Things That Make Me Go Hmm…Broccoli & Cottage Cheese Cornbread

Apr 4, 2013 By Love & Flour in Breads No Comments Tags: cornmeal, veggies

This is the type of recipe I had in mind when, in my last post, I mentioned I simply enjoy the experience of a new recipe. Cornbread baked with broccoli and cottage cheese ranks high on novelty but falls a bit short on taste. While I enjoyed the savory aspects of this recipe, it did not change my mind that cornbread is best served warm with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey.

I have no issue with broccoli. As long as it is topped with cheese of course. In hindsight, I should have toasted a bit of cheddar cheese over the top of this dish. Or perhaps I should have just left the vegetables out of it all together.

That’s what I’ve got in way of an opinion on the broccoli aspect. As for the cottage cheese, well, I have no idea what to say. I did not detect its flavor, so I am left to believe it served to moisten the bread. Surely that is nothing a little butter melted over the top could not fix?

I have little else to say this evening. I think I am still stunned by the idea of broccoli…in cornbread…with cottage cheese. It’s either that or the 37 degree weather today that has me stumped. Yes, that is 37 degrees Fahrenheit. Just five degrees above freezing. In the South. When the typical temperature hovers around 70 this time of year. I mean, why not just move back to Ohio? For now, I’ll just read this instead. Enjoy!

Broccoli Cornbread

Author: The Southern Foodie by Chris Chamberlain

Ingredients

1 box (8½ ounce) corn muffin mix
1 cup chopped broccoli
¾ cup cottage cheese
¼ cup onion, diced
¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
Transfer to a lightly greased cast iron skillet.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Notes

The recipe as written here is halved from the original, which called for baking the cornbread in a 9 x 13 pan. If you do not have a cast iron skillet, baking the bread in an 8 x 8 pan or even a muffin tin should work.

Comfort Food & Uncomfortable Situations: Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

Jan 18, 2013 By Love & Flour in Sides 3 Comments Tags: cheese, comfort food, veggies

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Let’s make it a week filled with comfort foods, shall we? While we are at it, let’s go along with the hot topic of the past 24 hours and present that comfort food as something other than what it is. Macaroni and cheese? Or is it cauliflower and cheese? Like most things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

In the spirit of innocent until proven guilty, I choose to believe Manti was duped. If we can offer that bit of grace up to the worst of criminals, then surely we can extend the benefit of the doubt to a young man who at worst seems guilty of fully embracing the attention the popular media so willingly lavished upon him before they thought to check their facts. Listen up reporters, it’s not that freaking hard to find a matter of public record, i.e.) a death certificate.

For the record, I am not and have never been a Notre Dame fan. The closest I ever came to feeling an ounce of affection for the Fighting Irish was after watching Rudy. Frankly, I probably just liked Rudy because I had a residual crush on Sean Astin after Memphis Belle. You think that’s bad? The very first crush I developed was on Knight Rider. Years later when I turned on the television and recognized Knight Rider on Baywatch, I was appalled and slightly disturbed by my tastes. I figure it is only fair to offer up those embarrassing tidbits for a post that discusses the humiliation of another.

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So why am I on his side? In the coming days his character might be blown to smithereens, but right now it feels better to give his honesty the benefit of the doubt. It’s so damn easy to kick people when they are down and make fun of people for no other reason than to make ourselves feel better. I’m guilty of both.

Just a few months ago, I might not have been so quick to empathize. But as someone who has witnessed a fake persona – whose existence was and probably still is supported by multiple people – in action, I can fully wrap my head around how easy it is to get duped online. Couple that with the ignorance of youth and a runaway media train, and how on earth do you set things right?

What happened here? Do we expect those in the public eye to have it all, less we realize there are chinks in their armor and they have real-people problems just like the rest of us? Did this talented athlete feel pressured to have a girlfriend, less his masculinity be challenged? Could this kid playing football nearly 5,000 miles from his home have just felt…lonely?

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Over the years, I have been asked multiple times why I did not have boyfriend. It was a shitty question with no graceful answer I could think of. Really, how do you answer that? I don’t have a boyfriend because I am unattractive. I don’t have a boyfriend because I have a boring personality. I don’t have a boyfriend because, though I have both good looks and a personality, there is something fundamentally wrong with me. Those options are all so ludicrous in their own way that the only response I could think of was another question. Why are you dating a guy you don’t really like all that much simply to say you have a boyfriend?

In hindsight, the answer to the question was hard to come up with because it was multi-faceted. Because I am an introvert who would rather take it all in than strike up a conversation. Because I lack the patience to deal with jokers – and I’ve met A LOT of jokers. Because it hurts to have your heart broken, and on the flip side, to break a heart. Because when Nicholas Sparks created Noah and Allie he set completely unrealistic yet very believable expectations that real love written in the cosmos will take everything you’ve got, yet someway, somehow, you still want more.

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This leads me to one last thing. (Is anyone still reading? If so, bless your patient heart.) Some time ago, I watched a news program that detailed the events surrounding the mistaken identity of the lone survivor of a tragic automobile accident that claimed the lives of a number of Taylor University students. To make a complicated story short, the woman who survived was first thought to be someone else. For months, this woman was taken care of by the family of her deceased peer, as they believed her to be their daughter. Eventually the truth was realized, and everyone was like, are you guys crazy? How could you not know your own daughter?

How? Because they were told by a team of medical professionals that a girl with a swollen, unrecognizable face of the same size and stature as their daughter was, in fact, their daughter. Because in the paraphrased words of the father who wanted to believe his daughter was alive, “we didn’t know we were supposed to be putting together a puzzle with all of these pieces.” Because they wanted to believe something so very badly, they found truth in the otherwise unbelievable.

At some point, haven’t we all?

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Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

Author: Simply Satisfying by Jeanne Lemlin

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked macaroni (2 cups cooked)
1 small to medium cauliflower
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup flour
2⅓ cups milk
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
2 cups (8 ounces) sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) pepper cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ cup bread crumbs

Instructions

Prepare the macaroni according to the package directions.
While the pasta boils, cut the cauliflower into small florets and steam until tender.
Place both the prepared macaroni and cauliflower in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Make sure both are very well drained before placing them into the dish.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Whisk in the flour and cook the roux for two minutes, whisking constantly. The roux should develop a nice brown color.
Next whisk in the milk and allow the mixture to thicken and come to a boil, about 7 minutes. Add the jalapeno, if using, while the mixture comes to a boil.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cheeses until fully melted. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and the cauliflower and stir gently to thoroughly coat.
Immediately before baking, sprinkle bread crumbs over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Notes

I used white pepper and a jalapeno pepper to flavor this dish. To eliminate the heat, omit the jalapeno and use Monterey Jack in place of pepper cheese. The multiple steps to prepare the pasta, cauliflower and sauce – combined with the baking time – made this dish a bit too intensive to whip up for a quick dinner. I prepared and assembled this dish the night before baking, covering and storing in the refrigerator. I added the bread crumbs immediately before baking.

Souper Bowl Sunday: Spicy Cream of Broccoli Soup

Jan 6, 2013 By Love & Flour in Soups 3 Comments Tags: spice, veggies

Only six days into January, I miss the sun, the holiday season, and the warmth both bring. If my experiences on the roadways and waiting in line at the store are any indication, the “goodwill to men” theme held so dear in December was put to bed right along with 2012. The frantic pace of work responsibilities, keeping up with “to do” lists and all that other, dare I say it, junk has too soon clouded the importance of family, friends and living life in the real and present moment.

Of course we need jobs to pay our bills, and keeping up with chores like laundry ensures we have clean clothes to wear to those jobs, but there is a balance to be had in there somewhere. It is often difficult for me to relish what I was able to do in a day when compared to what remains to be done. I started off by saying I miss the sun, and it is 100 percent truth that I am ready for spring. Yet there are months of winter ahead, so I intend to do my best to slow down and enjoy each day, dreary and sunny alike.

Spicy Broccoli Soup Souper Bowl Sunday: Spicy Cream of Broccoli Soup

So far as I recall, my aversion to winter runs much deeper than any I ever had towards broccoli. As long as the broccoli was accompanied by cheese that is. Plain broccoli is no better than a winter without a snowfall. If it is going to happen, it may as well get dolled up with a little cheese or flurries, respectively.

Broccoli soup, either a creamy or a cheddar version, is something I regularly order when out to lunch, but until a giant bag of broccoli I bought at Costco reached a must-use-now state, it was simply not something I considered making at home. Fortunately, it is rather simple and lends itself to plenty of variations through cheese and seasonings.

I spiced my cream of broccoli soup with cayenne pepper and used a mixture of Colby jack and pepper jack cheeses. If the heat of the cayenne or pepper cheese is too much for your tastes, simply season with salt and pepper and substitute shredded cheddar for a more traditional soup. I topped my bowl off with a bit of cheese and bacon and called it a day. Enjoy!

Spicy Broccoli Soup 4 Souper Bowl Sunday: Spicy Cream of Broccoli Soup As I did last year, I will post soup recipes each Sunday throughout the month of January until the real Super Bowl offers a reprieve on February 3.

Souper Bowl Sunday: Spicy Cream of Broccoli Soup

Author: based on the Cheddar Broccoli Soup recipe seen on Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 white or yellow onion, finely chopped
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk (2% or whole)
2 cups half-and-half
6-8 cups small broccoli florets (from 3 to 4 heads broccoli)
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups colby jack cheese
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
2 cups vegetable broth

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften, about three to five minutes.
Stir the flour into the melted butter and softened onions. Continue to stir constantly until the flour begins to turn light golden brown.
Once the flour begins to turn colors, whisk in the milk and half-and-half.
Process half to two-thirds of the broccoli florets in food processor until very finely chopped. Add it along with the broccoli florets that remain whole to the pot.
Stir in the cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste.
Cover the pot and reduce heat to low.
Allow to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.
Add the cheese ½ cup at a time, stirring after each addition to melt the cheese.
Stir in the vegetable broth and reheat to warm if necessary before serving.

Notes

For a soup with slightly less fat, I used 2 percent milk in place of whole with satisfactory results. Whole milk will simply provide a creamier texture. If you have an immersion blender, you can add the small broccoli florets in whole and then process the soup until it reaches a desired smoothness after stirring in the cheese. A blender would also do the trick, just be sure to take care with the hot soup when pouring it from the pot into the blender pitcher.