baked oatmeal, sweet memories, and allrecipes.com

this month, allrecipes.com has asked me to share a memory that ties me to my favorite recipe site. the timing is fitting, since this has been a busy week that resulted in ZERO cooking for me. because my kiddos were in the school play and theatre-major mom came out this week, we spent every waking moment at the school prepping costumes, sets, and character development. we are in the midst of turning our whole house upside-down to make better use of space, so literally every room in the house holds mis-matched furniture and paint rollers wrapped in plastic (i HATE to re-wash paint rollers!). 

 our kids have been amazing at building beds, organizing closets, and painting walls to make home -well, "homey-er" for everyone. then at the culmination of an exhausting week, we were blessed to have grandparents (three sets!) visit to watch the play. poor hubs was left to manage the chaos as best possible with the three non-acting siblings. when everyone arrived for the play, i found myself lamenting that i couldn't host everyone properly. i wanted to have visitors for a home-cooked meal. i wanted to have matching sets of towels, freshly laundered and waiting for refreshment and relaxing. i wished i had hot coffee and warm treats, with candles lit and baseboards dusted. i realize that "in the chaos" was where i needed to be this week, using a long-lost love/gift in theatre, and i have let myself off the guilt-hook. however, i am reminded that for me, food has always had a special place in my hospitality, and i want to get back to those roots. 

 as i thought back to some of our sweetest memories, i immediately wished for a bowl of baked oatmeal, one of the first recipes i discovered on allrecipes.com, and one i've shared over and over with friends and family who've visited and relaxed over a hot serving doused with cream and accompanied by fresh fruit and hot tea or coffee. baked oatmeal to me is comfort with a bit of extra "fancy" thrown in; it says "welcome," and "i cared enough to bake for you." it says "good morning," and "have a great day!" it's a recipe i've pulled out that i can sort of prepare ahead and always feel like i'm taking good care of our guests. i'm looking for a flashback to that old-fashioned homey comfort, so i think as we settle back into real-life this week (is there such a thing? :)) i may make a batch of baked oatmeal.

tomato help {works-for-me-wednesday}

there's maybe nothing more gross than pale tomatoes.  they're lackluster as far as flavor goes, and as for their texture, sometimes they go straight to grainy... YUCK! 

i almost never buy tomatoes unless i can hold them and smell them, but occasionally we get a great deal through our organic co-op and i risk it and unfortunately they sometimes come looking like this:

sorry, but ain't no way i'm going to eat sad, pale tomatoes like this; neither will we waste good organic produce!  to the rescue: roast them!

slice them in half.  we're going to roast these babies.  drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  super simple.  if you want, sprinkle with dried herbs, but do this before the olive oil or the herbs will possibly burn.  burned herbs do not work-for-me.

into the oven with you, little guys!  a little note here: it's best to use a pan with a bit of a lip to catch those wandering juices.  a happy side effect we accidentally discovered is that the acids do a nice job on all the unwanted "seasoning" built up on our pan.  if you actually have a well-seasoned pan, do not use it for this recipe. 

i've tried doing these under the broiler, which is great if they're fairly  ripe and rich in color.  sprinkle those with parmesan and broil just till the cheese browns.  for these critters, though, a little more help was needed.  with a temperature of around 400 degrees, roast them for 30 minutes or so.  we're not going all the way to sun-dried (which you could, which is also delicious), but just till they're nice and gooey and rich, with a golden crust on top.

there you have it.  delicious, delightful tomatoes - saved from their sad pale previous state.  and that's what works for me this wednesday!  if you love this tip and would like to see more, click here!  (temporarily hosted at rocks in my dryer for march 3rd and march 10th. - thanks!)

enjoy!  and if you like what you see, leave a comment!  hugs.

espresso mocha buttercream cupcakes {coffee cupcake recipe}

I made these cupcakes a few weeks ago as a little experiment.  My final analysis is that they are good, gooey, and rich, but maybe a little not-so-much-on-the-light-and-fluffy-side.  :)  I'd love to hear your feedback!

Caramel Mocha Truffle Cupcakes

(Can you say “YUM?”)

For these cupcakes, I altered the recipe for caramel Lightning Cake from The Joy of Cooking (75th Anniversary Edition), by Irma Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker.

For truffle filling:

1 ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
¼ cup flavored creamer (I used eggnog flavor, but any would be great!) or half-and-half
10 large marshmallows

Begin melting chocolate chips in 30 second increments in microwave, stirring thoroughly after each interval. As chips begin to melt, stir in creamer and marshmallows and continue to heat/stir carefully until blended. Set in refrigerator to cool.

Whisk together in a large bowl (I use my stand mixer)

1 ½ cups flour (we often use half whole wheat):
½ cup sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

Add in and continue to blend:

2 large eggs
1/c cup milk
1 Tbsp espresso powder
1 Tbsp coffee liqueur (opt)

Beat in and continue to blend until light and airy (about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down bowl halfway):

½ cup salted butter, softened

Fill cupcake cups ½- ¾ full (I use a large ice cream scoop). Carefully place a small scoop, approximately ½ tsp, of the ganache onto each cupcake, trying not to drop it to the bottom.

Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 16 minutes, watching carefully. Allow to cool and frost with:

Espresso Mocha Buttercream

2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
3 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
2 Tbsp dark cocoa
1 tsp coffee liqueur (opt)

Beat until light and fluffy.

Angela Sackett, Jan 2010

purple cauliflower... it's what's for dinner.

yum! i love purple and green together. we picked up purple cauliflower from our last produce co-op. so tonight...

after sauteeing some onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil, i added three heads of cut purple and white cauliflower, around 2 cups of water, and salt and pepper.. pureed with the stick blender, adding a bit of half-and-half... and topped with chopped dill from our friends' 4H garden. next, a salad of fresh spinach, carrots, celery, scallions, and this: queso fresco - a mild crumbly white cheese - right on top! top it all with fresh sliced oranges, and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and fresh cracked pepper. enjoy...