what we eat.

lemony olive oil banana bread.

Some of the cutest things in this world are small.  Shoes for a baby.  Cute.  Crab apples? Adorable.  The mini cooper? Of course.  So when my mom gifted me this small-ish bunt pan I was super excited to make something cute.  Yes, food can be cute.


It kinda wouldn't have mattered what I baked in my new pan but luckily (for me and you) I picked this amazing lemony banana bread that I've been eyeing over at 101 Cookbooks.  It's a banana bread that meets a lemon cake and they have a really good time.  And if you don't have a small cute pan, don't worry.  This bread holds it own in a regular bundt pan and would even be great as muffins.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (2-3)
1/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the glaze:
1/2 cup brown sugar or muscovado sugar
1/2 powdered sugar
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350° F, and place a rack in the center. Grease a 9- by 5- inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan, or equivalent.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate pieces and combine well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the olive oil, eggs, mashed banana, yogurt, zest, and vanilla. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes*. You want to get that beautiful color on the cake, but at the same time you don't want to bake all the moisture out of it. So the minute you're in that zone, pull it. Erring on the side of under-baking versus over.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out of the pan to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. In a bowl, whisk together the sugars and the lemon juice until smooth. When the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze on top of the cake.

*My cakes, in smaller pans, only took about 30 min.

red lentil coconut soup.

I had a little party in the store at the bulk bins the other day.  Try not to picture it.  But man, I wanted everything!  Came home with split peas, red lentils, and farro.  We'll talk about the farro another time. 

For now let's talk about this soup!  I'll be honest and tell you it was totally an underdog from the start. Red lentils and split peas aren't necesarily exciting on their own.  Reliably healthy, yes.  Chalk full of flavor, no.  But I hung in there with this recipe, and you should too.  Turns out Heidi knows what's up--with her award winning food blog, amazing photography and two beautiful cookbooks--I decided to trust her.  Plus I'll eat anything with coconut milk in it.  And fresh ginger.  And curry!  See what I mean?

I followed the recipe exactly, but next time would double the raisins.  They do really add a beautiful sweetness here.  I wanted more.  Also, I put a scoop of plain greek yogurt in my bowl at the end.  Loved it!  She suggests serving this soup over a scoop of brown rice but I chose to toast up some thick whole grain bread and served it on the side with a little butter.

Coconut Red Lentil Soup
from 101 Cookbooks

1 cup yellow split peas
1 cup red split lentils
7 cups water (next time I might replace this with stock just to see)
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons butter
8 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup golden raisins (I would double this next time!)
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 teaspoons salt
cilantro and plain greek yogurt for garnish

Rinse the split peas and lentils really well--until the water is no longer murky.  Place them in a large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and add the carrot and 1/4 the ginger.  Cover and simmer for about 30 min or until the split peas are soft.

In the meantime, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until it's quite fragrant.  Be careful though, you don't want to burn the curry powder, just toast it. Set it aside.  Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half the green onions, the remaining ginger, and raisins. Saute for tow minutes stirring constantly.  Then add the tomato paste and saute for another minute or two.  Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add this to the soup along with the coconut milk and salt.

Simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes or so.  I ended up letting it simmer for almost 45 min because I wanted a thicker consistency.  It's up to you.

bobby flay's turkey meatloaf w/ balsamic glaze.

I feel compelled to share with you an email I just sent my friend.  It, well, sums a few things up:

subject: putting my hope in meatloaf

E:
hoping the Bobby Flay meatloaf i'm making right now will somehow reverse the extremely annoying and taxing day i had with my kids where i was an extremely below average person and mom. 
 
sincerely,
A.

This is not to gain a sympathetic pat on the back. No no no.  I'm not here to tell you about having a bad day.  You've had many of your own.  I'm really here to tell you about this meatloaf because, really, it was the only thing I could think to do to shake off this day. 

Okay, now I'm officially pathetic and weird.



But this Bobby Flay meat-magic is really that good.  He takes meatloaf (why hasn't anyone renamed this food yet?) and blasts it with flavor.  From the garlic paste in the sauteed veggies, to the 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, the fresh herbs, to the balsamic glaze--he really isn't messing around.

Even if you don't need a meatloaf to save your day, please give this a try.  It's super easy and like most meatloafs, it's really just throwing a bunch of stuff in a bowl, mixing it, and then putting in a loaf pan.  I roasted some sweet potatoes to go with it and we had a little arugula side salad.  I feel like I can face tomorrow. 

Apparently meatloaf makes me dramatic.

A few quick notes: I usually cook this tented with foil for the first 30 minutes so that the glaze on top doesn't completely turn black and look weird and burned.  If yours does this, don't worry! It will look ugly but taste wonderful.  Also, the recipe from Bobby (Ijust accidentally typed his name "Booby") says to cook the meatloaf for over an hour but every time I've made this it has only needed about 50 or 60 min.  So maybe check it at 50 min?  The internal temp should read 160.

Turkey Meatloaf with Balsamic Glaze:
From the great Bobby Flay

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small zucchini, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, smashed to a paste with coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (90 percent lean)
1 cup panko (coarse Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the zucchini, bell peppers, garlic paste and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are almost soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Whisk the egg and fresh herbs in a large bowl. Add the turkey, panko, grated cheese, 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and the cooled vegetables; mix until just combined.

Gently press the mixture into a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Whisk the remaining 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes in a small bowl; brush the mixture over the entire loaf. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

pumpkin bread.

Make this for no other reason than the way your house will smell when it's in the oven.  Seriously.  It's a mood-changer.  Dreading Halloween? Make this bread.  Really, Thanksgiving is around the corner and you potentially have to spend it with your awkward-to-be-around family members? Make this bread.  You'll feel better.

And, if you also like things that taste pumpkiny and warm and a little spicy you will love actually eating this bread.

It's super easy to mix together.  It's your basic mix the wet ingredients with the dry and pour it in a loaf pan type of thing.  I added chopped walnuts and a sprinkle of sugar on top of mine before I stuck it in the oven.  I wanted a little crunch.



Pumpkin Bread:
makes one loaf

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons ground cloves
3/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/2 of a (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

Cream the sugar and butter.  Add eggs and mix well.  In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients.  Fold into wet ingredients.  Mix in pumpkin. Pour into a greased loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for about an hour.

slow cooker coconut chicken curry.

There's something about having dinner already cooking away at noon on a Wednesday that kinda puts a (extremely dorky) spring in my step.  This happened to me last week and it was very satisfying.

This recipe was ridiculously easy to throw together. There I was standing in my kitchen fully anticipating a part 2 or 3 of the process when all the sudden that was it.  It took maybe 5 minutes.  I think I even said out loud, "Oh my gosh, that's it."  And I don't usually talk (out loud) to myself.

Maybe you all should double or tripple this, invite your friends over on Halloween and make everyone really happy before the little ones head out to trick or treat.

Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry:
I tweaked this recipe over here.

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in large cubes
1 medium onion, peeled and halved
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 can (156ml) tomato paste
1 can light coconut milk
1.5 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Garam Masala
1 Tbsp Curry powder
1 small red pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 to 2 dry whole red chili pepper (optional, for those who like their curry on the burning side)
chopped basil for garnish
chopped cilantro for garnish

For thickening: 1.5 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp water

Here's what you do:

Place chicken inside slow cooker. Place all the rest of the ingredients (except the chili peppers, cornstarch and water) in a food processor bowl and process together until the mix is smooth(ish). Pour sauce mix on top of the chicken, mix well, add hot peppers if using any, then close the lid. Cook on low for 6 hours.

An hour before serving, mix together water and cornstarch until the cornstarch is completely disolved. Add to the chicken curry and mix well. Place the lid back on for the rest of the cooking time.

chocolate peanut butter cookies.

Ok people, listen up.  These cookies are no joke.  Usually, around here, we eat-sleep-breathe these cookies.  But then Molly went and wrote about this peanut butter version and I haven't been able to stop thinking about them.

They are absolutely in the treat category.  Sweet, salty and studded with chocolate.  Totally buttery.  Seriously good.

By the way. Someone come clean my kitchen.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
from Orangette but tweaked a little with notes.

The measurments below make a truckload of dough.  Not a bad problem to have, but if you want a sort of normal amount go ahead and cut these numbers in half:
2 cups plus one tsp. pastry flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tablesp. plus 1 tsp. kosher salt (you may have just gasped. I know. But somehow all that salt works.  If you're too nervous, dial it back a little. They will still be delish.)
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp.
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup plus 2.5 Tablesp. white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup natural salted peanut butter (I use the natural kind that needs to be stirred.  Try to avoid the brands that have more than a couple ingredients.  It should be close to peanuts and salt and that's it.)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (her recipe calls for milk chocolate which I would have used but I didn't have it. My hunch is both are very good options.)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment.  In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine.  In the bowl of a mixer beat (with the paddle attachment) the butter and the sugars until fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.  Add the peanut butter and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined.  Add the dry ingredients in three batches mixing on low speed.  At the this point there is flour all over my kitchen no matter what. just saying.  Add the chocolate.

Bake for 15-18 min. Mine needed the full 18 min.  They will firm up as the cool.

locals post: jack creek farms.

Jack Creek Farm in Templeton is such a happy place.  Apparently it is also a pretty well kept secret because when we pulled up this past Saturday there was a place to park (!).  And room to walk around!  And I wasn't worried I might lose a child in the masses that are usually at most pumpkin patch-type places this time of year.This family run operation is much more than a venue for pumpkins.  From the pomegranate/apple cider slushies to the farm animals to the farm's location in the middle of a winery jack-pot on Hwy 46 west, it really does feel like there is a little something for everyone.

So get in the car and head over there!  Buy your kid a pumpkin.  Or leave them at home and fold Jack Creek Farms into your day of wine tasting.  Either way it's a solid way to spend a few relaxing hours enjoying the charm of this season.

zucchini pancakes.

I bought some zucchini last week and I'm still trying to get through it all.  Turns out a little zucchini goes a long way.  Problem is zucchini on it's own doesn't excite me.  I originally bought it to make bread. Then I put some in oatmeal cookies.  Then a meatloaf (so good!).  And now this brilliant recipe I was inspired by over here.

We had these for dinner last night and they were fantastic!  Plus, pancakes for dinner?  Totally exciting.

Sweet Zucchini Pancakes
serves 4-6 people: we had ours with some pancetta crisped up and maple syrup.

• 1 cups All-purpose Flour
• 6 Tablespoons Sugar
• 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoons Salt
• 2 whole Egg
• 1 cups Greek Yogurt (nonfat Is Fine)
• 4 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• 2 whole Zucchini, Grated

 Mix dry ingredients in big bowl.  Mix wet ingredients separately and then gently fold into the dry ingredients.  Using a 1/4 cup, scoop batter onto greased skillet and cook on one side until brown.  Flip and finish cooking.

 

locals post: Meze Monday.

 
 

If you're local to San Luis Obispo county, or planning to visit sometime soon, you really should stop by Meze for a glass of wine and a little bite.  I love this place!  Pronounced mey-zay, this cafe and gourmet market has been a regular hangout for me and a couple friends for the past few months. The best.

We got together this past Monday and were super excited to hear about Meze Monday--their weekly special where you get a glass of wine paired with your choice of snack for only 8 bucks.  Kinda thrilling.  I picked the "cheese snack" and a glass of a New Zealand sav blanc.  (sorry, can't remember which one.)  When I asked our server about the cheese she said their cheese guy whips up something special and it's always a surprise.  They have a cheese guy!  What came on my plate was a beautiful little stack of semi hard cheese (sorry again, can't remember the name--I was totally caught up in the moment) crostini, dried apricot and a honey drizzle. 

I felt known.

So if you're around on a Monday night, go check it out.  The location is special. The service is helpful.  And soon you'll be looking forward to your Monday Meze "snack."  Oh, and grab some close friends and make it a regular thing.  It will change your life when you aren't looking.

 
 
 
 

salmon cakes w. mango

I read this quote from Michael Pollan a few days ago and it has stuck with me:

"...yeah, for most North Americans it is hard. We’ve been sort of taught by the culture to eat until you’re stuffed. The French say: “Je n’ai plus faim” – I have no more hunger. Ask yourself, before you take that bite, is my hunger gone?"

I love this as a way to think about food and how we eat.  It's eating for a totally different and very specific reason and would absolutely require a shedding of our food baggage: the stuff that allows us to eat too much or the wrong things.  Or too much of the wrong things.  Or even, too much of the right things!  We all have food baggage.  One form of this baggage could be as simple as not being mindful when you eat.  Who has time to actually think about the food they're eating?  Ha.  I am from the generation that grew up sitting at the dinner table (for hours some nights) until my plate was finished.  It didn't matter if I was full, or didn't care for the food in front of me, you don't waste food.  My husband thinks it's funny even to this day when I leave a few bites on my plate.  It's as if he's saying, "Really, you can't just finish that last bite or two?" He's from the same generation.

 
 
What would happen if I challenged myself to eat only until I have no more hunger, instead of until the food is gone?  My fear, as someone who loves and gets excited about food, is that I might miss out and a really great food experience.  What if I'm not excatly hungry but it tastes really, really good? What if it's salmon cake night, Mr. Pollan? 

 
 
 
 
So I've decided to re-learn what it means to feel hungry.  To slow down and pay attention to my baggage.  I love a challenge!  Plus I have a hunch the food will start to even taste better.  I'll report back soon.

Salmon Cakes w. Mango.

Please make these!  It's fitting that I'm posting this recipe in the face of these food and consumption questions because, whoa, these are hard for me to stop eating once I start. They.are.so.good.  I've made them for years without the mango and then the other night I felt like a mega-genius when I decided to add it in.  Mega.

Here are some loose measurements to serve about 4 people:
1 lb. salmon (do your best here in terms of quality: shoot for wild sustainably farmed if you can swing it.  Pollan would be proud of you)
1/3 cup diced red bell pepper (make the dice kinda small)
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup diced mango
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup mayo
2 Tablespoons dill relish
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

I find that the easiest way to cook your salmon is in a 350 oven on a piece of foil for about 15 min.  Salt and pepper, a little olive oil, some lemon slices and you're good.  Once the salmon is cooked let it cool completely and then cut it up with a couple forks and throw it in a big mixing bowl. Add everything else into the bowl and mix until combined.  Form the patties (I usually shoot for the size of my palm) and refrigerate for a few minutes.

Heat some olive oil in a skillet (cast iron works great here).  Brown cakes on each side--a few min for each side.  Keep warm in a low oven. Serve with brown rice and something green.  Wait! Don't forget the tarter sauce! Use your favorite or make your own.  I am happy as a clam with the Trader Joes brand. It has a nice kick.