SoupSpoon

and a little of that

If you have been around here for awhile, Stephen's love for all things pork should be no news to you. Yes, I know all about the dirtiness of the animal, and he does too. trust me. When someone is in love they are blind to the truth. It tastes great, granted, but there is still the once-vegan-health conscience in me that says, "Just because it tastes good does not mean you should eat it." There are no two ways about it with Stephen. Until pigs fly from this planet, he will melt at the mention of their name. I kind of like people all googly eyed and dreamy when I talk about food, and so occasionally even I will drop the P word in a menu just to see the stars in his eyes.
Last Friday Stephen and a few guys got together for game night (board game that is) in which they drank  micro brews and took over the world of Catan. I offered to send him with a snack, and of course that option sounded like a good one. I started to throw out some ideas and it went something like this:

L*Joy-  Spiced popcorn?
Stephen- too messy.
L*Joy- Hot pretzels with grainy French Dijon?
Stephen- maybe.
L*Joy- Candied nuts?
Stephen- nah. I will eat too much and get a belly ache. Ooh I have an idea. How about cornbread with ... some... bacon maybe and chives??? yeah? sound good?

Now. I relent. The bacon makes it. These little beauties are so wonderful I practically want to beg you to make them. They are first of all precious mini muffins and fantastically delicious hot with fresh butter. I know! butter on bacon! Love is blinding and delicious.

In case you have not heard, approximately 103 trillion people will belly up to a television this Sunday night to watch rather brilliant men throw themselves into one another for a whole lot of money. Living without a television, this would normally not affect us in the least. This Sunday though, we will be in New York City, and in case you really have no idea what I am talking about, The New York Giants are in the Super Bowl. We contemplated decking ourselves out in fan gear, but recoiled at the potential that someone might start to ask us questions. We would then be hastily kicked to the curb. Football never was my reason for wanting to go to a Super Bowl party. My interest came from the fact that they were more often than not on my birthday weekend. This meant that the average household, that did not even know it was my birthday, was having a party on my birthday just like we were. As a kid, this fact was amazing. The second important reason to go to a Super Bowl party was for the snacks. A lot of those 103 trillion people will eat chili and chicken wings, and I think I could really enjoy the game if these little golden muffins were crumbling into my steaming bowl of chili. It is just a thought.

If you want a sweet fluffy cornbread sans Pork click here.
If you have regular size tins, I understand not wanting to purchase something new. Fill the regular tins nearly full and bake 24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
They keep well in the fridge for three days, but to serve them on Sunday; they would be best fresh and warm.

Petite Cornbread Muffins with Bacon and Chives

1 cup old fashioned yellow cornmeal
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¼ cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup 2% milk
1 egg
8 strips of good quality (applewood smoked or local) bacon, cooked
1/4 cup minced chives

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Grease mini muffin tin
3. Mix cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl
5. Crumble cooked bacon and add to flour mixture. Stir in chives. Beat egg into milk and fold into flour mixture
6. Using a small ice cream scoop or spoon, fill each tin with batter
7. Bake 20 minutes until golden and toothpick comes out clean
8. Enjoy

savoring every moment

Mostly what I learned from my birthday weekend is that I have a lot more to learn about life. The possibilities for life are endless, and I want to strive to make the most of more than a few. That goal has put extra pep in my step today, and it feels good.
I write to you with a satisfied heart and belly. We served, danced, cleaned, hiked, cooked, laughed, learned, and even got to sit in the sun. I feel well celebrated.

Saturday morning, while I drank coffee in bed and finished (yes, finished!) knitting Stephen's scarf, he made me my birthday breakfast. I requested nutmeg doughnut muffins that I saw on the lovely food blog, Orangette.  My coffee sipping lips were sealed in a grin as I listened to him measuring and mixing just so. He made mini muffins and they were perfect. Perfect. We sang, made a wish, and enjoyed every crumb alongside a slice of avocado and an over easy egg.

Yesterday we hiked the trail where Stephen proposed to me two years ago. We smiled and said thanks for all the days since and all the days to come. Myrtle, sweet old girl, even hiked with us. That is right, she is nearly A-OK.

For my birthday supper, Stephen and our friend Josh prepared a Thai red curry that was as delicious to eat as it was to watch them prepare. I pretended to busy my mind with the New York Times book review while I secretly watched them become birthday chefs. Loads of thinly sliced vegetables and even basil cut in a chiffonade  brought a little tear of gratitude to my eye. They know how to say happy birthday to me.

Then there is more! After spending a sunny Sunday afternoon drinking tea outside, my fingers longed to bake a citrus something or other to finish the day. So, we have the grand finale... the bite I must share with you... this Meyer Lemon Tart.

Meyer lemons are believed to be a hybrid between a lemon and an orange or mandarin because of their rounded bodies and sweeter flesh. Meyer's give all the lush joy of lemon flavor without the strong sour. Most Meyer lemons are grown in southern California. Some lucky folks have Meyer lemon trees in their backyards. Oh to just imagine what that would do to my kitchen! For now, I am grateful to buy them at the market. Their growing season peaks from November through January, and so I hope you hurry and buy them before they are gone.

The lemon tart came together and chilled during the guys' Thai curry party, and we then sealed the day with a perfectly cool slice. Here is to a year of making the most of it all.

Meyer Lemon Tart

Crust
1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Meyer lemon cream
6 Meyer lemons, zest and juice (3 tablespoons zest and 1/2 cup juice)
4 eggs
1 cup white sugar
4 oz mascarpone*, cut into small pieces

1. Heat oven to 350. Pulse coconut and crumbs in a food processor. If you do not have a food processor, mince coconut with a knife and mix with crumbs in a medium size mixing bowl. Stir in butter. Press crust into a 9 inch tart pan
2. Bake crust in 350 oven for 14 minutes. Set aside to cool
3. In the bottom of a double boiler or in a small sauce pan, bring 2 inches of water to a simmer
4. In the top of the double boiler or in a metal mixing bowl that will sit on the sauce pan, mix the zest into the sugar. Whisk eggs into lemon juice and pour into sugar mixture. Set bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly for 10 minutes or until cream thickens. It should look like pudding and be able to coat a wooden spoon
5. Remove from the heat and let sit for 3 minutes. Whisk in pieces of mascarpone until completely smooth. Pour into crust and chill 3 hours at least. enjoy.
*mascarpone is sold in the gourmet cheese department of most grocery stores. I also use it in the pumpkin pie with gingersnap crust recipe

Thanks for indulging me with your listening eyes.

a good kind of surprise

Delight that overtakes my mind when I get to look forward to something makes me utterly dislike surprise parties. I can not help but feel somewhat cheated. Those people have been excited for weeks and I am just now finding out about this?!? Really. I do not like surprises. My only exception is that when there is no anniversary, birthday, or holiday in sight, throw a surprise right at me. Somehow those are ok. Just not, especially not, surprise birthday parties. I start to cringe and pout just thinking about it. We can agree to disagree on this. That is fine. If you like surprises so much, I would be ecstatic to throw you a surprise party... then I would be able to look forward to it. (no. this is not some sort of sick reverse psychology ploy to make you think I truly want a surprise. I do not.) Our anticipated birthday celebration suits me just fine.
After the month long countdown, my birthday is nearly here, and I am excited about it.
It seems more appropriate to bake a cake for my parents than myself, because truly I had little to do with my birthday, but none the less I will blow out the candles, make a wish, and rejoice to still be kicking.
Part of my almost birthday celebration consists, obviously, of what we will cook. The food should emulate my attitude towards this whole new year in my life, and I want this year to grow me... Not so much upwards with leaves and pretty things but strong sturdy roots spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Food with layers of flavor, color, and time seem most fitting.

Making Berbere Paste came to mind... oh boy am I glad. Berbere paste creates the depth of spiced smoky flavor in Ethiopian dishes. On my side of the world, I toss home-fries, sweet potatoes,  or any other roasted root vegetable in a few tablespoons. delicious. As long as you use a more mild chili, it is not so much spicy as it is spiced. The flavor is deeper than the heat. A scoop in a pot of lentils or collards makes them amazing, and I think rubbing chicken for the grill might be just so fantastic you could hardly stand it.
The recipe makes about 2 cups, and will keep a few weeks in the fridge. Go ahead and share a cup with someone. They will be so surprised, in all the right ways, that they might just invite you to supper.

Berbere Paste makes 2 cups
there is quite possibly an Ethiopian Grandma somewhere that has a stellar traditional recipe. If you know her, ask for it. If not, use my adapted American one that makes the ingredients pretty accessible from your local market.

7 dried Ancho chilies (or a combination of dried chilies. just be aware of their heat levels)
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger root, peeled
1 small red onion, peeled and rough chopped
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

1. In a medium sauce pan, cover chilies, garlic, ginger, and red onion with water and bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes and then drain off the water
2. In a small dry skillet toast spices over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until you start to smell them but be careful that they do not burn
3. Pull the stems from the chilies if you have not already done that, and throw the stems away. Place the chilies, garlic, ginger and onions in the bowl of a food processor. add salt. purée until smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides. If you did a marvelous job of straining off all the chili water earlier, you might have to add a bit to the processor in order to get a purée
4. Add basil and pulse for about 30 seconds
5. Store in jar in fridge for a few weeks. use a little in everything. try frying an egg in just a pinch. oh the possibilities are long

Thanks for reading. What are you striving for in your life this year?

this is more like it

Dear friends,
Today the scones succeeded deliciously. Thank you for your patience.
Prior to the gorgeous little scones, my intention was to share our supper from last night, but now how could I not show you the scones?
The only fair way to handle this is to discuss both scones and supper. How is that for a compromise?

Cranberry Orange Scones

1 cup sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, diced
1 cup dried sweetened cranberries, plumped
3/4 cup chilled half and half
2 tablespoons orange juice

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Pour 1 cup boiling water and over cranberries in a small bowl. Let cranberries sit in boiling water 2-3 minutes at least, and then strain off all liquid. This will make them juicy and wonderful in the scones instead of tough and rubbery
2. Stir sugar, flour, baking powder, orange zest, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl
3. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until you have pea size crumbles
4. Fold in  orange juice and half and half. Fold in cranberries. Fold about 12 times and then gather dough and turn out onto lined baking sheet
5. Roll dough into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle
6. Gently slice one slice down the middle of the longest direction
7. Then cut criss cross patterns to make triangles on the top and bottom halves of the rectangle
8. Bake for 24 minutes. enjoy

Last night Stephen said, "When people say they are having chicken for dinner, I don't get too excited, but this... this is exciting."

I could not agree more.

Last night Stephen also asked me if I would make apple turnovers. "Apple turnovers?" I asked, wondering where that desire came from. He said, "I don't think I have ever had one, but I have seen them at gas stations and they always look good... you know, the ones in the green and white wrappers?"

The bold was added so that you could picture my face as I am listening to my husband say that the apple turnovers at a gas station!!!! look good!!!

Let us just say that I do not agree with everything Stephen says.

But, as far as balsamic chicken is concerned, I agree. This marks the end of baked boring chicken in your life. Balsamic glazed chicken gives this poor worn out meal a new identity without much fuss. This method for roasting chicken and vegetables creates quite a stellar plate when you want to make something delicious but need your hands free for something else.
My something else right now is a scarf for Stephen that needs to be finished soon. (technically not for  9! more! days! but I am happily feeling the NYC trip draw near.) My hands have been tied to knitting needles that taunt me if I do anything but knit; even now I can hear them 'poor stephen... his neck must be so cold.' I tended to their ways, while the oven made supper.

Perhaps you saw in Gourmet magazine December 2006, their recipe for balsamic and soy glazed chicken wings. This idea comes from that. You could make this glaze and pour it over wings like they did; that would sure jazz up your Sunday afternoon.

Balsamic Glazed Chicken serves 4

4 chicken breasts or legs (with skin)
olive oil, salt, and pepper
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar

1. Heat oven to 400
2. Rub chicken pieces with olive oil and season with salt and pepper
3. Place in one layer in parchment lined casserole dish, and roast for 45-50 minutes until the internal temp is 170 degrees. They tend to splatter a bit of grease, and a dish with higher sides might save you a mess
4. While chicken is roasting, bring balsamic, soy sauce, and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer over medium low until reduced to about 1/3 cup. This will take 30 minutes
5. Remove chicken from oven. Let rest 5 minutes. Place chicken in a clean bowl, and pour half of the glaze over the pieces. Toss in glaze and serve. If you want more glaze use it all, or keep the rest of the unused glaze in a jar in the fridge. It is wonderful mixed in hamburger patties for the grill. (oh my goodness they are delicious)

Roasted Potatoes
Most winter squash like acorn or butternut, will roast beautifully in this method. just peel them first.

4 yukon gold or red skin potatoes
olive oil (about 2 tablespoons)
salt and pepper

1. Scrub and cut the potatoes into 1 inch hunks
2. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper
3.  Spread on parchment or silpat lined baking sheet
4. Roast at 400 for 35-40 minutes

We tossed a spinach salad with lemon juice, goat's feta, and roasted potatoes to have with the chicken. The golden potatoes and creamy feta balanced the balsamic glaze perfectly.

Like I said, this is more like it.

redeeming grace

Two nights ago, a few friends and I were talking about how we remember certain people in our lives by a one-liner they said. A teacher, neighbor, or waiter carved their face forever in our minds due to one unexpected shocking line. In an effort to prevent you from associating Soup Spoon with the dog flinging earwax story of earlier this week, we have a delicious memorable show stopping sweet for you to ponder instead.
Yesterday morning passed with me elbow deep in dough. My sister-in-law, off at college, sweetly mentioned that if I wanted to send cookies sometime soon that would be ok. Please please only ask if you are serious because the flour that ensued could quite easily have squelched an electrical fire. It started meekly with a batch of chocolate chunk cookies packed, sealed, and shipped... then, before I knew it, I had a batch of rugelach dough chilling in the fridge and scones in the oven.

Now, let me be transparent with you for a moment. I wanted to share with you the beauty of scones hot from the oven, but they did not turn out well. They might have been OK if I was going for  biscotti but I was going for scones. There. Not everything that touches these nimble little fingers comes picture perfect from the oven. This is a humble honest moment between me and you. If I bake, fail, and then bake some more, I truly believe that you could do the same. try. cook. bake. try again. learn. try again. eat. share. and cook some more. Once you feel comfortable in your kitchen, to loosely quote Shakespeare, the world is your oyster; open it with a knife.

Dog biscuit scones aside, there was a lovely redeeming grace named rugelach. The last time I made rugelach was in culinary school. That means I have suffered a void unknowingly for the past four years. Somewhere in my head I thought that they were either a really fussy recipe or that I did not care for them enough to go through the fuss again. ohhh the shame... Could I have been more wrong?... The recipe might seem daunting, but they truly come together with ease. The golden flaky layers wrapped delicately around sticky sweet fruit preserves and bits of toasted walnuts might make you weak in the knees.

Traditionally these little lovelies appear at the holidays, but I now believe there might never be a bad time for rugelach. Recipes for rugelach vary drastically. There are yeasted pareve (dairy free) doughs as well as cream cheese doughs. Many of the Hungarians and Yugoslavians, who are thought to have carried this recipe to America, were Jewish, and therefore have the pareve recipes for eating after meals with meat or during certain festivals. Giddy as I am writing all about the geeky food history that I love, perhaps we should move along now.

Back to the weak in the knees part... It is Friday. That means that for most of us we are greeting the weekend, and we might as well get some dough on the counter. Because you will need a bit of buttermilk for the rugelach, this would be the perfect weekend to also make buttermilk biscuits . Just a thought... take it or leave it.

Rugelach makes 14 crescents
this is a hybrid recipe from school, martha stewart, and my brain. Feel total liberty to use your favorite preserve or dried fruit. One traditional method is apricot preserves with chopped dried apricots. I also think lemon curd with dried blueberries and almonds would be lovely. The filling is flexible, just be sure to follow the directions for keeping your dough as chilled as possible.
have fun. enjoy.

Dough:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 ounces cream cheese, cut into slices
2 tablespoons cold buttermilk

1 egg white for the wash

Filling:
1/2 cup raspberry, apricot, or blackberry preserves
1/3 cup dried cranberries, raisins, or dried blueberries
1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons white sugar

1. In food processor (or with pastry cutter) pulse butter and salt into flour until crumbly. add cream cheese and pulse 5-7 times. drizzle buttermilk over dough and pulse 8-10 times until dough comes together
2. scoop out dough, roughly shape into a 1 inch thick disk, and wrap in plastic wrap
3. Chill dough at least 1 hour or overnight
4. Have your preserves, berries, and nuts ready (Emily, you do not have to use nuts)
5. Roll out dough on a floured surface until it is a 1/8 inch thick circle. Cut one long slice down the middle, and cut halves into wedges like you would a pie
6. Spread a thin layer of preserves, a few berries and nuts, a pinch of zest, and then sprinkle a few pinches of white sugar over each wedge
7. Roll up each wedge from the bottom towards the point, and bend slightly into a crescent shape
8. Place on silpat lined or parchment lined baking sheet
9. Chill in fridge for 12 minutes
10. Heat oven to 375
11. Brush tops with egg white, and bake for 20 minutes until golden. enjoy

Soup to make the sun shine

Daffodils began to bloom in our yard last week, and today it is a cloudy 25 degrees. This fickle mid-January gets me every year. A few sunny days make me dreamy for long evenings reading out in the swing when it is still light past 5:30 pm and supping on fresh asparagus or peas. Honestly I do not really love spring like I love winter, but something about a sunny day in January makes me abandon my previous alliance. Tricked as I am into believing spring is just a hop, skip, and a jump away, it is still only 25 degrees.
To break from the persuasion that makes me think I could stay tucked inside my house, never leaving, until it is warmer outside; I find myself wearing the brightest colors in my closet and wanting the same vivid  hues on my plate.  If I dress like sunshine, eat like sunshine, maybe it will come.
I feel like January is the guts of winter. Deep, dark, long, and necessary, but not all that glamorous. Seasonal produce becomes eerily close to Groundhog's Day... hmmm broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, or ooh look there is broccoli! Pondering how to balance soup and sunshine, I broke a little from my winter vegetable routine, and the aftermath of singing aloud on a walk down the street sure did make it all worthwhile. 

Truly, make this soup soon if you have any tendency towards wearing all gray all the time, winter seclusion or are just hungry.

Chicken and Corn Chowder serves 5
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cups frozen white corn (if it was July, of course use fresh)
1/2 jalapeno, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 pound)
1 quart chicken broth
1/3 cup minced cilantro (1 small bunch)
2 teaspoons lime juice (1/2 lime)

1. In large soup pot, sauté onions in a bit of olive oil for 8 minutes over medium heat
2. In a blender or food processor, pulse 2 cups corn with one cup broth until almost smooth
3. Add all corn, jalapeno, garlic, red bell pepper, and cumin to pot. sauté 3 minutes
4. Slice chicken breasts across the grain (from top of fatter portion down towards small point)  into small strips or dice
5. Add broth to the pot and once it boils, add chicken. Turn down to medium heat and simmer for 15 minutes
6. Stir in minced cilantro and lime juice. Taste and salt as needed. Depending on what type of chicken broth you used, you might need up to 2 teaspoons salt

Oh! You want to know about Myrtle? Aren't you considerate. She continues to improve from last week's escapade, and she has maintained the ever endearing head tilt. We do not know exactly what caused the scary episode, but the Vet did find a yeast infection in her ear that requires a lovely cleaning regimen for the next two weeks. Let me digress for a moment and explain to you the ear cleaning process. Last week at the Vet was my first exposure to how disgusting this is, and now we get to do it at home every day. Lucky us. We soak a cotton ball with an ear cleaning solution, smash it down into her precious little ears, massage the ear canal, scoop out bits of black smelly wax, let her shake her ears which enables the remaining black smelly wax to magically fling from her ears onto all surrounding surfaces. Then I wipe out her ears with a clean cotton ball, squirt in a few drops of medicine, and we are done until the evening! Myrtle is a smart dog that quickly made the connection between coming home from a walk and having that process waiting at the door for her. She slyly approaches our front steps as if she almost does not recognize them... oh poor smart little Myrtle.

p.s. when we cleaned her ears at the Vet, I had to restrain her from eating the wax off of the floor... maybe she is only smart about some things. I know that is less than appetizing, sorry about that.

a typical Tuesday

Tuesday morning, Stephen and I went to the coast where he would work for two days, and I would be relishing my nieces and nephews that live nearby. All of this sounded sublime. Two days of 70 degree weather, fairy tale afternoons, playing in the sand, baking cakes, and savoring every last crumb of their smart-as-a-whip brains. Days in Aunt world truly are tough to top.
We blissfully traveled towards the ocean with Myrtle in tow. After dropping Stephen at work, I drove on to my sister's.
Retelling what happened after this point sounds so ridiculously like a crazy dream that I barely even believe it myself. Especially after last week's dreams, this seems scripted to be a dream, but the cold reality is that I actually was awake through it all.
My sister was not home yet, and so I went on inside to make us lunch. An hour goes by, two hours go by, still no sister. She then calls to say that she and her three children are in a police lock down inside the mall due to some sort of bomb threat. what in the world? She would call when it was safe for them to leave.
I went back to cooking and notice that Myrtle's gait was amazingly staggered, and then I saw that her eyes were racing back and forth.  How do I panic appropriately?

My sister and her children were barricaded in some sort of bomb threat and I had no idea what was happening to my dog!?! and this was not a dream!?!

The entire afternoon passed this way, and I needed to pick up Stephen from work. I loaded Myrtle into the backseat as my sister was pulling into the driveway. safe and sound.
Myrtle seemed to be getting worse, I needed to hurry, the kids have spent the entire day trapped in a sequestered area of a threatened mall, and not one bit of a cake had been baked. The bright side? They were not blown up by a bomb. (It is the little things, really.)
Stephen hopped in the truck and asked how my day had been. I burst into tears and began to explain about Myrtle and my sister. While I was wiping my tears to be able to see the road, a zooming gray bird took a nose dive into my door panel! Let us use the visual--- hand grenade--- with a trail of fuzzy feathers.   
This was not a dream!!!
oh no lovely readers, all of this happened in real life in real time in one very real day.
A bowl of cherries, a day at the beach, a bird in the door... you know. typical Tuesday.

To calm your concerned hearts, Myrtle has made a sweeping recovery, and is nearly 100%. Perhaps vestibular disease swept through her little ear; we do not know for sure. After just returning home from a lengthy Veterinary visit, I think she will pull out all the stops to be well enough to avoid going there again for awhile. She has a slightly tilted head, that may stay that way, and it has actually endeared her even more to my heart. She looks as though she continually is asking, "What did you say?"

The other happy ending is that I had one more day to play with the kids, and by the end, we had a lovely long walk on the beach... baked a cake... played endless games... and most importantly I got to hug and love on all of my fantastically brilliant nieces and nephews. you all grow up so fast.

safe and sound.... happily ever after.

Missing you the past few days, I anxiously logged on to my computer this morning to some extremely unexpected and  pleasant news. Typepad, Soup Spoon's host site, wants to feature this little blog on their homepage in February! How about that !?! When I know the dates, I will let you know so that you can go and take a peek at her first public debut.

For now, I want to share this nourishing little salad with you. As I just wrote that, I thought about literally sharing this salad with you and how fun it would be if all the folks who read this blog were lined up outside the cubbyhole trying to cram into her cozy corners. hmmm. I kind of like the thought of that.

Chickpea Cauliflower salad with Lemon and Bulgur Wheat makes 5 servings
1 cup dry bulgur wheat*
1 head cauliflower
1/2 cup minced flat leaf Italian parsley
1 14.5 oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed well
1/2 cup chopped toasted cashews or toasted pine nuts
zest and juice of one medium sized lemon (2 teaspoons zest and 2 tablespoons juice)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1. place bulgur and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium mixing bowl or round container with a lid.
2. bring 1 and 3/4 cups of water to a boil and pour over bulgur. stir once, cover, and let rest for at least 30 minutes until the water has been absorbed.
3. cut cauliflower into very small florets. bring a medium pot of water to a boil and cook cauliflower for 5 minutes. drain and set aside
4. fluff bulgur with a fork
5. once the bulgur has cooled, add cauliflower, parsley, chickpeas, nuts, lemon zest and juice, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. fluff gently to combine and salt to taste

*what is bulgur wheat? click here.
This salad would also we lovely with couscous in lieu of bulgur.

The balance of nutrients, texture, and flavor really make this little number stand alone as a lunch or it would be lovely served with grilled fish or chicken.

well, that was odd...

Perhaps it is the tea, coffee, winter or whatever...
maybe one of you knows what it could possibly signify that in one week my dreams were as follows. I dreamed that I saved an airport from a bomb, that was cleverly disguised as a little child's doll, which then successfully got me shot in the leg by the terrorist; and I did not go to the emergency room because it was near the first of the year and I was not certain that our new health care plan would cover an I have been shot in the leg from saving an entire airport from a bomb visit. The next night, in my dream, my mom and I were driving a Government vehicle to New York City because we were craving Indian food and our favorite Indian restaurant is in New York City. (going to NYC just for dinner sounds reasonable. Have you ever been to Bukhara?) Now the Government vehicle actually drove itself, I just had to stay in the driver's seat. Mom warned me that there were certain rules that we must obey or the government would know and the vehicle would steer off course. In a fit of rebellion, I grabbed the wheel, peeled off course, and ended up in a Sam's Club parking lot (perhaps this was the punishment) with my mom shaking her head saying, "You should have obeyed the rules. They were designed for us with liberty and justice for all..."
And it gets even more surreal. The most recent dream absurdity was that I took my 14 year old dog, Myrtle, to a consignment shop! and traded! her! in! on! a! purse!!!

I later went back to the consignment shop with my sister, and saw Myrtle lying on her dog bed with a handwritten price tag hanging from her collar that said $1. $1!!! I went ballistic in the shop. How could they think of selling the most perfect dog in the world for only $1! At which point they reminded me that I was the one that traded her in for a purse!!! I scooped her in my arms, apologizing profusely for obviously losing my mind, threw the stupid old purse on the counter and promptly left the shop...
Now, do tell me readers, what do you make of all of that?
Surprisingly, I feel rested and relatively clear headed. Clear headed enough to add the new recipe link over there to the left, and for a few new things to be born in the cubbyhole kitchen this weekend: a goat's mozzarella pizza topped with Spinach with Carmelized onions, green split pea soup with shallots and chopped spinach, and a chocolate chunk spiced whole wheat cookie. One of Soup Spoon's commenters mentioned that they try to use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour. (hello out there to you) With you in mind I made a batch of, honestly my new favorite, chocolate chunk cookies. The nuttiness of the whole wheat plays beautifully off of the ginger and cinnamon creating a deep chewy cookie that is no where near the dense mud huts that I think of when I think of old school whole wheat cookies. The recipe balances the all-purpose with the whole wheat as a first step for those who are trying to convert to whole grains. These are just a great little cookie.

Chocolate Chunk Spiced Whole Wheat Cookies makes 30
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or ¼ if you like a little kick
1, 3 oz dark chocolate bar, chopped

1.  cream butter and sugars. add vanilla and salt. beat in eggs
2. mix in dry ingredients. add chocolate chunks
3. bake at 375 for 11 minutes

I did not even mention the fact that in my dream I suggested a counselor to the terrorist that shot me in the leg... and in the dream with my mom, she was wearing an amazing Little House on the Prairie style dress...
about my dreams, and the cookies, I would love to hear your take on them.

p.s. I would never ever ever consider taking my dog to a consignment shop.

greens and peace in the heart of a really big country

Once upon a sequence of serendipitous events, a special kind of lady became my friend.
After only eight little months of lavish meals, lengthy walks, and consistent Good Mornings, she followed good intuition and moved to Nairobi, Kenya. Some of you know her, some of you unfortunately do not, but suffice it to say, if you ever meet her she will be one of your favorites too...
Perhaps you remember me mentioning a friend who came to my house because she wanted to fry Wisteria fritters, and then she taught me about the brown bag trick... Yes, that was Natalie... See, you are already starting to like her... it is just so easy to do.

The recent December 27th elections in Kenya, brought an onslaught of violence with a strongly ethnic slant. If you have not heard about this situation click here to read more. This post is a prayer for peace and justice in a hurting country. The past few days I have thought about, sort of worried about, my sweet Natalie in Nairobi. I have been thinking that if one of my favorite people is in Nairobi, perhaps one of your favorite people could also be in a tumultuous place. Loving someone that could be in jeopardy brings a messy mix of emotions. Imperative to a clear mind is a healthy belly.

For this reason, along with a lot of hope and wanting to be nourished, I fell into a bowl of caramelized onions with fresh baby spinach. I know this seems prosaic, but when caramelized, an onion is an entirely different bite than sauteéd, fried, or raw. After a slow steady heat, the onion's natural sugars gently brown the outside of every sliver that literally melts on your tongue. The comfort of gentleness, patience, and waiting that brings positive results, makes carmelized onions the perfect addition to today's plate. Bold flavor, gentle texture, and the cleansing power of green balance even the worried heart.

Spinach with Caramelized onions serves 3-4 as a side dish

Jazz up your greens with chilies or garlic... for now we will just talk about the caramelized part.

1 vidalia or other yellow onion, sliced into thin sauté strips
4 cups loose packed baby spinach or 2 bunches spinach, rinsed well
olive oil for sauté
sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

1. drizzle olive oil over bottom of medium sauté pan (about 2 tsp)
2. heat pan to medium low and add onion to pan
3. stir to coat onion with olive oil, set a timer for 20 minutes
4. if the onion starts to burn or get to dark very quickly, turn down your heat. The key is to achieve a golden brown without charred edges. Let it take its time
5. stir onions every few minutes. After 20 minutes, add spinach to pan and sauté until wilted (about 1 minute). If you are adding chilies or garlic add them right before spinach.
6. salt and pepper to taste
7. serve over pasta, with steak, under broiled fish, with beans and rice, on a grilled cheese... in a bowl by itself...
8. enjoy

i am all ears... and eyes

hello again.

along with truly loving to write endlessly about our plates and cubbyhole, I love just as much to read your thoughts and to picture your plates. Some web browsers seem to meld perfectly with the commenting system, and some refuse to go along. I imagine that it must be killer frustrating to want to comment, get up the nerve to throw your thoughts out on the internet for all eyes to read (i empathize completely), and then after you have perfectly typed your delicious thoughts; an ERROR message flashes across your screen. The folks at Typepad have been super friendly and helpful, but to solve the problem it would help to know what error messages you receive and how many of you are experiencing this frustration. Certain members of my immediate circle have my cell number and so I am able to hear all about their frustration... but you... you might not have my number... and you can not comment to say that you can not comment...

It is for these reasons that I have added a little email me icon underneath my picture over there to the left.

If you have tried to comment and it sent you an error message, I am sorry, and now please email me all about it. Send the copied error message if you really want to make things happen and I will keep doing my best to work with Typepad to insure that your words are read.
For the rest of you that have been able to send your comments right on through to Soup Spoon, thanks for doing so. I love when you comment.

P.S.  It is possible that there might be some of you who had never heard much less read a blog before Soup Spoon, and therefore are not quite sure what I mean by commenting. If you lower your eyes to the bottom of this and every post, there is a line that says the word Comments in bold. Click on it and you should be ushered to a screen where you complete your email address and then leave me your thoughts. You will then be asked to type in the anti-robot code (to insure that you are a human being leaving a comment). And then if all stars are aligned properly, your comment appears on the post... ooohh ahhh. if you try it for the very first time and you receive an error message, go ahead and email me. I admire you for trying.

P.S.S. how did the baguettes go?