Nutella cookies

The easiest cookies I think I've ever made. Only four ingredients: Nutella, flour, sugar, egg. That's it!

I used this recipe, with one key change: I had to use two eggs instead of one.

So:
1 cup Nutella
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 eggs

Combine. Shape the batter into balls and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. (They'll be sticky.) Using the greased bottom of a glass, press down into a cookie shape. Bake 7-8 minutes at 350. Let cool for a minute before eating, as they'll be soft.

If possible, these were even better the next day. The first day, they were very fudgy. By the second day, they'd hardened slightly into a very soft and chewy cookie. Yum!

Cookbook review: The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches

The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches is, well, just that. It's a chunky little book (one step removed from a board book) with recipes and pictures for every kind of sandwich imaginable, from Dagwoods to fluffernutters to po' boys to Sloppy Joes.

Now, I'm not a connoisseur of sandwiches or anything. I rarely have sandwich ingredients hanging around--I refuse to buy loaf bread, cold cuts, pre-sliced cheese, or any of the other garbage that masquerades as sandwich fare in grocery stores. And since I don't eat out that often, my sandwich intake is far below most people's. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good sandwich--particularly a po' boy, or perhaps a really good grilled cheese made with leftover stinky cheese. I'm heartened that this book pays attention to the bahn mis and Croque Monsieurs of the world, and isn't just filled with cold cuts.

If you're like my dad, for whom "lunch" is synonymous with "sandwich," this book is for you--especially if it breaks you out of the white bread-mayo-bologna-cheese rut.

Gardening update; and things you can use to start seeds

I've now used a bunch of different things to start seedlings in, and I can now safely proclaim there is absolutely no reason to buy seed-starting trays, or tiny plastic containers, or tiny biodegradable containers. Or anything, really, other than seeds and potting soil.

Best of all, you already have all these things. Start saving them now, and next year you'll have a whole stockpile of seed-starting things to choose from. Just be sure to cut or punch holes in the bottoms of all these things, for drainage. (And clean them out first.)

Yogurt/sour cream containers
Non-styrofoam egg cartons, with half a cleaned, whole eggshell in each depression
Grapefruit and orange halves (eat the fruit first)
Bottoms of milk jugs and plastic soda/water bottles
Paper cups
Toilet paper tubes (fold the bottom under to make a little cup)
Paper towel tubes, cut in half (see above)
Cleaned out food and coffee cans (any size)
Cleaned out soda cans, cut in half
Those plastic tubs mushrooms come in
Plastic take-out containers
I even repurposed some random, lidless Tupperware.

You can also make cute little containers out of newspaper.

So far, I can't tell any difference between growing things in these containers and the fancy seed-starting kits. So it's a win-win: you don't have to buy anything special, thereby saving money, AND you keep all of these things out of the landfill.

Homemade creme fraiche

Creme fraiche is a wonderful thing. It's endlessly versatile, you can use it in zillions of different recipes, or you can just eat with a spoon with fresh strawberries. (And it was the subject of hilarity in at least one South Park episode.)

But it's pretty expensive in the stores.

Here's how you can make your own.

Whisk together:

1 part buttermilk
8 parts cream (not ultra-pasteurized)

That's it. Cover the bowl and let it sit out at room temperature for 12 hours to 2 days, until it thickens and separates. Whisk again, cover and refrigerate.

Takes all of 30 seconds of effort.

Pea and ricotta tart

First, here's a story about my high school drama teacher.

I adapted this recipe from Food 52. I didn't have half the ingredients in the original recipe; and I realized that my old springform pan needs to be replaced and is probably not up to snuff. Then I removed the tart before the center was completely done, meaning the liquid center oozed out all over the done part. I had to transfer the goo to a pie pan and finish cooking it in that.

The moral of the story is that you don't need the original recipe, or a springform pan, in order to get a delicious tart.

You just need to make sure it's cooked all the way through before you cut into it.

This is how I made it:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 shallot, finely chopped, about 1/4 cup
2 cups shelled peas (or frozen, thawed)
1 cup whole milk ricotta
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
splash of fresh lemon juice

Saute the shallot in the butter until soft, and add the peas. Saute for another minute and let cool. Puree half of this mixture in your food processor, and add the ricotta and nutmeg. Blend, then add the eggs one at a time and pulse well after each. Transfer to a bowl, and add the rest along with the rest of the peas. Blend, pour into a greased pie pan. Bake at 350 until the center doesn't jiggle any more.

La Laiterie, Providence

Last weekend, my husband and I treated ourselves to a rare dinner out, at La Laiterie in Providence, RI. La Laiterie is my favorite type of non-fancy restaurant: a gastropub.

"Gastropub" gets thrown around a lot, but I use it to signify a place which is casual, makes their own charcuterie and artisanal cocktails, and probably has really good cheese (bonus points for foie gras). La Laiterie is, conveniently, attached to a great cheese shop: Farmstead.

Naturally, we ordered cheese and charcuterie. All excellent (though I have to admit I've had better charcuterie plates).

Charcuterie:
bresaola
a kind of ham
handmade bourbon-fennel sausage
a beef/pork/foie pate in a pastry crust
chicken rilletes

Cheeses:
Winnemere
Kunik
Coolea
Twig Farm Mixed Drum
Cashel Blue

I stopped into the cheese shop on our way out and purchased more of the Winnemere, along with some wild boar proscuitto, some Mountaineer (from Virginia, from the same people that make my favorite stinky cheese), and some Virginia bacon.

The Incredible Shrinking Package

This week, the New York Times had an article about deceptive packaging.

Basically, companies are packaging their product in smaller sizes, but charging the same price. Remember 8 oz cups of yogurt? Then they were 6.5 oz, then 6 oz, now 5 oz--for the same price. A can of tomatoes used to be 16 oz. Now it's 14.5. "Half gallons" of ice cream no longer exist. "A pound" of coffee, or bacon, or whatever, is actually 12 oz.

Call me crazy, but I was pretty sure a pound = 16 oz.

Sometimes the companies try to sell the smaller packages as "greener" or "conveniently sized" or "packaged for freshness!" They change the shape of the package, the color, they add a plastic window for viewing, they take away the plastic window for viewing. If the package design suddenly changes, beware. The company is probably hiding something.

They've even been known to claim, say, "25% less fat!" when in fact you're getting 25% less Snickers bar. Those ergonomic squeeze bottles of ketchup and mayo are disguising a much smaller overall bottle.

Old recipes often don't work because of this. Not only because the can of tomatoes went from 16 oz to 14.5, but because there's also more water in the can than there used to be.

What does this mean for you?

Basically, we're all going to have to start paying very close attention--to ingredient lists, to packaging, and most importantly, to unit size.

You can mitigate this sneakiness by:

1. Don't buy things in packages. (Do I need to say "Duh"?)

Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, make your own yogurt/bread/soup/mac and cheese/ice cream, buy in bulk whenever possible. Dried fruits, pasta, grains, beans and lentils are far cheaper from the bulk bins than they are in boxes, and you know exactly how much you're getting. (And you're not paying for the extra air inside the box.)

It goes without saying that the unhealthiest foods--chips, soda, cookies, the ultra-processed stuff--are the worst offenders of Sneaky Package Shrink. Hello, "100 calorie" packaging. Loaf bread has been mostly air and preservatives for years.

But even supposedly healthy things, like juice, are cutting back on the amount of actual juice in the product, cutting back the package size, and then adding extra sugar and water to disguise the difference.

If it has more than one ingredient, it's processed. Don't buy it if you don't have to.

2. The best way to accurately gauge what you're getting is to look at the unit price. Even if you're buying a 25-lb bag of flour from Costco, sometimes the per-pound price is cheaper at the supermarket (especially if you hit a sale). Bring a calculator with you to the store.

For example:

A 14.5 oz can of corn divided by its price of $1.59 equals 9.11 cents per ounce.

But a 5-lb bag of frozen corn divided by its price of $3.80 equals 4.75 cents per ounce (5 lbs x 16 oz in a pound = 80 oz).

You're better off buying the big bag (plus you're not paying for the water in the can).

Unless the can of corn goes on sale for 69 cents or less. Sometimes the generic can of corn is already that cheap. Then you're getting a better deal, per ounce of corn.

Yes, you will have to do math in the store. It sucks. I hate it too. That's one of the main reasons I quit buying things in packages. (That, plus Proctor & Gamble doesn't need any of my hard-earned money.)

Yes, I know raisins sell for $1.59 a pound in the bulk bin, but in the snack aisle, they're sold in sets of 6 56-gram boxes. Stores do that on purpose to confuse you.

3. Pay attention to how much you're using. Look at ultra-concentrated laundry detergent; they sell it in smaller bottles, knowing full well that most people will use a full cap regardless of the instructions. Meaning they sell more laundry detergent, at higher prices.

Don't use more than you have to. You won't need more than a pea-sized amount of toothpaste to get your teeth clean; you don't need more than a couple tablespoons of detergent to get a load of clothes or a load of dishes clean; you don't need to use three paper towels to clean a window when one will do (better yet, you can clean windows with vinegar and old newspaper, thereby negating having to buy Windex and paper towels at all).

4. Double-check. Not all 10-lb. bags of potatoes actually contain 10 lbs of potatoes. Some contain 9.2 lbs. Some contain 10.5. You'll need to weigh a few to figure out which bag contains the most potatoes.

Double-check your receipt, too. At least 1 of every 5 "sale items" I've ever purchased rang up at the original, non-sale price. Of course it was up to me to spot the error and go back to the customer service desk and wait in line to get my refund. Supermarkets do that on purpose, figuring most people won't bother. And they're right. But it adds up--what seems like a trivial amount to you becomes hundreds and thousands of extra dollars for the supermarket. Over time, it becomes hundreds and thousands of dollars out of your pocket, too.

5. Teach your kids to spot this stuff, too. Most adults don't pay attention to package shrink, because they never learned to. Just like most adults don't know how to cook--they were never taught how to cook. Or how to do their taxes by hand. Or how to sew on a button. Or how to change a tire.

But you catch my drift.

Self-sufficiency is always better--and cheaper--than the alternative.