Greetings from Lisbon! Time is flying by here – I can’t believe it’s been two weeks already.

The weather has been beautiful here, sunny and gentle every single day. Generally it’s been warm, in the 60s, but the past two days it’s gotten really cold. Of course, not as cold as Boston, where we unfortunately had a pipe burst only a few days after leaving (and we left the heat on). But as I write this I’m huddled around the little electric heater in our Air BnB, which is doing double time by also drying our laundry.

Breakfast here is typically a pastry and an espresso while standing at the counter of a pastelaria. It’s delicious, but with the cold this week, I could definitely do with something heartier. I made this whole grain porridge just before leaving, and it got me through that first week of January cold and snow. I used a mix of quinoa, farro, oats, and semolina to prepare it, and then topped it with apples stewed with maple syrup and fresh cranberries. It was delicious.

Trevor objected to my use of the word porridge (“what are you, Goldilocks?”), but I can firmly state that this porridge is just right. [Edit from Trevor: “it’s a stupid word, it’s a stupid food.”] It’s also much better than oatmeal. While oatmeal is convenient and easy, it can get thick and gloppy, especially if rushed. This porridge was much creamier and more varied in texture. Not to mention it was healthier with four different grains. I made a big batch, portioned it out into five tupperwares, and was ready for the week.

If you’re somewhere cold, too, I hope you’re staying warm!

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Whole Grain Porridge with Poached Apples and Cranberries

A comforting, creamy whole grain porridge perfect for chilly winter mornings. Topped with stewed apples and cranberries and lightly sweetened with maple syrup.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 6

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup stone cut oats
• 1/2 cup farro
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 3 cups milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup farina (Cream of Wheat)
• 4 apples, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 cup of fresh cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 3 TBS maple syrup
• fresh pomegranate seeds, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the quinoa, oats, farro, water, and 2 cups of the milk in a large non-stick saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over low heat, stirring frequently. Add the cinnamon stick and salt and simmer until all of the grains are tender, about 30 minutes. Add some of the additional milk as needed to keep the porridge loose and creamy. When the grains are cooked, add the farina and the remaining milk (1 cup or whatever you have left from the original 3 cups) and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the porridge has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat.
2. Prepare the apples while the porridge is cooking. Add the apple wedges, cranberries, apple cider, and maple syrup to a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender and the cranberries have softened and slumped, about 10 minutes. Simmer for another 5 minutes to reduce the sauce to a syrup, then remove from the heat.
3. Serve the porridge warm, with additional milk if desired. Top with a few spoonfuls of the apple-cranberry mixture and fresh pomegranate seeds.

The post Whole Grain Porridge with Poached Apples and Cranberries appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope that none of you have had any major kitchen or travel mishaps, and that you’re all getting ready/happily in the midst of/recovering from a relaxing day of family, friends, and delicious eating. We’re in the car on our way up to Maine to see Trevor’s family, but before we sit down to overindulge, I wanted to share our Thanksgiving submission to the Captain’s Table Challenge.

As I mentioned Monday, we’re part of a group of 15 bloggers that are teaming up with Captain Morgan to create delicious rum-based food and drink recipes for the holiday season. There’s a bit of a contest aspect to it as well, so I’m extra motivated to make these recipes top notch (there’s nothing like a little competition to get me going). For the Thanksgiving edition of the challenge, we decided to work with two classic November ingredients, sweet potatoes and cranberries, turning each into a rum-infused masterpiece. After a bit of group brainstorming at the wedding we were at last weekend, we decided that the only thing for the sweet potatoes was a souffle, and not just any souffle, but a light, fluffy, rum-scented souffle drizzled with a rum-raisin caramel sauce. There are a surprising number of sweet potato souffle recipes out there, but you’ll quickly notice that most of them are not actually souffles, but instead just mashed sweet potatoes buried under some form of sweet goo (I so enjoyed Sommer’s rant on this topic). What we were going for was a real souffle, with a classic roux-base, a bit of rum, and a hint of sweet potato flavor.

Creating our own recipe for souffles was a bit of a risky move, and it was a tense 30 minutes in the kitchen as we waited to take them out of the oven. We’ve made souffles before, but tweaking any baking recipe can be hit or miss, plus souffles are notoriously challenging and we did significantly more than tweak a base recipe. We did our research, though, and what came out of the oven was far more perfect than we expected – puffed up gracefully over the top of the ramekins, cooked through yet still creamy, light and sweet and everything you want a souffle to be. With the thick, syrupy-sweet rum raisin caramel drizzled on top, I am not ashamed to admit that we each had two of these, one after the other. And then we skipped dinner.

As for the cranberries, I knew I wanted to do a festive riff on Dark and Stormy’s, the classic ginger and dark rum cocktail that’s pretty much perfect any time of year. I wanted to incorporate cranberries, but I didn’t want the drink to be too sweet or cloying, so instead of using cranberry juice, I made a thick, almost jam-like cranberry-ginger syrup for the base of the drink. After reading an article in Bon Appetit about how we should be celebrating Thanksgiving with the new crop of artisanal hard ciders that wouldn’t have been out of place at early colonial celebrations, I decided to replace the traditional ginger beer with one of my favorite sparkling ciders, Bantam’s Wunderkind. The resulting drink was strong and slightly sweet, with hints of spice, cranberry and apple.

So, if you’re looking for something to do with your leftover mashed sweet potatoes or that bag of cranberries you didn’t end up using? Try a souffle, or a cranberry-ginger cocktail, or maybe even both. And let me know what you think! Also, if there’s any flavor combinations or recipe types you’d like to see for our Christmas Captain Morgan challenge, leave a note in the comments – we’re looking for inspiration anywhere we can get it. Have a wonderful holiday!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Captain Morgan, who provided me with product samples and monetary compensation in exchange for my participation in this program. All opinions are honest and my own, as always.

Sweet Potato Souffles with Rum Raisin Sauce

Serves 5.

For the souffles:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 3 TBS butter plus extra for greasing the ramekins
• 3 TBS flour
• 3/4 c. warm milk
• 1/4 c. Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 c. sugar plus extra for preparing the ramekins
• 6 egg whites
• pinch cream of tartar

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Toss the sweet potato cubes with the olive oil and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until very tender and almost falling apart. Stir the sweet potatoes once after 20 minutes. While still warm, add the sweet potato cubes to a blender and puree until smooth. Scrape the puree out of the blender and set aside.
2. Adjust the oven temperature to 350F. Butter five 6-oz. souffle dishes or ramekins, then sprinkle a bit of sugar into each. Tap the sugar around the edges of the dish, tapping out any excess. Set the prepared dishes aside.
3. In a wide frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is a pale yellow and smells nutty. Add 1/4 c. of the warm milk to the roux and whisk until smooth, then slowly whisk in the remaining warm milk. Cook over medium-low heat until thick and smooth, about 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Whisk in the rum, and let cool slightly.
4. Beat the egg yolks and the sugar together until thick and pale yellow. Quickly whisk into the roux, taking care that the roux is not hot enough to scramble the eggs. Then, whisk in 3/4 c. of the sweet potato puree, adding 1/4 c. at a time. When the mixture is smooth and evenly colored, set aside.
5. In a large, clean bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the top, and then beat until the egg whites are shiny and hold a stiff peak. Fold the sweet potato mixture gently into the egg whites until they are just combined. Spoon the souffle mixture carefully into the prepared dishes, filling them just shy of the brim. Place the ramekins in a larger baking dish, and fill the baking dish with hot water so that it reaches halfway up the sides of the souffle dishes. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until souffles are puffed up and set in the middle. Remove and serve immediately with the warm rum raisin sauce.

For the sauce:

• 1/2 c. Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. cream

1. Place the rum and the raisins in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until the rum just begins to steam, then immediately remove from heat and set aside. Let sit for at least 10 minutes to allow the raisins to plump up.
2. Pour the sugar into the bottom of a heavy-bottomed saucepan in an even layer. Place over medium heat, and melt sugar, whisking frequently. As you whisk, the sugar will clump up, but once melted, all the clumps should dissolve. As soon as all the sugar is melted, stop whisking but swirl slightly. Watch the sugar closely as it begins to darken. As soon as it reaches a golden caramel color, add the heavy cream all at once. Be careful, the caramel will bubble violently when you do this. Whisk until the mixture is even. Now add the rum and raisins all at once, again, being careful to avoid the bubbling up, and whisking until the mixture is even. As soon as the mixture is smooth and consistent. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Sauce should be served warm.

Cranberry-Ginger Sparkling Rum Cider

Serves 4.

• 3/4 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. water
• 1 1/2 c. fresh cranberries, rinsed (remove any squished/deflated berries)
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
• 6 oz. Captain Morgan Black Spiced rum
• ice cubes
• 2 c. sparkling cider (alcoholic)
• sugared cranberries, for garnish

1. Add the sugar and water to a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add the cranberries and ginger. Simmer the mixture until thick and syrupy, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the cranberries from foaming up, pressing the cranberries against the side of the pan to pop them.
2. Pour the cranberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and strain the liquid into a medium bowl. Press gently on the cranberries to extract more juice, but be warned that if you press too hard you may end up with more of a jelly than a syrup (still delicious!). Refrigerate the syrup until cold; save the berries for another use.
3. Add 1 to 2 TBS of the cranberry syrup to each of 4 glasses, then add 1 1/2 oz. (1 shot) of rum to each glass. Stir vigorously to mix. Add a few ice cubes to each glass, then top off with 1/2 c. of sparkling cider. Garnish with sugared cranberries and serve immediately.

The post Captain’s Table Thanksgiving // Sweet Potato Souffles with Rum Raisin Sauce + Cranberry-Ginger Sparkling Rum Cider appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Cranberry Coffeecake from Fork vs. Spoon

Well, Hello there!

Mallory here, from Fork Vs Spoon… , I need to thank Katie for inviting me into her world and letting me meet her readers.  Thank You!!  When she asked, I was thrilled and happily agreed to prepare a post for her blog while she is away – however, the thought crossed my mind to ask if she had room in her suitcase for little ol’ me….but I would probably cost too much in luggage weight fees, plus I would take up ample room that should be allotted for shoes.

I have been a fan of Katie’s blog for some time.  I am always looking forward to her next post.  The stories, the recipes, the photos…and of course her cookbook reviews.  She is responsible for many of the cookbooks that are scattered throughout my kitchen and the abundant amount flooding my Amazon Wish List….Thank goodness there is no such thing as too many cookbooks! (they are kinda like shoes!)

So, Katie Thank You for the invite and here we go…

Guest blogs are so much fun, but instantly after I happily accept the invite I start over-thinking brainstorming dishes – sweet or savory?  Quick and easy or should I flex my culinary muscles – ha!  Cocktail?  Oh, my brain starts turning.  Before long, I forget about my to-make list of recipes and ideas and my mind goes blank.  I wander to my stack of dog-eared and overly bookmarked magazines and cookbooks.  Most marked with stains and worn from constant use.  I flip through and search my files of saved recipes…and most times I find myself just standing in front of the  fridge/freezer, taking stock of  what I have on hand and 9 times out of 10, find the ingredients for something quite suitable for a blog post, and dinner or dessert. I also hear my grandfather in my head,  hollering from the living room,  to close the refrigerator door…just wasting energy!  He always thought we should know what we wanted before we arrived at its door, but little did he know it was my method of brainstorming.  I think the cold air gets my brain a workin’.

And honestly, this is how I go about cooking and baking for my own blog and my everyday.  What am I craving?  What do I have on hand?  How much time do I have?  Who else will enjoying this?  Who is my audience?  Answering these simple questions will always lead me in the right direction and they have a way of organizing my thoughts…which have a tendency to be a bit scattered.

And this is how a cranberry coffeecake found its way into my oven last Sunday.  And eventually into my stomach, along with an ample amount of coffee.

Come on over for the recipe!  

The post Guest Post from Fork vs. Spoon: Cranberry Coffeecake appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Every new situation in life comes with potential pitfalls to your health habits. Going away to college? Erratic sleep schedules and frequent hangover binges. Summer vacation with the family? Your dad handing you a margarita every night at 5 on the dot. Breakup with your boyfriend?  Pity pints of Ben & Jerry’s and many bottles of Merlot. First job? That dratted chocolate box, free “bonding” dinners, and sitting in one spot all day.

The result? Pounds creep on. Crash diets are picked up, then dropped. We try to make sweeping changes to our lifestyles and it’s hard, even unrealistic. Changing a bunch of habits at once is a real mental challenge, which is why I’m trying something new. Smaller. Make one resolution each week and write it down – a specific, easy to follow resolution with no loopholes or room to argue with yourself. Stick to it all week. The next week, if you were successful, add one more resolution, and try to keep the old one, too. If you were unsuccessful, try the first one again. And try not to worry about everything else! If you said “no chocolate” this week, don’t eat chocolate, but don’t also try to give up everything sweet or indulgent – it’ll be so much easier to defeat yourself if you try for too much all at once! Taking small steps towards forming the best habits will eventually add up.

I started this out last week with the most troubling problem in my health-at-work life – the chocolate box. Now, I’m not ever going to give up chocolate. But the constantly full chocolate box located approximately 5 feet from my desk is a real self-control issue for me. I hear everyone open and close the box, unwrap their chocolate, and it’s like a little bomb goes off in my brain, exclaiming “chocolate time!” And once I’ve had the first piece, I go back maybe 4, 5, 6 times before stopping. Something about the combination of there being an unlimited supply and being constantly reminded that it’s there by everyone else really does a number on my willpower. And 6 pieces of chocolate a day is no laughing matter!

So week one’s resolution was “no chocolate from the chocolate box at work.” And I was successful! Wednesday afternoon was hard, but I managed to power through and stick it out for the whole week. I’m going to try and stick with it this week, and add a resolution for week two – walking the extra mile to the red line at least once per day. To recap:

1. Week one: No chocolate from the chocolate box at work – Success!
2. Week two: Walk to or from Park St. to work at least once each day

Anyone want to join me and make a small resolution for this week? The more the merrier! And, if you get through the whole week without lapsing, you should then join me in a little homemade celebratory indulgence – like this cranberry-pear crisp. The not-too-sweet cranberry filling and crispy sugary crust made a pretty good reward for going all week without chocolate. It might also be the perfect dessert for Thanksgiving, if you’re looking for alternatives to the classics – festive and bright, palate-cleansing and not too heavy, any Thanksgiving table would benefit from the addition of this crisp!

Cranberry-Pear Crisp

Adapted from The Preservation Kitchen. Serves 4-6. If you’re making for a crowd, double the recipe and the pan size!

• 2 pears, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 c. cranberries, washed and picked over
• 3/4 c. plus 1/3 c. sugar, divided
• 3/4 c. flour
• 6 TBS cold salted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Layer half of the pear slices on the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan. Cover with the cranberries, and sprinkle 1/3 c. sugar over the berries. Layer the remaining pear slices on top of the cranberries.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, the remaining 3/4 c. sugar, and the ground ginger. Use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut the cold butter into the flour, until a crumbly mixture with chunks no larger than a pea is formed. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top of the fruit.
3. Place the pie pan on a baking sheet to catch any drips, and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the top of the crisp is golden brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

The post Monday Morning Resolutions & A Cranberry-Pear Crisp appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

February’s cookbook of the month is Roast Figs Sugar Snow, a book that focuses mainly on the foods that those of us in Northern climes crave during the winter months.  While we haven’t exactly had a fierce winter this year, I wanted to review this book before another year went by – I don’t find myself wanting to roast a pheasant or gorge on cheesy pumpkin tarts in the middle of summer.  The collection of recipes in this book is one of the most intriguing I’ve found, bringing me back to the book again and again – there’s Russian cheese pancakes, French pumpkin matefaims, Northern Italian farro and smoked duck salad, Austrian plum squares, and Scandinavian cookies.  Most countries that experience a true winter are represented in the book, and it makes for a great cross-section of flavors and cultural influences.  The downside of a cookbook focusing on winter foods?  Most of the recipes are extremely rich – there’s a lot of butter, cream, and cheese going on in this book.  Now, this isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, because, really, who doesn’t love butter, cream, and cheese?  But, say you wanted to plan a winter-themed menu from this book – perhaps Onion and Cider Soup with Melting Camembert, followed by Poulet Suissesse, with a plate of Plum Squares to finish it off – you’re guests might be leaving less-than-well.

I’ve only tried a handful of recipes from this book – I think 5 in total – but the ones I have tried have varied a bit in quality.  Nothing has been bad, but only 2 of the recipes have been truly special, and both of them happen to be desserts.  The Cafe Sperl Plum Squares I made last week were the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, and the recipe pictured here – Port and Cranberry Jellies with Port Syllabub and Frosted Cranberries – was exquisite.  However, the Poulet Suissesse – a chicken dish cooked in a rich sauce of creme fraiche, parmesan and gruyere – was too rich without the flavor payoff I was looking for, and both the Red Cabbage with Cranberries and the Roast Squash and Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese were about what I was expecting – good, but nothing particularly new or interesting.  This is not a book I’m going to give up on though – most of the recipes are too alluring.  High on my list are the Melting Leg of Lamb with Juniper Berries, the Toasted Ginger Cake with Wine-Poached Cranberries, and the Roast Pheasant with Quince, Blackberries, and Honey.  That is, if I ever find pheasant or quince anywhere near me.

A bit more on the Cranberry-Port Jellies featured here: think of these as the most elegant, grown-up, and subtle jello shots you’ll ever eat.  Or, if you’re not a jello shot person (how could you not be a jello shot person?!), think of them as your favorite sore-throat treat but boozy and sophisticated.  Both the jellies and the syllabub – basically a loose whipped cream – contain port, giving the whole dessert a heady, musky, flavor, which contrasts perfectly with the fresh bursts of the sweet-sour frosted cranberries (use way more than pictured here, they really bring the dish together).  This dish takes planning ahead – 6 hours for the jellies to set, 1-2 hours for the cranberries to dry – but it’s well worth it.  The actual work that goes into making and assembling these is minimal.  And with only 1/2 c. of sugar added to the jellies, they’re a relatively light dessert, especially for this  book.  Worth trying.  And, overall, the book is worth checking out, especially if you’re in a cozy-cooking sort of mood.

Port and Cranberry Jellies with Frosted Cranberries

Recipe from Roast Figs Sugar Snow, by Diana Henry.  Serves 8

For the jellies:

• 2 c. cranberry juice
• 1 3/4 c. ruby port
• peel of 1 orange (white pith removed to the best of your ability)
• juice of 1 orange
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 TBS powdered gelatin (about 2 of the packets they sell in most US grocery stores)

For the berries:

• 2 c. fresh cranberries
• 1 egg white
• 1-2 c. sugar (you won’t use it all but need volume for process to work)

For the syllabub:

• 2/3 c. heavy whipping cream
• pinch cream of tartar
• 1 TBS confectioner’s sugar
• 2 TBS ruby port

1. Make the jellies: combine the cranberry juice, port, orange peel, orange juice, cinnamon, and sugar in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until it comes to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5-10 minutes to infuse flavors.  While juice is simmering, sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 c. cold water in a small bowl, and leave for a minute to firm up.  Add 1/2 c. of warm (not too hot! let it cool for a minute out of the pot before adding) juice mixture to the gelatin, and stir to dissolve, then pour whole mixture back into pot and stir well.  Remove from heat, and pour into 8 glasses.  Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours, or until firm.
2. 1-2 hours before serving, briefly whisk the egg white in a medium bowl, until slightly frothy.  Add the cranberries and stir gently to coat with egg white.  Let cranberries drip over bowl for a minute, then transfer in batches to a plate with the sugar.  If the cranberries are too wet when moved or there is not enough sugar on the plate, the sugar will simply dissolve.  Roll the cranberries in the sugar until well coated, then set aside on a plate or tray to dry for 1 to 2 hours.
3. Just before serving, whip heavy cream until beginning to grow in volume, then sprinkle with cream of tartar and sugar, and whip until it is thick and very slightly holds it’s shape.  It should not be too stiff, but should fall in folds when poured from spoon.  Gently whisk in port.  Spoon syllabub over jellies, then sprinkle with frosted cranberries.  Leftovers will keep refrigerated for a few days, although syllabub will lose some of it’s structure.

The post Cookbook of the Month: Roast Figs Sugar Snow appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Now that I’m back from my first real business trip – which was hectic and busy and fun and interesting and a serious crash course in Spanish, what with participants from Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Brazil – I’m here with a trip report and pictures from my mini-vacation to Vermont last weekend.  I’m probably being an idealist, but I have visions of Vermont as being beautiful in every season – green and bucolic in summer, crisp and splendidly colorful in the fall, quiet and snowy in the winter, and breathtakingly fresh in the spring.  I have some foundation for these ideas – I used to go to summer camp on Lake Champlain, and it was always gorgeous and idyllic.  More recently, I visited a friend at Middlebury in late spring, and I’ve never enjoyed a drive as much as the one through those mountains, nor seen quite as many daffodils in one place.  Now I can confirm that the fall is just as crisp and wholesome and nice as I imagined, leaving only winter for me to investigate.  If I like winter, I might just have to move there.

Stowe is a very quiet place in November – the leaf-peepers are gone, and the skiers have yet to arrive.  A few trees have straggling bursts of orange, but most leaves have faded to brown and begun to fall.  Frost covers everything in the mornings, but the sun can still be warm enough at midday to forego the winter jacket.  I loved it.  We drove up Friday afternoon and after getting settled in our hotel, we got a casual dinner at Piecasso, a local pizza place that made really good pizza (loved the crust), but just OK hamburgers (duh, Katie.  But, I only went the hamburger route because I had train station pizza at lunch).  Then early to bed – the biggest, best, most comfortable bed ever.  We stayed at the Green Mountain Inn, and had an absolutely wonderful experience.  A large part of this was due to the king-sized bed, gas fireplace, and fireside Jacuzzi tub combo, but we also enjoyed pretty much every other aspect of the hotel.  Highly recommended if you’re planning a trip up that way.

Saturday, we went for a frigid but absolutely gorgeous run on Stowe’s 5-mile riverside recreation path.  Everything was covered in beautiful frost even well after the sun had risen.  We passed a picturesque herd of dairy cows and crossed wooden bridges and it was basically the exact experience I was looking for.  After the run we had breakfast (real maple syrup on everything!) at The Gables Inn and did a little thrifting in a local “stuff” store – I got blog props, of course, but Trevor found the greatest old architectural magazine.  Old, like, 1880s old, and full of detailed black and white sketches of houses and staircases and it’s totally awesome.  We spent the afternoon (as well as Sunday morning) doing some of the foodier things that Vermont has to offer – touring the Magic Hat brewery in Burlington, sampling the cider at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, picking up Lake Champlain chocolates, and trying every single one of Cabot’s cheddars.  Other than the brewery tour, I was kind of disappointed with the “factory” stores – they were very cut and dry and touristy, and mostly focused on selling their products at higher than retail price rather than demonstrating how they were made or even explaining the process.  I guess what I was really looking for was a more farm-to-table experience, and I probably shouldn’t have expected as much as I did from such big-box names.  I was tempted by the enormous bins of apples outside the cider mill on sale for 50 cents a pound.  50 cents a pound!  That’s a pretty good deal.  But, since I was leaving Monday morning and I haven’t finished my last batch of apples, I refrained.

Sunday we slept in and then had a lovely brunch at our hotel, then headed out.  On the way we stopped for a walk at the Waterbury reservoir, a beautiful, quiet spot with great views of the mountains over the water.  The area used to be farmland, and many of the trees were still covered in apples, with that great scent of slightly fermented apples hovering over the ground.  It was a good sendoff for our drive back to Massachusetts.

And now for the food – maple syrup is probably the most quintessential Vermont ingredient, so I knew this post had to include it somehow.  However, it is also one of the most expensive condiments I know of.  The lowest price I saw on it was $15 a quart, in a gas station close to our hotel, which is where I ended up buying some.  I’m sure you can get it more cheaply direct from a sugarhouse, but since it’s not sugaring season (maybe we’ll go back for it!) I figured this was my best bet.  Maple syrup in hand, I started going through maple-laden recipes I have bookmarked, but a lot of them called for a large amount of syrup and I just couldn’t bring myself to part with 2 cups of the precious stuff barely a week after I had gotten it.  As a happy medium, I went with these cookies, which are from Peter Berley’s Modern Vegetarian Kitchen.  As I mixed up the batch I was a little bit skeptical – no eggs, no sugar, no leavening, and only half a cup of flour?  Not your typical cookie.  But, as I pulled them from the oven and bit into one I was pleasantly surprised – they were some of the best cookies I’ve made in recent months.  Crunchy, dense, and both sweet and savory they make a great snack, and are particularly good dipped in a little bit of orange tea.  As an added bonus, they’re fairly healthy – although they are not low calorie (160 per cookie), the bulk of the calories in them are coming from the sesame seeds, which provide a massive dose of several minerals, as well as calcium, healthy protein, and fiber.  I think these may become my more wholesome and natural alternative to power bars for the near future.  Lastly, they can easily be made vegan with the simple substitution of olive oil for the melted butter, which is even recommended by the author.  They’re easy to whip up, so pick up some sesame seeds in bulk (try wholefoods) and give them a try!

Sesame-Cranberry Cookies

Adapted from Peter Berley’s Modern Vegetarian Kitchen .  Makes 9 cookies.

• 1/2 c. sesame seeds
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. oats
• 1/2 c. dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
• pinch of salt
• 3 TBS maple syrup
• 3 TBS melted butter (could substitute olive oil for vegan cookies)
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Soak cranberries in hot water in a bowl for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, pulse flour, oats, and salt together in a food processor until oats are finely ground.  Transfer to a bowl and mix in sesame seeds.  In a separate bowl, whisk together melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla until combined, then pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk together.
2. Drain most of the water from the cranberries and add the cranberries to the dough.  Mix together until it forms a thick dough.  If the dough is too dry to press together, add a small amount of the cranberry soaking liquid to the dough to moisten it.  Form the dough into small balls and then flatten into 2 inch disks and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 15-17 minutes, rotating halfway through for even cooking, until cookies are just beginning to turn golden brown.  Great straight out of the oven and several days later!

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I can’t think of any other way to start this post than “I made it.”  So:

I made it.

And yes, I am singing that in my head a la Kevin Rudolf.  It was that or Vitamin C, people, and that song got old after 5th grade graduation.

The past few weeks (months, semester, four years…) have been a bit of a roller coaster.  First there was the stress of finding a job, then the excitement of finding a job, then the relief of finishing my thesis, and then the fear of failing ECE27 and rendering all of my other accomplishments void.  Then, suddenly, way too suddenly, it was the last LDOC, and for a week I partied like I was a freshman again and thoroughly convinced myself that I never wanted to leave Duke.  Or even the premises of Shooters, for that matter.  And then even more suddenly it was this past weekend, and a whirlwind of events and dinners and parties and ceremonies and packing left me (and pretty much everyone else I know) exhausted, exhilarated, and a little bit numb.  And now, we, the class of 2011, are graduates.

I have a love-hate relationship with Duke.  As a freshman I had a blast, but drank like a fish, did poorly in class, and didn’t resemble any version of myself that I’d ever been.  Sophomore year I hit the wall and realized I had to get back to being myself, but that realization and process left me miserable, lonely, and ungrounded.  Escape came in the form of a semester in Prague, which was the best thing I could have done for myself.  While there I found balance, independence, and an everyday happiness I’d forgotten about.  Upon returning to Duke for junior spring, I promised myself that I would focus on staying true to myself and let the things I didn’t like about Duke be what they were, and for the most part, it worked.  Senior year was a mixed bag – I learned to truly value the friendships I’d been ignoring, I threw myself into class and the job search, and about every other week I felt that Duke was my home.  I stopped going home at every chance that I got, and I did a lot of the things I’d been wanting to do for the past four years.  I started to wish I’d experienced this side of Duke earlier on.  So the other day when my dad asked me to name the things I love most about Duke, I decided that that was the way to think about things – what I loved, what I gained, what I learned, and what I survived, not what got me down, or what I regret.  So, without being too wordy, I’d like to try to sum up the best parts of my Duke experience.

Engineering.  It surprises me, too, but my engineering education was one of my favorite parts of my Duke career.  Engineering pushed me, challenged me, and overwhelmed me, but it also gave me a community when I felt alone, a close relationship with incredible professors, small classes where I could learn pretty much without bounds, and a class of students who shared my experiences almost exactly.  Especially this past year, when I got to know the other civil engineers better than I had in previous years, the classroom became somewhat… enjoyable.

Pride, strength, and independence.  I’m really proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished at Duke.  We all should be.  Given that there were so many days I spent hating Duke, blaming every negative feeling I had on the slightly twisted social atmosphere, and researching schools to which I could transfer, I’m proud that I stayed.  I’m proud that I turned Duke into a place where I felt at home, that I love, even if it’s a bittersweet sort of love.  Like our engineering president rapped so well at our ceremony “that that that that don’t kill me, can only make me stronger.”  Duke challenged me – academically, morally, and personally – and I came out knowing better who I am, what I believe, and what I can accomplish.  And for that I’m grateful.

Friends.  I didn’t feel particularly sad at graduation, or saying goodbyes, because I know that I will take the small group of people that really matter to me with me throughout the rest of my life.  As lonely as I felt some days, without a big group who I could party with, in the end I realized that the friends I had were keepers, people I genuinely love, and that that’s enough for me.  What I will miss are the everyday encounters – smiles and waves on the plaza, laughing over a shared misunderstanding in class, meeting new people during games of beer pong – the campus experience is a friendly one.  So thank you to all the people – close friends, casual friends, and even those who only recognize me and smile – who filled my days at Duke.

The future.  Though leaving college is sad and terrifying, I’m excited about the rest of life.  I feel both lucky and proud to have so much good lined up for myself – a summer of traveling and relaxing, entirely work free; a job that I honestly think I’m going to enjoy; a beautiful house and exciting new roommates in Davis Square; a life close to the family that I missed more than I expected to.  There’s a lot of potential there, and a chance to start fresh, be the person that I wanted to be at Duke but couldn’t find the courage to do so, except with a few people in a few places.  It’s good to move forward.

I know this is way longer and sappier than my usual droning, so thanks for bearing with me.  I promise, I’ll never graduate and go all mushy on you again.  And with all that said, what better way to celebrate graduation than with a cake?  However, since a. I feel like a total cow after so many delicious celebratory dinners, and b. I’m still trying to use up all the odds and ends in my kitchen, I went for a light, breakfast-y, cranberry-cornmeal cake.  I started by following a Giada recipe, but halfway through realized that it used dried cranberries, so I made a few quick substitutions and crossed my fingers.  And it worked!  The cake was moist, flavorful, and well balanced.  I might reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup when I make it again, but other than that, a winner.

Cranberry Cornmeal Cake

Serves 8-10.  Original recipe.

• 1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 c. sugar, divided
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 c. AP flour
• 1/2 c. fine cornmeal
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease and flour a 9 inch round cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and 1 1/4 cups of the sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add vanilla and stir to incorporate.  Add eggs and egg yolks one at a time and stir to incorporate.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder.  Fold into wet ingredients in two batches.
4. In a food processor, briefly pulse cranberries and remaining 1/2 c. sugar, until cranberries are in small pieces but not pureed.  Gently stir cranberries into batter, then spoon into pan and smooth with a spatula.  Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, and the top of the cake is golden brown.

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These cookies are basically glorified and compacted GORP.  Why eat something in handfuls when you can just eat all the same ingredients in one delicious bite?  Exactly.  Also I know that GORP stands for good old raisins and peanuts but I think that it’s generally accepted for GORP to be any fruit-nut-chocolate combination that sustains you while hiking… or taking notes in stats class.

The base of these cookies had to be soft and chewy oatmeal to maintain the facade of health in these cookies.  (GORP is good for you right?  Fruit, protein?  I don’t think I have ever burned more calories than I consumed during a hike due to my belief that one bag of M&Ms plus one can of raisins plus one jar of peanuts equals one serving of GORP).  But whether they’re good for you or not they’re yummy and comforting and eating them is greatly preferable to being outside in the sleet/rain/ice not eating them.  My roommate can vouch for this – she’s eaten three since she walked in the door five minutes ago.  And every time she takes one she tells me how much she hates me.

Cranberry-Almond-Chocolate Cookies

• 1/2 c butter, very soft
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c white sugar
• 1 whole egg, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 c flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 c oats
• 2/3 c slivered almonds, chopped
• 3/4 c dried cranberries
• 3/4 c chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Cream butter and sugar together.  I like to melt my butter and then let it come back to room temperature because it creams so much better.  Add egg and egg yolk and whisk until batter is smooth.
3. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together.  Add oats.  Stir to incorporate.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix just until batter is even.
5. Toast almonds in a dry pan over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant.
6. Add almonds, cranberries, and chocolate to batter.  Refrigerate batter for 30 minutes.
7. Drop the cold batter by spoonfuls onto a baking tray.  Bake about 8-10 minutes.  Cookies will be golden brown on top but still soft in the center.

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