Spring Vegetable Pasta

I shot these photos for Eat Boutique for this Spring Vegetable Pasta a couple of months back using handmade whole wheat pasta from Sfoglini Specialty Pasta in Brooklyn, NY.  We are quickly approaching summer, which means tomato season will be here soon and this dish is perfect; toss in whatever vegetables you have on hand. Click through to see the recipe, more about the maker and more photos. 

Steel Cut Oatmeal & Blueberry Muffins

A few weeks ago I was cleaning off my desktop and going through lots and lots of old photos.  The realization that I primarily shoot everything on a stark white background became very apparent.  When I set out to make these muffins I knew I wanted to try photographing them against a dark backdrop.  I have a big piece of plywood that's been painted with chalkboard paint that I usually use for a semi-dark background (see here).

As these muffins were baking I was shooting a couple of test set ups.  The best setup I found was propping up a poster board and draping a black maxi dress over it (it was the only black cloth I could find in the whole apartment). It ended up working great! I'm super happy with the results and excited to start playing around with dark photos.  I will definitely have to go buy a square of black fabric to use instead though, as I was so nervous the whole time about getting food on my dress (it costs $2 a load to do laundry in our building so I'm not trying to spend $4 in quarters on washing blueberry juice out of my dress)

My brother gave me this cute mini cake stand for Christmas and I have yet to use it so I decided to make muffins.  We also had an abundance of blueberries in our fridge this week. As I was thinking about the muffins I wanted to make I knew I wanted them to be 'healthy' muffins. Something you feel good about eating in the morning for breakfast and that aren't full of sugar.  After reading some articles about sugar being 'toxic' and all the serious health problems it can lead to I've been trying to keep a watchful eye on my intake.  Sugar is literally in everything and trying to reduce my intake has been a challenge, especially since I'm a candy fanatic.  The only added sugar here, besides the sugar contained in the milk and fruit, is the maple syrup and even with the addition of the syrup the muffins only come out with 8g of sugar per muffin.  The oatmeal helps bulk them up and give them a nice chewy texture, the banana makes them moist and the blueberries add that hit of sweet and tart.

Steel Cut Oatmeal & Blueberry Muffins
lightly adapted from Recipes for Health

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup mashed banana (about one banana.  Alternatively, you could use 2 eggs)
• 1 1/3 cup milk (I used 1%)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup cooked steel cut oats
• 1 cup blueberries

1. Mix whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Mix banana, milk and syrup together.  Add to the dry ingredients. Stir until just mixed.
3. Fold in cooked oats and blueberries.
4. Cook for 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 12 muffins. 

Vintage Recipes: Grapefruit Coconut Cake

Here is the second installment in the vintage recipe series I'm doing for Eat Boutique.  The first recipe was a blueberry buckle inspired by my grandmother's.  This recipe's inspiration came from the fact that we are in the middle of citrus season and I love the pairing of citrus and coconut. And also that I am obsessed with every shade and variation of light pink/grapefruit :)

The original recipe was made from a box mix with many 'fake' additions so I revamped it to make it all from scratch.  The result was a sweet and tart cake, a nice addition to a sunny winter afternoon when you are longing for spring days.  Click on over to Eat Boutique to see the recipe + post!

Vintage Recipes: Blueberry Buckle

I stumbled upon this Blueberry Buckle recipe when I was flipping through a vintage cookbook from my grandma.  I updated the recipe a little and making it brought back some childhood recipes.  Click on over to Eat Boutique to see the whole post and the recipe.

Lavender Honey Bunches

I awoke this morning to sunshine streaming through the windows directly in to my eyes. I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head and heard the distant sound of birds chirping. As I hit snooze on my alarm for the third time I almost forgot that we are in the dead of winter.  That was until I had to emerge from my nest of pillows and sheets.  My feet hit the floor and it was freezing and I immediately pulled on the two sweaters and fuzzy socks that were sitting at the foot of the bed.

We've had snow, rain, and below freezing temperatures recently. We also had a day and a half of temperatures in the high 50's.  This, in addition to a 48 hour trip to Florida over New Year's, has left me longing for spring days, floral dresses, and more sunshine. So as I was swirling honey in to my tea this morning I decided to make these (and paint my nails a lavender hue) as a homage to spring. I was gifted some lovely lavender on that recent trip to Florida and this recipe looked so simple and good.  Spring, please hurry and allow sunlight to once again warm my skin.

Lavender Honey Bunches
makes about 24; from Purple Haze

• 3 cups quick oats
• 2 cups flaked coconut
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tsp dried lavender

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine oats, coconuts and flour in a large mixing bowl.
3. Bring brown sugar, butter, honey and lavender to a boil in a medium saucepan.
4. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients, stirring to combine. 
5. Drop dough by spoonful in to greased muffin tins.
6. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden. Allow to cool in tins for 15 minutes. 

Cinnamon Chip Snowballs

Well, time got away from me there for about a month. Between dwindling daylight hours and a lack of enthusiasm after working marathon work weeks there hasn't been much thought to photographing after cooking or baking. There has still been lots of it, just not well documented. I've missed the camera but I think I'm back at it.

October ended with a weekend of friends, pizza, and pumpkin carving and last minute costumes for a Halloween party.  November then rolled in and weekends were full of being at work or being out of town on the occasion that there was no work. We went to Woods Hole in Cape Cod fin early November and virtually had the whole place to ourselves.  We took a long, dark drive there on a Friday night where we found ourselves situated in a corner room with a king sized bed. We awoke to sunshine and views of the ocean and spent the next two days bundling up, exploring, drinking margaritas, relaxing and ending it all with a 16 mile winding bike ride along the southern part of Cape Cod.

November Instagrams (@michellekmartin)

Thanksgiving came and went and was full of family and delicious food and now we are officially in the second week of December and we still don't have a Christmas tree but it's on the agenda for this weekend (hopefully!)

In the meantime, to get in the spirit of Christmas without having the time to fully decorate I've made these snowball cookies. The cookies have just a few ingredients and they are perfect to make them in to whatever you'd like based on preferences or simply whatever's in your pantry. I used these cookies as an opportunity to clean out the last of a few baking odds and ends. Whatever add ins you choose to use, these cookies turn out as festive little bites.

Cinnamon Chip Snowballs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 cup nuts (I used 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup slivered almonds)
• 1 cup chips (I used 1/2 cup cinnamon chips and 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks)

1. Beat together vanilla, water, sugar, and butter. Once well combined add in the flour.
2. Fold in nuts and chips
3. Form in to 1 inch balls and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad

Just as I get excited to wear a favorite sweater or winter dress when the weather turns cool, I get excited to start eating all the veggies and fruits that aren't abundantly available during spring & summer.  Brussels sprouts undoubtedly have a bad reputation, but I feel that they are slowly shaking that off as the word gets out that they are delicious either roasted or sauteed (never boiled or steamed!).  The pairing of sauteed brussels sprouts with bacon is a good one.  It's a reappearing combination on this pizza that was made multiple times last winter.   It's a combination of crunchy and crisp and just salty enough.

This was one of those combinations that came out of the blue.  A sort of make it up as you go, as most salads tend to be.  I love shredded raw brussels sprouts salad  with parmesan and dressing in a wrap in the summer, and the combination was even more delicious heated through.  The addition of the roasted pear simply happened because 1.  I love pear in salads and 2.  The red pears looked so pretty when I saw them.

This salad is easy and can serve either four as a side or two as a main dish.  And, of course, can be made vegetarian by not using the bacon.  In addition, feel free to substitute any of your favorite fall fruits for the pear.

Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad
serves 4 as a side, 2 as a main dish

• Olive oil
• 6 pieces of bacon, chopped in to bite size pieces
• 2 lbs brussels sprouts, shredded
• 2 pears, halved
• Herbs of your choice
• Shaved parmesan cheese
• Balsamic glaze or reduction (make your own!)

1. Half your pears and drizzle some olive oil on top.  Sprinkle with herbs of your choice.  Bake about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
2. Heat some oil in a pan.  Add bacon and let cook until getting crispy.  Add in shredded brussels sprouts and continue to cook for about 5-10 minutes, stirring. Salt to taste
3. Serve one half of a pear over a bed of brussels sprouts and bacon mixture.  Top with shaved parmesan and a drizzle of balsamic.

Simple Bean Salad

A couple weeks back I took photos of this gorgeous and delicious Simple Bean Salad.  Molly Shuster wrote up a great post about using dried beans and the maker behind these ones. Head over to Eat Boutique to see it!

Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Cookies

The idea for these cookies began while I was staring at a bag of hazelnuts that's been sitting in the pantry for about 6 months.  They were bought and used in a couple of recipes but we discovered maybe we don't like hazelnuts.  At least not as raw nuts by themself. Nutella is probably the one hazelnut based thing that I like, and probably so much so because it's paired with chocolate.  Anyway, these cookies were inspired by that bag of hazelnuts that had no use and a love of Nutella.  

The hazelnuts were toasted and ground into a meal that was used, along with whole wheat pastry flour, as the base of the cookie.  A few simple other ingredients and these cookies turned out perfect.  They remind me of the chocolate chip cookies my mom makes, which are perfect every time, but these have that little something different.  Next time you are thinking of chocolate chip cookies - give these ones a try. 

They bake up tiny, perfectly nutty, and loaded with dark chocolate.  I made them on a recent day off and they were the exact thing that a dreary and rainy week day needed-the smell of toasted nuts and butter wafting through the apartment. 

Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Cookies

adapted from Nestle Toll House recipe

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup hazelnut meal
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 egg & 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1. To make hazelnut meal: toast one cup of hazelnuts in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them as you don't want them to burn.  Once they are toasted, remove, and place in a dish towel to remove skins.  It's okay if some of the skins are left on.  Once you have removed the skins place hazelnuts in a food processor and process until they have a flour/meal like consistency.  Be careful not to over process as it will start to turn into hazelnut butter. 
2. Brown your butter.  Place butter in a pan over med-high heat, stirring occasionally until you begin to see small brown flecks and it gives off a nutty aroma; approximately 10-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. Whisk together flours, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
4. Once butter has cooled whisk together with sugar in a mixing bowl.  Add eggs and vanilla extract.  
5. Once all your wet ingredients are mixed, add your dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Roll dough into one inch balls and bake at 350 for about 7 minutes.  

Apple Picking & Rustic Apple Cake

After spending a relaxing weekend in Connecticut with family and friends, Monday hit hard. You know those days where your mind just won't quit. Churning over thought after thought about what you are doing with your life until it works you in to a panic?   You know you are being over exaggerative about it all but you can't just tell your brain to turn off. The answer to these days for me is to pause for a moment, take a deep breath, and focus on something simple.  

A huge bag of apples from apple picking over the weekend sat on the kitchen counter.  I knew the way to keep all my anxieties at bay for the moment was to get in the kitchen and concentrate on something else.  Each year my family goes apple picking at Belltown Hill Orchards.  

You can pick all you want and we usually leave with more apples than could ever be eaten or baked before we end up getting tired of them.  

It's an activity I look forward to each Fall and, as an added bonus, you get to eat apple fritters after you've picked your apples.  

The cake batter is simple, replacing butter with oil and just slightly laced with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.  I had a small batch of homemade amaretto which I allowed the apples to soak in while I prepared the cake batter. Walnuts stud the top of the cake and the whole thing comes together practically effortlessly.  

Rustic Apple Cake

adapted from Joy of Baking

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3-4 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons Amaretto
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup lowfat milk
• big pinch of both cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• confectioner's sugar to sprinkle on top

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel and slice apples.  Place in a bowl with Amaretto and let sit while you prepare the batter. 
3. Beat eggs and sugar together for 2 minutes (I did this by hand, you can also use an electric mixer)
4. Stir in oil and vanilla
5. Stir in flour and baking powder
6. Stir in milk
7. Add the apples to your batter, mixing to allow the batter to coat the slices.  Pour batter into a well greased 9-inch round pan. Sprinkle walnuts on top
8. Place in oven and allow to cook 45-55 minutes, or until turning golden and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, top with confectioner's sugar and enjoy!

homemade veggie burgers

These burgers were one of the easiest things to make.  The above pictures show pretty much all the ingredients involved.  

I'd imagine that these burgers are a pretty good base for pretty much any combinations of flavors, I was tempted to use curry instead of cumin, but I've been on a curry kick lately so I am trying not to over do it. 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Veggie Burgers

makes about 8 patties

1.5 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

2 medium sweet potatoes, baked 

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

fresh cilantro, chopped

2 tsp maple syrup

1/4 cup flour

breadcrumbs

Oven to 375.  

1. Pierce sweet potatoes several times and bake for 45 minutes, or until tender.  Once baked, scoop the flesh out and put into a mixing bowl.  

2. Add the black beans to the sweet potato and mash them together, leaving slightly chunky.  

3.  Mix in cumin, cayenne, cilantro, maple syrup, and flour.  Mix together well so that all the ingredients get distributed throughout. 

4.  Form into patties, coat with breadcrumbs.

5.  If eating immediately, heat oil in a small pan.  Place patty in and cook for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown.  If not enjoying immediately, freeze patties for later.

6.  Top with desired toppings and enjoy!