Source: America's Test Kitchen
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower (2 pounds)
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces (I used salted - I'm no foodie!)
1 leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin, and washed thoroughly
1 small onion, halved and sliced thin
Salt and pepper
4 1/2 – 5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar (I just have boring white vinegar, and it was fine)
3 Tablespoons minced fresh chives (no chives here, just a green onion, which was fantastic)
Directions:
Pull off outer leaves of cauliflower and trim stem. Using paring knife, cut around core to remove; thinly slice core and reserve. Cut heaping 1 cup of 1/2-inch florets from head of cauliflower; set aside. Cut remaining cauliflower crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices.
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leek, onion, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; cook, stirring frequently, until leek and onion are softened but not browned, about 7 minutes.
Increase heat to medium-high; add 4 1/2 cups water, sliced core, and half of sliced cauliflower; and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add remaining sliced cauliflower, return to simmer, and continue to cook until cauliflower is tender and crumbles easily, 15 to 20 minutes longer.
While soup simmers, melt remaining 5 tablespoons butter in 8-inch skillet over medium heat. Add reserved florets and cook, stirring frequently, until florets are golden brown and butter is browned and imparts nutty aroma, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and use slotted spoon to transfer florets to small bowl. Toss florets with vinegar and season with salt to taste. Pour browned butter in skillet into small bowl and reserve for garnishing.
Process soup in blender until smooth, about 45 seconds. Rinse out pan. Return pureed soup to pan and return to simmer over medium heat, adjusting consistency with remaining water as needed (soup should have thick, velvety texture but should be thin enough to settle with flat surface after being stirred) and seasoning with salt to taste. Serve, garnishing individual bowls with browned florets, drizzle of browned butter, and chives and seasoning with pepper to taste.
Notes:
While spending some time in a hotel room with cable TV, I found myself glued to the cooking shows on various channels. One of my favorites is America's Test Kitchen because it combines science with cooking (two of my loves). On the episode I watched (you can watch the clip here) they made this cauliflower soup and I thought, "Man, I think I could do that!" I've never before made (or attempted to make) anything I've seen on a cooking show on TV, but this time I looked up the recipe and tried it myself. And it was totally doable and totally delicious. It was pretty tasty and surprisingly easy (even the browned butter cauliflower floret garnish wasn't too much of a headache, and it made me feel super fancy to dress up my bowl that way). I have visions of making this as the base for other creamy soups like clam chowder. It was pretty remarkable how creamy it was without any milk or cream. That's science for you (more details of the whys of that on their site).
Friday, May 30, 2014
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
Source: Mel again
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled/old-fashioned oats
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 Tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted (I used butter)
1/3 cup sugar (I used brown sugar instead, as suggested by some of the commenters)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins, optional (I happened to have some dried cranberries so I threw them in and - whoa! so tasty!)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease the muffin cups. Set aside..
In a medium bowl, stir together the oatmeal, applesauce, milk, egg, vanilla, butter and sugar. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt (and cranberries or raisins if using). Make a well in the center and pour in the applesauce mixture. Stir until just combined (don't overmix or the muffins will be dense and dry). The muffin batter texture might be a bit different (wetter?) than other muffin batters but no fear, carry on!
Distribute the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake or the muffins will be dry.
Remove the muffins to a rack to cool completely. Apparently they freeze beautifully (I ate them too quickly to need to freeze them) so you might want to make a double batch.
Notes:
I was a lot quicker for my Muffin of the Month in May, making these before even the halfway point in the month! These were so, so, so yummy. Cal inhaled hers whenever I shared with her, begging for "more" as only a cute 11-month old can via baby sign language. I'll be making them again. And again and again.
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled/old-fashioned oats
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 Tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted (I used butter)
1/3 cup sugar (I used brown sugar instead, as suggested by some of the commenters)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins, optional (I happened to have some dried cranberries so I threw them in and - whoa! so tasty!)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease the muffin cups. Set aside..
In a medium bowl, stir together the oatmeal, applesauce, milk, egg, vanilla, butter and sugar. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt (and cranberries or raisins if using). Make a well in the center and pour in the applesauce mixture. Stir until just combined (don't overmix or the muffins will be dense and dry). The muffin batter texture might be a bit different (wetter?) than other muffin batters but no fear, carry on!
Distribute the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake or the muffins will be dry.
Remove the muffins to a rack to cool completely. Apparently they freeze beautifully (I ate them too quickly to need to freeze them) so you might want to make a double batch.
Notes:
I was a lot quicker for my Muffin of the Month in May, making these before even the halfway point in the month! These were so, so, so yummy. Cal inhaled hers whenever I shared with her, begging for "more" as only a cute 11-month old can via baby sign language. I'll be making them again. And again and again.
Pretzel Chocolate Chip Muffins
Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Ingredients:
Note from Mel: This recipe calls for ground pretzels. You can either use a food processor or blender to grind them up or smash them to smithereens in a ziploc bag. Take care not to grind them so small like the consistency of flour. It should be like a very coarse meal with small pretzel pieces - kind of like a crunchy dry cornmeal mixture. Too fine and the muffins will be dry. You'll also need some broken pretzels for the streusel - I left mine pretty chunky, just a pound or two with a rolling pin so they stay in nice big chunks. FYI: I used pretzel sticks but any thin pretzel like that (twists or sticks) should work fine.
for the streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup ground pretzels (see note)
1/4 cup broken pretzels
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
for the muffins:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup ground pretzels (see note)
2/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips (I just used regulars because I didn't have minis)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin (12-cup) with muffin liners or coat the muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
For the streusel, in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, ground pretzels, broken pretzels and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter. Cover and chill the mixture while you make the muffin batter.
For the muffins, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground pretzels, chocolate chips, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
In a large liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the milk, sugar, eggs, oil, butter and vanilla. Mix well. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring only until just incorporated (so the muffins are light and fluffy).
Let the batter sit for 2-3 minutes. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Squeeze the chilled streusel into little clumps and top each muffin with a good smothering of streusel. This is fairly messy; don't worry, it's worth it. You may not use all the streusel but most of it should get piled high on top of the muffins.
Bake the muffins for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean without any wet batter. Let the muffins cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. Try not to eat them all in one sitting.
Notes:
These were my April Muffins-of-the-Month. They were epic. 'Nough said.
Ingredients:
Note from Mel: This recipe calls for ground pretzels. You can either use a food processor or blender to grind them up or smash them to smithereens in a ziploc bag. Take care not to grind them so small like the consistency of flour. It should be like a very coarse meal with small pretzel pieces - kind of like a crunchy dry cornmeal mixture. Too fine and the muffins will be dry. You'll also need some broken pretzels for the streusel - I left mine pretty chunky, just a pound or two with a rolling pin so they stay in nice big chunks. FYI: I used pretzel sticks but any thin pretzel like that (twists or sticks) should work fine.
for the streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup ground pretzels (see note)
1/4 cup broken pretzels
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
for the muffins:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup ground pretzels (see note)
2/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips (I just used regulars because I didn't have minis)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin (12-cup) with muffin liners or coat the muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
For the streusel, in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, ground pretzels, broken pretzels and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter. Cover and chill the mixture while you make the muffin batter.
For the muffins, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground pretzels, chocolate chips, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
In a large liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the milk, sugar, eggs, oil, butter and vanilla. Mix well. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring only until just incorporated (so the muffins are light and fluffy).
Let the batter sit for 2-3 minutes. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Squeeze the chilled streusel into little clumps and top each muffin with a good smothering of streusel. This is fairly messy; don't worry, it's worth it. You may not use all the streusel but most of it should get piled high on top of the muffins.
Bake the muffins for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean without any wet batter. Let the muffins cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. Try not to eat them all in one sitting.
Notes:
These were my April Muffins-of-the-Month. They were epic. 'Nough said.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Roasted Strawberry Muffins
Source
Ingredients:
1 lb. strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and diced
1 cup sugar (plus more for topping)
milk, if needed
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup low-fat greek yogurt
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Spread the berries out on the sheet, sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and toss gently to mix. Roast, stirring once or twice, until the berries are tender and have released most of their juices, about 20-22 minutes. Place a colander or strainer over a bowl or liquid measuring cup and strain the berries, reserving the excess juices. You will have approximately 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of juice. Add just enough milk to make 6 tablespoons total liquid if you are short on juice.
2. Lower the oven temperature to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flours, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to blend. In a large mixing bowl, combine the reserved strawberry juice/milk, greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the melted butter. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk just until combined and no dry streaks remain. Fold in the strawberries with a spatula.
3. Divide the batter between the prepared muffin liners. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar, if desired. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the muffins are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
Notes: These are some of our all-time favorite muffins, especially when served with homemade freezer jam. Y. U. M. To make them a little more diabetic-friendly (so that I can eat more of them!), I usually replace the all purpose flour with more white whole wheat, and reduce the sugar by 1/2 (and replace it with a little applesauce, if I'm in the mood). The roasting is kind of a pain, but necessary, so I usually just cook the rest of breakfast and prep the dough/batter while they're baking.
Ingredients:
1 lb. strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and diced
1 cup sugar (plus more for topping)
milk, if needed
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup low-fat greek yogurt
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Spread the berries out on the sheet, sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and toss gently to mix. Roast, stirring once or twice, until the berries are tender and have released most of their juices, about 20-22 minutes. Place a colander or strainer over a bowl or liquid measuring cup and strain the berries, reserving the excess juices. You will have approximately 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of juice. Add just enough milk to make 6 tablespoons total liquid if you are short on juice.
2. Lower the oven temperature to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flours, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to blend. In a large mixing bowl, combine the reserved strawberry juice/milk, greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the melted butter. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk just until combined and no dry streaks remain. Fold in the strawberries with a spatula.
3. Divide the batter between the prepared muffin liners. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar, if desired. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the muffins are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
Notes: These are some of our all-time favorite muffins, especially when served with homemade freezer jam. Y. U. M. To make them a little more diabetic-friendly (so that I can eat more of them!), I usually replace the all purpose flour with more white whole wheat, and reduce the sugar by 1/2 (and replace it with a little applesauce, if I'm in the mood). The roasting is kind of a pain, but necessary, so I usually just cook the rest of breakfast and prep the dough/batter while they're baking.
Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes
Source
Ingredients:
1 cup dried brown or green lentils, rinsed
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp tomato paste
1 onion, chopped fine
1/2 red or green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste (I omitted to make it a little more family-friendly)
Directions:
1. Stir ingredients together right in the slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 7-8 hours. (I actually cooked mine on low for 10 hours and it was great)
Notes: We love lentils in our family. We also love replacing and/or supplementing meat with as many vegetables as possible, so this was a great fit for us. I didn't love the sauce and texture as much as I thought I would, so next time I think I'll just adapt Mom's sloppy joe recipe to use lentils and vegetables instead of meat, but the concept is a definite keeper! Oh, I also added a shredded carrots, maybe 1/2 - 1 cup.
Ingredients:
1 cup dried brown or green lentils, rinsed
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp tomato paste
1 onion, chopped fine
1/2 red or green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste (I omitted to make it a little more family-friendly)
Directions:
1. Stir ingredients together right in the slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 7-8 hours. (I actually cooked mine on low for 10 hours and it was great)
Notes: We love lentils in our family. We also love replacing and/or supplementing meat with as many vegetables as possible, so this was a great fit for us. I didn't love the sauce and texture as much as I thought I would, so next time I think I'll just adapt Mom's sloppy joe recipe to use lentils and vegetables instead of meat, but the concept is a definite keeper! Oh, I also added a shredded carrots, maybe 1/2 - 1 cup.
Mexican Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
1 16 oz package rotini pasta
1 1/2 c. salsa
1 cup mayo
1/2 sour cream
1 16 oz can black beans
1 11 oz can corn
1/2 c. diced red bell pepper
2 green onions
1 4.25 can olives, sliced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cilantro
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Cook pasta, drain, and cool.
2. Whisk salsa, mayo, sour cream, black beans, corn, pepper, onions, olives, and spices together in a large bowl. Add cooled pasta and stir to coat evenly.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes:
Not earth-shatteringly delicious, but certainly worth sharing at a potluck if you're looking for something different to try.
1 16 oz package rotini pasta
1 1/2 c. salsa
1 cup mayo
1/2 sour cream
1 16 oz can black beans
1 11 oz can corn
1/2 c. diced red bell pepper
2 green onions
1 4.25 can olives, sliced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cilantro
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Cook pasta, drain, and cool.
2. Whisk salsa, mayo, sour cream, black beans, corn, pepper, onions, olives, and spices together in a large bowl. Add cooled pasta and stir to coat evenly.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes:
Not earth-shatteringly delicious, but certainly worth sharing at a potluck if you're looking for something different to try.
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