It's fall. It's beautiful. It's cold. It's time (for banana bread).

About two months ago, I was feeling pretty blue. There were a lot of changes happening, not all of them great, but not all of them so terrible, either. Since then, I believe that I have nailed down what was going right and what was going wrong. Does anyone else feel like maybe you don't evaluate life choices often enough? I hadn't been. At work we have been making the transition in our training towards lists, therefore, I have also been making this transition in my personal life.

What was going wrong?
-Lack of sleep
-Lack of exercise
-Little time having fun & engaging in stress-reducing activities (i.e. cooking)
-Rarely seeing my friends
-Eating out instead of in

What was going right?
-Promotion
-Moving somewhere new (and awesome)
-Organizing and cleaning
-Listening to This American Life on my commute

Long story somewhat short, things have improved dramatically. I am in my smiley, happy place again. This past week I got fairly sick and had to take some days off of work (something that I fought hard against, but ultimately, my body won). The reevaluation has brought one important thing to light, which is this: I need to cook, and I need to share it. Whether that sharing be physically sharing a meal with Ian, making treats for my staff, or writing to all of you about my kitchen adventures. So, here I am.

I now live in Quincy, a suburb of Boston. Ian and I love that we live a 10 minute walk from the train, a 30 second walk from the grocery store, and a 15 minute walk from the woods. Many days a week I now get to do two things that I absolutely love: hike and cook. It's mostly thanks to this guy holding the lobster claw:

Since we can get there by foot, we mostly hike around Blue Hills Reservation.

(that's actually the Boston skyline in the background)

As I mentioned, I had virtually stopped cooking, blaming it on the extra hours I was working. To be honest though, it's just as important to my well-being that I am cooking for myself. Once Ian and I moved, we both made the switch to cooking at home pretty much exclusively. I can proudly say that we haven't had food delivered since moving in September. A sampler:

(pasta, fennel sausage, tomatoes, cheese, spinach)

(braised pork, ancho chipotle sauce, pickled cabbage, cilantro)

(sword fish, grilled tomatoes & peppers, wild rice & kale salad)

Absolute favorite song right now. I listen to it on all occasions.

Overripe Banana Cinnamon Bread

Beginning notes:

1. Use overripe bananas.

2. Decide what kind (if any) of  "chips" you want in your bread (chocolate, butterscotch, cinnamon?).

3. For my west-coasters: your oven will be on for a while, choose a cool time of day!

Yield: 1 cake-sized loaf

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

Banana Bread:

3 large overripe bananas

1 c sugar

1/2 c (1 stick) softened butter

3 eggs

1 1/2 c flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1 t vanilla extract

4 T plain yogurt (I used greek, I don't think that it matters)

1 c cinnamon chips (or another chip that you fancy)

Streusel Topping:

2 T melted butter

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

2 t cinnamon

Heat your oven to 325 F. This low temp is important to keep your bread super-duper moist. This is also a good time to grease your pan. I use butter for the extra deliciousness, but a spray will do just fine.

Mash your bananas in a large bowl. If you freeze your ever-overripening bananas, defrost them first. Add butter and sugar, mix until smooth (bananas may be chunky). Add eggs and completely incorporate them into the mixture. Now mix in the vanilla extract and yogurt.

In a separate bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg).

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. Throw your chips in and mix.

Empty the banana bread batter into your pan. Now it's streusel time: mix the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. The sugars should be damp and easy to crumble over the bread batter. Cover the top of your bread. Place your pan on a middle rack in the oven for about 40 minutes (depending on your oven).

Let cool in the pan (but eat some warm because oh-my-all-joyous-things it's so perfect that way).

Ending notes:

1. You softened your butter - good job! Now, don't you dare add that butter to bananas just thawed from the freezer silly. It'll only re-harden that way :(

2. This stuff melts in your mouth. It's just crazy.

3. I have missed you.

Have a great rest of the week everybody. And for the love of Pete, please take care of yourselves out there (I promise to try along with you).

Two Treats Are Better Than One.

Let's talk about how decadent life can be. A way-too-rich chocolaty treat AND a buttery, berry bar. Yes, I am talking about the best of both worlds, having it all, etc. And also, let's discuss the balance that is involved in that. Oh, have I touched on a sore subject?

There are some basic things going on here. I have multiple amazing things happening in my life. I want to be dedicated to all of them equally (okay, not really, but I want to be healthy about it). So there are aspects of my life which TAKE UP a lot of my energy - work, friends - and things that I need more of that might GIVE ME the energy to do things more efficiently - exercise, sleep. Do you really want chocolate for every sweet treat, or do you sometimes opt for something tangy? I would almost ALWAYS choose the chocolate because it's perfect to me. However, most would agree that it is the delicate balance of sometimes choosing a tangy option that makes eating both of these so special.


Oh, food. Your lessons are endless!


Clearly, I have no answers for you as of now. This has always been the discussion, the challenge. Work and play and how to live with them. Well, today was a play-day for me. I made both. Let's make this a little more interesting though, I will give you one today and the other next week. No need to rush. I hope that you try one (or eventually both) for your own enjoyment and share it with someone you love.

Homemade Oreos

by Joanne Chang

from FLOUR

To begin:

1. Instead of using that pesky refrigerator (too slow), I use the freezer to cool my dough.

2. There is a recipe for a vanilla filling, but the PB is just far superior (trust).

3. This one is actually sort of time intensive. So, pick out a movie that you don't have to pay attention to or invite a friend to chat with.

Yield: 12 (BIG) cookies

Difficulty: Moderate

Prep time: 3 hrs (including a waiting period)

Cook time: 30 min

Ingredients:

Cookies:

1 c unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 c of the darkest chocolate chips you like, melted and cooled slightly
1 egg
1 1/2 c flour
3/4 c Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t baking soda

Vanilla Peanut butter cream filling:

6 T unsalted butter
3/4 c confectioner's sugar
3/4 c creamy peanut butter
3 T heavy cream

First make the cookies as they will have to harden for a while before baking.

Grab a bowl and whisk together the butter and sugar. Add vanilla and cooled chocolate. Add the egg last and make sure that it is fully incorporated. (Use a stand mixer or do all of this by hand.) 

In a separate bowl, stir the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda together. Use a wooden spoon to stir the flour dry ingredients into the wet ones. The consistency will be like Play-Doh. Let it firm for about an hour at room temperature (you may or may not be super impatient - like me - and you may or may not throw it in the freezer for 15 min instead).

Take out a large piece of parchment paper. Shape the dough into a rough log with your hands (about 10 in long, 2 1/2 in diameter). Place the log on the parchment paper and roll it up. Keep rolling and unrolling until the log becomes smooth. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until firm (again, the freezer?). Every 15 min take the log out to re-roll it as it may settle a bit and flatten on one side.

Heat oven to 325 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the dough into 1/4 in thick slices and place about 1 in apart on the baking sheet. Place this on a rack in the center of the oven.

Bake for 20-25 min or until the cookies are firm. Check them after 15 min by poking them. 

Let them cool completely. Fill them once cooled (or the filling will become melty - don't think I haven't tried).

Filling time:

Make this while you are waiting for the dough to harden in the fridge.

Beat the butter until smooth. Add confectioners sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth, again. Add the heavy cream. That's it!

Scoop about a tablespoon of filling onto the bottom of one cookie and top with another cookie. Press them together. Stuff into mouth. Enjoy nirvana.

Ending notes:

1. These are some of my favorite cookies in the whole world right now. Also, you really can't have more than once - it's a lot to take.

2. Next time: Mom's Triple Berry Jam & Shortbread Bar.

3. Enough said.

So, any musings on the delicate balance of life? I would love to discuss it with any or all of you. Most importantly, my favorite part of posting has come. This is the part where I make sure that you know how much I miss and/or love you all very dearly. 

Have a fantastic week!

New Year, Favorite Chili

Why, hello there.  Happy 2012.  Can you believe it?  I guess you must believe it now that January is about half over.  Whenever a new year begins I always do the whole "Where was I this time last year?" question.  It never ceases to completely knock me out, how much can change in a year. It also never ceases to NOT matter one bit (where I was last year).  Although I know that the past can be largely influential, to look back does not encourage forward motion.

And this is what I hope for in the new year: focus on the present while moving forward (somehow)....

Now for a couple of oldies, but goodies.  Tried and true bits of joy.  Song and soup (both a bit shocking).

Starting notes:

1. I started using this recipe while I was in Korea because pickings were slim at the grocery store, but MAN do they love their spicy chili flakes!

2. This is taken from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. Over the past couple of years it has evolved into something totally different for me (and as always, use the sorts of veggies you like).

3. Meat lovers: go ahead. Add that meat. Paint the soup pot red! (Although, I have had many a meat-lover sing the praises of this chili...) 

Spicy Vegetarian Chili

Serves: 7

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 30 min

Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 med onion, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp dried oregano (or "italian seasoning")

1 tbsp salt

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 bell peppers, chopped

2 med carrots, chopped

2 med squash, chopped

2 jalapenos, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans chopped green chile peppers

3 cans peeled, chopped tomatoes

1/4 c chili powder

1.tbsp black pepper

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

1 can garbanzo beans

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 can corn

Wash, chop, mince, rinse, organize, turn on your music, pour yourself a drink, etc, etc.

Heat olive oil over medium heat and add onions, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. 

Once the onion is soft, add celery, peppers, carrots, squash, jalapenos, garlic, and green chile peppers. When the veg is heated, cover, turn down the heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Now add the rest of the ingredients (except for the corn) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes.

When your carrots are cooked through, add the corn. Simmer this for 5 more minutes. 

Garnish and serve! Things I like to garnish chili with:

-Medium cheddar cheese

-Avocado

-Cilantro

-Sweet red onion

-Sour cream

Ending notes:

1. This is SPICY. So, if you want less spice. Cut out a jalapeno or lessen the amount of chili powder.

2. If I had more patience I would: peel and chop my own tomatoes, soak and cook my own beans, so on and so forth.

3. The bread sitting next to the chili is jalapeno + cheddar corn bread. More on that later :)

Hey, how have you been? I miss you guys. Wherever you are. And if I just saw you (or talked to you) - I probably miss you still.

Sending my love, be well.

Green Is My Favorite Color.

Haven't you noticed?  I talk about green food all the time.  If you see me on a regular basis (not at work), you may have noticed that I wear it almost exclusively.  If you have seen my closet - it's like a forest in there.  Also, I get really sentimental about all of the different shades there are of this color when I am outdoors.  This may or may not make you want to hike with me.  Anyhow, I say why not the color green?  We basically live because of the color green: i.e. trees, vegetables, V-Tech (anyone? I know at least 6 of you who will appreciate this), ect...

This particular post is my half-hearted attempt to honor the color green.  SO.  One of my favorite songs:

Notes from the start:

1.  I know what this looks like.  "Ooohhhh - green drinks, green soups - Sara, did you turn into a goat and not tell us?"  Answer?  No, this stuff is just really tasty.

2. Adapted this recipe from:  LOVE SOUP by Anna Thomas

3.  As usual, I changed the recipe a bit.  Couldn't find chard or kale, so I used spinach and arugula.  That's the nice thing about leafy greens - they substitute in and out so easily.  Added ginger.  More than just a pinch of cayenne (doi).  Also, I added less than the called for amount of veg stock (thicker soup - yum).

Green Soup

The Original

mostly from Anna Thomas

Yield: 6 servings

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

7oz baby spinach

7 oz wild arugula

5 green onions

1/2 c cilantro

2 T fresh ginger

Salt

3 c water

1 medium starchy potato

1 medium yellow onion

1 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic

2 c vegetable broth

To taste: more salt, black pepper, cayenne, fresh lemon juice (about 1 T)

Wash all of your green things and cut off the stems. Chop up the green onions and ginger.  Place spinach, arugula, green onions, cilantro, and ginger in a large soup pot.  Add water and start heating.

Now, wash the potato and chop it into small chunks (the potato is here for starch - rice is also a possibility).  Add the potato to the pot, bring the water to a boil.  Lower the heat, cover, and let it simmer for about 40 minutes stirring occasionally.

It is time to chop the onions!  I cried today.  Weak.  Anyhow, heat up the olive oil in a pan, add the onions, and caramelize them until they are brown and soft.  This can take a long time, so please be patient. 

When everything is ready to come together, add the onions to the soup.  Add the chopped garlic to the pan and heat up to release the yummy smells.  Also add this to the soup and simmer for about 10 more minutes.

Add as much broth as it takes to cover the veg.  You can make this soup as thick or thin as you would like, so let your stomach be your guide.  And just like last week, ladle the soup to fill up the blender half way.  In small batches, start at a low speed to blend the soup until smooth.  Return the soup to the pot and bring it back to a simmer.

Now is the time to season.  Add salt, pepper, cayenne, and lemon juice little by little to bring out the flavors of the soup.  I like mine a little bit on the heated side.

Garnish:

- Naturally, croutons.  I used the rest of my bread from last week.  Yesssss.

- Crumbled gorgonzola cheese: oh my goodness, makes the soup.  Any crumbly cheese will do.

- Ms. Thomas insists upon a drizzle of fruity green olive oil.  Maybe I will try later on this week.

Notes at the end:

1.  This is an exciting soup.  A-WOO-hoo.

2.  You will want to double this.  It just doesn't yield as much as you will inevitably want to eat.  

3.  Share, share, share a bowl of soup with someone you love.  It's better that way.

In other news:

Occupy Boston is one of the more interesting things I have visited lately.

Made a budget today.  Responsible adult?  Indeed.

Any grand ideas on how to get a cheap flight home?  Currently in the market for just that.

Sunday ritual has turned into something perfect: time with Paula in the morning, walks, food shopping, cooking, laundry, Skype with the fam, time with Esther in the evening (usually more cooking and listening to the S Club 7 Pandora station).

Thanks for reading.  And be well.

Love ya'll.  Have a grand week.

Firsts: Truck, Ladder, Celeriac.

Oh tis the season

For soup to be made each week

Celeriac cream

Things have been wild.  There is really nothing else to say.  I cannot even pretend that I do much more than work at this point.  Although, I feel, and have always felt, that when I am overworking, I am generally more productive in other aspects of my life.  As though my body and mind have grown accustomed to being used in excess, so they don't really want to stop.  Anyhow, I opened a new truck in the Longwood Medical Area.  This is actually the truck I drove to Boston from Ohio a few months back - funny, huh?  Here she is:

Best new discovery: weekends.  Maybe it is because I am working an exhausting amount of hours during the week and am unable to take care of myself during that time (no cleaning, no cooking, no sleeping), but weekends have been washing me clean lately.  They have been transformative.  Dramatic?  Absolutely.  True?   Even more absolute in my mind.  Each thing I do makes me stop for a moment and say, "Thanks, I really need that, and my life is so beautiful."  And I mean everything: cooking, reading, writing, walks, roommate time, drinking, dancing, finding music everywhere, the sun, hair cuts, lone sushi lunches, beer olympics (and obviously anytime I am in the Champagne household), every moment with Esther and Paula, finally unpacking, laundry.  Well, those last two might not sound amazing, but I am sure that we can all agree that life is easier in a clutter-free room and clean clothes.

Yesterday I did something crazy that I simply cannot go on without sharing.  Locked myself out (classic) of my apartment - without my phone.  NO THANKS.  After a short time of contemplating which was worse (sitting alone outside vs. death) - I decided to face death.  The possible reaper?  An old ladder.  (Do not use this footage as a means to break into my house. Please and thank you.)

Something I do lately is listen to music CONSTANTLY.  On my way to and from work, at work, in the shower, while cooking, falling asleep, obsessed.  Thanks, Pandora, for keeping things spicy. I heard this song performed live a couple of years ago and it always comes back to me.  Not only is it a song that I want to listen to over and over again, but to share as well.  It never fails to make me feel everything - giddy, heartbroken, hopeful.

Starting Notes:

1.  What the what is celeriac?  Celery root.  Looks like an alien head, smells like celery.  Did a bit of research on it and found: this article.  Last year at work I remember we did a soup with celeriac - and that was the first time I had ever seen it.  Paula and I were talked into buying it at the farmer's market this past weekend.

2.  I just made this soup up, which I have never done before.  I really like following recipes because I feel like they are tried, true, and cannot be messed up.  This actually turned out great and now I have soup for the whole week. Yessss.

3.  Made my own vegetable broth today, as well.  I had all of the peelings and stems from the veggies that I was using in the soup, so I simmered them in water for about 45 minutes and made a light amber broth. Another first.

Creamy Celeriac Soup

Yield: 8 servings

Difficulty: Moderate

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

1/2 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

1 leek

2 potatoes

5 carrots

1/2 bunch kale

1 head celeriac

1/4 cup chopped parsley

6 cups vegetable stock (or enough to cover veg)

4 cups coconut milk

To taste: salt, black pepper, sugar, nutmeg

Directions:

Wash and roughly chop all veg into chunks (no need to make this pretty, we will blend them later).

In a large pot, heat olive oil on high.  Reduce heat and add onions.  Cook these onions until they are softened and transparent.  Add garlic for about a minute and take a moment to enjoy the best smell that cooking has to offer.

Add the rest of the veg, stock, and fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, ect).  Make sure that the stock covers the veg.  Now, bring this to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, add milk, and allow it to cook for about 30 minutes or until the celeriac falls apart when pierced.

Set up your blender and ladle your soup in to fill the blender half way up (you don't want hot soup exploding out of the top).  Add a bit of salt with each batch.  Remember to start pulsing the blender on low each time, working up to a higher speed.

Once the soup is blended and at your desired consistency - salt, pepper, sugar, and nutmeg your way (slowly) to the perfect soup.

Garnish:

Croutons!  I used a crusty olive bread, cut it up into chunks, tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and baked them at 400 degrees until browned and crunchy.  Completely makes the soup (they soak up the celeriacy goodness).

Finishing Notes:

1.  This soup reminds me of a cross between a root vegetable and "cream of" soup.  Earthy, thick, warm.

2.  I have said this about soup before and I will say it again.  It is an amazingly easy meal to make because you can pretty much throw anything into the pot and the soup will still turn out wonderfully!  Feel like adding more greens?  Or do you hate the idea of onion lurking inside?  Add or subtract anything you would like.  Freedom.

3.  All I had was parsley laying around - I would have added thyme as well.  Maybe some sage.

Particularly have been missing a lot of you these past few days.  In the kitchen, I feel quite peaceful, safe, and at home.  Eating this soup and writing to all of you almost makes me feel as though we are sharing a meal.  If you are reading this, then I think that we should share a meal sometime soon.  You would be doing me a great favor, in fact.  I pretty much just want to out-pour some love right now, in case you hadn't noticed already.

Outtakes:

Does this really need much of an explanation?  I didn't properly attach the blender.  I burnt myself and made a gigantic mess.  Who thought that it was a good idea to leave me alone in the kitchen?

That Rice Crispy Treat Ya'll Know And Love...Well, He Grew Up.

Please, wipe your tears away. I know, I know, it's not easy to watch someone you love grow up. But this is what happens: time passes, we are influenced, we evolve, and best case scenario....we get better. And such is the case with two things in my life right now - my move and rice cripsy treats.

No longer do I live in Dorchester, I have moved across town to darling Somerville. This move occurred this past week and is still happening. It will probably take about a month for us to be TRULY living comfortably here. We must clean, repairs must be made, unpacking, the purchase of necessary households items, but I believe we are ready for the challenge. Meghan, Lisa, and Sam are the new roommates - the most lovely girls I could have hoped to find via Craigslist (or anywhere, really). Updates to come on the living quarters, but the best part of this move is my almost non-existent commute to work. It has been cut into 1/4 of what I have been doing for the past year. And what a positive change this is! For now, I am exhausted from the move and am searching for the motivation to get going again.

So, naturally, I will procrastinate with a blog post.

Opening Notes:
1. If rice crispy treats are something you love, these will knock your off-season holiday socks right off.
2. This recipe is from a cookbook named Flour. This bakery is in Boston. I love this book, everything I have tried from it has been perfectly delightful.
3. Vanilla beans can be expensive, try to shop at a spice market for these guys (vanilla extract simply won't do the job here, sorry).
4. Listening to this song makes me feel light and bubbly - also like I should be on drugs...pretty sure the people in this video were.

Brown Butter Crispy Rice Treats

by Joanne Chang 

Yield: 9x13 pan of treats

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

1/2 vanilla bean

2 10 oz bags marshmallows

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

9 cups crispy rice cereal

Directions:

Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

Add butter to a large sauce pot (mine is huge and non-stick, works really well) and turn on low heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half and, using a spoon, scrap out the beans into the butter. The mixture will start to bubble and make crackly noises (Chang says it sounds like applause). Once it browns up and smells nutty (about 5 minutes, be patient), add the marshmallows and salt. Stir until completely melted and turn off the heat.

Add the crispy rice cereal and mix until it is fully incorporated. Pour into your already greased pan and let cool before cutting and serving.

Nom, nom, melt-in-your-mouth, nom!  

Closing Notes:

1. Be a little bit careful with the browned butter, it can easily go from delicious to burnt. Once it stops foaming and making noises, it is probably done.

2. I like to think of these as the ultimate adult version of a childhood comfort food.

See? Growing up isn't so scary after all. And it can be delicious!