Jalapeno, Scallion and Avocado Corn Bread

24 servings
Total Cost: NY $8.66
Cost per serving: NY $0.24


So last week’s Great Chocolate Avocado Brownie Experiment got us thinking: what if you used avocado in place of some of the oil or butter in something with flavors that would make for a less counter-intuitive pairing with avocado*? Like, say, a southwestern jalapeno corn bread? If you’ll excuse me for saying so, Eureka! This corn bread is exceptionally moist, zesty with the peppers and scallions, lightly sweet from the honey and thick with sour cream. The avocado is not particularly noticeable on its own, but the taste definitely adds some depth of flavor, in a “what is that mystery ingredient I can’t quite place?” kind of way. Goes great with turkey chili!


Ingredients

• 2 cups cornmeal (NY $0.38)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (NY $0.23)
• 1 cup all purpose flour (NY $0.20)
• 1 tablespoon salt (staple)
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder (staple)
• 4 eggs (NY $0.66)
• 1 cup milk (NY $0.27)
• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream (NY $1.09)
• 1/3 cup honey (NY $1.13)
• 4 tbsps butter (NY $0.38)
• 1 avocado (NY $1.50)
• 1 10 oz package frozen corn, thawed (NY $1.19)
• 1 bunch scallions (NY $0.99)
• 2 jalapeno peppers (NY $0.64)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.** Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch pan with butter. Dice the jalapeno peppers, using your knife to scrape out the seeds. Slice the thinly scallions, retaining both the dark green and white parts. (No need to discard anything but the tiny roots!)


In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flours, salt and baking powder. In a food processor, combine eggs, milk, sour cream, honey, butter, and avocado. Pulse until thoroughly blended, scraping down the sides with a spatula to make sure that all hunks of avocado are broked down and incorporated into the mixture. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth and thoroughly blended. Fold in the corn, scallions and peppers with a spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until gold brown, about 35 minutes. Let cool before slicing into squares.


* Although counter to my own intuition, that is, we’ve been informed that chocolate and avocado is actually a common and delicious Indonesian pairing. Fascinating! Thanks, Chef Aimee!

** Or, if you’re using the crappy oven in our rental, preheat for one hour at 450 degrees, open oven long enough to put corn bread and watch temperature on thermometer drop back down to 375, and set temperature to 400 degrees. Check oven thermometer every 10 minutes, raising temperature back up to 425 degrees if needed. Optional: copious swearing and calls to landlord.


Nutritional Info
Amount Per Serving

Calories 152.6	Vitamin A 5.1 %	Iron 6.3 %
Total Fat 5.7 g	Vitamin B-12 1.9 %	Magnesium 7.0 %
Cholesterol 44.5 mg	Vitamin B-6 5.0 %	Manganese 16.1 %
Sodium 335.6 mg	Vitamin C 4.8 %	Niacin 6.6 %
Potassium 150.0 mg	Vitamin D 1.1 %	Phosphorus 8.5 %
Total Carbohydrate 22.8 g	Vitamin E 2.1 %	Riboflavin 8.2 %
Fiber 2.3 g	Calcium 2.2 %	Selenium 14.1 %
Sugars 4.1 g	Copper 3.7 %
Protein 3.9 g	Folate 8.4 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Healthy Brownies: Not a Joke

24 brownies
Total cost: NY $9.34
Cost per brownie: NY $0.39

Seriously?

Seriously.

Seriously?!?

Well, mostly.


This recipe comes from Dave Lieberman and Anahad O’Connor’s new book, 10 Things You Need to Eat.* We were intrigued by the “Chocolate Avocado Brownie” recipe, and wanted to give it a shot. Which we have now done, twice, the first as written and the second with some tweaks for pricing and taste. The recipe for our tweaked version appears below. The resulting product is chocolate-y and palatable and doesn’t taste at all of avocados, but it’s not really what I think of when I think Brownie. It’s more what I think of when I think Lightly Sweet Chewy Chocolate Bread. (What, I do that frequently, don't you?) Stirring in some chocolate chips might make these more brownie-esque, although of course that takes away from the “healthy”.


I think these are worth making if you’re interested in a sweet chocolate snack, but I wouldn’t serve them as dessert. Not to ratchet your expectations too far downwards: make no mistake, we ate all of these and enjoyed them! Just know that what you’re biting into is going to be more like a chocolate Luna or granola bar type thing than it is a decadent chocolate dessert. If you try these—and I know you can’t wait after a build up like that—please let us know what you think, and if you come up with any adaptations of your own!

Ingredients

• ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour (NY $0.13)
• ½ cup Dutch-process cocoa (NY $0.51)
• ½ teaspoon salt (staple)
• 1/2 cup almonds (NY $1.17)
• ½ cup walnuts (NY $0.99)
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (NY $2.99)
• ½ canola oil (NY $0.42)
• 1 large ripe Hass avocado (NY $1.50)
• 6 eggs (NY $0.93)
• ½ cup granulated sugar (NY $0.28)
• 1 cup dark brown sugar (NY $0.42)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with parchment and grease.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa and salt in a mixing bowl.


In your food processor, grind nuts until roughly chopped. Careful, this will go quick. Be sure not to overdo it, you want your nuts to be hunks in the finished brownies, not turn into nut meal. Stir chopped nuts into flour mixture.

Add the chocolate to the food processor in pieces, and pulse until coarsely chopped. Stir into flour nut mixture.


Wipe out the food processor bowl, then add the oil, avocado, eggs and sugar and process until smooth. Scrape down the sides to make sure that all the avocado hunks are whipped smooth. Now you've got yourself some unappetizing greenish goop. Don't worry, I promise this is going to turn out OK. And if you don't trust me, trust Dave Lieberman.

So, take the leap of faith and, using a spatula, transfer your greenish goop into the chocolate flour mixture. Gently fold together until combined.


Pour the batter (doesn't look green any more, now does it?) into the baking dish. Bake for approx. 30-35 minutes, until the center is just set. Let cool before slicing. Take a bite, and tell us what you think!

Adapted from 10 Things You Need to Eat


* Full disclosure: we got a review copy of this book free when the LBUH attended a promotional event for Dave Lieberman. In the viewpoint of the FTC when we, as amateur bloggers, get something for free, our independent judgment and any ethics we might possess go flying right out the window, we dance around our kitchen maniacally cheering “Free! Free! Free! Let us go shill for it unreservedly and in direct violation of our own honest feelings about the item in question!” and rush off to the computer to tell you to go out and buy it immediately because it will complete your life, make you taller, thinner, grow your hair back and imbue you with the ability to fly. Unless, of course, we are forced to tell you the readers about it, in which case you, the readers, are to think “Aha! They were given this item to review for FREE! Accordingly, this item cannot possibly possess all of these positive attributes extolled by these blatantly biased and uncritical bloggers! In fact, it will probably make me less fulfilled, shorter, fatter, and balder, though I suspect it will still give me the ability to fly!”

In short, the new FTC blog guidelines don’t really give bloggers or their readers much credit at all and, although I understand their goals and am aware of the bad sites out there they are trying to curtail, I find them both somewhat offensive and also vague enough that they don’t give much actual guidance. Or, for other, sharper, smarter words, see: Janet Reid’s FTC Compliance Notice. When you read reviews of this same cookbook in a magazine, you can be sure the reviewer didn’t run off and buy a copy, but the FTC doesn’t think that they need to tell you about it. Yet because I am not Gwyneth Paltrow, more's the pity, I apparently do.

Additionally, please see the note about our Amazon store that we have added to our "About REC(ession)IPES" section.


Nutritional Info
Amount Per Serving

Calories 183.5	Vitamin A 1.8 %	Iron 7.1 %
Total Fat 11.2 g	Vitamin B-12 2.1 %	Magnesium 7.3 %
Cholesterol 53.1 mg	Vitamin B-6 2.8 %	Manganese 15.4 %
Sodium 68.9 mg	Vitamin C 1.1 %	Niacin 2.5 %
Potassium 149.7 mg	Vitamin D 1.6 %	Phosphorus 6.9 %
Total Carbohydrate 19.8 g	Vitamin E 11.2 %	Riboflavin 6.9 %
Fiber 2.2 g	Calcium 2.8 %	Selenium 8.9 %
Sugars 5.7 g	Copper 8.1 %	Thiamin 2.4 %
Protein 3.6 g	Folate 3.8 %	Zinc 3.5 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Rotini with Corn and Tomatoes Cruda

Makes 6 servings
Total Price: NY $4.45
Price per serving: NY $0.74


This is a great recipe for the dog days of summer, when tomato and corn are at the ripest and the mere thought of having the stove on for more than a few minutes makes you want to whimper. As you can probably tell from the ingredient lists, this is one of those recipes that you’re only going to want to make when you can get burstingly fresh produce. I like this best with extremely young kernels that are pale and tiny. We prefer rotini or rotelle for this dish as the tiny corn kernels get caught in the grooves of the pasta. Serve hot or at room temperature.


Ingredients

• 2 ears of corn (NY $1.00)
• 3 tomatoes (NY $2.29)
• 1 bunch scallions (NY $0.59 for one bunch)
• 1 clove garlic (NY $0.24 for one head)
• ½ lb. rotini (NY $0.33)
• 4 tbsps olive oil (staple)
• 2 tbsps balsamic vinegar (staple)
• Salt (staple)
• Pepper (staple)

Directions
Put a pot of salted water on to boil. Husk and silk the ears of corn. Wash under cold water to
remove any remaining silks and clean the cobs well, trimming if needed. When the water comes to a boil, add rotini and set a timer for five minutes. After 5 minutes, add the corn. After approx. 3 more minutes, both the corn and rotini should be done. Keep an eye on the corn though: if your ear is especially young and tender, use tongs to pull it out early if needed.


Meanwhile, whisk together olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste if a large bowl. Mince garlic, add and stir. Chop and seed the tomatoes and thinly slice the white and pale green parts of the scallions.* Stir to combine.


Once rotini and corn are cooked, drain and add the pasta to tomato mixture in the bowl. Remove the corn from the cob by standing it upright on a cutting board, holding on to the cob with a towel as it will be hot, and slice off the kernels by running your knife vertically down the cob. Add the corn kernels to the pasta and tomato mixture, and toss well.
Adapted from Gourmet, August 1993

* Save the tougher dark green ends for making stock!


Nutritional Facts
Amount Per Serving

Calories 202.8	Protein 8.9 g	Magnesium 6.0 %
Total Fat 1.9 g	Vitamin A 13.7 %	Manganese 8.2 %
Saturated Fat 0.1 g	Vitamin B-12 0.0 %	Niacin 16.0 %
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g	Vitamin B-6 6.8 %	Pantothenic Acid 2.9 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g	Vitamin C 21.5 %	Phosphorus 5..8 %
Cholesterol 0.0 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Riboflavin 14.8 %
Sodium 416.7 mg	Vitamin E 1.3 %	Selenium 1.0 %
Potassium 314.3 mg	Calcium 3.3 %	Thiamin 29.3 %
Total Carbohydrate 40.1 g	Copper 4.2 %	Zinc 2.8 %
Dietary Fiber 5.0 g	Folate 36.3 %
Sugars 3.4 g	Iron 14.8 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Vegetarian Molasses Baked Beans

Makes 8 servings
Total Price: NY $4.20
Price per serving: NY $0.53


Much like chowdah, baked beans are one of those recipes that can somehow be perfect both in the dead of winter and in the dog days of summer to boot. In the winter, I prefer my baked beans with some bacon for flavor, but in the summer I like them more barbecue-y. And in any season, I love them heavy on the molasses! This iteration is zesty but not heavy or goopy (as barbecue-type beans can sometimes get.) This recipe requires having the oven on for some time. If the fates align, the ideal time to prepare this is on a rainy afternoon a day or two before heading to a barbecue on a gorgeous sunshine-y summertime day.


Ingredients

• 1 lb.dried navy beans (NY $1.39)
• 1 large onion (NY $0.85)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil (staple)
• ½ cup molasses (NY $0.99)
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar (NY $0.28)
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar (NY $0.51)
• ¼ cup ketchup (NY $ 0.18)
• 2 tbsps dijon mustard (staple)
• 1/8 tsp cloves (staple)
• ½ tsp dried ginger (staple)
• Pinch of allspice (staple)
• Salt (staple)
• Black pepper (staple)

Directions

Soak beans overnight in cool water, covered by about an inch of water.* Drain soaked beans, discard soaking liquid, and rinse thoroughly in cold water. Place beans in a large ovenproof pot, and cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, for about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours, or until beans are tender. Check the water level during cooking, adding more if the water nears the surface of the beans. Once beans are tender, drain and reserve cooking liquid.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In the same large ovenproof pot, heat the olive oil.. Add onion and cook, stirring occassionally, until beginning to color and soften, approx. 5 minutes. Add the molasses, sugar, vinegar, ketchup, mustard, cloves, ginger, all spice and 2 cups reserved cooking liquid. (If you don’t quite have 2 cups cooking liquid left, add some water until you do.) Stir and simmer for approx. 4 minutes. Add the beans, and season with several grinds of black pepper and a few dashes of salt. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes, then transfer to oven. Cook, uncovered, until bubbly, approx. 1 hour, adding more cooking liquid or water during cooking as needed.**

*Alternatively, beans can be quick soaked by again covering them in a pot in with the same amount of water, then bring to a boil on the stove. Boil for 3 minutes, remove from heat and let stand, covered, for at least 1 hour. (Longer is better if you have time to spare.)


** If, in an effort to be helpful, your spouse/partner/roommate/passing stranger tosses out your cooking liquid in a misguided effort to clean up and help out, you can use water instead. Hypothetically speaking, of course.


Nutritional Info
Amount Per serving

Calories 313.7	Protein 11.4 g	Magnesium 31.2 %
Total Fat 2.6 g	Vitamin A 0.0 %	Manganese 56.7 %
Saturated Fat 0.3 g	Vitamin B-12 0.0 %	Niacin 5.4 %
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g	Vitamin B-6 16.3 %	Pantothenic Acid 5.3 %
Monounsaturated Fat 1.4 g	Vitamin C 4.5 %	Phosphorus 20.4 %
Cholesterol 0.0 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Riboflavin 5.3 %
Sodium 14,280.2 mg	Vitamin E 1.0 %	Selenium 11.0 %
Potassium 846.2 mg	Calcium 15.0 %	Thiamin 22.1 %
Total Carbohydrate 63.3 g	Copper 20.1 %	Zinc 10.1 %
Dietary Fiber 14.7 g	Folate 47.8 %
Sugars 23.3 g	Iron 24.7 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

In the Pink Sangria

Makes about 24 servings
Total price: NY $18.73 / 19.77
Price per serving: NY $ 0.78 / 0.82


We made this pink sangria for our friend Blondie’s Birthday Potluck in Prospect Park.* We drink a lot of sangria around here and find that for outdoor picnics, a pretty diluted sangira is preferable and more refreshing on a hot day out in the sun. That’s why this recipe calls for 2 liters of seltzer. If you’re serving this at night at a party, drop the seltzer down to just one liter or less (you know, depending on what kind of party you’re having, nudge, nudge.) The raspberries and pineapple with the rose wine give this one a nice bright, fruity taste and the bright pink color, punctuated with the yellow pineapple, just screams “Birthday Party!” And, of course, blondes and pink always have gone together splendidly!


(UPDATE: We've been Slashfooded! ("Stunning Sangria - Feast Your Eyes")

Ingredients

• 1.5 liter bottle Rose wine (NY $6.99)
• 2 shots Crème de Cassis (NY $1.77)
• 2 pints strawberries (NY $2.49)
• 1/2 pint raspberries (NY $2.49)
• 1 pineapple (NY $4.99)
• 2 liters seltzer (Free or NY $1.04)

Directions


Pour wine and cassis into a large pitcher. Wash strawberries, remove leaves, quarter vertically and toss into pitcher. Wash raspberries and add to raspberries. Chop pineapple into approximately half inch chunks and add to wine/fruit mixture. Put into refrigerator and allow to chill for 3-6 hours. Immediately before serving, add seltzer. (Either pour into pitcher if yours is large enough, or top off individual glasses with the seltzer.) Be sure to scoop lots of fruit into each glass, digging down for the non-floating raspberries: picking out the boozy fruity flotsam** is half the fun!


* The economy being what it is, Blondie still hasn’t found employment, but she’s had some encouraging interviews. Keep your fingers crossed for her!

**Of course, since raspberries don't float, I guess we can't call them flotsam, can we? OK, then, jetsam it is!


Nutritional Facts
Amount Per Serving

Calories 81.6	Protein 0.4 g	Magnesium 3.3 %
Total Fat 0.2 g	Vitamin A 0.4 %	Manganese 27.2 %
Saturated Fat 0.0 g	Vitamin B-12 0.1 %	Niacin 1.3 %
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g	Vitamin B-6 2.7 %	Pantothenic Acid 1.7 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g	Vitamin C 35.9 %	Phosphorus 1.7 %
Cholesterol 0.0 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Riboflavin 2.5 %
Sodium 5.5 mg	Vitamin E 0.5 %	Selenium 0.7 %
Potassium 143.4 mg	Calcium 1.2 %	Thiamin 1.9 %
Total Carbohydrate 7.9 g	Copper 3.8 %	Zinc 0.8 %
Dietary Fiber 1.4 g	Folate 2.5 %
Sugars 1.7 g	Iron 2.6 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Asparagus and Cannellini Bean Salad

Makes about 8 servings
Total price: NY $7.01/NY $ 7.60
Price per serving: NY $0.87/NY $0.95


Now that its summertime, we’re all about the picnics in the park. Grab a couple of blankets, some snacks, a good book, a ball and the doggie and loll about in the sun for a lazy afternoon. It’s a terrific way to while away a summer day, even if you’re not watching your pennies. This recipe is one of my favorites for a picnic. The lemon is bright and zingy, the beans are creamy, the asparagus is crisp and bursting with freshness this time of year, the croutons crunchy and garlicky, and a little parmesan adds some dimension and salty snap. Its also unusual and not the same tired salad you end up seeing on every picnic table and at every barbecue. Make this one quick, as asparagus season is drawing to a close!


Ingredients

• 1 bunch asparagus (NY $1.99)
• 5 tbsps olive oil (staple)
• Zest of one lemon (NY $0.25)
• Juice of one lemon (same lemon as above)
• Salt (staple)
• Pepper (staple)
• 2 15 oz. cans cannellini bean (NY $1.90)
• One large roll (NY $0.50)
• ¼ lb. piece of parmesan (NY $1.98)
• ¼ cup parsley (staple or NY $0.59 for one bunch)
• 2 cloves garlic (NY $0.39 for one head)

Directions

Trim off the ends of the asparagus by feeling along the stalk until you find the spot where the woody root end gives way to the springy stalk. Snap off the ends.* Slice the asparagus on the diagonal into cuts about half an inch long.


Cube the roll. In a skillet, heat 2 tbsps olive oil over medium low. Peel the garlic cloves and add to skillet. Heat until golden, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic cloves and reserve. Add the bread cubes and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Remove from heat.


Bring remaining 3 tbsps olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, a few dashes salt and several grinds pepper to a simmer in a large saucepan. Stir in beans and asparagus and let stand. Mince the reserved garlic and grate the parmesan and combine both with asparagus mixture. Store salad and croutons separately until ready to serve, then toss to combine.

Adapted from Gourmet, April 2006


* Don’t discard the ends, but save for stock!

Nutrients
Amount per Serving

Calories 230.3	Sugars 0.3 g	Folate 12.5 %
Total Fat 13.1 g	Protein 11.4 g	Iron 9.4 %
Fat 3.9 g	Vitamin A 8.7 %	Magnesium 4.0 %
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g	Vitamin B-12 3.3 %	Manganese 6.5 %
Monounsaturated Fat 7.5 g	Vitamin B-6 3.5 %	Niacin 3.7 %
Cholesterol 11.2 mg	Vitamin C 15.7 %	Phosphorus 14.1 %
Sodium 434.5 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Riboflavin 7.1 %
Potassium 125.4 mg	Vitamin E 9.1 %	Selenium 10.4 %
Total Carbohydrate 17.0 g	Calcium 26.2 %	Thiamin 5.8 %
Fiber 5.9 g	Copper 3.8 %	Zinc 4.6 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Grilled and Dilled Chicken Veggie Pasta Salad

Makes 12 servings
Total price: NY $15.66
Price per serving: NY $1.30


This pasta salad is amazing. Before you snort skeptically and hit your back button in disdain, I should emphasize that I fully realize that a pasta salad is not one of those dishes you would normally think capable of being “amazing”. Double chocolate, seafood trio, quattro formaggio, these are the kinds of words that spring to mind when one thinks of recipes that “amaze”. But, hand to heart, this one does too. I once brought this to a rooftop barbecue and nearly had to arm wrestle some late-lingering guests to get my Tupperware back. I wasn’t allowed to depart until after we’d scrounged up the last clean plate in the apartment to dump the remaining pasta salad out onto. As I exited in a snit, tightly clutching my storage container to my chest, I could hear them behind me, digging in with drunken gusto. Yes, to a pasta salad.*


This recipe makes enough to feed a small army. Its best slightly cool, not cold. You’ll want to make this not too much in advance: its best freshly made and cooled in the fridge for a bit or eaten within a few hours of preparation.


Ingredients

• 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts (NY $4.42) **
• 1 lemon (NY $0..25)
• 1 pound penne (NY $0.66)***
• 1 red pepper (NY $1.75)
• 1 green pepper (NY $0.87)
• 3 cups celery (NY $1.39 for a bunch)
• 1 red onion (NY $0.54)
• 1 ¼ cups Kalamata Olives (NY $4.49)
• ¼ cup fresh dill (NY $1.29 for one bunch)
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar (staple)
• 2 tbsps mayonnaise (staple)
• 2 tbsps Dijon mustard (staple)
• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp olive oil (staple)
• Salt (staple)
• Pepper (staple)

Directions
Cook the penne in boiling, salted water until al dente. Strain into a colander and refresh the pasta under cold water.


Meanwhile, heat a grill pan on a burner, and brush the chicken with approx. 1 tbsp olive oil. Grill the chicken breasts for about 8 minutes, then use tongs to flip over. Continue grilling on the reverse side for about another 6-8 minutes, until cooked through but still moist. Remove from heat and transfer to a shallow dish. Pour the lemon juice over, and allow the chicken to cool.


While the chicken and pasta are cooking, chop the peppers , onion, olives and dill, thinly slice the celery, and combine in a large**** bowl. Toss together with the cooked pasta. Remove the chicken from the dish, making sure to reserve the juices. Slice the chicken thinly, and add the slices to the penne mixture.


In a small bowl, combine the reserved chicken and lemon juices with the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, a few grinds of black pepper and a few dashes salt, to taste. Whisk well, them stream in the olive oil as you continue whisking. Pour the dressing over the penne mixture and toss well. (Go ahead and lean over the bowl and smell the fragrant dill, the bright lemon . . . . ) Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Adapted from Gourmet, June 1990

*Hmm, OK, now I’m a little worried I’m ratcheting your expectations up a wee bit *too* high. OK, maybe this can’t compete with, say, a seared filet mignon with caramelized shallots and red wine reduction, BUT it is the best darn pasta salad I’ve ever had. And this is the internet. I can’t just stand next to you modestly and say with eyes downcast “Oh, this is just a little something I threw together”, while slipping a little on to your plate. If you’re ever to taste this, I have to be convincing enough to get you off the couch, out to the store, shelling out some cash on the groceries, then heading back home for some time in the kitchen . . . So! Most amazing pasta salad ever! Now, grab your keys, switch off the Desperate Housewives of Wherever, and off you go!

** If you feel like spending a bit more, this is excellent with more chicken.

*** Hooray for sales on dried pasta!

****Really, you’re probably going to want to drag out your most humongous bowl for this. I at first got out my only moderately monstrous dish, and found myself looking down into it apprehensively half way through: “Uh-oh, I think I’m going to need a bigger bowl . . . “ And I did.


Nutritional Facts
Amount Per Serving

Calories 308.7	Vitamin A 12.9 %	Iron 8.5 %
Total Fat 16.0 g	Vitamin B-12 0.5 %	Magnesium 2.3 %
Cholesterol 4.1 mg	Vitamin B-6 5.8 %	Manganese 3.9 %
Sodium 583.4 mg	Vitamin C 49.7 %	Niacin 4.3 %
Potassium 157.9 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Phosphorus 2.7 %
Total Carbohydrate 35.7 g	Vitamin E 5.4 %	Riboflavin 1.6 %
Fiber 2.3 g	Calcium 1.7 %	Selenium 2.1 %
Sugars 1.3 g	Copper 1.7 %	Thiamin 2.3 %
Protein 6.6 g	Folate 3.7 %	Zinc 0.9 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump

Lemon Squares

Makes 24 squares
Total price: NY $2.02
Price per square: NY $0.08


I’ll be honest: I didn’t love these and didn’t at first think them blog-worthy. When I mentioned to our guests that I wasn’t thrilled with these and apologized,* though, they all told me I was wrong and that they were delicious. Well, sure, duh, of course they would because our friends were not raised by wolves. I wasn’t fooled.


But then they all went back for seconds, then thirds and then the next thing I knew the plate was empty. Now, the LBUH and our friends are polite, but they’re not that polite. The LBUH in particular is certainly not clear-the-plate polite if he’s not loving something, he’s more of the thank-you-for-your- efforts-and-scrape-the-plate-into-the-dog’s-dish-while-you’re-not-looking kind of polite. So I let the empty plate convince me: these may not be to my own taste**, but they’re a crowd-pleaser. Indeed, one of our friends even whipped out his fancy professional camera and took some pictures of his own in an effort to convince me to post about these. How could I let his pics*** go to waste?



Ingredients

• 1 stick butter (NY $0.75)
• 1 ¼ cups sugar (NY $0.43)
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (NY $0.12)
• ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour (NY $0.14)
• 2 eggs (NY $0.33)
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested (NY $0.25)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda (staple)
• Confectioner’s sugar (staple)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease an 8 inch square baking dish. Cream the butter with ¼ cup of sugar, and stir in ½ cup of the all purpose flour and the whole wheat pastry flour. Press the mixture into the prepared dish and bake for 15 minutes. (It won’t look cooked at this point, but that’s OK! Its going back into the oven a little later.) Allow partially baked crust to cool slightly as you prepare the filling.


Beat together the eggs, lemon juice and zest, baking soda, remaining granulated sugar and 2 tbsps of all purpose flour. Pour filling mixture over the prepared crust. Return to over, and bake for approx. 20 more minutes. (The squares should be firm at the edges, but still soft in the middle.) Cool, then sift confectioner’s sugar over the top, to taste. Cut into squares and serve! If, unlike me, you end up with leftovers, store these in the fridge.


Adapted from Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything

* As I seem to recall Amanda Hesser noting in Cooking for Mr Latte, doing so isn’t terribly polite, as it interferes with your guests’ enjoyment of their meal. Also, its generally akin to fishing for compliments. I give myself a pass on this one, however, as we’d gathered friends expressly for the purpose of vetting recipes for the blog. Thus, our friends came prepared to be asked for and to express frank opinions, as well as braced for experimentation.

** My beef with these was that I like lemon squares that are more little squared off pieces of lemon tart than like a lemony bar cookie. This recipe creates more of a bar cookie square. If that sounds delish to you, than you’ll like these. In the meantime, and with all due respect to the generally infallible Mr. Bittman who put these in the bar cookie section of his very handy tome, I’m still on the hunt for the perfect tart-like lemon square recipe. I’ll let you know once I’ve found it!

*** All together now: OOoooooOOOOOoooo! Pretty!


Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving

Calories 102.8	Vitamin A 2.9 %	Iron 1.6 %
Total Fat 4.3 g	Vitamin B-12 0.8 %	Magnesium 1.3 %
Cholesterol 27.9 mg	Vitamin B-6 0.9 %	Manganese 6.5 %
Sodium 58.9 mg	Vitamin C 1. 5 %	Niacin 1.7 %
Potassium 23.4 mg	Vitamin D 1.2 %	Phosphorus 2.2 %
Total Carbohydrate 15.4 g	Vitamin E 0.8 %	Riboflavin 2.6 %
Fiber 0.4 g	Calcium 0.5 %	Selenium 6.2 %
Sugars 11.1 g	Copper 0.8 %	Thiamin 2.5 %
Protein 1.2 g	Folate 2.1 %	Zinc 1.0 %

Recipe and Nutritional Information after the jump