The Sweetie Pie

Summer Grillin'

2013-06-26T13:20:00.001-04:00

It's summertime!! That means one thing in particular, your grill should be getting lots of use these days. Everything from pizza to fish to veggies to burgers can be tossed on the grill in order to keep the inside cool and to enjoy the outdoors.
The recipe today is one I've made a couple of times now and plan to work on them again next week. Although it makes a several they never seem to last long in our house. Homemade Hamburger Buns! Now, you might be thinking you don't want to go to the trouble for these because that is something you can easily pick up at the store. Let me assure you, it's worth it. Although they take a little time to rise, there really isn't that much "active" time involved. Plus, it makes the hamburger, or the BBQ sandwich, or the veggie burger, or the salmon and avocado sandwich, or the appetizer. We've used them in many ways and they freeze beautifully, so make them this week, maybe even double the recipe, and have some on hand for these glorious summer days.

Homemade Hamburger Buns
Adapted from Homemade Pantry
1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons whole milk or unsweetened soy milk
2 teaspoons SAF instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs
3 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons butter or vegan buttery sticks at room temperature
Optional: Poppy Seeds or Coarse Salt
In a liquid measuring cup, combine the warm water, milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat 2 eggs in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the salt. Add the butter to the flour and gently rub it in with your fingers. Stir in the yeast mixture and beaten eggs until the dough starts to come together.
Dump the dough onto a well-floured counter and knead vigorously, folding the dough onto itself and throwing it down on the counter. Work with it for about 10 minutes, adding additional flour when the dough gets sticky. Shape the dough into a ball and return it to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a knife or scissors, divide the dough into 8 equal parts. I use a kitchen scale here because I like for them to be the exact same. Gently roll each piece into a ball and arrange 2-3 inches apart on a baking sheet. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and clean dish towel and let the buns rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Fill a metal (DO NOT USE GLASS) pan with water and set it on the bottom rack.
In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush over each bun with a pastry brush. If you are using seeds or salt, sprinkle them over the egg wash. Place the buns in the oven and bake until the tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
These will keep covered in a sealed bag for about 2 days or you can place in a freezer bag/container for up to 6 months. (so nice to have on hand!)
Happy Fourth of July to you and your family!

Raw Corn Salad

2013-04-18T12:56:00.000-04:00

I love corn. I always have. My parents tell me when I was little I would always say, "mer kern mese" (this translated to "more corn please.") I actually think I really like all things corn; polenta, popcorn, etc. So, needless to say, as soon as I see those raw corn cobs show up at the market, I start buying them. I realize it's a little early in the season for this and corn will really come into it's prime in a couple of months. But, this corn salad made a tasty side dish to our Mexcian meal last night, so I thought you all might like to try it a few times this Spring and Summer. Plus, Cinco de Mayo is only a couple weeks away--never too late to start planning!

I've been making this salad for several years now. Actually it was one of the first salads I learned about when I cut out meat and dairy from diet. At that point, I hadn't eaten raw corn but I'm glad I gave it a try. As many of you know, eating raw produce is typically the best choice because all of the nutrients stay intact. I think I will venture to say that the version I made last night might have been the best I've ever made it. Maybe I was super hungry but the addition of a couple extra ingredients really brought the salad together nicely. Feel free to use your own variations, just start with raw corn!

Raw Corn Salad

Serves 2-3 as a side

Delicious with Mexican dishes, Black Bean Burgers, or any grilled Summer meal.

3 ears of corn, shucked and washed

15-20 cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 Vidalia onion (these are in season right now), diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 avocado, chopped

Small handful cilantro, chopped

Manchego Cheese, grated

Red Pepper Flakes

In a large bowl, cut the corn off the ear. Add the remaining ingredients, except the cheese. Toss gently to combine. Season with salt and red pepper flakes. Grate a bit of Manchego Cheese over top (use the amount you prefer). Manchego is a sheep's milk cheese from Spain and digests better than cow's milk cheese. Serve and enjoy.

Roasted Strawberries and Coconut Macaroons

2013-04-04T15:19:00.000-04:00

Are you roasting your strawberries? If not, you need to try it. If you've read this blog before, you know I love roasting. So maybe you are thinking okay Ashley enough with the roasting or perhaps roasting fruit sounds terrible to you but just trust me. Give this one a go. Your mouth and tummy will thank you. It's just as simple as roasting your veggies but instead of savory, this recipe is perfect for breakfast, a snack, or a delicious topping for desserts. I served them this past Sunday with this Strawberry Cake. Along with a little whipped cream, it made a nice topping over the cake. Luckily, we had some leftover strawberries! So, I tried them with the coconut macaroons I made the night before. The macaroon cookie recipe came earlier in the week through my email and I am so glad I tried it because they are easier than the traditional macaroon but light and flavorful all the same.

Depending on where you live, your farmer's markets will be opening soon! My favorite King's Drive Farmer's Market opens tomorrow. I have been counting it down for weeks. I am sure they will have little cartons of fresh strawberries so I plan to make this again. Grab your self some strawberries and let me know what you think.

Roasted Strawberries
From Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson
8 ounces strawberries, hulled and quartered (if they are really small, just half them)
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I prefer Grade B for baking)
1 tablespoon olive oil (I recommend Pour Olive's)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
A few drops of Balsamic Vinegar (I recommend Pour Olive's)
1 tablespoons Port wine (optional, I have tried this before but didn't this weekend-it's just as good without)
Preheat the oven to 400F Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss very gently to coat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the strawberries out on the baking sheet. Roast for about 40 minutes, just long enough for the berry juices to thicken but not burn. While still warm, scrape the berries and juices from the pan into a small bowl (the juices are so good) Use immediately or let cool and store in the refrigerator for a week.
Serving Suggestions:
On top of biscuits, pancakes, toast, waffles, bran muffins
Top with a little granola and/or Greek yogurt
Top any cake
Whip a little cream and serve alongside
Wonderful with lemon or plain cheesecake
By themselves!
Sprinkle a little coconut or with a drizzle of chocolate
Drizzle with Pour Olive's Espresso Balsamic Vinegar

Easiest Coconut Macaroons
In general I try to not eat sugar, however I do like dessert! When making dessert I try to use alternative sugars/sweeteners that are easier for the body to digest such as honey, maple syrup and agave nectar. I recently came across coconut sugar and was impressed. Much like brown sugar with a caramel quality, coconut sugar comes from the sap of a coconut tree and is known to be healthier than granulated sugar. It can be used 1:1 in place of sugar and can be found at your health food store.
Adapted from www.thekitchn.com
Makes about 24 cookies
3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut (the recipe calls for sweetened but I used unsweetened)
4 large egg whites
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly toast the coconut, just until light golden, about 5 minutes and set aside to cool. Whisk the egg whites, coconut sugar, vanilla extract and sea salt until frothy. Pour the toasted coconut over the egg white mixture and mix until evenly moistened. Line a baking sheet with parchment and using a small cookie scoop, scoop cookies onto the baking sheet, spacing them evenly. Bake the cookies 15-20 minutes or until they are golden. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Macaroons can be kept in an airtight container for up to one week.

To serve, place a couple macaroons in a small bowl and top with the strawberries, Enjoy.

New Year and Updates

2013-03-28T15:37:00.000-04:00

Needless to say, it's been a while! Just a quick update: Daniel and I are expecting at little boy!! We had a wonderful holiday season and winter sharing the news with our family and friends. We are due July 20 so we have been planning a nursery and putting together a registry the past few weeks. We are over the moon excited about the changes coming to our family and so far the pregnancy has gone smoothly. I will be sure to keep you updated with each post!

I have been pondering several things that relate to food lately; meals, families, feeding babies, feeding myself, feeding Daniel, making sure our family feels organized when it comes to food (as well as other areas!), preparing freezer foods for when the baby comes, canning and freezing produce, making healthy choices, just to name a few. I realized a couple of months ago that I don't know if I have a ton of recipes that I can really call my own. So that's a goal of mine as we start having children. I have a handful that are go-tos; recipes that I know Daniel and I will both enjoy, but I would like to have a larger list. My other goal is to create more of a "homemade pantry." I plan to use many recipes from the beloved recipe book I reference so often and also plan to create some of my own homemade ideas for our family. Having a few rolls of homemade pizza dough or a dozen homemade veggie burgers in the freezer can be so helpful on busy weeknights. I hope to share with you some of things I've been working on lately and hope to inspire you to make healthy and homemade meals for your family as Springs blossoms.
I actually made these black bean burgers a month ago and I love having them in the freezer during the week. I know there are a million recipes out there for veggie or black bean burgers, but trust me, the textures are right on in this recipe. I don't feel anything is lacking here. Plus, there's nothing strange added to them like you get in the boxed kinds and they are quite hearty.
My favorite way to enjoy them is over a fresh salad with sprinkle of goat cheese and a spread of Dijon mustard. They are also delicious with some sweet potato fries! The recipe makes a ton but they freeze really well, so I would go for it and make the entire recipe while you are at it. You will be glad in the end!

Black Bean Burgers

From The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila

There are a lot of ingredients here, but take time to look through them, I bet you have s of them on hand.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

10 large mushrooms, stems removed, caps diced

1/2 cup corn

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 to 1 tablespoon chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

4 cups cooked black beans (from 2 cups dried beans) or three 15.5 ounce cans black beans, drained

2 cups cooked short grain brown rice

2 cups breadcrumbs

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoon nutritional yeast (not baking yeast, can be found at your health food store)

Place the onion, garlic, carrots, red bell pepper, and mushrooms in a food processor and pulse until diced (I added this step in instead of chopping everything by hand, feel free to dice it all up with knife)

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. add the veggies and cook, stirring often until soft and aromatic. Add the corn, cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Continue to cook for 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 425F. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the beans, 1 cup of the rice, and half of the vegetable mixture. Mash with a potato masher until the ingredients are well blended. Use your hands to combine this mixture with the breadcrumbs, eggs, mustard, vinegar, soy sauce, yeast, and remaining 2 cups of beans, remaining 1 cup of rice, and cooked vegetables. Let the mixture cool completely.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using your hands, form the mixture into well-packed patties, about 4 inches in diameter. (I've also made these slider-sized and they worked well) Lay the patties on the baking sheet and flatten with a spatula. Bake for 15 minutes, flip the patties, flatten with a spatula once again and bake for another 15 minutes. Serve immediately or if storing for later, allow to cool, then wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer baggie or a freezer container.

To serve from the freezer: Either bring to room temperature or microwave for 1 minute. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a saucepan and cook until crispy on the edges and warmed through.

Storing:

Freezer: 4 months

Fridge: 4 days

All-American Apple Pie

2012-11-05T12:40:00.000-05:00

The most beloved pie in America is the Apple Pie! Last week, I felt very "all-american" as I baked one; I was baking an apple pie, watching the World Series, and listening to the debates! It all just seemed to fit. The post is now perfect for this week with Election Day and even better, it's just in time for your Thanksgiving dinner.
Now, I do own The Sweetie Pie, and I absolutely love making pies, but I have never fully connected to an apple pie...until this one. I've tried different ones every year and although they turn out nicely I never feel like I have a go-to apple pie recipe. There are just some recipes in my files that I always use and I've learned to not really budge from them. This apple pie just earned it's spot in my go-to recipes, so I felt it was worth sharing. As always, if you have a favorite apple pie recipe, please share in the comments below.
Let's start with the crust. My favorite pie crust recipe comes from Sara Foster's cookbook "Fresh Everyday."and I've posted it before. This time, however, I adapted the ingredients from that recipe and used the techniques listed in the Homemade Pantry Cookbook. They combine beautifully and actually work well whether you use organic butter, vegan buttery sticks, or non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening. (This is great news because most people have an opinion about this--just choose the one you like best!) The technique is brilliant. If you've made a pie crust before, you know the key is for all the ingredients to be cold. Here, Alana, suggests mixing the pie ingredients in two bowls and placing them in the freezer for 10 minutes. Perfect. Everything is equally chilled.
On to the filling. Here is where I have an opinion. I want my apple pie to be a bit gooey. I don't mean runny or soupy, I just want the apples to be soft and the spices to incorporate and create balance. So, I turned to Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Pie and Pastry Bible." She explains that when she first started making apple pies, she learned that the apples produced so much juice that often her pie crusts were left soggy. So, she decided to boil down the apple juice to concentrate the juice before baking the pie. Although this step takes extra time, it's worth it.
Here is my new go-to Apple Pie recipe adapted from 3 different recipes in my files!

All-American Apple Pie

Pie Crust

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur Brand preferred)

1 cup organic butter, vegan shortening, Earth Balance Brand, OR vegan non-hydrogented vegetable shortening

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup ice water, plus 2-3 tablespoons as needed

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Cut the butter into 1/2 inch squares and combine with the flour in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several time to combine the flour and butter. In a separate small bowl, mix together the sea salt, water, and apple cider vinegar. Stir to dissolve the salt. Place both bowls in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Take the flour mixture out of the freezer and pulse until the mixture becomes a crumbly meal. Take the small bowl out of the freezer and with the processor running, slowly pour the wet ingredients into the bowl. The dough will be crumbly at first, then after 10 or 20 seconds it will come together in a ball. Stop the processor.

Turn the dough out onto the counter and press it together into a large disc. Cut the dough into two equal parts, wrap each piece in plastic wrap and press into a disc. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 days. (Can also be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before rolling.)

Filling

Start the filling for the pie while the crusts chill.

8 cups peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch apples, about 6 medium (I used 4 granny smith, 1 golden delicious, and 1 honey crisp)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup packed organic brown sugar

1/4 cup organic evaporated cane juice

1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter or vegan buttery sticks

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch

In a large bowl, combine the apple, lemon juice, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and toss to mix. Allow the apples to macerate at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hours. (I let them sit for about an hour while the dough chilled)

Transfer the apples and their juices to a colander suspended over a bowl to catch their juices. The apples will release at least 1/2 cup of liquid. In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, combine the apple juices with the butter and boil down this mixture to about 1/3 cup or until syrupy and lightly caramelized. Swirl the liquid but do not stir it. Meanwhile, transfer the apple mixture to a bowl and toss them with the cornstarch until the cornstarch is fully incorporated.

Pour the syrup over the apples, tossing gently. (The liquid may harden, but it will dissolve when baking)

Remove the crusts from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. Starting from the center, roll both pieces into a 12 inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Grease a 9 inch pie dish with butter and place one of the pieces in the dish. Transfer the apple mixture to the pie shell. Moisten the border of the bottom crust by brushing lightly with water. Place the top crust over the fruit. Tuck the overhang under the bottom crust border and press down all around the top to seal it. Crimp the border using a fork or your fingers. Make about 5 evenly spaced 2-inch slashes starting about 1 inch from the center and radiating toward the edge. Cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour before baking to chill and relax the pastry. This helps maintain the flakiness and helps to keep the crust from shrinking.

Preheat the oven to 425 at least 20 minutes before baking. Set an oven rack on the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it before preheating. Place a large piece of greased foil on top to catch any juices.

Set the pie directly on the foiled topped baking sheet and bake for 45-5 minutes or until the juices bubble through the slashes and the apples feel tender but not mushy when a cake tester or is inserted through one of the slashes. After 30 minutes of baking, you can protect over-browning with a foil ring.

Cool the pie on a rack for at least 4 hours before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature. ~Enjoy.

Fig, Orange & Pistachio Conserve

2012-10-02T07:38:00.003-04:00

As you pull up the drive to The Inn at Little Pond Farm you instantly feel the calmness and beauty of the area. The air is always a little cooler, the road has a slight bend and the Inn itself is tucked back just a bit.The trees line the drive and the pond glistens a short distance away. Once the Inn is in sight, you know you are going to enjoy the time spent here. As you are greeted at the door by inn owners Frank and Gaye Luaces, you feel at home. The very essence of the Inn is welcoming at it's core, glamorous at sight, charmingly European in style, and pristine throughout. It is really beautiful here and worth the trip. The reason I am bringing it up in this blog today is because I had the opportunity to teach at the Inn a couple of times this summer. Along with 2 bridal luncheon chef demonstrations, I also taught two full-Saturday classes. One was Italian Baking and the second was The Italian Pantry; Canning and Preserving Summer's Bounty. Both were delightful and although I was the teacher, I also learned a lot!

The Italian Pantry's menu consisted of 6 items; The Simplest Tomato Sauce, Triple Ginger Nectarine Jam, Strawberry Honey Balsamic Preserves, Fig and Orange Conserve, Plum Butter, and Gorgonzola Sauce. We packed each item into adorable little Weck Jars and sent them home with the classmates. Ah, what a day. There is something about preserving that makes you feel so productive. Perhaps it's the fact that you are actually putting away your own food for the Winter or perhaps it's just quality time in the kitchen watching a few pounds of produce change dramatically into little jars of goodness.
My favorite recipe of the day, and one I've made several times since is the Fig, Orange, Pistachio Conserve. The original recipe came from Food and Wine Magazine. When you add dried fruit or nuts to a preserve, it becomes a conserve! Although I've been caught several times eating a spoonful of this yumminess by itself, it is also delicious on toast-- I love it with almond butter, perfect over goat cheese with crackers for a savory snack or nice appetizer, delicious with crostini and ricotta, or you can serve it over chicken or pork-also works when these meats are cold (can you say leftovers!)

This conserve will now be an annual recipe for me. If you get a chance, try to make it in the next week or so, while we still have figs, if not- you will have to wait until next year! If you want to purchase some conserves, give me a call or swing by Pour Olive on East Blvd, they will be carrying it!

Fig, Orange, and Pistachio Conserve
3 half pint canning jars with lids and bands

1 1/4 pound local figs (any variety seems to work)
1 1/2 - 2 cups maple sugar or maple syrup
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 oranges (equaling about 1/2 cup juice)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup raw shelled pistachios

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the canning lids, rings, and jars and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes to sterilize. If you are making a larger quantity, you can run the jars through the dishwasher and leave them in there until needed.
Fill a water bath canner (or a large pot with a rack) with water, cover, and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine the figs with the maple syrup, orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil, stirring to incorporate the maple syrup. Boil over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 3 cups, 15-20 minutes. (Depending on altitude this could take a little longer). Stir in the pistachios.
Using sterilized tongs, remove the hot jars from the water (or dishwasher) and transfer to a cutting board. Ladle the hot conserve into the hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Using the tongs, place the lids on the jars followed by the rings. Screw the lids on tightly but not too tight.
Using canning tongs, lower the jars in to the boiling water of the pot with the rack, making sure the jars are covered by 1 inch of water. Boil over high heat for 15 minutes (20 minutes for higher altitude). Using the canning tongs, transfer the jars to a towel covered cutting board to cool until the lids seal. You will know they have sealed because they will be slightly concave and tight.
If lids do not seal within 12 hours, you can reprocess them in the hot water bath for 15 more minutes. Most will seal immediately. If they still do not seal, place the conserve in the refrigerator and use within a month.
Store the sealed jars in a cool dark place for 9-12 months. Once opened, keep refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Chai Tea

2012-08-02T11:40:00.000-04:00

Simply put, make this tea. Today. I'm enjoying my second cup this week as I type. I normally go for chai tea in the Fall or when the temperature is just a bit cooler. This week, however, I was baking in the kitchen and a thunderstorm came through. If you are like me, my mood instantly changes with the rain. I can be planning for a night of grilling out, staying outside, staying up late and a summer rain comes through and I want soup, a good movie, a nice cup of tea, and some cookies. Anyone else feel like this? As soon as the rain came through this week I thought about some afternoon coffee but then remembered tagging a homemade chai tea recipe from Homemade Pantry. I've liked chai for several years now and I've tried making it a home many times. It never seems as tasty at home as it does from the coffee shop but this one is a winner. Perfectly spiced and lightly sweetened with honey. This recipe works any time of the year and it's much healthier than any of the mixes out there!

Chai Tea with Almond Milk
Adapted from Homemade Pantry
The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can keep it in the refrigerator or freezer. So make up a large pot of it and enjoy it all week long.

Fridge: Covered container without milk 2 weeks, with milk 5 days
Freezer: Freezer-safe container, without milk 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat with milk on the stove.

5 cups water
1/4 cup roughly chopped unpeeled fresh ginger
3 cinnamon sticks, about 4 inches long
3 whole cloves
4 cardamom pods (I just used a little sprinkle of cardamom)
3 black peppercorns
One circular slice unpeeled orange, about 1 inch
4 black tea bags
1/4 to 1/2 cup honey (I used 1/4 and it was plenty)
2 cups almond milk

Combine water, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns, and orange slice in a medium pot. Partially cover the pot, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Take the pot off the heat, add the tea bags, cover and steep for 5 minutes. Put a strainer over a bowl and strain the liquid. Add the honey to taste. To store the chai without the milk, do so now. Otherwise, return the tea to the pot, add the milk and reheat.
Enjoy!

Grateful

2012-07-27T14:06:00.000-04:00

Wow this month, actually this summer, has been wonderfully busy. Anyone else feel that way? I consistently find myself at the beginning of each month wondering how another four weeks has come and gone. Between friends; old and new, along with our family, one word continues to come to my mind. Grateful. Grateful that we have people in our lives who love us and grateful that we are able to return that feeling. Whether it's a low-key backyard get-together or an incredible surprise 30th birthday party, this summer has brought an abundance of sunshine, laughter, and love. It will be a summer we won't forget.
Yes, I did turn 30 a couple weeks ago. Thirty, the big 3-0 and Daniel threw an amazing surprise birthday party, complete with aprons, mitts and hats. He ironed pictures of me throughout my life onto the aprons and hats and everyone was wearing them when I walked in. Wow. I've loved every day of 30 but to be fair, I knew I would. When I was a young girl, I looked up to all the older girls in my youth group at church. I couldn't wait to be older. Although I've loved the many stages that life has given me, I have really enjoyed my later 20's and now I'm loving 30. A large reason for that happiness is Daniel. I married my best friend 5 years ago. We celebrate our anniversary tomorrow! I would say the best thing about being married to Daniel is that I know, without a doubt, that he adores me and I have no shame in saying that out loud or typing it in a blog. I can't believe five years have passed this quickly.
Here are a few pictures to sum up the amazing birthday celebrations! I loved everyone second of it.

Well if you made it down this far, you are in for a treat. See that chocolate cake up there, about two pictures up. Yes, I did eat that whole piece but that's not where I'm going with this. Mom took me to Foster's Market and Chapel Hill for my birthday. I love Sara Foster and her cookbooks and I have always wanted to visit her market. We had a lovely day together, talking, getting pedi's, shopping, and eating! But this cake, a-maz-ing. I've already asked mom to make it for me every year from now on. Thoughtfully, she used a Sara Foster recipe! So, we will share because she did adapt it to make it dairy-free!

Chocolate Layer Cake with Mocha Buttercream

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (Scharffen Berger)

4 large eggs

3/4 cup canola oil

4 cups organic sugar

3/4 cup vegan sour cream

1 cup brewed strong coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch cake pans and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and stir to mix. Set aside.

Place the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat and let cool just a bit, don't let it harden.

Meanwhile, combine the eggs, oil, and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until well blended. Stir in the melted chocolate and set aside.

Mix the sour cream and coffee in a separate bowl and whisk until well blended.

Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, alternating with the sour cream mixture. Blend just until combined. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake 40-45 minutes, until the cakes are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool the cakes 10-15 minutes in the pans, then remove from the pans and continue to cool on a baking rack. Frost the cakes with Mocha Buttercream

Mocha Buttercream

5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (Scharffen Berger)

1 egg white

1/4 cup soy creamer

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder

1/2 pound (2 sticks) vegan buttery sticks (Earth Balance)

4 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Whisk the egg white, soy cream, vanilla, and coffee in a small bowl until the coffee is dissolved; set aside. Meanwhile, beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Add the confectioner's sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, until thoroughly blended.

Slowly add the melted chocolate to the butter mixture, alternating with the cream mixture, until the frosting is smooth. Add 1 to 3 tablespoons additional soy cream if the frosting seems stiff. Leave at room temperature until ready to use.

Serve with blueberries and strawberries.

Thanks to everyone who made me feel loved and celebrated this summer. It's been a blast.

Farm-to-Table and Blueberry Sauce

2012-06-12T12:34:00.001-04:00

Two weekends ago I had the wonderful opportunity to work with two chefs and a culinary intern at Poplar Ridge Farm's "Farm-to-Table Dinner." What a day. Together with Chef Eugene Fritzler of Table 274 and Chef Hollace Stephenson of Tastemakers we created a lovely summer meal for 41 guests. We literally worked from 9:00 that morning until 10:00 that night. Remember when a dinner is truly farm-to-table that means that much of the produce is harvested that day! Together, we washed and prepared beets, greens, collards, blueberries, strawberries, broccoli, carrots, radishes, and kale. The menu consisted of four courses. In addition, Hollace and Eugene prepared a lovely passed appetizer and Kaylin Davison, the culinary intern prepared fresh berry popsicles.

The evening began with guests gathering and enjoying a nice class of Strawberry Lemonade or Pimm's Punch. Beet En Croute (roasted beets wrapped in puff pastry) were served with a homemade Apple Butter by Eugene and Hollace put together tasty Collard Wraps which held a Quinoa Salad with a Tahini Vinaigrette. Guests were seated and the first course was served; Vegan Turnip and Nut Cheese Ravioli and a Chilled Broccoli Radish Salad

The salad course followed; Kale Salad with Strawberries and Sunflower Seeds.

Next on the menu was the main course; Cast Iron Roasted North Carolina Grouper from Clean Catch Market, Roasted Rainbow Carrots, Greens Saute, Red Ace Beet Paint with a Lemon Honey Viniagrette

Following the main course was the dessert course. I made Chocolate Truffle Baby Cakes with a Blueberry Vanilla Sauce. I used Scharffen Berger chocolate and baked them off in ramekins.

Guests left happy and full after a fresh popsicle

The entire day was pure bliss, although it was a lot of hard work, it was very rewarding. I learned a lot working with these inspiring chefs and hope the opportunity presents itself again.

I wanted to share the sauce recipe I made to top the chocolate cakes. Most people pair chocolate with strawberries or raspberries, sometimes even cherries but seem to forget about blueberries. They are delightful with chocolate. So, while blueberries are in season, make this sauce and use it top your favorite chocolate cake, brownies, or ice cream. You also could can this sauce in small jars and give it as a gift to the ones you love most!

Blueberry Vanilla Sauce

2 pounds organic blueberries

4 vanilla beans, scraped

1 1/2 tablespoons organic lemon juice

1/2-1 cup demerara sugar, depending on the sweetness of your blueberries and your own personal taste

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, mix together the blueberries, seeds from 4 vanilla beans (discard the pods), lemon juice, and 1/2 cup demerara sugar. Heat the mixture until boiling and them simmer for 18 minutes. The mixture will begin to thicken. Taste. Add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup more sugar depending on how sweet you like your sauce, making sure it is not overly sweet (remember it is probably going to top something sweet). Continue to cook and thicken. After about 25 minutes, use an immersion blender and blend until smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely, then refrigerate. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Drizzle over your favorite chocolate treat.

~Happy Summer baking to you all and thanks Poplar Ridge Farm for the opportunity to prepare this meal.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

2012-05-21T14:03:00.003-04:00

Let me start off by saying I love this cookbook. I've mentioned it a couple of times now, but it's really a keeper. I've only owned it for about 3 weeks and it looks worn. I like that. So far, every recipe has been a winner--something I will make over and over. A couple weeks ago, Peggy (Daniel's mom) came to our house for dinner. I knew she wouldn't be able to stay for a long dessert, so Alana's Peanut Butter Cups caught my attention. I would say Daniel's favorite dessert combination is chocolate + peanut butter, so my hopes were up! Instead of making miniature peanut butter cups, I went for the big ones! This sized seemed more festive and important. Of course if you are making them for children or as a small treat, the small size works well too. I had some paper baking cups leftover from a wedding which made these little candies quite pretty. Here's the link if you want to purchase some, they also can be used to make lovely miniature pies. Regular cupcake liners work just as well. Well let's just say they were a hit. Daniel loved them, Peggy bagged up a couple to take home and since then, I've made 4 more rounds of them. My mom is serving them at her piano recipe today and we served them last night to friends who came over for dinner. They are perfect to have in your fridge and will make a nice little addition to your Memorial Day cookout. Anything you can make from home that is typically packaged becomes a novelty; something people seem to really appreciate and enjoy.

A little health info: Yes, these are candies; a treat and yes, they have sugar in them but here's the list of ingredients to compare: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups: Milk Chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, non-fat milk, lactose, milk fat, soy lecithin, PGPR--an emulsifier), Peanuts, Sugar, Dextrose, Salt, and TBHQ-a stabilizer that prevent oils from going rancid. The ingredients in Homemade Peanut Butter Cups: Semi-Sweet Chocolate or Dark Chocolate (cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, sugar), Organic Peanut Butter (peanuts, sea salt), Pure Vanilla Extract, Sea Salt, Organic Brown Sugar (organic evaporated cane juice, molasses). Although sugar is sugar in terms of calories, unprocessed sugars are easier for the body to digest. The homemade peanut butter cups do not have any preservatives or additional stabilizers, again easier on the system.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups (Daniel renamed them Peanut Better Cups)
Adapted from The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making
Makes 10 large cups
Storage: Refrigerator 2 weeks; Freezer 4 months
16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate (high-quality)
1 cup organic peanut butter, homemade or store bought
2 tablespoons organic brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.

Line a muffin pan with 10 paper liners and set aside.
Place the chocolate in a medium-sized bowl and microwave for 90 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir until the chocolate is melted. If needed, microwave again in 45 second intervals. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in a double boiler on the stove. I find the microwave is quicker and easier.
Spoon a small amount of chocolate into each paper liner. Using the back of the spoon, spread the chocolate thinly around the sides of the liner and across the bottom of the liner. Once the liner is covered, place the pan in the refrigerator until set, about 10 minutes.
While the first layer of chocolate sets, make the peanut butter filling. In a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla until combined.
Remove the pan from the refrigerator, checking that the chocolate is hard and spoon a large spoonful of the peanut butter mixture into each chocolate shell, filling it about 3/4 of the way full.
Using the remainder of the melted chocolate, spoon a small amount of chocolate over the peanut butter filling. (If your chocolate needs to be remelted, place back in the microwave for 30 more seconds, stir.) Use your spoon to make sure the chocolate completely covers the peanut butter filling. You should be able to connect it to the chocolate shell and seal everything in. Place the pan back in the refrigerator until set, 10-15 minutes. Once the cups have hardened, remove the paper liners and serve. Daniel says these are best served cold. If you aren't serving them immediately, store in the refrigerator.
~Enjoy.

Vegan Quiche? Yes Please!

2012-05-16T14:20:00.000-04:00

Ummm...are those words supposed to go together? Vegan and Quiche? Well if your idea of pie, tart, and quiche = fattening and unhealthy, you are wrong. They actually have the potential to be quite healthy. Think whole grains made into a crust topped with a mixture of tofu, vegetables and herbs. If you are scared of tofu or think you don't like it, think again. This recipe is different. Last Saturday, we ended our successful season of baking classes at Poplar Ridge Farm with a tasty class; Sweet and Savory Pies. The ladies who attended left the class feeling they could conquer a pie crust in their own kitchen and learned there are different ways to make crusts rather than with white flour and lard! We made a Vegan Spinach Mushroom Quiche and an Riesling Poached Apple Tart with an Almond Flour crust (gluten-free). I am happy to report that I am selling these two items through Poplar Ridge Farm on their weekly online order form! Each month, they will offer 1 sweet pie, 1 savory pie, and 1 healthy dessert option! You can check it out on their website A-la-carte products! If you would like to purchase something, let me know!

If you would like to make your own healthy tart, here are a couple of links to some wonderful recipes to try. They are picnic friendly and perfect for this time of year!

Roasted Tomato and Brie Tarts! I LOVE this blog. It's truly stunning.

Mushroom Tarts! Amazing work on this blog, another winner.

Don't forget about the upcoming canning classes during the month of July! Sign up today.

Lovely Classes at the Farm Continue

2012-04-28T17:09:00.000-04:00

"In the childhood memories of every good cook, there's a large kitchen, a warm stove, a simmering pot, and a mom."

How true that quote is for me. This week in two canning classes at Poplar Ridge Farm, ladies worked together chopping vegetables and fruits, shared stories of their mothers and grandmothers, talked about their own families, and learned how to can. In a short two hours, we canned over 10 pints of Mixed Berry Honey Jam and over 10 pints of Green Tomato Relish. Students left with a desire to go home and start canning themselves! I'm so thankful mom taught me how to can and that we still spend a weekend together every year canning. She was one of my "students" this week, but I certainly learned these techniques from her.

If you are interested in taking a canning class, I will be teaching two classes each week during the month of July. They are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5-7. Bring a friend, enjoy a couple of hours together, and take home some canned goods to share. The calendar is on the Baking with tSp page.

And to send you off with a little recipe, an update on a recipe I posted at Christmas...

Mixed Berry Honey Jam

Makes about 4 cups

Time: About 45 minutes-1 hour

1 pound strawberries, washed, picked through, hulled, and sliced in half

1 pound blueberries, washed and picked through

1 1/4 cups honey, I prefer Sourwood

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 unpeeled apple, grated

In a large pot over medium heat, combine the berries, honey, apple, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and allow the mixture to cook for 30 minutes. It will thicken as it cooks. Mash with a potato masher, leaving some larger pieces of fruit. Pour the mixture into small sterilized jars and allow to cool. Keep refrigerated and use within 3-4 weeks.

Uses:

Spread on whole wheat toast

Drizzle over pancakes or waffles

Mix into granola

Spread with your favorite nut or seed butter

Pour over ice cream, would be great with a brownie too

~Enjoy and hope to see you this summer at a canning class.

New Cookbook Love + Saturday Morning Breakfast

2012-04-26T14:53:00.000-04:00

Daniel and I have a new routine for Saturday mornings. It happened organically; a few Saturday mornings ago we both wanted to stay home instead of going to Starbucks or elsewhere for coffee. So coffee was made at home and we spent a couple of hours hanging on our front porch. The next weekend, the same thing happened, so I threw some muffins in the oven, then it happened again and again. This weekend, the smell of granola filled the house as coffee was made and time was spent on the front porch. Fresh granola, strawberries, pineapple, Greek yogurt and eggs made for a lovely Saturday morning breakfast.

The granola recipe was inspired by a new cookbook. A couple of weeks ago I read an article in my Martha Stewart magazine by Alana Chernila about her new cookbook; "The Homemade Pantry:101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making." Immediately the title caught my attention. If you spend much time in the kitchen, you are probably like me and want to "home-make" as many things as possible. The article in the magazine was about her homemade pop-tarts--made with homemade jam and homemade pie crusts. Need I say more...sounds incredible and the recipe is in the book! There are several things on my personal list which happened to be included in this book plus many things I hadn't thought about home-making before. Alana Chernila is a mom who began making things at home to save money. Her writing style is entertaining, yet "real-life" as she gives a side story along with every recipe. She sells at farmer's markets, teaches cheese making classes (can you imagine?!), and allows her daughters to help with many things in the kitchen. Let me say, I've only spent a weekend with this book and I love it. I am totally inspired by it. The granola happened because I received the book on Friday night and happened to have most of the ingredients on hand Saturday morning! By Sunday afternoon, her recipe for Cheese Crackers was in my oven. I can just imagine setting myself up on a schedule where these items make it through my weekly routine. Of course you wouldn't need to make them all at once, but just having more homemade items on hand sounds delightful. I can't wait to make the next thing... I highly suggest purchasing this book, I bet your family will thank you.

I am sure most of you have a good granola recipe but this one is a winner, so it was worth sharing. Maybe it's the extra wait time in the oven but it's perfectly crisp and I have really enjoyed having a jar of it on my counter this week. Daniel and I both thought it was particularly good. I also like that it doesn't have dried fruit in it, just my personal taste. It would stand up nicely to milk and could easily replace your daily cereal, and it's just a lovely snack to have around even after breakfast.

P.S. I have been working on several things in the kitchen that I just haven't had time to post lately, stay tuned as I get caught up!

Saturday Morning Granola
Adapted from The Homemade Pantry
Feel free to double this, it does freeze well.
5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (I like the large flakes)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 tablespoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Combine the oats, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, coconut flakes, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Stir until combined then pour over the oats mixture and stir until everything is coated.
Line a large 11x17 jellyroll pan with parchment paper. Spread the granola in an even layer on the pan. Put the pan in your oven on the center rack for 1 hour, rotating racks every 20 minutes. At the end of the hour, turn your oven off and leave the pan of granola in there for up to 6 hours. It will continue to crisp up and harden as it cools.

Strawberry Cake...good for your heart and perfect for your Easter celebration

2012-04-03T08:44:00.001-04:00

If you haven't been to a class at Poplar Ridge Farm, you need to come! They are so much fun and we have two left; canning and pie baking. This past Saturday, I had the privilege of teaching a class on Heart Healthy Desserts. When choosing recipes to prepare, I don't typically look for treats with labels such as "low-calorie," "low-fat," "no-sugar," or even "heart-healthy." I normally just choose, whole food! That title seems to cover all of those other categories and usually you get more benefits than restrictions. When I started researching for this class, however, I was really impressed at just how heart-healthy whole foods are! Here are a few heart-healthy foods that are included in my baking all the time; whole grains, oats, nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, berries, flaxseed, red wine, dark chocolate, raisins, yogurt, carrots, apples/applesauce, and legumes. Once I put that list together, the hardest part was narrowing down the recipes to bake in the class! Ginger Carrot Oatmeal Cookies, Strawberry Cake with Coconut Vanilla Glaze, Berry Crumble, and Black Bean Chocolate Cherry Cookies were the four choices of the day. They were all a hit and gave the participants several ideas for their upcoming Easter celebration. Each recipe was filled with heart-healthy ingredients and although they were treats, none of them were overly sweet. Another beautiful day with wonderful people who desire to learn more about healthy food.

The recipe for the Strawberry Cake comes from the gorgeous blog by Sarah Britton, My New Roots. This is one of my new favorite blogs. Visit it today if you've never been, it's really incredible. This recipe makes a delightful breakfast cake. I made it again yesterday and Daniel and I enjoyed a piece on our front porch for brunch. Perfect with a cup of coffee, it would be lovely at your Easter brunch. It also works well as a late afternoon tea cake. If you want to serve it as dessert, I would drizzle a little coconut icing or melted chocolate over it.

A few health notes on the ingredients of this cake. Spelt flour is a whole grain flour. Whole grains contain the 3 essential parts of the grain seed. Whole grains provide more protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals than refined grains. Spelt flour is wheat free and easier to digest for those with a wheat intolerance. Whole grains and dietary fiber have been shown to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and heart attack. Like spelt, oats are also a whole grain. Oats have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and they help stabilize your blood sugar. Strawberries are high in vitamin C and antioxidants. They are known to fight heart disease and provide a number of vitamins that support overall human health. Unsweetened almond milk is my milk of choice. Nuts play an important role in lowering your bad cholesterol and raising your good cholesterol. Nuts help dilate the blood vessels and prevent the hardening of arteries. Unsweetened applesauce or apples have been found to lower bad cholesterol and control blood sugar levels. Yes, you can use olive oil in baked goods! Olive oil is another monounsaturated fat that lowers bad cholesterol and clears fat from blood vessel walls. Some call flaxseed one of the most powerful plant foods on the planet! It contains omega-3 essential fatty acids, lignans, and fiber. Evidence shows that it can reduce your risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes-wow! In baked recipes, it can replace eggs. One tablespoon of ground flaxseed whisked with 3 tablespoons of water is equal to one egg. Let the mixture sit in the refrigerator until it thickens a bit. Now if that isn't reason enough to make this recipe, I don't know what is. Once you taste it you it, you will have to remind yourself how healthy it is because it is that good!

Strawberry Cake

1 1/2 cups spelt flour

1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

zest of one lemon

1 cup strawberries, chopped

1/2 cup almond milk

1 cup applesauce

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup honey

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Whisk milk, applesauce, oil, honey, and flaxseed in a bowl and set aside. Combine all other dry ingredients, except for the strawberries. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in the strawberries in as few strokes as possible. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with the 3 tablespoons rolled oats. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool before serving.

Happy Easter to all of you.

He is Risen.

Maple Oat and Honey Cakes

2012-03-25T18:00:00.002-04:00

The past couple of weeks have been busy; full of sunshine and baking, and I've loved every second of it. I had the pleasure of teaching three wonderful baking classes. The first class, a belated Valentine's Day class with 4 teenagers. Zak, Camila, Josh, and Emily came to my home to bake and we had a lot of fun together. In the class, we made a Gourmet Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache. While the cake was baking, we made extra ganache which later turned into truffles, a chocolate almond tart, and whipped icing. I was proud of their work as the cake came out beautifully.

The second and third classes were gluten-free baking classes at Poplar Ridge Farm. If you've read this blog before, you know how much I love Poplar Ridge Farm and these classes were just delightful. Together, we made gluten-free pizza with fresh goat cheese, tomatoes, garlic, and zucchini, gluten-free sandwich bread, and dark chocolate truffle cookies. Let me just say, yum! Everyone seemed pleased. The best part of the classes at Poplar Ridge Farm is the rich conversation. While baking and working together with new acquaintances everyone shares what they know about whole foods and health. I always leave with things to ponder, questions to look up, new things to try, and a desire to know more. If you live in the area, I would love for you to join us as we have three more classes planned.

Now, a recipe for you. This week I made a tasty little treat which could be a breakfast or a dessert. The recipe comes from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day cookbook. These little bites are wholesome and not overly sweet. I made them small, in a mini-muffin pan but I know they would work well in a large muffin pan as well. To me, they are really nice with a cup of coffee and I haven't tried it but I think they would be great with yogurt or ice cream. I adapted her recipe slightly and replaced the sugar with honey and the butter with olive oil. These changes made the consistency a bit more sticky, which actually worked well. Take these cakes on a picnic or tuck them in your bag as a snack for you or your children, they are quite portable. Let me know if you give these healthy treats a try!

Maple Oat and Honey Cakes

3 cups rolled oats
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup flax meal
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup honey
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the top third of the oven. Line either two 24-cup mini-muffin pans or one 12-cup standard muffin pan with paper liners.
Combine the oats, flour, baking powder, salt, flax meal, and toasted walnuts in a large mixing bowl.
In a medium bowl, combine the coconut oil, olive oil, maple syrup, and honey and whisk until combined. Pour the coconut oil mixture over the oat mixture. Stir a bit with a fork, add the eggs, and stir again until everything comes together. Spoon the dough into the muffin cups, nearly filling them.
If using a mini-muffin pan, bake for 15-20 minutes. If using a large muffin pan, bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges of each cake are deeply golden. Remove the pans from the oven and let cool for a couple of minutes. Then tip them out onto a cooling rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

Homemade Cereal

2012-03-17T18:32:00.002-04:00

I hope it was the title of the this post that caught your attention. A few weeks back, my mom and I were talking about her morning routine of eating cereal. She was frustrated because it seems that most, if not all cereal has sugar in it. I'm not talking about the normal grocery store cereal with processed junk, I am talking about the health food store cereal. Of course, it is the organic raw sugar but still, it's sugar and it's not a great way to start off the day. Mom typically eats her cereal dry, on the way to work or church, in her car; anyone relating to me here? So, I told her I would work on it.
I got the basic idea from this blog. Joanne's post and pictures are gorgeous and she gives many ideas. I took her bran flake recipe and mixed it with my granola recipe for a cinnamon crunch cereal. The basic bran flake recipe reminded me a lot of a bran muffin recipe without the butter/oil, or eggs.
If you have a favorite granola recipe, feel free to use it. This is really more of an idea to get you started. I think the addition of nuts and/or dried fruit would be nice too, especially if you are eating it with some type of milk, to give it a little extra crunch. This batch filled a gallon sized bag and the good news is that it freezes well. You certainly could double the recipe if you have a lot of mouths to feed.

Bran Flakes
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup almond flour (Honeyville Farms, Bob's Red Mill, or grind your own almonds)
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl and add milk and water. Stir to mix well. The mixture doesn't really make a dough, it's very loose and wet. Pour half of the batter onto a sheet of parchment paper and lay another piece of parchment paper on top. Roll the batter between the two sheets until it is extremely flat, almost transparent. It will look like a giant bran flake. Repeat with the other half. Remove the top piece of parchment, and carefully transfer the piece with the batter to a baking sheet. Repeat with the other piece. Bake the large bran flakes for 10 minutes, checking regularly after 5 minutes because it can easily burn. It should be thin, leathery, and be a bit crunchy around the edges. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool. After the pieces have finished cooling, tear the large bran flakes into bite-sized pieces and spread back out onto the parchment. Reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees F and bake for an additional 20 minutes, flipping and stirring every 5 minutes or so. Allow to cool completely and then mix with the granola bites.

Granola Bites

1 cup raw walnuts, chopped
1 cup slivered raw almonds
1/2 cup raw cashews, chopped
2/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Grease and 8x8 pan with coconut oil and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the nuts and coconut on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for about 7 minutes. Mix the oats, toasted nuts, and coconut together in a large bowl and set aside. Combine the maple syrup, honey, sea salt, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until it boils and slightly thickens. Pour the syrup mixture over the oat mixture and toss to coat. Spread the mixture into the 8x8 pan and cool to room temperature. Update: If it's still sticky once it's cooled, bake at 350 for about 25 minutes to dry out some of the moisture. (thanks Emily) Let cool.

Once cool, tear into bite-sized pieces and mix together with the bran flakes. Store in a large jar at room temperature for about 2 weeks or freeze up to one month.
Enjoy!

Update: Try switching the cashews for pine nuts and add in dried cherries and raisins. This was a suggestion from Emily Haake, one of my readers!

Crunchy Winter Salad

2012-02-28T12:56:00.000-05:00

The inspiration for this little bowl of goodness comes from a few different places. About a week ago, Daniel mentioned that he had eaten a tasty taco at Roots. If you don't know about Roots, definitely check them out. A local food truck here in Charlotte, they serve healthy and delicious food. As we were talking, he mentioned that it had a purple cabbage slaw on it. This peaked my interest. First of all, I didn't realize Daniel liked purple cabbage and second I can't remember ever buying it before. I regularly buy regular cabbage and brussels sprouts, and I've enjoyed a couple of savoy cabbages. So adding in purple cabbage sounded like a great idea. Along with that conversation, my mom recently gave me the cookbook, Plenty, by the famous Yotam Ottolenghi. The cookbook is made up of 120 gorgeous vegetarian recipes, including a beautiful slaw. Lastly, Heidi's cabbage salad came to mind.
I wanted something a bit sweet and a bit spicy. I defrosted corn that mom and I froze last summer, and cut it right off the cob to be the "sweet" then added chili flakes to the vinaigrette for the "spicy". Although basic, the dressing ended up impressing me by it's flavor and think it would be delicious on many different salads. The salad makes a good amoutn and normally I would suggest serving it immediately, but it held up pretty well the next day. The cabbage did soak some of the juices which made it a little less crunchy, but it was still tasty. You could easily serve it in tacos or on a veggie burger the following day.

Crunchy Winter Salad
1/2 purple cabbage, cut into small pieces
corn from 2 ears
large handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
Place the salad ingredients in a large bowl and set aside

Vinaigrette
juice of one large organic navel orange
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil--use your best kind, the flavor really comes through here. I used Arbequina olive oil from California. It has apple undertones and a great flavor. You can find it at Earth Fare.
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/4-1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over the salad and toss to coat. You may not need to use all of the vinaigrette, depending on how large your veggies are. Taste and add more salt and chili pepper if it needs a bit more flavor.

Serve as a salad. Delicious with a grilled portabella mushroom and green beans.

Note: Later in the week, I used the other half of the cabbage to make a different version of the salad. I substituted the corn with a pear in the salad and used a lemon instead of an orange in the dressing. I'm not sure which was my favorite! Let me know if you give this a try.

Farm Tour!

2012-02-18T09:51:00.000-05:00

Interested in joining a CSA? I highly recommend Poplar Ridge Farm! Their farm is beautiful and their produce is fresh and tasty. They will be hosting their first farm tour next Saturday, February 25th and all are welcome. tSp will have goodies for sale as well as some samples! You will love your time on the farm and will have a chance to learn what they are all about.

Updated 100% Whole Wheat Bread

2012-02-15T10:49:00.001-05:00

That loaf right there, that's my new go-to bread recipe! I only made one small change to the recipe from last week--vital wheat gluten. It made the bread rise just a bit higher, which makes it just a bit lighter in consistency. We love the taste of it! It's hearty, a bit sweet, and has just enough whole wheat flavor. I was excited in this picture because the loaves were rising to the top of a standard loaf pan. I also purchased my yeast from King Arthur Flour this time. Their yeast is vacuum packed and used daily for their test recipes. It weighs one pound, lasts for 6 months and up to a year if you freeze it. I trust it more than the packets sitting on grocery store shelves-how long have they been there? And with this yeast you do not need to proof, you simply add it to the dry ingredients and continue with the bread. I used my small kitchen aid mixer here; it seems to handle bread better for some reason. And yes, I did mix it on medium speed for a solid 10 minutes which makes the mixer warm and the gears a little tired, but it does the trick and wheat bread needs to be kneaded for a while. Daniel and I went to dinner right before the dough was done rising and I'm so glad we did-giving the second rise an extra 30 minutes to hour of rise time made a difference!

Here is the new recipe, give it a try--you won't be disappointed. If you would like to order some, email me! I plan to start selling it.

Go-To 100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

Makes two loaves

2 1/4 cups warm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon brown rice syrup

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon King Arthur SAF Red Instant Yeast

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon sea salt

9 teaspoons vital wheat gluten

Mixing and Kneading

In a large mixer bowl, mix together the water, olive oil, brown rice syrup, and honey. In a separate bowl, mix together the yeast, whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, sea salt, and vital wheat gluten. With the mixer running on a slow speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the dough comes together. Continue to beat at medium speed for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

First Rise

Turn the dough out of the mixer and shape into a large ball. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl (one big enough for the dough to double) and turn the dough around to cover it's entire surface with oil, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature until it doubles in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. You will know the dough is ready when you can poke it with your finger and the indention remains.

Shaping the Dough

Butter or oil two standard loaf pans (9x5) and set them aside. Deflate the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half (I use my kitchen scale and weigh each piece). Using a rolling pin, roll each half into a large rectangle, about 9 inches wide and 12 inches long with the short side facing you. Starting at the top, fold the dough about two thirds of the way down the rectangle, then fold again so the top edge meets the bottom edge, seal the seam by pinching it. Tuck the ends under, plump the loaves with your hands, and place seam-side-down in the loaf pans.

Second Rise

Cover the pans with oiled plastic wrap and allow them to rest at room temperature until they are doubled in size again, about 1 1/2-2 hours. (I put mine in the microwave to rest) While the breads finish rising, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375*F

Baking the Bread

When the breads are fully risen, bake for about 35 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pans as soon as they come from the oven and cool the breads on racks. Cut once they are cool.

Storing the Bread

Once completely cool, the breads can be wrapped tight in plastic wrap and placed in plastic bag. They should last 5 or 6 days; making great toast towards the end of the week. Or for longer storage, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil an freeze for up to one month. Thaw, still wrapped at room temperature.

Let me know if you give it a go.

Maple Strawberry Crumbles

2012-02-09T13:13:00.001-05:00

I've been posting a lot about chocolate lately so I decided to give it a (little) break and post a tasty idea for Valentine's Day. Of course, if you want to add a little chocolate to this, it would be delicious and I won't tell anyone, but it works beautifully without it too. Fresh strawberries are definitely in the stores right now and they are actually quite tasty. I've been getting my from Trader Joe's and they are from California. Although that's certainly not local, it will work for Valentine's Day. Then after that, make these again in the middle of summer.

I love crumbles for a couple of reasons. They typically let the fruit shine, giving the dessert a healthy kick and they are easy to throw together. You can make this recipe in a large 9 or 10 inch pie dish, but making it in ramekins says "cute and romantic" to me. If you really want to get romantic, then you could make it in a 5 inch ramekin or souffle dish and share! I have a go-to recipe when it come to a crumble and I've posted it before. But this time, I substituted all the sugar for maple syrup and substituted the butter for olive oil. Those changes turned it into something different; the crumble part was softer and I enjoyed how the maple syrup stood out. Although a great dessert, these would be a wonderful breakfast treat or something lovely to serve at a brunch.

Maple Strawberry Crumbles
3/4 cup spelt flour
2/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (make sure it's pure and grade B has the best flavor)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

20 ounces fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and quartered (or you can use 1 package)
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup port wine (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 and butter four 6ounce ramekins. Set aside
Mix together the flour, pine nuts, rolled oats, and salt. Add the maple syrup and olive oil, stir to combine. The mixture will be more like cookie batter than a crumbly topping.
In a separate bowl, mix the cut strawberries with the arrowroot powder and maple syrup. Gently stir to combine. Wait about 3 minutes, add the port and gently toss again.
Spoon the strawberry mixture in the ramekins, filling them almost full. Using a spoon, spread a large spoonful of the crumble mixture across the tops of the strawberries in the ramekins. Try to cover the strawberries evenly.
Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. If the topping begins to brown too much, place a piece of buttered foil on top of the ramekins.
Remove from the oven and enjoy warm.

Note: If you happen to have extra or want to make extra of the strawberry mixture or the crumble topping, both can be baked separately to create a different treat. The crumble topping bakes down much like a lace cookie and the strawberries are delicious on toast or served over ice cream.
Happy Valentine's Day...

Homemade (honey-sweetened) Chocolate Chunks

2012-02-07T22:40:00.002-05:00

I never really enjoyed science in school, but I think if my teachers had used recipes and food as our experiments I would have responded better. I love reading about food and the science of food. A couple of posts ago, I gave a recipe for my new favorite chocolate bar. I have been using that "bar" in several recipes lately. I made chocolate lava cakes and brownies with it over the weekend. I hope to post those soon, but I will say they got some nice reviews. That creation got me thinking about chocolate (it doesn't take much to get me thinking about chocolate). I looked online to see if there were any honey-sweetened chocolate chips that you could purchase, but I didn't have luck. I started thinking about the ingredients that make up chocolate and realized they are basically cocoa powder or cacao powder, a fat (typically cocoa butter), a sweetener (typically sugar), and vanilla beans (sometimes). Like me, I bet you have all those ingredients in your house! I have now made three types of homemade chocolate chunks by interchanging the fat. I used honey and pure vanilla extract each time. I haven't baked with the chunks yet so I will let you know how that goes, but for now homemade chocolate chunks are pretty delicious.
I started with coconut oil as the fat and it held up the best. The chunks definitely taste like coconut and remind me of a mounds bar. I like chocolate and coconut but can't eat tons of it which is probably a great thing. I think these would be delicious in cookies, I hope they bake well!
The second try was (hang with me here) 1 cup pureed avocado! Yep that's right. I started thinking about healthy fats in my house and had a couple of very ripe avocados left from the Superbowl party that didn't get made into guacamole. The super fun news is that it worked! The recipe really makes a pudding-like consistency and you could just stop there and use it as a fondue or chocolate dip. It's actually so thick you could use it as a frosting for cupcakes. I went ahead with the recipe and froze the mixture which did freeze and harden but was still softer than the coconut oil chunks. A note as I keep experimenting is that avocados don't have a lot of flavor so I think these would be even better with a little extra honey and vanilla extract and perhaps some ground espresso beans. Peppermint extract might be fun too.

On my third try, I used olive oil and I really like the taste.
I am sure butter would work beautifully but I don't eat dairy, so I didn't even try that. Next on the list; almond butter!
After all this experimenting I think a combination of fats might be the best way to go. Since coconut oil solidifies when it goes below 76 degrees F, that really helped the chunks stay firm but in order to not have so much coconut flavor, I think I will mix olive oil and coconut oil next time. Then I would like to make cookies or brownies with them. :)

Here is the basic recipe:
Homemade Chocolate Chunks
Makes 12 ounces
1/2 cup cocoa powder (your favorite brand)
1/4 cup honey
1 cup fat, melted or pureed if it's not in liquid form
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Taste and adjust. Pour into a parchment lined baking pan and freeze for several hours. Cut into chunks and enjoy.

This recipe makes dark chocolate chips. If you like semi-sweet, use up to 1/2 cup honey. The good news is you can taste it before you pour the mixture into the pan and can always add more honey before allowing the chunks to set.
If you try this, please leave comments below letting us know what worked for you! Again this will be a post I come back to, I am excited about the possibilities.

100% Whole Wheat Bread (that I'm finally proud of)

2012-01-31T11:56:00.000-05:00

Bread...it's a goal of mine. I feel pretty comfortable with flatbread; we regularly have whole wheat naan, whole wheat pizza dough, and whole wheat pitas on hand. Those are all a similar recipe, but sandwich bread has been a different story. I've made a few good loaves of bread with 50% whole wheat flour, 50% all-purpose white flour but not until this weekend did my 100% whole wheat loaf turn out in a way I wanted to share with you. I searched through lots and lots of recipes last week, but I kept coming back to my "Baking with Julia" book. I have had such good luck with the other recipes in this book, I knew it would be the best starting point. Her whole wheat bread recipe is actually 50/50, like I mentioned before, so I made some adjustments. This post is actually going to be a work in progress, but this is a good start and I hope it's helpful to you.
I used a mixture of King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour and Arrowhead Mills Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. I started at the beginning of the week and I had two different types of yeast in my house. Both were in date and hadn't surpassed the 6 month time frame but sadly, three loaves of bread were duds because the yeast was not alive. I should have known that because I proofed it (that's the process where you add yeast to warm water and it kinda "blooms") but I kept going anyway, just hoping... The loaves actually tasted delightful, which helped me know I was on the right path but they had a very heavy consistency. They did make beautiful bread crumbs which then became tasty veggie burgers (a post soon!). After tossing the yeast and buying a few fresh packets, I learned a few things---fresh yeast will become very creamy in the water, it really does "bloom," and it also has a nice bread-like smell. Keep an eye out for these things as you bake bread. Normally, Whole Wheat Pastry Flour isn't recommended for yeast breads, but I really like the texture of pastry flour so I gave it a go in place of white flour or bread flour. Another change; the original recipe calls for malt extract but I substituted brown rice syrup. The result was a lightly sweetened, soft textured loaf of bread. The reason this is a post in process is because next time I want the loaf to rise just a bit higher, so I think I will add a little vital wheat gluten to give it a boost of protein. I ended up making another type of bread for Sunday night's dinner which was delightful, stay tuned for that recipe!

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
Makes two loaves
2 1/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup raw organic honey
3 1/2 to 3 2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon brown rice syrup
1 tablespoon salt

Mixing and Kneading
Pour 1/2 cup of the water into the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with a dough hook and add the yeast and honey. Whisk to blend and allow the mixture to rest until the yeast is creamy, about 5 minutes. Combine 3 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour and the whole wheat flour and keep close by. Working with the dough hook in place, add the remaining 1 3/4 cups water, the oil, brown rice syrup, and about half of the flour mixture to the yeast. Turn the mixer on and off and few times to get the dough going then mixing on low speed, add the rest of the combined flours. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the dough comes together. (If the dough isn't coming together, add up to 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour). Add the salt and continue to beat at medium speed for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. (Whole wheat dough will be a little sticky, even after sufficient kneading).
First Rise
Turn the dough out of the mixer and shape into a large ball. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl (one big enough for the dough to double) and turn the dough around to cover its entire surface with oil, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let the dough rest at room temperature until it doubles in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. You will know the dough is ready when you can poke it with your finger and the indention remains.

Shaping the Dough

Butter or oil two loaf pans and set them aside. Deflate the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half. I use my kitchen scale to make sure each piece is equal in weight.

Using a rolling pin, roll each half into a large rectangle, about 9 inches wide and 12 inches long with the short side facing you. Starting at the top, fold the dough about two thirds of the way down the rectangle, then fold again so that the top edge meets the bottom edge, seal the seam by pinching it. Tuck the ends under, plump the loaves with your hands, and place seam-side-down in the baking pans.

Second Rise

Cover the pans with oiled plastic wrap and allow them to rest at room temperature until they are doubled in size again, about 1 hour. While the breads rise, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375*F.

Baking the Bread

When the breads are fully risen, again an indention should remain if you poke your finger in a loaf, bake for about 35 minutes. Remove the loaves from their pans as soon as they come from the oven and cool the breads on racks. Cut the breads once they are cool.

Storing the Bread

Once completely cool, the breads can be kept in a brown paper bag for a day or two. Once a loaf is sliced, turn it cut side down on the counter or cutting board and cover it with a kitchen towel. I had good luck keep the loaf in a plastic bag for about 3 days and then it began drying out. At that point, we just toast the bread because it still has good flavor. For longer storage, wrap the breads airtight and freeze for up to one month. Thaw, still wrapped at room temperature.

Enjoy!

A Little Citrus Love

2012-01-19T17:19:00.000-05:00

Like I mentioned last week, I have been doing a big of a cleanse over the past couple of weeks. Mainly, kicking out all sugars and actually this week I took a break from chocolate (crazy, I know). I've done a little juicing, and tried to eat lots of raw veggies and fruits. I've also been reading about food and finding new food blogs! I like doing this once or twice a year, especially after the holidays, just to get my system back in sync. As you might imagine, I've been making a lot of salads and today's salad was so good, I thought I would share.

I'm not exactly sure why I haven't made salad dressing with pesto before-I mean I adore pesto and I love salad-but it just occurred to me this week. I hope you froze some pesto before the end of summer but if you didn't, you can buy fresh basil at the store and make some. I wanted to highlight citrus with this salad, since it is in season and packs in the Vitamin C. I thought lemons would be the perfect accompaniment to pesto. Another little benefit; lemons contain ascorbic acid which helps to cleanse the liver. The result of the dressing, pesto + lemon = amazing (and easy) salad dressing. To keep with the citrus theme, I tossed the dressing with spinach (which helps to cleanse and detoxify) and layered a naval orange on top. I am sure any orange-like citrus would be tasty, so feel free to use your favorite or whatever you happen to have on hand. Then, I sprinkled on some sun-dried tomatoes and almonds. I'm not sure what made me do that, but it really worked. Give it a try, it will make you feel good and it will make your taste buds happy!

Citrus Love Salad

Dressing:

1 tablespoon homemade pesto

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice (use about 1/2 lemon)

drizzle of olive oil

Stir the pesto with the lemon juice until combined. If the mixture is too thick, add a little olive oil. Taste and make sure the dressing is balanced.

Salad:

1 1/2 cups organic baby spinach

1 organic naval orange, tangerine, kumquat, mandarin orange, etc

1 tablespoon sun-dried tomatoes, jarred and packed in olive oil

sprinkling of raw slivered almonds

Wash and thoroughly dry the spinach. Place the spinach in a large bowl, add 1 tablespoon of dressing and stir to coat the leaves. Add a little more, if desired. Place the dressed spinach on a plate then sprinkle with oranges, tomatoes, almonds, and a dash of sea salt. Enjoy.

New Favorite Chocolate Bar

2012-01-13T14:38:00.001-05:00

If you've been reading this blog for long, you know my affection for chocolate, especially dark chocolate. Since January is here and New Year's Resolutions are in play, I am trying to eat chocolate without eating sugar. I know that either doesn't sound possible or doesn't sound tasty. But, what I've been doing is delicious and worth sharing. It's really more of an idea than a recipe and something I know you will personalize.
I decided to start from scratch and I decided to start with my favorite brand of chocolate-Scharffen Berger. Luckily, I bought a couple of boxes of Unsweetened Scharffen Berger before Christmas and I hadn't used them yet. I found these on Amazon and they are still offering them at a great price (lowest I've found them). The basic idea: melt down the chocolate bar and add a small amount of honey, then spread it out on a pan and let it chill in the freezer. Once it is set, you can cut it into small pieces and have a bite of dark, honey sweetened chocolate when you have a craving. Super Easy! This is also a gluten-free and dairy-free treat!!
Since trying this the first time, I have now used pureed banana as the sweetener. I just blended a little frozen (extra-ripe) banana with my chocolate for a perfect Chocolate Banana Bar. Last time, I added a tiny bit of peppermint extract with the honey for a Chocolate Mint Bar and next time I am going to try the banana version with a bit of espresso powder--Chocolate Banana Espresso Bar.
Here is the recipe I use, however it really will depend on your taste and how much you want to make. I am making a little at at time but it keeps really well in the freezer.

Chocolate Honey Bar
2 ounces Unsweetened Scharffen Berger Chocolate
1 tsp honey

Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 90 seconds (or place over low heat on the stove and stir constantly until melted) Stir until the chocolate is completely smooth and melted. Add the tsp of honey and stir to combine. Taste and make sure the chocolate is as sweet as you prefer. I like super dark chocolate, so you might need to add a couple more teaspoons if you like semi-sweet better. Just use caution and add a little at a time, keeping up with the amount so you can make it more quickly next time.
Pour the chocolate honey mixture in a small pan and spread out about 1/8 inch thick or to your desired thickness.

Place in the freezer for 10 minutes or until set. Once the chocolate is hard again, cut into small pieces and enjoy!

Note: I used my kitchen scale as I cut the chocolate and cut it into half-ounce pieces. That way, each piece is only 75 calories.

Other Varieties:
Chocolate Banana Bar: Instead of honey, puree 1/2 of an over-ripe frozen banana and stir into the melted chocolate. (A regular banana might work too, I just typically have over-ripe bananas in my freezer)
Chocolate Mint Bar: Follow the above recipe an add 1/4 tsp peppermint extract, taste and add more extract if needed, a drop at a time (it can be very strong).

If you try this or any variety, leave a comment! I would love to hear them.

Together, Happiness, Celebration

2012-01-05T18:13:00.000-05:00

Time, love, laughter, family, togetherness, cooking, baking, snuggling, tanning, talking, birthday...these words describe my holiday season. This Christmas was one of the best ones I've had in a couple of years. I always love Christmas but sometimes the busyness and scheduling gets to be a bit much. This year it all just clicked, everything went as smooth as it possibly could and I loved it.

As usual, a lot of my favorite memories were made in the kitchen. Early on in December, Daniel and I made (well, I made and we ate) the most amazing chocolate cookies. Here's the recipe, they are simply to die for--Amazing Chocolate Cookies. Later in the month we switched to the Thin Mints from the last post!

During our time at home, I was able to enjoy several meals with my brother, Scott and my new sister-in-law Christen. We were together for 3 days and I loved every second of it. They even made a trip to Charlotte earlier in the week and we had homemade tomato pesto soup and grilled cheese. The tomato soup was made from the tomatoes we froze this past summer! YUM.

Mom and I spent lots of time in the kitchen. We laughed, nibbled, and made dinner together. She also made some killer sugar cookies, lace cookies, chocolate sauce, and Russian tea. All big favorites of mine :)

At my dad's house, we fixed breakfast together. He makes amazing pancakes, so that was the specialty for Christmas Eve Brunch. We all pitched in and fixed a big breakfast together!

Later, on Christmas Day, one of my wishes came true...we were able to host Christmas Dinner for family. We missed Sarah and Michael but the rest of Daniel's family joined us and it will forever be a special memory to us. We fixed Ciabatta Bread with Goat Cheese Marinara as an appetizer, Prime Rib Roast, Balsamic Tomatoes, Green Beans (from the summer!), Mac n Cheese, Twice-Baked Potatoes, and Salmon (for the girls) and enjoyed Chocolate Lava Cakes for dessert. The meal, the family, the time--was precious.

The next morning we headed to Treasure Cay with Daniel's family. His parents took all of us down there to celebrate Daniel's 30th birthday. It...was....amazing. Since we rented a house, we ended up fixing meals together all week. A gorgeous beach, fun with family, and true relaxation. We celebrated the New Year together with lots of laughter and Peggy doing a Lady Gaga dance for us. We all hope to go back someday.

As I get older, I continue to value family time more and more. I am thankful for the family God gave me and I am thankful for the one I married into. This year was special for so many reasons and I can't wait to see what's in store for the upcoming year.

What special moments did you enjoy with your loved ones this Christmas?