Floptimism goes South of the Border (Omelet, that is)!


There’s a reason I couldn’t pass up telling you about what I named the South of the Border Egg White Omelet on this wonderful, wonderful fall day. (How often is it that I use “wonderful” to describe gloomy, rainy weather?) You see, as I’m writing this entry about this fiesta-worthy breakfast (or lunch or dinner), I’m also packing to go South of the Border myself! Yes, that’s right - tomorrow bright and early I will be boarding a plane to Cancun, and I’m both excited and nervous (excited for obvious reasons, nervous because I spent just a little too long on the CDC website in preparation for the trip). I thought that I’d be able to be a little bit more smug about this trip – you’d think that with December rolling in, the weather here would be cold enough to make most people bright green with envy. And true, I’m still smiling a little obnoxiously when I tell people where I’m going, but it certainly doesn’t have the same edge. Which is probably a good thing.

In any event, this trip means a few things for Floptimism: (1) You won’t be hearing from me for a while. I’ll have limited internet access, so I doubt I’ll be writing any updates. You may see me on Twitter now and then – maybe even some pictures of the foods I encounter (do I smell another Food Diary post a-brewing?), but until Monday I’ll be more or less MIA (2) I’ll be missing yet another Thirty Minute Thursday post. I chose not to write one last week on Thanksgiving, and will be skipping out again. The good news is that the post I have planned for next Thursday features two recipes, so that almost makes up for it, right?

Now back to this omelet. It wasn’t spicy despite the jalapeno (don’t remove the seeds if you like it really hot), but it was still incredibly good. Don’t be afraid of the pepper like I was! The omelet is creamy, satisfying, and bursting with fresh cilantro flavor – ironic, since my cilantro came from a little tube. Plus, it shares this one, beautiful characteristic of pretty much any egg dish – it’s easy and perfect for any time of day. In fact, I rarely eat eggs in the morning, but I probably have them for lunch at least a few times each week. This is one of the ways I get creative with my meals – I love finding new and interesting additions to eggs, especially omelets. I’ve done everything from savory veggies to sweet fruit, added a nut coating, eating as a low carb meal or wrapping it all up in a flatbread. There’s not much that you can’t do with eggs, so use this recipe as a guideline and adjust it however you see fit. Feel free to use whole eggs or a combination if you prefer – I chose all egg whites this time, but will often mix 1 whole egg with some liquid egg whites, and just recently made a fantastic omelet with two bright yellow, almost orange fresh local eggs. (As a side note, if you haven’t yet experienced the magic of really local, well-raised eggs…save up $4 and give them a shot because they are worth it, down to the very last penny.)

So go ahead and make this! It’s not quite the same as going to Cancun, but hey – at least you don’t have to worry about the state of the drinking water in your kitchen, right? (Oh, the horror stories that have found their way into my impressionable little brain…)




South of the Border Egg White Omelet
Yield: 1 serving

The Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/8 onion, sliced
½ jalapeno, chopped
1 cup spinach
½ lean chicken sausage link
1/3 – ½ cup egg whites
chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder & paprika, to taste
½ tomato, chopped
1 (heaping) tablespoon plain, non-fat greek yogurt

The Method
Heat 1-2 teaspoons of oil in the pan and add the onion slices and jalapeno, cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add in the spinach and chicken sausage, cooking until the spinach mostly (but not completely) wilts. Remove mixture from the pan and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan, following by the egg whites. Season with the herbs and spices and cook, lifting up the sides of the omelet as it sets to let the runnier parts hit the pan to cook. When the omelet bubbles, flip it for around 10 seconds, just to finish firming up the opposite side, then transfer to a plate.

Top with the spinach-sausage mixture, chopped tomato, guacamole and yogurt.





 

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Warm Chicken & Mushroom Ragout


Most of the recipes I write about are ones that I’ve found and tried from various other sources – the internet, magazines, cookbooks. It’s relatively rare that I write about a Floptimism Original. In the beginning, this was because there really weren’t many Floptimism Originals – I still had on my kitchen training wheels and didn’t tend to branch out into the world of culinary creations. Even now, with  a full bookshelf of cookbooks of my own (not to mention the full other bookshelf of my mom’s), literally thousands of recipes in my Firefox bookmarks, and a stack of food magazines that just about reaches the moon, I tend to play it safe with the genius already created by others. I also tend to let my creative juices out in meals other than dinner. I love thinking up new ways of combining odds-and-ends ingredients for lunch or finding a breakfast dish that will break the monotony that I can sometimes fall into, or even looking at my dessert stash and inventing some concoction from an array of lesser ingredients. Somehow, though, I never view these “recipes” as, well, recipes! They just seem like dishes I throw together, and aren’t “complicated” enough or “legitimate” enough for their own post.

Every so often, though, I hit the jackpot, and I really do make an honest-to-goodness recipe. One good example is my idea for a chicken ragout, of sorts, that I made for the first time last semester. It was…good. I enjoyed it. But the sauce wasn’t as thick as I had wanted it to be and the chicken was a little chewy. The pine nuts got very lost in the dish and the herbs could have definitely been kicked up a notch. As tempted as I was to share it with you right then, I waited, biding my time until another opportunity to make it presented itself.

Just over a month ago such an occasion arose, and I took my notes and tried to improve the recipe. I tweaked the preparation method and modified the ingredients. I even added a dusting of parmesan cheese to it the second time around, but I really don’t think it was necessary (unless you’re a die-hard cheese lover, then, by all means, go for it). The second attempt was so much better! The chicken wasn’t chewy at all, and the sauce really tasted like something I’d get at a restaurant. This is definitely the kind of dish that cold weather calls for, so if Mother Nature ever decides to make winter happen around here (is it just my neighborhood or is it crazy warm for the end of November right now?), add this to your arsenal and make it happen. I’ve paired it with sautéed spinach and Brussels sprouts, and enjoyed both alongside the chicken. If low-carb isn’t your cup of tea, add a nice hearty loaf of bread. You won’t be sorry.


 Chicken Ragout
Yield: 4 servings

The Ingredients
15 ounces chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 can (15 ounces) no salt added diced tomatoes
1 ½ cups mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
½ - 1 cup pine nuts, toasted
¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese (optional)
1 bag spinach

The Method
Preheat the oven to 350° and lightly grease a glass baking dish.

Caramelize the onion slices in the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium or medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 10-15 minutes. Add in the garlic and mushrooms and cook an additional 4-5 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes and herbs and allow to reduce and thicken slightly, approximately 5 minutes.

Butterfly normal-sized breasts or use thin-sliced chicken, and place in them in the prepared baking dish. Top with the mushroom sauce and bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Just before the chicken is ready, sauté the spinach in a scantily greased pan with a small amount of water.

Serve the chicken over the cooked spinach, topped with pine nuts and, if using, parmesan cheese.





 


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Need a Post-Turkey Day Detox? Try this Broccoli Sandwich!


Happy Black Friday! How is everyone recovering from last night’s festivities? I know that even though I enjoyed every last bite of everything I ate last night (think: pumpkin ravioli with lots of green veggies, finished off with a chocolate-hazelnut-raspberry layer cake and a few bites of vanilla cheesecake), it felt really nice to get back into my daily routine this morning. I had a glass of almond milk to help jumpstart my kick butt Jillian Michaels workout, and now I feel energized to power through some post-holiday baking to make up for the fact that my family opted for a restaurant Thanksgiving over a traditional, home-cooked meal this year.

If you’re feeling the drudgery of the effects of a perhaps gluttonous meal, or if you just want a downright tasty, healthy sandwich, consider saving those turkey leftovers for tomorrow and fixing yourself this herbed broccoli sandwich. It’s very simple, actually to the point where I might play around with more herbs and garlic next time, but it’s definitely different and completely enjoyable. I ate the broccoli mixture one night perched atop a parmesan biscuit with a slice of tomato, and the next day spread over a rice puff with some laughing cow cheese – both were delicious and light. It’s also an easy recipe without requiring too many strict measurements; just make sure you don’t cook the broccoli for too long (as I believe I did). Broccoli is a dish best served cold – from a nutritional perspective, that is – so the shorter the cooking time, the better. Plus, it just means you get to eat it faster, right?

If you’re braving the crowds at stores (I’ve always secretly wanted to stay up late for the experience, just once), I wish you luck. If you’re like me and are being more of a homebody today, rest up and have a nice, relaxing day. I don’t know about where you live, but here, the weather is just too beautiful not to find some way to enjoy it.


Herbed Broccoli Sandwich, courtesy of The Local Cook
Yield: 2-3 sandwiches

The Ingredients
1 cup broccoli
¼ cup onion
olive oil, for sautéing
basil, oregano, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes, to taste
cheese (optional)
2-3 servings of bread, biscuits or rice puffs
tomato slices, for serving (optional)

The Method
Chop the broccoli and onion in a food processor, then add to a skillet along with a small amount of olive oil. Saute until the broccoli turns bright green, then add all of the herbs and spices. If using cheese, assemble the sandwiches, top with cheese, and broil until melted. Otherwise, serve!






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From Fridge to Table: My First Roasted Turkey

You know, people really should warn you about the turkey neck. I knew about the gizzards, that little pouch of squishy organs that are best handled by not thinking too much about what, exactly, you’re removing from the body cavity. Everyone talks about them, so you know that when you buy a full turkey, you’re going to have to deal with them at some point. But no one ever talks about the neck. Why is that? I was fine with the gizzards. I pulled them out like a champ. But last Friday, home alone, just me, my puppy, and a fourteen pound bird, I was in for a rude awakening when the instructions on the turkey package instructed me to, ahem, “remove the neck from the body cavity.” Perplexed, I wondered many things – how will I know it’s the neck? Is it still attached? Should I get my kitchen shears? What if I remove the wrong thing? With no one or thing to consult, I figured the best solution was simply to reach in and see what I found. And so I did, and I caught hold of something and decided to pull. And out came what was probably just shy of a foot of actual, honest to goodness turkey neck. (I mean really, I don’t know what else I was expecting, but I was unpleasantly surprised nonetheless.) Well let me tell you, I just about fell smack on the floor and converted to vegetarianism right then and there.

Luckily, I persevered. I took a few deep breaths, choked back my silly tears, and neatly placed that awful, awful esophageal catastrophe to the side. I refocused on the task at hand, and six hours – yes, six! I’m apparently horrifically inefficient at carving a turkey – I had an aluminum foil container of turkey slices ready to go for the Thanksgiving Social my fellow Student Dietetic Association officers were throwing for our members. Phew

I have to say, I don’t really like turkey. I’ve actually decided to not really eat it – in its roasted, whole-bird form, anyway. In my constant wishy-washy dilemma between omnivorism and vegetarianism, I decided to cut out all superfluous sources of meat – the stuff I eat because it’s there and not because I particularly enjoy it. In this way, I can become more of a plant-based eater without denying my body the gustatory and nutritional benefits of the occasional portion of meat. Roasted turkey falls into the category of foods I can live without. In fact, most traditional Thanksgiving dishes don’t do a whole lot to excite me: I love sweet potatoes, just not sweet potato casserole; I like green beans, but not combined with canned soup and French’s crispy onions; I like real, homemade, tart-not-overly-sweet cranberry sauce but certainly not that jiggly stuff from a can; and, ok, I like pumpkin pie without just about any way you slice (and bake) it. There is always an exception to the rule.

Secretly, I want to have a Thanksgiving with stuffed acorn squash, roasted Brussels sprouts, ginger-and-orange infused cranberry sauce, and a good fall soup. I want to have so many pumpkin dishes I almost –almost! – get sick of the ingredient by the end of it – cornbread, cheesecake, ice cream, whoopee pies, rolls. Turkey? Eh. I found out that my family is going to a restaurant for Thanksgiving (that’s a whole other story – and yes, I’m still a bit grumpy about it), and if nothing else, I was satisfied to go over the menu and realize that I could have a pretty complete autumn dinner without a single bite of the bird.

But I know that isn’t the case for most people. I know there are people who look forward to next year’s Thanksgiving feast before their leftovers from that year are gone. And for those people, I have a very nice turkey recipe for you. It’s easy to make, very classic in its herbs and seasonings but not at all boring, and will pair well with pretty much any other side you choose to have. So, if you have your bird but are still searching for a good recipe, consider this one! Even I had to admit that it was pretty good.


 One Year Ago: Chicken Chutney One Pot

Sage Roasted Turkey, adapted from Healthy Green Kitchen
Yield: 1, 14-pound turkey (a whole lot of servings)

The Ingredients
1, 14-pound turkey
½ stick butter
1 tablespoon dried, ground sage
1 small apple, halved
2 onions
4 fresh thyme sprigs (or approximately 2 teaspoons dried)
3 carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 cups stock, plus more as needed
¾ cup apple cider

The Method
Clean and prepare your turkey and preheat the oven to 375°, positioned with one rack in the lowest position possible. Dry the turkey well.

Quarter 1 onion and place it, along with the apple halves and thyme, into the turkey cavity. Truss the turkey simply by tying its legs together and tucking the wing tips under. Scatter the remaining vegetables around the turkey in the roasting pan and add 2 cups of stock. Optionally, rub some additional dried sage (aside from the 1 tablespoon called for) under the turkey’s skin as best you can.

Meanwhile, melt the butter along with the sage in a small saucepan over low heat. Rub the butter-sage mixture all over the turkey’s skin. Place the roasting pan in the oven for 1 hour, basting with pan drippings and adding more stock or water 1-2 cups at a time, as needed.

Reduce the temperature after 1 hour to 350° and continue to cook for 45 minutes. Pour the apple cider over the turkey and continue roasting until a meat thermometer inserted into the thigh registers just around 165°, approximately 1 ¼ hours longer.1 Baste and turn the pan as needed to ensure even cooking.

Transfer the cooked turkey to a serving platter and tent loosely with foil for approximately 30 minutes before carving.

Notes:
1I found that my turkey was done just a few minutes after adding the apple cider, so definitely be vigilant about checking (just don’t open your oven door too much)!





 

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Blondie Brownie Candy Pie - a mouthful anyway you slice it!



Did you know that I have never posted a pie recipe on here before? I have shared cookies, layer cakes, sweet breads, fruit crisps, cupcakes, pastries, and practically every other kind of coma-inducing sugar bomb dessert ever invented. I have even posted one or two savory pies. But not once has a sweet blend of sugar, fruit and/or creamy confection ensconced in a buttery, flaky shell baked to golden-brown perfection made it onto this page. What is, perhaps, even more tragic is the reason that I haven’t shared a recipe for a dessert pie with you is not because I tried a recipe and it flopped, or I forgot to take a picture, or a million and a half other facets of life stepped in and forbade it; no, I haven’t written about pie before because, apparently, I had never made one.

Unless you count the apple pie I made with a friend from the Pillsbury refrigerated crusts back in high school in honor of Pi day.

For the sake of a good story, let’s not.

As it turns out, I think I’ll be attempting a classic pumpkin pie in honor of the big Turkey Day next week, but when I realized this epic culinary oversight on my part, I couldn’t even wait that long to right it. Luckily, I didn’t have to drop everything I was doing and whip up an impromptu dessert, because it just so happens that last week I did, in fact, bake a pie. Kind of. I say kind of because this wasn’t really a pie so much as it was a dessert baked in a pie dish, giving it the iconic shape without really any other overlapping characteristic. Still, pie is in the name, and so I have for you today Floptimism’s Very First Pie.

Does it surprise you that my first pie is actually called a Blondie Brownie Candy Pie, and that it is actually a layer of buttery blondie batter scattered with leftover Halloween candy doused in brownie batter iced with warmed chocolate chips and garnished with miniature m&m’s? No, I didn’t think it would. The chocoholic in me really is making up for all the lost time from when I was a little kid and eschewed all things chocolate unless preceded with the word “white.” I even ate white chocolate peanut butter cups. Yeah, they make them.

But anyway, back to this pie. Blondie. Brownie. Thing. It’s amazing. I mean, really, really good. My stumbling upon the recipe was even more fortuitous than my choosing to bake it just one week before realizing the sad truth of my lack of pie baking experiences. I was trying to find recipes that would use my leftover Halloween candy (how many other people grossly overestimated the amount of trick or treaters they would get? How many other people secretly intentionally did so to have an excuse to have leftovers for yourself? It’s ok, me too.), and I found this bad boy when I wasn’t even sitting down to conduct a formal search. It was just there, waiting for me, saying, “I know that I’m exactly what you’re looking for. You have no excuse.” And so I did the only thing someone in my position could do, really – I baked!

A few notes – I didn’t cut up the butter but as it goes into a pot to be melted, I don’t think that’s much of a problem. I used white whole wheat flour and it did not stop the boys in L’s dorm from devouring it (ok, I absolutely played a heavy hand in that too; I can’t pin it all on the male stomach being a bottomless pit). The blondie batter didn’t fully firm up in the freezer in 10 minutes as the recipe said, so after 12 or 13 I essentially threw in the towel and worked with it, anyway. It wasn’t too difficult. I melted the chocolate chips in the microwave on half power at 30 second intervals , though I tend to encourage avoiding microwaves whenever possible so a double boiler system on the stove would work wonderfully, too. Instead of the snickers bars that the original recipe called for (darn you hydrogenated oils!), I used what I had – a combination of Crunch and Krackle fun bars. I’m sure the pie wound up being less decadent in the end because of that change, but really, when you have something called a “Blondie Brownie Candy Pie” do you need the candy in it to be the most ridiculous thing in the world? It was plenty rich, and I really liked the crunch that the nougat gave. Just use whatever leftover candy you have on hand. You can’t go wrong.

I was worried that I had over-baked it, since I checked after 25 minutes and my toothpick was already clean as a whistle. Still, the pie turned out to be really soft and not overdone at all, so don’t get too concerned if you find the same thing happens to you (but if I were you, I’d check it a little earlier – maybe around 22 minutes – just to be sure). The blondie part on its own was a little bland and certainly won’t be my go-to stand alone blondie recipe, but taken with the rest of the dessert, I just about died and went to heaven. Add a little scoop of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream or pour a shot of Godiva white chocolate liqueur on top, and you’ll have me wrapped around your little finger. It was…phenomenal. And although I can’t really see myself running out and buying candy to use in this recipe again and again, it’s absolutely something I will be coming back to when I find myself with a bowl of leftover candy too big for even me to eat all of it on its own…and on my own. 



Blondie Brownie Candy Pie, adapted from Kitchen Daily
Yield: 1 pie (6-8 generous servings)

The Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) butter
½ cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
13 fun-size candy bars
additional candy, nuts, sprinkles, etc. for garnish1

The Method
Grease a 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray and set aside.

Melt the butter and brown sugar together over medium heat, bringing the mixture to a bubble. Remove from the heat to cool for 10 minutes.

Add 1 egg and the vanilla to the pan and, using a non-metal utensil, mix well. Stir in the flour and baking powder until the batter smooths out. Measure out ¾ cup of the batter and scrape it onto the pie plate without spreading it out. Place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, until firm.

Just before the reserved batter is ready to come out of the freezer, preheat the oven to 350° and melt ½ cup of the chocolate chips. Add the melted chips, remaining egg, and cocoa powder into the batter that was not placed in the freezer. Set aside.

Once the freezer batter is firm, press it into an even layer across the entire plate and halfway up the sides. It’s ok if the layer is extremely thin; as long as no bits of glass show through, it’s enough. Top with your candy bars of choice, and then pour the brownie batter over all of it. Smooth out with a spatula before placing in the oven to bake 24-27 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out with moist crumbs from the center.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips, and let it sit for 5 minutes, or until the chocolate chips have softened to a spreadable consistency. Spread the melted chocolate over the pie and top with any desired garnishes. Allow the pie to cool completely before slicing.

Notes:
1I used 2 fun-size packs of m&ms for the garnish and liked the added color, but feel free to be creative with your pie!

I should probably divulge how I became aware of the fact that I had yet to post a recipe about pies. Well, it all came about when I saw a giveaway that involved sharing a pie recipe. Naturally, I went back into my archives to find one, and was shocked and amazed to realize that there wasn’t a single sweet dessert pie in sight! I still wanted to join in on the fun, and with this beauty of a recipe in my to-share file, I knew it had to make it onto these pages over the next week or so. So, here it is, and there you have it!  

Come join me at Love the Pie with TidyMom,  sponsored by Cherokee USA, Le Creuset, Wilton, Bags by Bloom and  Harvard Common Press - either check some of the other wonderful pie recipes people are sharing – or, if you’re so inclined, share one too!

 







 


















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Thirty Minute Thursdays: Potato Tortilla with Tomatillo Guacamole


Yesterday was National Guacamole Day and today is, of course, Thirty Minute Thursday, so I thought I would combine these two with a Mexican-inspired meal that I had recently. I think that potatoes have gotten a bad rep recently, and although I don’t tend to eat copious amounts of them, I do think it’s a little undeserved. This potato tortilla is a perfectly healthy dinner option, and the incredible health benefits of the tomatillo guacamole that I paired it with make that even more true.  I chose to leave the skins of the potato on because I just can’t get enough of them, but it also helps add an extra boost of fiber that will counter the potentially less than ideal effects of a higher starch food. The healthy fats from the avocado and the protein from the egg will also certainly help curb any glycemic response that potato-haters seem to fear.

Now, I did flub this recipe a little bit. Strike one was when I let the potatoes brown, despite the recipe saying explicitly not to. I don’t really know the reason behind this – it’s possible that preventing browning makes for a better tasting tortilla, or perhaps it helps with cohesion – but I personally never complained over a golden-brown, crisped up potato product. That’s when they taste the best, right? What was far more disheartening was my total inability to flip the “tortilla” in one piece. It crumbled to pieces, but it still tasted good. And I say, if this happens to you, call it an egg-and-potato hash and move on. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from getting more involved in cooking, it’s that stressing over such things is not worth it.

I’m very happy that I chose to pair it with a recipe for tomatillo guacamole that I found online. It added a beautiful, vibrant color (and as a topping it hid my fallen-apart tortilla). I would also love to see some red pepper or salsa to add an additional color and flavor component. The tomatillo guac, though, was wonderful without the help of a spicy salsa. It wasn’t as creamy as a traditional guacamole, but it was a nice blend between that and a salsa verde. I’d also like to note that I used a completely unripe avocado and once I peeled it from its skin it worked just fine! Ah, the beauty of blenders.


Potato Tortilla, adapted from Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: 4 servings1

The Ingredients
2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ large, sweet onion, thinly sliced
4 eggs
chili powder & ground cumin, to taste
tomatillo guacamole, for serving

The Method
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Place the potato and onion slices in alternating single layers to cover the pan. Cook, turning occasionally, for approximately 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs with a splash of cold water and the chili powder and cumin until frothy. Pour over the potatoes once they have softened and use a spatula to lift the potatoes and onions to allow the egg to settle under them. Shake the pan to keep the omelet from sticking as they set. Once the eggs and, therefore, tortilla are set, place a large, flat dinner plate over the top of the pan and flip to transfer the inverted tortilla to the plate. Return the eggs to the pan on the flipped side, again shaking the pan as they cook to prevent sticking. Flip one or two more times, optionally. Serve at room temperature cut into wedges and topped with tomatillo guacamole, about ¼ cup per person.

Notes:
1The cookbook says that this is enough to feed 20 people (along with other menu items). However, if this is the only thing that you’re making, serving sizes will need to be larger. I divided the recipe by 4 for myself and was very happy with the amount of food it produced.







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Pumpkin Soup & Spinach Salad with Warm Walnut Vinaigrette


It feels strange to be sitting down to write about a meal that consisted of hot soup and a warm vinaigrette-dressed salad. It feels even stranger to know that my dinner tonight is going to be pumpkin pancakes with a hearty mushroom stew. It’s 65 and sunny here. Even my knit sweater feels inappropriate for the weather; forget how silly I feel in the Ugg boots I threw on this morning without consulting weather.com. Still, it’s November, and not even a gorgeous day that reminds me of Father’s Day more than Turkey Day can keep me from talking about pumpkin. (It does, however, make me wish that I hadn’t left my ice cream maker at home, since a batch of pumpkin ice cream sounds just about perfect today!)

In honor of Halloween a few weeks ago, I made myself a dinner consisting of pumpkin soup and a spinach salad dressed with a warm olive oil and walnut vinaigrette. The pumpkin soup actually had to grow on me, as the first spoonful reminded me a little bit too much of chicken stock and not enough of pumpkin. I was expecting a thicker soup, more of a slightly-thinned-out bowl of pumpkin puree, so the broth-based soup that I wound up with really just took me by surprise. In the end, though, I was really happy with it – it was nice and light, yet at the same time – especially when paired with the spinach salad – was actually more than enough for me. I wound up saving half of it for the lunch the next day! The chicken stock, which I might reduce just a smidge next time (reflected in the recipe below), pairs exceptionally well with the pumpkin, making it taste absolutely like fall in a bowl. I also replaced all of the sugar with half the amount of maple syrup, and used nutmeg instead of allspice. It was great! For a more substantial meal, pair it with a loaf of homemade bread, or a nice sandwich (in fact, it’d be just about heavenly next to a sandwich made from Thanksgiving leftovers)!

I didn’t have homemade bread or a sandwich, though – on the side of this soup, I had one of the best salads I have had in a while. I do enjoy traditional salads, but I’m also the kind of person who likes my food hot 9 times out of 10. The creation of a warm oil and nut vinaigrette was the perfect solution for a brisk, fall evening. I really didn’t change much in the recipe – I just used red wine vinegar because that’s what I had, and I admittedly burnt the walnuts a little (but they just tasted reminiscent of popcorn so who’s going to complain, really?). The vinegar added just enough sweetness so that sugar wasn’t necessary, and it was extremely filling due to the heart-healthy fats in the oil and walnuts.  You can find the recipe for the spinach and walnut salad over at In Good Taste.



Pumpkin Soup, adapted from The College Culinarian
Yield: 4-6 servings

The Ingredients
1 can (15 ounces) unseasoned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons butter
3 1/3 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon maple syrup
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
nutmeg and cinnamon, to taste

The Method
Combine the pumpkin and stock in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the mixture is heated through, stir in the maple syrup and a dash of pepper, then allow to simmer for a few minutes. Drizzle with melted butter, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Adjust seasonings, then serve.




 

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Applesauce Cinnamon Rolls



Exactly one year ago today I wrote one of my most viewed entries on Floptimism. It was a recipe for applecider muffins that are, by far, some of the tastiest muffins I’ve had. Looking back on that entry has reminded me that I should make them again, especially since I’ve been meaning to experiment with some recipe tweaks since the last time I made them.

Because the post was so popular, though, I decided to honor this one year entry anniversary with another apple baked good, yet another sweet confection that blurs the line between breakfast and dessert. These applesauce cinnamon rolls were definitely good – in fact, everyone who tried them loved them, though I still think there’s room for improvement (although really, when I’m I not itching to change something or other with a recipe?). The dough is surprisingly easy to make – surprising, at least, considering how intimidated I usually feel with yeast. It isn’t that I’m afraid of the rising process or getting the right temperature. I’m not afraid of failure as much as I am deterred by the in-depth process that seems to go hand in hand with yeasted doughs. Sure enough, this is relatively time consuming, especially if you make your own applesauce (which I do recommend regardless of the slight increase in prep time), but it can be spread out over multiple days if that makes it easier, and it all flows together pretty well. I can certainly handle this type of relaxed, involved recipe better than I can the ones that have me running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Which may or may not happen more often than I’d care to admit.

As far as taste goes, the applesauce was a little bit too lemony. I used dried lemon peel rather than chunks of fresh peel that would later be strained out, and although I dialed back the quantity, it was still a little too potent for my liking. It worked in the recipe, but it impacted the appeal of eating the leftovers as a standalone. In general, I prefer my applesauce recipe (apples + water, easy as pie). The rolls were a little too flat for me – I’m not sure if I did something wrong with the dough or if it was just a fluke, but mine did not stand up like the ones in the photos in the original post. The dough may also be on the drier side, though it’s important to note that I baked them earlier in the day and warmed them in the oven for an additional 10 minutes or so before serving, which could have dried them out a little more. The insides are perfectly moist and sweet, and I didn’t even think they needed much of a glaze (I didn’t include one – I wanted to make a honey glaze, but I was vetoed in the end so I left them plain) except for the occasional outside, drier bite. If you use a glaze, consider reducing the sugar in the filling a little bit, which I did, anyway.



One Year Ago: Apple Cider Muffins

Cinnamon Applesauce Rolls, adapted from Green Cilantro
Yield: approximately 15 rolls

The Ingredients
1 1/3 cups whole milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup superfine sugar1
1 ½ teaspoons yeast
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup applesauce2
¼ cup brown sugar
ground cinnamon, to taste
sultanas or raisins (optional)

The Method
Combine the milk, oil and fine sugar in a sauce pan and heat to scald the mixture (bringing it to the point just before a boil). Remove from the heat and allow to cool to between 100-115°, approximately 30-40 minutes. At this point, add in the yeast and allow to sit for one minute. Stir in the all purpose flour, cover, and let rise for at least one hour.

After an hour, add in the whole wheat flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Stir the mixture, which will still be sticky. This dough can be refrigerated for up to two days; just punch it down if it begins to rise out of the pan. Or, use the dough right away.

Once you’re ready, flour a work surface generously and spread the dough into a rough rectangle. Roll it out extremely thin, maintaining its approximate shape. Drizzle with the melted butter and top with the applesauce. Sprinkle with enough brown sugar to thinly coat the surface and follow it with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and, if using, sultanas or raisins.

Roll the dough neatly and tightly, starting from the end farthest from you and moving closer to you. Pinch the seam to seal it. Divide the roll into 1-inch thick slices and arrange them on a greased baking sheet, allowing space between the slices for additional rising. Let the rolls sit for at least 20-30 minutes, preferably 1 hour, before baking at 350° until light golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Notes:
1Also referred to as caster sugar, this can be made by grinding regular granulated sugar in a food processor for 30-60 seconds.
2Making your own applesauce could not be easier – simply peel and quarter as many apples as you’d like and add to a sauce pot. Cover the bottom with a scant amount of water, cover, and cook over medium or medium-low heat until the apples break down into as chunky or as smooth of a sauce as you’d like, stirring from time to time. No need for sweeteners. You can add in cinnamon or cinnamon sticks or, as this particular recipe called for, 4 strips of lemon peel, the juice of 1 lemon, and a cinnamon stick for every 3 pounds of prepped apples used. Strain any undesired ingredients (lemon peel, cinnamon stick) at the end.         







 

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Thirty Minute Thursdays: Zuppa Osso Buco, or well, that's how it started... (Turkey Meatball Soup)



Oh, Rachael Ray and her “stoups.” As much as I sometimes joke at her silly names for food, I made this soup for L when he came to visit me a few weeks ago, and I have to say, I was actually pretty impressed. I got a late start making it but managed to throw it together relatively quickly, and it was the perfect antidote for the cold, rainy, and dreary night. I really appreciate foods that can be filling and satiating while still feeling light, and this soup did exactly that. It was definitely simple – this is no flavor explosion – but still good, and in fact, the nutmeg in the meatballs completely stole the show. From now on I think I’ll be adding nutmeg into other similar dishes, for the extra spice it brings.

Of course, no Floptimism meal would be complete without my changes. I used ground turkey breast instead of the veal, in part because the idea of sad baby cows tied up in confined spaces makes me not too keen on eating meat (my conscience rests slightly more easily with sad turkeys – let’s not get too analytical here, lest my mild hypocrisy officially convinces me to be a veggie-vore), and also in part because I just don’t know where you buy ground veal around here. Then, because turkey breast is sold in 1 1/3 pound containers, I still just used half of the package so it may have been a little meat heavy (and, in the end, I did notice that the meatball:liquid ratio was a little off). I also used quinoa spaghetti instead of egg noodles, and let them boil a little longer because I had a feeling the egg noodles were supposed to be fresh instead of dried, though the recipe didn’t say. I also forgot the beans, and by forgot I mean I ate them as a snack earlier in the day and didn’t realize until the recipe told me to add them in that I had made a mistake. I threw in some diced green peppers as a pseudo replacement, and actually really liked it, so I’d encourage you to put those in even if you don’t munch on your beans before it’s time to cook with them.  The only other change I’d make was to let the carrots cook for a little longer to soften them up.  Oh, and there was an anchovy “gremolata” that was supposed to go on at the end, and I just ignored that part of the recipe because anchovies really aren’t my thing. Or L’s. Or many people’s, really.

As I sit here typing up the ingredients, I suddenly realize my problem with the aforementioned meat:liquid ratio – there was so little liquid because I intended to use all chicken broth instead of a chicken-beef broth combo, but I must have just added in the quantity for the chicken broth. There were 2 cups of broth missing from my soup! You see, this is what happens when you get a late start and just throw things together haphazardly. So apparently I really did a number on this dish – buying the wrong meat, eating the beans as a snack, forgetting about nearly half of the cooking liquid…if it was as good as I claim it was with all of these mistakes, just imagine how fantastic it’ll taste when you make it the right way! Or at least the less horrifically modified way.

I think you could easily omit the meat altogether, or throw in some other veggies here or there that you may like or are in season. It may not be “Zuppa Osso Buco” anymore, but that won’t make it any less popular at the dinner table, now will it?



Zuppa Osso Buco, adapted from Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: 4-5 servings

The Ingredients
1 pound lean ground meat of choice (turkey was excellent)
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup (homemade whole wheat) bread crumbs
2-4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (use less if it’s the fake Kraft stuff)
¼ - ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup diced green bell pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 bay leaf
½ cup white wine
14 ounces cannellini beans, drained
15 ounces diced tomatoes
5 cups stock or broth1
4-5 ounces spaghetti, broken in half or thirds

The Method
In a mixing bowl, combine the meat, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, nutmeg, and pepper, then set aside.

Start the soup by heating the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat, and adding all of the vegetables. Turn the carrots to coat them fully in the oil and prevent the vegetables from browning. Add in the bay leaf and season with pepper, to taste, continuing to cook until the vegetables soften, approximately 5 minutes. Reduce the heat if it looks like the vegetables are starting to brown. Stir in the wine, beans, tomatoes, and broth/stock. Raise the heat back up to high, add in the pasta if using dried, and cover the pot with a lid.

Return to the meatball mixture, rolling the meat into 1-inch balls. Once the soup begins to boil, add the meatballs into the pot (along with the pasta if fresh), and simmer until both the meatballs and pasta are cooked, approximately 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for several minutes before serving.

Notes:
1The original calls for a 3:2 chicken to beef ratio, though I’d imagine that any combination – including all vegetable stock – would be fine.

What's that you say? It's getting a little bit late to be posting a Thirty Minute Thursday post? I'm sorry for the borderline neglect I've been putting this blog through. I really have been getting my butt kicked this semester, and appreciate any patience you have. I think it's more my Twitter activity that's suffered, since I can find time here or there to write updates, but still. Thank you for sticking with me, even when life threatens to steal me away to much, much less enjoyable places.




 

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Brown Rice & Broccoli Cakes Salad


I have terrible luck with dinner cakes/patties. First it was the tuna burgers that turned into a tuna salad, and now these brown rice & broccoli cakes. I just can’t get my cakes to bind together – sometimes I take the blame wholeheartedly, since if I’m trying for a low-carb meal I’ll be stingy with the breadcrumbs. This time, though, I’m at a loss as to why these guys just did not want to hold up. I’m thinking that an egg would help next time.

If you move past the fact that they really didn’t want to stay together, though, you’re faced with a really delicious recipe – which is why I’m taking the time to tell you about it. They’re not greasy or heavy like a cake that may be heavily sautéed in oil would be, and they’re full of savory flavor. Plus, they’re easy and relatively quick to make. I did make some substitutions, using polenta (corn meal) instead of bread crumbs because I didn’t have any of the latter, and didn’t feel like taking the time to grind up a piece of bread for just 2 tablespoons’ worth of crumbs. Maybe this was my downfall – for all I know, cornmeal is just not meant for dinner cakes the way bread crumbs are. Or, maybe the simple process of scaling down the recipe for 1 serving was enough to through the consistency of the dish out of whack. I also used about ½ of a small onion instead of the shallot, and subbed in red wine vinegar for the balsamic.

If you like broccoli, I would definitely encourage you to give these a shot. Maybe you’ll have better luck than I did. If you’re making the mixture and it’s not feeling particularly cohesive, try adding something like an egg or other notorious binder. I did notice that they were loose before cooking them, but wanted to follow the recipe instructions the first time around, just in case they did something crazy like firm up while cooking – after all, it does say at the end to let them sit for 10 minutes after cooking to solidify a little more. Since they didn’t, though, I’m here to tell you not to fear experimentation. Go with your gut, and I hope it works out. They really do taste amazing, otherwise I wouldn’t be wasting your or my time with the recipe. If you can get them to stay together, you’ll have yourself a really excellent meal!

Lastly, because I did tweak the recipe and because I also did have trouble getting the cakes to bind, I’m not going to post my version of the recipe here. It might be safer for you to go with the original, or take the risk and refer to my substitutions mentioned above. Good luck – and may the force be with you (and in your cakes)!

Brown Rice & Broccoli Cakes, courtesy of Healthy and Gourmet

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Glazed Cinnamon Doughnuts for a Belated National Doughnut Day!

Earlier this weekend, it was National Doughnut Day. I was so excited to devote Saturday’s entry to these delicious cinnamon doughnuts that I made for a bake sale last month, only to have life get in the way. Between regular course work and trying to prepare graduate school and internship applications, there hasn’t been much room left in the day for the things I love – like writing endlessly about fantastic food. Apparently, there also hasn't been much time for taking pictures of said fantastic food. I could have sworn I had a doughnut photoshoot, but either I did it on my dad's fancy camera and never uploaded them, or I made that up entirely. So, I missed actual National Doughnut Day, and I don't even have a decent picture to show you, but that does not mean that I’m going to let you miss out on this amazing recipe.

 I only tried half of one, since I didn’t want to cut into the profit margin of the organization for which I was baking, but they all sold out so I’m going to take that as a baking success. L, who was one of the few who actually liked the last baked doughnuts I made, said that these were even better – so if you had your doubts about a doughnut that didn’t take a dip in a deep fryer, maybe give these a try before the previous recipe I posted. I found them both to be wonderful, but then again, I’m not your average eater when it comes to fried foods.

These doughnuts are spongy and soft, moist and 100% cinnamony. The glaze was plain vanilla, but I could imagine that adding a little hint of maple syrup or maybe even apple juice would be heavenly, and perfect for autumn.  Nutritionally, I might next time experiment with a heartier flour (because I’m me, after all), and consider swapping out the measly 4 tablespoons of melted butter (in 3 dozen mini doughnuts!) for oil, though really, 1 teaspoon of butter per three minis is not something to get too hung up on.

What’s more, these babies couldn’t be easier to make. The one thing that I have loved about both mini doughnut recipes I’ve made so far is that, like mini muffins or cupcakes, they go from raw ingredients to beautiful baked goods in the blink of an eye. I would suggest that any baker invest in a mini doughnut pan, if for no reason other than that if you’re ever in a pinch, you’re just about 15 minutes and a handful of pantry staples away from a solution. Not too shabby, if you ask me!


Baked Cinnamon Doughnuts with Vanilla Glaze, courtesy of Diethood
Yield: Approximately 3 dozen minis (1 dozen regular)

The Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for dusting
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons low-fat milk
½ teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste), divided
1 egg
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

The Method
Preheat the oven to 350° and coat doughnut pans with non-stick spray.

Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon together in a large bowl, then set aside.

Meanwhile, combine ½ cup milk, white vinegar, ½ teaspoon vanilla, egg and butter in a small saucepan over medium-heat. Stir constantly with a whisk until the butter has melted, then remove from the heat. Add the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir to incorporate.

Transfer the batter to a Ziploc or pastry bag, and pipe it into the prepared doughnut pan (for the minis, I found that 2 ½ - 3 times around was sufficient, or about half-full). Bake in the oven 5-6 minutes (minis) or 12-14 minutes (regular), or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Immediately invert the doughnuts onto a cooling rack, and set aside to cool while you make the glaze.

For the glaze, place the remaining ingredients (2 tablespoons milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla, 1 cup powdered sugar) into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture has smoothed out and no lumps appear. Set the saucepan over a bowl filled with hot water, or simply keep the burner on very low.

Dip each doughnut into the glaze and return to the cooling rack (placing a sheet of wax paper beneath the rack makes for easy cleanup), drizzle any extra glaze you have over the doughnuts after all have been glazed, and dust with additional cinnamon using a mini fine-mesh sieve (optional). Allow to set for at least a few minutes before eating.







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