Peanut Rice Noodle Salad with Tofu

This is my new favorite lunch. This came together pretty quickly. It was best fresh but I did eat it for lunch today and it was really good, let it come to room temp a bit so the noodles will be soft.

Peanut Rice Noodle Salad
Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 pound tofu

salt

8 ounces rice noodles (linguine shape)

½ inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

½ cup creamy peanut butter

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

¼ cup warm water

1 medium cucumber, sliced into half moons

1 red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks

2 green onions (green parts only), sliced

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Slice the tofu lengthwise into ½-inch thick slabs; pat dry on a dishtowel. Transfer the tofu to the oil and cook, without moving, for 4-6 minutes, until browned on the bottom. Flip the tofu and brown the second side. Remove the tofu from the skillet and cut into bite-sized cubes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a large pinch of salt and the rice noodles; cook until tender. (Check the package instructions for exact cooking times.) Drain and rinse the pasta.

In a large bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, water, and until smooth. Fold the tofu into the sauce, then add the remaining ingredients, reserving some of the green onions and cilantro for a garnish.

Chocolate Syrup

Do not waste your money buying chocolate syrup anymore. Making it at home is crazy simple and a lot cheaper too. This took me about 2 minutes to do. I've been putting it in almond milk for a sweet treat.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup
Source: ME!

1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 t. vanilla
1/2 warm water

Put it all in a mason jar and a shake, shake, shake.

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sea Salt

Chocolate and sea salt. YUM!

I made these for a going away party for a work friend. I was sitting and chatting with people and coworkers would walk by me, hold the cookie up and smile and nod. I like that. I like watching people enjoy what I enjoy doing.

These were really good and the small sprinkle of sea salt really brings out the quality chocolate flavor. Make sure to use a good brand of dark chocolate here.

Double Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sea Salt
Source: The Novice Chef
Yield: 12 cookies

3 oz dark chocolate (60-80%), chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour


1/4 cup double dutch process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

Fleur de Sel (or large-flake sea salt) for topping

Preheat oven to 325°F and line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, melt chopped chocolate bar and butter in 15 second increments in the microwave, until smooth. Let cool 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Stir in sugar and egg -- into the chocolate mixture -- until smooth. Add in dry ingredients, mixing until fully combined.

Roll 1 1/2 tablespoons of cookie dough into balls and place on cookie sheet, leaving room for spreading. Sprinkle lightly with Fleur de Sel.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until center is no longer puffy. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling tray. Serve warm or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Loaf

We are in the midst of a blizzard here in Maine. Daycare was closed for a half day yesterday so Abe and I whipped this up after naptime. As you probably know and agree, snowy days are perfect for baking. I love baking with my two year old.

This loaf came out excellent. I used Trappist strawberry jam made in Massachusetts. I did end up tenting it with foil toward the end and baking it another 15 minutes, it wasn't done in the middle after 50 minutes.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Loaf
Source: 17 and Baking

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup creamy, all natural peanut butter (with no added palm oil)

2 oz (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

3 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup jam

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 9×5″ loaf pan and coat it with sugar.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. In another bowl, stir the jam to break it up and get it loose.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the peanut butter, butter, and sugars on medium high speed for a full five minutes. The mixture won’t get light and fluffy and the sugar won’t dissolve, but the mixture will be less grainy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one and scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Beat in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla extract, then the rest of the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl. The batter will be thin. Pour half the batter into the loaf pan and dollop with jam. Pour the rest of the batter over the jam and sprinkle the top with large grain sugar.

Bake the loaf for about 50 minutes. The time for this one really depends on your oven, so keep checking. If the edges start to get too brown, loosely tent some tin foil over the top and keep baking. Then bake for another 10-20 minutes or until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Homemade Salsa

I've made salsa in the past but nothing like this!

This was really easy to make, you just open some cans, do a little bit of chopping, and then pulse the food processor a couple of times. This is the only kind I'm going to make from now on. 

I served this with nachos for the Super Bowl. Since then I've put it on my eggs, quesadillas, and just with tortilla chips to dunk in it.

Salsa
Source: Pioneer Woman
Yield: A lot.

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice

2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)

1/4 cup Chopped Onion

1 clove Garlic, Minced

1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin

1/4 teaspoon Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)

1/2 whole Lime Juice

Note: this is a very large batch. Recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like---I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

PEANUT BUTTER.

I like to scream it.

Do it with me.

PEANUT BUTTER!

CHOCOLATE!

They should just run off and get married.

I made these on a whim and shared them with my pregnant friend. These were fantastic. Super moist muffins with a bit of a crunchy/crackly top and then a super soft creamy frosting. I froze a few and defrosted one last night - still very good!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Source: Recipe Snobs
Yield: 12 cupcakes

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup smooth all natural peanut butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Frosting

6 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup creamy peanut butter, natural (or if you want a smoother look, go not-natural)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350.

Line 12 cup muffin pan.

Combine the milk and vanilla in bowl. Combine flour, powder and salt in another bowl.

Cream butter and peanut butter together. Add the sugars and then the eggs. 

Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry.

Fold in the chocolate chips. 

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake for 22 minutes and cool completely.

For the frosting, combine the powder sugar and salt in one bowl and the milk and vanilla in another bowl. Cream the butter and peanut butter until really smooth and creamy. Add the powder sugar followed by the milk and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Blueberry Donut Muffins

There is a big snow storm heading our way for Friday. My recommendation for you is to get the ingredients for these muffins tomorrow, hit the snooze button on Friday, get up and make these (they whip  right up), and enjoy them with a cup of coffee and watch the snow fall.

Sounds good to me!

I think these are my favorite blueberry muffins. I love the glaze and I love the little taste of lemon that both the muffin and the glaze have. I did freeze half the batch and the defrost really well. I was surprised at that actually, with the glaze and all.

Blueberry Donut Muffins
Source: Kristine's Kitchen

Zest of 2 lemons

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 cup milk

1 1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

For the glaze:

 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tbsp. warm water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the lemon zest and sugars. Use your fingers to blend together the zest and sugars until fragrant.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the lemon sugar, butter, and canola oil until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour, until thoroughly combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin, filling the cups nearly to the top.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they are pale golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Place the muffin tin on a wire rack to let the muffins cool slightly before glazing.

Meanwhile, mix up the glaze by whisking together all of the glaze ingredients until smooth.

After the muffins have cooled in the pan for 5-10 minutes, dip each muffin top into the glaze and place on the wire rack. Once the glaze has hardened, you can either leave the muffins as they are or dip them a second time.

Serve warm. 

The Perfect Soft Boiled Egg

I didn't even know I liked soft boiled eggs until I saw a picture of one and drooled all over my desk. I have some extra time on my hands today (a rare occasion as a full time working mother of a toddler). I decided that for snack I would make a soft boiled egg with toast.

Wow.

Wow. Wow. Wowwy.

I could see myself becoming addicted to these. Absolute perfection. The white was perfectly cooked through while the yolk was flowing and yummy.

A sprinkle of salt and pepper is all you need.

It is the simple things in life that are the best.

The Perfect Soft Boiled Egg
Source: Eat Drink Better

1. In a medium pan, bring a half inch of water to a boil over medium heat.

2. Carefully drop in 1-6 eggs. Cover, and cook for 6 1/2 minutes.

3. Drop eggs into ice bath for 30 seconds.

4. Carefully peel and enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

My friends have been talking about cake all week. And I had just curbed my cake craving by making a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. But my word I fell right into it again. The more those girls talked about cake the more I wanted/needed it!

I figured that I would make cupcakes since I recently bought some very fancy (expensive) pans from William Sonoma. I knew I wanted chocolate cake but it took me a while to decided on peanut butter frosting. Then I had to decide on WHICH peanut butter frosting. (Nothing is simple). I decide on Ina Garten's frosting recipe because I find her trustworthy. She didn't let me down. The frosting is peanut buttery but light and fluffy and smooth as can be. Very wonderful.

I chose to make my normal chocolate cake from Cook's Illustrated, good stuff but I think next time I will try making Ina's cake into cupcakes and see how they turn out.

Chocolate Cupcakes
Source: Cook's Illustrated
Yield: 24 cupcakes or 2 round cakes

12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft, plus extra for greasing pans

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting pans

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup hot water

1 3/4 C sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon table salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat to 350 degrees.  Grease two 9-inch round by 2 inch high cake pans with butter; dust pans with flour and knock out excess.  Combine chocolate, cocoa powder, and hot water in medium heatproof bowl; set bowl over saucepan containing 1 inch of simmering water and stir with rubber spatula until chocolate ins melted, about 2 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup sugar to chocolate and stir until glossy, 1-2 minutes.  Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.  Combine buttermilk and vanilla in small bowl.  In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk eggs and yolks on medium-low speed until combined, about 10 seconds.  Add remaining 1 1/4 C sugar, increase speed to high, and whis until fluffy and lightened in color, 2-3 minutes.  Replace whisk with paddle attachment.  Add cooled chocolate mixture to egg/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed until thoroughly incorporated, 30-45 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed.  Add softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing about 10 seconds after each addition.  Add about 1/3 of flour mixture; followed by half of buttermilk mixture mixing until incorporated after each addition (about 15 seconds.)   Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture (batter may appear separated.) Scrape down sides of bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds.  Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour.  Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans; smooth batter to edges of pan with spatula.

Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25-30minutes.  Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack.  Cool cakes to room temperature before frosting, 45-60 minutes.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Source: Ina Garten

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Honey Buttermilk Biscuits

I'm going to go on record that these are one of the most delicious things to come out of my kitchen. Well, they didn't make it too far out of the kitchen. A little sweet, a little salty, a little bit herby. Crusty outside and soft and flaky on the inside. Gah, they pretty much melt in your mouth. And they were a cinch to put together.

I halved this recipe and it made 4 big biscuits. I will be making these for the next big family dinner.

Oh, and grated frozen butter is a beautiful thing. I wanted to stop and take a picture but I was in the moment and didn't want to stop.

Honey Buttermilk Biscuits
Source: Saveur Magazine

5 cups flour

1 tbsp. kosher salt

5 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

16 tbsp. unsalted butter, frozen

1¾ cups buttermilk

2 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. rosemary, finely chopped

Heat oven to 400°. Whisk flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl. Using a box grater, grate 10 tbsp. butter into flour mixture, and gently mix with your hands. Add buttermilk, and gently fold to combine to form a soft dough - DO NOT OVER MIX!.

Turn dough onto a floured surface; pat into an 8" x 6" square (about 2" thick). Cut into 6 squares; place 3" apart on a parchment paper—lined baking sheet. Bake until puffed and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Melt remaining butter in a small pan; mix with the honey and rosemary. Brush over hot biscuits; return to oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes more.