One more wintry meal

Trying to look on the bright side of this unseasonably cool and wet weather we're having...one last chance to make some of my favorite wintry meals. Last week I made Three Bean Chili with Quinoa Cornbread and on Sunday I made The Veggie Queen's Winter Squash Enchiladas. A healthy and really delicious dish from "Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment" by Northern California vegetarian chef Jill Nusinow ("The Veggie Queen"). I had a chance to meet Jill at the Gravenstein Apple Fair last Fall and this is probably my favorite dish from her book.

Dad would be proud

Well, I promised my co-workers I would bring a breakfast treat for a meeting we had this week, so I took the opportunity to try something in a new cookbook, "A New Way to Cook" by Sally Schneider (I really like Schneider's food philosophy, but wasn't all that inspired by the book as a whole).

Anyway, I made Coriander and Orange Scented Scones (p. 375). I had never made scones before (although I am the daughter of a baker: http://www.fatboybakery.com/ , I frequently fail when it comes to baking things myself), but the recipe seemed pretty simple.

I followed the recipe pretty closely (although I omitted the coriander), but adapted the shaping and baking processes a little. After kneading the dough, I shaped it into a rough rectangle and cut it into 16 triangles (instead of the rounds Schneider suggests) because I wanted "mini" scones. I then placed them on a cookie sheet and put the whole thing in the freezer overnight. Then, I baked them (for about 20-25 minutes at 375 F) in the morning while I was getting ready for work. The freshly baked orange-scented currant-flecked nibbles were a huge hit at work! I can't wait to try some other varieties with this basic recipe - maybe ginger & lemon, cranberry & orange, chocolate chip & almond...any other ideas?

Pickled Red Onions

Here's another recipe review for the CHOW's Cookbook of the Month, this time for "Red Onion Pickles" from Judy Rodgers' The Zuni Cafe Cookbook (pg. 270).

I love all things pickled and these beautiful bright pink onions might quickly become a new favorite. The recipe is a little time consuming (with three repetitions of a simmering and cooling process), but it ended up being easier than I expected...and very delicious! I just made them today, so I have only sampled them on their own. I can only imagine, however, all of the fabulous uses for these gorgeous little rings - sandwhiches, salads, burgers...