Recipe #33: Smores bars

Smores bars are exactly what they sound like - smores in bar form. It's intense, to say the least - graham cracker crust, a chocolate chip cookie-dough like concoction as the middle layer (with the addition of mini marshmallows), topped by Hershey's chocolate squares.

I brought it over to my friend's house, thinking it would go over pretty well with her adorable kids. It did. Her little girl's exact words to me were, "Can you bring this every time you come over?" I'd say that's a ringing endorsement. I wasn't a huge fan of it, but it'll definitely stay in my recipe book for sheer popularity factor (adults raved about it too, when I brought the leftovers to work the next day).

Edits to the recipe: 5 oz of graham crackers isn't enough to cover the pan. Omit the sugar, too - why add more sugar to the crust, when the rest of the recipe contains a lot of sugar? 4 ladles.

Recipe #32: Apricot oat bars

I have little respect for Giada de Laurentiis - mostly because she really plays up her overt sexuality on her cooking show. Because we all need to wear a plunging shirt to cook a lasagna, right? (Insert groan and rolling of eyes). Nevertheless, I found myself watching an episode where she was making these apricot oat bars, and I was compelled to give them a try.

A few tweaks: I reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup, used lower-sugar apricot jam, and doubled the number of apricots.

3.5 ladles: I wasn't thrilled with the result, but my co-workers really seemed to like it. I think this would be better with a different kind of jam - maybe strawberry rhubarb - with chunks of fresh strawberry in it. Might have to experiment with it further.

Recipe #31: Whole wheat sweet potato muffins

One of my favorite sites is foodgawker.com. I love looking at the pretty photos and usually find a number of recipes I want to try out. The site makes me realize the following:
A) there are a lot of dedicated home cooks out there
B) there are a lot of dedicated home cooks who blog
C) my blog really pales in comparison, especially my photos
D) how on earth do some of these people claim to have full-time jobs?!

I really wish I had more time to devote to my blog, but...I don't. When I look at the professional quality photos, I'm envious, but realize those people take this whole food blogging thing way more seriously than I do -- I simply want to share things with my friends.

Anyways, the reason why I mention Foodgawker is because I come across really interesting blogs and recipes. Like this one -- for whole wheat sweet potato muffins, by some bodybuilder named Becky. I definitely wouldn't have come across her blog since I have zero interest in body building, but...I was looking for something easy to make with some cans of organic sweet potato that I had laying around.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, though I added a splash of vanilla extract and a pinch of nutmeg.

Here they are:

I'd give them 3.5 ladles. Pros: Moist, easy to make. Cons: Not too much flavor, and can definitely taste the wheat flour. Considering it doesn't have too much sugar or oil, this isn't a bad recipe if you feel like healthy muffins.

Recipe #30: Chicken adobo

Recipes, like just about everything else, require good writing. I discovered this when I tried out a recipe for chicken adobo recently. Having grown up with many Filipinos, I love Filipino food. I've always wanted to try my hand at a few Filipino recipes, but never had the nerve to (you know when something is so good, you know you won't replicate it as well)? Well, I had very little in my fridge but I really wanted to get dinner on the table. So, I dug up this recipe for chicken adobo. While it seemed easy enough, the directions were lousy.

I can often look at a recipe and tell if it'll turn out well, or if it's missing something critical. That was definitely the case here -- I mean, how good can something taste if the only main ingredients are large amounts of soy sauce and white vinegar? So I adapted the recipe by adding thinly sliced onions; a heaping teaspoon of brown sugar to cut the saltiness of the soy sauce; water; and crushed red peppers. The end result was very tasty and very easy dish that came together in minutes (bonus points for not having to run to the grocery store). I served it with some rice and flash sauteed garlic spinach.

I have to say that I was really happy with my first attempt at chicken adobo. I might try it with pork next time. I'll also have to ask E. for her mother-in-law's recipe for chicken adobo, since she's a Filipina and an amazing cook.

Recipe #29: Vegan crepes

I could never survive as a vegan. Life without butter and cheese...I can't continue.

I really wanted to make crepes last weekend, because R. loves them! But, I didn't have any eggs (this is when my friend E.'s chicken coop could really come in handy), and I didn't want to buy an entire carton right before leaving on vacation. So, I looked up an eggless crepe recipe and came up with a vegan one.

It. Was. Disgusting. 0 ladles. Why? The batter was so thick and lumpy that I actually put it into my blender and blended it until it was a little smoother. Bad batter = bad crepes. Here, it doesn't look so bad, right?

But despite only using a little bit of batter, the crepe was still too thick. And the end result was a very gummy, thick, pasty round of dough. Cue the pizza delivery.

How to cut a pineapple

A friend recently confessed that she had no idea how to cut a pineapple. I assured her it was easy, and always worthwhile to cut your own pineapple (instead of buying pre-cut slices at the store).
 
Here's a brief picture tutorial:

Make sure you have a sharp, hefty knife and a stable cutting board (put a damp cloth under your board so that it doesn't move around).

Cut off both ends, top and bottom.

Cut into the sides, putting your knife at the top and working it to the bottom (follow the curve of the pineapple).

Here's how it should appear:

Next, cut it in half, and lay both halves (cut side down) on the board:

Cut each half into 4 pieces, vertically:

Now, take each sliver, lay it on its side and cut the tough, woody part off at an angle:

Final step: cut into bite-size chunks. You're done!

See? Easy.

Recipe #28: Stovetop Potatoes

I am never roasting potatoes in the oven again (especially not on a hot summer day). I found a method that makes the potatoes turn out just perfect - crisp on the outside, moist on the inside. And it couldn't be easier.

It's loosely based off of Ina Garten's Dill Fingerling Potatoes recipe. Basically, you melt 2 TB of butter in a Dutch oven (heavy, cast iron pot). Throw some baby potatoes in there (Trader Joe has a convenient 1.5 LB bag of baby potatoes), and sprinkle with salt & pepper. I added some whole garlic cloves and didn't have fresh herbs on hand, so I skipped that part (but it would be just as tasty with rosemary, thyme, etc.). Leave on the stove on low for about 15 minutes, shaking every so often. Take off the burner, but keep the lid on for another 5 minutes. The steam really penetrates the potatoes, leaving them incredibly moist. Couldn't be any easier.

I actually had half a bag of broccoli crowns I needed to use up, so I threw those on top of the potatoes for the last 5 minutes, and they were perfectly steamed, too! I love one-pot wonders.

Best of all, the garlic pieces get beautifully caramelized, and when garlic gets roasted, its flavor really mellows out and becomes sweet. Delicious spread on nice, crusty bread. 5 ladles!