Eclairs = a Thanksgiving staple

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!  Are you frantically running to the store for last minute items?  Do you feel the need to practice your boxing out skills against the dog for the last cans of pumpkin? Is your turkey defrosted?  Do you have plenty of alcohol?  

These are questions that run through my mind every Thanksgiving, but not this year.  Nope.  I am not cooking. Nor is my mom or my grandma.  No body, except the fine, fine people at a certain Reno casino.  That's right!  We'll be enjoying Thanksgiving buffet! In fact, the menu touts all sorts of carved meats and delicious salads, but I'll be having eclairs for dinner this Thanksgiving.  I have a feeling this dinner may revolutionize my approach to Thanksgiving forever.  

Look for us on ESPN Friday -- someone will be in a Marge Simpson wig.  We will surely be the rowdiest group in the stadium, especially grandma.  Watch out for her.  She wants to paint her chest orange and blue despite the freezing temperatures.  She's a wild one.

If you need a break a from the onslaught of Thanksgiving recipes (sorry I don't have eclairs, but I will!), here is a super fast and super yummy pasta recipe that cooks in the time it takes your water to boil.  

Until next week friends.  May you all have sweet, tryptophan-induced dreams.  xoH

Wash and roughly chop one large head kale. Love the lacy leaves.

Choose your favorite pasta shape and boil in salted water until al dente.

Meanwhile, saute a diced onion, two diced garlic cloves and spicy or sweet sausage -- pork, turkey, whatever you enjoy.  Cook until the sausage is no longer pink.

Add the chopped kale and one can drained and rinsed cannellini beans, plus 1/2 cup chicken broth. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Toss the pasta in the sauce mixture along with a good handful of parmesan cheese and black pepper.

Serve hot and dream of eclairs.

Pumpkin bread: enjoyable for all, even those lacking chompers

Yesterday I finished my last wellness workshop for the year.  For six weeks I stress to my participants the importance of exercise and healthful eating, among other things, and try to set a good example by sharing my own health-oriented goals: drinking more water, practicing relaxation techniques, increasing my yoga practice, upping my fruit intake.  To celebrate the last class we always have a party to cheer our success in completing the six weeks.  Tell me how convincing I must be as a wellness educator -- yesterday the potluck table was covered in cookies, cake, deviled eggs, potato salad.  They made me so proud.

My contribution to the mayonnaise smorgasbord was pumpkin bread. Chalk another one up for Hailey in the epic baking battle.  I had a number of people in class who, get this, had no teeth, so I wanted to be sure to bring something everyone could enjoy.  This bread would be delicious with the addition of chocolate chips or even butterscotch chips, pecans would be tasty, too.   

No one was injured in this baking melee.  

Except my shirt.  Dirty little devil.

8 on the cuteness scale.  

9 on the tastiness scale.

Pumpkin bread

adapted from epicurious

3 cups pumpkin -- almost 2 15 oz cans

3 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tsps baking soda

2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 heaping tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

3/4 cup butter milk (or regular milk with a splash of white vinegar)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In one bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spice, nutmeg and cinnamon.  In a larger bowl, blend the white sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin and vanilla with an electric mixture.  Beat in the oil until combined and then add one egg at a time.  Working in thirds, add the flour mixture to the pumpkin, then add one third of the milk.  Repeat with the rest of the flour and milk until the batter is smooth. Don't overdo it.  

Pour the batter into greased bread pans -- this made one large and three small.  Bake the smaller loafs for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  The larger loaf took about an hour and 20 minutes.  

Cauliflower soup: mmmmm good.

A great thing happened to me today --  this great thing has been quite foreign the last few weeks (months if I am honest).  This great thing took hold of me in Idaho History class, approximately 11:45 a.m., and I could not shake it.  In fact, this great thing was so strong I drove to the grocery store immediately after class for ingredients.

This great thing . . . the inspiration to cook!  

I am not entirely sure why I have lost my spark, my passion, my endless zest for meditative time in the kitchen.  Distracted by school?  Certainly.  Time change? Sure.  But you know what I think has contributed the most to my diminished creativity -- the fact that I don't eat out like I used to.  When I lived in Utah I was exposed to many different styles and techniques, and I constantly pulled inspiration from the meals I so desperately miss.

A few weeks ago I helped my baby sister look for an apartment in Oregon.  Yay Jules! While we were there, we stopped for lunch at this charming little deli that had the most brilliant array of soups and sandwiches.  I had a basic caprese sandwich, but in addition, I had a roasted cauliflower soup.  Behold my inspiration!

This soup was unlike any other creamed soup I've ever had.  The texture wasn't entirely smooth, which made it so interesting to eat with little bits of roasty, toasty cauliflower.  And roasted cauliflower on its own was something I had never tried before today, and let me tell you! A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.  Try it as a side dish, and it will trump everything else on the table.  So quick and easy and so much flavor.  I could now be a spokesperson for roasted cauliflower.  I like it almost as much as I like cheese . . . almost.

That said, I added white cheddar cheese to my soup, as well as some fresh thyme.  Thank you Jebus and that cute little deli for reinstating my spark.  It feels great to be back.

Before I move onto the soup, I have a quick photo to share with you all.  I went elk hunting this past weekend where we lacked the facilities to cook a meal before we headed out to trek over the river and through the woods to Bambi's house.  Nonetheless, thank you instant breakfast: noodles and coffee.  Notice the scent killer to the left?  Keeping it classy.

Roughly chop cauliflower, two large shallots and few garlic cloves. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with coarse salt.

Then roast in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes.  

Zip up in your food processor.  Notice the texture?  Not smooth baby food -- texturally titillating!

Tillamook white cheddar cheese.

This soup + crusty bread = perfection.

Roasted cauliflower soup with white cheddar cheese

1 large head cauliflower, roughly chopped

2 shallots, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1.5 cups white cheddar cheese, grated

1 tbs fresh thyme, chopped

olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  On a cookie sheet, drizzle the cauliflower, shallots and garlic with about 1 tbs of olive oil and season with coarse salt.  Roast for about 40 minutes or until the cauliflower is fork-tender.  

Carefully place the vegetables in a food processor or blender and roughly puree.  Texture is good, large chunks are not so good.  Place the vegetables in a pot along with the chicken broth.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about ten minutes.  Add the cheese, thyme and a good dose of black pepper.  Season to taste with salt.  Serve with warm, crusty bread and enjoy!

Lack of cooking = irrational thoughts about Giada de Laurentiis

It's Wednesday, which means that several monumentous events have occurred.  I had several large assignments due Monday, including a presentation.  Check. Yesterday marked the final day of my contract.  Check. Check.  And I woke up to snow this morning!  My quest to find my lost ski pants now becomes all the more urgent.

My time has been consumed since we met last week by Thomas Hardy and an essay I am writing about food culture.  At the last minute I changed my paper topic from Eliza Hart Spalding, a topic I was comfortable and well-versed, to another that I am relatively comfortable and well-versed, but lack any scholarly authority to write. I am just a lowly food blogger who aspires one day to both look and make as much money as Giada de Laurentiis.  Too much to ask? Well, a girl can dream, or least win the lottery and buy boobs.

Needless to say, I have not been cooking this past week. I have sustained myself on: popcorn, string cheese, morning star black bean and Asian burgers (the Asian burgers are yum!), and kiwi. I have been eating so many kiwi I should be fuzzy and oozing vitamin c.  

I did order some hot and sour soup -- the best hot and sour soup can in fact be found in my little Southeastern Idaho town.  Anyway, I had a bit of leftovers and was craving noodles.  So I boiled about a half of a bag of mung bean noodles, which you can usually find in the Asian section of your grocery store. If I can find them here, you surely can find them.  While they were cooking briefly, I heated some fake ground meat -- ground pork or ground turkey would work great too -- that was begging to be cooked in my fridge.  I threw in the leftover soup and the drained noodles.  I slivered oh so thinly half of a carrot and cucumber, washed a handful of mung bean sprouts, sliced up some green onions and cilantro, and dinner was served.  

Friends, this dinner was so satisfying!  What was so wonderful: no seasoning.  All the fancy, expensive Asian spices were already in the soup!   Just add the garnishes you enjoy and serve.  The noodles add a fun, chewy texture.  The veggies add crunch.  Top it off with some sriracha and devour!  

Sorry I don't have any photos. This meal was very much an afterthought, but it was thrilling how well it turned out.

Because I am so relieved and happy and celebratory this morning, I have a series of photos that perfectly illustrate elation.

This is my lovely mom on the South Fork of the Snake River -- the last fishing trip of the season, sniff.  She only caught a few fish . . . or thirty.

Notice her elation?  She might have had Uncle Brown on her line. 

This shot was after two fish; she caught close to 90.

Boise State goes everywhere with us. 

 Fish number 137.

The judge, grinding his teeth that his wife was slaying the fish in the back of the boat.

The Toucan

The following post has nothing to do food, but it is too good not to share. xoH

This past Friday night was Dead Writer's Night, my one responsibility as English Graduate Student Associate Master's Student Vice President (say that ten times fast).  Folks were invited to read a piece from their favorite deceased author.  We ate yummy Thai appetizers, as the event was held on the patio of the local Thai restaurant and enjoyed the calm October evening.

While most students took the event seriously and read pieces that were either Halloween-themed or spooky in nature, I, on the other hand, wore my Halloween costume and read a piece by one of my favorite dead writers.  When I finished reading my brief poem, the one child in the crowd yelled, "I love that poem!"  Made my whole day.

The Toucan

by Shel Silverstein

Tell me who can 

Catch a Toucan?

Lou can.

Just how few can 

Ride the Toucan?

Two can.

What kind of goo

Can you stick to the Toucan?

Glue can.

Who can write some

More about the Toucan?

You can!

Makin' whoopie! (pies, that is)

Happy Halloween! I hope you and yours have/had a safe and enjoyable holiday, should you choose to partake.  I celebrated last nighted with Heather and Nick and other good friends.  We dressed up like lunatics and joined the other freaks who revel in the one holiday where one can wear tights and a leotard and no one judges you!  

It's a wonder I am as successful in the kitchen as I actually am.  The following recipe was borderline epic fail (for a number reasons, which you'll see).  Perhaps I am just a cursed baker.  I am not sure why I am such a delinquent.  Amazingly, after forgetting a significant ingredient, these cookies still turned out.  You'll notice I took a huge shortcut by using boxed cake mix.  Awesome shortcut! No measuring for this handicapped measurer!

My marshmallow frosting, on the other hand, which I followed that recipe to a T, failed miserably.  I attempted to frost my first cookie, and the frosting sadly dribbled off the side.  

I will stick to things that I am good at -- like cooking with pasta, and bacon and cheese.  Mmmm, bacon.

The ingredients.

Misstep numero uno: forgetting the 'softened' butter in the microwave.  DOH!

Misstep numero dos: forgetting the 1/2 cup of milk. DOH!

Moment of pure genius: scooping the batter into a plain ol' ziploc bag and cutting off one corner.  

Easy peasy batter distribution.

Misstep numero tres: runny batter. DOH!

Moment of pure genius part deux: canned frosting.   

Packed up and ready for the party.

Pumpkin whoopie pies

recipe from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

pop on over to her site for the recipe and share the love!  Try these cookies, they are wonderful, even without the milk!

It's all gravy, baby.

Two days in a row! I told you I was whole-assing it.  I also told you I would document every slice, dice and saute from last night's meal.  I haven't been that anal in a long time.  I hope you enjoy it! 

After yesterday's gray post, my dad told me to 'quit being a boob,' and ironically, things are falling into place.  As it turns out, I will continue teaching wellness classes and am hoping to get on part time at the agency where I am currently working.  So, as my wise friend reminded me, things always fall into place despite the amount of stress and anxiety associated with change. 

Needless to say, thanks for your kind words.  I made shepherd's pie yesterday, shared a bottle of wine with a friend and woke up optimistic and excited for the next chapter of my ever-ambiguous future.  I just signed up for round two of yoga teacher training! in SALT LAKE CITY!!! SLC friends, I am coming to you the first weekend in December.  Sushi. Sushi. Pho.  Okay?

I am off to a chronic disease management symposium for the day where I'll be promoting the wellness class I teach (yes, huge departure from English but you never know what will come of it) and then I have plans to make a DESSERT!  Very rarely do sweets grace the pages of Hail's Kitchen so check back, as this one is pumpkiny and marshmallowy.

Until then, shepherd's pie:

I was attempting to take a photo of my trusty cast iron skillet and this snuck in:

My Halloween costume.  It is far from gray.

Yukon gold.

I decided after the first potato that I wanted the skins on.  I prefer chunky mashers.

Crush garlic with the flat side of your knife, the underside of a cup or jar -- you get the picture.  You will never want plain ol' mashed potatoes again after you try this easy addition. 

Italian parsley, not to be confused with the curly stuff.  

My trusty potato masher.

I love pomegranate season. Another handoff from my giving mom.    

Try this salad: pomegranate seeds with crumbled feta and greens.  

Knorr gravy = delicious.

Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground meat (I used ground lamb)

1 large onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

1 cup frozen peas

2 tbs Italian parsley, chopped

1 cup beef broth

1 tbs worcestershire sauce

1 tbs tomato paste

liberally grinding of black pepper

salt to taste

Mashed potato topping:

4-5 large potatoes (I used yukon gold and left the skins on)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup (or more) 1/2 and 1/2

2 tbs unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a cast iron skillet or large saute pan heat 2 tbs canola or olive oil to medium heat.  Add the diced onion, carrot and garlic.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until reduced in size and translucent.  Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the potatoes and garlic.

Add the ground meat to the vegetables and cook until no longer pink.  Add the worcestershire and tomato paste and stir well.  Add the broth and peas and allow the broth to reduce a bit -- cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the Italian parsley, and season liberally with black pepper and salt to taste.  

Simmer potatoes until they are folk tender.  Drain and return potatoes (and garlic) to the hot pan to cook out any moisture.  Add the butter and cream and mash to your desired consistency.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer meat and veggie mixture to an oven-safe dish or keep in cast iron skillet.  GENTLY! spoon the potatoes on top of the meat until all of the potatoes are used and the shepherd's pie is evenly covered.  Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the top has browned a bit and the edges are bubbly.  Allow pie to sit for about ten minutes before you delve in.  Serve with brown gravy and enjoy!