Homemade Nilla Wafers

Homemade Nilla wafers?? These don't have the dry crumbly texture of the Nilla wafers, but these are great buttery bite sized cookies that I used in banana pudding! These were eaten too fast to take a picture.

The outside is a crispy cookie/carmel/buttery cookie and the inside is sweet and soft.

The recipe is from Serious Eats.

Vanilla Wafers

makes about 100 1 inch cookies

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 large egg white

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk

1 1/3 cups AP flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Cream butter, salt, sugar and vanilla. Beat in egg and milk until well incorporated.

Whisk together flour and baking powder and add to butter mixture. Mix until just combined.

Use a cookie scoop to create the same sized cookies. This made 3 cookie sheets of cookies, they spread a little but not too much so you can put many cookies (I did 5 x 6 cookies per sheet).

Bake at 350°F for about 15-20 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned. Cool completely before storing. 

Homemade Peanut Butter

Make your own peanut butter! It is easy and as simple as a push of a button! While this is good in sandwiches, it is also very good in ice cream!

The process is pretty straight forward, and 1 cup of nuts yields just under 1 cup of nut butter. You can use walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts.. or any combination of them! You can also toss in chocolate chips if you want too.

Pour in the desired amount of nuts into the food processor. Turn the food processor on and let it go until the nuts are pureed! At first it will look a bit gritty, but if you let it go for a little while longer, the peanut oils will start to come out and the texture will get a lot creamier.

Store in a tightly sealed jar (I use the old pb jars!) in the fridge. 

Enjoy!

2013 In Review: New York, NY

I was able to visit NYC 2 times in 2013 to visit my brother, here are some notes from the places I visited! This was a trip with grown ups. 

Places of Interest

Bethesda Fountain in Central Park

9/11 Memorial Open Daily, 10:00 am - 8:00 pm Cost: Free, visitor passes are required. Reservations made online or by phone carry a $2 nonrefundable service fee per pass. Passes for same-day visits are also available on a first-come, first-served basis. These passes must be obtained in person at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site at 20 Vesey St. You will have to wait in many lines and go through security similar to the airport to get into the memorial. Don't bring any weapons (knives/guns). Going once was enough for me. I think we only saw the memorial for a half hour but waited in line for about an hour.

American Girl Store: My dream come true, I have wanted to go here for years but Santa never brought me. Total chaos, lots of small children running around. But very cool to go and see the dolls and the new displays. Spent about an hour wandering around. 

American Museum of Natural History 10am - 5:45pm / Cost: Free for Military (Blue Star Families > Programs: Military and dependents free/big discounts for certain museums, shows, or events during the summer), $19-$25 for people / Central Park West at 79th St. New York, NY 10024. So many things to see, I think we spent 4-5 hours visiting and looking at the exhibits. I would like to go back a second time to see some of the exhibits again. This would be a fun place to go with kids.

Central Park: Specifically the Bow Bridge and the Bethesda Fountain. The Bethesda Fountain has been in lots of movies including Elf! Lots of places to walk around, listen to people playing music, and people watch. There is a zoo hidden in the park as well. Many hours can be spent here. Bring a ball to play with or a book to read and enjoy the outdoors!

Alice's Tea Cup - Cookies, Scones, and
Fresh Brewed Tea

The Guggenheim Fridays 10:00am - 5:45pm, cost: $22, free with some employee discounts. This is a modern art museum. I simply do not understand modern art. I wouldn't pay to go here. But I also don't care much for art... So take my opinion with a grain of salt. I think we spent an hour here.

The Metropolitan Museum (MET) Friday and Saturday: 9:30am–9:00pm Cost: Suggested $25 Admission includes entrance to The Cloisters museum and gardens 1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street), New York, NY 10028 212-535-7710 We didn't make it to the Cloisters as it was not near any of the places we were. This place was huge! So many cool exhibits. We could easily spend several more hours looking at the exhibits. 

The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) Daily, 10:30am-5:30pm, Fridays 10:00am-8:00pm; Cost: Free for Military and 4:00pm-8:00pm on Fridays (Free Friday Night) 11 West 53 Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, New York, NY 10019. This was a modern art museum. I have no need to go back and I was glad to be able to get in for free. I don't understand the art that they have, but if you enjoy modern art this is a great place for you. I think we spent an hour there.

Smorgasbord - I wasn't sure if this should go under food or place of interest. Don't eat before going! It is an outdoor food court styled flea market in Brooklyn of all sorts of different food trucks that go around the NYC area. This wasn't a place offering samples but you can order a full meal from the vendors that are around the area. 

Theater
Peter and the Starcatchers: I love theater! This was an off Broadway production of the show at the New Worlds theater that is now on tour. Show was based off the book series Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. The books are the prequel to the traditional Peter Pan stories.

Keste Pizzeria

Food
Alice's Tea Cup - Yummy specialty teas and fresh baked scones. They also serve sandwiches. You can order tea by the Very popular tea house that now has three locations. Fun atmosphere!
Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee Company - Fresh bagels and lots of cream cheese to pick from, would go back!
Cafe 82 - Delish classy/fresh diner food, has a Gluten Free menu. Small place so it is likely there will be a wait.
Candle 79 - Vegan/Gluten Free restaurant, on the pricier side but ok. 
Five Napkin Burger - Amazing beet based veggie burgers! They also have Gluten Free menu. And they have "regular" meat items and gluten foods.
Keste Pizzeria - Fresh home-style pizza. Gluten Free menu. I'd go back!
Palm Restaurant - Absurdly expensive! You pick a cut of meat and then the table picks a few sides to share. I don't think we will be going back unless we hit the lottery.

The Smith - Went for brunch, mid range prices, fresh food, decent size portions, fun atmosphere and located in a cute historic area.

Smorgaschef - Had brunch here, it is a fancy restaurant with a small seasonal/local menu.
Zabar's - Went for breakfast food, it was good. I would try another place before going back.

Spinach and Ricotta Manicotti

We just bought a basil plant, so we have to make some fresh Italian food! Manicotti was on the list, it is a bit of a pain but makes for a special meal. I'm OK with making lasagne instead for a faster meal.

Spinach Ricotta Manicotti
Makes 10

15 oz ricotta cheese
1 bag baby spinach
1 bag Italian mix cheese
5 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Egg
Basil
Salt and Pepper
Jar of sauce
1 box of Manicotti pasta shells

Combine everything except for the sauce and the shells. I put the filling into a zip top bag and then sliced off a corner to pipe the shells.
Layer sauce in the bottom of pan. Fill each shell and place into the pan. Cover with remaining sauce and some cheese.
Bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes. Serve hot!

Presidential Traverse: Mt Madison and Madison Spring Hut

A place where adventures begin!

Yet another wilderness adventure in the beautiful NH White Mountain with Sarah! We decided to target Mt. Madison in the same Presidential Range as Mt Washington. This trip was no less exciting (or spontaneous) than the previous Mt. Washington hike.

As we are both very Type A, there was a lot of coordination to be done before this trip. We had to book the shuttle and reserve our nights in the hut, I had to book plane tickets and get time off from work. Closer to the trip we had to check for all our gear and its condition, test gear if we haven't used it before, plan our routes, get maps, and plan a menu. In case you didn't know, menu is code for peanut butter bagels, trail mix, and protein bars. Luckily, Sarah took care of most of this since I would be flying in and had limited space for gear. She brought her tent, packed all the food, snacks, maps, and other gear.

For our long weekend adventure I flew in late Friday night to Manchester Airport. Then we drove to just outside the White Mountain area where Sarah had already set up our tent. We slept for several hours and left early to the trail head by 7:30am to catch the shuttle by 8am.

On Gulfside Trail.
Yes we matched. What of it?! :)

Once we arrived at the visitor center we checked trail conditions, put on the rest of our gear, and found the shuttle. The shuttle (for a fee) drops you off at several trail heads. We started our hike at the Appalachia trail head.

While it is less than 5 miles to the summit, there is a substantial elevation gain taking you into the Alpine Zone, above the treeline. Madison Spring Hut is at an  elevation of 4,805 feet and the summit is 5,367 feet. So what does this mean? You should be able to run a couple miles to be comfortable on a hike like this at a pace that Sarah hikes :) Joking aside, I should have trained more and I would have been more comfortable on the trail.  It took us under 4 hours to get to the hut.

Madison Spring Hut is one of the lesser used huts due to the location and a more difficult trail. This means there were less crowds, an additional perk of the hut was that it was rebuilt a couple years ago and still new.

One of the few pictures below the treeline

Alpine Warning: The area ahead has the worst
weather in America. Many have died there from
exposure even in the summer. Turn back now
 if the weather is bad.

In the Alpine zone!

After some rock scrambles... we made it to the hut!

Madison Hut!

At the front door

We dropped off our packs at the hut then continued up the rocks to the Mt. Madison summit. By the time we got back to the hut it was time for dinner, sitting outside enjoying the view, and making friends with our fellow hikers!

The croo makes a hot dinner for the hikers this particular night a vegan was making us a turkey dinner! This was her first time alone at the hut and she set off the fire alarm....and no one knew how to turn it off! It was very loud if you were curious. But the turkey was great! After dinner Sarah and I hung out with the croo (all of them had these great mason jar coozies that I know Sarah is planning on making), and chatted. They had made these awesome musical instruments from items that were laying around the hut. This included a banjo/guitar made with strings and a large metal can that previously was used for tomato sauce.

View from the Hut

Our Cozy Beds with this clever tray
thing between the beds

After a solid nights sleep we had a hot breakfast and then wandered around Gulfside trail to see what we could see. We were able to check out the summit for Mt Adams and went part of the way to Mt Jefferson. There are no pictures from the top of Mt Adams either, but this excuse is that there were so many small black flying bugs that were landing on you and flying into your face that we didn't stay long. Overall, the weather was cloudy with patches of sun and bright blue sky. During one of the occasional blue patches we had a great view of Mt. Washington!

Heading to some new summits, hut is behind me

Living in the Clouds

We could see Mt. Washington!

We also found a nice perch for snacks and pondering the meaning of life while watching the clouds pass us by. When we were fidgety we left that spot and headed back towards Mt. Madison. On the way we found a pile of rocks we had to climb and so glad we did. It was just a tad off the trail so you couldn't hear the other hikers but the view was a fantastic unobstructed panoramic mountain view.

Could sit here all day and enjoy the view

After a full day of seeing the sights, we went back to the hut for a hot dinner, more friends, and then sleep.

Monday morning we woke up to pouring rain and had an epic scramble to get off the mountain, pick up the tent, and deposit me back at Logan Airport to fly back to Virginia. I felt bad for the people on the plane next to me. Although I certainly wasn't as bad as the man who took off his shoes in the hut...


The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and the Huts 

The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is one of the oldest outdoor groups that organizes volunteers to maintain trails, perform training, and publish books/maps/guides. The AMC owns and maintains the 8 huts (or this link) along the Presidential Traverse which coincides with the Appalachia Trail.

For a fee you have a roof, hot meals, running water (no showers or hot water), and a bed (with bedding!). Was it worth it? Yes. Because it also means that we didn't have to hike in bedding, additional meals, tent, extra water, etc. While at first the cost seems very high we saw very quickly how our money was used.

At the beginning of the season bedding and some of the gear is dropped at the huts by helicopter. But for the rest of the year all the food they serve and trash that is left behind is hiked in or out by the people who are working the huts. This means they hike up and down the mountain at least once a week. If they want to visit friends that are also working the huts? They hike to the other huts which are all several miles apart. Crazy right??
Happy hiking!

Cheesy Tomato Sauce

You know when you the cooking gods are smiling and you make something really really tasty? Well this pasta sauce was created on one of those lucky cooking days. It is a simple semi-homemade sauce recipe for when you need to make dinner with limited ingredients!

Cheesy Tomato Sauce
makes 4-8 servings

1 lb ground turkey
1 onion, diced
2 big cloves of garlic, minced
1 Thai chili pepper, small mince
3 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp dried or freshly chopped basil, oregano
1 jar of pasta sauce (I used tomato basil)/Canned no flavor tomato sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oil in large frying pan. Saute onion, garlic, and pepper together. Once starting to soften add the meat. Season with the worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cook meat until done. Add spices and tomato sauce and let it simmer until you are ready to eat. If you want to make it cheesy, stir in the mozzarella until it is combined and melted. Let it simmer for another 10 (ish) minutes then serve over pasta!

Mom's Best Banana Bread

I forgot to take a picture, luckily my
godmother sent me a picture of her banana
bread bites! This batch was made
with cashews.

Here is an original family recipe which as been passed down for generations! Well, at least one generation. This is mom's incredible banana bread recipe. The recipe below is even formatted and worded the same as how she sent it to me!

This is a hearty, moist, and dense quick bread which means there is no waiting for dough to rise or needing to proof yeast or do anything funky.  Just mix up ingredients, pour into pans, and bake it!

I also learned that banana bread ships easily if you need to mail it anywhere.

Note #1: What does "Prepared and floured" mean? Prepared and floured pans means spray your pans of choice with non-stick spray, then add a tsp or tbsp of flour into it. Tap the pan until the flour coats the edges, corners, and bottom of the pan. This helps the removal process and you really shouldn't skip this step. 

Note #2: How many cups is 4 bananas? Honestly, I have no idea. I made it with about 2 cups of mashed up bananas which was 3 really big bananas. Be sure to mash them really well otherwise the little banana lumps will burst and create a burned mess on the edges of your muffin pan or bottom of the oven.

Note #3: Double this recipe. Seriously, it is awesome and will be eaten far too quickly.

Possible changes that I have done in the past? Add chocolate chips and swap using walnuts or cashews.

Storing the bread is easy, leave it out on the counter over night to let it cool completely before sealing it up into an air tight container. You can leave it at room temperature. I'm not sure how it will stay fresh for because I've never had it any bread left after 3 days.

Enjoy!

Update 1/11/2015 - I subbed almond milk for regular milk. This didn't change the texture of the bread itself but it did change the crisp of the outside of the bread. Normally banana bread has that almost caramelized crunchy crust. The almond milk gave the bread a softer crust, similar to the inside of the bread. Bananas - I had frozen bananas that were going to start go bad. Peel them before freezing. To use them I let them defrost on the counter then when they were getting soft I pureed them in the food processor.For this try I used both walnuts and chocolate chips. I baked it in a 9x9 glass pan for 35 minutes. Yummy!

Banana Bread Recipe

By My Mother

yields: 3 mini loaves (40-45 minutes) OR 18 mini muffins (12 minutes) and 2 mini loaves OR a large loaf (45 minutes) OR 12 Jumbo muffins (22 minutes)

1 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup white + 1/2 cup brown)
1 stick of butter, soft-room temp

2 eggs

¼ c. sour milk (1/4 c. milk + 1 tsp. vinegar) or buttermilk

2 c. flour*

¼ tsp. salt*

½ tsp. baking soda*

1 tsp. baking powder*

4 ripe bananas – well mashed, approx 2 cups

½ -1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
½ -1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F and prepared pans with oil and flour

Cream sugar and butter
Add eggs and blend well
Add sour milk

Add * ingredients on low in mixer
Add bananas and nuts

Pour batter into prepared pans 2/3 deep
Bake until when you test the cake with a toothpick it comes out clean

Crustless Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche

I was going to contribute to a work brunch! My original plan was to make cinnamon rolls, however I soon realized I had no flour, no vanilla, and no butter. I needed a new plan (and to go grocery shopping!). I also figured a better option would to bring something savory since I knew there would be bagels and other tasty but not as healthy options. Eggs are a great protein hearty meal!

Since I procrastinated, it was late and I didn't have time to run to the store for additional ingredients. I researched many different quiche recipes and combinations and this was the brain child!

I assembled this and cooked it before going into work. It took about 10 minutes to cook the veggies, while they were cooking I made the eggs.  It takes about 40 minutes to cook and I was able to get ready during that time! I transported this to work in a 9x13 glass baking dish lined with towels to keep it warm and so I didn't burn myself.

We ate this too fast for me to remember to take a picture. But try it! You won't regret it!

Here are some quiche tips: you make a quiche with crust, be sure you pre-cook the crust or you might have some soggy not quite cooked bits of dough at the bottom. Or you can put the crust on top which my mother does! This ensures it stays nice and crispy. Bacon is another funny issue, if you bake it in the quiche it gets soggy.

Happy eating!

Crustless Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche
Serves 6-8

7 eggs (used only 3-4 of the yolks)
1/4 cup Ricotta cheese
Approx 1/2 -3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4-1/2 cup milk
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, rough chopped (seasoned w/ garlic and oregano)
Splash of water
Salt/Pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 tsp dried oregano/basil/thyme

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a pie plate.

Saute the broccoli and tomatoes in the tomato oil with salt and pepper and herbs. Add a splash of water to the frying pan if it seems to dry. Cook until broccoli is tender/firm.

Meanwhile, scramble the eggs and combine in the cheeses and milk.

Pour out the broccoli and tomatoes into pie plate. Pour eggs over the top. Put in oven at 350F for 35-40 minutes. If you cook it at 375F it will be more golden on the top.

THE No-Rise Pizza Crust

Mozzerella and Parmesean pizza topped
with fresh oregano and basil
Photo credit of Kelcey =)

I found it! I found it! This is the go to no rise pizza crust recipe compared to my previous pizza dough attempt. The basis of this dough is found on all recipes. Combine the ingredients, top with your favorite toppings, and bake! Two exciting aspects of this recipe? Using yeast and using the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid mixer!

According to a few of the reviewers, if you proof the yeast in the water with the sugar before adding it to dry ingredients it will be a thicker chewy crust. If you combine all the dry and then add the wet ingredients the dough will be thinner and crispier.

I have made it two times (so far!).

The first time I added to the dough 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 heaping tsp garlic powder, and 1 tsp of dried herbs. I also used 2 cups white flour and 1 cup whole wheat. I proofed the yeast prior to mixing it into the dry ingredients but did not let the dough rise. I cooked it for 20 minutes at 350F. This was a soft and doughy pizza crust recipe.

The second time I prepared the dough following the recipe below (no herbs/garlic/cheese, and all white flour) and cooked it for 20 minutes at 420F, I liked the slightly crispy dough better when cooked at the higher temperature.

Next time I will try 450F and see how that comes out. I also would like to try this on a pizza stone/tray to see if that will help the bottom crisp up better too.

Very easy to double the recipe, make bread sticks out of, or add herbs too.

Happy eating!

Update 4/16/2014: Preheat oven to 500F with cast iron griddle. Cook pizza on the pan for 10-15 minutes. When I cook over 500 the smoke detector goes off.

Recipe Idea: Pulled Pork Pizza using the North Carolina Influenced Pulled Pork. Roll out dough. Cover dough with a thin layer of olive oil and minced garlic. Add a layer of sliced red onion, pulled pork, cheese, fresh cilantro, and a drizzle of bbq sauce.


THE No-Rise Pizza Crust
makes one medium size pizza

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

In a small bowl combine warm water and yeast. Let this sit together for a few minutes. Meanwhile combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add oil. Add water/yeast mix. Roll out then use your toppings of choice!

Authentically Based Ma Po Tofu

Wow its good to be back! I have been caught up with so much summertime that I haven't had time to work much on sharing my tasty recipes! I also have a broken laptop screen so I'm chained to a desk and spare monitor which makes it a little less convenient for writing. But I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and here is a little taste of home!

While most people claim their recipe is authentic, this Ma Po Tofu recipe comes right from the lips of one of my aunts. She cooks as authentic as they come, in fact, she often has to make her food less spicy for my poor Americanized taste buds!

This stir fry dish can be chopped, cooked, and on the table in 30 minutes or less. Make sure you chop everything up before starting to cook!

Some differences: She uses soft tofu, I used firm since I couldn't find soft. Soft tofu has a very different texture and will fall apart easily if you don't stir gently. Personally, I like soft tofu better then extra firm. She also uses ground pork while I used ground turkey. I have no real reason for that, I just tend to use ground turkey as my meat of choice.

The measurements for the "sauce" type ingredients are estimated, I just pour into the meat and guess each time.  You may have never used sesame oil, I highly recommend it, you will never be able to stir fry again without it!

I add broccoli or green beans, but that isn't very authentic.

Happy eating!

Ma Po Tofu
serves 4

1 lb Ground turkey or pork
1 big clove Garlic, minced
1 - 2 tbsp Garlic Chili sauce
1 - 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sesame oil
Combine 1/4 cup water, 1 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp each minced Cilantro, sliced green onions

Cook the meat until almost done. Add garlic, hot sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and combine. Cook about 2 minutes.
Add broccoli, cook until just about tender.
Add tofu and carefully stir.
Add water/corn starch mix and stir until thickened.
Top with Cilantro and green onion. Serve hot and over rice.