Spring Cleaning

Gosh, I can't believe it's been over a week since I last posted. Spring cleaning is in full force around here. In the past I've never had time for spring cleaning. At least that was my perception. Now I see it as one of the perks of being unemployed.

It's funny how perceptions change. When I was working, I dreaded any kind of cleaning with the same fierceness that I might dread a tooth extraction. And while I was cleaning I was about as happy as I'd be during a tooth extraction as I woefully considered all the other things I'd rather be doing. Now though, with more time on my hands, I don't mind it as much.


The exertion of spring cleaning calls for a hardy lunch. This was supposed to be a Monte Cristo Sandwich with Sweet Mustard Sauce but I made so many adaptations I don't think you could really call it that. The whole "Monte Cristo" thing sounded too rich for my taste so basically what we have here is a ham and turkey sandwich. After I finished making the mustard sauce I decided that it was too messy for dipping so I added 1/4 c. of mayo and turned it into a spread. It was just as tasty that way and much less messy.

Sweet Mustard Spread - (Adapted from MyRecipes.com)
1/4 c. red currant jelly
2 tbs. Dijon mustard
1 tbs. orange juice
1/4 c. mayonnaise



For the pasta salad I used the same dressing as the one for my BLT Salad. To the pasta I added 1 pint of halved cherry tomatoes and one bunch of lightly boiled asparagus. I also topped each individual portion with one chopped scallion. It was even better the second day!

Meatloaf Nostalgia

I love the way cooking meatloaf makes the house smell. Usually, when I cook meatloaf I also slow cook a pound of lima beans in the crockpot along with mashed potatoes. I didn't quite get there with the Lima beans yesterday, but still the smell was wonderful - and wonderfully nostalgic. The savory smell of the meatloaf and the starchy aroma of the potatoes takes me right back to my childhood. It makes me feel like I'm walking into my grandmother's kitchen 20 years ago.

I spent weeks at a time in the summer with my grandparents and it didn't matter if it was 102 degrees outside - something was cooking in the kitchen. It was usually something aromatic and savory like meatloaf or pot roast. I can remember coming into the house after playing all afternoon in the yard - or helping out in the garden, sweaty and covered in a fine layer of red soil dust and the farther I walked into the house the stronger the aroma. You'd catch a whiff of it right when you opened the door.


I recreated that nostalgic smell in my house yesterday with Barefoot Contessa's Individual Meatloaves. The flavor was right on the money, however, I do think that the next time I make these that I'll use little mini loaf pans rather than placing them on a cookie sheet, in order to retain more moisture.

I've copied and posted the recipe below or you can also find it on Food Network.

Individual Meat Loaves

• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 3 cups chopped yellow onions (3 onions)
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup canned chicken stock or broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 1/2 pounds ground chuck (81 percent lean)
• 1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs (recommended: Progresso)
• 2 extra-large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup ketchup (recommended: Heinz)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onions, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not brown. Off the heat, add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, onion mixture, bread crumbs, and eggs, and mix lightly with a fork. Don't mash or the meatloaf will be dense. Divide the mixture into 6 (10 to 11-ounce) portions and shape each portion into a small loaf on a sheet pan. Spread about a tablespoon of ketchup on the top of each portion. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the internal temperature is 155 to 160 degrees F and the meat loaves are cooked through. Serve hot.

Banana Pancakes

An ongoing dilemma in our house is what to do with over-ripe bananas. I am not a picky eater by any stretch of the imagination, however, I am very picky when it comes to eating bananas. I will only eat them raw if they are completely free of even the hint of a brown spot and are still a little green. So we are inevitably left with two or three bananas from the bunch, left sitting out on the counter until I can make something else with them. Typically, they become one of two things - banana bread or banana pancakes. This week it was pancakes - topped with Vermont Maple Syrup and with a side of bacon. Yum!

Of course, if anyone has any other ideas about things that you can make with over-ripe bananas, I'm all ears. Someone once suggested Banana Pudding, however, since it's typically made using raw bananas, for me (picky, picky) they would still need to be a little green.


Banana Pancakes (for two)

1 c. all purpose flour (or whole wheat if you prefer it)
2 tbs. sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tbs. melted butter
2 over-ripe mashed bananas

Combine first four dry ingredients in a medium to large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 c. milk, egg, mashed bananas, and vanilla. Mix into dry ingredients, just until combined. Fold in melted butter. (Note: you can use more milk if you like thinner pancakes). Heat pan coated with a little butter or oil over medium heat, then add desired amount of batter and cook until bubbles form in the middle of the pancake. Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Yield: about 6 medium pancakes

Tip: If you're like me and you don't have a griddle where you can cook a large batch of pancakes all at once, then just preheat your oven to 250 degrees and as you cook your pancakes place them on a cookie sheet and into the preheated oven. This will keep them warm and crisp without further cooking them.

The Last Winter Stew?

Could it be? Could it possibly be that last night's beef and barley is the last winter stew that I'll make this season? It sure seems that way with temperatures promising to rise into the 50s tomorrow and hold steady until at least next Friday. Of course, this could just be a typical March teaser. March likes to torment us with it's identity crisis. Is it winter? Is it spring? March plays both roles. It would not be at all out of character to take a dip back into winter late in the month. But today, the snow is already melting.



As we have had more snow this year than in the last five years combined, there have been many gripes and grumbles about the weather lately. I, however, have no complaints. My emotions and mood are very sensitive to the weather but it's not the dreary, sunless days that most people associate with S.A.D. that have an adverse affect on me. For the past few years, we've had mild winters but they've also been indecisive winters. 30 degrees one day, 60 degrees the next, and so on and so forth, for months on end. While some relish in the momentary and fleeting warmth, I feel like Mother Nature is toying with me. I feel jerked around.

This winter there haven't been those lapses into spring-like weather. It turned cold in December and it has pretty much stayed that way until now, March. Which is how it should be in the winter. Things feel in balance, not all topsy-turvy and out of whack.
(I reflect on this purely on a local level. The victims of the recent natural disasters in other parts of the world are ever-present in my thoughts and I am deeply aware that they do not feel that the world is in balance at this moment).

***

I knew I wanted to make one last hearty winter soup before the end of the season so I settled on this Beef and Barley which I adapted from The Kitchn. I served them with Herb Gruyere Biscuits, a recipe that I found on Viola with Emily. (I won't post that recipe since I followed the one on Emily's blog almost exactly. My only modifications were to use a little chopped fresh rosemary instead of the sage and I used just 1 stick of butter, instead of 1 1/2 sticks that the original recipe calls for).

Beef and Barley Stew Soup (The original recipe was for a stew but I added much more liquid making this more of a soup than a stew)

2 pound chuck roast, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 onion, diced
4 celery stalks, medium slices
3 carrots, medium slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 2 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 cups beef stock
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup barley
salt and pepper

Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large soup pot on medium high heat. Add the meat cubes, in a single layer and brown on all sides (about 2-3 minutes on each side). Remove the meat and pour any remaining liquid over it. Set aside.

Using the same pot, add a little more oil and once heated add the onions. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add celery, carrots, and the garlic. Saute for another 3-4 minutes or until slightly tender (this soup is going to cook for a long time so you don't want the veggies to get too tender just yet).

Pour the wine in the pan to deglaze and cook until most of the wine is reduced - about 5 minutes. Add the tsp. of Worcestershire sauce, the beef, and then the beef and chicken broths. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add the barley (and water if needed) and simmer for another 30-45 minutes - or until meat and barley are both tender.

Since I served this with the Gruyere cheese biscuits, I topped the soup with a little grated Gruyere cheese, just to tie things all together.

Note: After making this, I really think that a good quality meat is essential to this dish. I found a really nice looking 2 pound roast at the grocery store that had a nice thin marble running through it. As I was chopping it up, it had a nice rich and deep aroma, even before I started cooking it. It was a little pricey but in retrospect it was worth every penny. My husband said that it was the most flavorful and tender beef that I'd ever made.

Winter is Still Here

Old man Winter came out to play again yesterday, if only to prove that he's still here, lurking behind overcast clouds and sparse moments of sunshine. Not that we'd forget, with the remains of the last snow storm still covering large areas of the ground. An inch or two of new snow blanketed the earth and clung to the bushes and trees, but not the roads.


It was a gentle, pretty snow. A subtle reminder that Winter lives on.



With that in mind, my salad weatherization continues with a robust BLT salad. The large chunks of homemade croutons, thick, creamy ranch dressing, and crisp bacon make this a hearty and substantial meal.

BLT Salad


Ranch Dressing

1/4 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. sour cream
1/4 c. milk
1 shallot, minced
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
Salt/pepper

Whisk all ingredients together until well blended. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more milk. I also occasionally add 1 tbs. Parmesan cheese. You can make this dressing as fattening or low fat as you like depending on the fat content of the mayo, sour cream, and milk.

Black Bean Burgers

I make these burgers a lot in the summertime. They cook up quickly so it doesn't heat up the kitchen too much on hot, steamy summer days. They're also a good fall-back recipe for me because I almost always have the ingredients on hand, therefore they don't require any advance planning. I found myself in such a situation on Friday night, rummaging through the pantry wondering what I could throw together for a quick dinner. These simple, yet appetizing, burgers were the ticket.

Black Bean Burgers


1/3 c. chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. seasoned bread crumbs
1/3 c. chopped fresh parsley
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. frozen corn
1 egg
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
splash soy sauce
salt and pepper

After rinsing beans, place them in a bowl and partially mash them with a potato masher. Add all other ingredients and mix together well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Form into four large patties or six small ones. Coat pan with olive oil and saute for several minutes on each side until cooked through.
I served them on a toasted English muffin with roasted asparagus and sauteed potatoes.

We enjoyed a cheap, unfussy wine with our cheap, unfussy dinner. It was from Spain and though the bottle said that it paired well with pizza, our burgers were also a good combo.

Winter Salad

I have an incredibly hard time eating salad in the winter. Most days it’s the absolute last thing I want to eat. I readily set good intentions aside in favor of warm, nostalgic comfort food. In early January, I tried to do a cleanse of sorts – no caffeine, no sugar, super healthy meals. It seemed like a good idea after all that rich holiday food. Wrong. I made it four grumpy, pouty days and then called it quits and decided to put the whole thing on hold until spring. I simply can’t eat super healthy in the winter. It’s just not in me.

Therefore, I’ve been trying to find ways to winterize my salads to make them more appealing to my cold-weather palette. The solution? Butternut squash roasted to sweet perfection, with couscous, red wine vinaigrette, and cranberries to add a touch of sweetness. Now that's a salad I can handle in the winter!

Winter Butternut Squash Salad

The couscous:

1 c. couscous

1 ¼ c. chicken broth

1 tbs. olive oil or butter

¼ tsp. salt

1 c. dried cranberries

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

2-3 shallots (or 1 small onion), diced small

The vinaigrette:

3 tbs. red or white wine vinegar

1 tbs. olive oil

2 tsp. orange zest

¼ tsp. coriander

¾ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. cumin

1 tsp. of salt

Toppings:

Chopped fresh parsley

Small handful of chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss squash with olive or grapeseed oil and spread out on baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle with salt. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (the squash should be tender but not mushy). Allow to cool completely.

Saute shallots until tender. Set aside to cool.

Whisk together ingredients for vinaigrette. Set aside.

Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add couscous, ¼ tsp. salt, and olive oil or butter. Boil for one minute then cover and remove from heat for 5-8 minutes. To the couscous, add cranberries, garbanzo beans, sautéed shallots, and cooled squash. Pour the vinaigrette over the mixture and gently mix together until all ingredients are coated with the vinaigrette. Spoon onto plates and top with chopped fresh parsley and chopped walnuts. Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from - The Kitchn