CEiMB- Apple Brown Betty

Oh my, I loved this. It was so easy to make and the flavor was excellent. I will definitely be making this again. The whole family loved it and I didn't feel too guilty while eating because it is really pretty healthy. Now I did make it a little bit less healthy by adding an extra tablespoon of brown sugar and an extra tablespoon of butter to the topping, but I figure for each serving that only adds a negligible amount of fat and calories. To get the recipe and try this yourself you can buy the book So Easy by Ellie Krieger or you can visit Jessica of Learning to Love Vegetables.

I heart cooking clubs- Farewell Food

The group I heart cooking clubs focuses on one chef for a period of 6 months and then moves on to a new chef. It is really such a great way to get to know new chefs and to push yourself to try new things. I will be honest, before joining the group, I really had no idea who Mark Bittman was. Now his recipes have become a staple in my home and even when I don't follow a recipe exactly, I will still grab my big, red How to Cook Everything book to see what the best way is to slice some fruit or how to prepare some other fill-in-the-blank. So for me this isn't really goodbye because Mr. Bittman is here to stay! Which is really what this group is about. I have found a new favorite that I don't think I would have found otherwise.
However in keeping with the farewell theme, I decided to say farewell to summer as well as Mark Bittman. I found a tasty and simple recipe that has become another meatless favorite!

Pasta with Corn, Zucchini, and Tomatoes

Ingredients

• Salt
  
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or 2 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup corn kernels (from 2 or 3 ears)
• 1 cup diced zucchini or summer squash (from 2 or 3 small vegetables)
• 1 medium onion or 3 or 4 shallots, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, optional
• 1 sprigs tarragon
• 4 plum or 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 pound cut pasta, like penne, rigatoni, or fusilli

Method

• 1. Set a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add corn. Cook, stirring occasionally, until corn begins to brown. Add zucchini and some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini begins to brown.
• 2. Add onion or shallots and garlic if you are using it. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add tarragon and cook for 30 seconds, then tomatoes. Put pasta in boiling water and cook until tender but not mushy, 10 to 15 minutes.
• 3. While pasta cooks continue to cook sauce, reducing heat when tomatoes begin to break down. If sauce dries out (with plum tomatoes, this is likely), add some pasta cooking water, about 1/2 cup at a time. When pasta is done, drain it, toss with sauce and remaining oil or butter, and serve immediately.

French Fridays with Dorie: Gougeres

French Fridays with Dorie is a blogging group focusing on Dorie Greenspan lovely new cookbook, Around My French Table. I love Dorie and I am loving this new cookbook. Her books are the most entertaining cookbooks I own. Not only can the women really whip up a great dish but she also know how to dish, as in spin an entertaining story. I can actually curl up with her cookbooks like I would a novel and enjoy the stories. I would definitely recommend checking out this book!

This weeks recipe was Gougeres. Until yesterday I had never made these wonderful little pastries but I can guarantee I will be making them again. They are so amazingly quick and easy. You can seriously have them to the table in just over 30 minutes, which in my opinion, makes them as convenient as biscuits but with a more sophisticated flavor. We all really loved these and definitely ate more than is probably recommended. I ended up just using some sharp cheddar that I had in the fridge this time. I can't wait to experiment with some other types of cheese!

CEiMB- Almond French Toast Bake

I have had this wonderful little cookbook by Ellie Krieger called So Easy for months and although I have looked through it several times, until last week it was mostly just keeping my other cookbooks company. No longer! I had come across a group called Craving Ellie in my Belly a few weeks ago and decided if I joined the group, then maybe I would actually use this wonderful cookbook. And that is just what happened :D I have now made my first delicious and really very healthy Ellie Krieger recipe. YAY!
It truly was a success in my opinion. My kids loved it, and while it wasn't my hubby's absolute favorite, he enjoyed it, and for me, two of my most favorite foods on the planet are french toast and bread pudding so, heck yes I am a fan. The other really winning quality: it was truly "so easy" to make. Isn't it great to actually find truth in advertising!
I followed the recipe pretty exactly. I only made 3 changes. The first one was to use frozen blueberries instead of fresh. The second change I made was that I didn't use real maple syrup, I just used the pancake syrup I had on hand. The last change I made was to use fewer eggs than called for. The recipe called for a whopping 8 whole eggs and 8 egg whites, that seemed like a lot for one loaf of french bread. After checking some comments on the Food Network link for the recipe, I saw someone suggested using only 5 whole eggs and 4 egg whites. That is what I did and for me it turned out great. Not soggy and just slightly crispy on the edges.
See how everyone else fared here and to try this recipe yourself, head on over to our hostess, Heide's blog, Chez Zero.