Salted oatmeal cookies with dried cranberry and dark chocolate chip

I got this recipe from a friend. They're cooling in the fridge before they go in the oven now. The dough is delish. I can only assume that the cookies will be amazing as well.

Ingrediants
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 all purpose flour
2 cups rolled organic oats

1 cup chocolate chips (I used ghirardelli's 60% cacao bittersweet chips)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Start off with cold butter sliced into small pieces and whipped in your mixer for a minute or so. Because it's cold it will stick a bit, but don't fret -- scrape and mix. Next, add both sugars the baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Combine at a medium speed till the mixture has a crumbly texture. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again until combined.

With the mixer on a low speed, slowly add the flour. If the motor sounds like it's working real hard as you add the last of the flour, pick up a spoon and go at it by hand. Don't overmix at this point or your cookies will get tough.

Gently fold in the oats and as many cranberries and raisins as you desire. Chill the dough for an hour before dropping by the heaping tablespoon onto a non-stick cookie sheet; lightly sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake on the second rack from the top at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Sprinkle on some more kosher salt crystals as some bake into the cookie while in the oven. The cookie should still be soft to the touch so carefully transfer them to a cooling rack. While cooling you'll have just enough time to brew up a nice cup of tea before the urge to consume overtakes you.

Black bean-Banana Empanadas

I found this recipe in Bon Appetit magazine, and it is sooooo yummy! We haven't made it in a while, and this time Brad convinced me to make my own dough, so I'll include that too. Here's the original recipe:

Ingredients
1 15oz can black beans, drained
3/4 c chopped onion
1/4 c chopped cilantro
1 firm medium-sized, diced
3/4 tsp cumin
1/3 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
salt to taste
1 17oz pkg puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
1 c coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 egg, beaten (for glaze)

Preheat oven to 425
Makes 12

1. Heat oil in a pan and add bananas. Saute 1 1/2 minutes, just until browning. Using slotted spoon transfer the bananas onto paper towel to drain.
2. Add onion to pan and saute just until translucent, about 3 minutes.
3. Add beans, cilantro, cayenne & cumin. Mix together, cooking until beans are hot. Remove from heat and mash bean mixture to coarse paste. Set aside to cool.
4. On floured surface, roll out puff pastry and cut into squares. Place heaping spoonful of filling, sprinkle with cheese, and top with banana, dividing evenly. Brush edges of pastry with glaze, fold into triangle,a and seal crust edges using a fork.
5. Place on ungreased baking sheet, and brush with glaze. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

If you're in the mood for a more corn-flavored empanada, use the dough recipe below. This dough is definitely more doughy, unlike the flaky lightness of the puff pastry. Both are delicious.

1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c fine-grained yellow cornmeal/corn flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 c vegetable shortening
1/2 c cold water
milk for glaze

1. Throw dry ingredients in food processor and blend for 5 seconds.
2. While still running, add shortening and blend another 10 seconds.
3. While still running, add water, slowly. Do not add too much - dough should be somewhat dry.
4. Remove from processor and hand-knead slightly, just until blended smoothly. Divide dough into 12 balls, set aside on a plate, and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for at least 20 minutes (this makes them easier to roll out).
5. Roll out each ball on a well-floured surface and add filling. Brush edges with water and seal with fork. Place on ungreased baking sheet and brush with a little milk.
6. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes until golden brown. (I used the baking directions from the other recipe and they came out perfect).

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, etc. Enjoy!

Amazing quinoa deliciousness

Last night we tried a new recipe for a veggie quinoa with pan seared
tofu. The recipe came from 101 Cookbooks, my favorite cooking blog
(http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/heathers-quinoa-recipe.html).
If you're not into quinoa, you could do it with a nice brown rice or
some other grain.

This was actually my first time making tofu at home. I have to say,
thanks to Brad's advise (to "Press it first (wrap it in a cloth napkin
or lint free towel, put it on a cookie sheet to catch the water, and
put some heavy shit on top of it--we use our cast iron griddle)" it
came out awesome. I also pan seared it until it was browned on both
sides and then added all the other ingrediants to that, rather than
the other way around. And I forgot to buy corn, so I left that out.

If there is one thing you do, make the oven roasted cherry tomatoes**
and put them on literally everything you eat. They were a.mazing.

Here's the original recipe....

Heather's Quinoa RecipeIf you don't have the time or inclination to
roast cherry tomatoes, substitute some chopped, moist, sun-dried
tomatoes. Also, a delicious alternative to the tofu in this recipe
might be paneer cheese which can stand up to the heat without losing
its form. Vegans can leave out the Parmesan in the pesto and make it
more of a basil-nut drizzle - still tasty, and a good fit for this
recipe.

a splash of extra-virgin olive oil
a pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 shallot, minced
3 cups cooked quinoa* (or brown rice, or other grain)
1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups kale, spinach or other hearty green, finely chopped
2 cups extra-firm nigari tofu, browned in a skillet a bit
1/3 cup pesto
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
1/4 cup roasted cherry tomatoes** (or chopped sun-dried tomatoes)

In a big skillet or pot heat the olive oil and salt over medium-high
heat. Stir in the shallot and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the
quinoa and corn and cook until hot and sizzling. Stir in the kale and
then the tofu, cooking until tofu is heated through. Remove the
skillet from heat and stir in the pesto and pumpkin seeds. Mix well so
the pesto is spread throughout. Turn everything out onto a platter and
top with the cherry tomatoes.
Serves 4 - 6.

*Rinse about 2 cups quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium
saucepan heat the quinoa and 4 cups water until boiling. Reduce heat
and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15
minutes. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain,
and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water
and set aside.

** To roast cherry tomatoes: Heat oven to 350F degrees. Cut each
tomato in half and arrange in a large oven-proof baking dish. Mix
together a big splash of olive oil, a spoonful of brown sugar, and a
few pinches of salt - pour this over the tomatoes. Gently toss them a
bit, making sure they all get coated, finishing with each tomato
facing cut-side up. Place in the oven and bake for 45 mintutes or so,
until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet.

Rustic Bread Eggplant Lasagna

Instead of working, I've decided to post all these recipes I've been meaning to share. Here's one of my real favorites:

Rustic Bread Eggplant Lasagna

3 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Jars Tomato Sauce
Olive Oil, for drizzling
2-3 Medium Eggplants, peeled
8-10 Large Slices of Sourdough Bread
1 Cup Breadcrumbs (or 2 more pieces of bread for toasting and food processing)
8 oz Fresh Mozzarella, thinly sliced
1-2 Large, Ripe Tomatoes, fresh, for garnish
Basil, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400º F.

1. Prep two baking sheets with parchment paper. Peel the eggplants by slicing off the top and bottom and using the cut edge to start your vegetable peeler. Holding the eggplant vertically, cut the eggplants into 1/2 inch slices. Arrange in one layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle liberally with olive oil.

Bake eggplant for 30-40 minutes at 400º, turning once, until very, very soft and browned in some places.

2. Spray both sides of each slice of bread with spray oil and “grill” in a hot skillet until browned on both sides. You can also just toast, but grilling adds great flavor.

3. In a large baking dish, spread 1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce. Line the bottom of the dish with bread, filling as many as the gaps as possible without overlapping.

4. Place half of the eggplant on top of the bread, followed by another 1 to 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce. Add a second layer of bread. Add the second half of the eggplant, and all of the remaining sauce. Make sure that the bread is completely covered by sauce. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top (I'm too lazy to make breadcrumbs so I leave them out).

5. Place fresh tomato slices on the top of the lasagna, sprinkled with salt and pepper. Top the dish with the slices of mozzarella. Bake for 40 minutes at 400º F. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before cutting. Top with basil leaves and drizzle sweet and thick balsamic vinegar (or balsamic syrup) on the plate if desired. Enjoy!

Baked Brie

I made this as an appetizer on the Superbowl and forgot to take a picture! I'll add one next time we make it. I used vegan Brie from our favorite vegan restaurant, Fairgrounds, but real Brie would be just as delicious.

1 pkg puff pastry shells*
1 container vegan Brie (approx. 8oz)
your favorite jam (I used raspberry)
maple syrup
brown sugar
fresh baked french bread (or your favorite)

1. Bake pastry shells for 1/2 the instructed time.
2. Remove shells from oven, pop open "tops" (be careful, they're hot!), spoon in Brie & then jam, filling to the top.
3. Replace "tops" - you can press down lightly, but if they aren't totally closed it's OK.
4. Generously drizzle maple syrup over shells, sprinkle with brown sugar, and return to oven to finish baking.
5. Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.
6. Serve with yummy bread.

*Most recipes I found called for using pastry sheets rather than shells, and then you would just wrap the entire Brie wheel in the dough, for 1 large baked Brie. I actually really liked the smaller, slightly-larger-than-bitesized-baked-Brie, because they were easy to serve and fun to eat!

Brad and I are hoping to make our own puff pastry dough next time - we'll keep you posted :) --no pun intended!

Best Fettuccine Alfredo EVER

I found this online at Allrecipes.com and it turned out to be a goldmine...absolutely delicious!! Now that I know I can make such a phenomenal alfredo sauce, I probably won't ever order it out again :)

1/4 c butter
1 c heavy cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 c parmesan, grated
1/4 c parsley
salt & pepper to taste (I probably added 1-2 tsp of salt)

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat.
2. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Stir in parsley and serve.