrot and cauliflower packages, they were almost 5 years old.  Ok, that's my fault, and I transplanted some other things into the locations I had set aside for them.

The hero of this summer's Pond garden is the lacinato kale.  It loves the compost amendment and all three are still going strong long after I thought I would have to pull them.  I gave my boss some because I can't eat it all.  I've been harvesting every couple of weeks and chopping it up for the freezer.  I'm going to have to cook it up frequently over the winter, before the next round starts producing.

Another winner is the stevia.  I'm trimming it every few weeks, like I did the year the basil did well, and it is responding in a similar manner.  I've almost filled a quart jar with dried leaves, and have tried using fresh ones in my teas.

I'm finally getting eggplant.  The plant hated the mid-seventies weather that I personally love.  Once summer truly hit, it grew by leaps and bounds and started to flower at the end of July.  That didn't help the meal plans I had made, assuming there would be some before then, so I had to buy eggplant for those.

My attempt at green beans in the Dollar Tree planters was a bust, but I'm blaming the soil.  Same with the beans in the window box and 6" pots against the wall, which were all from the same batch of soil mix.  The same packets of seeds in the Pond are going to town.  I'm going to try lettuces and herbs this winter in the Dollar Tree planters with a more broad-spectrum vegetable potting soil like Miracle-Gro.  And fresh seeds.

I don't think I've mentioned my bowl of herbs from a free packet of seeds in a long time.  A few dill, basil, and one savory survived.  I can't seem to grow marjoram to save my life.  Really, a mint-family plant I can't grow?  I'm going to set up another bowl once the weather cools and give it another try.  I still have plenty of seeds in the packet.

The mystery gourd in the front yard is a pumpkin, but I can't get it to produce mature female flowers.  The tomato plants in that area are producing, but not well.  That spot is always a challenge, and I did get a boatload of thyme out of it last year, so it isn't a total loss.  The pumpkins in the Pond are much closer to fruiting.

I'm already starting next year's celery, since that needs about three months of babying before it can be transplanted.  Broccoli, kale, and herbs will be started in the next couple of weeks.  I'm going to direct-sow lettuces, but that has to wait until it is reliably under 80, preferably with nights below 60.

Quick Taco Salad

Continuing the themes of opening cans to find out what I might like to pressure can and meals that take less effort because I'm closing more often, I threw together a pretty taco salad.  I used leftover pitas instead of buying tortillas or chips, but it's the same thing.

A lot of the pantry videos I watch for ideas are from people with huge families.  There aren't that many out there from singles or couples.  I have to keep in mind that what they eat in a day would feed me for a week.  Odds are, when I do get around to canning beans, I'm going to do a couple of pounds of two or three varieties to make a full canner load and call it for the year, as I seem to be opening one or two cans of beans a month.  It still saves a lot of money over buying canned, plus I get the bonus of not having to search for the one or two cans of No Salt Added on the shelf.

Even with going out to the garden to harvest kale, dicing half an onion, and cutting up the tomatoes instead of using canned, this cold salad took about fifteen minutes to throw together.  The first night, I did it as layers for the photo, but I tossed the leftovers, put them on top of freshly shredded kale, and finished them with salsa and cheese until the salad was gone.

*4 C fresh chopped lettuce, spinach, or kale
*1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
*1 can kernel corn, drained and rinsed
2 Roma tomatoes, diced, or one can diced tomatoes, drained
1 C diced red onion
1 diced or pickled jalapeño, optional
*1 C salsa verde
*sliced black olives, avocado, shredded cheese, and sour cream for garnish

1.  In serving bowl or on plates, layer washed and dried lettuce, beans, corn, diced tomato, and onion.

2.  Spoon salsa over the salad evenly and let it percolate through the ingredients.

3.  Top with garnishes of choice.  Yes, I used kalamata olives instead of regular black.  I had an open jar in the fridge, but black would have tasted more appropriate.  And that's artichoke instead of avocado, because I got a couple of surprise buds past the usual season.  Serve chilled with tortillas or chips on the side.

Difficulty rating  π

Pesto Turkey Burgers

I keep joking about using pesto instead of ketchup because I made so much of it, but it sounded really good as part of a burger.  I had grilling on the menu plan, then it took an unusually long time to get home from work, so we're doing this in the oven.  Trying to be flexible.

I've been slacking off on the whole Mediterranean, low-carb thing, and started to feel early symptoms of insulin resistance again.  Recent posts have included pie, cake, and cookies, so not a complete surprise.  I suspect that a nasty cold that insisted on testing negative and all the otc remedies I took for it didn't help.  So, instead of hamburger buns, I opted to have these burgers on top of some farro.  Back to plenty of protein, whole grains, and vegetables.  I like these foods, but it's starting to feel a little restrictive, a year and a half on.

So here we are: two ingredients, mix together, shape into patties, and toss in the oven.  I didn't realize the ground turkey was going to be so soft, so it's just as well I didn't try to grill them.  Half of it probably would have fallen through.  You could do these on a countertop grill, or in a grill pan.  I was already preheating the oven and wasn't in the mood to change the plan again.

*1 lb ground turkey
*1/2 C pesto

1.  Preheat outdoor grill, stovetop or electric griddle, or oven to 350º.  In a bowl, knead together turkey and pesto until uniform.  Divide into four portions.

2.  Shape mixture into patties.  Remember that meat seizes up as it cooks and make them flatter and wider than you think you need to.

3.  Place burgers on cooking surface and cook to an internal temperature of 165º.  Remember, this is ground poultry; there is no rare.  In the oven, this took about half an hour.  It will likely be quicker on the grill or stove.

4.  Serve on buns with the fixings, or with grains, pasta, or in a wrap.

Difficulty rating  π

Sweet & Sour Sheet Pan Dinner

I haven't done a sheet pan in a while, possibly because it's kind of warm to turn on the oven.  But, it was bread-baking week and it was going to be on half the day anyway, so I decided to throw in some roasting veggies at the end.

I do miss when I used to go grocery shopping twice a week, on cooking days.  Ultimately, I spend less and plan more this way, but it means I have to strategize my fresh produce usage.  I used the cucumber and ripe tomatoes at the start of the week and the root vegetables and brassicas at the end.  It's all about what stores best.  For the mushrooms, I bought whole instead of sliced and crossed my fingers they wouldn't go bad.

As I continue to decide what I want to try pressure canning, I'm looking for ways to open and use store-bought canned goods.  Up this week was kidney beans.  I thought they would make a nice, meat-like addition to a vegan meal.  Some of the Brussels sprouts I bought were kind of icky by the time I got to this, so I emptied the rest of a bag of edamame beans from the freezer to green it up.  When I pulled the pan out of the oven, the wonderful colors and contrasts convinced me it was the right choice.

I opened a jar of home-canned sweet and sour sauce to complete this dish.  You can make your own with my recipe or buy your favorite brand.

1 lb carrots
1 lb Brussels sprouts
8 oz whole or sliced mushrooms
1 small onion (red or white) or *1 bunch green onions
1 Tb olive oil
*1 15 oz can kidney beans
*1 C shelled edamame
1 to 1-1/2 C sweet and sour sauce
rice for serving

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Line a baking sheet with parchment for easy cleaning.

2.  Wash and peel carrots.  Cut into desired shapes.  I went for round and about 1/2" thick.  Place in a medium bowl.  Wash and trim bottoms off sprouts and add to bowl.  If whole, remove stems from mushrooms, wash, and cut into bite-sized pieces, like halves or quarters.  Wash onion, peel, and slice into 2" pieces.  For a red or white, that's sliced and cut in quarters.  For green, just 2" lengths.

3.  Once all the veggies are in the bowl, toss with olive oil.  If your sauce is on the bland side for you, toss in a bit of chili flakes.  Spread evenly on the baking sheet.

4.  Roast veggies for 20 minutes.  This is a good time to make your rice.  Drain and rinse kidney beans and edamame.  My edamame were from frozen, so I just rinsed them with the kidneys to defrost.  Add them to the baking sheet and continue to roast until the veggies are as done as you like them, about 10 more minutes.

5.  Serve veggies with rice and spoon over the sauce.

Difficulty rating  π

Greek Salad with Lentils

I had no idea what to have with the arayes.  A leafy salad seemed appropriate, but uninspired.  Then I ran across some leftover feta and started scrambling for the rest of the ingredients for this.  All I needed to pick up was a cucumber and a couple of tomatoes, and here we are.

One of the best features of a salad like this is that you can make it ahead and it won't get soggy.  It actually gets better as the dressing marinates the vegetables.  I made the lentils in the morning and tossed together the rest as the arayes were cooking, but the leftovers were at least as good as day one.

1/2 C brown lentils
*1/2 red onion
1 cucumber
1 lb Roma tomatoes
2 Tb white wine vinegar
3 Tb olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tb Italian seasoning
*1/2 tsp dried mint (optional)
kalamata olives and *feta for garnish

1.  Sort and rinse lentils.  I found an unusual amount of non-lentil debris in half a cup, including a split pea.  Add water to cover by one inch.  Bring to a low boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until lentils are split, about 40 minutes.  Drain.  This can be done up to 24 hours ahead.

2.  Peel onion, quarter, and slice.  I actually used one of my gigantor green onions, since I had used the white part of it for the arayes.  The light green parts were still plenty for this.  Peel and cut cucumber in chunks, and cut the tomatoes in chunks.  Toss vegetables together with lentils in a bowl.

3.  For the dressing, whisk together vinegar, oil, salt, and herbs.  Pour over salad and toss to coat.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

4.  To serve, either put in a bowl or serve on plates.  Top with olives and feta.

Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side

Difficulty rating  π

Rugelach

I'm not a super fan of rugelach, but they are what I tend to snack on after Shabbat services most weeks.  They have chocolate ones.  I have leftover cherry filling from the cake, so that's what I'm making first.  It was also one of the photos on the can.

For those who have never heard of them, they're cookies from Eastern Europe that are popular in the Ashkenazi Jewish community.  Properly pronounced ruh'-ge-luch', with the "ch" being a glottal stop, they're more commonly pronounced rug'-uh-luh, or "you know, those yiddish cookies".

What I did not realize until I bookmarked Ina Garten's widely respected recipe, from her book Barefoot Contessa Parties!, was that these are essentially shortbread cookies.  No egg, lots of butter, and cream cheese to hold it together.  It makes four dozen, so I made up one quarter and froze the other three as discs.  I can defrost, fill with whatever I want, and bake off the rest at a later date.  Chocolate ganache or Nutella make great chocolatey fillings if you aren't into my cherry or Ina's fruit and nut.  A thick layer of cinnamon sugar is also a good flavoring.

I'm only posting the dough recipe, so please refer to the links if you want the whole thing and a video.  Without filling, you could also make these as eggless rolled or refrigerator cookies.  They would be a touch on the bland side, so a chocolate dip or drink for dunking would be in order.

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 sticks (1 C, 1/2 lb) unsalted butter, also room temperature
1/4 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour, plus more for rolling

1.  Realize there are equal parts fat and flour in this recipe, get over it, and move on.

2.  Cream together cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer with the paddle.  Scrape down and beat a little more.  Add salt, sugar, and vanilla and beat 1 minute.  Scrape down and beat again.

3.  With mixer on low, slowly add the flour until evenly blended.  Liberally flour a work surface and pour out dough onto it.

4.  Divide dough into 4 pieces.  I did it by weight, and Siri comes in handy when your hands are doughy to do math for you.  Shape each quarter into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 1 hour or freeze for later.  Use this time to prepare your filling.

5.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.  Roll out each disc on a floured board into a 9" circle.  Spread filling all over the circle, including the outer edge.  Cut in 12 wedges.  Roll each wedge from the outside in.  Transfer to baking sheet, point down.  Chill for 30 minutes.

6.  Preheat oven to 350º.  If desired, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with an appropriate garnish like sugar, cocoa, nuts, or coconut.  Bake 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.  Allow to cool several minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a rack.  Cool on a rack before dusting with powdered sugar or a drizzle of icing, if using.

Makes 4 dozen

Difficulty rating  :)