Current Food Loves + Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies

As I near the end of my pregnancy, my eating habits have definitely become a bit strange.  Instead of my usual three squares a day, I'm now more in the range of five to seven small meals per day.  I always have a few breakfasts each morning, there are lots and lots of snacks and there are usually a few other smallish meals thrown in.  It's been fun to eat this way, yet I can't help but feel overwhelmed by the variety of foods I'm ingesting. So, instead of my usual one-recipe post, I thought I would share a bit of what I've been grubbing on.  Small bite here. A spoonful of something there.  A large handful of nut mix about every 15 minutes.  You know, the norm.  Thought I'd finish it up with a cravable brown butter + oatmeal + whole wheat flour + walnut cookie recipe I've been trying to perfect and have enjoyed testing with huge glasses of ice-cold skim milk.  Milk, yet another strange pregnancy thing for me.  I can't seem to get enough of it.   So, without further ado, I humbly present a good chunk of my diet this week.  The good, the bad and the ugly.

{Left-to-right, top to bottom}
Leftover grilled flank steak made into tacos with pickled red onions, guac and feta
Haas avocado with sea salt and black pepper (only CA grown avocados will do it for me, they're fruitier)
Ciao Bella brand blood orange sorbet (every night before bed)
Trader Joe's brand Fruity-O's cereal (embarrassing but irresistible)
Juniper berry and black pepper coated goat cheese from Love Tree Farm (smeared on everything)

Any nut mix I can get my hands on (Bonus if it includes dark chocolate.  Must include almonds)
Gummy stars from Whole Foods (Goji berry?  Yes please!)
Fried egg sandwich with white cheddar on a Thomas brand muffin (recipe here)
Brown butter oatmeal cookies with milk.  (Recipe below)

Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
makes about a dozen

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and oats.  Set aside.

To brown the butter:  add butter to a sauce pot set over medium flame.  Stir butter until the butter solids start to turn golden brown and smell nutty.  Transfer hot butter to a heatproof bowl and allow it to cool in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes.  The butter will still be liquid, just a bit thicker.  

Pour the slightly chilled browned butter into the bowl of a stand mixer (or into a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer).  Add the brown sugar and beat until creamy and combined, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.  Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined.  

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and using an ice cream scoop, portion out the dough into 11 to 12 equal mounds.  (There is no need to space the cookies out on the sheet pan at this point).  Refrigerate dough until firm, about 20 minutes or up to a few days.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line another sheet pan with parchment and divide the dough between the two pans.  Bake, one pan at a time, for 10-12 minutes or until they just turn golden around the edges.  (Keep the second pan of dough in the refrigerator while the first pan is baking).  Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Peas and Mint

To me, springtime means pasta.  I'm not talking your typically heavy spaghetti and meatballs.  When spring rolls around, I'm craving pasta packed with green vegetables, herbs and dressed in not much more than some starchy water and parmesan cheese.  This pasta is just that.  Whole wheat spaghetti gives a nice, earthy bite. Bright green peas, gently cooked to retain their vibrant hue.  Pour in some pasta water, a few pats of butter and a bit of cheese to create a lightly silky sauce that delicately coats the hot noodles.  A generous sprinkling of fresh mint adds lovely herby flavor. Easy, fast and perfect for a warm spring evening.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Peas and Mint
adapted from this recipe
Serves 2

1/2 box (8oz) whole wheat spaghetti
olive oil
1 heaping cup frozen peas
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/4 tsp freshly grated black pepper
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated
3-4 sprigs of mint leaves, thinly julienned
kosher salt

Bring pasta water to a boil.  Cook pasta for 7 minutes (or 2 minutes under the recommended cooking time on the box).  You want the pasta to retain a slight bite. Drain pasta, reserving one cup of the starchy cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat a generous glug of olive oil in a large saute pan set over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic, shallot and black pepper and cook until fragrant, about one minute.  Add the frozen peas and cook for another minute or until peas are just heated through.  Add one cup of the reserved pasta water and bring to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook until it has absorbed some of the water and the sauce has thickened, about 1-2 minutes.  Add in the butter and parmesan and toss until the butter is melted, the cheese is evenly distributed and the pasta is cooked to al dente.  Remove pan from the heat and stir in the mint.  Season with salt (note the parmesan is quite salty so you likely won't need much).  Serve hot.

Peas + Fresh Mint = True Love.

Toss it all up.

Dig in.

Farmer's Market Love

Spring is officially here and farmer's market season about to be in full swing.  I couldn't be more excited.  Bogart Loves will be at Kingfield Farmer's Market this Sunday where we'll stay for the remainder of the summer (I will miss you my lovely Fulton patrons, please be sure to come to Kingfield to say hello). With the impending arrival of our first baby, we will be taking a brief break during most of June and all of July.  But come August, we'll have a new (and tiny) member of the Bogart Loves team accompanying us to the market from time to time!

This year will offer a number of new and exciting adventures, not only for us as a family but also for Bogart Loves.  More doughnuts, more flavors and more general deliciousness.  Stay tuned!  We can't wait to see all of you at the market.  

Bogart Loves 2012 Kingfield Farmer's Market Dates:
May:  20th, 27th
June:  3rd
July:  -- none --
August:  12th, 19th, 26th
September:  2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th
October:  7th, 14th, 21st, 28th

*photographs by Natalie Champa Jennings 

See you at the market! 

Salted Caramel Corn

Confession:  I bring my own snacks into the movie theater.  It feels a bit sneaky, but it is really something I take pride in.  No overpriced candy or bags of stale popcorn with fake butter-y liquid for this girl.  On such occasions, caramel corn is my contraband of choice.  I find it the perfect movie treat because it is both sweet and salty at once.  Two birds with one stone, so to speak.  Unless I'm at the movies with my brother in Los Angeles snacking on this amazingly delicious stuff, I'm forced to find my own caramel corn, which, until now, I've always purchased from the store.  Although most brands are admittedly delicious, most are overly sweet with not enough salt.  I decided to try my own version and added a generous amount of flaked sea salt.  Buttery, caramely and crunchy.  With the perfect salty bite.  This is the snack to smuggle in to the action flick or romantic comedy of your choosing.

Salted Caramel Corn

adapted from this recipe

3 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
3 cups sugar
3 Tbsp butter
2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1-2 Tbsp flaked sea salt

Spray a large mixing bowl, rubber spatula and rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray.  Set all aside.

In a large, covered pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Once hot, add the popcorn kernels and cover.  Shake the pot constantly until the popcorn has finished popping (about 4-5 minutes after the first kernel pops).  Be careful not to burn the popcorn, shaking the pot helps to prevent this.  Pour the popcorn into the sprayed mixing bowl and set aside.

In a large sauce pot, bring the sugar, butter, kosher salt and a 1/2 cup of water to a bowl over high heat.  Allow it to come to a bubble and cook, without stirring, until light golden in color (about 10 minutes once the sugar starts boiling). Remove caramel from the heat and immediately whisk in the baking soda.  Be careful as the mixture will bubble and become thick.

Pour hot caramel over the popcorn and stir with the sprayed spatula until the popcorn is evenly coated.  Quickly transfer caramel corn to the sprayed sheet pan and spread out as much as possible, using the spatula.  Be careful as the caramel is very hot.  Immediately sprinkle with the flaked sea salt, using as little or as much as you prefer.  Allow caramel corn to cool completely, break apart and enjoy.  Keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

Golden kernels.

Freshly popped corn.

Make yours as salty as you wish.

Packed up and ready for my weekend matinee.