Carrot, Parsnip, and Golden Beet Puree

I know it isn't the best photo... but it is damn tasty...

So readers, I know that in my last post, I expressed some, shall we say, dissatisfaction with root vegetables. After a long, cold winter chock-a-block with roasted root this and baked root that, you just want something fresh and light.

Well then, step right up, because this root veggie puree is as fresh and light as they come. And it couldn't possibly be any easier, thanks to the magical cooking powers of steam.

• 2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb parnips, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb golden beets, cleaned, peeled, and chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup vegetable broth
  
• 2 Tbsp butter (optional)

1. In your favorite pot, fitted with your favorite steaming attachment, bring water, broth, and salt to a boil.
2. Add vegetables to steamer and cover. Steam until tender, 15-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of your veggies. Check liquid level periodically; if running low, add more water.
3. Once tender, pour veggies into a mixing bowl. Using a potato masher, pastry cutter, or other such implement, mash vegetables together. Pour in small amounts of steaming liquid to help puree come together (this will also add flavor and salt). If desired, mash in butter for a silkier texture. Serve hot.
   

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Yes, I decorated them with little carrots. Yes, I'm a total tool. I embrace it.

Allow me to brag about my mother for a second:

My mother is an amazing cook. Imaginative, inspired, and passionate. While there isn't anything at which she is bad, cooking-wise, she truly excels at baking. From a very young age, my siblings and I would watch as she painstakingly decorated gorgeous from-scratch cakes for our birthdays, and every December, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, the house is filled with the smell of baking cookies, dozens of kinds, and dozens of each kind.

"So?" (you may say to your not-so-nostalgic self) "Plenty of people can bake."

This, readers, is true. Anyone can bake, really. Basic baking is just chemistry and following directions. But it takes a gift to elevate it to an art form.

There are two things that my mother makes better than anyone else on the planet. Trust me on this one. I've done my research. I've ordered these things at innumerable restaurants, and each time they pale in comparison. Many good meals have been ruined by sub-par desserts.

They are, in no particular order:

Carrot Cake

and

Key Lime Pie

The key lime pie recipe may make its way onto this website in the future... only time will tell. Today, I will provide a version of her recipe (I'm being selfish and keeping the true original for myself) that has been adapted for cupcakes.

For cupcakes:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
  
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups grated carrots

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper cupcake holders into the cups of cupcake tins.
   
2. Sift together dry ingredients.
3. In separate bowl, mix oil with beaten eggs.
4. Add small amount of dry to wet, beating well after each addition, until combined.
5. Fold in grated carrots until combined.
6. Fill each cupcake holder approx 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out cleanly. Remove from tins and allow to cool completely on cooling rack before icing. Makes approx. 2 dozen cupcakes.

For frosting:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
  
• 2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
  
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 lb powdered sugar

1. Cream butter and cream cheese in stand mixer. Add vanilla.
2. Add sugar in small amounts, beating well after each addition.
3. Pipe or spread on to cooled cupcakes.
4. Devour.

The Government Didn't Shut Down...

...but my motivation did! Sorry folks!

I'm sure you all know the feeling I've been having these past couple of weeks... You get home after a long day at work, having run a number of errands on the way home, and the last thing you want to do is dream up what to cook that evening. Times like these are why frozen pizza is a multi-billion-dollar industry!

(For the record, I find the best frozen pizza to be Freschetta Rising Crust cheese pizza.)

This day-in, day-out tedium of eating to survive (not to enjoy) is a rut we all fall in to at some point. I'm sure even Ina Garten (love her) orders Chinese delivery every now and again. However, there will always be something to break us out of our food shell.

For me, this week, that something is the upcoming Easter holiday. For you, it may have been Passover. Or the weather getting warm enough to grill again. Perhaps you saw some amazing looking artisanal cheese when your local farmer's market started back up. What ever it is, run with it! Spring is a time of delicious ingredients, a time for the return of fresh fruits and vegetables to the table. Let the food inspire you!

Like I said above, the coming Easter holiday has knocked me back in to food mode. Unlike many years, when I travel to see extended family, this year they are coming to me! Obviously, I've been fantasizing about this meal since January.

Over the next couple days, I'll be posting recipes that I will be making, or those that came in a close second to the final choices. I hope you all enjoy them!

Shut down, Eat Up! Italian Fritatta

OK folks. So, this first shutdown recipe costs $17.60 at my local Harris Teeter, and that is before I use my store discount card. It is also super-duper easy, and good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Think of a fritatta as a quiche without a crust. Puffy, cheesy, and delicious. here we go!

• ~10oz thick cut bacon ($5.49 for 20oz package)
• 8 eggs ($2.99/dozen)
• 1 pint light cream ($2.89)
• 3 Tbs tomato paste with garlic and oregano ($0.89 for 6oz can)
  
• ~6oz shredded mozzarella cheese ($2.69 for 8oz package)
• ~1/2 bag frozen Italian vegetable medley ($2.65 for 12oz bag)

Not included in price (aka pantry staples):

• 2 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• Nonstick cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut bacon into lardons (for what a lardon is, click here). Spray oven-safe saute pan with nonstick spray and heat over medium flame. Add bacon and cook until crispy and fat is rendered. Remove bacon with slotted spoon, leaving fat in the pan.
3. Add vegetables to pan and saute in bacon fat until starting to brown.
4. Meanwhile, crack eggs and combine with cream in bowl. Add tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk thoroughly to blend.
5. When vegetables are ready, reduce pan to low. Spread the vegetables evenly in the pan. Pour in ~1/2 of the egg mixture. Sprinkle all bacon and 1/2 cheese on top and let cook for ~1 minute to set the eggs slightly, then pour on the rest of the egg mixture and top with remaining cheese.
6. Turn off stove and place pan in oven for 10-15 minutes, or until your fritatta has gotten puffy and golden brown. Let cool slightly, slice like a pie, and serve.
   

So, about that bread line...

Aren't our bowler hats stylish?!

Well faithful readers, it looks like the US government is about to shut down until the crybabies (ahem, or one crybaby in particular) on Capitol Hill get their acts together and pass a continuing resolution for the budget for fiscal year 2011. Being a life-long DC-area resident and avid policy wonk, I know many, many Federal government workers who will be, in effect, furloughed (aka, vacay without pay).

Now, while one of my friends (a staffer for a House member from the Midwest, and who shall remain anonymous for fear of the guillotine), laughed heartily and said "LET THEM EAT CAKE", I'm thinking that many of these Federal employees are living a fairly meager existance in DC, the city with the third-highest cost of living in the country (behind Manhattan and San Francisco).

I feel for you, my friends. Having been, until recently, among the long-term unemployed, I understand the feeling of having a depleted savings and paying for groceries in spare change. Thus, I have decided to bring you some inexpensive edibles, all tasty, and all costing less than 20$ for 2 servings at DC supermarket prices.

Now, I will not be providing my recipe for my world-famous gruel (that's a joke, folks), but I will be exploring some great food staples that are also inexpensive (for example: eggs, chicken thighs, flank steak, and rice). And don't worry, I promise everything will be tasty!

N.B.: I will not include spices in the pricing of my meals, so if I use one you don't have around the kitchen, write me, and we'll work out another option!

Please sir, can I have some more?

PS: None of these recipes will involve tea in any way, shape, or form. I promise.