JC handmade

more pink

i love pink sauce.  actually, anything cream-based is extraordinary in my book, really.  but let's be real here - cream is not the friend of almost 40-year-old curves (ahem) and general arterial flow. the traditional recipe (according to our favorite italian restaurant) is 50% marinara and 50% alfredo sauce.  yes, you read that right.  don't be fooled by that pretty pink at your local cucina.

but i have been regularly doing a substantial number of cooking light recipes (or the like) that i felt comfortable trying my hand at making a healthy + tasty alternative to my beloved pink sauce.  oh yeah, and it's super easy.

put the tomatoes aand about a cup of the cottage cheese in your blender, whizz it up and add chicken stock to thin it to your personal preference.  i made the ravioli first, drained them and while they sat in the collander (also pink - what's up with this place) i quickly heated the sauce through in that same pan and then ladled it over the "cheesy noodle pockets" on our plates.  some of us (cough cough) ate extra sauce by the spoonful (like soup) when we were done with the pasta.  yum.

one pot cookery

also known as "i hate to do the dishes" - i developed a quicky method of cooking a pasta dinner in just one pot.  not reinventing the wheel or anything here, just new to me and it works really well for a variety of meals on the quick.  here's the skinny ::

boil water in a big pot & assemble your ingredients.

i typically use a short pasta, 2+ veggies and a protein.  this time it was shellfish, but you could use any fish, meat or tofu.  just precook the protein unless you are going to quick-cook it in the water as i do with the shrimp in this recipe.

once the water is boiling, add some salt and them blanch each of your veggies for just a minute and remove them to a separate bowl.  (i actually used my serving bowl because i really really hate doing the dishes.)  you could do an ice water bath, if you really want to assert your inner chef.  not me.

bring it back to a boil and throw in the pasta.  if you are cooking shrimp, add it in and remove it after a few minutes when it's pink and opaque and all curled up.

drain the pasta when it's done and save some of the pasta water.  slosh a bit of olive oil in the pot and add a few crushed cloves of garlic for a minute, then return the veggies to the pot.  stir stir stir, and then slosh back in some of the pasta water to make a poor man's (a.k.a. watching-one's-dietary-intake) sauce.  yes, i would have totally added cream to this in the past, but that's not really a wise everyday-meal kind of decision and i finally recognize that.  finally.  at 39.  ahem.

toss all of this with the pasta & shrimp to warm everything through and meld the flavors.

serve with a round of goat cheese and not a speck of guilt.

enjoy!

i hope to have a few FOs to show tomorrow along with news of next week's shop update.  i hope.  at least i can take these little projects along with me tomorrow... i'll be the one outside the girls' gym class doing the handsewing.  the last few weeks i've been knitting, so this is bound to shake things up a bit.  xoxo

go ahead, have one. you'll thank me.

i try to bake some sort of quick bread each week, almost always a recipe from cooking light because they have an amazing way of trimming down your favorite recipes while maintaining the flavors and textures you love.  the rewards are many - dh has something he can grab for breakfast without thinking about it at 4:30am, the girls and i have a yummy alternative to the breakfast-funk we get ourselves into every so often, and we get to bake together which is such big fun.  and i admit it - i am a closet donna reed fan.

this is my muffin version of the Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread which rids you of any portion-control issue you might have with a loaf.  i ask you :: who cuts a loaf into 16 portions?  there is not much satisfying about a skinny slice of anything.  but a muffin?  a WHOLE muffin!  now that is definitely the best 183 calories i've had in a while.  way to balance out the universe, cooking light.  i heart you.

feeling weak

and really wanting chocolate.  open-a-bag-of-chocolate-chips craving it.  swipe-a-handful-of-the-girls'-good-job-on-the-potty-m&ms kind of hankering for it.  but dh and i are being so so good and damn if there wasn't any chocolate in the house.  other than green+black's hot chocolate mix, and a drink just doesn't count.  i wanted to eat it.  lots of it.

so i gave in.  sort of.

ingredients in the pantry and it's lower in calories than the tiniest spoonful of ben & jerrys... which we don't have in the house anyway.

weakness cake (a.k.a. chocolate applesauce cake)

• 1+1/3 c. flour
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder ( i used dark cocoa powder, which is why it's SO dark)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. egg substitute
• 3 Tbsp. reduced calorie margarine, melted
• 1+1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce

dry with dry, wet with wet, wet into dry, batter into pan, lick the bowl, bake 25 min @ 350 until toothpick comes out clean.  makes 8 servings, give each a dollop of fake coolwhip. oh yeah.

quite satisfying... ok, not so much as nigella's chocolate loaf cake.  but it will do, i tell you.  and after sneaking in a run this afternoon and then dinner with yet another new veggie (hello edamame!), i'm feeling rather virtuous.  it will do, indeed.  xoxo

fennel - fear it not

you read that right, there's a thumb's-up for fennel.  the secret for our first go with the beastly bulb was to disguise it ::

this recipe came to me by way of simone - we have her to thank for a most delicious dinner on an icy night that most certainly warranted a steaming bowl of soup.  she suggested hiding the fennel - brilliant!  what i loved about her translation of the recipe was that it included so many options for toppings - you can take a simple soup in so many directions - we varied it up a bit to suit our tastes.  the velvety texture and savory goodness of the soup made it a winner all around.

creamy potato, fennel and leek soup with pancetta

• pancetta (or bacon of your liking)
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-3 leeks, washed well & chopped
• 1 bulb of fennel, sliced (we didn't use the green feathery bits, but they'd be a lovely garnish)
• 2-3 lbs of potatoes (we used yukon gold), peeled & cut into cubes
• 1 large can or box of vegetable broth
• water
• 1 cup of cream or half & half

in your soup pot, render the pancetta and remove it to drain on paper towels when it's all crispy.  try not to eat it all before dinner (cough cough).  remove all but 1-2 Tbsp of the drippings.  add the chopped onion, leeks, garlic and fennel and cook them down over medium heat - i put the lid on to coax out the natural liquids and they softened quite nicely.  add the potatoes, veggie broth and enough water to just cover everything.  cover and simmer over very low heat for an hour or two.  when it's all mushy and the flavors have combined, blend the soup - i used a hand blender but you could use a regular blender, just be careful not to burn yourself.  at this point, you can remove it from the heat until about 10 minutes before you want to eat.  at that point, add the cream and heat on low until it's the temperature you'd like.  season to taste - the pancetta provided enough salt for us, but we added fresh cracked black pepper.  ladle some soup in a bowl, sprinkle on some of the pancetta and maybe some shredded cheddar cheese.  (i bet some sliced green onions would be yummy, too.)  we ate it with a refreshing veggie slaw of celery, orange bell peppers and jicama with fresh squeezed lime juice creating a wonderful contrast of flavor, texture, temperature and tang.

and since i was being domestic goddess and all, i had to bake something, as well.  we highly recommend nigella's "dense chocolate loaf" and let me tell you, there is a reason it is the first entry in the chocolate section of this book. look no further, i say.

especially tasty when paired with pomegranate + lime martinis, ahem.

hello, bok choy!

one of my goals for 2008 is to diversify our produce intake beyond typical pantry vegetables by cooking up a new - or as in this case, sadly underutilized - vegetable each week.  last week we invited the delightful bok choy to dinner - whenever i have cooked with it, i have been completely happy.  and i see her in the market each week... so why don't we have miss bok choy over more often?  no worries, she's now officially on the guest list and welcome anytime.

superquick stir-fry of bok choy and pantry veggies

• carrots, shallots, ginger & mushrooms as many as you want + sliced pretty
• bok choy sliced into half moons
• canola oil
• protein of choice (we had shrimp the first night and tofu with the leftovers)
• soy sauce, rice wine vinegar & sesame oil
• rice or noodles - whatever you fancy

put about 1-2 Tbsp of the canola oil in your hot pan/wok and do a quick stir fry of your veggies.  you want them heated-through but still crunchy.  remove the veggies from the pan.  add the protein to your pan and stir fry - add a splash of the soy and rice wine vinegar while it's cooking for an intense hit of flavor.  when the protein is done, return the veggies to the pan as well as your cooked rice/noodles and toss together while still on the heat.

pour in equal parts soy and rice wine vinegar to taste as well as a few droplets of sesame oil.  when it's hot and steamy and the rice/noodles are just barely coated with the sauce, remove it from the pan and serve.  garnish with sesame seeds and a few chopped green onions if you're feeling extra sassy.

enjoy!  this week we've got a fennel bulb in the fridge... any ideas?

ina-inspired

i am growing to love ina garten more and more with every fleeting 5 minutes of a barefoot contessa rerun i catch.  so this morning, after going over our plans for the day out and about in the snowy snow, the girls said, "oh mama, we need to make soup."  ok, my loves ::

i instantly pulled out my ina book for inspiration and it magically opened to the roasted tomato soup page, yum. but we were on our way out the door - so instead of making a shopping list, i just let the idea swirl around in my mind for a few hours and came up with a serious winner, which got rave reviews all around.

:: creamy tomato and meatball soup ::

chop a few cloves of garlic and about 1/2 dozen plum tomatoes, then cook them over medium heat with some minced basil in a little slosh of olive oil for about 5 minutes.

add a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, then fill the can 1/2 with water and 1/2 with milk (i used 2%) and pour it into the pot and stir.

lower the heat to low and simmer.  make baby meatballs and add them to the soup raw, they'll cook quickly and add amazing flavor to the soup.  simmer for about 1/2 hour over low heat, stirring frequently.

oh, and you really need to bake (or buy) some fresh bread.

we topped ours with fresh mozzarella, oh my.

enjoy with the ones you love.  it was girls' night around here, so we lined up on one side of the kitchen table facing a cozy fire while listening to holiday radio.

doesn't get much better than this.  xoxo

dear nigella,

in the past week, i've made three-yes-three of your recipes: the chocolate cheescake was brought to thanksgiving dinner and devoured with reckless abandon by one and all.  our nephew's only remark was that it may have been too chocolately, which for a 12-year-old is quite literally the best compliment in the world. the chocolate-chocolate chip muffins were a hit (yet again) for a relaxing sunday breakfast, and the ricotta hotcakes (from this book)... well, they received many cheers, as always ::

your books are such a delicious read, so well-written and enticing.  and all the while, your recipes achieve a sublime balance of simple preparation + extraordinary taste.  i really love how they are approachable by even the smallest of sous chefs, and the ingredients are quite frequently on hand ::

i find myself coming back to your books with increasing frequency - partially because i know my children and i will enjoy the entire experience from preparation through finished dishes, and partially (i must confess) because i enjoy reading your recipes aloud using my very best attempt at a British accent.  plus, i feel ever so virtuous feeding my family when all is said and done ::

thanks and keep doing what you're doing because you rock it.

your friend,
~jennifer

btw :: there are close to 200 of nigella's recipes here, as well as many more on her website.  i highly recommend putting a book or two of hers on your wish list this year!

the whole truth

ahh...  another lovely weekend.  i love this time of year - the air getting crisper each frosty morning, the colors so brilliant at every turn, sunlight cherished more and more as its frequency decreases before our eyes, and the anticipation of the holidays.  you may know how i love saturday npr (who doesn't?), so it is no surprise the duo and i spent the entire day "in" and enjoyed every bit of it.  in addition to puzzles, building/demolishing, and even a bit of rudolf, there was crafting - trying a variation of swiss-darning ::

and there was some baking, as well ::

another winner from the book i raved about a while back.  a lower fat version of your traditional chocolate chip cookie, with the addition of oatmeal and pecans.  oh, and there was another secret ingredient in these yummies...  not that i lied to my husband or anything.  it's just that when he asked what mystery vegetable was in them, i responded with "there are no mystery veggies inside."  and that's true.  chick peas aren't a vegetable, right?

you see, i really dislike the chick pea (save for hummus, of course) and it's been a big joke for about 10 years.  when we were dating, he would make me dinner on wednesdays after my CIA classes.  and somehow, it seemed that chick peas were always in the soup, salad, whatever.  yuck.  love you, but what's the deal with the garbanzos?  so yeah, i just didn't tell the whole truth.  and guess what?  we ALL loved that sneaky little bit of protein* in our cookies ::

i'm working on a few things for a shop update this friday - biggest shopping day of the year, eh?

have a great day - i look forward to hiding away in my sewing room for a few hours this afternoon while the girls enjoy playing with their delightful babysitter!

*if you make these cookies, i suggest grinding the chick peas in the food processor as i did - no lumpy bits.

making :: secret ingredients

i find cookbooks a joy to read.  they are full of culinary inspiration, to be sure.  but not to be overlooked are their ability to transport you to a different time and place all together.  particularly good at this is nigella - i love LOVE her on so many levels and several of her books frequent my nightstand, as a matter of fact.  and even if i only ever make a few recipes from any one cookbook, i enjoy looking for new ideas and approaches to our family meals ::

so when i heard about jessica seinfeld's book about incorporating more vegetables in a kid-friendly albeit sneaky manner, i confess to having jumped on the bandwagon and riding it all the way to the megabookstore one evening after the kiddos went to bed.  but alas, it turns out that when oprah gives a book her thumb's up, it vaporizes.  immediately.  i ended up ordering it online and must say, it was worth the few weeks wait.

it's well-written, supercute, and offers a simple paradigm shift of slipping a few extra veggies into foods you are already eating.  truth be told, our kiddos are pretty good veggie eaters (one will go so far as to reach over pizza to sneak extra salad) - i want to model healthy eating habits while keeping things fun and very very tasty.  i do not plan to forego proper veggie servings for hidden purees, but i think this concept is absolutely brilliant :: scooping a little extra veggie goodness into almost everything.  how can that be anything but good?

we baked the peanut butter and banana muffins and they are super yummy.  moist and cake-like.  can you guess the secret ingredient?  get ready now... cauliflower!  i despise the stuff, really i do.  but having embraced the concept of a little bit here a little bit there, i decided we'd give it a try.  and really, i mean REALLY.  they are so good!  (i would love the share the recipe, but it's in the book and not available online.  there are a few select recipes available for you to try here.)

while portioning the purees and readying them for the deep freeze, i even stirred some of the cauliflower and butternut squash into the batch of scout's taco soup i had going in the crock pot - it thickened it up and made it more stew like - YUM!  there was only one draw back to the whole puree process ::

can whoever does jessica seinfeld's dishes come over to my house?

have a nice weekend, everyone!  xoxo