You're stranded on a desert island...

Have you ever been asked what top 10 items you'd bring along with you if you were ever stranded on a desert island? Books, albums, movies?
I have a friend who adores food and cooking and relishes variety, and the other night, I somewhat sharkishly asked her what 10 food items she's bring with her. We spent the next 2 hours discussing and making our lists.
Here was mine:
- cashews
- a goat (for yogurt, cheese, and milk)
- oranges, watermelon, or strawberries
- steak
- dark chocolate
- squash
- mushrooms
- tomatoes
- eggs
- crusty bread

Here's the thing: I treated my top 10 as my grocery list the next time I was at the supermarket, and I had the most satisfying food week ever using up those groceries. I enjoyed frequent breakfast omelets, made a nice pasta primavera using sauteed squash and mushrooms, which became lunch and dinner, and I had yogurt and berries and nuts to snack on between meals.
I guess really it was a meditation exercise that helped me discover what my staples are. My knowledge grows....

Chicken Stock

I have bones! I have bones! About two chicken's worth, in my freezer.

Anyone know a basic recipe so I can attempt my very first chicken stock?

Cooler Weather = Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Everybody knows this--it's hard science, folks.

Cooking's been a nemesis in my family for generations, probably. But baking? Baking's never been a problem. And everybody I talk with lately has the same thing on their mind: chocolate chip cookies.

So today I did the deed. My friend mailed me these three recipes that vary slightly depending on the desired outcome. I tried the puffy ones, except I just used butter instead of butter-flavored shortening, which I know will probably make them less fluffy.

The dough is chilling tonight and if I manage to make the cookies before I and other "enthusiasts" in my household "sample" all of it (it's happened before), I'll report on the resulting puffiness or lack thereof.

tasty marmalade cookies

So, Erin and I slaved over a hot stove for many hours on Saturday to make our delicious satsuma marmalade.

But, it gives me heartburn (probably the white sugar). So what to do? Make cookies!

From here, except I didn't have any chocolate chips so i dab a little faux Nutella on them. I've been using farm-fresh eggs and they taste really different - can taste it in the cookies. They're very soft and fluffy. The marmalade is very subtle, and I like that they're not too sweet.

Ingredients

• 4 T butter, softened
  
• 1 egg yolk (or one small egg)
  
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade (this is the only sweetener)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• [1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips]
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

• In a small bowl, cream the shortening, egg yolk and marmalade until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
• Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen.
  

Red Bean Baked Mochi Cake

Mmm...my Auntie #4, one of the great cooks I know besides my mom, told me how to make the cake from memory, so I did my best to try it out today, since I had all the ingredients at home. It came out deeeelicious! Because it's made mostly of mochi, it's got this tasty, chewy texture on the inside; the outer crust, because it's baked, is sweet and cakey. And, you can never go wrong with red bean filling, of course. =) I think she made the red bean mixture on her own, but I cheated since I had a can of sweetened red (azuki) beans in the pantry. ^_^


You'll Need:

-1 pound of Sweet Mochi Flour (I use Mochiko)
-1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder
-1 Cup White Sugar, or 2 Cups of Brown Sugar (I used the white sugar, as it was handy, but the brown sugar is what she used, and it makes the cake more brown colored...which I kinda preferred. Brown sugar for me next time!)
-2.5 Cups of Milk
-3/4 Cup of Vegetable Oil
-4 Eggs

-1 Can (18 oz) of Sweetened Azuki Red Beans
-1 egg, beaten, to brush on top of cake
-Sesame seeds to sprinkle (I use toasted ones; next time, I'll get some of the black ones and have a mix of white and black sesame seeds on top!)

*She said that one can always reduce the sugar, so if you're avoiding too much sugar, you may want to go that route.

Directions:

- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

1) Mix everything together, except for the last three ingredients. If you want a fluffier merengue-ier cake, you may want to beat the egg whites separately until stiff, and fold them in.
2) Pour half of the mixture into a 9" x 13" pan, lined with parchment paper or foil.
3) Bake for 20 minutes.
4) Take the cake out and spread all the red beans evenly on top, and then pour the rest of the mixture on top of everything.
5) Bake 15 minutes. Brush the egg wash on top, and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds.
6) Bake another 5 minutes or so, and remove. Let it cool on a rack.

Though tasty, chewy, and warm from the oven, it's just as good, if not better, after you let it cool to room temperature. =) Easy to make, and easy to eat...^_~

Creole seasoning

I've had the Tony Chachere's bottle for at least a couple years, as honestly I don't use it often.

But why not make my own?

There's this blend from Emeril. Though, I would omit the salt and pepper (add it to taste later) as well as the garlic and onion powder (put in fresh onion/garlic instead).

There's this blend.

Here, from Cooking Louisiana.

Basically I'll put together: paprika, cayenne, basil, oregano, and thyme. Maybe I'd add the garlic & onion powder if giving as a gift.

OK, I'm hungry!

cornbread muffins

From here (with a couple changes).

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup all-purpose flour (next time I'll use whole wheat or a mix)
* 1 cup yellow cornmeal
* 1/3 cup white sugar (or brown or whatever) - or less
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 egg
* 1 cup milk (or I'll try buttermilk when I have it on hand)
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil (haven't yet tried my usual 1/2 applesauce trick)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a muffin tin (12 muffins).
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins come out clean.

****
These are great! I could probably cut the sugar even more. Sweet cornbread is for Yankees, though I'm still chasing memories of an amazing sweet cornbread I had in Ghana cooked by a Liberian.

I prefer muffins because unless I'm serving to a bunch of people who will eat a whole pan of cornbread, I have a bit leftover - which gets dry, is hard to freeze (too crumbly, can't be toasted well), etc. The muffins curb my eating (stop at two, not half a pan) and freeze well.

And they're cute.