Deanna's Daughter

‘Mom, Waver got my hair wet!!’, yelled Marlow from the bathtub.  ‘Hon, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that she probably had help, and that help was you’, was my answer as I walked into the bathroom.  Marlow’s face immediately crumpled and as she was working herself up to tears exclaimed, ‘Mom!!!  I don’t want you to go out onto a limb!  I want you to stay here!!’.  Explanations DID follow, but who knows who understood what, and then it occurred to me that they’ve never been concerned about me ‘losing my mind’.

I can’t really claim this as a recipe, but I got the idea from somewhere, played around with it and now make them regularly.  I think they make the perfect appetizer of lightly toasted baguette and goat cheese (or any other cheese, really), then topped with the mushrooms, but we’ve has them in burgers, as a side accompanying a variety of meals and even just by themselves.  Yum.

Meagan’s Mushrooms

4 c. chopped mushrooms

1 leek, carefully cleaned and finely chopped – only the white and light green parts used

1 c. white, yellow or red onion, finely chopped

1/2 c. green onion, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

2 T. olive oil

2 T. butter

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2-4 T. balsamic vinegar (to taste)

Put everything from the mushrooms through to the butter in a large skillet and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently until almost all of the moisture has cooked off and the mushrooms are just starting to stick to the pan and begin to brown.  This should take about 20 minutes, and I usually season with the salt and pepper part way through – careful with the salt, the vinegar will add some as well and there’s a lot of flavor going on.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar, starting with 2 tablespoons.  The skillet should still be hot enough so that the vinegar de-glazes it and you’re able to scrape up any and all browned bits into the mixture.

I usually make this ahead and serve warm with bread and cheese as mentioned.

The name really just means that it’s a soft and chewy, very tasty brownie – with dried cherries in it.  Adapted from Lauren Chattman’s ‘Cake Keeper Cakes’, we had this with some vanilla ice cream and our favorite chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Cherry Snacking Cake

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 c. flour

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. buttermilk

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 c. dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease an 8-inch square pan.

Melt the chocolate on low power in a small bowl in the microwave – this should take about 2 minutes, but be sure to check it every 20 seconds or so – then set it aside to cool slightly.

In a separate small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt, and then in a small glass jug, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla and set aside.

Put the butter and sugar in your electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes until it’s fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Then with the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture, repeating with both and ending with the last of the flour mixture – stop as necessary to scrape down the bowl.

Add the chocolate and blend until well combined and then stir in the cherries by hand.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Flashback #10 – The winter the girls were 21/2 was the first winter that talk of Santa Claus was understood and they were especially interested in the why and where of how it was all supposed to work.  ‘Let’s go girls, we have some errands to do!’, I said one December afternoon.  Waverly thought carefully for a minute and then asked, ‘Can we stop at the North Pole?’.  She’s still very curious…

Another borrowed recipe from Dinner with Julie…

Moroccan Carrot, Squash and Chickpea Stew

1 onion, chopped

2-6 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 T. grated fresh ginger

2 t. paprika

1/2 t. each, salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 t. each, ground cumin and turmeric

1/4 t. dried chili flakes

1, 28 oz/796 mL can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 T. lemon juice

2 c. peeled and cubed butternut squash (1 small squash)

3-4 carrots, cleaned and cut into similar sized, bite-size pieces

1, 19 oz/540 mL can chick peas, drained and rinsed

In a large skillet or saucepan, saute the onion in a bit of oil for about 5 minutes, and then add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute or so.  Add the 6 spices and stir well to combine.

Add the tomatoes and then 1/2 (tomato) can of water, the lemon juice, squash, carrots and chickpeas.  Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Check for seasonings – at this point you can cool it completely and refrigerate for a day or 2 – Julie also recommends adding about 1/3 cup of golden raisins but I didn’t have any.  Either way, serve hot over couscous, rice or quinoa with a spoonful of plain yogurt over top.  It’s also suggested to garnish with fresh cilantro or toasted almonds.