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Light Box Lightbox

Written on December 22, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Photography

It’s not even Christmas yet and I’ve already spent the past few days playing with my new toy.

After seeing Ashley then Holly and Katie all make one, I decided to jump in. Photography is becoming a fun hobby of mine, and this seemed like the next natural step. It gets dark by 4pm now and good food photos past them have become impossible. I’d be lying if I said I never made dinner at 3pm just to photograph it… Oh, the life of a food blogger.

It makes for really well-lit photos like this:

Or this:

Now, I am not a handy person by any means. The craftiest thing I made before this was probably made out of gimp. However, I didn’t have too much trouble throwing this together. I used these instructions. Here are some thoughts about the whole project:

You only really need 2 lamps: One for each side. Be sure to get daylight or white lights since those will make for the purest lighting.
The bigger the box you use, the better. You can always focus in on a small plate of food but if your box isn’t very big you can’t step back to see a large plate. I used a box about 18 inches by 2 feet and I wish I had used something bigger.
I wasn’t sure about what white material to use for the sides. I ended up going with white parchment paper since that’s what we had already. It seems to work just fine and is a very cheap material.
All-in-all the only things we needed to buy were the clamps and light bulbs, which made the project about $25 in total.
The toughest part is finding backgrounds/surfaces. So far I’ve taken pictures with t-shirts, pillow covers, poster board, napkins, and full-length table clothes.

I’m totally in love with my light box and determined to bring it back to campus with me next semester even though it’s probably 1/20th the size of my room and I have nowhere to put it. The part I’m still learning about is the background; it’s hard to find material that photographs well, looks natural, and compliments the subject matter. And some of my photos have slip-ups like the visible cardboard behind the peanut butter s’mores bar above. Still, I’m eager to learn and get better.

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Dairy-Free Flourless Chocolate Cake

Written on December 21, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

The best kind of recipes are simple recipes, or recipes that involve chocolate. This is both.

Every year at Passover my mom would make this cake for our bake sales. All the Jewish kids loved it because it doesn’t break the rule of eating leavened bread and yet it’s so airy and cake-like. Now, I’m not Jewish, but I tip my hat to any religion that favors chocolate over bread.

When I saw Jenna post the recipe a few weeks ago, I took it as a sign to bake this cake. Who doesn’t celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Trebia every December 18th? You should. With cake.

I used the same recipe with a few alterations, like making it dairy-free. I followed the recipe to a T, messed up completely as I typically do, and still managed to bake something that held together and was delicious. I’m not sure how that last part happened but I’m so grateful it did.

Dairy-Free Flourless Chocolate Cake

I used this recipe replacing the butter with Earth Balance in a 1:1 ratio and added a hefty teaspoon of instant coffee granules.

I knew I was doing it just like Jenna when I had a mess in my sink, floor, and counter space.

This came out so well for a cake with no flour or gluten-free replacement. The structure is entirely made by eggs. I even beat mine way too long, never got them “thick” or to make ribbons, had to deflate them just to get the chocolate to mix, and the cake still turned out just fine. Now that’s a forgiving recipe.

And we all ate happily ever after.

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Double-Take Desserts

Written on December 20, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert, Highlights, Recipe Round-Up

As much as I love trying new things, I can’t get past old favorites. If a dessert is easy to throw together, I’m especially likely to keep the ingredients now “just in case” I need a sweet treat fast.

I made another batch of Peanut Butter S’mores Bars one week after my first batch. I’m obsessed. These were to bring to a Christmas party yesterday, and they were just as good as the first time. I even got requests to make them for a family birthday party in January—fine by me, any excuse to whip up another batch.

I also made another batch of microwave vegan fudge after coming home last week and realizing we had 4 pounds of earth balance. I’d like to say these were for a party or even neighbors but nope! I just made them because I was bored and craving chocolate. Don’t pretend like you wouldn’t do the same.

And now with my sugar coma I’m in awe that Christmas is just 5 days I way. I have a good idea at what some of my gifts will be and one sounds “picture perfect”. I can’t wait!

Oh, and if you thought things couldn’t get more chocolaty, just wait until tomorrow…

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The Wannabe Marathon Runner

Written on December 19, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Uncategorized

Today’s post isn’t a recipe or about food. It’s about ~~stubbornness~~ ambition.

Besides cooking, my other favorite pastime would without question be singing loudly at my television during The Sing Off. Oh, and I also like running. Like, really like running. So much so that I signed up for a marathon in October.

SunTrust National Marathon

I originally had planned to run the Providence Marathon in May. But the stars just aligned for me to run the National Marathon in Washington DC. Two other Providence bloggers, Becky and Lauren, also plan to run it so we can share long training runs. It’s also 3 days before my birthday which would let me fulfill a dream of running a marathon before I’m twenty ~~something~~. Everything was going so smooth.…

But, as with all things in life, there’s been a catch.

A month ago, I started feeling pain in my shin. I tried ignoring it, hoping it would go away, and even ran twice on it. I couldn’t ignore it when it hurt to walk, so I stopped running completely but I still hobbled around the kitchen and even kept walking the 2.5 mile round trip to Whole Foods. After a few weeks, I could walk and use the elliptical machine without any pain. But a month out and I still couldn’t run.

So I saw my doctor, who just happens to be a sports doctor, too. He looked at it for 5 minutes at most and knew exactly what I had: Medial tibial stress syndrome and peroneal tendon strain. Like everything else in medicine, its bark is worse than its bite. He told me to rest while I’m at home, ice and stretch daily. Within 2 weeks I can probably start fast walking and running soon after that.

So what am I doing now?(yes, I know I have a slight obsession with bright orange) I’m working a way to squeeze marathon training into 8 weeks. I can hear my grandmother’s voice in the back of my head: “Your grandfather was a stubborn Pollack” and so am I. I’m determined to cross that finish line after 26.2 miles of strain and effort on March 26th. I’ll know if I have to say nay, but for right now I remain optimistic. I’m hoping their won’t be a “wannabe” in my title much longer.

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Sweet Potato and Brussel Sprouts With Bacon

Written on December 18, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

As you could have guessed, I’ve been reuniting with a lot of things around here since I’ve been home, things like my own bed, Tivo, and bacon. Yes, bacon. I can’t believe it’s been over 4 months since I’ve cooked with bacon; I could feel Jessica’s heart breaking the whole time. The reason I didn’t buy bacon sooner is because I like to keep it in the freezer and my mini-fridge’s freezer was never that good. I learned from Food Network that if you keep bacon in the freezer, you can take it out, cut off the amount you need, and stick it back in and keep it like that for months! Genius, right? Because we all would like to believe that if we bought bacon we’d “eat 2 strips to satisfy the craving and then the rest would just go bad.” A likely story.

Now that I’ve gushed about bacon for too long, I’ll just say that, besides bacon, I love sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts, and combining them all in one pan is a recipe for comfort.

Sweet Potato and Brussel Sprouts With Bacon

Ingredients:

4 strips smoked bacon, diced*
1 small sweet potato, cooked and cubed
1/2 halved and cooked brussel sprouts
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

*You could make this recipe vegetarian by using a tempeh bacon or other bacon substitute. However, since those tend to be less fatty, add about a tablespoon of cooking oil in with the vegetables.

Heat a pan at medium over a burner. Add in the diced bacon once it has come to temperature and par-cook the bacon until it slightly browning but still flimsy.

Next, add in the brussel sprouts, sweet potato chunks, and soy sauce. You can cook these in the microwave or use them leftover from another meal(I steamed mine in a microwave).

Continue stirring the pan every few minutes until the fat has been absorbed and the edges start to brown/burn. Note: A little burning adds flavor into your dish. A lot of burning adds firemen into your kitchen. Serve hot.

There’s something great about eating a food you love. There’s something amazing about eating all the foods you love and their flavors come together. This is sweet, smoky, savory, and wholly comforting. Now someone please hide the bacon from me for the next month.

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Taking Inventory

Written on December 17, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Highlights

For the next month, I’m home with a large kitchen, full refrigerator and freezer, and 2 houses worth of groceries merged into one. Somewhere along the way, I stopped keeping track of what ingredients I had/needed and where. I figure I’ll use them all up anyway by the end of December; it is baking season after all.

4 boxes of Earth Balance. Don’t ask me how it got to this point, just know I love it. The sad part is how fast this will probably be gone.

My first box of shortening! I’m oddly more excited about just using this than whatever I’m going to make with it. Should I take a picture with it? Oh, a chef and his shortening…

All the ingredients to make another batch of peanut butter s’mores bars, because one pan a week just isn’t enough.

A whole roasting chicken to satisfy my craving of stuffing an onion up something’s you-know-what. It’s cheaper than seeing a therapist.

Countless opened bags of Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flour. Bob is my savior; I owe him my first born by this point.

And 5 pounds of carrots, because I discovered 5 pounds of regular sized carrots cost the same as 2 pounds of baby carrots and I have a pound-a-day habit going. I’m aiming for Snookie orange by the new year.

If our Northeaster on Friday turns into a 10-foot snow storm and we’re caved in, we have plenty of butter and carrots to live off of. What more could you need?

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Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies With Citrus

Written on December 16, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

This time of year, cookie swaps are everywhere. Like I’ve mentioned, I’m not the biggest cookie lover. However, there are some that I tip my hat to. I love the standard peanut butter cookie. And I’ve already paid tribute to the pairing of chocolate and orange once this Christmas season. But when I saw Kaitlin’s recipe for chocolate orange cookies, I had to make them and make them mine. While I was worried how these would taste at first, they ended up being the perfect balance of nuttiness, citrus, and chocolate. They’re festive and bound to be a hit at any cookie swap.

Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies With Citrus

Ingredients(Makes 18 cookies):

1 cup natural almond butter
3/4 cup cane sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt(omit if your almond butter is salted)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Zest of one orange

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start by mixing together the almond butter, sugar, salt, egg, and baking soda until it has all emulsified.

Next add in the chocolate chips and zest in the orange. Continue to mix this until the mix-ins are evenly distributed. Roll the dough into 18 1-inch balls and lay them out on a lined baking tray about 2 inches apart.

Press down on the top of each dough ball gently with a fork to make a criss-cross pattern. Bake these for about 12-14 minutes or until the edges start to brown slightly.

These are so festive! I was pleasantly surprised at how well the orange flavor came through, and yet you clearly get the almond flavor and sweet chocolate, too. It was completely necessary to eat 2 out of the oven to make sure they were OK. But if you can wait longer, these are perfect to eat alongside a tall glass of almond milk. I bet you Santa has never had milk and cookies like this.

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No-Bake Peanut Butter S’mores Bars

Written on December 15, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

I’m usually not an impulse shopper. I always take a list to the grocery store and would rather wait to buy a book on sale at Amazon than pay the full price at a Barnes & Nobles. Hell, I’m so cheap I’m waiting for The Social Network to play on TBS to see it. But I have my weaknesses.

Dandies brand vegan marshmallows were on sale at Whole Foods and I threw them in my cart out of habit. How could I not? They were a dollar off. Never mind that I don’t care for regular marshmallows—it was a bargain.

When I asked Twitter what to do with marshmallows, a resounding number of people said s’mores. Now, I’m not the biggest s’more fan(shocking, I know), but add peanut butter and I wouldn’t complain. Slowly but surely that lead to these bars, which are about as rich and sweet as you can imagine a dessert to be. Besides being incredibly delicious, they’re no-bake and took me about 20 minutes from start to finish. So put on a fire, make some hot cocoa, and start baking(or not).

No-Bake Peanut Butter S’mores Bars

For the crust:

16 graham crackers or 8oz graham crackers crumbs
3 tablespoons butter(or non-dairy alternative such as Earth Balance)
6 tablespoons natural style peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar

For the filling:

1/3 cup natural style peanut butter
2 tablespoons butter(or non-dairy alternative such as Earth Balance)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 cup mini-marshmallows, or 1 cup regular marshmallows cut into bite-sized pieces

For the top:

6oz(about 3/4 cup) chocolate chips
1 tablespoon butter(or non-dairy alternative such as Earth Balance)

Melt together the butter and peanut butter until it’s thin and creamy.

Break the graham crackers to coarse crumbs. You might want to use a food process for this. In a large bowl, add the peanut butter mixture to the graham cracker crumbs and sift in the powdered sugar. Work the dough until the ingredients have come together and press it into an 8×8 pan.

To make the filling, melt together the peanut butter and butter again. Sift in the powdered sugar, and pour the mixture over your crust. Spread it out to cover all parts. Next, press in the marshmallows over all parts of the filling.

Lastly, for the top, melt together the chocolate chips and butter. Pour it on top of the dessert in an even layer. The less you have to spread it to cover all parts, the better. Put this in the refrigerator to harden. Cut cold and serve at room temperature for best results.

This is everything a dessert should be: rich, sweet, chocolate and peanut butter. It’s really hard not to want to eat the whole pan. You can use different brands of graham crackers to make it gluten-free and/or vegan depending on who you’re making these for. And no one will leave disappointed.

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Roasted Golden Beets

Written on December 14, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

Let me tell you a little story. Nowadays I love beets because of their sweet flavor. Doug was speaking the truth when he called them nature’s candy. The first time that I tried them, I really fell in love with them and ate them as often as I could. But, you see, no one told me of their nasty side effect where everything comes out the same color it went in. And so for 2 weeks I thought I was dying, unknowing that my “grave condition” was—in fact—beet juice, until I confessed my problem and asked to be taken to the hospital.

The lesson of the story? Eat golden beets. Because no one gets worried when their pee is a little too yellow. They also taste like candy from their natural sweetness, and when mixed with a little salt and vinegar become the perfect side dish for any meal.

Roasted Golden Beets

Ingredients:

1 bunch golden beets
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
a splash of white vinegar

To start, trim the stems from the beets and peel off the outer skin with a sharp paring knife. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the beets into vertical slices about 1/4 inch thick. Be careful not to cut yourself. Use a non-slip board and a sharpened knife for the easiest cutting.

Next, lay the beets out on a single layer on a baking tray and drizzle the olive oil over them. Toss to coat. Roast the beets for 30-35 minutes, or until a fork goes in tender.

Lastly, drain off any excess oil and toss the cooked beats with salt and a splash of white vinegar. Serve hot.

Now we can just ignore that embarrassing story I told you and eat golden beets, right?

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Sweet And Spicy Tofu With Steamed Kale

Written on December 13, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

They say you need to eat a food 12 times before you learn to like it. I’m not quite sure how true that is, because last time I checked people don’t need that much convincing to like chocolate or peanut butter. But tofu is something I’m still learning to like, even after years of eating it. It can either taste delicious or fake depending on how it’s cooked. This is a great recipe because it’s flavorful and can be made in about 10 minutes with no pressing involved. This is one recipe that has helped me learn to love tofu.

Sweet And Spicy Tofu With Steamed Kale

Ingredients:

1 block of firm or extra-firm tofu, cubed
2-3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
a pinch of salt
1 bunch of kale, washed

Start by making your sauce. Whisk together honey, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, and chili powder until it has emulsified.

Heat a pan over medium heat with enough sesame oil to cover the bottom. Once the pan has become hot, add in your tofu and cook for about 5 minutes until the outside starts browning and the tofu is heated through.

Pour in your sauce and mix the pan to coat the tofu. Continue cooking while the sauce boils down and thickens. As it cooks, the tofu should absorb the liquid and become a golden brown color. It will be done when all the sauce is absorbed.

You can either steam your kale on the side, in the microwave, or(like I did), add it on top of the pan in the last few minutes of cooking. Steam it until it has reduced to about half its original volume.

Serve hot and season with salt and pepper.

What about you? Tofu lover or hater? Any way in particular you like it?

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