Dinner for One

so what do i eat when the ole fiance is away? your looking at it. hmm what it is? yeah good question. basically its the "what do i have in the frig and what can be made in about 20 minutes before i just eat cookies and cereal for dinner" recipe. i escape from work, head to the gym for a bit then come home starving and not interested in baking, broiling, simmering, whisking or anything extra curricular in nature. but what i can tolerate at moments like this is steaming and a quick saute. so here we are, 20 minutes later noshing down on a one bowl meal of cracked wheat, sautéed tofu, zucchini, carrots (fresh from my parent's organic louisiana back yard - yeah be jealous, you should be) and a handful of parsley - stems and all (i can't be bothered to cut off just the leaves, please). oh and a few sprinkles of homemade res el hanout and some sea salt.

ras el hanout is a mediterranean spice blend with such delicious things like ginger, cumin, clove, allspice and cinnamon. i use it on almost anything really, especially baked veggies. but really it works well with tofu. all i do is heat some oil in a pan, add some chopped tofu, sprinkle the ras el hanout and the rest is magic! and i think i am finally taking a break from my whole wheat couscous affair and moving on to a new obsession with cracked wheat.

Chocolate Eclair Cupcakes

you are about to get schooled on chocolate eclairs.

this delicious pastry as you probably already suspected is believed to have its roots in 19th century france. traditionally it consists of a crisp hollow shell made with your typical choux dough (my favorite pastry element ever), topped with

a chocolate glaze and piped full of coffee or chocolate pastry cream. i can hear you mumbling inside your head: "i thought it was traditionally filly with vanilla cream". yes, one would think such a thing; if they were american. i am american and that it what i thought, i will explain why.

here in fabulous america we make something called a "long john" which -like yams and sweet potatoes- we have decided are the same as eclairs. while interesting in name and definitely americanized; a long john is not the same as an eclair. they may look similar to someone who doesn't have their glasses but they are made out of very different things. long johns are really just long hotdog shaped doughnuts filled with vanilla pudding and topped with chocolate.

we do like to soak our food in molten lard. so in other words the next time you are in dunkin donuts and you see those long chocolate covered doughnut things in the corner - do not call them eclairs. speaking of dunking donuts; were you aware they have an item called "cake stick" also something called "jelly stick"? what tha? seriously!? i don't know how you feel about this, but i don't want to eat anything that has taken the stick form of itself.

anyways back to the story. so you can see how we have come to mix these two items up with each other. we like our sweets to be cakey - none of that wussy light as air baked pastry "shell" business. which brings me to boston creme pie. ah yes, if you think about it: vanilla pastry creme, chocolate glaze and some other sweet cushiony element in-between. very similar, just switch out the choux shell for a sponge cake and viola! you've just invented boston creme pie.

hopefully you find this as interesting as me: the 1st known english language recipe for eclairs was in late 19th century Boston Cooking School Cook Book. that is correct the first known english recipe was in boston! ha, very clever. and the chef at the parker house hotel (where boston creme pie came from) was of-course french. bit of a loop, eh?

all that said, i am thoroughly against bastardizing a culinary item. but i do have to agree with the rest of america and say that the vanilla filling is by far superior. so the vanilla filling stays - the rest is old school eclair baby.

so this brings me to this cupcake. i had started out thinking that i wanted to make mini boston creme pies, but then realized that the best vanilla pastry creme recipe i have ever tried is my own (yes i am bragging) and that is for my eclairs. ok, so i fill a cupcake with eclair creme, slather on the chocolate glaze and what do we have? i don't know a chocolate eclair cupcake? yep, full blooded american.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CUPCAKES

CUPCAKES:

1c flour

1 tbs cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2c milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

4 oz butter

3/4c sugar

2 eggs, separated

pinch of cream of tartar

2 tbs sugar

*preheat oven to 350F, line your pan

*sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder & salt

*in separate bowl combine the milk, vanilla and almond

*in a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. add the 2tbs sugar and beat until

shiny and stiff peaks form.

*in separate bowl cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy

*add the egg yolks only, one at a time

*add 1/3 of the flour mixture, beat to combine.

*add 1/2 of the milk mixture, beat to combine

*repeat until all of the milk and flour are added, ending on the flour

*gently fold in the whipped egg whites.

*spoon into prepared pan, cook for 20 minutes until toothpick is clean

*once cooled cut out a small area from the top of the cupcake and fill with the pastry cream. cut off the access of cake

from the served piece and place back on the top of the cupcake.

*top with the chocolate glaze

VANILLA PASTRY CREAM:

1c whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded

3 egg yolks

2 tbs cornstarch

1/3c sugar

1 1/2 tsp cold butter

*heat milk and vanilla bean to boil, turn off heat and infuse for 15 minutes

* in a separate bowl whisk yolks and sugar to light and fluffy

*add cornstarch to yolks and whisk until no lumps

*whisk in 1tbs of the hot milk

*whisk in remaining milk

*strain egg mix into saucepan, cook over medium heat whisking constantly until thick and slowly boiling

*remove from heat and add butter

*put plastic wrap directly on top and chill for 2 hours

CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

1/2c heavy cream

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

*heat cream until you can see bubbles forming at the edge

*take off heat and add the chocolate, let sit for a minute then stir to smooth

Orange Curd French Macarons

its finally warming up in frigid nyc. ahhhhh it was so nice today! so nice. i can finally release my shoulders from the confines of those darned out of fashion sweaters and jackets i sport all winter and get back into my native tank-top, flip-flops and cute dress. my neck will see sunlight again. my toes with get some fresh air and wiggle when they want to. i can grad object with my hands, not scratchy wool gloves. yes i love the heat - bring on the heat!

this little heat wave we are having makes people crazy with activity and drives that unyielding urge to show skin (see picture below). in lieu of all of this i am going fruity with my macarons. dark chocolate is just a wee heavy for 86 degree weather, no?. but so is red wine and believe me i don't let the heat stop me from polishing off a bottle with dinner. who me? well, to be completely truthful there is also the fact that there were two oranges sitting in my frig waiting to be put out of their misery. i recently discovered that my daily orange indulgence is beginning to reek havoc on my sensitive

mouth. so no more afternoon orange at my desk for this working gal. they will have to be put to use as delicious pastry items. and so these treats were born. fear not; i also made the old stand-by chocolate on chocolate macarons that have been tested and proven a high success.

its just that they are old news to me so i'm opting to write about the much more interesting orange concoction. right.

so we'll see how these fair tomorrow night when josh the great taste tester makes his trek back home for a quick

two day stay. i think they rock, but i also think cold seaweed salads rock.

**warning: if it is humid outside - do not try to do this - you will not be successful. its just a meringue thing, trust me **

FRENCH MACARON

1c powdered sugar

1/2c almond powder / meal

2 large egg whites (aged at room temp for as long as you can, up to 24hr)

5 tbs sugar

*preheat oven to 375F, line pan with parchment

*combine the powdered sugar and almond powder in a food processor. pulsing get get a consistent texture throughout

*in a separate bowl beat the whites until they begin to hold soft peaks.

*add in the 5tbs of sugar and continue to beat until you have stiff, shiny peaks

*fold in the powdered sugar and almonds

*pipe out into 1 1/2" rounds onto prepared pan, let the batter sit for 15 minutes the put in oven and cook for 15-18 minutes.

ORANGE "CURD" FILLING

juice of 1 1/2 navel oranges

zest of 1/2 of one orange

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1.5 oz butter

1 1/8oz sugar

1/4 oz cornstarch

*in a saucepan combine the juice, zest, butter & half of the sugar. bring to a boil

* whisk together the egg, yolk, remaining sugar and cornstarch

*continue to whisk and slowly pour in the boiling juice (you are tempering the eggs so be careful)

*pour the entire mixture back into the pan and bring to a simmer for a few minutes whisking continuously to thick and smooth.

*cover and chill for a few hours

Real Raw Chocolate Pudding

as if louisiana isn't faux tropical enough in my mind pile on top memories of the infamous coconut. i can't remember how old i was, but every once in a blue moon my father would buy a coconut. hm. interesting now that i think about it. interesting because i have no idea what the intention was there. my mom loathes coconut, she claims it expands in her mouth (?). just the hearing the word and she makes a face. that and rootbeer - i don't know, but i have to agree: rootbeer is crazy stuff.

anyways back to my father and coconuts. i have a distinct memory lodged in my mind of one night that my brother and i stood around my dad as he literally hacked away at a coconut. it was disastrous. i think there was a hammer and a drill involved, i think. i just remembering that it went on for a while. we stood there watching my dad in his standard v-neck white undershirt reassuring us every now and again that it is "always a bit tricky" to open up one of these little guys. i felt like we were doing something really exotic. you know because it was a coconut and they are only found on islands.right. and they always fall on people's heads.

so in memory of my father's adventures with coconuts and my on going attempt to get healthier deserts while flying solo i have finally (!) made the chocolate pudding recipe from pure food and wine (a raw living foods restaurant here in NYC & my hands down favorite place to eat at). and i have to admit as i stood there in my robe sawing away at my young coconut with my completely inappropriate knife, i totally felt like my father.

oh and by the way: this pudding is delicious! i would take it over regular any day.

REAL RAW CHOCOLATE PUDDING

1c coconut meat

1/4c + 2 tbs coconut water

1/4c maple syrup

2 tbs agave nectar (can add another tbs if desired)

1/4c dutch processed cocoa powder

1 tbs vanilla

*drop all of the ingredients in a strong blender and "liquify" until smooth and creamy - add more coconut water if you feel it is too thin.

* chill to firm up a bit, otherwise you can chow down immediately

Juiced Up Carrot Cake

so josh is gone. he left monday night and won't be back to corrupt my strictly healthy dietary requirements with his seemingly unquenchable - yet starting to gradually wane - need for delicious sugary treats. i admit it: sugar and butter are delish. but sooner or later i have to get back on track, not just for me but for my poor salivating father who has to sit through these posts, week after week. sorry dad.

anyways so my plan while alone for the next 8 weeks (josh is back mondays and tuesday) is to gather a decent amount of reasonably healthy baked treats. that and kick the habit of eating cereal for dinner when alone (ugh how sad is that?). i can do it!

so here we go: healthy treat number uno. i packed away the week's supply of "daily bread" with josh and i wanted to make something i could convince myself was a healthy substitute to house my almond butter for lunch at the office. pack in the fruit, vegetables, nuts and whole wheat and viola! one day i may try to substitute the sugar with maple syrup or honey. one day.

JUICED UP CARROT CAKE

1/2c whole wheat flour

1/2c AP flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2c + 2tbs sugar

1/2c peeled and grated granny smith apple

1/2c peeled and grated carrot

1/2c grated zucchini

1/4c + chopped walnuts

1/4c buttermilk

2 eggs

1/4c canola oil

*preheat oven to 350 F, grease a loaf pan

*sift together the flours, sugar, soda, cinnamon & salt

*add the apple, carrots, zucchini & walnuts - stir to combine well

*in a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, oil and buttermilk

*add wet to dry and mix to just combine

*pour into prepared loaf pan and cook for 45-50 minutes until toothpick is clean

*let cool completely before slicing in.

Lemon Pie Cupcakes

i don't yet know how i feel about cream filled cupcakes. i mean call me plain but i've always felt like cake and clouds of icing piled on top in fun swirls was enough to keep my attention. but maybe filling is a good thing. were would eclairs be without their creamy vanilla filling? chocolate truffles? ding-dongs and pop-tarts?!

well ok so i'll give it a try. due to a miscalculation i had a about 1 1/2 cups of the lemon pie filling left over from my lemon meringue pies. being me means you refuse to through baked goods in the garbage. so what to do? fill some cupcakes with them delish leftovers. this weekend was a busy one. between seeing a friend's new baby and another's new condo there were a lot of cupcakes flying around the ole kitchen. and this was the perfect chance to use that filling. everyone seemed to enjoy - one comment: make sure to put sufficient amounts of the filling in each, or it will just taste like you are trying to sneak a flinstone's multi vitamin in on someone.

LEMON PIE CUPCAKES

1/2c + 2 tbs flour

1 1/2 tbs cornstarch

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

3 1/2 oz butter

1/2c + 2 tbs sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2c buttermilk

*preheat oven to 350F

* sift together all the dry ingredients

* in separate bowl cream the butter and sugar to fluffy and smooth

*add the eggs one at a time, add the vanilla

*add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the buttermilk.

*continue this until all is incorporated, ending on the flour

*pour into prepared pan and cook for 20 mins

*once cooled, with a knife cut out a small round of the cupcake. hollow out with a spoon if needed. fill with lemon pie filling (from previous post).

*cut the excess cake from the small round you cut out so you are left with a flat disk. place that disk back over the top of the cupcake (icing will hide the seam).

FLUFFY WHITE ICING

2 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/3c water

1c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

*beat the whites and the tartar until soft peaks form

*bring sugar and water to boil over medium heat.

*once the sugar reaches 240F take off heat

*with the mixers on slowly pour the boiling sugar into the egg whites

*continue to beat until stiff peaks form, about 6-8 minutes

Snickerdoodles

when i was about 10 years old i "invented" a cookie that had cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top. they were my brother's favorite. but his preferred action to take when i was baking them was to hover around the kitchen when i was baking and right as i took a sheet of hot cookies out of the oven and placed them on the counter he would lean over - just as close as if he was going to inhale a nice big cloud of the delicious smell- and let out a supernatural, teenage male burp. he would burp all over my hot cookies. would you like to eat those cookies? yeah i'm still not sure where he came up with that little number, but it was executed in perfect elder brother style.

so anyways, he liked these cinnamon cookies i would make; and being a teenage boy he would eat somewhere around a dozen in one sitting (along with the infamous 32 oz "big gulp" of milk) while watching a new episode of the simpsons or beavis and butt-head. unfortunately a few years later i figured out that i was most definitely not the inventor of cookies with cinnamon and sugar. yes it is true- i did not invent snickerdoodles.

i am personally not a huge fan of these cookies, but i seem to be the only one. these are the first thing i ever baked for josh, and like my big bro he ate a ton of them. they are always welcome when i bring myself to make them. so here's to it!

SNICKERDOODLES

8oz butter

1 1/2c sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 3/4c flour

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbs sugar

1 tbs cinnamon

*cream the butter and sugar together to smooth and fluffy

* add in egg one at a time beating well between each

* sift together the flour, baking powder and salt

* add to the flour mixture to the butter mixture, combine

* cover in plastic and chill for 2 hours

* preheat oven to 350F

*combine the cinnamon and sugar in a plate

* roll chilled dough into 1" balls and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture

* place on your prepared cookie sheet and cook for 10-13 minutes