Passover Meringues

It's that time of year.  When all my Jewish friends show up with matzoh sandwiches and complain about not eating carbs.  I invited my friend and now neighbor Boston over for passover dinner tomorrow night - fortunately, she's chill enough to use my regular dishes and not make me sweep out my apartment with a feather - so I made some meringues which are kosher for passover (I think.)  I checked to make sure that cream of tarter was allowed, and read the ingredients list on my chocolate chips package to check for leavening.  I think they're sufficient, but I could be wrong.  They are sufficiently delicious, and I know my sister will eat them if my friend doesn't.
Ingredients:
2 egg whites
dash of salt
dash of cream of tarter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2-1 cup mini chocolate chips


Procedure: (preheat oven to 225)
1.) Place egg whites, salt, and cream of tarter in metal mixing bowl.
2.) Whip egg whites with electric mixer
3.) As egg whites stiffen up, slooooowly pour in sugar.  
4.) Once egg whites are stiff and glossy, add chocolate chips.
5.) Spoon out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
6.) Bake for 1 hr on top rack and 1 hr on bottom rack. 

Banana Bread Muffins

We had a few overripe bananas lying around, so they went into banana bread.  I like to use this recipe from The Simple Dollar, but today we were out of butter, so I substituted 1/2 cup applesauce for the butter.  

Our loaf pan was currently in use, so I poured everything into muffin tins.  It made 12 very full muffin tins, and cooked for about 45 minutes.  

I put most of the muffins in ziploc bags in the freezer, so they can just be grabbed and microwaved, and we don't feel the need to eat them all this week before they go bad.  

Eggplant steaks

Tonight, I finally got back in the kitchen.  (It's been a busy week, and Mr. Barefoot has been doing all the cooking.)  I made eggplant steaks - and man, were they delicious.

You will need:

• 1 eggplant, sliced into 3/4 inch thick steaks.
• 4-5 cloves garlic (if you don't like that much garlic, well, why are you reading this blog?)
• 2 tbsp (ish) olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Italian seasoning 
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Equipment:

• Baking sheet
• Indoor grill (or maybe a frying pan)
• Oven at 350
• Basting brush
• Food processor

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  
2. Put eggplants on a baking sheet, bake for 10-20 minutes, flipping midway.  
3. Meanwhile, put 4-5 peeled garlic cloves in food processor; dice.  Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, spices, salt, and pepper.  Process until well combined.  
4. Take eggplant steaks out of the oven.  Brush both sides with oil/vinegar mixture.  Allow to sink in while grill heats.  
5. Place on grill, close grill.  Grill for 3-5 minutes.  
6. Stack eggplants in a tower, with cheese between each eggplant.  

Mr. Barefoot says this is the best eggplant I've ever made.  My only problem is that there is not enough protein in these as a main course, so I got hungry again a few hours later and needed a snack.  We served these with polenta cakes and zucchini sauted in the same sauce as the steaks.  

Crockpot Oatmeal

Yesterday, at an open house, I was asked how Mr. Barefoot and I balanced our relationship our first year.  I didn't want to tell her the truth, that there was no balance.  That we only saw each other when we watched law and order during my study breaks and hit happy hour on Friday, after which I came home and studied more.  What did I say instead?  Something that was true, but more truthy, "we bought a crockpot, and that helped a lot."  It's true.  It did.  It was great to come home to a home cooked meal.  And I've never ceased to be amazed at the depth of what I can do with my little 1.5 $4 crockpot.  Like the soft, delicious oatmeal I'm currently eating. 
Ingredients (serves 2):

• 3/4 cup rolled oats (I used jumbo scottish rolled oats.  They are not Scottish Porridge Oats, which are the best kind.)
• 2 cups cold water
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• raisins to taste
• craisins to taste
• 1 banana, chopped up (next time I will use an apple)
• Salt, pinch.  Recipe probably called for a teaspoon, but I under-salt stuff. 

Procedure:

1. Put all ingredients in crockpot, stir.
2. Cook for 6 hours on low.  (This will probably mean using a timer.)
3. Serve topped with granola if you would like.

The raisins/craisins plump up and get really soft, and the fruit helps flavor the oats.  Oatmeal is a great winter food, because it's all warm. It's also a good diet food, because warm foods seem more filling, but as you can see, this oatmeal has no sugar in it (other than what is in the raisins and craisins).  (Facebook ads, you can suck your "wedding diet".)  Next up, I'm trying Gingersnap Oatmeal.  Then I might try to make a high-protein pre-long-run oatmeal for half marathon training (which starts next weekend when Boston gets back!!!!!) 

Just tweeted my first full recipe.

Yes Virginia, homemade tortilla chips are so easy that you can fit the recipe into 180 characters!  Plus, tasty and low in fat.  We're using them for a tortilla soup we haven't made in ages, but is one of the reasons I agreed to marry Mr. Barefoot. 

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn

It occurred to me that I should really share this recipe with the world.  My college roommate taught us to make it, and it's still one of our big guilty pleasures.  It's sticky, but delicious.  It's great study food, but make sure you have a wet nap so you don't get icing on your keyboard.
You will need:

• 1 bag microwave popcorn (you can use butter flavor, unflavored/unsalted, light, etc.)  [I've never tried this with non-microwave popcorn, but I keep meaning to]
• 1 container of vanilla icing (I have also used cream cheese.  I don't recommend whipped, but the light is fine.)
• Cinnamon
• a spoon
• a non-metal, microwaveable mixing bowl [the bigger the better]
• a spatula

Procedure:

1. Pop bag of popcorn.  Do not burn!  If you burn it, trash it and start over.  
2. Pour popcorn into the mixing bowl.  
3. Add about 6 tablespoon sized dots of icing to the top of the popcorn.  
4. Put in microwave for 30 seconds, or until icing is soft/melted.  
5. Toss popcorn with icing, sprinkling with cinnamon as you go.  

Best. sleepover. food. ever.  That is all.  Eat with a side of the remaining container of icing.  

Eggplant and Goat Cheese Pizza

I never really thought pizza would become part of my cooking repertoire.  Pizza? That's for Joe Corbis.  However, I love trying different vegetables and cheese combinations and different sauces.  It's always fun and usually delicious (one spinach and feta experiment aside).
Tonight's pizza was eggplant; and upon realizing that we were out of mozzerella, I improvised.  The results are delicious.  You will need:

• 1/2 an eggplant, sliced thinly into small pieces.  
• Olive oil
• Garlic cloves
• Tomato sauce
• Pizza dough (use any recipe you like, I love the one from the New Best Recipe Cookbook)
• Goat cheese
• Parmesan Cheese, grated

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  
2. Spread eggplant, garlic, and olive oil in a pan.  Roast in oven for 20 minutes on one side, 15 on the other while the oven preheats.  
3. Prepare dough, preheat for 15-20 minutes in oven at the same time eggplant is roasting.  
4. Spread tomato sauce on dough; then top with eggplant, goat cheese, and parmesean cheese. 
5. Cook for 20 minutes.  

This is the first time a full sized pizza crust hasn't been soggy in the center, and I'm very pleased.