Food Waste Friday

So, I have been wanting to join in on The Frugal Girl's Food Waste Friday  for a while now. I think it's a brilliant idea. Nothing like embarrassing yourself all over the internet to change a bad habit.

I'm sort of a food hoarder. I don't know where or how I got this gene, but I have it. It's ironic because I tend to be very streamlined with other things and belongings. Sometimes this quirk works in my favor - my well stocked pantry has meant fewer trips to the store and makes my meal preparation pretty efficient. The downside is that less stable items tend to go bad before I have a chance to use them. Especially if we have some unexpected scheduling. 

Here's what went bad this week:

a container of whipped cream. I originally made this to top some strawberries and lemon curd. But I ate all the strawberries and still had some of the whipped cream left. I should have gone and bought more berries, because it's a shame to waste homemade whipped cream.

a container of rice.  This was one of those things that found it's way to the back of the fridge and...yuck. I think it's over two weeks old.

dressing. That would be the pink container there - cranberry dressing I made for salads a while back.

eggplant. I bought this for dinner one night, but with all the craziness that's been going on around here, I never got to make the intended dinner.

pasta sauce. Not pictured. My husband found this in the door with a nice layer of mold on top of the remaining sauce and pitched it.

For the good news: We were gifted a LOT of citrus. I can't even caps enough to emphasize how much we got when visiting my hub's aunt (she has tons of fruit trees). Most of it is super fresh and will last a bit, but she did give us a few oranges (blood oranges no less) that were beyond ripe. I made those into a tart almost the minute we got home, so I'm happy to report that those will not be pictured for FWF!

Hopefully next week is a little better!

Orange you glad...

The hubs and I recently went to San Diego, California. Can you believe it was my first trip ever to California? It was a fun time, with a stop at the ocean, avocado pickin', and relaxing.

This is also the technique we use for changing our air filters.

While were we there, we picked some oranges and citrus fruits of all kinds, and brought home a bounty! Now that my kitchen is full of citrus, I am slowly but surely finding some tasty recipes involving the tart, sweet little fruits. In addition to just eating them, of course, because I can assure you that you haven't really lived until you eat a perfectly ripe orange just off the tree (and proceeded to get juice all over your fingers!). I also tasted my very first kumquat. They are as fun to eat as they are to say. I think I may have forever ruined my taste for store bought oranges...

For the first recipe, I wanted to use up the blood oranges*. We only had a few, but they were beyond ripe, so I wanted to use them quickly before they went the way of the compost. A quick browse of the internets and I found a recipe for a Flaky Blood Orange Tart from Food and Wine. You know I love anything in a flaky crust, and the hubs likes anything resembling a cobbler, so this seemed like a great use for the blood oranges. Plus, it wasn't fancy or complicated so I could easily assemble it and get this - stash it in the freezer - to be made later. Of course, it didn't really last that long (really only the minimum 4 hours...) but it's nice to find a recipe that you can make ahead and whip up quickly when needed. A half recipe made about four to six servings.

While not fancy, this dessert is pretty in it's own right, with the vibrant colors of the oranges shining through like a little stained glass window. It smells amazing, but most importantly, tastes great. It does have a cobbler like flavor with the buttery crust, tart oranges and the addictive sweetness of liquid crack salted caramel syrup. Definitely make the syrup.

I tried to get photos of this before we ate it, but I wasn't so lucky, which is why I've taken strategically partial tart pics. That other half of the plate...it's empty. And then when I wasn't looking the hubs snacked on even more! At least I know he liked it.

Since we now have so much citrus, I'm sure I will be posting more recipes shortly. Leave a note in the comments if you have any favorite citrus recipes that I should try!

*This was also my very first blood orange!

Last Weekend

The hubs and I went to California and I saw the Pacific for the very first time. Even though it was very very cold, I just had to touch it. I feel like it doesn't count as a trip to the coast until you get a little wet. 

We took a little walk along the coast, checking out the cliff houses, the plants and wildlife before we realized that we needed to turn around before high tide took over the beach. From the dunes, we watched my first west coast sunset. But fear not, we'll be back.

 

 

Club Baked: Speculaas

I must be the only person on the planet that hasn't heard of these little cookies, similar to the Biscoff cookies handed out on the airlines. So, I really didn't know what to expect, other than a very spicy cookie...that I could gather from the ingredients - cloves, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon in quantity.

What I didn't know was that they would be terrible -

- terribly easy, that is.

I almost didn't think that after a quick pulse in the food processor and a minute of hand mixing that my batter* was done. After a pop in the fridge, a roll with the rolling pin and a quick (15 minutes!) bake in the oven, the cookies were out, smelling delicious and ready to eat.


And, in addition to the ease of preparation (and ease of cleanup - I think I used two dishes!), they are quite good. These cookies are dry and crispy. I normally am not fond of dry cookies, preferring them ooey and gooey and with chocolate chips. But these weren't dry in a bad way, more like a perfect compliment to a cup of coffee or tea, or in my case, a chai latte. (I will say that I did love them right out of the oven, still warm and a bit soft)

I do think that their spicy flavor makes them the perfect fall cookie, or holiday cookie for that matter. I know I will enjoy the break this cookie provides next year during the stressful, over the top holidays. It's so simple, but delicious. Can't ask for much more...

Club Baked ended up co-hosting this recipe with Baked Sunday Mornings, a group that also is baking it's way through these delicious desserts, so you'll find the recipe over there this week. To see all the bakers links, check out the Club Baked site.

*I ended up using lemon zest in place of the orange zest since I had no oranges on hand. I found it hard to taste with all the spice, so I'm not going to say if it affected the flavor, although I can see how orange would be the preferred compliment to those spices.

**pictures coming soon...

Club Baked: Mississippi Mud Pie (A)

aka Coffee Ice Cream Tart

When asked what I would like to host for Club: Baked, I sat down with the hubs and the Baked Explorations cookbook and discussed the possibilities. I was asked to pick something from the pies and tarts section, which for me was just perfect. I prefer pies, with their ease of preparation, their forgiving nature, and of course, the lack of scientific, precise measuring that make so many cake recipes downright frustrating for me. And this recipe had no flour which, for someone who has a flour bomb go off regularly while baking, also includes less clean up. Right around my hosting time, we were having a pretty over the top dinner, so I wanted something just a little special. With some hemming and hawing (debating between this and the Whiskey Pear Tart, apparently we like booze in our desserts), we finally settled on the Mississippi Mud Pie (A).

Of course, after just discussing the ease of preparation of most pies, I landed with the one that has so many steps. Luckily, each step is fairly easy, a simple stirring of ingredients and a pour into the pie shell, so what looked initially like a daunting recipe turned out to be pretty easy and straight forward. Although, all the stopping and starting in between steps dragged it into a two day process for me.

I started with the making of the ice cream. The Baked guys have a recipe for Coffee Ice Cream in the cookbook, but since I didn't have any instant espresso powder, or Kahlua, I ended up adapting my almond milk ice cream recipe. I simply added just a pinch over 1 1/2 cups of whole coffee beans to the milk base after the first simmer, and continued to heat on low for about an hour, maybe two. Until it tasted like a strong latte. After scooping out the beans and discarding, I added another 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup cream to compensate for the of the liquid that evaporate or got tossed with the beans, stirred and voila! Coffee Ice Cream. 

After making the ice cream, I set about making the crust. After scooping mounds of icing from the center of each sandwich cookie, I was able to use the wafers to make the crust. (Was anyone able to find just the wafer part? Please tell me where you get such a thing!)\

The bourbon fudge...let me pause a moment here.  Bourbon AND Fudge. These are pretty much two of my favorite things and together and, well, let's just say that I had no dirty dishes.

Cookie Crust, check.

Bourbon Fudge, check.

Toasted Pecans and Coffee Ice Cream, check and check.

More bourbon fudge, check, check, and check.

A little freezer action and some sparkly candles, and this thing was ready for it's debut.

This pie was incredibly rich. One of those desserts where just a little sliver will fulfill your sugar/chocolate/ice cream craving. For someone who eats a Dove dark chocolate to satisfy a sugar craving, this was super sweet.  I loved the coffee ice cream. For me, that was the best part. Next time, I would add more pecans maybe even mixing them into the ice cream. They offered a texture change with their crunch and cut down on the crazy sweetness of the rest of the ingredients. I would also skip the chocolate drizzle on top simply because it was such a rich pie, I didn't feel it really needed it. Okay, probably a light chocolate drizzle for, as my husband says, "flair." (Love that guy!)

Also, grease the pan! I guess I missed this step. But I had a h*ll of a time getting out the first slice. The second was a little better, but I think a light greasing would have solved the whole mess.

I think the best thing about learning to make this pie is the sheer volume of possibilities it opened up, and to me, that's the mark of a good recipe. One that introduces you to something that you can build on. Tweaking the ice cream and fudge flavors and even the toppings and you have an almost limitless amount of ice cream pie possibilities. Graham cracker crust, caramel in place of the fudge with a vanilla ice cream topped with pecans would be a nice fall treat. Maybe served with some warmed spiced apples. Kind of a Kriss Krossed apple pie a la mode. For Christmas, peppermint chocolate fudge with candy cane ice cream. Plain fudge and caramel ice cream topped with nuts for a toffee flavored ice cream pie...

Thanks everyone for baking along! Next up: Speculaas by Fiona: Ms Fifikins

Mississippi Mud Pie (A)
Yield: One 9" Pie

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cookie Crust
30 chocolate wafer cookies, about 6 oz
1 tbsp granulated sugar
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted


For the Filling
4 oz good quality dark chocolate (60-72%)
1/4 c plus 1 tbsp heavy cream
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 c confections' sugar, sifted
1 tbsp Kentucky bourbon
1 pint good quality coffee ice cream
1/2 c toasted pecans, coarsely chopped


For the Bourbon Fudge Topping
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp light corn syrup
3 oz good quality chocolate (60-72%)
1 tsp Kentucky bourbon


Make the Chocolate Cookie Crust
In a food processor, pulverize the wafer cookies into a very fine crumb. You should have about 1 1/2 cups. Place the crumbs into a bowl, add the sugar and stir until combined. 


Pour the melted butter over the crumbs and mix well. Transfer the crumb mixture to a 9-inch pie plate and press it into the bottom and up the sides. Use the back of a large spoon to get an even crust. Set the crust aside in the refrigerator. 


Make the Filling
Place the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. In a medium saucepan, bring the cream, butter and corn syrup to a simmer. Remove the mixture from the heat, pour it over the chocolate, and let sit for 1 minute. Then whisk the chocolate mixture until it is completely smooth. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar and bourbon.


Spread the fudge evenly over the bottom of the pie crust, cover it and refrigerate for 2 hours.


Soften the coffee ice cream by placing the container in the microwave for 10 seconds on high. Put it into a large bowl and use a rubber spatula to beat it until it is slightly malleable. Spread the ice cream over the chilled fudge filling, sprinkle it with pecans, gently pressing them into the ice cream, and freeze the pie for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the ice cream is firm.


Make the Bourbon Fudge Topping
In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the cream, butter and corn syrup together until the mixture beings to simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk until the fudge is smooth - if you still have a few stray chocolate chunks, reheat the mixture over very low heat until they are completely melted. Stir in the bourbon. 


Beat the fudge topping until it reaches room temperature, and pour it over the ice cream and pecan layer in a zigzag pattern. Freeze the Mississippi Mud Pie until it is set, about 20 minutes. To serve the pie, cut it with a warmed sharp knife. 


The pie will keep in the freezer, tightly covered, for up to 4 days.