rich little brownies with matcha glaze + a giveaway

as first time guest-bedroom-having humans, we have a rule: whenever someone braves the small planes, long drives, and lack of 4g or l.t.e. or whatever in order to just visit us, we have to be as hospitable as possible. five-star hospitable. so hospitable that they would easily brave the planes, trains, and automobiles all over again to come back for another visit. every pillow must be fluffed, every towel must be warm, every political stance must be taken into account when curating the guest bedroom library. and obbbbbbbbviously, there must be plenty of little welcoming snacks, representing sweet and savory, and addressing any applicable dietary preferences.

so before my pops arrived on monday, we scurried around, cleaning, collecting apples from our backyard, combing through our magazine collection, and putting out these itsy bitsy brownies. like why have a chocolate on your pillow when you can have a chocolate brownie on your pillow?

pops was in and out before you could say sugar beet but we had such a delightful time! we strolled around town and ate many kinds of cake. we ate ribs and roamed around the fields. more on this later...

my point is, if he wasn't my dad and also already in possession of a plane ticket to come back for the wedding, i'm pretty sure that eggboy and i made a very convincing argument that yeah, he totally needs to leave chicago for a few days again and come back soon.

i overlook brownies entirely too often. which is silly because not only are they very good, but also these ones are so quick and easy to make. no softened butter, weird ingredients, or even cooling time necessary. (ok, some might consider matcha a weird ingredient, but it shouldn't be. it's wonderful. i keep one little bag on hand at all times and i rarely need to buy more because a little goes a very long way.) my mom used to make these and instead of matcha, she'd spike the glaze with peppermint schnapps. addicting. they'd never last more than a day. so if you're having a chocolate emergency of medium intensity, meaning you can wait about 45 minutes but no more than an hour, i'd highly recommend these little bites of joy. 

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rich little brownies with matcha glaze

based on my mom's recipe!

makes about 24 little brownies

ingredients

brownies:

1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 c sugar

1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 c butter, melted and slightly cooled

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

glaze:

3 tb butter, melted

1 tb matcha tea powder

1 tb honey

1 tsp vanilla

1 c powdered sugar

clues

preheat oven to 350 and grease and line an 8-inch square pan (or a pan of similar size).

in a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. add the butter, eggs, and vanilla.

pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes.

whisk together the glaze ingredients and pour the glaze on while the brownies are still warm. cut into 1 1/2-inch squares. give to all your friends, otherwise you'll eat them all yourself.

-enjoy!

-yeh!

thanks so much to kiss me organics for sponsoring this post! enter to win a bag of their organic matcha tea powder by leaving a comment here or on Facebook with the craziest use for matcha that you can think of! open to u.s. residents only. update: this giveaway is now closed.

grape crepes with brie and bacon

sugar beet harvest starts at midnight tomorrow, my pops gets in tonight for a quick little visit, and we have just passed the three month mark until our wedding!! here is what this calm before the storm looks like:

a very very large pile of laundry, removed from the bed in our guest room and plopped somewhere else, so my dad can sleep there.

lots of wedding post-it notes taped above my desk that read things like "sprinkles, [personalized] egg cups (?), local whiskey"

 the most delicious wash of cloudy light falling so perfectly into the kitchen on our newly swept floors interrupted only by the tick of the toaster (because there actually is a literal storm coming...)

all of these storms are going to be great storms.

mark my word, i am quite excited for sugar beet harvest this year. last year was unfathomably crazy because it was my first one, i was working hours that were completely opposite of eggboy's, and some of the fields were wayyy far away. like canada far away. but now i'm a seasoned vet, and the fields with the beets are just down the road, so if i want to bring eggboy some pumpkin loaf or go say hello, i can do that easy peasy. and as for the wedding, lots of the big decisions have been made, so now i'm working on really fun things like: what color sprinkles should we have our guests chuck at us as we recess down the aisle? and would my bridesmen like whiskey or gin in their welcome basket? and are shoes with panda faces on them at all ok to get married in???

and obvi can't wait for my pops to get here! we're gonna book it to the one n only and i'll probably make him go on a tractor ride and take a bite out of a sugar beet. weeeee!!!!!

so this all calls for cake! of the pan variety. but make it dainty, so: crepe. and because whenever i ask eggboy what i should make next, he responds with a rhyme (see: saskatoon macaroon), let's make a grape crepe.

these crepes are salty, sweet, bacon fatty, and earthy. they're gooey, crispy, fluffy, and bursty (or whatever the texture of grapes is). and they contain all of the major food groups except for vegetables. you could throw a caramelized onion in there though, that would be good. you know what else would be good would be to infuse the milk with rosemary or something cool like that before adding it to the batter.

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grape crepes with brie and bacon

makes 6

ingredients

12 strips thick cut bacon

1 c flour

2 tb sugar

3/4 c milk or buttermilk

1/2 c water

2 large eggs

butter

6 oz brie, thinly sliced

1 1/2 c california grapes, halved

clues

crisp up your bacon and reserve the fat. set the bacon aside while you make the crepe batter.

let the fat cool slightly, measure out 3 tablespoons of it, and whisk it with the, flour, sugar, buttermilk, water, and eggs. you could also do this in a blender. cover the batter and refrigerate for 1 hour.

heat some butter in a skillet over medium high heat. add 1/2 cup of the batter and tilt the pan so that you get a large even circle. cook for a few minutes until the top is set. place brie, 2 slices of bacon, and 1/4 cup of grapes in the center, cook for a minute or two so that the brie starts to melt, and then fold the two sides of the crepe in towards the center. serve immediately or keep it in the oven (set on warm) until ready to serve.

repeat with remaining batter, adding more butter to the pan as needed, and enjoy!

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-yeh!!!

this post is sponsored by grapes from california. all opinions are my own! brie provided by president, linens provided by stitch new york.

salt & vinegar potato galette + a farmers' market feast

if there's one thing i love most about living on a farm, it's the long lazy dinners. ones that i can spend hours preparing and then serve to a dusty eggboy, the egg parents, perhaps an egg sister and her man, or an egg cousin dropping by to deliver cilantro. i like sitting around our big, kind of awkwardly square table, basking in the bright bright sunset, and eating vegetables off of my favorite three-sectioned plates that i bought on staten island two years ago. one day i'd like a big spacious dining room that has a massive window overlooking our fields, so we can have a golden or snowy white or earthy brown backdrop. 

preparing seven courses doesn't feel like a lot when you have a never-ending list of recipes to try, a new my brightest diamond album to listen to, and a happy little rainbow of vegetables to work with:

because, rewind, i went to the farmers' market. (farmer's market? farmers market? farmer market?) which is a thing i haven't really done since we started our garden, but i am very mad at myself for waiting until the second-to-last market of the season to go because, in just one short visit, i:

1. learned how to choose a good cantaloupe

2. learned how to preserve my corn

3. made two new friends! 

it was so fantastic that i hurry scurried home, told eggboy to alert the eggs that i'd be cooking dinner the next day, and got to work. here was my menu:

kale salad with coconut sesame dressing

zucchini noodles with basil almond pesto

bacon wrapped cantaloupe with balsamic glaze (inspired by these peaches)

hoisin and sesame glazed corn

salt & vinegar potato galette with caramelized onions and parmesan (recipe below)

marinated rainbow bell peppers

watermelon and donut peach salad, sub the donut peaches for actual donuts because i am an idiot and misread the recipe and bought donuts from the nice man at the market instead of donut peaches

also: pesto, a grilled baguette, and brie.

...it was so fun and delicious!!!! my donuts got a little soggy. and i made everyone d.i.y. their kale leaves for the salad since i was afraid of bugs. but people laughed, people cleaned their plates, people left with tupperware filled with leftovers. 

about this galette: this is a recipe for people who enjoy hanging out in the kitchen, smelling the smells, and cutting the things. it's not a difficult recipe, but it does take some time and attention. it's equal part journey, equal part end product. in my research on salt and vinegar potatoes, i discovered that the vinegar flavor in salt and vinegar chips is actually from sodium acetate, which is also (sometimes?) referred to as "vinegar powder." so i made it from vinegar and baking soda, and i felt science-y, and i wore my glasses out of fear that the fumes would blind me, and then i made this galette with some of it sprinkled on, and it was, i don't know, fine. not worth the effort. something i don't want to order that you do. something i might revisit in the future. eventually i turned to the method that lauren and bon appetit and marissa use, and that's to boil the potatoes in salt and vinegar first, fry them a bit, and then toss them with more salt and vinegar. it's delicious. it plays well with sweet caramelized onion, the umami of parmesan, and a buttery pie crust. (does anything not play well in a buttery pie crust?)  

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salt & vinegar potato galette with caramelized onions and parmesan

makes one galette

ingredients

1 large onion

1/4 c butter

1 tb kosher salt, plus more to taste

2 medium potatoes (about 1 lb), thinly sliced (1/8 inch)

1/2 c white vinegar, plus more to taste

2 tb chopped chives

black pepper, to taste

1/2 lb your favorite pie dough

1 large egg

1/2 c shredded parmesan

clues

set your oven to 375.

get your onion caramelizing in 2 tablespoons of butter and a pinch of salt, and let them just hang out there over medium-ish heat while you do everything else. stir them when you think about it. (ask yourself why yankee candle hasn't made an onions and butter scented candle...)

place your sliced potatoes, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1/2 cup of vinegar in a large pot. fill it with cold water until the water covers the potatoes by an inch or so. bring this to a boil and then let it sit somewhere between a healthy simmer and a low rumble for 15 minutes, gently stirring occasionally. 

strain your potatoes and pat them dry. get your remaining 2 tablespoons of butter heating in a skillet over medium high heat, and then fry your potatoes in batches, for about 5 minutes each. try to avoid overlapping in the pan for this step*. 

toss your potatoes with the chives, black pepper, and additional salt and vinegar to taste.

*(now, ok, if by this point you're starving or have decided that you don't like galettes (??!), you could continue to cook the potatoes for an additional few minutes, until they're fully cooked, season, toss with the onions and sprinkle with cheese and enjoy just like that. but if you're in this for the longer haul, continue...)

roll your pie dough out into a 12- or 13-inch circle and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment. whip up your egg with a splash of water and brush it onto the dough, leaving a 2-inch perimeter. in the center of the dough, layer up your toppings in this order: a sprinkle of cheese, the onions, a sprinkle of cheese, half of the potatoes, a sprinkle of cheese, the other half of the potatoes, any additional chives or black pepper. brush the edges with egg and then fold them up around the potatoes. brush the outside edges with egg, sprinkle with salt, and bake until the pie crust is nicely browned. you could start checking for doneness at about 25 minutes, but it's one of those things that you can keep in the oven for up to about 20 or 30 minutes more, depending on how you like your crust. 

let cool slightly and enjoy!

-yeh!

p.s. yo check this out: all of the fruits, vegetables, donuts, and bread* for this feast fit in this mz wallace + food52 market bag! granted, it was quite heavy, and i briefly considered taking the cantaloupe and watermelon out to just carry in my hands, but i couldn't figure out how to hold both of them in front of my person without alluding to boobies. despite the fact that i am still crabby about the fact that more of you guys voted for the tote to be blue than green, this bag is the bee's knees. it's lined for easy cleaning, it has a zillion different pockets to keep your bread safe from any wiggly friends on your kale, and there's a small zippered lip gloss (change purse?) pocket. it is available for pre-sale on food52 provisions now!

*two softball-sized yellow onions, five pounds of potatoes, one cantaloupe, one watermelon, nine peppers, two bunches of green onions, one bunch of kale, one large baguette, half a dozen donuts, seven ears of corn, a bag of green beans, about four too many bugs (!!!!!!!!!!!!)

thank you so much to food52 for sponsoring the ingredients for this farmers' market feast!!!!

apple & honey muffins

alright so as of right now, my rosh hashanah menu consists of:

challah

more challah

tacos

and these apple and honey muffins (when i imagined myself getting all sticky from balancing a jar of honey and slicing an apple in the cramped little cab of a tractor, i got all squirmy...)

do i need to have a vegetable? i should probably have a vegetable. who has easily transportable autumn-y vegetable recipe suggestions??

and maybe i'll try to stuff some matzo balls down the nozzle of our big tall thermos.

i've never been the biggest fan of honey cake. either that, or by the time dessert rolls around i'm just so stuffed with brisket and challah that i could give zero shits about what the dessert table looks like. guilt came over me this year though when i realized that i've been treating a cake--a cake!--with such little love and respect. so i fiddled with it, failed a bunch, read five thousand recipes, pulled knowledge that i learned from my homemade funfetti® process, and came up with a honey cake that i am proud to call a friend.

this is a no-pressure, low-commitment honey cake that is actually a muffin, so you can get away with eating it at breakfast, lunch, or whenever you want. you do not need to wait until after brisket. you can load the sucker up with cream cheese, yogurt, buttercream, or any other dairy product of your affection and be 100% kosher about it. and you can even toss it around a tractor as your fiancé chisel plows and you let your challah digest. the texture is on the pleasingly denser side and the honey doesn't overpower. apples keep it *moist* and just a teensy bit of whiskey in the batter adds a yummy little zing while leaving you more than enough to sip on while you celebrate. 

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apple + honey muffins

makes 12-16

ingredients

2 c all-purpose flour

1 c sugar

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

a pinch of cardamom

2 large eggs

1/3 c vegetable oil

1/2 c honey

2 tb whiskey

1/4 c hot coffee

1 large apple, chopped

clues

preheat oven to 350, and line and grease a muffin tin. 

in a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients. in a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, honey, and whiskey. whisk in the dry ingredients and then whisk in the coffee. fold in the chopped apple and then scoop into your muffin tin.

bake until golden brown and a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean. begin checking for doneness at about 20 minutes.

let cool and enjoy!

i like sprinkling them with powdered sugar or plopping a nice blob of yogurt on top. 

-yeh!

ingredients for this recipe were provided by minnesota grown, which makes it easier for minnesota ladies (like me!) and gents to support their local farmers! thanks, minnesota grown!!!

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p.s. the winner of last week's giveaway has been notified!