Mary Helen

Last year, I had the pleasure of attending the Texas Book Festival.  I spent the entire day in the cooking tent, watching celebrity chefs, authors, and television personalities prepare recipes from the books they were promoting.  Every demo I watched that day was peppered with great tips and insight into cooking and food prep.  Some of my favorites from the festival were Lynne Rossetto Kasper from NPR's The Splendid Table, The Fabulous Beekman Boys, and Tyson Cole from Uchi.  I even got to see Alton Brown speak at the Paramont Theater!  I'm a pretty avid reader, but even as a book lover I was surprised at how much fun the festival was.  I have to admit it sounds like a snore, but seriously, the Texas Book Festival is totally where it's at. 

That afternoon I watched a special demo by Tyson Cole, who is a bit of a local food celebrity, and the chef/owner of Austin's wildly popular Uchi Restaurant.  He's also the co-author of The Uchi Cookbook.  Not to mention the subject of some serious career related stalking on my part, but that's another story.  (WHY WON'T YOU LET ME WASH YOUR DISHES, TYSON COLE?!)  

Anyway, something that he said hit a chord with me.  He challenged the audience to cook with their eyes, to select the ingredients for a dish not only by flavor, but by color.  He asked us to go home and try cooking meals first in monochrome, then in varied palettes, just like you would paint a picture.  I'm a pretty visual person, so the idea of painting up a recipe really resonated with me.  I've kept his advice in mind while constructing many of my favorite dishes, but this one illustrates his point very well.  I invented Rainbow Soba by sketching it out with pen and paper, then "coloring" in the ingredients with veggies that I thought would also taste nice together.  The result of this experiment was not only pretty, but tasty too!

I started with a neutral base of brown soba noodles, dressed in a sweet and spicy marinade that goes down like a good romance: sweet as sugar, hot as a flame.  I added red fresno peppers, peach colored shrimp, yellow peppers and mandarins.  Fresh cilantro and shredded scallion added a punch of green to the spectrum.  I sauted some violet colored Japanese eggplant to finish off the rainbow.  This particular bowl of noodles was delightful to behold, but eating it was even better.  In fact, I do believe the leftovers are calling my name. 

Stir Fry Ingredients

• 8 oounces soba noodles
• 8 ounces large raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1 Japanese eggplant, halved and sliced
• 1 fresno pepper, seeded and sliced
• 2 small mandarin oranges, peeled and divided into segments
• 1/2 bunch scallions, shredded
• 1 handful cilantro, removed from stem, roughly chopped
• cooking oil, as needed (peanut, canola, vegetable, or sunflower)
• salt & pepper to taste

Sauce Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (demerara or brown sugar would also work)
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot chili paste (siracha, or chili sauce would also work)
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

Cook soba according to package directions, then drain and rinse with cold water until cooled.  Set aside.  In a small sauce pan, whisk together sauce ingredients and heat until simmering.  Allow to simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.  Add a little cooking oil to a large skillet or wok, and heat over medium.  When the oil is hot, add the eggplant, and cook for about 3 minutes, or until it begins to soften.  Add the bell peppers, and cook for another two minutes before adding the fresno peppers.  Allow the veggies to cook together for another minute or so, then add the scallions and mandarin oranges.  Cook for just a minute or so, then remove the veggies from the pan.  Return the pan to heat, and add a little more cooking oil.  When heated, add the shrimp and cook just until finished.  Add the veggies and noodles back to the pan, followed by the sauce.  Toss the ingredients together to coat the noodles, and heat everything through.  Taste, and season with salt and pepper if needed.  Add the cilantro, then serve immediately. 

My weekly "thank you" post usually goes out on Thursdays, but this week I've been a tiny bit preoccupied.  First of all, I had to work on my epic Queso Volcano post.  That was a biggy!  But what has been taking up the most real estate in my mind lately is ChefHangout.com.

Traffic is starting to pick up on our brand new site.  The word is beginning to get out, and I couldn't be more excited to see this project picking up steam.  I had my first official class last weekend and it was an absolute BLAST.  We made Asian Pork Dumplings together, as well as a fresh Cucumber Salad.

Kristina, of Girl Gone Grits, took some awesome photos of her dumplings,

and her cucumber salad!

It was a small group, but a lively one!  First to sign up were Pat and Tina, who work with me behind the scenes at The Natural Beauty Workshop and From Nature With Love.  They took the class from their home in Hawaii, using a laptop and an Ipad!  We were also joined by two fellow Austinites: Kristina, who writes an awesome food blog called Girl Gone Grits, and Catherine, who I met through Twitter.  

It was so much fun getting to know Catherine and Kristina through the class.  It was like having a little window into their lives.  Catherine's hubby, John, cooked with her throughout the session, and we even got to meet their adorable kids!  They showed up giggling and waving into the camera.  So very cute.  Kristina's teenage daughter, followed by a friend from school, popped in when our first batch of dumplings were finished.  They wanted to taste test!  I loved watching the smiles spread across their faces as the kids took their first bite.  They even let out a big,"Wow!"  Over at Pat & Tina's place they were joined by a very optimistic (and very cute) Shih Tzu.  There was a whole world going on in each of their little web cam windows.  It was so cool.

What I've come to realize after holding countless test classes, and now a real one, is that these classes are about so much more than cooking.  It's about connecting with people, and helping them feel comfortable in their kitchens, and happy about preparing their meals.  It's an opportunity to provide anyone, anywhere with a friend who knows how to cook.  After hosting all of these classes, I can see that having a real, live person there to answer questions, check on how your dough looks, and to just talk food, is about a million times better than reading a recipe alone in your kitchen.  It's just so much FUN.

Here's a shot of Pat cooking from her Ipad during our last class.

Besides, if I hadn't had friends and teachers to support me, I may never have learned to cook at all.  Now it's one of the most important aspects of my life, and a huge source of joy.   When I'm teaching a class I can feel that joy come full circle.  Someone taught me, and now I'm teaching someone else.  It's a small, and wonderful world.

This photo was taken by my friend, Julie, during my Quinoa Stir Fry Test Class

I've got many more classes ahead of me, and I'm working on adding new ones to my calendar.  It's all very exciting, and I can't wait to meet new students, field new questions, take on new challenges.  I still have some free seats left in my Beta Classes this month, so if you are interested in trying out one of my classes for free, please sign up for my Beta Club Mailing List.  To keep track of regular classes, sign up for my Blog Mailing List.  Thanks for reading, I'll talk to y'all soon!

During a recent test class, my friend, Amy, decided to show her cat the web cam.  After a few seconds, everyone in the class followed suit.  I wish I had gotten a better shot of this.  It was a hilarious moment.

Hang on folks, this ride is about to get silly.  Really silly.  

Every year, my friends and I compete to see who can come up with the best superbowl themed snack.  Over the years there have been some amazing entries into our little contest, but no matter how many bowls go by, it's always the same old thing.  Football shaped this and that, yadda yadda yadda.  Last year we actually had FOUR snack stadiums.  FOUR!  Each was more dazzling than the next, but where was the creativity?  Why wasn't anyone thinking outside the box?  Well, this year would be different.  This year, Scott and I would crush the opposition with something truly stupendous, and completely unexpected. 

Scott came up with the idea of building a volcano out of queso dip.  A brilliant notion, indeed, but how can we tie that into football?  It's so... prehistoric.  We brainstormed for a while, and after deciding that the volcano simply MUST be accompanied by dinosaurs, an idea finally struck me.  Tiny helmets.

BEHOLD:

This might be our crowning glory of snack related weirdness.  I'm thinking we should just retire after this one.  You know, go out on a high note.  As for you, your glorious career in dip related geology is just getting started.   

Here's how you do it.  Start by cutting out a sturdy cone from posterboard, then cover it in wax paper or tin foil.  (Foil actually works better, and is what I would use if I ever did this all over again.  The Wax paper doesn't grip the refried beans very well, so they slip off after a little while.)  Next, drop a tupperware container into the cone's hole.  Set the cone on a baking sheet, then cover the pan and the cone with refried beans.  I added some black beans too, to enhance the volcano's texture.  Cover the bottom of the pan with shredded lettuce, and set up a few bowls inside to hold sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.  Arrange some dinosaurs around on the landscape, dressed according to your occasion.  When it's time to serve, fill the tupperware with hot queso.  

Here are few extra shots of my queso volcano.

This week, I'm thankful to be a part of Typepad's Handmade With Love Project.  I'm in the company of some very talented bloggers, three of which I'll be highlighting for your reading pleasure.  Stop by these blogs for a little handmade goodness.

1. My Love For YouI love the way that Meighan celebrates the beautiful work of fellow artists.  She has a great eye, and I can immediately identify with her tastes, making it tempting to dig further and further back into her blog archives.  I could spend hours exploring her bountiful collection of artist profiles.
2. Clockwork Lemon It's probably not surprising that I'm a sucker for a good food blog.  Add one cup pretty pictures, 2 tablespoons of clever recipes, and a pinch of sass.  Bake for one half hour, and you'll have a cooking blog that you can sink your teeth into.  Stephanie has whipped up a fine example of food bloggery.  Me likey. 
3. Holding On To The Little Things  It's hard to resist cute baby pictures, so when I met Jordan-Marie on Facebook it wasn't long before I was smitten with her blog.  The color palette she has on the site is another big reason that I enjoy reading.  I'm a visual person (not to mention a touch ADD), so unless something flows in a pleasant way, I have a hard time paying attention to it.  This blog, however, makes me want to keep scrolling on down until I've gobbled all the content right up.  

Thanks for keeping things handmade, ladies. Here at Mary Makes Dinner I focus mostly on handmade edibles, but if you read often you know how much I adore all things handmade.  Quilts, illustration, music, textiles... je teme. 

I was extra busy in the kitchen this past weekend, whipping up tasty recipes, trying new things, and performing experiments that test the boundaries of cooking as we know it!

Well, maybe they weren't all THAT edgy, but they were still experiments.  First, I worked on creating an egg dough for wontons and egg rolls.  I found a starter recipe which used 1 egg, 2 cups of flour, water, and salt.  It made a thin, crispy dough that was very tasty, but more reminiscent of a spring roll than an egg roll, if you ask me.  I'm hoping to re-work the dough a little on my next try in order to make it a little bit more eggy.  I'd like it to bubble a little, and become that perfect texture right between chewy and crispy. 

It wasn't long before I realized that my pasta maker was an absolute neccessity for this project.  No matter how hard I try, I can never roll square dough thin enough.  Thank goodness for my Kitchenaid.

Next, I moved on to my fillings.  My project for the day was Stuffed Wontons, and after the third batch, I got my stuffing and folding method down pat.

And how did I fill them?  I tried three different combinations on Saturday.  The first was smoked salmon with tarragon, dill, chives, and cream cheese.  Next, I combined baby bella mushrooms with kale, thyme, garlic, and cream cheese.  My final filling was the most complex, sauted shrimp with scallion, basil, pineapple, and quinoa in a sweet and spicy soy chili sauce.  

After they were all stuffed, I fried them up and took some test bites.  The verdict?  All three were very good, but the shrimp wontons need a little tweaking.  Because they were so wet inside, they burst in the pan, leaving ugly black marks on the wrappers.  The good news is that they tasted great, so with just a little re-working the recipe should succeed.  

All in all, it was a very nice Test Kitchen afternoon.  I've decided to start hosting Google Hangouts during my Test Kitchen adventures.  If you have your own recipes to test, or you'd just like to hang out and talk food while I'm cooking, stop by my G+ page to RSVP.  I'll invite you to my next Test Kitchen Hangout. 

It's no secret that I am a big fan of the sweet potato.  It ranks way up there on my list of favorite vegetables, so you'll see it here on the blog quite a bit, especially during the winter.  Though there is a special place in my heart for candied sweet potatoes (thanks to Mom) my favorite way to dress them up is to make them spicy!  A little heat for something sweet, that's what I always say.  These fritters are hard not to enjoy, being all crispy, cheesey, and packed with flavor.  Put a little of your favorite barbecue sauce on them and I guarantee it will be love.  

I made this recipe twice, once with regular flour, and once with Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour.  My parents are gluten-free, and my husband is constantly flirting with the idea, thus the inspiration for trying out the new flour.  It seems to be a blend of alternative ingredients meant to mimic flour.  I haven't tried baking with it yet, but as far as these little fritters go, I could hardly tell the difference.  I feel like the regular flour fritters might have been a hair crispier, but really, if there was a difference at all, it was very hard to notice.  

Spicy Sweet Potato Fritters

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized sweet potato (around 8 - 10 oz.), peeled & shredded/grated
• 1/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1/4 cup toasted pepitas
• 1/2 poblano pepper, seeded & diced
• 1/4 cup panela cheese, diced
• 1 onion, caramelized, then chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ancho or chipotle chili powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup flour or Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour

Directions

Caramelize your onions, chop them up, then add them to a good sized mixing bowl.  Add the sweet potatoes, beans, pepitas, poblanos, and cheeses.  Mix well, then add the egg.  Stir the egg in, followed by the salt and spices.  Next, work in the flour.  Add a little at a time, stirring to combine.  Heat up 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a large skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat.  Mold the mixture into small patties, about 2 to 3 inches across.  Gently place the patties in the pan, and allow each side to cook until golden brown (about 3 - 5 minutes per side.)  Drain the patties on a paper towel for a few moments before serving.

These taste great with a little barbecue sauce.  We enjoy them with a fresh green salad, but they would also be delcious in wraps and sandwiches.  They'd love to be layered with fresh tomato, lettuce, and red onions.

I've certainly got a lot to be grateful for during this, the fourth week of 2012.  In addition to enjoying my life's usual blessings, this week has been bustling with activity.  This week, I'm thankful for something that often is brushed off with complaint, being busy!

• On Monday ChefHangout.com was launched, catapulting me and 23 other chefs into a new and exciting realm of culinary education.  I am all pins and needles waiting for our first class.  Right now, the ranks of students are a little thin, but I'm hoping to fill at least five seats by giving away passes here on Mary Makes Dinner.  If you haven't entered yet, stop by the contest post and say "hello".

• While running errands Tuesday evening I stopped at a local thrift store to try my luck at treasure hunting.  Look what I found!  This super kitschy roadrunner tray reminds me an awful lot of a treasury I put together for Etsy.  I have a real thing for road runnners lately, maybe it has to do with this month being my Tex-iversary.  That's right!  We've been living the good life in Austin for a whole year now.  It feels good to be home.

• In addition to my online cooking classes, I've also been working on putting together small soapmaking and handmade bath & body workshops recently.  Some of you might already know that my day job (and alter ago) involves natural, handmade skin care.  Several months ago I started working on putting real-life classes together on the subject.  It was by sheer coincidence that it would launch the same week as my online cooking classes.  The first class was listed this week on The Central Texas DIY Bath & Body Workshops Meetup Group, focusing on Melt & Pour Soaps.  If you live in or around Austin, I'd love to teach you about handmade skin care. 

• If all of this wasn't enough, My Saucy Mustache has been busy too!  My Rainbow Mustache Beer Markers took part in a photo shoot which is going to be circulated on some very busy blogs.  Scott and I have been formulating schemes to re-work our handmade process into something a little more streamlined to prepare for an increased volume of orders.

• Because I am a crazy woman I'm thinking about taking part in the Spring theme at Tie One On.  I adore the one pretty, frilly apron I own, and was thinking how nice it would be to have a second.  Not that I don't already have enough sewing projects to keep me busy.  My mermaid quilt is very close to being finished (one more night of crafting with the ladies should do it).  I've finished one of two baby quilts that are a little overdue - still need to start the second.  

The last of my vegan ice cream experimentation, this aromatic sorbet combines the mellow sweetness of apple juice, herbacious chamomile tea, and fresh minced mint leaves.  This might be the strangest of my three experiments, but it's a favorite.  It's like eating a cup of tea.  Like the others, the coconut milk can hardly be detected, so all you taste and smell is fresh, green mint, sweet floral chamomile, and a touch of honey-like apple juice.  This would be delicious on a Summer afternoon. 

By the by, I'll be teaching an experimental ice cream class soon on ChefHangout.com.  Join me, and we can play with some more amazing flavors! Next classes are February 13, and February 29.

Chamomile & Garden Mint Sorbet
Makes a little over a pint

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1 1/4 cup chamomile tea, cooled
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 mint leaves, minced

Directions

Brew a strong cup of chamomile tea.  Use two tea bags to make it extra strong.  After the tea has steeped, remove the tea bags and dissolve the agave nectar into it.  Mince the mint leaves as finely as you can, then set them aside.  

Combine 1/4 cup of coconut milk with tapioca starch and whisk together.  Add the other 1/4 cup coconut milk to a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Whisk the coconut and tapioca mixture into the saucepan.  Whisk continuously until the mixture just begins to thicken.  Add the tea, mint leaves, and apple juice.  Whisk until the mixture thickens a little more, than remove it from the heat.  Mix in the vanilla extract.  Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, then chill it in the refrigerator for at least one hour.   

After the mixture has finished chilling, put it into your ice cream machine and churn for at least 20 minutes.  Some machines may take more or less time.  When the sorbet has become thick and fluffy,  transfer it to an air tight container.  Freeze for at least two hours.  

Like the other vegan ice creams, the texture of this sorbet is a little "different".  It will need to sit out for 5 - 10 minutes before it can be scooped.  Keep that in mind when serving.

WhitneySmith.Etsy.com creates delightful ceramics.  This sweet little cupcake stand is just one of the charming things you'll find in the shop.

Huge news!  Epic news!  A new website has just launched, bringing together talented chefs and cooking students from all over the world into one big, virtual kitchen!  ChefHangout.com offers a wide range of cooking classes, hosted by some of the web's most popular chefs.  The cool thing is that these classes are conducted LIVE online.  With just your laptop and web cam, you can invite a chef into your own kitchen, where you will cook flavorful projects side by side.  

The site has launched with 24 hand picked chefs, and guess what?!  I'm one of them!  I'll be teaching some of my favorite recipes through ChefHangout.com.  How would you like to cook some dumplings with me, just like the ones I made in Beijing?  Or maybe you'd like to build a hearty casserole together?  We could even experiment with vegan ice creams!  Visit my Chef Profile to see my upcoming classes.

Just imagine, you could take a class on your own, but it would be even better to cook along side friends, and family.  I've run several test classes, and I can't tell you how much fun it has been to cook with my friends in Connecticut, my sister in Florida, and even my Mom in Switzerland!  It's just like being in the kitchen together.  My favorite part of class is sitting down to our finished meals, chatting, making jokes, and filling our bellies. 

So how does it work?  All you need is a free Google+ account, a sturdy internet connection, and a web cam!  Visit ChefHangout.com and purchase a class.  Gather the ingredients needed for your class, and perform any necessary prep work.  When it's time for class, return to ChefHangout.com and wait for class to begin.  We'll cook side by side, following the same recipe.  I'll be there to show you exactly how every step is executed, and to answer any questions that come up along the way.  Check out this video to learn more about how to participate in Chef Hangout classes!

To celebrate the launch of ChefHangout.com, I'm hosting a special giveaway!  There are several ways to win.  Start by visiting my Chef Profile on ChefHangout.com and browse my classes.  Use the comments below to tell me which of my classes you'd like to take, and why.  After you do that, gain more entries the following ways:

1. Post the following text on Twitter to earn one extra entry:Win a @ChefHangout cooking class from @MaryMakesDinner!  Click here for #giveaway details! http://bit.ly/fgN7Q9 
2. Visit my Facebook Page, and "like" it.  Share any post from the Mary Makes Dinner Facebook Page to earn one extra entry!
3. Click here to sign up for the Mary Makes Dinner Mailing List to earn one extra entry.
4. Add me to your circles on Google+ for an extra entry.  Add the Mary Makes Dinner page for an second entry.  Tag me in a post that links ChefHangout.com for a third entry!
5. Repin one of the pins from my ChefHangout Pin Board.  Earn up to three extra entries by repinning each pin. 

I'll be giving away 5 class entries, so spread the word!  Five winner's will be chosen randomly from the entries, and each winner will recieve free attendance to the upcoming class of their choice.  My current classes include:

The contest is now finished! Winners have been contacted via email and social network.  Thanks for participating!