the latest: january

how have i not stumbled upon 365 days of slow cooking before?! i am loving it and could spend hours going through the archives!

i love to can in the summer and jams and jellies are my favorites. but there comes a point each winter where i realize i have way too much jam than can be consumed before the next season. luckily break or bake has the same problem and rounded up a few of her favorite ways to use them up.

i've had my pinterest account for the last year or so and used it mostly for planning the baby's nursery and other baby related purchases. in the last week i took the plunge and decided to transfer all of my tagged posts in google reader to pinterest. it's a big undertaking, but i'm hoping in the long run it will be easier for me to meal plan and find and share new recipes. once i've got it all - or am a lot closer to finishing - sorted out, i'll be sure to add a follow button if you want to follow me.

part of my day job is to educate the public on ways in which the things we do at home affect the health of the great lakes. one of the chemicals we often discuss is BPA. the environmental working group just released their guide to BPA. it's a quick read with info about the concern and tips to reduce your exposure, such as limiting canned food consumption. 

the ewg blog posted recipes for homemade pledge and oven cleaner. i have used white vinegar as fabric softener in my washing machine and as a jet-dry substitute in my dishwasher and we use baking soda and vinegar to clean our drains. i have seen the oven cleaner method on multiple websites and talked to others who have used it and say it works great. now that the holidays are over, i need to try it!

i stopped at dunkin donuts last week on the way into work and tried a new dark chocolate mocha coffee with cream and sugar. i liked it better than their regular mocha. it had a stronger chocolate flavor and was less sweet.

i'm curious: what would you like to see more of here? less of? what types of posts are your favorite? let me know in the comments or email me kitchentrialanderror [at] gmail [dot] com.

44 clove garlic soup with chicken

i really hate to start it this way, but i'm sorry. i'm sorry deb, this garlic soup was just plain too garlicky for me. too garlicky for my garlic loving husband. this is the first and only recipe i've made from deb at smitten kitchen that was a bust for me. that said, i think there are a few ways to totally redeem this soup & it's on my radar to try again.

the original recipe calls for 44 cloves of garlic - or three heads, to make it easier. two heads of garlic are roasted and added to the soup later and the remaining head is simmered in chicken stock. the roasted garlic is nice and mild, still garlicky, but not as pungent. i think either skipping the third head completely or roasting all three heads would make a soup full of garlic flavor, without the super strong bite. please let me know in the comments if you try it. and i'll be sure to update this post when i do.

44 clove garlic soup with chicken

click to get the recipe at smitten kitchen.i made two changes: i didn't bother counting cloves and roasted two heads (where deb calls for 26 cloves) and simmered 1 head (where she calls for 18 cloves) and i added two precooked, shredded chicken breasts when the soup was finished.

pan roasted chicken with balsamic bell peppers

here's yet another way to jazz up a relatively boring chicken breast. we eat a heck of a lot of chicken breasts around here, so much so, that we buy them 10 at a time. and even though we eat chicken in many different ways, a simple one dish pan roasted chicken is something i've been gravitating to lately. there's something satisfying about making chicken, vegetables, and sauce in one pan. it's something i can do while simultaneously cleaning up from the day and getting ready for the next. these types of dishes are my favorite.

and if you aren't a fan of balsamic or bell peppers, i've got 49 other ways to enjoy chicken.

a housekeeping note: for those of you on pinterest, i've added a pin it button to the bottom of each post to make it easier for you to share your favorites.

chicken with balsamic bell peppers

adapted from cooking light

30 minutes, serves 4

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 medium or large bell peppers, sliced

1 large shallot, thinly sliced

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1. coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil and preheat over medium-high heat.
2. combine garlic powder, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl. coat the chicken breasts with vegetable or olive oil and the spice rub.
3. add the chicken to the pan, and cook, about ten minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked through. remove the chicken from the pan and return the pan to medium heat.
4. coat the pan with oil and add the peppers, shallot, and rosemary. saute about three minutes or until the pepper start to soften. deglaze the pan with the broth, reduce heat, and simmer about 5 minutes until thickened. stir in vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and cook three minutes. 
5. add the chicken back into the pan and toss with the pepper mixture to reheat. serve the chicken topped with the peppers. 

vegetable noodle soup

why yes, that is the may 2012 issue of bon apetit on my coffee table. and yes, my bookmark is on the editor's letter page, so i didn't make it very far. i'm a bit behind on my reading. i have a good 15 or so magazines that have piled up since last june (and apparently earlier) along with a few new cookbooks from christmas and my birthday. same thing goes for some of the posts saved in my google reader. which brings me to this soup: this soup has been sitting in my reader, starred, waiting for me to make it, since it was posted two and a half years ago. week after week it got pushed aside for something flashier. what a shame, considering how delicious, easy, and adaptable this soup is. and now that i have the last four pounds of baby weight to lose, this meatless soup may make it's way into our weekly rotation more often.

vegetable noodle soup
adapted from the other side of 50
45 minutes, serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 leek, white and light green parts, cleaned well and thinly sliced
3 ribs celery, thinly sliced
4 carrots, thinly sliced
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup dry sherry
8 cups (2 quarts or 64 ounces) chicken stock
2 large potatoes, peeled, and cubed
8 ounces egg noodles
1 cup half & half

1. in a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. add the leek, celery, and carrots. season with salt and pepper and saute until they have softened about 8 minutes.
2. add the mushrooms and thyme and saute until the mushrooms have given up their liquid and the liquid has been absorbed, about 8 minutes.
3. add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 
4. add the flour and mix well. cook, mixing frequently, for a minute or two, or until the flour is light brown.
5. deglaze the pan with the sherry and cook until evaporated.
6. add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and add the potatoes and noodles. simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes and noodles are tender.
7. remove from heat, stir in the half & half, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

chicken yakitori rice bowl

it took three and a half years for us to find a decent chinese restaurant near our house. when jason finally found it, we had chinese a couple times in just as many weeks. and each time we ended up with a lot of leftover rice. not wanting to let the rice go to waste, i ripped this rice bowl recipe out of my december cooking light and made it for dinner one weeknight. i love the flavor of green onions when they've cooked in soy and sugar and they go really well with snow peas and chicken. if i had any carrots at the time, i would have cut those into matchsticks and tossed them in too. stir fry is the perfect vehicle for lots of vegetables, since they're coated in sauce.

chicken yakitori rice bowl
adapted from cooking light
20 minutes, serves 4

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chicken broth
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
8 ounces snow peas
1 small bunch green onions, cut into one inch pieces
4 cups leftover white or brown rice

1. combine soy sauce, mirin, sugar, vinegar, and chicken broth in a small saucepan. bring to a boil and simmer three minutes. remove from heat.
2. heat a large non stick pan over medium heat. coat the pan with vegetable oil and cook the chicken, tossing frequently, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. remove the chicken from the pan.
3. add the snow peas and onions to the now empty pan and saute just until the onions wilt. add sauce and chicken and cook a few more minutes, until the sauce is thick and coats the chicken well. 
4. place about 1 cup rice in each bowl and top with the chicken and vegetable mixture.

whole wheat vanilla scones

last thursday morning i woke up craving a scone. more specifically, i craved a scone that i could slather with homemade peach butter i completely forgot about until i stumbled on a few jars in the basement while getting jarred apples for the baby the night before. i was so dead set on scones that after i got us up and ready for the day, i plunked him and a few toys in his high chair in the kitchen next to me. much to my surprise, in the 15 minutes or so it took me to whip these and coffee together, he never touched a single toy. instead, his eyes moved from me, to whatever ingredient i had in my hand, to the cupboard i opened. he was fascinated. and it made my scones a heck of a lot easier.

if you love vanilla as much as i do, then these scones are for you. i bought myself vanilla bean paste as a birthday present the last time i was grocery shopping. i love the flecks of vanilla bean seeds it gives to the scones. not too sweet and not too vanilla-ey, they're perfect spread with jam or butter. i spread mine with a smidge of salted butter and a generous amount of deb's peach butter that i made last summer. i know, i completely forgot to tell you guys about it! don't worry, i'll remind you again this summer, when we're in the thick of peach season and i made another batch for next winter. 

whole wheat vanilla scones
30 minutes, makes 6 scones

i like using vanilla bean paste in these since it peppers the vanilla bean seeds throughout. if you don't have any on hand, replace it with additional vanilla extract.

1 cup flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
about 2 tablespoons sugar for topping (optional)

1. preheat your oven to 375F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. whisk the flour,s sugar, baking powder, and salt together.
3. using your hands or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
4. add the milk, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste and mix just until combined.
5. turn the dough out onto the baking sheet and use your hands to form it into a rough circle or square. cut into about 6 equal pieces.
6. sprinkle the bottom of your mixing bowl with a layer of sugar. turn each scone over into the sugar, coating the top. turn right side (sugar side) up and place on the baking sheet.
7. bake for about 15 minutes. transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

cherry vanilla cake

the last few years, my birthday cake has been a labor of love. two years ago, when i turned 29, it was all about pistachios and last year, for the big 3-0, it was all about salted caramel and chocolate. this year, it's cherry overload. 

i usually start thinking about my birthday cake, and narrowing it down to a couple recipes, around christmas and i have the recipe chosen by the time i return to work after new years. this year, i had a hard time deciding exactly what i wanted. the pistachio and chocolate masterpieces were both from the baked cookbooks. in hindsight, i should have stuck with one of them, but i wanted something different. something with fruit. if you love maraschino cherries, this cake is for you.

i had high hopes for this cake and was actually disappointed. while i finally tackled swiss meringue buttercream - it really is easy and isn't nearly as sweet as buttercream, but has a flavor all it's own - the filling and buttercream had too much butter in them. too much butter?! i know, madness! but true. the cake itself is delicious. with a few tweaks, i bet these would be great as valentines cupcakes, topped with the cherry filling (made with less butter) instead of the buttercream.

what to do with all those leftover egg yolks? make ice cream, of course.

cherry vanilla cake
one 8 or 9 inch three layer cake that serves 16

annie has great instructions and i followed them perfectly, so click to get the recipe from annie's eats.