Work-Shirking, Anti-Feminist Spiced Banana Walnut Muffins

Of course, my title is ridiculous, but I was so taken with a recent article in O, “Muffin Manifesto” by Suzan Colón, that I had to repeat that line. The gist of her article is that, as the economy turned sour and she became self-employed, she turned to baking as aroma-therapy. While for her baking was simply a happy, mind- and body-occupying pursuit of pleasure, her friends acted as if she were “setting feminism back 30 years.” Fascinating.

I relate so much to the idea of her interest in cooking for her family being misinterpreted by her peers. I, too, have been taken aback when people view my blog as some kind of statement about their own relationship with food and cooking. As I always say, we all have the same number of hours in the day. While I spend more of them cooking from scratch than most of my peers, I then choose not to do scads of other things: garden, clean, sew, build, shop, watch TV, etc., let alone work full-time. Cooking (and blogging about cooking) is a very personal pursuit that brings me a kind of joy and peace that I find in few other corners of my life. When faced with others who seem to have taken the frequency and fervor with which I cook personally, I want to reply, “But it’s not about you!”

So, the muffins... at the end of the article is the author’s recipe for her favorite muffins, adapted to be healthier than typical muffin recipes. I was drawn to this because a) my people love a good muffin and b) I had a bunch of overripe bananas taking up counter space.

The finished product has finally been sampled by all and I would say it earned five stars all around. Made with applesauce, vegetable oil, egg and a few mashed bananas, these muffins are incredibly moist, even 24 hours after they were baked. And with the addition of cardamom and orange zest to the to-be-expected cinnamon, they have a wonderful, dynamic flavor. This recipe also gave me a chance to use my brand-new microplane rasp grater (thank you Aunt Eloise), which I love, love, love!

The only change I made to the recipe was to omit the nutmeg. I hate nutmeg (sorry Mom... I dislike it intensely). Otherwise, we got eight tasty, relatively healthy muffins from a recipe for six and everyone had a nourishing snack this afternoon before cleaning out the sandbox. Three cheers for summer vacation and overripe bananas!

Pasta with Chopping-Board Pistachio Pesto

This dish was a huge surprise in its short journey from cutting board to tabletop to fork. I was drawn to this because, as the authors point out in the recipe introduction, “You do it all with your trusty knife and one pot.” That’s an appealing proposition in and of itself, and then I looked at the ingredient list and was definitely in: you literally just chop up the pesto on the cutting board, mixing salt and pepper, garlic, scallion tops (or chives), basil, red onion and pistachios. Easy as can be. You even stir in the olive oil right there on the cutting board. I don’t know why, but this seemed somehow radical... no Cuisinart required? Cook some linguine (I used whole grain by Barilla for added nutritional punch) and stir in some pasta water and Asiago with the pesto and dinner is done. Probably took 30 minutes, tops.

So, where was the surprise? Once the pasta cooked, I sautéed a bit of red onion and then heated the pesto before tossing with the noodles and cheese. The pesto smelled phenomenal on the cutting board and was a beautiful, almost technicolor green. However, it seemed scant when tossed in with a pound of pasta, even after adding pasta water. As I carried it from the countertop to the table, and as I dished up plates, I was already rewriting the recipe for next time—double the pesto and stir in the Asiago gradually, so it doesn’t clump (I would actually do this next time). As I twirled, there was very little pesto clinging to the noodles, and I feared a mostly bland dinner.

First bite... wow! Huge flavor! It tastes as if each strand is gently coated in the essence of the pesto, with the occasional bite loaded with herbs and pistachio and cheese for greater intensity. Looks were very deceiving, and the dish was just wonderful, bursting with flavor despite the pesto to pasta ratio.

Next time, I’ll cut the garlic by half. Since the garlic is never cooked, it leaves that raw garlic taste in the mouth, which I can do without. Ben and I both thought it would be even better served with a little protein like roasted salmon or grilled chicken and shrimp. The pesto would actually make an incredible topping for roasted salmon.

I loved being so surprised by this dish, loved being wrong about how it would taste. This is a wonderful, inventive dinner that comes together quickly and easily, doesn't make a huge mess in the kitchen and would pair nicely with a range of simple proteins. This is definitely my new favorite cookbook!

Pesky Baby!

So, I was all ready to blog about how incensed I was that Joseph was not devouring my beautiful, delicious, nourishing homemade organic baby food. So far, I’ve only made him peas and sweet potatoes because we were traveling, and, when we got home, he had no interest in these first two foods. I really wanted him to develop a test for veggies before introducing sweet fruits, so we were in a bit of a holding pattern. I even had a title for my blog, which I hardly ever write in advance: “Frankly, I’m Offended.” I had writing time set aside for Thursday night and was looking forward to venting my proverbial spleen because, well, I can’t exactly complain to him about it, can I? Well, wouldn’t you just know it? I offered him sweet potatoes Thursday night with dinner and, lo and behold, he gobbled them up. I thought he might just be showing off for his Eryc, whom he adores, but no, the next morning he ate all of his peas. While I’m of course thrilled that he’s eating the gorgeous baby food I’m making, I’m a little peeved that he ruined a perfectly good blog post. So, there you go... Joseph’s finally taken to homemade baby food. Next on the agenda—butternut squash!

The Blog as Self-Portrait

Next Monday, June 29, I’ll be participating in a panel discussion for the Mizel Museum on blogging as self-portraiture. I feel very honored to join four other fascinating bloggers:

Eric Elkins: The Dating Dad

Eryc Eyl: Mile High Makeout for Denver’s Westword

John Common: Hit Record and Play

Naomi Zeveloff: The Lady Finger

The panel is part of Mizel Museum’s current exhibition, “My Self: Original Self Portraits."

Details:

When: Monday, June 29, 8:00 p.m.

Where: Forest Room 5 Restaurant, Denver, CO

Cost: $5

Interested? RSVP online on Facebook.

Creamy Orzo II—Don’t Buy Cheap Tomatoes!

Quick note: always buy the good tomatoes! It wasn’t until I read The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper that I realized that the brand of canned tomatoes I bought even mattered. Since reading their wise words, I’ve generally been buying Muir Glen or Hunt’s Organic. Well, tonight I skimped and bought generic diced tomatoes and learned a valuable lesson. Not only was the flavor of the store-brand tomatoes less dynamic, but the cheap tomatoes were also poorly packaged. When I made this recipe the first time, I used Muir Glen diced tomatoes. The recipe says to drain them, and when I drained the Muir Glen, I was left with lovely little chunks of tomato. Period. When I tried to drain the cheap tomatoes, I realized they were packaged not in water, but in a thick purée, which was impossible to separate from the chunks. Ergo, my sauce was too runny. Yuck. Alas, lesson learned. The good tomatoes are worth it. Every time. Even for Monday night pasta.

Raspberry Honey Almond Tart

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I am completely befuddled by pie crusts. Can’t make them. Even with Mrs. Janes’s Never-Fail Pie Crust recipe, which, sadly, fails me every time. I fantasize that some day some nice pastry chef will take me under his or her wing and show me the way. Until then, I rely on tarts when I need a special dessert that wows. This is my absolute favorite from one of my favorite cookbooks. It was given to me 12 or so years ago by my dear high school and college friend, Kim, and I have used this recipe so many times that the pages have long ago fallen out and are jammed in the back of the book.

I have made this recipe as originally written with baked apricots or plums countless times, and it is phenomenal. You make a simple tart crust flavored with almond and vanilla extracts, then sprinkle the crust with ground almonds and top it with a cream, also flavored with almond and vanilla, as well as wildflower honey. Whenever I’ve made it in the past, I’ve always added halved apricots or Colorado plums, which bake up beautifully with the cream.

For Father’s Day, Ben requested some kind of fresh berry dessert. I was mulling pound cake or similar when I remembered that there is a side note variation for this tart if you want to use fresh berries. You bake the crust, top with almonds and cream and bake again. After cooling completely, you just top the baked tart and cream with fresh raspberries.

Frankly, I was skeptical, because I wasn’t sure how well the dish would come together. It was just incredible, and, honestly, tastier and more refreshing than the baked fruit versions. Everything about the apricot tart is rich... the buttery crust, the creamy topping, the deeply-flavored baked fruit. With the fresh berries, there’s a delicious contrast between the richness of the underlying tart and the lightness of fresh, cool raspberries. Even more amazing to me, this tart was even better cold after sitting in the fridge overnight (for breakfast with chilaquiles, coffee and mimosas!)

This recipe alone is reason enough to buy this beautiful, inspiring book. The only negative about this recipe is that, when it’s all gone, you’re left with plain-old Grape Nuts for breakfast.

Made-up Chilaquiles

I must confess, I do not enjoy making breakfast. I love to cook dinner and dessert, am fine with putting together lunches, but I really have no love for making eggs, pancakes, waffles, etc. A nice strata (that goes in the fridge the night before) is fine, but getting up and cooking right away is not my thing. That said, I make breakfast all the time, particularly on the weekends, and I’m always looking for ways to mix it up a bit. Well, this week’s experiment was a huge hit... so great, in fact, that we made it two days in a row!

For whatever reason, when I woke up Saturday morning it occurred to me that I might be able to whip up some facsimile of chilaquiles with my leftover bean tostada ingredients. This is where the internet is my best friend. I Googled chilaquiles recipes, looked at about eight, pulled some stuff out of the fridge and started cooking. SO DELICIOUS!

Here were my made-up chilaquiles: I crisped strips of corn tortilla (which go stale almost immediately in the fridge) in some canola oil. I definitely used less oil than most recipes called for, but they crisped very nicely. Once the strips looked like chips, I lowered the heat and added a few beaten eggs and shredded some cheddar cheese on top. Once the eggs were about done (a few minutes), I threw in some spoonfuls of Aunt Jenn’s salsa (I should post her recipe... so easy, so garlic-y, so yum). Done.

Ben and Sophia and I just devoured these. They were so good, in fact, that Benji and I had them again for Father’s Day brunch, with leftover raspberry tart, coffee and pineapple orange juice mimosas! (I'll write more about the fabulous tart later today.)

I rarely experiment like this in the kitchen, and am really thrilled to have a new, crowd-pleasing, satisfying breakfast that turned out well the first time and uses up leftovers. Yeah for me!

Bean Tostadas

Honestly, I was reluctant to blog about this dinner because, well, it involved very little cooking and lots of assembling. After mulling it for a day or so I realized that if I don’t write about assembled meals, I’ll have nothing to write about all summer! In our house, and probably in the homes of many, summer meals are often cobbled together from what is fresh and in-season at the local farmer’s market and what is affordable and beautiful at King Soopers. And what involves very little stove- and oven-time. Thus, the bean tostadas. Honestly, there’s nothing particularly summer-y about this dish other than the fact that it doesn’t require a lot of standing over the stove.

Simply, here are our bean tostadas: corn tortillas brushed with canola oil and crisped in a hot oven, a blend of vegetarian refried and pinto beans heated in the microwave, diced vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped black olives, chopped organic iceberg lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese and sliced avocado. All topped with Aunt Jenn’s homemade salsa, which is garlic-y goodness.

That’s it. Easy peasy. Not remotely authentic but devoured by all. Certainly unremarkable but very tasty and takes about 15 minutes in all to pull together.

Cooking on the Road: Creamy Orzo

I am woefully behind in posting because Ben and I took Joseph and Sophia on “vacation” for two weeks to Chicago and Indianapolis. Why the quotation marks? For the uninitiated, traveling with two children under five is in no way relaxing, which I think the term vacation implies. Not that there weren’t delightful pockets of fun, but we came home spent and are slowly recharging our batteries. However, one of the more relaxing evenings we did have on the trip was spent cooking in a foreign kitchen after a trip to a foreign Whole Foods Market. The result—four-star, soon to be five-star, creamy orzo from Giada.

After eating delicious wedding food and our body weight in stuffed Chicago-style pizza (Art of Pizza!), we were in serious need of basic, homemade dinner. So, we Google-mapped the nearest Whole Foods to Nick and Leslie’s gorgeous West Loop condo (with well-stocked kitchen) and experimented with a new recipe from one of Leslie’s Giada De Laurenttis cookbooks. It’s always more fun to cook in someone else’s kitchen... I love rummaging through cabinets and drawers for cheese graters, paring knives and hot pads (never could find these).

The resultant dinner, Creamy Orzo, was perfect for my overtired, short-on-veggies family. It’s a simple dish with a sauce made from shallots, diced tomatoes (will double next time), cream and peas (we tripled). I’ve never cooked with orzo before, and I feared it wouldn’t feel filling because it’s so wee, but it was lovely, with a very nice texture, and perfectly satisfying. We will definitely make this again, and I think it will be a five-star dinner once we double the tomatoes. Thank you to Nick and Leslie for the beautiful kitchen-away-from-home!