Easy Pickled Red Onions

Pickling is one of my favorite things to do.  It requires only a few ingredients and you can complete the process rather quickly if you are in a time crunch.  Plus, you can pickle almost anything!  Cucumbers are a thing of the past.  Let's say hello to beets, cauliflower, carrots, and even radishes.  Click here to see my post on pickled watermelon radishes.   

Lately, red onions have become one of my favorite things to pickle.  They are a wonderful addition to salads, tacos, or even your morning eggs.  They keep for approximately 2 weeks in the refrigerator (if they last that long) so you can make a large batch and always have some on hand when you want to add some tangy crunch to your favorite dish. 

Ingredients: 

1 large red onion - sliced

1/2 cup of vinegar - I like apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

Water

Directions:

In a medium sized pot, add all of the ingredients and enough water to cover the onions. 

Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. 

Cook the onions for about 15-20 min. 

You are looking to partially cook the onions and reduce some of the liquid. 

Remove the pot from the heat and transfer the onions to a bowl or mason jar. 

Let cool and they are ready to eat.

How easy is that?!  The onions also turn a beautiful, vivid shade of pink.  Pickling is a great way to add extra flavor to your dishes without adding extra calories. 

What are you going to pickle today?

Austin Passbook

I love Instagram.  If I could play around on Instagram all day long, I would, but I have a day job.  Thanks to Instagram, however, I have discovered some wonderful Austin businesses that I may not have found otherwise.  One of those is Austin Passbook!  If you are a self proclaimed Austin foodie, like me, or you love great buy 1 get 1 deals, please check this out. 

Austin Passbook released their first book in the winter of 2014.  There will be a new book coming summer of 2015.  It looks just like a passport so it is extremely portable while you galavant throughout the city using some, or all, of these deals!  The book is divided into two sections:  Eat and Play.  The Eat section has buy 1 get 1 deals for local food establishments, mostly food trucks, such as Dock & Roll Diner, Hey Cupcake!, and Ms. P's Electric Cock.  The Play section had plenty of Austin's favorite activities like Austin Duck Adventures, Butler Park Pitch & Putt, Silver Whisk Cooking School (which is awesome by the way), and Bodhi Yoga.  I'm sure the summer 2015 edition will have even more wonderful spots to try out. 

The rules are pretty simple:  each deal can only be used once and you will get a stamp in your passbook, the full deal must be used at one visit (can't buy 1 now and save the other for later), and you must bring a friend to share the deal. 

Have I mentioned the price yet?  It was a mere $20.  This book pays for itself within one or two visits.  I highly recommened checking them out.  I will be getting the summer edition as soon as it is available! 

Ms. P's Electric Cock-South Congress

 

The famous Jo's wall sipping on Juice Austin

 

Juice Austin-South Congress

 

Dock & Roll Diner-Midway Food Park

 

Fill your book up with stamps!

As Austin Passbook would say:  "Be social.  Try something new.  Have fun." 

 

 



Almond Cake

On a recent trip to San Francisco, I ventured out to Berkeley and had one of the best meals I have ever tasted at Chez Panisse.  I had a lovely three course meal that consisted of baby gem lettuce with beets and avocado, grilled squid with a fennel salad and white beans, and for dessert:  almond cake.  This delicious, single layer cake, was bursting with almond flavor and it was served with a light dusting of powdered sugar and some fresh berries.  I couldn't wait to get home and replicate this simple dessert. 

Layer cakes are not my area of expertise, but a single layer cake I can manage.  Luckily, I was able to find the Chez Panisse almond cake recipe courtesy of David Lebovitz.  He has a slightly adapted version on his website which you can find here.  The ingredients are pretty basic, except for the almond paste, but I was able to easily find the paste in my local grocery store in the baking aisle. 

I used a 9-inch deep, round cake pan for this cake, but I will warn you.  The cake it so light and airy that it will rise quite a bit.  If you want one cake, I suggest cutting the recipe in half or using a really deep cake pan.  Otherwise, you can divide the batter into two separate 9-inch cake pans, like I did.  If you pour all of your batter into one pan, you risk it overflowing over the sides of the pan and onto the bottom of your oven.  I speak from experience!  Baking in two pans makes the cake not as thick, but it will still taste delicious and you will have an extra cake to share with friends and family!

 

Ingredients:

 

1 1/3 cups of sugar

8 ounces almond paste (I have found 7 ounce packages and this is fine)

3/4, plus 1/4 cup flour

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp, cubed

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

6 large eggs at room temp

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease your cake pan(s) with butter then dust with flour, shaking out the excess flour.  Line the bottom of the pan with parchment.

 

Using a food processor or Kitchen Aid mixer (I used the mixer with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed), mix the sugar, almond paste, and the 1/4 cup of flour until the paste has broken up into small pieces.

 

In a separate bowl, mix together the 3/4 cup of flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

 

Once the paste in the mixer is broken up, add the cubes of butter and the extracts.  Process for about 5 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.

 

Add the eggs, one at a time, until combined.  Be sure to scrape down the sides every so often to make sure everything is mixing together. 

 

Add half the flour mixture and mix for a minute before adding the rest of the flour mixture.  Do not overmix, just beat until the flour is combined. 

 

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan(s) and bake for approximately 45-60 minutes.  If using two pans, your baking time will not be as long, approximately 30 min.  The top of the cake will turn brown and the cake will not be jiggly in the center, it will feel set. 

 

Remove from oven, run a sharp knife around the edge, and let cool in the pan completely. 

 

Serving suggestions:

 

Dust with powdered sugar

Serve with fresh berries (I like raspberries) and fresh whipped cream

 

Storage:

 

Cake can be kept for 4-5 days at room temperature (if it lasts that long!).  It will also freeze up to two months. 

 

 

Baked Oatmeal

I love breakfast but it is the hardest meal for me to prep ahead of time.  I usually end up buying a breakfast taco because it is quick and easy to eat on the go, but not always healthy.  My second go-to breakfast meal is oatmeal.  It's inexpensive and has plenty of health benefits, but it is not always something I want to make in the morning.  I prefer steel cut or rolled oats, ones that you actually have to cook a bit, in order to obtain more of the health benefits.  Instant oatmeal just will not do.  So how could I make things even easier?  Baked oatmeal friends.

I adapted this recipe from Eat Yourself Skinny and you can find the link here.   The recipe made quite a bit and will last throughout the week.  You can change the ingredients to your liking and experiment with different fruits, nuts and seeds.  I also ommitted the sugar and replaced it with 100% pure, organic maple syrup.  You could also use agave, honey, coconut nectar, etc. 

I like to warm my serving before eating and serve with a little almond milk or plain, greek yogurt for some extra protein.  You can find more health benefits of eating oats here.

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled or steel cut oats

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 Tbs chopped walnuts (or nut of choice)

2 cups diced apples

3 eggs

2 cups milk of choice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease baking dish, roughly 8x8 in size.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, baking powder, salt, apples, and walnuts.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together milk, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Combine with the dry ingredients and pour into the baking dish. 

Bake for approximately 1 hour, until golden brown and set.  Serve warm (or cold)! 

 

Vinegar Rinse for Fruits & Vegetables

There are so many positive reasons to buy fresh produce, but how do you preserve it so it lasts throughout the week?  I know I can't go through my entire farmers market haul in just 2-3 days.  I buy a  lot of fresh greens and they should be used right away because they start to wilt very quickly.  

My mother and brother in law have been going to the farmers market longer than I have, so they started rinsing their produce with vinegar and water.  I finally decided to try it and I was impressed by the results!  

I didn't have a large bucket so I improvised with a large stock pot.  You need something large enough to fit quite a bit of liquid, and room to fit the produce.  

What You Need:

1 cup white vinegar

Approximately 1 gallon of water 

1 large bucket or stock pot

Directions:

Fill your pot or bucket with the vinegar and water

Add your produce (don't overfill and spill the liquid)

Let soak for 15 minutes

Remove and rinse with cold water

Dry completely 

Store where appropriate

After completing my own rinse, my cilantro did not start to wilt for at least a week and my cucumbers stayed fresh.  My berries, which normally start to go bad in a day or two after purchase, stayed fresh much longer.  

Does anyone else rinse their fresh produce?  If you have any tips or tricks, feel free to share!

Cauliflower Rice

As the weather gets warmer here in Texas, the lighter my meals become.  If you are like me, I have a hard time saying no to carbohydrates unless I can find something just as satisfying to replace them with.  I normally have a large bag of basmati rice from Costco in my pantry, waiting to be cooked and served with a multitude of meals.  To lighten up a bit, I have turned to cauliflower rice.  And trust me, it is just as satisfying.  

Cauliflower is a big hit at the farmers market these days and there are plenty of ways to cook it.  Not only does it come in the white variety, but there is also orange and purple cauliflower.  Romanesco cauliflower is green and pointy, like in the photo below.  All varieties are similar in flavor and can be roasted, mashed, or turned into "rice."  This is sure to be a big hit with vegetarians and vegans and it is Paleo friendly.  

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, or a combination of different varieties (enough for 4-6 servings)

2 TBS oil of choice

1 medium onion-chopped

2 cloves of garlic-chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Break the cauliflower into smaller pieces

Pulse them in the food processor until it looks like rice 

Heat a pan on medium-high heat, add the oil, garlic, and onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes

Add the cauliflower and cook for 3 minutes more

Serve as a side dish in place of rice

Braised Greens with Peppers and Onions

Greens are everywhere at the farmers market in the winter months.  One of my favorite greens is swiss or rainbow chard.  You can eat the stems as well as the greens, and they are mild in flavor compared to collard or mustard greens.  They also last a few days if you can't cook them right away.  Cooked greens make a great side dish, but they are great to eat on their own as well.  I try and buy at least one type of green every week.  

My favorite way to cook them is to braise them in broth with some vinegar.  If you don't have swiss chard, you can use any type of green with this recipe.  For a mild flavor, spinach would be a great substitute.  If you want to get wild, try some collards (but add some bacon!)  This recipe is adapted from  a Whole Foods Market recipe.  Unfortunately, I can't find a link to post on here but if you want the original recipe (which uses white wine), please email me.  

Ingredients:

1 bell pepper (color of choice), sliced

1 med onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 bunch of swiss chard, roughly chopped (you do not have to remove the stems)

1/2 cup vegetable broth

2 TBS vinegar (my favorites are red wine or white balsamic, any will do)

1 TBS butter

2 TBS oil

Dash of salt & pepper

Directions:  

Heat the oil in a sauté pan on med-high heat.  Add the peppers, onions, and garlic and sauté approximately 3 minutes.  Add the chard and cook until it is just starting to wilt.  Add the broth, vinegar, salt & pepper and cook for 10 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.  Add the butter and serve.  

What are your favorite greens and how do you cook them?  Feel free to comment or share your recipes!