the cat came back

Here's an exciting story that has nothing to do with food or cooking, but makes me smile all over my face. I'm happy to announce that the Massar-Pfleiger household's kitty, Olive, has arrived back home.  She disappeared on Easter Sunday (April 4th) and returned on Cinco de Mayo, for a total of 31 days gone from our home. Her dates of disappearance and return, make me think that she might just be using our family for our super-cool holiday celebrations. Whatevs, we'll take what we can get from her. She returned skinny, skittish and with a stomach covered in matted tufts of fur, which we had to cut out one by one, on the upside, she was extra lovey and wanted to be held for hours on end. We will never know what happened to her or what she ate and drank during those days to make it out intact, but it doesn't matter, we're just so excited to have her back.

olive's glamour shot. she is wearing her new outfit: 

bumble bee collar and heart ID tag.

the reunion.

texas caviar

The ladies in my family make this dish for parties and it is enjoyed by all.  you can make it a couple days in advance, if you have the time, giving the black eyed peas extra time to marinate in the vinegar.  the more time the mix rests before serving, the more the flavors meld together. we serve this like a salsa with corn chips for dipping.  this time, I tried adding a few chopped jalapeños to the mix, that's optional but it did give the mix a nice zing.

4 cups cooked black eyed peas (2 packages in the frozen section, follow the instructions on the bag to cook)
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
1 red bell pepper, chopped finely
4 celery stalks, chopped finely
1 jar of chopped pimentos
2 jalapeños, chopped finely

for the dressing:
1 bottle red wine vinegar (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Tostito's Restaurant Style corn chips for dipping

Mix all of the beans and veggies in a large bowl.  Mix dressing in a separate container and stir.  Pour dressing over bean mixture, and stir to combine. I like to pour a little extra vinegar into the bowl after this step just to make sure the entire mixture is covered with vinegar.  Let marinate over night or up to 3 days in advance of when you plan to serve it.  Serve alongside corn tortilla chips.

butter noodles

this pasta is tasty, but it feels like an item you'd find on the kid's menu in an Italian restaurant. that's not to say an adult wouldn't enjoy it, sometimes eating like a kid is just what you need, and sometimes it's just the only option.  like last night at 9, when I hadn't eaten dinner and the only ingredients I had were 4 different kinds of pasta, half a stick of butter and some Parmesan-Romano from Trader Joe's.  I remembered this Mark Bittman article I'd read a while back about a favorite pasta of his with those ingredients, it sounded perfect. I would recommend it for anytime you need a quick meal and are running low on food supplies.

Here's what you'll need:

SPAGHETTI WITH BUTTER & PARMESAN
From Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound of any pasta (he uses spaghetti, I used bow ties)
1/2 to 3/4 stick butter
1 cup fresh Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook the pasta until tender, but not mushy and drain it.  Reserve some of the pasta water for later.  Toss the pasta with butter, add a little of the water to thin the sauce.  Toss with the Parmesan.  Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Serve with more Parmesan at the table.

waffle house

When out of pancake or waffle mix or looking for a good alternative to a boxed mix, you can use this quick homemade waffle and pancake mix recipe.

WAFFLE BATTER

(Enough for about 4 waffles)

1 cup flour

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg 

1 cup milk

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

PANCAKE BATTER

1 cup flour

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg 

1 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and stir.  Beat egg and mix with milk, if making waffles add the oil to the milk and egg.  Mix wet ingredients with the dry and stir with a wire whisk.

it's high time for pie time

My Grandma Marce (who just celebrated her 88th Birthday in December and her 67th Mother's Day on Sunday) first introduced me to pie baking. She is a very talented baker and can take any fruit and turn it into a pie, like magic. I remember cooking with her and that she always took the time to explain the process, and let me help with little jobs like rolling out the dough, or adding sugar to the fruit. 

During her summer visits to Alaska she would make strawberry rhubarb pie using the rhubarb in our yard. It was one of my favorite desserts growing up, and thanks to her, it still is.

Strawberries and rhubarb:  a partnership to go down in the books

pie and ice cream: another good combination

FOR THE CRUST:

2 2⁄3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

2⁄3 cup vegetable oil

6 tbsp. cold milk

FOR THE FILLING:

1 1⁄4 cups plus 2 tsp. sugar

1⁄4 cup corn starch

1⁄4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1⁄4 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 cups thinly sliced rhubarb

3 cups halved and hulled strawberries

2 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

2 tsp. milk

1. Preheat oven to 400°. For the crust: Sift together flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Measure oil into a measuring cup, then add milk, but don't stir together. Pour oil and milk into flour mixture. Stir until dough just holds together. Divide dough in half, shape into 2 balls, and flatten slightly. Roll out each ball between two sheets of wax paper into 12" rounds. Transfer one pastry round (discarding wax paper) into a 9" pie plate, and set other pastry round aside.

2. For the filling: Mix together 1 1⁄4 cups of the sugar, corn starch, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl, then add rhubarb and strawberries, tossing well to coat evenly.

3. Fill bottom crust with rhubarb–strawberry mixture and scatter butter on top. Cover with remaining pastry round (discarding wax paper) and crimp edges together to seal. Score top to allow steam to escape, brush with milk, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tsp. sugar. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, about 50 minutes. If edge of crust browns too quickly, cover edge with a strip of aluminum foil to prevent burning. Allow pie to cool for 1 hour before serving.

SERVES 8

rhuby tuesday

These last couple weeks have been very exciting with signs of late spring beginning to appear, which is especially nice considering that summer will be here before we know it. The farmers markets are showcasing more brightly colored flowers and lots more fresh fruits and vegetables, my favorite of which is rhubarb. For me the first rhubarb, marks the beginning of pie season. With a little rhubarb from the Ballard market, a little from Dan's mom's garden, I made the first rhubarb pie of 2010. 
This pie recipe comes from Saveur magazine, the crust is really nice because it uses oil rather than butter or shortening, making it much easier to work with. They got the crust recipe from Louise Piper, who won a 1997 blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair, using this crust and a strawberry-rhubarb filling. This one's just filled with rhubarb, but I'll share the recipe soon for the strawberry-rhubarb version.

RHUBARB PIE

Crust:
2 2⁄3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

2⁄3 cup vegetable oil

6 tbsp. cold milk

For the filling:

1 1⁄3 cups, plus 2 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp corn starch
1⁄4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1⁄4 tsp. ground cinnamon
4-6 cups thinly sliced rhubarb
2 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
2 tsp. milk
Preheat oven to 400°. For the crust: Sift together flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Measure oil into a measuring cup, then add milk, but don't stir together. Pour oil and milk into flour mixture. Stir until dough just holds together. Divide dough in half, shape into 2 balls, and flatten slightly. Roll out each ball between two sheets of wax paper into 12" rounds. Transfer one pastry round (discarding wax paper) into a 9" pie plate, and set other pastry round aside.
For the filling: Mix together 1 1⁄3 cups of the sugar, corn starch, nutmeg and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl, then add rhubarb, tossing well to coat evenly.Fill bottom crust with rhubarb mixture and scatter butter on top. Cover with remaining pastry round (discarding wax paper) and crimp edges together to seal. Score top to allow steam to escape, brush with milk, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tsp. sugar. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, about 50 minutes. If edge of crust browns too quickly, cover edge with a strip of aluminum foil to prevent burning. Allow pie to cool for 1 hour before serving.

Eggplant Lasagna

This is a new take on lasagna that is both meat and gluten-free. For this recipe I used the same filling that I use for regular lasagna and cannelloni, and a jar of store-bought or a homemade marinara. The eggplant is used in place of noodles and I used a Trader Joe's marinara sauce.  


EGGPLANT LASAGNA
2 medium eggplants (about 2 1/4 pounds total), trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

• 3 zucchinis, sliced thinly lengthwise
• Coarse kosher salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil

16-24 ounces of canned marinara sauce

For filling:

1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed & drained well

15 basil leaves, chopped

1 lb. fresh ricotta

1 cup shredded mozzarella, plus 1/2 cup for topping
salt & pepper

2 eggs

1/2 cup grated parmesan 

• 
  
  Cover bottom and sides of each of 2 large colanders with 1 layer of eggplant slices; sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Continue layering eggplant slices in each colander, sprinkling each layer with coarse salt, until all eggplant slices are used. Place each colander over large bowl; let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Rinse eggplant slices to remove excess salt; dry thoroughly with paper towels.
• 
  
  Position oven rack 5 to 6 inches from heat source and preheat broiler. Line 3 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange eggplant slices in single layer on prepared baking sheets. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with olive oil. Broil 1 sheet at a time until eggplant slices are tender and beginning to brown, watching closely and removing eggplant slices as needed if cooking too quickly, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove baking sheet from oven and cool eggplant while preparing filling.
  
  
  Combine drained spinach, basil, ricotta, mozzarella, salt & pepper and eggs; mix well. Add 1/4 cup parmesan, reserve the rest for topping and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Spread a layer of sauce evenly over bottom of dish. Place one layer of eggplant slices over sauce, covered by one layer of filling (about 1 inch thick), covered by one layer of zucchini slices and cover entire layer with sauce.  Repeat with another layer of eggplant, filling, zucchini slices and sauce.  Cover entire pan with remaining marinara, mozzarella and parmesan.  

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 15-20 minutes until the cheese begins to brown.