Slightly more healthy banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

  

It's been a long time since I've posted, and there's good reasons for that, but not very good reasons.  This Wednesday, I gave the first of my final exams, and I was feeling snacky.   We had some oatmeal, 1/2 of bag of chocolate chips, and other fixin's in the house.  But lately, I've been cutting back on the sugar, so I didn't want a typical cookie recipe (if you cut back on sugar, I find the going back to regular sweets can be a hit in the face of too sweetness).  I based these cookies off this Betty Crocker recipe, and they turned out pretty good, even with the substitutions.  This includes some mashed banana in lieu of butter, and the banana's sweetness substituting a lot of sugar.  The end result is really something in between a not too sweet but soft scone and a cookie. 

Ingredients:

3/4-1 c. of evaporated cane sugar

1 stick of butter (softened)

1 1/2 mashed bananas

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 egg

1 1/2 c. of flour (i mixed white and whole wheat from King Arthur)

2 c. of old fashioned oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1 teas of baking soda

1/4 teas of salt

1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 c. of chopped walnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 350

Cream together butter and sugar until well incorporated.  Add bananas, vanilla and egg (I used the whisk attachment on my hand blender).  Then add the dry ingredients (I skip the second bowl and try to mix the salt/soda in the flour on top first before mixing with the wet ingredients) and mix until moistened.  Finally, add the chips and nuts.

Bake on a cookie sheet (I fit about 16 on my large-ish Ikea sheet) for 10-12 minutes.  These take a bit longer to cook because of the lowered sugar content, and they aren't the same caramel brown like standard cookies, but they make up in softness and tastiness.

Bretzl madness

I have been a woman on a mission. That mission is really frickin' good pretzels, since the stuff they sell on the street here tastes a bit like cab exhaust, pigeon body odor, and frustration.
But I'm not being a trendoid. My desires preceded this NYTimes article on WednesdayI've had my eye on them since Deb reposted her mini pretzel recipe back in February. But I never did get around to it. Plus, I wanted a 1/2 whole wheat recipe (you saw that coming, right?) I found these recipes, and drew on them, plus the Smitten Kitchen and NYTimes one, to hopefully create an amazing, soft, 1/2 whole wheat pretzel.
However, prior to the Times article, I had not idea about the the lye bath, as the other recipes I've read have only mentioned a baking soda bath. Evidently, lye is the key to slightly bitter, dark crust of an authentic German pretzel. Ich will Laugenbrezeln machen. Ich muss! (My Deutsch is rusty, so many apologies if this made you laugh).
I mentioned to Blokey that I wanted to make German-style pretzels, he seemed dubious about the safety and necessity of this all. I found a heated discussion on Chowhound, and I decided to go for it. Next time. For yesterday's dinner, I went with what I had on hand.

Whole Wheat Soft Pretzels (based loosely on this recipe from StephChows)
INGREDIENTS:
2 teaspoons of active dry yeast, proofed in about 1/2 c. of warm water
1/4-1/2 c. water
1 c. of all purpose flour
1 1/2 c. of whole wheat flour
2 Tbs of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tbs olive oil

Mix the proofed yeast and liquid with the other ingredients. I went with just under a half cup of water. Knead about 5 minutes. Cover with a damp tea towel and let it rise for about an hour or until doubled.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees, F.
Cut the dough into 12 roughly equivalent pieces. The roll them out into longish strands. I floured my cutting board, but others say you don't have to. Let them rest, and then roll out again, until the are between 12-15 inches long.

Then twist the rolls into pretzel shapes. I tried following my Peter Reinhart but but I ended up just doing whatevs. See here for a tutorial.


Next prepare the soda bath. I boiled about 2 cups of water in a pan (about 2 inches) and then lowered it to simmer, dumped about 4 Tablespoons of baking soda, and used a slotted spoon to get them into the bath. Let the pretzel parboil for about 1 minute, then remove and place on lightly greased/floured/parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Sprinkle coarse sea salt over the still wet pretzels, and then stick them in the oven for 8-10 minutes. When they are a satisfactory shade of golden brown, they are good to go.
Serve warm, with mustard and some kind of wurst. We ate Tofurky Beer Brats. Mistake. Evidently, I am supposed to go with the Boca ones.


The verdict? They were pretty good. Better than that dusty one I had on 59th St. a few weeks ago. But nothing really to write home about. Blokey didn't really eat much of them, and the Brats were uber disappointing. But I'm not quitter. Sometime this week, as I'm done grading (almost), I am venturing over to the Brooklyn Kitchen to get some food grade lye. Bitter, dark and beautiful pretzels will be mine!!!



I prepared this by throwing some oil in the pan, sauteeing up 1/2 a sliced onion, and after that became brown, adding the veggie brats. And a wee bit of beer.

Blokey hates sauerkraut, or sauer-anything. It's sad, since kimchi is practically in my blood, and it's just sauerkraut minus caraway, plus loads of garlic, hot peppers, and sometime some really stinky, briny baby shrimp. Sautéed thin sliced Brussels sprouts to the rescue:
I had these in a posh tapas place in Fort Greene. So simple. Chop the ends of washed Brussels sprouts. Thinly sliced them in one direction, and then julienne. Chop up 2 cloves of garlic, and warm up 2 glugs of olive oil in the pan. Over quite high heat, add the garlic for about a minute, and then add all the sliced sprouts. Stir and enjoy the smells. Remove from heat when they are slightly carmelized.

Writing break!

I am finally done with a second paper for a conference that is coming up. I can't wait to see my buddies from graduate school (the presentations make me nervous, so I just won't think about them today).
When I write, the process takes over my life. I dream about my arguments. I get snippy, achey, tired, and easy frustrated. I feel stupid and question my life choices. It's during these times that I should make an effort to take care of me, but it doesn't always happen. "Exercise" goes to the wayside, and I often don't cook. I eat, but I don't even take proper meals. Bad professor!

where non-genius stuff happens

Last night, I was almost done, and I realized that I needed to cook. Blokey has been patient and kind, as usual, reading drafts and discussing my ideas with me along the way (it's been a long way). So I made one of his favorites: homemade pizza (he prefer's Lou Malnati's over mine, but I can forgive him for his Chicago prejudices) with salad.

Arugula salad pizza

For the dough, I used this recipe: the bread without a timer . I didn't useit all, so I have about 1/3 of the dough in the fridge, for a snack later.

Additional ingredients:
Fresh mozzerella (I got mine from Fairway)
Pecorino Romano (also from UWS Fairway)
Coarse ground corn meal


For the Sauce:
1 28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
about 3/4 teaspoon of salt (but careful with this, my tomatoes weren't salted)
butter
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 smaller onion, diced
dried basil
pepper
a pinch of cayenne

Method:
Saute the onions in the butter over medium heat until it is softer (2-3 minutes). Add the garlic. Stir. After another 4-5 minutes (everything should be golden brown), add the tomatoes. Now add another Tablespoon of butter (you know you want to). Simmer with the lid over lower heat for about 10-15 minutes. Add pepper, cayenne and dried basil to taste (fresh would be better, but it's February)

Preheat the over as hot as it will possibly go (Broil for us. Our heat was down last night so it was welcome).
Pull off a chunk about 1/3 of the dough from bread and rolled it out, then stretch it by hand to desired thickness/thinness. I made it thicker than usual, because Blokey likes it thicker (damn you, Chicago culture).
Sprinkle the bottom of your cookie sheet (ideally a baking stone). Place the streched out dough on top. Add sauce and cheese (we went heavier on the mozzerella, because the percorino was quite strong) and other toppings if you have them around.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes, but keep a close eye on it. When the edges are golden and the cheese is bubbly, it should be done.

While it's baking, whip up the salad:

4 oz. of arugula or other mixed greens
dressing:
1/2 Tbs of dijon
1 Tbs of olive oil
1 clove of garlic chopped
juice of half a lemon
splash of apple cider vinegar
salt, peper and oregano to taste.

Whisk up the ingredients for the dressing then pour over the salad.

When it's done, place the salad on top of the pizza and eat. Somehow the fresh arugula and drsesing on the fatty, carby goodness is a great combination.

Fairway! and Bread!

There's some kind of dire snow situation going on here on the Eastern seaboard, but the moderating Atlantic winds have evidently killed off anything interesting from aculumating here. I'm supposed to finishing up (more like starting) these conference papers, but I'm also cooking and eating! And baking!

First is a ridiculous meal that blokey and I shared on Wednesday. It comes from Joan Schwartz' "Macaroni and Cheese: 52 recipes, from simple to sublime." A lovely colleague lent the book to me, and we actually ate the Swiss Mac and Potatoes during Thanksgiving. I've been dying to reproduce it since. This past week was my first week of the spring semester (only 15 or so weeks to go), and I was knackered on Wednesday evening. So of course, I walked up to Fairway and bought the necessary ingredients.

This was possibly a mistake. Low sodium and low fat swiss lorainne? This is what happens when you shop sleepy.

The Colavita was yummy. And not too pricey (thanks Fairway)

Dood, give me cheese and carbs over booze any day.

Swiss Mac with Potatoes (adapted from Joan Schwartz)
total time: about 1 hour
serves 4
Ingredients:
butter
1/2 lbs of elbow macaroni
3 small potatoes, sliced 1/2" thick
salt
2 c. of grates Swiss (you could ask the deli for 1/2 lb of medium sliced too)
2 eggs beaten
1 1/2 c. of milk
pepper

Method:
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Butter a 9"x13" pan (I used something a bit smaller, so I bet you could too)
Cook the macaroni until al dente (8 minutes) and boil the potato slices just about 8 minutes (so it pierces with a fork but is still firm). Drain both. I then sliced the potatoes into dices.
Layer macaroni, potatoes and cheese in the pan (cheese should be on top). This should be about 2 layers.
Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pour of the top of the pan.
Bake for 30-45 minutes until everything carmelizes on top (that's a long range, but I like it browner, others might not).

pink potatoes from the CSA drop (looks ham like)

Final product (I think that white stuff on the middle is egg white. Note to self, beat the eggs better next time)

Next, let's talk bread. We've been eating this bread all day. It's mostly whole wheat with added fiber via flax seeds, very little kneading, and very flexible time wise. I also adapted this recipe from Smitten Kitchen as well (I'm very devoted to her blog). She calls it "Bread without a timetable." There's no denying that her photos are beautiful and professional, but I think our loaf looks just as nice.


It's not that easy but it's not that hard either, and you can pretty much forget about it over night. And it uses very little yeast, which is great in my book. I'm made some adaptations (like the water bath), though, because I like a crispy crust.

"Writing Conference papers" bread
Time: about 30 minute of effort total, 30-45 minutes of baking, and hours when you should be thinking, writing, thinking.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. of all purpose flour, unbleached
2 1/4 c. of whole wheat flour (I think I will play with the proportions next time)
1/2 c. of warm water
1 c. of milk (or water)
1 teas of honey
1/4 teas of yeast (you can up this 1/2 teas if you're not going to be waiting over night).
1 generous teas of salt (you can up this a bit if you'd like. I thought my bread was a little bland)
1-2 Tbs of ground flax (the recipe called for wheat germ or bran, but this worked as really well)

I had to proof my yeast first, so I mixed the warm water with honey and the 1/4 teas of yeast (did this with 2 packets). After 10 minutes, it should be beer smelly (if it's just honey smelling, move on to the next packet and try again).
Next, mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Then add the water and the about a cup of milk, although you may want to add more water if you need to. This should be on the wetter side, but not a mess all over the bowl. Knead a few minutes until well incorporated.
Flour the dough, put it back in the dough, and cover with a damp towl/cloth napkin. Put in a draft free place overnight (I stuck it in the oven).
Then, go back to work, lazy academic!
In the morning (or afternoon, which is when I often wake up), punch it down and let it rise once more. This was about 2 hours for me (you can do it slightly less).

after the second rise

Then shape into a "baguette". Deb's webpage has great instructions. I just sort of rolled it out with a pin, then rolled it up, tucking in the seams. Place on the baking sheet (or for me, the reused lasagna tray cover).
Cut in 4-5 slits with a knife on top and flour it. Flour it again.

Turn on the oven to 550 degrees (yes!). In the meantime, boil some water, and stick it in an overproof pan (I used a 9" cake pan).
Just before sticking the bread in, place the water bath on the lower rack. Place the bread on the middle rack. Shut the door.

Water bath in action. Note the brand new oven thermometer.

The water brings the heat down and makes a steam bath. After about five minutes, lower the heat to 450. Bake for another 20.
Check and see if it's done (is it hollow sounding when you tap it?) If not, keep it in the oven at 425 for another 5-15 (mine was done after the first 30 minutes).
Wait for it to cool, and eat it with cheese.

Here's a better view of the crumb and the thickness of the upper crust. And my office floor

vegetarian feasts

Lula doesn't approve of a vegetarian lifestyle, but digs e-commerce

I like cooking, but I don't always use recipes or cookbooks, so many times the ingredients and directions on this blog are approximations.
I was thinking about how I enjoy vegetarian cooking, because I see it as a challenge. I eat meats, but Blokey does not, so cooking vegetarian is about getting a good balance of flavors without resorting to sugar, fat or oversalting the ingredients (also known as the American processed food sucker punch).

The thing about veggie food is you need non-meat, non-uber processed substitutions for the savoriness meat provies. This can be olives, sauteed mushrooms, carmelized onions (carmelization in general is a great flavor booster), a small amount of strong cheese/dairy (stinkier the better, use a microplaner/zester to avoid too much fat), soy sauce, browned bread, and sour flavors (lemon or a good vinegar help to bring out flavors without too much salt). A little heat also helps.

This meal is great because it incorporates a lot of these flavor enhancers and avoids the usual short cuts. The pita is lightly browned, the soup and pate uses faux carmelized onions, vinegar and sour vegetables. I add no sugar, there's not too much fat, little salt, and lots of fiber and greens. I used up some of the ingredients leftover from our winter CSA share: potatoes, leeks, salad greens (from the hothouse), as well as some out of season stuff that I wish we could get locally year round (but I am unwilling to move to a temperate climate to do so). I used buttermilk, which is getting to be a favorite ingredient of mine (it is less than $2 at the store, you guys!), which is healthful because it is cultured, which has a lot of benefits. You can substitute regular milk or plain yogurt (or a mixture of this) if you don't usually have buttermilk on hand. I also made some lentil pate, which I riff off of the one I used to buy the Wedge co-op in Minneapolis (minus the walnuts).

This meal also marks the return of the Kitchen Aid immersion blender, which I mangled my hand in about 2 weeks ago. It is healing relatively nicely.

I used this recipe for the pita, although I added a bit more olive oil this time.

These mofos puffed up nicely

Before cooking, I sauteed 1 1/2 large chopped onions and 4 or so chopped cloves of garlic in 2 Tbs of butter (and added water as necessary) over low-medium heat for about 15 minutes (and continued to stir ocassionally while copping other things).

looks pukey, tastes bitter-lovely

Salad greens and Arugula potato leek Soup (roughly adapted from here)
Ingredients:
about 1/2 of the carmelized onions
about 1/2 of a bag of wild arugla (approx 4 oz.)
handful of salad greens (mine had mustard greens in it)
2/3 c. of buttermilk
2-3 chopped and scrubbed potatoes
2 teas. of olive oil
2 leeks (the white and light green parts- I eat lot of it), well washed and sliced (I slice lengthwise once, and then chop into 1 cm long bits)
salt, pepper and paprika to taste
3 c. of water
handful of chopped parsley, washed (optional)

Method:
1) Sautee the leeks in olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. While this is cooking (about 5 minutes) roughly chop the salad greens. Add potatoes and the quasi carmelized onions.
2) After another 2-3 minutes of sauting the potatoes, add the water and increase the heat to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes (until potato can be pierced with fork, but before it gets mushy)
3) Add the salad greens and argula. Add buttermilk (it will curdle a bit and then turn into crazy delicious fresh cheese. Don't worry, we'll blend out the lumps). Simmer another 10 minutes.
4) Use the immersion blender to make it fairly creamy and get rid of most of the potato lumps. Salt, pepper, and add paprika and parlsey to taste.

lentil-licious

Lentil Pate
Ingredients:
the other half of the onions/garlic mixture
about 1 1/2 c. of dry lentils
bay leaf
5-8 baby bella mushrooms
olive oil
1/4 c. of roughly chopped and washed parsley
1 Tbs. of dried oregano
1-2 Tbs. of olive tapenade
salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste
lemon juice

Method
1. Cook lentils with bay leaf. You can do this as you're starting the process for the soup. They take about 20 minutes. During this time, saute the mushrooms in about 2 teas. of olive oil (and season), and set aside. Drain and remove bay leaf.
2. Put lentils and the onions/garlic, parsley, mushroom, and oregano. Pulse until it is smooth.
3. Season with salt, peppers, and lemon juice. Add the olive tapenade about 1 Tbs. at a time (I only used one). This adds a great oomph to the pate.
4. Serve cold or room temperature. Yummy with pita, crackers, or veggie crudites.

Blokey liked his arugula soup with a wee bit of sheep's milk feta swimming on top

recent adventures with cabbage

Sadly, my New Year's resolution to blog more often hasn't been great, but I have been cooking a lot (having a dining companion helps), although sometimes we have to go into the city to run errands and we end up having some kind of bland (but kinda cool in a retro way) diner food.
I have a bit of backlog now, and one of the more interesting "meals" we ate last week was my attempt to make pirogies/piroshkies after reading this NYTimes article about Veselka in the East Village. Blokey and I stumbled upon it once after "going out" in the Lower East Side last summer, and as a 24 hour place, it's a favorite for us after seeing a late movie at Film Forum or the IFC Center (both of which he likes less than BAM).
Anyway, it was cold that night, and I wanted pirogies or something else Eastern European and potatoey. I dragged myself to the late night grocery store and picked up cabbage, and from there, appropriated this baked pirogy dish, which ended up seeming like Jamaican patty or broadly pan-Latin empanada. Delicious nontheless.

Multi-Kulti hand pie
Potato filling:
2-3 potatoes, peeled, cut up and boiled
1/2 cheese
1/2 onion, diced
2 Tbs butter
1/4 buttermilk or regular milk
salt and pepper to taste
chopped (or dried) parsley
Directions: Sautee the onions in a bit of oil until soft. Add the potatoes and mash with a fork or a potato masher thing. Add cheese, milk, and butter, and stir until well blended. Season to taste.

Dan Quayle's favorite

Cabbage and Chickpea filling
2 c of cooked (well done) chickpeas
1/2 head of cabbage, cored and sliced
salt
pepper
olive oil
Hungarian paprika (or regular)
buttermilk or tomato paste
the other half the onion, diced
Saute the onion in the olive oil until soft. Add the cabbage and stir fry until it gets kinda golden around the edges. Add the chickpeas and sort of mash them down as you cook with a wooden spoon (it won't get as smooth as the potatoes). Add paste/milk (I did not, so it was too dry, so don't make my mistake), salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.

Cruciferous goodness

Outside dough
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all purpose flour
3/4 teas salt
1/3 c. of olive oil
1/2- 1 c of buttermilk or milk
Add the first 4 ingredients together roughly until the form coarse crumbs. Add the milk about 1/4 cup at a time until a dough with pie crust consistency forms (you may end up not using the whole cup of milk). Save some flour for rolling out the dough.

Roll out balls of the dough (I made about 4 balls) quite thin, like a pie crust. Be sure to flour your surface and the pin.

The next part is kind of tricky. I placed generous spoonfuls (like 2-3 tablespoons) of filling in the dough, and then I just cut it in half diagonally and pinched the seams. See? It was very empanada-esque.


Preheat the oven to about 400 degrees
I baked these little fellas for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Some of them split open.
Serve with your favorite bright red horseradish-beet condiment, and yogurt or sour cream with dill and a bit of salt. I had loads of that cabbage mess leftover, so I served it as a messy side salad.

Not quite Veselka, but decent faux Eastern European food for Bed-Stuy

New Year's Dinner, take two

Since I was too mangled too make a spinach pie on what was left of New Year's Eve, we made the spinach pie on New Year's Day, which I thought wasn't a bad deal.
I've tried many versions of spinach and cheese over the years. Delis in midtown west around my work serve alot of spanikopita, which requires buttery, flaky layers of phyllo. Tasty but complicated, fussy, and kinda price to DIY. Plus, blokey doesn't care for it. I've made regular pie crusts (doubled), and soda bread style whole wheat crusts. For this recipe, I used the leftover pita dough (half of the recipe) as the crust, and it came out as something between a pizza, a calzone, and a galette/tart. It was good, and I mostly fudged the recipe.
LeftyCook's 2010 Spinach pie
Ingredients:
1 standard supermarket bag of baby spinach from that organicky brand (or two washed, rinsed, chopped heads of spinach)
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 baby bella mushrooms (optional),
1 Tbsp of butter
1/4 c. of walnuts, crushed (for crunch, also totally optional)
salt
pepper
Hungarian paprika
3 oz. of feta cheese
1 egg
1/2 of the mostly whole wheat pita dough (see previous post)

cook off, liquid!

Method:
Preheat oven to 375
1. Saute onions and garlic in butter over medium heat, until fragant and soft/translucent. Add the mushrooms. If it seems dry, add more butter. Cook, stirring occassionally, until mushrooms begin to give off liquid.
2. Add the spinach. This will start to wilt and also give off liquid. The key to this recipe is you want to cook of as much liquid in the pan so it doesn't soggy up your pie. Ick.
3. After the liquid is mostly cooked off, add salt, pepper and paprika to taste.
4. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Add most of it to the spinach mixture, but not all of it or it will get all sogg again.
5. Divide the dough into 2 balls. Roll out until relatively thin but not breaking
6. This gets difficult. Spoon about half the spinach mixture into each dough circle. Then try to close it. As this fails, do the best you can to make a crush or galette type encirclement on top.
7. Bake about 20-30 minutes at 375 degrees or until the mixture is set.
Serve with a tomato salad (chopped cherry tomatoes, chopped parsley, olive oil, lemon and salt), some olives, and cucumber/yogurt sauce (see previous post)

rollin' out the dough

more like a chicago-style deep dish spinach pie

this one is more like a rustic gallette spinach pie

New Year's Eve Fail

Not from an exclusive club's NYE bash

Yesterday, Mister and I were trying to figure out what to do for New Year's Eve. There was a hipster art thing in the Lower East Side that was big on the agenda, but we spent the afternoon hoofing all over lower Manhattan because the weather was perfect (a little bit of a snow, just a little bit of sun, no wind, and low 40s) and Mr. had a desire to buy construction, DIY equipment. When we finally got home at 6, we didn't have the energy to go back out in an hour to get to the venue at 8. So I decided that a low key, vegetarian meal for two would be perfect, and we could listen to the neighborhood revelry from our windows at midnight. I was even going to blog about baked falafel, homemade pita, spinach pie, and other deliciousness.
But instead, about 2/3 of the way through blending up the parsley, spices, onion/garlic, and fresh chickpeas, my hand blender got stuck. I turned it around, and stuck my finger in it, like a genius, and accidentally pressed on. Ow.
So, after a short negotiation and a few pit stops, we ended up in an upper east side emergency room. In and out. Three stitches.


Back in Brooklyn by 10:30. Blokey made me eat a gross egg sandwich just outside the hospital and it tasted like shite, so we finished the meal best we could and ate a much better NYE dinner, modified. Included relatively successful homemade pita.

Baked Falafel: not perfect. Needed tahini and more olive oil (and salt)

Spread

the one on the lower left failed to puff

Recipe:
mostly Whole Wheat pita (adapted from the Kitchn)
1 c of lukewarm water (use your wrist, not your fingers, to test)
2 c. of King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
1 c. of white flour
2 teas of dry active yeast
1 1/2 teas of salt
2 teas of olive oil
1 glug of honey

1. In a small bowl, mix the warm water, honey, and yeast. Let set about 10 minutes until frothy and beer smelling. Then add the olive oil.
2. Mix with all but 1/4 c. of the flour. Start to knead by hand (the fold in half and the knead with the heel of the hand method) for about 10-12 minutes. Add the extra 1/4 c. as needed. Cover with warm tea towel and let rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled. Punch down. Refriderate until just before read to bake.
3. Preheat oven to 500. Stick in a baking stone or cast iron skillet if available (I just used cheap aluminum foil lasagna covers for the shiny surface). Divided dough into 8-10 balls. Roll out with a rolling pin until about 1/4" thick. Bake about 7 minutes, or a few minutes past puffy. They should pocket up.

Cucumber yogurt sauce:
Make your boyfriend grate a picking cucumber and mince 1-2 cloves of garlic. Press out some of the water. Add plain yogurt to incorporate the ingredients. Add salt, parsley, lemon juice, and tahini to taste.

Serve with fancy feta cheese (I got Bulgarian because it's cheap), olives, cherry tomatoes, and spinach (Spinach pie has to wait for a non-gimpy evening).

Oh noes (and other blog news)

Lefty Cooks has been a bad ole' blogger. A series of major/minor events have derailed my already spotty posting. While I must admit to drawing on the cooking skills of my neighborhood businesses, such as a vegan African cafe, an old-skool "since 1968" Italian owned pizzeria (the only time I felt like that I was going to be robbed in my neighborhood was the day I walked home with a piping hot, 14" pie. I would rob me), and the 24 Jamaican jerk chicken/curry place. But I have been doing some cooking, but in bits an pieces. Alot of repeats: Frankfurter gruene soss (for all those potatoes from the farm share), lentil salads, sauteed cabbage, etc.

Mr. LC and I have been stuck in my parents' sprawling suburban house for the past week. On Tuesday, we made an Indian feast for my mother's birthday. Thursday, we made scrambled eggs with lox. On Christmas, there were delicious Korean hot sauce noodles. Peppermint bark was attempted (minor fail). Today, I made the much requested pancakes for my parents, who eat fruit and veggie smoothies for breakfast everyday. I used Heidi Swanson's best pancake recipe, which some adjustments. This recipe is great because it uses my favorite King Arthur's white whole wheat flour, which is great because it's nutrient dense, full of fiber, but finer and more delicate than a traditional whole wheat. I also love the buttermilk, but I added more water so the batter would spread better. Finally, the vanilla is just my preference. If you feel like going restaurant style, switch out most of the sugar for malted milk (drool).
Heidi Swanson's Favorite Pancake Recipe (minus blueberry syrup), from 101cookbooks.com, with Lefty Cook adjustments
Makes enough to feed my hungry father, uncle, boyfriend, and self
ingredients:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
3/4 teas. baking soda
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups buttermilk -or- make your own*
1/2 c. water (or however much you want to thin out the batter, which is thick)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted (melt in the pan skillet you are going to use)

*I used 2 c. whole milk, with one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar for each cup, or lemon juice, and about 1/4 c. of yogurt, all mixed together, let sit for about 10 minutes until thick and curdly

Method
1) Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2) Mix all the wet ingredients together in a bigger bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients, but don't overmix or worry about making it perfectly lump free.
3) Warm up some butter (I use the stick directly on the pan and then wipe it up with a paper towel, because I'm classy) on the skillet over medium-high heat. When water sprayed on the skillet starts to dance, you're in business. Ladle 1/4 c. out at a time. Cook until the edges start to get dry and flip. Repeat until done. Batter can be refridgerated for a day (but not more). You can also keep the pancakes warm by heating up the oven to 200 degrees, and putting them in a pan.
Serve with real maple syrup (the kind that stores in the fridge), berries, apple butter, or banana slices.

Late night, early semester comfort foods

Augh, I got sick the first week of the semester! But never fear, Professah of Love will be bounding back in no time. Even though I've been teaching for a while and I know that the first week is not challenging in terms of preparation (once the syllabus is off to the presses), I still feel a pit of nervous, excited anxiety that knots me up inside the week prior to the beginning. Now its over (I only teach 2 days a week) and I have some time off because of Labor Day (thank you, early American trade unionists) to recover.
After returning home from midtown, I slept from 6 until late, and woke up around 9, heavy headed and weak. I finally pulled myself together around 2, rooted around our CSA offerings and pantry, and whipped up the following: (sorry no pics)

"Sickey from the beginning of a New Semester" Faux-Italian Quinoa Salad
(feeds 2 people for dinner, and maybe some left overs for lunch)
Ingredients:

• 1 c. of quinoa (rinsed)
• 2 summer squashes/zuccinis, finely sliced
• 1 c. baby bella mushrooms
  
• fresh greens (parlsey, spinach, or arugula)
• 1 c of cherry tomatoes (or 1 tomato, diced); alternatively- one chopped and seeded red bell pepper
• olive oil/butter
• 2 Tbs pesto (or 1 Tbs of tomato paste)
  
• salt to taste
  
• juice of one lemon (optional)
  
• 1/2 c. mozzerella or pecorino cheese (optional)

Directions:
Prepare quinoa according to directions (usually, boil in double the volume of water, turn to simmer until the water is absorbed). In the meantime, sautee the squash (in a large-ish frying pan) in olive oil over medium heat. Salt to taste. Set aside and sautee mushrooms in butter until soft and brown. Salt to taste. Chop up greens and tomatoes. When the quinoa is done cooking, add it to the frying pan with the cooked mushrooms and squash. Add the 2 of pesto, and mix it all up. Finally, add the tomatos and arugula. Salt and add cheese to taste.

Nervous Prof's Begining of semester healthier banana bread

(I wasn't able to wait to take a picture before tucking in)

I was gonna post the new no-knead, barely measure Danish style "health" bread (whole meal, low yeast, honey, nuts, muesli, etc) based on the lovely Ganda of Eat Drink One Woman recipe, but I never photographed the bread before Blokey ate it all! gah!!
So instead, I present to you what Lefty Cooks does when nervous, especially about the start of a new semester: cooking and baking galore. I am documenting my dinner, which consisted of me throwing EVERYthing left over from the CSA share (turnips, kohlrabi, summer squash, potatoes, cilantro, chinese broccoli) and made it all Indian flavored mess: Bombay potatoes, Indian spiced chinese broccoli with squash, oven roasted (well, burned) kohlrabi and turnips fries, with Indian seasoning, and an interesting, tomato free chana masala (I substituted low fat yogurt for the tomatoes, and it turned into a kind of cheese); plus brown basmati and fake chapati/naans.
This morning, when I found out that Blokey finished off the health bread, I was hungry like a hippo, but tired and desiring more sleep. But the semester deems that I can't wait up at 10 (or 11, or noon) anymore, so I bleary eyed searched for a recipe to modify (make vaguely more healthy). This is adapted from the much abused Betty Crocker book. Luckily, it is relatively cool in Brooklyn and I found 3 really brown bananas and got to work.

Professah of Love's Banana Health Bread
Preheat oven to 350 F
Cream together:
1 stick (1/2 c.) of softened butter (or if you're impatient, cut it into small squares and it will soften faster. Please for the love of all things good, do not microwave. Earth Balance works too)
1/2 c. natural sugar (or any sweetner, i used some honey too)
Beat until well incorporated. Next add 2 eggs, 1 teas of vanilla extract, and 3 mashed up, very squishy bananas.
Continue to mix. Then add 1/2 c of butter milk (or add about 1 Tablespoon of natural vinegar or lemon juice to milk/soymilk)
Add 2 1/2 c. of whole grain flour, 1 teas of salt and baking soda. Mix together until just wet.
Add 1/2 of chopped nuts (I used almonds- for omega 3s)

Add to a 9" greased pan (or muffin tins), bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes (I went 1 hour 15, and it was slightly burnt). In a muffin, i think its about 20 minutes, but it should crack on top.

Because I used whole grain (I used Hodgson Mill's organic whole wheat, but spelt would be yummy too), it was a little drier and crumblier than usual. And I maybe over cooked it a bit. My photog skillz are still rushed, but here is a picture for you:

Dr. J's detox

I am all Protestant guilt when it comes to food, fun, work, etc. So you can imagine what my Thursday was like. Alot of dry, whole grain business, beans, fresh vegetables, and anything that a rabbit might enjoy ingesting. Hence, Thursday's dinner resembled what my buddy J told me was the appropriate diet after a week of socially binging on cheese.

Dr. J's "I should start caring about my long term health" Brown Rice pilaf and roasted Brussels sprouts.
serves 2, but I ate all the sprouts in one sitting. They taste like artichokes when they are roasted like this. Not a hint of bitterness, only golden roasted goodness.

Pilaf:
1 c. basmati rice (I used brown, its good for your insides)
olive oil (1 1/2 Tbs.)
1/3 chopped onion
2-4 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. cumin
salt to taste
broth or water to cook

Brown onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan with a lid, until soft. Add cumin until fragrant. Add rice and stir gently, until each kernel is coated with oil. Add appropriate amount of chicken or veggie broth, or water (usually 1 1/2 c. for white basmati, 2 cups for brown). Bring to boil, then simmer with lid for 20/40 minutes (for white/brown respectively). In the mean time, make the sprouts.

Brussels Sprouts:
about 1 lb of Brussels Sprouts, with the ends cut off and cut in half, lengthwise, rinsed
olive oil (1 -2 Tbs)
salt
2-3 garlic cloves, slivered

Heat oven to 400 degrees (It's still a bit cold at night in Brooklyn). Add oil to a cast iron skillet (or any oven proof relatively shallow pan). Add slice and cleaned sprouts and garlic and toss until well covered. Roast in oven about 20 minutes, until the sprouts are golden and slightly browned/blackened. You may open the oven after 12 minutes or so to stir.