"let it all hang out"

the food: Baked Quinoa Falafel & Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
the song: "Get on the Good Foot" James Brown

Lo and behold, October is almost over and every recipe I've posted has been about sugar. It's what happens when cooler weather settles in. I warned you. But all this sugar is making me feel a little icky. Or at least that's what I'm going to tell myself so I don't bake today.

Ahem...

Let's talk about vegetables.

And quinoa.

Are you still with me? Good. Because this recipe is exciting and delicious. It is also healthy. So after you finish stuffing your face this Halloween weekend, don't waste time counting calories in Octoberfests and Krackle bars. Just enjoy yourself. And Monday, dust yourself off, wipe the chocolate from your lip, and put this on your menu to start your November on the good foot. You have 3 1/2 weeks until Thanksgiving. Treat yourself well during that time.

Can you spot the lemon seed? Don't worry, I did!

Quinoa falafel is a guaranteed to help you regain your composure, no matter how many candy corn you've eaten. The garbanzo beans compliment the nutty flavor of the grain which ups the nutritional value of the whole thing. I adapted the original recipe (from the stunningly beautiful Sprouted Kitchen) so that the falafel is baked. If it is cold where you are it provides a great excuse to heat up the oven and fill your kitchen with good smells. As an added bonus, I'm also including a recipe for yogurt sauce to accompany the falafel.

Let me warn you, the texture of this is a little different. It isn't the fluffy, fried goodness you get at Kebabalicious. These are a patty, almost like a little quinoa vegetable cookie. If you made it a little bigger, I think it would make a great veggie burger. I like the taste of them, but don't go in expecting any falafel you've had before. They taste healthy. But don't let that dissuade you, because healthy done well actually tastes good.

In our house, falafel night is pretty exciting for several reasons. One, obviously, is the falafel itself. Two, double obviously, is the yogurt sauce. Three, we add hummus, greens (usually raw or lightly sauted spinach), chopped tomatoes, warmed pita, and Sriracha on the side. Such a pretty plate, really. 

So what are your plans this weekend? The husband and I are headed to New Braunfels tonight to eat junk food at Wurstfest (no apologies- Halloween weekend is for food). Tomorrow, I'm going to dress up like a zombie. And next week when I've washed the makeup off and real life has kicked back in, I'll probably make this falafel.

Baked Quinoa Falalel
adapted from Sprouted Kitchen

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup sliced onion
3 tbsp. chopped cilantro
15 oz. garbanzo beans (1 can)
2 eggs
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cumin
2-4 cloves garlic
Salt/Pepper

Cook quinoa according to package directions (2 parts water or vegetable broth, 1 part quinoa). Set aside to cool.

In a blender or food processor, pulse carrots and cilantro. Add onion, garbanzo beans, lemon juice, eggs, garlic clove and cumin. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Pulse until roughly combined, add quinoa, and pulse a few more times. Allow to set in fridge for an hour or overnight.

When you are ready, scoop the mixture out with a large spoon. Form into small balls and slightly flatten. Place onto an oiled baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes on each side, until outside is browned and crispy.

Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
adapted from Epicurious 

1 container plain Greek style yogurt
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
squeeze lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
dash cayenne to taste   

Combine all ingredients. Taste for seasoning, adding salt if necessary. Allow to chill, covered, for at least 30 minutes. 

~eeg
 
P.S. Let me take a moment to wish my beautiful Mama a happy Halloween birthday. Mom, I love you and hope your day is filled with delicious cake and happy times!

"show me what you can do!"

the song: "ABC" Jackson 5

What did you want to be when you grew up? The first thing I can remember wanting to be was a dentist. How bizarre is that?  Not a princess, not a rock star, not a nurse or teacher. Nope, little Emily was going to be a dentist.

Clearly that didn't work out so well. But I'm happy to report that for most of my life I've had a job I like. Excuse me for sounding like a broken record, because I know I've told the first part of this story before. Back in June, I decided to take a major leap of faith and leave my job to pursue something involving food. 

5 months later, I am actually cooking for my job. More specifically, I am teaching children's cooking classes (part time, for now) to small groups ranging in age from 2 1/2 years to 5th grade. The company I'm working for is run by two moms who started cooking at their kiddo's daycare classes a few years ago and recognized the learning opportunity that is there. I am incredibly fortunate to have met these women and to have the chance to combine two things I'm passionate about into one job.

 image courtesy of Reluctant Gourmet

So why is cooking with kids so awesome? Oh let me count the ways. (I will try my best to not get too child development-y on you, but no promises. Most of the links below go straight to a child development article, so if that's not your thing, no need to click.)

Readin', Writin', 'Rithmatic. I know, boring, right? But, like the Jackson 5 tell us, they are the branches of the learning tree. And man, can you learn a lot from recipes. I taught my first ever fractions lesson to a second grader last week asking me how to measure 2/3 cup. My 3 year olds are learning the difference between a little and a lot. And my fifth graders are completing the recipes on their own. Fact: the promise of cookies motivates more than worksheets and a gold star.  

Getting messy. Sensory is a huge huge part of a child's development. Thankfully the folks I'm working for have a hands on approach to children learning to cook. There are very few things I demonstrate for my classes (obvious exceptions include dangerous things like cutting with real knives, working next to the stove top or oven, etc. We talk about grown up jobs at the start of every class.) But it is their job to crack eggs and tear up herbs and roll out dough and cut vegetables with plastic knives. We wash our hands a lot.

Bravery. Time for some truthiness. I was a fearful child. I was a picky eater. I was scared of loud noises. I didn't make friends very easily. I shed my shyness...slowly and awkwardly...through a combination of fabulous parents, church camp, high school theatre, outgoing and loyal friends, blogging, and dance parties. Oh yeah...and cooking. Cooking is a fabulous confidence builder, because everyone loves to be fed. If you're able to fill people's bellies, you will never be lonely. I meet shy kiddos in my classes all the time, and cooking often helps them open up. They always show a sense of accomplishment when tasting something they made, even if they don't necessarily care for the end result. When we take the first bite, I always remind my class "You made this! You should be proud of yourself!" Which leads me to... 

Choices. We don't all like the same things. And that's ok. No scratch that. It is awesome we don't all like the same thing. I encourage children to try whatever we made (easier with apple muffins than okra fritters). 8 times out of 10, they try it. Afterall, they just spent an hour putting the recipe together. Usually, some like it and some don't, so we talk about differences and how it's ok to like different things. This is also a natural time to encourage good manners. After the first bite, I explain that sometimes we like recipes we make and sometimes they are just so-so. Then I ask each child if they would make it again. My suggestion is to say "I don't care for this" rather than "Yuck." Believe it or not, it usually works...even with the 3 year olds.

Making mistakes. Children of all ages (and dare I say adults, too) are told all the time to behave themselves. Follow the rules. Don't make a mess. Stay in the lines. When I was a preschool teacher, I was totally guilty of this. And people, that is A LOT of pressure. But the truth is that messes and mistakes and overzealous seasoning and incorrect measurements happen. They happen all the time, in and out of the kitchen. If you end up with crumbly tart crust or salty muffins you learn something from that. And you know what? Mistakes can sometimes lead to better food. No one should follow a recipe all the time.

I'm a happy lady with my new job. I love getting hugs and being told "You're the best cook ever!" It makes my day.* Most importantly, I'm once again in a position where I'm learning as much as I'm teaching. What a good feeling.

~eeg

*Note: I'm talking about the kids, but really this is a nice thing to hear from anyone. Hug your cook today and tell her/him they are the best thing ever! You'll probably get an extra large piece of dessert out of it.

"with a little water and a little bit of sunlight and a little bit of tender mercy"

the song: "Absolute Lithops Effect" The Mountain Goats

This has been a busy week for me. Along with my new job (which I still haven't told you about...this week, I promise!), I also picked up some hours substituting at my old school. After taking a break from children for the past 4 months, I'm having a really good time hanging out with them again. On Friday, one of the three year olds told me "I love you because of your shiny face." I'm taking that as a compliment.

Because I've been so busy I've been a little neglectful of my garden. The husband has been helping me out by watering my little plants who are still fragile when the weather gets up into the 80s. He's been telling me all week "Wow, it's really looking good out there." I took that to mean that he was just seeing the work from a month ago when I put in our fall vegetables. But today I finally got out into the yard. And yeah, it's looking pretty amazing.

Leftover pepper plants from the summer are producing beautifully, even better than they did during the hottest months. I'm counting at least 6 bell peppers on one plant. Same goes for the eggplant. I need to think of some good dishes to use up the last remnants of the summer. Maybe some vegetable fajitas or ratatouille. Also, I might try to pickle some of the hotter peppers. I've never tried it before, but homegrown hot peppers are something we really miss once the weather turns cooler.

Another summer reminder. My basil stayed small this year, but it is still so pretty. Summer isn't my favorite time in the garden, but it does produce some lovely things. The little tinge of purple really gets me.

Now let's get to the fall plants. Out of the 30 or so plants that I put in last month, I only lost 2 (one collard, one beet). That's not too bad, considering I pushed it and put them in when it was still pretty warm. My greens are thriving- we had our first harvest last week for some Asian greens to go into a stir fry. There is nothing...nothing...like homegrown greens. Broccoli rabe will be the next harvest. In one month, it has gone from this:

 

To this:

Pretty, right?  I'm planning on using this in soups, sauteing it with garlic, and throwing it into some pasta with a little tempeh. I'm so lucky that the husband is ok with bitter, alternative greens. I don't know what I would do if I lived with an eater who only liked baby spinach.

Something is nibbling on my brussels sprouts and cauliflower. This one- a cheddar cauliflower that produces orange florets- has just been sampled, but there are a few brussles plants that are pretty chewed up. It always surprises me how picky the little buggers are. Why brussels sprouts but not collards? Why cauliflower but not broccoli? One goal for today is to track down some diatomaceous earth.

Anyway, things are looking good around here. And I'm truly inspired by my little plants. I can't wait for the first fall harvest. Come on cooler weather and bowls of greens! We're ready for you.

~eeg

"i could go anywhere with you and i'd probably be happy"

the song: "First Day of My Life" Bright Eyes

Five years ago today, I married my sweet and wonderful husband. You might know him as "the husband." But today, he's mine. I'll claim him.

I could go on here about the joys of being married to my best friend. About how over the last 5 years our relationship has evolved into something strong and real. I could tell you how much I love him and how after all this time he's still my favorite. About what a hard working and supportive man he is and how I count my lucky stars day after day.

But what strikes me most about today- 1,825 days since we said "I do"- is how much fun we have in this life we've built together. I am thankful to go through my days with a partner who constantly challenges me and is by far the best travel companion/recipe tester/life coach/drinking buddy/human being this girl could ever ask for. 

Life is good. And I am very grateful.

~eeg

"my mouth is full"

the food: Apple Pecan Cake

the song: "My Heart Is An Apple" Arcade Fire

Blogging means never having to say you're sorry. So I'll skip the "it's been so long. I've neglected to write because life has been busy." Nevertheless...

I've missed you guys. Sure, it's only been two weeks. Sure, those two weeks flew by and were filled with non-food awesomeness. I just haven't had much to say. In the past 2 weeks I've cooked one dinner for me and the husband. One. And Thursday, after I finished making this cake, I had a bowl of Cheerios for dinner. But I'm not going to apologize. Because even though my food habits have been embarrassing and childlike, this cake makes up for a lot. 

For people that grew up with it, apple cake inspires strong feelings. My dear grandmother (I've told you about her before) makes the best apple cake ever. It goes down in history as my favorite dessert of all time. I have incredibly vivid memories of the cake from my childhood. I've never been a big chocolate fan, so growing up I always requested apple cake on my birthday. Sadly, this apple cake is not my grandmother's recipe. I haven't gotten that one yet. She likes to hold onto a few baking tips so no one can do it quite like her. The number one secret of a good cook: Never reveal all your secrets.

When fall comes around, apple cake starts dancing around my brain, tempting me to scrap the meal and have cake for dinner. I made this late Thursday night for my in-laws visit over the weekend. But by Friday morning, I had already cut off a small moderately sized sliver to test. I wanted to make sure it was worth serving. At least that's my excuse.  

I'm happy to report that yes, this cake holds up to my dessert standards. It is incredibly moist and has just the right amount of spice. The apples and pecans provide a nice texture and leave me full with flavors of fall and home. This cake is a dangerous thing to have around my house. Like all my favorite sweets, it straddles the fence between dessert and breakfast. The rum glaze is optional, but it does help push it into the dessert category. It's also a pretty great afternoon snack. And a good midnight snack. On a related note, the rest of this cake will be going with the husband to his office tomorrow. You're welcome, waist.

Apple Pecan Cake

adapted from NPR's Kitchen Window

3 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups apples
1 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugars, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda).

In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, vanilla). Stir into the dry ingredients. Fold in apples and pecans. The batter will be thick. Add up to 1/4 cup water if necessary.

Spread the batter into an ungreased 9x11x2 baking dish. Bake 40-50 minutes, watching closely at the 40 mark, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

Rum Glaze (optional)

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the brown sugar and rum. Cook the mixture until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is heated but don't let it boil. Poke holes into the cooling cake with a skewer then pour the warm glaze over the cake.

~eeg

"i'd eat every word"

the food: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
the song: "The Beaten Path" The Good Life

Funny thing about us Texans. We don't understand fall. At the first sign of cooler weather...and I mean the first sign... we start dressing like it is winter. It is about 65 degrees right now, sunny and gorgeous out but I promise you that somewhere in Austin someone is wearing a beanie. Possibly with a zipped up hoodie.

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm no different. I love warm weather and I'm always blue when I have to put away the sandals and sundresses. But as a cook, fall means something different. It means the beers get better and my garden provides fresh greens. Also, I get to bake. 

Browsing my Google Reader this morning, I find myself bookmarking baked goods and considering a run to the store to make cheese biscuits. The husband is gone, so that means I'd have to eat them all myself. I've got to put on some weight if I'm going to survive this bitterly cold weather.

In honor of the first cool day Austin has seen in six months, I'm going to share with you a cookie recipe. These are the husband's favorite cookie. They also happen to be my dad's favorite cookie. It's one of those "my mom passed it down to me, now I'm passing it down to you" situations. 

Just like all my favorite baked goods, these aren't very sweet. They are good for dessert or breakfast (chocolate is a totally acceptable breakfast food, and don't let anyone tell you different.) They contain coconut, which is usually not a favorite in this house. In these cookies, though, the coconut is more about texture than flavor.

Don't let the short direction list fool you, these cookies are a little tricky. The batter is not very moist, so given the chance the cookies will thin out and crumble. My mom shows me up everytime she makes these. When they finish baking, her cookies are perfectly round little bites of evenly cooked deliciousness. They look almost the same when they come out as when they go in. I don't know how she does it, because always mine flatten out in the oven and just look like normal cookies. Mom secrets, I suppose.

A few tips to keep these cookies from getting too thin and crumbly. First, keep them small. A heaping tablespoon is fine- any larger and they are going to start spreading across the pan. Second, wet your hands before you form the cookies on the pan. The added moisture helps them hold together. Third, don't worry too much about it. These cookies are fabulous, and even if they aren't all that pretty the first time you make them, chances are they will still get eaten.

Mine are still not as pretty as my mom's, but maybe with a little practice I'll get it down one day. I better go gather up my ingredients right now...

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cup quick oats

1 cup sifted flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

 

Measure dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix well. Stir in oil, egg, and vanilla. Wet your hands with water and form batter into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

 
~eeg

"our time reduced to an honorable mention"

the song: "All The Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth" The New Pornographers

I post a lot of pretty pictures here. But today let's look at some pictures of dirt. This isn't just any dirt, though. Oh no. This dirt is special because we made it.

 Compost pile.

As you might remember, I just finished planting my fall garden. Before I did that, though, I decided to add some sifted compost from our lovely pile that is pictured above. I sifted for about two hours and in the end had a nice wheelbarrow full of new soil. After a day or two in the sun all the little bugs had disappeared and the soil was ready to spread on the beds. Easy as pie.

Lest you think I am a gardening master, allow me to share some hard truths:

1. My compost pile is low budget. And by low budget, I mean trashy. When I read about how a compost works, I break out in a sweat. It's all so science-y. Our compost is a pile on the ground under some shady trees, very loosely circled with chicken wire. Anyone that knows us can testify...that is one ugly compost bin. 

2. I am a lazy gardener. I get excited about plants that grow food. I get less excited about weeding and fertilizing and all that stuff. More often than not, I jump the gun and run out to buy plants before taking time to check in with my dirt. This is the first time I've actually used my own compost on my garden. First, but not the last.

  

 My non-DIY sifter.

3. DIY (unfortunately) isn't in my vocabulary. There are great instructions out there for creating your own compost sifter. Homemade sifters look awesome, and if anyone would like to volunteer to build one for me I will cook you dinner. But I am lazy. I also am bad at planning ahead. So instead, the morning I decided to sift compost I went and bought myself a colander with handles. Some people say a colander doesn't work for this job. Granted, I don't know any different, but I think it worked fine.

Magically, our janky compost pile produced the most beautiful, sweet smelling soil I've ever seen. Crazy as it sounds, sifting through this stuff was a pleasure. Don't get me wrong, I still wore gloves. But it wasn't half as bad as I was expecting. There were very few nasty bugs. Amazingly, I didn't encounter any rotting food...at all. It is all decomposing just like it is supposed it. There were no foul smells. The finished product looked like chocolate cake. So apparently whatever we are doing is working.  

 Sifted compost.

Here's how the sift went down. I started with 2 big containers, a colander (or homemade compost sifter, fancy pants), a good pair of gloves, a shovel, and an iPod. That's important, because there is a rhythm to compost sifting. One container will be for the soil, and one will be for your scraps.

First, put on your gloves! Ok, now remove all big pieces that are laying on top of your compost (garden plants, last night's veggie scraps, etc.) and put them in your 'scraps' bucket. Hopefully your compost is already looking sort of like dirt. Chunky dirt with bits of table scraps. Scoop up a shovelfull of compost into your sifter. Now, find yourself a good song and start shaking it over your 'soil' container.  This is a great arm workout and a good opportunity to show off your impeccable sense of rhythm.

In case you're interested, my top sifting songs were Annie's "Heartbeat" and Of Montreal's "The Party's Crashing Us."

  Scraps to go back to the pile.

Once you see mostly large pieces in your sifter, dump the remainder into your "scraps" bin. It doesn't have to be perfect...the scraps will keep working in your compost pile and be ready next time. Repeat the sifting process until you have enough to spread on your garden. Or until your arms get tired. Or until you exhaust your playlist. Dump your scaps back in the bin, and leave the "soil" container in a sunny spot for a day or two to get rid of the bugs. Then freshen up your garden by spreading your new lovely compost soil right on top.

I attribute our successful compost to several things. First, we eat a healthy and varied diet with lots of vegetables. We also drink a lot of coffee. Scraps and grounds go into the compost daily. 

Second, we are religious about composting. I have dug food trash out of my garbage can when no one is looking. Everything that can be composted is composted. Our compost pile never gets bored. 

Finally, the husband deserves a lot of credit. I'm more likely to just throw kitchen scraps on top so I can hurry up and get back to cooking and eating. He turns the compost and adds leaves every now and then. But we don't follow a formula. 

Finished product ready for the garden.

And there it is! My crumbly, sweet soil that is about 100 times more gorgeous than any bagged soil I've ever seen.

The main point of this post is to encourage everyone out there to have a compost. It takes time to get used to it, but after a while sorting out food trash becomes a habit. There is no reason food trash should go into a plastic bag and then into a landfill. It can turn back into dirt and go back to the earth. It doesn't have to be perfect. Even if it's just a pile on the ground, you can still get results. Even if you don't get results, it will decompose times faster than that plastic trash bag.

Here are a few useful links about composting:

Introduction to Composting
Benefits of Composting 
Troubleshooting
Apartment Composting

 ~eeg