So, this is my last official post for A Cozy Kitchen. As you guys know, I started a new blog called Pink Basil, which is now my new home for all of my daily ramblings, recipes and who-knows-what-else.

When Adrianna and I started this two years ago (HOLY COW – have two years really gone by??) we had absolutely no idea what we were doing. I was a beginner baker, couldn’t find the F-stop on my camera to save my life, and the wide world of blogging was something completely foreign and scary.

I honestly had no idea how much fun this was going to be. I’ve learned so much about cooking, photography and have met a lot of fabulous new people.  Thank you to everyone that has visited this blog. You have no idea how much it means.

However, I’ve recently been getting a strong itch to write about things besides food, although it’s still my favorite subject by far. But since I made that decision, Adrianna and I agree that it’s easier for both of us if we each focus on one blog at a time, so I’m now turning over complete control of our brainchild to her. And let’s be honest, that’s gonna be pretty awesome. For her, for me, and hopefully for all of you readers.

I hope you all keep following me over at Pink Basil, or on my new Facebook or Twitter pages. Cause if you don’t, I’ll miss you. Like, a lot.

Thanks for everything,

-Caroline

Last weekend I stayed with my lovely friends of mine and we had an all-out cook fest. First, we grilled up some fish kabobs. Yum town. Then we drank one too many of these margaritas. I would like to tell you I regret this, but the fact is, I don’t. You should never, ever regret your margaritas.

Truthfully, I had barely enough energy in the morning for our last endeavor: baking. Luckily, this is a super simple and delicious quickbread that didn’t require much brainpower first thing in the morning. And, it’s perfect for breakfast. It has eggs, milk, and TWO kinds of fruit. Winner.

BTW – have you ever had chocolate cake for breakfast? The same above reasoning works just perfectly. Eggs, Milk, flour. Done and done.

Blueberry-Orange Walnut Bread

If you’re not a big fan of walnuts, feel free to substitute any other kind you like.

3  cups  all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tablespoon orange zest
2/3 cup orange juice
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat eggs in a small bowl and add to the dry mixture. Add in melted butter, milk, and orange juice and mix just until you have a smooth batter.

Gently fold in blueberries and walnuts and pour into two greased & floured loaf pans. Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle come out clean.

Kabobs have always been a bit stressful to me. I know that seems utterly ridiculous considering that they’re meant to be one of the most simple ways to grill your dinner all at once, but I get hung up on cooking time. I mean, if you have vegetables and meat all on the same skewer, how long are you supposed to cook them for? Cause, what if you like your vegetables to be charred and your steak rare? Or, in the case of this recipe, what if you like grilled pineapple to be caramelized and your tuna barely seared?

“Well, let’s just put them on separate skewers.”

This is what my friend Jason tells me. Did I tell you he’s a doctor? Aren’t you glad that he’s the one that operates on humans and not me? In all the years I’ve made kabobs, for some reason this option never occurred to me. Or maybe it occurred to me, but I thought I would be breaking some cardinal kabob rule.

Turns out, if you put everything on separate skewers and cook them for different amounts of time, things don’t just turn out fine, they turn out absolutely delicious.

I may not be able to handle complex meals like kabobs, but at least I have a few simple desserts up my sleeve. Good thing I have doctor friends to cook for me every now and then.

Gingery Pineapple Fish Kabobs

We used tuna for this recipe, but you could also try swordfish or salmon.

Serves 6

2 cups pineapple juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoons white vinegar
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/4 pounds raw salmon, cut into chunks
1 pineapple, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
1 bell pepper, cut into large pieces

In a small saucepan, dissolve cornstarch in pineapple juice. Add in the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and ginger. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 7 minutes. Allow to cool and add fish and pineapple to sauce. Marinate for 30 minutes.

Thread fish, pineapple and onion onto the skewers. Place on hot grill until fish is done to your liking.

For one whole summer I was a vegan. For real, I did that. I didn’t eat meat, or eggs, or any dairy products. And for a very short period of time, I kinda liked it. Until of course, I remembered cheese. Seriously, how are there people in this world who live without cheese? One whiff of some baked brie and my stint as a vegan was over.

I may have been a vegan for 3 months, but that is a full 3 months longer than I have ever been on the low-carb diet. How someone can even consider giving up bread is beyond me. If pushed, I could probably go without carbs for…6 hours. Make that 5.

That’s why it’s kind of dangerous for me to make recipes like this. Because these rolls needed to last about an hour until dinner, and I was tempted to just sit there and eat them all. Luckily I was able to keep myself to just 3 rolls. Plus two more at dinner. It’s amazing how restrained I can be when I try. Then of course, I may have just been distracted by this little guy.

Rosemary and Olive Oil Rolls

Makes 16-18 rolls

1 packet active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F)

1 cup warm milk

3 tablespoons butter

1 eggs

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoons salt

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

2 teaspoons sea salt

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and allow to sit for a couple minutes. Add the milk, butter, eggs, sugar, salt and half of the flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes (dough will be sticky). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 24 pieces. Shape each into a roll. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Ideally they should be touching each other. Brush with olive oil and then sprinkly with rosemary and sea salt. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks.

I tried really hard to think of something to clever to write this morning, and finally had to concede that it just isn’t happening. It’s been a long week, and the week’s not even half over. Plus, the A/C is permanently stuck on “high” in my office, and it’s a balmy 50 degrees outside, so I’m more concerned with staying warm than coming up with cutsy quips.

Uggh, sorry, I wish I could do better for you. However, I do have this pizza. This pizza is delicious to make with fresh, early-summer corn. If you have access to a front porch, I suggest you eat there. If you can whip up a margarita to go with it, that wouldn’t hurt either.

I promise to do better for you next week. Seriously, I’m gonna do a little attitude adjustment and it’s going to be rainbows and sunshine. In the meantime, if you want to see photos of someone that is super-happy, you should check here. Please know I still love you. Even when I’m cold and tired, and that really says something.

Roasted Chile, Corn and Cheddar Pizza

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Adapted from Cooking Light

2 poblano chiles

2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)

1/2 cup chopped green onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup milk

2 large egg whites

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup  shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1  recipe pizza dough store bought or homemade

2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat broiler

Place poblano chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet; broil 10 minutes or until blackened and charred, turning occasionally. Place in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag and seal. Let stand 10 minutes to allow the skins to separate. Peel and discard skins, seeds, and stems. Chop peppers.

Lower oven temperature to 425°. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add corn, green onions, and garlic and sauté 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in milk; cook over medium heat 2 minutes more or until liquid almost evaporates. Cool slightly.

Meanwhile, place egg whites, egg, salt, and black pepper in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Stir in poblano peppers, corn mixture, and cheese. Make sure the corn has cooled – you don’t want to scramble the eggs

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll dough onto parchment paper; pat dough to form a 13 x 8-inch rectangle. Spread corn mixture over dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold 1 inch of dough over corn mixture. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until set. Serve with sour cream; sprinkle with cilantro (optional).

Update: I had soooo much fun reading about all of your simple pleasures! Thanks for all the inspiration, and here is our lucky winner:

Katy: simple pleasure- sun shining through the windows, hot tea in hand, snuggled on the couch reading

There are lots of exciting announcements today. First of all, I made some awesome chewy, gingery, they’re-so-good-i-want-to-eat-the-whole-plate cookies, and they have quinoa in them! Quinoa is an uber-healthy seed that packs protein into anything you make it with. Even more excuse to eat the whole plate.

 

I also have a fabulous giveaway for you today – a Fair Trade baking kit! Adrianna and I were each sent one of these from the Fair Trade organization, and let me just say, I haven’t stopped drooling yet. Here’s what’s included:

prAna Soul-T (doesn’t really help with the baking, but it’s super cute!)
La Yapa Quinoa
SerindipiTea Darjeeling Tea
Green Mountain Coffee
Divine Chocolate Bar
Fair Trade Tote Bag

If you wanna know what Christmas in May feels like, have a box of this stuff sent to your house. Or, leave me a comment and maybe I’ll send you one ☺

Buutttt, my big announcement is I have recently started a new blog! Now, don’t get all worried, I’m still gonna be here on A Cozy Kitchen for quite a while, cooking up lots of tasty recipes. But if you wanna check out some more stuff I have going on, let me introduce you to Pink Basil, my blog about finding and cherishing simple joys in life.  I am super, super excited about this new project, and I hope you enjoy it!

So here’s the deal – leave me a comment about your favorite simple pleasure in life, and you’ll be entered to win this DELICIOUS baking kit from Fair Trade. Contest is closed after 12:00pm Pacific time on Sunday.

Happy Friday!

Ginger-Molasses Quinoa Cookies

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Makes 16 cookies

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup quinoa
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar +1/3 cup for dusting
1 egg
¼ cup molasses

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grind the quinoa in a food processor until it becomes a fine powder. If there are still some larger  pieces of quinoa that’s okay – it’ll add some crunch!

In a medium bowl, combine the quinoa powder, flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. In a large mixing bowl beat together the butter, sugar, molasses and egg until combined. Beat in the as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in the rest of the flour. Scoop up heaping tablespoons of the dough and roll into balls. Roll the balls in the extra sugar and place on a greased baking sheet.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on a cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

So…you may have noticed that I’ve been MIA lately. It’s also possible you haven’t noticed since if you’ve been too busy drooling over A’s more recent recipes.  At any rate, the short story is that I got a call to come back to NC for a 3-month job, and had only 5 days notice before I needed to start. If you’re trying to visualize what that must have been like, picture this:

Me, running around my apartment throwing whatever random clean clothes I had into suitcases.

Me, getting giddy with excitement about getting to be in Asheville for 3 months over the summer!

Me, crying because I’m not going to get to go to Cinespia this year.

Me, packing 4 pairs of high heels, which I wear almost never, and only two pairs of flip flops, which I wear every day. I, of course, will not realize this until I am all the way across the country. This will happen at the same time I realize I have 10 dresses to wear on the weekend, and only 3 pairs of jeans to wear during the work week. Packing fail.

So, to kick off my Southern summer, I give you this recipe: Hashbrowns – scattered, smothered and covered. Most of you will remember these from one too many late nights at Waffle House. For those that haven’t had the pleasure, this is what I typically would eat in college whenever I found myself still awake and hungry at 3am. As to what I had been doing to keep me awake that long…umm…I plead the fifth.

Here’s all you need to know: These are potatoes fried in a pan (scattered), topped with sautéed onions (smothered) and cheese (covered). Seriously delicious, even if you eat them at a more respectable hour of the day.

Hashbrowns – Scattered, Smothered and Covered

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Serves 2

1 russet potato, scrubbed and grated.
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup of canola or olive oil

Fill a large bowl with water and liberally add some salt. Soak the potato shreds in the salt water bath for about 10 minutes to draw out all of the starch. Drain, and then squeeze all the moisture out of the potato using a clean dish cloth.

Meanwhile, heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan and sauté the onion over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes, until the onions begins to brown. Remove from the pan and set aside; wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.

Add another 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and bring up to medium high heat. Scatter the potatoes onto the pan and fry until they turn golden brown. Using a large spatula, flip the potatoes over, keeping them as together as possible. Scatter the onions over the potatoes and then top with cheese. When the other side begins to turn brown, transfer the hashbrowns to a plate. Dig in immediately!

This recipe first stood out to me because of how simple it is. And because it’s very French, which for some reason makes me think of spring time. And because eggs are delicious in almost any style. Also, I got it from Ina Garten. This normally means good things.

However, Ina made her eggs in individual gratin dishes that hold 3 eggs, and all I had in my cabinet were some ramekins that could each contain a single egg. Not all of us are lucky enough to have a kitchen in the Hamptons that is probably the size of my entire apartment, and therefore can have every type of serving dish imaginable on hand. Not that I’m bitter or anything…

My point is, I kind of went into this knowing I was playing with fire. I mean, when you change up a recipe you’ve never made before there’s a good chance you’re going to miss a really important detail.

Let’s just say this…it’s possible I opened the oven to check on these eggs and found that the cream was boiling up and over the top of the ramekin. I might have freaked out and yanked the eggs out and started cursing over the fact that I had most likely ruined the them. It’s arguable that I thought the eggs looked kinda gross and that I wasn’t thrilled about eating them. There’s also a chance I considered just throwing the whole thing away and eating Ben & Jerry’s for breakfast instead. Mind you, these are just rumors.

The one thing that I will say did happen – I tried one little bite just to make sure. And I found out that these eggs were off the wall delicious. I then proceeded to eat the first egg standing up in my kitchen because I didn’t want to take the time to walk to the table. Honestly, you’re lucky that I paused long enough to snap off a couple photos.

Moral of the story – make these eggs. Then eat them. The end.

Herbed-Baked Eggs

Adapted from Ina Garten

I made 2 different herb mixes for the eggs I made, both used garlic & thyme, but for one egg I used chives and the other I tried some fresh lavendar. Both eggs were delicious, I would encourage you to play around with the herbs and use whichever you like best.

1/4 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon minced chives, lavendar or rosemary
1 teaspoon freshly grated parmesan
3 extra large eggs
3 teaspoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sliced French Bread, for serving

Preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and place the oven rack 6 inches below the heat.

Combine the herbs and parmesan and set aside. Carefully crack 1 eggs into each of 3 small bowls or teacups (you won’t be baking them in these) without breaking the yolks. If a yolk breaks, just toss the egg out and try again. Sprinkle the herbs & cheese over top of the eggs. (It’s very important to have all the eggs ready to go before you start cooking.)

Place 3 ramekin dishes on a baking sheet. Place 1 teaspoon of cream and 1/3 tablespoon of butter in each dish and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Quickly, but carefully, pour an egg into each ramekin and then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place back under the broiler for 5 to 6 minutes, until the whites of the eggs are almost cooked. (you can check this by simply poking at the eggs with a butter knife or spoon – you’ll be able to feel if they’re firm or not.) If the cream bubbles up – don’t freak out! The eggs will continue to cook after you take them out of the oven. Allow to set for 60 seconds and serve hot with toasted bread.

I’m all about some one-pot/one-pan meals. Reason number #1 – less dishes to clean. I really, really dislike doing dishes, although I guess that’s a pretty obvious thing to say. If you’re a weird person who likes doing dishes, we probably don’t get along.

Actually…if you like doing dishes then maybe we should be best friends. As in, the kind of best friends that will drop by unexpectedly do nice things for each other. How about, I cook dinner in your kitchen and you come clean my dishes? Deal? Deal.

However, until my perfect new best friend starts popping by, I’m going to stick with my one-pot meals. Like this coconut curried fried rice. Okay, technically this is 2 pot/pan meal, since you have to make the rice separately. Buuuuttt… you can make the rice the night before, so you’ll only have one pan per day. It works for me. Chase and I get to eat big bowls of hearty fried rice, and then we just clean out one pan when we’re all done. This leaves plenty of time for other things, like playing Super Mario Wii, or watching American Idol, or other life-enriching activities.

Coconut Curried Fried Rice

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Adapted from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook

This recipe works great with any cooked rice. It’s the perfect way to use up leftover rice from anther meal. It must be said though that the coconut rice is pretty heavenly.

For the coconut rice:

1 1/4 cups water

1 cup basmati or jasmine rice

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 piece cinnamon stick

1/4 cup raisins

Combine all ingredients in a rice cooker and cook. Remove the cinnamon stick and either use immediately or you can refrigerate for a few days until you’re ready to make the fried rice.

For the curry fried rice:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tablespoon red Thai curry paste

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

3/4 cup frozen peas

1 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Have all of your ingredients prepared and nearby before you begin to cook. (the rice should be ready at this point). Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the eggs and cook on medium-high heat. When the edges of the eggs begin to set, gently flip them over (you can also scramble if that’s easier. Once the eggs are completely cooked, remove from the pan and cut into pieces or strips. Wipe the wok clean with a paper towel.

Heat the rest of the olive oil on medium heat. Add in the carrot and cook for 1 minute, then add the garlic and curry paste and cook for a minute more, stirring constantly to begin scorching. Add the rice and peas and cook until heated through. Stir in the egg strips, soy sauce and lime or lemon juice.

You can add a little more soy sauce to taste if you wish. Now just pour into bowls an enjoy!

I have had a decidedly not-cute week. First, I got a cold. The first morning with said cold I was out attempting to walk my dog when I tripped and fell in a HUGE puddle. So, so not cute. Oh, and to the guy that that was stopped at the intersection and drove off WITHOUT helping me: I understand that you were probably paralyzed with laughter and couldn’t get out of your car, but help a girl out next time, okay? I of course got up and tried to pass the other dog-walkers like nothing was amiss. As if I typically spend all of my morning walks dripping water from half my body.

Then I went to work. You know what you do at work when your nose is stuffed up with a cold? You mouth breathe. You ever really though about how not-cute mouth breathing is? Very. Especially when you zone out in front of your computer and have an empty glaze over your eyes while doing it. Seriously people, this is reason alone to stay home from work when you’re sick.

Yesterday I tried to buy myself some new lip stain from Sephora to pull myself out of this not-cute funk. I succeeded only in getting bright pink lip stain on my jeans. I’ve now accepted that  it’s just not happening this week.

However, I do have these cookies. These cookies are really cute, and full of Easter fun. And, they have Cadbury milk chocolate eggs in them, which cures all. Even this stupid cold.

Chocolate Chip Easter Egg Cookies

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Chocolate chip cookie recipe adapted from Better Homes and Garden

1/2 cup  shortening
1/2 cup  butter
1/2 cup  granulated sugar
1 cup  packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon  baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon  vanilla
2-1/2 cups  all-purpose flour
1 cup  semisweet chocolate pieces
1 cup Cadbury milk chocolate eggs, broken into pieces

In a large mixing bowl beat the shortening and butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and baking soda. Beat mixture until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Stir in chocolate pieces and broken egg bits.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree F oven 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Makes about 60 cookies.