Parmesan Roasted Winter Radishes

Winter vegetables certainly aren't sexy. Hitting up the farmers market on a cold day in mid-January can be disappointing. There is no rainbow of fresh tomatoes of every shape and size, gone are the tender strawberries or raspberries bursting with sweet juice, no rows of sweet corn awaiting melted butter and coarse salt, and don't even mention the word peach, I won't be able to even look at one for at least 8 more months when I get to bite into this handful of sunshine.

Over the past few years however, I have tried to embrace the winter months and the produce available, to accept it for what it is. This recipe that I created was just what I needed to embrace a variety of winter radishes that I picked up recently. I had a mix of rainbow and black radishes and wasn't sure what to do with them. I figured that butter and cheese will make just about anything good so that's the direction I went. I was very happy with the results. The caramelized radishes with their intrinsic bitterness mixed with a little richness from the butter, saltiness from the cheese and sweetness from the honey is a lovely combination to help this under-appreciated vegetable shine. 

If you've never tried a winter radish I urge you to at least give it a chance. They do have a strong flavor and a bit of a sulfur-y smell but don't let that turn you off. They are delicious, healthy and unique. Not the same old boring vegetables week after week. Expand your horizens, try something new!

Parmesan Roasted Winter Radishes
From Delectably Mine
Ingredients

• 6 medium sized winter radishes (I used a mix of black radishes and watermelon radishes)
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 2-3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Plenty of kosher salt

Directions
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees with a sheet pan inside. Meanwhile, slice the top and bottom off of each radish, cut in half length wise, and then cut each half into 3 or 4 wedges. Place all of the wedges in a large bowl and drizzle with the olive oil, and sprinkle with plenty of coarse salt. Mix until everything is well coated.

Remove the preheated baking sheet from the oven. Line the sheet with foil. Transfer the radishes to the baking sheet and spread out into an even layer. Place baking sheet in the oven and roast the radishes for approximately 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking. 

Once radishes are nicely brown and have just a bit of texture left, remove from oven and transfer to a large bowl. Add the butter, honey and cheese to the still hot radishes and mix it all together until the butter is all melted and everything is evenly coated. Serve warm, or at room temperature. 

Butternut Squash Chicken Soup with Winter Greens

It may be cliche, but with the new year in full swing, all of the Christmas decorations put away, and a freshly cleaned house, I am also in the mood for a fresh and healthy start to the year. I had a week off over the new year, and I got inspired by the book, The Magic Act of Tidying Up. I had heard of this book, but didn't really know what it was all about. I randomly started listening to the audiobook and got sucked into the world of "tidying". I went through my apartment and did some extensive purging, rearranging and cleaning. I brought two very large boxes to my local resale shop, and brought many bags of trash out to the trashcan. It's amazing how much stuff one person living in one small apartment can accumulate. If anyone is wanting a little motivation to really get down into the nitty gritty of cleaning and purging your house I highly recommend this book. I would never have thought that a book on cleaning would inspire me so much, but it did and now I feel so good. My apartment feels light and fresh, and amazingly, so does my mind!

One of my first meals of 2018 went along with the theme of starting the new year on a light and fresh note. This light and healthy butternut squash chicken soup was a good way to clean some things out of my fridge and freezer, as well as feel good about what I'm putting into my body. A leftover chicken thigh and roasted onions, homemade turkey stock from Thanksgiving, roasted butternut squash from earlier in the week, and some fresh greens from the farmer's market all combined to create a lovely leftover lunch. I didn't follow any recipe, or write down any measurements, just threw everything into the pot and let it simmer and it was perfect. 

Homemade chicken soup does not have to be intimidating nor difficult. When making a simple soup such as this I recommend you look for the best ingredients you can find. Please don't use a cheap can of chicken stock from the grocery store to make chicken soup, you will be disappointed. Either make your own (which is what I always recommend, it's not difficult at all!), or search out some really good store-bought stock or broth. Check labels and make sure the ingredients look decent, it won't be even close to as good as homemade, but it will work in a pinch. 

Other than the stock, you really only need some aromatics - onion, celery, carrot, maybe a little garlic, white wine, miso paste, white wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Whatever combo sounds good to you. Saute' all that up with a little olive oil or butter, add in your stock and chicken or turkey, maybe some white beans, butternut squash as I did here, or even pasta. Finish with some fresh greens, kale or spinach are good options. Here I used some amazingly fresh and delicious local Asian greens. I can't remember the name, but it was so good. 

Easy Sourdough Loaf

With the craziness of the holidays now pretty much over (after tonight anyway), it's back to real normal, everyday life. For me, this includes getting back to the basics with simple, wholesome food. I've had my fair share of sugar over the past many weeks and I'm ready to reset and restart in 2018. 

It's been a cold couple of weeks here in West Michigan. As I write this it's 4 degrees out and snow continues to fall. It's beautiful. In this kind of weather a thick slice of hearty toast topped with soft scrambled eggs, a few thick slices of melted cheese, or a generous helping of peanut or almond butter sounds just about perfect. A slice of this bread is just the right for this type of occasion. It's made with simple and basic ingredients, nothing crazy, nothing strange, just good food. It doesn't get much better than that. 

For this recipe, I adapted another sourdough recipe that's also posted on my blog; just changing it a little to make it a more useful recipe for me on a daily basis. I added commercial yeast instead of relying solely on wild yeast for the rise, and cut the recipe in half because as a single person, it takes me quite a while to go through two full loaves of bread. These adaptations worked beautifully and gave me a tall and fluffy loaf, perfect for just about everything. 

Easy Sourdough Loaf
Adapted from Soft Sandwich Sourdough
Ingredients

• 311 grams flour
• 160 grams water
• 8 grams salt
• 32.5 grams butter, room temperature
• 15 grams honey
• 205 grams starter
• 1.25 teaspoons instant yeast

Directions
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine all of the ingredients except about 10% of the water. Mix in low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, adjusting the water as needed to achieve a medium dough consistency (you may need additional water). Continue mixing to in medium speed to a medium-high level of gluten development.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. 

Turn the dough into a lightly floured counter. Shape into a cylinder and let rest, covered, for about 25 minutes. Generously butter a 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan. Shape the dough tightly into blunt batards and place it, seam-side-down, into the prepared pan. Proof, covered, for 1 hour, or until the top of the dough has risen to about 1.5 inches above the edge of the pan.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven, with baking stone, to 425F. Once you are ready to bake, place loaves in the oven, reduce the temperature to 400F. Bake for 25 minutes. Then remove the loaf from the pan, place directly on the stone, and bake for another 15 minutes or so, until the crust is a deep golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a blessed day yesterday. It was s a beautiful white Christmas here in Michigan, we couldn't have asked for better. It truly felt like the story book Christmas. While I unfortunately had to work all day at the hospital yesterday, I am thankful that I am working at the hospital, and not admitted to the hospital myself. With Christmas music playing in the workroom, and the snow falling gently outside, it really wasn't too bad! I made the rest of the team breakfast for Christmas morning. Broccoli cheddar quiche, and coffee break muffins. Lara brought in a baked oatmeal and we all enjoyed a festive and delicious breakfast before getting to work!

Thankfully, I was able to do a lot of baking and cooking for the holidays this year. First, Lara and I made Christmas cookies to give away to friends and co-workers. We decided on a trio of delicate snowflake Linzer cookies, thick and fruity stollen bars, and our yearly extra chewy molasses cookies (<-- these things are amazing! They may not look super exciting, but they are the best molasses cookies I have ever had!). We bagged those up a few weeks ago to get into the holiday spirit.

Next, the annual decorated sugar cookies. We decided on cute little owls, snowy Christmas trees, and simple holiday words. They turned out super cute! Lara did most of the actual decorating as usual, and of course did a wonderful job! These were snacked on all weekend long by family, friends and coworkers. 

We celebrated Christmas with the whole extended family in Holland on the water this year on the 23rd. It was a great turn out. Most of the family could make it from all areas of the country! We had a wonderful time eating and talking and just enjoying the day all together. 

Grandpa and grandma got into the Christmas spirit! Looking good!

And finally - Christmas day, at the hospital. Merry Christmas from the whole family medicine team!

If I had to work the holiday, at least it was with this great group of people!

Peppermint Cheesecake

I can't believe that I have been blogging for so long and have not yet posted one cheesecake!! I do have a red velvet cheesecake cake, but no true cheesecake. Well considered this problem officially fixed today! Here is my first official cheesecake post, and it is a great one. My work had a work Christmas party a few weeks ago which included ugly sweaters, white elephant gifts, all that fun stuff. Obviously my first question is - what's to eat? It was potluck time, it was requested that everyone bring an appetizer or a dessert. This year it was time; Cheesecake time. 

I had stumbled across a cheesecake a few weeks earlier that for whatever reason had just caught my eye. On a whim I decided to just go for it. I went to the store and picked up cream cheese, ricotta, Oreos and candy canes and I am so glad I did. This cheesecake was so simple and turned out delicious. Creamy and light and silky smooth. A winner all around. 

The original recipe included a graham cracker crust and was topped with fresh strawberries. Since it's December that wasn't quite right. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but as I was walking through the aisles at the grocery store my eyes caught on a package of peppermint Oreos and I knew what I was going to create - an Oreo peppermint cheesecake. I swapped out the graham crackers for peppermint Oreos, and added a hint of peppermint extract to the filling and voila! The perfect Christmas cheesecake was born! 

Peppermint Cheesecake
Cheesecake Adapted from Lil cookie
Crust adapted from Crazy for Crust
Ingredients
For the crust:

• 25 mint creme Oreos
• 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces) butter, melted

For the filling:

• 2 8-ounce packages (450 grams) cream cheese
• 1 16-ounce (450 grams) whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup (35 grams) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs

For coating:

• 1 8-ounce container sour cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions
For the crust: preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch springform pan with aluminum foil (alternatively, you can use a 9 inch, tall sided cake pan with removable bottom). 
In a food processor with a steel blade, process the Oreos until crushed into small bits. Add melted butter and process until combined and the mixture is damp and cohesive. 

Press the moist crumbs to the bottom and the sides of the pan and bake for about 10 minutes. (I found it easiest to do this with a metal measuring cup.) Cool for a few minutes at room temperature. Turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees. 

Meanwhile, make the cheese filling: Wipe the bowl of the food processor clean. Add the cream cheese, ricotta, sugar, peppermint extract, vanilla and salt and process until well combined. Add the eggs one by one, processing between additions until well incorporated. Add the flour and pulse a few times until the flour is incorporated into the filling.

Pour the cheese filling into the baked crust. Place cheesecake in the now 325 degree oven and bake for 60-70 minutes or until the cake is golden, a bit swollen and slightly vibrating in the center. Remove from the oven, turn the oven off, and let the cheesecake cool for about 10 minutes at room temperature.

While the cheesecake is baking prepare the coating: in a small bowl, mix sour cream, sugar and vanilla to a uniform mixture. Once the cheesecake has cooled about 10 minutes, pour the sour cream coating on top of the cake and return to the still-hot (but turned off) oven for 5-6 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool completely at room temperature before refrigerating it for at least 7-8 hours (preferably overnight).

Banana Rye Muffins

Is there such thing as too many banana bread recipes? Not in my book! Here it is - a perfectly simple and wholesome banana muffin recipe. Not fancy, but oh so good. Perfect with my morning coffee. I decided to switch things up a bit by mixing whole wheat and rye flours, as well as some whole oats for chew. Of course I had to add a little chocolate for a few pockets of sweetness. They baked up beautifully, and I have been enjoying them all week, I'm sure you will too!

Banana Rye Muffins
Adapted from Broma Bakery
Ingredients

• 2 extra ripe bananas (approximately 200 grams, or 1-1.25 cups)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) butter
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) olive oil
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) plain Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (120 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1/2 (60 grams) rye flour
• 1/2 cup (40 grams) old fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chunks

Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 10 muffin tins with muffin liners, spray with non-stick baking spray, and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk mashed banana, eggs, brown sugar, butter, oil, yogurt and vanilla extract until well combined.

Use a spatula to fold in both flours, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, mixing until combined. Fold chocolate in during the last few strokes of mixing.

Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins, they will be about 3/4 full. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then turn oven down to 375°F and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle has a few moist crumbs clinging to it, don't overbake as the end result will be dry. Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

Thanksgiving 2017

I love Thanksgiving. The food, getting together with family, cooking and baking, eating and talking, even the football watching. It's all so festive and lovely. My favorite part is probably the weeks leading up to the big Thursday, thinking of a menu, trying to come up with the right blend of tradition and innovation. My family and I don't see eye to eye on this so it can be challenging to come up with food to please everyone, but I do feel like this year was a pretty decent success. 
 

Here's the menu: 

Balsamic Glazed and Lacquered Turkey
(adapted from Bon Appetit, year 3 for this baby and still a winner! This time
replaced the sherry vinegar with balsamic and [accidentally] doubled
the sugar, a happy mistake!)

Pan roasted brussel sprouts with cracked wheat berries and tahini dressing
(adapted from Plenty More by Yotam Ottolehghi - replaced the green
beans for something more seasonal)

Spicy greens salad with roasted golden cauliflower, fresh mozzarella and candied lemon peel
(also adapted from Plenty More, this time replaced the artichoke
hearts with the cauliflower)

Marbled pumpkin and chocolate bundt cake with chocolate glaze and hazelnuts
(From The Pastry Affair)

Fresh cranberry sauce with orange zest
 

There were a few additional dishes from other family members (Thanks everyone) to round out the meal. These included sourdough and brown sugar stuffed pumpkins, jello salad, and great grandma's fudge. All in all a fantastic meal!

Leftovers! Such a wonderful thing! Fresh salads with Turkey and miso noodle soup garnished with fresh cilantro. 

On the final day of the Thanksgiving weekend, Lara and I drove up north to Cedar Springs where I finally got to cut down my very own Christmas tree - something I've always wanted to do! Lara had met a new couple through church friends a few weeks earlier, and they started talking about her parent's Christmas Tree Farm so of course we had to go check it out. Red Flannel Tree Farm is the cutest, most picturesque place to cut down a Christmas tree that you can imagine. They have horse drawn wagons (or sleighs [!] if it's snowing, I was jealous!) to take you out to the trees. They had a wonderful variety of pines and firs of all sizes and shapes. They then have a barn full of old farm paraphernalia, some of which is for sale, and free hot chocolate to warm up with after cutting down your tree. They also have tree stands and some wreaths and other decor for sale. I had an absolute blast and want to go back and do it all over again! They're only open 3 weekends and said the trees were going extra fast this year so I'm glad I headed up to finally get the experience I've been wanting for a long time. 

With a tiny apartment, you only need a tiny tree!!

Start sawing...

...keep going...

The perfect tree for me, a concolor fir

Success!!

Lara got one too!

New friends, Chevy and Ford

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 

French Apple Tart

I had the opportunity to celebrate my very first friendsgiving this weekend and I had such a good time! Any excuse to get together with friends and celebrate is a good idea in my book. I got together at my friend Lindsay's condo to eat good food, have great conversation, and just enjoy being together before the busyness of the holiday season really picks up steam. We had a lovely meal, the main event being one of my all-time favorites, roasted chicken with clementines and fennel. Of course I had to make a dessert, and I decided to try my hand at a simple and elegant French Apple Tart. seasonal and beautiful in an understated way. It was the perfect way to end such a wonderful meal. 

Of course I had to use local Jonagold apples from my favorite stand at the farmers market and they were perfect. The whole thing came together quite easily, and was fun to arrange. I made a frangipane to place under the apples which I think was a nice touch, but you can certainly make this without. Whatever you decide, apples, butter and sugar are always going to be a winning combination. 

French Apple Tart
Adapted from Alexandra Cooks
Ingredients
Pate Brisee

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled, divided
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 3-4 tablespoons ice water

Tart

• 5 to 7 apples, peeled, cored, and halved (I used jonagold, but really any apple will do)
• 2-4 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter

Frangipane

• 3/4 cup almonds
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
• 1 small egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla, rum, brandy or bourbon

For finishing:

• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Instructions
Making the pastry: Combine flour, sugar, 8 tbsp. butter, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until pea­-size crumbles form, about 10 pulses. Drizzle in 3 tbsp. ice­-cold water and pulse until dough is moistened, about 3 to 4 pulses. (Do not pulse so much that the dough forms a mass — It will clump together when you form it into a disk.) Add more water if needed, but use as little as possible, just until the dough is just coming together. If you add too much water it will be tough and will shrink when baking. Transfer dough to a work surface and form into a flat disk; wrap it in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to three days. When ready to use, transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, flatten dough into a 13″ circle and then transfer to a tart pan with a removable bottom; trim edges; chill for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile make frangipane: add all ingredients to a food processor and process until comes together into a smooth mass. This may take a little time and require some scraping down the sides of the food processor from time to time. Be patient and it will eventually come together. 

When ready to bake; heat oven to 375º. Spread a thin layer (about 2 tablespoons) of frangipane across the bottom surface of your tart shell. Working with one apple half at a time, thinly slice into sections, keeping slices together. Press sliced apple half gently to fan it out; repeat with remaining apple halves. Place 1 fanned apple half on outer edge of the tart dough, pointing inward; repeat with 7 more apple halves (or as many as you are able to fit — with a smaller tart pan, you won't be able to fit as many). Separate remaining apple slices. Starting where the apple halves touch and working your way in, layer apples to create a tight rose pattern. Fill in any gaps with remaining apple.

Sprinkle with sugar and dot with remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Place in the oven (I recommend placing a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil underneath the tart to catch any dripping butter that may otherwise fall to the bottom of the oven and burn) and bake until golden brown, about 70 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from pan and carefully transferring to serving platter.