Summer Quinoa Fruit Salad

You're going to love this salad! Honest! 

It's so good you'll want it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I promise.  In fact, Don- who is no big fan of quinoa- did have some of the left over salad for breakfast.  And it's Don who is insisting that while on vacation I write this blog so you can try it as soon as possible. So see- you really must try this salad.  By the way- not only is this salad delicious- it is easy to make and incredibly nutritious.  How's that for a trifecta!

I want to take just a bit of a detour and talk about quinoa.  Quinoa is a SUPERFOOD! It has more protein in it than any of the other grains, containing many essential amino acids.  It is also a good source of fiber and iron and calcium.  It was cultivated by the Andrean people of Ecaudor, Bolivia, Columbia and Peru between 3000 to 4000 years ago. And if all of this isn't impressive enough, just this year Quinoa was declared Kosher for Passover!  

So let's get started right away. But before we get started I want to give credit where credit is due.  With only minor alterations this recipe is from a wonderful food blogger called "two peas & their pod".  You can find them here:http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/quinoa-fruit-salad-with-honey-lime-dressing/


So now we'll begin! Gather the ingredients.

You can use any color quinoa you like.  I used red because that's what I had most of on hand. Follow the directions of the package for cooking one cup of quinoa.

While the quinoa is cooking you can mix the dressing.  Because limes are scarce this year- and expensive when you can find them (something about bad weather in Mexico and with the price so high the drug cartels are ambushing the produce trucks!)

Anyway, because limes are rather more difficult to come by I used juice from a bottle of Key Lime Juice rather than fresh lime juice. I've made it both ways (with the bottled and with the fresh and you really won't notice a difference).  I used equal parts lime juice and honey (3 tablespoons of each) plus a small handful of mint. 

Add the dressing to the quinoa while the quinoa is still warm and let the dressing soak in for a while.  I left mine in the refrigerator overnight the first time (early preparation for a party) and then 4 hours the next.  

Now mix in the fruit! Lots of fruit!.  I used strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, but feel free to use what ever is fresh and available at your produce store- peaches, blackberries, banana, melons, pineapple- really any fruit will work!  And since it's summer time we all want to eat plenty of the "only tastes good in the summer" fruit. I also added more fresh mint with the fruit.  It is best when chilled before serving.

Summer Quinoa Fruit Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup of Quinoa
2 cups of water

Directions:
Cook according to package instructions.

Dressing Ingredients:
3 tbsp Key Lime Juice (or fresh lime)
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp fresh mint

Directions:
Mix with stick blender.
Stir into quinoa.

Salad Ingredients:
Quinoa with dressing.
6 cups of mixed fruit (at least!)
1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint.

ENJOY!

Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives

I have to be honest.  Brutally honest.  I love kitchen gadgets, kitchen pans, kitchen pots, baking dishes. The list goes on and on and on.  Can I share a secret with you?  When I saw this pot I absolutely knew I had to have it- and that I'd figure out later what I might do with it when it lived in my kitchen rather than on a store shelf.  It was a very welcome newcomer!

The pot is a Tagine pot- and harks from northern Africa- Morocco to be exact.  Its' magic is said to result from the steam that clings to the side of the dome top as it rises and then slowly makes its way back down again to make the dish so very, very moist and tender. Now I think it's possible to make this dish without this pot- and it might taste the same- or even better. I wouldn't know. I haven't tried.  But even if it doesn't have quite the magic that this Tagine Pot brings to the cooking, this recipe is really, really, really worth your time.  

You're going to love it. I promise. And your guests are going to love it.  And everyone will keep coming back for more.

Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons requires a bit of a "plan ahead" detail.  It's not much trouble to gather all the ingredients- except for one- THE PRESERVED LEMONS!  The first time I made this dish I followed the exact details- I planned well in advance.  Because you see with Preserved Lemons you have to plan way, way in advance- like 2-3 weeks in advance.  You can tell right away that regardless of how good this meal is going to turn out if you have begin preparations 2-3 weeks in advance it just isn't going to happen very often.  Not very often at all. 

But then I found the short cut- And since I've now made the dish with both the LONG version of Preserved Lemons as well as the SHORT version of Preserved Lemons I can absolutely assure you that it really doesn't make a difference.  I'm sticking with the short version.  With this recipe you only need to start the day before, though if you change your mind and decide to cook something else the preserved lemons will last just fine in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.  And if unforeseen circumstances arrive and you aren't going to make this glorious dish after all then these lemons are equally great in a stir fry.

But for the details!

PRESERVED LEMONS!

Slice 2 lemons into 1/4 inch slices removing seeds as you slice.   Place in small sauce pan. Add 2 tbsp of salt (1 per lemon) and then juice from 1 lemon plus enough water to made a cup total of liquid.

Simmer on the stove for 30 minutes until the skin of the lemon softens and the liquid is reduced to about 1/2 of cup.

Put in a jar and refrigerate until ready to use.

So now that you have the magic ingredient- and maybe even the magic pot it's time to make the Tagine!

Tagine of Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemon: Adapted from Cafe Morocco by Anissa Helou

Ingredients:
Chickens: 2, cut into pieces (I use 4 legs, 4 thighs and 2 breasts and saved the rest for chicken soup.  You can use all thighs if you wish.)

Onions, 2, cut into wedges
Green olives, I cup, pitted
Preserved Lemons, 2 (at least 24 hours old, but not the liquid)
Garlic, 2 cloves (or more if you like garlic and we do), minced
Parsley, 1 bunch with stems removed and then minced though not too fine
Lemon, 1, juiced.

Coriander seed, 1 tbsp
Cumin seed, 1 tbsp
Ginger, 1 tbsp, grated
Cinnamon, 3 whole sticks

Olive oil, 2 tbsp
Butter, 2 tbsp

Directions:
Pepper the chicken (there is plenty of salt in the Preserved Lemons so you won't need any additional for this dish).
Heat olive oil and butter in Tagine Pot until butter is melted.
Add the coriander, cumin, ginger, garlic and brown.
Brown the chicken on all sides and then remove from the pot.
Add the onions and soften.
Return the chicken to the pot and add the cinnamon and the Preserved Lemons.  Pour the lemon juice over the chicken.

Cover the Tagine Pot and heat on the stove.  Meanwhile preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

When the oven is hot, place the pan in the oven.

I love this picture so much I just have to use it twice!

After about  1- 1/2 hours take the Tagine Pot out of the oven and add the olives and the parsley. Return to the oven for another hour.  Check for doneness at this time.  

The chicken should be very, very tender.  If the chicken is cooked to desired tenderness then place the Tagine on the top of the stove with the dome in place over a very low simmer- just to keep warm.

I served with buttered couscous and a roasted orange and beet salad!

Let the party begin!

Lemon Coconut Crinkle Cookies: Welcome To Our New Kitchen

You probably thought we'd left for good- maybe dropped off the face of the earth.  Or, gasp, stopped cooking.  Well- only for the "stopped cooking" are you a bit close to the truth- but of course not the whole truth.  

It started with just "too much", "too distracted", "too busy"... The regular list that keeps us all from doing the things that we intend to do while we meander in the land of the "maybe tomorrow".  

We actually had a recipe and pictures ready for a post whose tomorrow never came.

And then we stopped cooking.  Really.  I mean it.  We stopped cooking.  For seven long months we were exiled into the world of "which restaurant do we go to YET AGAIN", punctuated with respite in the homes and kitchens of friends and family, while our kitchen was remodeled.  The kind of remodeling that cannot be ignored- the kind that makes you suffer as you dream of even a grilled cheese cooked at home!

And now we're back- and cooking. Again.  So let's start with cookies.

 Now when we ended our blogging last March (1 year and 3 days ago), we posted a recipe for Chicken Liver and Spinach Frittata.  And of course Don HATES chicken livers.  As we begin cooking again this first post is all about Don- and a cookie he can't get enough of.  Honest, he's addicted in a big way.  I don't think he is able to pass that Cookie Jar Nook tucked in between the dining room and the kitchen without having at least one- and from the looks of how quickly that jar is emptying, maybe two.

Now our house is a very old house, a very old house indeed. Circa 1894.  And the kitchen was added some years after the original house was built.  You get to the kitchen by passing through a short hall from the the dining room (passing on the left, the stairs down to the basement- "scary basement" according to more than one grandchild, or up the back stairs to the second floor- also a "rite of passage" for the grandchild that is suddenly brave enough to take the narrow wooden back stairs).  On the right was a narrow and very shallow pantry with bi-fold doors, something that truly did not complement our new kitchen. Our very dear and amazingly talented master carpenter for our remodeling project had a vision and designed a Cookie Jar Nook welcoming visitors into our new kitchen.

So now my job is to keep cookies in the cookie jar!  And you're going to love these cookies whether you have a Cookie Jar Nook or not!  Bet you can't eat just one!

LEMON COCONUT CRINKLE COOKIES: Adapted from http://www.chocolatemoosey.com/2013/04/09/lemon-coconut-crinkle-cookies/

Preheat Oven to 325 Degrees

Dry Ingredients: 
Flour: 1 1/2 cups
Baking Powder: 2 tsp
Salt: 1/4 tsp

Mix together and set to the side.

Wet Ingredients:
Butter, softened: 4 Tbsp
Sugar: 1 cup
Cream together in stand mixer until  very well blended.

Add: 
Eggs: 2
Lemon Zest: 1 large or two small lemons
Mix well.
Add:
Lemon Juice: 1/2 of a large lemon or all the juice from a small lemon
Coconut Flavoring: 1 tsp (optional)
Mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl and mix just until the flour isn't visible.

Add:
Coconut, Shredded: 1 cup (sweetened or unsweetened).

Refrigerate batter for at least one hour to firm.

Roll batter into balls and roll in Powdered Sugar. 

Bake for 13-15 minutes depending on how soft you like your cookies.

DOUBLE OVENS!  HURRAH!

ENJOY!

In the Beginning Was the Chicken AND the Egg: Frittata with Chicken Liver and Spinach!

Well, I do think it just might be time for a walk through memory lane.  See, Don and I have been cooking together for a long, long time.  You might say a really, really, long time.  And "In the beginning", there was a chicken and an egg!

The first time Don and I cooked together was in the late summer of 1993.  The occasion took place in Oklahoma- and was brunch.  Neither of us had any idea at that time how many times this beautiful ritual would be reenacted in kitchens across the many states we have traveled- and sometimes lived.

Now of course at the time I had NO IDEA that Don HATED liver!  And also given how very new this "cooking together" was- he didn't mention this for years- not that liver was ever a staple in either of our diets.  For certain one of the things that has changed over these many years- you can trust me on this- Don is rather clear about his likes and dislikes in and out of the kitchen!

But back those many years ago, Don quietly browned those chicken livers without even the faintest of gags!  

In today's environment it is a bit more difficult to find chicken livers (am I the only person in the world who thinks they are one of life's delicacy's- bring on the pate').  But with a very accommodating neighborhood butcher shop we were able to get ours absolutely free!  Guess it has something to do with "supply and demand"! (We'd show you the "raw" livers, but decided that in order to keep you reading we best just show how they arrived in our kitchen!)

But enough of that!  It's time to get on with the cooking!


Frittata with Chicken Liver and Spinach!

Ingredients:

Basic:   

Eggs: 6
Vermouth: 1/4 cup 
Butter: 4 Tbsp
Salt and Pepper
(The brilliant addition of Vermouth is from Chef Frank DeCarlo, a NYC chef according to Mark Bittman.)





Optional:

Chicken Livers: 2 whole ones
Green Onions: 1 cup, chopped- Be sure to include some of the green tops as well.
Spinach: 2 BIG handfuls- I use baby spinach so the size is perfect!
Gruyere Cheese: 1 cup, grated

(You can be as creative as you wish here with the ingredients.  Try other cheeses.  Substitute Italian sausage or bacon. Or leave the meat out.  Consider mushrooms.  And then maybe be really daring with swiss chard rather than spinach. The possibilities are endless!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Using a 12 inch non-stick, oven proof skillet, melt 2 tbsp of butter. (I really must insert a commercial here.  If you're looking for a good, durable, environmentally friendly non-stick pan I highly recommend the "scanpan". You can find it at Amazon.)

Cook the chicken livers until almost done, then add the green onions and cook long enough to soften.

When the chicken livers are completely cooked, remove both the livers and green onions from the pan.  Chop the livers into small pieces.

Wilt the spinach in the butter left in the skillet. 

Remove from the pan.














In a large glass mixing bowl, thoroughly blend the eggs with the vermouth. 

 I use a stick blender for this. (Not sure how I would survive in the kitchen without my stick blender.  We've had our Breville so long now our particular one is no longer on the market.  We've bought several of the Cuisinart for family and friends.  Do be careful with the stick blender as this article in the New York Times points out.  It can be quite dangerous in the kitchen!

Gently stir in the chicken livers, green onions, spinach and cheese.

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter in the skillet.  When the butter is melted and the pan is hot, pour in the egg mixture. Using a silicone spatula gently lift up the edges of the egg mixture as it sets on the bottom of the skillet.  

Cook on the stove top for approximately 2 minutes, then place the skillet in the preheated oven for an additional 10 minutes until the Frittata is cooked through.

Since we were having our Frittata for dinner we served with a side salad and crusty bread roll.  Wine of course!

ENJOY!

Oatmeal Cookies, Anyway You Like Them!

I know, I know- it's been a long time.  And can't say we were very regular about it even before that.  And I promised we were going to be better.

I bet you thought we forgot.  Or maybe changed our mind and thought it was a bad idea. Or stopped cooking.  Or maybe even fell off the face of the earth.

Well actually the explanation is a bit easier- we've been busy- or at least I have been.  In between traveling to see one child or another (not to mention the GRANDS!)- and squeezing in a friend here and there, I find that retirement is very, very time consuming.  I mean after lingering over coffee for up to an hour- and then showering- and then lingering over breakfast while I read the New York Times it's almost afternoon.  And then if not too distracted by some stray idea or other I finally sit at the piano and play for an hour or two.  And sometimes I take a walk... And of course there are the occasional errands... And by that time for sure it is time to begin the ritual of dinner- which of course includes a leisurely glass of wine to get the right mood for the work.  

Well as you can tell- it's mighty hard to fit in writing a blog with the whirlwind life I'm leading.  Now being a bit more disciplined about the blog was a New Year's resolution- and given that it's almost February, I'm noticing that I'm not off to a very good start.

It's not that we're not cooking.  Why we're cooking pretty much everyday- and some day's it even seems like we're cooking all day when a crowd is coming.  But cooking isn't the same as blogging.  Cooking is well- just cooking.

But I'm really going to try- for me- and for you as well. I thought I'd rather like to start simple- and nothing is simpler than an oatmeal cookie.  Why oatmeal cookies are cookies without the guilt. I think of them rather like breakfast in cookie form.

After the whirlwind of the holidays and our life settled a bit- the holiday company all safely returned to their homes, it seemed that the time was just perfect for spending the day in the kitchen baking cookies.  So baking cookies is what we did- and then Don boxed them up and mailed them to all the kids.  They were for the "post holiday" let down when you're desperately trying to find even a crumb left over from all sweets that seem to linger for days in November and December and then suddenly comes January and it's cold turkey for sure.Oatmeal cookies seem just the comfort food that's perfect for the dark, cold winter days. 

Now for most folks Oatmeal Cookies are rather straightforward.  Oatmeal, raisins and there you have it.  But then our family isn't very straightforward- for some you can't call it a dessert unless there is some chocolate tucked in somewhere- and Don HATES raisins.  So there you have it- I needed a cookie that was flexible- one that could bend here and there for the different folks.  So here it is:


OATMEAL COOKIES, ANYWAY YOU LIKE THEM!

Ingredients:
Dry:
1 1/2 cup Oatmeal (Can increase oatmeal to 2 cups and decrease flour to 1 cup. I think Don would like it if I skipped the flour altogether and just used the oats.)
1 1/2 cup Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg, freshly ground

Wet:
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 sticks of Butter, softened
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla

Optional:
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup Cranberries 
May also add Coconut, Walnuts, Dried Cherries....
(Of course for Don the cookie of choice was PLAIN- I mean absolutely PLAIN- no chocolate, no cranberries, no cherries, no coconut- PLAIN!)

Directions:
Mix Dry Ingredients.




Cream butter and sugars.
Mix in eggs.
Finally add vanilla.





Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Add in chocolate chips and dried cranberries.



Plain and Loaded!



Chill dough in refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. (This helps keep the dough from flattening so fast when you begin to bake them.  You also can spoon them on the the cookie sheet and chill the entire sheet of cookies if you'd like.)

Spoon onto cookie sheet.



Bake for 10 minutes! (Careful that you don't over bake this cookie- or any cookie for that matter- unless you like your cookies hard!  I did learn a trick to create that "fresh from the oven" taste even when the cookies are 3-5 days old.  Wrap the cookies in a damp paper towel and microwave for 15 seconds or so.  Usually I skipped the damp paper towel and just microwaved on a plate and this seemed to work as well.)

Enjoy it your way!

Cooking with Dorie

Well, I know it's been a while.  It's not like I forgot.  And I really don't have a good excuse.  Saying we've been busy just sounds so lame and only partially explains our long silence.  I think probably it's as much about disorganization and just plain inertia.  But we're back!  And we're starting big, real big.  Why, this one post is going to have the recipes for a complete dinner party from appetizer to desert.  I'm trying to make up so you'll forgive our lapse.  Is is working?

The motivation was a Bridge night with Don and Mary Jo Peairs- and I'll just confess that I am really, really bad at Bridge.  If I were as bad at cooking as I am at Bridge, then everyone we know would beg, down on their knees and beg, that we go to a restaurant rather than eat at home.  Fortunately I'm a bit better at cooking than I am at Bridge. I had been eyeing a new cookbook I bought some time ago by Dorie Greenspan called Around my French Table and decided that this was the perfect time to actually open the beautiful book and cook.  I've often used Dorie's cookbook, Baking, and have followed her on twitter, but hadn't explored her recipes outside the desert category.  What a perfect opportunity!  Why Don might even think this cookbook was an essential addition to my already embarrassingly large cookbook collection!

Now before I get to Dorie, I will mention the simple- I mean really simple appetizer.  So simple in fact it hardly needs a recipe at all.  We started with Baked Brie with Apple Butter (homemade Apple Butter of course!).

BAKED BRIE WITH APPLE BUTTER:

Ingredients:

One round disk of Brie (I used one cut into wedges but you could use a single round)

Apple Butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Slice the Brie through the middle horizontally.  Spread apple butter on the bottom layer and then top with Brie and spread apple butter on the top layer.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Serve with toast points or crackers.

See, I told you that was simple, real simple.

But now we get to Dorie, and the rest of the menu is straight from Around my French Table.

CHUNKY BEETS AND ICY RED ONIONS SALAD
Ingredients:
4 beets
1 small red onion
Mixed greens (or you could use arugula- THE green of this season)
Goat cheese- crumbled

Dressing:
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
1 tsp of honey
1 tbsp of sherry vinegar (I used Champagne vinegar because it's what I had on hand)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp of minced fresh herb (I used thyme)
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
I use the Mark Bittman method for preparing the beets. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut off the greens and the tail of each beet and wrap separately in aluminum foil.  Cook for 45- 60 minutes depending on size of beet- you can tell it's done when a sharp knife pierces it easily.  Cool the beets in the aluminum foil.  These can be made a day ahead.  Unwrap the cooled beets and remove the skin under cold running water.  The outer skin will come right off.  Cut off the spot where the leaves were attached, and then dice the beets into small chunks.
For the red onions Dorie suggests soaking the onion slices in ice water to give them crunch.

Mix the dressing (I love to use my stick blender for mixing the salad dressings!).
Place a handful of greens on each plate, top with the red onions, then the beets and finally the goat cheese.  Drizzle with the dressing.

ROAST CHICKEN FOR LES PARESSEUX (LAZY PEOPLE):
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken- 4-5 pounds (usually a hen instead of a fryer)
Olive oil
2 thick slices of bread (I used ciabatta)
2-3 sprigs each of rosemary, thyme and oregano
1 garlic head, cut in half horizontally, leaving the head intact, removing only the very outer peel
2/3 cup of white wine (you can substitute chicken broth if you like but we always seem to have more wine around than chicken broth)
1 large onion
8 small red or white potatoes, cut into wedges
4 carrots, cut into big chunks
2 parsnips, quartered

Directions:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  (It's real important that the oven temperature is correct or the cooking times will be off.  My oven is 25 degrees cooler than the temperature I set it at so I actually set mine to 475 degrees.)

Rub the inside of a dutch oven liberally with olive oil. (I lined the bottom with aluminum foil the second time I prepared this chicken to aid the clean up.) Place the bread in the center of the pan.
Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper.  Stuff the chicken with 1 quarter of the onion, 1/2 of each of the herb springs and the chicken liver if the butcher leaves it with you.  
Put the chicken in the pot on the bread, breast side up.  Pour a few tbsp of Olive oil over the chicken and pour in the wine. Place the remaining onion and herbs around the outside of the chicken. 
Cook covered for 50 minutes.
Toss the vegetables with olive oil until they are all glistening and then salt and pepper.
Add the vegetables to the pot and cook for 40 minutes more.
Check the chicken- the skin should be crackly and crisp and the leg should move easily.
Remove from the oven.  Let the chicken "rest" for 5-10 minutes.

Serve!

MARIE-HELENE'S APPLE CAKE:

I love this cake!  I mean really love this cake!  It's really apples with a bit of cake and WOW! It is so good we didn't even give any away to the neighbors- and in fact I baked another one two days later for Sarah and the kids just to have another piece!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup of flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 large apples- mixed variety- I used one Cortland, one Granny Smith, one Gala and one Red Delicious

2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp of dark rum
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
8 tbsp of butter, melted and cooled.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (in my oven this is 375)
Grease and flour an 8 inch springform pan.
Core, peel and cut into 1-2 inch chunks.  I love to use our apple peeler.  It makes the apple prep job so easy (and I might mention it is a sure way to entertain grandchildren- and get them to eat apples as well). Dorie loves the idea of using a variety of apples.  This adds both interesting texture (some will cook softer than others) and also interesting flavor (some are sweet, some more tart).  After eating this cake I am a firm believer in "mixing it up" with the apples in a recipe!

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in small bowl. 
Whisk the eggs until they are foamy (I used my Kitchenaid stand mixer).
Pour in the sugar and whisk until blended.  Whisk in the rum and vanilla.
Whisk in half of the flour and when blended add half of the butter. Repeat with the remaining flour and finish with the remaining butter.
With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the apples. Make sure that all of the apples are covered with cake batter.
Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly in the pan.
Place the pan on a cookie sheet (mine leaked  a bit so I was glad this was on a cookie sheet rather than the bottom of my oven) and bake for 50-60 minutes.  The cake is done when a knife inserted comes out clean. 
Place on a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes.
Carefully remove from the edges of the pan.  I had placed parchment paper on the bottom of the pan so it was easy to slide onto the serving platter.

Serve warm or at room temperature.  We served with Caramello with Sea Salt Gelato.

Enjoy!