Blueberry lemon bread

Well, it sure has been a while. My 2013 posting count is pretty abominable (2, as of May!). As usual, I blame it on the doggy. Anyway, I've decided to leave my commentary on these blog posts to a minimum, and focus on the food. No one wants to hear me whine about my poor blogging performance on every post. And, when I look at most food blogs, it annoys me that I have to scroll down a huge page full of blahblahblah by someone I don't know to get to the recipe I want to use. I finally got a new awesome-sauce camera that makes me more excited about taking food photos, so hopefully that will give me some incentive to post. Hooray, back to baking! (and cooking, I guess.)

1.5 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter (melted)
1/2-1 cup sugar (depending how sweet you want it)
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 tbs lemon zest
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups of blueberries (I use frozen)
1/2 cup buttermilk (I use regular milk with a little bit of lemon juice)

Put everything in a bowl. Mix it up. (Maybe save the blueberries for last, and fold them in.) Scrape into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes until a knife or toothpick comes out clean. Easy peasey. 

(If you want to do it the hard way, click here)

Vegetarian Chili

This chili is very spicy, so you definitely need the yogurt! If you don't like spice, you can reduce the amount of chiles/sauce, or remove it altogether.

1 small butternut squash
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 15oz. can chickpeas, drained
1 26oz. can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped
2 tablespoons adobo sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

Serve With:
plain Greek yogurt


1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and dice the butternut squash. Spread the pieces out on a baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Roast until tender and cooked through.
2. In a deep, large saucepan, saute the onion, shallots and green pepper in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, until they begin to caramelize.
3. Add the squash, chickpeas, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 cup of water, oregano, chipotle chiles, and chipotle sauce. Season with salt and pepper and simmer chili until cooked through. Add a little more water if it becomes too thick.
4. To serve, spoon chili into a bowl and top with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Original recipe here

Pasta with Squash, Brown Butter and Rosemary

I love butternut squash. I decided the other day that I could live on just fall produce - squash, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, apples, pears, beets, figs, parsnips.....the list goes on. I would miss blueberries and raspberries, but not a lot else.

I tried this dish because I wanted and easy recipe for comfort food. And this made the cut. The parmesean melted when I put it on top, and when eating leftovers, there were chunks of cheese that had congealed back together. Sounds gross, but YUM. This is a must-try for a cold winter day.

[I just went back to the original recipe and realized that Rachael Ray started her post with the same 4 words. That's just weird.]


3 lbs butternut squash – peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
salt and pepper
1 lb box pasta
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large bowl, toss the squash, onion, olive oil and rosemary; season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast until the squash is tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente; drain and transfer to a large bowl.

In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 7 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice.

Add the roasted squash, brown butter and 1/3 cup parmesan to the pasta and toss; season with salt and pepper. Top with the pine nuts and remaining parmesan.

[Note: I increased the amount of pasta and cheese significantly from the original recipe. Didn't seem to make sense to me to use 3 pounds of squash with only 2/3 cup of pasta.]

Original recipe here

Christmas cookies

Well, I haven't gotten much cooking done in the months since getting my puppy, but I obviously had to make time for Christmas cookies. I found it works pretty well to schedule a party and set baking goals in order to actually get it done. Making five batches of cookies over the course of a week doesn't sound too difficult...but it was with the dog around and with general holiday stress! I tried a few new recipes, and used a few of my old favorites.

Chocolate Crackles

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Brown Sugar Cookies (I think I used this recipe...but sugar cookies are pretty basic anyway. Had to go with the brown sugar when I ran out of white sugar!)

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies (these got the best reviews - even though I just used the recipe off of the cinnamon chip bag...)

Macaroons
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
14 oz package shredded coconut
¼ tsp salt
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, coconut and salt, then stir in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until well blended. Place roughly golf ball size drops onto cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Whole Wheat Pasta Salad with Fried Kale, Tomatoes, Feta, and Pesto Vinaigrette

At the end of the summer I made a few great pasta salads - after I got the puppy and didn't have much time to cook. I had never actually cooked with kale before, and figured I should probably try it. I definitely don't LOVE kale like some people do, but don't hate it either. I mostly chose this recipe because I love pesto. Anything + pesto = deliciousness. This recipe makes a lot - good for a week of lunches!

8 oz. whole wheat pasta
6-8 oz. kale leaves, coarsely chopped
1 T olive oil (for stir-frying the kale)
1 cup cherry tomato halves
1/4 cup crumbled Feta (or more - as desired)

1 T lemon juice
2 T white wine vinegar
2-3 T pesto
2 T olive oil

Cook pasta according to directions on box. Drain pasta into a colander placed in the sink and let it drain well.

While the pasta cooks, chop up the kale leaves (cutting away the inner ribs if they're large), and wash in a salad spinner if needed. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add the kale all at once, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the kale has wilted and is starting to get tender. (It should still be a little chewy but not raw tasting.) Turn off pan and let the kale cool.

Mix together the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and pesto, then whisk in the olive oil to make the dressing. (Start with 2 T pesto and then taste to see if you'd like to add the other tablespoon for more pesto flavor.)

When the pasta has drained well but is still warm, transfer it to a bowl and stir in about half the dressing. Let the pasta sit while you cut cherry tomatoes and crumble the feta.

Stir the cooled kale into the pasta in the bowl. Add the tomatoes and gently combine; then add more dressing as desired (depending on how moist you like your salads.) If you don't use all the dressing save it for drizzling over tomatoes or to perk up any leftover salad. Gently stir in the crumbled Feta, season salad to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper, and serve.

Original recipe here

Peanut Butter Bars

This is embarrassingly old (from July), but an easy and delicious dessert recipe to try. I was being a major complainer at work and told my friends I would make them whatever they wanted, and this was their choice. Pretty good deal for me - was really easy and doesn't require the oven, which was great for the summertime! I think these kind of taste like Nutter Butters, but better, and VERY rich!


1 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons peanut butter

In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

Original recipe here

Blueberry Coconut Oatmeal Pudding

Terrible photo, awesome recipe. Quick steel cut oats with coconut milk and blueberries. Mm mm mmm. Worth it even when blueberries are expensive (or you could use frozen). I skipped the rose water included in the original recipe, but if you can find it, might be worth a try! This actually makes quite a bit, so be ready to eat this for breakfast for a week or have for a snack/dessert frequently!


1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can unsweetened low-fat coconut milk
2 to 4 tablespoons mild honey or agave nectar (to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup quick-cooking steel-cut oats
(1/2 teaspoon rose water - if you want it/can find it)
1 cup blueberries

1. Combine the water, salt, coconut milk, honey or agave nectar and vanilla in a large (3-quart) saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the oatmeal and bring back to a boil, stirring. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in half the blueberries, cover, and cook another 5 minutes, until the oats are cooked and the mixture is creamy.

2. Stir in the rose water and the remaining blueberries. Turn off the heat, return the lid and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve right away, or spoon into serving dishes and allow to cool in the refrigerator.


Original recipe (nytimes)