December 30th Newsletter

I can't believe it, but with this week’s new recipes iwannabeacook now has 108 recipes! Passing the 100 mark is a big milestone we are all proud of. But with each success comes adjustment. Growing pains. In order to accommodate the number of recipes, we were forced to redesign some of the website. Of course, we think it’s a great redesign but not everyone likes change. For that we apologize, but if you use the search function (the magnifying glass on the top menu) there should be no problems.

Previously all the recipes were listed alphabetically on one page called Recipes. Now they are broken down by course. Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Beef, Vegetarian, etc. And of course one change impacts other pages. The way the recipes are now categorized means that the Photo pages no longer make sense. Because we also wanted to post new recipes this week, the redesign of the Photos section will happen in the next couple of weeks. Right now the thought is to focus on pictures of complete meals of posted recipes instead of single dishes. If you have thoughts, please pass them on.

We want to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year. Make the most of each day and eat the best food you possibly can.

Happy cooking and eating! Email with thoughts and suggestions!

Other new recipes for the week

Mediterranean spiced olives

Rocky road

December 23rd Newsletter

I’ll be honest. Cooking this week was hard. Maybe it’s because my son is home from college, which means the dynamic of the dinner table is different. Most of the foods in my freezer are packaged for three people not four. Our routine is also different. Now add in the fact that it’s the holidays and all the associated extra cooking and shopping. Plus my younger son is home from school as well. This means cooking three meals a day for four people plus holiday baking. The dishwasher is used twice a day plus washing pots and pans, blenders, mixers, and food processors.

What’s a cook to do? My answer was to focus on easy-to-fix meals that are low calorie to try and compensate for some of the calories in the cookies and candies. Wednesday after running errands and returning just in time for lunch, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches were requested for lunch. In just thirty minutes I was able to make a homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. How? I have a well-stocked pantry and a fast and easy recipe for tomato soup. Yes, I should have done better job of menu planning, but it’s been fun having the family in the kitchen helping me cook. Hopefully my sons are learning how easy cooking can be.

One night this week my college son made Enchiladas for our family dinner while I pressed the Springerle. Again, pantry ingredients saved the day. Chicken, tortillas, and canned salsa and beans. All things easily stocked in a college apartment kitchen. And this is a fast recipe.

I was tempted to only include holiday recipes this week, but this Spicy tomato soup is too simple and good not to include. Have a bowl of this soup and enjoy that cookie guilt free.

Happy cooking and eating! Email with thoughts and suggestions!

Other new recipes for the week

Minty Meringues

Springerle

December 16 Newsletter

Holiday baking can be fun or stressful or a combination. I love baking in November and December because it's the only time of year when I focus on cookies and candies. I have fond memories of cookies and candies growing up, so I've continued the tradition with my family.

Each year I add new cookies, but for the most part my family is traditional so I end up baking the same cookies. I have the routine almost down to a science. Here's a picture of my assembly line for my first round of cookie baking. Since each recipe uses basically the same ingredients, I see no reason to make recipes one by one especially when all four recipes need sifted flour and/or cocoa. Warning: this is an advanced technique and not for the novice or unorganized baker. It's easy to get recipes mixed up, but with careful planning, a lot of recipes can be made quickly.

As you can see, I print a recipe for each batch of cookies. In this session, I worked on four different cookies. All of the recipes are now on iwannabeacook. With everything mise en place, I spent the afternoon assembling the cookie doughs. Three of the four recipes required varying degrees of refrigeration. At the end of the day, I had only baked one recipe and that still needed to be dipped in chocolate, but the remaining doughs were refrigerated and ready to be baked.

Over the next few days, I leisurely baked the remainder of the cookies, which took some of the stress out of baking. And honestly, the Lebkuchen dough benefits from longer refrigeration. I made the four recipes on Saturday but didn't bake the Lebkuchen until Tuesday, and this is the best batch I have ever made. I've added that note to my recipe for years to come.

For novice bakers, I recommend choosing a few recipes for your first year and working on them one by one. When you are more comfortable with the fundamentals of baking and particular recipes, then you can work on more than one at a time.

This week's recipes focus on flour-based cookies. Please read the Baking flour-based cookies for the fundamentals. Next week's recipes will focus on candies and meringues.

Happy cooking and eating! Email with thoughts and suggestions!

Other new recipes for the week

Peppernuesse

Lebkuchen

Chocolate chocolate cookies

December 9th Newsletter

Do you realize how important your nose and eyes are in the kitchen? This week I nearly had a complete cooking disaster, but thanks to my eyes and then my nose I corrected my mistake. Believing that I have a terrific memory, I don't always label items I put in the freezer. This is a mistake and simply a bad habit, and I know it, but somehow it happens time and time again. I have two freezers: one for cooked foods and items I need everyday like Parmesan cheese, another for unprepared foods. I'm reasonably organized with sections devoted to pizza ingredients, snack foods for my son, cookies, and breads. If I make pizza sauce or pesto, that goes into the pizza section. I know what those foods are; ergo, no label is needed.

For Thanksgiving appetizer I made shrimp cocktail, and there were a few leftover along with some homemade cocktail sauce. Menus were already planned for the rest of the week, so I threw them into the freezer. The shrimp will be perfect in an omelet or frittata someday, and I have no doubt the sauce will be useful at some point. The sauce and shrimp were stored together, so no need for a label, right?

Fast forward to last night's menu of pizza. I made the pizza dough and thawed the sausage, cheese, and pizza sauce. At 5:30 pm I rolled the dough out, put it on the pan, and squeezed the sauce from the plastic bag into the center of the pizza. Something didn't look right. The color was fine, but the texture wasn't smooth. I sniffed it and immediately knew that it was cocktail sauce. I was able to remove the sauce from the pizza with no problem, but it definitely shocked me. To compensate for no sauce - there was no time to thaw more sauce or pesto - I put a light layer of cheese topped with the rest of the ingredients. The pizza turned out fine, but can you imagine biting into a pizza and tasting cocktail sauce? Perhaps if I put the shrimp on top it might be okay, but I don't know. Last night was not the night to test that theory.

The upshot is to always label your freezer food, but use your eyes and nose to make sure your ingredients are the right ingredients. Have you ever drunk spoiled milk? Another reason to use your nose.

We are starting the holiday baking at iwannabeacook, so next week's recipes will be devoted to cookies.

Happy cooking and eating! Email with thoughts and suggestions!

New recipes for the week

Onion gratin

Lime curd

December 2nd Newsletter

The recipe on iwannabeacook generating the most interest is the Blackened tilapia. If you have access to a kitchen this recipe is perfect for a quick, healthy meal when served with rice or tortillas and a vegetable. Tilapia is cheap and readily available. I served this to my college sophomore over Thanksgiving break, and after absolutely stuffing himself he said that he would definitely make this in his apartment.

Since that recipe is so popular, I decided to make blackened shrimp. Shrimp can be frozen so you can pull them out on a night when you are busy. If the shrimp are stored in individual servings in plastic bags in the freezer, thawing them submerged in a bowl of cold water happens in twenty minutes. The rest of the ingredients should be in your pantry. To make it even easier, use a Cajun spice mixture instead of mixing the spices in the recipe. Serve this with tortillas, corn or flour, and a coleslaw either homemade or pre-packaged from the grocery. Drizzle Cotija sauce on the tacos for a gourmet touch.

The time between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day is always a busy time. Finals, end-of-year parties, school concerts, and religious events combine to make cooking and eating healthy difficult. This is one meal that is quick and easy, full of flavor, and low calorie.

Happy cooking and eating! Email with thoughts and suggestions!

New recipes for the week

Home fries

Cotija sauce

Bananas Mason