Category Archives: Recipe

Comfort of Chicken-n-Dumplings

One of my favorite summer events was going camping with other family’s from our church family.  We would go to Indian Hills in the Laguna Mountains right outside of San Diego (one benefit of growing up in a town like Yuma, AZ).  The parents would do who knows what, while us kids would find the most willing & easily taken advantage of adult to take us to the pool.  We would also try to get some wax paper from the ladies who made the meals, because there was the monster of all slides with other puny playground equipment around.

After watching Swiss Family Robinson, I was convinced that living on a deserted island in a tree was pretty much the best place ever.  And here in the middle of Indian Hills was a tree house that emulated all I ever dreamed.  Aside from the stairs leading up to the tree house (the key was “Don’t Look Down!”), once you got to the top we would run toward our destiny–our anticipated ride down.  The ride being the largest slide I have ever encountered.  It was as if we were Fred Flintstone for a mere section in the opening credits as he slid down the Brontosaurus’ neck.  In fact, the camp specifically had painted on the wooden side enclosing the slide, “NO WAX PAPER.”  But we threw caution to the wind.  At that very moment, we embraced all that we knew to be a kid.  So what did we do?  We would sneak some up anyway.   There was a thrill knowing we were breaking the rules, in order to gain that perfect amount of speed and a little bit of vertigo.  All for round two & three and so one as we raced back to the stairs to start again.  It’s no wonder that kids are innately born with tons of energy with no awareness that their play is actually exercise.  Any rational person would quickly realize the time it took us to climb up wasn’t worth the ride down.  But we were living dangerously with our smuggled in wax paper.

It was also no wonder that when dinner time hit, we were starving like the deserted inhabitants we envisioned ourselves to be.  While the Swiss Family Robinson’s dream hit the fan around 4:30, as we whimpered to our parents about our stomachs eating themselves.  I strolled on over to the eating area around 4:00 where Gramma Naomi Quinn was preparing dinner for us.  Now, Gramma Quinn was that quintessential, older lady that you envision having rhythm in the kitchen.  She knew what paired well.  She knew how to feed an army.  And she knew how to give some of the best, big Gramma hugs a child (or adult) could imagine.

She was known by everyone as Gramma Quinn.  When our church did a baking auction to raise money for the Youth Group, her homemade cinnamon rolls were the big ticket item.  Because with those simple six words, “They were made by Gramma Quinn,” had more clout than a notary stamp.  She came up to me, as I shivered in the cool breeze, and asked, “Kamille, what would you like me to fix for dinner?”  By her asking me that question, it made me think the following:  a.) I would be picking dinner for everyone else b.) that “Gramma Quinn” only asked me & no one else and c.) knowing she made the best (and only) Chicken-n-Dumplings I ever tasted in my whole seven years of living.  “Your chicken-n-dumplings please!”, I replied.  She smiled and said, “Well, I think that would be perfect on a cool evening like this.  (and indulging me a little bit) And do you think that would hit the spot for you?”  “Oh YES!,” I said.

Me (8 yrs), Andrew (2 1/2 yrs), Willy (10 yrs)

That wouldn’t be the only time Gramma Quinn would make me chicken-n-dumplings, but this was the first where she made them to order on my request.  Whenever I think about the creamy, salty, buttery dumpling laced with the gravy-like stew sprinkled with pepper on top, I always think of her and how she nourished my body and my soul with her big pot of goodness and her big Gramma bear hug.  And so in her memory and my childhood nostalgia, make this hearty pot of chicken-n-dumplings.  I think you’ll be recalling your own childhood dinner stories as you take your first bite.

My recipe is a transfiguration of sorts, which I find very handy when you’re trying to cook from scratch with shortcuts..if you will.

Chicken-n-Dumplings (printable recipe)

Now there are so many ways in which you could use chicken for the recipe.  You could boil down a whole chicken, then use the chicken stock & the chicken for the soup.  Or you could use some chicken breasts & pre-made chicken stock.  Or you could buy a rotisserie chicken, remove the meat, then boil the carcass with the veggies to make your own stock.  You be the judge.

Ingredients:

One rotissiere chicken, meat removed & cut into bite sized chunks
6 cups water
2 carrots, big chunk slices
1 onion, cut into quarters
2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Dumplings

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 Tb shortening
3/4 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Making the broth: In a dutch oven or big stock pot, add your chicken carcass, cold water, carrots, onion, celery & salt.  Bring to a boil, cover & lower heat.  Simmer for 45 minutes (Time saving tips below).  Remove chicken carcass.  Strain veggies out & reserve the carrots & celery (discard the onion).  Put a sieve over a bowl and ladle the chicken broth to separate any remaining particles.  Rinse your pot, pour the broth back in and keep heat on medium heat.  Now make those dumplings.

Make the dumplings: Combine the flour, baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt; cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is consistency of coarse meal.  Add the buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times–no more, you’re going for biscuit like.  Pat the dough down to a 1/4-inch thickness.  Set aside.

Bringing it altogether: Put the pot of broth on medium-high heat & bring it to a boil, and stir in the milk & pepper.  Correct seasonings, if you so desire.  Take the dumplings and pinch off 1 1/2-inch pieces, one or two at a time and drop into the boiling broth & reduce the heat to medium-low.  Stir from time to time to keep the dumplings from sticking.  Continue dropping in the dumplings until there are no more.  Cook for 8 to 10 minutes.  Add the cut chicken, carrots, & celery to the pot and simmer until heated through.  Remove from heat, a couple of grinds with pepper & serve.

Time Saving Tips:

  1. Use the rotisserie chicken for the chicken, but use boxed chicken broth instead of making your own.
  2. The original recipe calls for cooking up a whole chicken for 60-70 minutes to make the broth; however, I find an already roasted chicken makes for a deeper & richer broth.

When Life hands you lemons & lavender!

Go ahead and finish the cliche…make lemonade!  That’s right, nothing original, but we don’t always have to be original.  And most likely, hardly anything is truly original anyway, but doesn’t mean it’s not good.  My friend Lindsey mentioned that I needed to get on the bandwagon and create a Lavender Lemonade.  Not only that, but have a Spring kickoff of food you should be making in the kitchen this time of year.

I have been reading a book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, which has inspired me even more to be a seasonal eater & cook.  It’s about her family’s year long adventure of eating only food grown locally (which would also be in season).  Now, I don’t think I would ever be able to do that, but she makes some good points with the main two being how much fossil fuel is used to transport food that you wouldn’t be able to find locally.  The other point is how much better the food actually tastes (along with health benefits) when you get it farm direct.  I would wholeheartedly agree as Ben and I were talking about the vegetables he actually likes.

His thing is he will eat vegetables because he knows they’re essential, but he doesn’t necessarily like many of them.  However, when I prodded a bit more, we came to find out that a majority of veggies he dislikes are actually eaten out of season.  Now, all that to say and lemons are definitely not a seasonal, nor local thing here in Bellingham (hence why I couldn’t abide by a 100% locally grown philosophy–plus what about coffee?).  Lavender does grow abundantly in the Pacific Northwest.  However, it’s more of a summer thing.  Okay so none of the ingredients, except water, is in season or local at this point in time.  But…I had lavender in my cupboard from a local Lavender farm, so I feel justified.

Lavender Simple Syrup

I liked this lemonade quite a bit.  It had a subtle lavender aroma & taste.  I used unrefined sugar, which in making a simple syrup you never get that clear syrup.  So other than visual appeal, the unrefined did just fine and the lavender lemonade hit the spot on a lovely Spring afternoon.

Lavender Lemonade (printable recipe)

If you want a clear simple syrup, then use white granulated sugar.  The simple syrup makes more than what the recipe calls for, but just put it in your fridge to make more later.  It will keep in your fridge for 2 weeks.

Simple Syrup

1 cup unrefined granulated sugar

1 cup culinary lavender

1 cup water

Lemonade Ingredients

12 Tb lavender simple syrup

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemons

2 1/2 cups cold water

In a mortar, gently crush about 1/3 cup of lavender.  In a small pan over medium heat, combine sugar, lavender & water.  Stirring to combine and until the sugar crystals disappear.  Don’t stir and let it cook for 3-4 minutes.  Remove from heat.

With a sieve over a measuring cup, pour lavender simple syrup through to separate the syrup from the lavender.  Set aside.  Squeeze your lemons (I had 3) to make 3/4 cup and pour into a pitcher.  Add 10 Tb of lavender simple syrup, along with 2 cups of cold water.  Taste to see if you need more water or syrup.  I used 1/2 cup more & 2 more Tb of the syrup.

Serve by putting some ice in the pitcher & sprinkle with lavender.  Sit outside and breathe in Spring.

Rhubarb Crisp

Or in this instance, a rhubarb crisp.  Okay, so I have a little bit of an infatuation with this long, sometimes slender, sometimes chunky, red/speckled red & green/green vegetable.  Yes, rhubarb is actually classified as a vegetable, but heaven’s to Betsy–whatever Pioneer woman made use of this manna–I am forever grateful.  While Ben and I were dating, we would be walking in some new neighborhood of Bellingham & I would stop in my tracks.  Ben thinking I found something remarkable or writhing in pain, because of the deep sigh & deer in head lights stare.  What? What? He’d ask.  Then, I would point.

rhubarb leaves

I had a gift of spotting those huge, elephant like leaves protruding from behind a high backyard fence at least 100 meters away.  In fact, as I sat gazing at some (meanwhile, Ben was probably thinking how silly it was) rhubarb, the owner of the house came out back and said hello.  But also kind of wondered what I was looking at.  I said I was admiring his rhubarb and then he offered me to take some.  I really wanted to, but I felt like that was crossing a line.

rhubarb stalks

Rhubarb to me says Springtime.  The quintessential springtime pie is a Strawberry-Rhubarb (I’ll be saving that recipe for a bit later).  The house I lived in the year I was engaged had a big window looking out to the neighbors yard.  I had been admiring their rhubarb plant in early April (I even inspected it for it’s bounty).  When it hit May, the time at which the stalks were ready for harvesting, I walked to the neighbor’s door to ask them if they were going to use their rhubarb (that line I was fine crossing–they were college students who most likely didn’t have a clue as to a rhubarb plant being there).  My prediction was correct and they didn’t know anything about it and gave me the green light.

Well, I wasn’t quite ready for pulling off the stalks as I needed some strawberries.  A few days later, in the morning, I got awoken by the sound of a tractor outside my window.  When I came into the kitchen, I absolutely freaked out.  There was a mini bulldozer/tractor (I have girls, not boys) something or other outside my window.  It was pulling up all of the ground along the side of the house and I feared for the safety of my rhubarb.  They were plowing right next to my love and I didn’t know if they were alright.  There was only one thing to do.  I went outside in my pajamas to stop the man on the John Deere to see what he was doing and if he was aware of my bounty awaiting its fate I had planned out?  And there, like a diamond in the rough lay my rhubarb–right next to plowed up ground.  I didn’t hesitate and pulled them up right there on the spot, brought them into the safety of my home.  Where they intoxicated me with their tangy, red smell as I cut them into slices and mixed them up with sliced strawberries.  We enjoyed our first Strawberry-Rhubarb pie of the season that night.

And last night we had our Japanese Community friends over.  Their names are Ayumi & Maho and I taught them how to make spaghetti from scratch & introduced them to what will hopefully not be their last taste of rhubarb.  I found rhubarb at the Farmer’s Market yesterday, but strawberries are not quite in season.  So, we made do & made a crisp, which to me is just as satisfying without all the primping that comes from a pie.  Here’s to kicking off Spring!

Rhubarb Crisp (printable recipe)

I made this on the fly, because crisps are so forgiving & easy.  It’s a humble cousin to a rhubarb pie, but I find it just as good.  It reminds me of my favorite summer breakfast of plain yogurt, fresh fruit & granola, except in dessert form.  And if you don’t have a food processor for the crisp, then use a pastry cutter, or a fork, or best of all–your hands.

Rhubarb Filling

4-5 cups sliced rhubarb (around 6 rhubarb)
1 cup unrefined sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Crisp Crust

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pistachio
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 Tb unsalted butter, cold cut into 1/4 inch squares
pinch of salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 350.  Clean rhubarb stalks & slice into roughly 1/4-1/2 inch slices.  Put sliced rhubarb into a medium bowl, along with 1 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, orange & lemon zest.  Dive in with your hands and mix it all together.  Dump this into an 8 or 9 inch square baking dish.  Set aside.

Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, pistachios, & salt into a bowl of a food processor.  Mix to combine (3 seconds).  Put in the butter & pulse 7-9 times.  Some of the butter will most likely still be in whole form.  Dump the contents into a large bowl.  Then, use your hands & fingers to cut the butter into the dry ingredients.  Don’t be bashful, imagine you’re a kid playing with play dough.  At the end, your crisp part will look comparable to wet sand.  Spread the mixture atop the rhubarb mixture.

Bake for 30-40 minutes.  Okay, so I didn’t time it unfortunately.  But what you’re looking for is a golden crust, the smell of rhubarb-spiced goodness & if you can pierce a fork through the rhubarb–it’s good to go.  You can let it cool for a bit (10-15 minutes), or serve it up right away.  No judgment.  Top with some vanilla ice cream as any crisp always tastes better with it.  And there you have a slice of Spring.

Lemons for Lindsey

Coconut Cream Cheese Filling

My good friend Lindsey’s birthday was last weekend and I know my practical gifts of love made in my kitchen are always a sure hit with people, especially Lindsey who never hesitates to sing my culinary praises.  In fact, if I’m feeling a bit blue, I can ask Lindsey what she liked about my latest creation & by the end—I’m encouraged.  Ya know, sometimes it doesn’t take much.

When I asked Lindsey what her favorite type of flavors or desserts were she said, “Lemon, not pie or cake–not so much!”  Well, I understood what she was talking about.  Because I really like lemon desserts, but lemon meringue & a lemon cake (or should I say lemon filling) doesn’t sit well with me.  I do like lemon curd though & lemon tart; however, the meringue atop a lemon pie is so sad most of the time.  And the lemon filling in cakes is typically poorly done.  I knew what she needed was lemon sandwich cookies, but all the recipes you would come across for lemon sandwiches are the rolled out kind and this tired mama wasn’t feelin’ it after putting my girls down for bed & cleaning up the chaotic remains.

So after perusing my cookbooks I came across this Vanilla Sugar Cookie and knew it could easily be adapted to suit that lemon hankering I was seeking.  I thought I would make two different kinds of frosting to spice things up a bit.  And since I wasn’t about to go and buy more cream cheese than what my fridge was holding, I did what any inventive baker would do–split it in half & say a blessing to see if the frosting would multiply like the loaves & fish.  Some had lemon & some had coconut filling.  And I would say both hit a great spot with just the right amount of lemon in the cookie.  Ben even said, “These are pretty good for a lemon cookie, because I don’t like lemon cookies.”  And he ate more than one.

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

Lemon Sandwich Cookies with Coconut & Lemon Filling (printable recipe)

I was inspired by the Vanilla Sugar Cookie in The Good Cookie Cookbook.  I wanted to make a lemon cookie and used two different fillings.  One is a lemon filling, while the other is coconut filling.  You choose what you like best..or do both!

Cookie Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
zest from one lemon (about 2 Tb)
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ tsp lemon essence
squeezed juice of one half lemon
Coarse sugar (turbinado) for sprinkling

Coconut Filling Ingredients & Lemon Filling Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
1 cup sweetened coconut
½ to 1 tsp lemon essence

Directions for cookies: Preheat the oven to 375.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silipat.

Put the granulated sugar into a bowl and add the lemon zest to the sugar.  Using your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar, in order to get as much of the oil out of the zest as possible.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, & salt and set aside.

In a mixer bowl, add the butter and beat on medium speed for about 1 minute.  Add powdered sugar & the lemon zest sugar to the butter, beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, till the mixture is light & fluffy.  Turn off the mixer and add one egg at a time, briefly beating at low speed just until the egg is combined.  Add lemon essence & lemon juice and mix for about 10 seconds.  With mixer on low, slowly add dry ingredients until it’s all combined.

Put about ½ cup of coarse sugar in a bowl, then take the other half of the lemon and do one light squeeze onto the sugar.  It will get the sugar a bit wet, but not drenching it.  Have your hands lightly wet, put one tablespoon of dough in your hand and roll it to make a ball.  Continue doing this placing the rolled dough 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheet.  Either roll the balls around in the lemon turbinado sugar or sprinkle the lemon turbinado sugar on top.  Lightly press down on each ball, so you’re making them into a circle (not too much & not too little either).  Bake for 9-11 minutes.

Put on a cooling rack and let them cool for about 5 minutes.  Remove and put on aluminum paper.  Meanwhile, make the frosting.

Directions for Frosting: Beat the butter in your stand mixer on medium speed for 1 minute.  It should be light & fluffy.  Now add the cream cheese in halved pieces and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, still on medium speed.  Turn mixer down to low and slowly add powdered sugar.  Once the powdered sugar has been fully incorporated, then turn up the speed to medium and beat for an additional 30 seconds.

Get out a medium bowl and scoop out 1/3 of the frosting.  Add ½ tsp of lemon essence to the bowl and mix thoroughly.  Set aside and there is your lemon frosting.

Add the 1 cup sweetened coconut & 1 tsp coconut extract, mix thoroughly and there is your coconut frosting.

Assembling: You might have assorted sizes, so match up the ones most similar and begin frosting by putting about 1 tablespoon of frosting on each cookie smoothing it out and put another cookie on top.  Then eat one or two to sample, so you can attest to their goodness to your family & friends.

Mrs. Carrillo’s Spanish Rice

I’ve spoken of my adopted family the Carrillo before & again.  My love for genuine Mexican food is not something I can keep hidden.  In fact, just the other night I was having dinner at a friend’s house and someone asked where I grew up.  My answer going back to Yuma, Az, which inevitably leads to my love of Mexican food.  I was asked what type of Mexican food stood out as the best back in my hometown.  And it always, always goes back to the Carrillo’s home.

Mrs. Carrillo would make fresh flour tortillas on the comal.  Mr. Carrillo would eat jalapenos straight from the jar while watching soccer, while I would stare in amazement.  I learned by eating a jalapeno straight from the jar that you need to drink milk or pour some salt on your tongue to get that burning feeling away (I wanted to show everyone I too could be strong enough, but I only got so far as let it touch my tongue while running to the kitchen–while Mr. Carrillo would simply sweat from the heat).  I learned that not all Mexicans like menudo and Mrs. Carrillo would make a pre-cow tongue batch for Veronica.  Nopales con carne became my all time favorite dish (cactus with meat).  And that the only way you would get a recipe from Mrs. Carrillo was to watch her at her art.

She didn’t have these recipes on paper filed neatly away.  They instinctively ran through her person.  Still to this day, the only recipe Veronica has from her mom is her flour tortillas (which I don’t–umm, I really need that if you’re reading Mrs. Carrillo).  However, I did get the nopales con carne recipe, simply by watching her in the kitchen–her talking half in English and the other half in Spanish (Mrs. Carrillo a firm believer that I could really understand a lot more Spanish than I let on–but she didn’t let it get in the way).  I would even ask Veronica if she had any of her mom’s recipes, to which she would say, “I always ask her and she always gets sidetracked.”

So, I decided one day back in my college days that I needed a genuine Spanish rice recipe to make for dinner.  I called up Mrs. Carrillo & got it from her.  No sidetracking that I saw.  I think it still makes Veronica jealous (in that good sort of way) that I have one up’d her in the recipe department.  And now I pass it on to you.  Very simple, very good, and pure comfort.

Mrs. Carrillo’s Spanish Rice (printable recipe)

I changed this up a bit, but not much.  I will put her recipe as is and in parenthesis put my changes.

Ingredients:

2 cups white rice (I used long grain)

1 big clove of garlic, or 2 smaller ones, crushed

2-4 Tb oil (I used canola, I wouldn’t use olive oil)

1-14 oz can tomato sauce

2 chicken bouillon cubes (I used 4 cups homemade chicken broth, unsalted)

4 cups water

1/2 of a small white onion, cut into four small pieces.

Directions:

Put rice in a bowl and add enough water to cover it.  Stir it around with your fingers to clean & rinse the rise.  Drain the water and set aside.

In a heavy bottom pot (8 qt) over medium heat, add about 2 Tb oil and add the crushed garlic.  Stirring constantly to avoid browning it.  Add more oil if the pot is getting dry.  Cook garlic for about one minute.  Add the rinsed rice to the pot.  Stirring constantly, adding more oil if need be.  You want to toast the rice, cooking it till it’s a nice golden to medium brown color (not all of it will get toasted, it’s more of an overall appearance).  This will take around 8-12 minutes.

Slowly add in the tomato sauce, being very careful, because the liquid will splatter.  Add either the chicken bouillon cubes & 4 cups water, or 4 cups chicken broth.  Stir completely to get all the rice covered.  Add the 4 halves of onion.  Allow the mixture to reach a boil.  Once it boils, turn the heat to low & cover.  Cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.  You want to check on it to see how much of the liquid it has absorbed.  You’ll know it’s done when there’s still a little liquid resonating on the sides of the pot, but when you stir it around it disappears.

Remove from the heat, season with salt to taste if you used unsalted chicken broth (no need with chicken bouillon).

Bursting with Delight Cookies

Not only are these cookies bursting with delight, but I have been reflecting upon this notion as I await what the Christian world calls “Holy Week” or “Passion Week.”  As my girls took their nap today, I was folding laundry listening to the song, ‘O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus.’  One of the lines says, “How he loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore…how for them he intercedeth.”  I was struck by how great his love is for me.  When I was a little girl I would stand up on mall benches and sing “Jesus Loves Me.”  When people would ask me why I believed in Jesus, I would respond with, “why wouldn’t I (this at a very young age).”

I think it’s because I was drawn to Jesus’ incredible love.  I knew he was good, but not just good as in the superhero fighting the villain, it was much deeper than that.  And as my oldest is three understanding more concepts, listening to all the stories we tell her, taking initiative in conversations & thoughtfulness, I’m seeing how at such a young age–Jesus makes sense.  I was reading to her some Bible stories, very simplistic in nature, and it came to the part where Jesus was being crucified (like I said, it was simplistic, not the Passion in full swing) where she had a sadness in her eye.  I could identify with that sadness and conjure it up from when I was her age, because I like her, could see why it was so sad.  It was sad & lonely, because this person who was so incredibly good & just was being robbed of life.

But the part in which I burst forth, as did she, was when we soon realized that wasn’t the end of the story, but Jesus overcame death, bursting forth from the tomb–leaving it empty.   I could see the shadow of sadness quickly being replaced with joy & hope in my three year old’s eyes.  And as I saw in this child illustrated Bible, feet on a cross, my eyes got misty connecting with the same mourning my daughter was feeling.  But, unlike watching a fake romance movie Hollywood has portrayed giving us hope deferred & hope renewed–this is such a better love story.  This is a love story even a three year old understands to be true & wholeheartedly genuine.

And even though we rarely think about feasting upon cookies during this season of Lent (most people giving them up), I do offer you a burst of delight upon your senses (not that I think these compare to the Easter story at all).  I made these cookies for my mom getaway a couple weeks back and I find they have a wonderful marriage with sour, freshness of the lime, the creamy depth of the cream cheese, the buttery, saltiness of the caramel and the crunch & melding of it all with the macadamia nuts.  I like how the flavors blend, some pack more of a punch, while others leave a nice undertone on in your mouth.

I think that’s why I find these cookies applicable with this post–it’s about awakening the senses.  So as you might read the Passion story for the first time or the 70th time, notice how much of the story deals with smell, touch, taste, sight, & sound.  How Jesus reached us with our senses.  How the Lenten season is typically about denying the senses, yet as Jesus burst forth from the tomb on Easter morning–we burst forth in celebration with him to feast in a hope no longer deferred.

Burst Delights (printable recipe)

I used my Orange Cardamom Cookies as the base for these Lime-Cream Cheese-Macadamia Nut-Caramel Cookies.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lime zest
  • 1/4 cup macadamia nuts, measure out 1/4 cup and finely chop it up
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1 lime for juice

Cream Cheese-Caramel Icing

  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup homemade caramel sauce (or store bought)
  • splash of lime oil essence (or extract)
  • 2 teaspoons lime zest

Make dough:
Whisk together flour, zest, 3 Tb. finely ground macadamia nuts, and salt.

Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in yolk and cream. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Put the dough on parchment paper.

Mound the dough together and roll into a log. Once you get a basic log shape, position the dough in the middle of the parchment. Then, take the parchment that’s north of the dough and cover it over the dough. Take a bench scraper and push the edge of it at the base of the parchment covered dough, trying to make a concentric log. Roll the log so the parchment covers the whole thing and twist the edges. Refrigerate for 3 hours to overnight (if you want to speed the process, then place in freezer for about 30 minutes to 1 hour).

Cut and bake cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Remove firm dough. Unroll the parchment so the dough is still sitting on top of the paper. Place on a cutting board. Cut the dough into 1/8 inch. Transfer cookies to a parchment-lined large baking sheet, arranging them 1 inch apart.

Bake until edges are golden-brown, 12-15 minutes. While the cookies are still warm, slice the zested lime in half and squeeze the juice over the cookies.  The cookies will absorb the juice and give the cookies that great lime kick.  Cool on baking sheet and arrange with below directions.

Make Icing:

Put the whipped cream cheese in a small bowl and add 1 Tb of caramel sauce at a time.  Mixing to get a balance of caramel & cream cheese.  Then add some lime essence, just a splash.  You want to have a balance of the flavors.  Not too much of the lime, but enough to have it stand out.

Putting them together:

With a spoon, put about 1/2 teaspoon icing on each cookie & swirl around.  Drizzle caramel over the cookies with a fork or spoon.  Sprinkle with remaining chopped macadamia nut & lime zest.

Dave Matthews Band Magic Brownies Cupcakes

I have been reading this cookbook, The Flavor Bible.  It’s inspiring for anyone who takes their cooking or baking skills seriously.  My copy is on loan from the library, but I would recommend this one to your home library archives.  The author made a point how food is not only for sustenance, because if it were, we would eat the same thing 3 times a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year.  Rather, food is about the flavor profiles, which are the taste, mouth feel, aroma & X factor.  All of these being great, but I think the X factor stood out the most.  It is the stories, the total experience, the nostalgia, which comes to mind after eating a specific food.

We all have these.  And quite honestly, it’s what makes certain foods disgusting to some, while to another their “last supper.”  It’s no wonder Jesus chose to perform his first miracle at a wedding feast and through the fruit of the vine.  He wove the spiritual with the senses, creating this amazing story of his complete love & provision.

So as I was making these souffle chocolate cupcakes yesterday, I didn’t have any idea what they would be like. Nor did I realize that they would stir the X factor up.  You see, after my oldest was born and people graciously dropped off meals every night, one night someone dropped off a roasted chicken, salad, and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Dave Matthews Band Magic Brownies Ice Cream.  I personally am a ‘every but the..’ sort of girl.  However, the melding of the brownie chunks, vanilla & raspberry swirled made for quite the addiction.

Oh so back to these cupcakes.  Well, I have been salivating over these for a while.  Not only that, but they are gluten-free, which made me think of my friend Tina (she works with Ben & I feel bad when I only bring in gluten treats).  However, Tina loves raspberry & chocolate, so I changed it up a bit.  Then, when I bit into one, it took me back to our old apartment with my week old baby and a still, quiet moment, that everything would be okay in my insane, postpartum state.  I’m not promising that this will create quite the same X factor for you, but maybe you should make some for yourself and some new mother to create one for her.

Dave Matthews Band Magic Brownie Cupcakes

(printable recipe)

This recipe has been adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Chocolate Souffle Cupcakes, which had a mint topping and used espresso powder instead of the actual espresso I used in mine.  You should do as Deb over at Smitten Kitchen says, “eat at once,” because the coolness of the Raspberry Cream enhances the dessert.

Chocolate Soufflé Cupcakes
6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons (86 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 Tb fresh espresso
3 large eggs, separated
6 tablespoons (97 grams) sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

White Chocolate Raspberry Cream
2 ounces (56 grams) white chocolate, finely chopped
3 ounces heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup (76 grams) frozen raspberries + 1 tsp water

Get the white chocolate cream ready for later: Put the white chocolate in a small bowl.  Then, bring the cream to a simmer and pour it over the chocolate.  Let it sit for a minute to melt the chocolate, then whisk well. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the cream. Chill until very cold, about two hours.

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9 standard-size (3-ounce) muffin cups with paper liners.  Put the butter, chocolate & espresso in a saucepan.  Place over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.  Remove from heat.  Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.

Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until mixture is very thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Briefly beat lukewarm chocolate mixture, then vanilla extract, into yolk mixture.  Since I used my one Kitchenaid bowl for the whole process, I poured the chocolate-egg yolk contents into another bowl.  Clean the bowl & use the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, sugar & salt until medium-firm peaks form.  Using a spatula, fold whites into chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Divide batter among prepared cups, filling each three-fourths of the way.

Bake cakes until tops are puffed and dry to the touch and a tester inserted into the centers comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a cooling rack.  Once they are cool, add the raspberry cream.

Make Raspberry Puree:Over low heat, add the frozen raspberries and 1 tsp water to a small saucepan.  Allow the raspberries to slowly melt down into a mush.  This will take about 5-7 minutes.  Place a sieve above a small bowl, then dump the raspberry contents into the sieve.  Take a spatula and begin to push the raspberries through the sieve (you are getting the puree while the sieve will catch the seeds).  You will get about 2 Tbs of puree.  Set aside to add to your white chocolate cream.

Putting it altogether: Beat white chocolate cream with electric beaters until medium peaks form. Slowly add the raspberry puree.  The cream might curdle a bit, but don’t over beat.  If you find that the cream isn’t the right consistency, then put the cream in a pastry bag or plastic sandwich bag and place in fridge for a bit.  Cut the end and squeeze out about 1 Tb on top of each cupcake.  Eat immediately to gain the full experience of the cold raspberry cream with the delicate crumb of the brownie.

Throw Nabisco Out with Homemade Oreos

There are some people who say they’ve never enjoyed Oreos.  I, on the other hand, have always enjoyed them.  In fact, in high school I spent pretty much every weekend of my junior year at my surrogate family’s house–the Carrillo’s.  Veronica (then Carrillo) is (and has been) one of my dearest of friends since I was four years old.  We are complete opposites, share a plethora of memories, and loyalty can always be found in her.

While being the adopted daughter, I would hear the question from Mrs. Carrillo, “Kamille, is there anything you want at the store?”  To which she would hear, “I guess some double stuff Oreos?!”  And come the next couple times around to making the grocery list, Mrs. Carrillo would instinctively have the double stuff on the list (or have them waiting for me).  “But now I’m taking it back, I’m taking it all back.”  Those Nabisco kind have nothing on these chocolatey mixed with white chocolate goodness.

And they went rather well with my mom get away weekend.  I got away with some of my fellow mom friends, and it was beyond glorious.  Being able to spend time to know and be known by these women I dearly love & respect was a glimpse of heaven bound.  So, in terms of these cookies, I must say that the first bite of just the cookies left me a bit disappointed.  I was expecting a little bit more depth of chocolate richness; but, in that first bite I felt it lacking.  However, as the flavors began to meld and the salt kicked in–the chocolate popped, which made me want another bite.  And that’s how these cookies work–you can’t just have one.

Homemade Oreos (printable recipe)

This recipe comes from The Essence of Chocolate.  If you were wondering if you would go back to Oreos after tasting these, the answer is NO!  You will want to make the dough when you’re ready to start rolling it out.  Putting it in the fridge will make it too hard to roll and not necessary.

Ingredients

Filling:

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

Cookies:

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tb all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup plus 1 Tb unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 15 Tb (7 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, at room temperature

For the Filling:

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil over medium heat.  Remove the cream from the heat and add the white chocolate (making sure all of the chocolate is covered by the cream).  Let stand for one minute then whisk to melt.  It will take about 6 hours to let the filling to get to the right consistency.

For the Cookies:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add all of the ingredients except for the butter and combine on low speed.  With the mixer running, add the butter a few pieces at a time, until all of it has been added.  The mixture will have a sandy texture at first and then will begin to form pebble-size pieces.  As soon as the dough starts to come together, stop the mixer.

Transfer the dough to a board and use the heel of your hand to shape the dough into a block about 5 by 7 inches.  Cut the block into 2 pieces.

One at a time, roll each block of dough between two pieces of lightly floured parchment paper until 1/8 inch thick.  Use a 2-inch circular cookie cutter (I used a big pastry coupler).  Place 1/2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking.  Remove from oven and put on a cooling rack leaving the cookies on the sheet for 2 to 5 minutes (the cookies will be too soft to remove initially).  Then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

The dough trimmings can be pushed together once and rerolled to make more cookies (only re-roll twice).

To Assemble:

Place half of the cookies upside down on a work surface.  Whip the filling lightly with a whisk just to aerate it a bit; it will lighten in color and fluff up.  Do not overwhip, or the filling may begin to separate.

Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip or use a disposable pastry bag and cut an opening at the tip of the bag.  Pipe about 1 1/2 teaspoon of filling in the center of each cookie.  Top with another cookie, right side up.  Gently, using your fingertips, press the cookies together until the filling comes just to the edges.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Note: for the leftover dough you have rolled twice, I just put it on the baking sheet and baked it.  Then, had that for the family to munch on.

Pseudo, yet easy Chocolate Mousse

With spring’s early advent in the Northwest, one cannot escape the driving urge to buy fresh produce (preferably strawberries & rhubarb) to make a pie or crisp to welcome the May Day in March.  However, as we’ve been fooled into thinking it’s time to pull out our swimsuits & sandals, we cannot escape the reality that it’s not the summer sun shining down quite yet. Hence making it impossible to eat that fresh strawberry-rhubarb pie.

During this Lenten season, our family is eating beans & rice Monday through Friday for dinner, trying to embrace simplicity in our everyday lives.  It’s been a fruitful experience thus far.  It’s also fun to read or hear about a number of individuals eating beans & rice for the whole month of March.  As we’ve been partaking in simplicity for our weeknight dinners, it has made Sunday night dinners extra special.  I made this last Sunday along with this Chocolate Mousse.  I was wanting to make a chocolate cream pie, but it was around 4:00 and my ambitious, idealist nature waved the white flag to that simple, realistic side screaming at the top of its lungs.

Now this mousse seriously feeds a crowd (I put the rest in a tupperware and sent it to Ben’s work).  It’s creamy, rich and has a chocolate ice cream sort of taste.  If you’re a fan of these and you don’t have much time to make a dessert, I recommend this hand’s down.  And if you’re standing in your kitchen in late Spring when fresh strawberries are available, but your palate is saying, “chocolatey richness!”  Then, make this and top with sliced strawberries–perfectly divine.

Pseudo Chocolate Mousse (printable recipe)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups heavy cream, cold
  • 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, I used a bag of Ghiradelli 60% cacao chips
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

Chill an electric mixing bowl & the whisk attachment for about 10 minutes.

In a small pan, fill with about 1 cup of water and place a heatproof bowl on top.  Make sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl.  Heat over low heat, you want the water to simmer.  Add the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate to the bowl, stirring occasionally until melted.  Once melted, remove bowl from pan and let come to room temperature.

Remove the electric mixing bowl and whisk attachment and attach to the mixer.  Pour in the cold whipping cream and turn your mixer on high speed (10 on Kitchenaid).  Beat until stiff peaks appear, because you’re using the whipped cream as your base for the mousse (about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes).  When you raise your beater, the whipped cream should be able to stand up well on it’s own.

Add the can of sweetened condensed milk to the cooled, melted chocolate.  Stir until thoroughly combined (no streaks remain).  Fold in the whipped cream until no visible streaks remain from the whipped cream.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or foil.  Refrigerate for an hour (if you can wait that long).  The longer it sits in the fridge, the more congealed it will get, which is a good thing.

Receiving the Gifter

Our church body has been going through I Corinthians since September.  I have to say that it’s been a wonderful & fulfilling process digging through this letter.  It hasn’t been a quick study, which makes me feel like I have bypassed those awkward first couple of dates and now I’m building a relationship.  One thing we as a large body are doing is memorizing this passage in the Lenten season:

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.  Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Just the night before I was talking to Ben about stuff in my life revolving around this verse.  One of those things was on food and the ability to use it as an idol of sorts, or even use it to snuff other people.  What got me thinking about it was my friend Talia asking us moms at our Thursday morning playgroup about advice on cooking a steak.  I found myself desperately wanting to give my input and mainly so I would continue to be known as the person who is most knowledgeable about food.  I recalled different instances to Ben that I have done this in the past month.

Most of this was due to pride.  However, what got me thinking a bit further was how easy it is to turn on a snobbery about food.  Not only food, but places I will shop, items I will buy, mantras I will endorse.  Food is such a sticky subject when you get right down to it.  It serves a basic need and provides a creative outlet.  It nourishes & sustains; as well as, stimulates & binds.  I love food for all these reasons.  I am convicted by what I choose to buy for my family, trying to ensure quality while maintaining a modesty, if you will, for those who are starving.  I also understand that as you eat more food, your palate broadens and you become more picky about what you will put into your body.

In Bellingham, we have been a “Green” city long before it was vogue.  Composting, buying local, grass-fed, organic weren’t just marketable clichés, but a way of life for many.  And as we’ve been studying the church of Corinth and some of their issues it has got me thinking about how as a Christian our issues may be different, but attitude has not.  In looking at my culture in my town, these “organic, buy-local, free-range, farmer’s market from the Earth” values are good.  It is both the Christian and the non, seeking to be stewards of the Earth.  However, where I feel like I personally have gone astray is when I’ve taken these inherently good values and made them more important than the person giving a gift.  Let me break it down into a simple story if you’re not tracking with me.

My mom said to me about four years ago that she could get some gift cards from her work (due to some reward thing) for Wal-Mart, which could go towards anything I needed for our first child (I was pregnant at the time).  Now, many people shop at Wal-Mart, but at this moment in time, and then, I don’t–due to moral convictions.  However, what I said in response to my mom is what I would define as a snobbery, which is putting my “values” ahead of the person.  I told her that I wouldn’t really want the gift card, because I don’t want to support Wal-Mart and what they stand for.  In my ignorance, I was thinking I was stomping on feet of injustice.  But really–I was stomping on the generosity of my mother trying to give anything she had for me.  I was putting what I would call a good value ahead of the person.  I was lacking love.

It’s exactly as the writer says in the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”  Whenever I put my own agenda, values, or convictions (even if they’re good) ahead of a person who is created in the likeness of God, I defecate on them, because I lack love.  When I snub off a gift of factory farmed chicken, tasteless steak, plastic made toy, dessert from a box, or even (shall I say it) coffee from Folger’s, if I have let these stand above the person, I have lacked love.

But…I don’t want to end with you (or me) thinking it is never okay to hold to standards we’ve set forth.  For me, I have a standard of eating cake from scratch for instance.  However, if my friend invited us over for dinner and she made it from a box, I’m not going to say, “no thanks,” because of it.  Instead, I’m going to delight that my friend loved me enough to prepare something for me; regardless, if it meets my standards, because she meets God’s standards and that’s what love is.  Because I want to receive the gifter more than the gift (yes I know gifter is not a word).

So as any good friend (that I hope to be, even if we’ve never met), I want to share this tangible gift, which comes in the form of creamy, semi-modest, yet flavorful tomatoey (c) goodness.  I have made it a couple times, but the most memorable was for a group of graduating college Seniors for their banquet.  The director of the group had been to many of these banquets over the years and told me this main dish (and the dessert Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries) was the best Senior Banquet meal he had ever had (that’s at least 20 years worth).

Creamy Tomato Sauce with Pasta (printable recipe)

This is an easy gift to give and I doubt many people would refuse it.  It has depth of flavor, creamy, great texture and invites you to serve up another bowl.  Recipe is adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tb unsalted butter
  • 1 ounce prosciutto, minced (about 2 Tb)
  • 1 small onion, diced fine (about ¾ cup) [I used shallots this time around]
  • 1 bay leaf
  • pinch of red pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt
  • 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tb tomato paste
  • 2 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped coarse
  • ¼ cup plus 2 Tb dry white wine
  • 2 cups plus 2 Tb crushed tomatoes (from one 28-ounce can) [I used whole tomatoes and crushed them in the pan]
  • 1 pound pasta (use a short pasta, ziti, penne, or fusilli)
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  • Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

1.Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add prosciutto, onion, bay leaf, pepper flakes, and ¼ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is very soft and beginning to turn light gold, 8 to 12 minutes.  Increase heat to medium-high, add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly darkened, 1 to 2 minutes.  Add ¼ cup wine and cook, stirring frequently, until liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
2.Add 2 cups crushed tomatoes and bring to simmer.  Reduce heat to low, partially cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.
3.Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil.  Add pasta and 1 Tb salt and cook until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot.
4.Remove bay leaf from sauce and discard.  Stir cream, remaining 2 Tb crushed tomatoes, and remaining 2 Tb wine into sauce; season to taste with salt & pepper.  Add sauce to cooked pasta, adjusting consistency with up to ½ cup pasta cooking water.  Stir in basil and serve immediately.  Top with Parmesan.