28 February 2011

why the oscars were invented

I'm not entirely sure why the Oscars came to be, but I do know why I think they did. I think the Oscars were invented so that my friends and I would have a great excuse to get dressed up and throw a party. I didn't do the best about taking pictures of everything I made, but I did try. . .I will hopefully get better about that as this project continues.

The first thing I made were tiny chocolate cakes. My roommate has this fantastic mold for tiny cakes, so we thought we would try using it. I made chocolate cake to use in the molds, and the cake turned out well. I adjusted it a bit to accommodate my roomie, but sometimes you just can't win all fights. One of the things that my roommate is allergic to is chocolate, so these cakes were already against the rules, but I was going to try to make them as good as possible.

I started with a favorite chocolate cake recipe: Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake. Yum. I did a half batch because the full batch makes enough for two 9" layers and I just needed enough for a pan of baby cakes. I went ahead and used unbleached all-purpose flour, but I chose not to use eggs. Instead I used applesauce and a tiny bit more baking soda than the recipe called for. I also added a touch of coconut rum, Kahlua, cinnamon and nutmeg.



The cakes turned out well with the ultimate verdict being that they were okay for my roommate. She is allergic to wheat and chocolate but those were the only things she was allergic to in these cakes. I also liked the cake without the eggs. I might have to try that when I make this as a cake again.


I love all things British, in case you don't know that about me. I especially love the tradition of afternoon tea. Taking a bit of a break in the afternoon to just have a cuppa and enjoy life for a moment. So, yes, I took a it of a tea break in the middle of my cooking.

Okay, moving on. . .I also made a beef and bean dip to eat with tortilla chips. I didn't have a recipe, so I just kind of made it up as I went. I started with half of a yellow onion diced up (I used the other half for guacamole), a clove of garlic diced, and some olive oil in a pan over medium low heat. I like to let these cook for just a little bit before adding the beef.


Let's talk about seasoning for a minute. I love using seasonings. Almost every time I cook, I use nearly every spice in my cupboard. I'm not even kidding you. I added all of these to my onion and garlic mixture. One of my pet peeves about American cooking is that we don't use spices enough. There is so much salt and sugar in everything we eat that we don't taste our food enough to know if there is seasoning in it. If you cut the sugar and salt out of most American food, there is no flavor. I love flavor. I love seasonings. Amen.


Then I added the beef and browned it. Just a side note, this is one of the first things that I learned to do in the kitchen. I have been browning beef for most of my life. It's kind of like second nature to me at this point.


After I drained the grease off, I added one can of black beans and part of a can of tomato sauce. Make sure you check the seasonings at this point. If you need more of anything add it. I usually do another round of all the spices and taste it to make sure I like the flavor. Then I let it simmer for just a bit so that it thickens a bit.


I put it in an oven proof bowl and covered the top with cheese. Let's be honest, can you really get too much cheese? Load it up! I then put it in the fridge and about 15 minutes before I put it out, I put it in a 350* oven until the cheese was melted. I then flipped the broiler on high and let the cheese get brown and bubbly.


The party was a success, and I was happy to have an excuse to cook for my friends and savor their presence in my home. So fun!

26 February 2011

Coconut Macaroons

Okay, let's walk through how I find a recipe. My roommate says something like: "Hmmm. . .coconut macaroons sound good." I then proceed to search for coconut macaroon recipes that I think would work and sound good. After looking at five or six recipes to get a good general idea of what goes into coconut macaroons, I then settle on a recipe to alter. Like this one from allrecipes.com

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2-3/4 cups flaked coconut
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Then I begin my alterations.* Coconut flour for all-purpose. Coconut milk for sweetened condensed milk. Add coconut sugar and cinnamon for a little sweetness and spice. And since I am currently out of vanilla, omit the vanilla. And here is the final cast of characters with nothing that my roomie is allergic to.


Mix it all together, and then form into balls and place on a cookie sheet. The shredded coconut that I had on hand was finely shredded coconut, but these would look more macaroon-esque if you had coconut that is less finely shredded.


Bake at 350 for 15 minutes (or more or less depending on your oven). You just want them to be browned aka the coconut to be toasted.



These got the roommate stamp of approval. Things I would change for next time: less finely shredded coconut, add vanilla, and maybe a tiny bit more cinnamon.

*Note: Something you should know about the way I cook. I rarely actually measure anything, so these measurements are approximate. Mix and taste is the way I go.

24 February 2011

the beginning. . .yet not. . .

I have been cooking since I was five years old which means we are edging up on almost 20 years since I first began cooking. I have been very comfortable with the things that I have cooked. I am generally confident about what I make in the kitchen--almost 20 years of experience will do that for you. The truth is though, that I have had my fair share of mistakes (some of these anecdotes I will perhaps share with you), but for the most part I have generally been successful in my cooking endeavors.

In the past couple of years I have started to expand my horizons in my cooking. I have been going more natural, trying to find substitutes that are healthier and better for me and those I cook for. I have discovered new types of sweeteners, how to use whole wheat effectively and that I love baking with dark chocolate.

More recently, I have embarked on an even different type of cooking. I have an amazing roommate who has recently discovered that she is allergic to many "normal" foods, so in the interest of helping her to get well I have started on a journey of discovering new ways to cook in order to make good food that she is able to enjoy. This is challenging for me, and for the first time in recent years, I am having to make dishes multiple times in order to get them to a point where I think they are good dishes to serve, dishes that I am proud to serve to my company.

This blog is to catalog my adventures (and misadventures) of this journey and to talk about cooking in general. I am very passionate about good food that is good for you, so I hope you will join me on this journey and enjoy it as well. I hope that if you have ideas you will share them with me or if you have recipes that you would like me to try that you would share that as well. I love a good challenge, so I am looking forward to all that this experience will have to teach me and how I will grow in my abilities as a cook through it.