Lemony Rice Salad

Recently, I took quite possibly the most spontaneous trip I've ever taken.  The Monkey Scientist was down in Florida with his family for Mother's Day and the roommate and I were feeling bored on Friday night.  A lot of our friends were working or out of town, so we didn't have much to do over the weekend.  So around 8 pm on Friday night, we booked a hotel in St. Louis.  We got up at 5 am and drove down there for a couple days.  Just like that.  It was so out of character for me!



We had a blast on our mini vacation.  We've been friends for so long that it doesn't take much until we're both cracking up at each other.  Anyone who knows me well knows I tear up quite a bit when I laugh, and it was only about an hour into the drive that I had to stop and buy a box of tissues.  Once we made it down there, we scalped tickets to a Cardinals-Rockies game and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  While it was cold and miserable in Chicago, the weather was sunny and perfect in St. Louis!



The highlight of our trip was far and away the City Museum.  Have you ever been there?  I don't think I've stopped talking about it since.  It's a giant playground...for adults.  There are caves you can crawl in, tunnels in the ceiling that make you slide along on your belly, and a 10-story slide inside what looks like an old alley between two buildings.  And that's just the inside!  It was absolutely spectacular.  We had no idea what to expect, and we were blown away.  I think we spent almost 4 hours there.  If you're ever in St. Louis it's a must-see!  But I highly recommend you wear work-out clothes, which was the little tip we'd wished we were given!



This rice has nothing to do with St. Louis.  But it is really great.  The roommate had made it a few weeks ago on his night to make dinner, and I liked it so much I insisted he make it again.  It's lemony and fresh - just what I was looking for as we're hitting the peak of Spring.  It would be a great dish to bring to a barbecue this summer since it's just perfect at room temperature.  I know we'll be making this all the way through to fall!



Lemony Rice Salad
from Serious Eats

Ingredients
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup golden raisins

Instructions
1. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts, stirring frequently, until just starting to brown. Don't let them burn!
2. Meanwhile, cook the rice on the stove or in your rice cooker, following the package instructions.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, orange juice, white balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
4. When the rice is done cooking, stir together the hot rice, pine nuts, dressing, sliced green onions, and golden raisins. Allow to settle to room temperature and serve.

Carnitas Pizza with Guacamole

The Monkey Scientist and I have been experimenting with carnitas lately. There is nothing like delicious shredded pork. We've tried making it in both the Dutch oven and the CrockPot but I haven't decided which tasted better. Since we had so many leftovers, we decided to make a carnitas pizza!



I have to admit (and maybe you've noticed) that I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food. It's surprising since I love spicy food, but between the cilantro and corn tortillas there are so many things I don't like at all. I was excited that this recipe let me bring in all of the Mexican flavors I like in a familiar favorite - pizza.

I loved how this came together. The Monkey Scientist picked up the dough at the Italian market in Cleveland Park. It has wonderful flavor and came out nice and crispy on the edges. The pizza was the perfect combination of spicy, cheesy and tangy. I liked the hot pizza topped by the cool guacamole as well, it was a nice contrast. This is the guacamole recipe I always use (usually with chips of course) and I adore it! Next time we may try to make this pizza on the grill like Mom does - I bet it would be fantastic!



Carnitas Pizza with Guacamole
carnitas adapted from My Baking Addiction
pizza adapted from What's Gabby Cooking?
guacamole is a yelleBELLYboo original

Ingredients
Carnitas
1 large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 pork butt (ours was 2 1/2 lb)
3/4 c cider vinegar
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 can chipotles in adobo, roughly chopped
2 oranges, juiced
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 bottle beer
Pizza
1 batch pizza dough
1/2 jar salsa
1 bag shredded Mexican cheese
1/2 can fire-roasted chiles
2 tbsp adobo sauce from chipotles in adobo
Guacamole
2 ripe avocados, diced
2 tomatillos, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper
Dash cayenne
Dash cumin

Instructions
Carnitas
1. Rinse pork under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place onions in Crock pot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper. Rub to cover the roast. Place roast on top of onions.
3. Mix remaining ingredients and add to Crock pot. Add water to just cover pork.
4. Cook on low 10-12 hours.
5. Remove meat and onions from Crock pot. Chop or shred meat and onions. Add a bit of the cooking liquid for flavor.
Pizza
1. Preheat the oven to 500.
2. Carefully stretch dough to the size of your pizza pan or cookie sheet.
3. Top with salsa, then cheese, chiles, and adobo.
4. Bake 8 minutes, remove from onion. Top with shredded carnitas (maybe 2/3 c worth).
5. Return to oven and bake an additional 4 minutes.  Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
Guacamole
1. Add all ingredients to a medium bowl.
2. Mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork until well combined.
3. Smear on top of each slice of pizza.

Peanut Noodles with Kale and Cannellini Beans

After a fun afternoon enjoying the Cherry Blossoms with the Monkey Scientist and my old camp friend, I wanted to throw together a quick and healthy dinner.  I picked up some kale at the farmer's market downtown and a can of beans from our local grocery store, but I had just about everything else at home.  My coworker had given me a few special peanut butters from Spread, so I used the Golden Raisin Curry peanut butter to give this recipe a little more flavor.



I am absolutely digging the chow mein noodles that I used.  You can just use spaghetti (whole wheat please!) but these add a new dimension of texture.  They're a little bit gummier than regular spaghetti, but in a good way.  I'm excited to find new ways to use them!  I bought mine at World Market, but I'm sure you could find them at an Asian grocery store or perhaps even in the Asian aisle of your regular supermarket.  They cost about the same as a regular box of spaghetti.



I loved that this recipe was vegetarian for my camp friend, but the Monkey Scientist and I did throw a little bit of cooked chicken breast on top for added protein.  We only needed to split one breast between the two of us though because the beans added nice protein as well.  We've been adding white beans to our salads and pastas frequently lately and I'm enjoying the flavor a lot.  They complemented this dish perfectly.



I like this recipe a lot!  In the recipe below, I decreased the acid a bit from the amount I used, as ours was a little bit too acidic.  If you are using regular peanut butter, try adding a little bit of curry powder - I think it complements the flavors nicely.  This recipe was originally in the Self Magazine Drop 10 menu plan, but I did add a bit more oil than they had called for.  If you want to decrease the oil for health reasons, it should still work well.  This is a great meal to throw together on a weeknight and a fun way to have a new and different type of pasta than the typical spaghetti with marinara.



Peanut Noodles with Kale and Canellini Beans
Adapted from Self Magazine, April 2012

Ingredients
1 package chow mein noodles (or whole wheat spaghetti)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (unseasoned)
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (can be flavored with chiles or curry)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 bunch kale
1 15.5 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup sliced scallions

Instructions
1. Prepare noodles according to package instructions, but do not rinse in cold water.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine rice wine vinegar, peanut butter, orange juice, and soy sauce and whisk until smooth.
3. In a pan with high sides, heat oilsovr medium high heat. Add kale and sauté until wilted.
4. Combine noodles, cannellini beans, and peanut sauce and stir until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Served topped with scallions.

Graham Cracker Torte

One of my absolute favorite blogs is Eat, Live, Run.  I feel like I know Jenna from reading it all the time.  Jenna's photos are wonderful, her comments are witty, but more importantly her recipes are awesome.  I've reviewed many an ELR recipe here on yelleBELLYboo - kicked up meatloaf, ratatouille, turkey burgers with spinach and feta/goat cheese, blackberry and orange zest muffins, and whole wheat fig newtons to name a few - and for the most part I've enjoyed them all.  But since Jenna is a baker by trade, I needed to try more of her baked goods.




Recently, Jenna challenged herself to bake through her great-grandmother's recipe box.  I've enjoyed seeing all the interesting 1920s recipes she's trying, and was especially intrigued by this graham cracker torte, which her grandmother apparently had written up on multiple recipe cards.  I've never made a cake that actually doesn't have any flour - I had to give this one a shot.



Last year, I tried to make birthday cakes for everyone on my team at work.  It got to be a little too much work and I haven't done quite as well this year.  However, one of my coworkers has always been so nice - bringing me treats from the potato chip factory, getting an ice cream cake for another coworker's birthday, bringing me the coupons every week - so for her birthday another coworker and I decided to bake her this cake.  She's not a huge chocolate person (much like myself) so this cake seemed like something she would enjoy.



I have to admit, this cake isn't the easiest thing to make.  At one point, I had to use both my standing mixer and my hand mixer (maybe I should buy a 2nd bowl for my standing mixer?) and the steps seemed endless.  When I went to get the cakes out of the tins, it was an utter failure.  I wish I had lined the bottom with parchment.  In the end, once I added the whipped cream, you couldn't really tell what a mess I had made, but it wasn't exactly the gorgeous torte that Jenna assembled.  Plus I definitely cooked and curdled the eggs in the caramel and had to strain it, but I don't think it mattered too much in the end.



So even though this was absolutely not the prettiest cake I've ever made, the taste was outstanding.  The cake is somewhere between a sponge and a meringue, but nutty with a nice crunch.  The whipped cream made a perfect frosting to counteract the sweet caramel.  The birthday girl loved it and said she'd be making it again.  Our office finished it in record time - less than half an hour until the serving plate was licked clean.  Absolutely a hit!  I think I'm getting quite the reputation for making the best-tasting ugly cakes of all time - a reputation I'm just fine with!



Graham Cracker Torte
from Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients:
for torte:
6 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (a little less than two sleeves of graham crackers)

for caramel sauce:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1 well beaten egg
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar

for assembly:
1 pint heavy cream

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Beat egg yolks until light and frothy (I used the whisk attachment of my standing mixer). Add sugar, baking powder and vanilla and continue to beat until very thick and pale in color. Set aside.
3. Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Gently fold egg whites into egg yolks and then fold in the nuts and graham cracker crumbs.
4. Divide batter into two WELL GREASED 9-inch cake pans (I recommend putting a piece of parchment on the bottom of the pans as well) and bake for 35 minutes. Let cool before turning cakes out of pans onto plates or a counter top.
5. To make the caramel sauce, combine all ingredients in a saucepot and bring to a boil whisking the whole time. Don’t stop whisking or the egg will cook and curdle, which isn’t the end of the world (just strain the caramel through a mesh strainer after it cools) but it can be prevented by whisking constantly until the sauce is very thick and boiling. Remove sauce from heat and let cool completely.
6. To assemble the torte, whip the cream until it holds soft peaks. Spread whipped cream between graham cracker layers and over the top of the torte. Pour on the cooled caramel sauce and it let drip down the sides.
Keep the torte in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

Majestic and Moist Honey Cake

L'Shana Tova!



It's Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year!  I'm very excited to let my readers know that I am collaborating with Gather the Jews, another DC based blog, to bring you this delicious Honey Cake recipe.

Honey is sweet, and symbolizes bringing in a sweet new year.  We typically dip our apples in honey, but I figured a little extra honey couldn't hurt at dessert time.  Especially when laced with a little booze, just the way my Mimi would have made it.



I am spending the holiday with my friend in Baltimore this year, and I'll bring a dessert up to her family as a big thank you for welcoming me in.  I also brought 2 of these cakes up to my family in New York this weekend, where they were met with much approval.  It keeps well enough for up to 3 days, so it's a great dessert to make ahead of time and bring to your Rosh Hashana host.

I also appreciate that this makes 2 cakes - perfect for each night of Rosh Hashana.  Growing up, we'd often celebrate with family one night and friends the next.  With this recipe, you can share the sweet honey love with everyone you love!



Please take a minute to head over to my post at Gather the Jews, where I share more about my Rosh Hashana traditions.  If you are Jewish and live in the DC area, this website is a great resource for Jewish News and Events here in the District, so definitely poke around.

Have a sweet New Year!



Majestic and Moist Honey Cake
from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup warm coffee or strong tea
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup rye or whiskey (optional)
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds (optional)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease 2 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. (For extra protection, you can put a piece of lightly greased parchment at the bottom, too.)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Make a well in the center, and add oil, honey, white sugar, brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, orange juice and rye or whiskey, if using. (If you measure your oil before the honey, it will be easier to get all of the honey out.)
3. Using a strong wire whisk or in an electric mixer on slow speed, stir together well to make a thick, well-blended batter, making sure that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom.
4. Spoon batter into the prepared cake pans. Sprinkle top of cakes evenly with almonds, if using. Place cake pan(s) on two baking sheets, stacked together (this will ensure the cakes bake properly with the bottom baking faster than the cake interior and top).
5. Bake until cake tests done, that is, it springs back when you gently touch the cake center, 40-75 minutes.
6. Let cake stand fifteen minutes before removing from pan.