Librari[d]an

Finally, a recipe worthy of the title “obscene cuisine”! Who would have ever though that black beans and brownies would go well together? Spoilers: Ania Catalano (below). Leave it to those eye-talians to innovate in the kitchen as well as the bicycle shop. (One more reason I reside in Pgh’s little Italy, heh.)

Now I have a confession to make… I don’t like brownies. Whether swirled with peanut butter, made into blondies, chock-full of delicious nuts, or just plain out of a box, I have never ever enjoyed them. I think it’s because my Mom was a brownie fiend. (The same thing happened with Oreos. Mom loves ‘em, [d]an detests ‘em.) So when I came across this recipe thanks to that vixen over at 101 Cookbooks - that would be Heidi Swanson (also below) - I figured, “Why not?” It’s not like I would be horrified at the corruption of my favorite baked good.

Strange side note, is anyone else freaked out that Ania and Heidi are kinda sexy? Where are the dumpy frumpmaster cooks and bakers, like my home economics teacher Mrs. Crumb? (Not a joke. That’s really her name.)

Catalano (left) and Swanson (right). Smokin’. (Ten Speed Press, Swanson)

Back on track, I give you my variation on Signora Catalano’s “Amazing Black Bean Brownies”:

:: Almond Black Bean Brownies ::

4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
2 cups black beans, drained
1 cup almonds (one half chopped, one half whole)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup instant coffee
¼ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups honey

1. In your microwave, melt the butter and chocolate. Use a middle-ish power level, and check several times to stir and make sure things don’t get burnt.
2. In a food processor, blend the beans, 1/2 cup chopped almonds, vanilla extract, and several spoonfuls of the chocolate/butter mixture until it’s smooth (approx 2 min).
3. In a large bowl, mix the whole almonds, remaining chocolate/butter mixture, instant coffee, and salt.
4. In yet another bowl (!) use an electric mixer to beat the eggs for about a minute. Add the honey and beat again.
5. Add the chocolate/bean mixture (from the food processor) to the chocolate/coffee. Stir to blend.
6. Now things get fancy: “Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan [cooking spray, holler!]. Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over the brownie batter. Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect.” (Swanson)
7. Bake for 30 - 40 min in an oven preheated to 325 degrees F, until they are set. Let them cool, then cover and refrigerate for several hours; this firms them up. Cut before serving.

They turned out well, although they did take significantly longer than 40 min to bake in my oven. (After 50 min I bumped the heat up to 350 degrees, moved them to the top rack, and still had to leave them in there for a good while.) I have to admit that I’m not sure I’d make them again; they’re too rich, too brownie-ish, and there’s something slightly strange about the texture and taste (at least to my palate). If there’s a next time I might cut the vanilla in half and replace the other with amaretto for a bolder almond flavor. Hopefully I’ll be bringing these to the season finale of Lost tonight at Brian and Liz’s. I’m feeling a bit under the weather as of now.

Update (31 May 2008): Everyone liked them. It’s just me still not liking brownies. Disregard my negative comments.

:: Bibliography ::

• Catalano, Ania. Baking with Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature’s Ultimate Sweetener. Berkeley: Celestial Arts, 2008.
• Swanson, Heidi. Amazing Black Bean Brownies Recipe. 101 Cookbooks. http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/amazing-black-bean-brownies-recipe.html (29 May 2008).
• Ten Speed Press. Ania Catalano. Ten Speed Press. http://www.tenspeed.com/authors/view.html?id=1651 (29 May 2008).

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! For the celebration of Mexico’s triumph over the French troops at the Battle of Puebla (don’t worry, the poor frogs weren’t really stampeded by cattle, haha!) I have decided to make a delicious, all American food: Guacamole!

Two days ago, at a rather absurd and expensive party on the NorthSide, I was talking with catering chef Greg ’bout guac. I’ve always had it in my little head that avocados require beaucoup fric ($$$) to acquire, which is why I don’t buy them. In most cases this holds true: the devil Whole Foods, the wonderful but misguided East End Food Co-op, the pedestrian Giant Eagle, etc. are all about swindling - à la Rumpelstiltskin - the everyday shopper. According to Greg, the ever-pragmatic ShurSave - a local supermarket chain with a location within spitting distance of my humble abode - has them for cheap. He was right! On 4 May 2008 I got four for less than four dollars… holler!

This here recipe is “adapted” from Heidi Swanson’s Indian Curry & Cumin Guacamole. I say adapted in quotes because after stripping down Swanson’s recipe, I find that it served only as a very loose base for my own. (However, be sure to read her recipe for tips on recognizing ripe v. overripe avocados. I found it very useful, and was delighted by the condition of my purchase.)

:: Guacamole ::

1 small white onion
1 clove garlic, minced
4 avocados
2 large, firm tomatoes
1 lime
cilantro to taste
salt to taste

1. Chop the onion. Scoop out the avocado flesh, trying to keep it as intact as possible. Throw them, with the garlic, in a bowl.
2. Cut the tomatoes into quarters and remove the central part (the stem’s axis) like you would when cutting apples. Scoop the tomatoes’ pulpy interior out, then chop. (Removing the sloppy interior keeps the guacamole from becoming too wet and salsa-y.)
3. Chop the cilantro. I like to use about 1/2 cup (unpacked).
4. Squeeze the lime and splash the ingredients with its juice. Sprinkle a bit of salt on top.
5. Stir, but be sure not to purée the mixture (unless you prefer it that way).
6. Give it a taste. If it needs more lime juice or salt, add it in now and finish it off with a final stir.
7. Serve, at room temperature or chilled, with tortilla chips.

The resulting guacamole was stellar–easily some of the freshest and best I’ve had. (Although I used pre-minced jar garlic. Lazy!) I whipped up another batch for a photo shoot. I used a red instead of white onion, lemon juice instead of lime, and unfortunately had no more cilantro to toss in. (I’d stick with the original recipe, in terms of taste.) So much guac; what to do with it all?!

:: Bibliography ::

• Swanson, Heidi. A Twist on Guacamole Recipe. 101 Cookbooks. http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/a-twist-on-guacamole-recipe.html (5 May 2008).

I love granola, but unfortunately the delicious kinds that are my favorite are both expensive and remotely located. Never settle for lower-quality, boxed, preservative-ified granola, because all you will think about is the good stuff you’d rather have! (I have learned this the hard way, with boxes of fancy organic granola outdating as I pine for that one at the co-op with those weird soy malt things in it.)

Knowing full well that granola is easy-as-pie to make, and very cost effective, I decided to give it a go. Lisa’s favorite granola - from a recipe by Sara Foster - seemed like a good starting point, so I decided to adapt her recipe. My variant makes a dark, rich, and very filling granola just as good as the fresh luxury stuff you can buy at your local grocer. Sprinkle a bit over some Greek yogurt and garnish with more substantial dried fruits for a delicious, simple dessert. Or, for a decadent breakfast, have a small bowl of the granola with some soy milk.

:: Cocoa-Molasses Granola ::

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup craisins (or raisins, dried cherries, etc.)
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
salt to taste
cocoa to taste (around 1 TBSP)

1. Preheat the oven to 275.
2. On a baking sheet with sides, layer first the oats, followed by the coconut and almonds. (I used a 16″ pizza pan so I wouldn’t have to make multiple batches.) Then sprinkle with a bit of salt and bake for 12-15 minutes. (The ingredients should not brown.) When finished, pour them into a mixing bowl.
3. Change the oven temp to 350 and spray the baking sheet with cooking spray.
4. Stir the honey (I used blueberry flower, but clover honey is fine too), maple syrup, molasses, and canola oil in a small bowl. At this point, stir in any other spices you’d like, as well as around 1 TBSP of cocoa.
5. Add the wet to dry, stirring to coat everything evenly.
6. Spread the granola on the baking sheet. When the oven has finished preheating, bake for 30 minutes. Turn over the granola every 10 min. If the granola still seems too damp, reduce the oven temp to 250 and give it a little more time. (Watch out, though, because as the granola cools it will also continue to dry!)
7. Pull that sucker out of the oven and give it about 45 min to cool completely. Add your dried fruit* and store it in an airtight container.

*Note: If your dried fruit isn’t as dry as you’d like, add it to the granola after the second time you stir. I used Sunsweet brand apricots which, while amazingly delicious, were not exactly “dried”.

:: Bibliography ::
Foster, Sara, Carolynn Carreño, and Quentin Bacon. Fresh Every Day: More Great Recipes from Foster’s Market. New York: Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2005.

I can’t stop thinking about fair weather, cycling, applying for jobs, ALA in Anaheim, and moving away from Pittsburgh. Not that I’m down on Pittsburgh–just ready for an adventure. (Or, if need be, a misadventure!) Nick called his desire to constantly move wanderlust. I, on the other hand, have always felt a dialectic need for and need to tear myself away from the familiar, the routine. It’s plagued me these past few years, having always found reasons to come back to or stay in Pittsburgh.

I’ve also realized that I am leading a life without music. (Not really, actually. It just feels like it.) Before the ‘pod broke, during my long walks - and occasionally bicycle rides (I know, unsafe!) - I would immerse myself in tunes nouveau and old. I think it’s time to make a financially unsound decision and get another.

This approximate recipe, which I gleaned from the gray, wet recipe book my Mom (pictured) calls a brain, sums up the amazing summer and early fall I had last year. I am resolved that it will be the last of my staple recipes that I post. From here on out, everything will be neuf.

:: Rene’s Vegan Bruschetta ::

Tomatoes
Onions (white)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Basil
Oregano
Garlic (minced)

Directions are simple: Chop the tomatoes and onions and then throw everything in a bowl using amounts that suit your palate. Serve atop rounds of freshly toasted bread (baguette for a snack/appetizer, or something larger for a main course). You may want to brush the rounds with olive oil or put butter on them (if you’re not concerned about dietary restrictions).

Things to consider:

• If you find that this recipe yields bruschetta that’s too wet, remove and discard some (or all) of the tomatoes’ pulpy interiors.
• The type of tomato used can change how this recipe tastes dramatically.
• If you over-spice or put in too much olive oil, just add more tomato until things even out.
• If you have a few “problem” tomatoes (disappointing in taste or color, only edible in part, not exactly at the peak of ripeness, etc.) you can hide them rather wonderfully in this recipe.

I have battled with hummus recipes since long before I acquired a food processor. Without even a mortar and pestle, I would toil over a mess of mashed chick peas –attempting to transmogrify them into something palatable (if not delicious). You name it, I tried it: Different brands, methodologies, recipes, etc. One of my potluck efforts (the hummus and veggie squares) was very nearly undermined by disastrous hummus efforts. So when Erin over at Paper Rose Designs sent her own recipe my way, I was excited but skeptical.

I knew after the first pulse of my Cuisinart that the recipe was perfect. My hummus was too dry; I was skimping on olive oil/tahini, water, and lemon juice. And to my delight, I found that this recipe is infinitely adaptable. Want something a bit more spreadable? More water and lemon juice. Prefer the taste of olive oil to tahini? Go ahead and substitute or fiddle with the ratio of the two. Tweak the recipe to your taste. I can’t wait to try black bean hummus (at Andy’s suggestion) and locate the strange bread product in the Moroccan hummus that Usman told me about.

:: Erin’s Adventure Hummus ::

5 cloves garlic (2 cloves if using elephant garlic)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 14-oz. can of chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup tahini
1 teaspoon salt
cumin and parsley to taste

1. Blend in a food processor.

2. Refrigerate before serving.

I use minced garlic in the jar, more lemon juice, and put in a bit of the lemon’s pulp (thinking about zest, instead). Erin suggests using the chickpea liquid rather than water, but I prefer the lighter taste that water achieves. If you’d like the hummus to look fancy, serve it on a flat plate, garnish it with fresh parsley and cumin (rather than blending it in), and top with a bit of olive oil. The Middle Eastern restaurant that I swore off a few months ago put some delicious pickles atop their hummus plate. If you know what kind of pickle they are, let me know! (I may have to do some reconnaissance work.)

My grandmother was of dubious character, as partially evinced by her decision to go by the name Mimi (rather than her Christian name) and her extraction (The Bronx). Despite these grave errors in preference and pedigree, she did make a damn good fruit pudding.

:: Mimi’s fruit pudding ::
Makes approx 3 cups

Ingredients:
1 3 oz package vanilla pudding
1 3 oz package tapioca pudding
1 20 oz can pineapple chunks
1 11 oz can mandarin orange slices
2 bananas (sliced)
1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate

1. Drain fruit and reserve liquid.
2. Add water to make 3 cups.
3. Cook pudding with 3 cups liquid + orange juice until thick.
4. Cool.
5. Add fruit and stir.

I’m going to feed this to the Lost clan tonight. Liz has promised us heart-shaped pizza, as it is Valentine’s Day. What a sweet pea, that one!

Bananas go in just before serving.

There’s nothing quite like refining a recipe you already know and love. It’s the same type of pleasure that you get after crafting a masterful sentence. The recipe for Confetti Bites (known in my household as “Veggie Pizza”) is delicious. However, I found myself constantly thinking about what I could change to make it healthier.

I recently took my highly edited version of this recipe to a potluck, and although it didn’t stand out among the many excellent dishes, everyone was well pleased. (I had to compete against homemade pasta and cheesecake! Gone are the simple days when my culinary skills wowed the entirety of the Stacks department.)

:: Hummus and veggie squares ::

1 Container garlic hummus
2 Eight ounce packages of refrigerated crescent rolls
Salad Supreme
Basil
Chopped vegetables (carrots, red peppers, broccoli, cauliflower)

1. Press the contents of each crescent roll package onto a 15×10x1″ baking sheet to form crust. (No need to grease the sheet.)
2. Bake in a 350° F oven for 12-15 min. (They burn easily. Be vigilant.)
3. Spread hummus over the cooled crust.
4. Top with: Salad Supreme, basil, chopped vegetables.

I used Tribe brand hummus, but I think a more finely puréed one, such as Sabra, might taste better. (I had tried to make my own, but alas, it wasn’t very good.) It may also be advisable to experiment with a plain or flavored hummus if you plan on changing the vegetables. I chose these based on color, then taste. Other flavors may require a slightly different spread.

In the future, I’m going to try mushing the crescent roll dough into a ball and rolling it out. Hopefully this will prevent the final crust from breaking along the dough’s original perforated lines (despite my efforts to blend the dough into one mass on the sheet).

Note: Salad Supreme (and most likely the crescent roll dough) is not vegan; it contains Romano cheese. To create a vegan substitute mix: salt, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, paprika, celery seeds, garlic powder, black pepper, and red pepper. (You’re on your own when it comes to making a vegan crust!)