Monthly Archives: February 2018

Porkchops and Applesauce…okay just applesauce

February 11, 2018

Did you guys ever watch the Brady Bunch as a kid?  Do you remember the episode where Peter starts imitating Humphrey Bogart and telling everyone they were having ‘Porkchops and applesauce” for dinner?  Click here to see what I am talking about.  LOL.

Have your ever had pork chops and applesauce?  I never have.  Is it a good pairing?  My mom just slow braised pork chops in lemon juice and white wine and oregano until fall apart tender.  But that’s not what this blog post is about!  I can fill 100 blog posts about all the things my Greek-American girlfriends and I never tried as children that all of our regular American friends indulged in.  You have never heard so many sad tales of “I never got to order off the kids menu as a child, I had to have a t-bone steak!”  Can you imagine?  A 5 year old with a t-bone steak in front of her?  Yeah, that was me.  FWP (first world problems).  LOL.

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled program…you guys, how did I not know that applesauce is so good?  How have I been living unaware of this fact for so long?  Okay, truth be told I wanted to make some applesauce for Miss Magdalena since she is starting solid foods now.  But I tasted some and was like “whoa!”  I found out it was so super good and I had to share this simple little sweet treat.

What else can you do with applesauce?

  • a side to pork chops
  • latkes and applesauce
  • use applesauce in your baked goods like muffins and cakes
  • topping for your oatmeal

Now I am all, “I can’t wait for fall to go apple picking!”  Get ready Michigan road trip!  Apple picking and apple cider doughnuts.  Alas, it’s only February!!!  It’s snowing like crazy in Chicago.  We probably got 8 inches on Friday and another 5 inches Saturday night into Sunday morning.  It’s a slow motion snowpocalypse…never ending snow. Heavy, wet, slushy snow.  Actually the slush reminds me of applesauce, but golden and cinnammon-like…ok, never mind.

Applesauce…try it.

I like to top vanilla ice cream with a  few spoonfuls of warmed applesauce and a little caramel sauce and it’s heaven!  So here is my husband and baby approved applesauce.

Cinnamon Applesauce – makes 4 x 8oz jars

Ingredients:

4 lbs of apples (I like gala or braeburn)

1.5 cups of water

2 sticks of cinnamon

Directions:

Peel, core and slice your apples

Place in a big pot and add water and cinnamon sticks.

Bring to boil, then turn down and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Mash or puree or waz it up with a fancy immersion blender,

Eat with a touch of cinnamon or nutmeg or use in your favorite recipe for baking or top your vanilla ice cream, or top your oatmeal, or just enjoy plain.

Enjoy!

-Kallie

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A recipe that’s easy as pie, but it’s cake…not pie.

February 4, 2018

Okay guys, I am pretty sure my mom is secretly a blogger writing recipes on Food52.  I am not kidding.

So last week I discovered a recipe that was easy as pie, but it wasn’t pie.  It was cake.  Easy as cake.  But you know, pie isn’t that easy either sometimes.  But this cake was.  Easy that is.  Okay, okay…just keep reading.

I get these emails from Food52 every week.  It’s one of my all time favorite foodie websites, and kitchen gear websites, and lifestyle websites.  It’s totally my aesthetic, my jam , ya’ know?  Well, one day they emailed out this recipe for a “no measure chocolate cake”.  What on earth does this mean, “no measure chocolate cake?”  What is this?  Like one of those “no kneed breads?”  Something that sounds like blasphemy but is really a miracle?

A cake is baking and baking means measuring.  Measuring means being exact.  And why be exact?  Because science people!  Science! Baking is science!

Not this recipe.  It uses the slightest notion of a measuring tool.  The plastic cup of a yogurt container…much like my mother’s approximate baking theory uses a coffee mug.  I had to do a double take and make sure she wasn’t secretly blogging for Food52 and doing product placement for Fage Greek Yogurt.  This recipe is so up Vasiliki’s alley.

So, I tried it and it was so easy.  We are talking chocolate cake in less than an hour.  More like 45 minutes.  And it was good man.  Do you want dessert?  Make this cake.  Do you want a slightly sweet treat to accompany your morning coffee?  Make this cake.  Do you like chocolate?  Make this cake people!!!  I can’t believe how easy it was.

I changed it up a tiny bit.  I used olive oil instead of canola, well because I’m Greek. There I said it. Canola…come on! Now that’s blasphemy. I also put a tiny splash of vanilla.

And so, I share the cake that’s easy as pie…but cake…okay bye.

“No measure” Chocolate Cake – adapted from Food52

Ingredients

1 container Greek yogurt (7 oz)

1 container olive oil

1 container sugar

2 eggs (LARGE)

2 containers self-rising flour (NOTE THE SELF RISING FLOUR, OKAY?)

1 container cocoa powder (unsweetened, DUTCH PROCESS PLEASE!)

1 container coffee (use a cup of coffee that you make the morning that you make this)

small splash of vanilla (don’t bother measuring)

Powdered sugar for dusting OR chocolate frosting, because, chocolate. I love chocolate.

Directions

Pre-heat over to 350.

Open your yogurt container and make note of where the yogurt is leveled off in the container.  You will want to “measure out” the rest of your ingredients up to this appoximate level as well.

Empty the yogurt into a mixing bowl.  Using that same container measure out your sugar and olive oil.  Add the eggs and beat until mixed.  Next, add your flour, cocoa and coffee and mix until smooth.  Pour the whole thing into a greased and floured spring form pan and bake for 35 minutes.

Let it cool, frost it or dust it with powdered sugar and pat yourself on the back.  Drop mic.  You just made the simplest chocolate cake.

Enjoy.

-Kallie

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