Neo Indoor Picnic

Well, my goodness, it is just pouring BUCKETS in Boston! Pouring, pouring, pouring rain ever since yesterday. That did not keep me from having a full and busy day though!

This morning the Neo ladies and I visited the artistic directors of another local dance company to audition to be the opening act for their upcoming performance. This company is larger than ours, and their shows are well attended, since they have an established audience here in Boston. My dancers performed their piece well, and now we must wait! We will probably know by the middle of the week whether or not we will be in the performance. Keep your fingers crossed - it would be a great opportunity for my company!

Since we had to meet at a dance studio in the city at noon, this put a wrench in our normal rehearsal schedule. I offered the girls a stop-over lunch at my house on the way to rehearsal in the North Shore. It was such fun!



I absolutely love entertaining, and nothing makes me happier than seeing my dining room table filled with dancers! We had a tasty lunch of Carrot-Ginger Soup, recipe here. This is one of my new favorite go-to recipes. I recommend doubling the batch, otherwise it will be gone in an instant!

I hope that you are staying warm, toasty and DRY wherever you are!

Advent Day 4 :: New Holiday Mix and Recipe

I recently completed the Holiday Mix CD and Recipe Swap over on Swap-bot. I was super pleased with what my partner Alyson sent to me. The mix is a perfect combination of classics, and new to me songs that I now love. I thought I would share the playlist and recipe that I received here:

Alyson's Holiday Mix

1. Boogie Woogie Santa Claus - Preacher Lee
2. Cha-Cha All the Way - Capitol Studio
3. Deck the Halls - Cuba L.A.
4. Feliz Navidad - Bobby Rodriguez
5. All I Want For... - Spike Jones
6. Indian Giver - Squirrel Nut Zippers
7. Winter Weather - Squirrel Nut Zippers (This is one of my new favorite songs!)
8. Baby It's Cold Outside - Brian Setzer
9. Sleigh Ride - Harry Connick
10. Merry Christmas Family - Dixie Chicks
11. Winter Wonderland - Eurythmics
12. Make Me a Present - Dinah Washington (Another new favorite)
13. Marshmellow World - Brenda Lee
14. Lasso Santa Claus - Brenda Lee
15. Santa's Messin' with the Kid - Eddie Campbell
16. Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley
17. Blues for Christmas - John Lee Hooker
18. Swing Them Jingle Bells - Fats Waller
19. White Christmas - Louis Armstrong
20. Jingle Bells - Bing Crosby
21. Sleigh Ride - Glenn Miller Orchestra
22. Hands - Jewel
23. Silent Night - Stevie Nicks

Alyson's Nutmeg Cookies

Cookies:

1 cup soft butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp rum (or rum flavoring)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting:

1/3 cup butter
2 tsp cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp rum
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

For cookies: Mix wet ingredients in a large bowl. Mix dry ingredients in a smaller bowl. Add/mix dry into wet a bit at a time until well combined. Roll dough into cylinders about 1" in diameter and chop into cookies. Bake at 350 F approximately 12-15 minutes. Dough also works well with cookie cutters. Frost and sprinkle with nutmeg while fresh!

***

Sounds tasty, huh? I can't wait to try this recipe out!

Cheers, Sarah

P.S. I have to add a note: Today I am SUPER THANKFUL that my friend Gemma has found a job! I'm over the moon thankful for this! Hurray!

Matt Approved Leftover Gnocchi with Sage Cream Sauce

This post is an entry to win Lucinda Scala-Quinn's new book Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys.

I am interrupting my regularly scheduled Advent postings to bring you a man-approved recipe that we enjoyed for dinner tonight. There are no pictures, because we ate it all too fast. It was that good. Plus as a bonus, my hubby Matt uttered the magical words...

You have to make this again. I love it!

You see, dear readers, cooking for my husband can be...well...a teensy bit frustrating. Growing up with a mom who cooks professionally, working at a cheese counter the summer after my senior year in high school and immersing myself in the local slow food movement, my appetite is pretty much open to anything. Matt is open to anything involving cheese and bacon.

Here are a few of Matt's "Food Rules"

1. Pasta is to be served with butter and salt. Red sauce is gross, unless it is on pizza.

2. Anything that is prepared hot, but served cold is disgusting. This excludes all potato and pasta salads from Matt's diet.

3. Salad is not a meal. Unless it has meat on it. Then it might suffice as a snack.

4. Fresh tomatoes are gross. Any variety. (Believe me I've tried!)

5. Soup is not a meal. Period.

6. Autumnal savory dishes that have hints of sweetness (my FAVORITE) are unacceptable, i.e. dishes involving squashes, pumpkins and apples.

7. Pie is messy - cake is preferable.

Finally, Matt's ultimate foodie sin, in my eyes

8. Log Cabin is better than real maple syrup. (Insert the sound of me screaming right...here.)

I could go on...see what I have to deal with? I truly write all of this out of love, and only to illustrate the importance of hearing the illusive phrase, "Make that again!"

I'll quit my bitchin' and get on to the recipe!

Matt Approved Leftover Gnocchi with Sage Cream Sauce

Inspired by this episode of Working Class Foodies

For the Gnocchi

2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes
1/2 cup of leftover squash
2 eggs
Flour
Nutmeg

If your vegetables have been refrigerated, heat them up a bit, it will make your pasta dough a little more pliable.

1. Mash up your leftovers into a bowl. Crack open two eggs and mush them in.
2. Add a generous pinch of nutmeg.
3. Add flour until your dough is moist, but firm enough that you can handle it.
4. Divide dough into three lumps. On a floured surface, roll each lump into a long, skinny log. Cut into 3/4-1" pieces.
5. Plop your gnocchis into a pot of well salted boiling water. Gently stir a few times so that they do not stick. When they float to the top of the water, they are done.

For the Sage Cream Sauce

1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup of shredded cheddar
1/2-1 teaspoon of sage
Pepper

1. Over a low flame heat cream and cheese, until cheese melts. Stir to incorporate.
2. Season with sage and pepper to desired taste.

Pour sauce over gnocchi and enjoy! Makes two very generous servings.

Kale and Potato Soup with Chili

Well, hey Mom! What are we cooking today? I'm here to help.



Cassie decided that tonight was the perfect night for soup. In an effort to add a little more green vegetables to our diet, I bought The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison with a gift certificate that I received on my birthday. The following is my favorite recipe thus far, tweaked to my liking.

Kale and Potato Soup with Red Chili based on Deborah Madison's recipe from The Greens Cookbook

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 small dried red chili, seeded and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
4 red potatoes scrubbed and diced
7 cups water
crème fraîche

Rip the ruffled kale leaves off of their stems, into small pieces, roughly 2 inches square. Wash the leaves well and set them aside.



Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, add the onion, garlic, chili, bay leaf, salt and cook over medium low heat stirring frequently. Add the potatoes, plus a cup of the water. Stir together, cover and cook slowly for five minutes.



Add the kale, cover, and steam until it is wilted, stirring occasionally. Pour in the rest of the water, bring to a boil, then simmer slowly, covered, until the potatoes are quite soft, 40 minutes.

After simmering, purée a cup or two of the soup in a blender and return it to the pot.

I finished with a garnish of crème fraîche.



The results were so good. Creamy, healthful, with a slight aftertaste/feeling of warmth from the chili. A perfect soup for winter!
,

Penny Pinching with Pizza, Again! :: Spinach Walnut Pizza

And I quote: "You need to make this for dinner every day. It is SO good." - the Hub

Not too shabby for something I threw together on the fly!

Spinach Walnut Pizza

1/2 recipe of amazingly simple pizza dough I substituted a cup of wheat flour in the dough for this pizza.
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon herbs de provence
1 1/2 - 2 cups of baby spinach
1 tablespoon of crushed walnuts
4-6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Roll out your dough. Spread olive oil over the surface. Sprinkle with herbs de provence. Layer spinach, walnuts, cheddar and parmesan. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Orrechiette with Peas and Fresh Mint

Wowza - I've got the blogging fire lately! I think I have too much to say since I wasn't able to write for practically all of June!

I'd like to interrupt the Christmas programming to share with you the delicious meal that I whipped up this evening. The star of the show is fresh spring peas, which have a short season, so this post could not wait.

Orrechiette with Peas and Fresh Mint

Ingredients

1 lb. Orrechiette (or another short pasta)
1 cup of peas
Zest of 2 Lemons
1 cup of Pecorino Romano, grated
3/4 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of chopped mint leaves

Directions

Cook your pasta as directed. While that's happening, zest the lemons, grate the romano and chop up the mint. Drain the pasta. Return the empty pasta pot to the stove over low heat. Combine the cream, lemon zest, 3/4 cup of the cheese and the peas in the pot. Stir until heated through and slightly thickened. Return to orechiette to the pot, with the mint and toss to combine. Add salt and pepper if you so desire, although I skipped it this time around and it was still delicious. Garnish with extra cheese and a mint leaf.

Quick, springy and delicious - let me know if you try it! Enjoy

Roasted Pepper and Spinach Pizza

Firstly, let me apologize in advance for the following post which will be devoid of pictures.

Secondly, let me tell you that the following post is devoid of pictures, because the recipe that I am about to share with you is SO DAMN GOOD we inhaled it before I could take any photographic evidence.

First off I made pizza dough following the Best Pizza Dough Ever Recipe at 101 Cookbooks, with one major exception. I substituted two cups of wheat flour in the dry ingredients. This will make your dough take considerably longer to rise, since the wheat flour is a little heavy. Just take your dough, plop it into a bowl, cover it with a cloth and leave it on the counter for a couple of hours. It will be fine.

Once you've rolled out your dough, this is what you'll need.

Ingredients

Olive Oil
A bit of marinara sauce
Baby Spinach
Roasted Bell Peppers (I used one yellow and one red)
About 6 ounces of Cheddar Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Directions

1. Roll out your dough. Wait...we already did that part.

2. Spread a thin layer of olive oil onto your pizza. Add as much marinara as you want. I eye-balled it, since I was using leftovers.

3. Layer your toppings like so, baby spinach, roasted peppers (I roasted my own, 450 degrees with a little salt and pepper for 15ish minutes), grated cheddar and parmesan cheese.

4. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

5. Revel in the deliciousness that you have created.

The end!

Eating Out of the Pantry :: Breakfast Porridge

Gratuitously cute picture of Hobbes...



My mum started this thing in the beginning of January called "eating out of the pantry." (My dad accidently refers to it as "eating out of the cabinet" or even better "eating out of the closet" which we think is pretty hysterical). She decided that she was going to use up all of the stuff that was in her cabinets and try to keep her food budget down to $1 a day. She's managed to eat on $1.89 a day, which I think is fairly impressive

It's no secret on this blog that Mr. G+N and I have hit upon a pretty thorny financial patch these last few weeks. I've been trying very hard to follow my mum's lead. I tallied up my grocery receipts today and we've been eating for $2.61 a day. Not as thrifty as mum, yet, but I'm trying.

This morning, I thought if I ate another pan-fried egg that I was going to scream. I needed something different, something more luxurious. I desperately wanted an eclair from one of my favorite bakeries, Sweet Dreams. Alas, at $3.75 a pop, that was not in the cards, but I did find everything in my kitchen that I needed to make breakfast porridge.



This recipe was given to me by Lucy Tuttle, of Tuttle's Red Barn, and originally appeared in Cooking Light in the October 2007 issue. I've amended it here to be slightly less light by substituting whole milk for fat-free milk. Because, seriously now, what the hell is fat-free milk? Blech!

Multigrain Breakfast Porridge

4 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked wheat berries (hard winter wheat), rinsed
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup regular oats
3 tablespoons uncooked quick cooking grits
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1) Combine first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

2) Stir in oats; simmer, uncovered, 12 minutes, stirring often. Stir in grits; simmer 5 minutes, stirring often.

3) Stir in milk and syrup; simmer 1 minute or until porridge thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Serve with walnuts.

My notes: This is not a quick breakfast recipe (see the simmering times above). However, it reheats beautifully. Make a batch on a day that you're free and enjoy it throughout the week. I'm planning on doing just that!

***

I'm glad that many of you approve of the vlog post. It was fun to do something different, and it's nice for when I'm too tired to deal with writing. To answer Sonya's question, you're correct. I just took the video with the camera in my Mac. Nothing fancy. I'll definitely do it again sometime!

I'm going to teach a dance class tonight at my old place of work. Insert ominous DUN DUN DAHHHHH! here. Some of you who have been reading for some time now (Flossy, Gemma, Diane, Nat, S'mee etc.) might be gasping at this development considering all of the heart ache and ridiculousness surrounding me leaving that job last June. Calling them up was not an easy phone call to make, but, I am absolutely desperate for money. I said, "I will teach ANYTHING you've got," so they are trying to help me out. It feels so weird, to be sure. However, I'm thanking my stars that I didn't burn that bridge when I left.

After that, I'm going to head over to the parentals' house for a little dinner, and maybe some knitting time with mummy. Oh! That reminds me!

HOLIDAY HANDMADE CRUSADERS :: Your deadline to posts ornaments on Flickr, Craftster or leave a comment here linking back to your finished item is MIDNIGHT TONIGHT! I mean TOMORROW, the 31st! If you have no idea what I'm talking about please refer to this post.

***

I'm going to bring back the "thankful" sign outs. Things have been pretty crappy lately, so I have to remind myself that even amidst the poop that there are good things in my life.

Today, I am thankful for Mr. G+N. As long as we've got each other we'll make it through. We always do. What are you thankful for today?

Mixed Beans in a Maple Glaze

I adapted my recipe from a summer squash recipe in an old maple cook book. I lowered the proportion of syrup to vegetable considerably, 1 cup to 1/4 cup, because I didn't want the beans to get all mushy.

Here's what I did:

Take about two cups of beans, I had green and wax beans on hand, and saute them over medium heat in two tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper. When the syrup starts to bubble, cover the pan. Check and stir periodically. You want to allow the beans time to soak up the glaze, but you don't want them completely mushy.

Easy. Super good. Super local. :)

One Local Summer :: Week #3

Something local...and something not quite local



My 100% local entry is simple this week, folks, sausage and eggs.

Local Ingredients:

Sausage - Kellie Brook Farm
Eggs - Lasting Legacy Farm

However, I did make another dish, that was not quite challenge worthy, but might be of interest to my fellow New England locavores.

Fusilli with Pak Choi and Sausage - my take on a recipe from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food, (I don't work for Chez Panisse, I swear)!

Local ingredients:

A large bunch of pak choi aka bok choy, rinsed and chopped
1/2 lb of Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large onion, chopped

Non-local ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Pinch of chile flakes
1 lb of fusilli

Add olive oil to pan. Form the sausage into small patties and cook over medium heat, until cooked through. Remove sausage and cook onion and pak choi. Add about 3/4 cup of water to cook greens. Season with salt, pepper, chile flakes. Cook until greens are tender. Add sausage back into pan and break up into small pieces, if you wish.

Cook pasta according to instructions and serve with greens/sausage over the top.

This was so delicious that my husband cleared about 3/4 lb of pasta in one day. I *think* he liked it!

Happy cookin'!