Breakfast

Growing up, I always preferred cold cereal to oatmeal. Crunchy cereal swimming in milk seemed more satisfying than a warm bowl of soft and often bland porridge. Lately though, I started thinking that oatmeal deserved another chance because A) it's cheap B) it can help reduce your cholesterol and C) why not?

After a few weeks on the quick cook oats (which were less mushy than the instant kind but still pretty tasteless) I came across a package of steel cut oats at Trader Joe's. The price, $2.69 for 21 servings, was right so I tossed it in the cart. Steel cut oats (often called Scotch or Irish Oats) are the whole oat grain, chopped into pieces instead of being rolled into flat little disks like most quick cooking oatmeal. In addition to a chewy texture, steel cuts oats may take longer for your body to digest since they are in a more natural form leading to less rapid release of sugars aka- you feel fuller longer and your blood sugar doesn't spike.

The only issue with the steel cut oats is the cooking time- 30 minutes, something I think few of us have in the morning. Luckily my friend M--- came up with a way to cheat (although he actually doesn't remember telling me this). You can soak the oats overnight in the cooking water, then pour the whole think into the pot the next morning, cutting the cooking time to about 20 minutes. Also- I've started prepping 2 or 3 breakfasts worth of oats at once and popping the leftovers into the fridge in bowls; then I can just pull one out and nuke it for a minute or two and add a bit of brown sugar or, for a treat, some golden syrup and milk and breakfast is ready.*

Steel Cut Oats
Makes 4 servings, can easily be halved or doubled

1 c. steel cut oats
4 c. water
pinch of salt
milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, golden syrup, ect. for topping

- Before you go to bed, put the oats and water in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

- As soon as you wake up, pour the oats and water into a small pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for approx. 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

- The oats are done when they are chewy but not crunchy; start tasting at 20 minutes and stop cooking when they are done to your liking. Stir in the pinch of salt and serve. They'll firm up as they sit.

- Serve with milk and your favorite toppings.

*In the interest of truth I should add that while I prep the oats at night, Zach is pretty much always the one that starts them in the morning since I can never seem to get myself out of bed....

Galactic Cupcakes

Today is my birthday and S-- was kind enough to make me these cupcakes. As you can see, they have chocolate frosting (my favorite) but what you can't see are the raspberries hidden inside the cake (thanks Kat at A Good Appetite for that idea). The office sugarfest will take place later this afternoon and I'll let you know how they turn out (and hopefully convince S-- to share her recipe with us too).

Update: I have just eaten my second cupcake (the first had an orange star, the second neon green- just in case you were wondering). They are really as good as they look. The frosting is actually a ganache so it's quite thin and not overwhelming and the raspberries inside give a great tart counterbalance to the rich chocolate and cake.

You say tomato...

I ended up bringing home some cherry tomatoes last week (from the same event that sponsored the election rice). I wouldn't actually buy tomatoes in February in Virginia since I know that they will be tasteless pale red masses, but since they were free I didn't want to throw them out.

Neither Zach nor I are particularly huge fans of raw tomatoes even in the summertime so I knew I had to cook them somehow if we were actually going to use them. Luckily, from everything I have read, tomatoes don't loose any of their nutritional value when cooked like some other vegetables. I decided to try to make my own oven dried tomatoes. (Many so called 'sun dried tomatoes' are actually dried in ovens or kilns but 'kiln dried tomatoes' just doesn't have the same ring to it...)

As you can see, I had very few tomatoes and thought that I should try to save energy by firing up the toaster oven instead of the regular oven. I used the wire rack to elevate the tomato halves from the pan in the hopes that it would help them cook faster. I set the toaster to 250F and kept it going for about 2 and a half hours. In the end, the tomatoes had reduced to dark red disks of intense tomato flavor (though they didn't look quite so cheery as beforehand which is why there is no 'after' picture). I think that they will make their way onto pasta or perhaps into a sandwich with mozzarella and basil.

Election Rice

Last Monday I had a work event before class, just a little reception after a lecture. I always try to have some healthier options available and at this one I ordered a vegetable tray... that no one ate. I'm not sure what that says for the general state of health of our attendees, but it did mean that I could bring the leftovers home.

It was also the night before the primary and since I volunteer as an election officer in Arlington County, I needed to make and pack enough food to last me all day. I was thinking about what to make on the ride home after class when one of my friends suggested a fried rice with the leftover veggies. When I got I discovered that Zach had some leftover white rice from Chinese takeout. I don't usually use white rice but at ten o'clock on a night before I had to get up at 4:45, I wasn't in the position to be picky.

I've never made a fried rice before so I consulted quickly with Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals: Volume 2 for an idea of how to make it and get the general proportions. I ended up lightly scrambling 2 eggs in a non-stick skillet, then sauteeing onion, peppers, and squash. I tossed about 1 T. of curry powder into the veggie mix, then thought it looked too dry and chipped some frozen lowfat coconut milk out of a plastic bag in the freezer and added that too. There was a bit of broccoli left, which I quickly boiled in salted water. I added the rice and eggs and the final product was really bright- canary yellow rice, bright green broccoli and red peppers and made for a great lunch the next day.

Election Rice
1 small takeout container of white rice (or the equivalent)
2 eggs
1/2 small onion, diced
1 bell pepper, cut into largish chunks
1/2 c. squash or zucchini, diced
1 small head of broccoli, chopped into florets
a few button mushrooms, cut into quarters
1-2 T. curry powder*
1/4 c. lowfat coconut milk
2 t. olive oil

- Boil a few inches of water in a small saucepan. Add a fat pinch of salt and the broccoli. Cook for 2 minutes or so, until the color has set in the broccoli but it's still crisp.

- Beat the eggs and scramble them in a large skillet over a medium flame. They should still be quite runny. Take them off the heat and put them back in the bowl you scrambled them in.

- Wipe out the pan, return to medium high heat and add 1 t. olive oil and the onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes and add the bell peppers and mushrooms. When the mushrooms start to brown add the additional teaspoon of olive oil and add the curry powder and sauté for one minute.

-  Add the coconut milk and broccoli and stir to coat all the vegetable.  Add the rice and mix till well coated and heated then gently stir in the eggs.  Serve hot (also keeps pretty well for lunches)

* I had curry powder on hand but I think that curry paste would work well too, you might just have to adjust the amounts to get the strength of curry flavor you are looking for. 

Pastelsito

Yesterday a new cupcake bakery opened in Georgetown. Creatively named 'Georgetown Cupcakes', my co-workers and I had been looking forward to it for a week (which was how long we knew it would be opening). We made plans for an office field trip and decided 1 o'clock would be a good time to go; after lunch, so hopefully we wouldn't be tempted to eat too many cupcakes. Then, at 12:55 my co-worker S--- got a call from one of her friends. He was at the bakery and there was a "Sold Out of Cupcakes: Reopening at 5:00" sign on the door.

We were distraught. Not in the least because we had all promised at least one person a cupcake (or in S---'s case, about 5 people...). Something had to be done so we walked down to Baked and Wired. I had never gotten cupcakes there before since I think the price ($3.50 each) is sort of extortionate but, with it being Valentine's Day and all I decided to splurge and buy Zach and I a cupcake each.

Mine was the chocolate one and I got a coconut one for Zach. The cake itself was a rather normal cupcake size and slightly on the dry side (I think that they had been refrigerated at one point) but it seemed as thought the cake was merely a vehicle for the icing. The chocolate was so rich and chocolaty that I ended up taking half of it off. Zach, on the other hand, managed to eat all of his pink buttercream with soft coconut on top.

Baked and Wired
1052 Thomas Jefferson St. NW
www.bakedandwired.com

Georgetown Cupcake (very cute website)
M and Potomac, just across from Dean & Deluca's
http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/

The Foodie Blogroll

Another chance to discover a whole lot of great blogs written by people who love food... If you have a sweet tooth check out Airy Fairy Cupcakes (I don't know how she gets the icing to look so nice) and if you want to take a quick trip the to city of lights take a look at Lunchtime in Paris.

Don't forget that you can sign your blog up too-- and there is even a forum to meet other blogger hosted by The Leftover Queen on her website. Just click the link above for directions on how to join the blogroll and to get to the forum.

Speedy Pasta Bake

Pasta is my go to dinner item- whenever I don't know what to eat or didn't plan for a specific meal, I turn to pasta. It's quick, goes with just about anything and did I mention it's quick?

A few weeks ago, it was shaping up to be just another pasta and red sauce night when I thought- why not make a pasta bake to use up some of the leftover veggies in the fridge? (I don't know if this happens to you, but I always seem to end up with a quarter of an eggplant, half a bell pepper or 3 button mushrooms left over-- amounts too weird to use for much of anything). I started the water boiling and then chopped up the vegetables and satueed them in a bit of olive oil and herbs de provance for a change from the regular basil and oregano taste. Then I added some leftover red sauce and, since there wasn't quite enough of it, added some diced tomatoes with their juice. I mixed in the pasta and decided it needed just one more color and since I didn't have frozen peas, mixed in some baby spinach.

I poured the pasta mix into a casserole and topped it off with a low-fat 4 cheese blend (also leftover from another project- I'm not usually one for low fat cheese) and a bit of grated parmesan as I was afraid the low-fat cheese might not melt well. The whole thing went into a 400F oven for about 25 minutes and came out golden brown and quite delicious-- definitely a great dish to clear the fridge out with...