FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

A Skype Baking Date

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I had a genius idea the other day. It came about after my friend Jodie, who recently moved from Texas to Hawaii, posted a few delish-sounding recipes on my Facebook page. She also posted that she wished we could bake these recipes together. Just as I finished typing that I wished the same , I, more excited than ever, started pressing delete-delete-delete. It’s twenty twelve for goodness sake, why can’t we bake together? Isn’t this the type of stuff that Skype is meant for?

We set up a time that would work for both of us: noon Hawaii time, five Texas time. We placed our laptops in the kitchen, got fully acquainted with technology, and got to chatting as if we were across the table from one another. Kara joined us and kept Jodie company while I chopped. She poured us some wine and we cheers-ed our glasses to the screen. It was epic. I plan on Skype bake-dating as often as possible. Emily, Ariel, Sarah – I know you’re down for this.

The recipe we ended up baking from was Baked by Rachel’s Apple Snickerdoodle Cobbler. Jodie followed the directions to the tee. And I, well naturally I made some minor modifications.

I left the apples unpeeled because I recently saw someone else bake with unpeeled apples and it seemed like the easier way to go. I also substituted the egg for 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin and added pumpkin pie spice wherever cinnamon was called for.

It turns out that apple peels get super soft when you bake them, so time spent peeling would have been unnecessary. And the addition of pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice was totally a good call. Baked spiced apples with a hint of pumpkin… All things that make you go mmmm.

App In The Kitchen

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A few weeks ago, I attended a launch party for a new app called Cooking Planit where they demonstrated how technology could guide you through the kitchen.  The concept seemed great… For other people.  You know, because I’m a pen/paper/Evernote type of gal.  I recipe scheme and mix and, when I’m not, I love picking a good cookbook off the shelf, folding open the pages, and inevitably smearing ingredients on said good cookbook pages.

But this week has been different.  I’m coming off of a weekend move, a week of travel, a weekend of Austin City Limits, and have only a few days before hop on a plane again.  So as much as I love paper and spilling on paper, I don’t have much time for it right now.  Sorry paper.

But what I did have time for today, was thawing a hunk of halibut before heading to work.  And then in between tasks at my desk, firing up the Cooking Planit app and searching for halibut.  And finding a recipe that would only require a mad dash from the produce department to the self-checkout line at Whole Foods.  And then, mindlessly making dinner with plenty of time for cleanup before the timer buzzed.

Cooking Planit’s Baked Halibut with Cilantro Vinaigrette was a delish spin on fish that I’d definitely make again.  Knowing that I’m weird about things tasting oily, I added only two tablespoons of olive oil and couldn’t have been happier with the consistency.  The cilantro and parsley gave this meal a solid dose of vibrantly fresh flavor.  And, well, red pepper flakes always secure a win in my book.

As far as the app goes, it couldn’t have been easier.  There was no losing your place and having to skim through the recipe only to find that you missed a step.  And even more importantly, each step was straight forward and simply put.  Cooking Planit will certainly be a tool of choice when I’m just not in the mood for paper.  And I have a feeling this app could also teach me a thing or two about cooking multiple dishes for a large dinner party.

Errr’Day Chicken Salad

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I try so, so hard not to make super bold statements on le blog. But chicken… I’ve just never had anything good to say about chicken. To me, chicken was as blah as blah could be.

And then, in order to recreate my great grandmother’s chicken and dumplins recipe, I had to boil a chicken. The boiled chicken was simple, tender, and flavorful and the broth was down right drinkable. And then I boiled another chicken. And then I started craving chicken salad like whoa.

Even though chicken salad is one of those non-recipe, recipes, I couldn’t think of anything to add besides grapes and nuts. I used the Junior League of Tampa Cookbook, EveryDay Feasts, as my grocery guide and came up with a chicken salad that I could be perfectly happy eating, well, errr’day!

I cubed two boiled breasts and added chopped celery, seedless grapes, scallions, and toasted almond slices. Then, I added a wee bit of Vegenaise (just enough to make the salad stir-able) and salt and cayenne pepper to taste. This whole salty/spicy/sweet thing, I just can’t get enough.

#ACLFest Root Soup Recovery

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After an Austin City Limits weekend filled with lots of music, lots of walking, and lots of rain, I had little energy to recipe create. I turned to my cooking queue on Pinterest and quickly remembered that I wanted to try Jenna’s Roasted Root Vegetable Soup as soon as life slowed down.

What better way to fill your body with the good stuff and soothe a sore throat in the making than to make a veggie-filled soup. I couldn’t think of one. I made my list, forced myself to head to the market, and got to peelin’ and choppin’.

This was my first time blog baking with a roommate, and let me tell ya, it’s a nice change to chat while chopping. And it was awfully fun to have a taste tester and company while I cleaned up too. I have a feeling Kara won’t mind being my company taste tester over the next year…

As far as the soup goes, it was exactly what I needed. I made a few minor modifications, but only because I had chicken broth on hand from freshly boiled chicken and felt like using an entire can of coconut milk rather than tossing out the balance. The soup had a smooth flavor, a flavor even a veggie-hater would love, and a gentle kick from the poblanos. I will definitely use the base of this soup as a guide for any veggie bisques in my future.