Onion-Poppyseed Muffins

During finals, the onion-poppyseed combination just wouldn't leave my mind. I had been thinking an onion-poppyseed quick bread, but today I needed something to bring along for a long car ride, so it's in the form of muffins instead.

Onion-Poppyseed Muffins

3/4 cup diced onion
3 tbsp olive oil plus a little more to cook the onion
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cornmeal
4 oz. crumbled feta cheese (or substitute Cheddar)
1 egg plus 1 egg white
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp poppyseeds
1 tsp dried rosemary

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper cups.

Saute the onion in a little oil about 10 minutes, until lightly colored. Take off heat and reserve. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and cornmeal. Add 3 tbsp olive oil and stir to combine. Stir in the feta, poppy seeds, rosemary, and pepper. In a separate container, beat together the egg, egg white, and milk. Mix the egg/milk mixture gently into the dry ingredients. Gently mix in the onions and stir just until combined. Spoon mixture into muffin tins and bake 20-25 minutes. Let cool at least slightly before attempting to remove from muffin papers.

Make 12 muffins.

Pumpkin Curry Stew with Tofu

What to do with leftover pumpkin, when you have about four minutes to eat and you're starving? (This helpfully also uses up your leftover tofu.) The sunflower seed butter gives the sauce some body.

This is another dish that just doesn't photograph well.

Pumpkin Curry Stew with Tofu

1 medium onion, diced
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned is fine)
2 tbsp sunflower seed butter
1/2 block firm tofu, cubed
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 tsp vegetable oil
1+ tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp black pepper
dash salt
2 shakes hot pepper flakes
1/2 cup water

Steam or boil the broccoli and reserve.
Saute the tofu and onions in oil over medium-high heat until the tofu is lightly browned (you might need to start the tofu before the onions to avoid burned onions). When lightly browned, add the spices and saute for another minute. Add the pumkpin, water, and sunflower seed butter, and turn the heat to low. Stir well to combine. Add the broccoli and stir to coat. Cook another minute or so, until all ingredients are coated in sauce and everything is hot. Serve with rice.

Serves 2.

Variations: Chicken would be good, instead of tofu. Alternately you could add some crushed tomatoes and remove the sunflower seed butter.

Chicken Soup

Very simple, filling, and warming--just right for a day like yesterday, the first real snowfall of the winter.

You know, soup just doesn't photograph that well. But you don't really need one, because it looks like... chicken soup.

Chicken Soup

10 chicken drumsticks, bone-in (or the equivalent in other chicken parts, whatever you have, so long as they are fairly meaty)
2 medium onions, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup brown rice
2/3 cup red lentils
3/4 tsp powdered allspice
1/2 tsp powdered cardamom
1/2 tsp powdered turmeric
salt to taste
10-12 cups water

If you have time, soak the rice in water for about 2 hours before cooking (it makes the soup creamier, but you can skip this step and it'll still turn out fine).

In the bottom of a large pot, saute the onions until translucent in the olive oil. Add the spices and cook a few minutes longer, until fragrant. Add the rice, lentils, chicken, and 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 2 hours--until the soup has become creamy, the rice and lentils are softened almost beyond recognition, and the meat is falling off the bones, adding more water if the soup gets thicker than you would like it to be. Skim off any foam that rises. After around 2 hours, remove the chicken from the pot; shred the meat off the bones and return the meat to the pot. Taste and add salt as necessary. Serve hot.

Serves about 5 as a main course.

Variation: for even creamier soup, you can use white rice.

Tart Apple Cobbler

Tart enough to prompt one guest at dinner to ask whether there was rhubarb as well as apples in this cobbler!

Tart Apple Cobbler

1 recipe cobbler batter (see here)

5 cooking apples, skin-on, diced roughly (2 Granny Smith and 3 Braeburn is a good combination)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tbsp all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 375. In a mixing bowl, mix together apples, sugar, spices, and flour until apples are well coated. Pour into an 11x7 baking dish and bake 20 minutes.

While baking, make cobbler batter (using the zest of 1 entire lemon rather than half). After 20 minutes, take the apples out of the oven (leaving the oven on) and, being careful not to burn yourself, dot the top of the apples with the cobbler dough in a grid of marble-sized dots, leaving space between them. Return to oven and bake about 40 minutes, until the dough is golden and crisp.

Serves 8 or more.

Tomato-Pistachio Loaf

Owes a lot to the Tomato, Pistachio, and Chorizo Loaf in Clotilde Dusoulier's Chocolate and Zucchini cookbook, but of course I had no yogurt on hand, no chorizo, no parsley, no dried tomatoes, no loaf pan... so it's morphed into its own thing. Cilantro and toasted mustard seeds make up for some of the sharpness of flavor that the chorizo would bring.

Tomato-Pistachio Loaf

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3 large eggs
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2/3 cup grape tomatoes
3/4 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, toasted
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds

In a small skillet, saute the tomatoes in 1tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat until they begin to blister and blacken. Turn the heat to low, add the mustard seeds to the oil, and cook several minutes longer, until the mustard seeds are browned. Remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 6 by 6 baking dish (or probably a 9 by 5 loaf pan, since that was what this was meant to be baked in). In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, salt, and pepper with a wooden spoon. Beat in the oil and ricotta and continue beating until creamy and well-blended, with no ricotta lumps. Add the flour and baking powder, and mix just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Fold in the pistachios, tomatoes (with any oil remaining), and cilantro.

Bake 40-45 minutes, until slightly golden and a knife inserted comes out cleanly. Serve in cubes as a cocktail appetizer or in more substantial slices as a light lunch with a green salad.

Serves about 16 as an appetizer or 4 - 6 as a lunch.

Zucchini-Ricotta Rigatoni

Not much of a story behind this one.

Zucchini-Ricotta Rigatoni

1 medium zucchini, sliced 1 cm thick and each slice cut into 2 half-moons
1 small or 1/2 large sweet onion, sliced into long thin strips
2/3 cup grape tomatoes
1/3 lb rigatoni pasta
5 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp olive oil, separated
salt to taste

Put water on to boil for the pasta in a large pot. In a large saucepan, heat 1tbsp of olive oil with the thyme until hot; add the zucchini and onion and cook over medium heat, covered, stirring frequently until the both onion and zucchini are quite colored. Keep warm. Meanwhile, cook pasta when the water boils. In a small, separate saucepan, saute tomatoes in remaining oil over medium-high to high heat until they soften, shrink, and the skins begin to slip off. Keep warm.

When pasta is done cooking, drain it and add the ricotta and salt to the pasta in the pot. Mix to coat the pasta well. Divide the pasta between two bowls. Top each with 1/2 the zucchini-onion mixture. Divide the cherry tomatoes between the two bowls as garnish.

Serves 2.

Pistachio Cookies

Pistachios are my new favorite nut. These showcase the pistachios very well; the flecks of lime zest pick up the green color. They are crisp and not too sweet, ideal for dunking in tea.

Pistachio Cookies

3/4 cup pistachio nutmeats, chopped roughly (put them in a plastic bag and whack them with a rolling pin)
1 2/3 cups white flour
2/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp powdered cardamom
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled and diced
2 tbsp water, or more as needed
grated zest of 1 lime


Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, oats, nuts, sugar, baking soda, salt, cardamom, and lime zest. With your fingers, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it reaches the texture of coarse sand. Add the egg and stir until incorporated (the dough will still not come together into a ball). Add the water, beginning with 2 tbsp, and mix with your hands until the dough just comes together into a ball (it may take more like 4 tbsp). Shape into balls slightly larger than walnuts, flatten slightly, and place on cookie sheet. Bake about 30 minutes, until crisp and slightly colored. Makes about 24 - 28 cookies.

Absolutely Most-Basic Lentil Soup

This is my basic recipe for lentil soup. No photo because to be honest it's not particularly attractive, but it is soothing and filling. It's a scaled-down version of my basic chicken soup (which will indubitably appear here eventually), but relies on already-made chicken broth (your own or store-bought). It's good if you're feeling under the weather. Make sure you use red lentils, or the cooking time will be way off.

Most-Basic Lentil Soup

1 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked over
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 bay leaf
1/2 to 1 tsp allspice
small pinch cardamom
small pinch cumin

Put all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes, until lentils are tender and have begun to fall apart. Add salt if necessary (if using your own broth). Let cool a little, fish out the bay leaf, and serve!

Serves 2.

For a basic but not "most-basic" version, first saute some chopped onion in the bottom of the saucepan before adding the lentils and broth.

Dosa-Inspired Potato Omelet

This is all delicate crisp crust and fluffy center, and the potatoes are spicy and turn a lovely yellow. I will definitely make this again (though perhaps with three eggs).

Dosa-Inspired Potato Omelet

2 medium-sized red potatoes, in large dice
1 tblsp butter plus more as necessary
2 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
good pinch cayenne pepper
good pinch turmeric
1 tblsp brown mustard (or mustard seeds if you have them)
salt to taste

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When hot, add the spices (except mustard, but do include mustard seeds if using) and fry about 40 seconds. Add the potatoes and mustard. Cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring and turning regularly, until nearly tender (about 15 minutes). Turn off the heat but keep warm.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites just until they hold a firm peak. In another bowl, beat the yolks until lemon-yellow. Gently fold the yolks and whites together.

Spoon the eggs over the potatoes in the pan, being sure that all the potatoes are covered. Cook, covered, on medium heat until the tops of the eggs are nearly dry, about 10 minutes. Lift out of the pan with a spatula. Slice the omelet in half, and place on half atop the other so that there is a crisp crust on top but the inside is soft and fluffy. Cut in half and serve immediately.

Serves 2 with a green salad and bread, or 1 on its own.

White-Bean Chili

This dish was born in Washington, DC, where I was subletting an apartment for the summer. I had planned to make chili, but was shocked to discover--just before my guests arrived--that the girl I was subletting from had no chili powder. She did, however, have "Yemenite hwaig" seasoning, which seemed to be a mixture of cumin and turmeric. Combined with hot pepper, it did a fair job of approximating chili. Now, I add some regular chili powder as well, but I still concentrate on cumin and turmeric.

White-Bean Chili

2 cans small white beans (Goya brand is good)
2 cans cannellini beans, or 1 of cannellini and 1 of large butter beans
1 medium onion, chopped roughly
1 clove garlic, crushed
6-8 green onions, chopped finely
1 medium bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce, any type
2 tsp tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
Good pinch red pepper flakes
olive oil
about 2 cups water
3 oz queso casera or feta for garnish

Saute half the onion and the garlic in olive oil till translucent but not too soft, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans carefully. Combine beans and remaining half onion with onions and garlic in pot. Add 2 cups water and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Add cumin, turmeric, black pepper, chili powder and red pepper flakes. Simmer about 15 minutes, adding water if becomes too thick. When you have about 3 minutes to go, add 1/3 of the cilantro. Just before serving, add half the remaining cilantro and half the green onions.
Garnish with remaining cilantro, green onions, and queso casera (if you have a good Hispanic foods section at your grocery store) or feta.

Serves 3 or 4.

Pasta with Peas and Feta

This is probably the dish I make most often. It's very quick, has three food groups, and I always have all these ingredients on hand (thanks, super cheap feta at Foodmaster). The fennel brings out the sweetness of the peas and the saltiness of the feta.

Pasta with Peas and Feta

1/2 box cavatappi or other short pasta
2 or 3 oz. crumbled feta
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp olive oil
1 pinch fennel seeds
black pepper

Cook pasta. In the last minute or so of cooking, add the peas to the pasta water and continue cooking just until hot, one to two minutes. Drain pasta and peas. Combine with feta, olive oil, fennel seeds, and pepper. Serve right away.

Serves 2 (or one very hungry person).

Quinoa Pilaf with Dates

Really on a quinoa kick here. This is subtly sweet, a little spicy, and a nice deep brown color. Some chopped pistachios would be a really great addition.

Quinoa Pilaf with Dates

2 cups red quinoa
4 cups water
2 small sweet yellow onions (or 1 large), sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, crushed
25 or so dates, chopped roughly
2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 to 1 tsp black pepper
good pinch salt
three shakes hot pepper flakes
olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
6 tsp sesame seeds.

In a large pot, bring quinoa and water to a boil. When boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until the water is absorbed and the germ separates from the quinoa, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, saute the onions in olive oil over medium-low heat until just starting to caramelize, about 12 minutes. (After about 10 minutes, add the crushed garlic.) While they are cooking, in a separate saucepan toast sesame seeds over low heat until they turn golden, about three minutes. Immediately remove from heat and put in a separate bowl. When the onions are soft and starting to color, add cardamom, black pepper, and hot pepper; cook over medium heat until the spices become very fragrant, about one or two minutes. Remove from heat.
When the quinoa is done, add the onions, sesame seeds, 3/4 of the dates, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix well. Mound in a large bowl and garnish with the remaining dates. Serve at room temperature.

Serves one billion as a side dish.

Quinoa Salad

This salad has a wide variety of flavors that match well together--bitter mustard greens, sweet apricots and onions, mellow Brie. It's also pretty. I used 2 cups of mustard greens and that turned out to be a little too much for my taste, but it can easily be varied. Red quinoa is prettier but regular would be fine as well.

Quinoa Salad


1 cup red quinoa
1-2 cups chopped frozen (or fresh) mustard greens
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
10 dried apricots, quartered
about 2 oz. Brie cheese, in small cubes
2 tbsp olive oil plus more for sauteing
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 pinch dried basil
salt and pepper

In a saucepan, bring quinoa and two cups water to a boil. When boiling, turn the heat down to low and simmer about 15 min, until all the water is absorbed and the spring-like germ has separated from the quinoa.
Meanwhile, saute the onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the mustard greens (do not thaw if frozen; if not frozen, also add enough water to prevent them from burning). Saute over low heat about 10 more minutes, until the quinoa is nearly done. Combine greens/onions and quinoa in a large bowl. Season with basil, salt, and pepper. In a small cup, beat together the oil, vinegar, and mustard; pour over the quinoa mixture and toss to coat. Add the chopped apricots and Brie and toss. Chill and serve. Noticeably better the next day after the flavors have blended.

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Poppyseed Butter

I wanted something filling yet vegetarian for a dinner party, and came up with this experiment (based on beet ravioli with poppyseed butter that I've been served elsewhere). The ravioli do stick together a lot, which causes some of them to rip and leak contents--this is a problem that oil helped with but did not cure. I used drained yogurt to lighten the filling, but probably ricotta would work too. It looks like a lot of butter--and is--but the recipe also serves 10 people. Also, it is more appetizing than in the badly-flashed picture!

Pumpkin Ravioli with Poppyseed Butter

3 packages won ton wrappers
3 15 oz. cans pumpkin
12 oz fat-free plain yogurt
1 small shallot, diced finely
1.5 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cumin
a few good shakes red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp ginger
1 stick butter
2 tbsp poppyseeds
olive oil as needed

An hour a head of time, line a strainer with two sturdy paper towels. Empty the yogurt in the lined strainer and drain one hour.

In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, shallot, drained yogurt, allspice, cumin, ginger and red pepper flakes. Lay out several won ton wrappers. Place 1/2 tsp pumpkin mixture in the center. Dip your fingers in water and wet the edges, then fold the wrapper in half around the filling. Make sure to seal the corners. Continue until you have used up all the wrappers and filling. Working in batches, boil the ravioli for about 2 minutes--do not overcook or they will become gummy and even stickier. As each batch drains, drizzle with olive oil to prevent sticking. When all ravioli are cooked, melt butter in a saute pan. When it starts to foam, add poppy seeds and cook for a minute or two, until the butter JUST starts to color. Pour the butter-poppyseed mixture over the ravioli and toss to coat (it may be helpful to put the ravioli in more than one dish). Serve warm or equally good at room temperature.

Serves 10.

Lemon-Parmesan Pasta

I discovered the combination of lemon and Parmesan last year, and have been experimenting ever since. Spinach is by far the best addition.

Lemon-Parmesan Pasta

1.5 ish cups pasta (I like cavatappi)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup raw spinach, or more to taste, torn into pieces
grated zest of 1 lemon or a little less
juice of 1/4 lemon
black pepper
olive oil

Cook the pasta. After draining it, return to saucepan. Add olive oil, Parmesan, and spinach; turn heat to medium for about 10 seconds and turn heat off. Stir thoroughly to wilt spinach and distribute cheese. Add lemon zest and a large amount of black pepper; stir thoroughly. Squeeze lemon juice over the top. Heat for 5 seconds more if necessary, and serve!

Serves 1 very hungry person

Tofu and Green Beans with Peanut Sauce

Easy, filling, and full of flavor. Definitely more appetizing than it looks in this photo!

Tofu and Green Beans with Peanut Sauce

About 20 green beans, trimmed and rinsed
7 oz. extra-firm tofu (about 1/4 package), cubed
1/2 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped roughly
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 heaping tbsp peanut butter
3 green onions, sliced
1 squeeze lime juice
1 pinch dried basil
1/4 tsp ginger
one good shake red pepper flakes
vegetable oil

Saute green beans over medium-high heat about three minutes. Add onions, garlic, and tofu cubes. Saute until tofu begins to brown and onions are soft but not burned. Add basil, lime juice, ginger, red pepper flakes, and soy sauce, turn heat to medium, and continue to cook about four minutes or until the soy sauce has reduced about by half. Turn heat to low. Add peanut butter and stir to coat evenly.
Serve garnished with green onions.

Serves 1.

Late-Summer Cobbler

Adapted from something from Redbook, of all places. This recipe is quite small but can very easily be doubled.

Late-Summer Cobbler

Filling
8 very ripe Italian prune plums, quartered
1 large very ripe nectarine, sliced
1.5 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 cup sugar or a little more if your plums are not very ripe
Squeeze of lemon juice
dash of nutmeg

Cobbler Batter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/8 cup plus 1 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Filling: in a 6x6 baking dish, toss together plums, nectarine, lemon juice, cornstarch, 1/8 cup sugar and nutmeg until fruit is evenly coated.
Cobbler Batter: Mix flour, cornmeal, 1/8 cup sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in a bowl. With your fingers, rub in butter until the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. Add cream and mix just until blended. Batter will be quite loose and sticky. With your hands, roll bits of batter into strips and arrange on top of fruit in baking dish, weaving if you choose. Leave plenty of room between strips as batter will rise while baking. Sprinkle with remaining tsp. of sugar.
Bake cobbler for about 40 minutes or until top is golden and juices bubble (you may want to put a cookie sheet under the baking pan to catch excess juices). Cool before serving.
Serves 3.

What's-in-the-Fridge Pasta Sauce

Unfortunately, didn't get a chance to take a picture of this one, but it is delicious. Relies on things I usually have on hand.


What's-in-the-Fridge Pasta Sauce

1 onion, sliced
1 large shallot, sliced (or just more onion)
3-4 handfuls fresh spinach
Half a can of water-packed artichoke hearts, cut into quarters
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
olive oil
Pasta


While boiling water for pasta, saute onion and garlic in olive oil. When the pasta has about five minutes left to cook, add the spinach and artichoke hearts to the pan with the onions and shallots. After draining the pasta, add the cheeses to the vegetables, saute just until they begin to melt (only about a minute), and combine with pasta. Dinner!

Serves 2.

Summer White Bean & Tomato Salad

Seems kind of silly to keep track of the recipe for something as simple as this, but hey, it's what I made today, so here it is.

Summer White Bean & Tomato Salad

1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed very well and drained
3 small-to-medium tomatoes
4 green onions
4 leaves fresh basil
olive oil
red wine vinegar
black pepper

Cut the tomatoes into small wedges. Slice the white and light green parts of the green onions finely. Tear the basil into small pieces. In a large bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, onions and basil. Dress with about 1 tbsp olive oil and about 1 tsp vinegar. Season heavily with black pepper and salt if necessary.

Serves 1 for dinner or 2-3 as a side dish.
Could garnish with mozzarella or feta if you were looking for a heavier dish.

Green Bean and Mozzarella Salad

I got to thinking about insalata caprese today, but wasn't quite in the mood for tomatoes. This salad leans slightly more in the direction of France than Italy, because of the shallots (green beans' best friend) and because the only fresh herb I had on hand was parsley, but it turned out to be delicious. The hot, crunchy green beans are a good match for cool soft mozzarella.

Green Bean and Mozzarella Salad

2 medium shallots, sliced very thin
1 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, torn into small pieces
about 3 oz. fresh whole-milk mozzarella, cut into small pieces
about 1/4 cup dry white wine
olive oil
squeeze of lemon juice from one small lemon wedge
salt, pepper

In a large bowl, mix the mozzarella and parsley. In a small saucepan, saute the shallots over medium-low heat in olive oil just until they begin to color, about 5 minutes. Be careful, because they will burn fast. Add a splash of white wine and turn the heat to low. Watch the pan; when the wine boils away, add another small splash. When the wine has evaporated, take the pan off the heat. Meanwhile, make sure the green beans still have some water on them from when you washed them. Saute the green beans in a little olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until they begin to be tender and the skin begins to blister, about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat; season with a lot of black pepper and salt to taste. Add the shallots to the bowl with the mozzarella and parsley, then add the green beans. Season with lemon juice and about 1 tsp olive oil. Toss and serve immediately while the beans are still hot.

Serves 2.

Blueberry Cookies

Still dealing with a mountain of blueberries... these are delicious. Light, juicy, and quite tart.


Blueberry Cookies

1 cup rolled quick-cooking oats (NOT instant)
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup 2% milk
1.5 cups fresh blueberries
grated zest of 1/2 to 1 lemon
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.
Combine oats, flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, followed by milk. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Fold in blueberries and lemon zest.
Drop by tablespoonfuls on cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.

Makes about 40 cookies.

If you store them overnight, they will lose their crispness; if you'd like them to be crisper, just toast them briefly on a cookie sheet in the oven.

Cherry Blueberry Crisp

Today I had a mountain of cherries on the verge of going bad, and blueberry bushes that are starting to produce like crazy, so clearly it was time to make a crisp.

I was in the mood for more of a granola-y, breakfast-y crisp than a dessert one, so this one is heavy on the oats and low on the sugar (but because these are sweet cherries, not sour cherries, it's still pretty sweet). Goes very well with some nice plain yogurt.

This is a very flexible recipe--amounts of everything are approximate. I discovered that a vegetable peeler works very well for pitting cherries.

Cherry Blueberry Crisp

1.5 cups pitted red cherries
1.5 cups blueberries
5-6 tbsp rolled oats (regular or quick-cooking--NOT instant)
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cherries and blueberries in a small (about 6 in by 6 in) baking dish. In a bowl, mix butter, oats and sugar until just combined. Sprinkle on fruit. Bake 30 minutes. Let cool and serve for breakfast with plain yogurt.

Serves 2-3.

Pasta Salad with Eggplant

Last night, I was imagining a nice cool pasta salad that would be full of lush, smoky eggplant, with something to highlight the eggplant's sweetness and something with a little crunch: long-cooked red onions. I put in some feta for heft, but this would probably be good without it as well.

Pasta Salad with Eggplant

1 globe eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch slices. (I skipped the salting and draining step, but it wouldn't hurt.)
1 red onion, sliced into thin, long strips
1/2 cup chopped parsley
4 oz feta, crumbled
1 box shell pasta
Olive oil
2 tbsp Red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Saute sliced onions in olive oil over medium-low heat for about 25 minutes--until pale pink, sweet, and tender. Meanwhile, brush eggplant slices with a little olive oil and place on a cookie sheet, working in batches if necessary. Broil 6 minutes, flip, brush with more oil, and broil 3-5 minutes longer, until soft and browned but not burned. Let the onions and eggplant cool while cooking the pasta. Chop the eggplant and parsley roughly. Toss eggplant, onions, parsley, feta and pasta. In a small glass, whisk red wine vinegar with mustard and 2-3 tbsp olive oil. Toss with pasta. Season with salt and lots of pepper.

Serves about 5.