MOVED: This blog can now be found at GetCookingBlog.com

Without much ado, I bring you the spiffy and very similar GetCookingBlog.com. Please update your feed links, bookmarks, blogrolls, etc. Expect some excitement over there soon. I have several new developments in the works, and there is already a new post up (No Fail Banana Muffins) so hurry on over!

I’ll be shutting this blog down in about a month. Everything has been carried over, so please move your attentions over to the new site.

See you there soon,
Sarah

Read Full Post »

No Fail Banana Muffins

My mom taught me this recipe when I was in high school involved in a group that had a lot of bake sales. There are so many good things about these muffins, it is hard to know where to start.

First, they are simple little treats. Banana really comes through as the main flavor, with a subtle sweetness and a moist texture somewhere between fresh bread and great cake. They were always a huge hit at the bake sales, and pretty much everyone I’ve ever fed them to came back for seconds.

You can make them in any size or shape and they still come out great (provided you adjust the cooking time – longer for shapes like breads or large muffins, shorter for mini’s).

My favorite part about these muffins, however, is how they are truly “no fail”. Forget the eggs? No problem. Forget the sugar? No problem. Forget the baking soda or powder? They’ll be a little dense but still delicious. You can even make them with the very minimum of bananas and they still come out tasty (the muffins shown only had 2 very ripe bananas in them). I’ve found that as long as you only miss 1 ingredient at a time, the muffins find a way to compensate. Try them and feel free to “forget” any one ingredient and see how easy and satisfying these little babies are. 

Read Full Post »

Vegan Extra Cheesy Grits

Golden Butternut Squash Grits

Jen tells a classic story which I’ll call “Jen’s Mom and the ‘Cheese’ Grits.” Once, way down south, Jen’s mom volunteered to bring cheese grits to a school function. When she got home to make them, she realized she only had 2 slices of American cheese for the whole vat of grits. Not to be outdone by a lack of cheese, she set about making the dish. A few drops of red and yellow food coloring, a couple dashes of garlic powder, and a blanket of shredded cheese originating from those two small slices made a mound of grits with barely any cheese inside. Her “cheese” grits were the hit of the party, no one the wiser.

I was reminded of this story when we received a pouch of pureed Butternut Squash from a winter CSA we’re a part of. Every time I looked at it, I couldn’t help but think of how cheddary the squash looked. I found myself forgetting what butternut squash tasted like, and began imagining it must taste only like something cheesy and decadent. I decided to use this lapse of memory to my advantage by using the squash in a place I would expect to find cheese and see how my mouth reacted. What I ended up with was something even more decadent than actual cheese grits – grits with such a rich array of flavors I actually ate them for dinner, as a main course no less.

Read Full Post »

Happy Birthday to me!

This year I opted for a simple birthday. I really just wanted to stay home and relax yesterday because this month has been and will continue to be a busy one for me and all of my friends. I haven’t been cooking as much this week, so there won’t be recipes for a little while, though expect some exciting developments over the next few weeks here at Get Cooking.

Though I wasn’t in the kitchen on my birthday, I was, however, greeted with what is becoming a birthday tradition: an unnaturally green* key lime pie (just the way I love it)!

This pie is possibly the most beautiful key lime pie I’ve ever seen. Even topping one from 2 years ago with color coordinated lime slices and wisps of whipped cream. My favorite berries are strawberries, but sadly, they are usually crazy expensive around my birthday since it is the dead of winter. Seeing such a colorful array of berries made me want to pounce on this thing. I don’t think I could ever feel that way about a cake.

To take a cue from Cute Overload, FRUIT-HANCE!

So thank you Jen for a perfect birthday pie. If you all beg nicely, maybe she’ll post the recipe on here one of these days.

*For those of you who don’t know, key lime pies are supposed to be pale yellow, not green. Any purist would refuse a green key lime pie. I’m no purist. I love green, and thus, love key lime pie even more if it adheres to my limey expectations. If I had made this pie, it probably would have ended up the color of the avocados in the last post, which is why I generally am not allowed to do the baking.

Read Full Post »

Guacamole

One of my favorite uses for avocado, other than eating it plain, is in the form of guacamole. Here is my basic recipe, based on the use of two average-sized Hass avocados. Double or triple as needed! I won’t include definite measurements because this really comes down to taste. Also, this recipe is not true to its Central American origins (using tomatoes, garlic, cilantro or fresh chilies), but it sure is easy and tasty, so hopefully you’ll let me slide this time.

Recipe: Guacamole

• 2 avocados removed from skin, 1 pit reserved
• 1 tbs-1/2 cup thinly chopped yellow or red onion, raw (less is more, raw onions can be powerful stuff)
• 1-3 tbs lemon or lime juice, to taste
• course salt, to taste
• cayenne pepper, to taste if you want it to have a kick
• dash of fresh ground pepper

1. If you’d like a chunky mixture, put chopped onions in the bottom of an air tight container. Sprinkle with a bit of course salt. If you’d like a smooth mixture, put everything into a food processor instead.
2. Add avocado quarters (or cubes if you don’t think you’ll be able to mash the pieces with a fork and you are taking the chunky route). Mash, adding lemon juice a little at a time until all of the avocado is mashed and has a spreadable consistency. Guacamole should be fairly thick and you should not see any excess liquid. Give it a good stir.
3. Taste. Season until the salt level makes the avocado flavor really stand out. I find there is a threshold with seasoning: when it is just right, all of the sudden the avocado flavor just pops and the usually subtle tones become bold ones. You’ll know when you’ve reached that point for your own taste.
4. Once seasoned correctly, add the reserved pit and also try to wipe down the edges of the container (I usually use this opportunity to “taste” a bit more). Bits of guacamole that stray from the main mass will turn brown faster.
5. Enjoy with chips, fries, black beans, in tacos, on a burger, on an omelet, on a slice of bread, in a sandwich, with your fingers… I could go on, but you get the picture. In fact here’s a picture of my latest guac vehicle – a slice of fresh baked sour dough bread with some melted chedder, piled high. Honestly, it didn’t even need the cheese.

Read Full Post »

Avocados

I’ve been having unstoppable cravings for avocados for the last month. Avocados sometimes have a bad rep: it can be hard to tell  if they are ripe, they can be confusing to open, once you do open them they turn brown, they have more fat than other fruit, they are an awkward shade of green, and on top of all of that they are usually expensive. Well don’t listen to any of that.

Besides being gorgeous, in my opinion, avocados boast a cool creamy, subtle, versatile and nutty flavor. I delight in pairing them with just about anything savory or sour, and others claim success in the use of avocado in sweet dishes, such as in buttercream frosting. I also love it just plain on its own. If you have the luxury of eating an entire avocado by yourself, which I don’t find difficult at all, it could be possibly one of the most divine healthiest 300 calories you’ll eat (note: I’m not a nutritionist, so I’m probably wrong, but I’d like to think that I’m right – it doesn’t carry the same guilt for me that 300 calories of ice cream might). Yes, avocados are high in fat but fat in and of itself is not a bad thing. They have no cholesterol, are low in sodium and sugar, high in dietary fiber and a handful of other vitamins. Pair one with lean protein and a carb and you’ve got a match made in heaven. I’d eat avocado in some form every day if I could (or if they last in my house that long).

Read Full Post »