Vegetarian Chili

Let me tell you a cautionary tale about the importance of close reading.  I found a delicious-looking recipe for vegetarian chili in March 2011's issue of Triathlete Magazine (aspirational reading, okay?) and stuck it up on my refrigerator.  When I went to the grocery store, I was overly confident that I remembered the correct ingredient proportions, and this confidence spread over into the actual cooking process.  Long story short, I wound up with 12 servings of vegetarian chili instead of six (suspicions arose when I had to break out the stockpot because the normal-sized pot was too small, but at that point the commitment had been made).

So this is a recipe for a massive amount of veggie chili.  You could make less, but I'm not capable of doing that.  It's good though—leave out the bulgur for your gluten-free friends, put the bulgur in for an extra-nice texture.

Refrigerator Pickles

Like most Americans, I consider Labor Day to mark the end of summer, even if it's somewhat wishful thinking here in balmy North Carolina.  In any case, the holiday weekend provided the perfect excuse for one last barbecue, and you'd better believe I took advantage of it.

Hot dogs and hamburgers are enticing enough, but I wanted to make something a little extra interesting to attract attendees.  "I'm making my own pickles!" I crowed, not actually knowing anything about pickling.  An hour of reading later, I'd realized a few things: 1) There was no way I would be canning anything, so refrigerator pickles were the way to go; 2) Bread-and-butter-style pickles are a little more interesting to make, as you can play with the flavor profile in a way you can't with the more rigid dill-pickle style; and 3) Pickling is EASY.  Here's how you can do it too:

Penne with Cannellini Beans, Kale, and Turkey Bacon

When I started library school last week, one of the pieces of career advice that kept coming up from second-year master's students and profs was to start a blog.  "Terrific!" I thought.  "I'm already all over that."  But then I realized that they meant a blog about library school.  Oh well.  As a wise man once said, "I've gotta be me."

So here's my first post from library school land.  Per graduate school requirements, all I'm craving is pasta all the time.  But I thought I'd switch it up from my usual red-sauced staple.  I had a can of cannellini beans in the pantry, so I started there.  With the addition of kale and turkey bacon, this dish makes for a slightly spicy and satisfying meal.  Plus, you can always leave out the turkey bacon for a vegan meal.

Red Potato and Sugar Snap Pea Salad

Why is summer the best time of the year?  Extreme heat, popsicles, outdoor movies, long hours of sunlight, and PICNICS.  Yes, I admit it: I'm a picnic partisan and I think everything tastes better al fresco.  And what's a picnic without potato salad?  This recipe includes a little greenery for a healthsome crunch and an olive oil dressing.  Bonus: Using olive oil instead of mayo as the binding/moisturizing agent prevents the potato salad from going bad in the summer heat.  Nobody likes food poisoning.

 

Blueberry Muffins

While apple pie is pretty much as all-American as you can get, it's not really seasonal for the Fourth of July.  To me, a close second for sheer patriotic goodness is the blueberry muffin: Where else in the world is eating what is basically a cupcake for breakfast considered the norm?  God bless this country.

Seriously, I made four batches of these muffins over the weekend and my family ate them ALL.  Addictive yet so simple.  Sometimes, as my friend Kirsten says, you just can't improve on the simple standard: You could add lemon peel or orange essence, but it won't make these any better, just different. So here's the classic recipe:

Onion Rings

For very special occasions when I was growing up (e.g. the Fourth of July), my mom would make what I still consider the most delicious onion rings in the whole world.  They showed up on our table no more than a half-dozen times, but they're the stuff of family legend.  For my dad's birthday dinner, he requested a repeat appearance of these mythical fried onions, so I did my best to recreate my mom's recipe.

Basically, this is a fritter dough rather than the traditional onion-ring coating.  It keeps the onions from drying out and has a little more heft.

In any case, I know that Dani Cooks has been heavy on the baking recently, so here's a recipe that uses a whole different skill set (deep frying) for an all-American classic.

Coconut Cake

June means it's birthday time in my family!  Last week was my dad's natal day, so I made him a dinner of his choosing as part of my gift.

For dessert, he picked an oh-so-delicious but slightly tricky coconut cake.  "Beware!" my friends said.  "The boiled icing will be your downfall."

But I'm here to tell you that if you watch your icing carefully and follow the directions semi-carefully, you'll be A-OK.  And you'll have a light cake that's not too overwhelming for summer (or anytime) celebrations.

Strawberry Cupcakes

Disclaimer: These cupcakes are so delicious, I've made two batches in the last four days.  That's a lot of cupcakes, even for me.

Several months ago, I took an amazing cupcake class at Butter Lane in New York.  Since then, I haven't made a single cupcake, instead pining away for the magic of a stand mixer, to whose camp I became a firm convert after the class.  Thanks to a U of C audit in my favor (sounds like something out of Monopoly's Community Chest, but for real), I finally bought a beautiful refurbished KitchenAid and have been chomping at the bit to make something with it for about a week.

To celebrate the arrival of both my friend Britta, who is moving to the area for graduate school, and Shelly the Stand Mixer: Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting.  This recipe is based on the Butter Lane class's recipe, but adjusted to reflect the different ingredients I had on hand and to incorporate the addition of fruit.

Berry Pie

As my gift to my mom this year for Mother's Day, I offered to make her any kind of meal that she wanted for dinner.  For dessert, she chose a berry pie—a great seasonal choice for the height of springtime's berry yield, which happens to coincide with Mother's Day.  So a happy belated Mother's Day to all the great moms out there (especially mine): This one's for you.

This recipe is adapted from another one of my favorite cookbooks, The Artful Pie.  Sadly, it is out of print, but definitely worth tracking down.  This particular recipe has been adapted to include less refrigeration time (seriously, I don't have time to refrigerate after every step, though I wish I did) and a wider mix of berries.  Why limit yourself?

Matzo, Onion, and Mushroom Kugel

Well, Passover is almost over.  But if you're like me, you still have several pounds of matzo (not called "the bread of affliction" for nothing) left over.  You can either feed it to your local wildlife or make it into a much more palatable side dish that goes well with chicken or brisket, or as a starchy centerpiece to a vegetarian meal.

"Kugel" is a Yiddish word referring to a sweet or savory dish, and is basically a baked pudding.  Most of the time, noodles or potatoes form the basis for the recipe, but since this is for Passover, noodles are pretty much out.  This recipe, which has served me well for two years in a row, is a slight modification from one of my favorite cookbooks, Marlena Spieler's Jewish Cooking.

Baklava

This past weekend, my friend Nina came to visit me from Chicago.  We had a good time exploring Chapel Hill and the surrounding environs and, of course, we ate pretty well.  Both of us love to bake, and we each come from cultures where baklava is a staple food group.  Basically, there was no other option on a rainy Saturday but to bake some of that flaky, buttery dessert.

With our two powers combined, we came up with a four-layer single-nut baklava drenched in sugar and butter.  Is it good for your body?  Probably not, though I can think of worse things to eat, dessert-wise.  But it is definitely good for your mood and your tastebuds, so I'd recommend you give it a try the next time you're feeling gloomy.  This kind of moist baklava can't be bought (or is extremely hard to find).

Bahamian Macaroni and Cheese

My sister came home for spring break on Friday night with one request: A home-cooked meal.  Until she went to college, Junior consumed a very limited diet, consisting mainly of cinnamon-raisin bagels.  Since then, she's become a much more adventurous eater.  One of the first more flavorful meals I ever cooked her was Bahamian Macaroni and Cheese, so I decided to make it again for old time's sake.

The original recipe for this delicious pasta dish comes from my high school friend Eva's family.  Eva brought it to a potluck supper and it instantly broadened my macaroni and cheese horizons: Who knew you could put vegetables in mac 'n' cheese?  I've tweaked the recipe a little bit to add some whole wheat pasta and a little more veg, but it's pretty much the same recipe from five years ago.  So: Thanks, Eva!  For my money, your macaroni stands up next to the gourmet versions of Manhattan and it's still one of my (and Junior's) favorite recipes ever.

Greek Roast Chicken

Cooking for my family can be a bit of a balancing act: My dad is more-or-less carnivorous (though he doesn't eat pork) and my mom doesn't really like strong flavors (read: garlic) or massive amounts of meat.  So what to make for my first home-cooked supper in North Carolina?

It's decidedly spring here and, as such, a young girl's fancy turns to thoughts of Greece.  "Ah-ha!" I thought: Roasted chicken with lemon, olive oil, and scads of oregano—simple, fresh-tasting, and delicious. Basically, this is my take on a dish that is often on offer at tavernas called kotopoulo fournou (κοτόπουλο φούρνου), which is served with pan-roasted potatoes and a green salad.

Goodbye New York, Hello Again Chapel Hill

New York, it turned out, was not for me.  The everlasting winter, the crowded subways, the shock that registered on peoples' faces when I was polite: None of these things really agreed with my system.  As much as I enjoyed the people that I worked with and the overwhelming access to culture, the past nine months have taught me that I'm cut out for a somewhat slower pace of life.

So on Saturday, I drove back with my dad to Chapel Hill.  I'm hoping that I'll be starting a master's program in library science in the fall, but if I don't get in this year, there's always the next.  New York lent me some perspective on what I want to get out of life and I made some fantastic friends, so I will always be grateful for this past year.

One thing that was rough about New York was that I rarely had anyone to cook for (I don't blame anyone for not wanting to make the trek out to Flatbush) and, when I did, I was too exhausted to do so.  Returning home will hopefully also mean a return to cooking, with my family as my culinary guinea pigs and a more relaxed schedule.  So look for more blog posts in the near future.