A hint?

  » By Keith Prickett

July 28th, 2008 - Posted in General | Leave a comment (0)

I just received this bag from my mother in law, who is moving.  I’m thinking it is a hint, what about you?  :-D  I’ve never seen a 5-lb bag of baking cocoa!  I laughed when I saw this and this was the first thing I thought of.  I guess I’d better start making some cocoa-based dishes and (even better) desserts.

Rosemary Lemon Rhubarb Spritzer Recipe

  » By Keith Prickett

June 15th, 2008 - Posted in Drink, General | Leave a comment (0)

Thanks Elise!  Your spritzer was great!  I followed Elise’s spritzer recipe and it turned out wonderfully.  Since Rachel is working at Stahlbush and the first rhubarb harvest of the year is just finishing we enjoyed tons of leftover rhubarb samples from their lab.  Rachel had mentioned they were harvesting, I had some fresh rosemary growing in our tiny garden and Elise posted this recipe.  It was a match made in heaven.  Serve this drink at a party (especially one with a pink theme) or just to enjoy the creatively unique flavors on your palate.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of frozen cut Stahlbush rhubarb (or other frozen/fresh)
• 2 cups of water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (Elise used more but I think it was nice and strong with 2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• Soda (Carbonated) water, chilled

Directions:

1. Simmer rhubarb, sugar, water and rosemary in a sauce pan for about 15 minutes (until rhubarb dissolves)
2. Remove from heat and let it cool for a bit
3. Strain well into a separate container (I used cheesecloth, Elise used a fine mesh strainer)
4. Add the lemon juice
5. Chill and serve 1/3 cup of syrup with 2/3 cup of soda water.

I hope you enjoy it!

Chipotle-Honey BBQ Bacon Burgers with Gorgonzola Cheese

  » By Keith Prickett

June 14th, 2008 - Posted in Beef, Dinner, General | Leave/read a comment (2)

I received (thanks Danae) a very good book a while back (if you like burgers) called “build a better burger“ by James McNair.  I was amazed to see all the varieties of burgers — all gourmet and DELICIOUS looking!  With this beautiful weather we’ve had in Corvallis the last few days I couldn’t help getting the charcoal and grill out for some good summer cooking.  Rachel picked the recipe and I got to work.  First I made the patties, then set them aside in the fridge while I made the sauce.  If you’ve never had Gorgonzola or don’t have it very often be prepared for some different, yet enjoyable, tangy flavor.  The Chipotle chile is not all that spicy, so if you want some extra kick feel free to use more than 2 or add some [1 or 2 teaspoons] chili powder.  This time, though, I followed the recipe from the book as-is.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients (for patties):

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 4 ounces ground pork (or ground pork sausage)
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion
• 2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients (for Chipotle-Honey BBQ Sauce):

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 2 chiles from a can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
• 2 tablespoons diced green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup honey

Ingredients (for finishing it off):

• 1 thick peppered bacon slices per burger (this recipe makes 4-5 patties but a lot more sauce)
• 1 Kaiser roll per burger, split
• 4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• 1 or 2 tomato slices per burger

Directions:

1. Prepare your grill for medium-hot action
2.  Make patties: combine all patty ingredients and mix well then divide into equal portions (4 or 5 depending on your hunger level).  Set aside in the fridge while you work on the rest.
3. Make the sauce:
   1. heat the olive oil in a sauce pan
   2. Add the onions, chiles, bell peppers, tomato, and garlic and cook until soft, stirring occasionally.
   3. Add the vinegar, mustard, ketchup and honey then bring to another low-simmer until you are ready to use it
4. Start the patties on the grill then, about 5 minutes later…
5. Cook the bacon on the grill with a bbq griddle or pan
6. Add the sauce, generously, to the patties when you first put them on, then again after you flip them (about 5-7 minutes later)
7. When the patties are just about done put the buns (inside down) on the grill for 1 or 2 minutes to heat up
8. To prepare the burger:
   1. Place some sauce on the bottom of a bun
   2. Add some gorgonzola
   3. Layer on the bacon, tomato (I also added sliced avocado and freshly grown lettuce — YUM!)
   4. Add the burger then top it with the other half of bun and ENJOY!

I hope you enjoy them!

100% Whole Wheat Bread

  » By Keith Prickett

June 12th, 2008 - Posted in Breads, General | Leave/read a comment (2)

This blog post has been a long time coming.  Every time I make bread, and I make it often, I think I should post it!  Well, lately I’ve been in the posting mood, so it’s your lucky day!  This bread recipe has been such a blessing to me; the bread comes out perfect every time (with the exception of using bad flour).  I like to use whole wheat, but sometimes I sneak in 1/2 cup of regular flour.  You would definitely want to do that if you don’t have good quality whole-wheat flour.  Here are all of the tricks I have learned from making bread over the past 18 months or so:

1. Temperature matters!  Use 120 degree f. water to get the yeast activated.
2. Make sure your yeast rises when you activate if, if it doesn’t buy more, seriously.
3. Use high quality whole-wheat flour (as mentioned before)
4. The runnier the honey, the better.
5. Kneading is important!  Do it for about 10 minutes.
6. Use a dish with water in it on a second rack in the oven below the bread as it bakes

One more tip I received a while back was to add some wheat-gluten to the recipe.  I am still working on trying that so I can’t really comment on it yet.  The tip I received was to add 1/2 cup of wheat-gluten in place of some flour in this recipe.  Like I said, I haven’t done that yet so I won’t include it below.  Here’s what I do:

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup 120 degree water (my tap on the hottest setting puts out the perfect temperature!)
• 1/2 cup boiling water (I use a tea kettle to heat the water up while the yeast activates)
• 1/2 cup 120 degree water
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active-dry yeast (I get mine in bulk from our co-op grocery store)
• 1/3 cup honey + 1 tablespoon (molasses or maple syrup could work too)
• 1/3 cup dry powdered milk
• 1/3 cup oil (I use olive or canola, but grapeseed might work too)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:

1.  Combine the 1/3 cup 120 degree water with the 1 tablespoon honey and dissolve the yeast in it.  Let the yeast sit and activate for about 5 minutes.  It will more than double in size so use a dish large enough to hold it.
2. Add the boiling water in a mixing bowl with the salt, oil, honey, and dried milk and whisk them all together to dissolve.
3. Add the 1/2 cup 120 degree water and whisk some more.  This will cool down the mixture after everything has been dissolved with the boiling water making it cool enough to add the yeast.
4. Add the yeast mixture and whisk.
5. Add the flour 1 cup at a time and mix after each cup with a wooden spoon.
6. Flour a counter or surface to knead on, then pour out the dough onto the surface.  The dough may be very moist, this is OK!
7. Either oil your hands, flour the top of your dough or both and begin kneading.  To “knead” I simply push down on the dough very firmly, as if to flatten it.  Then I fold it in half back on top of itself and repeat with twisting  motions and flattening motions.
8. Add more flour (1/2 handful at a time) as needed until when kneading the dough does not stick to your hands any more.  I usually just sprinkle the surface (top and bottom) of the dough and knead that in.
9. After about 10 minutes of kneading your dough should be at a good consistency.  One trick I heard is that if you push down on the dough with your finger it should spring back fairly quickly.
10. Wipe some oil in your mixing bowl (or a new bowl) and place the dough ball into the bowl.  Cover the bowl and place it in a warm place (at least 75 degrees is good — but not too hot) for about an hour (or until it doubles in size).  On a hot day (or in a hot oven) the dough will rise quicker so keep an eye on it.
11. After this, punch the dough down in the bowl.  This is an attempt to get all the air out of it, so punch it a bunch of times then squeeze it and shape it so it will fit into your bread loaf pan.
12. Place it in the bread loaf pan and cover it lightly again.  Let it rise again for another hour or until it doubles.  Mine always grows so big so I keep a close eye on it at this point.  Once it is about the right size for a loaf of bread I bake it.
13. Bake your bread at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, then cover lightly with aluminum to prevent over-browning and bake for another 20 minutes.  At this point I test my bread with a thermometer for 190 degrees Fahrenheit inside.  If it’s not quite there, go ahead and leave it in for a few more minutes, otherwise take it out — it’s done!
14. Remove the bread from the loaf pan and cool for a few minutes or longer then ENJOY home-made delicious whole wheat bread!!!!

I hope you enjoy it!
By the way, the leftover strawberry chiffon shortcake was DELICIOUS — I just finished a piece!

Rustic Vegetable Soup

  » By Keith Prickett

June 9th, 2008 - Posted in Dinner, General, Soup | Leave a comment (0)

YUM!  I am exited to share this recipe with you.  I really loved cooking and especially loved eating this soup.  It warmed my insides and had a wholesome texture that brought back memories of visiting my Grandma.  The unique flavor of leek, heartiness of cabbage, and healthy carrots I feel make this soup a quick and easy meal that you can make and enjoy for the whole week — or feed a large family or group of friends.  It’s a light soup but it still filled me up.  Rachel said that it needed some potatoes, so next time I think I’ll add those.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• 3 long celery stocks diced
• 3 large carrots chopped
• 1 large white or yellow onion chopped
• 1 large leek chopped (white portion)
• 1 whole green cabbage
• (Rachel suggest 2 or 3 medium potatoes)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• Sea Salt and Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons chili powder for a kick
• 64 oz chicken broth or vegetable broth for vegetarian/vegan
• Water

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium
2. Add all the vegetables and heat them up until they begin to get soft (about 5 to 10 minutes)
3. Add the broth
4. Cover the rest of the vegetables (as needed) with water
5. Bring the pot to a slow boil and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Serve the soup in a big bowl with some fresh Italian bread and garnish with some parsley.

I hope you enjoy it!

Slow Food - Corvallis, Oregon

  » By Keith Prickett

May 20th, 2008 - Posted in General | Leave/read a comment (3)

I have been learning a little bit about what the “Slow Food” (as opposed to fast food) movement is lately. To my surprise Corvallis, Oregon (where I reside) is starting a chapter. Attached is a poster inviting you to the kick-off event for the chapter. The event can also be found on the Slow Food USA event website (Look under June).

Decadent Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

  » By Keith Prickett

May 18th, 2008 - Posted in Cookies, Dessert, General, Snacks | Leave/read a comment (1)

The other night my wife declared “I need some chocolate decadence!”  That was when I knew I had to get to work.  We had both been craving chocolate chip cookies lately so I got out the recipe.  These chocolate chip cookies come from an article we cut out of the Oregonian a year or so ago because my wife was trying to figure out how to make chewy, melt-in-your-mouth, decadent chocolate chip cookies.  At long last, this recipe is the end-all of this famous morsel.  I baked them for about nine minutes which was probably about one minute too short.  Due to this, the centers were soft, but I thought I had reached heaven every time I bit into one.

I think the brown sugar (more moist than white sugar) and cold butter and eggs make the difference when compared to other recipes.  When you beat the butter and it is cold, try chopping it into smaller pieces in order to blend it easier.   Needless to say, my wife loved them!  I even snuck in some whole-wheat flour so it didn’t feel all bad eating these!

I REALLY hope you enjoy them as much as I did.  I’d quickly like to announce that I am joining the FoodBuzz Featured Publisher Program.  I’m excited to have some new readers enjoying what I cook, so, welcome!  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup of cold unsalted butter
• 3 cold eggs
• 2 cups of regular flour
• 1/2 cup of whole-wheat flour
• 3 cups of quality chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch (up to 1 teaspoon) of fine sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit
2. Beat the butter and brown sugar together until it is fluffy
3. Beat in the cold eggs until well combined
4. Mix in the vanilla
5. Then mix in each of the flours, baking soda and the salt but only just until combined.
6. Gently stir in (with a wooden spoon) the chocolate chips
7. Spoon out by the tablespoon full (larger or smaller according to your taste) onto a greased cookie sheet with at least two inches between each cookie
8. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes
9. Remove from tray immediately and cool on a cooling rack then serve with a big glass of milk and go to heaven!

I hope you enjoy them!

Pumpkin Raisin Hazelnut Muffins (and Banana too!)

  » By Keith Prickett

April 9th, 2008 - Posted in Breakfast, General | Leave/read a comment (4)

This last weekend was my sister-in-law’s wedding.  The wedding was beautiful and my wife especially looked hot!  I wasn’t part of the wedding party, but I did have the pleasure of cooking breakfast for the “day of.”  She didn’t want to put me out or have me do any major cooking in the morning, so we decided on muffins and fresh fruit.  After going to Costco and looking for muffins I decided they looked WAY too unhealthy (sugary and such) for a bridal party and to last them throughout the morning.  I definitely didn’t want anyone having a sugar high and subsequent crash.

My solution was to bust out the muffin tins, whole wheat and go light on the sugar!  The result was about 100 delicious small muffins.  I made both pumpkin and banana muffins with hazelnuts in each and raisins in the pumpkin variety.  Everything turned out good, except I wish I would have had riper bananas and I might add a little more oil, butter or milk next time to the banana muffins.

My wife and I also had a discussion about the whole wheat flour.  We noticed that the flavor of these and other things I’ve made has been turning out weird with this brand of flour I have.  I usually buy King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour which makes for great bread making too (I know I owe you this recipe sometime!).  I think, even though the prices of wheat keep going up, I am going to have to keep buying this brand due to the quality.  Of course, I used my wife’s Stahlbush Island Farm Organic Pumpkin again with great success!

I’m going to share the Pumpkin Raisin Hazelnut Muffin recipe.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup regular flour (mix and match to your taste)
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup of raisins
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup of roughly chopped hazelnuts (walnuts work too) — try Hazelnut Hill!
• 1 can Farmer’s Market Organic Pumpkin (15-oz)
• 1/3 cup canola oil (or unsalted butter for a slightly richer flavor)
•  2 eggs, whisked
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 cup of sugar (down from 1 and 1/4 in the recipe I modified!!)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of fine sea salt
• cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top right before baking

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f.
2. Pour about 2 cups of boiling water over the 1 cup of raisins to plump them for about 5 minutes, drain well before using.
3. Place muffin liners in your muffin tin (this will make about 20 average sized muffins or about 12 large ones)
4. In a small glass bowl mix flours and baking powder, set aside
5. Mix together remaining ingredients until combined well to create a pumpkin mixture
6. Add flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix only until just combined
7. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full and sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of batter
8. Bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on size) or until a toothpick comes out clean
9. Remove from oven and let cool

I hope you enjoy them!

The Dominican Republic: Part 3 (Smörgåsbord)

  » By Keith Prickett

March 3rd, 2008 - Posted in Breakfast, Chicken, Dinner, General | Leave a comment (0)

Food and coffee were, obviously, both very enjoyable portions of my trip to the Dominican Republic. Here I am a month later at home thinking back on what else I did there. We tried really hard to visit a lot of friends and even make new friends there. It was so enjoyable to walk to someone’s door and have them shrill ‘entre, entre’ (come in, come in). To have someone sincerely pull a chair out or laugh as they kick a younger brother or daughter out of their seat and say ‘Sientate, Sientate’ is such a great feeling. I was able to see a very different side of people compared to what we typically see in the U.S. For example, I don’t even know either of my neighbors and I’m sure I’m not alone.

Back to the food: My wife and I were able to visit each missionary (including one indigenous missionary) on the T.E.A.R.S. team during the two weeks we were there to cook! I made it my mission to cook a meal for each of them.When I left for the D.R. I felt miserable with a cold. When I arrived Jennifer and Luis Rodriguez(another T.E.A.R.S. missionary couple) had plans to have us over for dinner the night after we arrived. I still hadn’t fully recovered but Jennifer remembered my blog and was fresh out of Taco Seasoning packets. I was volunteered to come up with a substitute with the seasonings in the cupboard. Fortunately I had made this seasoning many times at home using cumin, pepper, salt, garlic, onions and ground beef. It turned out good and we had a great evening of sharing and games.

For Bau (a Dominican missionary living in Maria Auxiliadora, La Vega) we cooked one of my favorites — Unique Chicken Pot Pie. I was also able to share this meal with Tracy, a long-time missionary with T.E.A.R.S. Bau and his wife Adriana had never experienced a “soup” quite like that!

Tracy and I experimented with my pretzel recipe (and maybe I’ll teach you someday on this blog). That was an experience. Even finding the ingredients in La Vega was a challenge, not to mention baking in a tiny gas oven and kneading dough on a small wobbly plastic table. Good memories.

For Rod Davis (the Executive Director of T.E.A.R.S.), Twila (his wife), and two children I cooked one of my wife’s favorites: Linguine with Spicy Chorizo and Tomato Sauce. I combined this with a feeble (and unsuccessful) attempt to make French Bread for the first time. The bread tasted good, but I didn’t quite follow all of the directions. I forgot to roll out the dough and then roll it up so it just spread out and became very flat. When I got home I tried it again right away with great success. I’ll have to post on here how to do it right pretty soon.

One of my favorite evenings, yet bittersweet since it was our last night, in the Dominican Republic was when we stayed with Joy and Vidal Reyes. Vidal and I (the mighty men of the house) got to cooking. Due to the fact that it was about a perfect 75 degrees every day there Vidal fired up his BBQ. He figured we hadn’t had a BBQ since summer and cooked us up some delicious chicken and steaks. He was correct about that and it was so good to have BBQ. He also taught me how to make Spanish Rice Vidal style. It turned out pretty good and I’ve already experimented with my own back home. I’ll have to get it perfected and then blog about it too!

I was able to use fresh ingredients they already had in their house to cook some of my delicious pico de gallo salsa. I chop into small cubes tomatoes, onion, chilis, bell peppers (optional), cilantro and add fresh squeezed lime juice, minced garlic, and salt. We had a delicious meal that evening and also had a great time really getting to know Joy and Vidal.

All of the cooking I did there was quite an experience. Often times I was forced to improvise due to lack of a lot of the conveniences we are blessed with here in the states. While baking bread the power went out (as it often does) at the Davis’s house outside the barrio (Maria Auxiliadora, La Vega). Luckily, Rod has a generator! When I was preparing to make the Chicken pot pie the water was turned off (as it often is) to the Barrio. I used a bucket we had filled with water for such an occasion to rinse and boil the chicken. That was … interesting. Also, since hot water (from a tap) is pretty much non-existent in most places I never was able to wash my hands or utensils as I normally would. This sort of sicks you out, but you get used to it, especially after eating at someone else’s house where they’ll cut up chicken with the same knife they use to cut everything else up without even rinsing between. All in all the cooking turned out pretty good. The missionaries enjoyed some American cooking and Rachel and I got to have some great company throughout our trip.

In my next and final DR series I’ll talk about the no-bake cookies I cooked up in Travesia on the Fugon.

Thanks for reading!

Let’s get started…

  » By Keith Prickett

October 10th, 2007 - Posted in General | Leave/read a comment (1)

My [beautiful, loving, faithful] wife and I have been talking for a while about all the yummy things I love to cook. One conversation led to another and we decided I should create one of those food blogs we always enjoy reading. So here I am, typing into this little blog window. I hope that I can share a little bit of my love for food and cooking with you.

You might be wondering: “Why did he choose ‘making banana pancakes’ as a title?” Well, let me share! A few weekends ago we purchased the album “In Between Dreams” by “Jack Johnson.”

Track #3 is a wonderful song called “Banana Pancakes,” and one of the lines contains the phrase “making banana pancakes.” That weekend I decided to make my beautiful wife Banana Pancakes for breakfast. This was around the time we decided I should create my blog. Here I go. My next post will be my first recipe, from a little earlier today.

Thanks for reading!
–
Keith