Passover Cookie Dough Blondies

Last night, the Jewish holiday of Passover arrived! Like most Jewish holidays, many of the Passover traditions center around a grand feast, during which the biblical story of the Exodus is retold with the aid of colorful symbolic foods. While of course all culinary aspects of the Passover feast are both intriguing and scrumptious,

(we fixed our "famous" Saffron matzah ball soup again this year... :-)

I tend to spend the most time, as Passover approaches, contemplating the dessert course, because Passover baking entails a special challenge - during Passover, no leavened, or risen, foods, are to be consumed. For one week out of the year, we put aside the showy nature of puffy dough, and try to humble ourselves with unassuming, flat, cracker-like matzah. No offense to bread baking, naturally - I'm madly addicted to all forms of yeast-rising and dough-kneading, as you all know - but I do find the metaphor a rather powerful one.

Hence, every year, I attempt to conquer the rising and bake a Passover dessert... I often follow the flourless, nut-based route, as many Passover desserts wisely do, but this year, knowing Zach's fondness for blondies, I decided to try to simply substitute finely ground matzah meal for flour and plunge into Passover blondie territory. This was indeed a risky substitution, as matzah meal has a very dense and rather plodding nature, quite unlike fluffy flour. So, in the spirit of humbling oneself, I even put aside my gourmet notions and added a package of Kosher-for-Passover pudding mix for added moisture. The result was not at all like a normal blondie...

Instead, these blondies, emerging from the oven fully baked, tasted blissfully, stickily, tantalizingly just like cookie dough!

Passover Cookie Dough Blondies

1/2 cup light vegan margarine
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup raw turbinado sugar
1 package (4-serving size) Kosher-for-Passover butterscotch pudding mix
1 tsp vanilla
4 egg whites
1/2 cup skim milk
2 cups matzah cake meal
1 tsp baking soda
12 oz dark chocolate chips (at least 60% cacao)

~ Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9X11" baking pan with cooking spray.
~ Beat together the vegan marg, applesauce, turbinado sugar, butterscotch pudding mix, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
~ Beat in the egg whites and milk until well-combined.
~ Stir in the matzah meal and the baking soda until just combined.
~ Fold in the chocolate chips (the batter will be a bit stiff).
~ Scoop the batter into the baking pan, and bake for 20 minutes - until the tops of the blondies are just beginning to turn brown.
~ Serve warm or cooled, topped with whipped cream!

On the blog this time last year... Smokey Cheddar Whole Wheat Biscuits!

Humble Food: Creamed Biscuit Casserole

My last post initiated some major nostalgia. Rice Krispie's treats were invented in the 1920's, but didn't seem to become quite so ubiquitous until several decades later - or perhaps just in my hometown, at least. Where I'm from, I suppose I'm from the Rice Krispies Treats generation - well, actually, recalling the culinary trends of my childhood, I'm probably from a pre-Rice Krispies Treats generation, but we won't go there in fear of triggering a post-birthday crisis. Regardless, Rice Krispies Treats became madly fascinating and trendy somewhere during my childhood. I remember, at a vaguely middle-school-ish age, a time when the creation of a new batch of Rice Krispies Treats was a grand, weekly event. My mom was considered a "cool mom," because my friends and I were always allowed to make Rice Krispies Treats when we had a sleepover, even if it was late on a weeknight and we were supposed to arise early and attend dutifully to our schoolwork the next morning.

Somewhere along the course of events, Rice Krispies Treats drifted out of fashion in our household. Likely my mother had concluded that vegetarian marshmallows still did not exactly constitute health food, and quietly retracted the gooey white squares in favor of the whole grain oatmeal cookies that still remain my favorite treat from childhood. To be quite honest, I'm not a huge fan of marshmallows anyway, and the novelty had probably begun to wane after so many batches of sticky cereal.

Yet three nights ago, when I found myself melting miniature marshmallows for the fiber-filled, cranberry graced marshmallow treat of previous post fame, all the magic returned - all of the memories of the pure, childhood joy of watching fluffy marshmallows gradually transform crunchy cereal into gooey delights. I began to think of other food memories from years ago, and of that innocent time when choosing which movie to watch during the afore-mentioned sleepover truly seemed like a major issue.

When I was very small, before the idea of visiting a restaurant even entered my radar, my grandmother would prepare any meal, any dish of my request for the family on my birthday dinner. For many years in succession, I asked for the most humble of dishes - biscuit casserole. Sometime around either WWI or the depression (the exact details lost in the familial retelling), my grandmother's family came up with a method for turning stale biscuits into an entire meal - simply place the biscuits in a casserole dish, make a cream sauce with milk and flour, and perhaps cheese if you had some, then pour the sauce over the biscuits and bake the whole ensemble in the oven! Voila - biscuit casserole! Perhaps the most economical, if not particularly gourmet, dish conceivable. Yet in my grandmother's hands, the dish took flight - she added a bit of protein, plenty of sharp cheddar cheese, and, honestly, there was little else a small child could find more comforting, especially if one had the privilege of sitting on the counter while Grandma assembled the casserole.

Years ago, when I moved into my own home for the first time, I had some leftover whole wheat biscuits handy and decided to recreate Grandma's recipe, aiming for a more healthful, balanced, lightened version of the dish that heralded my birthdays so long ago... The task was simple, intuitive, and the results... still very humble, but I think my ancestors would be pleased.

Creamed Biscuit Casserole

3 cups skim milk
6 well-rounded tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
7 oz. canned tuna, well-drained OR 8oz firm tofu, crumbled
1 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese, divided
10 whole wheat biscuits
Minced chives, for garnishing

~ Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat an 8X8 baking pan with cooking spray.
~ In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the milk, whole wheat flour, and olive oil. Whisk continuously until the mixture has thickened to a creamy sauce.
~ Remove the thickened milk from the heat, and stir in the tuna or tofu, and 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese.
~ Spread a layer of the cheese sauce across the bottom of the baking pan.
~ Slice each biscuit in half horizontally, and place the bottom half of each biscuit in the baking pan, on top of the layer of sauce.
~ Pour half of the remaining sauce over the layer of biscuits, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese.
~ Place the remaining top halves of the biscuits in the baking pan, and cover them with the remaining cheese sauce and the remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese.
~ Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes - until bubbling and golden brown on top.
~ Serve warm with extra cheddar cheese and minced chives, for garnish...

Such a cozy dish goes well with an evening of relaxing... :-)

On the blog this time last year... Double Almond Oatmeal!

Trail Mix Marshmallow Treats

Spring has finally, belatedly found its way to our Deep South doorstep! Perhaps the strangely long-lived presence of winter this year has been a blessing - disguised, at the time, by less-than-welcome sleet and snow tromping over our one day hint of spring - for I have never before been quite so grateful for the arrival of warmer temperatures, softer breezes, and burgeoning flowers. Yesterday I could scarcely bring myself to come inside, instead enjoying walking around the neighborhood, watching the sun set on the patio, and even doing my sit-ups and upper-body workout on the back lawn, enjoying the new grass!

(I'm hoping this darling little branch will sprout roots so we can have a flowering pear in the backyard, too, as well as the front yard... I'm cheering for you, little branch! :-)

The only downside of Spring, I've noticed already, is that the warm weather makes me thoroughly disinclined to come inside to keep up with evening chores! During springtime, I long to fill my evening with only outdoor chores! Most days, I try to do a little of both - a little weeding, a little laundering - but yesterday I simply succumbed to temptation and savored the day, laundry be darned. :-)

I did come inside eventually, though... To make a little healthful marshmallow treat I saw on Nicole's blog, Prevention RD, and simply couldn't resist! I wasn't surprised at all about the cleverness of this recipe, though, for Nicole always has great nutrition advice and deliciousness in each of her informative posts! I changed the ingredients just a wee bit - the only almonds I had in residence were dusted with garlic powder and cayenne pepper, which I didn't think would quite go with marshmallows, so I wound up leaving out the almonds and increasing the dried cranberries, and I used dark chocolate for the chocolate chips... and at every step I wondered at the magic of Nicole's recipe, and the sweet nostalgia of melting marshmallows for the first time in years! Thank you, Nicole, for this brilliant idea! After all, who could resist a desert with marshmallows, dried cranberries, and chocolate, that's also high in fiber?

Trail Mix Marshmallow Treats

(Adapted from Nicole's Recipe)

3 T light, nonhydrogenated vegan margarine (such as SmartBalance Light)

1 (10.5 oz) bag miniature marshmallows (make sure to use vegan marshmallows if you'd like to make this a vegan recipe)

5 cups Original Fiber One Cereal, or another high-fiber cereal
3/4 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (at least 60% cacao)

~ Coat a 9X11" baking pan with cooking spray.

~ In a large pot over medium-low heat, melt the vegan marg.

~ Add the marshmallows to the melted vegan marg, and stir constantly over the medium-low heat until almost all of the marshmallows have melted. Remove from the heat, and keep stirring until the last few marshmallows have melted as well.

~ Quickly stir the cereal and dried cranberries into the melted marshmallows.

~ Add the chocolate chips, and fold in as gently as possible - too much stirring will cause the chocolate chips to melt and turn your marshmallows brown... Some melting is inevitable, though, and perfectly yummy!

~ Press the mixture into the baking pan, allow to cool, then cut into squares...

Ah, wonderful gooey sticky mess!

Red Bean and Tomato Stew

I do seem to be posting quite an abundance of bean recipes lately, don't I? I suppose this is for a multitude of reasons - beans are a protein-packed, Lent-friendly ingredient Zach loves (and he decided to go strictly vegetarian for Lent this year), they are incredibly economical in this time when we find ourselves saving for far more medical bills than we ever anticipated at our supposedly young and carefree ages, and perhaps most of all, it's been unusually cold this winter, and beans dishes just seem so suited to days when the wind is howling and you long to curl up with a bowl of something warm and delicious!

This particular bean dish, though, is special for yet another reason altogether... My wonderful, oft-mentioned friend Kathleen, knowing of our nearly worshipful fondness for Trader Joe's, sent me the most perfect birthday gift at the beginning of the month: A copy of The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook! Thank you, Kathleen!!

This fanciful, shimmering cookbook is truly a feast for the senses... Wittily written, this diverse collection of recipes celebrates the cornucopia of fresh fruits, vegetables, and ingredients tucked within the walls of Trader Joes' groceries. I've seen many a Trader Joe's-themed cookbook before, but what I adore about this one is most of the recipes don't actually require ingredients only to be found at Trader Joe's, leaving one with options if one is suddenly struck by inspiration at 8PM but lives half an hour away from the closest Trader Joe's, as we do, but they definitely embody the healthful, joy de vivre Trader Joe's spirit.

Where to begin? Every time I curl up with the cookbook for some contented culinary browsing, planning the next evening menu, I find myself enticed by visions of pesto, miniature sandwiches, and tarts galore. Already, I've fixed soup (using the Trader Joe's Roasted Red Pepper soup as a velvety base), an artichoke pasta, and several tempting appetizers for festive tapas-style meals, but on Monday night, battling my way home to the front door amidst a stiff wind and the occasional flurry of snow (snow?! In Georgia?! At the end of March?!), I found myself drawn towards red beans... with roasted tomatoes... in a deep, earthy broth with red wine and hints of cumin...

Feeling warmer already...

Red Bean and Tomato Stew
(Adapted from The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook)

2 T light nonhydrogenated vegan margarine (such as SmartBalance Light)
1 onion, chopped
3 shallots, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine (I used a Shiraz)
2 cups vegetable broth
3 (15 oz) cans red kidney beans, drained
1 (15 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes, not drained
1 tsp cumin
Fat free Greek yogurt, for garnish (optional - leave out for the vegan version)

~ In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the vegan marg and saute the onion, shallots, and garlic until the onions are limp and translucent.
~ Stir in the red wine, broth, red beans, roasted tomatoes, and cumin. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the beans are quite tender and you're ready to serve the soup...
~ For the vegan version, serve straight-up, cozy and steaming and luscious... For the non-vegan version, serve topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt!

On the blog this time last year... Golden Chickpea and Spinach Salad!

Feta and Parmesan Cheese Biscuits

Saturday heralded the first day of Spring, and we awoke to discover the first flowers of the season had sprung to the surface as though they too knew that gentle sunshine and balmy 70-degree days had finally arrived!

We spent most of the day outside, taking walks as my leg allowed, and relaxing on the patio or in the back garden with cups of tea and our respective reading materials.

We did slip indoors just long enough for lunch at Whole Foods, though... :-) Our favorite weekend treat!

Roasted squash with onions and black olives, baked tofu, braised mushrooms, spicy collard greens, and spinach-broccoli-mushroom lasagna - heavenly! (I assure you I had plenty of leftovers to bring home... :-)

On Saturday night, since we had both worked late on St. Patrick's day, and weren't able to celebrate at all on the holiday itself, we also felt a wee bit duty bound (such a hardship, you know... :-) to experiment with some green coloring and our favorite New Belgium Brewery Mothership Wit Ale, and raise a toast with green beer!

On Sunday, though, the temperatures plummeted again - seriously plummeted. Maryland, several states north of us, enjoyed temperatures 20 degrees above our poor, shivering deep-south backyards. To add to the un-springlike weather, biting winds and torrential rains joined the collection of wintry weather. I also found myself by my lonesome for the day, as Zach had an ER clinical rotation all day Sunday, until 10PM at night. To cheer myself up, after a whirlwind bout of housecleaning (rainy days are, after all, extraordinarily good for housecleaning, lacking the temptation to lure you outside the house and away from the broom), I decided to spare Zach an afternoon of antiquing and set off myself in search of vintage Pyrex! I decided, musing as I browsed the pleasantly cluttered shelves of a large antiques shop, that I enjoy the thrill of the search as much as the delights of a satisfying purchase - the moment when your eyes sort through the piles of depression-glass plates and fiesta-ware (all beautiful and grand finds in their own right) and alight upon a single baking dish, or perhaps a small mug, that you've been questing for all along... I was quite well behaved, turning aside two 40's era bowls (scratched and overpriced) and four 70's era pieces (I loved them, but they were also, sadly, in poor condition) to simply bring home this one, simple bowl, from the late 60's-early 70's, in flawless condition and for only 4 dollars! Thankfully for our economics, I'm easy to please... :-)

Upon arriving home, what better way to chase away the chill winds and have a treat awaiting Zach arrival home, than to bake?

Hmmm, how about something savory, with fragrant basil, to hint of the warm, gardening days to come... and swirled with cheese, to comfort and tantalize...

Feta and Parmesan Cheese Biscuits

*Note: This recipe makes at least a dozen biscuits, as they are just the right shape and size for tucking into lunch-bags, heating up for an afternoon snack, or carrying along on a picnic! If you don't want quite so very many biscuits, though, feel free to halve the recipe...

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup light, nonhydrogenated vegan margaine (such as Smart Balance Light)
1 T dried basil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup skim milk
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 egg whites

~ Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray.
~ Using a food processor, pulse the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt together just 2 or 3 times until mixed.
~ Add the vegan marg, and continue quick pulses on the food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
~ Pour the flour mixture into a large mixing bowl, and gently fold in the basil, feta cheese, and Parmesan cheese until just combined.
~ In a small bowl, beat together the milk, lemon juice, and egg whites.
~ Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients. Fold the mixture together until just blended.
~ Scoop the dough into the muffin cups, filling the cups 3/4 full.
~ Bake for 20 minutes - until the tops are just turning golden brown! Serve warm, with butter or Smart Balance Light, of course! :-)

On the blog this time last year... Cacao and Raw Coconut Clusters!

Spicy-Tangy Red Beans and Rice with Steamed Eggs

Early in the week, I discovered something wondrous - the roundup to the You Are What You Cook event hosted by incredible, ever-brilliant Sophia of Burp and Slurp. I read each word of the roundup, followed by each post, with growing delight, captivated by the inspiring stories and pithy culinary metaphors. Suddenly, the magic moment happened - my eyes alighted upon a recipe I just knew would be perfect for supper that night, a recipe that called all other menu plans into question and cast them aside. Namely, a beautiful egg-topped rice dish, entitled Bap Egg on Top, created by Andrea of Andrea's Wellness Notes. We always have at least 10 pounds of brown rice residing in our pantry, and how long had it been since we'd really, properly, had eggs for supper? Far too long.

By the time I arrived home from work, I'd decided to create another fusion dish - red beans and rice (a staple meal in our home) with Andrea's Korean seasonings! Andrea, thank you, thank you for the recipe and the inspiration!

The eggs were simply the perfect, comforting complement to the explosive flavors in the beans and rice. The fiery spice and salty-sweet tang was so enchanting that I even turned a scoop of the leftover beans and rice mixture into a beans, rice, and cheddar cheese sandwich for my lunch at work the next day! Ah, it's amazing how a bit of culinary magic awaiting you at noon-time makes alighting from bed at 4AM so much easier...

Spicy-Tangy Red Beans and Rice with Steamed Eggs
(Adapted from Andrea's Recipe)

1/8 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 T rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 T Gochujang (Korean spicy red pepper paste)
2 cups brown rice
1 T canola oil
2 (14.5oz) cans red kidney beans, drained
1 to 2 eggs per person
1 tsp olive oil

~ Whisk together the soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, sesame oil, and Gochujang, and set the mixture aside.
~ Cook the rice according to your preferred method (we're in love with our rice cooker...).
~ In a large pot or skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat, then add the cooked rice and toss quickly, just for a few seconds, to allow the rice to toast.
~ Reduce the heat to medium-low, and stir in the beans.
~ Gradually add some of the sauce, a little at a time, to taste - you'll likely have some of the sauce leftover for other moments of deliciousness. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the beans and rice are heated through.
~ To prepare the eggs, coat a large skillet over medium-high heat with cooking spray, and add the tsp of olive oil. Add the whole eggs to the skillet, quickly season to taste with freshly ground black pepper, cover the dish, and cook until the yolks are cooked to your preference (we like ours runny, just like Sophia does! :-)
~ To plate the dish, place a serving of the beans and rice mixture onto the plate, and top with 1 or 2 eggs! Serve right away...

Whole Wheat Blueberry Applesauce Muffins

My brain is a wee bit mushy at the moment (mid-week work exhaustion, most likely), and I admit my last post was extraordinarily loquacious, so I shall keep this post much more succinct... although hopefully equally delicious!

Zach's been having a particularly hectic emergency medicine rotation this month (which I suppose is to be expected, given that emergency medicine is hectic by definition), and we also seem to have oddly exchanged schedules - I've temporarily moved to day shifts for my new temporary position which is more friendly to my hopefully temporarily hampered left leg (apologies for the unvarying alliteration), and Zach has been working night shifts in the emergency room. Once again, we find ourselves passing each other during the week with a kiss and a wave from the other side of the stream, only now we're each at opposite times of the day! I still leave Zach little treats on the kitchen counter, of course, as tangible and tasty evidence that my heart remains with him always, and now that I leave for work at breakfast time and Zach has supper at the hospital, it's only natural I should sieze the opportunity to bake him breakfast treats!

It's also been entirely too long since I've indulged my muffin baking obsession. On Monday night, I willingly allowed myself to be carried away by inspiration while reading Beth's post about Whole Wheat Muffins on her blog, 990 Square... Beth is a truly talented baker - she's even been commissioned to bake a real wedding cake for a real wedding! Serious baking skills, indeed! So high was my confidence in Beth's recipe that I didn't hesitate to multiply the recipe several times over so I could store some extra batter in the fridge for future mornings! (I also managed to nearly upset the entire, mammoth bowl of muffin batter onto the kitchen floor while trying to reach the carton of almond milk lurking at the very back of the fridge, but the bowl was rescued at the last moment by a heroic leap, and all was well once more.)

Soon emerging from the oven, these muffins still managed to exceed my expectations. They puffed up so jauntily, bravely, and lightly, full of both nutritious fiber and a lusciously hearty yet still fluffy texture...

100% Whole Wheat Blueberry Applesauce Muffins

(Adapted from Beth's beautiful recipe)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup raw turbinado sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup applesauce

1/2 cup canola oil

2 egg whites, beaten

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

1 T lemon juice

1 cup dried blueberries

~ Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners, or coat them with cooking spray.

~ Stir together the whole wheat flour, turbinado sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

~ Whisk together the applesauce, canola oil, egg whites, almond milk, and lemon juice.

~ Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.

~ Fold in the dried blueberries.

~ Bake for 25 to 30 minutes - until the muffins are just turning golden brown on top.

~ Allow them to cool on wire racks - or serve warm! :-)