Knits and caboodles

Another way I've been distracting myself from the waiting to get on the wait list....Knitting!!! Just finished a beret for my beautiful sister Sara, and I've started a sock for Daniel. My life would be so very bleak without yarn.

Sweets, sardines and kitties

My sweet tooth has taken over lately and forced me to make french toast from my homemade challah bread, my grandmother's old date&nut pinwheel cookies, etc. I also love sardines and could eat them like popcorn, and my kitty comes out to see where the fish smell is coming from when I pop the can. I'm just trying to find ways to detract my attention from the fact that we have STILL not received our final home study to submit with our dossier. How much longer must we wait to get on the wait list? Only more waiting will tell....

Rustic Bosc Pear Tart

I found this recipe on The Food Network's website. I bought Bosc pears at the Farmer's Market for Thanksgiving and wanted to make some type of tart with them. I brought it to my family's house for Thanksgiving dinner, and I was very pleased with the results. The only thing I changed is the type of flour. I didn't have wheat flour, so I just used regular white flour. It still looked rustic enough, though!

Crust:
1/2 cup whole-grain pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons lowfat buttermilk
3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
3 medium pears
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon boiling water

Directions:
To prepare the crust, in a medium bowl whisk together the whole-wheat pastry flour, all- purpose flour, granulated sugar and salt. Add the butter and using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until you get a pebbly, course texture. In a small bowl combine the buttermilk and ice water. Using a fork, gradually mix the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Pat the dough into a 4-inch round and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.


In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, and prepare the filling. Peel the pears, core them and cut into 1/4-inch slices. In a large bowl toss the pear slices with the lemon juice. Sprinkle in the cornstarch, brown sugar and cinnamon and toss until the pears are evenly coated. Set aside.


On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a large circle about 9 inches in diameter. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and draping the dough over the rolling pin, transfer to the prepared baking sheet. If the dough breaks at all patch it up with your fingers.


Arrange the pears in a mound in the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the border over the filling. It will only cover the pears partially and does not need to be even.


Bake the tart for 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, keeping the tart in the oven all the while, and bake for another 40 minutes, until the pears are tender and the crust is golden brown.


In a small bowl stir together the honey and boiling water to make a glaze. When the tart is done remove it from the oven and brush the honey glaze all over the top of the fruit and crust. Transfer to a plate to cool slightly. Cut into 6 wedges and serve warm or a room temperature.

Almond biscotti

I got this recipe off the Interweb, and it worked just fine. Thanks to myrecipes.com! I never knew that biscotti means twice cooked in Italian until my husband told me, and I felt very silly and embarrassed. But then I made the biscotti and they were delicious, so I didn't feel so silly anymore. These go well with a hot cup of coffee or tea and are also perfect for Christmas cookie exchanges since they don't really go stale!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup almonds, chopped and toasted
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon anise extract
2 eggs
1 egg white
Vegetable cooking spray

Preparation
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine vanilla and next 3 ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring until well-blended (dough will be dry).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 7 or 8 times. Shape dough into a 16-inch-long roll. Place roll on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and flatten roll to 1-inch thickness.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove roll from baking sheet to a wire rack, and let cool 10 minutes. Cut roll diagonally into 30 (1/2-inch) slices, and place, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 325°, and bake 10 minutes. Turn cookies over, and bake an additional 10 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; let cool completely on wire rack.

Tilapia "en papillote" with couscous and steamed vegetables

Here is another recipe I made up and is so easy to make; it literally takes five minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook. Take that, Rachel Ray!

"En papillote" means wrapped in paper in French, and that is how the fish is baked. You take squares of parchment paper (make sure it's parchment paper!) and place a fillet of fish and vegetables julienne (French word for ribbon cut) and create a cute little pouch so that the fish and veggies are steamed inside the pouch in the oven. This is a marvelous way to retain the moisture in the fish, and the juices flavor the veggies, too.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

4 small fillets of tilapia
1 zucchini cut into very thin ribbon slices - julienne
1/2 yellow onion cut julienne
1/2 red bell pepper cut julienne
4 thin slices of a lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Place four parchment sheets on your counter and drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil in the center of each sheet. Next place your fillets over the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Evenly divide all the cut vegetables amongst the four fillets and lay them over the fish. Top each pile with a slice of lemon and then drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over each. Then fold into pouches as best you can, making sure they are tightly wrapped. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes on a cookie sheet. While the pouches are baking, make some couscous over the stovetop, and you've got a light and nutritious meal in 20 minutes!

Curried vegetable soup with Challah bread

Last week, on a rainy wintery day, Daniel and I were doing our Christmas shopping downtown after Farmer's Market. We walked by Nonni's, a European bistro on Main Street, and the chef was outside serving little cups of soup to passersby. This soup was amazing with creamy, tangy, rich flavors. I asked the chef what the ingredients were, and he foolishly told me. So now I'm improvising this recipe, trying to chase the dream of recreating those heavenly aromas of curry and butternut. I also made three loaves of Challah bread, and they were divine. Here goes:

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed (I steamed the squash first, then scooped out the softened meat)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 leeks, washed and chopped
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, mashed and coarsely chopped
1 lemon, juiced
6 cups of chicken broth
1 tablespoon of curry powder
1/2 cup of coconut milk
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Sautee the onion, leeks and garlic with the olive oil for a few minutes. Next add the broth, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and bring to a very soft boil over medium-high heat for about 20 to 25 minutes. When all the vegetables are soft and can be broken up with a fork, add the coconut milk and curry powder. In batches, puree the soup until smooth in texture. Let simmer for another 20 minutes. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a spinach salad and warm bread. Delicious!