There are so many things wrong with the concept of Beer Bread that it is so right. I asked Bob to get me a bottle of beer for baking. He initially looked horrified, as though I was asking for one of his fancy Belgium beers to destroy. But, once I explained the concept of beer bread (to a man who is severely limiting grains, making my go-to cooking dishes non-starters) he was suddenly ok with me using beer for baking. Just not his really good Belgium beer.

So … Three cups self rising flour, one 12oz bottle of beer (I used Newcastle Brown Ale as it is the only beer I know other then Guinness, which I thought was too dark for bread), a half cup sugar. Mix, pour into a buttered loaf pan and bake at 375 for 55 minutes. If you want to get fancy, add a pat or two of butter the last few minutes of baking.

After seeing Iron Man 3 (quite entertaining actually) we came home and tried the bread. Bob pronounced it “phenomenal” and moaned as he ate it. I took that as a good sign and went with it. I will say I thought there was a slight bitter taste on the back end of the bread, but both Bob and John (who joined us for Iron Man) assured me there was none. I still think there is, but the bread is surprisingly good.

Bob has even agreed to gather a few different types of beer, a lambic, Guinness, a wheat ale and maybe one other so I can make a few loaves and we can experiment with which ones we like best. He is, apparently willing to indulge in grains when they contain beer. But for now, we have one loaf of beer bread … half eaten already. I’m thinking French toast or a grilled cheese sandwich since the bread was particularly good with cheese.

Thankfully there were no students at school today. I don’t say that because I don’t love my kids, but April 1st, and Halloween, are horrible days to work in a school. But even without students all around, it was one of those days and I felt the need for comfort food. Or alcohol, but I went with comfort food.

Originally I wanted Mac & Cheese. I wanted the gooy, creamy mouthfeel of the pasta and melted cheese, but realized rather quickly that there is no pasta at home thanks to Bob’s no grain thing. Ok, low grain, but if I think that way we would be eating A LOT more grains. Also the nutritional value of Mac & Cheese is pretty low and if I’m going to break Bob’s diet I want to do it for something more than Mac & Cheese. So I compromised and went with risotto.

I have made this before, but today’s version came out super well. I started with one cup of hard cider. Rather than wine (only have red on hand) I went with the deep draft cider.

I actually think this made a huge difference. The heavier quality of the liquid, and the really deep flavor was wonderful. So one cup of this with a few bay leaves (thank you Val) over medium high heat to reduce. While that is reducing, I took a pat of butter and sautéed a half an onion and a half a shallot until they were soft. Add one cup arborio rice and cook until each kernel is coated and translucent. Add the hot cider to the pan and stir until most of the liquid is absorbed. Transfer to a baking dish – little 8×11 is what I used – and add three cups veggie stock. Stir then cover with foil and pop into a 350 degree oven for 45-60 minutes. Stir once part way through, but otherwise leave it alone. It comes out like this:

Add some grated Parmesan, about a third of a cup and you have dinner. I usually add butternut squash to this but didn’t have any today. Bob said this was my best version yet. And I actually agree so I had to write down what I did before I forgot!

Oh, and we had a nice little dessert:

The stupidly simple panna cotta with blueberries, peaches and kiwi. Oh so good. Not bad for a Monday night.

I’m starting to feel like we ignore the holidays around here. Spent the Fourth of July in England, Bob was in Atlanta for Labor Day and I did nothing, have never been a big fan of Halloween, did a very quiet Thanksgiving and New Year’s at home, left Valentine’s Day on the calendar and now Easter. Back at home with a quiet, low key day. I honestly have nothing against holidays, I just ends up feeling that way.

But today, I did cook a very nice Easter meal. It is probably not traditional, but I roasted a chicken. Yes, roast chicken is suppose to be a no brainer, but for one reason they always intimidate me. But when we were at the butcher last weekend, I decided to try the whole hen. So, I coated the skin with a little butter, salt and pepper and popped it in the oven at 450 for about an hour. I did cover it after 45 minutes because it looked like this:

Not bad for a first time roasted chicken. I paired with with a combination of zucchini from the veggie patch, carrots, and onion and a sweet pepper sauce. Add a salad – fresh lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers and we have a beautiful lunch.

It was finally feeling like spring so we ate outside this afternoon. The wine was ok – a 2010 pino noir that was not bad, but not great. Lunch was so much better. I made a panna cotta for dessert with blueberries, kiwi and peaches (odd, but it does work and they are all super fresh) but then decided I was in the mood for brownies.

So while Bob watched the last episode of Season 2 of Game of Thrones, I made brownies. I’m still working on the perfect recipe. These are ok – pretty good but not perfect. So the quest continues.

Hope everyone had a happy Easter. I’m going back to vacation planning – with the summer trip moving up it gives me something to obsess over and that makes the OCD side of me very, very happy.

A few weeks ago, before heading to England again, we found that our favorite cheese place was holding a beer and cheese class. Bob was almost excited by this prospect as I was about visiting the Bodleian Library. Almost. Library with books from the 1600s still trumps beer. It just does. But we decide to book seats for the beer and cheese class. But after thinking about it, I don’t like beer. Bob does and John, who just moved to Florida, does so I called John to see if h might like to go with Bob. To make the drive from Orlando worth it, I offered to make a light dinner before sending them off.

I wanted to make something light, with flavor but not anything that would linger and mask the taste of the cheese or beer for the boys. So after thinking about it, I decided to attempt a Thai Beef Salad. I had to experiment a little since most recipes have fish sauce in the marinade or dressing and I can’t do that. So … I took soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, chili peppers, ginger and pepper mixed it together and marinaded the steak. For the dressing, I stuck to the same flavors, using sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, chili pepper, brown sugar and pepper. The salad was very basic – lettuce, tomato and carrots. I quick stir fried the beef and added it to the salad. Top with the dressing and viola. Dinner.

It came out well. I think I need a little salt and maybe a little more pepper or chili pepper. The flavors were very subtle. Good, but it could be better. But for an experiment, it worked. And the boys still have room for beer and cheese tonight.

This week I tried to figure out a few things to make for dinner and so far, I’ve done a pretty good job. Monday was pulled pork with roasted green beans. Tuesday was empanadas of a sort and today was roasted pork with a shallot sage sauce and roasted butternut squash. The pork was really good and the empanadas were not bad. But the pork … oh it was a hit!

I started with a nice pork loin. I coated it in a mixture of mustard, brown sugar and pepper. Onto the grill while the squash I just coated in some oil, salt and pepper and added a little onion and popped into the oven. For the sauce I chopped shallot and into the frying pan with some butter. I added some cider vinegar and then some veggie broth. After it reduced by about half, I added some fresh chopped sage, pepper and cream. Let that all mix together and we have sauce.

The end result was a nicely flavored dish with perfectly cooked pork. Add a little cucumber salad and we have dinner. Bob was suitably impressed with dinner and said I “outdid” myself. I’ll take it.

Hopefully the Thai Beef Salad for dinner with John tomorrow will be just as good.

I headed to lunch with mom and dad today, and stopped to pick up some things to make so Bob could eat this week as I have late meetings at least three days. So after making beef stew, pulled pork and jerk chicken, I really, really wanted dessert. Bob mentioned ice cream, but I had none In the house. I mentioned that I could make a cake or cookies and his response was that he didn’t want me to have to cook any more today. I tried giving him the correct response, which is, of course, “which ever you would like to make, dear.” Ok, the dear is optional, but really, for a smart man, he just didn’t get it.

I decided to make a cake while he took Jessie for a walk. But … there are no eggs in the house. Something I dearly wish I had known before going to the grocery store today. But, that little, pesky detail is not going to tell my stomach that it just can’t have dessert. So, I went with the vegan cupcake option.

A few years ago Val sent me an article that mentioned a vegan cupcake book. (Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World) I had to try it. So I did. When I lived by myself and never had milk or eggs in the house, I frequently ate meals that were mostly vegan. Baking was no different and I love the way these taste. You know a recipe is well used when the pages are stuck together, yet the spine wants to open on that recipe. That would be the vegan chocolate cupcake.

Yes, the cupcake, which is totally chocolatey, totally delicious and totally easy is vegan. No eggs, no butter, no milk. Soy milk, apple cider vinegar, canola oil work with the coco powder, flour and leavening agents to make a moist, yummy cupcake.

The icing, however, is not vegan. I am horrid at making icings and they never turn out right. I also lack patience today to try yet another icing, so I went with heavy cream and Nutella. I said the cupcake was vegan … I never said the whole thing was. The cream topping gives it a nice layer of flavor and the cupcake it just delicious even on its own.

Easy, quick and no fuss cupcake. Dessert even with no eggs in the house.