Life lesson 47: How to impress a teenager

I have a visitor this weekend. A very important visitor.  A very important 16 year old visitor. Do you know how to impress a smarter-than-average, totally “with it”, 16 year old visitor?  Nope, me neither.  So where do I always turn when in doubt? The kitchen.  Ahhh. That relief feels good.

The plan: cookies to hook her attention tonight, gingerbread with banana and chocolate to put her in a good mood tomorrow morning, and a tour of the local chocolate factory to keep her cruising on through the afternoon.  I think I might be on to something here.  

Seems hopeful, right?

Chocolate Banana Gingerbread
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup molasses
2 medium bananas, mashed
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup chocolate chips
2 tablespoons raw turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices in a bowl.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and vanilla, and mix until pale yellow and smooth, about 3 minutes. Stir in molasses and mashed bananas. Add half of dry ingredients, just mixing until combined, then add buttermilk. Add remaining dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and pour batter in. Top with raw turbinado sugar. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 16 cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.
4. Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Un-beet-able

So good. So good. Soo gooood.

Cooking for one can be a blast.  It’s an opportunity to experiment and try new things, avoiding any pressure if things turn out, um, creatively. But cooking for someone else is a different story. Especially if it’s a boy someone else. Especially if you want to knock said boy someone’s very adorable, argyle socks off.

Serve the pizza with a side salad and baked apples over ice cream for dessert. Easy, seasonal, and pretty to look at.

The boy’s verdict on this meal: “Mind Blowing”.

We’ll take it.

Roast Beet, Goat Cheese & Arugula Pizza
2 golden beets, peeled, halved & then cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 T olive oil plus more for greasing the pan
kosher salt
1 small onion, thinly sliced or diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 c grated mozzarella
2 oz goat cheese
handful of arugula, stems removed
Spices: thyme, Penzey’s Bavarian Spice Mix

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Use whatever dough recipe you prefer.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ll admit to using Trader Joe’s premade pesto dough.  If you make your own, I’d consider adding some basil or parsley into the dough--it added a really nice, subtle flavor.
3. Cook the beets however you prefer.  I’m a beet boiler, but roasting them in a 400F oven with a bit of olive oil and salt would really enhance their flavor.
4. Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic until the onions are brown, basically to the point of caramelization.  Set aside for pizza assembly.
5. Spread the dough onto a greased baking sheet or pizza stone, and brush lightly with extra virgin olive oil.
6. Sprinkle with a thin layer of mozzarella, then layer on arugula, onions, beets, and goat cheese (in that order).
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden, and the bottom of the crust is browned.

Oatmeal-Brown Sugar Baked Apples
2 apples, the more flavorful, the better
1/8 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Shake of allspice
Pinch cloves
1 cup hot water
Handful of raisins
Handful of walnuts
1 tablespoon of candied ginger, chopped finely

1. Pre-heat oven to 375-degrees.
2. Remove the core of the apples, creating a well inside the apple approximately 3/4 to 1 inch wide.
3. Mix the brown sugar, oatmeal, spices and extras in a small bowl. Fill the empty wells of the apples with this mixture.
4. Place the apples in a baking dish, and pour the water into the bottom of the dish. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
5. Bake for 20 minutes and remove foil. Continue baking uncovered until the apples are baked through and the brown sugar has melted into a syrup, an additional 20-30 minutes.
6. You can test the apples to see if they’re done by poking a knife into the apple through the center well. It should slide easily with no resistance. The skin on the apples will also become wrinkled and soft by the end of cooking.
7. Serve with a scoop of ice cream. Whipped cream or panna cotta would also be delicious as a base.

Spicy? Not so much.

This has been a root vegetable-filled week.  The potluck I went to on Friday had butternut squash casserole with leeks, butternut squash risotto, roasted butternut squash soup…an amazingly delicious, but slightly uniform smorgasbord.  Of course, what’s staring at me from my counter?  No other than a butternut squash.

I had high hopes for this salad, and while it was certainly filling, and had tasty elements, it wasn’t quite the fantastical experience I had expected.  A few ideas as to why:

• Too much spinach. I upped the spinach to try and include a few more leafy greens in my day, but the spinach seemed to take away from the flavors of the squash.
• Not enough spice.  The original recipe I used was light on spices in an effort to not overwhelm sensitive taste buds.  For this spice-loving girl, it was too bland.
• Not crumbling the goat cheese enough.  The goat cheese was one of the best flavors in this mix, and the bites that didn’t have any were really lacking luster.

The good:

Photo: Smitten Kitchen

• High in fiber, protein, and iron, this meal is dynamite on a plate, especially for vegetarians.
• Goat cheese. Ohhhhhh goat cheese.
• Mixing in the roasted squash seeds when serving makes the perfect contrast in textures and adds a savory kick to the taste combination.

I’ll be making this again, just with a few tweaks next time!

Spicy Squash Salad with Lentils and Goat Cheese
Adapted from Bon Appetit

To toast the seeds, simply clean them off, rinse and pat them dry and toast them in the oven or toaster oven on an oiled baking sheet, sprinkled with salt.

Serves 6 as an appetizer, 3 as a main

3/4 cup black or green lentils
6 cups peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash or sugar pumpkin (1-inch cubes)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
4 cups baby spinach
1 cup soft crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves (optional; I didn’t use this, but maybe it would help enhance the flavors?)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, plus additional to taste
Roasted seeds (about 1/2 cup) from your butternut squash

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss squash or pumpkin cubes with 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, paprika and salt. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet and roast 20 minutes. Flip pieces and roast for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until tender. Cool.

Meanwhile, soak lentils for 10 minutes in a small bowl, then drain. Cook lentils in boiling salted water until tender but firm, about 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water, then drain and cool.

Combine lentils, pumpkin, any oil you can scrape from the baking with spinach, if using, half of goat cheese, mint, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt, pepper and extra vinegar, if desired. Sprinkle with remaining goat cheese to serve.

Soup Swap, Round 2

It’s that time again: let the soup swapping begin!  This soup was easy as a lick to make, and the nuttiness complements the slight spice to a tee.  I would be tempted to add even more vegetables to the mix next time just to up the nutrition factor, but to be honest, it was pretty good as is.  I had my first bowl of leftovers yesterday and was tempted to lick the bowl once I had finished!


Amy's butternut squash soup was a perfect complement to this soup. With squash, apples, garlic, and cloves, it's the ideal fall meal.


Side note: Clearly, I'm better at cooking the food than photographing it. This, I will work on. Promise.

Peanut Chicken Stew
Adapted from The Other Side of Fifty

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 leek, white and light green parts only, well cleaned and diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 anaheim chili pepper, seeded and diced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced (how hot do you like it?)
kosher salt
pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup bottled/jarred salsa
1 1/2 lbs sweet potato, peeled and small cubed
3 cups (about 12 ounces) seasoned, cooked chicken breast meat, diced
1 (15 ounce) can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add the leeks, celery, carrots, and peppers, season with salt and pepper and saute for 6-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and saute for another minute or two.

Add the chicken stock, salsa and sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Add the chicken and beans and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Whisk in the peanut butter until it is melted and stew is creamy. Simmer for another minute or two.

Peanut butter + Pumpkin = Heaven

The last man standing

By now, my love for pumpkin is out and public for all to see.  But, the thing is, I have a secret.  Pumpkin isn’t my only love. Nope, not even close.  You see, there’s this thing called peanut butter, and it couldn’t make me happier.  And it sure is hard to pick between the two.  So I didn’t.  And I haven’t looked back.

You see the sad picture of the lone whoopie pie?  That’s because there was only one left. And it quickly got gobbled up.  Make these, and make these soon.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Adapted from Eat, Run, Read

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg(I also added allspice & cloves)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.
5. Drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar (I add gradually and just taste until it seems right)
milk or water as needed

1. Cream together wet ingredients.
2. Beat in powdered sugar.
3. Add milk as needed and beat until you reach the desired consistency.

Assembly:
Make sure the cakes are completely cool. You can even make them a day in advance. Pipe frosting onto cakes and top with another cake of the same size and shape. Enjoy!

Pumped for pumpkin

Another pumpkin recipe? Don’t mind if I do. Pumpkin Walnut Bread is great, but it reaches AMAZING status when paired with this sweet, spicy pumpkin butter.  It’s so ridiculously easy to make, I’m almost embarrassed to share the recipe.

After your bread is gone, the leftover pumpkin butter (yes, there will be leftovers…this makes A LOT of pumpkin butter) will be eyeing you alluringly from its spot in the fridge.  A few ideas for how to best use that delicious spread:

Man, this got gobbled up before photo time, also.  Photo: Oodle Kadoodle Primitives Blog

• Mix in with yogurt and a few pecans for a delicious snack or dessert (great idea, Amy!)
• Add to oatmeal with walnuts for a heavenly way to start your morning
• Layer on top of vanilla ice cream. ‘Nuff said.
• Pass along to your friends as gifts.
• Other ideas?

Pumpkin Butter

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup apple juice
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently.
2. Transfer to sterile containers and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

The great pumpkin

I love pumpkin. Savory or sweet. Baked or roasted. Breakfast or dessert. Pumpkin can do no wrong.  If pumpkin were a man, I would have married him yesterday. And if you know me at all, that is a heck of a promise.

That said, the pumpkin onslaught has begun. Exhibit one: Pumpkin Walnut Bread.  Quick and easy to make, with nutty flavor and hints of spice, this bread is a crowd-pleaser. The best part? It uses pumpkin beer!  (Pumpkin beer might have to be my boyfriend-on-the-side of my pumpkin marriage…it also holds a special place in my heart).  I think drinking a pumpkin beer while you’re making this bread really enhances the experience. Don’t want to? In that case, feel free to send them my way!

Pumpkin Spiced Walnut Bread
Adapted from A Cozy Kitchen

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of cloves
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts.  I’m sure pecans would be great, too)
1 12 oz bottle of Pumpkin Ale (I used Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale…Yum!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9”x5” loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and all the spices. Stir together until well combined. Stir in the nuts as well. Make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in the beer. The beer will foam up –this is good. Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the center of the well to incorporate. Mix only until just combined – do not over mix or it will destroy the bubbles and the bread will be dense.
3. Pour the dough into loaf pan gently smooth out the top with a spatula. Bake in the oven for 50 – 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the dough comes out clean.

Guess who ate all of her bread before taking the picture?  Yep.  You guessed.  Thank you, Cozy Kitchen, for letting me share this picture!

*This bread is GREAT the day it’s baked, though it tends to dry out quickly in following days.  Solution: eat quickly!