Zucchini, Bacon and Gruyere Quiche or Zucchini Explosion Part lll

Are you tired of zucchini yet?  Yes, like everyone else who has a vegetable garden, we've been eating a whole lot of zucchini.  When zucchini isn't the star of the meal, we've been eating the obvious side dishes: grilled zucchini, sautéed zucchini, zucchini with tomatoes sprinkled with a little feta cheese and on and on and on....
So the other night when Paul said, "I don't think we have anything in the house for dinner."  
I quickly replied, "Are you kidding, we have zucchini!"......  I thought I heard a groan.
I poked my head in the fridge and saw we really didn't have much in the house.  There was a small piece of Gruyere, eggs, milk, a little bit of cream, a few strips of bacon, some berries, salad greens, cucumbers, and two bottles of Guinness that have been hiding in the back for several months.  I opened my freezer drawer and saw a pie crust from...I don't know when.  Looks like we are having quiche.  Having a pie crust in the freezer made it a no brainer.   Although I would usually prefer to make my own crust, it was a warm humid night and even with the AC on, it wasn't the best of conditions to start messing with pie dough.  We were hungry, not picky.  It was already 6pm, so I defrosted the frozen dough in the microwave, grabbed the Gruyere, eggs, milk, cream, bacon and a few shallots I found hiding in my onion basket.  By 7:15 we were enjoying a piece of silky quiche, green salad and glass of Pinot Noir.  Not bad for having nothing in the house!

Pick Your Favorite Banana Bread

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am loving Joanne Chang's cookbook,  flour. Her banana bread recipe never disappoints.  The first few times I made it, I followed the recipe as written.  It was perfect as is, and there was really no reason to change it.  One Sunday morning a few weeks ago, we were headed into the city to see Melissa and Mike, so I decided to bake some banana bread.  I pulled out the recipe and began to assemble the ingredients.  I had four large bananas to use up, so I had to adjust the amounts of the other ingredients, producing more than enough batter to fill a single loaf pan.  I decided to bake it in mini loaf pans, allowing me to customize the add-ins.  Since I was adjusting the ingredients, I made a few other alterations to the recipe.   One thing I would not deviate from is Joanne Chang's technique of mixing the ingredients.  I think her technique is what sets this recipe apart from all the others.  She beats the eggs and sugar together for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy before adding the canola oil.  This is a key step.  Using a stand mixer makes the task a breeze.  If you follow the mixing technique, you will have the most perfectly textured banana bread that you have ever eaten...I promise.   

Melissa likes chocolate chips in her banana bread, no nuts.  Mike and Paul are very open minded, welcoming both nuts and chocolate chips.  I like nuts, no chips.  Mini loaves were definitely the way to go.  Everyone was happy.  I made them again this morning.  Over-ripened bananas tends to prompt banana bread baking around here.  Again, I went with mini loaves, this time adding a Nutella swirl loaf.  Since these loaves are baked in 6 x 2 1/2 x 2 inch paper molds, they are perfect for 2 people.  This recipe makes 4 loaves so you can share a loaf or two, or wrap up them up and freeze them for anytime that "I need a piece of banana bread" mood hits you.  Just take a loaf out of the freezer and allow to thaw about an hour before serving.  If you are wondering where you can get these nifty little paper cake molds, I purchased mine at Home Goods.  You can also find them at Sur La Table, King Arthur Flour or even Target.  An added bonus if you use paper molds...no need to grease the pan, just mix up the batter and pour it into the mold and bake.  I put the filled molds on a jelly roll pan to make it easier getting them in and out of the oven.  Just leave enough room for the air to circulate around each loaf.

Healthy Oatmeal Pancakes

In an effort to eat healthier this year, breakfast has become a very important meal.  Starting the day off with a meal that is filled with protein, whole grains and fruit. can pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day.  A healthy breakfast fills me up, boosts my energy level and will usually stave off hunger until late in the day.

It's difficult to eat a substantial breakfast on a work day.  I leave the house around 7:30AM and the thought of eating a big breakfast is the last thing on my mind.  The weekend is a different story.  I've always enjoyed making something special breakfast or brunch.  Weekend breakfasts are probably my favorite meal.  Unfortunately, they usually contains many of the foods we are trying to avoid.  In an effort to keep weekend breakfasts interesting, I needed to get creative.  I love pancakes, but I usually make them with white flour and top 'em off with butter and pure maple syrup.  I decided to make a healthier version.  These pancakes didn't require any special ingredients, just ingredients that I pretty much keep stocked in the house.  It does require the use of a food processor though.  I topped the pancakes with fresh berries, but a sauce made from frozen berries would be a good option if you can't get fresh.  This recipe made 12  three inch pancakes which fed me, Paul and another serving left over.  They are hearty pancakes! Leftovers can be wrapped and refrigerated.   For a quick weekday treat, just pop them in the microwave for a minute with some berries and you can pretend it's the weekend.

Snowy Morning Smoothies

     I don't know why, but when snow is predicted overnight, I have difficulty sleeping.  I wake up frequently and I'm compelled to look out the window.  It sort of makes sense if I had to go to work in the morning, but last night was Friday night, and whether it snowed or not really didn't matter.  Once I established in my brain that it was indeed snowing, I decided it would be a good morning to sleep in.  I tried, but Paul has been waking up early these days.  He has been very ambitious, tackling some long put off projects around the house.  But seriously folks, 5:00AM on a weekend???  He's not particularly loud or anything, he just pops his head in the bedroom every half hour or so, and if I stir, that gives him permission to speak.  
"Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee to drink in bed?"  
"No" I grumbled, not wanting to engage in conversation.  
About half an hour passed, "Do you want bagels this morning?" he asked.
"Why would I want bagels while I am sleeping (hint, hint)?  Besides, why would you want to eat bagels at all?"
     We've been making an effort to eat healthier this year and bagels with cream cheese doesn't fit the bill.  Actually, rather than feel totally deprived, we are trying to eat healthy Monday through Friday, reserving occasional indulgences for the weekend or special occasions.  Bagels just seem like an unnecessary indulgence so early in the game.  In a desperate attempt to get a little more sleep, I told him I would make him a smoothie when I got up.  He kept me to my word.  

Cranberry Maple Pecan Breakfast Cake

Almost a month has passed since I've posted anything, and it feels like an eternity.  We had a full house for Christmas week, and even though I did a lot of cooking, there was no time to take photos let alone write about what I had cooked.  The day after Matt and Lauren went back to Florida, we received the news that my father-in-law had passed away and we were off to California.  These past few weeks have felt like a whirlwind.

I'm home now and have come to realize that I sort of missed my routine.  Don't get me wrong, I loved having the kids home for Christmas.  And as sad as it was to say goodbye to Paul's father, we had the rare opportunity to have the entire Kipp clan together, a bittersweet gathering.  Time passes all too quickly, and with the family spread all over the country, it seems as if weddings and funerals are the only times we all get to be in one place.

So, I'm back in NY, I've gone back to work, and wouldn't you know it, it's a three day weekend!  I LOVE three day weekends.  They allow me time to do my normal weekend things, with a bonus day to play and do whatever I see fit to do.  My "play" usually involves some culinary or photographic adventure.  Since it was absolutely FREEZING this morning, I opted to bake something and play around with my new lens that I have been dying to put to use since Christmas.  I've been also browsing through a cookbook I received for Christmas, and decided to make a simple breakfast cake.  It was a very good decision.  It was quick and easy to prepare, and quite delicious.  I had plenty of time to play with my camera.  I'm still learning my camera, determined to avoid using the auto mode, so photographing anything takes time...I'll get there eventually.

Mom's Biscuits, and a Jam Tasting

My son Matthew was in town for a few days and as always,  there was too little time and too much to do.    He is a sucker for anything I cook, and always looks forward to home cooked anything.  Matt hates to make any specific food requests because as much as he enjoys my cooking, he doesn't want me to be slave to the kitchen when he is in town.  We usually strike a good balance with some home cooking and a visit to someplace for seafood, and the mandatory pizza.     

Matt's last visit was in June during strawberry season.  We all went strawberry picking back then.  He never got to see the fruits of our labor in jam form.  I made strawberry jam and strawberry rhubarb jam from that bounty.  As a matter of fact, he missed my whole jam packed, jam making summer.  I thought it would be fun to include a Jam Tasting in Sunday's breakfast.  You just can't taste jam straight out of the jar.  It needs a vehicle.  Well, when Matthew is home, the only vehicle of choice is biscuits.  Matthew loves biscuits.  I mean, he LOVES biscuits. So...I made some biscuits...and he tasted.

Pumpkin Pecan Belgian Waffles

Have you ever had one of those days where you just felt like you had eat something pumpkin?  Weird right?  I was out east for a few days where everything looked and felt like fall.  The wineries were buzzing as the grapes were being harvested.  Farm stands were at their best, brimming with cauliflower, broccoli, apples and beautiful fall chrysanthemums.  There were bales of hay, corn mazes and the most sincere pumpkin patches.  I was so looking forward to this little trip, a few days of tasting wine, dining on local seafood, and soaking up the NOFO ambiance,  but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and I had a nasty head cold the whole time.  Head cold + wine tasting= bad combination.  I went through "the motions" with everyone else, so not to be the party pooper,  but I felt as if my head was in a cloud and secretly longed to be under the covers in my own bed.  I did manage to shoot a few pictures one day.  The sun poked in and out between showers.

Looking toward Shelter Island

A break of sunshine

Cocopinabananut Muffins

My inspiration to bake these muffins was twofold.   I has some speckled bananas, some very ripe pineapple and some shredded coconut that has been hanging around in the fridge for a while.  I've been watching these bananas grow more and more speckled for the last 3 days.  They were on the verge of death and I know Paul was hoping for a banana bread.  It was Saturday morning and I was doing my - let's see what we forgot to eat this week in the veggie bin drawers - clean up.  I feel less guilty nowadays if I have to chuck a piece of fruit or some sad over-ripe veggie because they go straight to my compost bin.  Nothing is a complete waste anymore.  But still, if it can be eaten, that is the preferable route.  I was taking inventory of the things I stick on the bottom shelf of the fridge door when I came across a small bag of coconut and a bag of pecans.   I felt a wave of inspiration.

It was Saturday morning and I was looking at a three day weekend.  That translates into, I have plenty of time to waste and play with my camera.  I'm still getting used to my new Nikon and I'm determined to learn to take photos using manual settings.  If I am going to rely on "auto" there was no point for my upgrade.  That gave me the second reason to bake some muffins.  I need something to shoot.

Not Your Grandma's Cinnamon Buns

Let me start out by saying, Paul and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary this month.  For 30 years I've listened to Paul reminisce about his Grandma Mescher's cinnamon buns.  I'd venture to say that these "sacred" cinnamon buns have not touched his lips in over 45 years, yet their memory remains strong.  Years ago I asked my mother-in-law if she had the sacred recipe, but unfortunately, she did not.  Every cinnamon bun that crosses his path is held in comparison to the esteemed Grandma's Mescher's cinnamon buns.  For as long as I've known Paul, he has been on a quest to find the perfect cinnamon bun. He has never found one that measured up, but he has enjoyed the journey. I've made several attempts to satisfy Paul's memory for cinnamon buns, but they have been nothing more than a valiant effort.

The other day I was thumbing through some old issues of Fine Cooking magazine, when I stumbled upon a recipe for Fastest Cinnamon Buns.  I was intrigued.  The author claimed that these cinnamon buns can be whipped up in less than an hour.  Really?  Obviously if they were "fast" they could not be made with yeast.  I was anticipating they would be a biscuit in disguise.  Cinnamon buns usually require a huge commitment of time which is why I tend not to go there.  It really doesn't make sense to me to spend so much time making something that you really shouldn't be eating anyway.  I kind of have my own formula worked out in my head.  It's my "time commitment food value ratio, which I divided by my taste and appeal ratio".  Anyway, I'm also leery of recipes with the word fastest in the title.  Nevertheless I kept reading.  What really intrigued me was the presence of buttermilk and cottage cheese in the recipe.

Those two ingredients could potentially result in a light and moist cinnamon bun and not turn out like a biscuit.  It was worth a try.  Heck, it was just an hour's commitment.

It was true.  These buns can be whipped up in less than an hour.  It was amazing.  When Paul walked into the kitchen in the morning, his nose was desperately sniffing the air.  Poor thing, between his allergies and his broken nose, his olfactory senses are shot.  "I know you are baking something" he said, "but my nose isn't working."  As I cracked the oven door, a smile came over his face like a child on Christmas morning.

These buns did not disappoint.  They were fragrant, light, gooey, tender, moist, and most of all delicious.  When all was said and done, Paul was a happy camper.  A definite two thumbs up!  No, they were not his Grandma's cinnamon buns.  I've decided that those buns only live in his memory.  And I wonder, after all this time, does he really remember how they tasted?

Good Morning Granola

Have you ever had homemade granola?  It's one of the simplest things to make, and in my opinion, tastes  far superior to any packaged granola.  When you make your own granola you can develop your own custom blend, controlling the amount of sugar, oil, and add-ins like fruit and nuts.  The possibilities are endless.  It's not a science, there is a basic formula I follow;  8 cups of dry and 1 cup of wet, bake, then mix in some dried fruit and voila... granola!

Suggestions for dry ingredients, use your imagination to total 8 cups:

• Rolled oats
• Wheat germ
• Flax seed
• Almonds
• Pecans
• Walnuts
• Hazelnuts
• Sesame seeds
• Coconut
• Wheat bran

Suggestions for wet ingredients, use a combination to total 1 cup:

• Canola oil
• Honey
• Agave nectar
• Molasses
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Maple syrup

You can also add a teaspoon of vanilla, orange zest or your favorite spices to the wet ingredients.

Any dried fruit add-ins are combined after baking.

Make It A Blueberry Oatmeal Pancake Weekend!

Pancakes make me happy.  I'm not sure why, they just do.  Or maybe it's the other way around.  Maybe when I'm happy I want pancakes.  Really, when do you eat pancakes?  Weekends?  Snow days?  On vacation?  Which came first, being happy or pancakes?

Growing up, pancakes were like "the special occasion" breakfast.  We ate pancakes the first day of summer vacation.  We'd have pancakes on Christmas morning.  My mother didn't make pancakes just any old time; she made them to celebrate something special.  There were a few times we actually got to eat pancakes for dinner when my dad was out of town on business.   My dad did not like pancakes.  For the longest time I did not understand how he could not share in my love of those heavenly, fluffy vehicles for maple syrup.  It wasn't until I was about 12 years old,  begging to go to IHOP while our family was on vacation, that my dad shared his story of the origin of his pancake avoidance.   During WWII he served in the Navy on a ship in the South Pacific.  The ship was at sea for quite some time and had run out of rations.  The only thing they had left to cook was pancake mix.  My dad and his shipmates ate pancakes for something like 28 days, two meals a day.  Hmmmm....so what was the problem?  I guess they didn't have any real maple syrup.

The first thing I ever made from scratch was a batch pancakes.  I made some pancakes for my brother and his friends.  I was trying to impress the boys with my culinary skills, but my pancakes were not the light and fluffy pancakes that I envisioned.  I don't know where I went wrong, but they were dense and well....inedible.  I was horrified to see my brother's friends playing Frisbee with my pancakes in our back yard. 

I can say with confidence that my pancake making skills have improved.  The apple did not fall far from the tree, as pancakes are one of Melissa's favorites as well.  I've experimented with recipes over the years, and she has always been a difficult customer since she likes Bisquick pancakes and doesn't understand my my quest to make the perfect buttermilk pancake.  Since she has been eating healthy the past few months,  I thought she'd be open to trying my newly concocted Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes for breakfast when she visited last weekend.  Like I said, she's always been a difficult customer....when I asked her opinion I got, "they're OK".  I translated that into a SUCCESS.  We all really liked them and I hope you do too.

Cranberry Orange Scones

I think a good scone is one of the most perfect baked goods.  In my opinion, a good scone is light and flaky, with a touch of sweetness, and most importantly, it can stand on its own.  It does not need jam or heaven forbid, more butter to make complete.  It is perfect all by itself, along side a cup of coffee or tea.

I think Ina Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa, is the queen of scones.  She is also the queen of cream and butter.  I have experimented with her scone recipes for a while now, and I've decided that low fat buttermilk is an acceptable substitute for heavy cream in her scone recipes.  I have tried to reduce the amount of butter she uses, but quite frankly, if you reduce the amount of butter too much it changes the texture and the integrity of the scones.  If you are not willing to use some butter in a recipe, don't bother making scones.

The key to making good scones is making sure butter your butter is ice cold and work quickly.  As a matter of fact, your buttermilk or cream should be very cold as well. If you handle the dough too much, the heat from your hands will melt the butter and will result in dense scones.  You want to see small bits of butter in your dough. This dough freezes well too.  You can mix up a batch, cut them out and freeze them before you bake them.  I put the cut-out scones on a pan lined with a silpat, place the pan in the freezer, and freeze for about an hour.  After they are frozen, I remove them from the pan and pop them into a ziplock freezer bag and keep them for a rainy day. When you want to bake them, just pop them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or silpat, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar.  They do not need to be defrosted and take just 5 minutes longer to bake.
  

This recipe makes a lot of scones.  I made a batch for our October staff meeting along with Pumkin Ginger Nut Muffins that can be found on Simply Recipes.

I think I ended up with 20 scones.  Obviously, you can change the yield by using a different sized cutter.  If you don't want 20 scones, cut the recipe in half. I usually cut the recipe in half, and still freeze half.  It's a good idea to only bake as many as you will consume in a day or two. 

An Early Scone Season: Cranberry Almond Scones

Sunday was a beautiful dry and breezy day.  The evening was cool and delightful. So what the heck, I thought, let's brave it and not turn the air conditioner on tonight.  I am somewhat addicted to the white noise of my air conditioner.  I think my pup Sweetpea is too.  It blocks out all the random street (and air) noises that are a part of suburban living.  I usually hate the air conditioner-to-open-window transition period.  The drone of airplanes and distant trains, the sound of the newspaper delivery person's car and the "FLOP" of the paper hitting the sidewalk, not to mention the scream of a motorcycle at 2:00AM tearing down the Southern State Parkway, all drive me crazy.  Oh, and how can I forget the birds? I thought birds woke up at dawn. Not in my neighborhood!  At 3:00AM they're having a party.  If I manage to sleep through any of these annoyances, Sweetpea does not.

Much to my AMAZEMENT, it was an eerily quite night. I had a wonderful night's sleep. It was so quiet I don't even think Sweetpea woke up until the newspaper was delivered....not bad. I can't help but wonder, what happened to the birds?  And the strangest thing of all....I was cold!  Yes, it was downright chilly!  I pried myself from under the covers and headed to the kitchen  It was 53degrees outside.  I don't know what the temperature was inside the house, but since we had left several windows open, there was a definite nip in the air.  

A perfect reason to light the oven I thought.  I checked out the pantry and my eyes focused on a sack of oat flour that I picked up at the King Arthur Baker's Center in Vermont a few weeks ago.  I had some buttermilk that I wanted to use up as well.

 and then I remembered my new fluted cutters from King Arthur's...

SCONES!   ...It's a perfect morning for scones. 

I'm Lovin' Those Blueberries, Muffins, That Is!

Blueberries are awesome.  I haven't always felt this way about blueberries.  As a matter of fact, I can remember a time when I avoided blueberries at all cost.  I think I was traumatized by  blueberries when I was a child.  It must have been another 20 years before I saw the light.

The fresher the blueberries the better.  I am a firm believer in eating local produce that is in season.  I eat some blueberries everyday during the summer months... blueberries with Greek yogurt, blueberries and strawberries with cottage cheese or just a bunch of blueberries mixed with some melon and peaches....Blueberries are one of those "super-foods"   http://www.womenfitness.net/blueberries.htm.

Sometimes you want more than just pop-em-in-your-mouth fresh blueberries. Blueberries that are baked in a tart or pie, or simmered into a jam are raised to another level...and sometimes you just need to go there.  Why not start your day on a high note with a  Blueberry Muffin?  These muffins are an adaptation of a recipe that I found in my mother's recipe box.  It was hand written on an index card, and not in her hand writing.  I don't know who to credit for their goodness....but thank you mystery baker.