Hiatus

Sorry for the lack of posting lately.  I am currently doing my student teaching and working from 5-11 every night.  I'm only at home and awake for about an hour a day, so there hasn't been much baking or cooking for me.  I might be posting every once in a while, but not very often.  Wish me luck!

Berry Crumble

Its been so hot in Oklahoma lately that I haven't been baking too much.  Our little apartment gets so hot once the oven is turned on and our air conditioner barely works.  So, I'm going to post this recipe for berry crumble that I made for some friends in June and for Max's family in July.  It was a real hit with everyone and there were no leftovers either time I made it.  This recipe is very easy and the only thing you will probably have to buy are berries.  I hope you enjoy!

Berry Crumble
adapted from Playing House

•  6 cups of berries of your choice (I like to use half frozen, mixed berries and half fresh berries such as strawberries or blueberries)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or apple pie spice
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar (light or dark)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits, plus some for the pan
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for juicy fruit
• Dash salt

1. Heat the oven to 400 F. Toss the fruit with half the cinnamon or apple pie spice, the lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon brown sugar (and a tablespoon of flour if your fruit is juicy) and spread it in a lightly buttered 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan.

2. Combine all the other ingredients, including the remaining cinnamon or apple pie spice and brown sugar, in a food processor and pulse a few times, then process a few seconds more, until everything is well incorporated but not uniform. To mix the ingredients by hand, soften the butter slightly, toss together the dry ingredients, then work in the butter with your fingertips, a pastry blender, or a fork).

3. Crumble the topping over the fruit and bake until the topping is browned and the fruit is tender and bubbling, 30-40 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. (I really like to serve this with vanilla ice cream when the crumble is hot, yum!)

Summer Veggie Lasagna (No Bake)

As you may have noticed from my previous post, I have indulged a bit over the past few weeks.  Max and I needed to start eating some more veggies so I combined a few recipes for Summer Veggie Lasagna that I found online.  This is nice for the summer too because you don't have to bake it in the oven so you don't heat up your whole house.

Summer Veggie Lasagna
adapted from a bunch of places

• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 small summer squash, thinly sliced
• 1 small eggplant (optional), peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• 1 diced onion
• 1-2 tsp of minced garlic
• 3 tsp chopped, fresh basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 cups part skim ricotta
• lasagna sheets
• olive oil

1. Boil salted water for the lasagna sheets.  The number of lasagna sheets you need depends on how many people you are feeding.  You will need two sheets per plate.  Boil lasagna for the time stated on the box.  Set aside.
2. Saute onion in olive oil until almost translucent.  Add garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes.  Remove onion and garlic from the pan and set aside.
3. Add summer squash, zucchini, and eggplant to the same saute pan.  Cook until the squash starts to become translucent.  Add salt and pepper.  You may need more olive oil to cook these.
4. In a bowl, mix ricotta, onion and garlic mixture, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.  Taste the mixture to make sure it is seasoned well.
5. To create the lasagna: cut one sheet in half and put on the plate.  Spread with ricotta mixture.  Layer with squash, eggplant, and tomato.  Cut another lasagna sheet in half and put it on top of the tomatoes.  If you want, you can sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and microwave for about a minute to melt it.  Enjoy!

Cruise of the Baltic July 2010

We (Mark, Joann, Allison, Matt, Joseph, Max, and I) recently went on a Cruise of the Baltic Sea.  We lived on a big boat for 12 days.  We started in Amsterdam and continued on to: Rostock and Warnemunde, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki and Porvoo, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallin, Estonia; and Copenhagen, Denmark.  During this time we ate some fabulous food and, since this is a food blog, I thought I would share some of our culinary pleasures during our travels.

Pancake with bacon and cheese in Amsterdam.

Croquettes in Amsterdam.  Tasted like deep-fried biscuits and gravy.

A little bird, I can't remember which kind right now!

Cheese and bread in Warnemunde, Germany.

Potato pancakes and fresh sauerkraut in Warnemunde, Germany.

Seafood risotto on the boat.

Strawberry soup with creme fraiche.

Steak with a cream sauce on pasta.

Crepe with a Grand Marnier sauce and vanilla ice cream that was made fresh on the boat.

Raspberry cream with peach sauce and whipped cream in Finland.

Escargot! It was so delicious that I ordered it three times on the boat.

Chicken spring rolls.

Seafood linguine with shrimp, scallops, calamari, and mussels.

Crepe cigar with pastry cream filling and a dulce de leche sauce.

Chocolate mousse with raspberry creme and Chambord topping.

I believe this was a mushroom and goat cheese puffed pastry.

Chilled butternut squash soup with sage.

Petite filet mignon with pea flan and fresh potato chips.

Another rich, delicious chocolate dessert.

Sorry this is crooked.  This was a popular dish in Copenhagen, an open faced sandwich.  This one had salmon, caviar, onion, and an aioli.

Steak tartare.  This was very delicious.

Mushroom and pearl onions within a puff pastry.

A palate cleanser during a formal dinner.  This one was passionfruit.

Lobster tail with shrimp and scallops and a lobster risotto.

Lamb shank with carrot mashed potatoes, baked apple, and cooked red cabbage.

Chocolate mousse pit with chocolate sauce.

I don't remember the name of this one, but it was like a light cheesecake with a coconut crust and passionfruit topping.

You'll notice that I have an abundance of dessert pictures.  Most nights, desserts looked so good that I ordered two.  I couldn't help myself!  Sometimes, I felt as if I was eating my way through Europe, but that is not a bad thing!  I tried a lot of things that I hadn't tried before, including steak tartare, escargot, and pate.  I hope you enjoyed this small taste of my culinary trip through Europe.

I'm back!

Sorry for the long break!  I took a long trip to Europe and haven't been cooking much (but I have been eating a lot).  I'll be updating soon with pictures of food from the trip and when I get a chance to cook next, I will post some recipes again! Hang in there; I will be back!

Spicy Orange Chicken

I've been having to make dinners quickly before I work at 5 every day.  I found this the other day on a blog that I follow and it sounded quick, easy, and I had most of the ingredients.  This Spicy Orange Chicken is like takeout, without the high cost and it takes about as long as you would have to wait for them to deliver anyways!

Spicy Orange Chicken
adapted from: This Week for Dinner

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 C flour
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 3 T butter 
• broccoli (optional, or any other veggies that you like)

Sauce:

• 3T brown sugar
• 3T vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
• 1.5 C orange juice
• 1.5 t. nutmeg
• 1.5 t. dried basil
• 1 t ground ginger
• 1-2 t red pepper flakes
• 1 small can mandarin oranges (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine flour, salt and pepper in bag. Shake chicken pieces until coated. Brown on both sides in butter in skillet over medium heat. Drain off fat. The chicken probably won't be cooked all the way through, but that is okay!
2. Combine sauce ingredients and add to skillet. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer ~30 minutes or until tender.  Make sure it is not simmering too violently, or you will end up with tough chicken.  For a “sophisticated touch” add drained mandarin oranges and heat about 5 mins.  
3. If using (frozen) veggies, add about 5 minutes before finished cooking. (I added mine too soon and ended up with tough, brown broccoli, oops!)  You may need to turn the heat up a bit to bring the sauce back to a simmer.
4. Note: cook chicken and sauce in covered skillet, but tip the cover a little to thicken sauce towards the end of cooking time.  Sauce will also thicken if you let it stand about 5 minutes before serving.
5. Serve over rice, or grain of your choice. Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Me and Brittani have been baking a lot together and I don't mind because her kitchen is much bigger than mine :)
We made these on Saturday to go along with the alligator burgers and butternut squash fries that she and her husband made, yum.  I had never had alligator before and I was quite surprised!  It was very tasty, especially with the barbecue sauce and bacon from the butcher we put on them!

On to the recipe: these Strawberry Lemonade bars were really tasty and a nice, light dessert for a hot summer night.  These were a bit tart, so if you want a sweeter bar, I would recommend using 1 1/2 cups of sugar instead of the called for 1 1/4.  Also, the crust is a little thin on these, so if you like a nice, thick shortbread crust you may want to consider multiplying the crust ingredients by 1.5.

Strawberry Lemonade Bars
from: Playing House
Crust

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

Filling

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (Amy's note: I used an entire 3 lb. bag of small lemons to get a cup of juice)
• 2-3 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup pureed strawberries (about 3/4 cup berries)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Powdered sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.

2. Begin by making the crust. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until smooth and fluffy. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly. Pour into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for about 17 minutes, until set at the edges.

3. While the crust bakes, prepare the filling. In the bowl of a food processor (or blender!!), combine lemon juice, lemon zest, strawberry puree, sugar and eggs and process until smooth. Add in flour, baking powder and salt, then pulse until smooth. Gently pour the filling over the hot crust when it has finished baking. Return pan to oven and bake for 23-26 minutes, until the filling is set (There will be a light colored “crust” on top from the sugar in the custard - nothing to worry about).

4. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. Cool completely before slicing and use a damp knife to ensure clean slices. Store bars in the refrigerator, especially on a hot day.

Makes 24 bars.