Bacon and Cake as Fast as You Can!

My four year old niece, Emily, has said some of the most fantastic things.

Last week she asked me to make her some breakfast.

"What would you like me to make you, my dear?" I asked.

Without hesitation she exclaimed, "your special eggs with butter and love!"

I melted, quicker than butter in a hot skillet. Then I opened the fridge and pulled out the eggs.

Emily is also the one who came up with my favorite version of pat-a-cake.

Pat-a-cake! Pat-a-cake! Bacon man!
Bacon and cake as fast as you can!

Emergency Brownies, for when Mercury Retrogrades

Yesterday was an odd day.

It took me three hours to upload some photos from my digital camera (which usually takes about three minutes). I burned the bacon.l My friend Erin's power went out. My brother-in-law took the waffle maker out of the cabinet and it promptly fell apart right in his hands.

And then I heard someone say, "Mercury is headed to retrograde."

I'm not saying I believe that's why it was such an odd day, but I am saying that the world as we know it stretches far beyond my kitchen, and many, many things are beyond my control.

But some things are not beyond my control.

Like making brownies.

And in case of emergencies such as the occasional everything-seems-to-be-going-wrong day, it is nice to have an ace in the hole.

My ace in the hole...these chocolate brownies.

This recipe uses ingredients that are most likely in your kitchen right now. They are easy, delicious, and practically foolproof.

Even when Mercury is retrograde.

Emergency Chocolate Brownies

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut up one stick (1/2 cup) butter and melt it in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat before butter starts to foam. Off heat, add 1-1/4 cups sugar and mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 1/3 cup all purpose flour, and 1/8 tsp baking powder. Fold gently until combined.

Pour batter into a lightly greased 8"x8" square pan. Place pan into preheated oven, then reduce heat to 330 degrees F. Bake 30-35 minutes (do not overbake!). Remove from oven and cover loosely with aluminum foil and allow to cool at least 30 minutes before cutting.

Roasted Kale, for Elizabeth

This story begins with a tale of two children.

One child is picky to a fault, mostly because her father is picky. He turns his nose up at new foods. He is incredibly vocal about the foods he does not like. "Ewwww! This is terrible!" he exclaimed last Thanksgiving. "What's in this stuffing?" It was made from scratch, rather than from the Stove Top box. He did not like it AT ALL. He let everyone know. Right there at the dinner table. I felt very embarrassed for him, and very sad for his in-laws who made the dinner.

But most of all I felt sad for his daughter. She adores her father and wants desperately to please him. And so, without even trying the stuffing, she exclaimed, "ewww! That's gross!"

She misses out on lots of tasty things.

A food educator I know teaches a great phrase to the kids in her program: "Don't yuck my yum!" I hope some day this young girl is smart enough and brave enough to say that to her dad.

The second child eats just about everything. Her mom is a vegetarian and her dad is not. This little girl eats cucumbers and avocados and tofu and kiwi as eagerly as hot dogs and pancakes and pizza. And she is very open trying new foods.

I think a big part of this little girl's delight in tasting and eating new foods is the openness of her parents to eating a variety of different foods.

So when I mentioned making roasted kale for dinner one night and her mom asked me how to make it, I promised I'd post it on the blog.

This roasted kale is one of my favorite things. I got the recipe from a vegetarian friend who lives in Gloucester, MA. She tears the kale into bite size pieces before roasting and calls it "kale chips," eating it instead of popcorn on movie nights. Her 3 year old son LOVES it. I hope you like it, too!

Roasted Kale

Ingredients:


Fresh kale (younger/smaller leaves are better)
Olive oil
Fine salt (not iodized)


Method:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2) Tear kale leaves off of stems (tear into bite sized pieces if you want kale chips). Discard or compost stems. Wash leaves, then dry well in a salad spinner or with a tea towel.

3) Place kale on a baking sheet with a raised edge (use about one baking sheet per bunch of kale). Drizzle lightly with oil, then toss gently by hand to evenly distribute the oil. Sprinkle lightly with fine salt to your taste.

4) Place in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until kale is crisp and edges just begin to brown, stirring the kale at least once during roasting (tongs work well). If you are roasting more than one pan, you may need to rotate the pans after about 6-8 minutes. (Younger, more tender kale roasts quicker than older, thicker kale--adjust cooking times accordingly.)

5) Remove from oven and serve hot. Kale will stay crisp for about an hour if you want to enjoy it instead of popcorn on movie night.

Sunday Pot Roast

After enduring the longest, coldest, snowiest winter of my life, I finally made it back to Boston to visit my best friend.

The morning after I arrived, I woke up to snow. Snow falling. Snowy snow. Snow.

It didn't last long, and didn't stay long--just snowy snow for the day.

And snow makes me think of comfort food.

Today it made me think of Pot Roast.

I love making a good pot roast, but I rarely get to. There's no real point in making a pot roast just for myself.

So I offered to make on today for Sunday supper with my friend and her family.

Over the years, I've gotten to try many variations on pot roast. I've tried slow cooker pot roast, and low fat pot roast, and hurry-up pot roast.

But the recipe I like best is the one I made today. It is in the oven right now. Here is the recipe.

Sunday Supper Pot Roast

Ingredients:

bacon drippings

3 1/2 lb top round beef roast, patted dry and seasoned with salt and pepper

1 lb pearl onions, peeled

5 cloves garlic, peeled

3-4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2" pieces

2 stalks celery

3 tbsp flour

1 cup red wine

3 tbsp tomato paste

2 bay leaves

fresh thyme

2-3 cups beef stock

1 lb small red skin potatoes

bacon drippings

2-3 yellow onions, chopped

1 lb button or brown mushrooms, quartered

Preparation:

1) Preheat oven to 350 F.

2) In a large dutch oven, heat several tablespoons of bacon drippings over medium high heat. Sear the roast on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove roast from pan and set aside.

3) Cook pearl onions in dutch oven over medium high heat, swirling the pan as needed, until they begin to brown. Add carrots, celery, and garlic and continue to cook, swirling the pan as needed, until they brown, about three minutes.

4) Sprinkle vegetables with flour and stir to coat. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until flour begins to brown.

5) Add red wine and return to medium high heat. Stir to combine well. Bring liquid to a boil, then add tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf. Cook until mixture begins to thicken, about 2 minutes.

6) Return roast to dutch oven. Add beef broth and return to boil. Place potatoes around sides of roast. Cover and continue to cook in 350 F oven for about 2 hours.

7) About 30 minutes before roast is finished, saute chopped onions in a large pan until they are nicely browned. Deglaze pan with beef broth and add thyme. Simmer about 5 minutes, then remove from pan.

8) Return pan to stove and brown mushrooms in bacon drippings. Return onions to pan and heat through.

9) Remove roast from oven. Place mushrooms and onions on top of roast and let rest about 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Pie Crust Promises

Dear Vanessa,

Last November, I promised to make you a pumpkin pie. You love pumpkin pie.

November would have been a perfect month for it. But we had chocolate chip pumpkin cake for you birthday, and went to Uncle Bob's for Thanksgiving.

December came and went in a whirl.

Mother Nature covered us in snow in January and February.

And now here we are in March.

And still, no pumpkin pie.

I was going to make you a pumpkin pie today. I had all the ingredients assembled. But it was sunny and lovely outside. And it is the first day of Spring.

Alas, still no pie.

Mary Poppins warned of "pie crust promises"--easily made; easily broken. (And she didn't mention they are usually tasty promises, too.)

So my promise sits on the shelf, with the can of pumkin waiting to be a pie. Perhaps tomorrow.

Until then, here is the recipe I intend to use. It is adapted from my good old pal, Jim Beard. That man loved some pie.

I promise you'll like it, too. Soon.

Pumpkin Pie, as promised

Makes one 9" deep dish pie

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups half and half (slightly warmed or at room temperature)

5 eggs (at room temperature)

2 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1-9" deep dish pie pan with gingersnap cookie crust*

Method:

1) Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat well by hand or on low to medium speed with a mixer until well combined.

2) Pour filling into prepared pie crust. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Tap out any bubbles that may rise to the top.

3) Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for about 45-50 minutes, until the filling around the edges is set, but it is still a little loose in the middle.

4) Cool on a wire rack to room temperature--at least 2 hours.

5) Serve warm or chilled. Delightful with whipped cream.

*To make gingersnap cookie crust, crush about 8 oz of gingersnap cookies with a rolling pin, food processor or blender. Place in a mixing bowl and add enough melted butter to bind. Press inCto a 9" deep dish pie pan. Chill for 15 minutes before pouring in filling and baking.

New York Times Article: The Femivore's Dilemma

Peggy Orenstein wrote this article, posted on the New York Times online on March 11, 2010. It is worth the few minutes it takes to read. Here is a taste:


"Femivorism is grounded in the very principles of self-sufficiency, autonomy and personal fulfillment that drove women into the work force in the first place. Given how conscious (not to say obsessive) everyone has become about the source of their food — who these days can’t wax poetic about compost? — it also confers instant legitimacy. Rather than embodying the limits of one movement, femivores expand those of another: feeding their families clean, flavorful food; reducing their carbon footprints; producing sustainably instead of consuming rampantly. What could be more vital, more gratifying, more morally defensible?....Femivores suggest that knowing how to feed and clothe yourself regardless of circumstance, to turn paucity into plenty, is an equal — possibly greater — safety net. After all, who is better equipped to weather this economy, the high-earning woman who loses her job or the frugal homemaker who can count her chickens?"

FDA Recall--Flavoring Ingredient "HVP"

The United States Food and Drug Administration has issued a recall for products containing a common flavor enhancer--hydrolized vegetable protein, or HVP--manufactured and distributed by Basic Food Flavors, Inc. According to a press release dated March 4, 2010, HVP "is a common ingredient used most frequently as a flavor enhancer in many processed foods, including soups, sauces, chilis, stews, hot dogs, gravies, seasoned snack foods, dips and dressings."

An updated listing of recalled products can be viewed here on the FDA website.

This New York Times article dated March 4, 2010, refers to the recall as low risk with regard to public health and safety, but offers this recall as an example of the vulnerabilities of the current food safety system.