I have friends scattered around the country.  They’re the best kind of friends.  People I met in college, befriended while studying abroad in Ireland, or recently acquired via marriage that happen to live a time zone away.

I love these friends.  On the occasions when I actually get to visit them, or even just speak with them over the phone, it’s as if we’ve never parted.  I could use more friends like that.  Everyone could, really.

I just got off the phone with one of such friends (you know who you are!), and during our conversation I mentioned this recipe.  It’s a yummy way to use the excess of sweet potatoes you may have grown this year (her.)  Or purchased because you think they look pretty (me.)  Either way.

I think it would make a nice appetizer for your Thanksgiving dinner as well, if your house guests like hummus and spice.

Speaking of which, I only used 1 teaspoon of cayenne because I have sensitive taste buds.  You might do the same until you’ve tasted your concoction and determined your desired level of heat.

Make this hummus and eat it with carrots and pita chips.  Then call your friend on the east coast.  She probably misses you.

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chickpeas
3 tablespoons tahini
3 cloves garlic, peeled
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1/2 lemon
ground sea salt, to taste
1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the sweet potatoes on the middle oven rack or in a baking dish for 45 minutes to an hour. They should yield to a gentle squeeze when they’re done baking.
While the sweet potatoes are cooling, toss all of the other ingredients into a food processor. Once the sweet potatoes have cooled enough to handle, use a knife or your fingers to peel the skin off of them. Add the sweet potatoes to the food processor.
Blend well, and serve! I garnished mine with a light sprinkle of cayenne pepper and sesame seeds.

Source: One Green Planet

Holiday spirit hit me today, completely out of the blue.

One minute I’m complaining alongside the dental hygienist about how Christmas decorations appeared all over the city before Halloween, and the next thing I know I’m turning on the Pandora Christmas channel.

I never saw it coming.

I intended to make these cookies in boring square shapes, but amidst all the Christmas music somehow my cookie cutters emerged from their remote hiding place above the refrigerator, ready for use.

I showed some restraint and only went so far as snowflakes.  The truly offensively holiday-related shapes will just have to wait.

Ingredients

Directions

Year of the Noodle: Week 42

I didn’t name this one.  I guess Slurp-tastic was the best way to describe this not-quite-broth-not-quite-sauce thing going here.

It’s a little disorienting.  Should it go on a plate or in a bowl?  Do it eat it with a fork?  A spoon?  Chopsticks?

I settled on chopsticks, followed by a soup spoon.  I am not convinced that was the best choice, but it did get noodles into my mouth.

This photo makes the noodles look like a dried up Pasta Roni dish with no slurpyness in sight.  I let the pasta sit for too long and it no longer looked pretty.  Sigh.  Sometimes I am not giving my A game.

On that same vein, I forgot to pick up tofu and had to make mine tofu-free.  I think if I did add tofu it would need to be preseasoned.  The broth/sauce/whatever doesn’t seem strong enough in flavor to bring tofu to life.  Just a tad milder than I would have liked, but I suppose this would make a good light lunch.

10 more noodle dishes to go!

Ingredients

4 ounces thin, dried pasta
1 cup coconut milk (light is fine)
1 tablespoon green or yellow curry paste
1 1/2 cups lightly flavored vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon salt (more or less depending on the saltiness of your broth)
6 ounces tofu, cut into small cubes or pieces
1/4 cup chives, minced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup basil, chopped
pinch of crushed red chile peppers

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. This is eventually going to be the pot you cook the pasta in.

In a separate large, thick-bottomed pot, bring 1/4 cup of the coconut milk to a simmer, mash and stir the curry paste into the coconut milk so there are no lumps. Now add the rest of the coconut milk and the vegetable broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and stir in the tofu. Taste and decide if you need to add more curry paste or salt – if you do want to add more curry paste at this point, make a slurry by combining the additional curry paste and a bit of the broth, working any lumps out – add this to the pot.

Back at the pasta pot, salt the water generously and cook the pasta per package instructions. Drain.

Just before serving stir the chives, cilantro, and basil into the curry pot. To serve, place a nice helping of noodles in the center of each bowl and finish with a ladle of the curry and tofu along with a tiny pinch of crushed red chile peppers.

Source: 101 Cookbooks

Where does the phrase “Have your cake and eat it, too” come from?

If I handed you a piece of cake and you didn’t eat it, I wouldn’t think you were prudent and rational.  I’d be offended.  I just handed you yummy cake – you should eat it.  Even if it’s this cake, which is more like sweet bread than cake.

Why can’t we have it all?  Who is out there telling us not to enjoy our cake?

Silliness.  If I hand you a slice of this, by all means, eat it.  It’s delicious.

(By the way, I know this is an ugly photo.  We ran out of spice cake so quickly I didn’t have the chance to make it pretty for a second round.  Trust me, it’s still tasty even if a little odd looking above :) )

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1 tablespoon toasted hazelnut oil – or almond oil, or more melted butter
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, plus more for the pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup sugar, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons for topping
2 large eggs
1/2 cup well-pureed roasted winter squash
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup lightly toasted sliced almonds (optional)

Directions

Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat until it’s brown and gives off a deliciously nutty aroma. This can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. You want the butter solids nicely toasted, but not scorched. Stir in the toasted hazelnut oil. Set aside and allow to cool but not set. By doing the butter first you can complete the rest of the steps while it is cooling.

Preheat oven to 350F / 180C with a rack in the top 1/3. Butter and flour a 1-lb loaf pan, or roughly 9x5x3-inch.

Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, garam masala, and sea salt into a large bowl. Set aside. In a smaller bowl whisk the sugar, eggs, squash, and milk. Whisk in the still melted butter, but make sure it isn’t hot to the touch. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Fold in most of the almonds.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar and remaining almonds, and bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the edges have browned and the center of the cake is well set. Do your best to avoid over-baking, part of the charm of this cake is its moistness, when it is baked properly. Use a cake tester if necessary.

Source: 101 Cookbooks

Year of the Noodle: Week 41

This week I got into forearm stand.

If you aren’t a yogi that probably means nothing.  Just know that it’s hard.  Maybe not for everyone, but for me.  Mostly because my brain gets in the way (it spreads panic about throwing out my shoulders and being unable to work.  Not entirely useful.)

I’ve been trying nearly daily to get myself into this posture without the support of the wall, and this week I succeeded.  It may have only been for 10-20 seconds, but I call it success.

What a confidence boost.

I’m extending that confidence into making it though the end of the Year of the Noodle.  I have 11 dishes left and only 7 weeks, but I can do it.  I have confidence.

I got into forearm stand, after all.  Making lasagna should be easy.

Ingredients

Olive oil, for baking dish
4 cups Acorn Squash Puree
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 no-boil lasagna noodles, half of an 8-ounce package

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush an 8-inch square baking dish with oil; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix squash puree with sage, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In another bowl, mix ricotta with 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Lay 2 lasagna noodles in the bottom of prepared dish; spread with half the squash mixture. Layer with 2 more noodles, and spread with half the ricotta mixture. Repeat layering with remaining noodles and mixtures. Sprinkle top (ricotta mixture) with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Cover baking dish with foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lasagna is heated through, about 45 minutes; remove foil, and continue baking until golden on top, 20 to 25 minutes more.