Coconut and Lime Lassi

I am a fool.

No, no, no, you say. You're not a fool, why would you say such things about yourself.

But nay, let me assure you that I am a fool. Why, you ask? Well, it's perfectly simple. I love lassis. Whenever I go to an Indian restaurant, someone invariably orders a lassi and offers everyone else a sip, and it's wonderful. I never order one for myself because they're about $4 for a tiny glass and I'm too thrifty to pay that for a non-alcoholic drink. So I just watch the lucky joe who's freer with his cash than I am sit back and sip his lassi in perfect contentment.

So that makes you cheap, you say, but not a fool. [At which point, I correct you and say that I'm "thrifty," not "cheap."] It makes me a fool because do you know what a lassi is? It's basically diluted yogurt with sugar or salt. THAT'S IT. I could have been making lassis for DECADES. What a fool I've been!! I thought there was something tricky in it, like rice milk, something that I'd have to actually remember to get from the store and never would remember until I got home, slapping myself on the forehead.

Recipes seem to vary to taste based on how much water to yogurt, and then how much sugar/salt to the base. I saw one that was basically 1 cup of yogurt to 1 cup of water/ice cubes (to your liking), and then 2 tablespoons sugar in that with a pinch of salt, all blended together in a blender. But I think it really depends on your personal preference. Taste as you go. I guess a traditional lassi is actually salty, not sweet, but I may have to work up to that one. I had some coconut milk to use up, and it was hot today so I felt like something with a little more zing in it. I'm putting the recipe here, but I really just eyeballed it.

Coconut and Lime Lassi

Makes 2 drinks

1/2 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 cups yogurt
2 tablespoons sugar, plus more to taste
Juice from 1 lime
Thinly sliced lime circles for garnish, optional

Put coconut milk, yogurt, sugar, and lime juice in a blender. Blend until even and frothy, about 30 seconds. Add more sugar until it’s sweet enough to your liking. Pour into a pitcher or glasses, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

UPDATE: Peach & coconut is also a great combo.

Kale Chips a la me

I've been tweaking and experimenting, and this is the kale chip recipe I've decided I like.

• 1 bunch Organic Kale (ie, enough to be laid in a single layer on two baking sheets).
  
• 1.5ish TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 small glug sesame oil
  
• 1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
  
• 1/2 tsp table salt

1. preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Rinse kale and pat dry with a paper towel or take it for a spin in a salad spinner. Cut off stems and tear leafs off of the rib. Throw away the center rib pieces and set aside.
3. In a large bowl whisk together oil, vinegar and salt and add the kale. Gently AND THOROUGHLY toss. The kale has to be evenly coated or you'll get giant salt deposits. Not good.
   
4. Divide kale among two baking sheets (parchment paper unnecessary, but I would wash the sheets not too long after using them). It's important that the kale is in a single layer or you'll get soggy kale.
   
5. Bake for 20 minutes until crispy. If you have some pieces that aren't dried yet, take off the ones that are and stick the undone leaves back in for a couple minutes.

NOTES: Jean asked me if I thought this recipe could be used with other leafy greens. I didn't try it with spinach, but I think that wouldn't work out well at all (too weak). Tonight I tried it with collards and it turned out pretty comparatively. The only thing was that, at my grocery store at least, a bunch of collards is about twice the size of a bunch of kale. Adjust the dressing amount accordingly.

Jean was also wondering if they could be made with chard. I have a love-hate thing with chard. Sometimes I really dig when you make something with the leaves and then you have the ribs left over to do with what you will. Bonus vegetable! But other days those ribs are a burden, and I feel shackled by the responsibility of having to do something with them so soon after using the leaves. So I haven't tried it, but you are welcome to. Let me know.

Kale Crisps with vinegar

I may be obsessed.

• 1 bunch Organic Kale
• 2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Vinegar, Apple Cider or Balsamic
• 1/2 - 1 tsp Salt, kosher or sea salt

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Rinse kale and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut off stems and tear leafs off of the rib. Throw away the center rib pieces and set aside.
3. In a large bowl whisk together oil, vinegar and salt and add the Kale. Gently toss.
4. Put parchment paper on two baking sheets and divide kale among them. Bake for 15-17 minutes until crispy. (I would say less time, say 13 minutes.)
   

RESULTS: I baked the previous batch of kale chips on a silicone mat, even though the recipe said to use parchment paper. I didn't quite get the desired cripsiness, they seemed to get moer shriveled than crisp, and at the time I wondered if it could have been the fault of the mat-for-paper substitution. This time, in the interest of science (and because one of my mats was being used for soda bread and I didn't have enough parchment paper for two sheets), I decided to line one sheet with paper and one with the mat. First I have to say that, regardless of which one you use, PLEASE stand back when you open the oven. This recipe had vinegar in it and vaporized vinegar pouring out with the steam when you open the oven is not pleasant on the eyes. Trust me.

Anyway, there was a real difference. The silicone chips were simultaneously crispy and soggy. It's hard to explain. But the paper must absorb the moisture as the kale bakes, so the parchment ones didn't have any moisture clinging to them. On the other hand, some of the parchment crisps were boarder-line burnt. So that's why I would recommend a shorter time.

I'm not sure I'm a big fan of the vinegar. It's not bad, but it didn't do a whole lot for me. I guess it depends on your feelings about vinegar. It might also still be a bit salty for my taste. They're still less salty than potato chips, but saltier than I would normally eat kale. My tongue is confused.

K, I didn't eat all of these right away, so I put some in a tupperware just to see what would happen. I tested after a couple hours, and they were soggy already. So I would say no to the tupperware, but I'm not sure how to store leftovers. Let me know if you figure anything out.

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Results:
Amaaaaaaaziiiing! Go easy on the salt. For some reason I thought the recipe called for kosher salt, which definitely is not the best choice since the salt won't dissolve as it would in a sauce or soup or something. Other recipes call for grated cheese, which would be fun, too.

Cheese Straws

Going to a potluck barbecue. I had some puff pastry in the freezer that I've been needing to use up + It's strawberry season again (the market smelled so gooood) = I thought to make something for the potluck with puff pastry and strawberries. And then I tasted the strawberries. I'm not sharing. They're all for me. So I made these instead. My friends need never know....

From the Gourmet cookbook, that giant yellow behemoth:

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17 1/4-ounce package), thawed
• 1 large egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup finely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (about 4 ounces)
• Course sea salt (I don't think table salt would work at all. Use course salt or nothing.)

1. Put a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 425.
2. Generously butter two baking sheets (I used my silicon sheets and skipped the butter)
3. roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 14-by-12-inch rectangle. Cut crosswise in half to form two 12-by-7-inch rectangles. Brush both with the egg wash. Sprinkle cheese evenly over one rectangle and top the other rectangle, egg wash side down. Press firmly on the pastry to force out any air pockets, then roll out gently to make the layers adhere (it should end up about 12.5 by 7.5 inches). Brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle with course salt.
4. With a pastry wheel, pizza cutter, or sharp knife, cut pastry crosswise into twenty-four 1/2-inch pieces. Twist each strip two or three times and place on the baking sheet, pushing down the edges to keep the strip twisted. Put 12 strips on the sheet.
5. Bake until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes, then let cool for a couple minutes on the sheet.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the strips for the other baking sheet and bake when the first batch is done.
7. Loose baked strips with a metal spatula (I could just pick them up from the silicon) and cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

RESULTS: These might be all for me, too.

Mixed Nuts with Rosemary

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mixed nuts (pecans and walnuts work really well b/c of their ridges)
• 4 Tbs (1/2 stick) butter
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (NOT dried!)
• pinch of cayenne pepper (optional, but highly recommended)
• Coarse salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress. On a rimmed baking sheet, roast nuts until golden and fragrant, about 12-15 minutes. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter and rosemary over medium heat. Add sugar and stir (you may need to use a whisk) until combined .Add nuts; stir until butter mixture is golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Stir in pinch of cayenne.
3. Spread nuts on prepared baking sheet. Season with salt. Cool to room temperature, tossing occasionally, about 15 minutes.

RESULTS: I first tried these nuts at a friends party and I couldn't stop eating them. I called to ask for the recipe and she said she would not only give me the recipe, but she's also give me about a quart of the nuts that she had leftover (her mom made a quadrupple batch). I still couldn't stop eating them, so I tried to make them myself and I burnt the heck out of the sugar. It was fairly awful. So, I changed the recipe around (that's what I wrote here) so that the sugar isn't added until after the butter melts, and the temp is at medium, not medium high. It's not as good as Gina's mom's nuts, but it's way better than a house that smells like burnt sugar.

Go easy on the cayenne, it's stronger than you think.

Chocolate Chip Cookie #10

Some of you may know that I've been having a couple crises over the last few years. One is my pie crust crisis. Ever since I've graduated from college, I just can't pull together a good pie crust, and the more I try (fancy recipes, ice water, using shortening AND butter) the worst they get. But that's a battle to fight another day, because yesterday I got a different monkey off my back: the chocolate chip cookie. My cookies have been turning into flat, anemic-looking rubber disks that burnt on the edges, stayed raw in the middle, and glommed together in the cookie jar so badly they turned into a chocolate chip mass. No longer, my friends! These cookies remained discreet, each one delicious and distinguishable from the next. This picture is of my actual cookies. And, they were pretty darn tasty, too. Huzzah!

In celebration of this achievement, I'm going to actually TYPE UP a long recipe from a cookbook. Normally, I'll do a search on the Google for a recipe from a cookbook, and if I can't find it, I don't post it. (sorry!) But this is a remarkable day. Enjoy. It's from Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for More Food, which I like, among many other reasons, because it includes the weight and volume of the ingredients.

Dry Ingredients:
10 3/4 oz or 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:
5 1/3 oz or 3/4 cup sugar
5 oz or 3/4 cup brown sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter* melted and slightly cooled
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Other: 2 cups chocolate chips

Combine the dry ingredients well (Alton recommends using a food processor. I used a whisk). In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugar well, until you can't see the individual sugar particles but you can still feel them, and the butter has lightened in color and doubled in volume. Add the egg yolks one at a time, then the vanilla. Then gradually add the dry goods, mix just until combined, then fold in the chips.

Using a 1-ounce disher**, scoop 24 portions onto two ungreased baking sheets. At this stage, the cookies can be frozen on the pans then moved to zip-top bags, they'll keep for 3 months.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until golden brown (I rotated the pans halfway through, both between the two racks and I rotated each pan so the back was put to the front). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

RESULTS: Well, you already know how I feel about these cookies. They weren't the best fresh, though, they had some crumbly grandularness to them, which evened out after resting overnight in the cookie jar. They had some good butteriness and also just enough saltiness. I will never make another chocolate chip cookie recipe. This is it, love at first sight.

*I was running out of butter, and I had a stick of margarine left over from before I swore off margarine, so I used one stick of margarine and one stick butter. I'm not sure how that affected the results, we'll have to see the next time I make them. Also, the butter, though almost soft, wasn't QUITE soft. Again, I don't know how that affected the results.

**I didn't have a 1-oz scooper, but I didn't really need it. The batter was more of a paste, and it was pretty easy to just split it in half, put half on each cookie sheet, then continue halving and, uh, thirding(?) until I had 12 equal portions on each sheet.

Peanut Chocolate Toffee

Peanut Chocolate Toffee

The transformation of butter, sugar, and salt into toffee is culinary alchemy at its best. This version is studded with cocktail peanuts and a decadent layer of bittersweet chocolate.

Yield: Makes about 3 pounds
Active Time: 45 min
Total Time: 1 3/4 hr

4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups whole cocktail peanuts plus 1 cup chopped (1 pound 10 ounces)

7 to 8 ounces 70%-cacao bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Equipment: a 15- by 10- by 1-inch baking pan; a candy thermometer; a metal offset spatula

Butter baking pan and put on a heatproof surface.

Bring butter, sugar, and salt to a boil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat, whisking until smooth, then boil, stirring occasionally, until mixture is deep golden and registers 300°F (hard-crack stage; see Kitchen Notebook, page 240) on thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes.

Immediately stir in whole peanuts, then carefully pour hot toffee into center of baking pan. Spread with spatula, smoothing top, and let stand 1 minute, then immediately sprinkle chocolate on top. Let stand until chocolate is melted, 4 to 5 minutes, then spread over toffee with cleaned spatula. Sprinkle evenly with chopped peanuts, then freeze until chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes. Break into pieces.

Cooks' note:
Toffee keeps, layered between sheets of parchment paper, in an airtight container at cool room temperature 2 weeks.

Cooks' note:
Toffee keeps, layered between sheets of parchment paper, in an airtight container at cool room temperature 2 weeks.

RESULTS: Love! I made these for a cookie exchange/charity for the poor grad students in our office to take home. They were pretty excited about it, so I think it turned out ok. I decided to make the toffee because I just don't think I use my candy thermometer enough. With Epicurious, I always check the reviews of other people, and those people had some really good tips for keeping the butter from separating (using salted butter instead of unsalted and leaving out the extra salt, boiling it for longer over lower heat, etc). They also recommended cutting back on the whole peanuts to 2 cups (in addition to the 1 cup of chopped nuts), which I did (I mixed regularly salted cocktail peanuts and lightly salted), and I added vanilla extract, which was delicious. I think you could do 3 cups of whole peanuts, but I don't think I would like 4 cups of whole peanuts, plus the chopped. Too many peanuts. Here's a link to the website so you can check them out for yourself.

A note of warning, there was a LOT of stirring. Also, it's really helpful to have everything chopped that needs to be chopped before the sugar and butter hit the heat. And some toffee-making music, as there was a LOT of stirring. A LOT.

One final tip: The only pan I had that was even close to being as big as this recipe called for was that enchilada pan I got from CVS, but it was still too small and the toffee came out too thick to break into small pieces in some spots. The toffee "batter" had a fairly high vicosity, so I was thinking I might try putting it on a cookie sheet next time, as those are pretty long and wide, even though they don't have edges to keep everything in. I just won't spread to the edges.

Union Square Cafe bar nuts mix

I got this recipe off of a chat transcript for the Washington Post food section.

1-1/4 pounds mixed raw nuts, toasted for 10 minutes at 350. Toss with 2 teaspoons brown sugar, two teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, two tablespoons chopped rosemary and 1 tablespoon melted butter. Serve warm. (Though cold is fine too.)

RESULTS: Whoa, way too spicy. The problem was the cayenne clumped, so some nuts were very coated with it, and some had barely a hint of spice. I would still halve the spice, myself, but it's totally variable. Otherwise, they were really good, I really liked the sweet, salty, rosemary mix. It was a lot like what I was trying to do a couple months ago; I got a recipe from a friend, who got it from her mom, for rosemary nuts, but her recipe called for mixing all the ingredients and THEN putting it in the oven, which was disasterous since the suger burned, the kitchen (well, the whole house, really) filled with the worst smoke, EVERY smoke alarm was going off,... not good. I would recommend this method instead. I didn't do a post on that other recipe because there was really no finished product to evaluate.

The rosemary is much better fresh (I dried both fresh and dried and the fresh is better). As for what nuts to use, I used cashews, walnuts and pecans. The cashews weren't the best in the mix, they really didn't take on much of the flavor. The pecans came in second place, but the walnuts really worked well. I think peanuts could be good? Maybe almonds? I don't think I'd use cashews again, though. I think they just have so much flavor to begin with, and with the smooth outside of the nut, there's nothing for the spices to settle into. Either way, thumbs up on this one (if with less spice).

Thing I learned today: squash seeds!

Roasted squash seeds are just as good as pumpkin seeds. Gastrointenstinal effects to be determined, but I think it'll be ok. :) I made a delicata squash, which to me seemed a little on the bitter side. I'm not sure I prefer it to acorn or butternut.

It snowed just a teeny tiny little bit yesterday. Methinks it'll be a cold winter!

Alton Brown's Turbo Hummus

Ingredients
2 to 3 cloves garlic
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and liquid reserved
2 to 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
A handful fresh parsley leaves
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Pinch kosher salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Chop the garlic finely in a food processor. Add the beans and 1/2 of the reserved liquid and process finely or to desired consistency. Add the peanut butter, parsley, lemon zest and juice, black pepper, and salt. Process until it forms a paste. Drizzle in the olive oil and process until it reaches the consistency of mayonnaise.

Results:
I tried this recipe out because lately I've been consuming a large amount of store-bought hummus, and decided it would save money if I did it myself. The recipe is especially appealing because it replaces the very elusive tahini with peanut butter, and who doesn't have peanut butter in their cabinet? Actually, the only ingredient I didn't already have was a lemon and fresh parsley, so the total cost for this was: $1.50.

Anyway the results: first off, because I don't have a food processor, I used a stick blender (my favorite kitchen appliance next to Mr. Coffee). Well, it did the job, but not without occasionally sending globs of hummus flying around the kitchen, and I never could reach the "consistency of mayonnaise." Also, I used a large handful of the parsley because I figure I have smaller hands then my man Alton. Don't do that. The hummus is good, but is a very unappealing pea-green color. Finally, some comments have suggested using 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 sesame oil to make it taste more like tahini (which is paste make from sesame seeds). It also doesn't taste like store-bought hummus in the way that cookies from the store and cookies from the stove taste differently. They both taste good, but different. It would be interesting to see what the difference tahini would make. All-in-all, it was very quick, easy, and good, but I don't think this recipe would satisfy someone looking for an authentic-tasting hummus.

Minty dog treats

INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp (45 ml)- vegetable oil
1- egg (medium)
1/2 cup (35 g)- fresh mint (chopped)
1/2 cup (35 g) fresh parsley (chopped)
2/3 cup (150ml)- milk
2 cups (280 g)- brown rice flour

DIRECTIONS
Combine the oil, egg, mint, parsley, and milk and whisk together.
Blend in the flour slowly and beat until you form a stiff dough.
Place the dough on a floured counter and roll out about 1/2 inch and cut into shapes with cookie cutters (or make flattened balls).
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.


RESULTS: Harper likes them a lot. They make her breath smell like mint. What more could you want?