Another special recipe my mom agreed to share while I was home! She makes these raspberry turnovers every Christmas and I LOVE them. And now I have the recipe. So I shall make them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until the end of time.

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Raspberry preserves/jam

She makes the dough the day before and lets it sit in the fridge overnight to harden. I wasn’t there when she made the dough, so I don’t have photos for that part, but it’s pretty simple: mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla, until light and fluffy. Mix in the flour a little bit at a time until fully incorporated. Remove from the bowl and shape into a ball. Wrap in Saran wrap/waxed paper and place in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to make the turnovers, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and remove the dough from the fridge, dividing it into four parts with a knife. Work with one part at a time and throw the rest in the fridge to keep cold. Flour your surface, dough, and rolling pin then roll out your dough into a big rectangle shape, leaving it 1/8 of an inch thick. If it’s too thin then it is more likely to tear. From here, use a sharp knife to cut out little 4×3 shapes.

Plop a scoop of jam in the center and fold in half. Use a fork to seal the edges. Flouring the fork here and there helps it from sticking. Poke a few little holes in each turnover (to keep them from exploding when in the oven) and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Work fast otherwise the dough will warm up and begin to stick to things. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure they cool enough before you eat them. Many times in the past I have been very impatient and burned a layer of skin off my tongue!

I love beef stew! How can you not? Great comfort food if you ask me. My grandmother (the famous Bumma) puts dumplings in her recipe and I absolutely love it. I believe she makes them with Bisquick actually, which is a neat trick! I had never made beef stew myself, and when I came down with a cold this week, I wanted something warm and hearty to make me feel better. It was also great timing because I happen to receive most of the vegetables I needed right in my CSA this week! I’d also like to note that I bought my meat at Dickson’s Farmstand in Chelsea Market, which is a really great place for local (and humanely raised) meat products. Always important to believe in the food you’re eating!

Ingredients: (adapted from the Pioneer Woman)
2 lbs stew meat, I bought chuck
4 whole carrots, roughly sliced
4 whole potatoes, quartered
1 whole medium onion (or two small in my case), diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 12oz can beer
4 cups beef stock (or you can use bouillon cubes w/water)
2 tablespoons tomato pasta
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 teaspoon sugar
Parsley for topping (optional)

Start by heating your butter and oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. I got to use my new Dutch oven for the first time which was exciting (thanks Santa!). Brown the meat in two batches and place on a plate off to the side. Make sure not to overcook the meat at this point, otherwise it will get chewy later.

Dice your onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion to the pot first and cook about two minutes until it starts to become translucent, then throw in the garlic and cook for an additional minute or so. Next, add the beef broth followed by the beer, which will make it get a little foamy on top! Cut the meat into nice bite size chunks and add that as well.

Next add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper, paprika and sugar. Cover and cook for 90mins-2hrs.

When there was about 15mins left, I washed and roughly chopped my carrots and potatoes. It was nice because I actually had a few orange carrots, some yellow ones, and some parsnips that I used. Plus my potatoes were purple! Quite the tie-dye stew I was making. When the 90 mins were up, I was expecting my stew to have thickened a lot more than it did, but I continued with adding my carrots and potatoes anyway and let it cook for another 30 minutes until the vegetables softened. What I ended up doing to thicken it a tiny bit was mix 2 tablespoons of flour with half a cup of cold water, then adding that to the stew which helped a little bit, especially after it sat a little. Came out really great, and I’ve been eating it all week!

My mom makes some really great desserts around the holidays, and this is one of them! When I was home for Christmas she agreed to share her special recipe and let me photograph her making it. What a lady, huh? Hope this makes you as warm and happy as it makes me!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped nuts (we used walnuts)
1 1/3 cup shredded coconut
1 (15oz) can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Line a 15x10in baking sheet with parchment paper. Make sure the the paper comes up over the edges, this will be helpful later. Melt the butter and pour it over the parchment and spread it around. Sprinkle evenly with shredded coconut, followed by the chopped nuts. Next, drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the entire pan. Place aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat 3 eggs at high speed for 2 minutes. Gradually add the 1 cup of sugar, followed by the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, water, and vanilla extract (I forgot a few photos here, my mom moves fast!). Blend well. Pour this over the coconut/nut mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until the cake springs back then touched in the center.

After removing the cake from the oven, sprinkle with the powdered sugar. It helps to fold back the parchment a little to unstick the cake from the edges, this way when you roll it, it’s already a little loose. Place a clean kitchen towel over the cake, followed by a flat cookie sheet. Hold the edges tight and flip over onto a flat surface! Remove the top baking sheet and parchment paper.

To roll the cake, start at one end using the towel to help guide it. You’ll notice as you pull the towel up and over, the cake will continue to roll up. Great trick! Once all rolled up, remove the towel and wrap it up in plastic wrap, as well as foil. Place in fridge over night so that it firms up.

This couldn’t be easier to do, and is a great homemade gift to give out to friends and family during the holidays! All you need are good vanilla beans, vodka, and a little patience. They will last forever, just like the vanilla extract you’d buy at the store. Definitely have them sit for about 6 months before using it though so that it has had time to sit.

Ingredients:
48 good vanilla beans (8 beans per bottle)
1 liter bottle of vodka

I bought my madagascar vanilla beans on http://www.beanilla.com, where they have a nice variety of vanilla, as well as bottles to purchase which is convenient. I bought my bottles at Fishs Eddy here in the city though, one of my favorite stores!

Start by slicing down the center of each vanilla bean with the tip of a sharp knife, not so hard that you cut through to the other side though. You are opening up the beans so that the vanilla is exposed. It smells SO good! Fill the bottles with 8 beans each. You will need at least 8 beans per bottle to get the full strong flavor for the extract. Lastly, fill each bottle with vodka covering the beans to the top and seal the tops. When buying the vodka, you don’t need anything super fancy. I went for something on the cheaper side, but not so cheap that it reminded me of my college days. Shake each bottle gently to release some of the vanilla from the beans. Place in a cool dry space and shake once a day for a week or so, then you can just give them a shake every couple weeks following that. You’ll notice that they get darker and darker over time. It will will be usable within 4 months, but I recommend letting it sit a little longer. The longer the better!

After one week…

This is after about 4 months…

I’ve never had enchiladas like these before, and normally wouldn’t think to fill them with vegetables and goat cheese…but it was really delicious! I made the enchilada sauce myself too, which is very easy to do. The last time I made these I just used Trader Joes enchilada sauce, which is really good and has quite a kick to it!

Ingredients: (adapted from Sprouted Kitchen)
2 zucchinis, diced
1 summer squash, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed
5 oz soft goat cheese
8-10 corn tortillas
2 ripe avocados
Fresh cilantro
Lime

Enchilada Sauce:
25oz canned tomatoes
1 sweet onion, sliced
1 clove garlic
5 jalapeño slices (or as much as you want!)
3/4 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
2 tbsp fresh cilantro
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup sour cream
S&P

To get started, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Dice up your zucchini and squash and toss in olive oil and S&P. Spread onto a rimmed baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes.

To make the enchilada sauce, simply place all the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. You’ll then want to heat it on the stove top before eventually pouring it into the baking dish.

Next, add your zucchini/squash to a bowl with the rinsed black beans and half of the goat cheese. Mix together. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to photograph this process, but I’m sure you can close your eyes and just image me doing it! I like to warm my tortillas over the gas burner to heat them up and brown them a bit. Lay the tortilla flat and add your filling. Fold in the sides and roll up from the bottom. Place each enchilada in the baking dish (which has about half the warm sauce on the bottom already). Once the dish is filled, brush the tops with olive oil then cover with the rest of the sauce and goat cheese. Cook on 375 for 20 minutes. Serve with a lime wedge, avocado and fresh cilantro!

I absolutely love Veselka’s borscht in the East Village. If you haven’t had it, then stop reading this and just leave. Go there immediately. You can find their recipe online actually, but it takes a couple hours to make. I was looking for something a little quicker and landed on this vegetarian version. It came out really nice, and definitely gets better after a day or two. I want to take the time to make their version one day. If I could make that at home, I’d never have to leave the house.

Ingredients:
4 large beets, peeled and cut into matchsticks
3/4 pound of cabbage, shredded
1 onion, sliced
2 large carrots (or 1 carrots and a few parsnips, like I did)
5 cups vegetable stock
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
S&P

Start by cutting up the carrots, parsnips, and beets into little matchsticks. Next slice your onions, and shred the cabbage. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a big soup pot and add the onions, garlic, beets, carrots and parsnips. Cook for about 10 minutes, until everything softens a bit and the beet color starts to take over.

While your veggies are cooking, add your vegetable stock to a separate pot and bring to a boil. When the vegetables are ready, add the cabbage as well as the hot stock. Mix well and S&P to taste. Let cook for 30 minutes. Add the lemon juice and cider vinegar. Spoon into bowls and add a dollop of sour cream!