Fried Egg Breakfast Sandwich

You can whip up an egg breakfast sandwich on your foreman or panini grill in the time it takes to say "reduced fat turkey bacon sandwich with low-cholesterol egg substitute." (Bonus: it's much less expensive and you can stay in your pajamas a little longer in the morning)

Here's what you need:

1 whole wheat english muffins

3-4 thin slices of sharp Vermont cheddar cheese

1 handful of fresh spinach, rinsed and patted dry

1 Egg

1 Tomato

Here's what you do:

Spray a little olive oil on a non-stick pan and warm on medium heat. Crack an egg in a bowl (remove shell bits) and add to pan. Cover and cook until whites change from clear to opaque white. Then flip for a minute until the yolk cooks through.

Meanwhile, rinse and dry a handful of fresh spinach. Slice a piece of tomato. Prepare the cheese.

Place bottom half of muffin on the grille and place the fried egg on top. Cover with spinach, slice of tomato, and cheddar. Top with the muffin top and clamp the griddle. Cook until cheese melts and top has griddle lines - about 3 minutes.

Sit and eat if you have time (who does?) or wrap it up in tinfoil and eat it on the road (my preferred option).

Bread Slippers

The perfect gift for a carb-loving friend or slipper-happy dog?
Try them on here

They are real slippers made of bread. They're designed for you to wear around the house!

(sorry folks in the US - these puppies are in euros - try buying a baguette and hollowing it out. But I wouldn't suggest wearing your version...)

Broccoli-Cheddar-Corn Chowder

When you have a nice afternoon ahead of you, try putting a big pot of soup on the stove. It requires very little - just some basic chopping, some time for it to bubble away on the stove, and a bit of blending at the end. You can eat it that week, and freeze some for a convenient meal another day. Wait for it to cool down, and then put it in individually portioned freezable containers. Label them with the soup and date, and you're good to go.

A few weeks later, you get home on a dark night and don't feel like cooking. You feel like eating. What's in your freezer? It'll be easy to bypass the pre-packaged, preservative-full, water-puffed, salty frozen entree (ick), for a bowl of homemade, creamy veggie soup. 3 minutes in the microwave, some crusty bread and a glass of wine, and you've got dinner on the table.

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I based this meal on EatingWell's broccoli cheese chowder and 101cookbook's crouton recipe. While the soup was cooking, I whipped up some homemade pumpernickel croutons (honestly, it's one of the easiest things you can cook in the kitchen).

Broccoli-Cheddar-Corn Chowder
Ingredients

SOUP:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 14-ounce cans vegetable broth
8 ounces broccoli crowns cut into 1-inch pieces, stems and florets separated (or buy a bag of pre-cut crowns)
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 can of corn, drained

CROUTONS:
About 3 cups of your favorite bread, cubed. (I had pumpernickel on hand)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Soup Recipe:
1. Heat oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring often, until the onion and celery soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add potato and garlic; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in flour, dry mustard and cayenne; cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
2. Add broth and broccoli stems; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in florets; simmer, covered, until the broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes more.
3. Using an immersion blender or blender, puree the soup.
4. Stir in Cheddar and sour cream; cook over medium heat, stirring, until the cheese is melted and the chowder is heated through, about 2 minutes.
5. Mix in the canned corn
6. Season with salt
7. Serve with a sprinkle of cheese and a handful of croutons (see recipe below)

Crouton Recipe (make while the soup is cooking):
1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees
2. Put the bread cubes in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, mustard and salt until evenly covered.
3. Spread the cubes evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the croutons are golden and crunchy. (Mine took 20 minutes - it really depends on the type of bread and your oven). Toss them once or twice with a metal spatula along the way.

Giant Peanut Butter Cookies

If you're thinking about baking for the holidays, these giant cookies will make beautiful gifts. While they're not fall-flavored, they will make anyone feel like a kid on christmas morning again. For now, try a batch and see what you think.

If you want to make classic peanut butter cookies - no fancy tastes or flavors - than you've found your recipe.

My Notes:
A) You'll need to chill these for 30 minutes before baking so don't make them in a time crunch.
B) An ice cream scoop is a great way to get consistent sized cookies. They'll look professional and take the same time to bake so you don't risk burning or undercooking some.
C) Keep a cup of water next to you while you're scooping dough. Rest your ice cream scoop in the water during batches to prevent the pb from caking or in between scoops to keep the batter from sticking. Do the same with your fork.
D) Save yourself some cleanup time by covering your counter with tinfoil before starting to bake. When you're done, fold it up and throw it away. No stuck-on flour and pb mess!

Martha Stewart's Classic Peanut Butter Cookies.
Makes 24

Ingredients:
2 1/2-cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2-teaspoons baking soda
1/2-teaspoon salt
2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs (cracked in a separate bowl)
1 1/2-cups smooth, creamy peanut butter (for best results, don't use all-natural pb)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Cut butter into pats and microwave for about 15 seconds to soften. Combine butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixture with paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy - about 2-3 minutes. Mix in eggs, and then peanut butter.
3. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture until just combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
4. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough into baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Press cookies with fork tines (slightly pressing and dragging at the same time) to flatten and make a cross-hatch pattern.
5. Bake until golden brown, 14-18 minutes (depends on your oven). Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. You can store this in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature (if they last that long).

Mix in the peanut butter:


Rest your ice cream scoop in a cup of water to keep it from getting sticky:


Create the cross-hatch:

Check out these iPhone apps

I haven't personally investigated these yet, but I wanted to let you know they're out there.

Health magazine's November issue listed some iPhone apps for food people. These are all free, so might be worth checking out!

1. Seafood Guide: "This app helps you make eco-friendly choices when you're in the mood for fish--and it can also alert you to species that are high in mercury."

2. iLocavore: "Wondering what's in season right now where you live? iLocavore can tell you. This cool app also helps you find farmer's markets in your area."

3. GoodGuide: "This app makes it easy to do the right thing. It helps you build your shopping lists with goods rated for health, the environment, and social responsibility."

California Salad

Thanks to the Moosewood Cookbook, I've got a new favorite dinner salad - The California Dream Salad.
Get your best kitchen knife, collander (salad spinner if you got it), and cutting board out for this. A few chops, and you'll have dinner in no time.

This is mostly Moosewood but a little Caroline:

Ingredients:
Romaine and/or Boston lettuce
red cabbage or radicchio
watercress or spinach
brocco sprouts
avocado
tomato
carrots and/or beets
fresh green peas, snow peas, and/or green beans
toasted sesame and/or sunflower seeds
1 can chickpeas
red onion or scallions (if you like 'em raw. I used them and regret it - red onions on a salad are too strong for me!)

Basically, go to the market and get whatever you think looks delicious. Use the ingredients list as a guide - follow it completely, somewhat, or not at all. Whatever you do, buy what you like. I challenge you to also buy one salad ingredient you've never tried and throw that in. With all of the good stuff in there, if you don't like the new veg, you can just pick it out - no big loss.

1. Clean and dry the lettuce, cabbage, and watercress (or whatever greens you chose)
2. Roughly chop or tear the lettuce and put in a big salad bowl
3. Peel off the outer layer of cabbage and cut into quarters. Cut off the stem in each quarter. Rinse in between the leaves and slice thinly to shred. (I only used 1/4 of my cabbage for the salad). Mix with the lettuce.
4. Roughly chop the watercress or spinach and toss it into the bowl.
5. Fluff the brocco sprouts on top.
6. Cut the avocado and tomato into bite size pieces and add on top.
7. Add the shredded carrots and slice up the beets. Throw 'em on top.
8. Cut the beans into bite-size pieces and add to the bowl.
9. Top the salad with toasted seeds and chick peas.
10. Serve with dressing and a big glass of water with lemon for a healthy dinner!

As for the dressing. I'm going to give you the recipe because you may like really tart, tangy tomato dressing. Some people do. I, apparently, do not.


Tomato Herb Dressing
from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home
3/4 cup canned plum tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice or cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black peper
1 dash of Tobasco or pinch of cayenne (optional)

Put all of the ingredients in a blender (or use an immersion blender!) and blend until smooth. Store chilled in a covered jar for up to 2 weeks.

Behind the Scenes at America's Test Kitchen

Hello from America's Test Kitchen!

This morning, I took a tour of America's Test Kitchen. It's public television's most watched cooking show! They also put out tons of cookbooks (around 80 since they started) and two magazines (Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country). You can check out all the cool things they do here.

Here are some photos of what goes on in their small-town, totally unassuming from the outside, studio:

They have lots of everything. Here's a glimpse of their cookware:

Oh and all their napkins and dishcloths....

And then of course, there's their cookbook library, which takes up the walls of an enormous rectangular room with a long wooden table in the middle for tastings.

Then the test kitchen and studio...talk about a lot of cooks in the kitchen - and everyone is completely focused on their task.

You can see they have some camera and lighting equipment set up for the show:

Lots and lots of dishware...wrapped in plastic to make sure nothing breaks or gets dusty: