Tofu Fruit Whip (Or Fruity Pudding)

Try this recipe if you don't like tofu.  Really.  The uproar, grimaces, groans that were heard when I announced the dessert were quickly replaced by..."Um.  I like it.  Can I have some more?"  I lost count, but I think most people had at least 3 servings.

A more common version of tofu "pudding" involves melting a measure of chocolate chips equal in weight to your tofu, mixing together in a blender, and letting set up in the fridge.  I've done that with extra-firm tofu, plus a little peanut butter, to great results.  (It was firm, like cheesecake, although a little grainy.)

This turned out more like a mild yogurt- not too sweet, but addicting and light.  Try it, you'll like it!  We used the last of a raspberry compote from the last of Mom's frozen raspberries, but thought that peach, banana, or strawberry would all be good ones to try next.  I'm not sure if it was the citric acid in the raspberries, or the extra liquids I added, but this never set up into pudding- it was definitely yogurt consistency.  (It was also pretty good with mint-chocolate sauce drizzled on top.  Yum.)

Tofu Fruit Whip
3 14-ounce boxes of silken tofu
3/4 cup mashed raspberries
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy milk (add if this won't blend)

Blend all together in a blender until smooth- decant into a bowl and refrigerate.

Sweet Cherry Pie

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we grow sweet cherries.  Lots and lots and lots of sweet cherries.  I've never seen a sour cherry in the store, and wouldn't you know: most cherry pie recipes are for sour cherries!

Smitten Kitchen saved the day, again.  Summer 2009 was a bumper crop year for sweet cherries around here like I've never seen before- we picked up 13 pounds of gorgeous bings one day for a dollar a pound, and spent the evening washing, pitting, bagging, and freezing fruit.
Here is her recipe, excerpted from Smitten Kitchen.  I used my berries straight from the freezer- the pie took a little longer to bake.  There's enough corn starch here to thicken the juices admirably, but definitely let it cool and thicken, especially if you use frozen berries.  (The directions say to leave the juice behind...well, that wasn't possible.)  The tiny bit of almond extract adds an exceptional flavor- I definitely recommend it!  I left the butter out, and it was delicious still.  So delicious that I hid it after our family  meal, so no one would ask to take it home.  That was a bad thing...but this pie...well, it's just that good!


Sweet Cherry Pie
Dough for a double-crust pie
4 cups pitted fresh cherries (about 2 1/2 pounds unpitted)
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar (adjust this according to the sweetness of your cherries)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water
Coarse sugar, for decoration
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Stir together the cherries, cornstarch, sugar, salt, lemon and almond extract gently together in a large bowl.
Roll out half of chilled dough (use larger piece, if you’ve divided them unevenly) on a floured work surface to 13-inch round. Gently place it in 9-inch pie pan, either by rolling it around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pan or by folding it into quarters and unfolding it in the pan. Trim edges to a half-inch overhang.
Spoon filling into pie crust, discarding the majority of the liquid that has pooled in the bowl. Dot the filling with the bits of cold butter.
Roll out the remaining dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface, drape it over the filling, and trim it, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under the bottom crust, pressing the edge to seal it, and crimp the edge decoratively. Brush the egg wash over over pie crust, then sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Cut slits in the crust with a sharp knife, forming steam vents, and bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F. and bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden. Let the pie cool on a rack.

10 Minute Cookies

I'm not going to include a recipe, because the recipe isn't the important thing here.

The important thing is that you can go from frozen butter to an entire batch of cookies baking at 350 in about 10 minutes.

Yeah baby, let's do it!

Start with your butter. I'm making chocolate chip cookies- a nice dense cookie dough. And one that Ernie requests EVERY.SINGLE.WEEK. You know this is true.

Grab the butter out the freezer (or fridge) and nuke it till soft. Or melted. Doesn't really matter. These cookies won't be spreading, no way, no how. (Melted butter makes your cookies spread. You want tall and soft cookies, refrigerate the dough. Sugar cookies? That's the secret.)

Add your sugars and beat beat beat. Then add all the rest of the good stuff - the flour, the baking powder, the vanilla, the eggs, etc. (I was following the instructions on the back of the chocolate chip bag...all the way till "oats" I thought I was doing chocolate chip cookies. Turns out there's TWO recipes on there, who knew! Blogosphere, meet my chocolate oat bars.)

Take that whole bowl of batter and smash it into a 9x13 inch pyrex pan and toss it in the oven and walk away. Ten minutes in the kitchen, tops. (Oh, and if your kids want to help, meaure the ingredients into a bowl (or cup), and let them dump their bowl (or cup) into YOUR bowl. MUCH easier, trust me. My 18-month-old helped me make these today, while her sister helped...eat my chocolate chips.)

Bake at 350 for about half an hour, till the edges are golden brown. (Start checking at 20 minutes.)

Enjoy!

Aunt LoLo's Sweet Beans

This recipe is dedicated to my friend, Sam. *mwah*


Ok, so I've been trying to phase my house over to more Real Food. This means, in general, that I'm trying to make whatever I can. From scratch.

This is my latest attempt. I wanted to make the classic canned baked beans...without the pork. (Because who keeps three square inches of pork belly around, just to make a serving of beans?! Not me - that's who.)

My method was to look at the back of my can of generic "beans and franks", mentally delete all of the ingredients that weren't....food....and go from there.

I thought they turned out really great! The beans were a little tough-skinned, but I think that's just because it was an older bag of beans. (Any bean gurus out there that can clue me in on a way to get softer skins?)

Aunt LoLo's Sweet Beans

2 cups dry pinto beans
1 tsp. dry onions (My Bean Master sister says dry onions taste better in beans than fresh. If using fresh, chop up about half of an onion, and saute before adding to your beans. Hat tip to Myrnie!)
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 oz. canned tomato paste

Prep your dry beans - cover them with water, and swirl them around a bit. Pull out anything that floats, or anything that isn't a good-looking bean. (Anything black, wrinkled, split...those are all trash.) To soften the beans, either soak them overnight in cold water, or cover with water and bring to a boil. Either way, drain the water off afterwards, replace it with fresh water (about 2" over the beans).

Into the water, add all of the remaining ingredients to your pot, except your tomato paste. (Myrnie told me once that tomato products seem to stunt the cooking of the beans...I've never tried to tempt fate!) (And yes, Myrnie taught me how to cook dry beans. I still call her nearly every time I try to mix up a pot!)

Simmer the beans until they are soft, and then add your tomato paste. (BTW, 3 oz. is about half a can. Eyeball it...or add the whole can. Just add to taste!)

After a few minutes more simmering, taste the beans. Add more salt, sugar, vinegar, ground pepper...whatever flavor you're missing, chuck it in there. Just be sure to use a light hand - once it's in there, you can't get it back! 

Pasta and Broccoli with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

This started out as a salad dressing, inspired by a recipe here. The fact that it wasn't a very good salad dressing is most likely a user error - I adapted the recipe to what I had on hand.

Gorgonzola Dressing

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together:
2/3 cup buttermilk (I used 2 Tbsp. lemon juice + enough fresh milk to equal 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonaise

Then stir in 6 ounces of Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Like I said, this was a kind of wimpy salad dressing. If you look at the original recipe, I left out the garlic and the pancetta, and added mayonaise (to thicken it up a little bit). So, again, this was a user error! The dressing will keep in the refrigerator for three days.

On the third day, I boiled 1 pound of pasta, and added a small crown of broccoli (chopped) to the pot during the last three minutes of cooking time.

After draining that, I tossed in my left over Gorgonzola dressing. It was amazing! The dressing had gained a bit of pungency during the three days, as the Gorgonzola flavor seeped into the creamy base. When I tossed the sauce into the hot pasta, the bits of crumbled Gorgonzola melted and got all stretchy. Mmmmm....

The big surprise of the night was how much the kids liked it! The three year old had two bowls full, and the one year old had three helpings! Making the dressing three days ahead of time seems a bit fussy for just a pasta dish, but I will definitely be experimenting and trying this again. I'm sure I could mix this up while the pasta was cooking, and the flavor wouldn't suffer. Just a bit of creamy stuff, thinned out with milk, and some gorgonzola. I will probably skip the lemon juice step next time and just use fresh milk, or cream if I have it.

Food Revolution, Episode 4

Suburban Housewife Uprising: Food Revolution, Episode 4

If you've missed it, I've started a new blog to talk about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution...and all the other issues it brings up. My review of this episode is hanging out over there. Go check it out!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

For posterity.  And Aunt LoLo who has lost this recipe each of the four times I've sent it to her over the years.  *mwah*  I believe this originated with my mother-in-law's little sister.

Before you start, have cooked broccoli on hand, and 1 cup of broccoli cooking water.  How much?  Up to you.  1/2 a Costco bag is good for a big pot of this.

In a large pot, melt 1/4 cup butter and saute 2/3 cup chopped onion.  (An onion.  Chop an onion.  Or two.  I really like onions)

Add 1/2 cup flour and whisk well to make a white roux. 
Add 2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup broccoli water, 4 cups dairy (could be half cream, I use all milk), 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce, 3/4 tsp salt (taste first!!).  Mix all together, add broccoli and heat.  Add 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, or more to taste. 

Don't let this boil, or it will curdle.