"Choose-your-own-Adventure" Tomato Sauce

Did anyone else love those "choose-your-own-adventure" book series growing up?  This tomato sauce never fails to reminds me of the concept -- and never disappoints. Start with the first chapter and then let your inner chef guide you to a unique and satisfying conclusion each and every time.

TOMATO SAUCE 

"Chapter 1" Ingredients:

3 lbs. ripe tomatoes, peeled and cored
5 TBS. EVOO
2 tsp. garlic, minced
Salt & pepper

Inspiration for your culinary adventure:

• 1/2 onion, finely diced + 1 carrot, finely diced + 1 celery stalk, finely diced
• 1 1/2 TBS. fresh herb(s) -- parsley, basil, thyme, and/or oregano
• 1 TBS. tomato paste (to punch-up the tomatoey flavor)
• A few glugs of wine, red or white
• Red pepper flakes
• Leftover protein from last night's dinner? I had a 1/2 lb. of roasted pork shoulder + 1 c. pork au jus that I incorporated when I most recently made the sauce. Shredded chicken, sausage, tofu and beef would all be great.
• Fresh peas + prosciutto (see Fine Cooking reference at end of article for instructions)
• Dried porcini mushrooms (see Fine Cooking reference at end of article for instructions)
• Assorted roasted veggies, diced and folded in
• Cannellini beans or chickpeas, gently added at the end

Directions:

First things first -- prep the tomatoes. Tomato skins aren't good eats in sauces, so taking a little time to remove the skin is well worth the effort. Peeling them by hand is slippery, time-consuming and difficult, so blanching really is the way to go.

Convinced? Good. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl 3/4 full with ice water. Score the bottoms of the tomatoes.

To score the tomato, just make a small X through the skin on the bottom of each tomato.

When your water is boiling, gently add the tomatoes (in manageable batches) for about 20 seconds each.

Remove with a slotted spoon and put directly into the ice bath.

Drain, and then gently peel the cooled tomatoes (so easy, right?!). Quarter the tomatoes, removing the tough core, and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a heavy bottomed pan, add the EVOO. If using a diced, fresh vegetable (onion, carrot, celery), add to pan and cook until softened and golden. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes and 1/2 tsp. salt to the pan, along with any herbs, tomato paste, roasted veggies, au jus, and wine you're using. Simmer for 40 - 70 minute, stirring occasionally.

As you near the end of your sauce's cooking time, add the (already cooked!) protein or beans to incorporate and warm. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Enjoy over your favorite pasta.


Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking's Fresh Tomato Sauce. Need a bigger batch? Find the increased proportions here. 

Perfect Sunday Morning Oatmeal Muffins

Oops.

I'd just tried the batter of the oatmeal muffin recipe I'd been tinkering with between sips of my first cup of coffee, when I suddenly realized I had something special. What I didn't have were the pictures I generally snap on my ancient iPhone when working through a recipe I think might be worth sharing. Alas... may all life's problems be so small.

First snapshot of the morning. Oh well.

I'm not sure what's with the baking recently -- I usually leave it to the pros, like BonBonerie, my mad-scientist/baking genius little sister, or opt to skip it entirely citing caloric reasons. (You don't believe that, do you?)

Instead of over-analyzing, let's just call this the perfect Sunday morning muffin. It smells like oats and vanilla and cinnamon and love. It's light and a little cakey, comforting somehow when the house is quiet (someone's still curled up in bed & someone else has been at work since dawn), and chases away any reminders that Monday is just around the corner.

PERFECT SUNDAY MORNING OATMEAL MUFFINS
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 c. McCann's quick cooking rolled oats, OR 1 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
1 c. buttermilk, well shaken
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. (1/2 of a stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 c. canola or vegetable oil
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. pecans, roughly chopped (NOTE: If you're a fan of dried fruits, a handful of dried cranberries would work beautifully, too)
Turbinado sugar, or other coarse sugar (I had bourbon vanilla sugar in the pantry -- perfecto!)

Rule #1: Don't disturb the cat.
Rule #2: Please refer to Rule #1.

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine oats, buttermilk, and vanilla. If using old-fashion rolled oats, let mixture soak for 1 hour. If using quick cooking rolled oats, 15 minutes should do the trick.

Preheat the oven to 375, and prepare your baking tin with liners, or by greasing each individual cup.

Add the beaten egg, sugar, butter and oil to the oat mixture, and stir to combine.

In another bowl, sift together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to the oat mixture, stirring just to combine. Gently fold in the chopped pecans, being careful not to overstir.

Divide batter evenly into the 12 muffin tins and sprinkle the top of each muffin with the coarse sugar.

Bake until golden -- about 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cook in the tin for 7-10 minutes. Remove from muffin tin and enjoy paired with the Sunday paper, thick-cut bacon, scrambled eggs and coffee.

Zucchini Cornbread

Farmers are a little edgy this time of year... Have you noticed, too?  There's too many (to pick), too much (to sell), and too little (time) for all that's going bonanza on the vines, giving summer one last go of it before the cooler temperatures settle in.

For example, I was given a pound of zucchini during my most recent trip to the farmers market, despite trying to purchase this particular vendor's rainbow chard. But there it was... that telltale late-summer look of desperation. I graciously thanked him and quickly moved out of the way of the next victim customer in line.

There's countless ways to prepare them -- sautéed, roasted, layered in gratins, marinated and grilled, baked, julienned, and stuffed -- but after a month or two of enjoying the summer squash bounty, it takes a little creativity to keep it interesting.

This whole wheat zucchini cornbread was surprisingly moist and slightly nutty thanks to the browned butter. It's not overly sweet, so was nice with honey (or my latest foodie obsession, the completely indulgent Velvet Bee's Honey Butter) and still savory enough to pair well as-is with that night's chicken fricassee. (It's worth noting that both the flavor & texture were better on day 2 & 3.)

Just one more option for you to consider while the harvest is at its peak. Enjoy!

ZUCCHINI CORNBREAD 
Makes one loaf

Ingredients:

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more to grease pan
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. buttermilk
10 oz. zucchini (1 large zucchini, or several small zucchini; I used both zucchini and summer squash)
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. sugar, heaping (NOTE: The recipe originally calls for 1/2 c. sugar. If you like your cornbread a little sweeter, don't reduce the sugar as I have here). 
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 c. medium-grind cornmeal

Directions:

Position a rack in the middle of your oven, and preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9x5x3 loaf pan.

Melt 1/2 c. butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Continue cooking until butter solids at bottom of the pan turn golden brown, about 3 minutes. Scrape butter into a medium bowl and set aside to cool. Once cooled, whisk in the beaten eggs and buttermilk.

Trim the zucchini ends, and thinly slice five 1/8" round pieces to reserve for garnish.

Coarsely grate the zucchini, and add to the bowl with the butter mixture. Stir to combine.

Sift both flours, sugar, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Whisk in the salt and cornmeal.

Add the zucchini mixture to the bowl of flours, and fold gently to blend. (Do not over-stir! The mixture will be thick). Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top. Garnish with the reserved zucchini slices down the middle of the pan in a single layer.

Bake the bread until golden and a tester comes out clean, 55-65 minutes. Let cool in the pan 10 minutes, and then remove bread from pan to cool completely on a wire rack. From my kitchen to yours...

Recipe adapted from Zucchini Cornbread, Bon Appetit (2011). 

Chocolate-Avocado Mousse

Who knew a Costco membership, a new acquisition upon arriving up north, could bring such joy. Recent favorite pastimes include...

1. The newly experienced thrill of buying in bulk.  
2. Forget the romantic dinner dates of yore -- afternoons spent wandering through Costco are all the rage. What girl wouldn't swoon at her husband's many charms while leisurely pushing a giant cart through skyhigh aisles, rating the day's samples on a sliding scale, and concluding the visit with no less than 40 ounces of frozen yogurt for $1.45. 
   
3. And finally... Avocados en masse.  

Craving something chocolatey on a particularly chilly late-August afternoon, I was faced with a dilemma: The Reed family's nearly famous Chocolate Molten Cakes (those of you who have had CMCs know....) or tackle those very ripe avocados on the counter head-on?

I know what you're thinking: Avocados and chocolate desserts are completely unrelated. But believe me on this one... Being wrong never tasted so right.

Not only could the chocolate-loving hubby not discern any unusual flavors when presented with "chocolate mousse" that evening, I whipped this up for our recent house guests to identical effect. Couple the spot-on taste and texture, not to mention the health benefits of consuming avocados in any form, and I'm convinced we have a winner on our hands.

CHOCOLATE AVOCADO MOUSSE 
(Or Chocolate Mousse with Orange Zest, or Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse, depending on the variation you've chosen and who you're serving this to...)

Ingredients:

1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 1 bar Ghirardelli)
3-4 very ripe avocados (about 8 ounces), pitted and peeled
1/2 c. agave nectar
2/3 c. (heaping) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c. almond milk (more as needed for desired consistency)
2 TBS. vanilla extract
1/2. tsp. kosher salt
Optional: Zest of one orange + 1 TBS. Grand Marnier, plus additional orange zest 
OR  1/4 c. creamy peanut butter 

Directions:

Melt 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips or bar in a double boiler, or in a metal bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

In a food processor, add avocados, melted chocolate, agave nectar, cocoa powder, almond milk, vanilla extract, salt, and orange zest & Grand Marnier, if using.

Blend the ingredients until thick, smooth and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.

If making Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse, add 1/4 c. creamy peanut butter into food processor after you've deemed the mousse silky smooth. Pulse several times, just to combine.

Chill covered in the refrigerator for at least three (3) hours, and overnight if possible. Serve in individual ramekins, garnished with orange zest, chocolate curls, or berries.

Remember, only you have to know what's really in that bowl...

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis' Chocolate-Avocado Mousse and Lori Hiltenbeitel's Avocado Mousse with Orange Zest. Check out Lori's amazing dog-lbs journey after you've perused her recipe!