National Pie Day!

From our family to yours, happy belated national pie day.

Stephen just asked me, "Is this something the White House declares?"

Probably not, Stephen. Probably not. I Googled it and didn't really find anything official looking that offered an kind of satisfactory answer. Sounds like someone just made National Pie Day up. I don't know. Why are we complaining? Why are we asking questions? It's national pie day! It's an excuse to bake a pie! Come on!

So, can you guess what I did? Can you? Can you? I baked a succulent (succulent works for desserts right? I feel like meats have a monopoly on the adjective succulent) chocolate chip cookie pie that I'd been drooling over every time I visited Bakerella.

It was so buttery and rich that it didn't even matter that I cheated and used a frozen pie crust that I had stored away in the freezer... Which is something I almost never do. Homemade pie crust (see: here) is crazy easy and crazy delicious. And you'll almost never go back to the frozen stuff. Except when you're conveniently out of the real stuff. And when you do, you'll feel it deep down in your conscience.

I will say this about this delicious pie: It didn't taste like a big, warm chocolate chip cookie like I wanted it to. Although, if you're a seasoned baker (teehee, no pun intended), you would have noticed just by looking at the recipe that it is NOT a chocolate chip cookie recipe. It was more like a blondie with chocolate chips or something like that (we grew up calling them Congo Bars). It was still uber delicious. I just feel like it should come with a disclaimer. Anywho- here it goes!

*Oh. Right. Please forgive me. I couldn't find the nice camera, so I used my iPhone...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell completely thawed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup chopped pecans*
Serve with ice cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven 325 degrees F.

2. Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high until foamy.

...goodness, look at that stellar iPhone photography.

3. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter.
4. Stir in morsels and nuts and spoon into pie shell.
5. Bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm.

ignore my un-ladylike reflection.
and the fact that I'm wearing Stephen's old soccer shorts.
thank you.

...Seriously. It doesn't get easier than this. *Now, of course, being allergic to every nut on the planet, I left those out. And it was still really yummy.


Until next time.
-Amanda

too much of a good thing?

I...love sweet potatoes.

I could eat them every day (I almost do). And it's a really good thing because they are super awesomely fantasticly good for you. An almost-perfect food, I would say (I think kale is considered one of the only"virtually perfect" foods for you, so that is also good because I am obsessed with kale, too).

Thanks to Amanda below for the Sweet Potato Hash recipe. I tweaked it a bit, and it was still wonderful. Here is what I did different:

1. I used about 5 sweet potatoes & two cans of black beans

2. I didn't have chiles in adobo so I threw about 2 tbsp. (or more...) or chili powder in while the onion and pepper were cooking.

3. I drizzled about 1.5 tbsp. agave on the sweet potatoes & mixed before I added them to the onion/pepper/kale.

4. Along with some salt sprinkles, I added about 2 tbsp. brown sugar to the whole dish, mixed it in, covered and let it cook a bit longer.

I like the brown sugar with chili powder & agave (or honey). Gives a nice but subtle sweet & spicy flavor.

YUM

Don't be alarmed if everything turns a little brown after a few hours...! It's those silly black beans.

I ate about 1 lb. of this today for lunch. I'm wondering if I can eat too many sweet potatoes at once? Probably. Which is okay. I am willing to make that mistake.

I think one way to think about food is this: the more colors you eat, the better. This isn't a rainbow, but it is pretty darn colorful. And just so yummy.

You can serve by itself, with rice, with a fried egg (Amanda's recipe below), and so on.

Enjoy!

Adina :)

Quick morning recipe: Pumpkin oatmeal

Well, hello there. How are you this morning?

It's a brisk 28 degrees this Saturday in Huntsville. I've been sipping on coffee, catching up on today's news, watching SNL re-runs, and now my Saturday morning is rapidly turning into Saturday afternoon.

Luckily, today (like every cold Saturday) is a perfect day for a satisfying bowl of pumpkin oatmeal. I know that it's January and everyone's kind of over pumpkin, but it's really subtle in this recipe, especially with the modifications I've made. And, the spice really does warm you up. And you know you've got a spare can of pumpkin puree lying around that you're trying to get rid of.

So, here we go:

Stove Top Pumpkin Oatmeal

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup milk
1/4 cup pumpkin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
2 pinches nutmeg
1 pinch clove
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
honey for serving

Place the first 8 ingredients (oats through salt for those of us who haven't done math since high school) in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to combine. Just as it starts to boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Mine took a little longer than 5 minutes, so beware and be patient.

When done, divide into bowls and sprinkle with chocolate chips and honey, if desired.

The little bit of chocolate goes a long way with the pumpkin and can easily over power it. Mine was absolutely perfect with my cup of Counter Culture's Ethiopia Shakisso. Mmm, mmm.




You're welcome.

-Amanda

my inaugural post: sweet potato hash!

Well, here we are.

This tasty little project seems like it's been a long time coming and I'm very, very excited about it! What a fun way to document my culinary adventures, musings, mishaps, etc.

While trying to figure out which recipe to post here first, I asked my husband Stephen which recipes of mine he thought were my best and worth documenting. This one wasn't on his list (he would). Stephen...how should I say this?...Doesn't share my deep, abiding love for the delicious, nutritious sweet potato. However, I can tell you honestly that every time I tell him I'm going to make this, he groans. And then every time he starts eating it, he gobbles it up and thanks me profusely. And then he buys me some diamonds because he feels so indebted to me for making such a healthy, delicious meal. Just kidding. He buys me cast iron.

Anymahoo- This is my tried and true sweet potato hash recipe. I hope you enjoy!

(I don't have pictures of the process, but I assure you it's easy and I've learned my lesson: the more pictures, the better. I promise I'll get better at this!)

Here's what you'll need for 2 sizable portions + some leftovers:

Sweet Potato Hash

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 small to medium red onion, diced
1/2 small to medium red bell pepper, diced
1/2 of a bunch of kale, roughly chopped (or as much as you'd like, really)
1 can of black beans, drained
2-3 tbsp unsalted butter
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 large eggs (or for however many people you are making this for)
1 Chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped (optional)
cilantro (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat. The butter will give sweet potatoes the best flavor and the oil helps it not burn... isn't it nice when things work together? Add the sweet potatoes and saute on medium, watching and occasionally stirring, for about 15 minutes. You want them to get a little brown, cook almost all the way and not lose their shape. (If mine are being particularly stubborn and not cooking, I'll add a little bit of water- maybe a tablespoon at a time- to the hot pan and put the lid on so it steams the potatoes a little.)

2. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a plate or bowl and let them take a break for a minute. Put your nice little pan back on the heat, give it another little dash of olive oil and throw your onion and red pepper in there. Let them cook and sweat for about 5 minutes or so, then, if you're into it, add the chipotle and stir for a minute or two.

3. Turn the heat down to medium low and add the black beans and sweet potatoes back into the pan, stirring to mix all the ingredients. At this point, I'd check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add the chopped kale and put the lid on so the kale can wilt. You're not really cooking it in there, just letting get a little bit soft and mesh with everything else in the pan. Keep the heat on low and make sure the black beans and sweet potatoes aren't getting too mushy with each other....

ooooooh.

5. Meanwhile, in another little pan that you've greased because you're about to fry an egg and don't want it to stick, drizzle just a little olive oil and heat over medium heat. Once the pan is nice and hot, crack your egg right into the pan. I like mine to get slightly brown on the bottom, I like the texture of the fried white and the still very gooey yolk. So, if you like it crispy like I do, give it a minute or two, but keep an eye on it. It'll pop and bubble a little and once the bottom is nice and brown, I'll give it a quick turn over (gently but quickly), just to give the other side a nice sear. But you don't want to cook the yolk, so make it quick!

6. If you're into cilantro, now's the time to turn the heat off the sweet potatoes and toss a little cilantro in the mix. By now your kale has wilted a little, all your flavors have meshed together and you're ready to plate your hash and your friend egg!

beautiful!

This is truly a beautiful meal to make. It's easy, it's really tasty and it's a great vegetarian meal that will please meat eaters. Trust me, it's hearty and you won't miss the meat in here. Enjoy! Bon appetit!

Until next time...
-Amanda

'nana bread

Last night, i made the BEST banana bread EVER. I mean, the best. I've never made 'nana bread before by myself, but i've eaten a lot of it. and this was my favorite.

My yoga teacher Jocelyn is having a baby (yayay) and I wanted to bake something for her and the baby love and her hubs, Charles. Charles plays in the Atlanta Symphony and gave us free tickets to see them play last friday. As always, it was lovely.

Makes me miss my little violin, George, so I'm going to bring him out sometime soon to play (yes, we named our violins in 6th grade after Seinfeld characters).

Anyhow, I doubled the recipe so that we could have a loaf here at home. I knew it would only last one day, but did so regardless. It worked out perfect that the baby wanted banana bread, because I just happened to have 8 very overripe bananas waiting for something to be done with them...

This recipe i found via TasteSpotting, my current and very severe obsession.

I used my favorite whole wheat flour...

and added all the ingredients, which you only need to mix with a spoon, you don't even need a blender! And voila: 'nana bread batter...

I baked it (patiently...) in my new non-stick loaf pan, and done. Naturally, I felt like I should taste this first round to make sure it is good and then, I figured, I can give away the second loaf as the gift. Right? Well yeah, I taste it and it's awesome and I eat three slices. I throw the second loaf in and I know it will be just as great.

And then I forget that it is in the oven. And it burns. BURNS. Burnt banana gift bread. Seriously, it's not even worth discussing how upset I was.

So what, do i give a 1/4 eaten loaf as a gift?? Looks like im going to slice it up and give her 'nana bread slices tonight.

LAME.

I will succeed 100% next time.

Looks like I need to go buy some more rotten bananas asap.

Yummy (and lactose-free) Banana Bread

3-4 very ripe bananas
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1½ cups whole wheat flour
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup toasted sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mash bananas. Add all other ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon. Pour batter into an oiled and lightly floured loaf pan. Bake 1 hour.

make food, not war

it has now been decided that this blog is actually going to happen.

alas, i have finally figured out how to upload the 600+ pictures from my iphone onto my computer! this is a huge success. now i don't have to keep emailing them individually to myself when i want to post them online or send them to someone... i guess that is actually kind of embarrassing.

this is good, though, because i use my phone to take most of my pictures (i need a new camera?).

happy 25th anniversary of the Martin Luther King holiday, too! one of my favorite MLK quotes, among many many others:

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

Can this be my motto? I will try.

---

Tomato Vegetable Soup with Tortellini (original recipe from Canadian Living)

1 tbsp. olive oil

5 carrots, diced

1 onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp. fresh basil (I only had dried)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 can (28oz.) tomatoes, chopped

4 oz. tomato paste

8 oz. frozen cheese tortellini ((or more...I may have used about 2 cups)

1 - 3 cups water, depending on soup-like preference

2 zucchinis, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.

Add carrots, onion, celery, garlic and basil and cook until onion is soft (about 5 minutes) You can throw in some salt and pepper here, too.

Add broth, tomatoes and tomato paste and bring to boil. Add extra water.

Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add tortellini and zucchini and simmer until tortellini are tender, about 10 minutes (they float to the top, too)

The original recipe calls for chickpeas, but I didn't have any so I passed. I do love chickpeas, though, and would try it next time with them for sure.

Yummy.