apple-oat cake

this isn't one of those showstoppingly lovely tiered cake creations, all perfect smooth crumb-free icing looking down from an ornate pedestal. it's more along the lines of a slightly slumpy ugly duckling cake. however, it's the one that ends up getting enjoyed more in the end, with its soft, sweet apples, delicate crumb, and endearingly cheerful air of just wanting to be pals.

i made this for my good friend's bachelorette party/shower/dinner party thing. now that we are all Mature Ladies in our early 30s, a dinner and a couple of drinks and some low-key hanging out are more the general speed than cheesy veils with novelty accessories and ill-advised trips to LaBare (i should say, however, that i've never actually been to LaBare, so i'm only guessing that it would be ill-advised). 

anyway, the cake made for a sweet and wholesome end to a sweet and wholesome evening.

this looks like a lot of apples, but these little beauties are quite small. all together, there were about 2 1/2 cups, once sliced. these are little jonagolds, and were very good, but any kind(s) of decent baking apple will work. maybe your farmer's market has some?!

so peel and core them, then cut them into fairly thin slices - maybe like 1/8 of an inch or so (but it's not that big a deal - just eyeball it). then toss them with a little acid so they don't oxidize too much. i often use lemon juice, but this time substituted apple cider vinegar to great effect. i think something like balsamic would be gross (?) but champagne vinegar would be nice. or stick with lemon juice. 

i have a bunch of steel cut oats and never really get around to making oatmeal out of them. i decided to make some oat flour to use in the cake because it seemed autumnal somehow. you could, of course, use all regular flour or use whole wheat flour instead of oat or you could even buy oat flour already floured, in case you don't want to run your food processor for 10 minutes.

flour takes longer than i'd expected.

i just let it grind for a minute or so, then pulsed it a bit, then let it go back to grinding. finally the oats achieved a flour-like texture, although it was definitely still a little grainier than store-bought flour. it wasn't a problem in the cake, though. 

the good thing about using the food processor is that you can just add the other dry ingredients to it and mix them all together there, effectively breaking up any gross baking soda lumps.

i guess you should turn on the oven to preheat at 350. now's as good a time as any.

as for the wet, just whisk (or beat with a mixer) 3/4 cup oil, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons bourbon or applejack and 1 egg. you could probably use less sugar, too (i found it pretty sweet, but i like non-sweet desserts, so ?). i also want to try making it with some applesauce or maybe apple cider/juice that's been reduced and concentrated - i could have used a little more apple flavor in the final product, although everyone else thought it was plenty apple-y.

then mix in the dry ingredients, trying not to overstir. add the apple slices and fold them into the batter, trying to keep them relatively intact. 

i used an 8-inch high-sided pan that i buttered and lined with parchment paper as diagrammed in the chocolate-pear cake post. 

you can use other pans - you may have to adjust the cooking time, however. in this iteration, it took about 55 minutes, but ovens vary, etc. basically it should be done when the center is obviously set, it pulls away from the sides of the pan and the top is a rich golden-brown.

somewhere in this cooking time, it would be smart to stick a pan of pecans in to toast so that you have something nice to put on top of the cake. they just take 5 minutes or so, so don't burn them.

the cake takes a while to cool, so let it hang out on a wire rack or something. i ended up topping it with a kind of caramel-y praline-y topping that i made, but unfortunately i didn't write down what i did. and now it's been like a month and i can't remember. BUT i think that any caramel topping would be great, like this or this. or you can leave the topping off and congratulate yourself on your good health and moderation-based sweets attitude. everyone is very impressed.

once the cake's coolish, slap some caramel on there, toss the pecans about with wild abandon, and sprinkle a good pinch of nice flaky salt over everything. 

the more rarefied tastes of the highbrow food-besotted have already deemed salted caramel passé, but in fact it remains very delicious, so who cares if it's on applebee's menus now?

if you happen to have a little tiny bit left over the next morning, the apples and whole grains make a pretty convincing case for having it for breakfast. just fyi.

apple-oat cake
(quite adapted from this, which was itself adapted from a 1973 recipe in the new york times)

3/4 cup oat flour (3.25 ounces steel-cut oats = 1/2 cup)*
3/4 cup regular flour*
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup oil**
1/2 cup granulated sugar***
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons bourbon or applejack
1 egg

5 small jonagold apples (~2 1/2 cups, sliced)
1 tsp apple vinegar

8" round pan
350
45 minutes to an hour

*i've also used all whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular + oat, and it was very good.
** you can definitely use less oil and add some applesauce to make up for it - like 1/3-1/2 cup oil + applesauce (or microplaned apple) to make 3/4 cup total
***you can also cut down on the sugar. this is how i made it initially, but now i'd probably use maybe 1/4 cup granulated sugar instead.
****a note on spices - some people like them in cakes like this (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.). i am not one of those people. but i guess you could toss some in if you like gross things.

listening to: zaz! i have no idea what she's saying, and the kids in this video are a little creepy, but it's fun music to have on while you're cooking.

creamy corn soup with zucchini & tomato

first off, please excuse the weird illustrations. i neglected to take any pictures of this delicious soup and so had to draw some things on my phone. this is not quite as easy as you'd think.

nevertheless, hopefully they won't put you off making this soup, because it's quick, easy, and remarkably delicious. mike said that i could make it every day and he wouldn't complain (the subtext of that being that generally he DOES complain. just kidding! he is very easygoing, though he will suffer neither mushrooms nor fools gladly).

the corn here is amazing right now, so it would be great to snap some up and make this asap. out of corn season, i think frozen corn would be okay, but fresh is the only way to go when it's as juicy and sweet as it is now. zucchini and tomatoes are also pretty terrific, making this the epitome of the seasonal! local! eating! thing that everyone's always yapping about.

i also added some leftover grilled salmon, but you could also use chicken or tofu to add protein and bulk it up a little. it's also great with just the vegetables. so adaptable!

first, cut the kernels off of 4 ears of corn. this post regarding a tasty corn salad has a thing about cutting up corn, in case this is foreign to you. then put the cobs in a large pan with about 4 cups of milk. i used 2%, since that's what we keep around for coffee, but whole milk would of course be more decadent and skim more ascetic, so go with your instincts. heat the cob-milk mess over medium-high heat until it starts edging towards boiling, then let the cobs sit in there while you do the rest of the things. i think this just gives the end result a deeper and more complex flavor, but obviously if you're using frozen corn it'll presumably not come with cobs and should still be fine, so if you don't want to mess with this step, just skip it! it's your corn soup party! do what you want!

it's not in the picture, but you should cut an onion into smallish dice. heat up a bit of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the onion. also chop some garlic into little bits. you can even cut the zucchini and tomato into bite-sized-or-a-little-smaller pieces at this point as well, if you're one of those fancy people with enough room on your cutting board to do so. 

so the onion starts getting translucent fairly quickly and then you can add the garlic and some herbs. i used a small bunch of lemon thyme stems that still had a few leaves on them. it was maybe like 1/2 the size of my thumb (i like to think that i have normal-sized thumbs, if that measurement was unclear) and i changed out the rubber band holding it together for one of those wire bread bag wrapper things from which i removed the paper. maybe you have some kitchen twine or something? just don't melt rubber into your soup and you'll be okay.

i also added a couple of big pinches of dried fines herbes, but pretty much anything not too weird would go well here - marjoram, chives, a little tarragon... (so, like, the things in fines herbes)

then throw the corn in, along with the milk in which the corn cobs have been steeping (sans cobs, obvs). probably some salt and pepper wouldn't be too out of place, either. bring it to a low boil and then turn the heat down to medium-low, so it keeps simmering. let it go for 20 minutes or so. 

at this point i like to blend some of it (like 2/3) up so that the soup has a thicker, creamier texture. you could blend the whole thing like crazy, but i prefer it with some whole kernels. an immersion blender would be best here (avoiding the thyme bundle), but i broke mine a few years ago in an ill-fated margarita disaster, so i made do with the food processor (a regular blender would be better than the processor, leakwise, but i don't have one). 

finally, brown the zucchini in a little olive oil, add some cumin and then the tomato, then add the whole thing to the now-blended soup. ta da! if you have some cooked fish or chicken you could flake/shred/chop it and add it so that it heats through.

don't eat the little bundle of thyme, if you used one.

somehow this ended up tasting almost kind of coconut-y - i guess maybe from the sweetness of the corn? i did use some really superlative corn, so that definitely helps the end result. 

*ingredients*

4 ears corn

4 cups milk

1 small bunch thyme - lemon thyme is particularly good (or some dried thyme)

other herbs

1 onion

3 or 4 cloves garlic

1 zucchini

1 tomato

1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)

cooked fish or chicken (optional)

listening to: my kind of dumb/kind of awesome spotify mix of 90s-ish hip hop/r&b, so like GZA's shadowboxin', 2pac's california love, destiny's child's say my name, and tlc's waterfalls.

chocolate & berry pavlova

pavlova. paaavloooooova. doesn't it sound fancy and delicious and elegant and maybe a little exotic? that's pretty much how it tastes, too. also, it's fruity and fresh and comes together really quickly, but looks like a million bucks. thus, it is the perfect summer dessert.

pavlovas basically consist of a large meringue shell with whipped cream and berries sunning themselves on top. they're named after russian ballerina anna pavlova, so you needn't start thinking of drooling dogs, although they are apt to inspire anticipatory salivating when you behold their resplendency.

a meringue, as you are no doubt aware, is basically whipped egg whites 'n' stuff. i had a bunch of leftover egg whites after making ice cream, so this was a great way to use them up. i had frozen them and then just let them come to room temperature before beating them and it worked a treat. first things first - preheat the oven to 350 (~ 180 celsius).

i based the recipe off the incomparable nigella lawson's, but had to adjust a couple of things due to too many egg whites and an inability to keep from tinkering. i had 8 egg whites, so i upped the other things accordingly. 

i also apparently lost all my math skills somewhere along the line, because i added more chocolate than i should have. it was still good, and it made for a nice deeply chocolatey bottom to the meringue, but when i make it again, i'll use less - it kind of overpowered the berries and cream. and that is unacceptable.

when you make a meringue, it won't get properly whipped-y unless there's no yolk and no grease on the bowl or beater.so first make sure your egg whites are at room temperature and that they don't have any bits of yolk in them. actually, i just looked this up and there are differences of opinion on the room temperature/cold issue. so i guess do whatever? mine were room temperature and they were fine.

the no-oil/fat thing is pretty universally acknowledged, though. you need to use a metal or glass bowl because it's really difficult to get plastic clean enough. so just put the eggs in there and turn the mixer on medium for a minute or so, then increase the speed to high and let the whites mix and fluff for perhaps 3-5 minutes or until they form soft peaks. here's a little visual of soft vs other peaks.

then add the sugar a little at a time while still mixing away. keep on a'mixin' until the soft peaks become stiff and shiny. pretty! then you can fold in the cocoa and chopped chocolate and vinegar. vinegar - weird, i know. apparently it works to stabilize the meringue and keep it all together, much like cream of tartar, which a lot of meringue recipes call for. but i don't think anyone really keeps cream of tartar on hand (i certainly don't), so vinegar is a much easier substitute.

for folding everything in, you just want to do it gently so that the fluff doesn't evaporate. here's a video that shows how, but basically just use a rubber spatula and do it softly so that things are mixed properly but you don't lose the air that you just added to the egg whites.

then just flop it gently onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and spread it flattish to maybe an inch thick or a little less. you could also make baby individual ones, which would be awfully pretty and fancy. but a big one is large, in charge, and impressive. so do what you like. the size won't change too much during cooking, but if you make smaller ones, try to get at least a couple of inches between each. 

then bake it! you've preheated the oven, but now as soon as you put the meringue in, you need to turn it down to 300 (150 celsius). then just forget about it for a little bit and go about your day. perhaps you could paint your nails or do a jigsaw puzzle. just kidding! jigsaw puzzles are the worst. read a book or something. 

after about an hour and 15 minutes or perhaps a bit more, it should look like the above - it doesn't matter if it gets all cracky - that's part of the charm. rustic! basically it should be dry on the top but you can tell that its insides hold softer chocolatey secrets. 

let that puppy cool and wash your mixing bowl so you can make some delicious whipped yogurt-cream. also put your mixing bowl and mixing whisk attachment thingy in the freezer because whipped cream is kind of the opposite of meringue in that it works best if everything is quite cold. then just mix up 2 cups of heavy cream on high, then add maybe 1/3 cup of powdered sugar when it starts getting whipped-y. you really don't need much sugar here, so just use a little and taste and adjust accordingly. powdered sugar is supposed to keep it more stable, but you can use regular sugar if you're going to eat it right away. once the cream is sufficiently whipped (soft peaks or whatever texture you like - you know what whipped cream looks like), fold in 1/3 - 1/2 cup whole greek yogurt. you can actually skip this if you like, but i think the tangy note that you get with the yogurt really adds a lot to the final result. otherwise you can just use boring old delicious freshly whipped cream.

finally, it's berry time! i used raspberries AND blackberries, because it was the fourth of july and it seemed more patriotic, but probably any berries would be good. maybe not mulberries. those things are weird. 

when you're ready to eat, pile the meringue with clouds of whipped cream and hearty handfuls of juicy berries. then you can shave some chocolate over the top if you like. honestly, i am not the most chocolate-oriented person, so i would probably skip that next time, but it was devoured with aplomb nonetheless, so whatevs. 

this was a great and (despite the length of this description) easy summer dessert that looks fancy and tastes light and refreshing (despite the CUPS of whipped cream). it easily fed 8+ with leftovers, so it's great for a potluck or other party situation.

whether you accompany it with bb gun target practice in a sunny portland backyard (as we did) is up to you.

*ingredients*
meringue base:
8 egg whites
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 tablespoons sifted cocoa powder (i normally don't sift, but that stuff gets lumpy!)
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar (i used red wine vinegar, but i don't think it matters much as long as it isn't like tarragon vinegar or something weird)
~ 2 - 3 ounces chocolate, chopped (again, i used more like 3, but would use less next time)

whipped yogurt-cream
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar (see: cocoa/lumpiness otherwise)
1/3 - 1/2 cup greek yogurt

lots and lots of berries! (i used maybe 3 or 4 cups. this is not a time for precise measurements)

listening to: passion pit and wolf parade

curry chicken & mango salad

london, england is one of my favorite places in the world. i was lucky enough to live there twice (briefly) - once on a semester abroad and then for 6 months soon after i graduated from college. coming back after that 6 months was almost physically painful. every day for the next more-than-a-year i actively missed the city and cursed the work visa restrictions that had sent me home. 

now it's been TEN years since i was there (!). i still can't really believe it, but a combination of no money and little time (among other things) has kept me from going back to visit. i'm hoping to go soon, though, once i start raking in the big lawyer cash (ha! just kidding! i specialized in public interest law like a sucker!). now that i have several dear friends living there, it's become even more of a priority, so ojala i'll be visiting ye olde towne sooner rather than later.

in the meantime, i can make things like this curried chicken salad and pretend it's coronation chicken. during my after-college stint there, i worked as a medical secretary in an oncology hospital in central-ish london. it was somewhat depressing work, as can be imagined, but it paid well and everyone i worked with was charming. there was also an adorable little park nearby and virtually every day i would go to the pret a manger and get a sandwich, then go to the park and read. they had several iterations of coronation chicken which i never got to try, since i was a vegetarian then. but they probably weren't as good as this version, anyway, so hopefully i didn't miss out too much. 

start with perhaps a cup and a half or two cups of bite-sized-ed chicken. i like to use some white meat and some dark, because that's how i roll (flavorfully and with pleasing texture), but you can use whatever. it could be roasted or poached or even grilled. usually i just roast some bone-in breasts and drumsticks in the oven for one dinner, then use the leftovers for salad. 

i only used half a mango for this batch, but more wouldn't be bad. cutting up a mango is easiest if you slice down one of the flatter sides of it, use a knife to score the flesh in whatever size you'd like, making sure not to cut through the skin, then push it sort of inside out so you can just slice the cubes off the skin part. you probably want to cut it into pieces a little smaller than those above.

then just mix everything together, let it sit for a bit to meld the flavors better, and pile it on a sandwich or in a pita or have it with crackers or little toasts or even stuffed into tomatoes, once they get really summer-good. the curry isn't overpowering, but it's a welcome change from regular chicken salad and the sweetness of the mango and slight tartness of the yogurt are really nice. it's basically a perfect summer salad. whether you imagine yourself in london when you eat it is up to you. 

~ 1 1/2 - 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (i used about 2/3 of a large breast + 2 drumsticks)
1/4 cup each mayo and yogurt
salt
1/8 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry powder
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 a mango
handful cilantro
4 or 5 thinly sliced scallions


listening to: the herbaliser, solex

two quick/easy/healthy lunches

whether you bring your lunch to work or eat lunch at home or school, making it is one of those hassle-y things that you either sigh and do or sigh and don't do and then you end up buying a sub-par sandwich from the little shop on the ground floor of your office building.

wait, i guess that's only related to the bringing-your-lunch-to-work thing. and it's really only related to my work, because probably not everyone is lucky enough to work in office buildings containing shops with mediocre sandwiches on the ground floor.

anyway, i've never been that into making lunches. but i try to do it, because on tuesdays and thursdays i have to be Out and About for like 13 hours so if i don't make one i get into the whole sandwich shop malarkey and am mad at myself later.

two lunches that have been treating me right lately are a beans/kale/tomato melange and a vaguely asian chicken and broccoli thing. both are super quick and quite tasty and they will power you through any number of meetings, memos, or research rabbit-holes you find yourself falling into.

kale is probably my favorite green. it's milder than other greens like mustard or chard and it has more texture and heft than boring old spinach (which also has the non-benefit of making my teeth feel weird - thanks oxalate, you jerk!).

anyway, for this you just need one bunch of kale (washed, stems removed, and chopped into vaguely bite-sized pieces - 1"-2" or so), some garlic and/or shallots or onion, a can of white beans, and a can of diced tomatoes. heat a teaspoon or so of oil in a large pan (medium heat), then add the garlic/shallot/onion. let these cook for a minute or so, then add the kale. stir it around a bit and let it go for another two minutes-ish, then add the tomatoes (with their juice) and the beans (drained and preferably rinsed, because that bean-juice in cans is so nastily viscous). then you are basically done. let it cook, stirring occasionally, for perhaps another 10 - 15 minutes or until the kale becomes texturally pleasing to you. that's it! maybe also add some salt. a little lemon juice or cider or balsamic vinegar is nice, too.

the great thing about this is that it's vegan and it has lots of protein and vitamins. you can also grate a little cheese on it if you're feeling frisky. we had some cotija cheese that went particularly well with it, but asiago or parmesan would also be nice. it's also good warm or at room temperature, so if you can't stand the thought of hanging in the breakroom with your homies, you can hunch over it in your cubicle while reading a magazine. your choice!

here are the ingredients of my lunch today. i roasted a chicken the other day, so we already had some cooked leftovers. if you don't have a roast chicken in your fridge, you could always get one of those rotisserie ones or use tofu or add the extra step of cooking up a chicken breast. but it's definitely quicker if you have chicken that's already cooked. obviously.

other than that you just need a stalk of broccoli, a couple of cloves of garlic, a shallot (or equivalent amount of onion, or just leave it out), and perhaps half a jalapeño or other pepper (this one was mild). you can also add whatever else you have around - scallions and/or cilantro would be nice, as would some peanuts or cashews. but lo! i had none of those.

this is actually kind of similar to the kale thing in that you cook the garlic and whatever (here, shallot and jalapeño) for a hot minute, then add the green stuff (broccoli!) and let it cook for a bit. once i put the broccoli in, i added a tablespoon or so of water and then covered the pan and let it steam-cook for about two or three minutes. basically from here on out it depends on how crunchy you want your broccoli to be. i think mine cooked for a total of 7 or 8 minutes. the timing also depends on how large your broccoli chunks are - the smaller they are, the faster they cook.

once it's just about done, add some soy sauce (to taste, but maybe 1-2 teaspoons) and a teaspoon or so of sesame oil. then add the chicken (if you're using tofu, you could add it soon after the broccoli or cook it separately so it gets sort of crunchy) just to let it get all melded with the other stuff. also, incidentally, i was eating this at home, so i wanted to get it heated through. yay for home-lunch!

when you're ready to eat, a dollop of chili-garlic sauce is a great addition, as is sriracha, if you haven't already used it all up in some terrible apocalypse drink.

if you're taking it to work, you'll probably want to keep it cold until you're ready to eat it because salmonella.

*ingredients for kale thing*

1-2 cloves garlic

1 shallot or 1/4 of an onion

1 small bunch kale

1 can white beans

1 can diced tomatoes

salt

balsamic or cider vinegar, optional

cheese, optional

*ingredients for chicken-broccoli thing*

2 cloves garlic

1 shallot or 1/4 of an onion

1/2 mild jalapeño or other chili or some red bell pepper

1 largish stalk broccoli

1/3 - 1/2 cup chopped, cooked chicken

soy sauce and sesame oil, to taste

chili-garlic sauce and/or sriracha, to taste

other good additions - sesame seeds, nuts, other vegetables

listening to: the clientele

smoky garlicky black beans

lo, it is january! people all over the world are becoming newly virtued, newly sure that This Is The Year When It Will All Change. like everyone else, i want to do better this year. i want to be nicer and more patient. i want to make more of my time and spend a little less energy being frustrated and bitter. but ultimately, these are things i need to take day by day and even in a kinder, gentler world there is still a place for semi-good-natured mockery.

oh, there isn't? well that sounds boring.

one thing that many people want to change resolutionarily is their eating habits. sure, i just ate a piece of chocolate, but in general i think we eat pretty healthily here in living awesomely land. plus, it was artisanal chocolate. AND free trade. so that's basically like you're doing your part for the good of the world by eating it, i'm pretty sure. i don't have to defend my chocolate-eating choices to you.

anyway, my innate defensiveness aside, these black beans i made sure were good. i know! you are all, snrrrszzzzzzboring. they are really tasty, though, and So Healthyface. also cheap. so they pretty much fit the bill if your resolutions involved things like eating better or being more thrifty. you also get the sort of quiet joy that comes of simmering something on the stove and making your house smell good on days in which the sun barely has time to rise before setting again at 4pm. it's also vegan, so the animals would thank you if animals were capable of feeling thankful. ours certainly aren't.

the first step of making beans may or may not be soaking them. i've read so many things and have tried all kinds of different ways - i'm not any sort of authority on it. frankly, i often used canned beans. but canned beans are nowhere near as good as the ones you make yourself. plus they are so 2011. for reals. this time i used a quick soak method that seemed to work well.

just cover the rinsed beans with a few inches of water, bring it to a boil, let it boil for a minute or two, then let the pot sit covered for at least an hour. then drain them out and rinse them off. you might need to pick a few losers out of the bunch as well. in the picture above, a helpful squirrel is pointing out a weird grey bean that no one wants. compost that puppy!

rinse the pot out and add a tablespoon or two of olive oil and put it over medium heat. once the oil's hot, add a medium diced onion. i think mine totaled 2/3 of a cup or so. possibly 3/4. don't get too hung up on the amounts. let that cook for awhile, stirring pretty frequently. you want it to get translucent but not too brownedy - 5 minutes-ish should be good. once the onion is translucent, add a whole head of minced garlic. you can, i suppose, add less, but garlic is good for you. also, garlic and onions cooking together form one of the great smells known to mankind. you owe it to yourself. let those hang out for a minute or so and then add some spices.

i was planning to use some cumin, some chipotle powder, and some smoked paprika. since there isn't any bacon or ham in here, i like the smokiness that those last two add. sadly, i was out of smoked paprika, so i used the smoke seasoning blend above. it's really good, but i like to not brag too much about the awesome trader joe's things we get here, since not everyone has access to them. but this time, i had no choice. and if you DO have a trader joe's, this stuff is good.

but it also is mostly smoked paprika. so you can work without it quite easily. add about two + teaspoons powdered cumin, 1-2 (or more, but it's spicy!) teaspoons chipotle powder (or you could use those canned chipotles in adobo - maybe like 1, minced?, and 2 teaspoons or several furious grinds of smoked paprika or smoke seasoning blend, respectively.

let it all cook together for a few seconds, so the spices get toasty, then add the pre-soaked beans and enough water so that they are covered by about 2 inches or so. you can add some salt at this point too - maybe a couple-few teaspoons (aka 2 -3). put the heat on high and let it come to a boil, then turn it down to medium-low (my stove's dial was at like 2 1/2 out of 10). cook until the beans are tender. this will depend to a certain extent on how old the beans are, etc., but it'll probably be like an hour. stir every 15 minutes or so, but it isn't a big deal.

once the beans are tender, add a can of tomatoes. you don't have to do this, but tomatoes are good in black beans, so i think you ought to at least consider it. this has a whole thing about bean skins and acids and bases, so you can see why you might want to wait until now to add the tomatoes.

you also might need to add a little more salt at this point. though it hasn't been scientifically proven, one of the main reasons people balk at eating homemade beans is that if they are undersalted they are the grossest things in the world. true story.

once they are tender, you can eat them immediately, or you can cool them and ladle them into muffin tins to freeze for later or you can keep them going on super-low heat until you're ready for them. they don't mind. they'll just be there when you're ready for them.

they're good on their own, or in enchiladas, nachos or the like. you can also have a little dress-up party with them and make some rice and have some toppings ready for delicious rice-and-bean bowls. we had them with brown rice, avocado, salsa, diced cheeses (cheddar, pepper jack), chopped scallions, greek yogurt (maybe i'm a philistine, but it really tastes just like sour cream to me), and garlicky sautéed kale.

i know. kale. eye roll. whatever haters, i love it! take the leafy parts from the stemmy stems, chop them up, cook them with lots of garlic, a splash of apple cider vinegar and some pepper flakes, and i could eat that stuff all day. it. is. the. best. particularly in a Virtue Bowl (TM).

good luck with all of your resolutionizing! here's to 2012!

*ingredients*

1 bag dried black beans (it was whatever the normal size of bags of beans at the store run - i think that's a pound)

1 medium or small onion, diced

1 head of garlic, minced

1 can tomatoes (14 oz) - i used just regular diced ones, but you can get the ones with flavoring if you like. if they're salted, take it easy on the salt you add

2+ teaspoons powdered cumin

1-2 teaspoons chipotle powder, or 1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced - spicy!

2+ teaspoons dried smoked paprika (or that trader joe's stuff)

salt, to taste

water

listening to: a weird mix of the lower 48 (especially come awake) and some hip hop-ish songs off a spotify mix i made (lupe fiasco, the streets, aesop rock/mountain goats).

fish sauce drumsticks

mmm, these drumsticks are pretty great, i have to say. i've made them three times in the last couple of weeks, which is really saying something because generally the only thing i make that frequently is bean & cheese tacos (the house go-to for quick simple dinners).

they were inspired by the fish sauce chicken wings at pok pok, which is a pretty well-known thai place here in portland. people go nuts for those things, which is justifiable, because they are delicious. i wanted to try to do a similar thing but with drumsticks and without deep frying. this is because drumsticks are a little meatier and less pointless than chicken wings and because i am afraid of deep frying.

drumsticks are pretty cheap, too, even when you buy cuddled-to-death free range ones. for these pictures, i used the toaster oven because it was hot at the time. i have to really recommend that you use a regular oven though - it does a much better job crisping the skin.

so roast some drumsticks at 400 for about 40 minutes. i salt and pepper them a little bit first.

while that's going on, you can make the delicioso glaze/sauce.

this was what i used for the first batch. it was great, but i subsequently used brown sugar instead and i think that was better. brown sugar has molasses in it, which seems to caramelize better and add a little bitter note that is really good. i also added a tablespoon of honey in a subsequent batch and that's also something you should do.

first, chop up a couple of cloves of garlic. this is going to be fried in a little olive oil and will add some crunch at the end, so you don't want to totally mince it up all tiny. just get it into smallish chunks, like this (i should have put a quarter or something in there as scale. this is a large plate):

fry the garlic in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil - i set the heat on medium and let the oil get hot, add the garlic, and stir pretty much continuously until it gets nice and golden. you have to get it out of there pretty quickly after that to make sure it doesn't burn. i just use a spatula or spoon, but if you have a tiny sieve or something it might work better. you can save the oil for some other use - it will be nicely garlicky.

set the crispy garlic and the oil aside and you can use the same pan to make the glaze. it consists of 1/2 a lime's worth of zest and juice, another couple of cloves of garlic, either minced very fine or (preferably) grated on a microplane, about 1/3 cup of fish sauce, 1/4 - 1/3 cup brown sugar, a tablespoon of honey, and a teaspoon or more of sriracha and some chili flakes, if you're so inclined. cook this all together on medium heat, stirring often. it will start to boil pretty rapidly and get all caramelly. let it cook down a bit and get thick - maybe 6 or 7 minutes.

if you happen to be lucky enough to have a thermometer that isn't broken and half-filled with water, that's the best way to determine whether your chicken is done. otherwise, do the usual clear-juices-not-pink thing and hope you don't get food poisoning! good luck!

once the drumsticks are pretty much done and the skin is all nice and crispy, toss them in a large bowl with the glaze and the fried garlic bits (or you could pour the glaze on the pan and try to roll them around in it. this doesn't really work as well, though). then place them back in the pan and cook them a bit more so the glaze bakes in nicely - maybe another 10 minutes or so. i find that it's hard to seriously overcook drumsticks - they generally will stay pretty moist.

finally, sprinkle those puppies with some chopped cilantro and have at it. we've had them with salad, with rice and roasted broccoli, and on their own. each time they were delicious, but i think the rice and roasted broccoli were the best accompaniment, not least because you can roast the broccoli at the same time as the drumsticks.

this picture makes them look a little anemic, but when you are smart enough to roast them in a real oven they get really deeply caramelized, which is better. trust me.

*ingredients*

~ 1 lb chicken drumsticks (6 or so)

1/2 a lime's worth of zest and juice

3-4 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup of fish sauce

1/4 - 1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon (or so) honey (optional, but wonderfully sticky)

a teaspoon or more of sriracha and some chili flakes (optional)

cilantro (optional)

brown butter cherry & berry clafoutis

i know. i know. another thing you have to bake.

but! i made this in our toaster oven, so if you have one of those, you are golden. if you don't, you still have to turn on the regular oven like a regular sucker. but i think it will all seem worth it when you are snarfing delicious custardy fruity clafoutis (kind of rhymes with fruity). the toaster oven is very handy, though, and doesn't heat up your house at all. it is a miracle appliance! i got mine on craigslist for cheaps.

clafoutis has lots of eggs relative to flour, so it is more eggy and dense than, say, a cake. it is not too sweet and is tasty with either ice cream for dessert or with yogurt for breakfast. i guess you could have it with ice cream but for breakfast, but i don't roll that way.

regardless, it's a great use for cherries, which are great right now. the other benefit of using cherries in clafoutis is that it's traditional to leave the pits in, which is perfect for lazy people like me. just warn the people eating it so they don't break a tooth or whatever. i may be in law school, but i can't help you with that one. i also used blackberries for this one, since they are doing all sorts of exciting things in my backyard. well, not all sorts. i guess really they are just ripening. still exciting.

although the fruit parts of this clafoutis are great, the star of the whole thing is really the brown butter. see, you have to melt the butter for this anyway, and generally if i am going to go to the trouble of dirtying a pan (omg we don't have a microwave. i don't miss it, except for its milk-heating properties for coffee), i feel like i might as well make brown butter.

butter is undoubtedly good as is. one of my family's little stories is about the time my grandmother came into the kitchen to find my aunt sitting on the table. she was enthusiastically eating butter from the dish and looked up without a hint of contrition, saying "you know what's good? BUTTER!"

if she'd had access to brown butter, who knows if they'd ever have been able to tear her away. it is like butter mixed with caramel mixed with ambrosia. it is nutty and complex and divine. it makes your house smell like betty crocker's apron in heaven.

anyway. all that by way of saying that yes, you could use regular melted butter, but i would think less of you. or rather, you would think less of you. luckily, it is easy: put a stick of butter (1/2 cup) in a pan and make it melt. then just keep it on the heat until the little bits of milk solids sink to the bottom. they will start browning. the main thing is to stir it occasionally and not let the solids totally burn. you want them quite brown, though:

see? so brownedy-delicious! it seriously smells amazing at this point. i like to just carry it around in the cup and smell it for awhile. this is because you don't want it too hot when you add it to the eggs/sugar mixture and also because it smells so good.

you will have to set it down briefly to mix the eggs and sugar, however. i do this with my stand mixer (why yes, i am fancy!), but you could use a hand mixer or a sturdy whisk as well. just take 3 eggs and 1/2 cup of sugar and mix them until they are thicker and lighter and fluffy - like 3 minutes or so? it depends on how fast you are mixing.

then once the butter is cool enough, add it slowly to the eggs. i do this while the mixer is running, but i don't think it will ruin everything to do it and then mix more. then add a cup of flour and mix again. then add a cup of milk, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a couple of tablespoons or less of booze, if desired. i used brandy, but rum or whisky or whiskey would also be good. you could also add a pinch of salt if your butter was unsalted.

then you just pour it over 2 cups-ish of fruit that you've already put in a buttered pan. this pan is 8" in diameter and is 2" tall and it worked great, but there are lots of conversion things if you have a pan of a different stature. bake it at 400 for about 45 minutes. i wasn't sure about the toaster oven, because i haven't had it that long and i don't usually bake in it, but it seemed to work well. i ended up increasing the heat to 425 after half an hour because i was nervous, but i don't think it was necessary. it's never been necessary when i've made clafoutis in a regular oven.

in a regular oven, i would definitely keep it at 400 and start checking it after half an hour or so. you want it mostly solid, but a little jiggliness or softness in the center is okay. again, it isn't really a cakelike texture you're going for.

this is so good and quick and easy. it is definitely worth ovening for, but a toaster oven makes it even easier. by the way, that potholder the pan is sitting on? my moms made it for me. she is good at knitting things. thanks, mom!

*ingredients*

1/2 cup butter, melted, browned if smart

3 eggs, beaten with

1/2 cup sugar, add the butter, then

1 cup flour, then

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons or less dark liquor, if desired

pour over

2 cups fruit of your choice, in buttered pan

bake 30-45 minutes

asian scrambled eggs & rice

are you tired of slogging through soggy cereal? do you quail at the thought of another slurpy yogurt and fruit combo?

my point is that these eggs are quick and simple and delicious and a little out of the ordinary. thus they are practically guaranteed to be a welcome respite from the doldrums of typical weekday breakfasts. you can also make them on the weekends - i just did!

this was a great quick breakfast on a rainy saturday morning. it would also be good on a dry tuesday morning. or with a nice salad for a quick lunch. it uses leftover cooked rice, eggs, onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper (incidentally, this is just regular black pepper in a lemon pepper container, but lemon pepper would be good, too), and sriracha (or other hot chili sauce).

you can customize these in various ways - if i have cilantro, i will put it in. sometimes i use shallots instead of onion. if there are some scallions skulking around, i will put those in at the very end, or just snip them over the top of the finished eggs (you can also do the same with chives). so consider this just a basic template for whatever genius thing you come up with.

first i let the onion cook up a little. i used 1/4 of a small onion - probably like 1/4 - 1/3 cup once it was chopped. this is totes to taste, though. use however much onion you feel you deserve. i like to cook it in some butter on medium-high heat so that it gets some nice browned areas. brown is where the flavor is! although the flavor is also still in the regular white part. it is just a different flavor.

then add some cold cooked rice. i was just making this for me, so i used like 1/3 cup of plain white rice that has been hanging out in our fridge for a day or two. or three. i hope rice doesn't go bad. it seemed fine, though. let that cook together with the onions for a little bit. i usually turn the burner down a little at this point - to medium or a little below that.

while the rice and onion are getting better acquainted, mix two eggs with a tablespoon or so of soy sauce. you might want to start with a little less than a tablespoon - maybe two teaspoons or so. i really like salt, apparently. although i didn't feel like this was too salty.

then just add the eggs to the onion and rice mixture and cook until they reach the perfect scrambledy consistency. then once you plate them you can sprinkle on more soy sauce if desired, plus sriracha and a little smidge of sesame oil to taste. sesame oil is pretty strong, so be careful! this is also when i would put some chives or whatnot on there if i had any. a scattering of toasted sesame seeds would not be out of place here, either.

then eat it up and be glad you didn't settle for some plain ol' toast or sad instant oatmeal. this comes together in under ten minutes and is satisfying and delicious and happy-making. you could also try it with other cooked grains or different flavor profiles - quinoa/cumin/chili powder/salsa, brown rice/frozen peas/curry powder, etc.

*ingredients* (for eggs for one - can be doubled, etc)

1/4 - 1/3 cup onion, chopped (sweet onions are particularly good in this, but you can use any kind)

1/3 cup cooked rice

2 eggs

2 teaspoons - 1 tablespoon soy sauce

chili sauce

sesame oil

pepper

other toppings - chives, scallions, sesame seeds, etc.