Back in the Saddle

So, it’s too bad no one is here to smell the most amazing cookies I think I’ve ever baked. I have always been a fresh strawberry kind of girl, but if these taste half as amazing as they smell baking, I think I am a convert.

I bought some strawberries last week at Kroger whilst on sale - $1.66 and they actually smelled like strawberries, so how could I resist. And of course they went into the fridge and sat til last night, when I hulled them and sliced them up. I was going to make a Sparkling Grapefruit Pie, but the grapefruit went off, so I punted.

I made serious changes to the recipe, which was obviously written as a “light” dessert (gag). Diet margarine? Can you say fake fat?

Cream Cheese Strawberry Bars
CDKitchen http://www.cdkitchen.com

Category: Fruit Bars and Squares
Serves/Makes: 10 | Difficulty Level: 3 | Ready In: 30-60 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/3 cup sifted flour
3 ounces quick oats
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed firmly
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon - I used a Baking Spice blend from Penzy’s
1/2 cup reduced calorie tub margarine, well chilled
1 stick margarine
8 ounces reduced calorie cream cheese (which, ironically, was all I had)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute or egg whites
2 whole eggs
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered candied ginger, optional
1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 11×7 inch baking pan with nonstick spray. In medium bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon. With pastry blender or two knives cut in margarine and 2 tablespoons water until mixture forms a crumbly dough.

I cut the stick of margarine into small squares, then smashed it into the flour/oat mixture with a fork till it looked like it had been incorporated.

Press dough into bottom of prepared pan; bake 10 to 15 minutes until golden.

In small bowl, with mixer on high speed, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, lemon peel and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over crust.

I took about some of the ginger I had candied, put it in my spice grinder and pulverized the bejeezus out of it. I had about 3 tablespoons of it. Sprinkle powdered candied ginger over the cream cheese stuff, then top evenly with fruit. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until set. I bake it for 15 minutes, rotate the pan, then bake until lightly brown.

Truly, they smell amazing. I am an extravagant baker: I knew that I wanted coconut in the cream cheese, partially for texture - to match the oatmeal in the crust. I like the combo, then I added the ginger because ginger and coconut are natural partners. The strawberries got juicy and wow. It’s like heaven in my kitchen.

Recipe Location: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/325/Cream_Cheese_Strawberry_Bars45098.shtml
Recipe ID: 9271

Addendum: They were bland. Huh. Believe it or not, there’s not enough sugar. So I mixed together:

1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon water

Drizzle on top. It adds sweetness and a brightness. Now they are yummy!

Pictures to follow.

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Kind of Blue - a birthday wish

This week’s dishes are Vegetarian Pizza and Sweet Rice Krispy Sushi. A little background on why I chose these dishes.

Because it’s Brian’s birthday this week.

I met Brian in eighth grade, because we were both involved in a talent show. I don’t even remember what talent I supposedly had, but Brian played the piano. A Scott Joplin rag, I think. Maybe it was his stand offish air. Maybe it was his musical ability. Maybe it was the puffy blue jacket. I haven’t a clue. I just knew that even with all the other Eighth Grade Drama being played out, I really liked this guy.

I am not a subtle woman. I wasn’t a subtle child. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I know that about myself. I don’t know that I gave him a choice: he was my friend. I was desperate to know more about him, so I gave him an application to sit at “our” lunch table. Yeah, yeah. I know that was slick, wasn’t it? He was gracious enough to play along. As I recall, he listed his address as “I know a cave in NE Tanzania”.

And, no, I never made anyone else submit an application to have lunch with me. Maybe I’d have been better off if I had!

We grew up; he went to Colorado, I had Tony. We both ended up in Vista in 1980. We started hanging out again. He’s Tony’s godfather, as a matter of fact. When I left California, I met your father, and Brian and I drifted apart.

Last summer - poof! He was suddenly back in my life. I found him on Facebook of all places. As you kids know, I haven’t kept in touch with friends from my childhood, and Brian was a huge part of my past. He was our Josh, when I was growing up, the kid who was always around, along with Jamie, Elisabeth’s friend.

I ended up in the Midwest, and eventually the Southeast. He ended up in Chicago. After all these years he is still dry, erudite Brian. Turns out we share a love of jazz, and Miles Davis in particular. My sepia tinted childhood memories are now supplemented with bright shiny new ones. And that makes me glad.

So, why vegetarian pizza? Well what else did Catholic teenagers eat on Friday nights? I mean, really, it was a very big deal when the Pope repealed the whole Fish-On-Friday thing. I have a memory, just a picture really, of myself, Brian and Teresa Lopez at NY Pizza out on East Vista way, getting pizza. It was a cold clear night with a black velvet sky and diamond stars. How good it was, how happy – how content I was in that moment. I can’t figure out why the hell the three of us were together, and certainly the location on East Vista Way was in no way a place we would normally be. I just remember a cool starlit night, a hot pizza with stretchy cheese and great company.

And the rice krispies are because Brian cruelly told me that the very last batch I made when I was 16 would have made EXCELLENT paperweights had they been any heavier. Hmph. Okay, I admit they did suck, but he did not even TRY to be nice about it.

But now, I am, ahem, more mature, so I started thinking: I will show him!

I will make Rice Krispy Treats, and he will have to acknowledge I rock! But I still think they suck (what! They taste like “sweet”!). So I found a way around that. I am making Sweet Rice Krispy Sushi.

Oh, and Brian has told me he is now a Vegetarian (nothing with a face, baby), so the menu makes even more sense, doesn’t it?

Happy Birthday, Brian. You can make fun of my cooking any day, especially if you can duck really fast.

Still crazy, after all these years…..

gil

On My Radar January 11, 2008

Okay, I have a bunch of recipes I’m thinking about trying.

• I am mastering the intricacies of No Knead Bread. In fact, I’m snacking on the Cook’s Illustrated version* right now, and I have Mark Bittman’s in the oven. I added some finely ground herbes de provence to the dough, and dusted it with semolina flour.
• Now I think I will try to make me some cultured butter.
• Tuna meatballs - now that’s an interesting idea. Plus I rarely go wrong with a Jamie Oliver recipe. I have the Iron Chef America episode on my Tivo where The Incomparable Mario Batali battles Jamie Oliver. Blissful Sigh. This sauce - Onion Scented Tomato Sauce by Marcella Hazan looks amazing.
• Mocha Cake with Espresso Drizzle. What else do you need to know? Even though I’m trying hard not to bake, this cake may dissolve my resolve!
• I’m also contemplating a Coq au Vin and a Posole, but haven’t decided on a particular recipe yet. Alton Brown has a version of Coq au Vin that takes several days and multiple bottles of wine.
• Last but not least, I have fallen madly in love with Granola. I made this version first, because I am essentially lazy, and it could be done on top of the stove. Demetrius and I couldn’t quit snacking on it. It’s amazing.

Being Miss Smartypants, I then decided to wing it, and it wasn’t half as good. But I’ve mixed it with boring bran flakes and toss it with some boring diabetic fake fruit yogurt and it’s pretty fucking awesome. At least I’m eating breakfast which should thrill a medical professional, there being so many in my life.

*If you need a log on to see the recipe, let me know.