Berry Buckle Cake

The cake you see above was made with fruit that would have been abandoned! And the thing I absolutely hate the most is wasting food (and cockroaches, but that's another story). There's something about wasting food that makes me angry. Maybe it's all the hungry people in the world or the thought of wasting hard-earned money.

In any case, we bought some blackberries at Sprouts and after one berry, M refused to eat any more because we didn't get a good batch - they were admittedly very sour. He wanted to trash them but I said "NO, I'll just turn it into cake!" So I used a recipe from Half Baked Harvest to make our blackberries edible again.

Berry Buckle Cake
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Serves 8

1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 stick salted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup whole milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon zest
2 clamshells/pints fresh blackberries (or any other berries, about 2 cups - I used two clamshells because I wanted to use the berries up and because blackberries are larger)

Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp salted butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350degreesF and spray a 9" spring form pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, gently combine berries and lemon zest.

In a large  bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Once thoroughly combined, add the butter, milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix just until combined, being careful not to over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with the berry mixture in an even layer.

Make the crumble by whisking together the flour, light brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Using your fingertips, work the butter into the dry ingredients until moistness is distributed and a crumbly mixture forms. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the berries.

Bake for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown on top and a skewer comes out nearly clean. Let the cake cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

Roasted Chicken with Cranberries and Potatoes

I love buying cranberries during the fall, especially since it used to be hard to find fresh cranberries. Sometimes I get overzealous and find myself with a few extra packets of cranberries when the season is over! So what to do but continue to cook with them? I usually throw the packages in the freezer and pull them out as needed.

I love using the baby tri-colored potatoes shown above, simply because they're pretty. The medley of colors in this dish is insane and would make a great presentation for an dinner party, or just a cozy dinner with your family/friends. The fact that it's one pan is also helpful!

Roasted Chicken with Cranberries and Potatoes
adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Serves 4

4 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 1/2 Tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp butter
1 lb tri-colored baby potatoes, halved
4 carrots, chopped into 1" pieces
1 cup white wine or chicken broth
3/4 cup fresh cranberries
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Trim extra fat/skin from the chicken. Rub with 1 Tbps olive oil, thyme, rosemary, garlic and lemon zest. Really get in there with your hands and make sure everything is evenly and thoroughly coated. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large oven-safe skillet, heat remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sear chicken skin-side down until golden, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook 5 minutes more. Remove from skillet.

Add butter, potatoes, carrots and a pinch of salt/pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Pour in wine and deglaze. Scrape around for all the pan bits and flavors. Simmer for 5 more minutes, until reduced slightly.

Remove from heat and nestle in chicken. Squeeze lemon juice all over.

In a small brown, toss together cranberries, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle cranberries over the chicken and transfer pan to oven. Roast for about 20-25 minutes, until chicken is cooked and potatoes/carrots are tender. Serve hot.

* if you are me and love flavors AND your chicken is a bit on the oily side, you can make ANOTHER dish for the next day. We ate the chicken and veggies but didn't use any of the "sauce" at the bottom of the pan because the chicken fat, butter and oil combination made it a bit greasy. I scooped out the chicken and veggies, leaving as much of the sauce behind as I could.

I bought another pound of tri-colored potatoes (halved), 10-15 brussel sprouts (halved), 3 carrots (cut into 1" pieces), and 1/2 onion (sliced) ... and tossed all those together with the flavor bits and chicken fat at the bottom of the skillet. There should be plenty to go around but if you need to, add a couple more tsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then roast in oven for about 30 min or until tender, stirring once halfway through.

Two dishes for the price of one, and just as pretty. I loved it! Feel free to use whatever veggie combinations you would like, including cauliflower, turnips, butternut squash, etc. OR my other new favorite thing to do is roast leftover crudite platters from parties! Most of the time, there is so much food that the crudite platter is barely touched. Everything is already basically cut up so you can just throw and roast. But feel free to cut into more manageable pieces for stuff like baby carrots, celery and radishes (which I've also discovered is great when roasted).

Kale & Butternut Squash Stracciatella Soup

Ignore all items in the photo except for the soup on the right hand side! The other items were just part of dinner ... Korean potato salad, some veggie that I love but cannot seem to find the name for, and a baked sweet potato.

This stracciatella soup is courtesy of Bon Appetit and is very very low maintenance for nights where you don't want to do too much. But you want soup! Because it's cold! Or as cold as Southern California gets.

Kale & Butternut Squash Stracciatella Soup

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 4

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1./2 onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

8 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1 butternut squash, sliced into 1/2" slices*

1 bunch Tuscan kale, stemmed and shredded

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded chicken (optional)

Crushed red pepper flakes and crusty bread (optional)

Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot. Cook onion and garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with some salt and pepper. Add chicken broth, water and butternut squash. Add some salt and pepper, then bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer for about 5-7 minutes, until squash is tender. Add kale, stir thoroughly and let everything cook together for another 5 minutes.

Whisk cheese into beaten eggs along with 1/4 tsp salt, in a small bowl. Stir the soup with a spoon and then slowly drizzle in egg/cheese mixture, from about 6 inches from the top of the pot. Let sit for about 15 seconds, then stir thoroughly into the egg-size pieces you prefer. Less storring means bigger ribbons of egg and more stirring will break them up more. I did a pretty thorough stirring so my eggs look more broken in the photo above.

Season with some red pepper flakes and additional salt and pepper. The cheese in the eggs are salty as well so use a light hand at first. Remove from heat and stir in chicken.

Serve with bread and additional cheese, if desired.

* I find that supermarkets are charging 4-5x the cost of butternut squash, just to peel and cube it for you ($0.99/lb in its original form vs $3.99/lb in prepared form). DON'T FALL INTO THAT TRAP! Buy a medium-sized butternut squash (about 3/4-1 lb) and peel it with any vegetable peeler. Using your largest kitchen knife, slice it in half on a sturdy service. Be careful not to cut your fingers off. Remove the seeds with a sturdy spoon. They're kind of like pumpkin seeds. Slice off the stem and bottom, then place cut-side down on a cutting board and cut into 1/2 in slices.

Cold Oven Method Roast Chicken

This is the easiest chicken recipe using the cold oven method, which I have only recently heard about. So let's get started with your ingredients: an entire chicken (or 4 bone-in, skin on chicken breast halves), 4-5 sage leaves, 2 sprigs thyme, 2 sprigs rosemary, 2 heads of garlic (peeled), one lemon (zest in strips using a vegetable peeler, pepper and coarse sea salt.

Rinse chicken, remove innards and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken all over with coarse sea salt, including the inside. Also slip your hand underneath the breast skin and rub salt between the breast and skin as well. Set aside for 15 minutes to "brine" and prepare your pot.

Take a lidded, oven-safe pot and coat the bottom with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Throw in all the herbs, garlic and lemon zest strips.

When the chicken is finished brining (optional: the longer the better, overnight if possible) (I used the brining time to peel all the garlic and prepare the herbs), plop it on top of your herb mixture. Squeeze the lemon juice all over the chicken and do a final sprinkle of salt and pepper over the chicken.

Put lid on the pot and slide it into the oven. Turn to 450 degrees F and bake for 45 minutes. Remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes to brown to top.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes before eating (either warm or room temperature).

The chicken was so juicy and tender this way! The garlic was melted and soft underneath, which accompanied the chicken nicely. The pan juices worked really well over rice, but you may want to skim the fat from the top first (there is possibly a lot of fat, due to the chicken skin).

I love roasting chickens but the issue I have is that you oftentimes have to put down pats of butter on top of the breast to keep it moist, as well as rub the entire chicken down with olive oil. That does give the crispy skin and texture, plus golden browning, that people are looking for in roasts - this method seems to give a more healthy, daily-eating alternative.

Give it a try and see if you like it! I am a convert for real.

Miso Pesto Ramen

So this recipe has been raging all across Instagram lately ... Bon Appetit's ramen noodles with miso pesto. I decided to try it out based on the rave reviews.

First of all, this makes WAY too much pesto for two people. We made three balls of noodles and as you can see in the photo above, the noodles were fully dressed and I only used half of the sauce. So use caution when tossing and dressing!

M didn't like it as much as I thought he would. I kept pressing him to see what it needed to make it better and he finally said ... "It needs more protein" ... SMH. A seared scallop or grilled chicken might be a nice addition if you are like M (haha).

Miso Pesto Noodles
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 2

6 cups baby spinach
2 cups cilantro leaves with tender stems
1 Tsp white miso
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup grapeseed or sunflower oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt (I used sea salt)
Fresh noodles (flour or ramen, which you can find in the refrigerated section of all Asian supermarkets)
1 Tsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Toasted sesame seeds

Boil a medium pot of water and cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and do not rinse.

Meanwhile,  puree all other ingredients together, except the butter. Pour into large bowl. Once noodles are drained, add to 1/2 the amount of pesto and all of the butter. Toss together thoroughly. Add more pesto incrementally as necessary.

Divide between bowls and top with sesame seeds to serve.

Chipotle Lime Shrimp Summer Salad

Made this awesome salad the other night, which we ate while watching Terrace House (version Boys and Girls in the City) amongst all our boxes that still need to be unpacked. But we are 90% done, which is pretty good. Summer weather makes me want to minimize the amount of time spent in the kitchen.

Chipotle Lime Shrimp Summer Salad
adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Serves 2-4

1 white peach, pitted and sliced thinly
1/2 avocado, cubed
1 ear white corn, kernels cut off
Handful of heirloom grape tomatoes (whatever you have)
Large handfuls of spinach and/or arugula

Shrimp:
1 lb shrimp, peeled
1 tsp smoked paprika (I had some from Spain!)
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
Zest of 1 lime and 1 lemon
1/2 tsp honey
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp olive oil

Croutons:
2 slices foccacia/ciabatta bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Dressing:
1 medium avocado
1 cup cilantro
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 jalapeno, membranes/seeds removed
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
Juice of 1 large lime

Preheat oven to 350degrees F (or toaster oven, since this is just for croutons). Mix bread, oil, salt and pepper together. Bake croutons for 15-20 min, until crispy. We happened to have focaccia from Bub & Grandma's (one of the best breads around) so we used that - it was amazing.

Combine shrimp with smoked paprika, chili powder, lemon/lime zests, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside to marinade while making the rest of the salad.

Blend all ingredients for dressing in a food processor or blender. Adjust for seasoning. Since my avocado was small, I threw in another 1/2 avocado. The dressing should be thick but not too thick. Think the consistency of bleu cheese dressing (the kind from the bottle).

Grill shrimp, either outdoors or on an indoor grill pan - about 2 min on the first side and 90 seconds on the second side. Be careful not to overcook. Toss together with vegetables and croutons, then put in about 1/2 cup dressing. Toss thoroughly before adding more dressing - you want the greens flavored but not soggy. Eat and beat the heat!

Braised Corned Beef Hash

St Patrick's Day is for drinking Guinness and eating corned beef hash and cabbage. So what's better than combining all that together into a hearty meal ... paired with another bottle of Guinness. AND on top of that, all of those items are usually on sale this time of the year so you'll save money on top of that. The perfect combination.

Braised Corned Beef Hash
Serves 4

1 corned beef hash, point cut
1 Tbps olive oil
2 medium onions, cut into quarters
6 medium carrots, cut into thirds
6-8 medium Yukon gold potatoes, halved
3 bottles Guinness beer

Preheat oven to 350F. Remove corned beef hash from packaging. If the beef is unseasoned and comes with the spice packet, rub it over the fatty side of the meat. Season all over with pepper and just the slightest sprinkling of salt. Remember the corned beef hash is sold already brined and salted.

Heat a large, oven-safe Dutch oven over high heat. Sear corned beef for 5 minutes on each side. Remove onto a plate and throw in the onions. Stir for a couple minutes to pick up some browning. Throw in the carrots and stir for a couple minutes more, and then the same with the potatoes.

Nestle the corned beef amongst the vegetables, along with any pan juices that may have collected onto the plate. Pour in all three bottles of Guinness. You may have to nestle the meat a bit more but the liquid should cover everything about 3/4 of the way.

Cover and oven for approx 1 hour per pound. Remove the lid for the last hour or so. I had a 2.41 corned beef so I cooked it covered for 2 hours and then uncovered for about 30 minutes. When you stick a fork in the meat, it should pierce easily.

Remove from oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes before removing the meat and slicing. Serve on a large platter surrounded with the vegetables and some pan juices on the side. Whole grain mustard and horseradish optional.