The dregs of February

I'm not a big fan of being cold. While I do enjoy a Fall day when the air is crisp and I need to wear something under a sweater, the bone-chilling, bitter cold of a western Pennsylvania February has me craving something hot and steamy.

A blog-favorite of mine posted her recipe for Sweet Potato and Molasses Beef Stew on her website, but, of course, I changed it to suit my fancy. The recipe directions she includes are excellent. I leave out the celery, the carrots, and the white potato and double (or triple) the amount of sweet potatoes. I also doubled the amount of molasses, because although I did not want a pronounced molasses flavor, I did want to be able to taste a hint of it. The last thing I did was make a small amount of butter and flour roux, which I cooked to a deep brown (about 10-12 min; 3 Tbsp butter, 1/4 cup flour.) It added another depth of flavor and thickened this up in a most fantastic way. Due to the wee littles, I like stews to be rather thick; less dribbling down shirts is a good thing.

This is hearty and delicious and something that makes the bleak and icy landscape a bit more tolerable. I highly recommend that you make it.

Oh, as an aside, do be sure to try her Salmon Noodle Casserole. It has become a family favorite 'round these parts.

Five Spice Crispychews

I'm relatively obsessed with five spice. I have a tendency to use it in anything that calls for- or looks like it may call for- cinnamon. Don't get me wrong, cinnamon has its place. Heck, five spice has cinnamon in it. But, when you compare five spice to cinnamon... cinnamon shows up as a dowdy, quiet cousin who comes to visit from Iowa or Kansas and no, doesn't want to go out clubbing with you and your friends. Cinnamon wants to say home and do economics homework.

Five Spice Crispychews are the sophisticated version of a molasses cookie recipe I had. While the traditional molasses cookie is a bit up front in spiciness, Five Spice Crispychews flirt with you from across the room.

Five Spice Crispychews

1/2 cup butter-flavored Crisco (I don't recommend substituting)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup molasses (not blackstrap)

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp Five Spice powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup demarara sugar (or granulated sugar) for decoration

Cream the Crisco, butter, and sugars together until very well combined. Add egg and mix well. Add molasses and vanilla, mixing until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients, then add all at once to the butter mixture. Mix until all of the flour is combined. Cover and chill for 3 hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350*F. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls (about the size of a walnut.) Roll the balls in the demarara sugar and place on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Bake for 11 minutes. Let cool for 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Yield: 3 dozen

Quick and Dirty Dinners

There are times when one needs to just throw something together for dinner in order to get "other things" done. While this is all fine and good, I feel that it is essential that said dinner also has to be delicious and not at all in resemblance of the fast-food genre.

I am a firm believer that a small amount of time dedicated to prep work makes the Quick & Dirty dinner such a success. I'm also fond of having a well-packed freezer of items that make Q&D such a staple.

It is inevitable that at some point of an early acquaintance I will ask what a favorite food is. My exhusband's favorite food is stuffed shells. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach; I say it's actually through his sternum.

Quick & Dirty Stuffed Shells

1 lb package large pasta shells, cooked just almost al-dente, drained, and set aside in cold water (they will cook a bit more when you bake them; you don't want mushy shells)

Filling ingredients:
2 lb part-skim ricotta cheese
2 large eggs (or 1 large egg and 1 egg white; or the equivalent egg-substitute product)
1 cup pulverized crumbs made from prepackaged Caesar-seasoned croutons
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried Italian-style seasoning blend (or 1/4 tsp each dried oregano and dried basil)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
optional: 1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, 1/2 lb italian sausage cooked, crumbled, and drained.
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3 cups of your favorite tomato-based pasta sauce
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Freezing equipment: gallon-sized freezer bags, baking sheets lined with plastic wrap

Mix all of the filling ingredients until well-blended. Scoop a rounded tablespoon into each pasta shell and set the filled shells aside on the baking sheet. Once the sheet (s) are full, place the sheets in the freezer and freeze the shells until they are completely solidly frozen. Remove from baking sheets and place in the freezer bags.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400*F. Spray a shallow baking pan (8x8 for 2-4 servings; 9 x 13 for 6 servings) with cooking spray. Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of the pan, arrange shells in a single layer, then top with remaining sauce. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes for small pan; 40 minutes for a large pan. Remove foil and sprinkle with cheese; bake 15-20 additional minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serving size: 2-3 shells

I'm somewhat annoyed

I lost the entire post due to some strange error that Blogger is having. I haven't the energy or the memory cells to reiterate what it was that I wrote in the first place. I recall something about my rosebushes and winter coming and needing to be tucked in for a long sleep. At some point, thinking of all of the above today made me think of my favorite bread. It is perfection toasted and slathered with summer preserves in the bleakness of January.

Honey-Oatmeal Bread

2 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup butter, cut in small pieces
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 pkg active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105-115*F)
1 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, uncooked
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
3 Tbsp. toasted wheat germ
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups all-purpose flour

Combine milk, honey, butter, and salt in a saucepan; heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. Cool to 105-115*F.Combine 1 3/4 cups (each) whole wheat and all purpose flour in a bowl. Set aside.Combine yeast and warm water in a 1 cup liquid measuring cup; let stand 5 minutes. combine yeast mixture, liquid mixture, oats, flaxseed, and remaining flour (not the flour you set aside in the bowl) in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Stir in remaining flour. Dough should be soft but sticky. If using a stand mixer with a dough-hook attachment, knead dough by machine until dough is smooth and sides of the bowl are clean; about 3 minutes. If kneading by hand, turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic; about 8-10 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, then flip it over so the entire dough ball is greased. Cover, and let rise in a warm place free from drafts for about an hour; until doubled in bulk (or in the refrigerator overnight; but let come to room temp before proceeding.) Punch dough down; cover and let stand 10 minutes. Divide dough in half. Place on a floured surface. Roll each half into a 15" x 9" rectangle. Roll up, jellyroll fashion, starting at narrow end; pinch seams and ends to seal. Place loaves, seam side down in 2 greased 9" x 5" loaf pans. Brush with butter.Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 40 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375*F for 45 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped. Cover with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. Remove loaves from pans; cool on wire racks.

Wherein Daniela eats meat once again.

There was an undeniable craving for roasted chicken that I just could not deny. Therefore, this ends what shall be known as "the vegetarian streak."

Swedish Apple Pie

After the excitement of the first day of school died down, the thing I looked forward to most was apple picking. It was almost magical to me to go into the pristine rows of gnarled trees, Cortlands and Mackintoshes sparkling in the sun like rubies. We had free roam of the orchard, the musty fragrance of fallen leaves mixed with the crisp coolness of fall air, the softness of my favorite sweatshirt, the crunch of the oranges, reds, greens, and yellows of the foliage underfoot.

My mother's pies never really came out too well. The bottom crust was always doughy and I'd gingerly pick out the delicious filling, being careful not to get any of the crust mixed with my bite.

As I grew older, I baked the ubiquitous all-American apple pie. After a day or so, my bottom crust would get soggy, usually causing me to toss the leftover pie in the disposal. The solution? A pie without a bottom crust, is a cinch to put together, and tastes like you're eleven years old and sitting in the orchard. The top is crispy, delicate and tender at the same time. Take care to get it in the oven as soon as you finish spreading the batter on the apples.

Vegan Swedish Apple Pie

2 1/2 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples; I used a blend of Granny Smith and Cortland
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup margarine, melted (such as Earth's Best)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup soy yogurt*
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9-inch glass pie plate with margarine. Toss apples with brown sugar and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup sugar, soy yogurt, and vanilla with the melted margarine. Whip with an electric mixer until the mixture is very aerated and nearly white. Stir together flour, soda and salt. Add all at once to margarine mixture and mix until just combined but with no lumps. Spread mixture over the apples. Bake in preheated oven for 65 minutes, or until golden brown.

*(If you eat eggs and dairy products, you can omit the yogurt and the baking soda and substitute a beaten egg; and use butter in place of margarine for similar results.)

Breakfast Bars (Autumn and Tropical versions)

By now, the entire planet is well aware that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The number one reason for not eating breakfast has something to do with morning time constraints, the snooze button, and the fact that you thought you could stay up all night watching the Gene Simmons Family Values marathon on A&E.

On a lovely Sunday, you could spend 10 minutes whipping these badboys up and you can eat them in the car on your way to work (or rehab, if that's your gig.) They pack a nutritional punch, they're healthy, and they're rather addictive. Though the ingredient list looks daunting, it tends to be of the sort of things that are usually lurking about in your pantry with nothing else better to do. You don't have soy flour? No big. Just leave it out. Don't like pumpkin? Use applesauce. Not a fan of pecans? Use whichever nut you'd like, or leave them out. Hate cranberries? Use raisins. Hate cranberries AND raisins? Use dried apples. I think you get the gist here. These are egg-free, diary-free, and they're full of oaty goodness, which will probably lower your cholesterol. You can thank me later.

Autumn Breakfast Bars

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup oat flour (conveniently made from pulverizing old-fashioned rolled oats in a blender or food processor)
1/3 cup flaxseeds, toasted in a dry skillet until fragrant, and pulverized in a blender or food processor.
1/4 cup soy flour
1/2 cup Craisins or raisins or chopped dried apples.
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree; not the pumpkin pie mix (or natural applesauce)
1 medium Granny Smith or Gala apple, cored, peeled, seeded and chopped into small pieces (1/4 inch or so)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375*F. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl, stirring to combine. In a separate bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients along with the apple, dried fruit, and nuts. Stir until the mixture is well combined and spread into a greased 13 x 9 pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cut into squares while the bars are still warm, but do not remove them from the pan until they are completely cool (as they will fall apart if you take them out when still warm.)

Tropical Version: Reduce packed brown sugar to 2 Tbsp. Omit the maple syrup and water, the fresh apple, the pumpkin, the cinnamon, and the Craisins and pecans and substitute with the following:
1 cup canned pineapple tidbits (not crushed pineapple) well-drained and dried (reserve juice)
1 cup reserved pineapple juice from above; add enough water or apple juice to make one cup if you don't have enough.
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup packed sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup finely chopped dried mango and papaya
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts or cashews
1/4 tsp allspice