Apple Crisp

As we say goodbye to summer and welcome fall, it is also time to say goodbye to Mark Bittman and hello to Giada De Laurentiis at I Heart Cooking Clubs.  For my last bye bye to Mark (not that it will be my last Bittman recipe, heaven forbid!) I decided to go with a simple classic dessert.  It doesn’t get much easier than an apple crisp, and as someone who plans to go to her grave never having made a pie crust, it’s really the perfect solution.

This was so good, topped with some frozen vanilla yogurt, a perfect fall dessert.  Almost a little too perfect.  I’m trying to decide if perhaps I need to make one of these a week.  Because really, shouldn’t one always have some apple cinnamony goodness readily available?

Apple Crisp

• 6 cups peeled, cored, sliced apples or other fruit
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits, plus extra for greasing the pan
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)
• 1/4 cups chopped nuts (optional)
• dash salt

Preheat the oven to 400.  Toss the fruit with half the cinnamon, the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and spread it out in a lightly greased 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan.

Combine the rest of the ingredients, including the remaining cinnamon and sugar in a food processor.  Pulse a few times and then process until everything is well incorporated, but not uniform. 

Spread the topping over the apples and bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until the topping is browned and the apples are tender.  Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

This will be my entry for I Heart Cooking Clubs!

Cookbook used:

What Was it Wednesday?

You’re looking at March 6, 2009.  Some sort of pesto pasta??  Lightly broiled roma tomatoes???  Green salad?  Looks like I was getting tired of winter and ready for summer flavors.  Funny, because I am at the exact opposite point right now.

***What Was it Wednesday – My attempt to work my way through my backlog of cooking photos.  Photos, that are either too old for me to remember what they were, or I am lazy and just can’t be bothered to.

Garden Tuesday

Moonbeam Coreopsis.  Aren’t they pretty?  Or at least they were on June 4th.  Now they are a shriveled mass of black fernlike leaves.

 

Delicate astilbes flourished in the springtime and early summer rains.  Who knew they would be the last rains for weeks?

Look, there’s even water on the leaves on this nandina.  June 4th was such an innocent happy time, with flowers blooming, and rain falling. 

I’m sorry.  I promise that next week’s Garden Tuesday will be more upbeat.  Unless we get no rain for another week.  And then I may have to title this Dead Garden Tuesday.

Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

Do you ever make a recipe that you think is not going to work?  I know.  It seems silly, because there are a bazillion and one recipes that I think sound good, so why would I chose one that I fully expect to not like?  That’s a very good question, one that I really have no answer to, other than…I had all the ingredients.

This was one of those recipes.  I see it everytime I browse through Everyday Food: Great Food Fast from Martha.   While it sounding intriguing, it didn’t sound like it would be very good.  But in an effort to eat real and seasonally, I needed to use the lovely potatoes and green beans that were provided by my CSA. I also needed to use some pesto that was still in the freezer from last June, as I replenish my stash. 

I am pleased to tell you that I was wrong.  This was good.  Really good.  Crazy easy – everything cooks in one pot of boiling water!  Also, I discovered Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta!  I don’t like whole grain pastas, so I didn’t have high hopes for this, and once again I was proven wrong!  This was every bit as good as regular pasta and maybe even a little better!

Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

2 waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 tablespoon salt

8 ounces cavatappi

8 ounces green beans, trimmed and halved

1/2 cup Pesto

Pepper

Peel and cut 2 waxy potatoes into 1-inch cubes; place in a large pot of water; bring to a boil.

Add 1 tablespoon salt and 8 ounces cavatappi or other short tubular pasta; return to a boil; cook 2 minutes.

Add 8 ounces trimmed and halved green beans. Return to a boil; cook until vegetables are tender and pasta is al dente, about 6 minutes.

Drain; toss with 1/2 cup pesto; season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

It says – serves 4, but for us it only served 2 for dinner, with 1 lunch the next day.

This will be my entry for Heart ‘n Soul Blog Hop. 

 

And for this week’s Presto Pasta Nights hosted by it’s lovely and talented creator, Ruth at Once Upon a Feast.

****  And Happy Birthday to my MOM!!!  *****

Weekend Wine Reviews #35

Gumdale Chardonnay, 2008, Southeastern Australia, $6.99.  They say:  this Chardonnay exhibits citrus and honeydew flavors further complexed by cream French oak aromas.  The palate is soft yet fresh with balanced acidity and a soft creamy finish.  We say:  peach, citrus, creamy and soft.  Finishes clean and citrusy.  Buy again:  Yes!! 

Weekend Cat Blogging #277

Patchouli

Demonstrating the fine art of

of grass munching.

 

 

This will be my entry for Weekend Cat Blogging hosted by Othello at Paulchens FoodBlog?!.

Brats with Peppers

I would just like to say that having a food blog is a lot of work.  Sure, it’s insanely gratifying, and I love “meeting” all of you and consider you all friends.  But still.  Having to cook blog worthy food all of the time, take blog worthy pictures, and come up with blog worthy witty words, can be a challenge. 

Sometimes I just want to be normal.  Cook a normal simple meal, maybe take it’s picture, maybe not.  Tonight was one of those nights.  Nothing special.  I found a big bag of bell peppers in my fridge from the CSA and some brats in the freezer.  Bingo. 

Grill or pan fry the brats (with or without a beer soak and simmer).  Grill or saute some bell peppers and onions, which were tossed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and fresh thyme.  Spoon peppers over brats.  Snap a pic.  Eat.  

 

 

This will be my entry for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum!

Mexican Chicken Soup (Tortilla Soup)

When Girlichef posted that Tortilla Soup was her number one favorite soup, I had to agree.  Seriously.  I could eat this every week and never grow tired of it.  I don’t know what I like more, the soup, or the accompaniments.  It’s really the perfect soup.  Warm and flavorful, but then fresh and tasty with the cool avocado, sour cream, cheese and cilantro. 

With my cookbooks still packed away, I searched the net and found Ina’s Mexican Chicken Soup.  I kinda, sorta followed her recipe, which I am posting below.  The changes I made:  used a leftover rotisserie chicken carcass – with the breast meat still attached, made the soup in a slow cooker, and added some fresh cilantro at the end with the avocado, sour cream, and cheese.  I just love the pop of the fresh cilantro. 

Mexican Chicken Soup

4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on

Good olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)

1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)

2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)

4 large cloves garlic, chopped

2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed

2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional

6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas

For serving: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in 1/2, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips.

 

This will be my entry for Souper Sundays (Soup, Salad, or Sammie) hosted by Deb at Kahakai Kitchen.

AND

 Girlichef’s Tortilla Soup Challenge!

What Was it Wednesday

You are looking at February 26, 2010.  Beans.  Some kind of fancy beans.  Maybe cranberry?  Maybe Rancho Gordo? 

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for this.  Ready for soups.  Ready for stews.  Ready for the aroma of pot roasts to hang in the air all Sunday afternoon. 

***What Was it Wednesday – my attempt to work my way through my old cooking photos.  Photos so old I don’t remember what they were, or don’t have the energy to try and figure it out.

Garden Tuesday – Blues and Purples

 

I am cheating, again, by showing you pictures from June.  I can’t help it.  If you saw the sorry state of my garden right now, you would run screaming in horror from your computer.

 

So, instead I bring you some of my favorite soothing garden colors.  Enjoy.  Try not to think about what my garden really looks like right now.

Linguine with Zucchini, Garlic, Black Olives and Toasted Breadcrumbs

I have a confession.  I can’t spell.  Seriously, you would think someone who reads as much as I do, would naturally be a good speller.  Nope.  I am living proof that a fairly intelligent human being, who reads and speaks intellectually, has to rely heavily on spell checkers to sound as intelligent when writing.  It doesn’t matter how many times I have read the word or written it, each time is like a brand new day for me. 

Why am I telling you this?  Zucchini.  Every single time, I have no clue whether there are two c’s or two n’s.  Every single time, I invariably try the two n’s first, and when nothing shows up, I try two c’s.  If I had a nickel (which by the way, I tried to spell nikle) for every time Google responds with, “Did you mean…..” it would equal winning the lottery.  

This recipe for Linguine with Zucchini, Garlic, Black Olives and Toasted Breadcrumbs comes from Martha.    I thought it was okay.  It was a great way to use up some wonderful, fresh, organically grown zucchini, but it was rather lackluster.  One problem though was that I didn’t have any breadcrumbs, so I subbed Parmesan cheese.  I think the breadcrumbs would have added a better flavor and texture.  I will try it again with breadcrumbs, because I do like the sound of all the ingredients.

Linguine with Zucchini, Garlic, Black Olives, and Toasted Breadcrumbs

Coarse salt

1 pound linguine

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

4 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise, then sliced very thinly crosswise

20 Gaeta or Nicoise olives, pitted

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Sicilian

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup Breadcrumbs

Fill a 10-quart stockpot with 7 quarts water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons coarse salt. Add pasta, stir until water returns to a boil, and cook pasta, according to package directions, until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add oil and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add onion and zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add olives, oregano, and red pepper flakes; season with salt to taste.

Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Add pasta to skillet and toss to combine. If pasta seems dry, add reserved cooking water 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing between each addition. Transfer pasta to a large platter, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with bread crumbs; serve immediately.

Serves 4

This will be my entry for Heart ‘n Soul Blog Hop. 

AND

 Presto Pasta Nights hosted by Bellini Valli of More Than Burnt Toast.

And

Weekend Wine Reviews #34

Banfi, Centine, 2008, Blend – Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, $11.99.  They say:  a richly aromatic and crisp curvee of selected Tuscan grapes.  Savor the rich, fresh flavors of pear and apricot with a whisper of lime.  We say:  light, prominent citrus flavor.  Nothing special.  Buy again:  probably not.

Urban Pantry by Amy Pennington

I have 155 cookbooks.  No, I’m not some crazy fanatic who counts her cookbooks.  I’m a crazy fanatic who keeps all of her cookbooks in her virtual library on Goodreads.  I have seriously cut back on my cookbook buying, so when I do get a new cookbook, I expect a lot from it.  Amy Pennington’s Urban Pantry: Tips and Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable and Seasonal Kitchenwas everything I hoped it would be and more.

Normally, I wait until I’ve made several recipes out of a book before I review it, but this was just so lovely, I had to share it now.  First of all the pictures of her pantry with all the food in jars totally won me over immediately.  Put some polenta, or beans, or grains in jars and line them up in your pantry, and I am in love.  Then take those simple, lovely ingredients and turn them into simple, lovely meals, I am yours forever.

She divides the book into chapters titled:  Breakfast, Appetizers, Soups, Salads & Side Dishes, Main Courses, Garnishes Vinaigrettes & Sauces, Pantry Staples, Pickles & Preserves, and Desserts.  Picking just one recipe from each chapter:

• Hippie Hotcakes
• Onion-Thyme Tart
• Herbal Minestrone
• White Bean & Preserved Lemon Salad
• Over Easy Tomatoes with Polenta
• Steeping Fruit
• Homemade Bread Crumbs
• Boozy Blood Orange Marmalade
• Vanilla Quinoa Pudding

And there is lots more!  Really, I’ve marked practically the whole book to make.  The vanilla quinoa pudding is next on my list.  I was trying to decide last night, what I could quickly make, so that I would have at least tried one of the recipes.  I settled on Quick Pickled Chiles, because I love all pickles and because I had just picked some peppers from my garden.  These were quick, simple, and a nice spicy garnish for a simple fish dish. 

 Quick Pickled Chiles

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 fresh red pepper (paprika or serrano), stemmed, seeded, cut lengthwise into thin strips

1 thin-skinned fresh green pepper (jalapeno or Hungarian wax), stemmed, seeded, cut lengthwise into thin slices

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and the vinegar, until the sugar dissolves.  Add the peppers to the bowl and macerate for 30 minutes or longer.  The longer they soak, the less spice they will retain.

Pantry Note:  They can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three weeks as long as the peppers stay submerged.

Makes 4 servings, as a garnish.

Get it.  You totally have my permission:

Weekend Cat Blogging #276

Patchouli looks a little confused.  Why are we posting Weekend Cat Blogging on Friday???  We always post on Saturday. 

Because we are hosting, silly!!!  That’s right, leave your kitty cat link with Mr. Linky below and join in on the fun!!! 

 

 

This will be my entry for Weekend Cat Blogging hosted by ME.

Sausages with Smashed Potatoes and Cornichons

Sausages.  Do you prefer pork or chicken?  I use chicken a lot just because they are lighter and there are all the spiced and fancied up varieties.   I don’t even know what variety I used with this recipe, but looking back on it, I wish it would have been pork.  Sometimes you need that pork fat goodness.  Don’t get me wrong, this was good, but I think a little more fat would have been just right.  Also, cornichons??  I just cut up some dill pickles, which I have a zillion of because I bought a big warehouse size jar full of, simply because I wanted the  jar to do some fermenting in.  So, expect lots of pickles showing up on plates here at Sidewalk Shoes in the future!

Sausages with Smashed Potatoes and Cornichons (From Real Simple) 

1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes (about 18), halved

kosher salt and black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

8 Italian sausage links (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

1/2 cup cornichons, chopped, plus 3 tablespoons of the brine

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 small sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Walla Walla), chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and add 2 teaspoons salt. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 15 to 18 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornichon brine, mustard, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add the potatoes, cornichons, onion, and parsley and mix, mashing gently. Cut the sausages into large pieces and serve with the potatoes.

This will be my entry for Foodie Friday!!  I know it’s only Thursday, but I have a non-foodie post for tomorrow!

 

 

This will be my entry for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum!

Shameless Plea – Journalism Job for Kate!

I would like to interrupt this foodie, bookish, garden-y, wine-y blog for a very selfish post.  Yep.  My youngest, Kate is all grown up and ready to join the unfortunate reality of the workaday world. 

She is searching for a multimedia journalism job pretty much anywhere!  She is willing, ready and able to go to just about any state and any country!  I know that I have lots of loyal readers scattered about the globe, so I thought, “Why not, maybe someone knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone.  Or maybe you are the someone!”

She has two resume sites:

Kate at ViscualCV

Kate’s Tumblr

Isn’t she amazing?!  I take full credit for all of her amazingness.  Well, maybe I have to share some with hubs, and then I guess maybe her biological mother and father.  Nope, you know what, I take full credit.  This amazing, awesome, talented girl is brought to you by me, me alone, I take full credit, because I can, it’s my blog, I have the power.

Garden Tuesday – Daylilies

I don’t know about you, but my garden is looking pretty ragged right now.  We haven’t had rain in weeks, and even though I run the sprinkler every other day, it just can’t compete with the 90+ degree days that we were having.

So, I bring you some daylilies from June.  June, when things were blooming and it actually dripped water from the sky every now and then.

It was such an innocent time.  A promise of daily beauty.  Shattered by relentless heat and rain clouds that seemed to divide on purpose right around us. 

Roasted Salmon with Potatoes and Mushrooms

I like to try and take a technique away from a recipe whenever I can.  I know I’ve written before about learning to roast an orange, lemon, or lime along with your chicken and veggies and then squeezing it over the top for a quick finish.  In that same vein of finishing a simple roasted dish with a quick sauce, I bring you Roasted Salmon with Potatoes and Mushrooms from Real Simple.  The idea here is that a simple vinaigrette drizzled over right before serving totally finishes this dish.  It was lovely.  The combination of the grainy mustard and the sweet honey complimented the salmon and the veggies perfectly.  Also …  one pan and one jar to shake the dressing in.  Need I say more?

Roasted Salmon with Potatoes and Mushrooms

1 pound small new potatoes (about 10), halved

8 ounces button mushrooms

3 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 1 1/4-pound piece skinless salmon fillet

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Heat oven to 400° F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes, mushrooms, 1 tablespoon of the oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Roast, tossing once, until the potatoes begin to soften, about 20 minutes.

Push the vegetables to the edges and place the salmon in the center. Season with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Roast until the salmon is opaque throughout, the mushrooms are tender, and the potatoes are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the vinegar, mustard, honey, parsley, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Drizzle over the salmon and vegetables before serving.

Serves 4

 

This will be my entry for Two For Tuesdays!

And

A Little Summer Sewing

Do you read the fine print?  I don’t.  Really, who knows what I have signed my John Hancock to in the past. Have you read the fine print on my blog, you know…where it mentions sewing and knitting?  Did you think it was just gobbledy-gook?  It’s not, I do sew and I do knit; just not very profusely.  Summer is pretty much my only time to actually sew to completion, so without further ado, here are a few of my completed summer projects:

First up, is New Look 6892.  A sweet little peasant style blouse. 

Which I liked so much, I immediately made it again.  This time with some vintage pillowcase fabric.  (It looks much better ironed!)

Next up was this dress.  Are you old enough to remember when women wore house dresses?  I am.  I wanted a light, summery house dress.  I wear this without the tied belt and it is everything it promised to be.

And last was this tiered skirt, Simplicity 2609.  You can’t really tell, but it has 4 gathered tiers.  It looks like it would be easy, but gathering up all those tiers is not!  The fabric is a vintage cotton and I think it will make a nice skirt for the transition from summer to fall.

There you have it.  I wasn’t as productive as I would have liked to be, but since I started all the house renovation stuff in early July, this is not too shabby.

Weekend Cat Blogging #275

Now that the weather is getting cooler, senior kitty, Scrappycat, likes to venture out.  At 20 years old, she still rules the house. 

 

 

This will be my entry for Weekend Cat Blogging hosted by Breadchick and LB at The Sour Dough.

Herbed Vinegars

If you live in the United States, you may have noticed a change this week.  A slight chill in the air in the morning, the sounds of football emanating from the tv set for hours and hours, the vee’s of ducks and geese flying over head, the sound of me complaining that I’m back to school and tired. 

Like the squirrels, I am storing away for winter.  I face the task of what to do with all this bounty, NOW.  Answer, herb vinegars.  I’ve mentioned them lots. 

One of my very favorites is Honey Herb Vinegar, this is always the first one I run out of.  I use it in place of balsamic and anytime I want a sweet, syrupy vinegar.  Another one I use all the time, is Hot Chili  Pepper Vinegar.  This get drizzled on almost every soup and stew I make.

A super easy vinegar is your basic herb vinegar.  Any herb will do, but one of my favorites is basil.  There is nothing like a little splash of basil vinegar to bring back summer memories all winter long.  My technique comes from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Roundmy all-time favorite preserving book.

Basil Vinegar

• 2 cups vinegar (white wine, red wine, rice, white or cider)
• 1/2 cup fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme, basil, parsley, chives and chive blossoms, mint, dill, oregano) or 3 tbsp dried

Bring vinegar to a boil.

Crush or bruise fresh herbs. Place the herbs in a clean jar and pour in the vinegar.  Cover and steep in a sunny location for two weeks or longer.

Taste occasionally and when it is your desired strength, strain the vinegar and pour into a clean jar with a tight fitting lid.  Add a fresh sprig of the herb to the jar if you’d like (I don’t). Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 2 cups.

 

 

This will be my entry for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum!