Carrot Muffins

When I was a little girl I was obsessed with eating carrots because someone had told me once that they were good for your eyes. Having grown up with a father who was born cross-eyed and blind as a bat, I ate carrots religiously. Needless to say, I have to carry a pair of glasses around in my purse for long-distance reading. Sigh.

Anyways, carrot cake is one of my favorite things. And around the holidays, its got that perfect flavor combination that makes you feel all warm and holiday-ish; nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon. And carrot muffins, because of the aforementioned flavor combination, are just fantastic paired with a fresh cup of coffee.

Lastly, this recipe packs THREE CUPS of carrots into 24 muffins which means lots of veggie goodness and fiber. I made these last Christmas and my mom, who is really not a pastry person at all, devoured two a day and my roommates made all 12 of a batch disappear in a day. But that’s ok! They’re so healthy! So go ahead and whip these up and you’ll have something to look forward to when you drag yourself out of bed in the morning – in fact, these just might be good enough to get you out of bed in the first place.


Carrot Muffins
Makes 24 muffins (but I usually half the recipe….)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
4 large eggs
3 cups grated peeled carrots
1 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Line 24 cupcake molds with papers, or butter and flour them.

Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots, walnuts and raisins, if using them. Divide batter among cupcake molds, filling 3/4 of each.

Bake cupcakes 14 to 18 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let cool in pans for five minutes or so, then transfer cakes to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before icing them.

Vanilla Scented Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup

Here’s a secret Biquick would not like you to know: homemade pancakes are SO easy to make…and they’re delicious! If you are, like me, someone who has a whole shelf in the pantry devoted to baking supplies, I guarantee you have what it takes to make pancakes.

I use Alice Water’s recipe for buttermilk pancakes, and since no normal person has buttermilk just lying around (nor should they – that stuff is deadly rich!) I use a mixture of plain yogurt and milk as a substitute. You can also use flavored yogurt (I LOVE peach flavored yogurt in this recipe and use Apricot Jam instead of strawberry syrup).

Anyways, the strawberry syrup part of this recipe came about because I had some strawberries lying around that were about to go bad and I just couldn’t force myself to toss them, so I decided to make a syrup – something that is always a good thing to do when you have fruit that’s just not quite good enough to eat but can make a lovely sauce.

I don’t like really super sweet syrups and its important, to me, to preserve the fresh fruit taste. The syrup recipe is simple – strawberries, water, sugar, and lemon juice all boiled down to a thick sticky delicious mess. And vanilla-scented pancakes are even delicious by themselves, with some melted butter and powdered sugar if you don’t have any fruit for a syrup. This is a quick and delicious breakfast that takes less than 20 minutes to whip up and is sure to impress should you have guest or just some hungry roommates.

Vanilla Scented Pancakes (makes about 4-6 pancakes)

¾ cup flour
1tspn baking powder
½ tablespoon sugar
½ tspn salt
1 tspn vailla extract
1 egg
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup yogurt (plain or fruity – your call)

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl
2. Mix together egg, milk, yogurt, and vanilla. Stir into flour mixture.
3. Add melted butter and mix thoroughly. Cover the batter and keep in the refrigerator for 15 minutes for the fluffiest pancakes. Heat a non-stick griddle over medium-low heat (coat with butter if you’re feeling really bad)
4. Pour batter over the griddle and cook about 4 minutes on each side, checking often to make sure they’re not burning.

Strawberry Syrup
½ pound hulled strawberries (tops removed)
¼ cup water
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Bring strawberries, water, sugar to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil uncovered 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat to prevent mixture from boiling over. Add lemon juice. Strain, pressing on solids and pour over pancakes, icecream, cheesecakes, or what have you.

LA in the rain; Braised Short Ribs and Parsley Root Mashed Potatoes

So, the rain has finally arrived. Everyone loves the chance to curl up on a couch with a warm blanket, a fire, and a cup of hot cocoa – it’s the best way to while away a rainy day. Until you have to pull on your rain boots, button your coat, grab your purse and splash right out into that very same rainy day you were so blissfully watching pass by just a little while ago.


In Los Angeles, a rainy day is a cause for celebration and complaint. For the natives, a rainy day is a break from the status quo and a reason to point our fingers towards the rest of the country, accusingly – a chance to say “aha! See? It’s not perfect and sunny all the time. We know what its like to have weather.” And then we stick our tongues out.

But because it’s so rare people freak out. Nobody in Los Angeles knows how to drive in the rain and the terrible traffic for which we’re famous only gets worse. And as the temperature drops below 60, Angelenos race to bury themselves under layers of wool, leather, and polar fleece creating a highly undesireable sartorial situation.

A rainy day, however, is always good for slow-braised meats. The hearty aromas fill the house and the oven’s heat is welcomed by chilly wet hands. I decided to make short ribs last night, in anticipation of the rain – the sky was already dark and heavy and was glowing the faint orange it always does before a big rain. Our apartment doesn’t have central heating and if it wasn’t for the little electric heater I got on Saturday, I’d be freezing my little buns off.

Short ribs are satisfying, rich, and delicious. They’re fatty and tender and perfect for one of those rare Los Angeles nights when the whole city is bracing for a storm. These short ribs are an example of comfort food at its best and most indulgent, and paired with a side of parsley root mashed potatoes, some quick-roasted boiler onions and carrots, a glass of good red wine, and Ella Fitzgerald’s Christmas album? Bring on the rain, baby…I’m ready.

Braised Short Ribs (serves 2)
2 lbs short ribs
3 oz pancetta
1 cup dry red wine (I used a Merlot)
2 cups beef stock
1 carrot, cut in half
1 celery stick, cut in half
1 medium onion, quartered
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tspn dried
2 garlic cloves, quartered
1 tspn whole black peppercorns
1 tspn sea salt

1. Begin by rinsing short ribs, drying thoroughly and salt-and-peppering all sides.
2. While preparing the short ribs, place the pancetta in a thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and render out as much fat as you can. Remove the pancetta.
3. Place short ribs, bone side up in the pancetta fat and brown on all sides – about 2-4 minutes a side. Remove the short ribs to a plate or bowl and drain off any excess fat but be careful not to lose the browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
4. Pour in red wine and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Reduce red wine to about 1/3 cup – it should take about 10 minutes.
5. Pour in beef stock, vegetables, herbs, peppercorns, and salt. Stir the mixture to distribute evenly around the pot. Place the short ribs, bone side down, on top of this mixture and turn heat up to high. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Place the lid on top of the pot and simmer for an hour.
6. After an hour, using tongs, flip the short ribs so that they are bone-side up. Simmer for another hour, loosening the lid if its simmering to rapidly. Simmer for another hour.
7. Flip the short ribs again so that they are bone side down again.
8. After a half an hour check (by gently lifting the short ribs and shaking them gently) to see if any of the bones have fallen away from the meat, simmer for another half an hour and check again.
9. When the short ribs are fork-tender, and you can easily shred some meat off with the tines of a fork remove the short ribs from the pot and set aside. With a slotted spoon, discard the vegetables and any bones that may have fallen off during cooking. Turn the heat up to very high and let the sauce reduce down to a syrupy consistency. It will probably take about 15 minutes. If you want a very pure sauce, pour the braising liquid into a clear bowl and, either using a spoon, or a baster, skim the fat from the top. Remove the skimmed liquid to the pot and reduce down to a thick sauce.
10. Pour the sauce over the short ribs and serve.

Parsley Root Mashed Potatoes (serves 2)
*These are great to serve with the short ribs because the citrusy and earthy taste of the parsley root contrasts nicely with the richness of meat and the sweet reduction.

2 parsley roots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
½ pound of yellow potatoes cut into fourths
1 cup of chicken stock
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon butter
¼-1/3 cup of milk (whatever you have on hand is fine)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine chicken stock, water, potatoes, and parsley root in a large pot and bring to a boil. Boil until fork tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Strain and pour potatoes and parley root into a large bowl. Combine with milk, butter, salt and pepper. Using a stand or hand mixer whip all the ingredients together until they are light and fluffy. Add salt and pepper to taste.