as cozy as spring

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm probably the last one to try the New York Time Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, but I am posting it today just in case.  I try to make my husband special coming home cookies because his business trips are so hard what with the clean, quiet hotel rooms and nice, prepared meals.  He knows he has the sweeter end of the deal sometimes, but I still miss him like crazy when he's gone.  I start moping around the house playing sad Norah Jones songs before he even gets to the airport.  It's pretty funny.  Army wives - feel free to mock me mercilessly.  I know just how pathetic I am.

So tonight, he will be treated to these.  They are huge.  If made as directed (and I did it almost exactly, only I used Nestle Chocolate Chips because that's what I had) one is more than enough per person.  I'm satisfied with the Toll House recipe.  I think Martha Stewart's is a little better, especially when my sister makes them.  But these really are the best I've had.  He is my official cookie taste tester - in fact, I think it's largely the reason why he married me - so I hope he is as pleased.

Make Ahead Dinners

I know I've posted on this topic before because I am all about the make ahead dinner.  I tried two new recipes in the past week that have checked all the right boxes.  No photos because I'm always too busy serving the meal to photograph it.  And also I feel like an idiot making my husband wait to eat his dinner so I can take a photo for my blog.

Ina Garten's Mexican Chicken Soup   This is called tortilla soup, 'round here.  I've had many a great tortilla soups in restaurants, but have never been able to duplicate something as tasty at home.  This recipe got so many great reviews on Food Network, I decided to give it a try.  It's packed with fresh veggies (I added frozen corn and fresh chopped red bell pepper as well) and uses low fat chicken breast (I used rotisserie) so it's a nice healthy meal if you don't go overboard with the cheese etc. There's really no need.  Every bite was surprisingly delicious.  It also makes a lot of soup.  Our family of four stretched it into several meals.  This is, by far, the best soup I've made at home.

I was planning on making my normal cottage pie last night for dinner and just before I set to cooking I saw Dawn's link to Martha Stewart's recipe.  I still used mashed potatoes on top because that's my husband's preference, but he said the beef base was the best he's had.  I'm serving leftovers tonight with a side of broccoli.

I'm headed outside to sit in the garden and watch my babies play.  My husband set my son up with a baseball rebounding net thingy and we are all having the most fun with it.  I just watch for now, being too clumsy, bulky, and protective of my midsection.

Happy Wednesday, friends!  

Strawberry Season

For the past few years, we've tried to get a good bit of produce from our local farms and this week, the strawberries were ready.  I'm still learning what to do with a sudden influx of fruits so I thought I'd share some of what has worked and hope you will as well!  

Freezing:  My preferred method of preservation is to freeze.  It's simple, fast, and requires no added sugar (this is debatable, but I haven't had any issues skipping the sugar).  I rinse and hull the berries, place them on a pyrex baking pan (not touching) and stick them in the freezer.  Once frozen, I place them in freezer bags.  It's not a perfect system, but it gives us plenty of great strawberries for smoothies through the summer.

Canning: This is much more labor intensive but my husband loves jam, so I can a bit every year.  I like Ina's recipe (I think Carmie liked it as well, right?). The small quantities of other fruits gives it a nice depth of flavor.  I always start out so optimistically, feeling very smug and accomplished that I had taught myself to can at age 16. Then I spend an hour over a hot, steaming stove with berry juice sputtering onto my kitchen walls and burning my arms, feeling very Meg-like as the thermometer hovers just shy of Ina's recommended 220.

... she reboiled, resugared, and restrained, but that dreadful stuff wouldn't "jell".... and at five o'clock sat down in her topsy-turvey kitchen, wrung her bedaubled hands, lifted up her voice and wept."

I do not recommend doubling this recipe, but I had 30 pounds, y'all. I was desperate. I made another, single batch today that worked far better.  It just sadly doesn't make much.

Baking: Sunday, I made a Stone Fruit Tea Cake from Rustic Fruit Desserts (love!), but used strawberries instead. Make this for Easter morning. It never fails, despite always using a different fruit combination AND the dough can be made ahead of time.  It's so simple and subtle and delicious.  I also made the Strawberry Ricotta Fruit tart from this same book. I can't remember if we loved it, but it certainly sounds like it would be good and very Easter-y.

I intend to make the Strawberry Buttermilk Scones, but we have yet to finish the tea cake so we'll see if I can get around to it.  

Finally, a batch of smoothie pops for my baby boy and the rest of the berries were eaten fresh.

My daughter did not pick two boxes of berries.  My daughter, who has no future as a migrant farm worker, was distracted by a ladybug then sat herself down on the ground for a strawberry picnic.

Quick, while there's still time.

We made our Valentine's Day meal today. I bookmarked this Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake early this winter with the intention to bake it just as soon as I felt like eating.  It was worth the wait!  We all agreed that it is one of the very best cakes we've had.  I think it's a super cake for winter too with the perfect balance of orange and chocolate.  I'm posting it now so, if you are so inclined, you can make it before Ash Wednesday!  Oooh, just one note.  Smitten Kitchen bakes it as a bundt cake.  I don't know if I'd go that route when we make it again as it was a little overdone around the top edges by the time the center baked adequately.  Cupcakes would be awesome.

Why I would never make it as a food blogger: I hate taking photos while I bake.  I get flour all over the camera and I like to just bake when I bake and not mess around with posing my ingredients.  Also, we tend to eat the finished product before I have a chance to take any pictures so yeah.  Oranges.  That's all the eye candy I've got today.  Happy Sunday, friends!

Homemade Pasta

Because it's a cold, rainy day in February.  

Because Martha Stewart inspired my little girl who has mentioned it every day since December.  And I can so relate to being inspired by Martha Stewart.

Because my daughter worked on her lessons with an efficiency previously unimagined. 

Because I could borrow my Dad's pasta machine.

Because, if nothing else, I could write a blog post about it.

None are great reasons for doing anything, but the reasons didn't matter. Tomorrow, on to ravioli!  I made my daughter read this post before committing.  "Are you sure you are prepared to spend four and a half hours making dinner?"

She is sure.  And it is excellent pasta, I must admit.  I also must admit to using a just-add-water mix from Williams-Sonoma.  I do not regret it.  It was a good way to get our feet wet and oh, I'm just not up for the extra mess right now. 

Overnight Waffles

My husband gave me a new waffle maker for Christmas.  It hasn't been used much because despite all my efforts to feed wholesome, unprocessed foods to my family... it's been Eggo 'round here lately (my 'morning sickness' seems here to stay).  I admitted as much to my sister who insisted I try Mark Bittman's Overnight Waffle recipe.  The beauty of it is that all the prep work is done the night before (when I feel capable of baking).  And also?  They are the best waffles we've ever had.  It was unanimous.  The butter content is a little high for everyday waffles perhaps, but they were a lovely Sunday treat.  This recipe was printed out for the permanent collection. :)

Overnight Waffles from How to Cook Everything

• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 8 tbsps (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• neutral oil for brushing the iron
• 2 eggs

1. The night before, combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in the milk, then butter and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside overnight at room temperature.

2. When ready to cook, brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and heat it. Separate the eggs and stir the yolks into the batter. Beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold them gently into the batter.*

3. Spread enough batter onto the iron to barely cover it; bake until the waffle is done, usually 3-5 minutes, depending on your iron. Serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes in a 200 deg F oven.

*Note on the eggs:  I did as the recipe instructed but it seemed like a waste of time for the whipped egg whites were very quickly deflated by the wet batter.  My sister said she doesn't bother and I don't think I will in the future either.  Big sisters are always right.  

Simple Potato Soup

This is one recipe I've been making for years, long before I was married, and comes from an old Southern Living cookbook.  It's been a hit with everyone because it's super easy, adaptable, and can be relatively low fat.  It's also a great we're-completely-out-of-groceries meal because it is made from very few ingredients, most of which are kept on hand 'round here.

I made it last night which marked the third time I've prepared a real dinner since the end of October.  It was a proud moment.  I was going to print it out for my new binder, so I thought I'd share it here as well.

Chunky Potato Soup

• 3 tbs of butter
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 4 cups of milk (I've always used skim and it works just fine, but I think anything would work)
• 2 cups of diced potatoes
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1/2 tsp or so of salt
• 1/4 tsp or so of pepper

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth.  Cook 1 minute.  Gradually add milk (I use a whisk here).  Stir in potatoes, onion, salt, and pepper.  Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently*, until mixture is thickened and potatoes are tender.

*You really do need to watch it because this soup can scorch on the bottom something awful.  

I've made it in the crock pot as well, but I think it's better on the stove top.  I like it on its own.  My husband likes it topped with bacon, sharp cheese, and chives.  My sister used to add garlic and cheddar while the soup simmered.  Again, it's a very easy to tweak.  I've tried fancier potato soups, but this has always been our favorite.  This one batch serves our family of four for about a meal and a half, but the soup can easily be doubled for a larger family.  

Dinner tonight: I think we're having toasted bagels and fruit and I really think everyone is going to be just fine with it. 

Lazy Sunday

Taking my place by the fire to watch the football game.

Knitting socks for my little girl on teeny tiny (US 0) needles.  The yarn is Cascade Heritage and I like it, but it's thinner than I'd prefer.  We'll see how it wears!  I miss my Sunshine (I just ran out).  I've been wearing socks knit from Sunshine Luxury Sport that I got in a destash last year and oh my wow.  Softest socks I've ever had and they have worn far better too.  I highly recommend avoiding it all together because it's addictive and really.  Merino/cashmere socks?  Is there no end to the indulgence?  

No, no there is not.  I made brownies to celebrate the fact that I could eat brownies.  I really am so much better these days.  I've settled into a nice rhythm.  I'm very sick in the mornings but feel almost fine after lunch.  The evenings are uncertain, but even a few hours of feeling decent has done wonders for my spirit.  

Now, I'm spending a little time planning lessons.  It's been very workbooky around here these last few months and I'm fine with it.  It was either workbooks or throwing in the towel altogether.  I am hoping to add a few more read alouds for both children this next week. I downloaded Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to read to my daughter.  It's another that isn't exactly my taste, but if there's another plus to the Kindle it forces me out of my comfort zone with the freebies!  I hope to start The Trumpet of the Swan with my son, which was a gift from his aunt, my sister, the best gift giver ever.  I need to switch out all our seasonal pictures, but that's more productive than I can manage today. 

Here's the brownie recipe I copy and pasted from somewhere else on the internet!

Double Chocolate Brownies

from Martha Stewart Cookies

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces coarsely chopped good-quality semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over sides.  (I just buttered the pan.  It was fine)

Put butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until butter and chocolate are melted. Let cool slightly.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl; set aside.

Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on medium speed until pale, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture; beat until combined. Add flour mixture; beat, scraping down sides of bowl, until well incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out brownies; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

 

The Last Christmas Cookie

This Advent, I dutifully prepared our Sunday Teas.  They weren't pretty and I took no photos.  I did just enough to call it done (meaning distracting the children with sweets while I curled up in bed).  I don't even think we ever lit that last candle. I'm sure they won't remember.

This Sunday we wrapped it all up with pizelles, which I save for Epiphany.  They are my personal favorite and tied up with so many old memories.  I hope that setting them apart for this last Christmas feast will make them just as special for my children.  Every year my son struggles with remembering and pronunciation and then exclaims joyfully as he sees the iron, "Oh I love those!".

My recipe:

• 2 cups of flour 
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp or so of vanilla
• 1/2 tsp or so of cinnamon 

I beat the eggs and sugar until thick, add in the cooled, melted butter and then mix the dry ingredients.  I tablespoon of batter is placed in the pizelle iron* and pressed for 30 seconds or until golden brown.  I find this much easier to manage with a smaller sized cookie scoop.

My recipe is not traditional as it does not include anise which I cannot have in the house - can't even think about without shuddering.  It is not a flavor I care for, to put it mildly.  But these, buttery and crisp, flavored lightly with cinnamon and sometimes a little orange zest are eaten up in seconds.  

* Mine is made by VillaWare, a gift from my parents many, many years ago.  It still works beautifully. 

And oh, y'all - while I'm on the Williams-Sonoma website.  My husband hit their post-Christmas clearance sale and picked up a Stump de Noel which I find absolutely adorable and hilarious.  This will be for the fourth week of Advent next year.  I've made a proper Buche de Noel in years past but rarely can find the time these days.  This should simplify things.  It looks like the pan isn't available online anymore, but you might check your local store (it was weirdly less expensive in-store anyway).

Cross Stitched

I finished my little Farm Folk.  This was a really fun project, especially since I cannot follow directions and did my own thing with the patterns.  Butter, in particular.  The butter churn had to look more like the one near my grandmother's front door.  It was the only option.  I also stitched the dress to resemble Emily's dress in Emily and Daisy.  I skipped eggs all together because eggs give me the creeps. I found some super cheap frames at Target a few weeks ago that finish them off nicely.

Most of the homes I remember from my childhood, including my own, had little bits of cross stitch here and there.  I don't think it's my most favorite medium but home seems cozier with these little girls in our dining room.

I can't even write about this without sounding overly self satisfied, but I made and froze breakfast, lunch, and dinner for most of the week.  I know all of you probably do this all the time and you probably all rock the crock pot (recipes, please?), but I just can't wrap my head around meal plans, especially make ahead meal plans.  I do not have the ability to focus on more than what I'm hungry for that instant.  But alas, it's proved to be rather hard on the budget and the nerves.  We're also just too busy lately. (tangent)  I miss the preschool days when all the activities were scheduled in the mornings.  Saturday night my little baby boy was playing a second baseball game at nearly 10:00pm at night.  No shocker that his little face was tear streaked when he walked up to his last at-bat (did I say that right?).  My own face was tear streaked last night when I whipped up the last item, a batch of pumpkin muffins and realized we were out of baking powder.  It was a tiring day, but hopefully it will pay off with an easier week!

Happy Monday, friends!