Peanut Butter Pie

by Sarah

One of my favorite food blogs to read is Ezra Pound Cake (not to be confused with one of my favorite bands Better Than Ezra).  Her recipes are easy to follow, pictures are gorgeous, and food tastes delicious.  Around Father’s Day, she came out with a list of 15 Father’s Day recipes.  Since it was Cary’s first Father’s Day, I told him I would make him any recipe off that list.  Being the discerning person he is, he chose Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie.

Knowing we might have a newborn, I decided to make a few shortcuts.  Particularly, instead of making the black bottom cookie crust, I bought a pre-made Oreo crust at the store.

I made the ganache layer first, boiling 3/4 cup of heavy cream on the stove top.  I added the hot cream to 1 cup of chocolate chips and stirred vigorously.  After reserving about 3 tablespoons, I poured the ganache layer in the bottom of the pie crust.  To firm the ganache layer, the pie went in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Two cups of heavy whipping cream and 1 tablespoon of vanilla was whipped to the soft peak stage in a stand mixer.  Half of the whipped cream was reserved for the topping and the other half of the whipped cream was placed in a bowl to be mixed with the peanut butter layer.

To make the peanut butter layer, 3/4 of a cup of peanut butter and 8 oz of reduced fat cream cheese was creamed in a stand mixer (same bowl as the whipped cream…  no need to clean it out, which is awesome).  A little less than a can of sweetened condensed milk (3/4 of a cup) and 1 tablespoon of vanilla was added to the peanut butter mixture and stirred until homogenous.  Fold in half of the reserved whipped cream and spread over the ganache layer.  Refrigerate the pie for at least an hour.

At this point, our pie was pretty full.  I decided to try to slice a piece of pie and top with whipped cream and chocolate ganache.   Unfortunately, it didn’t slice well…  I don’t know if it was because of the crust or the fact that I used 2 oz of extra cream cheese or reduced fat cream cheese.  There was just something off about the consistency.  According to Cary it tasted great though!

Organic vs Non-Organic Food: A cost analysis

by Sarah

In my other life, I teach chemistry at a small liberal arts university in the Nashville area.  In an attempt to teach critical thinking, my organic class votes on a popular nonfiction science book to read and discuss that involves organic chemistry of some sort.  Here is the list of books they voted on to read:

  • Denialism:  How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet and Threatens our Lives by Michael Specter
  • What Einstein Told His Cook by Robert L. Wolke
  • The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
  • What to Eat by Marion Nestle
  • The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter by Peter Singer and Jim Mason
  • The Same and Not the Same by Roald Hoffman

As most chemists know, organic chemistry is anything that contains carbon and is different from the definition of organic foods.  Where chemistry is applied to food is the controversy of pesticides and genetic modifications.

The first semester, the students voted to read Denialism by Michael Specter, which covers a wide range of topics.  They seemed to be most interested in food judging from their accompanying research papers.  Confirming my suspicion of their interest, the next semester, the students selected  The Way We Eat  by Peter Singer and Jim Mason.

During our discussion of both books, students kept commenting that eating foods that were organic were so much more expensive that eating non organic foods.  What I found interesting was that most of the students didn’t know how much a dozen eggs cost.  While several of our students live in their own apartments, many live on campus and participate in the dining plan.  This summer I decided to do a cost analysis of organic vs. non-organic food to help the discussion next year.

Basically, I took our shopping list and went to Whole Foods, which is relatively close to our home.   I realize that you can obtain certain organic foods cheaper at farmer’s markets, Trader Joe’s, and a CSA (my personal favorite).  However, I wanted to go to a place that I could get meat, vegetables, dairy and some processed foods all in one stop.  Here is what I found.

Whole Foods Store Publix Brand Name Brand
1 pd of Strawberries $2.99 N/A $2.50
1 pint of Raspberries $3.99 N/A $2.99
1 pint of Grape Tomatoes $3.00 N/A $2.99
Cucumber (per pound) $1.69 N/A $1.69
Lentils (per pound) $1.79 $1.09 N/A
Bulgar wheat (per ounce) $0.16 N/A $0.13
Ground Beef (per pound) $6.49 $3.99 N/A
Skirt Steak (per pound) $8.99 $9.99 N/A
Apple Juice (64 ounces) $3.99 $2.99 $2.85
Toasted O’s (per ounce) $0.24 $0.13 $0.26
Instant Oatmeal (per packet) $0.37 $0.14 $0.30
Vegetable Broth (32 ounces) $1.99 $1.99 $2.59
Cane Sugar (per pound) $1.37 $0.58 $0.72
Peanut Butter (per ounce) $0.11 $0.12 $0.10
Strawberry Conserve (per ounce) $0.23 $0.15 $0.24
Mayonnaise $0.18 $0.16 $0.24
Spaghetti Noodles (16 ounces) $1.99 $1.15 $1.21
Pasta Sauce (per ounce) $0.09 $0.10 $0.12
Olive Oil (per ounce) $0.27 $0.26 $0.27
Milk (half gallon) $3.69 $2.09 $3.79

At Whole Foods the total came to $43.62.  The total at Publix using the cheaper option was $35.16.   Overall, I was surprised that certain organic foods like the pasta sauce was cheaper than the other alternatives.  Also, several of Publix store brands like peanut butter and apple juice were more expensive than the name brands.

Pantry Organization

by Sarah

We moved into our new house last October.  Unlike our former residences, we had a pantry (yay!).  I realized pretty quickly we would need an organizational scheme or we would descend into chaos.  I read about a person using rulers painted with chalkboard paint to organize their pantry.  I wish I could remember the link, but alas it was a long time ago.  Unfortunately, after hunting around several craft stores, I couldn’t find wooden rulers that would fit our shelves.  To solve this problem, my dad cut ruler size pieces of wood for me and drilled holes a little smaller than the size of a pencil in both sides.  I painted the wooden slates with chalkboard paint and used ribbon to tie it to the shelves.  Here is how it turned out:

My friend, Dr. Hbar helped me with the organization of the containers to hold the baking supplies.  Please ignore my poor handwriting.

A more accurate description would be cooking liquids, but cooking oils work for us!

We do love our breakfast.

Overall picture of the pantry.

Lentil Salad with Greek Vinaigrette Dressing

by Sarah

One of my grandfather’s specialties is lentil salad.  This is a great side dish or main course, depending on your love for it.  Unfortunately, he hasn’t made it in quite a while because Bulgar wheat has become hard to find in his small town.  When I was checking out the new Whole Foods at Cool Springs, I was very excited to find the wheat and knew immediately what I wanted to cook!

Here is his recipe:

Lentil Salad

  • ¾ cup Bulgar wheat, boiled in 1 ½  cup water for 30 minutes
  • ¾ cup lentils, boiled in 2 cups water for 20 minutes
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 1 small cucumber, diced
  • ¼ cup red onion, chopped
  • 20 – 22 black Kalamata olives, pitted
  • Feta Cheese to taste

We found cracked Bulgar wheat, which lead to a different cooking time.  We boiled the Bulgar wheat for about 10 minutes when all the water was absorbed.  We decided to let it sit for about 20 minutes.  We boiled the lentils for 20 minutes, where they also absorbed most of the water.  We added the lentils to the wheat in a large bowl and waited a few minutes for the mixture to cool.

Once cooled, add tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and olives to the mixture.

At this point, make the Greek Vinaigrette Dressing.

Greek Vinaigrette Dressing

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup water
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon oregano

Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake well.

Pour the Greek vinaigrette dressing over salad mixture and toss.  Refrigerate until cold and serve with crumbled Feta cheese sprinkled over the top.

Joey’s in Brentwood is closing

by Sarah

It is with a heavy heart that we must report that Joey’s in Brentwood is closing.  Joey’s was the first place I could eat after the first trimester and I have enjoyed it immensely through this pregnancy.  Their last day in the current location is June 24th.  Their new location is 897 Elm Hill Pk, which appears to be close to Trevecca University.

In all seriousness, we wish them well in their new location and just maybe they will be open on Saturday so we can come enjoy their fantastic pizza.  No news on the grand opening date.  Apparently, there will be an announcement on their facebook page, which I couldn’t find.  Anyone have better luck?

Mocha Crinkle Cookies

by Sarah

Our favorite cookie from the Puffy Muffin is the Mocha Crinkle Cookie.  Last Christmas, Cary bought me the Puffy Muffin cookbook, which has many lovely recipes.  Unfortunately, the Mocha Crinkle Cookie recipe was not included.  We searched on the internet for different recipes, finding two types.  One recipe called for black pepper, which was interesting.  I’m fairly sensitive to black pepper, so I was pretty sure it was not in Puffy Muffin’s cookies.  The other recipe from Betty Crocker seemed more appropriate, but was lacking the mocha portion.  So, I adapted the recipe just a tad to try to create the cookies we love.

The ingredients I used are as follows:

  • 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
  • 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted according to directions
  • 2 cups of granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 heaping Tbsp of instant espresso powder
  • 1 cup of powdered sugar

Using a stand mixer (or large bowl and hand mixer), combine the oil, melted chocolate, sugar and vanilla.  Mix in the eggs one at a time.  Carefully, add the flour.  I got a little over zealous and subsequently spent quite a bit of time cleaning flour from my counter tops.  Stir in the baking powder, salt and espresso powder.  Chill the dough for at least two hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°C.  Even after chilling the dough, it is going to be pretty sticky.  Drop a spoon full into the powdered sugar and roll into a ball.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 11 minutes.

These cookies turned out a little lighter in color than Puffy Muffin’s and the espresso flavor was a little strong.   While these were delicious, next time I think I’ll try dark chocolate and less espresso.

Loveless Cafe

by Sarah

On one of our very first dates, we went to the Loveless Cafe.  As we wait for our little forker to come along, we wanted to revisit it sans child.

The meal started with all you can eat buttery biscuits, served with blackberry, strawberry and apricot jam.  The biscuits are light and just about melt in your mouth.  They are not the ginormous size we’ve gotten used to, but just the right size for that one drizzle of honey or spread of butter or bit of jam.

The country fried steak was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the gravy was nice and creamy with a  little bit of pepper to it, and the biscuits worked great to sop up the last bits of egg and gravy.

The country ham was chewy but not tough.  The salt wasn’t overwhelming, but the ham had a very strong taste.  The acidity of the red-eye gravy was a nice accompaniment as it did cut the strength of the taste.

The waffle was hot, chewy and not too sweet.  The bacon was cooked to perfection… not too soggy, not to crisp.  Surprisingly this is hard to find.  The cheese grits were a little overwhelming to the point I couldn’t really eat them.  The sharp cheddar was more of a main ingredient than an accompaniment to accent the flavor.

The Loveless is an experience in itself with all sorts of little shops to browse through.  This is great, as the wait when we got there was two hours.  Luckily, we called ahead and our wait was only 20 minutes.  The food was definitely worth the wait!

The Loveless Cafe
8400 Hwy 100
Nashville, TN 37221

Loveless Cafe on Urbanspoon

Shish Kabob

by Sarah

Recently one Friday night, Cary and I were craving Persian.  A quick trip down Nolensville Road brought us to Shish Kabob.

The meal began with a slightly spicy, peppery soup with a slight hint of chicken broth.  Even if the soup isn’t what you feel like at the time, it’s good to soak up with some of the tasty bread.

The meal also started with some bitter herbs, feta cheese and pita bread.  We wrapped the bitter herb and feta in a butter piece of pita.  It was delicious.

The falafel wasn’t prepared in a rolled up ball like most presentations, but rather sort of as a disk, leaving the edges to be crispy, but the center still featuring plenty of soft, seasoned filling.

The Sultani platter featured a skewer of barg and a skewer of Kubideh.  Both were very well seasoned.  The barg had hints of onion and olive oil and was very tender.  The Kubideh was lightly seasoned, but the texture of the ground meat mixed well with the tomato.  It was also very good wrapped in pieces of the pita.

The Baklava was a bit dry on the top, but once you got down to the center and lower parts of the pastry, it was like a chewy, piece of honey and pistachio flavored candy.

We found Shish Kabob to be a delightful spot for dinner.

Shish Kabob
4651 Nolensville Pike
Nashville, TN 37211

Shish Kabob on Urbanspoon

Take One: Swiss Chard

by Sarah

Here’s our confession:  we’ve never had Swiss chard.  We were delighted to find it in our weekly CSA.  Since we had no background in this particular vegetable, a quick search led us to this recipe.  We had everything on hand so we made it as a side dish to omelets. We did modify the recipe to taste just a bit.

Here are the lovely ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp of butter
  • 2 Tbsp of olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp of minced garlic
  • 2 Tbsp of diced onions
  • 4 cups of Swiss chard
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 2 Tbsp of lemon juice
  • Parmesan cheese and salt to taste

Separate the center stems and the leaves and chop.  Saute the butter, olive oil, garlic and onions until the onions and garlic are soft.  Add a dash of the white wine and the stems.  Saute for about 5 minutes until the stems soften.  Add the leaves and cook until wilted.  Add the lemon juice, Parmesan cheese and salt.  Enjoy!

First CSA box from Avalon Acres

by Sarah

It’s that time of year again!  We picked up our first CSA today and couldn’t be more excited.  Just like last year, we decided to take pictures and show off what was in our CSA.

Beautiful ripe strawberries.

Onions… One of the reasons we love our CSA is because it helps us branch out and try new vegetables.

Speaking of new vegetables, just like last year we got some beautiful greens.  One thing we don’t do very well is identify the greens….  Any ideas on this one?

Here is a close up of the leaf…

We believe this is Romaine lettuce.

Any ideas on this one?

We also got a lovely Kohlrabi, which Apollo really loves.

We were so excited about our farm fresh eggs that we had omelets for dinner.  How fresh are the eggs?  Well, we actually found a feather on one of them.

We also get a meat share (Yoder Farms ground beef), which I did not take a picture of.  So, I will leave you with a picture of Apollo.

If you haven’t ever tried a CSA, I encourage you to give it a go.  We are very happy with the quality of products from Avalon Acres and highly recommend them!