When we had our photo shoot with Mary, we made a bunch of food to go with the shoot. One of those things was doughnuts, and we made these from scratch on a night that we also made muffins and pancakes.

We promised you photographic evidence. Then, I got the plague, and we had a photo shoot, and Corelyn moved back east, and I went along for the ride, and, well, we never got around to posting them.

Here they are.

Here is the doughnut dough, rising. This, by the way, is the the recipe we used for the doughnuts.

Mary and Scott were fighting about something, but as this was more than six months ago, I’m not sure what…

They nicely smiled for a photograph, though.

Meanwhile, Corelyn and I were doing some real work, frying some doughnuts.

It was a team effort as we raced to get them out of the oil at the right moment.

Oh, hello!

This, my friends, is the right moment.

Everyone was anxiously awaiting this moment…

There you have it! Doughnuts. Deep fried and delicious. I ate two and didn’t feel bad about either.

Jeff and I eat a lot of stir-fry, and a few weeks ago I decided to shake it up using a new recipe from Rachael Ray.

Here’s the recipe:

Oil
1/2 lb boneless pork chop (I used pork tenderloin)
1 lb Brussels sprouts
2 scallions
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar

Most of this I had on hand, and it was a one-pot skillet which meant it’d be easy to make!

Here’s a stalk of Brussels sprouts. Look how lovely they are! Pull ’em off the stalk and halve them.

You’re also going to cut up your scallions.

Cut your meat, too, into strips – 1/4 inch thick, and about two inches long

Cook your meat until brown in the oil.

Then add your scallions and Brussels sprouts.

Pour your soy sauce.

Add your brown sugar.

Add your pork back in.

Serve! This recipe is easy because it has your veggie and protein right in there, and is nice and filling! Serve with rice or couscous (which is what I served it with, because it’s so quick!)

What is your favorite stir fry recipe? What is your favorite quick meal?

This is the perfect time of year to reflect back on what the ladies of Garlic, My Soul were doing in years past. You may have noticed that November really begins and ends with Thanksgiving for us. We start pre-planning in late October; we think about our guest list and our menu ideas and jot a few things down. But on November 1st, things start to get serious. We make endless shopping lists; we finalize the oven schedule; we assign duties — figure out who’s bringing extra chairs, etc. Essentially we’ve got Thanksgiving on the brain 24 hours a day. It is a little stressful.

Other than our obvious love of cooking and planning large get togethers with our friends, I think the reason we get so excited about Thanksgiving around here is that it marks the first time Jennie and I ever cooked together. Not only is it fun to think about the beginning stages of our culinary love, but also to reflect on how thankful we are for good friends, good blogging partners, and the circumstances that led both of us to Los Angeles to cook Thanksgiving dinner for 19 people with limited knowledge of turkey or each other.

3 years ago, on Thanksgiving, Jennie and I awoke at the crack of dawn to gather ourselves and our turkey and arrive at Rebecca’s apartment while Rebecca and her roommates still slept. Here we are consulting with the turkey. Truthfully, I don’t mind telling you, Jennie did most of the work that first year. I was mostly available for moral support and extra hands.

We spent the whole day in that kitchen, taking a break at some point to shower and make ourselves look slightly more festive.

By November of 2009, we were cooking and blogging away, and our Thanksgiving experience had blossomed into a full-blown obsession, and we set our sites on brined turkey.

So, the day before Thanksgiving found us submerging our giant turkey in the brine recipe provided by Alton Brown. Was it terribly difficult? No. Was it worth the extra trouble? Not so much.

Fast forward to November of 2010:

Coming up on our third annual L.A. family/Garlic, My Soul Thanksgiving, Jennie and I were deep in research mode. We watched Bobby Flay throwdown with the Pioneer Woman, we read Real Simple, we learned that the Pioneer Woman is a fan of rubbing butter all over her turkey halfway through cooking, to help it brown. (Advice we determined to put into action).

This time last year gave rise to another of our favorite activities, cooking via video chat!

What started as a fun way to include (gluten free) Melissa while baking — we called it “remote baking”– has become a necessary and regular occurrence in our lives, now that we’ve become a bi-coastal operation.

At this time last year, we were a whirlwind of Thanksgiving planning, stress, excitement, and genuine enjoyment of the season of thanks. This year, we’re at about the same level.

True story: Last Friday night, Jennie sent me a text message at midnight that said..

“The oven schedule will have to be redone. I don’t think the turkey is going to fit with another rack.”

“Are you okay?” I said.

“I’m working it out…” she told me.

“Deep breaths,” I said.

And so, for the 4th year running, not much has changed. We are still more excited about Thanksgiving than anyone else we know. We are still a little anxious, because we’re always trying something new. (This year: a new venue). We are still planning to arrive at someone else’s home in the early morning, let ourselves in, and have the time of our lives cooking for the whole day. And we are still thankful for each other, for this blog, and for butter.

Stay tuned for Thanksgiving 2011 live blogging in 6 days!!

Brunch is my favorite meal. Any excuse to have brunch or make brunch is an opportunity I will NOT miss. A while back, the LA family was hosting a brunch. It might have been in honor of a visitor. It might have been just because we wanted to. I honestly don’t remember. What I do remember is that I was tasked with making quiche. As the reigning vegetarian chef of the group, I wanted to impress everyone. My quiche had to be better than the bacon. Luckily, I came across the following recipe.

In typical Rebecca fashion though, I modified it.

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for pan
• 1 package (1 pound) frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 11 large eggs
• Kosher salt and ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 package (4 to 5 ounces) soft goat cheese, room temperature

I might be obsessed with this quiche recipe. It has a hash brown crust, so how can you not be? My only issue with the recipe is the lack of veggies, an issue that is easily fixed!

In addition to the above ingredients, I would recommend adding any combination of the following:

broccoli
tomatoes
green onions
onion
caramelized onion
spinach
mushrooms
peppers
artichoke hearts
olives
asparagus
chives

In all honesty, any vegetable you fancy will probably taste delicious in this quiche. For my quiche, I used broccoli, caramalized onions, spinach, yellow bell peppers, and chives.

I recommend owning a Springform. It’s the most ingenious pan. Perfect for cheesecake, and perfect for this quiche. Go get one. Then you can bake.

Preheat your oven to 375. Rub some butter all over your pan. Line the edges with waxed paper, then rub some more butter over that.

Mix the thawed hash browns with 2 tbsp of butter, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground pepper.

It should be slightly sticky, enough to be able to stick it to the sides of your buttered pan. Line the pan with hash browns and stick it in the oven for 15 minutes.

I recommend placing the Springform on a cookie sheet so the crust doesn’t brown too quickly.

 While your crust is baking, saute up your onions with some olive oil.

Once they have turned from white to translucent to lightly brown, add your other veggies. Cook for a few minutes, until slightly crunchy.

 Mix the goat cheese, sour cream, and 10 remaining eggs.

Add 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper. Whisk everything together until nice and smooth.

Add your cooked veggies.

Pour the whole quiche mixture into your hash brown crusted pan. Top with chives, or another seasoning of your choice.

Put it back in the oven for 45 minutes. When finished, the quiche should be solid, but jiggly in the center, with a lightly browned crust.

I brought this particular quiche to a party. I was able to snap one photo of the finished quiche. I turned around for 10 minutes, and half of it was gone!

How do you make quiche? What do you put in it?

Recently, I decided that I wanted to make a spaghetti squash for dinner. But I wanted to do something different with it than using it as a base for red sauce. So I decided I wanted to make pesto. I’ve thrown around a few different recipes of pesto – one from the Pioneer Woman, one from my mind, one from the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook, one from Barefoot Contessa. I’ve always liked them, but I always am craving something different. And so, I searched for another right under my nose…from the cookbook I bought Jeff when he moved to California way back in 2007.

It’s called the North End Italian Cookbook, and comes from the North End of Boston, where I lived during part of college, and a place that Jeff holds near and dear to his heart – as do I.

This is the book I bought – and it didn’t get much use out of it until the end of 2008, when I moved to California. Every now and then I pull it out to help me make the classic things I remember from my childhood and favorite Italian dishes.

And so, to put a twist on pesto, I used spaghetti squash as pasta, and made this pesto recipe:

2 cups olive oil
2 cups fresh parsley leaves
2 firmly packed cups basil leaves
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup pignoli
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Here’s what you do: put all of the items (except the basil) in a blender, and mix well. Then, add basil and blend into smooth! It’s so easy you’ll be smiling all night as people tell you it’s delicious (I know I did!) The pesto is a little sweet, which is just how I like it. Here’s how the meal went down. If you are trying to decided what blender to get check out the reviews for nutribullet vs magic bullet.

Cut your spaghetti squash, preferably with a cleaver (which I don’t have, but my sister does and she says it’s splendid.)

This is what the spaghetti squash looks like. Scoop all the seeds out. True fact: once my sister scooped out all the insides, threw the squash away, and baked only the insides. She’s come a long way since then. That was probably when she was 14. Which was 13 years ago. Take a minute for that.

Put it in about an inch of water on a jelly roll pan (see above) and stick in the oven at 400. You’ll want to roast for about 35 minutes, flipping halfway through (onto the rind side.)

Meanwhile, make your pesto.

All ingredients in my food processor.

Do not forget the cheese. Please note how this is in a different food processor. I quickly realized that my ingredients weren’t going to fit into my small food processor.

When it looks like this, add your basil (I’ve added my basil on top!)

When your spaghetti squash is done, you can scoop it out with a fork!

Delicious.

You can make it with chicken – this is the kind from Trader Joe’s that comes with pesto on it already!

Serve with chicken and maybe some asparagus!

How do you make pesto? How do you make spaghetti squash?