Just a break between salads to add this recipe. I know I just did a chocolate chip cookie recipe a week or two ago but this one is:
A. Simpler
and
B. WAYYYYYYY better!!!!
These are very light, fluffy cookies. If a cookie can be fluffy?? They look “undone” coming out of the oven and don’t flatten out or darken. Don’t worry though! That is how they are supposed to be. I made these for the Daleos’ visit last weekend and they were all eaten BEFORE the Daleos arrived so I ended up making a second batch really quickly. They were so good I just made a THIRD batch this weekend!
You probably have all these ingredients!
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 c unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c butterscotch chips
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars.
Add egg (replacer) and vanilla and beat well.
3. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda & salt.
Add dry ingredients to wet and mix!
You’ll notice this sandy, grainy texture. This is exactly as it should be!
4. Once it’s thoroughly combined, add chocolate/butterscotch chips and stir until spread throughout the batter evenly.
5. Drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet using a Tablespoon. Since the dough hasn’t really “come together” you may need to make small balls with your hands. I did.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. NOTE: the cookies will NOT darken or flatten. They will not seem to be “done” but they are done! If you truly are worried about them being underdone, just bake them for the full 10 minutes.
By the way, my brother in law got me this Airbake cookie sheet for Christmas. I put two dozen cookies into the oven – one on this sheet and one on a regular one and the regular ones burned on the bottom. I really love this cookie sheet! (I am not being compensated in any way, by anyone really, for saying this…)
The top.
The bottom.
Back to the cookies. Here’s what they look like PRE baking:
I make ‘em on the small side since they have so much butter/sugar.
Here’s what they look like POST baking:
It almost looks the same as the raw dough!
Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, beat together butter & sugars. Add egg (replacer) and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined.
In a small bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Then add to butter/sugars. When evenly combined, fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed. (How many times can I use “evenly” and “combined”??)
Drop Tablespoon sized balls of dough onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. NOTE: cookies will NOT flatten or darken. Trust me!
Cool on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes before eating.
Notes
Having a box of egg replacer on hand saves you a trip to the store for the eggs if you have run out. Also, you can eat the raw dough without fear of salmonella (though that risk is quite low…) Nobody notices and it does help keep the cholesterol lower than it would be.
The cat is outside fighting though. I just heard him. It’s 8:33PM.
Phew. I don’t know what to do with the PEACE. I guess I’ll just have a beer & unload the dishwasher. Which is like being at the SPA at this point!
Since we just did potato salad, I decided to post this broccoli slaw recipe I made back in December. Today I was out of the house all day and poor G is sick, sick, sick so I wasn’t able to make a new salad. But I’ve been meaning to post this one anyway since it was:
A. Easy
and
B. A success with the young-uns.
This is a great side dish. I served it with fried rice of all things (which was a weird paring but made sense since I wanted to use up my veg before leaving town). Not that you care about that…
This is really pretty, tasty & both my kids ate copious amounts of it which makes me love it.
Pardon the pictures. Not my best work. Taken at night. With my cell phone.
All ingredients are available at Trader Joe’s. Btw: this will go well with cabbage slaw too but Trader Joe’s happened to have the broccoli slaw ready to go.
Here’s all you need:
INGREDIENTS:
2 heads of broccoli OR 1 bag (undressed) broccoli slaw from Trader Joe’s
1/3 small red onion, finely chopped
Buttermilk Dressing
1/2 cup buttermilk, well-shaken (as usual, I had to MAKE buttermilk!)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (or, you could just use a little extra red onion to simplify it)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Chop broccoli into small pieces (or using food processor.) Mine was pre-cut from Trader Joe’s. I prefer cutting it myself if I have time but I don’t always! Toss broccoli with red onion in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together the dressing ingredients with salt & pepper to taste.
Pour over broccoli. (If you used 2 whole heads, the dressing amount should be right. If you use a bag of pre-cut slaw from Trader Joe’s – use a little at a time. You should have some left over.)
3. Toss to coat & season with salt & pepper to taste.
Yummy additions:
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 stalks chopped celery
Kids liked it and they probably wouldn’t appreciate the “yummy” additions.
These kids eat like wild animals. Or don’t eat at all.
2 heads of broccoli OR 1 bag (undressed) broccoli slaw from Trader Joe’s
⅓ small red onion, finely chopped
BUTTERMILK DRESSING
½ cup buttermilk, well-shaken
⅓ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (or, you could just use a little extra red onion to simplify it)
Instructions
Chop broccoli into small pieces (or using food processor.) Mine was pre-cut from Trader Joe’s. I prefer cutting it myself if I have time but I don’t always! Toss broccoli with red onion in a large bowl.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients with salt & pepper to taste.
Pour over broccoli. (If you used 2 whole heads, the dressing amount should be right. If you use a bag of pre-cut slaw from Trader Joe’s – use a little at a time. You should have some left over.)
Toss to coat & season with salt & pepper to taste.
Notes
Yummy additions:
½ cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted
⅓ cup dried cranberries
2 stalks chopped celery
I know, it’s wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too early in the year to start making potato salad. Hold on a minute? Says WHO? I felt like making this salad in March and so I did.
Lord knows, G will gag and possibly need to be hospitalized if he so much as smells mayonnaise. Also, although I love almost ANY kind of potato salad, I wanted to try a brighter, lighter version. This one is AMAZING and can be eaten room temp, warm or cold.
This salad has NO mayo.
All you need is:
and these: Please excuse that basket of junk in the back.
Here’s a gratuitous shot of the parsley from my garden:
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz green beans, trimmed & cut into 1-1/2″ pieces
3 lbs small red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, halved (if yours are medium-sized, then quarter them)
2 TBSP dry vermouth
2 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 large shallot, chopped
1 TBSP coarse-grained Dijon mustard
2/3 c olive oil
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
1. Boil beans in large pot of salted water until crisp/tender, about 4 minutes.
Drain. Transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain. Pat dry with a towel. (Or let drip dry, like I did!)
2. Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 12 minutes. Drain. Transfer to large bowl (I put them back in the pot to save dishes!) Sprinkle vermouth over hot potatoes. **NOTE: I had medium sized potatoes so I ended up cutting them into quarters. I think I overcooked them a tad but they were still excellent.**
Toss gently and let stand for 5 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, shallot, and mustard. Gradually whisk in oil.
Uh, YUM!
4. Pour over potatoes and toss gently to coat. Obviously, pre “tossing to coat.”
Cool completely. Mix in green beans and parsley. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
I love this salad!! It’s a little more “refined” maybe? Fresher & definitely lighter than the mayo based potato salad we all know and still love. (Except for those of us who gag and throw themselves on the floor at the sight or even thought of mayo ((Christina Lynch & George, you know I’m talking to you…))) Wow, those parenthesis are blinding me!
Normally, February is the darkest, most dread-filled, dreadful, month of the year for me. It comes after the holiday re-coup month (January) and it can feel like there’s nothing to look forward to. What am I rambling about? I’ve always despised holidays. And I absolutely HATE seeing all the Halloween merchandise at Ralph’s starting in August (that we all know was lovingly made in China and is heading straight for our landfills). But I digress, anyway, despite Bah Humbugging from October through January, I still got the post holiday blues every year. Things were different this year. January & February flew by this year. No dark depression. No sense of isolation, due to conversing mainly with very small people who sometimes remind me of a lunatic and a drunk. (No offense any lunatics or drunks reading this.) In fact, this year, we attended an impressive number of aptly named Happy Hours.
Cheers, Nana!
Besides the Happy Hours, what was the difference this year? This year G’s parents stayed on after Christmas in a cozy little apartment just off of Main Street. We were able to zip back and forth between our place and theirs and did, often. Maddie had a few sleepovers there, she had Fridays alone with Nana & Papa (which meant I had Fridays alone with mySELF!!) and we attended every Happy Hour we could find! Our favorite “kid friendly” ones were at M Street Kitchen and The Victorian. G and I got a few mountain bike rides in and even got away for one night while Jack & Patsy babysat. Amazing!
Basking in the sun outside Anthropologie. Nice!
Having family nearby for two solid months was so special in so many ways. Not only did we get a bit of time away from the kids, but the girls got special time WITH their grandparents. They got to hear “Yes” instead of “No.” and “NO. Wait, what did you ask me? Oh, NO.” And we also got to spend time with G’s parents. His sister and her new husband, Chris came out in January for a few days adding even more reason to be merry.
Sadly, February has finally come to an end despite Leap Year’s helping hand and G’s parents have returned to their home. There was a sense of emptiness coming home from LAX after we dropped them off. Still, the bad month has passed, holding the February dreads at bay for another year.
After Jack & Patsy left, I thought I ought to have a healthy goal for this month. Something to keep me occupied. Since I knew it wouldn’t involve exercise, I decided to do a salad a day for the month of March (and hopefully share the noteworthy ones on the blog.) One of my favorite Christmas gifts from my in-laws was “Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi.
The gorgeous pictures and mouthwatering recipes are truly enrapturing until it comes down to trying to actually gather some of the rather exotic ingredients. Fortunately one of the simplest recipes is for “Lettuce Salad.”
You all, I know I tend to describe my recipes as “yummy” and “tasty.” But all those yummy & tasty recipes make me sick now that I’ve tasted this salad. I am NOT kidding (except about the recipes making me sick)! This salad is unlike any salad I’ve had!!
I LOVE THIS SALAD.
It’s easy to make, (especially when you fudge some of the ingredients – dear Yotam, with all due respect, I was in the Ralph’s on Lincoln in Venice this AM. It’s not the nicest Ralph’s and they did not carry sun dried tomatoes, never mind sun KISSED. So I had to use the sun dried ones I had from Trader Joe’s. I know you, dear Yotam, do not like the “harsh flavor & texture” of sun dried tomatoes but I LOVED them in this salad! My palate is obviously not refined enough to know the difference. And that’s why I shopped at Ralph’s on Lincoln. Also, because I happened to be at the hardware store across the street beforehand.
Ralph’s on Lincoln: the proletariat market!!!
Anyway, of course this salad would be best with veg from the Farmer’s Market but since I was unable to get myself there this week, I had to make do. I’m happy to report, the results were amazing.
Use this recipe when you have guests over and are serving something rich. The beauty, brightness and complex flavors are sure to impress…
Here’s what you’ll need:
INGREDIENTS:
(all lettuces need to be rinsed & dried – dried being very important so the dressing can cling)
1 head of butter lettuce, leaves separated
1 head of radicchio, leaves separated & torn
1/2 head of curly lettuce (I used green lettuce), leaves separated
3 green onions, sliced thinly on a sharp angle
20 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 c sun dried tomatoes (or slow-roasted if you can find/make them)
2 TBSP capers, whole if small or very roughly chopped
Toss all that into a large salad or mixing bowl. Now make the dressing.
DRESSING INGREDIENTS
1 garlic clove, crushed
1-1/2 TBSP lemon juice
1-1/2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP grape seed oil (I didn’t have any so used more olive oil)
salt & black pepper
Whisk those ingredients together & add salt & pepper to taste. Pour salad dressing over the salad and toss gently. Transfter to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle capers over the top. AMAZING!!!!
After pronouncing it “DELICIOUS!” and eating 3 bites, she left it unattended. Three year olds!
Yesterday in L.A. it was cold out. And grey. What I mean is, we had to wear socks & jackets. But we didn’t – we wore flip flops.
Anyway, what better meal to come home to at the end of the day than a thick, warm soup with homemade croutons? Try this for your next Meatless Monday (since it’s now Tuesday…)
I made a barley vegetable soup a few month ago and it was really good but this one is WAY better. I had bought a bag of dried split peas a few weeks earlier because I thought they’d be tasty but I wasn’t sure exactly what to do with them. Since I still had some barley in my cupboard, I looked for a recipe combining the two and VOILA! With some adjustments I had a hearty, thick and really tasty soup. It called for croutons and since I didn’t have any I made ‘em! This is the first time and I want to tell you – make croutons as often as you have soup. They are REALLY easy to make & add that extra something that soup sometimes needs.
Here we go! You’ll need these items:
SOUP INGREDIENTS:
2 c dried yellow split peas, rinsed & drained
6 carrots, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 c pearl barley, rinsed & drained
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper, to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 TBSP olive oil
5 TBSP bouillon (I used vegetarian chicken flavored – you can also use vegetable broth or whatever you have on hand!)
10 c + 8 tsp water (adjust for desired thickness)
Let’s get started!
1. Saute chopped onions in the olive oil until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add crushed garlic for another minute. Be sure to stir occasionally to coat with oil.
2. Add carrots and celery. Stir to coat with oil and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
3. Add split peas and powdered bullion/water to pot OR vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, add bay leaf and barley.
5. Simmer covered for about 2 hours.
No, it’s not 1:20PM. 60 minutes + 60 minutes.
D’OH!!! That’s a long time.
6. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Add water/broth as needed. I like my soup sort of thick so I didn’t. Sprinkle some croutons on top & serve.
How to make the croutons??
You’ll need:
CROUTON INGREDIENTS:
6 oz whole grain bread, cut into 1/2″ cubes
Olive oil
2 TBSP butter (or, you can just use 2 more TBSP olive oil which is just as tasty)
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
NOTE: I used one of my homemade breads that I froze a few weeks earlier. If it doesn’t get eaten within the first day or so, I freeze it for croutons. I hadn’t actually made any croutons, EVER, but I knew I would! That said, you can use any old bread you have – so next time you have a couple of heels from your Oroweat sandwich loaf – wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or a ZipLoc and freeze ‘em!)
This is so easy!
1. Preheat oven to 375. Cut bread into 1/2″ cubes.
2. Heat olive oil in saucepan. Melt butter in oil over medium heat. (Incidentally, you can also just use oil if you prefer.)
3. Pour heated oil/butter and mustard over bread cubes & toss to coat.
4. Spread bread cubes across a cookie sheet evenly.
5. Bake for about 12 minutes. Taste one – it should be crunchy, not chewy. If it’s chewy return it to the oven for another 2 minutes.
Author: Christina Cox (soup adapted from Food.com, croutons from Annie’s Eats)
Recipe type: Soup
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Hearty, thick soup topped with crunchy croutons. Perfect for a chilly afternoon!
Ingredients
SOUP INGREDIENTS:
2 c dried yellow split peas, rinsed & drained
6 carrots, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
¾ c pearl barley, rinsed & drained
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper, to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 TBSP olive oil
5 TBSP bouillon (I used vegetarian chicken flavored – you can also use vegetable broth or whatever you have on hand!)
10 c + 8 tsp water (adjust for desired thickness)
CROUTON INGREDIENTS:
About 6 oz whole wheat (or whatever you have on hand) stale or frozen bread, cut into ½” cubes
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP butter (OR skip the butter and just add 2 TBSP more olive oil)
salt
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
Instructions
SOUP INSTRUCTIONS:
In a large pot, saute onion in olive oil for about 3-4 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic & sautee for 1 minute more.
Add chopped carrots and celery, sautéing for another 4 minutes.
Add split peas and water/bullion OR broth (depending what you have on hand.) Bring to a boil, then turn heat down and add bay leaf and barley.
Simmer for about 2 hours. Soup will be thick and cloudy (not clear.) Add water/broth to achieve your desired thickness. Or just leave it alone!
CROUTON INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375.
Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in small saucepan. Add butter (or just double the olive oil and omit the butter). When butter is melted, in a medium bowl, pour over bread cubes. Toss to coat.
Spread bread cubes evenly on a cookie sheet, salt to taste & bake for 12 minutes. Cool and test one cube. It should be crunchy. If it’s chewy, bake for another 2 minutes.
Notes
This actually might serve more than 6. Good in refrigerator for 3-4 days. They will stay good in the freezer up to 3 months.
