Maa Maa Mack Meep

Have you any Maamoul?

These cookies are pretty fun to make, especially if you have pastry tweezers. I don't have pastry tweezers.



The recipe hails from the book what's cooking Jewish by Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen, and is a simple one. It's a Sephardic recipe, and the most refined version of these cookies is found in Morocco. Fillings can be date (seen here) or walnuts and pistachios.

You'll need:
6 oz/175g flour
2 tbsp sugar
3 oz/85 g unsalted butter
1 tbsp rosewater (or orange flowerwater)
2-3 tbsp milk
powdered sugar

2/3 c pitted dried dates, chopped
102 tsp more of rosewater (or orange flowerwater)

Preheat your oven to 325F, and grease a baking sheet.

With a food processor, combine rosewater and dates til smooth, adding a tbsp or two of boiling water if necessary. Set aside to cool. I let my filling stay a little too lumpy.

Now, sift flour into a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Cut in the butter, til *~FINE CRUMBS~*. Sprinkle over rosewater and 2 tbsp milk. Mix gently==> soft dough. Add more milk if necessary. Make a large ball, and pinch off pieces to shape 1 inch balls.



Press into the center of a ball, and rotate your finger to create a well. Add some filling, and pinch the edges of the dough together to seal it up.

Arrange all the cookies on the sheet 1 inch apart, seam-side down. Press balls into long leafy shapes, and use tweezers to pinch the tops 3 times (or craftily use two knives to do the same). Bake 20-25 minutes (until just set. Must remain pale!)

Let cool 10 min ==> sprinkle with powdered sugar ==>let cool completely ==>sprinkle once more.

I skipped the powdered sugar alltogether and still enjoyed my cookie experience.



-Anna

This raspberry walks into a bar..

I loved that Trader Joe's creativity so much.


So anyways. I've been meaning to bake with raspberries. I wanted to make muffins, but alas, the muffin forms were nowhere to be found. After a wild sort of a recipe hunt, I settled on oatmeal raspberry bars (RECIPE). Hot damn! I don't even like bars that are not lemon. And I especially don't like oatmeal. But this feels like the best dessert I've ever made. The crunchity-flaky exterior makes the edge pieces extra grand.

Mostly, I stuck to the recipe. I used a bit more salt. And I forgot to butter the 8inch pan before putting the buttered aluminum foil on it. Big whoop.

Biggest difference: I made my own filling. I took about a carton and a half of fresh raspberries and tossed them in a wide pan that had a bit of boiling water and a heaping tbsp-ful of honey in it. I boiled away most of the water, and was left with the most beautifully red and tangy "jam."



-Anna

Thanksgiving Lingerings

First, we have what may be my favorite dish of all time:


Sweet potato, kale, and sausage
RECIPE
Mostly, I stayed true to it. Of course, I used a nommy tofurky sausage (polish kielbasa, if i'm not mistaken)
I cannot emphasize enough how best this recipe is. I mean you sizzle in mustard! I can't even handle the memory of this flavor.


And my own little cranberry upside down cake. Yes, Amanda, you may be onto something. There is something off about the phrase, making you feel like you've been smacked around a bit, without knowing exactly what part of you got smacked. It happens. RECIPE



I slaughtered a pumpkin that day, and had lots left over, so I made a sugary puree, and put a layer of that between the cranberries and the cake. Therefore, they stuck to the bottom of the form. Therefore, I got to shape the topping on myself! Mush smoooshy moosh. Yum. I've made the recipe a few times. Lusciously buttery taste. The upside-downity remains quite intact when done correctly.
-Anna

AND BAM WE'RE BACK

So, I don't like the idea of an "upside down" cake. If you're making the cake, whatever side is showing is the right side, kay. So despite Nigella's lovely intentions she named the recipe I made cranberry upside down cake. But that's wrong. So I'm calling what I made cranberry cardamom bomb cake, for obvious reasons. I also mixed it up with the batter recipe, used a little less sugar, subbed half the butter for apple sauce, dialed down the milk to accommodate for the more liquidy apple sauce and added a good douse of cardamom. omomomomom
-Amanda

Twix > Kit Kat

Baking instead of studying for a Hebrew quiz is always a good idea.

It's okay though since I can spell cake in Hebrew, not that these are cake, but close enough.


Take this add 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips, king size twix, and king size kit kat. I winged it on the sugar, they were probably too sugar-y.
I'm very okay with that.
-Amanda

Sandwich!

Cheese meets English Muffin meets Onion meets Rosemary meets Pear meets Spinach


My first sandwich here! I remember someone telling me a really bad joke about sandwich in third grade. Something about a witch. Actually I don't think 3rd humor was at this level yet, but I just thought maybe it was about a beach-y witch. Ahah, get it?

Kay, anyhow. I got this idea from here . Except regular onion instead of red. Pear was not ripe, sad story and not grilled, which would have been better. The laughing cow cheese is bomb. I most definitely recommend.

Eat this like this .

-Amanda

The Chard Didn't Char, Wilted Instead!

I couldn't find rainbow, but this chard was red and it worked. Except it wilted quick. I got it on Friday I think, so I probably should have used it sooner than today. It's alright. This smells good and you get to use stems!

It's all from this prettiness.







I left out the thyme and used extra rosemary instead, very good. Maybe one less egg?

This is what you'll be saying to them stems.

-Amanda