Lazarus?

Hark! What stirs in the kitchens of the scattered? An intense need to reconnect with the old crew? A vain attempt at revival? An overenthusiastic burst of autumn-induced folly?

Whatever the case, I've been reunited with a clean, functional, well-stocked kitchen (a.k.a. my parents' house), and in lieu of you all actually being here to share the windfall with me, I'm posting.

Apparently, even when you check out and move to the final internet frontier for the summer, people continue to do interesting things with their lives. Like my cousin, who popped out an adorable baby while I was away. I made this cake when they came to visit. It was not dairy or gluten free, Vanderblog, but it was absurdly delicious.

I (predictably) did not follow the recipe, but here it is for the gist. I added more flour in place of the almonds, nixed the espresso powder completely, and didn't worry so much about sticking to the finicky mixing process.

Ingredients for cake and filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
12 T unsalted butter
2 t vanilla
1/4 t espresso powder
1 c sliced almonds
1/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
5 large eggs
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c raspberry jam, fresh raspberries for garnish

Ingredients for chocolate ganache:
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 c heavy whipping cream

Instructions

1. For the cake: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 325 degrees.

2. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch-wide by 2-inch-high round cake pans with parchment paper.

3. Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler, stirring occasionally until smooth.

4. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

5. Stir in vanilla and espresso powder.

7. Process almonds until very finely ground, about 45 seconds.

8. Add flour and salt and continue to process until combined, about 15 seconds.

9. Transfer almond-flour mixture to medium bowl.

10. Process eggs in now-empty food processor until lightened in color and almost doubled in volume, about 3 minutes.

11. With processor running, slowly add sugar until thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds.

12. Fold egg mixture into chocolate mixture until some streaks of egg remain.

13. Slowly fold in flour-almond mixture.

14. Divide batter between cake pans and smooth with rubber spatula.

15. Bake until center is firm and toothpick inserted into center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 14 to 16 minutes.

16. Transfer cakes to wire rack and cool completely in pan, about 30 minutes.

17. Run paring knife around sides of cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto wire racks.

18. For the filling: Coarsely mash 1/2 cup raspberries. Stir in raspberry jam.

19. Spread raspberry mixture onto one cake layer and top with second.

20. For the ganache: Melt chocolate and cream in medium heatproof bowl set over medium saucepan filled with 1 inch simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.

21. Remove from heat and gently whisk until very smooth.

22. Pour glaze onto center of assembled cake.

23. Use offset spatula to spread glaze evenly over top of cake, letting it flow down sides.

24. Spread glaze along sides of cake to coat evenly. Garnish with berries.

I spent my last month trying to keep up with the USGS Grizzly Bear crazies, so I'm still in an equally crazed metabolic state. This means that if any of you are out there to witness this phoenix of a blog rising from the ashes, I'll continue to post incredibly unhealthy recipes until my eating needs return to normal.

Death of a Blog?

Well, friends, this might be it. It seems we are all dining further and further in diaspora, since Gabe is now in the backcountry of CA for the summer and Kelsey is headed to Glacier until September. But, let's send it off with one last hurrah.

Last night we had a potluck in celebration of Kelsey before she takes off for the summer.














It was a good gathering of people and lots of laughter and good food ensued. There was a wonderful quinoa salad from Sarah and Jeremy, a bean salad from Kelsey (with our dry beans from last year's garden!), a Van's original pasta salad from Jesse (who added lemon juice to make it her own), and Layna's famous "change-your-life" biscuits.

There was also a plethora of desserts, including Kevin's pecan pie, Megan's rhubarb pie, Rabi's gluten-free/dairy free chocolate chip cookies, and my chocolate beet cake. Below is the recipe:

Chocolate Beet Cake
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 c. veggie oil
3 eggs
2 c. pureed cooked beets
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
powdered sugar

Peel and cook beets (I dice them and boil them until easily pierced with a fork). Puree in a food processor. Melt chocolate with 1/4 c. oil. Combine eggs and sugar and beat. Add 3/4 c. oil, chocolate mix, beets, and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to egg mix. Pour into an oiled Bundt pan. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack. When cool, dust with powdered sugar.





Well, it's been fun. If you have the urge, please feel free to keep posting from time to time. But, in the meantime, happy eating!

Rabi's Birthday (and Easter)

Well, this year Easter fell on Rabi's birthday. What better time than to have a full-blown potluck? I invited folks over to my new house for a potluck brunch, which resulted in lots of good food (biscuits, muffins, scones, coffee cake, fruit salad, bacon, carrots, lentils, potatoes, eggs with dairy-free hollandaise sauce, etc.) and good drinks (bloody marys and mimosas). And of course there was cake (gluten-free, dairy-free coconut cake with coconut frosting). I don't have the recipe with me, but the cake was kind of dry, however, it was saved by the frosting.
We missed those of you who are dining in diaspora!
Here are some photos:

Ketchup with Quinoa and Potatoes

Sarah loves it when I take her picture.

Okay. So, this meal was not our best one. It just goes to show that not all of our creations are as delicious as the ever so tasty peppermint patties. This one was a two pronged effort, with Sarah making her gratin potatoes with kale, turmeric (yuck), way too many onions and vanilla almond milk.  

In the meantime, I constructed a quinoa with roasted Brussels sprouts dish from glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com. I used Sarah's leeks that were frozen, and boy was that a mistake. It was great until this onion variety was added, which turned out to have a nasty flavor and a very chewy texture. Not sure what was wrong with them (or my usage of them), as leeks can be tasty additions to some dishes.

Needless to say, when it was all over. We turned to Heinz for support.

*Please note my attempt to garnish with parsley.

An Oreo Ball Competitor?

Here's to you, Gabe! Rabi and I made our own peppermint patties yesterday, and we think they rival the Oreo Balls (although, I have to say, the Oreo Balls still take the cake). This recipe is super easy, and they turn out really well!








Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. light corn syrup, honey, or agave (your choice. We used honey.)
1 1/2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp cream cheese (for the vegan option, just omit the cream cheese. We did, and it was fine.)
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 Tbsp. shortening
2 c. semisweet morsels (or darker than semisweet)
2 Tbsp. butter (or shortening, if you want to go vegan, which we did)

Take out your bowl and dump in the powdered sugar, liquid sweetener of choice, water, shortening, cream cheese, peppermint and vanilla. Blend with and electric mixer until well blended (mixture will be crumbly.) Stir with a spoon to help it all cohere, using a bit of hand-power if necessary. Next, scoop the smooth white ball of dough onto your work surface that has been lightly dusted in powdered sugar (I used my trusty silpat.) Roll out until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Using your cookie cutter (or shot glass) punch circles into the dough, and put back into the freezer for another 10 minutes. While they are in the freezer, you'll start to melt the chocolate. If you are using a double boiler, set it up and put the chocolate chips and shortening into the top and begin melting. If you are using a microwave, put your ingredients into a heat proof bowl and commence melting, heating at 30 second intervals on high and stirring in between until smooth and without lumps. When the chocolate is all melted and the patties are chilled, you're ready to dip! Take the patties out of the freezer and let them sit for a minute to avoid breakage when transferring to dip. Get out a cookie sheet and line with wax or parchment paper. Peel off the circles and one by one drop them into the chocolate and smooth the tops, coating each thoroughly. Place them on the cookie sheet and keep going until they are all sufficiently swathed in chocolate. Put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes to allow the chocolate to set.

For the 'Junior Mints' variation, simply gather up the odd shaped pieces and strips of dough leftover from the circle cutting process and roll them into small balls, flattening slightly on two sides to form the traditional junior mint shape. Pop them in the freezer for about 5 minutes to firm, and then dip them in the same manner as the circular mints. Chill until set. Be sure to keep them in the fridge to keep them from getting melty.

We used the leftover chocolate on apple slices and put those in the freezer too.

Just a note: this recipe came from the Instructables website. Here's the link: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/5Dp8ao/www.instructables.com/id/Copycat-Candy-Recipes/

Enjoy!
ps. Kelsey- there a still cherries frozen in the fridge that need to be turned into a pie...perhaps this is the next video blog adventure :)

Toby's Challah

Having no wireless internet at the house, I am at the Williston Community Library printing resumes for today's interview and I thought I would post my challah recipe as well (if I had more time and wasn't readying for an interview, I would look more into Kelsey's challah story before posting!). My oldest friend's mom, Toby, has always made wonderful, wonderful Challah bread and so before I left Sitka, I asked her to teach me. The recipe she uses is called Racheli's Deluxe Challah and it was discovered by her sister Leah in 1991. Last night I made Challah to go with our dinner of perch (caught by Marcus) and asparagus. You will need: 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water 1 package (2 tsp) active dry yeast 1/2 cup sugar 3 eggs 1 tablespoon salt 1/4 cup oil (plus a little extra to oil the bowl, dough, and baking sheet) 8 to 9 cups flour (you can use up to 3 cups whole wheat flour) Optional: 1 cup packed raisins and poppy and/or sesame seeds to sprinkle on top 1. Place the water in a very large bowl. (Make sure the water is no warmer than wrist temperature - I just learned this. Test the temperature of the water with your wrist and it should be warm, but not warm enough that it feels hot.) Sprinkle in the yeast, and let stand 5 minutes until foamy. 2. Add the sugar, 2 of the eggs, oil, and optional raisins, and beat with a wire whisk for several minutes. 3. Begin adding the flour 1 cup at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon after each addition. When you reach abou tthe seventh cup of flour, start slowing the additons, adding 1/4 cup at a time, mixing and kneading in the flouor with your hand. Stop adding flour when the dough is quite firm and no longer feels sitcky. (After adding about 4 cups of flour, you should also add the 1 Tbs of salt - you must "protect" the yeast from the salt, so make sure you add enough flour before adding the salt.) 4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead vigorously--as though you eman it-- for 5 to 10 minutes, or until you've had enough. (The more kneading the better, but on the other hand, bread dough is very adaptable and will accomodate you.) 5. Oil the bowl and the top surface of the dough, and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel, and place in a draft-free place to rise until doubled in buldk (1 1/2 to 2 hours).

6. Punch down the dough, return to the floured surface, and divide in half. Knead each half for at least 5 minutes, then divide each into thirds. Roll each third into a long rope about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and form 2 braided loaves (3 strands per braid).

7. Oil a baking sheet, and place the braids on the sheet at least 4 inches apart. Cover with the towl, return to the draft-free spot, and let rise again, this time for only about 45 minutes. (alternatively, you can let the braids rise in the refrigerator for up to three days before baking. Be sure they are sealed airtight in a large, loose-fitting plastic bag. You can put them directly from the refrigerator into a preheated oven). Instead of letting rise for the 2nd time, you can also put the loaves in a cold over, preheat it, and add about 10 minutes to the baking time.

8. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Beat the remaining egg and brush it onto the loaves. Sprinkle generously with poppy and/or sesame seeds. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the breads give off a hollow sound when thumped resolutely on the bottom. Remove from the sheet immediately and cool on a rack.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well the bread came out, although I did discover that I need a bigger sheet to cook them on! I opened up the white peach jam Sarah made and we spread some on the bread and even though I didn't take any pictures of the perch, it was delicious as well!

Tikkun

One of the crew stopped by before motoring off again to the land of overpaid Arby's employees. We were so glad to have her within hugging range for a short while.

The plan was to cook a fabulous meal for the sake of old times. The kind that leaves everyone a little blissed out after it's over. After half an hour of coughing that left us with four pepper-ravaged throats, we finally were able to sit down long enough to eat our dish. But really, if we hadn't accidentally vaporized the spices, we would have accomplished our goal. If you decide to try Aloo Chat, we recommend that you excercise excruiating diligence when toasting your spices. Or that you ventilate your kitchen first. Or that you just cook the whole dish outside.

Aloo Chat
Gabonzo Beans
1 dried red chili
Boiled and diced potatoes
1 t cumin seeds
2 t salt
1 t black peppercorns
1 t dried mint
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t ground ginger
yogurt

Hold your breath. Grind up the spices with a mortar and pestle. Toast them dry. Mix half in with the beans and potatoes, and mix half with the yogurt. Serve it all up. Exhale.

So, that happened. And of course, a post from yours truly wouldn't be complete without hearty cultural allusion, and this one goes out to our estranged friend Gabers in New York. And to the really great Challah bread that Natalia made to go with the meal. Jewish tradition (and I'm not very familiar with it, so I apologize if I get it jumbled), has a creation story about the world splintering into scattered bits of light. The work of the present is to put it all back together by tikkun olam: repairing the world. And no, I don't think that we've brought about world peace by sitting down together to eat potatoes and garbonzo beans , but there is something marginally restorative about sharing a meal with a good friend who has come back for a visit. We're sending our goodwill with you to the plains, Natalia!

Sweet and Sour Shrimp...Without Sweet and Sour Sauce

Well, it's Monday and we're all back at work. Here's what Rabi and I made last night in an attempt to send us off on our week satisfied and well-fed:

















Sweet and Sour Shrimp:
About 1 1/2 pounds of shrimp
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. rice wine (or rice vinegar, if that's all you have)
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2-3 stalks celery, sliced
2 tomatoes, diced (or one can with no juice)
3 Tbsp. veg oil
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. corn starch (dissolved in 1/3 cup water)
Salt
Cilantro (optional)

Prepare shrimp, wash, and pat dry. Mix with 1 Tbsp. lime juice and 1 Tbsp. rice wine. Slice onion, garlic, and celery. Saute onion, garlic, and celery in oil briefly. Add shrimp and saute 1 more minute. Add the rest of the lime juice, rest of the rice wine, tomatoes, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Simmer for a few minutes. Add corn starch and bring to a boil. Salt to taste, garnish with cilantro! We served this on rice.







Disclaimer: I am typing this recipe from my memory. I looked at it a lot last night during the cooking process, so I'm 99% sure I remembered all the ingredients and the right amounts.


Also, thanks to Rabi for the photos!

Leftover Salmon. Or: WHY KRISTIN AND GABE ARE LAME!

That's right. This is a public shaming. We want to know what our distant friends are eating, and you're not telling. If this keeps up, I'm going to make new friends and blog with them instead. So there.

But in other news, I've been getting my omega-3s and promoting Montana's School Nutrition Programs-all in the same pizza. Although the salmon-pizza combination elicited some wrinkled noses when I brought it to work for lunch, it stirs up great, fecund Alaskan memories in my soul. Your loss if you agree with my coworkers.

But if you're feeling adventurous, here's how to play along.

1) Make a fillet lip smacking baked salmon with lemon and capers. Don't eat it all.

2)Through some dough ingredients together and let them rise in the window through which the 6 o'clock sun is streaming. If you're trying to authentically replicate my trip down memory lane (and what a metaphysical task that would be!), you should include yeast, warm water, olive oil, salt, and a mix of white and Kamut flour. Don't you dare measure.

3) Rummage around in your refrigerator for whatever seems pizza worthy. In my case, this was some sauteed onions and chard, the aforementioned salmon, a jar of sauce that I made from pilfered tomatoes last fall, and the sample "cheese" that the school lunch ladies wanted us to taste test.

4) Bake that shit. Eat it.

Due to my Daylight Savings-induced euphoria and the awful lack of south facing windows in our Birdhouse, this pizza was a free range one for about 5 minutes when I took it into the back yard for photographing.


Note the way that the cheese started burning before it ever got close to melting. Give us back our fat, USDA!

And incidentally, the primary title of this post refers to a band from Colorado who claim to have a distinct "polyethnic cajun slamgrass" sound. It's another sentimental Alaskan memory, if you'll indulge me.

Yummy Surprises

So, the other night Sarah and I decided to make some soup. It turned out to be pretty tasty! We used some leftover vegetable broth and one cube of chicken bouillon. It called for two cups of water, so that's what we added. We goofed a little bit by not sautéing the veggies (carrots, mushrooms, onion and garlic) ahead of time before adding the liquid. However, we survived.

We separately stir fried the veggies (by we I mean Sarah), and I added the chopped, raw chicken breast to the simmering broth. While all this was going on, I remembered that we were going to put potatoes in the mix and I had recently found some purple potatoes in the fridge from last fall. Well, by this time, the chicken was almost already cooked and the veggies were ready to go in the mix. I used our potato peeler that is way too dull, chopped the potatoes and then nuked them to catch up with the rest of the stuff in the pot. I am quite the thinker....actually this was Sarah's idea.

We seasoned the soup with seasonings, but I couldn't tell you what went in, because I was busy cleaning some sticky brown substance that had accrued beneath our produce drawers in the fridge. Or maybe I just wasn't paying attention.

Needless to say, it turned out to be really yummy. We paired it with a salad with radishes and $1.49 ShurSavings Italian dressing. Mmmwahh!

African Pineapple Peanut Stew

Now, now, I know there are no photos to accompany this blog post. For that I am sorry. However, this recipe is worth consideration anyway. I got it from one of the Helena Vegan Potluck emails, and it's even gluten-free!

African Pineapple Peanut Stew

Serve on rice, millet, or couscous (quinoa would probably work too). Top with crushed peanuts and chopped scallions (optional).

1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp. veggie oil
1 bunch kale or Swiss chard (4 cups)
2 cups undrained canned crushed pineapple (20 oz)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp. Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional if you don't like cilantro, like me)
salt to taste

In covered saucepan, saute onions and garlic in the oil for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are browned. Wash kale/chard. Cut cross-wise 1 inch thick. Add pineapple and juice to onions and bring to a simmer. Stir in kale/chard, cover, simmer for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until just tender. Mix in peanut butter, Tabasco, and cilantro, and simmer 5 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve. Makes at least 4 servings.

This recipe got high ratings from Kelsey, Rabi, and Susan. Unfortunately for me, this meal had little nutritional value, as I ended up not digesting any of it (if you get what I mean). And given that and the fact that there are no photos, one could say this meal never existed. But I guarantee, it was tasty the first time around!

My beef with Kristin

Another visitor to the Birdhouse! Ask Kristin about her colorful coworker next time you talk with her. Said acquaintance supplied the focal point for our meal. I got the recipe from another foodie blog: http://my-plate.blogspot.com/

Mexican Cornmeal Waffles

1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cups milk
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cups canned tomatoes with green chiles
1 can red kidney bean
shredded lettuce
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream

Mix all of the waffle stuff. Beat it up with your beefiest whisking arm. Make Belgian magic with your beeping waffle maker. Then fry up all of the taco stuff. Cook the beef real slow 'cause you got it from our very own Montucky and it's real lean. Arrange it for a pretty blog photo before eating:

Stefania's Sweet Sixteen

My sister's 16th birthday was last Sunday. After a surprise party thrown by her friends, we had family friends over for shrimp fajitas and cake.

I made her a gluten free, yellow cake with dark chocolate, cream cheese frosting. The taste was good, but the texture was a little spongy. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups white rice flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and rice flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.
2.Mix the white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and xanthan gum together and set aside.
3.Mix the eggs, sugar, and mayonnaise until fluffy. Add the flour mixture, milk and vanilla and mix well. Spread batter into the prepared pans.
4.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 minutes. Cakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool completely then frost, if desired.

Cocoa-Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 to 5 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hersheys special dark - very rich, but VERY good!)

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder into the cream cheese mixutre. Gradually beat in powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency. This frosts tops and sides of two 8- or 9-inch layers. (Halve the recipe to frost a 13x9x2-inch cake.) Cover and store the frosted cake in refrigerator.

Yummy!

For the Pleabians!

I've been meaning to make this dish for about a year--it was sent to me by my dear surrogate mother, Landis, who created it when she found herself with a root cellar full of root veggies, particularly celeriac. Since I was busy making these ginger cookies for our Valentine's Day craft night:

Rabi started on the Peasant Pot Pie (and I helped finish it up). Here's the recipe. Note, allow at least 2 hours for making this!

Landis' Peasant Pot Pie:

Filling:
6 cups H20
2 Tbsp. vegetable bouillon base
2 large carrots
1 large onion
2 large parsnips
2 large potatoes
1 celeriac

Cube/dice all veggies. Bring H20 and bouillon to a boil and cook veggies until tender, ~7 min. Reserve broth and veg.












Gravy:
3 Tbsp. butter (earth butter)
1 cup mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup heavy cream (soy creamer)
2 Tbsp dry sherry

Saute the butter, mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary. Add flour. Gradually add reserved broth, then cream, then sherry. Cook, whisking at times, until sauce is thick and reduced to 4 cups. Mix in reserved veggies. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to buttered 13.9.2 baking dish. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake filling, covered, until bubbling, about 50 minutes.


Biscuits:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. butter, diced
1 1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1 1/3 cup non-dairy milk and 1 Tbsp. white vinegar)

Stir to blend flour, baking powder, rosemary, and salt. Add butter and using hand, rub in until it resembles coarse meal. Gradually add the buttermilk, toss with fork until moistened. Drop dough atop hot filling by big tablespoon. Sprinkle with pepper. Bake, uncovered, ~45 minutes.

Happy Birthday Abe (and Charles)!

This weekend marks a very special occasion. It is a day for us to honor good, ol' Abe. A charming man; a man of the people; a man who believed that all little boys could go up and up. For those of you who don't know it, in college I lived in a house called Lincoln Manor. And so today, we honor Mr. Lincoln for building our big pink house with his bare hands. And also for having such a stylish hat... and being tall.

Luckilly, one of the former Lincoln Manor dwellers now lives in Helena, and she was able to stop by the Birdhouse for an early birthday celebration on Thursday. We made a cake using the very same recipe that Mary Todd used to woo Abe over during their courting days. While there was no wooing here, we did have a lovely evening in the tower, complete with hot tea and a bedtime story, read by our very own Vanderblog. Might we recommend the tale of "Hucklebug" to all of you dear readers as well?


In addition to hiding the fact that the middle stuck to the pan, we also included the mango tip our hats to the late, great, Charles Darwin. I think you can make the stretch. What an auspicious day! Thanks for the bundt pan, SB.

Fantastic Filipino Food

On Monday, my mom and I had a great treat. The pastor and his wife at our church are filipino and Marian, along with her friend, Guata, taught us to make a few filipino dishes. Pancit has always been one of my favorite dishes and an ex-boyfriend's mom taught me how to make it once, but I had since forgotten. Here are the recipes.

Pancit
Carrot
Cabbage (Greener the better)
Onion
Bell pepper
Celery
Garlic
Lemon
Oil
Soy sauce
Chicken broth
Meat of choice – pork, chicken, shrimp
Noodles (many types of rice noodles can be used, but we used “Rice Stick Special Bihon”)

Cooking for pancit can be done in a frying pan, but a wok is preferable.
First, cook meat with a little water. This part probably takes the longest because the meat has to be cooked slowly enough to become more flavorful. While meat is cooking, cut vegetables. Vegetables should be cut diagonally. About halfway through cutting the meat, add oil. After meat is brown, add garlic. Add onions. Add soy sauce. Add the rest of the veggies, peppers last. Once veggies are cooked, but still crispy, take everything out of the pan except for the liquid and some pieces of meat. In a separate pan, boil water. Add the boiling water to the main pan, along with the can of chicken broth, more soy sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Add noodles to the mixture after about 10 minutes. Once noodles are cooked, mix everything back together. Squeeze lemon juice over the pancit before eating.

Banana Lumpias*
Golden Saba – Whole steamed saba bananas (these come in a bag in the freezer section. I asked if regular bananas could be used instead and was told yes, but they probably wouldn’t be as good)
Lumpia wrappers (we used Sinex – individually separated sheets)
Brown sugar
Oil

Defrost the bananas. Cut the bananas in half. Roll them in brown sugar and then roll one half in each lumpia wrapper. Heat oil in small frying pan. When oil is hot, lightly fry each lumpia. Frying these doesn’t take very long – we only fried each for about 2 minutes.

*Granny smith apples and cinnamon and sugar can also be substituted for the bananas and brown sugar.

Buchi (Rice cakes)
Coconut milk
1 package Mochiko sweet rice flour
Cornstarch for your hands
Small package of coconut syrup (Ma Capuno brand)
Flour plate
Oil

Combine all ingredients together. Wait five minutes. Roll mixture into small balls. Roll balls in flour (I’m assuming this part is optional). Heat oil in frying pan. You can cook many of the balls at once. Cook them slowly until golden brown. After cooling, eat the buchi either plain or with honey or syrup.

In other news, I hiked up to Beaver Lake with a friend on Saturday. We finally had some decent weather.

Tuesday I wasn't called in to sub, so I hiked up Indian River to the Indian River waterfall. If the sky would be a color that is not white or gray, I could probably get some better pictures! The weather really hasn't been very good lately!

I'm going to be getting as much hiking in as possible in the next few weeks because I found out yesterday I have to have another knee surgery. It is pretty minor as far as knee surgeries go, but I will still be on crutches for a few days afterwards. No fun. My next project of the day is to schedule that surgery, so I'd better get on that! Miss you all!

Where once there was

...a pie, there are now three full stomachs.SB and Vanderblog got all hungry after we went skiing on Sunday and baked something so great that it was gone before I could photograph it. Which isn't quite true. I would post Rabi's dairy-free, gluten-free pie crust recipe, except that it was pretty terrible by all accounts. Sarah's stawberries and rhubarb saved the day.

And where once there was a Subaru, there is now a hefty quote from my friend Don the auto mechanic.

Think in terms of multiple VISTA stipends.

But luckily, where once there was an aimless VISTA aluma, there's now a somewhat employed secretary, who starts some more work with the Governor's Office for Community Service tomorrow (Natalia, I think this means we can get our noses pierced in March!). And I thought I was done with Global Youth Service Day!

Incidentally, we did have a great time skiing Sunday, even though my car couldn't muster up the gumption to get us to Stemple pass:
Thanks for documenting it, Rabi!

My First Meal at the Birdhouse

So, I guess this is my first blog post on the new blog. Exciting! Last night, after Yoga, Sarah, Kelsey and I whipped up some lentil soup. The recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/lentil-soup/Detail.aspx. It had carrots, tomatoes and spinach. Yum. Natalia, it's dairy free, gluten free...actually our whole meal was. We paired the soup with coconut milk sticky rice topped with chopped apples and a salad. The sticky rice was completely amazing. There are lots of recipes out there, and we adapted one to fit our needs. We used 1 can of coconut milk, half an apple, 1 3/4 cups rice (we used sushi rice, but it can be any kind). We cooked the rice with the appropriate amount of water and then added the can of coconut milk to the cooked rice. When the dish was ready to serve we topped it with the chopped apples. We ate under a dimmed overhead light with the candles lit and some nice classical background music playing in the Bose stereo. I think I like the birdhouse. The heated floors are the icing on the cake. Sarah and Kelsey topped off their meal with some batter that was going to be used as truffle ingredients. Kelsey could tell you more about this than I can. It looks pretty next to the candles though. Gabe, cous cous actually has gluten in it, since it's made from wheat. That soup sounds good though. I subscribed to that food blog, thanks for the tip!

Mark Bittman's Food Manifesto

Greetings! I want to make sure that everyone has seen Mark Bittman's Food Manifesto for the Future, currently the most popular article on nytimes.com. I suspect that none of his recommendations for a healthier, more sustainable food production system will be new to any of you. And I don't have anything to say about it, except that I would gladly sign up for his Civilian Cooking Corps. But as I'm a Bittman Booster, I had to post it.

In cooking news, Monday I made Spaghetti with Fried Eggs, which was once known as "poor man's spaghetti," but falling food prices and rising incomes have since brought tomato sauce within reach of all. Basically you lightly fry eggs in a lot of olive oil and pour it over spaghetti. It might have been very good, but I overcooked the eggs, so they weren't runny enough to form a decent sauce. But still tasty. Tonight I made a stir fry with tofu, broccoli, and onions. It was quick, easy, and very satisfying. Not much more to say about that.

Oh, and Natalia, to respond to your request for vegetarian gluten free recipes, I do have one I like. A chickpea and butternut squash stew, served over couscous. I've only done it once before, but with good results. You can find the recipe here, on the website of a competing food blog (apparently we were not the first to come up with that idea).

Poop on a Plate!

Well, Rabi and I were feeling like we needed to get our act together about this blog thing, so here's what we had for dinner tonight: poop on a plate! Aka, taco salad. Gabe, Rabi used your remaining food stamps to buy the tostado chips, salsa, and avocado (avocado and salsa mixed together make a good impromptu guacamole), and I provided the lettuce. (Gabe this is Rabi. I actually used your food stamps to buy yogurt and gluten free bread flour at the Real Foods Store. Sarah doesn't know what she's talking about. Ahhhh! She's kicking me off the keyboard now$%^#). Okay, so Rabi didn't use Gabe's food stamps for this meal, but it would have been nice if he had--that way Gabe would have technically been contributing to this meal. Anyway, despite the unappetizing look of this meal, it was pretty good. Unfortunately, Rabi forgot to take the Beano before eating (see the bottle to the left of the plate?), so tonight will be uncomfortable for us both. (Just for Sarah, not me!)

Family Meal

Very rarely does my family have the opportunity to sit down to eat together, but last night everyone was home (although we had to wait until 7:30 because of volleyball practice). In honor of this monumentous occasion, I decided to make black bean burgers and fries. Sound familiar? I used a recipe I found at allrecipes.com that was very similar to how Kelsey made them a few weeks ago. I also had to use gluten free oats, meaning they were not manufactured near wheat. The burgers ended up tasting good, but did not stay together well at all. Of course, my dad and brother thought that was hilarious.

Any favorite vegetarian and non-gluten recipes I can make next time we all have a chance to eat together?

On another note, I have been substitute teaching since last Tuesday (so basically I had a one day vacation), but overall it's been going well. Except for last Friday... I was a para (working one on one with a student) and the morning was going really well; she was really understanding her math work and working diligently. We had to walk upstairs to borrow a protractor from a math teacher and as we were walking down the stairs, she fell. As an former basketball player would do, I helped her up and told her it would be alright as soon as she walked it off. We continued down the stairs, went to her classroom and got back to work. The teacher brought her an icepack and the vice prinicpal felt her ankle and decided it was probably lightly sprained. At the end of that period, she still was having some trouble with it so we went to the office and they decided to call her mom. Her mom picked her up and I finished my day earlier - a little embarrassing, but overall a sprained ankle isn't a big deal. Later that evening I found out she had actually broken her ankle!!! Basically, I've been a very successful substitute.

Brown Rice with Lentils and Apricots

Yesterday was my first full day at home, and since we had eaten out after I was picked up at the airport, the first day to act on my commitment to cooking good meals. After sleeping in until almost noon and reading the Sunday Times until 2, I launched into action. Upon opening the refrigerator door, however, I was confronted with a shocking barrenness. The same was true of the cupboards and pantry. True, it was the end of the week, but Dan assured me that this was typical. My first move, therefore, was to the grocery store - my father's credit card in my pocket. (Have you finished up my food stamps yet, Rabi?)

Back from the store, I wasted no time in beginning the night's dish: Brown Rice with Lentils and Apricots. It comes from Mark Bittman, obviously. The beauty of brown rice and lentils, as Bittman is the first to point out, is that they take around the same length of time to cook and can be done together in the same pot (with a bay leaf, salt and pepper, and a teaspoon wine vinegar). It will take between 30 and 45 minutes - more than enough time to prepare the other ingredients: a medium onion, chopped; and half a cup of diced dried apricots or other dried fruit.

When the lentils and rice neared completion, I heated a tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat and added the onion. After it had softened, I threw in the apricots and a quarter of a cup of water, brought it to a simmer, and removed it from heat.

I then put a large skillet over medium heat, added another couple tablespoons of olive oil, and spooned in the lentils and rice - now fully cooked and all the water absorbed. After a few minutes, the onions/apricots followed, to cook for a minute or so. Put it on the table (still in the skillet - no need for ceremony) with a lovely salad.

The result was a wholly enjoyable, healthful dish, although by no means very exciting. Dad was not at home for dinner, but Dan pronounced it good. Tonight I believe I will try something even easier, but hopefully more crowd-pleasing.

There. I blogged about cooking. Now when will Meryl Streep be playing me in a movie?

Finally

We woke up to snow in Helena this morning. It's been a long dry spell for the skiers in the bunch.

But not nearly as long as the social dry spell I'm gearing up for without all of you potluckers. To stave off our loneliness, K Yo and I whipped up some pumpkin pancakes this morning. We ate them with cream cheese instead of butter.



Come back soon and we'll make you more. In the meantime, we have plans for some epic snow people.