Ditching the raisins

May your cookie jar be ever overflowing

I love me some oatmeal cookies, but I have never understood the necessity of putting raisins in them. What is it about oatmeal that it apparently NEEDS raisins? Most of the time, I'm simply not fond of raisins (especially that possibility of getting one that is gritty inside, which simply sets my teeth on edge). Other grape products, and the grape itself, are so much more palatable, I find. Raisins also bring back bad memories of the time when my son, aged 2, ate a whole bowl of raisins at a party, unnoticed by his clearly derelict mother, and then had a night of painful indigestion and bloating, relieved only by lying on top of his father in our bed, while his dad rubbed his swollen belly, and our son moaned and...err... relieved himself of the excess gas in the .... err... usual fashion (well, the least socially acceptable fashion of the two usual means of gas expulsion). It was not a night to remember, well, not for the right reasons. So, let's just say raisins aren't popular in our house.

However, that isn't to say that oatmeal cookies are unpopular - oh no! So I came up with this recipe for a more acceptable version of the classic. If I do say so myself, it is rather delicious, and will hopefully help to dispel you all of the myth that oatmeal cookies need raisins.


Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
(makes 25 large cookies)

1/2 cup unsalted butter plus 6 TBSP, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup golden granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup wholewheat flour
3/4 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat butter and sugars together in a large bowl until creamy.
3. Add vanilla and eggs, one by one, beating after each addition.
4. In another bowl, combine flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add combined mixture to butter and egg mixture and mix well.
5. Use a large ice-cream scoop (1.5" across) to scoop mounds of the dough on to ungreased cookie sheets.
6. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until light golden brown.
7. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheets and then use spatula to remove them to wire rack to cool completely.

Creamy, dreamy, ooey and gooey

Quite frankly, what more could you possibly want from a pasta bake? This one is a regular in our house, in part because although it is a creamy sauce, it is not made with cream, so you don't feel quite as guilt-ridden as you might when you have a plate-ful. After all, as Jamie Oliver would no doubt agree, sometimes you really do want that piece of chocolate cake as well.

The original recipe for this came from Cooking Light, and had rotisserie chicken in it too. It is delicious with chicken, no doubt, but I often make it as it appears here, in a vegetarian (although unashamedly NOT vegan) version.

Three Cheese Penne Florentine
serves 8

olive oil
olive oil cooking spray
3 cups thinly sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 TBSP chopped fresh oregano
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 16 oz carton low fat cottage cheese
1 pack of hot cooked wholewheat penne (11oz uncooked)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup 2% reduced fat milk
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed reduced-fat & sodium mushroom soup, undiluted

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion and bell pepper and saute for 4 minutes until tender. Add spinach, oregano and black pepper and continue to cook until spinach is wilted.
3. Place cottage cheese in food processor and process until very smooth.
4. In a large bowl, combine spinach mixture, hot pasta, cottage cheese, milk, pasta, 3/4 cup cheddar, 1/4 cup parmesan and soup.
5. Spoon mixture into a baking dish (approx 9" x 13''), coated with oil spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar and 1/4 cup parmesan.
6. Bake at 425 degrees F for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

Mulliga-what-what?

A good friend and I have long been on a mission to increase the usage of certain sadly underused words in the English language. Quite frankly, words like kerfuffle and discombobulated deserve far greater recognition and regular outings in everyday conversation. Another such sadly ignored but delightful word is mulligatawny. How delicious-sounding is that? (and yes, of course delicious-sounding is a real word...)

The word mulligatawny is an Anglicized version of a Tamil word meaning 'pepper water' or 'pepper broth', and refers to a curried soup (some of you American readers may recognize it as one of Seinfeld's Soup Nazi's popular dishes). As many of you probably know, the Brits got a little above their station in centuries past and went out and colonized a whole host of other countries the world over, countries which now form part of the Commonwealth. Sixteen of the fifty four Commonwealth countries still have the British monarch as their figurehead. As if that wasn't recompense enough for being subjugated by pasty white Brits for decades, all fifty four also get to take part in the Commonwealth Games, which is kind of like the Olympics, only easier to win medals in, since the USA, China and Russia aren't there. Anyway, I digress. Fact is that the British stationed in India during the time of the British Empire became rather fond of many of the traditional dishes they found there, and brought them home with them. A few more decades of tweaking and twisting to suit British tastes, and you end up with dishes like Mulligatawny.

This recipe comes from a new cookbook I was given recently:

Jamie Oliver is rather a force to be reckoned with in British cooking these days, and has also ventured across the pond to spread his gospel in the ABC show 'Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution' where he took aim at the rising obesity epidemic in the US. He is a man after my own heart in many ways. Firstly, he too believes in reintroducing sadly underused words, one of his favorite being pukka (which incidentally also originates from the British colonization of India, coming from a Hindi and Urdu word literally meaning 'cooked, ripe' and used figuratively in British slang to mean 'for real, genuine'). He also uses words which just sound fabulous (I'm pretty sure he would be a fan of kerfuffle), like blip  (dishes don't bubble or simmer in Jamie's kitchen, they blip), and lug (he doesn't measure out a TBSP, but just throws in a lug of olive oil).

Secondly, he has a common sense attitude to food and eating, which I can wholeheartedly agree with, as shown by this section on his 'Food Philosophy' from his website:

"My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life's greatest joys yet we've reached this really sad point where we're turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: if you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that's alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don't eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards."

Yes! THANK YOU!

I tweaked Jamie's recipe a little to make it less of a soup and more of a main dish, and it worked beautifully. Although it has curry spices, it really isn't hot and all three kids slurped it up, then wiped the bowl clean with bread. They were certainly not discombobulated by the experience, and there was no kerfuffle (well no more than usually at dinner time at the Farrar table). If there were ever a dish that deserved to be described as pukka, I believe this is it.

Mighty Mulligatawny
Serves 6

olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1" piece of ginger root, grated
1 red chile, seeded and finely chopped
small bunch of cilantro (coriander leaves in UK)
2 heaped TBSP Patak's mild curry paste (Cost Plus has this, if you can only get medium/hot, then halve quantity)
1 heaped TBSP tomato paste
salt and pepper
3 TBSP HP sauce (Cost Plus again. If you can't get it, then substitute a few good squirts of Worcestershire sauce and some more tomato paste)
5 cups beef stock
1/2 butternut squash (about 12 oz)
3/4 tsp garam masala
1 1/3 cups basmati rice
plain Greek yoghurt to serve

1. In a large pan, brown the beef with olive oil. Should take around 7 minutes, by which time beef should be broken up and starting to turn golden. Stir in onion, carrot, garlic, red bell pepper, ginger and chile, and a splash more oil. Cut off the cilantro leaves and set aside for later, then chop the stalks finely to give 1/4 cup. Add stalks to pan. Cook and stir for around 10 minutes on a medium heat until vegetables have softened.
2. Stir in curry paste, tomato paste, salt and pepper and HP sauce. After a few more minutes, add stock and bring to boil. Put lid on, and leave to bubble gently over medium-low heat for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile cut squash into 1/2" chunks. There is no need to peel it (I was surprised at this, but trust me, it is fine!). In a smaller pan, put a couple of TBSP of olive oil and add squash and garam masala. Put lid on pan and cook for around 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring every few minutes, until squash is softened and golden. Add rice, salt, pepper and 2 2/3 cups water and bring to boil. Put lid on and cook for 8 minutes over medium-low heat. Then turn heat off and leave to steam for further 8 minutes.
4. Fluff the rice up and then tip into the meat mixture and stir together.
5. Serve in bowls with a dollop of yoghurt on the top and a sprinkle of roughly chopped cilantro leaves.

The sign of a job well done

You know when you have got it right, culinarily speaking, in our house. This is what you see:

 

(occasionally accompanied by a similar mess on the floor). If their evil wife/mother was any more lax with table manners, then she would let them simply lick the plate, and there would be even less evidence of the deliciousness that came before.

This weekend's crumbs came courtesy of an amazing cake recipe I found in Cooking Light magazine. In my more gullible moments, I like to think this means that it is therefore healthy, not fattening, and full of useful vitamins and stuff. Whether you join me in my gullible state or not, you simply have to agree that this one is delicious, and it will definitely be making another appearance chez Farrar some time soon. It definitely isn't a 'whip-out-a-bowl-a-couple-of-eggs-stir-and-bake-hey-presto' kind of cake, but the additional effort is well worth it, as the detritus above serves to prove.

Tropical Gingerbread Cake

cake:
oil spray
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 TBSP grated peeled fresh ginger root
2 large egg yolks
2 TBSP molasses
3/4 cup light coconut milk
4 large egg whites

frosting:
3 large egg whites
dash of salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

remaining ingredients:
1/3 cup orange marmelade
1/4 cup sliced crystallized candied stem ginger (or toasted flaked sweetened coconut, as in original)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly spray two 9" cake pans with oil spray.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and stir with a whisk.
4. Place butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and ginger in a large bowl and beat at medium speed until well blended (about 5 mins). Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in molasses. At low speed, add flour mixture alternately with coconut milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
5. Place 4 egg whites in a large clean bowl. Beat with mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 TBSP at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.
6. Gently stir 1/4 of egg white mixture into batter, then gently fold in the remainder of the egg white mixture. Pour batter into prepared cake pans.
7. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, and then turn out on to a cooling rack to cool completely.
8. To prepare frosting, place 3 egg whites and dash of salt in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on high speed until foamy. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to boil, then cook without stirring until temperature reaches 250 degrees F (I don't have a candy thermometer, so used a coffee thermometer I have that goes up to 220 and just guessed after that. The mixture started to caramelize and go brown shortly after it reached 220, so I stopped there.) Pour hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over the egg white mixture, beating at high speed all the time, until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla.
9. To assemble, place one cake layer on a plate and spread with the marmelade, then 1 cup of the frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over sides and top of assempted cake. Sprinkle top with ginger/coconut. Store loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Breakfast of Champions

During the week, the Farrars are lucky if they have time to spread cream cheese on a bagel in the mornings. And said bagel often ends up being eaten out of a box in the car on the way to school ("Don't get cream cheese on your shirt!") It doesn't seem to matter what time we wake up, it is always chaos; loud, disorganized, frantic, discombobulated.... well, chaotic chaos.

The weekends is a different matter! On Saturdays and Sundays, we relish not having to run out to the door followed by a checklist of  "Do you have your homework? Do you have your lunchbox? Do you have your phone? Where is your ballet stuff? No wrong car, the other one!" Of course, this is only replaced by a different kind of chaos which sounds something like this: "Quit fighting over the remote! No, it is not your turn with the iPad until the timer goes off! I realize you are in the middle of a very critical stage in Skylanders darling, but you clearly desperately need the bathroom, so pause it! then run, don't walk! No, I do not know why the DS isn't working. Yes, watching YouTube videos on your phone DOES count towards your screentime allowance..." It is no less loud, but at least it doesn't take place on the driveway where the neighbors can hear!

The rule in our house is that we eat breakfast late, and you can have screen time until that point, but not beyond, at least until the evening. In order to lure them away from the likes of Minecraft and the Xbox, breakfast needs to be good though. This is one of my favorite pancake recipes, which usually does the trick. Oh OK, it sometimes works, especially when in combination with the threat of lost allowance...

Cinnamon Pecan Pancakes
(Makes 18 4" pancakes)

2 large eggs
1 cup AP flour
1 cup wholewheat flour
1 1/2 cups milk
3 TBSP packed brown sugar
4 TBSP canola oil
2 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
canola oil spray

1. Beat eggs until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients (except oil spray) and beat until just smooth.
2. Heat a griddle over medium heat, and grease with oil spray.
3. Use a 1/4 cup measure to pour individual pancakes on to the griddle. Cook until browned underneath and then flip to cook other side until golden brown.

Serve with maple syrup and fresh fruit (we like bananas and strawberries...quite frankly, who doesn't!)

A rising obsession..

I am falling in love with my bread maker all over again. I had forgotten how fulfilling it was. Don't get me wrong, we have had a stable relationship for some time, but we had been together for a long time and found we always did the same thing. We were in a rut, a tasty rut, no doubt, but a rut. We needed to invest more time and effort in our relationship, ring the changes, find new and exciting ways to connect. So, since the bread machine itself was making no effort to inject a bit of excitement into our union, I decided to take the initiative, and dusted off some old cookbooks and got googling. Two of this week's results are shown below. As you can see, our relationship feels new and fresh, and all thoughts of separation, or indeed nipping down to Safeway to buy a ready-made alternative are shelved.

Parmesan Garlic Rolls (from Food.com)
Makes about 28 mini rolls

1 cup water
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 TBSP butter
3 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP non-fat dried milk powder
2 tsp yeast
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 TBSP parmesan cheese (I used more than this)

1. Place first 7 ingredients in breadmaker pan and select dough cycle.
2. When cycle is finished, turn dough onto a floured countertop and divide into 28 1" diameter balls.
3. Grease a 13" x 9" pan with oil spray.
4. Place dough balls into pan evenly spaced. There will be gaps between them at this point.
5. Mix melted butter and garlic and pour over rolls, using a pastry brush to ensure that the top of each gets a coating.
6. Sprinkle with parmesan
9. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes-1 hour. By this point, the rolls should have doubled in size and may be touching each other. This is fine!
10. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and rolls should just pull apart. Serve warm if possible!

Olive and Pesto Focaccia
from Better Homes and Gardens' 'Best Bread Machine Recipes'

3/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups bread flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup coarsely chopped green olives stuffed with pimentos
1/4 cup pesto

1. Add all ingredients except for pesto to breadmaker pan. Select dough cycle (for 1.5lb loaf)
2. When cycle is complete, remove dough from machine and place on a pizza pan, sprayed lightly with olive oil spray.
3. Use fingers to flatter dough into large circle about 1" deep, and dimple the surface lightly with finger tips.
4. Spread pesto over top of dough.
5. Leave in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes-1 hour, by which point, dough should have doubled in size.
6. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes until golden brown. Pesto will brown in the oven, but still taste delicious!

This loaf tastes very slightly of olives - just enough to give it a slight tang while not turning kids off! Mine didn't know there were olives in there, just another white lie of omission perpetrated by their mother!

Get Stuffed!

Yes, we Brits are renowned for our politeness. James Bond would lure an enemy to his demise by inviting him to "Perhaps you should succumb to my superior strength and prowess" where an American hero would no doubt tell his opponent to "Eat dirt, sucker!" Thus, I hope you can conclude that the title of today's post is not an invitation to leave, but rather an invitation to stuff some vegetables with deliciousness and create a veritable vegetarian feast.

The vegetables in question are bell peppers and portobello mushrooms, no doubt delicious as they are (although I have at least two children who might question that suggestion with regard to the latter). The two recipes that follow serve to make them even more irresistable however, and are favorites in the Farrar household (well, they at least eat the stuffing out of the mushrooms, even if the receptacle itself is subject to rejection).

The bell pepper recipe comes courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis, and is my favourite stuffed pepper recipe in part because she cooks the peppers surrounded by stock, and for a long time, so unlike with many stuffed pepper dishes, the peppers themselves are softened and fully cooked, whilst still holding their shape. I find that, with recipes that don't do this, the peppers stay pretty raw by the time the stuffing is cooked. The second reason why this is a hit with all five Farrars is that it uses mint, which is unexpected and just completely delicious!

The mushroom recipe comes from Good Food magazine, but all the ingredients are widely available in both the US and UK. There is something about the combination of pesto, lemon and cheese that just makes you feel happy.


Orzo-Stuffed Peppers
(4-6 servings)

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 medium zucchini, grated
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino/parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 cups low sodium chicken/vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
6 sweet bell peppers (red/yellow)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, stir together zucchini, mint, tomatoes, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.
3. Bring broth to boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add orzo and cook for 4 minutes. The orzo will only be partially cooked. Drain through a sieve, reserving the broth, and add orzo to the zucchini mixture. Stir to combine. Transfer the reserved broth to a 3 qt baking dish (I use a large stoneware dish, approx 15" x 8")
4. Slice to tops off the peppers and carefully remove the ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice off the bottom so that they will stand up.
5. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers and place them in the baking dish with the warmed broth.
6. Cover dish loosly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle with the extra pecorino/parmesan. Continue baking (uncovered) until cheese is golden (about 15 minutes).
7. Remove from oven and gently transfer peppers to serving dish. Garnish with basil.

"We'll eat all of these, but we're not touching the mushrooms!"

Crunchy Pesto and Mozzarella Baked Mushrooms
(Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as part of a larger meal)

2 TBSP olive oil
Olive oil spray
1 onion, chopped
4 large portobello mushrooms, stalks removed and finely chopped
4 oz mascarpone
zest of one small lemon, or half a large lemon
4 TBSP pesto
5 oz ball mozzarella (i.e. not the dry block stuff, but the wet one that comes in liquid), cubed
1 oz dried breadcrumbs

1. Heat olive oil in small pan and cook onions and mushrooms stalks until soft (5-8 mins). Tip into a bowl and allow to cool slightly. Add mascarpone, lemon zest, pesto, mozzarella and seasoning.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. With oil spray, grease a roasting tin large enough to accommodate the mushrooms, upside down, in a single layer. Divide stuffing between mushrooms, spreading out to fill the middle of each one. Top with crumbs and grinding of black pepper.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes until mushrooms are tender and topping is crisp.