Matzo Ball Moon Soup

Mmmm.... Passover...

A friend of mine (hello!!) asked me very nicely, "are you going to be making any Passover recipes?"  Hmm... it is coming up, isn't it?  Being a shiksa, I had to look up some good Passover books, and I found a great picture book called Matzo Ball Moon, written by Leslea Newman and illustrated by Elaine Greenstein. 

In this story, young Eleanor is excited because Passover is on its way, and her grandmother (Bubbe) is coming over to make matzo ball soup for the whole family!!  She is so excited - and so is Bubbe, who loves making the soup.  The whole family loves to watch her cook, and they keep coming in to watch... and to sneak a matzo ball or two before dinner.  No big deal, right?  Bubbe made plenty!

Unfortunately, so many people decided to "just try one" that when it's time for dinner... oh no!  There aren't enough to go around!  But Bubbe is a loving grandmother, and she takes one for the team, and goes without, enjoying more than anything watching her family enjoy her cooking.  After the Seder (the ceremonial Passover dinner), Eleanor looks up at the moon and sees it as a "big, bumpy, lumpy, yummy-looking matzo ball" - one for Bubbe!

It's a cute story.  I like it!  And because of it, I was able to make you this:

Matzo Ball Moon Soup
1 10-oz. package of matzo (I used Egg & Onion Matzo)
1/4 cup butter
3 eggs
1 onion, minced
1 1/2 tbsp. parsley flakes
salt and pepper to taste
2 1/2 oz. matzo meal
6 cups chicken broth, or more, depending on how brothy you like your soup (I used 10 cups)

1. Crumble the package of matzo into small pieces, and place in a bowl.  Cover with water, and allow to soak for a few minutes, until soft.  Drain the excess water.  Meanwhile, put a pot of water on to boil.
2. In a large saucepan (and I mean a large saucepan - mine was too small and it made a mess), melt the butter and add the now-soggy matzo.  Stir continuously until it's dry and a little bit brown. 
3. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the eggs, onion, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste (I didn't add any salt because my broth was very salty, and it was tasty).  Add matzo meal until the mix stays together.  Roll one golf-ball-sized ball from the mix and drop it in the now-boiling water, and keep an eye on it.
* If it falls apart, add some matzo meal to make the mix stay together.
* If it doesn't float after a few minutes, add an egg to loosen the mixture, and just enough matzo meal to hold the mix together.
* If it floats, your mixture is perfect, and you can move onto step 4.
4. Put the chicken broth into a pot and bring it to a slow boil.  Roll the mixture into golf-ball-sized lumps and drop the balls into the soup.  When they are floating, the soup is done.

This is a tricky recipe.  I got it from the AllRecipes website, listed under "Oma's Fabulous Matzo Ball Soup," and for some reason, I didn't expect it to take as long as it did.  Of course, a recipe always takes longest the first time you do it, because you don't know what you're doing - but still, the website says it takes one hour, and it took me almost two!  Also, I cut the AllRecipe's recipe in half, and it still made far more matzo balls than I expected it to - supposedly enough for 5, but really enough for 10.

In any case.  This is some very tasty soup, and I may, if I have time, make it again someday.  I will definitely recommend this recipe to any who are willing to invest the time (it's worth it!), and I also recommend the book.  Enjoy - and Happy Passover!

Mary Poppins's Ceiling Scones

I am ashamed to admit that I never read Mary Poppins, by P. L. Travers, until just this week.  Sure, I've seen the movie dozens of times (and after reading it, want to watch it again), but I never got around to reading it.  I never even thought of reading it, in fact, until I saw the Mary Poppins Cookbook on the shelf at the local library (I was looking for Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon, which was - alas! - checked out.  Maybe next week).  And then I realized - I'd never read the book that the movie was based on! How unlike me!

So, quick-like-a-bunny, I ran over and - what luck!! - it was on the shelf.  Hooray!  So I've been reading it, and I gotta tell ya.  It's pretty darn good.  For the one person out there who is unfamiliar with this story, please allow me to explain.  Mary Poppins is a nanny in Britain in the early 1900's, who travels to Cherry Tree Lane in chapter 1 of the book, to be employed by the Banks family.  Ms. Poppins is no ordinary nanny, however - she is able to slide up banisters with ease, talk to animals and the weather, jump into chalk pictures on the sidewalk, and generally do things with ease that most of us would think impossible.

I have to admit, though, that this may be the first time I haven't  thought the book was amazingly better than its movie, probably because the movie is so ingrained in my head, and the book is vastly different.  Firstly, the characters are very different in the book - there are four children, not two; Mr. Banks is a very nice, though busy, man, rather than a stuffy one who doesn't seem to care about his family; and Mary Poppins herself is a brisk, nosy, perpetually-annoyed kind of character, rather than the sweet one played by Julie Andrews.

Secondly, the magic that one can imagine in, say, the Harry Potter books, isn't written in such a way as to pull the reader in.  Travers writes in a matter-of-fact way,  as if it would be odd for us to question what was going on.  Which works!  But then you lack the wonder that should rightfully be there when one sees a woman suddenly producing a floor lamp from an empty bag.  You have to supply that yourself.

Also, Bert isn't present in the book very much, and he's one of my favorite characters.  And there is no such thing as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in this book.  But there is a midnight visit to a zoo, along with stars being pasted into the sky straight off gingerbread cookies, a dancing cow, and a dog friendship that transcends the social classes.  There is also, my friends - and I'm so excited about this! - a tea party on the ceiling. 

Mary Poppins takes her charges, Jane and Michael (the babies being otherwise occupied) to have tea with her uncle, Mr. Wigg, who has the unfortunate blessing of being filled up with laughing gas on his birthday, whenever it happens to fall on a Friday.  He was such a sight, bobbing up in the air like that, that the children were affected as well, and the three of them were unable to return to the floor in time for their tea.  Always being one to make the best of a situation, Mary Poppins moved the tea party up to the ceiling, instead, where it was served while the group floated about.

But what would a tea party be without tasty things to snack on?  So, in honor of the Mary Poppins tea party, I give you:
Mary Poppins Ceiling Scones
NOTE: There are two ways to make these: by hand, and with the food processor.  I used a food processor, and it took all of 4 minutes to form the dough, so that is the way I'm going to give the directions to you.  If you want the other directions, go to www.allrecipes.com and search for "Simple Scones," as that is the recipe I'm using here.
1 stick butter, frozen and cut into chunks
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 egg
1 tbsp. sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  In a food processor, add the butter, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal.
2. Add the chocolate chips and pulse a few more times, to chop them up a bit.
3. In a small bowl, stir the sour cream, almond extract and egg until well blended.  Add this to the food processor and pulse until the mixture starts to form small dough balls.
4. Turn out the dough onto a lightly-floured surface, and pat into a circle about 7 or 8 inches in diameter, and 3/4 of an inch thick.  Sprinkle the circle with the 1 tbsp. of sugar, and then cut into 8 pieces with a butter knife.  Arrange on a baking tray, leaving an inch or so of room between the slices.
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the scones are golden brown and delicious.  Let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.  These are tasty both warm and cold.

I set my scones onto a round pizza dish, so they would fit in the same circular way that I cut them from (just with spaces between the pieces).  It looked like this when I took it out:

Not too shabby!  Well... a little shabby, but they're supposed to have a rustic look to them, right?  Here's a close-up of one piece.

Mmmm!! The almond extract is light but present and adds a lovely flavor, and when you bite into a piece with a white chocolate chip, it really brings out the extra nutty yumminess.  These are also unlike other scones that I've had, in that they are moist, rather like a dinner biscuit instead of a drier, crackerier taste.

Not to tootle my own horn (or the horn of the author who posted the recipe on allrecipes), but I think these are worthy of a Mary Poppins Tea Party. And if she would like to come by, I am more than willing to share.

EDITOR'S NOTE:
Friends, I have made a mistake.  In my haste to try to be fair to Ms. Travers and respectful of her work, I neglected to give you a fair recommendation of this book.  My honest opinion is that, while it may be worthwhile to read this if you have grown up watching Disney's Mary Poppins, and see how you like it... don't read this to children.  It was written in 1934, and as such, has some really horrible-awful offensive things in it that were okay back then, but aren't anymore.  For example, they find a magic compass and travel around the world, visiting "savages" in Africa and a village in China, among other places.  In the interest of honesty, I feel that I must tell you, it's rather disturbing.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatball Calzone

In 1982, history was made.  An event so historic, so amazing, that it probably helped form the idea for this blog a year before I was even born.  In 1982, the world first was able to read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs was written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett.  Firstly, the illustrations.  I love these even more having read Molly Bang's Picture This: How Picture's Work （she analyzes lines, colors, shapes... trust me, it's enlightening), but I've always been drawn to the illustrations in this book.  I remember flipping through and looking at all the pictures before I was able to read.

The story itself is crafted by our narrator's Grandpa as a bedtime story, and features the far-away town of Chewandswallow.  This city is normal in most respects, except that, instead of rain from the clouds, residents get orange juice.  Instead of snow, hamburgers and fries might fall from the sky.

There are a few small problems with this - firstly, you don't know what kind of food will fall, or when.  And secondly, you don't know how much you'll get.  For a long time, residents are ok with this.  The weather report would tell you what was for dinner, and sanitation workers would collect uneaten food for the wildlife.  Life was idyllic.

But then, the weather stopped being so friendly.  One time, they had snowdrifts of cream cheese and jelly sandwiches, and everybody ate themselves silly.  Another time, nothing came down but overcooked broccoli all day.  And then, the food wasn't just bigger in quantity - it started getting bigger in size, too!  The school was squashed under a giant pancake!  Meatballs would roll down the road and cause destruction!  A giant pickle fell right through somebody's roof!  Things were starting to get dangerous... and the residents of Chewandswallow had to decide what to do about it.

I've already ruined so much of this book that I'm not going to tell you what happens.  I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to read it.

Anyhow.  In honor of this wonderful book - which, incidentally, is one of those that, when people find out I write this blog, people tell me that I have to do something with - I have decided to make a calzone for you today.  Okay, yes, I was going to make spaghetti and meatballs.  But I did spaghetti with the puttanesca, and it's somewhat predictable.  I like to throw a wrench in the works sometimes.  So, calzone.


Cloudy With a Chance of Meatball Calzone
1 package of prepared pizza dough (this can be found in the frozen section, the biscuit-dough section, or sometimes in the bakery, depending on the store)
1 can of your favorite pizza or pasta sauce
1 lb. of prepared meatballs (fresh or frozen)
1 cup of shredded cheese (I used "Italian Blend")
1 small tub of ricotta cheese
Olive oil

1. Bring the dough to room temperature and roll it out flat.  If you have gotten your dough from a tube, it will be a giant rectangle; prepared fresh or frozen dough in blob-form will probably roll out to a rounder shape.  Either is ok.  After it is rolled out to the desired size, let it sit for about 5 minutes (this will help it settle and it won't tear as easily later).
2. Preheat your oven to 350 and heat up the meatballs in the microwave; I used prepared, frozen meatballs, with 16 meatballs to a pound, and heated them according to the package instructions.  After they have been warmed up, cut them into roughly bite- or two-bite-sized pieces. 
3. Mentally divide the dough in half.  On one half, spread a thin layer of the pizza sauce.  Sprinkle on the cheese, then top with the meatballs.  Scoop ricotta from the tub and drop at random intervals over the other toppings. 
4. Once your toppings have been added, fold the un-topped half of the dough over the toppings, and pinch the crust together to make one large mound of goodness.  Brush on a little olive oil (I actually used olive oil cooking spray) to promote browning, and cut a few slits in the top of the calzone so it doesn't explode.
5. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes (you'll know when it's done, because it will be golden brown and your house will smell amazing).  Let it sit for a couple minutes, then slice up and enjoy.  You can use the pizza sauce you didn't use inside the calzone for dipping in.

Here are a few photos for you.  This is how it will look when it's just out of the oven - perhaps not the prettiest thing ever, but still.

When sliced, you can see the layers inside.  Oooh, that's good stuff.

And then plate it up.  See the puffy ricotta clouds?  Yum!

 One final note before I let you go.  Firstly, thanks for sticking with me during my long absences - I am in the middle of a practicum and a class, and I'm loving them both, but it leaves very little time for me to cook.  Secondly, mostly what I cook for this blog is very unhealthy, by virtue of it being fun, so I'm going to *try* to make things slightly less bad for you than they are.
And lastly - yes, that is my hand in the first photo.  And my lovely plaid pajamas.  You're welcome.

The Soup of Desperaux

"The world is dark, and light is precious.  Come closer, dear reader.  You must trust me.  I am telling you a story."  So begins the epic tale of Desperaux Tilling, an extraordinary mouse with an extraordinary story.  The book, written by Kate DiCamillo (of Because of Winn-Dixie fame), is titled in full: The Tale of Desperaux, being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread.

The story will sound a little confusing when I try to explain it, but bear with me here, it's worth it.  First, we meet Desperaux, a young mouse with huge ears and big dreams, who is much more interested in reading books than eating them - a desire that sets him even farther apart from his peers than his physical differences.  He lives in a castle, in the walls with the other mice; Princess Pea and her father live in the main part of the building.  After reading stories about knights and chivalry, Desperaux decides he needs to meet the princess - and the two worlds collide.

In the course of the story, we also meet Miggery Sow, a servant girl who wishes she was a princess; Roscuro, a rat with a broken heart; and Cook, a cook who would love nothing more than to be making soup again, but for the fact that it has been outlawed.  I'm not going to give away too much of the story, because in order to explain it, would have to give away the whole plot, but I will say that soup, in the end, is once again legal and enjoyed; and most of the characters, if not all, live happily ever after.

I fear that I am not doing this book credit by my description, but hopefully my Desperaux-inspired meal will do it some justice.  Because soup is a prominent part of the story, and because our hero is a mouse, I have decided to make a cheddar and broccoli soup for you today.

The Soup of Desperaux
5 tbsp. butter
1/2 an onion, diced
1 tsp. minced garlic
16 oz. bag of frozen chopped broccoli
2 14.5-oz. cans chicken broth
1/2 lb. processed cheese, like Velveeta, cubed
1 cup milk
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup cold water
1/3 cup corn starch
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

1. In a stock pot over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the onion and garlic, and cook until softened, which will take about 5 minutes.
2. Add the broccoli and the chicken broth, and over medium-low heat until the broccoli is cooked, which will take about 15 minutes.
3. Add the cheese cubes, stirring until they are all melted into the mixture.  Stir in the milk and the garlic powder.
4. In a small bowl, mix the water with the corn starch; add this mixture to the soup and stir until thickened, and serve in a bowl, topped with cheddar cheese if desired.  It is especially good with some crusty bread on the side.

This recipe is adapted only very slightly from the Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe found on the All Recipes website.

Betsy Who Cried Wolf: Shepherd's Pie

As a special treat, I am posting this for you from my vacation retreat in Florida! Hooray!

I really need to stop apologizing for everything, but I really am not meaning to go so far between postings.  It's a New Year's Resolution that I will get more posts up than I have been.  Let's see how that goes.

Gail Carson Levine, author of such awesome books as Ella Enchanted, came out with her first picture book in 2002, and I - being behind the times - just discovered it.  It's called Betsy Who Cried Wolf, and it's all kinds of awesome.  In this variation of the classic folktale, 8-year-old Betsy has just graduated from Shepherding School, and she has taken the Shepherd's Oath.  "She was going to be the best shepherd in Bray Valley history," we are told.  "And any wolf who tried to eat her sheep had better watch out!"

There was only one wolf left on the mountain at this point, and he - Zimmo - knew that the odds were against him, and he had to be smart.  He had to use his sneaky wolf brain.  So what he did was (and this is really very clever), he showed himself, and let Betsy blow her whistle - but he was hidden by the time the townspeople came up to help.  Betsy got a lecture.  Later that day, he came out and Besty blew her whistle - but again, Zimmo was hidden when the townspeople came to help.  The townspeople thought that maybe Betsy wasn't ready to be a shepherd after all, and they made her go take a refresher course at the Shepherd School.

When Zimmo again comes out, and Betsy blows her whistle, nobody comes to help! - but she is determined to show that she can take care of her sheep.  But when she gets up to throw her dinner (shepherd's pie) at him, she realizes how skinny he is, and gives him the pie to eat instead.  Then later, when she needs help with her sheep, Zimmo helps her out, and they become friends.  Eventually, he takes the shepherd's oath, too, and gives up his wolfy ways.

Shepherd's pie is not a pie in the way that most people think of it - that is, there is no bottom crust, and the top crust is mashed potatoes, and I usually make it in a square casserole dish.  But it is very tasty, not too hard to make, and doesn't even cost that much in ingredients.  Of course, the variations you can make with this are endless.  Many people make their's with a tomato base, but mine - at least this time - doesn't have that.

Betsy The Shepherd's Pie
4 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tbsp. butter
splash of milk
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion
1 lb. ground beef
3/4 cup beef broth
2 tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups frozen veggies - I used peas here, but carrots and corn are also good

1. Boil salted water and add the potatoes; cook for 15 minutes or until fork tender.  Drain, add the butter and milk, and mash, adding salt and pepper to taste. Alternately, use leftover or otherwise pre-made mashed potatoes.  Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 375.  In a large skillet, heat the oil.  Dice the onion and add that to the pan, cooking over medium heat until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes). 
3. Add the ground beef to the pan and cook until brown.  Drain the fat, and add the beef stock, flour, and vegetables, stirring until the flour is dissolved.  Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
4. Fill a 2-quart casserole with the beef mixture, then layer with mashed potatoes, being careful to get all the way to the edge of the pan with the potatoes.  Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

Because the pie is covered in potatoey goodness, it will look like this when you take it out:

And then the slices... well, they're hard to get to look nice.  My best piece looked like this:

which is not the most appetizing-looking meal on the planet, but once you taste it, you won't care.

Fun side note: if you use lamb instead of beef, this dish is called Cottage Pie.  If I spent my days taking care of sheep, though, I'd probably prefer the beef for dinner.