TOMATO TOAST WITH SCALLION LABNEH

October 17, 2018 by rachel logan in lunch, quick and easy, recipes, vegetarian

Oh, hey there! It’s been a few years and some stuff has happened around here! I made another human and it was hard work, but he’s almost two and a half now and I think it probably takes about that much time to become human again. He’s got crazy curly hair, an epic side eye and has my love for salty, briny things. I’m getting him a jar of fancy green olives for Christmas, because I know he’ll really appreciate them. Basically, my food twin.

We’ve done a lot of cooking and eating the last few years (and boy is my waistline solid, er soft, proof of this) and are still learning how to use food to bring us around the table as a family every day. Dinner is still a sacred place where we all gather together around a shared meal. It’s not always (rarely) glamorous which means many cold bowls of cereal topped with questionable blueberries but sometimes I pull together a quick sheet pan dinner with vegetables that everyone eats! It’s the small things in life, y’all!

Whatever our meal will be, one thing is certain, it has to be quick to be successful. Between school, work and bedtime, there just isn’t much time to get dinner on the table, so I rely on quick recipes to get us to the table as fast as possible. In the summer and early fall, this tomato toast is a life saver. Besides being fast, you can make it with as little effort as popping a piece of crusty bread into the toaster. I like to pan fry the bread in a skillet, because, well it’s delicious, but a toaster would be a fine substitute!

tomato toast with scallion labneh

serves 4 hungry, tomato loving humans

A good loaf of bread and peak season tomatoes will make this dish sing. Get the best you can find!

Ingredients:

4 slices of good quality country bread, 1” thick
1 cup labneh
2 scallions, thinly sliced
½ cup cherry tomatoes (red or dark red), halved
2 medium heirloom tomatoes (red or dark red), thickly sliced
¾ tsp kosher salt
1 large garlic clove, peeled and sliced in half crosswise
Olive oil for brushing bread and pan
Pepper
Large flake salt

Preparation:

Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Drizzle olive oil over bread slices, on both sides.
Rub the cut garlic (cut side down) over each side of the bread.
Working in batches, add the bread to the hot pan, being careful not to crowd the pieces. Toast until deeply browned, about 3 minutes. Flip over and turn the heat down to medium high. Toast until well charred. Set aside.
Mix together labneh, scallion and 3/4 tsp salt in a small bowl.
Spoon a heaping tablespoon of scallion labneh over each slice of bread. Top with slices of heirloom tomatoes and sprinkle cherry tomatoes over. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over tomatoes and top with flaky salt and freshly ground pepper.

a summery pantry pasta

August 07, 2015 by rachel logan in pantry, quick and easy, vegetarian

We always start out the week with the best intentions. On Sunday night, I make a menu for the coming week and I write up a grocery list for Monday so I'm ready to do all the shopping. The process takes me (what feels like) all day. I'm easily distracted and have been known to fall down a pretty deep rabbit hole of recipe research. I'm also pretty picky. I want to make sure I have a menu I'm excited about, one that will be healthy as well as satisfying and will be tolerated by adult and toddler. It can be a little over the top and I should probably simplify my strategy, but somehow, I find joy in the long and sometimes grueling process.

I generally have a meal planned for every night and I use the leftovers for lunches and carry over for other recipes. A whole roasted chicken can turn into many meals, which is helpful because that really cuts down on the prep time for following meals. Lately, I have been leaving one night free for going out or for left overs. This gives me a chance to use up any ingredients I didn't end up using. These are the nights I rely on my pantry to give the left overs new life. A well stocked pantry and a little knowledge can put dinner on the table with little effort which is especially useful when your toddler is losing every ounce of composure and he needs to have a face full of pasta at that very second. It's basically a zoo around here.

Feeding yourself, let alone your family can feel like a really big job. It takes time to plan, to cook, to clean and sometimes doesn't feel worth it, especially if cooking doesn't come easy for you. Some of that stress can be eleviated by learning some simple skills. Like being able to pull out a box of pasta and have a hearty meal for your family without thinking about it. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be launching some new categories, to help you get dinner on the table faster by learning how to use your pantry, knowing what foods go together and helping you with some time saving techniques and tips. Until then, throw together a big pot of pasta and start getting a feel for the kinds of meals you can make on the fly. If you're really wanting to dive into this process further, I'll be teaching a class on September 12th where I'll be teaching you how to become a pantry wizard. It's going to be a great time! We'll learn, eat and hopefully laugh a lot. I'd love to see you there!

This is a pantry recipe, so if you don't have some of the ingredients, try to see if you have a substitute already before running out the store. If you don't have corn, but you've got some peas, use those instead. If you don't have zucchini, use yellow summer squash. Take a look at what's in your fridge and use what you think will work. Experimenting is the first step toward becoming a better cook. If you're stumped, leave a comment and I'll do my best to guide you. Happy cooking!

summery pantry pasta // serves 4

Ingredients:

3/4 pound dried orecchiette
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cobs of corn, kernels cut off
1/2 large yellow onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon oregano
1 small zucchini, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups kale, stems removed and finely chopped
freshly grated parmesan

Preparation:

Fill a large pot 3/4 full of water. Add the kosher salt and bring to a rapid boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta in a colander being sure to save 1/4 cup pasta water. Return the pasta to the pot and set aside.
While the pasta cooks, heat the butter and olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet until the butter is melted. Add the onion, corn and oregano with a pinch of kosher salt. Saute until the corn is almost cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Add the zucchini, kale and garlic and cook until the kale is starting to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add the pasta to the skillet and toss well. Moisten with pasta water if the pasta starts to look a little dry, about a tablespoon at a time. Top with a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan and mix to combine. Divide among four bowls topping with extra parmesan, because, DUH, cheese.

banana almond bread

January 21, 2015 by rachel logan in baking, breakfast + brunch, dessert, toddler approved

I'm on vacation from work this week. The freedom feels so familiar and comforting. I've been a full time working mom for a little over two months now and it seems to be getting harder rather than easier. I anticipated this phenomenon, knowing that there would be a recognizable honeymoon phase. The first couple of months happened to be our busy season so there was little time to think, which was a huge blessing. I spent a lot of time catching up with all the co-workers I had missed so much and the rest of the time getting re-acclimated to the working world. My son was sick for the first three weeks I was back thanks to all of those super fun kid germs at daycare. He had the flu first, which both Jon and I caught and then he suffered from a cold for a couple of weeks which he passed along to me, but spared Jon the excitement. They say that sharing is caring. It was a rough first month.

I love my job. Taking care of people is something that is woven into the fabric of my being. This is probably why I love to feed people so much. Giving keeps me going and makes me feel like myself.

Working outside of the house has some distinct advantages. No one follows me to the bathroom when I have to go. I can get through an entire conversation with another adult without a toddler trying to pull my pants down or yelling for me to push him around in a tiny wooden tray. My lunch hour has an incredible amount of possibilities and I can come and go as I please within that hour. Money is nice. Not depleting our savings is pretty great as is the ability to buy things we want, but in this moment, those all feel a little dim in the light of that almost two year old with whom I'm so smitten.

We went to the zoo yesterday and shared a blueberry muffin and a croissant at a favorite cafe in San Francisco. When we had our fill of giraffes and gorillas, we went to visit a friend in our old neighborhood. Oliver played with toys and balloons and I caught up with a dear friend. It was a perfect day. I cried at the end of it when I hugged him in the kitchen as he laughed hysterically at my fake sneezes. I miss him. There's no way around it. I know a lot of women do this and they get through it, even enjoy it. I'm hoping that I'll get there soon.

Everyone needs a great banana bread recipe in their repertoire. This one is a little unconventional but pays off in the end. You can store the loaf in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple days but I like to put mine in the fridge because I'm a weirdo and I like cold cake. You'll lose the crispy crunch on top of the cake when you store it, so try to eat as much as you can on the day it's baked.

banana almond bread

makes one loaf

adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
2 eggs
1/2 cup greek yogurt
3 ripe bananas, divided
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sliced almonds
turbinado sugar (also known as raw or coarse sugar)

Preparation:

Grease a 9x5x4 loaf pan with butter or non-stick spray and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle.
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, using a hand held mixer, beat the eggs and 3/4 cup of the brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add 1 banana, the yogurt and a 1/4 cup of brown sugar and beat until well combined, with just a few lumps remaining. Add the oil and blend to combine.
Coarsely mash the remaining two bananas with a fork and fold into the wet ingredients.
Dump the wet ingredients into the dry ones and toss in the almonds. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined, being careful not to over mix the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

cherry, chocolate + almond scones

October 02, 2014 by rachel logan in baking, breakfast + brunch, whole grain

We are a bit spoiled living so close to San Francisco. We could eat every meal of every day at a new place and never reach the last restaurant. There are iconic steakhouses, out of this world oysters harvested right out of the bay and arguably the best bakeries in the state. The Mission, an uber hip neighborhood in the sunny part of the city, is home to a whole bunch of the best eateries in the city. Our church is located in the Mission which could be a coincidence, but it's entirely possible we chose the church we attend based on the quality and quantity of food options for after church brunching. Not really, it's an amazing community of the best people (but really though, the foooooood).

About a block from the front steps of our church is a little bakery called Tartine. It's a San Francisco staple. People line up 45 minutes before they even open the doors in hopes of getting a piping hot ham and cheese croissant and to snag a tiny table on which to enjoy said croissant with a cup of strong coffee. It's a small place but what they lack in space they make up in sugary carbs or flaky carbs with cheese or just straight carbs in the form of a loaf of bread that weighs more than a newborn human baby. The place is magical really.

I try to hold myself back from going there every single Sunday. That takes a lot of self discipline, of which I am seriously deficient. The last time we went I had one of their buttermilk scones with currants. I already had eaten my ham and cheese croissant, but what could a little bit of scone hurt? Well, it was absolutely delicious, which caught me off guard because I was thinking I would just give it a taste, expecting just a normal, mostly boring scone. I mean, I'm comparing this to a ham and cheese croissant, a scone can't compare, right? Really wrong. The scone was awesome and we at the whole thing. AFTER we both ate a ham and cheese croissant. See why I can't go there every Sunday?

If I thought that going to Tartine every Sunday was a bad idea, baking an entire batch of scones probably isn't the most brilliant idea either. Sure, I threw some whole wheat flour in there, but there's also butter and chocolate and they're drenched in a sugar and butter coating. Yep. Good thing my husband doesn't mind taking these types of things to work with him.

I like this riff on Tartine's currant scones. The chocolate makes these a real treat and the tartness of the cherry balances things out. They aren't as airy as the original version on account of the whole wheat flour, but I like that they feel substantial. I cut these into wedges and after the fact, I really wished I had just cut them into squares or rectangles with a sharp knife. Feel free to do that if you'd like, I think it would be easier to get even sized scones. I'll do that next time.

cherry, chocolate + almond scones

makes 12

adapted from Tartine

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus more for dusting)
1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, very cold and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, cold
1 teaspoon orange zest
3/4 cup dried cherries
3/4 cup dark chocolate pieces (or chips)
3/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if mixing by hand), sift both flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Attach the paddle to the mixer and spread the butter over the flour mixture. Turn the mixer onto low and break down the butter until it is the size of peas and the mixture looks more like wet sand. If you're mixing by hand, use a pastry blender or your fingers to break up the butter, working quickly to keep from heating the butter too much.
Add the orange zest, buttermilk, dried cherries, chocolate and almonds all at once. Mix until just combined. The mixture will be moist.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press into a rectangle that is 18" by 5" and about 1 1/2" thick. Cut into 12 triangles. Brush with melted butter and top with a generous amount of sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Serve immediately.