little miss cocoa

Say ‘whole wheat muffin’ and all anyone can think of is a dry, puck-like bran muffin, the kind you feed to people when you want them to be ‘regular’ and depressed.

These muffins, however, are light as air, sweetened with fruit and a lovely caramely crust. The secret? Whole wheat pastry flour. I didn’t even know this existed until I saw it in the bulk bins at the food co-op.

Turns out that a pastry flour is defined as such because it doesn’t have much gluten, so baking powder and baking soda can lift it up nice and light. Bread flour, on the other hand, has even more gluten than all-purpose flour, which gives you that nice, chewy breadiness.

Anyway, this is all to say that I thought my whole wheat cookies, muffins, quick breads and cakes were forever destined to be heavy and bitter. Now I know that whole wheat pastry flour is my new ticket to (relatively) healthy, delicious baked goods!

So here’s my new favorite breakfast recipe, tweaked from the blueberry muffin recipe I found on Cookie+Kate:

Gather:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 cups plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peaches, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (frozen works fine, and there’s no need to defrost, either!)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons brown sugar

Do:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a muffin tin, or use paper liners. This recipe makes about 10 muffins.
With an electric mixer, ream together the butter, sugar, and honey on low, until fluffy. Add the egg, beat well, and then add the yogurt and zest and beat until just combined.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Pour half the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just combined. Then pour the second half of the dry ingredients in and mix just until the flour disappears.
Stir in the peaches.
Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon in a separate cup.
Spoon into the muffin tin, and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar combination.
Bake for about 25 minutes.
Try to eat just one, and fail.

It’s blizzarding like nuts out here, after a day of snow and slush and rain. I braved the sleet to the co-op, which was almost alarmingly full of people considering the horrible weather outside. I got two bags of groceries, and on my way out, saw a woman hunched over her shovel in just a long sleeved shirt and jeans, hurriedly shoveling the walk in front of her Vietnamese restaurant. It seems that on a night like tonight, restaurant owners should also be snug at home, and nobody should expect to be able to eat out.

Anyway, to keep the cold away, I made an African inspired curried coconut and chickpea soup. I got the recipe off epicurious.com, one of my many recipe staple sites. I made a few changes, to make it more vegetably; it can be hard in these cold months to swallow a cold salad, so I try to incorporate veggies into the warm things I make so I don’t just eat warm bread with butter all the time (although I still think this is much healthier than it gets credit for).

This soup is hardy enough to be a meal – it’s got chickpeas and rice and coconut milk, after all – but it’s surprisingly light and healthy. Since you’re using light coconut milk, it really doesn’t add much fat, and the veggies and soup make for a filling meal without weighing you down. It’s just the right kind of soup for winter, reminiscent of warmer weather while warming you up from your head to your toes.

Here’s the recipe:

Gather:
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 bunch chard, stems removed and chopped, leaves roughly chopped and set aside
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes in a tea ball
2-3 large cloves garlic, smashed or pressed
2 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 zucchini, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup chopped tomatoes (canned or fresh)
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
3/4 cup cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Do:
Heat the grapeseed oil at the bottom of a medium sized soup pot, over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, pepper, and chard stems and stir until glossy and slightly transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the smashed garlic and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, zucchini, and chard leaves and bring the whole soup to a boil over high heat. Once it’s boiling, take it down to a simmer and let it bubble merrily for about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and rice, and salt and pepper to taste. Once the rice and coconut milk have warmed up enough that the soup is at a nice simmer, your soup is ready! Sprinkle fresh cilantro onto each bowl of soup and serve with a hunk of whole wheat bread.

Note: Canned tomatoes are best when tomatoes are out of season, but fresh tomatoes are always nicer. If you’re using fresh tomatoes, be sure to remove the skins. Here’s how: prepare a large bowl about halfway full of ice water, and bring a medium sized pot of water (about halfway full) to a boil. Gently lower the tomato into the boiling water and let it sit for about 20 seconds before pulling it out and dousing it in the ice water. The skin should peel off in a completely satisfying manner. I like to do the tomatoes one at a time because you’re just trying to get the skin off, not boil the tomato altogether. Once you’re done with the tomatoes, chop them roughly and set them aside.

This Saturday, for no particularly good reason, I decided to make popovers after seeing the lovely photos on mybakingdom.com.

They’re super easy to make if you follow the instructions, and then you have crispy, eggy, light as air, bready things to eat with as much butter and jam as you can stand.

Here’s the recipe for six:

Gather:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour (going to try to make these at least a little whole-wheaty at some point)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted
3 teaspoons vegetable oil

Do:
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Float the mixed dry ingredients over the wet ones, and stir until just incorporated. Pour in the butter and whisk until smooth (it’ll be impossible and to get it fully smooth, so just give up after a certain point). Cover with a clean, dry dish towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

While the batter rests, heat the oven to 450 and spoon a half teaspoon of vegetable oil into ten center cups of your muffin pan (if you’re using a 12 muffin pan), or just all six if you’re using a 6 muffin pan. (They sell popover pans, but I’m going to assume that if you have one, you already know how to make popovers!) Slide the pan into the oven so the oil can heat while the batter rests.

When the batter is ready, as fast as you can, take the pan out of the oven and spoon batter evenly into the cups. If you have a six cup pan, your popovers will be huge!!! But I think that’s part of the fun.

Quickly slide the pan back into the oven and bake at 450 for 18 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 for another 12-15 minutes. During the first part of the baking, I like to keep the oven light on because the popovers rise quickly enough to see, and you can actually watch them billow up into crazy iceberg like shapes. This is the only thing to remember: Do Not Open The Oven Door. A draft will kill your popovers, so keep the door shut until you’re ready to take them out.

Once you take them out, attempt to wait about 5 minutes before eating them. And again, you can never overdo it with jam and butter on a freshly baked popover.

I bought Sophie Dahl’s cookbook on a whim, in part because I’m a sucker for a good sale (it was half off), and in part because she seems to have gathered her recipes the same way I do, by loving her friends’ food enough to demand the recipes for them.

I made her father’s curry recipe twice in as many days because I liked it so much. The first time I made it with chicken, and the second time I made it with tofu. Both were delicious. And now I’m going to copy it here almost word for word (sigh) because I am a thief like that.

Sophie Dahl’s Dad’s Chicken Curry

Ingredients:
1 large onion
2 dried chili peppers
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons curry powder
4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts (or one block tofu)
1 tomato
1 red pepper
Salt and pepper
14-ounce can light unsweetened coconut milk
1 5’2 girl-sized handful fresh cilantro (I say this because my roommate Colin’s hands are twice the size of mine, and that may be too much cilantro)

Do:
Finely chop the onions and run the garlic through a garlic press (or just chop it as fine as you can stand). Also, chop up the chicken breasts, pepper, and tomato into bite-sized pieces. And while you’re at it, put the dried chili peppers in a tea or spice ball. And, okay, you’re still at the counter, may as well roughly chop up the cilantro, too.

Set a large pan (or even a large soup pot) on about medium heat, and (as Sophie says) ‘sweat’ the onions, garlic, and ginger in the olive oil until the onions look glassy. Add the curry powder and stir for a bit. Now add the chopped chicken, pepper, and tomato and cook for a few more minutes.

Pour in the whole can of coconut milk, and put in the spice ball with the chilis. Simmer at low heat until the chicken is fully cooked, checking towards the end for the spiciness of the sauce and adding salt and pepper as you see fit. When it’s slightly less spicy than you’d like, pull out the spice ball with the chilis. (I find that once it’s as spicy as I like on a small taste test, as soon as I have more than two bites my whole mouth is burning, burning… burning.)

Serve with brown basmati rice and a small bowl of the cilantro, so people can add as much cilantro as they like. (Cilantro is a weird herb, and some people think it tastes like soap, so I usually put it on the side even though I love it more than almost any other herb ever, except for maybe mint and cinnamon and a whole bunch of others I can’t think of right now.)

Sophie says to also serve it with cauliflower that’s been steamed with mint leaves, and I think that sounds like a great idea even though I have never done it.

Finally, this recipe says it’s for four people, which I’ve translated into ‘four people, or two very hungry ones’, which has so far been the case.

I’d been wanting to try the New York Times no-knead bread recipe for years; four years, in fact, ever since the recipe appeared on the website in 2006. However, the only tough thing about the recipe is the time it takes (almost twenty hours), and the possibility that after twenty hours your bread might be a dismal failure (as happened to my sister).

Once I started making the bread, though, it’s so effortless that I now make it almost every week. Plus, you end up with a delicious ball of chewy, soft bread covered in a crackly, crunchy crust. And since I tweaked the recipe to give it some whole wheat healthiness, it’s good for you, too.

So here’s what you do:

Ingredients:
1/4 tsp regular yeast
1 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 and 5/8ths cups water

Do:
In a large bowl, mix together the yeast, salt, and flours until well incorporated. Then stir in the water. The dough will be shaggy and wet, but that’s good. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a draftless, warmish place (about 70 degrees) for 12-18 hours, or until you see bubbles against the plastic wrap. I find that the oven is actually a good place for bread to rise (as long as nobody turns the oven on!)

When the dough is ready, pull the dough onto a cutting board and fold it over on itself a couple times. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit for another fifteen minutes. While it’s resting, line a bowl with cloth kitchen towels (not terry cloth) and sprinkle flour on the towels. When the dough is ready, put it on top of the towel, sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough, and place another towel on top. Let it rise for another 2 hours.

About 30 minutes before the dough has finished its second rise, turn on the oven to about 420 degrees, and place a large covered casserole soup pot or dutch oven inside to heat up. The dish should be large, about 6-8 quarts, and preferably quite heavy, like ceramic, Pyrex, or cast iron. When you’re ready to bake your dough, pull out the pot, turn the dough over into the pot, and cover with the lid. (This steams the bread and effortlessly gives it that nice crackly crust that bakers work so hard at.)

Let the bread bake for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take off the lid and allow to bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until you get nervous that you’re overbaking your bread. Finally, pull out and try to wait a little while before slathering a slice with butter and eating it at the sink.

I have a new favorite food website: food52.com. Their recipes are user generated, but often New York Times Food Editor tested and approved, with contests to keep it challenging. I’ve been meaning to try a recipe with my new all time favorite gourd – the butternut squash – and even though I already have a favorite butternut bisque recipe, this one is a serious contender for number one. It was light, fresh, just a hint sweet, and stick-to-your-ribs warm.

I made a few changes to the recipe (just teeny tiny ones) but am recording them here for the next time I make it!

Roasted Butternut and Apple Bisque

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into one inch chunks
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cooking apples, peeled, cored, diced (Honey Crisp turned out great)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4-5 cups vegetable broth

Directions:
1. Toss the squash chunks in enough olive oil to lightly coat the squash, then drizzle with maple syrup and toss again. Roast on a baking sheet at 400F for 40-60 minutes, or until the squash is just starting to caramelize.
2. Melt the butter over medium high heat in the pot you’ll be making the soup in, and cook until it is a deep golden color (about 10 min, but it took me a little longer). The deeper the color, the nuttier the flavor, but be careful not to burn it.
3. Add the onion, apples, cinnamon, ginger, thyme and salt, and cook until the onions and apples are softened. Add the squash and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
4. Add 4 cups of veggie broth and simmer, stirring, until uniformly soft (about 10-20 min).
5. Turn off the heat and puree with an immersion blender. Alternately, you can puree in a blender or food processor, but it’s much less messy with an immersion blender (pretty much my favorite appliance ever) and you can keep it in the same pot.
6. (optional) Stir in 1/4 cup creme fraiche.
7. Enjoy!

It’s nippy out, and cold food sounds like a new kind of torture. But while I could happily eat hot biscuits all day, it’s probably healthier to start making warm soups and veggies. So last night I made ratatouille! And it was delish. Here’s what I did.

Ingredients:
2 medium sized eggplants
2 medium sized zucchinis
2 large tomatoes
1 large onion
3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
a sprig of rosemary
6 or so sprigs of thyme
extra sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

How to make:
Early in the day, chop the eggplants into one inch pieces and pile in a strainer over a large bowl. Sprinkle liberally with salt and set aside for a few hours. This helps to draw out the bitterness in eggplant (choosing smaller eggplants also helps). When you’re ready to make your ratatouille, gently press excess moisture out of the eggplant cubes with a paper towel, and then throw out the liquid.

Chop the zucchini into half inch slices, and the tomato into one inch pieces. Pile together in a large casserole dish. Start heating the oven at 450, with the rack in the middle of the oven.

Chop the onion into small pieces and mince the garlic. Stick the onion and garlic in a frying pan with about three tablespoons of olive oil. Saute over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent. Then add the eggplant cubes and saute together for about two minutes. Pour the whole mixture in with the zucchini and tomato.

Shake black pepper on top, along with the de-sprigged rosemary and thyme. Mix all together, adding olive oil if it feels too sticky. Then stick in the oven, covered, for twenty minutes. Then remove the cover and bake for an additional ten minutes.

While your ratatouille is filling your house with delicious smells, grate about a half cup of cheddar cheese into a bowl.

When your ratatouille is ready to serve, ladle it into bowls and sprinkle the cheese on top so the cheese melts all nice over the hot veggies. And voila! Delicious, hearty, and most importantly, warm.

Next time, I’m going to try the recipe with a warm, stewed polenta and some soft boiled eggs. Super yum.

Gosh, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. But I’ve got a doozy of a tasty post for you!

When I visited DC last weekend, my friend N warmed up a bowl of leftover soup for me. And it was delicious. I tried to replicate it today for S’s birthday using a recipe I found online, but I eventually just called up N for guidelines. Here’s a combination of both recipes that ended up perfect for winter: warm, hearty, chock full of seriously healthy winter vegetables, with a hint of coconut to remind us of the tropics. Also, because it’s got coconut milk instead of cream, it’s vegan!

Ingredients:
1 medium sized yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp coconut oil (or vegetable)
1-2 carrots, sliced into coins
2 pounds butternut squash
1 can lite coconut milk
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups vegetable stock (or chicken, if you’re going for mostly vegan)
1 tsp cumin (or to taste)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
salt and pepper

Do:
Split the butternut squash into two, remove seeds, and roast face down on a cookie sheet at 325 until soft, about 30 minutes. Scrape squash off the skin into a large soup pot. Pour in coconut milk and stock and start simmering. While it’s warming up, saute the onion, garlic, carrots, cumin, cayenne pepper, and coconut oil in a small pan until the onion is translucent and the carrots are soft. Pour them into the soup, bring to a boil, and then shut off the heat. With an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth, then salt and pepper to taste.

S, who loves bisque, opened the door to see the soup and said, ‘you made my favorite dish for my birthday!’ This one definitely goes on the books for being quick, healthy, cheap, filling, easy to reheat, and seriously tasty.

S is a first year resident, meaning that during his first month of work, he was on call twice a week, which included every weekend. This also meant, unfortunately, that during the 36 hours that he was working at the hospital, he was often on his feet. Then, when he came home, it was sometimes hard to fall asleep since he had been trying to hard to stay awake for so long.

So, to try to make things easier, I made bath salts so he could come home and draw a bath and relax before going to bed.

Here’s how I did it:

One generous pint of epsom salts, one generous pint of sea salt, several squirts of jojoba oil (good for hair and skin), a few drops of tea tree oil (a natural antiseptic), twenty drops of an essential oil blend (cedarwood oil and an anxiety release mix I found at Whole Foods), and a tablespoon of vanilla extract (because I like it).

I stirred them together, poured them in a plastic container, and left it on his bathroom floor while he was on call so he could come home to surprise bath salts.

Verdict: very, very relaxing. Happy boyfriend. Bath salts.

Instant happiness is easy. Dr. Phil would have you believe otherwise. He is making a lot of money by convincing people that happiness cannot be found in the supermarket (Oprah does the same).

Here are the ingredients: tomatoes, mozzarella, basil.

Yum. Easy. Happiness.

Okay, it might take a little more preparation than that. Here’s how I do it: tear a ball of mozzarella into bite sized pieces. Take a pint of cherry tomatoes and cut each one in half. Tear up the basil into pieces. Toss together, with about two tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Crack some salt and pepper over top, and serve with a baguette.

My friend B came for lunch today, after a year in Iowa. I fed her Instant Happiness. We ate cherries, too, and cold drinks, and strawberry coconut sorbet. We read her poems, which were lovely, sad and true. We told stories and laughed. We took photographs in Rittenhouse Square with my zoom lens. It was a happy day. Even Dr. Phil would have been happy, if he hadn’t been so perfectly, stupidly unnecessary.