treehaus

stuff we cook: Garlic Butter →

themattsmith:(what you make when you have way too many bulbs of garlic)

• 3-4 bulbs garlic
• 1/2 stick butter
• parsley, oregano, salt, pepper
• olive oil

preheat oven 400. peel excess layers of garlic skin off bulb, leaving just one layer. Slice off the top. place bulb in cupcake pan. drizzle olive oil…

yipster:

completely unprofessional photograph of donuts.

gourmet snacktime recipes

1. Ginger Ale from scratch

you will need:

just under 2 liters of water (I used bottled because my tap water is funkaaaay)

3/4 cup white sugar

1.5 tsp grated fresh ginger (I used WAY MORE because I love ginger. I even love gingers)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/8 tsp yeast

1 2-Liter bottle with a cap

a funnel

Combine ginger, sugar and 1/2 cup of the water and heat over medium-low, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved (*I added 1/2 tsp of vanilla as well, we’ll see how this turns out). Cover and remove from heat and let sit while you find a 2 Liter bottle of flat soda and empty it out and clean the bottle. SAVE THE CAP. God help you if you lose the cap.

Now go kill an hour somehow. I don’t know, have you watched all of the episodes of Top Chef Masters? Maybe go do that, you master. Strain the ginger-sugar-water combo over a bowl, making sure you press the solids into the strainer to extract all that juice. Pop the bowl of strained liquid into a larger bowl of ice and stir it up so it gets chilly. Funnel cooled liquid into your 2-Liter, add yeast and lemon juice. Fill bottle almost to the top (I left a safe 2.5”) with water, screw the cap on tight and shake. Let the bottle sit in a room-temperature place, such as a room, for about 48 hours, until the bottle is hard to squeeze. SERVE.

I’m waiting for my ginger ale to ferment so I’ll let you know that I fudged the recipe a bit by substituting tangerine juice (might be too sweet?) for the lemon and (as mentioned) adding vanilla. There are plenty of ways to screw around with this recipe; some ideas I had were popping a cinnamon stick into the 2-liter, substituting lime juice (how crazy) for the lemon, and making a spice mix in my handy, Ikea-bought mortar and pestle out of star anise, cinnamon and nutmeg. DO YOU!

2. Homemade Donuts

WARNING: I FOUND THIS REALLY CHALLENGING BECAUSE I’M A TERRIBLE BAKER

You will need:

1/4 cup of warm water, about the temperature of a hot bath

a deep-fat fryer or a large, heavy pot and a deep-fat thermometer

2 eggs

Two 1/4 oz packages of yeast

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup shortening

5 cups white flour

1+ quart vegetable oil, for frying

ICING

1/3 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

about 1/2 cup hot water and a tablespoon (you’ll be adding it 1 T at a time)

You will also need:

so much patience

First take a deep breath because making donuts is freaking hard. Second, consider cutting the recipe in half if you are not absolutely fiending for donuts/have a lot of company.

In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the 1/4 cup hot water and let stand 5 minutes. It’s ready when it’s foamy and smells like beer.

Mix your foamy yeast with the buttermilk, eggs, salt, sugar and shortening until combined. Add 2 cups of flour and stir until well-blended. Now, about 1/2 cup at a time, gradually add more flour until the dough starts to stick to itself instead of the bowl, stirring and stirring and getting sexy arms. Stir until you can’t imagine stirring any more, about 3 minutes. Now take a break and grease an even larger bowl. Go back to your dough and mix mix mix, one whole minute more. Transfer dough into greased bowl, cover with clingwrap (it doesn’t have to CLING, a little air should circulate, but be honest with yourself: your dishrag, though clean, has little linties that could fall into your donuts) and a dishrag (on top of the cling rap) and set in a warm place to expand (you want it to double in size). If you have a gas oven, putting the bowl on top of the oven (and not lighting it on fire; beware pilot lights) will expedite this.

Meanwhile, make the icing. Right now you’re thinking sticking with regular donuts or just tossing some powdered sugar on them would be great, because your arms hurt, but this glaze is pretty good so I encourage you to be brave. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. When the butter is melted, whisk in your 2 c. of powdered sugar and vanilla until well blended and non-lumpy. Take off the heat and add your hot water, 1 TBSP at a time, stirring between each water addition. You want the consistency to drip off a spoon easily, but not be watery (think syrup). Cover and set it aside.

Flour a large surface (I used a big cookie sheet) and get out a rolling pin. Now watch another Top Chef Masters. Transfer risen dough to floured surface and roll out to about 1/2”, and using a donut cutter (yeah right. Use a mug for the big hole and a ramekin for the little hole) cut out your donuts. Cover them with clean dish towels, and watch another episode of TCM. Wow, now you’re pretty deep in that show, right?

While the donuts are doubling in size, again, miraculously, due to yeast, set up your fryer to heat to 350/heat your oil in your big-ass pot. You’ll also want to set up a cookie sheet with a metal rack above it, and get out some heat-proof metal tongs or a metal spatula. Working in batches of 3-4 (depending on your donut size and frying-vehicle size), slide the donuts into the hot oil (important: if your oil isn’t 350 degrees yet, your donuts will absorb all the oil and become way gross). Let them cook for about 2-4 minutes a side, until golden brown, and then flip. Transfer cooked donuts to the rack over the cookie sheet and smear ‘em with your glaze. Continue until you’re out of donuts, genius, and then eat them.

- Tess

kvknowsherfun:

Strawberries and Cream Pie

boomshesaid:

Woodchuck + caramel swirl ice cream = SERIOUS TREAT! Chelsea invented this float and to use her words, “It’s like drinking a caramel apple.” This, my friends, is SUMMERTIME.

psst-carrots:booyahgrandma:anonymousmsl:urbanredneck:partiallycommitted:hennypotter:pie0:soyforbreakfast:

Vegan Recipes - Fried Guacamole | Vegan Happy Hour

Yum. YUM! Salad Dressing

psst-carrots:

Made up a new dressing today (measurements are estimated & are for one serving)

1 TBS of the following:

• Rice wine vinegar
• soy sauce
• olive oil

Add:

• one clove pressed garlic
• 1 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1 tsp agave nectar

top salad with chopped almonds.

(my salad is fresh from the farmstand: boston lettuce, easter egg radishes, and english cucumber.)

YUM.

delishyourdish:

“Jumpin’…Flap Jacks”- Vegan Pancakes

I eat oatmeal and eggs for breakfast almost every single day.  Is it out of laziness?  No.  Is it because I have no other breakfast recipes?  No.  I am just completely obsessed with the way I make my breakfast.  But, it’s time to break the cycle.

I am doing my best to start “flirting” with the idea of becoming vegan, which has led me to create some pretty interesting dish lately.  Considering I’ll have to say goodbye to my usual morning eggs, I decided I needed a few new breakfast recipes.

What You Need (Serves 2):

1/4 Cup plus 3 Tbsp. AP Flour or Whole Wheat Flour

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

3 Tbsp. Squash Mixture (See Recipe Below)

1/2 Cup Rolled Oats

2 Tbsp. Apple Sauce

1/2 Cup Soy Milk or Almond Milk

Cinnamon (to taste)

Agave Nectar (to taste)

Maple Syrup

1. Combine all ingredients except for maple syrup into a large mixing bowl.  Mix ingredients together until they are completely combined.

2. Next, heat a large pan or pancake grilled on medium-high heat and grease with PAM or Earth Balance.  Using a measuring cup or bowl with a spout, pour pancake rounds about 2” in diameter (if you need to use the back of a spoon to smooth out the batter, that’s okay).

3. Allow the pancake to cook and bubble on top.  Peek under the pancake to check or readiness.  When the underside of the pancake has cooked/browned, flip it over and cook on the other side.

4. Once you’ve stack your finished pancakes, drizzle warm maple syrup on top of them and garnish with fresh berries and fruit.

Squash Mixture:

Ok- so a new obsession of mine is to have this squash mixture sitting in my fridge at all times.  It’s delish and can be incorporated into many recipes, or just great to eat by itself.

What You Need:

10 oz Pkg. Cooked Winter Squash

1 Banana (mashed)

1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

Cinnamon (to taste)

1. Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth.  Keep in the fridge when you’re done.

*This mixture is great on Vegan Bran muffins as a spread

ffffood:

Lemon Basil Potato Salad

This is an attempt to provide instructions for the light and summery potato salad I made last night.  The vinaigrette is not an exact science, so keep just tasting it and make adjustments to fit your palate.

4 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes

juice of one lemon

zest of one lemon

1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon mayonaisse (you can omit this, but I think it helps the “cling” factor)

1/2 to 3/4 cup good olive oil (plus two tablespoons for roasting potatoes)

1 shallot, finely minced

dash of tabasco

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 cup torn basil leaves to be added at the end (you can cut into a chiffonade for a more uniform look)

Dice the potatoes into one inch cubes, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto a baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.  You want the edges to be slightly crisp and the interiors to be fluffy.

While the potatoes cook, assemble the vinaigrette. You can whisk by hand, but I find the easiest way to get good emulsification is to put everything except the olive oil in the blender, then with the blender running, add the oil in a thin stream. 

Pour the vinaigrette over the warm potatoes and toss with the fresh basil.   The potatoes with absorb the dressing, making them flavorful throughout.  Do NOT be afraid to add more salt at the end if you think it needs more punch.

-SP

yipster:

Right now, I have nothing particularly edible in my fridge. Eggs, okay. Some rind-bordering hunks of cheese. Milk and soda, which are not food. It’s pretty dire.

When I shop for dinner, it’s different than shopping for the fridge. About once a month I make a separate trip just to insure that my greediness won’t force me into the warm, beckoning arms of Fred 62 at 2 AM; there is something that feels insanely luxurious about having a lot of options in your kitchen. I have a hard time keeping the razor-focus one needs when shopping this way (immediacy takes over; who cares about the fridge? I just want to get a chicken and leave this freezing grocery store), and I’ve noticed that it’s not always easy to think of “what would be good to have around.” Dinner requires interrelated ingredients, but snacking stands alone.

In a weird way, maybe some primal cave-person ethic left over from earlier times, what we have stored to eat and drink makes us feel differently about our state of being; maybe this doesn’t apply to you high rollers, but there is something liberating about not having to buy things. What I have lying around can save me a suspenseful, ill-advised stoned drive or walk to Lamill to blow $26 on clam-based fritters and soups. And when I plan really well, I almost prefer what I have in the fridge (not always. Sometimes).

So, here’s my ultimate “have around” list. It’s still evolving. It might not apply to you. But maybe it will give you some ideas?

• Boom, you gotta have soda. I like to get a six pack of ginger ale, some cola, maybe even something wacky like a Key Lime soda. Hoard these. Also, it’s great to have enough limes or lemons to whip up your own juice to mix in (ginger + limes + sugar + ginger ale = amazing). These are for when you aren’t hungry but are still greedy and want to feel beverage-rich.
• A frozen pie, or a package of pie crust and 2 packages of frozen blueberries (Trader Joe’s is the hook-up here. Trust). After you heat or make the pie (so easy to make: throw the berries in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon, sugar and cornstarch and defrost the crust. Press the crust into your pie pan, par-bake (directions on the package), fill with berries and cover with the other crust that came in your package, slap some egg beaten with water over the top and poke a few holes in, bake it and you’re done), you’ll have it to nibble on for a few days unless you’re a serious Pie Fiend.
• Lemons, limes and oranges. You need color in your fridge and you will be needing these things for cocktails anyway.
• 2 baking potatoes and 2 yukon gold potatoes, onions (great midnight snack: dice potatoes and onions; heat up some olive oil over medium heat and toss ‘em in, fry them, and serve them with a poached egg).
• Eggs
• Pancake mix
• Bacon
• Tabatchnik frozen soups. These are good, cheap, and always seem less pathetic than canned. Because I used to eat Tabatchnik soup when I was at death’s door, there’s an emotional response I have to it that can sometimes make me feel like I’m getting a cold. But this is a brain game and I am willing to ignore it while stocking the freezer.
• Frozen bread (La Brea makes good demi-baguettes)
• Butter, jam, peanut butter, and honey (powdered milk if you’re willing to be viewed as a renegade and want to be able to make the best snack in the world: peanut butter, honey, and powdered milk mixed together, formed into balls and chilled. I heard they give this to starving orphans because it’s so protein-y. It’s also really good with a cold glass of milk when you’re feeling 6 years old.
• I can of crushed tomatoes, 1 head of garlic, and pasta
• Maple syrup and honey
• Apples (first because I’ve done field research that shows that when you have the munchies and you’re plowing through all your food, eating an apple will usually cause you to be able to push the “pause” button on your binge, and second because you can nuke ‘em with butter and brown sugar and top them with vanilla ice cream for a good midnight snack)
• Popcorn
• Cheese

When you’re in possession of these items, you have so many options, sweet and savory. Soup + bread and butter, eggs + cheese + bacon (you can also freeze half your bacon so you don’t demolish it immediately), a baked apple and popcorn, lazy-person spaghetti, hash browns, an entire pie. You can also just count these ingredients like Ebeneezer Scrooge, staring into your open fridge, cackling, and saying “Mine, all mine!”

- Tess

delishyourdish:

“I’m Soupa Dupa Fly”- Quick Veggie and White Bean Soup with Homemade Fennel Seed Baguette

I’m not quite sure what was up with LA weather yesterday, but there was a bit of a cold snap.  It was windy and cold…I was not a fan.  So, in order warm up a bit and take advantage of some spare time I had in the afternoon, I decided to get a nice hot soup goin’ in the pot. 

What You Need:

5 Tbsp. Osem Mushroom Consomme (or vegetable)

7 Cups Water

1 Can Canellini Beans or Chickpeas (rinsed and drained)

10 Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

2 Small Zucchini (small dice)

2 Small Onions (small dice)

2 Carrots (peeled and small dice)

1/2 Cup Frozen White Corn Kernals

1 Cup Baby Bella Mushrooms (small dice)

1 Tbsp. Crushed Garlic

Thyme (to taste)

Oregano (to taste)

Salt/Pepper (to taste)

1. Set a large soup pot on the stove, spray with PAM and set on medium heat.  Once pan is pre-heated, toss in the onions, carrots, celery, zucchini and mushrooms.  Season with salt/pepper.  Allow mixture to cook until veggies are tender.

2. Meanwhile, combine water and consomme to a medium sized mixing bowl.  Stir until the consomme dissolves.  Then, add the liquid to the soup pot and stir.  Next, toss in the beans, tomatoes, corn and other seasonings.

3. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce to simmer for about 10-15 minutes. 

4. To serve, ladle the soup into your bowl, top it with fresh Parmesan cheese and a piece of the herbed baguette.

*Baguette Recipe will be posted tomorrow- so be sure to tune in!

**Today’s Culinary Factoid: Did you know that in French culinary terms, the combination of celery, onions and carrots is called Mirepoix