Happy New Year! With Porztelchen (Portzelki, New Year's Cookies, Ollie Bollie, etc.)

Happy New Year!

I'm happy to say good-bye to 2013.  It was a very difficult year indeed but I am very optimistic about 2014.

Most people who know me also know that I don't deep fry food.  In fact, the deep fryer at my restaurant was used as a convenient shelf.  All the same, I'm sharing this traditional Mennonite dish that we'll be preparing today.  Another recipe for Portzelki can be found at the Mennonite Girls can Cook! site, http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2011/12/portzelky-new-years-cookies.html.  This recipe is my Gro�ma's with a few variations from the other.  If you have instant yeast, you can skip the first step of starting the yeast and mix into the flour just before mixing.

Portzelky

2  pkgs (~4 1/2 tsp) yeast in 1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
Let stand for 10 minutes

2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 lb raisins or currants (soak and then gently dry on low oven on paper towel until water is off but plumped)
Flour for soft batter (~5 cups)
Optional:  good pinch saffron in warm milk

Combine milk, salt, sugar, baking powder, raisins and egg yolks.  Add 2 cups flour to yeast and milk and stir.  Let stand until bubbly.  Add remaining flour.  Beat egg whites to stiff peak and fold into batter.  Drop by spoonfuls into hot oil (375�F).  Space evenly and do not over crowd.  Allow room for portzelky to turn over.  When fully cooked, drain and cool.

Serve with small bowls of sugar for dipping.

Enjoy and Happy New Year!  Photos coming soon!

Cheers to the New Year: 2014

Christmas is over, and my house is, for the first time in months, cookie-free. My tree is still up and there are gifts strewn about the living room, but that's another story. Here are some phone pics of my Christmas vacation (we went ice-caving!). 

I don't know about you guys, but I'm beyond stoked for 2014! In 2014, I'm getting married. WHAT!? 

2013 has been a wild year. I got engaged and wrote a 50,000 word novel for NaNoWriMo. And that was only the month of November! 

I rang in 2013 at a snowy cabin with some of my favorite people. I went wine tasting in Sonoma, house-boating in Shasta, hiking and exploring in the Gifford Pinchot, and camping at the Oregon coast. We celebrated our nephew's 1st birthday in New York, and my sister's Masters graduation from UW. I won a quinoa recipe contest and this blog turned four years old. Evan and I bought a car together, and (after almost a decade of dating and several years of living together) our parents finally met. Some good things happened in 2013.  

2013 also had some bumps, with health scares and hospital visits for people I care very much about. I'm crossing my fingers that 2014 is a happy, healthy year for everyone I know and love. And for all of you guys, too!

So, here's to the new year! I'll be back in 2014 with great new recipes, photos, and stories. Until then, here are my top 20 of 2013. Some of these were the most visited posts, and some were just my favorite to write, eat, or photograph in 2013. Cheers!

Southwest Quinoa Burrito Bowl Salad

Peppermint Mocha Icebox Cookies

Simple Chicken Noodle Soup

Coconut Lemon Bars

BBQ Pulled Pork Hand Pies

Creamy White Chicken Chili

Sweet Potato, Pear, and Wild Rice Salad

Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk Coffee

Fried Green Tomato Salad

Peach Pineapple Crisp with Coconut Ginger Crumble

Tortas with Chorizo Scrambled Eggs

Totally Grilled Guacamole

Baja-Maui Zucchini Tacos

Wheat Berry Salad with Avocado, Strawberries, and Caramelized Shallots

Food Bloggers Against Hunger

Tex Mex Taco Stack (Dinner & a Movie)

Soba Salmon Noodle Bowls

Lemon Cake with Blackberry Buttercream

Roarin' 20s Murder Mystery Dinner

The Perfect Entree Salad

Does the Vitamin and Mineral Content of Food Influence Our Food Intake and Body Fatness?

The Claim: We Overeat Because Our Diet is Low in Vitamins and Minerals

We know that animals, including humans, seek certain properties of food. Humans are naturally attracted to food that's high in fat, sugar, starch, and protein, and tend to be less enthusiastic about low-calorie foods that don't have these properties, like vegetables (1). Think cookies vs. plain carrots.

In certain cases, the human body is able to detect a nutritional need and take steps to correct it. For example, people who are placed on a calorie-restricted diet become hungry and are motivated to make up for the calorie shortfall (2, 3). People who are placed on a low-protein diet crave protein and eat more of it after the restriction is lifted (4). Humans and many other animals also crave and seek salt, which supplies the essential minerals sodium and chlorine, although today most of us eat much more of it than we need to. At certain times, we may crave something sweet or acidic, and pregnant women are well known to have specific food cravings and aversions, although explanations for this remain speculative. Research suggests that certain animals have the ability to correct mineral deficiencies by selecting foods rich in the missing mineral (5).

These observations have led to a long-standing idea that the human body is able to detect vitamin and mineral (micronutrient) status and take steps to correct a deficit. This has led to the secondary idea that nutrient-poor food leads to overeating, as the body attempts to make up for low nutrient density by eating more food. In other words, we overeat because our food doesn't supply the micronutrients our bodies need, and eating a micronutrient-rich diet corrects this and allows us to eat less and lose body fat. These ideas are very intuitive, but intuition doesn't always get you very far in biology. Let's see how they hold up to scrutiny.

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Cranberry Gin Fizz

Are you guys all ready to have a holly, jolly, merry, bright, drinky, fizzy holiday? I am! Pick me!

Christmas break has begun and it's officially time for some holiday spirit. Holiday spirits, rather.

This cocktail combines three of my favorite things: gin, bubbles, and cranberry. Plus a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. 

A few of these fizzy cranberry and gin drinks and you'll be super jolly. 

Cranberry Gin Fizz

For each drink:

1 ounce (shot) good quality gin (I like Hendricks)

Juice from a quarter or half a lemon

2 ounces cranberry simple syrup (recipe below)

Champagne or prosecco 

Frozen cranberries (on a pick, or otherwise)

Add gin, lemon juice, and cranberry syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice, and shake until cool. Strain into glass, then top off with bubbles. Add more lemon or syrup, to taste. Add frozen cranberries to keep cool. 

Note: this a strong boozy drink. To make a little less strong, you can use soda water instead of prosecco, or leave out the gin, and just do prosecco, cranberry syrup, and lemon.

Cranberry Simple Syrup

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, and cool before using. 

Makes about a cup and a half. 

Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... peanut M + M's!!!

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Dinner & Movie: Creamy Mac n Cheese

�Bless this highly nutritious microwavable macaroni and cheese dinner and the people who sold it on sale. Amen.� - Kevin McCallister

Guys, Christmas is just around the corner, and it wouldn�t be the holidays without Home Alone. I happen to think Home Alone is the greatest holiday movie of all time, and potentially one of the greatest anytime movies of all time. It�s super quotable, has a killer soundtrack, fills you with warm holiday fuzzies, and helped an entire generation plan out how to protect their homes in the event of a burglary. Safety first. Amanda and I recently got together for our annual Home Alone viewing, and made a big pot of creamy Mac n Cheese for the event.

Its dinner & a movie: Holiday Style!

The Movie: Home Alone

Look what you did, you little jerk! Home Alone! The McCallister family heads to Paris for Christmas, and they accidentally leave 8-year old Kevin (an adorably tiny Macaulay Culkin) home alone. WE FORGOT KEVIN! Meanwhile, two crooks, the Wet Bandits, have big plans for the McCallister�s giant mansion-like house. Kevin comes up with a genius plot to foil the bad guys, and hilarity ensues. The little Nero�s pizza guy runs off in fear from Snakes and Johnny (Acey says 10 percent�), John Candy does the polka, Uncle Frank tries to steal the silverware and champagne glasses from the airplane, Kevin gets a good look at Buzz�s girlfriend (woof!), some totally great classic holiday tunes play, the old guy turns out to not be the shovel slayer after all, and in the end, the whole family is reunited on Christmas morning. Holiday classic! 


The Dinner: Creamy Mac n Cheese

There are a few potential meals you could serve with Home Alone. Pizza might be the obvious choice, since the Little Nero�s pizza guy makes a couple appearances, and Buzz eating all the cheese pizza in the beginning really sets off the chain of events that follow. But, remember that scene right before the Wet Bandits arrive for the final show-down? Kevin sits down (at a candle-lit table) to a bowl of microwaveable Kraft mac n cheese, and says a little thanks for the meal (see quote above). But then the clock chimes, and he doesn�t even get to take a bite. I always felt bad that the mac just sat there getting cold. Did he go back and eat it afterward? Maybe if he had a big pot of creamy, homemade mac n cheese he would have.

This recipe comes from Joy the Baker, and is simple, creamy, and rich� everything a good bowl of Mac n Cheese should be. So, head on over to Joy the Baker, whip up some mac n� cheese, and get ready to rock around the Christmas tree: it�s time for dinner & a movie!

Recipe: Joy the Baker�s Classic Mac n Cheese

Chongqing Hot Pot (huo go m� l�) - Perfect for icy cold days

Chongqing Hot Pot

We are also serving this at Christmas time this year!

When I lived in Chongqing, I had this special dish quite often with large groups of people.  It is quite a party or communal fare.  It brings back wonderful memories of my time in China and the wonderful people I got to meet.  

2 cups stock (turkey, chicken, beef)
4 cups water
1 cup chopped mushrooms (button, shitake)
1 tbs garlic black bean paste
1 tbs chili paste
1 tbs chili bean paste
1 tbs chili oil
1-5 whole dried red chilies
1 bunch green onions, 1 inch chop
1/2 cup white wine or Mirin (sweetness balance)

Dry Spices: 3 star anise, 1tbsp Sichuan Peppercorn, 1 black cardamom, 4 green cardamom, 2 dried ginger, 1 piece cinnamon stick, 3 slice liquorice, and 1 tbsp fennel seeds 

Simmer all ingredients together for a long time until a rich broth (you may need to add more water during the eating time as it reduces quite a bit).  Serve at the tabletop with the following optional items to enjoy cooking with chopsticks.  Serve with rice. 

Firm tofu
Garlic Greens
Green Onions
Green Cabbage leaves or baby bok choy, baby Shanghai cabbage or Savoy
Red or Green pepper slices
Enoki Mushrooms
Shitake Mushrooms (without stems)
Bean Sprouts
Thinly Sliced Beef or lamb (buy sliced or slice while half frozen)
Blood Tofu (coagulated pig's blood, not for the picky eater but one eats everything)
Skinned and boned eel slices
Noodles
tripe
ETC.! 

Hints:  Eat veggies first.  Serve with dipping sauces that will contrast as well as cut fat or enhance it, Sichuan peanut sauce, Hoisin, etc.