Teeny Weeny Turkey Panini

You know "panini" is plural, right?  So don't say, "paninis."  Or FOR GOD'S SAKE, "panini's."  I will hunt you down.  The singular is "panino," though I will forgive you if you don't say that because it does sound pretentious.

So as I was prepping to make this recipe, I grabbed a bag of pre-washed arugula out of the fridge ... and it felt ... crunchy.  And hard.  And compact.  When I opened it, I saw frost.  Upon investigation, I discovered someone had turned up the setting on my fridge to "max."  If it wasn't freezer-cold, it was damn close.

So I left the arugula out, which probably pleased the kids -- hey, that could have been a mastermind scheme to not have to eat arugula, now that I think of it.

I love this recipe.  More prep, less cooking.  Thirty minutes, max.

Smoked Turkey Club Panini
serves 4
Adapted from Cook's Country, June/July 2010

English Muffin Bread

I've been hoping to post more to the blog in the new year, and I currently have a little kitchen experiment running I hope to post about in a few weeks, but for now, I'll have to stick with shorter entries if I hope to get anything in here at all.

Youngest came down with a fever at the end of a grocery week -- as they always seem to; I should start stocking food like I'm prepping for an apocalypse -- and I knew the half of a loaf of bread and box of crackers in the house wasn't going to cut it for very long.  I've learned that with a household of two small kids and one adult, you can end up stuck home a very, very long time if illness hits.

So I went into a baking fervor to stock the breadbox and the freezer.  Which is painful, honestly, because I am trying valiantly to stop eating grains again.  I'm not ready to do that to the kids, though -- from a preparation and planning standpoint.  SO.

Of the things I baked, English Muffin Bread was the easiest and, I have to say, toasted and lavishly buttered -- the most delicious.  This is barely adapted from the April/May 2012 issue of Cook's Country magazine.

ENGLISH MUFFIN BREAD
Makes 2 loaves

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

I have a cold, or something, and it's pissing me off.  I don't have time for this bullshit.  I work out four to five days a week, take a handful of supplements at a time, and eat carefully so I can catch stupid colds?

Relax, I'm kidding.  I mean, I do have a cold, but I'm not that bitter about it.  (That bitter ... )

It's Sick-Inducing, Soup-Making kind of Weather.  I don't, however, have a chicken, so I had to figure something else out.  The canned pumpkin and black beans were sitting next to each other in the cabinet, looking guilty, which gave me ideas.

I found a few recipes online, but decided soup is too simple to be bothered.  I knew what I wanted, and that's what I made.

Pumpkin Walnut Muffins

These aren't, strictly speaking, healthy.  Grain issues aside, they contain a lot of sugar.  But, if you're going to have muffins anyway, these have a few things going for them.

For one, they're whole grain.  For two, they contain extra virgin coconut oil.  For three, pumpkin.  And walnuts.  And pumpkin.  Who doesn't love pumpkin?  Beta carotene, baby.

My grandfather once told me that some Italians were offended at being served pumpkin, as it was grown to feed pigs in some areas.  My grandmother was obviously unconcerned about this notion, as she cooked with pumpkin regularly in the fall and winter. However, this is a woman who also tried to serve us a zucchini cobbler, saying it was apple, so I'm guessing she wasn't too picky about what she stuck in her baked goods.

I'd like to try "primalizing" these muffins, by reducing and switching up the sweetener and flour, but these are a damn good start.

Pumpkin Walnut Muffins
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 12

Addictive Things

Since my time all summer has been short (as is my attention span often,) I have several long posts in the draft queue, waiting for images or editing or other revisions.

Rather than let it continue to languish, I figured I'd start a stupid new feature, Addictive Things, where I wax poetic about my latest food finds.

There's a catch, though.  That picture over there.  (I borrowed that from somewhere.  I don't remember where.  Thank you, person who made it.  I promise to link back someday soon.)

So just because I'm insane about something one day doesn't mean I will be in a month or two years or even a day.  I can't control it.  The switch flips randomly.  Sometimes it flips back, sometimes it doesn't.

Having said that, I give you ... Addictive Things.

Strawberry Pie

I don't get strawberries.  They look beautiful.  Strawberry flavor is compelling.  Yet, it's been so long since I had a strawberry that tastes the way I think a strawberry should taste, I don't actually know if I've ever had one.  Maybe the strawberry that exists in my imagination is actually a fantastic amalgam of fruit assumptions.  Most strawberries, to me, taste bland, watery and bordering on bitter.  Maybe I lack the gene to taste strawberries.  Who knows?

Yes, I've tried organic; yes, I've tried farmstands, pick-your-own, and CSAs. I vividly remember the last time I went strawberry picking.  Kneeling in the dirt in the brutally hot sun, half-heartedly filling baskets with fruit.  Every once in a while I'd pick one that looked especially promising and pop it in my mouth.  And then I'd pause and reflect and think to myself, "Seriously.  What the fuck?"

Strawberries cooked with sugar are, of course, an entirely different ballgame.

So when I saw the following recipe in the May/June 2011 issue of Cook's Illustrated, I was intrigued.  Combining a quick-cooked sweetened strawberry puree with fresh whole berries sounded promising.

The resulting pie was beautiful.  The lightly thickened puree united the berries together had a fantastic flavor, and in a good crust, with a decadent slather of lightly sweetened whipped cream, it was definitely edible.  Even enjoyable.

However.

Since the uncooked berries feature so prominently, they have to be good ones.  And that thing I said before about thinking they are possibly mythical fruit?  Yeah, that.  Even the organic berries were still supermarket berries, which impacted the flavor and texture of the pie.  Maybe local, farm market berries would merge more melodiously with the cooked puree.


I have another, similar recipe that I will have to try again for a fresh comparison.

But for all my complaining?  Yes, we totally ate it.  All of it.

You'll need a prebaked pie shell for this recipe.  I don't need to 'splain that part.  Right?  Right.


Strawberry Pie
serves 8

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

We have a new-ish tradition to have muffins every Sunday morning.  This was born out of an awkward gap in between t-ball and lacrosse that begged to be filled with breakfasty snackages. (Those are too words.)  Having my dad come to watch and help out gave me more motivation to make something nice to bring along.  So now it's Muffin Sunday!  (Muffin Monday would have a much nicer ring to it, but then, Mondays suck.)

I try to make a different flavor each week; Lemon Poppyseed is always a hit.  I think it's the sweet syrupy glaze.  Who can resist a syrupy glaze?


Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Makes one dozen

3 c all purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt