Ode to PW

I've been so busy lately that I haven't been doing much blogging. Even though it seems like I make an effort each night to sit down and post something, I never end up clicking the "Publish" button.

I've been browsing my favorite blogs for a suitable cranberry sauce recipe to make for Thanksgiving, and I stumbled across The Pioneer Woman. Now, I've enjoyed her website in the past, but I had never really spent a lot of time there beyond reading a recipe or two. Today I decided to poke around a little more, and I realize that I definitely have a blog crush on PW. There, I said it.

One part of her website really spoke to me today. On the Ten Important Things I’ve Learned About Blogging page, #2 really resonated with me. PW says:

Blog often.

Whether you write a sixteen-paragraph essay about the cosmic implications of a free market system, a one-paragraph description of what happens to your soul when you walk into your godforsaken laundry room, or a simple photo and caption, consider your blog a precious bloom that requires daily nurturing.

And watering.

If you water a plant once every two weeks, it will shrivel.

Unless that plant is a cactus, and then it would thrive.

And to tell you the truth, I really can’t figure out how a cactus fits into this analogy, so forget I brought it up.

I loved it. And felt a little guilty for neglecting my beloved blog! So, PW, thank you for the tip and for inspiring me to post anything — even this:

It's a blurry photograph (wrong lens setting on the old camera) of me and my questionable Sunday morning hair holding a giant red pepper in RTM last weekend. The produce place there had a whole bin of them — they were practically the size of my head!

The Best Coconut Macaroons

My apologies if I've been a little M.I.A. these days. Brad and I are in the process of planning a wedding and buying a home, which means that a lot of my free time has been spent between theknot.com and faxing financial documents to the mortgage lender. Fun times!

While I've been cooking dinner in the evenings after work, I haven't been trying too many new recipes or baking much lately. But somewhere along the way I volunteered to deliver baked goods for a fundraiser that my friend Shannon was hosting on Saturday night. I wanted to bring a variety of bite-sized items, so I ended up making Chocolate Chocolate (Chocolate) Chip Cookies, White Chocolate Walnut Toffee Blondies (I used the recipe on my blog as the base and switched up the add-ins — and yes, they taste as phenomenal as they sound!), and Coconut Macaroons.

I've tried several recipes over the years for coconut macaroons and have never been too wowed. Ina Garten's recipe, however, is the best I've tried — they are light, airy, sweet, and coconutty (is that even a word?). And the recipe is super easy, especially if you're using a stand mixer for the egg whites!

PB Chocolate Crispy Bars

A Christmas or two ago, my mom gave me a beautiful cookbook that I loved as much for its unique recipes as I did for its design and aesthetic. Baked: New Frontiers in Baking is gorgeous from cover to cover and makes you want to break out your candy thermometer! I decided to try my hand at a no-bake recipe for a layered bar of rice cereal, milk chocolate peanut butter, and dark chocolate. Yeah, I said it.

These were very rich and delicious, and I was sure to get them out of the house ASAP so people at work could enjoy them. I believe these would have been dangerous to keep in the house!

Restaurant Review: Philadelphia Chutney Company

 

Working in Center City Philly means that I have plenty of lunch options within walking distance. The other day I grabbed lunch with a couple co-workers, and we tried the Philadelphia Chutney Company (PCC). It's a bit hidden at 1638 Sansom Street, but definitely a great new option for a quick, authentic Indian bite!

Their website describes their food as organic, natural, health-conscious, and 100% vegetarian. I had the #11, one of the dosas (a "light sourdough crepe made from rice"), which was curry Chutney veggie chicken with spinach and balsamic roasted onion. When the dosa came out, it was about two feet long! It was very tasty (once I figured out how I was supposed to eat it).

As the name would imply, they serve various chutneys with each menu item. With my dosa, I had the mango chutney (I asked for a recommendation from the guy taking my order, and he thought that a sweet chutney would pair nicely with the spicy curry "chicken"). It complemented the dosa nicely!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

If you like oatmeal, I really hope that every now and then you treat yourself to real, homemade oatmeal — it's so much better than packet oatmeal! Packets have their place (e.g., in my desk drawer at work), but be sure to try this if you have a few minutes at home one morning.

I stayed home from work on Monday and decided to make this recipe for breakfast. It's easy, fast, and delicious...but better than that, it's health-conscious too! In your breakfast you have calcium from the milk, veg and fiber from the pumpkin, and whole grain from the oats! And it's low fat and sugar. And under 200 calories per serving. Not a bad way to start the day...just saying!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal (makes one 1-cup serving)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup skim milk
1/3 cup water
Pinch of salt
1 heaping tbsp. pumpkin
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp. brown sugar (or one Splenda if you prefer a sugar-free option)

Directions:

• Put the milk and water into a saucepan and bring just to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Add oats and pinch of salt and continue to stir. 
• Cook for about 5 minutes until liquid is absorbed and oats are soft. Be sure to stir constantly, especially towards the end, so your oatmeal doesn't stick to the bottom of your pot.
• Remove from stove and stir in the pumpkin, spices, and brown sugar (or Splenda). Pour into a bowl and add any desired toppings (e.g., cinnamon, dried cranberries, raisins, or chopped pecans). 
• A Grandma Mitt inspired note: If you're adding dried fruit, I recommend that you first put the fruit in a small bowl, add a little water, and microwave it for about 30 seconds. This steams the dried fruit so it's softer and meshes better in your oatmeal. That Grandma Mitt — what a woman!

My friend Lesia often makes pumpkin oatmeal for her breakfast, so I have to thank her for the idea for this post (thanks, Lesia!). She would often throw all of the ingredients into a container, bring it to work, and then throw it in the microwave for a minute or two until the liquid is absorbed. Genius!

Split Pea Rosemary Soup

Let me start by saying that I don't really like peas. It's just one of the few foods that I've never really cared for (but Dad, thanks for making me sit at the table until every last one was gone anyway! I'm sure you did it out of love...). So for the first 26 years of my life I just didn't eat split pea soup, even when my mom made it annually using the ham bone from Easter dinner. This recipe, however, changed my mind!

Split peas can be found in the market either in bulk bins (as at Whole Foods) or in bags like other dried morsels (e.g., Goya). They are peas that are dried and split in half (as you may have guessed), and they're a great source of fiber and protein!

A sea of split green peas. By they time they're done cooking, they look much different!

My recipe is adapted from one that I found on allrecipes.com, although it's quite different from the original. And the ingredients, including rosemary and leeks, make for a wonderfully aromatic soup!

Extreme Makeover

Do not adjust your monitor. Cooking With Zest is now Consumed! Rest assured that I still plan to cook with zest under the new moniker, but I thought the new name would do a better job of capturing the topics that I'd like to cover.

While the old URL will still work, you can now get to my blog at www.consumedcooking.com. Fancy, right? Tell your friends! Or maybe your mom. Or your mom's friends? Or just read for yourself. Whatever you feel comfortable with, really.

Happy cooking/eating!

Oatmeal Toffee Birthday Cookies

I'm writing today to assure you that there's no shame in a recipe from the back of a bag. If a manufacturer thinks something is fab enough to make it to the bag, it's probably been tested and perfected (especially when that manufacturer is Hershey)! Which brings me to my next recipe.

This cookie recipe was one I got from a bag of Hershey's Heath Bits O' Brickle (I swear that's what they're called), which are basically just toffee bits. Back in the day when Brad was still living in Kansas City and I was in Philly, I would make these cookies and ship them out his way — and at some point, they were deemed his favorite. So, in honor of his 31st birthday (happy birthday, Brad!) I threw a batch together.

These cookies have a very unique and deliciously chewy texture from the marriage of the toffee and oatmeal. (Speaking of marriage, happy 36th anniversary to my awesome parents! But I digress.) And they're delicious with a little milk.

Tasty, Healthy Shrimp Cakes

I'm going to cut to the chase, skip the story, and tell you that this recipe was excellent — please try it! It was easy to make, healthy, very fresh, and so so (so) good. My recipe is adapted from Cooking Light (but I promise it doesn't taste like diet food).

Thai Beef Rolls

In an effort to use up my basil before the weather turns cooler for the season, I found a recipe for Thai Basil Rolls on Serious Eats. These rolls have a great Thai flavor — made tastier by a sweet and spicy dipping sauce.

We had these for a light dinner, but they would make a great appetizer!