A Sweet New Year

Honey is one of the main ingredients in traditional Rosh Hashanah food, in order to ensure that the coming year will be sweet.  Carrots in honey (Tzimmes),  honey cake and apples dipped in honey usually grace our table.  I left out the carrots this year as well as the apples and honey.  But I did make the honey cake.

Now, the problem with honey cake is that it is usually dry and somewhat tasteless.  I’ve tried a bunch of different recipes over the years.  Usually it just sits on the table, somewhat neglected as people consume the other desserts.  The Hippo doesn’t even bother with traditional honey cake and instead makes these honey cakes which always look so good.  This year I found a pretty good recipe, complete with a bittersweet chocolate glaze.  It was good enough that I only have a little bit left over today.  Along with the pan of apple crisp which was forgotten in the oven. I’ll give you both recipes with a caveat:  I made up the apple crisp one based on an Ina Garten recipe and the honey cake takes a bunt pan which is, apparently, my nemesis.  I had to make this cake twice as the first time, half of it stayed in the pan when I turned it out.  Sigh.

Honey Cake (from epicurious.com)

Ingredients:

For cake:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup pure honey
• 3/4 cup lukewarm coffee (brewed, or instant dissolved in water)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons packed grated orange zest

For chocolate glaze:

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons well-stirred canned unsweetened coconut milk (not light)
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 4 ounces bittersweet (60% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped

Directions:

Heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Grease your bunt pan to within an inch of its life.  I used cooking spray.  Lots of it.

Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and clove into a large bowl.  Whisk to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, honey and coffee.  I didn’t use the orange zest but if you do, add it to this mixture.  If you measure the oil before you measure the honey, don’t rinse the cup, and re-use it to measure the honey,  it will come out much easier.  Once this is combined, add it to the four mixture and whisk again until the whole thing is combined and smooth.

Pour into the pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, until it’s springy to the touch and a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean when placed in the center.  Let it cool on a rack for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the coconut milk and corn syrup in a small heavy pan.  Bring it to a simmer and stir until it is combined.  Chop your chocolate (use either a food processor or a serrated knife)  and add it to the warm mixture.  Let it stand for a minute and then stir it until smooth. Let it stand so it will get slightly thicker but still be pourable.

Say a prayer to the bunt cake gods and turn your cake out onto a rack. Perhaps loosen the sides with a rubber spatula first.  Good luck to you on this.

Pour the glaze over the cake, letting it run down the sides.  You can let it sit a room temperature as the glaze sets.

Forgotten Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

For the apples:

Several pounds of apples, peeled, cored and chopped into similar sized pieces

3/4-1 cup white sugar (depends on how sweet you want your apples)

1-2 teaspoons each of cinnamon, cloves, ginger (to taste)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

For the Crisp:

12 tablespoons butter, cool and chopped

1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oatmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 cup white sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix your apples, spices, sugar and cornstarch.  I use my hands- it helps for more even coverage. Place the apple mixture into a baking dish.  In an electric mixer, combine all the crisp ingredients except the butter.  Once everything is combined, add the butter and mix until you have a sort of sandy mixture.  Sprinkle this over the top of the apple mixture, covering all of the apples.  Bake for about an hour or until it’s nicely browned and the apples are bubbling.  Do not forget about it in the oven or else you will have some very dark apple crisp that you will have to eat all by yourself.

5772

L’Shana Tovah!  Happy new year! No, it’s not suddenly January; it’s the Jewish New Year- year 5772- Rosh Hashanah.  One of the best things about it is that I get to talk with my cousin K. in Israel (of cake fame) each year.  We talk more than once a year, of course, but we always talk on Rosh Hashanah and Passover.  We compare the dinners we made and how many people we had.  It’s a nice way of staying connected.

We had our big dinner last night and so many good friends and family were in attendance.  I cooked for three days leading up to it and managed to get everything on the tables at the right time.  With the exception of the apple crisp for dessert.  I put it in the oven to heat up, put the other desserts on the table and promptly forgot about it.  As a result, we now have a large pan of apple crisp that is, while not burned, deeply browned.  It’s actually delicious but I’m sorry that I didn’t get to share it.

Unlike years past, my house was not clean.  This year, due to the full-time job and toddler, we had to choose between yummy food and a clean house.  The food won, of course.  Also unlike years (and meals) past, I was unable to photograph as I went- something about juggling the food and a toddler did not lend itself to photography.  I’ll give you a run down of the menu, though, and a recipe I tried for last night (I know the adage, don’t make anything for the first time when company is coming- more on that later).

We started with Squash Soup (which I make every year).  This year I roasted the squash in the oven before I added it to the soup- if you’re reading the recipe, put the butter and onions in the pan and when the onions have softened, add the roasted squash and continue as directed.

For the main meal we had steamed green beans, roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, rice and an autumn vegetable curry.

Find potato guidelines here.  Someday I’ll post the roast chicken recipe with photos.  I’m surprised I haven’t already.  I use a modified version of Ina Garten’s recipe, found here.

The autumn vegetable curry is a recipe by Ellie Kriegar.  It came in the mail with my annual happy new year letter from Jewish Woman International.  I’m on their list because every mother’s day, I purchase bouquets through them in honor of my mother and mother-in-law.  My mother and MIL don’t actually get the flowers, instead they get a card telling them that flowers were given in their honor to mothers living in domestic violence shelters.  It’s a great program.  Check it out here.

Anyway, I made this curry recipe and have to say it was great.  I had doubts as I was making it because I made it over two days and when I tasted it at the end of day 1, it was bitter and awful.  All I could think was, “This is why you don’t try something new when company is coming!” I consulted with cooking friends to see how to even it out and we decided that the acid from the lime would help.  And I threw in a little sweet as well.   By day two, when it made it to the table, the flavors had mellowed  and it was smooth and comforting.  Pretty healthy as well.  I have the feeling this might make it into our winter dinner rotation. It takes a lot of initial prep- lots of vegetable chopping- but then it pretty much makes itself.  From what I can tell, it also gets better over a day or two so it does seem like the perfect fall/winter weeknight meal.

Ellie Krieger’s Autumn Vegetable Curry

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 1/2 length fresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks

1 1/2 tablespoons yellow curry powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken)

1 cup light coconut milk (I used regular as it was what I had)

1 cinnamon stick

3/4 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (or more to taste)

1/2 head of cauliflower, broken into 1 1/2 inch florets (about 3 cups)

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch rounds

2 tomatoes, cored and chopped

Grated zest of 1 lime

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

5 cups fresh baby spinach leaves (5 oz)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I did not use this.  Why would you ever use cilantro?  Blech.)

Directions:

Put your onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder and cayenne into the food processor and process until it’s all smooth.  Add the oil and process again until you end up with a sort of smooth, paste-like consistency.  Put this into a large pot on medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.  Add the tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture darkens.  Add the broth, coconut milk, cinnamon stick, salt and pepper and let it boil.  Then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the cauliflower, sweet potatoes, carrots and tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper and let it come back to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium low and let it all simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.  Remove the cinnamon stick.

*this is the point where I stopped and put it in the fridge overnight.  I also added a little bit of honey (maybe 1/8-1/4 of a cup) and a few teaspoons of sugar (maybe 3?) in a desperate attempt to do something about the bitter.  I’m not sure if that really made a difference.  I kept it overnight because I wasn’t serving until the next day.  If you’re making to eat on the same day, just keep going.

Stir in the lime zest and juice, the chickpeas and the spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted, about five minutes.  Check for seasoning again and you’re done.  It’s good over rice.  If you must use the cilantro leaves, sprinkle them as a garnish before serving.  But don’t expect me to eat it.

18 months

This is another non-food post.  My baby girl has reached the 18 month mark and it’s time for me to write to her again.  Be ready for some true sappy right here.

Dear G.,

I can’t, in good conscience, address this to Baby G. because you really aren’t anymore.  You are a walking, running, talking toddler with a mind, agenda and opinions of her own.  And boy howdy, do you have opinions of your own!  It’s even more fun to spend time with you now because even though I don’t always understand what you’re saying or doing, you’re always saying or doing something that is very clear to you.  You’re growing into a strong self-advocate, even at 18 months, and I hope it’s something you never lose.

Your language is amazing to me.  You have excellent receptive language and I am always amazed at all you understand.  Multistep directions?  Sure thing.  Lots of prepositions and pronouns?  No problem.  You may not always want to do what I ask and your response these days is often an immediate, “No.” or “Nope.”, but you always understand me.  Your expressive language isn’t quite there yet but is growing in leaps and bounds by the hour.  The doctor asked me on Friday how many words you had and I had to say, “a zillion” because I didn’t know.  Then I started to think about it and was able to list at least 20 off the top of my head (including cracker, quack, milk, no, yes, stinky, more, mama, dada, rachel, jane, doggie, uh-oh, book, egg, banana, nope, kitty, bye, and baby) and then more kept coming over the course of the next hour.

Developmentally speaking, you’re right on track.  You’re still small and I’m sorry, my girl, you will never be tall, but you’re strong and happy and you run like a pro.  In fact, it’s getting harder and hard for me to keep up these days!  You’ve gotten better at saying goodbye to me and when I leave you at daycare, you wave at me from the window before going about your day.  It’s a nice way for me to start my day but how I wish I could stay there with you! You’re even sleeping in your own room in your own bed and sometimes even through the night.  It’s been a slow, long transition from our bed to yours but we are more than on the right road and I am confident that in the next month or so your sleeping will get even more consistent.  It’s been a nice reminder to me about not pushing you but letting you get there in your own time, since you always do.

So that’s all the factual stuff.  Here’s the mushy stuff:  oh. my. god. do I love you.  Every day I wake up and think I can’t possibly love you any more, that I’ve reached my capacity.  Every night I go to sleep having exceeded that capacity.  It really is unlimited.  The joy I find in watching you, hearing your belly laugh when I tickle you and curling up with you at the end of the day is almost unspeakable.  I say this every time but every time it is true:  I never knew I could love anyone as much as I love you.  Loving you has taught me to be more patient, to be more open and to slow down and savor the moments.  Sappy, yes.  But so, so true.  It has also made me more prideful (is that a word?) because people will not stop telling me how beautiful, fun, good-natured and amazing you are.  I am happy to agree with them because they speak truth but I also get a little zing of “I made that” which I hope will not come back to bite me in the behind later.

You’re going to be a big sister in about five months and I am desperately praying that it won’t change your temperament.  Being an only child, I have no sense of what it’s like to go from an only to one of two and I am so worried that you will somehow morph into someone else when that happens.  My hope is that you will love your brother and tolerate him when you want him to go away.  My plan is to continue to lavish you with love, structure and cuddles and hope that it’s enough.  You will always be my first-born and (chances are, unless our financial circumstances change) my little girl.  That makes you special to me in a way that no one else can be.  A piece of me is sad because I don’t want to share you with anyone but I also think it’s important that you have a sibling.

Seeing your face light up when I walk in is better than any substance known to man.  Holding you while you put your hands on either side of my face, say “Mah-Muh”, and plant a kiss on me makes my heart melt and my eyes tear every time.  Lying in bed with you, talking about your day before you go to sleep is my best time of night.  I never get tired of you and I’m sort of wondering how that’s possible.  I can’t wait to see you grow and change and I hope that I never tire of you as you do.
Being with you makes me less anxious, calmer and more at peace.  Even when you’re cranky.  I am certain that I was born to be your mother and that everything I have learned in my life up to now has been so that I could be.  I can only hope that I can bring you as much joy, comfort and peace as you’ve brought me.

I love you, my sweet, strong, happy, beautiful, amazing girl.  I am so lucky and honored to have you in my life.

Love,

Mummy

Meatball Memories

Growing up, we had family friends with whom we spent a lot of time.  The couple had two girls, one about my age, and my mother and their mother had taught together with classrooms across the hall from each other.  My father and the other father were both lawyers and had, at one point, shared office space.  It was a family friend coupleship made in heaven.  Y’know, until my parents got divorced and, I assume, it got a little awkward for the parents.  I mean, I never saw it as awkward but I was always just busy playing with the daughters.

At any rate, the mom of that family is an excellent cook- I’ve posted about her food here- and one recipe that I associate with her are these meatballs.  Most people have a version of them that involves grape jelly but I can’t get behind that.  This recipe is surprisingly simple and yet so, so tasty- sort of sweet and tangy at the same time-  and no grape jelly needed.  Not that I dislike grape jelly- at times, it is exactly what I want on toast.  Just not with my meat.

We ate these in her cozy little dining room which was white with a window at one end and on the side.  She had a sideboard next to the window and that’s where things like the menorah for Chanukah or the gifts that went along with it stood.  You could see both the kitchen, the front door and the window from where I usually sat and when I make these meatballs, I can close my eyes and be immediately transported back there by the smell and taste.  Cozy, warm, safe and comfortable.  Ah, childhood.

Rosie’s Meatballs (I think they were named for one of the daughters)

Meatballs

1-2 lbs ground meat (I use chicken but I think they were originally beef)

1-2 eggs (will depend on how much meat there is, the eggs are helpful binders)

1/2-1 cup breadcrumbs (will depend on the meat as well as how dense you like your meatballs)

salt, pepper and other seasonings (garlic powder, seasoned salt, you make the call)

*note, normally when I make meatballs, I like to add chopped onion and garlic and other good veggies, with these I prefer them rather plain as the sauce is so tasty.

Sauce

1 can cranberry sauce (jelled)

1 jar chili sauce

1/2 jar of water (use the chili sauce jar)

Directions:

Make meatballs by mixing the meat with the other meatball ingredients.  You want it to hold together when you form the meatballs but not be so stiff that they dry out.

Sort of squish it all together with your (clean) hands.  Kind of fun…

You want it all incorporated.  Once it’s mixed you can roll out the meatballs with your hands- about walnut sized or golf ball if you want really big meatballs.  Meanwhile, heat the sauce ingredients over medium heat in a large saute pan.

Doesn’t look very pretty, I know, but the cranberry sauce will sort of melt into the rest, and then it will look better.   Use a whisk to get it all combined.  Once it’s simmering or even slightly boiling, add your meatballs.

Let them cook for a bit before you stir them- you don’t want them to fall apart.  Flip them once or twice so that they get nice and covered in the sauce.  Cook for about 15 minutes or until they are cooked through (you could be fancy and use a meat thermometer (165 F.) but I simply cut one in half).

Serve over rice or egg noodles.  Enjoy and feel a bit like a kid again.  Or maybe that’s just me.

Baking Frenzy

Last weekend I baked up a storm.  Partly because I was avoiding work, partly because I needed to relax.  Baking relaxes me.  It was also partly procrastination.

Finally, it was part of my master plan.  I’m slowly trying to re-introduce the idea of Friday (Shabbat) dinners at home.  Growing up, we weren’t very religious but every Friday night Grandma lit the candles, said the blessings, drank the wine and ate the fresh challah.  I’d like to bring that back but there’s a lot of logistical issues.  For one, my husband works on Friday nights so we can’t have a true family dinner.  By the time Friday rolls around, I’m exhausted and almost never feel like cooking a big meal.  I often forget to light the candles or buy the bread.

How to solve this?  Step by step.  For a few weeks I’ve just concentrated on remembering to light the candles.  Then I added in the bread. I made the no-knead challah recipe and froze the dough.  I’d pull it out on Thursday night and let it defrost in the fridge.  When I got home on Friday I’d put it out for the second rise and then bake it.  Due to timing, the bread was ready long after dinner was over but it was there.  The problem was that it didn’t rise as well and wasn’t as good as freshly made.  So this weekend I made the recipe through to the end and froze the loaves.  I’ll know tomorrow if it was worth it- the first loaf is defrosted and wrapped and I intend to warm it in the oven when I get home tomorrow night. Find this recipe here.

Two of the four loaves. Pretty, no?

The other baking was because I was dying to try the lemon ricotta cake the Hippo made a few weeks back. Mine is nowhere near as pretty as hers but was damn delicious.

I had some lemons left over as well as some yogurt that needed using so I also made Ina Garten’s Lemon Pound Cake.  So yummy.  I didn’t bother with the glaze which is very sticky and instead ended up with a sort of lemony loaf sweet tea bread.  Also damn delicious.

So, in short, due to my weekend of baking, we are well-stocked in the baked goods department.  Try any one of these- all three are relatively easy (even the bread which requires NO kneading and very little prep work)- and all three are absoloutely worth it.

September Comfort

There’s something about September in New England. Cooler air, brilliantly colored leaves, crisp apples….  It might be my favorite season.  Plus, I look good in sweaters.  (This is an old joke with a family member).  Of course, in New England, as soon as it cools off enough for you to change your closet and put away the grill, it suddenly heats up again and you’re sweltering.

September also means the beginning of the school year.  This year, for me that means I suddenly have no time.  Which means no blogging for me.  No worries, I’m still cooking every night, we’re still eating really well, I’m just not able to photograph it.  Since I’m working more hours this year, I’m also doing a lot more planning and pre-cooking on the weekends.  It’s hectic.  Really.

And makes me long for my grandmother, wishing that she were here to cook for me.  It would be so nice to come home to her and her food all warm and ready.  Sigh.  Since she can’t be here with me, I thought I’d make something that always reminds me of her:  Snickerdoodles.

These are cookies that are both sweet and spicy, chewy and crispy.  They have a flavor unlike any other cookie so once you’ve had one, you’ll always recognize it in the future.  Mostly for me, though, these cookies are an indirect hug from grandma.

Sadly, I couldn’t find her recipe so I borrowed one from Smitten Kitchen.  It’s almost as good as hers and will do in a pinch.

These are perfect for these cool fall days.  They make your kitchen smell like it should, like my grandmother’s kitchen.  Go ahead, make them.  See if you can resist the homey smell and deliciousness.  I’ll bet you can’t.

A Hug From Grandma Snickerdoodles (via Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

16 tablespoons (2 stick or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2  cups sugar

2 large eggs

Coating:

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Combine the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar) in a small bowl and whisk.  The actual recipe wants you to sift them but if you’ve been reading along here, you know my feelings about that.

In the bowl of your mixer, place the butter and sugar.  If you don’t have a mixer, you can do it by hand, just make sure that your butter is somewhat soft or you’ll kill your wrist.

Mix until it’s all smooth and together. 

Add the eggs and mix again, then add the flour mixture and mix until it’s all incorporated. 

You’ll have to scrape the bowl a bit as you do.

At this point, I put the dough in the fridge for about an hour or two, just to make it a bit easier to use in the next step.  When you’re ready, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Place silpat or parchment on your cookie sheet(s).  On a plate or in a shallow bowl, pour out the cinnamon and sugar.

Whisk together.

With your (clean) hands, make walnut sized balls of dough.  Place them in the cinnamon sugar mixture and roll to coat.

Put them on your cookie sheet, evenly spaced.

Bake for about 10 minutes. They won’t brown but will spread out and look beautiful.

Mmmmm.  I dare you to eat just one.  Bet you can’t.  Addictive.  Little hugs on a plate.

I know, I know, I haven’t been posting.  I’m juggling a lot of things over here in pregnancy/toddler/work-land.  I’ll be getting ready for Rosh Hashanah pretty soon so I’m sure I’ll have some things to talk about then. Hang in with me- I’m hoping to get it together to get over here at least once a week.  Stay tuned…

Pickle Me This

When I was in Israel, fresh vegetables were abundant.  The kibbutz had an enormous kitchen, with a huge walk in refrigerator and freezer.  And when I say walk-in, I mean that my studio apartment in DC was smaller than this fridge.  If you had the right clothing, you could comfortably live in it for days on end (y’know, assuming you left to use the bathroom in the dining hall).  In this fridge was a vast assortment of vegetables- tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados (the kibbutz had an avocado…grove?  farm?  field?  Not sure what the correct term is, but they had a large number of avocado trees), onions, potatoes you get the idea.

They were for the use of the kitchen to prepare the meals for the kibbutz.  What never ceased to amaze us non-kibbutniks was how the kibbutz members would come in, plastic bags in hand, and just take whatever they needed for their own kitchens.  They’d just breeze in, any time of day, and fill their bags.  To be fair, when I was there, the kibbutz began an internal audit which lasted quite some time and resulted in a number of changes- among them the cease and desist order for this practice.  Naturally, as volunteers, we didn’t get paid much and so we followed suit.  What resulted were a number of breakfasts of tomato, onion and garlic sautéed down to an almost spread-like consistency, served on toast (the bread was also for the taking).  Sometimes we’d add eggs (which, like everything else, were kept in the walk-in), if we were feeling extravagant.

Anyway, my cousin, Kohevet (of the cake fame) would make use of the kibbutz walk-in to supplement her family meals at home.  Her meals were legendary- she taught me how to make the most delicious vegetable stew ever and her rice was always perfect- I have tried, tried and tried to make my rice like hers and just can’t.  I say it’s the difference between U.S. and Israeli tap water but inside I know it’s because she’s just a better cook!  Her tuna salad- such a simple dish- is yet another I’ve tried to emulate and have been unsuccessful in my efforts.  One of the things she puts in her tuna is pickles.  But not just any pickles, as I found out one afternoon while hanging out in her kitchen.

She made the pickles.  Made them.  From cucumbers.  Now, for some of you, this is not a revelation.  For me, who grew up with a grandmother who cooked but didn’t can or preserve, this was a new frontier.  You could create pickles? In a jar on your counter?  With just some salt, spices and water?  Eureka! I watched carefully and when I came home to the states tried it myself.

I failed.  Kohevet’s pickles were crunchy, salty and just the right mix of salty and sour.  Mine were limp, bland and plain old gross.  I gave up on the idea of making my own pickles- who wants to get involved in all that jar lid sanitizing and water boiling anyway.

Until my friend K. gave me a bunch of pickling cucumbers from her garden.  Then it just seemed wrong to let them remain unpickled.  I mean, this was their sole purpose in life- to become pickles.  How could I deny them this dream?  I had heard rumors of something called refrigerator pickles, which did not involve jar sanitizing and which sounded like they might be similar to Kohevet’s pickles.  Off to the internet I went to find a recipe.

And, oh let me tell you just how easy these were to make.  Collect some jars, slice some cucumbers and boil some syrup.  Add it all together, refrigerate overnight and there you have it- crunchy, salty-sweet-sour pickles.  So good.  Alas, nothing like Kohevet’s but my friend K. recently sent me a dill pickle recipe that sounds like it could be the one.  I’ll try it next summer and report back.  Meanwhile, make these.  They’re really good.

Sweet Refrigerator Pickles

Ingredients

7 cups unpeeled cucumbers or young zucchini, sliced thin

1 large onion, sliced thin

A green or red bell pepper, sliced thin (optional- I didn’t use it)

1/8 cup of salt

1 cup white vinegar

2 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon celery seed

Directions:

Wash your cucumbers.

I asked K. the difference between cucumbers for pickling and for eating- she says the ones for pickles have less water and are more bumpy.

Then slice them thinly.  I used my cuisnart with this attachment:

Peel and slice your onion (again, cuisnart) and your pepper, if using. All should be sliced pretty thinly.

Place the sliced cucumber and onion in a large bowl or pan.  Sprinkle the salt over and then cover with ice water.

Let this sit for 2 hours and then drain.

Put the pickles into jars.  I used old sauce jars- I didn’t want to buy jars just for this.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar and celery seed.  Don’t stand too close, as the vinegar is extremely pungent right now and will totally clear our your sinuses.  Bring this to a boil.

Pour over the pickles in the jars and then put on the lids.  Place in the fridge and let them cool.  I let mine sit overnight before I tried them.  My husband ate one and happily exclaimed, “These are just like my dad used to make!” as he served himself more.

Unexpected Yummy

I was all set to blog about the pickles I made which were delicious and surprisingly easy.  I mean, who knew you could make pickles without laborious canning- all the jars!  all the heating!  But then I made this salad.  This simple, shouldn’t have really been anything special salad.  So mundane that I didn’t photograph while cooking because, never in a million years, would I put it on the blog.

Except that it was so good I can’t keep it to myself.

You know of my quest to enjoy quinoa.  It’s so good for you and so nutritious.  I just haven’t been a huge fan.  Something about both taste and texture. I’ve tried both red and white.  I’ve preferred red.   I’ve tried- here andhere- but still, it’s somewhat of a chore to eat it.  But now?  Oh, now, I have found the secret, at least for me.

Toasting it.  The longer you let it toast, the better it tastes (thanks to my friend S. for teaching me this- it only took a year for me to put it into practice, despite saying it in each recipe I wrote here!).

So, without further ado, here’s the easiest, healthiest, tastiest, quickest salad/main dish ever:

Quinoa Salad

1/2 cup red quinoa

1 cup chicken broth, veg broth or water

1 onion

2-3 cloves garlic

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Red Pepper

1 cup sungold (or cherry) tomatoes

Feta cheese (I used the already crumbled kid)

Directions

Pour your quinoa into a mesh sieve and rinse several times with cold water.  Set aside to let it drain.  Peel and chop your onion.  Smush and chop your garlic cloves.  In a saucepan, over medium high, heat your olive oil. Add the onion and garlic.  Let it cook for about 2-3 minutes or until it’s soft.  Add the quinoa and let it get all toasty.  Stir it once in a while and watch so that it doesn’t burn but toast it a good long while.  10, 15 even 20 minutes.  Add the broth and let it cook until it is absorbed, stirring occasionally.  Set it aside and let it cool for about ten minutes.  Meanwhile, wash, d- seed and chop your red pepper into small chunks.  Halve your tomatoes.  Put the cooled quinoa into a bowl, add the veggies and mix.  Add some feta cheese (how much is up to you) and stir.  Pull out your spoon and be pleasantly surprised by how good it is.  It can be eaten warm, at room temp or cold- no matter, still good!

The sweetness of the tomatoes and peppers balances out the saltiness of the feta and the toasty-ness of the quinoa makes it feel filling and satisfying.  Really, this may become my go-to lunch salad.