Summer, Wrapping Up

This recipe was inspired by persistently hot temperatures, boredom, hunger and a post over on Orangette about Brandon’s soba noodles. I made the sauce to see if it was something I’d like, since I’m a little suspicious about peanut sauces much of the time (too peanutty—I know, I’m weird). This one looked safe, given how acid it promised to be and the simple fact that it had sriracha in it. I ditched the chili-garlic sauce right away, as that stuff is far too hot for my tastes, even in small quantities. A little (ok, a LOT) of tweaking over last weekend and I’m happy to say I’ve got a version that is very close to the kind I used to order all the time when I lived in New York and have bought from the Giant deli too many times to coung. This version is far cheaper to make and easier to modify to my tastes or supplies that day. I ate this warm the first time I made it, as I was hungry and didn’t feel like waiting for it to cool off, but it’s meant to be eaten cold and is quite good anywhere in between. It’s definitely one of those dishes that doesn’t suffer from being in the fridge for a few days. Added benefits: it’s vegetarian, easy to throw together (the longest part of prep is cutting up whatever veggies you want) and could possibly get away with being vegan if you use soba or dig up some brown rice spaghetti or linguini to make it with. Even easier bonus: The peanut sauce recipe could easily be doubled, leaving you with plenty of leftover sauce to use for the Thai Chicken Wraps that are posted over on Simply.Live (they sound wonderful, and just as easy to throw together as these noodles, if not more so) and even as a dipping sauce for plain old chunks of grilled chicken.



(Almost) Sesame Cold Noodles

Sauce:

-½ cup creamy peanut butter-1 Tbsp. soy sauce
-1 Tbsp sweet soy (or use another ½ Tbsp soy sauce and ½ Tbsp brown sugar)-1/2 tsp. pressed garlic (about 1 small clove) or ¼ tsp garlic powder-½ cup fresh lime juice-½-1 tsp. sriracha or a similar hot sauce, or more to taste-2 tsp. olive oil-1 tsp. water

For the noodles:

-½ to ¾ lb. soba noodles OR 1 lb lo mein noodles OR ¾ to 1 lb linguini
-2-3 large handfuls of bean sprouts
-1 cup julienned snow peas
-3 scallions, cut into inch long strips
-1 red or green pepper, julienned
-1 medium carrot, julienned
-1-2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
-1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and julienned
-Fresh cilantro or basil leaves, for serving (optional, but nice)

Directions:

First, make the sauce. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and whisk to blend well. Keep at it for a minute, it will be lumpy at first but will blend into a smooth sauce. You could do this in a blender if you really want, but that will add extra dishes. Taste, adjust to your liking and set aside.Meanwhile boil water in a large pot and cook your noodles. If using soba, be careful, as they are rather delicate compared to the other types and will cook quickly. Do not overcook your noodles, regardless of which kind you use.

Drain the noodles into the colander in the sink. Then immediately wash them in cool water. Turn on the faucet use your hands to pick up small handfuls of noodles and separate them between your fingers, taking care that each noodle is rinsed. Washing the noodles is most important to lo mein or soba, but helps to stop the cooking in the linguini and to remove any starchy residues to keep the noodles from clumping. Shake any excess water from the noodles, and turn them into the bowl of sauce. Using two forks, gently toss until the noodles are evenly coated. Add the vegetables (except cucumber) and however many sesame seeds you wish and toss gently to combine. Top with cucumber strips and fresh cilantro or basil, if using, and serve.


Notes:

-This is one of those recipes where you can use pretty much whatever veggies you want. The ones I’ve chosen are based on my own tastes. I wouldn’t recommend broccoli, cauliflower, peas or corn, but nearly anything else that can be cut into strips would be perfect. Bok choy, cabbage, spinach, radishes, celery, even peeled and seeded tomatoes are pretty good. Whatever you’ve got in your crisper will probably work out just fine, just pick what looks good and run with it. Pre-cut veggies are great here too. In fact, the only way I'd recommend broccoli in this is if you use the broccoli slaw mix, as the hard work is already done and the shape is just about perfect.
-Bean sprouts. You can jam as many as you like into this recipe, and I’m tempted to try it sometime without any actual noodles. Because of their shape they virtually disappear into the mix here and their mild flavor blends very well with the citrussy-tart peanut sauce. They retain their crunch as well, but aren’t as noticeable on their own as they might be in other recipes. Definitely a good way to use up a bag of them or feed them to someone who wouldn’t normally go for them.
-I like my noodles a little drier than other people when it comes to peanut sauces, so if you feel the need for more sauce, it’s pretty easy to make a little more and toss it in. It’s also pretty easy to overdo it, so keep an eye on how much sauce is sitting in the bottom of your bowl before you drown it.
-You could easily sub out the peanut butter or part of it for other butters, including tahini. I haven’t made it with straight tahini yet, but if a whole lot of sesame is your thing, go for it. If I want a bit more sesame punch, I’ve added a tablespoon or so and a little extra lime juice. That’s enough for me, but again, make it however you want it.
-Lime juice is far from the only acid you can use in this sauce. Lemon works pretty well, and I’ve read in other places that you can even use orange juice, but you’ll need to up the acidity with rice vinegar.

For Rachel...

Because she wanted this one :)

This icing first made the rounds of my family a few years ago when my sister discovered it hiding in the pages of a lovely book called The Cake Mix Doctor by Ann Byrn. There was also a version of this that my grandmother made quite a long time ago (as in, I don't remember eating it) that was more of a butterscotch fudge recipe than an icing. After several years of mutual experimentation the recipe below is the one we usually stick closest too. Mine can come out soft or so crackly it falls off of the cake, my sister's tends to be softer and grainer due to her use of a spoon over a mixer and mom's can be anywhere in between.

Ann Byrn's book is a great one to pick up if you're not much of a baker but want to be or need to be quickly. The recipes feature a box cake mix as a base and ways to "doctor" them that render truly wonderful desserts. One I found all over the place in conjunction with her version of this icing was a banana cake topped with caramel icing and salted pecans. Sounds good to me. My sister's most requested accompaniement to this icing is a chocolate cinnamon banana cake. Sounds odd, but the whole thing comes together very well.


Caramel Icing
(Start to finish, this takes about 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
-8 tablespoons (one stick butter)-1 cup packed brown sugar (light, dark, doesn't seem to matter too much. use whichever one you like)
-1/4 cup milk (skim, whole, half & half--whatever is on hand)
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted


Directions:
Place the butter and the brown sugar, milk and vanilla in a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil for one minute and remove from heat. Add the confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth. You can use a spoon for this, but I have my hand mixer set up and waiting when I start and use that.

Use icing immediately. As soon as the powdered sugar is incorporated the icing will change texture and become creamy/pasty instead of just liquid. To ice a cake I usually just pour the icing directly from the pot onto the cake. this works best for bundt cakes and sheet cakes that are still in the pan. If you've got a rack you can set the cake on while you pour you'll have a cleaner edge to the bottom of your cake, but where's the fun in that? Work as quickly as you can without burning yourself, and if you need to spread the icing do it as soon as it hits the cake--it will set in seconds. If you want a smooth finish, be careful and pour evenly.


Notes:
-Sift the powdered sugar. If you don't, you'll have little bits of clumped powdered sugar all throughout the icing, and it's not pretty. Tastes fine, looks creepy. If you're icing a cake for halloween that's supposed to look awful, then not sifting and not quite mixing thoroughly is the way to go.
-Fill the pot with water as soon as you're done with it. Trust me on this one. It's far easier to clean out later if it soaks for a while, as this icing is very nearly a fudge recipe and scrubbing candy off a pot that has had time to cool and dry is a royal pain.
-Have a spoon on hand to scrape out the pot a bit before you stick it in the sink. The benefit here is two fold: there's less in the pot to scrub out later, and the icing that hardens on the spoon is quite good on it's own.
-This should probably go without saying, but if you use a mixer, use caution. Boiling sugar and skin do not mix well, so start it at a low speed. I like using a mixer because it does such a thorough job so quickly and results in a smoother texture. Using a spoon is fine, but results in a slightly grainier finish to the icing. Either way, it tastes great.
-Cupcakes. My sister has iced cupcakes with this, and it's quite good that way. To do that, put the pot back on the stove when the icing is mixed and keep it on low and stir frequently to keep it malleable. Use the spoon to drizzle globs of the icing over the cupcakes, but keep the cupcakes in their tin while you do so. This saves your counters from drips (mostly).
-If the icing seizes up too quickly and you still have a large portion of it in the pot, you can warm it on the stove and melt it back into useablility. You can add a spoon of water or milk, but if you add too much that will change the texture.
-The longer the sugar boils the harder the icing will set. One minute or so will yield a firm, breakable icing when it sets. if you want it softer, don't boil it quite so long. You will probably need to make this a few times to get the hang of how it will react and what consistency you like best. I have found that this is a very easy way to finish a cake that just about everyone loves, so getting failed experiments out of your kitchen shouldn't be too difficult, assuming whoever else might be in your house lets you.

Simplicity, Elevated

Ok, so it's been a really long time since the last post. Apologies if anyone is actually watching this. I've got a handful of things to post over the next few days, but thought I'd start with a recipe for mujadara, a Lebanese lentil, rice and onion dish that was one of my staples a while ago and I started making again a few weeks ago and can't get enough of. The method is time consuming, though fairly simple, and the results are worth exponentially more than the sum of the parts.
Bonus points: This is really cheap to make, especially if you happen to find a 10 pound bag of onions for $3, as I did this weekend. If you've not already found your nearest international grocer, you may want to start looking. The produce alone is usually worth it, as are the wonderful deals on all sorts of ingredients you'll never find in a regular grocery store.

Mujadara

Ingredients:
-¼ cup olive oil
-about 1 ½ lb. finely chopped yellow onions (2 medium/large ones, or about 4-5 small)
-1 cup brown or green lentils, picked over
-1 cup basmati rice
-1 tsp. salt or 2 bouillon cubes (vegetarian, beef or chicken)
-3 1/2 cups water


Directions:
In a large (at least 12 inch, with lid) saucepan or dutch oven warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until very caramelized. burnt in spots is fine, and encouraged. you want the onions very brown, as the caramelized onion flavor is the backbone of the dish. This could take anywhere from 30-50 minutes, depending on your stove and your pan. While the onions are cooking, place the lentils in a medium saucepan, add water to cover by an inch or so, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook, undisturbed, for 20 minutes. Drain the lentils, and set them aside. When the onions are ready, stir in the rice. Then add the cooked lentils, along with 3 1/2 cups of water and the salt or bouillon cubes. Stir to mix well, and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook. This can take anywhere from 25-40 minutes, depending on the pan you've chosen. The wide saucepan I use takes 25 minutes, a dutch oven will take longer. The dish is done when the liquid is absorbed and the rice is no longer crunchy. If you check and the liquid is absorbed but the rice is still underdone, add 1/4-1/2 cup of water, recover the pan and allow to steam for another ten minutes or so before you check again.

Serve with additional salt--this is one of those dishes that blooms when a little additional salt is added at the table.

Notes:
-This dish will make a full pan if you're using the saucepan, so enough for 4-6 servings depending on whether you're having it as a main dish or not. Round out the meal with a salad of chopped romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers and feta dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. I recommend finishing with a dish of greek yogurt with honey and peaches.
-Mujadara can be eaten cold, warm or hot. This makes it excellent packed lunch/picnic fare.
-This recipe is vegan if you use veggie bouillon or just salt.
-You can use this as a base for other toppings to make a more substantial meal, if you feel the need. One thing I like do to it is to top it with a poached egg. It adds some protein (and uses up an egg). Not quite eggs and toast, but you get the idea.
-This is one of those dishes that improves with a day or so in the refrigerator. It doesn't have much opportunity to do that in my house, but it does make for fantastic leftovers straight out of the fridge.

The Best Garlic Bread Ever

We've all made garlic bread, and let's face it, it's one of the easiest and most satisfying accompaniments to almost any meal. At its most basic, all you really need is some form of bread, butter or a substitute, salt and garlic powder, and it comes out pretty good. However, it's incredibly easy to take this from meerly good to fantastic, though admittedly it's harder to do this for a crowd than for one or two people. This is my go-to method when I want or need really good garlic bread and don't want to make a whole loaf's worth. It does take a little effort, but the outcome is worth it and it also makes for some really excellent croutons.

Garlic Bread

Ingredients:
- Crusty Bread, sliced 3/4-1 inch thick. French, Italian or whatever you would like to use, except for sliced sandwich bread
- Olive oil
- Garlic clove, split open or partially smashed
- Salt (optional)

Directions:
Brush the olive oil on one side of the bread. Try to do this thinly, and use a pastry brush. If it's too much, it will just be sopped in oil and soggy after you're done. Lightly salt the bread on the oiled side if you so desire. Toast the bread in a hot skillet, as you would with grilled cheese sandwiches. When it's crisped and browned to your liking, remove from the pan and rub the raw garlic clove over the grilled side. Rub a little, it's just a little garlicky, rub a lot, it's a lot.

Notes:
- Learn from my experiments, and don't try to do this with an olive oil spray. It's an easy way to build up a thinish layer of olive oil, but it doesn't taste as good when it's done. Ideally, you're using a half-decent olive oil for this anyway, such as one that you'd use for bread dipping.
- To make this into croutons, just cube it up after you're done cooking it. If you're making it specifically for crouton purposes, oil both sides of the bread as lightly as you can, and grill both sides.

Turkey Goulash

Ok, so this is completely ripped off/adapted from Paula Deen's recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36300,00.html?rsrc=search

After getting over the shock that this is a dish of hers that does not contain butter, I've changed the beef to de-fatted ground turkey and halved the recipe. When I made the full batch I had enough to feed about a dozen people, despite Paula's note that this serves six. Either way, it took a little while to prepare, but was pretty simple and came out really well and will freeze nicely. This is about as low-fat/healthyish as comfort food can get, and you can keep the sodium down if you use low-sodium canned goods.
I also will second Paula's suggestion to serve this with salad and garlic bread--it just makes this meal perfect.


Turkey Goulash

Ingredients:
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 pack sliced mushrooms (4oz) or 1 large can sliced mushrooms, drained (optional)
- 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 1 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon seasoned salt OR 2 chipotle flavored boullion cubes
- 1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked

Directions:
In a LARGE pot, saute the ground turkey over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break up the meat while sauteing. Drain any grease. Add the onions and garlic (and mushroom, if using) to the pot and saute until they are tender. Add water, along with the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder and seasoned salt (or boullion, if using). Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes. At this point, it's ready to eat, or if you're following the Paula method, allow it to sit for 30 minutes.
Garnish with sour cream and paprika, if desired (I didn't think this was needed).

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings, The Easy Way

First, go out and get yourself a crock pot. I like the ones from Rival, even the cheapest one you can find at Target. They hold up forever, take a serious amount of abuse, and if you're really lucky, they come with an adorable carrying case. Just make sure you get one that has a removable crock, I didn't really get going with this little gem until after the one I inherited from my mother without the removable innards died and was replaced with his grandson whose crock can go in the dishwasher. The crock is probably the most used appliance in my kitchen, after the blender. It's the least involved cooking method I have in my repertoire, everything I make in it tastes like I slaved and best of all, it doesn't heat up the kitchen but you can still have hot food. Right now, that alone is reason enough to dig it out and not have to stand over a stove making dinner when I get home from work.
The recipe below is for a four quart crock. Feel free to scale up or down to fit yours, though you may need to make the dumplings themselves on the stove if you go below the 4 quart size.

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients:
- 4-6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup (low fat/no fat versions are fine)
- 1/4-1/2 can water
- 1 cube chicken bouillon (the big soft kind, not the little Wylers pebbles)
- 2 small or 1 big roll of refrigerated biscuits (low fat version at your own risk here, they aren't nearly as good)
- Salt & Pepper

Directions:
- Empty the soup, water and chicken bouillon into the crock, stir together until smooth.
- Add the whole chicken breasts to the pot and stir to coat them with soup mixture.
- Set crock pot on low and leave covered for 8-10 hours or overnight/all day. Chicken is done when it falls apart easily when pulled apart with a fork.
- Remove chicken from crock and set aside in large bowl or plate.
- Set crock pot to high.
- Cut biscuits into bite sized pieces while crock is heating up.
- Dump biscuit pieces into crock and stir briefly to break up and coat with the soup. Put lid back on crock and allow dumplings to cook 20-30 minutes until cooked through.
- While dumplings are cooking, shred chicken with forks.
- When dumplings are finished cooking, return shredded chicken to the crock and stir to incorporate.
- Taste for salt and pepper, adjust seasonings as desired.


Notes:
-This doesn't have vegetables in it. If you want them, I'd recommend some baby carrots/potatoes/onion/mushrooms go in with the chicken, and anything else get added when you add the biscuits. Frozen mixed veggies work quite well if you feel the need, I use a blend of peas, corn and carrots most of the time. Add frozen veggies during the last half hour, they'll disintegrate if you add them in the beginning.
-This freezes very well, so make the whole crock even if it's just you eating it and freeze the rest in individual portions. You'll save yourself some time later, and who knows when the need for some true comfort food will hit?
-As this doesn't have vegetables as a required ingredient, it goes very well with a salad or some other form of edible plant life. I like steamed or frozen myself to help balance out the heaviness inherent in chicken and dumplings and other comfort foods.

The Ultimate Banana Oat Loaf

So I've been experimenting with a banana bread recipe that called for the addition of oatmeal. The first batch I made by roughly following the recipe (but doubling the oatmeal) came out pretty well, but wasn't quite substantial enough for my personal taste. I wanted something I could eat for breakfast and really not be hungry afterwards. After three more batches, here's the rib-sticking result:

Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Loaf

Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter, softened
3 eggs
6 or 8 very ripe bananas (frozen works just fine too, just let them thaw completely first)
2/3 cup brown sugar or honey
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup dried cranberries (a couple of handfuls out of the bag)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (a couple handfuls)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional...but recommended)

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Combine butter, eggs, bananas and sugar in a LARGE bowl.
- When combined, add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, oatmeal and spices.
- Continue until well mixed, and add in the cranberries, nuts and chocolate chips, if using. Batter will be thick and gloppy, but will just get more soggy the longer you let it sit as the oatmeal absorbs the liquid. Don't worry, it turns out fine.
- Scrape into a well-greased bundt pan or 9x13 pyrex. Do not skimp on the cooking spray here. This batter will rise, but not too much. As long as you're not overflowing or too close to the lip of your pan it should be fine.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes for a 9x13 or 50-55 minutes for a bundt. It's done when a toothpick to the center comes out mostly clean and the edges are browned a bit. It's ok to slightly underbake this, as it will not give a perfectly clean toothpick and it's better slightly under than burned.
-If using a bundt, turn out the loaf and allow to cool on the counter or a rack.

Notes:
-You can use whatever kinds of dried fruit you have taking up cupboard space. I just don't like raisins, but think this might be quite good with dates or dried apples or chopped dried apricots.
-This loaf is HEAVY. It comes out mostly oatmeal, held together with some eggs and kept moist with bananas. It will in no way resemble cake, hence the "Loaf" designation in the title.
-I imagine you could try subbing apple sauce for the butter, at least for some of it. I'm trying that as soon as I restock the oatmeal and buy some. I'd up the sauce to half a cup or so though.
-This recipe is pretty easy to halve, just use a loaf pan, 8 or 9 inch cake pan or pie plate to bake it.
-This stuff stays moist uncovered on the counter for days, freezes just fine and is delightful with a cup of tea at my desk for breakfast.

Most of all, use this as a jumping off point of your own. I've found that so far, no matter what I do to it, it stays completely edible, so you can add whatever kinds of things you like to the banana/oatmeal batter and it should come out fine as long as it's good and set in the middle when you take it out of the oven. Enjoy it, this is supposed to be fun :)