The problem with mac and cheese

There are many. The biggest of which being that it's delicious to the point where I don't know when or how to stop eating it. And trying to make "healthy" mac and cheese defeats the purpose. It should be indulgent, and comforting, and delicious.

Before I make too many health claims about the recipe that follows, let me just say that I'm a subscriber to the nutritional wisdom that sugar, and not fat, is the problem. Also that home cooked, whole foods are usually better for you than the processed kind, even if it is pumped full of vitamins and Now with 50% less fat! So while this counts as "healthy" to me, you might not feel that it is so.

But I think you'll like it anyway...

Pumpkin mac and cheese:

Ingredients:

1/2 box of pasta (the picture shows the brand I like because it's high-protein and fiber, but I used penne)
15 oz of canned pumpkin
1/2 sweet onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch of kale, chard or other dark green, stems removed and chopped
2 cups shredded cheese (I used Dubliner, more on that later)
1 cup half and half or whole milk
1 tablespoon apples cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons of butter separated

spices:

nutmeg
salt and pepper
thyme
cloves
ginger

I've stopped slicing my mushrooms. I quarter them now, because I like bigger chunks of mushroom in things. Is that weird? Anyway, before you chop all your veggies, set up your pans. You'll need a big pot for the pasta, which you should prepare with water, olive oil and salt. Do you know how much salt you need to add to the water you cook your pasta in? More than that. not a pinch, not a teaspoon, but more. You want your water salted until it tastes salty. It will make your pasta taste better, trust me.

You'll also need a sauce pan and a skillet. In the saucepan, melt a tablespoon of butter and leave it on low. You want that butter to do more than melt, you want it to just start to brown. So leave it be while you chop things. Pre-heat your oven to 350.

Toss another tablespoon of butter into the skillet and start the garlic, onion and mushroom with salt, pepper and thyme. I added some red chili flakes as well, because I think they go well in everything. Once the butter in your saucepan is starting to brown, add the canned pumpkin.

RULE NUMBER ONE ABOUT CANNED PUMPKIN IS YOU MUST COOK IT BEFORE USING IT. This goes for anything you want it in but especially baked goods. This will taste like the can in comes in, unless you give it some gentle heat to bring out the pumpkin flavor, infuse it with spices and begin to caramelize the natural sugars. Stir the pumpkin into the melted butter, adding nutmeg, ginger and just a dash of cloves. Then add more nutmeg. Nutmeg is the star of this dish, which is why you want to go easy on the cloves, as they can be overpowering. Add some salt and pepper and then more nutmeg. I'm serious. Every step of this dish you should taste the pumpkin and if it doesn't scream nutmeg you haven't added enough.

Once the mushrooms are starting to get soft, add the kale (or chard, or spinach. If you want to eat this all right away I guess spinach would be fine but if you want to have leftovers DO NOT use spinach unless you know the magic trick that will make it not taste like death when reheated. And then please email me that secret.) Sprinkle the greens with salt and then drizzle with olive oil, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice. Stir and keep an eye on this as it cooks, you don't want the greens overdone and they will cook more in the oven, so err on the side of undercooking them.

Add the milk or half and half to the pumpkin and (you guessed it) more nutmeg. Boil your pasta water and cook according to instructions (if you don't want to make yourself crazy trying to multi-task without Dr. Rubrub to stir things because she's taken her manfriend to Portland and left you all alone with Spider and Boogie and CATS WHO WANT TO EAT YOU, than you can do this step well ahead and just have your cooked pasta ready. Sadly, I did not. Anyway, be sure and reserve about a quarter-cup of the cooking water if you do.)

Your greens are done! Take them off the heat!! Now, don't be like me and realize at this moment that you haven't shredded your cheese. Do that in advance. Now. Any cheese you like will work in this recipe. If it's a soft, mild cheese like mozzarella, you might not taste it very much. If it's super hard and strong like Parmigiano-Reggiano, you might go a bit easy so it doesn't get crazy. Something in the middle (Cheddar, especially aged white, gouda, havarti, beecher's flagship, etc) will probably suit your purposes the best. Melt about a cup of the cheese into the sauce, adding it in small handfuls and stirring well between each. If your sauce gets too thick, add a bit more milk.

When the pasta is done (and you want it VERY al dente, as it will continue to soften in the oven,) drain, but reserve about 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Why? Because this will make you a cooking ninja. Add that water (with the salt, olive oil and startchy goodness) into your sauce. It will help everything get along a little better.

Stir that in. Return the drained pasta to the empty pot and melt another tablespoon of butter into the noodles. Pour over the pumpkin sauce, and mix well. Find a round casserole dish or a very deep 9-inch pie plate.

Layer the dish. Pasta, mushrooms and greens, 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, the rest of the mushrooms, the rest of the pasta, then the rest of the cheese. If you're a bread crumb lover, top with bread crumbs (or crushed rosemary triscuits if you want to roll like me,) and the final tablespoon of melted butter. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and Spider gets home and you can't wait even a second more to eat it.

It may not exactly be health food, but it has a lot more good-for-you bits than the standard version. If you want it richer, up the cheese and omit the greens (fool. Kale is DELICIOUS.) If you want to make it even lighter, use lowfat milk, up the pumpkin and decrease the cheese. You can also play with the ratio of pasta to vegetables. 

What are we, farmers?

Today's dinner is chickpeas and mushrooms and sweet potatoes. But something more exciting than dinner was going on while Dr. Rubrub and I were waiting for the broth to reduce: FARMING.

Meet Dr. Rubrub's manfriend:

 He's making the starters for what promises to be THE MOST EPIC VEGETABLE GARDEN OF ALL TIME.

 Did I mention how much I love tomatoes? PROBABLY NOT. But I once spent a road trip trying to convince the driver that I was lycopene-deficient so that he would stop at a produce stand so I could eat more tomatoes. (Sorry Eric!!) It mostly didn't work. But I love tomatoes more than I love most anything else except maybe Avocados and Spider.

Anyway, we're taking up farming. So while Dr. Rubrub's Manfriend was hard at work planting, the good doctor and I were making dinner. I had planned on doing a Moroccan-inspired chickpea and tomato stew, but the sweet potatoes were both near the end of their life and calling to me. Also there were mushrooms, which, upon considerations, might rank even higher than tomatoes (thought not higher than Spider, of course.)

 Ingredients:

4 15-oz cans of chickpeas (RINSED! For the love of god people)
2 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas but crimini would be lovely)
4 small sweet potatoes, diced (I would actually use more if you can but this was all I had)
1 box chicken stock (Veggie works just fine)
1 red onion, diced
(2-3 cloves garlic if you aren't allergic)
4 tablespoons butter
Juice of 1 large lemon

Spices and such, to taste:

olive oil
balsamic vinegar
smoked paprika
cumin
white wine
thyme
oregano
ginger
cloves
za'atar
crushed red pepper flakes
salt & pepper

(Yes, I know that's a lot. All of them are optional. Look through your spice cabinet for warm/hot spices and slowly build up the flavor.. I'll get to seasoning in more detail later.)

Toss the cubed sweet potatoes in a little olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. dot with 1-2 tablespoons of butter, cut into little pieces, like so:

Bake for 15 minutes or so at 425, stirring every few minutes. (You might have to wait for the oven to clear out, but if your housemate makes 'dillas as good as Boogie, it'll be worth it.)

Melt the other two tablespoons of butter in a large pot. Add a few shakes of red pepper flakes, and about a teaspoon of each of the spices, a splash of olive oil and balsamic. Sweat the onions (and garlic, if using) and, once they soften, add the mushrooms. If the mixture looks dry after several good stirs consider adding a bit more butter.

Add the lemon juice, white wine and a pinch of salt and pepper. Up the heat to medium high and stir a few times, until the mushrooms are starting to get blurry at the edges (HINT: drinking gin and ginger beer helps speed this process, stir longer if this is the case.) Add the chickpeas and then the broth, raising the heat to high until you just barely get it boiling. Reduce heat to med/high (You don't want it rolling but you do want a steady bubble.) Stir frequently.

Don't forget those sweet potatoes! The whole point of roasting them separately is to get the nice, crispy texture that high, dry heat will give them, but you don't want them burned.

See what Dr. Rubrub is doing? She's tasting the cooking liquid. Right after I took this picture she said "Hmm.. it needs... something." And damn it, she was right. It turned out to be more cumin, more balsamic, and more salt. Taste as you go and gently up the spice levels, because as things reduce the flavor will get stronger. Be especially easy on the salt, which you'll want to finish the stew with anyway. And keep in mind the sweet potatoes, which will add sweetness and a little spice.

Drink heavily:

 The broth is going to take a while to reduce. If you're like me and get less patient as you drink, turn the heat up a little and things will reduce faster. If you're a grownup, let the damn thing simmer. Once you've got about an inch of liquid in the bottom when you pull away the solids, add the sweet potatoes, turn off the burner (leave the pot on it) and cover with a lid. Walk away. Admire the plants. Maybe watch Alton Brown make Mac and Cheese and then have a crisis about the fact that your dinner is NOT Alton Brown's Mac and Cheese. It'll be fine. In about 10-15 minutes Spider will be home from work and the stew will be perfect. The broth will have reduced to something closer to a sauce, and everything will be tender. Taste before you serve, adding salt and pepper if needed.

See? Perfect. 

You've got a meal that's super high in protein, fiber and vitamins. It's also delicious, hearty and will reheat nicely on day 2. 

Once our garden is growing, I'll try harder to make more seasonal recipes and to use fresh herbs. For now, this is pretty damn tasty. (And pairs nicely with Gin and Gingers, in case you were so inclined.) 

Apple & Cheese mini pies

I got my muffin tin today and my mother took me to costco which could only lead to one thing: Mini pies. I own this book about mini pies and I love it, but it still lives in my old apartment with Chev, while I have since moved to the house with Dr. Rubrub and Spider. This meant I had to improvise a bit, but if you have the inclination to make mini pies a regular part of your baking repertoire, I highly recommend buying it from your local bookstore.

For today, I used this pie crust recipe I found online. It seemed like it was pretty heavy on the butter, and I am trying to up the healthy in my cooking and baking, so I broke out my secret weapon for better baked goods:

That's right. Ground Flaxseed. I use it in everything from oatmeal to cookies to pie crusts and it works beautifully, adding richness, fiber and good fats without the animal products. I get a giant bag from costco, but 1-pound bags are easy to find at any grocery store. Substitute 3 tablespoons flax for every 1 tablespoon butter. (I would say up to a cup, maximum) I used a cup of flax instead of 1/2 cup of butter in the recipe I linked, which meant it was a bit drier than the dough needed to be so I added a little extra water to compensate (less than 1/2 cup.)

If you're super in to buttery crusts, by all means, use the full butter. It's tasty and lovely and flaky. But if you are looking for a healthy alternative, this lends a nutty taste and tender crumb to crusts that I think is lovely.

First up! Assemble your ingredients:

Ok. I know there are 2 apples in that picture and no lemons. Pretend, for a second, that that second apple is a lemon. More on that later. 

For the Crust:

2 cups flour 

1 tsp salt (I like more salt in my baked goods)

1/2 cup butter very cold and cut into pieces

1 cup ground flax

1 tsp sugar

3/4-1 cup very cold water (don't add this all at once!!!)

For the filling:

1 (1!) large apple diced (and peeled if you're fussy. More on that later.)
zest and juice of one lemon
1/3 cup brown sugar
Cinnamon (to taste)
Cloves (to taste)
Ginger (to taste)
(nutmeg, cardamom, allspice would also be tasty in this)
1/2 cup grated cheese

I used a lovely raw milk cheddar for this, but that's only because it was already open. I would strongly suggest a cheese like Dubliner, which is nuttier and great for pairing with sweet recipes like this one.

Mix the dough first, as it will need resting time. If you mix it by hand, great. I use the food processor because it's easier and I never seem to have the patience to properly crumble butter into flour. Just don't use a mixer that's too small, like I did:

Once you have your mixture in an appropriately-sized mixer, pulse until the butter is about pea-sized, making a very course meal:

Transfer to a bowl, slowly and gently add the ice water until the dough starts to come together. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before rolling out.

While your dough is resting, prepare your filling. This recipe should probably have 2 apples but I hate having leftover pie filling so I went with one. It worked fine, thought it was a little thin. Also, I understand that some people insist on peeling their apples before baking, but I like the texture and added nutrition of apple peels so I don't. If you do, definitely go for a second apple. I used several teaspoons of each spice but apparently some people feel weird about too much ground cloves in baked goods so if you are one of those people, 1/2 tsp should suffice.

Form the pies by rolling out the dough and cutting it with a juice glass. I left mine a little thick so I could squish them into the cups (don't worry about it sticking, they always pop right out.) patch any holes that form, and leave the excess attached to press down later, like so:

If you spill some dough, I hope you have a good cat friend like Dr. Rubrub's to clean up for you:

(Just don't open bottles of gin around her and everyone is happy.) 

Spoon apple filling into pies and top with cheese:

These could actually have taken a bit more cheese but I was trying not to overwhelm them. Fold the extra dough over the top, leaving a little vent for steam:

Yes, I'm sure there's a much prettier way to do this but I left mine fairly rustic. Brush the tops with butter or eggwash if you want them to brown up. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until tops are starting to brown.

Inside you'll get a not-too-sweet mix of warm spices, bright lemon and gooey cheese:

These might be good with walnuts, if you're into that, and I've made some pretty good variations with brie, or tomatoes, pesto and cheese. You can also just up the apples and do a standard mini apple pie, if you like, in which case I suggest sprinkling the top with sugar before baking.

Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, I did intend for this blog to focus mainly on vegetarian cooking. And cookies don't exactly count as a meal. I also made zucchini mushroom and tomato pasta tonight, but I forgot to take pictures. So when our house was fortunate enough to receive a visit from Spider and Dr. Rubrub's brother and his lovely wife, I decided it was time to bake something. (I wasn't drunk this time, but usually that's how the evening plays out.)

These cookies I tried on a whim once and were declared by my boss to be her favorite. Tonight I used Smitten Kitchen's Crispy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies as the base recipe, tweaking just a few things   because I don't like wasting egg whites and I only wanted brown sugar. You can use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, (I often use this one from Orangette, which is just lovely.)

The key is this: melt the butter.

Don't you hate it when you decide to bake and then realize you have no butter softened, so you either have to wait or use a microwave? Am I alone in hating this? Anyway, a few years ago I read an issue of Cooks Illustrated in which the poor test-baker accidentally discovered the secret to making cookies taste better while also being more convenient: melt the butter. Melt it. You can start with butter straight out of the fridge, melt it in a pan and then combine it with the sugar. Walk away. Let the two get to know one another until the heat from the butter starts to make a lovely rich flavor with the sugar. (Make sure you leave them alone long enough for the whole thing to cool a decent amount before adding the eggs.)

Assemble your ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground ginger
3/4 cup butter (melted)
1 cup brown sugar tightly packed
2 eggs (or one egg and one egg yolk if you have use for the extra white)
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 oz bag of chocolate chips (I use 60% dark)
1/3 cup candied ginger finely chopped

 Pre-heat oven to 325. Melt the butter and combine it with the sugar. Mix until creamy.

 Leave the bowl alone. Chop up your ginger, measure and combine the flour, salt, baking soda and ground ginger in a different bowl. When the sugar and butter have been sitting for about 15-30 minutes, add in the eggs and vanilla, mixing well between each. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. When combined, add chocolate chips and chopped ginger.

I use this Trader Joe's ginger, which I love because it's not too sweet. I think even the crystallized stuff is good, but whatever you do, be sure and wash your knife really well after chopping, especially if you're using Dr. Rubrub's very sharp chef's knife because THAT THING WILL HAVE ITS VENGEANCE. Knives are very good at waiting to take their revenge. Trust me.

Anyway, your dough should look like this:

At this point you should probably offer spoonfuls around to your housemates, but warn them that these cookies actually taste much better in cookie form than in dough. I don't know why that is, but it's true.

Drop spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, about an inch apart. You can bake these a little closer than other cookies because the butter is already melted and they won't spread as much.

I know baking is supposedly not the time for improvisation, but I've never been one to abide by that wisdom. If you like your cookies spicier, add more ginger. If you like them with a little extra kick of salt, up the kosher salt or lightly sprinkle the dough with a few grains before they go in the oven. I decreased the sugar from the recipe I was working off of, because the ginger adds sweetness as well as spice, but you could add the extra 1/2 cup of white sugar if you want. Once you get a good understanding of how each ingredient functions in the cookie, you can make substitutions and adjustments as you like.

Hopefully these cookies will buy me the affection of my new coworkers tomorrow. Other great twists to put on standard CCCs are orange/clove, Sea salt and almonds, or my greatest baking creation: pumpkin chocolate chip. 

A very white stew

Normally I prefer the non-white variety of most things. Brown eggs, crimini mushrooms, red onions, yams, brown rice, etc etc. Today I found myself in the kitchen with an abundance of white things: white mushrooms, white fennel, white beans. Just because it looks boring doesn't mean it has to lack in flavor.

I should probably get around to introducing myself and the purpose of this blog, but I'm going to save that for another day and get right to the recipe. For now all you need to know about me is that I'm a life-long vegetarian slowly getting more flexible (more on that later) and I almost never measure things. If any of my recipe measurements seem like too little or two much (unless it specifically says otherwise) feel free to adjust to your own preferences.

Today:

Great Northern bean and fennel stew with potatoes and mushrooms.

1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
4-5 small dutch potatoes or similar, diced (Yukons, russet, red, any variety would go nicely but I love the texture of these little ones)
1/2 red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced (I left this out because my housemate is allergic)
8 oz white mushrooms (honestly I prefer crimini but Trader Joe's was out. either would work) quartered.
1 box (32 oz) stock of choice*
2 (15 oz) cans Great Northern Beans
4 tablespoons butter or olive oil

Spices: (All optional, all to taste)

Crushed red pepper flakes
Herbs de provence
oregano
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar
Za'atar

A note on spices:

This is where the bit about me hating to measure comes up. I love red pepper flakes so I use a lot, but if you're worried about too much heat aim for about a teaspoon. The Herbs de provence are a pretty common spice blend but if you don't have a jar handy use rosemary, sage, savory, and thyme as you like. Za'atar is a Palestinian spice blend mainly of sumac and thyme which I love and use on everything. If you don't have it, try regular thyme. If you're an experienced cook you probably know what spices and blends you want to use and how much. If you're a beginner, try adding a teaspoon of each and tasting as you go, adjusting if you want more. Fresh herbs are probably the best to use, and once I get my garden going I'll likely use more of those. For now, dried spices it is.

Slice off the green bits of the fennel and 1/4 inch of the bottom of the bulb. Slice the bulb in half and then thinly chop. Melt butter in a large pan (or add the olive oil if you prefer) and add the fennel, cooking on medium-high heat. Add the spices to taste.

Add the diced potatoes, a splash of olive oil and another good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Stir well and continue cooking on medium high heat. After the potatoes have been in for a couple of minutes (don't panic too much about time) add the diced onions, garlic and the mushrooms. Stir well.

When you notice the potatoes are starting to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a cup of the broth and lower the heat to medium. Keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan with a silicon spatula. Allow everything to simmer together, adding more broth, one cup at a time, as it cooks down.

Add the rest of the broth and simmer until potatoes are tender, another 5-10 minutes. Keep tasting and adjust the salt and spice as needed. When everything is tender and ready to eat, finish with a splash of balsamic vinegar, or a squeeze of lemon if you prefer. Serve hot, with crusty bread.

I undercooked my potatoes just a touch, added a cup of water and then transferred everything to a slow cooker on "warm" for the rest of the afternoon, so it should be just perfect once my roommates get home for dinner. 

This dish can be made vegan (use olive oil instead of butter) or could be made with the meat of your choice for omnivores. 

*About that stock. While I call myself a vegetarian, I've never minded food cooked in chicken stock: 

I think it adds a nice flavor and since I cook for 3 omnivores, I tend to keep it in the pantry. I've never found a recipe that couldn't use veggie stock instead, so go with whatever you have on hand, or homemade if you're showing off.

I've always been a bit of an improvisational cook and, to a lesser extent, baker. I know that some prefer rigid structure, especially those who are new to cooking. Certain basic ingredients are usually fine to be a bit liberal with, and you shouldn't stress about how much to add. Start with a little, taste, and add more if you like:

My recipes won't include garlic, but that's another ingredient that you can usually be pretty flexible with.