Batter-Splattered

you win some, you lose some

Doesn't this look good?

It's cod with seasoned couscous baked in a foil packet in the oven. Looks just wonderful, right? It has the pretty lemon slices on top and the pretty sprinkled parsley.

But.

It is completely devoid of flavor. No taste to it, whatsoever. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Which is weird because it has all sorts of flavorful things packed into it -- lemon, a little butter, currants, sliced almonds, coriander, paprika, a dash of cayenne...

Huh.

What is this recipe's problem? Thank god I tried it before you did. Now you don't have to waste your time and your cod on it. I took a bullet for you, my friend.

But now take a look at these babies:

This recipe for apple and currant oatmeal muffins was on the back of the package of currants I bought for the shameless recipe above. Thank goodness it redeemed itself in some small way. Because after picking my way through the tasteless fish and couscous it sure was nice to pull these out of the oven for dessert.

These muffins are really, really good. Especially hot out of the oven. They have oats and currants and diced apples and lots of spices. They're small. They're cute. I think I'll keep this recipe! I'll need something to remember them by because I think my husband took this bag to work with him today -- I could find no trace of it in the kitchen this morning.

Apple and Currant Oatmeal Muffins

Makes one dozen muffins

1 cup zante currants or raisins
1 cup cored, peeled and chopped apple
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk
1 egg beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup uncooked oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

Directions:

COMBINE currants or raisins with apple, oil, milk, egg and sugar in a medium mixing bowl.
STIR together flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt in a separate bowl.
STIR into raisin mixture just until combined.
DIVIDE batter equally into 12 greased or lined muffin cups.
SPRINKLE top of batter with 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar per muffin cup.
BAKE at 400 for 20 minutes or until golden.  

Splat! or in the alternative, pastrami and spinach omelets

It was a very good winter for me as far as slip-and-falls go. The snow. The ice. It all conspires against me to sweep me off my feet at least a time or two each year.

But not this year! It was unprecedented coup for me in the taking-a-tumble department.

So you can understand my shock the other morning when I climbed off my commuter van into fat, swirling snowflakes (thinking to myself, "But I'm wearing my floaty cotton spring top!") that were quickly piling up on the ground from a surprise blizzard that certainly was not blizzarding at my house a mere 40 miles away. I took four steps and...

SPLAT.

I slid sideways, like I always do (in years past, of course, not this year). The sliding sideways is good, in a way. It's quick, like a sneak attack. You're down before you know it and looking around to see who saw and wondering if they'd be willing to come over and check your butt for bruising. It's much better than that backwards fall where you're airborne for what feels like an hour before WHAMMO! landing on your back, maybe cracking your head on the sidewalk (been there, done that) (in years past, of course).

But the bad thing about the sideways slide onto the sidewalk is that I get covered in snow from head to toe. But only on one side. Which is funny looking when you finally peel yourself up off the ground. If I was amused. Which I wasn't.

Luckily I had a civilized breakfast to get to, once I dusted all the snow off my clothes, my hair, and my pride.

A pastrami and spinach omelet. Leftover from the night before's dinner. So simple. So good.

I got some beautiful looking pastrami for sandwiches...

...but then got to wondering what else I could do with it. Not that there's anything wrong with a pastrami sandwich. Then I found this recipe for pastrami and spinach omelets and thought, "Now, doesn't that look like a nice and easy dinner."

I'm not much of a fan of breakfast. It's too much for so early in the morning. Toast and coffee will do it for me. But I am a fan of breakfast food. It makes the perfect dinner, in my opinion.

This recipe makes four big omelets so you need alot of eggs. And alot of spinach. A heapingly piled skilletful. So much spinach it's like a mountain, enough to make you wonder what you've done but don't worry: it'll soften up and cook down. Toss it with chopped pastrami, some salt and pepper, and some cheese. 

And before you know it, you'll have one of these on your plate:

The leftovers are excellent too.

Pastrami and Spinach Omelets

Serves four

5 tablespoons olive oil
2 (5-oz) bags baby spinach
1/4 lb thinly sliced pastrami, coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)
1 oz finely grated parmesan (1/2 cup) (I added some feta cheese too)
12 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add spinach all at once and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a colander and drain, pressing lightly. Toss spinach with pastrami, 1/4 cup cheese, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.

Whisk together 3 eggs and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl until blended. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add whisked eggs and cook, lifting up cooked egg around edge occasionally to let raw egg flow underneath, until omelet is set but top is still slightly moist, about 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon one fourth of spinach mixture over half of omelet and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon cheese. Fold other half of omelet over filling using a heatproof rubber spatula and transfer to a plate. Keep warm, covered with foil.

Make 3 more omelets in same manner with remaining eggs, salt, oil, spinach mixture, and cheese.

Ice Fishing Frittata

Our ice fishing class last weekend had us so inspired that a handful of us went right back out on the lake this weekend. There's my gals out on the ice:

 

My pup in the foreground, Angie's in the background:

So beautiful! Four ladies out on the lake, passing a bottle of herring oil to dab on our lures, sharing a bottle of wine, and basking in the warmth of a little heater hooked to a canister of propane. It was a bit of a pain in the ass to turn the propane so we were thinking a lazy susan might do the trick nicely and then we laughed to think what men would think of our posh set-up. 

And did we catch anything? Yeah. Everyone but me. After this jaunt, Angie and I took off to get some Indian take-out food: chicken vindaloo and lamb masala and naan. So spicy and warm -- the perfect thing to thaw out ice-cold fisherwomen. The shot of Jameson's on the side didn't hurt either.

Here's the perfect breakfast to share with a crowd before a wintery outing such as ice fishing. A winter frittata. Packed full of protein and vegetables. I got the recipe here. It was originally a vegetarian recipe from Mollie Katzen but then Self magazine tinkered with it a little and added turkey bacon.

It's excellent! Here's my version:

Ice Fishin' Frittata

5 slices turkey bacon
2 medium red potatoes, very thinly sliced
2 cups sliced red onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (any color)
2 T chopped fresh rosemary or 2 t dried
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped spinach
2 tsp minced garlic
4 whole eggs
8 egg whites
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 oz reduced-fat feta, crumbled

Cook bacon until crisp. Let cool. Chop and set aside. In a 10-inch skillet, sauté potato, onion, bell pepper, rosemary, and 1/4 tsp salt in 1 tbsp oil for 5 minutes over medium heat. Cover and cook 10 minutes. Stir in spinach and garlic and sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat. Beat eggs and remaining salt in a large bowl. Add vegetables, bacon, black pepper, and feta. Preheat broiler. Add remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet and heat up on a burner over medium heat. Pour in egg mixture and cook 4 minutes. Move skillet to broiler and broil, uncovered, 3 minutes. Cut into 6 wedges and serve hot or cool.

Moving Day Frittata

These photos are just for me to remember this place by on this, my second to last morning in the spot I've lived for almost exactly three years, give or take a few days.

So pretty. Seven plus acres of quiet, renting half a duplex on the grounds of a bed and breakfast. Tomorrow morning I'm moving into my very own house, my first, and it hasn't quite sunk in with me yet so I'm paying homage to my current home.

It's been good to me.

Those are my raised bed garden boxes down in the bottom of this photo, a bit wintry at the moment, but I'm sure the new tenant will fill them nicely in six months or so:

This tree here leaning from the left to the right is -- I think -- a weeping birch:

I can see it from the couch in the living room and I've stared out at it many a time. In the wintertime, I look forward to it sprouting leaves come summer. In the spring, I will those leaves to sprout. Come on. Come on! Bud already! You can do it! In the summer I've looked out at the leaves waving a little in the breeze and thought to myself, "There they are! I've been waiting for you." Repeat, repeat, repeat for three year's worth of changing seasons.

Tomorrow morning, I have lots of friends and family coming over to help me move. I'lll make a giant frittata for breakfast to try to keep them well-fed and happy. That, along with the gift certificates, might come close to thanking them for the awfully-generous task they've signed up for. And my friend Angie's bringing a big bowl of spaghetti for lunch. I would serve mimosas in the morning -- a favorite of mine -- but I don't want to serve anything that might make my volunteers dull and listless.

I plan to make a frittata for them. I love frittatas. Eggs and other stuff sauted up into a pan with maybe some cheese. You can add all kinds of stuff. Whatever you have in the fridge. Make it light and healthy. Or rich and decadent. Stick the skillet in the oven until the works firm up and get all brown and bubbly.

Here's how I'll make it tomorrow.

Moving Day Frittata

Get yourself a dozen eggs -- you might not need them all but who knows

Dice up half a green bell pepper (or red or orange, whatever they're not over-charging for that day)

Mince a couple cloves of garlic

Finely chop a thick wedge of onion

Have a package of breakfast sausage on hand -- some of those links that are such a guilty pleasure, you usually only eat them when you go out for breakfast. And because they're so good dipped in syrup, maybe you should get some maple-syrup-flavored ones

A handful or two of shredded cheese, any old kind

A good splash of half and half -- put the rest of the carton out for coffee along with sugar lumps (oh lord, how I love the sugar lump)

Saute in a large skillet: green pepper, garlic, onion, and sausage.

In a bowl, crack open a bunch of eggs -- enough to fill in the empty space between the ingredients in the skillet -- and stir in the half and half and cheese. Add a bunch of pepper and a little salt.

Pour the egg mixture into the skillet when those skillet ingredients look almost cooked. Leave it there on the burner of the stove over medium-low heat until the eggs are set around the edges.

Preheat the oven to, oh, let's say 375 degrees. Put the skillet in there and cook until the fritatta turns nice and brown on top. Slice it in wedges like a pie and let everyone help themselves with plastic plated and forks -- an environmental bomb I know, but all the dishes and flatware are packed and ready to GO.

Let's eat and LET'S GO!