Roasted Beet and Potato Borscht

Soup is crazy perfect right now and by right now I mean all of the time. This recipe, though, is even more perfect than perfect because it uses root veg and fills your house with delicious aromas. If you get a CSA like me, you might also be drowning (or just completely sick of) beets. Here's one more way to try them before you just start using them to play fetch with your dog. I won't judge you either way. I added dill thanks to the comments. Beets + dill = of course. If you use veggie stock and either a sour cream replacement (or omit it entirely), you've got yourself a BA vegan soup.

Roasted Beet and Potato Borscht via Serious Eats:

Serves 4

2 lb. red beets (about 5 medium), scrubbed, peeled, and cut into a medium dice (your hands will be bright red. It will be funny for about 2 minutes)
1 lb. russet potatoes (about 2 medium), peeled and cut into a medium dice
2 shallots, coarsely chopped
3 to 5 sprigs fresh dill
2 Tb. olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 c. broth (chicken or richly flavored veg)
1 Tb. red wine vinegar
Sour cream

Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss vegetables in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and tuck sprigs of dill in amongst the vegetables. Roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Set dill aside.

Bring the broth to a simmer in a large saucepot and add the cooked vegetables. Mash roughly with a potato masher or wooden spoon, add the vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper and more vinegar if needed. Serve in bowls topped with a dollop of sour cream and the crushed dill from the baking.

Warm and inviting and really easy. You'll look like you slaved so hard over dinner.

Things I Love Thursday: February 28, 2013

Man, having a baby is like living in a worm hole. You wake up, go to change a diaper, and it's a month later. Weird stuff. Here's a wham bam list of stuff I have been loving in my less sleep deprived than I was but still pretty sleepy state. Also dedicated to Aaron, who turned 31 last week, and Corey, who made it to Dirty 30 last week. I do like February. And you all for sticking with me.

Tom Haverford - Food Instagrammer: One of the things I love most in this world is Aziz Ansari's amazing character on the always hilarious Parks and Recreation. I legit love every single thing about this show, but Tom is just so ridiculous, I can't stop. Tom is a foodie. This is how. This is why you should be watching this too.

Dinosaur Comics Gets Ridiculous About Food: One of my fave web comics recently had a series of totally silly comics about food. Do you still want to eat lasagna after that? Yeah, I do. Anyway, check it out here, here, here, here, and here.

Internet Pizza: What can I say other than I like food and comics about them?

Pizza on Film: Oh, also that I like movies about food or that at least reference pizza. Can you name every movie from this supercut? I was pretty close. And it is amazing. Just do it.

Ice Cream and Broken Hearts: Facts. Kind of.

Best Goat Cheeses: Okay, so Aaron and Corey both hate goat cheese. But I love it. So there.

I'm also loving: when I get a chance to actually enjoy a meal instead of scarfing it because the baby is upset.

Love you guys! Stick with me, I do have more stuff, I promise!

Sticky Lemon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

One of the things I love most in this world is breakfast. Because I live in Portland, that means I join the throngs of people in love with brunch and, inevitably, waiting in line for brunch (seriously though, Screen Door is that good). Now that I've got a little man with an interesting sleep schedule (read: baby time is weird), I'm not doing so much standing in line. Though these tasty twists on a sticky roll are a bit time consuming, I think the steps would fit well into random baby sleep schedules. My glaze came out much thinner than is featured in the original, but was still very delicious. The bright flavor is perfect for winter mornings.

Sticky Lemon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze via The Kitchn:

Makes 12 large breakfast rolls

3 large lemons, at room temperature

For the dough-
1 envelope (0.25 ounces, or 2½ tsp.) active yeast

¾ c. milk, warmed to about 100°F (warm but not hot on your wrist)
½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft, plus 3 Tb. more for roll assembly
¼ c. white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4½ c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. nutmeg
2 large eggs

For the sticky lemon filling-
1 c. sugar
¼ tsp. freshly-ground nutmeg
½ tsp. powdered ginger

For the lemon cream cheese glaze -
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. powdered sugar

Zest and juice the lemons. Divide the zest into three equal parts. One part will be used in the dough, a second part in the filling, and the final part will be sprinkled on top of the baked rolls for appearance and flavor.

Divide the juice into two equal parts, and set aside. Half of the lemon juice will be used in the lemon-sugar filling for the rolls. The other half will be used in the glaze.

To make the dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk and let it sit for a few minutes or until foamy. With the mixer paddle, stir the softened butter, sugar, vanilla, and one cup of the flour into this milk and yeast mixture. Stir in the salt, nutmeg, and one part (1/3) of the lemon zest. Stir in the eggs and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft yet sticky dough.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is elastic and pliable.

Lightly grease the top of the dough with vegetable oil, and turn the dough over so it is coated in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and let the dough rise until nearly doubled — about one hour.
In a small bowl, mix 1 cup sugar with the nutmeg and ginger, then work in the second part of the lemon zest (1/3) with the tips of your fingers until the sugar resembles soft sand. Slowly pour in one part (1/2) of the lemon juice, stirring. Stop when the sugar and lemon juice form a thick, clumpy mixture like wet sand. (You may use all of the reserved half of the lemon juice; you may stop before completely adding that half of the lemon juice, depending on how much juice you got from your lemons.)

To assemble the rolls, lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking dish with baking spray or butter. On a floured surface pat the dough out into a large yet still thick rectangle — about 10x15 inches. Spread the dough evenly with 3 tablespoons of very soft unsalted butter, then spread the lemon-sugar mixture over top. Roll the dough up tightly, starting from the top long end. Stretch and pull the dough taut as you roll, to keep the lemon sugar firm inside. Cut the long dough roll into 12 even rolls. Pinch the bottom of each roll closed to help keep the lemon sugar inside, and place each one, open and cut side up, in the prepared baking dish.

Cover the rolls with a towel and let them rise for an hour or until puffy and nearly doubled. (You can also refrigerate the rolls at this point. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap or a towel, and place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to bake the rolls, remove the pan from the fridge, and let them rise for an hour before proceeding with baking.)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Place the risen rolls in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into a center roll reads 190°F.

While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. In a small food processor (or with a mixer, or a sturdy whisk), whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the remaining part lemon juice and blend until well combined. This is where mine got thin. I had a lot of lemon juice. The easy correction would be to add in even more powdered sugar, but I think it works out well either way. Add the powdered sugar and blend until smooth and creamy.

When the rolls are done, smear them with the cream cheese glaze, and sprinkle the final part (1/3) of the lemon zest over top to garnish. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving, but do serve while still warm.

These were a big hit and a fun, new way to have citrus for breakfast - maybe not in the healthy January way, but in the lazy Sunday way. 

So what's up?

You might be asking me that what with the radio silence and all. I haven't been ignoring you (on purpose), I've just been really super busy. I know you've heard that before, but listen, this is new. 10 weeks ago a new man entered my life and he demands all of my time. He's the center of my world. He's also really, really cute even though he spits up a lot and keeps my up nights.

10 weeks ago Aaron and I welcomed little Harrison Paul into our family. He is such a joy even if he is also a ton of work. So cooking, blogging, leaving the house, all of those things have kind of moved to the back burner. But! There is life after childbirth! My life is starting to stabilize a bit and I've got a small backlog of stuff to post AND I still really like cooking. So hooray! Blog is going to be updated again, even if it becomes even more sporadic than it was before.

The tag does say excuses. But now it's really cute excuses. (My MLS is pretty cute too.)

Things I Love Thursday: Sept. 6, 2012

Gorgeous Garlic via http://atfis.wordpress.com/

Oh my gosh, we're back! I have been looking at things and loving them...and then not blogging about it. Eh. You know. Let's let bygones be bygones and get to it.

There's lots of fabulous food news in my neighborhood and that's what I'm starting with. Though I was sad that Pix closed their Williams location, I was super stoked to hear that Kenny and Zuke's will be taking over the spot. Portland is a fabulous food town, but lately it has not been a fabulous bagel town (RIP Kettleman's). K & Z make a fab bagel, but it's all the way downtown and I'm lazy. Williams has a lot of good stuff and this will be just one more.

Even closer to home is the fantastic news that the geniuses behind Bunk Sandwiches are moving into the Under Wonder space. The new place will be called Trigger., will be open on more than just show nights, and are going to be Tex-Mex themed. Yeah, everything I could possibly want plus this quote "authentic gay cowboy cuisine". I'm in.

Pizza Ban Lifted in N. Korea: I didn't even know this was a thing, but I guess it is. Hooray for pizza!

Anatomy of a Gummy Bear via I Love Charts

(click image to enlarge)

What's Good at Trader Joe's?: It's not secret that I'm a huge TJ's fan, but sometimes those random tasty looking items you grab end up just being random and not so tasty. Obviously things change a lot, but this seems like an excellent resource to have. After all, I'm a librarian and we are nothing if not a breed of people who loved resources.

And speaking of libraries and resources, Southeast Portland recently got a kitchen tool lending library. It has everything from simple stuff like pots and pans to things you might not ever buy, like a dehydrator. 

Super, super cool.

From Christoper Boffoli's Disparity Series via Looks Like Good Design

Bon Appetit! 100 Years of Julia Child: Last month would have been Julia Child's 100th birthday and it's hard to imagine a more influential person in home cooking. I love the angle this article takes on Child's contributions to feminism and the advancement of women. Plus it includes the rad remix video you may have seen floating around. 

Chopped is my favorite cooking show. Serious Eats tells you why Kirsten and I aren't the only ones who go crazy for it. I had a dream I won it the other night. It was super convincing. And yeah, I rocked the dessert round.

Cake Mix Science: Jessie tests why can't you just bake the frosting into the cake? And then frost it again. Interesting and delicious results.

Radish Card from Sugarboo Designs via Honey & Jam

I'm also loving: Interurban's happy hour (esp. that quesadilla); after dinner snacks of olives, pickles, and sharp cheddar; the Green Machine at Bamboo. I mean, seriously, how can one sushi roll be that delicious?; Cock'n'Bull ginger beer; candied bacon in so many things; discount pizza because I came in 45 minutes before closing (I love my neighborhood); Killer Burger's peanut butter pickle bacon burger. Sounds like what? Tastes like WHA?omnomnomnom; cucumber salad; fro-yo; sparkling water; sharing chocolate milkshakes with my sweetie (d'awww); fancy mocktails.  

What are you loving this week?

Basil Vinaigrette

Basil. Delicious. Herbaceous. Sometimes going limp in your refrigerator. If you’ve got a lot of basil, this recipe might be just what you need. It’s fast and fantastic with meats and salads. I like it enough to go buy basil. I didn’t have a shallot at the time, so you’ll see my substitution below.

Basil Vinaigrette from Simply Recipes:

Makes about 1 cup

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 Tb. chopped onion

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

½ c. roughly chopped basil leaves

¼ c. white wine vinegar

¾ c. olive oil

Place the salt, sugar, mustard, garlic, onion, and basil in a food processor. Pulse several times to combine. Scrape the sides of the blender down with a spatula. Add the vinegar and pulse again.

Turn the processor on low and take off the cap in the center of the lid. Slowly pour in the olive oil. It may sputter a little out of the open cap, so hold your hand over it to minimize splashing. When the olive oil is incorporated, turn off the blender and scrape the sides down one more time. Cover and purée everything for 1-2 minutes.

It’s great with a summer green salad and also dynamite with grilled chicken because of its pesto-esque flavor. It will keep in the fridge for about a week.

Zucchini Bread Pancakes

Zucchini – that little summer squash that overwhelms gardens and CSAs everywhere. What should you do with all of those green guys that are filling up your produce drawer? Zucchini bread is an obvious choice, but when I saw this recipe from Smitten Kitchen about zucchini bread pancakes, I was intrigued. It’s a rad new way to do breakfast, use up some zucchini, and it’s not all that bad for you. Aaron even ate them and he is a long time zucchini hater. Not bad for a morning’s work. Deb has lots of options for many of the ingredients. Below are my choices. Check out the original to make your own or just do what I did because I can tell you that these are awesome.

Zucchini Bread Pancakes from Smitten Kitchen:

Makes 10 to 12 pancakes

2 large eggs

3 Tb. olive oil

2 Tb. dark brown

¼ c. buttermilk

½ tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. shredded zucchini (from about 9 ounces whole, or 1 1/2 medium zucchini), heaping cups are fine

½ c. all-purpose flour

½ c. whole wheat flour

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Butter or oil, for coating skillet

For the topping (optional) -

1 Tb. maple syrup

3 Tb. plain Greek yogurt

If you’re doing the topping, mix together the maple syrup and yogurt in a small bowl. There. Done.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, olive oil, sugar, buttermilk and vanilla until smooth. Stir in zucchini shreds. In a smaller bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir dry ingredients into zucchini batter, mixing until just combined.

Preheat oven to 200°F and place a tray on a middle rack. I skipped this step because even though it does ensure that your pancakes are cooked all the way through, it was already hot in my house and I couldn’t stand the idea of putting the oven on.

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Once hot, melt a pat of butter in pan and swirl it around until it sizzles. Scoop scant ¼ cup dollops of batter in pan so the puddles do not touch. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook another minute or two, until golden underneath. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm with maple syrup yogurt topping or butter and maple syrup or however you like your pancakes.

These do taste a lot like zucchini bread and you can almost pretend you’re being healthy. It’s pretty close.