Santa.

Thinking about what you're going to leave old Saint Nick? I was today, so I made some heavenly cookies. Hands off, Santa...these ones are too good to share! Nothing better than some of these and cold soymilk. YUM! They're guaranteed to make you smile.

Delicious Cookies

1 C of softened butter (2 sticks)
.5 C unbleached sugar
1.5 C light brown sugar
2 eggs
5 tsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 C unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (plus a teensy bit more)
2.5 C old-fashioned oats
2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 C bittersweet chocolate chunks

Turn on the oven to 325ish. In your Kitchenaid, combine the soft butter and the sugars on speed 2. Once they're combined, add the eggs (individually), then the vanilla & milk. Let that continue to mix. Sift all of the dry ingredients, BUT NOT THE OATS & CHOCOLATE, into a medium bowl. Turn up the mixer to speed 4, and slowly mix the dry stuff into the moist mixture. While you let that mix, cut parchment paper and put it on the cookie sheet. Turn your mixer back down to two and put the oats in one handful at a time. Once the oats are all in, take the bowl out of the mixer and add the chocolate into it by hand. Using an ice cream scoop and a teaspoon, put the batter on the parchment in rounded mounds. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then put them onto a wire cooling rack. While one batch is baking, put the bowl into the refrigerator-it will make it easier to bake.

You can add nuts to these if you want, but clearly they won't be as good.

After they cool, enjoy!

Coming Next...a New Nut Roast recipe...!

Downes.

It's getting to be cold, so it's time for warm, delicious appetizers. This is one from a coworker of mine. I love it, it's positively lovely.

Spinach-Artichoke dip (the yummy kind)

Spinach box thawed
Artichoke hearts
Whipped cream cheese 6 oz
6oz alfredo sauce
1\4 cup of powdered parmesan cheese
1\4 cup mozzarella cheese

Combine all of the ingredients in a baker. Bake on 350 until it is brownish/crusty on top. Serve with pita chips. It won't disappoint. You can use low-fat options of the above ingredients.

Peaches.

Well, fall is coming and you know what that means...BAKING TIME! Everyone knows that I love DC, especially because it's getting on mid-September and the high for today is set to be in the 90s...YUM! In honor of this extension of my Southern Summer, I decided to make a peach pie this weekend. I'm pretty jazzed about it's progress so far (it's in the oven). Here's what I did:

Crust:

I went to the store and purchased a prepack crust-I just can't say no to them.

Innards:

• ~3 lbs of squishy-ripe yellow peaches
• 3 TBSP of corn starch
• A little less than a cup of unbleached sugar
• 1 tsp of cinnamon (plus more for later)
• 1 plum
• 4 TBSP of cold butter in little bits
• 1/4 C of chopped pecans

Combine all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside. Put one of the crusts from the box into the bottom of a glass pie plate. Bake it on 375 for ~10 minutes, until golden and crispy. Let the crust cool completely. Once cool, add the peach mixture into the baked crust. Take your second crust and cut out some small designs for ventilation. Put the shape-filled crust on top of the pie and pinch down the sides. Bake on 375 for 26-30 minutes (or until it looks good to you). Once you take it out, sprinkle with cinnamon. Let it cool (so it doesn't burn Matty's mouth) and then serve with cinnamon gelato (we saw this at a restaurant on Thursday night) or fresh whipped cream. Enjoy!

To Jodi, with love from Kendra

So, I have it on good authority that Jodi likes to cook things, too. Sadly, she doesn't go in for the whole vegetarian scene-oh well. But, I also have heard that she enjoys a good pickle-especially the fabled CLAUSSENS. I've recently made pickles on my own (I was actually Skyping with her while I made them). I won't lie, they're not as good as actual Claussens, Matty says, "they're decent", and I agree. The best part is that they're cruchy like a Claussen. But, I'll give you the recipe. I think I like the look of them in my fridge next to the Mason Jars of Gazpacho (recipe to come in a later edition).

Quick Fresh-Pack Dill Pickles

• 8 lbs. of 3- to 5-inch pickling cucumbers
• 2 gals. water
• 1 1/4 cups canning or pickling salt
• 1 1/2 qts. vinegar (5 percent acidity)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 qts. water
• 2 Tbsp. whole mixed pickling spice
• about 3 Tbsp. whole mustard seed (1 tsp. per pint jar)
• about 14 heads of fresh dill (1-1/2 tsp. per pint jar) or 4-1/2 Tbsp. dill seed (1-1/2 tsp. per pint jar)

Yield: 7 to 9 pints
Procedure: Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16-inch slice off blossom end and discard, but leave 1/4 inch of stem attached. Dissolve 3/4 cup salt in 2 gallons of water. Pour over cucumbers and let stand 12 hours. Drain. Combine vinegar, 1/2 cup salt, sugar, and 2 quarts water. Add mixed pickling spices tied in a clean, white cloth. Heat to boiling. Fill jars with cucumbers. Add 1 tsp. mustard seed and 1-1/2 heads fresh dill per pint. Cover with boiling pickling solution, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process as below or use the low-temperature pasteurization treatment described previously.

Quick.

So, we're getting way into tofu lately. We had a hard time making crispy tofu for stuff though. However, this produces deliciously crispy tofu. Enjoy!

1 package Firm (or extra firm) Tofu
2-4 TBSP Vegetable Oil
1 cup cornstarch
Marinade of some sort (recipe for mine we used is below)

Remove tofu from package, drain water. Place on a plate with a towel and cloth napkin under it. Wrap the napkin over the top of the tofu. Put another plate on top and put something reasonably heavy on it (like a can of something, or a jar of honey-which is what I used). Leave it there for 10-15 minutes to drain the water out of the tofu. Do not push on it though-you'll squish it.

Get your marinade ready. I used a combination of powdered wasabi, crushed red pepper, garlic, white vinegar, water and some lemon. Mix them all in a bowl until it looks good and set aside.

Put the oil in a big pan, heat on medium.

After the tofu has drained, cut the block in half and then slice it into thin (1/4" slices). Then, marinade them in your delicious mixture. While they sit in the marinade for a minute or two, get the corn starch in a bowl. Dredge the tofu in the cornstarch and then put into hot oil. Let it cook for a couple of minutes on one side and then flip it over.

It will be good. You'll like it.

I hope you're having a nice week. Does Jodi read these?

Love,

K

Tired Skin.

So after such an exciting weekend, my skin was looking a little sallow today. In order to perk it up, I whipped up a little face masque. It is currently on my face and it makes it feel pretty good. It's ridiculously easy and the best part is that it was junk I had around.

1/3 a ripe banana (you know the kind...with the brown parts, the ones that usually go in my trash)
1 tsp honey

Mash the banana in a small bowl, then add the honey. Mix is up well and then apply to your sad face. Lay on your couch for 15 minutes and think about how pretty you are. Then, rinse it off with cool water. Look in the mirror and think about how good you look.

I've read the bananas have all sorts of vitamins that aren't just good for your belly, but for your skin, too! So mash it up and enjoy.

Thanks for coming this weekend, I had a super time and I really like the plant. It's really neat...I've never seen one like it.

Keep on the lookout for your shoes.

Love,
K

Rain, Rain.

Dear Sister,

Here it is, Thursday. It's raining today, which is great-I can feel the pollen getting washed away, which is spectacular. Although, I broke down and picked up some new allergy meds this week and they seem to be working like a charm, so I guess the rain isn't as important as it otherwise might have been.

Did I tell you that I made my very own patio fountain? It's pretty sweet and it makes the perfect water clinkling noise. Very relaxing.

I'm looking toward this weekend with trepidation and excitement. I'm giving up my LAST Saturday to the Grad School gods. (What more can I say?)

On to your recipe for today.

I'll have to admit, there are very loose measurements for this recipe, adjust it as you need.

Crustless Apple Pie:

Ingredients
2 Tbsp butter
1 apple for each serving/person you want to make. (Tart ones work best: Empire/Braeburn)
1.5 Tbsp Brown Sugar/serving
1 Tbsp Unbleached flour
.5 tsp Baking Powder

Spray (or actual) Whipped Cream

1. Rub half of the butter on the bottom and sides of a baking dish.
2. Using your apple corer, cut up the apples into slices
3. Layer the all of the apple slices in the buttered dish (they can go on top of each other)
4. Combine the dry ingredients and remaining butter together
5. Cover the apples with the dry mixture
6. Place in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes (depending how crunchy you want it to get)
7. Remove, allow to cool (serve when it's warm, don't wait until it's stone cold)
8. Serve on plates with liberal amounts of whipped cream

I sort of made this up. It's super tasty. Enjoy!

Upcoming: Italian with fake Snausage...yum!

Starting Out.

Dearest Sister, this blog is devoted to you. Consider it an apology for anything I've said or done that you haven't been thrilled with. Have I forgotten a gift for your birthday (I doubt I have)? Then, consider this your gift.

I thought that it would be lovely for you to further embrace this slogan:

Vegetarian...and loving food!

That will be the main idea, so you'll get at least one recipe or food idea out of each posting.

Now, I've been thinking that you won't like (or have to adjust) some recipes. I've given it some thought-I think we've become vegetarians for completely different reasons. You are a vegetarian because you don't like the taste of meat (or that's what I perceive), I am a vegetarian because the idea of meat is gross when it involves me eating it. If I'm wrong, let me know.

I'll point out that I do cook with eggs. It's funny, I won't eat a plate of eggs or an egg sandwich, but I gladly eat pasta that I make from the KitchenAid book. I'm trying to phase eggs out completely because quite frankly, they freak me out. I love soy yogurt, but I know that I'll never be able to desert my two favorite dairy friends...cheese and ice cream. No soy alternatives for me when it comes to those two.

I'll start the recipes on a high note with an Arlington family favorite:

Couscous Cakes with a Tomato-Garlic Ragout
From the book, Vegetarian Planet

Ingredients:

Couscous Cakes
3 C water
1 tsp salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 2/3 C couscous (I like the whole wheat kind)
3 eggs
1/2 C unbleached flour (the only kind we have)
1/2 C chopped parsley (curly or Italian work, run them under hot water first to activate the lovely odor!)
1/4 C crumbled blue cheese (I know you won't use this, but if you're adventurous, if you use half this amount, you won't be able to taste it...Romano works as an alternative)
1 Tbs olive oil

Tomato-Garlic Ragout (Did you know that Ragout is pronounced like Ragu? It is.)

1 Tbs olive oil
1 C chopped onion (they get really sweet...yum!)
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced (another interesting did you know...you should smoosh garlic [with the side of a knife] 10 minutes before you intend to use it, it helps get the good 'chemicals' out to make the garlic good for you)
10 plum (or Roma) tomatoes, coarsely chopped (you can use canned, but fresh is WAY better)
1/2 C white wine
1/4 C water
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

*Garnish with parsley*

You're making the couscous first!

1. Put the water into a saucepan over high heat. When the water comes to a boil, add the salt, pepper and couscous. Remove the pan from the heat, cover it and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then, fluff the couscous with a fork.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then slowly add in the flour. With a spoon, stir in the parsley and the blue cheese (or the Romano I know you'll use). Add the couscous and then put the bowl into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

3. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 Tbs of olive oil, then add the onion. Saute it over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring once in awhile. Add the garlic and saute for 5 minutes more (you don't want to burn the garlic). Add the tomatoes, white wine and water. Let the ragout (remember how to pronounce it?) simmer for 10-15 mintes so that it ends up the consistency of a thick sauce-it should be chunky when finished. Season with salt & pepper, then keep warm.

4. Remove the cooled couscous mixture and heat a large skillet with 1 Tbs of olive oil over medium-high heat. While the pan is heating, make 3-inch cakes ahead of time (otherwise, they won't cook evenly!). Put the cakes into the hot oil, sear them on one side for about 3 minutes until they are golden brown, then flip them and do the same. Continue until they are all cooked.

5. To arrange: put a scoop of ragout on the plate, then put 2-3 cakes, then put 2-3 scoops of ragout over it.

End Tips:

• avoid the draw of putting grated cheese on top...you'll be glad you did.
• if you have too much batter, leave it uncooked and put it in the refrigerator-you can cook it later
• if you have cooked too much, eat it the next day cold, it's yummy
• This recipe makes enough for 4-5 people, they'll be happy they had dinner with you.

I hope that you've enjoyed this post. I have a pretty exciting desert coming up, so get excited!

Love you, sister!