A Snack Worth Napping For

What to do on a day off work.... what to do.... what to do.... It's times like these that you don't have homemade bread dough in your fridge for nothing. So I put it to work and made these babies from scratch. What to do next? Well, nap. Obviously.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND GRUYERE PANINIS ON ROSEMARY FRENCH BREAD

THE GOODS

Your premade boule dough, see recipe here, or a french bread purchased elsewhere
Gruyere cheese ($3.43)
Red onion ($0.40)
Balsamic vinegar and olive oil


The Grand Total: $3.83 for as many paninis as that block of cheese will make ya (or your stomach can handle)

THE WAY

Use the recipe for boule dough here, mixing rosemary into the ingredients before you add flour. After the dough is made (warning: read the recipe first, you should make the bread in significant advance of expected hunger).

Slice your red onions thinly and caramelize them by sauteeing them on medium low heat over 1 tablespoon or so of olive oil for 5-10 minutes, stirring once, until they start to brown. Then, add about 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and stir them up again. Let them cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Heat up your George Forman or grill pan, if you have them. If not, a sautee pan works fine. Slice up some gruyere cheese and your French bread. Assemble little paninis with the caramelized onions, and gruyere. Then grill, using a little bit of butter on your sautee pan if you're not using a grill.

Bon appetit!

2 Little Pumpkins Sitting on My Sill

If you're anything like me, your stomach is grumbling as you eye the Halloween pumpkins sitting unsuspectingly on your window sill. "How can I get you on my plate?" you're wondering deviously.

Wonder no more. Here are some step by step instructions about how to roast your pumpkin to make your very own pumpkin puree that you can use for any variety of delicacies: pumpkin oatmeal cookies, pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin bread, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin gratin, etc. And since nothing goes to waste in this girl's kitchen, you'll also learn how to roast those delicious pumpkin seeds for a great afternoon (or any time) snack.

HOW TO TAME YOUR PUMPKIN



THE GOODS

Pumpkin(s) (for small ones, $1 a piece)
Butter
Salt and Pepper

The Grand Total: $1-4

THE WAY

This article from Suite101.com gives an easy to follow how-to about different ways to make pumpkin puree - baked, boiled, or microwaved.

I followed their directions for baking:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the pumpkin in half and clean out the seeds and stringy guts. Brush a little melted butter on the cut edges of the pumpkin.







Place the sides cut side down on an oven safe dish (I used a glass casserole dish). Cook for around an hour or until the pumpkin is soft.








Cool.













Scoop the insides out of the skin. Cut into pieces and food process until it's a smooth puree.








While your pumpkin is cooking, get ready to roast those seeds. Separate the guts from the seeds, and lay the seeds in a single layer on a cookie sheet covered with tinfoil. Season them with salt and pepper. I made two batches: one with Chinese 5 spice mix on them for a little gingery twist, and the other with hot peri peri pepper spice on them for a little kick. Let the seeds dry out for a few hours. Then, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and roast the seeds for about 40 minutes.

Savory Mediterranean Wrap

So far, everything I've made with this French boule dough recipe (French bread, naan, and cinnamon rolls) has been phenomenal. But having all 6 pounds of unmade bread dough sitting patiently in my refrigerator makes me a bit anxious to start using it. Hence, my perusal for a great recipe for something filling and savory to wrap up in flatbread (read: naan). Well, I found it. Introducing sabich, a delicious and fresh Mediterranean wrap that won't break your budget. According to this recipe, Sabich is a popular sabbath food for Iraqi Jews. When they emigrated to Israel and set up a community in Ramat Gan, the sandwich came with them. And now it has arrived in my kitchen and, let me tell ya, it's around to stay.

I apologize that there is no picture of the final product. Consider it a testament to how quickly I ate this bad boy once it was made.


MINT ROASTED EGGPLANT SABICH WRAP
*The main inspiration for this dish is this recipe from Herbivoracious.com. In my typical style, I modified it to make it fit my quaint little budget.

THE GOODS

Eggplant ($1.39)
Cucumber ($1)
Red onion ($0.40)
Tomato ($0.30)
1 egg ($0.20)
1/2 a lemon ($0.20)
Garlic cloves or powder
Salt and pepper
Mint (optional. I used some from my Mom's garden, but it shouldn't cost you more than $1-2)
Boule dough (see recipe here, costs about $0.34 per serving)

The Grand Total: $3.49


THE WAY

First, premake your boule dough following this recipe. This will take about 3 hours to prepare, so make sure that if you haven't already done it you do it plenty of time in advance.

I combined several recipes to make the sabich happen. First, I used this recipe from whiteonricecouple.com to roast the eggplant, since that takes the longest. Alternatively, you can fry your eggplant by dicing it up and placing it in a sautee pan with some hot oil for about 10 minutes. This would be delicious and quick, but I decided to go the healthy route. Here is how you roast them:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the eggplant thinly and lay it on a large sheet pan (or other oven safe pan - I used a casserole dish. Chop up about 2-3 cloves of garlic and sprinkle it throughout the pan. Sprinkle with whole mint leaves, salt and pepper, and drizzle with about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Use your hands to mix it all up and distribute the oil and spices as evenly as possible.

Roast until eggplants are a light golden brown and soft (can be anywhere from 30 min – 1 hr depending on your eggplants and their thickness.) You do not need to flip them during roasting.

While your eggplants are roasting, hard boil an egg. In case you don't know how to make a perfect hard boiled egg,  this website gives you step-by-step instructions.

In the meantime, make your naan (step-by-step instructions here) by using some of your premade boule dough, stretching it out to a flat pancake, and sauteeing it for 3 minutes on each side on a hot pan with butter or oil (as always, butter is better). While you're naan is sauteeing, chop up a tomato, 1/2 a red onion, and some cucumber.

When everything is cooked and ready to go, slice up your egg, place all the veggies on your hot naan, season with salt, pepper, and some lemon juice.

Spicy Weeknight Delight

I've never made enchiladas before, but I was in an adventurous mood last night. So I picked up some low-carb tortillas from Trader Joe's (surprisingly good) and filled them with all the delicious items that A Couple Cooks recommend in their recipe "Sweet Potato, Black Bean, and Green Chile Enchiladas," with a couple modifications for cheapness's sake. I was very content when out of the oven emerged 6 steaming, spicy, filling homemade enchiladas, desperately begging for my consumption, for a mere $2.70 per serving (2 enchiladas). What can I say but, "The price is right?"

ENCHILADAS A LA CHEAP
FILLED WITH SWEET POTATO, BLACK BEAN AND GREEN CHILI 

THE GOODS

1 large sweet potato ($0.30)
1 15 oz. can black beans ($0.75)
1 cup diced green chilies, canned ($0.89)
1-2 cups of salsa ($1.99)
1 medium red onion ($0.40)
1 tablespoon chili powder (not sure, had this on hand)
4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded ($2.49)
5 flour tortillas ($1.29)
Salt and pepper

Note: I did not use cumin (although the recipe called for 1/4 tablespoon), sour cream, or fresh cilantro. I also substituted Colby jack cheese with cheddar cheese, and salsa verde with regular chipotle salsa.

The Grand Total: $8.11 for at least 3 servings (if 1 serving is 2 enchiladas), $2.70 per serving

THE WAY

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel and dice the sweet potato. Place in a pot and cover with water; add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, around 12 to 15 minutes.

In the meantime, finely chop the red onion. Drain and rinse the black beans. (If using cilantro to garnish, you could chop it at this time as well.) In a large bowl, combine the cooked sweet potato, black beans, red onion, diced green chilies, 1/2 tablespoon chili powder (and 1/4 tablespoon cumin, if you're using it). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then mix to combine.

Then, assemble the enchiladas. First, warm the tortillas for a minute in the microwave. Spread 1/2 cup of salsa at the bottom of a baking dish. Then fill each tortilla with a scoop of the filling, and a handful of cheese. Roll them up and place them seam-side down in the baking dish. When all enchiladas are in the dish, top with the remaining 1/2 cup of salsa and the remaining cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted.


Note: As a time saver, you could cook the sweet potato beforehand, and even prepare the entire filling in advance.

Cinnamon Rolls for All

I promised more recipes using the boule dough from the Mother Earth News recipe. So far, so good: I've used it to make a French boule (round, baguette-like loaf), naan, and now... cinnamon rolls. I've never made cinnamon rolls before, and I had no idea they would be this easy to make. On a rainy afternoon when my roommates and I decided to watch 3 movies in a row, they made the perfect coffee table decoration, until 5 minutes later when they made a great, warm stomach coating. How multi-purpose, right?! Whatever you want them for, I highly recommend them.

STICKY CARAMEL CINNAMON ROLLS

THE GOODS

1 1/2 pounds pre-mixed boule dough

Topping
6 tablespoons unsalted butter ($1.49 or less for 2 sticks)
1/2 teaspoon salt (you should have this on stock)
1/2 cup brown sugar ($1.99)
Optional (which I didn't use): 30 pecan halves

Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (see above)
1/4 cup cinnamon
Pinch of ground black pepper
Optional (which I didn't use): 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped

The Grand Total: $3.48 plus the cost of the boule dough (see recipe in previous post)

THE WAY

Cream together the butter, salt and brown sugar. Spread evenly in a 9-inch cake pan. Scatter the pecan halves over the mixture and set aside.

Dust the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a cantaloupe-sized piece. Dust the piece with flour and shape it into a ball following the method in Step 5 of The Master Recipe (above).
With a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 1/8-inch thick rectangle. Add only enough flour to prevent it from sticking.

Cream together the butter, sugar and spices for the filling. Spread evenly over the dough and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Roll the dough into a log. If it’s too soft to cut, chill for 20 minutes.
With a serrated knife, cut the log into 8 pieces and arrange over the pecans, with the “swirled” edge facing up. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest and rise 1 hour (or 40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).

5 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake about 40 minutes, or until golden brown and set in center. While still hot, run a knife around the pan to release the rolls, and invert immediately onto a serving dish.
 

After School Special

One of my favorite meals is tomato soup with grilled cheese. Nothing takes me back to elementary school like the creaminess of the soup contrasted with the sharp melty cheese and toasty bread.... It makes my insides smile.

The best I've ever had is the one at Doughboys' Bakery in Los Angeles. I decided I wanted to try to achieve the happy sensation that they sell me in my very own kitchen. Although I wasn't going to get that fatty or fancy (I think they use cabbage and cream to sweeten it up), I figured tomato soup would be an easy, cheap dish to make for myself that would remind me of home. So I tested out a new recipe using only 6 ingredients that are staples in my kitchen: tomatoes, chicken broth, basil, onion, red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese. The results were great for a soup with no cream, and even better the next day for a warm lunch, which is a major bonus in my book.


DELICIOUS (BUT HEALTHY) TOMATO BASIL SOUP



THE GOODS

1 can of diced tomatoes ($0.79)
1/2 of a yellow onion ($0.40)
Handful of basil, about 8 leaves ($1)
2 teaspoons of chicken or vegetable buillon ($3.49 for a huge container)
1 cup-ish of parmesan cheese ($1.99)
About 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
About 2 tablespoons of olive oil

The Grand Total: $7.47 for about 3 servings, or about $2.55 per serving

THE WAY

Chop up the onion. Place the olive oil in a medium to large pot over medium heat. Sautee the onions for 5-10 minutes, until they become translucent but not brown. Now, add the canned tomatoes and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Tear up the basil and stir it in. Add the chicken stock (which you make by adding the 2 cups of hot water with 2 teaspoons of chicken buillon).




Cook for 10-20 minutes, then puree in a blender.












Pour the blended soup back in the pot, adding the parmesan cheese, stirring, and cooking for 10 more minutes or so. Top with parmesan cheese and serve with toast.

Not Your Average Bite of Cake

It was office potluck time again, and I wanted to bring something fun and nibbly that involved chocolate (and didn't break the bank). My final decision left my coworkers, my Halloween visitors, and my roommates begging for more. Introducing.... the Halloween funfetti cake truffle: enrobed in chocolate, encrusted in candy corn, and bejeweled with sprinkles. 

And with a little creativity, they can be morphed to suit all of your holiday needs. Think: dried cranberry toppings with orange-colored cake inside for Thanksgiving, crushed candy cane topping with white chocolate coating and red velvet cake for Christmas, blue-dyed cake with white chocolate coating and silver sprinkles for Hannukah... you name it!

Readers, please comment with any ideas you have about different toppings or combinations! Let me know if you try any of them and how they turn out.

CHOCOLATE COVERED CAKE TRUFFLES (w/ candy corn)

To give credit where credit is due, I was inspired by this recipe from the Velveteen Baker.

THE GOODS

Canned frosting or do-it-yourself ($1.79)

Funfetti cake mix ($1.79)

Canola oil ($3.29)

3 eggs ($0.80)

Semi-sweet chocolate chips, or whatever your fancy ($1.99)

Candy corn, or your topping of choice ($1)

The Grand Total: $10.66 for about 4 dozen cake truffles, or about $0.22 per truffle

THE WAY

Make the funfetti cake following the directions on the box. Or, use your own favorite cake recipe if you have more time, energy, and creativity juices. When the cake is done, let it cool for about 10 minutes. 

Now, for the fun part. Crumble the cake into a large bowl. Mix in 2 cups of frosting so that the mixture becomes dough-y.

Form the mixture into small balls by rolling them in your hands. I made mine about 2 inches in diameter. Place them on wax or parchment paper on a cookie sheet and stick them in the freezer for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. You want them to be solid but not completely frozen. (Mine are an ugly, brainy color because I mixed white funfetti cake with orange frosting.)


Chop up your candy corn or other candy topping. Then, melt your bag of chocolate chips in a saucepan over low low low heat, stirring constantly. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of canola/vegetable oil to make it melt smoother. One or two at a time, take your cake balls out of the freezer and, using a spoon (or a dipping fork - for candy makers with a slightly bigger budget), drop the ball into the melted chocolate and scoop it out and onto the wax/parchment paper. Let it dry for about a minute, then press the candy corn pieces on top. Repeat until all the truffles are made and beautiful. Then refrigerate until you're ready to serve them.