ADVENTURES OF THE FORTUITOUS COOK

With Purim a week away, Piper decided it was Hamantaschen time! Piper has quite the history of making this traditional triangular cookie, as can be seen here in her exclusive music/cooking video:

Recipe:

4 Cups Flour

4tsp Baking Powder

1tsp Salt

2 Sticks Butter

2 Cups Sugar

2 Eggs

4 Tbsp Milk

2 tsp Vanilla

Filling: Nutella; Chocolate Chips and Raspberry Jam are our favorite!

Mix Dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, milk and vanilla to butter mixture. Slowly add dry ingredients, blend. Refrigerate at least two hours. Roll out 1/4 in thickness on floured surface, cut into 2″-2 1/2″ circles. Put 1 tsp of the filling in the middle of the dough circle, fold 3 sides over to make a triangle. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

 

A great perk to re-upping my membership to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum was a fancy new cookbook “dining with the desert museum,” that I’ve been wanting to cook from. Since it’s been cold (for Tucson), I mean we even had a fire last night, I decided on the Tortilla Soup. I have to admit, I deviated some from the recipe, but it turned out delicious, the best tortilla soup I’ve ever had! Disclaimer: It didn’t go over so well with my six year old though, she proclaimed I was “Chopped,” although she said I redeemed myself with my cornbread – you know, the stuff from the Trader Joe’s box…

 

Chicken: I used about 4 cups of shredded smoked chicken we had left over, the recipe calls for two chicken breasts

3 Quarts Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1 Onion

2 carrots

2 Celery Stalks

(Or go to Trader Joe’s and by the pre-chopped mirepoix – that’s what I did)

1 Large Yukon Gold Potato – Diced

1/2 Cup Tomato Paste

1 Bay Leaf

4 Cloves Garlic

1/2 Cup Green Chilies

2 Tablespoons fresh Oregano (our Garden is getting overrun by the stuff!)

1/2 Teaspoon Cumin

2 Zucchinis -Diced

1 Red Bell Pepper- Diced

1 Lime, Juiced

2 Tablespoons Sherry

Toppings:

Cilantro

Avocado

Jack Cheese

Tortilla Chips

In a large saucepan (use a large one, this makes a lot of soup) saute the Mirepoix in olive oil for a couple minutes, add the potato and garlic saute a few more minutes. Add broth, tomato paste, bay leaf, oregano, cumin. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add zucchini, bell pepper, lime juice and sherry. Simmer for 20 more minutes after bringing to a boil. Add chicken, heat through. Serve with toppings!

 

 

Piper decided she wanted rice crispy treats!

My parents visited Hawaii recently and brought me home a new cookbook! We decided to start with the Hoisin Baby Back Ribs with a side of Saffron infused rice and a salad made from our garden. It was superb, and all credit goes to the husband, I was too busy with yoga, walking the dog and laundry to cook!

My new favorite Pumpkin Pie (a little creation I stumbled upon last Thanksgiving)

So say making a pie crust doesn’t create a relaxing Zen like feeling for you…then this pie is perfect!

It starts with a graham cracker crust, so super easy, and is filled with a cheesecakeish pumpkin pie filling.

My daughter has to bring a pumpkin pie to school tomorrow, and of course, I wanted to make a homemade one, so I went with my trusted recipe from last year!

The crust:

1 ½ Cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs

6 Tablespoons butter, melted

¼ Cup Sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

Using a food processor, mix ingredients and pulse until combined. Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. Allow to cool.

The filling:

8oz Cream Cheese (softened)

2 Cups canned pumpkin

1 Cup Sugar

¼ Teaspoon salt

1 egg plus 2 egg yolks – lightly beaten

1 Cup half and half

¼ Cup butter

1 ½ Teaspoon vanilla

½ Teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

Mix all ingredients together using a mixer, pour into prepared crusts and bake for about 55 minutes at 350 degrees.
Top with a dollop of homemade whip cream