January 2011

A Guest Post {Eats, Love and Happiness}

by Lisa on January 27, 2011

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the fun parts of writing this blog is all of the other bloggers that I’m meeting along the way. One is Amanda, of Eats, Love and Happiness. She writes a fantastic blog and is about to embark on planning her wedding–I can’t wait to see how it all comes together! Thanks, Amanda, for posting today!

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Hi everyone! My name is Amanda and I blog at Eats, Love and Happiness. My blog is about healthy living, good food and the other little things in life that make me happy. I live in the Metro DC area and was able to meet Lisa and a number of other DC Bloggers this past December at a cookie swap. I’m very grateful to have started my blog and able to have the opportunity to hang out with such amazing ladies! When Lisa was looking for guest bloggers, I immediately wanted to volunteer. I love Lisa’s blog and her creative recipes. This was a great opportunity to test out and share a recipe I recently learned at a cooking class with Top Chef’s Carla Hall. It’s the first vegetarian chili I’ve made since my decision to stop eating meat. Plus, with the Super Bowl coming up, I know that we’re all on the hunt for healthy game-day recipes.

So here it goes, my own version of CH’s Butternut Squash and Tofu Chili…

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1” cubes

8 oz. tofu, drained and pressed, cut into1” cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 orange or yellow pepper, chopped

6 cloves of garlic, minced

3 cups vegetable broth

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can fire roasted tomatoes (I love Muri Glen Organic)

Olive oil or rice bean oil

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons cumin

1 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

(Seasonings can be adjusted to your taste)

Heat up your crock pot on low heat.
In a large skillet on medium heat drizzle about 2 tablespoons of the oil all over the pan. Cook the onions in the oil until tender (about five minutes).
Add the garlic and peppers. This is when you are also going to add your spices. (One thing I learned in the class was NOT to add the spices at the end. You want to add them gradually as you are cooking the chili, so that the seasonings are cooked into the fiber of the vegetables.) Cook for another five minutes and then turn off the heat.
In the crock pot, combine the canned tomatoes, beans, vegetable broth and the onions/pepper/garlic mixture. Cook on low heat for 4-6 hours. (Try not to let it burn around the edges, if you see that it is doing that, turn your crock pot to warm and don’t open the lid until the time is up!)
About one hour before the base of the chili is done, prepare the butternut squash and tofu. Reheat your skillet on medium high heat.
Toss the butternut squash cubes in approximately one teaspoon of oil with salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the cubes in the skillet and pan fry them until all sides start to brown and the squash cubes become tender. Set aside.
Toss the tofu cubes in another teaspoon of oil with salt, pepper and some of your chili powder. Place the cubes in the skillet and pan fry them until all sides are browned.
Fifteen minutes prior to serving add the squash and tofu cubes. Gently stir in the cubes.
Serve while hot and save the leftovers. We all know how awesome chili is the next day!

I served the chili with cornmeal chili croissants and cheesy potato patties. Like I said before, you can add or omit more seasonings for your own liking. I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks again Lisa for this fun opportunity. I hope that I can make appearance on your blog again soon. Thank all of you for reading my guest post and I hope you check out my blog sometime soon.

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Something Sweet {Carrot Cake}

by Lisa on January 25, 2011

In our house, we think that Alton Brown is a culinary genius. So when I was asked to make a carrot cake for a friend at work, naturally I looked for Alton’s take on carrot cake. I’ve made a few cakes in my life and I have never seen this technique used before. The cake batter was entirely made using the food processor–I only needed my stand mixer for the frosting! I was skeptical, but Alton knows what he’s doing and this cake is delicious. I can’t wait to dig in to it at work tomorrow!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups, all-purpose flour
12 ounces grated carrots, medium grate, approximately 6 medium
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
3 large eggs
6 ounces plain yogurt
6 ounces vegetable oil
1/2 cup of walnut pieces

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a cake pan. Then add parchment paper to the bottom of the pan.

Peel the carrots and cut off the ends.

{See the cutting board in the pictures above? My husband made it for me and surprised me last weekend. He’s too good to me }

Next grate the carrots. I find that using a food processor makes this a lot faster than doing it by hand.

Put the carrots in a bowl. Next, put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in the food processor. Process until combined, about 5 seconds.

Pour the dry ingredients over the carrots and mix until the carrots are well coated. Now, back to the food processor. Add the eggs, yogurt, sugar, brown sugar.

Process until combined. Continue processing and drizzle in the vegetable oil. Once combined, add to the rest of the ingredients. Add the walnuts. {Alton’s recipe does not call for it, but I add walnut pieces to the batter because I don’t think carrot cake is complete without walnuts.} Stir until combined.

Pour the batter into a buttered and floured cake pan, I used an 8 inch square pan. Place in the oven on the middle rack for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, reduce the oven to 325 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 ounces of unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups of confectioners sugar, sifted

Method:

In a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese and butter at a medium speed. Add in the vanilla extract and blend until combined. Finally, add in the confectioner’s sugar on low speed in 4 rounds. Be sure that the sugar is absorbed and the frosting is smooth between additions. Finally, put in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Once cooled, level the top of the cake.

I brought the frosting to room temperature to make sure it was easier to spread on the cake.

I did not frost the sides, I’m still learning how to decorate a cake. Good thing the flavor is better than the cake’s appearance

I really can’t wait to cut into this cake. Jeromy and I did enjoy the part of the cake that was sacrificed to leveling. I wonder if my coworkers would notice if I only brought in half a cake??

Enjoy!

Recipe found here, thanks to Alton Brown.

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A Guest Post {The Vegetarian Salmon}

by Lisa on January 23, 2011

To make up for posting being a little light lately, I’ve asked some fellow bloggers to make an appearance on The Splattered Apron. First up is my friend Maureen, the blogger behind The Vegetarian Salmon. Her food is delicious, you’ll never miss eating meat with her recipes–be sure to check it out!

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People often ask me what they should serve a vegetarian guest, friend or partner. My first response is: Anything you attempt will be much appreciated, so don’t worry about it. However, I know there are moments people would like to impress their dinner guest, and this is just the dish for it. Using pretty typical ingredients, with a twist on presentation, you can have a really memorable vegetarian meal. I saw a version of this recipe in Vegetarian Times several years ago, and when Lisa asked me to guest blog, I knew this would be the recipe I would try. If you would like to see what to do with your extra puff pastry, check the post on my blog The Vegetarian Salmon. Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Baskets
For two, 1.5 Hour Prep and Cook

Ingredients
1 sheet of puff pastry
Sprinkle of flour
1 egg lightly beaten
6-8 sliced baby carrots
2 zucchini sliced
1/2 cup of chopped asparagus
1 cup of baby potatoes (red, fingerling, purple)
2 parsnips sliced
1 cup of frozen pearl onions
2 tb olive oil
1 tb kosher salt
1 tb dried sage
1 tb dried thyme
freshly ground pepper to taste
foil

Directions
1. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees.
2. Chop the potatoes, parsnips, and carrots. Mix with the olive oil, kosher salt, sage, and thyme. Throw in a roasting pan and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the asparagus and zucchini. When 15 minutes is up, throw them and the pearl onions in with the roasting veggies. Let cook for another 20-30 minutes.
3. Take foil, and mold together a cone, basket, or circular shape. Experiment with shapes, but make it concave, as this will be the base for your puff pastry basket. Spray it with a little Pam or olive oil spray so that the pastry won’t adhere to it while baking.
4. Take the puff pastry, sprinkle your counter with flour, and roll it out. Then slice the puff pastry into 1 inch thick strips. Slowly layer the foil with your puff pastry strips, until it looks like the picture. Brush with egg.

5. Place the puff pastry foil molds on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
6. Plate your roasted veggies first, then place your puff pastry mold on top.

Enjoy!

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Thanks so much to Maureen for posting! I can’t wait to try this recipe

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Soup’s On {Kara’s Chili}

by Lisa on January 18, 2011

For years, I searched for a great chili recipe. I tried different combinations, I added chocolate, but nothing really grabbed me. And then I tried my friend Kara’s chili. Kara’s recipe comes from her friend Andrew, so we’ll give credit where credit is due. It is really delicious. You can control how spicy it is, the vegetables keep a nice crunch and you can made any additions and substitutions you want. I made this one Sunday when I knew we would need a good amount of leftovers for the week. This recipe can easily serve a crowd; I’ve doubled it to serve at a Super Bowl party.

You’ll need:

1 pound ground meat {I used grass-fed beef because it was in my freezer, but turkey, buffalo or a combination could be used}
1 can chili beans, with sauce {mild or medium, depending on preference. I used mild}
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 jalapeño peppers, minced {I usually leave some seeds and ribs in to add hotness, but leave them depending on preference}
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 packet of chili seasoning {again, level of spiciness depends on preference, I usually use mild or medium}

Confession: I completely forgot to buy a can of diced tomatoes and didn’t have any in the pantry, which is unusual for me. So I chopped up some fresh tomatoes and they worked as a fine substitute.

First, brown the meat:

While the meat is browning, chop up all of the vegetables.

Drain the meat and add it to a slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients. Stir well to combine.

Cook for about 3 hours on high heat. Stir occasionally and adjust seasoning as necessary.

I like to serve this chili with several different toppings, avocado, Greek yogurt {for me, sour cream for Jeromy}, shredded colby jack cheese, lime, cilantro, scallions, corn bread and/or tortilla chips.

This time we only had sour cream, cheese and tortilla chips on hand so I ate the chili more like a nacho dip than a soup This really is a hearty, filling meal for minimal effort–and it makes for great leftovers!

Enjoy!

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Greek Eats {Avgolemeno}

by Lisa on January 10, 2011

Well, that was quite a holiday hiatus!! My apologies for my absence from The Splattered Apron, but I’m back and ready to start the new year.

I mentioned before that my grandmother on my dad’s side, my Yiayia, gave me a cookbook about 11 months before she passed away. She wrote a note in every book she gifted to anyone–it was one of my favorite traits about her. Sometimes when looking through old books I’ll come across a note in her handwriting. These are books that I truly treasure, even if it is just a silly paperback.

When I was a kid, I hated this soup. I guess I didn’t like the lemon flavor mixed with the chicken and egg. Little did I know that this would be one of my favorite soups when I grew up! And you only need five ingredients:

2 quarts chicken broth
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup of rice {I use long grain white rice}
juice of 1.5-2 lemons {we love lemon so I use a little more than necessary}
salt to taste

To start, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the rice. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Salt to taste and keep warm.

While the broth and rice are boiling, prepare the avgolemeno sauce.

Whip the egg whites for about 2 minutes, until stiff peaks form.

Next, beat in the yolks, one at a time.

Then, slowly beat in the lemon juice.

Beat in half of the chicken broth, slowly to temper the eggs.

Finally, pour the avgolemeno sauce back into the pot with the rice and remaining broth. Stir to blend and salt if needed.

This soup isn’t much to look at–it looks really bland! Rest assured, it is far from it. The whipped eggs give it a frothy texture, the rice is nice and chewy and the lemon brightens up the bowl. I like to eat it just like this, but to make it a little more substantial for Jeromy’s lunch I added some chopped up leftover chicken.

Every time I make this soup, I can still picture my Yiayia cooking at the stove in her kitchen.

Enjoy!

**Recipe courtesy of Greek Cooking for All Seasons published by Ladies’ Philoptochos Society “Pantanassa” of the Holy Trinity Church in Lowell, Massachusetts**

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