Swiss Chard Pancakes + Links We Love

I have been turning to this recipe for Swiss Chard Pancakes or farçous (oh la la!) a lot as of late. Pancakes are always fun, and they are stuffed with Swiss chard which makes me feel like my 3-year-old is getting the greens that she should. (Of course, my daughter is weird and fussed until she found out that she was having a green salad with her pancakes. What 3-year-old is excited for a side salad?) Still, she was happy to eat the leftover farçous for lunch, even without any sides. 

I discovered this recipe in the incomparable book Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. You should have this if you don't already. But you can also find this recipe plus a tasty dipping sauce which I always serve as an accompaniment to my farçous at the great Eat and Relish blog (check it out because Cory shares lots of delicious recipes and she is cute as a button. We are sad because she just left Boulder for San Francisco. Boo!).

Also, here are a gathering of links that caught our attention this week:

I always have an eye out for cocktails, and look at this drink garnished with fennel. I'm in love.

This kitchen is so teeny tiny, but I just love everything about it.

Teaser posters for the new episodes of Arrested Development. Yes, yes, yes!

Also, I got a dog, and I just love him.

Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad

While wondering what I was going to make for lunch, I stumbled upon this recipe on Bon Appetit's website. Sugar snap peas? Radishes? A little mint? This was just the spring fix that I needed. Add a little crumbled cheese, and I am pretty much in heaven.

 I was surprised to see that the original recipe called for boiling the sugar snap peas. To me, snap peas are in their perfect state when raw, and nobody wants to turn on the stovetop if they don't have to, so that step was omitted. Now this dish is just spring perfection. Crunchy, a little sweet, creamy, radishy, fresh. So fresh.

If you have some hard-boiled eggs left over from Easter (and do I ever!), they go extremely well with this salad. We served this up for lunch, and modified it only slightly to put together an excellent kids' lunch for our 3 year olds. All it took was removing the offending radish slices, subbing in some orange pepper slices on the side, and these kids gobbled up their meals.

Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad

adapted from Bon Appetit

• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Tb fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sumac 
• 1 1/2 lbs sugar snap peas, trimmed, stringed, cut in half on diagonal
• 1 bunch radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces feta, crumbled
• 2 Tbs coarsely chopped fresh mint 
• Freshly ground black pepper
• kosher salt

1. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and sumac. 

2. Toss together snap peas, radishes, feta, and mint cheese in a large bowl.  Pour dressing over, and mix together to coat evenly. Season with salt and pepper.

Simple Tomato Soup (The Best Ever)

I’m completely obsessed with this tomato soup.  It’s intensely tomato-y and rich without being creamy.  It’s addicting, and it’s so simple to make.  I found out about it when I tried it at The Kitchen [Next Door], in Boulder, and then was overjoyed to see that they share their exact recipe for it online.  OVERJOYED!

So, this is very simple.  That’s a good thing.  Lots (and I mean lots) of butter give this soup its silky richness, onion is softened in that butter for a luxuriously long time, and then really high quality whole canned tomatoes are added.  San Marzanos are recommended, but we subbed in Muir Glens with great results. After all the simmering is taken care of, you puree this soup in the blender with a little splash of heavy cream.

The Kitchen serves this soup drizzled with flavorful olive oil, and a side of toasted chewy rustic bread.  It’s to die for.  If you like tomato soup, you’ve got to try this one.  My parting words – don’t be afraid of all that butter!

Simple Tomato Soup (The Best Ever)

Recipe from The Kitchen [Next Door]

• 1 1/3 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3 16 oz cans of high quality whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• salt to taste
• drizzle of high quality olive oil for serving

In a large pan, melt the butter over low heat.  Finely slice the yellow onion and add to the melting butter with a pinch of salt.  Reduce heat to very low, cover the pan, and cook onions in butter for about 30 minutes or until translucent and soft but NOT browned.

Add tomatoes with all the juices from the cans.  Increase heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

Transfer soup to a blender and puree in batches, adding cream while blending.  Taste and add more salt if desired.

Serve drizzled with olive oil and a side of crusty bread.

Roasted Cauliflower, Olive, and Israeli Couscous Salad

I have a confession to make: I have been a food blogger for a couple years now, but until embarrassingly recently I just wasn't that into food blogs. My co-blogger was (and is). But I just gave her a blank stare when she would ask me if I read any number of really popular blogs. It is really only the past couple of months that I have jumped on board, and this may go hand in hand with the purchase of my iPad. Now I'm surfing away in the kitchen, and discovering new (or not so new) and fabulous food blogs making what I want to eat. (Wow, who would have thought? Yes, as I said... embarrassing.) This recipe for delicious warm cauliflower and Israeli couscous, which has become a staple in my kitchen, comes from one of the new-to-me blogs that I have been enjoying.

Oh My Veggies has earned its place on my meager reading list. It is a vegetarian food blog, and I am not vegetarian, but I have always eaten vegetarian more often than not. Kiersten, OMV blogger, is funny and personable, but better yet, her recipes are tasty and accessible - just what I'm after. This recipe uses mostly pantry staples (love that!), so when I grab a head of cauliflower at the market, I know that I can whip this up. The thing that makes this priceless is that my preschooler eats it too. That guarantees a repeat recipe in this household.

I highly recommend bolstering this dish with a little side of harissa (here is our tasty homemade version). It gives the dish a spicy kick-in-the-pants that makes me happy.

Roasted Cauliflower, Olive, and Israeli Couscous Salad

adapted from Oh My Veggies

• 3 tbs olive oil, divided
• 1 medium cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamatas, halved
• 1 cup Israeli couscous, uncooked
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Spread cauliflower over a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil (saving 2 remaining tablespoons oil for later) and stir to coat. Sprinkle with some salt. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.

3. Meanwhile, add Israeli couscous and 1 1/2 cup water to pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, until water is absorbed. Remove from heat. (Check the directions on your Israeli couscous -- they are often different.)

4. Combine couscous, roasted cauliflower, olives, and parsley in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tbs olive oil, lemon juice, and pressed garlic. Pour over the salad, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Gingersnap Key Lime Pie

Every other food blogger is sitting down to write about salads and lentils and oatmeal, but not me. After spending my holidays laid up with various colds and sinus afflictions, I am ready to eat. This gingersnap key lime pie is the perfect January treat - fresh with citrus and spiced up with the surprise of a wintry gingersnap crust.

This recipe is straight out of the pages of the newest Ashley English cookbook, A Year of Pies: A Seasonal Tour of Home Baked Pies. Ashley is a woman after my own heart as she lives the seasonal locavore dream. This book is brimming with both sweet and savory pies (emphasis on the former), and as the title suggests, it is organized by season which I always appreciate. All too often I pick up a cookbook and drool over the recipes only to realize that the author must live in a climate that has an everlasting growing season (hmmm, California?) and only the freshest of all produce will do. So it is nice to turn to a chapter entitled "Winter" and find many seasonal beauties. (Brandy and Spice Apple Hand Pies? Yes, please!)

Ashley English's recipes are also not overly tricky, and this key lime pie is actually one of the easiest pie recipes I have ever made! It does require that one ingredient that might not be so easy to find: key limes. I was happy to find a rather inexpensive bag of them at my grocery store, but I hear that bottled key lime juice works just as well. (I also would go ahead and use just regular old limes.) This recipe is actually lighter on the lime juice than many other key lime pie recipes (and thus, a bit less tart). However, I thought it had an excellent balance of tart, creamy, and sweet.

Gingersnap Key Lime Pie

Gingersnap Crust:

• 10 oz gingersnap cookies (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 6 tbs unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

• 1/4 cup key lime juice
• 3 tbs grated lime zest
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 3 large egg yolks, beaten

1. (Make the crust) Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter a 9-in pie pan and set aside. Crush the gingersnaps by pulsing them in a food processor. Combine the crushed gingersnaps and melted butter in a bowl. Stir until incorporated. Press the mixture into the pan, pressing halfway up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool.

2. (Make the filling) Add to bowl and whisk together until fully blended the lime juice, zest, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks.

3. Pour the filling into the prepared cool crust and bake 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Tangerine-Almond Tart with Chocolate Drizzle

In the summer, it is so easy to be inspired by fruits and vegetables. In the spring, anything new and green is a promise of all the deliciousness to come. And even in fall, pears and pumpkins feel cozy and fun. But in the winter, it can be hard to muster up that excitement that comes so easily throughout the rest of the year. 

But when I received a handful of juicy tangerines in my Door to Door Organics box, a few still holding onto their vibrant green leaves, I was both inspired and excited. A mad googling ensued, and being the tart-lover that I am, I came up with this delicious creation.

 Tangerines, almonds, and chocolate? I know, it is a trifecta of winter flavor. Better yet, this tart has a fabulous shortbread crust. The recipe that I am working from is from EatingWell. Their recipe called for a rather laborious crust involving whole wheat pastry flour and lots of kneading and rolling. No thanks! This shortbread crust takes fewer ingredients (that we all have), plus you just press it right into the pan.

I loved the way this tart turned out. The citrus and almond flavors were in perfect balance. The chocolate is, well, always a pleasure. If you don't have picture perfect tangerines on hand, oranges will absolutely do the trick.

The chocolate drizzle is something that I haven't done before, and you can see that my work is not so very beautiful. But even my amateurish job impressed my dinner mates. TIP: Spoon your melted chocolate into a sandwich bag, and then cut the tip of a corner off. Squeeze away.

Tangerine-Almond Tart with Chocolate Drizzle

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp grated tangerine or orange zest
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 tbs unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
• 1 large egg yolk (save the white for the filling!)

Filling:

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup tangerine juice (about 3 tangerines) or orange juice
• zest of 3 tangerines (about 3 tsp)
• 3 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter the bottom of a 9.5-in two piece tart pan. In a food processor, process the flour 1/3 cup sugar, zest, and salt for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk (don't forget to save the white for the filling) and process just until it comes together in a ball. Pat the dough into the tart pan, prick the bottom all over with a fork, and then bake for 18-20 minutes. Set aside.

2. Turn oven down to 375. Clean out your food processor. Place almonds on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Let cool for a few minutes.

3. Place the almonds and 1/3 cup sugar into the food processor and process until almonds are ground. Add eggs, egg white, tangerine juice, and zest to the processor, and process until well blended. Scatter half of your chocolate chips over the crust. Pour the tangerine filling into the crust.

4. Bake the tart at 375 for about 25-30 minutes. The filling should be set. Melt your remaining chocolate chips in a double boiler (I used a small metal bowl placed over a pot of boiling water -- the bowl should be above and not touching the water), or you can use a microwave if you have one of those newfangled gadgets. Drizzle the chocolate decoratively over the tart (see my tip in the paragraph preceding the recipe!)

Cranberry Clementine Cocktail

It’s time to get excited about winter!  Well, let’s just say that we’re pretty excited about this glowy pink cocktail that’s made with freshly squeezed clementines, cranberry juice, and vodka.  We garnished our drink with a fragrant green juniper sprig for its piney aroma and festive look. 

This cocktail is so simple to pull together.  The ingredients are easy to access (you could even sub in plain jane OJ for the fresh squeezed clementine juice if you were so inclined).  The sparkling water adds festivity and fizz, but isn’t strictly required in my book.  And – lucky us – we simply walked into our front yards to snip the juniper sprig garnish!

We highly recommend a juniper spring as a lovely winter garnish.  It’s piney scent and pretty blue gray berries are irresistible.  It’d be perfectly appropriate in a gin-based drink as well because after all, juniper berries are used to flavor gin!

Cranberry Clementine Cocktail

• 2 oz clementine juice, freshly squeezed.
• 2 oz cranberry juice
• 1.5 oz vodka
• sparkling water to taste. I preferred just a dash, Dulcie liked the festivity of additional bubbles!

Combine clementine juice, cranberry juice, and vodka in a shaker with ice. Shake till well chilled. Pour into serving glass, top with your desired amount of sparkling water. Garnish with a juniper sprig and serve.

Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Tart

There is something to be said for comfort foods: the kind of warm, sumptuous meal that feels just right on chilly fall evenings. Like anything else (especially where food is considered), it is a personal preference. For some, it is a food that takes them back to when they were kids; to others, it might be food that reminds them of a place they once lived. But to me, this creamy, earthy mushroom tart is quintessential comfort food.

The first time that I made this tart, I was frantically surfing the web looking for just the right recipe to showcase the wonderful grab bag of wild mushrooms that I'd picked up at our local farmer's market. Hazel Dell Mushrooms is the it mushroom maker of Boulder County, if there can be one. All the chic farm-to-table restaurants nearby proudly list Hazel Dell on their menus, and for good reason. Hazel Dell sells beautiful organic mushrooms, and when you pick up one of their pre-mixed bags, you get to sample everything that is available. Shiitake, lion's mane, cinnamon cap... you name it.

 Eventually I stumbled upon a recipe from Whole Foods which was my jumping point. I already knew that I would use our own easy as pie tart dough, and I had gruyere in the fridge, so that was no question. And doesn't gruyere just beg to be paired with wild mushrooms? The answer is yes, and I've made this recipe several times since that first evening. I know I'll be making it plenty more times too.

Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Tart

Serves 4-6

• 1/2 recipe of tart dough (you can only make half, or you can save the other half for another tart or pie)
• 1 cup gruyere
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 to 3/4 lb mixed wild mushrooms, roughly chopped (such as oysters, chanterelles, hedgehogs, lion's mane. Or do half buttons)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup chicken or veggie broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Pre-bake your crust: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the dough to 1/8" or so, and then transfer to tart pan. Line the dough with foil, and then fill with a layer of pie weights (or dried beans that you use for this purpose.) Bake for 15 minutes, and then remove the foil and weights. Return to the oven and cook for 5 minutes more.

2. Heat butter and oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper, and cook until soft, 8 or so minutes.

3. Add broth, and cook, stirring, until broth evaporates. Add cream, and again cook while stirring, until it has mostly evaporated. Remove from heat.

4. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of gruyere onto the pre-baked tart shell. Pour in the mushroom mixture and spread around in an even layer. Add the rest of the cheese on top.

5. Bake the tart for about 20 minutes. The mushroom mixture will be bubbly, and the crust will be a golden brown. Let it rest for a few minutes, and then cut into slices to serve.

Black Bean & Winter Squash Veggie Burger

This hearty flavor-packed veggie burger is made with black beans and winter squash along with corn, onion, and quinoa.  Its spices are southwest inspired, it’s amazingly good for you, and I am really enjoying this as a new way to eat lots of winter squash (sans cinnamon, maple, and those other common autumn flavors that I’m getting a little weary of). 

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at making veggie burgers for quite some time, but I worried they’d fall apart without some sort of processed soy-based binder.  I was wrong!   6 Tablespoons of oats – ground to a grainy flour via food processor – and these babies stick together like magic.  Thanks to Edible Perspective for the insight!




The list of spices that get thrown into these is long, but none are totally critical other than the cumin & chili powder.  If you don’t have coriander powder on hand, for example, don’t let that stop you from trying these burgers.



See how nicely they hold together?  And their bright colors are quite lovely!  You can cook these burgers two different ways – a quick pan fry for a golden brown crust (below), or baking in the oven on parchment paper.  Both yield delicious results so do whatever is easiest for you.

Black Bean & Winter Squash Burger

Yield: approx 9 burgers
Recipe Inspiration: The Burger by Edible Perspective

• 6 Tbsp oats (ground into grainy sand via food processor)
• 1 1/4 c black beans (cooked)
• 2 cups winter squash (cooked).  Winter squashes aren't all created equal, so try to choose a dry variety of winter squash (kabocha, butternut, red kuri) rather than something really soft and wet (like delicata).
• 1/2 cup quinoa (cooked)
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1T olive oil

Burger Spices

(Cumin is most important, other than that none are required. Mix and match based on what you’ve got & what sounds good to you!)

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp tarragon
• 1/4 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp chili powder

Grind the oats in a food processor until they’re grainy & sandy. Just a few pulses.
Put the black beans into a bowl, then mash them with a fork.  Goal is to have about 1/2 mashed and the other 1/2 fairly intact.  Dump oat flour, squash, quinoa, corn, onion, garlic, and olive oil into the bean bowl.  Stir well to combine.  Add all the spices.  Mix well.
Form the burgers into patties with your hands.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  You may either pan fry them (3-4 minutes per side on medium heat) or bake them (350 for 15 minutes per side).  We tried both ways, and really couldn’t tell a difference. 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Pumpkin muffins loaded with warm autumn spices and a delicious cream cheese center.  The epitome of fall! The type of recipe you make yourself and realize tastes much better than the coffee shop version! Behold:

This is another of those classic autumn recipes that we have seen making the rounds on Pinterest, so we pounced on the very first cool weather day to make these beauties.  We found lots of very similar versions of this recipe online (Annie’s Eats and See Brooke Cook to name two).  Let me tell you about how we’ve simplified them, just for discussion’s sake.

First of all, most recipes call for you to form the sweetened cream cheese into a log, wrap it in plastic, freeze it, then slice off medallions to plop into the center of the muffins.  The honest reason we didn’t do this is because we were too far along when we actually read this part of the recipe.  Oops, totally my fault.  I am the non-meticulous one.  We were so sad, thinking that our muffins would be a mess when they came out of the oven.  But they weren’t – the filling didn’t melt away and it all turned out quite beautifully. Whew!



Next, most recipes called for the inclusion of both “pumpkin pie spice” as well as most of the individual components of pumpkin pie spice. We found this confusing and also we don’t keep pumpkin pie spice on hand, so we broke the spice mixture down into its basic parts (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove).  This is nice and flexible – feel free to ad lib here; it will be OK if you leave a few out as long as you keep the cinnamon.

The other thing we did was reduce the sugar and oil in this recipe.  Now – you know us, and it wasn’t for health reasons but instead for taste reasons.  Many comments on the original recipes said the muffins were overly oily, so we reduced it a smidge. Then we started thinking that 1/2 cup sugar combined with 4 oz cream cheese would result in an uber-sweet filling, so we chopped the sugar amount in half. Last but not least, 1 cup of sugar in a recipe for 12 muffins seemed like a lot, so we reduced that to 3/4 cup and were very happy with the results.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Yield 12 muffins
Cream Cheese Filling

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar

Whip together cream cheese and sugar very well.  We’ve done this with a fork, a hand mixer, and a food processor – anything works.  When it is all combined, pop it back in the fridge to stay cold while you prep the rest of the muffins.  Having this mixture as cool as possible will prevent the cream from melting away too much during baking.  The results in the picture were created with the cream mixture left at room temperature, though, so don’t worry too much about this cooling step!
Muffins

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Our own version of “Pumpkin Pie Spices”; feel free to ad lib a little based on what you have on hand.  Nothing is essential other than the cinnamon.

• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves

Mix the sugar, oil, pumpkin, and eggs together very well in a large mixing bowl.  Then plop the flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spices on top of this blended wet mixture.  Stir well to incorporate and fully mix everything together. 
Line muffin tins with paper cups, or lightly oil them. Spoon about 1-2 Tablespoons of batter into the bottom of each muffin.  We used a regular dinner spoon – heaping – to do this.  Make sure this batter is spread thinly and evenly across the bottom of each muffin tin.  I whacked mine flat on the counter a few times to accomplish this.
Next, distribute a spoonful (approx 1 Tablespoon) of the cream cheese filling in each.
Finally, evenly distribute the remainder of the batter over the top of the cream cheese.  Approx 2-3 Tablespoons each is what we came out with.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Let cool before you eat them, unless you are ready to deal with molten cream cheese!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Pumpkin muffins loaded with warm autumn spices and a delicious cream cheese center.  The epitome of fall! The type of recipe you make yourself and realize tastes much better than the coffee shop version! Behold:

This is another of those classic autumn recipes that we have seen making the rounds on Pinterest, so we pounced on the very first cool weather day to make these beauties.  We found lots of very similar versions of this recipe online (Annie’s Eats and See Brooke Cook to name two).  Let me tell you about how we’ve simplified them, just for discussion’s sake.

First of all, most recipes call for you to form the sweetened cream cheese into a log, wrap it in plastic, freeze it, then slice off medallions to plop into the center of the muffins.  The honest reason we didn’t do this is because we were too far along when we actually read this part of the recipe.  Oops, totally my fault.  I am the non-meticulous one.  We were so sad, thinking that our muffins would be a mess when they came out of the oven.  But they weren’t – the filling didn’t melt away and it all turned out quite beautifully. Whew!

Next, most recipes called for the inclusion of both “pumpkin pie spice” as well as most of the individual components of pumpkin pie spice. We found this confusing and also we don’t keep pumpkin pie spice on hand, so we broke the spice mixture down into its basic parts (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove).  This is nice and flexible – feel free to ad lib here; it will be OK if you leave a few out as long as you keep the cinnamon.

The other thing we did was reduce the sugar and oil in this recipe.  Now – you know us, and it wasn’t for health reasons but instead for taste reasons.  Many comments on the original recipes said the muffins were overly oily, so we reduced it a smidge. Then we started thinking that 1/2 cup sugar combined with 4 oz cream cheese would result in an uber-sweet filling, so we chopped the sugar amount in half. Last but not least, 1 cup of sugar in a recipe for 12 muffins seemed like a lot, so we reduced that to 3/4 cup and were very happy with the results.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Yield 12 muffins

Cream Cheese Filling

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar

Whip together cream cheese and sugar very well.  We’ve done this with a fork, a hand mixer, and a food processor – anything works.  When it is all combined, pop it back in the fridge to stay cold while you prep the rest of the muffins.  Having this mixture as cool as possible will prevent the cream from melting away too much during baking.  The results in the picture were created with the cream mixture left at room temperature, though, so don’t worry too much about this cooling step!

Muffins

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Our own version of “Pumpkin Pie Spices”; feel free to ad lib a little based on what you have on hand.  Nothing is essential other than the cinnamon.

• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves

Mix the sugar, oil, pumpkin, and eggs together very well in a large mixing bowl.  Then plop the flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spices on top of this blended wet mixture.  Stir well to incorporate and fully mix everything together. 

Line muffin tins with paper cups, or lightly oil them. Spoon about 1-2 Tablespoons of batter into the bottom of each muffin.  We used a regular dinner spoon – heaping – to do this.  Make sure this batter is spread thinly and evenly across the bottom of each muffin tin.  I whacked mine flat on the counter a few times to accomplish this.

Next, distribute a spoonful (approx 1 Tablespoon) of the cream cheese filling in each.

Finally, evenly distribute the remainder of the batter over the top of the cream cheese.  Approx 2-3 Tablespoons each is what we came out with.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Let cool before you eat them, unless you are ready to deal with molten cream cheese!

Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberries

Over the last several weeks, Sarah and I have taken turns going on vacation. I visited the very lovely and blissfully cool and cloudy Oregon coast, while Sarah has been blazing through various Midwestern states. This has been great in many ways, but not so great for our blog which has been sadly neglected. We aim to post with greater frequency very soon! In the meantime, we offer up one of our new favorite breakfast treats.

These are light and ethereal pancakes, and the ricotta makes them surprisingly moist. We took advantage of the abundant blueberries that are in season, but they would also be excellent with frozen blueberries. In  fact, I can't wait to try this recipe which whatever berry I have on hand.

I tend to shy away from recipes that involve beating egg whites, but really it only takes an extra few minutes. If you have an electric mixer, it is seriously no big whoop. And it makes such a big difference in texture and lightness! Totally worth it. Try it, you'll see.

Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberries

adapted from Food & Wine

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tb pure vanilla extract
• unsalted butter, for the griddle
• 1 pint fresh blueberries

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, whisk egg yolks, milk, ricotta, sugar, and vanilla. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
3. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form (watch that you don't over-beat it!) Fold into the batter.
4. Butter your griddle. For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle, being sure not to crowd your pancakes. Cook over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, until bottoms are lightly golden. Press a few blueberries unto each pancake, and then flip. Cook a minute or so longer, until pancake is golden. Serve with maple syrup!

Olive & Tomato Quinoa Salad

Ripe red tomatoes, salty black olives, and fresh mozzarella are tossed with quinoa and a simple vinaigrette for an easy summertime meal.

 I’m an admirer of French cuisine (this and this are some of my cookbook staples) and I have a soft spot in my heart for summertime Provencal recipes. The kind of recipe that calls for fresh garden produce, lots of herbs, olive oil, and expensive cheese.  And of course - minimal cooking. I think this may be due to reading too many Peter Mayle novels. Is anyone with me?

Anyhow, this recipe fills the bill for summertime.  Quinoa cooks quickly so you don’t need to slave over a hot stove.  Everything else is fresh and delicious – requiring just a quick chop, then a stir into the warm quinoa. 
Don’t forget your glass of icy Pastis.

Olive & Tomato Quinoa Salad

• 1 cup dry quinoa (cooked)
  
• 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
  
• 1 cup chopped salty black olives
  
• 1 1/2 cups fresh mozzarella (we used bocconcini; the little balls)
  
• large handful chopped fresh basil
  
• scant 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
  
• scant 1/3 cup olive oil

Cook quinoa as usual (add 2 cups water, simmer for 15-20 minutes or until all water is absorbed). 
Coarsely chop cherry tomatoes, olives, fresh mozzarella, and basil.  Set aside.
Whisk oil & vinegar together in liquid measuring cup or small bowl.  Drizzle over the hot cooked quinoa and stir to combine.  Wait until the quinoa is not too hot (you don’t want to melt the mozzarella), then stir in all the chopped veggies and herbs.  Top with a pretty cherry tomato & sprig of basil and serve.