Hi, everyone!
I know it’s been quite a while since I’ve updated the blog.
And I am sad about that!
I’ve been busy with school but I do promise you a few restaurant reviews as well as recipes!
I promise.
This week 
Until then…here is a video of a song I wrote this past week!
First time really sharing so I hope you enjoy!
I’ve missed you!
So much love,
Joyce
Halloween has come and gone, jack-o-lanterns have either rotted or been thrown on the ground…
so the holiday season inevitably arrives.
My checking account is going to take somewhat of a beating if I continue to purchase butter, eggs, flour and sugar like I am now…
Also, I know.
I’ve been gone for a while.
Will you let me off the hook if I tell you i’ve been writing papers like a madwoman?
I’m sorry.
When winter break arrives, I promise I’ll be here
Maple Scones
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks
1. Preheat oven to 400F and line baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Pour maple syrup, milk and cream in small bowl. Whisk and set aside.
3. In a medium-large bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder and salt.
4. Cut butter into the flour mixture in a food processor. Pulse until pea sized balls are formed (~20 quick pulses)
5. Add the maplse syrup, milk, cream mixture to the dough until it comes together–don’t mix too much or the scones will be hard!
6. Turn out onto a floured surface, bring dough together.
7. Cut dough into 1-inch thick rectangles (makes 9 scones)
8. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle the large-grain sugar over them.
9. Bake the scones for 20-25 miutes
10. Enjoy!
I poured a bit more maple syrup over the scones.
And it was good.
Love!
Should I start a series titled ‘Hours in the Kitchen Well Spent: _____’ ?
Because today’s foodsperience was just…TOO MUCH.
In the best possible way of course.
Well first I believe it is my obligiation to explain my absence.
For the last part of August, I was orientating(?) first-years at my school. I wore silly things like tiger paws while standing on street corners (don’t be dirty)–yelling, cheering and smiling at nervous parents dropping their babies off at college.
I wanted to hug all of them and tell them that I would look after each and every first-year, holding their hands, guiding them along the well-trodden roads of academia.
I couldn’t do that but I did have the best first-year group EVER.
So starting classes after a wonderful (but tiring) time was vunderful.
okay okay so let me tell you.
We had family over today so I made a fruit tart.
But not any fruit tart.
No.
Figs, strawberries and blueberries atop a fresh, creamy lemon custard. Atop a flaky, buttery pie shell.
Figberry Tart
Ingerdients:
For the Crust: (David Lebovitz French Tart Dough)
90 g (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used canola)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
150 g (5oz, or 1 slightly-rounded cup) flour
Preheat the oven to 410º F (210º C).
1. In a medium-sized ovenproof bowl, such as a Pyrex bowl, combine the butter, oil, water, sugar, and salt.
2. Place the bowl in the oven for 15 minutes, until the butter is bubbling and starts to brown just around the edges.
3. When done, remove the bowl from oven (and be careful, since the bowl will be hot and the mixture might sputter a bit), dump in the flour and stir it in quickly, until it comes together and forms a ball which pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch (23 cm) tart mold with a removable bottom and spread it a bit with a spatula.
5. Once the dough is cool enough to handle, pat it into the shell with the heel of your and, and use your fingers to press it up the sides of the tart mold. Reserve a small piece of dough, about the size of a raspberry, for patching any cracks.
(Paule takes a fork and reinforces the dough to the sides, which I didn’t find necessary.)
6. Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork about ten times, then bake the tart shell in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown.
7. Remove from the oven and if there are any sizable cracks, use the bits of reserved dough to fill in and patch them.
I find it best to pinch off a small amount of the reserved dough, roll it gently between your fingers to soften it, then wedge it into the cracks, smoothing it gently with your pinky.
8. Let the shell cool before filling.
For the Filling: (David Lebovitz Tarte au citron: Lemon Tart Recipe — but just the filling part!)
1/2 cup (125 ml) freshly-squeezed lemon juice
grated zest of one lemon, preferably unsprayed
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into bits
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
One pre-baked 9-inch (23 cm) tart shell
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C.)
1. In a medium-sized non-reactive saucepan, heat the lemon juice, zest, sugar, and butter. Have a mesh strainer nearby.
2. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and the yolks.
3. When the butter is melted, whisk some of the warm lemon mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly, to warm them. Scrape the warmed eggs back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and almost begins to bubble around the edges.
4. Pour the lemon curd though a strainer directly into the pre-baked tart shell, scraping with a rubber spatula to press it through.
5. Smooth the top of the tart and pop it in the oven for five minutes, just to set the curd.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing and serving.
Thank you, David Lebovitz.
What are 2 things that do not go together?
Denim and astronaut suits.
Mayo and anything.
Peas and pudding.
Olive oil and chocolate.
Okay. Prior to watching Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate,” I never really thought about olive oil and chocolate hanging out.
It’s not even that I thought it was gross or weird, I just didn’t even realize.
Kind of like you don’t even realize eating hummus with any food item (ever) can be considered gross or weird.
But not really like that because
1. I know it might seem odd
2. I really don’t care (hello, cheerios with hummus –
…it was a one time thing I tried with a friend, and it wasn’t exactly tasty. but would I do it again to prove the level of my love of this chickpea goodness? yeah, i totally would.)
So. Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Light, slightly crunchy and still rich and delicious.
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Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. In medium sized bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinammon
3. In large bowl, whisk eggs, olive oil and sugars
4. Then whisk in vanilla
5. Add wet to dry ingredients and combine
6. Add chocolate chips
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes
P.S. Maybe mayo and hummus…
What do you do with 1/2 a box of red quinoa sitting in a sad, lonely corner and wrapped in a sad produce baggie?
PUT IT IN A SALAD.
That should be made into a viral youtube video–rap version:
“Wha wha what do you do with the annoying pile of old newspapers?”
–”PUT IT IN A SALAD”
“Wha wha wha do you do with the pile of laundry you don’t want to do?”
–”PUT IT IN A SALAD”
Sorry, what?
Sorry. I’m going to stop with that right there.
Anyway, I don’t really want to call this a salad because it’s so much more than that.
It’s fresh like a salad and it’s full of veggies like a salad, but it’s not a salad salad (say salad 12 more times.)
The vegetables in the dish aren’t the stars of the experience; they let the quinoa shine brighter! Yes for creativity.
The quinoa adds a nice nuttiness and the vegetables add the perfect amount of texture (crunchy with the chewy quinoa).
I remember one of my friends made a guacamole type thing laid on top of the quinoa and this kind of reminded me of it. yum.
It really is so good.
Also, did you know red quinoa helps with migranes? throw that advil out, man.
Artichoke Red Quinoa with Avocado
Ingredients:
1. Rinse and drain quinoa
2. Add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar to the water you will boil the quinoa in for more flavor
3. Boil quinoa until white rings show (about 15 minutes)
4. Drain and rinse with cold water
5. Chill quinoa for 1 hour
6. Add veggies, olive oil, vinegars, salt, pepper, basil to the quinoa and combine
7. Avocado garnish.
Wha wha wha?
PUT IT IN THIS SALAD.
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I’m sorry I haven’t updated in about a week.
I was away, doing this:
Or, to be more clear, hiking this.
Wait…more clarification: We wanted this hike to be epic, sweaty and shoe ripping-ly hard. Well. It was sweaty, but it was also not even a mile.
Wrong trail, woops!
Still beautiful and I got to see a pretty sunflower so really, whateva.
I went to Utah to visit my lovely friend. I saw beautiful mountains, shopped, cooked and laughed way too much.
I came home with a tan and a fruit tart on my mind!
Why, hello…easy peasy not bake eey eey (?)
A Fruit Tart for One
Ingredients:
1. In a small bowl, combine the almond meal, granola, nut butter and milk
2. Pack the mixture into a small ramekin
3. Mix the greek yogurt and agave together
4. Layer onto the almond meal mixture
5. Slice strawberries and bananas and place on top of yogurt
6. Drizzle agave on top
7. Spoon in hand spoon in hand now now now
The perfect summer snack–light, slightly sweet, fresh and wonderful.
Love.
What do you think of pulverized broccoli florets in brownies?
How about some garlic cloves to texturize the chocolatey bars?
Just kidding.
My brother said, “Joyce, I don’t want to find any oats, flax or vegetables in my brownie…please?
To which I promptly, and bitingly, replied, “hey, I am using chocolate, sugar and butter in these and you better appreciate and never use the imperative when speaking to me about cooking. You work for me right now.”
Just kidding again. I did not say that.
But I did make a good dent in our supply of chocolate, sugar and butter with these.
Chocolate Brownies and Brownie Crisp
*Enough for 1 batch–12 small brownies (or 6 large ones, which is definitely what I did)–>for a larger batch of 24 brownies, double the recipe.
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker‘s Chewy Brownie Recipe
Ingredients:
1. Mix boiling water and cocoa powder
2. Add chocolate chips; stir until melted
3. Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, butter, vegetable oil
4. Add flour and salt.
5. Mix until combined
6. Add extra chocolate chips into the batter
7. * For the Chocolate Crisp add the granola along with the chocolate chips!
8. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes; to check, stick toothpick into middle and it should come out clean!
Now.
Chocolate Brownie? Isn’t that redundant?
If you see that on a screen, a mere combination of letters…yes, it is redundant.
Put it in your mouth and things change.
It’s no longer redundant; it’s a happy confirmation of the delicious, deep chocolateNESS.
Granola mixed in = juxtaposition of textures that will blow your mind.
The light granola doesn’t overwhelm the moist cake, but it does add a nice surprise as you bite into the brownie.
It crunches, it crackles, it kind of is awesome.
You can’t sleep? (I couldn’t)
You wake up at 5 in the morning, the sun barely gracing the sky? (I did!)
Well then, grab the ladle because the solution to that problem lies in your hand.
(I’m there.)
Mediterranean Bean Salad
Ingredients
1. Cook beans night before for about 1-2 hours, then soak overnight with 1/2 cup chopped cilantro and 1 tsp salt
2. Next day: Combine all ingredients and mix!
The salad has a fresh tang from the lemon and the cilantro really helps guide that taste along.
The beans have a bit of a hard time soaking up a lot of flavor at first, so the soaking part really helps!
Don’t be shy with the cilantro and basil–they really make the salad!
I really like this dish because it’s
a.) so easy
b.) so delicious
I can’t really say a.) has precedence over b.) but then I can’t say there is truth the other way around either…so basically, this is just an all around great dish : )
What’s with all the bean recipes, right? Well, I kept the beans in my room in a cute little jar for decoration (and as a representation of my love for them) and I just wanted to use ‘em all up!
Beano, you say?
Okay, moving on.
I put about half of this into a tupperware container for my grandparents and they called me to say “I love you.”
I mean, I’m sure they love me whether or not I make the Mediterranean bean salads, but hey, I don’t mind the lovin’!
I put this on a thick, chewy, whole-grainy slab of farmer’s market bread (purchased from the nice young French man who looks earthy and well traveled) with an egg…
and all was well.
Brownie and Brownie Crisp Cake recipes up tomorrow!
Get. Ready.
What does one do with 9 pounds of almonds?
Make a fort.
And by fort, I mean a very dense, warm, gentle, comforting fort of a granola bar.
It is in the oven now, but that really doesn’t mean it’s safe from my weapon of choice: a spoon.
Almond Cherry Apple Granola Bar
Ingredients:
1. In large bowl, mix together almond meal, both types of oats, chia seeds
2. In food processor, pulse cherries, raisins, applesauce.
3. Combine all ingredients in large bowl
4. Using just enough rolled/steel cut oats, almond meal, raisins, chopped almonds, cinnamon to coat the bottom of the cake pan, coat the bottom of the cake pan
5. Spread mixture into cake pan
6. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Sweetened only with fruit to sweeten your day!
Chomp.
This morning I slipped on something that should not have been there.
In fact, it is not to exist anywhere except for in a nice, clean, pristine porcelain paradise (what is with the alliteration today?)
Well, a doggy one anyway.
My lovely little Snoopy left a nice yellow mellow surprise on the kitchen floor.
Dog pee smells like human asparagus pee…
I did not have any plastic gloves left in the kitchen so what did I use?
An empty plastic produce baggie!
Yes for resourceful creativity.
Okay okay so on to the food.
I was looking in the fridge and saw a variety of veggies that were kind of dying so I decided to think of something yummy to make with them.
Besides, who likes to look back on life in the fridge and realize their being pulled out of the dirt was all for naught?
No one.
Basil Bean Burgers
Ingredients:
salt and pepper to taste! (I added ~1 tsp to the bean mixture)1. Into the food processor: the beans, basil and olive oil.
2. Pulse until chunky (not completely smooth, not completely CHUNKAY)
3. Pour a bit of olive oil and worchestire sauce in pan
4. In go the onions, bell peppers and squash
5. Once the onions become translucent, pour the cooked veggies in a large bowl
6. Mix beans, cooked veggies, olive oil, worchestire sauce, almond meal, flax meal and tomato paste together
7. Use hands to shape into flattened balls
8. More olive oil and worchestire sauce in pan
9. Cook those boogers (bugers? burgers…heh hehh)
10. Eat them with whatever you like (my little brother liked ketchup with them)
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I packed these for my parents’ lunches with some peaches and grapes and I kind of want to call my dad and tell him to taste test them for me right now.
Hey, I ate veggies for breakfast, right?
So I stepped in some warm pee but these burgers made up for that surprise.
Also, I heard that urine takes the stank out of feet?
I don’t know if that’s true but I’m going to say that basil bean burgers make smelly feet and dog pee seem way trivial.
Yipee! (Yi, pee? laugh laugh laugh)
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