All posts by Ruth Wendel

About Ruth Wendel

I'm a musician, Registered Dietitian, cook, and baker. I love food, and want to share my delight for it with the world. I hope you enjoy my recipes and, if you haven't developed a love for baking already, I hope you will!

Molasses Cookies

Cookies and Brownies

Hi, all! How are you doing? I hope you’re hanging in there during this crazy time, and finding ways to keep yourselves entertained. It seems that my city has taken to baking while they’re at home (or at least, that’s the only explanation I can find for the grocery store being sold out of flour consistently!). To that end, I figured I’d supply a recipe for you to try out: molasses cookies! Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, sweet and spiced, these cookies are seriously so delicious. And, happily, the recipe makes a big batch so you’ll have enough to share with your family. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup shortening, melted
  • 1 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda

First, combine the melted shortening with the sugar and molasses. A note about the shortening- it’s necessary to use shortening to end up with the right texture and look of the cookies. I’ve tried substituting butter for the shortening, and you end up with a very different cookie (although still delicious, so if all you have is butter then go for it – just don’t expect the same result as will be shown here!)

If the shortening is still hot from being melted, let it cool down to lukewarm before mixing in the egg (otherwise, you’ll end up with cooked scrambled eggs in your batter and you’ll have to start over!). Once the mixture is cooled to lukewarm, mix in the egg and beat well. Your mixture will now look smooth and blended since the egg is binding everything together.

Mix in the spices, flour, and baking soda, and mix until fully combined.

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375F. Once the dough is chilled, roll the dough into 1″ balls, roll them in the extra sugar to coat, and place them on a greased or lined baking sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. If you have multiple cookie sheets going at once, switch their position in the oven halfway through baking to ensure even baking. You’ll know they’re done with they flatten, develop the characteristic cracking on top as pictured below, and have darkened to a nice rich brown color.

Remove to a wire cooling rack to cool. Be sure to have a few when they’re still warm, because they are absolutely amazing fresh from the oven.

And that’s it! If these last long in your house, I’ll be impressed. They’re going quick in mine, and there are only two of us here!

Keep your chins up and stay positive, everyone! We will get through this and we’ll be able to meet up and share our baked goods again before you know it.

Happy baking!

Coconut Macaroons

Cookies and Brownies

Hi, all! Hope you are all doing well and getting through the chaos of the Coronavirus! I figure, if we have to stay home, might as well bake some yummy treats and eat them! This recipe for Coconut Macaroons is super easy and makes a small enough batch that you can enjoy them between two people. Here are the ingredients:

  • 1 1/3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Melted semi-sweet chocolate (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325F. In a small bowl, mix the coconut, sugar, flour, and salt together.

Add the egg whites and vanilla, and mix until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Drop tablespoon-sized balls onto a greased, or baking mat-lined, baking sheet.

Bake 18-20 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown on top. Cool on a wire rack.

When the cookies are cool, drizzle with melted chocolate if you want!

And that’s it! Super simple, super quick, and super tasty. Happy baking, and stay safe!

Easy Peasy Lemon… Curd

Miscellaneous

Hi, all! Happy Christmas season! If you’re anything like me, December (and even a little of late November) brings tons of holiday parties, and tons of reasons to bake treats! I recently ran across a recipe for lemon thumbprint cookies, which interested me. I already have a recipe for my Aunt Sadie’s Raspberry Thumbprint cookies and I love lemon flavor, so I figured I had to try it- and luckily I had a Christmas party last night that I happened to need a baked good for! Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), my grocery store only sells huge jars of lemon curd, and I only needed a little bit. I say perhaps fortunately because that prompted me to make my own curd! It’s a super easy recipe, and if you have a few lemons at home, then you probably have all the ingredients you’ll need to make it. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed

Put all the ingredients into a 2-qt saucepan over medium-low heat.

Let the mixture cook together, stirring frequently, until the ingredients are fully combined and the mixture is just starting to bubble. Turn the heat off and let the curd sit in the saucepan, stirring occasionally, until slightly cooled. It will continue to thicken to a jam consistency as it cools.

And that’s it! You can use this as a jam on fresh bread or scones, a light topping for a cheesecake or ice cream, or use it as the jelly in my Aunt’s thumbprint cookies as I’ve shown below. This recipe makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of curd.

Happy baking!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Vegetables

Hi all! This is an easy and absolutely delicious vegetable recipe that goes with just about any meal. Here are the ingredients:

  • 1 lb Brussels sprouts
  • 2 slices thick-cut bacon
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

First, preheat the oven to 425F. Wash the Brussels sprouts, cut the ends off, and cut the sprouts in half. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Roast for ~15 minutes. While the sprouts are roasting, cook bacon to medium-crispy either in frying pan or in microwave, depending on your preference (we used the microwave to keep the mess to a minimum!).

When the sprouts have roasted for ~15 minutes or until your preferred degree of doneness, remove them from the oven.

Crumble bacon over the top of the Brussels sprouts and turn broiler to high setting. Broil the sprouts and bacon for 3-5 minutes or until the bacon is very browned and crispy.

So easy and delicious! Happy cooking!

Foodie Dice Chicken and Rice

Lunch and Dinner

Hi, all! It’s been a while since I’ve posted- I hope you all had a wonderful end to your summers and have been having a great fall! As is tradition for late summer/early fall, my sister and I ran our annual inflatable 5k race last weekend and also made a delicious dinner from my foodie dice. Our six ingredients/cooking methods that we rolled were: rice, chicken, oregano, brussels sprouts, bacon, and broiling. We decided to make a delicious one-pot dish of chicken and rice that we basically made up as we went along, and we roasted (and of course, broiled) up some Brussels sprouts with bacon for the side dish (recipe posted here)! Here’s the recipe for the chicken and rice:

Ingredients:

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 2 cups uncooked rice
  • 1/2-1 cup chopped yellow onion (to taste)
  • 1/2-1 cup chopped celery (to taste)
  • 1 quart low sodium chicken stock

Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and oregano.

Heat oil in a large wok or deep saucepot over medium-high heat. Add chopped celery and onion to skillet and stir; cook until starting to soften, 2-3 minutes. Add chicken to pan, nestling among the onion and celery, and cook until chicken is seared on both sides (doesn’t need to be fully cooked through since it will continue cooking with the rice).

Pour uncooked rice into pot and then cover with chicken stock. Cover pot with lid.

Cook according to rice directions (cooking time will vary based on type of rice you use- we used white, so it took about 15-20 minutes).

And that’s it! Super easy and quick, and it ended up delicious. The rice was really nicely flavored from cooking it in chicken stock, and the chicken was very tender and moist. Definitely a win for the foodie dice! Happy cooking!

Kale & Roasted Tomato Pasta

Lunch and Dinner, Vegetables

Hi, all! Hard to believe how fast the summer is flying by! I’m trying to hold on to summer as long as I can and savor all the good summer dishes that I’ve been able to make with my veggies from Misfits Market. This past week I received a nice bunch of kale and some cherry tomatoes (along with a bunch of other goodies, of course) and figured there must be a good way to put them together other than a typical kale salad. I found a few good ideas for how to combine the two, riffed a bit on all of them, and made this delicious pasta dish from it! Here’s the recipe:

  • 8oz pasta (can be whole grain)
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, divided
  • Olive oil
  • 3 slices low-sodium bacon, chopped
  • 1 bunch kale, stems removed
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • dash salt
  • 1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp pine nuts

First, preheat the oven to 375F. Slice half of the cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise. Toss in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and 1 clove minced garlic.

Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes. Set aside.

While the tomatoes are roasting, cook the pasta according to the box directions until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Meanwhile, cook bacon pieces in a skillet over medium-high heat until crispy. Remove from pan using slotted spoon and set aside. Chop the remaining cherry tomatoes into quarters and add to the rendered bacon fat in the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the tomatoes soften and release their juices.

Chop the kale into small pieces. Add the kale, rosemary, remaining 2 cloves minced garlic, and a dash of salt to the skillet. Briefly stir to combine all of the ingredients.

Add 1/2 to 1 cup of reserved pasta water to the pan; cover and let cook over medium heat until kale is wilted and cooked down.

While kale mixture cooks down, pour pine nuts into a small skillet over medium heat. Stir the nuts occasionally until they start to turn brown and smell toasty and nutty. Remove from heat and set aside.

Once the kale mixture is cooked down, add pasta, pine nuts, roasted tomatoes, and bacon to the mixture. Toss to combine ingredients.

Serve with Parmesan cheese, and enjoy! Happy cooking!


Easy Babaganoush

Lunch and Dinner, Vegetables

Hi, all! Happy August- I can’t believe the summer is flying by so quickly! I’ve been loving the summer produce coming from my garden and from my Misfits Markets boxes, and this new recipe takes full advantage of that! I had a spare eggplant that I needed to use up and had heard great things about babaganoush, a Lebanese dip, so I decided to try it. My hopes of liking it were pretty low, but I was very pleasantly surprised with how good it was- even my dad, who normally doesn’t like eggplant, enjoyed it! This dip has a really clean, refreshing flavor, with a little kick at the end from the garlic in it. Here’s the recipe:

  • 1 small to medium eggplant
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley or 2 tbsp dried parsley
  • 2 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice

First, preheat a gas grill to 450F. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork. Grill the eggplant on all sides over the flame until all sides are charred and the skin is wrinkled, about 10 minutes. Alternatively, heat an oven to 450F and place the pricked eggplant on a foil-lined cookie sheet; bake in the oven for 20 minutes until soft.

Let the eggplant cool. Then, cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and drain any excess liquid. Scoop out the flesh into a food processor and process until smooth.

While the eggplant is processing, mash garlic and salt together with the flat side of a knife until they form a paste. Add the garlic paste, lemon juice, parsley, and tahini to the processor. Note: tahini tends to separate, so make sure to mix it up really well before using it!

Process all of the ingredients together until they are fully mixed and smooth.

Scoop the dip into a bowl and serve with pita chips or a veggie platter, and enjoy! This dip keeps well in a closed container in the fridge for 3 days- just stir it up before eating as it may slightly separate.

Happy cooking!

Arugula Pesto

Lunch and Dinner, Vegetables

Hi, all! Summer is in full swing and the summer produce is really starting to take off. Thanks to my Misfits Market box, I recently got some fresh arugula to use. I had some leftover pine nuts, so I decided to try making an arugula pesto- and it came out super well! It tasted delicious and really fresh, and went well with the pizza I made that night (recipe also below!). Here’s the recipe:

  • 2 cups arugula
  • 1/4 cup basil
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed

First, toast the pine nuts in a sauté pan over medium heat. The trick to toasting them without burning them is to just toss the nuts in the hot pan and remove them from the heat as soon as you start to smell them.

Next, put all the ingredients (including the toasted nuts) into a food processor.

Process the ingredients together until they come together. If the consistency is too runny, try adding extra cheese; if too thick, try adding extra olive oil and pulsing the mixture to loosen it. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

And that’s it! You can freeze this pesto to use later, or you can make it up to 3 days ahead of when you’ll need it. This works well with pasta or as a sauce for vegetables, and also is delicious as a substitute for pizza sauce in the pizza recipe below:

  • 1 pre-made pizza crust (I like Stonefire crusts)
  • Arugula pesto
  • 1 heirloom tomato
  • Shredded mozzarella (or other Italian cheese blend)
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese

Spread a layer of the pesto over the crust. Slice the tomato and layer that over the pesto. Sprinkle the cheese over the top.

Bake according to the crusts’ reheat directions until the crust is fully heated and the cheese is bubbling. Slice it up and enjoy!

Happy cooking!

Enchilada Verde Sauce

Lunch and Dinner

Hi, all! Happy June! I hope this summer is off to a good start for you all! Today I’ve got a fun recipe for a homemade enchilada verde sauce that I made using veggies from my Misfits Market box- and also the recipe for the enchiladas themselves! Enjoy!

  • 12 medium tomatillos
  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, ends cut off
  • 1 bunch cilantro leaves
  • 2 jalapeño peppers, ribs and seeds removed if you prefer milder heat
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp oil

First, cook the tomatillos in boiling water for a couple minutes to soften them and help remove the sticky papery skin. After 2-3 minutes, remove them from the boiling water and remove the skin. Add the tomatillos and all other ingredients except the oil to a blender/food processor.

Blend the ingredients together until they are completely mixed and there are no large chunks left in the sauce.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan (you can just re-use the one you boiled the tomatillos in to save dishes). Pour in the tomatillo mixture and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture is slightly thickened.

And that’s it! This is a super easy but flavorful and fresh sauce.

Here’s my recipe for enchiladas verdes:

  • ~2 cups homemade enchilada sauce
  • Corn tortillas
  • 4oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
  • 4oz cheddar cheese, shredded
  • Scallions for topping, if desired

Pour some of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13″ casserole dish. Dip each tortilla into the enchilada sauce in the dish, coating each side. Sprinkle a small amount of cheese in the middle of each tortilla. Roll the tortilla up and place seam-side down in the casserole dish.

Repeat until your dish is filled with rolled tortillas. Then, pour the remaining sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese and scallions.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes.

And then serve the enchiladas hot with some rice and beans and guacamole on the side! Super easy, but super delicious! Happy cooking!

Homemade Dill Pickles

Vegetables

Hi, all! Time for another veggie recipe courtesy of Misfits Market (if you’re interested in trying out Misfits Market, get 25% off your first box by clicking here)! We got a few nice cucumbers in our box last week and, as great as cucumbers are, they’re not really my go-to vegetable. I decided to try my hand at turning them into something that I much prefer: dill pickles! It was surprisingly easy- just throw a few ingredients into a mason jar with cucumber spears (you can also do cucumber slices if you prefer) and leave it in the fridge for three days! Here’s the recipe:

  • 2 large cucumbers, quartered lengthwise and halved width-wise (you can also cut them into thin little cucumber “chips”)
  • 1 3/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp salt
  • 2 garlic cloves, whole
  • 1 head fresh dill

Stir water, vinegar, sugar, and salt together in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and cool completely.

While the vinegar mixture cools, combine cucumber spears, garlic, and dill in a sealable plastic container or a mason jar.

Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumber mixture.

Seal the jars/containers and put them in the fridge for at least three days. After three days, you’ll have delicious dill pickles!

That’s it! Super easy and a delicious way to transform a vegetable that I wasn’t feeling excited about into something that I really enjoy. Happy cooking!