Carrot & Apple Olive Oil Cake

I recently went apple picking at this beautiful farm in VA. It actually looks like that little water color in the top left corner. I'm not kidding. It was so refreshing to get out into the country for a day and be a total apple nerd. I can't encourage this activity enough.

I used some of said apples to make this amazingly moist cake. Aaaaaand then I spent 20 minutes evening up the edges of section of the cake from where the last slice was taken. Oh it looks a little crooked here. Ok that's straight.. oh wait it's a little bit off here. You know.. important stuff. Obviously eating the remnants.

It's good. It's real good.

The cake is baked in a 13x9 pan. I actually ended up cutting mine in half, frosting with a simple cream cheese frosting (highly recommend, although something with coconut would be nice too!), and making a square layer cake. I added some leaf sprinkles for fall flair and awesome points. 

Ok CLEARLY I'm no professional, but this is pretty adorbs.. amiright?

Soundtrack: These things...



Carrot & Apple Olive Oil Cake

• 1 1/4 sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup EVOO
• 2 c ap flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 c peeled, cored and shredded apple
• 2 c shredded carrot
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9 X 13 inch pan by greasing and dusting with flour. Set aside.
• 
  
• In a large bowl, blend together the sugar and the eggs. Add the oil and mix until combined. Using a spatula, stir in flour, spices, salt, and baking soda. Don't worry - the batter should be pretty thick at this point. Stir in the carrots and the apples (watch how this step makes the dough-like mixture from the previous step become more like a cake batter and be totally amazed!). Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.
• 
  
• Bake 40 minutes.

PS Watch yo fingas!

Balsamic BBQ Chicken Baked with Apples and Carrots

Let's just start this with a picture:

You know what screams Fall? Putting things in the oven, with APPLES!

Could I be any more Autumn right now? Probably not. Actually maybe I could up my leaf crunching ante. Note to self: crunch more leaves.

Speaking of leaves, you know what thing that I really miss I miss about Autumn now that I'm living in a city? Those silly orange pumpkin garbage bags that everyone in the 'burbs rakes their leaves into. You know what I'm talking about. Who's idea was that? Who was this leaf-raking aficionado who sought a way to turn the unsightly fruits of his or her labor into a Halloween decoration? Pure genius. Well, probably the least environmentally friendly practice ever, but totally a nice thought otherwise.

If you follow my blog, at this point you already know I am obsessed with this bbq sauce. AND if you follow my blog I love you so much and you are AWESOME! If you don't follow my blog, well that sucks, you should. (Juuuuust kidding!)

This dish is basically the byproduct of my attempt to make everything in my life a little more Autumn. I border on obsessed, but hey, it makes me happy. Topping the chicken with apples really works with the balsamic tang and baking the dish creates an interesting and flavorful sauce in which to cook some carrots. It smells amazing in the oven and looks just as good. Oh yea, the taste ain't half bad either! Actually, it's pretty f'ing amazing as well.

Soundtrack: Washed Out (Myspace link)

Balsamic BBQ Chicken Baked with Apples and Carrots
Serves 4-5
Inspired by Giada DeLaurentiis, Chicken with Balsamic BBQ Sauce


1 1/2 c balsamic vinegar

• 1 1/4 c ketchup
• 1/2 c plus 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• salt & pepper
• 3 chicken breasts, bone-in
• 2 chicken thighs, bone-in
• 3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into disks (I believe the term is "Rondelle")
• ~1/4 chicken broth
• 1 large apple (or 2 small, enough to cover the tops of the chicken in baking dish, should be a variety that is best to cook with)

First, prepare the bbq sauce by whisking together balsamic vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp of pepper in a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes. You will see a huge reduction in the amount of liquid and sauce will begin to thicken. After sauce cooks down, reserve about 1/4 of the sauce and set aside to serve with chicken later.

While sauce cooks down, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In an 13x9 baking dish, place chicken breasts and thighs skin up. Season with salt & pepper. Add carrots, interspersing between pieces of chicken. Pour enough chicken broth into the dish so that all of the bottom surface is covered. Place in the oven and cook for 25 minutes.

Remove chicken from the oven and cover chicken with about 3/4's of the bbq sauce still in the saucepan (I realize this is confusing, so to be clear, we are not including the 1/4 we already set aside, ignore that). Stir carrots down into the sauce. Core and slice the apple into rings, then top the chicken with the apple rings. Using a basting brush, cover the apple rings in the remain bbq sauce in the sauce pan (still ignoring the portion set aside for serving). Place the dish back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your breasts (har har har). Check for done-ness and serve with reserved bbq sauce on the side.

Oooh action shot!

Wheesk, wheesk!

Similar to peach rings, yum!

Carrot-Apple Soup with Lentils & Spinach

This morning felt like Monday to me. Which is odd, because right now, I swear it's Thursday.

But who knows, maybe I just need another brownie. Or to get a life.


Or maybe it's just because the anticipation of crisp weather has me doing things like making soup when the thermometer still reads 86F. Like throwing a heavy comforter on my bed that I just have to remove each night or suffer through being sweaty (I got a new duvet!). Like stocking up on cans of pumpkin at Wegmans. Like taking a shopping trip with my mom and buying a (super cute) winter hat (plan ahead much?) and sweater. Or drooling over pumpkin beers. 


Dear Fall, I made you soup. I'm ready. Now let's kill some leaves.

Soundtrack: Adam recommended:


 


Carrot-Apple Soup with Lentils & Spinach


3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 c. chicken stock (or vegetable, for vegetarian)
2 c. water
3/4 lb carrots, peeled and cut into thirds (size tends to vary)
3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 medium gala apples, peeled, de-cored and cut into quarters
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp celery salt
1 tsp ground fennel seed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
1 c lentils, rinsed
1 tbsp grated parmigiana-regianno cheese
4-5 heaping handfuls baby spinach
EVOO, Salt & pepper


In a small stock pot, heat a drizzle of EVOO. Add garlic and onions and saute until onions are clear and just beginning to brown.


Add stock, water, carrots, potatoes, apples, cinnamon stick and celery salt. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Bring heat up to high and cover. Once liquid begins to boil, remove lid, set heat to medium, and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, until carrots and potatoes are soft and can be pierced with a fork.


Once vegetables are cooked through, remove the cinnamon stick. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it reaches a fairly smooth consistency. (A few lumps will add some character.)


Once soup is pureed, stir in the fennel seed, red pepper flakes, oregano and lentils and add the cinnamon stick back into the soup. Season again to taste with salt and pepper. Bring back to a boil. Once soup boils, reduce heat and simmer for another 10-15 minutes, until lentils are cooked.


Stir in parmigiana-regianno, then stir in spinach, one handful at a time.


Serve with a fresh loaf of bread, with a nice crisp crust. But don't call it crusty.

Floaters!

Getting right down to the core of it...

A little this, a little that

Wet lentils feel like little pebbles..

Spiced Craisin-Carrot Breakfast Cookies

Cookies. For breakfast. 

Best meal of the day

No, no, not Cooooookie Crisp.


I wish I could take credit for the idea, because I love when I have great ideas, but I can't. I found this fabulous idea here, from Joy the Baker. Her cookies are also vegan! I made them. It was my first vegan baking experience! The texture and consistency were phenomenal; I was so surprised/relieved. Joy, one of my all time favorite food bloggers (she's genuinely talented AND genuinely human), is the genius behind the cookies for breakfast revolution. Her post (which was adorable and you should read as well... right after mine of course) really took me back to childhood. When I all I wanted to do was be a grown up. Because grown ups do what they want, of course. If only I could just go back and shake myself, a la Billy Madison. Tell myself to pull a Peter Pan. Van Wilder my college years a bit. 


But you know what they say about seaweed.


But as adults, we all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So what am I doing promoting these baked goods as your new favorite morning meal? These are actually good for you! These cookies contain all the right stuff to get you started in the AM in a more-fun-to-eat-than-muffins sort of way. These contain: 1) Greek yogurt for protein 2) Craisins for the antioxidants 3) Carrot for vitamins and beta-carotene 4) Oats for fiber 5) Ginger which is good for your immune system 6) Millet, a good source of minerals and fiber, and 7) Honey, which boosts your energy and is also great for your immune system. And I swear, they taste good. I always feel like I have to swear healthy things taste good. Sad. Anyway, they have a scone-like texture and spicy, yet sweet complexity.

So here's to eating cookies for breakfast... and feeling good about it too!


Soundtrack: 
Chromeo by Chromeo



Spiced Craisin-Carrot Breakfast Cookies
Adapted from Joy the Baker
Yields 2 dozen cookies

1 1/2 c flour
1 c oats
3 tbsp dry millet
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (my favorite!)

1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c greek yogurt
1/4 c vegetable oil

1/2 c honey
1 heaping c carrot, finely shredded
1/2 c dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, millet, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients. Use a spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet until combined. Allow the dough to stand for 5 minutes.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or these amazing things:

Use a large table spoon to scoop dough out onto cookie sheets. Dough will be sticky, but try to flatten just a bit. Bake for 10 minutes. After removal from oven, allow to cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheets, before transferring to a drying wrack.

Carrots... for breakfast? Is that weirder than cookies?

Great grain!

Like laundry... folding.. duh

Little breakfast treats

Roasted Vegetables with Appenzeller, Arugula & Pesto Baguettes

If this were a friends episode it would be called "The One Where Adam and Meghan go on a Picnic." 

Pic-a-nic Basket!

If this were a friends episode, we would get to the park and Adam would get stung by a bee (again!). And then he would be allergic. But not the deathly kind of allergic, the kind where you just get really swollen. But we would be really far into the woods, so by the time we got to the car his face would be giant and purple. He would encounter some people who would make some funny comments about his face and then we would have to bring Jagger to the hospital with us. And Jagger would get into something while we were there. Maybe while we were in seeing the doctor, he would walk to the other side of the curtain and eat all the food from the lunch bag of the man sleeping on the other side. He is in the hospital because he just got giant a mole removed and is under anesthesia. It turns out that he is our neighbor who hates Jagger already, because he barks at his cat. We would make an effort to leave quickly before our sleeping neighbor awakes. The episode would end with Adam and Meghan, many hours later, having a candlelit picnic in their living room later that night. Their neighbor would stop by and recount to them how his lunch had disappeared and Adam would keep scratching while he was there and it would make the neighbor suspicious. Then he would leave and in true sitcom form, it would be romantic and there would be wine.


But that's not really what happened (mostly because in real life Jagger can't be in hospitals). In real life, we had a pleasant morning with delicious food and great company. And Jagger enjoyed himself too. It was all very sickening and adorable. AND I LOVE PICNICS!


In addition to the items listen above, I also brought along some of these scones since I wanted a brunch-type vibe. I also threw in a container of assorted olives and peppadews. I like to eat lots of different things .

Peek-neek stuff and sunflowers :)

These appetizers/small bites are fantastic to bring on a picnic. Many different components served separately that are meant to be assembled. They compliment and balance each other well, but each is also great on it own. It's a really easy spread (SO EASY) and you can either build small sandwiches or just have a smattering of different things (I love that word). Or both! Appenzeller is a really great and flavorful cheese that pairs really well with arugula. Pesto adds a nice touch.


Soundtrack: Cage the Elephant - Self-titled


Roasted Vegetables with Appenzeller, Arugula & Pesto Baguettes 
(Serves 2 or 3 as a meal or 5 as an appetizer)


For this spread you will need:


1 block of Appenzeller Cheese, cut into slices
2-3 handfuls Arugula
1/4 c. Pesto
1 baguette, sliced on the diagonal
Roasted Veggies (See below)

Arrange everything separately. Encourage mixing and matching to create different sandwich combinations! Yum!


Roasted Vegetables




1 medium zuchinni, sliced on a diagonal
1 small red onion, cut into wedges
1-8 oz package of baby carrots or carrot sticks
1 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh oregano
1 tbsp fresh thyme
salt & pepper
cooking spray


Preheat oven to 350. Toss vegetables in oil, rosemary, oregano, & thyme. Season with salt & pepper to taste (just a sprinkling of each).


Spray a 9x11 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread vegetables evenly in dish and bake for 45 minutes, or until vegetables are completely softened, stirring every 10-15 minutes. 


Allow to cool & serve cold.

Fraiche Vegetables

Add some flavor...

Bam! Delicious!

Gorgeous day in b-e-a-utiful Fairmount Park!

"Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,
For you in my respect are all the world:
Then how can it be said I am alone,
When all the world is here to look on me?"

Portable food.. sigh

Uh, what?