This soup works well as leftovers, and also incorporates lots of staples you're likely to have on-hand. (In Praise of Leftovers)

Tomato barley soup with feta and green onion biscuits

By Sarah Murphy-Kangas, In Praise of Leftovers / 05.01.13

Three generations. Riding bikes in the sun. 

After our bike ride with Grammy, Poppy, and the kids yesterday, I told Yancey, "This is a very short window. The oldest are healthy, the youngest can ride a 2-wheeler, and the 10 year-old still wants to be with us." A little blip on the screen, really. And all the more precious for it.

After our ride, we came back to the house and grandparents played cards with kids while I made dinner. We have people over a couple times a week, and I usually plan ahead more than I did last night. Nothing prepped, chopped, or even dreamed up.

Enter Refrigerator Soup, though I've named it something else here. A vegetable soup like this: 

1. ... is a wonderful way to pack in oodles of veggies.

2. ... makes great leftovers (not that I have ever devoted any time to thinking about that).

3. ... is endlessly variable.

4. ... makes a pretty picture.

5. .. kind of demands biscuits. I made a divine variation. (See recipe below.)

Tomato barley soup
The great thing about a soup like this is that it's almost impossible to mess it up. Don't go light on the salt, taste as you go, and have fun cleaning out your fridge!

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped or thinly sliced

2 large carrots, finely chopped

1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped

4 cloves minced garlic

2 cans chicken stock (or water)

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1/2 head of small cabbage, finely shredded

Few big handfuls of chopped fresh kale 

1/2 cup quick-cooking barley (or 1 cup cooked grain, like rice)

Big handful fresh basil, coarsely chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Lots of coarse salt

Pepper 

1. Heat up the olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add carrots, red pepper, and garlic, and sauté until soft, about 10 more minutes. 

2. Add chicken stock and tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes. Stick an immersion blender in and puree about 1/4 of the soup to give it more body.

3. Add cabbage, kale, and barley and cook for 10 minutes. Add basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and add more of anything to taste (including more water if you want your soup thinner).

4. Serve unadorned or with lemon zest, Parmesan, or more basil on top.

Feta and green onion biscuits

These are a riff on my classic biscuits, and will elevate any soup to divine heights. The feta adds some moisture that makes them even fluffier, if that's possible, and the green onions add beautiful little flakes of color.

Makes 6-8, depending on the size of your biscuit cutter. I doubled the batch for 6 people, and we had none left over.

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup (1 cube) cold unsalted butter

1/2 cup coarsely crumbled feta

1/3 cup finely chopped green onions

3/4 cup cold milk

Flaked salt and milk for tops

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in butter with your fingertips or a pastry cutter until butter is in pea-sized lumps. Add feta and green onions and gently mix with your hands.

3. Add milk, and mix with a wooden spoon until mixture just holds together. Knead a couple times in the bowl, then let dough rest for 1 or 2 minutes.

4. Flour a work surface. With a rolling pin, roll dough out into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Fold short ends toward one another, then roll out again until dough is about 3/4-inch thick. With a biscuit cutter, cut out rounds and place them close together in a pie plate on a cookie sheet. Roll out remaining dough the same way and cut out the rest.

5. Brush tops with milk, then sprinkle lightly with flaked or coarse salt. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until tops are golden brown and biscuits are cooked through. Serve hot with butter.

Peanut butter pound cake and lemon coconut squares were two items that went into the Boston care pack. Both recipes got good reviews. (The Pastry Chef's Baking)

Baking for Boston: Peanut butter pound cake and lemon coconut bars

By Carol Ramos, The Pastry Chef's Baking / 04.30.13

Boston has been on my mind since the bombing at the Boston Marathon. I've consciously avoided the news coverage on the perpetrators – I think justice should be done but I refuse to rubberneck over the darker side of humanity. It would keep me too focused on the horror people can do to one another and there's just too much of that in the news.

I would much rather pay attention to and be inspired by the heroes the tragedy brought out: the first responders who rushed into the danger that others fled from; the bystanders who helped injured men, women and children; the police who worked to keep people safe; the journalists who sought to do responsible, accurate reporting despite the danger of their surroundings; and so many more examples of courage, compassion, and goodness.

Not surprisingly, one of my coping mechanisms to deal with tragedy is to bake. Most importantly, it's also to share what I've baked, which is what I did with the following recipes. My friends in Boston and in one case, the newsroom where one of them works, were the recipients of these. I like to share and I couldn't think of a more deserving group. Editor's note: We were very grateful!

It's always hard to mail anything with frosting in a care package but I really wanted to make this cake. I'd seen it on Pinterest a little while ago and I knew pound cakes kept better over several days and are better able to survive being mailed. It's hard to send a frosted bundt cake through the mail and expect it to make it intact after a 3,000-mile journey though, so I baked them in these paper loaf pans and left them in there to cool before I frosted them with the chocolate peanut butter frosting. 

I kept the frosting fairly contained within the loaf pans and it was easy to completely encase them in plastic wrap, put each in a ziploc bag and line them up side by side in the mailing box, wedged in so they wouldn't move. I covered them with those plastic air packs from my (many) Amazon shipments so that there would be no space to move between the loaves and the top of the box. Editor's note: They arrived in perfect form.

That was the practical aspect of mailing them. Now for the taste. This made a lot of batter so I was able to get five paper loaf pans and a ramekin out of them. The ramekin was important since that was my taste test serving. First, let me set up that I'm indifferent to peanut butter. I like it well enough but if I had to prioritize a list of flavors, peanut butter wouldn't prevail over chocolate, caramel, coconut or lemon, for instance.

Second, I've previously mentioned I'm not a big fan of frosting. I either like my cakes plain or with just the barest smidge of frosting. I've been known to scrape frosting off of cakes and just eat the cake, no matter how many times my frosting-loving friends roll their eyes at me. Now that I've done that set up, let me tell you: I loved this cake. 

The texture was amazing and the peanut butter flavor wasn't overwhelming. I also really loved the frosting. There, I said it. I loved the frosting. Not too chocolaty, not too peanut butter-y but a perfect blend of the two flavors. Plus it was a nice creamy texture that went well with the cake. Love. 

I did discover later that I had likely underbaked the loaf pans a tad (I kept one back to bring to work and mailed out the other four) but, based on the feedback from my recipients, I don't think it was too underbaked as they seemed to like it. I got a flurry of very nice thank you emails from the newsroom – it's always nice to hear people enjoyed what you sent them. That was my tiny, tiny little part in trying to do good for others after that tragedy. Editor's note: They were delicious!

(Recipes on next page)

Peanut butter pound cake

From Glimmer Twin Fan

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy

5 eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup milk, whole or low fat (I used whole milk)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a large tube or bundt pan by greasing and flouring it. Set pan aside. (A couple people have commented that their cake overflowed while baking. This recipe makes a large cake and I used a large tube pan. Only fill your bundt/tube pan up about 3/4 full. Don't let the extra batter go to waste though, make some muffins or a small loaf.)

2. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

3. On medium speed, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the brown sugar and peanut butter and continue mixing. Add the eggs, one at a time. Wait until one egg is fully mixed in before adding the next one. Add vanilla.

4. Add the dry ingredients and the milk to the creamed mixture. Alternate between the flour mixture and the milk, using about a fourth of the ingredient at a time. Always begin and end with the dry ingredients. Mix completely.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60-70 minutes (Adjust baking time based on your pan size/s.) Start checking to see if it is done at 60 minutes using a wooden toothpick. Continue checking every 5 minutes to make sure it does not overcook. When the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.

6. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then remove it from the cake pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

7. Dust with powdered sugar or frost as desired.

Peanut butter frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter, creamy

2 cups powdered sugar

Milk (amount varies based on consistency desired) 

1. Cream butter and peanut butter.

2. Add powdered sugar and milk while mixer is set on low. Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.

3. Pour over the top of the cake.

For chocolate peanut butter frosting, melt 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate squares, cool slightly, and add to the butter and peanut butter mixture. Proceed with the rest of the instructions. Don't worry if the frosting is too thick or thin, just add small amounts of milk to thin, or powdered sugar to thicken.

Lemon coconut bars

From My Baking Addiction

 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

3/4 cup cold butter  

4 eggs

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup flaked coconut 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13x2-inch pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, combine flour and confectioners' sugar; cut in the butter until crumbly.

3. Press into the bottom of baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and baking powder until well mixed. Pour over crust; sprinkle coconut evenly over the top.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Drizzle a portobello mushroom with olive oil and bake for a few minutes. Then serve it on toast topped with your cashew cheese. (Beyond the Peel)

Meatless Monday: Vegan cashew cheese

By France Morissette and Joshua Sprague, Beyond the Peel / 04.28.13

Editor's note: Stir It Up! blogger France Morissette is currently living in a remote cabin while she works as a fire lookout in Canada. She's also experimenting with a vegan diet. You can read more about her unusual experience on her blog, BeyondthePeel.net.

So… I’ve arrived. Day 3 of being at the tower. Good thing they brought in a snow plow to clear the paths to the outhouse, storage sheds, and cabin. It would have been days of shoveling. Day 1 of the fire season and I’m starting with a base of 36 cm of snow!

And guess what? It’s still snowing. I’ve been in a snow cloud now for a solid 24 hours and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. That’s not a bad thing necessarily. It’s giving me lots of time to “settle” in. Unpack boxes and suitcases. Trying to find things, like where do they keep batteries, the broom, and mop? This place has been shut up since last October so there’s a bit of cleaning to do. And I have nothing but time.

Lots and lots of time. Especially since the Internet (using an Aircard), isn’t nearly as good as I had hoped for. It doesn’t look like I’ll get as much use out of it as I had planned, except for the necessities (incredibly long loading times), like blog posts. That makes me a little sad. But I am in the middle of nowhere and should be grateful, after all, to have it in the first place. So, no more complaining from me.

I returned to the same tower I was at 4 and 5 years ago. What are the chances?

There are some good memories here and I keep finding evidence of my story, here and there. Antique salt and pepper shakers I brought with me the first year that I’d forgotten about. Small delicate glass shakers. So out of place in this rugged isolated place. A beautiful scented candle my best friend gave me years ago for my birthday (mostly used up, but with a little life left in it yet). The scent is Mediterranean Fig. An old apple basket I used to keep my onions and garlic in. Oh! And best of all, the tackiest clock you ever did see. Dusty blue in color, with a floral brocade background. Hideous, yet still hanging in the exact same spot. There’s a fondness for that hideous thing, for some reason or another.

This is an old cabin with plenty of character. Probably built in the 1970s, judging by the cupboards, wood paneling and the state of the floor. I better get my nostalgia in while I can. This ol’ cabin is being ripped out next year and being replaced with a newer, “better” version. I say “better” since the new cabins are supposed to have very little storage in the kitchen and the bedroom closet has been replaced with an indoor shower. The shower sounds promising doesn’t it? Don’t get too excited, there’s still no running water, but it does provide a good place for a shower bag and protection from the bugs (priceless!). However, for a girl who loves food, cooking, and clothes, cupboard space and a closet are just as essential. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

As for the whole vegan thing, after three days, I feel a little hungry. I won’t lie.

If you’re wondering about a meat lover going vegan, I go into detail about it in this post. But essentially I’m still a meat eater so if anyone wants to come by with some hunted meat or farm fresh eggs, I’m in. But finding sustainably raised meat around here would be next to impossible unless you were in tight with the locals. So I’m putting my values to the test. Can I do it? Probably, if I can figure the hunger part out.

On Day 1, I just unpacked. On Day 2, I made some soft vegan “cheese” made of soaked cashews. Something I’ve been meaning to try. Wish I had done it earlier. Boy was I missing out. I actually have to refrain myself from eating it by the spoonful. I’ve also made some sprouted spelt and sesame bread and a couple extremely delicious meals.

Hunger aside, I invite you to follow my journey over the next 6 months. If you’ve been feeling like you wanted to experiment with eating less meat and more veg, or simply giving up dairy, there might be a nugget of helpful information for you. Maybe learn from my mistakes and triumphs? I know I’ll be doing a lot of learning! Who knows, maybe you are vegan and looking for some tasty ideas or maybe you can even offer some suggestions.

Even if you still eat meat or have a partner that simply won’t go without, don’t fret. Most of the meals and dishes I’ll be sharing can easily be served with a meat of your choice. I’ll be make pairing suggestions along the way, when they apply.

I used nutritional yeast in this recipe for cashew cheese, but it can be omitted. Don’t feel like you need to buy it just to try this out. However, it does add a cheesy goodness to it. If you do decide to buy some, it makes a fabulous popcorn topping. You can source it online, if you live in a small community with no local organic specialty store. In larger cities you may even be able to purchase it at a regular grocery store if it has a specialty isle, but most specialty organic stores will carry it, too.

First experiment, Vegan Cashew Cheese. I chose to make a herbed version. I used it in a Portobello Steak Sandwich recipe that you see in the photos. The assembly is simple enough. Bake or broil a portobello mushroom drizzled with olive oil for 5-10 minutes. I chose a herb olive oil a friend gave me (thank you Tina, it was delicious) and seasoned it with smoked salt (this gives it a meaty flavor). Serve it on toast, rubbed with fresh garlic, then topped with Herbed Cashew Cheese, sauteed onions, and spinach. (Meat lovers can do this with grilled chicken instead of a mushroom.)

Vegan Cashew Cheese

1 cup raw cashews 

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Water

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Soak the cashews in 1 cup of water for an hour. Drain the cashews. In a blender, add the cashews, lemon juice and nutritional yeast. Blend until smooth adding only enough water to make the cashews creamy but not runny, adding it in 1 tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl. If using herbs, mix any freshly chopped herbs into the cheese using a spoon. Refrigerate until cool. It will stiffen a bit more once its chilled.

Variations

Herbed cashew cheese:

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1 green onion, finely chopped

Fold in the herbs, after the first steps are completed.

Truffled cashew cheese:

1 tablespoon truffle oil

1 small garlic clove

Add the truffle oil and the garlic clove to the blender with the other ingredients. Blend until smooth, adding only enough water necessary to blend.

Creamy dill dip:

1/4 finely chopped fresh dill

1–2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon lemon Juice

Add the extra lemon juice and just enough water to get desired consistency and blend until smooth. Fold in the chopped dill.

Maple fruit dip:

Omit nutritional yeast and salt and pepper. Add 3 tablespoons of maple syrup and a small dash of salt to the blender and blend until smooth. Serve with your favorite sliced fruit.

This Crock-Pot 'Rival' can be programmed so that dinner is ready when you are. For a college student on a tight budget, a Crock-Pot almost replaces Mom's homecooked meals – almost. (The Holmes Group)

Slow cooker: A college student's best friend

By Ben Frederick, Contributor / 04.28.13

The college that I went to had a cafeteria and a meal plan. It was located about an hour away from the next major city (and just about everything else). My room and board were included in my tuition because I lived on campus. I never had to cook. The cleaning ladies even attacked our bathrooms every day for us with lemon-scented substances and heavy-duty rubber gloves.

Now I live in an apartment in a big city with no cleaning ladies or meal plans in sight. It was very exciting to move all my stuff into my room and get it set up just the way I wanted it. And then I stepped into the kitchen.

It was empty, and I didn’t know how to fill it. At home, the fridge was always full of things to eat, and my parents are like Rumplestiltskins of the kitchen – spinning beautiful meals from whatever there was lying around. (Mostly dog hair, if I remember correctly.)

Now, I’m not a bad cook. My parents have taught me a thing or two, and I know to tie on an apron. But cooking takes time – time to prepare ingredients, time to mix them all together, and time to wait for it all to cook. And food is expensive, too! Who knew? I’m spending all my (parent’s) money on rent and food.

But then my mom sent this recipe for Buffalo Chicken. And I got a slow cooker. (Cue the chorus of angels.)

All told, you will only need to spend $10 on groceries, it’s easy to make (just throw some ingredients in there!), you'll have a week's worth of dinners, and it’s unbelievably tasty. I can’t recommend this recipe enough.

Slow cookers are easy to find, too. I have a friend who was riding his bike and found one on the side of the road. He took it back to his apartment, washed it out, turned it on, and “threw some potatoes and stuff in there.” We’ve had entire conversations about the benefits of slow cookers.

Crock-Pot Buffalo Chicken

3 lbs. boneless chicken breast

1 12-ounce bottle of Frank’s Buffalo Wings Sauce

1 packet of Ranch Dip Mix

2 tablespoons butter

Some bread, rolls preferably

1. Put frozen chicken, wing sauce, and ranch dip mix into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

2. Using two forks, shred chicken, then return to the slow cooker (you can shred it while it's still in the pot too, as long as you don't plunge your hands into the hot lava). Add butter. Cook on low for an additional hour.

3. Serve on toasted deli rolls with pepper jack cheese or bleu cheese dressing (if desired).

4. Eat and enjoy.

Black pepper beef is a classic Chinese stir fry, a quick Cantonese dish that works well as a week-night dinner. (Blue Kitchen)

Black pepper beef with Kampot pepper from the Pepper Project

By Terry Boyd, Blue Kitchen / 04.27.13

One simple ingredient can often make all the difference when you’re cooking. And now that’s more true than ever. The ingredient in this case is black pepper – freshly ground, of course, instead of pre-ground and packed in a tin. Freshly ground peppercorns pop with flavor and fragrance, becoming a true flavor, not just background noise, and you can control the grind, from fine to coarsely cracked.

And in Cambodia, the Pepper Project is making a difference, with pepper. Run by the husband and wife team Tom Gordon and Cris Peterson, the Pepper Project is a not-for-profit enterprise devoted to introducing products of Cambodia to the United States. Through the sales of these products, primarily pepper, they support fair trade for farmers as well as organizations that protect street children, disabled children and victims of sex trafficking. 

The Pepper Project imports organic peppercorns from areas in Cambodia that are approved with the United Nations Geographic Indicator designation. They purchase only from farmers who pay fair labor wages, and and donate 100 percent of their profits to Cambodian charities and projects. You can find out more about the Pepper Project and the work it does – and purchase Kampot pepper – at its website (www.pepperproject.org).

Pepper from the Kampot region of southwestern Cambodia has long been prized for its delicate, bright, fruity aroma and flavor by European chefs and restaurateurs. Pepper Project’s goal is to make it readily available throughout the United States. It’s already getting some attention. Anthony Bourdain says, “It’s got a floral dimension that’s really something special.” And at Le Bernardin in New York, executive pastry chef Michael Laiskonis has used it to flavor everything from ice cream to goat-cheese mousse. It also packs a subtle bit of heat that sneaks up on you.

The sample we received from the Pepper Project showed us what all the fuss was about. We’ve long been proponents of freshly ground pepper, but this was something more. I ground some of our go-to peppercorns into one ramekin and Kampot peppercorns into another. The fragrance alone told the story – the Kampot peppercorns were markedly more fragrant, brighter, bolder. We couldn’t wait to cook with them.

My first choice to test-drive Kampot pepper would have been Spaghetti with Pecorino Romano and Pepper, a four-ingredient dish in which pepper is the star. Unfortunately, I’d already written about it here. My next thought was black pepper beef, a classic Chinese stir fry. It’s a weeknight quick Cantonese dish from the Guangdong province. Besides beef and black pepper, it features bell pepper, ginger, onion, garlic and, in my version, celery. The marinade/sauce includes soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil.

Black pepper beef
Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as part of a multi-course meal

8 ounces flank steak

1-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1-1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce (available in Asian markets and some supermarkets)

1-1/2 tablespoons Chinese wine or dry sherry (optional, may substitute cooking wine)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon corn starch

1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided

2 tablespoons (or more) canola oil

1/2 large onion, sliced into thin half moons

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized chinks

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin

1 celery rib, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

Cooked white rice

Extra soy sauce, for passing at the table

1. Slice the flank steak across the grain into 1/3-inch thick slices. Cut the slices into bite-sized pieces. Mix soy sauce, oyster sauce, Chinese wine (if using), sesame oil, sugar, corn starch and 1 teaspoon of pepper in a large bowl. Add beef and toss to coat. Set aside and marinate for at least 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to another bowl, reserving excess marinade.

2. Heat canola oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high flame. Add beef to skillet and stir fry for about 2 minutes, tossing frequently. Transfer back to bowl with slotted spoon.

3. Add onion, bell pepper, ginger, celery and garlic to pan. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1-1/2 minutes. Return beef to pan along with reserved marinade and cook about 1 minute longer. Transfer to serving dish and top with remaining ground pepper. Serve with rice. Pass soy sauce at table. Also, be sure to tell diners to avoid the ginger slices. Seriously.

Baking provides a welcome distraction from the news cycle, and other every-day events. These raspberry coconut layer bars are a special treat to share with friends and family. (Eat.Run.Read.)

Raspberry coconut layer bars

By Mollie Zapata, Eat. Run. Read. / 04.26.13

Last Friday, if you recall, was kind of a stressful everything-is-terrible-and-sad sort of day. And from my perspective, there is only one reasonable and constructive way to respond to this – bake something amazing!

I always find baking relaxing. It requires enough thought and focus that you really can’t multitask it without running the risk of accidentally forgetting baking soda, or switching salt for sugar, or ooh whoops that was supposed to be 300 degrees F and not 375? It is active and yet not challenging (unless you’re whipping that cream by hand), and it results in something edible and hopefully delicious to share.

With Boston news on in the background, and thunder and lightning and tornado-style wind outside my windows, I calmly cracked a can of sweetened condensed milk, took out my aggression crushing a sleeve of graham crackers, and layered up these bars that may sound like too much, but trust me they are just right.

Let’s talk about the layers: graham cracker crust, coconut and sweetened condensed milk, raspberry jam, toasted almonds, and semi-sweet chocolate.

Like I said, these are intense little bars of awesomeness, and come with a hefty warning: for sharing! I may or may not have eaten four on Saturday alone (breakfast, post-lunch, post-dirt biking, dessert – nothing makes a crushed foot feel better like coconut!). 

On a scale from one to you-will-not-regret-these, go make them now. If someone would be so kind as to deliver a can of sweetened condensed milk to my door, I would make another batch immediately.

Raspberry coconut layer bars
Click here for a printable recipe from Eat.Run.Read.
Recipe adapted from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

1-2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs (1 sleeve of graham crackers, crushed)

1/2 stick butter (melted)

1 tablespoons sugar

3 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup seedless raspberry jam (about half a jar – up to you how much jam you want)

3/4 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted in the oven

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (and/or white chocolate chips)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (To toast the almonds, I put them in a cake pan in the oven while it was preheating – if you do this, make sure you check on them so they don’t burn.)

2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar in a bowl. Press firmly into bottom of a greased and parchment paper-lined 7x11-inch pan (OK, so the original recipe says to use a 9x13-inch pan, but that just seemed too big so I went with something slightly smaller. You could also do a 9x9-inch and make them thicker and/or make a few extra mini ones in a cupcake pan). 

3. Spread coconut over the top, and then pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over top. 

4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack. 

5. Spread jam over cooled top, sprinkle with nuts. 

6. Melt the chocolate chips in a small bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds and then at 10 second intervals until just melted. I used a fork to drizzle the chocolate over the bars. 

7. Cool completely before cutting. 

'How to Boil an Egg' by Rose Carrarini is delicately illustrated by Fiona Strickland, such as this Eton Mess, traditionally served at the annual June 4 picnic at Eton College. It is a mixture of crushed meringue, whipped cream, and fresh berries. (Courtesy Phaidon Press)

Cookbook review: How to Boil an Egg (+video)

By Laura Edwins, Contributor / 04.26.13

Growing up I rarely ate eggs for breakfast. My mom was not a big egg person, (hates them in fact), so the only time I got them was the rare occasion my dad would get a craving. Dad serves his eggs the same way every time, scrambled with lots of salt and pepper, and usually with a side of country ham. 

So the concept of other egg dishes, eggs over-easy with a beautiful runny yolk to dip your toast in, soft-boiled eggs carefully cracked and scooped out, a perfect omelet that neither burns nor comes out too runny, was foreign to me. "How to Boil an Egg" by Rose Carrarini of Rose Bakery, is the perfect primer for the cook who can't quite get eggs right, or is looking to take them to the next level.

At first glance the book may seem a little simplistic. As expected, it starts with easy instructions for simple breakfast dishes, poached eggs, fried eggs, eggs benedict, eggs florentine, pancakes, and French toast. The book also has recipes for classic pastries like scones, muffins, popovers, and cakes. (Well of course, I thought, there are eggs in almost every baked good!) But the chapter titled "Eggs for Tea," a collection of cakes and puddings, was full of surprises.

Ms. Carrarini is co-founder of the Anglo-French bakery and restaurant, Rose Bakery, with locations in Paris, London, Tokyo, and Seoul. The book has a decidedly British and sophisticated feel to it, with recipes for creative tarts and gratins and desserts you don't see often in the United States. A whole section on puddings? Maybe it's my American ignorance, but I sort of thought bread pudding was the height of pudding sophistication. Recipes with exotic names like "Orange Crème Caramel" and "Eton Mess" proved me wrong. "Pudding" is the generic term for dessert in Britain.

The book is beautifully illustrated by botanical artist, Fiona Strickland  – a welcome visual delight in a world full of doctored food photos. Their simplicity and exquisite detail bring to life the beauty of cracked egg shell, not to mention the dizzily decorated "Geoise Sponge Cake," topped with layers of jam, dollops of whipped cream, a dusting of sugar, and raspberries. I have to confess, I was intimidated.

So I started with something simple, "Egg in the Middle" also known as "Toad in a Hole" or "Eggs in a Basket," a fried egg cooked in the middle of a piece of toast. With clear instructions I also managed to master the perfect omelet, or ("omelette, in British-speak) and subsequently, the omelet sandwich, my new weekend lunch-time favorite. I worked my way up to to the pudding section, and then picked something I felt was both sophisticated and accessible to the average American: chocolate mousse. 

A disclaimer: This recipe contains raw eggs, which made me really nervous. The eggs whites and egg yolks are beaten separately, but neither are cooked or baked in any way. After chilling, this makes for an extremely rich and fluffy mousse. My only other experience knowingly eating raw eggs has been in the form of cookie dough, so this recipe felt like a bit of a risk, but well worth it. I taste-tested it a few hours before serving it to others, and then felt comfortable with small bowls. I topped my mousse with strawberries and bananas, but after its debut night, the leftovers were simply divine scooped spoonful by spoonful from the bowl in the fridge.

Rose Bakery chocolate mousse 

11 ounces semisweet chocolate (Ms. Carrarini recommends a specific brand called Valrhona's Guanaja 72 percent, I used regular Baker's Chocolate from my grocery store.)

3/4 cup heavy cream

6 eggs, separated

1-2 tablespoons sugar (to taste)

Optional add-ins and garnishes:

3 tablespoons hot espresso coffee

1 tablespoon whiskey, dark rum or Grand Marnier

chocolate beads, or shavings

coconut flakes

strawberries, bananas, or other fruit

whipped cream

1. Melt the chocolate completely on the stove or in the microwave. Ms. Carrarini recommends using a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool.

2. Get out three large mixing bowls and two smaller bowls. Carefully separate your eggs into the two smaller bowls. In one of the large bowls whip the cream until soft peaks form.

3. Beat the egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form, then add the sugar, and beat for a few more minutes. (You may want to take it easy on the sugar depending on how sweet you like your mousse. You can always add more later.)

4. In the last large bowl beat the egg yolks well. Beat in the espresso, whiskey, or rum (if using). Stir the melted chocolate into the yolk mixture. The mixture will thicken up a lot. Fold in half the egg whites, then all the cream. Finally fold in the other half of the egg whites.

5. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour before decorating and serving.

Avoiding wheat, looking to trim down, or just trying to get more veggies in your diet? Veggie 'noodles' are a great addition to a simplified meal. (Beyond the Peel)

Carrot and cucumber veggie noodle salad with cilantro hemp pesto

By France Morissette and Joshua Sprague, Beyond the Peel / 04.25.13

Even though it’s snowing in Canada as I write this, I still feel like spring is in the air. Probably because the sun is finally starting to rise before I do and set at a reasonable hour (not 5 p.m.). At least for me, with spring comes the unquenchable need for veggies. More Veggies! I can’t get enough. So I decided to ditch the grains and fill up on vegetable “noodles.”

Yup, veggie “noodles.” Whether you’re trying to lean down, avoid wheat for digestive issues, or simply get more veggies into your diet, veggie “noodles” are a great addition to a simplified meal.

Sure you can buy a spiralizer to make noodle shapes out of raw vegetables, but if you’ve never tried it before, you may not want to invest in a fancy gadget. After all, we don’t need to create kitchen gadget cemeteries in our kitchens. A carrot peeler is a great way of testing out the concept like we did here for Carrot Parpadelle. A mandoline  (this is the one we use) works great, too, if you have one. Or in this case, my sister picked up an inexpensive julienne peeler.

I have to say I love it. It’s a carrot peeler that easily makes julienne style cuts. Using this style of peeler makes fantastic zucchini spaghetti in seconds. I also like how cost effective they are ($5-$7) and store easily (since they are small) and clean up in a snap. If you end up loving the idea and find yourself making vegetable “noodles” on a regular basis, you can move on to fancier equipment, like the spiralizer mentioned above (which works amazingly well, by the way). I wouldn’t recommend the peeler if you were trying to feed a crowd, but for small jobs or a meal for 2, they are perfect. For bigger crowds, the spiralizer or mandoline is a better choice.

Of course, you don’t need any of those to make this recipe. You can simply chop or slice the veggies for an equally delicious and healthy meal.

Vegetable noodles are common in vegan and raw diets, but you don’t need to be vegan or following a raw diet to enjoy the benefits of this technique. When I get to my post in the fire-watching cabin, this will be a typical meal served with no meat or with the addition of a grilled portobello mushroom. Here we served the carrot and cucumber noodles with grilled deer. You may not have access to wild game, so serve it with chicken, beef, pork or omit the the meat entirely for a satisfying gluten free vegan meal.

I used lime in this pesto, simply for a different flavor profile, but lemon would work, too.

Cilantro hemp pesto (dairy free)

1 cup of lightly packed cilantro leaves and stems

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons hemp seeds

juice of 1/2 a lime (or lemon)

1 garlic clove minced

salt and pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until the cilantro is finely minced but not puréed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Leftovers: Leftovers make a delicious sandwich spread. Add to burgers, a grilled cheese or use it as a topping for a burst of flavor on tomato soup.

Carrot and cucumber noodle salad
Serves 2

2 carrots

1/4 English cucumber, seeds removed (zucchini works well, too)

1 cup cilantro leaves

3 cups spinach leaves

juice of 1/2 orange

juice of 1/2 lime

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon agave, honey, maple or sweetener of your choice

Salt and pepper

Remove the seeds of the cucumber by scraping with a spoon (skip this step if using a zucchini). Using a julienne peeler, spiralizer or mandoline, make “noodles” out of the carrots and cucumber. In a large bowl add the carrots and cucumber along with the cilantro and spinach. In a small bowl, blend the orange juice, lime juice, oil and agave. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables with some of the dressing. Top with the cilantro hemp pesto.

Additional topping: Grilled meat or fish, grilled portobello mushrooms or oven roasted eggplant.

Sometimes food is the last thing on your mind. Other times, salads like this come along and change all that. (In Praise of Leftovers)

Kale salad with crispy chorizo

By Sarah Murphy-Kangas, In Praise of Leftovers / 04.24.13

Editor's note: In Praise of Leftovers was nominated for Saveur's 2013 The Best Food Blog Awards. Check out the list of winners on saveur.com

Sometimes, Yancey and I are at home together during lunchtime. On a weekday.

He'll be absorbed in a project, and food will be the last thing on his mind. I have no idea what that is like. I wish I could leave more brain space free for other ponderings. Like making the world a better place, marketing my consulting practice with more aplomb, or getting my yard to look less like an abandoned junkyard. (I've heard somewhere that you can't be a reader AND a gardener. I take solace in that.)

But no. I wake up thinking about the three meals in front of me and how to make something with whatever is in my fridge. And Yancey benefits. I'll say, "I'm making a salad. Do you want some?" He'll answer, "Umm... I guess so." He doesn't feel hungry, necessarily, and if I weren't around, he probably wouldn't eat lunch. He'd have an apple at 3 p.m. and call it good. 

But if I'm home working during the day, I love the opportunity to get some vegetables in. At the hospital (where I'm doing a lot of consulting these days), I grab a sandwich or a cup of grapes from the cafeteria. It's a treat to make a mess and eat something interesting.

This time, it went like this:

Fill a medium salad bowl with washed and chopped lacinato kale (or other greens). Mix in julienned carrot, thinly sliced red onion, roughly chopped green olives, and chunks of smoked mozarella or feta. Then heat up a heavy skillet and pour a big glug of olive oil in. Add some big chunks of fresh crusty bread and a handful of chopped chorizo and fry them together with salt. Everything will turn crispy and a little bit orange.

Dump that hot mixture in with your greens, and toss the whole thing with white wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt. And if you're lucky enough to have a cutie husband around, give him some, too, even though he says he's not hungry. Don't believe him.

P.S. A giant THANK YOU to everyone to voted in Saveur's contest and who called, texted, or commented to say congratulations. What I got out of the whole thing is that 1) I am loved and appreciated and 2) this blog is going to be around for a long time.