I like to take Dr. Oz with a grain of, um, quinoa. But I have to admit, he sucks me in.

Grabbed O magazine last nite at the grocery store because the cover touted Dr. Oz’s 2-Day Wonder Cleanse. I figured I’d need a “cleanse” this weekend…after I ate the warm apple crisp I’d just made (topped with ice cream). Hey, it was an icy-cold blustery Friday night in Milwaukee. Just call me Moping in Milwaukee.

So I began this a.m. with Oz’s quinoa, ginger, nutmeg, prune, rice milk porridge. No prunes in the house, but I did have dried cranberries. Look and taste better, but I’m sure prunes are better for purging—I mean cleansing. No rice milk either. Does anyone really drink that stuff?

Even tho I had a cartload of groceries last nite, I now have to do a grocery run for the pineapple, kale, cabbage, fennel and other ingredients on the Oz list for the next two days. The recipes make a soup, a smoothie, a snack drink (pineapple-kale) and that quinoa porridge. Oh, and there’s dandelion tea, which is supposed to be a diuretic. (I may skip that tea. Water is a diuretic if you drink as much as you should daily. (Plus I think I’ll need my mint-chocolate tea to get me through the weekend of  slurping cabbage-fennel soup and other slurries for two days.)

Wish me luck. Will let you know if I feel cleansed in 48 hours. Spring cleaning will have a whole new meaning for me.

Slosh. Slosh.

Here’s my version of the breakfast recipe:

HRK’s Breakfast Quinoa

Put  1/4 cup red quinoa and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Add two or three good shakes of cinnamon. Grate some fresh ginger into the pan (or add three or four shakes of ground ginger). Bring to boil, then lower heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the water is gone. Then add 1/4 cup nonfat milk (or almond milk or rice milk…ugh) and a handful of dried cranberries or snipped dried apricots. (Dr. Oz prefers prunes. Not me.) Simmer for 5 or 10 minutes more.

Quinoa is actually an amazing little grain, with an amino acid profile that puts it on the top of most good-for-you lists. Lot of fiber, too. I prefer my quinoa loaded up with vegetables in a salad or side dish. But, Dr. Oz says eat it for breakfast. So here I go.

Here’s how my thought process works when developing recipes. Valentine’s Day is coming up. So: Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. Hmmmm. How’s about a new chocolate cupcake? Yeah.

What goes with chocolate? Something crunchy. Not nuts again. Pretzels? Yeah. Chocolate Cupcakes with pretzels on top. Not good enough. So what goes with pretzels? Beer. Yeah. Pretzels and beer, right?

In fact, I know just the beer: Chocolate Stout.

And that’s how this recipe was born. I like to insert a pretzel in a jaunty fashion off-center into the frosting…or sprinkle crushed pretzels on top just before serving. The photos, however, show the un-pretzeled versions. Obviously.

Photos: Richard Swearinger

Double Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chocolate stout (Pour about 1/3 cup chocolate stout plus foam, let settle for 1 to 2 minutes, scoop off the foam, and you should have about ½ cup)

1/2 cup butter (unsalted, please. If you’re using salted butter, ditch the salt, above)

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 ounces dark unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped, or semisweet dark chocolate chips

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 slightly beaten eggs

Dark Chocolate Frosting (next page)

Coarse sea salt

12 bite-size pretzels

1. Preheat the oven to 350* F. Line muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Set aside. Stir together flour, soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring stout, butter, and cocoa just to simmer; stirring frequently. Add dark chocolate, stirring until melted. Remove from heat. Add brown sugar, stirring until smooth. Whisk in eggs until combined. Add flour mixture, beating until smooth.

3. Fill cupcake liners about ¾ full. Bake for about 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Or just tap the top of the cupcake with your finger.  It should bounce back.) Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove cupcakes from muffin pan and cool completely on rack.

4. Pipe or frost with Dark Chocolate Frosting (below). Sprinkle coarse salt over each cupcake. Top with a pretzel. (Or skip the salt and crush the pretzels and sprinkle on top.

Dark Chocolate Frosting

Makes enough to cover 12 cupcakes

¼ cup unsalted butter

¼ cup milk (or cream as long as we’re being decadent)

1 cup dark chocolate chips (or 8 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped)

2 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar

1. In a small saucepan, heat the butter and milk over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is bubbly, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and stir in dark chocolate until melted.

2. Remove pan from heat and add powdered sugar. Beat by hand until smooth. Cool to room temperature. Stir well before frosting cupcakes. Add additional milk if frosting is too thick.

There’s something settling and soothing about baking a cake. For me, anyway. More often than not, I use my old handheld mixer, even though I have the legendary KitchenAid stand mixer. The smaller mixer makes it all less complicated in a way-too-complicated world. (Plus it’s a bicep exercise in my book.)

I get my “om” on as I turn off my mind and watch butter and sugar combine to a thick pale yellow fluffly mass. I am mesmerized by the whir of the beaters as egg whites transform into white billowy clouds. The act of gently folding those egg whites into the batter—to insure a light and airy cake—makes me feel light-hearted (or maybe light-headed). :0

What prompted that soliloquy? Well, I felt the urge to bake cakes this week. Two in one week! One, our family’s recipe for Banana Cake with Fudge Frosting (perhaps I’ll share another day).The second was this Italian Cream Cake from Better Homes and Gardens for a friend’s birthday.  It ended up to be a three-layer beauty that foiled my attempt to deliver it under a beautiful glass cake dome. Too tall. So I simply flaunted it on a pedestal and covered it loosely with plastic wrap, putting candles on top to keep the plastic wrap from touching the frosting.

I usually like to tweak or reinvent while I cook, but because baking relies on science, my first go-round always starts with a tried-and-true recipe. I did increase the Cream Cheese icing, because, hey, it’s for a birthday cake. But the cake recipe belongs to BH&G. Here it is.

Italian Cream Cake

• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup  butter
• 2 cups  all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2 cup  shortening
• 2 cups  sugar
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla
• 1 cup  buttermilk
• 1 cup  flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup  finely chopped pecans, toasted
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• 1 cup  chopped pecans, toasted

directions

1. Separate eggs. Allow egg yolks, egg whites, and butter to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and lightly flour three 8×1 1/2-inch or 9×1 1/2-inch round cake pans; set pans aside. In a bowl, stir together flour and baking soda; set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a very large mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until well combined. Add the egg yolks and vanilla; beat on medium speed until combined. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Fold in coconut and the 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans.

3. Thoroughly wash the beaters. In a mixing bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Fold about one-third of the egg whites into cake batter to lighten. Fold in remaining whites. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pans.

4. Bake about 25 minutes for 9-inch pans, about 35 minutes for 8-inch pans, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans. Cool thoroughly on wire racks.

5. Place one cake layer, bottom side up, on serving plate. Spread with about 1/2 cup of the Cream Cheese Frosting; sprinkle with 1/4 cup pecans.(Note from Jeanne: I also sprinkled flaked coconut between the layers in addition to the pecans.) Top with second cake layer, bottom side down. Spread with 1/2 cup more frosting and sprinkle with 1/4 cup nuts. Top with remaining layer, bottom side up; spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Press remaining nuts (and coconut, if you like. I like.) around side and on top of cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting: In a bowl beat 12 ounces cream cheese, softened; 6 tablespoons butter, softened; and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla until smooth. Gradually add 6 cups sifted powdered sugar, beating until smooth. (Note from Jeanne: I only used about 5 1/2 cups powdered sugar. It was plenty thick and made for a less sweet frosting.)

After my mother’s funeral this week, I’ve been running on empty. No motivation. What to do during the times I always phone her to chat? What to do with the Valentine’s card I had for her? What to do on those holidays when I usually bake goodies to send to her?

Decided I’d bake anyway. For me, baking is one of those auto-pilot kinda projects. Plus there’s always butter, flour, and sugar in my house. I wanted to create a Valentine’s sugar cookie with a bit of tang and happened to have 2 lemons in the fridge. I cut the cookies on the thickish side because I like them with a bit of crispness on the outside, but plenty of softness in the center. And because I think sugar cookies are kinda boring, I added lemon peel to the cookie dough then iced the finished cookies with a lemony glaze.

Love them, but wish I could share them with my mom. She was the one who inspired my love of baking. (Mom was the baker in our family. Dad the day-to-day cook. Both were gardeners and loved being creative in the kitchen. Thank goodness I inherited the gardening, cooking, and baking genes.)

These are simple to make and just in time for Valentine’s day. You might want to change the title tho before serving them up to the love of your life!

Broken Heart Lemon Sugar Cookies

About 3 dozen 2- to 3-inch cookies

Most sugar cookies are similar. I used several basic recipes as models, then tweaked to my taste. This version is most like the Rich Roll Cookies from Joy of Cooking. I reduced the granulated sugar because I’m not a sugary-sweet person. I added powdered sugar because I like the lighter texture it offers. I also added lemon peel and boosted the vanilla to balance the lemony tartness, and I upped the baking powder. Not sure why!

And I topped the cookies with a lemony glaze. You can add sprinkles before baking and skip the glaze, if you like.

Beat until creamy:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons powdered sugar (it adds a light texture)

1 to 2 tsp. lemon peel (I use a Microplane to remove the lemon peel in fine shreds)

1/4 tsp. salt

Add and beat until combined:

1 egg

1  tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Add and beat on low (or stir with a wooden spoon) until combined:

2 1/2 cups flour

Divide dough into thirds, flatten into disks, and wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Using 1 part of dough at a time, roll dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Use a 2- to 3-inch cutter to cut out cookies. Place on cookie sheet about 1-inch apart.

Repeat with remaining dough. Pat dough scraps together and roll and cut.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges get a hint of brown. Do not over bake. Remove to a cooling rack. When cool, frost with Lemon Glaze.

Lemon Glaze: Whisk together 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, 2 to 3 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1 tsp. lemon peel, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.

At my mother’s bedside yesterday, knowing that she only has days, if not hours, to live, I held her hand and whispered in her ear: “It’s OK to put on your angel wings and soar.”

But moving beyond this life seems to be a quietly hesitant passage for her. She has led such a full life, that I think she may still feel the need to do a little more caring for those of us she is leaving behind.

My sister made dinner in her honor last night. It was a savory blanket of comfort food that wrapped us all up in its warmth. It was simple, but so worthy of second helpings. Roast pork tenderloin rubbed in salt, pepper, and herbs. Redskin mashed potatoes. Gravy. Roasted mashed acorn squash with butter and a smidge of brown sugar. If Mom were able, she would have baked us her apple pie with a topping of buttery brown sugar and walnut topping. We would have peeled and sliced the apples while she tossed together the dough and rolled it to fit the pie pan.

I promise to share Mom’s Apple Pie soon. But in the meantime, as snow blankets most of this country, can you do me a favor? Go outside—by yourself or with your family or friends—and make snow angels for my mother. I think she needs those angels to gently accompany her as she takes to the heavens with her own wings.

Then fling some snow, marvel at life, hold tight to your family and friends, add a splash of Bailey’s to your hot chocolate, and fix comfort food tonight.

Made this recipe the other night from a fresh-on-the-newsstands bookazine that I edited:  Better Homes and Gardens Ultimate Casseroles.

Am loading up my own picture, but if you compare it to the one in the magazine, it’s pretty evident that I am not a real photographer. I’m trying to learn because, frankly, I’m envious of a number of food bloggers who flaunt gorgeous photos. Like Chocolate & Zucchini or David Lebovitz (I pout whenever I read his blog and view his photos. I want to be him. I also want to be David Sedaris, who is not a foodie, but his writing is up there with garlic mashed potatoes on my list of favorites.) Then there’s Matt Bites. I am over-the-moon envious of his blog photos, but he doesn’t really count because he’s a professional photographer.

So, what do I do to make my food photos leap off the blog and make you gasp at its delicious beauty? I suppose investing in a real camera might be a start. And maybe a few props. But I don’t get that whole lighting thing. I mean, the food already looks good. Why can’t that be translated through my rinky-dink camera in my rinky-dink kitchen? I think smell-o-vision would help too because I want my food pictures to capture the heady aroma that accompanies the meal.

Got tips?

If not, I’ll continue to torture you with my point and shoot images lit from my ceiling-mounted track lighting. In the meantime, this dish is really droolworthy. And so easy.

It’s from Better Homes and Gardens Ultimate Casseroles ‘zine. The Sizzling Sausages and Grapes recipe is easy and would have served 4 if I had shared. But I like leftovers. And it is winter, the time to build up an extra layer of warmth on your body.

The grapes in this one-dish dinner roast to a mellow mushy jam-ish delight and take on a happy tang when they get  a finishing splash of balsamic vinegar.

Yes, the recipe calls for purchased polenta. (Of course you can make your own. I used Melissa’s Organic tube o’ polenta. Kinda good, especially when the Italian sausage juices melted into it. It’s got onions and rosemary too. That’s it. Pop it in the oven and do a good deed for your neighbor while it’s sizzling. Or pour a glass of red wine and sink into another chapter of David Sedaris.

What’s your favorite winter comfort food … or book to snuggle up with?

Sizzling Sausages and Grapes

1 1/2 pounds seedless red grapes, stems removed and rinsed (the grapes, not the stems)

1 16-oz tube refrigerated cooked polenta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 small red onion, cut into thin wedges

1 to 2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. snipped fresh rosemary

6 sweet and/or spicy Italian sausage links (about 1 1/2 lb. total)

1 to 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350. In an ungreased 3-qt. rectangular baking dish (13×9 pan) combine grapes, polenta, onion, oil, and rosemary. Toss to coat.

2. Using a fork, prick each sausage in several places. Add sausages to mixture in baking dish, nestling them into the grape mixture.

3. Bake, uncovered, for 50 to 60 minutes or until sausages are cooked through and grapes are slightly shriveled. (I probably could have roasted mine a tad longer.) Drizzle with balsamic vinegar; toss to coat. Makes 4 servings.

And, well, that’s enough. My miniscule woes are nothing in comparison.

So let’s all just embrace, snuggle, and support our friends and family today, tomorrow, forever. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually.

Or if you want to help in a small way, support Cookies for Kids Cancer.

So, you and Capt. Morgan engaged in a sorrow-drowning affair?

Not the best heart-healing approach perhaps, but there are ways to settle the sloshing and muffle the morning-after throbbing.

Part of the reason your head feels like it’s stuffed with fluff after a night of extreme imbibing is that you’re dehydrated. Yup. There are other factors involved, but who cares about science at a time like this?

You need Hangover Helpers. STAT.

Many old wives’ tales offer hangover remedies. Some scientifically sound. Some, well, maybe not. But why not give ‘em a try?

Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. We’re not talking about drinking more alcohol, which is a diuretic. We’re talking water, straight up. Hoist one tall glass of water for every adult beverage you consume. Best to consume during party time, but it also helps just before you stumble into bed with that lampshade on your head. Or slurp it down as soon as you’re able to peel your eyes open the morning after. Or knock back some soothing tea laced with ginger. You get a two-fer when you sip ginger tea: Ginger chases away nausea, and the tea helps with that hydration.

Consume ample asparagus. Apparently young asparagus shoots and leaves whomp up the effect of enzymes in your body that break down alcohol. (Asparagus has leaves?) Anyway, the research—in Korea—was done on drunken rats who were given asparagus extract, but still.

Gobble carb-laden foods. This may be a fabled cure, but it works for us. Carbs seem to soak up a lot of whatever’s sloshing around in your stomach. You also could try the mnemonic BRAT treatment suggested for people with, um, gastrointestinal distress. BRAT stands for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast.

Lindsey swears by her hangover cure-all: Fried Rice with Portuguese Sausage.

Fried Rice with Portuguese Sausage

2 Tbsp. oil (divided)

1 small onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 large jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (remove hot, hot, hot seeds and veins first)

3 cloves garlic, minced

12 oz. Portuguese sausage (linguica), Andouille, or Polish sausage, coarsely chopped

3 cups cooked rice (leftover…or cooked rice in a pouch)

2 tsp. hoisin sauce

1 Tbsp. soy sauce or fish sauce

Sriracha or hot sauce, optional

4 green onions, sliced

1. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil over medium-high heat in a wok or deep skillet. Add onion, carrot, and jalapeno. Cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until onion softens. Add garlic, stirring for about 30 secons. Add sausage slice; cook and stir for 3 minutes more.

2. If needed, add remaining oil. Stir in rice, hoisin, and soy sauce. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes more or until rice is heated through. Taste. If desired, splash in Sriracha. Sprinkle with green onions.

1. First full year as a freelancer without COBRA. Cost of health insurance is stunning. The treadmill and I are new best friends.

2. Published Heartbreak Recovery Kitchen cookbook including tales of comeback from trauma and recipes that make you forget your woes. Celebration party with recipes from the book: Easy Frozen Lemonade Margaritas, Tropical Sangria, Korean Barbecued Beef, Asian Shrimp Noodles, Poblano Pepper Slaw, Walnut-Studded Dark Chocolate Brownies…

3. Summoned friends to sop up water in basement after a monsoon night in Iowa. Papa Murphy’s Pizza.

4. Bought shampoo and conditioner for the first time in 1 year after using up my supply of hotel sample-size bottles.

5. During a no-income spell over the summer, I survived for 2 weeks on $7 (and zucchini, see #6, below). Amazing how many meals can be made from 1 whole chicken (which I had in my freezer). I splurged for a pound of carrots and celery to finish off the carcass in a batch o’ soup. Then went on a chicken moratorium.

6. My zucchini crop was HUGE. Little friends Claire and Bren, right, show off one that took off when my back was turned. Double Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread.

7. Kitchen floor damaged after roof leak crept between walls and spread moisture beneath old vinyl flooring. New flooring. Roof repair. Martini time.

8. Baked up a storm for the holidays. Then my oven died 4 nights before my holiday party. Ho ho noooooo. New oven installed in the St. Nick of time. Short ribs with gremolata. Garlic mashed potatoes w/ celery root. Good friends.

9. Winter weather prohibited Christmas eve gathering with family. Just me, Jimmy Stewart, and an egg salad sandwich.

10. Christmas Day. Weather cooperated.  Cooking extravaganza with Lindsey. Ahhh. Joy. Roast ham. Cranberry chutney (wow). Roasted parsnips, onions, carrots, sweet potatoes.

11. End of year meeting with my financial advisor. Ouch. Chocolate ice cream with hot fudge sauce.

12. Thankful for friends and family…and the comfort of the kitchen. It may be time to make a batch of Change-Your-Fortune Cookies from Heartbreak Recovery Kitchen.

13. Farewell 2010. Stop stalking me!