Red Lentil Spinach Curry

Ladies, gentlemen and casual readers of my blog, I have officially made my first legitimate meal in my new kitchen!  What better meal to make than one that's smells linger for hours afterward - curry!  Rachel, my new roommate, came home about 3 hours after I had made the curry (and cleaned up) and proclaimed that the entire condo smelled wonderfully!  Win!

I originally had intended to make this after yoga on Wednesday, but it turns out that I was in too zen of a place and lacking tomato paste.  After a quick trip to Trader Joe's (the one that I can see from my patio) on the way back from running errands, I picked up some tomato paste, some Belgian raspberry beer, a hunk of fresh ginger and a double pack of tofu.  I had originally intended to make the shopping trip much more substantial, but my shopping list had other plans.  It laid itself to rest at the bottom of a Target shopping cart... I think.

Either way, this recipe is amazing.  I don't have too much experience cooking with lentils; out of all the varieties red lentils are the easiest to cook with.  Primarily they just don't take as long to cook, hence hurry curry.  Another bonus is that you probably have most of these ingredients somewhere buried in your cupboards.  However, if your curry powder was discovered in the back of your pantry... you might want to consider replacing it; curry powders go stale pretty fast.


Lentil Spinach Hurry Curry
Adapted from Kitchen Demure

• 1 cup red lentils
• 2 ¼ cups water
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp of Garam Masala
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• A couple of handfuls of chopped spinach
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a small to medium pan add the oil and the onions. Turn the heat to med/high and saute, stirring constantly until they soften a little.
2. Add the garlic and the ginger and continue to stir. When the mixture is lightly golden, add the curry powder and stir for another 20 seconds or until you can smell the spices.
3. Add the lentils and water and bring to a simmer. Let the lentils cook for 15-20 min.
4. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the spinach leaves and serve.

Caramel Pecan Layer Cake

Very slowly, but surely, I have been settling into Seattle.  I dropped my family off at the airport yesterday (a tremendously sad event) and have been trying to do things to fill my days since.  Being unemployed, the job hunt always continues, but you can't do that all the time!  My new roommate Rachel and I took a stroll around Green Lake... but don't ask me to tell what district it's in, I'm just getting a hang of that stuff!  But then we went to this wonderful vegetarian restaurant "Cafe Flora."  It is decorated so serenely; the center of one room has a small rock garden/waterfall complete with a bonsai tree while the walls are lined with bamboo.  The other room, which features the bar, was a little more lively.  But both sides serve their wonderful food.  Now, you're talking to someone who would ask to eat at Seva (an Ann Arbor vegetarian restaurant) every chance they got.  So it means a lot when I say this place was better than Seva!  The didn't have as wide of a range of dishes, but everything they make they appears to be made perfectly.  I personally got the black bean burger with caramelized onions with a side of yam fries.  I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.  The only reason it doesn't get five stars is because I have yet to eat something so good it literally knocks me off my seat.  But the burger... it has the perfect balance of flavor and spice.  It was spicy enough for me, but not so spicy that the flavors of the black beans and onions couldn't shine through.  I'm exited to go back and try other dishes.

But you're not here for  restaurant review... maybe you are... but the point of this post is cake!  Lots of cake for a wonderful person - my Grandma!  As I was moving (erm... now moved) to Seattle, I wouldn't be able to celebrate my Grandma's birthday on her actual birthday, so we surprised her with a party a month before hand!  As seen in a previous post, I made her cards, my sister gave her a book and a bookmark that she made and my mom presented her with a wind spinner she bought from the Ann Arbor Art Fair.  It was so nice to see someone so surprised and happy!  In my opinion, one of the best parts was the cake I also surprised her with.

It's from my new cookbook "More from Magnolia" (looking back, it's ironic because I now live in Magnolia) that I purchased from the Magnolia Bakery in New York City when I was there in early July.  I flipped though all the recipes and my mom and I decided a Caramel Pecan Layer Cake would be the best one for her.  She, and my mom, love caramel.  And toasted pecans.  And cake.  And cake in layers.  Obviously, there were no objections.  The cake was easy to make and better yet you had to make the frosting beforehand!

Caramel Pecan Layer Cake
Adapted from: More from Magnolia

Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperture
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room tempture
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 5 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Garnish:

• 2 cups coarsely chopped toasted pecans

Directions:

1. Toast the pecans, place on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes... or until your whole house smells like pecans.  Keep oven at 350-degrees.
2. Line two 10-inch spring form baking pans and grease.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flours then set aside.  In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth.  
4. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy (3+ minutes).  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the dry ingredients, beat until all the ingredients are incorporated... but take caution to NOT over beat (this will create gluten and make the cake tough).  Scrape down batter into the bowl, making sure all the ingredients are incorporated.
5. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.  Let the layers cools in the pans for one hour.
6. When the layers have cooled completely, ice the cake (recipe below).

Caramel Frosting Directions:

1. In a large bowl, on the medium speed on an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth.  
2. Add the sugars and beat on low speed for 2 minutes.  
3. Add the milk, syrup, and vanilla, and beat until smooth and creamy, 3-5 minutes.  Store covered, at room temperature, overnight or up to 2 days.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

The rumors and whisperings in hushed hushed corners are true - I am now a resident of Seattle!  I'm living in the Magnolia district and my condo overlooks the Lake Washington Canal.  So far every morning I have woken up to the sound of seagulls and shipbells with the sunlight (it does exist here!) streaming in.  No complaints.  The condo is beautiful too. And the kitchen, OH, the kitchen!  Mahogany cupboards, marble counter tops... and all new appliances.  Pinch me, I'm in post-grad foodie heaven!

Sadly, I feel like it will take a while for me to get up and running in the kitchen at my new place.  I have a few recipes that I made in Michigan that have yet to be posed, this being one of them.  As most of you know, I started eating chicken at the beginning of the summer.  It was a hard decision to make, but has vastly improved my health.  Once I got comfortable with the idea of eating meat, I slowly began to cook more with it.  I'm still a little uneasy when working with a raw breast of chicken, but hopefully that will subside with time.  This chicken tortilla soup requires a shredded rotisserie chicken, some vegetables, spices and stock.  The pot that I used wasn't large enough for all the stock, so I gradually refilled the soup stored in the fridge with a little bit of stock.  Best part about this soup (other than that it tastes wonderful?) it that it heats up well and stores for a good length of time in the fridge.

Chicken Tortilla Soup 

Seasoning mix

• 4 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder

Soup

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 2 cups onion, diced
• 2 cups carrot, sliced
• 2 cups zucchini, sliced
• 2 cups green bell pepper, diced
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 10-11 cups chicken stock
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup canned roasted green chilis
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (2-3 limes)

 Garnish

• Monterey jack cheese, shredded
• Tortilla chips
• Cilantro
• Lime wedges
• Sour cream

Directions:

1. Combine all of the dry seasoning, mix and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil and butter in a stockpot. Add a third of the onion, garlic and seasoning mix and sweat. After 7 minutes, add another third of the onions, garlic and seasoning mix and cook for another 7 minutes while stirring. Add the remaining onion, garlic and seasoning mix and cook for 7 minutes.
3. Add the carrots and bell pepper and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the canned tomatoes, chicken stock and tomato sauce and stir. Cook for about 20 minutes.
5. Add the corn, shredded chicken, zucchini, black olives, green chiles and stir to combine. Cook for another 25 minutes on medium heat.
6. Add the lime juice and stir.
7. To serve, ladle about 1 cup of soup into a warm bowl, sprinkle with cilantro sprigs, cheese, crushed corn chips, a dollop of sour cream (if desired) and a healthy squeeze of lime juice.

I Can Do More Than Just Cook!

That's right folks, I'm not always in the kitchen.  Maybe I'm even a little multi-talented?  Either way, I started making cards at the beginning of this summer, soon after I started (finally) making prints of my photos.  I had friends living all over the country and I was feeling a little nostalgic.  I missed being at Philmont and spending my free time writing letters.  Other than coloring by kerosene lantern, I didn't have electricity for 4 months, I would write piles of letters.  I don't even write letters for responses, I just really enjoy writing to others.  I always love getting a piece of true mail and I wanted to give that joy to other people.  Even though most people I write to don't reply (which is totally fine!), Christina and Becca always did and I started a pretty amazing pen-pal thing with them.

Using of plain card paper my mom got me for Christmas a few ago and my parents printer, I went to work (Side Note: I love photography).  Gluing on printed out pictures to pieces of card stock, another hobby was born.

This batch of cards, however, is for my Grandma.  I leave for Seattle in 3 days.  THREE DAYS.  I highly recommend not looking in my room and seeing the destruction that has occurred.  I am partly packed, but I have primarily made piles of things to pack.  Sorry, that had nothing to do with my Grandma, only me mildly freaking out.  Today my grandparents are coming over for dinner to say "goodbye" to me.  But us sneaky Martin's are throwing her a surprise birthday party!  I won't be in Michigan to celebrate her actual birthday so we are just doing it today!  My grandma loves writing letters, maybe more than I do, so I thought this would be the perfect gift for her.

Now to any friends out there who would like a letter, please let me know or comment and let me know!!

Garlic Bread with Mozzarella and Parmesan

If you had come to at least a few Les Voyageurs potlucks, you would know that I had made this fairly frequently.  When up to it, I would also make my own bread from scratch (I recommend Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread).  More often than not though, I would run over to Zingerman's and pick up a loaf of the Rustic Italian or Farm Bread.  For this recipe it is crucial to get bread that has a thick crust and a tight crumb.  Most importantly, it keeps the cheese was melting through.  Secondly, these types of bread get a nice crunch when baked (more correctly, broiled).

You ask why I have been making this for so long yet am only now posting the recipe?  I have a good answer, I didn't want my 'secret' recipe available to the masses.  Well, that was selfish on me so I am making up for lost time by positing it right away.  That, and I think my parents will want to make this once I'm in Seattle.

Ingredients:

• One loaf of crusty bread, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 2 tablespoons of butter, melted
• 6 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• Italian seasoning & oregano to taste
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• Grated Mozzarella (about 1/2 cup)
• Grated Parmesan (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to Low Broil.
2. Mix together ingredients, except for cheeses, in a bowl.  Slice bread and arrange on a baking sheet.  Using a spoon, drizzle on olive oil mixture over sliced bread, making sure to cover entire surface of a slice of bread with mixture.
3. Place in oven and broil for 2 minutes, or until bread started to toast.  Remove from oven.
4. Top bread with cheeses and return to over and broil for 3 to 4 more minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown.  But be careful!  At this stage it can go from beautiful to burnt very quicky!
5. Serve hot/warm.

Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas

I fell off the blogging bandwagon.  As in fell off in the middle of a desert that's on an island in the middle of the Arctic Ocean and the nearest cell phone tower is 30 billion nautical miles away.

And I apologize.  My camera is back loaded with pictures... as is my Aperture library.  I'm pretty sure my "To Do" list for blogging is longer than my "Don't Forget to Pack for Seattle" list.  I swear I didn't mean to do it!  I... I... got addicted to 30Rock (it is impossible to deny the awesomeness that is Liz Lemon).  And I'm moving to Seattle in, oh, T-minus 10 days.  Enough of the excuses!  I will do better!  Pinky promise!

At least this recipe is worth it!  I clipped this recipe out of Real Simple last summer with the dream of making it sometime during the school year.  Jump to almost a year later and I finally made it!  It's a easy dish to make with a feasible ingredient list - perfect for someone who is health conscious and on a tight budget!

One night I decided to make dinner for my mom to give her a night off.  When I told her what I was making she insisted that she does not like zucchini... cut to that evening and she ate a double helping of the topping!  Score!  What I liked most about the dish is how the bite of the crushed red pepper contrasts perfectly with the smoothness of the Parmesan and Chickpeas.  It gave it just the right amount of kick.


Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas
Adapted from Real Simple (August 2009)

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. linguine
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 small zucchini, cut into thin half moons
• Kosher salt
• 1 15oz. can chickpeas, rinsed
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoons crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)
• ½ cup (2oz.) of grated Parmesan (separate into two bowls)

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Before draining the pasta, set aside ½ cup of the pasta water (it helps the cheese stick to the pasta later), drain and return the pasta to the pot.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the zucchini and ½ teaspoon of salt.  Frequently toss the zucchini, until tender (about 4 to 5 minutes).  Add the chickpeas, garlic, and red pepper until everything is evenly heated (about 2 to 3 minutes).
3. Toss the pasta with the reserved pasta water and half of the Parmesan.  Serve the pasta and zucchini in two separate bowls; top the pasta top with zucchini mixture and some Parmesan.
4. For storage for leftovers, let the pasta cool before tossing it with the vegetables and Parmesan.

Guest Blog Post: Caroline's Apple Pie

Hello all!  Step right up to my second guest blog post, but make sure to keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle and unbutton your pants for your gluttonous pleasure!  The honor of this guest blog post goes to my younger sister, Caroline.  She hasn't had a chance to really cook and bake yet, but I have high hopes for my young culinary padawan learner.

She too encountered the same dilemma as I, you know, with the power outage and all.  But lucky her, she hadn't started cooking yet!  Instead she opted to make the pie the following Saturday and we ate it with Grandparents that same night.  Even though we told our Grandpa the treats he'd be getting in a card, he was still surprised.  He was even more delighted to take home the rest of the pie at the end of the night... with us refusing to keep any for ourselves.  And editors note, I must say, this apple pie was amazing.  It was the perfect balance of sweetness in the filling and savory in the all-butter crust.  And I've had many apple pies in my 22 years, and sometimes I'm disappointed to find that the apples are too watery and the bottom crust ends up mushy - none of this happened in her apple pie!  Now, I'm sorry for deterring you from the recipe for so long.  Now, without much further ado, Caroline's Guest Blog Post:

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Guest Blogger Caroline in Rome Last Summer

This pie was supposed to be for my grandpa for Father’s Day, but like my sister I was stalled by the power outage and was not able to make it until the next weekend.  I didn’t set any records for length of time to bake an apple pie; the power went out a few minutes before I planned to start the crust.

I know my sister already posted an apple pie recipe of her own but I have been using this apple pie recipe since I was ten, and I still love it.  At first I used store bought crust, but I have since realized how much better homemade crust is.

Delicious Apple Pie

Adapted from Family Fun’s Cookbook

Pie Crust

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 ½ (or three sticks) cups cold, unsweetened butter
•  4 tablespoons ice (cold) water

1. Mix flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl
2. Cut butter in to chunks
3. Scatter butter into flour mixture and blend together with a pastry blender (or two forks)
4. Add water and mix together, you might want to use your hands
5. Separate into two balls and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a half an hour or over night

Pie

• 5 cups apple slices (make sure you peel the apples)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• juice of half a lemon or 1 tablespoons real lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Roll out half of the crust dough and line the pie tin make sure it covers the entire rim
3. Mix the apple slices, sugar, flour, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and lemon juice in a large bowl, make sure that the slices are well covered
4. Spoon apple slices into crust lined pie tin
5. Cut butter into small pieces and scatter over the apple slices
6. Roll out the rest of the crust dough and carefully place it over the pie
7. Use a fork and push to crimp the crust around the edges and remove excess crust that is over hanging the pie tin crust
8. Bake pie for 40 minutes