Everyday Oatmeal Cookies

I've switched from always having a loaf of banana bread around to always having oatmeal cookies around. They bake more quickly, have whole grains (kind of), and besides, I use all my bananas in smoothies these days.

This recipe is really flexible, you can substitute in whatever dried fruit, nuts, and spices you have on hand. My favorite combo is cranberries, walnuts and coconut, and my second is cherries, apricots, and prunes. The only version that we couldn't finish was white chocolate chip, raisin and ginger, I don't know what I was thinking, but they were still good enough to be polished off in the break room at work in less than a day.

These are great with tea or soy milk, and make really good ice cream sandwiches with vanilla ice cream too.

Everyday Oatmeal Cookies

makes about 2 dozen

1 stick butter, room temperature

3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour (or you can use all white flour)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (you can add whatever other spices you like too)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant, they come out gummy)

1 1/2 cups dried fruit (I like 3/4 cup coconut, 3/4 cup craisins)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 and grease 2 baking sheets. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar, then beat in egg and vanilla: these are your wet ingredients. Sift together flour, salt, nutmeg and baking soda: these are the dry ingredients.

In 2 batches, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Do not overmix. With a large spatula, gently mix in oats, fruits and whatever other add-ins you're using.

Drop tablespoon sized hunks onto your baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches in between. If you want flatter, crisper cookies, smoosh hunks into thinner rounds with a fork.

Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown on top. They will still be soft to the touch, and may seem underdone, if you like chewy cookies, take them out anyway and when they cool they will be perfect.

Strawberries are Here!

Well not here exactly, because apparently the spring in Arizona is too short for strawberries, but California is pretty close by, and they churn out some yummy berries. I've been eating at least a pint a day, it just doesn't make sense not to when they're $1/pint. I've thought about making a strawberry tart or cake, but that's just too much work when they're so good plain. Buttermilk scones, biscuits, shortbreads, whatever you want to call them are pretty easy though, and make delicious strawberry shortcakes, or are great plain with butter and jam for breakfast.

Buttermilk Biscuits

makes 6

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2-3 Tbsp sugar (depending on your tastes)

5 Tbsp cold butter, cut into bits

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. With your fingers, combine butter with dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir until a soft sticky dough forms. Drop dough into 6 mounds on ungreased baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 12-15 minutes.

My Sexy Bundt!

After a long day of shopping for nursery bedding, my resolve was weakened and I gave in and bought this totally unecessary bundt pan from Williams Sonoma:

Then I came home and baked this amazing banana cake and felt like a domestic goddess:

And I was trying to be a kitchen minimalist, doh.

Classic Banana Bundt Cake

adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Baking From My Home to Yours

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 sticks butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

4 very ripe bananas

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350. Generously butter and flour your bundt pan (or other 12 cup capacity pan).

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

Cream together sugar and butter with hand mixer or paddle attachment of stand mixer. Beat in vanilla and the eggs, 1 egg at a time. Add in the bananas, half the dry ingredient mixture, then the sour cream/yogurt, and finally the other half of the dry ingredients mixture.

Bake for 65-75 minutes. Let cool for ten minutes before unmolding to prevent breakage.

New problem: now I "need" a totally unecessary cake stand to show off my Gehry-esque creations!

Weekend Farmer's Market Dinner

Had a great Saturday yesterday! Temperatures were in the 70's, the sun was shining, and the farmer's market was full of delicious food.

I picked up some orange and purple cauliflower and a happy, local, free range, organic chicken. I sliced the cauliflower lengthwise, brushed with olive oil and roasted at 400 for 30 minutes. For the bird, I did a dry brine, stuffed it with lemon quarters and thyme, then roasted at 475 for 35 minutes.

The cauliflower was beautiful, packed with antioxidants, and full of intense, caramelized flavor. The chicken had the best skin I've ever had, crisp and tasty, plus the meat was moist and plump, even the breast.

We finished the meal with a simple salad of baby arugula and a loaf of rosemary bread, yum.

World's Best Braised Cabbage

This is my kind of recipe: super simple and super tasty. It has to be tried to be believed, because this simple combination of veggies really does produce a result greater than the sum of its parts.

World's Best Braised Cabbage

adapted from Molly Stevens All About Braising

1 small green cabbage, about 2 pounds

1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4" rounds

1 onion, cut into 1/4" slices

1/4 cup chicken broth, veg broth or water

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly oil a 9x13 ovenproof dish.

Remove wilted outer leaves from cabbage. Cut cabbage in half through the core, then make 4 wedges from each half. Place cabbage wedges into dish, sprinkle with carrots and onions and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes and seal dish tightly with foil.

Bake at 325 for 2 hours, flipping wedges over after one hour. After 2 hours, remove foil and increase oven temp to 400. Bake another 15-20 minutes or until cabbage is nicely browned on top.

BBA Catch-up

Since August and my last post I have been baking BBA breads, but I haven't been very good at staying in order or posting. Here are my last few months of breads, in no particular order whatsoever:)

BBA #14: French Bread


BBA # 22: Pain de Campagne, shaped into a Boule

BBA #18: Light Whole Wheat

BBA #17: Lavash, soft variation

BBA # 26: Poolish Baguettes

BBA #6: Challah, Three Braid

I'm Baaack!

Hooray, my first trimester is over and my appetite and taste buds are back to normal! I just wasn't that into food for the first time in my life, it was totally eerie but now I'm back to my usual self and the kitchen (and blog) are back!

BBA 11: Cranberry Apricot Walnut Celebration Bread

My dad is in town, and as he has been hearing all about my bread baking exploits for the last few months, he twisted my arm to fire up the ol' oven and get to baking!


I have a few BBA breads to catch up on but the Cranberry Walnut bread caught my dad's eye, and he had the great idea to add in some dried apricots. I made a couple additional alterations based on what I had on hand, using 2% milk rather than buttermilk, and omitting the citrus extract altogether. I was intimidated by the double braid, as shaping as been my achilles heel thus far, so I went with a really big single braid.


The final result was delicious! I think this dough would be amazing even without the additions, it had a great slightly eggy, rich, well rounded flavor, and the cranberries and apricots were just gilding the lily. I have to say this was probably also the best looking bread I've made for BBA so far. The shiny egg wash, the pretty braid shape, and the ruby studded interior= gorgeous!!!

I would definitely make this again, especially as a hostess or holiday gift. It's very impressive but actually quite simple to make. My braid came out a little lopsided, but even this shaping novice was able to turn out a pretty loaf.

No-cook cooking

I know, I know, I know. It is not original or interesting to complain about the Arizona summer heat. But, it's been 115 the last three days, which means when I get in my car, it's at least 150. They sous-vide stuff on Top Chef at 140 degrees. I am literally cooking! Myself!

Enough about the heat, more about the food. My mom is worried that my lack of posts means I am eating Chinese and Chipotle take out every night. Well, not every night, but yes, there is a fair amount of restaurant food lately, but of course I'm still cooking. I wanted to mention my two favorite no-cook meals, Fattoosh and Black Bean Corn Salad. There are lots of fattoosh variations, but I like this one by Ana Sortun. I serve the Fattoosh with store bought sides like hummus, dolmas, olives, and feta and the Black Bean Salad with chips, cheese and salsa or rotisserie chicken from Safeway. Voila, a well balanced meal with zero heat output.

Black Bean Corn Salad

1 can black beans

2-3 ears corn, kernels chopped off

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 jalapeno, finely minced

1 large mild chile, such as pasilla, poblano, bell, or anaheim, diced

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup red onion, diced

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp honey

juice of 1 lime

salt and pepper

Combine everything and toss. You can add paprika, cumin, cayenne, ground ancho chiles, or whatever your favorite spice is to jazz it up.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Last week was my bday, hooray for me, hooray for presents. My fave present so far is - big surprise here - a cookbook. My hubby got me Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean, by Ana Sortun.Since then I have been cooking up a storm, or haboob, as the case may be. I found a really cool Middle Eastern market, Baiz Market in downtown Phoenix, got a ton of cool new spices, pita, and 3 different kinds of feta (who knew!).

So far, the household favorite has been Muhammara on Flatbread with Za'atar. Muhammara is a walnut, red pepper and pomegranate dip. Remember the first time you tried hummus, or tzatziki, and the flavor combos were a revelation? Muhammara is the same thing! Here is a copy of the recipe from my cookbook, and here's another variation from Paula Wolfert that I want to try, to compare.

Za'atar is a spice blend of Jordanian thyme, sumac, sesame, and some other stuff. It is addictive and amazing, especially on this flatbread. In this batch pictured, I kind of skimped on the za'atar, next time I will use a lot more!

Flatbread with Za'atar

adapted from Spice, by Ana Sortun

1/4 oz active dry yeast (1 packet)

3/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups bread flour

1 tsp salt

4 Tbsp olive oil

6 Tbsp za'atar

Proof yeast by mixing with warm water until it blooms. Whisk in the 1/4 cup olive oil, flour, and half of the salt. Knead with a mixer or by hand (pretty easy with this dough) until satiny and tacky, but not sticky, adding more water or flour as necessary to achieve that texture. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and put in the refrigerator overnight to rise. Two hours before baking, remove from fridge and place on a 10x12 baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let dechill for 90 minutes. Stretch out dough to corners of baking sheet, trying to keep it an even thickness. Brush with remaining olive oil, sprinkle with za'atar and remaining salt, and let proof for 30 minutes, uncovered. Preheat oven to 375 and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges.