Putting Together A Whole Lot of Recipes!

I'm back! We've survived Christmas and are gearing up for New Year's, so it's time for a blog post. Today seems to be one of those days when I'm putting together parts of past blog posts and having an easy day. The kids had a platter of dippers for lunch with three dips: peanut butter, whipped honey, and peanut butter pumpkin dip. A and I had sausage sandwiches and chips. All of us rounded out our diet with one truffle each, of course - I've only made about 150 of them this holiday season for goody boxes and ourselves! I've made hummus for A and I to snack on this afternoon. Tonight's dinner is a meatloaf I pulled from the freezer and will serve with mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted carrots, and corn with herb butter (if you are counting calories, make your meatloaf with lean meats, serve mashed cauliflower or mashed sweet potatoes instead of white sweet potatoes, and skip the butter on the corn!). Dessert is still a debate, possibly shoofly pie but most likely chocolate truffle pie (forget trying to count your calories!). And to wash it all down this evening, a gorgeous cup of almond biscotti tea, a black tea gently flavored with almonds and cinnamon, one that is one of our favorites from Teavana. Just for fun, I'll try my hand at a new sweets recipe this afternoon, probably blondies. Watch tomorrow's post for whatever new thing I make today!

Using Up the Problem Jam

I've had a cold for the last couple of days, which has resulted in lots of fast-to-fix, no fuss meals like spaghetti and garlic bread, hamburger barbeque from the freezer, and take out Chinese (which we ate and decided we could make it better). Tonight is going to be pork chops and various vegetables with ginger lime glaze and jasmine rice. My inspiration for this meal: a jam that never did set like it was supposed to. I made this great tasting ginger lime jam, but it never got thicker than a sauce. I even reprocessed it to no avail. Solution: give in and call it what it is, a glaze. I will brown boneless, thick cut pork chops in a skillet (olive oil, medium heat, about four minutes on each side), remove the pork chops, then add to the pan a dash of olive oil and some vegetables like julienned water chestnuts, carrots, and ginger and thin wedges of onions, some steamed broccoli florets. Stir fry, add the pork chops back in, and pour some of the ginger lime sauce over everything, cooking for another minute to let the flavors meld. Serve over hot jasmine rice, and voila, dinner in 15 minutes.

So what do you do if haven't made a jam that refuses to become a jam? Exactly what I do with the last of my jam in the jar - add a little juice to the jar, put the lid back on, and shake to combine the jam and the juice. You can add some herbs to it if you want. I like to use citrus juices for the bite, and I especially like pairings like apricot preserves and orange juice, raspberry jam and orange juice or lime juice, blueberry preserves and lime juice, orange marmalade and lemon or orange juice. Use as a glaze on poultry or pork, stir fry or baked meats. Spoon the sauce over steaming mounds of fragrant rice or sop up with feathery light rolls. What a delightful way to use up the last spoonful or two of jam in the bottom of the jar or in my case, the problem jam that refused to become a jam!

Finally, a Versatile Chocolate Muffin!

I used to buy occasionally those little cookbooks that you find at supermarket checkouts, back before I really got hooked on websites like http://www.foodnetwork.com/, http://www.recipezaar.com/, and all of the specialty recipe sites out there. Some of those little books looked good but I rarely used. Others have been used heavily. One of those heavily used is a Betty Crocker holiday cookbook. In it is a recipe I've been meaning to try for several years and just never got around to doing it: chocolate pistachio bread. Now I've been searching for chocolate muffin recipes, and I remembered that recipe and gave it a try. The longest part of preparation was the shelling of the pistachios, and little C helped with that which made it more fun (not necessarily faster but definitely more fun). These - or a variation - would be a great addition to a Christmas gift basket, holiday brunch, or snack tray. Tender, moist, rich chocolate flavor, the light flavor and crunch of the pistachio pieces, the crunch of the crusty top on the muffin all make this one to repeat. Don't like pistachios? Don't fret! Substitute chopped dried cherries, dried blueberries, chopped walnuts, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, or whatever else you like to combine with chocolate and is no larger than a chocolate chip!

2/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. butter or margarine, melted (I used Blue Bonnet margarine)
3/4 c. milk (I used Silk plain soy milk)
1 egg (I used 1/4 c. Eggbeaters)
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. chopped pistachio nuts (I cheated and did 1 c. of pistachio nuts then chopped them)
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 c. baking cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
coarse sugar crystals (decorating sugar), if desired

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease bottom and sides of loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches, with shortening (I used 12 muffin liners in a muffin tin.)
2. Mix sugar, butter, milk, and egg in a large bowl until well blended.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients except decorating sugar. (I stirred in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, then gently stirred in the chopped pistachio nuts and chocolate chips.)
4. Spread into prepared pan (or scoop into muffin tin - the wells of the muffin tin were 3/4 full, about 1/3 c. batter per muffin). Sprinkle with sugar crystals.
5. Bake 50-55 minutes (for muffins, mine came out at 22 minutes) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (really look at the toothpick - it won't come out clean if you ran through a melted chocolate chip!). Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf from pan; remove from pan to wire cooling rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing.

You Don't Need a Special Pig to Find Chocolate Truffles

With my dairy allergy, certain treats are forbidden unless I make them myself. Chocolate truffles is one of those things. They always look incredible, and I've always wanted them, but I've never been sure about trying to make them. This year I threw caution to the wind and tried it out, using the Alton Brown recipe from Food Network. I don't even know how to begin to describe them. Let's start with the texture. The one I ate was rolled in toasted coconut. First on the tongue is the crunchy coconut, then as you fully bite into the truffle, you have the snap, the sharp give of the chocolate shell, then you are falling into the creamy smooth but firm ganache center. It's like cream cheese only smoother, fuller. And the flavor! The coconut adds less coconut taste than you would think and more of an almost warm flavor, a light caramel flavor from being toasted. The outside layer of chocolate is semi-sweet chocolate, smooth and slightly sweet but still richly chocolate. Then the ganache is like falling onto a velvet pillow of dense chocolate flavor, not really sweet but not quite bitter, perfectly balanced with all the other flavors and feeling sinfully rich in both flavor and texture.  Wow. Feet. Socks. Knocked off.

Okay, okay, now that I've whetted your appetite, here's the "how" part of the truffles. Like I said, I got the recipe from Alton Brown (www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-truffles-recipe/index.html) but I've made so many changes and want to show you exactly how I did this, so you can find the original recipe at the above link, and I'll give the recipe as I did it (complete with photos) below.

10 oz Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao premium baking chips)

3 T. Blue Bonnet margarine

1/2 c. Silk soy creamer

1 T. light corn syrup

1/2 c. Hershey's special dark cocoa powder

1/2 c. toasted sweetened coconut flakes

1/2 c. toasted finely chopped pecans

8 oz. Hershey's semisweet chocolate chips

parchment paper

mini muffin papers

1. Place the bittersweet chocolate and margarine in a medium size glass mixing bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir.

Microwave for 30 seconds again. Remove and stir. Set aside.

2. Heat the soy creamer and the corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until just simmering. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture over the melted chocolate mixture; let it stand for 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir gently, starting in the middle of the bowl and working in concentric circles until all the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and creamy.

3. Spread  the mixture (ganache, pronounced guh-nosh) into an 8x8 glass baking dish, spreading it fairly evenly, and refrigerate for 1 hour. It will be very smooth and very shiny.

4. Using a 1 tablespoon scoop (like a mini ice cream scooper, one of my absolute favorite kitchen tools and one I found at Target), scoop the ganache into level scoops and place them on a parchment paper lined board or cookie sheet. When all of the ganache has been scooped (I got 24 balls), refrigerate them for 30  minutes. (In this picture, you can see that two balls in the lower left have already been re-rolled to become smooth balls.)

 

5. While the balls are chilling, melt the semisweet chocolate using the following method. Put the chips in a medium glass bowl. Warm up a heating pad. We don't have a traditional heating pad, so I warmed both a buckwheat heating pad and my stone dish warmer. Alton Brown recommends the heating pad for melting the chocolate. One reviewer belittled this idea and got out the classic double boiler. My problem with the double boiler is that it often gets the chocolate above the 94 degrees Alton says is the upper limit for when you no longer get the snap of the chocolate when it cools. That's fine for when I'm doing chocolate covered pretzels, but I wanted the snap for the truffles. So I warmed the heating pad and sat the bowl of chocolate on it. I then got some pie plates out and put the coating materials in each pan: 1 for toasted coconut, 1 for toasted finely chopped pecans, 1 for cocoa powder. In about five minutes, the chocolate had really begun to melt. I stirred it a bit, then got the ganache scoops out of the refrigerator.

6. Roll the ganache scoops in between your palms to roll them into tight, smooth balls. The ganache will have the consistency of Play-Doh. Roll three balls, then wash your hands with cold water. Keep repeating until all 24 balls are done. If you do not wash your hands, your hands magically get sticky on the fourth ball. Washing with cold water keeps your skin cool to minimize stickiness too. The hand washing is a bit tedious (and boy is our well water cold in December!), but it works really well.

7. Stir the melting chocolate again until it is completely smooth, scraping down the sides as you stir.

8. Now for coating. I had gotten out a soup ladle (Alton recommends an ice cream scoop) which then looked too big, so I switched to a gravy ladle. I double checked the temperature of my melted chocolate with a candy thermometer - 90 degrees. I sat the ladle in the bowl of chocolate (leaving the bowl of chocolate on the heating pad), scooping some chocolate onto the ladle. I rolled the balls in the chocolate on the ladle, first trying to roll with my fingers, then trying a fork, finally going back to my fingers and just dealing with the chocolate build up (my hands were still cool, so the chocolate was actually cooling and hardening on my fingers). One of the recipe's reviewers asked what Alton had been thinking, as she was burning her fingers doing the chocolate coating. I have no idea what in the world she was doing. The chocolate should be less than body temperature, so it should not hurt to touch it! Because it is so barely melted, it's sticky and thick, so watch out. I had chocolate fingers to say the least, and I never did get a silky smooth coating on any of the balls. As each ball is coated in chocolate, roll it in the coating of choice. I found it worked very well to drop it into the coating, then use a fork or spoon to pour coating over the ball, then roll to really coat. This is not a race, but you can't dawdle. The cool ganache balls will harden the barely melted chocolate fairly quickly. If you want the truffles to have an extra coating besides the chocolate, you have to do it right after you cover it in chocolate. From start of rolling the scoops into balls until finishing the last coating on the last truffle, it took me 50 minutes, and this was my first time doing this recipe.

9. As each truffle was coated, I placed it in a mini muffin paper, the perfect sized "cup" for each truffle. This should help to keep coatings separate, should make serving easy, and just look nice. They are also very, very inexpensive! Alton Brown says to leave each truffle in the coating for 10-15 seconds, but I didn't see the need for this. It might be to keep from distorting the shape of the truffle, but to be honest, my first attempt has produced slightly bumpy truffles, so I wasn't particularly concerned about that aspect.

10. Allow the truffles to set in a cool, dry place for at least 1 hour, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. However, truffles should be served at room temperature; serving cold will result in a more firm ganache, and honestly, the velvety texture of room temperature ganache is not to be missed!

 

*A note on toasting: I toasted both the coconut and the chopped pecans in my oven at 450 degrees (although I've toasted at 350 degrees in the past, this is flexible, I happened to be making tater tots for C's lunch). I spread each in separate baking dishes, then placed in the oven. The coconut takes longer, maybe 15 minutes while the pecans took 5-7 minutes, shaking the pan or stirring them every few minutes. Keep an eye on them, as they look like nothing is happening and then suddenly start to brown. When each are golden and fragrant, they are toasted. You can under-toast, but don't over-toast!

Peanut Butter Chip Brownies Really Are Easy!

Tonight I baked peanut butter chip brownies. The brownies were an experimental twist on a tried and true recipe. So many people are daunted by the idea of making brownies without a box mix, but they aren't any more difficult and can be so much better than the box! The brownie recipe I *always* use is the one from the inside of the Baker's unsweetened chocolate box: Baker's One Bowl Brownies. This time I did my usual but when it came to pouring the batter into the pan, I only poured in half, topped with the chips, then spread the remaining batter over the chips. Having had them, I can now say that I'll just stir in the chips and pour in the pan like usual. I will also be making these again - they were wonderful! Don't doubt the need for the vanilla - vanilla enhances chocolate!

4 squares Baker's unsweetened chocolate (4 oz)
3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine (I've always used Blue Bonnet margarine)
2 c. sugar
3 eggs, beaten lightly (or 3/4 c. egg substitute)
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. flour
1/3 c. peanut butter chips (I used Reese's)
1/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Hershey's)
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan (1/2" thick brownies) or an 8x8 pan (1"+ thick brownies).
2. Microwave the chocolate and the butter in a large microwaveable bowl on high for 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. (This will take a couple of minutes. Keep stirring until you have a thick, creamy chocolate spread that looks a lot like icing.)
3. Stir in sugar.
4. Stir in eggs and vanilla.
5. Stir in flour.
6. Stir in chips.
7. Spread into prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes (may need to bake for 38 minutes if using an 8x8 pan) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with fudgy crumbs clinging.

Going Classic: Gingerbread Boys for Christmas!

Today was a snow day, so the kids and I made gingerbread boys. I tried them once a couple years ago with disastrous results, but C found a recipe while perusing Food Network (she's not quite 5, so this involved clicking on a picture of a gingerbread boy on a recipe page I was already on). It's a Paula Deen and looked quite decent, so we gave it a try. Success! The cookies are quite firm but not crunchy except the edges. The flavor is good, although our family would like a bit of a stronger flavor. The overall process was one of the easiest cookies I've ever done, actually. Proceed carefully, and I think a baker with only basic-moderate skills could do this one. Get good at them, and they would look fantastic in cellophane bags and tucked into goody boxes too!

Gingerbread Boys and Girls
3/4 c. packed dark brown sugar
1 stick salted butter, softened (I used 1 stick - 1/2 cup - Blue Bonnet margarine)
2 large eggs (I used 1/2 cup Eggbeaters)
1/4 c. molasses
3 3/4 c. all purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface (I used less than 1/3 c. on my butcher block countertop)
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (no, I did not grate my own but did use ground nutmeg bought in the last month)
1/2 tsp salt
for the icing:
1 c. confectioners' sugar, sifted (yeah, I skipped the sifting and just made sure that there weren't any lumps)
1-2 T. milk (I used soy milk)

1. Using a mixer on low speed, cream the brown sugar and butter in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Mix in the eggs and molasses.
2. Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small-medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix with a spoon (I used the "stir" setting on my KitchenAid). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap (I used a Rubbermaid container rather than waste plastic wrap); place in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour. **Note that this is a firm dough, so just chill it for an hour and trust it! This picture is the dough right after mixing.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes until pliable (I didn't need to do this step). Line cooke sheets with parchment paper (I *love* parchment paper!).
4. Take about 1/2 cup dough at a time and roll on a flour surface to 1/4" thick. (I did this, and I got about three gingerbread boys! After that I took a couple of fistfuls and rolled the dough out. I also measured with a ruler to make sure that I was 1/4" thick all the way around. Cookies that vary in thickness won't bake evenly!)
5. Cut out shapes with gingerbread boy and girl cookie cutters, rerolling the scraps to make more. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to the prepared cookie sheets, leaving space between them.

6. Refrigerate the cookies for 20 minutes, then bake until they just begin to brown at the edges, 18-20 minutes. (Okay, what parent with small kids has room in the fridge for this?! I skipped the refrigeration and baked for 16 minutes. I could probably have baked for 14 minutes for a softer cookie.)
7. Cool slightly, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Meanwhile, make the icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and milk in a bowl (I added 1 T of milk, stirred well, then dripped in milk from the second tablespoon until it was the right consistency, using about 1/2 the second tablespoon.) Leave white or divide among bowls and add food coloring. Decorate cookies with icing: use a pastry bag to pipe eyes, mouths, buttons, and bow ties. (In a pinch, spoon the icing into a zipper sandwich bag, remove air, zip, and then snip a small amount off one bottom corner to make a piping bag.)

Recipe from Paula Deen, courtesy of Food Network.

My First Foray into the World of Lemon Bars

I'll admit it: I am pretty limited in my repertoire of bar cookies. Part of that is my food allergies. Seven layer bars just aren't in the cards. Part of it was A's reaction to blondies: brownies are great so why do a chocolate-less version? I'm intent, though, that I'm going to do more bars this year. Tonight's experiment: lemon bars. Due to my allergies, I haven't ever had lemon meringue pie or lemon bars, so this was pure shot in the dark. I like how they turned out, although I'll probably drag a sample to a friend tomorrow to see if they are what lemon bars are supposed to be like. They are a soft but firm, mild kind of bar cookie base with a creamy lemon custard type topping. The top browned (I thought they were supposed to be yellow, although how they wouldn't brown I don't know!), but they look nice and they taste very good. About the only thing I would change is to add a teaspoon or two of lemon zest to really up the lemon element and make these bars just taste like sunshine.

Delicate Lemon Squares
For the crust:
1 c. flour
1/4 c. confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 c. butter (I used Blue Bonnet margarine)

For the filling:
2 large eggs (I used 1/2 c. Eggbeaters)
3/4 c. sugar
3 T fresh lemon juice (I totally cheated and used bottled since I had no lemons on hand)
2 T flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

about a tablespoon additional powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Stir together the flour and powdered sugar. Cut in the butter until mixture clings together (I used my pastry blender and cut in the margarine until the mixture resembled coarse crumbs.).
3. Press the mixture into an ungreased 8"x8" square pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
4. While the crust is baking, beat eggs in a mixing bowl, then add sugar and lemon juice and beat until thick and smooth, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Stir together flour and baking powder. Add to egg mixture, blending until all ingredients are moistened.
6. Pour the filling gently over the crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes (still at 350 degrees F).
7. Cool slightly. Sift the additional powdered sugar over the top for a light snow look. Cool completely, then cut and serve.

Recipe from http://www.christmas-cookies.com/.

Food Gifts You Can Make Yourself

Yes, I do lots of canning. Yes, I do lots of baking. Yes, I also understand that not everyone else does! I am trying two new flavored vinegars for this year's goody boxes: spiced vinegar and cranberry orange vinegar. The spiced vinegar is the more expensive one to try since it uses some spices I don't routinely use, such as mace and whole cardamom. The cranberry orange vinegar is very easy and less expensive. No, I don't know exactly how either one will turn out. I have made both this evening and will let them sit in a cool, dark spot for 2-3 weeks to let the flavors meld and strengthen, then strain them and put them into cruets for the goody boxes (since I do so many boxes, I'll be purchasing a few cases of basic 6 oz cruets from Sam's Club later this week, nothing fancy). I'll include recipe suggestions beyond a basic oil and vinegar salad dressing, although I have to say wow! oil and flavored vinegar can be great on fresh greens, steamed green beans with candied nuts, wilted greens with some crumbled bacon and sauteed red onion slices, mmmmmm. So here's the recipe for cranberry orange vinegar. I adapted the recipe from the Los Angeles Cooperative Extensive of UC Davis. Anyone want to try it with me?

12 oz bag of fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed and sorted to get rid of any fruit that has bad spots
the peel of 2 large oranges - no pith (white part)! A vegetable peeler is very good at peeling the zest off.
1/4 cup honey or 2 T white sugar (I used honey)
1 quart distilled white vinegar

Heat all ingredients together in a large pot (preferrably with a lid to keep splatter from getting on your stove) until simmering, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes to soften and pop the cranberries, releasing their juices.
Allow the mixture to cool, then pour into a clean 1/2 gallon container with a lid. Cover with the lid. Store in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks to allow the flavors to blend.
After 2 weeks, strain the mixture through a sieve, 2-3 layers of cheesecloth, or a dampened jelly bag. Discard the solids.
Pour into sanitized bottles and add lids.
May be stored at room temperature for 3-4 months, but refrigeration is preferred to retain the bright color and the best flavor.
For more great fruit vinegar ideas: http://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/Common_Ground_Garden_Program/Fruit_Flavored_Vinegars.htm

Helping People to Use the Gift You Give

Gourmet goody boxes are wonderful presents to give, but it all hinges on a) knowing what the person will be willing to try and use and b) helping them to use what you gave them. I am giving goody boxes to people I know and love, so my boxes are tailored to those people's preferences. One friend isn't crazy about cranberries, but her husband is a chocaholic, so their box has no cranberry items but plenty of chocolate items. Another friend absolutely adores cranberries and so does her husband, so their box will have a few different cranberry items in it. A vegetarian friend will have a box that is carefully checked for animal products. Yet another friend is diabetic, so that box will feature sugar free spreads, condiments, and sweets.

All of my goody boxes have off-the-wall treats in them. It's my hallmark! I rarely repeat goody box items from one year to the next; only a couple of requested items will show up again while everything else is fresh and new. Savory jams, flavored vinegars, gourmet mustards, and more are in the boxes. Some things are obvious on how to enjoy; chocolate dipped pretzel rods are easy to figure out. Some things aren't so obvious, or some things are better if eaten in an unusual way. Every goody box I create has a stack of cards inside that give recipes or ideas for using the treats in the box. I print mine off on my computer printer using postcard sized cards. Handwriting them, stamping them, or decorating them would add a special touch. Here is an example of one suggestion list I'll tuck in a box that has an assortment of jam, jelly, fruit butter, and preserves:

stir into oatmeal instead of sugar
use as a sweetener in tea or coffee
stir into frosting and then spread on cakes
use in between cake layers instead of frosting
serve as an ice cream topping or add to milkshakes
make surprise muffins (recipe included)
make treats such thumbprint cookies
especially for savory spreads, serve with cream cheese and whole grain crackers or spread on brie and bake, then serving the warm brie with whole grain crackers

Helping people to explore ways to use that gourmet treat you gave them will help to ensure that they get to enjoy your present! Another idea is to do themed goody boxes. Mine include a variety of treats; this year will likely feature a mustard, a couple fruit jams, a savory jam, a fruit jelly, flavored vinager, a sweet snack, a candy, a chocolate snack/treat, a baked good. Doing a theme is just as fun. Make some simple muffins and add an assortment of jams. Put together a basket of coffees and custom flavored stirring spoons along with some homemade cookies or biscotti. How about a couple flavored vinegars, a couple good oils, and some little pots of herb plants that you've already started to grow? Even if you don't make a lot of your own home canned goods or bake luscious confections, there are still lots of ideas for great goody boxes. Just be sure to tailor it for the recipient and then nudge them along with creative ways to use it!

Back from Vacation and Back on Track!

We returned home on Sunday from our wonderful and exhausting trip, and now we're back into the daily routine. That's good, because it's time to start preparing goody boxes for Christmas!

Several years ago when we were young, starting our family, buying a house, and had just moved halfway across the country, we were strapped for cash to say the least. I started to let my creative juices flow, and we started doing goody boxes for Christmas presents. Now we're not rolling in the money but not counting loose change to buy milk, either, but the goody boxes have become a classic, something eagerly anticipated by friends and family and now I've been hearing "how do I get on the goody box list?" from a few people. We will do (I think) fourteen goody boxes this year, although the list inevitably grows slightly as we get closer to Christmas. I think this is something anyone and everyone can and should do (the goody box part, not the growing list part!), and I'm going to fill the next few weeks with how I do my goody boxes as well as favorite holiday dishes and make ahead tips. The holidays are a great time of year to be with friends and family and to remember the joy of good company. Get ready for some excitement!

Here are some tips for the base of your goody box - the box! If you can, keep the boxes the jars come in. You can also ask at area stores for boxes in the size that you think you'll need, or look at buying some boxes. Baskets work, too, but you can rack up a large bill very quickly if you are doing multiple goody boxes! I've used the small dish pans with good results, too. I take boxes, usually ones I've saved from canning jars, and cover them in festive wrapping paper, effectively and inexpensively hiding the prosaic nature of a cardboard box. A couple sheets of tissue paper in the bottom make a nice liner; lay the sheets in so that the edges come up at various points to add some visual texture. Last year I also began wrapping the whole thing in cellophane wrap and tying off with curling ribbon, too. Wow, did they look nice! I bought a dozen rolls of holiday cellophane wrap just after New Year's for 25 cents each, so if this is something you're going to do, definitely use the after holidays clearance wraps to your advantage!

Next up.... the gourmet treats to put in the boxes!

Cranberries and Broccoli and Carrots, Oh My!

It's Friday night, we have six days until we leave, and we still have produce in the fridge. Oh my!

Last night we did a stir fry. Who says that you can't use leftovers in a stir fry? We cooked up some jasmine rice and tossed in chopped crystallized ginger when it was done cooking, removed from heat, put the lid on - amazing, easy, could eat this three times a week no problem. Then we cut some fresh broccoli into florets (leftover from when we had roasted broccoli), sliced baby carrots thinly (trying to finish off the bag), thinly wedged half an onion that was hanging out in the fridge, and sliced a leftover grilled ribeye steak (great way to make one moderate sized steak feed two people). Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil or wok oil in a skillet heated over medium heat, toss in the veggies, and stir fry. I put a little water in after five minutes (maybe a couple tablespoons) and put the lid on to gently steam the broccoli. Remove from heat, toss in the steak, put the lid on, and by the time you have the plates out and the rice dished up, the steak has been heated through but not really cooked more.

Tonight is french bread pizza. Day old french bread bought at a reduced price, cut in half, and frozen has been pulled from the freezer to thaw on the counter (won't take long, maybe 30 minutes). Usually I cook down plain tomato sauce until thick enough to be pizza sauce, but tonight it's clean out the fridge, so we're using leftover spaghetti sauce as the pizza sauce. Top with cheese that needs to be used and some pepperoni that was in the freezer (takes 5 minutes to thaw enough to pull apart, if that), and we have S's pizza. For the grown ups, we'll top with lots of stuff from the fridge, whatever is at hand. There's a bell pepper in there, so pepperoni, bell pepper, maybe some onion or thinly sliced garlic. Leftover grilled chicken, pork chops, and steak make great toppings when thinly sliced and added at the very end of baking. Even kielbasa and taco meat work out great!

One other thing that I'll be making either tonight or tomorrow morning is cranberry almond coffee cake, a big favorite for S and for me. It's just as good using frozen cranberries as it is fresh cranberries, so this is one of my recipes I like to make in the depths of winter with cranberries I've stashed in the freezer. The golden color of the coffee cake, studded with brilliant red cranberries, wafting the aroma of almonds and cranberries is delightful, and paired with the tender but firm texture, the smooth almond flavor, and the pop of the cranberry tartness is something that draws me back again and again. I make my own almond paste, but you might be able to find it in your grocery store, especially with the holidays upon us. One batch of almond paste makes three of these coffee cakes. Buy up some fresh cranberries and stash them in your freezer to make this for the holidays! In fact, this recipe looks like it would also work with blueberries, huckleberries, gooseberries, or cherries, so maybe do some experimenting and enjoy the results!

Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake
1/2 c. almond paste
6 T. butter or margarine, softened (3/4 stick)
1/2 c. sugar plus 2 T sugar for sprinkling on top
3 eggs or 3/4 c. egg substitute
1 1/3 c. flour, divided
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. fresh or frozen cranberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8" square baking dish.
In a small mixing bowl, cream almond paste, butter, and 1/2 c. sugar until fluffy.
Add two eggs, beating well after adding each one.
Combine 1 cup flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture.
Beat in the remaining egg and flour.
Stir in the extracts.
Gently fold in the cranberries
Spread evenly into the prepared baking dish; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Almond Paste
1 1/2 c. blanced almonds (I like to use sliced, it comes together faster)
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp salt

Place almonds in a food processor; cover and process until smooth.
Add the remaining ingredients; cover and process until smooth.
Divide almond paste into 1/2 cup portions; place in airtight containers. Refrigerate for up to 1 month or freeze for up to 3 months.

Both recipes are from Taste of Home.

Freezing What I Can

One of the things that I will do the day we leave on a trip is to freeze everything I can from the fridge and pantry. Here are some ideas on what to do with your leftovers.

Freeze bread, rolls, bagels, English muffins, and such. Just toss them in the freezer in the original bags, then pull them out when you get home - bread thaws in minutes on the counter. This is perfect for trips: your loaf of bread is frozen in a moment of time while you are gone, then when you get home, you have bread within 15 minutes of your arrival without having to run to the store.

Freeze your milk. If the jug is full, you will need to pour some out (for a gallon jug, I empty the shouler area - down to the straight sides. I generally freeze without the cap on to allow the extra to escape as the liquid expands with freezing, then put the cap on (the frozen milk will be up to the lid). It will take a day to thaw in a cool water bath (like you would do to thaw a turkey) or a couple days in the fridge, and you will need to give it a good shake before using to make sure any fats are reincorporated, but you won't lose your milk. Alternately, freeze in an ice cube tray in 1 tablespoon measures, then bag the milk cubes to use in your coffee or to thaw more quickly than a big jug of milk.Tip: there are 16 tablespoons in a cup, so 4 tablespoons of milk will equal 1/4 cup of milk, making measuring for recipes a snap.

Freeze leftover meat, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, and rice in individual portions. You can pull them out and heat and eat for a quick meal. Leftover meat can be diced and used in soups or an omelet.

Freeze bits of fruit to use in smoothies or to cook and puree later into fruit sauces.

Things like sauteed onions and mushrooms also freeze well, so don't be afraid to bag them up and freeze them too!

Worst case scenario, try freezing leftovers from your fridge rather than throwing them away. What do you have to lose if it doesn't freeze well?

Using Up the Jam

Life last week was crazy, but I'm back! Next week we go on a trip to see family for the holiday, so for the next 10 days, I'm going to tackle two things that are pressing issues in my kitchen right now: using the bags and bags of fresh cranberries we found at Sam's and using up as many leftovers and odds and ends in the fridge as we can before we leave. I canned 13 pints and 13 pint-and-a-half jars of cran-applesauce on Saturday, so there went 3 of my 8 bags (each bag is 3 pounds) of cranberries. Tonight's dinner will be grilled chicken, steamed veggies, and surprise muffins, our all time favorite way to use up the bits of jam in the fridge. Surprise muffins are extremely versatile, and everyone in our family loves them. I've done them not only with the basic muffins but also with cornbread muffins, so take your pick! The cran-applesauce would be a great addition to your holiday dinner table, and you can either freeze it or can it. I use a Foley food mill to puree my sauce, but I know other people have an attachment for their food processor, and still others like to peel and core the apples, then use a ricer or potato masher to make a chunkier sauce. If you've never canned before, buy a Ball Blue Book for $5 - $6 and check out the step-by-step instructions!

Surprise Muffins
1 egg or 1/4 c. egg substitute
1 c. milk or soy milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
jam of choice

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin papers.
Beat egg, then stir in milk and oil.
Mix in remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be slightly lumpy.
Fill muffin cups 1/3 full. Put 1/2 - 1 tsp of jam on top in the center. Put more batter in the muffin cup until 2/3 full.
Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Lesser amounts of jam will result in a hidden center of warm jam in each muffin. Greater amounts of jam will result in some breakthroughs, so there will be the warm jam middle but some evidence of it on the outside.
Try with cornbread muffins too, making centers of pepper jelly, lime jelly, honey jelly, etc.
Original muffin recipe is the popular muffin recipe from old Betty Crocker cookbooks.
Makes 12 muffins.

Cran-applesauce
4 1/2 lb sweet apples, bad spots removed - core and peel if not using a food mill
1 1/2 lb fresh or frozen cranberries (not craisins!)
1 c. water
Put all ingredients in a 6-8 qt pot with a lid, cover, and cook on medium-high until apples are soft and falling apart and cranberries are burst, about 20 minutes.
Mill using a food mill. If not milling, put the mix through a ricer or mash with a potato masher.
The sauce is done. No kidding! Now you may serve, freeze, or can.
If freezing: pour/ladle into freezer containers, cool, put lids on, label, and freeze.
If canning: ladle into prepared/sterilized jars, put on prepared lids and bands, and process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.
Makes 9 cups.

Apple Bread

I still have apples everywhere, waiting for cranberries to be in the stores so I can make batch after batch of cranapplesauce. In the meantime, it's high time to use up some of these apples! I posted on Oct 16 about making apple pie jam. Today I'm going to make some apple bread, a nice quick bread. I've had this recipe for so long that I can't remember where it came from - my original copy is actually a handwritten recipe card. This only uses about 1 large apple per loaf, but it's very good and freezes very nicely. It's also a very simple recipe with very few ingredients, making it an easy quick bread to tackle. While apples are $1/lb in most places, buy some apples and do apple week with me!

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 T buttermilk (you can use fresh milk or add 1/8 tsp lemon juice or vinegar)
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c. chopped apples (peel, core, chop, then measure)
1. Grease a bread pan. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cream the sugar and shortening (mix until creamy, smooth, slightly whipped).
3. Mix in the eggs, milk, and vanilla.
4. Mix in the flour, salt, and baking soda, then stir that into the wet mixture.
5. Stir in the chopped apples.
6. Spread into the prepared bread pan, then bake for one hour or until a toothpick poked into the center of the bread comes out clean.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

To wrap up our evening after trick-or-treating, I made pumpkin pie ice cream this afternoon. S, who loves pumpkin pie, particularly loved this ice cream. I got the recipe from Food Network, specifically the recipe given by Nick Holcomb 2002 for FoodTV.com's Ice Cream Cook-Off Competition, but to be honest, I changed so many steps and ingredients in this recipe that I'm going to have to call it "inspired" by that recipe and not actually that recipe! We made this ice cream in our mega ice cream ball (it made 3 1/2 cups of liquid, so right about a quart of ice cream), and I halved the original recipe. Usually I follow a recipe as closely as I can the first time I make it, but between life, time, and food allergies, this recipe doesn't much resemble the original even though it was the first time making it for me. Here's the original: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pumpkin-pie-ice-cream-recipe/index.html. It called for chilling overnight before making it into ice cream, which wasn't going to happen since I wanted it for tonight, and it called for half-and-half and whipping cream, both of which are not allowed when allergic to dairy! Here is my revamped version of pumpkin pie ice cream. It was really good, and I'm envisioning it in various forms: drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with toasted or candied pecans, put into a gingersnap crust to make a pumpkin ice cream pie, made into a milkshake, served alongside warm gingerbread. Mmmmmmm.

3 c. Silk soy creamer
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves

1. In a medium bowl and using a fork, mix together the white sugar and brown sugar, then whisk in the creamer and vanilla until the sugar is dissolved into the creamer.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together the pumpkin and the spices.
3. Add the pumpkin spice mixture to the cream sugar mixture, and whisk to combine all of it thoroughly.
4. Pour into an ice cream maker and follow the maker's directions to freeze the cream base into ice cream.
5. Once made into ice cream, eat immediately or freeze in a separate container.

Pumpkin Breakfast

It's Halloween, and we had a pumpkin breakfast! Pumpkin pancakes, using the copycat IHOP recipe which is a family favorite, and pumpkin waffles from a new recipe were on the menu, and both were excellent! The waffles had a bit of a problem separating when I raised the waffle iron lid, so next time I will spray the iron with cooking spray before each waffle or maybe replace some of the oil with shortening. All leftovers are on a large cutting board, single layer, and in the freezer to flash freeze. When frozen, I'll bag them up, ready to reheat for quick weekday breakfast!

IHOP Pumpkin Pancakes
2 eggs (I used 1/2 c. Eggbeaters)

1 1/4 cups buttermilk (I used 1 T in the bottom of a 1 cup measure, then filled with 1/2 c. Silk original soy milk and the rest with Silk soy creamer - I ran out of soy milk)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons canned pumpkin
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat.
2. Combine eggs, buttermilk, butter, pumpkin, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Blend ingredients together.
3. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and blend until smooth.
4. Pour the batter into the skillet to form 5-inch circles (1/4 cup portions). When the batter stops bubbling and edges begin to harden, flip the pancakes. They should be dark brown. This will take about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook the other side for the same amount of time, until dark brown.

Pumpkin Waffles
1 lg egg, beaten
2 egg whites, beaten (I used 1/2 c. Eggbeaters in place of the egg and egg whites)
4 T. lightly packed brown sugar
1 c. evaporated skim milk (I used 1 c. Silk soy creamer)
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 c. canned pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla
1 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp clove
1/2 c. apple, finely diced
1/4 c. toasted walnuts
(I omitted the apples and walnuts because the kids preferred them without.)
1. Beat together the egg, egg whites, sugar, milk, oil, pumpkin, and vanilla.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add to egg mixture and stir to combine - do not overmix!
3. Fold in apple and nuts.
4. Cook in your waffle maker per your waffle makers instructions, probably about 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. batter per waffle and 2-3 minutes to cook.
Recipe from Recipezaar.

Walking on the Wild Side with Pumpkin

Today's pumpkin foods are peanut butter pumpkin dip and pumpkin bread pudding. I did the dip as the kids' after school snack, serving it with the cinnamon sugar pita chips, pretzel sticks, and apple slices. It was pronounced a success by the kids and me, and it was incredibly easy to make. It would also be good with carrots and celery, graham crackers, that sort of thing. I was really impressed with the gusto with which my kids put away the dip and dippers! As for the pumpkin bread pudding.... A custard is a very old way of cooking a creamy sauce or dish based on eggs and milk, with recipes dating back to the 1300s. Many custards are sweet, but some are savory, with the most common savory use in the U.S. being quiche. Pumpkin pie is a sweet custard pie. The buckle I made on Wednesday night had a custard bottom. Bread pudding is usually custard with bread in it and served with a sauce often made from alcohol ("hard sauce") or maybe syrup. This pumpkin bread pudding is exactly that - a pumpkin custard laced liberally with a rich bread, in this case a brioche I had made that had some pumpkin in it. It is very good, and I can see it being a very nice holiday brunch dish.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dip and Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips
Dip:
1/2 c. smooth peanut butter (not natural style)
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
1/8 c. honey
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until well blended - it will have a slightly whipped texture. A mixer will do well, too, but a food processor is better.
Pita Chips:
1 12-oz package pita bread (I used whole wheat pitas)
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Split pita bread in half so you have two rounds from each pita. Cut into triangles or rectangles with a pizza cutter or sharp knife.
3. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Lay pita pieces on a cookie sheet in one layer, rough side up, spray lightly with cooking spray, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
4. Bake for 7-9 minutes until chips are browned and crisp. Watch carefully, as they will go from perfect to burned very quickly.
5. Remove from the oven, cool, and repeat with remaining pita pieces.
Store dip in the refrigerator and the pita chips in an airtight container.
Recipe from Recipezaar.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding
1 1/4 c. 2% milk (I used Silk regular soy milk)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp allspice, 1/8 tsp nutmeg)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten (I used 3/4 c. Eggbeaters)
15 oz canned pumpkin
4 1/2 c. egg rich bread, such as brioche or challah, cut into 1/2" cubes - the egg rich bread gives a fuller flavor than white bread
nonstick cooking spray (I used margarine to grease the baking dish)
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. pecans, chopped and toasted
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a lage bowl, combining well with a whisk.
2. Add bread, tossing gently to coat.
3. Spoon mixture into an 8x8 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover with foil. Chill at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Place the 8x8 baking dish in a 13x9 baking dish. Add hot water to the 13x9 baking dish to a depth of 1".
6. Bake, with the 8x8 dish covered with the foil, at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. **I baked covered for 25 minutes, then baked uncovered for 35 minutes, checking it every 10 minutes. After 10 minutes uncovered, it was still obviously wet, and a knife stuck in the center came out covered in the custard. Another 10 minutes, and it wasn't as bad but not done. Five more minutes, and the knife had only small amounts of custard clinging to it. The bread cubes around the edges were looking a little dry; in the future, I would bake covered for 35 minutes and uncovered 25 minutes.
7. Serve each serving of bread pudding warm with about 1 T maple syrup and 1 1/2 tsp pecans spooned over the top.
Recipe from Recipezaar.

A Spicy Soup and a Sweet Treat

We did two new pumpkin dishes tonight: spicy pumpkin soup and pumpkin buckle. The soup is good, but I don't like it. I know that doesn't make any sense. I can tell that the texture is good, the spices and flavors have a nice balance, but having grown up without savory squash dishes means that my brain rebels against something close to the consistency of pumpkin pie but not sweet and with a distinct curry flavor. Although I won't make it again, I encourage others to give it a try. The pumpkin buckle will certainly be made here again - it was delicious!

Spicy Pumpkin Soup
1/4 c. butter or margarine
1 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 c. chicken broth
16 oz canned pumpkin
1 c. half-and-half cream (I used Silk soy creamer)

1. Melt butter in a medium-large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cooking until soft.
2. Add seasonings. Cook at least one minute.
3. Add broth and bring to a low boil for 15-20 minutes.
4. Add pumpkin and half-and-half. Boil for 5 minutes.
Makes 6 cups. Recipe from Recipezaar, #385456.

Pumpkin Buckle
1/2 c. butter or margarine, melted
Crust:
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. milk (I used Silk soy creamer)
1 tsp vanilla
Filling:
3 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. evaporated milk (I used Silk soy creamer)
2 eggs (I used 1/2 c. Eggbeaters)
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 T flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1. Pour butter or margarine into a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Mix up the crust batter: Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, then stir in the milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour this into the pan over the butter, do not stir!
3. Mix up the filling: Beat the pumpkin, milk, and eggs. Combine all of the dry filling ingredients and stir that into the pumpkin mixture. Pour this into the pan over the batter and butter, do not stir!
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes. The top will be golden brown.
This dessert is much like I cobbler I make with cherry pie filling and a batter made with Bisquick - the ingredients invert so that the result is a pumpkin pie bottom and a crispy, tender, 1/2" thick cobbler type top. Serve this warm with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream, freshly whipped cream, or with milk.
Recipe originally from Recipezaar.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

I thought I would experiment with some pumpkin recipes this week, and I started off this morning with pumpkin oatmeal muffins, a new-to-me recipe from Recipezaar, posted by Engineer in the Kitchen that has the added interest of being vegan. This, I believe, is a bit of a case of there can be too much of a good thing. In this instance, it's "low fat" and I'm going to try this recipe again and replace the applesauce with oil. I used muffin papers (come on, it's the week of Halloween, I have a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old, and I have these cute Halloween muffin papers in my cupboard), and the lack of oil/fat in these muffins made them stick so badly to the papers that a good muffin was lost. This could probably be avoided by not using muffin papers and instead greasing muffin cups, but I'm thinking that 1/4 c. of oil for 12 muffins is not going to kill me but might keep the muffins from sticking to the papers! Otherwise, the texture was nice: soft but firm. The flavor was good, pumpkin with a slight earthy flavor from the oats. Chopped nuts, raisins, chopped crystallized ginger, chopped dried pineapple, or other dried berries would all be good additions to these muffins. I might also experiment with substituting wheat flour for some of the all purpose flour. All in all, I'd say that this has the makings of a great breakfast muffin.

1 c. oats (I used old fashioned)
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. packed brown sugar (I used light brown)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp sea salt (I used kosher)
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 c. rice milk (I used Silk original soy milk)
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 c. applesauce (I will use vegetable oil next time

1. Blend the oats in a blender or food processor until they are crumbs (not quite flour).
2. In a large bowl, mix the first nine ingredients (oats through baking soda).
3. In a small bowl, mix the remaining three ingredients.
4. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mix until moistened.
5. Fill muffin tins (6 Texas sized or 12 regular) and bake at 400 degrees F, 25 minutes for Texas and 18 minutes for regular.

Sweet Bean Endings

To wrap up bean week, I decided to do some sweet treats that utilize pureed beans, which add to the fiber, body, moisture, and nutrition of the treats. We tried black bean brownies and navy bean oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, both recipes from the US Dry Bean Council.

Black Bean Brownies
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
2 c. white sugar
1 c. pureed, cooked black beans
4 eggs (or 1 cup egg substitute)
2/3 c. flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 pan.
In a bowl, mix cocoa, butter, sugar, black bean puree, and eggs until well blended.
Mix together the remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl and stir into the wet mixture.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Verdict: This is not what we would call a brownie but more of a cross between a brownie and a chocolate cake. I also didn't hear my timer beep and left it in the oven for 47 minutes. A little crisp around the edges but still very moist and rich in chocolate flavor. This was enjoyed by the whole family and will be made again, possibly in "cupcake" form.

Navy Bean Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c. white sugar
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. butter or margarine softened or shortening (I used Blue Bonnet margarine)
1 c. pureed navy bean (rinse and drain canned navy beans, then puree)
2 eggs or 1/2 c. egg substitute
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 c. quick cooking oats
6 oz (1 c.) chocolate chips (I used Hershey's semisweet)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a food processor, puree cooked/canned beans until a thick, smooth paste is formed.
Measure 1 cup of bean puree and ceram with butter and sugars in a mixer.
Add eggs and vanilla and blend well.
Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and combine thoroughly.
Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
Drop tablespoons of dough onto a greased cookie sheet. (I use a tablespoon scoop that looks like a mini ice cream scoop, and I use parchment paper to line my cookie sheets.) Bake for 16 minutes or until golden brown. ( I bake two sheets at a time, rotating them halfway through the time.)
Yield: 5 dozen cookies

Verdict: This is a good cookie. It isn't what I think of when I think of "oatmeal cookie" like it doesn't quite have enough oatmeal, but it's good. The dough is rather wet but still holds its shape. Adding 1/2 cup to 1 cup more oatmeal might make it more oatmeal cookie-like and firm it up, but it will also require more chocolate chips. The cookie is tender on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. I think I will put more chocolate chips in the cookies next time. Note again that I said "next time" with this recipe too - this one is a keeper if I'm judging by how many of them my family has eaten! I'm also going to puree my remaining cooked navy beans and freeze them in one cup portions to use in this recipe.

Both of these recipes should be able to have some or maybe all of their flour substituted with whole wheat flour, making them jam packed with whole grains, fiber, and protein. Both of these are being tucked into the "do again" recipe file, and it was a great way to end bean week!

Bean Beginnings

I've never had hummus before. Always intended to try it but never did. Story of my life some days. Friday I changed that. I made hummus!!! Since I've never eaten hummus, I'm not sure how it compares to really authentic hummus, but we liked what we made. The only problem was that it was slightly dry, so some more oil will be added on the next batch. Note that I said "next batch" - we will be making this again!

Hummus
1/3 c. toasted sesame seeds or 1/4 c. tahini
1/8 tsp crushed red chiles (I used red pepper flakes)
15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed or 2 c. cooked dry packaged garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1/8 c. lime or lemon juice
1/2 tsp minced garlic (I chunked a whole, large clove)
1/2 tsp salt (I used kosher salt)
2 T olive oil

If using sesame seeds: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, spread sesame seeds in a baking pan or sheet and toast for 8-12 minutes until golden brown, stirring frequently.
In a food processor, puree sesame seeds or tahini and chiles, add beans, and puree again. Add lime or lemon juice, garlic, and salt, puree until smooth. Finally add oil and process until well blended.
Spoon into a serving bowl, cover, and let stand at room temperature for one hour to blend flavors.
Recipe from the US Dry Bean Council.

Another bean appetizer that is simply as gorgeous as it is delicious is to add rinsed and drained black beans and corn to fresh pico de gallo. Heat tortilla chips in the oven, 10 minutes at 250 degrees, and wow!

Pico de Gallo
1 1/2 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
1/4 c. diced red onion
1 T diced jalapenos
1 T minced garlic
juice of 2 limes
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Mix everything together in a bowl. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
Recipe from Emeril Lagasse on Food Network.
*I've made this so many times that I now estimate all ingredient measurements, usually chopping a couple nice sized tomatoes (and not removing the seeds and gel, which the gel packs much of the intense tomato flavor), half a medium onion white or red, a jalapeno, a few cloves of garlic, and 1/3 bunch of cilantro. For every 2 cups of pico de gallo, add 1 cup corn (thawed from the freezer or plain leftovers from the fridge) and 1 cup rinsed and drained black beans. Just imagine the colors - purple-black beans, red tomatoes, yellow corn, white onion, green cilantro and jalapenos. Wow! And the flavor bursts in your mouth just as much! As for nutrition.... It really doesn't get much better!

TNT (Tried N True) Chili Recipe

This is an awesome bean recipe. I originally got the recipe from bean council, I believe, and then I tweaked it a little for us. The original recipe didn't have tomato paste and only called for two cans of beans, plus it called for diced tomatoes with green chiles which we substituted petite diced tomatoes and also canned chiles. The petite diced tomatoes just break down a little better, the tomato paste thickens things up a bit, the extra beans stretch the chili and add a little more texture and color, and honestly, you can't find petite diced tomatoes with green chiles in the can without paying an arm and a leg for them. Make this recipe with ground turkey, and you have a meal incredibly high in protein, low in fat, low in sodium, high in vitamin C and other nutrients. It freezes well too, so freeze in 1 cup portions and have a stash in the freezer to heat and eat with sandwiches, on baked potatoes, or just on its own!

1 lb ground beef or turkey
3 14.5-oz cans petite diced tomatoes
6 oz can tomato paste
7 oz can diced green chiles
3 14.5-oz cans beans, rinsed and drained - we like a mix of great northern, black, and dark red kidney
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 - 1 medium bell pepper, diced
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 T chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 T packed light brown sugar
1 T cocoa powder
(the sugar and cocoa powder help to cut the heat so that the chili doesn't continue to heat past your tongue!)

Brown the meat in a skillet, draining off any fat if necessary. Stir in the bell pepper, onion, and garlic, and saute the mix until the onion and pepper begin to soften.
Mix all of the ingredients in a 6 qt crockpot. Cook on low for anywhere from 4 hours to 12 hours. This is a forgiving recipe, and the flavors will blend best with the longer cook time. I put this recipe in the crockpot at 8 a.m., I will scoop some out at noon for me to take to work for my dinner, and A will be able to dish up a bowl for himself at 6 or 7 this evening for his dinner, putting the rest in the fridge for leftovers. We'll be eating this with yesterday's pinto bean bread too!

Bean Catch Up!

Tuesday morning C was sick, then I headed off to work, so no beans Tuesday. I made up for lost time Wednesday! I tried Idaho Fudge, New England Baked Beans, and Pinto Bean Bread. I have to give thumbs up for all three recipes being easy. The fudge never set, but the flavor is rich and chocolatey, so I'm wondering if my beans had to much moisture (I took them straight out of the crockpot where they were cooking) and will try it again. The baked beans were good and smelled amazing, although S still prefers Bush's baked beans. The bread was very good and smelled absolutely incredible; I will be making this bread again! Each loaf has a cup of mashed pinto beans, adding lots of vitamins, minerals, and protein without making a bread that sits like a lump in your belly.

Idaho Bean Fudge
15 oz can pinto beans (black beans may be used), rinsed and drained
1 c. cocoa powder
2/3 c. butter or margarine, melted
1 T vanilla extract
4 c. powdered sugar
1 c. chopped walnuts
In a blender or food processor, puree beans with butter until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.
Add cocoa, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat 3 minutes until thoroughly mixed. Stir in nuts.
Spread mixture evenly in a 9x13 pan. Refrigerate until chilled and firm.
Recipe from teh US Dry Bean Council.

New England Baked Beans
1 lb dry navy beans or 4 15-oz cans of navy beans (I would use the cans, I cooked my beans in the crockpot and they were still pretty firm)
8 oz bacon, cubed (I skipped this part)
2 c. chopped onions
2 tsp minced garlic
1/3 c. unsulphured molasses
1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
2 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp ground allspice
2 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Cook the beans according to package directions.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Transfer beans and enough cooking liquid to barely cover into a large baking pan, 3 qt casserole, or oven safe pot. Stir all ingredients into the beans.
Bake, covered, for 1 hour for dry beans 30 minutes for canned beans. Uncover and bake 4-6 hours, stirring every hour.
Recipe from the US Dry Bean Council.
Alternate crockpot directions that I came up with:
Cook the bean according to package directions.
Transfer beans and enough cooking liquid to barely cover into a 4-6 qt crockpot. Stir all other ingredients into the beans.
Cover and cook on low for 4-8 hours, this recipe seems to be flexible. If you are working, omit the bacon and use a timer either on your crockpot or a light timer you've plugged your crockpot into to start the crockpot while you are at work. The bacon isn't safe to leave out unrefrigerated and not cooking for the whole morning, but the beans, onions, sugars, and spices will be fine.

Pinto Bean Bread
2 c. lukewarm milk (I used plain Silk soy milk)
4 1/2 tsp yeast (2 packets)
2 c. pinto beans, mashed (it takes about 2 1/2 cup of pinto beans to get 2 c. mashed, just rinse and drain the beans then run through a food processor or blender or mash by hand)
2 T sugar
2 tsp salt
2 T shortening, melted (do not use oil)
5-6 c. flour (my beans were a bit moist, so I needed closer to 6 - 6 1/2 c.)
Stir together the milk, beans, sugar, salt, shortening, and one tablespoon of the flour.
Stir in the yeast and wait for it to proof, about 5 minutes (you'll see foam form).
Stir in the flour to make a kneadable dough. Knead 5-10 minutes until satiny and smooth, adding more flour to your work surface to keep the dough from sticking. (I found this dough to be very sticky and added in almost another cup of flour. The dough was smooth and elastic, not nearly as firm as Play Doh, much more firm then chocolate chip cookie dough.)
Place in a large greased bowl, flipping the dough over to put the now greased dough side up. Cover loosely with a clean cloth, dampening it lightly if your air is dry. Let it rise in a warm (70 - 80 degrees) place until dobule in size (45 minutes or so).
Punch down (take it out, put it on a lightly floured surface, fold it in thirds like a wallet, turn it 90 degrees, repeat, do this half a dozen times - you are redistributing yeast and other ingredients). Put it back in the bowl and let it rise until double again (another 45 minutes).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two loaf pans.
Put the dough on your work surface (no flour needed), cut it in half, and shape into two loaf shapes, then put the shaped dough into the greased loaf pans.
When the oven is heated, bake for 30 - 40 minutes (I needed the full 40 minutes). The original directions says "or until thumps hollow on the bottom" which makes me say "um, they're in glass loaf pans, how am I supposed to tap the bottom of the bread?" At 30 minutes, the loaf was tan in color. At 40 minutes, the loaf was a light brown color. I let it cool for 10 minutes, then turned it out of the loaf pan, let it cool for another 10 minutes, then sliced it. The bread was still a bit steamy but was thoroughly baked, so I'll do the 40 minutes bake time again.
Original recipe was found on Recipezaar by wildheart, but I changed the milk to soy milk and added the more exact instructions.
If you slice it thinly enough to fit in the toaster, it would make good toast. I put some margarine on a 1" thick slice and broiled it until lightly brown, then spread homemade strawberry jam over it. It was steaming, warm, hearty but tender, very good flavor and texture. If you know the beans are in there, you can faintly detect them. Otherwise, you'd never know. This recipe is definitely a keeper for us.

Black Bean Burgers

My mother-in-law is fond of saying, "Don't make the same mistakes I did; make new ones." Her logic is sound: learn from the mistakes of others and build upon it, accepting that you will make mistakes too. Tonight's bean experiment was for an item that I have eaten quite a few times in restaurants and from store bought (freezer section) versions, and I've been meaning for quite a while to do it myself and just haven't gotten around to it. Tonight's dinner was black bean burgers with tomato slices and leaf lettuce with chips and pickles on the side. I used a good looking recipe from Sandra Lee on Food Network.

Problem one: my garlic was a bit strong, and the other, more subtle flavors were drown in garlic. I'm not sure if that was completely my garlic or if it was also the fault of the amount called for in the recipe.

Problem two: the directions really didn't mention that the mixture is fairly sloppy. Actually, I have no idea how I would have been successful doing these on an indoor grill. I decided to do half the burgers in an oiled skillet over medium-low heat and the other half on a piece of foil on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The ones in the skillet were exceedingly difficult to flip and by the time they were quasi solid, they were sticking to the pan even though I had drizzled it generously with olive oil. The ones in the oven looked much better until I tried to flip them over and they were just about as miserable as the skillet version.

So I'm including the recipe below. I won't be making this one again, but I will be trying another recipe. I'll post what happens with future attempts!

1/2 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 T chopped garlic (I would really reduce this to 1 tsp)
2 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
2 T chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 egg (I used 1/4 cup Eggbeaters)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 c. bread crumbs (I used whole wheat)

1.  In a food processor, pulse onion and garlic until finely chopped. Add one of the cans of beans, cilantro, parsley, egg, and red pepper flakes and pulse to combine.
2.  Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl, add the remaining can of black beans and the bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper if desired, and mix until well combined.
3.  Divide mixture into 8 - 9 patties (I used 1/3 measuring cup, leveled off).
4. Directions said to cook on a hot oiled grill or grill pan over medium-low heat for six minutes each side.

Mexican Chicken Soup

Tonight's bean dish was Mexican Chicken Soup. This is one of our favorites, is great in the crockpot, freezes beautifully, can be made using leftover roast chicken or turkey, and is packed full of protein and vegetables - one of the most perfect dishes I know! The bean in this one is the black bean. It's size is very complimentary to the corn, the color makes a nice contrast, the flavor is mild while being strong enough to hold up to the strong flavors in the soup, and has a good texture for soups - creamy but firm.

1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed and sauteed until done or 1 1/2 lb cubed or shredded leftover roasted chicken or turkey
1 envelope taco seasoning or 2 tsp chili powder and 1 tsp cumin
32 oz can V8 juice
16 oz salsa
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
10 oz (2 1/2 cups) corn
toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and minced fresh cilantro

Combine all ingredients in a 5 qt crock pot. Cover and cook on low at least 3 hours and up to 12 hours (newer crock pots cook hotter, so in my new one, I leave it on low for 10 hours and then switch to warm).
Recipe from Taste of Home.

Bean Week!

I have gotten a request for bean recipes (thanks, Kim!), and I've been wanting to experiment with bean dishes but put it off all summer in favor of using the bounty of my garden. You know, use it or lose it when the garden is producing free food! Now it's fall, and it's a great time to start bean week. I'm going to start off with some basic bean information and then post at the end of each day the recipe I did for that day, a couple tried and true and a few new to me recipes. One recipe I'm going to do is for the oven and takes 7 hours, so I'm going to adapt it to the crockpot just because I think it's more accessible for the average person that way. Two other recipes are for the crockpot and not just bean soup which most people think of when thinking of beans and crockpot in the same sentence. In fact, I'm not going to do a traditional bean soup at all! I'm going to mix it up with which beans I'm using, trying to get in a variety, using navy, pinto, kidney, black, great northern, and garbanzo, all beans easily found in an average supermarket in both dry and canned forms. Side dishes, main dishes, maybe an appetizer and a dessert will all make appearances. Beans are low in fat while high in fiber, protein, vitamins, an minerals and lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of colon and prostate cancer.

Apple Pie Jam

We go through a *lot* of jam here because we put it on sandwiches, toast, and muffins plus use it as a glaze on meat, an add in for oatmeal, a sweetener in tea or coffee, a filling for cakes, cookies, and muffins, and swirled through brownies and blondies before baking. C's favorite jam is apple pie jam, and our apples are now harvested from our two mature, high yielding trees. Result: I'm making apple pie jam! If you can, this is a simple boiling water bath process. I'm sure that this jam can also be frozen, and it certainly can be put into jars or containers and refrigerated, sharing the extra jars with friends and family. If you don't can this, it is not shelf stable, so make sure to preserve it or refrigerate it!

4 c. finely chopped/minced fresh apples, peels, cores, and bad spots removed
a little water - check out the directions, probably 1/4 c. - 1/2 c.
2 T. lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp margarine or butter (optional , and note that this is a *teaspoon* not a tablespoon, just a pat will work)
1 box dry/powdered pectin
4 c. sugar
1 c. packed light brown sugar

1.  Put the finely chopped apples into a quart measuring glass, then fill with water so that the water also measures 4 cups - you are just filling in the little nooks and crannies with water.
2.  Put the apples and water, margarine, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and pectin into a fairly large pot (I like to use an 8 quart stock pot to ensure that it doesn't boil over). Stir to combine, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boiling is rather vague, since there isn't much liquid, but you'll know it by the bubbling of what liquid there is.
3.  Add the two sugars and stir to combine everything. Bring to a boil over high heat. When it is at a full roiling boil (one that cannot be stirred down or one in which the bubbling doesn't stop when you stir it), continue to boil and stir for 1 full minute.
4.  Remove from heat and transfer to jars/containers. If canning, fill prepared jars, adjust lids and bands, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. If freezing, fill containers of choice, seal, cool, and freeze. If refrigerating, fill containers of choice, seal/put a lid on, and refrigerate.

This recipe makes 7 or 7 1/2 cups of jam, which is a dark caramel color speckled with lighter pieces of the apple. It's lovely and distinctive looking as well as delicious!

Dinner in a Hurry That Doesn't Taste Like Dinner in a Hurry

I'm cooking up 5 pounds of meatballs today. Most of them will be cooled, flash frozen, and bagged for the freezer. Spaghetti and meatballs, meatball subs, waikiki meatballs, meatballs with a jelly glaze, swedish meatballs, barbeque meatballs, that 5 pound bag will be gone in a hurry. I'm going to set some of today's meatballs aside and use them for dinner tonight, making one of our favorites, shanghai meatballs with jasmine rice and steamed broccoli. Fast, easy, and delicious, this is a perfect dinner for busy nights. Heat store bought meatballs or make your own, adding shanghai sauce for the last few minutes to heat the sauce and lightly glaze the meatballs. Jasmine rice is sticky, perfect for giving the sauce something to cling to, is lightly sweet which balances nicely with spicy flavors, and cooks in only 15 minutes after the water is heated to a boil. It even reheats well in the microwave! Stir in some chopped crystallized ginger for an added sweet and tangy flavor. Heat some frozen broccoli, and dinner is ready!

Shanghai Sauce
1 1/4 c. water
1 T cornstarch
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
2 T lime juice
1 T lemon juice
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Stir the cornstarch into the water, then stir in the remaining ingredients. Heat over medium heat until it begins to bubble, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes. A double batch will take closer to 45-50 minutes to thicken. This sauce freezes beautifully, so double up and freeze in 1 cup portions to use to coat wings, meatballs, or chicken tenders! This is a copy cat recipe for Chili's Boneless Shanghai Wings, and we love it!

Giving Yourself a 10 Minute Spa Day Every Day

I am incredibly busy, but I do like the little treats for myself. My favorite thing is making sugar scrubs for in the shower. My favorites: gingerbread, chocolate almond, and ginger. I've been trolling http://www.bathandbodyrecipes.com/ and then branching out into my own concoctions. Bubble baths are also so much more incredible when you make it a tea bath or milk bath or add homemade bath salts or bath oils. Get 2-cup plastic containers from the store that have screw on lids which cost only $2-$3 for a pack of 3, and you have a safe, convenient, and inexpensive container too. Similar scrubs cost $15-$25 at bath and beauty stores, even more when you go to high end beauty counters, but you can make them for only a couple dollars. Finding organic ones is incredibly difficult, but you can easily find the organic components yourself. So arm yourself with a good quality light oil such as grapeseed, almond, apricot kernel, or jojoba, some sugar, and some add-ins, and make your shower time an incredible, aromatic experience that will exfoliate your skin while simultaneously pushing moisturizers into your skin.

Note: oils do have scents, except grapeseed oil. Grapeseed oil is my preferred sugar scrub oil because it doesn't compete with what I'm adding to it, but other oils work well with different scents. In a chocolate sugar scrub, coconut oil, almond oil, and macadamia oil are certainly good options, but coconut oil and gingerbread spices aren't such a great combination.

Gingerbread Sugar Scrub
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. - 3/4 c. massage oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
(all spices are ground)
Mix everything together, adding just enough oil to make a paste. When the scrub sits for a day or two, it's okay for there to be a thin layer of oil on top, just stir it back into the sugar, but the paste shouldn't be loose or sloppy/gloppy.

Chocolate Almond Sugar Scrub
1 c. white sugar
1/2 c. - 3/4 c. massage oil
1 tsp - 2 tsp almond extract
1 T cocoa powder
Mix everything together, adding just enough oil to make a paste. When the scrub sits for a day or two, it's okay for there to be a thin layer of oil on top, just stir it back into the sugar, but the paste shouldn't be loose or sloppy/gloppy.

These are also child safe, so when I let my young children use these scrubs on their chapped hands, it's okay that they taste these or that they eat food after using them on their hands.

What Columbus Was Missing - Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

After having wonderful houseguests for a long weekend, I'm back! Lots of cooking, lots of eating, lots of laughter. One of the things that we had this weekend was roast beef in the crock pot with roasted garlic and chives mashed potatoes. Easy and packed with flavor, roasted garlic and chives mashed potatoes really add some zip to your dinner and have the added bonus of freezing well for later eating. I used white potatoes and removed the jackets, but I've also made these with red-skinned mashed potatoes and mashed with the skins on, making for a nice texture and color contrast plus an added boost to the nutrition count.

Roasted Garlic
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rub or peel the extra paper from a whole head of garlic, just enough to expose the cloves but not to break the cloves off the head. Lay the head of garlic on its side and slice off the very top of the head, which will take off the tips of some of the cloves.
Take a square of foil about 8"x8" and lay it on the counter, then sit the head of garlic on the foil. Drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil or vegetable oil over the head. Wrap the garlic in the foil, making a packet.
Bake the garlic for 30-40 minutes until the garlic is soft. Cool the garlic, then peel the roasted cloves or squeeze them through the holes in the end of the peels.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
2-3 lb potatoes, cut into chunks 1"-2" across
water to cover the potatoes in a pot by 1"-2"
1/4 c. butter or margarine, room temperture or melted
1/2 c. milk, soy milk, soy creamer, broth, or whatever your preference for mashed potatoes, warm
1/4 c. chopped fresh chives
1 head of roasted garlic, out of the peels
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Boil the potatoes until fork tender, then drain and transfer to a mixing bowl.
Break them up with a mixer, then pour in the melted butter and the warm milk - using warm will keep from cooling the potatoes and make for better incorporation. Add in the roated garlic.
Mix until creamy, making sure not to overmix. Beating them too long will break down the cell structure too much and produce glue-like mashed potatoes. Adding the milk slowly will also ensure that you add in only as much as you want - everyone likes mashed potatoes a little different!
When just about done mixing, add in the chives and the black pepper and finish mixing. Serve hot with butter or gravy, freeze in individual portion sizes, use leftovers to make potato pancakes and just enjoy a gourmet mashed potato with extra nutrients, color, and texture along with an explosion of flavor!