oat milk

One of the ingredients hanging around in my cupboard, not being used, is oats. I try to like oatmeal, and it's not awful, but Erik doesn't care much for it so I forget to make it. A few nights ago, I came across this awesome post about making a variety of things with your juicer, one of which was oat milk! Suddenly, my juicer use has been taken to an all time high. 

I don't like milk very much, and tend to only use it to make yogurt. Almond milk is my usual purchase in the way of milk alternatives, but I'm completely willing to make a switch if it means not needing to buy anything. Finally, a use for all those oats.

One thing to note, however, is if your juicer has a small top opening, it's a little painful trying to get all the oats and water through without making a giant mess. I managed to, for the most part, contain my mess, but it was a little annoying having oat water spill around the juicer and countertops. I suggest something like a funnel or a small ladle (not a giant one, like I was silly enough to use) for a less likely chance of creating a lake on your counters.

If you don't own a juicer, here is a recipe for making oat milk with a blender and strainer. You can add sweeteners or seasonings to your milk if you care to, but I left mine plain.

Oat Milk

1 cup oats (anything but quick, I have steel cut)

3 1/2 cups water

Directions:

Soak oats in 1 cup of water overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, add the rest of the water to the oats and stir. Pour mixture into juicer, using funnel or ladle. When all the mixture has been juiced, take out the oat pulp and re-juice, just to get every last bit out. Pour into a jar or bottle, cover and store in the refrigerator up to a week or so.

Gnocchi

The first time I had gnocchi, I was in Italy. Gnocchi is somewhat of a potato dumpling/pasta, creating a unique texture and flavor when used in place of any other type of pasta. It was served with a small bit of something akin to an alfredo sauce. It was one of those meals I wanted to savor. When I returned to the U.S., I certainly had a certain dish on my mind, so I was pleased to see it packaged at the local food co-op (I had never before seen it in a grocery store). However, it was nowhere near as tantalizing as I remembered it being, perhaps due to the piece of soil I was on.

As I was thumbing through cookbooks the other day for new dishes, I came across a recipe for potato gnocchi and instantly added it to the menu. The dough is slightly difficult to deal with and the final product was nowhere near beautiful. It was, however, much tastier than any brand I have purchased at a grocery store.

Potato Gnocchi from I Know How to Cook

 (slightly adapted by me)

Ingredients

Scant 1/3 cup butter, plus extra for greasing

2 1/4 pounds potatoes, unpeeled and quartered

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

*Generous 3/4 cup flour

Salt, to taste

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup grated Gruyere, edam or swiss cheese

Directions

Grease an ovenproof 8 x 8in. dish with butter. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender (15-20 min, approximately). Drain well, cool room temperature, and peel potatoes. Mash potatoes and beat in the eggs, egg yolks, two heaping tablespoons of butter and the flour. Season with salt and nutmeg. 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pan of water to a boil over high heat. Flour a hard surface, divide dough into four equal "hunks" and roll into a snake-like shape. Cut into one inch pieces and flatten slightly with a fork. Poach them in batches, over boiling water, for 3-4 minutes or until the gnocchi floats to the top. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain well (using a colander or paper towels).  Arrange the gnocchi in the greased dish. Sprinkle with cheese, dot with the remaining butter and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

*Depending on the potatoes, the temperature, etc, you may need more flour. The dough should be pretty soft, but still able to hold a shape after being rolled out, without sticking to your fingers. Be careful, however, how much flour you add. If there is way too much, it's going to taste like flour and that's just yucky.

New recipes

I've been on a total cooking rampage lately.  Despite how limited my time has become with the start of school, I'm trying to find as many new recipes as possible.  I came across Homemade while looking through some cookbooks Amazon suggested.  It's a beautiful book full of great recipes, exactly what I look for in a cookbook.  This last week I made fondue and limoncello and both turned out beautifully.

Sundays tend to be the fancy brunch day, so yesterday, I made crepes for breakfast and considering the ample amount of leftovers, I put together a savory zucchini brie filling and had more crepes for dinner!  I altered a spinach and brie filling recipe from Culinarious and want to share.

Zucchini Brie Crepe Filling

1 large zucchini

3 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic

1/2 yellow onion

2 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1/2 lb brie, rind removed

salt and pepper to taste

Wash and grate zucchini and set aside.  Heat 1 Tbsp butter in a deep-sided pan and sauté the garlic and onion until onion is translucent. Add the zucchini, and stir until heated thoroughly. Remove zucchini mixture and set aside.

Using the same pan, melt the butter, then add the flour to make a paste.  Cook until bubbling being careful not to let it brown.  Pour in the milk, dissolving the paste, and stir in the cheese. Allow the cheese to melt, then add the zucchini and season with salt and pepper. If you need to thicken, dissolve a few teaspoons flour in equal part milk, and stir into the mixture.  Spoon mixture onto warm crepes and enjoy!

Oeufs en tomate

As we get into the middle of Summer, I Know How to Cook has become one of my very favorite cookbooks.  The vegetable and fruit sections are wonderful, providing excellent recipes centered on a specific fruit or vegetable.  I found this delightful recipe for oeufs en tomate (eggs in tomatoes) in the eggs section.  Erik isn't a huge fan of cooked tomatoes, but he said it was the best cooked tomato he has had thus far (hooray!)

Rather cute, no?

We each had one tomato with sauteed spinach and mushrooms.  A really tasty meal!

I found a somewhat similar recipe on Martha Stewart.com if you want to try this out yourself! 

Recipe//Avocado, Bean and Corn Salad

I've been a little absent lately.  After browsing the web so much, I begin to feel a little overwhelmed by the amount of information and great things available.  There are times when I think I don't have much to offer, that everything is a little unoriginal.  I'm not very good at coming up with ideas on my own, as I need a little creative nudge most of the time.

I've realized I'm a creative cooker, though.  Everyone knows about my lack of ability to correctly utilize a cookbook.  I love having them there, but I'm not very good at using them.  I may not come up with some crazy new recipe, but I make a lot of original dishes.  So perhaps I'm not creative outside the kitchen, but there is something about me that is unique.

Here's a delicious salad/dip recipe for your next summery event!

Avocado, Bean and Corn Salad

Ingredients

2 Avocados

1 15.5oz can Corn, drained

1 15.5oz can Black Beans, drained

2 large Tomatoes

1 small Onion

1/2 cup chopped Cilantro

5 cloves Garlic

2 Limes

1 tsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper 

Directions

Chop avocados, tomatoes and onion and place in a medium bowl with corn, black beans and cilantro.  Mince garlic cloves and place in bowl.  Roll the limes to soften, then quarter them and squeeze over the bowl to get all the juice out of the fruit.  Add chili powder, salt and pepper and stir until well mixed.  Chill and serve either as a salad or with tortilla chips to dip.

Recipe//Cucumber Tomato Salad

I love tomatoes.  Love love love them.  I think we go through 5-10 tomatoes per week, depending on what we're eating.  Often I'm eating these tomatoes in a simple salad for lunch time, sticking them on a pizza or garnishing a green salad. 

Here is an original recipe, that actually ended up on my menu planner for the week as "Tomato salad" but I decided I wanted cucumbers with it, too.

Ingredients

2 Tomatoes

1/2 Cucumber

1/2 Sweet Onion

Dressing

1/8 cup  Plain Yogurt

1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tsp Dill Weed

1 Tsp Agave 

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Chop tomato, cucumber and onion and place in a medium bowl.  Place dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well blended.  Add to vegetables and mix well.  Serve chilled.

Pizza Friday //3// + Pesto Recipe

Yesterday was pizza night, as you all probably know from here and here.  I've been on the hunt for a really good pizza crust recipe and have had no luck for months--until last night!  After going to CPK, I realized that their pizza crust was what I was looking for.  Something thin, but not like a cracker and also not for a gigantic pizza.  I googled CPK pizza crust recipe and got exactly what I needed.  The end result was perfect.

I also wanted to try my hand at making pesto, since I have that lovely basil plant in the backyard, but didn't have any parmesan.  I did, however, have a ton of feta, so I did a little pesto research and came up with a recipe of my own that I think worked out pretty well.  The end result pizza was pesto, a sprinkle of mozzarella, mushrooms, spinach and avocado--a total success, in my opinion.

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Feta Pesto
For approximately one cup pesto

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups rinsed basil, tightly packed
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup feta
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 - 1 tsp sea salt*
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and purée until smooth.  Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container for one week.

*note: Feta is already quite salty, so take it easy on the salt.  If you are particularly salt sensitive, I suggest you either start with 1/2 teaspoon or none at all and go from there.  Nothing is worse than too much salt ruining a recipe.

In my kitchen

Banana chocolate chip bread. 

Mushroom soup recipe.

The refrigerator pickles are ready to eat.

California scramble.

After recovering from being sick, I've been getting back into the swing of things around the house, which includes cooking and baking again.  I didn't really cook anything for a week, but instead found whatever might sound good if I just heated it up or didn't eat at all.  Leftover ice cream from Erik's birthday tended to be my food of choice.  


But sometimes I still like an easy food, especially for breakfast.  Here's an original recipe for a delicious, protein-dense morning bite to eat.  Serve with a side of fruit for a well-rounded start to the day.


California Scramble


Ingredients
2 eggs
1/8 of an avocado, chopped
1/2 large tomato, chopped
1/8 cup feta, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste


Heat greased skillet on medium heat.  Add eggs and scramble in pan.  When eggs are just about cooked so they still are a little liquidy, add avocado, tomato and feta.  Mix in with the eggs and cook for 30 seconds - 1 minute longer, depending on how cooked you like your scrambled eggs to be.  Add salt and pepper to taste.