Cookbook Recommendation - Thug Kitchen

I'm a bit of a cookbook junkie. I love to cook, I love to try new recipes, and if something is pretty, I'll grab it. Seriously. I just recently did a culling because I was running out of room, and I still have 72 cookbooks I'm not ready to get rid of.

So when somebody recently suggested Thug Kitchen to me, I shouldn't have listened. I should've plugged up my ears, started whistling, and pretended I hadn't noticed. Except I did. And I went to Amazon. And I hit buy within sixty seconds of scanning the reviews.

It's a vegan cookbook, but I bought it anyway because my family and I are trying to get more vegetables in our lives in more interesting ways. It arrived while I was away, so I wasn't able to start trying any of the recipes until Tuesday. First on the docket was a simple quinoa oatmeal. I've been craving oatmeal lately, and I hadn't tried steelcut oats yet. It made the choice easy.

Verdict? Good. Easy. Try another recipe.

I picked out a recipe to fix for dinner last night that would require minimal shopping on my part. The winner was this roasted chickpea and broccoli burrito. It was a little heavier on the spices than I usually can tolerate, but I figured if it was too hot, I could just bury it in sour cream.

Turns out, I didn't need to, a fact I picked up on when I nicked a piece halfway through roasting:

Everybody devoured the burritos when they were done, even my thirteen year-old son. I am totally making these again. 

We already picked out the next recipe to try, a mushroom and spinach lasagna. I have high expectations.

But what makes this cookbook so much fun isn't just the recipes. It's the tone. For those unfamiliar with Thug Kitchen, it's unpretentious and no holds barred, definitely R-rated for language. I sat and actually read the first twenty pages of the cookbook (before the recipes) and laughed/smiled through the whole thing. It's a refreshingly blunt way of looking at vegetarian/vegan cooking, bringing it back to the food rather than the holier than thou atmosphere that often permeates this type of cuisine.

How can you not love a cookbook that calls salads, "plant nachos?"

A brand new month

I am emerging from my Thanksgiving cave, though not without stress. Too much stuff to do that's not holiday related, but at least I have time to myself again to tackle it all and a house that's been recovered from all our company.

Thanksgiving itself went great. We had some real winners when it came to recipes this year. I made a slow cooker pumpkin cake for Wednesday night that turned out so good, and the pumpkin pecan cinnamon rolls I made for Thursday breakfast were divine with a couple tweaks (I do not understand this need to melt the butter that so many more modern cinnamon roll recipes use. The butter melts in the oven anyway, and when it's melted beforehand, it makes a real mess. Plus, the cream cheese icing on this was way too sweet so I cut back on the sugar and added more cream cheese to get it to our preferences.) One of our guests made a Bananas Foster bread pudding that I died over. I basically ignored all other desserts just to have that, lol.

But now it's back to the grind. I've got a new long novella coming out this month, a new contract on its way, and more stories to tell. Lots to accomplish before the next holiday is upon us!

Lamb Souvlaki

Clean eating is being good to me this week. Our summer of stress packed on the pounds, so I've been doing this month-long diet bet to get back on track. Sunday night, I made a lamb souvlaki (without pita) and a skinny apple cake that were both amazing. The cake also has a glaze but I didn't make it. We all agreed it didn't need it. Even the next day, it was ultra moist, and I've been asked to make it a regular thing this fall.

The souvlaki is out of an older WW cookbook and went straight to the top of my husband's request list. He's not a fan of tzatziki, so we all just ate it straight off the skewers, but man, so much flavor. I had to add a little bit of salt to mine, but nobody else did. I served it with a Greek veggie salad that really finished it off.

LAMB SOUVLAKI

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 1/2 pounds leg of lamb, boneless, trimmed of all visible fat, cut into cubes

2 small red onions, root end left intact and cut into 6 wedges each

1 large green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 12 pieces

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. To make the marinade, combine the oil, garlic, oregano, and thyme in a large zip-close plastic bag. Mix well. Add the lamb, seal bag, and turn several times to coat. Marinate the lamb at room temperature 30 minutes or refrigerate overnight.

2. Preheat broiler. Spray a broiler pan with nonstick spray; set aside.

3. Alternate threading lamb cubes, 3 onion wedges, and 3 bell pepper pieces onto each of 4 (12-inch) metal skewers. Transfer skewers to the broiler pan.

4. Broil 4" from the heat, turning at least once, until the vegetables are tender and the lamb is cooked through, 8-10 minutes. 

NOTES: Serves 4. I made jasmine rice to go with this.

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Spicy Shrimp Salad with Mango and Lime

It's been a while since I posted any new recipes, so since last night's turned out so great, I'm sharing today. It's a light shrimp salad that's perfect for busy nights this time of year - fast to make and refreshing to eat.

SPICY SHRIMP SALAD WITH MANGO AND LIME

INGREDIENTS

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic

Kosher salt

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/4 lbs cooked medium shrimp, peeled

1 ripe mango, peeled/pitted/diced

1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 head romaine lettuce, torn

Large handful cilantro, chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes

DIRECTIONS

1. Soak onion in cold water while you prepare the rest of the salad.

2. Smash the garlic. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. Transfer to a large serving bowl.

3. Add lime juice, 2 teaspoons salt, and the chili powder. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream to make a dressing.

4. Toss the shrimp in the dressing.

5. Add mango, beans, lettuce, cilantro, and cherry tomatoes to the bowl. Drain and dry the onion, and scatter over the salad. Gently toss the salad together and serve.

NOTES: Serves 4.

Cream Cheese No-Bake Squares

I made a scrumptious no-bake square last weekend, a coconut/pecan/graham cracker crust with a cream cheese layer on top. They were gone in less than a day. Even my picky son who doesn't really do nuts devoured them.

CREAM CHEESE NO-BAKE SQUARES
INGREDIENTS
For bottom layer
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

For cream cheese layer
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

For drizzle
2 oz sweet dark chocolate candy bar
1 tsp butter

DIRECTIONS
1. Line 9" square pan with foil, allowing overhang on all sides.
2. For bottom layer, cook and stir butter, sugar, cocoa, egg, and salt in medium pan over medium heat for 2 minutes or until thickened.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and pecans.
4. Press mixture into prepared pan.
5. For cream cheese layer, beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in small bowl until smooth and well blended.
6. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating well after each addition.
7. Spread over prepared crust. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
8. Combine candy and 1 tsp butter in small releasable food storage bag. Seal bag.
9. For drizzle, microwave on high for 1 minute. Turn bag. Microwave for another 30-40 seconds or until melted and smooth.
10. Cut off tiny corner of bag and drizzle over the cream cheese layer.
11. Refrigerate until firm. Remove from pan using foil and cut into squares.

NOTES: Makes 36 small squares. There's a ton of flavor in these. If you cut them this small, there's only 110 calories in each one.

Weekly weigh-in

So yesterday was my weigh-in. I didn't go last week, because Easter week KILLED me. I was finally feeling better this last week, so buckled down hard and managed to lose both the two pounds I'd gained the week before as well as nearly another pound, putting my total weight loss so far at 15.4 pounds in 10 weeks.

I'm considering that a win.

One of the things helping me so much with this is focusing on a lot of healthy vegetable soups. I made a version of this Creamy Cauliflower Soup on Monday that was just delicious. The changes I made were:

1. I cut down on the olive oil. I was able to soften the onions using only 1 tablespoon instead of the 3 the recipe calls for.
2. In step 3, where you add the remaining water, I also added a teaspoon of curry powder and the ground black pepper so the soup would be infused with the flavors. I love curried cauliflower soup, and this worked like a dream. Even my daughter, who doesn't like cauliflower, couldn't stop gushing about how delicious it was.

Maple-mustard pork chops

I'm always on the lookout for new ways to dress up pork, and though this isn't necessarily a unique combination, the recipe turned out so good that it's definitely going into our menu rotation.

MAPLE-MUSTARD PORK CHOPS

4 6-oz pork chops (I used boneless, but bone-in will work, too)

1/2 tsp salt, divided

1/4 tsp pepper

Cooking spray

1 tbsp butter

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

2 tbsp mustard (flavor is up to you, the original recipe calls for dijon but I used a sweet-hot specialty mustard that was just divine)

2 tbsp maple syrup

1. Sprinkle both sides of pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper.

2. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through, but with a slight blush in center. Remove from pan and keep warm.

3. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add butter to coat.

4. Add onions and saute until tender and translucent.

5. Add broth, bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Stir in mustard, syrup, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick.

6. Return pork to pan and cook for 1 minute on each side or until thoroughly heated. Serve pork with sauce.

My 5 favorite new Valentine's treats

Valentine's Day isn't just about love. Or chocolate. Or...

Okay, I got distracted by the chocolate for a minute. My weekly weigh-in is this morning, so I'm a little hungry at the moment.

Anyway, the ideas inspired by this holiday are pouring into my Google reader. These are my five favorites.

1. No Bake Oreo Truffles. Ohmigod, yum. I have a friend who makes these every year and sends me a box.

2. Rock candy. So pretty! And remarkably easy, especially with this tutorial.

3. EKG cookies. Such an original idea, and very easy. You can decorate just about anything using this as a model.

4. Red velvet blossoms. A red velvet take on a traditional thumbprint. I have a son who is mad for anything red velvet. These are a favorite in my house.

5. Berry chocolate krispie treats. My son's class is getting this one this year.

Candy cane rice krispie treats

So yesterday was spent doing a lot of baking in preparation for an evening spent with friends. One of the things my daughter and I made were candy cane rice krispie treats. Some of you might turn your nose up at the idea, but trust me on this one. If you like rice krispie treats and candy cane flavors even a little, you'll LOVE this.

I've seen variations of this online, but I've modified the recipe over time to get it the way my family likes it.

INGREDIENTS
1 13 oz box of Rice Krispies (or similar style cereal)
1 10 oz bag of mini marshmallows
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup crushed candy canes
40 candy cane Kisses
2 cups white chocolate chips
2 tbsp vegetable (or canola) oil
3 tbsp crushed candy canes

DIRECTIONS
1. Unwrap all the Kisses. Microwave for 30 seconds to get them to a melty stage. It's okay to have smallish lumps.
2. Melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and melt together.
3. Stir marshmallow mixture into cereal.
4. Add melted Kisses and crushed candy canes.
5. Press into greased 9x13 pan. Refrigerate until set.
6. Over double boiler, melt white chocolate.
7. Add vegetable oil and stir until smooth.
8. Frost uncut Rice Krispie treats with white chocolate.
9. Sprinkle crushed candy canes over frosting.
10. Refrigerate until frosting is firm. Cut into squares at this point.

Sandwich Cookies with Buttercream Frosting

It's been a baking week. See, I found myself in the magazine section at Barnes & Noble last Friday, flipping through every seasonal periodical they had, about to buy one or two, when I remembered the two-foot stack of cooking magazines I had at home in the cupboard.

Two feet. That's not an exaggeration.

I might've made a handful of recipes out of the entire stack.

So I put the magazines back and decided it was time to go through what I already owned. I took the magazine off the top, opened to the first recipe I thought we'd actually eat, and made my grocery list.

I've done two recipes this week. At this rate, I won't need to buy another magazine until 2014.

The first recipe was a sandwich cookie with buttercream frosting. It consisted of vanilla, chocolate and spice cookies, with five different flavors of buttercream - vanilla, chocolate, coffee, orange, and almond. They turned out pretty damn good. Favorite combination? Spice with orange cream. Yum.

VANILLA ROUNDS

½ cup butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

2 eggs

1½ tsp vanilla

2¾ cups flour

1. In a large bowl, combine butter and cream cheese at medium speed for 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined.
3. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
4. Beat in flour.
5. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 375F.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough to an 1/8-inch thickness.
8. Use 1½ - 2” cookie cutter to cut out dough.
9. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 6-7 minutes.
11. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool.

SPICY GINGER ROUNDS

½ cup butter, softened

¼ cup shortening

¾ cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 egg

1/3 cup molasses

3 cups flour

1 egg white, beaten

1. In a large bowl, combine butter and shortening at medium speed for 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined.
3. Beat in egg and molasses.
4. Beat in flour.
5. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 375F.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough to an 1/8-inch thickness.
8. Use 1½ - 2” cookie cutter to cut out dough.
9. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet.
10. Brush with egg white.
11. Bake for 6-7 minutes.

12. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool.

CHOCOLATE ROUNDS

½ cup butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

2 eggs

1½ tsp vanilla

2½ cups flour

¼ cup cocoa

1. In a large bowl, combine butter and cream cheese at medium speed for 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar. Beat until combined.
3. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
4. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in separate bowl. Slowly beat into butter mixture.
5. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 375F.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough to an 1/8-inch thickness.
8. Use 1½ - 2” cookie cutter to cut out dough.
9. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 6-7 minutes.
11. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool.

We had a lot of cookies at this stage. The nice thing is, you can freeze these before you fill them, to keep on hand to fill later. That's where most of these are now. My kids can help themselves over the next few weeks.

But the buttercream is what makes these really yummy. It's just a matter of finding the right combination. 

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

½ cup softened butter

1¼ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp milk

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add sugar, vanilla, and milk until spreadable consistency.

COFFEE BUTTERCREAM

½ cup softened butter

1 ¼ cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp brewed coffee

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add sugar and coffee until spreadable consistency.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

½ cup softened butter

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp milk

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and milk until spreadable consistency.

ALMOND BUTTERCREAM

½ cup softened butter

1¼ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp almond extract

1 tbsp milk

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add sugar, almond extract, and milk until spreadable consistency.

ORANGE BUTTERCREAM

½ cup softened butter

1¼ cup powdered sugar

Finely grated zest of one orange

1 tbsp orange juice

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add sugar, zest, and juice until spreadable consistency.

The holidays are a-coming

Halloween is past, which means we're in my favorite two months of the year. I'm one of those Christmas nuts. I love everything about it. You can expect cookie recipes, gushing about food, and general ho-ho-ho-ness over the next eight weeks or so.

To launch it all, I blogged yesterday at Romance Cooks. It's a recipe for Cranberry Sauce Cake, one of my favorites. Go check it out, and while you're there, take a look at all the other great recipes that have been posted this year!

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower

Okay, so I'm not a photographer, lol. I thought about taking this picture way too late, and no amount of trying to crop it made it look any better. So I'm putting it up there in all its original not-so-glory, and letting the recipe speak for itself.

I made this for the first time Tuesday night, and let me tell you, my ten-year-son---who has turned up his nose at every variation on cauliflower I have ever thrown at him---ate every lick of this and asked when we'd have it again. That's a success in my house. Plus, it just tasted good.

PASTA WITH ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

INGREDIENTS
1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
Kosher salt and ground pepper
8 oz uncooked farfalle
1/2 cup black olives, coarsely chopped
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Toss cauliflower with olive oil, garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt, and spread on a baking sheet.
3. Roast until golden and tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, boil salted water for pasta. Once it's boiling, add pasta and cook for designated time on package until done.
5. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside.
6. Drain pasta.
7. In large bowl, toss pasta, cauliflower, olives, lemon zest, and reserved pasta water. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

NOTES
Serves 4. It's light, but filling, and did I mention my picky son ate all the cauliflower in it?

Sharing Saturday - Black Bean and Couscous Salad

First of all, don't forget to sign up for this week's giveaway! The title is Jane Davitt's m/m new release, Gambling on Love.

Okay, now that that's out of the way...Saturdays around here are going to be share days. Meaning, I'm going to be sharing some of my favorite recipes, projects, etc. If I get too busy to post one of mine, I'll share links to some of my favorites.

Today's is a staple in my house, especially in the summertime. It's light, healthy, and so full of flavor.

Black Bean and Couscous Salad
INGREDIENTS
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

DIRECTIONS
1. Bring broth to a boil in a 2 quart or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin.
3. Combine green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn, and beans in a bowl.
4. Drizzle dressing over vegetables and toss to coat.
5. Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add vegetables and mix well.

NOTES: Serves 8 as a side dish, and is good both warm and cold.