Risotto ai funghi

I love making risotto, particularly after a long stupid day of work filled with stupid Bro quotes (see my twitter for proof).  Standing over the stove slowly adding broth and stirring is cathartic and relaxing, and its a meal that I genuinely feel invested in when it's done. Talk about a labor of love. Now that the weather is warming up, it's unlikely I'll be making this for a while (see: standing over the stove), but it's worth sharing the recipe.

I’ve really only used one recipe, though I tweak it a bit here and there, from Mark Bittman.  I also use pearled barley instead of Arborio rice, which for some reason makes me feel a bit better about this indulgence since I’m getting a whole grain in the meal.  I’ve also been reading up on risotto and the steps, which each have a beautiful Italian name that I will share with you as well!

Risotto ai funghi

A bunch of mushrooms, I use baby bellas and shitake, brush them off, don’t wash them!*

Olive oil

2ish tablespoons of butter

½ large onion, diced (I usually use more because I love onions)

1 clove garlic, minced

Thyme, sage (pinch of each)

1 cup pearled barley

4 cups broth

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

½ cup white wine (optional, and you can also use some white vinegar with water)

½ cup of cheese (I always use way more than that), parmesan and pecorino are of course delish

Start by prepping your ingredients.  Once you’ve started the actual risotto, you won’t be able to step away to do anything else.  You won’t WANT to step away to do anything else!

Cut up the mushrooms and sautee in the pan over medium heat.  I use very little olive oil, because mushrooms have so much moisture in them (they're about 90% water!) you only need enough to keep them from sticking when you first put them in the pan.  Cook them until they are brown, and put them in a separate bowl.

Put your broth in a sauce pan on the stove, bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer.  You don’t want to add cold broth to your risotto, so be sure it stays warm.

Grate your cheese, dice your onions, mince your garlic.

Step one: Soffrito “sweating”

Put the butter in the pan and melt it down.  Add your onions and sweat and stir them for about 4 minutes until they are just becoming translucent.

Step two: Tostatura “roasting”

Add the barley and stir it around in the butter onion mix until they are all shiny and coated.  Then you can add the garlic, and the spices, and continue to stir.

Step three: Deglaze (not Italian, oh well)

This step is sort of optional, but is good to clean your pan if it has any brown parts on it.  Pour in the wine and use it to scrape the pan clean, and then let it bubble away until there is barely any liquid left.  It’s good to add some wine either way, so you have some acid in the mix.

Step four: Cottura “cooking”

Now the fun begins.  Start adding broth, one ladleful at a time, to the barley.  Stir it continually.  I like to scrape the sides, stir the middle, and then use the back of my spoon to spread it all flat on the bottom of the pan.  But you can do whateva’ you want.  Add another ladleful when the liquid is just about gone.  You don’t want the barley to be dry, but you don’t want it sitting in a lot of broth for a long time either. Continue this step over and over, and start tasting the barley after about 15 minutes.  You want it to be al dente.  Sometimes you might need a little more than 4 cups of broth, sometimes less.  Use your judgment.

Step 5: Mantecatura “creaming”

Now add the cheese, mushrooms and if you’re feeling extra decadent, a little more butter. STIR STIR STIR and TASTE TASTE TASTE. Add salt and pepper as needed, then let it sit for a few moments. 

Serve immediately with a little extra parmesan on top. 

*You don’t want to wash your mushrooms.  According to The British Mushroom Bureau (HA! Those crazy Brits!)  "all you need to do is give the mushrooms a wipe with a damp cloth or a quick rinse. It's true that they will absorb water and the more water is absorbed the lower the flavour. This is because they are neither a fruit nor a vegetable so do not have an outer skin like an apple for example, and, as a result, will absorb water. You should never soak, peel or remove the stalk."  There's no arguing with that, they seem pretty serious.

Also, I learned recently that keeping them in an open mason jar in the fridge helps keep them fresh for so long! Plus it looks pretty 

How to make bread: Honey Whole Wheat

Yesterday we got our first 'real' 'snow' here in Philadelphia, which meant an evening holed up in our little casa, a fire in the stove, and fresh bread in the oven!

This is one of my favorite recipes, that I've been tweaking here and there for the past few years.  At first I was skeptical, as there is no resting time for the yeast in warm water, which is how my mom always started bread, but I promise, it works!

Oatmeal Toasty Awesome Yummy Bread

4 cups HOT water (I heat it in a kettle)
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (not quick oats)
1/2 cup wheat bran, I sometimes add some ground flax as well
1/2 cup honey (the original post calls for brown sugar, but I am obsessed with honey)
1/2 stick of butter

1 tablespoon dry active yeast
6-7 cups whole wheat flour, bread flour is best

Old dough (I'll explain in a bit)

Combine oats, wheat bran, honey and butter in a large bowl.  Add the hot water and stir until combined and let it sit until it's about 80 degrees, about 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the yeast and 2 cups of flower and mix it into the oat mixture.  Continue stirring in flower, one cup at a time, until a soft dough forms.  You might use 4 cups, you might use more or less, just use your best judgement.

Transfer to a floured surface and knead for at least 8 minutes (use them muscles!).  You'll have a beautiful warm ball of dough:

 

Cover the dough with the bowl and let it sit for 20 minutes.  This is when the yeast grows and eats and becomes happy.

Knead in salt and the old dough at this point for about 5 minutes. Old dough is simply that, dough from past batches.  I've been using old dough that I started in 2008! By saving a small bit of dough from the previous batch of bread and adding it in before the first ferment, you've added prefermented yeast, which gives your bread better flavor and helps it rise.  It also improves your crust and the older it is, the better. It's a method used a lot in sourdoughs, and some strains of yeast can be traced back for generations!  So now, each of my loaves of honey whole wheat bread have a bit of yeast from 2008!

 

After you've kneaded in the old dough and salt, you are back to a nice ball of dough.  My mom taught me to slam the ball down on the board a few times to help force out any air bubbles.  It's a nice way to get out any agression. Sprinkle flour into a bowl (wooden bread bowl is something on my list of must haves, it's like the cast iron skillet for baking- the more seasoned, the better it is) and place the dough in it.  Dust with flour and cover with a damp tea towel.  I placed mine near the stove because the kitchen was just too cold.  You want to be sure it is an a warm (but not HOT or else it will start cooking) place so the yeast can continue to grow.  

This is the FERMENT stage. This is when the yeast really goes to town eating up the sugars.  Let it sit for 1 to 1/12 hours.  The dough will be ready when you can stick your finger in about two knuckles deep and it doesn't spring back. 

 

After the fermentation stage, cut off a chunk for old dough if you so desire, and split the rest in two.  Form the dough into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. 

 

Now is the PROOF (second rise).  Cover the pans with a damp tea towel and let rest for another hour ish.  Apply the same finger rule, but keep in mind the dough will not rise nearly as much this time.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and if you knock on the top or bottom with a wooden spoon it sounds hollow.  

Remove from the pans and let cool on a wire rack.  THIS IS THE HARDEST PART.  You must let it sit for about 40 minutes or else it might be a big doughy in the middle.  Last night, we could not resist, and cut into it early.  It's ok, it still tastes amazing :)

This is a great bread for thick slices of toast, topped with butter!

Such Simple Sauce

My boyfriend has 4 vowels in his last name.  That is pretty much the extent of my Italian-ness. 

And yet, despite my very Scandinavian blood, I've tried over the past few years to "master" the red sauce (marinaaaaara, if you will) and always add tons of things to bulk it up.  But then I came across this recipe at Smitten Kitchen and it has forever changed the way I make sauce.  Not only is it simple, but it is so super good.  Please note how many ingredients there are:

FOUR! THERE ARE ONLY FOUR F'ING INGREDIENTS! 

1- 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes 

1 sweet onion, cut in half, peeled

5 tablespoons of butter

some salt. not a lot. 

The knife is NOT an ingredient, please don't make that mistake, it would be embarrassing for you. 

THAT IS IT!

Put the ingredients (minus the salt) in the pot and BLAZAOW! That is basically all you do!

Bring to a simmer on medium heat, then lower and leave at a slow simmer for about 45 minutes.  Stir every once in a while, and smush (not the Jersey Shore type smush, that is disgusting) the tomatoes with a wooden spoon once they become soft. 

Near the end, the sauce takes on a beautiful shimmery sheen, and you can sprinkle in the salt. 

Now, the recipe says to just DISCARD the onions.  Oh Mio Dio! that hurt my heart.  

Instead, I pulled them out and ate a few slices with a side of red chard sauteed in EVOO and garlic.  Try it, you will thank me.  

Spoon the sauce over pasta (sidenote: there was a man on our staff a year ago from Rome, who, I kid you not, stormed into my office one day rapidly speaking Italian with his hands just flying all over the place, furious that no one in America salts their pasta water!! So, for his sake, please remember to do so).  You could top with some parm, but honestly, it doesn't even need it. 

Seriously, how easy was that?

Millet Muffins!

Have you ever been to Metropolitan Bakery? It's amazing.  Have you had their Millet Muffins? They are life changing.  Did you wish you could make them at home?  I bet you did.  Do you like when people ask annoying questions just so they can answer themselves?  I know I do.


This morning I wanted to attempt making a mighty version of the Metropolitan Bakery Millet Muffin, and I must say, I totally succeeded.

This is not the most efficient muffin recipe, but it is well worth the extra steps.  


Turn oven to 375 degrees


2 cups toasted millet*
1 1/2 cups white flour**
1/2 cup what bran
2 cups wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
3 flax seed egg substitutes*** (again, you could just do 6 eggs and not the substitute)
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter 
2 cups brown sugar, packed


Mix together the dry ingredients.  In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, flax substitute, milk and vanilla.


In a mixer with the paddle, beat the butter and sugar until totally mixed.  Turn to low speed and alternate adding the dry mixture and the wet mixture.  Do not over mix (you don't want the eggs to get beaten in the process).  


Spoon the batter in to papered muffin tins, and bake for 15-20 minutes.  Rotate the pans half way through.  When a tester comes out clean, let cool in the tins for a few minutes and then remove to a cooling rack! Voila! 


*Toast the millet by spreading them out on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes at 350, shaking the sheet every couple of minutes so all sides of the millet get toasted. 
**Instead of white flour, wheat bran and wheat flour, you could use 4 cups of all purpose or 4 cups of wheat.
*** flax seeds make an AWESOME egg substitute.  I did only because I need as much flax in my diet as possible.  I have no aversion to eggs, I promise.   Mix 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds (which you can do in a coffee grinder) with 3 tablespoons of water to substitute for one egg.  


Healthy? Mostly.  Delicious? Definitely.  

pumpkin muffins

Sunday evenings are when I typically tap into my domestic goddess side and find myself cleaning, painting my nails, sewing, and of course, baking.  Last night was no different, and as I looked in the fridge for food that needed to be used up, I discovered pumpkin puree, eggs, and oddly, leftover steel cut oatmeal from the morning that I just couldn't get myself to throw out.  So, I read a few recipes (hello Smitten Kitchen! My favorite recipe site!), then didn't really follow any of them, and made some very yummy pumpkin muffins! I'm a big fan of throwing in all that extra stuff you need to use up, or things to make it feel a little healthier, hence the flax, wheat germ and oats. If you don't add all of these extra dry ingredients, omit some of the pumpkin so they don't turn out mushy or overly moist.

Somewhat healthy pumpkin muffins

 Preheat oven to 350, put paper liners in your muffin tin

I forgot to take a picture, so I drew you one instead!

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup already cooked steel cut oats 

A handful of ground flax seed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoonish all spice

1 teaspoonish nutmeg

1/2 teaspoonsh ginger 

1 teaspoonish cinnamon, I probably added way more than that
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wisk together the pumpkin, eggs, sugar, spices, oil and baking soda until smooth.  Add the flour, wheat germ, oats, flax and baking powder until just mixed. Spoon into the tins, and fill each one up about 2/3 full.  Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar and bake about 25 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.  Let cool for about 5 minutes in the pan and then move to a cooling rack. 

The Great Impasta

About 5 years ago, during a family vacation to Maine, we happened upon a great little Italian restaurant named The Great Impasta.  Our time there included two memorable things; 1. my dad forgetting the word for lasagna (yes, it was really funny, and I guess you had to be there) and 2. I had my first taste of Pasta Foriana.  I remember tasting it and thinking simultaneously "this is one of the best things I've ever eaten" and "I could make it better."  Apparently a dish that originated outside of Naples, Foriana is a Lenten meal, and is made with anchovies.  Although I do love anchovies, I didn't have any around last night when making this dish.  My other changes were using basil pesto, instead of parsley, adding cranberries, corn, lemon and red pepper flakes.  Plus lots of extra garlic and fresh Parmesan cheese, obviously.  As with all things I cook, the measurements are relative.  If you really love cranberries, add extra.  If you hate cheese (I don't actually think this is possible), then don't put as much. 

The Great Impasta Foriana 

Fresh pesto (I used one full bunch of fresh basil, 1 clove of garlic, olive oil.  Made about 1/3 cup)

2ish tbls of olive oil

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup toasted, cut up walnuts

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup green raisins

1/4 cup sweet white corn

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

Parmesan cheese, lots

red pepper flakes

A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

s&p to taste

pasta, cooked al dente- I used whole wheat Serpentini Rigate, but would probably use a ribbon noodle next time, like spaghetti

Start cooking your pasta in salted water.

In a large skillet, on low heat, toast the pine nuts and chopped walnuts for about a minute, until you can smell them.  Add the olive oil and the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.   Add the cranberries, raisins, pesto and add a ladle's worth of pasta water (with all it's magical thickening ability) to the pan.  Keep the heat low, and just let it sizzle away.  The berries and raisins will start to plump up- add more pasta water if needed.  You don't want it to turn soupy, but it shouldn't be dry in the pan.  When your pasta is about done cooking, add the corn to the skillet, as well as red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and lemon juice.  Rinse and drain the pasta, and pour the mixture over the hot noodles and toss.  Top with Parmesan cheese!

RIP Crock Pot

Last night I discovered that the lid to my beloved crock pot had broken.  It's ugly and old, brown and mustard yellow, but I loved that thing.  My mom gave it to me, after using it for years and years.  You see, it was given to her when she got married, in 1979.  It even had an insert so you could make crock pot bread! My mom used to make a loaf for my dad when he went on camping trips.  I grew up peeking through the glass lid to her unbelievably good corn bread stuffing at Thanksgiving.  And it has served me well the years that I used it.  Yesterday, I had planned on making a slow cook chili, but obviously had to change it to a not so slow cooked, on the stove rendition.  If you're using a crock pot, you can basically throw all the ingredients in and leave it.  Every time I make this chili it's a little different, but it is definitely my favorite! Feel free to change amounts/add things/omit things.  You really can't go wrong with this one. It would be delicious with left over turkey, or chicken!

Non Crock Pot White Bean Chili

Olive oil

Garlic! as much as you want.  I used 3 cloves

1 large onion, chopped

2 green peppers, chopped

White beans: I used 1 can of Cannellni, 1 can of Great Northern, 1 can of Navy and a cup of dried lentils

1 bag of sweet white corn

4 cups Veggie broth (I use Rapunzel Vegan Bouillon Cubes and water)

Cumin, to taste

Cayenne pepper, if you wish

S&P, to taste

Fresh Cilantro

In the large pot, sauté (side note, did you know sauté is French for "jump"? Make those veggies jump in the pan!) on medium heat the onions and add the green peppers with the Olive Oil until they start to soften.  Don't overdo it or your peppers will get mushy by the end.  When they are about ready, add the garlic, either chopped or squished through a garlic press.  You never want to add the garlic at the beginning, since it burns easily.  It only needs about 30 seconds in the pan.

Rinse the beans and add to the pot along with broth, add extra water if needed to cover the ingredients.  Lower the temperature to low, and cover the pot.  Be careful not to let the soup get to a rolling boil or you will risk breaking the bean skins and that can create a slimy texture.  Near the end, add the spices, salt and pepper (there is a lot of information out there about when to add salt and or acids to beans.  I'm privy to waiting until the end to add spices for canned beans.  Dry beans are a whole different beast) and the corn.  Let simmer for a few minutes longer.  Dish out, and top with, what else, fresh cilantro!

soup season!

This week I was introduced to the term "T.A.A." which stands for "Tiny Ass Apartment".  I don't particularly live in a tiny apartment (we have 5 bedrooms and 2 baths), so I think "T.A.K." is much more appropriate for my situation.  Our TINY ASS KITCHEN looks big because there is a table and chairs and room to walk around.  But look closer.  The oven is painfully small; a cookie sheet cannot fit sideways in it, and when placed lengthwise the oven door cannot shut all the way.  There is about 2 square feet of counter space, one 6 inch wide drawer and the dishwasher has to be used for storage.  We make it work, and I think professional organizers would be somewhat impressed at the ways in which we cram 3 people's kitchen belongings into such a tight space.

I tell you about my kitchen mostly for pity.  And also so that one day, when I have a large kitchen with 4 sinks, 2 islands and 3 ovens (ok, that might be a bit much) we can all look back and laugh about my T.A.K.  However, last night I made my first soup of the season and the size of my kitchen did not matter, as I was able to do everything on that 2 foot stretch of counter before throwing it into the big pot.  Which is one of the many reasons I absolutely LOVE soup.  And may I just say, last night's concoction was really. freaking. good. Evan looked at me at one point and said "I CAN'T EAT IT FAST ENOUGH!"

I got the recipe from 101 Cookbooks (a fantastic blog, by the way, especially for those of us on the vegetarian train) but I messed with it a bit. It is not a quick soup, as split peas take a while to soften up, but it was worth the wait- not to mention the strong curry smell wafting through the house was pretty wonderful!

Lentil & Split Pea Coconut Curry Soup

1 cup yellow split peas

1 cup red split lentils (masoor dal)

7 cups water

3 medium carrots, cut into small chunks

2 tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 tablespoons butter or ghee (or, to be a vegan meal, you could use oil)

8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced

1/2 cup golden raisins (trust me, they are a key ingredient!)

1 6-oz can tomato paste

1 14-oz can coconut milk

2 teaspoons sea salt

Cayenne pepper, to taste

a ton of cilantro, chopped 

Rinse the peas and lentils until they no longer make murky water. Put them in a large pot with the water, and bring to a boil.  Add 1/4 of the ginger and the carrots, lower to a simmer and cover.  They'll take at least 30 minutes to soften up. 

In a small (dry!) pan, quickly toast the curry powder, but be careful not to burn it.  Just keep it over the heat long enough for it to become very aromatic.  Put the curry in a small bowl and set aside.  In the same pan, over medium heat, melt the butter (or ghee) and add most of the scallions (whatever is left will be for garnish), the rest of the ginger and the raisins.  Sauté for a few minutes, then add the tomato paste.  I ladled in a bit of the water from the simmering lentils and peas to help break up the paste.  Sauté for another minute or two.  

Add the curry to the tomato mixture, mix mix mix, and then (if your peas have softened up) add to the big pot, along with the coconut milk, cayenne pepper and the salt.  Let simmer uncovered for another 15 or 20 minutes.  It thickened up quite a bit during this time- if you like a thinner soup, just add more water.  Top with cilantro.  Unless you are a Cilantrophobe and think it tastes like soap.

For dessert, we had one of my favorite simple treats- plain vanilla ice cream, with a sprinkling of cinnamon, honey and a splash of milk in a mug.  Stir it up, and you have an exotic tasting mini milkshake!

Papers and banana bread

This weekend was almost completely dedicated to working on a paper for class.  What better than an easy banana bread recipe for a quick break when writer's block hits?


This turned out amazingly- and you only need a mixing bowl, and a bowl to melt the butter/beat the egg in.  If you don't have bourbon, I'm sure it would be fine without it, but you'd be missing out...


Also, I always eat my banana bread with a little sprinkle of salt on it- try it, it's delicious

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter
3/4 light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

(adapted just a bit from Smitten Kitchen)