Chile Rellenos

**This post is for your viewing pleasure :]

ohhhh Thanksgiving

I am pretty sure we had at the very least three thanksgiving 'meals' that kind of resembled the plate above. All I must say were delicious! On the day of Thanksgiving we had a mini "Celebration Roast", instead of having MEAT. And today we decided to keep the Thanksgiving feasting going by making some mashed potatoes, stuffing, and steamed veggies alongside a thick slice of celebration roast. We are officially DONE with Thanksgiving food. :]

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving Holiday was a good one!

[If you don't have one of these nifty steamer baskets, I highly recommend picking one of these up the next time you are at the store]

-A

ode to breakfast

vegetarian style "BBQ"

Who said vegetarians couldn't enjoy that sweet savory flavor of BBQ sauce??

We suggest pairing your BBQ tofu with delicious Annie's organic mac & cheese. And if you have more time on your hands, greens would make this meal even better!

snacks!

Nachos: tortilla chips, refried beans, salsa, sour cream, & cheese!

Pumpkin seeds: take the pumpkin seeds out of the pumpkin, rinse and pat dry, mix in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of canola oil and a few shakes of salt, bake on a cookie sheet with about 25 min. at 350F.

making WHOOPIE

Whoopie pies are an amazing invention!
A while back we saw a recipe for whoopie pies in the Chronicle and neglected to make them until now. Despite yesterdays heat wave in sf, I turned on the oven to bake these delicious mini treats.
This recipe makes alot of whoopie pies, so I suggest cutting it in half.

FOR THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE COOKIES

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE CREAM-CHEESE FILLING

• 
  
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
3. Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.
4. Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)
5. Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

And here are a few photos of Manny and Sean enjoying their Whoopie Pies :)

-A

Brussel Sprout Season

I've been thinking of Thanksgiving dinner since before October and recently we decided to pair our mini mushroom field roast with the brussel sprouts I got at the divis market. I've never understood why the brussel sprout was such a hated vegetable, they taste delicious :)

-A

Magical Marble Birthday Cake!

Last week Manny turned the ripe old age of 27 and I surprised him with his favorite type of cake, MARBLE! It was the first time I used cake flour for baking so I was unsure about how the cake would turn out. But luckily the cake came out moist and the cake flour really gave it a light and soft texture. And I just might make this cake again today, it was soo good. :)

Makes 3 1/2 cups batter

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for dusting
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup milk, room temperature
• 1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup best-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder, for mocha layers
• Batter for each 3-inch-deep pan: 7 3/4-inch-by-5 5/8-inch, 7 cups; 10 3/4-inch-by-7 5/8-inch, 10 1/2 cups; 13-inch-by- 9 7/8-inch, 14 cups; 16 1/2-inch-by-12 3/8-inch, 17 1/2 cups.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter pans; line with parchment paper. Butter lining; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. Combine milk and cream in a small bowl; set aside. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time; mix well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and ending with flour.
3. Combine cocoa and the boiling water in a medium bowl; for mocha cake, add espresso powder. Stir in 1 cup cake batter.
4. Fill prepared pans with spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter to form a checkerboard pattern. Run the tip of a paring knife or a wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake until tops are golden, and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cakes cool completely in pans on wire racks.

This past week was our good friend Jon Freeman's Birthday, which is exciting for me because what better present is there than homemade cupcakes! :) I decided on Pumpkin and Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes, both turned out pretty pretty good.

As you can see from the photo above, the Mexican hot choco cupcakes were topped with powdered sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa.

After a short trip down to Gilroy I arrived home and made this amazing and simple grilled cheese. It tasted more amazing than any other grilled cheese I've made in the past because of the ridiculously delicious fresh tomatoes I brought up from Gilroy. My Aunt Josie grows tomatoes and chili's and onions and zuchini, so she packed a whole basket full and gave it to me before I left. There is nothing more exciting than being given fresh produce :)

And since we had a ton of tomatoes to eat, we decided on making bruschetta. I'm sure there are different variations, but we like to keep it simple by combining chopped tomatoes, basil, and olives.

Arugula seasoned with pepper goes really well with the Bruschetta!

One day I was really ambitious and decided to make a watermelon agua fresca. It's really easy to make. All you need is a watermelon and its also good to have a fine sieve to work with. First I diced the watermelon into cubed and placed them in bowls. Then I added extra water and let it sit for a good 20 minutes.

I placed a sieve above one of the taller pots we have so I could drain the melon water and mash it.

I proceeded to mash the watermelon until I felt I couldn't get anymore water out.

I poured the watermelon agua into a pitcher and sweetened it with a little bit of simple syrup and the juice of one lime. You can add more or less simple syrup depending on how sweet you want it.

Green rice is a great change from the typical mexican rice. Its not spicy or hot but it just tastes damn good. We have this mexican cookbook and I had been wanting to attempt the 'green rice'. So alongside our broiled fish, I made the green rice and tomatillo salsa and the regular fresh salsa (since we still had a ton of tomatoes).

To make the rice green, you first have to broil two poblano peppers in the oven. After they are nice and toasted, cut the stem off and throw it in your blender or food processor. In addition to the peppers, I added half a cup of cilantro and 1/4 cup of water. Blend until smooth.

When you are ready to make the rice, brown a cup of long grain rice in some canola oil on medium heat. While the rice is browning, boil two cups of water. After the rice is browned, add the water and the green poblano sauce to the rice. keep it uncovered and boiling for a couple minutes and then cover the rice and turn the heat on low. And in a quick 20-25 minutes you'll have delicious green rice!

Tomatillo Salsa!
4 tomatillos, 4 serrano chilis, 4 garlic cloves, one medium sized onion diced, a half cup of cilantro and salt to taste.
Broil everything in the broiler set at hi for about 8 minutes. and transfer everything into a blender or food processor. Add the cilantro and salt and blend until smooth. It should look something like this.

-A

Huevos Rancheros

September 16th was Mexico's Independence Day. They celebrated 200 years of freedom. In honor of the occasion we are writing about my favorite Mexican breakfast, Huevos Rancheros.

This is a simple breakfast that only requires 5 ingredients, tortillas, eggs, tomatoes, green onion, and cilantro.

Traditionally people fry the tortillas in oil until tender then placed on a paper towel, but for a healthy take we just heat up the tortilla then set it on a plate. Next you take an egg, sunny side up, and place it on top of one of two tortillas. then you pour the sauce over.

The sauce is quick and easy. Fry 3 sliced green onions in medium heat for 2 minutes, then add 3-4 chopped tomatoes and cook until desired consistency.
Turn off heat and add chopped cilantro and let it sit for a minute.
Add salt to taste and Tada Ranchero Sauce!

-M

gone fishin'

This past month has been BUSY! We promise to get back to posting delicious looking food asap but in the mean time here are a few photos from this past month, enjoy!

Manny has been doing a ton of work with the DeWitt Lacy for Supervisor Campaign

Juan and Iby came up to visit! This is from the Padres vs Giants game that we went to

The Strokes were AMAZING at Outsidelands!

Went to support our friend Jon and his new band, SHE BEARDS.

While our friend Amy was visiting, we drove out to Muir Woods to get a little taste of nature and fresh air.

Muir Woods Beach

We drove down to San Diego for a week long stay with the family

Tecate, Mexico.

everyone put on their best outfits for the MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY PARTY ;)

we were so lucky to be able to spend some time with our friends Lauren and Nathan! they just got back from traveling

The main reason we went down to San Diego was for my cousin Erin's wedding!!!

Mrs. and Mr. Astudillo

family :)

fin.