Quinoa

Oh, hey, so a new discovery: quinoa is FANTASTIC and as easy to cook as couscous and almost just as fast. Like couscous, it can serve as a pretty awesome vehicle for whatever you want to put in it and, if you're not careful, you could end up making way too much. Like, enough for 6 people even though you only used a cup and half! Unlike couscous, you have to be careful to read the packaging because it might need to be rinsed until the water runs clear or taste like poop. The package I bought was pre-rinsed so, lucky me, I only dirtied one colander and wasted a half minute rinsing it before I read the packaging.

When it's cooked, this small grain is fluffy and nutty and, oddly enough, a relative to spinach. Anyway, it's delicious. I'm excited for it because it seems like I could throw in whatever I have lurking in the frig and, 12 minutes later, dinner is served. A one pot meal, my favorite! Here's what I threw in last night adapted however slightly from this recipe. 

Whole Lemon Pie with Walnut-Cranberry Crumble

Filling from Smitten Kitchen 

I had never heard of Shaker Lemon Pie until yesterday when I went searching for a way to use lemons that had gone soft over the holidays in my refrigerator and a par-baked crust in the freezer that really needed to be used. Not that it would have gone bad in the freezer but just...what kind of lunatic sits on a homemade pie crust? So, anyway, there are a kajillion recipes for this kind of pie that I had never heard of before and they are all easy. Well, it would have been super easy if I had had hot water in the house to wash all the dishes before I got started and if my sink wasn't backed up from all the rain. But, still, a great pie got made and that's all that counts; it doesn't even matter that my husband thinks I'm a loon for baking in a basically unusable kitchen. It is (was) a great pie.

Menu Week of 12/13/10

Okay, well, Andy is gone until Thursday so that means I get to cook whatever I want for dinner! Woohoo! I'm going to cook nothing. Hehe! Instead, I'm going to figure out my Holiday gift baskets.

I have 5 couples I want to gift with baskets: Andy's bosses, my mom and her new husband, a friend who designed my Etsy shop for my metal clay jewelry, and some friends who will watch our dogs while we're out of town for the holiday. So, I've been thinking and thinking about what to put in my baskets and I think I've come up with some pretty good, homemade ideas!

Dulce de Leche Sauce

It's so easy it's almost hard to justify an entire post but it's also the yummiest sauce ever so it's hard to excuse the omission. So, here we go.

Rosemary Butternut Squash Savory Bread Pudding

I had to fix up something quick for party and I had day-old bread and butternut squash that I had roasted. So, I sort of winged it and it was delicious! None of these measurements are exact; feel free to wing it yourself! You can use sage, a different kind of cheese, add some kale and walnuts, whatever you want!

Lemon Curd and Meringue

I wish I had painted the tree blue; that would look cool. I'm totally addicted to Foodgawker.com and Tastepotting.com and always wanted pics on this site but I'm not a photographer..but I'm gonna try. This lemon curd has been waiting patiently for me to figure something out for about a week and it did not turn our as I would have liked. At all and the next day this was on Foodgawker to taunt me. Oh, well. I had time to paint the tree but the curd and meringue cookie were eaten before that could happen. By who, I can't say. It just sort of happened. Yumm...I mean, umm, yeah. Recipes follow...

Menu 12/06/2010

*currently on the menu*

Monday: Homemade Pasta and Puttenesca (Gotta make Stock, gravlax, creme fraiche, extracts)

Tuesday: Chicken, Goat Cheese, Potato Quiche, mixed green salad (Gotta make guac for tmrw night)

Wednesday: Chili with Chips and Guacamole (Andy's boss's wife made us a bunch of meaty, homemade chili..yum! I'll spruce it up with the chicken stock, make stew for tmrw night)

Thursday: Quinoa with Moroccan Winter Squash and Carrot Stew

Friday: Leftovers (betcha Andy will want take-out; make Rice Krispy Treats)

Gotta Try: Rice Krispy Treats with those Homemade Marshmallows that will go to waste if I don't use them

Homemade Vanilla, Lemon and Orange Extract 

Meringue for Lemon Curd Pic
AND I have dill leftover from making pickles to make: Gravlax and Creme Fraiche!

You think I'm doing too much. You're reading this and thinking, she never leaves the kitchen. But look. This weekend I am going to a friend's dinner to which I will bring the Gravlax and Creme Fraiche, both of which are put together and set aside to think about how they want to taste. The Rice Crispy treats and extracts: same thing; mix and set aside! The stock: boil some veg, simmer for a few hours, drain and chill or freeze, more likely; easy and can't let the chicken bones go to waste like last week's (I'm ashamed). I already made the pie crust for the quiche, it's in the freezer and the homemade pasta was my Sunday afternoon.  So you can stop worrying already.