Baby Birthin' Stew

Becca, of B's Bakery and Bistro fame, became the first friend to HAVE A BABY.

Everyone is growing up, buying houses, getting married and spawning.

I, on the other hand, have fit all of my belongings into two bags and moved across the world. I might get another tattoo too, on my face.

So, here we are, launched from the world of making drunk cornbread into making food for friends to freeze as they lose sleep for their poop monsters.

Becca requested something healthy and freezable. I was inspired to make something that looked like the baby poop that she'll be bathing in for the next 18 years.
Lilah (who is actually super cute and old now) also took a while to get here and apparently spicy things help pregnant ladies pop.

Therefore...

Moroccan Stew

You'll need:

Vegetable oil
1 onion- chopped
1 zucchini- chopped
1 yam- peeled and chopped
1 can of chickpeas- drained
4 cloves of garlic- minced
3 cups (or more) vegetable broth
1 tsp of each:  cinnamon, cumin, dried thyme and chili powder
1/4 c creamy peanut butter
1 c chunky salsa
2 cups of spinach- roughly chopped.

Thanks to George for the Haines grown zucchini

To do:
- Heat oil in a pan, add the spices, cook for about a minute, until fragrant. Add in the onion and garlic, cook for another minute or so. Throw the yam into the mix, cook for about a minute. Throw in the zucchini, cook for another minute.

-Add in the vegetable broth, salsa, peanut butter and salsa (if you want it to a stew, use less vegetable broth, for a soup, use more). Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
- Throw the spinach in right before you're about to serve, just so it wilts a little bit.
- Serve over couscous

- have that baby.

*Reheats, freezes and doubles very easily.

Spotify thinks that I listen to too much bluegrass and is trying to get me to branch out, so it started playing The Belle Brigade.
Spotify robots +1
All other robots -1

A little bit pop, a little bit rock, a little bit country. "Losers" is pretty amazing and a good drink PBR, cry and dance it out jam. But my cold cold heart was first warmed by this gem:

They make me want to start a band with my brother, but would end, tragically, with audiences bleeding out through their ears. The Ingram-Wolf kids aren't musically gifted.

Israeli Salad

I spent 10 days in Israel and now consider myself an expert on Israeli salad. As one does.

But David Lebovitz had some pretty good ideas about it too.
I mean, how could you not with a name like Lebovitz.

Israeli Salad (from David Lebovitz)

You'll need
1 ripe tomato
1 cucumber
1 carrot- peeled
2-3 tbsp red onion- chopped
1 small beet- peeled
arugula
1/4 c parsley or cilantro- chopped*
2/3 c mixed nuts and seeds (walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds etc...)- chopped
1/3 c feta or goat cheese- crumbled
2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper

* If you want to get crazy, try mint, chives, tarragon... every country claims this salad as their own.

-Chop all the vegetables into tiny tiny cubes. Slice the arugula.
-Toast the nuts in a skillet (no oil), over medium heat and shake the pan frequently so they don't burn. Stop when they are a little brown and you can smell them.
-Mix all of the vegetables, nuts, cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

-Serve pretty quickly, no one likes old salad.

Spotify has changed my life again by introducing me to LP

It's common knowledge that I'm a sucker for whistling.

Solgrrrrr Hummus

Liz gained a Mister Sol Grr!

The wedding was a beautiful redneck shit show, in every way that you expect an open bar wedding in Juneau Alaska to be.

And in true Liz fashion, I was informed two days before that I was bringing the hummus.

For 300 people.

Now, to most people, this isn't a huge deal. You throw a bunch of chickpeas in a food processor with some tahini and let it do it's thing.
But I'm not actually most people. I'm on a mission to create the smoothest hummus possible, which means peeling
every
single
chickpea.

"But Hannah!" you cry, "That's just crazy talk!"

Well, yes. It is, but it's also true. Taking the tiny layer off of every cooked chickpea leaves you without clumps and without hummus farts. It's a win win.

For two days I became a hummus making factory.
This is my story.

Super Traditional, Super smooth hummus (perfected by Hannah)

You'll need:
1 lb dried chickpeas
2 or 3 lemons- juiced
1/4 c tahini
7 or 8 cloves of garlic- chopped
olive oil
paprika, salt and pepper

-soak the dried chickpeas over night
-Boil the chickpeas the next day, for about an hour, or until they are soft. Drain, rinse etc... SAVE THE WATER.
-Peel the chickpeas. The best technique for this is to pinch the rounded end with two fingers and let the skin pop off. It's satisfying for the first ten, then it gets tiring, then it gets boring, then you get tennis elbow.
-Put all of the chickpeas in the food processor. Process them until crumbly.

-Put the lemon juice, the garlic and tahini in the processor, while it's running, slowly add in the reserved water, 1 tbsp at the time, until it's smooth and dip-able. Season with salt and pepper.
-Put it in a bowl, pour olive oil on top and sprinkle with paprika.

-Get drunk at a wedding.


No music this week.... Well sort of, I'm super into:
Milk Carton Kids
Steve Gunn
Chris Thile's Bach album
so more of the same.

But on a completely different note, I'm spending the next 9 months in Bucharest Romania on a Fulbright Grant!
I'll continue to post here, probably at the same frequency as I already do. But you can track my adventures in Romania at this blog:
Romania plus Hannah equals Blog

Power Ballad Eggs

When I saw the recipe title for Company Eggs, I thought it was going to be some cute thing with eggs that have a buddy, say of bread (side note, I'm going to go make Eggs in a Pocket now) and presented in a way that makes you never want to eat eggs without the buddy again. 

This isn't that, it's simply eggs that work well for company. They are glorified baked eggs.

No problems on this end though, but that might be the mountain of cream and cheese speaking. 

Company Eggs! (from Bon Appetit) 

You'll need:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion- sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt and Pepper
2 bunches of Swiss chard- backbone and stems removed, leaves chopped.
1/2 c heavy cream
6 large eggs
2 oz sharp white cheddar cheese- grated

You'll need to:
-Preheat oven to 400. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, throw in onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is soft, about 8-10 minutes.
-Throw the chard in the skillet, let it wilt a little. Cook/toss until tender, 8-10 minutes. Add cream and simmer until thick, another 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
-Lay the chard down in a baking pan, make 6 little dips in the chard and crack 1 egg into each. Season with more salt/pepper (or a little paprika, if you're into that). Sprinkle the cheese over (think heavy dandruff).

-Bake until the egg whites are almost set and the yolks are runny, 15-18 minutes. Pull it out when you are still a little worried about the whites, because they'll still cook for another 5 minutes when you let them sit before serving.

SO INTO: 

Typhoon's new album "White Lighter" (on NPR First Listen).

I'd never heard of them before this and I'm hooked. It's intense and emo, with a horn section. They rock out to power ballads about joy. This album feels all the feelings at a 10 and instead of scoffing at them, I head bob along. 

Be careful of swaying while cooking though, it can lead to some disasters. 

Spring Risotto and Star Eggs

It's been a while.
I've been in Israel.
I meant to post this before (in spring), but got distracted by something shiny and the Internet.
Oh well. It's too hot to cook now, but there is always next spring!

Spring Risotto and Poaching Eggs in shapes (from Bon Appetit) 

You'll need:
2 c frozen fava or lima beans - thawed (let's be honest, no one wants to actually shuck those)
Salt
1 Tbsp white vinegar
Eggs (however many you want to eat)
8 c vegetable broth
2 tbsp butter
1/4 lb mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves- chopped
2 leeks- only the white and pale leaves- chopped
1 bulb of fennel- chopped
2 c arborio rice
1 c white wine
1 bunch of spinach- torn
2 tbsp sour cream or creme fraiche
1 1/2 c Parmesan- grated
1/4 c chives- chopped
pepper

You'll need to: 
-bring broth to simmer in a large pan over medium heat, reduce to low, cover and keep warm
-Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large pot over medium heat, add mushrooms and cook until tender. Transfer them to the bowl with the thawed beans.
-Heat oil and 1 tbsp butter in the same pot, add leeks, fennel and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are soft. Add rice and stir to coat, about 2 mins. Add wine and cook until it's evaporated, about 4 mins.

- Add 1 cup of broth, cook and stir until it's absorbed. Add the rest of the broth by the cupfuls, allow it to absorb before adding more, until the rice is firm, but tender, like a good man, about 20 mins total.
- Add spinach, creme fraiche, cheese, chives, beans and mushrooms to rice mixture. Cook until the spinach is wilted and the cheese is melted, about 2 mins, season with salt and pepper.

- Poach Eggs!
-Bring a large skillet of salted water to a simmer, add vinegar.
-Drop the cookie cutter into the water, crack the egg into a bowl, then slide it into the cookie cutter.
-Cook until the white are cooked, but the yolks are runny, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon and transfer the egg and cookie cutter to a bowl of ice water.

Not at cool poached eggs. 

-gently use a knife and separate the cookie cutter and the egg.

- Put the eggs on top of the risotto, top with cheese, chives, pepper etc... Nom.

It should come as no surprise that I've been rocking out to Daft Punk's new album. It's a little old school, pretty DSSJ (ask Val what that means) and doesn't really sound like them a ton. Does that piss me off? Maybe a little, but after the intenseness of Tron, I'm glad for some soulful easy listening/BBQ-ing music from them. I won't be throwing a dance party with it, but it is road trip worthy.

Quinoa doesn't like to be patty(ed)

There is a reason why quinoa burgers aren't a thing.
Quinoa, by nature, doesn't like to be bound together, forced into unnatural shapes or squished between slices of bread. Each little quinoa granula is constantly trying to be it's own, unique entity and quinoa actively resents you when you try to make it anything else.

Moral of the story, we all grew up in the "Free To Be You and Me" era, so just let quinoa be quinoa.
Lesson learned.

Enjoy this quinoa hash.

You'll need:
2 1/2 cooked quinoa
4 large eggs- beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c fresh chives-chopped
1 yellow or white onion- chopped
3 garlic cloves- chopped
1 c bread crumbs
water
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c parmesan cheese- optional

You'll need to:
- Mix the quinoa, eggs, salt, chives, onion, cheese, garlic and breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. Let it sit so the bread crumbs can get a little soggy.

-Try to make the quinoa into patties. Or give up and make a scramble.
- Heat the oil in a skillet, cook the unnatural patties, or hash until it's all deep brown, like 7 minutes per side.

- Serve however you want. Try not to think about  cheeseburgers while eating.

So "The Great Gatsby" is kind of a big deal right now.
The book, the show (GATZ), the film and now the soundtrack. I have heard many rumors about the film, how awful it is, how awesome it is.... but, if the soundtrack is pretty awesome and that means I'll give the film a shot.
It was available on NPR First Listen and it's now on Spotify, but I might actually buy it.

. I kind of love that they aren't using period music, that there is an attempt to go for the risque feeling of that era with music of today. It's not only Jay-Z, but the xx, Florence and the Machine and Jack White, among others. Is there a history of music lesson here? Or is NPR reading into it a little too much. Who knows?

All I do know is that the soundtrack makes me even more excited to see the movie and it feeds my not so secret love for Beyonce.

And there is new Daft Punk. Life is good.

That time I stole tofu scramble

I worked at an unnamed vegan/vegetarian cafe in NYC for a grand total of 2 weeks and in that time I managed to wreck havoc on the West Village coffee drinkers. 

I'm not the best barista. 

I just really don't care about how you take your coffee, because I'm trying my hardest to not burn the shit out of my hand on the steam wand. 

Did I accidentally brush your scone with my un-gloved hand? Oops. 

And my latte art looked like someone took a very circular poo. 

Long story short, baristing wasn't my calling. 

But said vegan/vegetarian cafe had a awesome tofu scramble recipe. 

A recipe that I might have stolen. 

Tofu Scramble (from an unnamed source)

You'll need:

2 14 oz blocks of extra-firm tofu

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small onion- chopped

1 small green pepper- chopped

1 small red pepper- chopped

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp ground tumeric

15 oz can black beans

1/4 c cilantro- chopped

Salt and pepper

4-6 tortillas (or how many scrambles you want to eat...)

Things to put on top: salsa, avocado, cheese, green peppers, hot sauce, sour cream... the options are limitless. 

You'll need to:

- Press the tofu. 

- Smash the tofu with a fork. 

- Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onions and peppers; cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in coriander and cumin; cook with fragrant, about a minute. Throw in the tofu, tumeric and beans. Cook until heated through, about 2 minutes, stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper. 

-Serve with tortillas and garnishes. 

I can never show my face in that cafe again. 

Guys, I have to talk about the new David Bowie album. 

I seriously love me some Bowie, so much so that I dressed up as him for Halloween. It was awesome. 

This album though? I get it, he's on a very slow roll. He's David Bowie and can do no wrong, but The Next Day really just makes me miss his cutting edge days, when he was trying his hardest to push boundaries. This album feels like his silent surrender into aging rocker-dom, a genre I refuse to place Bowie in. I like that his music is aging with him and he's not trying to squeeze his 66 year old body into skin tight leather suits anymore, but this album sent me into a 70s Bowie phase and that's a land I'd like to stay in. 

In the video for "The Stars Are Out Tonight" he wears a yellow Mr. Rogers cardigan. 

Bowie in a cardigan!?! I just... I can't...


On a completely unrelated note, KDP is now two years old and has 100 posts!
Thanks for reading.
(seriously, thanks). 

Spinach with Chickpeas and Fried eggs

You'll need:
3 Tbsp Olive oil
4 garlic cloves- sliced
8 c spinach- chopped
salt and pepper
1 c onion- chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
2 15 oz cans chickpeas- rinsed
5 canned whole tomatoes- crushed
3 c vegetable broth
4 large eggs

-Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat, add 1 garlic clove and stir until golden brown (1-2 mins), throw in spinach and salt and pepper and cook until sort of wilted, but still green (2-3 mins). Remove from heat, wipe down pan.
-Heat 2 Tbsp oil in the same pot. Add in onion and garlic, cook until onion is softened (3-4 mins).
- Add cumin and paprika, stir until it's toasty and fragrant. Add in chickpeas and tomatoes, cook until the tomatoes begin to caramelize and the chickpeas begin to brown (8-10 mins). Add 3 cups broth, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium and simmer. Crush some of the chickpeas and let simmer until the sauce is thickened (15-20 mins). Fold in spinach, simmer for awesome flavor-melding, add more broth if it gets too thick (8-10 mins).

-Egg frying: Pour oil into a heavy skillet until it's 1/8" thick, heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Crack 2 eggs into the hot oil, spaced apart. Use a large spoon and baste the egg whites until they are set and lacy, about 2-3 mins (you will be burned, accept it). Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate. Do the same with the other two eggs.
-Put the chickpeas in a bowl, put the egg on top. Eat with crusty bread while nursing second degree burns. It was worth it.

-Courtesy of Bon Appetit

Currently jamming to:
Josh Ritter is sad.
It's hard to tell with such upbeat tunes, but the guy is feeling ALL the emotions in this album (his response to his divorce).
Josh Ritter is also super understanding and forgiving.
And I hate him a little bit for that.
I agree that "Joy To You Baby" might be the best song of his career.

The album drops on March 5th. Check it out... maybe while sitting in a hammock, drinking PBR and crying... just maybe.

I made a quiche in Harlem!

I moved (surprise Mom)!
This Alaskan went a little farther East and now lives in Harlem (right down the street from the Tenenbaum house. It's hipster heaven).

With an amazing kitchen and amazing roommates.

Maridee is not a vegan and grates cheese. 

Moving is the worst.
Being in a new place is better.
Cooking in a new kitchen is the best.
(but playing the "where did we unpack that" game kind of sucks).


Ronald (and Hannah's) Fennel Quiche (Ronald apparently works at The Moosewood)

For the crust:
1 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c chilled butter
3 Tbsp ice water

For the filling:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion- diced
1/2 tsp salt
1 c fennel- thinly sliced
1 c grape tomatoes- sliced.
1 c zucchini- diced
1 c yellow squash- diced
1 c mushrooms- sliced
1/4 c fresh basil- minced
1.4 c green onions
1/4 tsp black pepper- ground
4 eggs
1 1/2 c feta
1 c Jarlsberg- grated

Crusty:
- Put the flour, butter and salt in the food processor (buy one, if needed). Mix it until it's a fine course meal. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture and lightly toss. Collect into ball.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean surface, shape into a disc (get super pissed when this takes 18 tries). Put it into the pie pan and pat out until it looks like it's a crust. Store in the fridge.

Filling:
-Preheat the oven to 375
-heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the onions and salt until the onions are brown (8-10 mins)
-Throw in the fennel and saute for another 3-5 minutes.
-Add the squash, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes and pepper to skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the basil and green onions. Set aside.

-In the (clean) food processor, puree the eggs and feta until it's a custard.
-Dump the vegetables in the crust. Dump the custard on top. Put the Jarlsberg on top of that. Be a bad ass and put tomatoes and basil on top. Finish with salt and pepper.

-Bake for about 50 minutes, until melty, golden and amazing.

Harlem Quiche is best paired with:

Ra Ra Riot's new album, Beta Love.
I did it because Spotify told me too.

Gone are the soaring and sad classical instruments of my college obsession. It's been replaced with electronic beats, synthesizers and laser sounds. Win win.
I'm going to guess that many early Ra Ra fans hate this album.
I like to think that they (and I) have aged from young melodrama to a more upbeat, slightly overproduced, optimistic outlook.

White Soul Train

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

I went to Juneau over Thanksgiving!

Some things happened...

Family yoga

Glacier time

Friends 4 EVA!

I also broke tradition and didn't make a pumpkin pie. 

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Candied Walnuts (Hannah's own creation)

Bread Pudding

1 loaf of Raisin Bread from Wild Oven (or another loaf that's not as awesome)- cut into 1 inch cubes, sort of stale. 

1 c heavy cream

1/2 c whole milk

1 15 oz can pumpkin

1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

pinch of ground cloves

2 TBSP bourbon (optional) (but not really)

Candied Walnuts (see below)

-Preheat oven to 350. Put the rack in the middle. 

-Melt butter in an 8 in pan while the oven is preheating. Once it's melted, take out the pan and toss the bread in the butter, take out a handful of cubes.

-Whisk all the rest of the ingredients (except the walnuts). Pour over the bread cubes, sprinkle with the candied walnuts and the left over bread cubes (to make it crunchy)

-Bake until the custard is set, about 25-30 mins.

-Try to convince everyone that it's better than pumpkin pie. 

Candied Walnuts

1/2 c sugar

1 1/2 c raw walnut halves

1/8 tsp sea salt

-Toast the walnuts (350 oven for about 5 mins).

-Put the sugar in a medium sized sauce pan with a thick bottom. Cook the sugar on medium high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until all the sugar has melted and turned an amber color (this will take much longer than you think it should. You didn't mess it up, I promise). 

-Once the sugar is ready, throw in the walnuts and toss until covered. Pour out onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. WORK QUICKLY! Use 2 forks to separate the walnuts from each other, sprinkle with salt and let cool. 

Did I tell you that I saw ANDREW BIRD at Riverside Chapel! 

'Cause I did. 

I also discovered a few blog posts he did for the NYT back in 2008 and fell in love for the 8th time. 

This is the winter of hard pickin', soul wrenchin', vocal cord blastin' bluegrass/blues/country and I have to pay tribute to the song that started it all. 

It all started back in the Allen Marine summers and I haven't gotten sick of it yet. I actually just sang this today to a kid I'm nannying.

Plus, Old Crow Medicine Show, Mumford and Sons (ugh) and Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zero's were all in a film called "Big Easy Express" where they rode the rails between San Francisco and New Orleans, playing concerts along the way. Hipster is now taking us back to the 1890s and I couldn't be more stoked.