Megan

The Unbearable Lightness of Being + Raspberry Mousse

May 18, 2017 by Megan 3 Comments

They say bad things come in threes, and maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but I’m really hoping this latest read is the end of my little streak of three books in a row I didn’t like. One of my book clubs recently met to discuss Milan Kundera’s best-known work The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which I’m sorry to say I suggested. At least I only had myself to blame.

To simplify it, Kundera’s novel is about two couples (in a loose sense of the word) in Prague in the sixties and seventies. Tomas is a surgeon who leaves his wife for a young woman named Tereza, even though he continues to sleep around. He literally cannot help himself. One of the women he sleeps with is Sabina, whom the story also follows, documenting her bohemian life and her sort-of relationship with a professor named Franz. My favorite character in the whole book was Tomas and Tereza’s dog Karenin, who was named after the male character in Anna Karenina, even though she’s a girl.

I suppose the simple description of the book makes it sound more juicy and interesting than it is. Don’t be fooled. To keep you away from the main plot points, Kundera tosses in several chapters on kitsch, his thoughts on politics, and his philosophies on life. He makes for an interesting narrator, repeatedly pointing out that his characters aren’t real, which as a reader really pulls you out of the story (if the random bits of philosophy and politics didn’t do that already).

People seem to love this book - it has over 4 stars on Goodreads and is considered by many to be a classic - but for me, and most of my book club, it was truly unbearable. On the “lighter” side of things, however, it led to some delicious raspberry mousse.

The novel didn’t have many mentions of food, so I decided to play off the theme of lightness and create what is traditionally a light, airy dessert. I found a recipe from Fearless Dining for Easy Fresh Raspberry Mousse that seemed to easy to make and looked delicious. (If you look at her page, she has many, many mousse varieties to try out.)

First, I began boiling my half cup of water in tiny saucepan. Meanwhile, in a slightly larger saucepan, I added 2 teaspoons of gelatin (about 1 envelope, but measure just in case) to the quarter cup of cold water and allowed that to sit.

I washed my raspberries, extracted my vanilla seeds and combined the rest of the ingredients while the gelatin/water combination was becoming more jelly-like and the water boiled. Once that was all ready, I combined everything into my larger saucepan (with the gelatin mixture) and brought it all to a boil for 5 minutes.

I transferred the mixture to my food processor and blended everything together, though I would recommend a blender if you have one. It will likely breakdown the raspberry seeds better than my food processor did.

Allow that mixture to cool for 10 minutes (or longer). I let mine sit for about 15 minutes while I made the whipped cream. To do so, add the 2 cups of heavy / whipping cream to a large bowl and use a hand mixer, mixing until stiff peaks form.

Once the raspberry mixture is cooled enough, gently fold that into the whipped cream a little bit at a time. (Despite what the original recipe said, I tried folding the cream into the raspberry mixture, since typically technique says you should add the whipped cream into the denser/wetter mixture to avoid losing air. However, because the raspberry mixture was so soup-y, it mostly remained at the bottom and proved hard to combine.)

Once the cream and the raspberry mixture were well-combined - the entire mixture was a light pink - I placed the bowl in the fridge to set/cool. After almost 2 hours, it was mostly set, but I think could’ve stood to hang out in there a little longer. The consistency was perfect they next day when we finished it up. Two hours was perfectly fine, but if you have the time, I would recommend allowing it to remain in the fridge a bit longer.

We served it in my grandmother’s crystal cut dessert dishes, which I hadn’t used before, and garnished with the remainder of the fresh raspberries.

Unbelievably Light Raspberry Mousse

Servings: 4-6
Time: 30 minutes, plus cooling/setting time
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Ingredients

¼ cup cold water
½ cup boiling water
2 teaspoons gelatin
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cup fresh raspberries (a 6oz package should be plenty, including garnish)
2 cups heavy cream
seeds of 1 vanilla bean (or 3 teaspoons vanilla extract)

Directions

In a small saucepan, add cold water.
Mix in gelatin and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Stir in boiling water, vanilla bean, sugar, lemon juice, and raspberries.
Bring to boil on medium heat then turn down to low and boil for 5 minutes.
Pour mixture into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. (This reduces the raspberry seeds.)
Allow this mixture to cool for at least 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add whipping cream and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the raspberry mixture into the cream until well-combined.
Allow the finished mousse to cool in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour.
Serve garnished with fresh strawberries, if desired.

From: Fearless Dining

A blender may provide better results than a food processor as far as reducing seeds. I would recommend allowing to cool for 2-4 hours if you have the time - ours was also delicious when we finished it the next day.

Number of servings will depend on size. This recipe yields 4 generous helpings.

The Round House + Indian Fry Bread

May 11, 2017 by Megan 2 Comments

On an Indian reservation in 1988, a woman is attacked but the details are immediately unclear as Geraldine is reluctant to discuss what happened. Both her husband and thirteen-year-old son Joe give her space to recover while still determined to do what they can to bring her justice. Joe strikes out on his own investigation, bringing him and his friends to a sacred meeting place on the reservation, The Round House.

Louise Erdrich’s novel has been highly praised and is award-winning, but I didn’t like it very much. I thought using the son’s perspective to tell the story was an interesting choice, creating more suspense surrounding the attack. Overall, though, while the central plot was gripping, there was so much extra going on in the story that I found it distracting and was ultimately pulled away from Geraldine and her family’s plight.

Often on adventures around the reservation, Joe and his friends were fed Indian fry bread - occasionally with jam or honey, occasionally in the form of tacos. In looking up the history of fry bread, I found that it also comes with a story of pain and suffering. (You can read more here.) It seemed like the perfect food to accompany this novel.

Allrecipes had a recipe for fry bread that many commenters hailed as authentic and the most like their grandmothers’. I also poked around and found one from The Pioneer Woman that had a few more ingredients and included details on making Indian tacos. I sort of combined the two when making my bread.

First, I combined my flour, salt and baking powder.

Then, I slowly added my warm water, stirring it with a spoon until it was all added, and then kneading it with my hands. Once the mixture was well combined, I covered the bowl with a dish towel to let it rest for about 45 minutes.

I then separated the dough and rolled it into smaller balls, forming about 12 (which will depend on how large you decide to make your fry bread).

In my cast iron skillet, I heated a little over an inch of shortening until hot. While it came up to temperature, I flattened each ball into a large disk and created a little hole in the middle of each to keep it from forming too much of a “dome” while frying.

I fried each piece of bread for about a minute on each side, until each side was a nice golden brown.

When done, we ate them warm with some jam (and tried some honey too). I didn’t make Indian tacos this time but will definitely have to try them out in the future. Check out the finished product, plus a look at my new red kitchen - so happy it's finally a reality!

Indian Fry Bread

Servings: 8-12
Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (including 45 minutes inactive time)
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Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1½ cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
4 cups shortening for frying (1-2 inches in the skillet)

Directions

Combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir in 1½ cups lukewarm water. Knead until soft but not sticky.
Cover bowl with a dish towel and allow to rest for 35-45 minutes.
Shape dough into balls of about plum-size and then flatten into patties between 4-7 inches in diameter (depending on how large you want them). Make a small hole in the center of each patty.
Fry one (or two) at a time in 1-2 inches of hot shortening, until the bread turns golden brown - about a minute. Flip and fry for another 45 seconds to a minute.
Allow to dry on a paper towel. Serve warm with jam or honey, or use as a base for Indian tacos.

Adapted from: Allrecipes.com and The Pioneer Woman

American Gods + Beef Pasties

May 4, 2017 by Megan 4 Comments

I read American Gods hoping to create some personal excitement for the new series on Starz (which premiered on April 30), but I finished it feeling less than enthused. I’ve had a bit of a mixed reaction to Neil Gaiman - ultimately thinking that my first selection The Ocean at the End of the Lane was just okay, but enjoying both Coraline and Neverwhere.

Gaiman’s novel is interesting enough at the outset. It follows Shadow as he is released from prison after serving three years. On his way home, he meets a mysterious man called Wednesday, an old god, actually. Wednesday enlists Shadow to help him recruit other old gods, traveling back and forth across the United States attempting to convince them to join the fight against the new gods.

Shadow’s story, when we were following it, kept my attention. It was the detours Gaiman took at the end of each chapter that I found distracting, as the story peeked in at the goings-on of various other gods we usually hadn’t met yet (and sometimes never saw again). The plot took a lot of twists and turns, and had I been fully invested, I would’ve been at the edge of my seat so I can see why people really enjoy it.

When he wasn’t with Wednesday, Shadow took refuge in a small town called Lakeside, Wisconsin. It was there that I found my recipe for American Gods - Mabel’s famous pasties. Pasties are baked pastries filled with meat and vegetables, said to have originated in Cornwall, England. They are also quite popular in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and while I have had them in England, I’ve never had them close to home - until now.

Scott’s mom had actually made them before and shared her recipe with me. (Thank you!) I made my own dough, which she said would be easy with a food processor - and it was.

My food processor didn’t seem to be able to handle such a large amount of ingredients, however, so I ended up splitting the dough into two batches. I also needed slightly more liquid to get it to come together, so use your best judgment, but make sure not to overdo the liquid because you don’t want the dough to become sticky.

I formed the dough into two smaller disks and stored them in the refrigerator in plastic wrap to chill. I allowed mine to chill overnight but a couple of hours should be sufficient.

While the dough chilled (or in my case, before I took it out to roll it), I prepared the vegetables for the filling. First, I diced the carrots, doing my best to keep them relatively small so they would soften well while baking.

Having never even eaten rutabaga (to my knowledge), I certainly had never made it, so I was a little unsure how to tackle it at first. Ultimately, I just hacked off a chunk of it, peeled off the skin and then cut the piece into smaller pieces that would fit in my food processor spout. I used my grating attachment to grate it quickly.

Then, I peeled and diced my potatoes, trying to keep their size in line with the size of my carrots. About 2 medium potatoes yielded the 1½ cups I needed. After so much prepped I decided to just use minced dried onion out of my cupboard. Fresh onion might impart a bit more moisture into the meat, but it turned out well with the dried version, so use whatever works best for you.

I combined all of my filling ingredients - about a pound of ground beef, the carrots, potatoes, rutabaga and minced onion. I also added salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Lastly, I melted the butter and poured that over the filling, making sure to mix it in well.

As I took my dough out to roll and shape, I turned on my oven to 350 degrees F to preheat. I rolled out the dough and used 8” saucers as a guide for my circles, yielding 4 large pastry circles. I filled half of each circle with as much filling as I could, making sure it could still be closed and sealed.

Note: I had a bit of filling leftover as well as a bit of pastry, so I probably could’ve made each one a bit bigger.

Finally, I cut 3 slits into each pasty and brushed them with an egg wash before putting them in the oven on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. After about an hour, they came out a lovely golden brown.

Thinking it seemed similar to meatloaf (and after some online research), I decided to eat mine with some ketchup - which seems to be a popular choice - as well as a little spicy brown mustard. Scott enjoyed his with sour cream (another online hit). Serve with whatever condiments you enjoy, but make sure you allow them to cool before digging in!

Beef Pasties

Servings: 4
Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes (not including inactive time for the dough to chill)
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Ingredients

1 cup Crisco or lard
3½ cups flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 egg (beaten)
½ TBS vinegar
½ cup ice water

For the Filling:

1 pound ground beef
1 cup grated (or finely diced) rutabaga
1 ½ cup diced potatoes
1 or 2 carrots, diced
1 small onion, diced or 1 TBS dried minced onion
salt and pepper
1/4 stick butter or margarine, melted
egg wash: 1 egg and 1 TBS water

Directions

To make the dough, put the dry ingredients - shortening/lard, flour, salt and baking powder - into the food processor. With it on low, drizzle in the liquid ingredients - 1 beaten egg, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and ½ cup of ice water.
Once dough is well combined, form into a disk (or two smaller disks) in plastic wrap and allow to chill for a few hours, or overnight. When ready to create the pasties, roll out the dough and cut into circles with a small saucer (8” or 10” diameter).
Combine the filling ingredients, adding the melted butter last.
Add filling to one half of each pastry circle. Fold over and crimp the edges.
Brush with an egg wash and make 2-3 slits or use a fork on the top to allow the steam escape while baking.
Bake on parchment paper-lined baking sheets at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes before turning down to 325 degrees F for 45 minutes, OR just bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

From: The Kitchen of Scott’s Mom, Karen

You could also make more smaller pasties, by cutting smaller circles of dough and using less filling. This may affect baking time. Mine were quite giant, but worked well as a main course (or full meal)!

Life Update: New House

April 27, 2017 by Megan 1 Comment

Scott and I moved into our first home a couple of weeks ago, and as all homeowners can attest, our lives have been filled with projects ever since! We are so excited and making it our home has certainly been fun, but I guess I didn’t quite realize how much work it would all entail. Long story short, I don’t have a review and recipe post ready for this week.

Not only have I been lacking time to read, but at bedtime, my eyes struggle to stay open and I don’t make it very far. As exciting as my new kitchen is (yay, shiny new appliances!), it’s still partially in a state of disarray and the layout is taking some getting used to. I haven’t been doing quite as much cooking as I’d like.

It’s not all bad though - my new stove made me swoon when I first saw it and my book nook is coming along nicely. When I'm back next week, not only will I have a new book review and recipe, I’m also hoping to have some photos of my reading oasis and my red-accented kitchen ready to share. Until then!

The Handmaid's Tale + Strawberry Pie

April 20, 2017 by Megan 1 Comment

Is everyone else looking forward to Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale as much as I am? The trailer gives me chills. I had read the Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel about three years ago, but anticipating the upcoming series, I was excited for the chance to re-read it with one of my book clubs.

The first time I read The Handmaid’s Tale, I thought it was interesting, but I don’t think I fully appreciated it. This time around, I was able to read it through different eyes; it felt more relevant to me than it did a few years ago, and frankly, it was a little scary.

In Atwood’s imagined Republic of Gilead, Offred is one of the Handmaids placed with a Commander and his barren wife for the sole purpose of having his child and giving them a family. In her red dress, she is limited in who she’s allowed to communicate with, and even more so by the restrictions forbidding her to read or write. When Offred is not alone in her room, she runs errands with her partner Handmaid and occasionally attends birthings and special ceremonies designed to remind her and every woman of their place in this new totalitarian society.

Offred’s diet, and presumably that of all Handmaids in Gilead, is controlled in its amount and restricted to that which is nourishing. Though Offred is the one to pick up the household’s groceries, it seems she has no say in what she eats. When shopping one day, she muses on the smell of fresh strawberries and the memories of summers past they recall.

Living in a society so much like the one Offred used to live in - where women work outside of the home, have freedom of movement and choice, and can make their own decisions to have children or not - it was hard to see how easily it was all taken away. Many American women believe we have come a long way. And we have. But until we are truly equal and are equally represented in society, women are not in control of their own destinies. For me, the fact that these rollbacks are not inconceivable was the most eye-opening part of reading this book.

In the end, Offred’s story left me with more questions than answers, but it was one that sparked a lively conversation with my fellow book club members and one that I heartily recommend.

Capitalizing on their bright red color, strawberries seemed like an excellent choice to represent The Handmaid’s Tale. I found a recipe for Fresh Strawberry Pie that looked too good to resist.

Using a storebought crust proved to be a lifesaver for me as I had some issues and had to bake it three times before I got it right (don’t forget your pie weights!). While that was a bit frustrating, I was happy I didn’t have to re-make crust from scratch just as many times. Before it went into the oven each time, I made sure to scallop the edges to create a pretty design.

While it baked, I washed, hulled and quartered the fresh strawberries - I used 4 cups in the end, though I had prepared 6 cups. It will ultimately depend on how deep and wide your pie dish is, but I don’t think it hurts to have some extra prepared strawberries around.

When my successful crust was finally cooling, I got to work on the glaze. I combined 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar and some cornstarch in a small saucepan and brought it all to a boil. Then, I whisked until the glaze began to thicken, about 3 minutes. Last, I added the box of strawberry Jell-O and whisked that for another minute or so. The finished glaze also had to cool about 15 minutes before filling the pie.

When assembling the pie, I first added the prepared fresh strawberries to the cooled crust. I did my best to keep the top relatively even, but you could certainly create a thicker middle if you wanted to. (That option might require additional glaze to get good coverage.) Then it was time to pour on the delicious glaze, again doing my best to get even coverage over the strawberries.

The finished product was absolutely beautiful - and SO red. I couldn’t wait to dig in. This pie will definitely be making future appearances over the summer.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Servings: 8-12
Time: 50 minutes
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Ingredients

9 inch pie crust (homemade or storebought)
4 to 6 cups fresh strawberries, quartered and hulled
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 3oz. box of strawberry Jell-O
3 tablespoons of cornstarch

Directions

Bake pie crust in 9-inch deep pie dish and set aside to cool.
Put the water, sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk constantly until it becomes thick, about 3 minutes.
Whisk in the Jell-O and cook for a minute longer. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 15 minutes.
As the glaze cools, place strawberries straight into the pie crust.
Pour the glaze over the strawberries.
Refrigerate until set. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

From: Sugar Apron

When baking the pie crust, be sure to use pie weights or dry beans to ensure that the sides of your crust doesn’t fall. Poke holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork, add weights or beans and bake according to directions. After half the baking time, remove weights and allow to bake for the remaining time without them.

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Perfect Little World + Pickled Deviled Eggs

April 13, 2017 by Megan 2 Comments

My latest Book of the Month selection explored the concept of a utopian society - a nice change of pace from the other books I’ve been reading lately. In Perfect Little World, Isabelle is a teenage mother without the father in the picture or the support of her own family. Lucky for her, Dr. Preston Grind is currently casting for his new experiment in childrearing - The Infinite Family Project.

Designed as a utopia for raising children, The Infinite Family Project brings together 10 children and 19 parents. They live in a housing compound among the best experts in child development and raise the children together as one carefully-chosen extended family.

As the only single mother in the project, Izzy has a few obstacles to overcome, but she eventually finds her place among the other parents. She becomes an apprentice to the hired cook, learning new skills and taking pride in her work. When a magazine comes to do a profile on them, she impresses even herself with pickled deviled eggs topped with candied bacon.

To the reporter and photographer, the experiment may not seem as cultish as they had originally thought. But, as with any family, things aren’t always what they seem to an outsider, and over the course of 10 years, the perfection Dr. Grind was seeking starts to show some cracks.

Obviously, I seized on the opportunity to make my own pickled eggs and candied bacon and turn them into the masterpiece that Izzy served during the visit from the magazine. With Easter just around the corner, it seemed like a perfect fit. First, I learned how to pickle eggs with beet juice and how to candy bacon, but then I was ready to dive in!

Pickling eggs is pretty easy, and it’s a great way to make the deviled eggs look more festive. For wary picky eaters, it didn’t alter the taste all that much in this application, but added a bit of tang. Overall, it just made them better.

I took my peeled, hard-boiled eggs and added them to a large jar. (If you don’t have a jar, another container will work, but glass is preferred.) To that, I added my pickling liquid - beet juice, vinegar, salt and water boiled together - and let the whole thing sit overnight in my fridge.

The next day, I started with my candied bacon, since cooking it low and slow as suggested took a while and could be done while I otherwise prepped the deviled eggs. I recommend following the link in the notes section of the recipe and only making one or two slices total, if you’re making a dozen deviled eggs.

While the bacon cooked, I began working on the eggs. First, I cut them in half and arranged them on a plate.

I scooped out the yolks and put them in a small bowl. To that, I added the mayo, vinegar and mustard. I stirred those together with a fork until most of the lumps were gone - this is especially important if you're going the piping route. Then I added a generous sprinkle of seasoned salt and a bit of freshly ground black pepper.

I used a piping bag in an effort to make the eggs look a bit more elegant, but feel free to use a spoon if you’re not trying to impress anyone. (That’s what I usually do.) Once the egg whites were filled, I added the finished candied bacon, which I cut into about half-inch sections.

Combined, the flavors complemented each other very well. The vinegar from the pickling helped to cut the richness of the deviled eggs and the candied bacon added an element of crunch and some sweetness to balance the tart. These lovely purple eggs will be a great addition to any Easter celebration or even a picnic as the weather warms up. Enjoy!

Pickled Deviled Eggs with Candied Bacon

Servings: 12
Time: 30-45 minutes, plus pickling overnight
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Ingredients

6 hard-boiled eggs
1 15-oz can sliced beets with liquid
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup water
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tsp yellow mustard
¾ teaspoon white vinegar
pinch of Lawry’s seasoned salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
candied bacon as garnish, optional (see notes)

Directions

Hard boil your eggs according to your preference or favorite recipe. (My method in notes.) Peel and place in a large jar.
To make the pickling liquid, combine beets, vinegar, water and sugar in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is fully dissolved. Pour over the eggs. (I left out the majority of the beets because I didn’t have a lot of room in my container.)
Make sure the jar/container is covered or sealed and then place in the fridge overnight.
Slice pickled eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and put into a small bowl. Place egg whites cut side up on a serving platter or tray.
In bowl with yolks, add mayonnaise, mustard and vinegar. Mix until well-combined and not lumpy. Add seasoned salt and pepper to taste.
Using a spoon or a piping bag and tip, fill the egg whites with the deviled egg mixture until finished.
If using candied bacon, garnish with about half-inch slices on top.

Adapted from: Pinch My Salt’s deviled eggs and Sweet Little Bluebird’s pickled eggs

I made the hard-boiled eggs by placing them in a saucepan and filling with cold water until the eggs were covered by about an inch. Bring water to a boil and then immediately remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 12 minutes. Remove from the water and use a cold water rinse or ice water bath until eggs are cool.

If you choose to garnish with candied bacon, you really only need 1-2 slices per dozen deviled eggs. This link has a good explanation along with step-by-step photos. I recommend about 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar for 1-2 slices. Use your best judgment.