Frightening Phyllo

I will never learn my lesson.

I will never learn to wait for food to cool off when it’s still about 300*, straight from the oven. Instead, I must try it that second.

This afternoon has me playing with phyllo dough after my mom bought a box with no real motive behind it, and after it’s been sitting in the freezer for months – she’s been begging me to do something with it. While waiting for my “real” phyllo dough dessert to cook – I played with a phyllo dough toaster strudel.

Actually, I didn’t realize I was essentially making a toaster strudel until after – I just wanted me some PB & J and since the phyllo dough was there and I wanted to convince myself I like phyllo dough (since, you know – I was making something with it and all) I figured why not?

Of course – anyone who’s had those slivers of chemically flakyness (a.k.a. toaster strudels) knows that fresh out of the toaster, the jam (or, more commonly known as HFCS mania) is really really hot and oozes right onto the tip of your tongue, scalding it and ruining your day.

That was me.

I am still feeling the pain.

To make matters worse, thirty minutes later I discovered my “birthday dinner dessert” was not any sort of dessert I wanted to share after a birthday dinner.

We were having my mom’s dinner tonight rather than last night because I had to work yesterday – and since she had to work all day today, it would be nice for her to come home with dinner all ready to dig in to. She is stubborn and said she didn’t want a cake or anything special. I almost made a peach crisp, but when I saw a recipe for “Apple and Dried Fruit Streudels” in a Moosewoods cookbook, it clicked.

Of course, I soon discovered how much of a pain phyllo dough is to work with. Not five minutes in to the project and I was having major regrets. I think something was wrong with the phyllo dough – or, more likely – I wasn’t working fast enough and it kept drying out, regardless of the olive oil I was rubbing it with.

I ended up stuffing them with a mixture of diced apple, chopped dried figs, and cinnamon. After multiple attempts to roll them up all pretty, I finally got them done, and skeptically awaited the outcome.

The filling is delicious – I mean, it’s just apples and figs – but they look kinda gross, and I don’t like the flakiness of the phyllo dough. However – they are excellent with some vanilla chobani. They won’t be wasted, but I knew I could do better for our birthday girl.

And so I made Moosewood’s Banana Bundt Cake. Recipe can be found here – but you should definitely buy the cookbook 😉 My mom is pretty open to “how” I eat and is starting to enjoy a lot of my dinners.

But she is not a fan of whole wheat-y things like desserts. (Well, she doesn’t think she is. Little does she know that the super charge me cookies, branana muffins, and banana bread she’s been loving are whole wheat. Hmm…maybe she’s coming around?) So I knew for dessert I had to play it safe. My crazy mind wanted to add all sorts of things – nuts and dried fruit, especially – but I backed off. I’ve also really been wanting to bake something with that date sugar.

But today was not the day. I made it as-is. All purpose flour, sifting and everything. And if you’re looking for a basic, simple, yet still impressive cake recipe – give it a try!

And for what it’s worth, she actually really liked the apple-fig strudels and wanted me to bring the whole plate over instead of the little taste I gave her, hah.

Maybe I’ve had bananas on the brain, though – because they showed up this morning in waffle form.

Mix:

• 1/4 c. oats
• scant 1 c. puffed rice
• 1 T. ea: wheat bran, wheat germ, WW flour
• baking soda

Mix:

• 1/2 a banana, mashed
• 1/4 c. vanilla chobani
• 1 T. milled flax
• splash almond milk
• splash peanut oil

Combine.

I added peanut oil to the batter this morning because I’m all out of cooking spray and thought it might help keep them from sticking to the iron. They still wanted to stick to both sides, so I just let it sit a bit longer. I loved how they were really crispy and dark on the outside but still had some soft, chewy, banana-y goodness inside. I’ll have to burn them more often 😛

Iced coffee, I wuv woo.

It was so refreshing to step outside to a beautiful morning. It was sunny (granted – I slept until almost 8 today!) breezy and cool. I dined outside with Miss Kitty – why is it that animals always take the best seats?!

Look at my big hunk! If only Blue (far right) had his head to the side – they’d all look the same!

This is Jewel, Teddie’s girf. He’s her big, muscular boyf. What a cute couple.

Little does she know he wants every other girl in the barn, too.

“Hi guys!”

Teddie and I just had a quick-ish ride in the meadow today. A little more serious and less play than usual, but still fun. Just worked some more on suppling and collectiong than we have been. It was really, really windy though, which kept blowing these little flowering things all over. I think he kept getting them up his nose!

A broccoli bowl was gobbled up for lunch – broccoli, hummus, carrots, fried egg, toast. While browsing cookbooks to figure out what I was going to make for dessert.

Enter: afternoon phyllo-dough torture, cleaning the whole house head to toe (err…floor to ceiling?), banana cake baking, and horse cleaning.

And then, my mom’s chosen dinner.

Okay, actually – this isn’t my mom’s chosen dinner. I never match my socks (usually they’re white anyways), and at one point I looked down and realized I was going for a winter theme today. A christmas tree and lights on one – penguins and snowflakes for the other.

Hey, it works.

Yeah, dinner. Chickpea-Quinoa Pilaf! Or, “that squiggly stuff,” if you’re my mom. Page 115 in the bible. (a.k.a. Veganomicon)

It starts by sauteeing onions and garlic in olive oil. I added red pepper, too. Then you add in tomato paste, spices like cumin, quinoa, and then your water and chickpeas.

And slowly simmer until they start to look like “little squigglies.”

In the book, it’s considered a side – but honestly, there’s no reason it can’t be a meal. It’s a complete protein!

I topped mine with some feta cheese, and a slice of bread afterwards.

A really, really simple dish – but so good! Make it.

And these pretty ladies haven’t shown their faces in these parts lately:

The one and only George-Porge.

So – we still have a ton of phyllo dough. What’s your fav phyllo dough recipe?

And any plans for the long weekend? My weekend actually isn’t long and I’m working on Monday – but I’m sure you’ll all enjoy it for me! 😛