Veggie Might: Grandma’s Apple Pie

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian. It's a little early and slightly unhealthier than usual because ... well, hey ... it's Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving, I’ll be making my first real apple pie. It’s a dessert I’ve never attempted because a) it seemed too hard, and 2) my Grandma made the best apple pie ever. But, it’s been at least 20 years since I’ve had my grandma’s apple pie, and that’s what I want for Thanksgiving dessert, so I called my mom for the recipe.

My maternal grandmother, or Plain Grandma, as I called her to distinguish her from my Great-Grandmother, was not at all plain.  She was a sports fan and a lover of games, a whiz in the kitchen, and a vision in perma-crease polyester pants.

At 5’ 9” and about 110 lbs, her boundless energy and zest belied her fragile-looking frame. She would be up at dawn, cooking and cleaning and still at it late into the evening, watching her beloved Cincinnati Reds on TV and playing cards with her night owl granddaughter.

Grandma’s apple pie was legendary, and Mom can talk for hours about Grandma’s skills in the kitchen. She taught Mom and Aunt F how to make replicate some of her magic. I got the next best thing when Saturday, over the phone, my mom coached me through a mini test pie.

“First, don’t overwork the dough. And just use a little bit of butter for dotting. Oh, and start with a hot oven to set the crust; then turn it down to 350. That’s it. It’s really easy.”

She was right. It was much easier than I imagined. And, oh my Great Grandmas in Heaven, the pie came out amazingly delicious. Of course, I did a slight bit of CHG tweaking by reducing the amount of sugar, subbing maple syrup for brown sugar (just because), and using lemon juice to keep the apples from browning.

I still can’t believe how well the pie turned out. I called my mom to tell her, but she wasn’t surprised. “Your grandma knew how to take simple ingredients and make them into something really fancy and delicious. You just followed her lead.”

Thanks Mom...and Grandma...for passing along the apple pie skills. My Thanksgiving party people will be thanking you too. And Grandma, next year: the Reds in the playoffs? It’s a long shot, but this team’s got heart.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Hug your people and have some pie.

~~
If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Baked Apples
• Wild Berry Betty
• Stewed Pears

~~~

Plain Grandma’s Fancy Apple Pie
Serves 12

Filling
1 tsp flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp butter (or vegan margarine) for dotting
6 medium to large apples (mix of Granny Smith and MacIntosh), peeled and sliced
lemon juice

Crust
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
ice water

NOTE: Make sure all your crust ingredients are cold. I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: Alton Brown suggests measuring out your flour, salt, and shortening and sticking it in the freezer for a half-hour before you begin, as well as refrigerating your pie plate. Now that I have a few pie crusts under my belt, I concur. The crust is more tender and flaky with this method.

1) Move oven rack to lowest position. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2) Cut shortening into flour with a fork, pastry cutter, or food processor, until it has a pebbly look.

3) Sprinkle in ice water until dough starts to form. Keep adding water until it can take the shape of your hand.

4) Form dough into a cylindrical shape and cut nearly in half (leave a little more for your top crust). Wrap each half in plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes before you roll it out.

5) When you’re ready to roll out your crust, dust yourself and the kitchen in flour. Or just your hands, rolling pin, and workspace. Take out one of your refrigerated dough halves. Roll your half cylinder into a ball and begin rolling from the center until you have the desired size and thickness. Place your bottom crust in the pie pan and stick it back in the fridge until you’re ready to fill.

6) Sprinkle your sliced apples with lemon juice in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together the sugar, syrup, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Drizzle over the apples and stir to coat.

7) Roll out top crust as per instructions above. Remove bottom crust/pie pan from fridge and get ready to fill.

8) Pour apples into pie pan and carefully place top crust over apples. Pinch edges of crust together to seal. Then with a sharp knife, score the top crust to release the steam. Fun variation: before applying top crust, use a small cookie cutter to cut out shapes from the top crust. The holes will make pretty/adorable vents.

9) Place on bottom rack for 15 minutes. This sets the bottom crust. Then reduce heat to 350 and move to center rack. Continue baking for 45 minutes.

10) Remove and allow to cool. Slice and serve. This pie is so good you won’t even need a topping.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, and Price per Serving
225 calories, 9.4g fat, 1.1g fiber, $.39

Calculations
1 1/2 cup + 1 tsp flour: 512 calories, 1.5g fat, 1g fiber, $.32
2/3 cup sugar: 558 cal, 0g fat, 0g fiber, $.38
1/4 maple syrup: 210 calories, .26g fat, 0g fiber, $1.00
1 tsp cinnamon: negligible calories, fat, and fiber, $.02
1/2 tsp nutmeg: negligible calories, fat, and fiber, $.02
2 tsp vegan margarine: 66.7 cal, 7.3 fat, 0g fiber,  $.08
6 medium to large apples: 462 calories, 0g fat, 12g fiber, $2.00
lemon juice: 12 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, $0.25
1 tsp salt: negligible calories, fat, and fiber, $.02
1/2 cup shortening: 880 cal, 104g fat, 0g fiber,  $.62
2700.7 calories, 113g fat, 13g fiber, $4.71
225 calories, 9.4g fat, 1.1g fiber, $.39

Cheap, Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes: 38 Dishes for a Stellar Turkey Day

Ahhh …. the Great American Day of Eating is once again upon us. And ye gods, what better way to celebrate than three-dozen of CHG’s favorite holiday-appropriate recipes?

Finally, my secret, somewhat disturbing love of sweet potatoes serves a purpose: to warm the innards of others on Thanksgiving.

Besides those beloved yams, there’s a gaggle of veggie dishes (with an unexpected focus on Brussels sprouts), a coupla saucy offerings, and enough dessert bettys, cobblers, and crisps to rock your face right off.

Plus, as always, each recipe is inexpensive and nutritionally sound. So, without further ado ...

APPLE and CRANBERRY SAUCES
All Night Apple Butter
Chunky Applesauce
Cranberry Sauce with Grapefruit and Mint
Spiced Slow Cooker Applesauce

VEGGIES
Garlicky Broccoli Rabe
Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts
Honey-Glazed Roasted Carrots
Red Cabbage with Apples and Honey
Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar, Parmesan, and Pine Nuts
Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

POTATOES, SQUASH, and ROOT VEGGIES
Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake
Classic Baked Acorn Squash
Mashed Potatoes with Leeks and Sour Cream
Miso Mashed Potatoes
Molasses Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Butternut Squash with Moroccan Spices
Roasted Root Vegetables
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Teriyaki and Cilantro
Sweet Potatoes with Mini-Marshmallows
Thyme-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

A CORNBREAD RECIPE FOR KICKS
Southern-Style Corn Bread

DESSERTS
Apple Tart
Baked Apples
Maple Walnut Apple Crisp
Peach-Blueberry Cobbler
Pumpkin Pie
Snickerdoodles
Stewed Pears
Vanilla-Buttermilk Pound Cake
Wacky Cake (Chocolate Cake)
Wild Berry Betty

LEFTOVERS 
Chicken Stock
Pumpkin Turkey Chili
Tomato and Bread Soup
Turkey Chili with Beans
Veggie Stock

Readers, what are your favorite cheap-n-healthy Thanksgiving recipes? Add ‘em in the comment section!

~~~

If you like this article, you might also dig:

• 38 Cheap, Healthy Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers
• The Only Thanksgiving Post You’ll Ever Need: 100+ Links for Turkey Day
• Chop ‘til You Drop: The Ultimate Guide to Slicing, Carving, and Cutting Your Food into Tiny, Affordable Pieces

Veggie Might: Peach, Tomato, and Basil Salad, a.k.a. Salad Redeemed

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.

Like most people, I hate to waste food for fiduciary and children-starving-in-Africa-and-right-here-at-home-reasons. So when I improvise in the kitchen, I stick to a few basic tropes:

garlic + greens + beans
ginger + vegetable + grain
lemon + vegetable + pasta

They all = awesome, and the mixing and matching make me feel like there is variety in my diet.

Recently, I picked up some fresh fava beans from the farmers' market. They were a special treat because they were A) expensive and ii) I'd never had them before. Once home, I browsed my cookbooks for guidance. I didn't trust myself to go it alone.

Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian had a delicious-sounding fava bean salad with mint, and I fortuitously purchased just the right amount: 2 lbs still in the pods. I put a sticky note on the page for later.

The next day, I was drooling over the food porn at The Kitchn. A peach-tomato salad with basil caught my eye. "Must. Have.," I thought. I put a star next to the entry in my blog reader for later.

Later...I found myself in the kitchen with the primary ingredients for both salads. That's where it all went south. I thought, "Hey! The secondary ingredients in these salads are similar. Plus, mint and basil are nearly interchangeable with fruit. I'll just combine the recipes. They will taste great together!"

Never have I been so wrong about food. To begin with, I overcooked the beans, so they came out of the pods (and then the shells--so much work) all grey and mushy. If we eat with our eyes first, mine got food poisoning.

Despite appearance of the beans, I pressed on. The smell should have clued me in next. I can't exactly say why, but the beans just smelled like they didn't belong there. But still I proceeded with my plan. And as you can likely guess, the flavor combo did not work. The rich, creamy beans were almost nauseating paired with the bright, tangy peaches and tomatoes. It wasn't so much that it tasted bad; it just tasted wrong.

But the peaches and tomatoes were delicious together, tangy and sweet, even stuck in the fava bean muck. I picked out the fruit and ate it anyway, then immediately made another salad with only the stars.

It was glorious; I was redeemed. It felt good try, fail, and try again. And someday, when I'm feeling less queasy about fava beans, I'll give them another go.


Peach, Tomato, and Basil Salad
adapted from Chef Rowley Leigh, courtesy of The Observer
serves 3

2 small to medium peaches (about 10 oz combined)
1 large tomato (about 12 oz)
juice of 1/2 lemon
6 basil leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1) Place the tomato (or tomatoes) in a bowl and pour boiling water over it. Let it sit for about 30 seconds. Run under cold water and peel off the skin. Repeat with the peaches.

2) Cube the tomatoes and peaches and place in a medium bowl.

3) Drizzle lemon juice and olive oil over the fruit. Sprinkle the chopped basil leaves and toss lightly. Salt and pepper to taste.

4) Serve with confidence and a nice sauvignon blanc.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price per Serving
62.7 calories, .8g fat, $.84

Calculations
2 peaches: 118 calories, 0g fat, $1.24
1 tomato: 44 calories, 0g fat, $1.11
juice of 1/2 lemon: 6 calories, 0g fat, $.12
3 basil leaves: negligible calories and fat, $.02
1/2 tsp olive oil: 20 calories, 2.3g fat, $.02
salt and pepper: negligible calories and fat, $.02
Totals: 188 calories, 2.3g fat, $2.53
Per serving: 62.7 calories, .8g fat, $.84

Seriously, Eating: 40 Recipes From the Other Website I Write For

Today, I had every intention of posting on David Lebovitz’s Cherry Jam recipe. Unfortunately, I think I overcooked it a bit, so it came out more like Cherry Swedish Fish. Between that and a busy work week, I ain’t got nothin’.

So, instead, here are 40 other recipes I’ve been working on.

I’m only half kidding about that, too. See, for the last 11 months, I’ve been writing the Monday morning Healthy and Delicious recipe column for Serious Eats. (I never cross-post, because that would be weird.) The food follows the CHG mantra (meaning it’s all cheap, healthy, and good), and the pictures are even marginally acceptable by modern photographic standards, meaning Ansel Adams wouldn’t make me his apprentice, but he wouldn’t hack me to death with a chainsaw, either.

Today’s SE recipe is Cherry Lemonade, and you can find that over here. (It’s not included in this master list.) In the meantime, here are the 40 others I mentioned. I starred my ten absolute favorites, and need to tell you: make that Chicken Avocado Salad RIGHT NOW. It haunts my dreams.

BREAKFAST

Cardamom and Dried Cherry Scones

Cheddar Chipotle Scones

Lighter Home Fries


SOUPS, STEWS, STOCKS, & CHILIS

Curried Cauliflower Soup with Honey

Pasta e Ceci

**Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

**Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic and Herbs

**White Chicken Chili


SIDES

Black-Eyed Pea “Caviar”

Classic Baked Acorn Squash

Couscous with Chickpeas and Edamame

Fresh Corn Salad

**Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts

Irio

Lemon Basil Pasta Salad

Quinoa and Grilled Zucchini

Red Cabbage with Apples and Honey

Southern-Style Black-Eyed Peas with Bacon

Thyme-Roasted Sweet Potatoes


ENTREES (Vegetarian)

Barley Risotto

**Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa

Eggplant in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Eggplant with Miso Sauce

Grilled Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing

**Pumpkin Orzo with Sage

**Spaghetti Squash with Ricotta, Sage, and Pine Nuts

Sweet and Spicy Tofu


ENTREES (Carnivore)

*****Avocado Chicken Salad

Baked Apples with Barley-Sausage Pilaf

Baked Rotelle Puttanesca (has anchovies)

Basil Chicken Pasta

Chicken Paprikash

Curried Pork with Apples

**Marcella Hazan’s Lemon Roasted Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes

Squid in Red Wine Sauce


DESSERTS & SNACKS

Blueberry Salsa

**Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping

Quick and Easy Apple Tart

Raspberry-Filled Cinnamon Muffins

Sugar-Roasted Plums with Balsamic and Rosemary Syrup

Also, if you guys get the chance, check out Blake Royer and Nick Kindelsperger's Dinner Tonight series. The posts are daily, the food is very good (I've tried a bunch of recipes), and nothing is phenomenally complicated. Three thumbs up.

Hush Puppy Corncakes … I Think

Have you ever seen a recipe, and wanted to make it, but didn’t want it to be very heavy, so you made a few changes, and then when you cooked it, it turned out really different than you thought, but it still tasted good?

That happened to me once.

Food & Wine had a great-looking recipe for hush puppies in their June issue, and I was itchin’ to try it out. Sadly, like 99.5% of hush puppy recipes, it required frying, which is not so great for the cheap/healthy/good thing we attempt here. So, in an effort to reduce the fat, I decided to brown the puppies in a sauté pan, and then finish them in the oven.

Only, that didn’t happen.

Instead, as soon as the batter hit the skillet, it began to expand and bubble. Five minutes later, I had six mini-corncakes that flipped like flapjacks and looked like arepas, but tasted like hush puppies. I narrowed these unexpected results down to two factors:

A) I used 1% milk, which created a thinner batter, and,

B) Deep-frying cooks the outside of food simultaneously and instantaneously, freezing it in position. Pan-browning cooks slowly and doesn’t cover nearly as much surface area, giving everything time to spread out. If I had dropped the batter in hot oil, all would have been well. But I did that other thing, so … flapjacks. Or corncakes. Or something.

Still, they were very tasty. We ate them with a little bit of honey butter, though we suspect they would have also been nice with mozzarella cheese and/or shrimp with bay seasoning. They came out to under 60 calories and only 2.1 grams of fat per serving and … get this … nine cents each. Seriously.

So, people! Go eat these … things. They’re sincerely very good, even if I can’t quite identify what they are.

P.S. I’ve started using crazy/pricey farmer’s market eggs, so odds are your corn cakes will come in about $0.75 less, or $2 total. That’s 7 cents per cake. Wow.

Hush Puppy Corncakes
Makes about 28 or 30 1-1/2” cakes
Inspired by the July 2009 issue of Food & Wine.

1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons dried oregano or Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup 1% milk
2 scallions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1) In a large bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients, through black pepper. Whisk 'em together.

2) In a separate medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, scallions, and 1 tablespoons veggie oil. Pour this mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until everything is barely moistened. Cover. Stick in the fridge for 60 minutes.

3) Heat 1/2 tablespoon veggie oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it's really hot/shimmering, drop rounded tablespoons of batter into the pan, like you would pancakes. Cook until bubbles appear on the side facing you, then flip over and continue cooking until golden brown.

4) Repeat until batter is finished, replenishing the pan with ½ tablespoon of olive oil with every new batch. Adjust heat as needed.

5) Serve with shrimp, honey butter, mozzarella, or anything else you can think of.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
59 calories, 2.1 g fat, $0.09

Calculations
1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal: 505 calories, 2.3 g fat, $0.45
1 cup all-purpose flour: 455 calories, 1.3 g fat, $0.09
2 tablespoons sugar: 93 calories, 0 g fat, $0.05
1 tablespoon baking soda: negligible calories and fat, $0.03
2 teaspoons kosher salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.04
2 teaspoons dried oregano or Italian seasoning: 18 calories, 0.5 g fat, $0.21
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper: negligible calories and fat, $0.03
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper: 2 calories, 0.5 g fat, $0.02
3 large eggs, lightly beaten: 221 calories, 14.9 g fat, $1.13
¾ cup 1% milk: 79 calories, 1.8 g fat, $0.18
2 scallions, finely chopped: 16 calories, 0.1 g fat, $0.22
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided: 371 calories, 41.9 g fat, $0.27
TOTAL: 1760 calories, 63.3 g fat, $2.72
PER SERVING (TOTAL/30): 59 calories, 2.1 g fat, $0.09

Grilled Bananas & Chocolate: In Which We Become Dessert People

Last Sunday, the Husband-Elect and I were traipsing about in our bewitching Brooklyn backyard, sipping white wine and sucking the last bits of farmer’s market turkey sausage off our fingers, when two things struck us just about simultaneously: A) the mosquitoes were definitely coming from our neighbor’s bucket o’ dirty water, and B) we wanted dessert.

Which was kind of weird. See, in addition to being Not Really Beef People, Not Really Hockey People, and Definitely Not Nickelback People, we’re also Not Really Dessert People. I mean, I will never ever ever (ever) turn down a post-dinner brownie, but I won’t actively seek one out, either. I’m much more likely to have a second helping of spaghetti, or graze from tomorrow’s office lunches as I prepare them.

But yeah, we were hungry, and I remembered reading about Grilled Bananas & Chocolate (a.k.a. Banana Boats) on Slashfood a few weeks back. And – is there a possible way to go wrong with bananas and chocolate? I think no, and the continued existence of Chunky Monkey supports that assertion.

Alas, we didn’t have a computer handy, and subsequently winged the recipe based on my dim, wine-addled recall. That meant we peeled a few bananas, created a divot down the middle, stuffed ‘em with chocolate, wrapped them in tin foil, and threw them on the grill. Postgame research revealed that I got it all wrong, and Banana Boats are usually made peel-on, sans foil. To quote the bard, “D’oh!”

However, we were victorious in the end. The grilled bananas were delicious, required no cleanup, and sated us for the rest of the evening, during which we became People Who Like The Big Chill. Not too shabby.

Anyway, hope you like them as much, and have a lovely 4th. See you Monday.

P.S.: I didn’t get a picture because this was a freak, daring, seat-of-the-pants experiment. Also, I was two glasses of Chardonnay into the night and forgot. So the image below is from a lovely blog called Blisstree. Thanks, tree o’bliss!

Grilled Bananas & Chocolate
Serves 2
Image courtesy of Blisstree.

2 bananas
5 or 6 squares of any chocolate bar (Hershey’s works well)
Aluminum foil

1) Fire up the grill and peel your bananas.

2) Cut a v-shaped divot down the length of each banana, and place 2 or 3 chocolate squares in each divot.

3) Wrap bananas securely in aluminum foil and place over hot coals. (Direct heat worked for us, but if you’re more comfortable off-heat, go for it.) Grill 8 or 10 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

4) Unwrap and be joyous.

NOTE: During my postgame research, I saw the vast majority of these made peel-on without the foil, but I get the feeling you could do it all kinds of ways. Mine weren’t too messy, which was nice. Also, add marshmallows if you’ve got ‘em. Good times.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
176 calories, 3.5 g fat, $0.56

Calculations
2 bananas: 242 calories, 0.8 g fat, $0.66
5 or 6 squares of a larger chocolate bar (Hershey’s works well): 110 calories, 6.2 g fat, $0.45TOTAL: 352 calories, 7 g fat, $1.11
PER SERVING (TOTAL/2): 176 calories, 3.5 g fat, $0.56

Veggie Might: Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Nostalgia, Co-opted

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a regular Thursday feature about all things Vegetarian.

For the last few days, I’ve been in a sweet, tangy, gooey haze of nostalgia created both in my imagination and in my kitchen. Just sweet enough, not too rich, it’s been delicious.

Everyone I know has a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, or second-cousin Shirley who made the best strawberry-rhubarb pie/cobbler. Except me. Sort of.

A couple weeks ago, on my Lehigh Valley excursion, I bought my first rhubarb. I’ve never used it before, and to my knowledge, never had it at home. I was excited to try it. When I got my stalks home, I tried a piece raw. It reminded me of a Granny Smith apple. But I decided to trust what I’d heard and cook it with something sweet.

My first exposure to rhubarb was in a cobbler at an NYC restaurant where I used to work. It was there I learned that rhubarb is commonly paired with strawberries and sugar because of its natural tartness. Everyone, co-workers and customers, had a story: “Oh my aunt made the best rhubarb pie. My mother’s strawberry-rhubarb cobbler was the best you’ve ever tasted.”

Maybe, I would think, but I’d never had it before. I didn’t even know what rhubarb looked like. To my knowledge, no one in my past ever baked with rhubarb. My finicky dessert issues, for once, were not to blame for my culinary cluelessness.

Then I called my mom. Apparently my Grandma C made the most amazing strawberry-rhubarb pie ever. Dad got on the phone and confirmed Mom’s claim. He went on: his grandma (who I never met), plus Great-Grandma (Mom’s grandma, who I knew well) made great rhubarb pies too.

How did I miss all these pies? I usually remember rejecting foods out of hand; I feel guilty about it. Well, this recipe made up for lost time.My friend, who ate it, called me by my full name in exclamation. “Leigh Angel, I like your cobbler!”

Crumble, to be exact. This recipe developed via a culinary game of telephone, much like recipes passed down through the generations. Everyone makes a tweak and sends it on. I got it from the delightful blog, everybody likes sandwiches, who got it from Smitten Kitchen, who got it from Nigella.

The secret to this recipe, according to Nigella and SK, is the baking soda. It converts a standard crisp topping into a lighter, crumbier topping, without upping the amount of butter. Essentially, you get more delicious warm sugary, buttery bang for your buck. As a matter of fact, the els recipe reduced SK’s butter amount, and I reduced hers a bit more.

This crumble is a pretty dang easy and healthy dessert for one so delicious. I used these cute little ramekins instead of a casserole dish, but I overfilled them—only getting five servings and thanking SK for recommending foil to line my baking sheet. It still came in at under 300 calories and 8g fat per serving. If I'd used a casserole dish, I would have gotten six servings out of the recipe.

I used organic strawberries from the farmers’ market, which pushed up the price a bit. If you find cheaper fruit, the cost will go way down. But let me tell you, these berries were better than any from the grocery store.

If my parents were nearby, I would hope they would like this as much as Grandma C’s (or Great-Grandma’s or Grandma F’s). Or at least enjoy the trip down memory lane.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Serves 5
Adapted from many places, but Everybody Likes Sandwiches most recently.

Filling
5 stalks rhubarb, chopped into 1” pieces
1 scant qt. strawberries, quartered (about 1 lb)
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of allspice

Topping
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp granulated sugar
zest of one lemon
1/4 c melted butter (I used Earth Balance vegan margarine.)

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) (If making individual crumbles, mix the following in a medium bowl. If using a casserole, mix directly in baking dish.) Combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and nutmeg. Add lemon juice. Stir thoroughly.

3) In another bowl, combine all topping ingredients. Stir until you get some clumps.

4) Sprinkle topping with your hands evenly over the fruit.

5) Bake for 40-50 minutes until the topping is golden and the fruit is saucy.

6) Allow to cool and serve with ice cream/nondairy frozen dessert of your choice. Maybe you’ll cry a little from happiness and nostalgia. It’s okay. It happens.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price per Serving
292 calories, 9g fat, $1.62

Calculations
5 stalks rhubarb: 55 calories, 0g fat, $2.17
3 cups strawberries: 150 calories, 0g fat, $4.50
juice + zest of one lemon: 12 calories, 0g fat, $0.25
1/4 cup + 3 tbsp granulated sugar: 366 calories, 0g fat, $.25
3 tbsp cornstarch: 87.8 calories, 0g fat, $.17
pinch of allspice: negligible calories and fat, $.02
1 cup flour: 337.5 calories, 1g fat, $.21
1 tsp baking powder, negligible calories and fat, $.02
1 tbsp brown sugar: 52 calories, 0g fat, $.04
1/4 c melted butter: 400 calories, 44g fat, $.48
TOTALS: 1460.3 calories, 45g fat, $8.11
PER SERVING (TOTALS/5): 292 calories, 9g fat, $1.62

Vanilla-Buttermilk Pound Cake: Weather or Not

New York summers rarely afford the opportunity for baking, but it’s been a cool June here in the city, with frequent storms and temperatures that have only seldomly risen above 80°F. Usually, Brooklyn kitchens feel like bamboo steamers this time of year. Instead, our greenery is growing like gangbusters, and we’ve managed to postpone our yearly descent into Air Conditioning Bill Hell for a few blessed weeks. Except for mistaking 3am thunderclaps for shotgun rounds, life’s been pretty sweet.

Life’s also been full of cake. Late last week, my roommate C whipped up a batch of Strawberry-Banana Muffins while I triumphed with a lovely Lemon concoction, and yesterday yielded 24 servings of Vanilla-Buttermilk Pound Cake from Cooking Light. It’s Cake City, and we are its cake-izens. Later, we will draw up a Cakestitution and elect people to Cakegress, where they'll be sworn in by the Cake Justice of the Supreme Cake. (That's how government works, right?)

But back to the Pound Cake. All in all, it’s a subtly flavored treat with a consistency somewhere between pound cake and angel food cake. Light, moist, and fluffy, it’d pair well with fruit and/or last Friday’s lemon icing (which, by the way, I have adopted as my first child). Best of all, it’s $0.14 per serving, which should provide you, your family, your neighbors, and your neighbors’ family with dessert well into 2010. And when July and August hit, you’ll be happy you don’t have to touch the oven.

Have a happy weekend, my sweets. Go forth and cake it up. You just might cake your cake.

P.S. Calories and fat were calculated by Cooking Light, so only the price per serving numbers are shown below.

Vanilla-Buttermilk Pound Cake
Makes 5 mini-loaves, 2 large loaves, or 24 muffins (or, about 24 servings in whichever form).
Adapted from Cooking Light.

13.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
11/3 cups low-fat buttermilk
Cooking spray

1) Preheat oven to 350°F.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3) In a separate large bowl, combine sugar, butter, and vanilla with a hand mixer set to medium speed. It should be "light and fluffy" when you're done. Add one egg. Keep beating. Add another egg. Keep beating. Add the final egg. Keep beating.

4) Alternate adding a little flour mixture and a little buttermilk into the sugar/butter mixture, "beginning and ending with flour mixture." Continue beating the whole time.

5) IF MAKING CUPCAKES: coat 2 12-cup cupcake pans with cooking spray. Distribute batter evenly among them. Bake 18 to 23 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test.
IF MAKING REGULAR-SIZED LOAVES: coat 2 8-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Distribute batter evenly between them. Bake 45 to 60 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test.
IF MAKING MINI-LOAVES: coat 5 6-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Distribute batter evenly among them. Bake 40 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test.

6) Remove pans from oven and let them cool a few minutes on a wire rack. Pry the cakes out of the pans, and let them cool all the way on the rack. Serve

Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
24 servings: 180 calories, 6.4 g fat, $0.14

Calculations
13.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 cups): $0.32
1 teaspoon baking powder: $0.03
1/2 teaspoon baking soda: $0.01
1/2 teaspoon salt: $0.01
2 cups sugar: $0.64
3/4 cup butter, softened: $0.75
1 teaspoon vanilla extract: $0.12
3 large eggs: $0.39
11/3 cups low-fat buttermilk: $0.87
Cooking spray: $0.10
TOTAL: $3.24
PER SERVING (TOTAL/24): $0.14

Veggie Might: Sublime Fruit Salad with Mint - A Fruit Salad to Rival the Cheese Plate

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a regular Thursday feature about all things Vegetarian. It's coming a day early this week, and Wednesday's regularly scheduled article will appear on Thursday.

Fruit salad always seems like a good idea for picnics and barbecues. It’s beautiful; it’s summery; and unless it’s overrun with marshmallows and bananas (barf), it’s yummy. However, one thing you can count on when you take fruit salad to a party: you’ll be taking it right back home.

You can be assured there will be no leftover cheese, no leftover guacamole. Crudités has slightly better odds if it is accompanied by a good dip, but fruit salad…unless there is just no other food, you’ll be eating it for breakfast the next few days.

Unless you make this fruit salad: based on Giada de Laurentiis’ Watermelon and Cantaloupe Salad with Mint Vinaigrette. It is seriously the best fruit salad ever. And there is nary a marshmallow (or banana) in sight.

I’ve made this salad several times, with various fruit combinations, and it never fails to please. Last summer, I made it for my birthday beach party, and two summers ago for a bridal shower fiesta. My mother even borrowed the recipe and wowed her Bible study group.

But never has it received the laud it got at the BBQ baby shower on Saturday. (No babies were BBQ’d, only meat and veggie burgs.) This gorgeous bowl of fruit went as quickly as the cheese platter and almost as fast as the guacamole. People were begging (okay, two people asked nicely) for the leftovers, of which there were few.

Luckily, it’s so, so easy, and cheap if the fruit you choose is in season. I strayed from the recommended melons, because A) I couldn’t find a watermelon that looked good and 2) I dislike cantaloupe almost as much as bananas. You can make this with any fruit you like.

Berries are fabulously in season up NYC way. For fun and color contrast, I threw in a mango and a peach. (For the crowd, I also doubled the recipe you see below; it’s easy to scale.)

Now, Giada’s giant smile calls for 1/4 cup of simple syrup for 4 cups of fruit. Hold up, pretty lady. That’s too much sugar, and, if you ask me, why most people avoid fruit salad. I cut the amount of syrup in half, even though I upped the amount of fruit by about a cup.

Otherwise, I kept the proportions the same. I also subbed almond extract for amaretto, since I didn’t have the liqueur on hand. There is probably some reason I should not have made the substitution in equal amounts, but it worked.

It’s a truly sublime concoction. Be prepared to give out the recipe and if you want some for yourself at home, make extra. That way you can still have fruit salad for breakfast.

Sublime Fruit Salad with Mint
Adapted from Watermelon and Cantaloupe Salad with Mint Vinaigrette by Giada de Laurentiis.
Yields approx 10 1/2-cup servings

1 pt strawberries, sliced
1 pt blueberries
1 mango, peeled and cubed
1 peach, peeled and cubed
1/8 cup simple syrup (see instructions)
1/4 cup lime juice (about 3 limes)
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/8 tsp almond extract

1) Make simple syrup and chill while prepping fruit.

2) Simple syrup = 1 part sugar to 1 part water. Bring water to a boil, stir in sugar until dissolved completely. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

3) Wash, peel, and chop fruit as desired.

4) In a blender, combine simple syrup, lime juice, chopped mint, and almond extract.

5) Toss syrup over fruit.

6) Chill (overnight is good) and serve. Practice saying, “thank you.” You’ll be getting lots of compliments.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price per Serving
56.6 calories, .1g fat, $.60

Calculations
1 pt strawberries: 98 calories, 0g fat, $1.99
1 pt blueberries: 168 calories, 0g fat, $2.50
1 mango: 87 calories, 0g fat, $.75
1 peach: 68 calories, 0g fat, $.19
1/8 cup simple syrup: 104.6 calories, 0g fat, $.07
1/4 cup lime juice: 28.5 calories, .1g fat, $.30
1/2 cup fresh mint: 40 calories, 1g fat, $.50
1/8 tsp almond extract: negligible calories and fat, $.04
Totals: 594calories, 1.1g fat, $6.34
Per Serving (Totals/10): 59.4 calories, .11g fat, $.63

Nathan’s Lemon Cake: A Thing That Makes You Go Mmmm

My little sister Linda turned the big 3-0 yesterday, meaning three things: she’ll soon develop a bizarre affection for Werther’s Originals, Andy Rooney will suddenly start making sense, and when her students start wearing retro-‘90s grunge fashions, she’ll be all like, “No way, kids. I did that the first time around.”

To celebrate, I wanted to make her dessert. Though Lin’s tastes are somewhat fussy, she’s a big fan of lemon-flavored sweets. Lemon meringue pie from Junior’s in Brooklyn is her all-time favorite, not least because the meringue itself is roughly ten feet tall. You have to be careful of grazing it on the kitchen ceiling when you take it out of the box.

Sadly, I’d never made that particular pie before, and didn’t want to ruin Her Most Significant Birthday Until She’s 35 and Can Run for President. Instead, I did a quick search on the Cooking Light website for something vaguely similar-tasting, and discovered Nathan’s Lemon Cake. The picture was appealing, the reviews were promising, and … you know, the lemon thing. So, I printed out the recipe and commenced Operation: Hey, Your ‘20s Suck Anyway. (Not really, but … positive spin!)

Zesting lemons is always a bit time consuming, but NLC came together unexpectedly quickly, mostly because the directions were to-the-letter perfect. About an hour after beginning, I had two moist, lemony cake layers cooling on the kitchen table, plus all the icing ingredients ready for assembly. Last night, after it’d been thrown together and spent a few hours in the fridge, we affixed some candles, sang the requisite day-of-birth celebration song, and dug in.

And? HOLY WOW NEW FAVORITE CAKE. We looooooved this thing. The icing should be distributed as an anti-depressant, because that’s how tasty and happy-making it was. I had a piece last night, and then ate another for breakfast this morning. Odds are I’ll have at least two more before I go to bed tonight. Then, I’m pretty sure I’ll dream about it. Tomorrow, my plan is to make another batch of icing and bathe in it. Stickiness be damned.

My only advice to you is: bake this now, especially if you know someone who’s turning 30, likes lemons, and needs softer foods for her teeth. She’ll appreciate it, and maybe give you a Werther's Original.

(P.S. Fat and calorie numbers came from Cooking Light [with a 0.1 g fat per serving adjustment for 1% buttermilk], so only the price is calculated below.)

Nathan’s Lemon Cake
Makes 16 good-sized servings
From Cooking Light.
Note: I bought 7 lemons for this, and used 5.

CAKE
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 cup nonfat buttermilk (I could only find 1% and it worked fine. – Kris)
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

ICING
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon lemon rind
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Lemon rind strips (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 cake pans with Pam. Cut circles out of wax paper and line the bottom of each pan with it. Spray the wax paper with Pam. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the pans, shaking them so everything is coated and tapping out any excess.

2) In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk it all together.

3) In a separate large bowl, combine granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter. Beat on medium until it's thoroughly mixed. (This will take 5 minutes or so.) Add one egg and keep beating. Add the other egg and keep beating. Add a little flour mixture. Beat. Add a little buttermilk. Beat. Add a little flour mixture. Beat. Add a little buttermilk. Beat. Keep doing this until both are all gone, ending with the flour mixture. Add 2 tablespoons lemon rind and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Beat it in.

4) Evenly distribute batter between the pans, tapping them both to get rid of air bubbles. Bake 32 minutes, or until the cakes pass the toothpick test. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes in the pans. Flip the pans and sit the cakes on a wire rack until totally cool.  Take off the wax paper if you haven't already.

5) While cakes are cooling, make the icing. In a large bowl, combine all the rest of the ingredients BUT the lemon strips. Whisk it together.

6) Put the first cake layer on a large plate. Pour half the icing over it. Top with the other cake layer. Pour the rest of the icing on it. Eat any leftovers. Keep in the fridge.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
317 calories, 9.6 g fat, $0.35

Calculations
Cooking spray: $0.10
2-1/8 cups all-purpose flour: $0.21
1 teaspoon baking powder: $0.03
1/2 teaspoon baking soda: $0.02
1/2 teaspoon salt: $0.01
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar: $0.48
3 large eggs: $0.39
1 cup nonfat (or 1%) buttermilk: $0.65
3 cups powdered sugar: $0.97
5 large lemons (for all juice and zest): $2.00
3/4 cup unsalted butter (for cake & icing): $0.75
TOTAL: $5.61
PER SERVING (TOTAL/16): $0.35

Cantaloupe with Honey and Lime: a Holiday Bonus Recipe

Hey folks - just a quickie today, in honor of the holiday weekend. It’s a simple fruit dessert from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food cookbook (one of mah favorites), guaranteed to make cantaloupe lovers melt and cantaloupe ambivalents (like me) reconsider. At 70 to 140 calories (depending on the serving size), you can’t beat the health aspect, either.

Happy day off!

Honey with Cantaloupe and Lime
Serves 4 to 8
From Everyday Food

1 cantaloupe, peeled and seeded (see here)
1/4 cup honey
1 lime

With a sharp pairing knife or awesome vegetable peeler, slice the cantaloupe into ribbons/as thin as you possibly can. The end results should be long, thin strips, kind of like carpaccio. Split the slices up among all the serving plates. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 tablespoon honey over each plate. Top with lime zest and lime juice. Stir if you like, but it's prettier left untouched. Serve a.s.a.p.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
Four servings: 139 calories, 0.4 g fat, $0.65
Eight servings: 69 calories, 0.2 g fat, $0.33

Calculations
1 cantaloupe, peeled and seeded: 277 calories, 1.6 g fat, $2.00
1/4 cup honey: 258 calories, 0 g fat, $0.35
1 lime: 20 calories, 0.1 g fat, $0.25
TOTAL: 555 calories, 1.7 g fat, $2.60
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 139 calories, 0.4 g fat, $0.65
PER SERVING (TOTAL/8): 69 calories, 0.2 g fat, $0.33

Veggie Might: Birdseed Granola Bars from the Snackmaster

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a regular Thursday feature about all things Vegetarian. It's coming a day early this week, and Wednesday's regularly scheduled article will appear on Thursday.

Every office has a snackmaster: that one person who supplies the junk food, whether it be chocolate, cookies, or Doritos. At one office, there was a woman who baked for us weekly, though she never ate the “goodies” herself. Note to all cooks and bakers out there: taste before you serve. It’s the merciful thing to do.

But no one can live up to the legendary candy supply of a former colleague at my current job. She kept a variety of miniature candy bars and snack-size chocolates at her desk for anyone and everyone. If she found out your preference, it was available the next day. If you didn’t come by for candy, she would bring it to you. If she was out, it was my job to go into her desk and put out the candy.

It was all but impossible to maintain any kind of restraint with all that candy around. I started bringing granola bars from home or getting them from the vending machine to deflect the mini-Reese’s foil beacon. Sometimes it worked; sometimes I ate candy and granola.

Either way, it got expensive. Not to mention the granola bars in the vending machine went from relatively healthy to practically candy once I polished off the row of crunchy ones.

Ever since then, I’ve been meaning to make my own. A while ago, I saw an episode of Good Eats in which Alton Brown, food alchemist and whiz kid, whips up a batch of homemade granola bars. It inspired me to give it a whirl, but I failed miserably. I think I cooked the sugar too long, because they came out hard as a brick. I feared for my teeth.

This weekend, I decided to try again. I had read a great post on Everybody Likes Sandwiches about making granola cereal with millet or quinoa. Between these sources, the contents of my kitchen, and my disdain of dried fruit, I came up with these pretty awesome granola bars.

They’re nutty and not too sweet; crunchy without breaking teeth; and the perfect size for a late afternoon snack. They do crumble a bit more than I’d like, but I’m not complaining. I took a few bars to work and offered them around. People were pleasantly surprised and a couple of folks came back for seconds.

Compared to my favorite store-bought granola bars (not the candy-coated or chewy kinds), my homemade version came out about the same nutrition-wise (not counting preservatives, of course), and about $.20­–$.30 cheaper/bar, depending on the store.

The best part: these granola bars look like birdseed. The millet and quinoa (I used the red kind) make them look like those blocks of seed my mom puts in her bird feeder. It just makes me giggle; I don’t know why. Hey, millet is birdseed. And peoplefeed. Yum.

These granola bars were so easy; I think I can make them a regular part of my work food repertoire. Anything to keep me away from the vending machine and the new office snackmaster. Unless I’m becoming her.

Birdseed Granola Bars
Adapted from Alton Brown’s Granola Bars
Inspired by Everybody Likes Sandwiches who was inspired by Mark Bittman
Makes approximately 20 1-oz bars

(Note: see AB’s recipe for approximate volume measurements.)

8 oz rolled oats
2 1/2 oz millet
2 1/2 oz quinoa (rinse and dry on a dish towel before mixing with other grains)
3 oz almonds (chopped)
3 oz pecans (chopped)
1 1/2 oz wheat germ
1/2 oz vegan butter
1 3/4 oz dark brown sugar
3 oz agave nectar
3 oz maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 9” x 13” baking pan with cooking spray or vegan butter.

2) Combine dry ingredients (oats, millet, quinoa, almonds, pecans, and wheat germ). Spread on a baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes. (Reduce oven to 300 when removed.)

3) Combine wet ingredients + salt in large sauce pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until brown sugar is just dissolved. Remove from heat.

4) Add toasted grains and nuts to sugar mixture and combine thoroughly. Press into coated baking pan and press flat.

5) Bake at 300 for 25 minutes.

6) Allow to cool almost completely before cutting. It will be easier to cut if it’s just a bit warm.

7) Sure beats a Reese’s. Okay, but it’s still really good.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price per Serving
161.73 calories, 6.8g fat, $.45

Calculations
8 oz rolled oats: 848 calories, 16g fat, $.84
2 1/2 oz millet: 265 calories, 2.5g fat, $.35
2 1/2 oz quinoa: 257 calories, 6g fat, $.35
3 oz almonds: 483 calories, 42g fat, $1.25
3 oz pecans: 597 calories, 60g fat, $1.78
1 1/2 oz wheat germ: 150 calories, 4.5g fat, $.30
1/2 oz vegan butter: 50 calories, 5.5g fat, $.06
1 3/4 oz dark brown sugar: 185.5 calories, 0g fat, $.06
3 oz agave nectar: 180 calories, 0g fat, $1.09
3 oz maple syrup: 219 calories, 0g fat, $2.81
2 tsp vanilla: negligible calories and fat, $.02
1/2 tsp salt: negligible calories and fat, $.02
Totals: 3234.5 calories, 136.5g fat, $9.01
Per Serving: 161.73 calories, 6.8g fat, $.45

Why Mango Lassis are the Best Ever, or, an Abundance of Mangoes

(You guys! My column today at Serious Eats is on Avocado Chicken Salad. No joke, it’s one of the best things I’ve made this year. Thanks to Mrs. Micah for the idea and The Boyfriend for slurping it up like a team of ravenous little leaguers.)

Last week, I came into possession of two large, ripe mangoes. And let me tell you, folks - there are few things in life greater than receiving mangoes for free. They include, but are not limited to:

• free backrubs
• free concert tickets
• freedom from oppression

Alas, as we were invaded by horrible, six-legged Woody Allen cartoons, it took me awhile to get to the beckoning fruit. Four days after their arrival, they weren’t quite mushy, but had most definitely surpassed the salsa stage. (Meaning the mangoes could be chopped up, but wouldn’t hold their shape very well.)

Here’s the rub: when you search online for mango recipes, 99.9 of the first 100 bazillion are for mango salsa. Once you scroll 14,000 pages past those, there’s a severed link for mango chutney. But never fret. Because if you persevere, you will find, at the very end of the internet, next to an 8-bit porno from 1982 and an ASCII drawing of Homer Simpson, a recipe for mango lassis.

Mango lassis, to put it simply, are THE BEST. An offshoot of the regular lassi (seen here), they’re shake-like and fruity and sweet and filling and positively wonderful. Plus, they have magical powers. Bad things don’t happen when mango lassis are around. To wit:

• If Joss Whedon knew about mango lassis, Buffy wouldn’t have become so weird in the last few seasons.
• If the Hells Angels knew about mango lassis, Altamont would never have happened.
• If Kim Jong-Il knew about mango lassis, North Korea would be a flourishing democratic republic/vacation spot, welcoming of all races and creeds, where nuclear warheads would be used as in-ground swimming pools instead of weapons of mass ouchification.

This mango lassi is a lighter version of the one from the lovely Elise at Simply Recipes. Though it uses milk, you could probably substitute cold water and/or crushed ice based on your preferences. Cardamom is optional, but couldn’t hurt.

In conclusion: mango lassi. Get one.

Mango Lassi
Serves 2
From Simply Recipes.

1 cup lowfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup 1% milk
1 cup chopped mango, peeled and stone removed (about 1 large)
4 teaspoons sugar, to taste
A dash of ground cardamom (optional)

1) Get out a blender. Add  yogurt, milk, mango, sugar, and cardamom. Blend for about 2 minutes, or until everything is smooth and relatively chunk-free. Distribute evenly among your glasses. Serve super-cold.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
190 calories, 2.8 g fat, $0.92

Calculations
1 cup lowfat plain yogurt: 154 calories, 3.9 g fat, $0.70
1/2 cup 1% milk: 53 calories, 1.2 g fat, $0.11
1 cup chopped mango, peeled and stone removed: 107 calories, 0.5 g fat, $0.99
4 teaspoons sugar, to taste: 65 calories, 0 g fat, $0.03
TOTAL: 379 calories, 5.6 g fat, $1.83
PER SERVING (TOTAL/2): 190 calories, 2.8 g fat, $0.92

City Kitchen Chronicles: Pecan Cookies and Baking Conundrums

City Kitchen Chronicles is a bi-weekly column about living frugally in Manhattan. It's penned by the lovely Jaime.

In terms of my current cooking confidence, I wouldn’t say that I’m scared of baking. For cooking (as opposed to baking) I’m an improviser, but I enjoy the recipe-following of baking. It’s been thoroughly impressed upon me that baking recipes must be followed precisely – the balance of flour, fat, liquid, and leavening is a science, and not a place for uninformed tinkering. When I get the chance to bake, I enjoy it.

I took one such chance last week, making cookies for my dad’s Passover seder. (The seder is the Passover dinner. “Seder” means order, and, when observed thoroughly, it’s a run-through of over a dozen steps – bless the wine, wash your hands, eat the green vegetables, bless some more wine, bless and eat the matzah, recount the ten plagues, etc.) I’d stumbled across what looked like an easy, tasty recipe, and I’m discovering that I really love sharing food I’ve made, the making and the sharing. It warms my heart.

So, anyway, this recipe. I realize that as it’s flourless (and simple) it doesn’t really fall under the whole DON’T ALTER THE BAKING RECIPE thing. I mean, not that it would work as well if messed with, but it’s not a cake. But this was an occasion to learn a different baking lesson: read the Epicurious comments, and listen to them.

This recipe has 17 reviews, ranging from four forks to zero. Let’s look at a few:

After making this and having it spread into one giant mess, I realized the egg whites need to be beaten to soft peaks. What a waste of expensive pecans.

Great cookies! I beat the egg whites until they held a peak but were not stiff or dry. The batter spread but puffed up during baking. My husband always prefers something with chocolate, so I melted chocolate chips and made sandwich cookies with the melted chocolate in the middle. They were enjoyed by all.

There is something wrong with this recipe. I tried it twice and wasted all my ingredients. The batter spread into one big mess. After reading other reviews perhaps the egg whites need to be beaten until stiff. I hope you can advise.

… I had a little batter left over after the first batch and I made much smaller cookies i.e. a very level tablespoon. For some reason these cookies did not flatten out the way the larger ones did.

…Ok, so I have now made these cookies 3 times. I have whipped the egg whites and only lightly beaten them. Either way had no impact. The trick to these cookies is the parchment paper.

…Recipe should be more specific about what to do with the whites.

Do not bake them for the time recommended, as you will end up with burnt cookies (which I did). For the second batch, I turned the oven down to 350 and baked them only 10 mins. You really have to watch them.

Okay, there’s obviously something tricky going on here. I decided I would make a sort of test run batch for a potluck the week before Passover. If things went well, I’d make them again for the seder.

And things did not go well. Mostly because I pretty much followed the recipe, rather than heeding the comments. I baked the cookies on parchment, but they still spread. I beat the egg whites until foamy (the recipe doesn’t specify anything beyond “lightly beaten”) rather than until they made soft peaks, and the cookies were flat. I baked at the recipe-specified 375, and they burned.

By the time the last sheet of test-run cookies went in the oven, I’d turned down the heat, so at least they weren’t burning, but they were not what I’d call a success. I almost didn’t tackle them again for Passover, but what cookies weren’t burnt were, although ugly, pretty dang tasty.

So the day of the seder, I gathered my ingredients, revisited the comments and reviewed my experience, and set to work. And I ended up with a pile of delicious, unburnt cookies that were only mildly ugly. I could convince myself they were lacy rather than pockmarked. I consider this a success.

But let’s look at how many changes/clarifications are necessary to make the original recipe work:

• Change oven temp from 375 to 325.
• Adjust baking time from 15-17 minutes to “just watch them.”
• Clarify that “lightly beaten” is actually “beaten until they form soft peaks, and then a bit longer for good measure.”
• Emphasize that parchment paper is necessary to make these cookies work.
• Form cookies from teaspoons of batter rather than half-tablespoons.
  

Oh, also, because my mostly Dominican neighborhood doesn’t stock Kosher for Passover ingredients in the supermarkets, I made these with corn starch rather than potato starch. That doesn’t change the recipe or the cookies other than making them not actually Kosher for Passover.

My dad’s seder was a very lax place.

Crunchy Pecan Cookies
Makes about 35 cookies
Adapted from Gourmet/Epicurious

1 ½ cups pecans
1 cup sugar
¼ cup corn or potato starch
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
3 large egg whites

1) Pre-heat oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (I think a silpat might work for this, but an unlined baking sheet will probably be bad news.)

2) Chop 1 cup pecans.

3) Combine remaining ½ cup pecans, sugar, starch, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse until until "finely ground," but not long enough so it becomes pasty.

4) To a large bowl, add egg whites. Beat them with a hand mixer until you get soft peaks. (Err on the side of overbeating.)

5) Gently mix food processor mix into egg whites, then stir in the chopped pecans

6) Drop teaspoons of batter onto baking sheet with 2” space and bake until cookies are lightly browned, 12-20 minutes. (Eyeball it.) Slide parchment off the sheet and on to a wire rack. Once cookies are completely cool, remove them from parchment.

7) Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week. (They age well, getting nice and crispy the next day. Just make sure they’re totally cooled before sealing them up.)

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Cookie
62.3 calories, 3.6 g fat, $0.14

Calculations
1 ½ cups pecans: 1233 calories, 128.5 g fat, $3.75
1 cup sugar: 774 calories, 0 g fat, $0.50
¼ cup corn starch: 122 calories, 0 g fat, $0.05
¼ tsp salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
¼ tsp cinnamon: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
3 large egg whites: 51 calories, 0.2 g fat, $0.70
TOTAL: 2181 calories, 128.7 g fat, $5.02
PER COOKIE (TOTAL/35): 62.3 calories, 3.6 g fat, $0.14

Chocolate Souffles, a Website, and an E-mail from Ma

Two quick things before we get around to today’s recipe, which, incidentally are delicious 188-calorie chocolate soufflés. (Seriously.)

1) Do you like beer? Good. How about wine? Excellent. Have you ever wanted to know about their respective histories? Sweet. I have something for you. It’s called Grapes and Grains, and it’s an excellent blog maintained by my friend Dave. Topics run the gamut from the vineyards of Roman emperors to the bottled vs. canned beer debate, with tons fun history and sociology thrown in for background. Dave knows of what he speaks, and it’s a solid read for the serious oenophile and/or um, beerophile. Check it out.

2) Last Friday, I wrote of Ma’s cooking, and took a poke (in fun) at my grandma, who passed in 1987. Ma responds:

You have to remember Kris: 1) the kitchen Grandma had in Queens had no counter space; 2) she was sharing the stove top, oven, and refrigerator with her mother for nine of those years (when Aunt B., Uncle B. and I were kids); 3) your grandfather preferred potatoes or noodles w/gravy at almost every meal; 4) she had little in the way of $$ to shop with, so the cuts of meat were less than primo; 5) she hated the smell of fish, and to her, fish always smelled; 6) that kitchen was hotter than hell throughout the summer, so you never wanted to eat in there after anyone cooked.

For the record, my mother had her moments. I realize that making a roasting pan of elbow macaroni with ground beef, mozzarella, and canned sauce and calling it lasagna was not her best effort; but, she made the best cheesecake, lemon pudding poundcake, and sauerbraten (complete w/gingersnap gravy and dumplings) of anyone I know. She also made what she called a neapolitan meatpie that your father loved. … She had a renaissance when she worked in the rectory, because the cooks (including Aunt J.) use to show her how to make things. So in some respects, meals did change and improve some.

Sometimes, for an easy joke, I forget context and circumstances. My grandma was no gourmet, but she tried. And when you’re attempting to just make do, intentions are all that counts. No doubt, there’ll be grandma jokes here in the future (because that’s how we roll), but they’ll come from a better place, I think.

Now, about those soufflés …

They’re from the April 2009 issue of Food and Wine, and were originally created by Take Home Chef/cute Australian Curtis Stone. Rachel tried ‘em first, in their rightful ramekins, and really liked ‘em. I tried ‘em shortly afterward (in coffee mugs because I don’t own ramekins) and ALSO really liked ‘em. They’re light and eminently chocolatey, and present beautifully.

There were two quick changes from the original recipe:

1) Butter-flavored ooking spray was subbed in for actual butter, as it was easier to handle and cut calories.

2) Since coffee mugs generally have a taller, longer shape, I upped the baking time by around five minutes (to about 22 minutes) for the soufflés to become fully cooked. If you’re using ramekins, the baking time remains the same as in the original recipe. (16 minutes). Everything is reflected below.

And that’s it, folks. Tune in tomorrow for the Megalinks, and don’t forget to buzz back Wednesday for the results of the Eat Your Veggies Experiment. Will Linda puke? Will Dustin hate us forever? Or will they come to terms with produce? All will be revealed...

Chocolate Soufflés
Makes 6 servings
Adapted from Curtis Stone via April 2009’s Food and Wine.

Cooking spray
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus 1-1/2 tablespoons for coating the ramekins/mugs
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup cold water
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

1) Preheat oven to 350ºF. Get out six ramekins or coffee mugs. Spray with cooking spray. Add enough granulated sugar to coat the sides of each vessel (enough so it sticks to the spray). Pour out any excess. Place them all on a baking sheet.

2) Fill a pot about halfway with water. Bring it up to a simmer. Set a large metal bowl over it. Add chocolate. Stir until melted. Remove bowl from heat. Whisk in water and cocoa. It should be lumpless when finished.

3) To a medium bowl, add egg whites. Beat with a mixer until you get soft peaks. Beat in 1/3 cup granulated sugar, a little at a time, on high speed. Keep beating until you get firm peaks. (It should only take a minute or so.) "Fold 1/4th of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the rest until no streaks of white remain."

4) Evenly distribute batter among the ramekins/coffee cups. Clean up any little splotches or spills around the rims of the cups.

5) Bake 16 minutes (20 to 24 if you're using mugs) on a rack set in the middle of the oven. Souffles should be puffy and set when finished. Remove from oven and sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Serve. (They will be super-hot, but if you wait too long, they’ll fall. Try to find a happy medium.)

F&W Note: "The recipe can be prepared through Step 3 and kept at room temperature for 1 hour before baking."

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
188 calories, 8.4 g fat, $0.46

Calculations
Cooking spray: 15 calories, 1.2 g fat, $0.10
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus 1-1/2 tablespoons: 328 calories, 0 g fat, $0.08
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped: 600 calories, 45 g fat, $0.98
½ cup cold water: negligible calories and fat, FREE
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder: 66 calories, 3.9 g fat, $0.45
6 large egg whites, at room temperature: 103 calories, 0.4 g fat, $1.15
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (about ½ Tbsp): 15 calories, 0 g fat, $0.02
TOTAL: 1127 calories, 50.5 g fat, $2.78
PER SERVING (TOTAL/6): 188 calories, 8.4 g fat, $0.46

City Kitchen Chronicles: Date Coconut Balls

City Kitchen Chronicles is a bi-weekly column about living frugally in Manhattan. It's penned by the lovely Jaime.

In my years as a lactose-intolerant vegetarian, I’ve done a lot of vegan cooking. It’s often cheaper, and I love the creativity involved. Folks on “special” diets in general naturally have to get creative in their cooking. I’m not giving up eggs any time soon (for breakfast or in baking), but openmindedness has brought me to so many great recipes.

There seems to be a certain solidarity among folks with special diets. Sure, there are probably some crazy vegans who thing lacto-ovo vegetarians are unprincipled, or raw foodists who think vegans are killing themselves with cooking, but for the most part there’s a lot of understanding – gluten-free eaters can find especially compassionate waiters at vegan restaurants, whole food-ists understand the intricacies of raw eating, etc.

There’s also great cross-polination among recipes. I certainly wasn’t looking for raw recipies when I came across this one, nor vegan, gluten-free, or kosher for Passover, but here it is.

Before you run away, terrified of crazy person health food, let me say two things:

1. I’ve fed this dish to meat-eating, non-health-foodie friends, and they love it.
2. It’s cookies.
   

And tasty cookies at that.

Date Coconut Balls
Makes approx 30 balls
Adapted from suite101.com

1 c raw (untoasted) almonds
1 c plump dates (a generous cup)
3/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut, divided
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 t cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 c mini chocolate chips (optional)

0) Optional: pre-soak the dates and almonds in cold water. Almonds: a few hours; dates: 15-30 minutes.

1) Food-process the almonds to small crumbs. (If you have a tiny single-person food processor, you may have to do this in batches.)

2) Add a couple of dates and process again, until combined. Repeat until dates are gone.

3) Add vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. The mixture may look dry and breadcrummy, but it should eventually make a ball. If this doesn't happen, add a couple more dates.

4) In a medium bowl, combine date mix, chocolate chips, and 1/2 cup coconut. Stir thoroughly.

5) To a separate bowl or small dish, add remaining 1/4 cup coconut. With your hands, mold dough into 1-inch balls. Then, roll them around the coconut until coated. 

6) Place balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or waxed paper. (Or silpat. Or aluminum foil.) Chill in freezer several hours, until firm. "Remove from freezer and serve thawed."

(Note from Suite 101: "You can store these in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer. They taste best when cold, but not frozen.")

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Piece
83 calories, 5 g fat, $0.18

Calculations
1 c raw almonds: 821 calories, 72 g fat, $1.75
1 c plump dates: 628 calories, 0.3 g fat, $2.00
3/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut, divided: 480 calories, 44 g fat, $0.75
1/2 t vanilla extract: 6 calories, 0 g fat, $0.06
1/2 t cinnamon: negligible calories and fat, $0.02
pinch of salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
1/2 c mini chocolate chips: 560 calories, 32 g fat, $0.80
TOTAL: 2495 calories, 148.3 g fat, $5.39
PER SERVING (TOTAL/30): 83 calories, 5 g fat, $0.18